Hippocrates "Aphorisms" and "Prognosticon" - Paris 1621 - Gascon style fine binding

This is a lavish and unusual French binding from the early 1600s. The gauffred edges are delicately decorated with gold, red and blue while the boards have beautiful fanfare tooling in a “Gascon” style. Gascon was a famous French binder of the early 17th century. This book may be by another binder but is contemporary and in a similar style.

The miniature book enclosed is also interesting being Hippocrates “Aphorisms” and “Prognosticon”. Written around the 5th century BC, they are still relevant today giving important wisdom and insight into medical practice. This edition was published in

The book is complete in 2 parts:  Paris 1621 & 1625 by Libert. Text is in the original Greek. Small 16mo format.

Here’s the opening line of the Aphorisms:

“Life is short, and Art long; the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult”