Andreas Libavius or Andrew Libavius was born in Halle, Germany c. 1550 and died in July 1616. Libavius was a renaissance man who spent time as a professor at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

teaching history and poetry. After which he became a physician at the Gymnasium in Rothenburg and later founded the Gymnasium at Coburg. Libavius was most known for practicing alchemy and writing a book called ''Alchemia'', one of the first chemistry textbooks ever written.

Life

Libavius was born in Halle, Germany, as Andreas Libau, the son of Johann Libau. His father, only a linen worker, could not give Libavius an education because in this time period only the wealthy were able to get a higher education. Showing great intelligence as a child Livavius overcame his personal status and attended the University of Whittenburg at the age of eighteen in 1578. In 1579 he entered the

where he studied philosophy, history and medicine. In 1581 he obtained the academic degree of '' magister artium'' and was named a

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

. He began teaching in Ilmenau in 1581 and remained there until 1586 when he moved to

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

to teach there. In 1588 he went to study at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

and received the degree of '' medicinae doctor''. Shortly thereafter, he became a professor of history and poetry at the

. At the same time, he also supervised the disputations in the field of medicine. In 1591 he became physician of the city council of Rothenburg and, one year later, became the superintendent of schools. This position led to conflict with the rector of schools causing Libavius to move to

in 1605. In 1606 he was offered and accepted the position of headmaster of the reestablished Casimirianum Gymnasium in Coburg. He lived in Coburg from 1607 until his death in 1616. Little is known about his personal life, but he did have two sons, Michael, and Andreas, who followed in his father's footsteps and became a teacher and physician. He also had two daughters, Susanna, and one whose name is not known.

Alchemy

Libavius is best known for his work as an alchemist above all else. Alchemy was an early science whose goals were to transform matter like turning base metals to gold. Alchemists also tried to find an elixir of life that would allow them to cure all disease. Alchemy is the study that turned into what we know today as chemistry. Libavius believed that his studies in alchemy would help further advancements in the medical field. In 1597 Libavius published ''Alchemia'', a textbook that summarized all the discoveries alchemists had made at this point. ''Alchemia'' was organized into four parts: what to have in a laboratory, descriptions of procedures, chemical analysis, and transmutation. Publishing such a book was blasphemous, as many alchemists wanted to keep their findings to themselves to prevent their findings from being misused. Libavius thought that knowledge should be shared if it could be used to help better mankind. His studies in alchemy led to many new discoveries in chemistry. He discovered methods to prepare a number of chemicals like hydrochloric acid, ammonium sulfate and tin chloride. He also recorded the dangers of alchemy, as most of it was done in homes, and proposed the development of a series of laboratories, called chemical houses, to make alchemy a safer practice.

Views on alchemy

Libavius was a staunch believer in chrysopoeia, or the ability to transmute a base metal into gold. This viewpoint was a matter of much debate for alchemists of the time, and he defended it in several of his writings. Though he did discover several new chemical processes, he tended to be more of a theoretician, and he leaned toward traditional Aristotelianism rather than Paracelsian alchemy. He was an opponent of Paracelsus on the grounds of Paracelsus' disrespect for ancient thought, magnification of personal experience above others' experience, overstatement of the didactic function of nature, use of magical words and symbols in natural philosophy, confusion of natural and supernatural causes, interjection of seeds into the creation of the universe, and postulation of astral influences. Despite this, he did not entirely reject all Paracelsian methods. In ''The Rosicrucian Enlightenment,''

Frances Yates Dame Frances Amelia Yates (28 November 1899 – 29 September 1981) was an English historian of the Renaissance, who wrote books on esoteric history. After attaining an MA in French at University College London, she began to publish her resear ...

states:

Andrea Libavius was one of those ''chymists'' who was influenced up to a point by the new teachings of Paracelsus in that he accepted the use of the new chemical remedies in medicine advocated by Paracelsus, whilst adhering theoretically to the traditional Aristotelian and Galenist teachings and rejecting Paracelsist mysticism.
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
and Galen appear, honourably placed, on the title-page of Libavius's main work, the ''Alchymia'', published at Frankfurt in 1596 ... Libavius criticized the
Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...
''Fama'' and ''Confessio'' in several works. Basing himself on the texts of the two manifestos, Libavius raises serious objections to them on scientific, political, and religious grounds. Libavius is strongly against theories of macro-microcosmic harmony, against ''Magia and Cabala'', against
Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...
(from whose supposed writings he makes many quotations), against
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...
and Trithemius—in short he is against the Renaissance tradition.

