— THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Alchemy
describvtl in Uelail by bU'iuscliueitU-r (p. IJ). He was known in the fourleentli century to I'roliat Diinui anil cspciiiilly li> .lolianan Alrniamiu. the teacher of Piei> di .Mii'!in(h)h;. of the lifteenlh century. Abu Allah states thai he derived his knowl-
edge from the writings of King Solomon the Jew, thus connecting his science with old Ilihrew tradiFrom the same author a trealisc on Alchemy is mentioned, by Alemanno, of which he made a copy in his "Likiiutim" (Collectanea)
tion.
Abul
Kasim and
in the
Hebrew
translation.
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From
this,
Abraham Jagil end of the si.xteenlh century; afterward called Camillo Ja-
Abu Afiah.
gel. author of the well-known Hebrew catechi.sm "Lekal.i Tob " (The Good Doctrine ) made an abstract in his manuscript " Bet Ya'ar ha-Lebanon." I. S. Keggio. the lirst possessor of this manuscript, published a portion of thisalchemistie treatise of Abu Allah in " Ken Hemed," ii. -4(>—!8. V. 41-.'):5, limiting himself to the historical introduction, in which it is set forth that the work is really that of a certain " Sum " (JOD) who had married
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m
the daughter of the king of Saba; his widow is the Biblical queen of Shcba. and she brought the knowledge of this stone or other material which changed cverj'thing into gold to Solomon, who then wrote it down in the book now translated by Abu Allah. .Jagel also wrote a chapter on the philosopher's stone in the s;ime work, part iv., quoted above (see
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"Bikkure ha-Ittim," 1828, i.. 14). The translation of the book on the palm-tree was, according to Steinschneider ("Hebr. Ucbers." p. 849), made in the fourteenth century. It is dated 1391, and the author may have been the sjime who translated Majriti's work (i'A. p. 854); in both cases the translation has evidently been made from the Anil>ic. The treatise ascribed to Plato in the same Munich manuscript is of a magic character. Steinschneider mentions furlher, in "Code.v Berlin, 70. 2, a short treatise of oidy three pages on a subject somewhat akin to Alchemy, "jialeket Me ha Zahab " (The Art of the Waters of Gold). See "Cat, Berlin,'" i. 46, and Steinschneider. " Ilebr. Uebcrs. " p. 9(i7.
The "Codex Paris." Xo. 1'20T. contains, on some blank leaves, made by a late author, a Hebrew translation of the treatise " Quinta Ks.sentia," written by a Stein.schneicler(" Hebr. I'ebcrs." certain "Honian." p. 824) thinks it identical with the realise of P.seudoI
Baymond
Lully,
"
Liber
de Secretis Xatura'," or "Quinta> Essenti.T." His aUhemistic writings that
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to say, those ascribed to him are printed in full is
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by Mangel, "Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa," i, 707911.
MmHEBMA M^j'lf Joror The Inventor of the BajnMarie.
With Abraham de
Portaleone's "De Auro, Dialogi Tres" (Venice, l.")14), the end of all that has hitherto been written on tlie subject is apparently reached.
An
important
manu-
script has, however, come into possession of the writer of this article which turns out to be a complete collection of alchemistic works. This manuscript written in 1690, somewhere in the East or possibly Moroeco.in a tine Spanish hand isas complete a hihli'tithten (ih-lumirn Jiidaica as one could desire. It is evidently a copy of a much older manuscript, as the copyist hasoften suggested corrections on the margin. " It consists of two (From MaoKvt, *' Blbliothrca Chemica Curloaa.")
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parts: the first
330
embracing the Greek-Arabic period,
with possibly one exception
the second, the alchemists of the Latin world. A l;irge luimber of alchemists are mentioned here of whom no mention is made el.se where, and the identiticalion either of the authors or of the works of which abstracts are given in the Hebrew compilation is extremely dillicult. In not few cases I hey have defied ideutilicat ion. The trend of the work is more in the direction of pmctical chemistry and of precise indications of the manner iu which chemical operations are conducted. It resembles the so-called ".Vviccnna" of medieval Ijitin texts. Its completeness nK-rits a tolerably full description. Pa.ssing through many hands, the original names have been corrupted, and "thus the dilliculty of idenliticatiou is increased. That this compilation is old is shown by the fact also that we find here the alchemistic treatise of .Vbu .Mlah al .Sarakusti. of which Alemanno had made llie abstract mentioned above. It agrees absolutely with the manuscript. The manuscript begins with a short note about the "Moon. In alchemistic terminology the moon is equivalent to silver, and the sun to Impor- gold. The ne.xt chapter deals with tant Man- ".Moon and Sun"; not a few treatises uscript. ascribed to (ieber have the same title (compare " Dc Mas.sa Solis ct Lume," "Thcatrum Chemicum," v. 429). Then follows a prescription entitled "La'alot ha-Zahab" (evidcntlj' a recipe for making gold, a "chrvsopoia'a "). Now comes the treatise oi' Abu Allah in full, with nil the details that Reggio omitted when publishing Jagel's abstract. The next chapter is by tlie author of many anonymous and. as a rule, old treatises found in Manget and in the "Theatrum Chemicum." The chapter followin,!; is ascribed to a certain Johanan " -Vshprniantt. " This curious name seems to indicate the Greek alchemist " Johamies Archipresbytcr," or according to medieval Greek, " Archiprett." After these follows a compendium of fourteen books, counted as such, and each one taken from a different author. The first is called "Asluta." a name elsewhere iniknown, but which may be identical with the mythical "Sastiton" mentioned in connection with another alchemistic or mystical work ascribed to
An
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King Solomon and quoted bv Alemanno (see Steinschneider, "Cat, Bodl." col. 2297). This "Sastiton" is probably "Ostanes." the great alchemist, whose name is often written in medieval Latin te.xts " Astanes." The last twoletters were afterward misread in the Hebrew into one by the copyist or by the writer of the older original. In this treatise is mentioned a master called "Humash" or "Homcsh"; unquestionably Hermes is meant. The corruption wasdiie to the Hebrew transliteration (K'0')n=cj^n). About Ostanes, see Berthelot ("Chimie au MoyenAge," iii. 13, 116). Book ii. is ascribed to "Aliberto JIanyo " (Albertus Magnus). The oldest Latin manuscript of Alchemy of the fourteenth century
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studied in detail by Berthelot (I.e. vol. i.) shows a marked similarity with this compilation (ibid. pp. •2mct m/.). Book iii. is ascribed to "Spros" (unknown); Book iv.. to "Aristotle"; Simon Duran (died 142.")) knew a treatise written by Aristotle on four hundred stones and chemical iireparations (see Steinschneider, "Zur I'seudepigraph. Lit." p. 82, Nos. 1 and 8). For a treatise of "Aristotle " agreeing more with this text, see Manget ("Bibliotheca." i. 638-6.50; and also "Theatrum Chemicum." v. 880-893). The sixth book is ascribed to "Yebcr," the Pseudo-Geber (compare Manget, " Summa Perfectionis ^lagisterii," i. 519; and also Berthelot. "Chimie au Moyen-Age," iii. 149). Of the authors of the following books.
