Roger Bacon

“ Alchimy is a Corporal Science simply composed of one and by one, naturally conioyning things more precious, knowledge and effect, and conuerting them by a naturall commixtion into a better kind. A certain other saith: Alchimy is a Science, teaching how to transforme any kind of mettall into another: and that by a proper medicine, as it appeareth by many Philosophers Bookes. ”

“ After this maner there are many thinges hidden in the Philosophers bookes, wherein a wise man must beware, that neglecting the Charmes and Characters, he onely attend and make tryall of the worke of Nature and Art. And then he shall perceyue things liuing, and without life, to concurre and agree in Nature, for the conformitie and likenesse of their Natures, and not by vertue of the Charme or Character: whereas the simple people suppose manie things to bee wrought by Magicke, which are nothing else but the secretes of Art and Nature. ”

“ The quantitie is called by the Logitians Passion, or passible qualitie, An example of a passible qualitie, is sweetnesse in hony, or coldnesse in yce: of passion when we blush for shame, and waxe pale through feare. Nowe forsomuch as the truth must in no wise bee empayred, wee are diligently to consider that euery Agent (not onely substances, but likewise Accidens of the third kinde of Qualities) worketh a vertue, and maketh an apparance in the outward nature, and that there are certain sensible vertues in things. ”

“ The red Elixir doth turne into a citrine colour infinitely, and changeth all mettals into pure gold. And the white Elixir doth infinitely whiten, and bringeth euerie mettal to perfect whitenesse. But we know that one mettall is farther off from perfection then another, & one more neere then another. And although euerie mettall may by Elixir be reduced to perfection, neuerthelesse the neerest are more easily, speedily, and perfectly reduced, then those which are far distant. And when we meete with a mettall that is neere to perfection, we are thereby excused from many that are farre off. ”

“ For by the same reason that one thing may seeme to be many things, it may likewise seeme to be infinite things because that when once it hath exceeded his vertue, there is no sette number to be assigned: for thus Aristotle reasoneth in the Chapter De vacuo. ”

“ Nature ouercommeth nature: & Nature meeting with her nature, exceedingly reioyceth, and is changed into other natures. And in another place, Euery like reioiceth in his like: for likenesse is saide to be the cause of friendship, wherof many Philosophers haue left a notable secret, Know thou that the soule doth quickly enter into his body, which may by no meanes be ioyned to another body. And in another place, The soule doth quickly enter into his own body, which if thou goest about to ioyne with another body, thou shalt loose thy labour: for the neerenesse it selfe is more cleare. ”

“ O Alexander, I will shew thee the greatest secret in the world, God grant thou maiest keepe it close, and bring to passe the intention of the Art of that stone which is no77 stone, and is in euery man, & in euery place, and at all seasons, and is called the end of all Philosophers. And an infinite number of thinges are founde in many bookes and sciences obscured with such darke speeches, so that no man can vnderstand them without a teacher. ”

“ If therefore wee intend to immitate nature, we must needes haue such a furnace like vnto the Mountaines, not in greatnesse, but in continual heate, so that the fire put in, when it ascendeth, may finde no vent: but that the heat may beat vpon the vessell being close shutte, containing in it the matter of the stone: which vessell must be round, with a small necke, made of glasse or some earth, representing the nature or close knitting togither of glasse: the12 mouth whereof must be signed or sealed with a couering of the same matter, or with lute. ”

“ And for that gold is a perfect body, consisting of Argent-uiue, red and cleare, & of such a Sulphur, therfore we choose it not for the matter of our stone to the red Elixir, because it is so simply perfect, without artificiall mundification, & so strongly digested and sod with a natural heate, that with our artificiall fire, we are scarcely able to worke on gold or siluer. And though nature dooth perfect any thing, yet she cannot throughly mundifie, or perfect and purifie it, because she simply worketh on that which shee hath. ”

“ KNow thou that the Philosophers haue named Decoction in their Bookes, saying, that they make Decoction in thinges: and that is it that engendreth them, and changeth them from their substances and colours, into other substãces and colours. If thou transgresse not, I tell thee in this booke, thou shalt proceed rightly. Consider brother, the seed of the earth, wheron men liue, how the heate of the Sunne worketh in it, till it be ripe, when men and other creatures feede vpon it, and that afterwarde Nature worketh on it by her heate within man, conuerting it into his flesh and blood. ”

