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Very rare first edition of the intriguing occult and miscellaneous works of a physician from Zierikzee, Zeeland

LEMNIUS, Levinus.
Occulta naturae miracula, ac varia rerum documenta, probabili ratione atque artifici coniectura duobus libris explicata, quae studioso avidoque lectori non tam usui sunt futura, quam oblectamento.

Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut coat of arms on title of the second part, woodcut initials in text.

Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut coat of arms on title of the second part, woodcut initials in text.

Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut coat of arms on title of the second part, woodcut initials in text.



Antwerp, Willem Simon, 1559. Sm. 8vo. Contemporary calf with two triple fillet borders on both sides with flower ornament in the centre and four gilt corner pieces, gilt stamp on raised spine. Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut coat of arms on title of the second part, woodcut initials in text. (16), 192 lvs.

Very rare first edition in two books of Lemnius' extraordinarily popular work on the secrets of nature, an interesting collection of physiological, physical, medical, religious and moral topics, attempting to explain extraordinary phenomena in nature. The book was designed as much for the amusement of the reader as for his education and contains a mass of information, partly real partly fantastic, taken from ancient Greek, Hebrew, Arab, and Latin sources, and presented and commented on in rather haphazard fashion. 'Bits of medical and natural lore are thrown together hit-or-miss', although it is not without importance 'since it was often cited by subsequent learned authors, and since the numerous editions and translations of it show that it was well suited to the tastes of the time' (Thorndike).
Despite his interest in the occult and belief in the importance of the influence the stars and moon exert on the person, Lemnius remained pragmatic, always insisting on the importance of treating the patient with what remedies where available rather than relying on astronomy. Of the many diverse and interesting subjects the book deals with, such as the effects of human saliva, or whether it is better to sleep with ones mouth open or closed, one most referred to is the subject of vines, wine and drunks; white wine should be drunk before red, vinegar is useful in times of plague, the wines of the Poitou make you quarrelsome whereas the wines of the Rhine make you amorous and when inebriated, you must not sleep in the moons rays, etc.
Levinus Lemnius (1505-1568) was born at Zierikzee in the Dutch province of Zeeland, studied first theology, then medicine under Vesalius. He graduated at Padua in 1525 and then practiced medicine in his native town Zierikzee. He was a pupil and friend of Conrad Gesner and of Dodoens. Lemnius was also reputed for the elegance and pureness of his Latin.
Our copy belongs to the very rare first edition, published in two books. In 1564 the work was republished by the same publisher, enlarged to four books. It was translated into French by Jaques Gohory with the title Les Occultes Merveilles et Secretz de Nature, avec plusieurs enseignemens des choses divers (1567, 1574, etc.); in the same year an Italian translation was published in Venice: De gli occulti miracoli. & uarii ammaestramenti delle cose della natura; an English translation of this work did not appear until 1650.

Fair copy.- (Binding dam. at spine and corners, hindges weak; title sl. soiled; waterstained at the beginning; wormholes affecting small parts of the text, still readable; last leaf half loose; large stain on one leaf).
STC Dutch p. 115; Machiels L 146; Belg. Typ. 1848; Durling 2770; Thorndike V, pp. 393-4; Coumont L51b.2; Wellcome 7147/A; C.M. van Hoorn, Levinus Lemnius. Zestiende-eeuws Zeeuws geneesheer (Thesis, Amsterdam, VU; 1978); this edition not in Ferguson, Caillet nor Adams.

Related Subjects: Medicine  Natural History  Occult  Physics  Religion  Science 

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