BOSTON COLLEGE SCIENCE LIBRARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/historyofchemist1898meye A HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY BEING ALSO AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE SCIENCE ERNST VON MEYER, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, DRESDEN TRANSLATED WITH THE AUTHOR'S SANCTION BY GEORGE McGOWAN, Ph.D. SECOND ENGLISH EDITION, TRANSLATED FROM THE SECOND GERMAN EDITION, WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS tot J, J Nos. 1 and 2), i ORGANIC SUBSTANCES KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES 19 before our era ; but the important preparations of antimony and mercury can be proved to have first come into notice in the alchemistic period. Most of the officinal compounds just referred to were also used for other purposes, as has already been mentioned in a few cases. The combustion-product of sulphur, for instance, was employed for fumigation (vide Homer), for the purification of clothes, the conservation of wine, and for destroying impure colours (Pliny), while copper vitriol and alum were used in dyeing operations. — In closing this short account of the knowledge possessed by the Ancients with regard to chemical compounds, the following substances may be mentioned, substances whose practical application dates from a very early period. In ancient times lime was burnt, and after being slaked, was used for preparing mortar, and also, as already stated, for causticising soda (cf. p. 17). Of the acids, acetic acid x in the form of crude wine vinegar was the earliest known, its presence being assumed in all acid plant juices. The mineral acids, which are of such import- ance in technical chemistry, were only discovered in the succeeding epoch. Other organic compounds known at the beginning of our era, and doubtless even before then, were sugar (from the sugar-cane), starch 2 (from wheat), many fatty oils (from seeds and fruits, the oil being extracted either by pressing or by boiling with water), petroleum, and oil of turpentine, which last was obtained by the distillation of pine resin in very imperfect apparatus. 3 Of the fatty oils, olive, almond and castor oils, etc., were known and used for a variety of purposes, the first-named — e.g.— for extracting perfumes from 1 The Ancients had the most extravagant ideas with regard to the solvent power of vinegar upon mineral substances, as may be gathered from the concordant statemants of Livy and Plutarch that Hannibal, in his pass- age across the Alps, cleared the way of rocks by means of it. The story which Pliny tells of Cleopatra may also be recalled here, — how she, in ful- filment of her wager to consume a million sesterces at one meal, dissolved costly pearls in vinegar and drank the solution. 2 &fjivAov, so called from its being prepared without millstones, and the production of which is described by Dioscorides. 3 Prof. K. B; Hofmann kindly tells me that the earliest account of a destillatio per decensum is to be found in Aetius (Aldine Ed., fol. 10). c 2 20 FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE BIRTH OF ALCHEMY chap, i flowers, leaves, etc. Ethereal oils were also known and employed in large number. — The animal fats played an important part in medicine, and Pliny's mention of sheeps- wool grease, among other things, is noteworthy here, seeing that it has recently been brought into use again in the form of lanoline. — Pliny does not seem to have been acquainted with cane sugar ; but one frequently comes across passages in his writings referring to the occurrence and remarkable actions of vegetable poisons (alkaloids). Such compounds as spirits of wine, carbonic acid, etc., which are formed in many processes of fermentation, e.g. in the making of wine, beer and bread, remained unknown to the Ancients. It is true that they noticed in these cases and also in others — natural emanations of gas, for instance — the presence of a kind of air prejudicial to breathing and even under certain circumstances fatal to life, but it did not occur to them to recognise in this a gas different from atmospheric air. This lack of the gift of observation, this disinclination to go to the root of any phenomenon, in fact, a certain in- difference with regard to natural events, are characteristics of the attitude of the Ancients towards nature. Instead of experimenting with natural products, they infinitely preferred to call speculation to their aid, so that the most superficial observations gave rise to opinions which, when uttered by high authorities, attained to the dignity of dogmas. How otherwise than from an extreme lack of the desire of observation