The Chemistry of Alchemy Read online

  invisible college, 282

  ion, 167, 134, 135, 167, 289

  Iran, 45

  iron, 44, 46, 58, 93, 96, 109, 166, 179, 181, 198, 203, 278–79, 280, 299

  iron, alchemical, 58, 79, 80

  iron, salts, 278, 280

  iron(II) sulfate, 116

  iron(III) sulfate, 116

  iron compounds, 86

  iron mine, 180

  iron pyrite, 75

  iron squames, 77

  iron sulfate, 151

  I Secreti (Cortese), 146

  Islamic, 17, 41–51, 55, 58, 61, 70, 76, 93, 94, 169, 192, 218, 252, 268

  Islamic empire, 41, 45, 47, 55, 61, 69, 192

  isopropyl alcohol. See rubbing alcohol

  Italy, 69, 108, 111, 187, 191

  Jabir, 27, 41, 43–47, 70, 93, 135, 268

  Jabirian problem, 43

  Jabirians, 41, 43, 44, 45–47, 93, 135

  James I (king), 82, 243–45

  Jesuit, 225, 231, 243–44, 263–66, 269, 297

  Jesus, 56, 58, 81, 225, 263

  Jew, 31, 32, 38, 55, 61, 127, 135, 153

  jewelry, 11, 117–19, 182, 318

  Jewish, 17, 61, 135, 153

  John of Bassigny, 83

  John XXII (pope), 69, 81

  Jonson, Ben, 21, 93, 100, 313

  Judaism, 55

  Jupiter, 49, 75

  kaolin clay, 310

  karat, 30, 38, 117–18, 182, 318

  Kelly, Edward, 170–75, 180, 211, 215

  kerotakis, 32

  Khunrath, Heinrich, 161

  King of the Arabs (Geber), 27, 72

  Kircher, Athanasius, 257, 263–66, 286

  kitchen, 17, 22, 51, 104, 143, 247, 297

  knight, 55, 72, 244, 245

  Koran, 43

  Krohnemann, 175–76, 179

  Kunckel, Johann Laskaris, 307

  Kunstbüchlein, 108, 112

  lab coat, 24, 315

  lab notebook, 321

  laboratory, 15, 16, 22, 23, 158, 160, 163, 170, 187–88, 198, 220–21, 248, 264, 284, 286, 297, 307, 309, 311, 312, 317

  laborer, 107, 147, 225, 271

  labware, 313, 316, 318

  Lady Clifford, Countess of Cumberland, 143, 145, 173

  latex, 314

  Latino, 155

  Latins, 47, 55

  Lavoisier, Antoine, 218, 257, 300, 301

  laxative, 142, 155–56, 227, 273

  leachate, 207, 220–21

  lead, 17, 39, 44–46, 62, 64, 65, 75, 81, 93, 117, 158, 197, 203, 212, 274, 275, 307, 308, 318

  Leipzig, 112, 215

  lemon, 120, 244, 275, 304

  Levant, 41

  li (“as for myself”), 45

  Libavius, Andreas, 158–64, 166–67, 174, 261

  lignum nephriticum, 268–69, 322

  Linus, Franciscus, 297

  lion's blood, 149–50, 156, 193, 263

  liqueur, 85, 149

  litmus paper, 116, 207, 323

  lixivium, 207

  London Trinity College, 281

  Lorenzo, 185, 187

  Loyola, Saint Ignatius of, 225

  Lull, Raymond, 71

  Luna, 75, 78, 80

  Luther, Martin, 125, 127

  Lutheran, 158, 259

  lye, 178, 180, 206–207, 255, 273, 323

  magic, 15–16, 19, 62, 87, 113–14, 120, 130, 135, 150, 156, 161–62, 172, 182, 189, 198, 262, 259, 283–84, 289, 309

