Artephius
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Artephius (Arthephius, Artefius, Artefii) or (Al-Hafiz, Ibn al-Hafiz) or (Al-Tafiz, Ibn al-Tafiz of Ibn ar-Tafiz) (Circa 1126) was an independent Alchemist from Al-Andalus, he has been known as the author of numerous works of Alchemical texts, now extant only in Latin. He was among the most prominent Alchemists known in the Middle Ages, he was a freelance alchemist from probably Córdoba. Like Al-Majriti, he was keenly interested in mercuric oxide, he also mentions some medicines which were extracted from saffron by Ibn al-Wafid of Toledo (Abenguefit).
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[edit] Early Life
He was born to Spanish Muslim (Muladi) in a village on the outskirts of probably Córdoba. His family owned livestock such as cattle and produced dairy products. His name Al-Hafiz or Al-Tafiz (one who has memorized the Quran by heart) indicates his early education. During his youth he learned the sciences of Alchemy, his works are a compendium of the sciences of Alchemy in Al-Andalus and like the works of his colleagues are mystical in nature.
After detailed studies in Alchemy, he became the renown author of The Secret Book of Artephius, in the first chapter he mentions substances such as: mercuric oxide, sulfur, antimony, iron ore, thiosulfate, gold, alluvium, sal ammoniac, wax, brass silver, black ash, metallic vapors, magnesia (magnesium hydroxide); in the second chapter he mentions the methods used to make vinegar saffron, cheese, pure milk, yogurt, cream and butter. In the third chapter he writes about the Sublimation process, Bain-marie. He concludes his book with quotes and the verses from the Quran (Aale Imran, 7; 3:26)[1]:
Which when you see, render praises and thanksgiving to the most great and gracious God (Allah), who gives wisdom and riches to whomsoever He pleases, and takes them away according to the wickedness of a person. To Him, I say, the most wise and almighty God (Allah), be glory for ages and ages. AAMEN.[2]
Although details, origins and biography of the author have been lost due to the turbulent years of the Reconquesta and the Inquisition that followed. The works of Al-Tafiz (Artephius) are very similar to that of his fellow Alchemists in Al-Andalus mainly due to his mystical style of writing:
O God (Allah), how through nature, doth thou change a body into a soul: which could not be done, if the soul were not incorporated with the bodies, and the bodies made volatile with the soul, and afterwards permanent and fixed. For this cause sake, they have passed over into one another, and by the influence of wisdom, are converted into one another. O Wisdom: how thou makest the most fixed gold to be volatile and fugitive, though by nature it is the most fixed of all things in the world... (The Secret Book of Artephius) [2]
Another work ascribed to him is the De Vita Propagandi, The Art of Prolonging Human Life, the book was most probably published after his death and deals only with the elixir. Although the origin of the texts is unclear, at least some of it derives from various Arabic antecedents. Roger Bacon alludes to The Secret Book of Artephius, indicating that it goes back to the thirteenth century. In the sixteenth century there were numerous allusions.
[edit] Legacy
In printed form, works attributed to Artephius became well known in the seventeenth century. A work Artefii clavis majoris sapientiae was printed in Paris in 1609. Later it would also appear within Volume IV of Theatrum Chemicum, printed originally in 1613.[3] Then in 1624, Eirenaeus Orandus provided an English translation of the 'secret booke'.[4]
Renaissance tradition credited Al-Tafiz (Artephius) for his detailed works on the extraction of various substances, and also attribute to having discovered the alchemical elixir that made it possible to prolong life. In his Secret Book, Al-Tafiz claims that the science of Alchemy to be more than a thousand years old originating in the Levant. Like many of his colleagues in Al-Andalus he is also known to have written various essays on the use of music. The Bain-marie was first mentioned by Al-Tafiz as he quotes the sayings of a previous Alchemist named Adfar, he states it as a crucial device used in the study of Sulfur. Modern scholars credit Al-Tafiz (Artephius) for inventing the Bain-marie.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- Austin, H.D. 1937. "Artephius-Orpheus." Speculum 12: 251–54.
- Levi della Vida, G. 1938. "Something More about Artefius and His Clavis Sapientiae." Speculum 13: 80–85.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://quran.com/3
- ^ a b http://www.levity.com/alchemy/artephiu.html
- ^ "The Alchemy web site on Levity.com". Levity.com. http://www.levity.com/alchemy/theatchm.html. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ "The Alchemy web site on Levity.com - Secret Book of Artephius". Levity.com. http://www.levity.com/alchemy/artephiu.html. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
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