Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus

Syphilis  or the French disease - by the celebrated Vicenzan Physician Hieronymi (Girolamo) Fracastoro - 1536.

28 pages (complete)

Good condition but significant staining to some pages and repairs to the title page. Later 20th Century binding.

Syphilis was likely introduced to Europe from South America following Columbuses return from the New World. The first large outbreak was recorded among French troops after the 1494 Siege of Naples. The disease had many names but Italians of course blamed the French troops so it became known by them as the  French Disease.

The name Syphilis comes from this poem by Fracastoro first published in 1531, here in an early 3rd edition of 1536. In the poem, Syphilis was a young shepherd who cursed Apollo for having to tend his sheep during the blazing midday sun. As punishment - perhaps a little harshly - Apollo gave the young shepherd syphilis. This poem went through many editions and the name Syphilis unusually survives to this day, while many other anachronistic medical names have not. The book also discusses various treatments - all of which were ineffective - but helped it reach a broader audience.

Early editions of this work are rare on the market Fracastoro's statue still stands above an arch in Vicenza holding a globe. It is said that when an honest man walks under the arch he will drop the globe. It remains firmly in his hands to this day.