1823.] Symhole Aif^eat Mensa, S^c, 431 



author. He infers the possibihty of fixing mercury into gold 

 from the certainty of its being fixable, " fumo sulphuris ex 

 plumbo," or " fumo plumbi crudi," (does he mean of galena ?) 

 and again from the known fact, that gold by the action of a 

 certain water may be resolved into a red tincture, or colouring 

 matter and mercury. He evidently lays much stress on the 

 extraction of this colouring principle. 



Book IX. vv^hich is meagre, and of httle interest, professes to 

 give an account of the Spanish School. This is led by Ray- 

 mund Lully, concerning whom our author appears firmly to 

 believe that he coined Rose nobles of alchemical gold for our 

 Edward III. and prolonged his own life by the Pjlixir till the 

 age of 140 years. He relates also the tale of LuUy's making 

 seven statues of the philosophical gold and silver for the church 

 of Catalonia, which he who prefers fiction clothed in metre may 

 see in Norton's Ordinall.* Lully was doubtless a man of various 

 information for his day, and a most voluminous writer. He 

 stood high in the estimation of our English alchemists. Sir E. 

 Kelly, who denounces most of his brother adepts in a tone of 

 true magisteri/,f says of himself. 



'* though I write not half so swete as Tully, 



Yet shall you find I trace the steps of Lully, 



No other Spanish philosopher is mentioned at any length. The 

 chapter is eked out with some instances of Spanish cruelty, one 

 resembling the story commonly told of Kirk. The argumenta- 

 tions which as usual close the book are even duller than usual ; 

 I hasten, therefore, to 



Book X. which treats of the English School, and may be of 

 some interest to antiquarian, if not to chemical inquirers. Roger 

 Bacon, as might be expected, is their leader. Maier is chiefly 

 engaged in proving him to have been no conjurer, and to have 

 had no connexion with Friar Bungay and the brazen head. 

 " Hffic (says he) fabulosa et fictitia sunt, quamvis in pubhcis 

 comsediis populo ibi (in Anglid) proponantur." The seven years' 

 labour feigned to have been spent on this head must have been 

 given to the search of the stone, which is further proved by the 

 existence of some alchemical tracts and letters passing under 

 Bacon's name, one of which contains a valuable chemical axiom^ 

 apphcable, according to Maier, to many other works besides 



* Ashmole's Theatrum Chymicum, p. 21, 



f All you that faine philosophers would be, 



And night and day in Gcbcr^s kitchen broyle, 

 Wasting the chipps of ancient Hermes* tree, 

 Weening to turne them to a pretious oyle ; 

 The more you xcorke^ the more you lose and spoile. 



To you I say how learn'd so e'er you be, 

 Goe burne your books, and come and learne of jne. 



(Ashmole, T. C. B. p. 324.) 



