Chiara crisciani: hermeticism and alchemy: the case of Ludovico Lazzarelli. She says There are various kinds of documentation regarding the alchemical interests. Crisciaani: in some texts, Lazzarelli was surely connected with alchemy in a number of ways.
Chiara crisciani: hermeticism and alchemy: the case of Ludovico Lazzarelli. She says There are various kinds of documentation regarding the alchemical interests. Crisciaani: in some texts, Lazzarelli was surely connected with alchemy in a number of ways.
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Original Title
Hermeticism and Alchemy. The Case of Ludovico Lazzarelli.pdf
Chiara crisciani: hermeticism and alchemy: the case of Ludovico Lazzarelli. She says There are various kinds of documentation regarding the alchemical interests. Crisciaani: in some texts, Lazzarelli was surely connected with alchemy in a number of ways.
Chiara crisciani: hermeticism and alchemy: the case of Ludovico Lazzarelli. She says There are various kinds of documentation regarding the alchemical interests. Crisciaani: in some texts, Lazzarelli was surely connected with alchemy in a number of ways.
The text discusses the alchemical interests and writings connected to Ludovico Lazzarelli, an Italian philosopher, and analyzes them in the context of his Hermetic philosophical position.
The text examines the alchemical interests of Ludovico Lazzarelli (1450-1500) and some alchemical texts connected with his name.
The text discusses the relationship between alchemy and Hermeticism expressed by Lazzarelli and proposes hypotheses on the link between alchemy and Hermeticism and between alchemy and magic in the 15th century.
Hermeticism and Alchemy: The Case of Ludovico Lazzarelli
Author(s): Chiara Crisciani
Source: Early Science and Medicine, Vol. 5, No. 2, Alchemy and Hermeticism (2000), pp. 145- 159 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4130473 Accessed: 26/09/2008 14:59 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Early Science and Medicine. http://www.jstor.org HERMETICISM AND ALCHEMY: THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI CHIARA CRISCIANI Department of Philosophy, University of Pavia 1. There are various kinds of documentation regarding the al- chemical interests of Ludovico Lazzarelli (1450-1500).' We have no statements of his as to his actual working commitments; however, Lazzarelli himself declares that he had been the disciple of a mas- ter alchemist, namely the Burgundian John Rigaud de Branchis, who was certainly practicing in Siena in 1494. Moreover, in some texts, Lazzarelli was surely connected with alchemy in a number of ways. Up to now I have identified three such texts: 1) The tran- scription of the Pretiosa Margarita Novella of Petrus Bonus, with a dedicatory verse written by Lazzarelli,2 in which the latter offers Petrus' text to John Rigaud and fervently praises both the author ('nomine reque bonus,' the pride of 'inclita Ferraria') and the 1 On Lazzarelli see, in addition to the more remote studies by V.K. Ohly and V.B. McDaniel, P.O. Kristeller, "Marsilio Ficino e Lodovico Lazzarelli. Contributo alla diffusione delle idee ermetiche nel Rinascimento"; id., "Ancora per Giovanni Mercurio da Correggio," in id., Studies on Renaissance Thought and Letters (Rome, 1956), 221-257; id., "Lodovico Lazzarelli e Giovanni da Correggio, due ermetici del Quattrocento, e il manoscritto II.D.I.4 della Biblioteca Comunale degli Ar- denti di Viterbo," in A. Pepponi, ed., Biblioteca degli Ardenti della cittda di Viterbo. Studi e ricerche nel 150" della fondazione (Viterbo, 1960), 15-37; F.A Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (London, 1964), passim; D.P.Walker, Spiritual and Demonic Magic from Ficino to Campanella (London, 1958), 60-72; E. Garin, M. Brini, C. Vasoli, P. Zambelli, eds., Testi umanistici su l'Ermetismo (Rome, 1955); D.B. Ru- derman, "Giovanni Mercurio da Correggio's Appearance in Italy as Seen through the Eyes of an Italian Jew," in Renaissance Quarterly, 28.3 (1975), 309-322; S. Sosti, "Il 'Crater Hermetis' di Ludovico Lazzarelli," in Quaderni dell'Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento meridionale, 1 (1984), 101-132; C. Moreschini, Dall' 'Asclepio' al 'Crater Hermetis' Studi sull'ermetismo tardo antico e rinascimentale (Pisa, 1985); M. Idel, "Hermeticism and Judaism," in I. Merkel and A.G. Debus, eds., Hermeticism and the Renaissance (Washington, 1988), 68-70; E. Garin, Ermetismo del Rinascimento (Rome, 1988); F. Bacchelli, Giovanni Pico e Pierleone da Spoleto. Nuovi frammenti del 'Commento sopra una canzona de amore' (Florence, 2000). 2 Modena, Biblioteca Estense, ms lat. 299 (the dedicatory verse has been ed- ited in Kristeller, "Ancora per," 257). On Petrus Bonus see C. Vasoli, in Dizionario biografico degli Italiani (Rome, 1970), 1:287-289; C. Crisciani, ed., Pietro Bono da Ferrara, Preziosa Margarita Novella. Edizione del volgarizzamento (Florence, 1976), Introduction; ead., "The Conception of Alchemy as Expressed in the 'Pretiosa Margarita Novella' of Petrus Bonus of Ferrara," in Ambix, 20 (1973), 165-181. ? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2000 Early Science and Medicine 5, 2 146 CHIARA CRISCIANI recipient. 