Alchemy

Alchemy PDF Author: E. J. Holmyard
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 048615114X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Alchemy is thought to have originated over 2000 years ago in Hellenic Egypt, the result of three converging streams: Greek philosophy, Egyptian technology and the mysticism of Middle Eastern religions. Its heyday was from about 800 A.D. to the middle of the seventeenth century, and its practitioners ranged from kings, popes, and emperors to minor clergy, parish clerks, smiths, dyers, and tinkers. Even such accomplished men as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Newton took an interest in alchemical matters. In its search for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transmute base metals into silver and gold, alchemy took on many philosophical, religious and mystical overtones. These and many other facets of alchemy are explored with enormous insight and erudition in this classic work. E. J. Holmyard, a noted scholar in the field, begins with the alchemists of ancient Greece and China and goes on to discuss alchemical apparatus, Islamic and early Western alchemy; signs, symbols, and secret terms; Paracelsus; English, Scottish and French alchemists; Helvetius, Price, and Semler, and much more. Ranging over two millennia of alchemical history, Mr. Holmyard shows how, like astrology and witchcraft, alchemy was an integral part of the pre-scientific moral order, arousing the cupidity of princes, the blind fear of mobs and the intellectual curiosity of learned men. Eventually, however, with the advent and ascension of the scientific method, the hopes and ideas of the alchemists faded to the status of "pseudo-science." That transformation, as well as alchemy's undeniable role as a precursor of modern chemistry, are brilliantly illuminated in this book. Students of alchemy, chemistry, the history of science, and the occult, plus anyone interested in the origin and evolution of one of mankind's most enduring and influential myths, will want to have a copy of this masterly study.

Alchemy

Alchemy PDF Author: E. J. Holmyard
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 048615114X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Get Book Here

Book Description
Alchemy is thought to have originated over 2000 years ago in Hellenic Egypt, the result of three converging streams: Greek philosophy, Egyptian technology and the mysticism of Middle Eastern religions. Its heyday was from about 800 A.D. to the middle of the seventeenth century, and its practitioners ranged from kings, popes, and emperors to minor clergy, parish clerks, smiths, dyers, and tinkers. Even such accomplished men as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Newton took an interest in alchemical matters. In its search for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transmute base metals into silver and gold, alchemy took on many philosophical, religious and mystical overtones. These and many other facets of alchemy are explored with enormous insight and erudition in this classic work. E. J. Holmyard, a noted scholar in the field, begins with the alchemists of ancient Greece and China and goes on to discuss alchemical apparatus, Islamic and early Western alchemy; signs, symbols, and secret terms; Paracelsus; English, Scottish and French alchemists; Helvetius, Price, and Semler, and much more. Ranging over two millennia of alchemical history, Mr. Holmyard shows how, like astrology and witchcraft, alchemy was an integral part of the pre-scientific moral order, arousing the cupidity of princes, the blind fear of mobs and the intellectual curiosity of learned men. Eventually, however, with the advent and ascension of the scientific method, the hopes and ideas of the alchemists faded to the status of "pseudo-science." That transformation, as well as alchemy's undeniable role as a precursor of modern chemistry, are brilliantly illuminated in this book. Students of alchemy, chemistry, the history of science, and the occult, plus anyone interested in the origin and evolution of one of mankind's most enduring and influential myths, will want to have a copy of this masterly study.

The Secrets of Alchemy

The Secrets of Alchemy PDF Author: Lawrence Principe
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226682951
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Alchemy, the Noble Art, conjures up scenes of mysterious, dimly lit laboratories populated with bearded old men stirring cauldrons. Though the history of alchemy is intricately linked to the history of chemistry, alchemy has nonetheless often been dismissed as the realm of myth and magic, or fraud and pseudoscience. And while its themes and ideas persist in some expected and unexpected places, from the Philosopher's (or Sorcerer's) Stone of Harry Potter to the self-help mantra of transformation, there has not been a serious, accessible, and up-to-date look at the complete history and influence of alchemy until now.

The Journal of the Alchemical Society

The Journal of the Alchemical Society PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alchemy
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description


Alchemical Belief

Alchemical Belief PDF Author: Bruce Janacek
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271078022
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
What did it mean to believe in alchemy in early modern England? In this book, Bruce Janacek considers alchemical beliefs in the context of the writings of Thomas Tymme, Robert Fludd, Francis Bacon, Sir Kenelm Digby, and Elias Ashmole. Rather than examine alchemy from a scientific or medical perspective, Janacek presents it as integrated into the broader political, philosophical, and religious upheavals of the first half of the seventeenth century, arguing that the interest of these elite figures in alchemy was part of an understanding that supported their national—and in some cases royalist—loyalty and theological orthodoxy. Janacek investigates how and why individuals who supported or were actually placed at the traditional center of power in England’s church and state believed in the relevance of alchemy at a time when their society, their government, their careers, and, in some cases, their very lives were at stake.

Alchemy and numismatics

Alchemy and numismatics PDF Author: Henry Carrington Bolton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alchemy
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description


Alchemy in Europe

Alchemy in Europe PDF Author: Claudia Kren
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136183205
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
This comprehensive annotated bibliography, first published in 1990, guides the user helpfully through where to find information on various elements on alchemy when researching. Divided into categories to aid finding the right area of interest, this book forms a unique reference tool.

American Journal of Numismatics, and Bulletin of American Numismatic and Archæological Societies

American Journal of Numismatics, and Bulletin of American Numismatic and Archæological Societies PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Numismatics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description


American Journal of Numismatics

American Journal of Numismatics PDF Author: Frank Henry Norton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Numismatics
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description


Routledge Library Editions: Alchemy

Routledge Library Editions: Alchemy PDF Author: Various Authors
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136191712
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 3312

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Book Description
Reissuing seminal works originally published between 1916 and 1995, Routledge Library Editions: Alchemy (7 volume set) offers a selection of scholarship covering various facets of alchemical traditions. Some texts examine alchemy itself while some offer insight into the motives for alchemical research and others outlay portraits of people such as Giordano Bruno and John Dee.

American Journal of Numismatics and Bulletin of the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society

American Journal of Numismatics and Bulletin of the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society PDF Author: Frank Henry Norton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Numismatics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Vols. 42-49 include the Proceedings of the American numismatics society, 1908-1915/16.