First published in 1652, this compilation of English alchemical literature was collected and annotated by Elias Ashmole. The book made available many works that had previously existed only in privately held manuscripts, and features alchemical verse from Thomas Norton, George Ripley, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Dastin, Abraham Andrews, Thomas Charnock, William Bloomefield, Edward Kelley, John Dee, Thomas Robinson, William Backhouse, John Gower, John Lydgate, W. Redman, as well as several unknown authors. Individual plates from the volume are digitized here, with additional item-level description available for select plates.
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“The Bodies changing into water so long till out of the Water a part in it of the manifold vapours ascends, and falling downe againe are coagulated and consolidated that it may never rise againe, and the reason hereof is because the corporeal Spirit in the Spirituall and the Spirituall againe in the corporeal has mixed and soaked it selfe, and because the Spirituall Spirit is stronger than the Corporeall Spirit, they both are vapourous and ellevate themselves in the height of the allembick; but when the corporeall Spirit overcomes the Spirituall he must necessarily remaine with him at the bottome in the Cucurbit, and when they have united themselves the Spirituall Ghost which is penetrable makes the corporeall Spirit together with himself penetrable and permeable, for the corporeall Spirit has in him the tincture, that is, the red and white colour, and with all the Spirituall Spirit leads the corporeall in and without hinderance just as a man does goe through a house with an open doore, and is not spied by any, so it is here”
Arnold de Villa Nova
Chymicall treatise of the Ancient and highly illuminated Philosopher
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