Eirenaeus Philalethes

Eirenaeus Philalethes (the peaceful lover of truth) was a 17th-century alchemist and the author of many influential works. These works were read by such luminaries as Isaac Newton, John Locke, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Robert Boyle, and Georg Stahl. Newton's extensive writings on alchemy are heavily indebted to Philalethes, although Newton incorporated significant modifications as well.[1]

Identity

The real identity behind the nom de plume of Eireneaus Philalethes was long shrouded in mystery. Recent research, however, has shown that the author was George Starkey (1628-1665), an expatriate American living in London.[2][3]

Works

Drey schöne und auserlesene Tractätlein von Verwandelung der Metallen, 1675
Cover, Drey schöne, 1675

First printings of Philalethes' tracts were published between 1654 and 1683:

Subsequently translated as:
Secrets reveal'd; or, An open entrance to the shut-palace of the King : containing the greatest treasure in chymistry never yet so plainly discovered. London, UK: W. Godbid for William Cooper. 1669. OCLC 904722035. 

A number of these tracts, including the Three tracts and the Introitus were also included in the Musaeum Hermeticum of 1678.

All English works of Philalethes have been recently compiled in one volume.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Meyer, M:chal (2016). "Isaac Newton and the American Alchemist". Distillations. 2 (2): 10–11. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Gehennical Fire: The Lives of George Starkey, an American Alchemist in the Scientific Revolution by William R Newman, University of Chicago Press, 2003 (ISBN 0226577147)
  3. ↑ Alchemy Tried in the Fire: Starkey, Boyle, and the Fate of Helmontian Chymistry by William R. Newman, Lawrence M. Principe, University of Chicago Press, 2002 (ISBN 0226577112)
  4. ↑ Alchemical Works: Eirenaeus Philalethes compiled, Cinnabar, 1994, ISBN 0-9640067-0-7
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