DOCSLIB.ORG

The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE „CORNELL UNfVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 287 113 Cornell University ml Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092287113 THE HERMETIC AND ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF PARACELSUS. : THE HERMETIC AND ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS OF AUREOLUS PHILIPPUS THEOPHRASTUS BOMBAST, OF HOHENHEIM, CALLED PARACELSUS THE GREAT. NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME FAITHFULLY TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH. EDITED WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL PREFACE, ELUCIDATORY NOTES, A COPIOUS HERMETIC VOCABULARY, AND INDEX, By ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. HERMETIC MEDICINE and HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY. fLonbou JAME.S ELLIOTT AND CO., TEMPLE CHAMBERS, FALCON COURT, FLEET STREET, E.G. l8q4. fll TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME IL PART II. HERMETIC MEDICINE. PAGE. The Archidoxies of Theophrastus Paracelsus. Book the First: concerning the Mystery of the Microcosm ... 3 Book the Second : concerning the Separation of the Elements 10 Book the Third : on the Separation of the Elements from Metals 15 Concerning the Separation of the Elements out of Marchasites. Concerning the Separa- tion of the Elements from Stones. Concerning the Separation of the Elements from Oleaginous Substances. Concerning the Separation of the Elements in Corporeal Resins. Concerning the Separation of the Elements from Herbs. Concerning the Separation of the Elements from Fleshly Substances. The Separation of the Elements from Fishes. Con- cerning the Separation of the Elements from Watery Substances. Concerning the Separation of the Elements out of Water. Concerning the Separation of the Elements from Glasses and those Substances which are of the Nature of Glass. Concerning the Separation of the Elements in Fixed Substances. Concerning the Separation of Fire. Concerning the Separation of Air. Concerning the Separation of Water. Concerning the Separation of the Earth. Book the Fourth: concerning the Quintessence ... ... 22 Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Metals. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Marchasites. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Salts. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Stones, from Gems, and from Pearls. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Burning Things. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence out of Growing Things. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Spices. Concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence from Eatables and Drinkables. Book the Fifth : concerning Arcana ... ... ... ... 37 Concerning the Arcanum of the Primal Matter. Concerning the Arcanum of the Philo- sophers' Stone. Concerning the Mercurius Vitae. Concerning the Arcanum of the Tincture. Book the Sixth: concerning Magisteries ... ... ... ... 48 Concerning the Extraction of the Magistery from Metals. The Extraction of the Magis- tery out of Pearls, Corals, and Gems. Concerning the Extraction of the Magistery out of Marchasites. Concerning the Extraction of the Magistery from Fatty Substances. The Extraction of the Magistery from Growing Things. Concerning the Extraction of the Magistery out of Blood. : vi. The Her7nettc and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus, PAGE. Book the Seventh : concerning Specifics ... ... ... ... 59 Concerning the Odoriferous Specific. Concerning the Anodyne Specific. Concerning the Diaphoretic Specific. Concerning the Purgative Specific. Concerning the Attractive Specific. Concerning the Styptic Specific. Concerning the Corrosive Specifics. Concerning the Specific of the Matrix. Book the Eighth : concerning- Elixirs ... ... ... ... 69 On Preservation and Conservation by Elixirs. Concerning the First Elixir, that is, of Balsam. Concerning the Elixir of Salt, by the force of which the body is conserved. Con- cerning the Third Elixir, namely, of Sweetness. Concerning the Fourth Elixir, which is that of Quintessences. The Fifth Elixir is that of Subtlety. The Sixth Elixir, which Is that of Propriety. Book the Ninth: concerning External Diseases... ... ... 77 A Remedy for Wounds. A Remedy for Ulcer. A Remedy against Spots. Book the Tenth : the Key of Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast von Hohenheim, from a German Manuscript Codex of Great Antiquity. Comprised in a Preface and Ten Separate Chapters ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Si The Preface. Chapter I. : concerning the Separation of the Elements. Chapter II. concerning the Quintessence. Chapter III. : concerning Magisteries. The Preparation of Circulated Salt. Chapter IV. : concerning First Entities ; and primarily concerning the Extraction of the Quintessence or First Entity of Common Mercury. Chapter V. : con- cerning Arcana. Chapter VI. ; concerning the Arcanum of the Stone, or of the Heaven of the Metals. Chapter VII. : concerning the Arcanum of the Mercurius Vitse. Chapter VIII. : concerning the Great Composition, being the chief of our secrets in medicine. Chapter IX. : concerning the Corporal Balsam, or Mercury of the Sun. Chapter X. : concerning the Composition of the Spiritual Balsam, and of the Balsam of the Coagulated Body. The Manual or Treatise concerning the Medicinal Philosophic Stone 94 Preface to the Reader, The Preparation of the Matter of the Stone. The Remainder of the Preparation. The Use of the Stone. A Book concerning Long Life ... ... 