A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 1 (of 2) by Lynn Thorndike
72. CONCLUSION 969
2579 words | Chapter 24
INDICES:
General 985
Bibliographical 1007
Manuscripts 1027
PREFACE
This work has been long in preparation—ever since in 1902-1903
Professor James Harvey Robinson, when my mind was still in the making,
suggested the study of magic in medieval universities as the subject
of my thesis for the master’s degree at Columbia University—and has
been foreshadowed by other publications, some of which are listed
under my name in the preliminary bibliography. Since this was set up
in type there have also appeared: “Galen: the Man and His Times,”
in _The Scientific Monthly_, January, 1922; “Early Christianity and
Natural Science,” in _The Biblical Review_, July, 1922; “The Latin
Pseudo-Aristotle and Medieval Occult Science,” in _The Journal of
English and Germanic Philology_, April, 1922; and notes on Daniel
of Morley and Gundissalinus in _The English Historical Review_. For
permission to make use of these previous publications in the present
work I am indebted to the editors of the periodicals just mentioned,
and also to the editors of _The Columbia University Studies in
History, Economics, and Public Law_, _The American Historical Review_,
_Classical Philology_, _The Monist_, _Nature_, _The Philosophical
Review_, and _Science_. The form, however, of these previous
publications has often been altered in embodying them in this book,
and, taken together, they constitute but a fraction of it. Book I
greatly amplifies the account of magic in the Roman Empire contained
in my doctoral dissertation. Over ten years ago I prepared an account
of magic and science in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries based on
material available in print in libraries of this country and arranged
topically, but I did not publish it, as it seemed advisable to
supplement it by study abroad and of the manuscript material, and to
adopt an arrangement by authors. The result is Books IV and V of the
present work.
My examination of manuscripts has been done especially at the British
Museum, whose rich collections, perhaps because somewhat inaccessibly
catalogued, have been less used by students of medieval learning than
such libraries as the Bodleian and Bibliothèque Nationale. I have
worked also, however, at both Oxford and Paris, at Munich, Florence,
Bologna, and elsewhere; but it has of course been impossible to examine
all the thousands of manuscripts bearing upon the subject, and the
war prevented me from visiting some libraries, such as the important
medieval collection of Amplonius at Erfurt. However, a fairly wide
survey of the catalogues of collections of manuscripts has convinced
me that I have read a representative selection. Such classified lists
of medieval manuscripts as Mrs. Dorothea Singer has undertaken for
the British Isles should greatly facilitate the future labors of
investigators in this field.
Although working in a rather new field, I have been aided by editions
of medieval writers produced by modern scholarship, and by various
series, books, and articles tending, at least, in the same direction
as mine. Some such publications have appeared or come to my notice
too late for use or even for mention in the text: for instance,
another edition of the _De medicamentis_ of Marcellus Empiricus by M.
Niedermann; the printing of the _Twelve Experiments with Snakeskin_
of John Paulinus by J. W. S. Johnsson in _Bull. d. l. société franç.
d’hist. d. l. méd._, XII, 257-67; the detailed studies of Sante Ferrari
on Peter of Abano; and A. Franz, _Die kirchlichen Benediktionen im
Mittelalter_, 1909, 2 vols. The breeding place of the eel (to which I
allude at I, 491) is now, as a result of recent investigation by Dr. J.
Schmidt, placed “about 2500 miles from the mouth of the English Channel
and 500 miles north-east of the Leeward Islands” (_Discovery_, Oct.,
1922, p. 256) instead of in the Mediterranean.
A man who once wrote in Dublin[1] complained of the difficulty of
composing a learned work so far from the Bodleian and British Museum,
and I have often felt the same way. When able to visit foreign
collections or the largest libraries in this country, or when books
have been sent for my use for a limited period, I have spent all
the available time in the collection of material, which has been
written up later as opportunity offered. Naturally one then finds
many small and some important points which require verification or
further investigation, but which must be postponed until one’s next
vacation or trip abroad, by which time some of the smaller points are
apt to be forgotten. Of such loose threads I fear that more remain
than could be desired. And I have so often caught myself in the act
of misinterpretation, misplaced emphasis, and other mistakes, that
I have no doubt there are other errors as well as omissions which
other scholars will be able to point out and which I trust they will.
