526 



NATURE 



[Wi iwiii.K 6, 1923 



undoubtedly authentic, namely, the " De rebus 

 metallicis et mincralibus " (lib. i, tract. T, cap. 3). 

 The commentary on the Tabula by Hortulanus, to 

 which reference has already been made, might be 

 used to show an even greater antiquity, if Hortulanus 

 were safely to be identified with John (iarland (1202- 

 1252), but this identity is open to grave doubt. 



The last word on the subject was that of Prof. 

 E. O. von Lippmann, in his admirable book " Die 

 Entstehung unci Ausbreitung der Alchemic " (Berlin, 

 191 9, p. 58) : " Ein griechisches Original der ' Tabula 

 smaragdina ' ist nicht bckannt, und da die syrischen 

 und arabischen Chemiker ihrer iiberhaupt keine 

 Erwahnung tun, so bestehen berechtigte Zweifel an 

 ihrem vorgeblichen Alter ; so alt wie der gesamte 

 zugehorige Litteraturkreis konnte sie aber dem soeben 

 Ausgefiihrten zufolge immerhin sein, und die An- 

 fijhrung des Hermes Trismegistos, sowie die Her- 

 iibcrnahme des im Lateinischen ganz ungebrauchlichen 

 Wortes telesmus (reXefffxjs) lassen eine Cbersetzung 

 aus dem Griechischen mindestens als moglich er- 

 scheinen." In short, although the earliest definite 

 mention of the Tabula is that made by Albertus 

 Magnus, there is a possibility that the claim of the 

 alchemists, namely, that it was translated 'from the 

 Greek, was well founded. 



The following observations, therefore, would appear 

 to be of considerable interest, as throwing further 

 light upon both the age of the Tabula and the language 

 in which it was written. The celebrated Jabir ibn 

 Hayyan, who flourished in the last half of the eighth 

 century a.d., wrote a very large number of books on 

 alchemy, a partial list of which is given by Al-Nadim 

 in his encyclopaedia, the " Kitab al-Fihrist" (tenth 

 century a.d.). This list was compiled partly from 

 Jabir's own catalogue of his writings, and there seems 

 to be no doubt of its authenticity, especially as about 

 fifty of the books mentioned are still extant. The 

 first book on the list is one entitled " Kitab Ustuqus 

 al-Uss al-Awwal," a title which Berthelot (" La 

 chimie au moyen age," iii. 32) translates " Le livre 

 d'Estaq^s, le premier myrte." This mysterious 

 translation is explained by the fact that apparently 

 Berthelot's translator did not know the meaning of 

 the word Ustuqus and mis-read As (myrtle) for Uss 

 (base or foundation). Ustuqus is, I believe, an Arabic 

 transliteration of the Greek effXTjKws, which is used 

 by Aristotle in the sense of " firm " or " solid," and 

 was extended in meaning to include the basis of 

 anything, and thus, for example, the " four elements " 

 as the basis of all things. 



The " Kitab Ustuqus al-Uss al-Awwal " (al-Awwal = 

 the first) is followed by a second (al-Thani) and a third 

 (al-Thalith), and although no AISS. of these works 

 are known in Europe, there are, I believe, some in 

 India, where in 1891 a lithographed edition was 

 published. The copy I have used was kindly lent 

 me by Mr. A. G. Ellis of the British Museum. Now, 

 in the second book of the Us(uqus (p. 41 of the 

 lithographed edition) occurs the passage : " Balinas 

 mentions the engraving on the table in the hand of 

 Hermes, which says : 



' Truth ! Certainty ! That in which there is no 

 doubt ! 



' That which is above is from that which is below, 

 and that which is below is from that which is above, 

 working the miracles of one [thing]. 



' As all things were from One. 



' Its father is the Sun and its mother the Moon. 



' The Earth carried it in her belly, and the Wind 

 nourished it in her belly, as Earth which shall become 

 Fire. 



' Feed the Earth from that which is subtle, with 

 the greatest power. 



NO. 2814, VOL. I 12] 



' It ascends from the earth to the heaven ami 

 becomes ruler over that which is above and tli it 

 which is below.' 



" And I have already explained the meaning of the 

 whole of this in two of these books of mine." 



Although the Arabic text of the Table is obviou-lv 

 corrupt, and the translation of it here given therefore 

 uncertain in one or two minor points, there can be 

 no doubt that a version in Greek was kii'iwn to 

 Jabir, since the correspondence of the above 

 Latin text — the appropriate portions of wi^ 

 appended — is very close : 



I. Verum sine mendacio certum et verissimum. 

 "2. Quod est inferius est sicut quod est supchus, 

 et quod est superius est sicut quwl est 

 inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. 

 " 3, Et sicut omnes res fuerunt ab uno meditatione 

 unius, sic omnes res natae fuerunt ab hac 

 una re adaptione. 

 " 4. Pater ejus est Sol, mater ejus Luna, portavit 

 illud ventus in ventre suo, nutrix ejus 

 terra est. 

 * * « « * 



"7. Separabis terram ab igne, subtiic ^1 .-.j/Lsso, 

 suaviter magno cum ingenio. 



" 8. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit 

 in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et 

 inferiorum." 



The Balinas mentioned by Jabir is Apollonius of 

 Tyana, who was born a few years before the Christian 

 era, and acquired a great reputation in the East as a 

 wonder-worker and as a master of the talismanic art. 



It seems, therefore, that we must antedate the 

 " Tabula smaragdina " by four hundred years at least, 

 and probably by twelve hundred ; its existence in a 

 Greek form is rendered in the highest degree probable, 

 and it must be acknowledged that in the Tabula we 

 have one of the oldest alchemical fragments known. 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Cambridge. — The vice-chancellor. Dr. E. C. Fearce, 

 in the course of his address on the opening of the new 

 academic year on October i, said that the University 

 Grants Committee had informed him that from the 

 academic year now opening the Government proposes 

 to make an additional annual grant of 30,000/. to 

 meet the needs of the University for superannuation, 

 stipends, maintenance of the Library, extension of 

 extra-mural work, and the women's colleges ; in 

 addition a non-recurrent grant, not exceeding 35,000/., 

 will be payable in respect of superannuation arrears. 



Glasgow. — Dr. J. R. Currie, professor of preventive 

 medicine in Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, 

 has been elected to the newly established Henry 

 Mechan chair of public health. Dr. Currie durmg the 

 War was specialist sanitary officer at Toronto and 

 Dunkirk, and was Medical Officer of the Scottish 

 Board of Health 1919-1922. His work on the 

 " Mustering of the Medical Servace in Scotland," 

 published last year, gives a stirring account of the 

 efforts made in Scotland to keep up the supply of 

 medical officers for the Army and Navy, and to 

 organise the remainder for civil needs. Dr. Currie 

 was secretary of the Emergency Medical Committee. 



St. Andrews. — Dr. Adam Patrick has l>een chosen 

 by the University Court to succeed Prof. Stalker in 

 the chair of medicine, and the directors of the Royal 

 Infirmary, Dundee, have appointed him one of their 

 physicians. Dr. Patrick is a graduate in arts with 

 honours in classics and M.D. with honours of the 