108 The Book concerning Renovation and Restoration ... ... ... 124 The First Entity of Minerals. The First Entity of Gems. The First Entity of Herbs. The First Entity of Liquids. A Little Book concerning the Quintessence .,. j^^ Concerning the Quintessence out of Oil, also of the Salt of the same. Concerning the Oil or Quintessence of Silver and its Salt. Oil of Mars. Oil of Saturn. Oil and Salt of Jupiter. Of the Quintessence of Antimony. Concernihg Oil and Salt out of Marchasite. Oil out of Common Salt. Oil and Salt of Coral, also of Cr^'stal. Oil and Salt of Pearls. Of the Essence and Salt of Things growing on the Earth. The Method of separating Oil and Salt from Oil of Olives. Red Water out of Oil of Olives. Manufacture of Salt from the Red Water. Method of Extracting the Oil and Salt from Pepper. Oil out of Gums. Preparation of Colocynth. of Medicine Alchemy the Third Column 148 The Labyrinthus Medicorum concerning; the Book of Alchemy, without which no one can become a Physician ... ... jgo Table of Contents. Vll. PAGE. Concerning the Degrees and Compositions of Recipes and of Natural Things in Alchemy. The Preface of Theophrastus Eremite of Hohenheim to those • desirous of the Medical Art 169 Book the First 172 Book the Second 178 Book the Third .. 185 Book the Fourth 191 Book the Fifth 196 Concerning Preparations in Alchemical Medicine. Treatise I. : concerning Antimony and Marcasite of Silver, White and Red Cachimia, Fluidic and Solid Talc, Thutia, Calamine, and Litharge ... 199 Treatise II. : concerning Bloodstone, Arsenic, Sulphur, Saxi- frage, and Orpiment 208 Treatise III.: concerning Gems, transparent and otherwise; Corals, the Magnet, Crystal, Rubies, Garnets, Sapphires, Emeralds, Hyacinths, etc. 214 Treatise IV. : concerning Salts, including Sal Gemmae, Sal Entali, Sal Peregrinorum, Aluminous Salt, Sal Alkali, Sal Nitri, Sal Anatron, Sal Terrse, and Salt from Vitriol 219 Treatise V. : concerning Metals, namely, Gold, Silver, Tin, Copper, Iron, Lead, Mercury 225 The Alchemical Process and Preparation of the Spirit of Vitriol, by which the Four Diseases are cured, namely. Epilepsy, Dropsy, Small Pox; and Gout. To abolish those errors which are usually committed by Philosophers, Artists, and Physicians 231 The Process. An Addendum on Vitriol. Of the Oil of Red Vitriol. The White and Green Oil of Vitriol. The Alchemist of Nature, being the Spagyric Doctrine concerning the Entity of Poison 237 PART II. HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY. The Philosophy addressed to the Athenians. Book the First 249 viii. The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus. PAGE. Book the Second ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 263 Book THE Third 277 Hermetic Astronomy. Preface to the Interpretation of the Stars 282 The Interpretation of the Stars 284 The End of the Birth and the Consideration of the Stars 289 Concerning Man and the Matter out of which man was made. Astrology. Magic. Divination. Nigromancy. Signature. Uncertain Arts. Manual Art. Proof in Astrological Science. Proof in the Science of Magic. Proof in the Science of Divination. Proofs in Nigromancy. Proof in the Science of Signature. Proof in Uncertain Arts. The End of the Proof in Uncertain Arts. Proof in Manual Mathematical Science. Concerning the Know- ledge of Star5. Another Schedule. Schedule concerning the Proof of Magic. APPENDICES. Appendix I.: concerning the Three Prime Essences ... ... ... 317 Appendix II. : a Book concerning Long Life. Book the First ... 323 Book the Second 332 Book the Third 339 Book the Fourth 344 Appendix III. : a Short Lexicon of Alchemy, explaining the chief Terms used by Paracelsus and other Hermetic Philosophers ... 348 Index 387 PART II. Hermetic Medicine. — THE ARCHIDOXIES OF THEOPHRASTUS PARACELSUS. BOOK I. Concerning the Mystery of the Microcosm.! my dearest sons, we consider the misery by which we are detained in a IF, gross and gloomy dwelling, exposed to hunger and to many and various accidents, from all sources, by which we are overwhelmed and surrounded, we see that we could scarcely flourish, or even live, so long as we followed the medicine prescribed by the ancients. Kor
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Alchemical Culture and Poetry in Early Modern England
