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animated their enquiries into the various branches of expe- 

 rimental philolophy ; a certain inyllcrious f) nipathy was 

 imagined between the metallic liibllauces then known, and 

 the heavenly bodies of our lolar fyllem ; they wore delijj- 

 nated by the fame names and rcpreiented by the fame cha- 

 raclers. Tlie great intrinfic value alio of metals and thiir 

 ftill greater conventional importance, efpecially of gold, 

 fdver, and copper, by being adopted as the general repre- 

 fentatives of pn)perty, naturally engaged a great portion of 

 the attention of chemills ; they were fiibmitted to liie adlion 

 of all the known menllrua, they were combined with each 

 other in all proportions, and as lead and copper often con- 

 tain fdver, and fdver is found naturally alloyed with gold, 

 but in fuch proportions as not to be rendered fenfible without 

 the aid of chemical analyfis, there would often happen in 

 the refults of procefTcs an unexpefted remainder of one or 

 other of the precious metals. Such an occun-ence, flattering 

 at the fame time to the two dominant paflions of the mind, 

 the love of fcieiitific diieovery and the defire of gain, would 

 be eagerly received as a proof of the mutual convertibility 

 of the metals, and would at once caufe all thofe entrufted 

 with the fecret to conline their attention to this fingle obiedf. 

 The fame circumftance would alfo induce a ilill greater 

 obfcurity of language and affeftation of myfticifm in ordtr 

 to conceal their procelfes from the knowledge of thofe who 

 were engaged in fimilar purfuits ; and all confidence in each 

 other being thus interdifted, the fcience would become re- 

 trograde,and much valuable knowledge would entirely periih. 

 The iirll ages of alchemy produced few writers of reputa- 

 tion ; their works are for the moll: part unpubhihed, and 

 tonfill of treatifes in Greek by Chrillian ecclefiallics, of 

 which the following are the principal. " Synefius, on the 

 philofopher's ftone." " Zofnnus of Panapolis, on the fa- 

 cred and divine art of making gold and filver," in 24 books. 

 " John, the high priell in the holy city, concerning the 

 holy art." " Thcophraltus, on the divine art." " Ar- 

 chelaus, on the lame." " Hierotheus, the philofopher, on 

 the philofopher's ftone." And " Ifaac, the monk, on the 

 diieovery of the method of making filver." 



The golden age of alchemy moll ominoufly commences 

 with the conquells of Arabian fanaticilm in Afia and Africa, 

 the deltruftion of the Alexandrian library, and the fubjeftion 

 of Europe to the baieil fuperftition and the moft profound 

 ignorance. The Saracens lively, fubtle, credulous, and 

 nurtured in fables of talifmans and the celeftial influences, 

 admitted with eager faith the wonders of alchemy, and 

 condefcended to receive inilruftion from the Haves whom 

 they had conquered ; the rage of making gold fpread 

 through the whole Mahometan world, and in the fplendid 

 courts of Almanzor, Haroun al Rafchid, and Abdalla Al- 

 mamon, the profeffors of the Hermetic art found patro- 

 nage, difciples and emolument. Geljcr, Rliazes, Alfarabius 

 and Avicenna, the moll celebrated phyficians and chemills 

 of the Arabian fchool, were deeply tinged with the prevailing 

 infanity. From the 10th to the 13th century little is known 

 concerning the ftate of alchemical iludies ; the defcendants 

 of the Arabian wan-iors had begun to acquire a taile for 

 fcience when their thrones were (haken by the Crul'ades, aiid 

 finally overthrown by the defolating deluge of the Turkilh 

 barbarians. The arts again retiring from Egypt and Syri^, 

 relied for a moment in Conilantinople, and then withdrew to 

 the wellcrn provinces of Europe. In the 13th centtiry 

 Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and Raymond Lully, 

 appeared as the great revivers of alchemy and chciniftry ; 

 for from this time, although alchemical purfuits were ef. 

 teemed the noblcft and moll ijuportant, yet they ceafed to 

 occupy entirely the atteutign of experimental philofophers. 



