What is "nemesius"

Nemesius (; fl. c. AD 390), was a Christian philosopher, and the author of a treatise De Natura Hominis ("On Human Nature"). According to the title of his book, he was the Bishop of Emesa (in present-day Syria). His book is an attempt to compile a system of anthropology from the standpoint of Christian philosophy; it was very influential in later Greek, Arabic and Christian thought.

Nemesius was also a physiological theorist. He based much of his writing on previous work of Aristotle and Galen, and it has been speculated that he anticipated William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood.See the following for further information regarding blood circulation:

• George Ripley And Charles A. Dana. Nemesius- Bishop Of Emesa IN "The American Cyclopaedia".
• George Jackson Fisher A Brief Historical Sketch of Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 11, July 1877.
• CHAUNCEY D. LEAKE, THE LURE OF MEDICAL HISTORY: A NOTE ON THE MEDICAL BOOKS OF FAMOUS PRINTERS In: CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN MEDICINE Vol. XXXII, No.2, February, 1930, page 107.
• HERMANN PETERS and WILLIAM NETTER (1899) Pictorial history of ancient pharmacy - Chapter II - Pharmacy in the Middle Ages. page 21: Quotation: Nemesius, in his work " De Natura Hominis" (300 A.D.), gives a theory of the circulation of the blood, which, imperfect though it be, is a step forward in the direction of the modern doctrine.

Other views included a five-theory hierarchy of Divine Providence. These theories are developed from an earlier Platonic theory.

Nemesius was one of the earliest advocates of the idea that different cavities of the brain were responsible for different functions. His Doctrine of Ventricle Localisation of Mental Functioning is a reconciliation of Platonic doctrines on the soul with Christian philosophy and also emphasized Greek scientific interpretation and knowledge of the human body.