bolton h c (1897) the revival of alchemy

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SCIENCE

Editorial Committee: S. Newcomb,= Mathematics; E. S. "Woodward, Mechanics; E. C.Pickering,

Astronomy; T. C. Mendenhall, Physics ; E. H. Thurston, Engineering; Ira Eemsen,Chemistry;

J. Le Conte, Geology; W. M. Davis, Physiography; O. C. Marsh, Paleontology; W. K. Brooks,

C Hart Merriam, Zoology; S. H. Scudder, Entomology; C E. Bessey, N. L. Britton,

Botany; Henry P. Osborn, General Biology; C S. Minot, Embryology, Histology;

H. P. Bowditoh, Physiology; J. S. Billings, Hygiene ; J. MoKeen Cattell,


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Psychology; Daniel G. Brinton, J. W. Powell, Anthropology.

Friday, December 10, 1897.

CONTENTS:

The Revival of Alchemy : H. Carrington Bol-ton 853

Science in Education : S. W. "Williston. 863

Current Notes on Physiography :

The Regions about Lakes Tanganyika and Nyassa ;Bruckner's Erdrinde und Ihre Formen ; The Ageof Valleys: W. M. Davis 872

Current Notes on Anthropology:

The Question of Variation; The City of Omitlan;The Cave of Loltum: D. G. Brinton..... 873

Notes on Inorganic Chemistry: J. L. H... 874

He Notes and News 875

i and Educational News 878

Discussion and Correspondence : In Regard to the Marine Biological Laboratory,Woods Holl, Mass.: Samuel L. Clarke,Edw. G- Gardiner, Playfair McMurrich..879

Scientific Literature:

Ehrenreieh's Anthropologisehe Studien ueber dieUreinwohner Brasiliens : D. G. Brinton, FranzBoas. Maycock on the Alternating Current Cir-cuit: Frederick Bedell. Behrens' Anleitungzur Mikrochemische Analyse der wichtigsten organ-isehen Verbindungen ; Lassar-Cohn's Chemie imtaglichen Leben : E. E . 879

Societies and Academies :

The Nebraska Academy of Science : G. D. Swezey.Biological Society of Washington : F. A. Lucas.Zoological Club of the University of Chicago : W. M.

"Wheeler, S. J. Holmes 884

Scientific Journals 888

New Books 888

MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intendedfor review should be sent to the responsible editor, Prof. J.MoKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hudson, N Y.


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TEE REVIVAL OF ALCHEMY*

" Superfluous rehearsalls I lay asyde,Intendyng only to give trew informatyonBoth of the theoryke and practicall

operatyon ;That by my wrytyng who so will

guyded be,Of hys intente perfyctly speed thall he. ' '

George Eipley (1471).

Fraud, folly and failure have been deeplywritten into the annals of alchemy in allages ; it was early characterized as an 'artwithout art, beginning with deceit, con-tinued by labor and ending in poverty,' andin modern times its extravagant pretensionshave been condemned by an exact andcritical science, yet notwithstanding there

are to-day indications of a resuscitation ofthe captivating theories and of renewed at-tempts at their practical application, ofgreat interest to students of the intellectualvagaries of mankind.

Belief in the possibility of prolonginglife by an artificial elixir and of trans-muting base metals into silver* and goldwas generally entertained in the MiddleAges, not only by the ignorant masses, buteven by serious-minded philosophers im-bued with all the learning of the time ; and

the popular faith was sustained by thetricks of unprincipled impostors who foundit profitable to prey upon the credulity andavarice of their fellow men. Those who in

* Eead before the New York Section of the AmericanChemical Society, October 1, 1897.

854

SCIENCE.

[N. S. Vol. VI. No. 15*.

modern times have written of alchemists


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find in theextravagant views of a Paracelsus,and in the careers of a Flamel, a Sendi-vogius, or of a John Dee, more entertain-ing materials than in the abstract concep-tions of sober philosophers, and conse-quently most readers are more familiarwith the misdeeds of adventurers than withthe honest beliefs of respectable men ofscience. Before condemning those wholabored day and night to solve the problemsof transmutation and the elixir of life weshould consider their intellectual environ-ment ; superstitions beliefs of every kindprevailed ; even the sciences were inbondage ; astronomy was dominated byastrology; medicine was influenced bymagic ; natural history was subject to blindbelief in authorities, and scientific chemis-try was entirely overwhelmed by thechimeras of alchemy. Kepler and TychoBrahe, at~the Court of Rudolph II., did notthink it beneath their dignity to casthoroscopes for gain and to predict the fu-ture by consulting the positions of celestial

