file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #adbah-;h4htm or #adbah-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#a_/ d_/b_/a_/adbah_/adbah-;h_/#adbah-;h4htm7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#a_/ d_/b_/a_/adbah_/adbah-;h4zip7 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,alchemy ,,and ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,chemistry by ,m4 ,m4 ,,pattison ,,muir1 ,m4,a4 ,fellow and ,formerly ,prlector in ,chemistry of ,gonville and ,caius ,college1 ,cambridge ,with ,eighteen ,illustrations ,new and ,enlarged ,edition ,hodder and ,stoughton ,london1 ,new ,york1 ,toronto ,illustration3 ,,an ,,alchemical ,,laboratory ,it is neither religious nor wise to judge that of which you know nothing4 ,a ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby1 by ,,philalethes 7#agth century7 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,useful ,,knowledge ,,series ,cloth1 ,one ,shilling net each ,list of the first thirty-four volumes issued in the new style with ,pictorial ,wrappers3-- ,,wireless ,,telegraphy4 ,by ,,alfred ,t4 ,,story4 ,a ,,piece ,,of ,,coal4 ,by ,k4,a4 ,,martin1 ,f4,g4,s4 ,,architecture4 ,by ,p4,l4 ,,waterhouse4 ,,the ,,cotton ,,plant4 ,by ,f4 ,,wilkinson1 ,f4,g4,s4 ,,plant ,,life4 ,by ,,grant ,,allen4 ,,wild ,,flowers4 ,by ,,rev4 ,,prof4 ,g4 ,,henslow1 ,f4,l4,s41 ,f4,g4,s4 ,,the ,,solar ,,system4 ,by ,g4,f4 ,,chambers1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,,eclipses4 ,by ,g4,f4 ,,chambers1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,,the ,,stars4 ,by ,g4,f4,,chambers1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,,the ,,weather4 ,by ,g4,f4 ,,chambers1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,,animal ,,life4 ,by ,b4 ,,lindsay4 ,,geographical ,,discovery4 ,by ,,joseph ,,jacobs4 ,,the ,,atmosphere4 ,by ,,douglas ,,archibald1 ,m4,a4 ,,alpine ,,climbing4 ,by ,,francis ,,gribble ,,forest ,,and ,,stream4 ,by ,,james ,,rodway1 ,f4,l4,s4 ,,fish ,,life4 ,by ,w4,p4 ,,pycraft1 ,f4,z4,s4 ,,bird ,,life4 ,by ,w4,p4 ,,pycraft1 ,f4,z4,s4 ,,primitive ,,man4 ,by ,,edward ,,clodd4 ,,ancient ,,egypt4 ,by ,,robinson ,,souttar1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,c4,l4 ,,story ,,of ,,locomotion4 ,by ,,beckles ,,willson4 ,,the ,,earth ,,in ,,past ,,ages4 ,by ,h4,g4 ,,seeley1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,the ,,empire4 ,by ,e4 ,,salmon4 ,,king ,,alfred4 ,by ,,sir ,,walter ,,besant4 ,,lost ,,england4 ,by ,,beckles ,,willson4 ,,alchemy1 ,,or ,,the ,,beginnings ,,of ,,chemistry4 ,by ,m4,m4 ,,pattison ,,muir1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,chemical ,,elements4 ,by ,m4,m4 ,,pattison ,,muir1 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,wanderings ,,of ,,atoms4 ,by ,m4,m4 ,,pattison ,,muir1 ,m4,a4 ,,germ ,,life3 ,,bacteria4 ,by ,h4,w4 ,,conn4 ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,seas4 ,by ,,sidney ,j4 ,,hickson ,f4,r4,s4 ,,life',s ,,mechanism4 ,by ,h4,w4 ,,conn4 ,,reptile ,,life4 ,by ,w4,p4 ,,pycraft1 ,f4,z4,s4 ,,the ,,grain ,,of ,,wheat4 ,by ,,william ,c4 ,,edgar4 ,,the ,,potter4 ,by ,c4,f4 ,,binns4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface4 ,the ,story of ,alchemy and the ,beginnings of ,chemistry is very interesting in itself4 ,it is also a pregnant example of the contrast between the scientific and the emotional methods of regarding nature2 and it admirably illustrates the differences between well-grounded1 suggestive1 hypotheses1 and baseless speculations4 ,i have tried to tell the story so that it may be intelligible to the ordinary reader4 ,m4,m4 ,,pattison ,,muir4 ,,cambridge1 ,november #aijb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,note ,,to ,,new ,,edition4 ,a few small changes have been made4 ,the last chapter has been re-written and considerably enlarged4 ,m4,m4,p4,m4 ,,farnham1 ,september #aiac4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,explanation ,,of ,,material ,,changes ,,given ,,by ,,greek ,,thinkers ,,ii4 ,a ,,sketch ,,of ,,alchemical ,,theory ,,iii4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,notion ,,of ,,the ,,unity ,,and ,,simplicity ,,of ,,nature ,,iv4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,elements ,,and ,,principles ,v4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,essence ,,vi4 ,,alchemy ,,as ,,an ,,experimental ,,art ,,vii4 ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,alchemy ,,viii4 ,,the ,,degeneracy ,,of ,,alchemy ,,ix4 ,,paracelsus1 ,,and ,,some ,,other ,,alchemists ,x4 ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,alchemical ,,doctrine--,,the ,,replacement ,,of ,,the ,,three ,,principles ,,of ,,the ,,alchemists ,,by ,,the ,,single ,,principle ,,of ,,phlogiston ,,xi4 ,,the ,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,phenomena ,,of ,,combustion ,,xii4 ,,the ,,recognition ,,of ,,chemical ,,changes ,,as ,,the ,,interactions ,,of ,,definite ,,substances ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,chemical ,,elements ,,contrasted ,,with ,,the ,,alchemical ,,principles ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,modern ,,form ,,of ,,the ,,alchemical ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,one ,,thing ,,index ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,fig4 ,,an ,,alchemical ,,laboratory 7,frontispiece7 #a4 ,,the ,,mortification ,,of ,,metals ,,presented ,,by ,,the ,,image ,,of ,a ,,king ,,devouring ,,his ,,son #b and #c4 ,,the ,,mortification ,,of ,,metals ,,presented ,,by ,,images ,,of ,,death ,,and ,,burial #d and #e4 ,,two ,,must ,,be ,,conjoined ,,to ,,produce ,,one #f4 ,,hermetically ,,sealing ,,the ,,neck ,,of ,a ,,glass ,,vessel #g4 ,,sealing ,,by ,,means ,,of ,a ,,mercury ,,trap #h4 ,,an ,,alchemical ,,common ,,cold ,,still #i4 ,a ,,balneum ,,mari #aj4 ,,alchemical ,,distilling ,,apparatus #aa4 ,a ,,pelican #ab4 ,,an ,,alchemist ,,with ,a ,,retort #ac4 ,,an ,,alchemist ,,preparing ,,oil ,,of ,,vitriol #ad4 ,,alchemical ,,apparatus ,,for ,,rectifying ,,spirits #ae4 ,,purifying ,,gold ,,presented ,,by ,,the ,,image ,,of ,a ,,salamander ,,in ,,the ,,fire #af4 ,,priestley',s ,,apparatus ,,for ,,working ,,with ,,gases #ag4 ,,apparatus ,,used ,,by ,,lavoisier ,,in ,,his ,,experiments ,,on ,,burning ,,mercury ,,in ,,air ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,explanation ,,of ,,material ,,changes ,,given ,,by ,,the ,,greek ,,thinkers4 ,for thousands of years before men had any accurate and exact knowledge of the changes of material things1 they had thought about these changes1 regarded them as revelations of spiritual truths1 built on them theories of things in heaven and earth 7and a good many things in neither71 and used them in manufactures1 arts1 and handicrafts1 especially in one very curious manufacture wherein not the thousandth fragment of a grain of the finished article was ever produced4 ,the accurate and systematic study of the changes which material things undergo is called chemistry2 we may1 perhaps1 describe alchemy as the superficial1 and what may be called subjective1 examination of these changes1 and the speculative systems1 and imaginary arts and manufactures1 founded on that examination4 ,we are assured by many old writers that ,adam was the first alchemist1 and we are told by one of the initiated that ,adam was created on the sixth day1 being the #aeth of ,march1 of the first year of the world2 certainly alchemy had a long life1 for chemistry did not begin until about the middle of the #ahth century4 ,no branch of science has had so long a period of incubation as chemistry4 ,there must be some extraordinary difficulty in the way of disentangling the steps of those changes wherein substances of one kind are produced from substances totally unlike them4 ,to inquire how those of acute intellects and much learning regarded such occurrences in the times when man's outlook on the world was very different from what it is now1 ought to be interesting1 and the results of that inquiry must surely be instructive4 ,if the reader turns to a modern book on chemistry 7for instance1 ,the ,story of the ,chemical ,elements1 in this series71 he will find1 at first1 superficial descriptions of special instances of those occurrences which are the subject of the chemist's study2 he will learn that only certain parts of such events are dealt with in chemistry2 more accurate descriptions will then be given of changes which occur in nature1 or can be produced by altering the ordinary conditions1 and the reader will be taught to see certain points of likeness between these changes2 he will be shown how to disentangle chemical occurrences1 to find their similarities and differences2 and1 gradually1 he will feel his way to general statements1 which are more or less rigorous and accurate expressions of what holds good in a large number of chemical processes2 finally1 he will discover that some generalisations have been made which are exact and completely accurate descriptions applicable to every case of chemical change4 ,but if we turn to the writings of the alchemists1 we are in a different world4 ,there is nothing even remotely resembling what one finds in a modern book on chemistry4 ,here are a few quotations from alchemical writings #a3 #a ,most of the quotations from alchemical writings1 in this book1 are taken from a series of translations1 published in #ahic-id1 under the supervision of ,mr ,a4,e4 ,waite4 ,it is necessary to deprive matter of its qualities in order to draw out its soul4444 ,copper is like a man2 it has a soul and a body 444 the soul is the most subtile part 444 that is to say1 the tinctorial spirit4 ,the body is the ponderable1 material1 terrestrial thing1 endowed with a shadow4444 ,after a series of suitable treatments copper becomes without shadow and better than gold4444 ,the elements grow and are transmuted1 because it is their qualities1 not their substances which are contrary4 7,stephanus of ,alexandria1 about #fbj ,a4,d47 ,if we would elicit our ,medecine from the precious metals1 we must destroy the particular metalic form1 without impairing its specific properties4 ,the specific properties of the metal have their abode in its spiritual part1 which resides in homogeneous water4 ,thus we must destroy the particular form of gold1 and change it into its generic homogeneous water1 in which the spirit of gold is preserved2 this spirit afterwards restores the consistency of its water1 and brings forth a new form 7after the necessary putrefaction7 a thousand times more perfect than the form of gold which it lost by being reincrudated4 7,philalethes1 #agth century47 ,the bodily nature of things is a concealing outward vesture4 7,michael ,sendivogius1 #agth century47 ,nothing of true value is located in the body of a substance1 but in the virtue 444 the less there is of body1 the more in proportion is the virtue4 7,paracelsus1 #afth century47 ,there are four elements1 and each has at its centre another element which makes it what it is4 ,these are the four pillars of the world4444 ,it is their contrary action which keeps up the harmony and equilibrium of the mundane machinery4 7,michael ,sendivogius47 ,nature cannot work till it has been supplied with a material3 the first matter is furnished by ,god1 the second matter by the sage4 7,michael ,sendivogius47 ,when corruptible elements are united in a certain substance1 their strife must sooner or later bring about its decomposition1 which is1 of course1 followed by putrefaction2 in putrefaction1 the impure is separated from the pure2 and if the pure elements are then once more joined together by the action of natural heat1 a much nobler and higher form of life is produced4444 ,if the hidden central fire1 which during life was in a state of passivity1 obtain the mastery1 it attracts to itself all the pure elements1 which are thus separated from the impure1 and form the nucleus of a far purer form of life4 7,michael ,sendivogius47 ,cause that which is above to be below2 that which is visible to be invisible2 that which is palpable to become impalpable4 ,again let that which is below become that which is above2 let the invisible become visible1 and the impalpable become palpable4 ,here you see the perfection of our ,art1 without any defect or diminution4 7,basil ,valentine1 #aeth century47 ,think most diligently about this2 often bear in mind1 observe and comprehend1 that all minerals and metals together1 in the same time1 and after the same fashion1 and of one and the same principal matter1 are produced and generated4 ,that matter is no other than a mere vapour1 which is extracted from the elementary earth by the superior stars1 or by a sidereal distillation of the macrocosm2 which sidereal hot infusion1 with an airy sulphurous property1 descending upon inferiors1 so acts and operates as that there is implanted1 spiritually and invisibly1 a certain power and virtue in those metals and minerals2 which fume1 moreover1 resolves in the earth into a certain water1 wherefrom all metals are thenceforth generated and ripened to their perfection1 and thence proceeds this or that metal or mineral1 according as one of the three principles acquires dominion1 and they have much or little of sulphur and salt1 or an unequal mixture of these2 whence some metals are fixed--that is1 constant or stable2 and some are volatile and easily changeable1 as is seen in gold1 silver1 copper1 iron1 tin1 and lead4 7,basil ,valentine47 ,to grasp the invisible elements1 to attract them by their material correspondences1 to control1 purify1 and transform them by the living power of the ,spirit--this is true ,alchemy4 7,paracelsus47 ,destruction perfects that which is good2 for the good cannot appear on account of that which conceals it4444 ,each one of the visible metals is a concealment of the other six metals4 7,paracelsus47 ,these sayings read like sentences in a forgotten tongue4 ,humboldt tells of a parrot which had lived with a tribe of ,american ,indians1 and learnt scraps of their language2 the tribe totally disappeared2 the parrot alone remained1 and babbled words in the language which no living human being could understand4 ,are the words ,i have quoted unintelligible1 like the parrot's prating8 ,perhaps the language may be reconstructed2 perhaps it may be found to embody something worth a hearing4 ,success is most likely to come by considering the growth of alchemy2 by trying to find the ideas which were expressed in the strange tongue2 by endeavouring to look at our surroundings as the alchemists looked at theirs4 ,do what we will1 we always1 more or less1 construct our own universe4 ,the history of science may be described as the history of the attempts1 and the failures1 of men to see things as they are4 ,nothing is harder1 said the ,latin poet ,lucretius1 than to separate manifest facts from doubtful1 what straightway the mind adds on of itself4 ,observations of the changes which are constantly happening in the sky1 and on the earth1 must have prompted men long ago to ask whether there are any limits to the changes of things around them4 ,and this question must have become more urgent as working in metals1 making colours and dyes1 preparing new kinds of food and drink1 producing substances with smells and tastes unlike those of familiar objects1 and other pursuits like these1 made men acquainted with transformations which seemed to penetrate to the very foundations of things4 ,can one thing be changed into any other thing2 or1 are there classes of things within each of which change is possible1 while the passage from one class to another is not possible8 ,are all the varied substances seen1 tasted1 handled1 smelt1 composed of a limited number of essentially different things2 or1 is each fundamentally different from every other substance8 ,such questions as these must have pressed for answers long ago4 ,some of the ,greek philosophers who lived four or five hundred years before ,christ formed a theory of the transformations of matter1 which is essentially the theory held by naturalists to-day4 ,these philosophers taught that to understand nature we must get beneath the superficial qualities of things4 ,according to convention1 said ,democritus 7born #dfj ,b4,c471 there are a sweet and a bitter1 a hot and a cold1 and according to convention there is colour4 ,in truth there are atoms and a void4 ,those investigators attempted to connect all the differences which are observed between the qualities of things with differences of size1 shape1 position1 and movement of atoms4 ,they said that all things are formed by the coalescence of certain unchangeable1 indestructible1 and impenetrable particles which they named atoms2 the total number of atoms is constant2 not one of them can be destroyed1 nor can one be created2 when a substance ceases to exist and another is formed1 the process is not a destruction of matter1 it is a re-arrangement of atoms4 ,only fragments of the writings of the founders of the atomic theory have come to us4 ,the views of these philosophers are preserved1 and doubtless amplified and modified1 in a ,latin poem1 ,concerning the ,nature of ,things1 written by ,lucretius1 who was born a century before the beginning of our era4 ,let us consider the picture given in that poem of the material universe1 and the method whereby the picture was produced4#b #b ,the quotations from ,lucretius are taken from ,munro's translation 7#dth ,edition1 #ahhf74 ,all knowledge1 said ,lucretius1 is based on the aspect and the law of nature4 ,true knowledge can be obtained only by the use of the senses2 there is no other method4 ,from the senses first has proceeded the knowledge of the true1 and the senses cannot be refuted4 ,shall reason1 founded on false sense1 be able to contradict the senses1 wholly founded as it is on the senses8 ,and if they are not true1 then all reason as well is rendered false4 ,the first principle in nature is asserted by ,lucretius to be that ,nothing is ever gotten out of nothing4 ,a thing never returns to nothing1 but all things after disruption go back to the first bodies of matter4 ,if there were not imperishable seeds of things1 atoms1 first-beginnings of solid singleness1 then1 ,lucretius urges1 infinite time gone by and lapse of days must have eaten up all things that are of mortal body4 ,the first-beginnings1 or atoms1 of things were thought of by ,lucretius as always moving2 there is no lowest point in the sum of the universe where they can rest2 they meet1 clash1 rebound1 or sometimes join together into groups of atoms which move about as wholes4 ,change1 growth1 decay1 formation1 disruption--these are the marks of all things4 ,the war of first-beginnings waged from eternity is carried on with dubious issue3 now here1 now there1 the life-bringing elements of things get the mastery1 and are o'ermastered in turn2 with the funeral wail blends the cry which babies raise when they enter the borders of light2 and no night ever followed day1 nor morning night1 that heard not1 mingling with the sickly infant's cries1 the attendants' wailings on death and black funeral4 ,lucretius pictured the atoms of things as like the things perceived by the senses2 he said that atoms of different kinds have different shapes1 but the number of shapes is finite1 because there is a limit to the number of different things we see1 smell1 taste1 and handle2 he implies1 although ,i do not think he definitely asserts1 that all atoms of one kind are identical in every respect4 ,we now know that many compounds exist which are formed by the union of the same quantities by weight of the same elements1 and1 nevertheless1 differ in properties2 modern chemistry explains this fact by saying that the properties of a substance depend1 not only on the kind of atoms which compose the minute particles of a compound1 and the number of atoms of each kind1 but also on the mode of arrangement of the atoms4#c ,the same doctrine was taught by ,lucretius1 two thousand years ago4 ,it often makes a great difference1 he said1 with what things1 and in what positions the same first-beginnings are held in union1 and what motions they mutually impart and receive4 ,for instance1 certain atoms may be so arranged at one time as to produce fire1 and1 at another time1 the arrangement of the same atoms may be such that the result is a fir-tree4 ,the differences between the colours of things are said by ,lucretius to be due to differences in the arrangements and motions of atoms4 ,as the colour of the sea when wind lashes it into foam is different from the colour when the waters are at rest1 so do the colours of things change when the atoms whereof the things are composed change from one arrangement to another1 or from sluggish movements to rapid and tumultuous motions4 #c ,see the chapter ,molecular ,architecture in the ,story of the ,chemical ,elements4 ,lucretius pictured a solid substance as a vast number of atoms squeezed closely together1 a liquid as composed of not so many atoms less tightly packed1 and a gas as a comparatively small number of atoms with considerable freedom of motion4 ,essentially the same picture is presented by the molecular theory of to-day4 ,to meet the objection that atoms are invisible1 and therefore cannot exist1 ,lucretius enumerates many things we cannot see although we know they exist4 ,no one doubts the existence of winds1 heat1 cold and smells2 yet no one has seen the wind1 or heat1 or cold1 or a smell4 ,clothes become moist when hung near the sea1 and dry when spread in the sunshine2 but no one has seen the moisture entering or leaving the clothes4 ,a pavement trodden by many feet is worn away2 but the minute particles are removed without our eyes being able to see them4 ,another objector urges--,you say the atoms are always moving1 yet the things we look at1 which you assert to be vast numbers of moving atoms1 are often motionless4 ,him ,lucretius answers by an analogy4 ,and herein you need not wonder at this1 that though the first-beginnings of things are all in motion1 yet the sum is seen to rest in supreme repose1 unless when a thing exhibits motions with its individual body4 ,for all the nature of first things lies far away from our senses1 beneath their ken2 and1 therefore1 since they are themselves beyond what you can see1 they must withdraw from sight their motion as well2 and the more so1 that the things which we can see do yet often conceal their motions when a great distance off4 ,thus1 often1 the woolly flocks as they crop the glad pastures on a hill1 creep on whither the grass1 jewelled with fresh dew1 summons or invites each1 and the lambs1 fed to the full1 gambol and playfully butt2 all which objects appear to us from a distance to be blended together1 and to rest like a white spot on a green hill4 ,again1 when mighty legions fill with their movements all parts of the plains1 waging the mimicry of war1 the glitter lifts itself up to the sky1 and the whole earth round gleams with brass1 and beneath a noise is raised by the mighty tramplings of men1 and the mountains1 stricken by the shouting1 echo the voices to the stars of heaven1 and horsemen fly about1 and suddenly wheeling1 scour across the middle of the plains1 shaking them with the vehemence of their charge4 ,and yet there is some spot on the high hills1 seen from which they appear to stand still and to rest on the plains as a bright spot4 ,the atomic theory of the ,greek thinkers was constructed by reasoning on natural phenomena4 ,lucretius constantly appeals to observed facts for confirmation of his theoretical teachings1 or refutation of opinions he thought erroneous4 ,besides giving a general mental presentation of the material universe1 the theory was applied to many specific transmutations2 but minute descriptions of what are now called chemical changes could not be given in terms of the theory1 because no searching examination of so much as one such change had been made1 nor1 ,i think1 one may say1 could be made under the conditions of ,greek life4 ,more than two thousand years passed before investigators began to make accurate measurements of the quantities of the substances which take part in those changes wherein certain things seem to be destroyed and other totally different things to be produced2 until accurate knowledge had been obtained of the quantities of the definite substances which interact in the transformations of matter1 the atomic theory could not do more than draw the outlines of a picture of material changes4 ,a scientific theory has been described as the likening of our imaginings to what we actually observe4 ,so long as we observe only in the rough1 only in a broad and general way1 our imaginings must also be rough1 broad1 and general4 ,it was the great glory of the ,greek thinkers about natural events that their observations were accurate1 on the whole1 and as far as they went1 and the theory they formed was based on no trivial or accidental features of the facts1 but on what has proved to be the very essence of the phenomena they sought to bring into one point of view2 for all the advances made in our own times in clear knowledge of the transformations of matter have been made by using1 as a guide to experimental inquiries1 the conception that the differences between the qualities of substances are connected with differences in the weights and movements of minute particles2 and this was the central idea of the atomic theory of the ,greek philosophers4 ,the atomic theory was used by the great physicists of the later ,renaissance1 by ,galileo1 ,gassendi1 ,newton and others4 ,our own countryman1 ,john ,dalton1 while trying 7in the early years of the #aith century7 to form a mental presentation of the atmosphere in terms of the theory of atoms1 rediscovered the possibility of differences between the sizes of atoms1 applied this idea to the facts concerning the quantitative compositions of compounds which had been established by others1 developed a method for determining the relative weights of atoms of different kinds1 and started chemistry on the course which it has followed so successfully4 ,instead of blaming the ,greek philosophers for lack of quantitatively accurate experimental inquiry1 we should rather be full of admiring wonder at the extraordinary acuteness of their mental vision1 and the soundness of their scientific spirit4 ,the ancient atomists distinguished the essential properties of things from their accidental features4 ,the former cannot be removed1 ,lucretius said1 without utter destruction accompanying the severance2 the latter may be altered while the nature of the thing remains unharmed4 ,as examples of essential properties1 ,lucretius mentions the weight of a stone1 the heat of fire1 the fluidity of water4 ,such things as liberty1 war1 slavery1 riches1 poverty1 and the like1 were accounted accidents4 ,time also was said to be an accident3 it exists not by itself2 but simply from the things which happen1 the sense apprehends what has been done in time past1 as well as what is present1 and what is to follow after4 ,as our story proceeds1 we shall see that the chemists of the middle ages1 the alchemists1 founded their theory of material changes on the difference between a supposed essential substratum of things1 and their qualities which could be taken off1 they said1 and put on1 as clothes are removed and replaced4 ,how different from the clear1 harmonious1 orderly1 ,greek scheme1 is any picture we can form1 from such quotations as ,i have given from their writings1 of the alchemists' conception of the world4 ,the ,greeks likened their imaginings of nature to the natural facts they observed2 the alchemists created an imaginary world after their own likeness4 ,while ,christianity was superseding the old religions1 and the theological system of the ,christian ,church was replacing the cosmogonies of the heathen1 the contrast between the power of evil and the power of good was more fully realised than in the days of the ,greeks2 a sharper division was drawn between this world and another world1 and that other world was divided into two irreconcilable and absolutely opposite parts4 ,man came to be regarded as the centre of a tremendous and never-ceasing battle1 urged between the powers of good and the powers of evil4 ,the sights and sounds of nature were regarded as the vestments1 or the voices1 of the unseen combatants4 ,life was at once very real and the mere shadow of a dream4 ,the conditions were favourable to the growth of magic2 for man was regarded as the measure of the universe1 the central figure in an awful tragedy4 ,magic is an attempt1 by thinking and speculating about what we consider must be the order of nature1 to discover some means of penetrating into the secret life of natural things1 of realising the hidden powers and virtues of things1 grasping the concealed thread of unity which is supposed to run through all phenomena however seemingly diverse1 entering into sympathy with the supposed inner oneness of life1 death1 the present1 past1 and future4 ,magic grows1 and gathers strength1 when men are sure their theory of the universe must be the one true theory1 and they see only through the glasses which their theory supplies4 ,he who knows himself thoroughly knows ,god and all the mysteries of ,his nature1 says a modern writer on magic4 ,that saying expresses the fundamental hypothesis1 and the method1 of all systems of magic and mysticism4 ,of such systems1 alchemy was one4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,a ,,sketch ,,of ,,alchemical ,,theory4 ,the system which began to be called alchemy in the #fth and #gth centuries of our era had no special name before that time1 but was known as the sacred art1 the divine science1 the occult science1 the art of ,hermes4 ,a commentator on ,aristotle1 writing in the #dth century ,a4,d41 calls certain instruments used for fusion and calcination chuika organa1 that is1 instruments for melting and pouring4 ,hence1 probably1 came the adjective chyic or chymic1 and1 at a somewhat later time1 the word chemia as the name of that art which deals with calcinations1 fusions1 meltings1 and the like4 ,the writer of a treatise on astrology1 in the #eth century1 speaking of the influences of the stars on the dispositions of man1 says3 ,if a man is born under ,mercury he will give himself to astronomy2 if ,mars1 he will follow the profession of arms2 if ,saturn1 he will devote himself to the science of alchemy 7,scientia alchemiae74 ,the word alchemia which appears in this treatise1 was formed by prefixing the ,arabic al 7meaning the7 to chemia1 a word1 as we have seen1 of ,greek origin4 ,it is the growth1 development1 and transformation into chemistry1 of this alchemia which we have to consider4 ,alchemy1 that is1 the art of melting1 pouring1 and transforming1 must necessarily pay much attention to working with crucibles1 furnaces1 alembics1 and other vessels wherein things are fused1 distilled1 calcined1 and dissolved4 ,the old drawings of alchemical operations show us men busy calcining1 cohobating1 distilling1 dissolving1 digesting1 and performing other processes of like character to these4 ,the alchemists could not be accused of laziness or aversion to work in their laboratories4 ,paracelsus 7#afth century7 says of them3 ,they are not given to idleness1 nor go in a proud habit1 or plush and velvet garments1 often showing their rings on their fingers1 or wearing swords with silver hilts by their sides1 or fine and gay gloves on their hands2 but diligently follow their labours1 sweating whole days and nights by their furnaces4 ,they do not spend their time abroad for recreation1 but take delight in their laboratories4 ,they put their fingers among coals1 into clay and filth1 not into gold rings4 ,they are sooty and black1 like smiths and miners1 and do not pride themselves upon clean and beautiful faces4 ,in these respects the chemist of to-day faithfully follows the practice of the alchemists who were his predecessors4 ,you can nose a chemist in a crowd by the smell of the laboratory which hangs about him2 you can pick him out by the stains on his hands and clothes4 ,he also takes delight in his laboratory2 he does not always pride himself on a clean and beautiful face2 he sweats whole days and nights by his furnace4 ,why does the chemist toil so eagerly8 ,why did the alchemists so untiringly pursue their quest8 ,i think it is not unfair to say3 the chemist experiments in order that he may liken his imaginings to the facts which he observes2 the alchemist toiled that he might liken the facts which he observed to his imaginings4 ,the difference may be put in another way by saying3 the chemist's object is to discover how changes happen in combinations of the unchanging2 the alchemist's endeavour was to prove the truth of his fundamental assertion1 that every substance contains undeveloped resources and potentialities1 and can be brought outward and forward into perfection4 ,looking around him1 and observing the changes of things1 the alchemist was deeply impressed by the growth and modification of plants and animals2 he argued that minerals and metals also grow1 change1 develop4 ,he said in effect3 ,nature is one1 there must be unity in all the diversity ,i see4 ,when a grain of corn falls into the earth it dies1 but this dying is the first step towards a new life2 the dead seed is changed into the living plant4 ,so it must be with all other things in nature3 the mineral1 or the metal1 seems dead when it is buried in the earth1 but1 in reality1 it is growing1 changing1 and becoming more perfect4 ,the perfection of the seed is the plant4 ,what is the perfection of the common metals8 ,evidently1 the alchemist replied1 the perfect metal is gold2 the common metals are trying to become gold4 ,gold is the intention of ,nature in regard to all metals1 said an alchemical writer4 ,plants are preserved by the preservation of their seed4 ,in like manner1 the alchemist's argument proceeded1 there must be a seed in metals which is their essence2 if ,i can separate the seed and bring it under the proper conditions1 ,i can cause it to grow into the perfect metal4 ,animal life1 and human life also1 we may suppose the alchemist saying1 are continued by the same method as that whereby the life of plants is continued2 all life springs from seed2 the seed is fructified by the union of the male and the female2 in metals also there must be the two characters2 the union of these is needed for the production of new metals2 the conjoining of metals must go before the birth of the perfect metal4 ,now1 we may suppose the argument to proceed1 now1 the passage from the imperfect to the more perfect is not easy4 ,it is harder to practise virtue than to acquiesce in vice2 virtue comes not naturally to man2 that he may gain the higher life1 he must be helped by grace4 ,therefore1 the task of exalting the purer metals into the perfect gold1 of developing the lower order into the higher1 is not easy4 ,if ,nature does this1 she does it slowly and painfully2 if the exaltation of the common metals to a higher plane is to be effected rapidly1 it can be done only by the help of man4 ,so far as ,i can judge from their writings1 the argument of the alchemists may be rendered by some such form as the foregoing4 ,a careful examination of the alchemical argument shows that it rests on a 7supposed7 intimate knowledge of nature's plan of working1 and the certainty that simplicity is the essential mark of that plan4 ,that the alchemists were satisfied of the great simplicity of nature1 and their own knowledge of the ways of nature's work1 is apparent from their writings4 ,the author of ,the ,new ,chemical ,light 7#agth century7 says3 ,simplicity is the seal of truth4444 ,nature is wonderfully simple1 and the characteristic mark of a childlike simplicity is stamped upon all that is true and noble in ,nature4 ,in another place the same author says3 ,nature is one1 true1 simple1 self-contained1 created of ,god1 and informed with a certain universal spirit4 ,the same author1 ,michael ,sendivogius1 remarks3 ,it may be asked how ,i come to have this knowledge about heavenly things which are far removed beyond human ken4 ,my answer is that the sages have been taught by ,god that this natural world is only an image and material copy of a heavenly and spiritual pattern2 that the very existence of this world is based upon the reality of its heavenly archetype4444 ,thus the sage sees heaven reflected in ,nature as in a mirror1 and he pursues this ,art1 not for the sake of gold or silver1 but for the love of the knowledge which it reveals4 ,the ,only ,true ,way advises all who wish to become true alchemists to leave the circuitous paths of pretended philosophers1 and to follow nature1 which is simple2 the complicated processes described in books are said to be the traps laid by the cunning sophists to catch the unwary4 ,in ,a ,catechism of ,alchemy1 ,paracelsus asks3 ,what road should the philosopher follow8 ,he answers1 ,that exactly which was followed by the ,great ,architect of the ,universe in the creation of the world4 ,one might suppose it would be easier1 and perhaps more profitable1 to examine1 observe1 and experiment1 than to turn one's eyes inwards with the hope of discovering exactly the road followed by the ,great ,architect of the ,universe in the creation of the world4 ,but the alchemical method found it easier to begin by introspection4 ,the alchemist spun his universe from his own ideas of order1 symmetry1 and simplicity1 as the spider spins her web from her own substance4 ,a favourite saying of the alchemists was1 ,what is above is as what is below4 ,in one of its aspects this saying meant1 processes happen within the earth like those which occur on the earth2 minerals and metals live1 as animals and plants live2 all pass through corruption towards perfection4 ,in another aspect the saying meant the human being is the world in miniature2 as is the microcosm1 so is the macrocosm2 to know oneself is to know all the world4 ,every man knows he ought to try to rise to better things1 and many men endeavour to do what they know they ought to do2 therefore1 he who feels sure that all nature is fashioned after the image of man1 projects his own ideas of progress1 development1 virtue1 matter and spirit1 on to nature outside himself2 and1 as a matter of course1 this kind of naturalist uses the same language when he is speaking of the changes of material things as he employs to express the changes of his mental states1 his hopes1 fears1 aspirations1 and struggles4 ,the language of the alchemists was1 therefore1 rich in such expressions as these2 the elements are to be so conjoined that the nobler and fuller life may be produced2 our arcanum is gold exalted to the highest degree of perfection to which the combined action of nature and art can develop it4 ,such commingling of ethical and physical ideas1 such application of moral conceptions to material phenomena1 was characteristic of the alchemical method of regarding nature4 ,the necessary results were2 great confusion of thought1 much mystification of ideas1 and a superabundance of views about natural events4 ,when the author of ,the ,metamorphosis of ,metals was seeking for an argument in favour of his view1 that water is the source and primal element of all things1 he found what he sought in the ,biblical text3 ,in the beginning the spirit of ,god moved upon the face of the waters4 ,similarly1 the author of ,the ,sodic ,hydrolith clenches his argument in favour of the existence of the ,philosopher's ,stone1 by the quotation3 ,therefore1 thus saith the ,lord2 behold ,i lay in ,zion for a foundation a ,stone1 a tried ,stone1 a precious corner ,stone1 a sure foundation4 ,he that has it shall not be confounded4 ,this author works out in detail an analogy between the functions and virtues of the ,stone1 and the story of man's fall and redemption1 as set forth in the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,the same author speaks of ,satan1 that grim pseudo-alchemist4 ,that the attribution1 by the alchemists1 of moral virtues and vices to natural things was in keeping with some deep-seated tendency of human nature1 is shown by the persistence of some of their methods of stating the properties of substances3 we still speak of perfect and imperfect gases1 noble and base metals1 good and bad conductors of electricity1 and laws governing natural phenomena4 ,convinced of the simplicity of nature1 certain that all natural events follow one course1 sure that this course was known to them and was represented by the growth of plants and animals1 the alchemists set themselves the task1 firstly1 of proving by observations and experiments that their view of natural occurrences was correct2 and1 secondly1 of discovering and gaining possession of the instrument whereby nature effects her transmutations and perfects her operations4 ,the mastery of this instrument would give them power to change any metal into gold1 the cure of all diseases1 and the happiness which must come from the practical knowledge of the supreme secret of nature4 ,the central quest of alchemy was the quest of an undefined and undefinable something wherein was supposed to be contained all the powers and potencies of life1 and whatever makes life worth living4 ,the names given to this mystical something were as many as the properties which were assigned to it4 ,it was called the one thing1 the essence1 the philosopher's stone1 the stone of wisdom1 the heavenly balm1 the divine water1 the virgin water1 the carbuncle of the sun1 the old dragon1 the lion1 the basilisk1 the phoenix2 and many other names were given to it4 ,we may come near to expressing the alchemist's view of the essential character of the object of their search by naming it the soul of all things4 ,alchemy1 a modern writer says1 is the science of the soul of all things4 ,the essence was supposed to have a material form1 an ethereal or middle nature1 and an immaterial or spiritual life4 ,no one might hope to make this essence from any one substance1 because1 as one of the alchemists says1 ,it is the attribute of ,god alone to make one out of one2 you must produce one thing out of two by natural generation4 ,the alchemists did not pretend to create gold1 but only to produce it from other things4 ,the author of ,a ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby says3 ,we do not1 as is sometimes said1 profess to create gold and silver1 but only to find an agent which 444 is capable of entering into an intimate and maturing union with the ,mercury of the base metals4 ,and again3 ,our ,art 444 only arrogates to itself the power of developing1 through the removal of all defects and superfluities1 the golden nature which the baser metals possess4 ,bonus1 in his tract on ,the ,new ,pearl of ,great ,price 7#afth century71 says3 ,the ,art of ,alchemy 444 does not create metals1 or even develop them out of the metallic first-substance2 it only takes up the unfinished handicraft of ,nature and completes it4444 ,nature has only left a comparatively small thing for the artist to do--the completion of that which she has already begun4 ,if the essence were ever attained1 it would be by following the course which nature follows in producing the perfect plant from the imperfect seed1 by discovering and separating the seed of metals1 and bringing that seed under the conditions which alone are suitable for its growth4 ,metals must have seed1 the alchemists said1 for it would be absurd to suppose they have none4 ,what prerogative have vegetables above metals1 exclaims one of them1 that ,god should give seed to the one and withhold it from the other8 ,are not metals as much in ,his sight as trees8 ,as metals1 then1 possess seed1 it is evident how this seed is to be made active2 the seed of a plant is quickened by descending into the earth1 therefore the seed of metals must be destroyed before it becomes life-producing4 ,the processes of our art must begin with dissolution of gold2 they must terminate in a restoration of the essential quality of gold4 ,gold does not easily give up its nature1 and will fight for its life2 but our agent is strong enough to overcome and kill it1 and then it also has power to restore it to life1 and to change the lifeless remains into a new and pure body4 ,the application of the doctrine of the existence of seed in metals led to the performance of many experiments1 and1 hence1 to the accumulation of a considerable body of facts established by experimental inquiries4 ,the belief of the alchemists that all natural events are connected by a hidden thread1 that everything has an influence on other things1 that what is above is as what is below1 constrained them to place stress on the supposed connexion between the planets and the metals1 and to further their metallic transformations by performing them at times when certain planets were in conjunction4 ,the seven principal planets and the seven principal metals were called by the same names3 ,sol 7gold71 ,luna 7silver71 ,saturn 7lead71 ,jupiter 7tin71 ,mars 7iron71 ,venus 7copper71 and ,mercury 7mercury74 ,the author of ,the ,new ,chemical ,light taught that one metal could be propagated from another only in the order of superiority of the planets4 ,he placed the seven planets in the following descending order3 ,saturn1 ,jupiter1 ,mars1 ,sol1 ,venus1 ,mercury1 ,luna4 ,the virtues of the planets descend1 he said1 but do not ascend2 it is easy to change ,mars 7iron7 into ,venus 7copper71 for instance1 but ,venus cannot be transformed into ,mars4 ,although the alchemists regarded everything as influencing1 and influenced by1 other things1 they were persuaded that the greatest effects are produced on a substance by substances of like nature with itself4 ,hence1 most of them taught that the seed of metals will be obtained by operations with metals1 not by the action on metals of things of animal or vegetable origin4 ,each class of substances1 they said1 has a life1 or spirit 7an essential character1 we might say7 of its own4 ,the life of sulphur1 ,paracelsus said1 is a combustible1 ill-smelling1 fatness4444 ,the life of gems and corals is mere colour4444 ,the life of water is its flowing4444 ,the life of fire is air4 ,grant an attraction of like to like1 and the reason becomes apparent for such directions as these3 ,nothing heterogeneous must be introduced into our magistery2 ,everything should be made to act on that which is like it1 and then ,nature will perform her duty4 ,although each class of substances was said by the alchemists to have its own particular character1 or life1 nevertheless they taught that there is a deep-seated likeness between all things1 inasmuch as the power of the essence1 or the one thing1 is so great that under its influence different things are produced from the same origin1 and different things are caused to pass into and become the same thing4 ,in ,the ,new ,chemical ,light it is said3 ,while the seed of all things is one1 it is made to generate a great variety of things4 ,it is not easy now--it could not have been easy at any time--to give clear and exact meanings to the doctrines of the alchemists1 or the directions they gave for performing the operations necessary for the production of the object of their search4 ,and the difficulty is much increased when we are told that ,the ,sage jealously conceals his knowledge from the sinner and the scornful1 lest the mysteries of heaven should be laid bare to the vulgar gaze4 ,we almost despair when an alchemical writer assures us that the ,sages ,set pen to paper for the express purpose of concealing their meaning4 ,the sense of a whole passage is often hopelessly obscured by the addition or omission of one little word1 for instance the addition of the word not in the wrong place4 ,another writer says3 ,the ,sages are in the habit of using words which may convey either a true or a false impression2 the former to their own disciples and children1 the latter to the ignorant1 the foolish1 and the unworthy4 ,sometimes1 after descriptions of processes couched in strange and mystical language1 the writer will add1 ,if you cannot perceive what you ought to understand herein1 you should not devote yourself to the study of philosophy4 ,philalethes1 in his ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby1 seems to feel some pity for his readers2 after describing what he calls the generic homogeneous water of gold1 he says3 ,if you wish for a more particular description of our water1 ,i am impelled by motives of charity to tell you that it is living1 flexible1 clear1 nitid1 white as snow1 hot1 humid1 airy1 vaporous1 and digestive4 ,alchemy began by asserting that nature must be simple2 it assumed that a knowledge of the plan and method of natural occurrences is to be obtained by thinking2 and it used analogy as the guide in applying this knowledge of nature's design to particular events1 especially the analogy1 assumed by alchemy to exist1 between material phenomena and human emotions4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,conception ,,of ,,the ,,unity ,,and ,,simplicity ,,of ,,nature4 ,in the preceding chapter ,i have referred to the frequent use made by the alchemists of their supposition that nature follows the same plan1 or at any rate a very similar plan1 in all her processes4 ,if this supposition is accepted1 the primary business of an investigator of nature is to trace likenesses and analogies between what seem on the surface to be dissimilar and unconnected events4 ,as this idea1 and this practice1 were the foundations whereon the superstructure of alchemy was raised1 ,i think it is important to amplify them more fully than ,i have done already4 ,mention is made in many alchemical writings of a mythical personage named ,hermes ,trismegistus1 who is said to have lived a little later than the time of ,moses4 ,representations of ,hermes ,trismegistus are found on ancient ,egyptian monuments4 ,we are told that ,alexander the ,great found his tomb near ,hebron2 and that the tomb contained a slab of emerald whereon thirteen sentences were written4 ,the eighth sentence is rendered in many alchemical books as follows3 ,ascend with the greatest sagacity from the earth to heaven1 and then again descend to the earth1 and unite together the powers of things superior and things inferior4 ,thus you will obtain the glory of the whole world1 and obscurity will fly away from you4 ,this sentence evidently teaches the unity of things in heaven and things on earth1 and asserts the possibility of gaining1 not merely a theoretical1 but also a practical1 knowledge of the essential characters of all things4 ,moreover1 the sentence implies that this fruitful knowledge is to be obtained by examining nature1 using as guide the fundamental similarity supposed to exist between things above and things beneath4 ,the alchemical writers constantly harp on this theme3 follow nature2 provided you never lose the clue1 which is simplicity and similarity4 ,the author of ,the ,only ,way 7#afgg7 beseeches his readers to enlist under the standard of that method which proceeds in strict obedience to the teaching of nature 444 in short1 the method which nature herself pursues in the bowels of the earth4 ,the alchemists tell us not to expect much help from books and written directions4 ,when one of them has said all he can say1 he adds--,the question is whether even this book will convey any information to one before whom the writings of the ,sages and the open book of ,nature are exhibited in vain4 ,another tells his readers the only thing for them is to beseech ,god to give you the real philosophical temper1 and to open your eyes to the facts of nature2 thus alone will you reach the coveted goal4 ,follow nature is sound advice4 ,but1 nature was to be followed with eyes closed save to one vision1 and the vision was to be seen before the following began4 ,the alchemists' general conception of nature led them to assign to every substance a condition or state natural to it1 and wherein alone it could be said to be as it was designed to be4 ,each substance1 they taught1 could be caused to leave its natural state only by violent1 or non-natural1 means1 and any substance which had been driven from its natural condition by violence was ready1 and even eager1 to return to the condition consonant with its nature4 ,thus ,norton1 in his ,ordinal of ,alchemy1 says3 ,metals are generated in the earth1 for above ground they are subject to rust2 hence above ground is the place of corruption of metals1 and of their gradual destruction4 ,the cause which we assign to this fact is that above ground they are not in their proper element1 and an unnatural position is destructive to natural objects1 as we see1 for instance1 that fishes die when they are taken out of the water2 and as it is natural for men1 beasts1 and birds to live in the air1 so stones and metals are naturally generated under the earth4 ,in his ,new ,pearl of ,great ,price 7#afth century71 ,bonus says3--,the object of ,nature in all things is to introduce into each substance the form which properly belongs to it2 and this is also the design of our ,art4 ,this view assumed the knowledge of the natural conditions of the substances wherewith experiments were performed4 ,it supposed that man could act as a guide1 to bring back to its natural condition a substance which had been removed from that condition1 either by violent processes of nature1 or by man's device4 ,the alchemist regarded himself as an arbiter in questions concerning the natural condition of each substance he dealt with4 ,he thought he could say1 this substance ought to be thus1 or thus1 that substance is constrained1 thwarted1 hindered from becoming what nature meant it to be4 ,in ,ben ,jonson's play called ,the ,alchemist1 ,subtle 7who is the alchemist of the play7 says1 444 metals would be gold if they had time4 ,the alchemist not only attributed ethical qualities to material things1 he also became the guardian and guide of the moral practices of these things4 ,he thought himself able to recall the erring metal to the path of metalline virtue1 to lead the extravagant mineral back to the moral home-life from which it had been seduced1 to show the doubting and vacillating salt what it was ignorantly seeking1 and to help it to find the unrealised object of its search4 ,the alchemist acted as a sort of conscience to the metals1 minerals1 salts1 and other substances he submitted to the processes of his laboratory4 ,he treated them as a wise physician might treat an ignorant and somewhat refractory patient4 ,i know what you want better than you do1 he seems often to be saying to the metals he is calcining1 separating1 joining and subliming4 ,but the ignorant alchemist was not always thanked for his treatment4 ,sometimes the patient rebelled4 ,for instance1 ,michael ,sendivogius1 in his tract1 ,the ,new ,chemical ,light drawn from the ,fountain of ,nature and of ,manual ,experience 7#agth century71 recounts a dialogue between ,mercury1 the ,alchemist1 and ,nature4 ,on a certain bright morning a number of ,alchemists met together in a meadow1 and consulted as to the best way of preparing the ,philosopher's ,stone4444 ,most of them agreed that ,mercury was the first substance4 ,others said1 no1 it was sulphur1 or something else4444 ,just as the dispute began to run high1 there arose a violent wind1 which dispersed the ,alchemists into all the different countries of the world2 and as they had arrived at no conclusion1 each one went on seeking the ,philosopher's ,stone in his own old way1 this one expecting to find it in one substance1 and that in another1 so that the search has continued without intermission even unto this day4 ,one of them1 however1 had at least got the idea into his head that ,mercury was the substance of the ,stone1 and determined to concentrate all his efforts on the chemical preparation of ,mercury4444 ,he took common ,mercury and began to work with it4 ,he placed it in a glass vessel over the fire1 when it1 of course1 evaporated4 ,so in his ignorance he struck his wife1 and said3 ',no one but you has entered my laboratory2 you must have taken my ,mercury out of the vessel4' ,the woman1 with tears1 protested her innocence4 ,the ,alchemist put some more ,mercury into the vessel4444 ,the ,mercury rose to the top of the vessel in vaporous steam4 ,then the ,alchemist was full of joy1 because he remembered that the first substance of the ,stone is described by the ,sages as volatile2 and he thought that now at last he must be on the right track4 ,he now began to subject the ,mercury to all sorts of chemical processes1 to sublime it1 and to calcine it with all manner of things1 with salts1 sulphur1 metals1 minerals1 blood1 hair1 aqua fortis1 herbs1 urine1 and vinegar4444 ,everything he could think of was tried2 but without producing the desired effect4 ,the ,alchemist then despaired2 after a dream1 wherein an old man came and talked with him about the ,mercury of the ,sages1 the ,alchemist thought he would charm the ,mercury1 and so he used a form of incantation4 ,the ,mercury suddenly began to speak1 and asked the ,alchemist why he had troubled him so much1 and so on4 ,the ,alchemist replied1 and questioned the ,mercury4 ,the ,mercury makes fun of the philosopher4 ,then the ,alchemist again torments the ,mercury by heating him with all manner of horrible things4 ,at last ,mercury calls in the aid of ,nature1 who soundly rates the philosopher1 tells him he is grossly ignorant1 and ends by saying3 ,the best thing you can do is to give yourself up to the king's officers1 who will quickly put an end to you and your philosophy4 ,as long as men were fully persuaded that they knew the plan whereon the world was framed1 that it was possible for them to follow exactly the road which was followed by the ,great ,architect of the ,universe in the creation of the world1 a real knowledge of natural events was impossible2 for every attempt to penetrate nature's secrets presupposed a knowledge of the essential characteristics of that which was to be investigated4 ,but genuine knowledge begins when the investigator admits that he must learn of nature1 not nature of him4 ,it might be truly said of one who held the alchemical conception of nature that his foible was omniscience2 and omniscience negatives the attainment of knowledge4 ,the alchemical notion of a natural state as proper to each substance was vigorously combated by the ,honourable ,robert ,boyle 7born #afbf1 died #afia71 a man of singularly clear and penetrative intellect4 ,in ,a ,paradox of the ,natural and ,supernatural ,states of ,bodies1 ,especially of the ,air1 ,boyle says3--,i know that not only in living1 but even in inanimate1 bodies1 of which alone ,i here discourse1 men have universally admitted the famous distinction between the natural and preternatural1 or violent state of bodies1 and do daily1 without the least scruple1 found upon it hypotheses and ratiocinations1 as if it were most certain that what they call nature had purposely formed bodies in such a determinate state1 and were always watchful that they should not by any external violence be put out of it4 ,but notwithstanding so general a consent of men in this point1 ,i confess1 ,i cannot yet be satisfied about it in the sense wherein it is wont to be taken4 ,it is not1 that ,i believe1 that there is no sense in which1 or in the account upon which1 a body may he said to be in its natural state2 but that ,i think the common distinction of a natural and violent state of bodies has not been clearly explained and considerately settled1 and both is not well grounded1 and is oftentimes ill applied4 ,for when ,i consider that whatever state a body be put into1 or kept in1 it obtains or retains that state1 assenting to the catholic laws of nature1 ,i cannot think it fit to deny that in this sense the body proposed is in a natural state2 but then1 upon the same ground1 it will he hard to deny but that those bodies which are said to be in a violent state may also be in a natural one1 since the violence they are presumed to suffer from outward agents is likewise exercised no otherwise than according to the established laws of universal nature4 ,there must be something very fascinating and comforting in the alchemical view of nature1 as a harmony constructed on one simple plan1 which can be grasped as a whole1 and also in its details1 by the introspective processes of the human intellect2 for that conception prevails to-day among those who have not investigated natural occurrences for themselves4 ,the alchemical view of nature still forms the foundation of systems of ethics1 of philosophy1 of art4 ,it appeals to the innate desire of man to make himself the measure of all things4 ,it is so easy1 so authoritative1 apparently so satisfactory4 ,no amount of thinking and reasoning will ever demonstrate its falsity4 ,it can be conquered only by a patient1 unbiassed1 searching examination of some limited portion of natural events4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,elements ,,and ,,principles4 ,the alchemists were sure that the intention of nature regarding metals was that they should become gold1 for gold was considered to be the most perfect metal1 and nature1 they said1 evidently strains after perfection4 ,the alchemist found that metals were worn away1 eaten through1 broken1 and finally caused to disappear1 by many acid and acrid liquids which he prepared from mineral substances4 ,but gold resisted the attacks of these liquids2 it was not changed by heat1 nor was it affected by sulphur1 a substance which changed limpid1 running mercury into an inert1 black solid4 ,hence1 gold was more perfect in the alchemical scale than any other metal4 ,since gold was considered to be the most perfect metal1 it was self-evident to the alchemical mind that nature must form gold slowly in the earth1 must transmute gradually the inferior metals into gold4 ,the only thing that distinguishes one metal from another1 writes an alchemist who went under the name of ,philalethes1 is its degree of maturity1 which is1 of course1 greatest in the most precious metals2 the difference between gold and lead is not one of substance1 but of digestion2 in the baser metal the coction has not been such as to purge out its metallic impurities4 ,if by any means this superfluous impure matter could be organically removed from the baser metals1 they would become gold and silver4 ,so miners tell us that lead has in many cases developed into silver in the bowels of the earth1 and we contend that the same effect is produced in a much shorter time by means of our ,art4 ,stories were told about the finding of gold in deserted mines which had been worked out long before2 these stories were supposed to prove that gold was bred in the earth4 ,the facts that pieces of silver were found in tin and lead mines1 and gold was found in silver mines1 were adduced as proofs that1 as the author of ,the ,new ,pearl of ,great ,price says1 ,nature is continually at work changing other metals into gold1 because1 though in a certain sense they are complete in themselves1 they have not yet reached the highest perfection of which they are capable1 and to which nature has destined them4 ,what nature did in the earth man could accomplish in the workshop4 ,for is not man the crown of the world1 the masterpiece of nature1 the flower of the universe2 was he not given dominion over all things when the world was created8 ,in asserting that the baser metals could be transmuted into gold1 and in attempting to effect this transmutation1 the alchemist was not acting on a vague2 haphazard surmise2 he was pursuing a policy dictated by his conception of the order of nature2 he was following the method which he conceived to be that used by nature herself4 ,the transmutation of metals was part and parcel of a system of natural philosophy4 ,if this transmutation were impossible1 the alchemical scheme of things would be destroyed1 the believer in the transmutation would be left without a sense of order in the material universe4 ,and1 moreover1 the alchemist's conception of an orderly material universe was so intimately connected with his ideas of morality and religion1 that to disprove the possibility of the great transmutation would be to remove not only the basis of his system of material things1 but the foundations of his system of ethics also4 ,to take away his belief in the possibility of changing other metals into gold would be to convert the alchemist into an atheist4 ,how1 then1 was the transmutation to be accomplished8 ,evidently by the method whereby nature brings to perfection other living things2 for the alchemist's belief in the simplicity and unity of nature compelled him to regard metals as living things4 ,plants are improved by appropriate culture1 by digging and enriching the soil1 by judicious selection of seed2 animals are improved by careful breeding4 ,by similar processes metals will be encouraged and helped towards perfection4 ,the perfect state of gold will not be reached at a bound2 it will be gained gradually4 ,many partial purifications will be needed4 ,as ,subtle says in ,the ,alchemist-- 'twere absurd ,to think that nature in the earth bred gold ,perfect in the instant2 something went before1 ,there must be remote matter4444 ,nature doth first beget the imperfect1 then ,proceeds she to the perfect4 ,at this stage the alchemical argument becomes very ultra-physical4 ,it may1 perhaps1 be rendered somewhat as follows3-- ,man is the most perfect of animals2 in man there is a union of three parts1 these are body1 soul1 and spirit4 ,metals also may be said to have a body1 a soul1 and a spirit2 there is a specific bodily1 or material1 form belonging to each metal2 there is a metalline soul characteristic of this or that class of metals2 there is a spirit1 or inner immaterial potency1 which is the very essence of all metals4 ,the soul and spirit of man are clogged by his body4 ,if the spiritual nature is to become the dominating partner1 the body must be mortified3 the alchemists1 of course1 used this kind of imagery1 and it was very real to them4 ,in like manner the spirit of metals will be laid bare and enabled to exercise its transforming influences1 only when the material form of the individual metal has been destroyed4 ,the first thing to do1 then1 is to strip off and cast aside those properties of metals which appeal to the senses4 ,it is necessary to deprive matter of its qualities in order to draw out its soul1 said ,stephanus of ,alexandria in the #gth century2 and in the #agth century ,paracelsus said1 ,nothing of true value is located in the body of a substance1 but in the virtue 444 the less there is of body the more in proportion is the virtue4 ,but the possession of the soul of metals is not the final stage3 mastery of the soul may mean the power of transmuting a metal into another like itself2 it will not suffice for the great transmutation1 for in that process a metal becomes gold1 the one and only perfect metal4 ,hence the soul also must be removed1 in order that the spirit1 the essence1 the kernel1 may be obtained4 ,and as it is with metals1 so1 the alchemists argued1 it is with all things4 ,there are a few ,principles which may be thought of as conditioning the specific bodily and material forms of things2 beneath these1 there are certain ,elements which are common to many things whose principles are not the same2 and1 hidden by the wrappings of elements and principles1 there is the one ,essence1 the spirit1 the mystic uniting bond1 the final goal of the philosopher4 ,i propose in this chapter to try to analyse the alchemical conceptions of ,elements and ,principles1 and in the next chapter to attempt some kind of description of the ,essence4 ,in his ,tract ,concerning the ,great ,stone of the ,ancient ,sages1 ,basil ,valentine speaks of the three ,principles1 salt1 sulphur1 and mercury1 the source of which is the ,elements4 ,there are four ,elements1 and each has at its centre another element which makes it what it is4 ,these are the four pillars of the earth4 ,of the element ,earth1 he says3--,in this element the other three1 especially fire1 are latent4444 ,it is gross and porous1 specifically heavy1 but naturally light4444 ,it receives all that the other three project into it1 conscientiously conceals what it should hide1 and brings to light that which it should manifest4444 ,outwardly it is visible and fixed1 inwardly it is invisible and volatile4 ,of the element ,water1 ,basil ,valentine says3--,outwardly it is volatile1 inwardly it is fixed1 cold1 and humid4444 ,it is the solvent of the world1 and exists in three degrees of excellence3 the pure1 the purer1 and the purest4 ,of its purest substance the heavens were created2 of that which is less pure the atmospheric air was formed2 that which is simply pure remains in its proper sphere where 444 it is guardian of all subtle substances here below4 ,concerning the element ,air1 he writes3--,the most noble ,element of ,air 444 is volatile1 but may be fixed1 and when fixed renders all bodies penetrable4444 ,it is nobler than ,earth or ,water4444 ,it nourishes1 impregnates1 conserves the other elements4 ,finally1 of the element ,fire3--,fire is the purest and noblest of all ,elements1 full of adhesive unctuous corrosiveness1 penetrant1 digestive1 inwardly fixed1 hot and dry1 outwardly visible1 and tempered by the earth4444 ,this ,element is the most passive of all1 and resembles a chariot2 when it is drawn1 it moves2 when it is not drawn1 it stands still4 ,basil ,valentine then tells his readers that ,adam was compounded of the four pure ,elements1 but after his expulsion from ,paradise he became subject to the various impurities of the animal creation4 ,the pure ,elements of his creation were gradually mingled and infected with the corruptible elements of the outer world1 and thus his body became more and more gross1 and liable1 through its grossness1 to natural decay and death4 ,the process of degeneration was slow at first1 but as time went on1 the seed out of which men were generated became more and more infected with perishable elements4 ,the continued use of corruptible food rendered their bodies more and more gross2 and human life was soon reduced to a very brief span4 ,basil ,valentine then deals with the formation of the three ,principles of things1 by the mutual action of the four ,elements4 ,fire acting on ,air produced ,sulphur2 ,air acting on ,water produced ,mercury2 ,water acting on ,earth produced ,salt4 ,earth having nothing to act on produced nothing1 but became the nurse of the three ,principles4 ,the three ,principles1 he says1 are necessary because they are the immediate substance of metals4 ,the remoter substance of metals is the four elements1 but no one can produce anything out of them but ,god2 and even ,god makes nothing of them but these three ,principles4 ,to endeavour to obtain the four pure ,elements is a hopeless task4 ,but the ,sage has the three ,principles at hand4 ,the artist should determine which of the three ,principles he is seeking1 and should assist it so that it may overcome its contrary4 ,the art consists in an even mingling of the virtues of the ,elements2 in the natural equilibrium of the hot1 the dry1 the cold1 and the moist4 ,the account of the ,elements given by ,philalethes differs from that of ,basil ,valentine4 ,philalethes enumerates three ,elements only3 ,air1 ,water1 and ,earth4 ,things are not formed by the mixture of these ,elements1 for dissimilar things can never really unite4 ,by analysing the properties of the three ,elements1 ,philalethes reduced them finally to one1 namely1 ,water4 ,water1 he says1 is the first principle of all things4 ,earth is the fundamental ,element in which all bodies grow and are preserved4 ,air is the medium into which they grow1 and by means of which the celestial virtues are communicated to them4 ,according to ,philalethes1 ,mercury is the most important of the three ,principles4 ,although gold is formed by the aid of ,mercury1 it is only when ,mercury has been matured1 developed1 and perfected1 that it is able to transmute inferior metals into gold4 ,the essential thing to do is1 therefore1 to find an agent which will bring about the maturing and perfecting of ,mercury4 ,this agent1 ,philalethes calls ,our divine ,arcanum4 ,although it appears to me impossible to translate the sayings of the alchemists concerning ,elements and ,principles into expressions which shall have definite and exact meanings for us to-day1 still we may1 perhaps1 get an inkling of the meaning of such sentences as those ,i have quoted from ,basil ,valentine and ,philalethes4 ,take the terms ,fire and ,water4 ,in former times all liquid substances were supposed to be liquid because they possessed something in common2 this hypothetical something was called the ,element1 ,water4 ,similarly1 the view prevailed until comparatively recent times1 that burning substances burn because of the presence in them of a hypothetical imponderable fluid1 called ,caloric2 the alchemists preferred to call this indefinable something an ,element1 and to name it ,fire4 ,we are accustomed to-day to use the words fire and water with different meanings1 according to the ideas we wish to express4 ,when we say do not touch the fire1 or put your hand into the water1 we are regarding fire and water as material things2 when we say the house is on fire1 or speak of a diamond of the first water1 we are thinking of the condition or state of a burning body1 or of a substance as transparent as water4 ,when we say put out the fire1 or his heart became as water1 we are referring to the act of burning1 or are using an image which likens the thing