Library of Alexandria

The libraries of Alexandria (in Egypt) became depositories of knowledge and were major contributors to the advancement of science and intellectual studies in many other countries. 

No more questions, I said. If they did that to me, I d confess to burning the Library of Alexandria. ... 

With the passing of Frater Albertus in 1984, there seemed to be a void in alchemical teachings and a lack of a central point where students could exchange information. By the early nineties, through the efforts of several PRS students, contact with a French group was made and the Philosophers of Nature (PON) was formulated to fill the void with fresh ideas and to carry on research in alchemy. The PON closed in the late nineties. Now we have the Internet—the new "Library of Alexandria." As we shall see, chemistry, left to grow unfettered, has nearly come full circle to rediscover the Hermetic Philosophy. 

Following the destruction of alchemical works by Diocletian, the famous Library of Alexandria was itself burnt to the ground by a Christian mob in 390CE. This loss of the Library, followed by the gruesome murder of the beautiful mathematician Hypatia by a gang of monks twenty-five years later, ushered in Europe s Dark Ages. 

What is known is that the first verifiable person attached to an alchemical manuscript was Zosimos of Panopolis, who wrote in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 A.D. Alexandria was home to the greatest library of the classical world. Started in the third century B.C., it housed 400,000 to 500,000 books and manuscripts, mostly in Greek. The library was largely destroyed during civil wars toward the end of the third century A.D. and its daughter library sacked by Christians in 391 A.D. ... 

Determining which integers are prime can be a real challenge. The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-194 B.C.) developed a technique for finding all the prime numbers less than or equal to a certain whole number n. He is famous not only for this technique, called the Sieve of Eratosthenes but also for being director of the library at Alexandria and for his use of Euclidean geometry to come up with a fairly accurate measure of the circumference of the earth. 

Ptolemy, one of Alexander s generals, established a kingdom in Egypt, with the city of Alexandria (founded by Alexander) as his capital. In Alexandria, Ptolemy and his son (Ptolemy II) established a temple to the Muses (the Museum ) which served as what we would today call a research institution and university. Attached to it, the greatest library of ancient times was built up. 

Academically Astute. The most famous library of the ancient world was the renowned library at Alexandria. Khensa studied there in secret. 

Even later, when higher levels of civilization were reached, organic polymers were essential necessities in peace and war. All books in the famous library of ancient Alexandria consisted either of... 

Clement of Alexandria. Stromateis. n A Library of the Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 2. Edinburgh T. T. Clark, 1989. 

Chrysotile fibers are composed of threads or tubules that have a structure reminiscent of rolled newspaper or perhaps ancient scrolls of the library at Alexandria. Remarkably, these tubules have diameters of 200 A. It is difficult to envision how these structures were formed, not to mention what would be required to... 

The work of C.G. Dunkle found in his Syllabus (1957/1958) issued in typewritten form by Picatinny Arsenal Library, Dover, NJ (Accession Number U48378) and Syllabus (1960-196 1), contg additions and corrections to the earlier syllabus, were very helpful, especially for locating primary sources of information. Syllabus (1960-1961) can be obtd as AD 290417 from the Defense Documentation Center, Defense Supply Agency, Cameron Station, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. US Bureau of Mines... 

The deed is in the Alexandria Public Library. 1799 price National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form. ... 

The Alexandria Library reputedly contained five hundred thousand manuscripts and scholars could live there to study for as long as they wished. Euclid was among the first scientists to work there. It was at the Library that Aristarchos produced his remarkable treatise suggesting the moon received its light from the sun. He also studied the relative sizes and separations of the sun, moon and earth using a three hundred and sixty degree system. 

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