Transmutation, as a branch of alchemy, sought to " improve" the state of these base metals, just as the speculative side of alchemy aims to seek truth and enlightenment.
The elixir was supposed to be the supreme, universal medicine, capable of prolonging life indefinitely as well as of transforming baser metals to gold.
107) Unbelieving Chemists: The reference is to the eighteenth-century fascination with alchemy and the perennial search for the " philosopher's stone, " which would transform base metals into gold.