Mythologiae Christianae was published in 1617. It has the same format as other works by Andreae at that time: a small volume combining longer essays (e.g. Alethea Exul ('Truth in Exile')) with short pieces which in the case of Mythologiae are set out alphabetically in blocks or 'manipuli'. Some examples follow:

Mythologiae Christianae vol 1 Manipulus I: 2 Alchymia (Andreae lifted most of the following piece on alchemy, with minor changes and no acknowedgement, from Barclay's (1605) Euphormionis Lusini Satyricon Pt I)
   Alchemy - - is that art which imitates the work of God, and by correcting the slow steps of Nature and simulating the power of the sun by a gentle, vital heat raises the subtle Mercury, which is the seed of all the metals, through ever-higher spheres to the sublime elevation of gold.
        When Alchemy had exhausted a deep money-chest containing her inheritance, she was seized by poverty and hunger. Then she was mocked by the rabble and had curses heaped on her by the more impudent, and was judged worthy of being punished by those who were most severe. She fell under suspicion of false coining, swindling and the other frauds which frequently accompany bankrupts.
        At length she was asked why that wonderful powder which was created with so much knowledge and so much ingenuity supported her so meagrely. Sighing, she placed the blame on the complexity of her alchemical manuals, the fragility of her glass apparatus, the timing of the harmonies of the heavens, and impurities mixed in with her metallic ores.
        Asked what comfort she received against the accusations of the hostile people, she replied 'empty hope, and the pleasure of a curious mind'. Asked if she did not sorrow for her lost wealth, she answered that no-one penetrates into the secrets of Nature without paying. Asked what gave her most pain now, she replied that when her wealth came to an end, the sacred fire also grew cold.
        Being asked what she was left with at the end, she answered: Medicine, if a good reputation was my object; beggary, if my object was greed; but above all a lie, by which an illusion may be sold to the simple-minded.

Return to Andreae's works click here
Return to Andreae main page click here