82 THE SEVEN FOLLIES OF SCIENCE 



undoubted charlatans and quacks, yet did we not have 

 many of the same kind in the nineteenth century ? We 

 may use the word alchemist as a term of reproach, and apply 

 it to these early workers because their theories appear 

 to us to be absurd, but how do we know that the chemists 

 of the twenty-second century will not regard us in a similar 

 light, and set at naught the theories we so fondly cherish ? 



Only seven out of the large number of metals now cata- 

 logued by us were known to the ancients ; these were 

 gold, silver, mercury, copper, tin, lead, and iron. And as it 

 happened that the list of so-called planets also numbered 

 exactly seven, it was thought that there must be a connec- 

 tion between the two, and, consequently, in the alchemical 

 writings, each metal was called by the name of that one of 

 the heavenly bodies which was supposed to be connected 

 with it in influence and quality. 



In the astronomy of the ancients, as is generally known, 

 the earth occupied the center of the universe, and the list 

 of planets included the sun and moon. After them came 

 Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. To the metal 

 gold was given the name of Sol, or the sun, on account 

 of its brightness and its power of resisting corroding agents ; 

 hence the compounds of gold were known as solar compounds 

 and solar medicines. As might have been expected, silver 

 was assigned to Luna or the moon, and in the modern 

 pharmacopoeia such terms as lunar caustic and lunar salts 

 still have a place. Mercury was, of course, appropriated to 

 the planet of that name. Copper was named after Venus, 

 and cupreous salts were known as venereal salts. Iron, 

 probably from its being the metal chiefly used for making 

 arms and armor, was dedicated to Mars, and we still speak 

 of martial salts. Tin was named after Jupiter from his bril- 