“ The manner how to fixe the Spirit. KNowe also, that when the bodie is mingled with moysture, and that the heate of the fire meeteth therewith, the moysture is conuerted on the body, and dissolueth it, and then the spirite cannot issue forth, because it is imbibed with the fire. The Spirits are fugitiue, so long as the bodies are mingled with them, and striue to resist the fire & his flame: and yet these parts can hardly agree without a good operation and continuall labour: for the nature of the soule is to ascend vpward, whereas the center of the soule is. ”

“ Why the Stone is said to be perfect. FOr this cause is the Stone saide to be perfect, because it hath in it the nature of Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals: for the stone is three, and one hauing foure natures, to wit, the foure elements, & three colours, black, white, and red. It is also called a graine of corne, which if it die not, remaineth without fruit: but if it doo die (as is aboue said) when it is ioyned in coniunction, it bringeth forth much fruite, the afore named operations being accomplished. ”

“ TAke it therefore and worke it as the Philosopher hath told you in his booke, when he named it after this maner. Take the Stone, no Stone, or that is not a Stone, neither is of the nature of a Stone. It is a Stone whose myne is in the top of the mountaines: and here by mountaines, the Philosopher vnderstandeth liuing creatures, wherupon he saide. Sonne, go to the mountaines of India, and to his caues, & pull out thence precious stones which will melt in the water when they are putte into it. ”

“ Now will I begin to recount vnto you strange things, performed by Arte and Nature, and afterwards I will shew you the causes and manners of things, wherein shall bee nothing Magicall, so that you shall confesse all Magicke power to be inferior to these, and vnworthie to be compared with them. And first of all by the figuration of Art it selfe: There may bee made instruments of Nauigation without men to rowe in them: as huge Shippes to brooke the Sea, onely with one man to steere them, which shal saile farre more swiftly then if they were full of men. ”

“ Thou must also know, that their Medicines are neere to Natures, according as38 the Philosophers haue said in their bookes, that Nature commeth nigh to nature, and Nature is like to nature, and Nature is ioyned to nature, and Nature is drowned in nature, and Nature maketh nature white, & Nature doth make nature red, and generation is retained with generation, & generation conquereth with generation. ”

“ For some are without all shewe of reason, whereof the Philosophers haue made mention in the woorkes of Nature and Art, to the ende they might conceale secrets from the vnworthie, as if it were altogither vnknowne, that the Load-stone could attract Iron: and one desirous to woorke this feate before the people, shoulde make Characters, and pronounce Charmes, that by this meanes he might bring it to passe, this worke of his should be erroneous and deceitfull. ”

“ That which is beneath is like that which is aboue: & that which is aboue, is like that which is beneath, to worke the miracles of one thing. And as all things haue proceeded from one, by the meditatiõ of one, so all things haue sprung from this one thing by adaptation. His father is the sun, his mother is the moone, the wind bore it in hir belly. The earth is his nurse. The father of all the telesme of this world is here. His force and power is perfect, if it be turned into earth. Thou shalt seperate the earth from the fire, the thinne from the thicke, and that gently with great discretion. ”

“ Now the cause of this concealement among all wise men, is, the contempt and neglect of the secretes of wisedome by the vulgar sort, that knoweth not how to vse those things which are most excellent. And if they do conceiue any worthy thing, it is altogither by chance and fortune, & they do exceedingly abuse that their knowledge, to the great damage and hurt of many men, yea, euen of whole societies: so that he is worse then mad that publisheth any secret, vnlesse he conceale it from the multitude, and in such wise deliuer it, that euen the studious and learned shall hardly vnderstand it. ”

“ THe Philosophers moreouer haue taken great paines in dissoluing, that the body and soule might the better be incorporate, for all those things that are together in contrition, assation, and rigation, haue a certaine affinitie and alliance betweene themselues, so that the fire may spoyle the weaker of nature, till it vtterly fade and vanish away, as also it again returneth vpon the stronger parts, vntil the bodie remaine without the Soule. ”

