Philaletha, Eirenaeus

Riplée ressucité ou l'explication des poèmes hermétiques de Georges Riplée ... Par Eirenée Philalèthe anglois Cosmopolite. À Londres 1678. This is a translation, with some additions noted later, of Eirenaeus Philaletha's 'Ripley Reviv'd: or an exposition upon Sir George Ripley's Hermetico-poetical works' published and edited by W. Cooper in London in 1678. No French translation of this work has been traced in the bibliographies. There is a table of contents on pp. 404, 405 by a later hand, and some remarks on the very complicated subject of the various authors named 'Philaletha'. In these remarks great confusion and inaccuracy is apparent, and English names are wrongly spelt. [Cf. Ferguson 'Bibliotheca Chemica', II, for a clear account s.v. 'Philaletha', 'Starkey', 'Vaughan'.] A note by the same hand written on the t.p., states 'Ce manuscrit dont l'original anglois à été vendu trois mille livres même depuis l'édition de Hollande, a coûté huit cent francs pour la traduction, et cette copie a été achetée cent écus. La Dialogue de John James Rhomey, Instituteur de Vegene est extrèmement rare'. The additions referred to at the beginning of this note are: pp. 376-378 'Extrait du traité de Philalethe de la moelle d'alchimie'. This is from 'The marrow of alchymy' edited by George Starkey under the pseudonym of 'Irenaeus Philoponus Philaletha' in 1654. pp. 379-403 'Vade mecum ou conduitte abrégée aux champs de la sagesse ... Par Rhomeus Agricola' [not 'John James Rhomey' as in the note on the t.p.]. This is really part of a work by Eirenaeus Philaletha published in Amsterdam by D. Elzevir in 1678, entitled 'Enarratio methodica trium Gebri medicinarium', in which it is paged 189-222.

Late 17th century

1 volume 1 l. + 405 pp. + 3 bl. ll. folio. 30 × 211/2 cm. Original calf-gilt binding.

Purchased 1911.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).