Science and the Secrets of Nature : Books of Secrets in Medieval and Early Modern Culture /
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...
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Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
Idioma: | Inglés |
Publicado: |
Princeton, NJ :
Princeton University Press,
[2021]
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Temas: | |
Acceso en línea: | Texto completo Texto completo |
Sumario: | 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. |
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Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (512 p.) : 12 halftones. 3 tables |
ISBN: | 9780691214610 9783110442496 |
Acceso: | restricted access |