The writings of thefe vthle men raifed the ftudy of alchemy 

 to a degree of credit which it little merited, efpecially among 

 the ecclefiallics, who poflelfed at that time almort all the 

 learning of the age ; and even a pope John XXII. was 

 weak enough to affert in his treatife on ftie art of trmf- 

 mutation, that he had himfelf made two hundred ingots of 

 gold, of the weight of an hundred pounds each. The i ;fh 

 century exhibits the fame combination <;f chemiftry with 

 a'chemy, but in which it is pleafing to difcover a great di- 

 minution of referve with regard to the procelfes of common 

 chemiftry, which are for the moft part told in fufficiently 

 plain language by the very men who, when treating of al- 

 chemy, are utterly unintelligible. The great authors during 

 this period are Ifaae and Jolin Ifaac Hollandus, George 

 Ripley, and Bafd Valentine. 



Hitherto alchemy had been confined to the (ingle objeA 

 of ^hanging the bafer metals into filver and gold, and, the 

 materia medica confilling wholly of vegetable and animal 

 preparations, there exiftcd little or no connexion between 

 the chemills and phyficians. The prevalence, however, of 

 the leprofy and the rife and rapid progrefs of the venereal 

 dileafe, rendered it neceifar)- to have recourfe to more potent 

 remedies. The Afiatic praftice of phyfic with regard to 

 the ufe of mercury was introduced with the happieil uifcfts 

 by Carpus ; antimony found an able advocate in Baiil Va- 

 lentine, whole " Currus Triumphalis Antimonii," is a cu- 

 rious mixture of enthufiafm and knowledge. — The credit of 

 the Galenills began to be fhaken, and chemiftry, by thus 

 alTociating to itfelt the moil philofophical of the three learned 

 profeffions, acquired an immcnfe acceifion of abihties. 



The unexptcled fuecefs which attended the firft medical 

 ufe of chemical preparations, awakened a new hope in 

 the minds of the alchemills ; and this was no Icfs than 

 the difcovery of an univerfal medicine, which (hould heal 

 all diforders, and prolong the duration of human exifttnce 

 to an indefinite period. The great authors of this fed 

 were Paracelfus and Van Helmont, who, by their vigorous 

 ufe of opium and mercuiy, effefted a number of important 

 cures, impolfible to the common Galenical practice of the 

 age. About the fame time flouriilied Hcmy Cornelius 

 Agrippa, and George Agricola, the firft of whom, half 

 knave and half enthufiaft, belongs decidedly to the alche- 

 mical party ; but the latter, though bewildered in youth, 

 by the fallc philofophy of his time, made ample am.cnds 

 to the caufe of true fcience in his maturer years, by his 

 admirable treatifes on metallurgy and mineralogy. 



From this time we meet with few autliors of reputation 

 who wrote profeflcdly on alchemy, though a kind of half 

 belief in the thing ftill clung about even the moft eminent 

 ehemifts, and may be clearly traced in their writings. A 

 bold attempt to fuppoit the falling caule was made in the 

 beginning uf the 17th century by the Roficrucians, a 

 fecret fociety which originated in Germany, and attracted 

 the attcnti(ni of the reft of Europe for zj years. By 

 pretending however to too much, even to more than the 

 ancient chemills, when in tlie plenitude of their power 

 and inl'uencc, ever arrogated to themfelves, the fratemity 

 made few converts, and fpeedily funk into total difcredit. 

 The firft philofophical fociety, for the exprels pui-pofe of 

 improving natural and mathematical knowledge, was fonncd 

 at Naples, by Baptilla Porta in 1560; and the noble ex- 

 ample was followed by moft of the other Italian ftates. 

 The hberal fpirit of free inquiry then palling the Alp?, 

 eftablifhed fimilar focieties in England, France, and Ger- 

 many : the experimental method of philofaphizing ivas 

 introduced by Bacon ; public lectures in chemiftry began 

 to be inilituted ; and the prin.ciplts and facts of alchemy 

 ■y a i underwent 



