Archidoxorum, seu de secretis naturae mysteriis, libri decem. Quibus nunc accesserunt libri duo, unus de mercuriis metallorum, alter de quinta essentia. Manuale item duo, quorum prius chemicorum versus thesaurus,… Basel: Peter Perna, 1582

Basel: Peter Perna, 1582. Hardcover. Fine. Bound with:

Köppe, Martin (Arioponus Cephalus) (1554 - 1615)

Das Spissglas Antimonium oder Stibium genandt, in ein Glas gegossen, es sey geel oder rodt, das man Vitrum antimonii nennet, ein warhafftige Gifft und gantz gefehrliche schedliche Artzney sey….Und derhalben von der Obrigkeit in wolbestelten Policeyen, billich die Landtfehrer, so es den Leuten feil bieten, nicht gelitten werden; Was auch die rechte Medicina sey, in gedachtem Minerlai, do es jeman brauchen wolte

Manuscript on paper, ca. 1569

Octavo. Two works in one volume: 15.5 x 10.2 cm. I. (Paracelsus): (truncated) 12 lvs., 415 pp. Collation: a8, b4, a-z8, A-C8. II. (Köppe): [104] pages in black ink, plus 72 blank leaves.

Bound in contemporary green painted vellum, color rubbed and worn, covers slightly bowed, wear at foot of spine. 1. Title of the printed book (Paraclesus) lightly soiled and with small stains, intermittent oil stain to outer margin of opening gatherings, light damp-staining to gatherings k, l, and m. Some light browning and soiling; scattered alchemical symbols in an early hand in the margins. 2. The manuscript (Köppe) is in excellent condition.

A marvelous volume that combines two 16th c. chemical-alchemical treatises: a printed edition of Paracelsus’ “Archidoxa”, which “contains the greater part of his chemical work”(Norman); and a manuscript copy of a very rare treatise by the physician-alchemist Martin Köppe.

1. The Manuscript:

A 16th c. manuscript on the poisonous properties of metalloids (probably a copy of the sole printed edition, which appeared in 1569 without indication of place or printer). The author, the Paracelsan Martin Köppe the Younger (1554-1615), was personal physician of Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick. While likely a copy of the printed edition, the manuscript has some marginal notes not found in the printed version. The printed book is known in very few copies, indicating a limited print run. Only four copies are traced in North American institutions (Yale, NLM, Penn, Wisconsin.)

Writing under the pseudonym Arioponus Cephalus, Köppe describes the process of creating “Glass of antinomy” (vitrum antimonii) from stibnite (Spießglas), also called antimonite (Sb₂S₃), a metalloid mineral of the antimony. Glass of antinomy was used by alchemists and physicians for medicinal purposes, and by artists for creating pigments (either yellow or red). As our author notes, it is a toxic substance, “a true poison and a very dangerous and harmful medicine” and one that, consequently, has been made illegal in certain places.

The 17th century alchemist George Starkey (Eirenaeus Philalethes) describes stibnite in his alchemical commentary ‘An Exposition upon Sir George Ripley’s Epistle’ as a precursor to philosophical mercury, which was itself a hypothetical precursor to the Philosopher’s stone.

“Antimony could be transformed into other forms, and was thus used in both early modern visual arts and medicine. Although the exact origins of the recipes are unclear, by the seventeenth century, antimonial glass was generally understood as a clear, yellow or red vitreous substance made from calcined (powdered and roasted) antimony. This ‘glass’ was subsequently powdered and both used as a pigment in glass paints and solved in wine as a very strong emetic, a purge. The transformation from a silvery (mercurial) substance into something yellow or red (sulfurous) played a central role in alchemy, and was even associated with the secret to the Philosopher’s Stone, which could either transform all metals into gold or contained the secret to the universal panacea. This characteristic of silvery antimony transforming into yellow or red antimonial glass partly explains the popularity of such a toxic material.”(Marieke Hendriksen, Strange glass: Vitrium Antimonii)

Köppe rails against the growing number of mountebanks and charlatans who poison and defraud people by prescribing the highly toxic glass of antinomy. They win the confidence of the ill by dropping the name of Paracelsus, despite the fact that in his books -such as his work on mines- Paracelsus is very clear about the poisonous effects of antimony, lead, and other metals, some of which contain arsenic.

