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Teaching all alchemists' and occult knowledge

FOLLIN, Herman.
Den Nederlandtsche sleutel van t'secreet der philosophie, in welck grondelijc bewesen wert, d'aert, so in 't generael, als in 't bysonder aller metallen, als goudt, silver, coper, etc. En die gheheele alchijmie, met  haer verborghentheden. Midsgaders d'eerste materie der Philosophen, dat is: Quinta essentia des wijns, met haren volcomen ghebruyck, en verclaringhe aller duystere woorden des voorsz. constes, op dat Paracelsus claerlijck in alles mach werden verstaen.

With 3 half-page woodcuts in the text - one of them is repeated on the title -, all showing distilling apparatus.

With 3 half-page woodcuts in the text - one of them is repeated on the title -, all showing distilling apparatus.

With 3 half-page woodcuts in the text - one of them is repeated on the title -, all showing distilling apparatus.



Haarlem, Adriaen Rooman for Daniel de Keyser, 1613. Small 8vo. Modern vellum. With 3 half-page woodcuts in the text - one of them is repeated on the title -, all showing distilling apparatus. 76 lvs.

Rare first and probably only edition of a Dutch hermetic text book, by Herman Follin, a Dutch medical doctor, born in Frisia at the end of the 16th century. Follin had a successful medical practice at 's-Hertogenbosch, and became professor in medicine at Cologne, where he died of the plague around the middle of the 17th century. He wrote a number of medical-chemical works, a.o. Amuletum Antonianum, sive luis pestiferae fuga, published at Antwerp in 1618, his Orationes de natura febris  peticularis, ejusque curatione, & de studiis chymicis conjugendis  cum Hipocraticis, published at Cologne in 1622, and his Naturae  humanae, sive mores & temperamentia hominum, usque ad ultimos  animorum secessus cognoscendi modus, methodo Aristotelis illustratus,  which he wrote in Dutch, was translated into Latin by his son, Jan Follin, and published at Cologne in 1649.
The present work, one of his first to be published, was designed to teach in clear and easy language all alchemists' and occult knowledge, being of use for pharmacists and medical doctors. The book, dedicated to the famous Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, is composed in the manner of a schoolbook,  treating each subject succinctly in small chapters. The first is devoted to alchemists' knowledge of metals, presented in short  propositions followed by their proofs. The second part, "Die Const  Hermetis, Ofte Chymie", treats chemistry, put into short definitions  followed by their explanations. In the third part, "Van de  Eerste Materie der Philosophen, En van sijn ontallijcke vruchten",  the author gives a short survey of hermetic thought on the quintessence  of matter, declares this to be the quintessence of wine, presents  several recipee's to distill this quintessence, a.o. one taken from Raymund Lull, followed by a large number of recipee's based on alchemists' secrets to be used in medicine, and recipes of alchemists'  distilling processes. At the end a dictionary of 'dark' alchemists' words is given. The book seems to be very rare. It is not recorded in any of the occult-chemical reference works, but it is found in some medical collections.

Good copy, with on top of title autograph ownership of the Jesuit College at Brussels, dated 1647.- (Sl. cut short).
Bibl.Med.Neerl. p. 528; Krivatsy, Seventeenth century Books Nat.Library of Medicine, 4149; Simoni F47; not in Ferguson, Duveen, or Caillet.

Related Subjects: 17th Century  Alchemy  Friesland  Hermetica  Medicine  Occult  Occult Sciences 

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