Kepler and Alchemy

8/13/2019 Kepler and Alchemy

1/13

8 . 8 .

K epler and lchem yK RIN FIG L

Technische Univers#iit, Miinchen

S u m m a r y

A recently foun d printed funeral serm on for the alchemist and ph ysician M art in R uland II(1569-1611) is accompanied by an elegy by Kepler to his deceased fr iend Mart in. This ent irelyunk now n and unno ticed poem of Kep ler 's led to a closer s tudy o f his alchemical-chemical interests .Th e m ain sources for this research were Ke pler 's correspondence with his alchemical fr iends ,especial ly Mart in Ruland II and Joachim Tanckius. Also by considering his published scient if icworks i t is possible to see that, a l thoug h K epler d id no t himself experiment in the laboratory, he wasexcellent ly informe d abou t the experiments of the contem porary alchemists (e .g. Ty cho B rahe atthe C ourt o f Ru do lf II in Prague) . As a s trong oppo nent to the magical, cabbal is tic currents in alchemy----e .g. Ro bert F lud d-- K ep ler 's a lchemical knowledge gl immers throug h his ideas abo ut naturalphi losophy.

I n a h i t h e r to u n k n o w n f u n e r al o r a t io n I fo r t h e E m p e r o r ' s p e r s o n a l p h y s ic i a n

M a r t i n R u l a n d I I ( w h o w a s b o r n o n 11 N o v e m b e r 1 56 9 i n L a u i n g e n , a n d d i ed o n

2 3 A p r i l 1 6 11 i n P r a g u e ) , t h e f o l l o w i n g p o e m b y K e p l e r i s i n c l u d e d . ~

Rulandus, quaeris , proprio de corpore causumCu r no n arcuerit , c~m fueri t medicus ?

In promptu causa est , uni servare Diaetam,Q ua m jussit reliquos, no n licuit Medico ,

Grassantem insequitur fesso dum corpore pestem,Ut praestet , Medicum quae decet una, f idem:

Dum jubet esse procul curas, queis ur i tur ipse,Spe m vultu s imulans, t r is tia corde prem ens:

Dum noctes vigi lans vulgo conducere somnos

Pensi tat, e t poscat quem b ona cura mod um :1 See N otes on p. 463.

457


2/13

Ka rin FigalaDu m sub i t , unde iub e t re liquos abscedere , tec ta :

Du m proba t a t tac tu , quod te t ig isse noce t :Subv en i t e t mise r i s g ra ti s , gaude tque mede l i s

M a r s u p io n u m mo s a d d e re d e p ro p r io :

Conva lu~re a li j , ve r tun t con tag ia in ipsum ,Proque da ta p rec ium ta le sa lu te tu l it .Ta l i s su lphureos quondam sa t ia ra t h ia tus

Curtis , in se ipso f ini j t a tque luem.Dic i te defunc to g ra tas longa agmina laudes :

Dign a sed 6 mer i t i s p raemia , Chr is te , da to .

Amico s incero , deque mea meorumque va le tud ineoptim~ merito 1 .m.q. pepigi

J O A N N E S K E P L E R U S S . C .Maies t . Mathemat icus

W e supplem ent th i s t ex t by a reveal ing recent G erm an t rans la t ion due to Dr. W .

Batschelet , Basle:Kepler s TrauergedichtR u la n d h i e lt n i c h t a b v o m e ig en e n K 6 rp e r d i e K ra n k h e i t,t ro tz se iner ~ rz t l ichen Kuns t . Wil i s t Du wohl w issen , warum ?A uf der Han d l ieg t d ie An two r t : Verw ehr t war aUein es dem Arz t ,was er den andern befahl , e ine Di~t f i i r s ich selbst .W~ hrend e r mi iden L e ibs dem A ngr i ff de r Pes t t ra t en tgegen ,um seine Pfl icht zu erf i i l l 'n , wie es geb~ihrte d em A rzt;W~ihrend e r he isch t , d ie Krankh e i t zu m eiden , an der se lbs t e r ve rbrenn t ,Hoffnung nach aussen h in heuche lnd , t raur igen Herzen s gedr i ick t ,w~hrend e r, wach in der N ach t d ie BUrger zum Schla fen zu b r ingen ,Ih n e n d a s B es t e z u t u n n a c h d e m G e b o t , w a r b e d a c h t ;w~hrend e r H~user besuch t , aus denen d ie andern e r fo r t t r ieb ,

w~hrend e r se lbs t un te rsuch t , was zu be r f ih r ' n ihm schade t ,u n d d i e A rme n b e h a n d e l t ' u ms o n s t , ja f r eu d ig e n H e rz e n se ig en e m B e u te l e n tn a h m, w o e s d e s G e ld e s b e d u r f t ' :b rach te e r H ei lung , zumal ; s ich se lbs t ans teckend indessen ,zahlte er teuer daff ir, dass er die Rettung gebracht .Schwefe ld~mpf , d ie er n ich t nur kurzen M om ents ko nzen t r ie r te ,so lche nahm er in s ich auf und dazu noch d ie Pes t.S a g t ih m L o b u n d D a n k , d i e i h r t r au r ig e n Z u g e s d a h e rk o mm t ;Du aber schenk ' ihm de n Loh n , Ch r is tus , den -ach - e r ve rd ien t .

T he or ig inal Lat in t ex t i s no t l is ted in the Kep ler Bib l iography. 3 Ke pler ' sEp iced ium fol lows im med iate ly af ter the funera l ora t ion by the Pro tes tan t

preacher Tobias W inter : i t p rai ses the ideal ism of Kepler ' s f r i end , la id low by thedisease wh ich as a doctor h e has spent a l i fe t ime f igh ting . Ruland d ied of an infectiousfever, t hen t e rmed P e t ech i a ,4 wh ich raged in Prague in 1611. Inde ed , s ince Rulan dhad w ri t t en a special mon ograp h on th i s i l lness, 5 Kep ler ' s desp era te cry w hy shouldm y f r iend jus t have d ied of th i s i s very ap t . Kep ler i s know n to have wri t t en o therfunera l - and wed ding-poem s, addressed to f r i ends , re lat ives , and pat rons . His b ib l io-grap hy l is ts seven o f these; e in each case ther e w ere dis t inc t personal or p rofessionalreasons for the i r wr i t ing . But why d id Kepler choose to dedicate a poem to Mart inRuland I I , the outs tanding a lchemis t ,7 wh o was jus t on e of h i s m any f r iends in

