The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-31
FACTS ABOUT ALCHEMY.
A SUccINcT ACCOUNT OF THE MUCH
ABUSED SCIENCE.


Important Problems in the Scientific
WorId-It Also Hindered the Study of
Chemistry 1000 Years.
Professor Fristoe, of the faculty of the
Columbian university, delivered an in
teresting lecture in the hall of that insti.
tuition on the subject of alchemy, the
Infancy of Chemistry" He stated that
modern physical science dates from the
discoveries of Copernicus, the first real
astronomer; Torricelli and Pasquelle,
who discovered to the world the matter
of the weight of the atmosphere, and
Priestly. the discoverer of oxygen, thus
giving three distinct eras. Alchemy
first started in form most of the problems
which science is still engaged in solving,
and it was the infant efforts of chemistry
that drew to the study many men whose
donations to science have been beyond
value. The search for gold was the crisis
of these efforts, accompanied by wild
striving for the philosophers stone and
the elixir of life.
The Bible contains many illusions to
the science, but the first record is to be
found in an ancient Chinese work dating
back into ages almost beyond computa-
ton, in which the elements are stated to
be earth, fire, water, metal and wood.
Moses was evidently an adept in the sci
ence, from several references in the Bible
to his works. Rome carried the study to
a great extent, and reached such de-
gree of proficiency that Dioclesian, upon
the eve of reported invasion by the
Egyptians, ordered all books on the sub
ject to be burned, lest they fall into the
hands of the enemy and thus give them
so much knowledge that they should be
able to make gold enough to enable them
to own the earth.
ARIsToTLE's INFLUENCE.
Aristotle forms quite prominent fig
ure in the history of the science, he being
the first man to advance the theory of
universal element binding all the others
together, corresponding to what we
should call "quintessence. Aristotle was
faithfully believed by many students of
alchemy up to a comparatively late day,
and it is probably due to him that philos-
ophy and chemistry did not make greater
strides forward. They would have been
thousand years earlier had it not been
for his influence.
There were some funny theories held
by those old philosophers as to the
essences and elements of matter One
who lived about 600 years before Christ
contended that water was the source of
all things, another that air was the
primary element, and each had line of
argument and analogy to prove his idea.
A man who breathed about $50 B. G..
took the ground that fire was the prime
feature of the combination and that the
human soul was a fiery vapor.
SOME EARLY REAsoNINGs.
One of the early lights was named
Lucippus, who came near the truth
when he said that the earth was made
by the falling together of small particles.
This is probably the first appearance of
the atomic theory. This is a sample of
the reasoning by which some of the
ancients arrived at their conclusions as
to the elements of matter: When wood
is burned it produces fire, which gives
off air, which in turn, when condensed,
produces water, while the ashes of the
wood form earth; therefore wood is at
the bottom of all creation. A growing
tree was used to show that water was
the prime element by pouring on water
every day until the tree had increased in
size and weight and weighing the earth
with which the roots were surrounded.
This, said the old chemist, proved that
water had given the tree, or the wood.
its increase. Aristotle made up SEIZED
ule of constructions and juggled with ii
to the mystifcation of all his followers
He said that the four elements-fire, air,
water and earth-are not single and def
mite substances, but derive their exist
tence from other more primal elements.
Thus, fire was composed of heat and dry
ness, air of heat and moisture, water of
cold and moisture and earth of dryness
and cold. On the basis of this table he
constructed some very plausible questions
and led the way to the idea of the discov-
cry of the one prime element with which
one could transform any substance into
anything else.
THE LOST ARTS
In ancient times the workers in metals
and other substances handed their secrets
down from generation to generation, and
in time some of them were lost. These
are the ''lost arts so often mentioned
which are simply lost family secrets.
From the Fifth to the Sixteenth century
was the age of fabulous pretensions in
alchemy, when every discovery was kept
profound secret, thus making the time
one of almost total ignorance.
The old alchemists sometimes used
good logic in their arguments as to the
existence of the philosophers stone, and
all alchemy was not the fraud that mod
ern people would think. There were
some good, honest workers in the ranks.
searchers after the truth, as well as the
knaves that are to be found in every
trade and every branch of life.
There was one monk living in the Mid
die Ages who made speciality of anti
mony. Thinking it to be the great cure
all he first tried some of it on his hogs
and the beasts fattened so that he thought
that it must be good for human beings.
So he gave it to his brethren with fatal
results. This is supposed to be the reason
why the metal is called 'antimony,'
from its bad effect on monks.
There are alchemists of today just as
dishonest as those of old, men who swim
die and cheat others with tricks that are
almost as primitive as those used by their
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