  magick, 117, 113

  Magistery of the Art of Alchemy (Scot), 62

  magistral, 187

  magnetic cure, 231

  magnifying glass, 266–67, 299, 309, 319

  Maier, Michael, 260, 262

  malachite, 67

  malaria, 239

  Mamugna, 170

  Manrique, Donna Anna Maria, 245

  manure, 149, 219–23

  marble chip, 121, 319

  Marco Polo, 189, 309

  “Margaret Manuscript, The,” 145, 146, 173

  Maria, Henrietta (queen), 246, 248

  Mars, 75, 202–203, 299

  marshland, 251

  Mary, Queen of Scots, 172

  Mary the Jew, 31–34, 46

  mass, conservation of, 228–29

  Massachusetts Bay Colony, 281, 295

  Mather, Cotton, 285

  Medici, Caterina de, 187–90

  Medici, Ferdinand di, 198

  medicine, 15, 16, 44–47, 49, 55, 56, 61, 67, 75, 77, 78, 85–88, 90, 98, 108, 112, 124–28, 130, 141–42, 145, 147, 155–58, 160, 163, 166, 182, 185, 188, 198, 201–202, 211, 226, 232, 239–40, 253, 258–61, 264–65, 268–69, 271, 275, 281–84, 288–89, 295, 312

  first, second, and third order, 375

  Medina, Bartholomew, 185, 187

  Mediterranean, 29, 34, 245

  mendicant, 57, 58, 72, 81, 169

  mercuric oxide salt, 101

  mercury, 17, 18, 35, 44–50, 62, 65, 70, 75–78, 88, 96–98, 101, 102, 109, 114, 126–28, 142, 143, 156, 158, 169, 174, 179, 185, 187, 250, 274, 275, 288, 295, 297, 298, 301, 302

  mercury, philosophical. See philosophical mercury

  mercury, switch, 49, 50

  mercury/sulfur, 48–52, 70, 102

  metal, base, 30, 32, 93, 112, 158, 182, 275

  metallurgist, 55, 107, 200, 216, 227, 271

  metallurgy, 108, 185, 200, 264, 282

  metals, seven, 44, 75

  metalworking, 30, 216, 273

  mine, 15, 59, 107–21, 124, 126, 130, 176, 187, 197, 201, 227, 230

  mineral, 32, 44, 59, 67, 95, 96, 111–17, 127, 130, 143, 155–57, 160, 182, 185, 192, 198, 201–202, 209, 226–27, 274–75, 310

  mineral, sulfide, 44, 201

  mineral acids, 111, 115–17, 198, 274

  miraculum mundi, 274

  mirror, 24, 105, 119, 146, 267, 309, 315

  Monas Hieroglyphica (Dee), 291

  monastery, 57, 107, 197, 202, 259, 291

  Mongol, 85

  Moor, 47

  mordant, 194, 250

  mosaic gold, 49

  Muhammad, 55

  Munich, 212

  Muslim, 61, 85, 127

  mysticism, 16, 44, 71, 142, 156, 158, 161, 167, 200, 201, 203–206, 217, 225–26, 234, 240–41, 248, 257–59, 261, 263, 265

  Naples, 113, 176

  Natural Magick (della Porta), 113–14, 120, 226

  neutralize, 178, 181, 207, 221, 289, 292, 304–305

  New Chemical Medicine Invented by Paracelsus, 163

  Newe Jewell of Health, 144

  New England, 280–81, 284

  New London, 282

  Newman, William, 67, 77, 78, 127, 291–92, 298

  New Philosophical Furnaces (Glauber), 274

  Newton, Sir Isaac, 16, 71, 167, 286–87, 300, 301

  New World, 124, 226, 239, 269, 281, 283

  Nile, 31

  niter, 217–19, 274, 299

  central, 216

  our, 217

  nitric acid. See acid, nitric

  nitrogen oxides, 229

  nomenclature, 97

  nonstick skillet, 37, 315

  Normans, Christian, 61

  nugget, copper, 29

  nugget, gold, 66, 105

  Nummedal, Tara, 143, 148, 151

  Nuremberg, 108

  occult, 87, 88, 109, 142, 147, 155, 172, 201, 264

  Of the Sum of Perfection (Geber), 69–80, 96

  Of the Sum of Perfection; or, Of the Perfect Magistery (Geber), 74

  Oporinus, 127

  opt-out clause, 275

  Ottoman Empire, 163

  Ourobouros, 25

  oven mitts, 50, 52, 65, 152, 153, 180, 206, 254, 314

  Oxford University, 244, 297

  oxidation, 50, 134, 274

  oxide, 66, 75, 104, 105, 153, 319

  oxidize, 135, 280

  oxygen, 50, 66, 101, 105, 116, 135, 216, 218, 223–24, 234–35, 246, 250–51, 257, 264–65, 268, 274, 299, 300, 301, 319

