Comments by KERKRING

From the Triumphal Chariot of Antimony



THE THIRTY TWO PREPARATIONS OF BASIL VALENTIN

1 - Calcination of antimony clear and clean glass
2 - Red glass
3 - White glass of antimony with borax
4 - Separation of Sulfur extraction of the tincture
5 - Antimony oil
6 - Other antimony oil
7 - Arcanum of antimony
8 - Elixir of antimony
9 - Fixation of antimony
10 - Antimony flowers
11 - Antimonial extractions
12 - Antimonial extractions against leprosy
13 - Antimony liver
11 - Antimonial extraction by corrosive water
15 - Diaphoretic antimony
16 - Antimony regula balm
17 - Antimony oil or sulfur
13 - Sulfur oil and antimony salt
19 - Revivification of antimony mercury
20 - Antimony balm
21 - Antimony oil with sublimated mercury
22 - Oil for ulcers
23 - Vulnerary balm
24 - Antimony oil without addition
25 - Oil for the lungs
26 - Oil against gangrene
27 - Oil for the lungs and stomach
28 - Antimony sulfur-in-oil Remarks, on preparations
29 - Philosophical Vinegar
30 - Star Martial Regulate
31 - Philosophers' Lead
32 - Fire Stone
Page 16 - Page 80.1

It is not for me to criticize, by praise or blame, what the author says here, concerning piety, worship of God and invocation of His Name. It was natural, undoubtedly, for Basil to write and he did so, and my work is limited to the task of translating remarks from Latin.

I have, therefore, tried to carry out my task in such a way as to shock the more advanced “thinkers” as little as possible. The scripture says that godliness is profitable in all things and prayer is the most important exercise of godliness. Even if prayer had no other purpose, it would be very helpful in bringing honesty to one's seeking and focusing the mind on the desired goal. It prevents any distraction as well as the neglect of our problems which is the most frequent cause of failure. It frequently happens in the course of our research that what we have tried in vain to understand for a long time, suddenly, in a flash, reveals itself as an instantaneous inspiration, and we would be very ungrateful not to attribute it to Divine assistance.

However, for prayer to be of any benefit, there must be cooperation on your part. The solution that you will then find through concentration and perseverance can aptly be called “revelation”. You would never have obtained it without prayer and cooperation. And although the solution was obtained by this process, it appears to you as a marvelous and celestial revelation. Thus, if prayer is the power of concentration, we can easily understand how and by what means attain spiritual and temporal blessings. Prayer is strongly recommended by Basil, and all the Sages. For prayer is profitable in all things and especially for obtaining the greatest earthly blessings.

Page 17 –

Here you have a compendium of all the obscure teachings of the Sages, contained in so many books. The author has perfect knowledge of the spirit which pervades all creation and is the cause of all things, even everywhere attached to filth and impure matter. If it frees itself from these dross, the spirit returns to the purity of its substance by which everything is produced. He thus becomes every thing in every form.

To comment on all this and even attempt an explanation, would be to try to condense the work of all the wise men into a very brief summary.

Page 21 - Page 84.

In this third part, it is necessary and essential to experiment manually, because without this the student will be left to all these currents, like a boat in a storm. For these experiments it is difficult to give written instructions. An hour of practice teaches more than many pages of the best written instructions.

If you do not know the exact quantity of the Medicine, you can obtain an effect diametrically opposite to that which you desire. Discovering these "doses" by experience is really risky and yet it is the only method that allows you to find them. In this matter we can benefit greatly from the teaching of our predecessors and rather be very timid than too bold. Although if antimony has been well prepared, it is as harmless as blackcurrant and mauna. But in the early stages of its preparation, it retains a quantity of raw poisons, and you must be extremely careful.

Page 23 - Page 87.

What is said here, concerning internal and external diseases, deserves scrupulous attention. If the reader is wise, he will understand that Basil speaks ironically, with a view to eliminating all the ignorant and scoffing. While others are indignant at this method of instruction, the sincere student will reap the fruits that hang in clusters among the thorns.

Page 31 - Page 94.

What is said here about spirits resembles the confusion resulting from the works of some theologians speaking of the intelligences inherent in fire - in air and other elements which will in the final moment be dedicated to eternal fire. We leave to the justice and omniscience of God, the nature and destiny of these spirits. But as far as the material spirits of Antimony and other visible ones are concerned, everything the author says about them is true and the things they accomplish are far above the most fabulous achievements of the " superior men.

Page 36 - Page 98.