Despite this prospect, I have been bold in affirming my independent
opinion on any point where I have one, even if it conflicts with that
of specialists or puts me in the position of criticizing my betters.
Constant questioning, criticism, new points of view, and conflict of
opinion are essential in the pursuit of truth.
After some hesitation I decided, because of the expense, the length of
the work, and the increasing unfamiliarity of readers with Greek and
Latin, as a rule not to give in the footnotes the original language
of passages used in the text. I have, however, usually supplied the
Latin or Greek when I have made a free translation or one with which I
felt that others might not agree. But in such cases I advise critics
not to reject my rendering utterly without some further examination of
the context and line of thought of the author or treatise in question,
since the wording of particular passages in texts and manuscripts
is liable to be corrupt, and since my purpose in quoting particular
passages is to illustrate the general attitude of the author or
treatise. In describing manuscripts I have employed quotation marks
when I knew from personal examination or otherwise that the Latin was
that of the manuscript itself, and have omitted quotation marks where
the Latin seemed rather to be that of the description in the catalogue.
Usually I have let the faulty spelling and syntax of medieval copyists
stand without comment. But as I am not an expert in palaeography
and have examined a large number of manuscripts primarily for their
substance, the reader should not regard my Latin quotations from them
as exact transliterations or carefully considered texts. He should also
remember that there is little uniformity in the manuscripts themselves.
I have tried to reduce the bulk of the footnotes by the briefest forms
of reference consistent with clearness—consult lists of abbreviations
and of works frequently cited by author and date of publication—and by
use of appendices at the close of certain chapters.
Within the limits of a preface I may not enumerate all the libraries
where I have been permitted to work or which have generously sent
books—sometimes rare volumes—to Cleveland for my use, or all the
librarians who have personally assisted my researches or courteously
and carefully answered my written inquiries, or the other scholars
who have aided or encouraged the preparation of this work, but I hope
they may feel that their kindness has not been in vain. In library
matters I have perhaps most frequently imposed upon the good nature
of Mr. Frederic C. Erb of the Columbia University Library, Mr. Gordon
W. Thayer, in charge of the John G. White collection in the Cleveland
Public Library, and Mr. George F. Strong, librarian of Adelbert
College, Western Reserve University; and I cannot forbear to mention
the interest shown in my work by Dr. R. L. Poole at the Bodleian. For
letters facilitating my studies abroad before the war or application
for a passport immediately after the war I am indebted to the Hon.
Philander C. Knox, then Secretary of State, to Frederick P. Keppel,
then Assistant Secretary of War, to Drs. J. Franklin Jameson and
Charles F. Thwing, and to Professors Henry E. Bourne and Henry Crew.
Professors C. H. Haskins,[2] L. C. Karpinski, W. G. Leutner, W. A.
Locy, D. B. Macdonald, L. J. Paetow, S. B. Platner, E. C. Richardson,
James Harvey Robinson, David Eugene Smith, D’Arcy W. Thompson, A. H.
Thorndike, E. L. Thorndike, T. Wingate Todd, and Hutton Webster, and
Drs. Charles Singer and Se Boyar have kindly read various chapters
in manuscript or proof and offered helpful suggestions. The burden
of proof-reading has been generously shared with me by Professors B.
P. Bourland, C. D. Lamberton, and Walter Libby, and especially by
Professor Harold North Fowler who has corrected proof for practically
the entire work. After receiving such expert aid and sound counsel I
must assume all the deeper guilt for such faults and indiscretions as
the book may display.
ABBREVIATIONS
Abhandl. Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematischen
Wissenschaften, begründet von M.
Cantor, Teubner, Leipzig.
