Other editions of book Alchemy: Ancient and Modern

The theory of the origin of Alchemy put forward in Chapter I has led to considerable discussion; but whilst this theory has met with general acceptance, some of its earlier critics took it as implying far more than is actually the case. As a result of further research my conviction of its truth has become more fully confirmed, and in my recent work entitled Bygone Beliefs, under the title of "The Quest of the Philosopher's Stone," I have found it possible to adduce further evidence in this connection. At the same time, whilst I became increasingly convinced that the main alchemistic hypotheses were drawn from the domain of mystical theology and applied to physics and chemistry by way of analogy, it also became evident to me that the crude physiology of bygone ages and remnants of the old phallic faith formed a further and subsidiary source of alchemistic theory. I have barely, if at all, touched on this matter in the present work; the reader who is interested will find it dealt with in some detail in "The Phallic Element in Alchemical Doctrine" in my Bygone Beliefs.

It is a regrettable fact that the majority of works dealing with the subject of Alchemy take a one-sided point of view. The chemists generally take a purely physical view of the subject, and instead of trying to understand its mystical language, often prefer to label it nonsense and the alchemist a fool. On the other hand, the mystics, in many cases, take a purely transcendental view of the subject, forgetting the fact that the alchemists were, for the most part, concerned with operations of a physical nature. For a proper understanding of Alchemy, a synthesis of both points of view is essential; and, since these two aspects are so intimately and essentially connected with one another, this is necessary even when, as in the following work, one is concerned primarily with the physical, rather than the purely mystical, aspect of the subject.

Alchemy is generally understood to have been that art whose endwas the transmutation of the so-called base metals into gold bymeans of an ill-defined something called the Philosopher’s Stone; buteven from a purely physical standpoint, this is a somewhatsuperficial view. Alchemy was both a philosophy and anexperimental science, and the transmutation of the metals was itsend only in that this would give the final proof of the alchemistichypotheses; in other words, Alchemy, considered from the physicalstandpoint, was the attempt to demonstrate experimentally on thematerial plane the validity of a certain philosophical view of theCosmos. We see the genuine scientific spirit in the saying of one ofthe alchemists: “Would to God . . . all men might become adepts inour Art — for then gold, the great idol of mankind, would lose itsvalue, and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching.”1Unfortunately, however, not many alchemists came up to this ideal;and for the majority of them, Alchemy did mean merely thepossibility of making gold cheaply and gaining untold wealth.

Alchemy is generally understood to have been that art whose endwas the transmutation of the so-called base metals into gold bymeans of an ill-defined something called the Philosopher’s Stone; buteven from a purely physical standpoint, this is a somewhatsuperficial view. Alchemy was both a philosophy and anexperimental science, and the transmutation of the metals was itsend only in that this would give the final proof of the alchemistichypotheses; in other words, Alchemy, considered from the physicalstandpoint, was the attempt to demonstrate experimentally on thematerial plane the validity of a certain philosophical view of theCosmos. We see the genuine scientific spirit in the saying of one ofthe alchemists: “Would to God . . . all men might become adepts inour Art — for then gold, the great idol of mankind, would lose itsvalue, and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching.”1Unfortunately, however, not many alchemists came up to this ideal;and for the majority of them, Alchemy did mean merely thepossibility of making gold cheaply and gaining untold wealth.

Alchemy is generally understood to have been that art whose endwas the transmutation of the so-called base metals into gold bymeans of an ill-defined something called the Philosopher’s Stone; buteven from a purely physical standpoint, this is a somewhatsuperficial view. Alchemy was both a philosophy and anexperimental science, and the transmutation of the metals was itsend only in that this would give the final proof of the alchemistichypotheses; in other words, Alchemy, considered from the physicalstandpoint, was the attempt to demonstrate experimentally on thematerial plane the validity of a certain philosophical view of theCosmos. We see the genuine scientific spirit in the saying of one ofthe alchemists: “Would to God . . . all men might become adepts inour Art — for then gold, the great idol of mankind, would lose itsvalue, and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching.”1Unfortunately, however, not many alchemists came up to this ideal;and for the majority of them, Alchemy did mean merely thepossibility of making gold cheaply and gaining untold wealth.

According to the author, alchemy was the belief that “all the metals (and, indeed, all forms of matter) are one in origin, and are produced by an evolutionary process. The Soul of them all is one and the same; it is only the Soul that is permanent...” Redgrove offers a detailed account of alchemy’s controversial history, treating both the theoretical and physical approaches to the field. Alchemy: Ancient and Modern has long been viewed as a significant introductory text to the subject. Herbert Stanley Redgrove (1887-1943) wrote several texts on similar topics, including A Mathematical Theory of Spirit, Bygone Beliefs and Purpose and Transcendentalism. He was a chemist and a founder of the Alchemical Society in London. This edition is dedicated to Adam Kendall, in his distinctive way an authority on the mysteries of the past.

Excerpt from Alchemy: Ancient and ModernIt is exceedingly gratifying to me that a second edition of this book should be called for. But still more welcome is the change in the attitude of the educated world towards the old-time alchemists and their theories which has taken place during the past few years.The theory of the origin of Alchemy put forward in Chapter I has led to considerable discussion; but whilst this theory has met with general acceptance, some of its earlier critics took it as implying far more than is actually the case As a result of further research my conviction of its truth has become more fully confirmed, and in my recent work entitled Bygone Beliefs (Rider, 1920), under the title of "The Quest of the Philosopher's Stone," I have found it possible to adduce further evidence in this connection. At the same time, whilst I became increasingly convinced that the main alchemistic hypotheses were drawn from the domain of mystical theology and applied to physics and chemistry by way of analogy, it also became evident to me that the crude physiology of bygone ages and remnants of the old phallic faith formed a further and subsidiary source of alchemistic theory.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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It is exceedingly gratifying to me that a second edition of this book should be called for. But still more welcome is the change in the attitude of the educated world towards the old-time alchemists and their theories which has taken place during the past few years. The theory of the origin of Alchemy put forward in Chapter I has led to considerable discussion; but whilst this theory has met with general acceptance, some of its earlier critics took it as implying far more than is actually the case. As a result of further research my conviction of its truth has become more fully confirmed, and in my recent work entitled Bygone Beliefs (Rider, 1920), under the title of “The Quest of the Philosopher’s Stone,” I have found it possible to adduce further evidence in this connection. At the same time, whilst I became increasingly convinced that the main alchemistic hypotheses were drawn from the domain of mystical theology and applied to physics and chemistry by way of analogy, it also became evident to me that the crude physiology of bygone ages and remnants of the old phallic faith formed a further and subsidiary source of alchemistic theory. I have barely, if at all, touched on this matter in the present work; the reader who is interested will find it dealt with in some detail in “The Phallic Element in Alchemical Doctrine” in my Bygone Beliefs.