2) A collection of alchemical texts,3 known as the Vademecum. These texts are all of a practical and Lullian tone. In- deed, the first treatise, which is original and anonymous, is defined as 'ex intentione Raymundi'; one text, the De investigatione lapidis, is part of the pseudo-Lullian corpus;4 there follow 'excerpta ex libris Raymundi' (in Latin and in the vernacular) and various prac- tical Tabule; finally it contains the procedure to obtain the 'arcanum elexiris de inventione magistri Joannis Rigaudi de Branchis', which he had made in Siena in 1494 'in societate magistri Alberti perusini phisici.' 3) The dedicatory verse and the prologue, both definitely written by Lazzarelli, which preface this collection." The first few lines wish well to the "liber collega arcani laboris, fidus perpetuusque comes."6 The collection that follows thus seems to be a true guide that aims at involving Lazzarelli in practical knowledge and works. Moreover, it is right in this pro- logue that Lazzarelli delineates a magistral genealogy in which he presents himself, disciple of John Rigaud that he is, as the heir to a line that goes back to Lull, and thence to Arnold, who had, in turn, learned "a quodam magistro Petro." The alchemical books that Lazzarelli surely had at his disposal comprised an extensive and systematic doctrinal text, the Pretiosa Margarita, and some short operative writings that refer to 'Lull.' 3 Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, ms 984; the edition of both the opening verses and the prologue can be found in M. Brini, "Ludovico Lazzarelli. Testi scelti", in E. Garin et al., Testi umanistici, 75-77; cf. also Chantilly, Musec Conde, ms 419 (919): this manuscript contains texts in the Italian vernacular and, in particular, the prologue to the Vademecum, the first treatise, the Secretum written by John Rigaud de Branchis. 4 M. Pereira, The Alchemical Corpus Attributed to Raymond Lull (London, 1989), 85. 5 Created in 1495, this collection seems to be one of the results of the Lazza- relli's editing activities: see also his 'Hermetic' collection with three introductions for Giovanni Mercurio (Kristeller, "Marsilio Ficino", Appendix with the edition of the introductions). The opening Tabula (ed. Brini, "Testi", 76-77), written subsequently, attributes the first treatise in the collection to Lazzarelli (Tractatus de alchimia), but he actually wrote only the prologue and collected and edited the works. The collection is not explicitly dedicated to John Rigaud, but it is explic- itly linked to his teaching, as can be inferred from the genealogy presented in the prologue (ed. Brini, 76); moreover, in the text on the preparation of the elixir by John Rigaud (f.33v), it is declared that "hoc arcanum ipse magister Joanes mihi ex maxima sui liberalitate ore proprio revelavit"; cf. L. Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science (New York, 1923-1950), 5:533-34; 6:437- 38. 6 Brini, "Testi", 75. THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 147 There is nothing surprising in this modest but well-balanced rep- ertoire. Indeed, during the Quattrocento, there was a general ac- ceptance of the two-fold tradition that derived from 'Geber' (in- deed Bonus, on several occasions, declares-truthfully-that he owes much to Geber) and from 'Lull'. So Lazzarelli is fully in line with choices that, in the Quattrocento, were widespread and con- solidated. The two traditions were often interwoven and under- stood to be complementary.7 However, the textual choices made by Lazzarelli deserve some further consideration. Bonus' treatise does not confine itself to reformulating 'Geber"s conceptions. Its importance lies (then and subsequently) not only in its thorough definition of the relation- ship between alchemy and natural philosophy in an Aristotelian and scholastic context, but also in Bonus' thorough treatment of other issues that may have held a more specific interest for Lazzarelli: the underlying reasons for the concealing language of alchemists and its forms; the initiatory feature of the transmission of alchemical knowledge; and, above all, the 'partim divina' struc- ture of alchemy in general and of the lapis in particular, which was also interpreted as a miracle and a 'donum Dei.' Bonus' consid- erations on the poets who made reference to the alchemical opus in their poems and myths, on the prophets who speak mistice also on the subject of alchemy, on the ancient alchemists (in the first place Hermes) who, as witnesses of the marvellous alchemical transformations and the extraordinary nature of the lapis/miracle, were necessarily also prophets of Christian events and truths,s--all of these are themes that Lazzarelli must have particularly appreci- ated. Indeed, his main interest seems from quite early on to have been directed towards the topic of transformation, in whatever way it was approached. In fact, already in his youth (long before his 'conversion to Hermeticism' which followed his meeting with Giovanni 'Mercurio' da Correggio in 1484)', he wrote the short 7 C. Crisciani and M. Pereira, "L'alchimia nella transizione fra Medioevo e Rinascimento," in Storia della scienza Treccani (Rome, forthcoming), IV, part C, chp.13.1. 8 For these themes see Petrus Bonus, Pretiosa Margarita Novella (ed. J.J. Manget, Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa, (Geneva, 1702), 2:1-80), 29-31, 50-54. 9 Lazzarelli describes the Hermetic appearance of Giovanni Mercurio and his own reactions to it in the Epistola Enoch (ed. Brini, "Testi", 34-50); cf. also Kristeller, "Ancora per", 256, for the incunabulum and another manuscript of the text; cf. Rudeman, "Giovanni Mercurio." 