RARE EXPERIENCES ON THE MINERAL SPIRIT
FOR THE PREPARATION AND TRANSMUTATION OF METALLIC BODIES
where is taught the manner of making the necessary Agents, which have been until today
unknown and hidden from the public.
With the knowledge of the general and Particular movement of the Elementary World and of what is contained therein.
by
MR MORAS DE RESPOUR.
1668
TO THE READER.
I
'Work that I have the honor to present to the Public, appeared for the first time in Paris in 1668. Without the Privilege, only Louis XIV. called from the Great, had it annexed, the name of our Author would have remained entirely hidden, just as the Work itself was buried some time later in the Libraries of Scholars and Connoisseurs of Experimental Philosophy. A caliph of that he was ignored and unknown even in France and much sought after among us. Mr. Pott , famous scholar and excellent chemist, made useless efforts to find a copy of it, and the late Mr. Henkel , that great metallurgist, could hardly find a bad copy by the favor of Mr. Gros , King's physician. in Paris.
Having read, he found it worthy of being translated into our Language, both in relation to the importance of Matter, and to the profound knowledge in Natural Science and Philosophy. He undertook a fairly skilful translation, despite the Obstacles which show themselves alongside the bad manuscript and in the absence of the other Copies.
However, it must be admitted that he has sometimes exaggerated the Translation too much not to undermine the merit of our Author. And how many omitted expressions, which apparently did not want to bend under the metallurgical spirit of the Translator. Nevertheless the authority of this one was sufficient to get him the Approval, of strong that the first impression in a short time was bought almost all, and one is seen constrained to make reprint it. But this new edition, has nothing preferable, in addition to two or three remarks which could not interest anyone, or contribute much to the Clarification of the Text. There are many very intelligible expressions, translated with embarrassment, even the words of the French Text added at the bottom of each page.I pass over in silence the Comment that Mr Henkel took the trouble to add to it, as well as the Experiments made by the illustrious Hellot on Zink. All this heap of purely mechanical reflections has almost nothing compatible with the excellence of the facts dispersed throughout the book, and which testify to the profound genius of Respour, a man of vast mind, and of whom one can say what Phèdre says of Aesop: — emuncae naris Natura nunquam verba cui potuit dare.
As for the object dealt with by Respour, I do not deny that it does not deserve all possible attention and that it is not worthy of so much research that great men have done on it. It is only to be pitied that several of these learned men have not exhausted the hidden meaning of this Work, as their experiments made with complete uprightness of mind prove. The very result of their observations never produced the expected effect. The lack of knowledge of this metallic body has certainly prevented Chemists from undertaking research on it so far. This is also the reason why few Chemists have written about this topic.
There is only Mr. Chambon excellent Doctor, who in his treaty of the mines makes mention of a book entitled, Rosa mineralis , where one must find that he assures some traces of a universal medicine drawn from Zinc. The flowers of this half-metal are known according to their rough preparation to all Chemists under the name of philosophical Cotton , Hellot , Homberg , Henkel , Pott , Marggraf , Lebmann the anonymous Author ab Indagine, ci: an infinity of others have made so many tests on this metallic substance, without however having determined its proper use for the metallic mixtures, so much recommended by our Author. Most scholars believe that this roof is the Zinc worked by Respour , but I am very far from letting myself be persuaded that the Zinc, whose Author teaches us some secret works, is this known Educt of our hearths, which passed the fire. On the contrary, I dare to maintain that the Zinc antimonial , of which he speaks, can only be a product furnished raw by nature, as we have found something similar in China called Tutenage moula, according to the opinion of Mr Grill, given in Wetensk, academicians handler XXVI. Flight.under K. Leaving everyone to their own feelings, I will be satisfied if I see that the learned world is easy to have the satisfaction of reading the original, which is hard to find. And it is through the humanity of Mr Fourcy and Mr Dreux in Paris, both known for their excellent erudition, who kindly took the trouble to procure yet another copy of this beautiful book, which had become extremely rare, immediately after its first impression. I have therefore determined to give the new edition here. Nothing has been changed except the spelling of yesteryear, for fear of hurting the delicacy of taste today.Moreover, as Mr. Hilscher has spared nothing to give this new Edition a luster suitable to the rare qualities of the Author and to the merit of the book, I will believe myself sufficiently rewarded, provided that we do not entirely disapprove of the enterprise undertaken for many amateurs of natural science. Langenfalza on March 26, 1777.
D.Keller.
FOREWORD.
Q
I have always been very reserved with regard to Science and Art, leading me to imitate Nature rather than to follow the sentiment of those who, having given too much to their vain imaginations, and to those of others, have written so many falsehoods, and so embarrassed the truth, that today this habit surpasses reason: never deceive, to give to the Public, what I have learned of the universal and particular movement of the Elementary World with what is contained therein, beginning with Metals and Minerals, continuing with Plants and ending with Animals. I had great difficulty in solving my case, this is not the first time here that I have promised myself to share with others the fruit of my work, on the contrary,I dare to affirm that if it had not been for the presumptuous ones of that time, I would have already brought to light several Volumes dealing with the rare knowledge, which hitherto have been heard, where I would no more have named myself than 'in those whom I have allowed to be printed under other names, so that it may be annoyed that I am entirely free from vanity.I would still have allowed it if I had not found people, whose lack of knowledge confused the true with the false, by a number of interrupted repetitions and fantastic explanations, which those who amuse the public make use of under the reputation of Learned: their haughtiness which makes them jealous of the happiness of their neighbor is the cause: We no longer care which side to line up with, provided that we acquire a false glory and that we satisfy our avarice, envy makes dumb men, obstinacy makes them deaf , lees blind;and deception makes them insensitive, one denies what he is told, the other blames what he sees, and he does not know why: one laughs at what he touches, and does not know it: It is not by this way that one acquires the freedom of the spirit which can make them admirable, and make them distinguish what I presently teach, as the most affectionate of all those who have intended to make the curious enjoy natural things.
My design is that in general we should have enough to reject falsehood, so that we can say in the future that there is a Book, to break entirely the course of so many superfluous Authors, who insinuate errors for the Sciences, and difficulties for knowledge ; they have no basis but extravagant words, and recklessly want to be listened to. What a pity! They divert the good will by bad principles; The one who promises the most is the one who amass more; and having been disappointed, one unjustly prefers the bad to the good: this alone has prevented the communication of much knowledge. I would not be obliged to remind you of it; if the Sages had been satisfied by doing justice to the Experience.This is the only reason why Philosophers only rarely write about this Science; and again under different figures, so that at the very least, if they do not declare how it is necessary to separate the corrupting Earth, or what is perfect in the imperfect; they assure that this Art is true. How many times has it happened to me that instead of wanting to take the trouble to combat the vain imaginations of some, I had to condescend to their opinions, and say: I am working on this matter too; I was nevertheless telling the truth, especially since one can by artifice, separate with industry what one needs from various materials of the same kingdom, as I will show. But what's the use of looking for distant things, when you can have what's nearest?What's easier than to say, this Mineral or this Metal has great comers, and consequently it can do this when it is prepared (really it will be when) since for this effect it is required to fully know Nature, and whoever knows it has the choice of what that there is in it, because all matters are proper to it.Thus he does not appear idolatrous about a subject and obstinate in his conversation: This means that I no longer confer except with persons whom I have entirely reserved for myself, and will remain such, until someone knows how to tell me. at least, what metallic fire is: however I think I am doing well before entering into discourse, to warn that all that I will say touching this Art, will be purely like the yeast will lead you, And so that the spirits clerks have no reason to complain attributing to me some obscurity, I have divided my liberalities into several Volumes;so that one can serve the other, to avoid the misfortunes usually brought by those who exert themselves to disturb the senses of the comers, to assert their stupidity with that of the Charlatans, who claim the opening of the Books of Raymond Lully, without considering that they only change Sapience into vain subtlety, not taking care that to understand him, one must know how to do what he did, and whoever does it does not need of his Book, because it is only an extended point. The presumption of oneself intoxicates many students in this Art. It is, however, easy to confound this false smugness by the force of my following instructions, which I give in favor of many people who have hitherto too easily followed the advice of so many of these promising ones,of so many makers of false recipes, so many tellers of stories, and so many cheats, who go wearing and affirming what they have just maliciously invented, introducing themselves under the pretext of piety, and of love of God, to console the afflicted, to build Hospitals, although most of the time, those which are built are their last refuge. This is the cause that makes true scholars shun the commerce of vulgar philosophers, because it is unfortunate to be taken for them. One would certainly prevent this by showing contrary effects, if one were sure of not being importuned. For me, when by too much complacency, I wanted to enrich others with my knowledge, their ingratitude not only made them publish that they were the Authors, but wanted them to decry my knowledge,which nevertheless only ever ended in their confusion. Ah, how few generous souls one finds! I protest to you that if God had not given me the gift of forgetting, I would not have reached the age of twenty-four to devote myself to writing; I could have done it a few years ago, if it had not been for what I said, seeing that it is not a work of consideration for me, having no business borrowing or stealing others, as many drafts still do, at the end of so many years of labor. My Library is within me, do not be scandalized by the youth of my body, since it is not he who instructs you. Do not say that it is impossible that I knew how to practice enough and in such a short time to support all this. Just rest assured that I have tried and done everything I say.And lest your Spirit, like the others lacking distinction, cause you to say, here is one who may in his life have wielded the Gauntlet; I assure you and you will see that I am to this extent the dismissal of Artists, as well as their refuge.
I would like with all my heart to be able to amply establish my principles, without stopping to destroy those of others, who have never caused me anything but displeasure, obscuring the truth by frivolous talk; little space would be enough for me, not to decipher all that advanced those who preceded me; but to discover all that is true, both above and below, and below and above, in accordance with the cause of the effect, to satisfy the most critical, as for example, if a compound of three or four substances has such and such virtues , it is true to say that if, being deprived of one of these substances, its virtue ceases, it is the substance that has been drawn from it, which caused such an effect; then that this substance alone has the virtue.Hermès was obliged to make a Book of it, according to the capacity of the people of his time who were nevertheless very different from those of today in fidelity and knowledge, that I still wish everyone by communicating to him at present what is most important, without regard to the indiscretion of the Curious, but for the use of those of our Century who will want to rise above the common, after having rejected all Sophistications, or accursed inventions to arrive at the prejudice of our fellows, and abandoned vice to follow the virtue, considering that there are so many other means of nourishing oneself by the light of your face if one has no property, without doing the job of Thief, which is considered clever, when one does not does not notice; there is enough with honor to get through this miserable life,the greatest would, at the point of death, have been the least Mercenary for his salvation. This is what I wanted to say to bring back as Brothers and Friends those who want to be participants in the secrets that I give to people who have frankness and honesty, and who will remember the goodwill of a Flemish from the northern West, to which France has recently taught its language, that I wish I had learned it better in order to be more intelligible; for I am not looking for a way to make things mysterious, and to show off my talent; added that it is no longer time to publish new errors, on the contrary, I write only to destroy them, rejecting for good reasons and experiences the opinion of many people, who have had no other support than their wild imagination. what doing,will I be to blame; or will I be reproached for having done well?
I have on my side for all assurance that I will not be condemned, if the truth has some credit among scholars.
When I shall have given the other parts of this work in such an abbreviated manner as this, I shall make many little discourses of all that is most curious in Nature, where all will be treated with neat detail. and useful and of a style capable of instructing everyone in the deepest knowledge. I will say nothing for which I will not give solid reasons and infallible experiences; finally I promise, with the help of God, to develop all the natural secrets, not only to fill the mind with beautiful and great things, but to maintain or give to the body that health, beauty and vigor, which make it necessary
Those by whom I am known know very well that no motive of interest makes me write and that it is only by a zealous and affectionate movement for the advantage of everyone. I praise God for having given me enough to do without others and for having made me in a mood to be more than satisfied with my fortune. So I shun as much as possible from the commerce of most of the great, and I prefer the rest of my study to the noise of the Court.
