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。
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