Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art
    On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art
    On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art
    Ebook55 pages48 minutes

    On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art

    By James Mactear

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art" by James Mactear. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGood Press
    Release dateDec 9, 2019
    ISBN4064066242077
    On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art

    Related to On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art

    Related ebooks

    History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Lasting Legacy Of The Golden Age

      Nov 2, 2023

      What were some of the foundational underpinnings of what we’ve come to call the Islamic Golden Age? There are several factors and circumstances that led to the Golden Age. First, and perhaps most significantly, is the very nature of the Abbasid Calip

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Islamic Golden Age

      Feb 28, 2020

      From the 8th to the 14th century, Islam flourished. The growth of the religion spurred on a period of cultural, economic and scientific advancement like no other. Following the death of Muhammad, the caliphs — the new Arab leaders — built and establi

      5 min read

    • Article

      The City of Peace

      May 18, 2023

      The City of Peace
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Crucible Of Alchemy

      Feb 28, 2020

      The Crucible Of Alchemy
      10 min read

    • Article

      The New science Of History

      Mar 1, 2024

      The New science Of History
      16 min read

    • Article

      Legends And Pseudonyms

      Feb 28, 2020

      One of the joys of being a writer is seeing your name in print (see my own humble byline above) yet in the past many authors of alchemical texts hid their identity behind pseudonyms. Were these noms de plume a method of concealment or conceit? As wit

      5 min read

    • Article

      Rosicrucianism

      Feb 28, 2020

      Europe in the early 17th century was not a happy place. It was a continent marked by religious divisions and political strife which would escalate into the bloody Thirty Years’ War that led to eight million lives being lost. At the same time, it was

      5 min read

    • Article

      Greek Knowledge Of The Scythians

      Dec 8, 2023

      Greek Knowledge Of The Scythians
      8 min read

    • Article

      Rise Of The Persian Princes

      Jun 10, 2023

      Rise Of The Persian Princes
      12 min read

    • Article

      Preliminaries

      Aug 24, 2021

      I‘m not terribly handy, so learning about how something works has always interested me – from simple things that make our day-to-day lives easier (and that we take for granted), such as the wheel, to complex devices and architectural feats that leave

      7 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The Alchemists

      Feb 28, 2020

      Secrets Of The Alchemists
      7 min read

    • Article

      Empire Of The Greats

      Apr 14, 2022

      Empire Of The Greats
      9 min read

    • Article

      Egypt Lives On… After The Pharoahs

      Apr 12, 2024

      Very few cities can date their foundation so precisely but, as in so many other things, Cairo is exceptional. On 8 August 969, the Fatimid General Gawhar had completed his conquest of the old capital, al-Fustat, and had earmarked a site to the north

      4 min read

    • Article

      Gulliver’s Travels

      Oct 30, 2018

      Gulliver’s Travels
      5 min read

    • Article

      Very Moorish Andalusia

      Jun 29, 2022

      Very Moorish Andalusia
      4 min read

    • Article

      Out With The Old...

      Oct 19, 2021

      Out With The Old...
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Life and Death of the Library of Alexandria

      Mar 13, 2017

      In 1960, four novels by the well-known English writer Lawrence Durrell were brought together in one volume and published as The Alexandria Quartet. Described by its author as “an investigation of modern love,” it was set in the Egyptian city of Alexa

      23 min read

    • Article

      Wonder lust

      Jan 18, 2024

      Wonder lust
      9 min read

    • Article

      Astronomy In Ancient Egypt

      Dec 7, 2022

      Astronomy In Ancient Egypt
      2 min read

    • Article

      Development Of Writing

      Sep 18, 2020

      Development Of Writing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Treasures of Ancient Egypt

      May 28, 2021

      ANCIENT EGYPT PART 2 OF 2 Social sciences FOR more than 3 000 years the Ancient Egyptian civilisation flourished on the banks of the Nile River in northeast Africa. But after Egypt was conquered – first by the Greeks, then the Romans and eventually t

      4 min read

    • Article

      Fear Of A Black Magic

      Mar 27, 2020

      Fear Of A Black Magic
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lost Knowledge Of The Ancients

      Feb 25, 2021

      Lost Knowledge Of The Ancients
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Philistine Age

      Jun 11, 2022

      The Philistine Age
      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art - James Mactear

      James Mactear

      On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art

      Published by Good Press, 2022

      goodpress@okpublishing.info

      EAN 4064066242077

      Table of Contents

      Cover

      Titlepage

      Text

      By JAMES MACTEAR, F.C.S., F.C.I.

      THE PRESIDENT’S OPENING ADDRESS TO THE CHEMICAL SECTION.

      On the Antiquity of the Chemical Art. By James Mactear, F.C.S., F.C.I.,

      Member of the International Jury, Paris, 1878,

      and Medalist of the Society of Arts.

      [Read before the Section, December 8th, 1879.]

      The study of the History of Chemistry as an art, or as a science, is one which possesses peculiar fascination for its votaries. It has been the subject of deep research and much discussion, much has been written upon the subject, and many theories have been broached to account for its origin. We have had laid before us by Professor Ferguson, in his papers on this subject of Chemical History, very clearly and fully the generally-accepted position as regards the origin of the science, and in the last of these papers, entitled Eleven Centuries of Chemistry, he deals with the subject in a most complete manner, tracing back through its various mutations the development of the science to the time of Geber, in or about the year A.D.778.

      Of Geber, as a chemist, Professor Ferguson writes, He was the first—because, although he himself speaks of the ancients, meaning thereby his forerunners, nothing is known of these older chemists.

      Rodwell, in his Birth of Chemistry, after a careful examination of the question, comes to the conclusion that, in spite of all that has been written on the subject, there is no good evidence to prove that alchemy and chemistry did not originate in Arabia not long prior to the eighth century, A.D., bringing us again to the times of Geber.

      He is not alone in this opinion, and it seems to be generally accepted that chemistry originated in the Arabian schools about this period.

      In dealing with the question of the antiquity of chemical art, it has been too much the habit to look at the question with a view of discovering when and who it was that first brought forth, fully clothed as a science, the art of chemistry.

      Let us look at the definition of the science given by Boerhæve, about 1732. He describes chemistry as an art which teaches the manner of performing certain physical operations, whereby bodies cognizable to the senses, or capable of being rendered cognizable, and of being contained in vessels, are so changed by means of proper instruments as to produce certain determinate effects, and at the same time discover the causes thereof, for the service of the various arts.

      Now, it is amply evident that, long before the various known facts could be collected and welded into one compact whole as a science, there must have existed great store of intellectual wealth, as well as mere hereditary practical knowledge of the various chemical facts.

      I do not think it will be disputed that, until comparatively recent times, technical knowledge has constantly been in advance of theory, and that it is not too much to conclude that, no matter where we first find actual records of our science, its natal day must have long before dawned. Even in our day, when theoretical science, as applied to chemistry, has made such immense strides, how often do we find that it is only now that theory comes in to explain facts, known as such long previous, and those engaged in practical chemical work know how much technical knowledge is still unwritten, and what may even be called traditionary.

      I purpose taking up the subject from this point of view, and attempting, with what little ability I can, to follow back to a still more remote period than that of Geber and the Arabian school of philosophers the traces of what has often been called the divineart.

      An aspect of the question that has often presented itself to me

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1