Alchemy: Ancient and Modern / Being a Brief Account of the Alchemistic Doctrines, and Their Relations, to Mysticism on the One Hand, and to Recent Discoveries in Physical Science on the Other Hand; Together with Some Particulars Regarding the Lives and Teachings of the Most Noted Alchemists

The author surveys alchemical doctrines from their mystical and theological origins through later developments, explaining symbolic, physiological, and practical sources for alchemistic ideas and techniques. He examines lives and teachings of notable practitioners, traces doctrinal evolution, and interprets alchemical symbolism and operations. The text compares traditional alchemical hypotheses with contemporary chemical and physical discoveries, notably radioactivity and atomic transmutation, and considers experimental attempts to effect element-change. Chapters balance historical narrative, doctrinal analysis, and discussion of how mystical analogy and early scientific observation informed the alchemists’ aims and methods.