The Summa Perfectionis Of Pseudo Geber

The present work contains a critical edition, translation, and study of the "Summa perfectionis" of Pseudo-Geber, the most influential of the many texts of medieval alchemy. The study addresses such questions as the author's identity, his corpuscular theory of matter, the influence of the "Summa," and its own sources.

The present work contains a critical edition, translation, and study of the Summa perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber, the most influential of the many texts of medieval alchemy. The study addresses such questions as the author's identity, his corpuscular theory of matter, the influence of the Summa, and its own sources.

Summa Perfectionis, "The Height of Perfection," is attributed to Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 721-815), who is most commonly known as Geber. This volume was selected by Hans Nintzel for inclusion in the R.A.M.S. Library due to numerous references to the text in major Alchemical works. Whatever the origin, this text has had a strong influence on the study of Alchemy for many centuries.

This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.

This volume moves chemical instruments and experiments into the foreground of historical concern, in line with the emphasis on practice that characterizes current work on other fields of science and engineering.

In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Franciscan friar John of Rupescissa sent a dramatic warning to his followers: the end times were coming; the apocalypse was near. Rupescissa's teachings were unique in his era. He claimed that knowledge of the natural world, and alchemy in particular, could act as a defense against the calamity of the last days. He treated alchemy as medicine (his work was the conceptual forerunner of pharmacology), and reflected emerging technologies and views that sought to combat famine, plague, religious persecution, and war. In order to understand scientific knowledge as it is today, Leah DeVun asks that we revisit the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, and the Avignon Papacy through Rupescissa's eyes. The advances he pioneered, along with the exciting strides made by his contemporaries, shed critical light on future developments in medicine, pharmacology, and chemistry.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1600 Edition.