ALCHEMY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 439, 23 February 1909, Page 11

ALCHEMY.

SEEKINCsIHG PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. ; ; \ ;Alchpmy, v like' the .arts, periods of! purity-and splendour,' of corruption; and decline." ::In V the: f .begtnningT^at...all.-event's in:the'time : bf ; |the'Greek';adepts—there was nothing magical, about it.v It-was. a philoso-phy-—a 'rationalistic .'explanation of the metamorphdsM of matter.'; So 'old/a /theorist as Mi'ohel■■psellus^-solemnly 1 'declares that/.the ,transformations'of : ,metals : .are: the :result;.of natural, causes, ■ and-: not -of:, incantations or "magicalformuiae. : But as. time went:on:.inno-. cqntFcheniical '.became-,mixed 'up /with;'. the=-ritual ; ..of. -'black; 'in'agio,'"and'--;trans-■mutation- was sought;, through. ■'.-'; the, most bizarre, mediums'. .; The absolute essential;for .the/; making' ; bf-'' alphem.ical..: ; gold; was.v.the "primary"-/matter-—(he , '; first and-:most; trer ; raeiido'u's''for^--.'of''\transmu'tation..-'.,.-Tie: > 'pri; ■mary. inatter,>the;adept^.taught, : was ; neither animal,' .ycgetablei;nor,mineral.; ltwa's simply the> mateml. r ;,o'utf-o'f -'which,:the N worldl iwas /made: , ";-'Kp.r';penturics''..tbb. r ,uniyerso.!v^as;.'ran- , . sacked, in a.', \vild •endeavour' to-obtain-this; elusive; rnattcr- ■■■-■ ;lt; seems: to ..have been; exr .ceedingly'yolatile,.-since/ although , , generated :in^the^ight:.;by/the.'earth, it i vaiiishecl;/entirely .byVsrinr'ise; ! '\ Scarcely any. :;nafural ;pbjept, frOm: egg-shells ;to • offal, ,'.;e.scaped: testing;..in -the hope. that, it.'might be'the' muoh-desired .primary, matter. --Many;aloliemist's: believed/.in :mer.cury;''still ; more 'put'their. faith, in silver; pothers;;scoffed at, 1 mineralsv altegether..'!.-Roger- •'.Bacon was one of /these/ ■ de Villeneuve;:;, trusted ~in salt, :ahd he : .and;.his fpllowere'Vperseyeringly, experimented, with'every:'variety/of saltj all -;At :one'time run upon .lizards; and'-, serpents; then- caine- the .turn ; bf;; ; veg'etable'- :;niatteri; :; meteoric v stones, were' tried;'. so;,ii;ere. snow, dew, and; rain;water;;,:even;;human::flesh>;wa:s: pounded'in placed.\over.the fire/, ,, :The' ■;','primary''"matter' ■;hayfng;-beeh:: at: last Idis-' .covereHiiit'iwas vnecessary:, to.: /the' .^^ < 'magio;.poivder I '.';;which..waS;"the! immediateT---tatjon'.*,;" This;:powder has' 'always, ■been ''■ de-: soribed, as:either':red: or:'.black..'..That':which ■: Caglios.tvp :oised : : red;;/ ■• Jean ", ■olared'that'.^it'.-'eou'Wi.be.-.ohtained.iby.' drying : and;pulyerjsing-.the : herbs-Luharia'niaj'br and ;Liinaria: minor:^: : Many , yritersr.upon' ■chemy; believed that 'it".wa's not; a powder, 1 :butja/:tincture; Hthat V.was; ■, neededr?--{ ; Like :the'v;powder,:;;it': ; was (Magnus/: claims':, to ! ;,havo., ; ipossessed:' it.' It^-could;;:--bo tsmade , : : :by _;; '■''two' perfectly.;/skilful; and 'alchemists ;,' one'-was' poweTless the,'•6therV;-vParacolsvis says'that he ha"d ; a ; ;^V^:p f :if .'ln/his;treatise,: ■Physiciaj' -: : :he;%wrbto:— l -.'',i:have. a ; treasure> buried: ati the.hospital'atWoideh'whichVis'.ai jewel of such'value that neither : Pbpe Leo. : nor r thbvEmperor. Oarolus.:could:buy : it'withiall: their .wealtb: I ':''^^Of'recipes .for .making'/ gold ;there : isio'end-.'-.They/'are; scattered-about, the>books:of the""alch'eraists : .like"pluins in-a , piiddingj • Hers :is; : a ■sixteeri-century':one:-r' ~;:; Thy .philosophical 'mercury/being :ainalga- ■"■ mate'd 'wjth ; pure; gold;- and/put into the: philo- ' oval,-with -a jlpng neck, ■and'large enough'"^'-- , .Mntain:\_fo.ar';bianoes/of/ 7 whole^:is'-placed/jn I .,a»:crucible, ;whiph;is then, .p'iifiinto/.thei furnae'e.^i-.'.:-Thereupon : the 'mer-' ..oury,-:excited by:' : thViWarrath^'ofVjts' internal •sulphnr'and by tlie fire.which the'adeptvkeepir' bnrning; underneath, sdissolves. , the: pure gold ; .without>. violence.:into ,; mercurial -gold.;'": :In this ; pperation i the fixed /becomes .the yolatile.fixed.- , .Then the'mass :grows'very ;call -jt Saturn.'yNext.it (becomes 1 -white, : , and. is; then kriown/as. the white' thematter- becomes/'.green/' then red: Now: 'it is ;tho /'salamander;/, or: ■ incombustible.. ; sulphur, ;'and} cannot'.bb/:brought ,'tp;/hig'her perfeot-\-.v./-:

■'9^ofes;f^om;Bnl^pl■d l : for..makmg which; is'said fe have-proved' ;.; It: isvlesayranscen'deritafithan' ,the,6theri'.,but.;more.elaborate '.";;.' f'.' Take* equal 'ptirts: of iron, - suk |nnated.vsul]shuri :and,vprude antimony.-; -Melt •;it.:mr»\croeiblo ; -until: .the::sMphur:.;is/evippra^d:;> ;; :Mix;\ftTO,; -P.^?^-i| ; cmated;bor!ix:;and ;: melt 'it- again; - ••I'owder-and;dissp!ve"it-in;;cqmuibn-muriatic; let : at ; ;;stand:cih ; 'a;^moderateVheati'for.' mohtK.wjlie:fluid; be pui'intb'ia ;diatillca,if andtthe; fluicf that-: col- ; lects; ; in:-thferccjpient\:(the:'miiriatio acid)'is. •,-and;.,.this ! :istrepeated',.threo: iime(s';" ; 'the-' third time^red-powder, will--be'left.in" the' retort: : ■Ims powder is to be'.dissolved.'in a.!fiu'id ; :made byvpounng ichloridei;of; antimony into water, altering. aad;eyaporating the:nuid. ■ : The' solutiori:;is...to;:;bo: evaporated: again; Xand Hhe' : own-weight' .w^rFesive^toWimate^vOf^-taeroury.^/^'Ms- , ypowder;-.is 1 ' to':,be ;muriatic; acid;;;a;rid;-.aistilledvuntil, a -red -oily•" substance.; passes ;intq' the , -receiverift If "you ;pbtain::,th!spil Kyptf 'niay.rtak'e'' some"newly-: prepared ;chloride\ it gradu:?'lv, w J> n ; tta.,bil;-::-and v one' part : of.;th\S'powder.-info. : fivo-parts of molten lead :'■ again from'the"silver,:>'an<iyouwill :find that one-third of: the silver'has. ;been;transformedrinto;gpld;" reasbn ;Jttagnus -wrote;- th>t ...the: ''first'-necessity,'. ='ih alchemy '.was ' thejippssessiori , "of -a fortune "' costly.;> vEveti, when .this matter"— '' tn.at ; which:we;ca,ll.the Philosopher's;-Stoned ■had.-.been-.discovered,: , there remained ■ many .essentialAprocesses/;all-ofv;-them ; expensive. Quickstlyer.::was. 'required; and "sijver;-' and : ; alwaysp;a: .'quantity of .:gbld.vitself. vjiAnd^^ ; wheii, :tha; : pr'ecious'i'.metals' : were: tenior\ twenty times' as valuable as they Jare nowj-this'alono must have 1 been, a fright-.ful-.smirce.. of ■, expense , .-!-:'.. Then 'there -was the' l ■ furnaces'" and' .retorts,: andhthe-rest'of the alchemical-equip-ment; v :; How,' so.'vast'a'niiraber.of men w.ere -abloi;bften;for; a'.long.series''of/yeara;": to/coii-:'. tihue -their;, costly Experiments,; is. !one:;:of '• the! many-puzzle's; ofialchemy.:.: They made dupes J ;to>extract::from-,rich;!rihd:qr'edulous ; ;b ■ the, means, of.; relighting their furnaces' and re-\ filling';.theirVcrjinbles'. l . the'"game l .was;tried,with'j>owefful personages,-and.then; l .when-failure ; ;fc'l.lpwed"failuroi'-' and. the-Eoyal' ori princely • psticn'po , ';- was' ■' tha : . alchemist :cpmmonly;,;fpund : ;; ; it; prudent ; to , 'ohange'tne'venu? to a" Court where his name' was'.uiknownj-i-arid "where he-could^ehjoy'all-the; adyantages; : of ■ ..mystery ,\ : •'.-: A:.,;yenerahle, ;beardi;:a-:copious'jargon l ;_which;it was.-qiiite-'certajri'.bis potential victims.''could 'not com-, prehend siricejhe.'did;not understand it him-' self, ...and -vague/parlance of .sojourns ..in. the East,; learning tho'xebrcts of, Nature hii- ; the' 'birthplaces.ofmystioißm—itbis.was.enough to keep an;alchemist in',fiaids'for/a yeai;,..:and : perhaps -Idngery'ifj:t6'''bu : .d.oiibtful acconiplish-merits'-as f .;a; tran'smuter he'.addedsome-.skill. in black magic and the.evocation.of-demons 1 bound ,-• - under - dreadful penal ties \ to\ do ' th'eir hirer's bidding. }•.-■ : .; : h;>w..':'.';',■;.-■:')'■ : . , ;..v-'..': ! -'--:. Yeji-it is'not to,bo' denied that therei'.weremany -honest■:'and';single-minded. -men.''•.■'•'who' spent year, after ■year, and : not rarely a. whole ■ Itfptimo, in sseking. 1 io transmute base'-'metak' into thejnoblest;;; How far-they- succeeded' we cannot.tell, nor.even' whethcr.it sible. for them to..succeed. So- far' as we know,, the thing utterly, impossible. They' did, however, ; undoubtedly accomplish something whioh our own chemists have only; of lato_ years; loarried; to could ; make' artificial..'; precious atones. Raymond Lnlli also claims 'to .have, made 'pearls;', so do ; numerous':'oth'er, hermetip writers; and; there 13 nothing inherently improbable •: in their statements.' ■Wβ; can make' precious stones" by, means. of' chemistry—at enormous cost, if is true—arid,, smilo,as wo. may at the absurdities and: extravagances : o'f alchemy tho fact' remains-that-it-'was ■ .'the: : Mother 'of modorn ohomistry.—'/The Guardian." •'