bodies, even while formulating the laws gov-erning their motions. European crownedheads retained astrologers and alchemistsas members of their courts. A century laterSir Isaac Newton dabbled with furnacesand chemicals in true hermetic style ; andLeibnitz showed the courage of his convic-tions by acting as Secretary of an Al-chemical Society in Germany. The influ-ence of superstition on the mental attitudeof truly great men decreased with the ad-vancement of learning, and when thefoundations of scientific chemistry were

laid by Priestley, Lavoisier, Scheele andtheir contemporaries, the doctrines ofalchemy were abandoned. And yet notwholly abandoned, for there seems to havebeen a small number of persons in all coun-tries who have clung to the hope of realiz-ing transmutation, a hope sustained by thedesire to reap the golden reward. This

minority rejected the extravagant belief in.a life-prolonging elixir, and in the divine

origin of the profound secrets of the in-itiated, and sought to appropriate from the-growing sciences such discoveries andtheories as could be interpreted in favor oftransmutation.

The printing press has never ceased toissue works devoted to the subject. Someauthors have written of a ' higher chemis-try,' and others have sought to reconcile


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the new doctrines of chemists with the an-cient theories of alchemists. As recentlyas 1832 a German professor wrote a learnedvolume with the avowed intent of provingthe verity of transmutation from historical?sources (Sehmieder's OeschvMe der Al~ehemie, Salle, 1832). The number of re-prints of the grotesque writings of reputed'adepts which have appeared since chemis-try has become an exact science is surpris-ingly large, and the fact that they find pur-chasers indicates a small but zealous class-of hermetic students. So eminent a chem-ist as Sir Humphry Davy did not hesitateto affirm that some of the doctrines ofalchemy are not unphilosophical.

Recent discoveries in physics, chemistryand psychology have given the disciples ofHermes renewed hopes, and the presentposition of chemical philosophy has given,the fundamental doctrine of alchemy a sub-stantial impetus ; the favorite theory of aprima materia, or primary matter, the basis-

of all the elementary bodies, has receivednew support by the discoveries of aliotrop-ism of the elements, isomerism of organiccompounds, the revelations of the spectro-scope, the practical demonstrations by Nor-man Lockyer, the experiments on the spe-cific heat of gaseous bodies at a high tem-perature by Mallard and Le.Chatelier, thediscoveries of Sir William Crookes as setforth in his monograph on ' Meta- elements,'the discovery by Carey Lea of several singu-lar allotropic forms of silver, and, most.

December 10, 1897.]

SCIENCE.

855

weighty of all, the mass of related factsand phenomena which find their ultimate-expression in the Periodic Law of the Ele-ments, so that many chemists of the presentday are inclined to believe in the mutualconvertibility of elements having similarchemical properties. Daniel Berthelot, inhis notable work entitled ' De 1' allotropiedes corps simples,' boldly affirms his belief


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in the unity of matter. He says : " Withoutseeking to find in any one of the knownelements the generator of the others, can wenot invoke the facts that we have revealedin our study of carbon, in favor of the hy-pothesis of a unique matter unequally con-densed ?" And elsewhere he writes : " Thetransmutation of an element is nothingmore than the transformation of the mo-tions which determine the existence of saidelement, and which gives it special proper-ties, into the specific motions peculiar to theexistence of another element."

Simultaneously with the development ofthe truly scientific aspect of alchemicaltheory, there has arisen an extraordinaryrevival of the metaphysical side of the ques-tion ; this goes hand in hand with the in-terest in chiromancy, astrology, theosophyand occult sciences which occupy so large aplace in modern thought, literature andpolite society on both sides of the Atlantic.This tendency to cultivate the , esoteric

manifests itself in the study of the Kabala,the investigation of the mysteries of Budd-hism, Confucianism and other orientalphilosophies, in researches into the phenom-ena of spiritualism so-called, and in thefoundation of societies to study PsychicFdrce and the tenets of the followers ofMadame Blavatsky; crystal-gazing, read-ing in magic mirrors, slate-writing, plan-ohette, the quasi-scientific study of appari-tions, of table-turnings, of rappings by un-seen powers, of telepathy, of subliminalself, are now regarded as legitimate pur-

suits in no wise necessarily associated with

the black arts of mediaeval times, providedonly they are Conducted in a spirit of en-quiry and for the purpose of discoveringthe latent power underlying these phenom-ena. And this line of research receivesstimulus from the results secured by stu-dents of experimental psychology, of hypno-tism, from such discoveries as the phenom-ena of the X-rays, and from the tran-

scendental physicists who theorize on themiraculous consequences of four dimen-sional matter. Crowded lecture halls re-ward exhibitions of trance mediums, speak-ers on theosophy, palmistry and occultism;in lower walks of life fortune-tellers andclairvoyants reap a modest harvest ; bookstreating of occult themes enjoy greatnotoriety ; writers of fiction find it profit-able to introduce the mysterious into the


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children of their brains ; even secular jour-nals, especially those of France, give spaceto the all-absorbing discussions on her-metism ; these are some of the evidences ofgreat popular interest in the unknowable.Only persons with special intellectual equip-ment are able to measure, weigh, sift andcoordinate the novel phenomena gatheredby researches in the field of hypnotism, psy-chology and occultism ; those of weakermental powers fail to perceive the realsignificance of the discoveries and are ledaway into unprofitable and dangeroussuperstitions.