spoken of to a substance in the act of liquefying4 ,as we do to-day1 so the alchemists did before us2 they used the words fire and water to express different ideas4 ,such terms as hardness1 softness1 coldness1 toughness1 and the like1 are employed for the purpose of bringing together into one point of view different things which are alike in1 at least1 one respect4 ,hard things may differ in size1 weight1 shape1 colour1 texture1 c4 ,a soft thing may weigh the same as a hard thing2 both may have the same colour or the same size1 or be at the same temperature1 and so on4 ,by classing together various things as hard or soft1 or smooth or rough1 we eliminate 7for the time7 all the properties wherein the things differ1 and regard them only as having one property in common4 ,the words hardness1 softness1 c41 are useful class-marks4 ,similarly the alchemical ,elements and ,principles were useful class-marks4 ,we must not suppose that when the alchemists spoke of certain things as formed from1 or by the union of1 the same ,elements or the same ,principles1 they meant that these things contained a common substance4 ,their ,elements and ,principles were not thought of as substances1 at least not in the modern meaning of the expression1 a substance2 they were qualities only4 ,if we think of the alchemical elements earth1 air1 fire1 and water1 as general expressions of what seemed to the alchemists the most important properties of all substances1 we may be able to attach some kind of meaning to the sayings of ,basil ,valentine1 which ,i have quoted4 ,for instance1 when that alchemist tells us1 ,fire is the most passive of all elements1 and resembles a chariot2 when it is drawn1 it moves2 when it is not drawn1 it stands still--we may suppose he meant to express the fact that a vast number of substances can be burnt1 and that combustion does not begin of itself1 but requires an external agency to start it4 ,unfortunately1 most of the terms which the alchemists used to designate their ,elements and ,principles are terms which are now employed to designate specific substances4 ,the word fire is still employed rather as a quality of many things under special conditions1 than as a specific substance2 but earth1 water1 air1 salt1 sulphur1 and mercury1 are to-day the names applied to certain groups of properties1 each of which is different from all other groups of properties1 and is1 therefore1 called1 in ordinary speech1 a definite kind of matter4 ,as knowledge became more accurate and more concentrated1 the words sulphur1 salt1 mercury1 c41 began to be applied to distinct substances1 and as these terms were still employed in their alchemical sense as compendious expressions for certain qualities common to great classes of substances1 much confusion arose4 ,kunckel1 the discoverer of phosphorus1 who lived between #afcj and #agjb1 complained of the alchemists' habit of giving different names to the same substance1 and the same name to different substances4 ,the sulphur of one1 he says1 is not the sulphur of another1 to the great injury of science4 ,to that one replies that everyone is perfectly free to baptise his infant as he pleases4 ,granted4 ,you may if you like call an ass an ox1 but you will never make anyone believe that your ox is an ass4 ,boyle is very severe on the vague and loose use of words practised by so many writers of his time4 ,in ,the ,sceptical ,chymist 7published #afgh-i7 he says3 ,if judicious men1 skilled in chymical affairs1 shall once agree to write clearly and plainly of them1 and thereby keep men from being stunned1 as it were1 or imposed upon by dark and empty words2 it is to be hoped that these other men finding1 that they can no longer write impertinently and absurdly1 without being laughed at for doing so1 will be reduced either to write nothing1 or books that may teach us something1 and not rob men1 as formerly1 of invaluable time2 and so ceasing to trouble the world with riddles or impertinences1 we shall either by their books receive an advantage1 or by their silence escape an inconvenience4 ,most of the alchemists taught that the elements produced what they called seed1 by their mutual reactions1 and the principles matured this seed and brought it to perfection4 ,they supposed that each class1 or kind1 of things had its own seed1 and that to obtain the seed was to have the power of producing the things which sprung from that seed4 ,some of them1 however1 asserted that all things come from a common seed1 and that the nature of the products of this seed is conditioned by the circumstances under which it is caused to develop4 ,thus ,michael ,sendivogius writes as follows in ,the ,new ,chemical ,light1 drawn from the fountain of ,nature and of ,manual ,experience 7#agth century73-- ,wherever there is seed1 ,nature will work through it1 whether it be good or bad4 ,the four ,elements1 by their continued action1 project a constant supply of seed to the centre of the earth1 where it is digested1 and whence it proceeds again in generative motions4 ,now the centre of the earth is a certain void place where nothing is at rest1 and upon the margin or circumference of this centre the four ,elements project their qualities4444 ,the magnetic force of our earth-centre attracts to itself as much as is needed of the cognate seminal substance1 while that which cannot be used for vital generation is thrust forth in the shape of stones and other rubbish4 ,this is the fountain-head of all things terrestrial4 ,let us illustrate the matter by supposing a glass of water to be set in the middle of a table1 round the margin of which are placed little heaps of salt1 and of powders of different colours4 ,if the water be poured out1 it will run all over the table in divergent rivulets1 and will become salt where it touches the salt1 red where it touches the red powder1 and so on4 ,the water does not change the 'places1' but the several 'places' differentiate the water4#d ,in the same way1 the seed which is the product of the four ,elements is projected in all directions from the earth-centre1 and produces different things1 according to the quality of the different places4 ,thus1 while the seed of all things is one1 it is made to generate a great variety of things4444 ,so long as ,nature's seed remains in the centre it can indifferently produce a tree or a metal1 a herb or a stone1 and in like manner1 according to the purity of the place1 it will produce what is less or more pure4 #d ,the author ,i am quoting had said--,nature is divided into four 'places' in which she brings forth all things that appear and that are in the shade2 and according to the good or bad quality of the 'place1' she brings forth good or bad things4444 ,it is most important for us to know her 'places' 444 in order that we may join things together according to ,nature4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,alchemical ,,essence4 ,in the last chapter ,i tried to describe the alchemical view of the interdependence of different substances4 ,taking for granted the tripartite nature of man1 the co-existence in him of body1 soul1 and spirit 7no one of which was defined71 the alchemists concluded that all things are formed as man is formed2 that in everything there is a specific bodily form1 some portion of soul1 and a dash of spirit4 ,i considered the term soul to be the alchemical name for the properties common to a class of substances1 and the term spirit to mean the property which was thought by the alchemists to be common to all things4 ,the alchemists considered it possible to arrange all substances in four general classes1 the marks whereof were expressed by the terms hot1 cold1 moist1 and dry2 they thought of these properties as typified by what they called the four ,elements--fire1 air1 water1 and earth4 ,everything1 they taught1 was produced from the four ,elements1 not immediately1 but through the mediation of the three ,principles--mercury1 sulphur1 and salt4 ,these ,principles were regarded as the tools put into the hands of him who desired to effect the transmutation of one substance into another4 ,the ,principles were not thought of as definite substances1 nor as properties of this or that specified substance2 they were considered to be the characteristic properties of large classes of substances4 ,the chemist of to-day places many compounds in the same class because all are acids1 because all react similarly under similar conditions4 ,it used to be said that every acid possesses more or less of the principle of acidity4 ,lavoisier changed the language whereby certain facts concerning acids were expressed4 ,he thought that experiments proved all acids to be compounds of the element oxygen2 and for many years after ,lavoisier1 the alchemical expression the principle of acidity was superseded by the word oxygen4 ,although ,lavoisier recognised that not every compound of oxygen is an acid1 he taught that every acid is a compound of oxygen4 ,we know now that many acids are not compounds of oxygen1 but we have not yet sufficient knowledge to frame a complete definition of the term acid4 ,nevertheless it is convenient1 indeed it is necessary1 to place together many compounds which react similarly under certain defined conditions1 and to give a common name to them all4 ,the alchemists also classified substances1 but their classification was necessarily more vague than ours2 and they necessarily expressed their reasons for putting different substances in the same class in a language which arose out of the general conceptions of natural phenomena which prevailed in their time4 ,the primary classification of substances made by the alchemists was expressed by saying2 these substances are rich in the principle sulphur1 those contain much of the principle mercury1 and this class is marked by the preponderance of the principle salt4 ,the secondary classification of the alchemists was expressed by saying2 this class is characterised by dryness1 that by moisture1 another by coldness1 and a fourth by hotness2 the dry substances contain much of the element ,earth1 the moist substances are rich in the element ,water1 in the cold substances the element ,air preponderates1 and the hot substances contain more of the element ,fire than of the other elements4 ,the alchemists went a step further in their classification of things4 ,they asserted that there is ,one ,thing present in all things2 that everything is a vehicle for the more or less perfect exhibition of the properties of the ,one ,thing2 that there is a ,primal ,element common to all substances4 ,the final aim of alchemy was to obtain the ,one ,thing1 the ,primal ,element1 the ,soul of all ,things1 so purified1 not only from all specific substances1 but also from all admixture of the four ,elements and the three ,principles1 as to make possible the accomplishment of any transmutation by the use of it4 ,if a person ignorant of its powers were to obtain the ,essence1 he might work vast havoc and cause enormous confusion2 it was necessary1 therefore1 to know the conditions under which the potencies of the ,essence became active4 ,hence there was need of prolonged study of the mutual actions of the most seemingly diverse substances1 and of minute and patient examination of the conditions under which nature performs her marvellous transmutations4 ,the quest of the ,one ,thing was fraught with peril1 and was to be attempted only by those who had served a long and laborious apprenticeship4 ,in ,the ,chemical ,treatise of ,thomas ,norton1 the ,englishman1 called ,believe-me1 or the ,ordinal of ,alchemy 7#aeth century71 the adept is warned not to disclose his secrets to ordinary people4 ,you should carefully test and examine the life1 character1 and mental aptitudes of any person who would be initiated in this ,art1 and then you should bind him1 by a sacred oath1 not to let our ,magistery be commonly or vulgarly known4 ,only when he begins to grow old and feeble1 he may reveal it to one person1 but not to more1 and that one man must be virtuous4444 ,if any wicked man should learn to practise the ,art1 the event would be fraught with great danger to ,christendom4 ,for such a man would overstep all bounds of moderation1 and would remove from their hereditary thrones those legitimate princes who rule over the peoples of ,christendom4 ,the results of the experimental examination of the compositions and properties of substances1 made since the time of the alchemists1 have led to the modern conception of the chemical element1 and the isolation of about seventy or eighty different elements4 ,no substance now called an element has been produced in the laboratory by uniting two1 or more1 distinct substances1 nor has any been separated into two1 or more1 unlike portions4 ,the only decided change which a chemical element has been caused to undergo is the combination of it with some other element or elements1 or with a compound or compounds4 ,but it is possible that all the chemical elements may be combinations of different quantities of one primal element4 ,certain facts make this supposition tenable2 and some chemists expect that the supposition will be proved to be correct4 ,if the hypothetical primal element should be isolated1 we should have fulfilled the aim of alchemy1 and gained the ,one ,thing2 but the fulfilment would not be that whereof the alchemists dreamed4 ,inasmuch as the alchemical ,essence was thought of as the ,universal ,spirit to whose presence is due whatever degree of perfection any specific substance exhibits1 it followed that the more perfect a substance the greater is the quantity of the ,essence in it4 ,but even in the most perfect substance found in nature--which substance1 the alchemists said1 is gold--the ,essence is hidden by wrappings of specific properties which prevent the ordinary man from recognising it4 ,remove these wrappings from some special substance1 and you have the perfect form of that thing2 you have some portion of the ,universal ,spirit joined to the one general property of the class of things whereof the particular substance is a member4 ,then remove the class-property1 often spoken of by the alchemists as the life1 of the substance1 and you have the ,essence itself4 ,the alchemists thought that to every thing1 or at any rate to every class of things1 there corresponds a more perfect form than that which we see and handle2 they spoke of gold1 and the gold of the ,sages2 mercury1 and the mercury of the ,philosophers2 sulphur1 and the heavenly sulphur of him whose eyes are opened4 ,to remove the outer wrappings of ordinary properties which present themselves to the untrained senses1 was regarded by the alchemists to be a difficult task2 to tear away the soul 7the class-property7 of a substance1 and yet retain the ,essence which made that substance its dwelling place1 was possible only after vast labour1 and by the use of the proper agent working under the proper conditions4 ,an exceedingly powerful1 delicate1 and refined agent was needed2 and the mastery of the agent was to be acquired by bitter experience1 and1 probably1 after many disappointments4 ,gold1 an alchemist tells us1 does not easily give up its nature1 and will fight for its life2 but our agent is strong enough to overcome and kill it1 and then it also has the power to restore it to life1 and to change the lifeless remains into a new and pure body4 ,thomas ,norton1 the author of ,the ,ordinal of ,alchemy1 writing in the #aeth century1 says the worker in transmutations is often tempted to be in a hurry1 or to despair1 and he is often deceived4 ,his servants will be either stupid and faithful1 or quick-witted and false4 ,he may be robbed of everything when his work is almost finished4 ,the only remedies are infinite patience1 a sense of virtue1 and sound reason4 ,in the pursuit of our ,art1 he says1 you should take care1 from time to time1 to unbend your mind from its sterner employments with some convenient recreation4 ,the choice of workmen to aid in the mechanical parts of the quest was a great trouble to the alchemists4 ,on this subject ,norton says--,if you would be free from all fear over the gross work1 follow my counsel1 and never engage married men2 for they soon give in and pretend they are tired out4444 ,hire your workmen for certain stipulated wages1 and not for longer periods than twenty-four hours at a time4 ,give them higher wages than they would receive elsewhere1 and be prompt and ready in your payments4 ,many accounts are given by alchemical writers of the agent1 and many names are bestowed on it4 ,the author of ,a ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby speaks thus of the agent--,it is our doorkeeper1 our balm1 our honey1 oil1 urine1 maydew1 mother1 egg1 secret furnace1 oven1 true fire1 venomous dragon1 ,theriac1 ardent wine1 ,green ,lion1 ,bird of ,hermes1 ,goose of ,hermogenes1 two-edged sword in the hand of the ,cherub that guards the ,tree of ,life4444 ,it is our true secret vessel1 and the ,garden of the ,sages in which our sun rises and sets4 ,it is our ,royal ,mineral1 our triumphant vegetable ,saturnia1 and the magic rod of ,hermes1 by means of which he assumes any shape he likes4 ,sometimes we are told that the agent is mercury1 sometimes that it is gold1 but not common mercury or common gold4 ,supplement your common mercury with the inward fire which it needs1 and you will soon get rid of all superfluous dross4 ,the agent is gold1 as highly matured as natural and artificial digestion can make it1 and a thousand times more perfect than the common metal of that name4 ,gold1 thus exalted1 radically penetrates1 tinges1 and fixes metals4 ,the alchemists generally likened the work to be performed by their agent to the killing of a living thing4 ,they constantly use the allegory of death1 followed by resurrection1 in describing the steps whereby the ,essence was to be obtained1 and the processes whereby the baser metals were to be partially purified4 ,they speak of the mortification of metals1 the dissolution and putrefaction of substances1 as preliminaries to the appearance of the true life of the things whose outward properties have been destroyed4 ,for instance1 ,paracelsus says3 ,destruction perfects that which is good2 for the good cannot appear on account of that which conceals it4 ,the same alchemist speaks of rusting as the mortification of metals2 he says3 ,the mortification of metals is the removal of their bodily structure4444 ,the mortification of woods is their being turned into charcoal or ashes4 ,paracelsus distinguishes natural from artificial mortification1 ,whatever nature consumes1 he says1 man cannot restore4 ,but whatever man destroys man can restore1 and break again when restored4 ,things which had been mortified by man's device were considered by ,paracelsus not to be really dead4 ,he gives this extraordinary illustration of his meaning3 ,you see this is the case with lions1 which are all born dead1 and are first vitalised by the horrible noise of their parents1 just as a sleeping person is awakened by a shout4 ,the mortification of metals is represented in alchemical books by various images and allegories4 ,fig4 ,i4 is reduced from a cut in a #afth century work1 ,the ,book of ,lambspring1 a noble ancient ,philosopher1 concerning the ,philosophical ,stone4 ,illustration3 ,here the father devours the son2 ,the soul and spirit flow forth from the body4 ,,fig4 ,i4 ,the image used to set forth the mortification of metals is a king swallowing his son4 ,figs4 ,,ii4 and ,,iii4 are reduced from ,basil ,valentine's ,twelve ,keys4 ,both of these figures represent the process of mortification by images connected with death and burial4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,ii4 ,in his explanation 787 of these figures1 ,basil ,valentine says3-- ,neither human nor animal bodies can be multiplied or propagated without decomposition2 the grain and all vegetable seed1 when cast into the ground1 must decay before it can spring up again2 moreover1 putrefaction imparts life to many worms and other animalcul4444 ,if bread is placed in honey1 and suffered to decay1 ants are generated 444 maggots are also developed by the decay of nuts1 apples1 and pears4 ,the same thing may be observed in regard to vegetable life4 ,nettles and other weeds spring up where no such seed has ever been sown4 ,this occurs only by putrefaction4 ,the reason is that the soil in such places is so disposed1 and1 as it were1 impregnated1 that it produces these fruits2 which is a result of the properties of sidereal influences2 consequently the seed is spiritually produced in the earth1 and putrefies in the earth1 and by the operation of the elements generates corporeal matter according to the species of nature4 ,thus the stars and the elements may generate new spiritual1 and ultimately1 new vegetable seed1 by means of putrefaction4444 ,know that1 in like manner1 no metallic seed can develop1 or multiply1 unless the said seed1 by itself alone1 and without the introduction of any foreign substance1 be reduced to a perfect putrefaction4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,iii4 ,the action of the mineral agent in perfecting substances is often likened by the alchemists to the conjoining of the male and the female1 followed by the production of offspring4 ,they insist on the need of a union of two things1 in order to produce something more perfect than either4 ,the agent1 they say1 must work upon something2 alone it is nothing4 ,the methods whereby the agent is itself perfected1 and the processes wherein the agent effects the perfecting of the less perfect things1 were divided into stages by the alchemists4 ,they generally spoke of these stages as ,gates1 and enumerated ten or sometimes twelve of them4 ,as examples of the alchemical description of these gates1 ,i give some extracts from ,a ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby4 ,the first gate is ,calcination1 which is the drying up of the humours2 by this process the substance is concocted into a black powder which is yet unctuous1 and retains its radical humour4 ,when gold passes through this gate1 ,we observe in it two natures1 the fixed and the volatile1 which we liken to two serpents4 ,the fixed nature is likened to a serpent without wings2 the volatile1 to a serpent with wings3 calcination unites these two into one4 ,the second gate1 ,dissolution1 is likened to death and burial2 but the true ,essence will appear glorious and beautiful when this gate is passed4 ,the worker is told not to be discouraged by this apparent death4 ,the mercury of the sages is spoken of by this author as the queen1 and gold as the king4 ,the king dies for love of the queen1 but he is revived by his spouse1 who is made fruitful by him and brings forth a most royal son4 ,figs4 ,,iv4 and ,v4 are reduced from ,the ,book of ,lambspring2 they express the need of the conjunction of two to produce one4 ,illustration3 ,here you behold a great marvel-- ,two ,lions are joined into one4 ,the spirit and soul must be united in their body4 ,,fig4 ,,iv4 ,after dissolution came ,conjunction1 wherein the separated elements were combined4 ,then followed ,putrefaction1 necessary for the germination of the seed which had been produced by calcination1 dissolution1 and conjunction4 ,putrefaction was followed by ,congelation and ,citation4 ,the passage through the next gate1 called ,sublimation1 caused the body to become spiritual1 and the spiritual to be made corporal4 ,fermentation followed1 whereby the substance became soft and flowed like wax4 ,finally1 by ,exaltation1 the ,stone was perfected4 ,illustration3 ,here are two birds1 great and strong--the body and spirit2 one devours the other4 ,let the body be placed in horse-dung1 or a warm bath1 the spirit having been extracted from it4 ,the body has become white by the process1 the spirit red by our art4 ,all that exists tends towards perfection1 and thus is the ,philosopher's ,stone prepared4 ,,fig4 ,v4 ,the author of ,the ,open ,entrance speaks of the various stages in the perfecting of the agent as regimens4 ,the beginning of the heating of gold with mercury is likened to the king stripping off his golden garments and descending into the fountain2 this is the regimen of ,mercury4 ,as the heating is continued1 all becomes black2 this is the regimen of ,saturn4 ,then is noticed a play of many colours2 this is the regimen of ,jupiter3 if the heat is not regulated properly1 the young ones of the crow will go back to the nest4 ,about the end of the fourth month you will see the sign of the waxing moon1 and all becomes white2 this is the regimen of the ,moon4 ,the white colour gives place to purple and green2 you are now in the regimen of ,venus4 ,after that1 appear all the colours of the rainbow1 or of a peacock's tail2 this is the regimen of ,mars4 ,finally the colour becomes orange and golden2 this is the regimen of the ,sun4 ,the reader may wish to have some description of the ,essence4 ,the alchemists could describe it only in contraries4 ,it had a bodily form1 but its method of working was spiritual4 ,in ,the ,sodic ,hydrolith1 or ,water ,stone of the ,wise we are told3-- ,the stone is conceived below the earth1 born in the earth1 quickened in heaven1 dies in time1 and obtains eternal glory4444 ,it is bluish-grey and green4444 ,it flows like water1 yet it makes no wet2 it is of great weight1 and is small4 ,philalethes says1 in ,a ,brief ,guide to the ,celestial ,ruby3 ,the ,philosopher's ,stone is a certain heavenly1 spiritual1 penetrative1 and fixed substance1 which brings all metals to the perfection of gold or silver 7according to the quality of the ,medicine71 and that by natural methods1 which yet in their effects transcend ,nature4444 ,know then that it is called a stone1 not because it is like a stone1 but only because1 by virtue of its fixed nature1 it resists the action of fire as successfully as any stone4 ,in species it is gold1 more pure than the purest2 it is fixed and incombustible like a stone1 but its appearance is that of very fine powder1 impalpable to the touch1 sweet to the taste1 fragrant to the smell1 in potency a most penetrative spirit1 apparently dry and yet unctuous1 and easily capable of tinging a plate of metal4444 ,if we say that its nature is spiritual1 it would be no more than the truth2 if we described it as corporeal1 the expression would be equally correct4 ,the same author says3 ,there is a substance of a metalline species which looks so cloudy that the universe will have nothing to do with it4 ,its visible form is vile2 it defiles metalline bodies1 and no one can readily imagine that the pearly drink of bright ,phoebus should spring from thence4 ,its components are a most pure and tender mercury1 a dry incarcerate sulphur1 which binds it and restrains fluxation4444 ,know this subject1 it is the sure basis of all our secrets4444 ,to deal plainly1 it is the child of ,saturn1 of mean price and great venom4444 ,it is not malleable1 though metalline4 ,its colour is sable1 with intermixed argent which mark the sable fields with veins of glittering argent4 ,in trying to attach definite meanings to the alchemical accounts of ,principles1 ,elements1 and the ,one ,thing1 and the directions which the alchemists give for changing one substance into others1 we are very apt to be misled by the use of such an expression as the transmutation of the elements4 ,to a chemist that phrase means the change of an element into another element1 an element being a definite substance1 which no one has been able to produce by the combination of two or more substances unlike itself1 or to separate into two or more substances unlike itself4 ,but whatever may have been the alchemical meaning of the word element1 it was certainly not that given to the same word to-day4 ,nor did the word transmutation mean to the alchemist what it means to the chemist4 ,the facts which are known at present concerning the elements make unthinkable such a change as that of lead into silver2 but new facts may be discovered which will make possible the separation of lead into things unlike itself1 and the production of silver by the combination of some of these constituents of lead4 ,the alchemist supposed he knew such facts as enabled him not only to form a mental picture of the change of lead into silver1 or tin into gold1 but also to assert that such changes must necessarily happen1 and to accomplish them4 ,although we are quite sure that the alchemist's facts were only imaginings1 we ought not to blame him for his reasoning on what he took to be facts4 ,every metal is now said to be an element1 in the modern meaning of that word3 the alchemist regarded the metals as composite substances2 but he also thought of them as more simple than many other things4 ,hence1 if he was able to transmute one metal into another1 he would have strong evidence in support of his general conception of the unity of all things4 ,and1 as transmutation meant1 to the alchemist1 the bringing of a substance to the condition of greatest perfection possible for that substance1 his view of the unity of nature might be said to be proved if he succeeded in changing one of the metals1 one of these comparatively simple substances1 into the most perfect of all metals1 that is1 into gold4 ,the transmutation of the baser metals into gold thus came to be the practical test of the justness of the alchemical scheme of things4 ,some alchemists assert they had themselves performed the great transmutation2 others tell of people who had accomplished the work4 ,the following story is an example of the accounts given of the making of gold4 ,it is taken from ,john ,frederick ,helvetius' ,golden ,calf1 which the world worships and adores 7#agth century73-- ,on the #bgth ,december #afff1 in the forenoon1 there came to my house a certain man1 who was a complete stranger to me1 but of an honest grave countenance1 and an authoritative mien1 clothed in a simple garb4444 ,he was of middle height1 his face was long and slightly pock-marked1 his hair was black and straight1 his chin close-shaven1 his age about forty-three or forty-four1 and his native province1 as far as ,i could make out1 ,north ,holland4 ,after we had exchanged salutations1 he asked me whether he might have some conversation with me4 ,he wished to say something to me about the ,pyrotechnic ,art1 as he had read one of my tracts 7directed against the ,sympathetic ,powder of ,dr ,digby71 in which ,i hinted a suspicion whether the ,grand ,arcanum of the ,sages was not after all a gigantic hoax4 ,he1 therefore1 took that opportunity of asking me whether ,i could not believe that such a grand mystery might exist in the nature of things1 by means of which a physician could restore any patient whose vitals were not irreparably destroyed4 ,i answered1 ',such a medicine would be a most desirable acquisition for any physician2 nor can any man tell how many secrets there may be hidden in ,nature2 yet1 though ,i have read much about the truth of this art1 it has never been my good fortune to meet with a real master of the alchemical science4' 444 ,after some further conversation1 the ,artist ,elias 7for it was he7 thus addressed me3 ',since you have read so much in the works of the alchemists about this stone1 its substance1 its colour and its wonderful effects1 may ,i be allowed the question1 whether you have not prepared it yourself8' ,on my answering his question in the negative1 he took out of his bag a cunningly-worked ivory box1 in which were three large pieces of substance resembling glass1 or pale sulphur1 and informed me that here was enough of the tincture for the production of twenty tons of gold4 ,when ,i had held the precious treasure in my hand for a quarter of an hour 7during which time ,i listened to a recital of its wonderful curative properties71 ,i was compelled to restore it to its owner1 which ,i could not help doing with a certain degree of reluctance4444 ,my request that he would give me a piece of his stone 7though it were no larger than a coriander seed71 he somewhat brusquely refused1 adding1 in a milder tone1 that he could not give it me for all the wealth ,i possessed1 and that not on account of its great preciousness1 but for some other reason which it was not lawful for him to divulge4444 ,then he inquired whether ,i could not show him into a room at the back of the house1 where we should be less liable to the observation of passers-by4 ,on my conducting him into the state parlour 7which he entered without wiping his dirty boots71 he demanded of me a gold coin1 and while ,i was looking for it1 he produced from his breast pocket a green silk handkerchief1 in which were folded up five medals1 the gold of which was infinitely superior to that of my gold piece4 ,here follows the inscriptions on the medals4 ,i was filled with admiration1 and asked my visitor whence he had obtained that wonderful knowledge of the whole world4 ,he replied that it was a gift freely bestowed on him by a friend who had stayed a few days at his house4 ,here follows the stranger's account of this friend's experiments4 ,when my strange visitor had concluded his narrative1 ,i besought him to give me a proof of his assertion1 by performing the transmutatory operation on some metals in my presence4 ,he answered evasively1 that he could not do so then1 but that he would return in three weeks1 and that1 if he was then at liberty to do so1 he would show me something that would make me open my eyes4 ,he appeared punctually to the promised day1 and invited me to take a walk with him1 in the course of which we discoursed profoundly on the secrets of ,nature in fire1 though ,i noticed that my companion was very chary in imparting information about the ,grand ,arcanum4444 ,at last ,i asked him point blank to show me the transmutation of metals4 ,i besought him to come and dine with me1 and to spend the night at my house2 ,i entreated2 ,i expostulated2 but in vain4 ,he remained firm4 ,i reminded him of his promise4 ,he retorted that his promise had been conditional upon his being permitted to reveal the secret to me4 ,at last1 however1 ,i prevailed upon him to give me a piece of his precious stone--a piece no larger than a grain of rape seed4444 ,he bid me take half an ounce of lead 444 and melt it in the crucible2 for the ,medicine would certainly not tinge more of the base metal than it was sufficient for4444 ,he promised to return at nine o'clock the next morning4444 ,but at the stated hour on the following day he did not make his appearance2 in his stead1 however1 there came1 a few hours later1 a stranger1 who told me that his friend the artist was unavoidably detained1 but that he would call at three o'clock in the afternoon4 ,the afternoon came2 ,i waited for him till half-past seven o'clock4 ,he did not appear4 ,thereupon my wife came and tempted me to try the transmutation myself4 ,i determined however to wait till the morrow4 ,on the morrow 444 ,i asked my wife to put the tincture in wax1 and ,i myself 444 prepared six drachms of lead2 ,i then cast the tincture1 enveloped as it was in wax1 on the lead2 as soon as it was melted1 there was a hissing sound and a slight effervescence1 and after a quarter of an hour ,i found that the whole mass of lead had been turned into the finest gold4444 ,we immediately took it to the goldsmith1 who at once declared it the finest gold he had ever seen1 and offered to pay fifty florins an ounce for it4 ,he then describes various tests which were made to prove the purity of the gold4 ,thus ,i have unfolded to you the whole story from beginning to end4 ,the gold ,i still retain in my possession1 but ,i cannot tell you what has become of the ,artist ,elias4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,alchemy ,,as ,,an ,,experimental ,,art4 ,a modern writer1 ,mr ,a4,e4 ,waite1 in his ,lives of the ,alchemystical ,philosophers1 says3 ,the physical theory of transmutation is based on the composite character of the metals1 on their generation in the bowels of the earth1 and on the existence in nature of a pure and penetrating matter which applied to any substance exalts and perfects it after its own kind4 ,it must he admitted that the alchemists could cite many instances of transmutations which seemed to lead to the conclusion1 that there is no difference of kind between the metals and other substances such as water1 acids1 oils1 resins1 and wood4 ,we are able to-day to effect a vast number of transformations wherein one substance is exchanged for another1 or made to take the place of another4 ,we can give fairly satisfactory descriptions of these changes2 and1 by comparing them one with another1 we are able to express their essential features in general terms which can be applied to each particular instance4 ,the alchemists had no searching knowledge of what may be called the mechanism of such changes2 they gave an