The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

According to Page, Kelley had not intended to flee to England; rather he had been
the victim of a conspiracy led by the Emperor‘s secretary, who had disputed Kelley‘s new
found status. Page alleged that the secretary had failed in earlier attempts to trick Kelley
into committing treason in order to learn from him the secret of the
phylosophers ston which he poseseth wythout question to the contrarye,
wyth which knolledge if god should permyt he is able to perfect all the
imperfect mettals in the worlde, which for my part I not at all marvell at but
hold it as a naturell secret 172
Page‘s view of Kelley ―not delighting [in] the worlde but contemplatying hys divenity and
inserchable workes‖ certainly conflicts with the alchemist‘s posthumous reputation. 173
Kelley remained imprisoned until at least October 1593. 174 In the interim, Robert
Cecil took over much of the responsibility for intelligence operations from his aging father.
Robert held more conservative philosophical beliefs than the elder Cecil, and remained
sceptical about the possibility of alchemical transmutation. 175 Indeed, the conservative
elements within the English church with whom Robert Cecil identified found alchemy
theologically suspicious. According to Francis Bacon, when Edward Dyer later described
Kelley‘s transmutation to the Archbishop of Canterbury, he replied ―You had take heed
what you say Sir Edward Dyer for here is an infidel at the board‖. 176
The information given to him by Kelley‘s former adversary, Christopher Parkins,
further damaged Kelley‘s reputation with Robert Cecil. Parkins described those who
believed in Kelley‘s alchemical promises as ―simple‖ and told Robert Cecil that the
Emperor‘s best men alleged ―that he maketh trewe transmutation of metalls yet in such
sort that he hath thearby losse and no comodityes‖. 177 According to Parkins, Kelley had
financed his lifestyle on credit by borrowing from Prague‘s Jewish community, who
172 Ibid.
173 Ibid.
174 Wilding, ‗A Biography of Edward Kelly‘, p. 73.
175 Patrick Collinson, The Elizabethan Puritan Movement, London, 1967, pp. 443-47.
176 Francis Bacon, ‗Apophthegms‘, in Basil Montague (ed.), The Works of Francis Bacon, London, 1823, p. 122.
177 Parkins to Robert Cecil, 20 July 1593, TNA, SP 81/7 ff.143r-144v.
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