Read carefully everything our brother Basil says about Antimony. You will not find here either vain boasting or stupid exaggeration, for no man has been able to fathom the marvelous depth of this Medicine. We see many things, new things are discovered daily, and yet much remains to be discovered. The resources of Antimony are infinite and as varied as those of fire, which are in no way diminished by their withdrawal. Thus Basil makes a correct judgment of him, when he calls him "the triumphal chariot of antimony."

Do not blindly believe this and similar assertions of Basil, but keep your eyes wide open. Here is the first key, here is the essential point of all Art, this will open the first portal and the last leading to the King's chamber.

You are now on the threshold of the work. If you take a wrong turn—at this very moment, if you enter through the “wrong door”—the rest of your work will be completely distorted.

To the one who has the true key in his hand and possesses the necessary strength to use it - which is given by Pluto - God of Wealth - the entrance to the deepest secret of Alchemy opens before him. (shrine = chapel, tomb).

Pages 46/47 - Page 106.

Do not underestimate these remarks for the preparation of beer and wine. There may be apparent repetition, but nothing is superfluous. Often mentally returns to this operation: read - note - learn and internally assimilate everything that is said. It is perhaps in this “turbid water” that you will be able, although it is improbable, to catch your “fish”. If the excess of light that reigns here does not make you capable of understanding, no reading in some more or less obscure alchemy book will dissipate your inner darkness.

Page 50 Page 109.

At the time when Basil wrote, the ignorance of certain doctors was so great that they administered as medicines numerous poisons, raw and unpurified. And out of ignorance, proscribed the means by which the Alchemists made them beneficial to humans. Against these pseudo-doctors, the honest Basil and his friends were led to inveigh against them with virulence. But in this imperfect world, truth is not necessarily victorious, and although the Alchemists were the champions of the best cause, their opponents had the advantage of numbers. However, Paracelsus glimpsed the dawn of better times announced by the coming of ELIE ARTIST.

Page 57 - Page 117.

Sometimes poets begin their tales in the middle, and then return to the beginning of the story, to maintain the interest of their readers. Very often Alchemists adopt the same method, so that the meaning remains veiled to all except worthy students. Here, Basil in the center of the Treatise begins to discuss the name of its substance, with which an ordinary writer would have begun. But very soon he abandons this plan, and begins to answer the question already raised, whether Antimony can be rid of all its poisons - a question which is explained by means of useful and highly significant illustrations.

Page 62 - Page 126.

This illustration is as remarkable as it is simple and suggestive. From the clash of steel and flint, a small spark of fire emerges, which has the power to penetrate a mountain of fuel by creating an intense flame. This phenomenon occurs daily and in it the fixed becomes volatile and the volatile is fixed. Here is wisdom for those who have eyes to see and an answer to those who doubt alchemy.

Page 69 - Page 127

Here Basil once again cries out his indignation against the false Doctors but then he gives some useful indications, hoarse in his on strong water and the spirit of wine.

Page 76 – Page 146.

The great question which torments all students of our Art is this: "What is our Mercury". Here it is quite clearly and lucidly answered. Follow everything Basil says carefully. Anything I could add to the given light would truly be darkness.

Page 95 - Page 162.

It is obvious that Basil is writing here for beginners. It describes clearly and according to the circumstances, the rudiments of the Work. However, even seasoned people may not find it easy to put these guidelines into practice. In the face of these difficulties, I hope that my comments will prove useful. I acquired this experience at the cost of a lot of time and money. Therefore, I considered it my duty to warn and instruct those who, after me, would like to follow the same path. I cannot say that I have much pity for those who simply aim for wealth, but I hope to help those who have undertaken this study to alleviate the suffering of others. I urge such people to read my comments, for a word from me can often avoid endless expense and trouble. A timely warning has often saved me thousands of guilders. I cannot undertake to give elementary instructions to the beginner, but only remove certain obstacles in the student's path.

Page 96 and 97 - Page 163.

This is now a familiar way of preparing Antimony glass. It is used in many diseases but (the human constitution is such a precarious thing) but in one case in 100 it can have fatal results. I once saw the life abandon a man who had taken too large a quantity, and this after numerous vomiting and violent purges.

