Extracted from William Blomberg, An Account of the Life and Writings of Edmund Dickinson, M.D. Physician in Ordinary to King Charles and King James II. London. 1739.
During this Reign [Charles II], the Doctor [Edmund Dickinson] continued in great Esteem and Favour at Court; and upon the Accession of King James II was confirmed in his Place and King's Physician; but this Monarch being more addicted to his Devotions than Chymistry, the Doctor had now Leisure to apply himself to Writing; wherefore, in 1686, he published his Epistola ad Mundanum de Quintessentia Philosophorum. The Occasion of writing which was, a certain Person came to the Doctor's House, and made before him two Projections, as the Adepts term it; that is, converted or transmuted baser Metal into pure Gold, by a Powder or Stone; the Rumour of this spreading, especially amongst the Searchers after this Arcanum, he wrote this little Treatise in Latin, to which he received an Answer in French from Paris, and having it translated into that more universal Language in which his own appeared, published it with that.
Who this certain Person was, is not known, though, that there was an old personal Acquaintance between the Doctor and this Mundanus, is manifest from the Confession of the latter; ‘About twenty Years ago', says he, ‘in making the Tour of England, I came to the famous University of Oxford; during the short Stay I made there, I was so happy to become acquainted with you, and in that Time was thoroughly sensible of the great Charge and Pains you had been at in improving yourself in Chymistry'. Upon this Gentleman's second Appearance in England in 1679, finding the Doctor more addicted to this Art, than he imagined one of his great Practice could find Time for, to give him an undeniable Testimony of the vast Esteem he had for him, and to settle and confirm him in the Belief of a Probability of Success in the great Work, he made before him those two Projections, which he owns, in the Space of above forty Years, in which he had been an Adept, never to have shewn to more than three Persons, except the Doctor.
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“This white substance, if you will make it red, you must continually decoct it in a dry fire till it be rubified, or become red as blood, which is nothing but water, fire, and true tincture. And so by a continual dry fire, the whiteness is changed, removed, perfected, made citrine, and still digested till it become to a true red and fixed color. And consequently by how much more it is heightened in color, and made a true tincture of perfect redness. Wherefore with a dry fire, and a dry calcination, without any moisture, you must decoct this compositum, till it be invested with a most perfect red color, and then it will be the true and perfect elixir.”
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