    Alchemical culture and poetry in early modern England PHILIP BALL Nature, 4–6 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW, UK There is a longstanding tradition of using alchemical imagery in poetry. It first flourished at the end of the sixteenth century, when the status of alchemy itself was revitalised in European society. Here I explain the reasons for this resurgence of the Hermetic arts, and explore how it was manifested in English culture and in particular in the literary and poetic works of the time. In 1652 the English scholar Elias Ashmole published a collection of alchemical texts called Theatrum Chymicum Britannicum, comprising ‘Several Poeticall Pieces of Our Most Famous English Philosophers’. Among the ‘chemical philosophers’ represented in the volume were the fifteenth-century alchemists Sir George Ripley and Thomas Norton – savants who, Ashmole complained, were renowned on the European continent but unduly neglected in their native country. Ashmole trained in law, but through his (second) marriage to a rich widow twenty years his senior he acquired the private means to indulge at his leisure a scholarly passion for alchemy and astrology. A Royalist by inclination, he had been forced to leave his London home during the English Civil War and had taken refuge in Oxford, the stronghold of Charles I’s forces. In 1677 he donated his impressive collection of antiquities to the University of Oxford, and the building constructed to house them became the Ashmolean, the first public museum in England. Ashmole returned to London after the civil war and began to compile the Theatrum, which was intended initially as a two-volume work.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction: the Nation and the Spectral Wandering Jew
    Notes Introduction: The Nation and the Spectral Wandering Jew 1. According to legend, Christ was driven from Ahasuerus's doorstep where he stopped to rest. In response to the jew's action of striking him while shouting, 'Walk faster!', Christ replied, 'I go, but you will walk until I come again!' (Anderson, Legend: 11). By way of this curse, Christ figuratively transferred his burdensome cross to the jew. 2. As Hyam Maccoby explains, 'One of the strongest beliefs of medieval Christians was that the Second Coming of Christ could not take place until the Jews were con­ verted to Christianity. (Marvell's "till the conversion of the jews" means simply "till the millennium".) The Jews, therefore, had to be preserved; otherwise the Second Coming could not take place' (239). According to Michael Ragussis, British conversionist societies justified their activities by claiming to 'aid in this divine plan, and with a kind of reverse logic their establishment was viewed as a sign of the proximity of the Second Coming' (Figures: 5). 3. Roger of Wendover's Flores historiarwn and Matthew Paris's Chrmzica majora from . the early thirteenth century provide all of the details of the legend, but the transgressor in their versions is Pilate's doorkeeper, a Roman named Cartaphilus, and not a Jew (Anderson, Legend 16-21). \Vhile in certain Italian versions of this tale the accursed wanderer is a Jew (19), he is not described as Jewish in the British legend until the early seventeenth century. The conjunction between the entry of this legend and Jews into England is in keeping with N.J.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Herbs: a Remedy for Cardiovascular Disorders
    ARTICLE IN PRESS JID: PHYMED [m5G;December 4, 2015;15:27] Phytomedicine 000 (2015) 1–8 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Phytomedicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/phymed Traditional herbs: a remedy for cardiovascular disorders Subha Rastogi∗, Madan Mohan Pandey, A.K.S. Rawat Pharmacognosy & Ethnopharmacology Division, CSIR- National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow 226 001, India article info abstract Article history: Background: Medicinal plants have been used in patients with congestive heart failure, systolic hypertension, Received 1 September 2015 angina pectoris, atherosclerosis, cerebral insufficiency, venous insufficiency and arrhythmia since centuries. Accepted 22 October 2015 A recent increase in the popularity of alternative medicine and natural products has revived interest in tradi- Available online xxx tional remedies that have been used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Keywords: Aim: The purpose of this review is to provide updated, comprehensive and categorized information on the Cardiovascular disorders history and traditional uses of some herbal medicines that affect the cardiovascular system in order to explore Medicinal plants their therapeutic potential and evaluate future research opportunities. Allium sativum Methods: Systematic literature searches were carried out and the available information on various medici- Commiphora wightii nal plants traditionally used for cardiovascular disorders was collected via electronic search (using Pubmed, Crataegus oxyacantha SciFinder, Scirus, GoogleScholar, JCCC@INSTIRC and Web of Science) and a library search for articles published Terminalia arjuna in peer-reviewed journals. No restrictions regarding the language of publication were imposed. Results: This article highlights the cardiovascular effects of four potent traditional botanicals viz. Garlic (Al- lium sativum), Guggul (Commiphora wightii), Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) and Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna).
