Masters & Disciples

Curatorial Notes:: Hermes Trismegistus was an important authority in 15th-century Europe, as the eponymous author of the Hermetic Corpus of Greek wisdom texts. Although the Corpus was actually composed around the second and third centuries, Hermes was long thought to be a contemporary of Moses — a dating error that conferred enormous prestige on his supposed writings. Many of these, including the influential Pimander, seen here in an early edition, take the form of dialogues between a master and a disciple.
Credit Line:: Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Publisher:: [Parisiis : in officina Henrici Stephani, M.D.V.] [1505].
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9942018753506421

Curatorial Notes:: A well-constructed furnace was essential for maintaining uniform heat over long periods of time. Different alchemical processes, from roasting to distilling, called for different furnace designs, some of which are illustrated in this printed edition of the 13th-century Book of Furnaces, pseudonymously attributed to Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber). On the right, the alchemical vessel sits in a deep pan of ashes within an athanor, similar in design to the furnace depicted in the Ripley Scroll.
Credit Line:: Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:: Geber, active 13th century
Publisher:: Bernæ : Ioan[nnes] Petreius Nurembergen[sis] denuo ... excudi faciebat, 1545.
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99106915653506421

Curatorial Notes:: The woodcut in this German alchemical collection illustrates a much earlier text, The Book of the Secret of Creation. This Arabic treatise, pseudonymously ascribed to Apollonius of Tyana, describes a vault hidden beneath a statue of Hermes. Within, an old man sits on a golden throne, clasping a text inscribed on an emerald and a book of secret wisdom. The scene is depicted in several medieval image sequences, in which the secret book is reimagined as an illustrated tome.
Credit Line:: Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:: Epimetheus, Franciscus, pseud
Publisher:: Basel : bey Samuel Apario, 1582.
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9926382033506421

Curatorial Notes:: Delicate operations called for specialized equipment. This copy of the Mineral Work, a 16th -century treatise attributed to Isaac Hollandus, describes an ingenious method for inserting a tripod into a narrow-necked distillation vessel. The flask is cut into two halves, and a small glass of gold placed on the tripod before the larger vessel is resealed. Gold was frequently used as an ingredient in alchemical practice, particularly when making the transmuting “Red Stone”.
Credit Line:: Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:: Hollandus, Johan Isaäc, active 15th century
Publisher:: Middelbvrgi : Excudebat Richardus Schilders ..., 1600.
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9921256363506421

Curatorial Notes:: This alchemical miscellany includes three treatises by the great 14th-century alchemist, al-Jildakī. It also includes three attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Geber in Latin), an eighth-century sage whose name was later appended to a large corpus of alchemical writings. Alchemy continued to flourish in Islamicate territories long after the translation movement. However, the 12th-century translation of Arabic alchemical treatises into Latin helped to establish Muslim philosophers like Jabir and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) as authorities in the Christian tradition.
Credit Line:: Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Publisher:: [16--?]
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9962173623506421

Curatorial Notes:: Maria the Jewess was an important alchemical authority in medieval Europe, associated with Miriam, sister of Moses. As the protagonist in an influential Latin dialogue, she teaches the secrets of alchemy to her student Aros (or Aaron) using a series of mysterious analogies. During the 15th century, the text was translated into Middle English verse and copied into the Ripley Scroll. The original dialogue continued to circulate well into the 18th century—this French translation may be copied from a printed edition.
Credit Line:: Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9932357563506421

Curatorial Notes:: The ultimate source of knowledge in Christian Europe was not human, but divine, and alchemical authors frequently attribute their success to God’s grace or direct revelation. In religious iconography, such wisdom might be shown descending from heaven on a scroll, or being copied into a roll by a human scribe. In this 13th-century Bible, an illuminated capital shows the Apostle Paul seated with a scroll, representing his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. An angel emerges from heaven, as though taking dictation from above.
Credit Line:: Gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897, 1942, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9940583723506421

Curatorial Notes:: The twinned distillation vessels, or “gemissaries,” are designed to allow material to circulate evenly between two flasks. This unusual piece of apparatus is first mentioned in the Letter of Abbreviations of Pseudo-Ramon Llull, one of George Ripley’s 14th-century sources. Given the difficulty of making such a complex piece of glassware, it is unclear whether the twin flasks were ever used in practice, or whether they were designed as a novelty to intrigue readers.
Credit Line:: Courtesy of Lawrence M. Principe

Through a Glass Darkly