Schultheisz Emil: Traditio Renovata. Tanulmányok a középkor és a reneszánsz orvostudományáról / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 21. (Budapest, 1997)
20. The contacts of the two Dees and Sir Philip Sidney with Hungarian physicians
Z^oo¡ 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. Figurovski 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. This fact is known from the correspondence between Sir Thomas Browne and Elias Ashmole. Ashmole, who showed an inclination towards occult sciences inquired about Arthur Dee from Sir Thomas Browne. In a letter written in March 1674 Browne mentions that Arthur Dee signed a contract with a man named Huniades in London two years before his death. This Huniades had long since been living in London and when he grew old he wanted to return to Hungary in the company of Arthur Dee. 2 6 The experiments conducted jointly by Dee and Bánfihunyadi proved to be over expensive according to some sources and resulted in diminishing Dee's wealth considerably. The other version according to which the two scientists were in close cooperation right up to Bánfihunyadi's death can be regarded as more authentic. In our present knowledge John Dee's visits to Hungary did not make any significant influence on this country's scientific life, rather in contrast to Arthur Dee's "Fasciculus Chemicus", whose influence on Hungarian alchemy is ponderable. But only if we know about John Dee's Hungarian visits can we comprehend why Banfi Huniades, a man of his son's age, went to live in London and why Arthur Dee longed to visit Hungary where he had spent his childhood. And it is also obvious that one of the sources of the Browne family's snarked interest in Hungary of Sir Thomas and Sir Edward, both physicians—must be sought here. 2 3 Cfr. Schultheisz E.—Tardy L. op. cit. 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. 42. 2<> Sherwood Taylor, F.—Josten, C. H.: Johannes Banfi Hunyades 1576—1650. Ambix. Vol. 5, 1953, Nos 1—2, 48. Cfr. Róna É. op. cit. 38—39.
