Thesaurus thesaurorum

THESAURUS thesaurorum et secretum secretissimum in quo omnia Mundi arcana latent, quodque Deus per ineffabilem suam misericordiam homini vili et abjecto peccatorique maximo revelavit. Lapidis Philosophorum verus processus. Illustrated with numerous symbolic alchemical water-colour drawings, and figures of chemical and alchemical apparatus: a circular symbolic figure on p. 83 is by a different and later hand. The text and the legends to the illustrations are in Latin, but there are a few additions in verse in German. The title given above is that found on p. 7 at the beginning of the text. Transcription of cipher on p. 1: Questo Process appartiene a me, Sebastiano Bologna Di Schio _ HB Translation of cipher on p. 1: This process belongs to me, Sebastiano Bologna From Schio _ HB" [the last letters could be numbers, therefore "HB" is 82, 1782?] Transcribed from p. 1 'S.N.D.B.L.E./..../Philoponus P...A...B...' Below the title to the second work (p. 93) is written 'Mei Magistri colendissimi piae memoriae'.

c. 1725

1 volume 123 pp. + 2 bl. ll. folio. 33 × 201/2 cm. 19th cent. paper covers. Last two leaves (bl.) slightly defective.

Purchased 1931.

This material has been digitised and can be freely accessed online through Wellcome Collection catalogue.

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).

A former owner, Michelangelo Guatani of Bologna, has transcribed the Latin title on the outside of the upper cover, stating he had acquired the MS. in March 1874. He has also written a note on the first fly-leaf concerning Joannes Philoponus, an Alexandrian Christian philosopher who flourished in the first half of the sixth century, and wrote Commentaries on Aristotle, and other philosophical and scientific works, which are mostly unpublished. Guatani's note is extracted from the 'Nouvelle biographie universelle': there seems however, to be no possible connection between the Alexandrian philosopher and the author or contents of this MS.