The roots of Western medicine, Translators and saints

Shidonna Raven
May 7
1 min read

Photo Source: Unsplash,

Translators and saints

It is sometimes stated that the early Christian church had an adverse effect upon medical progress. Disease was regarded as a punishment for sin, and such chastening demanded only prayer and repentance. Moreover, the human body was held sacred and dissection was forbidden. But the infinite care and nursing bestowed upon the sick under Christian auspices must outweigh any intolerance shown toward medicine in the early days.

Perhaps the greatest service rendered to medicine by the church was the preservation and transcription of the Classical Greek medical manuscripts. These were translated into Latin in many medieval monasteries, and the Nestorian Christians (an Eastern church) established a school of translators to render the Greek texts into Arabic. This famous school, and also a great hospital, were located at Jundi Shāhpūr in southwest Persia, where the chief physician was Jurjīs ibn Bukhtīshūʿ, the first of a dynasty of translators and physicians that lasted for six generations. A later translator of great renown was Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq, or Johannitus (born 809), whose translations were said to be worth their weight in gold.