Milestones of Science Books

PARACELSUS, Theophrastus (Bombast von Hohenheim).

Archidoxorum, seu de secretis naturae mysteriis, libri decem. Quibus nunc accesserunt libri duo, unus de mercuriis metallorum, alter de quinta essentia.

Basel: Peter Perna, 1582.

Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003741

8vo (168 x 105 mm). [24], 415 [1] pp. Signatures: [alpha]⁸ [beta]⁴ a-z⁸ A-C⁸. Contemporary limp vellum with yapp edges, spine and lower edge hand-lettered in ink, straps gone (vellum browned and soiled). Text with uneven browning (some gatherings stronger) and minor spotting in places, small wormtracks at lower blank margin of a few gatherings and at upper margin of final gathering C, ink smudge on p. 180, pp. 250 to end with light pale waterstain at lower gutter. Contemporary ink inscriptions in Latin on first free endpaper recto and verso, two text pages with annotations and underlinings. Very good, well margined and unsophisticated copy. ----

EARLY, IMPROVED AND IN PARTS COMPLETELY REVISED EDITION, which is based on Dorn's Latin translation of 1570 and strongly considering the edition of Toxites of 1574. The changes Toxites made to the text of the first edition are mostly improvements. The more important textual changes, which are not found in any of the other editions, are found only in very small numbers (see Sudhoff). The Archidoxorum is a collection of talismanic healing arts to achieve relief and healing with the seven classical metals, the seven planets and the zodiac signs on seals along with mysterious signs for many diseases and ailments.
"Paracelsus's reputation as a founder of chemistry rests on his Archidoxa, which contains the greater part of his chemical work. Paracelsus was the first to attempt a system of chemistry; his system dealt with all chemicals known to him, and involved a classification of materials and operations. While the influence of medieval alchemy is clearly evident in Paracelsus's chemical work, it is balanced by some real advances: he attempted systematic chemical research incorporating metallurgy and pharmacology, introduced new, laboratory methods, and devised new methods for rendering therapeutic chemical preparations less harmful. His chemical achievements form the link between medieval alchemy and the powerful Paracelsian movement of the 1570s that culminated in the rise of iatrochemistry in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries" (Norman).
References: VD 16 P 399; Adams P 264; NLM/Durling 3510; Sudhoff 191; Wellcome I, 253 (Perna edition of 1570); Norman 1637 (Berg edition of 1570). - Visit our website to see more images!

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