Eugenius' Doubling

Εὐγενίου δίπλωσις

Eugenius' Doubling is a concise Greek alchemical treatise attributed to Eugenius the Alchemist. Preserved within the corpus of Greek alchemical texts, it describes the operation of diplosis, a process for doubling the quantity or potency of a substance, typically concerning precious metals such as silver or gold. The work is a single technical recipe focused on this metallurgical process, detailing specific proportions of materials and a sequence of treatments involving heating, grinding with vinegar, and combining with other substances to achieve a transformation. It survives as a minor but complete work within medieval manuscripts containing collections of Greek alchemical writings. While the treatise itself had no distinct independent reception history, it exemplifies the practical, recipe-based dimension of late antique Greek alchemy. Its influence is subsumed within the broader transmission of Greco-Egyptian alchemical knowledge to later Islamic and European traditions.