I feel that a young foreigner like me, and who currently has almost no leisure, could not write in French without having made a large number of mistakes, and even without having missed the manner of expressing himself such as this pleasant language demands it. But assuredly the little Treatises that I want to give, as I said, after this work, will be in a style capable of satisfying the delicate as well as the scholars.
TABLE OF CHAPTERS
contained in this Treaty
BOOKFIRST.
CHAPTER
I. Of the particular means which the first men practiced to arrive at the knowledge of all things.
II. Of the Birth of the Mineral Spirit of the Generation of Metals and the Means of Using Metallic Bodies.
III. Of the movement of the Elements and of their different operations.
IV. Of the generation of Mineral Stones, or matrices of Metals and how Nature prepares Solar Sulphur.
SECOND BOOK.
CHAPTER.
I. Of the Means of Extracting the Mineral Spirit.
II. motor sulfur.
III. Reduction in first matter.
IV. From the first composition of things.
V. On the utility of Mercury and its effects.
VI. Of the correspondence that the Fig Trees or exterior and interior Forms have with the Elements.
VII. Of the last extension and concentration of the Elements.
VIII. True and false operations, and the means of operating on all things.
IX. Of the particular profits that can be drawn from the Metals.
Summary of Book II.
THIRD BOOK.
CHAPTER.
I. Of the Conference of two Philosophers.
II. Of a Philosopher who speaks his thoughts Hermès, without knowing him.
III. Of two Alchemists, discussing their matter in the presence of Hermes who explains the Emerald Table to them.
IV. The Alchemists force Hermes to stay, showing him their Laboratory.
First Parable of the Great Work.
Second parable.
Third Parable.
WARNING.
O
Besides what is carried by the titles of these Chapters, we find the way of extracting the incorporeal tincture of Copper, called Fire of Venus. The orifying fixed tincture of Zinc. The Cor Saturni or Sulfur drawing in the spirit of the Sun and the Moon. The manner of separating Sulfur from the strong magnet that a dram attracts as much Iron as a whole pound. The means of converting or subjugating into Mercury all kinds of liquors, such as Beer, Water, Wine, Cider, herbal juices, etc. It is shown to separate the spirit of Salt which is found naturally in the waters. strong: and to prevent Antimony Butter and metallic oils from precipitating into the water.There is the way of making the Red Nitre of the Ancients, and their Common Salt which reduces Metals to Mercury, with the way of the true Enix Salts, one of this, the other of Azure Lime. We learn there the reduction of Saturn into Antimony, and that of Sulfur into admirable Salt, into fixed Sulfur, and into flowing Mercury. There are also a number of other very useful operations to be found there, which fervent examples for universal transmutation.
As for the terms used by the Author, most have been taken from Latin, in order to avoid prolixity. When he speaks of the Akali Salts, he does not mean only the Salt of the Grass called Kali, but of all things, which after having passed through the Fire, retain much of its Nature, such as the Salt of Tartar, the Salt of Ash, burnt Saltpeter, Quicklime etc.
If one reads this Book entirely with attention, there will be found nothing obscure, because one word explains the other; it was necessary to disperse the things, to shorten the long speech, and to avoid what is useless with other Sciences which one cannot teach openly.
OF NATURE IN GENERAL.
BOOK I.
chapter i.
Of the particular means that the first men practiced to arrive at the knowledge of all things
P
To know what Mineral Spirit is, and how the seed of Metals is unearthed by Nature, it is first necessary to know the operations of the Elements, not as our scrupulous Ancients taught them, but, growling against the truth, because it is impossible to be able to arrive at the perfect intelligence of a choie, without the knowledge of others, whose principles the envy of the Sages still hides, because they have learned them by long assiduity, carefully rejecting what was unnecessary for the desired effect.
They had to examine tirelessly with every exactness the origin of the fruits, which Nature or the Tree of Life surrounds with spirits and apparent residences of serpentine Water; until a deep meditation made them know the aquatic point by your triple effect.
Then all the things of the world became known to them. They saw easily that they were naked of knowledge: they knew the spaces and distances of the differences without discontinuity between the first Bodies, which by their glance and touch engendered all that there is seen in the being animal, Vegetable and Mineral; having opened their eyes, they gave each thing a name according to its qualities or virtues: thus seeing that Water was like the weight, the wheel, and the spring of this great Machine, they will call it Medin, which the Latins interpret Mars, and the distance or gaze of Water to Air is explained Sol, as meaning alone because it is the distance from the middle of the four components, and everything has only one middle fixed: Air is signified by Venus;and the space of dissimilarity of Air to Fire was called the gaze or light trade between them, which we attribute to Mercury. Fire was compared to the Moon, especially since it does not burn if it is not aided by matter like it, which only illuminates by borrowing; and because it acts against Water like it.
The gaze of Water and Earth is called enjoyment of one another, or Jupiter, whose movement pushes us to the Treasures of the Earth produced by means of Water.
After they understood the three middle places, and that one Element could not be without the other, they knew because of their three distances, that there was a triune unity, and that the Elements had come from 'one by extension and inversion of its own shares; besides that, seeing that its parts helped each other to open and close, they said that this Universe had an intelligent factor; and thus going from difference to difference in relation to one thing to another, they knew all things and used them according to their correspondences by numbers, as for example, in dividing the seven, which came from the four, everything as well as the four Elements; we find thirteen, which is still three after ten; or one after twelve, and four after three times three.
They have also learned by these three distances or double extremities of the Elements, the utility of the Pentacle for the abstraction of the senses, by means of the five stars which are seen from the others on both sides; the attraction of spirits by the highest and the lowest, which are only seen from one side; and the movement of the Intelligences through the application of the Elements of the medium, which are also seen from both sides. They considered that this Binary corresponded to the extremities of Nature, just as it served as an end to the three means, designating the high, the low, the strong, the weak, the large, the small, the light, the darkness. , dry, liquid, hard, soft, cold, hot, pros, cons, etc.And as these two middle Bodies are each seen from two sides which are four, they judged that the name of the Creator should be contained in a quaternary name, taking with itself the means of pronunciation which are the vowels, to testify its greatness, because without a vowel it is impossible to pronounce anything, each consonant alone is pronounced even by a vowel, which takes the place of a living soul. This is why the Hebrews had this name in great veneration, both because it also includes the means of the mutations of intelligence, which consist in the spiritual freedom of the thing stopped, and in the power to move the thing stable. , that, because it contains bodily what is necessary for the word, and this is the reason why Saint John named the son of God, Word.because without a vowel it is impossible to pronounce anything, each single consonant is even pronounced by a vowel, which takes the place of a living soul. This is why the Hebrews had this name in great veneration, both because it also includes the means of the mutations of intelligence, which consist in the spiritual freedom of the thing stopped, and in the power to move the thing stable. , that, because it contains bodily what is necessary for the word, and this is the reason why Saint John named the son of God, Word. because without a vowel it is impossible to pronounce anything, each single consonant is even pronounced by a vowel, which takes the place of a living soul.This is why the Hebrews had this name in great veneration, both because it also includes the means of the mutations of intelligence, which consist in the spiritual freedom of the thing stopped, and in the power to move the thing stable. , that, because it contains bodily what is necessary for the word, and this is the reason why Saint John named the son of God, Verb.
From this name have been derived all the names of the Angels, saying El or God; Michael or almost God, and so as much as one wants while always diminishing, signifying them according to their characters, which one has found by the sole consideration of the Elements, disguising more or less the long and round figure, as you will learn in Chapter of the Correspondence that the figures have with the Elements. The Magi conjoined the letters which met approaching the Nature of Fire, by correspondence of its figure, and so of others, to attract likeness qualities; they also composed several figures according to the elementary degrees, so that it seemed that the mixture subjected the Bodies to which they related.
By the figures of the Elements, we have also known the virtue of the constellations, and according to the figurative movements, we make various kinds of marks corresponding to the Stars, which being joined with the figures of the precise degree of a temperament, produce beautiful effects. , without the need for the names of spirits, unfaithful servants, ignoramuses. It is true that one can invent or take words which correspond by letters and by syllables to the number of degrees of the extension of the Elements, which I will mark, or compose harsh words, difficult to pronounce, or expressing things which stop the senses according to the activity of the movement that one seeks, in order to help the rest.
Many strengths of knowledge have been drawn from these movements, doing through them operations which seem supernatural to those who are ignorant of them, and this is what the Demons serve the coarse people.
On the contrary, the learned Man has nothing to do with him, and can do as much alone as all the Demons together; for if he wants to move something forward or backward, let him take care that such a thing is subject to such a movement, then knowing that too much or too little harms, he can offend by a more violent or gentler movement which is found in other subjects; the Devil can only do the same: For example the activity of a dominating element of a compound, being excited by Nature or by Art to some degree which I will mark in the seventh Chapter of the second Book, if he introduces a weaker one, he will risk the compound;or else if the Demon wishes to harm such or such a part of a Body, he does so by an entirely contrary movement: if he wishes to cause headaches, to cause the senses to be lost or to be restored,
There are also artificial things, which excite or prevent movement, like tones, objects etc.
Do you want to provoke friendship or enmity, by the sole consideration of the Elements; make use of the compounds which come from it: the cold can be joined to the hot by means of the dry; that is to say, if your heat is hot and dry, and if your cold is cold and dry, similarly the hot humidity mixes with the cold humidity by means of their humidity, for the neighboring degrees serve, and the distant harm: it is also the foundation of Medicine, and of the conjunction of Metals. In the first place Tin (which the vulgar call Jupiter, and the Philosophers Metallic Body) can be joined to other Metals without harming them by a preparation of Saturn, thus Iron by means of Tin, Gold by means of Iron, Copper by means of Gold, Quicksilver by means of Copper, and Silver by means of Quicksilver,so much for coagulation, But for liquefaction or dissolution, the Spirit of Argent-vivon dissolves the Silver, that of the Copper the Mercury, the Gold separates the parts of the Copper, the Iron those of the Gold, the 'Tin those of Iron : Lead can spiritualize Tin so much that it can whiten the others. And just as there are two kinds of dissolutions and coagulations, one cold, the other hot, there are also two strong mixtures; one when the parts are made alike by conjunction, and the other when they are made similar before the conjunction, as happens in making Water oily by Alkalis, to mix it with Oil. Water can penetrate Bodies and unite with them according to the means that one will have found to retain it in the fire, especially as to reduce a thing to the last fusibility, or to incinerate,
chapter ii.
Of the Birth of the Mineral Spirit, of the Generation of Metals, and the Means of Using Metallic Bodies.
I
The center of the Elements is found in their smallest part, as well as in the middle of their Globe, and no one else can put their inside outside except the one who made them; this is why our first Fathers, having found this impossible, sought a subject where the inverted earth abounded in order to coat the Water with it and make it metallic in imitation of the first Artist, because the center of the Earth joined to the exterior of Water makes the mineral Spirit, and depending on whether this Earth surrounds the parts of Water by long digestion, the whole congeals into Metal, depending on whether the Earth is well centrifuged, for if its true center is outside, it makes gold, otherwise, approaching something; what Bernard de Trevisan and others do not have; not known,this was the cause that they were mistaken in the metallic scale believing that one changed into the other, as well as in the vessel containing the philosophical matter, which I will reject in the Chapter of the first composition of things. It is true that the Metals can end in each other, as they said, but it is only insofar as the exterior of one corresponds to the interior of the other, namely this what is evident in Lead is hidden in Copper, what is manifest in Silver is hidden in Gold, the visible part of Quicksilver is invisible to Iron, and the surface of Copper is interior to Tin. So much for the real center. When in the middle center, that of Tin corresponds to that of Venus, likewise Lead to Gold, Silver to Iron, and Mercury to all: For outdoor outdoors;Sendivogius spoke of it, although he insinuated that the mineral spirit or the moist oleaginous received various metallic figures, according to the place of its digestion, which is a false thing; the different central distances of the atomic grain (so to speak, so as not to confuse the total with the particular) causing, as I have said, various kinds of humidities, which nevertheless are reputed to be one, because they are all of mineral nature, and only distinguished as the Earth is more or less centrifugal.
