On the first editions of the chemical writings of Democritus and Synesius / by John Ferguson.

  • Ferguson, John, 1838-1916.
Date:
[1885]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the first editions of the chemical writings of Democritus and Synesius / by John Ferguson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    and Sijnesius. By John Ferguson, M.A., Professor of Chemistry in the University of Ghisgow. [Read before the Society, 19th November, 18S-4.] 1. DEMOCRiTus,the oldest known writer on chemical topics, is the nominal author of a tract in Greek, entitled ^^vo-lko. kol IAvo-tlko., which is contained in most of the Greek alchemical Manuscx-ipts. * Some of the older historians of chemistry tried to identify him with the Greek philosopher of the same name, but there is no evidence to support such a view. Fi-oni a variety of considera- tions, however, it is probable that he flourished not later than the third or fourth century A.D., so that the subject about which he wrote cannot be considered an absolutely modern one. His curious tract has never been edited in the original language; its contents are known only through a Latin translation, executed m the sixteenth century by an Italian named Dominico Pizimenti. As no more ancient alchemical writer than Democritus is known, this writing of his would be of the greatest importance, were it not rendered almost ixseless by its obscurity. Familiar words and expressions ai'e indeed constantly employed, but it is questionable if they have the meanings attached to them now, or carry the same meanings throughout the tract itself. The whole work bears the * These manuscripts are described in full by Dr. Kopp in his great work; Beitrdge zur Geschichte der Chemie, Braunschweig, 1869, Svo, Parts i.-ii., which contains all that is at present known about the Greek alchemists and their writings. As the first portion of the present paper is simply an abridgment of Dr. Kopp's results, I make this reference to his work once for all, to avoid constant quotation. For the same reason I curtail reference to the older writers as much as possible, as they are all to be found in Dr. Kopp's notes. A paper by myself, giving a sketch of Dr. Kopp's researches and a list of the MSS., was printed in the Proceedings of this Society for 1876, vol. X., pp. 368-89. It is the existence of that paper which has induced me to submit to the Society the present communication also, one so entirely technical in detail and hmited in interest, that it can appeal to only one or two specialists.