In the Middle Ages alchemy was nurturedby ignorant superstition; now it is fosteredby the prevalent devotion to esoteric stud-ies ; formerly the popular belief was inpart supported by the fraudulent claims ofimpostors; now a higher standard of intelli-gence rejects the transparent tricks of imi-tators of Cagliostro. There are, indeed,occasional attempts to swindle the credu-

lous by appeals to avarice ; we read in thedaily press of an American confidence-manwho tried to cheat a London jeweler bypretending to 'multiply' sovereigns; of a

856

SCIENCE.

|N. S. Vol. VI. No. 154.

vulgar scheme of fraud among ignoranttradesmen on the east side of New YorkCity, in which lead, iron scraps, cruciblesand furnaces formed the properties ; and ofthe larger operations of an educated Frenchchemist who found dupes in both Southand North America ; but in each of these

cases the severe logic of law courts inter-vened and abruptly discomfited the swin-dlers. It is not by sleight-of-hand that therevival of alchemy is now being engineered,but by a company of educated charlatans.

The movement to resuscitate alchemicaldoctrines and practices has been particularlysuccessful in France, where there are to-dayfour societies and a ' university' claiming to


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possess occult knowledge of hermetic myster-ies ; these secret societies are named : ' Ordrede la Rose-Croix, ' L'Ordre Martiniste,'' La Society d' Homeopathie Herm6tique 'and ' L' Association Alchimique de France.'

The first two of these societies seem towork on lines similar to Free Masonry, andclaim that their secret mysteries were be-queathed by the last sages of Atlantis andby the Lemures to their brethren in Asiaand Egypt, dwellers in sanctuaries whenceissued Krishna, Zoroaster, Hermes, Moses,Pythagoras and Plato. The priestly Magiwho preserved this lore in the temples ofThebes, Heracleopolis, Aphrodite, Pthahand Serapis were succeeded by secret al-chemical societies of the first centuries ofour era; then followed the Hermetic lodgesof the Arabs, and these gave rise to theTemplars, the Rosicrucians and the Mar-tiuists.

The third society cultivates especially

occult therapeutics, a system of medicineinvented in the sixties by Count CsesarMattel, of BOlogna, which unites the prin-ciples of Hahnemann with those of theIatro-chemists, disciples of Paracelsus. Thisnew departure in medicine publishes fourmonthly organs and special treatises all itsown.

The Alchemical Association of Franceis successor to the Soeiete Herm6tique r

which was founded by the late Albert Pois-son (f 1894), also known by the pen-namePhilophotes. Its seat is in Paris ; the objectsOf the Association as set forth in its Con-stitution are " the theoretical and experi-mental study of evolution and of the trans-mutation of bodies. Its members, with thisend in view, study the processes of theancient alchemists and compare them withthe work of modern chemists." These ob-jects are to be accomplished as follows:" The Association proposes to assist in reviv-ing the unitary doctrines of chemistry:

1st, by grouping the efforts of isolatedworkers by means of L'Hyperchirriie ; 2d, byfurnishing them the aid of advanced stu-dents ; 3d, by supplying so far as possiblebooks and apparatus to its members. Re-searches of the members, when approved bythe Masters, should be forwarded in dupli-cate to the Secretary-General ; one will beprinted in L'Hyperehimie, and the other willbe preserved in the archives of the Associa-


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tion for the benefit of members who cansecure it on demand." " Candidates for ad-mission must pass an examination in : 1st,the theory and history of alchemy ; and 2d,the elements of physics and of chemistry(without mathematics). A diploma froma normal, polytechnic or industrial schoolwill be accepted in place of No. 2."

The affairs of the Association are con-trolled by the Secretary-General, F. Jollivet-Castelot (of Douai) , assisted by sevenCouncillors, who hold an annual meeting.There are at present (July, 1897) twoHonorary Members, Camille Flammarion,the popular writer on astronomy, and Au-gust Strindberg, a Swede residing inAustria, author of several hermetic essays.*There are two other classes of members,

* Dr. Stephen H. Emmens, of New York, has beenadded to the list of honorary members since writingthe above.

