Annali dell'Istituto storico italo-germanico in Trento

Jahrbuch des italienisch-deutschen hzstorischen Instituts in Trient

43, 2017 Ι 2

Preface p. 5

Essays

Introductίon, by Fernanda Alfieri and Kά"rin Nickelsen 9 Alcherny and Chrίstίan Relίgίousness: The Latίn Mίddle Ages, by Chiara Crisciani 17 Myth, Nature, and Chance: Medical Hίstories and Relίgίon, by Maria Con/orti 39 The Weight of the Brain. The Catholίc Church ίη the Face of Physiology and Phrenology (First Half of the Nίneteenth Century), by Fernanda Alfieri 57 Theological Advocates of the Unity of the Hurnan Species (1815-1853), by Renato G. Mazzolinz 79 Catholίc Dίscourse on Sexualίty and Medίcal Knowledge. Changing Perspectives between the Nίneteenth and the Twentieth Centurίes, by Lucia Pozzi 95 Contingency, Ethics of Finitude, and Theology, by Telmo Pievani 115 Reviews Nicolo Maldina, Ariosto e la battaglia della Polesella. Guerra e poesia nella di inizio Cinquecento (Μ. Rospocher) p. 133

Alessandro Vanoli, I:ignoto davanti α noi. Sognare terre lonta­ ne (C. Ferlan) 135

Anna Bellavitis, ΙΖ lavoro delle donne nelle cittd dell'Europa moderna (Κ. Occhi) 137 Monica Bisi, Manzoni e la cultura tedesca. Goethe, l' idillio, l' estetιί:aeuropea (Μ. Largaiolli) 139

Ν ews from the Institute

Calendar of Events 147

Publications 151

The Library 153

Authors 155 and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages by Chiara Crisctani

Abstract - The main characteristίc of alchemy (also in the Latin-Chrίstian context) is its being a structured scientίfic and operative knowledge, with however conspicuous religious and hermetic traits. The present essay examines texts (from the twelfth to the fifteenth century) ofLatin alchemy in which this double nature is particularly clear. These texts emphasize that the alchemical operative prograιn is linked to internal betterment, prophecy, divine enlightenment, and the Scriptures. The alchemist is represented as God's elect and collaborator in "taking care" of and perfecting nature.

1. The historiographical context: problems and definitions

In recent decades, studies ση the history of alchemy have flourished1; some of the more substantial achievements are summarized in the fol­ lowing'. Traditional, positivist historiography (characterized by categories of "accumulation" and "precursors") conceived of alchemy as the "dawn of chemistry", at best-as a first inkling, pervaded with superstition, of what would become a true science'. This has been cha)lenged since as the

Translation by Gavin Taylor Α decisive ίmpulse for the renewal of research was ρrovided by R. HALLEUX, Les textes alchimiques, Turnhout 1979.

It is impossible here to ρrovide an exhaustive bibliography (contributors of parti­ cular note include R. Halleux, Μ. Pereira, Α Clericuzio, C. Crisciani, W. Newmann, L.M. Principe, Α. Calvet, S. Moureau, Β. Obrist, S. Matton, C. Viano, Ρ. Carusί). An outstanding overview is ρrovided by the Bibliogra/ia essenzt"a1e which completes the volume edited by Μ. PEREIRA,Alchimia. Ι testi della tradizione occidentale, Milano 2006, pρ. 14 93-1518. Excellent, also in view of its focus ση the historiographical debate, is Μ. PEREIRA, Saggio introduttt"vo; see also C. CRISCIANI- Μ. PEREIRA,I.}alch imia nel medtΌevo (medi@evi), Firenze 2016; C. CRISCIANI -Μ. PEREIRA (eds), J}arte de/ so/e e de/la luna. Alchz"mia e filoso/ia nel medioevo, Sρoleto 1996. See also Μ. PεREtRA, Arcana sapienza. I.}afchimia dalle origini α Jung, Roma 2001.

See the studies by Antonio Clericuzio and Ferdinando Abbri, in particular Ε ABBRI, Alchemy and Chemiitry, in ''Early Science and ", 5, 2000, 2, ρp. 214-226, ίn which the author intervenes in the historiographic debate regarding the interrelations

ΙSSN 0392-0011 Annali Ι Jahrbuch ISIG- 43, 2017 I 2 © Socιeta editrice il Mulino- Duncker & Humblot 18 C. Crisciani specificity of the discourses and practices of alchemy emerged in a more visible manner. The fieldclearly dίffers from chemistry, not so much in its technical procedures and laboratory equipment but in its essential aims and purposes, the core of which is the idea of transformation in order to achieve perfection (mainly in terms of matter and materia\)-a purpose that chemistry does not share. In the early days of the development of chemistry, the aspirations of the two fields overlapped and exchanges between the disciplines are documented, especially in terms of instru­ mentation and terminology. However, there is no effective chronological continuity between the two fields that would imply that alchemy was no more than a confused prelude to the subsequent luminous triumph of chemistry, the latest arrival in the register of positive sciences over the course of the scientific revolution. In the early modern age, the two fields are separate and distinct, proceeding alongside into an ever growing distance. From this perspective, the specific nature of alchemy can no longer be reduced to being a preliminary draft of something else. Another interpretation of alchemy, very popular during the 1900s and persisting today in esoteric and New Age-oriented trends, conceives it as an exclusively spiritual process of subjective personal improvement where the alchemic and metallurgical terminology is understood as a means to obfuscate/communicate this process. The writings of alchemists, which are often exuberant and allegorical, are thought to represent a linguistic masking of a much more profound and more potent "secret". lt is clear that also in this case history is lost; in fact, we would be dealing with a nucleus of revealed truth-as such outside of time and immutable-ac­ cessible to only precious few people over the centuries. The result is an elect chain of followers who recognize each other and pursue the same truth over time and in very different socio-cultural contexts. ln this view, the opinions of the Hellenist, Zosimos, and those of the German mystic, J akob Bohme', are effectively equivalent and above all equally valid, even if not the same: both are expressions of a single unchanging quest for perfection. These two perspectives are opposite but analogous ίη their ahistorical and reductive approach and are incapable of grasping dίfferences and between chemistry and alchemy initiated by Newman and Pricipe: a good summary of the discussion can be found in the Ph.D. thesis of Μ.Α. ZUBER, University of Amsterdam (in progress).

