Editing Roger Bacon (section)

===Alchemy===
[[File:Roger Bacon conducting an alchemical experiment in a vaulted Wellcome V0025604.jpg|thumb|200px|alt=J. Nasmyth (1845)|A 19th-century etching of Bacon conducting an alchemical experiment]]
Bacon has been credited with a number of [[alchemy|alchemical]] texts.{{sfnp|Bartlett|2008|p=124}}

The ''Letter on the Secret Workings of Art and Nature and on the Vanity of Magic'' (''{{lang|la|Epistola de Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae et de Nullitate Magiae}}''),{{sfnp|Brewer|1859|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k50167j/f631.item.zoom 523 ff]}} also known as ''On the Wonderful Powers of Art and Nature'' (''{{lang|la|De Mirabili Potestate Artis et Naturae}}''), a likely-forged letter to an unknown "William of Paris," dismisses practices such as [[necromancy]]{{sfnp|Zambelli|2007|pp=48–49}} but contains most of the alchemical formulae attributed to Bacon,{{sfnp|Bartlett|2008|p=124}} including one for a [[philosopher's stone]]{{sfnp|Newman|1997|pp=328–329}} and another possibly for [[gunpowder]].{{sfnp|Needham|Lu|Wang|1987|pp=48–50}} It also includes several passages about [[history of flight|hypothetical flying machines]] and [[history of submarines|submarines]], attributing their first use to [[Alexander the Great]].{{sfnp|Gray|2011|pp=185–186}} ''On the Vanity of Magic'' or ''The Nullity of Magic'' is a [[debunking]] of esoteric claims in Bacon's time, showing that they could be explained by natural phenomena.{{sfnp|Borlik|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=c_ShAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 132]}}

He wrote on the medicine of [[Galen]], referring to the translations of [[Avicenna]]. He believed that the medicine of Galen belonged to an ancient tradition passed through [[Chaldea|Chaldeans]], [[Greeks]] and [[Arab]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=David Eugene|last1=Smith|author-link1=David Eugene Smith|title=Medicine and Mathematics in the Sixteenth Century|pmc=7927718|pmid= 33943138|journal=Ann Med Hist.|date=July 1, 1917|volume= 1|issue=2|pages=125–140|oclc=12650954}} (here cited p. 126).</ref> Although he provided a negative image of [[Hermes Trismegistus]], his work was influenced by the [[Renaissance]] Hermetic thought{{dubious|date=December 2023}}{{what?|date=December 2023}}.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=George|last1=Molland|url=|title=Roger Bacon and the Hermetic Tradition in Medieval Science|journal=Vivarium|volume=XXXI|issue= 1|year=1993|pages= 140–160|jstor=42569882|publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/156853493X00123|oclc=812885091|issn=0042-7543}}</ref> Bacon's endorsement of Hermetic philosophy is evident, as his citations of the alchemical literature known as the Secretum Secretorum made several appearances in the Opus Majus. The Secretum Secretorum contains knowledge about the Hermetic [[Emerald Tablet]], which was an integral component of alchemy, thus proving that Bacon's version of alchemy was much less secular, and much more spiritual than once interpreted. The importance of Hermetic philosophy in Bacon's work is also evident through his citations of classic Hermetic literature such as the Corpus Hermeticum. Bacon's citation of the Corpus Hermeticum, which consists of a dialogue between Hermes and the pagan deity [[Asclepius]], proves that Bacon's ideas were much more in line with the spiritual aspects of alchemy rather than the scientific aspects. However, this is somewhat paradoxical as what Bacon was specifically trying to prove in the Opus Majus and subsequent works, was that spirituality and science were the same entity. Bacon believed that by using science, certain aspects of spirituality such as the attainment of "Sapientia" or "Divine Wisdom" could be logically explained using tangible evidence. Bacon's Opus Majus was first and foremost, a compendium of sciences which he believed would facilitate the first step towards "Sapientia". Bacon placed considerable emphasis on alchemy and even went so far as to state that alchemy was the most important science. The reason why Bacon kept the topic of alchemy vague for the most part, is due to the need for secrecy about esoteric topics in England at the time as well as his dedication to remaining in line with the alchemical tradition of speaking in symbols and metaphors.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Victoria |last1=Tobes |url=https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=history_honors|title=Roger Bacon: The Christian, the Alchemist, the Enigma (History Honors Program. 12)|pages=29–30|format=PDF|quote="the Creator may be known through the knowledge of the creature…to whom service may be rendered…in the beauty of morals."|publisher=University at Albany, State University of New York|year=2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321100704/https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=history_honors|archive-date=March 21, 2020|url-status=live}} (degree thesis)</ref>