CHAPTER IV. Alchemy: Its History, Both Primitive and Derivative—the

Alchemy: its history, both primitive and derivative—The Gnostics influence it, and it passes by way of the Syrians to the Arabs—Disputes divide their schools in the twelfth century regarding the reality of this art—Spain the scene of this activity and the place where alchemy began to become known among the Latins—The time when the work of translation commenced, and the course it followed—Scot’s position in the history of this art, and an examination of his chemical works: the spurious De natura solis et lunae, the Magisterium, the Liber Luminis Luminum, and the De Alchimia, 65