A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c20.12

v1.c20.12

The passage in Rasārnava describing the efficacy of the apparatus especially the line "without the use of herbs and drugs mercury can be killed with the aid of an apparatus alone" (p. 67.) is highly significant. It refers no doubt to the formation of the red oxide of mercury, the precipitate *per se*. Cf. "Il s'agit de la fabrication de l'oxyde de mercure préparé *per se*, c'est-à-dire sans addition d'aucun corps étranger." *Ibid*, p. 154