Geber
“After hearing that, the boy became even more interested in
alchemy. He thought that, with some patience, he’d be able to transform
everything into gold. He read the lives of the various people who had succeeded
in doing so: Helevetius, Elias, Fulcanelli, and Geber. They were fascinating
stories: each of them lived out his Personal Legend to the end. They traveled,
spoke with wise men, performed miracles for the incredulous, and owned the
Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life.” (82)
After meeting the Englishman on his journey through the desert, Santiago
and the man exchange their ideas and stories. Because of this, Santiago becomes
fascinated with alchemy and the idea of turning lead into gold. Along his long
and difficult journey, he’s always in pursuit of his Personal Legend, and
alchemy remains important to him throughout the
novel. He is inspired by these people who have acheived their personal legends and
he aspires to be like them so that he can experience the things they did.
alchemy. He thought that, with some patience, he’d be able to transform
everything into gold. He read the lives of the various people who had succeeded
in doing so: Helevetius, Elias, Fulcanelli, and Geber. They were fascinating
stories: each of them lived out his Personal Legend to the end. They traveled,
spoke with wise men, performed miracles for the incredulous, and owned the
Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life.” (82)
After meeting the Englishman on his journey through the desert, Santiago
and the man exchange their ideas and stories. Because of this, Santiago becomes
fascinated with alchemy and the idea of turning lead into gold. Along his long
and difficult journey, he’s always in pursuit of his Personal Legend, and
alchemy remains important to him throughout the
novel. He is inspired by these people who have acheived their personal legends and
he aspires to be like them so that he can experience the things they did.
Background info
Geber was a famous Spanish alchemist
from the early fourteenth century. Not to be confused with Geber (Jabir ibn
Hayyan), the famous Arabic alchemist from the mid eighth century. Although the
Spanish Geber’s name was not actually Geber, he is still credited with some very
important scientific discoveries far ahead of his time.
His discoveries mostly revolve around his work with acids. He is credited
with the discovery of sulfuric acid (which some consider to be the greatest
achievement in chemistry during medieval times), and other revolutionary ideas
in the knowledge of mineral acids. He described how to produce these chemicals
in his various books on alchemy. Some of the acids he describes are sulfuric
acid, nitric acid (capable of dissolving silver) and a mixture called aqua
regia that could dissolve gold.
Geber (or False Geber as he is sometimes called) also wrote many books on
alchemy including The Sum of Perfection,
The Book of Furnaces, Investigation of Perfection, and The Invention of Verity.
Some books were translations of important documents on alchemy from Arabic
to Latin, and others books described his firsthand experiments of trying to find
the “universal solvent” (a substance that could dissolve anything into its
simplest form) so that he could learn how to turn base metals into
gold.
Geber’s translations of ancient texts about alchemy and his discoveries
of mineral acids spurred the beginning of alchemy in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Even today, Geber’s discoveries are still relevant, the oil
of vitrol (a mixture of sulfuric acid and other compounds) he described in
one of his books is one of the most important industrial chemicals worldwide. It
is used in fertilizer, drugs, explosive detergents, and car batteries showing
that his discoveries have not gone unnoticed.
from the early fourteenth century. Not to be confused with Geber (Jabir ibn
Hayyan), the famous Arabic alchemist from the mid eighth century. Although the
Spanish Geber’s name was not actually Geber, he is still credited with some very
important scientific discoveries far ahead of his time.
His discoveries mostly revolve around his work with acids. He is credited
with the discovery of sulfuric acid (which some consider to be the greatest
achievement in chemistry during medieval times), and other revolutionary ideas
in the knowledge of mineral acids. He described how to produce these chemicals
in his various books on alchemy. Some of the acids he describes are sulfuric
acid, nitric acid (capable of dissolving silver) and a mixture called aqua
regia that could dissolve gold.
Geber (or False Geber as he is sometimes called) also wrote many books on
alchemy including The Sum of Perfection,
The Book of Furnaces, Investigation of Perfection, and The Invention of Verity.
Some books were translations of important documents on alchemy from Arabic
to Latin, and others books described his firsthand experiments of trying to find
the “universal solvent” (a substance that could dissolve anything into its
simplest form) so that he could learn how to turn base metals into
gold.
Geber’s translations of ancient texts about alchemy and his discoveries
of mineral acids spurred the beginning of alchemy in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Even today, Geber’s discoveries are still relevant, the oil
of vitrol (a mixture of sulfuric acid and other compounds) he described in
one of his books is one of the most important industrial chemicals worldwide. It
is used in fertilizer, drugs, explosive detergents, and car batteries showing
that his discoveries have not gone unnoticed.
This picture is an image of the process of distillation described by Geber in his books. In the drawing you can see the complicated machinery for that time period and, the difficult processes that are involved in alchemy. Santiago experiences the difficulty of learning about and trying to master alchemy as Geber did. This tough road that Santiago experienced on his journey toward acheiving his Personal Legend is like the complicated process shown in the picture.
Works Cited
N.A. The Encyclopedia Americana. Ed.
International Edition. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1986. 359. Text.
"The Alchemy of Mineral Acids." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil
Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale World History In
Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
Web. 5 Apr. 2012. http://www.crystalinks.com/geber.distillation.jpg
International Edition. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1986. 359. Text.
"The Alchemy of Mineral Acids." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil
Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale World History In
Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
Web. 5 Apr. 2012. http://www.crystalinks.com/geber.distillation.jpg
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