N:::''" FDO·" ""M" AL" C"'-R" 'E' M' 'Y'

'c', , , ,-" __' '_, ,.-' _,' '.::

"i,

TOCHEl\1STRY
JOI-i: R,EA,D

I·e ATI'O' DO'lIE'R· 'pT rD- ':'L' JL", ,.:"""1..:L " ,',N' 'S", I N, ' 'C~''! L \._.;
, 1'\""" 1
& '"

.ii,

,I

'.

NE'\V"YOR'K

F1J~Ai~ht:~j il Canada by General Pu Mislhing C~.J~[f~p~'U}~ I. l.td." .30 Lcsmill RfJ~:td, 'P~)Ql. Milb" TCli'OilflO. Ontario:

.B ~bhogr{Uphf.i(a~ l~~o.tf
'r,hl:01. Iloeer edieion, first published io H*~5', :~:o;. an unabridged and unaltered :repuMirntlQI1i of the 1,96] C(rI"Te<lr:1i edltion of the WI.,l.r&" (J!rl.g~[]}J.lly ptl!bl~.8lt€d!by G, B ell and SolliiS, Ltd. I....{"lrMi('Jf1I; in 1957 It;~Dderthe ~,II'~~ Th'l'm)tg'~ .41d~y 1'0 Cllrnnitiry: A Preas: ..iet1l Qf IdeM tt- Rn'${)'ftali;.#~:s,
,oj'

Libra:r)

~f. Cottgress CataJ.oglng-in-Publicfl.tUm.

Dat«

Read, John, 1.884[Th rml~h alchemy to chemistry] From ~kh~"jjr~yto chemistry I John Read, p. ern. OdginaUy pu blished: Th n~ • .!!gh alchemy to chemist ryISBX ()-4St~-28G9D~8 ~pbk,) L Akhcmy. 2. Chemi8u:y~Hi§(Qry. QD26, R3.5 '~995 540' .P J.2-d,e20
London : C. Bell. 1957: Includes ~)ih~i,ograplrica:1references

and i~Jd~x,l Tjtk':.,

95-63,87 elF'

Ma'n.lJf~{:lured :unthe· Unued Statesof America Dover Publicaeions I nco, 31 F..~1. ~'nd Street, Mineola. N.Y. 1150 l.

TO

T,RE MANY CQ'LLAEOMrnRs

1Ii_-r .i.nAT--

AND OTIlLl:t FRlEJ'ltDS:

iI ..

.... """"" • ' HAVE 'TOlL t D, ,n..., u Wfi - ·U";- - -~ AND Tu'O ... ....'HT"' . 'l'IoO" _ GHl' .,W-a."" U'lill

...n l'H ~...

ME*

IN DI"ifERs.

coti~

AND' CLUd.iE:i:1

The .rystt.m.s ,which ronfro'n' ,~h~ itttellig€.'iCe ttm{'li"'

bm~f11ly ~1ldWntBd through tlM ales', al'tlwugh; ,~ astume dij[e,rtnt' form,t '. • " Ther~ if 1Wffli~g so dis{1JtrcUJ il1 sdesee 0$ ~'he arr,oganl dogmatism wkich despises tN, past and admires' tiomi'ng .but the pr8smt ..
HoEFElR

M(}uU Jil:au~ Q Dieu p'ac-u1,i:ooJ

S~dkfst foicte

;;iel)()iirm

NICOLAS Fl..i\MEL

(~4llS)

C'ONT NTS

n~

Pelf
AND DBscItJP'TI~'
()j

1',HE ILLUsTIUi.TION'$ ~ ~

PREPA08 .RE~UN~

'" ~ N"~ ,ACILN'OWLEDa:r.m~

..

.'

X1U

~ ~

..
,

:xvi

'. 'Concer.nrQI the :N'atuu of ThingI.<; ConcefDing the

'"

.,

..

Application

or Thlnga.

CH:.APTEIl .11
~ E:taaaBN~ qP .Al.cHBMY Rlse and Spread ot.Alcbemy.:
•

ALc~!!'mic:ai Thto~

The ,SuLph'tu'~M~:rcu;r-; Th·eory. AkhemJcal Represe.ntatioru; of the Sul,.phur-Mer~u:ry Tb,eory ~ The Emerald Tahle. of ,Herm,Ch The Tn" PrimQ of Patacdsus. CHAPTER III

The N "tun:

,or Alehe my..

12

Ti-m

TIte . Mairup-t:ing
StoDe",
"PtOCC!iSC3

PH1LOSOpmll~:S aTom

Hf:nn.~.

or

of ,AJehe my'" Preparatifon'

'the Great Work.

"

of: the T'be Vase of

~..

·28

-CHAPTER IV
.A:U:;:HEMlCA·r_.

C;xvp.TIas~ .AND g,YMiiIlOU9M

"

4r

Symbols of Aldlf:my~ Alchemical Enigmas, Figures. of Abraham, An Alchemical Epic~ 'The ~Mig'hty King'" of Alchemy. The TwElve Keys The

The

·of BMi]ius.

CHAPTER
STRAM.OS, ~N THE ALCHE'M]CAJ,. WEB

V
.. ~

.Mythology., The SOa turnlne N'umtn:.r" Harmony'~ and MU91c,

Religion,

Mysfid.sm~

sa

w_u.

FROM .ALCHEM:Y'TO CHEMISTRY

TH1! Dlwurn' or
i:&:WII,

,P!crudo-A]c;h~b.

.. .' ~Labour~ in tlK> ,Fit e:..I of Hermes.. ~ The, P,rutica'~ Trad..idcnl~

.A.LcJ..mMllrtl
I, '.

CHAP'TER 1'1

THB ,PAIlTlNO 01' T:HIi '., ~ Paraeelsue, 1~e Pa1'ace'laianl~ COlnHnuati9~

·,'Mn"T".I!:"D rI," C"''H'~~ ~~ WAn

I"",~~

'J'''1

Pr.acticai Tl'aditiQ.llI S·,.·. .

-,.Ii"",!; .W;R,!;'I

the ~Wb6Uy&~en:tifi<:a~Ch~,tty .. '

or

T-

0;1;0

A~ ~ilihl!l!'l ~ ~ ~ ~ Chemistry and: th~ Sci~ntific R,~wlllltt[{Jn~The Them:y of P'h['@,g'i8wn, 'Tbe Ea.r..Li.er Period of ~Phlog.iato,n.
g"o"i,t.:llrt, .!I;.!In'Y!' ~ _'
~ __ oI"'"U,.'LFij!'

CHAP'TER VIII

Porerunner1 of
&gi'Dnjng~

,a,

Nevi Age.

The E'nd-and

the

THE DEww~

CHmi.U81'll'Y ~ ~ In)~n'-egnDm.. The A'IDmic Theory. Some Fin,t,:o!£mj,t:! cf ,thCl: tomic The~ry., CDMSmcation and Nature of A
O,pM,OOE~

CHA.PTER IX

145

the Elcmcnt&

Ttm

CHA.PTER X Bra;ncb~ of
Organic
RWE Oll' ORGAl'tlC CH~~nlY ,~"

ModrlTR Cb.eminry.

Chembtry...

Cb~mi9;U'Y in Space.
G'U)SS,A_Il,¥'
[NDBX
!'
,;;

The :~ginni'ngJ of Organlc ,MoLecular Stru.ctw:'e.. The Onward Match. EQ,VQi"

,I
;0

~65

0,

'I

]I;

194
197

'.

..

.'

i,

T'IILES AND D"ES'CRIPTIONS. O.F THI: Il,LUSTRA TlONS

Page! :From D~ Ri MiiaUu:a" G. ,~ieola" B~l, [~6 J L '~ FQUX 'Qualiti~ and F (\i!Ut Ele.ruc;nts '. ,:i],. W,ashing, Fusion, and, 'Weighins of Gold in Egypt
(2S00 B,C,}
t~' ~.. ~

InitiaJ Lettu

,I

a
i

4. A

~,~r~~en~a.t;:Qnof the S~IP4'Ur-M~~1;J;ry Theory 'af

M~t;ah

From,

.'

Ma;.er~,f;r,anll!tn:'t'i i6~ 7
_

S)I'1.nbo}:a, AuutJ& M~al'

D,uotittim Nm.WJ1W11';, "M_~

'

5. Leto r(LatoItAh w~tb"Ap(liUo, and Artemil~ an,d th"t!; python From a 'iF' . .. vase 'n.a:l1,te~d .. 6. HEtma T:rism~gi$tm .. ftom ';a t'~FJle at ~dds ~{,. B.C',.) 2:50 ,;, 'Th~'Q:m1ttl:m:~, S~~'nt~ Of 4Tail..'Eater' :Fr·o,mthe CkrytfJPorirJ. of C:Leopa:rta 8.. The .iJ.'Ch'e:n;.lc • .l 'Tr.larn~:i'~ Fr.-(un VtrfditiYium ChJmitiUtn., 8to'ki,us~ ] 6a4'
l

9.. Th~. A~ch~mica:l.Pedl~n

1608
'IO~ Thtl· :Egg· ~nd ll.

From ,De f)i.5tili~'I,iom.', Lih" 1)(, Fi~tl'YSword

.1 ....

J~Bo<Porta,
,,. .

;,

lItQ'm<3j~J'

.From Atalanta, Fttgintr} M., Mai~r,Oppifnhdm, :[·6, 8 r

. _ •

The l'M'e:r.metk: Ve_l in tbe Atltanor 'FF6m £t~a Ck.mit#;, J~ 0'; .B~rChU!~. ,Leyden, l118 -

FROM Alel rEM\! 'TO CHE.M lSTRY

E Ql..

Somc' ~Chi:mi,ca1 Chafacters~ ;0. '", From A Comp uo,, BOlly of C/tFmi.dty't N~ le Febul'e:., London,! uS64
IJ

~3.. 'The Vitriol Acrostic: From Vi,idari#m Ch..,mi~ ~624

..

D. Stolciw, F:r,a'nkfurt~

..

45

14- The Bath 'of 'th~' Philosopheu

From. Commtli:~ fU11~ 1606
'EI....,."......Pi:t.rPD·I~, .j~~I_
,Il",I!.V;!!'!!~_

• '.' nkA.lthJnftlJ'~ A., 'Lib;a;viuJ. fra ".

47

Is.

The :F'iifU'~ Qf Abrah...am

~

..

,~iI'

r~ ;mI!l, .A~ Poisson ~ Pa;rjs, ] Hfiq .._., ';';,J

.,

i,

I 6~ Tide";fage

of Tk' l&t Will wzd' Ti!Jiammt ,oj BwiJ

. tne i·~em, m the .."' ··nal Of.i.gl:, '

Ya~liM~, London, [671 The, 00 e tom, nde' measares

"/1~ The fmt Key of Basil Valentine '" From T,:"w ,Aut'tW', M. Maie:r,. FraJrikiurt; [6 I8

4'
.'

ilL Mdmeolia ~ .. ~ F:r:o,m the c>Oppcf'oop~at'e' engraving Ber]~o

,1,

by A. DtLiJrer~ 15:[.4 j. F,;u:.sim.i1e-Re,productio~ d~~ R.ddud~u.ckerd~,

•
~

19., CUipidl, in the Laboratory ("1._ jmUornm) From. t'h~ o:ngina] painting by Q., Tenieu
:QO.

..
'1'

63
'10

A Numerl<ia! Conception·of

tb.t SU~Ill~

::2 ]

An Alchemist

and his ,LabotIU"JIt at Work, (~.. 15~o) ]450 B,.Cl~) ~

.F-ro,ma woodcut ~ lI:u~ Weklitz

22~ !!i-31i

77
79

,Early ~Puffol!n"(Egyptr Co, Send IvogilU Ma.k.es Gold,

RogC!:f' llaoon'l,i!Ii,

~ ~

.
~~

From th,~' ainting: by'Jan Ma~Jiktl' p Gunpowder

,8
9~
,

Anagram

,century)

..

:S~oane MS .. ~~56 T ,g:5" .Pa;ra,c:eb;,w~ 149\3;- r 54 J.. ..

Bri:t~h, M~u:m"

.
'

(thirt~entb
'

Frqm

.1~if

VirOi'lilm

l_l1'lUtriumt

H.

C. Agrippa., iq;ui:tt, ,hl'l$~,

79

F'tafikfurt._.. ] 5'98 ~6,T.itle·p~p ~ Us E~' 1,615 .' '.

dt ChymU,I'

J..

TITLES AND OESeRI P1'10NS OF Y.,ME[LLUSTRAT10NS

lcl

:!l7" La ]e~on d~ ,cnirni-e" au j a-rdiu roya:[.

From.
t

a cl["'awinJ~t' hy Sebmden L~der¢J ]676'

..

'19

d., The }louOltfa ole' Ro b~:rt. :Soyle :&qT ~ F. Kerseboom p, Q~Ve:rt,ne sc:ulp,. t 7'38
29'~¥@Wi',S

..
~

no

App~r.at;tl.S :R~d!ra:wn rl"~n"t Tj!'~t1llt.u..'f, J. ~1a:yow., Oxforo. 167*

j

'Qttinqt# - M?dfeD;;;Plij'.titi"

n6
III

go.. A Laboratory ful" Pr,;1ctrca.l Chy.mistry~ in '~l4 7 ~ .... ])esign:ed and. tt.1~1"3,VM f~:r th~, U~,ir;erjfd Mag4,dnl

Lcndon~~'47

'

'

31. Josep,h Bhl:C'1:[~ J 12Eh'99 ,. From the- portrait -'by Sk H'f111ry Raebum

.. ~'
f

,a.~{..!~k:bii:el~~'" Ap~:rat!JS
~,'i4~-86

for 'iCciU~ctj~gHyd['QgeR

..

J3~'

:laO' 1\:fonun~ent' a;[. S teekholm' of Cad \'\'i!b:eim Scheel:e

Hi J'osepb "P:ri,estley ,r I7.:iS-]S04·.. .. From the ,portrait by EU,~n SlHrples in. the National Pmtra:I,t. Ganery;~ L~uj,don -

] WI

35. The pneumatic 'Tf'iough

,A'if~1. Pries,dey
:r~.6m .~imnl~
j

QJ1d b;SlroatiMJ' 'ir1it

Loncl,,o-nJ ~'?'i'4 36. l.avol:si~r"s ,Expetim:en,t: ,merCur.y heated in. air 3,bs'ortis, oxygen .. ~ '. U ni\\WSii~r p~) r 94~7 S;~ La)lj!\o.~ief't~~rjnleln:' rod. rnddc of II1ttcury he~,t~ very :hot evelves oxygen . from O~ Unde:nUJ/trdin,g Sc~tJ j ~ C(rr.i!a~t).Yale It IJniv,erslty fress, 1'94' + "

..

,D'i.IC'tetf~ Kinds ,oj

'"

[~B-

Fl"':om O~, Und~r;staIHfing Sn~~ J. B. c.un.ant~ Y-ale

l41

3B" Some Daleonian Symlb(Db

3.1.

Frolll, A NfiW sjs~emof Ckmico1 Ph iltMfJ!ffh.1" j ~ Dalb:m,,. bv.tan(;hesle;r ~ 1SoJ9

,,~

John

Da~toni; '! 'j'6G .. i,f144 Ane~ p.imtt• Cook sa,

"

.'

40'1 1'&0;9, J aeeb Berselius, ] 'jiQ-] 848 ;. , ~ From an. enlraving i.A -the St~And:rews eolleetlen

,FROM ALCHE.MY TO CHEMISTRY

41'~ ,D,ttritri I vanevitsch M'etu;lde~ff" ]8.3f'-] 901

:From a portt,ah:

'.

4~. Part or the Pt::riOOic Table

43. Justm von Liebig~ 1803-":3, .From the :r~li~f by David, Pad.sj!
1: 831

44. Lie big's Labora1ory at Git1l8~j J 842 ".' R'edr'awn from, a, (on temporary print by Trautscheld 45., Fdoo:ridl August K.'e~'J.d'e,j t a29~96! in his, 6 Iin year ., :Frotn, ,a, porl!rait by H. v'. Afli.gdi in the :Nat:~o~ .. galEri~t Berlin 46., K.e:kule,'s. 'Original ,f{.ep,res.enta:tio'D, of' the. lBenzene' Ilblg From Lehthuch del" f)rgfJ1l~tkffl Chem~" A., K,ekule:" Erla.ngen,~, 1866

47. Louls
-

,(:o.llectioIi

Paseeur !8il2'!2:'"'95(,c~ IB7 5) 'Fr.om an orig1naJ photograph m th~ St. Mdrews

Ii

40.

Plane and Tetrahedral

Rep([c:5.en,ta:t~om of M't:thane"

OR"

]'88
l89 ]:'93

49. Molocular' Confi.gura,tio,m of the Two O'pti,eaJ]y Acdve :For,n"lS0.1 Lactic Acid;, ~ ~ ~ ~ TaU,piece

From De Distillat,i(JJit;
1608

us. rs, J.. Il. POTta.

l,

R.omacJ,

.'

P'REFACE

wrote: In SoC,"~J;:u:,ej!.1 t J$, W hen we take some interest ,i'tD; tbe great discoverers and their' .lives that H
Once

'AME~ ,CLERK, :MAJ.\,WELL:, ene of flie- .greate8;~' ~~~e~"i": p~l:sical~:"~~~~e ~.r.'~11¢~ ;nince~~~nth centuryj

becomes endurable ~ and dIlly wIlen 'we begin to traee ,the d~v~lo,pment 'of 'idess that it becomes fa<sdnatlng.:p. Betw'em, ~twoand dl~ee h ltndr,ed" y-:ea'r~~a;di;er'j ~e:. poet, Jehn D."", anne" . 'h·...!I' "·f ·~t,j,. ~ ~ ~aaL. J,n Ol--Uer lQ,r a mys. t'el'V' ",. h aVe a . a.o, ~,n: ,.,,(Sn ..o . ~ 'un]';!'eQ8!! s:i,gt£i:ficance it must Be mrade c{:)'~p.r,eh~~ible'· to ord,l'na'lfY mortals, .Thes~ two ..pronouncements have bees 'kept constantly in mind, thEOUgh01llt the V!!fidng of the present book, Tb~e seems tt> 'be no 'reaSon ,"thy al~'hemf and, kk~emy~s d,aught'e!r'~ ,cDemistf'Y.t should remain a. my~,tery.t~ Qr:~ijlary' .mortals, -h· b) "''1\ it..: ~ . ~. -l"h ..JI tedad es... I,tt, (iU~, ::1; .~(...... wnnm LU,e; capac]ty ,O.ll, 'I :, e' enucatec ~~O l' .e 'I?~nt:and adult lof normal intelligence, ne le~sthan within that oflhe student and' teacher,- of cl\errustry~ te f1DHow the eourse .of" Hte dt(;uninatlnr 'ideag;, discoveries, and theories whick nave determined the ,P,rog:ressof this g,r~e~t rainc']~,ofl b 1': .It ' . 1· .' +~' d ownl,.'O~n~ present d ay': -. +.. • ... ""serence J:rom 'me eat fles~ d:t:nes .,proiViaed ,a~w,~ysthat he does not, become eD,tal'1.g1ed ,in' a well of specialised and technical detail, The ]':a.ym.an, is ,too often r-epeUed f-rom tak,ing an "inrelli .. gent ,~nteT;:~tin: chemlslry by 'die mere ;sight of serried of 'c'h,emEcal eq uartions and page~ of crypt1'C f.ornll.dae. an d, sym,1Jol:~., These' are certainl y neeess ary in ~exf.-boob and monogTa\phs-~which lar~ bound to s~t~[' ·into}ine detail arid f .... ..l' to use t!I:,J,eomp: \lCi~ne: . 8ym:b D l~ representataens c "1 .. d : ic 0> modern chemical 'Shq1'th~lld~ 'but these formldable q'~pf.esenta:tiom ,. d dd are unne:ce:$S,ruy Ul a 'bl'O3.'.' survey of-L. ,ong~ al:LU . ,~e.lLOP'" tne L ,. ''I "~:!l' "b~ · '. 'mM~ 0,t' cnemiea 1· science, ~ ~n.t-Ctigl~. .lie ex.pontWItSr 0'r' science arc a ,crying need ,at the present ,ace;, Jot ,never. has
;j.1!.,., f" ", ~;o,iI, . "', .-. .
+ ..

+"

-r-: ""'"

• .'

ro~

'II'.._

.J

'.....

iji

~v

fR01·1/\.1j~lliE.MYTO CHEJi..nSl'R'f

it been so important

human and humanistic heri tage, The' present book continues a central theme of three earlier YO lumes , .Prelude t!) Che.mis ~ry ([ 936) The Aldumise in Life, Li,taatur:e and Art (1947), and Humour. and Humanism in. Clumistry C t 941) i in the" las t of w hich it. is. claimed that historkal science ~-ifapproached befi ningly; rna Y' reasonably take rank beside the so-called h umani des as a broad 1 y. ed ucative, cultural, and humanislng blfluenee i and that the specialised outlnokvwhieh is. b~COmifig increasingly bound up 'Nith the' trend scientific research m.ay be alleviated by the cultivation of an .interest in broad hi........ ~'-b.r _aspects 0 of: SCIence., anisric -: , W~.Lfi _.....: The same note Was struCk In the wri ter's Presidential Address to the Chemistr.y Section of-the British Association in 194.8" with the coroUary that 'there. should be no sense of'antagonism between arts and science, either in the schools or out of them. These studies are complementary / ]n the admira hie words of a Times leader of [.1 August 1956: 'scw,entist,s, .. ~ '~tend to look, back now Iess on 3. sueeesslcn ,of revel utions in knowl~dge, each making a break 'With the past, than on a. CQUfS'eof progressive approximati on to a truth never finally anaina ble, The wh.ole past has become again relevant; and ther,eby a new bridge may be bunt
j
j

and the ordinary arose, how it develop 00, and w ha t J t :is. doing; also to understand the general imp lieations of the new kno\J.it"ledge and the possihili ties. and powers tha t it bring's.. Chemis,try" In particular, lSI [capable, when suirably presented, making a strong appeal 'to the' intelligence and the imagination; for" as.the f01 lowing pa ges a re intended to show, it is. the most romantic. of all the branch'S of s-cience; and in :its variegated history ~ stretching back through unnumbered generations of alchemists into an indefinite past! its present 'votaries have (if they but knew) a. riclll.y

toda 11for the ordi nary adolescent, man and. woma n, to know how science
BS

or

o.r
,

me

jJj~

footnotes U1 th.ia book.

1.

See ~

l~t

,0{

boob of 'rderCfJlce on p.

:rn and

the QO.ttespo:ru1]ng

the schism in cul ture which is, so often deplored ,.,.' .' it h, thr Q ugh, s;cientifi,c more than through humanist eye!: that our gr:andebUdT;tn :a're FnQ~~t, likely ,t~ viewt'lie wqrId. But they will not understand their world picture-s-so :nQW the scientists th;enlsel}~es ,i1J.gt'~e-Ufi'leS's the;y 'know' something-of the long bistoric effbrt 'by which it has been dra"",'n unless, that is, they are' a ble to eeneeive of the -scienees
Rc1"bSiS
j

theIW'fiiV'es under the as.pect of th~, time jpll"OOessb1, whi€h ,fl)lmanis:t.$' are aceustomed to think.' It may be ~dded tha t: realism has, been $Ol1,1nt rat the
present narrath~ by ft~(ru.~~dy ~PQrtjn-i ideas, happenifl:P~ and charactenlstics of leading pefSCI,nall.6,es in the langu_age of the da y; morecver; most _ the illustrations of hav,'e' been r~r'O'd uced from Qirigin,a~80UfE:es., Fb\~t'lly r a] t'hpu:gJi, th~ book ra!lg}~ ftom ,an,dent Egy,pt and ~dH more (r-emote, tlm~ t,o the presenr 'GaY'; from, the oonception~ ~f. p~rumid~e;religiom to 'those' of the electronic
,;!-II!..

"f ...

eory {). .ma tter,

'
,;I.,

r--'·

d' ~--. anu rrom

.

""han.'e .o _.. ,-. ecwtlE FD.'eiJdi: t· - ,maer,O»}Q, 1····.'~,.,-

fOi:cIJ,uJ.a.;e", and withal one' Tha~ equation needs :~,o apology~ ~o.rit ought, to 'be 'knoVln, of aU men:

substances,

it

contains

o;nJy a handful

G'f chemical soUtary ell emi ca 1 equ~tion.,

THE

'UNlVEi;Sl'f.Y' ,
Sno'ILA,f4D'

S1"'~~DUWS)

Apri:lJ. 1957

REFEREN.CES AN'D ACKNOWlE:DGMENTS

IN' writing this bookiJ!I have rden;ed repeatedly to some ,of my earlier ones, and In particular to Nos, J' to 6 below, of which N·os. ] and :3 are out of print: r, Prdmk
New York, '1937,

t.o Chtimi:r.lryJ '&U~ London."

'! 93.6·~,[93,9 j

M'acmil Ian,

and' Humanism in Chem.ulry!, Bd1.; L@udon" I'94i~ 3,. Thl A khcr.ci.sl in Lifi'l Li~{jtur~ :and Af:'~Nelson, Edinbm,gh and London; JM7~ Thes:e three books, form a trilogy.
il. HU1rUil.lr

4., 14'1 Text~Boo" of

edn.). the fOUowlo.g: '7. Cba.ucer
~,s

6.. A D-i1'~d &iry l'tJ, Organ:ic Chtmistryj Meehuen, London (1:at~t

(Awarded the Cortlua&European

Ors'a'~i& Clurmistryt Bell, London (latest, edn.). 5.. An IniffJducu.f)J.1 10 Organic ClsemiJtry~ Bel],. London (latest edn ..).

'Ptiu" ] 949.)

Among other' works of' whlch particular use has been made are

Canterbury

..., - -mal'll., .1' ... 'iii'

vuy: "

L- _"lJIfOill "., 'IL -

ry

T tl.l~s'l edited
',
,'!~

London__ and' r, _.

by A,. Bun~~-a (I908l; .

'N' .,·
u ..

"""

y". V.I.-lt!i. .. ....... l~

8. TAt AutcbiogTfJp'hY anti

.P'n'.s.'fJn4~' Diary qf

Dr. Simon Forman {from

Oxfol"d).,. edited by

J. O~ Halliwell, '9~ Ben J onsdn I', The

10. JUShll

MSS. in the Ashmolean

Mweum,

'London, 1849,. Al(;At.mis~" 'The Ktng~1 'Library edition, Let.tIr.s. in Chr.mishy!, 4tb edn.,

Londen, 190:3" von Li(:'bi,gts F(mjiliar

] 859+
WOi'iIIi..