“ Besides, there may be made perpetuall lights, and bathes burning without end, for we haue knowne many that are not burned, but purified. But ouer and besides these, there are other things of Nature that will amaze and astonish vs to heare of them: for noyses may bee made in the aire like thunders, yea with greater horror then those that come by Nature: for a little matter fitted to the quantitie of a thumbe, maketh a horrible noyse, and wonderfull lightning. ”

“ Ome there are that aske whether of these twaine bee of greatest force, and efficacie, Nature, or Art, whereto I make aunswere, and say, that although Nature be mightie and maruailous, yet Art vsing Nature for an instrument, is more powerfull then naturall vertue, as it is to bee seene in many thinges. ”

“ But whatsoeuer is done without the operation of Nature or Art, is either no humane worke, or if it bee, it is fraudulently and colourablie performed: for there are some, that by a nimble motion and shewe of members, or through the diuersitie of voyces, and subtillitie of instruments, or in the darke, and by consent doo propose vnto men diuerse things, to bee wondred at, that haue indeede no truth at all. The worlde is euerie where full of such fellowes. ”

“ Now if plants and liuing creatures cannot attaine vnto the excellencie of mans nature, they shall much lesse be able to worke vertues & kinds, and sende foorth colours for the alterations of bodies without them: whereupon Aristotle saith in his booke of Sleep & Watching, that if a menstrous Woman beholde her selfe in a looking glasse, shee will infect it, so that there will appeare a cloude of bloud. ”

“ For Iuglers cogge many things through the swiftnesse of their hands: and others with varietie of voyces, by certaine deuices that they haue in their bellies, throats or mouthes, will frame mens voyces, farre of, or neare, as it pleaseth thẽ, as if a man spake at the same instant: yea they will counterfeite the soundes of bruit beasts. But the causes hidden in the grasse, or buried in the sides of the earth, proue55 it to bee done by a humane force, and not by a spirit, as they would make men beleeue. ”

“ And to the ende men might be the more throughly allured, they giue glorious titles to their workes, and foolishly ascribe them to such and such Authors, as though they spake nothing of themselues: and write base matters in a loftie stile, and with ye cloke of a text do hide their own forgeries. ”

“ But if they were more then perfect, either in a two-fold, foure-fold, hundred-fold, or larger proportion,7 they might then wel perfect the imperfect. And forasmuch as nature doth alwaies work simply, the perfection which is in them is simple, inseparable, & incommiscible, neither may they by art be put in the stone, for ferment to shorten the worke, and so brought to their former state, because the most volatile doth ouercome the most fixt. ”

“ Cold hath power ouer the thick, because it hath lost his heate, and the water is gone out of it, and the thing appeared vpõ it. And the moisture departed by ascending, & the subtil part of ye aire, and mingled it selfe with it, for it is like vnto it,40 and of the same nature. And when the thicke bodie hath lost his heat and moysture, and that cold and drinesse hath power ouer him, and that their parts haue mingled themselues, and be diuided, and that there is no moysture to ioyne the partes diuided, the parts withdraw themselues. ”

“ And because corporeall things in this regimẽt are made incorporeall, & contrariwise things incorporeal corporeall, and in the shutting vp of the worke, the whole body is made a spirituall fixt thing: and because also that spirituall Elixir euidently, whether white or red, is so greatly prepared and decocted beyonde his nature, it is no maruaile that it cannot bee mixed with a body, on which it is proiected, beeing onely melted. It is also a hard matter to proiect it on a thousand thousand and more, and incontinently to penetrate and transmute them. ”

“ But the greatest and cheefest of all figurations and things figured, is to describe the heauenly bodies according to their length and breadth in a corporall figure, wherin they may corporally moue with a daily motion. These things are worth a kingdome to a wise and discreet man. ”

“ For the Stones (wherein there is an Oyle of a superfluous humiditie) haue certaine boundes of their humours: partly because there is no strong vnion, sithens one may be dissolued from the other, by reason of the nature of the water, which is put to liquefaction in the Spirite, which is the meane betweene his parts and the oyle. ”