Editing Albertus Magnus (section)

===Alchemy===
[[File:Liebig Company Trading Card Ad 01.12.003 front.tif|thumb|left|upright| Albertus Magnus, Chimistes Celebres, [[Liebig's Extract of Meat Company]] Trading Card, 1929]]

In the centuries since his death, many stories arose about Albert as an [[Alchemy|alchemist]] and magician. "Much of the modern confusion results from the fact that later works, particularly the alchemical work known as the ''Secreta Alberti'' or the ''Experimenta Alberti'', were falsely attributed to Albertus by their authors to increase the prestige of the text through association."<ref>Katz, David A., "An Illustrated History of Alchemy and Early Chemistry", 1978</ref> On the subject of alchemy and chemistry, many treatises relating to alchemy have been attributed to him, though in his authentic writings he had little to say on the subject, and then mostly through commentary on Aristotle. For example, in his commentary, ''De mineralibus'', he refers to the power of stones, but does not elaborate on what these powers might be.<ref>Georg Wieland, "Albert der Grosse.  Der Entwurf einer eigenständigen Philosophie," Philosophen des Mittelalters (Darmstadt: Primus, 2000) 124-39.</ref> A wide range of Pseudo-Albertine works dealing with alchemy exist, though, showing the belief developed in the generations following Albert's death that he had mastered alchemy, one of the fundamental sciences of the Middle Ages. These include ''Metals and Materials''; the ''Secrets of Chemistry''; the ''Origin of Metals''; the ''Origins of Compounds'', and a ''Concordance ''which is a collection of ''Observations on the [[philosopher's stone]]''; and other alchemy-chemistry topics, collected under the name of ''Theatrum Chemicum''.<ref>Walsh, John, ''The Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries.'' 1907:46 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=_rofAAAAIAAJ&dq=albertus+magnus+gold+minerals&pg=RA2-PA46 available online]).</ref> He is credited with the discovery of the element [[arsenic]]<ref name="BuildingBlocks451-3">{{cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-850341-5 |pages=43,513,529 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford}}</ref> and experimented with photosensitive chemicals, including [[silver nitrate]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Davidson |first=Michael W. |author2=National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at The Florida State University |title=Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You&nbsp;— Timeline&nbsp;— Albertus Magnus |publisher=The Florida State University |date=2003-08-01 |url=http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/magnus.html |access-date=2009-11-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330045629/http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/magnus.html |archive-date=2010-03-30 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Szabadváry |first=Ferenc |title=History of analytical chemistry |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1992 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=53APqy0KDaQC |isbn=978-2-88124-569-5}}</ref> He did believe that stones had occult properties, as he related in his work ''De mineralibus''. However, there is scant evidence that he personally performed alchemical experiments.

According to legend, Albert is said to have discovered the philosopher's stone and passed it on to his pupil Thomas Aquinas, shortly before his death. Albert does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by "transmutation."<ref>Julian Franklyn and Frederick E. Budd. ''A Survey of the Occult.'' Electric Book Company. 2001. p. 28-30. {{ISBN|1-84327-087-0}}.</ref> Given that Thomas Aquinas died six years before Albert's death, this legend as stated is unlikely.