Mellon MS 18

 ALCHEMICAL MISCELLANY, in Latin
 North Italy, written by Franciscus de Traversagnis, partly dated
 7 October 1478

 18.1 Hermes. Tabula smaragdina, with prologue and two
 commentaries.
 18.2 Anonymous. Liber duodecim aquarum.
 18.3 Anonymous. Liber sacerdotum, extracts.
 18.4 Aristotle or Rasis. Lumen luminum.
 18.5 Anonymous. Theosophia palmarum.
 18.6 Anonymous. Alchemy, in Latin.
 18.7 Zosimus or Rosinus. Ad Sarrantantem episcopum, Liber I.
 18.8 Anonymous. Alchemy, in Latin.
 18.9 Cyprianus. Absolutio facturarum malorum occultorum.

Paper codex in Latin, 8vo., 142 x 101, ff. 80, foliated in an early hand,
corrected and overwritten by a later hand; no signatures, no catchwords.
Collation: (1)^^16, (2)^^26, (3)^^16, (4)^^18+4. Written space ca. 100 x 70,
faintly bordered in ink, single column, 26-30 lines, no headlines. Written by
one hand in a very neat humanistic cursive, small throughout and often
minute, heavily abbreviated with usually standard forms, rubricated and with
plain, red capitals throughout except in the last 6 ff., a few marginalia by
a sixteenth-century Italian hand which supplied a heading on f. 80v. Rare
correction. Several batches of paper, unidentified scissors and bullshead
watermarks observed.

BINDING: Nineteenth-century marbled paper boards with diced calf back, the
backstrip in compartments with horizontal gilt fillets, lines of gilt dots on
the false bands, title in one compartment in gilt, "TRACTATUS | DE | ELIXIR."
Early, probably original green edges.

PROVENANCE: Probably originally a personal manuscript of the copyist,
Franciscus de Traversagnis, 1478; Baron Horace de Landau, his bookplate,
crossed L's surmounted by a crown, with stamped numbers 103 | 109, ca. 1900;
Denis Duveen, with his inked number 38, acquired at the Landau-Finaly sale,
Milan, 16-18 January 1949, through Herbert Reichner (bookseller), New York;
Mellon MS 12, acquired with the Duveen collection. De Ricci-Bond 3 (12).

CONTENTS

f. 1r, 1: Quoniam de opere in quo philosophorum doctissimi... [f. 1r, 24:]
manus hermetis in qua inveni scriptum...
  [18.1a: Prologue (of Latin translator ?) accompanying Hermes, Tabula
smaragdina, TK 1270; DWS 26.]

f 1r, 24: ... Verum sine mendatio | ... [f. 1v, 8:] vocatus sum hermes et
tocius mundi partes habens sapientie | Completum est quod diximus de opere
solis ex libro galienis alphachini
 [18.1b: Hermes, Tabula smaragdina: TK 1691; DWS 26.]

f. 1v, 10: Dixit ranazi de lapide de quo debeat hoc opus fieri. Alchel |
philosophus ait contempplare altissima montana que sunt adextri [sic] et asi-
| nistris... [f. 3v, 29:] ... postea vero de hoc composito pones unum. Bt.
[?] L. et luna perfecta...
 [18.1c: Rhazes, Commentary | on the Tabula smaragdina of Hermes, TK 378; DWS
26.]

f. 3v, 30: ... Expositio verborum hermetis. | [f. 4r, 1:] Quoniam ea que
magistri atque ceteri de quibus mentionem fecimus ... [f. 4v, 22:] ... Itaque
vocatus sum hermes tres totius mundi | partes habens sapientie in ethicam
logicam et physicam. Completum | est etc....
 [18.1d: Commentary II on Hermes, Tabula smaragdina, TK 1273; DWS 26.]

f. 4v, 24: ... [Title partly transliterated in Greek letters:] Incipit liber
duodecim aquarum Libelli huius series xii. splendet capitulis...

f. 6v, 2: ... aquam educit rubeam. Hec si quidem aqua candelas accendit | et
domos illuminas operi enim summe necessaria |
 [18.2: Anonymous, Liber duodecim aquarum, TK 817. Begins and ends
substantially as DWS 1063, Version C; Ruska in Osiris VIL pp. 67-81, does not
take this version into account. The first eight waters are those in the
second version found in a Munich manuscript and printed as "N" by Ruska;
after the eighth water, the text varies, ending as Singer Version C. This
version is perhaps also comparable to that in Paris B.N. MS lat. 6514,
studied by Corbett I, p. 20.]

f. 6v, 4: [In the left margin, "Marinas testas." Incipit is in Greek and
"secret" writing, probably transliterating "Marinas testas."] ... de recenti
minera sumptas...

