contemporary, G. W. Leibnitz (1646–1716); and by G. E. Stahl (1660–1734) and Hermann Boerhaave (1668–1738). Though an alchemist, Boyle, in his Sceptical Chemist (1661), cast doubts on the “experiments whereby vulgar Spagyrists are wont to endeavour to evince their salt, sulphur and mercury to be the true principles of things,” and advanced towards the conception of chemical elements as those constituents of matter which cannot be further decomposed. With J. J. Becher (1635–1682) and G. E. Stahl, however, there was a reversion to earlier ideas. The former substituted for the salt, sulphur and mercury of Basil Valentine and Paracelsus three earths—the mercurial, the vitreous and the combustible—and he explained combustion as depending on the escape of this last combustible element; while Stahl’s conception of pholgiston—not fire itself, but the principle of fire—by virtue of which combustible bodies burned, was a near relative of the mercury of the philosophers, the soul or essence of ordinary mercury.
Perhaps J. B. van Helmont (1577–1644) was the last distinguished investigator who professed actually to have changed mercury into gold, though impostors and mystics of various kinds continued to claim knowledge of the art long after his time. So late as 1782, James Price, an English physician, showed experiments with white and red powders, by the aid of which he was supposed to be able to transform fifty and sixty times as much mercury into silver and gold. The metals he produced are said to have proved genuine on assay; when, however, in the following year he was challenged to repeat the experiments he was unable to do so and committed suicide. In the course of the 19th century the idea that the different elements are constituted by different groupings or condensations of one primal matter—a speculation which, if proved to be well grounded, would imply the possibility of changing one element into another—found favour with more than one responsible chemist; but experimental research failed to yield any evidence that was generally regarded as offering any support to this hypothesis. About the beginning of the 20th century, however, the view was promulgated that the spontaneous production of helium from radium may be an instance of the transformation of one element into another. (See Radioactivity; also Element and Matter.)
See M. P. E. Berthelot, Les Origines de l’alchimie (1885); Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs (text and translation, 3 vols., 1887–1888); Introduction à l'étude de la chimie des anciens et du moyen âge (1889); La chimie au moyen âge (text and translation of Syriac and Arabic treatises on alchemy, 3 vols., 1893). Much bibliographical and other information about the later writers on alchemy is contained in Bibliotheca Chemica (2 vols., Glasgow, 1906), a catalogue by John Ferguson of the books in the collection of James Young of Kelly (printed for private distribution). (H. M. R.)
ALCIATI, ANDREA (1492–1550), Italian jurist, was born at Alzano, near Milan, on the 12th of January 1492. He displayed great literary skill in his exposition of the laws, and was one of the first to interpret the civil law by the history, languages and literature of antiquity, and to substitute original research for the servile interpretations of the glossators. He published many legal works, and some annotations on Tacitus. His Emblems, a collection of moral sayings in Latin verse, has been greatly admired, and translated into French, Italian and Spanish. Alciati’s history of Milan, under the title Rerum Patriae, seu Historiae Mediolanensis, Libri IV., was published posthumously at Milan in 1625. He died at Pavia in 1550.
ALCIBIADES (c. 450–404 B.C.), Athenian general and politician, was born at Athens. He was the son of Cleinias and Deinomache, who belonged to the family of the Alcmaeonidae. He was a near relative of Pericles, who, after the death of Cleinias at the battle of Coroneia (447), became his guardian. Thus early deprived of his father’s control, possessed of great personal beauty and the heir to great wealth, which was increased by his marriage, he showed himself self-willed, capricious and passionate, and indulged in the wildest freaks and most insolent behaviour. Nor did the instructors of his early manhood supply the corrective which his boyhood lacked. From Protagoras, Prodicus and others he learnt to laugh at the common ideas of justice, temperance, holiness and patriotism. The laborious thought, the ascetic life of his master Socrates, he was able to admire, but not to imitate or practise. On the contrary, his ostentatious vanity, his amours, his debaucheries and his impious revels became notorious. But great as were his vices, his abilities were even greater.
He took part in the battle of Potidaea (432), where his life was saved by Socrates, a service which he repaid at the battle of Delium (424). As the reward of his bravery, the wealthy Hipponicus bestowed upon him the hand of his daughter. From this time he took a prominent part in Athenian politics during the Peloponnesian war. Originally friendly to Sparta, he subsequently became the leader of the war party in opposition to Nicias, and after the peace of 421 he succeeded by an unscrupulous trick in duping the Spartan ambassadors, and persuading the Athenians to conclude an alliance (420) with Argos, Elis and Mantineia (Thuc. v. 56, 76). On the failure of Nicias in Thrace (418–417) he became the chief advocate of the Sicilian expedition, seeing an opportunity for the realization of his ambitious projects, which included the conquest of Sicily, to be followed by that of Peloponnesus and possibly of Carthage (though this seems to have been an afterthought). The expedition was decided upon with great enthusiasm, and Alcibiades, Nicias and Lamachus were appointed joint commanders. But, on the day before the expedition sailed, there occurred the mysterious mutilation of the Hermae, and Alcibiades was accused not only of being the originator of the crime, but also of having profaned the Eleusinian mysteries. His request for an immediate investigation being refused, he was obliged to set sail with the charge still hanging over him. Almost as soon as he reached Sicily he was recalled to stand his trial, but he escaped on the journey home and made his way to Sparta. Learning that he had been condemned to death in his absence and his property confiscated, he openly joined the Spartans, and persuaded them to send Gylippus to assist the Syracusans and to fortify Decelea in Attica. He then passed over to Asia Minor, prevailed upon many of the Ionic allies of Athens to revolt, and concluded an alliance with the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. But in a few months he had lost the confidence of the Spartans, and at the instigation of Agis II., whose personal hostility he had excited, an order was sent for his execution. Receiving timely information of this order he crossed over to Tissaphernes (412), and persuaded him to adopt the negative policy of leaving Athens and Sparta to wear themselves out by their mutual struggles. Alcibiades was now bent on returning to Athens, and he used his supposed influence with Tissaphernes to effect his purpose. He entered into negotiations with the oligarch Peisander, but when these led to no result he attached himself to the fleet at Samos which remained loyal to the democracy, and was subsequently recalled by Thrasybulus, although he did not at once return to Athens. Being appointed commander in the neighbourhood of the Hellespont, he defeated the Spartan fleet at Abydos (411) and Cyzicus (410), and recovered Chalcedon and Byzantium. On his return to Athens after these successes he was welcomed with unexpected enthusiasm (407); all the proceedings against him were cancelled, and he was appointed general with full powers. His ill success, however, at Andros, and the defeat at Notium (407) of his lieutenant Antiochus, led the Athenians to dismiss him from his command. He thereupon retired to the Thracian Chersonesus. After the battle of Aegospotami, and the final defeat of Athens, he crossed the Hellespont and took refuge with Pharnabazus in Phrygia, with the object of securing the aid of Artaxerxes against Sparta. But the Spartans induced Pharnabazus to put him out of the way; as he was about to set out for the Persian court his residence was set on fire, and on rushing out on his assassins, dagger in hand, he was killed by a shower of arrows (404). There can be no doubt that his advice to Sparta in connexion with Syracuse and the fortification of Decelea was the real cause of his country’s downfall, though it is only fair to him to add that had he been allowed to continue in command of the Sicilian expedition he would undoubtedly have overruled the fatal policy of Nicias and prevented the catastrophe of 413. His belated
