Mutus Liber

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The Mutus Liber , also known as the Silent Book, is a work of Hermetic Philosophy published in La Rochelle in 1677 . It occupies an important place among the main works of alchemy of its era, roughly on par with Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens . As such, it is reissued regularly. The Mutus Liber consists mainly of panel paintings that allow contradicting interpretations. For a long time, its deciphering was reserved for authors such as Eugène Canseliet and Serge Hutin, who had identified themselves as initiated alchemists. Recent research has set itself the goal of examining the work in its historical context.

expenditure

The first edition of Mutus Liber dates from 1677 and was published by Pierre Savouret in La Rochelle. The edition is unlikely to have exceeded a few dozen books. Twelve original copies are kept in various Western libraries. It is possible that there are more copies. As early as 1702, under the guidance of Jean-Antoine Chouet and Jean-Jacques Manget , a second edition with new engravings was published in Geneva . Eugène Canseliet claims to have seen a few pages of an edition from Paris which is said to date from 1725. But this output is not really verifiable. Around 1760 a completely renewed third edition of Mutus Liber was printed in Paris , two pages were added to the two original prints. This third edition is extremely rare. Temporarily forgotten, the Mutus Liber flourished again in the second half of the 19th century. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of publications has increased; sometimes they are provided with prefaces that illuminate the content more or less clearly. The most important editions of Mutus Liber are as follows:

  • 1867, with Thibaud, publisher in Clermont-Ferrand;
  • 1914, Nourry publishing house, foreword by Pierre Dujols alias Magophon;
  • 1943, Paul Derain, publisher;
  • 1966, Pauvert publishing house, foreword by Eugène Canseliet;
  • 1967, L'Unité publishing house, foreword by Serge Putin;
  • 1991, Verlag Edition Weber, Amsterdam, German translation by Martin P. Steiner, introduced by Jean Laplace. All panels in the original format 19 × 28 cm and in facsimile, on art paper. With the three forewords and the comments by E. Canseliet of the 1966 edition, in German;
  • 2015, Verlag à l'envers, new copperplate engravings by Raymond Meyer.

History of the attributions

The Mutus Liber gives the exact name of its author and inventor. The former is Altus, "savant en haute chimie d'Hermès" [knowledgeable in the high art of hermetic chemistry]. The second is Jacob Saulat, sieur des Marez. Although these claims were quickly considered fictional, the question of who was the author of the Mutus Liber has remained unanswered for a long time. Father Arcère, historian from La Rochelle, claims that Jabob Tollé is the author. The latter is a misunderstood personality whose existence has even been questioned. But Tollé was a doctor in La Rochelle who was known for indulging in chemistry and also for mastering the art of perspective. These two characteristics explain that the ascription of Mutus Liber can be accepted permanently. Jean Flouret questions whether this book is the work of Tollé. In the Mutus Liber copy kept in Dublin, this historian discovers that the author is the pharmacist Isaac Baulot. This ascription is no longer questioned today. Using references from Mutus Liber and contemporary documents, Patrick Sembel suggests the collaboration of three people in the circle of Isaac Baulot: Abraham Thévenin probably took part in the engraving, as is evident from the presence of his coinage on the first printed page of Mutus Liber proves. Elie Bouhéreau and Elie Richard must also have contributed to the creation of the book. As doctors and well-read contemporaries who also practice chemistry, they have an extensive network of relationships that can support the publication of the book. Elie Richard studied in Groningen with Des Maretz, a philosopher whose name is used to denote the inventor of the Mutus Liber.

Elie Bouhéreau knows Valentin Conrard, secretary of the Académie française, as well as numerous important authors and philosophers of this era. He is the one who names Isaac Baulot as the author of the Mutus Liber.

Interpretations

The form of the Mutus Liber explains why it has been the subject of so many interpretations. One can distinguish four different reading perspectives.

The interpretation that is mostly spread is that of self-proclaimed "initiated alchemists", which was introduced by Pierre Dujols under the code name Magophon. It will then be continued by Eugène Canseliet and Serge Hutin. Both authors are of the opinion that the Mutus Liber describes the process of accomplishing the Great Work, the ultimate goal of which is to make the Philosopher's Stone. The psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung owned and researched a copy of the Mutus Liber from 1677. He used it, among other things, to illustrate his book entitled Psychology and Alchemy. In this work Jung explains that alchemy is a speculative way of thinking that is in search of a spiritual balance, the metaphorical expression of which is the philosopher's stone. This process goes hand in hand with the creation of a sum of archetypal images, also called archetypes, which gradually transform into the collective unconscious. More recently, Lee Stavenhagen has become interested in the narrative structure as it has been used to illustrate the Mutus Liber. In her current research, Patrick Sembel tries to grasp the content of the Mutus Liber by placing it in the religious, intellectual and scientific context that is peculiar to it.

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