He accepted the Paracelsian principle of using occult properties to explain phenomena with no apparent cause but rejected the conclusion that a thing possessing these properties must have an astral connection to the divine. He was also critical of alchemists who claimed to have produced a

panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of univers ...

, or cure-all, not because he didn't believe that a panacea was possible, but because these alchemists invariably refused to disclose their formulas. He believed that anyone who managed to create a panacea was duty bound to teach the process to as many other people as possible, so that it could benefit mankind. He was particularly critical of Georgius am Wald (also called Georgius an und von Wald), an alchemist who wrote a book in which he claimed to have made a panacea. Libavius considered am Wald to be a fraud and declared that am Wald's panacea was no more than sulfur and mercury, not gold as am Wald claimed. Between 1595 and 1596 he dedicated four volumes, ''Neoparacelsica'', ''Tractatus duo physici'', ''Gegenbericht von der Panacea Amwaldina'', and ''Panacea Amwaldina victa'' to exposing am Wald as a quack."Libavius (or Libau), Andreas." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com.

Works

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Within a span of 25 years (1591–1616) Libavius wrote more than 40 works in the field of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

, chemistry, pharmacy and

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. He was actively involved in

polemics Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

, especially in the fields of chemistry and alchemy, and as such many of his writings were controversial at the time. Libavius was an orthodox Lutheran, and in his theological treatises, which he wrote under the pseudonym of Basilius de Varna, he criticized Catholicism, specifically the Jesuit order, and later on in his life,

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. This can also be seen in some of his non-theological works, particularly in some of the works produced during his involvement with the conflict between the Paracelsists, anti-Paracelsists,

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

ists, and Hermetics. In 1597, he wrote the first systematic chemistry textbook, ''Alchymia'', where he described the possibility of transmutation. In this book he also showed that cuprous salt lotions are detectable with

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...

, which causes them to change color to dark blue. In 1615 he wrote ''Syntagmatis alchamiae arcanorum'' where he detailed the production of tin chloride, something that he developed in 1605. He was not the first person to invent this process, however, as the Franciscan friar Ulmannus had discovered it earlier and wrote about in the book '' Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit'' in 1415. He also contributed works to the study of medicine. Between 1599 and 1601 he wrote ''Singularia'', a four volume collection of lectures on natural science, which included a collection of descriptions and discussions about medical phenomena. In 1610 he published one of the first German medical texts, ''Tractatus Medicus Physicus und Historia des fürtrefflichen Casimirianischen SawerBrunnen/ unter Libenstein/ nicht fern von Schmalkalden gelegen''.

Other works

*''Quaestionum physicarum'' - 1591 *''Dialectica'' - 1593 *''Neoparacelsica'' - 1594 *''Tractatus duo physici'' - 1594 *''Exercitiorum logicorum liber'' - 1595 *''Dialogus logicus'' - 1595 *''Antigramania'' - 1595 *''Gegenbericht von der Panacea Amwaldina, auff Georg vom Waldt davon aussgegangenen Bericht'' - 1595 *''Singularium pars prima … pars secunda'' - 1595 *''Tetraemerum'' - 1596 *''Commentationum metallicorum libri '' - 1597 *''Variarum controversarium libri duo'' - 1601 *''Analysis dialéctica colloquii Ratisbonensis'' - 1602 *''Poemata epica, lyrica, et elegica'' - 1602 *''Alchymistische Practic'' - 1603
Digitalisat
*''Gretserus triumphatus'' - 1604 *''Praxis alchymiae'' - 1604 *''Alchymia triumphans'' - 1607 *''Pharmacopea'' - 1607 *''Syntagma selectorum'' - 1611 *''Syntagma arcanorum'' - 1613 *''Syntagmatis arcanorum chymicorum '' - 1613 *''Examen philosophiae novae'' - 1615 *''Analysis confessionis Fraternitatis de Rosae Cruce'' - 1615 *''Wolmeinendes Bedencken / Von der Fama, und Confession der Brüderschaft deß Rosen Creutzes'' - 1616

References

* *

, ''The Rosicrucian Enlightenment'' RKP 1972 *"AndreaasLibavius (or Libau), Andreas." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. *Benbow, Peter K. 2009. "Theory and Action in the Works of Andreas Libavius and Other Alchemists." ''Annals of Science'' 66, no. 1: 135-139.

External links

Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
High resolution images of works by and/or portraits of Andreas Libavius in .jpg and .tiff format. * Andreas Libavius (1606
''Alchymia''
- digital facsimile from the

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Libavius, Andreas 1550s births 1616 deaths 16th-century alchemists 16th-century German physicians 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers 17th-century alchemists 17th-century German physicians 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers German alchemists 17th-century German chemists People from Halle (Saale) University of Jena faculty