THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 93 



recommended as an almost universal solvent 

 md detergent. Evidently both works proceeded 

 Torn one and the same alchemical school. The 

 dumber of Arabian chemists 1 cited in the De 

 tHchimia seems to show that if these books came 

 from a Greek source it was not that of ancient times, 

 at some Byzantine school that had borrowed much 

 irom Eastern alchemists. 



To give a substantial idea of the De Alchimia 

 t us translate one of the formulae which it 

 ontains : * Medibibaz the Saracen of Africa used 

 o change lead into gold [in the following manner], 

 "ake lead and melt it thrice with caustic ('com- 

 >urenti'), red arsenic, sublimate of vitriol, sugar of 

 lum, and with that red tuchia of India which is 

 on the shore of the Red Sea, and let the 

 /hole be again and again quenched in the juice 

 f the Portulaca marina, the wild cucumber, a 

 Dlution of sal ammoniac, and the urine of a young 

 ger. Let all these ingredients then, when well 

 ixed, be set on the fire, with the addition of some 

 mmon salt, and well boiled until they be reduced 

 one-third of their original bulk, when you must 

 eed to distil them with care. Then take the 

 chasite of gold, prepared talc, roots of coral, 

 me carcha-root, which is an herb very like the 

 'ortulaca marina ; alum of cumae something red 

 .d saltish, Eoman alum and vitriol, and let the 

 /tter be made red ; sugar of alum, Cyprus earth, 

 me of the red Barbary earth, for that gives a good 

 lour ; Cumaean earth of the red sort, African 



1 Such as ' Yader saracenus,' ' Arbaranus,' ' Theodosius saracenus,' 

 [edibibaz,' and ' Magister Jacobus Judaeus.' The name of the place 

 j alaph ' which is probably Aleppo, and of the herb ' carcha ' point in 

 le same direction. 



