Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-10-21
their ,abor. or less known than their dis

their iabors. or less known than their dis
covcries?
It Is difficult to cite an example more
ancient than n hundred years BACK.
prince, San Severe, occupied himseil, with
some success in chemical experiments
In Naples; for example. he had obtained
the secret Of penetrating marble with
coors IN such n manner that In cutting
plates from IT, each newly-exposed sur
face presented q repetition OF the colored
figures designed on the exterior. In lI6l
no exposed human skulls to the influence
OF various reactiyes, and subsequently I'd
the heat OF glass-blower's furnace,
but kept so careless an account OF the
processes, that, from his own acknow-
ledgment he could not hope 10 arrive AZ
the same result a second time. The pro-
duct OF the aforementioned experiment.
was a vapor. or gas. which became IL
Illuminated at the approach OF fiame ana
burned several months in succession,
without any apparent dissolution of the
materials. The parts lost by evaporation
were more than replaced By the comblna-
ton OF oxygen during the combustion.
San Severe imagined that he had found
the secret OF the inextinguishable lamps,
but he would not dlvulge the process. lest
the vault IN which the princes Of his
family were inhumed should be deprived
OF the distinguishing mark with which he
hoped to honor it-namely. that OF be
ing lighted by an everlasting lamp. Had
ne labored Ike a philosopher OF the
present day the name OF san Severe
would have been linked 10 the important
discovery of the existence OF phosphorus
in bones in a gaseous form that caused
the phenomena he obtained. But he
onerated Ike a thaumaturgist, ana MS
name is FORGOTTEN with his works, Whlle
science gives homer to Calm and ScheeIe.
who eight years later Gn 1859 established
the fact, and published the process 10y
which phosphorus might be eliminated
from bones.
DEFECTIVE RECORDS.
Thus knowledge, Strengthened in action,
was concentrated In a small number or
individuals; deposited in books. written in
hieroglyphics. or IN characters l'sibie
only to the adopts. and the oOscufity OK
which was further increased by the isura-
tive style Of the sacred language. Some
times even the facts were only committed
to memory by the priests, and trans
mitted by oral tradition from generation
to generation. They were thus rendered
inaccessible to the community, because
philosophy and chemistry, being destined
to serve as particular object, were
scarcely heard Of beyond the precincts or
the temples; while the development or
their secrets involved the unYeiling OF the
religious mysteries.
Tie doctrines Of thaumaturgists were
reduced. by degrees. to collection OF
processes. which were liable 10 be lost
as soon as they were not habitually prac-
ticed. There existed no scientific bond by
the means of which one science preserves
and advances another, ana thus the IL
combined doctrines were destined 10 be-
come obscure and. finally. 10 be extn-
sub.hcd. leaving behind them only the
incohercnt Vcstige5 OF Ill-understood anu
ill-eXccuted processes.
WISE DAUGHTERS.
To say that chemistry and astronomy
owe their birth to alchemy and aftroiosy'
and are thus the wise daughters of foolish
mothers. is to judge falsely Of the pro-
erosion Of the human mind.
one ch.ll. Astronomy, gazeS on the
stars as they shine ia the heavens, with
out imagining that they possess any in
fluence over the course II events passing
on earth; the other, Chemistry, admireS
the color and the brilliancy Of a piece or
gold or oliver, and. If 1t is not msled,
viii no more imagine that it is in the
range Of AIT to fabricate a metal than -
create piece Of wood or flint.
with the native gold deposited In their
rivers, saw this metal extracted from
body displaying no outward indication az
its presence, the belief was natural mat
various substances were capable of beng
transmitted into gold by means Of pc
culidr process, II which a few superior
being alone possessed the secret. The
knowledge Of sucn a wonderful art being
pas-ionatey desired by the ayarcIous
caused attempts anJ inquiries TO bee
multiplied and brought 10 bear on all
the metals. on all the minerals, and on
all the various bod'es IN nature. and thus
alchemy arose out Of the ignorance OF
true science.
From the observation Of the stars the
return OF the seasons and several meteor
illogical phenomena were predicted by he
priest He regulated agricultural labors
in a rational manner. and f0ret0ld its
probable success with tol@rable eXactness.
The ignorant men. therefore. under his
direction set no bounds IN their own
minds 10 the power Of science. ami
doubted not that the futurity Of the
moral world. AZ well IS that Of the ply
steal. was 20 be read in the face OF
the starry heavens In this mistaken idea
they Were not undece!ved by the priest,
and from the remotest times astrology
ences. and over Il portion OF Asia 1t
st.u preserves the empire which II lonS
exercised over the whole earth.
Toward the end Of the seventeenth cen
tury the French astronomers learned
with surprise that there existed in Siam
a mode ~ calculating eclpses by sue
cessive additions. worked upon numbers
in arbitrary appearances The key 70
this method had Teen long lost by those
who made use OF IL. Perhaps, Indeed
IL never was possessed 10y them, the IN
ventor having applied his genius TO the
construction OF an instrument infallibe
in its results, while he refused to reveal
the principle Of lis action. However, that
may be, let us suppOs' similar feeling
L. actuate the philosophers who operated
before the eyes Of the people IN ancient
Asia, IL Egypt, and even IN civilized
Greece
with the aid Of numbers combined &C
cording 70 the principles OF hidden
science it may be seen that they arrived
at representations and uttered pred!c-
tons which nature could not fail To Verl-
fy on the day and at the moment mdl-
Gated. Forced TO attribute 10 these num-
bers tn property, which. in fact they
possess. of producing correct predictions,
how could the ignorant man refrain from
ascribing to them other properties. and
APPARENTLY not more marvellous quail
ties? He demanded from them. as from
the course Of the stars which they served
to measure, revelations Of the future,
and consulted the Babyl0nish numbers
with respect to his fate in life, as well
as the nature and the moment Of its ter
mination.
PROPERTIES OF NUMBERS.
II is not without interest to observe
how the theory Of the mysterious pro-
pcrties Of numbers pervades. in the same
manner as in astronomical allegories, tn
instructions of magic. We are told that
among the spirits Of darkness the magi-
ciins enumerated = princes 20 multiplied
by ~, and 1896 demons Of inferior
1-lnk Thls last nnnarentlV absurd mum