See J.F. JIJARQUET, Alchimie et thέologie chez ]acob Boehme, in D. ΚΑΗΝ- S. ΜΑΤΤΟΝ (eds), Alchιmie. Art, histoire, mythes, - Milano .1995. I Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 19

similarities. They were thus progressively criticized in favor of a histor­ ical analysis that might carve out the specific features of the alchemical quest and provides a precise definition for this approach on the one hand, and might trace how this specific nature manifested itself in dif­ ferent periods and contexts on the other. This would make it possible to define the differences between the ideas of the Latin Geber (thir­ teenth century) and those of , between the pages of (Iohannes de Rupescissa, fourteenth century) and those of the Alessandrian alchemists. Ultimately, it has become necessary to investigate and identify the developments, crises, and transformations5 in the millennial affairs of alchemy and to establish its history. This history, in turn, is obviously linked to coeval social realities, cultural phenomena, and religious aspirations. And these in turn are themselves variable and historically determined. The first problem for this relatively new approach consists in establishing the specific nature of alchemy. What makes it detectable as such, despite its numerous mutations and the different appearances through history? Ι agree with the definition proposed many years ago by H.J. Sheppard in a short but fundamental article6: alchemy strives to implement concrete operations that are designed to bring about a transformation, or, more specifically, perfection (in many cases promoting an acceleration with regard to nature's timetable) in various spheres of reality. The specific areas in which alchemy operates include matter (metals, but not only), the human body and living organisms in general, and the soul (the in­ ner reality, the personality) of the operator. These very lofty objectives embrace matter, body and soul, humankind and nature. Sometimes they are present simultaneously and interlaced, and at times separately and distinctly. Sheppard's definition is quite generic but appears to be acceptable, although it does require one essential initial clarification. While alchemy is definitely a process of perfection, not every process of perfection is alchemic. This clarification makes it possible to distin­ guish between mystical propositions and alchemic procedures despite

See the essays collected in Le crisi dell'alchimia = The Crisis of Alchemy, in «Micro­ logus", 3, 1995: noteworthy regarding the specific features of Medieval alchemy and its historical periods, the Conclusion of Α. BouEEΛU, ibid., pp. 34 7-353.

See Η.]. SHEPPARD, European Alchemy z'n the Context of α Universal De]inition, in C. MEINEL (ed.), Die Alchimie z'n der europά'ischen Kultur- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Wiesbaden 1986, pp. 13-17; Μ. PEREIRA,Alchimia, and Μ. PEREIRA, Projecting PerfecttΌn. Remark.r on the Origin ο/ the Άlchemy ο/ the Elixir', in "Micrologus", 24 ,2016, pp. 73-93. 20 C. Crisciani possible analogies. Furthermore, a few specific observations are neces­ sary to support the above clarification. First, a transformation project of this type-whatever the area in which it is exercised-presupposes an underlying natural philosophy that describes the structure of the matter, the organisms, or psyche/soul that the alchemist is attempting to transform. This philosophy (and note that most alchemists in any era define themselves as philosophers) can be more or less expounded upon and adjusted with respect to the standards of coeval knowledge, but this philosophical context is a necessary background for the theo­ ries and doctrines that the alchemists elaborate, and for the formulas and operative procedures they prescribe and according to which they proceed. This makes it possible to distinguish alchemic projects from purely technical and artisanal instructions. Secondly, ifperfection is to be reached via transformation, this presupposes a hierarchy and a process of "ascent", with summits and goals to be reached (gold for metallurgic alchemy, perfect health and long life for medical alchemy, the elevation also in character and spirit of the operator). Furthermore, it must be remembered that alchemy had its origins in the Hellenistic period, ίη a cultural climate defined by an intense and restless search for means of salvation of the soul7: a context of religiously oriented philosophies and philosophical religiousness (Neoplatonic, Gnostic, Hermetic, and Christian currents), in which the boundaries between ritualization of myths, mystic liturgy, and magic were often precarious. And not only, it must be acknowledged that, given the high status and the value of the alchemic project's goals of perfection, which arose in the above context, a more or less bold strain of religiousness (soteriological and initiatory) almost always colors alchemic discourse and texts, which are therefore inextricably scientific, practical, and religious at the same time. One could even say that this intermingling of religiousness and practical knowledge is the most constant and enduring identifying feature of alchemy. More recently, once the historically fickle nature of alchemy had been agreed upon, there was an increment in studies of both individual authors or periods, as well as an increment in investigations of the links between this search and other forms of knowledge or practices with which al-

See at least E.R. DoDDS, Pagan and Christian in an Age ο/ Anxiety: Some Aspects ο] Relι'gious Expen'ence /rom Marcus Aureliu_ς to Constantine, Cambridge 1991; Ρ. BRO\XIN, Religion and Society in the Age o/ St. Augustine, London 1972; A.J. FEsruGΊERE,Hermit i::,·me et mystique paϊenne, Paris 1967; A.J. FEsruGTERE, La rivέlatzΌn de Hermes Tr ismigiste, Paris 1950. Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 21 chemy interacted. The latter included essays on alchemy and medicine8, alchemy and mysticism9, alchemy and philosophy, alchemy and religion10 This latter relationship, which-as we will see-is the most thematically consistent and constant and is particularly articulated in various themes in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, forms the basis for the present essay, the limits and objectives of which are as follows. The discussion considers only Medieval Latin alchemy, fr om the middle of the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. In this period, certain approaches stand out (that of , of Jean de Roquetaillade, and subsequently of Paracelsus) in which the entanglement of religious agencies and alchemical propositions is so dense and structured along philosophical-religious and wider scientific coordinates that-due to their relevance-they cannot be examined here. Each of these approaches would reqιήre a detailed analysis and discussion: the concern and insistence that animate the Franciscan Bacon's project of re/ormatio of study and of the res publica fidelium (in which alchemy played a very significant role); theJoachimite commitment and prophetic eschatology that ran through the entire life and works of the spiritual Franciscan Jean de Roquetaillade (and which also emerge in the instructions for the establishment of a caelum humanum - human haeven - on this earth, a quintessence capable of healing and fortifying the pauperes Christi-the poor of Christ-in the terrible recent times); the innovative correlation between alchemy and medicine in the context

See C. CRISCIANI - Α. PARAVICINI BAGLIANI (eds), Alchimia e medicina nel medioevo, Firenze 2003. See Α. RooB (ed.), Alchztnie et Mystz"que, KOln 1997; Α. KoYRE, Mystiques, spirituels, alchzίnistes, Paris 1955; D. MERκUR, The Study ο/ Spiritual Alchemy, in 'Άmbix", 37, 1990, pp. 35-46; J-C. MARGOLIN - S. ΜΑΠΟΝ (eds), Alchimze et phzlosophie ii la Renazssance, Paris 1993; S. ΜΑΤΤΟΝ, Scholastique et alchzίnie, Paris - Milano 2009; F. BONARDEL, Phi­ losophz'e de l)alchimie, Paris 1993; C. MERCHANT, The Death σ/ Nature: Wo men, Ecology, and the ScientifiCRevolution, New York 1980; Ε. Fox ΚΕLιΕR, Re/lexions on Gender and Science, New Haven CT 1985; also see Μ. PEREIRA, 'Natura naturam vincz't'. I.:z'dea di natura nell'afchimt'a medz'evafe, in J.L. FUERΊΈS HERRI':ROS - Α. PONCELA GONZALES (eds), 'De natura'. La naturaleza en !α Edad Media, vol. 1, Vila Nova de Famalici'io 2015, pp. 101-20.

10 See τ. NUMMEDAL, Alchemy and Religion in Christian Europe, in ''Ambix", 60, 2013, 4, ρρ. 311-322 (the Introduction to a monographic edition of the journal, dedίcated to this theme; texts and authors from the modern era are examined, apart form a single . essay on the Medieval period: Ζ. MAτus,Resurrected Bodzes and Roger Bacon1s Elixir, ρρ. 323-340); also see again Ζ. MAτus, Alchemy and in the Middle Ages, ίn "History Compass", 10, 2012, 2, pp. 934-945. Also see Μ. PEREIRA, Sapz·enza e mzStero. Jung, [>afchz'mia, !α 'coscienza /emmz'nile', in "Psychofenίa", 19, 2016, 33, ρρ. 152-181. 22 C. Crisciani of conflict between humanist-Renaissance spirituality and Reformation proposed by the physician Paracelsus (a correlation from which alchemy and medicine would emerge in the early modern era under new guises). Instead, Ι prefer to address a few well defined themes of convergence between Christian religion and alchemy in the Latin Middle Ages based ση a number of particularly important writings dating from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries.

