Now we come to an important (and well made) philosophical treatise regarding alchemy, one all the more easily appreciated because it gives us a snapshot of the Renaissance, courtesy of Ficinus, and the opinions given at that era concerning alchemy as it related to what was, even then, considered folkish superstition. Specifically refuting some of the more physical aspects of court alchemy (insofar as it was used to crudely make artificial "gold" from other materials) as well as some folk magick, the work applauds and supports philosophical alchemy.
It ends with a short tract created when one Illardus supposedly held council with Satan through the use of necromancy- this final passage was almost surely tacked on at some Renaissance-era date to the rest of the (more philosophical, anti-superstitious) text.
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