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Alchemy Academy archive December 1999 Back to alchemy academy archives. Subject: ACADEMY : The Romance of the Rose-Cross Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 From: Susanna Åkerman Michael Martin wrote: >Two things that puzzle me as far as pre-1610 dates go are: > >1) The "'Ur' "Chemical Wedding" attributed to Andrae from >about 1601-02. Did this document refer to CRC, or was he >added later? I have no information on the Ur Chemical wedding and have not seen it. But if CRC is not mentioned in it it would be interesting and sensational. Do you have any reference to it? In Montgomery perhaps? >2) The date of "1604" which appears..." >Certainly, this would have been the year of the finding of CRC's >vault. It also coincided with two separate super novas. But, why this >year, especially if CRC is a fictional character? Wouldn't 1610 (or >1614, etc) have served better? I believe 1604 is focused on as it it coincides with the passsage of the great conjunctions to the "trigono igneo that shall give us the last light" (Fama), based on Abu Mashar's ninth century astrological theory of the regular passage of the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn from one zodiacal sign to another. The passage from the watery to the fiery trigon takes place in 1583 and then in Dec-Jan 1603/4 and was the seventh of such passages (to Aries in 1583 to Sagittarius in 1603 and significantly to Leo in 1623) since creation according to Johannes Kepler's Mysterium Cosmographicum, recently published when the Fama appeared. The scheme had been used by Cyprian Leowitz in 1563 in Prague prohecying on Bohemia but without Kepler's elegant theory. P.S. Geheime figuren contains a Lion, 1604 and an old man in a cave, typical RC elements. Am I thinking of the right picture? Susanna Akerman Subject: ACADEMY : The Romance of the Rose-Cross Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 From: Ed Thompson Michael Martin wrote: (1) wondering if Andreae's 'Ur-Chemical Wedding' refers to CRC: The short answer is that no copy is known to exist, so no-one knows. (3) if anyone doubts Andreae's central role in Rosicrucianism: John Warwick Montgomery sets out the case very fully in "Cross and Crucible: Johann Valentin Andreae (1586-1654) Phoenix of the Theologians" Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Ideas 55 2 vols (The Hague, 1973). Montgomery's interpretation of the Chemical Wedding has been strongly challenged by Adam McLean, but that doesn't have any direct bearing on the arguments as to whether Andreae was involved in writing the Fama and Confessio. Ed Thompson Subject: ACADEMY : Kutna Hora, Paracelsus, Mining Laws Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Dear Jerry Bujas, > The word Kutna is spelled with "accent grave" over "a" (Kutna) which > is an adjective derived from an atiquated word "kutat" - to dig. > Kutna Hora is then a "mountain where digging takes place". Well excuse me for being picky.. but the accent on the a in Kutna is an acute accent - what it actually does in Czech is to make it a long a. And my best dictionary, a 45 mb effort, defines the verb kutat thus: prospect work a mine Which brings me back to my original definition a while ago of 'mining hill'.. If anyone can parse the Kutten part of the German, Kuttenberg, that would be of interest! Best Regards, Michal Subject: ACADEMY : Paracelsus and Borges Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Dear Catherine, Re the Borges story, 'Paracelsus' Rose' it was in a Czech Book Club Edition entitled 'Mirror and Mask', a compilation from a number of Borges' works including 'Fictions', 'El Aleph', 'The Book of Sand'. This story was from a book with a title like 'The 25th August and Other Tales'. Near the conclusion of the story a character who has been referred to only as 'the student' is revealed as Johannes Grisebach in the following loose translation: 'Why should Johannes Grisebach be the one to discover that under Paracelsus' mask there is nothing'... Best Regards, Michal Pober Subject: ACADEMY : The Romance of the Rose-Cross Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 From: Michael Thomas Martin Susanna Akerman wrote: > P.S. Geheime figuren contains a Lion, 1604 and an old man in a > cave, typical RC elements. Am I thinking of the right picture? > Yes, ma'am. As for the "'Ur' Chemical Wedding", it is probably lost. But the fact that the one we have is so much more rich than the "Fama" or the "Confessio" makes me believe that it is not by the same hand as either of these. I also have a hard time believing a fifteen year-old could write something that rich and that profound, regardless of how different education was in those days. I do believe that the text was extensively reworked prior to publication - but by whom? Andrae, if the information we have is correct, was on to other things by the time of the "furor." Regards, Michael Martin Subject: ACADEMY : Kutna Hora, Paracelsus, Mining Laws Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Dear Dusan Djordjevic Mileusnic, Apologies for not responding sooner but I was off on a personal quest in Budapest. I think that the Kutna does come from the verb kutat which I wrote of in another message. >Two alchemists are mentioned in this context - Krystof Putz and >David Wolfram. Anything on these names? I have also found mentions of them but will try get back on this in a couple of days. >By the way, as I recall, you mentioned Ercker in some of your >previous messages. There is an interesting site with images from >Ercker`s book on metallurgy on >www.library.upenn.edu/etext/collections/smith/ercker/ . Thank you so much for this! I downloaded the lot.. As far as the crossover with alchemy is concerned perhaps the distillation of aqua regia seemed the most interesting process. With Best Regards, Michal Pober Subject: ACADEMY : Paracelsus and Borges Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 From: Catherine Fox-Anderson Dear Michal, Thank you - there are so many Borgian collections that it's hard to find specific stories sometimes. If it was in Czech, my best friend could help me with it - she'll be in Prague for the holidays. Can you recommend the new Alchemy Museum, and do you have an address? Best wishes, Catherine Subject: ACADEMY : The alchemical arch or gate of Rivodutri From: Adam McLean Date: 3rd Dec 1999 An Italian correspondent has written to me recently to tell me of a arch or doorway in Rivodutri (which I believe is near Rome). This has various carvings upon it which, it is suggested, may have an alchemical import. It may be in some ways similar to the Porta Magica in Rome.  Does anyone have any information on this 'alchemical gateway' in Rivodutri ? Details of this have now been published in a book Partini, Anna Maria LA PORTA ERMETICA DI RIVODUTRI Claudio Lanzi. Casa Editrice : Simmetria (Roma) 1999 Anna Maria Partini s well known for her editions of alchemical books and especially for her research into Palombara. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Modern Alchemy and fascism From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 Dear Jose, I am puzzled by your charges of "neo-nazism" concerning the New Acropolis group which you referred to. Their aims, in sharp contrast to Hitler's "Mein Kampf", appear to be directed above all against racism. Every article I've read including John Gilbert's refutes nazi style positions. Thank you Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Subject: ACADEMY : Chrysomander Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 From: Eugene Beshenkovsky Greetings to all, I am trying to reconstruct a Russian Rosicrucian library which was burned in 1793. One of the destroyed books (18 thousand volumes altogether) was: [Chrysomander, eine allegorische und satyrische Geschichte etc. Bernburg & Quedlinburg: 1774. 128 p. ; 8vo] Kayser, Romane, p. 26; BMC, 39, 122. It was translated into Russian. [Khrizomander, allegoricheskaia i satiricheskaia povest', razlichnago ves'ma vazhnago soderzhaniia. Perevod s nemetskago [A. A. Petrova]. Izhdiveniem N. Novikova i Kompanii. Moskva: Univ. Tip., u N. Novikova, 1783. 