JF Ptak Science Books

A Daily History of Holes, Dots, Lines, Science, History, Math, Physics, Art, the Unintentional Absurd, Architecture, Maps, Data Visualization, Blank and Missing Things, and so on. |1.6 million words, 7500 images, 4.9 million hits| Press & appearances in The Times, Le Figaro, Mensa, The Economist, The Guardian, Discovery News, Slate, Le Monde, Sci American Blogs, Le Pont, and many other places… 5000+ total posts since 2008.

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History of Anticipation: Waiting for Everything

JF Ptak Science Books     Quick Post   Part of the History of Anticipation series and the History of Blank, Empty and Missing Things series.

Alchemy is far from my strong suit (or even a weak suit), but I was intrigued by this engraving found in Annibel Barlet’s Le Vray Et Methodiqve Covrs de La Physiqve Resolvtive, Vvlgairement Dite Chymie: Represent Par Figures Generales & Particulieres. Povr Connoistre La Theotechnie Ergocosmiqve, C’Est Dire, L’Art de Diev, En L’Ovvrage de L’Vnivers…, which was ostensibly a work on alchemy, the second edition (used here) published in 1657.  Taking  a quick tour through the book it looks far more applied, far more medically-oriented, than a standard work on alchemy.  (And by “medical” I’m really meaning “pharmaceutical.)  I don’t have the knowledge really to say  much about the application of the Paracelsian alchemical chemistry and how much the various human natures/humors/metals etc. come into play with the prescription–I’d say offhand that the Rxs would be necessarily a little suspect. 

[Images courtesy of the Beinecke Library, Yale University].
I’m visiting the book here though because of the image above, showing the hands of the Primum Mobile (or god) about to see themselves busy with the job of creating everything.  Or almost everything, as the shape of the container of All Things seems to be in place, held by the creating influence in an existence outside of the existence of existence.   Perhaps the artist was just depicting the local existence, with the hands and etc. located in the space beyond the known solar system of 1657, showing the alchemical creation of order in the vast sea of chaos.  It is curious to me how many concentric circles there are in the suggestive orb of possibilities, especially since the following image in Barlet’s book shows considerably fewer place-holders.  Perhaps this is all easily explained with a little knowledge of alchemical history, which is something that I do not possess–but for the time being, I’m very entertained by what might be an excitement in that first engraving of the things-to-come. 
Later in the book is found this interestingdiagram bringing together some of the complicated alchemical beliefs of elemental relationships, this showing the coming-together/convergence of elements, humors and geocosmic bits
A diagram of a square divided into four triangles within a larger circle illustrating the convergence of elements, humors, and geocosmic factors in the thinking of Paracelsian chemical physicians.
Le vray et methodique cours de la physique resolutiue, vulgairement dite chymie by Annibal Barlet

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