Marie Meurdrac-First Lady of Chemistry?
Lloyd 0. Bishop' and Will S. DeLoach2 University of North Carolina a t Wilrnington, 28401
In 1666 a Frenchwoman by the name of Marie Meurdrac published what may well he considered the first treatise on chemistry by a woman, La Chymie charitable et facile, en faveur des dames. The text upon which the present study is based (1) is a second edition dated 1680, and is in the personal library of onc of us (W. S. D.). This little book (8 X 13.5 cm) of 36 334 pages contains no pictures, diagrams, graphs, or numerical tables. There is a table of 106 alchemical symbols, and a table of weights used in medicine. There is no index, but the table of contents is very detailed. The author describes the outline of the book as follows (8)
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I have divided this Book into Six Parts: in the first, I treat principles and operations, vessels, lutes, furnaces, fires, characteristics and weights: in the second, I speak of the properties of simples, of (heir preparation and of the method of extracting their salts, tinctures, fluid and essences: the third treats of Animals, the fourth of Metals; the fifth treats the method of making compound medicines, with several tested Presented before the Chemistry Section a t the Sixty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Academy of Science, Wilmingtan College, Wilmington, N. C., May, 1969. Professor of French. Present address: Virginia Polytechnio Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060. a Professor of Chemistry.
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remedies: the sixth is for the Ladies, in which there is a discussion of everything capable of preserving and increasing beauty. I hrwe done my best to explain myself well and to facilitate the operations: I have been very careful not to go beyond my knowledge, and I can assure that everything I teach is true, and that all my remedies have been tested; for which I praise and glorify God.
Two quotations will serve further to illustrate something of thenature of thebook. [Definition of chemistry:l Chemistry has for its object mixed bodies, insofar 8s they are divisible and soluble, upon which it works so as to extract from them the lrois Prineioes ( B s i c Elements), which are Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury; which is done by two general operations, namely Solution and congelation. ( 5 ) [Medical 118es of essence of rosemary:] A modern Philoso ~ h e rwas right in saying that any man who loved life ought ti have somi essence~ofFosemary in his home as a ~miversal antidote to dl kinds of maladies. I h w e used it with good 'rasnlts and have effected some admirable cures with it. One
incises gross humours, dispells melancholy, makes one laugh, cures Apoplexy, Quinsy, lethargy immediately; makes the breath sweet and the complexion rosy, comforts the stomach, and aids digestion when taken as above. (4)
Included in the section on operations of chemistry is a statement on the origin of the term "bain-marie,"
which will be of interest to those who have wondered why "water bath" is "bain-marie" in French ( 5 ) . [The Bahmarie Distillation] : "This Distillation is called by the name of the woman who invented it, who was the sister of Moses, Merie, called the Prophetess, who wrote the Book entitled "The Three Words!'
Marie Meurdrac was an authentic femme sauante who wrote what must be one of the earliest treatises on chemistry by a woman. The book, in addition to being of interest to the scientific historian, is also of interest to the literary historian in that it provides an insight into the intellectual background upon which Molihre based one of his finest comedies, Les Femmes savantes. This play was written in 1672, six years after the first edition of La Chymie charitable and two years before the second edition, so it was written a t precisely the time that Marie Meurdrac was working in chemistry. I n her Foreword, Miss Meurdrac indicates that she is conscious of being the first woman to publish a treatise in chemistry When I began this little treatise, it was solely for my own satisfa-ction and for the purpose of retaining the knowledge I have acquired through long work and through various oftrepeated experiments. I cannot conceal that upon seeing i t completed better than I had dared to hope, I was tempted to publish it: but if I had reasons for bringing i t to light, I also had reasons for keeping it hidden and for avoidingexposing it to general criticism. I remained irresolute in this inner struggle for nearly two years: I objected to myself that i t was not the profession of s lady to teach; that she should remain silent, listen and learn, without displaying her own knowledge; that i t is above her station t o offer a work to the public and that s. reputation gained thereby is not ordinarily to her advantage since men always scorn and blame the products of s. woman's wit [mind]. And furthermore, such secrets perhaps should not be divulged; that because of the inadequacy of my description, many things may have to he revised. On the other hand, I flattered myself that I am not the first lady to have had something published; that minds have no sex and t,hat if the minds of women were cultiyated like those of men, and that if as much time and energy were used to instruct the minds of the former, they would equal those of the latter; that our century has seen arise women who, in prose, poetry, languages, philosophy, and even in Politics, are in no way inferior to the competence and talent of men. Moreover, that this work is useful, that i t contains many infallible remedies for the cure of sickness, for the maintenance of health and several rare secrets for the ladies; not only to preserve but also to increase the advantages that they have received from Nature; that i t is a meticulous work, that it teaches faithfully and accurately how to practise them with
ease; and that it would be a sin q a i m t Charity to hide the knowledge that God has given me, which may be of benefit to the whole world. That is the sole motive that made me resolve to let this Book leave my hands." (6)
The internal evidence of MoliBre's play Les Femmes savantes gives added weight to the assumption that Miss Meurdrac is the first lady of chemistry. Molihe satirizes the society women of his time who were devoting most of their waking hours to scholarship: literature, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, even physics. But there is no mention of chemistry. Although Marie Meurdrac was a femme savante, Part Six of her book reveals that she was also a femme pr6cieuse, anxious to impart ways for the ladies to preserve and enhance their natural charms. Maurice Daumas, in his Histoire de la Science (7), mentions another book written for the ladies, Expdriences sur l'eau et l'air, signed by a certain Moitrel d'Element around 1719, as a significant precursor of more scholarly treatises. Surely then, Miss Meurdrac deserves some mention for her similar treatise published half a century before. Indeed, even the French Academy of Science published no reports of its research or findings before 1717 for fear of plagiarism (8). To investigate further, a letter was addressed to the French Acad6mie des Sciences, inquiring as to earlier editions of the book and the possible priority of Marie Meurdrac in this field. The reply, signed by Louis de Broglie and R. Courrier, indicated that "La Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris" has three editions of the book (9),and does not list any earlier women authors of chemistry. We take this opportunity to express our thanks to Me~srs.de Broglie and Courrier for their help. Literature Cited (1) M ~ o n o n * ~M*rn.;. . "Lo Chvrnic charitable elloeile, en jovnrr dcs domra." (2nd Ed.). Lyon. Chez Jean Baptiste Deville, rue meroiere, A la Science. 1680. (2) M m n n n ~ c p. , [irrul (3) M ~ n n o n * ~ p.. 1 14) M ~ u a o n ~o. c .58 isj METJRDRAC; i. 1 3 . [xxriil (6) M s u n o n ~ op. (7) D*nraAs, M m n r o ~ .(editor) "Hiatoire de la Scienoe." Enovalopedie de la PlBiade. Librarie Gallimard. Paris, 1987, P. 110.
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dd& ohaxitable s t facile en faveur dea dames, par demoidle M. M. Paris, se vend rue dea Billettea. 1666 In-12, pihoes limin. table et 334 p.-(RBa. R. 25-48). ( b ) 1674.28Bd.-Paris. J. d'Houru. In-12, pieces limin. table et 334 p.-la. 43756). (4 1711-Paria, L. d'Houry. In-12, pieces limin. et 416 P. frontisp. et plancha grav6s(R. 43757).
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