John Dastin
John Dastin [1] (fl. c.1288-c.1334)[2] was an English alchemist of the fourteenth century. Nothing is known of his life beyond the texts which are attributed to him (A biographical notice De vita, aetate ac scripsis Johannis Dastin is found in a 17th century manuscript: Ms Oxford, Bold. Libr., Ashmol. 1445, VIII, fol. 53).[3]. Dastin is known for correspondence with Pope John XXII in defense of alchemical practice, dated to 1320.
Work attributed to Dastin was included in the 1625 Harmoniae imperscrutabilis Chymico-Philosophicae of Hermannus Condeesyanus,[4] the 1629 Fasciculus Chemicus of Arthur Dee, and the 1652 Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum of Elias Ashmole.
Works
Letter to John XXII
Dastin argues that artificial transmutation into gold with the help of sulphur of mercury (argent vive) is equivalent to natural transformation. Furthermore, that "art imitates nature, and in certain respects corrects and surpasses it just as infirm nature is changed by the industry of medicine." [5]
Rosarius
The Rosarius Philosophorum, also known by its incipit 'Desiderabile desiderium (the desired desire). The Rosarium is known in manuscript[6] and was printed in 1702 by J. J. Manget in his Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa.
It was also attributed to Dastin's contemporary Arnaldus de Villa Nova (1238-1311 or 1313) and translated into French under the title La Vraie Pratique de la noble science d'alchimie. Later still it was attributed to Nicolas Flamel under the title The Book of Washing.
Visio
In manuscripts, this text was often associated with the Visio Edwardi. It was printed for the first time in 1625 under the title Visio Ioannis Dastin [7], and translated into English in 1652 in the Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum of Elias Ashmole as Dastin's Dreame.
Notes
- ^ Also Dastine, Dastyn, Daustin, Johannes Dastinus. Also given in the forms Joannes Dacius, and (according to Lynn Thorndike) Johannes de Vasconia.
- ^ http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101007184/
- ^ Noted by Wilfred Theisen John Dastin's Letter on the Philosophers' StoneAmbix 1986, vol. 33, no2-3, pp. 78-87 (p.86 n. 3) cited by Pascale Barthélemy et Didier Kahn Les voyages d'une allégorie alchimique : de la Visio Edwardi à l'Oeuvre royalle de Charles VI in Comprendre et maîtriser la nature au Moyen Age. Mélanges d'histoire des sciences offerts à Guy Beaujouan, Genève-Paris / 1994 - [1]
- ^ The Visio super artem Alchemicam.
- ^ Nam ars imitatur naturam et in quidam corrigit et superat eam, sicut mutatur natura infirma medicorum industria, cited by Barbara Obrist, Art et nature dans l’alchimie médiévale. Revue d’Histoire des Sciences, 1986, 49, p. 254 [2]
- ^ For example from 1525,[3]; other 16th century sources, [4].
- ^ Harmoniae Chymico-Philosophicae decade II, collecta studio Johannis Rhenani, Francfort. 1625 pp.301-308
Manuscripts
- Tractatus Joannis Dastin. Cum gauderent uti breuitate Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.8.36.
- Inc. Ep. Johannis Dastine ad papam Johannem xxii transmissa de alkimia and Visio Joh. Dastin Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.2.18. 14th and 15th centuries.
- Tractatus Alchemici. De erroribus J. Dastin - British Library MS. Egerton 845. 15th century.
References
- Entry in Concise Dictionary of National Biography
- Lynn Thorndike A history of magic and experimental science 1934, vol. Missing parameter! (Template:Vol.)3, pp. 85-102
- C.H. Josten The text of John Dastin's 'Letter to Pope John XXII Ambix, 4:1 & 2 (1949), 34-51
- Wilfred Theisen John Dastin's Letter on the Philosophers' StoneAmbix 1986, vol. Missing parameter! (Template:Vol.)33, no2-3, pp. 78-87
- Wilfred Theisen John Dastin : the Alchemist as Co-Creator Ambix 1991, vol. Missing parameter! (Template:Vol.)38, no2, pp. 73-78
- Wilfred Theisen The Letters of John Dastin. Ambix, 55:2 (2008), 153-68 résumé
- Wilfred Theisen John Dastin's alchemical vision Ambix 1999, vol. Missing parameter! (Template:Vol.)46, no2, pp. 65-72 résumé
- John Dastin's Alchemical Dream Kessinger Publishing, 2005
- Pascale Barthélemy et Didier Kahn Les voyages d'une allégorie alchimique : de la Visio Edwardi à l'Oeuvre royalle de Charles VI in Comprendre et maîtriser la nature au Moyen Age. Mélanges d'histoire des sciences offerts à Guy Beaujouan, Genève-Paris / 1994 [5]
External links
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