explanation of them which we must call incorrect1 in the present state of our knowledge4 ,but1 as ,hoefer says in his ,histoire de la ,chimie1 to jeer at the alchemical theory is to commit at once an anachronism and an injustice4444 ,unless the world should finish to-morrow1 no one can have the pretension to suppose that our contemporaries have said the last word of science1 and nothing will remain for our descendants to discover1 no errors for them to correct1 no theories for them to set straight4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,vi4 ,see p4 #ij4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,vii4 ,see p4 #ij4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,viii4 ,see p4 #ia4 ,what kind of experimental evidence could an alchemist furnish in support of his theory of transmutation8 ,in answering this question1 ,i cannot do better than give a condensed rendering of certain pages in ,hoefer's ,histoire de la ,chimie4 ,the reader is supposed to be present at experiments conducted in the laboratory of a ,grand ,master of the ,sacred ,art in the #eth or #fth century4 ,experiment4--,ordinary water is boiled in an open vessel2 the water is changed to a vapour which disappears1 and a white powdery earth remains in the vessel4 ,conclusion4--,water is changed into air and earth4 ,did we not know that ordinary water holds certain substances in solution1 and that boiling water acts on the vessel wherein it is boiled1 we should have no objection to urge against this conclusion4 ,it only remained to transmute fire that the transmutation of the four elements might be completed4 ,experiment4--,a piece of red-hot iron is placed in a bell-jar1 filled with water1 held over a basin containing water2 the volume of the water decreases1 and the air in the bell-jar takes fire when a lighted taper is brought into it4 ,conclusion4--,water is changed into fire4 ,that interpretation was perfectly reasonable at a time when the fact was unknown that water is composed of two gaseous substances2 that one of these 7oxygen7 is absorbed by the iron1 and the other 7hydrogen7 collects in the bell-jar1 and ignites when brought into contact with a flame4 ,experiment4--,lead1 or any other metal except gold or silver1 is calcined in the air2 the metal loses its characteristic properties1 and is changed into a powdery substance1 a kind of cinder or calx4 ,when this cinder1 which was said to be the result of the death of the metal1 is heated in a crucible with some grains of wheat1 one sees the metal revive1 and resume its original form and properties4 ,conclusion4--,the metal which had been destroyed is revivified by the grains of wheat and the action of fire4 ,is this not to perform the miracle of the resurrection8 ,no objection can he raised to this interpretation1 as long as we are ignorant of the phenomena of oxidation1 and the reduction of oxides by means of carbon1 or organic substances rich in carbon1 such as sugar1 flour1 seeds1 etc4 ,grains of wheat were the symbol of life1 and1 by extension1 of the resurrection and eternal life4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,ix4 ,see p4 #ia4 ,experiment4--,ordinary lead is calcined in a cupel made of cinders or powdered bones2 the lead is changed to a cinder which disappears into the cupel1 and a button of silver remains4 ,conclusion4--,the lead has vanished2 what more natural than the conclusion that it has been transformed into silver8 ,it was not known then that all specimens of lead contain more or less silver4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,x4 ,see p4 #ib4 ,experiment4-,the vapour of arsenic bleaches copper4 ,this fact gave rise to many allegories and enigmas concerning the means of transforming copper into silver4 ,sulphur1 which acts on metals and changes many of them into black substances1 was looked on as a very mysterious thing4 ,it was with sulphur that the coagulation 7solidification7 of mercury was effected4 ,experiment4--,mercury is allowed to fall1 in a fine rain1 on to melted sulphur2 a black substance is produced2 this black substance is heated in a closed vessel1 it is volatilised and transformed into a beautiful red solid4 ,one could scarcely suppose that the black and the red substances are identical1 if one did not know that they are composed of the same quantities of the same elements1 sulphur and mercury4 ,how greatly must this phenomenon have affected the imagination of the chemists of ancient times1 always so ready to be affected by everything that seemed supernatural6 ,black and red were the symbols of darkness and light1 of the evil and the good principle2 and the union of these two principles represented the moral order4 ,at a later time the idea helped to establish the alchemical doctrine that sulphur and mercury are the ,principles of all things4 ,experiment4--,various organic substances are analysed by heating in a distillation-apparatus2 the products are1 in each case1 a solid residue1 liquids which distil off1 and certain spirits which are disengaged4 ,the results supported the ancient theory which asserted that earth1 water1 air1 and fire are the four ,elements of the world4 ,the solid residue represented earth2 the liquid products of the distillation1 water2 and the spirituous substances1 air4 ,fire was regarded sometimes as the means of purification1 sometimes as the soul1 or invisible part1 of all substances4 ,experiment4-,a strong acid is poured on to copper4 ,the metal is attacked1 and at last disappears1 giving place to a green liquid1 as transparent as water4 ,a thin sheet of iron is plunged into the liquid2 the copper re-appears1 and the iron vanishes4 ,what more simple than to conclude that the iron has been transformed into copper8 ,had lead1 silver1 or gold been used in place of copper1 one would have said that the iron was transformed into lead1 silver1 or gold4 ,in their search for the pure and penetrating matter which applied to any substance exalts and perfects it after its own kind1 the alchemists necessarily made many inventions1 laid the foundation of many arts and manufactures1 and discovered many facts of importance in the science of chemistry4 ,the practitioners of the ,sacred ,art of ,egypt must have been acquainted with many operations which we now class as belonging to applied chemistry2 witness1 their jewellery1 pottery1 dyes and pigments1 bleaching1 glass-making1 working in metals and alloys1 and their use of spices1 essential oils1 and soda in embalming1 and for other purposes4 ,during the centuries when alchemy flourished1 gunpowder was invented1 the art of printing was established1 the compass was brought into use1 the art of painting and staining glass was begun and carried to perfection1 paper was made from rags1 practical metallurgy advanced by leaps and bounds1 many new alloys of metals came into use1 glass mirrors were manufactured1 and considerable advances were made in practical medicine and sanitation4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,xi4 ,see p4 #ib4 ,basil ,valentine1 who was one of the greatest alchemists of the #afth century1 discovered many of the properties of the metal antimony1 and prepared and examined many compounds of that metal2 he made green vitriol from pyrites1 brandy from fermented grape-juice1 fulminating gold1 sulphide of potash1 and spirits of salt2 he made and used baths of artificial mineral waters1 and he prepared various metals by what are now called wet methods1 for instance1 copper1 by immersing plates of iron in solutions of bluestone4 ,he examined the air of mines1 and suggested practical methods for determining whether the air in a mine was respirable4 ,hoefer draws attention to a remarkable observation recorded by this alchemist4 ,speaking of the spirit of mercury1 ,basil ,valentine says it is the origin of all the metals2 that spirit is nothing else than an air flying here and there without wings2 it is a moving wind1 which1 after it has been chased from its home of ,vulcan 7that is1 fire71 returns to the chaos2 then it expands and passes into the region of the air from whence it had come4 ,as ,hoefer remarks1 this is perhaps one of the earliest accounts of the gas discovered by ,priestley and studied by ,lavoisier1 the gas we now call oxygen1 and recognise as of paramount importance in chemical reactions4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,xii4 ,see p4 #ib4 ,besides discovering and recording many facts which have become part and parcel of the science of chemistry1 the alchemists invented and used various pieces of apparatus1 and conducted many operations1 which are still employed in chemical laboratories4 ,i shall reproduce illustrations of some of these processes and pieces of apparatus1 and quote a few of the directions1 given in a book1 published in #affd1 called ,the ,art of ,distillation1 by ,john ,french1 ,dr4 in ,physick4 ,the method recommended by ,french for hermetically sealing the neck of a glass vessel is shown in ,fig4 ,,vi4 p4 #hj4 ,the neck of the vessel is surrounded by a tray containing burning coals2 when the glass melts it is cut off by shears1 and then closed by tongs1 which are made hot before use4 ,fig4 ,,vii4 p4 #ha1 represents a method for covering an open vessel1 air-tight1 with a receptacle into which a substance may be sublimed from the lower vessel4 ,the lettering explains the method of using the apparatus4 ,french gives very practical directions and much sound advice for conducting distillations of various kinds4 ,the following are specimens of his directions and advice3-- ,when you put water into a seething ,balneum wherein there are glasses let it be hot1 or else thou wilt endanger the breaking of the glasses4 ,when thou takest any earthen1 or glass vessel from the fire1 expose it not to the cold aire too suddenly for fear it should break4 ,in all your operations diligently observe the processes which you read1 and vary not a little from them1 for sometimes a small mistake or neglect spoils the whole operation1 and frustrates your expectations4 ,try not at first experiments of great cost1 or great difficulty2 for it will be a great discouragement to thee1 and thou wilt be very apt to mistake4 ,if any one would enter upon the practices of ,chymistry1 let him apply himself to some expert artist for to be instructed in the manual operation of things2 for by this means he will learn more in two months1 than he can by his practice and study in seven years1 as also avoid much pains and cost1 and redeem much time which else of necessity he will lose4 ,fig4 ,,viii4 p4 #hb1 represents a common cold still1 and ,fig4 ,,ix4 p4 #hd1 is a sketch of an apparatus for distilling by the aid of boiling water4 ,the bath wherein the vessels are placed in ,fig4 ,,ix4 was called by the alchemists balneum ,mariae1 from ,mary the ,jewess1 who is mentioned in the older alchemical writings1 and is supposed to have invented an apparatus of this character4 ,nothing definite is known of ,mary the ,jewess4 ,a writer of the #gth century says she was initiated in the sacred art in the temple of ,memphis2 a legend prevailed among some of the alchemists that she was the sister of ,moses4 ,fig4 ,x4 p4 #he1 represents methods of distilling with an apparatus for cooling the volatile products2 the lower vessel is an alembic1 with a long neck1 the upper part of which passes through a vessel containing cold water4 ,illustration3 ,fig ,,xiii4 ,see p4 #id4 ,fig4 ,,xi4 p4 #hh1 shows a pelican1 that is a vessel wherein a liquid might be heated for a long time1 and the volatile products be constantly returned to the original vessel4 ,fig4 ,,xii4 p4 #hi1 represents a retort with a receiver4 ,some of the pieces of apparatus for distilling1 which are described by ,french1 are shown in the following figures4 ,besides describing apparatus for distilling1 subliming1 and other processes in the laboratory1 ,french gives directions for making tinctures1 essences1 essential oils1 spirits of salt1 and pure saltpetre1 oil of vitriol1 butter of antimony1 calces 7or as we now say1 oxides7 of metals1 and many other substances4 ,he describes processes for making fresh water from salt1 artificial mineral water1 medicated hot baths for invalids 7one of the figures represents an apparatus very like those advertised to-day as ,turkish baths at home71 and artificial precious stones2 he tells how to test minerals1 and make alloys1 and describes the preparation of many substances made from gold and silver4 ,he also gives many curious receipts2 for instance1 ,to make ,firre-trees appear in ,turpentine1 ,to make a ,plant grow in two or three hours1 ,to make the representation of the whole world in a ,glass1 ,to extract a white ,milkie substance from the raies of the ,moon4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,xiv4 ,see p4 #id4 ,the process of making oil of vitriol1 by burning sulphur under a hood fitted with a side tube for the outflow of the oil of vitriol1 is represented in ,fig4 ,,xiii4 p4 #ib4 ,fig4 ,,xiv4 p4 #ic1 is interesting2 it is an apparatus for rectifying spirits1 by distilling1 and liquefying only the most volatile portions of the distillate4 ,the spirituous liquor was heated1 and the vapours caused to traverse a long zigzag tube1 wherein the less volatile portions condensed to liquid1 which flowed back into the vessel2 the vapour then passed into another vessel1 and then through a second zigzag tube1 and was finally cooled by water1 and the condensed liquid collected4 ,this apparatus was the forerunner of that used to-day1 for effecting the separation of liquids which boil at different temperatures1 by the process called fractional distillation4 ,we should never forget that the alchemists were patient and laborious workers1 their theories were vitally connected with their practice1 and there was a constant action and reaction between their general scheme of things and many branches of what we now call chemical manufactures4 ,we may laugh at many of their theories1 and regret that much useless material was accumulated by them2 we may agree with ,boyle 7end of #agth century7 when he likens the hermetick philosophers1 in their search for truth1 to the navigators of ,solomon's ,tarshish fleet1 who brought home from their long and tedious voyages1 not only gold1 and silver1 and ivory1 but apes and peacocks too2 for so the writings of several of your hermetick philosophers present us1 together with divers substantial and noble experiments1 theories1 which either like peacocks' feathers make a great show but are neither solid nor useful2 or else like apes1 if they have some appearance of being rational1 are blemished with some absurdity or other1 that1 when they are attentively considered make them appear ridiculous4 ,but however we may condemn their method1 because it rested on their own conception of what the order of nature must be1 we cannot but praise their assiduity in conducting experiments and gathering facts4 ,as ,bacon says1 in ,de ,augmentis ,scientiarum3 ,alchemy may be compared to the man who told his sons that he had left them gold buried somewhere in his vineyard2 where they by digging found no gold1 but by turning up the mould about the roots of the vines1 procured a plentiful vintage4 ,so the search and endeavours to make gold have brought many useful inventions and instructive experiments to light4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,alchemy ,the vagueness of the general conceptions of alchemy1 and the attribution of ethical qualities to material things by the alchemists1 necessarily led to the employment of a language which is inexact1 undescriptive1 and unsuggestive to modern ears4 ,the same name was given to different things1 and the same thing went under many names4 ,in ,chapter ,,iv4 ,i endeavoured to analyse two terms which were constantly used by the alchemists to convey ideas of great importance1 the terms ,element and ,principle4 ,that attempt sufficed1 at any rate1 to show the vagueness of the ideas which these terms were intended to express1 and to make evident the inconsistencies between the meanings given to the words by different alchemical writers4 ,the story quoted in ,chapter ,,iii41 from ,michael ,sendivogius1 illustrates the difficulty which the alchemists themselves had in understanding what they meant by the term ,mercury2 yet there is perhaps no word more often used by them than that4 ,some of them evidently took it to mean the substance then1 and now1 called mercury2 the results of this literal interpretation were disastrous2 others thought of mercury as a substance which could be obtained1 or1 at any rate1 might be obtained1 by repeatedly distilling ordinary mercury1 both alone and when mixed with other substances2 others used the word to mean a hypothetical something which was liquid but did not wet things1 limpid yet capable of becoming solid1 volatile yet able to prevent the volatilisation of other things1 and white1 yet ready to cause other white things to change their colour2 they thought of this something1 this soul of mercury1 as having properties without itself being tangible1 as at once a substance and not a substance1 at once a bodily spirit and a spiritual body4 ,it was impossible to express the alchemical ideas in any language save that of far-fetched allegory4 ,the alchemical writings abound in such allegories4 ,here are two of them4 ,the first allegory is taken from ,the ,twelve ,keys1 of ,basilius ,valentinus1 the ,benedictine3-- ,the eleventh key to the knowledge of the augmentation of our ,stone ,i will put before you in the form of a parable4 ,there lived in the ,east a gilded knight1 named ,orpheus1 who was possessed of immense wealth1 and had everything that heart can wish4 ,he had taken to wife his own sister1 ,euridice1 who did not1 however1 bear him any children4 ,this he regarded as the punishment of his sin in having wedded his own sister1 and was instant in prayer to ,god both by day and by night1 that the curse might be taken from him4 ,one night when he was buried in a deep sleep1 there came to him a certain winged messenger1 named ,phoebus1 who touched his feet1 which were very hot1 and said3 ',thou noble knight1 since thou hast wandered through many cities and kingdoms and suffered many things at sea1 in battle1 and in the lists1 the heavenly ,father has bidden me make known to thee the following means of obtaining thy prayer3 ,take blood from thy right side1 and from the left side of thy spouse4 ,for this blood is the heart's blood of your parents1 and though it may seem to be of two kinds1 yet1 in reality1 it is only one4 ,mix the two kinds of blood1 and keep the mixture tightly enclosed in the globe of the seven wise ,masters4 ,then that which is generated will be nourished with its own flesh and blood1 and will complete its course of development when the ,moon has changed for the eighth time4 ,if thou repeat this process again and again1 thou shalt see children's children1 and the offspring of thy body shall fill the world4' ,when ,phoebus had thus spoken1 he winged his flight heavenward4 ,in the morning the knight arose and did the bidding of the celestial messenger1 and ,god gave to him and to his wife many children1 who inherited their father's glory1 wealth1 and knightly honours from generation to generation4 ,in the ,dedicatory ,epistle to his ,triumphal ,chariot of ,antimony1 ,basil ,valentine addresses his brother alchemists as follows3-- ,mercury appeared to me in a dream1 and brought me back from my devious courses to the one way4 ',behold me clad not in the garb of the vulgar1 but in the philosopher's mantle4' ,so he said1 and straightway began to leap along the road in headlong bounds4 ,then1 when he was tired1 he sat down1 and1 turning to me1 who had followed him in the spirit1 bade me mark that he no longer possessed that youthful vigour with which he would at the first have overcome every obstacle1 if he had not been allowed a free course4 ,encouraged by his friendly salutation1 ,i addressed him in the following terms3 ',mercury1 eloquent scion of ,atlas1 and father of all ,alchemists1 since thou hast guided me hitherto1 shew me1 ,i pray thee1 the way to those ,blessed ,isles1 which thou hast promised to reveal to all thine elect children4 ',dost thou remember1' he replied1 that when ,i quitted thy laboratory1 ,i left behind me a garment so thoroughly saturated with my own blood1 that neither the wind could efface it1 nor all-devouring time destroy its indelible essence8 ,fetch it hither to me1 that ,i may not catch a chill from the state of perspiration in which ,i now am2 but let me clothe myself warmly in it1 and be closely incited thereto1 so that ,i may safely reach my bride1 who is sick with love4 ,she has meekly borne many wrongs1 being driven through water and fire1 and compelled to ascend and descend times without number--yet has she been carried through it all by the hope of entering with me the bridal chamber1 wherein we expect to beget a son adorned from his birth with the royal crown which he may not share with others4 ,yet may he bring his friends to the palace1 where sits enthroned the ,king of ,kings1 who communicates his dignity readily and liberally to all that approach him4' ,i brought him the garment1 and it fitted him so closely1 that it looked like an iron skin securing him against all the assaults of ,vulcan4 ',let us proceed1' he then said1 and straightway sped across the open field1 while ,i boldly strove to keep up with my guide4 ,thus we reached his bride1 whose virtue and constancy were equal to his own4 ,there ,i beheld their marvellous conjugal union and nuptial consummation1 whence was born the son crowned with the royal diadem4 ,when ,i was about to salute him as ,king of ,kings and ,lord of ,lords1 my ,genius stood by me and warned me not to be deceived1 since this was only the ,king's forerunner1 but not the ,king himself whom ,i sought4 ,when ,i heard the admonition1 ,i did not know whether to be sad or joyful4 ',depart1' then said ,mercury1 'with this bridal gift1 and when you come to those disciples who have seen the ,lord himself1 show them this sign4' ,and therewith he gave me a gold ring from his son's finger4 ',they know the golden branch which must be consecrated to ,proserpina before you can enter the palace of ,pluto4 ,when he sees this ring1 perhaps one will open to you with a word the door of that chamber1 where sits enthroned in his magnificence the ,desire of all ,nations1 who is known only to the ,sages4' ,when he had thus spoken1 the vision vanished1 but the bridal gift which ,i still held in my hand shewed me that it had not been a mere dream4 ,it was of gold1 but to me more precious than the most prized of all metals4 ,unto you ,i will shew it when ,i am permitted to see your faces1 and to converse with you freely4 ,till that earnestly wished-for time1 ,i bid you farewell4 ,one result of the alchemical modes of expression was1 that he who tried to follow the directions given in alchemical books got into dire confusion4 ,he did not know what substances to use in his operations2 for when he was told to employ the homogeneous water of gold1 for example1 the expression might mean anything1 and in despair he distilled1 and calcined1 and cohobated1 and tried to decompose everything he could lay hands on4 ,those who pretended to know abused and vilified those who differed from them4 ,in ,a ,demonstration of ,nature1 by ,john ,a4 ,mehung 7#agth century71 ,nature addresses the alchemical worker in the following words3-- ,you break vials1 and consume coals1 only to soften your brains still more with the vapours4 ,you also digest alum1 salt1 orpiment1 and altrament2 you melt metals1 build small and large furnaces1 and use many vessels2 nevertheless ,i am sick of your folly1 and you suffocate me with your sulphurous smoke4444 ,you would do better to mind your own business1 than to dissolve and distil so many absurd substances1 and then to pass them through alembics1 cucurbits1 stills1 and pelicans4 ,henry ,madathanas1 writing in #afbb1 says3-- ,then ,i understood that their purgations1 sublimations1 cementations1 distillations1 rectifications1 circulations1 putrefactions1 conjunctions1 calcinations1 incinerations1 mortifications1 revivifications1 as also their tripods1 athanors1 reverberatory alembics1 excrements of horses1 ashes1 sand1 stills1 pelican-viols1 retorts1 fixations1 etc41 are mere plausible impostures and frauds4 ,the author of ,the ,only ,way 7#afgg7 says3 ,surely every true ,artist must look on this elaborate tissue of baseless operations as the merest folly1 and can only wonder that the eyes of those silly dupes are not at last opened1 that they may see something besides such absurd sophisms1 and read something besides those stupid and deceitful books4444 ,i can speak from bitter experience1 for ,i1 too1 toiled for many years 444 and endeavoured to reach the coveted goal by sublimation1 distillation1 calcination1 circulation1 and so forth1 and to fashion the ,stone out of substances such as urine1 salt1 atrament1 alum1 etc4 ,i have tried hard to evolve it out of hairs1 wine1 eggs1 bones1 and all manner of herbs2 out of arsenic1 mercury1 and sulphur1 and all the minerals and metals4444 ,i have spent nights and days in dissolving1 coagulating1 amalgamating1 and precipitating4 ,yet from all these things ,i derived neither profit nor joy4 ,another writer speaks of many would-be alchemists as floundering about in a sea of specious book-learning4 ,if alchemists could speak of their own processes and materials as those authors spoke whom ,i have quoted1 we must expect that the alchemical language would appear mere jargon to the uninitiated4 ,in ,ben ,jonson's play ,the ,alchemist1 ,surley1 who is the sceptic of the piece1 says to ,subtle1 who is the alchemist-- 444 ,alchemy is a pretty kind of game1 ,somewhat like tricks o' the cards1 to cheat a man ,with charming 444 ,what else are all your terms1 ,whereon no one of your writers 'grees with other8 ,of your elixir1 your lac virginis1 ,your stone1 your med'cine1 and your chrysosperme1 ,your sal1 your sulphur1 and your mercury1 ,your oil of height1 your tree of life1 your blood1 ,your marchesite1 your tutie1 your magnesia1 ,your toad1 your crow1 your dragon1 and your panther2 ,your sun1 your moon1 your firmament1 your adrop1 ,your lato1 azoch1 zernich1 chibrit1 heutarit1 ,and then your red man1 and your white woman1 ,with all your broths1 your menstrues1 and materials1 ,of lye and egg-shells1 women's terms1 man's blood1 ,hair o' the head1 burnt clout1 chalk1 merds1 and clay1 ,powder of bones1 scalings of iron1 glass1 ,and moulds of other strange ingredients1 ,would burst a man to name8 ,to which ,subtle answers1 ,and all these named ,intending but one thing2 which art our writers ,used to obscure their art4 ,was not all the knowledge ,of the ,egyptians writ in mystic symbols8 ,speak not the ,scriptures oft in parables8 ,are not the choicest fables of the poets1 ,that were the fountains and first springs of wisdom1 ,wrapp'd in perplexed allegories8 ,the alchemists were very fond of using the names of animals as symbols of certain mineral substances1 and of representing operations in the laboratory by what may be called animal allegories4 ,the yellow lion was the alchemical symbol of yellow sulphides1 the red lion was synonymous with cinnabar1 and the green lion meant salts of iron and of copper4 ,black sulphides were called eagles1 and sometimes crows4 ,when black sulphide of mercury is strongly heated1 a red sublimate is obtained1 which has the same composition as the black compound2 if the temperature is not kept very high1 but little of the red sulphide is produced2 the alchemists directed to urge the fire1 else the black crows will go back to the nest4 ,illustration3 ,a salamander lives in the fire1 which imparts to it a most glorious hue4 ,this is the reiteration1 gradation1 and amelioration of the ,tincture1 or ,philosopher's ,stone2 and the whole is called its ,augmentation4 ,,fig4 ,,xv4 ,the salamander was called the king of animals1 because it was supposed that he lived and delighted in fire2 keeping a strong fire alight under a salamander was sometimes compared to the purification of gold by heating it4 ,fig4 ,,xv41 reduced from ,the ,book of ,lambspring represents this process4 ,the alchemists employed many signs1 or shorthand expressions1 in place of writing the names of substances4 ,the following are a few of the signs which were used frequently4 ,symbol3 ,saturn ,saturn1 also lead2 ,symbol3 ,jupiter ,jupiter1 also tin2 ,symbol3 ,mars-#a and ,symbol3 ,mars-#b ,mars1 also iron2 ,symbol3 ,sun ,sol1 also gold2 ,symbol3 ,venus ,venus1 also copper2 ,symbol3 ,mercury-#a1 ,symbol3 ,mercury-#b and ,symbol3 ,mercury-#c ,mercury2 ,symbol3 ,moon ,luna1 also silver2 ,symbol3 ,sulphur ,sulphur2 ,symbol3 ,vitriol ,vitriol2 ,symbol3 ,fire fire2 ,symbol3 ,air air2 ,symbol3 ,water and ,symbol3 ,aquarius water2 ,symbol3 ,earth earth2 ,symbol3 ,aqua ,fortis aqua fortis2 ,symbol3 ,aqua ,regis aqua regis2 ,symbol3 ,aqua ,vit aqua vit2 ,symbol3 ,day day2 ,symbol3 ,night night2 ,symbol3 ,amalgam ,amalgam2 ,symbol3 ,alembic ,alembic4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,degeneracy ,,of ,,alchemy4 ,i have tried to show that alchemy aimed at giving experimental proof of a certain theory of the whole system of nature1 including humanity4 ,the practical culmination of the alchemical quest presented a threefold aspect2 the alchemists sought the stone of wisdom1 for by gaining that they gained the control of wealth2 they sought the universal panacea1 for that would give them the power of enjoying wealth and life2 they sought the soul of the world1 for thereby they could hold communion with spiritual existences1 and enjoy the fruition of spiritual life4 ,the object of their search was to satisfy their material needs1 their intellectual capacities1 and their spiritual yearnings4 ,the alchemists of the nobler sort always made the first of these objects subsidiary to the other two2 they gave as their reason for desiring to make gold1 the hope that gold might become so common that it would cease to be sought after by mankind4 ,the author of ,an ,open ,substance says3 ,would to ,god 444 all men might become adepts in our art1 for then gold1 the common idol of mankind1 would lose its value1 and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching4 ,but the desire to make gold must always have been a very powerful incentive in determining men to attempt the laborious discipline of alchemy2 and with them1 as with all men1 the love of money was the root of much evil4 ,when a man became a student of alchemy merely for the purpose of making gold1 and failed to make it--as he always did--it was very easy for him to pretend he had succeeded in order that he might really make gold by cheating other people4 ,such a man rapidly degenerated into a charlatan2 he used the language of alchemy to cover his frauds1 and with the hope of deluding his dupes by high-sounding phrases4 ,and1 it must be admitted1 alchemy lent itself admirably to imposture4 ,it promised unlimited wealth2 it encouraged the wildest dreams of the seeker after pleasure2 and over these dreams it cast the glamour of great ideas1 the idea of the unity of nature1 and the idea of communion with other spheres of life1 of calling in the help of 'inheritors of unfulfilled renown1' and so it seemed to touch to fine issues the sordidness of unblushing avarice4 ,moreover1 the working with strange ingredients and odd-fashioned instruments1 and the employment of mouth-filling phrases1 and scraps of occult learning which seemed to imply unutterable things1 gave just that pleasing dash of would-be wickedness to the process of consulting the alchemist which acts as a fascination to many people4 ,the earnest person felt that by using the skill and knowledge of the alchemists1 for what he deemed a good purpose1 he was compelling the powers of evil to work for him and his objects4 ,it was impossible that such a system as alchemy should appear to the plain man of the middle ages1 when the whole scheme of life and the universe rested on a magical basis1 to be more than a kind of magic which hovered between the black magic of the ,sorcerer and the white magic of the ,church4 ,nor is it to be wondered at that a system which lends itself to imposture so easily as alchemy did1 should be thought of by the plain man of modern times as having been nothing but a machinery of fraud4 ,it is evident from the ,canon's ,yeoman's ,tale in ,chaucer1 that many of those who professed to turn the base metals into gold were held in bad repute as early as the #adth century4 ,the false chanoun persuaded the priest1 who was his dupe1 to send his servant for quicksilver1 which he promised to make into as good silver and as fyn1 ,as ther is any in youre purse or myn2 he then gave the priest a crosselet1 and bid him put it on the fire1 and blow the coals4 ,while the priest was busy with the fire1 ,this false chanoun--the foul feend hym fecche6-- ,out of his bosom took a bechen cole1 ,in which ful subtilly was maad an hole1 ,and therinne put was of silver lemaille ,an ounce1 and stoppd was withouten faille ,the hole with wex1 to kepe the lemaille in4 ,the false chanoun pretended to be sorry for the priest1 who was so busily blowing the fire3-- ,ye been right hoot1 ,i se wel how ye swete2 ,have heer a clooth1 and wipe awey the we't4 ,and whyls that the preest wipd his face1 ,this chanoun took his cole with hard grace1 ,and leyde it above1 upon the middward ,of the crosselet1 and blew wel afterward4 ,til that the cols gonn fast brenne4 ,as the coal burned the silver fell into the crosselet4 ,then the canon said they would both go together and fetch chalk1 and a pail of water1 for he would pour out the silver he had made in the form of an ingot4 ,they locked the door1 and took the key with them4 ,on returning1 the canon formed the chalk into a mould1 and poured the contents of the crucible into it4 ,then he bade the priest1 ,look what ther is1 put in thin hand and grope1 ,thow fynd shalt ther silver1 as ,i hope4 ,what1 devel of hell6 ,sholde it ellis be8 ,shavyng of silver silver is1 parde6 ,he putte his hand in1 and took up a teyne ,of silver fyn1 and glad in every veyne ,was this preest1 when he saugh that it was so4 ,the conclusion of the ,canon's ,yeoman's ,tale shows that1 in the #adth century1 there was a general belief in the possibility of finding the philosopher's stone1 and effecting the transmutation1 although the common practitioners of the art were regarded as deceivers4 ,a disciple of ,plato is supposed to ask his master to tell him the nam of the privee stoon4 ,plato gives him certain directions1 and tells him he must use magnasia2 the disciple asks-- ',what is ,magnasia1 good sire1 ,i yow preye8' ',it is a water that is maad1 ,i seye1 ,of elements four1' quod ,plato4 ',telle me the root1 good sire1' quod he tho1 ,of that water1 if it be your wille4' ',nay1 nay1' quod ,plato1 'certein that ,i nylle2 ,the philosophres sworn were everychoon ,that they sholden discovers it unto noon1 ,ne in no book it write in no manere1 ,for unto ,crist it is so lief and deere1 ,that he wol nat that it discovered bee1 ,but where it liketh to his deitee ,man for tenspire1 and eek for to deffende ,whom that hym liketh2 lo1 this is the ende4' ,the belief in the possibility of alchemy seems to have been general sometime before ,chaucer wrote2 but that belief was accompanied by the conviction that alchemy was an impious pursuit1 because the transmutation of baser metals into gold was regarded as trenching on the prerogative of the ,creator1 to whom alone this power rightfully belonged4 ,in his ,inferno 7which was probably written about the year #acjj71 ,dante places the alchemists in the eighth circle of hell1 not apparently because they were fraudulent impostors1 but because1 as one of them says1 ,i aped creative nature by my subtle art4 ,in later times1 some of those who pretended to have the secret and to perform great wonders by the use of it1 became rich and celebrated1 and were much sought after4 ,the most distinguished of these pseudo-alchemists was he who passed under the name of ,cagliostro4 ,his life bears witness to the eagerness of human beings to be deceived4 ,joseph ,balsamo was born in #agdc at ,palermo1 where his parents were tradespeople in a good way of business4#e ,in the memoir of himself1 which he wrote in prison1 ,balsamo seeks to surround his birth and parentage with mystery2 he says1 ,i am ignorant1 not only of my birthplace1 but even of the parents who bore me4444 ,my earliest infancy was passed in the town of ,medina1 in ,arabia1 where ,i was brought up under the name of ,acharat4 #e ,the account of the life of ,cagliostro is much condensed from ,mr ,a4,e4 ,waite's ,lives of the ,alchemystical ,philosophers4 ,when he was thirteen years