請回答第 41 題至第 45 題:
Even though the origin of alchemy is still controversial, most ancient scholars had the consensus that alchemy was
based on spiritual and philosophical concepts. Those concepts certainly predated Christianity, and were, therefore,
“pagan” in the eyes of the medieval church—a good reason for the alchemists of the Middle Ages to wrap their work in
the costume of metallurgy, and thereby hope to avoid being persecuted as heretics.
The fundamental premise of alchemy is that there are precise correspondences between the visible and invisible
worlds, the worlds of matter and spirit, inner and outer, heaven and earth. According to the alchemical view,
everything—plants, animals, minerals—contains a “seed” of divinity, and this seed can be developed through application
of certain principles of learning. In philosophical terms, then, alchemy is the art of transforming the base metal of
ignorance into the gold of wisdom, or divinity. Furthermore, according to alchemy, the material world is a reflection of
the spiritual world, and should work according to the same principles. It should be possible, therefore, to transform the
grosser physical substances into more refined ones, or literally to transform base materials into gold.
The secret of success in this latter process, however, is the secret that has eluded so many practitioners of the art
through the ages. The most important secret ingredient in the science of alchemy is the alchemist him/herself. He or she
must have the power to attract and make use of the invisible spiritual ingredient, the “divine spark,” that brings about the
desired transformation. In other words, the alchemist must be able to “imitate the work of the gods.” 【題組】43 According to the alchemical view, what is contained in a piece of tin?
(A)Holiness (B)Paganism (C)Ideal (D)Justice
According to the alchemical view, everything—plants, animals, minerals—contains a “seed” of divinity, and this seed can be developed through application of certain principles of learning.