432 Symhola Aurea Menxa, S^c, [Dec. 



Bacon's. " Cum dico veritatem, mendacium put a ; mm menda^ 

 cium, veritatemJ^ To Bacon succeed Garlandus (so named 

 from the title of his work), who flourished about the end of the 

 11th century, and made his countrymen acquainted with much 

 of Arabian science, which he had learned during his residence 

 in Spain. Dastin.* Ricardus Anglus (quaire if the same with 

 the Richard Carpenter of Ashmole), from whom several extracts 

 are given chiefly to show that the sulphur philosophorum is not 

 common brimstone. Riplei/,f of whose knowledge he speaks 

 highly ; the extracts given relate chiefly to the variety of men- 

 strua requisite for the adept ; but even here there is ambiguity ; 

 for LuUy, he tells us, held that there were two only " unum 

 resolvens, alteram resolveudum ; " while others held three. One 

 of Ripley's axioms (if I do not misunderstand it) bespeaks con- 

 siderable practical knowledge of chemical compounds. " Omnis 

 spiritus figitur cum calcibus sui generis ;" or, as it would be 

 expressed in the language of the present day, " Every acid 

 forms permanent compounds with certain bases for which it has 

 a strong affinity." Ripley is followed by Norto?!, whose Ordinall, 

 Maier proposed to translate and publish. From this work 

 (which may be seen in Ashmole's Theatrum Ch.) he extracts 

 some curious narratives as to the folly of some pretenders to 

 art, and the hard treatment of its real professors. He corrobo- 

 rates IMorton's assertion as to the number and proficiency of the 

 philosophers residing in London towards the end of the 15th 

 century by the authority of an Englishman named Knight, who 

 assured him (Maier) that there was still extant in the library of 

 Westminster Abbey, a manuscript account of the sums paid to 

 the king by these artists. Cremer (abbot of Westminster), Ed- 

 ward Kelly, a Scot named Willebius (Willoughby ?) (whose 

 projections had but lately astonished all Italy, France, and 

 Germany), Giles de Vadis, Duns Scotus, and the wizard Michael 

 Scot, make up the list of English adepts. He mentions an 

 anecdote of an ex-monk which confirms the belief that alchemy 

 was much studied in the conventual establishments, and the 

 knowledge of its secrets thought to be still possessed by many 

 of their ancient inmates.;}: 



Maier subjoins to this account of English philosophers what 

 he terms a Xenium or valedictory epistle of thanks for the 

 hospitalities he had received in this country. It contains more, 

 however, of complaint grounded on the low estimation in which 

 the English held all foreigners, and the illiberal manner in 

 which they derided and insulted them, especially in their stage 

 plays. These he describes as acted daily in four or five different 



" See Ashmole, T. C. p. 267. 

 f See Ashinole, p. 374, &c. 



X Ibid, p. 46G, 481. and elsewhere, especially the metrical narrative of Chamock, 

 which afFoida^ a most characteristic and interesting picture of the delusions of the art. 