Such cases give an argument to the enemies of Alchemy, but the medicine in question is only administered by unscrupulous alchemists, pseudo-alchemists who care little about how many people they kill, as long as they heal a few and thus acquire the reputation of “great doctors”. The fact is that the emetic quality of Antimony is inherent in its salts, which deeply activate its poisonous qualities. Weak people will derive more harm than good from the properties of this medicine. But if Antimony gives beneficial results even when it retains a certain dose of poison, it still gives excellent results when all its poisons have been rejected. The following recipe for antimony glass, can be used without fear of harmful results: Take the pure glass of antimony (Basil's) in the crucible, melt until a third is evaporated, grind into a fine powder, pour over this powder the best spirit of rectified wine, cover the powder by about three inches, close, leave to circulate for three months, and extract the spirit of the wine by distillation. If the tincture is red, as must invariably be if the operation has been properly performed, decant and store as an excellent medicine. Then place the remaining material in a crucible, melt and mold as you see fit. You can get artistic shapes, such as a Dagger Kitten. This substance dissolved one night in a glass of wine, will act as a mild purgative or emetic if taken by a sick person the following morning. The dose (2 ounces (approx. 28 g. or less) should be adapted to the strength of the patient.

* This color is only obtained by a very powerful fire.

+ It is not a question of the common spirit of wine, which would be totally useless for this operation, but of that of the Sages, which is prepared as follows by the extraction of this tincture. Take 4 ounces of salt of ammonia sublimated 3 times, 10 ounces of spirit of wine distilled on the salt of tartar (tartar) so that it is quite clear, place in a flask, digest over the fire, until 'until the spirit of the wine is nourished by the fire or the sulfur of the salt of ammonia. Distill three times in an alembic and you will obtain the true menstrum by means of which the red color is extracted from antimony glass. The tincture of this glass is also extracted by means of its own vinegar, and in this latter operation you obtain excellent medicine.

The curious reader may find such methods in Hartmann, Crollius, Beguinus and others...

Page 99 – Page 166.

With a view to obtaining the powder as fine as is required, mix the antimony with distilled vinegar in a fairly thick paste, and pound in a porphyry mortar.

Page 100 - Page 166.

If I follow this instruction literally, the substance becomes solid as a stone and adheres to the bottom of the vessel, so that I cannot remove it. At length, taught by experience, I shook the vessel daily 5 or 6 times, stirring the substance with a Dois spoon, and you will be wise to take advantage of my experience in this matter, not only for present experiments but also in the preparation of glass and in each extraction of tincture of antimony.

Page 101 - Page 168.

The other directions are correct, but if you have a lot to extract you will need to take a large vessel, however the vessel should not be larger than the amount of extraction required. Furthermore, the fire required to carry out the distillation must be as fierce as the tincture can withstand. When two thirds of this tincture have evaporated, change the vessel and distill the remaining tincture in a smaller vessel, until a fairly dense paste remains, if you dry the powder at the same time as the moisture, it will burn. The method by which you can tell if the powder is soft and free from the sour taste as it should be is to taste a little of the water with which you dried it by evaporation. But if you didn't take great precautions, you could still make a mistake and ruin the whole thing. For you must distinguish very carefully between the acidity of vinegar and the acidity of antimony. Furthermore, you must continue the distillation after the acidity of the vinegar has completely disappeared, and distill all the acidity and all the strength of the antimony.

Page 102 - Page 168.

This medicine has no violent cathartic or purgative effect. It acts gently on our minds, giving them the universal spirit of nature, and imperceptibly restoring the whole organism to perfect health. But before this purification, it is like a jewel enclosed in dung, and absolutely incapable of manifesting its virtues. The tincture spoken of in the text has all the virtues attributed to it by the author. But its use must be continued for some time, in order to consolidate the full benefit.

Take care when separating the yolk not to alter the thin film which separates the white from the yolk, because your dye will be mixed with the albumen and most of it will be lost.

Page 104 - Page 170.

If your surgeons believed in Basil's words, how eager would they be to obtain this balm of Antimony. And really, the author underestimates the virtues of this remedy, as I myself can attest. For 7 years, a 40-year-old woman suffered from a malignant tumor in the left breast. All the doctors and surgeons consulted concluded that it was a serious case of cancer. The most famous of them advocated breast ablation. In doubt and in her desperate search, not consenting to the ablation, as a last resort the woman came to find me. I thought that in this extreme case, the breast having twice the volume of the other, and suffering from a cancerous tumor, I could risk using antimony glass, even if in a similar case Basil did not authorize it. . However, the result was,

Page 105 - Page 170.