can one explain Aristotle's assertion that a vessel filled with ashes will contain as much water as one which is empty ? A further instance of the credulity of that time is given in the conviction expressed by Pliny, and universally held, that air can be transformed into water, and vice versa, that earth is produced from water, and that rock-crystal also proceeds from the latter. The assumption that water can be transformed into earth has often come up again at later periods, having exercised the minds of people even in com- paratively recent times ; as it subsequently assumed the form of an important question of dispute, it will be referred to in detail later on. CHAPTER II THE AGE OF ALCHEMY In the introduction to this book Egypt is spoken of as the mother-land of Alchemy. The University of Alexandria was especially instrumental in the propagation of the latter during the first centuries of our era ; it was the carrier and inter- mediary for the alchemistic doctrines, more particularly at the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The attempts to convert the base metals into the noble ones had their origin in superficial observations, which ap- peared to give a strong support to the belief in this trans- mutation. Among such accidental observations was that of the deposition of copper upon iron utensils left in copper mines from the waters which accumulated there. What more natural than to conclude that a transmutation of iron into copper had occurred ? For the production of gold or silver from copper, the transformation of the latter into yellow or white alloys by means of earthy substances such as calamine or arsenic appeared to give warrant. Finally, the fact that a residue of gold or silver remained behind when an alloy with lead or an amalgam with mercury was strongly heated, indicated the generation of those noble metals. To these considerations of a practical nature, which strengthened the conviction as to the transmutation of metals, but which inferred a gross self-deception on the part of the observer himself — to say nothing of their being turned to good aecount by crafty knaves — there came to be allied, in this epoch for the first time, the tendency to group together chemical facts from common points of view. 22 THE AGE OF ALCHEMY chap. It was precisely in the mode in which it was attempted to explain the composition of the metals that there lay a powerful and ever-active charm, leading to the belief in the ennobling of the baser metals and to continually repeated efforts to achieve this. The first beginnings in an experi- mental direction, which we meet with early in the alchemistic period, although very incomplete, indicate nevertheless a distinct step in advance as compared with the deductive method which had hitherto reigned supreme, and whose fruits consisted, for the most part, in the setting up of mystic cos- mogonies. The few observations which were made remained, however, isolated — that is, were not grouped together in a connected manner. That the attempts to attain to a knowledge of the processes of nature by the inductive method were but slight at best in the alchemistic period, is explained by the supremacy of the Aristotelian doctrine, which, amalgamated with the Neo-Platonic philosophy, trammelled the minds of men throughout almost the whole of the Middle Ages. Even the Christian theology had to compromise with this system, the product of the joint work being scholasticism, which imprinted its stamp upon all the mental efforts of that time and prevented their free development. The relation of the alchemistic tendencies to the Aristotelian philosophy has been already indicated (p. 7). The limitation of this epoch between the first appearance of alchemistic conceptions (in the fourth century) and the bold attempt of Paracelsus to call in chemistry to the aid of medicine (in the beginning of the sixteenth century) is thus a natural one, since, during the whole of this time, one and the same keynote runs through all the questions bearing upon chemistry, viz. the idea of ennobling the metals. People were so convinced of the practicability of this for many centuries, that almost every one who devoted himself to chemistry, and many others besides, strove hopefully towards this long-desired goal. The early mixing up of astrological and cabalistic nonsense with these alchemistic endeavours marks very distinctly the degeneration of the latter. ORIGIN AND FIRST SIGNS OF ALCHEMY 23 Alchemy by no means ceased to exist on the appearance of the new iatro-chemical doctrines, but gradually receded as chemistry became more of a science. True, its seductive problems are often seen to throw a weird lightning flash on the chemists' camp, and to exercise upon even the most eminent of them an undoubted influence ; but upon the main lines which chemistry has followed ever since the time of Boyle, the phantasies of alchemy have had no appreciable effect. Notwithstanding, however, that this influence was but slight, a short account of the position of alchemy during the last four centuries cannot properly be omitted, and will therefore be added as an appendix to this section of the book. GENERAL HISTORY OF ALCHEMY. 