458


3/13

Kepler and Alchemy

Regen sburg and Prague ? Un ders tand ably th e po em i t se l f refers on ly to Ruland ' swork as a phys ic ian ; bu t the only surv iv ing le t t er f rom Ruland to Kepler (datedReg ensb urg, 24 Febr uar y 1607) is exclusively conce rned with chemical or alchemical

matter. 8 In i t ~ (Fig. 8 .29) R ulan d expresses his pleasure at Ke pler ' s interest in hisv iews . He even welcomes Kepler ' s cr i t i ci sms , showing as they do the mathem at ic ian ' stheore t ica l concern wi th chemis t ry. Ruland i s par t i cu lar ly eager to show the ad-vantages of the spagyric (Paracels ian) medicaments over those (most ly herbal)know n s ince Ant iqui ty, s ince the t imes of Hippocra tes and Galen . H e takes up indetai l Kepler ' s dou bts on the processes of t ran sm utat io n--d oub ts based on thethou ght tha t go ld and s i lver may be mel ted by the inner heat of the Ear th , bu t tha tth i s was scarcely poss ib le by man-made means . Ruland , however, po in t s ou t tha teven a swal lowed coin could be corroded by the bod y ' s heat . H e emphas izes thatin natural sme l t ing some addi t ional factor, as wel l as the Earth 's heat , has to be act iveto break up the s t ruc ture of the meta l in to i t s e lements . Ru land a lso d i scussesKe pler ' s cri t icism of an al leged t ran sm utat i on in w hich an i ron k nife is said to havebeen turne d to gold wi th the help of a t inc ture (or powder) . Rulan d kn ows of th i sexper imen t1 but on ly by hearsay; apar t f rom his scept ic i sm towards exper t s infa l se t ransm utat ions , w hom he suspects, he i s s ti ll ready to d i scuss the theore t ical

poss ib i li ty of a genuine t ransmutat ion . 1~ Kepler apparent ly adm i t ted that somechange of form - - sho wi ng i t se lf as a co lour chang e--w as poss ib le in the t ransmutat ionof meta l s, bu t had not accepted the poss ib le change f rom i ron to gold , g iv ing as h i sreason the different densi t ies of the two metals . Ruland apparent ly also bel ieves thatan increase in weight can take p lace in t ransmu tat ion , and expla ins th i s no t th roug hthe Ari s to te lian theory form a e t mater ia , bu t th ro ugh the a lchemis t ic su lph ur andmer cury theory. Accord ing to th i s , mer cury i s f ixed and com plete d thro ugh thevi r tue s of the t inc ture . T he merc ury-pr incip le i s respons ib le for the heaviness

of a body, the su lphur-pr incip le , however, for i ts l igh tness . In th i s way Ru landfeels that the gain in weight can readi ly be explained.

Ruland , the Paracel sian and a lchemis t, appl ies K epler ' s v iew of the healing powersof med icam ents to advance the benef i ts of the spagyr ic ar t. For th i s ex t rac t s theessent ia l ingredien ts , whereas the convent ional draughts conta in too muc h iner t

mater ial and lack the s tab i le subjectum , so that they i r r it a te but do not ful ly cure

T he date of th i s l e tt er suggest s tha t Kepler had jus t read theProgymnasmatawhich appeared in Frankfurt in 1606, and that this has given r ise to his queries anddoubts . Unfor tunate ly, Kepler ' s l e t t er conta in ing h i s ques t ions has not been found;bu t i ts conte nts can be ded uced , s ince even the subjects of Ru land 's answer s t i llcorrespond to those of the book. For example , in theProgymnasmataRuland f re-quent ly em phas izes that f i re is the m os t im por tan t too l of the chem is t , and that i tcan arti f icially and m or e speed i ly imitate the processes of Natu re.TM Again thecompar i son between the s tomach ' s heat wi th that found in Nature and in thechem ical laboratory, me nt io ned in the let ter, is also mad e in the boo k. ~3 T he presence

459


4/13

~ ' , l ~ ' ~ ~ , ~ ~ . d - ~ , , ~ ~ " 7 i ~ ' ~ + a ' ~ ' , ,7a, l - - . ?

~ ~ ~ ) / 4 - / ~ ' - 4 ; ~ ' 6 . ' ~ , ~ ~ - ~ , ' ; ' ~

7 ~ -7 .~/.~',.,~


5/13

Kepler and Alchemy

of oth er factors besides n atura l heat in the processes of solut ion and coagulat ion isrefer red to by Ru land in h i s le t t er, quot ing the case of minera l s which in wa ter - -ou t s ide the i r ho m e - - do no t combine , bu t on ly coagu la t e. A s imi la r com m en t is

found in the book, 14 wh ere Rulan d declares that sem en has the v i r tu s of com biningonly in it s own rea lm ; ou ts ide of th is , on ly coag ula t ion --no t so lu t ion-- tak es place.In the same way the book conta ins a comment s imi lar to that in the le t t er, namelythat a character i s t i c m ix tu re - - a concept mo re closely def ined in note 15-- i srequ ired , as wel l as heat , fo r solut ion (con coct io) to take place.

Kep l e r ' s un t raced l e t te r m ay we l l have m en t ioned t he con t rover sy be tween t hetwo R egensburg med ica l m en R u land and Obernd or fe r,16 wh ich had develop eds ince 1606 and b y 1610 becam e a publ ic l i t e rary d i spu te? 7 Kep ler w as f r iendly wi thboth ; Oberndorfer, the noted phys ic ian , had known Kepler s ince h i s t ime in Graz(1594-1600). On 22 Ju ly 1622, in fac t, he becam e godfather to K epler ' s d augh terCordula . 18 Ke pler ' s on ly know n le t ter to Ob ernd orfer19 dates fr om this period, andhe i s ment ioned apprecia t ively severa l t imes in Kepler ' s correspondence.2 Rulan d,l ikewise, is also m ent io ned several t imes. 21 O ne cann ot say w het her Ke pler wasth ink ing o f t he d i spu t e be tween t he two doc to rs when he wro t e i n h i s poem the w ords

su lph ureos sa t iara t h ia tus , bu t R uland in one of h i s po lemics against Ob ernd orferdubs h im su lp hur eus , 22 a long wi th o ther t erms o f abuse , as was the cus tomthen .

Kepler ' s in teres t in chemical problems appears even more c lear ly f rom hisexchange o f l e t t e r s w i th Joach im Tanck ius , t he Le ipz ig P ro fes so r o f Med ic ine(1537-1609). 33 Tanckius was an enthusiast ic alchemist and fol lower of Paracelsus,and a l ready a t th i s t ime he was seeking h i s own professorsh ip of Chem is t ry.24 A pa rtf rom his own chemical wr i t ings he became wel l known for h i s Foreword to theTriumphwagen Antimonii(1604), at t r ib uted to a wri ter kn ow n as Basil ius Valent inus.Som e authors , indeed , go so far as to nam e Tanckiu s as the t rue au th or of the publ ica-t ions ascr ibed to th i s l egend ary Benedic t ine m onk. 25 In the correspondence, Tan ckiusment ions severa l t imes that he had abandoned mathemat ics and was dedicat ingh imse l f who l ly t o chemis t ry.26 N ow he would work in Vulcan ' s workshop to wres t leN ature ' s secre ts f rom her. '27 Indee d , the corresp ondenc e touches on s imi lar ques tionsto those ra i sed in Ruland ' s l e t t er. Thus Tanckius compares the bodi ly funct ions

wi th chem ical processes, wher eby in the s tomach, w hich he com pares to a react ion-vessel olla), the foods tuffs are d isso lved in to thei r p r im a m ater ia . In th i s , as aParacels ian , he f inds the ro le of A rch eus impor tan tY 8 In th e le t t er of 24 Janu ary1608 K eple r ' s com et-spir i ts are discussed, 29 and on 18 Ap ri l 1608 Ta nck ius wri tes3about the inf luence of s te ll ar pos it ions on th e t ransm utat ion of s ilver in to goldaccord ing to Tr i th em ius . In typ ical ly symbol ic mann er, the ac t ion of the o the r meta l snecessary for this tro,n~m utat ion is comp ared to the in terpe net ra t ion of the p lanetaryspheres . Kepler rep l ied to Tanckius in a deta i led le t t er, in which he develops thefoundat ions of h i s harmonic theory accord ing to P la to ' sTimdus?~

