A L C HE M Y

IT S SC IENC E A ND R O M A NC E

BY THE

R IG HT R EV .
J
. E . M ER C E R ,
D D
. .

SO M ETIM E BISHO P O F TA SM A NIA

WI TH F0 U R
'

ILL US TR A TIOA S

LO N DO N
SO C IE TY FO R P R O M O T IN G
C H R IS T IA N K N O WL E D G E
N O R THU M BE R LA N D A V E NU E W C
, . .

NEW YO R K : THE M AC M I LL AN C O .

192 1
 PR EFA CE

THIS m a y perha ps cla im to b e a n a pology f o r

Alchemy I t a ttem pt s t o set f orth with mo r e o f
.
,

system a n d o f symp a thy than is usua l its histor y , ,

the d o ctr in es it pr o f essed an d the r esults it a chieved

, .

It must n o t h o wever be though t tha t the a po lo getic

, ,

i nte ntio n o f the study implies a n y f a ilur e in reco g

n isin g the we aknesses an d f o llies whi c h a bo unded
i n the devel o pment o f the a rt n o r the chimerica l
,

n a t u re o f the me a n s a d o pt e d f o r s o lvin g its Gr a n d

Sec r et The def en ce is ba sed on a cr itic al estim ate

.

of t he condition s un der which the gen uin e a depts

h a d t o t hin k an d wo rk
i

I ha ve co n sulted the wor ks o f repr esen ta tive

a l c hemis t s ,espec ia lly o f the ea rlie r per iod s But I .

la y n o c l a im t o deta iled r esea rch thr o ugho ut the

who le v ast ra n ge o f the lite ra tur e o f t he subject .

E v e n B ert hel o t ha d t o specialise I h a ve a va iled

.

m ysel f f r eely o f ma ter i a ls which ar e mor e or less

ea s ily a c c essible i n mode rn tre a t ise s on the Herm e it ic
a rt . I gr a te f ully a ckn owledge my i n debted n ess t o t he
a bove menti o n ed a uth o r
-
a n d though i n less d egr ee
, , ,

t o such studies a s th o se o f F ig uier Mui r a n d Tho r pe

, , ,

a s a lso to a c a r ef ully wr itten a rti c le i n Ha st in gs

’

E m yclop wdia of R elig ion a n d E thics Fo rtun a tely t he

.

m a in f ea tu r es o f the subj e c t st a n d o u t cle a r ly ; a

9 0 18 5
iv PRE FACE

s tudy o f ted ious an d generally unintelligible detail is

unnec essary What I vent ure t o question is not the
.

ev id enc e ,but t he justice o f t he c ondemnations so

o f ten f oun ded upon it . I contend that when we
make f air allowan ce f o r t he conditions und er which
t he g en uin e a lchemists did their work we shal
, l
a ckn owled ge t heir right t o ran k as true scientists and

discover ers To judge t hem f rom t he standpoint of

.

the present is hopelessly irrat ional .

J EDWARD MERCER
. .

February 8 , 19 20 .
 CONTENTS

PR E FAC E

INTR O D U CTION

THE AR T AND ITS A PPE AL V

Wh a t —
Alc hem y a im ed a t Alc hemy co m pa red wit h m ag ic an d
a st ro l
og y— c l —
Psy o og ica laspec ts Ro man
h c e —D ivisio n o f t he
sub jec t

P A RT I
GE NE RAL HI STOR Y

C H APTE R I

M YT H AND E AR L Y H IS TOR Y
M yt hic al —Herm es
acco un t s Trism eg ist us— The idea o f t ran s
m u t a t ion — E a rly re eren ce s —The Papyri o f L e yden —The
f
f —
m ystical acto r Spread o f t he a r t

CH AP TER II

AR ABIA NCH EMY

AL

The test im o n y o f wo ds
r— — —
D ocum en t s Geber Spread of Ara b ian
Alc hem y
vi C ONTE NTS

C H AP TE R III

M E D IE V AL AL CHE MY
PAOR
Gerb ert —Al e rt us M a g n us—Aq uin as— R o g er Bacon —R aym on d
b
Lully—U n ive rsaldifiusion —M ediaevalcrit icism —Persecut ion 31

C H AP TE R IV

C
D E ADE NC E
Medical —
Alc hem y Pa rac elsus— Successors of Parac elsus—The
R o sic ruc ian s —Ch ief cause o f deca den ce

C H AP TE R V

NS ITION TO S CIE NCE

TR A

— —
R ober t Bo yle Alc hem y at Ox fo rd Crit cs
i — D r —
P r ice Sem le r .

Th e en d o f Alc hem y

PAR T II
THE I DEA OF TR ANSM U TATI ON

C H APTE R I

V S U GG E S TIO NS FR OM N ATU R AL PR OCE SS E S

A w d of
o rl c ha n g e —The
alc h e m ist s a i —
m Th e q ua lit y o f c o lo ur
’

D ye in g t h e m e t a ls —Ot her q ua li t ies o f m e t a ls— Fixed e le

-

m en t s— I f
m pe r ec t a n a lysis — Two r eceipt s f o r m a kin g g o ld
—Prec ip1t a t e s—Appealt o histo ry

C H APTE R II

PHIL OS OPHY O F TR A NS MU TATION

A passag e rom Psellus—Plat on ic t heo r ies o f m at t er—Pl
f a t o n ism
a n d Al c h em y— Th e m er c ury o f t h e ph IlOSO ph e r s—Co m po si
t ion o f t h a m et als— Sulphur—Th eo ry an d pra c t ice— Qua li t ie s
a s separ a t e en t it ies
 CONTENTS vii

C H AP TER III

AL CH E M Y AND N S A IM I M
PAGE
M et als g ro w— M et als a n d a n ima l bir t h —D yin g an d revivin g of
ea ls— M et als ha ve bo dy an d so ul — In t roduc t ion of m o ra l
!s eas

C HAPTE R IV

M AGI C AND A TR O L OG Y
S
E a rly m e ta llurg y a n d m ag ic— At t it ude o f t he C hurc h— Alc hem ist
m ag ic a n d philo so phy— Ast ro lo g y a n d a lc h e m y— Th e m e tals
a n d t he pl an e t s— Sig n s a n d sym o l b
s— M ag ic o rm ul as— a ry f V
in g st r en g t h o f m ag ic al elem en t An a n im a t ed st a t ue
— Pa llia t io n

PAR T III
THE OBJE CTS OF THE QU E ST

C H APTER I

THE PHIL O S OPH E R S S TO N E ’

Wa n t e d a t ran sm ut in g ag en t — E a rly descr ipt ion s

t he ag en t of
—
Th e st o n e D esc ript io n s o f t he st o n e M ea sure o f po te n c y
m

Healin g po wers —M en ta lan d m o ra lpro per t ies

C H APTE R II

THE S TON E AND MY TI I M S CS

li
Re g io n an d Al c h e m y
— D ea t h a n d re surr e c t ion o f m e t a ls— Th e
g r a n d sec r e t —
S um m ar y o f c h ie f c h a rac ter ist ic s o f t he st o n e 14 3

CHAPTE R III

CR ED U L ITY AND IMPOSTU R E

The secr ix i —The alk he t—R j uv
et el r a t i —F lse
s e en a on a t ra n smu
t a t io n s—Dyer an d K elley— Alch em y an d spirit ualism
 C H APTE R IV

L IFE o r BE R NAR D o r TR EVE s

PAR T IV
ALCHE MY AND SCI E NC E

C H APTE R I
C
D IFFI U L TIE S N P
O F I TE R R E TATION

Ob scurit ies —E xam ples of o bscurity—Va g uen ess of t ermin o log y

—St raig ht forward receipt s

C H APTE R II

THE M ATE R IAL S

Map pm avicul
cl a —
G ld— Sil
o ver — E lec t rum
Copper Bron z e ,
B r a ss, Aurich alcum —M erc ury—M ercury an d sulph ur — Ti n
—
L e ad— Iro n an d m ag n esia Ot h er materials

CH APTE R III

THE S
LA B ORATOR IE

In t rusion o f feelin g -
Apparat us —Processes—Ben Jo n son s list ’

Processes in det ail

C HAPTE R IV

ADVA NC E S AND DI SCOVER IE S

— w
Comb in in g o f t
Th e expe m t al
ri
heo
en
ry a n
m
d
e
pr
h
ac t
—
ic e D
t od R og er acon
a n
B
o f t h
—
e sc ien t ific spir it
Arist ot le —Ar a ia n
b
disc ve e
o ri s — Me vd iae a l dis c o v e rie s~ 01assificat ion
 CO NTENTS ix

C H APTER V

TR ANS ITION TO MODERN C H E MIS TR Y

—
D iffi c ult y in discoverin g elem en t s D iscovery o f t he elemen t s
n o:

—B o yle—Disco very o f g ases — —

Joseph Priestley L avo isie r
U em en t s—Alc hemist t ran sm uta t ion a an do n ed
n c han g in g el b

CH AP TER VI

THE O U TL O OK

The e m en t s
el a re n ot —Iso merism an d allotropism
ult ima t es
— Na t ura l fam ili s o f elem en t s— Radioac t ivit y—The elixi o f
e r
—
fe Co n clusion
li
A LC HE M Y — IT S SC IE N C E
A ND RO M A NC E

I N TRO D U CTI ON

THE A R T A ND ITS APPE A L

—
U R subj e ct is a lchemy tha t b a ffl in g a rt , with
a r ec o rd so a n cient a n d yet so ta rn i shed The .

s tr on g str ea m o f m ode r n scien ce h a s swe pt ove r it ,

lea vin g it sha tte re d a n d f o r l o rn It has f a llen on evil

.

d a ys a n d ha s a lmost p a ssed o ut o f r emembr a n ce

, .

A n d yet whe n symp a thetica lly studied it a bounds

, ,

in var ied in t e rests f o r the poet the histo r ia n the

, , ,

p h il o sopher an
, d f o r the scie nt ist hi m sel f I t n u m
. be r ed

a mong its a d e pts s o me o f the mo st pictur e sque a n d

the most f a mo us pers o na ge s in the a nna ls o f Eur o pea n
c ivilis a ti o n
. It we lded philo s o phic specul a tio n a n d
O pe ra tive to il mystic ism ma gic a n d techn ic a l skill
, .

It lost itself in the wilde st a berr a tio n s a n d yet issued

,

in mo dern chemistry . It thus presents a un ique

medley o f a ttra c tio n s which ga in in th e ir p o we r o f
a ppe a l i n pr o p o r ti o n a s the r igi dity o f mo d e r n M a te

ria lism is sof ten ed a n d huma n ised .

WHA T AL C HE M Y AIM E D AT .

If we a sk wha t the Objects we re whi c h the a rt so

stre nuously so ught t o a tta in t he a n swer s a r e n ot

, as

1
ii KEC
5 E H
EES
Y é ITSSC I E N CE AND ROMAN CE
r
-

simple asma ny would ima gine One o f them sta nds .

o ut r omine tl iII_the p op ul r min d— the discove r y

p n y _ a _

o f the Philosophe r s Ston e which was to tr ansmute t he

’

—
b a SeT £5 51?A ch e m
- ' '

? B fi al iS
RISE Tz t s a im e d a t f a r

mor e tha n this In CJrIst aIit r ivaIrym

‘ "

f
' ' '

iE
'

.
Ii O -

ma kin g gold a n d silve r wa s tha t o f disc o ve r ing a

M r fi e mfl ;be ca u se O f the f r equent

~

M T he la tte r
'

tOn é a nd ,

O f a m a st e r po w
— —

by a n a tur a l
d v

extens ion o f the idea er -

,

wa s to r e n ew the vigour a n d gr a ces o f yo uth n a y it , ,

wa s t o e f f ect a n indefinite le ngthe ning o f the term o f

—
lif e : Fur ther adapt s 615 mm
“

ThEF iVOn df dh s
'

r emedy w o ul d give intellectu a l an d mor a l excelle n ce ,

ha ppiness influence with the spirit world com mun ion

, ,

with the Cr e a tor Th us wer e the a ims o f the a r t

.

expanded _until they e mbra ced tra nsmuta tion s n ot ,

O f meta l s o nly but o f huma n b eings a n d the contr o l

, ,

o f mo yve r s whi c h re a ched o ut i nt o the u n ive r se a t

But the a rt it will be s a id neve r a tta ined it s

, ,

Objects it wa s delusive ; a n d is the r ef o re unworthy

,

o f se r i us study Such a n inf e r e nce is e a sily sh o wn

_ _ o _
.

t o be h a sty a n d supe rfici a l Delusio n unden ia b ly .

bulk s l a rgely in the h isto ry an d r a ises in a n a cute ,

f or m the cur io us pr oblem o f it s f unctio n in ma n s

’

intelle c tua l a n d spir itua l evolutio n But del usion is .

n ot the whole ta le In sea rchin g f o r the Ston e a n d

.

t he Elixir rea l substa n ces ha d t o be h a n dled TOR!

, ,

exper iments ha d to b e ma de It could n o t then b e .

, ,

othe rwise t ha n th a t the r e should a ccumula te a body

o f empir ic a l f a cts concer nin g the na tur e o f the sub

sta nc e s a n d their mutua l r ea ctions Moreove r eve n .

,
 IN TR O D U C TIO N 8

t he harla tans had their part t o pla y in t hat they

C ,

helped t o keep alive t he inte rest in alchemical

ur suits
p .

ALCHE M Y C O M PA R E D W ITH MA C IC AND ASTR O L OGY .

B a con has a sugge stive pa ssa ge in which he groups

together thr ee kindr ed pseudo arts As f o r the
-
.

f a cility o f cr edit which is yielded t o arts an d opinions ,

it is o f t wo kin ds either when t o o much belief is

a ttr ibuted t o the a rts themselves o r t o certain a uthors ,

in an y a rt The sciences themselves which ha ve ha d

.

better intelligence an d conf edera cy w ith the ima gina

t ion o f m an tha n with his r ea son are three in number ,

Astr olog y Natur a l Ma gic a n d Alchemy ; o f which

, ,

sciences nevertheless the e nds o r pr etences are noble .

Fo r a strology pret en det h t o discov er tha t corre

sp o n den c e o r conca te n a tion which is between the

super ior glo be an d the in f e r ior na tural m agic

p r e t e n de t h t o c a ll an d r educe n a tur a l philosophy

f r om a va r iety o f specul a tion s t o the magnitude o f

works a n d a lchemy pr et e n det h t o make separ a tio n
of al lthe un like parts o f bodies which in mixtur es o f
”
n a tur e ar e incorpor a te .

A f ew c omments o n the points here ra ised will

h e lp much t o a n understa nding o f how a ps eudo a rt -

could flour ish f o r so long a pe riod and o f why it is ,

worthy o f continued a ttention We note in the fir st

“
.

p la ce th a t it g a ined f a cility o f credit on both the

g r o u n ds me n tioned by B a co n .I t wa s c ultiv a ted by
m en o f repute who ima gin ed tha t either they them
sel ves o r others ha d genuin ely solved the g rea t s ec r e t
, ,

A dva ncemen t f
o L earn in g , B k . I
.
 4 —
AL CHE MY ITS S C IE N CE AND RO MA NC E
of t he Philo s o phe r s Sto n e an d it thus ga in ed an
’
,

a mo un t Of solid pr estige which survive d consta nt

f a ilur e s an d disa ppoin tme nts I t wa s a lso in the sa me
.

c a s e a s a stro lo gy a n d ma gic through the str ength of

its a ppea l to the e mo tion s Spur red on by t he da z z lin g
.

h O pe o f wea lth a n d a ll th a t wea lth c a n give a n d by ,

t he d e sir e to conque r dise a se a n d n a t ur a l de c a y even ,

cleve r men a llowe d the ir ima gin ation t o swa y their

r e a so n The slen de re st cha nces o f success sufficed
.

t o kee p the fir e Of enthu sia sm a glow .

Astrology sought t o br ing star lore into r ela tio n -

with huma n lif e ma gic sought to ben d the powers

of na tur e to huma n wills a lchemy l a bour ed t o

ma n ipula te substa nc e s f o r the s a tisf a ction o f huma n

n eeds In Spite then o f the e rr or s an d va nitie s
. , ,

which ma rred a n d t o o o f te n deb a sed these a rts

, , ,

the ir ends a s B a con sa ys we r e noble Their f o rtun es

, , .
,

a s we sh a ll see w e r e i ntima t e ly linked toge the r ; a n d

,

they a ll three a like ga ve b ir th to sciences which a r e

a mo ng the chie f gl o r ies o f o ur own times Astr olo gy .

mer ged in a str ono my na tura l magic in physics a n d

, ,

a lchemy in chemistr y The diff erences i n the r a tes o f

.

merging do n ot a f f ect the na tur e a n d the sign ifica n ce

o f the pr in ciples a n d pr ocesses involved Accr etio n s .

o f igno r a n ce a n d supe r stiti o n were gr a du a lly str ippe d

a wa y a n d the a ccumul a tin g stor e Of f a cts f or med t h e

,

nucleus f o r grea ter a n d m o r e solid tr iumphs .

M a thema tics a n d physics were the fir st to f r e e

themselves f r om the enta ngling cr e a tions o f ima gin a
tion For their ear ly ema n c ipa tion th ey ha ve t o
.

tha nk the compa ra tive cla r ity an d pr ecisio n o f the ir

subj e ct ma tter Astrolo gy wa s f o r a longer ti m e
.

cultiva ted on its emotio na l side as a me a n s t o

6 AL CHE MY—ITS S C IE N CE A ND RO MA N CE

a rra y o f f acts It b ids us d istinguish between t he

.

hereditary structur e o f the individua l m in d and the

e nvironmen t which pr ovides tha t m ind with stimulus
f or its development Tr ue .o u r en viro n ment
, has

va stly improved ; but o ur minds are f unda menta lly

t he s a me a s those o f o ur f o r ef a thers A r ea lisation .

o f this f a ct will mitiga te o ur condem nation o f f or me r

credulities and will likewise ma ke us less confident of
,

the im m unity o f o ur o wn generation .

R O M A N CE .

It is possible the n to justif y even f r om a utili

, , ,

ta r ia n standpoint a ser ious considera tion o f wha t

,

a lchemy was a n d wha t it a chieved But its ro ma n ce .

constitutes a f urther cla im For it a bounds i n the .

wild the f a nta stic t he unc a nny the mar ve llous

, , , .

Fr om the outset it ha s ha d a f a scina tion f o r a r ti sts ,

p o e tap yla w r ights a n d novelists In e a r ly medi ae va.l

da ys a certain Aur e lius Aug ur ella employed t he
medium o f verse in which to expound the myster ie s
a n d practices o f the a r t a n d with no in consider a ble
,

success Jean de Meung

. the f a mous a uth or
o f the R oma n de l a R ose wa s a firm believer in a lche m y
, ,

a n d ma kes it the subject o f two o f his shor te r poe m s .

Ben Jonson is a t his r a r est in his pla y The ,

Al chemist , which ma ny consider his fine st wor k .

Go ethe in his Fa ust b r ings it to the f or e Wr iter s o f .

fiction innumera ble ha ve exploited its r eso ur ces t o

—
e n ha nce their plots Scott in his A ntiqua ry be in g n o t
the least notable exa mple Br owning ha s cho se n f o r
.

the hero o f a n a mbitio us p o em Par a celsus o n e o f it s

, ,

most a stonishing pr of e ssor s Artists h a ve Cxpl o it e d

.
 IN TRODU CTION 7

—
it s p ic t ur esq ue accesso ie s it s presi din g sag es a n d
r

it s mysterio us a ppara tus Lo vers o f alleg ory a n d

.

sym b olism ca n revel in its mystic serpents interwoven ,

tr ia ngles sa la ma nders dra gons an d the lik e weird

, , ,

cr e a tio ns o f unf ettered im a ginatio n The store is .

i n exha ustible .

I t wo uld b e inexcusa ble t o contend that modern

science ha s not its eleme nts o f r o m a nce The st ory .

of its con quests tee m s with huma n interest a n d d eepe n s

o ur se n se o f the myst ry o f the unive r se But when
e .

al l is s a id o n this score tha t c a n be sa id we ha ve t o ,

a ck no wledge the l o ss o f a peculiar cha rm ; the cold

d e pe r sona lised methods o f the pr esent da y exper i -

m e n te r impos e on us a bur den o f ha rd f a cts which

limits the f ree rovings o f phanta sy a n d chills roma ntic
f e r vour
. There is n o ea sier o r sur e r wa y t o get ba ck
in to the olden wor ld tha n t o sha re f o r a while t he
h o pes a n d l a bours o f the a lchemists .

DIVI SI ON o r THE SU BJE CT .

It would b e a rtificia l a n d cumbersome t o tr ea t

s ep a r a tely e a ch o f the sources o f inte rest a bove
e n ume ra ted . It will be pro fita ble however t o dis
, ,

t in g uish the history o f the a rt f r om its philosophy

a n d its science , a n d t o devote t o these the l a r ge r

d ivisions o f o ur subject We sha ll thus b e preserved

.

f r om desultory wanderings Let us theref ore pr oceed

.

a s f ollows .

We ca nn ot hope t o understa nd the details o f the

s t or y until we ha ve secur ed a bir d s eye V iew o f it s
’
-

g e n e r a l cour se W
. e wil l begi n the n with
, a sketch ,

o f the hi stor y o f the art f r om its or igin to its dec a denc e

n
8 —
AL C HE MY ITS SC I ENCE AND R OMANC E

and thus obta in a f ra mework into which pe r sons ,

ha ppen ings discove r ies m ay be fitted Then m a y

, , .

come a close r considera tion o f the ruling idea s which

guided the d evelopment o f the a rt ; a n d O f the
technica l skill methods an d ma te r ia ls which con
, ,

dit io n ed it . The wa y will thus be clea r f o r a dmir in g

the virtues o f those illusive substa nces the Philo ,

sophe r s Stone an d the Elixir o f Lif e Next will

’
.

come a n a ttempt t o estima te the a mount a n d the v a lue

o f the contr ibutions ma de t o positive scie n ce A nd
.

l a stly we will a sk whether the a rt be re a lly dea d ; o r

whether ra ther it is n ot taking a n e w l ea se o f lif e
, , ,

a n d pr o mi si ng to a tta in r esults which m a y sur p a s s

a n ything th a t coul d be su sp e cted o r ima gin ed by t h e

s a ges Of a bygon e da y .
 PA R T I

GE N E R A L HI STO R Y
 CHA PTE R I
M YTH A N D E A R L Y HISTO R Y

HE N did a lchemy begin its long ca ree r The

questio n ca nno t b e a n swere d with a n y certa inty .

T rustwo rthy evidence is la cking It is known in .

,

d e ed tha t it ha s a n ancien t a ncestry

, But n o t until
.

the f a ll o f the Ro ma n Empire does it emerge into t he

light o f va lid history This much ho weve r c a n b e
.
, ,

i n f erred tha t t he a rt p roper ly ca lled

, a lchemy

a rose in the sec o nd o r thir d centu ry o f the Ch r isti a n

e ra a n d tha t it resulted f ro m a union o f the p ra ctica l

,

a rt of t he Egyptia ns with the philo sophy o f t he

G reeks an d with the mysticism whic h f oun d its ho me
,

in Alexa ndr ia Let us ta ke ca ref ul note o f this tripl e

.

c onjunction it is o f f unda menta l impo rtance .

MYTHICAL ACC O UNTS .

The origin o f a lchemy is a ncient even when tra ced

ba ck n o f urther tha n the secon d o r third century o f
o u r e ra But the a depts a n d histo ria n s o f the a rt
.

we re by n o mea ns thus ea sily sa tisfied a n d sought t o ,

in vest it with the imposing dignity o f a hoa ry a nt i

q u it y Some
. o f them were ve ry bold an d cl a im ed
A dam a s its f ounder with the na ive desire o f ma king
,

it as o ld a s the ra ce The loss o f the secret ca me with

.

11
 12 —
AL C HE MY ITS S C IE N CE AND ROMANCE

the l o ss o f Pa ra dise Ola eus Bo rrichius is o n some

.

wha t firmer groun d when he fixes on Tuba l ca in t he -

f a mo us smith o f the Bible f o r it is ce rtain tha t t he ,

me ta llurg y o f p r imitive times p ro vided the p ra ctica l

b a sis o f a lchemy Noa h wa s enlisted a mong t he se
.

p a tria rcha l a depts It was a rg ued tha t he must ha ve

.

p o ssesse d the Elixir o f lif e other wise he co uld n o t ha ve

,

b ego tten children whe n he wa s five hun dred yea rs o ld .

The co ntentio n ho we ve r is n o t quite c o nvincing

, , .

A supp o sitio n o f a very dif f e re nt a n d f ar so un dc r

kin d is a dva nced when the wo r d a lchemy is
d er ived f rom the na me Shem o r Chem t he so n o f , ,

No a h But even we re the name Chem p ro ved t o b e

.

in e viden ce we sho uld n ot o n this sco re conclude

, ,

with a seventeen th century History of the Hermet ic

-

Philosop hy tha t Shem wa s a n a lchemist !

!
,

O nce sta r ted on this tra ck histor ia n s could n ot ,

f a il t o e n ro l Mo ses Wa s he not lea rned in a ll t he

.

l o re o f the Egyptia ns a n d would n o t a lchemy be

,

included Moreover it is reco rded tha t whe n Mo se s

,

wa s a nge red a t the ido la try o f the I sra elite s he ,

took the ca lf which they ha d ma de an d bu rnt it with ,

fi re a n d groun d it to powde r a n d strewed it up o n t he

, ,

wa ter a n d ma de the childre n o f I s ra el drink o f it

,
”
.

He re they tr iumpha ntly inf e r is p ro o f positive tha t

, ,

h e ha d the Philosophe r s St one Fo r ho w s a ve by

’
.
,

its a gency could he ha ve ma de the gold powde r

,

flo a t on the wa te r An d if it be o b j ected tha t the re

is n o t ra ce o f kn owledge o f t he Ston e in the sub sequen t
na r ratives the a nswe r is rea dy Moses ke pt t he
, .

knowledge to himself a n d would neve r entrust t he

,

se c ret t o his people .

Lo n g let du F sn ey bo rn 16 74 re , .
14 —
AL CHEMY ITS S C IEN CE A ND ROMAN CE

The significan ce o f t he pro minent pla ce given t o

He rmes lies here It was undoubt edly the m eta l
.

lurg ica l a n d che m ica l knowledge an d skill po sses sed

by the Eg yptians tha t sta rted the idea o f the practica l
possibility o f tra nsmuta tion From the ea rliest .

times tha t pioneer civilisa tio n wo rked with meta ls

a n d a lloys with the ma kin g o f gla ss and en a mel an d
, ,

with the concoctio n o f medicines And Berthelo t .

ha s shown tha t it is the materia l thus a ccu m ula te d

which is embodied in the oldest tre a tises o n a lchemy ,

If then we ta ke He rmes Trismegistus t o b e the

, ,

r ep resenta tive o f a whole succession o f Eg yptia n

p riest meta llurg ists inste a d o f a sin gle individu a l
-
,

discovere r the cla im on his beha lf m a y be a ccorded

,

a l a rge me a sure o f va lidity .

We must b e c a ref ul howeve r n o t to p ress the

, ,

cl a im t o o f a r Fo r this core o f historica l f a ct wa s

.

ove rla id by enormous a cc retions o f m yth and f a nta stic

legend No r ca n we wonder tha t this should ha ve
.

ha ppened Fo r during the whole o f o ur Christia n

.

e ra the re ha s been a wid e ly sp re a d convict ion ( n o t

yet extin ct !) tha t the a ncient Egyptia ns ha d d is

covered many sec ret a rts occult doctrin e s a n d
, ,

ma gica l f ormul ae which ha d bee n lost t o the worl d .

The veil that hung ove r the ruin ed retreat s a t Thebes

a n d Memphis the ign ora n ce o f wha t wa s k nown a n d
,

p ra ctised there a llowed f ree pla y f o r ima gina tion a n d

,

cast a gla mour over the little tha t ha d survived .

Medie va l sa ges ( a n d n o t a f ew mode m s ) fi rmly

believed tha t the biza rre sign s a n d emblems o f th a t
a lmost oblite ra ted p a st concea led sec ret s an d revel a

tions o f the deepest impo rt Hence exa ggera tions .

a n d a bsurdities The f a ct nevertheless rema ins that

.
 MYTH A ND EAR LY HI S TO R Y 15

“
this ancient met allurg y ga ve a starting po int f o r -

a lchemy p rope rly so ca l led )

At la st then we a pproa ch the confin es o f history
, , .

We ha ve discove red the existence in Eg ypt o f a la rge

a ccumul a tion o f the kind o f ma te r ia ls with which

a lchemy concerned itself Jewelle rs pa in te rs potte rs

.
, , ,

gla ss ma ke rs a n d pre em inently me ta l workers e a ch

-
,
- — -

c ra f t ha d its o wn store o f techn ica l sec rets ha n ded on

ge ne ra tion a f ter ge ne ra tio n by persona l instruction a s
be tween ma ste rs a n d a pp re ntices Doubtless the re .

were a lso ma nua ls a n d t rea tises but these ha ve n o t

b een p reserved a n d in a n y c ase pl a yed a quite sub
,

s idia ry p a rt .Berthe lot la ys grea t empha s is on the

imp o rtan ce o f such p ro f e ssio na l tra ditio n He con .

te n ds tha t the Egypti a n lo re wa s in this wa y tra n s

m it t e d t o t he a rtisa n s o f Rome p reserved du rin g t he
,

D a rk Age s in the wo rkshops o f Ita ly a n d Fra nce a n d ,

g ra dua lly a bsorbed into the genera l body o f a lche mica l

do ct rm e and practice .

THE I D E A or TR A N SM UTA TIO N .

Although we a re now in touch with histo rica l

f a cts we ha ve not yet re a ched the time when testimon y
,

de rived f rom contempora ry documents is a va ila bl e .

We ha ve to trust t o inf er ences more o r less prob a ble

f r om sta tements f ound in l a te r records An d it is .

in this period o f semi obscurity th a t we have t o find

-

the rise o f the ide a o f tra nsmuta tion Ca n we .

succeed Certa in ly not by tra cin g an y series o f

Fo r de t ailed proo f s, see B ert helo t Les Or ig in es de lA l
chimie,
’

p an im , espe c ia l
ly pp 3 1 f
. f .
16 —
AL C HE MY ITS S C IE N CE A ND RO MA NCE

specific ha ppenings a s is so of ten possible in the cas e

,

o f scie n tific discoveries in mode rn times Still it is

. ,

possible to su rmise how men ca me to think tha t the

precious could be ma de f ro m the b a ser meta ls .

Ho w a bo ut those go ldsmiths a n d meta l wo rke rs -

i n Egypt They w o uld so o n Ob se rve tha t c e rta in

a llo ys o f me ta ls c o uld be comp o un ded which cl o se ly

resembl e d gol d a n d silv er No w wo uld they b e sl o w

.

i n putting t o use the ir kno wledge s o me legitima te ly

, ,

o the r s ill e gitima tely The dishon e st a rt ific ers wo ul d

.

get gre a t ga in f rom deb a sing the p recious meta l s a n d

f r om utter in g f a lse c o ina ge s being t hus the p recu rs o rs
,

o f the f ra udule nt a lchemists who flo u rished to the en d

o f the long history .

But a lchemy a s we ha ve seen a imed a t more tha n

, ,

p roducing a ll o ys tha t resembled go ld o r silve r ; it

l a bo ured f o r ge nuine tra nsmuta tio n How c a me it .

a b o ut tha t th e re a rose a n honest belie f in the possi

‘
b ilit y o f this p ro cess P A f ull a nswe r to the q uestio n
wo uld a nticipa te too much our study o f the th ree
—
conjoin ing f a ctors kn o wle dge o f te ch nica l proce sse s ,

G reek philosophy a n d Alexa ndria n mysticism But

, .

spe a king quite ge n e ra l l y m a y we n o t sa f e ly ima gine

,

tha t some thing o f this kin d ha ppen e d

Certa in workers in the ma king o f these a llo ys
we re re a lly puz z led by the re sults o f some o f th e i r
expe r iments With the imp erf ect me a n s o f a n a lysis
.

a t thei r comma n d they would a t times be de c eive d

,

into thinking tha t they ha d pe r ceptibly in cr ea s e d the

a mount o f the pr ecious meta l they wer e tr ea ting By .

wa y o f re inf or ceme nt o f a gr owing suspicion Of success ,

there would come to t he minds o f the mo r e le ar n ed o f

them the Gr eek doctr ines concer ning t he o n e substa nce
 MYTH A ND EARLY HI S TORY 17

o ut of which a ll others were suppo sed t o b e com

p o unded And f urther the r e would be a keen edge
. ,

put up o n their r esea rch by the he m o f a sur e a n d

e a sy wa y o f multiplying their wea lth Unde r t he .

swa y o f these c o n ve rging in flue n ces it is n o t d if ficult

,

t o se e ho w a c ra f tsma n might b e c o me a n a lche m ist .

Fo r whe n o n c e t he idea o f tra n smuta tio n ha d b e gun

t o ta ke defin ite sha pe it wo uld spee dily e sta blish
,

i t se lf with pe culia r strength The ma gn itude o f the

.

sta ke wo uld fire the ima gina tio n an d wo uld lea d t o

,

sp e cia lis e d c o n c e ntr a ti o n o f e ff o rt Alchemy would

.

thus be la unche d o n its extra ordina ry caree r .

E A R LY RE FE R E NCE S .

Suppo sin g the a bove sur mise to be some wher e

n e a r the ma rk we a sk whethe r there is an y e vide nce
, ,

dir e ct or indire t which wo uld len d it supp o rt

c
, .

Fo rtuna tely such do es exis t a n d is va lua ble tho ugh

, ,

al l t o o sca n ty . This mu c h is clear ly pro ve d tha t in ,

t he ear l iest centur ies o f o ur era ther e ha d co me into

b e ing a de finite cla ss o f Ope ra t ive chemists who ma de
it their business t o eff ect genuine tra n smuta tio n .

They we re not a lche m ists in the f ull sense o f the te rm ,

but were well on the wa y .

The a utho r ities f o r justif ying this sta tement a re

a t fir st a utho r s who ma ke mer e incide nta l a n d ma tte r

o f f a ct a llusion s t o an a ccepted be l
-
ie f in the possibility
o f tr a n smuta tio n .

The first bit o f testimony I sha ll a dduce is f rom

a n a uthor o f u n ce r ta in but very e a rly d a te ( fi rst
, ,

—
century ) Ma n ilius He w ro te a p o em e ntitled
.

A str on omica in which he did his be st t o em b elli sh

,
18 —
AL CHE MY ITS S C IE N CE AND RO MAN CE
the dull deta ils o f his astro lo gica l a n d a stro nomica l
the mes In the f ourth book he discou rses on t he
.

a ctio n o f fire He tells ho w fi re m a kes possible

.

the sea rch f o r hidde n meta ls a n d f o r buried r iches ,

the ca lcin ing o f veins o f minera ls an d the specia l a rt ,

o f do ublin g the ma te r i a l in the ca se o f a rticles ma de

”
of go ld a n d silve r In this p a ssa ge we h a v e
.

me ntion of the p ro ce ss o f do ubling the p reci o u s

meta ls b rought in with n o ide a o f a nece s sity f o r
,

e xpl a n a tion ; and ye t it O f course implie s t ra ns

muta tio n .

The second a llusion t o be quo ted is t o be f o und

in Pliny the Elder He reco r ds tha t the Empero r .

C a ligula greedy O f gold ordered a la rge a mount O f

, ,

o rpime n t ( a rse n ic sesqui sulphide — a yello w powde r )

to be ca lcin ed ; th a t the re sult wa s some e xce lle n t

go ld ; but tha t t he a mo unt o f it wa s so sma ll tha t it
did not repa y the cost in vo lve d 1 We m a y n ot be .
'

wa rra nted in ta king this t o me a n tra n smuta tion ;

but a t a n y ra te it does me a n a rtificia l manuf a ctu re .

Berthelo t thus comments o n the pa ss age The f a ct

in itself such a s Pliny re ports it is nothing e lse tha n
, ,

p roba ble f o r it seems tha t we ha ve here a n ope ra tio n

a na logous to cupell a tion ( re fining ) ha ving f o r en d ,

a n d r e sult the ext ra ctio n o f the gold co nta in e d in

certa in compounds O f sulphu r with metals dis t in ,

Q uidq uid in usus

Ig n is ag it . Sc rut a ri c wc a m e t a lla
et Opes , t e rr a q ue e xure re v en a s,

Q uidq uid c t arg en t o f a b rice t ur q uidq uid et a uro .

1
'
I v it e v i t S C a iu m i i m idi im u m u i u m
n e r
pec p r n c p e a v ss a r , q a o
b rem j ussit exc oq uI m ag n um a uripig m en t i n dus, e t pl an e f ec it
a urum e x ce l lens, sed it a pa rv i po n deris, ut et rim en t um sen t ire t

( B k. xx iii , c h iv ) . .
 MYTH A ND EARLY HI S TORY 19

u ishe d by their c o loiIr as possibly containing gold

g .

The extra ction o f pre existin g go ld o r the ma king o f

-
,

it o ut a n d o ut these a re t wo idea s quite distinct f o r

,

us but they were con f used in the minds o f a ncient

d l l him i
’
o pe ra tors ( L es Or ig ine s e A o e p , .

The t wo pa ss ages j ust quot ed a re not quit e ,

though nea rly f ree f rom suspicion The re is however

, .
, ,

n o do ubt c a st upon a te stimony which points to the

time o f Diocletia n ( 2 8 4 Suida s a Greek ,

lexico gra phe r ( 0 9 7 5 . tells us th a t this Empe ror

o r de red a llEgyptia n bo o k s o n the ma king o f gold a n d
silve r t o be burnt We a re thus ta ke n ba ck t o
.

p ra ctic a lly t he sa me time a s by Ma n ilius a n d Pliny

a time whi c h wa s n ote d f o r secre t a n d m a gic a l a rts

a n d w r itings Alc hemy wa s pl a inly o n it s wa y but

.
,

h a d n ot a tta in ed t o the dignity o f a n a rt o f tra ns

muta tio n .

THE PA PY R I OF LE Y D E N .

The o lde st a uthentic do cuments in existenc e

de a ling with this e a rly pha se Of the a rt a re c e rta in
g ro ups o f ma nuscr ipt s sto red in the lib ra rie s Of Le yden ,

Venice a n d Pa ris They a re not trea tises o n a lche my

, .
,

but ra the r g uide s to the technica l pra ctices o f the

chemistry o f their pe rio d The most a ncient Of them .

a re in the Leyden collection a n d on the sco re o f their,

historica l va lue a n d cha ra cteristic contents ca ll f o r a

b rief descriptio n a n d c ritica l notice .

According to Berthelo t the grea ter number o f ,

this c o lle ctio n a re Egyptia n da ting f ro m the third ,

c e ntu ry a n d so O f the s a me o r de r a s tho se de st ro yed

,

by o rder O f Dio cle tia n They were p ro b ably f o un d

.
20 AL CHE MY ITS
— S C IEN CE A ND R O MAN CE

to ge ther in the tomb o f s o me ma gicia n o f Thebes .

They conta in in intima te a sso cia tion ma gic a strology

, , , ,

the stu dy o f meta llic a llo ys dyeing a n d the virtues

, ,

o f pl a nts
. Here is a he a din g which di spla ys a singula r
c o mbina tion o f m a gic a n d gold c ra f t -
Ho w t o .

ma ke a ring tha t sha ll a c t a s a ta lisma n by gra ving ,

o n a j a spe r , set in the rin g the f orm o f a serpent

,

which bites its ta il the mo o n with two sta rs a n d the

, ,
”
sun a bove .

From the mo re specia lly a lchemic point o f view ,

we r ema rk a numb er o f receipts f o r working metal

a n d a llo ys a n d de sc r iptio n s o f metho ds o f imita tin g
,

a n d f a l sif yin g gold a n d silve r The re is f o r exa mple

. ,
,

a n expla na tion o f how a white colou r m a be given

y
t o certa in meta ls by the use o f a rsenic a n d ho w by ,

the a ddition o f ca dmia coppe r a cquire s the co lo u r o f

,

go ld All this is lea ding up to a belief in the p o ssibility

.

o f r e a l t ra n smuta tio n An d indeed we a ctua lly fin d

.
, ,

p a ra gra phs tre ating o f the multiplica tion o f go ld by

f o rming a lloys We re ca ll the do ubling a lluded
.

t o i n the cla ssic a l a uthor s p reviously quo te d The .

idea wa s evidently taking possession o f the nascent

a l c hemists .

THE MYSTI CA L FA CTO R .

These a ncient ma nuscripts a lso give us a glim pse

into the ma nner in whic h magic an d mysticism
—
ble n de d with p ra ctice a n d philosophy t he third
f a cto r conta ined in a lchemy p ro pe rly so c a lled So .

stro ng is the thauma turgica l ingredient tha t it points

t o Alexandria tha t grea t home o f m ystici sm a s the
, ,

a ctua l centre in which the Hermetic a rt ha d it s o rigin .

22 AL CHE MY ITS
— S CIENC E AND ROMA N C E
Ga rwus, tha t is f o un d wha t is s a id to be the ea rliest
mentio n o f a lchemic tra nsmuta tion Be this a s it .

m a y the wo rk is o f much b roa der hi storica l inte rest

,

a s a specime n o f its cla ss I t is wha t we shoul d

.

a n ticip a te f ro m a pe riod o f de ca de n ce Boerhaa ve . ,

in his History of C hemistry s a ys o f these writers tha t

“f rom this grea t l a z ines s a n d solita ry wa o f lif e
, ,

y ,

the y were le d into va in enthusia stica l specula tions t o

”
the grea t disservice a n d a dulte ra tio n o f the a rt .

Since it thus a ppea rs tha t the rise o f a lchemy wa s ,

ro ughly spea king contempora n eous with tha t o f

,

Ch ristia n ity it is na tura l to a sk wha t s o rt o f re la tio ns

,

we re ma inta in ed b e twe e n ecclesia stics a n d a dep t s .

The question will come up a ga in He re it will b e .

su f fi cie n t t o sa y tha t , whether f rom conviction o r

f ro m p rude ntia l motives a lchemists ma n a ged to
,

a dju st thems e lves t o the new re ligio us orde r a n d so ,

e sc a pe d o fli c ia l c o n d e mna tio n In a f ter da ys they

.

did n ot succeed so well tho ugh thei r a rt wa s n eve r

,

c o mple t ely b a nned .

At t he close o f this prepa ra tory period then we , ,

fin d th a t a lchemy ha d be co me extin ct in the Roma n

Empi r e Wa rs revo lutio ns inva sio ns c rushed it
.
, , ,

o ut . We n o w turn t o see ho w it wa s resuscita te d by

bein g a do pted into a n a lien civilis atio n .
 CHAPTER I I
A R A B IA N AL C HE MY
N the s e venth c e ntury Egypt wa s i nva ded by the
Ara bs a n d f o r a time it s a ff a irs we re thro wn into
,

di re c o nf usio n But whe n t he c o n que ro rs ha d

.

s ettled do wn they beg a n t o interest thems e lves in the

,

spe cula tions a rts a n d scie nc e s they ha d supp re sse d

, , .

The Alexa ndria n f o rm o f the He rm e tic a rt a mo ng ,

o th e rs wa s give n a n ew le a se o f lif e a n d a tt ra cted t o

, ,

itself ma ny devoted stude nts who were ve ry ge nui ne

chemists .

THE TE STIM O NY or WO R D S .

We o we t o this Ara bia n certa in wo rds which in

e ra

some c a ses a r e pu r e Ara bic ; in o the rs G reek wo r d s ,

p r eceded by the A r a bi c a r ticle a l Such a ,

re a
. l
c oho l ,

eliwir a l, embic a l udel The wo rd a lcohol f o r insta n ce

, .
, ,

is a lkohl— ko hl being a fin e bla ck powder used still

-

by O rienta l l a dies f o r da rkening eyebrows an d la shes .

The use o f the word wa s ext ended to va r ious powde rs

a n d liquids a n d wa s a t l a st a tta ched to the p a rticul a r
,

g r oup o f liquids n ow kn ow n a s the a lcoh o ls A s a n .

e xa mple o f a G r e ek word a do pte d we m a y ta k e

eliw ir . E l is o f c o u rse the A ra bic a rtic le the iwir

is sa id to b e the G reek merion me a n in g dry p owder ,
.

23 o
24 AL C HE MY ITS
— S CIE N CE A ND RO MAN CE

But it m a y be pure A ra bic iksir f ro m a roo t kasa ra

“
, , ,

me a n ing to grind .

The chief o f this gro up O f words is a lchemy itself .

It would seem to be in lin e with those a bove ; but

its o rigin is much disputed ; a n d a gla n ce a t the r iva l
deriva tio n s will be n o t o n ly inte restin g etymo lo gica lly ,

but will give us s o me va lua ble side lights on the -

histo ry o f t he a rt As wa s pointed out in the l a st

.

cha pte r o n e de riva tion would link it to She m o r

, ,

Che m a so n o f the p a tria rch Noa h If we substitute

, .

a no the r son Ha m , o r Ch a m t he c a se is by n o me a n s
, ,

d e spe ra te f o r the re is little doubt tha t t his wo rd is

the Egyptia n na me o f Egypt a n d we ha ve seen ho w ,

cl o sely thi s c o untry wa s c o nce rned in the f oundin g o f

a lchemy We n eed not then seek f o r a purely
.
, ,

Heb rew me a n ing a s those do who ref er it t o t he

,

Heb rew sha ma n a mystery It is s a f e r to f o llo w t he

, .

le a d o f Pluta rch who tells us in his trea tise Isis a n d

, ,

Osir is tha t in the s a c red dia lect o f Egypt the country

, ,

wa s c a lled Ch emla the s a me word a s th a t used f o r

,

t he b l a ck o f the eye The n a me wo uld thus b e

.

d e scriptive o f the bla ckn ess o f the soil The r e a re .

still some a utho rities who thin k tha t Pluta rch was
o n the right t ra ck An d strongly in his f a vou r is t he
.

f a c t th a t the a rts which p rovided the pra ctica l p a rt

o f a l c hemy we r e peculi a rly Egypti a n .

