Alchemy Academy archive

Alchemy Academy archive
January/February 2004

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From: Adam McLean
Date: 4 Jan 2004

I have now updated the archives of the alchemy academy
discussion group by adding entries for June - December 2003.

Go to this page to access the archives.

http://www.levity.com/alchemy/a-archive1.html

Adam McLean

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
From: Cis van Heertum
Date: 9 Jan 2004

I have found that a large number of the original Lives of the
alchemystical philosophers (1814/1815) appears to have been
based on Nicolas Lenglet du Fresnoy's Histoire de la philosophie
hermétique (1742), while there also seems to be some evidence
that the compiler of the Lives was a Behmenist. I am working on
the connection between Lenglet and the Lives, and am writing to
ask if there is (published) information on the (authorship of
the) Lives. The book, incidentally, features in the new exhibition
of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica: "Tried and Tested: the
appreciation of hermetic and alchemical manuscripts from the 15th
to the 20th centuries", which opens on 12 January. The exhibition
guide, which includes all the information I have so far collected in
the passage on Lenglet and the Lives, will soon be put on our website.

Cis van Heertum

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2004
From: Rafal T. Prinke

Dear Cis,

> I am working on
> the connection between Lenglet and the Lives, and am writing to
> ask if there is (published) information on the (authorship of
> the) Lives.

The last book written by Francis X. King was _The Flying Sorcerer:
Being the Magical and Aeronautical Adventures of Francis Barrett,
Author of "The Magus"_ and - IIRC - he made a case there that
Barrett was the authors of the _Lives_. I have the book somewhere
but obviously cannot find it when needed.

Best regards,

Rafal

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2004
From: Rafal T. Prinke

Hi again Cis,

I have now found King's book only to see that my memory failed.
On p. 33-34 he just mentions that d'Arch Smith and Waite thought
_The Magus_ and _Lives_ were not written by the same person,
while Ron Heisler thinks they were (so it is Ron's case, not King's).

But in the Appendix p. 67 King suggests that the author
was one J. P. Kellerman - and quotes a longish account of him
by Sir Richard Phillips.

Not much, I am afraid...

Best regards,

Rafal

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
From: Cis van Heertum
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004

Dear Rafal,

Thank you for your trouble. Timothy d'Arch Smith in his edition of Barrett's
The Magus suggested that an English alchemist called Kellermann wrote the
Lives, but as Barrett was his main concern he didn't really pursue the
matter of the authorship of the Lives. Perhaps it's best to speak of
'compilership', because the Lives seems to be made up of several distinct
parts.

best wishes,

Cis van Heertum

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
From : Roy Taylor
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004

I have read both Francis Barrett's _The Magus_ (first published 1801) and
Henry Cornelius Agrippa's _Three Books of Occult Philosophy_ (died 1535).
Barrett lifted much of his material in his book (_The Magus_) from Agrippa's
work. I would need to re-read the books to give examples, but if you read
both of them, you will see. Hope that is of some help.
Royster

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004
From: Rafal T. Prinke

Dear Cis,

> Thank you for your trouble. Timothy d'Arch Smith in his edition of Barrett's
> The Magus suggested that an English alchemist called Kellermann wrote the
> Lives, but as Barrett was his main concern he didn't really pursue the
> matter of the authorship of the Lives.

Francis King suggests the same, also without pursuing it further.
But the new on-line edition of Alan Pritchard's bibliography:

http://www.cix.co.uk/~apritchard/bibliog.htm

lists the following two articles which I am sure will be relevant:

460. Gerish, William Blyth. John Kellerman, the "Last of the
Alchemists".East Herts Archaeological Society. Transactions 4,
no. 2 (1910): 205-10.
461. ________. John Kellerman, the "Last of the Alchemists".
Hertfordshire Folk Lore, no. 9. Hertford:, 1910.

Best regards,

Rafal

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
From: Cis van Heertum
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004

Dear Roy Taylor,

It is certainly interesting to see if Barrett's editor T. D'Arch Smith
discusses the connection, thank you for pointing it out.

best wishes,

Cis van Heertum

Subject: Lives of the alchemystical philosophers
From: Cis van Heertum
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004

Dear Rafal,

I will certainly check these, thank you for the suggestion. I have a
suspicion (published in 1910) that these may also be the sources
T. D'Arch Smith also drew on. Kellerman needs to be looked into!

best wishes,

Cis van Heertum

Subject: Giovanni Aurelio Augurello
From: Adam McLean
Date: 15 Jan 2004

Does anyone know what the relationship is between the two works of
Giovanni Aurelio Augurello [1454?-1537?]

Carminum liber primus. - Venona 1491 and Venice 1505.

and

Chrysopoeiae libri III. - Many editions from Venice 1515 onwards

Adam McLean

Subject: Alchemical writings of Thomas Aquinas
From: Geneviève Boquet
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004

I'm in search of all texts and documents written by or attributed to
Thomas Aquinas on Alchemy.

I also would like know which of these texts are translated into
French or English.

Thanks for help.

Geneviève Boquet