大象传媒

A monk known as Constantine the African, from the Monte Cassino monastery in southern Italy, spent his life translating Arabic texts he had discovered when he was a Muslim trader, prior to his conversion to Christianity. One book was by Galen, the accomplished Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher, which Constantine translated into Latin so western scholars could read it. The Christian Church liked his ideas, which promoted the human body as the best design, as this fitted beliefs that God's creation was perfect. The Church passed Galen's ideas to universities, leading to a resurgence of his work.