2. Illuminationlrevelat/on: The 'Ύestamentum" by Morienus Romanus

The integration of religious topics with doctrinal and practical instructions was already fully expressed in the first alchemic text that reached the Latin world in the course of the tumultuous period of translations in the twelfth century. There was the Testamentum by Morienus Romanus (or Liber de compositione alchimie)", a fundamental text that remained relevant for alchemists for the following three centuries. It reached the West in 1144, translated by Robert of Chester and with two extremely significant prologues12• The absolute novelty that alchemy represented for Latins is emphasized here, and then its origins are mapped. lt tells the stories of three philosophers, all of them called Hermesn: Enoch, before the Great Flood, taken up into heaven; Ν oah, who was saved by divine will; and Mercury-Hermes, clarissimus vir (a highly regarded man) who reigned over Egypt after the Great Flood. The latter, three times great because king, philosopher, and prophet, founded and spread the liberal arts, the mechanical arts, and-in particular-was the first to elaborate

11 See L. STAVENHAGEN (ed.), Α Testament ο/ Alchemy, Hanover 1974; for the Latin prologue see J.J. MANGET (ed.), Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa, 2 vols, Genevae 1702, vo11, pρ. 509-510; Morieno ROMANO, Testamento alchemico, translated by Μ. PEREIRA, Roma 1996 (with an introductory essay); Α.Υ. AL-HASSAN, The ArabtC Original of Liber de compo.ςitione alchimie. The Epistle ο/ Marianus> the Hermit and Philosophet"y to Prince Khalι"d ibn Yazid, in 'Άrabic Sciences and Philosophy", 14, 2004, pp. 213-231.

12 See R. LEMAY , L'authentict"tέ de la Preface de Robert de Chester d sa traduction du Morienus (1144) in "", 4, 1990/91, pp. 3-32, and C. BURNEΠ, The Legend ο/ the Three Hermes and Abu Ma'shar's Kztab al-Uluf zn the Ldtzn Mzddle Ages, in "Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes", 39, 1976, pp. 231-234 (regarding the prologue, similar to the one introducing both a coeval non alchemic text, the De sex principizS, and the hermetic and alchemic Tractatus aureus).

13 Also see the alchemic section of Secretum secretorum, attributed to Aristotle and widely distributed in the West. Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 23 alchemy. Hermes Trismegistus is thus in a genealogy, a series of three exceptional men providentially positioned by God at critical moments for humanity. The three, united by divine selection, guarantee both the continuity of the relationship between God and mankind, and the continuity of a knowledge that is simultaneously religious and practical. Trismegistus in particular was assigned the task of restoring knowledge after the Great Flood. He thus combined divine gift, illumination, choice and election, philosophy, prophecy, and scientific-technical knowledge with royal power. Hermes as prophet and alchemist knew and could proclaim occulta (that is, deep truths of various types). He was certainly, also as an alchemist, elected by God, and he himself declares as much in Septem Tractatus: " ... Ι received this science by inspiration of the one living God, who deigned to reveal it to me, his servant"14• In virtue of both the gift received and the results of the experience gained over a long life, this alchemist Hermes decided at the end (not without hesitation and perplexity) to pate/acere (reveal), or rather prophetzzare (prophecise) his knowledge to those who deserve it. They would in turn receive the divine munus (gift) through his intermediation and would be able to divina possidere (own heavenly things). This was the same Hermes who, according to Roger Bacon, expressed the wise aphorisms of the Tabula smaragdina (another-and perhaps the most important-fundamental text in the alchemic tradition), and he did so by prophetising. Given the divine origin of the knowledge transmitted, it comes as no surprise that Robert of Chester called Morienus' book "divinus et divin­ itate plenissimus" (divine and full of divinity) in the Latin prologue. The text indeed contains certain alchemic doctrines, but also the true and perfect probatio (evidence) of the two Testaments. Therefore, whoever wi11 study it in depth will fully penetrate the two sacred texts' virtue and truth and the maxims they transmit. More than just proposing new knowledge and practical instructions regarding the transformation of matter, this book is also a sagacious, religious, and prophetic text of Christian truths. Himself the outcome of a genealogy, Hermes Trismegistus in turn gave rise to a new genealogy described in the prologue. The vocation,

Η Ed. in ].]. MANGET (ed.), Bibliotheca ChemzCa Curiωa, vol. 1, ρ. 401a: " ... hanc scien­ tiam solius Dei vivi inspiratione habui, qui mihi suo famulo pandere dignatus est"; see Μ. PEREIRA, Ι 'Septem Tractatus Hermetis'. Note per una ricerca, in Ρ. LUCENτiNl et . al. (eds), Hermetism /rom Late Antiqutty to Humanism, Turnhout 2003, pp. 651-679; S. ΜΑττΟΝ,Hermes Trismigiste dans la littirature alchimique midievale, ibtd., pp. 621-649. 24 C. Crisciani

the wisdom, and the book, in fact, passed from Hermes (who inspired Ι ι this book) to Adfar Alexandrinus, homo divinus and replete with spiritual I gifts, who found it among other books, passed on its teachings, and then withdrew to his oratory. Next it passed to the young Roman (Byzantine) and Christian Morienus. Morienus heard of Adfar's wisdom and, wishing to come into contact with this knowledge, left his homeland on a quest that would eventually lead him to become the favorite disciple and heir to the old master, his elected spiritual son. They studied together for many years, and after the death of Adfar, Morienus chose to become a hermit and adopted a lifestyle befitting his faith and the practice of the art he had by now mastered. The reputation of his wisdom, along with the gold he sent to Jerusalem in large quantities, impressed the young Κing Calid (associated with the Umayyad prince historical Κhalid ibn Yazid, died in 704), who yearned for knowledge and was eager to be­ come acquainted with the science described in the book. Calid tried long and hard to understand and repeat the opus (work) and-as narrated by Morienus-finally succeeded by way of this long painstaking task to eliminate unduly worldly desires for knowledge and wealth from his heart. Only then was a close and emotionally committing discipleship established between Calid and Morienus, and the opus was finally un­ derstood and accomplished. The dealings of the book and of the protagonists of the Testamentum describe a journey of perfection and thus allude to the journey that a philosopher of this art must undertake. It is an interior journey, but also a true peregrinatio. Subsequent "journeys" undertaken and later narrated by other alchemists15 would repeat this archetype, in which the alchemist is essentially a viator (traveller), with all the resonance this term carries for a Christian. However, apart from actual travelling, it also indicates a course of study and patient inner perfectioning necessary if one was to understand the texts of the tradition, to render oneself worthy of the master's choice, and finally to achieve the main goal of becoming worthy of divine illumination. Morienus's Testamentum clearly indicates the role played by illumination/ divine election in alchemy, but without diminishing the role of books,

15 See C. CRISCIANI, Aspettt della trasmissione del sapere nell'alchimia latina, in "Microlo­ gus", 3, 1995, pp. 149-184; C. CRISCIANI, Esperienza, comunicazione e scrittura z'n alchz'mia (secoli XIII-XIV), in Μ. GALUZZI et al. (eds), Le forme delle comunicazione scientzfica, Milano 1998, pp. 85-110. Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 25 of study, of the doctrines, and above all of practice. They all remain of fundamental importance but also take on a religious-initiatory slant. Α correlation is also made between the refining intervention on matter and the progressive improvement of the philosopher-practicioner's char­ acter and inner life. This identifies the most general and widespread link between alchemy and religiousness, i.e. the need-that many but not all Latin alchemists foresaw-for a divine illuminating intervention regarding not only the understanding but also and most critically the rules and operative procedures for achieving the opus16 Alchemy is thus scientia and ars-fourided on the intellectual and practical efforts of the philosopher-creator-and also donum dez:...... the gratuitous effect of divine election-even if this depends (partially) on the alchemist's moral endowments.

