Descriptions of the Philosophers' stone are not wanting; 

 Paracelsus represented it as a solid of the color of a dark ruby, 

 transparent and flexible, yet as brittle as glass; Berigard 

 of Pisa attributed to it the color of a wild poppy and the 

 odor of melted salt. The power of this protean object to 

 accomplish transmutation was variously estimated; some 

 alchemists boasted of a "magistery" so perfect as to trans- 

 form one hundred times its weight of mercury into gold; 

 Roger Bacon claimed for it a multiplying power of one 

 hundred thousand, Isaac Hollandus, one million, and the arti- 

 ficial gold thus obtained was itself endowed with equal power. 

 The life-prolonging properties claimed for the " Elixir" were 

 confirmed by the occasional appearance of persons boasting 

 extraordinary age; the adept Trautmansdorf reached the age 

 of one hundred and forty-seven years, living the life of a hermit 

 in the wilderness of St. Michael. Visitors to this secluded 

 habitation were sometimes allowed to see and to handle the 

 precious elixir that had prolonged the old man's vigor, and 

 which he treasured in a golden box ; it was about as large 

 as a bean, of a garnet-red color and much heavier than gold, 

 but its most notable property was its emission cf light in 

 the dark. 



Formulas for the artificial preparation of the Philosophers' 

 stone abound in alchemical writings but without an exception 

 they are clothed in such obscure language as to be incom- 

 prehensible; a single example will suffice. Richard Carpenter 

 of Worcester in 1477 wrote thus : "Take the clear light of 

 Titan magnesia, and the bright red green which is the sulphur 

 vive, or Philosophers' gold ; join them with the water of light, 

 let no va$or escape and keep the fire like the sunbeams in 

 summer. In three hours you will see marvelous colors, black, 

 white, red and citron; let not your vessel be open until you 

 have created the blessed stone." 



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