Article ID: CBB087706807

The Homunculus and the Paracelsian Liber de imaginibus (2020)

unapi

As William R. Newman has already shown, the alchemical homunculus described in the pseudo-Paracelsian writing De natura rerum was not the only kind of “homunculus” present in the works of (or attributed to) Paracelsus. Two other important kinds of “homunculi” indeed appeared in other treatises: one in De homunculis et monstris and the other in both Vom langen Leben and the Liber de imaginibus. This article focuses on the latter tract and its relationships with De natura rerum. After discussing the authenticity of the Liber de imaginibus, I will provide a brief analysis of its content and discuss the major topics common to the two treatises: the “signatures of things” and the homunculus. By studying the reception of the latter, I will show how the alchemical conception of the homunculus, as explained in De natura rerum, quickly established itself as the most prominent notion despite the fact that the golem-like version of Vom langen Leben and De imaginibus had nearly as much success at first among Paracelsians.

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Article Didier Kahn; Hiro Hirai (2020) Paracelsus, Forgeries and Transmutation: Introduction. Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (pp. 1-3). unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Kahn, Didier
Gantenbein, Urs Leo
Weeks, Andrew
Banchetti-Robino, Marina Paola
Giordano, Michael J.
Hirai, Hiro
Journals
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Atti e Memorie, Rivista di Storia della Farmacia
Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Bibliothèque d'humanisme et renaissance. Travaux et documents
Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period
Foundations of Chemistry
Publishers
Brill
CNRS Éditions
Königshausen & Neumann
Concepts
Alchemy
Chemistry
Medicine
Natural philosophy
Physicians; doctors
Science and religion
People
Paracelsus, Theophrast von Hohenheim
Béroalde de Verville, François
Boyle, Robert
Croll, Oswald
Figulus, Benedictus
Haslmayr, Adam
Time Periods
16th century
17th century
Renaissance
18th century
15th century
Early modern
Places
Europe
France
Spain
Peru
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