History
of the Tablet
History of the Tablet (largely summarised from Needham
1980, & Holmyard 1957)
The Tablet probably first appeared in the West in editions
of the psuedo-Aristotlean Secretum Secretorum which was
actually a translation of the Kitab Sirr al-Asar, a book of
advice to kings which was translated into latin by Johannes
Hispalensis c. 1140 and by Philip of Tripoli c.1243. Other
translations of the Tablet may have been made during the
same period by Plato of Tivoli and Hugh of Santalla,
perhaps from different sources. The date of the Kitab Sirr
al-Asar is uncertain, though c.800 has been suggested and
it is not clear when the tablet became part of this work.
Holmyard was the first to find another early arabic version
(Ruska found a 12th centruy recension claiming to have been
dictated by Sergius of Nablus) in the Kitab Ustuqus al-Uss
al-Thani (Second Book of the Elements of Foundation)
attributed to Jabir. Shortly after Ruska found another
version appended to the Kitab Sirr al-Khaliqa wa San`at
al-Tabi`a (Book of the Secret of Creation and the Art of
Nature), which is also known as the Kitab Balaniyus
al-Hakim fi'l-`Ilal (book of Balinas the wise on the
Causes). It has been proposed that this book was written
may have been written as early as 650, and was definitely
finished by the Caliphate of al-Ma'mun (813-33). Scholars
have seen similarities between this book and the Syriac
Book of Treasures written by Job of Odessa (9th century)
and more interestingly the Greek writings of the bishop
Nemesius of Emesa in Syria from the mid fourth century.
However though this suggests a possible Syriac source, non
of these writings contain the tablet. Balinas is usually
identified with Apollonius of Tyna, but there is little
evidence to connect him with the Kitab Balabiyus, and even
if there was,the story implies that Balinas found the
tablet rather than wrote it, and the recent discoveries of
the dead sea scrolls and the nag hamamdi texts suggest that
hiding texts in caves is not impossible, even if we did not
have the pyramids before us.
Ruska has suggested an origin further east, and Needham has
proposed an origin in China. Holmyard, Davis and Anon all
consider that this Tablet may be one of the earliest of all
alchemical works we have that survives. It should be
remarked that apparantly the Greeks and Egyptians used the
termtranslated as `emerald' for emeralds, green granites,
"and perhaps green jasper". In medieval times the emerald
table of the Gothic kings of Spain, and the Sacro catino- a
dish said to have belonged to the Queen of Sheba, to have
been used at the last supper, and to be made of emerald,
were made of green glass [Steele and Singer: 488].