DBCEMBBB 10, 1897.]

SCIENCE.

857

masters {maitres), who are chosen from theordinary members by the Council after anexamination of their writings ; and ordi-dinary members [membres adherents), ofwhich the number is unlimited. Modestdues entitle the members to the organ ofthe Association, L' Hyper chimie, a monthlyreview of alchemy and hermetism foundedin 1896.

The Councillors of the Alchemical Asso-ciation have combined with the active

members of the other Societies named toestablish a Universite Libre des Hautes Etudes.At present this includes three Faculties :

I. Paculte des Sciences Hermetiques, ofwhich the Association Alchimique forms asection. The director of this Faculty is Dr.G. Encausse, and the course of instructionembraces the study of the Tarot, alchemicalphilosophy and practice, occultism, mysti-


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cism, Hebrew, etc. ; the curriculum leadingto the ' baccalaur6at-en-Kabbale ' is underthe supervision of the Group of EsotericStudents, while candidates for the degrees ofmaster and doctor are under the directionof the Martinist Order.

II. Facult6 des Sciences Magnetiques,represented by the Fjcole de Magnetisme deParis, and under the direction of M. Dur-ville ; it has branches at Lyons, Bordeauxand other cities.

III. Faculte Spirite, comprising severalsections of Spiritism.

Each Faculty preserves complete inde-pendence, being ' united only by moralbonds destined to hasten expansion of therational spiritualistic movement. '

The nature of the instruction given atthis University will appear in the reviewof the philosophy of its promoters.

The leading spirits in these secret socie-ties and in this University are as follows :F. Jollivet-Castelot, Secretary-General ofthe Alchemical Association, special delegateto the Supreme Council of the Martinists,editor of L' Hyper chimie, and author of

' Comment on devient Alchimiste,' ' L'Hy-lozoisme' and other alchemic treatises ; Dr.M. H. E. Lalande, whose pen-name is Mare

Haven ; F. Ch. Barlet, author of ' Essai surl'Evolution de l'Idee ;', Dr. G. Encausse,who generally conceals his identity underthe signature Papus, is President of theEsoteric Group,* President of the SupremeCouncil of the Martinists and the author ofsixteen treatises on hermetism and magic,among which may be named ' Trait6 616-mentaire de Magie Pratique.' Papus is alsoeditor of L J Initiation, a journal devotedto theosophy, magic and occultism, and ofLe Voile d'Isis a weekly review of spir-itualism . Stanislas de Guaita is best known

as the author of ' Le Temple de Satan,'' Clef de la Magie Noire,' and ' Le Problemedu Mai,' works dealing with sorcery, theastral light in man and other mysteries.Marius Decrespe's essay on ' Les Microbesde l'Astral,' Paul S6dir's ' Les Incantations'and Albert de B-ocha's ,' Exteriorisation dela Motricit6 ' are works which indicate themental attitude of those engaged in the re-vival of alchemy and hermetism. A bibli-


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ography of this class of works is here outof place ; a single trade catalogue enumer-ates one hundred and twenty titles, chieflyof recent date.

One of the oldest workers in the Alchem-ical Association is the ' Master' Th6odoreTiffereau ; in 1854-55 he sent to the FrenchAcademy of Sciences six memoirs in whichhe claimed to have discovered a method ofconverting silver into gold. Tiffereau hadmade his experiments in Mexico at greatexpense, supporting himself meanwhile bytaking daguerreotypes. His process was re-peated at the Mint in Paris before the as-

*The Groupe Independant d'Etudes Esoteriqueshas 1,600 members, 104 branches and correspondents.It embraces members of the following societies : Or-dre Martiniste, Ordre Kabhalistique de la Kose-Croix, Eglise Gnostique, Soci6t6 Alchimique deFrance. Membership is free.

858

SCIENCE.

[N. S. Vot. VI. No. 154.

sayer, M. Levol, but with little success.The substance of his memoirs was publishedin 1855 in a volume entitled ' Les M6tauxsont des Corps Composes ;' of this a newedition was published by Lermina in 1889.Tiffereau has never abandoned his claim,and as recently as October, 1896, he ad-dressed another memoir to the Academy,in which he attempts to prove that themetal aluminum is a compound. Brieflystated his process is as follows : He placedin a stout glass tube a piece of aluminumfoil with pure nitric acid and sealed the

tube hermetically. He then exposed thetube and contents to the sun's rays duringtwo months ; at the end of this time heopened the tube ; it gave out an odor whichhe thought was due to ether, and it yieldeda few grammes of crystals which hethought tasted like acetic acid. Sinceboth ether and acetic acid are compoundsof carbon, Tiffereau concluded that this ele-ment was derived from the aluminum.


