e. The presence of Gilbert upon the Continent, probably as a
teacher of reputation, seems, however, quite probable. Littre has even
unearthed the fact that during the 14th century a street in Paris near
the medical schools, bore the name of the Rue Gilbert l'Anglois. A
MS. in the Bibliotheque Nationale entitled "_Experimenta Magistri
Gilliberti, Cancellarii Montepessulani_" has suggested also the idea
that Gilbert may have been at one time chancellor of the University
of Montpellier. Dr. P. Pansier, of Avignon, however, who has carefully
examined and published this manuscript[3], reports that while it
contains some formulae found also in the Compendium of Gilbert, it
contains many others from apparently other sources, and he was unable
to convince himself that the compilation was in fact the work of
Gilbertus Anglicus. Dr. Pansier also furnishes us with a list of
the chancellors of Montpellier, which contains the name of a certain
"Gillibertus," chancellor of the university in 1250. He could find,
however, no evidence that this Gillibertus was Gilbertus Anglicus,
author of the Compendium Medicinae. On the whole then the visit of
Gilbert to France early in the 13th century, and his access in
this way to early translations of Averroes, while a convenient and
plausible conjecture on the part of Dr. Payne, does not seem supported
by any trustworthy historical evidence.

[Footnote 3: Janus, 1903, p. 20.]

The "_Liber de speculis_" mentioned by Gilbert (f. 126 c), and since
the time of Freind generally accepted as the work of Bacon, is almost
certainly not from the pen of that eminent philosopher. In addition
to the fact that Bacon himself says he had (for obvious reasons)
written nothing except a few tracts (_capitula quaedam_) prior to the
composition of his Opus Magnum in 1267, the real author of the Liber
de speculis is probably mentioned by Bacon in the following passage
from the Opus Tertium:

"_Nam in hoc ostenditur specialiter bonitas naturae, ut dicit auctor
libri de speculis comburentibus._"[4]

[Footnote 4: Cap. XXXVI, p. 116, edition of Brewer.]

We must therefore agree with Dr. Payne that the _Liber de speculis_ of
Gilbert was at least not the work of Roger Bacon.

Dr. Freind regards the chapters of Gilbert on the subject of leprosy
as borrowed substantially from the "Chirurgia" of Theodorius of
Cervia, who wrote about the year 1266. This view has also been
generally accepted by later writers. But Dr. Payn