Othe r a uthorities howeve r a rgue tha t a lchemy

, ,

is o n e o f the te rm s resulting f rom prefix in g the Ara bic

a rticle to a G reek wor d The re is a Greek wo rd
. ,

chemic , which a ppea rs in the dec ree o f Diocletian ,

bef ore mentioned a ga inst the ma kers O f go ld a n d

,
”
silver. And a commenta tor o n Aristotle writing in ,

the f ourth ce ntury o f o ur e ra ca lls atte ntion t o va rious

,
 ARA BIAN ALCHE MY 25

V esse ls an d instruments used f o r f usion and calcina tio n

—
which were na med cha ika org ana tha t is a ppa ra tus ,

f o r meltin g a n d pou ring . It is t o this set o f te rms

th at ma n y wo uld ref er the substa ntive pa rt o f the
word a lchemy .

Pe rha ps the dispute is best s ettled by decl a ring

—
tha t both co ntention s a re so un d l a n d this n o t by ,

way o f conve n i ent ha rmon ising but o n gro un ds o f

,

histo rica l p roba bility The sugge stion thrown o ut

.

by Pluta rch would ma ke a lchemy me a n the Eg yp tia n

a rt. The G reek deriva tion would describe it s chief
p ro ce sses melting a n d pouring Ma y t here not ha ve
, .

been an ea rly c o n f usion o f the Egyptia n chemid with

the Greek cha meia It wo uld be reflected in the
—
diff e rence o f spe llin gs a lchemy an d the Rena is sa nce
,

al chymy conta in ed in o ur chemistry a n d chymistry .

B o th f orms would thus be d e f en sible though the ,

f ormer ha s the grea ter weight o f a uthority And we

.

should a lso h a ve a re f ere nce t o e a ch o f the two

c ountr ies which cont rib uted t o the f o undin g o f t h e

a rt — Egypt supplying the p ra ctica l pa rt a n d G reec e,

the specula tio n s o n t he na ture o f ma tter which

o ff ered a ra tion a l b a si s f o r the ide a o f t ra n smuta tio n .

The n the prefix in g o f the A ra bic a rticle testifies t o

,

the impo rta n ce o f the Ara bia n pha se O f its development .

In a n y c a se the a rt o f tra n smuta tio n so f a r a s we

, ,

know is first c a lled a lchemy in the sixth a n d seventh

,

centuries In its e a rlier stages it ha d n o specia l

.

”
na me but wa s known a s the s a cred a rt
,
t he,
”
Hermetic a rt , the divine science , an d othe r
designa tions o f a like kind ma ny o f which were
,

reta ined right through the history tho ugh , a lche m y

c ame t o the f ro nt .
20 —
AL CHE MY ITS SC I ENC E AND RO MANC E

D OC UME NTS .

So much f o r derivations Let us turn to consider

.

wha t f orm the art a ssumed in the ha nds o f the Ara bs .

The mass o f documents which cl a im t o be Ara bia n is

.

ve ry grea t But ina smuch a s in la ter time s man y

.
, ,

impudent f orgeries we re issued in the na mes o f

f a mous a de pts it is ma tter o f grea t dif fi culty t o sif t
,

the true f ro m the f a lse I sha ll keep to t he evidence

.

which is most gen era lly a ccepted a s t rustwo rthy ,

re lyin g spe cia lly o n t he r ese a rches a n d conclusion s o f

B e rthelo t in his splen did trea tises o n this subject .

The o ldest o f the documents a re three a scribe d t o

Ha lid ( 7 04 who wa s reputed t o ha ve ha d f o r
m a ste r a Sy r ia n mo nk to whom he dedic a ted a
t re a tise. The re seems t o be n o goo d gro un d f o r
do ubtin g t he t ra ditio n At an y ra te the depen den ce
.
,

o f A r a bia n a lchemy o n the G reek is cle a r as da ylight .

The Arabs however did not simply ta ke o ver thei r

, ,

ma terial without mo difica tio n Ma ny o f t he f a nta stic

.

f ea tures whic h B o e rhaa ve condemned so severely in

t he G reek a lche my w er e a ba n doned a n d the a rt was ,

ma in ly p ra ctised a s a mea n s t o hea ling This cha nge .

ca me a bout beca use the Ara bia n a depts were mo stly

physic ia ns who devoted themselves t o chemica l
me dicine s I t is curio us t o note tha t the fin a l pha se
.

o f the art with Pa ra celsus a s its pro phet was likewise

, ,

chiefly concerned with healin g The wheel ca me f ull

.

circle.

GE B E R .

The most f amous na me is t ha t Geber whose

of ,

lif e is a ssign ed to the en d of the eig hth c en tury .

 ARABIAN AL CHE MY 27

Little is kno wn a bo ut him But he was illustrious in .

h is own r ight and beca me still more so in the Middle

,

Ages when he wa s honou red by being ma de the subject

o f numer ous legen d s NO less than 200 works a re
.

a scribed t o him ! It c an be ea sily ima gined that in ,

his ca se the distinguishing O f genuin e a n d spurious

,

is extremely ha zardous Even those which bea r .

ma rks O f a uthenticity tho ugh f ree f rom ma ny of the

,

a bsurdities o f l a ter pe ri o ds a boun d in Obscure terms

,

a n d mo des o f expositio n It is amusing t o fin d

.

Dr Johnson deriving gibbe rish f ro m his na me

‘
. .

Ne e dless t o sa y he was wrong , The mere f a ct ho w

.
,

ever tha t such a n e rror wa s possible shows wha t

,

impressio n ha d been ma de o n the min ds o f tho se

h a r dy e nough t o explore those ta ngled disquisitions .

Recent c ritics with f uller an d better o pportunities f o r

,

understa ndin g wha t Geber wa nted to sa y put a high ,

estima te on the va lue o f his work .

The titles given t o these trea tises a re usua lly

symb o lic such a s The Book of R oya l
, ty The Litt l e Book ,

of P ity The B ook of B a l

, a nces The Book of C oncen ,

f ration The B ook of Orienta lM ercury

, They conta in .

ma tter which is s t rangely mixed a n d include f ormula s ,

an d receipts which embody wha t wa s known o f

chemistry a t tha t per iod Let us glance a t the contents
.

o f o n e O f thes e — The Book of R oya l ty .

The a uthor sets out a s u sua l with t he Muslim

, ,

f ormula In the na me o f God c o mp a ssiona te and

—
mercif ul a n d a sks f o r blessings on Ma homet and
his f amily He then proceeds
. The prese nt little
work is on e in which I ha ve specia lly in dica ted two
cla sses o f Opera tions The first is tha t in which
.

Gibb erish is reall

y a kin t o g a b b l
e a n d j a bb e r .
28 AL CHEMY ITS
— S C I E N CE A ND ROMA N CE

executio n is ra pid a n d e a sy f o r p rince s do not f eel

the mse lves dra wn to wa rds c o mplica ted o pe ra tio n s ,

n o t b e in g a bl e t o u n d e rta ke th e m The seco n d o r

.
,

inn er work is tha t which sa ges o nly execute f o r

,

pr inc e s Tha t is the re a son why I ha ve give n t o this

.

tre a tise the na me Book of R oya lty S e iz e firmly my .

,

b ro ther wha t I a m go ing t o expoun d in this work a n d

, ,

the thing will a pp e a r ea sy t o yo u if yo u a re a clea r

,

thinker I swe a r it by my ma ste r

. But f o r .

hea ve n s sa ke my dea r b rothe r do n ot let this

’
, ,

f a cility l e a d you t o divulge this p roceeding o r to sho w ,

it t o an y o f those a roun d yo u t o you r wif e o r yo u r

, ,

cherished child an d still less t o a n y other pe rso n

, .

My de a r bro ther if you do n o t heed this a dvice yo u

, ,
”
will repent o f it when repentance is t o o la te .

He quote s with a pproba tion t he s a ying o f the

a n cie n ts If we divulge this work the wo rld will ,

be co rrupted f o r gold would the n be ma de a s ea sily

”
a s gl a ss is ma de f o r the baz aa rs A n d yet he could
.
,

n o t ma ke it l A n eedless w a rn ing l

The ma in body o f the t re a t ise is o ccupied with

de sc ription s o f Ope ra tion s f o r c o nc o cting the Elixir o f
Elixirs the f erme nt Of f e rments which will tra n sf o rm
, ,

the e le ments a t the s a me time tha t it tra n sf o rm s

”
itse lf
. They a re seemingly simple but in rea lity , , ,

un in telligible The a utho r doe s ind e ed a llo w tha t

.
, ,

wh ile he ha s spo ken O f wha t he ca lls the ba la n ce o f

wa te r in pla in te rms he ha s wra ppe d up his in
,

st ru c t io n s a bout the b a la nce O f fire in terms

en igma tic a n d a little complica ted Illum ina ting .

is his c o n cluding pa ra gra ph . In a ll this dea r ,

b ro the r the f un da menta l p rinc iple is tha t t he

,

elements o f the la m ( the m t ra n smuting Esse n ce )

30 —
AL CHE MY ITS S C IEN CE AND RO MANCE

THE S PR E AD or A R A B I A N AL CHE M Y .

Once firmly esta blished in the Ea st a lc hemy wa s ,

ca rried into a llthe co untries a ff ected by the triumph

o f Ara b a rms . It wa s thus tha t in the eighth century
, ,

it re a ched Sp a in where it wa s e nthu sia stica lly

,

cultiva ted in those centres O f le arn ing which a re

de servedly so f a mous By the time o f t he Crusa de s
.
,

tha t is to sa y towa r ds the twelf th century it wa s

, ,

b eginning t o tra vel into o ther Euro pea n c o un trie s ,

a n d t o merge with t he g e n e ra l stre a m O f Weste r n

c ivilisa tio n . The ide a o f tra nsmuta tion thus a cquired

a n e w e nvi ro n me nt a n d to o k o n the compl e xio n o f
,

me diaeva l thought B e f o re pa ssin g t o the co nside ra

.

tio n o f this next pha s e o f t he a rt it is inte re stin g t o ,

no te tha t Isla mic a lc he my tho ugh moribun d is n o t, ,

e ve n ye t extin ct In Mo ro cco in Mecca an d o the r

.
, ,

pla ce s the re a re in dividua ls who che rish Old trea tise s

, ,

a n d j e a l o usly gu a r d them The hope tha t stirre d the i r

.

r e n o wned ancestors still burn s in th e ir brea sts .

They believe tha t the Philo so pher s Stone was rea lly ’

d iscovered an d tha t t h se cre t O f its pro duc tio n is

,
e

rec o r de d. Ah Wha t if t he ha r d f ormula s c o uld b e

i nte rp re ted ! Their Ge ber s bo a st w o uld be vin di’

c at ed — go ld wo uld b e ma de a s ea sily a s gl a ss is
m a de f o r thei r u n c ha nging b a z a a rs .
 C HA PTER III
M E D IE V A L A L C HE M Y

ROM Sp a in then a lc he my Sp re a d o ut th ro ugh

, ,

t he Weste rn na tio ns The p rocess o f exp a ns io n

.

wa s so ste a dy tha t by the time the Ara b r ule wa s

,

o ve r t hrown the f uture o f the a rt wa s s a f e By

, .

t h e fif te e nth cent ury it was cultiva ted through o ut

t h e whole o f Christendom a n d in the seve nte e nth ,

a tta in ed the a pogee O f its success The promin en ce .

it a tta ine d in the Middle Ages is ma n if est when we

r un th ro ugh a list o f the f a mous me n who believed in

, ,
—
it p ra ctised it a n d wro te a bout it such na mes a s
R a ymon d Lully Roger B a con Albe rtus Ma gnus
, , ,

Tho ma s Aquina s A S in t he c a se o f the precedin g

.

per iod the multitude o f Spur io us tre a tises ren ders it

,

e xceedingly dif ficult to di stingui sh f a ct f rom fictio n

a n d t o f o rm r elia ble histo r ic a l e stima tes But the re .

is this a dva nta ge o ve r t he e a rlie r sou rces tha t the ,

pseudo litera tu re nea rly a ll a ppe a red within the

-

limits o f the period it concerns a n d c a n thus be used ,

a s a t le a st reflecting the ide a s doctr in es a n d pra ctices

, ,

which cha ra cterised it A f a ir number Of a uthor ities

.

a re a bove suspicion By putting true a n d spurio us

.

to gethe r it is possible t o ga in a f ull a n d living picture

,

o f mediaeva l a lchemy The simpl e st way o f going

.

t o w o rk is t o study t he te a ching a n d a ctivities o f a

31
32 —
AL CHEMY ITS S C IE N CE AND R O M AN CE
—
f e w re p rese nta tive a depts n ot biogra phica lly , but
merely in so f ar as the y throw light on o ur pa rticula r
subj e ct .

GE R B E R T A ND M ICHAE L S CO TT .

The complete depe n de nce o f mediae va l a lche my o n

t he A ra bia n is ma n if e ste d by the f a ct tha t t he fi rst
We ste rn stude nts ga ined the ir knowledge in the
Spa n ish unive rsities An illustrious exa mple is f o un d
.

in Ge rb ert a f terwa rds Po pe Sylveste r II ( 9 9 9

,

As a young m an he a ttra cted the a tte ntio n o f B o re l

, ,

C o un t o f B a rcelo na an d went with him t o Spa in

, ,

whe r e he studie d scie nce a n d philo s o phy mo re ,

e speci a lly chemistry His a tta in me nts we re SO gre a t

.

tha t a f te r the ma nn e r o f the tim es he wa s re pute d

, ,

t o b e in le a gue with the devil It would seem th a t .

such a cha rge should ha ve put a n end to his cha n ce s

o f ecclesia stic a l p ro mo tio n He wa s howeve r ma de .
, ,

Abb o t o f Bobbio by Otto II beca me Archbisho p O f ,

Ra ve nna a n d then climbed into the Pa p a l cha ir

,

itself His ca reer thus n o t o nly p roves depe n de n ce

.

o n Sp a in but sho ws tha t a n a lchemist could a tta in t o

,

t he highest of fice He wa s the p recurs o r o f a l o ng

.

s e r ie s o f men o f no te who ho n o ured the a rt by b e ing

a de pt s . Perha ps it might b e more a ccura te t o ca ll
him a chemist tha n a n a lche mist but the disti nc tio n
is ha rdly worth dra wing a s the t wo cl a sses we r e in
,

tho s e da ys in sepa ra ble .

We descend 200 yea rs to come to Mich a el Sc o tt .

The Muslim influence wa s still gre a t ; f o r we find

tha t he studied Ara bic in Sicily an d spent ten ye a rs ,

i n Sp a in Frede rick I I beca me his p a tro n a n d it

.
,
 MED I E VAL AL C HE MY 88

wa s to this mo na rch tha t in 1209 he dedic a ted a

trea ti se D e S ecre
,tis He did much to b r in g t
. he a r t
into no tice but a pp a re ntly in do ubt f ul g uise Fo r
,. .

Fe rg usso n write s thus At To ledo he le a rn t m a gic

f o r whic h the city wa s f a mo us— na tura l ma gic o r
e xp e r im e nta l physics o r juggl e ry a s w e ll a s bl a c k ,

ma gic invo lving the invoc a tio n o f the in f e rna l

,

”
p o we rs There t o o he expe r imente d in a lc he my
.
, , .

Evide ntly the ma gic wa s much in evidence

AL B E R TUS MA GN US .

Con tempora ry with Micha el Sco tt wa s a m a n o f a

—
ve ry dif f ere nt type Albe rtus Ma gnus a n a lc hemist
,

in the b e st s e nse an d a lso o n e o f the most distin

,

u ishe d m e n o f his time He w a s a D o minic a n mo nk

g .
,

a n d b e ca me Bisho p o f R a ti sb o n Af ter th re e ye a rs .
,

h e re signe d his se e to devo te him self to his studies .

While cultiva ting ma ny bra nches o f le a rn ing he never ,

re l a xe d i n his e f f o rts to di scove r the Phil o sophe r s

’

Stone a n d t he Elixir He published a tre a tise his .

,

L ibell a s de A l chimia in which he ga ve Co pio us in ,

st ruc t io n s f o r t he pra ctice o f the a rt de sc r ib e d ,

a pp ara tus an d O pe ra tion s a n d ga ve a ccoun ts o f t he ,

o r igin an d ma in p ro perties o f the chem ic a l substa n ce s

kn own to him In Short he p roved h imsel f to be

.
, ,

u n de r the limita tio ns o f his da y a m a n O f genuine ,

scientific Spirit A b rief quo ta tio n f rom his L ibella s

reve a ls much I f oun d ma ny r ich scho la rs a b ts
.
, ,

supe rio rs c a n o ns physicia ns a n d un le a m e d f o lk

, , , ,

who in p ro secuting this art expe nded much time a n d

, ,

l a bour an d who ha d t o de sist f ro m la ck o f me a n s

, .

O f himself he s a ys I did n o t de sp a ir but expe n ded

, ,
34 —
AL CHE MY ITS S C IEN CE AND ROMAN CE

infinite la bour an d money Cle a rly the hold o f . ,

l s e ctions O f society was ve ry stro ng

a lchemy o n a l ,

an d the enthusiasm evoked was immense .

AQ UINAS .

The ren owned scho la stic Aquina s wa s a pupil o f , ,

Albertus a n d Sha re d in t he a lche m ic la b o urs o f his

,

ma ste r An a musing sto ry c o nce rn ing a living

.

sta tue the p a ir we re po pula rly supposed to h a ve

f a shi o n ed will b e to ld whe n we come to tre a t mo re
f ully O f t he ma gic min gled with the p ra ctice O f the
H e rmetic a rt I t is mentio ne d here o n ly a s proo f O f
.

the clo sene ss o f the c o lla bo ra tio n In the f a mou s .

Summa whe n discussin g a dulte ra tio n he determines

, ,

tha t gold a n d Silve r ma de by a lche m ists if it be true ,

meta l m a y b e so ld ; but if it ha ve n o t the na ture O f

,

the true meta l the tra nsa ctio n is f ra udulent Tha t

, .

is t o sa y he kn ows there is f ra ud b ut he a ls o
, ,

re c o gnises th a t there m a y be succes sf ul t ransmuta

tion He a lso decides tha t the a rt is n o t un la wf ul if

.

it b e co nfined to t he investiga tio n O f na tu ra l c a use s

an d e ff ects tho ugh some think it demon ia ca l
,

( Pt. ii 2 q
, u lxxvii a rt, He he.re ha s i n mi n
, d .

the distinction betwee n white n b la ck ma gic t he

a d —
distinction that a ppea red in Ferg uson s estima te o f ’

Micha el Scott .

v R O GE R BA C O N ( 1 2 1 4

Practica lly contempora ry with the l a st na m e d

wa s Roger B a con un do ubtedly o n e O f the g rea t eSt
,

men o ur na tio n ha s p roduce d His ra nge o f scientifi c .

 MEDI E V AL AL C HE MY 35

in quiries wa s wide ; but a lchemy was n ot the least

f a voured o f his subjects .He devo ted the third book
o f his C om en dium Phil oso hice t o the a rt n d it is
p p a ,

o n e of the e a rliest a uthe ntic ( some main ta in t he ,

e a r liest ) Eu ropea n works that tre a t Of it He .

fi r mly believed in the Philosopher s Stone and wa s

’
,

u n we a rie d i n his e f f orts t o discove r it He defines

.

Alchemy a s the scien ce o f t he ge ne ra tion o f things

W
HO
kinds o f substa nces c a n be built up out o f sim pler
E va rio us

o nes . This wo uld seem to be much the same a s o ur

m odern n o tio n . If dif f ers however in the use o f the
, ,

te rm ge nera tion
, which brings in the a nimistic
element so cha ra cte ristic o f a lc hemica l doctrine f rom
fi r st to la st The considera tion O f it is postpo ned t o
.

t h e cha pter de a ling with the a lchemist philosophy .

By the yea r 126 7 he ha d spe nt mo re than 2000 librae

o n secret boo ks an d in va rio us experiments Tha t .

h e wa s a true m a n o f science is pl a in f rom the va riety

a n d number o f his rema rka ble discoveries ‘ Ha d .

m ore o f the a depts been a nima ted by his spirit a n d ,

possessed his p o wer o f throwing O f f the sha ck les o f

tra dition mo de rn scie nce wo uld ha ve come mo re
,

Speedily to the birth . He wa s l e ss f ortuna te tha n

G e rb e rt a n d Albertus an d su f f ered much persecutio n
,

a n d imprisonment .How f a r his a lchemy wa s a

provoking c a use is ha rd t o say .

RA YM O ND L UL L Y ( 1235
Less p rominent on the science ro ll O f h o no ur but ,

higher o n tha t o f a lchemy c o me s the na me o f Ra ymond

,

See p 208 . .
36 AL CHE MY ITS
— S C IE N CE AND R O MAN CE

Lully His lif e wa s one exceptio na lly f ull o f roma nce

.

a n d a dve ntu re an d p rese n ted a

, most rema rka ble
combina tio n o f f ervour in religion a n d enthusia sm f o r
kn owledge It wa s n o t un til a f te r middle a g e tha t he
.

turned t o t he Hermetic a rt ; but whe n o n ce he ha d

ta ken it up he soon a cquired grea t f a me a s a n a dept
, ,

a n d a s a write r o n t he occult scie nc e s e a rn ed t he titl e

, ,

of D o cto r Illumina tus He a pplied himse lf with .

a r dou r to the study o f Ara bia n philos o phy chemist r y , ,

a n d medicine It a ppe a rs t o be certa in tha t he n o t

.

o n ly c o u n te n a nced a popul a r beli e f i n his p o wer t o

ma ke go ld but a ctua lly cla imed it It is s a id tha t
, .
,

i n respo n se to a n i nvita tio n f ro m Edwa rd I o r

Edwa rd II he ca me to Lon don where a p a rtme nt s
, ,

were a llo tted to him in the Towe r The sto ry g o es .

tha t he reple n ished the roya l cof f e rs by tra nsmuting

iro n lea d pewte r a n d quicksilve r into go ld
, , S o me .
,

ho weve r ma inta in tha t t he replenishing ca me through

,

his a dvising a t ax on wool

The evidence f o r the E nglish episode is disputa ble .

But there is a specific sta tement in his la st will which

defin itely p roves tha t a t the time whe n the docu ,
-n

ment wa s dra wn up he cl a imed to ha ve put to use ,

the gra n d secret He therein a sse rts tha t he ha d

.

converted n o less tha n pounds weight O f ba se

'

meta ls into gold ‘ This is very puz zling especia lly

.
,

a s he ha d con s iste n tly shown himsel f t o be f ree f rom

most o f the delusion s o f his da y I t ha s been suggested .

tha t in his Old ag e his menta l powers were wan in g ,

a n d th a t he dr e a mt himself into t he idea Willingly .

we accord him the benefit o f the do ubt .

I: u
c o n ve rt i un a vice in aurum ad L m ll
lia pon do urg en t i V iv i,
 38 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND RO MAN CE
Anyt hing less like t he description o f a n experiment
in a modern ma nua l o f chemistry it would be ha rd to
conceive l Figuie r rema rks tha t Arno ld himself seem
to ha ve n o high estima te o f t he va lue o f this expo si
tion Fo r when the pupil excla ims
. Ma ster I do , ,
”
not un dersta nd t he ma ster p rom ises to be more
,

cle a r a no the r time The interp reta tion would indeed

.

be ha rd t o fin d Certa in term s will ga in a me aning

.

when we come t o consider a lchemist phra seo lo gy ,

such a s the sun f o r go ld the moon f o r silve r a n d so

, ,

f o rth .But the ge n e ra l tenour a n d spirit o f t he

e xpositio n bel o n to n ther world than o ur s
g a o .

U NIVERSA L DIFFUSIO N .

It will n ow be a pp a rent how firm wa s the ho ld th a t

the a rt ha d got in Christe ndom a t la rge The c o n .

v ict io n ha d seized o n s o c ie ty th a t t he Phil o s o ph e r s

’

Sto ne wa s a known substa nce an d tha t its s ec re t,

might be discove red by a n y o n e The c o nta gio n o f .

e xa mple f a n ned these high ho pes to a fla me Rea s o n .

was compelled to pl a y a subsidia ry role ; emo tio n

blinded a n d led it ca ptive .

Its spell wa s o n a ll ra nks f rom the mona rch t o

,

the peasa nt . A Po pe hims elf John XXII wa s a n

,

a r den t a lchemist He wa s ca ref ul indeed t o pro

.
, ,

n ounce cen sures on bla ck ma gic but he ha d his o wn

l a bora to ry at Avignon where he co nducted experi
,

ments i n person He wa s s a id to ha ve lef t behind

.

—
him 25 million fiorin s a thing quite possible th o ugh ,

the sou rce o f the wea lth ha s to be s o ught elsewhe re

than in tra nsmutatio n ! No r wa s the highest roya l
 MEDIE VAL ALCHEMY
patrona ge lackin g The Empero r Rudolph I I f o r
.
,
”
exam ple ea rned the title o f the Hermes o f Germ any
, ,

f rom the f a me o f his labo ra tory a t Prague whe re ,

there was Open welcome f o r a ll a depts who ca red to

use it A lmost every court in Europe ha d its a lche
.

m ist to whom were a ccorded as ha s been said

, the , ,

privileges o f the court f ool o r the poet laurea

And a t the other end o f the socia l sca le many a ,

p ea sant s cotta ge ha d its smokin g f urna ce and its

’

m odest sto re o f stills a n d crucibles In the sixteenth .

c entu ry the a t becam

r e a lmost a re —
ligion s o ea rnes t
was the study devoted to it so intense t he f eeling it ,

s timula ted Indeed the knowledge o f t he secret

. , ,

m a ny decla red could only come by the gr ace o f Go d

,

-
b y a specia l inspira tion One a dept thus a ddre sses
.

t he Opera tor : No w thank Go d Who has gra n te d ,

o u s o ma ny f a vours as to le a d you r work to this

y
oint o f perf ection Pr a y t o Him to guide you a n d
p .
,

t o keep your p recipita tion f ro m bringing a bout the

”
l o ss o f a l a bour which has c o me to a sta te so perf ect .

Another a dept af ter an experime nt breaks f orth int o

, ,

a doxology lon g a n d f erve n t such a s might con c lude

, ,

a devotion al m anua l It is quite co mmo n in techn ica l

.
,

trea tises t o meet with injunctio n s tha t n o ope ra tio n

,

should be underta ken without pra yer f o r its success .

MED IE VAL C RITI CISM .

There wa s howeve r a no the r side to a llthis We

, , .

re membe r how Gebe r ha d conf essed t o gra ve do ubts

a bout the a ccomplishing o f tra nsmuta tion SO in .

,

t he Mediaeva l period there were s o me who were ,

D
40 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMA NCE
s uf ficient ly deta ched t o become critics o f the a rt .

—
One lin e Of c ritici sm was theo logical alluded t o as ,

we sa w by Aquin a s in his Summa The a tt empt t o

, .

tra nsmute it was urged is impious ; it presumes o n

, ,

the pre roga tives O f the Cre a tor Pa ra llel a rguments .

a re n o t unk nown in the present day a s in the ca s e o f ,

inquiry into Spiritua listic phenomena They a re .

ba sed on a perverted sense o f re verence A S Aqu in as .

decided so we t oo m a y rega rd all avenues to k no w

, , ,

ledge o f nature t o be open pro vided o f course tha t , , ,

no mora l principles a re t ran sg re ssed .

Another line o f criticism was sug g ested by the

en ormo us a mount o f kna very which a ccompa nied
a n d tain ted the developme n t o f the a r t We find it .

qua intly but strongly sta t ed in Chaucer s C a non s

, ,
’ ’

Y eoma n s Ta l
’
e We find it in Dante From the
.

a rch o f the tenth cha sm he sees a lchemists he ha d

kn own suff ering a mong Fa lsifiers o f eve ry sort He .

re ga rds them a s f a lsifie rs in things in distinctio n f rom ,

f a lsifiers in deeds a n d words Grif f o l

in o o f Arez z o
“
.

tells him tha t f o r the a lchemy I practised in t he

world Minos who m ay n o t err condem n ed me
, ,
”
, .

C a pocchio a Florentine laments

, so sh a lt thou se e
, ,

tha t I a m the sha dow Of Ca pocchio who f a lsified the

meta ls by alchemy And thou must reco llec t if I .
,

r ightly recognise thee ho w well I a ped na ture , .

Ada m o f Brescia is a ccused by S inon If I spoke

”
f a lse thou t oo di dst f a lsif y the coin
, The poet in .

these passa ges spea ks o f def ra uders o f whom he ha d

a ctua l knowledge a n d who misused the a rt
, He .

does not imply however that t he a rt itself was

, ,

spurious It is even a rg ued by some that the phra se

.
,

t Dan t e, Inf erno, Can to xxix. 118 139 ; xx

-
, 115 .
 MED IE VAL ALCHEMY 41

Ho w well I a pe d na ture im plies it s impie ty ra the r

,

tha n it s misuse ; but the whole context nega tives

such a n in terp reta tion .

A third line o f criticism was more leg itim a te tha n

the first an d more f undam ental than the second It
, .

m a y be ca lled scientific It questio ned the possibility

.

o f transmuta tion No t many ventured t o a dva nce

.

it in the times when tradition held a swa y so imperious

still it m a de it s a ppe arance here and there Fo r .

e xa mple , Pete r the Good O f Lo mb a rdy a physicia n , ,

in 1330 wrote a tr eatise o n Chem istry M a rg arita —

p r eciosa ( a n a me f o r the Stone ) in which he used ,

schola stic a rguments to disp rove the a lchemist

a ssumptio n . Here is o n e o f his syllo gism s ‘ NO .

substa nce ca n be tra nsf ormed into a no ther kind unless

it be first reduced t o its elemen ts No w a lchemy do es .

not pro ceed thus Theref ore it is an ima gin a ry

.

”
science . Aga in , Na tu ra l gold and silver a re not
”
the sa me as a rtificia l gold a n d silve r Theref ore etc .
, .

This criticism is de p rived o f much o f its weight ( such

a s it is ) whe n we find it s a uthor a sserting tha t he can

with equa l ea se prove tha t alchemy is a soun d science

St ill it raised the issue
, .

PERSE C UTI O N .

There was a lso a p ra ctica l side t o the eff ects

produced by consta nt f a ilures Kings a n d r ulers .

who p a tronised a lchem ists l o o ked f o r ta ngible results .

How f a red it then with a depts who disa ppo inted

, ,

them Some sa ved themselves by pla usible ex

l n tion 8— some by flight N ot a f e w suff e red
p a a .

b y Fig c himic, p 8 7
L Al
’
Q uo t ed uie r , . .
 42 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
seve re pun ishme nts o r perished by untow a r d f a tes
, .

Ho n est prof essors who f a ile d ca me o f f n o bette r tha n

—
deceivers a n d rogues it wa s the f a ct o f f a ilu re tha t
re a lly ma tte red It wa s thus t ha t a f ema le a de pt ,

Ma rie Z ig le rin wa s bu rnt by Duk e Julius o f B run s

,

wick in 15 7 5 D avid B en t her killed himself t o a vo id

.

the a nge r o f the Elector Augustus o f S a xo ny .

B ra g a din o wa s ha nged a t Mun ich in 15 9 0 by the

Elector o f B a va ria Willia m de K ro hn em an n wa s
.

b a n g e d by the Ma rgra ve o f Beyreut h who with gr im

, ,

iro ny ha d this insc ription posted o n his gibbet :

,

f
f
'
‘
f I o n ce kn ew ho w t o fix m ercury and n o w I a m
,
”
myself fixed . Some were invited t o c o urts a n d ,

the n imprisoned until they f ulfilled their p romises .

The device became so comm o n that wise a lchemists

l ea rnt t o a void eve n the most fla ttering invita tio n s .

Thus stra ngely we re intermin gled tragedy a n d c o me dy

— na 1ve f ana ticism an d gross f ra ud . Mediaeva l
a lchemy wa s in har mo ny with the spirit o f its time .
 CHAPTER IV
D EC A D EN C E
ITH t he p a ssa ge o f ye a rs a lchemy multiplie d ,

its a ims its do ctrines an d it s Ope ra tio n s

, , .

Ha d it bee n a genuine scienc e increa s ing co mplexity ,

would ha ve bee n a ll t o the good It wo uld ha ve .

pr ovided ma teria ls f o r f urther a dvance But it wa s .

essentia lly chimeric —

a l ; its a vowed Object s we re

W W IIoe came a p a rti ng o f t he wa ys

'

—
W one H and m e n Of c a re f ul s ob er th oug ht
'

T ,

sif ted out the true f rom the f a lse m ade it the sta rtin g ,

p o int f o r f urther experime nts a n d la id the f o unda tio n

,

o f a rea l s c ience o f che m istry O n the o ther ha n d .

,

less b a la nced minds visio na rie s an d qua cks a ba ndo ne d

,

t o eve r wilde f ab sur ditie s a n d w a n de re d

" ' '

i -
,
~
f urt h e r a nd f urt h e r a wa y f ro m t he wo rld O f f a cts
'

A S a co nseque nce the a rt wa s o ve rwhelmed with a

,

burden o f monstrosities too he a vy f or even the

f oolishly c redulous t o be a r An d thus the a cme .

of the popul a rity o f the a rt was f o ll o wed by a pe riod

o f dec a de nce which e n ded i n a to t a l disc re diting O f

it s cla ims .

This pe riod of deca dence la sted until well in to the

e ighte e nth ce ntury a n d in its l a te r s t a ges wa s con tem
,

o ra ry with tha t ge n e ra l a dv a nce in kn owledge o f

p
n a ture which ushe red in t h e tr iumphs o f mode m

43
44 ALCHEMY— ITS SC IENC E A ND ROMANC E
scie nce Ste a dy lights we re coming into view which
.

guided ea rnest stude nts out o f the qua gm ires o f

f a nta sy a n d rescued them f rom the irresponsibl e
p ra nks o f will O the wisps -
’
- -
.

ME D I C A L AL C HEM Y .

Pe rha p s t he most cha ra cte ristic f e a ture o f the

de ca dent period wa s the extension o f the p o wers
'

a t tr ibuted t o the Phil o s o phe r s Sto n e Hithe rto ’

.

t he ma in tho ugh n ot the only Object ha d bee n t he

, ,

tra nsmuta tion O f meta ls Attentio n is n o w fixe d .

ra the r o n the medica l mora l a n d even spiritu a l

, ,

virtues o f the wo n de r wo rker Alchemists beca me -

.

p ro f essed he a le rs o f b o dily a n d me nta l sick ness o r

disea se The new develo pment wa s b a sed on the
.

ide a tha t vi t a l p rocesses were chemica l in thei r na ture .

If a nything we nt wro ng then with a living orga nism, , ,

the re wa s need o f a chemica l remedy No t tha t the .

ho pe O f tra nsmuta tion wa s a ba n don ed With the .

mo re s o ber min ded a lc hemists it rema in ed the o n e

-

grea t a im ; a n d even with the visio na ries a n d rea c

t io n a rie s it wa s me rely subo rdin a te d to the ga in in g
,

o f he a lth p r o lo nge d lif e a n d ha m e ss by a lchemic a l

, pp , ,

me a ns C o ncurre nt wit h gro wth o f the n ew te ndency

.

there wa s a sta rtling incre a se o f nebulous mysticism ,

sup e rstition a n d tr ick ery

, .

Whe n once the ide a o f chem ica l remedies ha d ta ken

r o ot it na tura lly led to the ma kin g o f ma ny e X eri
, p
me nts I t is f ea rf ul to c o nte mpla te wha t poor morta ls
.

ha d to su f f e r a t the h a nd s o f p ra ctitio n e r a de pts !

We ha d a very f a int reflection o f it in f a irly recen t
da yS whe n drugs we r e f a shio n a bl e a n d p a tients were
, ,
46 AL CHE MY -
ITS SC IENCE A ND ROMANC E
wa s s a id to ha ve cured thir teen p rinces whose c a ses
ha d been decla re d hopeless His f a me ra pidly .

i ncrea sed a n d in 15 26 he wa s a ppo inted p rof essor o f

,

Medicine a n d Na tura l Philo so phy a t Ba sle At t he .

e n d o f t wo ye a rs he wa s e je c te d o n a cha rge o f q ua ck
ery . He led a lif e o f unbridled intempera nce beca me ,

a hopeless so t too k a ga in to tra ve lling a n d died a t

, ,

the a g e o f f orty eight in a c o ndition O f a bject

-

pove rty .

His gla ring f a ults an d wea knesses his va nity an d ,

e f f r o n t e ry his i nte mpe ra nce a n d qua cke ry ha ve led

, ,

ma ny to con dem n him a s a worthless cha rla ta n .

Pe rcha nce he wa s n ot so b a d a s he wa s pa inted ; f o r

he ha d t he ha r dihood t o a tta ck with unspa r i ng
veheme nce the medica l tra ditio ns o f the t h e ; a n d
we m a y be sure t ha t his reput a tion would n o t ga in
by venturing on such a course 1 Still there ca n b e ,

little do ubt tha t he ga ve the enemy a mple ca use t o

bla sphe me An d yet L a va ter decl a red him to b e
.

”
a p ro digio us ge n ius The En cyclopaedia B ritan n ica
.

c a lls him the pio nee r o f modern chemists a n d t he

”
p ro phe t o f a revo lution in scie nce B rown in g .

c h o o ses him t o be the subject o f o n e o f his mo st

a mbitio us poems n o t exten u a ting a ught but recog

, ,

n isin g in him el e m e nts o f a n o ble stra i n a n d o f t ru e

gre a tness It is a ssu redly necessa ry tha t a m a n who

.

c a n give g ro u n ds f o r such enco m iums sho uld be cle a red

o f the p re judiced a n d supe rfici a l judgme nt s which

ha ve so l o ng o b scu re d his exceptio na l gif ts a n d s o lid

“
me rits .

Ta ke a s a n exa mple o f misundersta n din g or mis ,

representing a p ra ctice a dopted by Pa ra celsus It is

, .

recorded o f him tha t he ha d a jewel in which he kept

 DECADENCE 47

impriso ned a spir it who wa s a t his com ma nd In .

so me o f the Old portra its he is rep resented with this

j e wel in his ha nd a n d o n it inscribed the wo rd

,

Az o th the na me he ga ve t o it Now a s Browning

,
.
,

re ma rks i n t he n o tes a t the end o f his poe m this ,

—
A z o th wa s simply la uda n um m um o n e O f his most
n o ta ble disco verie s It is possible n a y p roba ble
.
, , ,

tha t b e f o ste re d the popula r delusions concerning the

—
na ture a n d po we rs o f his potent drug but the f ac t
rem a in s tha t he knew it a n d used it Who Sha ll
.

e stima te wha t it ha s a ccompli she d a s a remedy a n d

as a n a llevia to r o f huma n suff ering

AS t o his pe rs o na l ch a ra cte r there a r e a t lea st t wo
,

t ra its which sta nd t o his c redit He must ha ve b e en

.

lo ved a n d respe cte d by his pupils Fo r they ca ll

.

”
h im their no bl e a n d bel o ved mona rch the German
,

Hermes a n d o ur de a r Preceptor a n d King O f

,
”

”
Arts . And his epita ph records o f him tha t he wa s
g ene r o us t o the p o o
. r F r om a nother source we find
t ha t he Of ten dispensed medicines a n d ga ve pe rsona l
a tte n d a n ce f re e o f cha rge t o tho se who could n o t a ff o r d

t o pa y him .

The works tha t ca n be critica lly a ttributed t o him

a re f ull O f tu rgid in c o he re n t w riting
, The obscuritie s
.

n ecess a rily in cide n t t o desc ribing n o n exi stent sub -

s t a n ces a n d ima gin a ry p o wers we re in his c a se ex a

g
g e ra ted by the infla med co ndition o f his b ra in But .

o n e thing is certa in He is in rebellion a ga inst

.

the medica l system o f the scho o l o f Ga len He is .

—
unspa ring in his dia tribes his l a ngua ge is unrestra ined
i n its vigo ur And a ltho ugh we m a y be repelled
.

by his coa rseness a n d self a ssertio n we must a llo w

-
,

t ha t he in itia ted a g re a t re f o rm He burst through

.
48 ALCHEMY— ITS SC IE NCE AND ROMANCE
“

the f ette rs with which the centuries o f tra ditio n ha d

stra ngled p rogress in chemistry a n d me dicin e His .

a lchemy even wa s o f a n ew type

, , He ma inta in ed
.

tha t it Should a im n o t so much a t the ma king O f

,

go ld as a t t he f urthe ring o f hea ling a n d the a rts

,

a n d he wa s eve r re a dy t o ma ke di rect a ppea l t o na tu r e

in pla c e o f sea rching f o r a uthorities in the works O f

those who ha d written a bo ut na tu re with but sma ll
kno wledge o f her wa ys .

Vio l ent a s wa s his rebellion a ga inst the received

systems he c o uld n o t o f c o u rse rid himself complete ly
, , ,

Of their influence Indeed in ma ny respects b e

.
,

strengthened p reva iling supe rstitio ns a n d sta rted ,

f resh o nes Ho w de eply he e rred in such ma tte rs is

.

evidenced by the f a ct tha t the Ro sicrucia ns cla imed

him a s on e o f their grea te st f o un ders Eve n his .

medica l chemistry is a dultera ted with o ld a n d n ew

a bsu rdities Fo r insta nce he c o nn e cts pota ble gold
.
,

with the Elixir o f Lif e He held tha t ossifica tion o f

.

the hea rt a n d a ll ma nn e r o f dise a ses could thus be

cured p rovided tha t the go ld ha d been obta ined by
,

tra nsmuta tion He is here lea ning o n certa in a stro

.

l o gic a l a na l o gies derived f rom the pa st a n d f rom t he ,

s a me s o urce he borrowed his idea tha t medicines sho uld

be a dmin istered a t pa rticula r conjunctions O f the
pla nets .

One o f his doctrines will be judged by most t o be

biz a rre He ta ught tha t in the stoma ch O f every
.

human being there dwells a spirit who is a s o rt o f

a lche m ist mixing in due pro po rt ion s the va rio us
,

f o ods th a t a re b ro ught together in tha t livin g l a b o r

a t o ry . Is this rea lly so f a r removed f ro m the te a ching
‘
o f ma ny mode rn a utho rities I D riesch f o r exa mple , ,
 DECADE NCE 49

ha s his entelechy t he un known un if ying ag ent in

,

a n organism which g uides a n d contro l s t he physical

a n d c hem ica l p roce s se s tha t buil d a n d sust a in it s

lif e
. Perha ps in this c ase a lso Pa racelsus was a
p rophet !
At a n y ra te Paracelsus c ho se t he nobler Side Of
a lchemy — medicine It was also t he more dif fic ult
. .

B a con ha s a judicious co m ment o n this subj ect .

Ma n s body ( he write s) is o f a llthings in n ature m o st

’

su sce ptibl e o f re medy ; b ut then that remedy is most

susceptibl e Of erro r Fo r t he sa m e subtlety an d variety

.

O f the subje c t a s it supplies a bundant means Of hea ling

, ,

s o it involves great f a cility O f f a ili ng An d theref ore .

a s this a rt ( especial ly a s we now ha ve it) must be

re ck o ned a s o n e o f t he most c o njectura l so the inquir y ,

O f it must be a ccounte d o n e o f the mos t exa ct a n d

”
d if ficult It was in this exa ctn ess t hat Pa ra celsu s
.

f a iled He was rash hea dstro ng prone t o f ancies a n d

.
, ,

m yst ica l f ollies Hence it is tha t Bacon repudia tes

.

h im . No t t hat I Sha re ( he pr oceeds ) the idle notio n

o f Pa racelsus a n d the a lchemists tha t the re a re t o be ,
’
f ound in ma n s body certa in correspondences a n d
p a ra llels which h a ve re spect to a l l the species ( a s

stars p,l a net s m ine rals ) which a re extant in the

,

un ive rse f oo lishly a n d stupidly mis a pplying the

a ncie nt emblem ( tha t man wa s a m icrocosm or epito me
”
o f the world) to the suppo r t o f this f a ncy o f thei rs .

B a con is right Nevertheless even errors such a s

.

t hese ha d their sha re in brin ging in a better system ,

beca use they served to brea k down the pre stige o f

tra ditio n .

An other a spect of Pa ra celsia n hea ling ha s an oddly

D e A ug men t ia Scien t ia m m , ch a p . ii
.
50 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
mo dern look It a nticipa tes Christian Science by
.
,

empha sising the powe r o f mind on body Fa scina .

tio n ( says B a c o n ) is the po wer and a ct o f im agina tion

upon the b o dy o f ano the r ; where in the scho o l o f
Pa ra celsus a n d the disciples o f preten ded na tural
ma gic ha ve been so in tempera te that they ha ve ,

exa lted the power o f the imagin ation t o be much o n e

with the power o f mira cle working f a ith -
” ‘l‘ Pa ra .

celsus wrote a specia l tra ct upon this subject D e V i ,

im ag inat ive: a n d me ntions it in ma ny other pa rts

o f his w r itin gs .Here a ls o he was a pro phet 1

Once a ga in he a nticipated organic c hem istry
, .

B a con mention s to co ndemn his n otion t ha

, , in
b re a d an d mea t lie eye nose b ra in liver ; a n d
, , ,

tha t Archaeus the interna l a rtist educes o ut o f

, ,

f o od by sepa ra ti o n a n d rejection the severa l members

”
a n d p a rts o f o ur body is a f ter
T He
. r e P a ra celsu s
al l ne a re r t o the truth tha n his c r itic Fo r it is n o w .

esta blished tha t the nitrogenised c omponents o f

a nima l b o dies a re de rived f rom the c o rrespo n ding

ele ments o f their f o od The re is sepa ra tion an d a lso

.

t ra nsf orma tion o f the m a teria ls It is rema rka ble .

at how many points this irrespon sible Specula tor

to uches o n modern disco veries He was ver ily a .

gen ius How tra gica lly his powers were wa sted l
.

S U CCE SSO RS or PAR A C ELSUS .

So much f o r the grea t ma ste r Wha t o f his disciples

.

a n d success o rs Hea lthy develo pment wa s slow an d

D c A ug men tis Scim tia m m , chap iii
. .

