Boerhaaves early career

Due to a painful ulcer on his left thigh Boerhaave moved to Leiden in 1682 in order to get better medical treatment. The care he received was not very successful and ultimately the pain wore him out so much that he treated himself with a mixture of salt and his own urine. In Leiden Boerhaave entered the third class of the Latin grammar school in order to continue the educational path his father had set out for him. At the age of fifteen Herman started his theological and philosophical studies at the University of Leiden. Unfortu- 

Boerhaave matriculated in the faculty of philosophy as well as in the faculty of theology. In a resolution of 1690, the curators called him a theologiae etphi-losophiaestudiosus they decided that his first degree should be in philosophy. 

Both Senguerd and De Voider were well disposed towards Cartesian natural philosophy, which attempts to reduce natural phenomena to quantitative descriptions of arithmic and geometry. However, Senguerd and De Voider were also critical of the French philosopher. Senguerd leaned more towards Gassendi s version of Epicurean atomism. De Voider, as we shall see later, also adopted some other philosophical ideas. Senguerd started teaching in 

Burton, W. An Account of the l ife and Writings ofHerman Boerhaave. London 7 Commentari- 

Moreover, Klever has argued that the mechanical medicine of Boerhaave, De Volder s most influential pupil, was founded upon the Ethics of Spinoza. This argument seems to be justified since Boerhaave found himself being accused of having Spinozist sympathies on two occasions. For this reason it is important to look into De Volder s and Boerhaave s supposed Spinozism. We can ask whether it is a coincidence that both Boerhaave and De Voider were suspected of having heretical views Or was it normal for natural philosophers to be accused of Spinozism at some point in their careers  

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In Boerhaave s view alchemy is a respectable part of chemistry, concerned with metals. From the early days of his chemical career Boerhaave was concerned with alchemical experiments aimed at purifying metals. His high admiration for the old alchemists is clear in Boerhaave s correspondence with Cromwell Mortimer, secretary of the Royal Society. The existing correspondence consists of eight letters, six in the hand of Boerhaave and two written by Mortimer. They were written between July 1733 and September 1738, the last letter being written by Boerhaave two weeks before his death. The main topics of the letters are Boerhaave s experiments with mercury, which I shall discuss at a later stage, and the related issue of the trustworthiness of alchemical writings. 

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