148 CHIARA CRISCIANI poem Bombix,1o where he set forth and 'concealed', within the story of the metamorphosis of the silkworm, palingenetic ideas on regeneration from flesh to spiritual perfection. Amongst other things, in his main work Crater Hermetis," he describes the creation- transformation of 'new men' in a context that stresses the conver- gence, if not equivalence, of Hermeticism and the Christian reli- gion. The close connection that Bonus had established between alchemical and Christian truths and his interpretation that con- crete alchemical changes embodied religious truths certainly ap- peared to him of great interest within the framework of his syncretistic approach.12 As for the texts collected in the Vademecum, few explanations are needed in order to show the reasons for this Lullian choice, which was not only Lazzarelli's but, first and foremost, John Rigaud's (as is clear from the text attributed to him). The texts of pseudo-Lullis convey an extension of alchemical theory, which is presented as a real philosophy of nature drawn up by alchemist philosophers, defined as filii Hermetis. They also broaden the scope of the im- provements brought about by the lapis-elixir, which acts not only on minerals, but also on vegetable life and on the body of man, for whom it promotes long life and well-being. Pseudo-Lull thus proposes a general project for the transformation and restoration of both man and the cosmos which ranges from transmutation to a universal therapy. The models and aims of perfection to which the Testamentum refers are, on one hand, the image of the perfect body of man as represented by Adam and, on the other hand, the image of the earth taken back, through a positive apocalypse, to the pure and immobile perfection of the crystal. 14 In the pseudo- Lullian corpus there is also some account of special divine revelations and of initiatory bonds linking master and disciple.'5 10 Ludovici Lazzarelli Septempedanis...Bombix...Joanne Francisco Lancillottio a Staphilo auctore... (Aesi, 1765), cf. Brini "Testi"; Garin, "Ermetismo." " For the complex situation linked with the printing of this text, its editions and interpretations, see the studies quoted above, note 1. 12 A significant trace of Lazzarelli's particular interest in Bonus can be found in De ratione conficiendi lapidis philosophici by Lorenzo Ventura (Basle, 1571), who often quotes Bonus, sometimes in connection with Lazzarelli. 1' See M. Pereira and B. Spaggiari, eds., 11 'Testamentum' alchemico attribuito a Raimondo Lullo (Florence, 1999); M. Pereira, L'oro deifilosofi. Saggio sulle idee di un alchimista del Trecento (Spoleto, 1992) and Pereira's many other studies on pseudo- Lullian alchemy. 14 Testamentum, 254, 170. 15 Cf., e.g., ps.-Lullus, Codicillus (ed. Manget, 1), 908B. The first treatise in the THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 149 These themes are definitely not in contrast with Lazzarelli's characteristic Hermetic philosophic approach. 2. The style of the Vademecum collection deserves a more in- depth analysis, as also do the features of the first anonymous trea- tise (Tractatus de Alchimia, not attributed to Lull, and attributed in the Tabula to Lazzarelli). The collection consists purely of practi- cal texts. These are not, however, simply recipes or instructions, but are, from an epistemological point of view, Practicae, in other words, practical directions incorporating theories. Although I have no definite proof, I am inclined to believe that these texts, in par- ticular the Tractatus, the best organized of the collection, are con- nected with the teachings of John Rigaud. In any case, the Tractatus shows a highly professional alchemist, who carefully and thoroughly presents technical expedients and ingenious contrivances (clearly the product of his effective and innovative laboratory work, as for instance tests for measuring fire, devices for sealing recipients, etc.)'6 and who also pays careful at- tention to the social repercussions of his work. So, for example, the author provides careful instructions regarding the social crite- ria according to which the elixir should be distributed and admin- istered.'7 Moreover, the author also interprets the religious- soteriological nature of the opus in very concrete terms: the alche- mist should donate a part of the profit from his work (deriving from transmutation or therapy) to the poor, through the institu- tional channels of the seven works of charity of the Christian pas- toral.18 Finally, the text ends with the hope that it might be possi- ble to convert the enemies of the Catholic faith with the aid of the universal alchemical remedy.'" Vademecum refers briefly to these themes when the author declares that, for love of his disciple, "hoc arcanum Dei pono in manum animae tuae.." (f.3v). 