Description
The Secrets of Alchemy is a book about alchemy, written by Lawrence M. Principe. It covers the history of alchemy, its role in early modern Europe, and its influence on later fields of study. Principe introduces the reader to some of the most fascinating alchemists, such as Zosimos and Basil Valentine, and uses their lives and work to reveal alchemy's secrets. This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in alchemy, and will help readers understand the practice better.
In The Secrets of Alchemy, Lawrence M. Principe, one of the world's leading authorities on the subject, brings alchemy out of the shadows and restores it to its important place in human history and culture. By surveying what alchemy was and how it began, developed, and overlapped with a range of ideas and pursuits, Principe illuminates the practice. He vividly depicts the place of alchemy during its heyday in early modern Europe, and then explores how alchemy has fit into wider views of the cosmos and humanity, touching on its enduring place in literature, fine art, theater, and religion as well as its recent acceptance as a serious subject of study for historians of science. In addition, he introduces the reader to some of the most fascinating alchemists, such as Zosimos and Basil Valentine, whose lives dot alchemy's long reign from the third century down to the present day. Through his exploration of alchemists and their times, Principe pieces together closely guarded clues from obscure and fragmented texts to reveal alchemy's secrets, and - most exciting for budding alchemists - uses them to recreate many of the most famous recipes in his lab, including those for the glass of antimony and philosophers' tree. This unique approach brings the reader closer to the actual work of alchemy than any other book.
Review:
The Secrets of Alchemy comes closer than any other single work to explaining the grounds-rational and empirical, as well as religious and wishful-for alchemy's longevity. Lawrence M. Principe's delightful writing style brings to life a depth of learning matched by few in the field. (Nature) An elegant, readable book, packed with information and revelation. (Anthony Grafton, Science) Lawrence M. Principe has long been at the vanguard of scholars who seek to show that alchemists were really early chemists, not blindly struggling to turn substances into gold but operating, like scientists today, within an intellectual framework that guided their practical work. In The Secrets of Alchemy, an elegantly written summary of two decades of his own research, Principe describes this framework. (Wall Street Journal)
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