What is it about?
A strange treatise "On the Nature of Things" (De natura rerum) was one of the most popular writings ascribed to Paracelsus (1493/94–1541), first released in seven books (Basel, 1572) and in nine books (Strasburg, 1584). It has a highly operative approach to the natural world and expounds the plethora of ideas which fall in an elusive realm between magic and science. The treatise was first presented to readers when the extraordinary flowering of “forgeries,” ascribed to the name of Paracelsus, reached its climax, especially through the multiple editions of Paracelsus’s genuine treatise "Archidoxis." The aim of my article is to place the genesis of "De natura rerum" in this movement of forgery publication. 1. Introduction 2. Paracelsus’s Works Published Before "De natura rerum" 3. "Archidoxis" and the Flowering of Forgeries 4. Conclusion
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This page is a summary of: Into the Forger’s Library: The Genesis of De natura rerum in Publication History, Early Science and Medicine, February 2020, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/15733823-02456p05.
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