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177
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry
·
M. M. Pattison Muir
30
It
is
not
easy
now--it
could
not
have
been
easy
at
any
time--to
give
clear
and
exact
meanings
to
the
doctrines
of
the
alchemists,
or
the
directions
they
gave
for
performing
the
operations
necessary
for
the
production
of
the
object
of
their
search.
And
the
difficulty
is
much
increased
when
we
are
told
that
"The
Sage
jealously
conceals
[his
knowledge]
from
the
sinner
and
the
scornful,
lest
the
mysteries
of
heaven
should
be
laid
bare
to
the
vulgar
gaze."
We
almost
despair
when
an
alchemical
writer
assures
us
that
the
Sages
"Set
pen
to
paper
for
the
express
purpose
of
concealing
their
meaning.
The
sense
of
a
whole
passage
is
often
hopelessly
obscured
by
the
addition
or
omission
of
one
little
word,
for
instance
the
addition
of
the
word
not
in
the
wrong
place."
Another
writer
says:
"The
Sages
are
in
the
habit
of
using
words
which
may
convey
either
a
true
or
a
false
impression;
the
former
to
their
own
disciples
and
children,
the
latter
to
the
ignorant,
the
foolish,
and
the
unworthy."
Sometimes,
after
descriptions
of
processes
couched
in
strange
and
mystical
language,
the
writer
will
add,
"If
you
cannot
perceive
what
you
ought
to
understand
herein,
you
should
not
devote
yourself
to
the
study
of
philosophy."
Philalethes,
in
his
Brief
Guide
to
the
Celestial
Ruby,
seems
to
feel
some
pity
for
his
readers;
after
describing
what
he
calls
"the
generic
homogeneous
water
of
gold,"
he
says:
"If
you
wish
for
a
more
particular
description
of
our
water,
I
am
impelled
by
motives
of
charity
to
tell
you
that
it
is
living,
flexible,
clear,
nitid,
white
as
snow,
hot,
humid,
airy,
vaporous,
and
digestive."
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