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ALCHEMY: ANCIENT AND MODERN. Being a brief account of the alchemistic doctrines, and their relations, to mysticism on the one hand, and to recent discoveries in physical science on the other hand; together with some particulars regarding the lives and teachings of the most noted alchemists.

  
[frontispiece]
  
[title page]
  
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
  
PREFACE
  
CONTENTS
  
LIST OF PLATES

collapse section1. 
ALCHEMY: ANCIENT AND MODERN CHAPTER I THE MEANING OF ALCHEMY
 1. 
§ 1. The Aim of Alchemy.
 2. 
§ 2. The Transcendental Theory of Alchemy.
 3. 
§ 3. Failure of the Transcendental Theory.
 4. 
§ 4. The Qualifications of the Adept.
 5. 
§ 5. Alchemistic Language.
 6. 
§ 6. Alchemists of a Mystical Type.
 7. 
§ 7. The Meaning of Alchemy.
 8. 
§ 8. Opinions of other Writers.
 9. 
§ 9. The Basic Idea of Alchemy.
 10. 
§ 10. The Law of Analogy.
 11. 
§ 11. The Dual Nature of Alchemy.
 12. 
§ 12. "Body, Soul and Spirit".
 13. 
§ 13. Alchemy, Mysticism and Modern Science.
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CHAPTER II THE THEORY OF PHYSICAL ALCHEMY
 14. 
§ 14. Supposed Proofs of Transmutation.
 15. 
§ 15. The Alchemistic Elements.
 16. 
§ 16. Aristotle's Views regarding the Elements.
 17. 
§ 17. The Sulphur-Mercury Theory.
 18. 
§ 18. The Sulphur-Mercury-Salt Theory.
 19. 
§ 19. Alchemistic Elements and Principles.
 20. 
§ 20. The Growth of the Metals.
 21. 
§ 21. Alchemy and Astrology.
 22. 
§ 22. Alchemistic View of the Nature of Gold.
 23. 
§ 23. The Philosopher's Stone.
 24. 
§ 24. The Nature of the Philosopher's Stone.
 25. 
§25. The Theory of Development.
 26. 
§ 26. The Powers of the Philosopher's Stone.
 27. 
§ 27. The Elixir of Life.
 28. 
§ 28. The Practical Methods of the Alchemists.
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CHAPTER III THE ALCHEMISTS (A. BEFORE PARACELSUS)
 29. 
§ 29. Hermes Tismegistos.
 30. 
§ 30. The Smaragdine Table.
 31. 
§ 31. Zosimus of Panopolis.
 32. 
§ 32. Geber.
 33. 
§ 33. Other Arabian Alchemists.
 34. 
§ 34. Albertus Magnus.
 35. 
§ 35. Thomas Aquinas.
 36. 
§ 36. Roger Bacon.
 37. 
§ 37. Arnold de Villanova.
 38. 
§ 38. Raymond Lully.
 39. 
§ 39. Peter Bonus.
 40. 
§ 40. Nicolas Flamel.
 41. 
§ 41. "Basil Valentine" and "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony".
 42. 
§ 42. Isaac of Holland.
 43. 
§ 43. Bernard Trévisan.
 44. 
§ 44. Sir George Ripley.
 45. 
§ 45. Thomas Norton.
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CHAPTER IV THE ALCHEMISTS (continued) (B. PARACELSUS AND AFTER)
 46. 
§ 46. Paracelsus.
 47. 
§ 47. Views of Paracelsus.
 48. 
§ 48. Iatro-Chemistry.
 49. 
§ 49. The Rosicrucian Society.
 50. 
§ 50. Thomas Charnock.
 51. 
§ 51. Andreas Libavius.
 52. 
§ 52. Edward Kelley and John Dee.
 53. 
§ 53. Henry Khunrath.
 54. 
§ 54. Alexander Sethon and Michael Sendivogius.
 55. 
§ 55. Michael Maier.
 56. 
§ 56. Jacob Boehme.
 57. 
§ 57. John Baptist van Helmont.
 58. 
§ 58. Johann Rudolf Glauber.
 59. 
§ 59. Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes).
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CHAPTER V THE OUTCOME OF ALCHEMY
 61. 
§ 61. Did the Alchemists achieve the "Magnum Opus"?.
 62. 
§ 62. The Testimony of van Helmont.
 63. 
§ 63. The Testimony of Helvetius.
 64. 
§ 64. Helvetius obtains the Philosopher's Stone.
 65. 
§ 65. Helvetius performs a Transmutation.
 66. 
§ 66. Helvetius's Gold Assayed.
 67. 
§ 67. Helvetius's Gold Further Tested.
 68. 
§ 68. The Genesis of Chemistry.
 69. 
§ 69. The Degeneracy of Alchemy.
 70. 
§ 70. "Count Cagliostro".
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CHAPTER VI THE AGE OF MODERN CHEMISTRY
 71. 
§ 71. The Birth of Modern Chemistry.
 72. 
§ 72. The Phlogiston Theory.
 73. 
§ 73. Boyle and the Definition of an Element.
 74. 
§ 74. The Stoichiometric Laws.
 75. 
§ 75. Dalton's Atomic Theory.
 76. 
§ 76. The Determination of the Atomic Weights of the Elements.
 77. 
§ 77. Prout's Hypothesis.
 78. 
§ 78. The "Periodic Law".
 79. 
§ 79. The Corpuscular Theory of Matter.
 80. 
§ 80. Proof that the Electrons are not Matter.
 81. 
§ 81. The Electronic Theory of Matter.
 82. 
§ 82. The Etheric Theory of Matter.
 83. 
§ 83. Further Evidence of the Complexity of the Atoms.
 84. 
§ 84. Views of Wald and Ostwald.
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CHAPTER VII MODERN ALCHEMY
 85. 
§ 85. "Modern Alchemy".
 86. 
§ 86. X-Ray's and Becquerel rays.
 87. 
§ 87. The Discovery of Radium.
 88. 
§ 88. Chemical Properties of Radium.
 89. 
§ 89. The Radioactivity of Radium.
 90. 
§ 90. The Disintegration of the Radium Atom.
 91. 
§ 91. Induced Radioactivity.
 92. 
§ 92. Properties of Uranium and Thorium.
 93. 
§ 93. The Radium Emanation.
 94. 
§ 94. The Production of Helium from Radium.
 95. 
§ 95. Nature of this Change.
 96. 
§ 96. Is this Change a true Transmutation?
 97. 
§ 97. The Production of Neon from Emanation.
 98. 
§ 98. Ramsay's Experiments on Copper.
 99. 
§ 99. Further Experiments on Radium and Copper.
 100. 
§ 100. Ramsay's Experiments on Thorium and allied Metals.
 101. 
§ 101. The Possibility of Making Gold
 102. 
§ 102. The Significance of "Allotropy."
 103. 
§ 103. Conclusion.

