13 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if metals could be brought to perfection—and nature held the secret to changing them?
The Mirror of Alchimy opens a window into a medieval understanding of nature. This short treatise defines alchemy as a science of preparing an elixir: a medicine believed to perfect imperfect metals. Long associated with Roger Bacon, the English friar and scholar, it offers a compact introduction to an unfamiliar way of thinking.
At its heart lies a theory of metals forming within the earth from sulfur and mercury—principles that mean more than the ordinary substances. The artist's task is to cleanse matter and bring those principles into harmony. Scholars generally doubt Bacon's authorship, but the text remains a way to explore how a medieval mind pictures nature.
What you’ll discover
- Nature as a teacher Explore a treatise that treats alchemy as a branch of learning about the natural world.
- Metals beneath the earth Follow the book's account of how sulfur and mercury give rise to metals.
- The pursuit of perfection Discover why purification and harmony lie at the heart of the alchemist's task.
- A guarded path Encounter dense, deliberately guarded language rather than a set of working laboratory instructions.
- A name in question Consider the gap between the work's connection to Roger Bacon and its doubted authorship.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love the history of science, medieval ideas of nature, the roots of chemistry, and the meeting of workshop practice with prayer.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A vessel holds a larger promise
- The Elixir helps nature finish
- Metals fall short of gold
- Nature must prepare the starting matter
- Gentle heat should imitate the mountain
- Changing colors reveal stages of work
- The flask becomes a small creation
- Galid makes union depend on preparation
- Craft and secrecy remain closely joined
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Mirror of Alchimy in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Mirror of Alchimy
by Roger Bacon
A friar's guide to turning lead into gold by cooking one stone in a sealed glass flask.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Since Roger Bacon, perhaps, no great thinker had been so completely abased and thwarted by theological oppression.”
In short
Picture a sealed vessel, buried in hot horse dung, left for forty days while its contents dissolve into a thick white water. That scene sits at the heart of The Mirror of Alchimy, a medieval handbook on turning base metals into silver and gold.
The Mirror of Alchimy at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 25 min1 h 5 min fast, 1 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 20,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Alchemy is the craft of making the Elixir
The book begins by saying what its art is. In the first chapter, alchemy is a science that teaches how to make a medicine called the Elixir. Cast upon imperfect metals, it perfects them at the moment of projection. Projection simply means throwing the medicine onto the metal.
The preface warns that earlier philosophers left this science in riddles, and not without good reason. The author expects careful study, not a quick look.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Roger Bacon. The Mirror of Alchimy. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mirror-of-alchimy.
Roger Bacon. (2026). The mirror of alchimy. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mirror-of-alchimy
Roger Bacon. The Mirror of Alchimy. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mirror-of-alchimy.
@book{bacon2026mirror,
author = {Roger Bacon},
title = {The Mirror of Alchimy},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mirror-of-alchimy}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Mirror of Alchimy
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Mirror of Alchimy about?
It is a medieval handbook on alchemy. It explains how metals form from quicksilver and sulfur, how to make the Elixir or philosophers' stone, and how to use it to change base metals into silver and gold.
Did Roger Bacon really write The Mirror of Alchimy?
The book is traditionally credited to Roger Bacon, who died in 1294, but scholars debate how much is his. The volume also gathers other pieces, including the Emerald Tablet commentary and a book of secrets ascribed to Galid.
What is the Emerald Tablet in this book?
It is a short riddling text credited to Hermes Trismegistus, found in the volume with a commentary by Hortulanus. It begins with the saying that what is below is like what is above, and the commentary reads it as steps of the work.
The author
Roger Bacon
1220–1292 · Medieval English philosopher
English polymath, philosopher and friar.
“What is below is like what is above, and what is above is like what is below, to bring about the wonders of one thing.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