Every part of Water is changed into coarse metallic spirit in proportion as it is covered with less prepared earth, which is not done every day; it only happened once at the beginning of the opening of the point, and since then nature has conducted it without it being possible for her to deepen it further.
If the mineral humidity, gross or subtle, has for vessel or matrix a pure or impure place, the Metals will be more or less useful and useless, the Gold will be higher or lower; Copper and other imperfect Metals will be sweet or sour for use, and their Mining will give less, if there are many foreign sulphurites; but wanting to believe that one could change into the other, it would follow that we could open or close the Elements, which is not to remove their points, as Nature or Art does, as you will find in the Chapter of their extension; on the contrary, it is to extend each part of the component parts, if that were in the power of Men, they would make Creatures at their pleasure.
Many errors have crept in by those who have possessed the physical Stone, because they believed that one should only observe the degrees of movement of their composition, whose action because of the speed can be all the less understood, that Nature is slow, really those who invented this Stone, had many other knowledge this one is the least that a true Philosopher can have, it was however very sought after, so much because it can fill us with health and wealth: only to be placed in the company of the ancient Sages, of whom there is still a band today, who do not receive anyone who has not done his apprenticeship at to compose this Stone, which one must have or know on entering, and for then one puts them in the way of the beautiful things which are in Nature, if happiness makes them acceptable.
The Philosophers' Stone is only a corporeal spirit, which has acquired so much dryness that it can retain the metallic moisture in the Fire, and so when there remains more than the coarse Earth of the Metal, it is forced to fly away and leave the pure surrounded by Gold or Silver, which served as ferment, strong as the ferment serves to bring in the powder to extend the ferment.
It is suspected today that this Stone was made in some place by Nature, which makes some people diligent to seek, and so that everyone can participate in this meeting, I want to teach to know it, that it is an invariable white or red matter , which Fire and Water cannot revivify into Mercury or Metal. One finds many things which approach it, being guided by the colors which one sees at the coction of the Stone, whether it roof composed by a dry process, of which I will speak, or by a wet process; the Minerals or Metallic Marcasite corresponds to the dry composition according to the colors, and those, which do not have the metallic luster, refer to the wet composition, but as the majority are produced by the artifice of Mercury (as you will be able to see in its Chapter) there are few useful ones,
The black body has several degrees to pass before it becomes white, but because this cannot be done by the fiery apposition of fire, as in the secret mixture of the Philosophers; it should be known that the apparent mercurial Minerals must be controlled by Salts Alkalis, the others dissolve with those which did not undergo the flame; or it you can make lose the metallic luster to any matter whatsoever, you will be able to complete it separating its superfluities by the Saltpetre instead that before it must need an Alkali; Minerals, which are neither apparent nor hidden mercurials, can be prepared by common salt, and the like, observing how many degrees one must advance; for there are nine degrees to White; little Blue is eight colors away from White,Seven Sea Green; Gray Citrin six, Pale Violet five; the Black four, the tall Iris three; Green depressed by two, the color of dead leaves by one, and from White to redness there are but two degrees, marked with blue Violet, and variable, which accomplish the number twelve; after that it must be considered that instead of cooking as in the Great Work, it is only necessary to separate the impurities, that is to say all that harms the degrees of the color; or add what it lacks by borrowing it from one who has it, always having before his eyes, that Salt comes when Water envelops Earth, and Sulfur when Water and Earth equally embrace each other; so that everything there is, is done by adding more of one or the other, and as from a little to a lot,
As for the Elements which have had no disposition but their continuous extension, they also produce different things, but because they do not duly enter into each other, which they do, with little duration.
chapter iii.
Of the movement of the Elements and of their different Operations.
I
he origin of all knowledge is the supposition of a point: And we called Savant, the one who by this means can clarify each thing without taking another. This general point is surrounded by other particulars, which are the names or signifying and distinguishing attributes, which one receives by common agreement, by inviting properties, virtues and qualities of things, without changing anything, otherwise when it is should talk about it; if we said that it is no longer that, no consequence could be drawn from it, because it always arises from what has been stopped, if you conclude with me that a Man is a Man, it is But everything that most resembles a man does not more resemble a horse; whereas by saying the contrary, we would rather condemn our intention than sin against the truth.
It would be a great confusion, if asking a Man why he should have said : This is true, or I know that , he answered, because it is not true, and that I do not know it , as do those who after having established a part of what they have imagined, boldly add when their point can no longer supply them, by an occult virtue : thus it is as much as if they had said nothing at all, since their point discovers falsity, by not being able to provide any consequence.
The Water froze; how? By the cold : where does this cold come from? they will say of a quality , without considering that all quality comes from the movement of some body, and that all movement produces heat. Fire exhales Water; how? by its natural quality : and its natural quality, what is it? to act on Water ; Nice conclusion! the least ignorant will say as much. What is the Philosopher's Stone made of? of a drug which has the virtue of producing Gold . And what has the virtue of making Gold? the one from which we make the Philosopher's Stone .Would one believe (by binding Books of this Doctrine) to learn what one does; and that the profit which comes from it is to lose the direction.
From there I conjecture that those who wrote them wanted to hide the operations of the Elements from us, or that they were unaware of them, especially since most of what they say is false; and for the first Water is not attracted from above nor pushed from below; you will soon know how it rises only in small invisible drops, which being extended into the Air, are drawn by the general movement coming from the Water, as I will prove, and not, by the highest Sphere of which we speak; since its being does not depend on its continual action, like that of Water. We don't have to go deeper so far: God does this, say the rude .It was true that everything proceeds from him: so many rare secrets that were unknown in the past were also attributed only to his Omnipotence: and nevertheless presently a simple Worker does it; What, a Watchmaker will make a small machine go well without always exciting it by means of some spring; and the Sovereign will have made such a big one, full of what is needed to make it go, and it won't go? No, don't believe him, he did nothing in vain.
This error comes from Astrologers, who, not being Naturalists, added a point to their point, contenting themselves with the effect, without seeking its principles.
It is, however, praiseworthy to contemplate the situation of the Stars, to observe their different powers, and to remark their usefulness; the habit of this contemplation can do a great deal, being regulated from a particular point, like the common, which extends for Astrology alone; but the faithful point shows that the movement cannot come from the largest Circle, since one could not prove it without remaining there, so that when it was necessary to learn another Science, it would be necessary to change point, and fall into the above errors . He who wants to become a scientist, must extend his point to the extremities of Nature, if he cannot, he must leave it, and take one who can go there.
As to the means of taking a universal point, it must be according to Nature, because we cannot extend a supernatural point; for example, if you want to find the origin of movement, seek first of all whether there is anything in nature so disposed to move from its creation, that its being is on purpose, that it depends on it, and that 'by ceasing the action, he ceases to be. To say that the Globe of the Earth is the first mobile is an error, since its being does not consist in moving, that it could well subsist without acting, and that there is a body which would cease to be what it is. he is, if he did not move. Fire is also an immobile Element, if it is not excited; Air all the same; Water, on the contrary, is stopped within and around the Earth only by your movement;this movement does not appear, because of its speed, as well as a wheel which seems to be immobile by its great activity. I do not mean that this movement is the accidental action of the whole, or of a part of its parts together, as when a quantity or some drop of water runs down the slope; I speak only of the interior movement of its least parts; there is a lot of water that we see flowing, because the Rivers meander because of the great descent, or some other accident: it is not yet this movement that I mean. as when a quantity or some drop of water runs down the slope; I speak only of the interior movement of its least parts;there is a lot of water that we see flowing, because the Rivers meander because of the great descent, or some other accident: it is not yet this movement that I mean. as when a quantity or some drop of water runs down the slope; I speak only of the interior movement of its least parts; there is a lot of water that we see flowing, because the Rivers meander because of the great descent, or some other accident: it is not yet this movement that I mean.
To better understand this, we must consider that no things are known except by their own natural effects, just as they are only by the effect of being: the accidents of Water show us that 'it is moving, and that each small indivisible part turns incessantly in circles, like so many small balls or wheels. For proof of this, notice how they must turn to grind and break into its parts the Salt, which is put there to dissolve.
All that they dissolve or break up, puts itself between their figurative distances, until they are full, the Etching, so called because it has with it the terrestrial angles of the Salts, which serve as teeth, does it not seem so still? Nevertheless everyone sees that she immediately ate and devoured the Metal. But, you will say to me, why does the Water not fall? is it in its center, or is it supported by the Earth? If so, tell me first, how the Earth is sustained?
I answer that the Globe of Water cannot fall, because it has nothing that pushes it, as when it is poured, or that it sinks by inclination, especially since then the one behind, hunt the one in front. One can experience that the last drop sticks easily without falling out, unless it is removed by some other drop that comes along, or by wiping it away. To say for any reason that it is in its center, I find that is to change the point, since it is a vague imagination which limits the senses, the Earth or the Water is not in its center, nor in the center of others; but only in the center of the Globe of the others, which does not deprive them of weight. This word that the Elements do not weigh in their center, should not be understood as the thought of Aristotle, and other looters of Books, on the contrary, it is because Water supports itself, especially since its round atoms all carry each other, as we can experimenting with several balls or wheels biting into each other; for while one turns on one side, it makes those which touch it turn on the other, and so on to infinity, while one descends, the other rises incessantly. A similar movement is noticed in the Water of life (because it takes much from the Nature of Water which is simple and without earthness); when drops of spirit of turpentine are thrown into it, the liquor being at rest, the drops are carried from one extremity to the other, on account of the various movements, that the little balls make them do;And because in the end the thickening oil of Turpentine becomes porous, they no longer have a hold on it: Water in all its parts invisibly does the same to the Earth, and holds it by this means with it. , the places which seem to us the driest, are filled with as much pure water as in the open sea. moist prevailing, but without increasing anything there, and almost not diminishing the weight of the body that there was. If it is said that the Water has been separated from the dry, that is to say that one of its parts has been put under this appearance.the places which seem to us the driest, are filled with as much pure water as in the open sea. Experience shows that all things can be put in water, not as the Alchemists do by applying overdominant, but without increasing anything there, and almost not diminishing the weight of the body that there was. If it is said that the Water has been separated from the dry, that is to say that one of its parts has been put under this appearance. the places which seem to us the driest, are filled with as much pure water as in the open sea. Experience shows that all things can be put in water, not as the Alchemists do by applying overdominant, but without increasing anything there, and almost not diminishing the weight of the body that there was.If it is said that the Water has been separated from the dry, that is to say that one of its parts has been put under this appearance.
You don't see a tree grow, an animal grow, and someone who has never seen a clock might at first doubt the movement of the hand that marks the hours. The movement of which I speak is like a ball or heap of small Animals which all move one after the other without shaking the Globe: Water, therefore, while moving in this way, remains motionless as a whole, and its small parts moving continuously, would hold the Air without action, if they were not round, because as I said, while one turns on one side, it makes the one who presses it turn on the other, but the Air being pushed from one and repelled from the other, slides on the side of a Pole of the balls (if I may say so) so strongly that the Air has movement around the total as well as fast-paced action. But to know if this movement is regulated,I say that what is continual does not cease to be continual while it is continual; Water is continually water, and to be so continually, it must be so continually, and it could not be so continually, without continually having the quality proper to its being: the quality proper to its being, and the continual state of its moving being , which being removed would be no more; if there were delay, it would sometimes cease to be, since its being consists only in the continual state of being such, and thus there can be no inequality of natural movement, without inequality of be. without continually having the quality proper to its being: the quality proper to its being, and the continual state of its moving being, which being removed would no longer be;if there were delay, it would sometimes cease to be, since its being consists only in the continual state of being such, and thus there can be no inequality of natural movement, without inequality of be. without continually having the quality proper to its being: the quality proper to its being, and the continual state of its moving being, which being removed would no longer be; if there were delay, it would sometimes cease to be, since its being consists only in the continual state of being such, and thus there can be no inequality of natural movement, without inequality of be.
