While all the rest of these blind oracles lay waiting for the recovery of the _materia prima_, till they brought themselves to the last cast both of their lives and fortunes, and instead of turning base metals and materials into gold, as they pretended, they made the contrary inversion, and were glad at length to take up with beggarly fools and false coiners. What a stir was there, with crying out, ever and anon! “Look ye, look ye! the old father is got up again; down with him, down with him;” what glossing and commenting upon the old chymical text, that says, “Blessed be Heaven, that has ordered the most excellent thing in nature out of the vilest.” “If so,” quoth one, “let’s try if we can fetch the Philosopher’s Stone out of a common strumpet, which is of all creatures undoubtedly the vilest.” And the word was no sooner out, but a matter of three-and-twenty whores went to pot, but the flesh was so cursedly mawmish and rotten, that they soon gave over the thought of that projection. And then they entered upon a fresh consultation, and concluded, _nemine contradicente_, that the mathematicians, by that rule, were the only fit matter to work upon; as being most damnably dry, (to say nothing of their divisions among and against themselves) so that with one voice, they called for a parcel of mathematicians, to the furnace, to begin the experiment. But a devil came in just in the God-speed, and told them, “Gentlemen philosophers,” says he, “if you would know the wretchedest and most contemptible thing in the world, it is an alchymist: and we are of opinion, that you’ll make as good philosopher’s stones as the mathematicians. However, for curiosity’s sake, we’ll try for once.” And so he threw them all together into a great caldron; and to say the truth, the poor snakes suffered very contentedly; out of a desire, I suppose, to help on toward the perfecting of the operation.