461


6/13

Karin Figala

Somewhat l a ter, Kepler had occas ion to express h i s v iews on the Ari s to te l iantheor y of the e lem ents in publ ic . 3~ K urd Lasswi tz remarks how in teres t ing i t i s tosee the a t t i tude o f a man of Kep ler ' s s ta ture to the theor ies of h i s t ime . 33 T ho ug h

Kepler as a non-chemis t i s re luctan t to t ake s ides , he never theless expresses someviews on these ma t ters : . . . U nd ob ich mich wol noch n ie reso lv ir t , a lweil i ch keinCh ym icus b in , so wi l m ich doch geduncken, das Few er sey mater ia l i t er n ich tsanders , dann der Schwebel , su lphur in motu cons t i tu tum: su lphur aber i s t e inW erck , opus , der Seelen im Le ib , wie das Blu t . W ere a l so das Few er formal i ter e inaccidens . . . -34 Ke pler ho lds the m ater ia l s of the w or ld as suchactu et potentia)to be co ld , dead and heavy. Heat , m ove m ent and l i fe are cal led up b y the soulspiritus)which permeates the body. Thus , for example , as wel l as the universa l

aetheric spir i t, th e E arth has i ts own sp ir i t w hich gives r ise to geological act ivi ty, suchas the creat ion of meta l s , the s torage of the Ear th ' s heat , the re lease of vapours as

s t reams and ra in as wel l as the form at ion of the o ther m eteo r ic com ponents . 35Since Kepler sees al l heat as a resu l t o f the ac t ion of the sp i r i tus , he bel ieves thatf i re can be excluded f rom the four Ar i s to tel ian e lements .3e According ly he denies th eexis tence of a specia l sphere for the f iery e lemen t . He prefers to regard ac tual f i reas a heaven ly chance-even t wh ich he compares wi th mov ing su lphur o r b lood .F rom th i s i t fo l l ows t ha t t he hea t found i n bod i es - -and a l so i n t he human body- -mu s t g radua ll y be u sed up . A s a l r eady men t ioned , R u l and and T anck ius a s sumedthat the process of so lu t ion requi red both heat and another fac tor, ca lled by T anckiu sArcheus .37

His two corresp ondents based thei r th inking on Paracel sus ' th ree pr incip les andAris to t le' s elements , and con sequent ly have to assume an addit ional ac t iv epr incip le . K epler, h owever, in only recogniz ing three o f Ar i s to t le 's e lem ents , canuse f i re as th i s ac tive princip le . I t m ay be that the a lchemis t s unknowing ly led h imto th is l ine of though t . F or Kep ler the idea of a Tr in i ty i s so dom inant3s tha t in thishe i s m ore a lchem ical than h i s two medical co lleagues.39 K eple r w as not alone inre jec t ing f i re as the four th e lement . Not only Cardanus , whom he ac tual ly quotes ,but also the Court Physician ( Pfalzgr~ifischer und hanauischer Leibarzt ) Hel is~usR6sl in (1544-1616) shared his view. (I t was R6sl in 's cri t icism of K eple r ' sDe Ste l laN o v a of 1606 that caused Keple r to publ i sh h i s deta iled t rac t in wh ich he expresses

h is chemical v iews most fu l ly. ) R6s l in a lso re jec ted war m th and mo is ture as proper t iesof a i r, thus ca ll ing the A ri s to te l ian schem e of e lements even m ore in ques t ion .

I t i s t rue that in the A ppend ix to Book 5 of theHarmonices M un diKeple r s eemsto take a ra ther negat ive v iew of the a lchemis ts in defend ing h imsel f against Robe r tF lu dd (1574-1637). H e says : O ne can see , too , tha t he del ights mos t in mys ter iouspuzzle-p ic tures of rea li ty, whi le I p refer to br ing the dark shro uded fac ts of N aturein to the ligh t. His (F ludd ' s ) m ethod i s tha t o f the C hym is t s , Herm et ics , andParacel s ians , bu t m ine i s tha t of the m athemat ic ians . '4 Elsewhere a t the sam e per iodK eple r says: I hate al l cabbal is ts . 41 H ere i 't appears tha t K eple r is at tacking only

462


7/13

Kepler and Alchem y

t h e o c c u lt a l c h e m i s t s w h o l i ke F l u d d c o n c e r n t h e m s e l v e s w i t h C a b b a l a , M a g i c ,

G e o m a n c y, A s t ro l o g y, a n d so f o rt h , r a t h e r t h a n t h e m o r e e x p e r i m e n t al l y m i n d e d

I a t r o c h e m i s t s . P a r a c e ls i s m h a d b y t h is t i m e s o m e w h a t d i s i n te g r a te d ; L i b a v i u s ,

w h o p r a is e d R u l a n d I I i n t h e F o r e w o r d t o h isAlchemya n d w r o t e a f u n e r a l a d d r e s sf o r h i s f a t h e r , 42 h a d a l r e a d y t a k e n i s s u e w i t h t h i s E n g l i s h o c c u l t i s t F l u d d , w h o

p r i d e d h i m s e l f o n b e i n g a P a r a c e ls i a n . 43

S o , e v e n t h o u g h K e p l e r w a s n o t o n e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l f i g u r e s in th e a l c h e m i c a l

c i rc l es o f th e C o u r t o f R u d o l f I I , 44 a n d e v e n t h o u g h h i s p e r h a p s m o r e s c i en t if i cc o n t r i b u t i o n s t o c h e m i c a l p r o g r e s s w e r e o n l y sp o r a d i c , P a r t i n g t o n ' s r e m a r k 45 t h e

h i s t o r ia n s o f c h e m i s t r y h a v e n o t h i n g t o s a y a b o u t K e p l e r s e e m s a l it tl e s h o r t o f t h e

m a r k .

N o t e s

1. Chris t liche L ob- und Klagpred igt / Bey dem Begr~ibnus desz weiland Edlen / und Ehrnvesten /Achtbarn und / Hochgelehr ten / Her rn M A R T IN I / RU LA ND I, der Ar tzney Docto- / r is ,und R6m. K ay. Mayes ta t bes te l - / t en M edic i ; /W elche r sel ig in Chr is to en tsch la ffen zu /Prag / Anno 1611, den 23. Aprilis: und den 27. / desselben Christlich / in ansehenlicher / Volck-reicher V ersam- / lung / mit viler Thren en und Seuffzen / in der K irchen / zu S. Nicolai auffder kleinen Sei ten / zur / Erden bestat tet worden. / Gehalten durch / To biam VV interum,teutschen Ev ange - / l ischen Prediger daselbsten. / S am pt etlichen epicediis. / (Titelvignette) /Gedruckt zu Laugingen / durch M. Jakob / Winter / im Jahre 1612.

