He was
within a hair's-breadth of anticipating Priestley and Lavoisier by three
hundred years.

[Sidenote: Augurelli, the poetical alchemist.] The alchemists of the
sixteenth century not only occupied themselves with experiment; some of
them, as Augurelli, aspired to poetry. He undertook to describe in Latin
verses the art of making gold. His book, entitled "Chrysopoeia," was
dedicated to Leo X., a fact which shows the existence of a greater
public liberality of sentiment than heretofore. It is said that the
author expected the Holy Father to make him a handsome recompense, but
the good-natured pope merely sent him a large empty sack, saying that he
who knew how to make gold so admirably only needed a purse to put it in.

[Sidenote: Basil Valentine introduces antimony.] The celebrated work of
Basil Valentine, entitled "Currus triumphalis Antimonii," introduced the
metal antimony into the practice of medicine. The attention of this
author was first directed to the therapeutical relations of the metal by
observing that some swine, to which a portion of it had been given, grew
fat with surprising rapidity. There were certain monks in his vicinity
who, during the season of Lent, had reduced themselves to the last
degree of attenuation by fasting and other mortifications of the flesh.
On these Basil was induced to try the powers of the metal. To his
surprise, instead of recovering their flesh and fatness, they were all
killed; hence the name popularly given to the metal, antimoine, because
it does not agree with the constitution of a monk. Up to this time it
had passed under the name of stibium. With a result not very different
was the application of antimony in the composition of printer's
type-metal. Administered internally or thus mechanically used, this
metal proved equally noxious to ecclesiastics.

[Sidenote: The new epoch.] It is scarcely necessary to continue the
relation of these scientific trifles. Enough has been said to illustrate
the quickly-spreading taste for experimental inquiry. I now hasten to
the description of more important things.

[Sidenote: Difficulty of treating it scientifically.] In the limited
space of this book I must treat these subjects, not as they should be
dealt with philosophically, but in the manner that circumstances permit.
Even with this imperfection, their description spontaneously assumes an
almost dramatic form, the facts offering themselves to all reflecting
men with an air of