276 p. ; 8vo] SK, 3, no. 8066. Surprisingly, it is not listed in standard Masonic bibliographies like Kloss and Wolfstieg: Wolfstieg, A. Bibliographie der freimaurerischen Literatur. Burg, 1911- 1912, 2 vols. Kloss, Georg. Bibliographie der Freymaurerey und der mit ihr in Verbindung gesetzen geheimen Gesellschaften. Systematisch zusammengestellt von Georg Kloss ... Graz, 1970 (Reprint of 1844 edition). Is anything known about this novel? It describes some adventures of Mercury, which is actually a description of a chemical reaction. Many thanks, Eugene Beshenkovsky Subject: ACADEMY : Some queries From: Eve Sinaiko Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 Once again I turn to this list with a number of small (and tiresome queries). Many thanks to all for fascinating posts. 1. I wonder if anyone on the list can identify the poem (or perhaps letter?) by Arthur Rimbaud in which this phrase occurs: "The wrinkled peace that alchemy etches on the great studious brows." (The translation from the French may be inaccurate.) 2. Also, in the Alchemy website, there is a text by Zosimos of Panopolis (www.levity.com/alchemy/zosimos.html) that begins "The composition of the waters, and the movement, and the growth, and the removal and restitution of bodily nature, and the splitting off of the spirit from the body, and the fixation of the spirit on the body are not operations with natures alien one from the other, but, like the hard bodies of metals and the moist fluids of plants, are One Thing, of One Nature, acting upon itself..." Does anyone know the title of the treatise from which this comes, the location of the document (or perhaps it was published in a later book), and/or the date of the translation & name of translator? 3. Is the date known--or even the century--in which the Golden Tractate of Hermes Trismegistus was first published in the West? I have only the date of John Yarker's edition, 1886. 4. Finally, is the date of A.E. Waite's translation of Basil Valentine's Triumphal Chariot of Antimony known? Many thanks and best wishes to all for the new year. Eve Sinaiko Subject: ACADEMY : Queries concerning alchemical glossaries and dictionaries Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 From: Mike Dickman Somebody recently asked concerning glossaries and dictionaries dealing with alchemy. There are three currently available in French: - A-J Pernetty Dictionaire Mytho-Hermetique [ARCHE] Milan, 1980 - Guillaume Salmon Dictionaire Hermetique [GUTENBERG REPRINTS] Paris, 1979 - Kamala Jnana Dictionaire de Philosophie Alchimique[EDITIONS DU SPHINX] Laroque, 1999 The last-named author is, of course, one of the alter-egos of Roger Caro. Hope this is of some help. m Subject: ACADEMY : Some queries From: Jean-Pierre Valjean Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 Madame Eve, Vous trouverez a; http://www.studio-aeiou.com/comments.html Arthur Rimbaud VOYELLES A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu : voyelles, Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes : A, noir corset velu de mouches éclatantes Qui bombinent autour des puanteurs cruelles, Golfes d'ombres ; E, candeurs des vapeurs et des tentes, Lances des glaciers fiers, rois blancs, frissons d'ombelles ; I, pourpres, sang craché, rire des lèvres belles Dans la colère ou les ivresses pénitentes ; U, cycles, vibrements divins des mers virides, Paix des pâtis semés d'animaux, paix des rides Que l'alchimie imprime aux grands fronts studieux ; O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges, Silences traversés des Mondes et des Anges : - O l'Oméga, rayon violet des Ses yeux ! Subject: ACADEMY : Some queries Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 From: Henrik Bogdan Dear Eve, In response to your 4th query: >4. Finally, is the date of A.E. Waite's translation of Basil Valentine's >Triumphal Chariot of Antimony known? Waite's translation was published in 1893, under the full title of "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony. By Basilius Valentinus. With the Commentary of Theodore Kerckringius, A Doctor of Medicine. Being the Latin Version Published at Amsterdam in the year 1685 Translated into English, with a biographical preface. (James Elliott and Co., Temple Chambers, Falcon Court, Fleet Street, E. C. 1893) Hope this might be of any assistance, Best wishes. Henrik Bogdan Subject: ACADEMY : Moderm alchemy and fascism From: Jose Rodríguez Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 >I am puzzled by your charges of "neo-nazism" concerning the New >Acropolis group which you referred to. Their aims, in sharp contrast >to Hitler's "Mein Kampf", appear to be directed above all against >racism. Every article I've read including John Gilbert's refutes nazi >style positions. Dear Stanislas, I`m sorry but I can't understand the methods of New Acropolis. I can't explain this to you because I have never joined a sectarian group :-) Catherine is really interested in Spanish alchemy, she was asking about modern alchemy and fascism, and Nueva Acrópolis is a group using alchemy and fascist ideas for many years in Spain. It is not my own and free opinion, you can find references in all ULR address that I sent: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1348/ACROPOLIS.html http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/3627/lasecta.htm http://moon.act.uji.es/~roc/a12/a12.html http://moon.act.uji.es/~roc/a12/d16.htm http://moon.act.uji.es/~roc/a12/es_na.htm http://moon.act.uji.es/~roc/a12/or_na.htm http://moon.act.uji.es/~roc/a12/aa12.htm Here there are many references to Nueva Acrópolis methods in Spain: fascism (praises to Francisco Franco...), neo-nazism (racism, scorn against women...), etc. Besides there are web sites and books including a lot of factual dates about the status of the Nueva Acrópolis sect in Spain: Books: - Rodríguez, P. (1985). Las sectas hoy y aquí. Barcelona: Ed. Tibidabo - Rodríguez, P. (1989). El poder de las sectas. Barcelona: Ediciones B - Rodríguez, P. (1991).Traficantes de esperanzas. Barcelona: Ediciones B. - Varios. (1994). Grupos totalitarios y sectarismo. Ponencias del II Congreso Internacional. Barcelona: AIS. Web sites: - http://moon.inf.uji.es/~roc/ This is a web site called "The Amazing Sects' World". It informs about the sects in Spain and provide a lot of information concerning Nueva Acrópolis fascist and neo-nazi ideas. - http://personal.redestb.es/ais/ This is the AIS web site. AIS is the Spanish society giving advice and assessment on Spanish destructive sects. The AIS sects index includes Nueva Acrópolis (see: http://personal.redestb.es/ais/fitxes.htm ). You can send an e-mail to AIS if you need more information concerning New Acrópolis: ais@mx3.redestb.es I don't make the charge of "neo-nazism" against Nueva Acrópolis. I only transcribe the opinion of specialist societies like AIS. Regards, José Rodríguez Subject: ACADEMY : Chrysomander From: Gleb Butuzov Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 Dear Eugene, Yes, Chrysomander is a purely alchemical allegory and was translated into Russian by request of Novikov, owing to whom many hermetic books were translated and partially published in Moscow between 1783 and 1787 ( among them Corpus Hermeticum, Kirchweger's 'Aurea Catena Homeri', 'Psalterium chymicum' by pseudo-Paracelsus, Sendivogius' 'Novum Lumen Chymicum', 'Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica' by Fludd, Weigel's 'Himmlich Manna, Azoth et Ignis', e.t.c.). They were not necessarily masonic, for Novikov - as well as many other Russian rosicrucians of his circle - was generally interested in hermeticism. Unfortunately, I also have no other information about this book. Best regards. Gleb Butuzov. Subject: ACADEMY : Paracelsus and the Virgin Mary From: Penny Bayer Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 In his book on Paracelsus (State University of New York, 1997, pp. 80-3), Andrew Weeks describes how, in the Liber Sancta Trinitate, Paracelsus made a place for a higher prototype of the Virgin Mary in the divine family of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This higher prototype was a "goddess" with whom God the father generated the divine son in heaven. She was a celestial queen, an eternally pure being. I am wondering whether this interesting imagery bears any