Cassius Felix (), also Cassius Felix of Cirta, was a
Roman African medical writer
A medical writer, also referred to as medical communicator, is a person who applies the principles of clinical research in developing clinical trial documents that effectively and clearly describe research results, product use, and other medical i ...
probably native of
Constantina. He is known for having written in AD 447 a
Latin treatise titled ''De Medicina''.
The little we can say of the author comes from his book, that is meant to be a simple handbook for practical use in which he wants others to be able to take advantage of his experience as a physician. His work appears to draw heavily, both directly and indirectly, on Greek medical sources, as was common in the African school of medicine.
A
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
by faith, he may be the person mentioned in passing in the anonymous ''
De miraculis Sancti Stephani'', a work written between 418 and 427, where a certain Felix is referred as holding the high medical dignity of
archiater, or chief doctor of his community.
The ''
editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand.
For ...
'' of his work was first published in 1879 in a
Teubner edition edited by
Valentin Rose.
The name Cassius Felix is sometimes also applied to Cassius Iatrosophista, an earlier Greek medical writer (2nd or 3rd century AD) known only as the author of 84 or 85 ''Quaestiones Medicae et Problemata Naturalia'' ( grc, Ἰατρικαὶ Ἀπορίαι καὶ Προβλήματα Φυσικά).
[A. Garzya and R. Masullo, ''I problemi di Cassio Iatrosophista'', Naples: Accademia Pontaniana, 2004]
References
External links
Cassius Felix, ed. Rose 1879Cassius Iatrosophista, ed. Ideler 1841{{Authority control
5th-century Roman physicians
5th-century Latin writers
Felix