Science and the Secrets of Nature

Science and the Secrets of Nature
Author: William Eamon
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691214611


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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.


Science and the Secrets of Nature
Language: en
Pages: 508
Authors: William Eamon
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-06-30 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

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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
Science and the Secrets of Nature
Language: en
Pages: 490
Authors: William Eamon
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 1996 - Publisher:

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Secrets of Nature
Language: en
Pages: 472
Authors: William R. Newman
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2001 - Publisher: MIT Press

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A fresh look at the role of astrology and alchemy in Renaissance thinking and everyday life.
Jesuit Science and the End of Nature's Secrets
Language: en
Pages: 228
Authors: Mark A. Waddell
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-03-09 - Publisher: Routledge

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Jesuit Science and the End of Nature’s Secrets explores how several prominent Jesuit naturalists - including Niccolò Cabeo, Athanasius Kircher, and Gaspar Sc
The Professor of Secrets
Language: en
Pages: 372
Authors: William Eamon
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010 - Publisher: National Geographic Books

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Examines the life and work of sixteenth-century physician Leonardo Fioravanti, and describes the medical community and practices of Renaissance Italy.