Th is funeral orat ion --w hich interprets Syrach, Chapter 38, verse 4--app ears to be veryrare. Even the catalogue of the Fi irs t l ich Stolberg-S tolberg 'schen Leichen predigten-S amm -

lung, Bd. I II , L eipzig 1930 ( in:BibliothekfamiliengeschichtlicherQuellenBd. II), p. 535, etc.only mentions the brother Johann and the father, Mart in Ruland I .

H. W. Singer,Allgemeiner B ildniskatalogBd. 10, Leipzig, 1933, p. 274, record s po rtraitsboth for Mart in R uland I in Halle , as also for Mart in Ruland II in Dresden (B 1469, 2).

2. Kepler 's poem can be found on page (16) of the unnumbered funeral orat ion. Since the t i t lepage lists several Ep iced ien , additional pages appear to have existed, bu t are missing in ourc opy. T h e p o e m c an b e f o u nd u n d er t he ge ne ra l t it le E P I D E C I A I N O B I T U M /N ob i l i s ,ma gn if ic i, c la rr is s im iq ue v ir i, / D n . M A RT I N I R U L A N D I F. / M E D I CI N A E D O CT O R I S ,CH E M I C I SO - / l e r t i s , Co mi ti s Pal at in i Ca esar ei , R U D O L P H I / I I . I mp . A ug . Pe rsonae -Me dici excell. / ab Amicis, affinibus & c. conscripta. / I . / . T he author of this essay has pre-sented this copy to the Keplerkommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, inMunich, for its collection.

3. Bibliographia Kep lerianaedited by M. Caspar (2nd edi tion by M . List) , Munich, 1968. Th ebibl iography l ists only the p rinted works. Kep ler 's man uscripts are catalogued in special l is ts bythe Keplerkommission.

4. T he preacher Tob ias Win ter speaks in his funeral orat ion of the poisonous fever Petechia asthe cause of death. This kind of Fleckfieber is usual ly connected with spots and symp tomslike those of typhoid. A t that time there was, of course, very little p recise d escription or classi-fication of diseases, so whole group s of infectious epidem ics were described as plag ues .

5. D e Perniciosae luis ungaricae tecmars i et curatione tractatu, historicis curis atque o bserva tioni-bus 30 , nec non quaes t ion ibus a l i qu ot . . , locupletatus, au to re . . . Mar t ino R ula nd o . . . ,Frank furt 1600. Apart f ro m this edi t ion, mentioned in the catalogue of the Biblioth6queNationale, theAllgemeine Deutsche Biographie(1889) also mentions editions published inLeipzig in 1610 and 1616, in Ly on in 1628, and in Stet t in in 1651. As a le tter f rom Tanckius to

463


8/13

Karin Figala

Ke pler ( see no te 21) shows, the re migh t a l so have ex is ted a los t ed i t ion pub l i shed by N er l ich inLe ipz ig in about 1608, p rov ided tha t the ment ioned t rac tDe pestei s no t an a l toge ther unknow nin d e p e n d e n t p a p e r b y R u lan d . T h ellgemeine Deutsche Biographiement ions on p . 635 tha t th ispaper i s even today a readab le and no tew or thy pub l ica t ion . Rulan d dec la res the Hu ngar ian

Lu es to be iden t ica l w i th the Pe tech ia - typ hoid o f the I ta l ians and Fre nch and em phas izes h isbel ief in th e c ontagiou s natu re of this i l lness (Pagel) .6 . Bibliog raphia (see note 3) No . 1 (wed ding poem for J . Hu lden ricus in 1590). No . 2 (funeral

poem for U . H olp ius in 1592) . No . 3 ( funeral poem for S . He i land in 1592) . No . 13 ( funera lpoem for Ty cho Brahe in 1601). No . 28 (wedding poem for C . Dornav ius in 1608). Nos . 41-42(funera l poem for Ru do lf I I , g ree t ing-poem for Em peror M at th ias in 1612-13). No . 50 (mem or ia lpoem of 1616 fo r h is son Fr iedr ich , who d ied on 19 Feb ruary 1611 , and fo r h is w ife Barbara ,who d ied on 3 Ju ly t611). We should no te tha t Ma r t in Rulan d I I d ied be tween these two da tes ,namely on 24 A pr i l 1611 . A l l th ree were v ic t ims o f the sam e Hun gar ian i l lness which wasbroug ht to Prague on 15-16 Feb ruary 1611 by so ld ie rs f rom Passau . Accord ing to Ke ple r ' s ow nte s timo n y h i s w i f e - - li k e R u la n d I I - -d i e d i n a t t e n d in g to t h e s ic k.

7 . M ar t in R uland I I , a l so ca l led the Younger, mat r icu la ted a t the age o f 14 (on 13 Sep tembe r 1583)a t T / ib in gen U nivers i ty. Th e matr icu la t ion record o f Base l shows tha t in the year 1590 he was inJena , and tha t on 14 No vem ber 1592 he became Dr. m ed . in Base l. In 1594 , re tu rn ing homefrom h is s tud ies abroad , he became Tow n Phys ic ian o f Regensburg . F ro m o ur newly d iscoveredfunera l o ra t ion we lea rn tha t he marr ied the daughte r Ben igna o f the kur f / ir s t lich-k61nischeRat , Counc i l lo r Johannes Diem er, and tha t they had th i r teen ch i ld ren o f whom e igh t weres t i ll a l ive a t h is dea th . H is successfu l medica l ac tiv i ties came to the no t ice o f the Pr inces whotook par t in the Re ichs tag in Regensburg , in par ticu la r the Archd uke Ma t th ias and the Em -p e ro r R u d o lp h I I . T h e l a t te r s u mmo n e d R u la n d I I o n 1 6 M a rc h 1 60 7 to P rag u e a s C o u r t P h y s i -c ian (a pos t which h is fa ther had he ld un t i l h is dea th in 1602). We now l i s t h is pub l ica t ions :

F i rs t ly, we no te h is mon ograph m ent ioned in N ote 5 . Th e ca ta logue o f the B ib l io th6queNat iona le , and J . R . Par t ing ton in h isHistory o f Chemistry(Lo ndo n, 1961, Vol. II , p . 161) alsoment ion the fo l lowing add i t iona l works :

2 . No va e t in omni memor ia inaud i ta h is to r ia de aureo den te , qu i nuper in S i lesia puero

c u id a m s e p t e n n i s u c c re v i s s e . . , a n ima d v e rs u s e s t: d e q u e e o d e m ju d ic iu m M a r t in i R u la n d if i l i i . . . - -F ra nco fur t i , impens is P. Kopf i i , 1595 . (Le jud ic ium de R uland es t dat6 , 20 ju l i i 1595 .)

