eul_wid: kzk-ad
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

Testimonies 1 by Bolus of Mendes

The Testimonies (Book 1) is a lost prose work in Koine Greek attributed to Bolus of Mendes, a Hellenistic writer active around 200 BCE. While Bolus is more famously associated with magical and alchemical texts later ascribed to the philosopher Democritus, this work represents a scholarly medical compilation. It is structured as a collection of eight passages, functioning as a doxography that gathers authoritative quotations or testimonies from earlier physicians and philosophers, likely focusing on pharmacology and the properties of natural substances. Only fragments of the text survive, known entirely through later citations in Greek, Byzantine, and Arabic medical writers. The work exemplifies the Hellenistic era's drive to systematize knowledge, blending Greek scientific traditions with Egyptian practical lore. It is a utilitarian reference work, designed for practitioners or students to access consolidated medical opinions. Its compilatory method influenced later scientific writing, and Bolus's role as a conduit for cross-cultural knowledge made his works, even when fragmentary, historically significant.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης τάττουσι δέ τινες κατʼ ἰδίαν ἐκ τῶν Ὑπομνημάτων καὶ ταῦτα· Περὶ τῶν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ἱερῶν γραμμάτων· Περὶ τῶν ἐν Μερόηι· Ὠκεανοῦ περίπλους· Περὶ ἱστορίης· Χαλδαικὸς λόγος· Φρύγιος λόγος· Περὶ πυρετοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ νόσου βησσόντων· Νομικὰ αἴτια· Χερνικὰ … ἢ προβλήματα. τὰ ἄλλα δʼ ὅσα τινὲς ἀναφέρουσιν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ διεσκεύασται, τὰ δὲ ὁμολογουμένως ἐστὶν ἀλλότρια.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης οὗτος μάγων τινῶν διήκουσε καὶ Χαλδαίων, Ξέρξου τοῦ βασιλέως τῶι πατρὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπιστάτας καταλιπόντος ἡνίκα ἐξενίσθη παρʼ αὐτῶι, καθά φησι καὶ Ἡρόδοτος … παρʼ ὧν τά τε περὶ θεολογίας καὶ ἀστρολογίας ἔμαθεν ἔτι παῖς ὤν.

Λαέρτιος Διογένης φησὶ δὲ Δημήτριος ἐν Ὁμωνύμοις καὶ Ἀντισθένης ἐν Διαδοχαῖς ἀποδημῆσαι αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς Αἴγυπτον πρὸς τοὺς ἱερέας γεωμετρίαν μαθησόμενον, καὶ πρὸς Χαλδαίους εἰς τὴν Περσίδα, καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν γενέσθαι· τοῖς τε Γυμνοσοφισταῖς φασί τινες συμμῖξαι αὐτὸν ἐν Ἰνδίαι, καὶ εἰς Αἰθιοπίαν ἐλθεῖν.

Σοῦδα Δημόκριτος· .... μαθητὴς κατά τινας Ἀναξαγόρου καὶ Λευκίππου, ὡς δέ τινες καὶ μάγων καὶ Χαλδαίων Περσῶν. ἦλθε γὰρ καὶ εἰς Πέρσας καὶ Ἰνδοὺς καὶ Αἰγυπτίους, καὶ τὰ παρʼ ἑκάστοις ἐπαιδεύθη σοφά.

Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός ἧκεν οὖν πρὸς τοὺς Χαλδαίους καὶ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μάγους καὶ τοὺς σοφιστὰς τῶν Ἰνδῶν.

Ἱππόλυτος πολλοῖς συμβαλὼν γυμνοσοφισταῖς ἐν Ἰνδοῖς καὶ ἱερεῦσιν ἐν Αἰγύπτωι καὶ ἀστρολόγοις καὶ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι μάγοις.