The Identity of Geber

Abstract

IT is generally agreed that the masterpieces of medieval chemical literature are the “Investigation of Perfection,” the “Sum, of Perfection' the “Invention of Verity,” and the “Book of Furnaces,” ascribed to “Geber, the Most Famous Arabian Prince and Philosopher.” They are written in clear and definite language, and are free from the enigmas and allegories which disfigure so large a proportion of alchemical books, and they contain much precise chemical information. The earliest Latin manuscripts of these works appear to be of the late thirteenth century, and they profess to be translations from the Arabic of J?bir ibn llaiyan, who lived in the eighth century A.D.