London; TIt e present

so.m-e of the above publica tiom., and from these: books it ~ii 1JlsuaUy possible to find. original sources. Some interest.i:ng infbnD:atio·n a bout Pareeelsus was. obtained from the study by ~mo de Telepner~ pubHshed at St... Gallen in 1: 94.5~ and some of A. E~ h"] ~..1, W· 'I is bam 'J' _ aite a'bo.·m .t! ~:rom 1:., e. 'Ongm:a. T ~" ~.tin .....~. nave b ueen l!l.Sru~ pa,rticular.ly as given in P,elUik 10 Chtmistry, .. The original SOUl't.eS of mQ~it f the illmtrations. a.r~ given in o

~~ contalr:iS ooca~lOnaiL'I ~ 'I' • I!'l J>ootnote r..e:i@!renCCS, to

me

REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

xvii

lUt 0:£ illU$tratiom~ to btl, tournd itt th,~ £o'ref:ront, of this book~

Univcnity :P't~. f': iUooo, fbi Figs.. 9:i' t8,t, ,aoo [9 ha:ve been kindly lent by Messrs .. il'f'!Li~":,,, ",," N'<' 1"7"~~ and "']"'1:0-"'" ~ .... ~.... !.:I .i7 .L"l'vu,~~ ., o...,.""~~ "D din 1..."''''f'g,h_I.t"rom, R-'- ference ·,.;u, above l ,. ~,ll_ .. , , e .. , ' - . - \ .. f'br' Fig. !.!1' by the. ~herdtt;n 'Univer.sity :Pt~, (frO,in- 'my :nuely" MUiam DD1)idson, of AhM""Jttl'lJ~ l 95 '[); and for Fig. ,~~ by MesSlr,S .. Ja~bont. S'@11 and Co,mpanYt ru,D1isher~ to the Unive:~ity ql~g()w' I~from,a further stu;dyI' J'ifS-tph 1Jlack.~M.D'.t tlpt TM'C'!1~f' I(J.nil Man~. 1: 95Q). I 'express my thanks t'O the 1fl1¢i'eia ~f these blooo, ,and plso to, '1y.ir. Robere Monis:~unl~ttii ty ,of St~ Andrews" fOT his -valuable heJp in pf1e,pal'ing 'ph{}tng:r;iphi~ rna t~ti.a1.
'Fi,~ _ "--'! "
<

Adnow,~lttign'le,nts are' ce'lntained in ·that; [ist 'and are 'also t.u;rebv ~ade £or kind -perroiss'io,n to pu blb:h the foUnwing :rep!r'och]ctio'n~:: the por'tr.ait of Priestley fFig; 34) in the Na.tJo,nal P'Ottr,ait (j,aJlety,. London, by'. pr;:rmi:sBion, of the Trustees; and the- two dia,grilRUl, of: 'L"·aJN"O'J.Sler. E(XpetiUl'te:r;!i~- \tF- - ]!1..3,6'" ran:. :'l'11' it. •• ' I's • • d '\ erom 'D''1". ,:_!., B 'C' J ,-onant -~a Book, U~dl'f'$J~mii~ SciQ1~e([ 947-h by pttm~ion, of ehe, Yale

o~,

,c~,.'

or

,de:ath; in -rg52!! l~rof~or' T~~eUsz &trdJ:hu,' of Cr,a~ow!, one -(if Polana"~ most' cultured afld diidoguDhed. m-en t;j<f'science., pro,yided,the photoiKI'ap'h f'tOlU 'which iI~'roduJjjed!! :t6,geti.~er wj.th s'o'~~' imor,m_:a,tlGfi about .senrl~vogitli!ii~

lit ~Qu1d, be added that ~ho;rd,y MOre' ~ :Fi'g. ,:13 ]};:1:8. been,

J. It.

1 .~·····13:G·-'_'..~"'L~""l ,. ~...... ~.C'. '8 __:.. :TN>····IN--· ··G' ~ .._"_"

HEMISTRV~

ln' a fufl'im.ontary form ,mUSt" :ha:v{~ been ·co~~l 'wi th elvillsa tion, At a
i

'very eady S"1Ia,ge in

an. observant, and tnmking being he muslt

the

evQ~U:ti.oR of'man as

:<

have formed ;S;Qme:Idnd of' ,misty idea re,s,pecti.ng the nature of the mated~l ~:VOfid arQttnd him- He ..planted n~ n pen. thesolid earth, waded .. through, the 1:ilJ1.tlh:(g streams Had. "breasted the stro.ng winds of his environmen l;., Also he dlS'OOver~ ~(),'\'(foproduee 'n'Ve~ So he 'hecam'e conscious of earth, a,'~t!'fi:re and. water, ~~nd, 301810 of'man y different. kinds of matter, or .i:s;tuffj,fI' with whiCh he came into 'c1on'ta-ct., 'He: discovered many uses, '~O which they could be "piutJ el ther in their ,r.adive state or- after treating them in varlous ,"vaySi. He found that 'Ate, whieh. 'Sit first he 'had. re,g~rd,edl. \lVith sllJ,fend.tio.'JM r;b:ead, ,cbuld be' 'breugh[ under con tool and used wi th adva.nt~ge by reason 'of cerftdn ehanges that It 'could bri",g. a'bout in the· nature of mat'e:dal dtings t as, well as actimg· as an a"ee~dJle source of warmtb.

,'~t

"

~fan h~~' been descr.lbed as at t-hihking, arlimaL He is also 'poSsessed iO,f' an ilUa'lia ble eurlosity ~ In the inteNals his, oSt"ruggle for ex[it~€c.! whi,ch conSisted largely ,runt:llli£ pr,bnlt[ve 'state ,~n. securing food shelter ~ 1M protecelon from the .ma.ny dangers that thr,erutenro him, h'e mOiu~ht

of

his IUdinient'~ry' 'reasoning powm t"O bear upon the, 'c'hara;cte~ of 'everyday' d:ling,s, and, pbe:Jtfomena~ Then he 1.:..0 - ... ·f'~.i :soug.h_tt 'to L· o,X"ing nrs o[J~ervltUOlE 'lnto some 'k-··..1li Cf ernee ,llll;.:li. and_ td~ ·e.staiOHs'h a, ~.era.l ,fran1ework into which he ,eou~d ,£it them; 'lni'the fullom of dIne his dun id'eM blossomed into wha~ we, roay reg-Md. as pr~m.it~V€~ heoffes., ~
't:_~

FROb.'r A:I CHEMY

ro C HEJ\;nSTID.{

'iL. b-Iv th ,. f .'b..... Ii;.Ul, - ic IS f ~estintegrarson o· ttns '!I;.... d Which :' i 0P r01va-.IlY t· .e ear I' -. interest in the remote ancestry"!" of science arose from a ., . ve 'L.. ~.J primm ~ mo deo. r- h iuman tm l1J kilng' b:a~a:.u pon a di ~ · u distmcuon between pairs of opposites: this has been called the 'Doc .. , trine of the' Two Contraries,' Thus, it is slgnifi.cant. that 'in the first chapter of the Book of Genesi_s chaos is depicted as. being reduced to order by the separation of opposites, of day from night, of light from darkness" and o.f thewatera

fro.m the land,

theory of physical selence, known usually as the 'Theory of the Four Elements+.' Although often ascribed to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle.: (c. 350 B. c.) t this theory .... '1'_L:l' 1 I, d ' goes b aca muen la.rtuer· 1D tune: ns essennais h ae b·een recognised in Egypt and India more than ~ thousand y!~ earlier. In the Orientjl the 'related Chinese conception of
'E!._ ~ _. , ....... ",'.

Osir.is and Isis took. slmilar positions in the cosmology and ~.. ,. re.ilglon o f ancien t E '.-gypt.. The Doctrine. of the Two Contrarle5 found. a. much, later and more elaborate ·expression in the earliest fundamental

immaterial and positive principle; Astaroth, the. Moon ... goddess, was cold, passive, .heavy.~,. material and negative.

Moreover, the universe of the ancient religion of Mesopotamia was conceived as being under the control of Baal, the Fathee God; and Astaroth, the: MotneI'" Godd~ss.. Ba,J1, the Sun-goo!. was a hot, aeti,veJ Ugh t,

.antiquity .. A. -~ i/!' AI"ISstotle's:1:>' the - 11'- . :...~u:;u. upo. the S-- oosed , ~ . , _' ~o' .""'I!'...~..:II ~.• - - n ...... up ,.,,;,._ ezi.... ... ", Ii;f" -_ ~.11\';...wi .four elementary properties or qualities. These feemed two pa.in of opposites: hot and cold, wet and dry. '\Vhen I!...:-~- ~-..:I • ...!_.Ji d~ eoml)l.gey paarwise, as represent ed ] t,·e appenoec '. In -h cnagram (Fig. i).1 ,they gave rise' ~o the fOUf fundamental .simple
,.oII!;
4

the Five Elements (Wu-Juing), based also upon the Doctrine o.r the Two Con traries (l'in", Ylm£).,. likew ise claims a ;gn~at

O'f matter were he1d to, be eompceed of these four elemen ts, • i d-···tr: Fasseciate d_ m cnrterent prO'pD rtlIOns. _.ur' tlier, aeeor d'" .. _lng' t,0 Aristotle, the four elements were also inoorpo~ated with a -. ~ .i..\..!~ -, . ~pn.m4 ma t-mill :uuiol! had no.materea 1 existence untl ~l·· b ir beeame

bodies, or elemen 15: earth:! air; fire and wa ter,

An kinds,

BEGINNINGS

by a proc,es~ 0'. tr:a.osmut:rutl!!lU. f . : 'Hovedng behind these' four elements was, ashadowy-and .ll-d efi;~00 ,fifth. ,_, ~_ _ G~_ ... it ether ,.. the ·de'm,~ t af .. 1 _._ Aristotle,' alled . _ . _""~~ the stan,~/,the neo.-P,latonls,t;S called ~t Logos" otIl'er,wi~e ~he W'oId~ God, Of' Reason; and ~am,onr the :tnedieva:l phil'osopher.,iSj it was:: known 'as the ·quinta ,er,si8'n~~a~fifth 'being;, Of' q uiaeesseeee, 'som,e.tim.e confased. in alchemy 'with the Philosopher's Srone.·
'k to! pa;s,!!ii•nto anetner,

~lH~, with I!.fo;un/ after which i1. eould, enable one: element

'WA'fER 'Fl'g.. ~. '"Ch-e F'Oll!Ir Qualities. 'and' Fqur EI~m.Mt3

pa;rticuiad,y imr,parUlnt.. A3 an ~am'Ple ,~t,th{s eo:lW,eptiori~ it, ,a,p'pea;:red that- w,at~t~ the' cold-wet element, could be' transmnted bry the~:ppHcadQn of heae, int0 air, the hot.wct, elemen~~, u;o~h th~ di5plaeemen~ ot the' eold q_llatity by' d ;..t,..~'" .JiJ!LI'\. :I!'- 0i1:-r;;.nIn modern 't,6ii:''"''''''~: "",II; ~ ,u:1I"'tI, · ·tbi.S: eroeess of tiE u.~"'~ ...,r- ........ r~ __ .vap(u,.~~tl()n ''is. considered, ai, iI; pOl'clY pbysical' one, S'olid wa~er eke), liquid water" and gaseQ,U8 ,or 'vaporised w,~ter
U "'-r.. ",uL'U .'!.r~I,1 ,.,,,,~,
,!!,

The Arut(Jteli~n~~ .theory dominat.ed scientific thought '~ntil the tim~ Q~f" R~'oort Royle in. the middle' of the &eventftn;tn centur:Y'~ Its imp'lica tion ,of the ,possibHity of changing, Qr t~ammuHngj on-c ,el,enl,e:n 1nt~ anoth~r w,m; t

g'

-----

li1ID~f AlCHFMY TO CH EJi,U$'l'R¥

(~team} are different physicaJ forms of the same substance, and there :is: no qnesdon of transmutation of one kind of
• ...t._ bei rna tter Ul.to ano;ulet't;~ng

concerne d-

,of these three forms. I ~ would, be tUL3us tifia ble! in the light of present know-

In
i

Interconverst,ons
• •

ledge, to dismiss 'the theory of the Four Elements as ill.. eoneeived or useless, C[early 'this theory summtit',isoo in a compact fOml the resul t. of lo,ng ,~ges of ,omerv'ation and, though t, In one sense, the "elements' Earth, Wa tu :and Air represent the three states of a,ggre,gation of matte:r.,~ the solid, the liquid, and the gaseous. Again;. the ':e]ement' 'E'"' • • , ll' ire rna y represen t energy" a eensranr agent In b'"rUlg'lng about material changes. Transmutation, in tum, belonged te the wider conception, of metamerphosis, .a universal and essential JJart, of folklore. The possibility. of transm udng: one element or one metal Into another would 'b,c :range: di tthe i g]}]l a tson a 'longsiee t he oeservee•.a! an.y, '"..,3 L ~" oJl _'Ul ae :t'ma ~ . spectacular changes, ,of seeds into flowers, 'Of ciillterpiIlar,s into butterflies, or of tadpoles into frogs+. The turning or tin into silver, or of copper into gold" would seem to be trifling changes in comparison wi th such metamorphoses as theae, or with the turning of Lotts wife into a pillar of salt, 01" the' petrifaction of the ,.yitch of W'otikey Hole by is. 'Ierned vnght of Glaston,' when=m one of iMendip"s
.U'Ii'f'll'll_",

.,.i~!!l.,.;;-_

,t caves--.,

The ghMdy hag he apri.nlded o'ef.'~ --:'..,l Ilw. 0 liz, Wh.-.. 1'.....1 wh-~,'".,... ... L~,i!Ii', "':~ Now stood a gha!ttly ,I~one ..
_ ~!!!!!!!! &.I

IQ

.::I!l~,

;!J

Pi

'..· ...

~.Ilg

"' A~ (' A ccorcding to ,"fi$~obc1 ',C'~ 350 ,B.~O DJ.atter ~. contInuous, , •)" • IS and tb.e:refGI"e capable ,of.infinite su bdi'v.~lion i but E:picllt:US,
,0

The 'phUosopbers of ancient Greece were much con .. Lii f th '.. eeme d Wi'Ith ,uP;;i rotxem o· t_ '.~ U 1.. .~. ,,:L,_ p nmate ,constitution 00(. matter~ upon which they held dividCf! opin.ions. There'is Jittle doubt that their ide as,were inherited tc a large extent from the: eadier civil.isadons, of,Egyptt. Syria and !dinar

&~a,

BECHNNrNGS
,I,

eons istin:g of atoms ,:J' tht:l same 'Pr~ot.d:ia] ~ate,d:{\l width, differed, in their sii;;e, shape and. £QJ:m., The: ,RQma:~ PQe~,Lucreti us; in. tthe ,first 'iGf:ntury B. f;., expounded this, COl1,cc,ptlfon of ail. atomistic struct ure of matte.r ~id, ,~e~t, fervour iI,nod, eloquence in his, famous \york, ,De ,R~cm "~4tura('o,nterrdn:g· dil!'l: Na:tul'fJ. 'Of Thiags']. Since ~h~ Gre~k phUosopherS: had, litde .ind~ruiti.ryn. (Qr experlment, and. reached their eencluslons 'by P~Qcess"esof abstract thought,; their ideas were merely speeuEati:ve and remained unresolved for more than tw~, thousand years. N;ev,e:nn.eless,.... this e!'l;tly.~interest in the nature cf the "sb.li'fP of w'hi.ch tile material world .around us is composed 'was sus~ained ,tnt:o'IJgha1:lt, 's",c~eedh1:1.a:g:~t.an~ led eventually to ,3. :rnd.llnenbl'ry (arm, of !:X,per-imc,lltal, science kno;wn as, alchemy. 'FO'f more than a thousand Y1ears a]!~hem.y retnained~ oss(;:n:t~an staric, UN tH~ y .during the seventeenth and if'Jghteenth centuries of our era it. blossomed ~lQwlr into the -'rrloo;ern science of _che:m.isr:t7f~ ,Mo~,~n ,lihernistry deals: with the ,Stt]d,y ,~fthe fJ~,tu~~ '0£' the materlallul,iVerse'. I t .is Qbyiq'Us ,:~t , glan.ce that '~,3tuff!' a of m1mY dUterent kinds Iies around us, ot) ia other' words, that m,a'tter is hete:r,agenoo,us, and nor homogeneous or of uniform: 'composition" . A ,[ ,m;p .:of gra,:n.Ite,. fot: exa1n.pI'el! il u distinct in ,:i:ts, ~,p~arallceand a:l§'o in its, prDpe:rdes;: £r"6nl a, pool of~~e~;-'~~~. Chemistry 'goes, b~);and superficial observatioa 'Of dHs, kind;li' and shows that ,gnullt~ and sea-water themselves a:t;C"
.., '"

structure"

('c,", gao 18.. c.) elabora dng .'~he 'P'te~ArlstotdlaE vi'e~~ of Dem'i)cr-~,tu~ A bdera (c.' 4,P0:- D .c.) and Lel!ci~pu~ (~dxth of e~nt.uty s.e .. ; held rt to 'ha\;'\e ,3; grain~d or dtscondrt'ilJou.s, l

h·eterog-eneQu.s ma!er~alJ. One of the leading ,tasks of chemistr.~r h to devise processes for separa ting from, such: ~ed: mate~.iab, theit.· vari6U& tU~lrf))a~eEieous eonstituents, 'Thui 'wben ,the:' heterogeneous, mi~e'rial, :sea~w~:ter'- IS, dis'tiUed, ,it yields aJ. h"omog'enoods liquid 'JHa,t:erhd 'kco.:llown ~
i

wat~.,
5tQn~!i ~

This dlstlncrive kind of matt(fl" b, called a "s.ub..

Tht1 re~rduM sea'~3h is. 'still netcto,geneol4S.

l,t

F:ROM ALCHEMY TO CHEhHSTR'f

consists of a m.ixtur~ of several other substances, a.mong them being common salt, These solid, substances. can be separated (rom each other by using further processes which . take advantage' of their different properties, Such 5:e.p~ara. . dye p~ooesses pia y so important a part i:n, chemistry tha:t this science used to be known. in GennaD as Die S,he~'dtkunst" a- of- ~epara tl"na t . -""'~O' th a t I _ _~~!I! Chemistry does not stop at this, poin~. It proceeds fax beyond the prepaeaticn of pure individ ual substances fr"Olm
~,,"'I!.._iI!' '!,~l,", ' ...-" ,

has. to 'be characterised by a. study of its properties. A[sQ. chemistry i'l concerned with the composition of each. distinct substance and with the. possible wa.ys ,of breaking it down into simpler substances and of buildhl,g' it up from ,other BU bstances, The ,kind ofinfonnation thus acquired, is all ofa 'qualita ..
~ tive , nil lure,

naturall y occur:rinS;' materials,

Each individual substance

ith th II\_"...J_ ' ecncernen..J Wit' , ~ te smus 0 f' eonstitnents ':Ii.. Ii;1Ut ; of equal importance is, the. 'quantitative' aspect, which depends upon 'weight and measurement and takes ,cogrus....

anee of q,uantity or proporeion, All such s,tudi~ at-e fundamental ~ but t'hey constitute only a fraction of the. funcdons of modern chemistry. Historically, they did not begin to' come into effective aetion until the second half of the eigh teen th century,

Conemfi1lg' the ,~p'pU,atun if TJdngJ' In the p,re...his.tor)'"of man, 'knowledge. must have ~e~~ aeq uired slowly ,and! laboriously, bY' 'tria'] and error, of the diffe're'nt properties of the many m.ateriab that carne W. 'his. hand. The -m.anipu~atiQ~. of things and their applIcation to eve:ryd;\y USes,~1particul a:dy in the provuion of food,
fuel, clothing and shelter, brought a familiarity mth their properties and paved the w,ay fall' la let specula tiens con,", cern~ng their fundamental. nature'. Such a ~eque-noe ran, ~hrough the whole hlstOty of chemistry until the present age. The rule-ef-thumb

a:ppncadops of trungs; bri.nging' a growing acquaintance

I.

their properties, led to an 'inro-eas.ihg knowledge ". -l'ft 'V ''I!...~!t' 'U;NOIrds a~l~"" ·ti···-·~ ..... th s.; J[h:.Ji:li.LIL_&~"'- "''':I. U1;..L' .....~ _~_el:f lI,., ·r'!'''''''':_~'.!Ii ' ' Ir.'"' ],....;.a .0,8. preceded theory.. In recent times the dose knowledge n"OfW gained. of t~e, fine structure -of :m3tt'e:r has tended t-o f\~Ist dds seq.uene;e i so that theory m.ay now often dietate methodsof ada pdng· n~fnu:al m,a.tcrla]s, QT evett'ol\e'ia bOl",at .. nl':Ii .... ~Eo_ l'~g p·w~y i'!i-i~"'·''''''l .... d~L_,tm1""..J ,U,,,,~: 'j':>Jtr~:_Q,~ 'r;!l.:&&.ir';":~" U.U e ia Uu.IW;ilI·.: :";>J;~,o,""~"'u. :L"'.... ,... iDn~l':C"""
M)h
'i,~ ........ "'oiII- .,
lIi'h;"-,..... ~ii·ii'\iIIIii I!L.!~ .

or

!!;-u,,",:.: ,

. ,

n_",1

A:&

T'i~

~L t-

~l ,..
.Fig. ~~ Washin:g~ .Fua:jon, and 'W~.ghing (lli" Go,Ed in .E.gypt
(~5'00 ~... c.)
~

...,.",
.
:., .~,

.--.-,,~-fT'K . ~4' "', .--"--".''_'

.'."
...
I I ..... _._

I.

'Jt ma.y ·therefo5;f: he argued that the pr'inlltive begi'nn~ngs of~h.emist:ty are to be son,gttt ill man's adactrtador:l oF,natural ma tenil~S so his n,~ed~t, Perhaps :the 'W9st specta'cular~ althoughJJy ntl means the most caJ:lfil»ot';t!. Qr th.ese: mat,erlals is .~o]d,. Thi'~ gieamm;g' yellow metal ~ malleable and tnltar-n]sh~bl:~~lent hse'Jf readilv to use In the. decorative ~ts or early man. In thf! Eupkratet val !~y there were expert woiken in g.o[d so lQng' atro :o'itS' $'5,00 EtC. ~ and the :L.... ~,,, f' 1,..J1 ~ ._ • ..J w:asu~ng, .r.:" l~i.on~ ·~nti w·t~g[iin.g 0'·· gQ,li.u.were_ dJep1iQt~. :Ul
v

;:1....

dra wins_s en the walls 'Of Egyptian tombs- a thQusaR,di

'Y,e;'Ull

fROM ALCll!.MY· '1"0 CJ~lE1.\;nSTRY'

Theban neeropclis, has been cal led rhe oldest book in the: world, It i~ essentially a, primitive pharmecopoeia, eontainlng more than dght hundred prescri ptions and remedies, One ,oJ thes e, described. as 'a. ddig·h.tful remedy agaitut de-ath i' cenaisted of half an. onion mingled wi.th the frodl of beer, The Fapyrus states, also that, garmen ts rna y be protected from 'the depredations of mice by :s:meallng;' them (1. e, the garments) with cae's fat. Mention is 'made ,~)fmany mineral ingredients, such as stlbnl te, sulph ur ~ soda, lead" common salt and saltpetre, The P,a,:~l)TUis Ebers provides the earliest wri tten example ,of the Idose connecrion between che1nistr.y and medicine, an association
I !

is el ;:;03:1" t11 erefore '" "',3! pra ...; al LI!'i,,",,, -] t-:ug ... v~ I.r..... ""'_ ... tion " ha !!' __ r .."" _~ t ~"~~.~ of fermenra '..... '_ li.;.HVW a, typical biochemlca) proce-ss.. has b een a ppUed. from prehistoric times" - Eeer finds, men tion also in. the Papyrus Ebers, da.tlng from about I 5,50 s.c, This 6S,·foot YO 11!discovered in t'h-e
""'. '"' _ .............. _ !;.. -~ ...

(.Fi.g. ~) . Th.ig bea \UUU'! metal, which remains unaffected by any ordjtlary' a,gency" has al wa'!ys, held a .hl~th place in n:tan~s esteem, 'There is Indeed little doubt 'tba,t the development of alchemy was lawgeIy bound up wit_h attempts to solve the problem of the oecurrence of g£tld in the ea;Nn's. crust. and to produce it artHic~Uy,. The oldest map in existence is one a:. gold-mining ~egionin ancient Egypt; It dates from. about the dm,~ of Tutankham il:n r r:: B '~-" solid ,~l!JiL" ....... w'.~.) ,i".o-n n,A tou '"~,,.a":lh' aold PL,uUUL ' ""... ,IL'. u~..,u. £C:~ [ (i! .:, '~J'J'LJ' "," C: )" ~ wh i"\iili""" ,.zIY· , ,.,U,'.....-.j',i y·!I'........ c~' more t'han two hundredweigh,t" 'TIt h " "'1"" r ,..'rrougnuut " th mllnY' crvuisanons ,Q;{ man." hi primary tne ': IS ~ motive has been the provisionof rQod~ It is thought tha t the primi~tive· ""O~I!Io'i"I' - ni i'" ~:'¥. v_ th ~ T:ia ...-, ""''''~ E'U phrates ~ ~ _ _ __ . "'" ~~;b!!~~U_ll'!.h.l.:!! of __e , _~~]S and _~.p".... valley$ owed their' forma tiO'D and development, pus'sib-Iy some nine thousand years .ago, to the- prevalence. of wild barley In that regiOJL Now barley, with 'the h,elp of water. and. yeast, gi ves rise to both bread and beer; rand these fundamen tal sustainers of the human organism have' maintained their primeval importance through the later eiv.llili~... tions of Babyl01l and. Egypt~ down to the 'present da,y. 'It

lat~r

or

o!'i

BEGINNlNGS
'[1$t.

to cure' human iUS.JlIld to' prolong life can be t:r-a.ced another

ehsmist '" .. tl (a,~~mSli.ry' :se'~~Ulr~_~l.O:U;S:~ d ;t'. b peflO-;- OJ.lanpe.i~et'Dil5tty..

)1..,-,
c,

was ne"S,tined to beeeme

-a- d yf';~r,s", «I' "',, Ian __ n

,o:f the first importan,oe tG

'Ii_

'T'~l-WS,~']~nth~'~ . L , "L_. '. searen

lfi

~-h- so ..!:a ' eu '--11·-..1 !I, , e

,10"1'
L'

reme d- '" ares

far ..:r~aching '[',oot of Ichemistry. ,.Atnong such remedies plant produces took ;a.:'. pr~nnh1-ent place, There ,viS a" gr.cat denla·nd rO'f the spiu·!; inoenses and, 'perfumes ,of southern Asia and its adjac~nt islands for th~e' and ,other. purpcses, This, d"em.and CGn~ti~uted indeed a m3b~ fa.e,tor tb.ti. rise (Yf tfa'A."i'~·'J!lnd,tpOOnefCc among ~he

.. . sIhta non,

became. a '. istri .u trve centre -0 f' conun~ree di ib . between Orient and Occident; and, Sidon and Tyre, in pa::r:tk-:uJa.:r la,~ui[j~d ,jnuch wealth and fame tllereby.- - - - .,-'if ' - ---:. .~' ~
-·1 - ,-"; ., ~-- ~ ~:-.: '--,:.,~ ~ -.

eJ~,:r~.y civilisadons. Trade flowed al ong' the- cara Van "['DUties e~~efidiag from Cb-iniilt India and Ariibla to' Egypt .and ~he, Black Sea, Later Phoeniola, by virtue of its geographical
j;

ir.

The, me (L! 'memcn:u.aJ ;r.eD'i,edtes, ,has been cIQS(':JY aiS.S{)Cla ted a~.l down the ages {. ith. aUentioa abo ~o the ou.tw,ar-G. w L'L bd.-. 'L_ a ppearance 0 f -tne u.UIlli\U .: 0. ¥~ ~~etIt 18.s~e.WIid. t5U~'ris ,. ..,
ildLg' to find

which we

ant~quity.

~:( l'01,lr legs:)

substantia.]

-h '-r,; P lb db ~_:J'U) W,h >0 -J' ·~ve atout T ueu, t'. e, wne or a, .scnne name d. A 1'400 B. CoO I t was used as a receptacle fo,1''VMi-O>uS· aids to beau t)t~ induding 'U;llgu:ent vaseS'· _ 'terra-cotta and ala.. flf ~ ~
fi

'- ' -' '- ,- '·f ;(h- ' "'·""d', ,- va,luty ooY;.l"u:erpa.rt ~" '~~"~ moe ern ,~, ' ,-,' -, b_ago :Ii

that fHfli applica;,tidn ofbeau.tifying ma,iteria]S!I!, now 'caU 'Q~eda~ stretches back bUQ ,~ U"m(lte;· In, 'the, Brlt:ish MUj,e~~ foOt (fx:ampi~j there is, a ly bt.d~t.toil.et b.QX,_ made of weod and 'moo:nt,edt -on, IL.... -t;_ . -,. ··L...:.-l . . wme .. fnay"eb tleSCi'lU.Wast h e ail,cu!nt: T-h ea:n _.. b
l]l,

J;t

'T·.1Ib.

··L" ,-~_..l,-", ue;_'O]l,gcu

to

nati ve an tiInon:y ::!'ulphid~j'was in commoa illS!! ~01'lg the Io!vely ladies of k)ng ago for ,darkening their eye brows, and eyebtshe_s and also as a ,protec:tb",e paint in hot, and d U!!ity

aad a.. double stibium tube \Vito p~nc.i1s' ,fur· app[y~ng .. th,.e. eont~i:necl powder and medicinel paste, 'S~ibiumJ\ a, name givl~n ~Q 'Va:rio~ bl~c:k powder, ~n4 specfflcally ten
baster"~

w,e~uher,

some fiv~ hundr~d, ye,ars af~er th~ d~ys, of Tutu that tJhe Sidonian :~tdnoess,~ezeb~j -,"'p,a,inu:d .~.r ..fa'be" t1£1oo J

It.

