English: Title page from Geber, 13th cent. Geberi philosophi ac alchimistae maximi de alchimia libri tres : eiusdem liber investigationis perfecti magisterij, artis alchimicae. Iis additus liber trium verborum. Epistola item Alexandri imperatoris, qui primus regnault in Graecia, persarum quoque extitit imperator : super eadem re. Argentoragi [sic] [Strasbourg] : Iohannis Grieninger, 1531. The idea of turning base metals into gold depended on coherent theories of matter. The influential theory developed in the Summa perfectionis inspired a succession of publications by fellow European authors who also styled themselves “Geber.”