16 See especially ibid., ff. 4r-5r. 17 Indeed, it should be applied in a different way to the rich and the poor: ibid., ff. 5v-6r. 18 Ibid. ff. 5r-6r. 19 Ibid., f. 8r: "Imo erit patriarca mundi inmortalis convertens omnes suos inimicos ad suam fidem catolicam." The subject of pagan enemies, sometimes the Turks, is a common theme in alchemical texts of the time: see, e.g., Cristoforo da Parigi, Elucidarius (ed. in L. Zetzner, Theatrum Chemicum, (Strasbourg, 1661), 6:199: with the alchemical results "Turcam ex Asia minore fugare poteris"; Antonio dell'Abbazia, Revelazione (Chantilly, Mus6e Conde, ms 419 (919), ff. 45r- 47), f.46r: "[...] potresti far longhissima guera agli infideli, e agiustar il loco dove il Signor nostro pati morte per recuperare queli che perduti erano"; f.46v: "con questo potresti fare longhisima guerra agli infideli e aquistar il loco nel qual fo 150 CHIARA CRISCIANI The text proposes, as do various other fifteenth-century works, a definite shift to the therapeutic-medical goals of alchemy, with- out however eliminating the aim of transmutation. Here there are two remarkable aspects. First and foremost, the medical elixir is interpreted as an additive which has a special, attractive way of acting, partially similar to that of theriac. These issues were widely debated over the same period of time also in other texts both al- chemical and medical dealing with potable gold, the fifth essence, and the universal remedy.20 In the second place, the author pro- poses a reflection (that is rather interesting from the epistemologi- cal point of view) on the possibilities of verifying the transmuta- tion of metals and the alchemical therapy, and concludes that the latter is easier to judge. Indeed, the biological-medical paradigm proves to be clearly dominant, from a theoretical point of view, also with respect to transmutation.21 Finally, the author of the Tractatus also stresses the contiguous nature of religion and the opus. He finds it both in the aforementioned charitable acts which are required from the alchemist (the alchemical remedy, a free and divine gift, should translate into free gifts to the poor), and also in his references to the Scriptures. Thus the brief praise of the preparation and incorruptible nature of the lapis is expressed in terms of the phases of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, as dato opera de Iddio alla nostra salute." (I have transcribed part of the texts of Antonio in C. Crisciani, "Fatiche e promesse alchemiche," in S. Borutti, ed., Me- moria e scrittura dellafilosofia, forthcoming). This theme is particularly emphasized in the alchemical text attributed to Giovanni Mercurio da Correggio, De Quercu Julii Pontificis sive de lapide philosophico (London, British Museum, ms Harley 4081, ff. lr-40r), e.g. f.2v: "Ad turcorum mahomethanorumque ac paganorum omnium exercitus atque potentias sine armatura et absque ulla multorum militia ilico constringendum, fugandum exterminandumque," and f.31r: "Et vinces tu quoque paganorum atque turcorum omnium turbas: non in virtute corporis nec in armatura potentiae." Already Guilelmus Sedacer in his Summa (ed. P. Barth61emy, in progress) complains that alchemy is in the hands of the infidels: this knowl- edge must be retrieved, so that, with it, Christians (prologue to the second book): "[...] illam terram sanctam que longissimis temporibus ab infidelibus et nephandis nacionibus fuit atrociter conculcata et hodiernis temporibus heretice pretractur, valeant hostiliter et viriliter acquirere et possidere" (I thank P. Barth61emy for this reference). 20 Cf. C. Crisciani and M. Pereira, "Black Death and Golden Remedies: Some Remarks on Alchemy and the Plague", in A. Paravicini Bagliani and F. Santi, eds., The Regulation ofEvil. Social and Cultural Attitudes to Epidemics in the Late Middle Ages (Turnhout, 1998), 7-39; C.Crisciani, "Oro potabile tra alchimia e medicina: due testi in tempo di peste", in Rendiconti Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL, XXI,II,2 (1997), 83-93. 21 Tractatus, ff. 5v, 6rv. THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 151 John Dastin had already done in his Visio, 'Arnold' in the Exempla, and, in particular, Bonus himself.22 In the text at hand, the refer- ence to the topic of lapis/Christ is very brief and hence not com- parable with the extensive treatment of it in the other texts I have mentioned. However, the few remarks we find are sufficient to es- tablish a definite connection between lapis/Christ and the defeat of the enemies of the faith and thereby to imbue these practical instructions with an eschatological tinge. The Tractatus can thus in- clude expectations of reformatio and religious unification, topics which Lazzarelli also develops in his Crater, although he obviously bases them philosophically on a thorough knowledge and an elaborate use of the Corpus Hermeticum and of the Cabala while inserting them into the irenic hopes for peace and concord typi- cal of certain groups of Italian humanists.23 The Vademecum collection is thus homogeneous and well-organ- ized. It includes some technical texts and others that are more theoretical. The Tractatus is anything but trivial. Considering the work as a whole, we have here a very interesting collection, which is at the same time quite traditional. It contains certain aspects and topics that are, generally speaking, in harmony with Lazzarelli's philosophical perspectives, but is does not appear to be even slightly influenced by the radically new ideas Lazzarelli sets out in his prologue, which provides a framework and introduction to these texts. 3. The prologue opens with three quotations from the Tabula smaragdina, the Secretum secretorum, and Picatrix.24 At the beginning of the text, the name of Hermes, the father of Theologians, Magi- cians and Alchemists is solemnly evoked.25 He had revealed 'uno 22 Ibid., f.8r.; see Bonus, Pretiosa, 29-30;Johannis Daustenii Visio, ed. in Manget, 2: 324B-326; ps. Arnaud de Villeneuve, Tractatus parabolicus, ed. A. Calvet (Texte et traduction), in Chrysopoeia, V (1992-96), 145-171. 