Abstract
THE great libraries of Italy form one of the happiest hunting-grounds for the seeker after ancient alchemical manuscripts. Dr. Ernst Darmstaedter's exciting discovery last year of a Latin version of Geber's Book of Mercy,up to that time known only in its Arabic dress, is almost certainly merely a foretaste of what is to come. In the practically unbroken tradition of culture in Italy, extending over a couple of millennia, the accumulation of precious documents has found a peculiarly favourable atmosphere, and the International Committee which is now conducting a census of alchemical manuscripts in Europe will doubtless unearth its greatest treasures in the land of Dante—who consigned all alchemists to a special corner of the Inferno.
Sulle fonti storiche della chimica e dell' alchimia in Italia.
Per Dott. Giovanni Carbonelli. Tratte dallo spoglio dei manoscritti delle biblioteche con speciale riguardo ai codici 74 di Pavia e 1166 Laurenziano. Pp. xix+218. (Roma: Istituto Nazionale Medico Farmacologico, 1925.) 300 lire.
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HOLMYARD, E. Sulle fonti storiche della chimica e dell' alchimia in Italia . Nature 117, 544–545 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/117544a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/117544a0
