In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Franciscan friar John of Rupescissa sent a dramatic warning to his followers: the end times were coming; the apocalypse was near. Rupescissa's teachings were unique in his era. He claimed that knowledge of the natural world, and alche…
One of the major ambitions of medieval alchemists was to discover the elixir of life, a sovereign remedy capable not only of healing the body but transforming it. Given the widespread belief that care for the body came at the cost of care for the soul, it might seem surprising t…
"Il volume costituisce la prima edizione di un prezioso e raro manoscritto, corredato di una serie di figure emblematico-alchemiche, ascrivibile al XVII secolo e facente parte della collezione Verginelli-Rota della Biblioteca dell'Accademia dei Lincei di Roma."--Back inside flap…
A merchant of the marvelous -- A Batavian in Paris -- Essaying chymistry -- A new chymical light -- Chrysopoeia at the Acade̹mie and the Palais Royal -- Chymistry in Homberg's later years : practices, promises, poisons, and prisons -- Homberg's legacy -- Epilogue: Homberg and t…