The great difficulty that troubled me for years was: How to bring this distillation to a successful conclusion. Would I describe this enigma to you? Make haste slowly. By this means of Bacchus, Juno and Vulcan, you must give wings to your substance but prevent it from going far away. Let mercury instruct you in the art of flying. Hold carefully at first, otherwise it will become out of your reach and fall back, like Icarus, with broken wings. At the right season, you can allow it to open its wings, because then it will direct its flight towards the isles of Blest. Are you accusing me of making fun of me, like Tantalus? What do you want? I cannot cast pearls before swine, or lightly make the mystery of mysteries the property of fools and rascals. Those who understand Art will understand me. If you don't understand me, read, study the book of the Sages. Compare their parables with mine, and you will realize that I have shed much light on this subject.

Pages 106 and 107 - Page 172.

If I didn't know that Basil is here, showing nothing less than the naked truth, I would take him for a charlatan in the market place. But experience has taught me that it lessens rather than exaggerates the case. (He underestimates the power rather than exaggerates it). If you don't believe me, the way is open to you: try. I repeat that this oil, if used properly, is truly a universal medicine. However, the body, that is to say the organism, must first be purged of its largest humors, by general medicine. Furthermore, I add that in certain illnesses considered incurable, I would not say that this Medicine is without effect. I have the most absolute certainty that this Medicine acts "magically" in all fevers and especially quartan fever, bankruptcy of the old system. In 1665, I cured a 21-year-old girl of a very severe case of dropsy with two doses of this medicine, daily, for 20 days. At the end of this period, the body had returned to its normal dimensions through sweating and other excretions. Please note, lovers of knowledge, if you have the chance to prepare this medicine yourself or receive it, prepared by another person, that this oil in no way imitates other diaphoretics, the first dose of which causes sweating. . But if it is administered to an organism congested by the "humours" the first dose has no effect, except opening the doors slowly. On the second day, it gently stimulates sweating, and on the third day it causes profuse sweating. On the 4th day, water is rejected by the body in large quantities. This is a matter of astonishment for doctors. The keys of Hercules are of no use if they are not in the hands of Hercules.

Page 108 and 109 - Page 174.

The gold and mercury spoken of here are not the metals commonly known by these names, but the Gold and Mercury of the Sages, by far more precious than ordinary metal, infinitely more powerful than all other mercury, which was even known to bring the dead back to life. Therefore, I advise you not to spend your money on what will not bring you profit.

+ This emetic is now commonly used by all "medicatres"; but not always with happy results. It looks like the sword of the brave Sanderberg the Castrate. Sultan Mohammed desired to see the miraculous sword which achieved such wonderful results in battle. But when it was shown to him, he saw nothing remarkable. No wonder says the broker, because if Scanderberg sent his sword, he did not send his arm. The best Medicine in inexperienced hands can produce fatal results. In order for it to be completely safe, I prepare it as follows:

Four ounces of pure glass of antimony, 1/2 ounce of Venetian borax, melt all together, when you obtain a substance like emerald, crush finely and put this powder in French wine. Keep everything in a warm place for a few days, then give the patient, depending on his resistance, one or two ounces of this mixture. This emetic is completely safe and if you pour wine on the sediment it will be just as effective as the first.

Page 110 - Page 175.

This process is somewhat difficult. Basil would say that the oil must be removed from the still. This is precisely the expert distillation that I explained to you above.

Do you understand the enigma, my friend? You cannot understand it, unless some Oedipus solves it for you and some Alexander cuts the Gordian knot. The difficulty lies in the fact that all the solvents by which the dye is extracted must themselves be colorless. Because if this is not so, how can you know if you have actually extracted the dye or just covered your solvent. I will tell you briefly how I succeeded in this operation in 1665. I rectified the red oil in the retort, and obtained a white oil with a pleasant acidic taste. I poured half a spirit of salt on top, digested the two together for a month in a retort, in order to bring about their conjunction, then I amalgamated them by distillation, then I poured on the residue of the calcination (metal ashes) and distilled the mixture for a month, until the golden color approaching red. Then, slowly, I poured the tincture and always gently removed the moisture after placing it in a retort. A red powder remains at the bottom, which is softened with distilled rainwater and again I extract the Tincture with the wine spirit. So I restored the red wings to the dragon, gave him his tail to eat for six whole months. I thus obtained a perfect and pleasant dye. With 10 or 12 grains I chased away, through perspiration, the deadly matter of any curable disease. Then, slowly, I poured the tincture and always gently removed the moisture after placing it in a retort. A red powder remains at the bottom, which is softened with distilled rainwater and again I extract the Tincture with the wine spirit. So I restored the red wings to the dragon, gave him his tail to eat for six whole months. I thus obtained a perfect and pleasant dye. With 10 or 12 grains I chased away, through perspiration, the deadly matter of any curable disease. Then, slowly, I poured the tincture and always gently removed the moisture after placing it in a retort. A red powder remains at the bottom, which is softened with distilled rainwater and again I extract the Tincture with the wine spirit. So I restored the red wings to the dragon, gave him his tail to eat for six whole months. I thus obtained a perfect and pleasant dye. With 10 or 12 grains I chased away, through perspiration, the deadly matter of any curable disease. So I restored the red wings to the dragon, gave him his tail to eat for six whole months. I thus obtained a perfect and pleasant dye. With 10 or 12 grains I chased away, through perspiration, the deadly matter of any curable disease. So I restored the red wings to the dragon, gave him his tail to eat for six whole months. I thus obtained a perfect and pleasant dye. With 10 or 12 grains I chased away, through perspiration, the deadly matter of any curable disease.

