r 4 4 THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY, 



Although from the remotcft period an opi- 

 nion has obftinatcly prevailed, that a medicine 

 endowed with the property o'f defending the 

 body from dileafe, and rendering old age vigo- 

 rous and chcarful, might certainly be difcover- 

 ed; yet we do not find any of the celebrated 

 phyficians make mention of fuch a wonderful 

 medicine except Acluarius *, Of the virtue of 

 the philofopher's itonc, and the preparations of 

 gold in the cure of difeafcs, we have the firfl 

 account from the Arabians. Geberus long ago 

 faid, " Elixir rubeum omnes infirmitates chro- 

 " nicas, cle quibus medici defperarunt, curat, 

 4i et facit homincm juvencfcere ut aquilum f ." 

 And Morienus fays, u Lapis noiler perfechi me- 

 41 dicina eft, habens virtutem pnc omnibus me- 

 44 dicinis et potionibus, fanandi univcrlas infir- 

 44 mitates hominum J. M The ilory of Arthephi- 

 us, who faid he had lived 1000 years, by means 

 of an univerfal tincture, is known to every bo- 

 dy. Roger Bacon propofed a iiinilar medi- 

 cine to Pope Clement X. which he extolled 

 highly, as the invention of Petro de Maharn- 

 court. Afterwards authors frequently infertccl 

 feveral things in tlicir writings ref peel ing this 

 univerfal medicine; and of thefe Arnoldus de 

 Villa Nova, R. Lullius, Joh. de Rupcfcifla, Ba- 



filius 



* Meth medendi. I. iv. c 6. 



} Summa Pcrfcctionis Magitlerii* 



^ Jn Dialogo ciun Rcgc Calid, * 



