Abstract
The aim of the paper is to investigate paths along which a transformation of the doctrine of natural signs was developed in works by Paracelsians, forming one of the main religious and philosophic currents of Late Renaissance. The modifications of the doctrine are discussed in a context of intensive speculations on the essence of the primordial language of humankind and on the possibility of its restoration, which can describe the intellectual life of that epoch. It is argued that within “chemical philosophy” the possibility of restoration of the Adamic language directly depends on mastering the art of interpreting natural signs (signatura rerum), which can give a key to correct understanding of nature. And shifts in the conceptualization of such signatures involved transformations in formulating and solving of the Adamistic problems, which did not exclude reverse causation. It is also ascertained that the most orthodox followers of Paracelsus usually appealed to the Adamistic narrative in order to reinforce legitimacy of the symbolic hermeneutics of nature, developed with chiefly medico-pharmacological purposes. Meanwhile, relatively more independent Paracelsians often paid more attention to linguo-philosophic issues. Realizing the deficiency of the doctrine of signatures for reconstruction of the primordial language, they postulated the necessity of one (or two) of the following premises: (a) supplementing the doctrine with a mystical illumination; (b) acceptance of a weaker version, according to which natural signs are just sparse reference points slightly simplifying empirical study of nature; (c) abandonment of search for the Ursprache and constructing its artificial substitute, a universal semiotic system.
Highlights
The Foundations of Paracelsus Among the various views and designs inspired by the idea to recreate the language of Adam, especially relevant in the 16th – first half of the 17th centuries, only one fairly branched line of thought is traced
The cultural rise of the doctrine of signatures was manifested in high esteem, in which the “arts” associated with it, were held as well as in their remarkable variety claiming to read the whole Book of Nature
In its process understanding of natural signs in toto was gradually shaped in a new quasi-linguistic concept of the language of nature, brought closer to the language of Adam
Summary
The Foundations of Paracelsus Among the various views and designs inspired by the idea to recreate the language of Adam, especially relevant in the 16th – first half of the 17th centuries, only one fairly branched line of thought is traced. As the initiator of this line, Paracelsus established the fundamental principles that distinguished it from other intellectual movements developed within the Adamic project during the Renaissance. In accordance with these principles, the primordial language of mankind, which was distinguished by a greater correspondence to the world than later tongues, had been lost but could be retrieved. Paracelsian treatises on medical botany abound with examples of external similarities that bear witness to internal properties In one of these tracts, written by the English naturalist William Coles (1626–1662), we read: “Wall-nuts have the perfect Signature of the Head: The outer husk or green Covering, represent the Pericranium, or outward skin of the skull, whereon the hair groweth, and salt made of those husks or barks, are exceeding good for wounds in the head. The Kernel hath the very figure of the Brain, and it is very profitable for the Brain...” [Coles 1657, 3]
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