It always is, because not all the Globe of Water is sometimes changed under the appearance of stone or earth, so it is impossible for there to be any inequality.
Wherefore the Air which is led, is also led around the Earth and the Water, which are only a Globe, and this Air similarly entrains the Sphere above, and thus one gives movement to the other, to the last circle; and the luminous bodies which meet are drawn along with them according to their lightness or heaviness because being light, the trepid movement of the Air stops them, and according as the Stars are susceptible to this swinging movement, they are more or less relaxed. circular motion.
We should not be surprised how such large bodies can be moved, since their place, which is larger than them, is indeed; Water, which is only a point with respect to the rest, if you do not consider its Nature, must surprise you more, since it has the power to move everything: the other Elements are open, and this one here constricted of so many parts , that a drop can fill a very large vessel. Experience teaches us this in its evaporation, or when it is impastoed with earth, and distilled at very high heat, a drop becomes so rarefied that the containers, which can contain ten pints of water, burst, for lack of enough space; thus Fire, Air and Earth were drawn from it alone by extension. This is why we must consider the Elements, only according to their dissimilarity,and not for their elementary discontinuity in the circle of the Elements: Whatever one raises a grain of earth, or a little water from its Globe, it is not nevertheless discontinued from other Elements, and when (to make me intelligible) I represent to you wheels, balls, they must be taken as continuous, because all that there is is only discontinuous in appearance, and that is where the sympathy of things comes from. The Animal which appears the smallest to our eyes, carries on itself smaller ones, and the latter still lesser ones; so that an Animal can have an unspeakable number each with parts suitable to their bodies, and each part is composed of an infinity of points of each Element. Water therefore by its circular movement, besides being conjoined to the others without extremities.(which the weak sense hardly imagines) balances the Air, as I said, and during this trepidation, it subjugates it in itself, not in its center, but in its whole, and it is what it breathes and continues its movement, also, the diversity of the Elements was made of the Sovereign only to help each other mutually. Having therefore been filled with Air, it swells and overflows until the earth it contains has pushed it out; then it becomes again as before; but this can only be seen in the places where it abounds the most, as in the Ocean Sea, which from day to day flows and ebbs. This air which swells it each time, causes it to be lighter in its growth than when it is reduced. The reason why the Sea is big when the Moon is full is that the refraction of the Sun,
The virtue of the Stars consists in the fact that they send back, and as the Water takes it with the Air, it is more filled with subtle parts, dilates more, and appears larger; we must not believe that this is done by a loving virtue which is the refuge of weak minds, because they end their knowledge in a thing without limits; they want by saying this, that there is some quality without a body, do not consider that all that there is here, are only smaller or more open bodies, which being pushed collide with each other, and those who repel each other, assemble the others by retreating, and reject each other strongly according as they meet from afar.
All that we receive from the Stars, besides light, are therefore only very subtle little bodies, which spring up by encounter, depending on whether their internal parts have action. I say internal because the Stars are composed of subtle parts, but more extended than those of those here below.
No thing can have light except by contrariety of parts, this is what experience can show: thus the Sun rejects the small bodies by the wind of its particular action, or to say better by its movement of existence, and these small bodies collide with other bodies, always bigger and bigger all the way down, which is why we cannot look at the Sun, because particles of the Air give into our eyes, as if threw sand into it, they cannot even bear the reflection of its rays by a mirror , if it is not put in water, especially since these small bodies reflect less on a soft subject than on a hard one. The combat of these corpuscles causes the heat, and it is they which in their fall remove the water in small drops, as I have said, and the idiots presume that it is attracted. However, here is how it is done.It is afterwards scattered by the trepid movement, and carried in a circle sometimes so high, that not being able to fall in rain, the fire pushes it back and throws it down, pushing it away with so much impetuosity, that it violents the bodies in passing. ; we called itwind , to which we give names according to the places from which it comes, and its duration continues in proportion to the quantity of the vapors from which it comes: if it encounters other moist in breading, they gather together and fall in rain, which stops the wind.
It is dangerous for this exalted water to remain on high for a long time, because the earthly parts which it has carried off, cook and make the water emaciated, which then precipitates in the form of clouds, the coarse parts of which which arises, of where results a mass, which is destroyed only in proportion as the points of the more subtle bodies penetrate it in spite of its resistance, which makes us see those flames which we call Lightnings: during this effort the mass bursts and breaks into small or big parts with so much force that the noise is terrible, and it is with good reason that it has been called Thunder. When these masses fall, they stink greatly, because of the corruption of the water; sometimes the speed of their fall dilates them so much that they penetrate the tightest bodies by dividing their parts, which seems to us to things solid by their fraction, and to liquids by their alteration, as we see in wine and other liquors. , who grow fat on it.
I would have place here to speak of the Flaming Meteors, or impressions of Fire, but I reserve it for the treatise on Light, and the admirable Nature of cold, which has never yet been heard. However see again (to operate better) how everything that is done in this large body also happens in the smaller ones, which originate from it. We must first consider that we cannot see all the parts of a particular body, as well as the general, because we are not in it. Similarly one cannot see the world outside, like a man or a tree; nevertheless by one, the other can be known.
When the flame ignites a body, the Fire is without, and the other parts within; this Fire does not act, either in appearance of a luminous body or otherwise, without the Air, of the burnable matter given to it, then the moist most united to the Earth leaves a part of the Air or Water rarefied, which cannot follow it , separates from it and falls violently; so that the flame coming from this action compels the spirit of the compound to manifest itself under the redness.
The reason that Water and other things evaporate in this Fire, is, that the terrestrial Atoms of the combustible subject, being violently excited, beat apart, and push the containing vessel, so that the contents are forced to jump out quivering, as if knocking with a stick, this ship cannot seem moved, because of the continual great speed, with which it is struck on all sides, and the Water comes out in such small drops, that it does not appear to us as smoke.
One still attracts Water by coarse vapours, or by inhaling through the mouth: this is done in the same way as I have said, except that the particles of Air being moved by the attraction, beat circularly, and carry away the liquor. It can thus be drawn to infinity, because the Air is supplied by the interior extremities of the conduit, which also happens to a pump and such other instrument. Fire acts differently than Air, it even makes the air sparkle. gold in its great liquidity; but because it is better bound than the Imperfect Metals, it does not spread out in smoke like them, unless one multiplies the terrestrial parts, by throwing there Armoniac, which rises l take with you; because all the volatile Salts, as they are deprived of moisture to expand, quickly fly away from the Fire:otherwise it does not have an oily liquor, which being thicker does not tire so quickly, the proof of this is seen in the dust which is easily driven from some subject, if it is not moistened. Common salt put on a shovel, jumps and fizzes, because the terrestrial parts, which the fire causes to spread, beat below and to the side, as if striking with an instrument: the bodies are carried away in the same way out of the retorts with strong fire. , by the help of particles of the Air, which are so excited, that they beat and penetrate from all sides.
The Artist Philosopher must also know why pots and glasses break, and break easily, at the onset of great heat, in order to avoid accidents because: if it happens that the terrestrial particles by deviating impetuously, collide against the ship, and their movement meets the humidity of the Water, which introduces another, or stops it, there is a collision of the two which makes it jump backwards, and this is what which opens the body, as if it were pulled wide from two sides; but when the Fire causes them to beat slowly, they urge the moisture to come out of them a little at a time, without it making a backlash.There is Earth, which being thrown there all wet does not crack, this comes from the fact that it is subtle and only lets the Water go little by little, despite the violence of the Fire: thus it happens, as if it had been graduated . The Earth, which has large grains, does not split easily either, because the Water circuit has these grains around it, and is not so soon carried away from the corpuscles, because of the pores.
chapter iv.
From the generation of Mineral Stones or matrices of Metals; and how Nature prepares Solar Sulphur.
J
I wanted to teach the first Motive according to the Cabalists, whoever finds it strange. Suffice it that fans of this observation defy all Men to show me a single truth concerning metallic transmutation, unless it has been given to them, or they have found it by chance. Usefulness is more commendable than vain speeches: it was necessary for me, in spite of the apprehension of the censorship of the Critics, to establish this for the amateurs of the Secret Philosophy, so that by this way they can, beyond other knowledge, arrive to the possession of the philosophical Mercury, which is the principal Motor in the generation of Gold, and all that is done in the mineral kingdom, comes from him particularly, just as in general everything comes from the universal Water,for among the Metals there is only need of a Water separated from its earthly sound, and then an ounce of this liquor will rarefy more Metal, than a thousand barrels of common water, and that because that of ordinary is filled with so much foreign land , that it spoils the Minds if one puts some in it. The same happens with saltpeter, because of a hundred pounds, there will not be two ounces left, if we continue to dissolve it, and freeze it by evaporation, after having passed it through the gray paper, which always retains the earth: this is why the spirit which is drawn from it does not have the power to bind the Metals; if the Water and Earth of the composition of Salt are not better joined together; what I will teach at the first Chapter of Metallic Agents;we will also learn how to cover water with inverted earth, which is really only dry water,
Truly, the foundation of this Art; is only a stronger and more penetrating water than ordinary waters: the salt of azure quicklime that you will learn to make later, what doesn't it do? He reduces all bodies to semen, gum and very clear water, because his body has suffered a little more Fire by means of Sulphur. Take this maxim for granted, and be certain, that all things ripen only by the natural heat of their humidity; When a Mineral is taken from its Mine, if you think it can ripen by a stronger heat than you could give it, it will happen as much as by cooking an apple still green separated from the tree: this fruit cannot be mature, experience teaches us. From this, we can conclude that when a thing comes to maturity, besides being helped by the universal fire,it is assisted by a warm humidity which is of its nature; thus the one who dabbles in cooking the Metal without first having the humidity or the mineral spirit, labors in vain: now this humidity is only a nitrous spirit, brought to metallic dignity in the veins of the earth by nature, which we imitate through Art . O how wonderful is Water! It is she who makes appear the colors that we see, depending on whether she is excited, she is what the sages have qualified as the universal spirit, because she is all things; it is the cabinet of secrets; it is she, after God, on whom depends the whole machine of the world, as you will see in the third book;the Lord himself found it so precious, that he revealed it to Men to sprinkle it on human bodies in his name, and to present the Salt it produces, to banish the natural unworthiness arising from the disobedience of the first Man. When it rains, it takes the subtle parts of each thing desiccated by the fall of the corpuscles sent back from the Sun, and carries them everywhere, then the water being driven back, the quintessence of their Salts rises with it, and falling back on the Earth, each compound takes up its invigorating spirit for nourishment. If it is done in Spring, Water partakes of Mercury, And if it is around Autumn, it is sulphurous, especially as it is filled with vegetable dyes, and others from the heat of Summer. .This sulphurous Water mixing by digestion with the Earth, it is made of it an inflammable windy Salt, which we name it takes the subtle parts of each thing desiccated by the fall of the corpuscles sent back from the Sun, and carries them from all sides , then the water being driven back, the quintessence of their Salts rises with it, and while falling back on the Earth, each compound takes up its life-giving spirit for nourishment. If it is done in Spring, Water partakes of Mercury, And if it is around Autumn, it is sulphurous, especially as it is filled with vegetable dyes, and others from the heat of Summer. . This sulphurous Water mixing by digestion with the Earth, it is made of it an inflammable windy Salt, which we nameit takes the subtle parts of each thing desiccated by the fall of the corpuscles sent back from the Sun, and carries them from all sides, then the water being driven back, the quintessence of their Salts rises with it, and while falling back on the Earth, each compound takes up its life-giving spirit for nourishment. If it is done in Spring, Water partakes of Mercury, And if it is around Autumn, it is sulphurous, especially as it is filled with vegetable dyes, and others from the heat of Summer. . This sulphurous Water mixing by digestion with the Earth, it is made of it an inflammable windy Salt, which we name each compound takes up its life-giving spirit for nourishment.If it is done in Spring, Water partakes of Mercury, And if it is around Autumn, it is sulphurous, especially as it is filled with vegetable dyes, and others from the heat of Summer. . This sulphurous Water mixing by digestion with the Earth, it is made of it an inflammable windy Salt, which we name each compound takes up its life-giving spirit for nourishment. If it is done in Spring, Water partakes of Mercury, And if it is around Autumn, it is sulphurous, especially as it is filled with vegetable dyes, and others from the heat of Summer. . This sulphurous Water mixing by digestion with the Earth, it is made of it an inflammable windy Salt, which we nameNitrate-salt, we see it flowing in damp places in the form of slime, from which it can be distilled by the retort placed on the fire, a very sulphurous stinking water, which cold attracts the Mercury of the Copper, which also becomes brittle and whitened, as if it had been put with Mercury, but from the Water of March and April it becomes Salt, which coagulates into Stones, and if this Water has metallic Spirits with it, they come out. of these Stones like the Gum of the Trees, as one can see in the Mines: here is their second origin. When this Salt is drawn into the Sea, it becomes penetrating, and it is this which makes it salty, this Sea Salt draws out the tinctures for the Metals, instead of the Nitre drawing them and keeping them for itself;But who can draw the redness of Metals by Saltpeter or Nitre, and make it take Mercury,
Nitre has been named Spirit of Wine, because it is generated, as I have said, from the vegetable sulphurities joined to the Earth by means of the Water of the Summer Equinox: this spirit is the cause, that the Imperfect metals have with them something burnable, especially as its humid mingles in their composition; in the same way the second matter of the Metals, of which one makes the Stone of the Philosophers, is generated by the conjunction of these two Salts of Nature, in this way.