W,M,

re

FROM ALCHE~{Y "_0 CHE1\USTRY

II

her head, and Ieoked eut at a w.ind,ow', upon the rapid approach 'O'fJ ehu the son 'Of Nirtuhi. Her action has, been partly misrepresented by' unduly severe !Critics af ],at,u' generations" 'seeing' that she "put -her' eyes. in llalndng (a more accurate t~ans]a don] at least pa.rdy as a rou~ine. ,protecti ve measure against dust and insects" The hsydafi5 had! a word guhlu, meaning ,Ieye-pain t,.1 and this was later rendered into Ara,bic as, Jr."!!l. The "kohl pots,' or Ik,oh~ tubes" used as, containers rO'f these black _n.J: l'!.. • 1 ..::I Stibi unum po'Wy,en were etten exq !IllS!':C,y des~gneu anu.:ii ',' ~ ornameneed, Alnong specimens still extant lS, 'ODe ,in falenee inscribed with the name of Tutankhaman" quem. Others, still older, are delicately carved in iyory' with designs modelled on papyrus-buds and stems of H~ies. Later, among the Romans, the perfume bottles, scent boxes and other eontalners for cosmetics, were characterised, 'by their delica te workmansh~p and elegant designs, I n many w,ays the ancient civilisations, had a keen ,8ense of bea nty ~ ThIs they appU,ed hl modelling ~ shaping and. deco r.. "':'_',_'t;·n,fli' ;'fh' rna uerla '11- whi'en a e _' &~~s n- -iii-. ah ey t" -"~""'d to.". I!!w 'l..,~ti'I ,~' ..u purposes. Consta.nt practice of this kind, led them to gain an, e'Vlet-inl;:reasing knowledge Qf the properties and adapt.. abilities of the things they handled, They ,acquired a practical kn,ow'ledge 'Of a surprising :range of precesses, such, as, ore;wln,g,. 5oapmakingJ gbssmaking and dyeing" w h$ch are now included in' the.' operatlons of ,cbem~ca] technology, ]ndigo~dyed, wra ppings of mummies found in the tombs of ancien 1. Egypt have kept their colour to the present day:. they tes,dfy to the skU] of the dyers of those fa,r-c.:ff" days. M'ost, of the ancient dyes 'wen: of plant 'Origin. There is little doubt, for example, that both inW8Q (frnm the indig~ pl ant) a.rJ!dalizarin (from madder) found, application in dyeing Jos;eph~s coat of many colours. The most costly dye known to the ancien,t world was, however, of' anlmal origin.. This was the famous Tyrian Purple, the :imperial colour- the use of wh~c.h 'was denied to ordinary' mortals, It was extracted with meticulous care from the glands, of
i '11' r
_!!.~.~

'11.-

lOIl_iLU,

,;:;I"

II;

,.,

.. :Y,I,_1Io

~I

BEGINNINGS

certain du~]Hish (MUT~) found in th,e waters ·.of the Ea;st~ M·editerr,~nean. There w,~rG Iarge fa::ctorjJes f'01" this' pur'i11
,... if:'x]S,.:;tLd .

pose at T}ffi!: 'and .'SidQn~ and. others .are kno'Wl'l~t}Jt have:

It

- ,,' :,Hens '~d-.u" ,~ ..' a.t'- A;j;.'iii...,--- la-ft, compeu,. 'w'as of this Purple oftb.e,Anci'entli
\YhQ h~ no·! ,h~.

t'aat Brnwmng 'Wrote~: Sh~n8.

j.

how ''t¥tian

bw ~ the :m~rcha.nt ,~~Jb; ?

Whereof one drop WO'riOO. mtra,c:les Atld colou~d Hke .h4~lt;lli eyes

E-Dll;lmM. tbe· blue, thalt dy~ of dy!~!,

one thing eo discovee iI. coJtCuted jubst~r.u:e.;. but its attachmene, '~n;~ fast or pe:r:manent condition, to· a fab.dc ,is. a different and ofrtten d.ifficul t ma tter, Thal the anclem d.}~ had. att~ined a oo~'Plete' ma.. uy of th~ :art of dyeing d with Ty-tian. Pu'rp'le is: ,oieat.· from d~e its_s·erti911 of :Lucre.cius in: lJ'e Rt~m Ntllur-a: fTh-e, purple . of. elie. 5lheUijsb '50 unit~ with -the; body of wool alQ'nf:, tha.t it C~iU1Qit In ,my case be, ,s-ev~~: not were you f'O' take nailtIS:' to undo what ...] ,. 'IL N. ! 'or L, 1 IS U,Qnf:' with 'eptune s 'w.av,e" not ]1' t'.e 'WuO e sea, were wined to wash it out wi,th al] its wollien~;
,illS.

It

dye:

f,:"b.'-'

.II " T:H,E EMERGENCE OF ALC,HEMY

Rise
il'na

Spread of AlcJl:tm}

~HEN~where, and. how alchemy arose is. impossible to, say; bu~ the ~a_me points, ~o Egyp,tian and Arab sources, Slinoe Khtrn, was. the aneren t. name of: Ei l" L · -F£.Igypt an d a: is ... A fa'bi defmi me lc~-,e.unite artie Ie. ,Ot t-h" -lS reason, Egypt, or Khem, the country of dark soil, the Biblical Land of Ham, has often been held to, have given birth to alchenry, the 'art of dl(!; dark country," It ,~5 · • 1'··,']1 ~1 • eertam t h tne ancient Egypuam were Sl'(l ieu in iii. great 'at l.. varie.ty of arts, such as dyeing", gl ass-tiating, enamelling
i

2tnd metallurgy,
knowledge

'W h,lch

gave them some rudimentary

of chemistry. Sometlmes, again~ it has been supposed. that. alchemy arose farther' to the east; in Chaldea, or even in Ch[na+ The Ohaldeana were notable astrologers, and they associ.. a ted the sun, 'moon and planets not ,on1y with human destinies, but abo with the known metals, Still farther east, in aecient China ~ alchemical ideas found a pl ace in the comprehensive rel igious and philosophical system ,of Taoism. ~:t:uch] ater ~ in the second eentury A. D. ,"7,ei p'o..Yang ''''''00 has been called 'the father ,of Chinese alchemy,' wrote the ,Arst Chinese. treatise devoted entlrely to alchemy ~ wherein. he described, the prepara don of the 'pill of immortality,' the Chinese equivalent of the Elixir of Life' of Occidental alchemy, The ultimate origin of alchemy is thus a vexed question; but on the. evidence a vaU able it seems. to have sprung up, among the, sJdUed metallurgists and meta] -wor ken of' iblv i ...esopotamla. Wh ence It sprreau . _..:!Il 1- " M'·d-dlif: E..ast, pos~n' if In Mwestwards. to Egyp t and Greece, and eastwards along the caravan routes to India and. China
.

lI!

the

'mE

EM;£R,GENCE

OF ,ALCHEMY

13

ln, dlis tangled web of hypctheticaJ. a[chem~cal o"riginl it is, known ,that ilS far back as the sixth century B9C" there 'was. a great. intenningling of dl,~ "MtU1",aJ, 'philosophy of Persia, Syria~ and Oreece']n the ,ancient and long ... forgotten city of Harran, in. Syria. The Sa,bian cra;{t;smen of Harran were skilled .in metallurgy and in many 'other' oper,~dom calling foOr ,a, knowledge of the znateeials of. prlml dye chefnj,stry ~ ,A later co-ordination of such knowledge, and .ideas took place in Hellenlstic Egypt). where, in the early centuries of the Christian era, ,odginated. lM- earnest wrl ttm treatises, on alchcn1Y = these were ,infiuenc:ed gt,eady by n'ro-pYthagorean and neo ..Platonist phi1osophYm \Vi~,h.dle rise of MusDiJn, pewer in the seventh century A. D... and the conseq uen t a, bsorptien of Alexandria -and. other centres of Greek culture I' the growing corpus of alchemical knowledge. and ideas was transmitted to-Islam, through Syria a'l"Jld Persia, This corpus of' aJ-chemy was, of
On: ehe one n.and~ it was ';:ssen.UaUy prac .. .~ tical and, allied closely with the a-rts crafts, and ~edlcine,; on the other, it was an lndistincl aggregation of vague, mysticism and eryptie expression. TI1lt:s,e two main aspects, ,ofalehem y persisted throughout the Mlddle Ages. So it C3:m~about t'~a.t until the downfall of the Caliphate in the thirteenth t:entu:ry this aceumala tioD. of philosophical ideas, and (if" primitive technology and, scienoe,; coming frQIIB the ancient civilisations, of tbe Near East) and fr..om Persia, I ndia and Greece, was inhe_rj,ted and developed by the 'lvIusHm :alchemir:rts~ At the same time' the G'reek \\rridngs 'were hailed' with ~ th usiasrn and translated into ,Arabic. It w'u net until about the tw.elfth century A.D.", that the accumulated knowled.g·e G·t the Musli.m aJche.mkts~ drawn from these diverse sources and augrn.en ted in its passage through, Islam, began to peT.Cola,te. hl'to 'Western Europe, chiefly. via Spain and through the medium of Latin, ·trarula'tiofU or ,Arabic texts. ,In one of the earliest of these' traru;]atioN~ end.tled LifJeT d" '()mp()¥i~io#U alc:kemicu' (13ook I~rthe Composition. of A]chem~l) .~.the transla ter
t i<

a, dual nature,

J+

FROJ;..,~ LJ,AIEMY TO CHEMISTRY A

01

Robert of Chester" wt'()te. in t 144: Since what Arch ymi.a i:s~ and what its composition is your La tin world does not, yet know, I will explain in the present. work.' It, was in this roundabout way that ancient Greek writings passing through Am hie, versions" came afte.'f many ten-tudes
into Western Europe in a La tin dre&s.

Tlu N a'lure. wAlchemy

M-ost people who think about alchemy in the present ,age (and there are not many who, do) dh:missit as the pretended art of transmuting base metals, s ueh as tm, and lead, :~nto the noble ones, silver and gold (know'D as 'noble' because of 'their permanent 1ustre) . This perfunctory view rna y be set beside that of the great Getman chemist; Liebig ([ 803'73}:I! who asserted tha t, alchemy was never anyth'[ng difFerent from chemistrv: ~ so' that to him it was essentiallv . ~ I the chemistry of the ·Middle Ages. In its. widest interpreta ticn, however alchemy was a grandiose philosophical system which aimed at penetrating and harmonising the mysteries of crea tion and of' life. It the rni 1 ~ •h soug ht to bri :nng tne rruerocosm 0.'f" man 1I1tO relation with the macrocosm of the universe. The transmute tion of 'OU(; Conn of inanima te matter into another'; placed in thiii .larger (on text, 'was, merely a n incidental aim of alchemy! designed to afford proof on the material plane .of its. wider tenets, in particular that of the essential unity things. Alchem,y W'8S, much more than a rudimen tary form of esperimen tal science, The more' OIU:~ studies the wider aspects of alch em)"'- the more complex and bewildering tbe SU bjec t appears. Alehiemy was indeed a vast network in \\1- hich the' sparse strands of rudimentary chemistry were interwoven 'with threads, deri ved from ancien t .and later religions, folklore" myth .. ! • •• '6.,.] h h 0.1 0ID',- as,t~m.o,sy~ mill,glc,~mysucism, Pl'j,[ ospp.y~ tneosop h. ~Yt fl' ., . ~. · an d ot hlet'wiid e : e Id,:I 0'fhauman nnagina non an,d experience ~ Urnes t h e assccianons or a ]_'1.. .~ .. f' enemy Wlit h tell_gUln 1 . I n recent and. wi tit psych.ology have fQrmed the su bj eet of m uch
l

or an

'f

1••

THE It:MERG,ENCB OF ALCHEMV

15

study; as an outcome of whkh it appears that althemy is no l,es' '," portant to psychology than: to chemistry ~ m At a conserva tive estima te J alchemy' end wed' for mor-e than a millennium, that is to sayt. from ,ilt leas~ early Christian times until the end .of the- seventeenth. GeD. tury. ,I ts influence upon human .thought ehroughout th~s- immense, historical period was very great; 'but ,alch;.emy has beea Qultmoded for ·,sevie.r'a~ .cernt,ur-ie~(!1 and so there is" little' reali:sadon at the present day of th_,e extent to, ~hlch alchendcal conceptiollS and iJnagery permeated th-e thought~ the wridng&l ~ an.d 'th~ art of the Mlddle Ages.

~ ..Alchemical Th.eory L.ike 'modern science, :dch.emy Irad its guiding p-rinciples
and Ideas, although in'detaH th~e were subject to modi .. n,catioru; .and vat'fying interpretatlons, often at the whim of the. ind~vid'ilal exponent. ..In broad earllrre it· rnay tie said, that al~hertlkal reasening was mainly deductive and based upon two il'J ,priori assum ptionsi :fitst; the. unity or ma Her i secondly ~ the exi~tcnc.e Q~ a potent transmuting agen t, known as the Phllosopher's-Stone. This so-call ed "medicine of the n\etals'; was held' to be capable of curing tile' hnagine.d di6~aSies of the bas e metals, thereby ennobl ing them. to the perfect metals ~ silver and go] t:il. From the 'postulate the' un.ity. of matter it followed that such an a'8',ent sbp,uldLalso be e"ffeetive in healing' rhe infirmities 0.'( man and p~Gllo.nging his life., In this guise the ·Phllo,-op.her:~s Stone ",rM'r~,garded as ·tb~ pesfect medicine of man, under' the name of 'the EUxi.,. VittU~ or Ellxi"r of Life. Thus, acoowing to' alchemical theory, all f~lrnulof matter are one. in. origin; these forms-are produced by,evolutiona:ry precesses ; rna trer has a. eommon soul hich alone isl permanent, th~ body, or outward form, l:le:ing merely a mode 'of manifesta don of the !H)ui and therefore: transitory aJ1d transmutable into .other [Otlm.., In their essentials these v~lew-sbear a close eesemblanee to iho,se 01 modem physical science. J ndeed, in. ehe tv.renticch eentllry J

or

'iii

]i'RQM ALe HEM1l TO eH.E~IIS"TRY

"mcdern alchemy,' to use a term coined by Rutherford, has, shown the possibility' of bringing about many transmutations of elemen ts, . '

pat lance it would be correct to call the P.hiJos,opher;.~ Stone a ea talyst. Here again the alchemists are vindicated: tor what more potent catalyst could be imagined than the neutrons "... hich start and maintain the explosive disintegratjon of urar:r.ium~2S51 into 'Other elements ? 'Every thin.g possible to' be believ'd, W-TDte. the' Engl:ish. poet and mystic, \'ViUiam Blake, !is. an image of truth .. +. VVnilt is now proved was onc-e only imagin'd,' A_' d menuoned, th·d u ea 0"f'" transmuration is · d '.e .....-u already im plici t in the theory of the Foul' Elements, Moreover it was believed 'that prcpertles or q uali ties, such as colour 'or Hquktilty ~ could be imposed upon matter. Since gold and copper stand au t as coloured, or 'tinted," metals ~ it. would conseq uen tly appear that a modification of the colour' of copper could give r-ise to .gold; and it has been thought, that iexpe.ri.rne.nts to this end ,may have been undertaken in the
t t

I n modern

Copper ,Age,. earlier th.m.ll.'[2-0:0 B.C.. Much later, in. the third or- foy:rth century A.D.} some such process is indicated

F.ig. 3.

The; Formula of the Crab (.Zosimas)

in the Greek writings of Zosimos of Panopolis, whose, Intriguing Formula of the Crab {Fi,g;o 3) was probably a cryptic works hop recipe used by Egypti an, cr.aftsmen in making imitative gold. b)7 the use of copper salts, although the Formula has sometimes been held to conceal the-secret

of transmuta tion, The. conviction that metals should seek to attain the noble state of gold would be received wlthout difficulty by the Aristotelians, in their be')ief tha t Nat 11'i'O strives towards p<;r ection, and also by the Platanists, who held that t I

which is not inherently geed, The. further' qf the Philosopher's SU)AC and the Elixir, of Life, ~ agents, bringing such perfection to the inanimate and animate ,,,'o,rJd a.ppear have a'risen as. a n,atural extension Gf the Greek Ideas f the same ccnceptions may also 'be rei a ted to 'the Arab ocHer and great in terese ,in. magic and magicru age.rfrl,~ ~ The Stone \V8JS 9nen described as a reel powder, and it was no, doubt sometimes confused, with, t}w~ red. ore; an.. nabar, This 'is ,3;, na tUI'aUy occurring fdr.:m, of "U'l!erc:u.ry ~ulphide, which. when 'hea ted yields metallic 'mercury (liquid quicksilver) and evo~ves sulphureous fu-mes. (sulphur diexide), ldendc.al wit'h tame arising' in the burni tJ;f na dYe I'U] phur, It seems possible th~~t ,experiments of "this kind may have led the Muslim aJ..ch~ises to putforward the so-called Sul phur-Mercury Theory! of the origin of :metaJbJ:,. The moot laR'b:OUS of th~esC' alchemists was Jabir ibn Ha yy.a;:n kir!!ow.o 'to the W eseern world as Geber, He is said to. have lived in. the eighth century .A. u ... and the theory' is often , associa ted with his name. The· same rna.y be ·said of n W11erQUS alchemical trea tises ~;\~hlch were undoubtedly written after 'his, time.' J

nothing (:once]Jtlon.s.

emu

THE Et\!BR'GENlJE OTF ALCHEMY

11

to

og

TM S.1'llphur~Mt."aUJ'TJwf.J.r,)
.The MUlSHnl ai~bemiMSt adhered essenda1l y to the Aristotelian philosophy; although they modified it in certain ways.,. ~ In particular, the sulphur-mercury ~he.ory a ppears 'bllslcaU 11 ,M a d'eri va tive of the theory of the Four Elemen ts. The .a,P'posluon of the two opposed or conJ
j

trary, elements, fire and water, 'TIO\\" assumed a n£""\v guise .. , ~Fir... became . ~ ulehur J ~ and I \.i;l a.te:r-~became ., "Mercurv ,. I. " S l--' ..~ ~ ., -~ ~ '. - -.. . Th,e:s.e names must not be identl nea, with the material substances, sulphur' (orlmsrone) and mercury (quicksilver'). They. deno ted it bstract principles, composed of hot and. dry' {suJphur) ,a;.nJd cold and, moist (mef'cury) "natures.' In

alchemical writings, they were often called 'sophie ~ (or h- ,_ sop; sc 'P,h!1I l.LO~H)P e;r.s: su 1 lu p: ur an d ~ nh.'~ mercury) or our
! ) ! ~ _.

FIDM' ALCHEMY TO CHEMISTRY

d der + II!.. an',. j" our mercury, ~in. {¥F'~. to d'" . :i5tin~U~b,u,l~... L . _ _. _,_ . _ __ _ _ es. from the material substance- s bearine the same names, I n the main, sophie jS,ulp'ilu r stood for the property' 'Of combusti hi] ity or the ~fpi:r].t fire, and sophie, mercury far
'I h SU~p' ur
< ~ ~ _ _

tha t of fusibility or the. mineral spirit of metals. It 'was.a common practice of alchemical writers to, assume' r~mous names in order to lend au tho:dty to their pro .. nouncements. One of them, caning .himself ~ Rogel' Bacon,' living pro ba bl Y' in the fourteen th century '-It'ave an intelligible summary ef the sul ph ur-mercury theol'Y' in the following worda: "The natural principles in the mynes are Ar:gen,t-vi,rll' [~-{ercury] and Sutphur All mettalls 'and minerals, 'whereof ther-e be sundrie and divers kinds, are
i

or

be~,tten.

~1 wales intendeth and striveth to the perfeetioa of GoLd~ bur many accidents coming between change the mettalls.
...lI! ." F aCEorwng to the pun he an d " ,01' _.impurrtre o.ir-_ the two aforesaid principles, A rgl!n t-E vi v·e and S~lp}m1':, pure and

of these two: hut I rn ust tel you, th3~ na lure

. ~~

1l._

impure mettalls are' ingendred, That is to say ~according 'ilo m,edi,eval alehemical t'hou.ght, when the impure prineipl es, J:rWlOhur and mercury, were conjoined In natural precesses 'under planetary .i:nfluen,oes rh.eygave rl t,0,'boa~ W(;t!;!;.1Sl sue h as, tm ano reao · - . h. en th'ley. -d W " ." _, .~ rise se ~.'....1 ~ were of high. purity they ga"\"e silver or gold; but when each of the two principles wag of superfine purity they yielded the Philosopher's Stone. Thus the St~ne was so m ueh purer than ordina!ry 'gold from the mines' that a" small ,quantity of it. conld, by virtue, of a So pedes of leavening, transmu te or .! tinge·' an indefini toe q·uan.ti~yof a base metal into ,ordina.ry gold, In terms of' the pictcria! symbol ism which forms so important a characteris tic of alchemy ~the sulphur-mercury theory is wen illus tra ted in. an engraving of 16, I i (Fig. 4)., The twp: kinds ofprinciples or natural exhalatiens supposed to exist in the interior' of the earth are marked with the fa'mil tar alebcmical symbols for sulphur (left) and 'mercury (right). They are shown ~ coming into ,eonj unction in. the
i + -,.;~ .~ -j,

~bO'weoIs' 0'£ tbe. earth, and 'taking paxt in the, :ima,gi1l!ed pro~s: whereby ~pyr;~.and impu_rc mettalls are in,gendred.,1 On !llie outer ,eruS1t of the ,eawth an alchemist vdth' his app-;aratus ~ d.epict,ed, as en.gai~eclfD: experimental attempts· tn hnihne' and. accelerate these·' sln\'\' ly '!!;}'"Qcurtin;g processes The: ~chiefexperjm',~nt.a] ta~k or th'e. alehemk~ladept was indeed t-o, imi~ate and surpass Nature in ,a.e~:lOmtplh:h:i;a_g s;udt, cl,ang,e$: fund~meinitan y theI~f:cme his position was ,closely -eldn t'O that of (he: modern eh;emist,. A luhmic£ll Rq,rt'lentatiOtlS ,rif Me s'uJpln~r.."Mu:Gury 'Tkt(J1') In, the cry,p~ic eX'PreSs~on and :symoo]ie re'pies~nta:tioo, which eharact'e~ed ,aichem:y ~lltd fu~nd a later expressien in the sym.bob and formulae of modern chemistsy, sophie
sylphur and sO,phic mercury .assumed a b avildering· v'a.riety of forms, p()l' exi.UDple,· they were known as, ,Osiris and Isis" s.u:n and mona,; So] and Luna, brother aad sU;l.ef 'masculine alld" fe~nin~t active·' and passive, .giver and :feceiv~r, seal and 'wax; fixed and' ViJ]:a:tU.e~ ing~6.S H91l and w winged Iioness, lion and, eagl~ ~ and sc forth, Th~ 5t'()n~, wfl,en coneeived as tbe rault the uDlon of masculine and fe':minin~ prlnciples, 'was sometimes represented as an inlin"J't". h an euteome of the sulplrur-mercury th~oryi'tw'aS oft'm M1ppooed by '1£J.1L¢' 8iiCl-epts;!,v·6r esoteric (i:nfot:n)eclf) a]cbemili!ts that the ,pUff! ~ Sfif;W of g,D1d 'and silver {$fil alia L un'a,) could. be ~ eXtracted rrom, .no ble metals -in the form, Qr sophie . '~ul'phur ;1lllcl sophie me:rcury. TIle 'seeds' eeuld then 'be com blned, .often through the: medJ:um. of a r lq uid menstruum, tiD. yi'~ld 'tbt:, PhUorop,het~'s:Stone. The succession pf I!racdc~l pril€es;sts here' ,torfcenled, '~S know,n as the Great '¥ork;~leadi og t~ the ,6:llal gt),al ofthe Grand Magmteriurn, or 'PhHosopbe'r'~ Stone. ,According 'to' these views, which· 'were avlcl.1y adopted by pretended goldmakers, an ini tial quanti ty of gold was neoes_sla_ty ,in. orde.!r to, enter upen the Op~a.tiof;lS, of 'the Gr.eat
j,

orNatu;re~

or

ii

tnese

'Vo,r·k. The Stone. could lhen' be used in converting 'base metals into more gold, so that the orlginal gpild was 'multi ..
p] ied,' as -the alchemis ts were wont to 51ay,. One. of their favourite. metals for "multiplication' was mercury; and this ehoi hias L .• 1- vm di d b y mo dern onservab oiee . oeen curious y ucate r. tions t ha t gold ean real 1 be produced by transmutation y from mercury, although only in excessively minute amounts and at great cost, _ descriotl . A]''C1 leal uterature a b rermear I . ooun d" In ~fyptlC ._escnpnons s and pictorial represen ta tioas of the blending of :sophie sulphur and sophie mercury in the synthesis. of the. Stone. These designs often svmbclise the remote and proximate ~ . .materials of the Stone, together with the conjoining mens truum, usually known as the Hermetic Stream, "philosophical water,' or "heavy water.' As. a rule, the 'remote: materials are gold and silver (8:04 and Lunaj ; the proxima te ones, are sophie sul ph ur and. sophie mercury i symbolised 'as shown in Fig. 4. In a typical design a. wi:ng'less lion and \-'lingcd! lioness are shown in playful conflict against a wa tery bacltgroundf again suggestive of the menstruum, :1 .In terms of the Aristotelian th eory , the conjunction .of sophie S ul ph Uf' and sophie mercury would correspond to the union of fire and water, whereas the Greeks held that com bination between contr aries was impossible, There is, however, a typical alchemical engraving: of 1.16] 7 showing an alchemist (purporting to be Roger Bacon) in the act of · .. h' ;. t. .n b_a l.antutg two pau.! eontammg t.,..e!!if!' anCH~n e·nem.I!~. According to an accompan ;ring comment: '¥fh'en thou is hal t make equal the weigh ts of the elemen is, thou wUt behold with thine eyesl welcome gifts,.' Once again; the ri ver in the background suggests the. l-'I rmeric S rream in e which sophie su-tp-hur and. sophie mercury ate' 'to be con .. joined. Sometimes this Hermetic Stream was depicted. as the Bath of the Phi losophcrs in. 'W hich Sol and Luna disported themselves, jointly (Fig. 1.4)·,
i

:Ii

j.

THE EMERGENCE

os

ALCHE:MY

:1U

name of .Lu]iy) ~ex,ceedeth aU other '~a$tuS a:c:uj:hesmell of it. all other' :sm.eHs., ~ This ~ t wdtr;fl·,·a pseudo ..Lully, even saw in the production ()f So pol "'he a. spirit a sIgl~ of the approaching end of the world, The view of the sulphur ... eI'cUI')" theory 8J a union of m masculine and femlnine principles. found an expression in vario U$ pictoria] represen ta lions of the so-ealled Hermetic .Androg),'Ile, Re his, 'or ~~o- Thing, Thes e deslgns, like 8·0 many others in akhemy'~ were of len. del~h::a}eIy coloured] for example, 'the 'masculine and fepu:rdne half ... f:iguus of the .11rmaphrodi te stand ... e ing beside the sun-tree
faU:1OUS

'himself 'the

fra terni tv as the achievement or their goal {:~lnjO;ining water and. fire.:, thus. squaring- the alchemical circle, Some also. ""iewed thb: S·{J -cal red aqua _r..'i tee as the; end of thdr search for a. solvent for the Philosopher's Stone'" in the prepare lion from it of the Elixir Vi tae. "The taste of h/ wrot e a n unknown and enthusiastic a dep_t" tali:ng to

dist]lling wine, probably in Italy in the nlnth er tenth century" the -dlecovery ~ was made of' aim,cst pure. ;e,,'l h' :Oil, IS·tnr;p!,'"uus SUIJ:i,· ance ,"IS, B '~Ji''''' ter' (~- l"n·...lI ~ bst aico ·:1.;,;.. .... ·~'ra.II-··.l.e, :-t~U1u,.j which also burns, it was hailed by some of the 'alchemlcal
t, ~;:;;~
Q

By

or

alchemical

(ycllo.\v) and moon-tree (blue), s']gnJE~d rn HI u-,

I

plica tion l; and ~ dragon

at rhe- .foot represented

the liquid. rnenstru urn rnciderrts fromthe Bibl e ~ and from dassital rnytno ..

Iogy 'were' abo freel y. in terr

p:r,( red in terms lof alche .. m~ca&theory and ideas. Thus, in. ,~Ull..alchemica.l· . maeuscrlpt with copious: .Fi~,"~.,~.c:to. {~~\'t~·~a)!.wit~,ApQno , s , , ,j OJ], ." ~.... and Arteml~., and tb~ Python . patnted n lustrations, cen .. taln,ed In the St,. Andrews col Iectlon the birth of Eve front Adam's rtb, with the Serpentas onlooker, is depicted
v _"

jo.