    [Show full text]
  • The Roman Army in the Third Century Ad Lukas De Blois My Issue In
    INTEGRATION OR DISINTEGRATION? THE ROMAN ARMY IN THE THIRD CENTURY A.D. Lukas de Blois My issue in this paper is: what was the main trend within the Roman military forces in the third century ad? Integration, or disintegration into regional entities? This paper is not about cultural integration of ethnic groups in multicultural parts of the Roman Empire, such as the city of Rome, thriving commercial centres, and border regions to which the armies had brought people from various parts of the Empire, and where multicultural military personnel lived together with indigenous groups, craftsmen from different origins, and immigrants from commercially active regions, either in canabae adjacent to castra stativa, or in garrison towns, as in the Eastern parts of the Empire. In variatio upon an issue raised by Frederick Naerebout in another paper published in this volume, I might ask myself in what sense an army, which in the third century ad was progressively composed of ethnically and culturally different units, kept functioning as an integrated entity, or in actual practice disintegrated into rivalling, particularistic regional forces whose actual or potential competition for money and supplies con- stantly threatened peace and stability in the Empire, particularly in times of dangerous external wars, when the need for supplies increased. The discussion should start with Septimius Severus. After his victories over Pescennius Niger, some tribes in northern Mesopotamia, and Albinus in Gaul, Severus had to replenish the ranks of his armies, for example at the Danube frontiers, which had yielded many men to Severus’ field armies and his new praetorian guard.
    [Show full text]
  • A Lexicon of Alchemy
    A Lexicon of Alchemy by Martin Rulandus the Elder Translated by Arthur E. Waite John M. Watkins London 1893 / 1964 (250 Copies) A Lexicon of Alchemy or Alchemical Dictionary Containing a full and plain explanation of all obscure words, Hermetic subjects, and arcane phrases of Paracelsus. by Martin Rulandus Philosopher, Doctor, and Private Physician to the August Person of the Emperor. [With the Privilege of His majesty the Emperor for the space of ten years] By the care and expense of Zachariah Palthenus, Bookseller, in the Free Republic of Frankfurt. 1612 PREFACE To the Most Reverend and Most Serene Prince and Lord, The Lord Henry JULIUS, Bishop of Halberstadt, Duke of Brunswick, and Burgrave of Luna; His Lordship’s mos devout and humble servant wishes Health and Peace. In the deep considerations of the Hermetic and Paracelsian writings, that has well-nigh come to pass which of old overtook the Sons of Shem at the building of the Tower of Babel. For these, carried away by vainglory, with audacious foolhardiness to rear up a vast pile into heaven, so to secure unto themselves an immortal name, but, disordered by a confusion and multiplicity of barbarous tongues, were ingloriously forced. In like manner, the searchers of Hermetic works, deterred by the obscurity of the terms which are met with in so many places, and by the difficulty of interpreting the hieroglyphs, hold the most noble art in contempt; while others, desiring to penetrate by main force into the mysteries of the terms and subjects, endeavour to tear away the concealed truth from the folds of its coverings, but bestow all their trouble in vain, and have only the reward of the children of Shem for their incredible pain and labour.
    [Show full text]
  • Wonder Woman Daughter of Destiny
    WONDER WOMAN: DAUGHTER OF DESTINY Story by Jean Paul Fola Nicole, Christopher Johnson and Edmund Birkin Screenplay By Jean Paul Nicole, and Andrew Birkin NUMBERED SCRIPT 1st FIRST DRAFT 1/3/12 I279731 Based On DC Characters WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC. 4000 Warner Boulevard Burbank, California 91522 © 2012 WARNER BROS. ENT. All Rights Reserved ii. Dream Cast Lol. Never gonna happen. Might as well go all in since I'm "straight" black male nerd living in a complete fantasy world writing about Wonder Woman. My cast Diana Wonder Woman - Naomi Scott Ares - Daniel Craig Dr. Poison - Saïd Taghmaoui Clio - Dakota Fanning Mala - Riki Lindhome IO - Regina King Laurie Trevor - Beanie Feldstein Etta Candy - Zosia Mammet Hippolyta - Rebecca Hall Hera - Juliet Binoche Steve Trevor - Rafael Casal Gideon - James Badge Dale Antiope (In screenplay referred to as Artemis) - Nicole Beharie or Jodie Comer Dr. Gogan - Riz Ahmed Alkyone - Jennifer Carpenter or Jodie Comer or Nicole Beharie W O N D E R W O M A N - D A U G H T E R O F D E S T I N Y Out of AN OCEAN OF BLOOD RED a shape emerges. An EAGLE SYMBOL. BECOMING INTENSELY GOLDEN UNTIL ENGULFING THE SCREEN IN LIGHT. CROSS FADE: The beautiful FACE OF A WOMAN with fierce pride (30s). INTO FRAME She is chained by the neck and wrists in a filthy prison cell. DAYLIGHT seeps through prison bars. O.S. Battle gongs echo. Hearing gongs faint echo, her EYES WIDEN. PRISONER They've come for me. This is Queen Hippolyta queen of the Amazons and mother to the Wonder Woman.