23 Cf. especially Garin, Ermetismo; Bacchelli, Giovanni Pico. 24 Lazzarelli considers Picatrix the author of the Clavis sapientiae, which is usu- ally attributed to Artefius. It is impossible to deal in this essay with the complex problem of these attributions; suffice it to remember that Lazzarelli may have known both texts (Picatrix and Clavis); both texts speak of the three coniunctiones that Lazzarelli uses; both have been considered magical texts; whichever of the two texts he uses, Lazzarelli follows it only loosely, for he does not quote either of them faithfully but elaborates to a high degree. Probably (even if this question deserves a more in-depth treatment) Lazzarelli is here found to carry out one of his habitual textual interlacements. 25 See Brini, "Testi", 75-76; cf. Thomas Norton: "Rex Hermes quoque idem fecit,/ Qui fuit vir eruditione celeberrimus:/ In quadripartitis suis Astrologiae/ 152 CHIARA CRISCIANI verborum contextu' the secrets of theology, magic, and alchemy to his children in the first aphorism of the Tabula,26 where he pro- nounces the unitary, circular structure of reality. In the Secretum, Lazzarelli adds, 'Aristotle' repeats this pronouncement as if it were the product of the prophecy of 'pater noster Hermogenes.' How- ever, he continues, these secreta (expressed in a single sentence which is fundamental for alchemists, magicians, and theologians) are those tria arcana that Picatrix defines 'coniunctio corporis in corpore,' 'coniunctio spiritus in corpore,' and 'coniunctio spiritus in spirito.'27 Note that the one-three structure is much stressed and surely intentional: one Pater legitimates three functions; one contextus of words provides a foundation for three sciences; three texts are embraced in a single tradition and by a single basic sen- tence; a single circular process of coniunctio (expressed in the Tabula) arranges itself in three more specified forms of coniunc- tiones between high and low. And indeed, following once more the one-three rhythm (but no longer the schema proposed by Picatrix or in the Clavis sapientiae), Lazzarelli specifies that these three coniunctiones, which correspond to the tria arcana and the three sciences, are actually three modes, three declinations of one sin- gle field, namely magic.28 These three modes are magia naturalis, practiced by alchemists in making the 'coniunctio carnis celestis sive quintae essentiae cum corpore terrae virgineae et purificatae' (the result of which is the lapis 29); magia coelestis, the coniunctio of the spirit of the planets with suitable corporeal images that pro- duces mirabilias3; and finally, magia sacerdotalis et divina, which oc- curs when the spirit of God unites with the spirit of man. All of Scripture speaks parabolice of this last kind of magic, and Christ in the Gospels is the principal master of it. Artis medicae et huius Alchymiae,/Nec non magiae naturalis,/Veluti quattuor scientiis in natura existentibus [...]" (Crede mihi seu Ordinale, ed. Manget, 2: 290). 26 Cf. Brini, "Testi", 75: "Quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius et quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius ad perpetranda miracula rei unius." 27 See D. Pingree, ed., Picatrix. The Latin version of the Ghayat Al-Hakim (Lon- don, 1986), 5, and Artefii Liber qui Clavis Maioris Sapientiae dicitur (ed. Manget, 1), 503A. I Brini, "Testi", 75-76. 29 Note that one text of the ps.-Lullian Corpus (the Compendium artis alchimiae) appears also under the alternative title Ars magica naturalis; cf. Pereira, The Al- chemical Corpus, 69. 30 Lazzarelli does not intend to deal with this because it is abhorred by the holy Fathers (Brini, "Testi", 76). THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 153 Though this prologue really requires an extensive comment, I must confine myself here to a few considerations. First and fore- most, I would like to point out that Lazzarelli chooses not to refer specifically to the Corpus Hermeticum (which was very well known to him), but instead to Hermes and to a wider and more compos- ite Hermetic tradition, which also includes Alexander, an 'Aristo- tle', Picatrix and perhaps the Clavis sapientie. In the second place, I would like to stress the importance given to the Tabula. In Lazzarelli's eyes, this text has undoubtedly a technical and practi- cal content, but at the same time also a highly philosophical rel- evance. It is a fundamental text with a manifold meaning."3 Finally, he stresses the affinity and mutual permeability, as it were, that link the Christian religion with Hermeticism (the pivotal subject of the Crater), in this case by connecting Hermes' Tabula (the root) via a series of steps with the Gospels (texts whose most di- vine magic had already been expressed). This prologue therefore offers possible insights into the relationship between the two types of acquisition of perfection, namely religious and alchemical, which could be seen as interchangeable due to the 'single sen- tence' by which they are revealed and established.32 Before examining this possible opening, let us consider what is said here regarding alchemy as such. The description of the alche- mists' magic (connecting heavenly flesh or the fifth essence with the body of virginal earth) is very general and certainly does not describe specific operations. It is general, but in agreement with the indications contained in the Tabula regarding the relationship of mutual inclusion and circulation between high and low, heaven and earth. Moreover, although it is general, it expresses a line of 31 The