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Analytical chemists would criticize this ex-periment in several points ; they would sayTiffereau did not demonstrate the absenceof carbon in the metal used, and that hedepended upon smell and taste for proofsof the carbon compounds ; the tongue andthe nose are incontestably useful adjunctsto the reagents of a chemical laboratory,but additional tests for ether and aceticacid would have been more conclusive. InTiffereau's recent writings he attributesthe transmutation of a base metal into themost precious one, to the action of the ' mi-crobe of gold.'

For a student of chemistry to read, digestand write down in intelligible language, ina limited space, the principles of this newschool of chemical philosophers is a difficulttask, even for one somewhat familiar withthe literature of the ancient alchemists;consequently the following analysis falls farshort of the ideal. It is properly the workof a kabalist, a theosophist and a magician,

proud designations which the writer dis-claims. The modern alchemists accept allthe traditions of their ancient predecessors,but give them a new significance, and in-terweave the novel phenomena derived fromresearches in pure science. They claim thatduring the fourteenth, fifteenth and six-teenth centuries the official schools of in-struction taught exclusively the physicalpart of the sciences, and that the metaphys-

ical part (which is the real life and soul ofthe study) has been rejected under the op-probrious name of occult science. Thisliving aspect of science has, however, beenstudied in the secret societies of the in-itiated, which have preserved the traditionsof the kabala, the mysteries of hermetismand the practice of transmutation. Thestudy of science is as much a religiousquestion as an intellectual one, and worshipat an altar should sustain and enlighten theworker in a laboratory. ' Chemistry, al-chemy and hermetic philosophy form three

steps of the ladder which leads the initiatedfrom the laboratory, through artistic realiza-tion, to the oratory : ' Labora, Opera, Ora et

The modern alchemists also maintain thatDarwin and his disciples appreciated but asmall part of the great doctrine of evolu-tion, which should be applied to the chem-


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ical elements as well as to living beings.The starting point in the evolution of ele-ments is the ether (the universal astralfluid of the kabalists) , the infinitely divisi-ble particles of which form chemical atomsby agglomeration. This ether is condensedenergy, and hence all matter is resolvedinto energy.

Energy, matter and motion form a trinityanalogous to the Divine Trinity, one insubstance, three in appearance. Matter isone in kind, and the diversity of chemicalbodies results from differences in groupingand in motions of the constituent particles.Intelligence is allied in a mysterious way

December 10, 18&7J

SCIENCE.

859

with matter and energy, forming anothertrinity. Every atom centralizes intelligence,is in itself a living entity and by a processof self-evolution yields the diverse naturalbodies. " Ether is the father of hydrogen,from which are derived oxygen, nitrogen,

carbon, etc., combinations due to ethericvortices." "Perhaps helium should pre-cede hydrogen." This view of matter as aliving entity is greatly insisted on, and thedoctrine is called Hybzown. An alchemistwho expects to succeed must possess psychicpower over the atoms, so that by the actionof his will they shall group themselves toform the metal desired.

Such is the physical philosophy ofmodern alchemists ; the kabalistic philos-ophy is by no means so clear, being closely

linked to the Tarot, which signifies the'hieroglyphs and algebraic calculations ofthe Primordial Genesis.'

Students of the mystical philosophy ofthe Hebrews discover profound occult sig-nificance in accidental similarities of widelydiffering objects and phenomena. Theseven planets, seven days of the week,seven colors, seven orifices in the head, seven


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metals known to the ancients, seven arch-angels and seven infernal demons pre-sent to the truly kabalistic mind mar-vellous and precious analogies. In the' Table of Concordance of Major Arcana 'these correspondences are given : ' Heth-Justice-Elementary existence-Fizah-Can-cer- June-Hy drogen-Fire. '

Jollivet-Castelot has written of KabalisticAlchemy, and a perusal of his essays leavesin the mind of the uninitiated confusedmemories of colors, numbers, signs of thezodiac, alchemical operations as distillation,fixation and the like, the names of the sonsof Jacob, certain precious stones, geomet-rical figures, Hebrew characters, Azoth,quintessence and the Devil, all discussed ina language as obscure as the symbolismportrayed. To conceal esoteric mysteries

abbreviations are often used, but One does

not have to be very deeply initiated to recog-nize in P . . Ph . . ' pierre philosophale,'and in G . , O . . ' grand oeuvre.'