    [Show full text]
  • The Silk Road in World History
    The Silk Road in World History The New Oxford World History The Silk Road in World History Xinru Liu 1 2010 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Liu, Xinru. The Silk Road in world history / Xinru Liu. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-19-516174-8; ISBN 978-0-19-533810-2 (pbk.) 1. Silk Road—History. 2. Silk Road—Civilization. 3. Eurasia—Commerce—History. 4. Trade routes—Eurasia—History. 5. Cultural relations. I. Title. DS33.1.L58 2010 950.1—dc22 2009051139 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Frontispiece: In the golden days of the Silk Road, members of the elite in China were buried with ceramic camels for carrying goods across the desert, hoping to enjoy luxuries from afar even in the other world.
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks Upon Alchemy and the Alchemists
    Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Research Library, The Getty Research Institute http://www.archive.org/details/remarksuponalcheOOhitc NEW THOUGTIT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION' No. REMARKS ALCHEMY AND THE ALCHEMISTS, INDICATIXG A METHOD OF DISCOVEKI^'G THE TEUE NATURE OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY; A^D SHOWING THAT THE SEARCH AFTER HAD NOT FOR ITS OBJECT THE DISCOVERY OF AN AGENT FOR THE TRANSMUTATION OF METALS. BEING ALSO AS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE FROM UNDESERVED OPPROBRIUM THE REPUTATION OF A CLASS OF EXTEAORDIXARY THINKEES IN PAST AGES. ' Man shall not live by bread alone." BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 111 Washington Street. 1857. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by Crosby, Nichols, and Company, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. cambsidge: metcalf and company, printers to the tjnrversitt. NE¥/ THOUGHT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION No. PEEFACE. ED.W. PARKER, L ittle Ruc k, Ark. It may seem superfluous in the author of the fol- lowing remarks to disclaim the purpose of re vivino- the study of Alchemy, or the method of teaching adopted by the Alchemists. Alchemical works stand related to moral and intellectual geography, some- what as the skeletons of ichthyosauri and plesio- sauri are related to geology. They are skeletons of thought in past ages. It is chiefly from this point of view that the writer of the following pages submits his opinions upon Alchemy to the public. He is convinced that the character of the Alchemists, and the object of their study, have been almost universally misconceived ; and as a matter of fact^ though of the past, he thinks it of sufficient importance to take a step in the right direction for developing the true nature of the studies of that extraordinary class of thinkers.
    [Show full text]
  • Directory of Incense Ingrediënts
    Directory of Incense ingrediënts Acacia -see Gum Arabic Agar Wood or Agarci Wood -see Oud Aloes resin. Not to be confused with the sweet smelling diseased wood known as Lignum Aloes, or Aloes Wood (which we stock under the name of Agar Wood). The name confusion arises from a mistranslation in the King James Authorised version of the Bible. Most biblical references simply to "Aloes" should be read as meaning "Lignum Aloes". The Aloes resin is prepared by boiling down the sap of Aloe ferrox -a plant similar to the better publicised Aloe vera. Smoulders to give off a strange green smoke, with a sweet, but "dark" smell. Aloes Wood -see Oud or Lignum Aloes Alum Alum is a white crystalline substance traditionally produced by processing certain rocks and clays. It has many uses such as a “mordant” (ie a fixative) in dying, and for curing animal skins. It is non-toxic. It is also one of the most useful chemicals in the incense-makers cupboard. Alum has no smell when smouldered (although it does have a slight lemon-sherbet taste). However, when ground up with herbs and used in incense it has the amazing property of bubbling up around the herb, and carrying the scent of that herb without the "bonfire" effect that you get if you try to burn the herb by itself. For making incense always use the lump or crystal form of Alum, as the grinding process breaks up the leaves of the herb. Powdered alum does not grind the herb and ends up with a paste.
