Alchemy, Alchemy--Early works to 1800, QD25 .J33 1541
First edition of a miscellaneous work on Alchemy which gathers some works of different authors, being Gebri, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, considered the... Show moreFirst edition of a miscellaneous work on Alchemy which gathers some works of different authors, being Gebri, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, considered the father of the Arab chemistry, the author who opens the volume which includes parts of four of his works. His treatises are followed by a short one, Speculum Alchemiae, traditionally credited to Roger Bacon, on the origin and composition of metals; a work by Richardus Anglicus; and another treatise of the Arab author Khalid ibn Yazid al-Umawi. The volume ends with the Tabula Smaragdina and its comment. The Tabula Smaragdina is a concise, compact and cryptic piece reputed to contain the secret of the prima materia and its transmutation, highly regarded by European alchemists as the foundation of their art. It is attributed to Hermes Trimegistus but, virtually all literature ascribed to this name is incorrectly so attributed. Although technically it is not the name of a real person in origin, it became regarded as such from early times. This text was a popular summary of alchemical principles, wherein the secrets of the philosopher's stone were thought to have been described. The last text of the whole edition is a commentary by the medieval alchemist Hortulanus, who composed his commentary before 1325. It is the second part of a work in which Hortulanus believes alcohol or quintessence is the hidden primordial heat in all material things. Signatures: aa-bb⁴, cc2, a-z⁴, A-Z⁴, & Woodcuts in initials; xilographic paintings Main Heritage Shelves General QD25 .J33 1541 Book Item-ID: i2150054x BIB-ID: 1946517 Some of the text are translated from Arabic. Show less