;:~

FROM' ALCHE.M\:' 'ro GHE1i.USTRY·

to symbolise the same 'fundame~tai idea as the Hermetic Androgyne, 1 As an example or another kind (Fig. 5); the story of Apollo (Sol) and A_:rtemis, (Luna) "- with the terrorlsing Serpent (menstruum) of the jealous Juno, is. selected from classical mythology in .order to furnish a further illustration of the same theme,

Th« Ermrald Table of Hermes

infor:r.n.ed alchemists, pro adepts, regarded thdresoteric doctrines as, a sacred trust 'to be maintained. as a dosed body ~f knowledge from uninformed or exoteric practitioners who sought onl y to obtain weal th as g'old.. makers, either by "milking' wealthy patrons or through hhdn.g by a Iucky chance upon the secret of transmutation .. The

The adepts based their 'noble practise' largely upon a series

of thirteen precepts, said to have. been engraved upon. an Emerald Table, One. of the' man y apocryphal legends, to which alchemists were much addicted! sta ted that this 'Tahula Sm~ragdi'ria inscribed with Phoenician characters." WaS brought to .light from the t-omb of Hermes bry Alexander the Great, or, alternatively, that it was taken, from the hands of the dead. Hermes in a eave near Hebron some ages afte.r the' F Iood, by Sarah the wife of Abraham, Hermes Trismegistos (Fig, 6.}). or Hermes the Thrice-Great, the- Oreek coun terpart of rhe Egyptian god, Thoth, "vas revered by the adepts of alchemy as the' father of their "Hermetic Art, and the patron of its practitioners. fig'.. o. Hermes F 01' th 1'5.reason th~y often So ty led theml
j

Trisrnegistos
1HumQ~f

"Selves the "sons of Hermes;'

;;ttd Humanism

in CfumlsJryl Fig. 3.

THE

EMERGENCE

OF ALCHEMY

::1:3-

1n actual fact, the earliest record 'lr-et know:n of 'the precepts of the Emerald 'Tabl e came to light, as reeen dl' .as r 92 3: in a eorrup t Arabic vers iOfli!' in' a' work ascribed ~o J3h11', or Geber. Probably this statement 6r alchemical doctrine, known hitherto only in medieval La tin" ,goes. back much fur-ther than this source" and it certainly con... stitutes' one of the: oldest alchemical fta;p:1ents. extant. I,t .is thou,ght tha~ the Tabula rnay 'ha,ve been 'W'riuen odginally in Syriac, These. prfJoop't,s of. Hermes were cherished wi rh a kind of rellgieus fervour by the a.dep ts, who rooked upon them summarising in a concealed form the fundament~l secrets of alchemy and. of the PhiloSGphet $ Stone. The Prec.epts of tkf Emerald T ab.le 'rif Hermes run .~n trus wise:.

as,

I~

I gp~
true ..

net' ficti:tioUJ.· things; 'but tha~)w·bic.h. is! certain and

~~ Vrlhat is below is like, that w'hich nl above, and wha:.t is. ahove HI that which is below, '0 accmnplish the mirracle! of

one 'th~ng~ B. Andas all th~ were. produced 'by the Q~ wotd: of one Icing, .so ·aU things were produced fi:om· this one thing by
~ptallt~n ..
liUfljl

m,~

4~ 'l~ father ii the

i:t5 motb~;i' the lU.OOJI;. the. wind car:ri~ it.in it! ibt]lY;i ib nune is. the earth ..

5·
6'.,
"

It iB the fa.d~er.ofFaf~dcm, througb.OUt. 'die war]d~ Th~ po'wer u VlgorOu,. if it be c-hanged Into earth,

tc the ea~th from the fire',", the liubt.1£ from the' -, F'O:S"t 1'~ S~ acti-rig pl'udl~ntlyand. 'with jurlgr.ne.1lt. ~ B~ ,AJcend w~!th. the grea test sag.a·city from the: 'earth to bea ven,

and.

po-wen of things :su~r aed irdieriot'. Thui you. wi}] obtain the g!ory of the: 'whole" werld, an4 ·c·b.s;cul-ity win 0., away' from you. .

then, ag,:ill.n de,cend

10. ear:tJ1~anCl unite ~gether:

t.h~

9. This ba~. more fOrtitude than fOrtitude· ib.elf;o. because it. COllqIJllCI'!' ~ ~iIJ 'Ode thing' and CW1 penetrate every !I~[id~., u,\; T1ws w~ th~ wolfld ·ror.m'Od~

rno~·rALCHE\~.
I I. l:2.

V '1'0 C ~I I'~f\·11S·~'R¥"

;t:l'enee p.f@{;¢ed WOl1dcrs~ \vb

~.chare here es taoblished,

am called Hermes Trisrnegistos, having three pat'tli, of th~ philosephy of the whole' w'Ori.d. ]'S.· Tha t w·hicb. .I had - ~Q ~a)' concerning 1he u;pera.-tloll -of the .slun is comp.letecL· -

Therefore:I

esamina tion of these seemIn.gly Or acular pronouncements S.llOWS that they do. in ract summarise in a veiled form the main ft:a tures of al chemica] theory, The
second and third precepts refer tn the doctrine of the un ~ ty of aJ1 things; the fourth prec ept ern bodies the ide;as. 0 f the mascul j ne and femini ne princi ples of the sul phur~mercury theory' ,. and the four elemcn ts of Aristot] ey fire, {sun); water '(moon), air (\vind) and earth, The fifth precept conveys the Greek conception of' progres,e towards perfection; the

.A careful

seventh. is su,gges.tiv,e of alchemy as the "',art.of separation' (Schtidekunst); and the eigh th adum bra tes the circula tion of the proximate materials within the sealed Vessel of Hermes, in the ]rut s rages of' the Grea t \Vor k preparing the- Philosopher's Stone and a tta ining the 'glory of the whole world ..

or

the ·ievall' perton, Tlne .!LQlng Ii d ~ f verbose writers on b " me d _ me 0' ,alchemy had 1ittle new to bring fo:rwar.dt beyond variants .of cryptic a nd pictorial expression, until the time of Paracelsus ('r 49.3-]'54 I),. Predominantly, Paracels us was the herald of a: new era, an e:r~. of ia trochemis try, or chemistry applied to rned icine (p. 98). Hls comrlbu tion to alchemi cal dJ!reot""ll Iay in the' addi tion to sulph ur and men:'.uty of it, third principle" which he caned. j'saH.' ,lvfaterlany this. was recognisedas the' prlnci ple of unlntlammabll hy and fixidity, Now, .in 'the a]chemlcal mind, the ma t-eriaJ and spiritual · ,.. . len S ' -'I l!.. - '.. . .•. -',. In .-SSQ.,l!1 Y anited Indeed In:gre .die ts 0 f alcnemy "Were ,." di . I· 'bl' '. Ul'lh. __ • - ..'!:;PU., to take a wider view', un til the day ot Descartes, .in the
+

Th'i Tria. 'Prilna ef Paracelms Alchemdeal tb.oo,IY was 'essen tially static throughout

,
I

THE ':E!dERG:ENCE~ OF ALCHE~!Y"

,:2~

ma Her and mDl1tL' U n til a bout the time ',of the. deel ine of alchem'y ~ it had 'been ~'Upp~ed' tlrr.'0't~,ghout the 'ages tba't ,rro~s or. tangi bIe matter took sha pe i:n p:rogre8siv·eIy finer forms ~rangi.n.g· through mis ts ~ smokes, ex-kala tions, air, and the: so-ealled, ether; tH aaimal' spirits, the SOUI.~h~Utd.spi"rituaJ beh::lg;~. There was supposed. to he an essential URi it of all I~bi[];g,&,'whether 'tangi:b~,eor intangib[e~ material 'of\spiritual. Thls conception f~1J]1d.. expression, for le:xa:mp]e~in an ancient, Greek. in!llctip"
tion . asK.... ..... .n ,~j.~~,1;..., elated ...~I!.n . ~ v",,_p
~'Il...~ :h -,t>l'; .. '~,H'13 . th '.:luG vSo,l

tevc'n"teenth c~n,ttl:ry~men dr:e.w no rigid. distinction be;tweef1

0' ...... ..'.,

10· ;i" :!.

. preted in'either a maJ:erial or a spll'lnud sense, In the words of Paracelsus him ... :selE ~Know ~ then, t:ha t au' the seven

does not ~n,taln ,1\J I,"!, ill:is ,~OtUg'hL:l1 50 the ~r~a ,pr.iUUi or three 1:lYPD..: !ta.t~(:a]'prlficip1es' '0.( Pa-ra~el~~.had 3". double significance: tJ'ley ,c,ouJd. be Inter<!..

tal] -ea~ing :5erpent ('Fig. 7): "One is all, and. by it all, and t;Q. i~ al 1, and if nne
j

m,e~a.Is arel'>orn ~
Oi • ~

;~ th.:n~e.fQld. . rna tter. Mercury' is 'the spin t; 81.,1] phur is the $O"ti 1, and Salt is the body .
which. inde-ed. is Su1,ph ur. .
_L ~

.from

the soul,

uni tes those tWfJ ;con .. trades" .the body and is pirl~~ and changes them into one essence, ~ 'The ,sou]~ :accor.ding to drls, pronouncement, pla y3 b~r:e ~ So p:itie1;lal parr 8imila:r to the mf4Xeri.aj, effect of the ]iquid menstruum, o;r Hermetic Strearn, in. u nlti ng ,30phie sulphur a:rl!d sophie mercury tp produce the Phil ... osopher's Stone. I t would 'be in closer accord with, alchemical theory 'to. re pt"e:s n t the two .corrtraries by e su.]phat (sou]) and. -mercury (spirit). Such a eorrelation 1S de.p,ict(:d in ,a:n ,atua'ctlve a1chen'lk,al engraving of I6:a j ,showing two 'fishes, S\vimmlng in die sea, with an appended. l~gend. in. Ladn: "Fhe sea is, t-he' ~cdy~ dte two fishes -are t'h'e , spirit and the< ~G,pt The, tria pri1]ft1 found many other fQnns of grapmc expression, notably as the alchemical
ii,

ro:" triangle composed of three lines. or three serpents (F~s:"8). The chief relationships of the isia prima. may thus be
FROI\l ALCHl!"MY TO CHaUS
'c

represented as in. the following summary:

tfetal1idty, !iquid.ity V (lila tile, but unchanged L~
the fire
M6fCUg'

I nflamma bULty
'V ela tile, and ,~h;angoo in the fife.

~·u

;L"".

'l·r",i,l.~r.{i!'"

1"'''' ,

UDlnfiamma 'bm:ty·

S(jl~

,F(lund in the ashes

Dody

Spirit Water

SQul
A_ir

and Fire

Earth

. y, . h trus ,respectIve 1 a connoeaecn t h" seems at varranee wstn ..L'" 'at scheme, Here is another i" consistency; but if alchemy had an extra prin,e.i ple it, was eertainl y not consistency, In another place Paracelsus called his three: principles.
,+ j

•...1l.Jl I+' nen eonsmeree as maseunne an·d t: temnnne prmcip I es, s.ulphur and mercury were regarded as fixed and vola tile) 'U. n, l' l
m" • ~

THE EM£R(n~NCE OF ALCHEMY

27

ph:lepnaiJ fat and ash: "The ·phlc.gma is Mer'Cu:rius.~'~he f;a~ts i Sll~phtll'.t and d~,~ash is Salt. 'F01" that which "sniokes -and
'!I.•
_.;;I;.. . ~ .

;is.lSaJt. ~ In this par:ticular in terpretation or th,~ tria prima :rnay be :foundl. a ;faint ):foretok-e.ning of the later theO"r,:' of ph1ogt~tQn. (p. Il2·O)., Here· is an example, drawn (rom. t "1!.. fh ~, .~_·L lid' · au;;uem" "dL the ~o:t h 0- '(uti a!iC~'~ntprov'':;ILv 1i..' " f 1.. . ~~j,ato~· :SLm
i:iI . >

evapor.~ne!S oyer fh~ fire [as In the burning of \,v,oocl] .is ~--"""F'U';' U"',l ) .~rhCi,t ¥,la.m·PQ and. Is b·· .11.. _;~ ill> ;';J!lU. urnt _~ f"~·'liph'il~r.' ~~.,,1i:iI: an ~ = ash _ -~ .... ".? ~n,.;J~1

'hav~ long

shadows"

'

..

. .,

III

i'

THE PHILOSOP~HER'S
The Al.ai'nspring oj Alchem;]

STONE

E concept lon 0. f the Philosopher's Stone' was the mainspring of alchemy. It provided an unexampled _ motive po\'\'er, a kind of alchemical perpetual motion, which animated some forty .generations of alchemists, The
'whole history of sci ence,

TI

story of. this im.ag,i ned. S tone' a nd the all ied E1ixir of Life is the most enduring and romanuc epic to be found in the
The nature of the quest VI,,"aS, xpressed succinctly by the e celebrated alchemist and. physician, Arnold of Villanova, a.t about the opening of the fourteen t11 century} in the fa 110\\'ing words '; ~Th~.t there abides in Nature a certain pure matter ~ whi cb, 'being di5cO'vered. aoq, brought by. Art to perfection, converts to itself proportionally all "imperfect bodies that it touches, ~ The idea had origina ted long before that time: when, :it is impossibl e to. sa y ~ Perha ps it was formed at Alexandria in the early centuries of the Christian era, under the f.~tering inn uence of the magical beliefs and. pI actlces of ancient Egypt and of the later neoP Jill tonists and Muslims" The dual conception of the magic Stone and the magic Elixir may be viewed also as, a link between the 'p'rev,ailing theories of the cODsdu.niQn of rna Her and the spiritual ideas relating to the regeneration of man. The' Stone, together with the derived. ELixir, was pictured, in the words of the Emerald Table, 3S "the father of perfection throughout the world, Since the Aris .. totel ians held tha t Nature strives al ways towards perf ection, it seemed logical ro suppose that an agent promoting' such. a process ~hould exi.~t in, N a.ture, The achievemen t ,of ehe 'Grea'lt Work o.f ·preparing the Stone was the final and dazzling g'(),al of alchemists of all degrees. 'To the religious m ystics among them the quest
t

TIiB PII.fLOSOPHER'S STONE

~'9'"

as, jn1.p~rfect marr's .stdving· tQW8bFd~ .perfection; lto the mercenary alchemists J at the -other end: of :t'he sea Iej it~ opened 'Upa vista .. f wealth. b~yon:d the dreems of a v a-rice.. o In the words o~ G'C).e;thej'Gold gives power; 'Mfhout ne'a.]th there Is no enjo,ym,e:nt'l dnd .1.ongevi'lY here takes the place of immortaliry. ' T -0 many at th,.~ pr~,e-nt da y,. the quest of the StO~"terna y apyea;:r as no more' th an a. misplaced D bsession, a useless and time-consuming' .cllimeta:: in, fact", however ~ the dev~10pn1er.c,t ot modern s~en.oe Ow-e:H", an ' .ir.u£lal,O'u'lahle dd"jt. the tedlous.; 'tH\~iting and! 'lLLnre~,,'aif(i,ed appH(;.a,tton to unp]easant tasks 'of so many gen~rattibl;lSof ~HIb()urers in: the' fire, ~as the 'working akhemi~ts, were often called, ' In t'h,e end, thest 'W'~'f.isome 13boars, appar.e'ntIy' !H) " ~ar.ren:.~ briliUlht< fotl{h a, ·.ric~, and lute~pee~ed' na.rv;est by op.ening ~n entry ~)]"!to the modern .sd .. nee. pf eh.em:b.tr~l',. e ,"the \vcir.js o~ the g~at. Ger:man chemist, Liebig': 'The

appeared

to

In

TIldS.t

lively inla.gfnatibn Is n~tcapable bf'~~%evising'~ thought ~bich could ha V~',~"Cte~,nlor~ pO}~¢nllny a,nd .cans:tan,d~l on the minds. 311Jd fawUie-s of m'~~) . than HlaI very'idea. of the PhilQ~rJp]l(Zt'fS Stone, \YHhout this idea, chemisCf)1r 'WOllJ1d n,ot :nOMt stand ln .hs' _ph'e~Jent- ·perfection ..... ~. In ,mtde:r te know mao t lh~ PbUo~pher~s Stone .d~dnot: :reaJlly, ex]s.t~ :~t was indispensa ble ~a~ ~lvery supstallce ~QG~~,~ ble .' ~ " s'i~oulcl, be"obS~~vtd. and. ~xamijjed. . . ~ But it is ~wec'b~y In this .that we per,~ci"Vethe aim05.t. miraoulcus influMce of ~he idea, The; strrength 'of opinion: could not be broken til~ science 'had rea'C:he.d. a certaill; :sta:ge of devdopn-reFJ. t. The des£riptio$ the el';u~tve·Stone,. 'wh{.cll nabooy had ,eVlu handie.d.. or· ·~ven, .se,efi". were n.u.mJl!ifO:US ,and various ... It was ~onertm~ntioned as a -heavy ~ sh.ining po,wdel\, with a. ~rttQng'and. pleasant odour. This f<powdet cf 'pJ1oj erltroo) when ,ted in.celeur, could ttamrtlu~O inlO! gold; when whlte~ om Y 'Into· sil:v:er .In gelleral~ the alchemists attached great importance to eel 0111" andi, chaFlge, of 'Mlaar. '1ndeed, tra:nsmuta:tipit1 was sOlQe1im~s 'called 'ungeing/> '~M~' tingtf~mt ~{ mtttun~'S esset! I. ~u]d tinge the sea, Vifeu: .it

or

!'

FROM Al..t: H E~fY TO CH£MISl"RY

mercury!' exclaimed the pseudo-Luily. This, claim, couched in the gr~and1U()q ene .language u of alchemy, conveyed also an idea of the supposed transm utative potency of the Stone.
P1t!jHJT(lti'om

of tht SiQn.c

The alchemists, deligh ted if.Il paradox, They were much given to. contradictory statements, which are sometimes referred 1:0 more politely as ambivalent ideas, Notably, they held that although the Stone was infinitely diffic.ult to. attain, yet it lay at hand, 'di.ffbsed throughout Nature and awaiting anybody 'having the dear alchemical vision ena bling him. to pick it up, For example, an alchemical engraving 16 IB shows the Stone (dl:epiG:ted as a solid rectangular block) lying on the eartb, drifting in the water, and Boatmg in the ~kyj yet. imperceptible to 'abe unseeing. passers-by, The Glo~ia Mundi, an alchemical work of about it century ear Her (1.526), had. stated that the Stone 'is familiar to aU men, both young and old, is found in the C01Hl try, in the village, in, the. town, in all things created by God; yet it is d.espised by all, Rich and poor' handle it every day. I t is cast in. to the street by servant maids, Children play with it. Yet no one prizes it" though, next to. the human soul, it IS the most beau tiful and the most precious thing upon eart~, and has power to pull down ki~gs and princ-es, Nevertheless; it ~~ esteemed the,vilat. ani! meanest of earthl y things ..~ From all this, ie ought to have been evident to the nninfonned, or exoteric, alchemists, that th'ey stood flo very poor' chance' of reaching the goal: since presumably even if by good luck they achieved. the Stone they would faU to recognise i:t l O~ the other. hand, the informed adepts, or esoterlc alchemists, the self-styled "Sons of Hermes,' guided. by the enigmatic precepts of the. Emerald Table and a complicated body of equally cryptic. information and directions, were confident of ul timate success, provided

or

Fig. 4,

A Rep~e$£nta tion ;fjf

'~he SulphuI-i\{q,dUF'.r"
(SiX 1)" ~(I)

The6l'Y 0r~l\·~[als'
.

'Fi.ery Sword

Fig.

10.

(&M~e) The' Egg and

(Se(l p" ,g6)

Athanor

F l1(. r J ,

The I ~:e'I'mctic 'Vessel in. the

"iIj"Ulj'... JI::.&1Iliil..

'pv.;JILO· "_kJ." pT~l'1?'-R~ ~ ~ . :1~: ~O·- . .t-"lL --0.' C''lf.'''O·~TE

1_ •

C');&;

m-at they Were able to co... ordinate a 'com,p~eX" set of enn... , ditious ,and. infl uenees: , D e~cri--' rions of the onera. lions of the, Great \"iod:: ffii',~ as -, : pI!. - -;- . I'" - ~ ..._ .... . .. ~numerous as they are difficult to dl'sentangl-e and. t¢du,oc to an intelligible form. Moreover ~ ~nnfl131onbeOOmes even worse eonfosmded o~!.ing, to- the :conc:~aled or svmbclic rendering of the .directIons. The preliminaries ~to the operations Qf the Gt.c'at \'Vork }l'r.o.per, cQnldsted 11\ .purIfying ~ta,in so..called primitive m(l.teth:ds~~ fto:~which, the 'P,nl~irn~te m~~errn]swere {hell, Dbtain.ed by the, 3:F.?pEcatio·u ' further' processes of a, cherm,ical nature, The favourite 'i~ik'If'ii'iI'!J'U'tI'' others .l1i':!;'.!Im'o:;.nto i 't1:1 .pr.nnll.uve ma'iIo'enalS,. .4.LU~vl1.~,!I,.Ii.. ;IV'."'~~',l ..... hlnumerable. experimen ts, were gold and 5}1e-r: Purified v gold and ~nV\er' y ielded sophie sulphur and. sophie mercury resp~ctively also knoJVirn. 'utld,er m3ll:Vether n8im,es~, These ptoxim~te rna terials were ..,dlel\1 _~roug'b t together in: the Hermetic Vase, or 'Phi]osQpnerJ8 Egg., This glas~ ~s~d was 'th,en ~berTl'1Iieti..caUyealed' in a flame ,and submitted to s the 'ptcu:essce8 and influences of the , Gnsa t Wovk proper it:! " ...1...,: , J. '. '1 hi ~Qniet]mes. a 'U:llI.',·d' pro::uma:.te matenat, T,_, ,ti,;ROWn, as ~. re ~. salt (or lil'magn~~ia~) and, oft,¢n p'I:~pa':red fr$ll'tti, .qui(ks.ii ver, Ca.;me,an:~othe. scheme, to c:ompl~te: an alchemical tr]n~lY. It. ~ay 'be p'I'Csuraecl that the, ~ate~ialg mendOll'OO, 3bov-e W'JI'e suehas would nO!:Ul.aUy be used by a,n.,a;:clept beJQngilll' to. the e;oteri~ fra,t·ernity .of the, "S~.fis.pf lJ'~~/; but the ~nlnfolirned- exoteric practitioners @if aJ chem,¥, brought many others, int.o play,u, Liebig re<IDgnised, when, he \.\iTO'toe that 'it WM· 'indi'S;pema,ble t'h~t ~very .!;U bstance accessi ble " " . IhQil~Jdbe o~eI"Ved and ex'mnhlod.' Cbaucer" In '~'efe:rl'mg to '{cnJ;r~~endlent,ury alchehli~t .of this kind~ m~nttqJls, .. c
1 • .

of

.:

.~ : ••

:- ,,!-,-

,:'" - ~

.,..:'~ ..

i'Io'

s= .•.

.L;;!'

.< ....

I;;I;__

...

11;..

1Pi
0;.-

J;

--~

M"~nek.!'. sa[ 'armoolal" and "brim.sOOoon. And, iher-'bes ooud~.1 te11e ~~k many a oa~ ,As egrim~:igneJ. va!f1:nanl and, lunarie~ And. cth~r ~u.clt~) H 'that me liSt to tarie ~• " UnBb;'kk«llynu:~:~' dra]~ and ,gla.re, ~ an ey'i P01ild~ dyVcn' ,a'na asih~; dong" and. dey.'
~.r.bJ pciket,bll'. W
~1~ ..

vialo:t;r,; ,i

FROM A.l_CllEMY TO CHEMISTRY

Ami dvvers Fyta, mal.de of woode and. col,~; Sal t tN.rtu,- alcaly, fllnd :9a:h preparat, And eombost ma teres, and" coagula t; G[,~Y' m_adle \V,i III han or mannes hale, and oyle Of tartre, al ym,. glas~.barm, WOI"£,. iilnd a:rgQy Ie,

GnulJ J'Vo:rA The. operations even of the. esoteric alchemlsts were subject to. wide' variations; but the central and crucial feat,ure of the Great \'\''!'ork consisted in 8 prolonged and contt'oUed heating of 'the proximate materials, under the' right conditions in. ,t.he sea] vessel of Hermes. Thereafter it was often supposed 'that the potency of tbe Storlie could be ,grea:.tly enhanced In the process called 'mu]t] .. p,tication.' F·jnallyi.' the 'multiplied' Stone' was added to the £us.,edj base metal ill the: crowning ,op' ration of ~ projection,' there by bringing about a rapid and spectacular transmu ta ticn: Finis tf}ro.lUl~' ojJus! The endless accounts of what was supposed to take place hl the Hermetic vessel and hOI, su bs.idiary operations eon tain it profuslon of 'pn),cesse~~ ffering from wrl te:r to wri ter in di their number, nature and order. Paracelsus held that only seven. processes were' necessary. George' Rip] ey, Canon of ,Bridlington, in, Y orbhire '-, ritlng in the fifteenth century, w laid down twelve ptocesses in his 'Comptnmd ,oj .Ah-k.ymie ,. . .

Precesses

0/ ehe

eo:

COlltn.lting twelve ,Gates,. Another sequence of twelve processes mentioned by Pemety and eaeh tela ted to a sign 'of the Zodiac, is, given below:
I.

Caldnation

.
~ ~

'¥
~ IT
.c:;il

Coug,e]ation !. p'iu. tlon '" So]utioD,

,!.t.

5~ Digestion

'6., Di!:tillacion "I. S ub]lmatio.n 8,. Separ~ don 9\, Deration

I o,

st

1W

'Dl
'~

Fermentation

Ari~ the Ram Tauru~~ the. Bull Geminm" the Twins, CaOOf:T ~ the Crab Leo; the Lion Virg:'o~, the 'Virgin Libra the Scales Scorplo, tbc;:' Scorpion Sag[ttar.iWi!~ the Archer Capde.OfOi.s,. the Goat
t

:U.. Mu1tiplkation
]'2..

:.=: ,A.quariuB:. the Water-ca;r.~

~ PisttS,' the Fishes·

Projection

Some of the names of- ih'ese and other processes of the .. Great Work are used in modern chemistry with Ilttle a] tar.. a,tion of meaning j but others are obsolete~' 'CaJcina tion~ :; or heating in air! led to~the I'fixatiton!~ of fusible metilb, whereby they assumed a perma~t;n:tty solid form, 0;11' c~lx,' which r-es~sted .fu"Ith.er change. ~Distnladont was often depleted as a two-fo~d ~n~ooess; ons.istin,g of" ascension' and c "descension,' symhclised by birds in upward or downward flight. ShnfiarJy, (subHm.ation~ WM represented by swans, doves, and other birds flying upwards. Repeated sub.limation Buppooe4 19 furnish t~e q uint'f'SseJ1ce ~he

su b Inn ed mate.t'ia·L; 801ution" ~tion, and s1!IbH.m,~Iti.on Were considered of such. im,pot'tance that Glauber, in the 5eventee'l'l'th, 'century, summarlsed the preparation of the Stone in the foUowiDg.couplet: _.
DinlJ,l"I;ftht: F.ixl~and mak. the Fwd jI,~ 'TM F(;ing .Fixt llnti Men ·Uve Iw.ppily~
• I ~ .

waS

or

Putre{ae:tion/ or' 'mortifieatlon,' w·er..eterms applied to the. ~death~ of a metal, u~uaUy through the agency of h·ea.t (o.xida tlon) ; "the reverse process !D', ':revfvlfica tiop.,:t or t'resU1rre~tion~ (re.d'lu:don.) ~ was :s,een by the. alchemists as: the resteratien of th.e soul of a metal to its body" These. two ch3ln~ were supposed. to. be shown by the respective appearanee ,of bl3!c'~ and whlte eolcurs, .According. 'to a. widespread a'(:hemic~~.idea, even' gold, the perfec.t metal, h aut tQJ b e mO'ftlfjlif' d_~ or'd:tT to "enahIe ItS seed" to gernunate .l, .. ~ ~n ~ .. ' . or PQWJ when broughe m.ta; a suitable ·Qledium.. "The grai.n. and aU ,re.getah1le seed, when cas'· into the grQund~ ,must d,ecay before it can .s.rprin,g up a,gain, ~wrote Paraeelsus, ... ""..J.': · In quonng '8, common mcw;~a.1· rmsconeepuon. Th' '...e dL ~ process o.f .-conjunction I' was regal d ec as tne 'U_Iuon~· or marriage, of' male and f~HU-e, Sol and Luna, sulphur and mercury, fixed' and volatile, t·oad and e~gle':II'and so for-tho In. "cibation,' the vessel was fed.with fresh materia].
1:
C
i , I

l'

FROM Al..C11:E.MY TO CHEAUSTRY

"Circula'lion:' was a con tinuous form of dis til la don ,in a closed vessel, This. proce~.s 'was, often carried out In a twoarmed pelican (Fig" 9) ~or sometimes. in a double 'pdican" elba tion was also linked with the fab le of ehe pelican nourishing its. your,g with blood. trickling from its own breast (Fig~9)' -

Fig. 9.