  
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previous sectionCHAPTER III THE ALCHEMISTS1 (A. BEFORE PARACELSUS) ALCHEMY: ANCIENT AND MODERN. Being a brief account of the alchemistic doctrines, and their relations, to mysticism on the one hand, and to recent discoveries in physical science on the other hand; together with some particulars regarding the lives and teachings of the most noted alchemists.
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§ 34. Albertus Magnus.

Albertus Magnus, Albert Groot or Albert von Bollstädt (see plate 7), was born at Lauingen, probably in 1193. He was educated at Padua, and in his later years he showed himself apt at acquiring the knowledge of his time. He studied theology, philosophy and natural science, and is chiefly celebrated as an Aristotelean philosopher. He entered the Dominican order, taught publicly at Cologne, Paris and elsewhere, and was made provincial of this order. Later he had the bishopric of Regensburg conferred on him, but he retired after a few years to a Dominican cloister, where he devoted himself to philosophy and science. He was one of the most learned men of his time and, moreover, a man of noble character. The authenticity of the alchemistic works attributed to him has been questioned.

previous sectionCHAPTER III THE ALCHEMISTS1 (A. BEFORE PARACELSUS) ALCHEMY: ANCIENT AND MODERN. Being a brief account of the alchemistic doctrines, and their relations, to mysticism on the one hand, and to recent discoveries in physical science on the other hand; together with some particulars regarding the lives and teachings of the most noted alchemists.
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