Artephius (Arthephius, Artefius) is a name to which a number of alchemical and magical texts, first extant in Latin, are ascribed.^[1] Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... The Alchemist. ... Look up Magic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The term magic is a Persian loanword into English and may refer to: Magic (paranormal) deals with the manipulation of what the practitioner believes to be genuine paranormal phenomena. ...

Although the origin of the texts is unclear and the identity of their author obscure, at least some of them may go back to Arabic antecedents. Roger Bacon alludes The Secret Book of Artephius, indicating that it goes back at least to the thirteenth century. In the sixteenth century there were numerous allusions. For the Nova Scotia premier see Roger Bacon (politician). ...

In printed form, works attributed to Artephius became well know in the seventeenth century. A work Artefii clavis majoris sapientiae was printed at Paris in 1609. Eirenaeus Orandus in 1624 provided an English translation of the 'secret booke'.[1] (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

A Renaissance tradition held that Artephius had been born in the first or second century and died in the twelfth, thanks to having discovered the alchemical elixir that made it possible to prolong life. In his Secret Book, Artephius indeed claims to be more than a thousand years old.

Artephius is sometimes identified with Apollonius of Tyana. There also seems to be some tendency to confuse him with Orpheus, perhaps because both figures are supposed to have had the ability to converse with birds. Engraved portrait of Apollonius of Tyana. ... The head of Orpheus, from an 1865 painting by Gustave Moreau. ...

Sources

• Austin, H.D. 1937. "Artephius-Orpheus." Speculum 12: 251–54.
• Levi della Vida, G. 1938. "Something More about Artefius and His Clavis Sapientiae." Speculum 13: 80–85.

Notes

1. ^ These include the De Vita Propagandi, The Art of Prolonging Human Life. The claimed antiquity of this text is not directly supported.