The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
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patronage, which may have been well known even before Lock‘s move to Russia. Unlike<br />
the other pretenders seeking to take advantage <strong>of</strong> <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s fascination with alchemy, Lock<br />
claimed that only ―I knowe it now as it was knowne to philosophers past‖. 115 Lock‘s<br />
reference to alchemists who ―In iron some do think to finde, <strong>The</strong> philosophers stone, And<br />
worke there one with great expense, Yet better let alone‖, may allude to <strong>Cecil</strong>‘s<br />
simultaneous patronage <strong>of</strong> <strong>William</strong> Medley‘s industrial alchemy, as detailed in Chapter<br />
four. 116 Lock clearly recognised that he had significant competition for alchemical<br />
patronage.<br />
Lock‘s epistle emphasised the medical, rather than financial, benefits to <strong>Cecil</strong> <strong>of</strong> his<br />
alchemical knowledge. In return for aiding his return to England, Lock promised to<br />
provide <strong>Cecil</strong> with ―goulden drink I say, A medicine most <strong>of</strong> might... In repulsing that, that<br />
is in man, Wheron sickness <strong>of</strong>ten doth growe, That bringeth age in youthfull yeares‖. 117<br />
<strong>The</strong> treatise itself also contains details on the medical and pharmacological aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
alchemy, ―especially in that some <strong>of</strong> the transmutative elixirs are also said to be able to cure<br />
bodily diseases, and prolong life‖. 118 While, according to Peter Grund, ―the treatise seems<br />
to consider the medical virtues <strong>of</strong> elixirs as secondary‖ to the transformation <strong>of</strong> base metals<br />
into silver or gold, this could be considered merely a reflection <strong>of</strong> the source materials from<br />
which the treatise was compiled. 119<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no record <strong>of</strong> Lock expressing an interest in alchemy before his time in<br />
Russia. While his vague reference to salt production indicated some level <strong>of</strong> experience in<br />
industrial chemistry, the dedicatory epistle establishes that Lock developed his alchemical<br />
knowledge whilst in Russia. Despite his persistent complaints, Lock claimed not to repent<br />
―my longe absence, in vaine it have not bin, such knowledge here to me have come, As at<br />
115 Ibid.<br />
116 Ibid.<br />
117 Ibid.<br />
118 Grund, ‗―Misticall Wordes and Names Infinite‖‘, p. 29.<br />
119 Grund, ―Misticall Wordes and Names Infinite‖.<br />
70