of age1 ,balsamo's parents determined he should be trained for the priesthood1 but he ran away from his school4 ,he was then confined in a ,benedictine monastery4 ,he showed a remarkable taste for natural history1 and acquired considerable knowledge of the use of drugs2 but he soon tired of the discipline and escaped4 ,for some years he wandered about in different parts of ,italy1 living by his wits and by cheating4 ,a goldsmith consulted him about a hidden treasure2 he pretended to invoke the aid of spirits1 frightened the goldsmith1 got sixty ounces of gold from him to carry on his incantations1 left him in the lurch1 and fled to ,messina4 ,in that town he discovered an aged aunt who was sick2 the aunt died1 and left her money to the ,church4 ,balsamo assumed her family name1 added a title of nobility1 and was known henceforward as the ,count ,alessandro ,cagliostro4 ,in ,messina he met a mysterious person whom he calls ,altotas1 and from whom1 he says in his ,memoir1 he learnt much4 ,the following account of the meeting of ,balsamo and the stranger is taken from ,waite's book3 ,as he was promenading one day near the jetty at the extremity of the port he encountered an individual singularly habited and possessed of a most remarkable countenance4 ,this person1 aged apparently about fifty years1 seemed to be an ,armenian1 though1 according to other accounts1 he was a ,spaniard or ,greek4 ,he wore a species of caftan1 a silk bonnet1 and the extremities of his breeches were concealed in a pair of wide boots4 ,in his left hand he held a parasol1 and in his right the end of a cord1 to which was attached a graceful ,albanian greyhound4444 ,cagliostro saluted this grotesque being1 who bowed slightly1 but with satisfied dignity4 ',you do not reside in ,messina1 signor8' he said in ,sicilian1 but with a marked foreign accent4 ,cagliostro replied that he was tarrying for a few days1 and they began to converse on the beauty of the town and on its advantageous situation1 a kind of ,oriental imagery individualising the eloquence of the stranger1 whose remarks were1 moreover1 adroitly adorned with a few appropriate compliments4 ,although the stranger said he received no one at his house he allowed ,cagliostro to visit him4 ,after various mysterious doings the two went off to ,egypt1 and afterwards to ,malta1 where they performed many wonderful deeds before the ,grand ,master1 who was much impressed4 ,at ,malta ,altotas died1 or1 at anyrate1 vanished4 ,cagliostro then travelled for some time1 and was well received by noblemen1 ambassadors1 and others in high position4 ,at ,rome he fell in love with a young and beautiful lady1 ,lorenza ,feliciani1 and married her4 ,cagliostro used his young wife as a decoy to attract rich and foolish men4 ,he and his wife thrived for a time1 and accumulated money and jewels2 but a confederate betrayed them1 and they fled to ,venice1 and then wandered for several years in ,italy1 ,france1 and ,england4 ,they seem to have made a living by the sale of lotions for the skin1 and by practising skilful deceptions4 ,about the year #aggj ,cagliostro began to pose as an alchemist4 ,after another period of wandering he paid a second visit to ,london and founded a secret society1 based on 7supposed7 ,egyptian rites1 mingled with those of freemasonry4 ,the suggestion of this society is said to have come from a curious book he picked up on a second-hand stall in ,london4 ,the society attracted people by the strangeness of its initiatory rites1 and the promises of happiness and wellbeing made by its founder to those who joined it4 ,lodges were established in many countries1 many disciples were obtained1 great riches were amassed1 and ,cagliostro flourished exceedingly4 ,in his ,histoire du ,merveilleux dans les ,temps modernes1 ,figuier1 speaking of ,cagliostro about this period of his career1 says3 ,he proclaimed himself the bearer of the mysteries of ,isis and ,anubis from the far ,east4444 ,he obtained numerous and distinguished followers1 who on one occasion assembled in great force to hear ,joseph ,balsamo expound to them the doctrines of ,egyptian freemasonry4 ,at this solemn convention he is said to have spoken with overpowering eloquence2444 his audience departed in amazement and completely converted to the regenerated and purified masonry4 ,none doubted that he was an initiate of the arcana of nature1 as preserved in the temple of ,apis at the era when ,cambyses belaboured that capricious divinity4 ,from this moment the initiations into the new masonry were numerous1 albeit they were limited to the aristocracy of society4 ,there are reasons to believe that the grandees who were deemed worthy of admission paid exceedingly extravagantly for the honour4 ,cagliostro posed as a physician1 and claimed the power of curing diseases simply by the laying on of hands4 ,he went so far as to assert he had restored to life the dead child of a nobleman in ,paris2 the discovery that the miracle was effected by substituting a living child for the dead one caused him to flee1 laden with spoil1 to ,warsaw1 and then to ,strassburg4 ,cagliostro entered ,strassburg in state1 amid an admiring crowd1 who regarded him as more than human4 ,rumour said he had amassed vast riches by the transmutation of base metals into gold4 ,some people in the crowd said he was the wandering ,jew1 others that he had been present at the marriage feast of ,cana1 some asserted he was born before the deluge1 and one supposed he might be the devil4 ,the goldsmith whom he had cheated of sixty ounces of gold many years before was in the crowd1 and1 recognising him1 tried to stop the carriage1 shouting3 ,joseph ,balsamo6 ,it is ,joseph6 ,rogue1 where are my sixty ounces of gold8 ,cagliostro scarcely deigned to glance at the furious goldsmith2 but in the middle of the profound silence which the incident occasioned among the crowd1 a voice1 apparently in the clouds1 uttered with great distinctness the following words3 ',remove this lunatic1 who is possessed by infernal spirits4' ,some of the spectators fell on their knees1 others seized the unfortunate goldsmith1 and the brilliant cortege passed on 7,waite74 ,from ,strassburg ,cagliostro99 went to ,paris1 where he lived in great splendour1 curing diseases1 making gold and diamonds1 mystifying and duping people of all ranks by the splendid ritual and gorgeous feasting of his secret society1 and amassing riches4 ,he got entangled in the affair of the ,diamond ,necklace1 and left ,paris4 ,trying to advance his society in ,italy he was arrested by the agents of the ,inquisition1 and imprisoned1 then tried1 and condemned to death4 ,the sentence was commuted to perpetual imprisonment4 ,after two years in the prison of ,san ,angelo he died at the age of fifty4 99,transcriber's ,note3 ,original ,cagliosto4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,paracelsus ,,and ,,some ,,other ,,alchemists4 ,the accounts which have come to us of the men who followed the pursuit of the ,one ,thing are vague1 scrappy1 and confusing4 ,alchemical books abound in quotations from the writings of ,geber4 ,five hundred treatises were attributed to this man during the middle ages1 yet we have no certain knowledge of his name1 or of the time or place of his birth4 ,hoefer says he probably lived in the middle of the #hth century1 was a native of ,mesopotamia1 and was named ,djabar ,al-,konfi4 ,waite calls him ,abou ,moussah ,djafar al-,sofi4 ,some of the medival adepts spoke of him as the ,king of ,india1 others called him a ,prince of ,persia4 ,most of the ,arabian writers on alchemy and medicine1 after the #ith century1 refer to ,geber as their master4 ,all the ,,mss4 of writings attributed to ,geber which have been examined are in ,latin1 but the library of ,leyden is said to possess some works by him written in ,arabic4 ,these ,,mss4 contain directions for preparing many metals1 salts1 acids1 oils1 etc41 and for performing such operations as distillation1 cupellation1 dissolution1 calcination1 and the like4 ,of the other ,arabian alchemists1 the most celebrated in the middle ages were ,rhasis1 ,alfarabi1 and ,avicenna1 who are supposed to have lived in the #ith and #ajth centuries4 ,the following story of ,alfarabi's powers is taken from ,waite's ,lives of the ,alchemystical ,philosophers3-- ,alfarabi was returning from a pilgrimage to ,mecca1 when1 passing through ,syria1 he stopped at the ,court of the ,sultan1 and entered his presence1 while he was surrounded by numerous sage persons1 who were discoursing with the monarch on the sciences4 ,alfarabi 444 presented himself in his travelling attire1 and when the ,sultan desired he should be seated1 with astonishing philosophical freedom he planted himself at the end of the royal sofa4 ,the ,prince1 aghast at his boldness1 called one of his officers1 and in a tongue generally unknown commanded him to eject the intruder4 ,the philosopher1 however1 promptly made answer in the same tongue3 ',oh1 ,lord1 he who acts hastily is liable to hasty repentance4' ,the ,prince was equally astounded to find himself understood by the stranger as by the manner in which the reply was given4 ,anxious to know more of his guest he began to question him1 and soon discovered that he was acquainted with seventy languages4 ,problems for discussion were then propounded to the philosophers1 who had witnessed the discourteous intrusion with considerable indignation and disgust1 but ,alfarabi disputed with so much eloquence and vivacity that he reduced all the doctors to silence1 and they began writing down his discourse4 ,the ,sultan then ordered his musicians to perform for the diversion of the company4 ,when they struck up1 the philosopher accompanied them on a lute with such infinite grace and tenderness that he elicited the unmeasured admiration of the whole distinguished assembly4 ,at the request of the ,sultan he produced a piece of his own composing1 sang it1 and accompanied it with great force and spirit to the delight of all his hearers4 ,the air was so sprightly that even the gravest philosopher could not resist dancing1 but by another tune he as easily melted them to tears1 and then by a soft unobtrusive melody he lulled the whole company to sleep4 ,the most remarkable of the alchemists was he who is generally known as ,paracelsus4 ,he was born about #adic1 and died about #aedj4 ,it is probable that the place of his birth was ,einsiedeln1 near ,zurich4 ,he claimed relationship with the noble family of ,bombast von ,hohenheim2 but some of his biographers doubt whether he really was connected with that family4 ,his name1 or at any rate the name by which he was known1 was ,aureolus ,philippus ,theophrastus ,bombast von ,hohenheim4 ,his father in alchemy1 ,trimethius1 ,abbot of ,spannheim and then of ,wurzburg1 who was a theologian1 a poet1 an astronomer1 and a necromancer1 named him ,paracelsus2 this name is taken by some to be a kind of ,grco-,latin paraphrase of von ,hohenheim 7of high lineage71 and to mean belonging to a lofty place2 others say it signifies greater than ,celsus1 who was a celebrated ,latin writer on medicine of the #ast century4 ,paracelsus studied at the ,university of ,basle2 but1 getting into trouble with the authorities1 he left the university1 and for some years wandered over ,europe1 supporting himself1 according to one account1 by psalm-singing1 astrological productions1 chiromantic soothsaying1 and1 it has been said1 by necromantic practices4 ,he may have got as far as ,constantinople2 as a rumour floated about that he received the ,stone of ,wisdom from an adept in that city4 ,he returned to ,basle1 and in #aebg delivered lectures with the sanction of the ,rector of the university4 ,he made enemies of the physicians by abusing their custom of seeking knowledge only from ancient writers and not from nature2 he annoyed the apothecaries by calling their tinctures1 decoctions1 and extracts1 mere soup-messes2 and he roused the ire of all learned people by delivering his lectures in ,german4 ,he was attacked publicly and also anonymously4 ,of the pamphlets published against him he said1 ,these vile ribaldries would raise the ire of a turtle-dove4 ,and ,paracelsus was no turtle-dove4 ,the following extract from 7a translation of7 the preface to ,the ,book concerning the ,tinctures of the ,philosophers written against those ,sophists born since the ,deluge1 shews that his style of writing was abusive1 and his opinion of himself1 to say the least1 not very humble3-- ,from the middle of this age the ,monarchy of all the ,arts has been at length derived and conferred on me1 ,theophrastus ,paracelsus1 ,prince of ,philosophy and ,medicine4 ,for this purpose ,i have been chosen by ,god to extinguish and blot out all the phantasies of elaborate and false works1 of delusive and presumptuous words1 be they the words of ,aristotle1 ,galen1 ,avicenna1 ,mesva1 or the dogmas of any among their followers4 ,my theory1 proceeding as it does from the light of ,nature1 can never1 through its consistency1 pass away or be changed2 but in the fifty-eighth year after its millennium and a half it will then begin to flourish4 ,the practice at the same time following upon the theory will be proved by wonderful and incredible signs1 so as to be open to mechanics and common people1 and they will thoroughly understand how firm and immovable is that ,paracelsic ,art against the triflings of the ,sophists2 though meanwhile that sophistical science has to have its ineptitude propped up and fortified by papal and imperial privileges4444 ,so then1 you wormy and lousy ,sophist1 since you deem the monarch of ,arcana a mere ignorant1 fatuous1 and prodigal quack1 now1 in this mid age1 ,i determine in my present treatise to disclose the honourable course of procedure in these matters1 the virtues and preparation of the celebrated ,tincture of the ,philosophers for the use and honour of all who love the truth1 and in order that all who despise the true arts may be reduced to poverty4 ,the turbulent and restless spirit of ,paracelsus brought him into open conflict with the authorities of ,basle4 ,he fled from that town in #aebh1 and after many wanderings1 he found rest at ,salzburg1 under the protection of the archbishop4 ,he died at ,salzburg in #aeda1 in his forty-eighth year4 ,the character and abilities of ,paracelsus have been vastly praised by some1 and inordinately abused by others4 ,one author says of him3 ,he lived like a pig1 looked like a drover1 found his greatest enjoyment in the company of the most dissolute and lowest rabble1 and throughout his glorious life he was generally drunk4 ,another author says3 ,probably no physician has grasped his life's task with a purer enthusiasm1 or devoted himself more faithfully to it1 or more fully maintained the moral worthiness of his calling than did the reformer of ,einsiedeln4 ,he certainly seems to have been loved and respected by his pupils and followers1 for he is referred to by them as the noble and beloved monarch1 the ,german ,hemes1 and our dear ,preceptor and ,king of ,arts4 ,there seems no doubt that ,paracelsus discovered many facts which became of great importance in chemistry3 he prepared the inflammable gas we now call hydrogen1 by the reaction between iron filings and oil of vitriol2 he distinguished metals from substances which had been classed with metals but lacked the essential metalline character of ductility2 he made medicinal preparations of mercury1 lead and iron1 and introduced many new and powerful drugs1 notably laudanum4 ,paracelsus insisted that medicine is a branch of chemistry1 and that the restoration of the body of a patient to a condition of chemical equilibrium is the restoration to health4 ,paracelsus trusted in his method2 he was endeavouring to substitute direct appeal to nature for appeal to the authority of writers about nature4 ,after me1 he cries1 you ,avicenna1 ,galen1 ,rhasis1 ,montagnana and the others4 ,you after me1 not ,i after you4 ,you of ,paris1 you of ,montpellier1 you of ,swabia1 of ,meissen and ,vienna2 you who come from the countries along the ,danube and the ,rhine2 and you1 too1 from the ,islands of the ,ocean4 ,follow me4 ,it is not for me to follow you1 for mine is the monarchy4 ,but the work was too arduous1 the struggle too unequal4 ,with few appliances1 with no accurate knowledge1 with no help from the work of others1 without polished and sharpened weapons1 and without the skill that comes from long handling of instruments of precision1 what could ,paracelsus effect in his struggle to wrest her secrets from nature8 ,of necessity1 he grew weary of the task1 and tried to construct a universe which should be simpler than that most complex order which refused to yield to his analysis4 ,and so he came back to the universe which man constructs for himself1 and exclaimed-- ,each man has 444 all the wisdom and power of the world in himself2 he possesses one kind of knowledge as much as another1 and he who does not find that which is in him cannot truly say that he does not possess it1 but only that he was not capable of successfully seeking for it4 ,we leave a great genius1 with his own words in our ears3 ,have no care of my misery1 reader2 let me bear my burden myself4 ,i have two failings3 my poverty and my piety4 ,my poverty was thrown in my face by a ,burgomaster who had perhaps only seen doctors attired in silken robes1 never basking in tattered rags in the sunshine4 ,so it was decreed ,i was not a doctor4 ,for my piety ,i am arraigned by the parsons1 for 444 ,i do not at all love those who teach what they do not themselves practise4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,alchemical ,,doctrine4--,,the ,,replacement ,,of ,,the ,,three ,,principles ,,of ,,the ,,alchemists ,,by ,,the ,,single ,,principle ,,of ,,phlogiston4 ,the ,sacred ,art1 which had its origin and home in ,egypt1 was very definitely associated with the religious rites1 and the theological teaching1 recognised by the state4 ,the ,egyptian priests were initiated into the mysteries of the divine art3 and as the initiated claimed to imitate the work of the deity1 the priest was regarded by the ordinary people as something more than a representative1 as a mirror1 of the divinity4 ,the sacred art of ,egypt was transmuted into alchemy by contact with ,european thought and handicrafts1 and the tenets and mysticism of the ,catholic ,church2 and the conception of nature1 which was the result of this blending1 prevailed from about the #ith until towards the end of the #ahth century4 ,like its predecessor1 alchemy postulated an orderly universe2 but alchemy was richer in fantastic details1 more picturesquely embroidered1 more prodigal of strange fancies1 than the sacred art of ,egypt4 ,the alchemist constructed his ordered scheme of nature on the basis of the supposed universality of life4 ,for him1 everything lived1 and the life of things was threefold4 ,the alchemist thought he recognised the manifestation of life in the form1 or body1 of a thing1 in its soul1 and in its spirit4 ,things might differ much in appearance1 in size1 taste1 smell1 and other outward properties1 and yet be intimately related1 because1 according to the alchemist1 they were produced from the same principles1 they were animated by the same soul4 ,things might resemble one another closely in their outward properties and yet differ widely in essential features1 because1 according to the alchemist1 they were formed from different elements1 in their spiritual properties they were unlike4 ,the alchemists taught that the true transformation1 in alchemical language the transmutation1 of one thing into another could be effected only by spiritual means acting on the spirit of the thing1 because the transmutation consisted essentially in raising the substance to the highest perfection whereof it was capable2 the result of this spiritual action might become apparent in the material form of the substance4 ,in attempting to apply such vague conceptions as these1 alchemy was obliged to use the language which had been developed for the expression of human emotions and desires1 not only for the explanation of the facts it observed1 but also for the bare recital of these facts4 ,the outlook of alchemy on the world outside human beings was essentially anthropomorphic4 ,in the image of man1 the alchemist created his universe4 ,in the times when alchemy was dominant1 the divine scheme of creation1 and the place given to man in that scheme1 were supposed to be thoroughly understood4 ,everything had its place1 designed for it from the beginning1 and in that place it remained unless it were forced from it by violent means4 ,a great part of the business of experimental alchemy was to discover the natural position1 or condition1 of each substance2 and the discovery was to be made by interpreting the facts brought to light by observation and experiment by the aid of hypotheses deduced from the general scheme of things which had been formed independently of observation or experiment4 ,alchemy was a part of magic2 for magic interprets and corrects the knowledge gained by the senses by the touchstone of generalisations which have been supplied1 partly by the emotions1 and partly by extra-human authority1 and accepted as necessarily true4 ,the conception of natural order which regulates the life of the savage is closely related to that which guided the alchemists4 ,the essential features of both are the notion that everything is alive1 and the persuasion that things can be radically acted on only by using life as a factor4 ,there is also an intimate connexion between alchemy and witchcraft4 ,witches were people who were supposed to make an unlawful use of the powers of life2 alchemists were often thought to pass beyond what is permitted to the creature1 and to encroach on the prerogative of the ,creator4 ,the long duration of alchemy shows that it appealed to some deep-seated want of human beings4 ,was not that want the necessity for the realisation of order in the universe8 ,men were unwilling to wait until patient examination of the facts of their own nature1 and the facts of nature outside themselves1 might lead them to the realisation of the interdependence of all things4 ,they found it easier to evolve a scheme of things from a superficial glance at themselves and their surroundings2 naturally they adopted the easier plan4 ,alchemy was a part of the plan of nature produced by this method4 ,the extraordinary dominancy of such a scheme is testified to by the continued belief in alchemy1 although the one experiment1 which seems to us to be the crucial experiment of the system1 was never accomplished4 ,but it is also to be remembered that the alchemists were acquainted with1 and practised1 many processes which we should now describe as operations of manufacturing and technical chemistry2 and the practical usefulness of these processes bore testimony1 of the kind which convinces the plain man1 to the justness of their theories4 ,i have always regarded two facts as most interesting and instructive3 that the doctrine of the essential unity of all things1 and the simplicity of natural order1 was accepted for centuries by many1 ,i think one may say1 by most men1 as undoubtedly a true presentation of the divine scheme of things2 and1 secondly1 that in more recent times people were quite as certain of the necessary truth of the doctrine1 the exact opposite of the alchemical1 that the ,creator had divided his creation into portions each of which was independent of all the others4 ,both of these schemes were formed by the same method1 by introspection preceding observation2 both were overthrown by the same method1 by observation and experiment proceeding hand in hand with reasoning4 ,in each case1 the humility of science vanquished the conceit of ignorance4 ,the change from alchemy to chemistry is an admirable example of the change from a theory formed by looking inwards1 and then projected on to external facts1 to a theory formed by studying facts1 and then thinking about them4 ,this change proceeded slowly2 it is not possible to name a time when it may be said1 here alchemy finishes and chemistry begins4 ,to adapt a saying of one of the alchemists1 quoted in a former chapter2 alchemy would not easily give up its nature1 and fought for its life2 but an agent was found strong enough to overcome and kill it1 and then that agent also had the power to change the lifeless remains into a new and pure body4 ,the agent was the accurate and imaginative investigation of facts4 ,the first great step taken in the path which led from alchemy to chemistry was the substitution of one ,principle1 the ,principle of ,phlogiston1 for the three ,principles of salt1 sulphur1 and mercury4 ,this step was taken by concentrating attention and investigation1 by replacing the superficial examination of many diverse phenomena by the more searching study of one class of occurrences4 ,that the field of study should be widened1 it was necessary that it should first be narrowed4 ,lead1 tin1 iron1 or copper is calcined4 ,the prominent and striking feature of these events is the disappearance of the metal1 and the formation of something very unlike it4 ,but the original metal is restored by a second process1 which is like the first because it also is a calcination1 but seems to differ from the first operation in that the burnt metal is calcined with another substance1 with grains of wheat or powdered charcoal4 ,led thereto by their theory that destruction must precede re-vivification1 death must come before resurrection1 the alchemists confined their attention to one feature common to all calcinations of metals1 and gave a superficial description of these occurrences by classing them together as processes of mortification4 ,sulphur1 wood1 wax1 oil1 and many other things are easily burned3 the alchemists said1 these things also undergo mortification1 they too are killed2 but1 as man can restore that which man has destroyed1 it must be possible to restore to life the thing which has been mortified4 ,the burnt sulphur1 wood1 wax1 or oil1 is not really dead1 the alchemists argued2 to use the allegory of ,paracelsus1 they are like young lions which are born dead1 and are brought to life by the roaring of their parents3 if we make a sufficiently loud noise1 if we use the proper means1 we shall bring life into what seems to be dead material4 ,as it is the roaring of the parents of the young lions which alone can cause the still-born cubs to live1 so it is only by the spiritual agency of life1 proceeded the alchemical argument1 that life can be brought into the mortified sulphur1 wood1 wax1 and oil4 ,the alchemical explanation was superficial1 theoretical1 in the wrong meaning of that word1 and unworkable4 ,it was superficial because it overlooked the fact that the primary calcination1 the mortification1 of the metals1 and the other substances1 was effected in the air1 that is to say1 in contact with something different from the thing which was calcined2 the explanation was of the kind which people call theoretical1 when they wish to condemn an explanation and put it out of court1 because it was merely a re-statement of the facts in the language of a theory which had not been deduced from the facts themselves1 or from facts like those to be explained1 but from what were supposed to be facts without proper investigation1 and1 if facts1 were of a totally different kind from those to which the explanation applied2 and lastly1 the explanation was unworkable1 because it suggested no method whereby its accuracy could be tested1 no definite line of investigation which might be pursued4 ,that great naturalist1 the ,honourable ,robert ,boyle 7born in #afbf1 died in #afia71 very perseveringly besought those who examined processes of calcination to pay heed to the action of everything which might take part in the processes4 ,he was especially desirous they should consider what part the air might play in calcinations2 he spoke of the air as a menstruum or additament1 and said that1 in such operations as calcination1 ,we may well take the freedom to examine 444 whether there intervene not a coalition of the parts of the body wrought upon with those of the menstruum1 whereby the produced concrete may be judged to result from the union of both4 ,it was by examining the part played by the air in processes of calcination and burning that men at last became able to give approximately complete descriptions of these processes4 ,boyle recognised that the air is not a simple or elementary substance2 he spoke of it as a confused aggregate of effluviums from such differing bodies1 that1 though they all agree in constituting by their minuteness and various motions one great mass of fluid matter1 yet perhaps there is scarce a more heterogeneous body in the world4 ,clement of ,alexandria who lived in the end of the #bnd1 and the early part of the #crd1 century ,a4,d41 seems to have regarded the air as playing a very important part in combustions2 he said--,airs are divided into two categories2 an air for the divine flame1 which is the soul2 and a material air which is the nourisher of sensible fire1 and the basis of combustible matter4 ,sentences like that ,i have just quoted are found here and there in the writings of the earlier and later alchemists2 now and again we also find statements which may be interpreted1 in the light of the fuller knowledge we now have1 as indicating at least suspicions that the atmosphere is a mixture of different kinds of air1 and that only some of these take part in calcining and burning operations4 ,those suspicions were confirmed by experiments on the calcination of metals and other substances1 conducted in the #agth century by ,jean ,rey a ,french physician1 and by ,john ,mayow of ,oxford4 ,but these observations and the conclusions founded on them1 did not bear much fruit until the time of ,lavoisier1 that is1 towards the close of the #ahth century4 ,they were overshadowed and put aside by the work of ,stahl 7#affj-agbd74 ,some of the alchemists of the #adth1 #aeth and #afth centuries taught that combustion and calcination are processes wherein the igneous principle is destroyed1 using the word destroyed in its alchemical meaning4 ,this description of processes of burning was much more in keeping with the ideas of the time than that given by ,boyle1 ,rey and ,mayow4 ,it was adopted by ,stahl1 and made the basis of a general theory of those changes wherein one substance disappears and another1 or others1 very unlike it1 are produced4 ,that he might bring into one point of view1 and compare the various changes effected by the agency of fire1 ,stahl invented a new ,principle1 which he named ,phlogiston1 and constructed an hypothesis which is generally known as the phlogistic theory4 ,he explained1 and applied1 this hypothesis in various books1 especially in one published at ,halle in #agag4 ,stahl observed that many substances which differed much from one another in various respects were alike in one respect2 they were all combustible4 ,all the combustible substances1 he argued1 must contain a common principle2 he named this supposed principle1 phlogiston 7from the ,greek word phlogistos burnt1 or set on fire74 ,stahl said that the phlogiston of a combustible thing escapes as the substance burns1 and1 becoming apparent to the senses1 is named fire or flame4 ,the phlogiston in a combustible substance was supposed to be so intimately associated with something else that our senses cannot perceive it2 nevertheless1 the theory said1 it is there2 we can see only the escaping phlogiston1 we can perceive only the phlogiston which is set free from its combination with other things4 ,the theory thought of phlogiston as imprisoned in the thing which can be burnt1 and as itself forming part of the prison2 that the prisoner should be set free1 the walls of the prison had to be removed2 the freeing of the prisoner destroyed the prison4 ,as escaping1 or free1 phlogiston was called fire1 or flame1 so the phlogiston in a combustible substance was sometimes called combined fire1 or flame in the state of combination4 ,a peculiarity of the strange thing called phlogiston was that it preferred to be concealed in something1 hidden1 imprisoned1 combined2 free phlogiston99 was supposed to be always ready to become combined phlogiston4 99,transcriber's ,note3 ,original phlogstion4 ,the phlogistic theory said that what remains when a substance has been burnt is the original substance deprived of phlogiston2 and1 therefore1 to restore the phlogiston to the product of burning is to re-form the combustible substance4 ,but how is such a restoration of phlogiston to be accomplished8 ,evidently by heating the burnt thing with something which is very ready to burn4 ,because1 according to the theory1 everything which can be burnt contains phlogiston1 the more ready a substance is to burn the richer it is in phlogiston2 burning is the outrush of phlogiston1 phlogiston prefers to be combined with something2 therefore1 if you mix what remains after burning1 with something which is very combustible1 and heat the mixture1 you are bringing the burnt matter under conditions which are very favourable for the reception of phlogiston by it1 for you are bringing it into intimate contact with something from which freedom-hating phlogiston is being forced to escape4 ,charcoal1 sulphur1 phosphorus1 oils and fats are easily burnt2 these substances were1 therefore1 chosen for the purpose of changing things which had been burnt into things which could again be burnt2 these1 and a few other substances like these1 were classed together1 and called phlogisticating agents4 ,very many of the substances which were dealt with by the experimenters of the last quarter of the #agth1 and the first half of the #ahth1 century1 were either substances which could be burned1 or those which had been produced by burning2 hence the phlogistic theory brought into one point of view1 compared1 and emphasised the similarities between1 a great many things which had not been thought of as connected before that theory was promulgated4 ,moreover1 the theory asserted that all combustible1 or incinerable1 things are composed of phlogiston1 and another principle1 or1 as was often said1 another element1 which is different in different kinds of combustible substances4 ,the metals1 for instance1 were said to be composed of phlogiston and an earthy principle or element1 which was somewhat different in different metals4 ,the phlogisteans taught that the earthy principle of a metal remains in the form of ash1 cinders1 or calx1 when the metal is calcined1 or1 as they expressed it1 when the metal is deprived of its phlogiston4 ,the phlogistic theory savoured of alchemy2 it postulated an undefined1 undefinable1 intangible ,principle2 it said that all combustible substances are formed by the union of this ,principle with another1 which is sometimes of an earthy character1 sometimes of a fatty nature1 sometimes highly volatile in habit4 ,nevertheless1 the theory of ,stahl was a step away from purely alchemical conceptions towards the accurate description of a very important class of changes4 ,the principle of phlogiston could be recognised by the senses as it was in the act of escaping from a substance2 and the other principle of combustible things was scarcely a ,principle in the alchemical sense1 for1 in the case of metals at any rate1 it remained when the things which had contained it were burnt1 and could be seen1 handled1 and weighed4 ,to say that metals are composed of phlogiston and an earthy substance1 was to express facts in such a language that the expression might be made the basis of experimental inquiry2 it was very different from the assertion that metals are produced by the spiritual actions of the three ,principles1 salt1 mercury and sulphur1 the first of which is not salt1 the second is not mercury1 and the third is not sulphur4 ,the followers of ,stahl often spoke of metals as composed of phlogiston and an element of an earthy character2 this expression also was an advance1 from the hazy notion of ,element in purely alchemical writings1 towards accuracy and fulness of description4 ,an element was now something which could he seen and experimented with2 it was no longer a semi-spiritual existence which could not be grasped by the senses4 ,the phlogistic theory regarded the calcination of a metal as the separation of it into two things1 unlike the metal1 and unlike each other2 one of these things was phlogiston1 the other was an earth-like residue4 ,the theory thought of the re-formation of a metal from its calx1 that is1 the earthy substance which remains after combustion1 as the combination of two things to produce one1 apparently homogeneous1 substance4 ,metals appeared to the phlogisteans1 as they appeared to the alchemists1 to be composite