Alchemy, medicine, and religion in Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum

[Paul Ferguson]

"Regardless of time, place, and culture, alchemy has enjoyed a ménage à trois. On the one hand it has boasted the ability to find the panacea, that is, a universal cure for the body, thus claiming parentage to medicine. On the other hand, by declaring perfect knowledge of nature as its ulti- mate goal, the alchemical quest has been seen as a mystical way to find a cure for the soul, too. The aim of this essay is to shed light on the relationship of alchemy to medicine and religion through the case study of Elias Ashmole’s Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum."

Open Access:

https://www.research.unipd.it/handle/11577/3412118