Add MS 78345

EVELYN PAPERS. Vol. CLXXVIII. Treatise on natural philosophy and chemistry; [aft. 1660?]. Autograph draft, including several pen and ink sketches of the laboratory equipment. Imperfect and fragmentary at the end. Most of this text is based on a course in chemistry by Nicasius Le Fèvre, studied by Evelyn in Paris in the late 1640s and early 1650s (Diary, II, pp. 534-5, III, p. 49) and published as Traicté de la Chymie in 1660; see F. Sherwood Taylor, `The Chemical Studies of John Evelyn', Annals of Science, VIII (1952), pp. 285, 290-292. Evelyn's interest in chemistry was strong in the 1650s; (see letters from Le Fèvre, 23 March, 25 May, 3 June 1652, 30 Sept. 1655, 13 Sept. 1656), and Samuel Hartlib describes him as `a chymist' with `a great many furnaces' (Michael Hunter, `John Evelyn in the 1650s', Science and the Shape of Orthodoxy, Woodbridge, 1995, p. 75). If he intended to publish this work, the plan was overtaken by another English translation of Le Fèvre, A Compendious Body of Chymistry, by `P. D. C.', which appeared in 1664. Evelyn's version lacks most of the instructions for specific chemical processes. Those concerning vegetable matter may have been taken over for use in the appropriate chapter of his `Elysium Britannicum', but the relevant portion of the manuscript does not survive in either case. It appears by comparison with the `garden laboratory' shown on the plan of Sayes Court that some of the sketches of equipment in the present manuscript may represent the interior of his `elaboratory' at Sayes Court. Beal EvJ 155. Formerly Evelyn MS 61. A sheet headed `Chymicall processes experimented by me', 1659 (formerly Evelyn MS 562; Beal EvJ 158), appears on the grounds of paper size and type to belong to this compilation and has been added to it.

Consisting of two sewn gatherings, and at least one of which has been disjoined and is now incomplete.

1. Book 1 [no title]:

Preface, `To my honour'd & Learned friend Mr G[aspar] N[eedham]’.

Ch. 1. `Of the Name of this Science'.

Ch. 2: `Of the definition of Alchemy & whether it aught to be call'd Art or a Science'.

Ch. 3: `Of the End of Chimistry'.

Ch. 4: `Of the Principals of Elements & Natural things'.

Ch. 5: `Of the divers substances found in the Resolution & Anatomie of Compounds'.

Ch. 6: `Of each Principall in Particular'.

Ch. 7: `Of Phlegme'.

Ch. 8: `Of the Spirit'.

Ch. 9: `Of Sulphur'.

Ch. 10: `Of Salt'.

Ch. 11: `Of Earth'.

Ch. 12: `Of the Elements in Generall'.

Ch. 13: `Of the Element of Fire'.

Ch. 14: `Of the Element of Ayre'.

Ch. 15: `Of the Element of Water'.

Ch. 16: `Of the Element of Earth'.

Ch. 17: `Of the principals of mixts ...'.

Ch. 18: `Of the principles of destruction'.

Ch. 19: `Of Pure & Impure'.

Ch. 20: `How the Impure enters into all things'.

Ch. 21: `How to seperat the Impur out of all things'.

Ch. 22: `Of the pure substances which one may extract out of Mixts'.

Ch. 23: `Of the Naturall Generation & Corruption of Mixts & of their diversity'.

Ch. 24: `Of the diffrence of mixts in Generall'.

Ch. 25: `Of the diversity of Perfect mixts'.

Ch. 26: `Of the Media Minerals or Marcassits'.

Ch. 27: `Of Metalls'.

Ch. 28 (wrongly 38): `Of Stones'.

Ch. 29 (wrongly 39): `Of Other Mixts, as well Animats as Inanimats'.

Ch. 30, (wrongly 40): `How the chimistry doth worke upon these mixts to draw out of them the pure, & reject the Impure'.

2. `The Second Booke: of Naturall Phylosophy wherin the speculations of the former are asserted from Manual Practise and Hermetiq Experience: conteyning the most excellent & absolute course of Chymistry that hath ever bin hither too Extant ...'

The Preface

Ch. 1: `Of Tearmes Necessary to the Understanding and Composing of chymicall operations'.

Ch. 2: `Of the divers kinds of salutions, & coagulations'.

Ch. 3: `Of the divers degrees of Heate'.

Ch. 4: `Of the Varietys of Vessells'.

Ch. 5: `Of the Variety of Furnaces'.

Ch. 6: `Of Lutations &c'.

Ch. 7: `Of The Furniture of an Elaboratory'.

Ch. 8: `Of the Explication of certayne marks & tearmes wh Chemiq have Used'.

Ch. 9: `Of Separating & purif[y]ing of the five substances after the First Extraction'.

Ch. 10: `An Apologie for the remedys Chymically prepared'.

Ch. 11: `Of the faculties of Mixts, and of the divers degrees of their qualityes'.

Ch. 12: `An Advertisement touching the praecautions which are to be observed in the Administration of Chimical Remedys'.

Ch. 13 [1]: `Of th'Order which wee shall observe in the descriptions of our operations'.

Ch. 2: `Of Deaw and of Rayne'.

Ch. 3: `Of Hony and of Wax'.

3. At this point the exact relationship to Le Fèvre's work breaks down. The remainder of the text consists of tables of animals, vegetables and minerals, notes on chemical processes relating to vegetable matter, descriptions and sketches of furnaces, vessels and other equipment.