The letters of Jan Swammerdam to Melchisedec Thévenot

G. A. LINDEBOOM (editor), The letters of Jan Swammerdam to Melchisedec Thevenot, Amsterdam, Swets & Zeitlinger, 1975, pp. x, 190, illus., D.F1.80.00. The contributions of the Dutchman Swammerdam (1637-1680), to experimental medicine have been consistently underrated, partly because of his shyness and reticence, partly because his short life ended in religious fanaticism, and partly because his manuscripts were not published until 1737. Another reason is the delay in making known to a wide audience his correspondence with his French friend and patron, Thevenot (1620-1692). Professor Lindeboom, the renowned Boerhaavian scholar, now provides us with an edition of forty of them, 24 September 1665 to December 1679 or January 1680. Each has a brief introduction, the original letter in Dutch, Latin or Greek, and an English translation. Annotations are given where necessary, and the original illustrations. They are introduced by an excellent sketch of Swammerdam, a bibliography of articles on him and a brief 'Introductory note'. At the end there is a useful list of biographical sketches of persons mentioned in the letters, some of whom would be otherwise difficult to trace. These letters contain a great deal of information about Swammerdam and his work, and it will now be necessary to reappraise the accounts of both of them already available. Reconsideration of certain topics in anatomy and physiology as they evolved in the seventeenth century must also be re-evaluated in the light of this new data. Professor Lindeboom's book is a most welcome addition to our knowledge of seventeenth-century medicine and science; its excellence outweighs and excuses the typographical errors and occasional quaint phraseology. It reveals again how important the Dutch school was at that time, and a composite work in English detailing with this prowess in both the seventeenth and the eighteenth century is much needed. In the meantime this book can be strongly recommended.