within the educated circles. Prosecution of protochemists from Roman Empire,
about which write historians, has finished in Persia. The elite of Hellenistic culture
and science has moved to the old Persian university Gondishapur, which, together
with almost the entire territory of Middle East, North Africa and todays Spain,
became a part of Arabian region constituency. Arabs were not only tolerant to new
science, but they have continued with its further development. Arabs have established universities in Cordoba, Toledo, and Granada that became also the centres of
European culture.
Hellenistic and classical scriptures were translated in Arabian, but with some
modifications and additions. The dominant doctrine has been Aristotelian metaphysics about the stationary supralunary and the variable sublunary world, which
was in harmony with the Islamic idea by which the events on Earth are just a
reflection of events in the heaven. Perhaps, this idea has stimulated the vigorous
development of astronomy in this period. The studies of occurrences in heaven have
to be applied for the explanations of the terrestrial occasions: astronomy because of
its application in the astrology! Abdulah Ibn-Sina (980–1037, in Europe known as
Avicena, and Ibn-Rujd (1126–1198) with the European name Averroes have
explained the hierarchical structure of complexity of the Universum on the new
way. Alchemy was readily accepted as one of the independent sciences, as it
follows from the work Turba Philosophorum by al-Ihmimi, the author from 11th
Century. The term kimia as the skill and science about transformation of metals can
be find in the book from 9th century associated to Abu Jusuf Jakub ibn Ishak ibn
al-Sabah (801–873), who is in European scripts known as Alkindus. His chemical
work covers preparation of perfumes and the skill of distillation but not the science
about metals [1, 2]. Perhaps, Alkindus was one of rare chemists who did not accept
the concept about the transmutation of metals.
One of practical problems in the history of science, and in history generally is the
question about authorship. In the early history, the philosophers and writers did not
subscribe their works with their own names. Rather, they have used the names of
famous authors. Let us remember Bolos of Mendes, who has subscribed his works
with Democritus. Explanation by which the name of famous author has guaranteed
the quality of work is only partially true. I am inclined to favour the opinion by
which the name of author has not been important in antiquity because everything
important on the Earth and on the heaven was known from ever. In her script, Gold
Making of Cleopatra its author wrote: One is All and through it is All, and by it is
All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.
This is a wisdom that is from ever to ever. What about authorship in this?
This everything and from ever has in the philosophy transformed in the personalized form of proto-spirit of all the sages–Hermes Trismegistos. This
legendary father of all chemists, whose trace has been vanished in the historical fog,
have appeared as an author of the learnings by which everything is known from
ever. His Tabula Smaragdina (Smaragdine tablet), of which the oldest available
version is the 12th century Arabian translation, became a cannon of all alchemists,
the summary of all the knowledge. Let us quote one of its translations by Isaac
Newton:
40
4 Alchemy
about which write historians, has finished in Persia. The elite of Hellenistic culture
and science has moved to the old Persian university Gondishapur, which, together
with almost the entire territory of Middle East, North Africa and todays Spain,
became a part of Arabian region constituency. Arabs were not only tolerant to new
science, but they have continued with its further development. Arabs have established universities in Cordoba, Toledo, and Granada that became also the centres of
European culture.
Hellenistic and classical scriptures were translated in Arabian, but with some
modifications and additions. The dominant doctrine has been Aristotelian metaphysics about the stationary supralunary and the variable sublunary world, which
was in harmony with the Islamic idea by which the events on Earth are just a
reflection of events in the heaven. Perhaps, this idea has stimulated the vigorous
development of astronomy in this period. The studies of occurrences in heaven have
to be applied for the explanations of the terrestrial occasions: astronomy because of
its application in the astrology! Abdulah Ibn-Sina (980–1037, in Europe known as
Avicena, and Ibn-Rujd (1126–1198) with the European name Averroes have
explained the hierarchical structure of complexity of the Universum on the new
way. Alchemy was readily accepted as one of the independent sciences, as it
follows from the work Turba Philosophorum by al-Ihmimi, the author from 11th
Century. The term kimia as the skill and science about transformation of metals can
be find in the book from 9th century associated to Abu Jusuf Jakub ibn Ishak ibn
al-Sabah (801–873), who is in European scripts known as Alkindus. His chemical
work covers preparation of perfumes and the skill of distillation but not the science
about metals [1, 2]. Perhaps, Alkindus was one of rare chemists who did not accept
the concept about the transmutation of metals.
One of practical problems in the history of science, and in history generally is the
question about authorship. In the early history, the philosophers and writers did not
subscribe their works with their own names. Rather, they have used the names of
famous authors. Let us remember Bolos of Mendes, who has subscribed his works
with Democritus. Explanation by which the name of famous author has guaranteed
the quality of work is only partially true. I am inclined to favour the opinion by
which the name of author has not been important in antiquity because everything
important on the Earth and on the heaven was known from ever. In her script, Gold
Making of Cleopatra its author wrote: One is All and through it is All, and by it is
All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.
This is a wisdom that is from ever to ever. What about authorship in this?
This everything and from ever has in the philosophy transformed in the personalized form of proto-spirit of all the sages–Hermes Trismegistos. This
legendary father of all chemists, whose trace has been vanished in the historical fog,
have appeared as an author of the learnings by which everything is known from
ever. His Tabula Smaragdina (Smaragdine tablet), of which the oldest available
version is the 12th century Arabian translation, became a cannon of all alchemists,
the summary of all the knowledge. Let us quote one of its translations by Isaac
Newton:
40
4 Alchemy