1
'
N ovum Org a non , 2u d o o k B Of A pho rism , viii.
xl
 DECADE NCE 51

l a borious The store o f physica l a n d chemica l know

.

le dge wa s still t o o scanty t o en able even stro ng a n d

stea dy thinkers t o avoid en ta ngl ing errors The .

unbala nce d m inds seized on a l l the worst elements

in the n ew doctrine exa ggera ted them and gloried , ,

in a bsurdities For exa mple Pa ra celsus ta ught as

.
, ,

we just n o w sa w tha t digestive pro cesses were a ecom

,

li sh e d by a subtle a lchemy — th a t they wer vit l

p e a

t ran smuta tions Certain o f his f o llowers impro ved

.

o n this . They held tha t everything— meta ls an d

m ateria l substa nces o f all kinds a s well as anima ls a n d ,

—
m en digests e a ts drinks a ssimila tes rejects
, , , Or , .

a ga in the maste r ha d ta ught tha t a spirit presides

,

o ver these digestive p roc esse s His f ollowers impro ved .

o n this ide a a lso They multiplied the spirits un til

.

t hey ha d c o rresponded in numbe r with a l lthe ma nif o ld

workings o f na ture Sylphs inha bit the a ir nymphs
.
,

t he wa te r pigmies the ea rth s a la ma nde rs the fire

, , .

In medicine ra shly resp o ndin g t o a ra shly given le a d

, ,

t hey wro ught untold ha rm by employin g without ,

sk ill o r kn owledge strong meta llic p o iso ns And

, .
,

like their master they provo ked by their irratio na l

,

zeal re a ctions that serio usly reta rded much n eeded -

r e f orms
. Nevertheless they were brea king up the
c a ke o f custo m a n d tra dition In this stra ngely .

m ix ed world even f anatics ha ve their f unction

, It .

is sometimes wise t o suff er f ools gl a dly— within

In cheering contra st wa s the progressive wo rk o f

c alm a n d a cute intellects who ca rried o n i nquiries

into the scientific va lue o f the new tea ching It wa s .

t hese wise r disciples who ha ve secured f o r Pa ra cel sus

those striking encomiums f o r they seized upon a n d
52 —
AL CHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE

devel o ped what was best in him It was thus th a t .

the r e ca me t he f a te f ul p a rting o f the ways The ve ry .

length t o which the visio na ries went ha d a ste a dying

ef f ect o n those who were n o t carrie d awa y by their
m ysticism and occult specula tions .

THE R O SI CR UC IANS .

A f a mous romantic an d a ltogether extra ordina ry

, ,

develo pment o f the irresp o nsible alchemy wa s tha t

kno wn a s the secret b ro therhood of the Rosicrucian s .

This society contrived to surround itself with so much

myste ry that popula r ima gina tion ha d f re e sco pe in
guessing at wha t it wa s an d wha t it was a ble t o do
, .

As a consequence ext ra va gant stories g o t a floa t ; a n d

the excitem ent they cause d wa s a rtf ully f oste red a n d
m a intained by the issue o f books purporting t o co me
f ro m a uthorised m embers o f the f raternity a s a lso ,

by dra matic advert ising Of their powers and their

It is n oteven cer tain that such a societ y existed

'

a t al l; f or it ha d not any known meeting pl a ce n o r -

,

wa s there a recogn i se d ro ll o f members hip tho ugh ,

va rio us individua ls prof essed more o r less defin ite

a dhe sion t o its p ro f essed principles At a n y ra te
.
,

those who re p resented it by their publica tions repudi

a ted a n y other deriva tion O f its n a me th a n tha t which
,

r e f e rred it b a ck t o the r eputed f ounde r R o sen k reut z

, .

This m a n ce rta in ly ha d a c areer which fitted him t o

pla y the rOle a ssigned t o him Born in 137 8 educa te d
.
,

in a monast ery he f ell into the ha nds o f cer ta in

, ,

m a gicia ns when he was but sixteen ye a r s o ld wa s ,

in itiat e d f o r five yea rs in to their se crets tra velled in ,

54 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROM ANCE
o ur c o llege ma ke our a bode visible a n d i nvisible
, ,

in t his city ea ch witho ut books o r notes a n d .

spea k the lang uage o f the country wherever we a re ,

to dra w men like ourselves f rom the error o f dea t

, ,

The wor d invisible re f ers to the f a ct a lrea dy

mentioned tha t the Societ y ha d no settled centre

, ,

n o r visible governme nt ; a n d its members wer e

supposed to have the gif t o f being unseen a n d un
—
kno wn thereby in n o sma ll mea su re inc re a sing the
excitement when they p roc la imed tha t they we re
a bout t o visit any city .

This late develo pmen t o f the Hermetic a rt so ught

t o give p restige t o its f a nta stic doctrines by a ssignin g
a s a uthorities spurio us t r ea tises a ttributed t o Herme s ,

Aristotle and other o f the a ncients a s well a s tho s e

, ,

a ttribute d to Albertus Ma gnus Para celsus a n d o the r

, ,

modem s Gradua lly the na me Rosicrucia n ca me t o

.

be used genera lly f o r a n y kind o f occu lt p retensio n .

The Stone continued t o be the g rea t centre o f m yste ry .

It w a s supposed t o giv e c o mmand over elementa l

Spirits ena ble me n t o de f y limita tions o f spa ce time
, , ,

a n d ma tter a f f or d in tima te knowledge o f the a rca na

,

o f the universe Thi s f a rrago o f nonsense was ex

.

pressed through a we lte r o f symbols a n d m etaphors

re d bridegrooms a n d lily b r ides g reen dra go ns a n d ,

r uby lions roya l b a ths a n d wa ters o f l if e

, At la st such .

extra va gances oversho t the ma rk and sea led the f a te , ,

not only of the B ro the rhoo d but o f the a rt A lltha t

, .

o n e can sa y is tha t the sylphs pigmies gn omes , , ,

sa la ma nders an d the rest ousted the cruel demo no lo gy

, ,

o f t he Middle Ages
— in cubi succubi demons a n d
, , ,

o th e r ho rro rs th a t ha d te rr ified Christe n d o m— an d

SO f a r ma de the world a ha ppie r pl a ce t o live in .

 DECADE NCE 55

Addison ha s a cha rming Ess a y o n Content

”
m ent . He opens it by tell ing us he wa s once
en ga ged in discourse with a Ro sicrucia n a bout the
gre a t secret As this kin d o f men ( I mea n th o se o f
.

them who a re n o t prof essed chea ts ) a re ove r run with -

en thusia sm a n d philoso phy it wa s ve ry a musing t o ,

he a r this religio us a de pt desca nting up o n his p reten ded

”
discovery Then f o llo ws a n a ccount which is much
.

t o o u r p resent purpose beca use it su m m a rises the

,

le a ding idea s o f the S o ciety He ta lked o f the Sec ret

.

a s o f a Spi rit which lived within a n eme ra ld a n d ,

conve rte d eve rythin g tha t wa s ne a r it to the highe st

perf ection tha t it wa s ca p a ble o f It gives a lustre .
,
’

s a ys he to the sun an d wa ter t o the dia mo nd

, , .

It i rradia tes eve ry meta l a n d enriches lea d with a ll

,

the properties o f go ld It heighten s smoke int o .

fla me a n d light into glory

, He f urther a dded .
’
,

tha t a Single ra y o f it dis sip a te s pa in a n d ca re a n d

m ela n cho ly f rom t he pe rs o n o n who m it f a lls In .

s hort , s a ys he
’
its p resence na tu ra lly cha nges
,
’
every pla ce in to a kind o f hea ven Af ter he ha d .

go n e on f o r s o me time i n this un intelligible c a nt I ,

f ound tha t he jumbled n a tu ra l a n d mora l idea s to gethe r

into the s a me discourse a n d tha t his grea t secret wa s
,
”
n othing else but conte n t .

THE C H IEF C A USE OF D E C AD E NC E .

Addison hits o n the gra ve st f a ult o f a lchemy ,

t Iie j nib l
u é Of na tu a
r la n d m o r a l ide a s — Or in m or e
’

g en era l sta tement the conf usio n o f o bjective f a cts an d

,

NO 5 7 4 , Ju ly 3ot h , 17 14
. .
 56 —
AL CHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE

sub ect ixt e m

j t ion s,
This f a ult was f ro m t he fi rst a
ma rked cha ra cteristic o f a lchemy but c ame t o a hea d
in this closin g period o f its long care er Adepts .

re a d themselves into their exp erim e n ts instea d o f

,

p a tiently Observing wha t na ture ha d t o tea ch them .

No true scie n ce could develop so long a s resea rch wa s

conducted o n so f a tuous a method And when true
.

scie n ce did a t lengt h lif t up its hea d subj ective

,

a lchemy wa s do o med The hope o f tra nsmuta tio n

.

did n o t ho weve r disa ppea r It su rvived the a rt

, , .

which ha d f o stere d it a n d enga ged the minds o f such

,

—
men a s Ashm ole a n d Newton but only by wa y o f
s o ber experiment Indeed it is even yet to b e
.
,

r eck o n ed a mong those which m a y e nga ge the highest

a ctivities o f the science O f the f utu re .

 CHAPTER V
TRANSITI O N TO SC I N CE E
HE old a lchemy a n d the new chemistry— ho w
grea t t he g a p between them ! They seem t o
b elon g t o dif f e rent worlds True And yet t he
. .

in cidents trea ted o f in the la st c ha pter will ha ve

ep a re d u s t o re cogn ise tha t wide a s is the dif f e re nc e
p r , ,

t her e wa s nevertheless continuity This continuit y

.

wa s not tha t which cha racteri se s the g ro wth o f a n

individua l plant as Thorp e O bserves unbroken in
, ,

e very detail; but rather tha t which link s pa rent a n d

c hil —
d a li ving bond but an independent existence
, .

If we trac e the steps b y which t he cha n ge has come

a bout we sha l l find tha t the new science did n o t cut
itself o f f a t a stroke a n y mo re tha n a child is stra ight
,

way self suf ficien t

-
. The centra l idea o f tran smuta tio n
lo ng reta ined its hold a n d only yielded t o the gro wing
,

ress u re o f f act s slowly but su rely accumul a ted by

p
ca re f ul e xperiment .

It would b e artifi cia l t o a ssign a d ate f o r t he

b e gin ning o f the tra nsition period It ra n its co urse
.

co nc urren tly with t he de ca dence o f a lchemy a n d wa s ,

well o n its wa y in t he m iddle o f the sevente enth

c entury . Its cl o se m ay be put a t the beginn in g o f the
nin eteenth century when a lchem y wa s fin a lly dis
,

c r edited a n d modern chemistry set o n a fi r m f ooti n g .

57
58 AL CHEMY— ITS SC IENCE A ND ROMANCE
The essen tia l dif f erence between the Old a n d the new
m a y b e c onveniently p a rallele d by tha t between
Pa ra celsus the repre senta tive o f the mystical develop
,

ment an d Robert Boyle a splendid exa mple Of t he

, ,

a lchemist merged in the scientist .

R OBERT B O YL E ( 16 26
Pa ra celsus died a bout 1 5 40 Robert Bo yle was .

born in 16 26 Ha rdly a centu ry intervenes And yet

. .

the contra st in the environmen ts the chara cters a n d , ,

the a ims o f the two pioneers is most striking The .

e a rly educ a tion o f P a ra celsus ha d bee n neglected .

Boyle was s ent by his f a ther the fi rst Ea rl of C o rk

, ,

t o Eton Pa rac elsus set o ut o n a lmost vag a bond

.

tra vels Boyle spent six f ruitf ul yea rs o n the C o nti

.

nent a c compa nied by a tutor Pa ra celsus f rom firs t

,
.

to la st wa s violent un g ovem ed cha otic Boyl e

, , .

f rom first t o la st wa s studious gentle restra ined , , .

On ret urning f rom his tra vels Pa ra celsus hurried o n ,

f rom o n e turbulent e xperience to a n other never a t ,

rest . Boyle settled quietly do wn a t his home a n d a t

Oxf ord Both men cu ltiva ted t he sciences mo re
. ,

especially chem istry But wherea s Pa racelsus burie d

.

wha t wa s good in his re f orms under a loa d o f in c o

heren c y a n d cha rla ta nry Boyle ma n if ested the ca utious
,

critica l temper tha t ga ve susta ined purpose t o his

la bours a n d a dvanced the ca use Of systema tic resea rc h .

J ust a s diverse in a im method an d spirit were t he

, ,

ol d alchemy an d t he newly born chemistry -

And .

et a s was bef ore sta te d they were in the rela tio n o f

y , ,

p a rent an d child .
 TRANSITION TO SCIE NCE 59

Equ a l ly striking wa s the dif f erence in the o utcome

o f th e i r l a b o urs The Pa rac el sia n tra dition f ound its
.

mo st congen ia l exp re ssio n in the R osic m c ia n brother

hood Boyle wa s o n e O f the first members o f a n
.

a ssocia tion o f scientists which a f ter holding priv a t e

,

meetings wa s incorpo ra ted in 1 6 63 a s the Roya l

,

Society He wa s Of f e red the p residency but his

. ,

mo de sty a n d retiring disposition ma de him decl ine

the ho no u r It is stra nge t o think tha t t he rise o f
.

these t wo SO dissimila r societies wa s practica lly co n

te mpora neo us
We na tura lly a sk ho w f a r B o yle a ccepte d the cur
r e n t doctrines o f the He rmetic a rt He certa inly .

did n o t de ny the po s sibility o f tra nsmuta tio n He wa s .

f a r t o o c a utious to c o mmit himself o n a poin t so

c rucia l when the evide nce f o r a n d a ga inst wa s so
sc a nty a n d impe rf ect He went t o work t o c o llect
.

f a cts a n d Ob serva tio ns a n d t o cle a r a wa y f a lse no tio n s

,

a n d wa s thus led to do ubt the expl a na tions o n whic h

the a lchemists relied He wa s specia lly a nxio us tha t

.

a cc o un t sho uld be ta ke n o f t he p a r t pl a yed by t he

a ir in thei r c a lcin ing exp e rime nt s an d thus b ro ught

,

into p rominence the p roblem o f c o mbustio n It wa s .

t he s o lution o f this p roblem th a t ultima tely sub verted

t he Old doctr ine o f the eleme nts a n d p repa red the wa y
,

f o r t he discovery o f the rea lly fixed elements in ,

t he se n se now a ccepted He ha s been ca lle d the true

.

p recu r sor o f the mode rn chemi st P a ra.cels u s w a s an

e ruptive f orce . Boyle wa s a pa tient inve stiga to r .

E a ch hera lded a dva nce s but B o yle s c a ree r wa s

’
,

m o re evenly i n lin e with t he o nwa r d ma rc h o f

t ruth .
60 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMAN CE

AL C HE M Y Ar
'
OXFORD .

An inte resting episode in the history o f the a rt

du ring this period wa s the esta blishing o f a n a lchemica l
centre a t Oxf o rd Boyle there orga n ised a f a mous
.

chemistry cl a ss A f a mo us Ro sic rucia n chemi st

.

wa s b rought over f rom Stra sburg Lo ck a n d Ch r is

t o pher Wren were a mo ng the pupils Elia s A shmo le .

j o ined in the venture an d p rovided f o r its c o ntinua n ce .

He a g reed tha t he wo uld ha nd o ver t o the University

his ma ny tre a sures a rtistic a ntiqua ria n a n d sc ien
, , ,

t ifi c o n c o n dition tha t a fitting museum wa s built

, ,

the l o west ro o m o f which wa s t o be a well fit t ed la b o r -

a t o ry . Ashmole wa s perha ps the la st o f the se Oxf o r d

a lchemists .His trea tise Theatrum Chemicum Brita n
,

n icum published in 1 6 5 2 con ta in s ma ny ext ra cts f r om

, ,

ol d He rme tic philos o pher s while a t the s a me time it

,

pl a ces the study o f chemistry o n a soun d f o o ting .

N0 le ss a person tha n Sir Isa a c Newton c o ll a bo ra te d

with him f o r a time in the inve stiga tio n O f the tra ns
muta tio n do ctrine including the question o f the
,

existe n ce o f some tra n smuting ma teria l Philo sophe r s ,

’

Sto n e o r other We m a y regar d Ashm o le a n d New

.

t o n a s e mine n t exa mples o f the cl a ss o f scie nti sts who

ga ve a lchemy a f a ir tria l a n d who relucta ntly a b a n
,

do n e d t he ho pes it ha d stimul a ted .

The gra dua l un dermin ing o f belie f in the principle s

o f a lchemy o n their scie ntific side
, wa s ma inly t he ,

result o f resea rch a n d experiment But it wa s in n o .

sma ll degr ee a ccelera ted by the unma sking o f f ra udu

lent p retenders Even the most c redulo us could
.

not a void being in fluenced by the a tmosphe re o f

62 ALCHEMY— ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
suspen d his judgment until f ur t her evide nce wa s
a v a il a bl e
. In the light o f o ur p resent k nowledge ,

t hi s hesita tio n m a y a ppe a r excessive But if we thin k .

o u rs e lves b a ck into tho se da ys we sha ll a ck n o wl e dge ,

tha t his expecta nt a ttitude wa s tho ro ughly sc ie nt ific .

An d we sha ll be a ll the mo re sympa thetic whe n we

r e a li se tha t the whole p roblem o f the con stituti o n o f

ma tte r is a ga in a n op e n one though some o f the Old ,

be a te n p a ths ha ve been cl o sed .

Scientific a lly the re ign o f a lchemy c a me t o a n

,

e n d with the n ew theo r ies o f combustio n As o u r .

subj e ct is a lchemy we need not enter i nto deta il

,

c o nc e rn ing the development o f experimenta l physic s

a n d chemistry There a re a multitude o f works whi c h
.

cover this gro und Let it suf fice t o sa y tha t the

.

el e me nts o f the Hermetic a rt were repl a ced by the

ele ments o f the modern chemist The Old a rt .

wa s do o med .

DR . PR I CE .

”
S cientifica lly a lchemy c a me t o a n e n d with t he
,

e me rg e nce of n ew views o f ma tter ; experime n t

gra dua lly supplie d explicit ref uta tion s o f it It wa s .

o the r wise with wha t we m a y disting uish a s the e m o

t io n a l Spell o f the a rt a n d the p o pula r belie f i n the

,

cl a ims ma de by a dept s He re it wa s ra the r the

.

dra ma tic unma sk i ng o f illusions o r f ra uds tha t ruptu re d

the uncritic a l hopes o f success In E ngla n d the coup .

dc g r dce wa s give n by the t ra gic c a se o f D r Price o f .

,

Guildf ord which sha ll be b riefly rela ted

, .

He wa s a wea lthy a n d lea rn ed m a n an d wrote ,

some inte re sting works o n chemistry In 17 8 1 he .

 TRANSITION TO SCIENCE 63

im a gi n ed tha t he ha d s ucceeded in compounding a

powder which would cha nge mercu ry o r silver into
gold At first he confided his sec ret t o a f ew f rien ds
.
,

a n d ha d n o thought o f publicity But the rumo ur

.

o f his discove ry got a broa d a n d embo ld e n e d him t o

,

c o me o ut into the ope n He went so f a r a s t o give

.

public exhibition s o f his transmutation s a n d even ,

i n vited a disting uished co mpa ny t o his l a bo ra to ry

t o see a series O f expe riments c a lcul a ted t o produce
c on viction . Waxing yet mo re bo ld he printed a n ,

a cc o unt o f these proceedings a n d induced emine n t

,

pe rson s to give their signa tures a s witnesses t o the

tr uth o f his statements .

It is sta rtling t o rea lise tha t such preten sion s we re

seriously a dva nced within twenty yea rs o f the co ming
in o f the n inetee nth century ! The f a ct a f f ords a
striking pro o f b o th o f the pe rsiste n ce o f the ide a o f

tra nsmutation a n d o f the slown e ss with which the

,

new views o f ma tter ma tured We must not think

. ,

however tha t Price s sta tements were univers a lly

,
’

a cc e pted, or tha t they w e re uncha llenged The .

un de rm in ing ha d gone too f a r f o r tha t ! U n f o rt u

n a t ely f o r the bel a ted a lchemist though f,ortun a tely
f o r the c a use O f truth it h a ppen ed tha t the Roya l
,

Society wa s concerned Price wa s a member The

. .

Society conceive d its hono ur to be at sta ke a n d ,

summoned him to a ppe a r be f ore a duly qua lifi e d

c ommittee in or der tha t the cla im might be submitted

,

f o r a n a uthorita tive judgme nt Price ref use d t o b e

.

t hus tested . He excused himself on the ple a tha t the

stock o f his t ra n smuting powde r wa s exha u sted a n d ,

tha t its replenishment would be a long a n d a rduous

u n derta king Un der f ur t he r p re ssure he sought
.
,
64 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IE NCE AN D ROMANCE
to esc a pe by p rof essing tha t he was a Rosicrucia n ,

a n d the re f ore n ot permitted to divulge the sec re t .

—
These p retexts were o f no a va il the Society wa s
i n sistent gra nted him time but dem an ded a te st
, , .

In 17 8 3 he returned to Guildf ord t o prepa re t he

po wder Six months p a sse d a n d n othing wa s hear d
.

o f him The Society then fix ed a da te on which he

.

sho uld f ulfil his enga gement He invited the Society .

to Guildf ord O n ly three membe rs responded He

. .

r ec e ived them an d then committed suicide in the ir

,

p resence .

Thus tra gica lly ended the ca reer o f E ngla n d s la st ’

public a lchemist Up to wha t point wa s Price rea lly

.

delude d When a n d why did he e nte r o n a cou rse

o f system atic deception These que stio n s c a nnot b e
a n swe r ed No r c a n even the p rio r puz z le be solved
. ,

ho w supp o sing him to ha ve been or igina lly re a lly

,

c o nvinced tha t he ha d ga ined the secret he ha d a rrive d ,

a t such a con clusi o n At a n y ra te the Ro ya l Society

.
,

wa s a mply justified in its determina tio n to investiga te .

An d t he dra ma tic f ea tures o f the f a ilure b rought so ,

p romine ntly into no tice co mpleted in this c o untry,

the ove rthrow o f a n a lrea dy discredited a rt .

S EM LE R .

Sing ula rly eno ugh a t a bout the sa me time a simila r

,

f a il ur e le d to t he fina l rejectio n o f the a rt in G e rma n y ,

though the a ttenda nt circumsta nces we re in the

re gio n n o t O f tra ge dy but o f c o medy
, , The re wa s a t .

Ha lle a c erta in p rof essor o f theology Semler by na me , ,

who ha d been stro ngly a ttra cted b y the litera ture a n d

pra ctice o f the He rmetic a rt His own l a b o urs were .
 TRANS ITIO N TO SCIENCE 5

without success But he took up wa rmly a discove ry

.

m a de by B a ron Leopold de Hir schen t o wit a — ,

m a rve ll ou s S a lt o f Lif e He a ssert e d that this s a lt

.

wa s not on ly a tra nsmuting subst an ce b ut also a

univers a l medicine No e la bora te pr ocess wa s n ec e s
.

sa ry f o r the p r oduction o f gold it suf ficed t o dissolve

it in wa ter a n d t o le a ve it f o r some da ys in a gla ss
vessel a t a unif orm tempera tu re Semler obta in ed .

some o f this a n d wa s surprised t o find g old in t he

,

c rucible An othe r chemist Kla pro th a nalysed t he

. , ,
”
S a lt o f Lif e a n d f ound it to co nsist o f Gla uber s
,
’

s a lt a n d sulpha te o f ma gnesia The re was a lso . ,

however some gold ! It wa s evident to Kla proth

,

tha t p a rticles o f gold ha d been f rom the first in the

liquid t o be p roved a n d tha t the a ddition o f the s a lt
,

wa s a work o f sup e rero ga tion S emler was perturbed

.
,

a n d sen t a second supply o f the liquid a n d the sa lt ,

a n d the a na lyse r we n t t o work a ga in — this time in

the presence o f a la rge compa ny Sem ler s position .
’

a s a p rof essor dema n ded respe ct even though sc ept i ,

c ism bor dered o n i ro n ic de n ia l He solemn ly assur ed

.

those ta k ing pa rt in the experiment tha t he him self

ha d n eve r o nce f a iled t o obta in a succe ssf ul result .

SO the testing p roceeded An d 10 in stea d o f gold

. ,

Kla proth f oun d a kin d o f bra ss ca lled tomba c The

j o ke sprea d f rom the roo m throughout the country .

The expla na tio n o f the fia sco put a n edge on it It .

a ppe a red tha t S emle r ha d a se rva n t who was much

a tta ched t o him To this m a n wa s entrusted the ta sk

.

o f f eed in g the fire a n d a tte n d ing to the a ppa rat us .

He sa w how e a ger his ma ste r wa s t o fin d g o ld in t he

c rucible a n d being anx ious t o ple a se him purcha sed
, ,

some gol d lea f a n d put it into the mixture

-
Bein g .
66 ALCHEMY— ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
c a lled a wa y o n milita ry service he entrusted the task
,

to his wif e The go od woma n sa ved the situa tion

,

by purcha s ing b ra ss in stea d O f gold an d poor Semler ,

be c a me a la ughing stock This wa s better however

.
, ,

tha n being a dissemina to r O f a f a lsity which might ha v e

given a longer lea se o f lif e t o a mischievous delusio n .

O f c o ur se eve ry on e a ckn owledged the p rof essor s

’

pe rf ec t honesty He resumed the sa f er p a rt O f his

.

dutie s a t the Un ive rsity But the a rt he wo uld f a in

.

—
ha ve f o ste red wa s discredited l a ughe d o ut o f cour t .

The ge n e ra l public in Ge rma ny a s in E ng l a n d a t l a st

, ,

c o ncluded tha t the Philosophe r s Ston e a n d the Elixir

’

we re even if possible beyon d huma n re a ch

, , .

THE E ND OF AL C HEM Y .

AS a recogn ised pursuit a lchemy c a me t o a n end a t

t he c l o se o f t he e ighte e nth ce ntury Wha t r e ma in e d
.

were mere ly fl ick e rin g s o f a n exting uishe d fire In .

G e rma n y a s o cie ty f o r a lc hemica l resea rc h existed

,

a s l a te a s 1 8 1 9 In Fra nce Chevreul who live d we ll

.
, ,

i nto the n inetee nth c e ntury rec o rds tha t he k new

,

O f seve ra l pe rso n s who w e re c o n v inced o f the t r uth O f

the a rt a mong them being ge ne ra ls doctors a n d

, , ,
”
ecclesia stics .B en ighte d dre a mers there m a y even
yet be who da bble in the f orgotte n l o re B ut t he .

tra nsmuta tion idea in its old f o rm is a thing o f t he

, ,

pa st a n d c an neve r be resuscita ted A new physics

, .

a n d a new chemist ry ha ve ma de clea r the f utility o f

its t ra ditiona l doctrine s an d methods though they ,

h a ve a lso un der won dro usly cha nged condition s

, ,

rekindled the hope they ha d exting uished But let .

us n o t f o rget th a t t he old p rovided a b a sis f o r the n ew .

 TRANS ITION TO SC IE NCE 67

As Ge org e Eliot has put it Do ubtless a v igorous

e rror vigorously pu rsued ha s kept t he emb ryos o f

t ruth a b re a thing : the quest o f gol d being a t the

-

sa me time a questio n ing o f subst an ces the body o f ,

C hemistry is p repa red f o r it s soul a n d L a voisier is

,
”
b o rn
.

Such in o utline is the history of t he Herm etic a rt

, , .

It c overe d a long period tra velling down f rom the

,

A lexa ndrine mystic t o t he modern scientist We ca n .

n o w enter on the study in f uller detail without a

r igorous a dhere n ce t o chronologica l order We ca n .

t r ea t sep a ra tely o f doctrines pra ctices notions

, , ,

o r ienta ting ourselves f rom time t o time by re f err ing

t o t he chequered sto ry o f origi n development a n d
, ,

d e ca y .

M iddlcma rch, cha p

. xl
v iii.
 CHAPTER I

UGGE STIO N S FRO M

S N AT URA L P RO CE SSES
ET us begin our more deta iled study by ma king
su r e tha t we un de rsta n d the a lchemi st s ide a
’

o f t ra n smuta ti o n a n d the ext ern a l phe n o me na which

,

sugge sted it To a ssume tha t he o c cupie d o ur o wn

.

s ta n dpoi nt , a n d t o c r it icise a ccord ingly is t o miss ,

e ntire ly the who le sign ifica n ce o f the story Between .

him a n d the modern scie ntist interven es a tremendous

r evoluti o n in physica l a n d chemica l con ce ptio n s
o f t he n a tu r e o f ma tte r The a dva n ce is ha rdly yet
.

a ce ntu ry o l d but is o f f u n da me n tal a n d deep imp o r

,

t a nce It a lte rs o ur whole outloo k o n the u n iverse

. .

B ro ught up a s we a re in a n a tmo sphere pulsing

, ,

with the conception s cha ra cte ristic o f the new physics

a n d the new chemist ry it re qui res a n e f f o rt if we a r e
,

t o think ourselves ba ck into the o ld order The very .

l a ng ua ge o f the a lchemists is stra nge t o us But the .

e f f o rt is well worth the while Fo r we sha ll the better

.

a pp recia te o ur conq uests if we k n ow something o f

how the y were won ; we sha ll e nter more tho ro ughly

i n to the ir purport if we study the e rro rs which we re
o ve r t hro wn .

Ca n the f u n da me nta l dif f ere nce betwee n the o ld

a n d the n ew b e b riefly sta te d in a p re limin a ry f a shio n

Pe r ha ps the sim plest wa y O f do ing this is t o de fine

71 F
72 —
ALCHE MY ITS SCIENCE AN D R O MANCE
r oughly wha t wa s the a lchemist s ide a o f the behaviour ’

o f ma tte r .He a n d ma ny o f us a re thus f a r o n

, ,

co mmon g roun d tha t we a gree in a ssuming a prim a ry

,

kind o f matte r out o f which a llthe diff erent substa n ces

in the world a re f ormed The g a p between us ya wns
.

when we proceed t o a sk how the p rima ry substance

come s t o ma nif est f orms so diversified The modern .

scie ntist holds tha t the cosmic process ha s brought into

being certa in f orms o f a toms which a re rela tively ,

to o ur power o f dea ling with them fixed a n d un ,

cha ngeable At present m ore tha n eighty diff e rent

.

kinds a re recogn ised It is not o f course den ied tha t

.
, ,

f u r t her discoveries m a y diminish o r i nc rease this

number But the principle i nvolved is firm ly a dhered
.

to .

w
’
Q —uite other a s the
“
a lch emist s a ssumptio n
'
.

He held that all the dif ie ren t kin ds o f sub sta nces ar e
- '

”
fluid so_ t o say and_p_a ss n a tura lly f rom o n e f orm
, ,

t o a no the r E a ch kin d he conceived to be a ctively

.

striving to develop o r grow into a nobler sta te An d

, , .

his a r t a imed a t ha ste nin g by specia l mea ns wha t is

, ,

esse nt ia lly a na tura l p rocess The po in f sfi STEiSe d

.

will be di scuss e d In due course B ut with t h e sha rply .

dra wn distinction in o ur minds le t us a sk ho w t he ,

a lchemist c a me t o embra ce the do ctrine tha t governe d

f o r so long a time his specu l a tion a n d his p ra ctice .

A WO RLD OF CHANGE .

On t he gra nd sca le a n d o n the sma ll t he universe ,

ma ni f e st s a llperva ding a n d un ceasing cha nge

-
An d .

t he more closely n a ture s wa ys a re exa mined t he m ore

’
,
SUGGESTIO NS FROM NATU RAL PROCESSES 73

l a ly emerge s this f un da menta l f a ct Moreover

c e r .
,

m any of these cha nges ha ve the a ppe a ra nce o f being

t ra nsmuta tions Take a f ew simple exa mples g er
.

m a n e to our subject Wa ter eva pora tes ; va po ur

.

c ondenses into wa ter The f uel on the fire disa ppea rs

.

in ga ses a n d smoke lea ving but a dea d a sh ; the dea d

,

a sh in turn m a y g o t o the building up o f livi ng pla nts

, ,

a n d a nima ls Foods a re ta ken a n d f orm fle sh a n d

.
,

blood ; the body deca ys a n d retu rns to the dust f rom

which it spra ng So compelling is the evi dence that
.
'

it suggested the fi rst philos o phica l sys t ems o f t he

Greeks a n d is thus f un da mental t o a llthe subsequent
,

philosophy of the West ern na tions One o f these .

e a rly thinke rs He ra c le it us concluded that existence

, ,
”
is an eterna l flux He likens it t o t he flow o f t he
.

wa ter in a river ; the current move s on ever ; so tha t

a m a n can nev er re a lly step twice i nto the sa m e

strea m .Add t o this con ception t he idea of change in

f o rm a n d a ppea rance a n d we ha ve t he world viewed
,

a s a serie s o f t ransmuta tio ns .

’
THE ALCR EMIST S AIM .

Alchemists busied themselves with meta llurgy

a n d pra ctic a l chemistry Th ey there f o r e a pp 1e t is
.

re asoni ng with Specia l ref e rence t o their a rt Their .

e xp e riences we r e l a rgely o f a kind to illust ra te a n d

e nf orce it g athe red as they were f rom str iking cha nges
,

wrought by chemica l rea ctions a n d by fire Fire , .

not only melts substances but of ten meta morphose s ,

them Mercury can be hea ted so tha t it becomes a

—
.

b rig ht red powder colour mobility g leam, a llvan ish , , ,

f 74 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENC E AND ROMANC E
to give pla ce t o a substa nce with a lmost o pposite
‘
qua lities Wha t we re they to conclude P They
.

k new nothing o f the pa rt pla yed by the oxygen o f

the a ir : the discovery o f tha t wa s the result o f long
a n d l a borious experiment in quite r ecent t ime s Fir e .

a lon e seemed to h ave e f f ected the sta rtling tra nsmuta

tion And if so could n ot the sa me a gent o r othe r

.
, ,

Opera tions b ring a bout the seemingly f a r simple r

,

cha nge o f tin into Silver o r O f b ra ss into go ld

, S uch a
line O f a rg ume nt wa s na tura l We kn ow tha t a s a .

ma tter o f f a ct it wa s f o llowed a n d tha t it led t o ,

conclusions which though erron eous were rea s o ned

, , .

We must the ref ore a llow tha t un de r t he c o ndi ,

tio n s then p reva iling the inf erence f rom Observa ti o ns

,

o f e xte rn a l ha ppenings to the p o ssibility o f tra n smuta

tio n wa s wa rra nted In deed the suppositio n m a y be

.
,
”
gra nte d t he ra nk o f scientific Tha t in t he long
.

run it p ro ved to b e a mista ke doe s n ot dep rive it O f

the cla im Other wise the re will be little o f o ur up
.

t o da te scie n ce which o n like g roun ds m a y n o t ul t i

-

ma tely be degra ded !

THE QUALITY OF C OLO U R .

The e a rly a lc he mists were in po ssessio n o f a la rg e

numb er o f re ceipts f o r ma king a ll o ys tha t imita ted t he
p recious meta ls The ir problem wa s n ot to imita t e
.
, ,

but to tra nsmute ; n o t t o ma ke the b a ser me ta ls

co urse tha t the qua litie s in which

, t h e d if f er en ce s
Co n sist e d must be modified .
SUGGESTIO NS FROM NATURAL PR OCESSES 75

The first o f the q ua lities t o rece ive attention wa s

t ha t o f colour The Alexa nd ria n a depts conceived
—
m
.
"
fi SS Of dyeing
it fid § fi rO c é B u t we must
.

b e ca re f ul t o understand what the genuin e a lchemist

”
m ea nt by dyeing We ourselves think o f a
.

dye a s a colo uring ma tter which impa rts a p a rtic ul a r

hue t o a m a te ria l but doe s n o t become a pa rt o f it
,

by che mica l combinatio n with it The a lchemist s .

’

ide a ho wever was tha t his dye should be so intima te

, ,

am
"
hi fl d h h u if
'

n t
'

pe t e t a t l s C a n g e t é a t re o f e
an d a le
In g __ it re a lly become that to which it
wa s ma de l ike According to this school o f o pera to rs
.
,

the re were t wo f undamental dyes a nswering to t he ,

c o lours o o —
f the t w precious meta l s Xa nthosis o r ,

dyeing ye llow a n d Leucosis o r dyeing white I t

, , .

wa s f urther held that the t wo dyes though dif f eri ng ,

i n a ppea ra nce were on e a n d the same substa nce

, .

An d it ca me t o be thought tha t there wa s a ma ster dye

which if it could be discovered would be verita bly a
, ,

tra nsmuting a gent The ide a developed a n d gra du

.

a lly merged in tha t o f the Philosopher s Ston e For ’

.

i nstance S almon in the seventeenth century desc ribes

, ,

the ma ste r substance thus The univers a l medic ine

f or al l imperf ect meta ls which fixes those tha t a re
,

vol a tile purifies those tha t a re impure a n d gives a

, ,
”
c o lour a n d brilliance gre a te r tha n tha t o f na ture .

The dye and the Stone coa lesce .

It m ay be said tha t a lthough the idea o f t ra n sm u

,

t a t io n might merit the ra nk o f scientific we her e ,

p a ss int o the region o f uncritica l f antasy No t so . .

The f ull excuse must wa it until we c om e t o discuss the

philosophica l basis o f a lchemy a n d the doctrine o f ,

qualities ” But ev en on the g roun d o f observa tions

.
 76 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE
f rom externa l ha ppen ings we ca n see how t he m ista ke
,

aro se Experiences ga ined in the dyeing o f cloth

. ,

e n a mels gl a ss and the rest deceived and m isled

, , , .

Moreover t he colour o f metals could a ctua lly b e

,

cha nge d by a lloys an d by chemica l a ctions Un der

, .

the circ umst ances misinterpretations were na tural

,

a n d inevita ble .

D YEI NG THE METALS

.

"
f
L et us look into the ma tter a little more closely .

These ea rly a lchemists kn ew tha t there a re a gents

—
which ca n make a meta l white a s mercury whitens
C oppe r ; that there a re a gents which c a n mak e a
—
metal yellow a s sulphu r a n d a rsen ic ca n give
L a golden tint to silver Nowa days we know tha t t he
.

cha nges result f rom the f orma tion o f n ew compoun ds .

We must keep this knowle dg e o ut o f sight a n d j oin ,

the a lchemists in rega rding the changes a s dyeing

p rocesses o f varying degrees o f perf ection The less .

perf ect the dye the sma ller the a moun t o f tra nsmuta
,

tion eff ected The t wo exa mples just g iven were n ot

.

rega rde d a s fixed dyes f o r they could not resist

,

—
the a ction o f chemica l a gents or o f fire t he tra ns
mutation s were only pa rtia l Whereas in the c a se o f
.

go ld itself the colour could resist such agents a n d wa s

, ,

on e o f the ma rks o f t he perf ect meta l We m a y .

perha ps put ourselves most easily at their point O f

view if we suppose tha t the colour o f gold wherever ,

it occurs a rg ue s the presence o f gold na ture Then

,
-
.

fiea rer to being gold is the substan ce tha t possesse s

78 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE A ND RO MANCE

per m e a ch ch a nge
—
must be a re a l t ran sm u

t at n . S ha ll we rec o g n ise t ha t this was a legitima te

a rg ume nt f r om a na l o gy

Come down the centu ries to one who is rega rded

a s the he ra ld o f mode rn scienc e We fin d him thu s
.

discussing the pos sibility o f tra nsmuta tio n In .

go ld f o r exa mple the f o llowin g p ro pertie s mee t

, , .

I t is yello w in colo ur h e a vy up to a certa in weight

,

ma llea ble o r ductile to a certa in degree o f extensio n

it is n o t vo la tile a n d l o ses no n e o f it s substa nce by the
,

a ctio n o f fi re it turn s i n to a liquid with a certa i n

de gr ee o f fl uidity ; it is sepa ra ted a n d disso lved by
p a rticula r mea ns ; a n d so o n f o r the othe r na tu re s
which meet in g o ld .He who kn ows the f orm s
O f yellow w e ight ductility fix it y fluidity s o luti o n
, , , , , ,

a n d so o n a n d the methods f o r supe r inducing them

, ,

a n d thei r gr a da tions a n d mo des will ma ke it his c a r e

,

to ha ve them joined togethe r in some body whence m a y

”
f ollow the tran sf orma tion o f tha t body into gold .

I t does n o t need a c ritic al knowledge o f t he

B a con ian te rminolo gy t o understa nd the genera l dr if t
o f this p a ss a ge . The governing idea is tha t men m a y
c ome t o h a ve the me a ns f o r so un itin g the qua litie s

f ound in gold a s t o pro duce the meta l Thi s is true

. .

Chemists m a y yet succeed in building up a meta l .

This specul a tion will be more fit t in g ly discussed a t t he

close tha n a t the beginn ing o f our inqui ry
, .

FIXE D E L E M E NTS .

But n o t by a lchemist mea ns It is impo rta n t . to

no te the re serva tion L et us return f o r a moment
. to
Novum Org am n Sec o nd B oo k o f Apho r ism s v
, , .
 S U GGESTIO NS FR OM NATU RAL PROCESSES 79

the trea tment o f coppe r with arsenic St Thoma s . .

Aquina s mentions it : Add t o C opper some white

sublimated a r senic ; you will see the c opper turn

white . If yo u then a dd some pure s ilver yo u tra n s ,

”
f orm a llthe copper into verita ble silve r It is pla in .

tha t the grea t doctor miscon ceives the con dition s o f

his problem The m o dern chemist w ill expla in tha t
.

there is n o cha ng e o f co pper into silver but the f orma ,

tion o f a n a llo y o f the three in g re dien t H ach being

p resent in exa ctly the s a me qua ntity throughout an d ,

e a ch rec o ve ra ble by suita ble me a ns in exa ctly t he

, ,

o rigina l qua ntity Tha t is to sa y the a lloyed silve r

.
,

is not a n imperf ect f orm o f tha t metal a s the a lche ,

mists thought but a co mpound o f fixed elements

, .

The a lchemy o f the f uture sho uld it come t o flourish , ,

will g o t o work with a who lly diff erent set o f f un d a

mental conceptio ns How f a r the a toms o f the ele
.

ments themselves are compounds will be considered

l a ter The principle involved remains the sa me
.

—
thro ughout fixit y o f con dition s n o t growth , .

Nevertheless the a lchemi sts f rom the first ha d a

suspic ion t ha t a lloys were n ot true tra n smut a tion s
-
“ “
.

— —
He nce a dist in c t ion they drew b etween na tura l
-

and a rt ificia l met als The la tter att a in ed t o a

.

T num b er o f the qua lities o f the m eta l to be

'

c e f t aiI
' '

imita ted but did not a ttain t o perf ect likeness And .

in proportion a s a ccura cy in me a suring weighin g , ,

a n d testing wa s ga ined so did the problem o f alchemy

,

b e come more complex Superficia l r esults did n ot

.

so easily p a ss muste r a n d mo r e delicate p r ocesses

,

were tried The p a ra llel ha s been dra w n in this

.
,

re ga rd with the increasin g delic a cy o f p resent da

y
-
,

m ix in g o f a lloys a nd tempering of steel We ma v .

80 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANC E
gla dly a cc ept it be ca use t he ca ses a re genuinely
,

s imil a r
. A n d the a pplica tion is c l o ser tha n might a t
first sight a ppe a r ; f o r the a lchem ists be lie ved tha t
go ld and s ilve r themselves were a lloys a n d could , .

theref ore be repro duced by proper compounding .

IM PERFE CT ANALYSI S .

Another sou rce o f e rro r in a lche mist conclusio n s

wa s the impe rf ection o f their methods o f a na lysis .

C o nside r Pliny s a ccount o f the go ld ma kin g instituted

’

"
-

by the Empe ror C a ligul a He ca used a co nside r

.
s

a ble a mo unt o f o rpime n t t o be c a lcin ed to get the

gold out O f it an d quite succeeded in ma king e xcelle n t

The re wa s n o a ttempt a t f ra ud—all wa s in
,
”
go ld.

good f a ith But the gold was there t o sta rt with

. ,

un detec te d A mo dern c hemist would have exp lained

.

the Situation in a f ew minute s his te sts a re Speedy

a n d a ccura te We ca n not wonder tha t ho nest a n d
.

ca re f ul observers were f requently m isled in to thinking

tha t they ha d succe eded in pro ducing o r a ugm e nting

go l d when they were so poorly e quipped f o r a na lysis
,

o f their ma t e ria ls .

Even Bo yle wa s s o re ly pe rplexed by the result o f

a ch e mica l a cti o n He disso lved some go ld in a
.

roya l water conta ining chloride o f a ntimo ny .

To his surprise the re a ppe a red a noticea ble a mount

”
o f s ilver . He di d n o t kn ow tha t the c hl o ride co n
t a in e d a certa in qua ntity o f this meta l a n d he wa s

the ref ore tempted to believe that some sort o f t rans

mutation had taken pl a ce .

Given in f ull, p 18 . .
S U GGESTIO NS FR OM NATU RAL PROCESSES 81

Two RE C EI PTS FO R MA K I N G G O LD .

It will b e interesting o n severa l counts t o give in

, ,

—
this context t wo rece ipts f o r ma kin g gold one brie f ,

the other mo re complica ted They a re ta ken f ro m a n .

a ncient treatise entitled M app az C l a vicul a — a ma nu

script O f the twelf th century wit h matt e r b elonging ,

t o the tenth ; the sources da te back t o Ale xan dr ian

times a n d be hind these a ga in t o the p revious Egyptia n
,

per io d The br ief receipt is as f ollows

. To ma ke
—
go ld take silve r 1 lb ; COpper Q lb ; gol d 1 lh
, .
, .
, .
,
”
melt etc
, This would see m t o b e a c a se o f pla in
.

f a lsifica tio n The tit le o f t he rec eipt p rov es tha t the

.

re sul t in g a lloy wa s t o b e passed O f f a s go ld We must .

,

however distinguis h b etwe en a merely e mpirica l

,

f a lsifie r an d a spec ulative alchemist The f orme r .

merely a nn s a t sc oring wea lth The la tte r looks .

o n the a lloy a s a n a pp roa ch t o what he wants — a

sta ge o n the p a th o f tra nsmutation M a ny a lche .

mists there were who would make b a d use o f

the receipt ; but with such we a re not a t presen t
concerned We a re trying t o understa n d wha t
.

genuine a lchemy stoo d f o r .