  pagan, 127, 132–33, 142, 241, 261, 283r />
  paint, 67, 68, 265, 284

  painter, 15, 55, 67, 189

  painting, 18, 62

  Palatinate, 176

  palingenesis, 136, 143, 246, 302

  Palissy, Bernard, 188–90, 194, 204, 309

  Panopolis, 27, 29, 31

  papyri, Leyden, 30, 78

  papyri, Stockholm, 30

  Paracelsian, 131, 136–37, 141–43, 145, 147, 149, 151, 153–63, 169, 173, 188, 225–26, 231, 247, 260–61, 265, 275, 288

  compromise, 286, 292

  medicine, 142, 156, 157, 159, 161–63, 260

  Paracelsus, 42, 56, 121, 123–37, 141–42, 146, 148, 155–58, 160–63, 167–68, 179, 198, 200, 201, 226–27, 231–32, 245, 260–61, 275, 283, 301, 311

  Paris, 58, 190

  parting gold. See gold, parting

  Partington, J. R., 31, 123, 125, 135, 160, 167–68, 198, 200–202, 232, 241, 250, 253, 355

  parts per million (ppm), 40

  patina, 15, 67

  Paul, 83, 132–33

  Paul of Taranto, 69–72

  peacock's tail, 98, 101–105, 182, 311

  pearls, 167–68, 226

  penny, 36–38, 64, 65, 79, 80, 180–81

  percolator, 192–93, 233

  perfume, 109, 146, 185, 187–88, 191–92, 198, 239, 284

  perfumer, 187, 192

  perpetual motion, 185, 249, 250, 264

  Peru, 239

  pesticides, 239, 282

  Petreius, Johannes, 108

  Petrucci family, 108, 109

  pewter, 102–105, 109, 313, 318

  pharmacopeia, 162, 239

  phenol, 274

  Philalethes, Eirenaeus, 284, 286, 300

  philosopher, 31, 32, 34, 225, 248

  philosopher, Greek, 45

  philosopher, natural, 15, 240–41, 257, 310

  philosopher, of fire, 16

  philosophers’ stone, 15, 46, 47, 61, 74, 86, 88, 92, 93–105, 114, 128, 141, 145, 149, 150–52, 154, 160, 169, 174, 190, 201, 215–16, 230, 239–41, 253, 258, 264, 275, 284, 297–98, 300, 307

  philosophical mercury, 76, 298

  philosophical sulfur, 76

  phlegm, 46, 124

  phoenix, 308

  phosphorus, 99, 100, 223

  pickling lime, 79, 208, 255, 320

  pigment, 49, 64, 66–68, 96, 98, 118, 126, 185, 191, 234, 241, 269

  pirate, 16, 243, 245, 257

  Pirotechnia (Biringuccio), 108, 109, 240, 333, 347

  placebo, 126, 201, 275

  plagiarism, 86, 129–30

  plague, 69, 82, 83, 86, 87, 112, 156, 215, 227, 239

  Plague, Children's, 87

  plant food, 223

  Poe, Edgar Allen, 216

  poison, 88, 93, 96, 127, 142, 150, 155–56, 161, 188, 192, 194, 201, 226, 230, 264, 286, 307