Astral light is an important factor inmodern hermetism, and is related veryclosely to the ' radiant matter ' of chemistsand the ' ether ' of physicists. " Astrallight is the universal agent, the universalplastic mediator, the common receptacle ofVibrations of motion and of the phantomsof form." It is also the Od of the Hebrewsand of Baron von Reichenbach ; it is the

great Thelesma of Hermes Trismegistus,and the control of this force constitutes thegreat arcana of practical magic. It heats,illuminates, magnetizes, attracts, repels,vivifies, destroys, coagulates, separates,crushes and gathers all things under thestimulus of powerful wills ; it is a perpetualand transformable vibration. Its kabalisticfigure, represented by the Serpent ofTheogonies, is :

Od = +

Ob=-

Aour = oo

When the universal light magnetizes theuniverse it is called astral light ; when itforms metals it is called Azoth, or the Mer-cury of the Sages ; when it gives light toanimals it is called animal magnetism.The astral undulations determine the posi-


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tion of the atoms or neutralize them.Herein lies the secret of transmutation, andit becomes the privilege of the hermetist toacquire the power of controlling this agent.

The adepts in this phase of hermetismstill appeal to the Tabula Smaragdina ofHermes Trismegistus as the embodiment ofalchemic lore. The ' Father of Alchemy,'who has been identified with Canaan,Noah's grandson, invented arithmetic,geometry, astronomy and music, taughtwriting to the Egyptians, and gave lawsand religious rites to the people; he was

860

SCIENCE.

[N. S. Vol.. VI. No. 154.

perfectly acquainted with the ' philosophers'stone,' and, desirous that posterity shouldinherit the wonderful secret, he had thewhole art of creating gold engraved on anemerald tablet, which was placed in hissepulchre. Many years later this was re-moved by Sarah, Abraham's wife, and sheconcealed it in a cave near Hebron ; there

it remained until again discovered by Alex-ander the Great. The inscription reads inpart as follows :

" I speak not of fictitious things, but ofthat which is most true and certain. "What-soever is below is like that which is above,and that which is above is like that whichis below, to accomplish the miracles of onething. Also since all things were madefrom one by the help of one, so all thingsare made from one thing by conjunction.The Father thereof is the Sun and the

Mother thereof is the Moon ; the wind car-ries it in his belly, and the nurse thereof isthe earth. * * * This thing has morefortitude than fortitude itself, because itwill overcome every subtile thing and pene-trate every solid thing. By it this worldwas formed. Hence proceed wonderfulthings which in this wise were established.For this reason I am called Hermes Tris-megistus, because I possess three parts of


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the philosophy of the whole world. WhatI had to say about the work of the sun iscompleted."

"Writers on modern alchemy discuss themarvels of palingenesis, of homunculi,and of gamahes ; they write of the ma-terialization of a metal through the medium(mediumnit6) of a metal; they cite the'Rules of Philalethes,' the works of GeorgeRipley and of the Cosmopolite, and refer inthe same essay to Berzelius, Berthelot andMoissan. We are told that " le diable est lesinge de Dim," and that the " Cherubim ofthe Ark of the Covenant symbolizes themale and the female of the Universe, theAlchemical Father and Mother," by the

very authors who show acquaintance withthe most recent advances in pure chemistry.In liquid fluorin they perceive a realiza-tion of the Alkahest, or universal solvent

long sought by mediaeval alchemists.

Accustomed to juggle with numbers, thekabalist finds abundant opportunity in theatomic weights of the elements, and hemakes the most of his opportunity. "Whenthe arithmetical sum of the atomic weightsof elements entering into a given compoundchances to equal the atomic weight of gold,this accidental correspondence is seizedupon as a pretext for claiming hermetic re-lationship between the two substances.

August Strindberg has devoted muchstudy to such correspondence and pointsout the following :

K 2 Mn0 4 == 197 = Au

Cu 2 Cl 3 = 196 = Au

Fe 8 S = 197 = Au

C 2 H 6 I + f Br = 197 = Au

He uses both 196 and 197 as the atomic

weight of gold to suit his purposes, andseems to be very weak in arithmetic, for thehypothetical body Fe 3 S has a molecularweight of 200.

The ammonium-ferrous-sulfate crystal-lized with six molecules of water, whichchances to have a molecular weight equal tothat of gold, is used by Strindberg as basisof the following experiment, which serves to


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show his method of reasoning and of opera-ting.

Ammoniacal sulfate of iron = 392 = Auis perhaps the solution of the enigma ; sul-fate of iron (green copperas), precipitatessolutions of gold ; to precipitate accordingto monist-chemistry is to enter as a factorinto the reconstitution of the body of acompound. Soak a strip of paper in a so-lution of sulfate of iron, and expose to thefumes of ammonia ; the paper will assumea bluish-green color like that of the pro-toxid of gold. Dry the strip of paper over

Decembke 10, 1897.]

soimcE.