3 . M ar t in i Ruland i f i l i i . . . Dem ons t ra t io jud i t i i de den te aureo puer i s i les i i , adversusrespons ionem M . Johann is In go ls te te r i . - -Franco fur t i , impens is C . Su tor i i , 1597.

4 . P rogymnasmata a lchemiae , s ive Prob lemata chymica nonag in ta e t una quaes t ion ibusd i lu c id a t a , c u m L a p id i s p h i lo so p h ic i v e ra c o n f ic i en d i r a ti o n e , au c to re M a r t in o R u la n d o . . . - -Fran cofu rt i , e collegio M usa rum palthen iano, 1607. 3 p art . en 1 vol . (La d6dicace, dat6eRat isbonae , 10 mai i 1606 , es t s ign6e : Mar t inus Ru lan d t . - -L a 2 e part ie est fo rm~e par un Ap pen -d ix quaes t ionum chy mi caru m. - - La 3 e par t ie a, sous la m~me da te e t ~ la m~me adresse, unt i t re p ropre : L ap id is ph i losophic i ve ra conf ic iend i ra t io , gemino e ru ta t rac ta tu , opera Ma r t in iR u l a n d i . . . - - L e t it re de d 6 pa rt du 1e trai t6 est : Atdt~rlc~/tg apidis philos ophic i nov a; celui d u2 ~: Tra c t a tu s a l te r d e l a p id e p h ilo s o ph ic o a n o n y mi c u ju s d a m . . . - -L a d ~ d ic a ce de l ' 6 d i t eu r e stda t~e : Ra t isponae , 16 januar i i 1606 . - -L 'ouvrag e es t g6n6ra lement a t t ribu6 , par e r reur, semb le t -i l , a Ruland p6re, mort en 1602. )

5 . P ropugnacu lum Chymia t r iae : Das i s t , Bean twor tung und besch i i tzung der A lchymis-t i schen Ar tzneyen , e t l icher Spur ioga len is ten ver leumbdun gen u nd d ie vor tre f tl ichen hochn utz -bar l ichen Chy mia t r iae , unchr is t l ich und unb i l l ichem verda mm en en tgegen gesa tz t . Le ipz ig , 1608 .

6 . P ro b le ma tu m me d ic o -p h y s i c o ru m l ib e r p r imu s , a uc to re M a r t in o R u l a n d o , . . . [P ro b le -ma tu m me d ic o -p h y s i c o ru m p a rs s e c u n d a M a r t in i R u la n d i . ] - -F ra n c o fu r t i , e c o ll eg io M u s a ru mpalthen iano, 1608. 2 part ies en 1 vol.

7 . A lex lcacus chym ia tncus : pu r is pu t i s , men dac i i s a tque ca lumni is a t roc issimis JoannisO b e rn d o r f e ri , q u ib u s l a rv a tus i l le me d ic u s a p o lo g iam s u a m, c h y mic o -me d ic a m p ra c t i c a m . . .c o n s a rc in av i t, o p p o s i t u s . . , f a ma e in t eg r i ta t is s u a e ju r e a M a r t in o R u l a n d o , . . . [2 9 a u g . 1 6 10 .]- -Fr anc ofu r t i , p ros ta t apud Pa l then ium, 1611 .

6


9/13

K e p l e r a n d A l c h e m y

8 . L e x i c o n a l c h e m i a e , s i v e D i c t i o n a r i u m a l c h e m i s t i c u m , c u m o b s c u r i o r u m v e r b o r u m e tr e r u m h e r m e t i c a r u m , t u r n T h e o p h r a s t - P a r a c e l s ic a r u m p h r a s i u m , p l a n a m e x p l i c a ti o n e m c o n -t i n e n s , a u c t o re M a r t i n o R u l a n d o , . . . - - F r a n c o f u r t i , c u r a ac s u m p t . P a l t h e n i i, 16 12 . ( L a d 6 d ic a c ede l ' au t eu r es t da t~e : P ragae , 20 ap r i l i s 161 1 . - -N ~an m oins l 'ouvra ge es t g~n~ra lemen t a t t r ibu~ ,

par e r r eu r sem ble - t - i l , a Ru lan d p6re , mo r t en 1602. ) I n th i s con nec t ion we r ep rod uce (F ig .8 .3 0 ) a le t te r f r o m R u l a n d t o t h e B a s le d o c t o r, C a s p a r B a u h i n . T h e h a n d w r i t in g m a y b e c o m -pared wi th tha t o f F ig . 8 .29 .

8 . Kep le r, Gesammelte Werkevo l . XV, pp . 406-7 , l e t t e r No . 411 . (The r e f e r ences to Kep le r ' sw r i t in g s re f e r to t h e e d i t i o n o f th e D e u t s c h e F o r s c h u n g s g e m e i n s c h a f t a n d t h e B a y e r i s c h eAkademie der Wissenschaf t en , Munich , 1938 , e t c . )

9 . F igu re 8 .29 i s a f acs imi l e o f t h i s l et t e r. T he fo l lowing two ex t r ac t s a r e pa r t i cu la r ly no tew or thy :C o g i t a t io n e s c h y m i c a s, M a t h e m a t i c o r u m p r a e s ta n t i ss i m e , a m i c e o b s e r v a n d e t i b i p r o b a r i m e a s,

g a u d e o . I l l u d e n i m d e m u m l a u d a b i l e i n d i t i u m , q u o d a b e r u d i t i s p r o f i c i s c i t u r. R e r u m c h y m i -c a r u m t e n o n p l a n ~ ig n a r u m e s se , o b j ec t io n e s so l e rt e r p r o p o si ta e i n m e d i u m o s t e n d u n t ; a d q u a ss t a ti m , t u i s l ec t is , r e s p o n d i s s e m , s i o t i u m e t t e m p u s f u i ss e t o c c u p a t i s s i m o . . . A n d . . .E l e g a n s es t , q u o d a p p i n g i s, d e c a l or e v e n t r i c u li m e d i c a m e n t a p u rg a n t i a d i s p e rg e n t e p e r t o t u mc o r p u s . . .

1 0. T h i s s e e m s t o r ef e r t o t h e t h e n f a m o u s a n d m u c h d i s cu s s ed t r a n s m u t a t i o n o f t h e S c o t t is h a l c h e -mis t Alexander Se ton (d i ed 1604). He i s sa id to have used a pa r t i cu la r t i nc tu re o r t r ans fo rm ingpow der to tu r n l ead , i r on , e t c ., i n to go ld . Send ivog ius , Se ton ' s no ted successo r, a l so pe r fo rmedt r a n s m u t a t i o n s i n t h e a l c h e m i c al c ir c le s o f P r ag u e a t t h e C o u r t o f R u d o l f I I . I n d e e d , i n 1 60 4 w eh e a r r e p o r ts o f a t r a n s m u t a t i o n p e r f o r m e d b y t h e E m p e r o r h i m s e lf .

