Joseph Barsalou (1600–1660) was a French

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Biography

Joseph Barsalou was born in

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

in the south west of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He came from a family of apothecaries that was originally from

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

. Joseph Barsalou received no formal medical training. His father handed down his knowledge of herbs and minerals. It is through his friendship with the Scaliger family that Joseph Barsalou gained access to the library of

Julius Caesar Scaliger Julius Caesar Scaliger (; April 23, 1484 – October 21, 1558), or Giulio Cesare della Scala, was an Italian scholar and physician, who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism ...

and his son

Joseph Justus Scaliger Joseph Justus Scaliger (; 5 August 1540 – 21 January 1609) was a French Calvinist religious leader and scholar, known for expanding the notion of classical history from Greek and Ancient Roman history to include Persian, Babylonian, Jewish a ...

. Julius Caesar Scaliger was a physician, philosopher and commentator of Aristotle. His son Josephus Justus Scaliger was a scholar, linguist and historian. Joseph Barsalou built on his traditional knowledge of herbs with an introduction to medicine and philosophy reading

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

and

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...

. Agen in the early 17th century was at the crossroads of the religious debate revolving around the new

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

faith. The region favoured the Reformation. Nerac its neighbour and rival was the political and intellectual capital of French Protestants. The Edict of Nerac in 1579 had given the French Protestant 14 more protected towns and confirmed the

Edict of Poitiers The Treaty of Bergerac was signed at Bergerac on 14 September 1577 between Henry III of France and Huguenot princes, and later ratified by the Edict of Poitiers on 17 September.Knecht, The French Civil Wars (2000), p208 This accord was developed ...

that recognised the religious rights of Protestants in France. Josephus Justus had been seduced by the Reformation and become one of its great scholars. Yet Joseph Barsalou's life took a different direction from his predecessor. Joseph Barsalou gravitated towards Avignon and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

the centers of

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. As a physician Joseph Barsalou treated people in and around the town of Agen. With the many political and religious battles being fought nearby the region was rife with disease:

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

and other fevers. Many physicians actually died from being in contact with the patients they treated. Joseph Barsalou survived. Locally his reputation was built as much on treating others as surviving the contact with so many instances of disease. It testified to his skills as a physician. Through his travels in the south of France he became acquainted with Philippe Jacques de Maussac, President of the Court of Montpellier. They remained close friends during their lives exchanging a number of letters. It is believed that it is Philippe Jacques de Maussac who introduced Joseph Barsalou to

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini. As one of the cardinal-nephews of Pope Urban VIII ...

and the Italian leg of his journey. In 1640 Joseph Barsalou was asked to treat Antonio Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII and the Legate of Avignon who suffered from a fever on a visit to Avignon in the south of France. As Antonio Barberini's health was restored, he insisted on keeping Barsalou as his personal physician and took him to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

. During his time with Antonio Barberini, Barsalou was introduced to Charles Bouvard who had been physician of King

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

of France and Superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris the new medicinal garden of the king, now known as the Jardin des Plantes. Barsalou and Bouvard shared a common interest in medicine and herbal remedies. They exchanged ideas on recipes and treatments for a wide variety of conditions: tuberculosis, typhus, cholera and the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. Yet Joseph Barsalou's position in Rome was dependent on the power of the Barberini family. In 1644 he was called to assist

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As p ...

on his death bed. With the enthronement of the new Pope

Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

, and the subsequent disgrace of Barberinis for corruption and nepotism Barsalou lost favour and had to leave the papal city. Between 1644 and 1649 Barsalou practiced in Florence, attending to the Grand Duke

Ferdinando II de' Medici Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture a ...

. At the time

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

was a hub of modern experimental knowledge. Ferdinando II was a patron of science and a student of Galileo himself, and founded the Academy of Experimentation in 1642 and attracts the brightest minds of the time. Scientists working there at the time include

Evangelista Torricelli Evangelista Torricelli ( , also , ; 15 October 160825 October 1647) was an Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Galileo. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances in optics and work ...

Vincenzo Viviani Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italian mathematician and scientist. He was a pupil of Torricelli and a disciple of Galileo.Giovanni Alfonso Borelli Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (; 28 January 1608 – 31 December 1679) was a Renaissance Italian physiologist, physicist, and mathematician. He contributed to the modern principle of scientific investigation by continuing Galileo's practice of testin ...

. In 1650 he returned to Montpellier in France, where he took care of his lifelong friend Philippe Jacques de Maussac, who died that same year. Barsalou then went to Agen permanently and practiced in the region. He died in 1660.

His work

Barsalou's practice he combined the traditional knowledge and methods of his forefathers that has been enhanced through trial and error over generations and is influenced by Alchemical practice. He knew of the classical Greek medical texts, applying Galen's principles such as

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily flu ...

. Later, he was stimulated to rethink his approach through his contact with the Florentine scientists and their modern experimental practice. During his years in Florence, Barsalou's ideas developed rapidly. He wrote to his friend Charles Bouvard about the experiments he carried out to create new elixirs. He tried to understand the healing properties of plants, minerals and metals. He perhaps found his inspiration in a broad range of ideas that circulate at the time, from the alchemical texts of

Jabir Jabir (Arabic: جابر ) is an Arabic surname or male given name, which means "comforter".''Behind The Name''"Jabir" Retrieved on 8 January 2016. Alternative spellings include Djābir, Jaber, Jābir, Gabir, and Geber. The name may refer to: Giv ...

Fibonacci Fibonacci (; also , ; – ), also known as Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo of Pisa, or Leonardo Bigollo Pisano ('Leonardo the Traveller from Pisa'), was an Italian mathematician from the Republic of Pisa, considered to be "the most talented Wester ...

's work on numbers and Pythagorean principles amongst many others. In his letters he explained how he tried to understand the power of plants through numbers. Despite this, Joseph Barsalou was not an alchemist: there is no reference in his letters to a quest for the

philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...

or the transmutation of metal into gold. Apart from the letters to Charles Bouvard and de Maussac no compendium of his work survived him. A professional instinct for secrecy, maybe the fear of persecution from the Church or just the fact that many similar writings were perceived as

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

and therefore often associated with

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include '' ...

s, might have determined his decision not to write down the recipes of his elixirs, let alone publish his work.

References

Footnotes

Sources

*J. Riotte. (1964). Agen d'hier et d'aujourd'hui. *H. Fisquet. (1864–1873). La France Pontificale. *A. Magen. (1873). Julius Caesar Scaliger. *J.E. Sandys. (1908). A History of Classical Scholarship. *P. Levillain. (2003). Dictionnaire historique de la papaute. Fayard. *P. Redondi. (1985). Galilée heretique. Gallimard. *F. de Gandt. (1987). L'Œuvre de Torricelli. *L. Moote. (1989). Louis XIII, the Just. *R. Merle. '' Fortune de France''. *J-C. Petitfils. (2008). Louis XIII. Perrin. *R. Alleau. (1953). Aspects de l'alchimie traditionnelle. Éditions de Minuit. *R. Halleux. (1979). Les textes alchimiques. Brepols. *M. Edwardes. (1977). The Dark Side of History. Stein and Day. *W. R. Newman. (1991). The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber. E. J. Brill. *E. J. Holmyard. (1957). L'alchimie. Arthaud. *P. Kibre. (1944). An alchemical Tract attributed to Albertus Magnus. Isis. *M. Junius (1985). The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy. Healing Arts Press. *F. Gettgins (1986). Encyclopedia of the Occult. Rider. *T. Burckhardt. (1967). Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul. Penguin.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsalou, Joseph 1600 births 1660 deaths Herbalists 17th-century French physicians People from Agen