Le medecin de soi-meme, ou l’art de se conserver la sante, par l’instinct.
Leiden: de Graef for the author, 1682. 12mo. x, 294 pp. FIRST EDITION. Full-page engraved plate of a putto painting Galen. Later gilt-ruled and blind-rolled green morocco, spine, board edges, and turn-ins gilt, all edges gilt, blue silk marker. Old bookseller description glued to the front pastedown, bookplate on the front flyleaf. An excellent copy. Item #19536
First edition, an anti-Cartesian diatribe against clinical medicine by a surgeon. The author asserts that man’s instinct is enough to keep him healthy, and trusting one’s instinct will do more than medicine to avoid disease and illness. For example, eating and drinking more than the body needs is a major cause of illness, so only consuming to the point of fullness will prevent illness.
According to Barbier, this work incited such ire among physicians that Devaux chose not to publish a follow-up, which he promises in this book. Despite his training and successful career as a surgeon, Devaux began to dabble in astrological medicine, which likely colored his writing of the text.
OCLC locates only two copies of this first edition in U.S. libraries (NLM and Princeton).
Krivatsy 3188; Barbier Anonymes III: 99.
Price: $650.00