Fitzlar, Martin von (ca. 1750)
German alchemist who lived in the first half of the eighteenth
century. He was probably a Hessian, residing chiefly at
the village of Fitzlar. While a young man he studied pharmacy,
intending to make it his profession, but he soon grew interested
in the quest of gold-making, and when the celebrated alchemist
Lascaris came to Germany, Fitzlar hastened to see him hoping
to glean his secrets.
Along with several other young men, Fitzlar was allowed to
witness numerous experiments, and it seemed that the great secret
lay open before him, but afterward, when he made attempts
on his own, he found that Lascaris had duped him
shamefully and had even taken advantage of his ignorance.
Thenunlike the majority of thwarted alchemistshe renounced
the futile search altogether and resumed his original
calling as a pharmacist.
