Note 348 — Chapter VIII · FRIAR BACON
Reading edition
i.e. the lapis Assius = saltpetre. We have here unmistakably a verbum œnigmaticum. The efflorescence of the stone of Assos, which was unknown to the crowd, was of course “not a stone,” although called so. The philosopher’s stone, which was well known by name to the crowd, was likewise “not a stone,” although called so:—
“... ’tis a stone And not a stone; a spirit, a soul, and a body.” —Jonson’s “Alchemist.”
Bacon avails himself of the ambiguity of the phrase, “stone which is not a stone,” to support the delusion created by the title of the chapter, and confirm the unwary in the belief that the philosopher’s stone is under discussion, instead of saltpetre.