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Abstract. The Cobălcescu's Elements of Geology (1859) was published in "livre de poche" (Fig. 1), with 116 text pages and 239 text-figures atlas which was not preserved. It was printed with the Romanian transitional alphabet, and it includes four sections (Figs. 2, 3). Cobălcescu interpreted the data following the French author Beudant (1841) in the detailed much comprehensive. The textbook of Cobălcescu includes only 80 pages with 159 paragraphs, out of the four Lessons of Beudant counting 322 pages (without index) and 254 paragraphs. Although drastically reduced, the author succeeded to use in his textbook a large amount of essentialized geological information. Without being included in the text of the manual, all 239 figures were certainly included in the atlas (some illustrations are reproduced in Fig. 4). Back from France in 1862, Cobălcescu wanted to take the book out of public circulation and began to destroy the textbook where ever he could find it, buying it from bookstores and destroying it as a sin of youth.
Key words: Romanian geological history, Beudant, Cobălcescu
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
To the end of the XVIII-th Century, the geological knowledge in various European schools recorded several important approaches: the role of fossils in relative geological dating, stratigraphic subdivisions, the role of orogenesis and the genesis of faults, cryptic chronology and origins of granite (Furon, 1971, p. 699). Beginning with 1775, the success of conferences given by Abraham G. Werner at the Mining Academy in Freiberg and the diversification of applied geological fields lead to the introduction of Earth Sciences in universities and science institutions from various countries (Furon, 1972, p. 399).
The first treatises in Geology were published during the XIX-th Century, such as Traité de géognosie (1819), a classic treaty for a long time. It was followed by the excellent treatises Cours élémentaire d'Histoire Naturelle (Furon, 1972, p. 401) which included fields such as "Mineralogy" and "Geology" of François-Sulpice Beudant, become a famous title.
In Moldova, at the Royal Academy of Iaşi (also named as a Lyceum), Gheorghe Asachi organized and taught a course for the first generation of border engineers, between 1813-1818 (Pruteanu, 1966, p. 53). Its curriculum included Geology, Economy and Architecture, next to other fields (Bălan, 2022, p. 752).
The Society of Physicians and Naturalists...