Swedenborg on the Exploitation of Salt in Central and Eastern Europe in the 18th Century
Swedenborg on the Exploitation of Salt in Central and Eastern Europe in the 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: The present paper is an analysis of the data concerning the regions of Central and Eastern Europe,where salt is extracted from the mountains (Poland, Hungary, Transylvania), offered by the theologian scholar Emanuel Swedenborg in some passages of his scientific work, written in Latin, Desale communi. A considerable number of these passages, which are of great interest for the historyof technology and sciences, relate to issues that have been forgotten but which need to be revaluedfrom the point of view of current developments in those fields. The aim of the study is to revealthe scientific principles that guided an 18th century scholar when dealing with such a topic. We arealso interested in finding out the extent to which Swedenborg succeeds in systematizing the various theoretical and practical information, useful for understanding the nature of salt exploitationat that time, considering older works and the latest bibliography at his disposal.

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