Jean Roberti (also Johannes) (1569 – 14 February 1651) was a

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who became known for his part in a medical and scientific controversy. He was also a theological writer.

Life

He was born in Saint-Hubert and studied in Jesuit colleges at

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1592, held teaching posts, and was awarded a D.D. at

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. He became rector of the college at

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

, and died at

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. Remacle Roberti (Remaclus Robertius), an official and adviser in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

, was his brother.

Works

In 1609 Roberti wrote a reply, his ''Brevis anatome'', to a 1608 work of

Rudolph Goclenius Rudolph Goclenius the Elder (; born ''Rudolf Gockel'' or ''Göckel''; 1 March 1547 – 8 June 1628) was a German scholastic philosopher. He is sometimes credited with coining the term ''psychology'' in 1590, though the term had been used by Pier ...

medical astrology Medical astrology or astrological medicine (traditionally known as iatromathematics) is an ancient applied branch of astrology based mostly on ''melothesia'' (Gr. μελοθεσία), the association of various parts of the body, diseases, and ...

from a

Paracelsian Paracelsianism (also Paracelsism; German: ') was an early modern History of medicine, medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, during the decades following Paracel ...

perspective, that had mentioned a weapon salve (a type of

sympathetic magic Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of Magic (paranormal), magic based on imitation or correspondence. Similarity and contagion James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in ''The Golden Bough'' (1889); Rich ...

). Roberti objected to the efficacy of the weapon salve being attributed to purely natural causes. He called the explanation of Goclenius necromantic, and a confusion of

natural magic ' (in English, ''Natural Magic'') is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian (156 ...

with other kinds. Goclenius replied by listing 45 kinds of "evil magic", and 24 effects that had been achieved by a

magus Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

, and could not be explained by natural causes. A pamphlet war continued; in 1621 Goclenius died, but

Johannes Baptista van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont ( , ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be ...

then published the same year his ''De magnetica vulnerum curatione'', a severe attack on Roberti as well as critical of Goclenius who (in his opinion) had a simplistic view. The attacks of Roberti had some effects: van Helmont went through an examination by the Inquisition, and some sideblows against the

Rosicrucians Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

he made in 1618 were picked up in 1623 by

Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...

and Jean Boucher. ''Mysticae Ezechielis quadrigae'' was a work on the four Gospels. Roberti edited the ''Flores epytaphii sanctorum'' of

Theofried of Epternach Thiofrid (died 1110) was the Benedictine abbot of Echternach Abbey, and writer of works in several different areas. He is one of the few medieval writers to discuss the cult of relics, in his ''Flores epytaphii sanctorum''. He wrote on Willibrord ...

, ''Legend of St. Hubert'', and other works of

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

.Irena Dorota Backus, ''The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West: from the Carolingians to the Maurists, Volume 1'' (1996), p. 906 note 50
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Notes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberti, Jean 1569 births 1651 deaths Flemish Jesuits People from Saint-Hubert, Belgium