The' Alchemical Pelican

names-a pp] ied to. al,che_mf.cw, operations, there were tV{Q of peculiar importance" because they were applied. to the last two of the series of proct:ss'e5 culmina ling in transmutation, According to a. funda .. , mental chemical renet, the' Stone, or powder of projection, when obtained in its first form would be increased enormnusly in potency by. a proeess of, "muhipl ica tion I' Here, 8:gain."So'me. confusion is ~pt to arise'; because the same term was used by the gOldmaken to :sigrDify the a ugmen ta tlon or an ,or.igiIla] supply of..gold by 'Using it as a !:tarting pnint jn uansmutative exp.er.im,e'nU. Ripley. stated that tne' M,edicine (Ston~) could. be multiplied ",infyn yt1y" with
i

Of the .D'J!any other eommon

mercury; tGD. parts !l:being multyplyed lyke\VYS:J Into ten thousand myHyoru~ that ~ for to sey, ~hlyth so grete a number ,I wo.te, not W no t. yt ys,/ Subtle, in Ben JOMont-s, play, 'The Alchemist (1·61 s), expresses U1C same idea. 'when he says!

',. - -..... -'. --" -- ' " .-C' 1'-' L_.- Ii-- _.'1 opera.~~on- 0( :'ipt0Jec '--li' en, II! "". lin}" amount ,- ,0" n ... '..n~ -- "j"":" iUJ.e 2, the preeious pewder, us'-ual[~' wrapped in paper" or enclesed ,. ik "L ·b'] m wax" w,as tneown ~ mte ... midst 0'r a ''J!.... - d <::11011(:1 - - ,e ene ,.,J neaite',

oontairting the quiicksHvel" I' molten. lead", Dr other '1lL'lB terial ':to Be transmueed, Tne pseud()-Ro~ Bacon: clalmed that .th~ ,perfect Seone was a ble m rransmtlh'!J a ~mHr--pn. tm",e;s, its OWI"1"_ weJigh.t 6f a Base metal i,~tQ gQld. 9:f broi~rr pufi~y j ,,'1. 1 'IL'~ ~ti· - unc er the name (} ,PL'".aiebies;, d :1.... r :ul ~' L anotllter I!! cu~emjst, ","~, rig figul'e~ afi,d contented htrti5elf 'by sa ylng dla t I;yam a:rithm:e'tic' will 'fail ,SG'Cner tlhm its all- .. revaUing p giving a 'higber
-. ..-- !t

in hie, Guide

tl)

#W' Cdes~ialRu~y~modestly refr:ai:ned ftom

'

,PQ,wer;

TA~ Vast, rif',H~

'T,ne o-peradons of tho Great 'Wor.'k found 'their ~-um .., ~ '. ,t. L ,; L,__ .. '1 m~tion In: tile Ji:i,~rmetu:;a'[1 seaie d- ~',.essert Jdlnwn in a 1-'(';lmly ' y ...1 V und~ '~y namBj! notably ms the Vase ,of Hermes, the
't l"

~,Me

0',

[.-

~h~"Pt"it resembled a pear rather than an egg'i 'bu.t the pear hact no, alchemical ~ignificarlIJ:e1 'whereas the e8B' was the symbol of ,er,ea:ti'OD_ Qr of futility. Indeed, the: Vessel waS;v also reg~rd~~ as: ,il brooding home or mcu'balQt under the n~,e ,ot the House ,.of the' Chick.. Among, its ether naln~~,
j;

h Phil' L 'L P hil ''I,-,h tr e '" ImQ!;JQP'uer:9,) '01:" the ,'-.j, 050P.li.eJ',S 'E ~_. ->g~.
C

''If'

,Jin

'Wer.~ the Ho~~ 'of Gl~s: and, the PdsQn ,of the K~nJ.' .
.

FROM ~\.l.C HEMY TO Cl-lEM lSTRY

U s,uaUy the' description of the vessel and of the exp er imenta] conditions to which it: "..-as subjected were couched in nebulous and, obscure langu~ge, 01" T'epr,ese:n ted by sym bolical drawi ngs. Jus t as, the Vess el its elf was hermetically sealed, SOl was everything pertah"llng' to it guarded by the i Sons, of Her-mes 35 a sealed body of know] edge and ritual, sacred to these priests '0.£ 'the Divine Art." It was certainl y not to' alchemical writings that the tyro of alchemy
j

could turn for cleat experimental directions.

If he' did so,

the indication was clear enough. In alchemical par] ance, the sword and oth er sharp and 'woundIng instrurnen ts denoted fire: thus Mars and Vulcan are iron and fire, and. the eb ick is the PhUooopher~'s. Stone, This symbollc ,oo-gr \ling appeared in I 6 IS;, but ].a.;u~r a on the secrets began [0 leak out, and a straightforw'ard illustrarion with precisely the same meaning was given a hundred years afterwards in Barch usen's Elementa Chemi ae (Leyden" - [7' I ,8). This shows the heating or the sealed Vessel in an athanor, or alchemical furnace, fired by
charcoal (FiS>
I,

the best he. could hope for would be an illustra tion after the manner of Fig, 1:0, wi th the ill urn inadng advice to a im a 1the egg 'carefully, as, [$ the custom, with the fiery sword; let. Mars lend his aid to. Vulcan, and thence the Chick arisi ng' will be conqueror of Iron and. fire. ' A rnariua] of practical chemistry based on this model would be intriguing rather than informative to the modern student; but to the adept

1:) .

The adepts attached special importance to' fire, their chief agent, w hich they often personified as Vulea nJ or Hephaestus: this 'fire ..god, bavin,g, been born lame, was, sometimes depicted as a.. man with a wooden reg. A distinction was often, drca,'\'D between eelestial, or crea tive, fire,. and common el emental 'fire, held to be destructive in its effects, There Were various regimens, or- degrees, of fire (er hea t), ris]ng H"Om lha~ of a broodi ng hen through the water ..heat of a water- ba th (or ~sin ..marill) , and the sand ..heat of a 'bath of sand ,Of' ash, to the naked heat of a

THE PHILOSOPHER'~S' STONE.

37

fire.. N orton, the fifte.enth-century alchemist Bristol! wrote. that 'n,odting may 'let [binder] more your desires, Than ignorance o.f Heares of your, Flers, ~ Accord .. .""" , h-'," ~G'"' 'b'ars C OO.t'ii.CS [G" ,Ib"~ s ,CQO,M :!J..~ "h' e eon .. _, 1_~]Ulg to 101:11 '" ,e, ',,:'",e_:er temptuously termed the exoteric alchemists, were woefully 1-,~tL~ , bid ., .t.. ~ b ." . ,OOM~ J,~ng !II t 'Its matrer; ·_'B.Jute itj,ielll' ,a_SOTp-t10.n m b i~_ lie held tha t ~,Aparfet Ai aster ye male him cal I trowe, vVhich knoweth his lieates.. high and low} Norton him~eIf Invented a ne,w klnd 'Of furnace, \i'Ir~~eh ,a.pp~'fently ,p·ro,ylded an. hn.proved adjustmen.t heat (t·e.tllpcr.a'ture). 'Of this b,~ wrote, after the secretive manner of the adepts, in. his OrdifUJll of AJthimy (l4 i") ~
"l~"
m

bare

or

'ar

..,..

\Vhieh suhiU FUr1iSlct I devised alsoe, In 'Whi·~h r.:Quf!Ld manie W'~e.l·1 moa 1 'Than 'is ctQfivenie.nt at ithis season to 'tell,

The processes taking pl ace within the Philosopher's Egg were often ~ lkened -to incu batlon, and. therefore time was accounted a signlfieant factor, Count M~£hael 'Maier" writing in ] 6 [1l held that "Nature~s time is extremely iong:; and, the' fashion. elf her concoctien is unjfo~; and her fire vety slow ~ 'That nf ,Art, on the other Isand, is, short;, the he.aling is controlled by the wit of the a:rtist, as the fire also is made intenser or milder. ~. Sometimes, from a $upp-o!ed. my%ticaJ re1ation.!;;]hi:p with' the seven metals of alchemy and the seven major hea.ven]y bodies, the opera ... " [ions were limited to seven, occupying seven cia ys.. A 80-' called 'philosopher's month' of forty da ys often adopted .. Stil] ]onger periods were indicated in the statement that the

,V~

r-egimen. of S,at UITJt, of blackness"

fortieth
t,!j

Such a prescrlprlon held. aJsp fbr the opera lions of the ,Or·eat 'Vork" except t ha t ·]ittle or no ~utelltion was usually given

the, ex perlmene,

the, ninetieth da.y, rn 'modern th.'em,!c~] processes" the na ture and propor... don~ of the reacting materials, the physical conditions of
and the 'time I are

alone lasted from the

an ca.I''e(uUy la·jd,down,

Ii'ROM'ALCHafY

TO eM F..JI,'IIST.RY'

to pmportlons. 'The requirements of the Great Work:l however, were much more complicated and exacting than those of modern practical chemistry .. Particular at tention had to be given to the astrological infll!lel1ce~ prevailing throughou tits, duration, It 'w'as held tha t the' terrestrial operations had '(.0 be harmcnised with celestial influences. According' to Norton, the pre para tion of the Stone Inust begin \~fitJJl the S un ~n the zodi acal sign of the Archer and "vith the Moon in that of the Ram; and it must end under the oonjun.ctive 'influence of the Sun and A100n in the Lion. Sometimes a sign of the Zodiac. was alloea ted to each. 5pecifie pro~ess (p, 32). Thus, Ben JOIllson~s alchemist, Subtle, observed:
. 'I!... .. How IS the moon now!"
~J!gr1
'I

'Il..

~ ....a t, PUle; ten ea y,s henee, ..'

He will ~ silver potate; then three daY' ,Defore he eitrcnise: some fifteen days The magisterium. will be perfected.,

Another great complica don was bound. up 'with the idea of the appearance. of a definite sequence of colours during the progress of the Gvea t '\'York. According to BasH ~Va]etltine~1 'the Matter of the Sages passes through the several varieties of colour . " .. as often as a new- gate of entrance is opened to ehe fire . Some' adepts held the sequence to be black, white, citrine, and red, aesccia ted
1

severallv with the four elements and the fout" 'humours, lofthe human body: earth and black bile, water and phlegm, air and yel] (Jf\'V bile, fire and blood. Also) 'when a certain

stage' had been reached, within the. Hermetic Vase, the appeara nee of the ra inbow colours o f .the peacock's tail assured the adept th a t he was on the right pa tho 'Betwixt Black and \Vhyte sartyne, The Pekokes fethers wyll appear plaine, ~ asserted Charnock in I 5·t'4. Blackening denoted complete putrer~.odon;. and; as Norton 'wrote' in. ] 4 'Red is last in work of A/limy. If red foreran black, the vVork had gone astray ~ as also if 'the

,.':t.

young ones of the ,rrrGrwwent. baek to their-nest,' in. a return

After reeapitu .. latirJl,g the colours of {he: Gt~at Werk it} his Twt;l~ Gdies~

tlf the black, C'O.lqUT later in the sequence,

Ripley added: "And after" ~11't'hyS

appere 'Lite bled Red:. invaryahle, Then. .hast 'th.ou 'a lV1OOc:yn Qr the thy.rd. . _..l. '. iQ(rUer 0··f· hv ,ys, .... .... 1......J: owne fi.ynue """.,. lin!" 1· .'b]e. lV.!llihlP yca.· ..~ SHU another factor which some of the mysttcal alchemists Go:m,rdered impo'rhult in ,th~ opet:a bODS Qf the Great Work
'Il ' ," ••. ': I ;.

shan

'was ,ascr'l.i)ed to the ulfiu.en,ee of :mUSIC. 'This eoneeetion .. .....,~. ?'~. .:1;;.. 'p,..~ h < 'L ~.. f" L • ansJng rrom the .... y.t,·a;,gQlie:an em,p:u:;B$'lS upon· t:nntluctt; ·
i. •
h'

ha01l0:ny

ji

Much, like proportlous be in A IJdmy'o; , . ,Fin.~ly'j even if the keen pur.suer of the Sto'ne were able .. to cd"';o:rd.ina,t~ the c"J~emicaJ.t ph ysical, and as:trolj)gica.l "iQ:Huences throughoul th}lf ~~ho}.c, 'OOUfS:C ~.f his o~at1ofISi ~o produce the ·t,ight~celour sequenee; and to provide a is.uita ble musical aecompanimem; he .might :still fall ~atthe 'la'51 fence and fail to reaeh the. fltd!h.. There. was another ,. im.port'ijn t a\nd. .fonrridalble condhion: the operator had to' - - - --f'.~ . -. -'r b .. ,.. ~ ,- _. .. u~IJ1". be p_r ~yu~ 'an d pur~ - Q." ueart; or." to quote - 0:- J" cason s sn phrase, ~,hom()' .fnjg.i~ a,. pious holy" and religious loan, one' free' .f.rom. mortal sin" a. very virgi.n.' Th.a. t. is why" The Al(;h~iJt, owing to the I amenteble backs']klin~ of Mamm;f),(l ~·ul).'~J to]dhi'm at the crucial .stage or til e 'oper.a ti~ifi-S e that the Grl~·.atW'or.k ~'h3S~~trpodstill this half haur: and all the rest of OUI~ less. '\"V6rk~gone back. ."Even as" Subtle seoke. there r.a"']r'"l,~ gr'IG~~ nois a!:nd , ack ~~thinj'· .and '~a··. -·r .p,...... . Face, his assistant, -.rus,hed. forward 'wIm - the faltai announce.ment:
..5-

'f,ea,eb.ed. its apotheosls in. (he \'Vl'iti'ngs of Count '~fichacl '~ier Ii and f.lund its patticulat ,ex,~r,es5ion. (p~~ in h~ 0'$) pieture.sque werk, Atal'anta Fugiul£ (] ~i[.s).. The supposed influence of sui table, mnsle upen the processes within the Hennetie V;ase 'Wa! linked: q'uhe logicall y wi (h Qt.ner alth.emic~J conceptions (p. 68).- Notb)-n, in 141'7, 'pointed 'Out to. the alchemical a.d~t that just Q,S "accords wh~eb In ,~{u~ic'kbe; '\-¥ ith their proporeions eausen Harmony ~

and music, ,in ,the geru~ral s'Chml,e ..Qf th~ universe,

in

it

:Ii.

-"'''''''

.....

-!'UV

·~··,a~fo

~,!I,v

-.

!,

FROM A1.CHE.l\.iYTO. CHE~nSTRY

th~ worb Ar-c flown i~Jum(J" ew:.ry glass is. burst]

Furnace and aU rent down ~as if a bolt 'Of thunder had been driven through the house, R.etort:Sll reeei vers, pelicans, bolt-heads AU seruek in shiv,en.!

o :drJ' 'we Me' de.feated l' all

An engraving of the alchemical mystie, 1" Heinrich .Khun:r,ath~ ,sh(JWS him at. his devotions in a large room, one side of which is, fashion 00 as an oratory and. the oth.e.r as: a labora tory . Again.~ the' pra yerfu.L sec recy essen tial for the accomplishment of the Great V\tork lies embalmed in the alchemica 1 aphoris m : Dr«, ug,~~ Lege! Le.ge! Relege, Labors lel l,u,..,nt,:s CPrayi!' read, read, read, read again, ton ~ and

thou shalt find'),

IV • ALCHE'MICA,L , C'R Y'.PTICISM A,ND SYMBOL,;S,M

~.

TJu S"mbois ,of 41c,kr:m}

l

AJ,ch~ 'if took ov,er as, an ,inh'ef],t,aru:;,e fl',Qm p,re-.hi$t(;)ry dl'~ 'US:-c, f symbols fo'r exp[.essing~ abstract and HI-com preo hended ideas, The earliesa and most W'ide~)t U8€d~,alcnemjcal syrnbols W10:T,erhose ,d~noti ng the: four elemenas ~ and tllt; seven lnetals. AIthougn their ori.gip;s are unknown" threir .sha pes a're' ;·often,stlggestiv~ of the thfrtg represented, In 'the symbols IOf the :fo'ut"eiem,eltts (Figa. / [,2 and 20), the tiian~]e of tire point;~up,w:ards; suggeSdng 'sharp ,ascending pE:rtid es i, whH e that of water ~ the opposedelemen ~', pointsl '. h town w,a:r:u. ' .::1 . '~bl '. 'l. ,'to t. e downward pat 'h"0.. a pom.:uera .• '.II,.e par..uc'e Ff'i!t.., -, ,iI, ne ba:I''[;ed.~. r laden, symbols of air ffnd earth. are ib:di~d 'V~ of o increased w,eight a.-50 compared whit the unbarred "Sy,aiboli. of -similar disposition. . The s~lbels for fire and !ttl pbul" {PJg:. '20) ~ to,ge~b.er wJth the' l~U~;r ~ymho[ for phloglSioll,i sliow a c6ntirauity of the underlying idea ~ all three have the. upward .. ointing p ~ri~n~le; -tor sulphur a: cross is:~addw ''1,0. the 'base- of the sbnpi~ triangle nf fire; ~fjd for pMlogi$)~on. a small circle 15'. h~~ett6d.i.n each !A.ng]e of the symhel 'fqir sulph lit~ The 't1ssocia.tion the hea v:ehl y b.oClies. wi:th the known
metals '~nd

,~hQwi-th human (irgaru ,eL:n.d d~.~ffii,(S goes back

,of

~:

!!fROM 1"\LC] 1E.MY T'O CIIEMlt5TRY

to ancient Chaldea~ the land of astrologera,

w,ords:

In Chaucer's

'The hooi~'iI: seven, ee.k~ ]Q heer anon. Sol geld is,. :and Luna silver We dedat>C1; ''''I'-,~ .. 1_~'~ JlV~lJ yron~ M:ercu_ne IS qUy~b'\l'et; ,. Saturnw leed, and J ubltur 15: tyn, And Vrnm eoper, by my fathen kyn..

The sym.bols of cirele and crescent for the noble metals, gold and silver are c.1ear~Y' derived. from the familiar shapes of the two major. .he;a~enl'Y bodies, to which the metals we're' .assigned because of their colour and perfection. Qm~ silver- (Fig. 13.) ~ with a sign perhaps derived from the caduceus of the mess.enger of the gods, has a. quick 'mercurial ~movement, like that of the planet, The so-called looking-glass of Venus and. the spear and shield of Mars, representing also feminine and masculine characters" have sometimes been assigned a phallic deriva tion: the iSYJO.bol of Venus has also been likened to the IlMh,j C:rU:< ansata, ,or handled cross of ancient Egypt "Fig. 6), denoting ~he:S;un~s ~ife~g1.viogorce to things earthly, f Iron was looked upon as. the metal, and Man as the planet, DC war. Dun and heavy lead Was ]inked with. slow ..moving Saturn, d,en,Q'ted by a symbol derived from the scythe of Sa turn, or t he initial of Kronos, "old Father Tlme.' Tin, because of its bright .. ness, was conjoined wlth the bright 'planet" Jupiter ,;,more ... over its 'crackle' when bent. suggested the noise of Jove!'!. th under bel t; its symbol rna y have been derived from the. th underbol t" Of' from the Ara,bi,c sigp of 4, or fr'Qm the
t i

Greek 101eial letter of ZeuSl~

Corresponding names were bestowed upon salts of these metals by the alchemists, and some' of them have. persisted down to the present day. Some examples are: lunar caustic (silver nitrate}; vitriol of Venus (copper sulphate); sugar of Saturn (lead acetate}; and vitriol of M:an ot martial vitriol (ferrous sulphate). I n. such fanciful ways an, extensive sys tern of symbols ww; gradually built up by the medieval alchemists to cover the
j

many materials, prlJ~Ga'5~s nd forms of app.ata;tus concerned a · " . A._ .. '1 u, .m tt.h~err ope·ta nons, ~, usua 1 in ai c h.'Ymy~.mere-was a lack 'of lmiformity m. the. application of th_~e(sym bills; even ..gaid Wras rep(l"-esent.e.d in more than ~sixtywa ys., A ~hart selection ·ofsuch sYmbol~, us~ ,in the 'se'Ven teenth ~:tur-Y!l is shown

in. Fig.

I 2.

To add to the

cQnfilSi9il"

the .alchetnj,eal

fra,ternity ['ev'el.1oo. in anagrams., eeresties, secret alphabets,

and. ciphers. Moreover, they supplemented a grandiose W~i~~ of ph;:;tofial 5prtbelisDl wl-tll ,aJJ~gol'i·c;;al allusions. The,ir lmag;in.~d.o\ij~ran riot· in 'repre5efi tations of appa.rat'lUll and. ope'4':a tiOIJS 'by a wetteI' ~f bltds and. animals '.' -both '~e;d and. mythic~J=-",;'figures culled: fttlm, the :ancient myth.o·log-],es; g.~metcicaJ designJ~ and. at·het. :,enibl!'}ws m an almost
im.""n~'~:lf:Ilff varietv ~
...... ~~~ ~~ • :-, ~I •

44
A, ,ru ,

FRO~t ALCoA Rf\'1 V TO Ci-'II: :M'r S·r ({:"If

I~"

'L~bl remar k-'.Ji thev " ~ ieu 11 ~ -.:y 'pmpouni'd ed ~ an unm t el• m ligible language that which, in their own 'minch, was only' the fa1nt dawn of an idea.' Th U'SJ Philalethes doubtless in a 'mood, of alchemical .exaltation; deseri bed sophie mercury as 'our doorkeeper, our balm, aUF' honey, oil, urine" may .. dew, merher, egg:tsecret furnace, oven, true fire, venomous Dragon, Theriac, ardent wine, Green, Lion, Bird of Hermes, Goose of Hermogenes, two-edged sword in the hand of the Cherub that guards the 'Tree of Life . . . it is Our true, secret vessel, and the Garden of the Sages, in which our Sun rises and sets. It is our ~ .. .:'--but this is enough to iUu~trate the extravagant heights to which alchemical
j

with d.is"" tineti ve colour schemes, semew hat after the manner ,of heraldry. There were, for example, the red ldng (gold, sophie sulphur, or the Stone); the white, or blue, queen (silver O'r sophie mercury), the grey wolf (antimony sul.. phlde) ~and the black crow (putrefied or mortified rna iter) ~
t

ex-pression could aspire. This efflorescent bn.agery was often eeupled

Alclte.mil;tll ETligmas One of the earliest known alchemical enlgmas is previded by th.e Form rna of the Crab (Fig. 3), occurring the. da. wn of alchemy (p.. ro and, represen ting a puta tive 6) method of making an Imitarion gold. The second s,ym'bol of thl& ,cryptic Formula has been said to 'fe'fer to ~:tthe a] l!~ or 'universal matter ; the crab to fixation; the tenth 3c}iTIlbol to the Philosopher's Eg;g: with the appropriate ending, blessed is he who gets understanding,' ... h -., h {i .. - ., . Th e 1,3: rer i!rJ1cr enusts . e r.... 1n supersntrous reverence. a ~O . ... called Riddle of the Stone, 'known as the' 'Vitriol Acrostic (Fig';, I 3.). This was: often ass oci ated with, the. Emerald Ta ble, and ascribed. to the: mysterious Basil Valen due. In it, around a central design, ther-e is, a Latin inscr[pdon :signif)fi~g: "visit the inward parts of earth ,;,by 'rectifyin:g' thou shalt find the hidden Stone, t The initial Latin
jI t

in'

ALCHEMICAL

CR.'YPTICISM

~'lD

SYMBOLlS,M

.45

letters,

sigr.dfted a shiny crystalline body. The top of the d.i(~::dgnshows the ,eanj unction of Sol ,and Luna (rophie
VITRlOLJ

sv1phur and sophie. merrury)j' under die. astro]og1eal In.. ftuenc.e of the 'planets Mars" Saturn, M.erC.UfYIi Juph.e.r". and

. Fig. 13~ Th~ Vitriol Acrostic 'VeIlns

in that order" The satumine symbol lS, darkened (p. (8)., and. the symbol of ~[ercury supports. .a co.p 01" chal ice ~ w hkh may, ]JOSS iblY be: likened to the Holy GraIl, a medieval s)"Jfipol IOf physical and s-piritual1ife. The mercurial symbol rests in turn 'upon an or b, .repre .. sendng· the Stone, The five-poInted star beneath. this is.
j

shown

46

FROM ALCBEJ.\.fY'TO C[ IEM[STRY

,non

suggesti~re of the fiv,e metals" corresponding 'to the planets, above. On the left~these metals are shown as. originating from the two ",:5,eeds.~ (sophie sulphur and sophie mercury] of the encltlsing circles, The. hoops on the right, :may perhaps refer to' the Ourcboros, or tail .. cating s,m"pt'ntl! e (p~ 2 5.)~ the symbol of reju,,"'enation and ,of eternity. The' and two ..headed eagle- :dgnify the fixed and v,ala tile p:rmdpr~; pointing 'lingers -are reminiscent of moon talismans, but 'the. outstretched fingers may mean a benedlctien ,j; and the cu tside square rna y s-ym'fuoHse. the four elements, The ornaments>. in the four corners, are' ,adventitious additions. Such representations, although they might ,awpear as haphazard jumbles to the ]a.ym.a.n"
ronv'eyed

a. wealth of meaning to the inhiated ~ Sow of

Hermes.'

llterature abounds in enigma tical repre= sentatlons of this genera!. type. Some of them were comp,l~,. They were often furnished with dar'lk:, and unhelpful allusions, as. ror example in Basil Valentine's TW'e/f.J8 1frys. Liba vius somewhat more relenting in his A.lchJmill (I 606) ~ went so far as' to give a, ,s,ystema tic Iettered deseri ptlon of several remarkable designs, the simplest of
Alchemical

very

In Wil",'l"'h, ~,i5 reproduced h_.... H ", ,.' , ,"';"'., r

F''l"a '1'4 ',15+

L.,

u - e. Ji,"'l,er,)~,'"

'A)' ~"','a double011':;' , ',I""" :lv

'bodied linn with, one. head, where~by is signified the first matter of the Stone+ ~. . (B) Lions on both 'Si,~~ as if on the starr of Solomon" five in all, to sig.oify five metals from one root. ~ .. These can pass into 8un. and Moon. . . ~ (0) A picture of the Sun, {D) ,A picture of the Moon, (E) A bath, in which sits a King with a Quee'n. This is, also the type of the marriage-bed, for the procreation of their kind. Also a garden with a tree in :it"iI!JeM"'ing the a.pples of the, Hesperides. "F) ,A 'K[ng with a crown and sceptre decorated with Iilies .... ,. (G) In the middle, a tr-ee bears gnlden frui U, while golden stan surround crowns, to signify multiplic..atiQn and Increase, or else the frmt 'of projection.:~ In brief) the sheddlng of their gannents bY' King and

fi;g.

7" The First Key 0:1' IkL5il Valentine

(if',

,-:JM

In s:

~'J''''''J

f!'fi',

,ALCHEMfCAL
i ~.

