For the Love of Gold


Gold is extremely important, not because of its being a major link in history (it was not a major link in science, but it was in culture), but because of the amount of writing and effort that was put into the uses and developing of gold. Due to its properties, gold became highly valuable. It is very malleable, holds its shape well, and is, quite frankly, pretty. Gold, one of the most precious, and the most sought after metals of early times, has an interesting and checkered past. Gold was discovered fairly early in history and it quickly became popular. Ornaments, coins, and statues were made out of gold. The color was unmatched in beauty.
As to the specifics of gold, there was no standard to measure its quality or purity. Gold was often mixed with silver. The silver was rarely extracted. It was left in the mixture. If the color was that of gold it was called gold, no matter what the silver content. If the color of the metal was silver, it was known as silver, despite quantities of gold being mixed in. Some alchemists tried to guess at the purity by its streak on a black stone, but this method was very rare and very inexact.
Due to the popularity of gold, many began to wonder if it could be copied. This became the focus of many alchemists, and hence this is where the great divide began. Many went the way of gold and eventually became involved in astrology, magic, and rituals. The other group continued on its own path and led to the modern ideas of chemistry.
The basic idea of copying gold came from the belief that gold was "perfect." Many people believed that deep inside the earth gold was created from other metals. This fact led to the idea that, with enough skill, man could make base metals into gold. This then led to the quest for the philosopher's stone, which was believed to be so perfect, even more perfect than gold, that it could bring base metals up to the standards of gold (Lewin 1).


Next
Previous