The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry is very interesting in itself.

It is also a pregnant example of the contrast between the scientific and the emotional methods of regarding nature; and it admirably illustrates the differences between well-grounded, suggestive, hypotheses, and baseless speculations.
I have tried to tell the story so that it may be intelligible to the ordinary reader.
M.M.PATTISON MUIR.
CAMBRIDGE, November 1902.
* * * * * NOTE TO NEW EDITION.
A few small changes have been made.

The last chapter has been re-written and considerably enlarged.
M.M.P.M.
FARNHAM, September 1913.
* * * * * CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.THE EXPLANATION OF MATERIAL CHANGES GIVEN BY GREEK THINKERS II.

A SKETCH OF ALCHEMICAL THEORY III.

THE ALCHEMICAL NOTION OF THE UNITY AND SIMPLICITY OF NATURE IV.