CRYPTICIS.U

.AND. S-YMBO~LISM
+

47'

Queen ~ytnboHses, the elirnina tion of impurf tie~ from the 'I • '. ..ill pnzmtrve matenals In preparing' t-'he proxima te ones.; ann the Bath .or Fountain of the Philosophers is an Image of the menstruum in which the. re.suld.,tlg. sophie sulphur and. sophie metf.ury are conjom¢d~ +

Fig" ]4~ The 'B·ath of the 'hilo;sQph~

The Figures of Ah.rnlJ4m Of otll't.<rtanding and compelling in terest in tnc vast Ute.ratur:e of medieval alchemy is a :short work ascribed to N icholas -Flarnel, a Parisian v'~ne:r whQ ls: said to have lived. from I 3,s,o to !418~, nd to ha ve a.cquir¢d great. weal tit .. a

'

sen

T~is \ffl ting was first poll blished in EiIlg]ish.. n ]6~4~ in the ~ form .of .a modest little book of r 3 g, small pages, now extremely rare, It is. entitled: 'iNichulas Flarnrlle~J' 'His

FROM ALCHE)'fV

TO C Hl,M1STRf

do ..... int ao 'l':'Tli 0'1l$JUIi OU" ",I!' "',,,,, r-: !Ii,r~",j:1. an L/~'",n~ ..... ~',('~o ! "t.. our ~' W~D' ;E'r' ,,,,, -~-d ',a... " " ... "'~l.i! 'e '_" C()pie,~. Imprinted. at Utu/(flt by T~S+ for Tnoma.J; Walklry~ and. are to bee solde at his Shop, at the ,Eagle and ·~d In ",', iI'l , C:Ii " Ch Iii. le ., B· lam Bsrsse, '[U24. " 'r~
""e:]:'a~:O"l""'v Jj." ]I'II.~!l:: y~11c
a. ~
i

'fi'i~. ~'." 'f ene " 11C:rOg 1.. 'h"·"'~l ,,~gu'~' hi ~...J ~pOOJtlon ~ 0_' ... '8-'" - ~ "--] YPlcth F'!" res" W_~_CuL 'h e eausea to bee 'painted. u po.n an Arch in 51',. lnn,bc~nt:s Clu.tr,'clly.41:d~ hl Par]!,!,. Faithfully, and (al' the Maiesty. of tke thing requireth)

the s)'Ill,bol:ism, of medieval alchemy, especially as his coloured mural paintings remained on pu blie vi~ in the arcade of the chur:cllyard of the I nnocen ts ~ in P:am" from ['¥7 until dlt, end of alchemy in 'the eighteenth century. Throughout thi8 long period indeed i' the arcade was looked. upon as a sacred shrine by generations of alchemists. I n, this circumsta ntial ace-punt Flamel relates that in spite: of early hardships he was a ble to ,e~.rn. his livi ng after the dea th of hl~ parents ~by :m~king Tnventories, dressing accounts, ~ and the like, Then, without further preamble he stares that. 'there fell into ;my hands, for the sum of two Florens, a guild.ed. Boeke, vel1" ord' and large " .' the cover of it was of brasse, ",,',¥IJ b~und~ all engraver.. with letters, or strange ~gure:g.' Tll,e W:ri'thlg _w,as supplemented, on every s,~nth ]eaf, ;by a series of sy,m bolical paintln,g:s~. Thc5'C 'Were often called the Figures. of Abraham, the Jew, since according to F'J amel the name of this "prince, priest, Levi te, astrologer" and philosopher' was wri tten '.in g.r.eat Capital] Letters of gold' 'UIJOIl the first leaf of the book. The 'paintings were Iu u of fa,ire figures ..fml£gJdencd • • '. :Cor the worke was very exquisite'. ~ Among them was one of a,',)(HIg ~ni!2n, ith 'wIngs at his anekl es having in his hand a w CadUtfUatt, rodds, wrlthen about ,¥ith. t'NO Se,rpmtJ . , .' against blm there came running and. flying with open wh-l.gs~ a great old man! who upon. his. head had. an ,hr)uj'8~glasse' Iastened, and in his hands a. hooke (OF sithe) like D,e,{lth" with the which, in terrible and furio-us manner ~hee w01JJld have cut off the feet of ,\1'e;tury.'
j
i

Flamed 's picturesq ue ilarril.tive, '\¥it'll the ,accorti'!pan ring' ",Hierogl yphicrul IFigul"'es" " exercised a great ,inA uence upon

II.

'I

ALCHEl-:UCAL CR YPTICIS:1'..f .MiD SYMBOLISM

49

argentiferous lead, where by the impurities sink lnte the. porous cupe] and the 'fix:edt pure essence of'silver, otherwise sophie mercury ~is left ~ Saturn, or Krenos, .identified. with lead, has cut off the feet of the impure form 'mercury' (sih~ef")contained in the argeat iferous lead, thereby yidding pure and irnrno bile sophie mercury. Another em blem (Fig" 15, u) shows a tree with Whl te and red. ft.o",'ers growing 'on the top of a very hlgh mountainf , which was sore shaken with the }((Jlt'~ ,winil~ and infested 'by , dragons (sophie mercury) and gri Hins. (a combination of Bon and eagle} or fixed and volatile}, Here, the white and red .fiolven stand "for the whl te ,~Jtd red seages of the Great \Vork, A third emblem (Fig ~ 15, In) depicts. a garden traversed by a stream of white water, running rap!d]y "among .. e h hands of infinh~ people, which di.ggecl."in 1-h"e.-Earth. 's~king "for it;, but because dlGY were blinde, :r.tn~e ofth~ kneW' it, 1 except here and there one which ecnsidered the wdghl. .. This. was the Hermetic Stream, ,often described ;oy the alchemists as "heavy water,' 'or C,"rater not w·etting the

'TId! emblem

(Fig. 15, I) signifies the cupella don of

of

By tar' the most. famous of the' Figures qf' Abraham (Fig. 15~ tv) ~ consisted of a painting ~'a Kin:g wi th a grea:t' 1!imcfdcmji who made to 'be kilfed in his presence by' some S()ul.din:s a great rnul dtude of Iittle Infants ~ whose :Mothers wept at the feet. Qf the unpi tdfiJll Souldier s: the bloud of which bifan.ts was afrerwards by other Souldiers 'gathered up, and" put In a gteat"veMeU" wherein the &:~ and. the "Mo.f)1!~ <;am,e to ba.the themselves.' To thi-s description, FlaJllel added: i'And because thal this History dId represent the more part of that. of the .1mrUc.ent's slaine by Herod . . . J p~ aced 'in their Ch.u.Tc!:a:p,d these Hiuo.g.lyjJ·h.i,i;, Sym~o.ls of this secret science.' ,Flame] also describes, \Y't th close attention to vestments .~nd colours, the central figure of the !:k.;viour: flanked by

h~nd$i'

or

those "of St,. P'aul and St. Peter, "t~th Flame! and .his ""ife,

~o'

FROM ,AtCHEM:Y TO CHE'~.nST:RY

Perrenelle, kneeling 'beside them, The significance of' colour ,is emphasised in the sta tement ; '~.Ihave also set against the 'wa] l, on the one a:nd. the 'other side, a ProtesJie:tt, in which ate: represented by order all the colours of the ,stom'~J so as they eome and goe, with this writing in French: Slellt est Imct,

M"ul~ plO,ut,d, ,Ditu praasr:i'M,

,dtwtitm;

The imagery of these extensive mural paintings was therefore of mingled alehemical and tel igious s,ignificanoe,. In on~' respeet the centra] a] legury of the Mus acre, of the Innocents", represented in this dual manner and prcclaimed so publicly, was l.1:nforbula te; for it ]brought some dlsrepuee ~o the alchemists by suggesting that possib]y they had a" 'professional in terest in the blood: of infants. In. actual fact, of course, this, alchemical 'Use of the poignant biblical story

Was merely one a mo:n g' n umerous renderings ~ inducli'ng' fot:'

instance that. of Libavius (Fig~ [4)~ depicting the Bath of the Philosephers. Flamel himself was troubled about this emblem until he had studied 'the Boo.Jr,~of the' Philos()phers, and bl them learned their SiO hidden. secrets,' 'with the interpretarion of infants ~ 'blood as, the mineral sp'irh of metals, 'p[ln.cipaJiy' ,in the SU'IlJU', /JO(}JU, and ,Mercury. The cryptic languaJ,ge of ~he "guUded Boeke' was indeed the ea we J "that durine: the space of !7~~ .and' twtnry )"'eer;~ II I, tryed a" thousand, broulleryes [misconceptions], yet never with blQUd, for that was wicked and vHlanous" I'
ill

AI'J Alchemical Epic 'Flamel succeeded att' ,length in 90Iving'. the mys~eriles of' the' cguildedl &oke by entering Upona ~engthY' and l"O',mandc.pllgr]ma~~ which t,a'11ks:high among the epics of' alche"my. His abortive studies of'the writings and. ,etnbleIJB;
t

ALCHE'MICAL: CR'Y:PTICISM

AND SnmDLfSM

.5~

he ;says::;,'made-me v,err heavy and .scHitary t and, caused me' to fetch many a ~_igh., .~MywiFeP~tn."UeJ whom I loVi!!d.as my.seJfe" and had lasely married, was" much astowshed at lhis,. . ~. I. could nut ,P00 s,1 ly hoEd. lny·'tong1le~but told her b aU . '. . wher~of. .' '.'she became as' m uGh ,enamored. as my 'selfe/ Having sought ~~nll.minatlo.nin vain &om, 'the gre;~tat him copies '0£ the cnJgm.atic' Fig:ures-: QLA.Ura.h~~ ,In ·'that anciefi~ la~, into w.hkh: ru.zhcmy had been brought 'bytbe MwdiDlS, he h~ped to dhllc>0var ,an, ,~nfOI'rf.led a;depltt poosiSly -i~ !.he gulse of a Jewish priest steeped in cab IDalisti~ and alchemic lore. And, so, assuming the pil,gdm's la:rb and sttrif~Flamel, ,as he ~a'Ys,'put 'my selfe upon· my W,:iy ~ ,anJ;i JHJ ,much 1:' did, that I arrl~ed: at M'o~tilJJ"~and aftt!rlv"iuxi.s at Sm'm' .I~ .iGof G,alli(;ia]~where vridi ,great devod~fi I aoeomplished my vow.'-' . ,Th~s don.e,··he" made the ~equaih~iU'tcet~at Leon, of 8" J~ish physician, l::wha'W~ ·very~kafu1l1n 5ub]im~ Sciences, ,eaJ~ed Ma:1!;('ef' (JJ't,,:Ati,$'~ :As. soon as, 1: had '8,nowen him the: '~re:-s of .;my Et(tr:4iet, hee Qe~ng' ravished with great aston:i$limellt and i,oy~ d:em~;nded: of me in.oonrl.nently) H, I eould tell him any' 'nEf~. es of the B,f)f.).ke_, .room whenc;e, ,they .v w,!~e drawn'e? ,I a1;ffi·wered. him in Lat.itJ.1 (w'b"e-reln asked me the' 'ques~~X)n) The re.p]y threw- ,Master Oar:u::bes, '. into such ~gteat M-clor and 'i'oyt ~hal he agreed to return to FranC() with Flamel, leaving' frt!lm Sa:ri'UUtdef by the"'
I

Cllerkes lnP(lriJ~I' he set G'ff' upon a pilgrima:ge to Spain., with <tthe full OJ1UMt of ,his, Oeh:.fi/ed PerrrelieUe, taking ~t~,

"nee

t.

had been. fQ~tunate e'llIO'ught and all re~y l ~ bo,ntiuues 'F!amselj 'he lta:d 'm~-t ttuly oinferpre"ed 'unto mee the grea~est part of my figur~s.t where evea unto th~ v,~ peints and. prickes ~ he" :€olund,gtea,t misimd:J ~ which seemed unto mee most wQ:nd~xi"bl.~ when 'i!u:ri-vin.g ~at O,ttfl.rJS" this r~Brnoo man fen ~trcam'e]y sitke~ bei.Jl-:g aflUctett with ~GS6ive 'v'Cul1iitings ":~hicb 'reUlahtied s~iH 'with bJm ·at those 'had suf.rered a.t Sea+ . . ~ III summe hee dyed by
~OU!\' ~yage,

B[s~ca'y''pas$age.

ne

0,

5':i!:

Ii'ROM Ai.C Flt:MV ~FO CHEM lSTRY'

reason 'whereof I. wajl, much grieved, yet as 'we]1 as, .1 could; I CD used him to he' buried, in the Chu,ren, of the hol y Gri)J.s:~
9. t

Orle(dl,S. "-

return for the weary' pilgrim, of alchemy until at last he 'reached! ParIs and came into sight. of tht; modest little, house with. the sign,.of the Fleur-de-Lys, where the rue' des, Ecrivahu runs into the rue de Marivaus. 'He tha t would see the, manner of my arrivall, and the ioy of Pertltdtt~ let, him looke upon us two, in this Ci,ry' of Paris, upon the d.oor-e of the Cnappt/,l or St, James of the BtJtu'ne'fY,} close by the one 'side .of ,my hous«~ where -wee are, beth painted" my selfe giving thanks at, the feet, of Sai~J lames of Ga'l.lici'a, and Ptrrel1dle at the feet of SL .llJhnJl whom ShM had I[l,O often ...- lInd up!5n. , -- Flamers eonversatiens whh the lamen ted M'astet Canches, had Ihlen him some kfi()i\,vledge of "the first Princ,iple;r,. yet not their first pr~tul1'atitm~ hich is. ,tt thing' most w diffieul t~ above, all the things in: the' world: ,Bu~ in the end I had that also, after !Oll,g errours of t'!~eeyteff.J:~ or- thereabouts; during whieh ·~ime I did nothing but study :and lahour. . .. F in:aUy; I found that which I desired, which I alSJO scone knew by the strong $en'~ and (Jiio:m thereof, Ha~ing thiS,i'I easily aeeompl lshed the Mattery,; :for knowing' the ,j;tepar.ation, ,of the' first Agents ~ and after f6HcHAtiag my Booke according' tCJ the ldkr I could nos have missed it,! though E would.' Now o;).mes the most remarkable pa'rt, of Flamel IS sto'ry, clothed in a. 'w'eahb" of clreumstanrial detail: "Then the first tune that I made proiection" he resumes, 'was upon Mfrrurir,l whereof I: turned halfea pound, or th,~eab~'n]t\, into pure Silvt.r~ better than that ,o.f 'l±H:~ Mitu~as I :my :H!lre assa.yed., and m~e orhers assay many times, This was upon, a Munda Y the ] 7., of Jt:mU(if;J a beut noone, in mY' house, Perrenelle andy being present; in the ''Y~ere of the. restoring' mankind, I 38 2_~ And afttJJw,a,t~~ foUol¥in.r.. ~l waves 'my Boeke, .&om wOfId to word, E made I!roi~d£fi';. o.f the Red'sJ(J1t4 upon th'e like quantity of Mtrtll.wie, in the
It was therefore
a sa.d
'ii/"_' .... ~~ ;,;..~ " .,;

or

ALCHEMl'CAL

CRYPilCISM ANO S'!t1\omQLISM

j

53

presence' likewise. of Pur.~ellr onel y~In the same house, the fiue :arndt.wmtie.th day of Apri U following the same yeere~a bout five ~ doc./te fn the' E'vening; ,,~hich I transmuted trudy' into

almost as much Pi!.!f~ O~l'd,better assuredly than common GQld.g~ mare so'Ct.;a:r:~d mote plyable, I may speake it with . truth, I have 'made it three times, 'with the helpe of P~1ren. elle, ",,'h~J1 understood it as well as llj heeaueeshe helped n ee ~in my operations J a nd wlthou t doubt," if she '\I'll ouhi have enterprised.to have done. it alone, shee had attained to the. rod and perfection thereof. I had :ind:eed, enough whcJ:'J. I . had. once clone it, but l' found exceeding great. pleasure and delight; in s,eein.if art,d ~Qititenlplatif1g' the :A.drn:i.rable wlJrkes of }t.dl«r:e~ within the Vessels.' Flamel's story S'ives one ,of the t~rltes.t and 'mod graphic accounts of au alleged transmuta lion; to ]r, indeed" has sometimes been aserrbed that frantic search for the PhU.. osophe1r~s Stone which certain writers have termed the' mania 'of the fifteenth century. Flarnel's narrative ends with. a detailed account of the numerous benefactions which he and~Perrenell e had made to the (L~y..;o:fParis at the dm~ when he "wrote -this CtlmmQnt.arit~ in the yeere en., ,·/l.oUsfltl.d !IJUI~chtm4rtd llrJd ,~hir~;1ef:W.' Later ag~ have rejected. the as,cription. of Flamel's wealth to alchemical gald,and dou bts have been cast upon .the. a uthenticity th~ pkture5'q]ue~ narra tiv~ written under his. name, Even that name. has fallen under suspicion as being. toe apt fer an alchemist; but it must-be remembered t1l.atrhe assumption of impressive names w,~ ,at reecgnlsed .althemka.l practice. That sucha person fi'x~ted cannot 'be doubted. There ean stlll be 'Seen in, the h-[us~e·d~Cluny, in Paris, .8,' eontemporery marble ta bI~t from, the' fOrD1(:r church, of ,St. Jacques=]a;FBou;cheri.'ie'l i!tl~ibed with his. name and a record of his benefactions J' together with inscu1ped figures: of the S,atvlou~ St, Peter and St. Pa u[" and interspersed ~ S:ynlbols of the sun, and. moon, As a' pendant to. this. romantic stOf}f. of Flsmel, the tablet disappeared When the church 'was demolished in. J' 791:t to be recovered .m.any.

or

years afeerwards ft'om the shop 'Of iii. greengro~ and herbalist in 'the 'rue des Arcis w here its smooth marble back had served as anadmirable choppiog block for the proprietor's cooked herbs. Sic #cwsit glori'a mundi] Another tangible relic of Flamel rna y be found in. fragme'fi tal'¥ remains of his house of :t 40'", still visible in 'the fa lbdc ,of N:a,. 5 [, in the rue de Motltm()l.'epcy" I:Flamcl.l exclaimed Victor H u,gd's, alchemist. "There's predestination in the v'ety name l Flamma! yes} 'fire-that is all, The diamond exists alreavdy in the charcoal, gold in flre !t
'j

.-I. ",1;.

...,....,,~- .~uz.;J ,Kinr':j.,.~t',H·t .::1'ii 'Mi.jf ~'ott _. 05 "'.1. p~c/:~emJ

Some two centuries a'fter the days of Nicholas Flamel there a,p.peared under the name of Basil V alentine ~ series of 'W'ritings of unsurpassed fame in the annals of alchem + These writings have a twofold ch~ractcr: they are malrdy 'IDysti,cal and enigma tic ,; but sometimes they contain deta:iJ;s, + I cnenucai operanons 3:OSt L .'~ ., lm ". ]~ .b'l . '0:f pracncat ;8iS mte lLlg'i.ile as. those' of a 'modern text-book of {~.h:~mistty., The ffi.dendty of t'he writer is_, in its ~lf :Ii 0'1'11 ..,.·r", tl ~..... .,;i ., __ ~..... v uruo v... ,em~,n_~~ ,- f' u. ~.-,. u¥tiI - . ill alchemy, The name Basil Valentine, 'signifying 'imigh~'Y nl, ""'f' ' 'V- -..... -11· ~11I"i't kin C'i',· 'co' nf i.'·..~.,. ~ i:l • the .. best traditions of ~ in~ ,~,:;o .J" " ""'" II.l, alchemical pseudepigraphy, a.cOQrding to which varleus • ., ..JI ~ ..:~, .' t, ." L • 'iIl._ .., ''\iVFl-tH:lgS, wen~ encowec wrtn aU~"u01:1ty f:' 1... ascription s 'uy raise to famous persons of bygone :tim,es or to mysterious i'veiled masters' with hi.gh~ounding names. Ac€ording to the alchemical tra,d.idon, ,Bacsilhi9 WiU a monk belonging to the Benedictine fraternity ,of St~ Peter of Erfurt .in the h1Uerr 'half of the fifteenth century, Indeed, ,a, Ger.man book. published in r 645, and later translated. in to·

Ii!!!; .,!! .. "'"

'L,il!;

,,--

"

: ]~

-•.

'U

"

Q,

!i!!-.lI"a.

U· ...

j,T

.r:!'

.....

u;,U!J.I; .... ,...

''l

"""

English (Fig. :r 6) ~ Wag en titLed 'The Last W~U and Testa~ --il M' h ' erer 0, . t •.'Bennet, f8 ment . 0 fBa S1. 'V a -1 .' '. mtmol!'!,:.o nke 0,f t, e··Or' d \.vhich belng ai on e, He hid under a Table of M_ar'b1.e~ behind th~ High-Altar of the. Cathedral Church, in the Imperial Oi.ty of Erfo-rd: J..e~vingit there' to 'be found by:hhnJ.' wllom Gods Providence should make 'worthy of' it.' A later writer stated solemnl y that the revelation carne in the
• • • ••••• J " "

".

'-.

I'_

.,

-'"

_-

~-

-,:-

..

-.

-,

ALCHEMICAL 'Clt'YFTICISM

AND SYMBOLISM

,55

.)

FROM ALCHEMY TO C I I n!:MISTR.Y

fullness of time through a th underbol t striki ng the church! In actual fact, some.' of the chemical knowledge recorded In the' intel ligible parrs of these wri ti~g$ woul d be ante .. dated. hy a century if ascri bed t D the fifte~nt.h century; and the first book printed under the name of Basil Valeneine is dated [599. The aut borshi p of some, 0.1" all ~€It the Basil ian works has. sometimes been assigned to Johann Tholde, a salt ..maker of Frankenha usen, 'who issued ,11 n umber of them .. Th TU)ei"b't Keys of Basiiius Of the mystical writings bearing Basil Valentine's name, pride of place is 'taken by the celebrated Twe/V{!. Keys,. which appeared in many editions. and several langu ages durIng the. seventeenth century. The twelve ~1] straeive emblems u achl eved great populari ty and were' reproduced time ~fter time in many varietal forms, Each of (be twelve emblems was provided with an allegorical description. or 'explanatlon.' The eomplete series purported to' open the door ito the most Ane.ient Stone of our Ancestors, and the most The Firs!, Key (Fig. I,) symbolises. to the adept the preparation of the' proxima te materials of the Gre'3 t \Vork. "Take a fierce grey \'Volf/ runs the direction, "Cast to him the body of the King, and when he has. devoured it, burn him entirely to ashes in. a gte'a t fire, By this process the King will be Iiberated; and when it has been performed thric.c' the Lion has. overcome the ,~., lf, who, will find. notho ing more to devour in, 'him, Taus our Bod v has been tendered fit· fo:r the nl.1i!t stage of our work.' Here, the grey wolf is alchemical' antl1nop,y (antimony sui phlde, ors,tibnl.te)~ known also as lupus meto:llo.rnmJ (Jf 'wolf of the ,("' · " lL ~l h . r metars, 'b :ecaus e 011 Its ca pact.ty to unite \VltiLl a] . tea '1c.h enncal metals 'except gold, The repeated fusion ofgo1d in this 'VI,t'3. y:!' shewn in the em blem of the First Key by a" wol f' leaping over a heated crucible, was therefore justifiably used as a purifying process for this no ble metal. Also, silver, represented by the Queen~ W·M purified by heating
1_ • _~. _.

F · f'R" t._ Secret. . :ouo't.aJl:l, 10' . ea 1tHo " ;-

,A[.OtIE,Ml'CAL

CRYPT.ICI~:nd k~D S'~MnOLlSM

5 '1

it with lead 'in a cupel,

li

~an

... "_ " 11,'11, . _1,~'1! ' -s: .. ...!Il·, !l ~te " - '-b~l~'" '"~ eomam a weal' ~~1.0'f gr.:anwJiQquenll.. "" ana mna • ' d vel", ~~~ 'Let, "me tell you. aJregori,cai1y l" writes the ]lOl'l:tiifital Bas iliijjs" of his Ninth· Key~,... "that you 'm ust 'put 'j,nto U1e h~:veri~y BaJa.noe th~' Ram, Bun~ Canoer~. Scorpion" and Goat.. III ike other seafe of the Balance ~youmust "p]:ace the Tw'bg;,~ ~ the Jtr'chtr, the \\I"at~-be,arer" '~'nd the 'Virgin.. Then U:t trhe liiPb,. jqtnp int0 the ViDgin!s l:ap~ which \\riU eause she other seale: t,o: ki'ck the' beam. Th~reupOio., let the siS,os Qft,he Zodiac enter into opPQ~hiQ'n"tG the Pleiawj and when. ... ~
'I.." •.

'The.woeden .. egged old man (not l te be, confused with Hephaestus, p. 36)~.carrying' a scythe, is S,a~urn or ~'On.as;~ iden.ti€id wl~h Flamel 1$ ~great 'old man ~ with th'e"bonr ... lass 'an.n scyth'e (p. -48).~ 'who was Hk,e\~i$e g engag:ed. in the srune proeess .of cupeUirtg a'l'~ritiferQus le~<f.l .and thus arriving at sophie mercury, as here 'shown ~n the embfem of the First Key. The union ~,of'~tbe r~~lting s~phic sulphur: and sophie mevrury' in the Hermetic 'V ase, ~eadjng to the Stone!' is slymboHs,oo by~ marriage of' .KJrig and Queen: 'the faire the "Ii'''~1t~ W·,~':hma!tim,g~.tb.,ed to the 'iQ" 'd~~:iI·,~ I"'" jI in ji~"'lan1l9l!a'~ ............ ,v,' • l'lU_,~ ., n,UCI_Y }.of..''0-' '.0"" of :NCU:tGD;S Or:dinali. The Queen~s three flower,s sipify eitner the ina prima, or the tr.ip]e purifica 11~n.oflhf! ,King; and her ··ran of peacock's feathers a's .aJSlO ,symboHc (p. 38). All of the: tw,elv~' emblems of Basillus art' well calculated to· ~rnlst -the att.entioHli and the accompanying tle~£;riptlans.
'OJ'. ~,_,~ ~ ~~ '!..., ,I,

jl.,a:!'~i

_~'" 'I;.

,!-",'

the colour'S of the wO:l'.~d have shown themselves, 'let.

GD:fiJ unction

,Even Bas.Uius; must halve ·fdt that he' had tram!;ended. himself In this, Un'aginaliV'e B i.gll~jI f~r',h.e·3.dd~:(l,condescend:l~'ly! ,'This win seem u:l1rntelligible to rnany~ and. it c:erlainly .Q:.o.es make an extraora-inar.y demaed upon die
mental faculties. ~ The adept, however, was ohHged to 'lI'.T,ap hbnserfi' in a rna nd.e of 0&cudtyi. beca use the SoU bsMDc'e ~s'within; the 'reach .of everyone, ·and. th.!h:'e is no other' 'WtI,.. of 'keeping 'Up' me divifi,ely ·'ordai.noo. d:iff:ef'~ce between den ,and. PJIlf. ~ .
I

tb~'SlR"Uest; a~n.d~d~esm.a.Uest a.nd. the greatest}

there 'lie a

,and .union bet~n

-the g['e~fest and

V' • STRA.NDS

IN' THE ,AL·CHEMICAL WEB

and woof of alchemical doctrine, tenet, and lore can be . _ seen at a glance, although not in their- fun sIgnificanoe .. There are map, y others that reveal themselves only to a deeper vlew. Some of the srrands, at a propel" stage in the study of alchemy ~call for more than a superficial examina, .. tion: of these, a few should be mentioned .aJ.t this point. lUligirJt! 11'1' ~ th P" F'·int 0 f' ail ; there ,itS t .~e.re~]guJus e1 ement, 'do;" -~'V'1ne.

