which was planned to consists of three volumes. The first volume appeared in 1759
[3] the second volume appeared in two parts in 1765 and 1768. The third volume
was never finished [4]. Wallerius’ textbook was translated to Latin and German.
As described in Sect. 9.6, Bergman got hold of a copy of the lecture notes from
Henrik Theofil Scheffer’s chemical lectures of 1749–1751 from Patrick Alströmer.
Bergman found that Scheffer had discussed the same topics that he himself usually
included in his lectures, and came to the conclusion that an abbreviated form of
Scheffer’s lectures supplemented with notes to bring the text up to date would be a
suitable textbook for his students [5]. In addition to the manuscript written by
Alströmer, Bergman had access to additional lecture notes written by other students
[6]. The book (Fig. 11.2) was published by Magnus Swederus in 1775; the preface
was signed by Bergman in November 1774, and by August 1775, the printing was
nearly finished, except for the copper plate with the attraction table (Chap. 20) [7].
A German translation by Professor Weigel in Greifswald was published in 1779.
Schufle published an English translation in 1992.
1 Bergman organised Scheffer’s text
in sections, chapters and paragraphs, with his own notes and comments printed in a
smaller font and thus easily recognised. The extensive preface gives a first account of
Bergman’s theory of affinities (Chap. 20) and explains the two copper plates: an
attraction table and Bergman’s revised set of chemical symbols. Bergman also gave
some information on the personality of Scheffer [8]. From von Swab, Bergman knew
that accuracy was very important to Scheffer (Chap. 9), so Bergman probably felt quite
confident that the experiments presented in the lectures were performed thoroughly.
Bergman published a revised edition of The Chemical Lectures of H.T. Scheffer
in 1779 with a slightly altered title (Fig. 11.3). This edition has a 63-page appendix
(Sect. 11.2), Instructions to the lectures concerning the nature and benefits of
chemistry and the general differences between natural bodies [9]. This appendix
was also published separately. A third edition (but presented as the second edition)
was published posthumously by Bergman’s student Hjelm in 1796. In the preface,
Hjelm wrote that it had not been possible to take the antiphlogistic theory into
account without rewriting the whole text and that there was still not enough proof
against phlogiston to warrant such a rewriting [10].
It is clear that Bergman spent a lot of work editing Scheffer’s lectures, as his own
remarks constitute about half of the text. Many of Bergman’s remarks are based on
literature citations, Macquer and Marggraf being two authors that Bergman relied
heavily on. Other comments are based on his own experience, but it is quite likely
that some of this experience actually originated from Scheele. There are several
examples were Bergman refers to unpublished experiments by Scheele, probably
carried out on Bergman’s request. In one instance, for example, Bergman wrote:
“Mr Scheele has, on my request, repeated these experiments […] and consequently
the conclusion is completely different” [11]. When discussing the invisible text
obtained by writing on paper with an aqueous solution of cobalt (II) chloride which
becomes visible in blue on heating, Scheele had made an important experiment
[12]. The text also became visible when the paper was placed in very dry air in a
1
I have not examined this edition, and cannot asses its quality.
160
11 Bergman as a Teacher
[3] the second volume appeared in two parts in 1765 and 1768. The third volume
was never finished [4]. Wallerius’ textbook was translated to Latin and German.
As described in Sect. 9.6, Bergman got hold of a copy of the lecture notes from
Henrik Theofil Scheffer’s chemical lectures of 1749–1751 from Patrick Alströmer.
Bergman found that Scheffer had discussed the same topics that he himself usually
included in his lectures, and came to the conclusion that an abbreviated form of
Scheffer’s lectures supplemented with notes to bring the text up to date would be a
suitable textbook for his students [5]. In addition to the manuscript written by
Alströmer, Bergman had access to additional lecture notes written by other students
[6]. The book (Fig. 11.2) was published by Magnus Swederus in 1775; the preface
was signed by Bergman in November 1774, and by August 1775, the printing was
nearly finished, except for the copper plate with the attraction table (Chap. 20) [7].
A German translation by Professor Weigel in Greifswald was published in 1779.
Schufle published an English translation in 1992.
1 Bergman organised Scheffer’s text
in sections, chapters and paragraphs, with his own notes and comments printed in a
smaller font and thus easily recognised. The extensive preface gives a first account of
Bergman’s theory of affinities (Chap. 20) and explains the two copper plates: an
attraction table and Bergman’s revised set of chemical symbols. Bergman also gave
some information on the personality of Scheffer [8]. From von Swab, Bergman knew
that accuracy was very important to Scheffer (Chap. 9), so Bergman probably felt quite
confident that the experiments presented in the lectures were performed thoroughly.
Bergman published a revised edition of The Chemical Lectures of H.T. Scheffer
in 1779 with a slightly altered title (Fig. 11.3). This edition has a 63-page appendix
(Sect. 11.2), Instructions to the lectures concerning the nature and benefits of
chemistry and the general differences between natural bodies [9]. This appendix
was also published separately. A third edition (but presented as the second edition)
was published posthumously by Bergman’s student Hjelm in 1796. In the preface,
Hjelm wrote that it had not been possible to take the antiphlogistic theory into
account without rewriting the whole text and that there was still not enough proof
against phlogiston to warrant such a rewriting [10].
It is clear that Bergman spent a lot of work editing Scheffer’s lectures, as his own
remarks constitute about half of the text. Many of Bergman’s remarks are based on
literature citations, Macquer and Marggraf being two authors that Bergman relied
heavily on. Other comments are based on his own experience, but it is quite likely
that some of this experience actually originated from Scheele. There are several
examples were Bergman refers to unpublished experiments by Scheele, probably
carried out on Bergman’s request. In one instance, for example, Bergman wrote:
“Mr Scheele has, on my request, repeated these experiments […] and consequently
the conclusion is completely different” [11]. When discussing the invisible text
obtained by writing on paper with an aqueous solution of cobalt (II) chloride which
becomes visible in blue on heating, Scheele had made an important experiment
[12]. The text also became visible when the paper was placed in very dry air in a
1
I have not examined this edition, and cannot asses its quality.
160
11 Bergman as a Teacher