3. Alchemy as "donum dei"

The treatment the fourteenth-century Ferrara physician Petrus Bonus17 reserves to the qualification of donum dei (gift of God) as claimed by alchemy in his extensive treatise Pretiosa Margarita ( 133 Ο) is worth a closer look. He regretfully declares not being capable of achieving transmutation yet, but presents himself as very capable at least as far as the texts and doctrines of philosophers (first and foremost Aristotle), physicians, and alchemists are concerned. Applying Aristotelian logical and epistemological procedures, Bonus demonstrates that alchemy is well founded and legitimate as both scientza and ars, and that the results of transmutation are "natural", in other words honest alchemists produce gold and silver identical to that found in mines. However, some "events" that take place during the preparation of the lapis (the essential and artificial agent for transmutation) are also miraculous, supra naturam, and thus also partly the consequence of revelation and even divine in-

16 For this conviction in Morίenus, Artefius, Latin Geber, Lull, among others see C. CRISCIANI, Tra Dio, intelletto ed espertenza: aspetti del segreto nell) alchimia latina, in ΙΖ segreto!Yhe Secret, "Micrologus", 14, 2006, in particular pp. 199-202. 17 Ed. inJ.J. MANGET (ed.), Bibliotheca chemica curiosa, vol. 2, pp. 1-80; see C. VASOU, s.v., in Dzzionario Biogra/ico degli Italiani, 12, Roma 1971; C. CRISCIANI, The Conception af Alchemy as Expressed in the ((Pretiosa Margarita Novella" ο/ ο/ Ferrara, in 'Άmb.ix", 20, 1973, ρρ. 165-181; C. CRISCJANI, Aristotele, e 'Meteore1 nella 'Pretiosa margarita1 di Pz'etro Bono, in C. VIANO (ed.), 'Άristotele Chemicus". Ι lz'bri dei ((Metereologz·ca" nella tradiztΌne antica e medievale, Sankt Augustin 2002, ρρ. 16 5-182. 26 C. Crisciani tervention18• The operative procedure for the fixio () of the lapis occurs as a miracle, the ratio naturalzs and intellectus being incapable of understanding it. The result is an occult lapis19, which is donum dei, and ίη this phase, 'Όnly God is at work". Here canonos alchemicos et divinos (alcbemical and divine rules of knowledge) are required, and it is necessary to "believe and bring faith into play". In other words, the same faith that is expressed in regards to Christian religious truths must be activated20• In Bonus's view, the concrete developments that the lapzs undergoes and activates ίη the laboratory (miraculous birth by divine intervention, torture and death in the phase of the - blackness, luminous resurrection in the fixio, redemptive effects ση other metals that are purified and "saved" by it) make it similar to Christ21• Furthermore, since the lapis is a compound of body, spirit, and soul, while also being of divine incarnation, it represents the most pervasive analogy not only of Christ, but of the Holy Trinity. It emerges from these analogies (mirror games between alchemy, artίcles of Christian faith, and religiousness) that the ancient philosopher-alchemists were effectively prophets of Christian truths, since they experienced miraculous events ίη their proceedings, while conversely the words of the holy Prophets also communicated alchemic truths and doctrines. For Bonus, the sequence of phases of the opus follows the scientific order dictated by ratio (with its syllogisms), tradition (in the many volumes left by the auctores), and experience. Yet, it also develops as a religious story in the true sense, originating from

18 Petrus BoNUS, Pretiosa margarita, ed. inJ.J. MANGET (ed.), Biblzotheca chemica curiosa, pp. 29c, 24d, 3la: alchemy "partim est naturalis, et partim divina, sive supra naturam"; " ... non solum haec operatio per viam naturae procedit ..ars ipsa et eius inquisitio et regimen operationίs ... cum complemento suρra naturam existit per modum miraculi", and "Neque in hoc prodest fortuna sed gratia Dei, rationi conίuncta, aut gratia divi­ nae revelationis sola". lt is in the conclusive stage of the preparation of the lapis that, according to Bonus, "ideo tunc solus Deus est operator" (ρ. 29d). 19 Ibid., p. 29c: this lapis cannot be perceived by the senses, but cadz·t in intellectum. 20 Ibz"d., pp. 30, 50: "solus Deus est operator"; "credere et fidem penltus adhibere". 21 Among the many texts that, to a greater or lesser extent, make reference to the Lapis-Christ parallelism, note the Codicillus attήbuted to Lull (ed. ίηJ.J. MANGET (ed.), Bibliotheca Chemica CurzΌsa, vol. 1, p. 884b: " ... et ut Christus Jesus de stirpe Davidica pro liberatione et dissolutione generis humani peccato captίvati ex transgressione Adae naturam assumpsit humanam: sic etiam in arte nostra quod per unum nequiter maculatur per aliud suum contrarium a turpitudine illa absolvitur, lavatur, et resolvitur ..."; the theme is also taken up repeatedly in Lzber Lucis by the spiritual Franciscan, prophet, and alchemist of the quintessence, Jean de Roquetaillade (pub. J.J. MANGET (ed.), BiblzΌtheca Chemica Curiosa, vol. 2, pp. 84 ff.). Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 27 an illumination or clivine revelation and closing with a result that is also a work of salvation and redemption. The Pretiosa Margarita thus contains-clearly stated and well-argued­ almost all the connecting motifs between religiousness and alchemic outlook: - the illumination of the clisciple having rendered himself deserving of it; - the participation of God in the opus, which is thus charged with miraculous sacrality and comes to resemble God's Creation, and then the alchemist-who collaborates in the realization of this event in the opus-can call himself co-creator22; - the analogy between lapis and Christ in his virgin birth and Passion; - the salvation of matter (alluding to the resurrected of physical boclies in the Final Judgement23); - the mystery of the Trinity; - and finally, the strong link between alchemy and prophecy, and the close relationship between alchemic and sacred texts. These topics were already featured in the prologue to Morienus's twelfth-century volume, but here they are subjected to a more analytic and complex investigation. lt should in any case be noted how these parallels and interrelations are not only stated, as in Robert of Chester's text, but-as Bonus underlines repeatedly-stem from experience and concrete "events" that ancient and contemporary alchemists observed and observe in the course of their working experientia.

4. Lapis/Christ, alchemy, and prophecy

Salvation and the direct experience of redemptive events are even more evident in a text24 from the fourteenth century attributed to Arnaldus

22 For this see W. THEISSEN,: the Alchemist as Co-creator, in 'Άmbix", 38, 1991, pp. 73-78; Μ. PEREIRA, Introduzione α Alchimia.