relationship to the figure of the Queen in famous alchemical sequences such as the Rosarium Philosophorum and the Splendor Solis. The latter has mythical associations with Paracelsus through the legend of Salomon Trismosin. It would be useful to know if anyone has already addressed this question, or to have any general thoughts on the matter. Best wishes Penny Bayer Subject: ACADEMY : Moderm alchemy and fascism Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 From: Catherine Fox-Anderson Dear Jose and Stanislas, Thank you both very much for your input. As I have been writing my own thesis, of alchemical symbols in hispanic literature, this theme came to my attention and could not be ignored as a possible motivating force in the author of one of the works I am studying. In my chapter on literary/socio/historical influences on these authors, the question must be faced, as distasteful as I personally find it. While the academic community I am working in accepts my thesis on the symbolism and considers it original and valid, it is legitimately concerned about any polemic that may be started by questions about links to neo-fascism and esoterism in this century and at this time in the literature. I consider it a fair and legitimate question, but it is fearful, complex territory, and one must move carefully; I shall not , and would not commit anything to paper until certain. I am a beginning scholar and am no expert, but have tried to approach this study by asking lots of questions, and by double checking answers offered. I have come to love alchemy, and have kept in mind Adam's reminder to consider alchemy on it's own terms, not placing outside values or points of view on it - and for this approach to the symbols, it has been suggested to me that I've gotten too close to the topic. Perhaps, but I stand by this method. No literary thesis is worth it's weight if it doesn't consider the socio-historical context of the work (I'm currently reading Mar Rey Bueno's work on alchemy in the court of Carlos II; Yates' Rosicrucian Enlightenment; and Eliade's light-filled works on Yoga and alchemy). I have been afraid, not knowing who I'm dealing with in terms of the fascism/alchemy question, and most have avoided or been evasive regarding my queries. It is to me a perversion of the Art for ends we are well aware of - I'm the daughter of a World War II veteran and that is a moral legacy I'm proud of. The study of alchemy has enriched my own spiritual path. The recent focus on Paracelsus in the forum has of course been of related interest, and I'm grateful for all contributions to my questions. I hope there are plans to translate Mar Rey Bueno's work to English as I think it is very good; some of the best modern research on alchemy in Spain seems to be coming from science departments, which is fitting given Spain's long legacy of botanical studies in their monasteries. Again, I thank both of you for the personal time you have given me over this last year, and wish you well in your own projects. May your year's end and new year be filled with blessings and peace. El antiguo Chaos, a mi parecer, De quatro Elementos bien conglutinado A este Compuesto es asemejado Quando diviso se viene a facer El Cielo y la Tierra por si viene a ser Una Quinta esencia, esencia de todo, Porque esta Materia es en atal modo, Ca todas las cosas viene a componer. (Luanco, p.174-175, Alfonso el Sabio) Catherine Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi From: Jerry Bujas Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 Fulcanelli's last book Finis Gloriae Mundi, published by Mirabilis, was to be shipped on December 3rd. Has anyone obtained it yet? Jerry Bujas Subject: ACADEMY : Chrysomander Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 From: Rafal Prinke Gleb Butuzov wrote: > translated into Russian by request of Novikov, owing to whom > many hermetic books were translated and partially published in > Moscow between 1783 and 1787 ( among them Corpus Hermeticum, > Kirchweger's 'Aurea Catena Homeri', 'Psalterium chymicum' by > pseudo-Paracelsus, Sendivogius' 'Novum Lumen Chymicum', Do you perhaps have bibliographic data of the translation of Sendivogius (this and any other works) into Russian? I am compiling his bibliography and have none of the Russian editions listed. Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Queries concerning alchemical glossaries and dictionaries From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 The original edition of the "Dictionnaire Hermetique contenant L'Explication desTermes, Fables, Enigmes, Emblemes & manieres de parler des vrais Philosophes. Accompagné de deux Traitez singuliers & utiles aux curieux de l'Art. Par un Amateur de la Science" Paris Laurent d'Houry 1695 is not by Salmon as is erroneously believed but by the author of "Le Filet d'Ariadne Pour Entrer avec seureté dans le Labirinthe de la Philosophie Hermetique" published the very same year by the same publisher. Indeed on the second page of the "Avertissement" the author states the following: "...j'ai fait exprés un Dictionaire qui explique fort nettement ce qui est le plus difficile, afin de satisfaire en quelque façon les Curieux, et desabuser ceux qui se ruinent inconsiderément, voulant travailler sur une Science qu'ils n'ont jamais apprise, & par consequent qu'ils ne peuvent bien sçavoir, ni mettre en usage." Translation: I have made on purpose a Dictionary which explains quite clearly that which is most difficult, in oder to satisfy in some manner the Inquirers and to disabuse those who recklessly ruin themselves, in wanting to work upon a Science which they have never learnt, & which in consequence, they cannot know well, nor put in practice. Now, the anonymous author of "Le Filet d'Ariadne" is not Heinrich von Batsdorff (as it has also been erroneously stated), but Gaston Le Doux dit de Claves, Amateur des Veritez Hermetiques, who authored the "Traité Philosophique de laTriple Preparation de l'Or et de l'Argent" and "De la Droite et Vraie maniere de produire la Pierre Philosophique, ou le Sel argentifique & aurifique" both these titles are to be found, (in all complete copies of the original edition) following the above mentioned Dictionaire Hermetique, albeit with a separate titlepage for the first treatise and separate pagination beginning with the titlepage of the first. I hope you will find this information useful. All the very best always, Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Subject: ACADEMY : Some queries From: Iain Jamieson Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 Dear Eve Some answers, I hope, to your questions: > 2. Also, in the Alchemy website, there is a text by Zosimos of Panopolis > (www.levity.com/alchemy/zosimos.html) that begins "The composition > of the waters, and the movement, ... This is the famous 'Visions of Zosimos' which so attracted Jung and his followers. It is usually titled 'Of Virtue', and is so translated by F. Sherwood Taylor, but as Jung correctly points out (Alchemical Studies, London, 1968, p. 59), a better translation would be 'On our Art', corresponding to the Latin 'ars nostra'. Some translations are: J.M. Stillman, The Story of Alchemy and Early Chemistry, Dover Pubs., New York, 1960, pp.162- 165 (partial). C.G Jung, Alchemical Studies, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1968, pp.59 ff. (partial with extensive commentary). F. Sherwood Taylor, The Alchemists, Granada, St Albans, 1976, pp. 57-60 (complete, from Ambix, 1, 1937, 88-92). Jack Lindsay, The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt, Muller, London, 1970, pp. 344 ff. (complete with commentary). All these are translated from the edition of Berthelot. > 3. Is the date known--or even the century--in which the Golden Tractate of > Hermes Trismegistus was first published in the West? I have only the date > of John Yarker's edition, 1886. This was first printed as 'Septem tractatus s. capitula Trismegisti aurei', in the 'Ars chemica', Argentorati, 1567, pp. 7-31. The work is probably Arabic in origin. > 4. Finally, is the date of A.E. Waite's translation of Basil Valentine's > Triumphal Chariot of Antimony known? This appeared as: The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony ... with