These symbols are without doubt of very ancient origin, and Boerhæve in his Theory of Chemistry explains them hieroglyphically as follows:-- [Transcriber’s Note: The listed symbols are included in the “images” directory accompanying the html version of this file.] ＋ Denotes anything sharp, gnawing, or corrosive; as vinegar or fire: being supposed to be stuck around with barbed spikes. ☉ Denotes a perfect immutable simple body, such as gold, which has nothing acrimonious or heterogeneous adhering to it. ☽ Denotes half gold, whose inside, if turned outward, would make it entire gold, as having nothing foreign or corrosive in it; which the alchemists observe of silver. ☿ Denotes the inside to be pure gold, but the outer part of the colour of silver and a corrosive underneath, which, if taken away, would leave it mere gold, and this the adepts affirm of mercury. ♀ Denotes the chief part to be gold; whereto, however, adheres another large, crude, corrosive part, which, if removed, would leave the rest possessed with all the properties of gold, and this the adepts affirm of copper. ♂ Likewise denotes gold at the bottom, but attended with a great proportion of a sharp corrosive, sometimes amounting to a half of the whole, whence half the character expresses acrimony; which, accordingly, both alchemists and physicians observe of iron, and hence that common opinion of the adepts that the aurum vivum, or gold of the philosophers, is contained in iron, and that the universal medicine is rather to be sought in this metal than in gold itself. ♃ Denotes half the matter of tin to be silver, the other a crude corrosive acid, which is accordingly confirmed by the assayers; tin proving almost as fixed as silver in the cupel, and discovering a large quantity of crude sulphur well known to the alchemists. ♄ Denotes almost the whole to be corrosive, but retaining some resemblance with silver, which the artists very well know holds true of lead. ♁ Denotes a chaos--world, or one thing which includes all: this is the character of antimony, wherein is found gold, with plenty of an arsenical corrosive. The symbols, or at least some of them, may be traced even in the Chinese characters for gold, silver, &c.