f. 7r, 3: ... Si vero duenneg durescet [sic] ...
  [18.2: Anonymous, Liber duodecim aquarum, DWS 1063, ending of Version B. As
Mrs. Singer noted, the two paragraphs here found are associated with "twelve
waters" texts in some manuscripts, and also with Liber sacerdotum, printed as
pp. 26-27 by Berthelot, extended excerpts from which immediately follow
without a new text heading in the manuscript here described.]

f. 7r, 3: ... Primum capitulum. | Summatur ergo auripigmentum et in vase
vitreo...

f. 16v, 30: ... nisi corpora preparata sint ea suscipere | penitus recusant.
   [18.3: Anonymous, Liber sacerdotum, extracts, TK 1618, 167; DWS 499. The
following is a list of the paragraph numbers, as printed by Berthelot, La
Chimie I, pp. 179-228, in the order in which they appear in the present
manuscript: 2-5, 10, 12, 7-9, 15-16, 22-25, 13-14, 17-21, 101-102, 29, 28,
84-85, 90-92, 95 (in part), 87, 4O-41, 137-138, 1, 108, 32-38, 54-55, 39,
56-66, 69, 67, 68, 70-72, 104-106, 115-118, 123-124, 129-131, 133, 135 (in
part). In addition, there are five insertions in the text, as follows, f.
10r, 30:] ... Hec est interpretatio | [f. 10v, 1:] verborum hermetis. Incipit
qualiter sal ad hoc opus alkimicum preparetur | SJ quis melius sapit melius
dicat. dixit ieber benialem [sic]. Sal est | radis [sic] huius operis si
preparetur [sic] ... [Tabula smaragdina, Commentary II, a brief extract:
Corbett I, p. 20; DWS 638 supplies a different ending. Occurs between
Berthelot [Paragraph mark.] 87 and 40. Ends f. 10v, 20. F. 11r, 6:] De solis
augumento [sic]. Sal arseni [?] cum ... [Unidentified recipe, occurring
between Berthelot [Paragraph mark.] 41 and 137. Ends f. 11r, 20. F. 11v, 2:]
CAPITULUM. CONFEDERATIONIS. | Inter omnia negotiorum genera nullum post
Alkkmkf [a "secret" transliteration of "Alkimie"?] disciplinam vi- | detur
succedere... [Unidentified text occurring between Berthelot [Paragraph mark.]
138 and 1, with space before the latter. Ends f. 12v, 25. F. 13v, 8:]
Corporum administratio quae in hoc summam habent efficaciam. Aurum |
purissimum plumbo equaliter adiecto ...
 [Occurs between [Paragraph mark.] 108 and 32 of Berthelot; although not
printed by Berthelot, it is noted by DWS 449, no. 3. Ends f. 13v, 20. F. 15r,
4:] ... Primum capitulum. | Hijs que ad corporis [?] dispositionem quorum
efficacia huic... [f. 15r, 26:] liquefactam in unum rediguntur corpus. aliud
[?] capitulum Secretorum | Hijs ita se habentibus sine alicuius
moderatione... [Unidentified procedures, occurring between Berthelot's
[Paragraph mark.] 72 and 104. Ends f. 16r, 9.]

f. 17r, 1: ["Secret" writing incorporating Greek letters, transliterable as
"INCIPIT. LUMEN. LUMINUM."] | Cum de sublimiori atque precipuo rerum effectu
| ... [f. 17v, 26:] Cum igitur hoc substantialiter differant calor et frigus
... [Ends f. 22v, 6:] ... Hoc siquidem archanum in aquarum scientia ultimum
sed intimum | et precordiale disputandum descripsi...
 [18.4: Aristotle or Rasis, Lumen luminum, TK 290, DWS 113, etc. At this
point the manuscript supplies the explicit, apparently of a short version,
cited by DWS 113.ii, from Bodleian MS Digby 162; but the text continues in
the present manuscript and finally closes with an explicit most like that
cited by Corbett I, p. 28, from B.N. MS lat. 6514, f. 42v, 26:] ... vita qua
est laude digna omnium | existimatione utiliter deo gratias Amen. Finito
Anno. | Mcccclxxviij die vij octobris per me franciscum de | traversagnis ad
omnipotentis laudem.

f. 43r, 1: [Partly washed-out inscription in a seventeenth-century Italian
hand:] | AB omnipotenti deo thesaurus sue sapientie nobis | reseratus...

f. 63v, 26: Non intelligentes autem non iuvant plolixitates [sic].

