An example of an historical analogy:
"Metallurgy was intentionally compared to obstetrics: ores were seen to grow in the womb of the earth like embryos. … In a similar fashion, the alchemical laboratory was seen as an artificial uterus in which the ore could complete its gestation in a relatively short time (compared to the action of the earth). …
From these ancient sources came the central notion of alchemy: that all metals are in the process of becoming gold, that they are gold in potentia, and that men can devise a set of procedures to accelerate their evaluation. The practice of alchemy is … to continue the obstetrical metaphor, a type of midwifery. …
The alchemist is thus like a miner, probing deeper and deeper veins of ore…
at what point in our acceleration of nature's tempo can we be said to have crossed the line from midwifery to induced birth, or even abortion?"
Morris Berman (1981). The Reenchantment of the World. Cornell University Press.
Read examples of scientific analogies
The idea that all ores in the earth would, given enough time, produce gold is now recognised as an alternative conception, but provided a logical basis for alchemists to attempt transmutation of other metals into gold.
