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H. Stanley Redgrove. 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
Folklore
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
PREFACE
CONTENTS
LIST OF PLATES
ALCHEMY: ANCIENT AND MODERN. CHAPTER I. THE MEANING OF ALCHEMY. The Aim of Alchemy
The Transcendental Theory of Alchemy
Failure of the Transcendental Theory
The Qualifications of the Adept
Alchemistic Language
Alchemists of a Mystical Type
The Meaning of Alchemy
Opinions of other Writers
The Basic Idea of Alchemy
The Law of Analogy
The Dual Nature of Alchemy
“Body, Soul and Spirit”
Alchemy, Mysticism and Modern Science
CHAPTER II. THE THEORY OF PHYSICAL ALCHEMY. Supposed Proofs of Transmutation
The Alchemistic Elements
Aristotle’s Views regarding the Elements
The Sulphur-Mercury Theory
The Sulphur-Mercury-Salt Theory
Alchemistic Elements and Principles
The Growth of the Metals
Alchemy and Astrology
Alchemistic View of the Nature of Gold
The Philosopher’s Stone
The Nature of the Philosopher’s Stone
The Theory of Development
The Powers of the Philosopher’s Stone
The Elixir of Life
The Practical Methods of the Alchemists
CHAPTER III. THE ALCHEMISTS1 (A. BEFORE PARACELSUS) Hermes Trismegistos
The Smaragdine Table
Zosimus of Panopolis
Geber
Other Arabian Alchemists
Albertus Magnus (1193-1280)
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
Roger Bacon (1214–1294)
Arnold de Villanova (12—?–1310?)
Raymond Lully (1235?–1315)
Peter Bonus (14th Century)
Nicolas Flamel (1330-1418)
“Basil Valentine” and “The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony.”
Isaac of Holland (15th Century)
Bernard Trévisan (1406-1490)
Sir George Ripley (14—?-1490?)
Thomas Norton (15th Century)
CHAPTER IV. THE ALCHEMISTS (continued) (B. PARACELSUS AND AFTER) Paracelsus (1493-1541.)
Views of Paracelsus
Iatro-Chemistry
The Rosicrucian Society
Thomas Charnock (1524–1581)
Andreas Libavius (1540–1616)
Edward Kelley (1555–1595) and John Dee (1527–1608)
Henry Khunrath (1560–1605)
Alexander Sethon (?-1604) and Michael Sendivogius (1566?–1646)
Michael Maier (1568–1622)
Jacob Boehme (1575–1624.)
J. B. van Helmont (1577–1644) and F. M. van Helmont (1618–1699)
Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604–1668)
Thomas Vaughan (“Eugenius Philalethes”) (1622–1666)
“Eirenæus Philalethes” (1623?-?) and George Starkey (?-1665)
CHAPTER V. THE OUTCOME OF ALCHEMY. Did the Alchemists achieve the “Magnum Opus”?
The Testimony of van Helmont
The Testimony of Helvetius
Helvetius obtains the Philosopher’s Stone
Helvetius performs a Transmutation
Helvetius’s Gold Assayed
Helvetius’s Gold Further Tested
The Genesis of Chemistry
The Degeneracy of Alchemy
“Count Cagliostro” (—?–1795)
CHAPTER VI. THE AGE OF MODERN CHEMISTRY. The Birth of Modern Chemistry
The Phlogiston Theory
Boyle and the Definition of an Element
The Stoichiometric Laws
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
The Determination of the Atomic Weights of the Elements
Prout’s Hypothesis
The “Periodic Law.”
The Corpuscular Theory of Matter
Proof that the Electrons are not Matter
The Electronic Theory of Matter
The Etheric Theory of Matter
Further Evidence of the Complexity of the Atoms
Views of Wald and Ostwald
CHAPTER VII. MODERN ALCHEMY. Modem Alchemy
X-Rays and Becquerel rays
The Discovery of Radium
Chemical Properties of Radium
The Radioactivity of Radium
The Disintegration of the Radium Atom
“Induced Radioactivity.”
Properties of Uranium and Thorium
The Radium Emanation
The Production of Helium from Radium
Nature of this Change
Is this Change a true Transmutation?
The Production of Neon from Emanation
Ramsay’s Experiments on Copper
Further Experiments on Radium and Copper
Ramsay’s Experiments on Thorium and allied Metals
The Possibility of Making Gold
The Significance of “Allotropy.”
Conclusion
