Transmutation of base metals to gold

Modern science is very different from the descriptions of early systems of thought. Early philosophers and theorists lacked the objective methodologies and rational investigative processes required for the controlled experiments that led to modern science. They were more concerned with seeking universal cures for sickness, transmutation of base metals into gold, and mysticism in general. Most, but not all, ancient philosophers depended more on the written words of experts than on their own observations and insights. 

The accounts of respected, and previously sceptical, authorities, such as scientist Van Helmont [1580-1644] and 17 century physician Helvetius, describe their incredulity as they witnessed and then personally performed transmutations of base metal into gold using a powder of projection, produced by mysterious strangers who sought them out and then vanished. In the case of the legendary French alchemist Nicolas Flamel [1330-1418], it was the chance purchase of a strange and ancient book that ultimately lead to his discovery of the Stone, and the attainment of fabulous wealth and immortality. 

Here we see an open elision between the Canon episcopi s denial of diabolical transmutation into various animate creatures and the alchemists transmutation of base metal into gold. Alfonso clearly thinks that alchemical transmutation is an illusion imposed on alchemists who have, perhaps unwittingly, sold their souls to Satan. In the subsequent text, Alfonso passes into an explicit consideration of the witches belief that they travel to meetings with Diana, further paraphrasing the Canon episcopi. 

It is noteworthy that the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruled from 285 to 305 A.D., was said to have ordered the destruction of alchemical books and manuscripts throughout the Roman Empire. As the story goes, he feared that transmutation of base metals to silver and gold would devalue the Empire s currency. (However, see the next essay, p. 135). 

Alchemy al-k9-me [ME alkamie, alquemie, fr. ME or ML ME alquemie, fr. ML alchy-mia, fr. Arabic al-kimiy a, fr. al the + kimiya" alchemy, from LGk chemeia] (14c) n. The chemical period from about 300bc to AD 1500 during which a central goal was the transmutation of base metals into gold. 

A number of terms used in this book require explanation, either because they are archaic and no longer generally used at all, or because the authors examined here used them in a way that is alien to the sense of a corresponding modern term, or because I have consciously chosen to use them in a nonstandard sense. The first term, chymistry, requires little explanation, as Lawrence Principe and I have been using this archaic word for nearly a decade to refer to early modern alchemy-chemistry, a discipline that still viewed the transmutation of base metals into gold (chrysopoeia) as viable and yet contained much in addition that is identifiable to us moderns as chemistry. 

Theory choice is not a term often used in the context of medieval alchemy. Alchemists aspired to achieve extraordinary and, by our standards, impossible transformations the transmutation of base metals into gold, the prolongation of human life, and the attainment of celestial perfection even within the flawed elemental world. They justified these ends with reference to a variety of ideas and explanations, ranging from analogies with the natural world to comprehensive physical theories. Since a variety of explanations and approaches were available, they sometimes had to choose between them. Even though it is not obvious that we can discuss alchemical ideas within the same framework as that used for modem scientific theories, the fact that alchemical explanations were not given arbitrarily nevertheless raises some interesting questions about what theory choice involves. 

Like many other alchemists, Boyle distinguished between two kinds of transmutation, particular transmutation and projection. Transmutation was any conversion of one metal into another. It was held to be far easier than projection, which meant using the Philosopher s Stone to transmute a base metal into gold. It was thought that the Stone could transmute a quantity of metal that was hundreds or thousands of times greater than the Stone s weight. 

In this book I return to some of the themes I discussed in Sour Grapes (1983). An equivalent of sour grapes is "sweet lemons," the transmutation of bitterness into sweetness, analogous to that of base metals into gold. The mental alchemies that I discussed in that earlier book, notably in the title chapter, had a limited range. In particular, they did not have any place for the motions as fuel, raw material, and final product of these processes. The purpose of the present book is to say something about the role of the emotions in mental life and in the generation of behavior. 

Right a modem Iranian alchemist at work on the age-old goal of transmuting base metals to gold. 

The Vedas hint at an association between gold and long life, and the idea of transmuting base metals to gold appears in Buddhist texts from 100-400 CE— roughly the same time as in Mediterranean texts. The practice of Indian alchemy is verified in the 600s by accounts of Chinese... 

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