the Commentary of Theodore Kerckringus, a Doctor of Medicine. Being the Latin Version published at Amsterdam in the Year 1685 translated into English, with a Biographical Preface. London, James Elliott, 1893. pp.xxxiv, 208. Waite, as with other texts in this series, acted as editor, and did not translate the work. Best wishes, Iain Jamieson Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 From: Mike Dickman Yes, I've got it. Be it said that Mme. Béatrice Canseliet, Canseliet's daughter, is quite categorical as to this book and assures us (if assurance we needed) that it is a fake. The FF250 asked for it, is just a trifle exorbitant, but c'est la vie. m Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 From: Pierre Stibia I was present to the last Colloquium organized in Paris in homage to the memory of M. Eugene Canseliet. During this colloquium, Mrs. Beatrix Canseliet, his daughter, claimed this "Finis Gloria Mundi" is in fact an apocrypha. I read very a few of this book but my opinion and deepest feeling are this book has nothing to do with the two previous books written by Fulcanelli. We must be very cautious with that seems to be a commercial operation . For more information on this "affair", see Best regards to all. Pierre Stibia Subject: ACADEMY : The Rose Cross and Phillip Sidney Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 From: Michael Srigley Dear Friends, In the discussions concerning 'The Rose Cross and Sir Philip Sidney', Michael Martin speculated on the existence of "some kind of humanistic/religious movement that Sidney may have been involved with", and Robert Vanloo drew attention to the friendship between Duplessis-Mornay and Sidney and the former's awareness of the Rose-Cross by 1611. It might be worth considering the semi-secret humanist grouping known as Domus Charitatis or the Family Love as a possible environment for the formative stages of the Rosicrucian movement. This was a non-sectarian movement made up of both Catholics and Protestants. It was led by Barrefeldt (or Hiel) in the latter part of the sixteenth century, and prominent in it was the humanist Dutch printer, Christopher Plantin. Plantin was a friend both of DuPlessis Mornay and of Hubert Languet and safeguarded Languet's private papers at his death. In a letter sent by Languet from Antwerp in October, 1579, to Sidney, Languet regrets a confusion between the Anabaptists and the Family of Love ("Domus Charitatis") which has darkened the name of the Family, and goes on: "I shall enquire more diligently into these matters, and what I discover I shall fully describe to you; for several years I have noticed in you a desire to learn of the mysteries that are concealed under the name of the House of Love". He gave Plantin's printing works in Antwerp as one of two addresses to be used by Sidney. L. Voet has pointed out that Philippe du Plessis-Mornay, Sidney's friend, George Buchanan, the Scottish humanist, Daniel Rogers, diplomat and poet and cousin of Ortelius, the geographer, Ortelius himself and Languet all belonged to Plantin's inner circle. Perhaps the most important link between the Familists and the Rosicrucians would be John Dee. Among Dee's friends was Giacomo Aconzio (Acontius), then living in exile in England, whose writings circulated in the Sidney circle. He was reputed to be a Familist. As Peter French wrote, "Dee may have gleaned some of his religious ideas from the secret sect known as the Family of Love." Dee was on intimate terms of friendship with the Sidney group and with Rogers and Ortelius. In Ortelius's Latin correspondence there is a letter from Guillaume Postel saying that he is aware of the existence of the Family of Love and is in full agreement with its goals. Ortelius's 'Album amicorum' containing contributions from scholars and humanists all over Europe is preserved at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Alas, I have still not found time to look at this Album and list the names in it. Maybe it was some such loose-knit group of humanists, scholars and statesmen, eirenist and ecumenical in tendency, that provided a congenial soil for the seed of Rosicrucianism to germinate in. The question, however, remains, as Susanna wrote, as to whether such a background would have been incidental or essential for forming Rosicrucianism. Best Wishes, Michael Srigley Subject: ACADEMY : Chrysomander Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 From: Eugene Beshenkovsky Dear Rafal, Here are two 18th century translations I am aware of. Best wishes, Eugene Beshenkovsky SETON, ALEXANDER, d. 1604 Novoe khimicheskoe svetilo, iz istochnika natury i ruchnago opyta pocherpnutoe: s prisovokupleniem Filosofskoi pritchi i Razgovora mezhdu Alkhimistom, Merkuriem i Naturoiu. Sochinenie Mikhaila Sendivogiia. Moskva: Tip. I. Lopukhina, 1785. [8], 146, [2] p. ; 8vo] SK, 3, no. 6456. Translated from: Sendivogius, Michael. Novum lumen chemicum, aus dem Brunnen der Natur durch handangelegte Erfahrung bewiesen : Nebst dem Gespräche des Mercurii, und dem Tractat vom Schwefel, und denen 55 Briefen. Nürnberg, 1766. BVB. Attributed to Setton by the compilers of 'The Uninon Catalog of the 18th century Russian Publicat'ions" citing Ferguson, 2, p. 369, 374-377. as authority. SCOTT, MICHAEL Novoi sposob, kak uznat' mozhno kazhdago cheloveka svoistva po ego slozheniiam, sochinen na latinskom iasyke Mikhailom Scoti, i pri nem dva razgovora ne izvestnago sochinitelia, iz koikh v odnom razgovarivaiut Merkurii, Alkhimik i Priroda, a v drugom Alkhimik, Sera i Saturn, k kotorym togo zhe sochinitelia prilozhena eshche Pritcha, ili Filosofskaia zagadka. Pereveden s latinskago iazyka. [Moskva: Senatskaia tip.], 1781. 159 p. ; 8vo. SK, 3, no. 6533. Combines Scott's 'Physiognomia' and several tracts of Sendivogius. I have not been able to find a publication (in Latin) in which both authors are present. Subject: ACADEMY : Geheime Figuren Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 From: Eugene Beshenkovsky Greetings to all! I am making a description of a private collection of Rosicrucian manuscripts and books of 18th-early 19th centuries. It contains a manuscript of L.-C. de Saint-Martin (translation? of 'Drey Principia') and a complete? set of 'Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer aus dem 16ten und 17ten Jahrhundert. Altona und Hamburg: J.D.A. Eckhardt, 1785-1788. It looks different from all descriptions I've seen. There are 2 parts: [1] Title page, 15 unnumbered leaves. In Folio. [2] Title page, 16 unnumbered leaves. In Folio. Both with hand-colored ills. Third Part: 'Die Lehren der Rosenkreuzer aus dem 16ten und 17ten Jahrhundert. Oder, einfaltig ABC Buchlein fur junge Schuler so sich taglich fleissig uben in der Schule des H. Geistes; Bildnissweisse vor die Augen gemahlet zun neuen Jahrs-Exercitio in dem naturlichen und theologischen Lichte von einem Bruder der Fraternitaet Christi des Rosenkreuzes P.F. zum erstenmal offentlich bekannt gemacht'. Altona, Joh. Dav. Ad. Eckhardt, [n.d.] ?. Title and 12 unnumbered leaves, more than 40 hand-colored ills. In Folio. All three have dark blue wrappers. Is it known how many copies have been originally printed? I remember reading about 100. Does anybody have a detailed description of its contents? Many thanks, Eugene Beshenkovsky Subject: ACADEMY : Chrysomander From: Gleb Butuzov Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 Rafal Prinke wrote: >Do you perhaps have bibliographic data of the translation of >Sendivogius (this and any other works) into Russian? I am compiling >his bibliography and have none of the Russian editions listed. Dear Rafal, You can find most complete list of the hermetic works translated by Russian rosicrucians in the book by G. V. Vernadsky: "Russian Masonry in Reign of Katherine II". Printing Plant of Printers' Joint Stock Society. Petrograd, 1917. "Novum Lumen Chemicum" in Russian was published by Lopukhin in 1785: "Setoniy Cosmopolit. Novoye khimicheskoye svetilo iz istochnika natury i ruchnago opyta pocherpnutoye. S prisovokupleniyem filosofskoy pritchi i razgovora mezhdu Alchimikom, Mercuriyem i Naturoyu" (the translation was based on the 1608 edition: Michael Sedivogius "Novum Lumen Chymicum. E naturae fonte et manuali experientia depromptum, et