ALCHEMY.
We shall now proceed to consider Alchemy, another but very different chimerical pursuit, which was early cultivated in the East, and is generally ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, although its more enthusiastic admirers pretend to trace a knowledge of it to Adam. From the earliest periods of history man was acquainted with gold, silver, and other metals, with bitumen, sulphur, sea salt, sal-ammoniac, gums, and resins, together with other varieties of substances and liquids common to modern chemistry. For the compounding and heating of certain of these materials a multiplicity of means were adopted requiring furnaces, crucibles, and distillatory apparatus. The first workers in these experimental operations formed a body of investigators into the nature and properties of all manner of substances, whether animal, vegetable or mineral, the members of which were distinguished as adepts, alchemists, and later in their career as common chemists. The most esteemed branch of the art however was Alchemy, a pseudo-science which ultimately took three forms. First, the Hermetic Art for the discovery of the Philosopher's stone; and the Alkahest, or universal solvent;—Second, a Medical Alchemy;—and Third, a Theological Alchemy pretending to conceal divine mysteries under an allegorical form, treating of the spiritual while apparently describing alchemical discoveries.
Our principal business, however, is with the so-called Hermetic Philosophy, treating of vaunted methods of transmuting the base metals into gold. It is doubtful whether this particular delusion of the adepts can be referred to a date earlier than the 8th century, but even then we cannot refrain from surprise at the fallibility of the human intellect, which could be swayed by a belief in the pretended lapis philosophorum for upwards of ten centuries. It was believed to be so secret and rare that its possession was never ascribed at any time to more than two or three favourite adepts, who transmitted it to some single favoured individual after his taking the sacrament, and going through certain prescribed religious ceremonies, preparatory to being entrusted with a verbal recipe for the composition of a peculiar smelling red powder, of which it was affirmed that when projected on heated mercury or any solid metal, it would at once change it into pure gold. Ashmole gravely assures us that Dr. John Dee and his associate Kelly, having in some way procured this precious substance, Kelly—to use Ashmole's own words—"made projection with one small grain thereof, in proportion no bigger than the least grain of sand, upon one ounce and a quarter of common mercury, and it produced almost an ounce of pure gold." With equal simplicity and earnestness, Ashmole asserts that this same Kelly was often seen to make these extraordinary transmutations,—"and in particular (he adds) upon a piece of metal cut out of a warming-pan, and without touching or handling it, or melting the metal, only warming it in the fire, the elixir being put thereon, it was transmuted into pure silver. The warming-pan and this piece of it, was sent to Queen Elizabeth by her Ambassador who then lay at Prague, that by fitting the piece into the place whence it was cut, it might exactly appear to be once part of the warming-pan."
Among the adepts there were no doubt a select few who employed themselves in their prolonged labours in all sincerity, and who were not unfrequently repaid with remarkable, and unexpected results. Brass, being the result of copper combined with zinc, would appear a singular transformation. Many stones, or more properly, ores, would yield sulphur and metals; sulphur would be found apparently to dissolve iron; and certain salts, when distilled, would yield corrosive acids. Alchemy thus presented to the ancient adepts many of the ordinary wonders of modern chemistry; in short, the latest adept of the present century is no other than an unlettered chemist. It was peculiar to the Alchemists to treat all their operations as secrets; which, when recorded, were described partly by symbols and partly in a novel nomenclature, invented to conceal their mysteries from vulgar gaze or imitation. Thus, to prepare the philosopher's stone, we have merely to—"Take of moisture, an ounce and a half; of meridional redness, that is the soul of the sun, a fourth part, that is, half an ounce; of yellow seyr, likewise half an ounce; and of auripigmentum, a half ounce; making in all three ounces. Know that the vine of wise men is extracted in threes, and its wine at last is completed in thirty." To the incredulous in these matters, Ashmole offers the admonition that, he knows "Incredulity is given to the world as a punishment!" However, when the Alkahest, or pretended Universal Solvent, was alluded to by the modern chemist Kunckel, he could not refrain from incredulously enquiring—"If it dissolves all substances, in what vessel can it be contained?"
Alchemical writings are very numerous, it might be impossible to procure a complete bibliographical list of them, but they may be estimated at from 3000 to 4000 works, and an astonishing number of manuscripts. Their authors indulge in such terms as the Ph[oe]nix, to indicate the quintessence of Fire; Realgar, for the fume of minerals; Guma, also Luna Compacta, for quicksilver; Hadid, for iron; Aurum potabile, for liquor of gold; Anathron, for saltpetre; Malek, for salt; Terra fidelis, for silver; Tinkar, for borax; and in a similar strain for all matters and operations; so that Dr. Johnson was justified in deriving the word Gibberish from the mysterious jargon employed by Geber, a celebrated Alchemist; who has, nevertheless, been appropriately styled the Pliny of the 8th century.
