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+--- Thread: Newton's commentary on Starkey's Introitus Apertus (/showthread.php?tid=3118)
Newton's commentary on Starkey's Introitus Apertus - Paul Ferguson - 04-15-2026
"Newton also left extended commentary on a famous alchemical text, Introitus apertus ad occlusum regis palatium (An Open Entrance to the Closed Palace of the King). This book is attributed to George Starkey, a colonial American alchemist who moved from New England to London at age 22 and worked under the tutelage of Robert Boyle. The book is written in a veiled and heavily symbolic language featuring fiery dragons, rabid dogs, and Diana’s doves — traditional alchemical cover-names referring to specific chemical substances. This florid imagery, however, stands in stark contrast to Starkey’s private “chymical” notebooks, which are considered models of scholarly clarity. In their laboratories, alchemists seem to have preferred dry recipes with precise annotations, keeping the spectacle and symbolism for public presentation."
https://press.asimov.com/articles/lab-notebooks