1 Origin' 2 ' and First Signs of Alchemistic Efforts. The sources from which the belief in the practicability of the transmutation of metals was nourished, and which in the course of centuries gradually expanded into a broad stream of the most mischievous errors, have their origin in the gray mists of antiquity. No actual proof of these must be looked for : we depend, with regard to them, upon mythical and mystical traditions. The first historical sources, too, are small in number and very obscure. But we find among various nations distinct signs of alchemy having been pursued as a secret science and having been held in honour. When one recalls to mind that Ancient Egypt was a 1 Cf. Kopp, Gesch. d. Chemie, vol. i. p. 40, et seq. ; also his work, Die Alchemie in älterer und neuerer Zeit (Heidelberg, 1886). 2 Cf. particularly M. Berthelot's Les Origines de V Alchimie (Paris, 1885) and his Introduction ä V 'Etude de la Chimie des Andern et du Moyen-dge (Paris, 1889); also H. W. Schaefer's admirable treatise: — Die Alchemie; ihr aegyptisch-griechischer Ursprung, die. (Fleusburg, 1887 ; School- calendar). M. Berthelot has indeed rendered signal service by his publica- tion and critical revision of old alchemistic works, such as the Leyden papyrus, and Greek and Arabic MSS. Quite recently, in conjunction with certain philologists, he has given to the world the Collection desAnciens Alchimistes Grecs and La Chimie en Moyen-dge. 24 THE AGE OF ALCHEMY chap. centre of the higher culture, and, especially, that it was a country where the chemical art was practised, one feels no surprise that the earliest reliable records of alchemy are to be found there. Egyptian sources, partly such as have been preserved to us by the Leyden papyrus (about 300 A.D.), and partly the writings of the Alexandrians from the third to the seventh century A.D., constitute the most valuable aids at our disposal for a historical proof of the origin of alchemy. The influence of the doctrines and practical recipes contained in these works upon the alchemy of the entire Middle Ages is easily demonstrable. The tradition according to which, among other know- ledge, the art of ennobling metals had been brought from heaven to earth by demons, was universally diffused in the first centuries of our era ; Zosimos of Panopolis states that the mystical book from which this art was to be learned was termed, %^eu and the art itself ^e/a. This myth doubt- less sprang from one exactly similar which is to be found in the apocryphal book of Enoch ; indeed indications of it are to be met with even in Genesis. The later alchemists were inclined to refer the origin of alchemy to the time before the flood, thinking that a special sanctity would accrue to their art from this great age. Moreover, they wrote down various biblical characters as alchemists, on the authority of certain passages in Holy Writ, for instance, Moses and his sister Miriam, and the Evangelist John. When legends such as these found credence in the Middle Ages, it is hardly surprising that the records as to the origin of this art,, which remain to us from ancient times, should have upheld their authority over a very long period. The first personality with which the origin of alchemy is associated is that of Hermes Trismegistos, 1 " the three times great," who was said to have been the author of books upon the holy art ; he was, moreover, generally reverenced as the discoverer of all the arts and sciences. The then popular expressions " hermetic," " hermetic writings " and " hermetic 1 This designation is probably first found in Tertullian (end of the second century of our era). Cf. Schaefer, p. 4, &c. ALCHEMY AMONG THE EGYPTIANS 25 art " 1 recalled this undoubtedly mythical personage even so recently as in the present century. In Romish Egypt pillars were erected in honour of this Hermes, upon which alchemistic inscriptions were cut in hieroglyphics. Who then was this Hermes ? One has to seek in him, as ancient traditions indicate almost certainly, the personified idea of strength, i.e. the old Egyptian godhead Thot (or Theuth), which, when endowed with the serpent-staff