The longer receipt runs thus Ta ke me rcu ry ,

8 p a rt s filin gs o f gold 4 parts filin gs o f good silver

, ,

5 parts ; filings o f brass a n d flowe r o f C opper c a lled

,

by the G reeks c ha lca n t um ( sulpha te o f copper ) 1 2 ,

parts ; yell o w orpimen t ( s ulphu ret o f mercury ) 6 ,

p a rts electrum ( a n alloy o f gold a n d Silver) 12 p a r t s , .

Mix a ll the fili ngs with the me rcury to the c o n sis

tence o f wax Add electrum a n d o rpiment ; then
.

a dd vitriol and alum Pla ce the whole in a dish o n

.
82 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IE NCE A ND ROMA NCE
bu rning cha rcoa l ; boil it gently sp rinkling into it,

s a f ra n ( p r oba bly a n ora nge sulphide o f a rsen ic ) in

f used in some vin ega r a n d a little na tro n ( ca rbona te
,

o f s o da ) 4 p a rts o f the s a f ra n a re to be used Sp rinkle

.

little by little until it is dissolved a n d drunk up .

When t he ma ss is so lid ta ke it a n d you ha ve go ld

,

with in c re a se You will a dd to the p receding sub

.

sta n ces a little m o o nston e , which is c a lled in G reek

A f ro selin um ( selen ite a na me a pplied t o sulpha te o f
,

li m e m ica a n d tra nsp a rent

, , Here we ha ve
a m ixtu re which might well de f y t he a n a l ysi s o f e a rly

chemists Th e comp a ra tive s implicity o f the r esult

w o uld b e grievously disguised O n ce a ga in we must
.

distinguish between the mere f ra udule nt Opera tor who

w o uld c o n scio usly take a dva nt age o f the spurious
meta l a n d the Specul a tive a lchemist who might
,

re a s o n himse lf into believing tha t the a ll o y wa s re a lly

a n d truly a n impe rf ect sort o f gold .

PRE C I PITATE S .

Evidence o f a like kind wa s f urnished by the study

o f the precipita tes o f met a l s Fo r ex a mple if a filing
.
,

o f coppe r be dipped into a solution o f a Silver sa lt ,

the c o pper is immedia tely cove red with a coa t o f

s ilv e r o r if a n i ron filin g be dipp ed in a s a lt o f coppe r ,

it is immediately cove red with a coat o f coppe r No w .

a da ys we a re not misled by such phenomena But .

we must remembe r th a t until compa ra tively recent

times it wa s not known that the sa lts Of te n include
me ta ls a mong their elements ; n or wa s it suspected
tha t metals could exist in solution in a liquid Fo r .
 S U GGEST I ONS FROM NATU RAL PROCESSE S 83

us blue vitriol ( sulphate o f c Oppe r) is a sa lt contain ing

,

a toms o f copper in c ombination with a toms o f sulphur

a n d oxygen ; a n d when it is dissolved the meta l is ,

in the solution The alche mists howeve r ha d no

. , ,

mea ns o f knowin g this The salt and the meta l were ,

.

f o r them simply dif f erent sta tes o f certa in substan ces

, .

And thus when copper was de po site d o n a n i ron

,

filin gfl ung e d In a s olution o f the s alt it _ a

pp e a red to ,

W 5 tha t the a t o ms
" “

li
t é m a s a t ra n sm u t a t iO Ii E E .
?
of c
g pp er I
II the s a lt a re dis p l a ced b y atoms o f
i ron they sa id tha t s o mething wa s chang ed int o
c oppe r .
”

T I carTy exa mple o f the s o rt o f reasoning employed

is f ound in E ne a s o f Ga z a ( fif th cent ury ) The
f o rm sub sists while the ma tte r un dergoes cha ng e s
,

beca use it is ma de to a ssume a llthese qualities Let .

it be a sta tue o f Achilles ma de o f iron supp o se it is

d e stroyed a n d its f ragm ents reduced t o tin y mo rs e ls .

If now a workma n collects this iron purifies it a n d by , ,

E peculia r science changes it into go ld a n d give s it ,

the figure o f Achilles this will n ow be a golden sta tue

,

in stead o f a n iron o n e ; but it will still be Achilles .

It is in this wa y tha t the ma tte r in bodies tha t a re

corruptible b e haves and by art becomes pure a n d
,
”
imperisha ble .ZEn ea s make s his me a ning cle a re r
by sa ying a little f urther on tha t the c ha nge o f
, ,

ma tte r into a highe r conditio n ha s nothin g inc redible

in it It is thus tha t those lea rned in wo rking up
.

ma tte r tak e go ld a n d tin make them a ppa re ntly ,

disa ppe a r colour the ma tte r and cha nge it into

, ,
”
e xcellent gold He evidently rega rds the inte r
.

v en in g c he m ic a l a ctions which make the meta l s

,

Q u o t e d b y B ert he lo t L es O rig i
,n a s d c lA l
c him i
le p 7 5
’
, . .
84 —
AL CHEM Y ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE

a ppa re ntly dis a ppear as so m any st age s in a tra ns

,

m uting pro cess Note the spec ial mention o f the

.

Opera tion O f colo uring an d a lso t he pla in statemen t

,

o f the idea tha t m atte r c a n pas s

“into a higher
”
c ondition .

This extract presents a v e ry ea rly att empt t o

expl a in chemica l action s We kno w m ore a bout them
.

tha n did ! Eneas we ha ve reduced them t o la ws a n d ,

c a n ca lcula te them by equ a tions But do we ye t .

‘
un dersta nd them I Wh a t re a lly ha ppens in such a
f am iliar ca se as t wo a toms O f hydrogen un itin g with
o n e o f oxygen t o f orm a molecule o f wa te r 5? A re

t he f orms O f the constituent atoms modified Is t he

wa ter molecule really something other than a mere
-

‘
c onj unction o f t wo diff erent substances I We a re

stil l groping .

A PPEAL To HI STO R Y .

We may cla ss un de r the hea d o f ext erna l evidence

f o r t ra n smutation t h e persua sive f orce o f t he t esti
mo ny borne b y genera tion a f ter generation Of a depts t o
the success of their e ff orts So grea t was this that it
.

m ust ha ve required a mind o f ex ce ptiona l indepen dence

t o resist it . As late a s 18 32 Schmieder in his , ,

Geschichte der A l chimie actually concludes tha t t he

,

weight o f ev idence in the sevente enth a n d eighteenth

c enturies is so rem a rka ble tha t it impels belief in

t ra nsmutation We m a y well f orgive then thos e

.
, ,

who in preceding epochs honestly held a lchemy t o

, ,

be a true art even though they themselves ha d n Ot

,

suc cee ded . The g rea t sec re t might illude them ; b ut

t he a ppeal t o histo ry satisfied them that others mo re ,

lea rned or mo re f ort un ate had penetrated it

, .
 CHAPTER I I
HIL O SO PHY
P R
O F T A N SM UTA TIO N
E ha ve s e en in the histo ric a l sketch tha t t he
, ,

a lchemi sts d e r ived the t e chn ic a l Side o f their

a rt f ro m the Egyptia n s They were p ra ctica l chemists

.

a n d meta llu rgi sts But they we re a lso philosophers

. .

They we re students o f B yz a ntin e a n d Ale xa ndria n

systems which ha d f used c e rta in doctrines o f t he
G reeks with mystic a l a n d ma gica l elements An d .

thus th o ugh they were in quest o f a disco ve ry which

,

inv o lved ma nipul a tio n o f l a b ora to ry ma teria ls a n d

a pp a ra tus they bro ught t o bea r on thei r ta sk t he
,

re sults o f a b st ra ct thought It wa s this combina tio n

.

o f the theo retic a l a n d the p ra ctic a l th a t con stitut e d

t he peculia r ch a ra cte r o f the He rmetic a rt We ha ve.

c o n side red the exte rna l a spects o f the belie f in tra n s

muta tion We now turn to exa mine its phil o sophica l

.

ba ses .

A P A SSAGE FR M O PSE LL U S
.

An excellent introduction to this phase Of t he

sub ject is p ro vid e d by a n extra ct f rom a letter written
in t he ele venth centu ry by a Byz a ntine a lchemist
n a me d Psellus The Pa tria rc h X iphelin ha d a sked
.

h im t o expl a in his a rt He re is a p a ss a ge in his reply

. .

86
 PH ILOSOPHY OF TRANSMU TATIO N 87

Y ou desire tha t I should make known t o you

this a rt which resides in fire s a n d f urnaces and which ,

expresses t he destruction o f substances and tra ns

m uta tions o f na tures S o me believe that it is a know
.

ledge f o r the initiate held sec ret which t hey ha ve n o t

, ,

a ttempte d t o reduce t o a ra tional f orm — a thing which

I rega rd as an enorm ity Fo r myself I ha ve sought

.
,

f rom the first t o know the c a uses a n d to draw f rom ,

them a ra tiona l explanation o f t he f acts I ha ve .

sought it in the na ture of the f our elements f rom

which a ll comes by combin a tion and into which a ll ,

returns by dissolution . I ha ve seen in my youth

the root O f a n o ak turne d into stone while conser ving
it s fib res an d a l l its structure s pa rticipating thus in
,

the t wo na tures ( tha t is t o sa y wo od an d stone ) , .

Af te r quoting Strabo s a ccount o f the proper t ies o f

’

a n e n crusting f ounta in which produce d the f orms o f

i m mersed obj ects he p roceeds thus

, In this way
the cha nges o f nature ca n ta ke pla ce naturally n o t ,

i n virtue o f a n in ca ntation o r a mira cle o r a sec ret

, ,

f o rm ula. There is an a rt o f tra nsmuta tions I hav e .

wished to set f orth its p re cepts an d its Operations .

Y o u wish t o know by wha t substa nces and by the a id

o f wha t science gold c an b e m a de Y o u would f a in
.

k n ow its secret not t o have gre a t trea sures but t o

, ,

penetra te into t he secrets of nature as d id the a ncient

p hiloso p hers
. I will re v e a l t o yo u all the wis dom
o f Democritus of Abde ra ; I sha ll l eav e nothing in
”
t he s a nctua ry .

We note in this remark a ble statement severa l

points o f great significa nce I ts scientific spirit
.

s hin es o ut clea rly—its reliance o n kn owledge o f na tur e

a n d on o bse rvation There is the determina tio n
. ,

G
88 ALCHEMY— ITS SCIE NCE A ND ROMANCE
moreove r to get down
, to —
the caus es o f things its
philosophica l temper And there is the ref erence
.

t o Demo critus and through him t o the whole field o f

,

Greek thought a bout na ture The core o f the whole .

—
m a tter is the mak ing o f gold t ransmuta tion .

PLATONI C THEORIES OF MA TTER .

Psellus end s us t o the Greeks an d to the Greeks

s ,

we will go Fortun a tely we ca n l imit our selves f o r

. ,

o ur specia l purpose t o the lines o f speculation which

,

c entre in Pl a to and his f ollowers Fo r the Alexa ndria n

.

philos o phy was l a rgely Platonic in spirit and in sub

stance .

Pla to s theory of ma tter is obscu re a n d has give n

’
,

rise t o much discussion We are concerned howeve r

.
, ,

with its teaching a s interpreted by the a lchemists

a n d we can the re f ore stee r c lear o f enta ngling c o n

t ro v e rsie s The f ullest exposition is f oun d in the

.

dialogue known a s the Tim mus .

We there find tha t he seems t o tea ch the existence

o f an ete rna l something which ca n ha r dly be called
m atte r . It is f ormless a n d indetermina te beyond ,

the rea ch o f thought a n d the senses Though so .

dimly a pp rehended a n d so ha rd t o be Cxpla in ed yet ,

it underlies a l l things ; it orig inates a n d constitutes

t he ma terial u n ive rse — the principle o ut o f which a ll
things are f ormed Pla to ca lls it sometime s the
.

wo mb or mother of all becoming He c o n .

c e ive d that the C r e a tor imposed upon it ce r ta in f or ms ,

a n d tha t there thus c a me in to being the f our kinds o f

substan ce so wi d ely de c lared t o be elements

wa te r ea rt h air and fire Of these he s a id wa te r is
, , , .
, ,
90 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIEN CE AND R OMANCE

PL ATO NISM A ND AL CHEMY .

The a lchemists assimila ted this teaching so -

c om letely that Geber the gre a t m a ster o f the Arab ia n

p ,

schoo l goes t o the length o f a sse rt ing that m eta ls ca n

,

not be transmuted until they have been reduced t o

”
their first m atter In other words he not only
.
,

ma inta ined tha t meta ls a re compounded o ut O f this

”
mo ther stuff but a lso tha t if they are t o be brought
, ,

by a rtificial mea ns t o higher sta t e s o f perf ection they ,

must necessarily first be deco mposed into the ir p rim

ordia l condition This tea ching a f f o rds a strikin g
.

exa mple o f the influence o f philosophy o n la b ora tory

o p e ra tions a n d with va rious modifica tions
, reta ined ,

its h o ld down t o the da ys when a lchemy wa s deca dent

a n d dis c redited .

A typica l insta nce is f oun d in the writings O f B a sil

Va len tin e an adept o f the thirteenth century The
, .

f o llowing passage is cle a r a n d to the p o int Think

most diligently a bout this bear it of ten in mind , ,

o bse r ve an d comprehend that all m In era ls a n d

,

meta ls a re produced an d generated in the sa me time

a n d in the same f a shion an d o f o n e a n d the s a m e
,
”
p rincip a l ma tter This is Simple a n d stra ightf orwa rd
. .

We must n ot however ima gine tha t all who develo ped

, ,

the c entra l idea were equa lly sober m inded o r that -

,

t heir teachings were always in harmony with e a ch

othe r Many were vague and incoherent m ystic a l
.
,

a n d f a ntastic But we should not on tha t a cco unt

.

deny the ra tiona l element which underla y them a ll ,

a n d which f rom time t o time re a sse r t ed itsel f i n t he

specul a tions o f the nobler sort o f adepts .

 PHILOSOPHY OF TRANSMU TATI O N 91

Ta ke a s a f a voura ble exa mple o f a n a ttempt a t a

ra tio n a l develo pmen t o f the Pl a ton ic doctrine t he

s ystem expou n ded i n t he wo rk s o f the Va le ntin u s

a b o v e quoted He s e ts o ut f ro m the ide a tha t benea th

.

al l the sensible qu a litie s o f a sub sta nce there is a n

in co rp o rea l E sse nce He the re f o re distinguishes t he
.

s pe c ific bodily o r ma te r i a l
, p a rt f rom the ,

In t he bodily pa rt he ho lds the re a re the f o u r genera lly

re c gn ised el e me nts
o — e a rth w a te r a ir ,fire SO f a r
, , .

t h e re is nothing re a lly n ew But he then ma kes a n

.

a dv a n ce .He ho lds tha t f rom the rela tions betwee n

pa irs o f these eleme nts result wha t he ca lls the three
P rinciples Fire a cting on a ir p roduces Sulphur ;
.

a ir a ctin g o n wa ter p roduces Me rcu ry ; wa te r a cting

o n e a r t h produces S a lt The Sulphur Me rcury a n d

.
, ,

S a lt thus p roduced a re not to be thought a s being o f

the ordina ry sort in common use They ha ve a n .

exa lted o r sublima ted na ture which implies specia l

p o wers a n d virtues an d become a rec o gnised T ria d
,

f o r a lchemy a s distinct f ro m the Four o f philos o phy

, .

Ca n m a n ma ke the th ree Pri nciples out o f the

Elements 7 NO sa ys Va lentine God a lone can do
,

tha t ; m a n ha s simply t o a ccept them But m a n .

ca n g o t o work with the three Principles a n d mingl e

them in various wa ys a n d p roportion s He is thus .

a ble t o ef f ect tra n smutations o f the substa nces with

which he is a ctua lly dea ling .

The stran geness o f this specula tion m a y blind us

t o its merits It is a n origina l a ttempt a t a na lysis
. .

An d we m a y pa ra llel its conclusions under our modern

c o n ditions Ma y we not f a irly say tha t the place
.

o f Va lentine s P rin ciples a re o ur chemica l

’
elements
Fo r a f urt her co n side ra t io n o f t h is, see t he n e x t c ha pt e r , p.107 .
92 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMA NC E
which the scientist ca n ne ither make n o r unma ke
But he c an combine them in e n dless wa ys a n d p ro po r
tio n s Elimi na te the idea o f a pa ssing o f o n e substa nc e
.

into a no ther substituting tha t o f a building up o f

,

fixed kinds o f a toms a n d the kinship o f the O ld a n d

,

the new is a pp a rent .

As rega rds the underlying Essence Va lentine sa ys ,

it is hidden by the wra ppings o f Elements a n d

Pr inciples But tho ugh impa lp a ble it a cts a s a mystic
.
,

un iting bon d Ha ve we n o t here a n a nticipa tio n o f

.

t he mo dern co ncept o f the ether o f sp a ce Re a d

an y rece n t a ccount o f thi s mysterious illusive a ll , ,

perva ding entity postula ted by o ur physica l philo so

p he r s a
, n d y o u w ill symp a t hise w ith V alentine s
’

specula tion .

Tn E ME RC URY O F THE Pn IL o so r n E R s .

Wha t has preceded will ena ble us t o a pprehend

the a lchemist notio n o f wha t wa s ca lled the —Me — rcu ry
a l.

”
o f the Philosophers It wa s reached in this wa y
. .

By a spec ial ised a pplica tion o f the doctr ine o f a first

”
ma tte r a depts ca me t o think tha t there must b e
,

somepa rticula r kind Of sub sta nce w h ich i s t hm

-
'

is
— '

o f al l the meta l s r en de r ing them all e ssen IIally Oi a

,

u n if orm c o m po sit iOn The diff eren ces b et ween them

m fi

a re du et O v arIo us col our ing ma tters a n d impu rities .

Fo r var ious rea s o n s t o be given la te r the met a l ,

mer cury ha d a ttra cted exceptio na l a ttention a n d it ,

wa s gen era lly a greed tha t this wa s the common

in most substa nce o f the metals Theory a n d p ra ctice
. ,

h o wever were he re a t l o ggerhe a ds Fo r it wa s

, .
94 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE

f o rm o f it goes into deta il thus Gold is engen dered .

b y a cle a r me rcury associa ted with a clea r re d sulphu r

s ilv e r by a clea r me r cu ry a n d a w hite , o r slightly red ,

sulphur ; iron by a n impure mercury a n d a sulphur

white a n d clea r ; lea d by a thick mercu ry a n d a white
sulphu r thick a n d a little re d ; a n d so o n The
, .

question does n ot seem to ha ve b e en dea lt with a s t o

wha t the impur ities a re Perha ps it is covered by
.

the idea o f a p a ssing through sta ge s t o perf e ctio n .

A f ur ther c a use o f the dif f erences was f ou n d in

t he a moun t o f b a king which the mixtu res ha d u n de r
go n e down below in the e a r t h ( The notion tha t they .

grow comes un de r a n other hea d ) Gold f o r .

,

e xa mple wa s b aked a long time at a gentle hea t

,

silver some s a id required a hun dred yea rs to b a ke

, ,

i ron wa s metal spoilt by t o o much b akin g ; tin if ,

f ur t her b aked wo uld bec o me silve r lea d is detestable

,

sulphu r b a dly b aked The idea o f passing throug h

.

various sta ges is still f unda menta l .

S ULPHUR .

If we ask why sulphur should be chosen as a

necessa ry ingre dient in t he comp o sition o f me ta ls ,

the a n swer still keeps us in to uch with Greek phil o

sophy The element o f me rcury p rovide d the meta llic
.

p ro pe rties such a s lustre ma lle a bility ductility

, , , .

But the f a ct tha t fire ha d the powe r o f a lte ring meta ls

h a d to be a cc o unted f o r No w Pla to ha d ta ught tha t
.

r —
fi e is a substan ce e xcessive ly a tte nu a te d in deed , ,

b ut n eve rtheless to be ra nge d with a ir wa ter a n d , ,

e a rth The re a re s eve ra l kin ds o f it he s a ys fla me

.
,
 PHIL OS O PHY OF TRANSMU TATIO N 95

which gives light t o the eyes with o ut burn ing them

and which rema in s in substa nces tha t ha ve been
fi re
e n fl a m e d a f ter the fla me is extinct
, The a lche m ists .

c a me t o a ssocia te their elementa l fire with the sulphu r

o f the Phil o sophe rs To this co nstitue nt wa s a t t ri
.

buted the c o mbustibility of me ta l s by whic h ,

t e rm wa s inte nde d their a lte ra bility un de r t he a ction

o f fi re .

The notio n of fi re as a r ae l sub stance compo un ded

i t nt
s s e It ma de it s la st ap pe a ra n ce In the f a mo us
.

M i m i: theory pr o m ulg a ted by

“
,Sta hl a t the
“ " "

b e g in ning o f t h e eigh teent h cent u ry? B riefly St a ted

fi

t he t l f é Ory W asI Wh e n a sub sta n ce burn s it ,

is lo sing _phlo g _ist o n ; the fla me hea t a n d light a re , ,

evidence o f the vi o len ce o f the p r ocess All c o m .

b ust ib le substa n c e s cont a in phlogisto n a s a c ommo n

’

p rin c ip l e I t i
.s so in tim a tely combi n ed with them
tha t it ca nn ot be seen u ntil it is esca ping That which .

rema ins a f te r combustion is the o r ig in a l s

'

m in us its phlogiston .

Apply this to the meta ls Some o f them such a s .

,

zinc ca n be ma de to bu rn a n d ea r t hly substa n ces

, ,

remain Others like le a d a n d mercury do not bur n

.
, ,

but if exposed t o hea t lose their meta llic a ppea ra nce .

It was there f ore a rgu ed tha t the meta ls were com

po un ds o f phlogiston a n d the ma teri a ls that were le f t
a f te r the combustion Moreover the colo ur o f the
. ,

meta l was connected with the a mount o f the phlogisto n

conta ined Fo r exa mple if lea d is he a ted it yields
.
, ,

—
litha rge a yellow substa n ce ; if hea ted f ur t her it ,

yields Ied lea d Evidently sa id the cha mpions O f

'
.
,

t his the o ry the r e a re dif f erent qua ntitie s o f t he

,
96 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
fi re substa nce p resent Could t_
-
l
_
I _p
e .hlogist o n b e p u t
bac k ag ain I n
not a f ew c a ses Thus if t he . ,

d p l h qg i t i t d i n c— the e thy subst n ce m n

e s c a e z a r a re a In l g
burn ing b e hea ted with w
g

f
a te r — o o d Or ch ar c Oar t iI Ta
‘

me ta l re a ppea rs I t ha s a c quire d a f resh stock f rom

t he burn in o f the w oo d o r ch a rcoa l
M
.

ine in a s c ie ntific
dress Sub stit ut e sfl plmP f o r phl o gisto n a n d the
.
..

-
,

e ss e nti a l f e a tu res In the t wo a re the S a me Th e la ter .

“
a y su cm
” u h -

e xp er imente rs did n o t l upon the fi rst

me ta l substa n ce a n d they wo rked out their theo ry
,

much mor e thoroughly a n d logica lly but the ro o t

pr in ciple is the sa me .

No w Stahls the o ry led up t o the discover y O f

’

o xyge n . It f o cussed a ttention o n the phe nomen a o f

combustion a n d b ro ught t o gethe r the sca tte red f a cts
,

by me a n s o f a n expla na tio n which though e rroneous , ,

e n ormo usly helped scientists to get o n t o the r ight

tra ck Why should we be so unf a ir a s to deny t o t he
.

a lc hemists the me rit o f p rep a ring the wa y f o r Sta hl

Fo llies a n d f a lsities o ught n o t t o obscure t he sha re

the y ha d in achieving the ultimate success .

T HE O R Y A ND P RA CTICE .

We have n o w see n ho w Gr eek phil o s o phy l argel y

moulded the devel o pment o f the Hermetic a rt Let .

us get a genera l idea o f the wa y in which the a lchemists

set a bout their task .

Som p articul ar subs t a n ce usualy

l a met a l w o uld , ,

be chosen a s likely t o a llow o f tra nsmuta tio n Into

a o b ect th en was t O strip it
silv e r o r
g o ld Th e
g.r e t j
98 —
AL CHE MY ITS S CIENCE AND ROMANCE

Q U AL ITIE s A S SE PAR ATE E NTITIEs .

There a rises out O f the sta tements just ma de a

f ur t he r po i nt which it is importa nt t o u nd e rsta nd if
we wo uld e nte r i nto the mi nds o f the a l c he mi sts .

S e vera l time s the expr essi o n was used a sub sta n c e,

”
must be stripp ed o f certa i n o f its qua lities Vi ncent .

d e Bea uva is d efinitely cl a i ms tha t a depts c a n ro b

s ubsta nces o f their qua lities No w we must b e

.

p repa red t o i nter pret this la ngua ge literal ly Tha t is .

t o sa y we must r ealise tha t the a lchemist ima gi ned

,

the qua lities o f substa nces t o b e sep arate thi ngs

e xisti ng i n thei r o wn right We n eed not g o deeply
.

i nto the metaphysics implied It will be e nough t o

. .

gra sp the prof ound dif f eren ce between their p o int o f

view a n d ours When the o pera tor who wo uld fix
.

mercury determi ned t o get r id o f its vola tility a n d

liquidity he ha d much the s a me idea in his mind as
,

a m a n who would fish o ut o f a liquid a n y substa n ces

tha t were scattered through it .

Let us contra st o ur wa y o f viewing a para lle l

pr ocess If w . d
ne n se s some stea m i nto wa te r ,

a n d then f r eez es the

“ — ‘

he is TO b bing t he Orig in al s ub st an ce Of a n y
.
’
'

qua lities, but mer ely tha t he is ca u sing it t o chang e

”
He is caIiSiITg Th e mole
' ' '

wha t we c all its sta tes .

cules o f wa ter to come closer a n d clO Sert o gether THO

- _
F

al chemist o n t he o th er ha nd wo uld c o n ceiv fi ha t

, ,

when he ha d c o ndensed t he stea m h e ha d r obbed it

o f a qu a lity th a t ma de it a
“ a ir th
,

a t when he
n
f roz e the wa ter he ha d ro bbed it o f a q ua lit y t ha t
fl

—
ma de it a liquid Tw
,

y exiSt en t things ha d lieOu

o r eal l .
 PH ILOSOPHY OF TRANSMU TA T I O N 99

abstrac ted f ro m it It was thus that by stripping

w
.

O f f t hefl sg f r o m o f diria ry me r c u ry
,

he_ho t o ct a residue th a t wo uld b e t he Bhil o so

M R is clea r tha t t his pr of ound dif f er

e n ce must be kept well i n view if we would interpret

a right t he theories and r eceipts in a lchem ica l t rea tises .

The subj ect will c ome bef o re us in a nother context .

Meanwhile let us a ck nowledge that t he Hermetic

a rt ta ken a t its best was f ound ed o n observat ion an d
, ,

r eason .
 CHAPTER III
A LC HE M Y A ND A N M SMI I
NO THER r ange o f ideas , ki n t o but less strictly
a ,

philoso phica l tha n those c onsidered in the l a st

,

cha pter strengthened a n d enriched the belief i n t he

,

ossibility o f tra nsmuta tio n The a lchemists wer e f r o m

p .

the first deeply impressed by the pr ocesses o f g rowth in

t he world o f pl a nts a n d a nimals And they co n ceived
.

tha t i norga nic substa nces more part icul a rly the
,

meta ls were endowed with a kind of lif e simil a r t o

,

tha t o f orga nisms In f a ct broadly spea king they

.
, ,

adopted the f undament al princi pl es of wha t is known

as Ani m ism .

It is suf ficiently well kno wn that pr imitive man

interpreted the events a n d changes around him o n
the a nalog y o f human activities ; he l o o ked upon
them as m a n if esta tion s o f living wills The noisy .

bro ok the roari ng wa ves the c ra cklings i n t he wo o ds

, , ,

n o less tha n the growi ng tree or the bea st o f pr ey ,

f o r him argued the presenc e o f lif e Indeed it wa s .

o nly by such a view tha t he c ould at a l l u nder st and

them or bring himself i nto practical rel a tion s with
the thing s around him ; f o r he knew o f n o mode o f
a ctivity other than his o wn This orig inal tendency
.

p e rsisted on into time s wh e n reflective thought ,

such as that of the e arliest Gr eek philosophers strov e ,

100
 n
i t en siv —
ean s S CIE NCE A ND ROMANCE

their native sta te It is not diffi cult t o see ho w

.
,

in the ignora nce o f the true nature o f what we ca ll

”
the elements this va ryi ng deg r ee o f purity might
,

g i ve r ise t o the b e lie f in a n upw a rd prog r ession But .

t he n otion o f g rowth is so f a r re moved f rom o ur

present modes o f thought that we are tempted t o

rega rd it a s a flight o f unbridled imag ina tion An d .

yet in the popul a r mi nd a t any ra te it persists even

, ,

in this e nlightened ag e A poet is wa rranted in .

describing stones a s hewn f rom the living roc

And there can be little do ubt that ma ny still harbour
a v a gue theory tha t un der the ea rth m inerals a n d

rocks do somehow come into being and increas e .

( In the d a ys whe n co a l w a s bei n g f o rmed ther e ,

would b e a certain am o unt o f justification f or it

—
But that metals actually g row that is a d if f e re nt
ma tter .

The a lchem ists however put a yet grea ter stra i n

, ,

on our ca pa city f o r sympa thy Ha ving entertaine d .

the notio n o f growt h they developed it with a star t l in g

,

thor oug hn ess Metals the y held grow like pla n ts

. , , .

How do pl a_nts start their lif e Y Fro m seedT E iiIé e

' '

na ture proceeds o n the same pla n t hroughout the re ,

must be something corresponding t o seed In the ca s e

o f metal s . They could n ot define exa ctly what this
meta l seed was but they f elt quite saf e In assuming
-
,

its exist ence and deter mi ned t o disc o ver it in orde r

,
“
that they mig ht gro w metals as they g rew plants .

The processes o f cour se wOuId b e O iff eré n t but t he

, , ,

p rl n c iple wou ld be the sa me The see d once. ob t ai n ed ,

and put under proper c o nditions would set o ut o n a ,

cour se o f development which would ultima tely giv e

them the perf ect metal Under t he ea rth the gr owt h.
 AL CHEMY AND ANIMISM 103

was ind efin itely slow , was hind ered in many

an d

wa ys they woul d b y
'

a rtifici a l devices c ome t o t he

aid o f na ture an d speed up her oper ation s .

Such was the train o f reason ing which led t o these

strange conclusions kindled such c himerical hopes,
,

a n d prompted such e ndless l a bour s And yet even

.

h er e we m ust n o t be t o o hasty i n condemnation .

Does n o t mod ern chemistry aim a t s pe ed ing up

divers natural p roc esses Does it n o t build up
molecules a n d increasingly a im at inva ding the sphere
,

of lif e itself by f a brica ting o rga nic compounds

And do we n o t speak o f the g rowth o f crystals a —
term which some think to be more tha n a fig ure o r
analogy
Given the premisses the a lche m ist s reasoning
,
’

wa s log ical He had t o meet however an o bvi o us

.
, ,

d if ficulty . If the seed O f meta ls develop i nto the

n C
- I -o

p er f ect _In
_
et a l g o
, ld,whe ce ome metals
The ex planat ioh advanced was singul ar The f o rma .

"

t iOn o f t h ese was ré g aid ed as due to a thwa rt i ng

'
'
'

R esista n ces were e n countered

overc o me Iro n ti n lea d an d
.
, , ,

t he f est wer e co mpa r ed to a bo rti o n s o r mon str o sities .

Aga in modern science ca n help us to seiz e their idea

when it describes to us the clash of f orces which ca use
ma lf orma tions i n crysta llisa tion o r which altogether
,

preclude it Ther e are f ew o f the rea lly f unda mental

.

c o ncepts o f alchemists tha t a re quite beyo nd t he

p a le o f such suggestive para llels a n d a lthough they
were so lar gely the outc o me o f ima gi na tive gues sing
a d v a n ces in scien ce m a y pr ove them to possess n usus

ect ed kern el s o f truth

p .
104 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANC E

META LS A ND A NIM AL B IRTH .

Certa in o f t he a lchem ist s were n o t content with

ref erri ng t o the plant world when they spec ula ted o n
t he development o f the meta ls but brought in notion s ,

derived f rom the g enera tion and birth o f animals .

Applying st ill more thoro ughly their doctr i n e o f t he

unity o f pla n and actio n i n nature they liken ed t he ,

gen esis o f metals t o tha t o f t he f oetus The com .

p ariso n is a t lea st as o l
d a s the time o f Geber This .

Ara bia n f a ther of the art in o n e o f the works with

,

most confidence a scribed to him works it o ut in deta il , ,

“ “ ‘

in cTud es t h e m ErTiag
'

of
'

an d c On é ept s
’

e, Co n c ept lo n ,
“ “

reari ng , an d education;cl a iming t hat the condit i ons

f ollowed upTIInt il
it lost itself in the mystical a b sur
dit ies o f the latest phases o f the art Some did n ot .

shrink f rom disting uishin g between ma le a n d f ema le

elem ents in the proces s a flirmin g tha t ther e must b e
,

a conj oining o f sex elements be f ore meta l g rowth ca n

- -

be initiat ed .

At this stag e the protests o f the enlightened critic

,

become vehement ; a n d it requires n o sm a ll a mou nt

o f cour a ge t o resist them Nevertheless it m a y b e
.

urged that strip ped o f f oo lish accretion s t he notion

, ,

is a l o g ica l r esult o f the o rig ina l a nimism Moreover .

,

we m ay ask ourselves whether we ha ve yet f a thomed

the na ture an d f unctio n o f sex distincti o ns in t he
grea t upward curv e o f evolution If ther e be n o .

dividing lin e betwee n the o rganic an d inorga nic ( a s

so ma ny n o w a ssume) ho w f ar down does the sex,
1 06 ALCHEMY ITS
— SC IENCE AND ROMANCE

a pples a n d pea rs The same thing m a y be observed

, .

i n r ega rd to vegeta ble lif e Nettles a n d other weeds

.

spr ing up where n o such seed ha s ever been sown .

”
This occurs only by putr e f a ction .

It is n eedless to sa y tha t Valentin e s instances ’

a re ca p a ble of quite o ther expla na tion ; but he

erred i n good compa ny and he makes pl a in t he
,

pri nciple he wishes to esta blish He proceeds t o .

give it the a lchemica l a pplicati o n Know tha t in .

like ma nner n o meta llic seed can develop o r multiply

un less the s a id seed by itself a lone and without t he ,

intr oductio n o f a n y f or eign substa nce can be r educed ,

”
to a state o f putref a ction His pra ctical i nf eren ce
.

is tha t gold must be br ought t o putref y a n d die if

there is t o be a new lif e f o r it with incr ease o f it s
substa nce .

Con sider how puz z ling must ha ve been such a n

experime nt as this They would take a metal sa y
.
,

lea d a n d calcin e it in the a ir They watched it lose

, .

its well known a ppea ra nce a n d cha nge into a powdery

-

kind o f cinder Assumin g a s they did tha t the meta l

.
, ,

ha d a lif e o f its o wn wha t more na tura l tha n to sa y

,

that it ha d died It was i n the conditio n which they

ima gined a seed wo uld be that ha d died in the ground .

They then r eheated this cinder i n a crucible a long

with s o me gra in s o f whea t They watched the met al
.

ta king on a ga in its wonted cha ra cteristics and resum

i ng its origina l state Wha t more natural tha n t o
.

suppose t ha t the lif e in the grai n had br ought a bout a

r esu rr ection o f the met a l We o f course know , ,

tha t it wa s the carbon i n the wheat which t o o k f ro m

the lea d the o xygen it ha d combin ed with in the first
c a lcining But the y ha d nothing t o g uide th e m t o
.
 AL CHEMY AND A NI MI SM 107

such an expl a nation a n d should not theref ore be

, , ,

cha rged with f olly f o r a rguing as they d id The bla me .

comes in when some o f them sta rting f rom this mis

,

u nderstood chemical a ction gave loose rein t o their

,

imag ination a n d l a unched o ut into all ma nn er o f

,

occult a n d mystical theories which led them f urthe r

a n d f urther a way f rom the world o f f a cts The se .

a berra ti o n s however should n o t tempt us to igno re

, ,

the rati o na l character o f the broad considera tion s o f

which they were the perversions .

METALS HA VE B OD Y A ND SOUL .

It has been shown how tha t the a lchemists setting ,

o ut f ro m the compara tively si m ple idea o f a meta l

s eed a n a logous to the seed o f pl a nts i ntr oduced t he,

more complicated idea s c o nn ected with gen era tio n

in the a n ima l world They wer e n ot content t o sto p
.

a t even this adv a n ced st a ge o f specul a ti o n Ma n is .

the crown o f the a n ima l wo rld a n d co nsists o f bo dy

,

a n d soul . They a sked thems elves whether a simil a r

distinction d oes n ot exist i n the case o f meta ls a n d ,

decided i n the a ffirmative And ha ving venture d

.

o n this f urther ana logy the y developed it with t he

,

utmost seriousness a n d exploited it in their pra ctic a l

work .

The philos o phica l ba sis f o r their notion was l argely

derived f rom the tea chi ngs o f the Platonists Acc o rd .

i ng to these mystica l idea lists ma n s body wa s a n ’

—
i ncumbra nc e a cl o g o n the a ctivities o f his tru e
na tur e It had ther ef o r e t o be subdued a n d mo r t ified
.

bef o r e tha t true n atur e co uld sho w itsel f If then t he .

, ,

r iches t virtues o f the meta l s wer e t o be f r ee f o r high e r

108 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE A ND ROMANCE

tra nsmutations their ma teri al f orm must be destr oyed

, .

Thus i n the seventh century an alchemist Stephanus

o f Alexa nd ri a decl a red tha t
,
“ it is necessa ry to deprive
,

”
matter o f its qualities i n o rder to dra w o ut its soul .

And thus t oo in the sixteenth centur y Para celsus

, ,

d ecl ar ed that nothi ng o f true value is located in

the body o f a substa n ce but in the virtue
, The .

less there is o f the body the more in pro p o rtion is

,
”
the virtue . Between these two writers ther e is a
g p
a o f n e a r ly a thousa nd ye a r s Yet the c o n ti n uity
o f the doctri n e is m a nif est .

But by some o f the Hermetic philosophers a f urther

r efi n eme nt was el a bora ted They ma de a threef old
.

—
distinctio n body s o ul a n d spirit Spirit was con
, , .

c eiv ed t o be a primal element not peculi a r t o a n y one,

substa nce but f unda menta l t o a ll We m a y perha ps .

sa y tha t it was first ma tter sublima ted i nto a

u nivers a l essence —the spirit o f na ture The .

s o ul o n the other ha nd was held t o be the p articul ar

, ,

lif e tha t cha racterised a n y substa nce o r g roup o f

substa n ces that is to sa y it was specific n ot universal
, , .

A substa nce was held t o be more perf ect the more it

c o nta in ed of this essence Gold being the most .
,

perf ect o f a ll was richest o f all in this regard But

, .

even go ld did not exhibit the essence i n complete

purity ; it obscured it by possessing certa in specific
properties which had t o be stripped o ff bef o re the
spirit coul d be really f ree And the stripping o f .

it was the supreme problem which the pr a ctic a l

a lchemist ha d in view It was these imperf ections
.

tha t led the a lchemists t o distinguish between ordina ry

gold a n d the gold o f the s a ges —the l a tter bein g
t h e pur e essence .
110 AL CHEMY ITS SC IEN CE AND ROMANC E
—

m an . The alchem ists were impressed by certa in

empirica l phenomena which tra nscended their powers
o f expl a na tion The power o f a mag net f o r exa mple
.
, ,

is mysterio us even t o us ;much more was it mysterio us

'

to them More especia lly strikin g was its power o f

.

a ttra cti n g iron i n spite o f the p rese n ce o f i nterveni n g

substa nces This virtue seemed t o them to a rgue

.

”
the a ction o f some spiritua l f orce i nta ng ible , ,

invisible pertaining to the inmost na ture o f t he

,

a ttra cti n bod y d lso f that att ra cted They

g a n a , o .

pla ced in the same category o f subtle essences t he

a ction o f poison s o n orga nisms supposing tha t t he
,

permeating power was due to some f orce which could

be reg ard ed a s spiritual i n its nature .

I NTR O D U C TIO N OF M O RAL ID EAS .

It wa s n o t theref ore a n y considerable step o n ~

, ,

wa rds to endow substances with mora l qua lities .

Fo r if they p o ssess tha t whic h co n stitutes the highe st

p a rt o f huma n na tur e they would also possess its
,

c ha r a c te ristic a ctivities — the mo ral a mong the rest .

Modern thought entirely rej ects such a n otio n It .

strives to be perf ectly O b j ect iv e a ssum ing tha t the ,

physica l un iverse is who lly under the sway o f unva ry

ing deter mina te n atura l l a ws Accordingly scienc e
, , .

ra ises n o m o ral question s i n studying physica l phen o

mena n o t even a s regards the uses to which substa nc es
,

a re put ,much les s a n y suppo sed i nherent good o r

bad qua lities they m a y ma nif est The juice o f a .

l nt f i n st nce is studied pu ely f its o wn s a ke

p a ,o r a , r o r ,

its composition its ef f ects quite irrespective o f t he

, ,

use a n y i ndividual m a y put it to sa y t o heal or t o -

,
 ALCHEMY AND ANIMISM 1 11

p oison O
. r i n the ca se o f such a d rug as alcohol it ,

fi nds a pla ce f o r it in a certai n interesting series o f

c hemical compo unds a n d desc ribes its v a rious
,

p r ope rties n o tes its powe r s as a solve nt its e f f,ects

o n living tissues , a n d so f o rth .But it leaves t o the
m oralist a n d social r ef ormer pr actica l quest ions
rega rding its con sumption by human being s ; and
would sc o rn the id ea that the drug is intrinsically
e vil.

The al c hemists had n o t a tta ined t o this obj ective

way o f studying their materia ls They read them .

selves into wha t they observed in their experiments ,

a n d thus unduly conf used both their theory a n d their

p r a ctice It. is curious t o O bse r ve h o w t r a ces o f t he

ol d mod es o f thought survive in some o f o ur most

scie ntific termi n ology We still speak o f
. base
and noble metals o f good an d b ad c o n
,

d uct o rs o f electricity o f , perf ect and im perf ec 2 ’

—
gases terms o f distinctly moral connota tion though , ,

in such conn ections their real f orce is now severely

,

igno red o r co mpletely f orgo tten They m a y still .

s e rve when histo rica lly con sidered as a ids in putting

, ,

o ur selves a t the a lchemist s poi nt o f view

’
.

We sa w tha t i n supposing a spirit i n substan ces ,

t here wer e certa in material phen ome na which streng th

e n ed the leading s o f philosophical specul a tion SO .

it was here a ls o Con sider the eff ect o n the a lchem ist
.

mind o f such a n experiment as this S o me mercury .

is a llowed to f a ll in a fine ra i n on t o melted sulphur .

A black substa nce is p roduced Whe n this bla ck .

subst a n ce is heat ed in a closed vessel it is v ola tilised ,

a nd con d enses in t o a b eautif ul r ed sol id We IIow

'
’

kno w that the black product is the s a me as the red ,

1 12 ALC HEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE
—

bein g comp osed o f the s a me g ua n t it ies o f c_I

1 ry
-

and sulphur But the alchemists did n o t kno w this

.
,
' ' —
uied the cha nge to t he influence o f fi re sSE
"

a n d a t t rlB
'

qualities substa n ces, And her e comes i n t he

of

t ra n sit iQ IL tQ moral idea s Bla ck was f o r the alche .

m ists the _s_ o f d a rkn ess d the symbol of

ymb l
o re

light By a n
. i nevita ble a ssocia tio n o f ideas
the experiment is i nterpr eted as a Chan g Ff t I b ad
' '

to be f a ir we must n ot hastily a ttribute t o the pla y

,

o f irr esp o n sible imagi na ti o n n o tion s which being so ,

f a r remo ved f rom o ur o wn a ppe ar stra nge a n d ,

f a nta stic .

Reviewing the who le develo pment o f these a n i

mi stic specul a tio ns we m a y a rrive a t this genera l
,

c o n clusio n The exaggera tio n s a n d f o llies which

.

a ccu mul a ted ro u nd them a re rightly t o be c o n den m ed .

Nevertheless they conta in a s o lid cor e O f r easo n a ble

in f erences which in n o t a f ew ca ses ha ve their sequels
, ,

o r a na l o g ies in scie ntific specul a ti o n s o f the pr ese n t

da y .

Th is an d se v e ra l o t he r e x a m pl
es an d q uo t a t io n s in t h is
c h a pt e r a re t a k en f ro m Muir
’
s Sto ry f
o A lchem y .
1 14 AL CHEMY— ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
their Telchi nes reputed the first wo rkers in metals
, .

and o f ill f ame as spitef ulencha nters So it was with

-
.

the B uerge rs o f Teuto nic myth m alicio us being s who ,

wro ught i n no rthern m i n es So t o o with the super .

, ,

n a tural D a k t ulo i o f Mount Ida in Phr yg ia t o who m ,

the discovery o f iro n was attributed and the art o f ,

trea tin g it by fire In Teutonic S a ga we ha ve o u r

.
,

Wa yl and the S m ith a kind o f dem i god the hero o f

,
-

ma ny exciting a dventures No r c an we be surprised .

tha t ma g ic sho uld thus widely b e associated with

metallurgy The discovery o f meta ls and the a rt
, ,

o f workin g them mea nt much in those ea rly d a ys

,

power in war a dva n ce i n civilisa tion And t he

, .

pro cesses employed were so little understood that

they seemed to surpa ss the limits o f human kn owledge
a n d skill .

