The Hawaiian gazette., 1881-01-19
Alchemy and Chemistry.
LECTURE BEFORE THE ACADEMY OF sCIENc
BY PROF BOLTON, OF TRINITY.


LECTURE BEFORE THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
By PROP. BOLTON, OF TRINITY.
The winter course Of seven lectures before
the New York Academy of Sciences, at No.
~ West Thirty-first street, was inaugurated
recently by Prof H. Darlington Bolton, of
Trinity College, Hartford, who discussed the
subject of alchemy and chemistry, illustrating
his remarks with the stereopticon. The small
lecture room Of the Academy was filled with
ladies and gentlemen, mostly members Of tho
Society, who listened with intelligent appre-
citation to very interesting lecture. The
speaker traced the origin of chemistry to
alchemy, and gave long list of names of
those who had been identified with the early
days of alchemy. He also presented the port
rats, through the stereopticon, of many who
had been distinguished in their search for the
philosophers stone and the elixir of life, with
those of a later day, who had placed chemistry
on scientific basis.
The lecturer began by saying that according
to an ancient proverb, alchemy was an art,
begun in labor, continued in deceit and ending
in penury. 1t had also been held to be the
father of chemistry. 1t had been enveloped
in superstitions and unaccountable phenomena
The doctrines of the alchemist had been con-
sidered akin to the black art The search for
gold was the stimulating power which impel-
led the ancient philosophers in their costly ex-
periments. The philosophers stone was also
the object of their search This mythical sub
stance had been described as a solid body of
the color of ruby, transparent, flexible, and
yet as brittle as glass. Ripely, the English
alchemist, gave an account of various acids
with which he had experimental, together with
salts. He was something more than necro-
mancer, and warned his disciples against
oil .lolt
of the result of his efforts, which he claimed
had been successful. The first written words
of alchemy proceed from Arabic sources. In
the eighth century, when the Arabians had
made their Eastern cOnquests, they cultivated
philosophy, art, literature, and the sciences,
and laid the foundation of chemistry. The
lecturer produced portrait of Gaba, an emf
nent Arabian alchemst, which he informed
the audience could not by any means be a
correct likeness, as at the time in which he
lived it was against the religious faith of the
Arabians to copy the human face. Gaba was
followed by many of his own race, who be-
came also eminent in chemistry. They defined
chemistry as the scienc of combustion AL
bertus Magnus, born in 1913, was Dominica
monk who devoted himself to medieval science,
astronomy, alchemy and necromancy. He
died in 1882. Finding that his ecclesiastical
duties interfered with the pursuit of science
he resigned his sacred office, and gave himself
up to his art. He was said to be great in
magic, greater in philosophy, but greatest in
theology. Others were accounted great alchem-
lists in their time. To FLANNEL is attributed
the art of making gold out of baser metals,
secret which he claimed 10 have discovered
about noon on January IL, 1914. Pharaselsus
introduced chemical elements into the science
of medicine, and claimed that the province os
chemistry and alchemy was not to discover
gold, but to compound medicines for the cure
of diseases. Hermes Trsmegistus first taught |
the Egyptians writing, astronomy, mathemat- |
les, and other sciences. Some emblematical
pictures were exhibited by the lecturer signi-
flying the fusion of metals. A wolf devouring |
King signihed the fusion of anthony with |
gold. A King on his throne swallowing his |
son stood for the fusion of gold with some
baser metal. The use of the blow-pipe and |
other methods of the ancients showed that thew |
were familiar with many processes now en-
ployed. Among other pictures shown was one
representing the magician in art, with the
King, his patron, and tue dignataries of the
court. Another represented the interior of a
laboratory in the sixteenth century, in which
was shown the process of the distillation of
vapors. In ancient times chemical science ex
isted side by side with the superstitions of
alchemy.
In the pursuit of the mysteries of alchemy
some eNperimenters threw off the trifling decep-
tons surrounding the art and devoted them
selves to the legitimate pursuit of chemistry
The writings of John Becker were referred to
and his picture was shown to the audience
He was born in 1885. His father was learned
Lutheran clergyman, who died when John was
very young - about the close of the Thirty
Years War, leaving his son an inheritance of
poverty. John Becker connected all known
facts, and deduced from them one
general principle Joseph Priestley was born
in 1893, near Leeds, England, and developed
a taste for science and languages at a very
early age. He mastered Latin, Greek, Hebrew.
French, Italian, and the Chadee, Syriac, and
Arabian languages. He studied for the min
stry, and for recreation turned to natural phil
'sophy and chemistry. He discovered num-
yer OF gases, such as oxygen, nitrous oxide,
lydrochloric acid, aud others. He did much
o advance the science of chemistry, and to
trip 1t OF the mysteries which had formerly
urrounded it. In concluding his remarks the
peaker said that alchemy was worthy of free
ecognition for what it had done Alchemsts,
through their researches and experiments, had
onterred lasting obligations upon posterity.
they had accumulated a mass of evidence
without which later Investigators would have
abored in great difficulty. He thought the =.
CHEMISTS OF this day might hope that the peo-
lie of the next century would look back upon
he present state of learning and investigation
nd see as much progress from our stand-poin
5 we could see from the days of the past of l
cb b.h ,l | :