The Secrets of Alchemy

De: Lawrence M. Principe

Narrado por: Gary Tiedemann

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 listener to some of the most fascinating alchemists, such as Zosimos and Basil Valentine, whose lives dot alchemy's long reign from the third century and 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 listener closer to the actual work of alchemy than any other book.

©2013 The University of Chicago (P)2023 Tantor

Historical details

I was highly impressed by all the historical details. Loaded with lots of information so will definitely be listening to it again

An amazing dive into the art of alchemy

Excellent book. If you have a curiosity on the subject this will light your path

Brilliant well-researched and witty

A look into alchemy across ages, expanding on the allegories, that will occasionally make you laugh. Gotta love Principe! Would have been excellent to hear him narrate it as well as he is a magnificent lecturer.

Puddle of History

This is a striking example of how an erudite mind can fall prey to the conventional, superficial, and purely rational trap of narrative, with total disregard for the subject's inherent depth and transformative meaning.
The author, for instance, critiques Carl Jung’s or Elias Ashmole’s approach to alchemy by discrediting their insights through the lens of historical contextualization—ironically, this very same limiting criticism can be applied to his own study of the subject.
When presented with a dire state of intellectual captivity within the inevitable complexity of the irrational and the occult, and by the grace of the canon of analogy is offered the thread to be liberated, the educated profane with all his might still chooses ignorance. He leans toward the shallow puddle of limiting authorities where he and his listeners feel more at home, rather than venturing into the vast ocean of opportunity called imagination, from which springs the true fountain of innovation.
One can only feel pity while observing an inquiring mind that has studied the labyrinth in great detail without finding a way out, and seemingly without even knowing how he got there in the first place.