substances4 ,processes of burning were regarded by alchemists and phlogisteans alike1 as processes of simplification4 ,the fact had been noticed and recorded1 during the middle ages1 that the earth-like matter which remains when a metal is calcined is heavier than the metal itself4 ,from this fact1 modern investigators of natural phenomena would draw the conclusion1 that calcination of a metal is an addition of something to the metal1 not a separation of the metal into different things4 ,it seems impossible to us that a substance should be separated into portions1 and one of these parts should weigh as much as1 or more than1 the whole4 ,the exact investigation of material changes called chemistry rests on the statement that mass1 and mass is practically measured by weight1 is the one property of what we call matter1 the determination whereof enables us to decide whether a change is a combination1 or coalescence1 of different things1 or a separation of one thing into parts4 ,that any part of a material system can be removed without the weight of the portion which remains being less than the original weight of the whole system1 is unthinkable1 in the present state of our knowledge of material changes4 ,but in the #agth century1 and throughout most of the #ahth1 only a few of those who examined changes in the properties of substances paid heed to changes of weight2 they had not realised the importance of the property of mass1 as measured by weight4 ,the convinced upholder of the phlogistic theory had two answers to the argument1 that1 because the earth-like product of the calcination of a metal weighs more than the metal itself1 therefore the metal cannot have lost something in the process2 for1 if one portion of what is taken away weighs more than the metal from which it has been separated1 it is evident that the weight of the two portions into which the metal is said to have been divided must be considerably greater than the weight of the undivided metal4 ,the upholders of the theory sometimes met the argument by saying1 ,of course the calx weighs more than the metal1 because phlogiston tends to lighten a body which contains it2 and therefore the body weighs more after it has lost phlogiston than it did when the phlogiston formed part of it2 sometimes1 and more often1 their answer was--loss or gain of weight is an accident1 the essential thing is change of qualities4 ,if the argument against the separation of a metal into two constituents1 by calcination1 were answered to-day as it was answered by the upholders of the phlogistic theory1 in the middle of the #ahth century1 the answers would justly be considered inconsequent and ridiculous4 ,but it does not follow that the statements were either far-fetched or absurd at the time they were made4 ,they were expressed in the phraseology of the time2 a phraseology1 it is true1 sadly lacking in consistency1 clearness1 and appropriateness1 but the only language then available for the description of such changes as those which happen when metals are calcined4 ,one might suppose that it must always have sounded ridiculous to say that the weight of a thing can be decreased by adding something to it1 that part of a thing weighs more than the whole of it4 ,but the absurdity disappears if it can be admitted that mass1 which is measured by weight1 may be a property like colour1 or taste1 or smell2 for the colour1 taste1 or smell of a thing may certainly be made less by adding something else1 and the colour1 taste1 or smell of a thing may also be increased by adding something else4 ,if we did not know that what we call quantity of substance is measured by the property named mass1 we might very well accept the proposition that the entrance of phlogiston into a substance decreases the quantity1 hence the mass1 and1 therefore1 the weight1 of the substance4 ,although ,stahl and his followers were emerging from the trammels of alchemy1 they were still bound by many of the conceptions of that scheme of nature4 ,we have learned1 in previous chapters1 that the central idea of alchemy was expressed in the saying3 ,matter must be deprived of its properties in order to draw out its soul4 ,the properties of substances are everything to the modern chemist--indeed1 such words as iron1 copper1 water1 and gold are to him merely convenient expressions for certain definable groups of properties--but the phlogisteans regarded the properties of things1 including mass1 as of secondary importance2 they were still trying to get beneath the properties of a thing1 to its hypothetical essence1 or substance4 ,looking back1 we cannot think of phlogiston as a substance1 or as a thing1 in the modern meanings of these terms as they are used in natural science4 ,nowadays we think1 we are obliged to think1 of the sum of the quantities of all the things in the universe as unchanging1 and unchangeable by any agency whereof we have definite knowledge4 ,the meaning we give to the word thing rests upon the acceptance of this hypothesis4 ,but the terms substance1 thing1 properties were used very vaguely a couple of centuries ago2 and it would be truly absurd to carry back to that time the meanings which we give to these terms to-day1 and then to brand as ridiculous the attempts of the men who studied1 then1 the same problems which we study now1 to express the results of their study in generalisations which employed the terms in question1 in what seems to us a loose1 vague1 and inexact manner4 ,by asserting1 and to some extent experimentally proving1 the existence of one principle in many apparently very different substances 7or1 as would be said to-day1 one property common to many substances71 the phlogistic theory acted as a very useful means for collecting1 and placing in a favourable position for closer inspection1 many substances which would probably have remained scattered and detached from one another had this theory not been constructed4 ,a single assumption was made1 that all combustible substances are alike in one respect1 namely1 in containing combined fire1 or phlogiston2 by the help of this assumption1 the theory of phlogiston emphasised the fundamental similarity between all processes of combustion4 ,the theory of phlogiston was extraordinarily simple1 compared with the alchemical vagaries which preceded it4 ,hoefer says1 in his ,histoire de la ,chimie1 ,if it is true that simplicity is the distinctive character of verity1 never was a theory so true as that of ,stahl4 ,the phlogistic theory did more than serve as a means for bringing together many apparently disconnected facts4 ,by concentrating the attention of the students of material changes on one class of events1 and giving descriptions of these events without using either of the four alchemical ,elements1 or the three ,principles1 ,stahl1 and those who followed him1 did an immense service to the advancement of clear thinking about natural occurrences4 ,the principle of phlogiston was more tangible1 and more readily used1 than the ,salt1 ,sulphur1 and ,mercury of the alchemists2 and to accustom people to speak of the material substance which remained when a metal1 or other combustible substance1 was calcined or burnt1 as one of the elements of the thing which had been changed1 prepared the way for the chemical conception of an element as a definite substance with certain definite properties4 ,in addition to these advantages1 the phlogistic theory was based on experiments1 and led to experiments1 the results of which proved that the capacity to undergo combustion might be conveyed to an incombustible substance1 by causing it to react with some other substance1 itself combustible1 under definite conditions4 ,the theory thus prepared the way for the representation of a chemical change as an interaction between definite kinds of substances1 marked by precise alterations both of properties and composition4 ,the great fault of the theory of phlogiston1 considered as a general conception which brings many facts into one point of view1 and leads the way to new and exact knowledge1 was its looseness1 its flexibility4 ,it was very easy to make use of the theory in a broad and general way2 by stretching it here1 and modifying it there1 it seemed to cover all the facts concerning combustion and calcination which were discovered during two generations after the publication of ,stahl's books4 ,but many of the subsidiary hypotheses which were required to make the theory cover the new facts were contradictory1 or at any rate seemed to be contradictory1 of the primary assumptions of the theory4 ,the addition of this ancillary machinery burdened the mechanism of the theory1 threw it out of order1 and finally made it unworkable4 ,the phlogistic theory was destroyed by its own cumbersomeness4 ,a scientific theory never lasts long if its fundamental assumptions are stated so loosely that they may be easily modified1 expanded1 contracted1 and adjusted to meet the requirements of newly discovered facts4 ,it is true that the theories which have been of the greatest service in science1 as summaries of the relations between established facts1 and suggestions of lines of investigation1 have been stated in terms whose full meaning has gradually unfolded itself4 ,but the foundations of these theories have been at once so rigidly defined and clearly stated as to be incapable of essential modification1 and so full of meaning and widely applicable as to cover large classes of facts which were unknown when the theories were constructed4 ,of the founders of the lasting and expansible theories of natural science1 it may be said1 that thoughts beyond their thoughts to those high bards were given4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,examination ,,of ,,the ,,phenomena ,,of ,,combustion4 ,the alchemists thought that the most effectual method of separating a complex substance into more simple substances was to subject it to the action of heat4 ,they were constantly distilling1 incinerating1 subliming1 heating1 in order that the spirit1 or inner kernel of things1 might be obtained4 ,they took for granted that the action of fire was to simplify1 and that simplification proceeded whatever might be the nature of the substance which was subjected to this action4 ,boyle insisted that the effect of heating one substance may be1 and often is1 essentially different from the effect of heating another substance2 and that the behaviour of the same substance when heated1 sometimes varies when the conditions are changed4 ,he takes the example of heating sulphur or brimstone3 ,exposed to a moderate fire in subliming pots1 it rises all into dry1 and almost tasteless1 flowers2 whereas being exposed to a naked fire1 it affords store of a saline and fretting liquor4 ,boyle thought that the action of fire was not necessarily to separate a thing into its principles or elements1 but1 in most cases1 was either to rearrange the parts of the thing1 so that new1 and it might be1 more complex things1 were produced1 or to form less simple things by the union of the substance with what he called1 the matter of fire4 ,when the product of heating a substance1 for example1 tin or lead1 weighed more than the substance itself1 ,boyle supposed that the gain in weight was often caused by the matter of fire adding itself to the substance which was heated4 ,he commended to the investigation of philosophers this subtil fluid1 which is able to pierce into the compact and solid bodies of metals1 and add something to them that has no despicable weight upon the balance1 and is able for a considerable time to continue fixed in the fire4 ,boyle also drew attention to the possibility of action taking place between a substance which is heated and some other substance1 wherewith the original thing may have been mixed4 ,in a word1 ,boyle showed that the alchemical assumption--fire simplifies--was too simple2 and he taught1 by precept and example1 that the only way of discovering what the action of fire is1 on this substance or on that1 is to make accurate experiments4 ,i consider1 he says1 that1 generally speaking1 to render a reason of an effect or phenomenon1 is to deduce it from something else in nature more known than itself2 and that consequently there may be divers kinds of degrees of explication of the same thing4 ,boyle published his experiments and opinions concerning the action of fire on different substances in the seventies of the #agth century2 ,stahl's books1 which laid the foundation of the phlogistic theory1 and confirmed the alchemical opinion that the action of fire is essentially a simplifying action1 were published about forty years later4 ,but fifty years before ,boyle1 a ,french physician1 named ,jean ,rey1 had noticed that the calcination of a metal is the production of a more complex1 from a less complex substance2 and had assigned the increase in weight which accompanies that operation to the attachment of particles of the air to the metal4 ,a few years before the publication of ,boyle's work1 from which ,i have quoted1 ,john ,mayow1 student of ,oxford1 recounted experiments which led to the conclusion that the air contains two substances1 one of which supports combustion and the breathing of animals1 while the other extinguishes fire4 ,mayow called the active component of the atmosphere fiery air2 but he was unable to say definitely what becomes of this fiery air when a substance is burnt1 although he thought that1 in some cases1 it probably attaches itself to the burning substances1 by which1 therefore1 it may be said to be fixed4 ,mayow proved that the air wherein a substance is burnt1 or an animal breathes1 diminishes in volume during the burning1 or the breathing4 ,he tried1 without much success1 to restore to air that part of it which disappears when combustion1 or respiration1 proceeds in it4 ,what happens when a substance is burnt in the air8 ,the alchemists answered this question by asserting that the substance is separated or analysed into things simpler than itself4 ,boyle said3 the process is not necessarily a simplification2 it may be1 and certainly sometimes is1 the formation of something more complicated than the original substance1 and when this happens1 the process often consists in the fixation of the matter of fire by the burning substance4 ,rey said3 calcination1 of a metal at anyrate1 probably consists in the fixation of particles of air by the substance which is calcined4 ,mayow answered the question by asserting1 on the ground of the results of his experiments1 that the substance which is being calcined lays hold of a particular constituent of the air1 not the air as a whole4 ,now1 it is evident that if ,mayow's answer was a true description of the process of calcination1 or combustion1 it should be possible to separate the calcined substance into two different things1 one of which would be the thing which was calcined1 and the other would be that constituent of the air which had united with the burning1 or calcining1 substance4 ,it seems clear to us that the one method of proving the accuracy of ,mayow's supposition must be1 to weigh a definite1 combustible1 substance--say1 a metal2 to calcine this in a measured quantity of air2 to weigh the product1 and to measure the quantity of air which remains2 to separate the product of calcination into the original metal1 and a kind of air or gas2 to prove that the metal thus obtained is the same1 and has the same weight1 as the metal which was calcined2 and to prove that the air or gas obtained from the calcined metal is the same1 both in quality and quantity1 as the air which disappeared in the process of calcination4 ,this proof was not forthcoming until about a century after the publication of ,mayow's work4 ,the experiments which furnished the proof were rendered possible by a notable discovery made on the #ast of ,august #aggd1 by the celebrated ,joseph ,priestley4 ,priestley prepared many airs of different kinds3 by the actions of acids on metals1 by allowing vegetables to decay1 by heating beef1 mutton1 and other animal substances1 and by other methods4 ,he says3 ,having procured a lens of twelve inches diameter and twenty inches focal distance1 ,i proceeded with great alacrity to examine1 by the help of it1 what kind of air a great variety of substances1 natural and factitious1 would yield4444 ,with this apparatus1 after a variety of other experiments4444 on the #ast of ,august1 #aggd1 ,i endeavoured to extract air from mercurius calcinatus per se2 and ,i presently found that1 by means of this lens1 air was expelled from it very readily4 ,having got about three or four times as much as the bulk of my materials1 ,i admitted water to it1 and found that it was not imbibed by it4 ,but what surprised me more than ,i can well express was1 that a candle burned in this air with a remarkably vigorous flame4444 ,i was utterly at a loss how to account for it4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,xvi4 ,the apparatus used by ,priestley1 in his experiments on different kinds of air1 is represented in ,fig4 ,,xvi41 which is reduced from an illustration in ,priestley's book on ,airs4 ,priestley had made a discovery which was destined to change ,alchemy into ,chemistry4 ,but he did not know what his discovery meant4 ,it was reserved for the greatest of all chemists1 ,antoine ,lavoisier1 to use the fact stumbled on by ,priestley4 ,after some months ,priestley began to think it possible that the new air he had obtained from calcined mercury might be fit for respiration4 ,to his surprise he found that a mouse lived in this air much longer than in common air2 the new air was evidently better1 or purer1 than ordinary air4 ,priestley measured what he called the goodness of the new air1 by a process of his own devising1 and concluded that it was between four and five times as good as common air4 ,priestley was a thorough-going phlogistean4 ,he seems to have been able to describe the results of his experiments only in the language of the phlogistic theory2 just as the results of most of the experiments made to-day on the changes of compounds of the element carbon cannot be described by chemists except by making use of the conceptions and the language of the atomic and molecular theory4#f #f ,i have given numerous illustrations of the truth of this statement in the book1 in this series1 entitled ,the ,story of the ,wanderings of ,atoms4 ,the upholder of the phlogistic theory could not think of burning as possible unless there was a suitable receptacle for the phlogiston of the burning substance3 when burning occurred in the air1 the part played by the air1 according to the phlogistic chemist1 was to receive the expelled phlogiston2 in this sense the air acted as the pabulum1 or nourishment1 of the burning substance4 ,inasmuch as substances burned more vigorously and brilliantly in the new air than in common air1 ,priestley argued that the new air was more ready1 more eager1 than ordinary air1 to receive phlogiston2 and1 therefore1 that the new air contained less phlogiston than ordinary air1 or1 perhaps1 no phlogiston4 ,arguing thus1 ,priestley1 of course1 named the new aeriform substance dephlogisticated air1 and thought of it as ordinary air deprived of some1 or it might be all1 of its phlogiston4 ,the breathing of animals and the burning of substances were supposed to load the atmosphere with phlogiston4 ,priestley spoke of the atmosphere as being constantly vitiated1 rendered noxious1 depraved1 or corrupted by processes of respiration and combustion2 he called those processes whereby the atmosphere is restored to its original condition 7or depurated1 as he said71 dephlogisticating processes4 ,as he had obtained his dephlogisticated air by heating the calx of mercury1 that is the powder produced by calcining mercury in the air1 ,priestley was forced to suppose that the calcination of mercury in the air must be a more complex occurrence than merely the expulsion of phlogiston from the mercury3 for1 if the process consisted only in the expulsion of phlogiston1 how could heating what remained produce exceedingly pure ordinary air8 ,it seemed necessary to suppose that not only was phlogiston expelled from mercury during calcination1 but that the mercury also imbibed some portion1 and that the purest portion1 of the surrounding air4 ,priestley did not1 however1 go so far as this2 he was content to suppose that in some way1 which he did not explain1 the process of calcination resulted in the loss of phlogiston by the mercury1 and the gain1 by the dephlogisticated mercury1 of the property of yielding exceedingly pure or dephlogisticated air when it was heated very strongly4 ,priestley thought of properties in much the same way as the alchemists thought of them1 as wrappings1 or coverings of an essential something1 from which they can be removed and around which they can again be placed4 ,the protean principle of phlogiston was always at hand1 and1 by skilful management1 was ready to adapt itself to any facts4 ,before the phenomena of combustion could be described accurately1 it was necessary to do two things2 to ignore the theory of phlogiston1 and to weigh and measure all the substances which take part in some selected processes of burning4 ,looking back at the attempts made in the past to describe natural events1 we are often inclined to exclaim1 ,why did investigators bind themselves with the cords of absurd theories2 why did they always wear blinkers2 why did they look at nature through the distorting mists rising from their own imaginations8 ,we are too ready to forget the tremendous difficulties which beset the path of him who is seeking accurate knowledge4 ,to climb steep hills requires slow pace at first4 ,forgetting that the statements wherein the men of science of our own time describe the relations between natural events are1 and must be1 expressed in terms of some general conception1 some theory1 of these relations2 forgetting that the simplest natural occurrence is so complicated that our powers of description are incapable of expressing it completely and accurately2 forgetting the uselessness of disconnected facts2 we are inclined to overestimate the importance of our own views of nature's ways1 and to underestimate the usefulness of the views of our predecessors4 ,moreover1 as naturalists have not been obliged1 in recent times1 to make a complete renunciation of any comprehensive theory wherein they had lived and moved for many years1 we forget the difficulties of breaking loose from a way of looking at natural events which has become almost as real as the events themselves1 of abandoning a language which has expressed the most vividly realised conceptions of generations of investigators1 of forming a completely new mental picture of natural occurrences1 and developing a completely new language for the expression of those conceptions and these occurrences4 ,the younger students of natural science of to-day are beginning to forget what their fathers told them of the fierce battle which had to be fought1 before the upholders of the ,darwinian theory of the origin of species were able to convince those for whom the older view1 that species are1 and always have been1 absolutely distinct1 had become a matter of supreme scientific1 and even ethical1 importance4 ,a theory which has prevailed for generations in natural science1 and has been accepted and used by everyone1 can be replaced by a more accurate description of the relations between natural facts1 only by the determination1 labour1 and genius of a man of supreme power4 ,such a service to science1 and humanity1 was rendered by ,darwin2 a like service was done1 more than three-quarters of a century before ,darwin1 by ,lavoisier4 ,antoine ,laurent ,lavoisier was born in ,paris in #agdc4 ,his father1 who was a merchant in a good position1 gave his son the best education which was then possible1 in physical1 astronomical1 botanical1 and chemical science4 ,at the age of twenty-one1 ,lavoisier gained the prize offered by the ,government for devising an effective and economical method of lighting the public streets4 ,from that time until1 on the #hth of ,may #agid1 the ,government of the ,revolution declared1 ,the ,republic has no need of men of science1 and the guillotine ended his life1 ,lavoisier continued his researches in chemistry1 geology1 physics1 and other branches of natural science1 and his investigations into the most suitable methods of using the knowledge gained by naturalists for advancing the welfare of the community4 ,in ,chapter ,,vi41 ,i said that when an alchemist boiled water in an open vessel1 and obtained a white earthy solid1 in place of the water which disappeared1 he was producing some sort of experimental proof of the justness of his assertion that water can be changed into earth4 ,lavoisier began his work on the transformations of matter by demonstrating that this alleged transmutation does not happen2 and he did this by weighing the water1 the vessel1 and the earthy solid4 ,lavoisier had constructed for him a pelican of white glass 7see ,fig4 ,,xi41 p4 #hh71 with a stopper of glass4 ,he cleaned1 dried1 and weighed this vessel2 then he put into it rain-water which he had distilled eight times2 he heated the vessel1 removing the stopper from time to time to allow the expanding air to escape1 then put in the stopper1 allowed the vessel to cool1 and weighed very carefully4 ,the difference between the second and the first weighing was the weight of water in the vessel4 ,he then fastened the stopper securely with cement1 and kept the apparatus at a temperature about #cj or #dj below that of boiling water1 for a hundred and one days4 ,at the end of that time a fine white solid had collected on the bottom of the vessel4 ,lavoisier removed the cement from the stopper1 and weighed the apparatus2 the weight was the same as it had been before the heating began4 ,he removed the stopper2 air rushed in1 with a hissing noise4 ,lavoisier concluded that air had not penetrated through the apparatus during the process of heating4 ,he then poured out the water1 and the solid which had formed in the vessel1 set them aside1 dried1 and weighed the pelican2 it had lost #ag-d_/aj grains4 ,lavoisier concluded that the solid which had formed in the water was produced by the solvent action of the water on the glass vessel4 ,he argued that if this conclusion was correct1 the weight of the solid must be equal to the loss of weight suffered by the vessel2 he therefore separated the solid from the water in which it was suspended1 dried1 and weighed it4 ,the solid weighed #d-i_/aj grains4 ,lavoisier's conclusion seemed to be incorrect2 the weight of the solid1 which was supposed to be produced by the action of the water on the vessel1 was #ab-a_/b grains less than the weight of the material removed from the vessel4 ,but some of the material which was removed from the vessel might have remained dissolved in the water3 ,lavoisier distilled the water1 which he had separated from the solid1 in a glass vessel1 until only a very little remained in the distilling apparatus2 he poured this small quantity into a glass basin1 and boiled until the whole of the water had disappeared as steam4 ,there remained a white1 earthy solid1 the weight of which was #ae-a_/b grains4 ,lavoisier had obtained #d-i_/aj #ae-a_/b #bj-b_/e grains of solid2 the pelican had lost #ag-b_/e grains4 ,the difference between these weights1 namely1 #c grains1 was accounted for by ,lavoisier as due to the solvent action of the water on the glass apparatus wherein it had been distilled1 and on the glass basin wherein it had been evaporated to dryness4 ,lavoisier's experiments proved that when distilled water is heated in a glass vessel1 it dissolves some of the material of the vessel1 and the white1 earthy solid which is obtained by boiling down the water is merely the material which has been removed from the glass vessel4 ,his experiments also proved that the water does not undergo any change during the process2 that at the end of the operation it is what it was at the beginning--water1 and nothing but water4 ,by this investigation ,lavoisier destroyed part of the experimental basis of alchemy1 and established the one and only method by which chemical changes can be investigated2 the method wherein constant use is made of the balance4 ,lavoisier now turned his attention to the calcination of metals1 and particularly the calcination of tin4 ,boyle supposed that the increase in weight which accompanies the calcination of a metal is due to the fixation of matter of fire by the calcining metal2 ,rey regarded the increase in weight as the result of the combination of the air with the metal2 ,mayow thought that the atmosphere contains two different kinds of airs1 and one of these unites with the heated metal4 ,lavoisier proposed to test these suppositions by calcining a weighed quantity of tin in a closed glass vessel1 which had been weighed before1 and should be weighed after1 the calcination4 ,if ,boyle's view was correct1 the weight of the vessel and the tin would be greater at the end than it was at the beginning of the operation2 for matter of fire would pass through the vessel and unite with the metal4 ,if there was no change in the total weight of the apparatus and its contents1 and if air rushed in when the vessel was opened after the calcination1 and the total weight was then greater than at the beginning of the process1 it would be necessary to adopt either the supposition of ,rey or that of ,mayow4 ,lavoisier made a series of experiments4 ,the results were these3 there was no change in the total weight of the apparatus and its contents2 when the vessel was opened after the calcination was finished1 air rushed in1 and the whole apparatus now weighed more than it did before the vessel was opened2 the weight of the air which rushed in was exactly equal to the increase in the weight of the tin produced by the calcination1 in other words1 the weight of the inrushing air was exactly equal to the difference between the weights of the tin and the calx formed by calcining the tin4 ,lavoisier concluded that to calcine tin is to cause it to combine with a portion of the air wherein it is calcined4 ,the weighings he made showed that about one-fifth of the whole weight of air in the closed flask wherein he calcined tin had disappeared during the operation4 ,other experiments led ,lavoisier to suspect that the portion of the air which had united with the tin was different from the portion which had not combined with that metal4 ,he1 therefore1 set himself to discover whether there are different kinds of airs in the atmosphere1 and1 if there is more than one kind of air1 what is the nature of that air which combines with a metal in the process of calcination4 ,he proposed to cause a metallic calx 7that is1 the substance formed by calcining a metal in the air7 to give up the air which had been absorbed in its formation1 and to compare this air with atmospheric air4 ,about this time ,priestley visited ,paris1 saw ,lavoisier1 and told him of the new air he had obtained by heating calcined mercury4 ,lavoisier saw the great importance of ,priestley's discovery2 he repeated ,priestley's experiment1 and concluded that the air1 or gas1 which he refers to in his ,laboratory ,journal as l'air dephlogistique de ,m4 ,priestley was nothing else than the purest portion of the air we breathe4 ,he prepared this air and burned various substances in it4 ,finding that very many of the products of these combustions had the properties of acids1 he gave to the new air the name oxygen1 which means the acid-producer4 ,at a later time1 ,lavoisier devised and conducted an experiment which laid bare the change of composition that happens when mercury is calcined in the air4 ,he calcined a weighed quantity of mercury for many days in a measured volume of air1 in an apparatus arranged so that he was able to determine how much of the air disappeared during the process2 he collected and weighed the red solid which formed on the surface of the heated mercury2 finally he heated this red solid to a high temperature1 collected and measured the gas which was given off1 and weighed the mercury which was produced4 ,the sum of the weights of the mercury and the gas which were produced by heating the calcined mercury was equal to the weight of the calcined mercury2 and the weight of the gas produced by heating the calcined mercury was equal to the weight of the portion of the air which had disappeared during the formation of the calcined mercury4 ,this experiment proved that the calcination of mercury in the air consists in the combination of a constituent of the air with the mercury4 ,fig4 ,,xvii4 7reduced from an illustration in ,lavoisier's ,memoir7 represents the apparatus used by ,lavoisier4 ,mayow's supposition was confirmed4 ,illustration3 ,,fig4 ,,xvii4 ,lavoisier made many more experiments on combustion1 and proved that in every case the component of the atmosphere which he had named oxygen combined with the substance1 or with some part of the substance1 which was burned4 ,by these experiments the theory of ,phlogiston was destroyed2 and with its destruction1 the whole alchemical apparatus of ,principles and ,elements1 ,essences and ,qualities1 ,souls and ,spirits1 disappeared4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,recognition ,,of ,,chemical ,,changes ,,as ,,the ,,interactions ,,of ,,definite ,,substances4 ,the experimental study of combustion made by ,lavoisier proved the correctness of that part of ,stahl's phlogistic theory which asserted that all processes of combustion are very similar1 but also proved that this likeness consists in the combination of a distinct gaseous substance with the material undergoing combustion1 and not in the escape therefrom of the ,principle of fire1 as asserted by the theory of ,stahl4 ,after about the year #agij1 it was necessary to think of combustions in the air as combinations of a particular gas1 or air1 with the burning substances1 or some portions of them4 ,this description of processes of burning necessarily led to a comparison of the gaseous constituent of the atmosphere which played so important a part in these processes1 with the substances which were burned2 it led to the examination of the compositions of many substances1 and made it necessary to devise a language whereby these compositions could be stated clearly and consistently4 ,we have seen1 in former chapters1 the extreme haziness of the alchemical views of composition1 and the connexions between composition and properties4 ,although ,boyle#g had stated very lucidly what he meant by the composition of a definite substance1 about a century before ,lavoisier's work on combustion1 nevertheless the views of chemists concerning composition remained very vague and incapable of definite expression1 until the experimental investigations of ,lavoisier enabled him to form a clear mental picture of chemical changes as interactions between definite quantities of distinct substances4 #g ,boyle said1 in #afhi1 ,i mean by elements 444 certain primitive and simple1 or perfectly unmixed bodies2 which not being made of any other bodies1 or of one another1 are the ingredients of which all those called perfectly mixt bodies are immediately compounded1 and into which they are ultimately resolved4 ,let us consider some of the work of ,lavoisier in this direction4 ,i select his experimental examination of the interactions of metals and acids4 ,many experimenters had noticed that gases 7or airs1 as they were called up till near the end of the #ahth century7 are generally produced when metals are dissolving in acids4 ,most of those who noticed this said that the gases came from the dissolving metals2 ,lavoisier said they were produced by the decomposition of the acids4 ,in order to study the interaction of nitric acid and mercury1 ,lavoisier caused a weighed quantity of the metal to react with a weighed quantity of the acid1 and collected the gas which was produced2 when all the metal had dissolved1 he evaporated the liquid until a white solid was obtained2 he heated this solid until it was changed to the red substance called1 at that time1 red precipitate1 and collected the gas produced4 ,finally1 ,lavoisier strongly heated the red precipitate2 it changed to a gas1 which he collected1 and mercury1 which he weighed4 ,the weight of the mercury obtained by ,lavoisier at the end of this series of changes was the same1 less a few grains1 as the weight of the mercury which he had caused to react with the nitric acid4 ,the gas obtained during the solution of the metal in the acid1 and during the decomposition of the white solid by heat1 was the same as a gas which had been prepared by ,priestley and called by him nitrous air2 and the gas obtained by heating the red precipitate was found to be oxygen4 ,lavoisier then