J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)
E. Schultheisz and L. Tardy: The Contacts of the two Dees and Sir Philipp Sidney with the Hungarian Physicians
ioo Medical History in Hungary 1972 (Comm. Hist. Artis Med. Suppl. 6.) cious —projections. Even if Jung's views are in certain respects disputable, they help us to a psychological understanding of the late period of alchemy. Apart from empiric chemical statements Arthur Dee's work abounds also in mystic pseudo-philosophycal theories. However, one must not by any means conclude from the above facts that also as a doctor Arthur Dee was nothing but a phantast. The history of science proves that even excellent clinicians like Van Heimoñ , Stahl or the noted obstetrician from Vienna, Crato von Craftheim, were inclined towards irrational thinking. We also know of the latter that he was a practising alchemist. There are quite a number of similar examples. Dee completed his book which he had begun to write still in England later in Moscow. Since however, there was no Latin printing in Russia at that time, the book was published in Paris. Figurovsky refers to the fact that in writing his "Fasciculus Chemicus" Arthur Dee made use of books and material collected while still in England. We hold that the Codex Casselianus, which once had belonged to his father, served as basis to this work. This conclusion may be drawn also from the divisioning of the book which shows a striking resemblance to that of the "corpus Alchimisticum". It is a matter of course that the author should have used —and he himself refers to the fact in the title —the works of his famous predecessors, from Aristotle through Geber and Arnaldus Villanovanus up to Riolan. Dee's book was translated into English still in his lifetime and was published in London in 1650. This work exerted an influence also on Hungarian alchemists; we intend to treat this subject in a separate paper. 2 3 After his return to England Arthur Dee acted as court physician to King Charles I. When the king was executed in 1649 Dr. Arthur Dee thought it better to move to the countryside. He continued his private practice in Norwich but his Father's passion for alchemy flared up in him: he too started to seek for the philosophers' stone. . . 2 4 And just like John Dee had been supported by a Hungarian in his scientific work, the companion of Arthur Dee who could speek Hungarian 2 5 was a Hungarian, too, Joannes Banfi Huniades —János Bánfihunyadi—a noted chemist and alchemist living in England. 2 2 Cfr. Jung, C. G.: Psychologie und Alchemie. Zürich, 1940; furthermore: Mysterium Coniunctionis Untersuchung über die Trennung und Zusammensetzung der seelischen Gegensätze in der Alchemie. Zürich, 1955. 2 3 Cfr. Schultheisz E. — Tardy L. op. cit. pp. 1567. 2 4 ".. .Nach dieser Zeit kam er wieder nach England und ward Karls I. Leibarzt, nach dessen Tode er sich zu dem Johannes Hunniades, welcher auch Hans Hunger genannt wurde, gesellte, und mit ihm Gold machen wollte, eine Thorheit, welche ihm noch aus der Schule seines Vaters anklebte." Adelung, J. Chr.: Fortsetzung und Ergänzungen zu Christian Gottlieb Jöchers Allg. Gelehrten Lexicon. Bd. II. Leipzig, 1787, column 643. 2 5 ".. .One of his papers in Moscow tells us thet he 'owned German, French, Hungarian, English and Polish'." Figurovski, N. A. op. cit. p. 42.
