Note 117 — Chapter VIII
Reading edition
See Researches on Light, by the Author.—Reference to any of the works of the alchemists will prove the prevalence of the idea expressed in the text. We find that gold was considered to be always under the influence of light and solar heat.—“It is said of gold that it waxeth cold towards daylight, insomuch that they who wear rings of it may perceive when the day is ready to dawn.”—Speculum Mundi, or a Glass representing the face of the World. Cambridge, 1643.