mixed measured volumes of oxygen and nitrous air1 standing over water2 a red gas was formed1 and dissolved in the water1 and ,lavoisier proved that the water now contained nitric acid4 ,the conclusions regarding the composition of nitric acid drawn by ,lavoisier from these experiments was1 that nitric acid is nothing else than nitrous air1 combined with almost its own volume of the purest part of atmospheric air1 and a considerable quantity of water4 ,lavoisier supposed that the stages in the complete reaction between mercury and nitric acid were these3 the withdrawal of oxygen from the acid by the mercury1 and the union of the compound of mercury and oxygen thus formed with the constituents of the acid which remained when part of its oxygen was taken away4 ,the removal of oxygen from nitric acid by the mercury produced nitrous air2 when the product of the union of the oxide of mercury and the nitric acid deprived of part of its oxygen was heated1 more nitrous air was given off1 and oxide of mercury remained1 and was decomposed1 at a higher temperature1 into mercury and oxygen4 ,lavoisier thought of these reactions as the tearing asunder1 by mercury1 of nitric acid into definite quantities of its three components1 themselves distinct substances1 nitrous air1 water1 and oxygen2 and the combination of the mercury with a certain measurable quantity of one of these components1 namely1 oxygen1 followed by the union of this compound of mercury and oxygen with what remained of the components of nitric acid4 ,lavoisier had formed a clear1 consistent1 and suggestive mental picture of chemical changes4 ,he thought of a chemical reaction as always the same under the same conditions1 as an action between a fixed and measurable quantity of one substance1 having definite and definable properties1 with fixed and measurable quantities of other substances1 the properties of each of which were definite and definable4 ,lavoisier also recognised that certain definite substances could be divided into things simpler than themselves1 but that other substances refused to undergo simplification by division into two or more unlike portions4 ,he spoke of the object of chemistry as follows3--#h ,in submitting to experiments the different substances found in nature1 chemistry seeks to decompose these substances1 and to get them into such conditions that their various components may be examined separately4 ,chemistry advances to its end by dividing1 sub-dividing1 and again sub-dividing1 and we do not know what will be the limits of such operations4 ,we cannot be certain that what we regard as simple to-day is indeed simple2 all we can say is1 that such a substance is the actual term whereat chemical analysis has arrived1 and that with our present knowledge we cannot sub-divide it4 #h ,i have given a free rendering of ,lavoisier's words4 ,in these words ,lavoisier defines the chemical conception of elements2 since his time an element is the actual term whereat chemical analysis has arrived1 it is that which with our present knowledge we cannot sub-divide2 and1 as a working hypothesis1 the notion of element has no wider meaning than this4 ,i have already quoted ,boyle's statement that by elements he meant certain primitive and simple bodies 444 not made of any other bodies1 or of one another4 ,boyle was still slightly restrained by the alchemical atmosphere around him2 he was still inclined to say1 this must be the way nature works1 she must begin with certain substances which are absolutely simple4 ,lavoisier had thrown off all the trammels which hindered the alchemists from making rigorous experimental investigations4 ,if one may judge from his writings1 he had not struggled to free himself from these trammels1 he had not slowly emerged from the quagmires of alchemy1 and painfully gained firmer ground2 the extraordinary clearness and directness of his mental vision had led him straight to the very heart of the problems of chemistry1 and enabled him not only calmly to ignore all the machinery of ,elements1 ,principles1 ,essences1 and the like1 which the alchemists had constructed so laboriously1 but also to construct1 in place of that mechanism which hindered inquiry1 genuine scientific hypotheses which directed inquiry1 and were themselves altered by the results of the experiments they had suggested4 ,lavoisier made these great advances by applying himself to the minute and exhaustive examination of a few cases of chemical change1 and endeavouring to account for everything which took part in the processes he studied1 by weighing or measuring each distinct substance which was present when the change began1 and each which was present when the change was finished4 ,he did not make haphazard experiments2 he had a method1 a system2 he used hypotheses1 and he used them rightly4 ,systems in physics1 ,lavoisier writes1 are but the proper instruments for helping the feebleness of our senses4 ,properly speaking1 they are methods of approximation which put us on the track of solving problems2 they are the hypotheses which1 successively modified1 corrected1 and changed1 by experience1 ought to conduct us1 some day1 by the method of exclusions and eliminations1 to the knowledge of the true laws of nature4 ,in a memoir wherein he is considering the production of carbonic acid and alcohol by the fermentation of fruit-juice1 ,lavoisier says1 ,it is evident that we must know the nature and composition of the substances which can be fermented and the products of fermentation2 for nothing is created1 either in the operations of art or in those of nature2 and it may be laid down that the quantity of material present at the beginning of every operation is the same as the quantity present at the end1 that the quality and quantity of the principles#i are the same1 and that nothing happens save certain changes1 certain modifications4 ,on this principle is based the whole art of experimenting in chemistry2 in all chemical experiments we must suppose that there is a true equality between the principles#aj of the substances which are examined and those which are obtained from them by analysis4 #i1 #aj ,lavoisier uses the word principle1 here and elsewhere1 to mean a definite homogeneous substance2 he uses it as synonymous with the more modern terms element and compound4 ,if ,lavoisier's memoirs are examined closely1 it is seen that at the very beginning of his chemical inquiries he assumed the accuracy1 and the universal application1 of the generalisation nothing is created1 either in the operations of art or in those of nature4 ,naturalists had been feeling their way for centuries towards such a generalisation as this2 it had been in the air for many generations2 sometimes it was almost realised by this or that investigator1 then it escaped for long periods4 ,lavoisier seems to have realised1 by what we call intuition1 that however great and astonishing may be the changes in the properties of the substances which mutually react1 there is no change in the total quantity of material4 ,not only did ,lavoisier realise and act on this principle1 he also measured quantities of substances by the one practical method1 namely1 by weighing2 and by doing this he showed chemists the only road along which they could advance towards a genuine knowledge of material changes4 ,the generalisation expressed by ,lavoisier in the words ,i have quoted is now known as the law of the conservation of mass2 it is generally stated in some such form as this3--the sum of the masses of all the homogeneous substances which take part in a chemical 7or physical7 change does not itself change4 ,the science of chemistry rests on this law2 every quantitative analysis assumes the accuracy1 and is a proof of the validity1 of it4#aa #aa ,i have considered the law of the conservation of mass in some detail in ,chapter ,,iv4 of ,the ,story of the ,chemical ,elements4 ,by accepting the accuracy of this generalisation1 and using it in every experiment1 ,lavoisier was able to form a clear mental picture of a chemical change as the separation and combination of homogeneous substances2 for1 by using the balance1 he was able to follow each substance through the maze of changes1 to determine when it united with other substances1 and when it separated into substances simpler than itself4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,chemical ,,elements ,,contrasted ,,with ,,the ,,alchemical ,,principles4 ,it was known to many observers in the later years of the #agth century that the product of the calcination of a metal weighs more than the metal2 but it was still possible1 at that time1 to assert that this fact is of no importance to one who is seeking to give an accurate description of the process of calcination4 ,weight1 which measures mass or quantity of substance1 was thought of1 in these days1 as a property like colour1 taste1 or smell1 a property which was sometimes decreased1 and sometimes increased1 by adding one substance to another4 ,students of natural occurrences were1 however1 feeling their way towards the recognition of some property of substances which did not change in the haphazard way wherein most properties seemed to alter4 ,lavoisier reached this property at one bound4 ,by his experimental investigations1 he taught that1 however greatly the properties of one substance may be masked1 or altered1 by adding another substance to it1 yet the property we call mass1 and measure by weight1 is not affected by these changes2 for ,lavoisier showed1 that the mass of the product of the union of two substances is always exactly the sum of the masses of these two substances1 and the sum of the masses of the substances whereinto one substance is divided is always exactly equal to that mass of the substance which is divided4 ,for the undefined1 ever-changing1 protean essence1 or soul1 of a thing which the alchemists thought of as hidden by wrappings of properties1 the exact investigations of ,lavoisier1 and those of others who worked on the same lines as he1 substituted this definite1 fixed1 unmodifiable property of mass4 ,lavoisier1 and those who followed in his footsteps1 also did away with the alchemical notion of the existence of an essential substratum1 independent of changes in those properties of a substance which can be observed by the senses4 ,for the experimental researches of these men obliged naturalists to recognise1 that a change in the properties of a definite1 homogeneous substance1 such as pure water1 pure chalk1 or pure sulphur1 is accompanied 7or1 as we generally say1 is caused7 by the formation of a new substance or substances2 and this formation1 this apparent creation1 of new material1 is effected1 either by the addition of something to the original substance1 or by the separation of it into portions which are unlike it1 and unlike one another4 ,if the change is a combination1 or coalescence1 of two things into one1 then the mass1 and hence the weight1 of the product is equal to the sum of those masses1 and hence those weights1 of the things which have united to form it2 if the change is a separation of one distinct substance into several substances1 then the sum of the masses1 and hence the weights1 of the products is equal to that mass1 and hence that weight1 of the substance which has been separated4 ,consider the word water1 and the substance represented by this word4 ,in ,chapter ,,iv41 ,i gave illustrations of the different meanings which have been given to this word2 it is sometimes used to represent a material substance1 sometimes a quality more or less characteristic of that substance1 and sometimes a process to which that substance1 and many others like it1 may be subjected4 ,but when the word water is used with a definite and exact meaning1 it is a succinct expression for a certain group1 or collocation1 of measurable properties which are always found together1 and is1 therefore1 thought of as a distinct substance4 ,this substance can be separated into two other substances very unlike it1 and can be formed by causing these to unite4 ,one hundred parts1 by weight1 of pure water are always formed by the union of #aa4aa parts of hydrogen1 and #hh4hi parts of oxygen1 and can be separated into these quantities of those substances4 ,when water is formed by the union of hydrogen and oxygen1 in the ratio of #aa4aa parts by weight of the former to #hh4hi of the latter1 the properties of the two substances which coalesce to form it disappear1 except their masses4 ,it is customary to say that water contains hydrogen and oxygen2 but this expression is scarcely an accurate description of the facts4 ,what we call substances are known to us only by their properties1 that is1 the ways wherein they act on our senses4 ,hydrogen has certain definite properties1 oxygen has other definite properties1 and the properties of water are perfectly distinct from those of either of the substances which it is said to contain4 ,it is1 therefore1 somewhat misleading to say that water contains substances the properties whereof1 except their masses1 disappeared at the moment when they united and water was produced4 ,nevertheless we are forced to think of water as1 in a sense1 containing hydrogen and oxygen4 ,for1 one of the properties of hydrogen is its power to coalesce1 or combine1 with oxygen to form water1 and one of the properties of oxygen is its ability to unite with hydrogen to form water2 and these properties of those substances cannot be recognised1 or even suspected1 unless certain definite quantities of the two substances are brought together under certain definite conditions4 ,the properties which characterise hydrogen1 and those which characterise oxygen1 when these things are separated from all other substances1 can be determined and measured in terms of the similar properties of some other substance taken as a standard4 ,these two distinct substances disappear when they are brought into contact1 under the proper conditions1 and something 7water7 is obtained whose properties are very unlike those of hydrogen or oxygen2 this new thing can be caused to disappear1 and hydrogen and oxygen are again produced4 ,this cycle of changes can be repeated as often as we please2 the quantities of hydrogen and oxygen which are obtained when we choose to stop the process are exactly the same as the quantities of those substances which disappeared in the first operation whereby water was produced4 ,hence1 water is an intimate union of hydrogen and oxygen2 and1 in this sense1 water may be said to contain hydrogen and oxygen4 ,the alchemist would have said1 the properties of hydrogen and oxygen are destroyed when these things unite to form water1 but the essence1 or substratum1 of each remains4 ,the chemist says1 you cannot discover all the properties of hydrogen and oxygen by examining these substances apart from one another1 for one of the most important properties of either is manifested only when the two mutually react3 the formation of water is not the destruction of the properties of hydrogen and oxygen and the revelation of their essential substrata1 it is rather the manifestation of a property of each which cannot be discovered except by causing the union of both4 ,there was1 then1 a certain degree of accuracy in the alchemical description of the processes we now call chemical changes1 as being the removal of the outer properties of the things which react1 and the manifestation of their essential substance4 ,but there is a vast difference between this description and the chemical presentment of these processes as reactions between definite and measurable quantities of elements1 or compounds1 or both1 resulting in the re-distribution1 of the elements1 or the separation of the compounds into their elements1 and the formation of new compounds by the re-combination of these elements4 ,let us contrast the two descriptions somewhat more fully4 ,the alchemist wished to effect the transmutation of one substance into another2 he despaired of the possibility of separating the ,elements whereof the substance might be formed1 but he thought he could manipulate what he called the virtues of the ,elements by a judicious use of some or all of the three ,principles1 which he named ,sulphur1 ,salt1 and ,mercury4 ,he could not state in definite language what he meant by these ,principles2 they were states1 conditions1 or qualities1 of classes of substances1 which could not be defined4 ,the directions the alchemist was able to give to those who sought to effect the change of one thing into another were these4 ,firstly1 to remove those properties which characterised the thing to be changed1 and leave only the properties which it shared with other things like it2 secondly1 to destroy the properties which the thing to be changed possessed in common with certain other things2 thirdly1 to commingle the ,essence of the thing with the ,essence of something else1 in due proportion and under proper conditions2 and1 finally1 to hope for the best1 keep a clear head1 and maintain a sense of virtue4 ,if he who was about to attempt the transmutation inquired how he was to destroy the specific properties1 and the class properties1 of the thing he proposed to change1 and by what methods he was to obtain its ,essence1 and cause that ,essence to produce the new thing1 he would be told to travel along the road which was followed by the ,great ,architect of the ,universe in the creation of the world4 ,and if he demanded more detailed directions1 he would be informed that the substance wherewith his experiments began must first be mortified1 then dissolved1 then conjoined1 then putrefied1 then congealed1 then cibated1 then sublimed1 and fermented1 and1 finally1 exalted4 ,he would1 moreover1 be warned that in all these operations he must use1 not things which he could touch1 handle1 and weigh1 but the virtues1 the lives1 the souls1 of such things4 ,when the student of chemistry desires to effect the transformation of one definite substance into another1 he is told to determine1 by quantitative experiments1 what are the elements1 and what the quantities of these elements1 which compose the compound which he proposes to change1 and the compound into which he proposes to change it2 and he is given working definitions of the words element and compound4 ,if the compound he desires to produce is found to be composed of elements different from those which form the compound wherewith his operations begin1 he is directed to bring about a reaction1 or a series of reactions1 between the compound which is to be changed1 and some other collocation of elements the composition of which is known to be such that it can supply the new elements which are needed for the production of the new compound4 ,since ,lavoisier realised1 for himself1 and those who were to come after him1 the meaning of the terms element and compound1 we may say that chemists have been able to form a mental picture of the change from one definite substance to another1 which is clear1 suggestive1 and consistent1 because it is an approximately accurate description of the facts discovered by careful and penetrative investigations4 ,this presentment of the change has been substituted for the alchemical conception1 which was an attempt to express what introspection and reasoning on the results of superficial investigations1 guided by specious analogies1 suggested ought to be the facts4 ,lavoisier was the man who made possible the more accurate1 and more far-reaching1 description of the changes which result in the production of substances very unlike those which are changed2 and he did this by experimentally analysing the conceptions of the element and the compound1 giving definite and workable meanings to these conceptions1 and establishing1 on an experimental foundation1 the generalisation that the sum of the quantities of the substances which take part in any change is itself unchanged4 ,a chemical element was thought of by ,lavoisier as the actual term whereat analysis has arrived1 a definite substance which we cannot subdivide with our present knowledge1 but not necessarily a substance which will never be divided4 ,a compound was thought of by him as a definite substance which is always produced by the union of the same quantities of the same elements1 and can be separated into the same quantities of the same elements4 ,these conceptions were amplified and made more full of meaning by the work of many who came after ,lavoisier1 notably by ,john ,dalton1 who was born in #agff and died in #ahdd4 ,in ,chapter ,i41 ,i gave a sketch of the atomic theory of the ,greek thinkers4 ,the founder of that theory1 who flourished about #ejj ,b4,c41 said that every substance is a collocation of a vast number of minute particles1 which are unchangeable1 indestructible1 and impenetrable1 and are therefore properly called atoms2 that the differences which are observed between the qualities of things are due to differences in the numbers1 sizes1 shapes1 positions1 and movements of atoms1 and that the process which occurs when one substance is apparently destroyed and another is produced in its place1 is nothing more than a rearrangement of atoms4 ,the supposition that changes in the properties of substances are connected with changes in the numbers1 movements1 and arrangements of different kinds of minute particles1 was used in a general way by many naturalists of the #agth and #ahth centuries2 but ,dalton was the first to show that the data obtained by the analyses of compounds make it possible to determine the relative weights of the atoms of the elements4 ,dalton used the word atom to denote the smallest particle of an element1 or a compound1 which exhibits the properties characteristic of that element or compound4 ,he supposed that the atoms of an element are never divided in any of the reactions of that element1 but the atoms of a compound are often separated into the atoms of the elements whereof the compound is composed4 ,apparently without knowing that the supposition had been made more than two thousand years before his time1 ,dalton was led by his study of the composition and properties of the atmosphere to assume that the atoms of different substances1 whether elements or compounds1 are of different sizes and have different weights4 ,he assumed that when two elements unite to form only one compound1 the atom of that compound has the simplest possible composition1 is formed by the union of a single atom of each element4 ,dalton knew only one compound of hydrogen and nitrogen1 namely1 ammonia4 ,analyses of this compound show that it is composed of one part by weight of hydrogen and #d4ff parts by weight of nitrogen4 ,dalton said one atom of hydrogen combines with one atom of nitrogen to form an atom of ammonia2 hence an atom of nitrogen is #d4ff times heavier than an atom of hydrogen2 in other words1 if the atomic weight of hydrogen is taken as unity1 the atomic weight of nitrogen is expressed by the number #d4ff4 ,dalton referred the atomic weights of the elements to the atomic weight of hydrogen as unity1 because hydrogen is lighter than any other substance2 hence the numbers which tell how much heavier the atoms of the elements are than an atom of hydrogen are always greater than one1 are always positive numbers4 ,when two elements unite in different proportions1 by weight1 to form more than one compound1 ,dalton supposed that 7in most cases at any rate7 one of the compounds is formed by the union of a single atom of each element2 the next compound is formed by the union of one atom of the element which is present in smaller quantity with two1 three1 or more1 atoms of the other element1 and the next compound is formed by the union of one atom of the first element with a larger number 7always1 necessarily1 a whole number7 of atoms of the other element than is contained in the second compound2 and so on4 ,from this assumption1 and the ,daltonian conception of the atom1 it follows that the quantities by weight of one element which are found to unite with one and the same weight of another element must always be expressible as whole multiples of one number4 ,for if two elements1 ,a and ,b1 form a compound1 that compound is formed1 by supposition1 of one atom of ,a and one atom of ,b2 if more of ,b is added1 at least one atom of ,b must be added2 however much of ,b is added the quantity must be a whole number of atoms2 and as every atom of ,b is the same in all respects as every other atom of ,b1 the weights of ,b added to a constant weight of ,a must be whole multiples of the atomic weight of ,b4 ,the facts which were available in ,dalton's time confirmed this deduction from the atomic theory within the limits of experimental errors2 and the facts which have been established since ,dalton's time are completely in keeping with the deduction4 ,take1 for instance1 three compounds of the elements nitrogen and oxygen4 ,that one of the three which contains least oxygen is composed of #fc4fd per cent4 of nitrogen1 and #cf4cf per cent4 of oxygen2 if the atomic weight of nitrogen is taken to be #d4ff1 which is the weight of nitrogen that combines with one part by weight of hydrogen1 then the weight of oxygen combined with #d4ff of nitrogen is #b4ff 7#fc4fd3cf4cf #d4ff3b4ff74 ,the weights of oxygen which combine with #d4ff parts by weight of nitrogen to form the second and third compounds1 respectively1 must be whole multiples of #b4ff2 these weights are #e4cb and #aj4fd4 ,now #e4cb #b4ff x #b1 and #aj4fd #b4ff x #d4 ,hence1 the quantities by weight of oxygen which combine with one and the same weight of nitrogen are such that two of these quantities are whole multiples of the third quantity4 ,dalton's application of the ,greek atomic theory to the facts established by the analyses of compounds enabled him to attach to each element a number which he called the atomic weight of the element1 and to summarise all the facts concerning the compositions of compounds in the statement1 that the elements combine in the ratios of their atomic weights1 or in the ratios of whole multiples of their atomic weights4 ,all the investigations which have been made into the compositions of compounds1 since ,dalton's time1 have confirmed the generalisation which followed from ,dalton's application of the atomic theory4 ,even if the theory of atoms were abandoned1 the generalisation would remain1 as an accurate and exact statement of facts which hold good in every chemical change1 that a number can be attached to each element1 and the weights of the elements which combine are in the ratios of these numbers1 or whole multiples of these numbers4 ,since chemists realised the meaning of ,dalton's book1 published in #ahjh1 and entitled1 ,a ,new ,system of ,chemical ,philosophy1 elements have been regarded as distinct and definite substances1 which have not been divided into parts different from themselves1 and unite with each other in definite quantities by weight which can be accurately expressed as whole multiples of certain fixed quantities2 and compounds have been regarded as distinct and definite substances which are formed by the union of1 and can be separated into1 quantities of various elements which are expressible by certain fixed numbers or whole multiples thereof4 ,these descriptions of elements and compounds are expressions of actual facts4 ,they enable chemists to state the compositions of all the compounds which are1 or can be1 formed by the union of any elements4 ,for example1 let ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 and ,d represent four elements1 and also certain definite weights of these elements1 then the compositions of all the compounds which can be formed by the union of these elements are expressed by the scheme ,an ,bm ,cp ,dq1 where m n p and q are whole numbers4 ,these descriptions of elements and compounds also enable chemists to form a clear picture to themselves of any chemical change4 ,they think of a chemical change as being2 7#a7 a union of those weights of two1 or more1 elements which are expressed by the numbers attached to these elements1 or by whole multiples of these numbers2 or 7#b7 a union of such weights of two1 or more1 compounds as can be expressed by certain numbers or by whole multiples of these numbers2 or 7#c7 a reaction between elements and compounds1 or between compounds and compounds1 resulting in the redistribution of the elements concerned1 in such a way that the complete change of composition can be expressed by using the numbers1 or whole multiples of the numbers1 attached to the elements4 ,how different is this conception of a change wherein substances are formed1 entirely unlike those things which react to form them1 from the alchemical presentment of such a process6 ,the alchemist spoke of stripping off the outer properties of the thing to be changed1 and1 by operating spiritually on the soul which was thus laid bare1 inducing the essential virtue of the substance to exhibit its powers of transmutation4 ,but he was unable to give definite meanings to the expressions which he used1 he was unable to think clearly about the transformations which he tried to accomplish4 ,the chemist discards the machinery of virtues1 souls1 and powers4 ,it is true that he substitutes a machinery of minute particles2 but this machinery is merely a means of thinking clearly and consistently about the changes which he studies4 ,the alchemist thought1 vaguely1 of substance as something underlying1 and independent of1 properties2 the chemist uses the expression1 this or that substance1 as a convenient way of presenting and reasoning about certain groups of properties4 ,it seems to me that if we think of matter as something more than properties recognised by the senses1 we are going back on the road which leads to the confusion of the alchemical times4 ,the alchemists expressed their conceptions in what seems to us a crude1 inconsistent1 and very undescriptive language4 ,chemists use a language which is certainly symbolical1 but also intelligible1 and on the whole fairly descriptive of the facts4 ,a name is given to each elementary substance1 that is1 each substance which has not been decomposed2 the name generally expresses some characteristic property of the substance1 or tells something about its origin or the place of its discovery4 ,the names of compounds are formed by putting together the names of the elements which combine to produce them2 and the relative quantities of these elements are indicated either by the use of ,latin or ,greek prefixes1 or by variations in the terminal syllables of the names of the elements4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,modern ,,form ,,of ,,the ,,alchemical ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,one ,,thing4 ,the study of the properties of the elements shows that these substances fall into groups1 the members of each of which are like one another1 and form compounds which are similar4 ,the examination of the properties and compositions of compounds has shown that similarity of properties is always accompanied by similarity of composition4 ,hence1 the fact that certain elements are very closely allied in their properties suggests that these elements may also be allied in their composition4 ,now1 to speak of the composition of an element is to think of the element as formed by the union of at least two different substances2 it implies the supposition that some elements at any rate are really compounds4 ,the fact that there is a very definite connexion between the values of the atomic weights1 and the properties1 of the elements1 lends some support to the hypothesis that the substances we call1 and are obliged at present to call1 elements1 may have been formed from one1 or a few1 distinct substances1 by some process of progressive change4 ,if the elements are considered in the order of increasing atomic weights1 from hydrogen1 whose atomic weight is taken as unity because it is the lightest substance known1 to uranium1 an atom of which is #bdj times heavier than an atom of hydrogen1 it is found that the elements fall into periods1 and the properties of those in one period vary from element to element1 in a way which is1 broadly and on the whole1 like the variation of the properties of those in other periods4 ,this fact suggests the supposition--it might be more accurate to say the speculation--that the elements mark the stable points in a process of change1 which has not proceeded continuously from a very simple substance to a very complex one1 but has repeated itself1 with certain variations1 again and again4 ,if such a process has occurred1 we might reasonably expect to find substances exhibiting only minute differences in their properties1 differences so slight as to make it impossible to assign the substances1 definitely and certainly1 either to the class of elements or to that of compounds4 ,we find exactly such substances among what are called the rare earths4 ,there are earth-like substances which exhibit no differences of chemical properties1 and yet show minute differences in the characters of the light which they emit when they are raised to a very high temperature4 ,the results of analysis by the spectroscope of the light emitted by certain elements at different temperatures may be reasonably interpreted by supposing that these elements are separated into simpler substances by the action on them of very large quantities of thermal energy4 ,the spectrum of the light emitted by glowing iron heated by a ,bunsen flame 7say1 at #abjj ,c4 about #bbjj ,f47 shows a few lines and flutings2 when iron is heated in an electric arc 7say1 to #cejj ,c4 about #fcjj ,f47 the spectrum shows some two thousand lines2 at the higher temperature produced by the electric spark-discharge1 the spectrum shows only a few lines4 ,as a guide to further investigation1 we may provisionally infer from these facts that iron is changed at very high temperatures into substances simpler than itself4 ,sir ,norman ,lockyer's study of the spectra of the light from stars has shown that the light from those stars which are presumably the hottest1 judging by the general character of their spectra1 reveals the presence of a very small number of chemical elements2 and that the number of spectral lines1 and1 therefore1 the number of elements1 increases as we pass from the hottest to cooler stars4 ,at each stage of the change from the hottest to cooler stars certain substances disappear and certain other substances take their places4 ,it may be supposed1 as a suggestive hypothesis1 that the lowering of stellar temperature is accompanied by the formation1 from simpler forms of matter1 of such elements as iron1 calcium1 manganese1 and other metals4 ,in the year #ahif1 the ,french chemist ,becquerel discovered the fact that salts of the metal uranium1 the atomic weight of which is #bdj1 and is greater than that of any other element1 emit rays which cause electrified bodies to lose their electric charges1 and act on photographic plates that are wrapped in sheets of black paper1 or in thin sheets of other substances which stop rays of light4 ,the radio-activity of salts of uranium was proved not to be increased or diminished when these salts had been shielded for five years from the action of light by keeping them in leaden boxes4 ,shortly after ,becquerel's discovery1 experiments proved that salts of the rare metal thorium are radio-active4 ,this discovery was followed by ,madame ,curie's demonstration of the fact that certain specimens of pitchblende1 a mineral which contains compounds of uranium and of many other metals1 are extremely radio-active1 and by the separation from pitchblende1 by ,monsieur and ,madame ,curie1 of new substances much more radio-active than compounds of uranium or of thorium4 ,the new substances were proved to be compounds chemically very similar to salts of barium4 ,their compositions were determined on the supposition that they were salts of an unknown metal closely allied to barium4 ,because of the great radio-activity of the compounds1 the hypothetical metal of them was named ,radium4 ,at a later time1 radium was isolated by ,madame ,curie4 ,it is described by her as a white1 hard1 metal-like solid1 which reacts with water at the ordinary temperature1 as barium does4 ,since the discovery of radium compounds1 many radio-active substances have been isolated4 ,only exceedingly minute quantities of any of them have been obtained4 ,the quantities of substances used in experiments on radio-activity are so small that they escape the ordinary methods of measurement1 and are scarcely amenable to the ordinary processes of the chemical laboratory4 ,fortunately1 radio-activity can be detected and measured by electrical methods of extraordinary fineness1 methods the delicacy of which very much more exceeds that of spectroscopic methods than the sensitiveness of these surpasses that