, and surnamed the African, was born at Carthage in the eleventh century,
, and surnamed the African,
was born at Carthage in the eleventh century, and travelled into the east, where he lived thirty years, chiefly at
Babylon and Bagdad, studied the medical art, and made
himself master of the Arabic and the other oriental languages, and then returned to Carthage; from whence he
went into Apulia, and lived at Reggio, and at last became
a monk of Monte Casino. He is said to have been the first
that brought the Greek and Arabian physic into Italy
again. He compiled several books; and has given us a
translation of Isaac Israelitus on fevers, out of Arabic into
Latin; and another book, which he calls “Loci Communes,
” contains the theory and practice of physic, and is
chiefly copied from Hali Abbas. After a residence of
thirty-nine years at Babylon, he returned to Carthage, but
soon fell into such disgrace with his countrymen, whom he
suspected of intending to destroy him, that he went to
Salernum. Though he was there introduced to duke Rdbert, who wished to retain him about his person, preferring
a life of ease and retirement, he entered into a monastery
of the Benedictines, St. Agatha, in A versa, where he died
in 1087.