0).{E of the _.nume·ro~. stra:nd~ of the com. ~.•I.plicated warp

'1"'Ii'iL. JlI,li,C

and nurtured perhaps In the temples of ancient Egypt and ChinaJ. has always been closely bound up 'with the: beliefs and observances of religion" In the early centuries of the Chr.lstian era, when alchemy began to take definite shape, ~-o:ntribution_j of this kind came' alike from Chr:ist:ans." Je'W"S", Gnostles and neo-Platonists. Still others. came as an. ·h Co 'h III 'entance [rom a more remnte epocn ,. For example, in Flamel' s Figures of Abraham (Fig~ IS) th.e greatest prominence is giv~n to. symbols illustrative of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity; but apart from this, , 'b. ._--... .a I'. me th' seven numnereo gRJUongs th aere us _ remaraan 11....1e
I

Art~ of a'lchemy, owning among' itsl 'remote ancestors the Sun.,god and Moan~!odde5$. of the primiti ve civi]1sadons,

jI

_]II

.'

recurrence of the sy.mbol of the serpent, Flamel's description ,of the "Hier,oglypmcaU Fi.gu.n~$·'inelades references; to 'a 'rifgi'n and S~rpt1f:tsswallowing her up! ~'"'"'a CrMSt where a Setptmt was crucified' . , ~and '~.many faire .fQuntain.s, (rom w.hence there Issued out. a number of Strpenls) which ran up and downe here and there ..;1 The serpen t..,. alsc shown as a snake or drago'n, was indeed

STR.A1\'fi's IN THE ALCHE~lICA.L

WEB

'§9

one of the commonest. oralcbemical symbols. I't had :many interpretations, The Ouroboros ~ or' taU-eating serpen t of ancient Egypt~ going 'lbal'cltscme 8 ixteen centuries before Jhe' Christian era, symbolised regeneration, eternity, or the uulvcrse; also it embodied the later Pia tonic idea of the unitY of ma tter ~the 'all is one" (Fig'. 7). These interpretations were taken over by the a l:thcrn,i.sts, who also used serpentine 8:ylllbo];s.for the fixed and volatile 'pi-inciple.s.~ maseuline and feminine characters, sophi,e sulph:ul' and s.oph,~C m,ereurYJ die. b:-ia. ·Jtrima..~, and in a W]der: sense ~o d~o.te \vlsaoroJ• power, and creative energy. . It' .is fair,~y certain that the .sYm·bo'l the serpent 'came
c

d,£J,Yn]:. into alchemy.

from prim~ti1![f~re]ig[ons -based

or

upun

l
r

sun-won hip, serpen t-wcrshlp, and. phallism, In aneieat Ba\bylo.ri~a jhe serpent was he,ld in sacred veneratian M the syln'boI of the sun-god '; indeed, it ·h.a:s·been said that in .=m,c;i·ent orld the serpent, 'en.teroo into the mythology of w every naaion, conseera red .almost every temple, sym bol~ almos~ every deity~ was imagined in the heav ns, stamped on the' earth, and r.Ulle~ in the reahns of ever lastEng sorrow, Sinee so many 'o:( the medieval adepts of alchemy 'were men 'who~e Hves were subjoot to deep rel [gtallS convictions, it.·is not surprising to find that alchemicalwritings of their era. were imbued. with the beHefs.'a_n·d doetrlnes of ;Chtistian'ity.,. T"herc was" indeed, a close c,onnection between alchemical tet:!.£·U and certain ~ligious doctrines, including the Redem ption and the Reg.'UJrre:ctjon~ In particular, alchemists w'ere wont .. Iiken the Christian m,yn~ of the w triuIte Godhead. to the alichemical mystery of 3 triune Sto·ne. George R~p]ey." canon Qf Brid.l~gton~ prefa-ced ~is Cam~a rif AJchymit- wi.th the pr.~yer; 1:0 Unity· in the su'ootan,ee, -and T'rini'ty -.in the GOOhe.ad~ . •. ,As 'Thou didst make. all things out of one. chaos; so let m~ be :sk..iUed,to evolve our microcosm out of om" substance in, .hs three aspects of Magne!iaJ Sulph.ur,! and :M~rcUTY,:1I The same coneeption of the· .Stone. as .3.: triune microcosm recurs in some 'Verse'S

me
j

the

BelQnging

to

an Emhltmaticall Serowle: .mppf)~eJt~1 he .tnvmt"d

Thou, mUlt part, him in three, And then knit him as, 'the Trinity:. And. make them' all, but one', Lee hac is the P'hfw;H1pkrJ Stont.

at Berhlehem:

In. the same fascinating collection of "Severall PoeticaU Pieces. ~ofour Famous E1lg'lish Phil.o.sol)huJ: who, have written the He1metique M.Jl.steries in their owne Ancient Language, ~ Ashmole. records a medieval E,ngHsh poem relating how' the blessed Stone 'Fro Beven wase sende downe to Solom'm. ~ The' poet likens Its consti tuents to the th.ree glfts of the l\ragi
Aurum [ro1d] hetokeneth heer, owre Bodi than, The \Vych, W'a5 brought to Ged and Man., And Tus [fr,ankiI'lGe.n:)c] alleso own: 'Soul of lyr~, W'yth Myinam [myr,rh] owre Mercury t.ha.t)''S l'l.ys Wyfe~ H'er.,e be the thre namys £ayre and: good ,And aUe thaye ben but: one in mod'. Ly'ke as the Tdni~ is but on; R.ygllt,80 conclude ehe ,PhyJos.qj"'urS: S'ti:m·~ ..

... ted l ,. . f .e Th e same cencepuon ~s. repeate-'_ in thel ,.ate-r ,"'1'lt~ngsa· " 01· M: a entme, M _,~o~eov.er" a, wrrter In . ;ona '. un(tJ Basit., v, 1·' ...J~ TI ~..JI ~. h~h u . ·' iik,en,oo .... .l expounas a teLat~ concepnon m wnec -: the Stone ISI""
.;]+.

the biblical ~stonf: which the builders rej ecred": "The Stone is cast away and. r~j ected by all, Indeed it, ,is the Stone 'which the builders 'OI[:Solo;m,o'itl disallowed, But [fit be L • 1... • • ~ wi · d preparea~....!II' In tne T'lgl.!l.tway It. is a peatr.1L ith; on t price, anc, indeed, the earthly anti type of Cbrist, 'the heavenly Corner ., ". , ~MplSe. . r-eJec~, lid' s...... ,CU~ C:h,nst was des ~ ·d·and'i ..•• , -..... _..3' In th s worf', ~'I,ine'.. A ..:. t by the J~1 and, nevertheless was more precious than heaven and earth j so it is with our St'OftoS among earthly h· t. m.gs,
to
j

z;

,!

':e,

!II

STRA~',DS .. N THE /\LCi..cI;El\.-:UOALWEB I

dose rebtdo:n.ship between alChemy and f.er~ion is. to be' found jll, the common association 0f. the alchemists and akhcrolcal emblems wi tll" 'eccl esiasti cal build~i,~t;,~"'l1,'J,us] Nicholas Flamel (p. 48) recorded and eX,[)fI)sed the F~.gure~.'pf.~,Abr3,11am In tJ?e· form, of co] cured mU:RlI pain~ings in the arcade of the churchy.a..rd of the Innocents, in. Paris, Ashmol e mentions t h-e existence, in t 652:-. of an alchemica l painting upon a 'wan of \V estminster Abbey, tiUJ! describes. in detail an alchemical window, 's)'1}1bo]"is:iJIlg in. (;,O'h.HJI' tl'1e preparation 19.£ ~he Stone, 'which [oJfmerly existed in St. Margatcl.\'S Church" lV"estminster,. 114.0:1: eover , Ri pIc:!)! .' ]qfi{f b r:;for.e t!iis, ha d aJJuded t,(; ~'WeJ tminJltr' Church, 1"-''0 whych these. PAylQ,$;oph¢;rs do haunte," SimiJat]y,. Notre Dame-at Paris was once. a resort of alchem!sti3 and some of the sculptured ornamen tariens o.f this be~udful Gothic cathedral bore an alchemical signifieanoe, A,gai'I.l" ars NichQt.a:s Flamel ""-'l:Qtei In hi:; de_scri'[?,tioJl of the tigllres' !of,Abraham, 'alchemical 's)tmbols "may repres'e141:tWr}' thi~~gs, a~c:prding to the c~p~city and .unders tandln g. cir them that beheld 'them! Firs't~ th:,emysteries .of Our future and tlnd.oubted_Re.rtHTt!"dio11.! cit··the day t}f I udgement, ..and comming of good JeJU5's, (,,"'hom may it please to- have merc;y upon 'us)' a Histerie which '1S ~ cU agrc~i[1g"to' a. Churd!YU1a. Ar;t~ secondly, .lhey ~y signjfi.e to them, wbkb are skilled in NaWI'nll .Pkilo,sop,nYj, all the nrinc1paU ,afld necessa-ry .operaticns 'of the M aistet)'.:! The spiri tual inttapr~ta-tion of alchemv, in terms, of
j

. A further

G[

psyehol,ogy and myst~Ct;'\1 theQlogy~ has sometimes been csrried to great ICJJg~J:ts. As -an example, i.l~the .~:roc:e~~~ within the f~~ermeticVase, the black stage' has been liken~ tq "the dark nigh-t, of the soul,' the white 'to "themorning light of 'a new intelligenee,' and t.he' red to "the contempla .. tivelife oflove,' The imagery of alchemy was closely bound up with , mythological conceptions. In particular <! it 'was related to
.'

l\1ytholQ/V

FROM At.CHEl\,fY TO CHEM[STRY

t.be supposed eheracteriseics of gods and other supem atural beings, notably those of the pantheons of Egypt!; G~4" and Rome, Hermes 'Trisrnegistos, the patron of alchemy and alleged father of the Hermetic Aft, was the Greek equivalen t of the Egyptian god, Thoth, the penonific.ation ThE· .gypnsn tria,',. 0"·+ lad d .,::orus.~ Qf W1Si::' om . __ '"d e .sInS- I· SIS, an-, H Ith ... " ttrib 0-'SlI'U, "C he were a 1l.,1 en dowe d Wf rue h ermca 1 attrtbutes, . ... Sun ... god, was, a s.ymbol of the active, masculine principle and vivifying force; Isis, the Moen-goddess, passlV'e- and fertUe~ bore an earthly significance; Horus, thelr annual offspring, was an imag~ of theinfan t year and the process of growth or multiplication, Some of t.he alehemical assooations of Greek- deities and their Roman analo.gues.; in. pardcular their sup.po&ed connection 'with plenets ·,and. metals, have already been mentioned. .Among' other mmlbets of these pantheons, Hephaestus, ,or. V ulcan, • ..l",,-..l h'; .. ...'i.. d pre.:;au.cu.ever the acnvmes 0 f' ~l I..~, .' ,il:uvUfers. in U.I.C nre ann other' alchmrical c.:r,afumen; and Pall as Aehene, or Minerva .• ... Jd· 1L. .t:: was h ,g' in hi":1h cS;u".'J!A.~...y ... ... '1_1.... _ gu .............. b tne ruuiJ..enu.slS as .,L r. ULe l(lrCeJlU,I ,~'d ess or wi d.- om, f W15 gecc The alehemieal era vin.g' fot' obscure. expression found an. almost inexhaustible fount ·of aJ..legorica-Imaterial in the prolific realm of classical :my~'hology., J\mon,gthe more gener,al ·can~tioru the operaticns of the Great Work were
'I,

't

'.

51

-I

'r

£;~

often, likened to the tasks of Hercules j; Ulysses, the great wanderer.1< was the adept who "errs in wveR wa.ys un~iI he :reaches ~he desired goal ~; the fruitless efibru of Penelope, who-' 'unwove b''J'"" mo:ht ..,'L·.,;t. which she. 'had woven by" dav, , . tili ..... ~ _. ., .: _- '.1' '. d' as an iIrUl;g'e' 0- tne awrt~:\i"c:180un; 0.' .. ~ f' 'L L~ b f ene 'l.. were Ylew'e,'. uninformed seeker~ after the Stone, as-were also ehe vain ~truggrles of Sisyphus~ Ill, the nea tty ironical words of Ben Jonson: _
+ '~'

W:u not. ell the knowled~ Of th~ EgypdaN; 'Wtit in mys:dc sy.,mbolB ? Speak not the Scriptures oft in pa_r:i.blesPArt Il.ot the choicest :fabh~.I·of the POcu,11

Fig'. Itt

,I\,fe},enC:QJ.ia

F 19. I q.

Cupids in the Labora tory (Lull~ir; puertJ'Fw-n)

(5# p. 6;n

STRAl\TtLlSIN THE ALCaEMICJ\L

'\f.Efi

Tha~ were the ,fotlntairii c, and tint sprjn,g~ of w,~dfom~ ·W,rnpJi~if} perplexed aUegmies.? _

t[e. w.ould ila;v~ ~

,

,r urged dlAt~ And ,.... ~~!red fa him "'b·""t· ~'r'" ~ia,~hus':wa:s ' d:a-:-''',ai' . JIm _ TiIJ)~.!,eU ~1c;;5lS :th~ 5i'Qnet only because.
~ __ '" ........ _ ._ II,. __
~-!!-!!~

tI,_

oA;

!,jo

made IOUrs'l:;:ommj)m.

p\a P'Yt'IJ$ i))scrib~d 'With the secret of tr~llllHnu.tanon. An .altihern~caJ 'POem .quoted by" khm'Qle' r.or~fS to Apollo, sJa:ying' the Python, also to the 'ho1l1O'Woak. of'Cti(lm~~ and to lasQn~!:s, j~Fieryseeeres.' A,pollo ~and the terrGr.ising ,Python Qf] u.no (p - :~2") ~re. here sophie sUlphu:€'
w¥. a

Argonauts,

Som~ alchemists, supposed thalt'the Golden 'FIGece of the

the Jance>to the hollow . oak. is~. adeet fixin r in the a.manot, or Furnace of: tni;, ,Sages;
;!.,;::oil! iI'o,.

.me~'Curv Iw'ith fire ~,l and. Jason aon:trolIlng the fiery bulls- i!; N,o,rton'Vs 'parflft Mastu which ,L._ -'1""'eth _ L z.; 'H''''''' h;'",~:!J. ,...;I!!l.U ]'V'W \..'.!iE!, .04) ,,:Jl.,'Tc!h',ese ,aJ.Ii", a'L ~ Ht..:I "p !' md Jli.[U"h,!".IlUi ",..,4'!J:",1;! other btf!<g'eonlngs of '_'ah::h.~cal i~,~iy tome to it · lli • .. 'T".l Ai' L,_ ,. L h'~ 1 uxunant ]Hrt~'WeI'Hig tn i 1#: ,', Cn'.c.m!irl, 'WHere tn e lltCamparr ... ,able: Ben. Jomongive.s (~n)~' gUttering dlspl ~y :id)er ,a.nome!f p£'-his, Q,Sur~ed tpd cloqu'en t command of the 'recondite u l~ua,i,e and. ,imagery' .of ,alchemy: ~
tJ ,I:l!:!
+. .' •
,t ,.

...J' h"' ana s~p_ic mercury,;,

ii"""l

0a:'utUiU&

_Jt'"""'"

L 'p'lnning' tne serpent

r \' ..

'~'l.tIi, ,'is,

'. L

h.

The bulIs~, OUT furnaee" Sdll ibreatbing fue: Our af.g,~nt..vive~ lli'C dr.agr~tn::. Th.e d~agor~tsi'teethj ercury ~u:blitrta'b;. m h. ...'b, hi 'L - .21 - - .J.:~ Tb.at ~~ul~' w ct~): ,J.~r,Ynes:,J Qn'd the biu~g ~ (The -alemb~c), and then sowed fn :Mars hi!,~·:ti~]d, A.nd thence &uhli-m~d so b!+,,=,,," till tbev"':re fLJred. l » .BQtb tlW'l., eh' H;espc:rian 'gar,~m~ ffa,dmwi~ :S~0l1"', /fV1-~' i.. ,'-' ;;,'i..- '1-.._, - ,Ii' M~d ..... r-. ,-' q'.es,. '~ -, " ~JO'e s s!!;\!,owet'i!' ene ~(;)on ';,1 :llA" ,.M.J.~~
I'
no

AfJld they- are ~Iath:el'i:din~' J 3i5~n!,,he]m~

!!;~

Do(:_ca~~'.hiS 'D~['gont thousands .A:1l a~u;act riddl~ Qf>-ow, JtQI)"e'..,

i"(

'~;I;

d1o/@;~_

FROM ,ALCHEMY TO CHEj,HS'l"RX

centu.ry~ when. "the Divine Are was begil1Ln~ng to decline, and. was even sustained, in it f,ash~ion~ llnltU the second half of the eighteenth century. Up to the fifteenth, century ~ alchemical wnt'ers bad. ,not used. mythological fables to any gt"'ca:textent as a. ccnceallng medium for' their S ~I!e~ and prooE$'ses. Laser writera, in particular Count 'rv.fichael M'ate't early in the, seventeenth, cen tury ~ developed an. impressive system- of Hermetic mythology:). which, reached its zenith more' tilar, a century afterwardiS in. [he wd:ti:n;~ n ~ ,(jjt~ 111 ~m·.i!I, ;\rb""n G C'h- CHi!.Y :n.. ad 'U.,...Cva!-~~"" (~l;U,~iJ~:r. ",1 b,o':'; 1""""" Or ,!,m.-~,:_ .... ~y~ i:lh .'~ a..... universally discredited,. In his t€marka hie D§r:tionn(d're M_yth.~H6r1nitj~que'~published a t, Paeis in I 758:, and in .orhee ''WJ'.i lings!, this credulous. oI;Religieux Ben.edi etln ~ imbued , with a.mass of undigested learning, meintained.that Hermes had devised the mythologlcal systems of ancient E,gyp,t and Greece fer the express purpose of enab ling' the: sec~ets, of alchemy to be handed down from. one _generatio;n. to another of alchemical ad.epts in 'the f'Orm of. eni,g:m..as, para bles, ~llegoties) fa bles, and hf.~(\ogt phi-~" y [The application of classical ~m ytholQ,gy to ,wcli),emy had :found a much ear lier and more temperate expression in the works of Michael Maie.r particularly In an attractive and ,intriguing' book. entltled .Atal:an~a Fugiel1'!:. This Michael M~ier .(I,5',68- 622) was a very remar ka ble man, so versatile ] as to enable him, to take r~uik not on]y as, an alchemist, but. a]so as ,3; philosepher, physician, class ica 1 scholar, and nrusicran. He became physician and p!rJ.vate secretary to the Empi!r.or 'R'~do]ph II at Prague, and at the same eirne acted ~ one 'Of bis .-alche-mkal consul tan ts, At that time Prague Was a f~mous, 81ch.~cal ten tre; 'the· Zla~aldicka" r _-- ~ld' 0"1" ,,,.lchemi sts whose IJ..a-'bl·'t"JI·~ O~ '~G'· en Lane,'I ~.~ . u.u."_ .~. _"' u~~ _ .~ nQ,ns may stiU be s.~n t1l\~re.l R udol ph ldm~elf had so Ireat a'l\ en tiL usiasm for' 'alchemy that he W',aj called th~ ~ Hetm~si~ Maier was. an omnivorous: reader who developed into a prolific wr..ite-r.on m ystieal and allegorical alchelny_ .His erudition was p;rofQund~,'but his. l¥ritings
II' _'!!.
'"!i Q,

4' 1!04

~. '\-.0,

\:

'iti'M

J,i!, _ _

"_'R"II'"

,i!i

"if'

it

.~-'i!!i,'" .... .~_.I.~-al~ 0. ,.........",j;

.. ]

¥[-j,~, __ I

ll~.:~,

'!II"_

!L,.' ....

'i

1H_~r

I~

H~ism

m Chtmi.d']'J

Flg. 8g~

S'fl~.A~"DS, I~ THE ALCHiiMICAL

''"VIm

~5

W,ere tlifiiJ1se!, obscuee, and. ,complete1y" uncritical. He was so inc-rem bly credulous tha t he fat h« ed' .1Iurumrera.bie less, his: 'ruinous .f'o]li~J' as ~hey ,ha ve been called, 9;e~ te have 1mpl'e.ss,OO, the 'Empen),i[' ~ whn made 111m a P£a1zgrar~ i6!r Count Pilla tine. '''"t' the 0" .,ay "Pi. K~ • _-:iiiB works .... varue d t;;.Ing,IY ~ n '__ ])l!e$en:~ d , .,!,'VJ,;~J,.,;,,;:..,. ,,', OM a~:L. ,., _L.!......a beeause Qf th~i'r- strildng and artistic eopp,ei-;e'n~¥ingsJ. ex:eGuted 'by' Joh.ann.es Theodorus de Dry a,t Frankfurt-on,Matn~ 1b,e .mest attractive and .in.1er~sth'i.S: of :~,erf.s· poob, A t(llan~a F'ugie~~ (I '6 I 8)" caotains a handsome title:pa:ge by this 'artlst, t-og,eth,:€I" w~rh My ellg~3,ving1
v

ma'r,~~s"-nests and

eVen fe&th~red some of them,

~everth~

'11

al!CI'le'micM em blems, ~hlch -draw laflgciy upon alchemloal mythoJog;1' f:or their 5uhj,e-cts., Fp\.,_ ti tle of' t'((.;_ 'Wfir'~- '!A:·-""1~'i"I,tO,",", F']- eein ,tt'" "'nt:r~+'" ~,_..!!: .~ . 5'~ ""'"""'Qo·,...~r~ an ... ~alogy between a the- P'1l1.f"sulot at the :fI:eein:g Atalanta. and. that of the eli!Jsi've ,,:S,t-one';, According to the fable" A:talantaj the: flcetest-fbotedof mortals, refused to accept 'the advaaees
~~l[~, . ~ _' _ '1:)~1E1 _-:[l.1~

or

_-

~I_

~~

..

~_

,!,,-,"1i..r.~-

(II

liUI...~.

of ~:hysuitor \vho :r~Hed to iou.tl:;J~lip b'er in;",a race: but, of 'C:4a'lllne, eK 'ypf),th~st she al wr=-,;'y,s came in ~fi,rst until tJia.c· i 'ettViOWl Ap'hroait~ rV,efitn~) io~ded the dl~ against herc 'by gl,ving' Hip:pc,mmf5 thre!! golden apples th.]:QW Inb~ Jh,e. path 'Glf this fastest -of ~laid('ns aa she ran, 'The ,seque'JI has been ably sammarised by the poet who 'Wrote!

to

The' 'nimble

StQ:p'~'d;~er c_ateer

Tihe gEUe:rin.s:' apple tumbUng

tQ
,

vrrgjn~daaled

to behqlC[
'0 'er

the mold, s•. ~ the rowliri,g ga!d~,

~U'O'j;_ ,t :Ii'l IS.! ,·LV,

... ..."

oiLf' HEM'tl i'\uI ., ;~. 1:

rT"'Ir""1;

I, '","-I '

CHE~M-~I' J! OR\! i::'" .i..J' ~ ~;.!

;oioI . ,,_~'

(p.. gO), already mentlcned, The fiTst two emblems in 'the series 'bear tides taken from the Emerald Table, and :refetring to the Phaosopher'ilvStoue ~ "The wind has. carried him 'in its belly"; "The earth is h~sr1utse,,'j In. the la Uer des:ig:n the earth is represented by a grotesque female fi_gur-e suckling an infant .;,and, at her feet are shown a. sh.e.wo~f and a. ~ she-goa t affording similar neurishmenr to Jtheir ., r .hild ...l res pectwe foster-chi •.f'en., R emuil' us an d Rem us, anu I. Jupiter. Each of the ·fifty engra,vings bears a Latin epigram wdtten. in elegia c couplets, and an al luslve tide" t.ogclher with. .a;. discourse in 'the teX.t. The epigram of the second e.ngrav~ng begins; '~Weare told that Romulus sucked a she-wolf's shaggy udders, butt: Jupiter 3 she-goat's, and that the tale is true .. ~

n·t! Sa~'.lrnim M_jsoos,m

In the tW'elfth emblem of A,'aianta Fugitns~ 'old Father Thne~' makes another of his freque:n,t a;ppeaxances in alehemieal ie,onOgTaph:y (cf.. F,~gs 15., :1') . Maier~:s, emblem :HI stra tes an un to/warn incident. ,in the fable of u KIlo-nos (Saturn); who '\'\;"ClS ad.dk;ted to ~;waJlowiflighis OVi1TIJ offspdng.. Fortuna tely for the Greek pantheon, Zeus (Jupi ter) escaped this fate, owitlig to the foretheughr of hls motllieT. Rhea '- warned by eaelier happenlngs, ,hit upon the device of wrapping a stone in. s,wad-dling clothes and leaving it in. the cot, from. wliich. It 'was abstracted as ,soo!tl as her back W~ turned by the expectant Saturn; who swallowed .it with misplaced g1USto~ This indigestible morsel was na turall y seized upon 'by the mysti.cal alchemists .,0;,.,. the P'hllosoph ......... ~ tone ''''' 1\.;('.-.; ""'.... e-'pm1' ;[jT"""m rtms .. 4r.:JI'_, ,-' .liJV~Il~!II. ,'1"" :i:l IWouldst thou know the reason why so 'InallY ·poet.!;tell. of He] icon] and \vhy its summit ls: the goal of each ,one? There is a Stone 'placed on the topmost height, a memorial, which his father S'waUowed and spewed up instead of Jup,]t,er~ If thou understand the matter jU1ilt as the words sound [literally] thy mind is unski 1ful , fbl" th~t Stone o:f Sa turn's :[5, the tlhymis,ts" Stone.
i Q.:JI
I > :. I. 1

.~....:;I

.;J.;!r.... ~"--'~~,

Ill!

.'_ ~ .. !CA.

:.

:.:

'_. ._

iii

STR.ANDS IN TH,E ALCHEMICAL

WEB

6j'. .

,.

This. emblem of Michael Maier forms. one at the unn tunhe-red expi'C'$slons that Sat1Trnine mystici~m.. whie:h p.trrh~ates the whole eorpus of alc'hemicai doctrine and Ilterature. The. most striking of ~U pictorial illUstration$, of tlrat mysticlsm had been gi v. en a hundred yea'rs. earlier PY' one who was not an alchemist, namely by the great O~rmM artist, Dlir.er, in that .masterpiece of copperengza;vi'ng (Fig. 18) which he entitled 'Me'lenco.!ia ~ (J 5 '[4) ~ ~esigned perhaps as tne· first of four p~oJected ,engravings to iUustl"a:te the four temperaments, this. composition is r~.ptete W1th alchemical -significance. The polyludral Stone of Saturn J the crucible, the sharp im plements and tools" the seven-runged ladder the 'watery backgroundt and the rainbow are' ,all familiar alchemicalsvm beth. 'The 'tentra~ brooding figure, ~'with a .sad. lead~n down.ward. ~st,' is a personifieation not only of melancholy, but, also 'of the haWed seeker of the Stone, 'Or, in mOTe ·gen.eral t.el:"nlS, Q,F student and seekee after wisdom.

or

symbol ic paintings of Melancholy by Cranach, All of these sho1A-"' infants at play" some with a heop;: others with it s'pl1leDe, corresponding to Durer's grindstone. Moreover; . one /of TeiLier~~paintings (Fig. I,g),~ ex~uted more than a century later', was, based upon this'so-caned Judui: Jut1orfJ.1lI., or ~chUd)playit motive in alchemy: in it the infantS, ate 'L ~ • id s .... 1.. I. 'h snown as wmge d CUpl.· engagru-l at, play ill an are: enucarl [ahoratery, and above them. hovers in the air a thin and
m ,
,i

_f .' ., 'IL. e U,octnn.e 0 f' melancho 1- IS ~ y · mseparat 'bIy b ·oon d up \41l. tu the Saturnine 'mysticism of alchemy, and this assoclation finds. m~ny expressions in Durer's composition. Measurement, an important elemen t of m ystic:~m, is typifi~d by the compasses" bal ance, and hour-glass 'the Iastsnarned being a particular symbol of time and of Krotu)s,<, The. .~nr;lnt: recalls Saturn's unorthodox diet; the grindstone upon w hleh he. sits conveJ'"Sthe same idea, of regenera tion and con tinub:y as does. the. time-worn symbol of the tail-ea..dng serpent (Fig'", ,). A little la ter than D'urer's engraving of I i!i 14 came three

"--Th-,

me

ij

FR.O~·fALCl-[EM''IIJ'' 10 CHEMISTWl

'shininl sphere or bubble, correspondlng t-o the sphere, hoop, or grindstoD·e of Durer and Cranach~ U s.uaUy the Saturnine mysdcism, is associated with, ,humidity or wetness, and sometimes with the' opus mulumm~ Oi[ 'labour of the woman that 'washes clothes t; and that may be the significance of the woman who is figured beside the
infants ~n each of Oraaach 's paintings of Mela nc.holy . Also, S,atum ]s sometimes depicted as a. wooden l,cgged ancient of days wirth a '¥3 tering-pot, Here" however, in true alchemical fashion, an, am bi valen t, or ,op:posed~ quality creeps ]n; for at tim:e$. the idea of a'ridity or dryness is linked with the cam p]~ Sa turaine :mystids.m+. This i.s but one of its; many ambivalencies, Lead, the heavy ~ base metal, joined in alchemy with Saturn, the slow, gloomy planet, is often represented by a darkened. symbol (Fig~ 13);. it is also sometimes. brought into the black stage of the Grea t or k, The central figure in Durer's design likewise "leans forward massively' with, darkened face, beca use ~ in Mil ton's words J her
a

'~·l

jilt ~mhet',

Harmony, and Music

.Measur.ement. is dependent upon nurn ber ~ which therefore enters, with measurement.Into the. Saturnine. mysticism, As. a token of this, D urer' s ~ Melencol ia' contains a :magic square of the fourth order ~ showing ingeniously the. date of the eng.raving 514} in the two central squares of the

bottom row. Q.uit,e apa re (ir{)m this ]ink with the Sat nrnlne symbollsm, number holds ~o. independent position of great i.~J'lp~1rtal.nce in alchemy, Indeed, from very early times certain numbers were endowed with mystical and magical properties: and even. at the pres,en t day. there are thos e. 'who view the

"I

'wi~h superstitious, misgi vings. As far back, as I~50B. 0 the Papyrus' Ebers prescribed the' powdered tooth of a hog\ placed. in~itle four' sugar-cakes, as a rewed y '{or ind~gestion. In an.c:i.I;'Il' Greece, the :Pytl1agoreans exalted the importance of number. to such a degree It-hat in, it th.~y sought for' the origin and interpr:etad6u .cf the Cosmos. Of iequ al signjficanc,e was the la ter view of PIa to that N a tu'r e is framed upon a ma thematical basis ~'Jlnd -that .i1: is in mathematics. that the ultimate realities are' 1)0 be found, r{umb er came into alchemical prominence parrl y. from, the Greek schools of thought and partly "ruSJl from the do~trines of cabbalism, T.~e['~.was a eabbalistic sy~tem of " wore d ~ m numeneai I terms, a:C{:Ordi ' .... 11:...' expressmg .',:1n,g to, wntc h , for example, the name p,f go]d had. the value (~x2x3X4},8~ Or ]'92. H'a.d they possessed a knowl edge of atomic weights~ aleheralcal m:ystie.swould no doubt have pointed .ou t that this; number falls; within a few units. of the atomic .'weight ·of gold :l Ca b balism a lso 'main tained the ancient importanee of the number f~I1J(', in sueh m yS1:i.cal quatern~9ns as the corners of' the earth, the el ements l the winds, spirits.i guardian angels, and rivees of Paradise. To theee, the 'modern ;rn.ys.tic mi,ght 1,lffel1add the C(umdrlva1 ent carhDfi atom of Kekul6 (p. 1'75) and the tetrahedron ofvan~t Hoff (p. l sa) " Like most of thelr {';.'O nceptions, the mimerical notlons of the alchemists are 'Usually dismissed n,owadays as th~ baseless fabric of a vision. .N evertheless ~ Hoefer, . . . t!I£:'~ an emment Frene ~ .1\,.fl~tonan 0' f- CJ. 1LemJiStry~ ",,"'rotc In hlU U ; ,rnysnca; combmauons b _.1 upon numbers, are, .. will -.] 1" . • -'1 based it be said, not hi ng more than reveries 'Of an ancient ciay. \VeU and good. But in O;IJr OV!iTl time" when so much au'~hDri,lY is attached to experiment, has a better explanalion been -devised foi atomic" combinations, ,based upon ~ritJlmet1c and g'eometry?" Seven was a favourite number because It applied ttl the known metals, the lnaJr:uo heavenly bedles, the. days. of the ' ..... and so forth. Sometimes even th e colours of the eek GFe.at· ,·\tork were represented by numbers, although, these number
J. 3
1",
"

'b'

Y.

