Philosopher's Stone.- Certaine chymicall Observations upon the Philosophers Stone, manuscript in Secretary hand, 3½pp., slightly browned, disbound, Strasburg Bend watermark, folio, [c. 1630].

⁂ "[Clause] 11. That their books cannot be understood but by continuall application of the true materialls wth their words & soe they may helpe them wth afore knowe, whereof, how & what they speake & meane; but to the ignorant theyr and meane words, & some full of contradition."

"[Clause] 15. That divers false apparitions ... coming from the continuall ignitating of Metallic Amalgames, are but accidentall ... from their impurities; And that blackness... miserable philosophasters take for Caput Corui, is but the supfluous moisture... commonly called Quicksilver ffor the true Caput Corui, is an Essential rotation of Elemts, or naturall heate working in Radicall humor."

"[Clause] 20. That it is impossible to understand the seasons wherein their words should be rightlie planted but meerely by revelation, because they speake of [2 Leo. 2 Libra 2. Sagittarius] not all is but one thing onely alterable in their zodiack."

"[Clause] 30. That Pythagores wheele, & the quadrature of the circle are meant in this worke, whereby Copernicus & his disciples have sowed soe many & errors in the world through mistaking of Revolutions."

An interesting alchemical manuscript on the famous philosopher's stone, the foundation of alchemy, the ultimate aim of which was to turn base metals (usually Mercury) into gold. The work consists of various chemical observations and is divided into thirty clauses.