Yes a lchemy ha d a bad sta rt And the position

, .

was ma de the worse by the f a ct tha t alchemy was

en ga ged n o t with ordina ry meta llurgy but with the
, ,

tra nsmuting o f ba se meta ls i nto go ld and tha t it ,

ope n ed up p r o spects o f b o u n dless w e a lth Add the .

dec o ctio n o f an elixir which wo uld indefi nitely pro l o n g

the term o f huma n lif e a n d we see a mple rea sons n o t
, ,

o nly f o r the p o pul a r view but f o r t he belief n o t

,

seldom held by a depts themselves tha t supern a tura l

powers must be enlisted if success were to be a ttained .

ATTITUD E o r THE C HURC H .

The reputa tion f o r ma gica l ts f requently rous ed ar

t he suspici o n and hostility o f Christia n the o log i a n s .

S o me i ndeed were i n clin ed t o r ega rd the ve ry

, ,

a ttempt a t tra n smuta tio n as a n encro a chme nt o n t he

 MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY 1 15

divi n e preroga tives Zosimus a n d Tertullia n f o r

.
,

in st a n ce a ttributed the o rigi n o f a lchemy t o the

,

tea ching o f bad a ngels The no tion is as o ld as

.

’
Ge nesis with its tree o f knowledge it s d emoniac
, ,

t empta tion and its condem n a tion o f the f oundi ng

,

o f cities an d o f their a ttend a nt arts and craf ts

, The .

ss a ge f ro m this book which a sserts tha t the sons o f

p a

God too k wives f rom a mong the children o f men is

of ten quoted by Tertullia n a n d others who shared his
views The story had been a do pted an d expa nded
.

in the book that bea rs the n a me o f E n oc h t he —

p a tr ia rch whose lif e was pa ssed in those f a tef ul times .

Ther e we find tha t these sin f ul a ngels dwelt with

mortals a n d t aught them sorceries en cha ntments , ,

the properties of roots a n d trees ma gical signs a n d

, ,
”
the a rt o f observ ing sta rs They betra yed the
.

secr et o f worldly pleasur es sho wed how t o obta in

,

go ld a n d silver and things ma de o f them and ta ught ,

the art o f dyeing fleeces We note the combination

.

o f the m akin g o f gold the observing o f stars a n d the

, ,

pra ctice o f magical inca ntations The applica tion o f

.

this to alchemy was obvious .

In the Middle Ages the suspicion was i nten sified

rather than removed For i n those times o f d ark
.

superstitions every f a ct tha t tra nscended o r di na ry

,

experience was a ttributed t o supernatura l a gents ,

go od or bad And a n y m an who exhibited unusua l

.

powers o r made u nf a milia r experiments was bra nded

with the dangerous na me o f s o rcer er The tendency .

to such unf avo ura ble judg ments was increased by the
a ttitude an d beha viou r o f ma ny o f the a depts them

selves . Some who knew tha t they were g uiltless o f the

cha rge a ga inst them co uld n o t r esist the temptation
1 16 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE

of lea ving uncontra dicted if they did n o t actua lly

,

f oster t he rumours which shroud ed them with an

,

air o f mystery an d enhan ced their re putations Others .

co ns ciously t ra d ed o n the popul ar ign ora nce Ho w .

d early they sometimes pa id f or the a dva ntage we

saw i n the historica l sketch ; also ho w the Churc h

drew a distinction between white an d bl a ck mag ic ,

a n d how by virtue o f this disti nction even Po pes

, ,

f reely a n d ardently pr a ctised alchemy Spea ki ng .

e n e ra lly we may ta ke it th a t in this medi aeva l period

g ,

mag ic and sorcery wer e much talked o f but were in ,

reality littl e practised Here and there an a dept

.

might d a bble in the d ark lore The gr ea t majority

.
,

however confin ed themselves t o arduous labours in

,

their l a bora tories .

AL C HE MIST MA G IC A ND PH IL O SO PH Y .

Though the varied f or ms o f magic ar e ma inly

products o f imagin a tio n a lchemists sought to vi ndi
,

ca te their a cceptance o f them by ref errin g to t he

tea chi ngs o f philosophers Pla to Pythago ras Demo
.
, ,

c r it us a n d other grea t a uthorities we r e held to ha v e

, ,

been mag icia ns True they ha d n o t lef t a n y eviden ce

. ,

o f this r ol e in their a uthen tic writings ; but tra d itio n

gen er ously supplied the deficiency a n d e nthusia stic ,

a depts composed tre a tises which they published unde r

the shelter o f their ven era ted na mes .

The most celebrated o f these philosopher magici a n s -

was Iam b licus the Alexa ndrine who lived i n the

, ,

f ourth century . He wa s a cco unted a Neo Pla tonist -

a lthough his te a c hing wa s in many impo rtant poi n ts

o f quite a diff er ent tr end More especially he held

1 18 AL CHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
—

supern a tural; and they theref ore beca me ardent

def enders o f mag ic a strology and alchemy The
, , .

interdependence thus established was f ar reaching and -

lasting in its results .

ASTROL OG Y AND AL C HE M Y .

Mo st alchemists believed that the planets had t he

power o f maturin g metals and so could influence t he
,

opera tions which a imed a t their tra nsmuta tio n .

C o n cerning the pseud o scien ce or art o f a stro log y

-

, , ,

ther e is n o need t o enter into deta il Fo r the a stro .

loger as such confined himself generally t o judg ing

, ,

the influence of the hea venly bodies upon huma n

a f f a irs,an d t o f or etelli n g eve nts by thei r position

a n d a spects ; wher ea s the a lche m ist wa s concern ed

with substances a n d their changes The g round .

co mmo n t o both wa s that t he planets wer e a ctive

agents .

It was natural tha t the Ara bians u nder the swa y ,

o f Eastern st a r l o re as well a s o f Alexa ndrian philo

-

sophy ,should believe in a stral influences Geber .

,

f o r example hel d tha t the pl a nets arrived at a certain

, ,

p o int o f the sky a ided the f orming and perf ecting o f

,

the metals whether under the earth o r whe n m a n ipu

, ,

l ated in the labo ra tory He d enied however tha t

.
, ,

m an had power t o direct o r use this influence a n d so ,

s a ved himself f rom the crud er superstitions o f his

time Kalid went so f a r as t o say tha t the action
.

o f the pl a nets c onstituted o n e o f the g re a test diflic ul

ties i n reg ulating chem ical operations The ruling .

ideas o n the subject were ma inly derived f rom tha t

strange store house o f heterogeneous ma terials t he
-
,
 MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY 9

Hebrew Ka bala and were adopted a n d developed i n

,

the stra ngest ways by mediaev a l a n d Rosicrucia n

a depts . Some o f the ide a s are more a ncient a n d ,

c a n be tr a ced ba ck to the B a byl o n i a n s Geber a sserts

.

tha t t he co nju nctio n a n d the r evolution o f the seve n

pl a n ets a c ro ss the spher es o f the signs ( o f the z o dia c )
dire ct the muta tions o f the f our eleme nts ma ke the m ,
”
v a ry a n d a llo w o f their being predicted
, The .

S a baea n o rig i n O f t he id ea is pl a in th o ugh it is pre

,

s e nted a s c o ming f rom Pytha go ra s a n d Ar isto tle .

A pa ss a ge f ro m B a sil Va lentin e ( fif teenth century)

will sho w ho w such notion s to ok root a n d devel o ped .

Ma tter is n o other tha n a mer e va pour which is ,

extra c ted f rom the el e menta ry e arth by the superi o r

st a r s o r by a sideria l distill a ti o n o f the ma c r o c o sm ;
,

whic h siderial ho t inf usio n with an a iry sulphuro us

,

pro perty descending upon i nf eriors so acts a n d

, ,

o pe ra te s tha t there is impl a nted spiritually a n d

i nvisibly a certa i n power a n d virtue in those metals
”
a n d mi n era ls .The sta te ment is va gue t he termi no ,

l o gy i ntentiona lly technical a n d obs cur e Still t he .

—
ma in purpo rt is pla in a p o ndero us a ttempt to give
f ull er deta il to the Ara bi a n doctri n e .

THE ME TAL S A ND THE PLA NE TS .

A pro mi nent f eature o f a lchem ist astrology is

t he a s sig n ing o f the chie f meta ls to the su n a n d
the pla n ets The individua l as signm ents a re n o t
.

a lwa ys the s a me ; but Cha ucer s qua i n t list i n his

’

C han o un s Y em a n n es T a le g ives those most usu ally

’

a ccept ed
120 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
The b odies lo ! hem heer m oo n ;
seven eke ,
d is,
801 g o l ve r we t hripe ,
an d Lun a sil
Ma rs yre n , Mercury q uik silve r we clips ,-

Sa turn us lead , and Jupit er is t in ,

And Venus copper, b y my f a der kin .

This mystica l connection is pro ba bly due to t he

B abylonia ns ; but knowledge o f it was widely
disseminated Pinda r f o r exa mple mentio n s t he
.
, ,

r el a tion between gold a n d the su n The scholium

!
.

o n the p a ssage is a ls o f ull o f interest To ea ch o f .

t he pl a nets some substa nce is a tta ched To t he .

Su n gold t o t he Moon silver to Ceres iron t o Kr o no s

, , ,

lea d t o Zeus electrum 1 t o Hermes tin t o Aphr o dite

, ,
'

,
”
bro nz e A co ndensed a cco unt f ro m a tre a tise e ntitl ed
.
,

The Open E n tra nce will f urn ish a n exa mple o f ho w

,

in l a ter alchemy these a stro l o g ica l ideas were c o m

b in ed with chemistry The a uthor is describing the
.

vario us sta ges i n the perf ec ting o f the Phil o so pher s ’

Sto ne I quote f ro m MuirJt

. The beg inning o f t he
hea ting o f gold with mercury is liken ed t o the King
stripping o ff his golden ga rments an d descending
into the f ountain ; this is the regimen o f ( the pl a n et )
Mercury As the heating is continued all beco mes
.
,

bla ck this is the regimen of Sa turn Then is no ticed .

a pl a n o f m any c o lour s ; this is the regimen o f

Jupiter ; if the hea t is n ot regul a ted pro perly t he ,

yo ung on es o f the cro w will g o ba ck t o t he n est .

’

About the end o f t he f o urth mo nth you will see t he

s ign o f the wa xi ng m o o n a n d all becomes whit e ;
’
,

this is the regim en o f the Moon The white co lo ur .

Ist hm ia nO des , IV , 1 3 -
.

1
'
E lec t rum was o rig in a l
ly an lo y
al of g ol
d an d silver . See
p.18 2.

1 The Story of A lchemy, p 7 2 . .

 12 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMA NCE
His brother Typ hon introduced twelve bla ck pyra
, ,

mids symbol s o f t he ill s which were t o a fflict and

,

destro y Another Egypt ian leg end tells ho w Khoum

.
,

d esiring t o create put f ort h f rom his mouth t he eg g

,

o f the univers e He is of t en represent ed as f ashioning

.

’
o n a potter s wheel t he mysterious oval f r om which

were t o com e the human race an d t he whole o f nature .

The alchemist s egg symbo lised this ra nge o f

’

notion s ; but in addition it was taken t o sig nif y the

special work o f the Hermetic art In an ea rly .

ma nuscript it is thus described : The a ncients call

the Egg the Stone o f c opper the Stone o f Armenia , ,

t he Sto ne o f E g ypt Others call it t he Imag e o f the

.

wo rld Its shell is of copper the alloy o f copper a n d

.
,

lead the alloy o f iron an d copper The calcin ed shell

, .

signifi es chalk arsenic s a nd a rac Chian ea rth etc

, , , , .

The liquid parts o f the Egg are the rust o f copper the ,

wa ter o f g reen copper The white o f the Egg is

.

c a lled g um juice o f t he fig j uice o f the euphorbia

, , .

The yellow o f it is called m ineral o f solid c o pper .

”
Attic ochre Cilician saf ra n , Thus did ima gina .

tio n when g iven f ree r ein el a borate f a ncies i ntended

, ,

t o i nvest the a rt with high mysteries The a pplica .

tion o f the symbol i n l a bora tory operations will fin d

mention later .

Yet a nother symbol o f prim e importa nce is the

o r d ra gon which bites its own ta il , .

This t o o was wid ely known i n the ancient world an d ,

was connected with t he doctri ne that in n atur e ther e

is a consta nt round o f recurrent cha nges The .

alchemists whil e retaining its orig inal significa n ce

, ,

a pplied it with special ref erence t o their own work ,

Q uo t e d b y B e rt helo t Le Orig an es dc lA lchimie p 24

’
, s , . .
 MA G I C AND ASTR O LOGY

which they conceived in its l a rger aspect to ha ve

, ,

—
neither beginning n o r end imita ting as they ma i n ,

t a in ed, a universal na tura l pr ocess They a lso used .

it as a symbol f o r t he mois pri nciple without ,

which n othing ca n exist : o f the soul o f the world

which g ives birth to a n d envelops all that ha s bein g
,

-
the sta rry sky which surrounds the pla nets t he ,

be a uty a n d harmony o f the universe The symb o lism .

thus pra ctica lly coincides with that o f the Philo

s o pher s Egg S o metimes it is pictured with three
’
.

e ar s which r eprese nt the thr ee va ours ; a n d with

p
f o ur f eet which r epr ese nt the f o ur f undamenta l sub
sta nces o r meta ls lea d co pper tin and iro n The se
, , , , .

l ast deta ils recall the mysterious sal a ma nd er whic h

can live in the fire .

MA GIC F ORM ULAS .

Ma ny and interesting ar e the f ormula s a n d

,

symbo ls f o u nd in the a n cie nt ma nuscr ipts O n e o f the .

o lde st is the M a pp w co ntainn very va r ie d

m a t eri a l By the use o f a certa i n figur e ( not preserv e d
.

i n the ma nuscript but pr o ba bly that distinctive o f

,

the meta l lea d ) you ca n wo rk wonders Y o u c a n

, .

ma ke a well run o r stop runni ng ; a cup will ho ld o r

l o se its liquid ; a ca sk will empty itself a n d so o n .

By it s virtue a pplied t o a l antern a n d its o il a pha n to m ,

will come o ut o f the ho use an d enter it a gain s o ldie rs

will come o ut o f their ca mp witho ut their la n ces .

Then comes a d escription o f the conce ntric cir cle s o f

C a rd a n in which a suspended v a se will n ever upset .

See p 17 8
. .
124 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
In a Gr eek ma nuscript which is very a ncient we
fi nd the f ormul a of the Scorpion the La byrin th o f ,

Solomon ( a Ka balistic design ) a n astr olog ical sphere , ,

tea chi ngs o f Nic epho rus o n the ar t o f i nt erpreting

dr ea ms the p ro gnostics o f the f our sea sons ma g ica l
, ,

a lpha be ts the Philosopher s Egg

, In a n other ancient
’
.

tr ea tise mixed up with chem ica l receipt s are ta bles

, ,

to ca lculate the lif e o r dea th o f a sick m a n a f o rmula ,

f o r bri nging a bout the sep a ra tion o f a m a n a n d his

wif e an other t o ca use insomn ia t o a m a n u ntil he
'

dies o f it a philtre t o excite f riendship c o mpo sed o f

, ,

pl a nts m i nerals and mag ic letters Thus closely

, , .

wer e a strolog y ma gic and chemistry uncritica lly

, ,

interm i ngled in t he same treatises and regard ed as ,

bei ng rea lly c onnected .

VA RYING S TRE NGTH or THE MA G ICA L E LE ME NT .

In the trea tises o f the Greek a depts ma gica l

f o rmul a s a r e m i ngled with pra ctica l But the y .

d e cr ea se i n number as t he a rt devel o ps Mi c ha l .

Psell us definitely af firms tha t the destruction s a n d

tr a n sf ormation s o f matter ha ve natura l ca uses a n d
a re n o t in fluenced by i n c a n ta tio n s a n d sec r et f ormul as .

We must make a llowa n ce however f or the f a c t tha t

, ,

i n the Middle Ages many things which off ended the

p r ev a iling s entime n t were pu r ged o ut o f t he o l
d
ma nuscripts The magica l element m a y ther ef ore
.

ha ve b een g reater than it appears B roa dly spea kin g.

,

the Ar a bia ns were domina ted by a scientific spirit

wh ich kept mag ic in t he background Quota tions .

Se e p 8 6 . .
1 26 ALCHEMY— ITS SCIENCE AND R OMANC E

Aquinas I t was said tha t the master ha d got posses

.

sion o f s o me porti o n o f the Elixi r o f Lif e With this .

he succeeded i n a nimating a brazen statue which ,

under proper co njunction s o f the pla nets he ha d made ,

with immense t oil He a n d Aquinas completed it

.

together endowed it with the f a culty o f speech a n d

, ,

c o ndemned it t o undertake var i o us duties d o mestic ,

a n d other . It a cquitted itself excellently a n d pr ove d

itself a mo st usef ul serva nt But owing t o s o me def ec t
.

of c o n structi o n ( wr o ng pla n eta ry i nfluence its

p o wer o f speech unduly asserted itself a n d its cha tte r ,

ing beca me a nuis a nce The two a depts tried a ll

.

so rts o f remedies , but in va in O n e da y whil e .

Aquinas was struggli ng with a ma thema tica l pro bl em ,

he was so irrita ted by it s untimely garrulity tha t he

seiz ed a ha mmer a n d pounded it t o pieces I t .

r epented him sor ely tha t he ha d all o wed his t e mp e r

t o w o rk such dir e mischief and Albertus seve rely

,

repro ved him f or the o utbur st I t a ppea rs they ma d e

.

n o a ttempt to re p a i r the sta tue ; a t a n y ra te it wa s

n o mor e hea r d o f
.

We ca nnot ima gin e tha t such men would len d

their c o untena n ce to the idle ta le Nevertheless t he .

mer e f a ct tha t it wa s invented an d f o und credenc e is

e vide nce o f the le ngths t o which popul a r c r edulit y

c o uld g o a n d r eve a l s the a tmo sphere i n whi c h

,

a lchemy the n flour ished But Aquina s himself wa s

.

l belief in ma gic a s
n o t a ble to thr o w o v e rb o a rd a l ,

is sh o wn by his disti ncti o n bet wee n the white a n d

the bla ck .
‘
See p 34 . .
 MAG I C AND ASTROLOGY 2
7

PA LL IA TIO N .

Tha t the quest o f the Philosopher s Stone was ’

a lwa ys a ccomp a nied i n gre ater o r less d eg ree by a

b elief in ma g ic cannot be de nied tho ugh a s was , ,

be f o r e urged the pla ce it filled was n o t n ea rly so

,

l a rge a s is genera lly tho ught Wha t shall be sa id .

‘
on this co unt in def en ce “o f the a lchemists 1 I n
a n sweri ng the question we must confine o urselves
,

t o the c a se o f t hose who we r e honest inqui r er s a n d

thinkers Rog ues and charla ta n s do not merit
.

a p o l o gies i n wha tever a g e they m a y a ppear

, .

The o utsta nding p alli ati o n wa s the f a ct tha t

during the whole development o f the a rt ( sa v e f o r
the rea ctio n i n the la st sta ge ) the pseudo scienc e s o f -

a st r ol o gy a n d ma gic wer e a lm o st u n iver s a lly a ccepted

witho ut criticism If alchemy is to be condemne d

.

beca us e it did not rise superi o r to their prestige it ,

must sha r e the bl a me with the Christia n Churc h

itself This c o nsidera tion seems t o meet the ca se
.

witho ut f urther plea di ng Why the prestige sho uld

.

h a ve be en so grea t a n d so l a sting is another ma tt er

which would ca ll f o r specia l trea tment The f a c t .

r ema i n s
.

Further let us ask ourselves wha t is o ur O wn

,

positi o n in this regard It is true tha t the en ormous

.

expa nsion o f our knowledge o f n a tur e an d her wa ys

has a ltered o ur outlook a n d ha s libera ted us f r om t he
,

swa y o f ma ny f oolish o r ha rm f ul crea tio n s o f men s ’

f ea rs and vain imagi ni ngs M a gic is n ow a h armles s

.

—
thing the me a n s used by conjurers to a muse a n d
mystif y And yet ev en i n o ur enlighten ed Western
.
,
128 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIENCE A ND ROMANCE

c ivilisation how str ong is the hol d which the f a scin a

,

—
tion o f the unca nny a n d the occult reta i n s an d tha t ,

not only o n the mi nds o f untra ined thinkers but o f ,

the educa ted an d the scientific ! No the twentieth

,

ce ntury has n o t yet won the r ight t o ca st t he fir st

sto n e a t those who in a ges o f dim kn owledge yi elded

, ,

t o the press ur e o f the con ception s ruling i n the i r

wo rld o f thought Ra ther must we keep undulled
.

the edge o f o ur g ratitude t o the adventur ous pion eers

who ha d t o throw o ff the load o f superstition s a n d ,

who bl a zed a track f o r others destined t o enj o y f uller

truth a n d wider liberty .
 CHAPTER I
THE P H IL O SO PHER S ’
O E
ST N

AVING ga ined a general idea o f the histo ry o f

a lchemy a n d o f the ma i n con ceptio n s phil o
, ,

s o phica l a n d other o n which the art wa s ba sed we

, ,

a r e n ow i n a p o siti o n to come to closer qu a rter s with

the definite a ims a n d pra ctices o f the a depts We .

sha ll first c o nsider the Phil o sopher s Sto n e the ’

,

Elixir o f Lif e the Universa l Solvent t heir suppo sed

, ,

ro er ie s a o we rs a n d the cl a ims ma de t o Have

p p t ni p “
,

disco vered them The ma teria ls £3e t he methods

.

empl o ye d w illh ai e sep a ra te considera tion

r .

—
WA NTED A T RA NSM UTIN G AGE NT .

The idea o f a n d belief in the possibility o f tra ns

, ,

muta tio n ha ve been expla i ned a n d expounded i n the

preceding pa rt They render the alchem ist s origi na l
.
’

a n d ma ster problem su ffi ciently pl a i n Given the .

possibility o f tra nsmuta tio n how c a n it be eff ected

,

More pa rtic ula rly ho w can the ba s er met a ls be tra n s

,

muted i nto gold The ea rliest a lchemists a s we ,

saw , had a dopted the p hil o sophica l doct r in e o f a

-fi
h “

first ma tter o ut o f which a ll the va rious sub

sta nces in existence were c o nstructed They a rgued
«

f rom this tha t th ere must b e sa me f und amenta l f o rm

"

131
13 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE

of substance which is p o sse ssed o f perf ect qu a lities ,

a n d theref ore o f specia l virtues They ga ve t o it .

many na mes o f mor e o r less va gue connota tio n t he—

Gra nd Ma gisterium the Elixir the Tinctur e ( the Dyer)
, , ,
— ‘—
the Quintessence a n d o thers yet a ie strang e a n d
‘ ‘

f a nm his they held when com BIn ed with o ther

, ,
—
bodi es woul d act powerf ully upon them ; i n t he
case o f t he imperf ect metals it would purif y a n d ,

vivif y them and cha nge them into the perf ect meta l
, ,

g o ld .

To this idea o f a t ra n smuting substa nce wa s

genera lly added tha t o f its genera ting p o wer It s .

a ction was rega rded as bein g a k i n t o tha t o f a seed

which sets go ing a pr ocess o f development a n d a s ,

being a necessary mean s to the genesis o f the perf ec t

metal We here ha ve an expla nation o f the term
.

”
t he philosophica l egg used o f the f urna ce in which
,

the f ecundation was supposed t o be e ff ected the ,

s ymbolism o f which has been ad equately d escribed

EARL Y D ESC RIPTIO NS O F THE AGE NT .

The early alchemists had n o c lear o r set tled idea

wha t this substa nce might be They used various .

methods t o find it and loo ked f o r it in va rious pla ces

, .

They did not rega rd it as exclusively m i nera l but ,

e ve n mad e use o f orga nic bodies in it s pr ep a ra tio n

blood ha ir eg g and so f orth The ma j o rity o f t he

, , , .

Gr eek an d Ara bia n a uthors contented themse lves

with establishing theoretica lly the f a ct o f tra n smuta
ti o n witho ut ventur i ng to specif y a n y pa rticular
a gent f or e ff ecting it Geber was a n exception a n d
.
,
13 4 ALCHE MY—ITS SC I E NCE A ND ROMANCE

Q ui ntessen ce is dea r and glorious to him who knows it

and uses it vile t o him who is igno ra nt o f it ; fin ite
,

a n d specific f o r the o n e infi nite a n d i n deter mina te f o r

,

the o ther In a n y ca se it is pl a i n tha t the a utho r

.

hims el f ha d not discover ed it He is merely wr iting .

a bout it keenly determi n ed to exa lt its virtues a n d

,

cr eate a n a tmosphere o f mystery .

Other a depts o f a mor e positivist turn o f mind

, ,

t ell us it is mercur y, o r go ld but they a re ca r ef ul

t o a dd tha t we must not thi nk o f these meta ls a s we
o rdi n a r ily ha ve them Supplement ( sa ys o n e ) yo ur
.

c o mm on mercury with the i nwa rd fire which it n eeds ,

”
a n d you will s o o n get rid o f its superflu o us d r oss .

The a gent is gold ( sa ys a no ther) but go ld tha t is ,

a s highly ma tured a s n a tur a l a n d a rtifici a l digesti o n

c a n ma ke it a n d a thous a n d times m o r e perf ect tha n

,
”
the c o mmo n metal o f tha t na me As a s o rt o f .

c o rollary t o this distinctio n we a re to ld tha t if t he

,

tra nsmuting a gent has n o t been br o ught t o the highes t

d e gree o f purity it will o nly cha nge the commo n
,

meta ls into silver n o t into go ld Others a dva nc e d

, .

the o pin ion that there were rea lly two diff erent ki nds
of —
the a ge nt the Gra nd Ma g ist ry a n d the Little
Ma g ist ry the f o rmer being n eeded f o r the productio n
o f g o ld the l a tte r only c a p a ble o f e nn o bli ng a meta l
,

a s f a r as the st a ge o f silve r All such sta tements

.

a re n ecess a r ily v a gu e a n d illusive especi a lly whe n we

,

t ry to ha rmonise them with the doctri n e tha t meta ls

—
grow tha t is to sa y develop c o ntinu o usly f ro m sta ge
,

to sta ge Nevertheles s we rec o gnise througho ut the

.

i nfluen ce o f philosop hical presuppositio n s which supply

a r a ti o n a l b a sis f o r even the m o st r ha psodic a l a n d

mystica l o f these sp e cul a ti o ns .

 THE PH ILOSOPHER S STO NE ’

THE S TO NE .

The rno st f am ous

fi
the n a mes g iven to t he tran s
of
—
muting _sub st an c e _the Phil o sopher s St n e — is fi r st
’

_ w qw - m

heard o f in t he twelf th century The wo rd St o n e .

e quival e nt to t he more a bstra ct term substratum

—the s o mething which u nderlies a n d supports It .

—
was a pplied to a n y substa nc e p o wder liquid s o lid , ,

—tha t wa s supp o sed to ha ve the m a gi steri a l powe r o f

t ra n smuting The emergence o f thi s definite na me
.

implies tha t purely theoretica l descripti o n s wer e

g ivi n g pl a ce t o mo r e p rac tic a l a ttempts to defi n e the
n atur e a n d pro perties o f the much so ught f o r wo nd er - -

wo rker Zosimus the o ldest exta nt author o n

.
,

a lchemy ke eps to the e a rly style i n his desc ripti o n o f

,

it . In speaking o f the Phil o sopher s Ston e re ceive ’

,

this ston e which is not a stone a p reci o us thing which ,

has n o v a lue a t hing o f ma n y sha pes which ha s n o

,
”
sha pes this unkno wn which is known o f a ll
, An d .

a ga i n , Its kind is o n e its spec ies multiple All , .

comes f ro m the O ne a n d a ll returns to it , Here .

is the Mit hria t ic mystery t he in communica ble ,

mystery But in strong contra st wit h this a nti

theti c a l rigma role we have express a ssura nces tha t
,

the Stone has been seen an d ha ndled .

D E SC R IPTIO NS OF THE S TO NE .

It is usua ll y described a s a red po wder Lully ‘

.

ment ion s it u nder the na me Of C arb un culus. P—a—r— a

celsus p resents it as a solid b o dy o f the c o l o u r O f a

K
 136 ALCHEMY ITS
— SCIENCE AND R OMANCE
ruby tra nspa rent flexible a n d nevertheless brea king
, , ,

like gla ss V a n Helmont writes : I ha ve seen a n d

.

ha ndled the Ston e It ha d the colour o f sa f f r on i n

.

powder ; it was hea vy a n d brillia nt a s glass bro ken ,

”
i nto bits B erig a rd de Pis a who sa w it i n the
.
,

tra nsmuta tion which a n u nknown adept eff ected f o r

him is very p recise telling us it is the colour o f a
,

po ppy a n d smelling like burn t sea s a lt )

,

Helvetius - “
gives it the c o l o ur o f sulphur I n sho rt the descrip .
,

ti o n s a re a s diverse a s they a re n umerous On e .

a utho r Ka lid is determin ed to be c o mpre hensive

, , ,

a n d t o r ec o n cile the c o ntra diction s He sa ys the .

sto ne unites i n itself a llthe co lo ur s T It wo uld seem

tha t a f ter such specific experien ces a s these the
, ,

Ston e sho uld ha ve been a rea l o bject wi t h kno wn a n d

pro ved p roperties And yet a f ter a ll no such
.
, ,

substa nce ever ha s been o r ever will be kno wn I , ,

A s a spe cimen o f longer description s we m a y t a ke

this f rom Phila let hes i n his B rief Guide to the Celestia l
R u by The Philos o pher s Sto n e is a cer ta in hea venly ’
,

spi r i t u a l pen etra tive a n d fixed substa n ce which

, , ,

brings a ll meta ls t o the perf ecti o n o f gold o r silv e r

( a cc o r di n g to the qu a lity o f the medici n e ) a n d th a t ,

by na tura l metho ds which yet in their eff ects tra nsce nd

,

Na ture . Kn ow then tha t it is ca lled a sto n e not ,

b e ca u se it is like a sto ne but o nly beca use by virtu e , ,

o f it s fixed n a tur e it resists the a ctio n o f fire a s

,

successf ully as a n y stone In species it is go ld mor e .

,

pur e tha n the purest it is fixed and in combustible

Co lo rs n o n a bsim ilis f lo re pa paveris Sylvest ris, Odo re v ero sa l
”
m a rin um a d ust um re f ere n t is .

1
'
L a p is ist e h a e tbin se o m n e s co l
o res E st e n im al us, ru e n s,
”
. b b
ru b ic un d issim us , c it r mus , c it r issim us , c el est in us , viridi s Q uo t e d .

f
b y Fig uie r , r o m who m m ost o f t he a o v e re eren ces are de rived b f .
138 ALCHEMY ITS SC IENC E AND R OMANCE
—

He tells us that i n the Middle Ages the p retensio ns

were f a r mo re a mbitious Arn a uld de Villeneu ve .

d ecl a red tha t the Sto n e could convert a hund red

times its own weight ; Ro ger B a con s a id a thousa nd
times ; I sa a c the Dutchm a n a m illion t imes R a y , .

mond Lully wa s n ot content with this l a st estima te ,

genero us as it wa s He held tha t n o t only could t he

.

Ston e cha nge mercury i nto gold but it c o uld a lso ,

give to the go ld thus f o rmed the virtue o f pl a yin g

t he ré l e o f tha t which ha d co nvert e d it This v iew .

is n o t quite so beside the ma rk as Figuier seems t o

think Fo r if a s wa s of ten supposed the a ctio n o f
.
, ,

the Ston e wa s o f the nature o f a f erment its ef f ects ,

would be unending provided the n eces sa ry condit io n s

—
could be f ulfilled a s in the ca se o f the continu ed
p roduction o f ye a st Ferment theories by t he
.
,

wa y a re c o ming into f ashion a ga i n i n s o lving pro ble ms

,

o f a dva n ced biology a n d physics The r eally f a t a l

obj ection o f course is tha t the Sto n e c o uld n o t be a
, ,

f ermen t beca use it did n o t exist Lully ho wever .

, ,

ha d n ot a rrived a t this conclu sio n a n d b o ldly ex ,

cla imed tha t he would tra nsmute the ocea n wer e it ,

mercury !. Another a lchemist S a lmo n took the , ,

fi nal step and a sserted tha t the transmuting power o f

,

the Sto ne wa s i nfinite .

HEAL ING POWERS .

It wa s nly t o be expect ed tha t a n ag ent o f su c h

o

myst ic p o tency should be tho ught ca pable o f d o i n g

much mo re than tra nsmuting c ommon m eta l s i n t o
go ld A simple extensi o n o f this most p romi n e n t
“M t i g rem Si m ercu ius esset ”
.

a re n e r .
 THE PHILOSOPHER S STO NE ’

i t e wa s that the Sto n e c o uld ma ke artific ia lly

v r u , ,

p re ci o us st o n es ,such as di a m o nds pea rls rubies A , , .

mo re sing ular claim was tha t it could revive dea d

trees An d this brings us na tura lly t o a new a n d
.

wider ra nge o f notion s which flo urished exceed ingly

i n the Middle Ages and in the later stages o f the a rt
, .

Wea lth was an object o f a nxious longing—but so

a lso wa s hea lth .An d it c a me t o be a n a lmo st
u n iversa l belief that the Sto ne c ould b e used as a
p a na cea f o r bodily ills a n d could extend the term
,

o f lif e . We here touch upon o n e o f the philosophic a l

el ements in a lchemy We reca ll how tha t t he First
.

M a t ter was held to be in its essence t he soul o f

, ,

—
the world t he spirit constituting t he ultima te reality
o f al l substa nces a n d existen ces in na ture includin g ,

m an . Small wonder then tha t the Philosopher s

, ,
’

Stone so a kin to this spirit if n ot the spirit itself

, , ,

sho uld come t o be credited with lif e g iving virtues -

.

Boe rhaave has suggested a f urther explan a tion

o f this developme nt Geber the Arabian in on e o f
.
, ,

h is works spea ks thus

, Br ing m e six lepers tha t I
”
m a y hea l them . He mea ns Bring m e six commo n
,
”
metals tha t I m ay tra n smute them into gold No w .

t he judicious histori a n o f chemi stry suspects tha t the

idea o f a universa l medicin e had its origin in a mis
u nd ersta nding o f these wo rds They were interpreted .

literally H o wever this m a y be t he healing power thus

. ,

a ttr ibuted open ed out a wider c a reer f o r the Stone It .

first r eceives n otice i n the thirte enth century In the .

f ou rteenth a n d fif tee nth centur ies it was g ra vely pre ,

—
scr ibed as o f sovereign effica cy ta ken interior!y the ,

most precious o f all medicines Let Den is Za cha ry set

f o rth the m a nne r of it s u se T o use our g rand ki n g
140 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE

( the Stone ) f o r the r ecovery o f health it is necess a ry ,

to ta ke a gra in weight a n d to dissolve it in a silver

-

vessel with good white wine which it will turn t o ,

the colour o f Citron Then let the patient dr ink a

.

little a f ter midnight a n d he will be healed i n a day if

,

his ma l a dy is a month old if the malady is a yea r

ol d he will be hea led in twelve days ; if the ma l ady
,

is o f lo nger sta ndin g he will b e hea led in a mont h

,

by usin g it ea ch n ight a s a bove prescribed And t o .

ke ep alwa ys in go od f a ith it is necessary to ta ke it

,

a t the begi nn in g o f the a utumn and the begi nn i ng o f

sp r i n g af te r the ma nner o f a syrup And by this .

mea n s the man will live a lwa ys in perf ect hea lth t o
the end o f the da ys that Go d Sha ll ha ve gran ted him ,

”
a s the philosopher s ha ve written .

Note the l a st cl a use t o the en d o f the da ys

”
tha t God sha ll ha ve g ra n ted him T his is modest
. .

And n o doubt f a ith in the remedy would g o f a r t o

justif y the sta tement I saac o f Holla nd a n d B a sil
.

Va lentine say pretty much the sa me things as Za cha ry ,

with subsidiary va ria tions But others wer e n o t so

.

ca utious . Ar t ephius f o r i n sta nce put the limit o f

, ,

h uma n lif e thus f ortifi ed a t a thousand years

, , Other .

a depts brought i n a s eviden ce the prolonged lives o f

the Pa tri a rchs a ssignin g as a cause the use o f t he

,

Stone As mentioned i n a n e a rly chapter No a h wa s

.
,

especially a f a vour ite in this rega rd beca use he bega t

childr en in his old a g e .

ME NTA L A ND M ORAL PRO PERTIES .

But the keener spirits demanded mor e than t he

medica l properties If the Stone was essentia lly a k in
.
14 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
s pirit o f Moses o r o f a Christia n Apo stle Wo uld
t o God all men might beco me a depts i n o ur a rt ;
f o r then gold the co mmon idol o f ma nkind would
-

, ,

lose its va lue and we should prize it only f o r it s

,
”
scientific tea c hing
.
 CHAPTER I I
THE O E
ST N A ND M YSTIC ISM

A V ING ta ken a genera l view o f the obj ect s

a imed a t i n the sea r ch f o r the Philoso pher s
’

Sto ne a n d considered its suppo sed pro perties a n d

,

powers let us g o into f urther deta il con cernin g wha t

,

m a y be broa dly c a lled its m yst ica a spect s .

During the Ara bi a n period these were n o t pr omi nent

, .

The Semitic mind does not ea sily lend itself t o a bstra ct

specula tion s but pref ers to keep close t o the con
,

crete I n modern termino log y we should ca ll it

.
,
”
po sitivist Nevertheless i n the Ara bia n treatises
.
,

we find ma ny p a ssa ges that conta in ma tters f a r

—
removed f ro m the world o f f a ct f a n cif ul allegories
urposely obscure st a tements — a decided vei n of
p
mystery In the B ook of Osta nes f o r exa mple po or
. , ,

Aristo tle is credited with this description o f the Ston e

It is a lion reared in a f orest A man has desired
.

t o use it f o r a mount and ha s put on it a saddle a n d

b ridle Va inly he tries an d c a nn ot succeed He is
. .

then r ed uced t o trying a mo re clever stra ta gem which

a llows him t o keep it i n s o lid bon ds a n d to put o n

the s a ddle a n d bridle Then he c o nquers it with a

.

whip with which he dea ls it grievo us blows La ter

, .

he looses it f rom its bonds a n d ma kes it ma rch like

—
an ordinary c reature so completely that one would
143
144 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE A ND ROMANCE
a ffirm it has n ever been sa vage a single da y The .

Ar a bia n a uthor s comment is this The sto n e is

’

the lion ; the bonds a re the p repara tions ; the whip

is the fire Wh at sa y you O seeker ( he triumpha ntly
.
,
‘
asks ) to a descripti o n so close l
, The readers o f
these trea tises a re n o t a lwa ys f a vour ed with a key
t o these allego ries Even with the key things a r e a ,

little vague But we ga i n a good idea o f the a nthro

.

p o m orp h is in g emoti o n a
, l a n d mystic a l S pi r,it i n which
the a lchemist pr osecuted his res ea rches Na tur e f o r .
,

him wa s a live ; a n d the propert ies o f substa n ces

,

were rega rded as beings with wills which ha d to be

subj ug at ed .

The f ollowi ng pa ss a ge f rom the sa me tr ea tise

ma nif ests yet more clea rly this cha ra cteristic a ttitude .

The obj ect o f the sea r ch a postro phises the seekers .

O tro op o f seekers ta ke me sl a y me Then , , .

,

ha ving sl a i n me burn me ; f o r I will a f ter a llr evive

, ,

a n d enr ich him who Sha ll ha ve sl a i n an d burn t me .

If he comes ne a r me with fi re the n I a m alive If I

, .

shall endure it a ll the night even if he sublimes me ,

completely a n d encha in s me i n a n a bsolute f a shion ,

I m still a live ) 0 m ar vel 1 Ho w bei n g alive ca n

( a
‘
.
, ,

I bea r ill trea tment l By hea ven ! I will bear it

-

u ntil I a m wa tered with a poison which will kill me ,

a n d then I sh a ll n o l o nger kn ow wha t the fire ha s

”
d o n e to my body .

Compar e these a lleg o ries with a co llection brought

to gether by the a uthor o f A Brief Guide to the Celestia l
—
R uby a tr ea tise writte n when the a rt wa s enteri ng
o n its deca den ce ( The Essence ) is o u r doo r keepe r -
.
,

o ur b a lm o ur hon ey o ur o il m a y d ew mo ther -

, , , ,

eg g secret f urn a ce oven true fire v en omous d ra gon

, , , , ,
14 6 —
ALCHEMY JTS SCIENCE AND ROMA NCE
science is nothing less th a n the perf ect inspira tion o f
”
God .

The a lliance o f a lchemy with religion wa s as ha s ,

been shown in ea rlier cha pters in itself no new thing , .

Geber f o r exa mple excla ims

, , Coura ge then so n s , ,

o f s c ience . Seek a n d you sha ll inf a llibly find this

,

most excellent gif t o f God which is reserved f o r you

a lon e The connection however is comp a ratively
, ,

s imple ; a n d indeed superficia l in the sense tha t

, , ,

r eligion was n o t mingle d with science except a s ,

ins piring a n d guid ing it Where a s in the Middle .

Ages little by little the prevailing religious idea s were

,

worked into the very texture o f alchemica l doctrine

a n d p ra ctice To illustra te t he extent t o which such
.

a llia nce coul d d evelop take the f ollowing pa ssa ge

,

f ro m B a sil Va lentine s A ll eg ory of the Hol

’

y T rin ity
Stone
’
an d osop her
the P hil s

De a r Christia n a ma teur o f the blessed a rt o h ,

ho w the Holy Trinity ha s cre a ted the Philoso pher s

’

Sto n e in a brillia nt a n d ma rvellous ma nner ! Fo r

God the Fa ther Is a Spirit a n d He a ppeared however
, , ,

unde r the f orm o f a m a n a s is told in Genesis ; in

,

the sa me way we ought to regard the Philo sopher s ’

M e rcury as a body spirit Of G o d the Fa ther is

.

b o rn Je sus Christ the So n Who is a t the s a me time

, ,

m a n a n d God a n d with o ut sin

, He had n o need t o .

d ie but He died volunta rily an d rose a ga in t o ma ke ,

us live eternally with Him a s His brethren without

sin Thus gol d is witho ut stain fix e d glorious a n d
. , , ,

a ble t o un d ergo a l
ltests ; but it dies f or its imperf ect
a n d sick brethren ; a n d soon rising glorious it , ,

delivers them a n d colours them f o r lif e eterna l ; it

,
”
r e nd ers them perf ect in the state o f pure go ld .
 THE STONE '
AN D MYSTICISM 14 7

In judging such a sta tement a s this we must be ,

c aref ul t o put ourselves a t the sta ndpoint o f it s

a utho r. In the first pl a ce we must remembe r tha t
, ,
”
f o r him ,the perf ect meta l wa s in its essen ce , ,

the soul o f the world the Spirit th a t under lies a ll

,

mode s o f existence Aga in the m ore e a rnest o f the

. ,

a depts , especia lly in religious houses were wont t o ,

e n ter on their Opera ti o ns with p ra ye r thus giving ,

them a definitely religio us a tmosphere an d sign ifica nc e .

We c a n re a lise there f o re tha t the object o f so ma ny

, ,

hope s a n d vows o f so much mystica l exa ltation

, ,

sh o uld c o me t o be rega rde d a s s a cre d a n d divine .

Atte mpts to re a d into a lchemica l doctrines certa in

f u nd a men ta ls o f Chri sti a n belie f a re thus s ee n t o be
n a tu ra l p roducts O f a pe c uli a r combina tio n o f c o n

dit io n s a n d we judge them a ccord ing ly

, .

D EA TH A ND R ESU R RE CTI O N OE METAL S .

We sa w in dea ling with the philos o phica l ba sis o f

,

alchemy tha t distin ction s between the b o dy a n d

,

the so ul o f meta ls led on t o notions o f their dea th

a n d resurr ection This line o f specula tion ea sily l en t
.

itself to a na logie s with religious doctrines We fin d .

the connection even in the Ara bia n trea tises Thus .

,

in t he 7 lst section o f tha t n a med The B ook of Pity ,

we rea d a s f oll o ws The so uls a n d b o dies ( o f meta ls ) ,

when they u nite a n d a re tra nsf o rmed to b e come a

homogene o us whole which c a nnot be divid ed ha ve ,

bee n comp a red to the dea d which God will ra ise o n

the da y o f the l a st judgment Souls a re j o ined t o.

subtil ised bodies which will never more d ie a n d tha t ,

14 8 —
ALCHE MY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
beca use light Spir its a re j o in e d to bo dies equa lly
light More o ve r their pla ce will be fix e d eithe r in
.
, ,

an et e rn a l ha ppin e ss whic h will endle ssly renew

them o r in a grievous cha stisement which will incre a se
,

witho ut ce a sing Af ter thi s the spirits will be n o

. ,

more sep a ra ted f rom the bo dies a s they were in this ,

wo rld where spi rits a re simply in conta ct with b o dies

, ,

witho ut b e ing intima te ly c o mbine d with them I t .

is this c o nta ct o f neighb o u rhoo d tha t in the curren t ,

speech is c a lled mixture

, .
’

This a ssimila tio n o f the tra nsmuta tio n o f meta ls

to the dea th a n d resurr ectio n o f men bec a me quite
c o mmon in the Middle Age s I t is cu rio us a n d .

u nexpec ted to be to ld tha t it was highly ple a sing t o

Luther It ga ined his supp o rt f o r the a rt whic h
.
,

o n thi s score he p ra i se d i n st r o ng a n d e nthusia stic

terms The n o tio n wa s a dva nced t o a ye t highe r

.

sta ge when it wa s a ssumed by so me tha t t he resurr e c

tio n o f men s b o dies wo uld itself be litera lly a n
’
, ,

a lche mic a l cha nge a tra n smuta tio n o f

, a supe r i o r

o rde r Thus wh o le he a rte dly did the a lchemists

.
-

strive t o giv e the ir a r t a u nive rs a l a n d cosmica l

be a ring .

THE G RA ND S E C RET .

The pursuit o f the He rmetic art ma in ta ined in n o

sma ll degree its mystica l cha ra cter by t he j e a lo us
c a re with which it gua rd e d the se c re t o f t he Philo
So phe r s Sto ne This sec recy ha d its o rigin in the
’
.