  poisoning, mercury, 127

  Poland, 213–15, 308

  pool-chloride test kit, 220–21, 319

  pope, 57, 60, 62, 69, 81–83, 85, 108, 141, 226

  porcelain, 65, 66, 188–90, 207, 307, 309–11, 316

  portable burner, 316

  portrait, 128, 145, 211

  Portugal, 226

  potassium hydroxide, 207

  potter, 15, 55, 188–90, 233, 279, 311

  Potter, Harry. See Harry Potter

  powder of projection, 145, 174, 177, 182–83, 200, 212, 215, 230, 308

  powder of sympathy, 245, 247

  ppm (parts per million), 40

  Prague, 174, 211, 215, 249, 250

  pre-alchemist, 29–31, 313

  priest, 58, 62, 169, 170, 243

  prima material, 227, 274

  Principe, Lawrence, 97, 201–203, 253, 291–92, 298, 316

  printer, 100, 107, 108, 125, 130, 198, 199

  printing press, 56, 96, 107, 199

  pristine state, reduction to the, 288–91

  Protestant, 112, 124, 188, 190, 239, 243–44, 257, 281

  Promethean Ambitions (Newman), 67

  proof by analogy, 74, 109, 154

  proof by authority, 94, 149

  prophecy, 83–85, 198

  Prussia, 177, 196, 308

  pseudepigraphy, 70, 72

  pseudonym, 70, 94, 300

  purging, 15, 124, 142, 157, 272, 275, 283

  Puritan, 247, 280–84

  Pyrex, 23, 51, 182, 316–18

  pyrotechnic, 231

  Quercetanus. See du Chesne, Joseph

  Quercitan. See du Chesne, Joseph

  quicksilver, 41, 44, 48, 49, 78, 96, 230–31

  quintessence, 81, 86, 87, 114–16, 137, 263

  quintessence, of wheat, 263

  Ranelagh, Lady, 295, 297, 302

  recipe, 17, 18, 29, 30, 45, 49, 67, 70, 74–79, 86, 95–97, 108, 114, 128–29, 136, 145–47, 152–53, 156, 160, 168, 170, 177, 179, 193, 201, 203–204, 208, 215, 217–18, 246, 253, 258, 264, 275, 286, 291, 300, 311

  reduce, 135, 179, 189, 289

  reduction, 134, 274

  reduction to the pristine state, 288–91

  Reformation, 112, 124, 141, 157, 211, 225

  Renaissance, 15, 56, 71, 108, 111–13, 126, 123, 130, 133, 143, 146–47, 152–53, 170, 172, 174–75, 185, 187–89, 190, 192, 195, 198–99, 204, 228, 230, 239–40

  René, Maître, 187–88, 192–93

  retort, 116, 256, 317

  Rhazes, 45

  ripening, 34, 154

  Roman Catholic Church, 55, 57

  Roman Celsus, 124

  Roman Empire, 147

  root killer, 64, 67–68, 151–52, 165, 322, 324

  Rosencreutz, Christian, 258–59, 281

  Rosenkreuz. See Rosencreutz, Christian

  Rosicrucian, 258–61

  Royal Navy, 250–51

  Royal Society, 248, 282

  rubbing alcohol, 89, 91, 193, 267, 315, 320

  Rudolf II (emperor), 139, 161, 174–75, 211–13, 215–17, 219, 221, 223, 227, 249–50, 260–61

  Ruggiero, Count de. See Caetano, Domenico

  Rupescissa, John of, 81–87, 105, 132, 231, 311

  rust, 166, 182, 187, 206, 280, 324

  rust colored, 229

  safety, 18, 21–24, 51, 90, 117, 313–15

  safety glasses, 37, 50, 51, 65, 67, 79, 91, 102, 103, 105, 117, 120, 133, 136, 151, 166, 180, 206, 208, 223–24, 234, 254–56, 267–68, 278, 290, 292, 304, 305

  safety matches, 91, 320

  sage, 27, 94, 201, 202

  sal alkali, 96

  sal ammoniac, 45, 102, 105, 182–83, 217–21, 292, 304, 305, 319

  sal mirabile, 273–76

  sal nitrum, 96

  salt, 15, 29, 39, 40, 46, 67, 75, 77–79, 86, 90, 96, 101–102, 116–17, 119, 128, 134, 137, 142, 179–81, 183, 200, 216–23, 230, 234, 247, 253–54, 267–68, 273–74, 278, 288, 290, 292–93, 299, 301, 304

  salt, acid, 304

  salt, alkali, 299

  salt, base, 304

  salt, calcium, 310

  salt, iron, 278, 280

  salt, neutral, 304

  salt, niter, 219

  salt, sodium chloride, 75, 116, 119, 217, 267–68, 274, 278, 290, 292–93, 304, 327