polysemic radicality of the Tabula is also emphasized in the De lapide philosophico et de auro potabili ad summum pontificem by Guglielmo Fabri de Die (mid-fifteenth century; Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, ms lat. 104 (138), ff. 245r-253v), especially in the last section: cf. C. Crisciani, "From the Laboratory to the Library: Alchemy according to Guglielmo Fabri", in A. Grafton and N. Siraisi, eds., Natural Particulars: Nature and the Disciplines in Renaissance Europe (Cam- bridge, Mass., forthcoming). Note that references to the Tabula also appear in the Epistola Enoch, Lazzarelli's description of the Hermetic appearance of Giovanni Mercurio da Correggio (Brini, "Testi", 38,44). Here, Lazzarelli describes other experiences of transformation, and in particular, his own regeneration. " Bonus had already closely linked alchemical doctrines and operations with Christian truths, through textual comparison, suggesting that the respective writ- ings are reciprocally metaphorical (Pretiosa, 29-30): see B. Obrist, "Les rapports d'analogie entre philosophie et alchimie medievales", in J-C. Margolin and S. Matton, eds., Alchimie et philosophie a' la Renaissance (Paris, 1993), esp. 56-58. 154 CHIARA CRISCIANI doctrine that undoubtedly has Baconian and Lullian overtones. In this connection, we may refer back to the 'heavenly corporeal sub- stance' and 'non-heavenly corporeal substance' of Roger Bacon; to the simple virginal element at the center of the elementarized earth of the Testamentum; and to the correspondence between the first matter and the fifth essence which is suggested in various ways by both authors.33 However, leaving aside these connections with alchemical texts, I propose to compare this passage on alchemy in the Vademecum with the most enigmatic and controversial passage in the Crater, which concerns the creation of 'new men.'34 This creation is a divinum opus, and King Ferdinand asks Lazzarelli, though without obtaining a reply, "quo ordine quave operatione tantum opus perficitur." These words have overtones that are operative and also specifically alchemical. Moreover, as far as the process of creation is concerned, Lazzarelli uses Eleazar of Worms' commentary on the Sefer Yezir&a, where this subject is treated as a recipe for making a Golem, instructions that are interpreted allegorically by Lazzarelli. In any case, the new man must be created out of 'terra rubra et virginea,' suitably laid out and vivified. In this respect, I agree with Garin and Bacchelli35 in seeing this not as an allegory of the relationship between master and disciple, but as a magic and cabalistic operation, which does not give rise to a metaphori- cal kind of generation of entities, but to a real, concrete genera- tion, even if it is not corporeal. These concrete entities are "Angeli vite soci", doubles projected by one's own soul, personifications of the 'complete Nature' (a significant concept in Picatrix), and fac- ulties that have turned into persons. They help man, teach him how to keep the soul-body compound sound and healthy, and send him prophetic dreams and sapiential teachings. This crea- tion, which is admittedly practical, has concrete results, and is S For these themes see Pereira, L'oro, esp. 62-65, 184-85, 191; see also her paper in the present volume. Obviously this generic indication could also be re- ferred to more precise directions contained in the texts of the Vademecum (see here, note 36). 3 Cf. Ludovici Lazarelli Septempedani poetae christiani ad divum Ferdinandum Ar. Siciliae regem de summa hominis dignitate dialogus qui inscribitur via Christi et Crater Hermetis, ed. in Moreschini, Dall' 'Asclepio, 29.1, 259-261; for the interpretations of this 'creation' cf. Walker, Spiritual, 68-72; Garin, Ermetismo, 59-62; Bacchelli, Giovanni Pico, 75-82. '5 Bacchelli, 70-75; 83-84 highlights similar topics proposed by Giovanni Alamanno and Pierleone da Spoleto during the same years. THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 155 based on passages from the Corpus Hermeticum, cabalistic texts and Picatrix, is definitely not an alchemical opus. However, I would like to point out the contiguity, at least as far as the terms and espe- cially the images are concerned, between the 'terra rubra virginea' of the Crater and the 'corpus terrae virgineae et purificatae' men- tioned in the prologue to the Vademecum. There exists also a con- sonance of both these passages with the chapter on vivification of the lapis in De investigatione lapidis by pseudo-Lull (which is in- cluded in the collection36), where alchemists are taught to prepare a purified, white earth in which the operator should 'animam seminare' by means of a 'germen spirituale.' To sum up: Although we cannot go further than this on the basis of such faint consonances and generic assonances, we may at least make the following assertions: A) In the Vademecum, divine magic and natural magic/alchemy are definitely connected be- cause both are rooted in the first aphorism of the Tabula. B) In the Crater, especially if compared with the whole Vademecum,37 we can at least recognize in the creation of 'new men' terms and im- ages present in alchemical texts known to Lazzarelli. C) Lazzarelli's alchemical interests and readings are thus not the re- sult of occasional curiosity, but act as ingredients, albeit less im- portant than his cabalistic interests, but nonetheless specific, which are operative in the construction of his highly syncretistic reper- toire of texts, terms and, above all, images. It is a repertoire that he uses (in an often tightly interwoven way) to elaborate both his conception of Hermetic magic in the Vademecum, and also his magic-Hermetic philosophy and theology in the Crater. 