Egyptia n wo rkshops where re c eipts f o r making

,

a llo ys a n d f a l sif yi ng the p r eci o us meta ls we re ha nd e d

down f ro m genera tio n to gene ra tion o f t he Opera to rs ,

who were genera lly pr iests a n d so membe rs o f clo s e

15 0 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND R OMANCE
Secrets . How the Rosic rucia ns developed the occult
elements need not be f urther described af ter wha t ha s
been sa id in t he historica l sketch .

How much in e a rnest the e a rly a lchemists we re in

g u a rdi n g these sec rets is show n i n thi s quot a tion f ro m
a n o the r o f the Leyden ma nusc ripts He ( O st a n e s)
co m ma nds tha t n o on e sha ll d a re t o a lter his bo oks
he comma nds every one a n d p resc ribes tha t his wo rds
sha ll in n o wise be ma de k n own t o the vu l ga r He .

puts out terr ible oa ths in order tha t they m a y b e

r e ve a l e d t o n one u nle ss it be to a worthy person o r
, ,
”
o n e who seeks the t ruth a n d loves Go d etc , .

This is why philosophers ha ve cha nged the la ngu a ge

in their word s a n d ha ve substituted o n e sen se f o r
,

a nother , o n e p a ss a ge f o r a n o the r o n e species f o r

,

a no ther , o n e vision f o r another .

!
Tha t this is n o
mi srepresenta tion o f the tea ching o f the B ook of '

Osta nes is p roved by t his p a ssa ge f rom t he book itself

These men ha ve def ended the secret o f the Ston e
a t the point o f the sword a n d h a ve a b sta ined f rom
,

giving it a na me o r a t a n y ra te ha ve given it a na me
,

under which the crowd m a y kn o w _it They ha ve .

disguised it under the veil o f enigma s so tha t it has ,

esca ped even penetra ting spirits a n d so tha t the

,

most lively inte lligences ha ve not been a ble t o com

p rehend it a n d hearts and souls ha ve despaired o f
,

k no wing its description . There are only those whos e

understan ding God ha s Opened who ha ve understood
”
it a n d ha ve been able t o make it known How well
.

these obscura ntists succeeded in their endea vo urs

will be a bun da ntly p roved in a l a ter cha pter when we
c o m e to consider the in terpreta ti o n o f their f o rmul a s

Bert helo t La Chimie a n M open ag e vol iii pp 326 7

, , .
, .
-
.
 THE STONE A ND MYSTICISM 15 1

and receipts 1 Their ta sk however was not so , ,

diffi cult a s it might a ppea r The re was in rea lity .

, ,

n o secret t o hide— a t a n rate n o secret f o r ma kin g

y
the Philoso pher s Sto ne Wha t they ha d re a lly t o
’
.

c o n ce a l wa s the f a ct o f thei r f a ilur e t o a tta in thei r

sup reme o bject Neve rtheless we see how the y

.

in the sphere o f the mystic a l a n d the occult

r
e e .

! v lled
S U M M A RY O P THE C HIEF C HA RA CTERS O F THE STO N E u

Putting together wha t ha s b e en s a id in this a n d

the p receding cha pter we m a y empha sise the f oll o wing
,

p o in ts The whole series O f no tio n s concern in g t he

.

Philo so pher s Stone a re f ounded o n a b a sis p ro vide d

’

by a ncient do ctrines c o ncern in g the First Ma tte r

lt he sub sta nce s compo sing
a n d the lif e tha t pe r va d e s a l

the k nown world They c a n thus cla im to b e so f a r

.

r a tion a l. The p rima ry object o f the a rt wa s the

a cquisitio n o f we a lth by t ra n smuting c o mm o n meta ls

in to go ld The occult virtue s a ttributed t o the

.

—
in strument f o r eff ecting tra nsmuta tio n the Sto n e
le d to a n exte n sion o f its a re a o f a ction I t ca me to .

be looked on a s a unive rs a l p a na cea f or huma n im

perf ections It could give he a lth heighten the
.
,

f a culties e nn o ble the chara cte r p rolong lif e

, , It .

could bring men into to uch with the soul o f the world ,

a n d thereby ena ble them t o hold communion with

spiritu a l beings a n d live on a highe r pl a ne o f being .

I ts modes o f working could be comp a red t o o r c o n ,

n ec t ed with the my ste ries o f the Christia n religi o n

, .

These were indeed a dequa te gro un ds f o r n a ming it

the G ra nd Ma gisterium a n d f o r h o lding t he mea n s o f
,

procu ring it to be the Gran d Secret .

 CHAPTER III
C RED UL ITY A ND IM PO STURE

ITHE R TO ttention ha s chiefly bee n coneen

a

t ra t ed o n the b eli e f s aims an d pra ct ices o f

, ,

honest though of ten deluded sea rchers f o r tha t

, ,

un dig n ifie d a n d un defin ab l e substan ce o r essence , ,

which should f ulfil the ir l arge an d comp rehensive

hO p e s . There ha s been n o a ttempt howev er t o , ,

disguise the f a ct th a t the a rt has been continuously

turn ed into f olly by c redulity deb a sed by superstition
, ,

a n d degr a ded by impostors Let a cha pter be devoted

.

t o this sha dy side o f o ur subject We c an then .

enter witho ut f urther mention o f a be rr a tio n s and

,

f o llies on the study o f its scientific a spects

, .

THE S E C RE T E LIXI R .

Ben Jonson ma kes his a lchemist spea k thus

He t hat ha s o n ce t he Flower of t he Sun,
The perf ect rub y whic h we callEl ixir,
Ca n co n f er ho n o ur, love, respect , lo n g l
if e,
Give saf et y, valour yea , a n d vict o ry,
,

To who m he will In eight a n d t went y day s

.
- -

lm ak e a n old m an o f f o urscore a c hild

’ ”
Il .

Here is the l a ng ua ge o f a cha rl a ta n who could n o t ,

he lp k n owing tha t his cla im s were vain a n d f oolish .

152
154 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANC E
con demn a tion s we must make gen erous a llowance
,

f o r the in fluences o f en vironment a n d the va ga rie s

o f tempe ra me nt .

THE ALK A HEST .

Van Helmont s belief in the discovery o f t he

’

Un iversa l Solvent ca lled by Pa ra celsus the Alka hest

, ,

a ff o r ds a n othe r striking insta n ce o f over c redulity -

.

He e nthusia stica lly to ok up the id e a tha t this so lvent

c o uld give t o bodies o f every kind a liquid f o rm a n d ,

i n his wo rks he gra vely reta ils a llthe a bsurdities tha t

c h a rl a ta n s ha d promulga ted con c e rn ing it s p o we r s .

This trea sure he tell s us wa s c o mmitted t o him by

, ,

a n unkn ow n a dept U nf ortu n a te ly he wa s n ot a bl e

.

t o ke e p it l o ng but he a ssure s us in the most ca te

g o r ica l f a shio n th a
, t he ha d a ctu a lly p r oved its e f fic a cy .

Ha vin g put some o ak cha rcoa l a n d a lka hest in ,

equ a l p a rts into a gla ss vessel sea led hermetica lly I

, ,

c a used this mixture to digest f o r a period o f thre e

da ys a t the hea t o f a b a th At the en d o f thi s time .

the solution wa s completed etc Wh at is behind a ll , .

this Ce rta in ly not the A lk a hest l And yet V a n

He lmont wa s honest Perha ps we m a y c o mpa re his .

e xpe rience to tha t o f ce rta in modern s a va n ts who ha v e

borne testimony to occult phenomena which were

a f terwa rd s shown to be d ue t o tr ickery .

However this m a y have been Alka hest in t he , ,

seventeenth century and f o r a considera ble p art o f the

,

eighteenth had a con siderable vogue Boer haa ve sa ys

, .

tha t a libra ry c o uld b e f o rme d o f the trea tises writ ten

a b o ut it . Ma ny boa sted tha t the y had discove re d
it o r o bta ine d it
, An d there is n o telling how long it
.
 CREDU LITY A ND IMPOSTU RE 155

might n ot ha ve ma inta ined its reputation had not a ,

c ritic p o inted out the simpl e re flectio n tha t if t he

s o lve nt r ea lly existed it could n o t b e stored o r used
,

f o r it would d is sol ve t he ve ssels in which it was

c ontaine d

REJUV ENA TI O N .

In Ben Johnson s Ma sque M ercury Vindicat ed

’
,

f r om the A l
chem ists M e rcu ry l
, o quitu r Th e y will
c a lcin e yo u a grave ma tron a s it might be the mother
,

o f the ma ids ,a n d spring up a young v irg in out o f

her a shes a s f resh a s a phoen ix ; la y yo u a n o ld

,

courtie r on the coals like a sa usa ge o r bloa t herrin g

,
-
,

a n d a f te r they h a ve boiled h im enough blow a s o ul

, ,
”
i nto him with a p a ir o f be llows This is ha rdly a .

tra vesty o f what ha d been popula rly believed o f the

owe rs o f the gre a ter a depts ; nor were ce rta in o f
p
these a depts themselves sl a ck in stimula ting such -

delu sions Ar tephius f o r exa mple who lived e a rly

.
, ,

i n the twelf th century an d who mad e f o r himself a

,

f a mous na me affirmed tha t when he wro te his

, ,

trea tise on the a rt o f prolonging huma n lif e he was ,

in the thousand and twenty fif t h yea r o f his a g e -

.

M a ny a ccepted his statement a n d were confi rmed ,

by the skill with which he a nswered question s con

cerning wha t ha d ha ppen ed to him a t various tim es
in this p rolonge d sp a n .

We ha ve a glimpse o f the ma n ner in which such

idea s may be suggested an d take root in the story, ,

o f Ala in de Lisle He wa s a m an o f grea t lea rning

.
,

contemporary with Albertus Ma g nus and beca me a ,

f ri a r o f the a bbey o f Cite a ux He d ied in 129 8 a t .

15 6 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE

a bout the a g e o f a hundred an d t en yea rs No w it .

ha ppened tha t when he was in his fif tie th yea r he ,

ha d a seve r e ill ne ss f ro m which he re c o vered

, He .

wa s re puted to ha ve discove red the Elixir ; a n d the

r ecove ry wa s stra ightwa y a ttributed to this ma rve ll o u s

medicine How f a r the sa ge a cquiesced in this con

.

e lusion or
, how f a r he e ncoura ged it we do n o t ,

know But a t lea st we c a n tra ce in this insta nce

. , ,

the origin a n d gr ound o f the f a lla cy !

.

Akin to the re juve na tion ide a wa s tha t o f p a lin

—
ge ne sis the a rt o f making pla nts sp r ing a f re sh f ro m
the ir a she s Figuie r suggests 1 th a t this proba bly
.
'

ha d its o rigin in a na tu ra l phe n ome n on Whe n the .

a she s o f ce rta in pl a n ts a re dissolved in wa te r the ,

solution lef t to itself deposits crysta ls o f which some

, ,

m a y ta ke the f o rm o f a n a rborescence We m a y .

re a dily a ccept the suggestio n But it does n ot excus e

.

the b a re f a ced impostures tha t in the seventeenth a n d

-

o n into the eightee n th ce n tur ies we r e b a sed upon the ,

expe rie nce It is n ot ina pposite to comp ar e the India n

.

tric k o f the ma ngo tre e if the pla n t pro duced by the

-

a l c hemist co nju rors we re a t a ll speedy in its growth .

If the d evelopmen t we re slow by sp routing f rom see d , ,

the trick becomes a bsurdly ea sy .

FA LSE T RA NSM UTA TI O NS .

We ha ve seen tha t a lchemy ha d its o ri in in the

meta l work o f the Egyptia ns a n d ha ve n o Fed t ha t ,

m
f
I ha v e t a k en t he t wo st o ries ro m M ac k a y s E xtraordina ry
’

a r D el
P o pu l us ion s, in w ich t he l h
ives o f t he c ie alchemist s a re h f
rac il
y ’t o l
d .

'

1 L A l
chim ie, p 6 6 . .
15 8 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANC E
c rucible in which la rge iron na ils had been f used b ut
t he n a il s ha d be e n p a rtly ma d e o f gold a n d the com ,

bin a tion skilf ully disg uise d O r chemica ls might b e.

employe d which conta in ed the meta l in un recogn isa ble

f o r ms . Doubl e bottomed c rucibles the unde r surf a ce
-

o f i ro n o r c o ppe r the upp e r o f c o lo ured wa x with

, ,

go ld p a cked in betwe e n ; holes d rilled in lumps o f

le a d go ld ins e rted an d t he o pen ing fille d up a ga in
, ,

wit h the origin a l meta l ; an d e ndless like d evice s .

The res o urc es o f kn a ves a re inexha ustible a s is a ls o ,

—
t he c re dulity on which they impos e pe culia rly so
whe n the lure o f ga in puts a n edge o n the cunn ing o f
the o ne a n d blunts wha t little o f ca lme r judgme n t
,

m a y be p o ss e ssed by the other So it ever ha s b e e n

.
,

a n d so it is still Alchemy enjoys no monopoly in

.

this rega rd .

D YER A ND KE LL EY .

An a musing dia l o gue is rec o unted by B a con in his

Ap otheg ms New a n d Ol d whic h gives a live ly
picture o f t he confl ict between c re dulity a n d cr iticism .

Sir Edwa rd Dyer a gra ve an d wise gentl e ma n

, ,

did much believe in Kelle y t he a lchym ist ; tha t he

did indeed the wo rk a n d ma de gold insomuch a s he
,

went himself into Ge rma ny wher e Kelley then wa s , ,

t o i n f or m himse lf f ully the reof Af ter his return he .

dine d with my Lord o f C a nte rbu ry where a t tha t ,

time wa s a t t he ta ble D r B r owne t he physicia n They

.
, .

f e ll in ta lk o f K e lley Sir Edwa rd Dye r turn ing to

.
,

t he A rc hbi shop sa id
, I do assure your g race tha t that ,

I sha ll tell you is truth I a m a n eye witness thereof

.
-

a n d if I ha d n ot seen it I shou l d n ot ha ve bel

, ieved it .
 CREDULITY AND I MPOSTU RE 15 9

I w M aster K elley p ut of the base meta l into the

sa

e a n d afl er it was set a l
crucibl , e up on the fire a n d
ittl ,

a very sma l
lquant ity o f t he m ed ic ine p ut in a n d stirr ed
with a stick of wood, it ca me f orth in g reat p rop ortion
p f
er ect g old , t o the tou c h , to th e ha m m er , t o t he tes t .

S a id the B ishop Y ou ha d need take heed wha t you

sa y, Sir Edwa rd D yer, f or here is aninfide lat the boa rd .

Sir Edwa rd Dye r sa id a ga in pleas a ntly I would ha ve

lo oked f or a n infide l sooner in an y p l
a ce t ha n at your

Gr ace s ta b l
’
eWhat say you D r B rowne s a ith t he
.
, .

Bishop Dr B rown e a n swered a f ter his blunt a n d

. . ,

huddling ma nn er The Gentlema n hat h sp oken en oug h

,

f or me Why (
. s a ith the Bishop ) wha t hat h he sa id ,

M a rry ( sa ith Dr B rowne ), he sa id he would n ot ha ve

.

ieved it ew
b el cep t he ha d seen it ; a n d n o more wil
lI

ALC HE M Y A ND S PI RITUAL ISM .

The f raudulent exploitation o f a lchemy was so

c o m mon a t a l l sta ges o f it s history tha t it ha s pre
p o n de ra n t l
y coloured the p o pul a r estima te o f it s

v a lue . We may pe rha ps draw a p ro fitable pa ra llel

b etween the o ld a rt a n d modern spiritualism Up .

h ol ders o f the possibility o f communica tion with

disca m at e spirits when they are f a ced with the
,

a cknowledged f ra uds o f many mediums protest th a t ,

s uch case s should not pr eju dice o u r m inds a ga inst

the la rger cla ims made o r render us un willing t o

,

u nderta ke a disp a ssion a te investiga tion o f u nta inted

e xperie n ces They ha ve right o n the ir side What

. .

e ver our conclusio ns may be they should be f ounde d ,

o n a n impa rtia l weighing o f the avail a bl e evidence .

160 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
The So ciety o f Psychica l Resea rch devot es itse lf t o a
study o f such little understood phenomen a No w .

suppose this Society t o ha ve decla re d itse lf o n the

s ide o f spir itua lism t o the extent o f a llowin g tha t

there is a residuum which ca lls f o r serio us study the ,

f ra uds an d deceits woul d be neglect ed . To c o n

ce ntrate a ttention o n the m wo ul d b e unre a sona ble

a n d u n scientific. The ca se f o r a lchemy is much

stro nger than this The a rt ha s t o its credit a lo ng
.

list o f dis coveries it ha s a dva nced t o a cons idera ble

exte nt o ur kno wledge o f na ture ma ny o f it s specula
tio n s ha ve a f uture be f o re the m If we are f a ir t o
.

it we shall while la ughing a t o r co nde mnin g t he

, ,

c ha rl e t a n s a ccl a im the successes won by the ge n uin e

,

a d ep ts
.
16 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
—
Bern d was the son o f a wea lthy m an a f a ct ,
ar

as we sha ll see, o f centra l importa nce He wa s born .

at Tré Pa dua in 1406 a tim e when the sea rch

v e s, o r , ,

f o r the Ph ilosophe r s Ston e was in f ull swing ; a n d a t

’

the ea rly a g e o f f o urteen he ca me under t he spe ll .

He ha d read in t he origina l certa in Arabia n tre a tises

, ,

o n the a rt a n d they ha d fired his youthf ul ima gina tio n

, .

Fro m a mong these a utho rs Rha z e s more e specia lly ,

se cu re d his adhere nce a n d confidence He was .

c e rta in tha t he had ga ined f rom him the gra nd secret ,

a n d tha t g uide d by his directions he would be a ble

to a ugm ent gold a hun dredf old He a t once pro .

c ee de d with intense a rd o u r t o put his con clusion s t o

t he te st setting up a la bo ra tory a n d conductin g

, ,

endless experiments He worked ha rd f o r f o u r

.

yea rs a n d during tha t time spent n o less tha n 8 00

, , ,

—
c rown s o n his resea rches All in va in t he secret .

eluded him .

He wa s not a t all discouraged He merely co n .

cluded tha t the direction s given by Rha zes were

inc o mplete o r imperf ect a n d he turned t o the ma ster
,

o f Ara bia n a lchemists G e be r With this new g uide

, .
,

he to iled f o r t wo ye a rs mo re an d ca lled in t he a id o f,

va rio us brother a lchemists who were only t o o de lighted

t o j o in a m a n so wea lthy Among them they spen t.

2 000 crowns with n o re sult , His f a ith in Gebe r .

,

however wa s not distu rbed He concluded tha t his

,
.

o wn equipment wa s not equ a l to the ta sk o f inter

ret in g his a uthor ity a n d he there f ore l a un ched o ut
p ,

o n a wider ra nge o f study .

About this time he cha nce d upon a student as

—
enthusia stic a s hims elf a monk o f the Fra ncisca n
—
O rde r a n d struck up with him a f riendship o f the
 LI FE O F BE R NAR D O F TREVES 163

l sest kind The pa ir explored together the te a c h

c o .

ings o f certa in o bscure a uthors who ma inta ined tha t

,

highly rectifie d Spirits o f wine c o n stituted the A lka

—
hest o r Un ive rsa l S o lve nt a substa nce which wo uld
,

gr e a tly f a cilita te t he making o f the Ston e This .

,

the re f o re n o w bec a me the o bject o f their la bo urs

, .

The y rec tifie d a lcoho l till it burst the conta in ing

vess e ls Thre e ye a rs we re spent in the f ruitle ss
.

e n te rp ri se— 3 00 more c ro w ns were e xpe n de d S o me .

thing wa s wr ong Ha d the y mista ke n the ma ter ia l

.

r equir e d They wo uld t ry o the rs n o t shr inking ,

f rom the filt hie st .Fo r twelve long ye a rs the ex pe ri

—
ments were c o ntinued l a rger a n d l a rge r sums o f
mone y we re e xp e nded SO ea rne st wa s B e rna rd tha t
.
,

a s he te lls us he p ra yed t o Go d n ight a n d mo rn ing

,

tha t success might b e his A nd yet all wa s in va in

. .

The que st wa s n eve r won .

His f rien d the mo nk had die d His pla ce wa s

, , .

ta ken by a ma gistra te o f the city a m a n no le ss ,

e n thusia stic , who wa s firmly pe rsua ded tha t t he

t ra n smuting Sto n e could b e f oun d in sea sa lt Berna rd -
.

r e solved t o put the n otio n to the test t ra n sporte d ,

his l a b o ra tory to the shores o f the B a ltic a n d f o r mo re ,

th a n a ye a r sublima ted crysta llised ca lc ined sea sa lt

, ,
-

— a n d even d ra nk it f o r the s ake o f othe r experimen ts .

Still n o en coura geme nt .

He wa s n ow nea rly fif ty Lif e wa s b a st ing on

.
,

a n d the goa l seeme d a s f a r o ff a s eve r Wha t wa s to .

be don e Might it not be tha t a depts in othe r la n ds

p o ssessed the secret a n d would impa rt it He dete r
mined t o t ry his f o rtun e a n d set o ut o n his tra vels
, ,

j ou rn eying in Ita ly Ge rma ny Fra n ce a n d Sp a in

, , ,

everywhe re sea rching out a lchemists a n d ma kin g tria l

16 4 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IE NCE AND RO MANC E
of the suggestion s he obta ined His goodness o f .

hea rt is p roved by his consta nt rea d iness to re lieve

his poorer f e llow students In Fra nce he settled
-
.

down f o r five yea rs W hile in tha t country he hea rd

.
,

tha t the conf essor to Fre de rick III Ma ster Henry .

, ,

ha d discov ered the Ston e So o f f to V ie nna he went

. ,

ta king a long with him five dependent a lchemists .

At la st his persevera n ce would be rewa rde d No t .

so . Ma ste r Hen ry hon estly conf essed that though ,

he ha d bee n toil ing a ll his lif e the secret had eluded ,

him ; but a t the s a me time stoutly decla red tha t he

would keep up the sea rch if n ecessa ry till he die d
,
.

Here was a m a n a f ter B em a rd s o wn hea rt I t wa s ’

.

na tura l tha t the two should swea r eternal f riendship .

Then ca me a curious episode .

B e rna rd ga ve a gra n d b a nquet to his newly f oun d

a rtn e r a n d the a lchemist s o f the dist ict Those
p r .

p re se nt stimul a ted by the p romise o f Ma ste r Hen ry

,

tha t he w o uld inc re a se fivef o ld the go ld subsc ribe d ,

clubbed together an d collected f orty two ma rks The -

.

me ta l wa s put into the c rucible togethe r with othe r

chemica ls a n d rubbish a n d the gra n d experim ent wa s
,

ma de Three da ys the f urna ce decocted the mixture

.
,

b ut n o tra n smuting c o uld be discovered Ah well .

, ,

t he tempe ra tu re ha d bee n too high o r too l o w some ,

ingredien t wa s missing some n ecess a ry p rocess had

,

been omitted Further tria ls must in due c o urse be

.

ma de The curious p a r t however o f this p articula r

.
, ,
“
result was tha t when the a mo unt o f gold in the
,

c rucible wa s exa m ined it ha d dec rea sed t o sixteen

,

m a rks 1
The fia sco proved t oo much even f o r Berna rd s ’

l o ng suff ering spirit He a bjured f urther eff orts t o

-
.
16 6 —
AL CHEMY ITS SC IE NCE AND ROMANC E

Addison quoted when the R o sicm c ia n s were under

,

o ur c o nside ra tion Was it f rom Berna rd tha t Addiso n

.

borrowed his climax

It is ea sy a n d tempting to indulge with Ma cka y , ,

in reflections on a wa sted lif e Deepe r reflectio n

.

s houl d restra in them C o mpa re the sto ry o f a nothe r

.

a n d a l a te r B e rn a rd— Berna rd Pa lissy the F rench,

p o tte r The cha nce sight o f a n ena melled cup led

.

him to resolve that he would disc o ver how t o ma ke

e na mels He ga ve up a ll other pursuits devo ted
.
,

himself f o r sixteen yea rs to tireless experimenting ,

e x h a usted his resou rce s ha d not mo n ey to buy f uel

, ,

burnt the f u rn iture an d the flooring o f his ho use .

His neighbours even his wif e mocked him His

, , .

children c ried to him f o r f oo d Still he grimly .

pers evered Moralists like Smile s hold him up a s a

.
, ,

shin ing exa mple o f wha t persevera n ce may a ec o m

p lish . Yet wh a t is the di f f erence between him a n d
Berna rd o f Treves O nly this tha t the on e succeeded
,

a n d the othe r f a il ed If it be urged tha t t he quest

.

o f one was within the ra nge o f the p ra ctical the o ther ,

merely visionary the a nswer is simple Berna rd was

, .

a s convinced o f the p o ssibility o f d iscovering the

Ston e as Pa lissy was o f ma king ena mel Let us b e .

f air t o t he alchemists .
17 0 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMA NCE

e ntangle those who strove to extra ct direction s f o r

unde rta kin g expe riments The rea l c a use o f the s e
.

pe rve rsitie s is not to be mista ke n The write rs them .

selves seldom ha d an y cle a r ideas a n d disg uised the ,

f a ct by shrouding their va gu en ess in a n assumption

o f the pose a n d the l a ngua ge o f a pseudo mysticism -
.

More o ver a n d chiefly a s rega rds t he gre a t a n d

, ,

c e nt ra l o bj e ct o f the i r que st the Philosopher s Sto ne

’
, ,

—
they ha d no thing to tell the y neve r possessed it ;
it did n o t e xi st Their position was truly a dif ficult
.

‘
one ! How did they meet it P It wa s not t o b e
expected tha t they would a vow their ignorance an d
the ir f a ilure An d so they invented a ll mann e r o f
.

high s o undin g excuses f o r their re ticence Sometimes

-
.

they dwe lt on t he da nge r o f making known the gre a t

se c re t a llegin g tha t if
, it beca me common p roperty
so cie ty would go to piece s f o r a l l would ma ke go ld
,

ad l ibitum Sometimes they emphasised the s a cre d

.

ness o f the secre t a n d ref used to prof ane it by revea ling

,

it to the ign orant a n d vulga r O r ta king still highe r .

gro und they declare d tha t it p a ssed human in t elli

,

g ence a n d tha t Go d a lon e could unve il it an d then

, ,

only to the elect We must not un reservedly a ttribut e

.

to sheer deception these singula r subt erf uges Fo r .

the honest a lchemists were rea lly convin ced tha t even ,

though they themselves ha d f a iled others ha d suc ,

c e ede d They believed in trans mutation an d in t he

.

existence o f the Ston e Their thinking wa s conf use d

.

and their motive s were mixed In short their . ,

circumstances we re stra ngely puzzling and they ,

themselves were huma n .

 DIFFICUL TIES OF INTERPRETAT I ON 17 1

E XA M PL ES OF O BSC URITY .

Intentiona l obscurity wa s c a rried to extreme s

which a re both a ma z ing a n d a musing . Rha z es thus
begins a desc ription o f how to ma ke a lcohol . Ta k e
”
o f something u nknow n the qua ntit that you wish
y .

Figuie r t ells us it is n o t ra re to find simply Ta ke .

In t he da ys when such d i re ctio n s we r e set down in

g ra ve t r e a tises
, it would a t a n y ra te h a ve be e n e a sy t o

p a ss exa min a tion in chemistry Here is a n e xa mple

f rom Ba sil Valenti n e ( f o urteenth century ) : C a use
th at which is a bove to be belo w ; t hat which is visible
t o b e invisible ; tha t which is p a lp a ble to b e im pa l

p a b l
e . Ag a in let t ha t w hich is below become th a t which
is a bove ; let t he invisible b e come visible a n d t he ,

imp alpa ble become p a lp a bl e . Here yo u see the

p er f ection o f o u r a r t
,
withou t a n y de f e ct o r d im in u
”
t ion . This m ight be taken a s a round about wa y o f
telling us to he a t some wa te r in a gla ss flask until it
wa s a ll turn ed into ste a m an d the n coolin g it until
,

t he ste a m was conde nsed into wa te r ; but t he sa ge

e vidently ha d so mething much more recondite in his
m in d . Who sha ll say wha t An d yet the s a me
a utho r in s e ve ra l pl a c e s re p roa che s hims e l f bitte rly

f o r ha vin g spoke n too pl a inly in his writings a n d ,

t rembles le st he ha s re vea led t oo much

At a la ter p e riod the re is t he sa me a voida n ce o f
definite state ment but a n inf usion o f more f a nta stic
,

symbo lism The f ollowing p a ssa ge f ro m Ripley s

.
’

Twel ve Gates of Al chemy gives a good ide a o f the new

style The work mu st b e u nde rta ken a t sun se t ,

when the husb a nd Red a n d the wif e White a re

, , , ,

united in t he Spirit o f li f e to live in l o ve a n d tra nquillity ,

17 2 —
AL CHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMA NCE

in the exa ct proportion o f wa ter and ea rth From .

the west a dvan ce a cross the sh a dows towa rds the

south ; a lter a n d dissolve the husba n d a n d t he wif e

between winter an d spring ; cha nge t he wa ter in to

a bla ck earth a n d ra ise thyself a c ross t he va ried
,

c olour s towa rds the E a st when the f ull moon shows

itself Af ter the purga tion the sun a ppea rs white

.
, ,

and ra diant ; it is summer a f ter wint er da y a f ter ,

n ight The ea rth an d wa te r a re transf ormed into

.

a ir , the d a rkness is dispe rsed light is ma de ; t he ,

west is the begin n ing o f p ra ctica l work an d the ea st ,

the beginn ing o f t he theo ry ; the principle o f dest ruc

tion is comprise d betwee n the ea st and the west ”
.

If we a re t o enter in to the spirit o f suc h direct ions

an d d e scriptions a s th e se we must remember tha t

a lchemy wa s not a scie n ce in the mode rn s e n se o f t he

word but a mixtur e o f science philosophy the osophy

, , , ,

a n d mysticism It wa s o nly gra dua lly tha t t he more

.

tra ine d and ba l a n ced thinkers sep a ra ted f a cts f r om

f a n cie s No t until the sixtee nth century did a lchemists
.

begin t o drop the veil f rom their specula tions a n d

pra ct ices and t ry to set down in stra ightf o r wa rd
,

l a ngua ge wha t they re a lly sa w an d disco vered And .

e ve n then the a dva n ce in this directio n wa s slow a n d

p a rtia l .

A highly curious exa mple o f a ff ected precision is

iven by Tho rpe !
T o fix quicksilve r O f sever l
g . a .

t hin g s t ak e 2, 3, an d 3, 1 ; 1 t o 3 is 4 ; 3, 2 an d 1 .

Between 4 an d
there is 1 ; 3 f rom 4 is 1 ; then
3
1 a n d 1 3 an d 4 ; 1 f r om 3 is 2
, Betwee n 2 a n d 3 .

there is 1 between 3 a n d 2 there is 1 1 1 1 an d l

, .
, , , ,

2 2 a n d 1 1 an d 1 to 2
, , Then 1 is 1 I ha ve told
, . .

History of C hemis try, vo l. i, p. 39 .

17 4 ALCHE MY ITS SCIENCE AND R OMANCE
—

sometim es t hey intention ally twist an d substitute

terms in their dete rmina tion t o be a bstruse Some
, .

times with the best will in the world they f a il in

, ,

pre cision beca use o f their necessa rily imperf ect

a na lysis of their ma t eria ls Sometimes they a re .

r endere d c a reless o f finer distin ction s by their theo ry

tha t a ll substanc es ha ve a common essen ce Fo r .

these a n d o ther reaso ns a ccurate interp re ta tion is ,

a lwa ys dif ficult an d not seldom imp o ssible More ove r . ,

it must be conf essed tha t t he cases where the ef f o rt

t o inte rp re t is worth the while a re f ew an d f a r b e twee n .

We ourselves ha ve n o t rea ched clea m ess in t he

use o f a l lo ur t erm s " Fo r exa mple we m a y use the
.
I
,

word fire in three senses If we say Do n o t .

,
”
touch the fire we imply even if we ha ve n o t in o ur
, ,

minds the ide a tha t the fire is a thing a substan ce

, , .

”
No t so long ag o we should ha ve c a lled it phl o giston .

”
If we sa y The house is o n fire we mean it is in
, ,

a sta te o r con dition o f bur n in If we Put ut

, g
, sa y o .
,
”
t he fi re we me a n Sto p the p rocess o f combustio n
, ,

—we a re thinking o f action Fro m a p ra ctica l stan d .

point there is in this ca se little d a nger o f re a l con

,

f usion o f thought Ne vertheless it sho uld en a ble us

.

to symp a thise with t he a lchemists when in simila r ,

f a ilu res to be p recise they la n d th e mselves in c o n

,
” ” ”
f u si o n . When they spoke o f s o f t ha rd c o ld , , ,

ho t
, they did n ot simply mea n the sta tes o f sof tne ss ,

ha rdne ss co ldness ho tness in which thing s a re f ou n d

, , , ,

but ima gine d tha t these qua litie s ca n exist a pa rt f ro m

t he thin gs tha t is to sa y tha t there a re such thing s ,

as so f tn ess ha rdn ess a n d the re st

, , And a ltho ugh we .

m a y not even yet ha ve clea red ourselve s o f this e rr or ,

Bo t h Muir an d Th rpe us t his illust rat ion

o e .
 DIFF I CULTIES OF INTERPRETATI ON 17 5

at any ra te when we a re speak in g with philosophica l

”
o r scientific a ccura cy we know we a re using
, a bst ra ct

te rms Hence we f requently find it ha rd to seize

.

wha t the alchemists ha d in thei r minds For instance .

,

a f a mous a xiom a ttributed t o Hermes r uns thus

, ,

If you do n o t take a wa y f rom bodie s their corpo re a l

s tate a n d if you do n ot trans f orm them into thing s
,

n o t corpore a l you will not get what you wan

,

The idea is as explain ed in a pre vious c ha pter, tha t

,

t he me tals must be stripped o r robbed o f the qualities

, ,

whic h ma ke them meta ls by mea ns o f substa nces

which ha ve n ot those qua lities We n o w exp ress
.

idea s o f this kind by sa ying tha t substances a re

c ha nged i n their qu a lities whe n submitted t o va rious

physica l o r chemica l processes We never think of a

.

metal qua lity a s something sep a ra te f ro m a meta l

-
,

a n d c a pa ble o f bein g take n a wa y f rom it like colour

o ut o f a clot h .

STR AIGHTEO R WA R D RE CEI PTS .

It is only f a ir to note tha t a ll the receipts o f the

a lchemists a re n ot o f a c ryptic ch a racte r When t he .

Philo s o pher s Ston e is the subject obscurity could

’
,

n o t be a voided f o r the substance sought o r desc ribed

d id n ot exist But when o rdin a ry chemica l a ctio n s
. ,

o r t he ma king O f a lloys a re de a lt with the direction s

, ,

a re f requently st ra ightf o rwa rd enough a n d the chie f ,

d if ficulties a re the mea n ings to be a tta che d to t he

t e rms . In the f ollowing cha pte rs va rious exa mple s
,

will be give n o f quite in te lligible receipts a n d dirc e

tions A good average specimen o f the e a rlie r pe ri o d
.

is this taken f rom the B o ok o f Demo c rit us ( Arabia n )

,
17 6 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMAN C E
An Elixir which tra n sf orms silve r into gold .

One pound o f mercu ry ;two pound of Persia n C opper as .

B rea k up the coppe ra s well an d throw it o n the

,

m ercury ; add o f dulc ifi e d sa lt thirt ee n pints ; stir

t hem in a b a sin until a ll is well incorpo rated Put .

into a n ew boiler an d adjust the reto rt ; hea t it below

until yo u hear the n oise o f the c racklin g sa lt Ta ke .

a wa y t he fire . When the vessel is cooled ta ke it ,

an d Open it . The p ro duct which ha s m ount ed f ro m

the boiler into the receiving vessel g a ther an d knea d
with juice o f t he round a rist oloc hus c o loq uin t ( lit , .

se rpe nt vine ) an d w hite hell e bore Put in a glas s

.

phia l Plaste r the Opening an d t he bottom o f this

.

with mud m ixe d with horseha ir and lea ve until ,

quite dry ; then bring a lump of c ow dung ; place -

the phia l in the middle light the fire a n d let it

, ,

rema in there f or a night The substan ce will harden

.

a n d become lik e stone .Throw it into a boiler and ,

pour over it acid v inega r ; a dd fla ky alum a n d

whitene d sulphur o f ea ch a d ra m Boil it until the
, .

p roduct become s sof t like m astic P ro j ect o f this

.

Elixir a dram o n a pound of gold an d you will see,

a ppe a r a brillia nt gold which will n o t lose it s lustre .

”
This has been tried and is true
, Suf fic ien t ly c o m
.

plica ted ! a n d yet f ree f rom m ysticism o r f an cif ul

a llegory .

A little f urthe r on in the s a me work there is a

receipt f o r ma king a n Elixir o f Eggs which is still
more complica ted I t prescribes n o less tha n twelve
.

dif f erent opera tion s bef ore the fina l p roduct is Obtain ed
-
some o f them ta king da ys t o comple te an d one o f ,
”
them to be ca rried out in the sha de not in su nlig ht , .

But even in this lengthy expe riment there is n o

 CHAPTER I I
THE M A TE RIA LS
HE most vita l a im o f t he Hermetic a rt wa s the
ma king o f go ld It theref o re busied itself with
.

a p a rticul ar kin d o f meta llu rgy c a lling to it s a id a l

, l
the kno wn resourc e s o f chemistry Wha t were t he .

ma te ria l s e mployed by the a lchemist Wha t we re

‘
his n otio n s o f the i r n a ture a n d p ro p e rties 3 The se
question s pre sen t themselves both o n the ir o wn
,

a ccount and a lso a s prelimin a ry t o a n estima t e o f the

a mount a n d v a lue o f the discove ries which a dd e d t o

the existing stock .

MA PPlE CLA VI C ULA .

The tre a tise M app le Cla vicula as has a lrea dy been

,

s a id b e longs to t he t wef t h century in re ga rd t o it s

,

f o rm but t o t he tenth in re ga rd t o it s ma tte r

, The .

ten th c e ntury ma tter a ga in ca rries us bac k to By

-
, ,

z a n t in e a n d eve n Egyptia n da ys A gla n ce a t it s

.

c o nte nts will thu s give us a good ge n eral ide a o f the

kind o f che mistry p ra ctised in the e a rly d a ys o f t he

a rt
. We fin d direction s f o r ma king va rious drugs ,

so a p sta rch suga r ; f o r the p rep a ra tion o f colours

, , ,

white da rk blue an d a z ure f o r cutting a n d mo uldin g

, ,

gl a s s Ther e a re va rious re ceipts with a milita ry

.

17s
 THE MATERIAL S 17 9

r e f e re n ce— a le a d ow t o set on fire that which it

arr

hits ; poison to p o ison the a rrows ; the mak in g o f

r e s in s O ils and na phtha s f o r inc e nd iary urpo
, , , p ses

the most f a mous being the Greek Fire o f which sa lt ,

petre is the f unda mental con stituent One receipt .

r uns thus By mixing a pure an d very strong win e

with three p a rts o f sa lt a n d by wa rming it in suitable
,

ve ssels an in fla m ma ble wa ter is Obtaine d which con

,

sume s itse lf without burning the matter on which it

”
is sprea d .This is alcohol While t he discove ry o f .

f erm en t ic liquors is o f extre mely ancient d a te we ,

her e ha ve a determina te scientific wa y of dea ling

,

with it The property o f burning o n the surf ac e o f a

.

body without setting it o n fire has arrest e d the a tten

tion o f these Observers .

A f ew o f the receipts f o r makin g an d f o r a ugmenting

gold a re given in other contexts !
The c hief sub .

sta nc e s me ntioned in them will be dealt with directly .

The re a re a lso a large number o f receipts f o r writin g

i n letters o f gold o r silver o n papym s stone o r
, , , ,

metal Here is on e f or ma king powdere d go ld

. .

Min ium sa nd gold filings an d a lum Bea t together

, , , .

a n d hea t with vineg a r in a copper vessel

”
This .
,

though brief proves a very considera ble skill in t he

,

ma nipula tion o f the ma te ria ls na me d How man y .

expe riments c ontinued through how many years ha d

gon e to the rendering o f it possible ! In the third
p art O f t he work a re a rticle s trea ting o f the working
o f copper iron lead and tin ; o f t he c olouring o f
, , ,

gla ss the ma king o f pea rls In the f ourth pa rt come

, .

a miscella neous set o f f or mula s includin g those ,

mentioned a t the beginnin g o f this section O f .

See p 8 1 . .
1 80 —
ALC HE MY ITS SC I ENCE AND ROM ANCE
specia l note is t he hydro static ba la nc e f o r an a lysing
—
alloys o f gold an d silver the problem which Hiero
solved There a re dir ection s f o r soldering met a ls by
.

methods divided into f our classes Even archit ecture

.

ha s a plac e !
It is imp o s sible owing t o the excessively mixed
,

cha ra cter o f the cont ents t o a ssign da t es t o the di

,
s

c o v e ry o f t he compounds na med in this sing ula r

ma nua l we m a y be sure tha t not a f ew o f them were
due to the la bour s o f a depts Taking a b roa d view
.
,

ho weve r it is sa f e t o sa y tha t the gr ea t bulk o f t he

,

ma te ria ls u sed a n d the t echnica l p rocesses a do pte d ,

were tran smitte d f ro m the labora to ries o f Egypt .

Their very va rie ty p ro ves tha t t hey belong to a

p e riod whe n the lea rned ha d not con centra ted
meta llurg ica l an d c hemical act ivities so exclusive ly
on the o n e grea t quest .

G OLD .

Let us consider some o f the c hief ma teria ls indi

vidua lly keeping t o t he a lchemist s po int o f view
,
’
.

And first o f gold Why was it tha t this particular

.

meta l ca me t o occupy the pla ce it did in the Herm etic

a rt
, an d t o be chos e n a s the perf ect f orm which a l l
the rest were striving to a ttain
Well wa s there ever a time when gold did n o t
,

ha ve a distinctive hon our a n d repute At t he

b eginning o f the Book o f G enesis when Pa ra dise is,

being described we r ea d o f a certa in country

, t he ,
”
gold o f tha t la n d is good Its brillia nce an d bea uty
.

f a scina t e I t was proba bly the first meta l t o be

.

discove red I t has rema rka ble qua lities ; it is

.
18 2 ALCHEMY ~-
ITS SCIENCE AND ROMAN C E
it was wealth C specia lly in countries which did n ot
,

enj oy the opule nce o f Solomon s glory ; an d it thus ’

beca me a subsidia ry O b j ect o f a lchemica l la b o urs .

The moon ( said Zos imus ) is pur e an d divine when

you see the sun shine on its surf a ce Tha t is t o .

sa y, silver attains its highest perf ection in refin ing

when the molten meta l shines like the sun Yes but .
,

—
it is only the moon a f ter all n ot the glorious sun
,

tha t as Shakespea re ha s it
, ,

Pla ys t he alchymist

Turning wit h Splen do ur of his precio us eye

lo ddy eart h t o gl
itt ering go ld .

One o f the irnperf ec t io n s o f silver estima ted by ,

a lchemist philosophy is its compara tive la ck o f

,
”
fixit y It d oes indeed resist the a ction o f t he
.
, ,

a tmosphere an d o f man y chemica l a ge n ts ; but it

re a dily t a m ishes in the presence o f sulphure tt ed

hydro gen and even a solution o f common sa lt con
,

ve r t s its surf ace into a chloride ; it is a lso d issolve d

sulphuric a cids In these respects it is
.

r to go ld which on ly yiel d s t o
, the r oya l
wa ter . In a lchemic la ngua ge it ha s progresse d ,

f a r in its d evelopment f rom the meta l seed but it -

ha s not attained to p erf e ction .

E LE CTRUM .

A Specia lly impo rtant a lloy which f o r lo ng ra nk ed

a s a sepa ra te meta l was tha t known as electrum
, It .

derived its n a me f rom its simila rity to a mber ( L a t .

electrum the usua l te rm f o r

, ambe r whence o ur
e l e ctricity S o me O f the oldest coin s in existence
 THE MATERIALS 18 3

a re of this
lloy o f gold a n d silve r It is p ro b a bl e
a .

tha t it was n ot a lwa ys a rtificia lly produc ed f o r in

the e xtra ctio n o f silve r f ro m the minera ls the re wo uld
o f te n be smelted out a pe rce nta ge o f go ld This .

na tura l o rigin is o f grea t significa nce f o r a lc he my a n d ,

e xpl a ins much The like n ess O f the a ll o y t o go ld

.

a n d t o silv e r t e n ded t o Obscur e the f a ct tha t the se

me ta l s a re definite substa n ce s a n d te mpte d t o the ,

c o n clusio n tha t they co uld b e pro duc e d by suita bl e

mix tures a n d opera tio ns Electrum wo uld be rega rded
.

a s a n inte rmedia te sta ge in a c o ntinu o us d e v e l o pme nt .

We ca n thus see ho w honest the o ry a n d inte ntio na l

f ra ud could glide into o n e a nother Fo r a c e rt a in .

a mount o f silver co uld b e a dde d to go ld wit ho ut

de triment t o the f unda menta l na ture O f the n o ble r
”
meta l Tha t is to sa y gold co uld be multiplie d
.
, .

Especia lly would this c o n side ra tio n a pply t o pro

c e sS e s O f col o u r ing impur e silve r which a lche mic a lly ,

viewed wa s a lrea dy a pp roa ching the sta te of c o mplete

,

As their skill in a na lysing a n d sep a ra ting go ld a n d

silver inc rea sed a lchemists would be gra dua lly le d
,

t o un de rst a n d the re a l na tur e O f e l e ct rum a n d the y ,

c a me t o neglect it In spite o f this ho wever its

. , ,

na me still a ppea red in t he list o f a lchemic signs .

Jupiter being the pla net a sso cia ted with it —a ff o rding

a go od exa mple o f the dif fi cultie s O f interp ret ing

f ormul a s La ter the na me wa s a pplie d t o va rio u s
.
,

brillia nt a llo ys p a rticula rly b ro nz e s an d b ra s s The

, .

ground f o r the tra nsf er wa s evidently the a na lo gy o f

colour .

