Chapter I: Preface

The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry is very interesting in itself. It is also a pregnant example of the contrast between the scientific and the emotional methods of regarding nature; and it admirably illustrates the differences between well-grounded, suggestive, hypotheses, and baseless speculations.

I have tried to tell the story so that it may be intelligible to the ordinary reader.

M.M. PATTISON MUIR.
CAMBRIDGE, November 1902.

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NOTE TO NEW EDITION.

A few small changes have been made. The last chapter has been re-written and considerably enlarged.

M.M.P.M.
FARNHAM, September 1913.

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

I. THE EXPLANATION OF MATERIAL CHANGES GIVEN BY GREEK THINKERS

II. A SKETCH OF ALCHEMICAL THEORY

III. THE ALCHEMICAL NOTION OF THE UNITY AND SIMPLICITY OF NATURE

IV. THE ALCHEMICAL ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES

V. THE ALCHEMICAL ESSENCE

VI. ALCHEMY AS AN EXPERIMENTAL ART

VII. THE LANGUAGE OF ALCHEMY

VIII. THE DEGENERACY OF ALCHEMY

IX. PARACELSUS, AND SOME OTHER ALCHEMISTS

X. SUMMARY OF THE ALCHEMICAL DOCTRINE--THE REPLACEMENT OF THE THREE
PRINCIPLES OF THE ALCHEMISTS BY THE SINGLE PRINCIPLE OF PHLOGISTON

XI. THE EXAMINATION OF THE PHENOMENA OF COMBUSTION

XII. THE RECOGNITION OF CHEMICAL CHANGES AS THE INTERACTIONS OF
DEFINITE SUBSTANCES

XIII. THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS CONTRASTED WITH THE ALCHEMICAL PRINCIPLES

XIV. THE MODERN FORM OF THE ALCHEMICAL QUEST OF THE ONE THING

INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG.

AN ALCHEMICAL LABORATORY (Frontispiece)

1. THE MORTIFICATION OF METALS PRESENTED BY THE IMAGE OF A KING
DEVOURING HIS SON

2 and 3. THE MORTIFICATION OF METALS PRESENTED BY IMAGES OF DEATH
AND BURIAL

4 and 5. TWO MUST BE CONJOINED TO PRODUCE ONE

6. HERMETICALLY SEALING THE NECK OF A GLASS VESSEL

7. SEALING BY MEANS OF A MERCURY TRAP

8. AN ALCHEMICAL COMMON COLD STILL

9. A _BALNEUM MARIÆ_

10. ALCHEMICAL DISTILLING APPARATUS

11. A PELICAN

12. AN ALCHEMIST WITH A RETORT

13. AN ALCHEMIST PREPARING OIL OF VITRIOL

14. ALCHEMICAL APPARATUS FOR RECTIFYING SPIRITS

15. PURIFYING GOLD PRESENTED BY THE IMAGE OF A SALAMANDER IN THE FIRE

16. PRIESTLEY'S APPARATUS FOR WORKING WITH GASES

17. APPARATUS USED BY LAVOISIER IN HIS EXPERIMENTS ON BURNING MERCURY
IN AIR