Thesaurus de Remediis Secretis

Thesaurus de Remediis Secretis

Conrad Gessner (1516-1565) was a Zurich physician, naturalist and philologist. After studying in Bourges and Paris, he worked as a teacher, professor of Greek language and natural history as well as a physician, and continually supplemented his livelihood through scholarly writing. What began pragmatically soon became his passion: Up to the end of his life, he pursued natural history studies and published a geological treatise in the year of his death - he died of the plague. With his magnum opus Historia animalium, he also became a co-founder of modern zoology.

Euonymus Philiatrus

Under the pseudonym Euonymus Philiatrus, Gessner published the Thesaurus de Remediis Secretis in 1552, which was also to become a bestseller during the author's lifetime. The Treasury of Pure Medicines is the first medical-pharmacological handbook on medicinal chemistry and thus represents a fascinating testimony to the scientific and technical progress of the Renaissance - particularly with regard to pharmacological chemistry. The Latin treatise was translated into German, French, Italian and English within a few years and was reprinted several times. The present edition was published in 1557 by Antonium Vincentium in Lyon.

The Art of Distilling

The work begins with a historical introduction to distillation, which refers mainly to antiquity and the advanced skills of Carthaginian and Arab physicians. Various distillation techniques are then explained. The production of medicinal plant distillates is also described. Gessner assumed that the essence extracted from the herbal remedies was responsible for their effect. Furthermore, the distillation of minerals and alcohol is also covered.

Pharmacological Woodcuts

52 woodcuts illustrate the numerous procedures and equipment described in his Thesaurus de Remediis Secretis. They show the reader the treated plants, but above all the different oven shapes, complicated guidance systems and fragile laboratory utensils. As early scientific illustrations with often accurate captions, they help us to understand the contents of the treatise and give us a wonderful visual insight into the pharmacological chemistry of the Renaissance. It was not for nothing that the President of the Pharmaceutical Academy of Castile and León, Carlos Gómez Canga-Argüelles, called the work "one of the most important documents in the history of chemistry, pharmacy, cosmetics and the production of liquors in the 16th century ”.