Villanova, Arnold de

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)

Arnold de Villanova was a physician by profession, and is reported to have been something of a theologian besides a skilled alchemist. His natal place has never been determined, but Catalonia, Milan and Montpellier have all been suggested; while as to the precise date of his advent, this too is uncertain yet appears to have been about the middle of the thirteenth century. Arnold studied medicine for many years at the Sorbonne in Paris, which in mediæval times was the principal European nursery of physicians; and thereafter he travelled for a long time in Italy , while subsequently he penetrated to Spain . Here, however, he heard that a friend of his was in the hands of the dreaded Inquisition; and, fearing that he likewise might be trepanned by that body, he withdrew speedily to Italy. For a considerable period he lived at Naples, enjoying there the friendly patronage of the Neapolitan sovereign, and spending his time less in the actual practice of his profession than in the compilation of various scientific treatises; while at a later date he was appointed physician in ordinary to Pope Clement V., so presumably the rest of his life was spent mainly at Rome , or possibly at Avignon. Meanwhile his interest in alchemy had become widely known, and indeed many people declared that his skill herein was derived from communications with the arch-fiend himself, and that the physician accordingly deserved nothing less than burning at the stake; while he also elicited particular enmity from the clergy by sneering openly at the monastic régime, and by declaring boldly that works of charity are more acceptable to God than the repetition of paternosters. Thanks to Papal favour, nevertheless, Arnold went unscathed by his enemies; but soon after his death, which occurred about the year 1310, the Inquisition decided that they had dealt too leniently with the deceased, and in consequence they signified their hatred of him, by ordering certain of his writings to be burned publicly at Tarragona. Arnold was acquainted with the preparation of oil of turpentine and oil of rosemary, while the marcasite frequently mentioned by him is supposed to be identical with bismuth. His most important treatises are his Thesaurus Thesaurorum, Rosarium Philosophorum, Speculam Alchemiæ and Perfectum Magisterum; while two others of some moment are his Testamentum and Scientia Scientiæ. A collected edition of his works was issued in 1520, while several writings from his pen are embodied in the Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa of Mangetus, published in 1702. Villars, l'Abbe de Montfaucon de: French Mystic (1635-1673.) This Churchman, author and mystic was what the French style" un méridional," being a native of southern Franch. He was born in 1635 at Toulouse, not very far from the seaport town of Bordeaux ; and at an early age he espoused holy orders, while in 1667 he left the south and came to Paris, eager to win fame as a preacher. Nor did this ambition of his go wholly ungratified, his eloquence in the pulpit winning him numerous admirers; but he soon grew more interested in literature than in clerical affairs, and in 1670 he published his first and most important book, Comte du Gabalis. Ostensibly a novel, this volume is largely a veiled satire on the writings of La Calprenède, at this time very popular both in France and in England ; but the satirical element in Villars' paper is supplemented by a curious blend of history, philosophy and mysticism; and, as much of the last-named is of a nature distinctly hostile to the dogmas of Rome, the author soon found himself in ill odour with his brother clerics. Probably it was for this reason that he renounced the pulpit, yet his literary activities were not vitiated by persecution; and in 1671 he issued De la Délicetesse, a speculative treatise, couched in the form of dialogues, in which the author takes the part of one, a priest who had lately been writing in opposition to Port Royal doctrines. Like its predecessor this new book made a considerable stir, and Villars began to write voluminously, at the same time plunging deeply into the study of various kinds of mysticism; but his activities were suddenly terminated in an unexpected fashion, for in 1673 he was murdered on the public highroad not far from Lyons, whither he was journeying from Paris. Presumably he had incurred the hatred of some one but the question is shrouded in mystery; and, be the solution what it may, no attempt appears to have been made to frustrate the posthumous publication of divers works from Villars' pen. Within the first decade succeeding his death three such works appeared, L'Amour sans Faiblesse, Anne de Bretague et Ailmanzaris, and Critique de la Bérénice de Racine et de Corneille, the last-named subsequently winning the enconiums of a shrewd judge, Mme. de Sévigné; while so late as 1715 a further production by Villars was issued, a sequel to the Comte du Gabalis, bearing the significant title of Nouveaux Entretiens sur les Sciences secrètes. This volume elicited ready and wide interest among thinkers in the eighteenth century, and it may be briefly defined as a treatise opposing the philosophical theories of Descartes, or rather, opposing the popular misapprehension and abuse of these.