The word "homunculus" came to us from the Middle Ages and is associated with the activities of alchemists. And often in its original sense it is used today, in particular, in works of art, novels and plays. We propose to find out what a homunculus is (or rather, who it is, because for all its fantastic it is still a living creature).
Initial interpretation
The word itself was included in the everyday life of alchemists whose purpose was not only the search for a philosopher's stone, but also the creation of an artificial person. Therefore, speaking of the homunculus, we mean, first of all, this organism created by man, which is really nothing more than a myth. The synonyms are the words “little man”, “homunculus”, and the more modern version is “test-tube man”, for which they also began to use the word from the dictionary of pseudoscientists.
The word is a noun, common noun, animate, masculine. In the plural, it sounds like "homunculi."
Features
Consider what a homunculus is, or rather, who it is. Indeed, animation is the most important seme of the word. The following features can be distinguished:
- Inanimate materials were used to create.
- Could walk, make sounds that can be mistaken for a primitive voice.
- Development took place outside the womb.
The formula for creating an artificial man was developed by a very real person, Paracelsus, who was not only a wonderful scientist and progressive physician, but also a fan of occultism, magic and alchemy. The components required for this are:
- human sperm;
- manure;
- blood.
For the appearance of this man, 40 days were needed.
Thus, the answer to the question of what a homunculus (or who is) can be formulated as follows. This is a semi-mythical creature, artificially created by ancient alchemists or in a modern laboratory in vitro, for which various materials were used, including an inorganic endowed with primitive life functions and designed to fulfill the instructions of its creator.
Reality or myth
There is no photo of the homunculus, on the Internet you can find a large number of unreliable images that have nothing to do with the truth. For example, there are pictures that depict an artificial person allegedly hatched from an egg, but even with the naked eye it can be seen that this is either a fake or something inanimate.
At the moment, there is no evidence that an artificial person was born, and this concerns not only alchemists with their limited capabilities, but also modern laboratories.
Alternate Versions
We continue to consider what a homunculus is, or who it is. There are several other approaches to creating an artificial man. So, according to some sources, this did not require organic materials, but the root of the mandrake was needed. The rules for creating these are:
- Tear the root at a strictly defined time (most often it is Friday dawn).
- Wash, place in honey and milk (sometimes milk was replaced with blood).
- After some time, the root will be transformed into a tiny little man.
The 18th-century recipe invented by David Christianus is even more interesting:
- An egg is taken, laid down by a black chicken.
- In its shell, you need to pierce a small hole through which to pour part of the protein and pour a small amount of human sperm.
- Close the hole with parchment.
- To hide this egg in excrement, and this should be done in March, on the first day of the lunar cycle.
After 30 days, an artificial man will appear who will protect his creator, and use earthworms and lavender seeds for food.
Of course, all this is nothing more than a myth, but very interesting, making it possible to understand that even scientists of the past put science above religion and were confident that man could create an artificial life.