Firstly the metallic orifying spirit, being carried away by the water of spring, comes to fall in dry places, and coagulates with the earth, then if there does not arrive there no oily and sulphurous humidity, there results of Alum, which is a non -fuse body, being deprived of moisture. But when there is a quantity of damp Autumn fat, the whole freezes and a combustible metallic body is born, which I will name later, when I teach how to separate its excess humidity, to leave only its tingling spirit. in the ash or dry aluminum body; The Tincture which comes from its water, is seen when this ash is hot: the ancient Philosophers called this matter, the Moon in the head of the Dragon, and several other names which you will learn.It is an admirable thing that this Mineral, being dissolved in the Etching of Saltpeter and Alum, puts itself in the form of a bunch of Grapes by crystallization. I saw a ball of gold the size of a musket ball, which weighed a good sixteen pounds. I am told that by continuing to mix it with the spirit of this matter, it would make it much heavier, without increasing in quantity, and then that by dipping it in the oil of Saturn, it would become as light as in front, without decreasing in volume. This Ore put with it great quantity of Antimony that one will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, while stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer.takes the form of a bunch of grapes by crystallization. I saw a ball of gold the size of a musket ball, which weighed a good sixteen pounds. I am told that by continuing to mix it with the spirit of this matter, it would make it much heavier, without increasing in quantity, and then that by dipping it in the oil of Saturn, it would become as light as in front, without decreasing in volume. This Ore put with it large quantity of Antimony which one will will, will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, while stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer. takes the form of a bunch of grapes by crystallization.I saw a ball of gold the size of a musket ball, which weighed a good sixteen pounds. I am told that by continuing to mix it with the spirit of this matter, it would make it much heavier, without increasing in quantity, and then that by dipping it in the oil of Saturn, it would become as light as in front, without decreasing in volume. This Ore put with it great quantity of Antimony that one will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, while stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer.I am told that by continuing to mix it with the spirit of this matter, it would make it much heavier, without increasing in quantity, and then that by dipping it in the oil of Saturn, it would become as light as in front, without decreasing in volume. This Ore put with it large quantity of Antimony which one will will, will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, while stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer. I am told that by continuing to mix it with the spirit of this matter, it would make it much heavier, without increasing in quantity, and then that by dipping it in the oil of Saturn, it would become as light as in front, without decreasing in volume.This Ore put with it large quantity of Antimony which one will will, will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, while stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer. will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, by stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer. will not receive any damage from it, on the contrary, by stirring it rises from the bottom of the Crucible, and swims like a Fish between two waters; but when the Antimony is all gone, it begins to ignite, if left there longer.
Pontanus named this Magnet, Fire, because it burns, and it is only Fire; you can with a detergent of Pebbles, or Stones put in Lime, draw by evaporation its dye similar to an oil of Gold; but it must first be dissolved in Etching, and foamed over the Fire with ten times as much Common Water, then lightly dried. He was right to say that there is nothing impure in this matter, because everything can be used, what remains of it, even red Niter, which you will learn how to make later, contains a marvelous Salt. Van-Helmont wrote of this fire in vain, since in hiding it he reserved himself so much that he did not even dare to give the extraction of the fire of Venus, which I give you here in passing. It is made of copper calcined and sublimated with Armoniac,one takes the sublimation which one must mix with two parts of Quicklime, and leach together, then by distilling, the essential Sulfur passes with the Clear water, which being put in the cold and circulated, becomes an oily tincture without body. If this Author hid this Fire, so useful to health; what difficulty should I not have in teaching a Fire which does much more, and of which he speaks according to Paracelsus with so much reserve? Shall I also reveal the Gold rotten by Mercury in matter which you will learn in its place; finally I give you everything here, but I only teach you by reasoning the means of assembling the substances for the coction, for fear that the compound which is made of them, is profaned, I reserve only the extraction ofthe essential Sulfur passes with the clear Water, which being put in the cold and circulated, becomes an oily tincture without body. If this Author hid this Fire, so useful to health; what difficulty should I not have in teaching a Fire which does much more, and of which he speaks according to Paracelsus with so much reserve? Shall I also reveal the Gold rotten by Mercury in matter which you will learn in its place; finally I give you everything here, but I only teach you by reasoning the means of assembling the substances for the coction, for fear that the compound which is made of them, is profaned, I reserve only the extraction of the essential Sulfur passes with the clear Water, which being put in the cold and circulated, becomes an oily tincture without body.If this Author hid this Fire, so useful to health; what difficulty should I not have in teaching a Fire which does much more, and of which he speaks according to Paracelsus with so much reserve? Shall I also reveal the Gold rotten by Mercury in matter which you will learn in its place; finally I give you everything here, but I only teach you by reasoning the means of assembling the substances for the coction, for fear that the compound which is made of them, is profaned, I reserve only the extraction of so useful to health ; what difficulty should I not have in teaching a Fire which does much more, and of which he speaks according to Paracelsus with so much reserve? Shall I also reveal the Gold rotten by Mercury in matter which you will learn in its place;finally I give you everything here, but I only teach you by reasoning the means of assembling the substances for the coction, for fear that the compound which is made of them, is profaned, I reserve only the extraction of so useful to health ; what difficulty should I not have in teaching a Fire which does much more, and of which he speaks according to Paracelsus with so much reserve? Shall I also reveal the Gold rotten by Mercury in matter which you will learn in its place; finally I give you everything here, but I only teach you by reasoning the means of assembling the substances for the coction, for fear that the compound which is made of them, is profaned, I reserve only the extraction of Cor Saturni, which you will nevertheless be able to know by the example which will follow, especially since this Saturn reduced to the first matter, (as I will teach) being put by artifice into a Salt on all sides triangular, is changed by a vulgar Alkali into Sulfur, sucking in the soul of the Sun and the Moon, like a dram of Sulfur from a common Magnet, separates a pound from its gross body by a little spirit of Alkali, retains the force to attract Iron and virtue of all that there was, or more: If a common Alkali Salt does these wonders for the separation of substances, what then will he do who is in the ashes of our Nitrous Mineral; which without alteration serves as Fire, Furnace and Article for all kinds of operations? Ha! What virtues this metallic Niter has!We have all been told the figure of the old man Neptune, who is the true Lord of the Waters, since they obey his power, as will be said. The Poets have depicted it industriously, pretending that this woolly Fleece is guarded by Bulls who throw fire and flame: you will conquer it with much less difficulty than Jason, or the curious Naturalist by his beautiful meditation: he had to work incessantly to find at the end what you have here at the beginning. I say beginning, both for those who have not yet begun to work in this Philosophical Art, and because most lovers of natural knowledge have no light of true Chemistry, even at the end of their days. It seems that God wants to make up for the long years it would take to acquire, like our first fathers,
End of the first book.
METALLIC AGENTS.
BOOK II
chapter i.
Of the means of extracting the Mineral Spirit.
P
Several before me have written the manner of preparing the Metals, both for Health and for Wealth, but considering that their Books remain useless, for lack of the necessary Agents which they have hidden from the public, I put here the manner of making them. , so that we can also achieve the desired effects of the beautiful and curious operations that they have brought to light, to the advantage of their declared solvent Alkahest, or Alkalized water, which few people possess, for lack of knowledge of the ashes of the true mercurial Alkali, which is enveloped in the universal Sulfur at the center of all the things of the World, although the best is drawn from a matter vulgarly called Espiauter, or Zinc of antimony, in this way:
Melt it over a low heat, in a fairly large Crucible, and when it turns red, stir it with an iron spatula, which has a handle long enough to protect you from the heat; and after having stirred it a little on the surface, as if foaming, it will begin to flame, which is the sign that the Mercury crud detaches itself from the foreign Sulphur; remove with your spatula anything that will look like white cotton or wool, which some have called Sericon , and put it in a terrine; however the rest which is in the crucible, similar to molten lead, will ignite more than before.When it has sublimated from it still about the height of half a finger, you will pull it out, as at the first time, and put it with the other: do so, continuing until all is as I said, taking care each time you draw from it, to pluck this flower skillfully, without taking any metal. Then you will have this dry water, of which the Sages have spoken so much: saying that it comes from the rays of the Sun, to make it understood that during the operation, matter throws a clear light, dazzling the sight, as well as the Sun. It has therefore been said very well that it derives itself from its rays, and even from those of the Moon. When this water is converted with the waters, and that the waters are converted with this water;they claimed that it was done by the force of a steel, comparing Zinc to steel, because of their great resemblance and virtue. The Steel sparkles, this one ignites, one and the other silver and gild the Metals, and have the power to concentrate the spirits and tighten the bodies; there is only this difference, that one is difficult to melt, and the other point, being softer and obedient to the Artist: also it is said: what is the use of looking for that in a hard material, considering that there is one which of itself is soft, which being sublimated, as I have taught you, can convert all things liquid and embittered, from the first time into this central salt or philosophical Mercury, which one has so much sought? Here is how I did it with the common vinegar.
as Bernard of Trevisan admits in his Forsaken Word, that it surprised my senses, as it did him. After everything was cooled, and the vessel was opened, I found all around a delicate body which had the luster of common silver, more beautiful to the eye than the Oriental Pearls. This Mercury was obedient to the finger, and smelled of Camphor: one can have it, as Trevisan says in the treatise on the Nature of the Egg, sometimes in liquid Mercury, which is good; into a resplendent and coagulated body, which is still better, and into a white powder, which is very good. This Mercury was obedient to the finger, and smelled of Camphor: one can have it, as Trevisan says in the treatise on the Nature of the Egg, sometimes in liquid Mercury, which is good;into a resplendent and coagulated body, which is still better, and into a white powder, which is very good. This Mercury was obedient to the finger, and smelled of Camphor: one can have it, as Trevisan says in the treatise on the Nature of the Egg, sometimes in liquid Mercury, which is good; into a resplendent and coagulated body, which is still better, and into a white powder, which is very good.
