— P —<— a Ss ee 
286 
“way 
aie VN WRONG MOR eae +e. 
PA, Lx ee : ee — ¢ aiais 
- NATURE een 
” =: 
y 
con utriet, and sulphur, and you can make thunder and lightning, 
if you know the method of mixing them.” Tlsewhere he says, 
“a small quantity of matter properly manufactured, and not 
made to produce a horrible 
The third constituent of gun- 
larger than one’s thumb, may be 
noise and sudden flash of light.” 
Fic. 11.—An alchemist hermetically sealing a flask containing a 
solutioa of gold. 
powder is designated under the anagram Juru vopo vir con utriet, 
for it was dangerous in those days to speak too plainly ; indeed 
Bacon tells us that he adopted an obscure style both on account | 
of the example of other writers, and of propriety, and also on 
account of the dangers of plain speaking. According to some 
writers, the following passage is to be found in Bacon’s writings : 
—-** Sed tamen salis petra, /uxu mone cap ubre, et sulphuris, 
ct sic facies tonitrum si scias artificium.” Thus the saltpetre 
and the sulphur are directly designated, while the anagram /uru 
mone cap ubre is convertible into carbonum pulvere, the re- 
maining constituent—powdered charcoal. It is improbable that 
Roger Bacon invented gunpowder, although he was the first to 
know of its properties in England ; he probably procured the 
knowledge from an Arabic source. Gunpowder was first used 
| by the English at the battle of Crecy"in 1346, 61 years after the 
death of Bacon ; at this time it was apparently unknown to other 
European nations. 
Roger Bacon is believed to have been far in advance of his 
times in all matters of science. To him has been attributed the 
invention of the telescope and Camera obscura, and several dis- 
coveries of a later date. The evidence is less conclusive than 
one could wish, but enough remains in his writings to prove that 
he was a very learned man and profound thinker. His ‘‘ Opus 
Majus” clearly proves that he fully recognised the value of the 
experimental method, and of the inductive philosophy afterwards 
so ably advocated by his namesake Francis Bacon. Roger Bacon 
' wrote largely on alchemy. Many of the alchemical MSS. in 
the British Museum are transcripts of portions of his works, 
/among the more celebrated of which we may mention the 
“‘Medulla Alchymiz,” ‘‘Secretum Secretorum,” and ‘ Spe- 
 culum Secretorum.” He collected together the principal alchemi- 
| cal facts of his predecessors, and appears in many matters to 
| have closely followed Geber. Bacon describes the distillation of 
organic substances, and alludes to the inflammability of the 
evolved gases. He proved that air is the food of fire by burning 
| a lamp in a closed vessel. 
Raymond Lulli (b. 1235) is by some asserted to have been a 
pupil of Roger Bacon, He was a voluminous writer on alchemy, 
his most celebrated treatise being his ‘* Ultimum Testamentum.” 
He also wrote on transmutation, on the Philosopher’s Stone, and 
on magic. Lulli does not appear to have added to the chemical 
| knowledge of his predecessors ; he followed Geber closely, and 
| was well acquainted with the processes and compounds which he 
describes. He describes alcohol under the names of agua vite 
ardens, and argentum vivum vegetabile, and was in the habit of 
Fic. 12,—Alchemical representation of processes. 
rendering it anhydrous by allowing it to stand in contact with 
dry carbonate of potassium. He was also acquainted with 
ammonia. 
Whatever Lulli’s knowledge may have been, he obtained great 
reputation as a successful alchemist. He asserts in his ‘‘ Ulti- 
mum Testamentum” that he converted fifty thousand pounds 
weight of base metals into gold. He is said to have been em- 
ployed by one of the Edwards to make gold, and to have fur- 
nished His Majesty with six millions of money. Dickenson tells 
us that Lulli had a laboratory in Westminster Abbey, in which, 
after his depariure, a quantity of gold dust was found. 
Of the general tone and character of alchemical writings we 
shall speak more fully in the next article. Of the professors of 
the art litle more need be said ; a long list of names might be 
given, but it would be found that they did little to develop what 
afterwards became the science of chemistry. Let us glance at 
the work of a few of the remaining alchemists. Arnoldus de 
Villa Nova (b. 1240) was a great alchemist and physician, and 
the author of many works on the subject. His “ Rosarius 
Philosophorum ” purported to contain a key to all alchemical 
operations. He followed Geber closely. He considered a solu- 
tion of gold the most perfect medicine, and we usually find that 
oa op “a 
in cn 