23 The purpose of redemptίon of nature and of matter also refers back, in addition to the aspirations of Hermeticism, to Paul (Rom. 8:19-21): "in hoρe that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God".

24 See Arnaldus DE Vn.LANOVA,Exempla in arte philosophorum, or also Tractatus parabolt'­ cus ο Liber prophecι(πum, ed. by Α. CALVET, in "Chysopoeia", 5, 1992-1996, pp. 145-171; essential for Arnaldus are the numerous studies by Antoine Calvet, among which Les 28 C. Crisciani de Villanova25, which addresses the relationship berween alchemy and prophecy"6 The connection is introduced as follows:

"We begίn the analogies in the art of the philosophers with the sayings of the proρhets and their parables regarding the advent of Christ. This art can be understood according to the advent, and choices can be implemented in its adωinistration, since Christ was an example of all things, and our elixir can be understood according to the conception, generation, birth, and passion of Christ"27. The Tractatus is structured in three parallel yet interwoven series. The prophecies of the Old Te stament regarding the coming of Christ are listed first (from the creation and fall of man, to the birth of Christ, his resurrection and ascension to heaven). Next come the "historical" events in the life of Jesus the savior (as narrated in the New Testament), which substantiate and vindicate the above-mentioned prophecies. Finally, the stages, or rather the travails, suffered by the Mercury-lapιs are described through the alchemical process28, of which Christ is the exemplum. oeuvres alchimzques attribuέes d Arnaud de Villeneuve, Paris - Milano 2011 (in which see pp. 234-258, specifίcally on the Tractatus); see also Μ. PERE!RA, Arnaldus de Villanova e l'alchimia. Un'indagine preliminare, in 'Άrxiu de Textos Catalans Antics", 14, 1995, pp. 95-174.

25 Arnaldus de Villanova was a famous doctor, physician to ρopes and sovereigns, as well as an outstanding teacher at the Unίversity of and author of nume­ rous important medical texts. Lay, but linked to the spiritualist movement of , Arnaldus was also committed to problematic theological-prophetic issues and in projects for general religious reforms. Α large corpus of alchemic texts is attήbuted to him, for which see the studies by Calvet and the essays collected by }. PERARNAU (ed.), Actes de la ΊΙ Trobada Internacional d'estudis sobre Arnau de V/lanova', 2005. Also see ]. ZIEGLER, Medicine and Religion c. 1300. The Case of Arnau de Vilanova, Oxford 1998; C. CRISCI A�I, "Exemplum Chrtstt'" e sapere. Sull' epistemologr·a di Arnaldus de Villanova, in 'Άrchives Internationales d'Histoire des Scίences", 28, 1978, ρρ. 245-292.

26 On this theme see Α. CALVET, Les oeuvres alcht'miques, ρρ. 201-258 ('Άlchimie et prophetie"); C. CRISCIANI, 'Όpus" and "sermo". The RelattΌnship between Alchemy and Prophecy, in ''Early Science and Medicine", 13, 2008, 1, pp. 4-24; ι. DEVUN, Praphecy, Alchemy, and the End af Yime. John a/Rupescissa in the Late Middle Ages, New York 2009. 27 Arnaldus ΟΕ VΠ-LANOVA, Exempla in arte phzlosophorum, p. 164: 'Ίncipiamus exempla in arte philosophorum in dictis prophetarum ac parabolis eorum de adventu Christi. Et secundum adventum ρotest comprehendi hec ars et elegi etiam in regimine suo, quia Christus fuit exemplum ornnium rerum, et secundum conceptionem et generationem et nativitatem et passionem Chήsti potest comprehendi elixir nostrum". 28 Ibid., ρ. 164: "Fili saρientium intelligite quod ars philosophorum nuncupatur a phi­ losoρho Hermete ars artium et in ea potest referri passio Christi. Et Christus fuit nobis exemplum in hac arte. In Christo habemus exemplum morte sua, ρassione, resurrectione et transmigratione". Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 29

Unlike the countless other allegories in which natural entities and facts in the Scriptures serve to better explain divine words and facts, here the prophetic words and the story of Christ serve to clarify the alchemic phenomena and procedures. Thus, while Bonus describes a double trajectory (from alchemy to prophecy and vice versa), Amaldus appears to indicate a single direction, from prophecy to alchemy, from Christ foretold to the elixir to be explained and formulated. The text certainly takes this approach, but the hinge pin of Arnaldus' discourse is worth considering: It is both difficult to overstate the portent of this affirmation and to ignore the double meaning (in both directions) of "interpretatur". In any case, the series of Old Testament prophecies at the beginning of Arnaldus' Tractatus link together two series of concrete "facts": those regarding the life of Christ, which are known through the Gospels, and those regarding Mercury, of which there is experiential knowledge in alchemical procedures. Put differently, the words of the prophets are fulfilled both in the real story of Christ and in the concrete process of the lapis-elixir, the savior of matter. Therefore, Christ's dealings explain and even orient the concrete phases of the opus. It is no surprise that this text was cited by Jean de Roquetaillade, who concretely incarnated this cluster of symbols in his 'persona', since he himself was both prophet and alchemist29.

5. Alchemy and /riendship with God

Thomas Aquinas did not have the same textual knowledge and inter· pretative mastery of the alchemic literature circulating in the West in the thirteenth century as his brethren and Vincent of Beauvais, and he certainly did not know the , another fundamental text of alchemy that had arrived in the West from the Islamic world already in the eleventh/twelfth century. And even if the references to alchemy in his works were occasional and incidental, Thomas is nevertheless credited30 with a small corpus of alchemic writ·

29 See G. CIOLA, Giovanni di Rupescissa: autobiografia) profezia e leggenda, in "Micro­ logus", 21, 2013, pp. 517-578. 30 See C. CRISCIANI, Tommaso, pseudo-Tommaso e Γ alchimia. Per un)z'ndagine su un corpus alchemz'co, in Α GfHSALBERΊΊ et al. (eds), Letture e interpretaziont· di Tommaso d)Aquino oggi: cantieri aperti (Quaderni di ''AnnaliChieresi"), Torino 2007, pp. 103-119; Α. CALVET, Recherches sur le platont'sme mέdiέval dans les oeuvres alcht'miques attribuέes α Roger 30 C. Crisciani ings, including a brief, selective but acute commentary (attributed to him prematurely31) specifically on the Turba32, a very important text in the alchemic tradition. Α kind of prologue-introduction preceding the actual commentary33 is particularly interesting (with a discussion and definition of what constitutes alchemy) and begins with a scriptural ref­ erence to the Book of Wzsdom (a book of the Old Testament). Alchemy is a scientia sive ars alterandi (science or art of alteration) which deals with elementary transformations34; more specifically, the intentio of this art is to teach, "how all mineral bodies transmute from one species to another"35. But in a more general sense, alchemy is first of all a "noble and occult science that philosophers call the 'second philosophy', that is the sister of philosophy"36. Its excellence stems from the very elevated object forming its apex, the lapzs philosophicus, primary principle and agent of perfection. At this point the author proposes a highly significant