861

a lighted cigar and the paper will acquiredchestnut-brown color like that of the deu-toxid of gold. Little by little metallicflakes of a golden yellow color appear, form-ing a non-solid (non-fixi) gold, when thesulfate of iron produces an auto-fecondationby self-precipitation. However, tbegoldenflakes amalgamate with mercury, which

property is not shared by iron. After show-ing by appropriate tests that iron is stillpresent the hermetic chemist proceeds toexplain the reaction by assuming the forma-tion of the hypothetical FeS = 196 = Au,or of the imaginary compound

Fe 2 O s + 2H 2 = 196 = Au,or of theferrous-ammonium-sulfate = 392 = Au 2 ;

and he adds, ' The chlorid of gold is reducedby the nicotine of the Cigar.' Since, how-

ever, no reagent containing chlorin in anyform was used in the experiment, this ele-ment must have been created at the sametime with the gold, which, however, is ' in-complete ' gold soluble in unmixed acids.

A preacher should never be judged by asingle sermon, and to do justice to thesenineteenth century alchemists, one more'recipe for gold' may be transcribed.


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"Put into a crucible layers of sheet ironand of powdered vitriol; place over it an-other crucible pierced with a hole for respi-ration. Heat in an intense fire. But a fluxmust be added to the crucible to preventmelting, viz: One kilo litharge, one kiloclean white sand, mix and add to the cru-cible at a red heat. Remove with an ironspoon* the yellow oil and put it aside. Thetwo compounds have not lost weight. Thisoil is dry water, a fire, a salamander. * * *You obtain a metal of a golden yellow,having a density of 24, not capable of beingminted. This is changed into ordinarygold." With the exception of a few unim-portant sentences, this is the entire recipe.

but how the final transformation is to beeffected is not given.

To acquire knowledge and power forsuccessful hermetic labors, to become eligi-

ble for initiation in the occult societies, isno easy task. The aspirant must strivevaliantly against the passions that assailhim, casting out of his soul pride, anger,jealousy, hatred, avarice, hypocrisy, idle-ness. If the candidate for honors desires tobecome worthy of the name hermeticphilosopher he must prove himself a Ma-gian ; he must learn to exercise his will onmatter in all its forms, and to acquirethis power he should practice crystal-gaz-ing and reading in magic mirrors ; to learnto perceive the invisible he must with-

draw from the visible, imposing on him-self psychic sleep, called by some hypnosis.As adjuncts to the attainment of the idealmental state he should use perfumes, musicand light ; and eventually the astral body,separated from the physical body, will sup-ply the intellectual, moral and materialillumination indispensable to the GreatWork.

It is rather discouraging to learn that,even after fulfilling all these hard condi-tions, no one can realize the perfection de-

sired until he has passed through several ofour planetary existences. The would-bealchemist must also follow the percepts ofAlbertus Magnus ; he should be discreet,silent, and must not reveal the result of hislabors ; he must reside in an isolated placeand choose the time and the hours for histasks ; he must be patient, assiduous andpersevering, and he must be rich enough tobear the expenses of bis pursuit. Besides


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ordinary chemical apparatus he should pro-vide several objects indispensable to hiswork, a magic wand, a sword to dissolvethe astral coagulations, a magic mirror, abrazier for perfumes, a wooden altar coveredwith a white cloth, and an alchemist's robeof white linen to be worn with a girdl*

862

SCIENCE.

[N. S- 701. VJ. No, 154.

embroidered in gold and silver. In all hischemical operations he must project psychic

force into the reagents.

Bright prospects for the future of chemicalscience are claimed by this school of philos-ophers. Inorganic chemistry is destinedto follow the lines in which inorganic chem-istry has prospered; the formation, deriva-tion, or rather the evolution of metalloids(so-called) and of metals will be realizedthrough etheric cyclones, different degreesof condensation of hydrogen. Chemicalbodies are of one kind only and they are allorganic and living.

There is a growing belief among advancedchemists in the theory that the elementarybodies as known to us are compounds of aunique primary matter (protyle), and thattransformation of one kind into a similarone is not beyond the bounds of possibility,but we do not think that the modernhermetists are pursuing the right path toaccomplish this end; nor do we believe thatthe world of science is any nearer thecoveted goal of alchemical avarice.

The revival of alchemical pursuits inFrance finds concurrent sympathy in otherparts of the world. Especially does thispseudo-art flourish in India, where the Sann-yassis, a caste initiated in occultism, prac-tice the transmutation of tin, zinc, copperand mercury into silver, or at least into ametal resembling silver superficially. Inthe published recipes for effecting thischange arsenic plays a prominent part, a


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substance used for the same deception bythe alchemists of the Middle Ages. InChina a belief in alchemy has existed fromvery early times ; reprints of ancient trea-tises are still for sale, and the experimentalphase is quietly studied by semi-educatedpersons.