The solvent used must not only be mild and free from all corrosive properties, but it must also be homogeneous with that of the substance on which it is poured, so that mercury, a good and pure sulfur, can be extracted.

The rectified spirit of wine is of the same nature as the sulfur of our substance which could not be amalgamated with the spirit of salt.

But from the tincture obtained by this means, you must in no case conclude that it is the Drinkable Gold of the Sages. This would be a very serious mistake. This dye is extremely precious, it has the color but not the weight of potable gold.

And it is not my intention to talk here about potable Gold.

Page 113 - Page 176.

* In equal quantities.

+ The retort must be of the model given on page 114 - It consists of a:

A - furnace
B - Retort
C - Receiver
D - Tube between the receiver and the still E
F - is a furnace which sublimates with its moderate heat everything that receive the receiver and the still E. Thus the substance which is distilled by the retort B is immediately sublimated by the furnace F. This retort is useful in each type of sublimation.

* This union must be so great, so close, that the distillation of both takes place at the same time, otherwise you will lose both your oil and your work. Amalgamation in Alchemy is not simply mixing two liquids, the union must be inseparable, and the ingredients change and modify each other. The union should be like male and female seeds, producing a real organism, therefore something more than a simple mixture of two ingredients.

Page115 – Page 177

Later, in the work, I give a drawing of the vessel in which I carry out this union between different substances. The spirit in wine unites quite easily with other substances but is also easily separated from these substances.

This operation is easy and we say nothing about it, to show that we did not write our comment in order to put ourselves forward.

Page 117 - Page 179.

The difference between purgative medicines and the purgations of Alchemy is as follows: the former cause a violent purge, but have no curative effect, the latter have the double virtue of purging and to restore.

Page 121 – Page 185.

This is not the antimony sold by apothecaries. No. Our set red powder cannot be purchased with silver or gold, as it is infinitely more valuable than either. You should use this fixed powder in chronic illnesses, especially when it is important to stimulate perspiration, and you will thus have the most wonderful effects.

Page 122 - Page 188.

+ From the following pages, as well as from contemporary literature, you can see how "diabolical" the reputation of Alchemy was in Basil's time, and how much theology and political authorities were to be classified in the army ignorant people. However, you will understand that I do not blame these writers for violently criticizing the charlatans who practice their criminal intrigues under the cloak of Alchemy. Such characters deserve not only severe criticism but also severe punishment. But learned and pious men have not been blinded to confuse the innocent with the guilty, and to involve honest alchemists in the condemnation of charlatans. But now ignorance here and there is fought by light, doctors no longer venture to condemn alchemy and even prescribe alchemical remedies. When the darkness will be dispelled by the coming of Elijah the Artist, whom Paracelsus predicted in some of his books, e.g. in the 8th chapter of his treatise "De Mineralibus": "Common things, God has allowed us to make known, but the most secret cannot be made public, before the coming of Elijah Artist" and in his Lib. Min. Leaflet. : "It is true that certain things remain hidden in which others and I are ignorant, but I know that God will gradually reveal many wonders and bring to light more things than are known to us all. This is true. Everything that is hidden will be revealed.

Page 125 - Page 188.

This parable is so clear to those who have had their cataracts removed that explaining it would be like burning a candle at high noon. However, for those who do not understand, they will have to think again and again and let what they read today explain the difficulties of yesterday and the studies tomorrow, shed light on the uncertainties of today.

Page 129 to 130 - Page 191.

How timid the ignorance of his contemporaries made Basil Valentin.