  salt, table. See salt, sodium chloride

  salt, tin, 86

  salt, tribes, 304

  salt, vinegar and, 37, 67, 79, 180–81

  salt of tartar, 253–54

  saltpeter, 75, 117, 119, 216–18, 220, 222–24, 230, 240, 246, 248, 251, 257, 261, 265, 267–68, 273–75, 278–79, 283, 290, 292, 299, 304

  saltpeter, philosophers’, 222

  saltwater, 34, 40, 90

  salt works, 282

  Saturn, 75, 202

  Saxony, 146–48, 158, 200, 212, 308, 312

  Sceptical Chymist, The (Boyle), 301

  Schult, Hans, 162

  Scot, Michael, 61, 62

  Scotland, 212, 214

  scribe, 96

  script, gold and silver, 151–53

  scriptorium, 57

  seashell, 121, 167–68, 310, 319

  second comin
g, 61, 240

  Secret of Secrets (Aristotle), 60

  Secrets, The (Cortese), 146

  Secrets and Knowledge of Science and Medicine (Leong and Rankin), 49

  Secrets of Alchemy (Synthesis), The (Principe), 202, 286, 316

  Secretum Secretorum (Aristotle), 60

  semen, 136

  Sendivogius, Michael, 209, 211–20, 222–24, 230, 240, 246, 248, 250, 257, 259, 260, 265, 274

  Sennert, Daniel, 288–92, 298

  Seton, Alexander, 212–16

  seven metals, 44

  Severinus, Petrus, 155–57

  shop talk, 204

  show stone, 172

  Siena, 62, 108, 109

  signatures, doctrine of, 125–26, 157, 160–61, 190, 289

  silver, 15, 21, 29, 30, 32, 44, 51, 58, 62, 69, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 86, 93, 96, 98, 101–102, 104–105, 107, 109, 111–14, 118–19, 128, 132–34, 143, 145–46, 151, 153, 156, 166, 170, 179–81, 185, 187, 198, 216, 226, 246, 259, 273, 289, 290–91

  silver, salt, 102, 119, 134

  silversmith, 133

  silver solution. See solution, silver

  similars, doctrine of, 125, 157, 160, 247, 275

  skryers, 172, 177

  slaves, 232, 245

  Smith, Pamela, 49

  Society of Jesus, 263–69

  sodium hydroxide, 178, 180–81, 207, 304, 323

  sodium sulfate decahydrate, 272–73, 276

  solution, 75, 78, 80, 97, 98, 137, 198, 226, 251, 299, 318

  acid, 118

  amethyst, 293

  ammonia, 166–67, 221, 304–305, 320

  aquarium-pH-lowering, 117, 118, 119, 220, 268, 278, 290, 293, 321

  blue, 119

  caustic, 80

  copper(II) sulfate, 165–66, 324

  gold, 118–19, 289, 290

  gray-green, 278

  homogenous, 80

  hydroxide, 178, 180–81, 304

  lignum nephriticum, 269

  lye, 180, 206–207, 255, 273, 323

  root killer, 64

  salt and vinegar, 37, 67, 79, 180–81

  saltpeter, 222

  silver, 134, 321

  sodium silicate, 154, 278, 319

  vinegar, 305

  yellow, 119

  solvent, 91, 142, 247

  universal, 15, 128, 231

  Sommering, Philipp, 148

  spagyria, 128

  Spain, 56, 153, 187, 269

  Spanish Inquisition. See Inquisition

  spirit, 32, 39, 44, 85, 116, 216–18, 223, 229, 234, 250, 254, 257, 274

  spirit of salt, 116

  spirits, 172, 173–75

  spiritual. See alchemy, spiritual

  spiritualist, 170, 172, 176

  spirituals, 81–83, 85

  spiritus sylvestre, 229, 234

  spiritus universalis, 274

  splint, 201, 217, 234, 319

  stainless-steel skillet, 37, 315

  Stalbridge, 244

  Stanley, Venetia Anastasia, 244–45, 248

  Starkey, George, 284, 286–87, 292, 297–98, 300

  Star Trek (TV series), 252

  steel wool, 165–66, 278, 292–93, 315, 321, 324