4. The problem of the relationship between the prologue and the texts of the Vademecum and, more generally, of the possible convergence between alchemical magic, sacerdotal and divine magic and also between religious perfection and alchemical per- fection, which (as has been said) the prologue appears to consider interchangeable, remains open."3 Why do the new ideas in the pro- logue not influence the texts in the collection, either in style or in content? Why does Lazzarelli not fully develop the complemen- 36 Vademecum, ff. 12rv. 3' This reading is at least possible, because the dates of the two works are close, as they were both written between 1492 and 1495 (the precise date is un- certain). 38 Cf. above, pp. 152-153. 156 CHIARA CRISCIANI tarity and circularity of high and low pronounced in the aphorism of the Tabula? Why does he not therefore affirm that the highest theological magic (in the Vademecum and in the Crater) is 'alchemy' (in other words, a concrete transformation of the soul-mind), and that alchemy is the 'theology' of bodies (and in this case, really 'what is above is like what is below' and vice versa)? Yet, in addition to what Lazzarelli sets out in the prologue, the alchemical texts that he knew, notably 'Lull' and Bonus, could also allow this inter- pretation, even though with some effort. As I see it, there are two reasons why this is not the result: one is internal to Lazzarelli's philosophical approach; the other is connected with cultural trans- formations occurring around the middle of the Quattrocento and involving alchemy no less than the overall reassessment of disci- plines and the status of the practices of transformation. The first point regards a tension not fully resolved in the pro- logue between a hierarchical and a circular conception.39 It is true that, in the prologue, the concepts of circularity and interpenetra- tion of 'heaven' and 'earth' are often repeated; it is also true that each of the three types of magic proposes it in its own way, and each of them carries out the same process of unification of high and low and the creative and wonderful transformations deriving from it. The three types of 'magic' are thus structurally homoge- neous and corresponding. However, it is also true that the three types of magic belong to a hierarchy of levels starting out from alchemy and ending in divine and sacerdotalis magic, a hierarchy in which the interpenetration of high and low is increasingly more refined. But it is precisely this tension between circularity and hierarchy that can help us to understand the relationship between the pro- logue and the subsequent texts. Indeed, if one places alchemy on a specific rung of the ladder in the unitary sphere of magic as a whole, as Lazzarelli does, it is not necessary to use the alchemical project and its operations to convey claims and programs that can be better developed at other levels of magic. Consistently, texts and doctrines elaborated by a long tradition are collected in the Vademecum without any modification of their content or style. In- deed, it was sufficient to provide, in the framework of the pro- 19 This tension can also be noted in the initial dedicatory verse, where Lazza- relli declares (Brini, "Testi", 75) that "Res una alterius gradus est," and that "Omniaque esse unum." THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 157 logue, the foundations and the overall meaning of what the col- lected texts contained. This prologue in fact aimed at dignifying natural magic/alchemy by setting it within the unifying framework of general magic. It seems to me that the same special relationship between frame- work and content can also clarify the more general link between Hermeticism and alchemy in the Quattrocento.40 We may once more start from the vantage point offered by the case of Lazzarelli. His Hermetic approach to alchemical texts (which surely Lazzarelli had chosen because they were consonant with his Hermetic inter- ests for religiously qualified operative transformations) does not involve a development of the hints offered by those texts, or a treatment of them in a more explicitly Hermetic religious sense. For example, Lazzarelli does not turn practical instructions into spiritual processes, nor does he accentuate the allegorical and initiatory language of some alchemical works he knew. Therefore, Lazzarelli's Hermetic approach does not imply a reformulation of alchemical terminology, theories or operations. Rather, his intention seems to subsume completely traditional doctrines in the framework of a high Hermetic and philosophical evaluation of alchemy as a whole. In this way, he carries out a dignification of these doctrines from without, leaving their content unchanged. In other words, this means that what in the Quattrocento was a philosophically consistent, fully restored and culturally enhanced Corpus (the Corpus Hermeticum) did not seem to be "embodied" in a necessary or favored way in the alchemical perspectives of the "filii Hermetis", who instead, since the twelfth century, had actually embodied the instances of transformation which the Hermetic philosophy had entailed since its origin.41 Clearly, the Hermetic framework of the Corpus Hermeticum was philosophically more important than the particular, specific disci- plines it dealt with. A similar interpretation can also be applied to the relationship between magic and alchemy, which are now connected in rela- tively new ways. This is particularly noticeable in Lazzarelli's pro- logue, but is also present in other coeval texts.42 In my opinion, a 40 See, in general, S. Matton, "L'influence de l'humanisme sur la tradition alchimique," in Micrologus 3 (1995), 279-345, and the essays collected in Alchimie et philosophie a la Renaissance. 