Bacon, Thomas dΆquin et Arnaud de Villeneuve, in "Revue des sciences ρhilosophiques et theologiques", 87, 2003, 3, in particular § III.3. 31 This cornrnent is noted, as the only work ascribed to Thomas included at the time in the "catalogue of S. Procolo", which is an 'Έxemplum librorurn quos habet reverendus frater Dominicus monacus monasterii sancti Proculi de Bononia", the list, that is, of the books (alchemic) in his possession. The "catalogue" is ρart of the collection of alchemical texts in Palermo, Biblioteca Comunale, ms. 4 Qq Α 10: see S.H. THOMSON, The Text of 's Ars Alchemie, in 'Όsiris", 5, 1938, in particular pp. 523-529. 32 The comment is testified in various manuscripts. The present author used: Vene­ zia, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, ms. lat. Vl.215 (3599), fols lr-19r; also see Berlin, Preussischen Staadtsbibliotheck, ms. lat. 532, fols 147v-164v; also see ]. RusΚA, Turba philosophorum. Ez"n Bez"trag zur Geschichte der Alchemze, Berlin 1931, in particular pp. 93-94. See for the edition ]. fumNΛNUS (RH:ε!NLAND; the edition is better known under the name of the other of the two editors, Η. CoNDEESYANUS), Harmonia chymico-phi!osophz"cae . .. Deca.ς Π, Francfort 1625, Π, pp. 243-278; the text here is significantly corrupted: it was compared with the Venetian manuscript. 33 Ibzd., pp. 243-253; regarding the commentary (discussing its anomalies and alchemic doctrines) see C. CRISCIANI, Commenti in alchimia. Problemz� con/ronti, anomalie, in G. FIORAVANΠ et al. (eds), Π commento /iloso/ico nel!Όcczdente latino (secolt" XIII-XV), Turnout 2002, in particular pp. 76-79.

34 Ibid., p. 249: "est docere ... quomodo omnia mineralia corρora transmutentur de una sρecie in aliam ... " .

35 Ibid., pp. 250-251.

36 Ibid., ρρ. 248-249: "scientia nobilis et occulta, quae a ρhilosophis dicitur secunda philosohia, scilicet soror philosophiae". This deftnition-qualification is normally reserved to medicine by texts of the Alexandrian school, and it is adoρted in the Etymologiae by Isidore of Seville. Ι am not aware of other cases of this epithet applied to alchemy. Alchemy and Christian Relίgiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 31

analogy37: Just as God is the first principle, just as science that deals with it is the philosohia prima, just as man reaches God by the only path per­ mitted to him, namely starting with his senses, so the alchemicallapis is the first principle of this "science, because as God created and governs things, in the same manner this thing, the principle of this science, also creates and governs of all things in this art, and without it nothing is achieved"38• Possessing such eminent characteristics, it follows that alchemy should be defined not as secunda but as "first philosophy, since just like in the first philosophy, that is in metaphysics, God is the subject, as first principle and first mover; likewise in this science ... its first principle, is the subject, which is said to resemble God in this science"39 If certain aspects of alchemy and metaphysics correspond by analogy, the learning process in both will be similar. It must be remembered however that "there are certain things that are very true in this art and manifest to the senses, but that nevertheless exceed all faculties of human nature and cannot be demonstrated by natural philosophers"40. Therefore also in this text, the opus for formulating the lapis partly ex­ ceeds reason and logical argumentation and has roots beyond the natural, it is also a donum (gift), but it nevertheless appears very clearly in its realization, as a concrete "fact", endowed with perceivable and bodily evidence. Also worth noting is the difference between this analogical

37 The criterion of analogy is explicitly introduced on pp. 245 and 248; see Β. 0BRIST,

Les rapports d)analogie entre philosophie et alchimie midtivale, in J.G. MARGOLIN - S. ΜΑΤΤΟΝ (eds), Alchimie et pht'losophz·e d !α Renaissance, Paris 1993, pp. 43-64.

38 Harmonia chymico-phzΊosophicae, p. 25ι "scientia, quia sicut Deus est omnium cre­ ator et gubernator, sic et ista res quae huius scientae est principium et est creatrix et gubernatrix omnium rerum in hac arte, et absque ea ad nihilum devenitur".

39 Ibt'd.: " ... prima philosophia, quia sicut in prima philosophia scilicet metaphisica, tractatur de Deo, id est de primo ρrincipio sive de prima causa: Sic etiam in ista scien­ tia ... tractaur de primo principio istius scientiae, quod Deus huius similis appellatur".

�ο See ibid., p. 247: "quaedam enim verissima sunt in ista arte et sensibus manifesta, quae tamen omnem facultatem excedunt humane naturae, et naturalibus possunt minime demonstrari". Here various methods are analyzed for refuting falsίty and pursuing truth (primary task of the wise) without referring to Scripture. The text continues: "Quaedam vero sunt ad quae ratio naturalis pertingere potest, licet non intelligantur a rudibus et ignorantibus secreta naturae. Quaedam autem sunt aliquo modo naturalia intellegibilia, quae humanae rationis penitus excedant ingenium, et evidentissime apparent". Strongly underlined here is both the difficulty of research, which does not permit everyone to achieve alchemic knowledge, and the imρortance of the 'ρerceivable ttuth' of the expe­ riential aspect of alchemy. 32 C. Cήsciani constructίon and the varίous ίnstances ίη alchemίcal texts that ίntroduce the Lapis-Chrίst analogy. The latter ίs essentίally ίndicatίve (and evoc­ atίve) of the concrete (hίstorίcal and operatίve) actίon of redemptίon/ salvation that both promote. Here ίnstead, the emphasis falls on the metaphysical-theologίcal role of the "first prίncίple". Fίnally, ίt must be noted how ίη a sort of ίtίnerary the Scrίptures (the Book of Wisdom) are the startίng poίnt and philosophy the destίnatίon (Arίstotelίan) by way of the junctίon of alchemy, which thus appears to partake in both dimensίons, ί.e. sapientia and knowledge. The culmίnatίon of thίs de­ velopment and of the analogίcal process descrίbed here ίs presented by the author as follows:

"The study of this higWy secret and most excellent science is more su blime because through it man has special access to the resemblance with God. He did all things in wisdom, and likewise a man having fully mastered this science can accomplish anythi ng that can be done in the world ... similarίty is cause for affection, and the study of this science brings one particularly close to God"41. The analogy that connects man (the alchemίst) and God ίη the functίons of creatίng and perfectίng42 matter, of "takίng care" of nature and ίmprov­ ing it, of almost acting together, thus establίshes other "resemblances" between them, and above all generates and ensures the solidity of the bond of love between them. The prίvileged path for establίshίng this relatίonship of collaboratίon and friendshίp consίstίng of dilectio (love) and sapientia (wisdom, knowledge) is alchemic research. Indeed, even Jean de Roquetaillade proposes the theme of the /amulatus, ί.e. the ίn­ credίble resemblance of alchemίc philosophy to the Gospel of Chrίst43, and specifies that "nobody ίs capable of achίevίng the most sublime stages of thίs art unless theίr mind has been deίfied through very deep

41 Ibid., p. 245: "Sublimius etiam est studium ipsius secretissimae et excellentίssimae scientiae, quia ρer ipsum homo praecipue ad divinam si militudinem accedit. Ν am omnia in sapientia fecit, sic homo perfectus in ista scientia, omnia qu ae fieri in mundo possunt, perficere potest ... unde similitudo est causa di lectionis: hu ius ergo scientiae studium

praecipue Deo per amicitiam coniungit ..." . 42 Reference was already rnade to the alchemist as co-operator, or rather as co-creator. This conception is herrnetic in origin : it is particularly clear in the Asclepius, a dialogue between Herrnes and the disciple, a work well known to Lati ns and wid ely used in naturalistic reflections in the twelfth century, in which the responsibility of man was underli ned (privilege and cornmitrnent attributed to hirn by God) in the task of "looking after" nature.