He does not tell us that from this oil the quintessence of all things is prepared, advocated by Peter of Spain as the greatest secret of philosophy. He speaks here in such an obscure way about this important matter that it is clear that he only wrote this for those initiated who could judge that he was familiar with this mystery, but so that you would not have spent your money in vain, buying this book, and your time reading it, I will give you clear and precise instructions that you must take care to follow in each particular case. Taking the best friable, raw antimony, despite the advice of Basil Valentin, is not useful, because during the first distillation, it was deprived of its most subtle sulfur. Spray finely, pass through a good filter (metal mesh screen) place in a cucurbit (large) add the vinegar, distilled from its own minerals, digest for 40 days. The vinegar will then be tinted as with blood. Pour this red dye into a retort, gently evacuate the vinegar by distillation. Make an extract of the powder that remains with the spirit of the wine, which will be red in color. Pour and circulate in a vessel, like the one shown on page 131 which is the most suitable that I have encountered for the volatization of substances. Digest this extract in a water bath, until you see the tincture arise and pass into a volatile state in the still. Let cool. Place the whole substance in a glass cucurbit, distill the spirit according to the art and when it passes through the still, it will be blood red. Remove the spirit from the wine, and you will have a thick, heavy oil. How this oil is united with its salt, and is most valuable for the improvement of metals, will be told elsewhere. At the same time, you can use this oil as the most effective medicine, in desperate cases, accomplishing its purpose through profuse sweating.

Page 133 – Page 192.

The liver is highly appreciated by gourmands, the same is true of the liver of antimony among the Alchemists. The operation is greatly improved by substituting salt of tartar for crude tartar. Basil does not tell us that the mortar in which these substances are crushed must be hot. It also forgets to tell us how much water the powder needs to be dissolved in to achieve a better color. In this exaltation of color lies a great virtue. Further on, he fails to tell us that the precipitation of the "liver" in water is carried out using vinegar. Furthermore, this fusion of Antimony, like all these kinds of fusions, must be carried out by a brilliant sun. For if you laugh at me when I assert that the celestial bodies have an important influence on the operations of Alchemy, I will also laugh at you when your experiments are reduced to zero. I do not intend to waste a well-crafted rebuttal on those who have nothing but disdain for our Art. For we speak of what we have seen, with our eyes, and handled with our hands. These ignorant people suppose that they can claim wisdom by denigrating something about which they know nothing. True lovers of alchemy refuse to throw their pearls before swine. I therefore affirm that at certain seasons of the year the "liver" of antimony has a deeper color, and greater effectiveness than if it is prepared at other times. Its healing power is greater for metals and the human body. Considering the virtues of this medicine, it is not necessary to draw up a recommendation. Anyone who has experienced it knows its value and is ready to give its weight in gold to obtain it.

Page 133 continued - Page 193”.

In the following passage, the author speaks as a loyal teacher, instilling the same truths into the brains of his disciples again and again.

However, he says not to use a single word too much, so it would be good for you to keep your eyes wide open and listen with all your ears.

Page 135 – Page 194.

I will tell you how to do this, in order to avoid bursting your vessels, during the distillation of the spirit of the metals. Put the substance into a retort of refractory earth A, through opening B, but gradually seal the opening, the spirit then passes into container C, then through D into container E and back into the receiver F. The crudest Spirits G remain at the bottom of receiver C, the most subtle at the bottom of receiver F (see pay drawing 136).

Page 137 - Page 195.

In the following sentence, Basil asks us to use the water of Mercury, a preparation he describes in the Supplement. Moreover, there must be an opening in the retort, through which the water of Mercury is gradually poured. If you add too much mercury immediately, you can burst the retort and even the furnace. You must therefore have a certain number of retorts (figure page 136) all in communication with each other. But as every true chemist is familiar with the power of this Mercury, in the resolution of metals, I do not insist on this point.

Page 136 - Page 196.

This solution is not yet fixed, but can become so with patient work. Its main utility, to which Basil makes no allusion, is the total perfection of metals. For this purpose, an extraction can be made with the powder and the strongest vinegar. Distill to evaporate the vinegar, sweeten what remains in the bottom with distilled water. Make a second extraction with the spirit of the wine. Extract the spirit. The remaining Red Powder should be mixed with fixed salt prepared from the sediment remaining after the vinegar has evaporated. After three months they will become fixed and able to remain unchanged in the fire, as in their own element. When you have done this, you have fixed the volatile, and - the volatile fixed - you are not far from obtaining what your heart desires.

Page 139 - Page 196.

