172 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 189. 



er Freundschaft zu ihm, und nahm das 

 Wasser zu der Ehe, und ward aus ihuen 

 beyden ein unverbrennlich Oel, denu der 

 Mercurius ward also stoltz, dass er sich 

 :selbst nicht mebr kannte, er warf seine 

 Adlers-Fliigel von sich hinweg, und ver- 

 schlang selbsten den glatten Schwantz des 

 Drachen, und bote dem 3Iarti an zu kampf- 

 fen, da fordert ilars seine Kitterscbaft 

 zusammen, und verschuf, dass man 3Ier- 

 curium muste gefangen nehmen, und ward 

 ihm V^deanus zu einem Stockmeister ver- 

 ordnet, also lange biss er vom weiblichen 

 Geschlechte wiederum erloset wiirde." I 

 cannot help fancying that I am able to 

 detect here a certain lack of scientific pre- 

 cision and perspicuity. There are books 

 which undertake to explain how to trans- 

 late that sort of lingo, telling us, for ex- 

 ample, ' ' aqua quandoque vocatur lapis 

 spiritus quintai essentise, quandoque voca- 

 tur terra, quandoque lapis." Probably by 

 the aid of such a key the chemical pro- 

 cesses of this treatise could be conjectured. 

 I have not undertaken the task, being as- 

 sured, by similar experiences, that I should 

 only find vague hints of nonsensical coc- 

 tions. Upon a long frothy disquisition fol- 

 low twelve chapters entitled Keys. Each 

 of them is furnished with an emblematic 

 picture. 



The treatise Von den naturliclien und iiber- 

 naturlidien Dingen is written in a somewhat 

 plainer style. After repeating the doctrine 

 of the tria principia, it enters upon discus- 

 sions concerning biblical miracles, the doc- 

 trine of signatures, spirits, sirens, succubse, 

 etc. Chapter the second treats of the first 

 ' Tinctur-Wurzel ' of the metals, which, we 

 are told, ' is a supernatural, flying, fiery 

 spirit, which keeps itself in the air, and 

 naturally seeks its habitation in the ground 

 and in water.' The remaining seven chap- 

 ters treat in cryptical style of the methods 

 of dissolving the ^even metals. 



The Triumph- Wagen desAntimonii contains, 



embedded in vast masses of speechifying, 

 about thirty plainly described chemical 

 preparations. Of these, seventeen are gen- 

 uine descriptions of experiments by a skill- 

 ful chemist, and are distinguished from the 

 few perspicuous chemical directions that 

 are to be found in Kaymund Lully, in Ar- 

 nold de Villanova and other medieval al- 

 chemists by the far higher grade of chem- 

 ical knowledge which they evince. The 

 remaining experiments seem to me to be 

 conjectures never put to the test. "Without 

 such an element of fancy the theory of a 

 medieval origin for the book would be al- 

 most absolutely negatived ; from its pres- 

 ence nothing at all can be inferred. 



The German of all four works seems to 

 me later than Luther's Bible. Upon this 

 matter I must speak with dif&dence, how- 

 ever ; but I leave it to the reader to com- 

 pare the specimen above given with any 

 page of Paracelsus and say which is the 

 more modern. I cannot see how there can 

 be room for two opinions. 



The author is, in the text of each treatise 

 named, as ' Frater Basilius Valentinus, Ben- 

 edictiner Ordens.' The first three works 

 contain little concerning his personality or 

 age. Yet the author's preface to the Grosse 

 Stein tells us that, ' da mir menschlichen 

 Furcht zu Handen stiess,' he was led to re- 

 ligious reflections. He joined the Benedic- 

 tines, and after he had been a monk for a good 

 while (nun eine Zeitlange) he determined 

 to devote his leisure hours ' die ISTatur von 

 einander zu legen,' and to considering what 

 earthly natures he should find the highest. 

 He diligently studied many books which he 

 found in the monastery, written by wise 

 masters who had investigated the natures. 

 Subsequently, in the desire to cure a sick 

 brother, he took up the distillation of herbs, 

 and this investigation occupied him for six 

 years. At the end of that time he began 

 to extend his chemical studies, and gradu- 

 ally went on from one thing to another. 