in duodecim tractatus divisum, cui accessit dialogus Mercurii, Alchimiae et naturae"). Best wishes. Gleb Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 From: Rafal Prinke Dear Gleb and Eugene, Thank you very much for the detailed information. There seems to be a difference of opinion concerning the item you both quote: Eugene Beshenkovsky wrote: > Novoe khimicheskoe svetilo, iz istochnika natury i ruchnago opyta > pocherpnutoe: s prisovokupleniem Filosofskoi pritchi i Razgovora mezhdu > Alkhimistom, Merkuriem i Naturoiu. Sochinenie Mikhaila Sendivogiia. > Moskva: Tip. I. Lopukhina, 1785. [8], 146, [2] p. ; 8vo] > > SK, 3, no. 6456. Translated from: Sendivogius, Michael. Novum lumen > chemicum, aus dem Brunnen der Natur durch handangelegte Erfahrung bewiesen > : Nebst dem Gespräche des Mercurii, und dem Tractat vom Schwefel, und > denen 55 Briefen. Nürnberg, 1766. BVB. Attributed to Setton by the > compilers of 'The Uninon Catalog of the 18th century Russian > Publicat'ions" citing Ferguson, 2, p. 369, 374-377. as authority. Gleb Butuzov wrote: > "Novum Lumen Chemicum" in Russian was published by Lopukhin > in 1785: "Setoniy Cosmopolit. Novoye khimicheskoye svetilo iz > istochnika natury i ruchnago opyta pocherpnutoye. S prisovokupleniyem > filosofskoy pritchi i razgovora mezhdu Alchimikom, Mercuriyem i > Naturoyu" (the translation was based on the 1608 edition: Michael > Sedivogius "Novum Lumen Chymicum. E naturae fonte et manuali > experientia depromptum, et in duodecim tractatus divisum, cui > accessit dialogus Mercurii, Alchimiae et naturae"). Both citations make it a 1785 edition by Lopukhin, so they should be the same - but: 1) the basis of the translation differs - either Paris 1608 in Latin or Nurnberg 1766 in German (and if so, does it contain the 55 letters?) 2) original author attribution also differs - Seton or Sendivogius? Could it be that G. V. Vernadsky's list is not quite exact? Or were there indeed two different editions (doubtful)? BTW: Does anyone know if there was a Spanish translation/edition of Sendivogius? Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi From: Jerry Bujas Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 Pierre Stibia wrote: > During this colloquium, Mrs. Beatrix Canseliet, his daughter, claimed > this "Finis Gloria Mundi" is in fact an apocrypha. Mike Dickman wrote: > Be it said that Mme. Beatrice Canseliet, Canseliet's daughter, is quite > categorical as to this book and assures us (if assurance we needed) > that it is a fake. Since "apocrypha" is not the same thing as "fake" I would greatly appreciate more info on the subject. I am still impatiently waiting for the book to cross the Atlantic and appear in my mailbox. If you read it, could you cast more light on its content, please? What about the style? Is it similar or dissimilar to the two previous books by Fulcanelli? Do you have a feeling that both were written by the same author? Any info will be greatly appreciated ! Thank you. Jerry Bujas Subject: ACADEMY : The Rose Cross and Phillip Sidney Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 From: Michael Thomas Martin Dear Michael Srigley, Thank you so much for the response. It is encouraging and informative. Besides Voet, I wonder if you can recommend any more sources on Domus Charitatis? All the best, Michael Martin Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian From: Gleb Butuzov Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 Dear Rafal, I must add that I do not ever heard about any other Sendivogius' translation into Russian besides one mentioned. Lopukhin's printing plant was set up in Moscow. I'm not sure that a single copy of this book survived the fire which consumed most of Russian rosicrucians' library. I hope this helps. Regards. Gleb Subject: ACADEMY : Some queries From: Eve Sinaiko Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 Warm thanks to all who answered my bibliographic queries. Your help was invaluable. Eve Sinaiko Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi From: Adam McLean Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 Jerry Bujas wrote : >Since "apocrypha" is not the same thing as "fake" I would greatly >appreciate more info on the subject. I am still impatiently waiting >for the book to cross the Atlantic and appear in my mailbox. >If you read it, could you cast more light on its content, please? >What about the style? Is it similar or dissimilar to the two previous >books by Fulcanelli? Do you have a feeling that both were written >by the same author? Any info will be greatly appreciated ! I received my copy of this book yesterday. On just glancing through the introduction and the first chapters of this book, I find that this book presents itself as being written by a now living Fulcanelli. He makes the point that this is not the book which Eugene Canseliet mentioned. "This work is not the manuscript that we withdrew from hands of our dear Canseliet. This old work was imperfect, and could only have led astray the researcher" So this book 'Finis Gloriae Mundi' presents itself as a newly written work, perhaps connected to but certainly not the same as that which Canseliet had seen. It requires us further to accept that the person who wrote the two Fulcanelli books published in the 1930's is still alive and has now written his final work. This reminds me of the conceit that Flamel continued to live into the 18th century. The book seems to refer to ideas in books written quite recently. Mitochondrial DNA for example. In one place he refers to the "H Bomb". As I cannot read French with any ability, I cannot comment on the stylistic similarities to the other works attributed to Fulcanelli. Perhaps a book like this is a lesson to us all. Those who write anonymously and hide behind aliases, will find they are fair game for others to create pastische. It seems to me that Fulcanelli's works are rather overhyped. When I read them I wonder just what new material he presents to us, just what insights he gives to assisting us to grasp the alchemical tradition. Fulcanelli is a phenomenon in which one is asked to 'believe in'. Surely we have all grown up enough now not to need to "believe in" a writer. A proper scholarly approach to alchemy is necessary - one which looks at the source material and through proper analysis and investigation discover matters of real substance. It will not take long for a person with a scholarly soul to understand where this book is coming from, and the audience to which it is targetted. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 From: Eugene Beshenkovsky Dear Rafal, My information is from: 'Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi pechati XVIII veka. 1725-1800. Moskva: 'Kniga', 1962-1975. 6 vols.' This is the Union katalog of 18th century Russian (secular) publications. They state that 'Novum Lumen' was written by Setton and published by Sendivogius. I would take this information seriously because one of the compilers was N.P. Kiselev, one of the best authorities on Western Mysticism in Russia at that time. The Union catalog also states that translations in both editions, I mentionned earlier, are different, and that et least 3 copies of each book have survived. All the best, Eugene Beshenkovsky P. S. 55 letters do not seem to be included. Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi and the Canseliet Colloquium Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 From: Mike Dickman Jerry, The exact words of Mme Béatrice Canseliet were: "It's a fake Fulcanelli, a disgrace! It brings shame to the name Fulcanelli-Canseliet!"