The lure and romance of alchemy / by C.J.S. Thompson.

  • Charles Thompson
Date:
[1932]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The lure and romance of alchemy / by C.J.S. Thompson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    dominant feature, while the chief object of the Western alche¬ mists was the secret of transmuting the baser metals into gold. In India the earliest allusions to alchemical ideas appear in the Atharva Veda, where mention is made of the gold which is born from fire: ‘ ‘ The immortal they bestowed upon the mortals. The gold [endowed by] the sun with beautiful colour which the men of yore rich in descendants did desire. Long-lived be¬ comes he who wears it.” From very early times in India gold was regarded as the Elixir of Life, and lead was looked upon as the dispeller of sorcery. Dr Ray, an authority on the subject, attributes the rise of Hindu alchemy to the Soma rasa plant, which was an object of admiration to the Vedic worshippers, for the juice was regarded as the stimulant which conferred immortality upon the gods. By other authorities alchemy is said to have had its origin in the Tantras, part of the series of sacred books known as the Fifth Veda, supposed to date from the sixth or seventh century of our era. Before the eleventh century, however, records are scanty. AlberunI, the historian, says: Until that period the Hindus did not pay particular attention to it, but many intelligent people are entirely given to alchemy. The adepts in this art try to keep it concealed, and shrink back from in¬ tercourse with those who do not belong to them. They have a science similar to alchemy which they call Rasayana, an art which is restricted to certain operations, drugs, and compound medicines. Its principles restore the health of those who were ill beyond hope and give back youth to fading old age. Among the Tantras of the eleventh and twelfth centuries many allusions are to be found concerning quicksilver, which was supposed to be capable of giving a divine body. The work called Rasdrnava states: “ It is mercury alone that can make the body undecaying and immortal.” It was the supreme medica¬ ment, and its study was regarded as a science in itself. During the Tantric period, with its system of the “Philosophy of Mer¬ cury,” a great amount of chemical information was accumulated
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