BOOR'S OF SECA'JiTS. 27 



same author, and then divisions three and four which, almost certainly, 

 are not by Alexis. They were translated into English at different times 

 and published, the earlier ones separately, and latterly all four together. 

 The English version of the first part appeared in 1558, and is rare. The 

 last collected edition in English is of 161 5. The authorship is usually 

 assigned with great confidence to Girolamo Ruscelli, and the name Don 

 Alessio is considered a pseudonym. This view, however much it may 

 seem to be confirmed by Ruscelli himself, Sansovino and Muzio, intro- 

 duces so much contradiction and confusion that one can arrive at no 

 satisfactory result. It is an obscure subject and would take too much 

 time to discuss now, but this question of authorship does not affect the 

 book and its contents. 



The First division contains a variety of receipts. The first book 

 furnishes preparations for cure of diseases and healing of sores ; the 

 second how to make fragrant and essential oils, perfumes, powders, soaps ; 

 next a few receipts for toilet purposes, beautifying the skin, dyeing the 

 hair, preserving the teeth, etc., etc. ; the fifth book shows how to make 

 inks and colours, and the sixth book deals with salts, metals, gilding, 

 precious stones, true and false. The Second division contains such a 

 miscellaneous accumulation of receipts, that it is impossible to classify 

 them. To the Third division are assigned medical, sanitary, and cosmetic 

 secrets, but at the end there is the collection of receipts from the German 

 to which reference is made later on. The Fourth division is occupied 

 entirely with medical receipts and preparations. 



As can be easily understood it is difficult either to describe, or to 

 criticize, or to appraise the value of the hundreds of secrets, so called, in 

 such an aggregation as this famous book is. On looking over it one can 

 see that some directions are empirically sound, that drugs employed for 

 certain diseases then, are or could be employed still, and that methods of 

 preparation then, attained the same ends as now, but with an expenditure 

 of time and labour which has been reduced to smaller compass by a fuller 

 understanding both of the materials and of the necessary processes. 



