THE EARLY DAYS OF CHEMISTRY 11 



That he wol not that it discovered be, 

 But where it liketh to his deite : 

 Man to inspire and eke for to defend 

 Whan that him liketh : in this is his end ' 



sang Chaucer, and he told a true tale, for the meanings of 

 alchemical expressions are often undecipherable. 



The green lion, the basilisk, the cockatrice, the sala- 

 mander, the flying eagle, the toad, the dragon's tail and 

 blood, the spotted panther, the crow's bill, blue as lead, 

 kings and queens, red bridegrooms and lily brides, and 

 many more mystical terms which had no doubt some 

 meaning to adepts, were mingled in inextricable con- 

 fusion. 



Moreover, the alchemists made use, not only of fantastic 

 expressions, in order to preserve their supposed secrets 

 from the common people, but they had also a set of 

 symbols, possibly originating from the Chaldean or Egyp- 

 tian alphabets, by which the substances and many of the 

 processes used were symbolised. While the chief aim of 

 modern science is perspicuity, that of the alchemists was 

 ambiguity and mystery. In many cases they were so 

 successful in preserving their secrets that even modern 

 investigation has failed to reveal them. But there is one 

 grain of comfort, albeit it savours of sour grapes, it is 

 perfectly certain that there was nothing worth revealing ; 

 at least nothing which it could profit a modern student 

 of science to know. Where the descriptions have been 

 interpreted, they refer to imperfect methods of doing 

 what we are now able to do with much greater economy 

 and rapidity. As already pointed out, their theory of 

 elements was erroneous ; they were, moreover, acquainted 

 with very few pure substances, and had no criterion of 

 the purity of those they possessed ; and they failed to 

 realise the existence of gases as forms of matter. 



