Alchemy Ancient And Modern

'Alchemy: Ancient and Modern' is a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic subject of alchemy, which is shrouded in mystery and often considered a bygone relic of a bygone era. However, author H. Stanley Redgrove argues that alchemy's fundamental ideas, which suggest that all matter is one in origin and produced by an evolutionary process, have surprising similarities to modern scientific theories. Redgrove takes a holistic approach to the subject, bridging the gap between the physical and mystical aspects of alchemy, and delves into the lives and works of both ancient and modern alchemists. From the Rosicrucian Society to William Ramsay's experiments on the transmutation of base metals into gold, this book is an eye-opening journey into the past and present of this intriguing subject.

Being a brief account of the alchemistic doctrines, and their relations, to mysticism on the one hand, and to recent discoveries in the physical science on the other hand; together with some particulars regarding the lives and teachings of the most noted alchemists. The meaning of alchemy; The theory of physical alchemy; The alchemists before and after Paracelsus; The outcome of alchemy; The age of modern chemistry; Modern alchemy. H Stanley Redgrove, best known for his writings on alchemy. Early in his scientific career he was associated with Professor John Ferguson and others in forming the Alchemical Society and was appointed editor of its journal; that Society was one of the many killed by the last war. Redgrove's book on "Alchemy: Ancient and Modern," first published in 1912, is an excellent survey, which brings out clearly the connection between the old alchemical doctrines and the conceptions of modern chemistry.

Excerpt from 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 It is a regrettable fact that the majority of works dealing with the subject of Alchemy take a one-sided point of view. The chemists generally take a purely physical view of the subject, and instead of trying to understand its mystical language, often (we do not say always) prefer to label it nonsense and the alchemist a fool. On the other hand, the mystics, in many cases, take a purely transcendental view of the subject, forgetting the fact that the alchemists were, for the most part, concerned with operations of a physical nature. For a proper understanding of Alchemy, as we hope to make plain in the first chapter of this work, a synthesis of both points of view is essential; and, since these two aspects are so intimately and essentially connected with one another, this is necessary even when, as in the follow ing work, one is concerned primarily with the physical, rather than the purely mystical, aspect of the subject. Now, the author of this book may lay claim to being a humble student of both Chemistry and what may be generalised under the terms Mysticism and Transcendentalism; and he hopes that this perhaps rather unusual combination of studies has enabled him to take a broad-minded View of the theories of the alchemists, and to adopt a sympathetic attitude towards them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The theory of the origin of Alchemy put forward in Chapter I has led to considerable discussion; but whilst this theory has met with general acceptance, some of its earlier critics took it as implying far more than is actually the case. As a result of further research my conviction of its truth has become more fully confirmed, and in my recent work entitled Bygone Beliefs, under the title of "The Quest of the Philosopher's Stone," I have found it possible to adduce further evidence in this connection. At the same time, whilst I became increasingly convinced that the main alchemistic hypotheses were drawn from the domain of mystical theology and applied to physics and chemistry by way of analogy, it also became evident to me that the crude physiology of bygone ages and remnants of the old phallic faith formed a further and subsidiary source of alchemistic theory. I have barely, if at all, touched on this matter in the present work; the reader who is interested will find it dealt with in some detail in "The Phallic Element in Alchemical Doctrine" in my Bygone Beliefs.