1 The Birth of Science - MSRI

146 5. Medicine and Other Empirical Sciences
of an acetum that, much like the oxos from the Leyden papyrus, was a lot
stronger than anything obtainable from wine. 93 Likewise, Vitruvius tells
us that not only pearls, but also lead, copper and pebbles can be dissolved
in acetum — again, clearly not ordinary vinegar. 94 The Latin adjective corresponding
to the noun acetum is acidus.
We conclude that the Hellenistic period saw the rise of chemistry as an
“empirical science”, although we cannot determine the level of knowledge
it achieved. Alchemy appeared only in the imperial age; it borrowed from
earlier empirical chemistry instruments and certain procedures, but it had
other goals and a different conceptual framework. It was also at that time
that scientific astronomy was reduced to little more that a new tool of
ancient astrology.
93 This possibility is also raised by Halleux in [AG], p. 31.
94 Vitruvius, De architectura, VIII, iii, 18–19.
Revision: 1.9 Date: 2002/09/14 19:12:01