11 . I n theAppend ix Quaestionum Chymicarumwe f ind an ex tens ive d i scuss ion o f th i s ; a s t a t em en t onp . 41 wi l l se rve as a charac te r i s ti c exam ple : . . . Na tu ra no n po tes t ex p lu m bo auru m facere .E rg o n e c a rs . R e s p . N e g a r i c o n n e x u m . N a t u r a e n i m f e c it q u a n d o q u e p e r s e e x p l u m b o a u r u m ; s ia r te f it e x p l u m b o a u r u m n o n f i t e x p l u m b o a u r u m n o n f i t i d re p u g n a n t e n a t u r a . N a t u r a t a m e nno n po t i s s i t id f ab r i ca r e , an a r t i i dem er i t imposs ib i le . Neg . N a tu ra no n po tes t l axa ta repone re ,a rs p o te s t, E r g o . ( X I I X A r g u m e n t u m . )

12. Progymnasmatap . 7: C h y m i c o n o n e st a l iu d h a b il i u s i n s t r u m e n t u m i g n i ;De lapide philoso-

phico p . 58 . Th i s work w hich was l a te r a t t ached to theProgymnasmata--publishedb y R u l a n d i nF r a n k f u r t i n 1 6 0 6 - - i s n o m i n a l l y b y S e n d i v o g i u s , b u t w a s a c t u a ll y w r i t t e n b y S e t o n (s ee K . C .S c h m i e d e r,Geschichte der Alch emiep . 345 , Ha l l e , 1832). Th i s r e f e r ence i s no t usua l ly qu o t ed - -t h u s P a r t i n g t o n , fo r i n s t a n c e , d o es n o t m e n t i o n i t . T h e c a ta l o gu e o f t h e B i b l i o th 6 q u e N a t i o n a l el is ts t h is w o r k u n d e r R u l a n d , b u t d o e s n o t m e n t i o n t h a t i t i s d e ri v e d f r o m S e n d i v o g i u s o rS e t o n . A t t h e e n d o f t h e t ex t , h o w e v e r, is t h e u n a m b i g u o u s p a s sa g e : . . . S i q u a e r it i s q u i s ;cosmo pol i t a sum: s i me nos t i s , & bon i ac hon es t i v i r i e sse des ide ra t i s, t aceb i t i s : s i me no n nos t i s ,n o l i t e d e m e i n q u i r e r e . . . ( p . 15 2). P a r t in g t o n ( I I , 4 2 7) , i t i s t r u e , b e l ie v e s t h a t th e n a m e C o s -mo pol i t a r e f e rs to Send ivog ius , s ince the l a t e r ed i t ions o f th i s pub l i ca t ion appear u nd er thel a t t e r ' s n a m e . Tr a d i t i o n h a s i t , h o w e v e r, t h a t S e t o n t o o k t h i s n a m e C o s m o p o l i t a f o r h i m s e l fb e c a u s e o f h i s w a n d e r i n g s .

13. In Alexicacusw e fi n d t h e s e n t e n c e : S i i ta q u e c o r p u s h u m a n u m c a t h a r t ic u m s u b l i m a r epo tes t , vos no n a r t i fi c ium chymiae ? (p . 92 ). T h i s w ork i s a sc r ibed to Ru la nd I , t he f a the r, i n thec a ta l o g u e o f t h e B i b l i o th + q u e N a t i o n a l e , e v e n t h o u g h b o t h t h e f o r e w o r d a n d t h e e n d o f th e t e x tca r ry the da te 29 Au gus t 1610 . M ar t in Ru lan d I , however, d i ed on 3 Febru ary 1602 . H e i s a lson a m e d a s t h e i n v e n t o r o f th e A q u a b e n e d i c t a R u l a n d i ( o n p . 2 2) . A n d o n p a g e 1 00 w e f i n dan ex t r ac t f rom a l e t te r t o h is b ro ther A ndre as who i s ( a lso m en t io ned on pp . 3 , 18 , 30 -31) ; wh i l eh i s b r o t h e r V a l e n t i n e i s m e n t i o n e d o n p . 1 7, a n d h i s b r o t h e r J o h a n n o n p . 1 0 2. A l l t h es e t h r e ed o c t o rs a r e a d d r e s s e d b y n a m e i n t h e f u n e r a l o ra t io n . A l t o g e t h e r t h e re s e e m s t o b e s o m e c o n -f u s i o n a b o u t t h e R u l a n d m a n u s c r i p t s i n t h e l i te r a tu r e . T h u s e v e n t h eLexicon Alchemiaeisa s c r ib e d t o R u l a n d I i n t h eAllgemeine D eutsche B iographie( I 889). I n C . G . J6che r ' sA llgemeinesGelehrtenlexikon( L e i p z ig , 1 7 5 1) t h is w o r k i s m e n t i o n e d n e i t h e r u n d e r R u l a n d I n o r u n d e rR u l a n d I I . L i k e L i b a v i u s i n h isAlchemiaR u l a n d I I a p p e a rs i n t h i s L e x i c o n m o r e i n a n e m p i r ic a ll igh t t han as a specu la t ive a l chemis t . Tran sm uta t ion s and s imi l a r occu l t a r t s a r e no t desc r ibed .

4 6 5


10/13

/ I t ~ ~. ,4 i 4 + , I /# , ' t # # ,~ 9 '

g k ' , ,> , ) e . i , - 6

s ~ ., . . . ~ + , ' f,4 . ~ ' l ~ i~.,'~',~?.~ ~ , ,~ s ,t~ .: . ~ ,,~ -~ ,,,~ , ~

~ ~ l , ~ , , ' ~

~ . , ~ , . . , ' ~ ~ , , ,~ , . ~ , , 4 , ~ . '~ , ; ~ , / > < . , '~ , ~ .~ i~ ' ~. s ~ . > f ' , ~ ' D iA ~ /~ ,.A,., ./~ ,~ ,.~ .+,'.~,,.,~,,~o ~ - , - - - , , .. , . . . ~ .

. l l 1 7 r l , ' t . I l l l ~ I

, ? < i ~ J , - ~

<

~ ' c t t .

FI~. 8.30. Let ter from M art in Ruland II to Caspar Bauhin, o f Basle; Regensburg,26 Jan uar y 1604. (Universit~its-Bibliothek Basel, Fr. Gr . M S. I, 14 No . 30.)

466


11/13

K e p l e r a n d A l c h e m y

But by quo t ing the Lap is Ph i losop hicus o f the Cos mo pol i ta ( see no te 12) in h isProgymnas-mata,Rulan d shows tha t he i s no t to ta l ly oppos ed to these mys t ica l s tud ies . W ith regard to theb ib l iograph ic doubts , we may com men t tha t even Par t ing ton ( I I , 161) seems to have though t tha tthe Prog ym nasm ata migh t be due to Rulan d I . But th is over looks a po in t o f the o r ig ina l tex t ,

fo r in the Appendix Quaestionum Chymicarum(p . 88) the writer cal ls on his father as witness.A c loser s tudy o f the a lmo s t fo rgo t ten Ruland manu scr ip ts migh t ce r ta in ly wel l be w or th whi le ,as they o ffer impor tan t m ate r ia l fo r the h is to ry o f chem is t ry and pharm acy.