... I don't think you could be much more damning... As to style, my personal impression is that the style in this particular work is far inferior to that of either Canseliet or of his august teacher, but Stanislas would be a far better judge of such matters - not only as regards style and content but also as regards authenticity. The colloquium on Canseliet, be it said, was nothing if not interesting, and this not only for the personalities present, but also (and possibly even more so) for those who weren't... It opened with Mme Canseliet evoking the memory of her illustrious father, offering a definition of Alchemy as 'the perfection of body and soul, of mind and awareness', and hinting (at that point) at the apocryphal nature of the Finis Gloriae Mundi. There followed an interesting account by Bertrand Renaud de la Faverie, of his connections with Eugene Canseliet and others of his circle, a theme taken up in various manner by several other speakers throughout the weekend, and read a letter from Rene Alleau... Johan Dreue, the co-organiser then read a communication from Stanislas Klossowski de Rola on the same subject, thus leaving the floor open to Henri Bodard, President of 'Atlantis', for a disquisition on the 'language of the birds' - the phonetic Cabale... The first morning in the hall where Ferdinand de Lesseps created the French National Geographical Society was brought to a close with a lecture and slide show by Mme Michele Debusne concerning some of the unexplored 'philosophic dwelling-places' of the Bourgogne. The afternoon opened with Michel Binda on post-Canseliet alchemy and its ethics, which was a trifle long-winded to say the least, but was thankfully followed by Francois Trojani's entertaining account of life as a friend of Bernard Husson and Andre Savoret. Patrick Riviere then followed with a fascinating slide show showing the entire operation as laid-out by Canseliet and some of its most surprising results which I really enjoyed and which seemed to go down quite well with most of the audience. Other definitions of alchemy arising from the day's work were 'Science par excellence', (Ruland's) 'the separation of the pure from the less pure' and (Fulcanelli's own) 'permutation of form by light'. The following day, in the Sorbonne-proper, the key-note speech was a beautiful exposition of the operative path by Fabrice Bardeau, who cited, among others, Betty-Jo Teeter-Dobbs and Newton and Joseph Needham's monumental 'Science and Civilisation in China... There then followed a lengthy disquisition on the epistemology of the Royal Art by Robert Delvarre who is NOT the greatest of readers, followed in his turn by the amazing and energy-filled Paolo Lucarelli who spoke on Genesis and the Great Work and the alchemists role in these. For this, the Bardeau and the Riviere alone, the price of the colloqium was more than worth it... The afternoon had two high points - Charles d'Hooghvoorst on the life and work of Louis Cattiaux and Stephane Feye on his friendship with and discipleship of d'Hooghvoorst's elder brother, Emmanuel. What might have been a fairly interesting parallel between the Catholic mass and the Great Work by Jean-Pierre Bonnerot turned out to be nothing but bigotry, and the self-aggrandising 'revelation' of yet another Canseliet-Fulcanelli plot by Richard Khaitzine just plain boring... All in all I found it a weekend well-spent, and my thanks goes to Messrs. Dreue and Renaud de la Faverie for having organised it and to Mmme Beatrice Canseliet for her presence as its kindly and generous figurehead. Perhaps it would not be inappropriate here to add a translation of Rene Alleau's homage to Canseliet, who - after all - is probably the very source of all our interest in the Royal Art. The Flight of the Poenix On his green pennae, sweeping across the Caspian Did pilgrims track the Phoenix in flight Who with his gems strews both wood and plain With jewel and feather, at hazard bedight. By the moon, by the stars and by distant journey At last to the pyre of the Wise come they Where rejoicing in a red most sanguine Does this bird most impulsive forget all its origin. From its ashes then gleam purest ruby, Like an upturned sack of Tyrian purple most pure, And the claws and the beak of the bird there fleeting In the gold of its agony do cover themeselves o'er. At so rich a vision, and at so rare a light, All these pilgrims, by profit so steered, Lowering their hands and their eyes, let fall goods and gain, And in contemplation happier yet, here appear. m Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 From: Catherine Fox-Anderson Rafal, You asked about a Spanish translation - Santiago Jubany offers his own, I believe on his website - you could write him regarding earlier Spanish language editions. www.arrakis.es/~turba/BIBLIO.HTM Regards, Catherine P.S. Can anyone tell me about Frater Albertus? Thank you. Subject: ACADEMY : The Correspondence of Robert Boyle From: Adam McLean Date: 16 Dec 1999 May I draw your attention to a new publication The Correspondence of Robert Boyle, edited by Michael Hunter and Antonio Clericuzio. British Academy Research Project. 6 volume set £450 (ISBN 1 85196 125 9). I have not seen these volumes, but they may contain some letters of interest to research into Boyle's alchemical network. If anyone has ready access to a copy I would appreciate them looking up a reference in the index for me. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Paracelsus and Borges Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Catherine Fox-Anderson wrote: >If it was in Czech, my best friend could help me with it - >she'll be in Prague for the holidays. Dear Catherine, Apologies for not getting back sooner! I've been trying to complete a number of projects. I can possibly put the book into her very hands, on a short-term basis! >Can you recommend the new Alchemy Museum, and do >you have an address? The Alchemy Museum is still at a very early stage of gestation but it is now moving in a very good direction. It will be in the Sankturinovsky House and the tower behind it on the main square in Kutna Hora, called Palackeho namesti. What is already worth viewing in its own right is the spectacular gothic tower with an extraordinary ceiling decoration which Rene Alleau described as an alchemical masterpiece in itself. Apart from this future museum there is also a permanent exhibition in the Mihulka or Powder Tower at Prague Castle which, frankly I never recommend to anyone because although it was supposedly the site of alchemical work the exhibition is very strerile. Much more interesting is the reproduction of Bavor Rodovsky's Laboratory at the Castle of Budyne nad Ohri, which was partly put together by Lubos Antonin. It is about a 45 minute drive NNW from Prague. Like all castles outside Prague it is closed during the winter months but its not impossible to obtain a private viewing. If you or anyone else has any questions about this or any other specifics I will do my best to assist them. I can be contacted off-line at : michal@terminal.cz Best Regards, Michal Pober. P.S. I'll be publishing a detailed description of the Alchemy Museum Project as soon as possible after the fake millenium. Meanwhile best wishes to all members of the Academy whatever you may be choosing to celebrate! Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 From: Rafal Prinke Thanks to Gleb, Eugene and Catherine. Eugene wrote: > My information is from: 'Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi > pechati XVIII veka. 1725-1800. Moskva: 'Kniga', 1962-1975. 6 vols.' > This is the Union katalog of 18th century Russian (secular) So this seems more reliable than the 1912 bibliography Gleb quoted. It is also more probable that the translation was based on a well known German translation than a rather rare 1608 Latin edition. > publications. They state that 'Novum Lumen' was written by Setton > and published by Sendivogius. I would take this information > seriously because one of the compilers was N.P. Kiselev, one of > the best authorities on Western Mysticism in Russia at that time. This is the standard story which was "valid academic knowledge" at that time - but recent scholarship proved beyond reasonable doubt that the whole Seton/Sendivogius episode was a legend. > The Union catalog also states that translations in both editions, I > mentioned earlier, are different, and that at least 3 copies of > each book have survived. This is also important - thank you. Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi and the Canseliet Colloquium Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Mike Dickman wrote: >The exact words of Mme Béatrice Canseliet were: "It's a fake >Fulcanelli, a disgrace! It brings shame to the name >Fulcanelli-Canseliet!"