The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy

well researched, intelligent history of alchemy and its relationship to other areas of history, religion, etc.

love the book

I’m a blacksmith so this is my kind of literature!

This book is only for the seriouse Shaman. Understanding the philosophical principles of alchemy is to know the intellectually foundation of Smithing, is to uderstand the essence of civilization and Humankinds place in it.

Interesting take on the rise of secular chemistry and its de-sacralization from its "mythic" roots and the attempt to recapture the Age of Gold in a present Age of Iron.

It is a inspiring work for gemologist or writers. As all the books of Mircea Eliade it is a gem!

Eliade did it again. This book is the clearest and easiest explanation of Alchemy available. I highly recommend the book and the scholarly way in which it is put together.

This is a fantastic resource, incredibly comprehensive especially as it includes an insightful discussion of Jung's researches into alchemy. It also investigates the history of metal-working and the way it affects the development of alchemy. Eliade is a marvellous researcher and writer, his use of references is exhaustive and illuminating. Oddly enough he does not include a chapter on Arabic alchemy although he refers to it and it seems very important.

Os livros deste autor são sempre muito interessante. Neste volume ele busca uma abordagem bem ampla do início das origens da alquimia.

A fascinating and not very long (a bit less than 200 pages) book on a subject that is often a source of much misunderstanding, alchemy, and its distinction from some kind of proto-chemistry. It’s an enlightening discussion of the spiritual basis in which alchemy was distinctive from chemistry (which was something de-sacralised) in its goals, methods and philosophy. He gives examples of how alchemical studies seem to have arisen independently around the world, in different cultures and times. The discussion of Chinese alchemy (and its relation to Taoism) and Indian alchemy (and its relation to Tantrism) covers many interesting relations between them.The title of the book relates to the author’s examination of mining and smithing as transformative acts that accelerate processes in time, taking metals that were thought to gestate in the belly of the earth and only transform over many millennia. These processes were greatly accelerated by the miner and the smith. And these occupations until recent times, had a sacred character that was not lost until the introduction of large scale industrialization based on the development of the physical sciences, which no longer had the sacred characteristics of alchemy. Faith in the transmutation of nature and the ambition to control time. This has been achieved by modern man, but in a way quite different from, and even at odds with that envisioned by the alchemists. Eliade sees modernity: a process where knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge have become de-sacralised.Eliade cites many examples from around the world and across time (actually a remarkable number of them, given the brevity of the book – though some seem less interesting and revealing than others).And as Eliade explores the topic of alchemy, his writing is clear and illuminating. There is no pretense of mysticism here, of trying to impress the less knowledgeable with vague sounding pseudo-spiritual nonsense. There is a genuine sense of a desire to understand and to share that understanding with the reader and that this itself is very important. Eliade always seems like he is genuinely trying to clarify rather than obscure the topic – and that he is passionate about the subject of alchemy, in all its branches.The Foreward to the book, written by Eliade, though also quite short, is quite insightful and worth reading by itself. The final two chapters (Arcane Artis / Alchemy and Temporality) offer a very lucidly written summation of the book. The information and references given in the lengthy section of appendices gives the interested reader a great deal of further material for research.A nice bonus of this particular edition is the inclusion of several plates from early European alchemical texts. Unfortunately there is no list of illustrations accompanying the table of contents. There are four sets of illustrations, two pages each. The quality of the reproductions is excellent and fits in with/ adds to the character of the book. Good to see the publishers were thinking of this – it complements the value of the text.

In this work, Mircea Eliade draws open a wonderfully insightful window into a time in which the dominating spirits moving humanity were those of enchantment and a profound respect for the unknown. The world in which the external is recognised, not as arbitrary or random, but as woven together of purely meaningful deliniations; as moved and moulded by gods and powers; is a frightening and inspiring one to glimpse. I am grateful to have read it.

Very good explanation.

I am anticipating that the book is a good read and I am patiently getting ready to delve in it …