Alchemy and Alchemists

2001 Alchemists

Author : Sean Martin
Release : 2001
Genre : Alchemists
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 521/5 ( reviews)

Book Synopsis Alchemy and Alchemists by : Sean Martin

Download or read book Alchemy and Alchemists written by Sean Martin. This book was released on 2001. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. Often alchemy is seen as an example of medieval gullibility and the alchemists as a collection of eccentrics and superstitious fools. In this Pocket Essential, Sean Martin shows that nothing could be further from the truth. It is important to see the search for the philosopher's stone and the attempts to turn base metal into gold as metaphors for the relation of man to nature and man to God as much as seriously held beliefs. Sir Isaac Newton devoted as much time to his alchemical studies as he did to his mathematical ones. This book traces the history of alchemy from ancient times to the 20th century, highlighting the interest of modern thinkers like Jung in the subject. It covers a major, if neglected area of Western thought.

Alchemy & Alchemists

2006-11-24 Science

Author : Sean Martin
Release : 2006-11-24
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 388/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Alchemy & Alchemists by : Sean Martin

Download or read book Alchemy & Alchemists written by Sean Martin. This book was released on 2006-11-24. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alchemy has traditionally been viewed as 'the history of an error', an example of medieval gullibility and greed, in which alchemists tried to turn lead into gold, create fabulous wealth and find the elixir of life. But alchemy has also been described as 'the mightiest secret that a man can possess', and it obsessed the likes of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, and many of the founders of modern science. This book explores the history of the so-called Royal Art, from its mysterious beginnings in Egypt and China, through the Hellenistic world and the early years of Islam and into mediaeval Europe. Some of the greatest minds of the Middle Ages, figures such as Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and Thomas Aquinas were drawn to alchemy, and legendary alchemists such as Nicholas Flamel were thought to have actually succeeded in finding The Philosopher's Stone. During the Renaissance, Paracelsus and his followers helped revolutionize medicine, and during the seventeenth century, alchemy played a major role in paving the way for modern science. During the twentieth century, it became a focus of interest for the psychologist Carl Jung and his followers, who believed that the alchemists had discovered the unconscious. In this fully revised edition, Sean Martin has expanded the sections on Chinese and Indian alchemy and has added new material on the relationship between alchemy and early modern science, while also making a fresh assessment of this most enduringly mysterious and fascinating of subjects, to which all others have been described as 'child's play'.

Alchemy and Alchemists

2012-07-12 Science

Author : C. J. S. Thompson
Release : 2012-07-12
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 828/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Alchemy and Alchemists by : C. J. S. Thompson

Download or read book Alchemy and Alchemists written by C. J. S. Thompson. This book was released on 2012-07-12. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Well-researched study traces history of alchemy, chronicling search for philosopher's stone and elixir of life, alchemist's laboratory and apparatus, symbols and secret alphabets, famous practitioners, plus contributions to field of chemistry. 77 black-and-white illustrations, 31 plates.

Alchemy—The Great Work

2015-06-01 Body, Mind & Spirit

Author : Gilchrist, Cherry
Release : 2015-06-01
Genre : Body, Mind & Spirit
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 853/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Alchemy—The Great Work by : Gilchrist, Cherry

Download or read book Alchemy—The Great Work written by Gilchrist, Cherry. This book was released on 2015-06-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alchemy is the art of transformation. At its simplest, the alchemist turns base metals into gold. However, this is only one dimension of alchemy—at a more sophisticated level the alchemist's "base metal" is symbolic of himself that needs to be worked upon and the "gold" produced is the alchemist himself in his or her quest to perfect his own nature. In short, true alchemy is a discipline involving physical, psychological and spiritual work aimed at producing wholeness and enlightenment. From the origins of alchemy, both reputed and documented, Cherry Gilchrist's lively and sympathetic narrative takes the reader from the alchemical interests of the ancient Egyptians to the flowering of alchemy in the 17th century. She also elucidates the complexities of alchemical symbolism and examines the ways in which alchemy has developed in the 20th century.

Alchemy

2012-04-26 Science

Author : E. J. Holmyard
Release : 2012-04-26
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 14X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Alchemy by : E. J. Holmyard

Download or read book Alchemy written by E. J. Holmyard. This book was released on 2012-04-26. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alchemy is thought to have originated over 2000 years ago in Hellenic Egypt, the result of three converging streams: Greek philosophy, Egyptian technology and the mysticism of Middle Eastern religions. Its heyday was from about 800 A.D. to the middle of the seventeenth century, and its practitioners ranged from kings, popes, and emperors to minor clergy, parish clerks, smiths, dyers, and tinkers. Even such accomplished men as Roger Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Thomas Browne and Isaac Newton took an interest in alchemical matters. In its search for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transmute base metals into silver and gold, alchemy took on many philosophical, religious and mystical overtones. These and many other facets of alchemy are explored with enormous insight and erudition in this classic work. E. J. Holmyard, a noted scholar in the field, begins with the alchemists of ancient Greece and China and goes on to discuss alchemical apparatus, Islamic and early Western alchemy; signs, symbols, and secret terms; Paracelsus; English, Scottish and French alchemists; Helvetius, Price, and Semler, and much more. Ranging over two millennia of alchemical history, Mr. Holmyard shows how, like astrology and witchcraft, alchemy was an integral part of the pre-scientific moral order, arousing the cupidity of princes, the blind fear of mobs and the intellectual curiosity of learned men. Eventually, however, with the advent and ascension of the scientific method, the hopes and ideas of the alchemists faded to the status of "pseudo-science." That transformation, as well as alchemy's undeniable role as a precursor of modern chemistry, are brilliantly illuminated in this book. Students of alchemy, chemistry, the history of science, and the occult, plus anyone interested in the origin and evolution of one of mankind's most enduring and influential myths, will want to have a copy of this masterly study.

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