... I don't think you could be much more >damning... Adam Mclean wrote: >It will not take long for a person with a scholarly soul to understand >where this book is coming from, and the audience to which it is >targetted. Dear Friends, So why, oh why, did wise and erudite scholars like yourselves buy this book and choose to support this venture, thereby encouraging the perpetuation of similar exercises which do nothing to enhance the reputation or the scholarly study of alchemy? I can only imagine that the ghost of puffery bemused you in an unguarded moment as it did so many otherwise wise and sane patrons in times past. Surely much more worthwhile to have spent the money on an excellent bottle of wine to drink with the Comte de St Germain or as a donation to a retirement home for ancient alchemists.. Puzzled in Kutna Hora! Michal Subject: ACADEMY : The Correspondence of Robert Boyle Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 From: Urs Leo Gantenbein According to Amazon.com this item will be published in April 2000. Urs Leo Gantenbein Subject: ACADEMY : Bibliotheca Kloss From: Neil Wynes Morse Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 The following comment may open up additional lines of enquiry. In his article 'George Kloss and his Masonic Library'*, the Librarian of the Grand East of the Netherlands, Evert Kwaadgras, states: The most important and precious parts of the book collection are, no doubt, many old and extremely rare treatises on alchemy, many of them in Latin, on the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucian manifestos and the reactions - a very complete collection, starting from the first Fama - the later Gold- and Rosicrucians, and the notorious Illuminati. *contained in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol 111, (1998), [ISBN 0 907655 432] at pages 25-43. Neil Wynes Morse Canberra, Australia Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi and the Canseliet Colloquium Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 From: Michal Pober Mike Dickman wrote: >The exact words of Mme Béatrice Canseliet were: "It's a fake >Fulcanelli, a disgrace! It brings shame to the name >Fulcanelli-Canseliet!"... I don't think you could be much more >damning... Adam McLean wrote: >It will not take long for a person with a scholarly soul to understand >where this book is coming from, and the audience to which it is >targetted. Dear Friends, So why, oh why, did wise and erudite scholars like yourselves buy this book and choose to support this venture, thereby encouraging the perpetuation of similar exercises which do nothing to enhance the reputation or the scholarly study of alchemy? I can only imagine that the ghost of puffery bemused you in an unguarded moment as it did so many otherwise wise and sane patrons in times past. Surely much more worthwhile to have spent the money on an excellent bottle of wine to drink with the Comte de St Germain or as a donation to a retirement home for ancient alchemists.. Puzzled in Kutna Hora! Michal Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 From: Adam McLean Michal Pober wrote: >So why, oh why, did wise and erudite scholars like yourselves >buy this book and choose to support this venture, thereby >encouraging the perpetuation of similar exercises which do >nothing to enhance the reputation or the scholarly study of alchemy? >Puzzled in Kutna Hora! Michal, There are a number of reasons why I bought this book. Firstly, I always prefer to make my own judgment on a text. I think it is a proper scholarly attitude to actually read a text before passing judgement on it or accepting the views of others. Many people have condemned this book before it was published. I chose to examine the actual book before assessing it. This is, I believe, the proper approach, at least it is the one I have adopted over the years, and I think my view of alchemy would have been substantially impoverished if I chose to accept without question the views and agendas of others. Secondly, it is important for a scholar to be appraised of recent developments in the public perception of alchemy. Thus I bought a copy of Baigent and Leigh's 'The Elixir and the Stone' which is absolute rubbish but which colours the perception of alchemy in the wider public arena. Also I have Goddard's 'Tower of alchemy', a misguided effort to understand alchemical symbolism, which sadly will no doubt influence many people who cannot think clearly. It is important for a scholar of alchemy to read and be aware of this material as it does often strongly shape the public perception of alchemy and thus influences and disturbs the intellectual environment in which scholars work. Thirdly, I see this 'Finis Gloriae Mundi' book as just part of the Fulcanelli phenomenon. It, like the two works published in the late 20's, doesn't seem to add to a scholarly perception of alchemy. Indeed, I suspect most serious French scholars of alchemy, have little time for the writings published under this name. I know I will perhaps offend others by saying that I believe people elevate Fulcanelli too high and seem to read his writings from a reverential perspective. Perhaps with the appearance of this book it will be timely for us to reassess the writings of Fulcanelli and try to see what they actually say to us. They seem to me to present a view of alchemy in history which is untenable and far removed from the facts as we know them, and further do not provide readers with any way forward to investigate alchemy for themselves. So the third reason I bought this book was as an example of the ongoing 'Fulcanelli phenomenon', as the 'Finis Gloriae Mundi' continues and reworks the myth of Fulcanelli for the end of the 20th century. In that sense it is part of the historical evolution of a myth first devised in the late 20's and 30's of this century. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Russian Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 From: Eugene Beshenkovsky Dear Rafal, You wrote: > > My information is from: 'Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi > > pechati XVIII veka. 1725-1800. > So this seems more reliable than the 1912 bibliography Gleb > quoted. It is also more probable that the translation was based > on a well known German translation than a rather rare 1608 Latin > edition. Vernadskii's bibliography includes not only books but some manuscript translations as well. I haven't seen any translations from Sendivogius among them. I also think that 'Novum Lumen' was translated from German. This might not be true with other works by Sendivogius included in this edition. They are the same as those combined with the Michael Scott's translation (published earlier), and were, probably, just corrected. > >They state that 'Novum Lumen' was written by Setton > >and published by Sendivogius. > This is the standard story which was "valid academic knowledge" > at that time - but recent scholarship proved beyond reasonable > doubt that the whole Seton/Sendivogius episode was a legend. I am glad to hear that. It is always better to have one author instead of two. > > The Union catalog also states that translations in both editions, I > > mentioned earlier, are different, and that at least 3 copies of > > each book have survived. It does not seem to be a popular idea, but, if you want to have adequate descriptions in your bibliography, you might need to check the originals. The 20th century Russian bibliographies always change the orthography of 18th-19th century publications. Best regards, Eugene Beshenkovsky Subject: ACADEMY : Terence McKenna - Coincidencia Oppositorum Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 From: Mike Dickman I thought readers might be inerested in the following, available via http://www.mysticfire.com Regards, m -------------------------------------------------- Terence McKenna COINCIDENCIA OPPOSITORUM A UNION OF OPPOSITES Alchemy was not about the transmutation of crude metals into gold, but was a magical art designed to bring the soul to completion. --Terence McKenna This film-in-progress from Mystic Fire is a visually rich exploration of a lost world of magic and alchemy set in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, at a time when alchemy reached a feverish pitch of interest in the European imagination. The story, presented by Terence McKenna, centers on