Jean Roberti (also Johannes) (1569 – 14 February 1651) was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

from Luxemburg who became known for his part in a medical and scientific controversy. He was also a theological writer.

Life

He was born in Saint-Hubert and studied in Jesuit colleges at

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

and Cologne. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1592, held teaching posts, and was awarded a D.D. at Mainz. He became rector of the college at Paderborn, and died at

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

. Remacle Roberti (Remaclus Robertius), an official and adviser in the Spanish Netherlands, was his brother.

Works

In 1609 Roberti wrote a reply, his ''Brevis anatome'', to a 1608 work of Rudolph Goclenius on medical astrology from a

Paracelsian Paracelsianism (also Paracelsism; German: ') was an early modern History of medicine, medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, during the decades following Paracelsu ...

perspective, that had mentioned a weapon salve (a type of

sympathetic magic Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence. Similarity and contagion James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in '' The Golden Bough'' (1889); Richard Andree, however ...

). Roberti objected to the efficacy of the weapon salve being attributed to purely natural causes. He called the explanation of Goclenius necromantic, and a confusion of natural magic with other kinds. Goclenius replied by listing 45 kinds of "evil magic", and 24 effects that had been achieved by a magus, and could not be explained by natural causes. A pamphlet war continued; in 1621 Goclenius died, but

Johannes Baptista van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be ...

then published the same year his ''De magnetica vulnerum curatione'', a severe attack on Roberti as well as critical of Goclenius who (in his opinion) had a simplistic view. The attacks of Roberti had some effects: van Helmont went through an examination by the Inquisition, and some sideblows against the

Rosicrucians Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...

he made in 1618 were picked up in 1623 by

Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...

and Jean Boucher. ''Mysticae Ezechielis quadrigae'' was a work on the four Gospels. Roberti edited the ''Flores epytaphii sanctorum'' of

Theofried of Epternach Thiofrid (died 1110) was the Benedictine abbot of Echternach Abbey, and writer of works in several different areas. He is one of the few medieval writers to discuss the cult of relics, in his ''Flores epytaphii sanctorum''. He wrote on Willibrord ...

, ''Legend of St. Hubert'', and other works of

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

.Irena Dorota Backus, ''The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West: from the Carolingians to the Maurists, Volume 1 (1996), p. 906 note 50
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Notes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberti, Jean 1569 births 1651 deaths Flemish Jesuits People from Saint-Hubert, Belgium