Bacon, Roger (1214?-1294)

Speculum alchimiae. [Anon.] Liber de duodecim aquis, [In Italian.] Extract from 'Breve breviarluim' [?]. P. 1. Incipit tractatus de alchemia / Fratris Rugerii de Ordine Fratrum / Minorum qui speculum secretorum inti / tulatur / In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Amen. Ad / instructionem multorum ... 13 ... sub maximo compendio propter / penuriam librorum explicitur. 14 Seguita le 12 Acque di gran uirtu / et prima de l'acqna rubicunda. / Recipe oui de gallina quanti tu uuoi ... 21 adunque guarda che tu non falli. 23 In nomine Domini his soluitur dictum Aristotelis / in 4 metaphisices ubi dicitur. sciant artificiosi / alchimiae quod species metallorum permutari non / possunt ... 48 ... et in his stat clauis totius / artis. Finis. Deo gratias.

Late 16th Century

1 volume 50 pp. (last bl.). 4to. 20 1/2 x 14 cm. Modern vellum binding.

Purchased 1936.

The authorship of the 'Liber de 12 aquis' is disputed, and it has been left anonymous. The attribution of the third work, as part of the 'Breve breviarium' of Bacon is conjectural. The group of MSS. Nos. 109, 451, 582, 728, 583, 629, 77 [69477-69483] appear to have been all originally part of a larger volume, which has been divided into seven separate volumes by the booksellers.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).