Addit. Additional Manuscripts in the British Museum.
Amplon. Manuscript collection of Amplonius Ratinck at
Erfurt.
AN Ante-Nicene Fathers, American Reprint of the
Edinburgh edition, in 9 vols., 1913.
AS Acta sanctorum.
Beiträge Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des
Mittelalters, ed. by C. Baeumker, G. v. Hertling,
M. Baumgartner, et al., Münster, 1891-.
BL Bodleian Library, Oxford.
BM British Museum, London.
BN Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
Borgnet Augustus Borgnet, ed. B. Alberti Magni Opera
omnia, Paris, 1890-1899, in 38 vols.
Brewer Fr. Rogeri Bacon Opera quaedam hactenus inedita,
ed. J. S. Brewer, London, 1859, in RS,
XV.
Bridges The Opus Maius of Roger Bacon, ed. J. H.
Bridges, I-II, Oxford, 1897; III, 1900.
CCAG Catalogus codicum astrologorum Graecorum, ed.
F. Cumont, W. Kroll, F. Boll, et al., 1898.
CE Catholic Encyclopedia.
CFCB Census of Fifteenth Century Books Owned in
America, compiled by a committee of the Bibliographical
Society of America, New York,
1919.
CLM Codex Latinus Monacensis (Latin MS at Munich).
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum,
Vienna, 1866-.
CU Cambridge University (used to distinguish MSS
in colleges having the same names as those at
Oxford).
CUL Cambridge University Library.
DNB Dictionary of National Biography.
EB Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition.
EETS Early English Text Society Publications.
EHR English Historical Review.
ERE Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. J.
Hastings et al., 1908-.
HL Histoire Littéraire de la France.
HZ Historische Zeitschrift, Munich, 1859-.
Kühn Medici Graeci, ed. C. J. Kühn, Leipzig, 1829,
containing the works of Galen, Dioscorides,
etc.
MG Monumenta Germaniae.
MS Manuscript.
MSS Manuscripts.
Muratori Rerum Italicarum scriptores ab anno aerae christianae
500 ad 1500, ed. L. A. Muratori, 1723-1751.
NH C. Plinii Secundi Naturalis Historia (Pliny’s
Natural History).
PG Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series
graeca.
PL Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series
latina.
PN The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second
Series, ed. Wace and Schaff, 1890-1900, 14
vols.
PW Pauly and Wissowa, Realencyclopädie der classischen
Altertumswissenschaft.
RS “Rolls Series,” or Rerum Britannicarum medii
aevi scriptores, 99 works in 244 vols., London,
1858-1896.
TU Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der
altchristlichen Literatur, ed. Gebhardt und
Harnack.
DESIGNATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
Individual manuscripts are usually briefly designated in the ensuing
notes and appendices by a single word indicating the place or
collection where the MS is found and the number or shelf-mark of the
individual MS. So many of the catalogues of MSS collections which I
consulted were undated and without name of author that I have decided
to attempt no catalogue of them. The brief designations that I give
will be sufficient for anyone who is interested in MSS. In giving Latin
titles, _Incipits_, and the like of MSS I employ quotation marks when
I know from personal examination or otherwise that the wording is that
of the MS itself, and omit the marks where the Latin seems rather to
be that of the description in the manuscript catalogue or other source
of information. In the following _List of Works Frequently Cited_ are
included a few MSS catalogues whose authors I shall have occasion to
refer to by name.
LIST OF WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED BY AUTHOR AND DATE OF PUBLICATION OR
BRIEF TITLE
For more detailed bibliography on specific topics and for editions
or manuscripts of the texts used see the bibliographies, references,
and appendices to individual chapters. I also include here some works
of general interest or of rather cursory character which I have not
had occasion to mention elsewhere; and I usually add, for purposes
of differentiation, other works in our field by an author than those
works by him which are frequently cited. Of the many histories of the
sciences, medicine, and magic that have appeared since the invention
of printing I have included but a small selection. Almost without
exception they have to be used with the greatest caution.
