A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 2 (of 2): During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our EraThorndike, Lynn
History
A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 2 (of 2): During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era
Thorndike, Lynn
Magic -- History; Science -- History
[780] Thus in _Auriferae artis quam chemiam vocant antiquissimi
authores_, Basel, 1572, pp. 387-99, a treatise which cites Morienus,
Rasis, and Avicenna is printed as _Tractatulus Aristotelis de Practica
lapidis philosophici_. Apparently the only reason for ascribing it to
Aristotle is that it cites “the philosopher” in its opening sentence,
“Cum omne corpus secundum philosophum aut est elementum aut ab
elementis generatum.”
[781] Laud. Misc. 708, 15th century, fol. 54.
[782] Berthelot (1893), I, 105 and 107.
[783] Ashmole 1448, 15th century, p. 123.
[784] Ashmole 1450, 15th century, fol. 8, “Epistola ad Alexandrum. O
Alexander rector hominum ... / ... et audientes non intelligant.”
Harleian 3703, 14th century, fols. 41r-42r, Aristoteles ad alexandrum.
“In primo o elaxandor tradere tibi volo secretorum maximum secretum
...,” is a similar treatise.
[785] Ashmole 1384, mid 14th century, fols. 91v-93r, “Incipit Epistola
Alexandri. Dicunt philosophi quod ars dirivata sit ex creatione hominis
cui omnia insunt ... / ... ex omni specie et colore nomine. Explicit
epistola Alexandri.” In the text itself, which is written in the manner
of a master to a disciple, there is nothing to show that the work is by
Alexander rather than Aristotle.
The following is apparently the same treatise but the closing words are
different.
Riccard. 1165, 15th century, fols. 161-3, Liber Alexandri in scientia
secretorum nature. “Dicitur quod hec ars derivata sit ex creacione
hominis cui omnia insunt ... / ... et deo annuente ad optatum finem
pervenies.”
The next would seem to be another treatise than the foregoing.
Arezzo 232, 15th century, fols. 1-14, “Liber transmissus ab Alexandro
rege ex libro Hermogenis.”
Hermogenes, who is cited on the subject of the philosopher’s stone
in at least one MS of the _Secret of Secrets_ (Bodleian 67, fol.
33v, “Et pater noster Hermogenes qui triplex est in philosophia
optime philosophando dixit”), is apparently none other than Hermes
Trismegistus. He is also mentioned in a brief work of Aristotle to
Alexander; Harleian 3703, 14th century, fols. 41r-42r, “... hermogenes
quod (_sic_) egypti multum commendunt et laudant et sibi attribuant
omnem scientiam secretam et celerem (?).” The use of the reflexive
pronoun in this sentence to refer to Hermogenes I would have the reader
note, as it appears to illustrate a fairly common medieval usage which
has or will lead me to alter the translations which have been proposed
for certain other passages.
[786] II, 9.
[787] _Excursions historiques_, etc., p. 562.
[788] I have read it in an incunabulum edition numbered IA.49867 in the
British Museum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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