So you have just learned the way to draw the metallic humidity, not that it is wet as we say in all its substance, such as one could imagine water, on the contrary, it is not only accidentally that it appears thus to us, when the thing is dissolved; this is why the Philosophers have named it Air, and many other names: also the reason why the Ancients and Moderns have said that they used May Dew, Equinox water, Spirit of wine, of Urine, and of Blood, it does not matter with what one extracts this Mercury, because, as I said, all liquid things can be used by means of this mineral ash. This is the reason they said, that their Mercury is everywhere, naming it Universal Spirit, though indeterminate, for otherwise there would be no need of this vessel, which is this flower, to extract it ;just as a grass attracts to itself other things which it needs for its subsistence. It is on this that the Ancients claimed that they had different vessels to attract this spirit from liquid bodies, because one can extract this specific matter from various Metals or metallic Minerals; however, in one place she finds herself less embarrassed than in another.
Among all the Minerals, there is not one more disposed by Nature than this one, and it is alone among the metallic bodies which suffer the division of the fixed parts of the volatile, like wood in the fire. Its ash has admirable virtues; it binds all that is disjoint; as for example the oils of Metals or Minerals, causing them to precipitate no longer, after they have only once been distilled with it: this ash also divides that which is assembled, separating by the same means the spirit from salt, and others which are found in ordinary Etchings, so that one can receive them separately, each with an increase in its strength, both for Men and for Metals, because it makes manifest what had hidden in each compound. She easily changes into all kinds of appearances.If the rest of the ashes, which only want to be dissolved with difficulty, are reduced to salt, it will appear neither more nor less than Venetian Talc, and because of its resemblance the Philosophers have named it thus, which has abused so many people down to this day, believing it to be vulgar Talc, from which they tried to extract oil to whiten the complexion, as the Ancients said, disguising their secret from one thing to another. This mineral ash has in itself everything that is necessary for the Curious, those who knew it, had the material, from which it is drawn, in great recommendation, and for fear that we knew who it was, they imposed on it many names, such as Lunar, Saturnian grass, and others. Some have compared it to the Salamander, because she lives in the fire;They have never depicted her better than speaking of the Phoenix rising from her ashes: others have called her Lucifer or Light-bearer, Venus begotten from the foam of the Sea, because she is drawn up by foaming. It has been called Dragon, because it burns like Saltpetre; Eagle, because one draws from it the mercurial Armoniac, they said, that it is the King, the more so as it is the most considered between them; and the Lion, because of its great strength. They say that it is the metallic soul, because it vivifies all the Metals, and that it is body, because it corporifies the spirits.But commonly among the Philosophers, it is understood by Mirror of the art, because it is mainly by it, that one learned the composition of the Metals in the veins of the Earth, as I will show next. Also it is said, that the only indication of Nature can instruct us. It is Sulfur and Mercury conjoined by nature; the Cinnabar of the Sages, of which so much has been written, assuring us that from these two we separate an average body of so great virtue. It is Sulfur because of its tingent and combustible part; and Mercury, because it is the humid radical of the metals congealed by nature, as Geber says. It is pulled in two ways; namely in volatile and fixed.I taught you the extraction of the volatile: here is how one proceeds to have the fixed. Mix a part of metallic ash, with two parts of pure saltpeter, in an earthen pot, which you will put on the fire for twelve hours, moving it sometimes with a stick, when the material swells: it is necessary that the heat is such that the pot does not become inflamed. The materials being cooled,
Have a furnace which has from the grid, three times the height of your Crucible, or approximately: it must be of small brick, or pieces of tile, built against a wall, pierced up to date, that the hole is a little larger than the breadth of an ordinary half-brick, and that it gives above the grid, so that the wind can excite the fire: which being, you will pose one of your Crucibles, and will make it so great heat that you will be able: When you see that your Crucible will begin to vitrify, raise the little lid, and see if the matter is purple in color, which you will know, when it appears tarnished, as lack of fire; the other sign is, that a little ahead there appears a beautiful star.Immediately withdraw your Crucible, lest having passed the necessary moment, the mercurial spirit should flee in the form of smoke, so that being out of the fire, it does not cease to exhale, and when it is gone, the matter remains of a gray color, and no other spirit can come in its place; it's up to you to bring it together, since it's not difficult. When you have taken your matter out of the furnace, and it has cooled, it will have the color of Lacquer sunken, verging on Purple; this operation is done in an hour.
I told you the way as I did, although the ancients put a lot more into it, and even the moderns could not come to the end of it in less than three hours. They named this Red Saltpetre: It's up to you to try out what they say about it, since you know how to do it. We let it resolve on its own if we want, and so it separates from the faeces in the form of Gum; when this Gum, after its preparation is joined to another Gum, namely to that of the Sun, then they become like flowing water, under the metallic luster: This Gum is still called Amber, because of its attractive virtue of bodily Sulphur; Soap, because it cleans bodies: and Sperm, because of its smell. When this Sperm goes into oil for longer, the Philosophers call it Oil of Tartar,who has made people labor so much in vain, on vulgar Tartar: They have named it Vitriol; meaning, Vitri-oleum , or glass oil; because it is fired, as I showed you, by Vitrification fire. After the Vitrifying Crucible is cooled, the matter appears like a Rose, surrounded by green leaves, because of which they named it Rose. The salt that one draws from it by common water, has innumerable virtues: it volatilizes all that is fixed, and fixes all that is volatile; it removes venom from the Sublime, such as Arsenic, and from all other dangerous things, such as Herbs, Roots, Flowers and Grains, etc.Being reduced, as you will learn below, it dissolves Gold and Silver, as hot water liquefies ice, without any noise or corrosion, together rising through the Still: In short, it makes so many beautiful things, that the Chemical Books are filled only with its effects.
chapter ii.
MotorSulphur.
In all that is composed of Elements, there is a foreign Sulfur, engendered by the action of Water and Earth, which is the motor of the natural Sulfur; it is the first subject on which the Fire operates, by means of the Air, and by which it makes us feel its forces, whether it appears to us in the form of a luminous body or otherwise: it is it who submits all things to the force of Fire and corrosive Waters, and because he prevents the continuity of bodies, he is the only cause of their perishing; without it, they cannot be filed, bent, sawn, broken or powdered. The Artisans do not inquire about it, and nevertheless it is to him that they owe the end of their work.
It makes bodies sour and brittle, because it is a substance foreign to the subject, which dries easily; this is why he regains with little difficulty the humidity of the Resins and the Salts which are given to him to soften them; it is he who carries the bodies to the fire, which makes them extended or contracted, depending on whether it abounds, it is he who apparently flies away from the flame, at the calcination of Zinc.
Finally, what can be said of it in particular is, that it is a thing located between the interior and exterior part of any body, and it is nothing other than a nurturing, subtle earth, which is sublimated or dignified. by the mineral, vegetable or animal humidity if it is found there. Animals have more than Plants, and Plants more than Metals. In the Animals it flies away almost everything with the proper humidity, in the Metals and Minerals it is very strongly bound to it, and in small quantity; but as the medium or medium always corresponds to the medium, we have recourse to Plants, and experience shows that there are enough of them in the salt of the ordinary ashes that we remove from our hearths.When this material is extracted, it looks like Argentinian Silk, and leafy earth, like Talc,
Dry the so-called Salt, and pour over twice as much distilled vinegar, stir them well with a pestle, and having rested a little, remove it quickly, then put in another, thus doing four times, the vinegar will load with tincture and vegetable viscosity. If it still comes out, repeat, until what remains in the Marble Mortar remains white, and after having dried it well, it is like river sand. Then grind it with clear water, letting it stand for two or three hours, the whole thing will become like curdled milk, which you will put in the filter, and what will remain in the paper, is the required matter. Let time deprive it of its superfluous humid tone, and use it for a sulphurous salt, which is called such an armonia or ammonia, because it is drawn from the sand.
The water which flows from the preparation of this Sulphur, leaves after your evaporation a beautiful salt which is tasteless, and the red tincture which has been extracted with the Vinegar, leaves by distilling at the bottom of the vessel a black earth, whose water separates a very sharp salt: thus as Art brings to light the bodies that Nature hides in ordinary bodies, it produces things all the more worthy and admirable, as is this Sulphur, which even still seems beaming and victorious, after the end of the compound. You see it everywhere on stagnant waters; both in the streets and elsewhere, swimming like sheets of colored silver in many ways.
It has not so great virtues for the Animals, and lacks power over the Metals, when it is surrounded by its vegetable residences, unless the herbal part is not overcome by the mineral: for he who chokes the natural humidity by a foreigner, does almost as much as if he took it off: why dry this salt well, which the Ancients nicknamed common: and instead of making the anatomy of it before said, dissolve it in the very strong spirit of Vitriol. This must be done in a large curcurbite, so that the mixture is not lost when the foam rises, which being put back in water, then distilled to the last drop, leaves a fusible salt like wax, which when cold becomes hard and white.
When some Metal is melted with it, and it is stirred for a few hours, it reduces it to a paste, which the humidity of the air puts into oil, which being distilled, the salt remains at the bottom, and the best part of the Metal passes with water. It is also used to draw the tinctures from the bodies, and does all that was once said of it, speaking of such an enix.
chapter iii.
Reduction in first matter.
T
ut what is most sought after among the amateurs of this Science is the Reduction of Metal to its first matter, which the Philosophers unanimously affirm to be Sulfur and Mercury. I think that the vulgar take earth and water in their place, because we see few Artists who do not dissolve metal in the form of water, to make it coagulate, which is to put it in the appearance of earth: whatever is found in the writings of the ancients, that any solution must be made while preserving the manifest species;thus it is self-deception to reduce it to the form of Elemental water, seeing that the metallic splendor is muted, appearing but mere water, liquid or thick, colored or otherwise, so that if it arrives there some mark of corruption, it is not the Metal which is altered, since it can only be so under its own species, separated from all foreign things except water! What is the benefit of boiling water, believing that you are grading a metal? The end shows enough that the metal is not changed, since at the melting the Gold returns to Gold, being projected on a bath of Gold, and the Lead on the Lead. So this way of Reduction is absolutely useless;and even if we would have put a Body in Earth and Water, we could no longer use it with regard to Metal, only Water and Common Earth, since it would be Elementary Earth and Water, to which we cannot give any form of metallic species , experience showing that this is impossible. since at the melting the Gold returns to Gold, being projected on a bath of Gold, and the Lead on the Lead. So this way of Reduction is absolutely useless; and even if we would have put a Body in Earth and Water, we could no longer use it with regard to Metal, only Water and Common Earth, since it would be Elementary Earth and Water, to which we cannot give any form of metallic species , experience showing that this is impossible.since at the melting the Gold returns in Gold, being projected on a bath of Gold, and the Lead on the Lead. So this way of Reduction is absolutely useless; and even if we would have put a Body in Earth and Water, we could no longer use it with regard to Metal, only Water and Common Earth, since it would be Elementary Earth and Water, to which we cannot give any form of metallic species , experience showing that this is impossible.
Some want to ignore that the Mercury extracted from Bodies, such as that of the common, was made of the first matter, and that it is in vain to put it in appearance of Sulfur or Salt, then that the principles of Art are not those of Nature.
