BARROW ISAACABAA
Isaac CATTIER - Nicolas PAPINBiblio.com
Divers Traictez a scavoir de la nature des bains de Bourbon & des abus qui se commettent à présent en la boisson de ces eaux Various Treatises namely on the Nature of the Baths of Bourbon and on the Abuses now Committed in the Drinking of these Waters On the Macreuse. On the Powder of Sympathy. Reply to Monsieur Papin Doctor of Medicine concerning the Powder of Sympathy in which are discussed the Universal Spirit and the Properties of the Magnet
165189641Paris: Pierre DAVID 1651. Fine. Pierre DAVID Paris 1651 10.6 x 16.8 cm 4 volumes reliés en 1 Second edition. Full forest-green morocco binding spine with five raised bands framed with gilt dotted lines and decorated with double gilt panels gilt rolls at head and tail triple gilt fillets bordering the covers marbled paper endpapers and doublures gilt dentelle frame on the inside covers all edges gilt double gilt fillets along the edges an elegant binding signed by Krafft. Bound following it are: - Nicolas Papins De pulvere sympathico dissertatio printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1650 8 unnumbered leaves the last blank and 40 pp. - By the same author La poudre de sympathie deffendue contre les objections de Mr. Cattier médecin du Roy printed in Paris by Siméon Piget in 1651 4 unnumbered leaves and 56 pp. - Isaac Cattiers Response à Monsieur Papin Docteur en Medecine touchant la poudre de sympathie printed in Paris by Edme Martin in 1651 87 pp. A fine copy beautifully preserved in a splendid binding signed by Krafft. The treatise on the Scoter occupies pp. 119 of the second part. This exquisite duck has been the subject of numerous and lengthy controversies The history of the scoter deserves our attention as it holds both gastronomic and theological interest. Because of the peculiar beliefs surrounding their origin these birds were considered lean meat and therefore permitted during Lent. This curious privilege arose from the fact that they appeared suddenly in countless flocks upon the waters surface and aided by a taste for the marvellous people imagined that they were born from seaweed decayed wood or shells. The poet Du Bartas echoed this notion in his Création du Monde when he celebrated this strange creature: Ainsi le vieil fragment d'une barque se change En des canards volants ô changement étrange Même corps fut jadis arbre verd puis vaisseau Naguère champignon et maintenant oyseau! It is easy to see how such a belief could reassure the most timid consciences; it thus required Pope Innocent III to issue an explicit prohibition placing the flesh of the scoter among forbidden meats. In vain did he launch his prohibitions for enthusiasts continued to eat them; and when the truth about these birds became known thanks to Graindorge and the accounts of navigators other pretexts were sought to preserve the old regulations. It was suggested that the scoters blood was cold even claimed that its fat resembled fish oil and the custom which lasted into the nineteenth century of eating scoters during Lent was extended to other waterfowl such as brant geese coots and teal which were conveniently confused with the species sanctioned by the councils. Cf. G. Oberlé Les Fastes de Bacchus et de Comus no. 869 concerning Graindorges Traité de lorigine des macreuses 1680. Pierre DAVID hardcover