4a See Crisciani and Pereira, "Alchimia nella transizione", sections 5-6. 42 Cf., e.g., Guglielmo Fabri, De auro potabile et de lapide philosophorum; Giovanni 158 CHIARA CRISCIANI radical rearrangement of the sciences and practices of transforma- tion is taking place here, a rearrangement which involves texts, philosophical commitments, programs for renovatio, definitions of science and knowledge, styles of thinking. This rearrangement entails not the dilation of the alchemical project, but instead its narrowing and its inclusion as a part-in fact not even its most important part-of the overall project of magic, which now ap- pears as a philosophically structured and all-pervasive perspective. Obviously, this rearrangement does not exclude alchemy, but attributes to it a different (and perhaps less important) role than the one it had played in medieval culture from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. Indeed, during that period, the alchemists' texts, theories and laboratories had perhaps been the most appro- priate places for proposing transformations and vivifications of matter. In the Quattrocento (and after Ficino), not the alchemi- cal laboratory, but the whole cosmos was to be considered the place of transformation, animated by a vivifying spirit and per- vaded by influences that could be governed according to the rules of the "Natura maga" 43 and by the spiritual power of the sage. The sage could choose various paths and different operations (the ef- ficacy of music, the force of images and talismans, the power of words) both to perfect himself and to achieve wonderful transfor- mations in nature. It is no coincidence that Ficino and Pico-to give two examples whose connection with Lazzarelli is docu- mented-paid little, occasional, or no attention to alchemy as such. They obviously had no need to link their theories of trans- formation to alchemical practices. But precisely because Lazzarelli was highly interested in alchemy, he inaugurated and rendered explicit this kind of inclusion of alchemy in the vast theoretical and practical fields of the new magic. At the same time, he con- fined alchemy to a lower level of magic, namely to the one that actually involved a reduction of the philosophical and operative vitality and richness of the alchemical trends of the late Middle Ages. Mercurio da Correggio, De QuercuJulii Pontificis sive de lapide philosophico; Antonio dell'Abazia, Revelatione.... The connection between magic and alchemy in the Middle Ages is quite rare and is mainly expressed in criticism expressed by non- alchemists: in any case, it takes quite different forms (see the positions of Albert the Great and Roger Bacon). 11 See A. Tarabochia Canavero, "Tra ermetismo e neoplatonismo: l'immagine della 'Natura maga' in Marsilio Ficino", in Neoplatonisme et philosophie mediivale: Actes Colloque Int. SIEPM (Turnhout, 1997), 273-290. THE CASE OF LUDOVICO LAZZARELLI 159 The definite decline in theoretical commitments and the start of a syncretistic popularization which one may observe in the al- chemical texts of the Quattrocento, are perhaps also due to these profound changes in the philosophical culture of that century. With the progression of time, we may observe the conversion of alchemy into a relatively static esoteric tradition which was acti- vated metaphorically for religious and erudite aims, and also the fragmentation of its remains and their redistribution into diffe- rent fields, notably into a new metallurgy, a new pharmacology, and into the 'science of secrets,' the new reservoir of operative knowledge, of recipes, promises, and arcana." SUMMARY This paper examines the alchemical interests of Ludovico Lazzarelli (1450-1500) and of some alchemical texts connected with his name, analyzing them within the context of Lazzarelli's Hermetic philosophical position. Beginning with an analysis of the specific relationship between alchemy and Hermeticism expressed by Lazzarelli, this paper proposes for discussion some general hypotheses on the link between alchemy and Hermeticism and between alchemy and magic in the Quattrocento. 44 Cf. W. Eamon, Science and the Secrets of Nature (Princeton, 1994) and his pa- per in the present volume.
Shakespeare and Precious Stones
Treating of the Known References of Precious Stones in Shakespeare's Works, with Comments as to the Origin of His Material, the Knowledge of the Poet Concerning Precious Stones, and References as to Where the Precious Stones of His Time Came from
(Contributions To Indian Sociology, Occasional Studies) Sumathi Ramaswamy (Editor) - Beyond Appearances - Visual Practices and Ideologies in Modern India-Sage Publications (2003)
Comments On An Observation by Reynolds Author(s) : Edgar Wind Source: Journal of The Warburg Institute, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jul., 1937), Pp. 70-71 Published By: Stable URL: Accessed: 22/07/2013 10:01