See p. 120.
18 4 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AN D ROMAN CE

C O PPER .

We come t o the meta ls known as base rega rded ,

by the a lche mists n o t as O f direc t va lue but as

, ,

mea ns to their en d The one likest t o gold is c Oppe r

. .

I t possesses a fin e r ich colo ur ta kes a brillia nt po lish

, ,

a n d is highly ma llea ble an d ductile In Spite o f .

these a dva nta ges it s compara tive plentif ulness pre

,

cluded it s ra n king as a pre cious meta l Ne ve r .

t he l e ss it s use in a lchemy was o f the highest imp o r t

a nce ; ther e is n o sub sta nce w hich a ppe a r s mo re

f requently in tran smuta tion f ormula s And the .

re ason is not hard t o fi d n — not o nly its sim ila rity t o

gold but its f req uent employment in the ma nuf a ctu re
,

o f a lloys .

Pur e C opper is too sof t a meta l t o be ma de into

wea pons an d cutting in struments though some pre ,

historic imple ments a r e f o und which a re unall o ye d .

But in na ture copper o res Of ten conta in a ssocia ted

,

meta ls which give it the n eces sa ry hardness ; a n d

p rimitive meta l wo rkers disco vered tha t the na tu re
-

o f the copper d if f e r s much in diff er en t m ines La te r . ,

men lea rnt ho w t o modif y the metal by a rtificia l

mixt ures I t was thu s tha t br onze was ma nuf a ctur ed
.

by a n a dmixture o f tin Once sta r t ed the a rt o f

.
,

a ll o ying it ma de r a pid str ides an d a tta ined t o a

no ta ble degree O f ef ficien cy .

See ho w rea dily a ll thi s pla yed into the ha nds o f

the alchemists Given a ll t he va riety o f co ppe r
.

a ll o ys , natura l an d a rt ificia l it was evide nt tha t

,

there were sta ges O f increa sing likeness t o go ld .

Mo re o ver these sta ge s could be ma de t o p ass into o n e

,

a n o the r by in se n sible g ra da ti o n s There was thu s a

.
18 6 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMA NCE
la ck ing we should b e sure t hat a substa nce with
,

c ha rac teristics so ma rked coul d n o t f a il t o have

st imul a ted re search an d spec ula t ion One o f its
“
.

e liest na m es was
a r livin g silver — o ur quick
”
silve r . It wa s n o t ca lled mercury until the Middle
Ag es when it ha d beco me the Hermetic sub sta nce
,

p a r excellence It s liquidity
. an d t he,e xtre me mobilit y
which makes it seem a live alwa ys produced a pro
,

f ound imp ression upon those who r eflected on n a tural

phenomena hardly less so its corrosive an d poiso nous
,

properties which led Pliny to call it venen um rerum

omn ium The same a uthor knew o f its a ma lga ma tin g
.

powers an d o f the rea diness with which it dissolves

,

It dissolves gold ! Could a nything be more

c a lc ula ted t o excite an a lchemist s wonder an d ’

expectation 7 He concentra te d on this m eta l his

most earnest study It is ha rdly ever a bsent f rom
.

thoughts or his experiments Ben Jons on in

. ,

his Ma sque M ercury V in dic

, f rom the A lch ym ists ,

p resents it a s a tortu re d victim He ma kes it .

expostula te thus : I a m the ir crude an d their

sublimate ; their p recipitate a n d their u n ctions ;
their ma le an d their f ema le sometimes their b erm
,

a phrodite — wha t they list they style me See . ,

they begin t o muster a ga in a n d dra w their f o rce s

,

o ut a ga inst me The gen ius o f the pla ce d ef e n d me

.

If we go ba ck to the ea rly da ys o f the a r t we fin d ,

Zo simus giving vent t o his emotion s in the f ollowin g

r ha psody Concern ing the divine wate r ( tha t is ,

Mercury) Here is the gran d mystery the thing

.
,

mo st chiefly s o ught It is everyt hing Two na tures

. .
,

o n e single esse n ce ; f or o n e o f them d ra ws o n an d

 THE MATERIALS 18 7

c ontrols the other It is liquid silver ; it is o f both

.

sexes an d is a lwa ys in mo vement It is the divin e .

wa ter o f which n o ne kno ws It s nature is dif fi cult .

t o understa n d f o r it is n either a meta l n o r wa te r , ,

n o r a ( meta llic
) s ubst a nce It c a nnot be ta med
. f o r ,

it is a ll in a ll I t ha s lif e a n d it brea thes He who

. .

understa n ds this mystery possesse s both gold an d

s ilve r . Its power is hidden ; it re sides in the
”
E ro yt le .Zo simus fit t in g ly a ppends to his desc rip
tio n ma gic figures a n d f o rmul a s Ther e a re a l so .

thre e con ce ntric circles with the mystic a xioms :

The All is on e ; by it is a ll a n d in it is a ll The , .

S e rpe nt is o n e ; it ha s the t wo emblems a n d the

p o iso n .B e lo w this a ga in a re the a lchemic sign s
f o r the f our meta ls le a d mercu ry silve r a n d gold
, , , ,

sur mount e d by tha t o f the wor ld an d the cosmic egg .

We must re me mber tha t more wa s in view tha n the

o r dina ry meta l — it was the Philos o pher s Mercu ry
’
,

the inner essen ce o f a llthings S o me sa id it co uld be .

o bta in e d by distill a tion s o th e r s s a id it wa s o ut o f

huma n rea ch It wa s s a id t o be liquid yet n o t

.
,

wetting things vol a tile yet n ega tiving the vola tility
,

of other substa nces It wa s a t once a substa nce

.

“
a n d not a substa nce but an inta ngible Essence a
,

bodily spirit an d a spiritua l body If we stumble a t .

these contra dictions it m a y do us good t o re a d a

,

modern description o f the luminif erous ether !

MERCU R Y AN D S ULPHUR .

With mercury was a sso cia ted a nother substa nc e

which a ls o ha d a p e culia r f a scina tio n f o r a lchemists
A f bul us t a th u
o f wh i h ( as sa id t he alc he m i t )
s o ne, e se o c s s
D e m oc rit us te d
e xal f o r d ivin in g .
1 88 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMA NCE
-
sulphur We ha ve seen how it wa s supposed t o
.

be a con stituent o f the meta ls supplying the fiery ,

element in them They w a tched wonde ringly a s they

.

sa w me rcu ry diss o lving gold They a lso wonde red .

when they sa w a stick o f sulphur when pla c e d o n ,

r ed hot i ron
-
pene tra te the meta l like a spir it a n d
, ,

dissolve it in a strea m o f mo lten drops They .

observed t oo how tha t by the conta ct o f t he t wo

, ,

substa nces a n ew one wa s f o rmed A mysterio us .

cha nge ha d ta ke n pla ce Evidently, they co nclude d

. ,

sulphur has a peculia r po wer over the meta l a n d

c o nt ro ls its f orm a n d qua lities .

Some unkn own a lc hemist impresse d by t he ,

peculia r p ro pertie s o f mercury an d sulphur couple d ,

them to gether a s comp o ne nts o f a llthe me ta ls The .

me rcu ry wa s supp o sed to supply the lustre ma lle ,

a bility ,
—
ductility f usibility in sho rt the meta llic
, ,

qua lit ie s ;sulphur supplie d combustibility (a n d c o lour

This rema rka ble theo ry is me ntioned by Gebe r an d ,

he hims e lf a ttributes it t o the a n cients It wa s .

a c cepte d up t o the middle o f the sixteen th century ,

a n d f o rms a cha ra cte r istic p a rt o f a lchemist doctrin e .

Thorpe so f a r f ro m condemn ing it hails it as the

, ,

first ma nif esta tion o f scientific thought in this depa rt

ment o f resea rch .

TIN .

Tin is a nother m eta l which ha d its a ppeal f o r

a lche mi sts not so much in ref e re nce to gold as t o
,

silver The qua litie s tha t a ttra cted them we re its

.

silvery white colour an d the b rillia nt lustre it ha s

,

See p 9 4
. .
190 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IE NC E AND ROMANC E

tha t lea d is o n e o f the products f o rmed by the break ing

d o wn o f ra dium O f this more a non
.
, .

IRO N AND MA GNE SIA .

These t wo substa n ce s thoug h o f prime import

,

a n ce d o n ot c a ll f o r speci a l desc r ipti o n

, The la tte r .

c a me t o be a lmo st a syno nym f o r the Stone .

OTHE R MA TERIA L S .

The lchem ists we re in quest o f a meta l Na tura lly

a .

they bega n wit h t he me ta ls in their eff orts to tra ns

mute The Cosmopolite sa ys
. If yo u wa nt t o
mak e a meta l ta k e a meta l ; f o r a do g is neve r
,

e ng e nd e r ed but by a do g But the continued

.

f a ilu re o f the i r expe r iments led them t o t ry other

substa n c e s In the l a te r sta ge s o f the a r t tho se
.
,

sel ec te d a re sometime s a s sta rtling a s they a re

di sgusting .

Arsen ic wa s one o f the first l e ss usua l me ta ls t o

b e tri ed a n d f o r l o ng in spir e d g rea t co nfid e n ce
, It s .

p o we r o f ble a c hing c o pp er suggeste d tra n smuta t ion

into silve r Me rcury a n d tin f a ile d Antimo ny ca me
. .

into f a shio n o nly t o b e disca rded in it s turn The n .

R o ger B a c o n ruled o ut a ll t he met a ls o n the sco re

tha t they were t o o p o o r t o ge ne ra te go ld .

If n o t met a ls wh a t n e xt
, The sa lts were give n
a ch a n ce e sp e cia lly se a sa lt We re me mber ho w
,
-
.

B erna rd o f Treve s move d his la b o ra tory t o the B a lt ic

t o t e st the p o ssibiliti e s o f sea sa lt ! Sa ltpetre a l so
-
.

—
wa s i n gre a t r equisitio n th e n vitrio l Still the grea t .

See p 16 3. .
 THE MATERIALS 19 1

secret was unsolved The whole rea lm o f minera ls

.

wa s f o und wanting .

If not minera ls wha t next

, Well there was t he ,

vegeta ble world And had n ot some o f the Gre ek

.

a lchemists suggeste d tha t he re the r e might be h o pe 7

L e t their f ormulas be exte n ded Accordingly juic es .

o f the c e l a ndine a n d o f the p r imr ose wer e tr ie d in ,

r elia nce on —
their colour rhuba rb honesty an d , ,

many o ther plants Still n o success

. .

Ah But is not the a nimal world higher tha n the

vege ta ble ; an d its ma teria ls a re they n ot richer
,

Let those he tried sa id the a depts So to work they

, .

we nt o n o rga nic ma tters derived f rom a n ima ls

bones fle sh blo od sa liva ha ir an d othe r ma ter ia ls
, , , , ,

n o t a lwa y s fit to be m e nti o n ed The r uling ide a was

.

tha t in suc h substa nces there re sided the principle o f

lif e which can tra nsmute f o o d into tissues Very
, .

singula r wa s on e o f the a rguments used f o r holding

tha t this principle could e ven p ro duce meta ls The re .

was te stimony they sa id tha t child ren ha d gro wn

, ,

go ld tee th An d with a llthis un cea sing f a ilure, .

O n e la st venture Was n o t the Philo so phe r s

.
’

r e o o f —
Ston e in a lity the s ul the world sp iritus mun di 9 .

Wha t in n a ture was mo st a kin to this The a ir If .

so
, tho se substa nces which a re most exposed t o the
a cti o n o f the air would be likely to a bsorb m o st o f

t he sp ir itua l essence — such a s f re shly f a llen ra in

, ,

s n o w a n d dew It is ha rd t o believe tha t in 1 6 6 5

, .

a n a dept submitted to the R o ya l Society o bserva

”
tio n s on the dew o f the mo nth o f Ma y Others too k
“
.

a yet wide r flight Me teo ric ma tter that o f f a lling

.
,
”
sta rs wo uld a bs o rb the spirit in tra ve rsing the a tmo
,

sphe re Others trie d t o side tra ck t he p ro bl e m

.
-
.
19 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AN D ROMANCE
They reflect ed that cra bs liz ards an d serpents if
, , ,

deprived o f f ood co uld live f o r a long time o n a ir

, .

Mus t this n ot involve a con sidera ble co ndensa tio n o f

t h e spirit So t h ese wret ched crea ture s we re ma de
t o f ast an d we re the n d istilled ! To wha t stra n g e
,

lengths e ven clever men can g o when they set o ut o n

a wrong t ra ck if there b e a t ouch o f the occult a n d
,

the mystic
Sol vunt ur ta bul
a: risu Well m a y Surley in Be n
. ,

Jo n son s A lchymist excla im d isd a in f ully

’
,

h
Y o ur b ro t s, yo ur m e nst r ues, a n d m at eria ls,
Of l e
y ’ an d egg s e-
l
ls,hwo m e n 8 t e rm s, m
’
an s b l
oo d ,
’

Ha ir 0 t he ea d, b urn t c lo ut , c alk , merde, an d c lay,

h h
h
An d mo ulds o f ot er st ran e in g gredien t s ,

Wo uld b urst a man t o nam e .

And yet a f ter all as we sha ll see un dernea th a ll

, , ,

these eccentricities an d f o llie s there was being built ,

up a so lid b a sis o n which the science o f the f utu re

c ould be r ear ed .
19 4 —
ALCHE MY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE
Egyptian s a n d the Greek a lchemists At the start .
,

it is a ma tter o f the mag ic which was a lwa ys assoc ia te d

with industria l and medica l o pera tions In medie va l .

times t he magic yie lded pla ce to a d ependence o n God

, .

Am ong some f ra g ments o f Arabia n tre a tise s occurs

a pa ssage which is highly cha ra cte ristic Af ter .

discussing cer ta in curious questions t he a uthor ,

sugge sts a pra yer which will keep the ad ept in a p rope r
f ra me o f mind Our Fa ther which a rt in hea ven ,

give in te lligence t o the eye s O f Thy servant tha t he ,

m a y p a rticipa te in Thy pur e light which dwells in

hea ven ( Thus f a r the petitio n s a re pla inly Christia n )
. .

Tho u ho ldest the keys o f the world ; Thou a rt the

beginning a n d the e n d ; Tho u d wellest in the midst
o f t he fi re o n ea r t h Thou a lone ca nst infla me wa te r
,

a n d t h e se a ma ke fish t o dwell on l a nd re ca ll the de a d

, ,

f ro m t he d a rk a byss an d Open Ta rtarus Thy person .

is fire Thine eyes sta rs

, The a ir is the brighte ning
.

o f Thy fl a me ( These are . invoc a ti o ns o f the f orm

c o mmo n in a ncie nt Egypt a n d are connecte d with
ma gic ) Aba ndo n me n o t 0 God
. but give me
, ,

wisdom o f Thy right ha n d an d the a id o f Thy people .

O Go d deign t o e nter quickly my hear t Pe netrate

, .

my spirit a n d fill me with the fla me o f true science

let it dwell in my b e ing Cha se f rom my soul e vil an d
.

e n vy . It is Tho u Who givest the h ea rt t o produce

wha t is go od an d the to ngue t o divulge hidden
mysteries Such is the extra ordina ry mingling o f
.
’

Chr istia n p rayers an d invoc a tio ns borr owed f rom

a ncie nt Egypt o f the kind c o mmon amo ng the gnostics
, .

It is f oll o wed by a biz a rr e a ccount o f ho w the a uthor

f o ught a ga inst pe rs o n ified e nvy which he over c a me
,

wit h a h a tchet .
 THE LABORATORIES 19 5

But this pla y o f emotion did n ot render the

a lchemists id le dre a mer s Their labora tories wer e
.

s cenes o f genuine ha rd work Muir quotes on this .

,

p o int a pa ssage f rom Pa ra celsus :

, They a re n ot
g iven t o idleness n o r go in
, a prou d habit o r plu s h , ,

o r velvet
g arment s O f ten sh o w ing
, thei r ring s on their
fing ers o r wea rin g swords a t their sides with silve r
,

h ilts o r fin e an d g a y gloves on their hands ; but

,

d ilig ently f ollow their la bour s sweatin g whole da ys ,

and nig hts a t their f urna ces They d o not sp end their .

time a broa d f o r recreation but ta ke delig ht in the ir ,

la bora tories They put their fingers amo n g coa ls

. ,

in to cla y and filth n ot into gold a n d rings They

, .

s oot y a n d bl a ck like s m iths a n d miners a n d do not

, ,
”
pride themselves upon clea n a n d beautif ul dress .

APPA RA TUS .

The a pp a ra tus o f a lchemy wa s prima rily devised

o f co ur se f o r p ra ctica l uses but like a llelse c o n ne cte d ,

with the Her metic a rt wa s invested with a n a tmo

,

spher e o f the mystic a n d occult Mammon in B en . ,

Jonson s A lchymist decla res tha t the f a ble o f Medea s

’ ’

charm s had ref erence t o

The manner of o ur wo rk ; t he b ulls, o ur f urnace ,
lb rea t hing fire ; o ur a rgent viv e , t he drago n
St il -

The drago n s t eet h, m erc ury sub lim at e ,

’

Tha t keeps t he whit e n e ss, hardn ess a n d t he b it ing

An d t hey a re gat hered in t o Jaso n s helm
’

The alem b ic , an d t hen so w d in Mars his field,

’

And t hence sub limed so o f t en , t illt hey re fix d

’ ’
.

some o f the Arabia n tre a tises and in othe rs o f

In ,

the thirteenth century there a re simple outline ,

19 6 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND RO MANCE
pictures o f ma ny kinds o f ve ssels ‘
there find
We
.

a ludels o r pear sha ped pots Ope n a t both e n ds

,
-
and ,

ma de t o fit into e a ch other ; a lembics f o r distilling ,

retor t s a n d stills f o r he a ting a n d sublima t ing ; fla sks

, ,

f o r burying in beds o f ho t s a n d o r cin der s f u rnac e s

grea t an d sma ll a tha n o rs o r f urna ces specia lly
,

con structed t o ma inta in a cer ta in degree o f hea t ;

cucu rbits o r gourd like a lembics ; pe llica ns o r vessels
,
-
,

with a rms ; an d many a qua int device beside A .

specia l kin d o f b a th was tha t n a med Ba l neum M a rise .

In the midst Of a series o f proce s ses den ote d by lett ers

o f the a lpha b e t Subtle rep o rts t o Ma mmo n

F is co m e o ve r t he helm t oo ,
I t hank my Ma ker, in S Ma ry s b at h ,
’
.

An d shows l
a c virg in is Blessed b e hea ven
.

I t is mentio n ed in the o lder tre a tise s a n d connected ,

with Ma ry the Jewe ss who is supp o sed t o ha ve invente d

it Nothing definite is kno wn o f her A wr iter o f t he
. .

seventh century a f firms tha t she wa s in itia ted into t he

s a c red a rt in the temple o f Memphis Another legend .

ma kes her the siste r o f Mo ses This pa rticula r insta nce

.

is typica l o f the wa y in which a lchem ists mingled f a ct ,

legend a n d f a ncy in their e ff o rt t o preserve the sens e

,

o f mystery even in r eg a r d t o their f a mil

, ia r uten sils .

I t a ls o incidenta lly illustra tes the con sta nt ba ckwa rd

loo k t o Egypt .

Fur ther deta il un der this hea d is n o t necessa ry ”

But it is well t o note tha t many o f the vessels still

reta in their pl a ces even a s rega rds specific f orms in
, ,

o ur modern l a bora tories .

Bert helo t in his La C himie a n M oyen ag e, v o l i ch v i ,

, . . . . re pro
d uces b
m an y o f t h ese , an d is g en e rally a le t o det e rm in e t he use t q
which t h ey were put .
 THE LABORATORIES 19 7

—
PRO CE SSE S BE N JO N SO N ’
S LIST .

Geber gives a list o f the principal p rocesses in

vog ue in his time He mentio n s sublima tion vo la tili
.
,

sa tion , d istill a tio n by eva pora tion o r by simple

filtra tion ca lcina tion so lution coag ul a tio n which
, , , ,

in cludes crysta llis a tion an d fixa tion co upella t io n , ,

s of t e n ing o f ha r d bodi e s a n d so f or t h , Mo st o f these .

,

s a ve f o r t e c hn ic a l m o difica ti o n s da te b ack t o G reeks

, ,

a n d behind them ag a in t o the Egyptia ns

, , They a re .
,

i ndeed simply a da pta tions o f quite f a milia r process es

,

but they we re given new settings an d spe cia lised

purpose by the a lchemist philo sophy as me a n s f o r ,

h a stening the a dva n ce o f va rious subst a nces to wa rds

perf ect ion This point is well b rought out by Ben
.

Jon son Subtle addresses his ser vant

.

Sub Sirra h , my varlet , st a n d yo u f o rt h a n d spea k t o him

.

Lik e a phiIOSO phe r : a nswer in t he l a n guage .

Na me t he vexa t io n s, an d t he m art yrisa t ions

Of met a ls in t he wo rk .

Face Sir , put ref act io n ,

.

Solut io n , a b lut io n , sub lima t io n ,

Co ho b at io n , calc inat io n , cerat io n , an d
Fix at io n .

Sub ( to ANA NIAS) This is hea t hen Greek t o yo u, n o w 1

. .

( t o F A CE ) A n d w he
. n co m es v ivifica t io n f
Face Af t e r m o rt ificat ion
. .

Sub What s co ho b at ion 1

’
.

Face Tis t he po urin g o n

’
.

Y o ur a q ua regis, a n d t hen drawin g him o ff ,

To t he t rin e circle of t he seven Spheres .

Sub What s t he pro per passio n o f met al

’
. s 1

Sub . What s yo ur ultimum supplicium auri

’

Sub ( to ANANIAS) This is heat hen Greek t o yo u

. . .

( to FA CE ) An d w ha t s y.o ur m e rcury 1
’

Face A ve ry f ugit ive, he willb e go ne , sir

. .
19 8 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANC E
Sub . How know yo u him 1
His o leosit y a n d his susc it a b ilit y
, .

Sub Ho w do yo u sub lime him 1

.

Face Wit h t he calce o f eg g shells

.
-
,

Sub Y o ur magist erium ,

. no w,
What ’
st hat 1
Fa ce . Shif t in g , sir, yo ur element s ,

Dry in t o co ld, co ld in t o m o ist , m oist in t o hot ,

Hot int o dry .

Sub ( to ANANIAS) This IS eat en Greek t o you st ill!

. . h h
(’
t o FA CE ) Y o u r l
a i
p ps hilo so
.
phicus
Face Tis a st o ne
.

An d n ot a st o n e a spirit , a so ul, a n d a b o dy
h h
W ic if yo u do dissolve , it is disso lved
g
If yo u coa ulat e , it is coa ula t e d ; g
If yo u ma ke it t o fl y , it fl
iet h.

This pa ss a ge b rings o ut ma ny po ints o f inte rest ,

e speci a lly the ide a th a t qu a litie s a re se pa ra te things .

But its m a in drif t se e ms to be f o unded on Ge orge

Ripley s Twelve Gates o r twelve su c cessive p r ocesses
’
,

which open o ut o n the Pa ra dise o f the Philosophe r s ’

Sto ne Indeed Jo nso n m entio n s Ripley a little

.
,

e a rlie r in the scene Let us exa min e a f ew o f thes e .

p rocesses f rom the alche mist s standpoint ’

.

PRO CE SSES IN D ETA IL .

C a lcina tion was employed by G ebe r f o r ren der ing

me tals more fixed ; that is t o say f o r ro bbing them ,

of the qualities which m a de them u nlike g o ld o r silv e r .

‘‘
cm
”
T in f
, o r exa mple w as thus r obbed o f its
,
le a d
of its f usibility The r es ul t o f the
. p r ocess was in ,

reality g enerally some f orm o f Oxida tion

,
.

Sublimat ion so f a r as the process is conce rned

”

, ,

meant much the same a s with ourse lves A substance .

200 —
AL CHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND R OMANCE

With us this strong expre ssion has worn do wn t o b e

a me r e figure o f sp e e c h ; but it was not a lw a ys so .

p r oce ss

which ca uses a substance t o

become sof t and flo w lik e wax I t would o f te n invo lve .

of t he right deg ree o f hea t Ripley c a lls it Fe rmenta

.

tion . But this te rm ha d usua lly a more f unda menta l

al
leysr c onl _
b“e r r oduced a n d multiplie d b
d ep h
‘ y dev elo
a
p m “

in their mixture s ! Cha nge a na l o go us t o f e rme nta

n

in g

Fem me which we l
ia Ve n ot t hea rd t he la st
'

ye .

—
the p ring ip les o“r virtues de si red In t he finial p ro duct
“ h M
.

'
The word is p rob a bly o f Arab ic o rig iiI ; an d T he
I l l- l. .

o pe ra tion itsel f is stil

l a t times employe d Ce ra tio n .

'

S o lut ve

in so f a r a s t o note the mystica l cha racter a ssigne d t o

these a n d other simila rly simple Opera tio n s in t he
Hermetic a r t .

Fixa tion ha s a lrea dy been explained !

Ano ther .

term with a n equa lly specia lised mea nin g is Pro jection ,

Q iig in a lly this si gnified E le th rowing o f a n ki d f

'
i y n o
—
It c am
' ‘

in at eria l i nto the c rucible E t o b e a pplied

.
,

—
”

h o wever t the f e T
- '

o ,
p r ing U II R h a t ’ Y

p o wde r of _p j
ro e ct.
io n T )? hhé T h fl OSO p he r s,
’

See p 18 1,
 THE LAB ORATOR IES 201

multiplica tio n tha t wa s t o rewa rd t he adept f o r a ll

is toil The id ea o f a p o wde r o f tra
. nsmuta tion s ee ms
t o da te b a ck to the da ys o f a ncie nt Eg yptia n meta l
lu rgy Fo r in a n e a rly docume nt it finds men t io n
.

thus We must kno w in wha t pla ces o f the Theb a id

”
the myste rio us powder is prepared There f o ll o ws
.

a li st o f the Egyptia n cities a n d distr icts in which it

m ight be s o ught evide n cing the existe nce o f some

,

p re
-
a lchemist t ra ditio n .

The a de pts o f the sixte e nth c entury wg g g neaj ly

concerned with the br ingin g to gether o f t he ma le a n d
f ema l e s e e ds hy t Eh go ld wa s “t o he ge nera te d Fo r .

a c c o m pl IshIn g this purp o se the see d ma te r ia l s were -

e n clo se d In a n ova l o f p a ste o r mud a n d hermetica lly ,

se a l ed Thus was f orme d wha t wa s c a lle d t he

.

Philo so pher s Egg o r the ho use o f the pulle t o f the

’ !
,
”
wis e o r Atha no r S a lmo n tell s us ho w this Op era tio n
, .

is t o be ca rr ied o ut . He re is the wa y in whic h

philo sophers ma ke sure tha t the thing is a cco mplishe d .

The Philo so pher s Mercury be ing j o in e d a n d a ma lga

’

m a ted with go ld o f grea t pur ity a n d in le a ve s o r ,

filings ( gold being the ma le mercury t he f ema l e ) is

, ,

put in to the Philo so pher s Egg This Egg is pla ced

’
.

in a dish f ull o f cha rcoa l which is put o n the fire a n d ,

t hen the mercury by t he he a t o f its in tern a l s ulphur

,

excited by the fir e kindled by the o pera to r f ro m

without a n d f ed co ntinua lly in the degree an d pro
,

—
p o rtion necessa ry this me rcury I sa y dissolves the , ,
”
g old with o ut viole n ce a
, n d reduce s it t o a t o ms At .

t he e n d o f six mo nths a bl a ck powder is Obta ined

,
”
which S a lmon c a lls the c row s hea d o r S a turn o r
’
, ,

The m yst ical doc t rin e o f t he Eg g was disc ussed b efo e e p 12 1 r , se . .

202 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
Cimmer ia n da rkness If the a ction o f the h ea t is
.

p ro lo nge d the substan ce b e c o me s white This is

, .

the white c o louring substa nce o r the Little Phil o

,

sopher s Sto n e an d is a ble t o co nvert ordina ry me ta ls

’
,

into silver a n d to p roduce pea rls La stly if the fire

.
,

is in crea sed the substan ce melts an d cha nges into a

,

r e d p o wde r. I t is the verita ble Philo so phe r s Sto ne

’

Pro jected o n a c o mmon meta l it immedia tely cha nges

,

it into gold .

We find the n tha t the a lchemists devised a very

, ,

c o nsidera ble set o f exper iments an d o pera tions which , ,

tho ugh devo ted t o a n una tta ina ble en d went a l o n g

,

wa y to wa rds b ringing into existence the a pparatus

o f t he mo de rn l a b o ra to ry
.
 204 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND R OMANCE

go od an d f ruitf ul invention s and experiments as well

f o r the discl o sing o f n a tu re a s f o r the use o f ma n s ’

”
lif e
. L e t us n o w r eview the m o r e imp o rt a nt o f
the se g oo d and f ruitf ul inventions a n d experim en

THE C O M BINING OF THEORY A ND PRA C TI C E .

The first grea t merit o f a lchemy wa s tha t it bro ught

together phIIO SOphic a l Spe cula tio n an d the p ra ctic a l
a r ts
. The Egyptia n meta llurgists an d chemists even ,

tho se o f the m who were p riests were neither scientists

,

n o r philosophers . No doubt there would be a mong

them a cer t a in Spirit o f inquiry concerning the na tu re
o f t h e m a teria ls th e y employe d ; but they neve r

evolved any system o f specula tive thought which

deserves the na me o f a philosophy o f na ture Whv .

this s hould ha ve b e en so is an in teresting problem ,

the so lution o f which would tempt us f rom o ur track .

Suf fi ce it t o n ote the f a ct The a lchemists inherited

.

f rom the Egyptia n s little but a n accumul a tion o f

technica l receipts a n d dir ectio ns .

On the c o ntra ry the Greek th inkers who suppli e d

,

the Specula tive idea s o f a lche my wer e n o t skille d in

the p ra ctica l a r t s n o r were the y in a n y strict s ense
, , ,

n atura l scientists They did n o t even f o ster a

.

scie ntific spirit ; f o r the y de spised a ll han dlin g o f

ma teria ls f o r purpo ses o f ma n uf a ctu r e o r experiment ,

l ea ving such ta sks to sl a ves a n d igno ra nt workm en .

And they were thus deb a rred f rom ga ining a n y f a ctual

bas is f o r the ir re a son ings .

No w by a ha ppy con cu rre nce o f circ umsta n ces the ,

A dva n cemen t f
o L ea rn in g , B k i
. .
 ADVANCES AN D D I SCOVERI ES 205

a lchemist while int ere sted in philoso phy ha d hims e lf

, ,

t o be c o me a n Opera tive a n d a ctua lly handl e d the

,

m a te ria ls he empl o ye d The ga in wa s great Theorie s

. .

h a d perf orce t o b e submitted to the test o f f a cts An d .

it wa s gradua lly rea lised tha t f a cts a re decisive whe n

k nowledge o f o r power ove r na ture is t he object in
, ,

view A n ew star t wa s made o n principles n ot

.

definitely recogn ised but non e the les s revolutiona ry

,

principles rendered explicit in Ba con s N ovum

-
’

O rg a n on The ra te o f a dva nce howeve r was la ment

.
, ,

a b ly slow Theory though n o longe r in a solita ry

.
,

t hron e wa s u nduly despotic a n d blinde d the ex pe ri

, ,

m e nters t o t he re a l sign ifica n ce o f n e a rly a llthey sa w .

They lost them selves in ma ny a ma ze f orlorn when they

might h a ve been expa tia ting o n Na ture s highwa ys ’
.

H en ce it wa s tha t their scientific a chieveme nts were

so sca nty a s compa re d with the leng t hy period during
which the a rt was prosecute d .

DA W N O P THE S C IE NTIFI C S PIRIT .

Alchemy the n hera lde d the daw n o f the scientific

, ,

spir it in the sphere o f chemistry a n d the kin de a rts .

The rigidity o f the subjective a ttitu de was rel a xed .

A pa ssa ge f rom the Ara bia n tre a tise The L ittle B ook ,

of Cl e men cy will illustra te this p o in t

, Wise me n .

do n o t p ride them s e lves o n the qua ntity o f ma teria ls ,

but on the perf ection o f their Opera tion s I u rge yo u .

t o act with preca ution t o go to work slo wly a n d t o

-

, ,

f ollow the exa mple o f Na ture in a l l tha t yo u desi re

to do when dea ling with na tural thin gs
:

There is .

he re ma n if este d a n inc ipient tendency t o look wit ho ut

206 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE
ther tha n within We must n o t ho weve r la y t oo
“
ra .
, ,

much stre ss on the phra se f ollow the example o f

”
Na tu re f o r a ncient phil o so phy g a ve t o it a turn which
,

was f ar f rom n at ural in o ur modern sc ien tifi c sen se

o f t he te rm Never t heless the ef f ort towa rds detac h
.
,

ment is f ull o f pro mise .

A passag e f r om The B ook of Osta nes shows a n

insight into the po ssibilities o f n a tura l processes .

Sc ience bring s it a b out tha t t hin g s the mo st precious

a re m ade o ut o f the most co mmon See f o r exa mple .
, ,

the loveliest ga rments in the world are o f silk ; an d

s ilk come s f r om a worm The fin est o f t he thin gs
.

we ea t is honey ; and honey comes f r om a fly Mus k .

is the pro duct o f a n anima l a mbe rgris tha t o f a fish

, ,

an d the pear l tha t o f an oyst e r So with this marve l .

lous stone ; it comes f rom ma tter tha t in eyes o f the

”
ignorant is o f the commo ne st Though the object .

a imed a t is chime r ica l the reas o n ing is in the spirit

,

o f scie n ce and coul d be suppor t ed by ma ny mode rn

,

p arallels .

Yet more striking is this f rom The Book of P ity ,

which describes an observa tion f o unded o n f a ct .

There wa s a mag netic stone which lif ted a piece o f

i ron weighing 100 dra chmes We kept it f o r a long .

time an d we tried it on an other pie ce o f iron which

,

it was n o t a ble to lif t We thought tha t the weight

.

o f this piece o f iro n must exceed 100 d rachmes t he ,

weight which the ma gnetic stone bef ore lif ted But .

when we ca me t o weigh it we f ound tha t it weighed ,

le ss tha n 100 dra c hmes The power o f the stone

. ,

then ha d dimin ishe d a lthough it s o wn weight ha d

, ,

rema ine d the sa me as a t the first This is quite in .

t he modern ma nner particul a rly the we ighing o f the

,
208 ALC HEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
—

f o re gone
c o nclusion Fo r the scie ntist a n experime nt
.
,

is a question put to Na ture to see if she will suppo r t

his theory o r thro w f ur t her light upon his p ro ble m .

The two metho ds a re thus sha rply Opposed a n d ,

postula te t wo widely dif f erent outlooks It wa s n o t .

until the la tter had be e n con sciously a d o pted tha t

science c o ul d ad vance with sure a n d rapi d strides .

R OGER BA C O N .

Roger B a con ( 1214 129 4 ) wa s o n e o f the first to

-

rea lise the importa nce o f the distin ction just dra wn .

His rema rk able gif ts ena bled him to break a wa y f rom

the t ra ditions which ha d e n sla ved so ma ny gr eat
minds explore n ew territory a n d op en out n ew r outes
, , .

Fo r a long time he wa s loo ke d upon as an a lchemist

o f the o rthod ox kin d a n d even b ra nde d as a sorce r e r
, .

But o f la te yea rs he ha s come to his o wn and we ,

a ppr eciate him at his true va lue The secret o f his

.

success was this — he ha d l ea rnt how t o put question s

t o Na tur e . In the Ara bi a n Rha z e s we find this
, ,

noble sta tement The secre t o f chemistry is r a the r

possible tha n imp o ssible Its myster ie s a re o nly
.

r eve a led by di nt o f ha rd work a n d te n a city But .

wha t a triumph when m an is a ble t o ra ise a c o rne r o f

the veil which covers na ture ! Rha z es a n d Fria r
B a con join han ds Both are hun gry f o r f a cts ; but
.

the la ter s a ge ha d the la rger outlo ok a n d t he deepe r

’
power o f penetra tion How va r ied we re B a co n s
.

inte rests He corrected the Julian Ka lenda r ; ana

lysed t h e p roper t ies o f lenses a n d c o nvex gla sses ;
inve nted spectacles f o r the sho r t sighte d pro po unded
-
 AD VANCES A ND D I SCO VERIES 209

t he the ory o f telesco pes if he did n o t ma ke t he m ;

,

p repa red the wa y f o r the discovery o f g un po wder a n d

o f t he air pump ; and
-
most signifi can t o f a ll d rew
, ,

a ttention t o the chemica l r ole o f the a ir in the p r ocess

of combustion Truly a splendid rec o rd whe n we

.

—
t hink o f the time s in which he live d a record which ,

t hough exc eeding t he boun ds o f a lchemy m a y f a ir ly ,

in it s ma in tendency r e doun d t o the credit o f tha t a rt .

‘
And ho w was it attained l By the defin it e a doptio n
o f the expe r imental method The suc cess it is true
.
, ,

wa s a chieved in spite o f the shackles imposed by

a lchemist tra ditions still the mea n s t o the success
,

h a d l argely been p rovide d by the ar t they wer e

d e stined t o destro y And Boyle wa s a leg itimat e
.

su ccessor o f the alchemist Friar .

A RI STO TL E .

It wa s stated j ust a bove tha t B a con had to f o rce

his wa y through a ma ss o f tra dition s whic h bloc k e d
the wa y to pro g ress The bulk o f the s e were supposed
.

t o de pend on the a uthority o f tha t pre emine n t thinke r -

,

Ar istotle the Ma ste r o f tho se who kno w Ho w

.

g r i e vously th a t gl o r i o u sly f r e e a n d o r igin a l ge n ius ha s

suf f e re d in the house o f those who ima gined the mse lv e s

to be his f rie nds 1 It is certa in tha t his a utho rity

wa s sup reme in Euro pe f o r near ly twe nty centur ies ,

a n d tha t his influe n ce eve n in the history o f chemistry

, ,

c a n be tra ced d own i nto the eightee nth cen tury But.

‘
wa s the a ppea l t o the rea l Aristotle l So f a r wa s this
f rom being the c ase tha t it wa s more of ten than not
t o teachin gs q uite Opposed to those which he ha d
promulga ted Dia lecticia ns ha d robbed his a rguments
.
2 10 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMA NC E
of their living f o rce o r twisted them to a lien is sues
, .

C o mmenta to rs ha d to rtured his doctr ine o r bur ie d it

under mo unta ins o f unin spired disquisitio ns Spu rio us .

trea tise s published under his na me had m isrepre

, ,

se nted a n d suppleme nted it o ut o f a l l reco gn itio n .

What wo nder when the libe ra tion ca me tha t he wa s

, ,

bla med a n d a bj ured

As a ma tter o f f a ct Aristo tle himself had stro ngly
,

e mpha sised his c o nvictio n tha t n a tura l scie n ce c a n

only be a dv anced by increa se o f the kn o wledge o f

Na ture .He was o f a ll the a ncie nts the o n e who
, ,

c o mes nea rest t o the modern s in a im spirit a n d , ,

method And it was indeed a n i rony o f f a te tha t

.

made the repudia tion o f dogma tism seem t o be a

triumph o ver instea d o f a c o ntinua nce o f his wo rk
, , .

The interest in pra ctica l chemistry which despite a ll ,

its def e cts a n d a berra tion s the Hermetic a rt ha d ,

susta ined the flick erin g s o f the scie ntific spirit which
,

it ha d f ostered the experiments it ha d suggeste d

,

these were the true Aristo telia n elements in an

other wise f ruitless quest .

A RAB IA N D I SC O VERIE S .

An a ttempt to enumera te in deta il the disco ve ries

upon which in the c o urse o f so ma ny ce nturies the
, ,

h d
’
seeke r s f o r the Philosophe r s Stone a mo r e o r less
a ccidenta lly ha pped wo uld be tedious But an .

a polog y f o r a lchemy wo uld be dep rived o f its chie f

vindica tion were it not to record some o f the more

no ta ble a dditions ma de to the store o f huma n know
ledge It is a n ea sy task to show tha t they were
.

neither f ew nor unirn po rt a nt .

2 12 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE A ND ROMANCE
solutio n aqua reg a lis he r ega rded as the Elixir o f Lif e
, , .

”
It was a dministered a s po ta ble gold In thi s view .

he was f oll o wed by Ro ger B a co n who to ld His ,

Holiness Pope Nicho la s IV a story concernin g it s .

ma rvell o us vir t ues An o ld m an he sa id f o und s o me

.
, ,

yellow liquor ( the solutio n is yell o w) in a go lden phial

while plo ughing o n e da y in Sicily Suppo sing it t o .

be dew he dra nk it He was thereup o n tra nsf ormed

, .

into a ha le r obust a n d highly a cc o mplished youth

, , .

We do n o t kno w whether the Po pe trie d the Elixir ;

o r if he did wh a t wa s t he e f f ect up o n his co n stitution
, , .

However these things m a y ha ve been the record ,

is given in certain La tin ma nuscripts o f the thirtee nth

ce ntury a n d the discoveries must theref o re ha ve
,

pre ceded this period Of Geber himself we m a y sa f ely

.

a ve r tha t he wa s the first t o give pr ecise description s

o f the meta ls me r cury silver le a d C oppe r a n d go ld

, , ,

a n d tha t he first no ted the uses o f corro sive subl ima te ,

re d p recipita te and flowers a n d milk o f sulphu r

, .

R ha z es prepa red b ra ndy an d employed a lcohol a s a

s o lve nt in severa l pha rma ceutica l prepa ra tio ns He .

exa mined t he p ro perties o f orp ime nt rea lga r p o wder ,

of the m ine bora x a n d var ious co mp o unds o f

,

sulphur with i ron an d co pper The scho o l as a who le

.

ma de va lua ble a dva nces in medicine a n d manif ested ,

a fin e spir it o f scientific re se a rch in ma n y o ther s

directions There can be n o doubt tha t o ur debt t o it

.
,

tho ugh n ot ca p a ble o f deta iled determina tion is very ,

conside ra ble .

MED IE VA L DI SC O VERIE S .

It is not until the time o f Ro ge r B a co n tha t the

work o f individua l a de pts sta nds o ut with suffi c ie nt
 AD VANCE S AND DISCO VERIES 2 13

p ro mine n ce to render possible the da ting o f specific

disco ver ies a n d the hon ouring o f the discoverers As
, .

we sa w in the cha pter o n Ma te ria ls substa nce a f te r ,

substa nce ma kes its a ppea ra nce in the e a rly mediaeva l

pe riod o f a lchemy but witho ut me ntio n o f pa rticul a rs
,

The store simply a ccumul a te s None t he less the re

.

,
—
was ste a dy if slow a dvance simil a r we ma y f a irly
, ,

a ss ume t o tha t o f the da ys when historica l evide n ce is

,

mor e a bunda nt .

—
Ro ger B a con we ha ve considered a bove his pre
p a ring the wa y f o r the discovery o f gunp o wder a n d ,

his sugge stion s a bout the p a rt pla yed by the a ir in

the p rocess o f combina tio n Another f a mou s a l .

chemist Albertus Ma gnus wa s even more successf ul

, ,

in respect o f che mic a l disc o ve ries No t only was he .

a cqu a inted with the pur ifica tio n o f meta ls by m ea n s

o f le a d with va r ious chemic a l uses o f a lum an d with

, ,

c a ustic a lka li but he determined the co mposition o f

,

c in na b a r ( a n o r e o f mercury ) by f orming it who lly

f ro m the meta l an d sulphur desc r ib ed a ccu ra te ly the

,

p repa ra tion o f a ceta tes o f lea d an d C oppe r no ted the ,

e f f e cts o f he a t o n sulphur an d utilised the a ctio n o f

,

a qu a f o r t is in separa ting a ll o ys o f go ld a n d silver .

No me a n a chieveme nt this whe n we ta ke a cc o un t o f

,

t he times a n d the Opp o rtun ities Moreove r he was ,

the first t o speak o f the a f finities o f sub sta nc e s a n—

idea o f f unda menta l imp o rtance in mo dern che mistry .

”
His pupil Aquina s employed the term a ma lga m
, , ,

c o n n ected p rob a bly with the G reek ma l ag ma so f tn ess , .

The a ma lg a m s o f which he trea te d were those o f

mercury with a n other meta l o r combina tion o f meta l s .

Me da llists c a me t o use the wo rd o f a n y kind o f s o f t

a ll o y t he n t he ide a o f so f tness f ell awa y lea ving ,
214 —
ALCHEMY ITS S CIENCE AND ROMANCE
me rely tha t o f intima te mixture This development .

a dmirably illustra tes the wa y in which a lchemi st

termino lo gy and pra ctice m a y be quietly a bsorb e d

w ith but little rec o gnition o f the s o urce .

Ra ymond Lully wa s a nother genius who took t he

whole field o f kn owledge f o r his province In the .

sphere o f chemistry he p repa red ca rbona te o f po ta sh

,

by mea ns o f ta rtar a n d wood ash and disco vere d -

several essentia l o ils He was especia lly in terested in

.

”
spir it o f wine , the art o f distilling which would
seem to ha ve the n been but rece ntly lea rnt He .

b e stowed o n it the honoura ble na me o f aqua vita:

a rden s a n d in his enthusia sm decla r ed it to be the v e ry
,

Elixir o f Lif e .

To B a sil Va lentine we re assigned many triumphs .

But it ha s been shown tha t his na me wa s a ssumed by a

certain Johan n ThOlde a n a uthor o f the seventeenth
,

century an d it is there f o re n o ea sy ma tter t o sa y wha t

,

re a lly bel o ngs t o him o r t o a l a ter da te But in a n y .

ca se the discoveries we re made by a lchemists a n d ,

bea ring in mind the ne ed f o r c ritica l ca utio n let us ,

gro up them under his na me He prepa red meta ls .

by wha t a re ca lled wet methods Fo r exa mpl e .