as the symbol of wisdom, was compared by the Greeks with their Hermes, the latter designation being thus transferred to the Egyptian god. 2 Alchemy, as a holy and divine art, whose special task consisted in the preparation of the metals, was kept secret and fostered by the priesthood, the sons of kings alone being permitted to penetrate its mysteries. The esti- mation in which it was held rose in exact proportion with the belief that Egypt owed to alchemy its riches. When and in what way the influence of other nations made itself felt upon the alchemy of the Egyptians, it is difficult to determine. The Babylonish astrologers, without doubt, undertook the fusion of astrology and magic; in particular, the mutual relations between the sun and planets and the metals, which were taken for granted for so many centuries, were of old Babylonish origin. According to the account of the Neo-Platonist Olympiodor (in the fifth century A.D.), gold corresponds to the sun, silver to the moon, copper to Venus, iron to Mars, tin to Mercury, and lead to Saturn. 3 Certain passages in the works of Dioscorides, Pliny, and the Gnostics enable us to conclude that the transmutation of copper into silver and gold was regarded as an as- certained fact during the first centuries of our era. 4 The 1 The designation "spagiric art" (from airäui, to separate, and ayelpw, to unite) occurs for the first time in the sixteenth century. 2 This identity is confirmed by the fact that, in the inscriptions on the temple of Dakke on the Nile dedicated to Thot, the three names Thot, Hermes and Mercurius occur, the first in hieroglyphics, the second in Greek, and the third in Latin (cf. Schaefer, p. 7). 3 Even in Galen are to be found statements with regard to the influence of the planets upon the metals. 4 The Chinese also busied themselves with alchemy at that time, the 26 THE AGE OF ALCHEMY chap. " duplication of the metals," which is to be found in the writings of first-century authors, and which also plays a part in the Leyden papyrus, likewise refers to the transmutation of metals. The designation of this art as " Chemia " probably appears for the first time in an astrological treatise of Julius Firmicus (in the fourth century). Berthelot has made a careful study of the Leyden papyrus (found in Thebes in the third century A.D.), and has com- pared it with later alchemistic writings. This has led him to the conclusion that an intimate connection existed between the industrial production of the noble metals, the dyeing of fabrics, and the colouration of glass (whence the frequent expressions : — Tingiren der Metalle ; Tincturen, etc.). The alleged processes of transmutation, which were currently believed for hundreds of years, consisted in artifices for de- basing the noble metals, but at the same time imitating their appearance as nearly as possible in less costly alloys. It is quite likely that, as time went on, the idea took possession of many kinds that the gold and silver were newly created by some supernatural aid. It would thus seem as if alchemy originated in the fraudulent practices of gold- workers. The records of the study of alchemy go on increasing from the 4th century, much information regarding it being found in the writings of the Alexandrian savants of that time, especially in those of Zosimos, Synesios and Olympiodor. In addition to these, various pseudo-authors, especially pseudo- Democritus, are cited here as witnesses to the spread of alchemy ; the philological-historical critic is not yet, however, in a position to fix the dates at which these works were written. In the Middle Ages people did not hesitate to accept the writings of the false Democritus, and also those of a pseudo- Aristotle, as originating from the ancient philosophers Democritus and Aristotle themselves. The later alchemists also fathered counterfeit writings upon Thales, Heraclitus and Plato, in order to make use of the great authority of those names for their own ends. transformation of tin into silver, and of the latter into gold, being held to have been actually accomplished. ALCHEMY AMONG THE EGYPTIANS Zosimos of Panopolis, a voluminous author of the fifth century, who was looked upon as one of the greatest authori- ties among alchemists both of that date and of later times, is said to have written twenty- eight books treating of alchemy, of which, however, only small fragments remain. His mysti- cal recipes are quite unintelligible, and yet he distinctly speaks of the fixation of mercury, of a tincture x which changes silver into gold, and also of a divine water (panacea). Refer- ence is frequently made to the work of the pseudo-Democri- tus, (f)v