Talk:Philosopher's stone

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[edit] Real or Metaphor?

I'd always understood the term "Philosopher's stone" to be analogous to "Philosopher's axe" - neither exist, existed, will exist or was ever intended to exist - it's just a term used to denote some entity or process that acts in a particular way. The properties regularly ascribed to the "Philosopher's stone" are all the things that (most) people could desire: limitless wealth and eternal life (the same name has been given to an artifact conferring deathlessness - and not just in Harry Potter).

Is this just my interpretation? –SuspectedReplicant retire me 23:38, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

Some mention of a panacea (a universal cure) should probably be mentioned. The western stone wasn't just about lead-to-gold, as that was just a manifestation of the knowledge obtained.

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