Joseph Du Chesne
Hiro HIRAI
Paracelsisme,
néoplatonisme et médecine hermétique
dans la
théorie de la matière de
Joseph
Du Chesne
à
travers son Ad veritatem hermeticae medicinae (1604)
Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences, 51 (2001), pp. 9-37.
|
Known by the latinized name
Quercetanus, the French Paracelsian Joseph Du Chesne (1546-1609) was a
physician and political agent of the first French protestant king Henri IV.
He exercised a profound influence on the Paracelsianism, or rather the
chemical philosophy of the beginning of the 17th century. His main work Ad
veritatem hermeticae medicinae (Paris, 1604) have almost never been studied
by historians seriously in spite of its impact on the later generations. A
part from Didier Kahn’s biographical study in his Ph. D. dissertation,
the longest studies on Du Chesne remained R. Hooykaas’ treatment in his
History of the Concept of Element and A.G. Debus’ Paracelsian
studies. This article analyses Du Chesne’s matter theory, developed in
his master piece, in its proper historical context, focusing especially on
its Paracelsian, Neoplatonic and Hermetic aspects. It aims to be the first
step towards the future full-scale study of Quercetanian chemical philosophy. |
|
1. Introduction 4-1. Les semences et les trois principes
hypostatiques |