第101章
加入书架 A- A+

  Upontheothers,hewasfoundguilty;andsentencedtobebanishedthekingdom,andtopaytheenormousfineoffourhundredthousandcrowns。

  ItwasprovedthathehadforgedtheKing’sseal;that,inhiscapacityofMasteroftheMintofBourges,hehaddebased,toaverygreatextent,thegoldandsilvercoinoftherealm;andthathehadnothesitatedtosupplytheTurkswitharmsandmoneytoenablethemtocarryonwaragainsttheirChristianneighbours,forwhichservicehehadreceivedthemostmunificentrecompences。CharlesVII。wasdeeplygrievedathiscondemnation,andbelievedtothelastthathewasinnocent。ByhismeansthefinewasreducedwithinasumwhichJacquesCoeurcouldpay。Afterremainingforsometimeinprison,hewasliberated,andleftFrancewithalargesumofmoney,partofwhich,itwasalleged,wassecretlypaidhimbyCharlesoutoftheproduceofhisconfiscatedestates。HeretiredtoCyprus,wherehediedabout1460,therichestandmostconspicuouspersonageoftheisland。

  ThewritersuponalchymyallclaimJacquesCoeurasamemberoftheirfraternity,andtreatasfalseandlibellousthemorerationalexplanationofhiswealthwhichtherecordsofhistrialafford。

  PierreBorel,inhis“AntiquitesGauloises,“maintainstheopinionthatJacqueswasanhonestman,andthathemadehisgoldoutofleadandcopperbymeansofthephilosopher’sstone。Thealchymicadeptsingeneralwereofthesameopinion;buttheyfounditdifficulttopersuadeevenhiscontemporariesofthefact。Posterityisstilllesslikelytobelieveit。

  Manyotherpretenderstothesecretsofthephilosopher’sstoneappearedineverycountryinEurope,duringthefourteenthandfifteenthcenturies。Thepossibilityoftransmutationwassogenerallyadmitted,thateverychemistwasmoreorlessanalchymist。Germany,Holland,Italy,Spain,Poland,France,andEnglandproducedthousandsofobscureadepts,whosupportedthemselves,inthepursuitoftheirchimera,bythemoreprofitableresourcesofastrologyanddivination。

......

购买会员看全站小说,或者下载APP免费观看所有作品 点击立即下载,搜索"Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions",免费读到尾
点击下载App,搜索"Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions",免费读到尾