The Mirror of Alchimy is a translation of earlier works found in Latin and French. The earliest known manuscript copy is in Latin and dates from the fifteenth century. It was published as
Speculum Alchemiae in
Johannes Petreius'
De alchimia. This was the first alchemical compendium, and was printed in
Nuremberg in 1541. The volume also included five works attributed to
Geber, the works of
Calid and
Ortolanus, and three other texts. Portions of
De alchimia were translated into French in 1557 as ''Le miroir d'alquimie
. The French volume was published in four parts. Speculum Alchemiae'' was translated by Nicolas Bernard and appears in French at the beginning of part one. Here, Pseudo-Bacon's work is featured alongside the texts attributed to Hortulanus and Calid from the Latin edition. The series also included a second work attributed to Roger Bacon, ''De l'admirable puissance del'art, & de nature, ou est traicté de la pierre philosophale''. Three additional works attributed to Jean de Mehun, Claude Celestin, and
Pope John XXII were also incorporated. The English version of
The Mirror of Alchimy was translated from the French and printed at London in 1597. Just three of the appended texts found in ''Le miroir d'alquimie'' were retained for the English book. The work was printed by
Thomas Creede (fl. 1593-1617) for the publisher Richard Olive. In 1602, the Latin version of
Speculum Alchemiae appeared in Volume II of the influential
Theatrum Chemicum. ==Contents==