At this stage, the substance is Ruland's powder, with which he obtained so many miraculous medicines. This must be prepared under the influence of certain aspects of the sky, and the redder it is, the better it is because this color is its soul. It is the true "metal crocus" although it has nothing to do with what is sold in pharmacies as an emetic under this name. Take 8 - 9 - 10 or 11 grains of this powder depending on the strength of the patient. Pour over 3 or 4 oz. of wine, distill for four or five hours, the tincture of the metal crocus once extracted is like blood. Give this to the patient as a gentle purgation, and any illness will be radically cured.

Page 140 - Page 197.

If you have experienced the virtues of detonating powder, you will not be St Thomas regarding the power of this powder, “detonated” three times.

Page 198. Page 141.

Basil Valentinus revealed the secret of Art more clearly than his successors who, on the contrary, worked to obscure its light. They do not praise him "on the market place" although they consider him the most qualified in the laboratory. They do not translate it into other languages, although it is more valid than all those who speak in other languages, throughout the world. But, of course, Basil cannot describe the Art so clearly that anyone, by picking up the book, can immediately become a master of our Magisterium.

Page 142 - Page 198.

As in the preparation of antimony liver, you must here take tarti salt instead of raw tartar. Nitre salt is useless in this operation. Do not throw away the "glassy substance" because you will get a useful cordial from it (dose 30 to 50 drops two or three times a day, in the suitable liquid) by crushing the substance in a hot mortar, and carefully protecting it from the air humidity. Place in a flask, extract its tincture with wine alcohol. You will get a very nice red color.

Page 146 – Page 203.

This is the substance that all the Sages and Alchemists have written about. Antimony oil is the goal of all Alchemists because it can be readily converted into the firestone (or firestone?).

It is Proteus appearing to us in different forms, and yet always the same. If you observe together all the operations that have been described in the light of my comments, you will have all the parts to the process by which our Stone evolves. You will have the fixed volatile and the fixed volatile, and you will have the greatest treasure coveted by the multitude. If you don't understand me, three doses of hellebore won't cure your madness.

Page 147 - Page 205.

"Like with like" says the Greek proverb and it is certain that this salt is more effective in extracting antimony than any other metals.

Page 150 - Page 206.

Certain extremely hidden secrets from the time of Basil Valentin are now used in the processes of common chemistry. No person can be held to be a true chemist, ignorant of the method by which mercury is extracted from antimony, whether it was taught by Basil or by some other method, for many artists have operated by various, and the one who succeeded, proves that the proportions were favorable. How many alchemists at present can obtain Antimony Mercury. They study Basil and his entire system.

Page 151 - Page 207.

No candle is required at noon, and it is useless for the commentator to speak, when the author is so clear and lucid. So move forward bravely, plant your feet firmly on each step and you will finally obtain the golden branch. Because this oil has the most marvelous effectiveness for the improvement of metals and is offered only to the King of Kings.

Page 157 to 158 – Page 212.

A good general arranges his forces by placing the best soldiers on the front of his army, and those who are less good and brave in the middle. The speaker arranges his arguments on the same principle and Basil follows the same path.

Page 160 - Page 216.

Iron sulfate.

Page 164 - page 220.

This extraction must be "volatile" with the wine spirit, as above. Let the moisture in the oil be removed by circulation, so that it becomes a dry powder.

Page 166 - Page 221.

If you use the vessel roughly drawn on page 167, you will obtain as much oil of sulfur from one ounce, as from one pound by the ordinary method, (from 16 ounces of sulfur you will obtain 1/2 ounce of oil, otherwise it would cost you 16 pounds).

Page 169 -Page 222.

This is another way to prepare quintessence of antimony. By this last name Basil describes this in other writings. There is of course a difference. Here the separation is made with the ammonia salt, and there with the vinegar. But even these slight differences are a measure of the ingenuity of the operator. This oil cures consumption and all lung diseases. It relieves asthma and breathing difficulties. Take two grains in the spirit of wine, in the morning, in the evening, before going to bed, as an elixir or spirit of wine. The chest will expand and you will be purged of all obstructions.

Page 172 - Page 228.

This vinegar is one of the principal preparations of antimony, and therefore I give you the particular points which will enable you to follow Basil's instructions with greater perfection. For six pounds of antimony, you take 14 pounds of distilled water, the success of this distillation will be assured by placing the still so that (the pipe or the spout?) is immersed in the water, otherwise more than the half of the spirit of antimony will be lost. (see page 174) When after the distillation of the water the fire is activated, keep for three days and three nights, then allow to cool, and mix with what is sublimated from the fresh antimony, repeat the process for three days and three nights, and (word deleted) 3 times. If you convert the vinegar into a tincture with a little more antimony ore, you will get the tincture that Basil calls the balm of life. If men knew the mysteries hidden here, I know of no other antimony operations that should be attempted. Because this one contains them all.