43 See Iohannes ΟΕ RUPESCISSA, De consideratione quintae essentiae, Basileae 1561 (anast. repr. Paris 2003) , p. 144. .Alche my an d Chris tian Re ligio usnes s: The Latin Middle Ages 33 contemplation and a very saintly life"44 These texts reiterate the con­ nection between the almost miraculous exceptionality of the lapis (the product of alchemy), the alchemic science (outcome also of illumination and very close to the Gospels and the theological path), and the lastly also ethical and religious uplifting of the follower-creator.

6. Alchemy and Scripture

Another very interesting text attributed-again completely arbitrarily-to Thomas Aquinas is the fourteenth-century Aurora consurgens45, ίη which again wisdom, friendship, and love of God through alchemy, are the underlying theme that coordinates a very evocative set of theories, mys­ tically inspired impulses, and symbolic amplifications. The culmination is the identifϊcation of alchemy with wisdom and the unifying "amorous" elevation of the alchemist towards wisdom itself (in fact passages from the Song ο/ Songs are prevalent in this section), aηd thus towards God. Furthermore, the material nature of the text of Aurora (ίη the fϊrst and best known section46) is an interweaving of scriptural passages and al­ chemic sentences, an interweaving that fu lly expresses both the reciprocal interchangeability of the two linguistic registers and-above all-the singular (albeit dual) message that a thus construed text conveys. This text is certainly the best concrete expression, ίη its own material nature, of what Petrus Bonus sustained on the basis of his readings of numer­ ous alchemic texts. Not only that alchemy, this divine and unique art,

. 44 Ibzd., ρp. 100-101: "nul lu s valet ad sublimίa huius artis pe rve nire nis i fue rit per altissim am contemρlatίonem et sa nct issimam vitam de ific ata mens eius" . This tex t by Jea n de Roquetaillade also starts (p. 8) with a reference to te xt of the Sapientz"a (Book ο/ Wisdom) and the gift of scientia by God; he also de clares (p. 102) having le amed the al che m ic-pharmaceutic al do ctri ne reg arding the qui ntessence that was ab out to propose "per subl imes theorias et illumi nat iones caelestes". 45 The tex t of the first part of Aurora waspubl ishe d with a commentary by the fol lower of C.G. Jung, M.L. VON FRANZ, Α Document attributed to Thomas . Aquinas on the Problem ο/ Opposztes in Alchemy, New Yo rk 1966: see C. CRISCIANI - ) Μ. PEREIRA, Άurora Consurgens : un dosszer aperto, in C. LEONARDI - F. SΑΝΠ (e ds), Natura) scienze e soczetd medievali. Studi in onore dz· Agostino Paravicini Baglianz·, Firenze 2008, pp. 67-150.

46 As the essay just cite d trie d to de mons trate, Aurora is a unitary text, div ided into two parts. In the edit ion by Pίetr o Pema (Auri/erae artis . authores ... sive Tu rba phz"­ losophorum, 2 vols, Basile a 1572, vol. 1, pp. 199-266) only the second part is printed (see below). 34 C. Crisciani

"attracts all the other arts and sciences to it and mixes with them"; not only that the ancient alchemists were also prophets; and therefore the ancient prophets also possessed this art and "mixed it with the words of God" such that "in the books of the philosophers we see many of the prophets quoted who mixed this art with their main topic". In ad­ dition to all this, it must be acknowledged that "this science is divine and capable of interweaving mystically with all the others"47 This is what programmatically happens in Aurora. It is also what was clearly understood by Pietro Perna48, a famous sixteenth-century publisher also of alchemic works, when he had judged this text to have certainly been written by an extremely pious and simultaneously impious author. Perna observed how the author forces and bends the words of the Scriptures (and the religious mysteries, even those of the incarnation and death of Christ, and of the Trinity) in such a way that they appear to have been written solely to honor and praise the alchemic art'19• Apart from Pema's censorship, the words used in Aurora, charged with resonances and a dual tradition (alcbemic and Scriptural), are perhaps the most appropriate ones to communicate-with an analogical-evocative style50-the vibrating "images" and the amplifying effect produced by the intertwining of a plurality of linguistic codes, the upward movement towards perfection that involves matter, the operator's spirit, and his yearning to reach the divine. In fact, Aurora is not an extravagance or isolated work. While it certainly stands out for its suggestive incisiveness and beauty, it clearly falls into a category of texts within alchemic literature referred to as "visionary". At the start of the fourteenth century these

47 Petrus BoNUS, Pretiosa margarita, ρp. 4, 34: "(alchemy) omnes artes et scientias ad se trahat, et immesceat se eis"; "eam dictis Domini intermiscuerunt"; "in libris philo­ sophorum plures prophetarum vidimus allegatos, qui in suo principali proposito haoc artem intermiscuerunt"; 'Ίsta enim scientia est divina, et cum reliquis mystice ρatitur implicari".

48 See L. PERmi, La vita e i tempi di Pietro Perna, Roma 2002. 49 ArttS aunferae, p. 183: 'Άmice Lector, scias nos consulto praeterίsse integrum tractatum Parabolarum sive allegoriarum ..., quibus allegoriis ... totam fere sacrosanctam Scripturam, Salomonis praesertim, et Psaltes ipsius scripta, maxime vero Cantica cantίco­ rum, a1legorice ad Alchirniam etiam invita detraxit auctor, ita ut nulla alia de causa, illa omnia scήpta esse videantur (si hiuc credimus) quam in honorem et laudem Alchimiae".

5° For a historical-critical interpretation fo cused on the concord between alchemic and mystical experience, see Μ. PEREIRA, Principio /emminile e rinnovamento del mondo nell"Άurora consurgensJ), in C.A. CICALI et al. (eds), Rinnovamento e mistero, Napoli - Roma - Milano 1999, pp. 96-113. Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 35 included a number of very attractive, suggestive, and evocative writings, which were η ση the less carefully "crafted", meditated, and composed. Despite their symbolic content and the representation of mystic and "visionary" experiences, they were no less connected to the operative content of the true alchemic experience'1 (as testified in the albeit rather generic technical instructions that conclude each parable in Aurora). It is therefore possible also in this case to delineate the structure of Aurora without diminishing its-also symbolic-emotive-tension. It starts with an introduction followed by seven "parables" that "describe" the practical phases of the alchemic opus for the preparation of the lapzs. The regenerating power of reality, of diffusive salvation in the multiplicatιo (or ), which belongs to the vital and perfect lapis, becomes manifest in the end and culminates in a surge of amorous union52 and is consequently expressed using the words of the Song of Songs. This text, so dear to the Christian mystics, is the possible expression of many forms and relations of love. It was the same text that Thomas himself, after having defined his entire doctrinal production as 'Ώο more than straw" (according to his biographers Reginald of Pipemo and William of Tocco), was to commentate with his last words ση his deathbed.

