Opus lapidis philosophorum

OPUS lapidis philosophorum: with other short anonymous alchemical tracts: in Italian and Latin. On p. 72 is a pen-drawing of the 'Philosophical egg' on a furnace. P. 1 Opus lapidis philosophorum ('con oua di galina': added by another hand). / La compositione di questa opera si e che inpri / mis bisogna che la luna sia in Ariete ... 4 ... tutta si conuertira / in medicina ua sopra celo di mercurio mondo. 4 [SECRETVM Philosophorum]. HAEC EST PORTA lapidis, et operatio eius ul / timum philosophie secretum ... 22 ... tinget / quantitatem cuiuscunque metalli [Mercury] in solem / pretiosum. Deo gratias. Amen. /// A FARE AQVA ACVTA // PER FERMENTARE. // Recipe Vitriolo Rom[ano] d. 6 ... 40 ... et fondila come e ditto di sopra et hauri oro. 41 LA COMPOSITIONE DE L'ACQVA ANTE / ditta in principio sie vitriolo et saln / itro a far l'opera nostra buona per ingressione. // Recipe 30 rossi de oui di gallina ... With other receipts in Italian and Latin. 59 INCIPIT modus aquarum / pretiosarum omnibus maior. // Recipe Argentum uiuum quantum uis ... 63 quem postea in nigrum et quasi adustum / transformat. // LAVS DEO. Pp. 64-66 Blank. P. 67 LAPIS philosophorum Perfectus. // Dicit philosophus quod inter duos monticulos tertius / manet ... 72 quia in aspectu planetarum / ad faciendum eis simile / semper erit propitius. Adiu / uante Deo. Pp. 73-76 Blank. P. 77 Ex originali proprio de uerbo / ad uerbum rescriptum. / IN nomine Domini Iesu christi per quem saluatus et liberatus sum ... / ... / IN pagina ista scriptus est thesaurus totius mundi / qui uocatur lapis philosophorum ... 81 et sic multiplicatur proiectio de tribus in / tribus mensibus. // Soli Deo honor et gloria. The first of the last two items seems to be connected with the works of Johannes de Rupescissa. Not only the religious style, but the mention of 'santi et evangelici viri' and the necessity of assisting the needs of the poor and of the Church and the Faithful, are all to be found in Rupescissa's 'Liber lucis' and especially in his 'De consideratione quintae essentiae'. The last item is an account of the making of the 'Stone' in 1202 by the Author and one Cornelius Gallutius who converted lead into gold by using one part of the 'Powder' to a 1000 parts of lead. They sold the converted lead to Joannes Baptista Ranutius, a schoolmaster of Bologna for 28 librae per ounce, and it was sent to the mint at Padua in May 1202. The prime element of the 'Powder' was 'sal nitrum'.

Late 16th century

1 volume 1 bl. l. + 82 pp. 4to. 201/2 x 14 cm. Modern vellum binding.

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Purchased 1936.

Probably extracted from a larger MS. volume. See Note to MS. No. 109 [Bacon]. Alchemical symbols for planets and metals in Moorat's catalogue description have been replaced with the name of the corresponding metal (in English).

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).