14. De lapidephilosophico,p. 117.15. O n p. 96 of theProg, mnasm atawe f ind the fo llowing s ta tement : . . . Q .uin e t iam hoc a rgum en-

tum l ique t , c ras in non esse ipsam formam, seu na tu ram re i , cum cras is d ica tu r secundumnaturam inesse .

16. Johan n Ob erndorfe r (who was born in 1549 , and d ied in 1625 in K6then) , a f te r comple t ion o f h iss tud ies in Jena and V ienna , became ch ie f medica l o ff icer in R egensburg (1584) , where the recordsof his vis i ts to the apothecaries during the plague of 1585 are s t i l l extant in extracts (cf . C.Hab r ich , Apo thekengesch ich te Regensb urgs in re ichss t~d t ischer Ze i t , in :Neue MiinchnerBeitrdge zur Geschichte der M edizin und Naturwissenschaften, Medizinhistorische Reihe,Vol. 1,M unich , 1970 , p . 44). He then m oved to G raz , and fo l lowing the expuls ion o f the Pro tes tan ts in1597 he re tu rned to Regensburg . A t h is own expense he la id ou t the f i r st bo tan ica l ga rden inthe town and w ro te a sc ien t i fic descr ip t ion o f i t ( see K . S t6ck l ,Keplerfestschrift,I , Regensburg ,1930, p. 74).

17. Par t ing ton ( I I , 161 , e tc .) ment ions tha t O berndo rfe r a t tacked Rulan d in a pub l ica t ion o f 1610:Apologia Chymico-Medica Pr ac tic a.. . Adversus illiberales Martini Rulandi Person. MediciCalumnias . . . ,Am berg , 1610). He dec la res tha t he has been us ing chem ica l medicam ents fo r 30years a lready. Ruland rep l ied to these c r i t ic i sms in h isAlexicacus Chymiatricus.T h e re w e re a dtha t the quar re l mu s t have s ta r ted in 1606 , i f no t ea r l ie r, when R uland fe l t h ims e l f un jus t lya c c u se d o f u s in g v e n e n a t a me d ic a me n ta .

18. Ch. Frisch,Opera Kepleri,Vol . VII I , pa rs 2 : V i ta Johannis Kep le r i , p . 878 .19. Kepler,Gesammelte We rke,Vol . XVIII , Le t te r No . 931 (L inz , 17-27 May 1622) .20 . Keple r,Gesammelte W erke,Vol . X II I , L e t te r No . 41 (Tf ib ingen , 17 M ay 1596 , Pap ius to Keple r ) ,

Le t te r No . 45 (Tf ib ingen , 7 June 1596 , Pap ius to Kep le r ) , Le t te r N o . 60 (G raz , 10 Feb ruary1597 , Ke ple r to M~is tl in ). Here (on p . 106 ) two books by Ob erndorfe r a re ment ioned : D evenen is, i tem Nom encla tu ram s im pl ic ium . S ince Kep le r uses the word sc r ib i t , i t i s no tcer ta in whether th is i s pe rhaps the b ook pub l i shed 3 years la te r :De veri etfals i medici agnitionetractatus brevis in theorematumforma con scriptus...,Lauing en , 1600; however, f rom the t i t le th isseems ra ther un l ike ly.

21. Kepler, Gesammelte Werke, Vol. X V I, Letter N o. 466(K6nigsberg ,25 November 1607 ,Pap ius toKep le r ) . There (p . 99) i t i s ment ion ed tha t a l ready a t th is t ime M ar t in R uland I was a Pro tes tan t .F ro m Let te r No . 474 (Le ipz ig , 3 January 1608, Tanck ius to K eple r ) we lea rn (p . 108) tha t Rulandhad jus t pub l i shed a t rac t abou t the p lague a t the hou se o f Ner l ich in Le ipz ig . Th is ap pears to bea los t ed i t ionofDepeste, which i s nowhere re fe r red to . Par t ing ton ( I I , 187) ment ions an in t ro -d u c t io n b y Ta n c k iu s t o t h eHaligraphiaby Th61de , which was pub l i shed in 1603 by the b ook-se l le r Jakob A pels , a s ment ioned in the le t te r ; see no te 24 . Th e Le t te r No . 514 (L e ipz ig ,26 Novem ber 1608 , Tanc k ius to Keple r ) con ta ins on p . 212 Tan ck ius ' reques t tha t Keple rshould g ive h is g ree tings to Ruland . T h is i s ev idence o f the f r iendsh ip be tween the th ree men .

22. In Alexicacus,on p . 105 ( in the copy tha t I have consu l ted , a t the S taa tsb ib l io thek Mfinchen ,M at . m ed . 204 , th is has been w rongly pag ina ted as page 87) Rula nd asks the i ron ica l ques t ion :

. . . Q . u o p ro ru mp i s a u d a ci a e & imp u d e n t i a e O b e rn d o r f e re ? S u lp h u re u s i n iu rio s u m t ib i ?P ro b a c alu mn ia to r ? O n e w o n d e r s w h e th e r t h e c lo sin g p as s ag e o f t h e fu n e ra l o r a t i o n - - . . .h i s o th e r h u ma n a t t r i b u t e s l e t u s n o w l a y t o e a r t h . . . - - d o e s n o t r e fe r t o R u la n d ' s q u a r r e ls o menature ; he even fe ll ou t in pub l ic w i th h is own bro th erAlexicacus,p. 10 0, etc.).

23 . O nly L e t te r No . 493 i s f rom K eple r to Tanck iu s , a l l the o thers a re addressed to Kep le r. Th ecorrespondence can be found in Kep le r,Gessamelte W erke,Vol . XVI : Le t te r No . 468 (Le ipz ig ,13 Dece mb er 1607 , p . 10 1) , Le t te r No . 472 (Le ipz ig , 30 D ecem ber 1607 , p . 105) , Le t te r N o .

4 6 7


12/13

Karin Figala

474 (Leipzig, 3 Janu ary 1608, p. 107 , etc.), Letter No . 479 (Leipzig, 24 Janu ary 160 8, p. 112,etc.), Letter N o. 483 (Leipzig, 29 F ebru ary 1 608 , p. 131), Le tter No . 484 (Leipzig, 5 Ma rch1608, p. 132), Le tter No . 491 (Leipzig, I 1 Ap ril 1608, p. 153), Le tter N o. 492 (Leipzig, 18 Ap ril1608, p. 153 ), Le tter N o. 493 (Prague, 12 M ay 160 8, p. 154, etc.), Le tter N o. 514 (Leipzig,

26 N ov em ber 160 8, p. 211, etc.), L etter N o. 526 (Leipzig, 11 Ap ril 1609, p. 237, etc.).24 . H. Kopp,Die Alchemie in dlterer und neuerer ZeitHeidelberg, 1886, Vol. II, p. 34 7. Joac himTan ck or Tancke, called Tanckius, was born on 4 D ecem ber 1557 at Perleberg in B randen-bu rg; h e s tudied in Leipzig, and w as Professor of Poetry, Anatom y and Surge ry there unt i l hisdeath on 17 No vem ber 1609. For the bibl iography see theGeneral Catalogue o f Printed Booksinthe Brit ish M useum in Lond on. Part ington ( II , 187 , etc .) m entions in addition: (1)V erses toTh61de'sHaligraphia das ist Grfindliche und eigendliche Beschreibung aller Sa ltz M ine rali en. . .in Verlegung Jakob Apels . . . .Eisleben, 160 3. (2)M etallurgia das ist : Von der Generation undGeburt der M eta llen . . . von einem Philosopho Hermetico beschrieben und publiciret durch Jo a-chimum Tanckium D. in Chymisch-Unterirdischer Son nen-G lantzFrankfurt and Leipzig, 1728.