Likewise, it is a waste of time to make it similar to accidental things; as are the Vitriol, the muddy Gold that one takes from the Waters, and others. Because the imperfect metals, like iron and copper, rust easily by the water which passes through the Mines, and are corroded by the Salts which it carries there; but the Gold which cannot be dissolved, lacks the sourness of the Salt, is carried away by the water in small parts which shine in the Sand, being precipitated where it stops: so that it is not the first matter metal, on the contrary, is metal itself.
It is characteristic of men to have little regard for scraps that are familiar and ordinary to them: this can be seen up to now, everyone knows that the first material that gives us metal is Mincirai, or Marcasite from which one draws it, just as Lead is the first material of Minium: And nevertheless one asks afterwards, and one disputes it, so much the subtlety is enemy of the truth.
When we say that the metal must be reduced to Sulfur and Mercury, we must not believe that we mean to speak of natural Sulphur, because there would be no reduction to be made, since Mercury does not can be Mercury without its own Sulphur, which determines it to metallic Nature, and which makes it different from common water; it is therefore only to reduce it with the motor Sulfur of the natural Sulfur which nourishes it, and the more it eats of this dry Earth full of fire, the more its moist has the power to remain in the fire; doubting that there is only dryness alone, which has the power to retain moisture on the fire.For this effect, Art imitating Nature, opens a Body by fire, but with a much stronger, than the Fire of the fire of closed fires, it contains it in the earth, but an earth more subtle than it; it imitates the movement of the East, in the West, but rather than the Sun. Thus Art, following the example of Nature, by means of Nature, can restore to Nature what it has taken from it, namely a sulphurous earth, which the melting fire has separated.
The usefulness of this restitution is, that the metal, which is nothing else than Mercury congealed by its own Sulphur, can be so excited or extended that the humidity is entirely supplied, which can never happen by nature, lacks the lack of action of his fire; so we act as if we were transplanting a Tree from a cold place, to a very hot one, in order to have rather more beautiful and better fruits.
I taught in the previous Chapter, how one can have the motor Sulphur, which causes this perfection by natural force, with the help of Art, so that the curious have the satisfaction of visibly contemplating, what barely he could imagine before by the writings of others. It now remains to be said in what way the metal subjugates it and also takes it from everything, to be put back as it was before, while preserving its apparent Mercurial species. Have a Salt of the same facility to melt as the metal that you want to reduce: Let the hard correspond to the hard, the soft to the soft, the volatile to the volatile, and the fixed to the fixed;considering what metal can suffer the fire, defend itself from being calcined, and that its external form is not hidden under the wateriness or earthiness of the Sulfurous Salt: on the contrary, that all that is good in this salt may be overcome and covered with the metal. For this we have tested everything, and there has not been found one except that which corresponds to Saturn.
Melt it in a German crucible: also take saltpetre which has had several waters and do the same, then when the heat is equal to the other, pour it over it; there must be three parts of Lead for one of Saltpetre. Immediately afterwards, the assistant who will be with the Artist, will begin to move the whole thing with an iron rod, continuing in turn, while one puts the coal and graduates the fire. He will be well governed as long as he has the power to keep them molten, and the metal does not turn to mush, which is a sign of perdition. It is useless to move on this occasion if it is not melted.The violent fire drives out the humidity of the Saltpeter, and having only the earthly matter left, it becomes difficult to melt, the greatest fire that one is obliged to make to make it liquid, is so strong that the rod of iron ignites, melts itself and spoils everything: This does not happen, when one observes the heat that salt can suffer without evaporation of what makes it liquid. The operation is done in three hours. When the whole thing is cold, break your matter, and you will find it like mineral metal in veins of Gold and Silver, in needles like Antimony, which because of this, and of the metal of which it is made, was named by some Philosopher, Antimony of the parts of Saturn.The ancients taught this operation under the means of making Cinnabar, in which the chymists were deceived by taking common Mercury and Sulphur. Others have represented him, giving Mercury a rod twisted with two Serpents, to say that the metal must by means of movement, for which one needs a rod, to be carefully chained with earth and water, which represent the two serpents which attach themselves: Geber claimed on account of this that it was Bismuth.It has again been given to the public under the sublimation of Mercury with Salt and Vitriol, which the people of the present time follow inconsiderately: so all they do with it is of small consideration, attributing the fault rather to their misfortune than to their lack of knowledge, which makes them look for the freezing point in what is not frozen, stopping rather at the fashion of the Merchants who gave the name to drugs, than at the true Naturalists.
There is no one who has satisfied the Sages and the Fools so well as Avicenna, when he says that Lead always remains Lead. The ignorant have said about it: it is therefore useless to work on Lead, and have been put off by the good Saturn. The Learned on another side have said: if Lead still retains its coagulating quality, and its fixed grain which it holds in its center, with the tinging Sulfur which we will give it, doubtless there will be nothing beyond there: for then he will freeze Mercury into Gold, with the same coagulative power, which he had when he froze it into lead. By analogy, it is to do all the same as if in an instant we enlarged a Child by the height of a Man, preserving his power to grow: when he came to grow to half this size, what he had to be,
The aforesaid composition was taught to us by Nature itself, with the destruction of Zinc, also it is said that with the destruction of one, one learns the construction of the other. If we receive the Nitrous matter which is strong in burning, we will find that it is nothing else than a subtle earth, accompanied by elemental water in the form of Nitre: for this reason, considering that it is not better than that of vulgar nitre , we leave the trouble of extracting it to those who have more time to lose than the person who wants to benefit the Public. However, the common Nitre suffices, whether it is returned to the body itself from which it was expelled, or whether it is given to another who lacks it, like Saturn;which nevertheless cannot be done, if the metallic sulphurous mercurial spirit, which abounds in iron, nor is; because of this the lower Mars is considered the Sun of the Art, which the Ancients represented with rays around its head, for remembrance of the usefulness of iron and steel in all kinds of Arts, such as that of the Moon and the celestial Sun to natural productions. There is another strength of reduction in the first material, properly called Fermentation, having regard to the soured dough, which makes others rise and sour, in the same way this first Reduction being brought to white or to red, revivified by projection the 'Gold and Common Silver;and this Reduction is made by extension of the parts according as the powder is subtle, and preserves its species, as well as the other; because of this, this Gold or Silver is called Living Gold, because it is revived by the sourness of white or red Sulfur, and put in appearance of a mineral Gold,
One would here have reason to ask me how to prepare the philosophical Antimony, and reduce it to Sulfur transmuting and converting the perfect bodies into first matter, since I have taught well, as it is necessary to put the imperfect ones there. The books are full of them under the names I have taught you; there are some who have written it in clear words without omitting anything, saying that it must be powdered, and three substances separated from it by various means: for it does not matter in any way, as long as one do. I abbreviate all that they have said, by warning that each thing in its preparation manifests a fatty substance, another which is not, and an average thing, which is neither. .Now the means of preparation are fire, air, water and earth, the common Fire makes combustible things, and powders; the common Air serves as a place to extend the body which rises, the common Water separates what has been subtilized, the Earth and the pebbles are used to make Pots, Crucibles, Glasses and Furnaces, to contain: Besides that for greater elucidation of the separation of the principal parts of a compound, here is an example on common Sulfur.
Pulverize two parts of pebbles calcined and reduced to lime, which you will mix with a part of Sulfur passed through the sieve, in an unglazed earthen pot, stopper it with its lid, and put it on the fire for twelve hours, the graduating until at the end the pot wants to blush, then let it cool and break the pot, you will find the whole divided by two colors, namely white and red; the white will be on top and the red on the bottom, the top material dyes the water yellow, filter this water and distill it slowly, the Sulfur of this Sulfur will pass through the still in the form of very clear water without odor, which in the cold rushes red as blood and fixes, which you will take, removing the useless water by inclination, which being done, take another seven or eight pints of water extracted from the white matter,and let her repeat for a few weeks, until the creams she throws have sunk to the bottom; then separating the water, there will remain a black earth which becomes a flowing Mercury, by moving it with a stick; the red matter below gives no dye in water; but after having been washed of its Salt, it becomes very azure, which being put in the air becomes abundantly charged with Nitre very full of spirit. To have rather done, it is dissolved in distilled vinegar, then a red Salt is drawn from it, which can be made fusible by the spirit of vitriol, and volatility in a body, which puts it in water to dissolve its own Sulphur, in order to exalt your Mercury. by moving it with a stick; the red matter below gives no dye in water;but after having been washed of its Salt, it becomes very azure, which being put in the air becomes abundantly charged with Nitre very full of spirit. To have rather done, it is dissolved in distilled vinegar, then a red Salt is drawn from it, which can be made fusible by the spirit of vitriol, and volatility in a body, which puts it in water to dissolve its own Sulphur, in order to exalt your Mercury. by moving it with a stick; the red matter below gives no dye in water; but after having been washed of its Salt, it becomes very azure, which being put in the air becomes abundantly charged with Nitre very full of spirit.To have rather done, it is dissolved in distilled vinegar, then a red Salt is drawn from it, which can be made fusible by the spirit of vitriol, and volatility in a body, which puts it in water to dissolve its own Sulphur, in order to exalt your Mercury.
chapter iv.
From the first composition of things.
R
remember, and always have before your eyes, that no one can have a thing better than the thing, so long as the thing remains as it is; because the thing, having with it the thing of the thing for the thing, remains the same thing.
The salt of tartar, volatile or otherwise, united with the spirit of wine, is nothing but wine: for the wine has the dregs with it, whence comes the tartar, from which the alchemist draws the salt; if he also has his mind: what use is this division to unite them? If it is said that it is to separate his terrestrialities and his phlegm, I answer that they will never reunite without phlegm, or some foreign moist.Experience shows that the spirit of wine never takes salt without water: therefore avoid this false operation, leave it to those who want to regret their good, having done the same on any subject, without considering that this It is different from undoing and redoing what they believe they have undone, whatever it is the same thing that seems different, because it participates in the preparation of fire; also all that was more excited by fire, participates more in his Nature; fire can give no quality except by dissipation of humidity, and the more a body is deprived of humidity, the more activity it has to take from another, whether pure or impure, although there is no there is nothing wrong in Nature with regard to faith .What is impure is only impure for the pure, and the venom is not venom for him, therefore there is nothing impure in the wine, being simple wine, the only decoction which brings out the humidity of its earth, will give it successively all kinds of taste and color, which can be used according to its different effects, it is the same with metal, which is simply metal, separated from all that is not. not. But because there is none in this kingdom, which is not more or less still enveloped by Mineral Agents, which are the elemental Earth and Water excited from fire and air;one is forced to come to its last metallic simplicity to use some artifice to separate them, and it is only then that it is subjected to digestion to acquire the desired virtues: this is why, when they are still there, that one does all that one will want, such work, such pain and assiduity that one puts there, were it in Salt, in Sulphur, and Mercury which are the principles of the Art, never it will receive no more worthy form than at the beginning.
It is true that by a long calcination, some small part of the agent will be able to separate from the metal, and according to the separation will give some Gold or Silver, but these Metals, although perfect for us, do not leave not to be enveloped in some impurity that hinders their power. Human Industry has found two ways to remedy this: one by separating what harms, and the other by increasing what is missing. We separate what harms the imperfect, and we give what the perfect body lacks, not that the imperfect Metals are imperfect for being what they are, but they are only called imperfect because they are not Gold: and Gold is also gold with regard to the subtlety and multiplicative virtue that is claimed. I taught how to separate superfluous matter from the imperfect,by the foreign Sulfur which one constrains to move the natural earth, and after its preparation (according to the example which I gave) to insinuate in the Gold or in the Silver the necessary power: thus the perfection takes beginning of neediness, for no one can move in vain, either to attract or to repulse that which resists him, and this movement is called life, whereby life takes its beginning from what it lacks. Each body holds other bodies with it, and this one achieves the goal of knowledge which avoids confusion. and this movement is called life, whereby life takes its beginning from what it lacks. Each body holds other bodies with it, and this one achieves the goal of knowledge which avoids confusion.and this movement is called life, whereby life takes its beginning from what it lacks. Each body holds other bodies with it, and this one achieves the goal of knowledge which avoids confusion.