    [Show full text]
  • The Paracelsians and the Chemists: the Chemical Dilemma in Renaissance Medicine
    Clio Medica, Vol7, No.3, pp. 185-199, 1972 The Paracelsians and the Chemists: the Chemical Dilemma in Renaissance Medicine ALLEN G. DEBUS* Accounts of Renaissance iatrochemistry have traditionally emphasized the con­ flict over the introduction of chemically prepared medicines. The importance of this cannot be denied, but the texts of the period indicate that this formed only part of a broader debate involving the relationship of chemistry to medicine - and indeed, to nature as a whole. The Paracelsian chemists argued forcefully that much - if not all - of the fabric of ancient medicine should be scrapped, and that a new medicine based on a chemical philosophy of the universe should be offered in its place. For them a proper understanding of the macrocosm and the microcosm would indicate to the true physician the correct cures for diseases. Others - who spoke with no less conviction of the benefits of chemistry for medicine - disagreed with the Paracelsians over the application of chemistry to cosmological problems. For these chemists the introduction of the new remedies and the Paracelsian principles were useful and necessary for the physician, but they were properly to be used along with the traditional Aristotelian-Galenic conceptual scheme. The purpose of the present paper is to give some indication of the deep divisions that separated chemical physicians from each other in this crucial period. By way of background it should be noted that most chemical physicians of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries did not consider their work to be entirely new. They openly drew upon the writings of Islamic physicians and alchemists as well as a host of Latin scholars of the Middle Ages who had turned to chemical operations as a basic tool for the preparation of medicines.
    [Show full text]
  • John Dee, Willem Silvius, and the Diagrammatic Alchemy of the Monas Hieroglyphica
    The Royal Typographer and the Alchemist: John Dee, Willem Silvius, and the Diagrammatic Alchemy of the Monas Hieroglyphica Stephen Clucas Birkbeck, University of London, UK Abstract: John Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica (1564) was a work which involved a close collaboration between its author and his ‘singular friend’ the Antwerp printer Willem Silvius, in whose house Dee was living whilst he composed the work and saw it through the press. This article considers the reasons why Dee chose to collaborate with Silvius, and the importance of the intellectual culture – and the print trade – of the Low Countries to the development of Dee’s outlook. Dee’s Monas was probably the first alchemical work which focused exclusively on the diagrammatic representation of the alchemical process, combining diagrams, cosmological schemes and various forms of tabular grid. It is argued that in the Monas the boundaries between typography and alchemy are blurred as the diagrams ‘anatomizing’ his hieroglyphic sign (the ‘Monad’) are seen as revealing truths about alchemical substances and processes. Key words: diagram, print culture, typography, John Dee, Willem Silvius, alchemy. Why did John Dee go to Antwerp in 1564 in order to publish his recondite alchemical work, the Monas Hieroglyphica? What was it that made the Antwerp printer Willem Silvius a suitable candidate for his role as the ‘typographical parent’ of Dee’s work?1 In this paper I look at the role that Silvius played in the evolution of Dee’s most enigmatic work, and at the ways in which Silvius’s expertise in the reproduction of printed diagrams enabled Dee to make the Monas one of the first alchemical works to make systematic use of the diagram was a way of presenting information about the alchemical process.
    [Show full text]
  • A Tale of Two Periods
    A tale of two periods Change and continuity in the Roman Empire between 249 and 324 Pictured left: a section of the Naqš-i Rustam, the victory monument of Shapur I of Persia, showing the captured Roman emperor Valerian kneeling before the victorious Sassanid monarch (source: www.bbc.co.uk). Pictured right: a group of statues found on St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, depicting the members of the first tetrarchy – Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius and Galerius – holding each other and with their hands on their swords, ready to act if necessary (source: www.wikipedia.org). The former image depicts the biggest shame suffered by the empire during the third-century ‘crisis’, while the latter is the most prominent surviving symbol of tetrar- chic ideology. S. L. Vennik Kluut 14 1991 VB Velserbroek S0930156 RMA-thesis Ancient History Supervisor: Dr. F. G. Naerebout Faculty of Humanities University of Leiden Date: 30-05-2014 2 Table of contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Sources ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Historiography ............................................................................................................................... 10 1. Narrative ............................................................................................................................................ 14 From
    [Show full text]