Köppe points to numerous examples of poisonings, such as that of a man who was “treated” with powdered lead: “On the eleventh day, he suffered severe pain in his stomach and body. Whatever he had eaten, he threw up again, and everything tasted of lead. He suffered from terrible fever and burning for 20 days, with terrible pain in his stomach and abdomen, with constipation, which could hardly be relieved with enemas and suppositories, and everything above and below him had a leaden color, and when his vein was opened because of the fever, the blood was completely yellow and horrible, etc., all of which was caused by the spirit and poison of the lead, and caused vesicular necrosis to the abdomen and the aforementioned limbs.”

He then delves into matters alchemical, discoursing on the natural philosophy of substances (that is, their causes and effects) and the methods of separating them into their component elements (“artificium separationis”) to reveal their nature and properties, both positive and negative. In this way the work of the alchemist is like that of physician, for “just as the internal parts of man are discovered and seen through anatomy and ocular inspection, so the anatomy and nature of everything are recognized through [alchemical processes of dissolution, separation, and resolution performed in the lab].”

Köppe tells us that he will investigate the properties of spißglas “according to the ancient and true are of purification”, which is “always found by the true philosopher, and yet kept secret.” The vexing issue of antimony poisonings is an excellent example of why such information must remain secret. For, when the quacks “have learned from the alchemists or others how to pour a vitrium or glass made of antimony, they think they have precious knowledge, and have studied Paracelsus completely, and with it they deceive many simple people under his name, especially in the large cities and emporia.”

The adage that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous is exemplified by the pharmacists. Köppe identifies the toxic substances in Spißglas as mercury and arsenic. Pharmacists, in their imperfect understanding of chemical processes, believe that they can completely remove these toxins through calcination (the result of which is the glass) but, as Paracelsus and Geber tell us, these elements still remain even after the heating process. In fact, the substances become even more toxic. Here Köppe also discusses the problem of imperfect attempts to purify other toxic metals used in medicine (such as potable gold, which Raymond Lull tried to make nontoxic with the aid of a vegetal substance.)

Köppe then discusses the beneficial properties of antimony, for despite its toxicity, the mineral is also a “healing and powerful mineral”, as has been discovered by only a few.

“For it is true and cannot be denied: as poisonous and harmful as antimony is in itself, there are also precious and healing medicines which can be of great help to people in serious illnesses… Antimony also contains a precious natural balsamic sulphur called ‘sulphur incombustibile’, which can be separated and distilled pure and easily from the other fine parts of the puris & puris, and is the Sulphur Naturae, which all philosophers have striven for and have sought, and is therefore called by some ‘sulphur ethereum’, which is the true healing and beneficial medicine that is to be sought and eliminated from this mineral and administered to the human body, and is also called ‘Tinctura’. It has a lovely and pleasant aroma, as it does not weigh down the body or cause [spasms] nor does it cause vomiting, but has its own special operation. And it is not a common sulfur, but is comparable to the sulfur of gold.” (This sulfur tincture, used by Paracelsus to treat wounds, we are told, is similar to the sulfur found in rubies and garnets.)

At the end of his treatise, Köppe calls for the preparation of medicines by expert chemists, the importation of those drugs by competent pharmacists and apothecaries, and the proper use of them by physicians.

VD16 C 5011; Ferguson, I, 150; Thorndike VII, 157

II. Paracelus’ “Archidoxa”

An early, improved, and in parts completely revised edition (1st printed in 1569), which is based on Dorn’s Latin translation of 1570 but strongly uses the edition of Toxites of 1574. The changes Toxites made to the text of the first edition are important textual changes. (see Sudhoff).

The “Archidoxa” 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’ 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).

"It cannot be denied that Paracelsus’ 'Archidoxa' forms a landmark in the development of Chemistry as a scientific subject, because it presented for the first time a kind of system of Chemistry. His chemical doctrine embraces all chemical substances known to him and evolves a classification of operations and materials. In this he precedes Andreas Libavius ... Paracelsus deserves particular credit for the care which he took in the medicinal use of his chemical preparations. In fact, he made their detoxication his main concern ... Paracelsus freed the final product, such as the ‘Quintessence’ of metals, from all sharpness by washing it with alcohol and water. This particularly applies to the heating with saltpeter which brings about oxidation and thereby renders soluble insoluble combinations of metals or minerals ... Such conversion made the minerals and metals suitable for medicinal use." (Pagel, Paracelsus p. 275-6).

"Certainly Paracelsus was the first to devise such advanced laboratory techniques as the use of detoxication and freezing to concentrate alcohol and invented new preparations (including those of the ether group and probably tartar emetic); he was moreover, the first to attempt to construct a chemical system." (DSB). (Inventory #: 5134)