the alchemical/political/religious movements surrounding the Renaissance magus Dr. John Dee -- mathematician, astrologer and advisor to Queen Elizabeth the First. John Dee laid the ground for an alchemical and magically based society that took root and flourished twenty years later in the marriage of the princess, Elizabeth Stuart of England, to Frederick V, the Palatinate Prince of Heidelberg. The film, shot in England, Heidelberg, and Bohemia; will include enacted scenes from Dee's diary; as Dee and his skryer Edward Kelley invoke the guidance of angels in seances as they traveled through Northern Europe on Dee's mission to Bohemia -- a little known incident in European history which holds clues to understanding the fate and evolution of modern science and the nature of a lost world of magical and alchemical thinking. Subject: ACADEMY : Finis Gloriae Mundi From: Laly Warkentien Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 Dear Adam, Fulcanelli's books were never written nor intended for scholarly pursuit, they were written for the students of Alchemy, and most important, for the "farmers". His regard for tittles and ribbons clearly abandoned for the much more sought after "Cloak of Sapience", and anonymity. Finis Gloriae Mundi has been declared a hoax, I will follow the scholarly venue of reading it before labeling it as rubbish written for the purpose of generating income, vileness has and shall always exist along with humanity, diplomatically speaking. As for elevating and revering this Master of Alchemy, perhaps it comes out of a hidden knowledge, always there and only recognized as we read his words, as we try to follow his sometimes devilish paths and puzzles!. Fulcanelli a myth?.... perhaps for some. No offense taken Adam, as no harm was intended. Laly Warkentien Subject: ACADEMY : Deconstructing Fulcanelli From: Adam McLean Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1999 Dear Laly Warkentien, >Fulcanelli's books were never written nor intended for scholarly >pursuit, they were written for the students of Alchemy, and most >important, for the "farmers". Although the Fulcanelli books may not have been written for a scholarly audience, that does not mean that the ideas and information presented in his books cannot be investigated by a proper scholarly analysis. Fulcanelli does present to the reader certain ideas about alchemy and in particular its history. These ideas have been very influential in shaping people's views on alchemy (certainly in the French speaking world), so it is of concern to a modern scholar to investigate, trace the sources, and any errors potential in the Fulcanelli view of alchemy. No writer can be beyond scholarly testing. It is now recognised that there are a number of problems with many of Fulcanelli's views on alchemy. I first became aware of a problem with Fulcanelli's scholarship when I first discovered 'Le Demeures' in the mid 1970's. At the end of this book, you may recall, Fulcanelli makes much of the Sundial at Holyrood House in Edniburgh. He treats this as a unique item and makes play of possible connections to the 'Order of the Thistle' and to the Scottish adept Alexander Seton. The fact is that the sundial in Holyrood House is not unique. There were many of these constructed in stately homes in Central Scotland during the mid 17th century. These 'unique' sundials, based on a geometric solid, each carved face of which had small sundials, moondials, etc., set into it, were merely a fashion of the time, and were produced by a small group of monumental masons in Scotland. These are well documented in the architectural history of Scotland and there is an extensive article on these in the 'Journal of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'. There is nothing mysterious or mystical about these. They were not connected to any esoteric order. Nor do they have any alchemical philosophy behind their construction. Indeed, I recently found one of these (or rather a modern copy) in a public garden a few miles from my home in Glasgow. This is just one flaw in the picture of alchemy presented by Fulcanelli. It arose from him having insufficient evidence about this architectural fashion in Scotland, and projecting his own elaborate interpretation upon it. There are other problems with his books which people have recognised. In general Fulcanelli presents a romanticised view of alchemy. Scholars are always alerted when they find an overly-romanticised attitude in an author, as it almost invariably means that the interpretations presented by such an author must be carefully scrutinised and followed back to their sources if possible. The same scholarly analysis which will find the sources of the 'Finis Gloriae Mundi' and locate it as a construction of the 1990's, can and should be applied to Fulcanelli's other books. I know many people find such scholarly criticism unnerving as it often seems to burst the bubble of a broadly drawn romanticised picture. The important thing we are searching for is the truth. A subject like alchemy needs people to seek the truth, to trace back to the original source material. We don't need to import sundials, Gothic cathedral architecture, or even crop circle imagery, to our understanding of alchemy, when few people have even read 1% of all alchemical books and manuscripts. There are great treasures to be found in manuscript in libraries still undocumented. It is in this source material that the true secrets of alchemy can be found. I am constantly surprised that few people are willing to look at the source material. For that is the true alchemical ore in which scholars and academics will find the golden nuggets of alchemy. Now there is a romanticised image ! Adam McLean PS One of the key works upon which Fulcanelli drew for his ideas about the alchemical imagery in the Gothic Cathedrals was Esprit Gobineau de Montluisant, 'Explication des Enigmes et Figures hierogliphiques, qui sont au grand Portail de l'Eglise... de Notre Dame de Paris'. (Published in the 'Bibliotheque des philosophes chimiques', 1740-54.) This was recently translated into English by Mike Dickman and published by me. There has been absolutely no interest in this text, without which one surely cannot appreciate the sources for Fulcanelli's ideas. Few people, it appears, are interested in getting to the roots of alchemy. Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Spanish printed editions. From: Jose Rodríguez Date: 29 Dec 1999 Dear Rafal: There are no Spanish printed editions of Sendivogius works before the 20th century. I know of: a.. El Cosmopolita. «Nueva Luz Química», ed. J. Fonfría, Madrid, 1995. I think it is a Spanish translation of: Le Cosmopolite. «Nouvelle lumière chymique...», ed Laurent d'Houry, Paris, 1976. b.. El Cosmopolita. «Carta Filosófica», in: Juli Peradejordi. "Cuatro Tratados de Alquimia", ed Visión Libros, 1979. This "Carta Filosófica" (Philosophical Letter) is a Spanish translation of: Sendivogius. «Lettre Philosophique», ed Duval, Paris, 1671. c.. Sendivogius. «Carta Filosófica de Miguel Sendivogius», in: Mario Martínez Arroyo. "Siete Textos de Alquimia", ed Kier, Madrid, 1943 (reprinted 1947, 1978, 1982, 1994). It is another Spanish translation of: Sendivogius. «Lettre Philosophique», ed Duval, Paris, 1671. There is an electronic transcription in: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/span21.html Happy new year... Jose Rodríguez Subject: ACADEMY : Sendivogius in Spanish printed editions Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 From: Rafal Prinke Dear Jose, > There are no Spanish printed editions of Sendivogius works before > the 20th century. I know of: Thank you very much for the valuable information. > There is an electronic transcription in: > http://www.levity.com/alchemy/span21.html I have seen it but the source of that text is not mentioned there (and my e-mail to the owner remained unanswered). > Happy new year... And the same to you - and everyone on this list, especially Adam McLean, whose efforts to make alchemical information freely available and to create a forum for sensible scholarly discussion of it are simply incredible. Thank you, Adam! Best regards, Rafal |
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