Alchemy and Chemistry in the Early Modern Era

At the turn of the 17th century, chemistry was in the early stages of development; scientists had not yet discovered a format with which to successfully describe and classify chemicals. In the 1600s, there was no difference between chemistry and alchemy. Both words were used to mean the same practice: a combination of what we today would call scientific chemistry and mystical alchemy. Alchemy was the discipline that influenced the origins of modern chemistry; it combined scientific experiments with astrology and other forms of mysticism to attempt to create new substances and understand the world.

Alchemy

Alchemy was a diverse field of inquiry that had ethical, mystical, medical, and metallurgical connections. Through their research into herbs, metals, and astrology, alchemists were convinced they could produce the philosopher’s stone, which is defined by Oxford’s Dictionary of Reference and Allusion as an imaginary substance, sought after by alchemists, that was supposed to have the power of changing base metals into gold and sometimes of curing all diseases and prolonging life indefinitely. The ancient, global art of alchemy claimed that research and experiments could categorize matter, primarily the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water.

A Transformed Reputation

In the early modern era, alchemy evolved from a mystical to a more scientific pursuit. Previously, alchemists concealed their work out of fear of punishment, including death. The fear of punishment led alchemists to develop symbols to code their work, making it less obvious to officials. As the 1600s approached, the secrets of alchemy began to be uncovered, and it started to become more widely practiced and accepted. Scientific pioneers Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton both investigated alchemical principles.

Noteworthy Names

Paracelsus

Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus, known as the Father of Toxicology, was born in Switzerland in 1493. Paracelsus believed that there were only three basic elements: mercury, salt, and sulphur. Through his research, Paracelsus applied chemistry to medicine. Paracelsus was primarily interested in investigating the causes of disease, life and death, and humanity’s relationships with itself and the universe. He often used chemistry as a mode of teaching his medical students and speaking to others in the medical field. Paracelsus focused his research on finding cures for diseases instead of depending on medication, despite how effective herbal compounds may have been.

Andreas Libavius

Andreas Libavius was a German alchemist who was born in the 1540s. In 1559, Libavius wrote Alchemia, considered by some as the first chemistry textbook. Alchemia put the general knowledge of alchemists into language that any educated reader could understand. Libavius was one of the first alchemists to reject secrecy and work towards making information on alchemy easily accessible.

John Dee

John Dee was Queen Elizabeth I’s astrologer and alchemist. He was equally famous and infamous in his own time. He mixed science and the occult and believed that he could speak to angels in their own language. Dee’s alchemical experiments, which he presented in Queen Elizabeth I’s court, showed how far alchemy had come from being a crime punishable by death.

Robert Boyle

A title page. Some of the modernized text reads: The Sceptical Chemist: Or Chemical-Physical Doubts and Paradoxes, Touching the Spagyrst’s Principles Commonly called Hypostatical. The text is inked in black, but the words Sceptical Chemist, Doubts, Paradoxes, and Hypostatical have been inked in red. Title page of The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes by Robert Boyle, 1661 first edition. Courtesy of Project Gutenberg. Full Project Gutenberg-tm License.

Robert Boyle is known as the leading English chemist of the seventeenth century and the father of modern chemistry. In 1661, Boyle published The Skeptical Chymist, in which he argues against the four-elements theory and instead asserts that not all substances could be broken down into four elements. Boyle’s goal was to help chemists determine the makeup of matter through scientific observations. Boyle also rejected alchemical secrecy, believing that secrets interfered with the progress of knowledge.

Connections to Theatre

Ben Jonson, one of early modern London’s most renowned playwrights, used the period’s fascination with alchemy as the basis for an entire play. Jonson’s 1610 play The Alchemist takes place during a plague outbreak in London. A wealthy man named Lovewit leaves his property in the care of his butler, Face, to escape the plague by leaving the city. In his absence, the play’s main characters, Face, Doll, and Subtle, deceive the people of London into thinking that Subtle, a conman, is a skilled alchemist who can grant their wishes. One of their victims, Sir Epicure Mammon, requests that Subtle create the philosopher’s stone, which he believes will bring him all that he desires since the stone has the ability to turn base metals into gold and even grant eternal life. In Act 2, Scene 3, Face and Subtle use random alchemical language to trick Mammon into believing they are experienced alchemists. The play reveals the fascination alchemy held in the popular imagination.

Key Print Sources Bianchi, Massimo Luigi. The Visible and the Invisible: From Alchemy to Paracelsus. Alchemy and Chemistry in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Ed. Piyo Rattansi and Antonio Clericuzio. Springer Dordrecht, 1994. Borzelleca, J.F. Paracelsus: Herald of Modern Toxicology. Toxicological Sciences 53.1, 2000, pp. 2–4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/53.1.2. De Vries, Lyke. Protecting Academia and Religion: Andreas Libavius’s Criticism of a General Reformation. Ambix vol. 69, no. 1, 2022, pp. 34–48. Jonson, Ben. The Alchemist. A Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Ed. John Greenwood. Broadview Press, 2020. Levere, Trevor Harvey. Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball. John Hopkins University Press, 2001. Philosopher’s Stone. A Dictionary of Reference and Allusion. Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference. 2012. Rocke, A.J. Alchemy. The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. Oxford University Press, 2003. Spyros, N. Michaleas, et al. Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim (Paracelsus) (1493–1541): The Eminent Physician and Pioneer of Toxicology. Toxicology Reports 8 Jan. 2021, pp. 411–414. DOI 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.02.012.

Key Online Sources Alchemy to Chemistry—the Start of a Modern Science. RMIT University Learning Lab. 2 Dec. 2021. https://learninglab.rmit.edu.au/chemistry/introduction-chemistry/alchemy-chemistry/. Fessenden, Maris. A Painting of John Dee, Astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, Contains a Hidden Ring of Skulls: The life and work of John Dee contained a strange mix of science and magic. Smithsonian Magazine. 18 Jan. 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-painting-of-john-dee-astrologer-to-queen-elizabeth-i-contains-a-hidden-ring-of-skulls-180957860/. Murray, Stacey R. From Alchemy to Chemistry. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Jan. 2022. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/alchemy-chemistry. Owens, Rebekah. Shakespeare and Medicine: Friar Lawrence. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. 2018. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/shakespeare-and-medicine-friar-lawrence/.

Image Sources Boyle, Robert. The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-Physical Doubts & Paradoxes. London: For J. Crooke, 1661. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22914/22914-h/22914-h.htm.