,

he t ra nsf ormed pyrites into sulp ha te o f coppe r through

the a ction o f humid a ir an d then plunged a pla te o f
,

iron into a solution o f t he sulpha te thus obta in in g ,

pure co pp er He p re pa red sulphide o f pota sh

.
,

f ulmina ting go ld a n d sulphu ric e the r

, He wrote a .

”
c o mplete trea tise o n sa lts with pa rticula r trea t
,

me n t o f spir it s o f sa lt ( hyd ro chl o r ic a cid ) an -

a chi e veme nt o f gre a t sig n ific a n ce He o bta ined the.

a cid ( a s n o w) f r o m se a s a lt o r o il o f
-
vit rio l He .

devo te d much a ttentio n to a ntimony an d exa mined ,

2 16 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
p eriods pr of essio na l physicia ns The result was t wo
, .

f o ld . Chemistry which ha d bee n de spise d by philo

Sophe rs b e c a me a subject o f seriou s study by me n o f
,

lea rning and distinctio n Me dicine wa s b rought .

within the ran ge o f physica l e xperimen t It is t o the .

Hermetic a r t tha t we must c redit these two e normou s

g a ins si,n ce but f o r the
, h o pe o f t ra nsmut in g the hand ,

o f tra ditio n woul d ha ve la in yet more hea vily on these

n asc e n t scie n ces .

The a llia nce between a lchemy a n d medicine ha s

been a dequa tely dea lt with in p revious cha pters mo r e ,

pa rticula rly in con nectio n with the tea chings o f

Pa ra celsus a n d the Rosicrucia ns a n d does n o t he r e ,

n eed f urt he r empha si s Those who re alise t he

.

t yra n ny o f blind a utho rity in an y b ra nch o f huma n

inqui ry a n d not lea st in the he a ling a r t will be the
, ,

mo st rea dy to a cknowledge our indebtedness to thos e

who burst it s bonds and helped to give us a science o f
m edicine .

CLA SSIFI CA TI O N .

It is genera lly a cknowledged tha t cla ssifica tion is

e ssen tia l to the devel o pme n t o f scien ce The ma nif old .

objects o f o ur Cxperience must be grouped into ordered

cla sses ea ch chara cterised by certa in definite ma rks
, ,

se l ecte d as f ar as m a y be a ccordin g to the r ea l n a ture

, ,

of the things cla ssified Thin k wha t the L in n ma n

.

system eff ected f o r B o ta ny a n d wha t a dva nce in ,

deeper knowledge o f pla nt lif e is secured in t he -

”
na tura l system Wha t ca n a lchemy sa y f o r its e lf
.

i n this r egard
It ha s b e en f reely gra nted th a t the He rme tic a rt
 AD VANCES A ND DISCOVER IES 217

was nsystema tic Even a s la te as t he eighteenth

u .

c entu ry Kunkel a critic o f the art could wr ite

, , ,

I, o l
d m a n th a t I a m who h a ve bee n occupied
, with
c hemistry f o r sixty ye a rs ha ve never yet been a ble
,

t o disc o ve r their fix e d sulphur They a re n o t .

a greed a mong themselves respecting the kind o f

s ulphur The sulphur o f o n e is not the sulphu r o f the
.

o the r To that one m a y reply t ha t each is a t liber t y

.

t o b a ptise his child a s he likes I a gree You m a y . .

e ve n if you are d is posed c a ll an a ss a cow ; but you

, ,

will n ever m ak e a n y o n e believe tha t your cow is a n

”
a ss.

And yet there must be re ser va tions From the .

e a rliest times ther e we r e e f f o r t s ma de to cl a ssif y We .

r e member how the philo s o phy o f the a rt was b a s e d o n

t he f ourf o l d division s p r op o sed by G re e k thinke rs

e a rth wa te r a ir fir e
,
— d ry moist cold hot
, , , Me t a l s , , .

we re distinguished f ro m non meta l s though the -

m a rks o f sep a ration were impe rf ectly select e d Here .

is a curio us exa mple o f a tte mpts to cl a ssif y in f ull e r

d etail It is ta ken f r om The Book of Pity
. The .

d istinction between a n ima l a n d e ar t hy substa n ces is

a s f ollows Anima l substa nce s a re mercury go ld , ,

s ilver lea d C opper iron E a rthy substa n ces a re

, , , .

d ivided into two ca tego rie s living a n d de a d , Among .

the living are sulphur a rsen ic sa la mmo n ia c a n d every

, ,
-

thing which burns o r me lts an d o f which fire c a n ca use

,

the Spirit t o depart The secon d ca tegory tha t o f

.
,

dea d things comprehen ds all tha t does not melt o r

, ,

burn o r give o f f va po urs f o r exa mple cha lk a n d like

, ,

”
substa nces The groun d o f distinctio n is evidently
.

the p resen ce or absence o f c o mbustibility o r re sp o n se ,

—
to t he a ction of hea t fire is ta ken to be the p rinc iple
218 —
ALCHEMY ITS S CIENCE AND ROMANCE
of lif e The re sult is c rud e but f ull o f promise The
. , .

chara cteristic a lchem ist tria d Elements Pr inciples , , ,

Essence though more subtle is r ea lly much less

, ,

na tura l s a ve in so f a r as it led up t o the distinctio n

,

betwe e n elements and co mp o unds .

A Byz antine exa mpl e is f ull o f interest not only ,

o n the sco re o f its a st ro l o gica l fla vou r but a lso a n d , ,

chiefly beca use o f the singula r medley of hits a n d

,

misse s With o n e exception the substa nces a re

.
,

groupe d under the meta ls Under lea d ( Saturn )

.

a ppea r litha rge a ga te an d other like ma teria ls

, , .

Un de r tin ( Jupiter ) a ppe a r coa l sulphur an d white ,

ston es simila r to ena mel Un de r iro n ( Ma rs ) a ppea r

.

the ma gne t a n d pyrites ( A good hit ) Un der go ld

. .

S l ppe hy c inth di m o n d c a rb o n an d the mo st

( )o a ar a ,a , ,

b rillia nt of the precio us stones ( The c o nj unction o f .

dia mond a n d c a rbon is striking !) Under co ppe r

( V e n us ) a ppe a r p e a rls a methyst
, bitum e n sug a r , , ,

hon ey myrrh sa la mmo n ia c incense Un der emerald

, ,
-
, .

( Mercury ) a ppe a r quicks ilve r a mb e r m a,stic ( Th is , .

is the ca se in which the meta l is n o t in the pla ce o f

hon our ; but emerald wa s rega rded as a metal so ,

tha t it is merely a ma tter o f preceden ce ) La stly .

,

unde r silver ( Luna ) a ppea r gla ss a n d white e a r t hs .

The rea s o ns f o r most o f these groupings a re obscure ,

—
but the inten tion is pl a in t o group un der c ompre
hen siv e hea ds a va riety o f substances which ha d
a ttra cted a ttention by sp ecia l qualities o r a ctivities .

Pa ra celsus propoun ded a three f old set o f -

ha rmo n ies which secured wid e a ccepta nce

So ul Spirit Body
Mercury Sulphur S alt
Wa ter Air Earth
 CHA PTER V

R O
T A N SITI N TO M O D ERN C HEM ISTRY
ERE is a pa s sage f ro m Zosimus the oldest o f
,

the kn own wr iters on a lchemy I sa w a

.

p riest sta ndin g bef ore a n a lta r in f o rm o f a cup ha vin g ,

severa l steps by which it was a pproa che d The prie st .

a nswe red I a m the priest o f the s a n ctua ry an d I ,

a m un de r the weight o f the powe r which crushes m e .

At the brea k of da y there ca me a wo rkma n who seiz ed

me slew me with a sword divided me into morsels
, ,

a f t e r having lif t ed the sk in f rom my hea d he m ixed ,

my bones with the flesh a n d ca lcined m e in the fire ,

to tea ch me tha t the spirit is born with the body .

Tha t is the powe r tha t o ppresses me While the

riest Spoke thus his eyes bec a me like blood an d he
p , ,

vomited all his flesh I sa w him mutila te hims e lf

.
,

tea r himself with his teeth a n d f a ll t o the g round .

S e ize d with terro r I a woke reflected a n d asked myse lf

, , ,

if th is is re a lly t he composition o f wa ter An d I .

”
congra tula ted myse lf o n ha ving divined rightly .

Comp a re this symb o lica l j a rgo n with the direction s

give n in a modern ma nu a l o f chemistry Can ther e .

be a p a ssa ge f rom o n e to the other Ha d we n o t

underta ken a symp a thetic study o f the a lchemists ’

a ims , doctrines a n d methods we should a ssuredly

, ,

b e tempted t o an swe r in the n ega tive But we are

.

220
 TRANS ITION TO MODERN CHEMISTRY 2 21

n ow in a position to un dersta n d that in the stra nge

p a ssage f rom Zosimus the re a re a llusion s to rea l
o p era tio ns — c a lcin a tions f erm en t a t ion s disso lutions
, , ,

a n d the rest It was these un derlying expe rie n ce s

.

th a t we re gra dua lly seiz ed upon cleared o f their ,

o bscurities a n d given a pl a ce in a n ordered scheme

, .

The pro cess was long d ra wn o ut but inevita ble , Fo r .

N a ture p resses on men s a tte ntion f un da men ta l like

’

n e sses a n d d if f e rence s a mon g her ph e n ome na an d ,

s o sugge sts l a rger inductions an d wide r g en e ra l isa

t i o ns . The presuppo sitions an d wa ywa rd strivin gs
of inquire rs a re gra dua lly co rrected an d curbe d .

Fa cts carry the da y and modern chemistry comes t o

,

the bir th .

DIFFI C UL TY IN D SC I O VERIN G ELEME NTS .

When a modern scie ntist is contemptuous o f

a lchemy , it m a y be surmised tha t he has n o t
a dequa te ly realised the dif ficulties unde r which the

Old chemists la b o ured Right down to the da ys o f

.

the brillia n t discoveries ma de by the gre a te st o f

chemists La voisier the re we re not any known fix e d
, ,

e lem e nts to serve a s sta rting points f o r synthesis o r

-

a s g o a ls f o r a n a lysis It wa s thought tha t a ll ma tte r

.

is e ndlessly tra nsf orma ble b a ckwa rds a n d f orwa rds

, .

The s erpent biting it s own ta il was a legitima te symbol

o f the doct rine un ive rs a lly a cc e ted
p H ence p ro blems
.

tha t a re t o us quite stra ightf o rwa rd wer e f o r t he

a lchemists hopelessly b a ffl ing a n d complex .

Take a simple c ase mentioned by Ber t he lot I .

quo te his own sta temen t o f it I ha ve a mine ra l o f

.

iron sa y o n e o f the oxides so widely distributed in

,
222 —
A LCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE A ND ROMA NCE

n a ture I trea t it with ca rbon a n d chalk a n d I o bt ain

.
,

meta llic iron But this in it s turn by the quick a ction

.
,

o f fi re a n d i n con ta ct with a ir o r by the sl o w a ction ,

o f a tmo sphe ric a ge nt s pa sse s b a ck to the sta te o f an

,

oxide identica l with o r a na logo us to t he prim itive

, , ,

ge n e ra to r Where is t he pr imordia l e leme nt if we

.
,

judge by a ppe a ra nc e s Is it the iro n which dis

a ppe a rs so e asil y O r is it the ox ide whic h e x ist ed t o
sta rt with a n d is f o un d a t the e n d The id ea o f t he
e l e me nta ry body would s e em it p rio ri t o suit r a the r t he

l a st p roduct in so f a r a s it ma n if e st s sta bility a n d

”
re sist a n ce to a g e nts o f every kin d The m e re st .

tyro no wa da ys c a n give the corre ct an swe r but t he

,

gre a t c hemist Berthe l o t rea lise s ho w ha rd tha t wa s f o r

those who ha d n ot the mea n s o f det erm mmg Iro n t o b e
a n el e ment a n d who did n o t kn o w t ha t t he o xygen
,

o f the a tmo sphe re wa s c o n ce rn ed i n a n expl a n a tio n o f

the change s .

Or take the c a se which puz z led a n d misled eve n so ,

s o und a n investiga to r a s V an Helmont when he tried ,

t o a cc o un t f o r the gro wt h o f a pla n t He put a willo w .

weighin g 5 lbs into 200 lbs o f e arth previo usly drie d

. .

in a n oven a n d wa tered it regula rly At the e n d o f

, .

five yea rs he f ound the pla nt weighed 169 lb s wh erea s .

,

the e a rth a f ter redrying ha d lost only 2 o z s inweight

, , . .

What wa s he to conclude He ha d n ot the mean s o f

kn owing the re a l n ature o f water n o r o f t he ca rbo n ,

di o xide a bsorbed f rom t he a tmosphere His a nswer .

,

the re f o re seeme d t o be irref utable tha t the 164 lbs

, .

of wo ody ma tter lea ve s ro o ts a n d so f o rth were

, , , ,

pro duced by the wa te r Tha t is to sa y the wa ter to.

,

al l a ppea ra n ce ha d be e n cha nged into a va r iety o f

L es Orig in es de lA l
chimie, p 28 3
’
. .
 TRAN SITIO N TO MODERN CHEMISTRY 22 3

solid substa n ces A clever scientist wa s thus f o rced

t o a con clus i o n which wa s quite in ha rmo ny with
a lchemica l doctrine an d yet g rievously o ut o f
,

ha rmony with the f a cts A modest a mount then o f

.
, ,

histo rica l ima gina tion sh o uld ena ble the p roud o r
cy n ica l modern to re a lise that t o be a n a lchem ist
wa s n o t necessa rily t o be a f ool .

D ISC O VERY O F THE —

EL EM E NTS B OYL E .

I t will n ow be a ppa rent tha t the crucia l dif f e rence

betwe e n the o ld a n d the n ew chemistry wa s the
doc t r ine o f the na ture o f ma tter Fo r the o ld ma tter
.
,

wa s in de fin itely tra nsmuta ble ; f o r the n ew the ,

elements were fixed a n d uncha ngea ble ultima tes Let .

us see in b roa d outline how the a dva nce t o the

, ,

sounder view was b rought a bout As in a lmost every .

c a se o f scie ntific discove ry the fin a l result was n ot

,

ga ined a t a boun d but by succes sive steps an d by t he

, ,

accumula tion o f guiding exp erie nc e s .

Boyle was o n e o f the first to questio n t he old

d o ctrine . We sa w how the Gre eks ha d decided there
—
were f ou r elements e a rth wa te r a ir fire an d how
, , , ,

Pa ra celsus a n d his school ha d substituted f o r these

—
the thre e sa lt sulphu r mercury Boyle on the
, , .
,

b asis o f his ma ny a n d origin a l experiments wa s ,

dissa tisfied with b o th these cla ssifica tion s a n d intro ,

duc e d a conceptio n o f a n el eme nt which wa s n ot

f a r removed f rom tha t n ow a ccepted The a lchem ist s .

rega rded the meta ls a s compoun ds he in clin ed to the

belie f tha t they were simple He a dopte d the theory
.

See p 58 . .
224 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMAN CE
of atoms which he regard ed as sma ll par t icle s o f
,

diff ere nt sha pe s an d siz es united into sma ll pa r cels

,

n o t e a sily sep a ra ted a n d conte n ded tha t the a lchemist

,

elements a re n ot simple bodies but a re built up o f ,

p a rticles more simple tha n themselves I n this wa y .

he ca me t o disting uish between an element an d a

compound in a ma n n er quite opposed t o the olde r
conception a n d in lin e with the chemica l doctrine
,

o f the p re se nt da y He a lso re a lised tha t a true com

.

poun d must n ot be conf use d with a m ixt ure since it ,

invo lves a peculia r an d intimate kin d o f a ction due to

a flin it ie s between subst a nces Had the fine lea d .

he ga ve been f oll o wed up the tra nsition pe riod might ,

ha ve been much curta iled The phlogiston the o ry .

,

however inte rvene d an d though by n o mea ns wholly

, , ,

mischievous reta rded progress in this pa rticula r

,

direction .

DISC O VERY OP GA SES .

O n e o f the gre a te st b a rs to p ro gress was the belief

th a t a ll ga seous sub sta nces were essentia lly a like ,

diff e rin g on ly in degrees o f pu rity Tha t is t o sa y . ,

the a n cient doctrin e o f a ir a s an element bl o cked the

wa y to a knowl edge o f ga ses gen era lly a n d c o n se , ,

quently o f the p a rt pl a ye d by oxygen in the p ro c e ss o f

,

com b ustio n The m en theref ore who first solve d

.
, ,

t he diflic ul t p roblems p re s e nte d by the con stitue nts

o f the a tmosphe r e occupy pl a c e s o f Speci a l h o n o u r o n

the scientists roll o f f a me a n d ha ve the f ulle st right

’
,

to be ca lled the f oun ders o f mode rn chemistry .

Needless to sa y the truth wa s n o t ga in e d a ll a t

,

once A much neglected pio ne er John Ma yow born

.
-

, ,
2 26 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE A ND ROMA NCE
his ccurate observa tion s o n this sa me g a s an d a lso
a ,

o n hydroge n His most b rillia nt a chievement how

.
,

ever was his discovery tha t wa ter is comp o sed o f

,

t wo ga ses Another o f the a ncient elements was

—
dethroned a nother blow was levelled at the alc hemis t
ide as o f matte r .

J O SE PH PRIESTL EY ( 17 33
A still more revolutio na ry success wa s sc o re d by
the f a mo u s Jo seph Prie stle y The title o f his chie f
.

'

wo rk is E xp eriment s an d Obser vations on D ig eren t

K in ds of A ir His chie f a ttentio n a t first wa s devote d
.

to ca rbon ic a cid ; but ma ny other ga ses were detected

by him a n d new metho ds o f exa mining them devised
, .

It is n ow genera lly a ck nowledged tha t he merits the

”
n a me o f the f a ther o f p neuma tic chemistry Thorpe .

a sse rts tha t he was the first t o esta blish tha t the a ir

is not a simple substa nce a s the a lchemists believed

,

it to be Above a ll he is n ow cre dited with t he

.
,

discovery o f oxygen He was experime nting with o ur

.

ol d f riend oxidised mercury

, He thus describe s the
.

f a te f ul experiment : On the 1st o f August 17 7 4 I , ,

e n dea vou red to extra ct a ir f rom mercurius ca l cinat

er s e a n d I p resently f ound tha t by me a ns o f this

p ,

le n s a ir was expelled f rom it very rea dily Ha ving

, .

t bout th ree o r f ou r times as much a s the bulk o f

g o a

my ma teria ls I a dmitted wa ter t o it a n d f o und tha t

, ,

it was not imbib e d by it But wha t surprised me.

more than I c a n well express was tha t a ca ndle burned ,

in this a ir with a rema rka bly vigorous fla me I .

”
was utterly at a loss how t o account f o r it .
TRAN SITION TO MOD ERN CHEMISTR Y 227

Priestley himself in spite o f his ma rked originality

,

a n d in de ende n ce o f mind did n ot quite esca pe f rom

p ,

t he influence o f a lchemistic ide a s He thought o f .

m a tter a s built up so to spea k o f p ro perties which

, ,

c o uld be stripped o ff o r a dde d He wa s moreove r .

, ,

s o r ely hin de red in a rr iving a t sound deduction s by his

u n que stion ing a ccepta nce o f the phlogiston theo ry .

N everthel e ss his w o rk ga ve a n otable impulse to a

,

r e f orme d an d expa nded che mistry which wa s soon to

b a nish the o ld idea s f o r ever L e t us a ga in observe

.
,

in pa ssing ho w l a rgely the o verthrow o f a lchemy

,

t urne d on the inve stiga tion o f ga ses mo re e specia lly ,

of oxygen As Thorpe puts it

. the disc o very o f ,

o xyge n and the r ecog n itio n o f the p a rt it pla ys in the

,

p he n omen a w hich phlogi sto n wa s in voke d to expl a i n ,

m a rk the termin a tio n o f o n e er a in chemica l history

”
a n d the beginn in g o f anothe r This seems to b e a
.

s o un de r wa y o f putting the c a se tha n Muir s whe n he

’

s a ys tha t Priestley s discovery wa s destin ed to

’

c ha nge Alchemy into Chemistry Fo r there were .

m a ny c o ntributing influences a s we ha ve seen a bove

,

t he gre a test bein g perha ps t he new spir it inf used

, ,

b y B o yle which led to the study o f chemica l a ffi n ity ,

t o more c a ref ul a nalysis the use o f the ba la nce an d

, ,

of qua ntita tive methods gene ra lly Nevertheles s .

,

Muir s e nthusia sm is more tha n p a rdona bl e

’
.

L A V O ISIER ( —
17 4 3 1 7

Pr iestley then wa s the first to rec o gnise the

, ,

e xiste nce o f oxyge n a s a sep a ra te g a s b ut he did n o t

grasp the f ull sig n ifica nce o f his grea t discovery The .
228 ALCH EMY— ITS SCIE N CE A ND ROMANCE

true theory o f comb ustio n is due t o the gr ea t Fre nch

chem ist L a voisier who wa s murdered by the Fr e n ch
, ,

communists in the re ign o f terror o f the first Fre n c h

Revolution In to the te c hn ic a l de ta ils o f the methods
.

he a dopted or o f the pro cess o f combustion we n e e d

,

n ot enter ; they bel o ng ra ther to the history o f

chem istry an d we a re o n ly concern ed with them so f a r
,

a s they led t o t he ov e rthr ow o f a lchemy The centra l .

f a ct is this All ordina ry ca ses o f burnin g a re the

.

results o f the union o f the burning substa nce with the

oxyg en o f the a tmosphere Ca lcina tion is thus a kin d
.

o f combus tio n in tha t the meta l combin es with this

g a s
, an d thereby inc r e a ses it s weight by the a mou n t
it ta kes up .

The ma in point t o be seized is this Fro m his .

time onwa rds chemistry beca me a science o f e xa ct

q u a nt ita t ive me a su r eme n ts T r ue L.a voisie
, r w a s n o t
the origina tor o f the use o f the b a la nce in chemic a l
investiga tion s but it wa s his tea ching tha t ga ve it a n
indispensa ble pla ce in sound method An exa mple .

f rom his o wn use o f it will ser ve both to illustra te its

va lue an d a lso t o Show how it led to the rej ection o f
,

an idea tha t ha d preva iled f rom the ea rliest times o f

Greek philosophy do wn to the n in eteenth century .

It was believed a s we ha ve seen tha t a ir can be

, ,
”
condensed t o wa te r a s in the ca se o f f a lling dew
, ,

a n d tha t wa ter can be chan g e d into a solid a s in V an ,

Helmont s a rg ument f rom the gr owing willow o r in

’
,

the residue obta in ed when even ca ref ully distille d

wa ter is eva pora ted in gla ss vessels No w La voisie r .

did n ot a ssen t to this doctrine He determined t o .

put it to the test o f a decisive experiment So he .

distille d wa ter in herme tica lly sea led gla ss ves sels
230 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE A ND ROMANCE
nature . Thus if iro n b e melted we speak o f it a s
molte n iron ; if it be hea ted un til it is in t he
gaseous f orm we should ca ll it va porised iron o r
, ,

some s im ila r na me We know tha t the substance is

.

ir on throug hout .

The n ew doctrin e ca nnot b e be tter sta ted tha n in

La voisier s o wn wo rds
’
If we a pply the te rm
,

elements o r principles t o bodies t o expre ss our idea o f

the la st p o int which an a lysis is ca pable o f rea ching we ,

must a dmit as elements a ll substa nces into which

, ,

we a re a ble t o reduce bodie s by decompo sition No t .

tha t we a re entitled t o a flirm tha t these substanc es

which we consider as simple m ay n ot themselves be
compounded o f t wo o r even o f a gr ea ter number o f
,

more simple principles ; but since these principles

c a nnot be separa ted o r ra ther since we ha ve n o t
, ,

hit hert o discovered the mea n s o f sepa ra ting them they ,

a re with r ega rd to us simple substa n ces a n d we ought

, , ,

never to suppose them compou nded un til experiment

an d obser va tion ha ve p ro ved them to be so Lavoisier .

wr ote this in 17 89 but it rema in s substa ntia lly true

, .

Mellor in his M odem In org an ic Chemistry quote s t he

, ,

p a ssa ge with complete a pprova l an d summ a rises it

,

thus An element is a substa nce which so f ar as we ,

”
know conta in s only o n e kin d o f ma tter
, .

Thus it wa s tha t f o r the va gue fluid idea s o f ,

chemica l compositio n held by the old chem ists there

wa s substituted a clea r n oti o n o f wha t such composi
—
tion r e a lly involves a peculia rly intima te un ion o f
certa in quan tities o f dif f erent and uncha nging ki nds
o f ma tte r The f a ct tha t t he proportion s in which t he
.

combina tion s can take pla ce a re n ot ha pha z a rd b ut ,

de finite is a discovery o f f u nda me nta l imp o r t a nce

,
 TRANS IT IO N TO MODERN CHEMI STRY % 1
which renders it possible to r ep resent chemica l a ctions
by ma thema tica lly exa ct equ a tio ns But we need .

n o t her e inquire into this f u rthe r d e velopment It is .

a refin emen t o n a ge ne ra l p r inciple And the genera l

.

prin ciple by itself won f or the new sc ien ce it s complete

, ,

a n d la stin g victory .

ALC HE M I ST T RA NSM UTA TI O N A B A ND O NED .

Atoms a re now f o r us the ultima tes so f a r a s ,

p ra ctica l chemistry is co n cern ed An d a toms a re

.

c o mposed o f definite uncha ngea ble kinds of matter so ,

f a r as o ur ma nipula tion o f them c a n be e ff ective It .

is insistence o n this truth tha t c o nstitute s the ra dica l

d i ff e re nce b e tween the tra nsmuta tion o f meta ls a n d
the f a b rica tion o f compoun d substa nces Fro m t he .

e a rly da ys o f the Hermetic a rt o nwards there ha d ,

b e e n in dividua ls who ha d c a st do ubts on the possi

b ilit y o f tra n smuta ti o n .Such in tuitive scept isicm ,

however ha d little influence o n the theory o r t he

,

p ra ctice o f a lchemists It wa s the gra dua l a ccumula

.

ti o n o f f a cts culmina ting in t he work o f La voisier

, ,

tha t a t la st bore a ll b ef ore it No longer do a depts

.

la b o ur t o strip f rom sub sta n ces their supp o s ed

sep a ra ble qua lities o r sup er induce those more de sired
, .

No l o nger do the y sea rch f o r hidden virtues a n d

e ssence s by the comminglin g o f which they m a y spee d
up a na tura l growth to wa rds perf e ction a n d p rocur e
the perf ect meta l The mo dern a dept goes to work
.

in very diff e rent f a shio n He sta rts with t he kn o w

.

ledge tha t certain o f his ma teria ls a re u na ltera ble .

H e ex a mi n es the p r ope rties o f these with u nwea rying

Q
23 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AND ROMANCE
exa ctne ss lea rns ho w t o a na lyse existin g compounds
o f them an d how t o build up new o nes
, . The a ncient
g l a mour n o lo nge r lur e s him o n He
. n eve r exp e cts t o

see his tin tra nsmut ed int o silve r o r his coppe r in to

,

g old . But he k no ws tha t the re a re f a r g rea te r ma r vels

t o be discovered tha n eve n the most daring o f the

a lchemists could ever imag ine .
23 4 ALCHEMY— ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMANCE
theory o f ma tter c a me a period o f eclipse Scientists .

enthus ia stica lly c o ncluded they ha d decided the

question in the n ega tive Furthe r disco v e. an d

r eflection p r oved them t o h a ve been t o o ha sty an d

we fin d n o less an a utho rity tha n Fa ra da y wr itin g a s

f ollows There wa s a time when this f un da menta l
d o ctrine o f the a lchemi sts ( tha t o f tra n smuta tio n ) wa s
Opp o sed t o kn o wn a na l o gies It is n o w n o longer so
.

opp o sed t o the m on ly some sta ges beyon d their

,

”
p re sent de vel o pment . This most brillia nt o f
m odern disc o ve rers delibera tely ran ges himself o n the
side o f t he tra n smuta tio n ists Ha s a n ything since
.

c o me to light tha t would a ga in weaken the beli e f

Ra ther is the contra ry t o be empha tica lly a sserted .

The tre n d o f discove ry is distinctly in its f a vo ur The .

rigidity o f the older f orm o f the a tomic theory is

r a pidly dis a ppea r ing if it ha s n ot quite dis a ppea red
,

a n d scientists a re f eeling the ir wa y out into world s

the very exist ence o f which wa s n ot susp e cte d by

tho se who ha d comf orta bly settle d down t o a syste m
o f physics whic h wa s g o ing t o c o un t the una lte ra ble

number o f a toms in t he universe .

THE E L E M E NTS ARE N OT UL TIM A TES .

At the p res ent time there a re some e ighty elemen t s

which chemists h o ld t o be diff erent kinds o f ma tter ,

so f a r a s exi sting mea n s o f di sting ui shin g them c a n

d etermine There a re ho weve r f ew if an y a ut ho ri

.
, , , ,

tie s who would n ow ma inta in tha t t he reco gnitio n o f

e l e ments is the l a st wo rd o f scie n ce o n the ultimat e

Lect ures on N o n M et a llic E lemen t s, p 106

-
. .
 THE OUTLOOK 23 5

na ture o f ma tter Tilden f o r exa mple wa rn s us

.
, ,

a ga inst such a c o n c lusi o n The mo lecula r ( a to mic )

.

the ory ha s been a do pte d in a somewha t rigid f orm ,

n o t by rea son o f a n y sp e cia l con victio n o f my own

r e ga rding its pe rma n e n ce a s a sci e n tific tr uth but ,

b eca use I a m sa tisfied by lo ng exp e rience th a t wha t ,

e ver f o rm it m a
y ultim a t e ly a ssum e it is e v e n n o w , a

m ost importa n t an d a lmost in dispen s a ble a id t o

”
tea ching chemistry Mo re recently Soddy who
.
,

stro ngly empha sises the persistence o f the elements ,

a f fi rming tha t not witho ut rea son ha ve the a to ms

”
be en t e rmed the f o un dati o n ston es o f the un iverse ,

neverthele ss looks f o rwa rd a s we sha ll see direc tly , ,

to a time when scie nce m a y be a ble to pull the m t o

pie ces an d con struc t them He points o ut tha t a t .
,

the da z z ling te mp era tures in t he sun a n d the ho t

sta r s, diss o cia tio n o f the ele ments into siIn pler
f o rms has bee n ima gin e d t o be a n d m a y be ta king
‘
pla ce ; 1 a n d c o ntents himself with re c o rding t he
f a c t t ha so f a r even a t the highest tempera ture
,

re n dered a va il a bl e by the u se o f t he el e ctric f u rn a c e ,

n o indica ti o n s o f a tra n smuta ti o n o f the e l e m e n t s is

y e t f o rth c omi n g Wh
. e th a m w r it e s Som e y e a r s
a g o the c o n st a n cy o f the ch e mic a l el e me nts wa s in t he ,

the n sta te o f k nowledge a la w o f Na ture L a tte rly

, .
,

t he ph en ome na o f ra di o a ctivity ha ve f o rc e d us t o
be lieve tha t true tra nsmuta tion s o f ma tter
”
o ccu r .
1: Rec e n t scie n ce the n is f,ar f r om bei
, n g
in imica l to the hope tha t the elements m a y be re duced
to some simple r kind o r kinds o f substa n ce An d
, , .

In tr od to C hem ica lP hil

. o s op hy p . V II.

T M att er a n d E n erg y p
, 14 3. .

“ c m
1 R e en t D e veZOp en t of P hy s ica l Scien ce p.3 6 .
2 36 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIE NCE AND ROMAN CE

wha t is this but to a llow the possibility o f tra nsmuta

tio n Lord Kelvin indeed in 19 07 cha llenge d the
, , ,

in f ere nces then being dra wn f rom ra dioa ctivity ; b ut

his o bj ections were eff ectively countered in the course
o f the procee dings a t which his
pronou n ceme n t w as

ma de ; an d subsequent discoveries have o verthrown

t hem .

ISO M ERI SM A ND ALL OTRO PISM .

The idea o f the alchemists tha t qua lities a re

separa ble thing s t o be ta ke n f rom or a dded to sub
,

sta nc e s was erron eous But it has its mea sur e o f

, .

truth When t wo a to ms o f hydrogen a re chemica lly

.

un ited there comes in to bein g a molecule o f wa t e r

,

a sub sta nce so diff ere n t f r om its constitu e nts th a t

until quite recent times it wa s held to b e a f un da

menta l element The discovery o f its co mpoun d
.

ch a r a c ter wa s one o f the triumphs o f the new science .

No w wha t ha ppen s whe n the chemical c o mbina tio n

ta kes pla ce Do the hydroge n an d oxygen a to ms
g a in o r l o se certa in qu a lities w hic h a re sepa r a ble f ro m
the m No t at a ll They me rely ma nif est certa in
.

qu a litie s which they a ll a long possessed but c o uld ,

n o t exercis e until they wer e b r ought int o this a r

p
t icul a r r el a tion
. So a m a n m a y h a ve a llt he qua lities
o f a g o o d genera l but they c an not a s such b e put
, ,

i nto a ctio n unless he is in rela tio n t o a n a rmy .

This f a ct lea ds us to r e a lise tha t even wer e a toms

,

them selves a bsolutely u nch a ngea ble their a ppa rent ,

qua litie s m a y be a lte red by b ringing them into n ew

r e la tion s—mew su b sta n ces m a ppea r Th a t is t o
y a .

sa y th e re is a kin d o f t ra n smuta tion possible by givi ng

,
238 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
the dia mond C o uld a nything be more sta rtlin gly
.

diff erent tha n the liquid gla ncin g tra nspa re nt

, ,

d ia mo nd a n d the Opa que bla ckne ss o f the other t wo

An d yet the ir ultima te a to ms a re a bso lutely t he s a me .

And the dia mo nd hea te d in the e le ctric a re o ut o f ,

c o nta ct with a ir bla ckens an d swells up into a co ke

,
”
like ma ss . Other well kno w n in sta nces a re o xyge n
-

a n d o z o n e a n d t he diff e r ing f o rms o f pho spho rus a n d

,

sulphur In t he ca se o f sulphur it wo uld even se e m

.
,

tha t the number o f a to ms in the mo lecule s o f the

l
a l t ro pic f o rms
o — a mo rphous pla stic c rysta llin e— is
, ,

t he s a me
No w the se f a cts suggest wide r a pplica tio n s Ma y .

it n o t be p o ssibl e t o modif y simple bodies which a re

physica lly a lien ( so to Sp ea k ) in such f a shio n tha t o n e
m a y p a ss into the o the r Oxygen a n d sulphur might
f a ll into such mutua l rel a tio n s C o ba lt a n d n icke l
.

ha ve t he sa me a to mic we ights ( within a f ra ctio n ) a re ,

a like in mo st o f the i r p ro p er tie s a n d p ro duce t wo

,

p a ra llel se rie s o f c o mp o unds So a lso go ld pla tin um

.
, , ,

a n d i r idium a re re ma rk a bly a like a n d sugg e st tha t,

they a re c o nstitute d by t he sa me f unda menta l ma tte r

with dif f ere nt a rra nge ments o f a to ms The o utlo o k .

wo uld see m t o be n o t a lto ge the r ho pe le ss It must .

b e gra nted h o we ve r tha t such re cip ro c a l g e ne si s

, ,

w o uld ha ve t o be a ccomplished by s o me o p era tio n o f

quite a no ther orde r tha n a n y n o w in o ur power to
exe cute .

NA TURA L FA M ILI E S OF E L E ME NTS .

The c o nside ra tio ns la st a dduced ise a la rg er

ra

que stio n o n a gra nde r sca le . A llt he kno wn elements

 THE O U TLO OK 239

h a ve n ow be e n fitte d into a s e rie s o f f a mily gro ups

which a re the mselve s un ite d by cl o se a n d a lmo st
symme trica l rela tio n s The c la ssifica tio n is in a cco rd
.

a n ce with wh a t is c a ll e d the Per io dic La w The .

a n o ma lie s an d e x ce ptio n s whic h a re n o t s erio us

, ,

e vide n ce the interf e renc e o f so me se co nda ry pe r

t urb a t io n s n o t ye t disc o vere d but t he ge nera l pl a n
is cl e a r and , pro f o undly sugge stive It is e ven .

de fin it e en o ugh t o a ll o w o f pre dicting the e xiste n ce o f

unkno wn e leme nts a n d de sc ribing the ir chief pro
,

p e r t ie s.

No w the outsta nding f a ct in this is tha t o f al

l
gra da te d re la tio nship We find a toms un ite d into
.

gr o up s o f c o mp o und sub sta nce s with cl o se ly re la te d

p ro pertie s a n d we kno w tha t the re sult is due t o the
,

building up o f the se a to ms in definite p ro p o rtio ns .

And whe n we se e tha t the a to ms themselve s f a ll into

s im il a r gro ups p o sse ssing likewise clo s ely re la te d
,

p ro p ertie s it is emin ently rea so na ble if n o t c o m

, ,

ul t um th t th y a re built up o f sub
p so ry o
, a ss e a e

a t o ms . Tha t is t o sa y the y a re n o t ultima te in

, ,

d e c o mp o sa ble things but compo site ; they were n o t

,

a lwa ys wh a t the y n o w a re but ha ve c o me into

,

b e ing by a c o nstructive p ro ce ss The inf erence is .

o bvi o us In the gre a t la b o ra to ry o f Na tur e they

.

can be ma de a n d unma de ; a n d if scientists c a n

di sc o v er the c o nditio ns a n d the mea n s ne ce ssa ry ,

they t o o c a n ma ke a n d un ma ke the e le me nts The .

dif ficulty m a y a s Soddy s a ys be p r odigio us ; but

, ,

the possibility is ther e And thus a n ew light is

.

thro wn upon the old a lchemist dictum tha t Vulca n

is a s e c o n d na ture a n d im it a t et h tha t d exte rou sly
,

an d compendiously whic h n a ture wo rketh by

240 ALCHEMY -
ITS SCIENCE AND ROMANCE
”
a mbag es an d leng th of time . Th ere is a go a l
f o r a new a lchemy .

RA D I O A CT IVITY .

Even were we t o lim it o urselves to wha t wa s kn own

a t the close o f l a st century we should be justified in
,

cla iming tha t a belief in the possibility o f tra nsmuta

tion in a modernised sense of tha t term could be
, ,

ra tion a lly def en ded But the case wa s enorm ously

.

stren gthened in the Opening yea rs o f t he p r esent

c entury in con sequence o f the a stounding phen omena
ma n if ested by wha t a re ca lled the ra d ioa ctive bodies .

The story o f ho w M an d Ma da me Curie discovered

.

r a dium is f a milia r to mo st o f us and n eed n ot her e be ,

r et old . No r need we consider in a n y deta il the

r a dica l modifica tion s introduced into scie ntific
doctr ine s o f ma tter by t he c o nclusio ns which t he f a c t
o f ra dio a ctivity comp e l s L et us sim ply try t o gra sp t he
.

ma in f a cts in so f ar a s they b ea r on our specia l subj e ct .

In the first pla ce let it be clea r tha t che m ists ha ve

,

n o t given up their eight

y eleme n ts ; they still r ightly
ho ld to them as their wo rkin g ultima tes But they .

c a n n o longer poin t to the ir science a s be ing f und a

menta l Fo r a toms ca nnot n ow be considere d even

. ,

f rom the p ra ctica l sta ndpoint to be unchan ge a ble ,

.

Certa in o f them can be a ctua lly seen under o ur Ve ry ,

eye s in the process o f slo w sp o nta neous disintegra tio n

,
.

The m o st f a milia r in sta n ce is tha t o f ra dium which ,

( a s Soddy s a ys ) if it is n o t r ue element th e n the word ,

element ha s n o me a n ing Its a tom s a r e c o n

.

t in uo usly bre a king do w n i n to s im pler subst a n ce s .

They pour f orth a n ever c ea sing strea m o f e n erg y

-

Bac on A dva n cem en t f L ea rning p 59

, o , . .
24 2 —
ALCHEMY ITS SCIENCE AND ROMAN CE
Let us consider in the light o f persent knowledge
the pro blem o f t ran smuta tion a n d see wha t t he ,

a ttempt o f the a lchem ist in volved To build up a n

.

o un ce o f a hea vy eleme nt like go ld f ro m a lighte r

e l e me n t like silv er w o ul d req uire in a llprob ab ility the

e xp e n ditu r e o f t he e n e rgy o f some hun dr e ds o f to n s

o f c o a l so tha t the o un ce o f gold would b e d e a rly

,

b o ught On the o ther ha nd if it were p o ssible

.
,

a rtifici a lly to disint eg ra te a n element with a he a vi e r

a t o m th a n gold a n d p r o duc e go ld f rom it so g re a t a n ,

a mo unt o f energy woul d p rob a bly be e v o lved tha t the

go ld in compa riso n wo uld be o f little a cc o unt The .

e nerg y would be f a r mo re va lua ble tha n go ld Altho ugh .

we a r e as ignora nt a s eve r o f how to set a b o ut tra n s

muta tio n it c a nno t be d en ied tha t the knowle dge
,

re c e ntly ga ined c o n stitute s a very g re a t he lp t o w a r ds

a p ro per understa nding o f the proble m a n d its

ultima te a ccomplishment We see cle a rly the ma g n i
.

tude o f the ta sk a n d the un suf fic ien cy o f eve n the mo st

p o werf ul o f the me a ns a t o ur dispos a l in a way n o t
bef ore a pprecia ted a n d we ha ve n ow a clea r perceptio n
,

o f t he tr emend o us is sue s a t sta ke Lo o king b ac k

.

wa rds a t the grea t things science ha s alrea dy a eco m

p l ish e,d a n d a t the st e a dy g ro wt h in p o we r a n d f r uitf ul
n e ss o f scientific metho d it can sca rcely be do ubt e d
,

tha t o n e da y we shall c o me t o b rea k d o wn a n d build

up e l e ments in the l a b o ra to ry a s we n ow b reak do wn
a n d build up c o mp o un ds a n d the pul ses o f the wo rl d
,

will then throb with a n e w source o f streng th a s

immea sura bly removed f ro m a n y we a t pr esent
c o ntro l a s they in turn a re f rom the n a tura l res o urce s
”
o f t h e huma n s a v a ge .

The In te rpr et a tion f

o R a dium, pp 237 , 238
. .
 THE O U TLOO K 24 3

THE m m OF LIFE .

But wha t o f t he a lchemist s ho pe o f disco vering ’

a n Elixir which sho uld giv e he a lth a n d longe vity if ,

n ot imm orta lity Tha t surely must be dismisse d a s

an idle dre a m
,
Well it must be a cknowledged tha t
.
,

the outlook in this rega r d is not nea rly so hopef ul a s

in the ca se f o r tra nsmutation The a dva nces ma de .

in the hea lin g art a re wo nderf ul a n d ha ve s e cured f o r

,

us a longer a ve ra ge lif e But ther e is little expecta tio n

.

of disc o ve ring some who lly new pa na ce a like the

f a me d Elixir . Ther e a re indee d n o t a f ew a uthoritie s
, ,

a mong physicia n s who c o nte n d tha t de a th is n o t a n

in evita ble f a te but tha t it is due t o dis e a se

, If they .

a re r ight a n d if they c a n tr a ce the c a us e s o f tha t

,

disea se—a trophy sclerosis o f the a rteries an d so f orth

, ,

— the n t he remedy m a y be f orthcoming The gene ra l .

Opin io n ho wever is tha t o ld a g e a n d de a th a re the

, ,

r e sults o f pro ce ss e s inherent in the orga n ism a n d ,

the ref ore inevita bl e .

But a no ther poin t o f Vie w m a y be ta ken The .

a lchemists link e d together the id e a s o f t he Philo

Sopher s Stone a n d o f the Elixir a n d held tha t to fin d

’
,

o n e woul d be to find the other The Sto n e would .

give the power to tra nsmute an d so would put m en ,

in p o ssession o f virtue s an d influ enc e s exc eedin g those

of no rma l experience Tra nsla te this into mo dern
.

ter min olog y If scientists c a n fin d a k ey to unloc k

.

the structure o f the a to m they will be in posse ssio n o f

,

boundless supplies o f n ew f o rms o f en ergy Who .

kno ws but tha t in some o f the se f o rms ther e m ay be

f ound t he lif e f o r ce
-
which ha s ren dered possible
the whole upwa rd impulse o f o rganic evolutio n The
24 4 —
A LCHEMY ITS SC IENCE AN D ROMANCE

S pecula tion is a daring o n e It must not cla im to be .

more than a Specula tion An d yet there is nothing .

—
in it tha t is contra ry t o rea son nothing even tha t , ,

is o ut o f harmony with po sitive science An d thus .

once a ga in we m a y a cknowledge tha t Hermetic

philo sophers ha d glimp se s o f po ssibilitie s which m a y
yet be re a lised Fo r if the prima l mysterious lif e
.

f orce c an be b rought unde r control it c a nno t f a il to be ,

exploite d f o r the healin g o f disease and the ward ing

o ff o f de ca y .

C O NCL USI O N .

The l o ng story has been unf olded A gla nce . into

the f uture ha s been ven tured Wha t sha ll be . o ur

fina l verdict on a lchemy A supe rficia l judge will

seiz e o n its superstitio ns an d errors its f ollies an d it s ,

f ra uds. He will conde mn If he be a man incline d .

to mercy he will temper his sentence by an expressio n

,

o f regret tha t so f a n a tica l a devotio n sho uld ha v e

been wa sted o n a f a lse a n d useles s a r t Woul d he .

decide thus in the ca se O f a stro log y If n o t why ,

‘
n o t 2 The l o r e o f t he a str o l o ge r issue d in the science

o f a stron omy The l o re o f the a lchemist issued in t he

.

science o f chem istry The a dvantage o f c o mparative

.

Sim plicity in subject ma tter rested with the men who

studied the phenomena o f the Spangled hea vens Let .

this f a ct be kept in mind an d a juster verdict will b e

,

pronoun ced The err ors were mostly the couse

.

u n ce s o f the e xtra ordin ary complexity an d subtlety

q e

o f chem ic a l a ctions and o f a dherence t o the tenets o f

,

a misleadin g philosophy .

A generous and l a rge minded judge will disre ga rd

-

the f ollies will thr ust aside the charla ta ns t o fix his

, . ,