]1"ROM AlGJIFMY

TO CHEMiSTR.Y

did. not coincide wi~h the wa ve... lengtiu of modern sdence I, "'~: M-· oreover, t h-e numib er ten, deri ve df'"trom t h tetractmat -: ~ ':ien re summation. of Pythagoras. ([ +3+4),.. was alloeated t~ the Philosepher's S-one t T-,uCi im.pofQu,1!.i1!.,o t1f-~ att~,... CU t.~ :', nort ..... 'h,~.J1 '1"..... _H_,1: to the' sequell~e of the low integral numben was em.plut:sised repeatedly by alchemical writers in ,the1r all usions to' the Stone. Per e:.xamp]e~Basil 'V~Jentitl!e;sta ted that ~aU.thinp ed _, al'\" ,',,'. _ __', " , __ -, " ,-__ ,-- ,'_-,___ COnstl tut ~_' of three ~ essences-e-namely, m,eI"cury,,, salphur ~and salt. . . . But know tim t the Stone. is COTnpos ed out 'Of one, two, three, four, and five, Out of five-that is he euin'"t- ....... ~""""''''''.FI''''' ,;c;,f' I'",", v' wlI"Io, U'~~Q;U""e' [A- -~;:;,t()"'l""!'0!!1 -l;""~'oI;'W tA ...... ,~~' 'II... mr_,""ift'li~ '"l ' ,.J1" ~' usen.t'ia] . Out of fout, by' whim we m 1I.lSt understand the four elements, Out of' three, and these are the three priaci pies of all things, Out. of two, for the mercurial substance is' twofold, Out of one; and th.is is the first essence of everything which eman at~ fro:m the primal fi~t of creation, The n umerical conception of the' Stone is brought out clearly in 'a table (]If names and s.ymbols published On German) at Nurem berg in I 1166, and reproduced below'!

+~

.....'

_ - 1;""- _.......

-.1

H,...iI!i!

p,,",, __

,;f,

'I.Ji1' _

a'40u';~)....

{, _

:!-

'fo- .z!

~;j;. ..... ..." ...

,"=~.~

jI

Fi're

roT

Wa,ter E,arth

8,

'\l V

SulplllU' ~
"" .:::!la J't
t'f\ w

.Me:rcury

TIncture

6,

"f:;f.

Returning n.QW to ancient GreGc~, we find. that the Pythagoreans recognised the existeace of defini te numerical r 1;fhlO, ~-. ps b-t-ween' rae notes 0 f' IllJUSICa sea 1es ; an d 'so .. ' . 'l, _e_ .....nshir _1 e - - the _ :n.um'lJC1' became associated. in their minds with harmony. Moreover, they eoneidered th at t tbe poslrlons and. move .. ments of the celestial bodies W~fe 8,ubject to n umerlcal 1:a,M,

STRANDS fN THE ,ALCHJr;MJ:GAL "rEB

'11

and, further, that their harmonic motions ga:ve rise to a

celestial music, Since the Pythagoreans supposed that ehe stan and p] anets moved .in crysta[Hne, spheres, having ..the earth as their common centre, thls imagined music became known as "the music (Of han,tlony) of. the spheres,' It found, many echoes in the wr.itiRgs of later ages, Thus, Shakespeare- alludes 'to j:c,eI':tain staes' that 'shot. Inadly from d~ir spheres, to hear the s;,ea-maid 's musk;':; and in anro:ther beautiful passage he ~1tcJaims,
~h .. . .. U.... £ '~il· 'palm,a ill b~· lig'h~ gold '; .~ There!:; not ,the ~mane.st erb which thou ~hold'st But in hm motion like an angel sinpr.
.liS t.i1.UCJ:Ii. ~n:J,al~
'Ii' . IL ~ ~- ' ~
! _.J,

·Look how the: floor of heaven

it is not 'surprising that musie entered. into aJclle'ttiic~ conceptions md practice; for besides fi~U"rishing among (be Greeks and! Arabs 'music, pro~ided an accompanimen t from ve:ry early times to <the rituals and ceremonies -0-( ;rle1igioDJ magic and necromancy, Alchemical designs often contain represen ta dorm of musical in~trurnerns, sometimes borne b9 mythological ,pe~[o·nnen; and. both Hermes and h.nn~rva were recognised as .patrons 'of the musical art? 'To a certain (:xte'nt! ,th(trc-lq['ie, music was l;on.ddered to exert ,a, beneficial effect. upon. alchemical .Qpera;tioDS . For exam ph; N{):rton all;ah:'hem[~t with, a strong practical cast of mind, wrote in l477: Joyne them together also A.ti,thmelic-,allyj By suttil .Numbers proportion,ally,. . . Jayne your Elements Mitsic.,ally.' I! seems lik~lythat' the mystical alchemists in partieular, ~n ~h~ COUt~e' of thei.r prolonged ,efforts to bring ever.y con .. '~e,iva favouring .. uence to bear 'upon the ope~atlons of ble ~nf:l the 'Grea tt \'Vor k, rna y sometimes have carried out these operatlons to the aecompanimeut of musical chants or i.nca.n tions, such as. would be' .fazniljar to them ~n their. ta religious. devotions, There is a ¥,el"Y snggestive iUlUtrati,on~
t

From such considerations

:1

Pt(kld~ II;; Chemutry,. Plate.

;!i~,

FROM AliCHEA'fY '1D CHEl\IfIST.RY

~h u, · -'L .0: aead, Ji., '~n the substance, an'd T'·· l'lrillty m tne G dh d . .. ~.,thou didst make all things out of (H'l.e chaos, so let me be kill 1" 'iI-_.~ sxure d" to evolve our rmeroeesm out Q r-- !{.1',nt sutstance ,.. US in hr e~ Mpec ~,. 0;., ·).,.If agnesia,-- Suloh .. ar.tu ,_. e:rcury.· !Ii '" ,' __ ..s 'f ,I,"-;i - -- ,.' - -. ..:fI' M" --' -__ .. puni", t --' A h ... prays _ K"'- hunrath lU~~.~ his a'" ",'"", r .... p""'''f'Io _.1:;1,'" - ... '£::1 __ "''' u taararn ib the badge of the Pyth agoreans. Upon an ad jacen t ta hie lie several musical instn.1me:iD{te amo fU" 'th,"'~ v~"'·l-. "'" hare, :II ~ 1"" and twu lutes; below them an inscription in Latin states that i:S acred 'music disperses sadness, and malignan 1; spirits, j 'I t seems likely' that musie was regarded as an antidote to
~ .s; ~ ,~'" ~ _'. UI:Ji . , ~IB.~,~ i:riIl~lil!:al~ -._ n·(}""1 .I.;Ii, .". !lA.
l

in a wurk published odginally by Heinrich Khunra tho in 1595 and. reissued posthumously ,a!t Hanan in ]609~ a few yean before the a ppearance of Maher'~s A,~l1la~ta.F1i.gUru., Khunrath was ,a; Hermetic m}:stic of the deepest ,~j;'Yei Here he ls shown in perso~,. wi th his characteristic pointed beard, praying at the .oratory; \V hile behind. him in the same 'room :may be seen the typical appara t:us and maeerials of a.n ~lchml>ical Ia bora-toreY-,n Perhaps he is pta.yillg' in the :_'. rs usee ,'Y 'G·"-, '.- . ' -'-I " a ',-' . ury - 1 ner . ~O-" Ui" rm y • -'.iI;'-" worrd _- .,,-4 b '. '," eorge, 'R'~'lp ey". '. een tu . ear',. '.-.
1

~;II

..

_tt'iIL,

..

--

~.j

p.

..~.

I, •U'~ •

,0:;" o§!!;.

-~

.....

. ....

-The last and most complete, record of an a ttempt to establish an al liance b erween al chemy and music is to be feund In Count 1viichael Maler's A~t1llln'tll F'tigiQfts·.. Here, each o.f the fi£tll Latin epigrams (P·'· (6) attached to the ~n,graviogs and. embodying 'with them an alchemical conception" is s.~t to music of a curious and distinctive kind, M~.ie:r:)sso-called ~.fugues' ~re in real i'~y- a very rigid and mechanical type of canon arranged. for three. voices, The' two voiees in canon are caned 'Atalanta Fugiens,' or the fleeing voice, and 'Hippomenes Sequens/or' the pursuing voice (whkh alwaY$lags behind the first voice' in th~ canon), Th~ third voice, 'Pomum Morans,' is the delaying voice (the a pple in the path), These three voices, in the; r alchemical interpretation ~ signi.fy the d us ive Sh'~n~, the

infl.ilJenc€:upon alchemical processes,

alchemlcal-- .- _'"'. !!,~.... OJI1 ,i;lS well.IL melaneholv ,-- .. _..... """" .....~ !

oI!i;i:> -

esertinc a . benefl ,.... J!I!.nt ... _:. ~~O ..._'._ _ ....

~
'I;.,~,!!._

p'Uf'S u.ing adept, and, rhe obstacles in his way. ],-1: usicall y,. the compesitions take the form of a canon in

STRANDS IN 'TIlE ALC}!EMlCAL

t'wo. ,pUtj'

'W,EJ

73

against a cantojmnrl. The ~fiftyva.rIed canons h~ve to, be brought into har-mon.y ~,di'a sen.sibJy "inv.~rlant ffJTm1J~ and, ~h,e composer ,ls Iaced with a fonnidable: wk~ ,a:1most as' hnpQssibJt or~sais &c'tory completion as;J:h~ t achievement of the St,one.. In 'such ccrmpp.sitiQm the umto :firm;; was usuaUy a well-known musical thtnu~'...and. Maler used .fckr 'Cdspurpose. a. fiii!nliHar chureh melody da ling as fat' 'back as, ~he :eJev'eIDJh Of;: t~w~l±Uie-entu'fY' . . P.rei~aij[y :Maler lntend:ed these akh~mi~l ~'n\,can.ta.-. dO~5- to be'. sUflg hy an alchemie €,hocir at ,md%l m.Qme:rfts during the eoetian Qr the- ,P]il1o.90nher~s; Sto.n.e" under the' simuhaneo'lls i~(fJuenees ,cif prayer and the 'heavenly bodies, Wh~th« the. ""fugues ;weI'~e.eyer' app]iedl by Maier or other. ~1~h¢mist5'at &ag:ue or el5ewhere in .',F~cHtal operation! 0.£ 'tlds' kind ,IS .IU)~ kn~,n; 'OOt,tah~ly~~m~f,e than thr~e ~en turies ]ater a s:~lec'~ion dt1so.alcfiemic:al music: Was SUNg', of in :n 9S~ ~ :a) t fh~ R;;'ya! insdtution, London." bj~ the choir of the ancient University of St, AnciF,ews" a $ea~ of learning .founded in the da y,s; of Nichcdas .Flame-I. Th~,~hl$er.s'Wtl~~ ~heir tradid\f)inal gowns: af scarlet, symbolic of tnt'! _eolQur of" a, ''1:111,;",0''1 '} co k '. ....d' ld' tilU~f F'~!lJX~OF" let ':s~ ~j.t~lOl~' b'" not h' U't· -,log ,cJ;iang~". ~9 go .... 'Thls ch{\pter has tr~;Oed; G;nlv. a f~w of the rrtfJt,e,> obvip:us, I ..' strands ..o.f the mtricate web of ~lch~niy, which an. em) Dent. f'r.encl\ wrlter , P~i$SJj~J ~a~ .epi~m~ni80ed.in, the following wQ:td~: 'Schola:5:dcl~m, 'with, it& lrdinhely subtle argli1menta~·

'~nt(J'

so

• _..

IE

,~

;]

·oJ

..

;,

'"!I""

t.

'i

..

_.. th . ·J.I~U""" JL p.ansqn . w 'I' 11;. A'Ii... .....my , . _.'

fJion T.henio,gy with ,its ambigt1.ou~ phl'aSeQ1o,gy,; AstrdlDI¥J so v.as~,and, so. compl ic~ded, are' on! i c]-dldl'~'splay h:~ C9'mj

'<:

VI
'I' . F.
_.'

THE DIVERSI.T'Y OF AL,C'HEMISTS

'D!,"'":J-w··. -.;~,- 'L:- .... -~

orlt or ". th a ~ 'th·· '." 'w~O.""'.J1 ....'l- .... ,~,~ist- " sir.~ eomorises ..... :. Iii. -. PU ~U!,~,gL ",r-' VIr itself', a difficult study of no inconsiderable magnitude;' Throughout the long millenium of alchemy there were legions of alchemists, and these were of m:ru:ny kiads, ranging 'fio,m, ro,ugh~ ufil~ttered 'Iabcurers in. the fire to cultured aIld, erudite philosophers, visionaries, and religious mystics~ In other words, the "frenuSi, lchemist was eompslsed Qfmany a ..l spec~,es,an.~,vanenes ..
S··-".-:c,mar
'I:,. . ~ .p,

.~lV.:iilil;]i;ks~h: G~l 'have: -i;f~~~ -Cour:t ~;ht

''11~

b.:

;D"D'''"'

.~",'

....

onversan '" 'With aJchem,v'

Ii

...

Pseu.do-.Al~kemists
A classification of alchemists, ~;tMt]ngat the lowest Ievel, must. 'beg,La with a species which does, not 'r.eaJl y belong at an to. the. genu~l'. This species may 'be varleusl y termed eharla tans, quacks, impostors, or, using the most respeeea hie term of all, pseudo-alchemists. These were. the practitioners of roguery, 'who assumed the title of alchemist' solely to increase their profesaional sratus in the eyes of thelI" pa trons, U nfortuna teE,y Ior the rep-uta tion "Of alchemists in ge'neraJ!o it is the pseudc-alchemist 'who has generally been called upon by lay writers to represent alchemy in general li tera ture, I n the pages of Scou~ Dumas" and other romantic novelists, he may be :an astreloger, m~,:gid8:njl nec-romanoer ~ er cheiromancer, like, Galeottl Marti in Qu~ntln D.urwmtl; or Guiseppe Balsamo, alias Cag]iostro ~ in ,M !moiru d' un it1ldffcin Of all fictional alchem ~'"h..; ...he best known '1-'' ' probably e ~"b;j, 1· n . 'fl'"".", o le UlL! ..:~Ik K' .~~. U ilu:: ILl.,., V~.J. J onsorr's play, The Al.-tnerni$~ti nrs;t staged in ] 6 I'0-, in London. Subtle d_ ~u,u... to Sl,i,b l.... (;:.1 ,levels ~ fr!r in._ "rare_ Ben'a ~",,e;_=,..J~ __ __ .... ._ v still vw _. .... .I: _.... _ _ -.... W ....... 1,;0 IS- noe~b +ter tn'an ,1;1. (;,e~' t~' v,.;- '''',i'i. -~'I"ii"'''' ,~• -h ,M" Ulii . '.... ,,'..... o!!~>J.!i, at ;.;,.,z; OW"il, ',. 11 arae ~ "W' he e 'n~-~~'IO'F't&: h ·1;;] d l' scred;tab le oper ati .,...'n~ 1·n Ib.-.., ",' .... ·,·,,,,CJ ·.r~
ill
i

,! .

",

~;.

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1-

~:

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'Ll_::

DlVEIUHTY OF .ALCHEMISTS "]d-' b 0 r'- al!C :,etnJ,~ ,. V&ul~g.e'. Ti6.c<-....... Ich ·_.... L" (jew] ." .en-ng we, ..,~.1hi;c.'ei.

nIE

75
19

daub~ that

modelled the fi.gvre iQf Subtle upo.J1.an actual prQt~type of ~ka t eat'ly J.tlb9bea:~ ~JEe in L~ndani Qf U-~~. three lIkely ori:gina;~, JQ,hn Dee', Fd:wa·rd "R;;cl.1Y4nd a $.iW0D-,:F()rm~n, the las:t-,nam~ ~ a.ctuaJ ly 'mell,tjo:ried by

J nnson

no

name in, JQIil:Son·~.s' ~ad.ier plaYi' Ep£(Jfttnti~ a!i: a pUIVeyor of lov~-phi~:tl'\~,. )Jl ~ evidesce 'poin;ts l\a as the. ~... l ..... 'L"'i!'J"i,~';:;,,,!;!!t .... ;.rt... JR'Io'ii.o.;m,· 'iL;."..:II • ·• .. nd wR,,,,,,n 'licli-:t*in.O' o;::Ll1!Mn~a.lln:li:'·"J:W~J; nnson n~ In n'll ~,J~ ...'~~ 'ldiliUl!

,ro~_

'tY1i, '.l'~' ~_

.a-'

'''U,'~II'''';-b

.;i; .... ~. ..:.

iQ.

mos;t fJu1potis and spal'lkHn.g of all h[~,p]~Y.8.", Simon F'~Pn3n .fi 55,~-1' SIt) 'Wat born at. Qtiidhamp~on,~ (le~le-r in many things'" inclucimg .,an. poti,caty ruugs,< and

' ' 11tshlre,

Fblt apprentieoo, ,tQ

.31

hesier;"and then

to it

grocery/ .he ·tur.nea;:~~ teachin~ ~at t_he a:ge of ci,ght~en, SQcm~h~.t, later be becga,n. r,o dabble in n.ecrQma;nC1(!J a:nd then tQ; practise ~,magik,and ·phisick/: .. 'he rr~cor&, :itt h1j obtained: S,fim,c. Iclnd ofd~pJo~~ :fro~ Ctillibrid,.e and succeeded eventua,]ly in es)ablishing' a; rucradye practice atoJong the '!iodety.ladies>- o;f->LQ~doni: whom 'he, "S'uppli~d

d:latf.. .After r,~,pear~d.im.p,ruonmb\lltg, tor .~'qua<ckery; be

lav.i~hly ~Vt,.1tnlov:e-phlltres"l -chaons., mChanJt:rtlehts ,.'~pictW"eS

in wax, ¢rQsses, and

595 he_:'i"ecoI"dS': 'l~ds J4~ at 55: past 3 7. b()u.g~t a 1?~'Yer of newe bl9iCk. stoc·rol1lS,!, cost, t 2S,,~ and that :moming .1 di1m1pt ~f.3 blaek rats and of my phH osophieal poud£J" which f 'was, qisdUi'flg o{;:~ Thf:' g. black rats, were

'her' husba,Ild to VisiEQuu;t 'Rod::u~.st;er and. 'wbtli.ril £0'1' redprm~aition~ l;q t 599 "FQrIlli1·~. \~.df.es: "This, rere E sti11ed~ 'my '~!t"'ong wate~' ra~qua'!.IViMl],~for the wh~ch- I .gnte mach mony!,; and, he makes athe.r,' references ~o this 'source of lnco:rru~:,. He re-veH1s ~elf In. his dlaty as eantankeeous j cr~u]6us:j and .superstitious,; and ~1-th'oug]~ claimed-to control it]U~very he' jpr:itt.s-, .he ''\iJ'8S ,quite lj·na,htfJ to ;ma,nag:e 'hi~own won!emolk. His only' ,daim t,o the title ot aJ6hentist-=-=artd' here' he t1"anscend:s .,Ben Jomon. ts $ubtle~U~ bl l;1is few feebly spo:ra:dlc eftor~s. to prepare the .l?'hilQsepher"~ Sthne'.. On Who h.ad. transferred her
l<
0

locI uding all, -eqchan ted, nutme,

many. strangt~' ·and

affectio~~ from

unO;;Hdh, ·~h'ingsJt '.[0:1' th.e- ,C©·qf:\tes~;, f ~s.f!xJ' @

2:$ Sept«nb~

'It

~I

ftn-efUlUl;erg of evil, fOf< later in the year, "The 1:2. dal of

Decemh. was, a wonderfull unlucky dai for me, I, bra:st 2 g']asses ana, lest tbewater, and. many thii\g,s framed ev.liU -_.,'_.,', lW1~ ~. I'Umy handes " F orman~,s.final reference to the Stone followed 500'11 aft,~ ~ in, [596~,when the 3 black rats we.r;e acdve; foF.; "The ~'9m March A J\1., [one of. his womenfolk] hit me in the raou th 'with her 'hand. The 5. of Aprill, Monday, A. A~. scratched me by the face that l bled. . The ,!ii' i. of Aptil [ in su blirning, my pot and glas5i:e brok, and all my labour was lost pro ]ap ide [for the Stone ].,'1 The pepular impression of an alchem_ist as a iie]'b.eater or ~coz:~ner at large, ~ owes a g'Oed. deal also. to Chaueer' s Clittl:Qn's ,rtt:mul.n~,,f' Tale, which preceded Tk« Alchemut. by m o re than "Vu cenmri ..... In, this relation one of the mast -n s, charming and realistic of the C€i:idCfbury Tale:s~, rhe C.anon is an "alchemist, and the Yeoman is 'his ass istant, The Yeoman tel ls of'hls woeful experiencee wi.th two. "alchemists, ) tb - :Sf:COflu () ·f' W 'L --,__ b'L· ~""nIil" to th """, -...], ,;:;-a~',,;:;, ,f5p""" ies as S'li!!.i!,:!UI de ~ ~~ _'_ He - . f'IOm ,C_I' ~S,$ for he ,is nothing: mare than a swmdl ing imp es to r. By means of rigged ' experimen 'I!S:I) in, 'which he shows. himself to 'be' a master {}.f legerdemain, he CQ:q vinces a ered ulous priest that he pOSS.e9Se8 the secret of tr:u1l~muta;tiQn Into silver. In. one of his demonstrations he: solid ts his prospective vlCtiml'8, help ~n adjusting, in a hot charcoal fire" 'his C:fMS e . -- [c rue]. e]-.-a_. ~ :char~ - . -.],tt,U:' . -- c·,".b1 ~ 1 ready"'-~ .s~ \vith. an- ounce - of --quic'1(~ilv:et and some of his powder ,of projecd~n,. "Y e be right hot, 'I see 'wet how ye swete,' remarks the 'alchemister as he' distracts the priest's atten tion by handing him a doth to ~\t'Ifype a.'w~y tbe were.' And then,

sun
m •

'UJ:,""'~

h g. ..........

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... ,~~.~o;.

~.

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__

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VJ!

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j~

This, fabc c~o1lJn (the (QuIe feend hhn fe-tclle,!)

QUit

,In which fui subtimy

©f hiSl 'bosom, took a fa]~, eole

Was<

made an hole.,

And therein was put of silver m.e'h~]

An ounce, and napped was whhoutt fa yJe This hole witb W!ll<t to ~ the m~tal in,

1 .-B'ru th e~~:' ·.....,,·e-· the ''i''if'''';--t had !i:'U.!"ltn~..JI "3i-w""Y tL.... w-~"'''"'' :- ..u!t~ .':r .-- .... ,r.~"""",,,,~ _;~ -~<:li~ -n.... \_'........ ,Ld prepared piece of charcoal had found lts vtay lnto the cruct ble, and the !:aJche·mister" was working away oddu ... L'·"' ~ eus 1- WIt h L! b .1-]" tn.tent upo-n, hliu er'QWW.n._g'~peratlon. 'Y - uti, ·'eJ OM,
"I;;""_ 'R, _P .'; _
a.

.... rder' to e~pose:. ·"JLi.e ,S.CHl>Ui.lll~ ll.'Oy 1 e me~a.._. ,I, .iI-'L. ',"J::.c~d 1b.' ... 1 ,n-ow iii ,g~ A~'" ..._ .... uF '0 • .'j th sirs, W L _;,...!~i ye' b etil- oiL. nijl,t wu j;et tnan wt'", ~!I! exc ].arme d tne sarcasne/ t. ~ " ; 'L. " "' a l'ly imdiignant yeoman at hiLlS pomt U] ms :na.:rt,ia,t~Ve'i .• co- it ...~...... +n, &-.i5-N a-' '''~I4!-ua ..........: "'''~~Iy' . ~ n·.t:rLa-·j.\.. 0·. l..h·iI!!!~''!!'r-''li'if'!t , ~~ 'n ..,.~ st 'w'" ~ 1_.._~ ~·""~~,~~',Vj~~· ~ ...le 'li.u ~-- '1., 1';"'.11 ~Il ,j;~
II, 1:1'.

of the Grea.t Work; The' heat volstilised the q_u~cbUv~r, iL.., ,k ;- n _,,"an d tb:e eq ua_I'WClg';ut 0;r mo,:!.tell. $'-- V>er Sa-J;i& uu·ViIll. to ,\lie bettem of ~he' ctuclble~ which. was even.tua]iy' broken in,
.;j: -'"-."-

..£.Ira.

~~

I_

shal this t.'ece:yt casu?' telle me. now ~ IIYe shal parle' fbu.r~y pound, so GOd -me save, ~ .a;D.S,,,,~-el"OO 'the "~Jch~t.eT'~' with a. show of reluctance·; sinee, as he pDin;ted aut" 'save I and - c- - .--;- T·n· E ,~.ge ...... t'h" . '1-O~N. -~'a- can no man I,-· mase, ~ s· 'th,:1: . .- ·'t - . _.1~,- :··0 ..•-,it!i, lree'I'e, . -. secret was handed over for the ~'sO'mme .fiQurty pound ~f of 'nobles, ~ to the Fiest; and as for the ~ alch,elUister.',.·t in the
t ;1

ui'cnch.an t words 'Of the Yeomam

",Lah·our:srs' in, 1M Fi:,i'

'!' h~ " d~!] . alcnermst arnd h+ s· ssistant at war k Ul.a mec teVQ[ _'1).b_oratory ~.~ a (Fig" .2~~').. This was, executed about. 'the. ye-ar I,5~Q. by Ham Weidit;:;, a celebraeed nhx-str,~tor o.r the .Augsburg' sehool of engra V~I''-S, and a contemporary ·of Durer and cPanach" It a..fords a strong· and lively representation of the: 5ulbjeGt, f with an elern~,nt of caricature which adds 'to the .reaLity of the treatment. The .aJchem~Sit is wc;rking ,at a hearth having .a large pair of bellows Installed in -a permanent - ....... _osmon P.!"1.C':~i'~,";"-- at n'Fii.... ., ide ITh_ ecuilp.Li.lent mcrut d e,s, mSO an
+ R ..... ..... .;I'"!!- __ ........~ ~:~
'~~.
rn_ ]

Osne· of the eaeliest pictorial lch "' ". " .. au: -,em'lCa~.mterior IS to be f ne ",o-unu

_.:i"

21'_ 1ft a -woouc.u~ ;f;l h" c'O'wn11 ,a'1l

1'epr.esenta dons. ,or

_.'1