"Albertus Magnus... was the first eminent German chemist. ...He and his pupil, Thomas Aquinas, are said to have constructed a brazen statue which he animated with his elixir vitœ. It was capable of walking, talking, etc., like a living being, and was very useful as a servant. It was unfortunately very talkative and noisy. It one day so enraged Thomas Aquinas, by constantly interrupting him while he was deeply engaged with mathematical problems, that he took a hammer and broke it in pieces. Of course this is a fanciful account of a noisily creaking automaton, made by these two..."
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A Short History of Chemistry
A Short History of Chemistry by was published in 1894.
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