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having followed a life of great indulgence and dissipation. It is not a little singular that the family name of this strange and paradoxical genius" should have been Bombastus, which he changed, as was a common practice of the times in which he lived, to another, and assumed that of Paracelsus. His zeal and application were extraordinary. He derived his knowledge from travelling in various parts of the world, and consulting monks, conjurors, barber-surgeons, old women, and all persons said to be gifted with the knowledge of secret arts, remedies, &c. He was professor of medicine at Basle, but became renowned by a nostrum called azoth, which he vaunted as ́the philosopher's stone-the medical panacea—the tincture of life. He styled himself the "monarch of physicians," and arrogantly explained that the hair on the back of his head knew more than all authors; that the clasps of his shoes were more learned than Galen or Avicenna; and that his beard possessed more experience than all the academy of Basle: "Stultissimus pilus occipitis mei plus scit, quam omnes vestri doctores, et calceorum meorum annuli doctiores sunt quam vester Galenus et Avicenna, barba mea plus experta est quam vestræ omnes Academiæ.” Extravagant as all this may appear, it yet had the effect of dissipating a too excessive admiration of the ancients, at that time prevalent in the schools. His boldness was

such, that at his first lecture upon his appointment to the professorship in the University, he, before his pupils, publicly burnt the writings of Galen and Avicenna! His education, however, was very imperfect, and he was ignorant even of his own vernacular tongue. Thomas Erastus, one of his pupils, wrote a book to detect his impostures. He was nevertheless a man of great ability, and did much towards the advancement of chemical knowledge, particularly in its application to the purposes of medicine. Armed

with opium, antimony and mercury, he effected many extraordinary cures.

The quadrature of the circle; the multiplication of the cube; the perpetual motion; the philosophical stone ; magic; and judicial astrology have been aptly denominated "The Six Follies of Science." However vain has been the study, and however futile the results, the indulgence of the vanity and the pains of the research have not been unattended with benefit to mankind; inasmuch as they have been the cause of many discoveries of much importance. The errors in medicine have usually originated in the speculative conceits of men of superior capacities. "The blunders of the weak are short lived, but a false theory, with a semblance of nature, struck in the mint of genius, often deceives the learned, and passes current through the world."

ALCHYMY.

"Trust to this doctrine, set herein your desiers,
And now lerne the regiment of your fiers."

NORTON.

THE study of alchymy gave birth to chemistry; its principal object was the transmutation of the baser metals into gold and silver. Suidas, whose Greek Lexicon was composed in the twelfth century, has defined chemistry "the preparation of silver and gold:" this is a distinct identification of chemistry with alchymy. A better etymology of the word is to be found, perhaps, in the fact that the country of Egypt was called Khame, Chemia, Chamia, or Cham, the meaning of which in hieroglyphics is black,—an allusion, probably, to the dark soil thrown up by the river Nile; and in this country chemistry may be looked upon to have originated. Chemistry now happily constitutes a science of great practical benefit to mankind, embraces objects of vast extent and utility, gives to us an intimate knowledge of the nature of bodies, and no longer tempts either the superstitious or the avaricious to the attainment of improper, unnatural, or inordinate gains. Dr. Thomson* is disposed to believe that chemistry or alchymy-understanding by these terms the art of making gold and silver originated with the

B History of Chemistry, p. 14.

Arabians after the establishment of the caliphs, and that its application was then first directed to the purposes of medicine. Geber, who lived in the seventh century, he observes, makes no allusion to the transmutation of metals; and he hence concludes that the practice dates its origin posterior to his time. It must, however, be remarked that Geber expressly mentions the philosopher's stone, and professes to give the mode of preparing it, and I know not how to separate this art from that of converting or altering the nature of different substances. Dr. Thomson regards Geber's work as the earliest chemical treatise in existence; and he describes it as written with so much plainness that we can understand the nature of the substances which he employed, the processes which he followed, and the greater number of the products he obtained. The chemical facts observable in his work he thinks entitle him to the appellation of "The father and founder of chemistry." Yet Dr. Johnson regarded his language as so proverbially obscure, that he presumed the word gibberish or geberish to have arisen from the style of his writings. The language of the alchymists was enigmatical and obscure, their science and all its processes were mysterious, and directed to be conducted with great privacy. The metals were personified-gold was the only pure and healthy man, the others were as "lepers" or diseased ones.

Alchymy cannot be regarded as of Arabian origin, however much it may have been cultivated and extended in that country. It flourished at a very early period in Egypt, and the late discoveries in that "land of marvels" have shown an extended acquaintance with various arts and sciences as exercised in the different manufactures, of which representations are to be found in the tombs and excavations of a very early date. Without some know

ledge of chemistry the Egyptians could never have excelled, as they have done, in the making of glass, of linen, in dyeing, in the use of mordaunts, &c. Their manufacture of metals, particularly of gold-the whole process of which is represented in the tombs of Beni Hassan and at Thebes-into various ornaments; their gold wire, their gilding, &c. exhibit great ability, and could not have been effected without some knowledge of metallurgy. Their embalmings also display an acquaintance with chemistry. The Egyptian manuscripts hitherto discovered have not afforded any particular light into the extent of their knowledge; but several papyri have been found to contain certain formula; and one, a bilingual manuscript (being Enchorial and Greek) was examined by my late friend, Professor Reuvens, the conservator of the Museum of Antiquities at Leyden, and was found to treat of magical operations, and to contain upwards of one hundred chemical and alchymical formulæ.

It has been usual to ascribe the introduction of alchymy to Pythagoras, to Solomon, or rather to Hermes, and it has not unfrequently been called the Hermetical science. Gibbon has shown that the Greeks were inattentive either to the use or the abuse of chemistry, and that the immense collection of Pliny contains no instance of, or reference to, the transmutation of metals. He states the persecution of Diocletian to be the first authentic event in the history of alchymy. After the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs it spread over the globe.

The objects of the alchymists were to convert other metals into gold and silver, to remedy all diseases, and to prolong human life to an indefinite period.

"A perfect medicine for bodies that be sick

Of all infirmities to be relieved;

This heleth nature and prolongeth lyfe eke."