Constantine The African - Constantine Scientific Production

Constantine Scientific Production

He arrived at Cassino, bringing with him the manuscripts of medicine that he took from Tunis. They include works of the Kairouanese El Baghdadi.

• The Kairouanese books
• The book of melancholy of Ishaq Ibn Imran.
• The book of the pulse, urine and food regime of Ibn Ishaq Suleiman.
• The book "Zad Al Mussāfir" (Viaticum) of Ahmed Ibn Al Jazzar.
• The Baghdadi books
• The book "Al Hawi" of Abu Bakr Al Razi
• The book "Al Kamil “ of Ali Ibn Al Abbas Al Majoussi, at least in part. Constantine translated the first ten books (on the theory of medicine) but his translation of the second ten books (on practice) do not entirely survive. (The same book was retranslated in the twelfth century by Stephen of Antioch, who was dismissive of Constantine's translation.)

The books of Constantine are either by him or translated from Arabic. In many cases he fails to name his Arabic sources. It is so for the “Zad Al Mussāfir” of Ibn Al-Jazzar, that he translated and to which he attached his name, with what some observers have labeled as impertinence. He writes in the introduction of Zad Al Mussāfir the following: "If people are planning to dig into this book that comes from me, I let them sleep in their stupidity. I thought it is my duty to sign it because people envy other people for their work and to seize any book who falls into their hands, I titled Zad Al Mussāfir viaticum as his small volume will not clutter the baggage of the passenger nor hinders his movements. "