Alchemy
From BiblePortal Wikipedia
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): (n.) Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious.
(2): (n.) An imaginary art which aimed to transmute the baser metals into gold, to find the panacea, or universal remedy for diseases, etc. It led the way to modern chemistry.
(3): (n.) A mixed metal composed mainly of brass, formerly used for various utensils; hence, a trumpet.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
The early analysis of substances which has in modern times developed into chemistry, and which aimed chiefly at the discovery of the philosopher's stone, of a universal solvent, and of the elixir of life; it has been defined to be "an art without art, which has its beginning in falsehood, its middle in toil, and its end in poverty."
