Jütte Daniel
Harvard University, 78 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Isis. 2012 Dec;103(4):668-86. doi: 10.1086/668962.
This essay explores the significance and function of secrecy and secret sciences in Jewish-Christian relations and in Jewish culture in the early modern period. It shows how the trade in clandestine knowledge and the practice of secret sciences became a complex, sometimes hazardous space for contact between Jews and Christians. By examining this trade, the essay clarifies the role of secrecy in the early modern marketplace of knowledge. The attribution of secretiveness to Jews was a widespread topos in early modern European thought. However, relatively little is known about the implications of such beliefs in science or in daily life. The essay pays special attention to the fact that trade in secret knowledge frequently offered Jews a path to the center of power, especially at court. Furthermore, it becomes clear that the practice of secret sciences, the trade in clandestine knowledge, and a mercantile agenda were often inextricably interwoven. Special attention is paid to the Italian-Jewish alchemist, engineer, and entrepreneur Abramo Colorni (ca. 1544-1599), whose career illustrates the opportunities provided by the marketplace of secrets at that time. Much scholarly (and less scholarly) attention has been devoted to whether and what Jews "contributed" to what is commonly called the "Scientific Revolution." This essay argues that the question is misdirected and that, instead, we should pay more attention to the distinctive opportunities offered by the early modern economy of secrecy.
本文探讨了保密及秘密科学在近代早期犹太教与基督教关系以及犹太文化中的意义和作用。它展示了秘密知识交易和秘密科学实践如何成为犹太人与基督徒接触的一个复杂且有时充满危险的领域。通过审视这种交易，本文阐明了保密在近代早期知识市场中的作用。在近代早期欧洲思想中，将犹太人视为神秘莫测是一个普遍的主题。然而，对于这种观念在科学或日常生活中的影响，我们所知相对较少。本文特别关注这样一个事实，即秘密知识交易常常为犹太人提供了一条通往权力中心的道路，尤其是在宫廷。此外，很明显，秘密科学实践、秘密知识交易和商业议程常常紧密交织在一起。文中特别关注了意大利犹太炼金术士、工程师兼企业家阿布拉莫·科尔尔尼（约1544 - 1599），他的职业生涯体现了当时秘密市场所提供的机遇。许多学术（以及非学术）关注都集中在犹太人是否以及对通常所说的“科学革命”“贡献”了什么。本文认为这个问题方向有误，相反，我们应该更多地关注近代早期保密经济所提供的独特机遇。