In the United States two notable eventshave occurred within twelve months, oneof which seems to threaten financial revo-lution. A bold claim to manufacture gold

of pure antimony has been made by Ed-ward C. Brice, of Chicago ; having been re-fused a patent on his process by the UnitedStates Patent Office, he demanded a test tobe made, and three assayers of the UnitedStates Mint conducted the trial underBrice's instructions. Needless to say, theexperiment did not verify the claim; theassayers found that all commercial anti-

mony contains a trace of gold, and thatBrice did not even recover the whole of thisby his process. Brice's previous recorddoes not bear the full light of investigation,so that this attempt to revive alchemicalpractice is on a par with many that havepreceded it.

Quite different seems to be the equallybold claim of Dr. Stephen H. Emmens, thathe has discovered a body intermediate be-tween silver and gold and capable of beingchanged into gold; this substance he has

named argentaurum. Dr. Emmens, who isan Englishman by birth, is the author ofmany books on a great variety of topics ; atreatise on logic, another on explosives, sev-eral novels and many papers on chemistry,electricity and metallurgy as well as somepoems show his versatility. He is a mem-ber of several learned societies, and in-ventor of the high explosive ' emmensite.'Dr. Emmens has established a laboratoryfor the manufacture of gold from silver bya secret process in which mechanical treat-ment plays an important part. Since April

13, 1897, he has sold to the United StatesAssay Office six ingots of an alloy of silverand gold for the gross sum of $954, asproofs of his success in transmutation.This matter having been exploited in thedaily press, details need not here be repro-duced.

In the United States, where education isso general and a shrewd, calculating,


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' Yankee' spirit looks askance at such en-ticements, alchemy is not likely to flourish ;on the other hand, hermetism, the meta-

December 10, 1897.]

SCIENCE.

863

physical phase of the philosophy seems farmore likely to be cultivated by the devoteesof theosophy and esoteric studies.

In conclusion, a passage from LordBacon : " I was ever of opinion that the

philosopher's stone and an holy war werebut the rendezvous of cracked brains thatwore their feather in their heads."

H. Carrington Bolton.

Washington; D. C.

SCIENCE IN EDUCATION*During the year 1895-96 there were in at-tendance at the colleges and universities of

the United States nearly fifty thousand stu-dents who were pursuing courses leading tothe degree of Bachelor of Arts, and of whomnearly ten thousand received that degree.In the various technological and profes-sional schools there were sixty-six thousandstudents and nearly or quite fifteen thousandgraduates. That is, those students seekingthe so-called liberal education were lessthan forty per cent, of all the candidatesfor college degrees.

In none of the professional schools, with

but few exceptions, is the possession of acollege or university degree necessary foradmission. A single medical school at thepresent time requires its matriculates topossess the bachelor degree, and someothers will in the near future. In the theo-logical schools a preparatory college educa-tion is more usual, but the whole numberof theological students in the United Statesis relatively small, and does not seem to be


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rapidly increasing.

Nearly one-half of the professional stu-dents are those studying medicine, and ofthese I do not think more than five percent, are graduates of other courses. Lessthan that percentage will be found amongthe engineering students, for reasons thatwill appear later. The profession of law,

*A presidential address before the thirtieth an-nual meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science.

which is yet far behind the other profes-sions in its educational requirements, hasless than ten thousand students in attend-ance upon college instruction in our coun-try, not one-third of the number of themedical students, though the members of thetwo professions in practice are much morenearly equal in numbers. A much largerproportion of arts graduates turn to the legal

profession than to any other, in part due tothe fact that the educational requirementsof the legal profession are, in general, onso low a plane that the earnest young manis not content to enter upon his life's workwith so slight a college preparation as it de-mands ; in part because the ordinary col-lege course offers better preparatory train-ing for the legal profession than it does forany other, save the theological or pedagogic.

I am not aware of any statistics of thenumber of arts graduates among the active

members of the professions in America, asa whole, but the number is clearly verysmall, certainly not one in ten, and I be-lieve that there can be no question but thatthe percentage is steadily becoming lessfrom year to year.

Our first impressions are that this fact isto be deplored. I believe, however, that itis rather matter of congratulation, inas-much as it certainly means in the endbetter preparation for the active duties oflife by the great body of professional men.

In no branch of education has there beenmore active progress than in that of med-ical education in the United States duringthe past fifteen years, and in none has therebeen a larger proportional increase of stu-dents. Twenty years ago, with almost noeducational requirements for matriculation,nearly every medical institution in thiscountry would graduate the average stu-


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dent after two courses of lectures, thesecond a repetition of the first, and each ofbut four or five months' duration. I haveknown students of average ability to re-

bolton h c (1897) the revival of alchemy

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