SAN JUAN, Juan Huarte de; CAMILLI, Camillo, trans.

by Juan Huarte de; CAMILLI, Camillo, trans San Juan

£1,950 · Offered by Sokol Books

The second, expanded Aldine edition of the Italian translation of this intriguing work bringing together psychology and medicine. Juan Huarte de San Juan (1529-88) was a Spanish humanist and physician who trained at Alcal√°. First published in Spanish in 1575, Examen de ingegnos was his great masterpiece. The 'Essame was included on the Index as a prohibited book at least by 1605, the present copy has a ms Libro proibito on the titlepage. Nevertheless it was greatly successful, translated into several European languages (including German by the philosopher G.E. Lessing), and even English. Huarte used as a starting point the humanist pedagogical theories, to explore, with the help of Galenic medicine, the concept of talent, its diversity and richness, and how it affects the development of an individual in the professional sphere (Morilla, p.161). It begins with a discussion of ingenium , various kinds of intelligence, and how the humours influence individual character and temperament. The first section demonstrates with an example how, if a child does not have the intelligence required for knowledge he has to acquire, not even good teachers, lots of books, and constant study will make him succeed. There follow sections on how and why some people are good at learning, and how this is helped by specific physical characteristics. Three chapters also explain how specific kinds of intelligence and memory may favour children for professions in the fields of theology, law, medicin

• Binding: Hardcover

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