Experiments with resurrections: the palingenesis of plants in early modern England

Stemming from Paracelsus and his followers, the rebirth of plants from their ashes became matter of investigation in early modern Europe, a curiosity that attracted the attention of savants. Joseph Du Chesne’s account of plant palingenesis spurred the interest of chemists and natural philosophers who tried to reproduce the experiments he described. In 1656 Athanasius Kircher S.J. achieved the revivification of plants from their ashes at the Collegio Romano in the presence of Queen Christina and dealt with this topic in Mundus subterraneus (1665). His account, allegedly based on experiments, gave new impetus to the investigation of palingenesis. Kenelm Digby managed to obtain information from Kircher and repeated the experiments of resuscitating plants. Boyle examined this topic as part of his research into generation. Like other British devout natural philosophers, he sought to use plant palingenesis for apologetic ends, namely to argue that the resurrection of the dead was not against reason. Boyle, who thoroughly investigated this subject, reached the conclusion that the narratives of plant rebirth from their ashes were not reliable. Despite Boyle’s scepticism about the possibility of achieving the resurrection of plants, Fellows of the Royal Society like Daniel Coxe kept investigating this matter. In the 18th century plant palingenesis lost ground in scientific circles becoming chiefly a natural curiosity of nature, one of the wonders to be shown to a wide audience.