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The Church Fathers · c. 680
The Book of Medicine of the Kingdom
Shem'on d-Taybutheh · 7th century
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What it is
A physician-monk describes the stages of contemplative prayer alongside an account of the brain, the nerves, and the humours, treating soul and body as one subject.
Why it lasted
The most striking fusion of medicine and mysticism in the Syriac tradition.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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