Page 176 - Page 230.

In the third fusion of Regulus, the fire should be more intense, in order to drive out any remaining impurities.

+ The said sublimate, before being placed in the container (cellar = cave - earthen container) for dissolution, must be purged of its ammonia salt with distilled water. Much labor and expense may be incurred in vain.

Page 177 - Page 230.

The serpent is what is mixed with the King, and he calls it a magpie's serpent@ because it is a salt.

+ We must understand the immense importance of the extraction of the essences of metals and give its exact value to this mordant (harsh) oil because it is truly the great metallic solvent,

Page 180 - Page 234.

Mix Regulus, made malleable by the salt of Saturn, with an equal part of Mercury, condensed with Saturn. Let them fuse and mix well in a hot furnace, and you will obtain a substance having the appearance of silver but whose properties are infinitely more precious than silver. Crush and apply to all wounds, fistulas, ulcers that have resisted all professional plasters and ointments.

APPENDIX

Page 181 – Page 235.

Without giving in to the temptation to subscribe to Basil's lamentations on the madness of men, you who are possessed by the immense desire (gluttony) for gold, and who do not pay much attention to the marvelous virtues that gold has implanted in created things, let me finally make the following remarks: Antimony is a mineral in which such a wonderful spirit is hidden, that its virtues are inexhaustible, and its powers transcend human knowledge. Not that I believe that antimony has any less remarkable abilities than in Alchemy and medicine, for all other things. I don't want to tell you what I think of the characters and amulets that Basilides mentions. But it is a fact that Antimony shows more of a sympathetic affinity for the stars than any other metal or mineral.


OF THE TRIUMPHAL CHARIOT OF ANTIMONY
and OF THE NATUEK OF THE FIRE STONE.

Page 183 – Page 236

We wonder, if here, where he reached the summit of his work and explains the secret of secrets, Basil hides his meaning from the foolish and disdainful under a parable. True disciples of our Art will be encouraged to pursue and lift this veil which hides the secret.

Page 184 - Page 237.

This correspondence exists and no one with the slightest experience of alchemy can deny it.

Page 185 - Page 237.

This, and all Sages will agree, is the substance from which the lesser (!) stone of fire and the Great Stone of the philosophers are prepared. It is the water of Anaxagoras, the Fire of Empedocles, the first substance of Aristotle. It is through it that trees grow, men are nourished, and metals generated.

Page 187 - Page 238.

As far as the sky is from the earth, so great is the distance here between the true stone of the Philosophers, and the Stone of fire. I admit that, although having found the Little Stone, I still have much to learn about the most powerful Tincture.

Page 188 - Page 240.

The salts open the chest in which the treasure is preserved, but are not themselves the treasure. You must of course distinguish between those salts which have a dissolving action, and those which coagulate and enter into the composition of the Stone - a distinction which is implied in the text.

Page 190 - Page 242.

Are you in your right mind Basil, to thus prostitute the Stone, which until now has been so carefully hidden by all the Sages. You have here given the whole secret and we now see how the pure and the impure are separated, how to fix the volatile and how the volatile is fixed.

Now, reader, follow carefully. There is a precious pearl here for you. Don't be like the crow in the fable.

Page 197 - Page 244.

At this point in your work, take great care not to injure the wings of your bird which is already flying over the hills.

Page 197 - Page 247.

This is the Mercury of the Sages to which reference is made so often. He who will tell you the secret of this mercury will be your Pylades and you will be his Orestes. For my part I will be happy to be your third in such company

Page 197 – Page 247.

Keep a collected silence. For now the King enters the bridal chamber in which he will rejoice for months with his bride. They will leave the room when they have grown together and produced a son who, if not the King of Kings, is at least a King who will deliver his subjects from all desires and diseases.

+ The author is afraid of saying too much. If you share this opinion, his anxiety will be a joy to you. For it is wonderful when a Sage sheds a little light on this subject, but immediately regrets having done so.

Page 199 – Page 248

You see that Basil only talks about the medicinal virtues of the Fire Stone. Because he thinks that you are mainly inspired by the desire to help those around you who are suffering, and that you reject all sordid thoughts of profit.

Farewell, kind reader, and if this Book has revealed to you the Great secret, show your gratitude to GOD, by helping all your suffering brothers. END