Based on four extant letters the famous Polish alchemist Michael Sendivogius wrote to Emperor Rudolf II and his first chamberlain Hans Popp between 1597 and 1602, this paper adds to a growing body of revisionist scholarship on alchemy in Rudolfine Prague. Unlike most of his many rivals – including luminaries such as John Dee and Michael Maier – who hoped for the Emperor's patronage in vain, Sendivogius officially became a courtier at the imperial court in 1594. As such he was in the privileged position of having access to the Emperor and his close advisors. The surviving correspondence shows how the Pole successfully balanced his alchemical promises against Rudolf's expectations for a number of years. The fact that even Sendivogius found it difficult to translate imperial patronage into ready money suggests that Emperor Rudolf II was considerably more circumspect and less gullible than the widespread cliché suggests. Fully contextualised by all available sources on Sendivogius' early career, the four letters emerge as important documents regarding the Polish adept and alchemical patronage in Rudolfine Prague. They also shed new light on the circumstances which led to the writing and publication of Sendivogius' famous treatise De lapide philosophorum (Novum lumen chymicum).

中文翻译：

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炼金术的赞助和行家的培养：迈克尔·森迪沃吉乌斯给鲁道夫二世皇帝和他的大臣汉斯·波普的信

根据 1597 年至 1602 年间著名的波兰炼金术士迈克尔·森迪沃吉乌斯 (Michael Sendivogius) 写给鲁道夫二世皇帝和他的第一任侍从汉斯·波普 (Hans Popp) 的四封现存信件，这篇论文为鲁道夫·布拉格 (Rudolfine Prague) 越来越多的关于炼金术的修正主义学术增添了新的内容。与他的众多竞争对手（包括约翰·迪和迈克尔·迈尔等名人）中的大多数人都希望皇帝的光顾是徒劳的，不同的是，森迪沃吉乌斯于 1594 年正式成为朝廷的朝臣。因此，他处于特权地位，可以访问皇帝和他的亲信。幸存的信件显示了波兰人如何成功地平衡了他的炼金术承诺与鲁道夫多年来的期望。即便是森迪沃吉乌斯也发现很难将帝国的赞助转化为现成的钱，这一事实表明，鲁道夫二世皇帝比普遍的陈词滥调所暗示的要谨慎得多，也更不容易上当。这四封信充分结合了有关 Sendivogius 早期职业生涯的所有可用来源，成为有关波兰达人和鲁道夫布拉格炼金术赞助的重要文件。他们还阐明了导致 Sendivogius 著名论文 De lapide philosophorum (Novum lumen chymicum) 的撰写和出版的情况。这四封信是关于波兰专家和炼金术士在布拉格鲁道夫的赞助的重要文件。他们还阐明了导致 Sendivogius 著名论文 De lapide philosophorum (Novum lumen chymicum) 的撰写和出版的情况。这四封信是关于波兰专家和炼金术士在布拉格鲁道夫的赞助的重要文件。他们还阐明了导致 Sendivogius 著名论文 De lapide philosophorum (Novum lumen chymicum) 的撰写和出版的情况。