The title of the work containing the term "psychology" (Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae liber I) appears in the fifth section of the [p. 12] biography, in the List of Marulic's works, between the titles of two manuscripts: a treatise "On the Kings of Dalmatia" (Dalmatiae regum liber I) and the epic "Davidias". (Davidiados carmen libri XIV). By, enumerating Marulic·'s works "briefly", as he says himself ("paucis comprehensa") Bozicevic sets forth 18 titles of either printed works or manuscripts.

In the title of the treatise on "the human soul", as is quoted by Bozicevic, the term "psychology" is recorded as "psichiologia". Although the difference between the form "psichiologia" and "psychologia" is insignificant (like that one between the doublet stoichiologia and stoicheiologia), I do not think it likely that Marulic, an outstanding [p. 13] connoisseur of both the Greek and Latin language, gave the term the very form recorded by his biographer. I think that Bozicevic, not very good at orthography (of which let his manuscripts be the proof), somehow modified Marulic's original term, at least changing y in i, and perhaps treating the first part of the compound word as compounds with "physis" (physiologia, physiognomia). In any case Marulic's term is the oldest case known so far of compounding the noun yuch and the suffix -logia to form a term denoting the science of mental life -- the term "psychology".

The results of all these investigations could be summarized as follows: According to the present state of terminological-historical studies the word "psychology", in its Greek form and in Greek letters, appeared for the first time in the work of Rudolf Göckel "yucologia, hoc est de hominis perfectione, anima, etc." in 1590. No evidence has so far been found for Melanchton's authorship of this word, but even if it were, if would originate from about 1530 when the first edition of Melanchton's lectures "on the soul" ("De anima", Wittenberg 1530) appeared.

However, in a document known for years there is a detail which has unfortunately remained unnoticed until now and which fully entitles us to a complete revision of the established opinion on the first appearance of the word "psychology" in the scientific language of Europe. At least 66 years before Gockel (and also a few years before the publication of Melanchton's lectures "on the soul"), the term "psychology" was used by our great humanist, the poet of "Judita", Marko Marulic (1450-1524) in one of his Latin treatises not as yet found but whose title "Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae" is preserved in a list of Marulic's works given by the poet's fellow-citizen, contemporary, and friend Bozicevic-Natalis in his "Life of Marko Marulic from Split"

The word became widely used in France thanks to Maine de Biran and the eclectic school which took it as the name of the one of the four main sections of its learning."

In it, tome 13, p. 4, in a preface giving successive titles of the treatise De Anima, one can only find, the following remark made by the editor: 'Melanchtonus primus inter Germanos quos scimus, psychologiam in hoc libro tractavit' (in this work Melanchton, the first among the Germans we know, deals with psychology).

Strangely enough, none of the standard informative works I have consulted and which ascribe the authorship of the term "psychology" to Melanchton, give either a title or quotation from his "lectures" in which this word could be found, although all Melanchton's written documents are printed. Nowhere can we find the name of someone attending Melanchton's lectures and putting down where Melanchton used this term, at least orally.

The term psychology became common only with Christian Wolff

However, most books I have succeeded in consulting, although they quote Göckel's "Psychology", state categorically or quote it as probable [p. 9] that even before Göckel the word "psychology" was used by Filip Melanchton, and usually add that Melanchton used this new term in his "lectures".· Thus, for instance, the largest dictionary of philosophic notions, Eisler's .Wörterbuch der philosophischen Begriffe", tome II (4th edition, Berlin 1929, p. 533) says:

Otto Casmann (1562-1607) belongs to the liberal Protestant philosophers from the close of the 16th century. He was a priest and rector in Stade. Among his numerous works from the field of philosophy, theology, and natural sciences, the one, having the word "psychology" in its title is the most important; this is "Psychologia anthropologica" printed in Hanau in 1594. The second part of the book, under the title "Anthropologiae pars II", was published in the same town in 1596. [p. 8]

Rudolf Göcke1(1547-1628), in philosophic literature more known under his latinized name Goclenius, was professor of physics, mathematics, logic, and ethics at the university of his native town Marburg on Lahn. By his philosophic attitude he belonged to the so-called "Semiramists", i.e. the group of the Aristotelians who were half-way between those advocating dialectic interpretation of Aristotle's learning, like Melanchton, and those advocating its averroistic exposition, Like Pierre de la Ramée (Petrus Ramus, 1515-1572) and his followers ("Ramists"). In addition to several treatises from the field of logic and a philosophic dictionary ("Lexicon philosophicum"), Göckel published a tractate, in Marburg in 1590, entitled "yucologia hoc est de hominis perfectione, anima, ortu". This work, as far as is known today, is indeed the first preserved printed book to contain the word "psychology" and in its Greek form and written in Greek letters at that.

In technical and encyclopaedic literature one can find somewhat different information about when the word "psychology" was formed and who was the first to use it.