Nemesius of Emesa: Fourth-Century Christian Anthropologist and Physiologist
Thomas Heyne M.D., MSt., Clinical Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital
Today, the Syrian city of Homs is remembered as a rebel stronghold that was decimated and destroyed in 2014, and still remains under violence. But some sixteen centuries ago, Homs was the thriving Byzantine city called Emesa. It was here that the remarkable scholar and bishop Nemesius of Emesa (c.390 AD) lived and wrote. Although his treatise On the Nature of Man is oft forgotten by modern historians, it was hugely impactful in both the East and West, being translated into five languages, and influencing such greats as Avicenna and Thomas Aquinas. It is arguably the first complete treatise on anthropology, discussing man's constitution, organization, and destiny. Nemesius' work incorporates Platonic, Aristotelian, and especially Galenic ideas into a Christian framework. Remarkably, he demonstrates an impressive knowledge of Galenic physiology, discussing the various parts of the body as evidence of the skill of their Maker. Most impressive is his discussion of the interplay between the brain and the mind/soul. Nemesius views the body as an instrument of the immortal soul, and he actually seats the different functions of the soul--sensation, imagination, intellectual thought, and memory--in different areas of the brain (anterior, middle, and posterior). In so doing, Nemesius effectively goes beyond even Galen, becoming the first scholar in history to "map" different functions to different parts of the brain. Thus, Nemesius is a wonderful example of the positive, thoughtful approach that many early Christian writers took to medicine and anthropology. He is a shining light in the history of Emesa.
Today, the Syrian city of Homs is remembered as a rebel stronghold that was decimated and destroyed in 2014, and still remains under violence. But some sixteen centuries ago, Homs was the thriving Byzantine city called Emesa. It was here that the remarkable scholar and bishop Nemesius of Emesa (c.390 AD) lived and wrote. Although his treatise On the Nature of Man is oft forgotten by modern historians, it was hugely impactful in both the East and West, being translated into five languages, and influencing such greats as Avicenna and Thomas Aquinas. It is arguably the first complete treatise on anthropology, discussing man's constitution, organization, and destiny. Nemesius' work incorporates Platonic, Aristotelian, and especially Galenic ideas into a Christian framework. Remarkably, he demonstrates an impressive knowledge of Galenic physiology, discussing the various parts of the body as evidence of the skill of their Maker. Most impressive is his discussion of the interplay between the brain and the mind/soul. Nemesius views the body as an instrument of the immortal soul, and he actually seats the different functions of the soul--sensation, imagination, intellectual thought, and memory--in different areas of the brain (anterior, middle, and posterior). In so doing, Nemesius effectively goes beyond even Galen, becoming the first scholar in history to "map" different functions to different parts of the brain. Thus, Nemesius is a wonderful example of the positive, thoughtful approach that many early Christian writers took to medicine and anthropology. He is a shining light in the history of Emesa.