Gabriel Plattes (c.1600–1644) was an English writer on agriculture and science, and also now recognised as the author of the utopian work ''

Description of the Famous Kingdome of Macaria ''A Description of the Famous Kingdome of Macaria'' is a work of utopian fiction, published in England in 1641. It carried the name of Samuel Hartlib, who published it, but is now attributed to Gabriel Plattes. A short text of fifteen pages, it re ...

'', often attributed to Samuel Hartlib under whose name it was published.

Life

He was one of the earliest advocates in England of an improved system of husbandry, and devoted time and money to practical experiments. He was in poverty at the end of his life and was supported by Hartlib, to whom he left his unpublished papers.

Works

His ''Treatise of Husbandry'' (1638) concerns both agriculture and the relations of landlord and tenant. His later tracts mainly repeat under new titles information first published in the ''Treatise''. ''A Discoverie of Infinite Treasure'' was an early work in the fields of chemistry, metallurgy and geology. According to

Allen Debus Allen George Debus (August 16, 1926 – March 6, 2009) was an American historian of science, known primarily for his work on the history of chemistry and alchemy. In 1991 he was honored at the University of Chicago with an academic conference he ...

Plattes was heavily influenced by William Gilbert and the theory of

magnetism Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...

. He wrote on the

dowsing rod Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Ge ...

, colour and mineral composition, and the formation of geological features. Plattes dedicated the work to his patron and mentor

William Englebert William Englebert (died 1634), was a noted inventor and engineer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. According to Thomas Fuller, he was "an incomparable engineer", and John Norden praised him as "an excellent engineer". Elizabeth I awarded him an an ...

. Generally opposed to

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...

s, he wrote a catalogue of tricks associated with their claims, ''Caveat for Alchemists'' appearing in the ''Chymical, Medicinal, and Chyrurgical Addresses: Made to Samuel Hartlib'' of 1655. He was not, however, a sceptic; but raised also the issue of motivation in the search for transmutation into gold and the losses of the adept.''Chapter Five: Curing Creation: Alchemy and Spirituality''
from John T. Young, ''Faith, Medical Alchemy and Natural Philosophy: Johann Moriaen, Reformed Intelligencer, and the Hartlib Circle'' (1998). Other works were *''Observations and Improvements in Husbandry, with twenty Experiments'', London, 1639. *''Recreatio Agriculturæ'', London, 1640, 1646. *''The profitable Intelligencer, communicating his knowledge for the generall good of the Commonwealth and all Posterity, &c.'' ondon, 1644

References

;Attribution *

External links

Gabriel Plattes
listing in bibliography ''Utopian Writing, 1516-1798'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plattes, Gabriel 1600s births 1644 deaths 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers

Life

Works

References

Further reading

External links