of ordinary chemical analysis4 ,at the time of the discovery of radio-activity1 about seventy-five substances were called elements2 in other words1 about seventy-five different substances were known to chemists1 none of which had been separated into unlike parts1 none of which had been made by the coalescence of unlike substances4 ,compounds of only two of these substances1 uranium and thorium1 are radio-active4 ,radio-activity is a very remarkable phenomenon4 ,so far as we know at present1 radio-activity is not a property of the substances which form almost the whole of the rocks1 the waters1 and the atmosphere of the earth2 it is not a property of the materials which constitute living organisms4 ,it is a property of some thirty substances--of course1 the number may be increased--a few of which are found widely distributed in rocks and waters1 but none of which is found anywhere except in extraordinarily minute quantity4 ,radium is the most abundant of these substances2 but only a very few grains of radium chloride can be obtained from a couple of tons of pitchblende4 ,in ,chapter ,x4 of ,the ,story of the ,chemical ,elements ,i have given a short account of the outstanding phenomena of radio-activity2 for the present purpose it will suffice to state a few facts of fundamental importance4 ,radio-active substances are stores of energy1 some of which is constantly escaping from them2 they are constantly changing without external compulsion1 and are constantly radiating energy3 all explosives are storehouses of energy which1 or part of which1 can be obtained from them2 but the liberation of their energy must be started by some kind of external shock4 ,when an explosive substance has exploded1 its existence as an explosive is finished2 the products of the explosion are substances from which energy cannot be obtained3 when a radio-active substance has exploded1 it explodes again1 and again1 and again2 a time comes1 sooner or later1 when it has changed into substances that are useless as sources of energy4 ,the disintegration of an explosive1 started by an external force1 is generally completed in a fraction of a second2 change of condition changes the rate of explosion3 the half-life period of each radio-active substance is a constant characteristic of it2 if a gram of radium were kept for about #ahjj years1 half of it would have changed into radio-inactive substances4 ,conditions may be arranged so that an explosive remains unchanged--wet gun-cotton is not exploded by a shock which would start the explosion of dry gun-cotton--in other words1 the explosion of an explosive can be regulated3 the explosive changes of a radio-active substance1 which are accompanied by the radiation of energy1 cannot be regulated2 they proceed spontaneously in a regular and definable manner which is not influenced by any external conditions--such as great change of temperature1 presence or absence of other substances--so far as these conditions have been made the subject of experiment3 the amount of activity of a radio-active substance has not been increased or diminished by any process to which the substance has been subjected4 ,explosives are manufactured articles2 explosiveness is a property of certain arrangements of certain quantities of certain elements3 so far as experiments have gone1 it has not been found possible to add the property of radio-activity to an inactive substance1 or to remove the property of radio-activity from an active substance2 the cessation of the radio-activity of an active substance is accompanied by the disappearance of the substance1 and the production of inactive bodies altogether unlike the original active body4 ,radio-active substances are constantly giving off energy in the form of heat1 sending forth rays which have definite and remarkable properties1 and producing gaseous emanations which are very unstable1 and change1 some very rapidly1 some less rapidly1 into other substances1 and emit rays which are generally the same as the rays emitted by the parent substance4 ,in briefly considering these three phenomena1 ,i shall choose radium compounds as representative of the class of radio-active substances4 ,radium compounds spontaneously give off energy in the form of heat4 ,a quantity of radium chloride which contains #a gram of radium continuously gives out1 per hour1 a quantity of heat sufficient to raise the temperature of #a gram of water through #ajj ,c41 or #ajj grams of water through #a ,c4 ,the heat given out by #a gram of radium during twenty-four hours would raise the temperature of #bdjj grams of water through #a ,c42 in one year the temperature of #hgf1jjj grams of water would be raised through #a ,c42 and in #ahjj years1 which is approximately the half-life period of radium1 the temperature of #a1egf1hjj kilograms of water would be raised through #a ,c4 ,these results may be expressed by saying that if #a gram 7about #ae grains7 of radium were kept until half of it had changed into inactive substances1 and if the heat spontaneously produced during the changes which occurred were caused to act on water1 that quantity of heat would raise the temperature of about #ae tons of water from its freezing- to its boiling-point4 ,radium compounds send forth three kinds of rays1 distinguished as alpha1 beta1 and gamma rays4 ,experiments have made it extremely probable that the alpha-rays are streams of very minute particles1 somewhat heavier than atoms of hydrogen1 moving at the rate of about #ah1jjj miles per second2 and that the beta-rays are streams of much more minute particles1 the mass of each of which is about one one-thousandth of the mass of an atom of hydrogen1 moving about ten times more rapidly than the alpha-particles1 that is1 moving at the rate of about #ahj1jjj miles per second4 ,the gamma-rays are probably pulsations of the ether1 the medium supposed to fill space4 ,the emission of alpha-rays by radium is accompanied by the production of the inert elementary gas1 helium2 therefore1 the alpha-rays are1 or quickly change into1 rapidly moving particles of helium4 ,the particles which constitute the beta-rays carry electric charges2 these electrified particles1 each approximately a thousand times lighter than an atom of hydrogen1 moving nearly as rapidly as the pulsations of the ether which we call light1 are named electrons4 ,the rays from radium compounds discharge electrified bodies1 ionise gases1 that is1 cause them to conduct electricity1 act on photographic plates1 and produce profound changes in living organisms4 ,the radium emanation is a gas about #aaa times heavier than hydrogen2 to this gas ,sir ,william ,ramsay has given the name niton4 ,the gas has been condensed to a colourless liquid1 and frozen to an opaque solid which glows like a minute arc-light4 ,radium emanation gives off alpha-particles1 that is1 very rapidly moving atoms of helium1 and deposits exceedingly minute quantities of a solid1 radio-active substance known as radium ,a4 ,the change of the emanation into helium and radium ,a proceeds fairly rapidly3 the half-life period of the emanation is a little less than four days4 ,this change is attended by the liberation of much energy4 ,the only satisfactory mental picture which the facts allow us to form1 at present1 of the emission of beta-rays from radium compounds is that which represents these rays as streams of electrons1 that is1 particles1 each about a thousand times lighter than an atom of hydrogen1 each carrying an electric charge1 and moving at the rate of about #ahj1jjj miles per second1 that is1 nearly as rapidly as light4 ,when an electric discharge is passed from a plate of metal1 arranged as the kathode1 to a metallic wire arranged as the anode1 both sealed through the walls of a glass tube or bulb from which almost the whole of the air has been extracted1 rays proceed from the kathode1 in a direction at right angles thereto1 and1 striking the glass in the neighbourhood of the anode1 produce a green phosphorescence4 ,facts have been gradually accumulated which force us to think of these kathode rays as streams of very rapidly moving electrons1 that is1 as streams of extraordinarily minute electrically charged particles identical with the particles which form the beta-rays emitted by compounds of radium4 ,the phenomena of radio-activity1 and also the phenomena of the kathode rays1 have obliged us to refine our machinery of minute particles by including therein particles at least a thousand times lighter than atoms of hydrogen4 ,the term electron was suggested1 a good many years ago1 by ,dr ,johnstone ,stoney1 for the unit charge of electricity which is carried by an atom of hydrogen when hydrogen atoms move in a liquid or gas under the directing influence of the electric current4 ,some chemists speak of the electrons1 which are the beta-rays from radium1 and the kathode rays produced in almost vacuous tubes1 as non-material particles of electricity4 ,non-material means devoid of mass4 ,the method by which approximate determinations have been made of the charges on electrons consists in measuring the ratio between the charges and the masses of these particles4 ,if the results of the determinations are accepted1 electrons are not devoid of mass4 ,electrons must be thought of as material particles differing from other minute material particles in the extraordinary smallness of their masses1 in the identity of their properties1 including their mass1 in their always carrying electric charges1 and in the vast velocity of their motion4 ,we must think of an electron either as a unit charge of electricity one property of which is its minute mass1 or as a material particle having an extremely small mass and carrying a unit charge of electricity3 the two mental pictures are almost1 if not quite1 identical4 ,electrons are produced by sending an electric discharge through a glass bulb containing a minute quantity of air or other gas1 using metallic plates or wires as kathode and anode4 ,experiments have shown that the electrons are identical in all their properties1 whatever metal is used to form the kathode and anode1 and of whatever gas there is a minute quantity in the bulb4 ,the conclusion must be drawn that identical electrons are constituents of1 or are produced from1 very different kinds of chemical elements4 ,as the facts about kathode rays1 and the facts of radio-activity are 7at present7 inexplicable except on the supposition that these phenomena are exhibited by particles of extraordinary minuteness1 and as the smallest particles with which chemists are concerned in their everyday work are the atoms of the elements1 we seem obliged to think of many kinds of atoms as structures1 not as homogeneous bodies4 ,we seem obliged to think of atoms as very minute material particles1 which either normally are1 or under definite conditions may be1 associated with electrically charged particles very much lighter than themselves1 all of which are identical1 whatever be the atoms with which they are associated or from which they are produced4 ,in their study of different kinds of matter1 chemists have found it very helpful to place in one class those substances which they have not been able to separate into unlike parts4 ,they have distinguished this class of substances from other substances1 and have named them elements4 ,the expression chemical elements is merely a summary of certain observed facts4 ,for many centuries chemists have worked with a conceptual machinery based on the notion that matter has a grained structure4 ,for more than a hundred years they have been accustomed to think of atoms as the ultimate particles with which they have had to deal4 ,working with this order-producing instrument1 they have regarded the properties of elements as properties of the atoms1 or of groups of a few of the atoms1 of these substances4 ,that they might think clearly and suggestively about the properties of elements1 and connect these with other chemical facts1 they have translated the language of sense-perceptions into the language of thought1 and1 for properties of those substances which have not been decomposed1 have used the more fertile expression atomic properties4 ,when a chemist thinks of an atom1 he thinks of the minutest particle of one of the substances which have the class-mark have-not-been-decomposed1 and the class-name element4 ,the chemist does not call these substances elements because he has been forced to regard the minute particles of them as undivided1 much less because he thinks of these particles as indivisible2 his mental picture of their structure as an atomic structure formed itself from the fact that they had not been decomposed4 ,the formation of the class element followed necessarily from observed facts1 and has been justified by the usefulness of it as an instrument for forwarding accurate knowledge4 ,the conception of the elementary atom as a particle which had not been decomposed followed from many observed facts besides those concerning elements1 and has been justified by the usefulness of it as an instrument for forwarding accurate knowledge4 ,investigations proved radio-activity to be a property of the very minute particles of certain substances1 and each radio-active substance to have characteristic properties1 among which were certain of those that belong to elements1 and to some extent are characteristic of elements4 ,evidently1 the simplest way for a chemist to think about radio-activity was to think of it as an atomic property2 hence1 as atomic properties had always been regarded1 in the last analysis1 as properties of elements1 it was natural to place the radio-active substances in the class elements1 provided that one forgot for the time that these substances have not the class-mark have-not-been-decomposed4 ,as the facts of radio-activity led to the conclusion that some of the minute particles of radio-active substances are constantly disintegrating1 and as these substances had been labelled elements1 it seemed probable1 or at least possible1 that the other bodies which chemists have long called elements are not true elements1 but are merely more stable collocations of particles than the substances which are classed as compounds4 ,as compounds can be changed into certain other compounds1 although not into any other compounds1 a way seemed to be opening which might lead to the transformation of some elements into some other elements4 ,the probability that one element might be changed into another was increased by the demonstration of the connexions between uranium and radium4 ,the metal uranium has been classed with the elements since it was isolated in #ahdj4 ,in #ahif1 ,becquerel found that compounds of uranium1 and also the metal itself1 are radio-active4 ,in the light of what is now known about radio-activity1 it is necessary to suppose that some of the minute particles of uranium emit particles lighter than themselves1 and change into some substance1 or substances1 different from uranium2 in other words1 it is necessary to suppose that some particles of uranium are spontaneously disintegrating4 ,this supposition is confirmed by the fact1 experimentally proved1 that uranium emits alpha-rays1 that is1 atoms of helium1 and produces a substance known as uranium ,x4 ,uranium ,x is itself radio-active2 it emits beta-rays1 that is1 it gives off electrons4 ,inasmuch as all minerals which contain compounds of uranium contain compounds of radium also1 it is probable that radium is one of the disintegration-products of uranium4 ,the rate of decay of radium may be roughly expressed by saying that1 if a quantity of radium were kept for ten thousand years1 only about one per cent4 of the original quantity would then remain unchanged4 ,even if it were assumed that at a remote time the earth's crust contained considerable quantities of radium compounds1 it is certain that they would have completely disappeared long ago1 had not compounds of radium been reproduced from other materials4 ,again1 the most likely hypothesis is that compounds of radium are being produced from compounds of uranium4 ,uranium is a substance which1 after being rightly classed with the elements for more than half a century1 because it had not been separated into unlike parts1 must now be classed with the radium-like substances which disintegrate spontaneously1 although it differs from other radio-active substances in that its rate of change is almost infinitively slower than that of any of them1 except thorium4#ab ,thorium1 a very rare metal1 is the second of the seventy-five or eighty elements known when radio-activity was discovered1 which has been found to undergo spontaneous disintegration with the emission of rays4 ,the rate of change of thorium is considerably slower than that of uranium4#ac ,none of the other substances placed in the class of elements is radio-active4 #ab ,the life-period of uranium is probably about eight thousand million years4 #ac ,the life-period of thorium is possibly about forty thousand million years4 ,on p4 #aib ,i said1 that when the radio-active substances had been labelled elements1 the facts of radio-activity led some chemists to the conclusion that the other bodies which had for long been called by this class-name1 or at any rate some of these bodies1 are perhaps not true elements1 but are merely more stable collocations of particles than the substances called compounds4 ,it seems to me that this reasoning rests on an unscientific use of the term element2 it rests on giving to that class-name the meaning1 substances asserted to be undecomposable4 ,a line of demarcation is drawn between elements1 meaning thereby forms of matter said to be undecomposable but probably capable of separation into unlike parts1 and true elements1 meaning thereby groups of identical undecomposable particles4 ,if one names the radio-active substances elements1 one is placing in this class substances which are specially characterised by a property the direct opposite of that the possession of which by other substances was the reason for the formation of the class4 ,to do this may be ingenious2 it is certainly not scientific4 ,since the time of ,lavoisier1 since the last decade of the eighteenth century1 careful chemists have meant by an element a substance which has not been separated into unlike parts1 and they have not meant more than that4 ,the term element has been used by accurate thinkers as a useful class-mark which connotes a property--the property of not having been decomposed--common to all substances placed in the class1 and differentiating them from all other substances4 ,whenever chemists have thought of elements as the ultimate kinds of matter with which the physical world is constructed--and they have occasionally so thought and written--they have fallen into quagmires of confusion4 ,of course1 the elements may1 some day1 be separated into unlike parts4 ,the facts of radio-activity certainly suggest some kind of inorganic evolution4 ,whether the elements are decomposed is to be determined by experimental inquiry1 remembering always that no number of failures to simplify them will justify the assertion that they cannot be simplified4 ,chemistry neither asserts or denies the decomposability of the elements4 ,at present1 we have to recognise the existence of extremely small quantities1 widely distributed in rocks and waters1 of some thirty substances1 the minute particles of which are constantly emitting streams of more minute1 identical particles that carry with them very large quantities of energy1 all of which thirty substances are characterised1 and are differentiated from all other classes of substances wherewith chemistry is concerned1 by their spontaneous mutability1 and each is characterised by its special rate of change and by the nature of the products of its mutations4 ,we have now to think of the minute particles of two of the seventy-five or eighty substances which until the other day had not been decomposed1 and were therefore justly called elements1 as very slowly emitting streams of minuter particles and producing characteristic products of their disintegration4 ,and we have to think of some eighty substances as particular kinds of matter1 at present properly called elements1 because they are characterised1 and differentiated from all other substances1 by the fact that none of them has been separated into unlike parts4 ,the study of radio-activity has introduced into chemistry and physics a new order of minute particles4 ,dalton made the atom a beacon-light which revealed to chemists paths that led them to wider and more accurate knowledge4 ,avogadro illuminated chemical1 and also physical1 ways by his conception of the molecule as a stable1 although separable1 group of atoms with particular properties different from those of the atoms which constituted it4 ,the work of many investigators has made the old paths clearer1 and has shown to chemists and physicists ways they had not seen before1 by forcing them to think of1 and to make use of1 a third kind of material particles that are endowed with the extraordinary property of radio-activity4 ,dalton often said3 ,thou knowest thou canst not cut an atom2 but the fact that he applied the term atom to the small particles of compounds proves that he had escaped the danger of logically defining the atom1 the danger of thinking of it as a particle which never can be cut4 ,the molecule of ,avogadro has always been a decomposable particle4 ,the peculiarity of the new kind of particles1 the particles of radio-active bodies1 is1 not that they can be separated into unlike parts by the action of external forces1 but that they are constantly separating of their own accord into unlike parts1 and that their spontaneous disintegration is accompanied by the production of energy1 the quantity of which is enormous in comparison with the minuteness of the material specks which are the carriers of it4 ,the continued study of the properties of the minute particles of radio-active substances--a new name is needed for those most mutable of material grains--must lead to discoveries of great moment for chemistry and physics4 ,that study has already thrown much light on the phenomena of electric conductivity2 it has given us the electron1 a particle at least a thousand times lighter than an atom of hydrogen2 it has shown us that identical electrons are given off by1 or are separated from1 different kinds of elementary atoms1 under definable conditions2 it has revealed unlooked-for sources of energy2 it has opened1 and begun the elucidation of1 a new department of physical science2 it has suggested a new way of attacking the old problem of the alchemists1 the problem of the transmutation of the elements4 ,the minute particles of two of the substances for many years classed as elements give off electrons2 uranium and thorium are radio-active4 ,electrons are produced by sending an electric discharge through very small traces of different gases1 using electrodes of different metals4 ,electrons are also produced by exposing various metals to the action of ultra-violet light1 and by raising the temperature of various metals to incandescence4 ,electrons are always identical1 whatever be their source4 ,three questions suggest themselves4 ,can the atoms of all the elements be caused to give off electrons8 ,are electrons normal constituents of all elementary atoms8 ,are elementary atoms collocations of electrons8 ,these questions are included in the demand--,is it possible to imagine a model which has in it the potentiality of explaining radio-activity and other allied phenomena1 as well as all other chemical and physical properties of elements and compounds8 ,these questions are answerable by experimental investigation1 and only by experimental investigation4 ,if experimental inquiry leads to affirmative answers to the questions1 we shall have to think of atoms as structures of particles much lighter than themselves2 we shall have to think of the atoms of all kinds of substances1 however much the substances differ chemically and physically1 as collocations of identical particles2 we shall have to think of the properties of atoms as conditioned1 in our final analysis1 by the number and the arrangement of their constitutive electrons4 ,now1 if a large probability were established in favour of the view that different atoms are collocations of different numbers of identical particles1 or of equal numbers of differently arranged identical particles1 we should have a guide which might lead to methods whereby one collocation of particles could be formed from another collocation of the same particles1 a guide which might lead to methods whereby one element could be transformed into another element4 ,to attempt to imagine a model which has in it the potentiality of explaining radio-activity1 the production of kathode rays1 and the other chemical and physical properties of elements and compounds1 might indeed seem to be a hopeless undertaking4 ,a beginning has been made in the mental construction of such a model by ,professor ,sir ,j4,j4 ,thomson4 ,to attempt a description of his reasoning and his results is beyond the scope of this book4#ad #ad ,the subject is discussed in ,sir ,j4,j4 ,thomson's ,electricity and ,matter4 ,the facts that the emanation from radium compounds spontaneously gives off very large quantities of energy1 and that the emanation can easily be brought into contact with substances on which it is desired to do work1 suggested to ,sir ,william ,ramsay that the transformation of compounds of one element into compounds of another element might possibly be effected by enclosing a solution of a compound along with radium emanation in a sealed tube1 and leaving the arrangement to itself4 ,under these conditions1 the molecules of the compound would be constantly bombarded by a vast number of electrons shot forth at enormous velocities from the emanation4 ,the notion was that the molecules of the compound would break down under the bombardment1 and that the atoms so produced might be knocked into simpler groups of particles--in other words1 changed into other atoms--by the terrific1 silent shocks of the electrons fired at them incessantly by the disintegrating emanation4 ,sir ,william ,ramsay regards his experimental results as establishing a large probability in favour of the assertion that compounds of copper were transformed into compounds of lithium and sodium1 and compounds of thorium1 of cerium1 and of certain other rare metals1 into compounds of carbon4 ,the experimental evidence in favour of this statement has not been accepted by chemists as conclusive4 ,a way has1 however1 been opened which may lead to discoveries of great moment4 ,let us suppose that the transformation of one element into another element or into other elements has been accomplished4 ,let us suppose that the conception of elementary atoms as very stable arrangements of many identical particles1 from about a thousand to about a quarter of a million times lighter than the atoms1 has been justified by crucial experiments4 ,let us suppose that the conception of the minute grains of radio-active substances as particular but constantly changing arrangements of the same identical particles1 stable groups of which are the atoms of the elements1 has been firmly established4 ,one result of the establishment of the electronic conception of atomic structure would be an increase of our wonder at the complexity of nature's ways1 and an increase of our wonder that it should be possible to substitute a simple1 almost rigid1 mechanical machinery for the ever-changing flow of experience1 and1 by the use of that mental mechanism1 not only to explain very many phenomena of vast complexity1 but also to predict occurrences of similar entanglement and to verify these predictions4 ,the results which have been obtained in the examination of radio-activity1 of kathode rays1 of spectra at different temperatures1 and of phenomena allied to these1 bring again into prominence the ancient problem of the structure of what we call matter4 ,is matter fundamentally homogeneous or heterogeneous8 ,chemistry studies the relations between the changes of composition and the changes of properties which happen simultaneously in material systems4 ,the burning fire of wood1 coal1 or gas2 the preparation of food to excite and to satisfy the appetite2 the change of minerals into the iron1 steel1 copper1 brass1 lead1 tin1 lighting burning and lubricating oils1 dye-stuffs and drugs of commerce2 the change of the skins1 wool1 and hair of animals1 and of the seeds and fibres of plants1 into clothing for human beings2 the manufacture from rags1 grass1 or wood of a material fitted to receive and to preserve the symbols of human hopes1 fears1 aspirations1 love and hate1 pity and aversion2 the strange and most delicate processes which1 happening without cessation1 in plants and animals and men1 maintain that balanced equilibrium which we call life2 and1 when the silver cord is being loosed and the bowl broken at the cistern1 the awful changes which herald the approach of death2 not only the growing grass in midsummer meadows1 not only the coming of autumn in dyed garments1 travelling in the glory of his apparel1 but also the opening buds1 the pleasant scents1 the tender colours which stir our hearts in the spring time1 the only pretty ring time1 when birds do sing1 ding-a--dong-ding3 these1 and a thousand other changes have all their aspects which it is the business of the chemist to investigate4 ,confronted with so vast a multitude of never-ceasing changes1 and bidden to find order there1 if he can--bidden1 rather compelled by that imperious command which forces the human mind to seek unity in variety1 and1 if need be1 to create a cosmos from a chaos2 no wonder that the early chemists jumped at the notion that there must be1 that there is1 some ,one ,thing1 some ,universal ,essence1 which binds into an orderly whole the perplexing phenomena of nature1 some ,water of ,paradise which is for the healing of all disorder1 some ,well at the ,world's ,end1 a draught whereof shall bring peace and calm security4 ,the alchemists set forth on the quest4 ,their quest was barren4 ,they made the great mistake of fashioning ,the ,one ,thing1 ,the ,essence1 ,the ,water of ,paradise1 from their own imaginings of what nature ought to be4 ,in their own likeness they created their goal1 and the road to it4 ,if we are to understand nature1 they cried1 her ways must be simple2 therefore1 her ways are simple4 ,chemists are people of a humbler heart4 ,their reward has been greater than the alchemists dreamed4 ,by selecting a few instances of material changes1 and studying these with painful care1 they have gradually elaborated a general conception of all those transformations wherein substances are produced unlike those by the interaction of which they are formed4 ,that general conception is now both widening and becoming more definite4 ,to-day1 chemists see a way opening before them which they reasonably hope will lead them to a finer1 a more far-reaching1 a more suggestive1 at once a more complex and a simpler conception of material changes than any of those which have guided them in the past4 ,,index ,air1 ancient views regarding1 #abi4 ---- views of ,mayow and ,rey regarding1 #abi4 ,alchemical account of changes contrasted with chemical account1 #afi4 ---- agent1 the1 #fd4 ---- allegories1 examples of1 #da1 #ig4 ---- classification1 #ei4 ---- doctrine of body1 soul1 and spirit of things1 #dh4 ---- doctrine of transmutation1 #dg1 #gd1 #abc1 #agj4 ---- language1 #cf1 #if1 #aja1 #ajb4 ---- quest of the ,one ,thing1 modern form of1 #agi4 ---- signs1 #aje4 ---- theory1 general sketch of1 #bf4 ,alchemists1 character of1 according to ,paracelsus1 #be4 ---- made many discoveries1 #hg4 ---- sketches of lives of some1 #aae4 ---- their use of fanciful analogies1 #ca4 ,alchemy1 beginnings of1 #bc4 ---- change of1 to chemistry1 #abf4 ---- contrasted with chemistry1 #bjb4 ---- general remarks on1 #abc4 ---- lent itself to imposture1 #ajf4 ---- object of1 #i1 #bf1 #cb1 #aje4 ---- probable origin of word1 #be4 ---- quotations to illustrate aims and methods of1 #aa-ad4 ,alembic1 #ib4 ,apparatus and operations of alchemists1 #ij4 ,art1 the sacred1 #abb4 ,atom1 meaning given to word by ,dalton1 #agc4 ,atomic theory of ,greeks1 #af4 ---- additions made to1 by ,dalton1 #ba4 ---- as described by ,lucretius1 #ai4 ,atomic weight1 #agd4 ,atoms and electrons1 #aij1 #aih4 ,bacon's remarks on alchemy1 #ie4 ,balsamo1 ,joseph1 #aaj4 ,basil ,valentine1 his description of the three principles1 #ea4 ---- his description of the four elements1 #di4 ---- some of his discoveries1 #hh4 ,becquerel1 his discovery of radiation of uranium1 #aha4 ,body1 soul1 and spirit of things1 alchemical doctrine of1 #dh4 ,boyle1 on calcination1 #abh4 ---- on combustion1 #ada4 ---- on elements1 #afa4 ---- on the hermetick philosophers1 #ie4 ---- on the language of the alchemists1 #ee4 ---- on the natural state of bodies1 #dc4 ,cagliostro1 #aaj4 ,calcination1 #abi1 #acb1 #ace1 #adj1 #adb1 #aea1 #aee4 ,chaucer's ,canon's ,yeoman's ,tale1 #ajg4 ,chemical conception of material changes1 #agg4 ,chemistry1 aim of1 #i1 #bf1 #afj4 ---- change from alchemy to1 #abf4 ---- methods of1 #aj4 ---- probable origin of word1 #bd4 ,classification1 alchemical methods of1 #ei4 ,colours1 ,lucretius' explanation of differences between1 #ah4 ,combustion1 #ada4 ,compounds1 chemical conception of1 #aga4 ,conservation of mass1 #afd4 ,curie1 her discovery of radium1 #ahb4 ,dalton's additions to the ,greek atomic theory1 #ba1 #agb4 ,democritus1 his saying about atoms1 #ae4 ,dephlogisticated air1 #adg4 ,destruction1 thought by alchemists to precede restoration1 #fe1 #abg4 ,electrons1 #ahg-ahi1 #aig1 #aih4 ,elements1 alchemical1 contrasted with chemical1 #afe2 radio-active substances contrasted with1 #aij-aib4 ---- the alchemical1 #di1 #ed1 #fj4 ---- the chemical1 #fa1 #fb1 #afa4 ---- use of word1 by phlogisteans1 #acc4 ,essence1 the alchemical1 #cb1 #ce1 #di1 #eh1 #gb4 ,fire1 different meanings of the word1 #ec4 ,gates1 the alchemical1 #fi4 ,gold1 considered by alchemists to be the most perfect metal1 #dj1 #de4 ,greek thinkers1 their atomic theory1 #ae4 ,hermes ,trismegistus1 #cg4 ,kathode rays1 #ahh4 ,language of alchemy1 #if4 ---- purposely made misleading1 #cf4 ,lavoisier on calcination1 #aec1 #aee4 ---- his use of word element1 #aid4 ---- his use of word principle1 #afc1 note4 ---- on object of chemistry1 #afj4 ---- on oxygen1 #aee4 ---- on systems in science1 #afc4 ---- on the principle of acidity1 #ei1 #aee4 ---- on the reactions of metals with acids1 #aeh4 ---- on the transmutation of water to earth1 #aeb4 ,lockyer1 on spectra of elements1 #aha4 ,lucretius1 his theory of nature1 #af4 ,magic1 characteristics of1 #bc1 #bd4 ,material changes1 ,greek theory of1 #ae4 ,metals1 alchemical connexion between1 and plants1 #cd4 ---- compared by alchemists with vegetables1 #cc4 ---- mortification of1 #fe4 ---- seed of1 #cd4 ---- their desire to become gold1 #dj4 ---- transmutation of1 #cc1 #ci1 #df4 ,natural state of bodies1 #ci1 #dc4 ,oxygen1 #add1 #ade4 ,paracelsus1 his description of alchemists1 #be4 ---- his distinction between natural and artificial mortification1 #fe4 ---- sketch of life of1 #aag4 ,pelican1 #ib4 ,perfection1 alchemical teaching regarding1 #bg1 #dj4 ,phlogistic theory1 #acc1 #aci4 ,phlogiston1 #abf1 #acj1 #acg4 ,priestley1 his discovery of oxygen1 #add4 ,principles1 the alchemical1 #di1 #ea1 #ed1 #fj1 #acc4 ---- ,lavoisier's use of the word1 #afc1 note4 ,radio-active substances1 are they elements8 #aia1 #aid1 #aie2 properties of1 #ahe-ahg4 ,radio-activity1 characteristics of1 #ahc1 #ahd2 of radium1 #ahf2 of thorium1 #aic2 of uranium1 #aic4 ,radium1 emanation of1 #ahg2 heat from1 #ahf2 rays from1 #ahf4 ,ramsay1 on transmutation of elements1 #aii4 ,regimens1 the alchemical1 #gb4 ,sacred art1 the1 #abb4 ,scientific theories1 general characters of1 #ba1 #aej4 ,seed1 alchemical doctrine of1 #ef4 ,seeds of metals1 #cd4 ,simplicity1 asserted by alchemists to be the mark of nature1 #bh1 #ch4 ---- is not necessarily the mark of verity1 #ach4 ,solids1 liquids1 and gases1 atomic explanation of1 #ai4 ,stahl1 his phlogistic theory1 #acj4 ,stone1 the philosopher's1 #cb1 #ce1 #di1 #eh1 #gb4 ,thorium1 radio-activity of1 #ahc1 #aic4 ,transmutation1 alchemical doctrine of1 #dg1 #gd1 #abc4 ---- character of him who would attempt1 #fc4 ---- of metals1 #cc1 #ci1 #df1 #gd4 ---- of metals into gold1 alchemical account of1 #ge4 ---- of water to earth1 #aea4 ,transmutations1 apparent examples of1 #hb4 ,uranium1 radio-activity of1 #ahc1 #aib2 relation of1 to radium1 #aib1 #aic4 ,vegetables compared with metals by alchemists1 #cc4 ,water contains hydrogen and oxygen1 examination of this phrase1 #afg4 ,water1 different meanings of the word1 #ec1 #afg4