25. St . Lind roth,Tillf rdg an om Basilius ValentinusLy chn os, 1940, p. 325, etc. T he other viewpoint,which denies Tanc kius ' authorship, seems to us to be supported b y M art in Ruland 's remark inAlexicacus p. 27, where he men tions, for example Basilius Frate r tantum ab est in his discus-sion of ant imony. Since Rulan d's book appeared in 1611, 7 years after T anckiu s ' Forew ord to theTriumphwagen Antimoniio f Basilius, Ta nck ius' au thorsh ip seems even less likely in view o f hisfriendship with Ruland (see note 21).

26. Let ter No. 468 (see note 23) .27. Le tter No . 474 (see note 23) : M athese os professor non su m sed M edicinae: olim tamen gnaviter

tractavi Math em ata: nu nc frequen tius sum in officina Vulcani, Chimica opera Natu rae arcanainvestigans.

28. Le tter No . 514 (see note 23).29. Let ter No. 479 and L etter No . 483 (see note 23) .30. Le tter N o. 492 (see note 23).31. Letter No. 493 (see note 23).32. (a)A ntw ort Joannis K ep le ri . . . auff D. Helisaei R6sl ini M edici & Philosophi Discurs V on

heutiger zeit beschaffenheit/und wie es ins kfinfftig ergehen werde. Belangend sonderlichetl iche puncten so D. R6sl in auss K epleri Buch de Stella Ann i 160 4 an ge zo ge n. . . Prag, 1609.See Kepler,Gesammelte WerkeVol. IV, pp. 99-144. (b) Tert ius Interveniens. Das is t / War-nu ng an etliche Th eolog os, M edicos und Philosophos, sonderlich D . Philipp um Feselium, dasssie bey billicher Verwerffung der Sternguckerischen Ab erglaub en / nich t das K ind t m it de mBadt auss-schii tten und hiermit ihrer Profession unwissendt zuwider ha n dl en . . . , Fra nk fur t /Main, 1610. See Kepler,Gesammelte WerkeVol. IV, pp. 145-258.

33. Kurd Lasswitz,Geschichte der Atomistik vom Mittelal ter bis Newton2 vols., 2nd ed. Vol. 1,p. 327; Leop old Voss, Leipzig, 1926.

34. Kepler,Gesammelte WerkeVol. IV, p. 142 (see note 32(a)).35. Kepler,Gesammelte WerkeVol. IV , p. 143 (see note 32 (a)) and p. 23. H ere (p. 23) reference is

made to K epler 'sDe Fundamentis Astrologiae CertioribusPrag, 1 601. Indeed, h ere Kepler waswri ting on the basis o f his phi losophy almost ten years before the two above-m entioned works(see note 32).

36. Johannis K epleri M athem atici pro suo opere Harmonices mundi Apologia adversus demonstrationemanalyticam CL. V. D. Robert i de Fluctibus Medici Oxoniensis . . .Frankfurt , 1622. See A dAnalys im X X I in Kepler,Gesammelte WerkeVol. VI, p. 439, etc. This publication showsKe pler to b e very w ell inform ed abo ut the alchemical theories o f his time.

37. See note 28.38. W olfgang Pauli describes the contrast between Flud d's F ourfold Principle and K epler 's Trini ty

in his bookDe r Einfluss archetypischer Vorstellungen au f die Bildung naturwissenschaftlicherTheorien bei Kepler.( Studien aus dem C. G. Jung-Inst i tut Z~ir ich : Vol . IV:Naturerkldrungund Psyche Zfirich, 1952 , pp. 109-94.)

68


13/13

K e p r a n d A l c h e m y

39 . Th e s ign i ficance o f the T r in i t y Pr inc ip le fo r the Ch r is t ian a lchemy in con t ras t to the Fo urfo ldPr inc ip le o f the anc ien t ph i losop hers is a lso d iscussed by C . G . Jung in h is wr i t ings .

40 . Johannes Keple r,Weltharmonik.Trans la ted and in t roduced by M. Caspar, Darmstad t , 1967 ,p . 362 ; Keple r,Gesammelte Werke,Vol. VI, p . 374.

41 . In t ro duc t io n toWeltharmonikby M. Caspar, p . 54 (see note 40).42 . Ca ta logue o f theFiirstlich Stolberg-Stolberg'schen Leichenpredigten-Sammlung,Vol . I I I , Le ipz ig ,1930 (inBibliothekfamiliengeschichtlicher Quellen,Vol. II) , p . 536.

43 . Acco rd ing to Par t ing ton ( I I , 245) in :Wo lmeinendes Bedencken, / Von der Fa ma , und Confessionder Briiderschafft d ess Ro sen Creu tzes. . . ,Frank fur t , 1616; andin:A na lysis Confessionis Frater-ni tat is De Rosea Cruce in Appen dix Necessar ia Syntagm atis Arcanorum Chym orum,Frankfur t ,1615.

44 . Ke ple r had come to Prague in 1600 as ass is tan t to Ty cho Brahe . A t the very leas t he seems to haveobserved T ych o ' s a lchemica l ac tiv i ty in a mo s t ca re fu l manner, a s we can conc lude f rom p . 247of h is Tertius Interveniens,where we read : W as nun h ie D . Fese l ius f i ir ins tan t ias e t l icherKr~u t te r eynf t ih re t ] besorge ich / e in M edieus m6chte auch e twas e inzured en haben / E 4 . unnde twan n ich t g es tehen ]das s d ie roh te Rose a l le rd ings ka l te r a rt ]ob s ie schon ff ir d ie H i tz gu t /weil ich bey H errn Ty cho Brahae geseh en [ dass er den al lersch~irpffesten / hi tz igsten / un d auffder Zun gen gan tz sub t i l b rennende n B rand twein auss roh ten Rosenbl~i tter oh ne M acera t ion ine inem andern Brand tw ein ex t rah i r t . I tem m6 chten S ic sagen ] man so l l n ich t eben auff d ie Farbs e h e n / o d e r m a n s o ll B l ii h t u n d F r u c h t v o n e in a n d er u n t e r s c h e i d e n : . . .

M ar t in R uland ' s v iews on the i l lness o f Rudo lf I I in March 1612 are g iven in a man uscr ip t ;He inz Schrecker, P rager Tag ebuc h des M elch ior Go ldas t yon Hain ingsfe ld t , p . 267 .

45. Part ington II , 345.

4 6 9

Documents

Kepler and Alchemy