Plempius, Vopiscus Fortunatus

, an eminent physician, was born at Amsterdam in December 1601. He studied at Ghent, Louvain, Leyden, Padua, and Bologna, at which last university he took his degree of doctor. On his return to Holland, he began practice, but was induced to accept the vacant professorship of the Institutes of Medicine, at Louvain, of which he took possession in 1633. At the same time he abjured the Protestant faith, became a Catholic, and took a new degree of doctor, in conformity with the rules of the university. In the following year, however, he quitted this chair, for the professorship of pathology. He was soon afterwards nominated principal of the college of Bretigel. He died at Louvain, in December 1671, aged seventy.

Plempius left the following works “A Treatise on the Muscles,” in Dutch. “Ophthalmographia, sive de Oculi | Fabrica, Actione, et Usu,” Amst. 1632; Lovaen. 1648. A translation of the Anatomy of Gabrolius into Dutch, with notes, Amst. 1633. “Fundamenta, seu Institutiones Medicinae,” Lov. 1638, 1644, &c. In the first edition of this work, Plempius doubted the circulation of the blood but in the second, he was a strenuous advocate for that doctrine. “Animadversiones in veram Praxim curandos Tertianse propositam a Doctore Petro Barba” ibid. 1642. “Antimus Coningius Peruviani pulveris defensor, repulsus a Melippo Protymo” ibid. 1655. Coningius is the assumed name of Honoratus Fabri Protymus was that assumed by Plempius, in order to decry the use of cinchona. “Avicennae Canonis Liber primus et secundus ex Arabica Lingua in Latinam translatus,” ibid. 1658. “Tractatus de Affectuum Pilorum et Unguium,” ibid. 1662. “De Togatorum Valetudine tuenda Commentarius,” Brux. 1670. The two following are generally ascribed to this author, though Mangetus and Lipenius (probably misinterpreting the initial) ascribe them to Francis Plempius, viz. “Munitio Fundamentorum Medicinae V. F. Plempii adversus Jacobum Primerosium,” Amst. 1659. “Loimographia, sive, Tractatus de Peste,” ibid. 1664. ¹