Weidenfeld, in an Alchemical Treatise, published in 1685, addressing students, says:—
"Under heaven is not such an art, more promoting the honour of God, more conducing to mankind, and more narrowly searching into the most profound secrets of nature, than is our true and more than laudable Chymy."
And at the conclusion of his address he observes:
"Nothing remains but upon our bended knees to return most humble thanks to the Father of Lights, in vouchsafing us this art by the writings of his servants, and the high priests of Nature; without which, it would be beyond the power of man to arrive at so great a degree of knowledge."
Some notion of the extravagance of the language employed may be obtained from his description of a Philosophical Wine, literally, rectified spirits of wine, or alcohol. He assures us that, on opening a vessel of it, "a wonderful scent" should arise: "so as that no fragrancy of the world can be compared to it; inasmuch as putting the vessel to a corner of the house, it can by an invisible miracle draw all that pass in to it; or, the vessel being put upon a tower, draws all birds within the reach of its scent, so as to cause them to stand about it. Then will you have, my son, our quintessence, which is otherwise called Vegetable Mercury, at your will, to apply in Magistery of the transmutation of metals."
How ardent an adept this Alchemist was may be gathered from his exclamation:—"May the God of Heaven put prudence in the heart of evangelical men, for whom I compose this book, not to communicate this venerable secret of God to the reprobates."
Among the remarkable discoveries made by Alchemists, due to the carefully noted and carefully examined failures and accidents, as well as successes, of their endless combinations of matter, under the treatment of fire and water, the most distinguished is that of gunpowder, noted in a recipe left on record by Roger Bacon, who died in the year 1284. He clearly names the mixture of Saltpetre with Sulphur, but the third ingredient, Carbon, is concealed in the form of an anagram.
Lord Bacon, Luther, Spinoza, Leibnitz, and many eminent moderns, were impressed with a belief in the possibility of transmuting lead, tin, copper, or other metals, into gold; in short, as it was supposed there were only four elements, fire, water, earth, and air, it was probably assumed that a fifth might be found in the Philosopher's stone.
But if ever any pursuit was more open to fraudulent practices than another, surely the pretended possession of a transmuting powder or elixir afforded a grand arena for their exercise. In this enlightened age, although we cannot fail to look with charity on the arduous labours of those adepts who honestly mixed devotional exercises with laborious experimental operations, selecting times and seasons for their alchemical work, and noting with accuracy the hours and days of fusions, sublimations, distillations, lixiviations, and so forth; still, it is scarcely possible to refrain from smiling at the docile simplicity of Ashmole in denouncing a certain class of Alchemists, as pretended masters and adepts, seeing "they are mere practisers of legerdemain," while he himself gave credence to the story of the warming-pan, already named as being shown to Queen Elizabeth, which was clearly a flagrant piece of fraud practised by Kelly, a common adventurer, and from his youth remarkable only for his indifferent character.
An easily performed trick was effected by means of nails, or other light articles, made half of gold and half iron, but disguised, so as to appear to be of one metal and colour. Sometimes these knaves employed crucibles, having an interior false bottom, below which a small quantity of gold was placed, which, being reproduced, as was pretended from base materials, was offered as an example of success. Or, by having the gold in a hollow rod, stopped at one end with wax, used to stir up the materials, the gold would naturally enough appear in the crucible. Or, their materials being conveyed into charcoal, a similar result would be obtained on heating the crucible in a furnace. At other times, by the employment of amalgams, or solutions in acids, they could perform a species of electro-plating on common metals. The extent to which these nefarious practices were carried might appear incredible, considering the evident inconsistency of the owner of the pretended golden key to countless wealth, being in such comparative poverty as to be indebted to any one of moderate means for pecuniary assistance. But, it is some apology for such credulity when we call to mind the state of public morals, of education, of political institutions, and the prevalent superstition, not only among common people, but also the higher classes of all countries and creeds, down to the seventeenth century: representing a phase of the human mind, liable to be overawed by impostors, who boldly claimed supernatural aid in abetting their impositions. And the trickery of the designing was further aided by the close secrecy adopted by the adepts in their processes, their conversations, and their writings. Ashmole freely admits that—"Their chief study was to wrap up their secrets in fables, and spin out their fancies in 'vailes' and shadows, whose radii seem to extend every way, yet so that all meet in a common centre, and point only to one thing." It was this very secrecy, this continual mystery from beginning to end, that favoured deceptions of the grossest and most bungling character, as viewed by the light of modern chemistry.
Alchemy no doubt tended to improve Medical science, by the introduction of many new mineral and vegetable preparations, but the healing art treated after the manner of the Hermetic Art, was laid open to every description of quackery. It is not our intention, however, to enlarge on this department, which has steadily advanced at every stage of improvement in chemical science.