f. 64r, 4: descriptionis seriem prout licuit Theosophie filijs | absque
invidia reserare Cuius nomen laudatum sit | in secula seculorum Amen Deo
gracias. | Explicit Theosophie palmarum. |
  [18.5: Anonymous, Theosophia palmarum, here Theosophie palmarum, TK 7. The
text begins and ends very much as Vatican Palat. lat. 1332, 27v-35, quoted by
Thorndike in Speculum XI, 1936, p. 375, where he also calls attention to
Vienna 5509 and extracts in U. Bologna 303 (500). All are of
fifteenth-century date. Another copy occurs in MS 5.23.]

f. 64r, 8: Omnis res ex eo est in quod resolvitur. Glaties | enim mediante
calorem in aquam veritur... [This passage opens a long and interesting
treatise on transmutation, the more important text divisions of which are the
following:] Putrefactio phisica... Ablutio phisica... Fermentacio phisica...
De vertute Regis Rebis... Quod sit rebis ... Lapis noster nascitur in duobus
| montibus... [Liber rebis ? See Ambix VIII (1960), p. 171.] ... Lapis noster
triplici veste ornatus est... Lapis perfectus et imperfectus... Ars imitans
naturam... De medijs metalorum... Quid sit tingendum... [Ends f. 74r, 12:]
Oniversale [sic] bonum et initium artis ubi summarie poniunt [?] via maioris
lapidis ad album et rumeum. | Mercurium satis ablutum... [followed, f. 74v,
by four short recipes.]
   [18.6: Anonymous, Alchemy, in Latin, not identified in the literature
consulted.]

f. 75r, 1: [In different and darker ink, but apparently in the same hand:]
Venerande pater aures tuas hic inclina: et intelige | Imprimis quidem [?] te
cupio certiorem fieri: quod materia et sperma | omnium liquabilium est... [f.
75r, 27:] Intellige hic et inclina aurem tuam. Accipe... [Ends f. 77r, 6:]
Corpus coniungitur et ligatur et cum eo simul in colorem fer- | menti
convertitur et fit unum ex eis. |
   [18.7: Zosimus (Rosinus) ad Sarrantantem episcopum, Alchemy, TK 1683, Bk.
I only, as printed in Artis auriferae I, pp. 277-291. However, the text as
here presented seems to continue logically enough; in fact, this text is
frequently confused and intermingled with Arnold of Villanova, Semita recta,
etc. See also DWS 226.]

f. 77r, 8: Ex predictis apparet subtiliter intuenti [?] philosophos in suis
verbis ob- | scuris vera [?] locutos fuisse. Nam dicunt quod lapis noster |
ex 4 elementis... [f. 78r, 28:] ...O reverende pater | ...facile potes
intelligere verba philosophorum... [f. 78v, 7:] ... cuius utilitas magis |
est quam posis [sic] percipere ratione. In omnibus laudetur deus noster.
Amen. | [It is difficult to be certain whether this explicit marks a definite
ending of the undescribed text, or whether the following, which is connected
in subject matter, is a separate text. F. 78v, 9:] Imprimis notandum quod
rasis et Aristotelis [?] assignant matrimonium | et generationem factam inter
masculum et feminam... [Ends f. 80r, 29:] ... mediam perfectam alba continens
| in se omnia necessaria: et est albissima in manifesto et in umbra [?] in
occulto ut ovum. |
 [18.8: Anonymous, Alchemy, in Latin, comprising a group of short sections,
perhaps forming a single text, not identified.]

f. 80v, headline: [In a sixteenth-century Italian hand:] la oracione de. S.
cipriano | contra a li malificie | [line 1, in the hand of the main texts:]
Hec est absolutio omnium facturarum malorum occultorum... [f. 80v, 7:] Ego
quidem cyprianus servus et devotus Christi pervidi Jesum meum | et memoriam
meam circha potentiam magni et altissimi | dei... [Ends f. 80v,30:] ... &
fugant fillij lac matrum suarum. Amen |
 [18.9: Cyprianus, Absolutio facturarum malorum occultorum. This prayer has
not been identified.]

SUMMARY: This manuscript appears to have been written at different times by
Franciscus de Traversagnis, presumably an Italian, ff. 17-42 in 1478. There
is some evidence, both in the changes in handwriting and in the apparent
rearrangement of the quires, as indicated by suppression of early foliation
which does not agree with the present arrangement, to show that the contents
and arrangement of the manuscript were originally somewhat different. The
codex is also related in some way yet to be determined to MS 19 of this
catalogue, which is of almost identical size, which also came from the Landau
collection, which has a similar binding, and of which various parts were
written by an Italian at London in French and Latin during the course of
1480, only two years after the dated section of MS 18. MS 19 is apparently
the work of a different hand, but the two manuscripts may have been written
within the same circle and may have remained together
constantly