Die Geratschaft der chymischen Kunst. Der Traktat "De sceuastica artis" des Andreas Libavius von 1606: Ubersetzung, Kommentierung und Wiederabdruck.

Bettina Meitzner. (Boethius, 34.) Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1995. x-viii + 307 + iii + 109pp. DM 164. ISBN: n.a.

Despite the importance of the implements involved in the art of alchemy, and the prominent place held by Andreas Libavius among the alchemists of the early modern period, Libavius's work hitherto has not been readily available. Meitzner therefore has done a great service not only to those scholars directly involved with the history of science in this period, but also to any other researchers and students tangentially or initially interested in this specialized field. As the translator points out, because of the numerous relatively detailed illustrations, the work can also be used by archaeologists attempting to identify alchemical tools and ovens found at sites. The book contains a short introduction; the translation of book one of the Commentary of the first book of Libavius's Alchymia from the second edition published in 1606; a facsimile of the original Latin text; and several useful appendices.

The practical portion of Libavius's text, which lays out in detail the various methods, ovens, and tools used in alchemical processes, is preceded by a short defense of the art. Libavius was clearly at pains to clear his subject of suspicion by describing not only the implements involved, but also the methods used by alchemical "artists" and the higher aims that he envisioned for his subject. His role as a physician led him to advocate the use of alchemy in the service of medicine; his role as teacher to clarify the proper uses and limitations of his subject.

The first two appendices include a list of authors cited directly as well as indirectly, divided into the antique (App. I.1) and medieval/early modern (App. 1.2) eras, and are supplemented by an index to these citations. The medieval and early modern authors are each provided with a short biographical sketch compiled from standard sources. Appendices Three and Four define the various alchemical processes and give the citations for each, respectively, The following appendix complements the latter two by providing an index to the Latin names of implements cited in the text with notations indicating whether there is a picture of the item and/or a full description. Finally, Meitzner includes for comparative purposes facsimile reproductions of many of the tools and ovens cited or alluded to in Libavius's text.

The translated German text stands at the center of Meitzner's contribution. The work is sound, but her approach has given rise to several problems. For example, although she has given the corresponding pagination of the Latin facsimile in the German text, a quick comparison of the two texts is difficult because the former appears at the end of the volume rather than on facing pages. Because specialists will in any case need to consult the original, it is somewhat unfortunate that Meitzner did not integrate a translation of the Greek phrases into her German text. A further point has to do with the extremely brief nature of the introduction. Of these ten pages, only one is dedicated to the meaning of the treatise. Given the amount of primary as well as secondary literature that the author has read, it seems a loss that she did not dedicate more space to placing her text in its appropriate historical context - in the tradition of Agricola and Biringuccio, or of Paracelsus and his followers and opponents - which would have allowed her readers to realize the social and intellectual historical implications of the work. Meitzner's training as a philologist, however, has allowed her to render a readable and fluent German text, in addition to giving the reader a useful apparatus.

MASON BARNETT Erlangen, Germany