An incredibly rare 17th century alchemist's scroll giving instructions for the elixir of life has sold for a magical 585,000 [pounds]. The delicate manuscript was an illustrative methodology of 15th century scientist George Ripley's recipe for the philosophers' stone which made a potion that supposedly granted the drinker eternal life. It also gave instructions for turning base metals into gold. Although the instructions were impossibly cryptic - there is one reference to using dragon's blood - it didn't stop scholars of the time, including Sir Isaac Newton, giving it a go.