7. Men ο/ the church and alchemy

Finally, the question of the attitude of the men of the Church53 towards alchemy and particularly regarding the religious aspects present in these works and in other similar texts to those discussed here, must be an­ swered at least briefly.

51 Among these the Visio attributed to John Dastin (ed. in J.J. MANGET [ed.ι Biblio­ theca Chemica Curiosa, vol. 2, pρ. 324-326), which cannot be reduced to clear formulaic instructions, but in which it is also possible to read the underlying doctrinal-operative proρosals of Dastin in his Rosarium, presented in a more traditional form; also the Parabole or Exempla in arte philosophorum, attributed to and already discussed here.

52 An obligatory reference in this respect, though expressed in different words and tone, is the dilectio (love) and amicztia {friendship) between rnan and God, propounding alchemy and underlined enthusiastically in the prologue to the Commento alla Tu rba (see above) . 53 See in general C. CRISCIΆNI, Ι!papa e l'alchimia. Felice V, Gugliemlmo Fabri e l'elixir, Roma 2002 (with a critical edition of Gugliehno FABRI, Liber de lapide philosophorum), in particular chap. 3 (this book also provides a good bibhography regarding the questions and ρroblems that follow). 36 C. Crisciani

It should be noted that, when browsing through catalogues of alchemic manuscripts, one immediately notices how many were written by or are attributed to fr iars. Α number are dedicated to popes, prelates, or important figures in the Curia. The efforts of the Dominican Albertus Magnus and the Franciscan Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century to assess and in a certain sense even to establish (each in a different manner, but with equal enthusiasm) the legitimacy of these studies ίη authentic works are also noteworthy. It is also true though, that certain Chapters of the various religious orders issued more or less restrictive prescriptions, prohibiting their members to profess, practice, study, or read about alchemy. These sometimes mention the scandalosa pericula (scandalous dangers) that can derive from them54 Α decretal of Pope John ΧΧΙΙ (Spondent quas non exhzbent, 1317)55 prohibits metallurgical alchemy. Yet similar prohibitions were issued, for example, ίη relation to practicing medicine with the primary purpose of concentrating the energies of the brethren on their true duties, the care of souls, rather than dissipating their energy in these more profane activities, fruit of futile curiositas. Similar prohibitions were occasionally even issued by various lay authorities. The repetitiveness of these injunctions, almost as plati­ tudes, proves their lack of effectiveness and how far they were ignored. Even the Papal decretal hardly circulated and was rarely applied56• As already stated, the decretal regarded only metallurgical alchemy and-like the various jurists who discussed the alchemists' activities-expressed the concern that alchemists adulterated metals with fraudulent tricks and that the gold and silver they produced were in fact not the same as the natural ones, with all the economic and monetary damage that could derive from this. Νaturally, the alchemists-or at least some of them-were aware of these suspicions and used various methods and often acute subtlety to demonstrate that their results were the outcome of a close collaboration with nature, i.e. the results of technical skills that had successfully infiltrated the natural processes. The precious metals possibly produced are therefore simultaneously natural and artificial, but

54 See ibid., pp. 45 -54.

55 Pub. in Decretales extravagantes, in Corpus iuris canonicz, ed. by Ε. FRIEDBERG, Graz, 1959, vol. 2, p. 1295.

Jό See for instance the work of the sixteenth century jurist in Iohannes Chrysippus FANIANUS, De iure ar�zj· alchemiae, ρub. inJ.J. MANGET (ed.), Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa, vol. 1, pp. 210-216; see F. MIGLIORINO, Alchimza lecita e illecita nel Trecento: Oldrado da Ponte, in "Quaderni medievali", 11, 1981, pp. 6-41. Alchemy and Christian Religiousness: The Latin Middle Ages 37

always identical in their properties to the natural ones found in rnines. The alchemists themselves admitted the presence of people capable of fraudulent artifices (and some procedures for the adulteration of metals are also recorded), but such misdeeds certainly do not invalidate the research of true alchemists, who were honest and studious.

At the end of the fourteenth century, the Inquisitor of Nicholas Eymerich (a proud and bitter contestant of any heterodox movement or inquiry such as , Lullism, necromancy, etc.) wrote an Epis­ tola contra alchimistas57to his fr iend Abbot de Rosis. His contestations regarded only metallurgical alchemy and were based only on the use of scriptural passages. (Meanwhile in the West "elixir alchemy" was gaining ground, proposed for the perfection of metals, but also as medical alche­ my striving to heal the human organism and to extend life.) However, Eymerich demonstrated a rather generic knowledge of the purposes of the alchemic art and did not use or cite any profane authors.

In principle, Eymerich denies that it is possible to imitate or modify the perfect order of creation, which exists in its current state because God wanted it. Whoever, like the alchemists, attempts to do so must fail, and cannot avoid entrusting themselves sinfully and iniquitously, as well as uselessly and after desperate vain attempts, to the help of the Devil. The alchemists therefore necessarily mislead their fellow men and the authorities, but they are themselves the first to be misled, while also falling into the mortal sin of making a "pact with the Devil ", of dulia (veneration given to a creature) and latrιa (adoration of a false God). Eymerich makes an interesting analogy with the Beghard heretics, who (in his view) fraudulently exhibited an emaciated appearance in order to attract the naive. This false mortification of which they were so proud could be rightly compared with the pallor of alchemists resulting from their vain, pointless, harmful, and exhausting efforts. Their pale fraudulent gold could be considered a heretical imitation of the true gold created by God. The short circuit between alchemy and heresy was clearly ready to trigger. But it did not happen. There is no question about Eymerich's attempt to shift the debate ση alchemy fr om the neutral epistemological discussion, in which doubts and perplexities were countered with artic­ ulate answers and firsthand testimonies, to the much more menacing level of heresy and inquisitional investigation. However, his Epistola is

57 Nicola EYMERIC, Epistola contra Alchimistas, ed. S. ΜΑτ τοΝ, in "Chrysopoeia", 1, 1987, pp. 101-134. 38 C. Crisciani found in just two manuscripts and does not appear to have been widely distributed, nor to have rallied subsequent supporters or proponents.

In this generally rather ambivalent context without drastic widespread condemnation, the fact that the audacity of certain combinations and entwinements between alchemy and religiousness were never denounced as such is perhaps the most striking and potentially disturbing for modern readers of the Medieval texts presented here. & far as Ι can establish, it was not until Perna's scrupulous perplexity that it was considered in any way heterodox or suspect and dangerous in doctrinal terms. This applies even to the likes of Eymerich, who had the instruments and the acrimonious meticulousness to perceive this and potentially stigmatize it as another serious error/sin of the alchemists. He condemns them in toto and without remedy, yet not because of the conflicts between alchemy and religiousness, but because the order of the species wanted by God cannot and must not be modified.

As these texts circulated (even if in non-institutionalized forms) and were presumably also read by spiritual pastors and not only alchemists, it can only be assumed (until new evidence to the contrary, which is always possible) that our post-Reformation sensibility (and above all after the scientific revolution in which science and religion are ever more clearly separated) frowns upon a relationship that was not considered incongruous in the Latin Middle Ages at least until the fifteenth century.