Abano, Peter of, Conciliator differentiarum philosophorum et praecipue
medicorum, 1472, 1476, 1521, 1526, etc. De venenis, 1472, 1476, 1484,
1490, 1515, 1521, etc.
Abel, ed. Orphica, 1885.
Abelard, Peter. Opera hactenus seorsim edita, ed. V. Cousin, Paris,
1849-1859, 2 vols.
Ouvrages inédits, ed. V. Cousin, 1835.
Abt, Die Apologie des Apuleius von Madaura und die antike Zauberei,
Giessen, 1908.
Achmetis Oneirocriticon, ed. Rigaltius, Paris, 1603.
Adelard of Bath, Quaestiones naturales, 1480, 1485, etc. De eodem et
diverso, ed. H. Willner, Münster, 1903.
Ahrens, K. Das Buch der Naturgegenstände, 1892.
Zur Geschichte des sogenannten Physiologus, 1885.
Ailly, Pierre d’, Tractatus de ymagine mundi (and other works), 1480
(?).
Albertus Magnus, Opera omnia, ed. A. Borgnet, Paris, 1890-1899, 38
vols.
Allbutt, Sir T. Clifford. The Historical Relations of Medicine and
Surgery to the End of the Sixteenth Century, London, 1905, 122 pp.; an
address delivered at the St. Louis Congress in 1904.
The Rise of the Experimental Method in Oxford, London, 1902, 53 pp.,
from Journal of the Oxford University Junior Scientific Club, May,
1902, being the ninth Robert Boyle Lecture.
Science and Medieval Thought, London, 1901, 116 brief pages. The
Harveian Oration delivered before the Royal College of Physicians.
Allendy, R. F. L’Alchimie et la Médecine; Étude sur les théories
hermétiques dans l’histoire de la médecine, Paris, 1912, 155 pp.
Anz, W. Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnostizismus, Leipzig, 1897.
Aquinas, Thomas. Opera omnia, ed. E. Fretté et P. Maré, Paris,
1871-1880, 34 vols.
Aristotle, De animalibus historia, ed. Dittmeyer, 1907; English
translations by R. Creswell, 1848, and D’Arcy W. Thompson, Oxford,
1910.
Pseudo-Aristotle. Lapidarius, Merszborg, 1473.
Secretum secretorum, Latin translation from the Arabic by Philip of
Tripoli in many editions; and see Gaster.
Arnald of Villanova, Opera, Lyons, 1532.
Artemidori Daldiani et Achmetis Sereimi F. Oneirocritica; Astrampsychi
et Nicephori versus etiam Oneirocritici; Nicolai Rigaltii ad
Artemidorum Notae, Paris, 1603.
Ashmole, Elias, Theatrum chemicum Britannicum, 1652.
Astruc, Jean. Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire de la Faculté de
Médecine de Montpellier, Paris, 1767.
Auriferae artis quam chemiam vocant antiquissimi auctores, Basel, 1572.
Barach et Wrobel, Bibliotheca Philosophorum Mediae Aetatis, 1876-1878,
2 vols.
Bartholomew of England, De proprietatibus rerum, Lingelbach,
Heidelberg, 1488, and other editions.
Bauhin, De plantis a divis sanctisve nomen habentibus, Basel, 1591.
Baur, Ludwig, ed. Gundissalinus De divisione philosophiae, Münster,
1903.
Die Philosophischen Werke des Robert Grosseteste, Münster, 1912.
Beazley, C. R. The Dawn of Modern Geography, London, 1897-1906, 3 vols.
Bernard, E. Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliae et Hiberniae in
unum collecti (The old catalogue of the Bodleian MSS), Tom. I, Pars 1,
Oxford, 1697.
Berthelot, P. E. M. Archéologie et histoire des sciences avec
publication nouvelle du papyrus grec chimique de Leyde et impression
originale du Liber de septuaginta de Geber, Paris, 1906.
Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs, 1887-1888, 3 vols.
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