Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

William Eamon

ISBN 10: 0691026025 / ISBN 13: 9780691026022

Published by Princeton University Press, 1996

By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, this title conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Num Pages: 512 pages, 12 halftones. 3 tables. BIC Classification: JFCX; PDA; PDX. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 156 x 237 x 31. Weight in Grams: 742. . 1996. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780691026022

Synopsis:

By explaining how to sire multicolored horses, produce nuts without shells, and create an egg the size of a human head, Giambattista Della Porta's Natural Magic (1559) conveys a fascination with tricks and illusions that makes it a work difficult for historians of science to take seriously. Yet, according to William Eamon, it is in the "how-to" books written by medieval alchemists, magicians, and artisans that modern science has its roots. These compilations of recipes on everything from parlor tricks through medical remedies to wool-dyeing fascinated medieval intellectuals because they promised access to esoteric "secrets of nature." In closely examining this rich but little-known source of literature, Eamon reveals that printing technology and popular culture had as great, if not stronger, an impact on early modern science as did the traditional academic disciplines.

About the Author: William Eamon is Professor of History at New Mexico State University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Science and the Secrets of Nature: Books of ...
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: 1996
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: New