Thomas Tymme and Robert Fludd: A Study of British Alchemy

鄭曉筠(Hsiao-Yun Cheng)

指導教授 ： 琅元

國立清華大學/人文社會學院/歷史研究所/碩士(2014年)

https://doi.org/10.6843/NTHU.2014.00382

摘要

Alchemy (普遍被翻作「煉金術」)，被現代科學家認為是一種「偽科學」，然而英國的鍊金術在十六到十八世紀曾經相當盛行，亦在英國的科學社群中形成頗具影響力的社群，甚至不少鍊金術士身兼科學家。鍊金術在科學史家的記載中，經常被稱呼為「秘密科學」或「秘密知識」，因此，透過瞭解他們傳遞知識的方式，有助於從新的面向理解當時的鍊金術。我認為，藉由重新建構英國鍊金術士的社交網絡，可了解當時的鍊金術士如何傳遞鍊金知識。在論文中，我將嘗試不同的研究方法(參見第一章)來重建英國鍊金術士的社交網絡。此外，在我的論文中，我主要關注三個與鍊金術相關的範疇：第二章我將以John Dee (1527-1608)的Monas Hieroglyphica 和Elias Ashmole (1617-1692)的Threatrum Chemicum Britannicum為核心，討論傳統鍊金術(相對於Robert Boyle現代化學的「舊化學」)追求金屬煉化技術的工作內容。然而鍊金術的內涵不僅於此，第二至第三章我將處理衍生自英國帕拉塞爾斯學派的化學醫學(iatrochemistry)作為轉折、第三章及第四章我則會分別以Thomas Tymme (?-1620)的A Dialogue Philosophicall (1612)和Robert Fludd (1574-1637)的Mosaicall Philosophy (1659) 及Ultriusque Cosmi Maioris (1617)三書為例，探討鍊金術如何涉及到宗教及哲學的討論。
因此，我的論文主要是透過探討英國鍊金術士們研究的目的與構想，探討十六至十八世紀鍊金術士社交網絡如何被建構及其轉變的過程。每個鍊金術士研究目的與構想都不盡相同，就算他們來自相同學派也是如此。由此可知，鍊金術知識在英國十六至十八世紀三百年間傳遞過程中經常有所改變，而與原來的面貌大不相同。因此，本文嘗試以Thomas Tymme 和Robert Fludd和受他們影響的鍊金術思想為例，探討鍊金術知識傳遞中所造成的差異，並試著藉此重新描繪出這三百年間英國鍊金術的整體面貌。

關鍵字

鍊金術 ； 知識傳遞 ； 帕拉塞爾斯學派

並列摘要

Alchemy is considered a “pseudo-science” by modern scientists; however, British alchemy, which can be traced back to an even earlier period, was flourishing from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and alchemists formed an influential group within the larger social network of British scientists of that time. Since alchemy was often treated as “secret science” or “secret knowledge,” the very process of transmission of alchemical knowledge often remained beyond the reach of historians of science; however, its study may provide a new perspective on the work of the alchemists. A reconstruction of the social network of British alchemists offers a new way to understand how they transmitted their knowledge, and in my thesis I used various methodologies (discussed in Chapter I) to reconstruct the social network of British alchemists in order to describe the transmission of alchemical knowledge. In my thesis I studied three major fields of alchemical pursuit: the transmutation of metals presented in works Monas Hieroglyphica of John Dee (1527-1608) and Threatrum Chemicum Britannicum of Elias Ashmole (1617-1692) is discussed in Chapter II, iatrochemistry of Paracelsus (1493-1541) and of his British followers is discussed in Chapters II and III, while a part of Chapter III and entire Chapter IV are devoted to religious and philosophical interpretations of alchemy represented with A Dialogue Philosophicall (1612) of Thomas Tymme (?-1620) and the works Mosaicall Philosophy (1659) and Ultriusque Cosmi Maioris (1617) of Robert Fludd (1574-1637) .
My study of the network of British alchemists shows that their goals and ideas were often very different from each other even when they worked in the same fields and belonged to the same “schools”. It also shows that the alchemical knowledge may have changed considerably when transmitted, and that this change may have caused the large diversity that British alchemy manifested throughout the three hundred years of its flourishing. The cases of Thomas Tymme and Robert Fludd were used to study this diversity; in my thesis, I analyzed and compared their alchemical ideas and activities to depict the general image of British alchemy from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century.

並列關鍵字

Alchemy ； Thomas Tymme ； Robert Fludd ； British Paracelsian ； transmission of knowledge

參考文獻

Maier, Michael. Atalanta Fuguens. Oppenheim: Johann Theodori de Bry, 1617. Repr. London, 1618.

Primary sources

Mylius, Johann Danel. Philosophia Reformata. Francofuti, 1622.

Secondary sources

Abbri, Ferdinando. “Alchemy and Chemistry: Chemical Discourses in Seventeenth Century.” Early Science and Medicine, vol. 5, no. 2, Alchemy & Hermerticism (2000), pp. 214-226.