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If, as this book tries to show, the emergence of alchemy marked a deep crisis in ardent thought and science, a crisis which could not be resolved from within the given framework and its preconceptions, then it is clearly necessary to begin with a discussion of what was achieved in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and what were the limitations of that achievement, what were the boundaries that it was found so difficult to cross. But Greek philosophy and science of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., with their roots in the 6th and 7th centuries, are very rich and complex; and attempts to set them out in brief succinct definitions are liable to end by giving a very imperfect and devitalized effect of what actually happened. Still, the problem cannot be evaded. We must try to generalize on various aspects of the development, concentrating on the main issues that were raised and their relevance for the alchemic revolt.
If, as this book tries to show, the emergence of alchemy marked a deep crisis in ardent thought and science, a crisis which could not be resolved from within the given framework and its preconceptions, then it is clearly necessary to begin with a discussion of what was achieved in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and what were the limitations of that achievement, what were the boundaries that it was found so difficult to cross. But Greek philosophy and science of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., with their roots in the 6th and 7th centuries, are very rich and complex; and attempts to set them out in brief succinct definitions are liable to end by giving a very imperfect and devitalized effect of what actually happened. Still, the problem cannot be evaded. We must try to generalize on various aspects of the development, concentrating on the main issues that were raised and their relevance for the alchemic revolt.
If, as this book tries to show, the emergence of alchemy marked a deep crisis in ardent thought and science, a crisis which could not be resolved from within the given framework and its preconceptions, then it is clearly necessary to begin with a discussion of what was achieved in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and what were the limitations of that achievement, what were the boundaries that it was found so difficult to cross. But Greek philosophy and science of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., with their roots in the 6th and 7th centuries, are very rich and complex; and attempts to set them out in brief succinct definitions are liable to end by giving a very imperfect and devitalized effect of what actually happened. Still, the problem cannot be evaded. We must try to generalize on various aspects of the development, concentrating on the main issues that were raised and their relevance for the alchemic revolt.