So let the metal remain with the metal, the animal with the animal, and the vegetable with the vegetables. The land of Animals is of the nature of Fire; that of the Herbs of the nature of Air, and the Earth of Metals of the nature of Water.
Animals abound more in the earth than plants. For an example of this, look at a thing that has been pushed to redness, it abounds more in the spirit of the Fire nature. Also see that the more a solution is evaporated, the more oily it becomes like the Animals.
Plants have less earth in their composition than Animals, this is the cause that they have more Water than them, and have all the qualities of a thing half grown or half evaporated.
Metals are composed of water and earth, like Plants and Animals, but they have more water than other things; the land they have, is in less quantity than in the two aforesaid kingdoms; the perfection of Metals is their earth subject to the power of Air, and that of Animals to the power of their own Fire; thus Fire dominates, and is lord of the other Elements to the Animal, Air to the vegetable, and Water to the Metal; strong that Quicksilver is generated from pure altered water for so long that its inner part is put out, and since things can only be done moderately, strongly and weakly, depending on whether the center manifests itself, the humidity of the bodies is generated, which partake of the good or bad qualities of the earth according to the places where they are nourished.
The possibility of this generation must be considered according to the Elements converted, subject or chained for the composition of an animal, vegetable or mineral subject in accordance with the mixture, and recognized by the Elements, which are not arranged, being yet to be converted or to be assembled: for when the elementary creatures were in possession of their first times, they were each according to their being of pure and simple form, to which there was nothing but a convert. The Animal could not have died, if it had been exempt from the dry and the humid.When the heat dried up and the humidity did not come soon enough, they ran to the Water, or to the juice of other bodies, and when the dryness was overcome, they had recourse to the dry body, as still happens every day. days, what is called eating and drinking:
Man is subject to this misery, his seed, which participates in the extension caused by foreign parts, is like wax filled with so much subtle powder that it can no longer obey the ordinary movement of the hand: thus henceforth more and more than the animal form will suffer the company of foreign things, Man will subsist accordingly, and what will come from him will be of such short duration, that finally there will be no more time to produce his fellow man. . I believe if there were scholars, that it has always appeared to the Sages, or else I publish it, so that everyone will annoy him.
It is the same with Metals, because depending on whether they are charged with a foreign Element converted or to be converted, they remain less in the fire, and appear to us quite differently than they should be.
It is a rather curious thing, to know if at the beginning there were as many species of Metals as at present.
I was not at that time; but since there were several sorts of Trees and Animals, there must apparently be various sorts of Metals in the Mines, some less embarrassed and more free than others; like Man towards other Animals, and one Grass towards another; and each multiplied according to his being, Lead multiplied and multiplied in Lead; Tin to Tin, etc. What being, by what means can one have the Gold which is said to be in them, since it is only Lead or some other metal? We cannot separate it if it has not been assembled by accident in the neighboring Minières; as one usually sees that one is mingled with the other, because of the place of their multiplication. For then truly, as they sometimes flow together to the melt,Art can separate them; but if Lead or Tin, Iron or Copper are separated from the others; you can't extract anything else from it if it's lead, other than lead itself, and those who say otherwise are liars.
The Philosophers have always claimed that they were only separating the pure from the impure, but this is very false with regard to a simple metal; they dared not say the rest, for fear that the Inquisitors of this Science were too enlightened, by declaring that their Stone is nothing else than Gold so extended that it can embrace the metal on which it is placed. throws it, and wrap it in such a way that it can protect it from all danger. This is why some have called it Tincture, because it tints and does not convert, but only gives it the virtue, the appearance, and all that is required to appear Gold or Silver, until at the end of time.I advise that the People do not be scandalized by it and have no repugnance at it, since this Gold can wipe their times and the times of the Survivors, with the same or more effect than the natural.
The experience that I have seen of it has forced me to believe it, because we have not been able to find anything to the contrary, having tested the quality of one and that of the other: consequently the Powder that one projects fur the imperfect Metals , does not dye only in Gold or Silver, but generally contains their parts in its latitude, separating for this subject all that is not metal, namely the motor Sulfur coming from the Elements which are to be converted, or who are not converted into him . This Powder before its fermentation is called Quintessence, meaning something more extensive than Fire, which is held to be the fourth in ascending. It is also called Potable Gold, which everyone seeks for Health, because it can deliver the radical moisture from the captivity of the Corrupting Powder or Ash,
chapter v.
On the utility of Mercury and its effects.
V
You learned about the Quicksilver generation by talking about other things. And just as the universal Mercury, namely Water, is the first visible Agent of Nature to the Elementary World: I am now saying that the Mercury determined to the metallic Being, is the first Agent of the last operation of the Art, because without it , by it, and with it, the perfect Sulfur cannot come out; this is why it is said, that in Mercury consists all that the Sage claims for the Metals, as long as it remains simple as it is; otherwise if it were dissolved in water, by him or by another, it would cause more imperfection than perfection. It is he who delivers his Father (who is the Metallic Soul) from the hands of the Tyrants who are the Elements.He is older than his Mother who is Water, because he is more advanced in the age of perfection. This is what gave rise to feigning it as Hercules, because he kills monsters, being victorious over foreign things and far removed from metal. It is he who reconciles his Father and Mother, banishing their former enmity; it is he who cuts off the head of the King (who has been represented by an Argus) to have his Kingdom; his eyes signify the care he must have to preserve his Earth, or the cow that Jupiter, Father of Happiness, has given him to guard. He is given many names to hide him from the knowledge of the wicked.Someone called it Steel, without any property except the appearance of its color, which moved him to add then, that it was found in the belly of Ariès or Aries, compared to the common Mercury, which one passes through the sheepskin, to purge it of accidental filth. Its water abounds in quantity and its Earth in quality,
The dryness of places easily takes on its dampness, as we see when it is made to rise with Vitriol and common Salt or something else, especially since it is the property of Salt to drink water as it may be. ; This is why Mercury, having allowed its humidity to set, then its own Earth, greatly abundant in dryness, has more dryness than the rest of things, and for this it takes the place of a strong penetrating Fire; but as the Salts love the elemental humidity more than that of the Metal, they easily take it up again, and leaving the other by altering their sourness, the Quicksilver becomes again as it was.
Similarly, from the veins of the Earth it is sometimes attracted to plants by the sucking wind, and formerly elsewhere: it never coagulates except by the dryness of the metallic bodies which it encounters on the surface of the Mines, that the Metal which lodges there has infected with its vapor, and if it is Lead, it is converted into Lead, if it is Tin into Tin, Gold into Gold, etc. So poor Mercury is surprised like a fly by the Spider's web. This is the final effect of metallic multiplication, and the only operation that Art imitates.
If Mercury passes through Mines, and stops at Metal, it will spoil all matter, which is the reason we see so many different Metallic Minerals, if it mixes with Lead, it will comes from Orpiment, with Tin from Arsenic, with Iron from Stone Coal, with Gold from Sea Lead, with Copper from Sulfur, and with Silver from Talc, and so on from places corresponding to the degree of dryness of the Metals; if it is mortified by essumation of the moist nitrous, it comes from it Crystal, and other colored Stones, after the separation of the Quicksilver.
Thus the Mercury produces in the Earth, and above the Earth, admirable things, when it is overcome, it multiplies another, and when it is victorious, it is multiplied.
chapter vi.
Of the correspondence that the external and internal Figures or Forms have with the Elements.
S
According to the composition of things, there are compounds of the simple, compounds of the compounds, and compounds of the simple and of the compounds; however the simples to compose, are composed, because we cannot have any simples that it is not composed. For example, the simple, to compose is Metal, separated from all that is not Metal, nevertheless this simple is composed of Elements; and the compound of the compound is a mixture, as it were, of several kinds of Metals melted together, or some prepared earth, dissolved in water to get the Salt. This Salt is a compound of water and earth, water is elemental of air and Earth of fire, thus some are elemental and the other elemental, and according to their actions, they manifest different parts.
When Fire is lord of a compound, it surrounds all its subjects, likewise the others, each in turn, and makes themselves appear under some figure, so that he who is master of the compound, makes the contents obey by his proper quality, and this proper quality is known to us by the external form; and the definition of the external figure or form, is by its extremities.
A sharp thing can prick, enter and divide better than a blunt one, a round thing is easier to move than a flat and square thing. The round corresponds to the water, because it always flows, if it is not prevented, as well as the water which cannot be supported within its own limits. The figures that remained to the other Elements, must correspond to the form to which they symbolize: the Earth is elemental of fire, therefore the fire participates in the angular parts of the Cube, and according to the excess of its movement, there are less or more. ; thus the Triangular, Pentangular, and Sexangular parttake of the fire, and as there is a closed fire and an open fire, the simplest corresponds to the closed Fire; closed Fire is natural Fire;and manifest Fire is artificial or accidental: likewise Water corresponds to the round figure, and the round figure in Water; so that all that is orbicular, whether several clustered together or otherwise, counterfeiting blunt-pointed angles, corresponds to Air; the two and three points of this kind correspond to the Common Air; but the five, the six, the seven, and the others refer to the excited Air which is commonly called wind: this is why, as there is no quality without a body, one learns being in the body bodily their virtues according to the body that we look at or that we touch. So much for the external figures or forms: as for the internal ones, they come from the situation of the Elements, as I said above.The Elements also have their figures since they are bodies; for there is no body without a visible or invisible figure; noticeable of its all,
Thus are shared all the things of the World; nothing is done without means. This is why everything we do, and everything that is done, is double when leaving, and triple when entering in the image of the sovereign. The binary is the thing, and the action of the thing; the triple is the thing and the action of the thing, which acting in its all, being all, is only one and the same thing. There is nothing useless in the general, nor anything without virtue: he who knows the mystery of the binary, possesses knowledge of everything, because it consists of the first number. There cannot be given a point without center, nor a line without latitude, therefore the line will always be distinguished in two, and the point also.The line composes all the figures which correspond to Fire and Air, and the point composes all the external figures or forms which relate to Water. And just as there are no other principles in the Art of figuring than the Circle (which is only an extended point) and the line; one can also see only Earth and Water, invisibly containing Air and Fire which are four. Now, as a point could not be divisibly added to a line without composing four, and as one cannot multiply four except by its own root, as well as all the things in the world, the extent of the number four is four times four. ;and considering that the first four is not a number because of its unity, we leave it and take only twelve for the complete number, which because of three times four is esteem three, or the return of perfect things: and because of this return, the twelve is circular. But as everything came from the binary, we separate two from twelve, and then there are ten left,
chapter vii.
Of the last Extension and Concentration of the Elements.
M
fall in love with things impotent to act, if your intention is to aid the movement of Nature, removing what harms her.
Water can without art extend the Earth twelve times of its width; Air one hundred and forty four, and fire twenty thousand seven hundred and thirty six, and can be tightened accordingly.
By art the extent of the Elements is contained in nine letters, (as the Sibyl said) carrying by its means their virtue up to four hundred and seventeen thousand six hundred ninety and six, which is the first number. This is what she had also calculated according to the number of the first bodies, and the roots of the quantities.
The aforesaid Extension must not be understood of the discontinued bodies, as a part of the elevated Earth of your total, as well as a Man whose head would be at some league from the feet, on the contrary that the piece of earth, or the part divided from its whole, can be put up to its last extension, otherwise it would be a division, and not an extension; just as a grain of metal, which is never divided except by divisible and interposed part, was it extended in a sea of etching: the proof is still seen in the water that the one distills, which falls after its rarefaction.
A metal rarefied by common Water, in addition to its last latitude, is no longer a metal, but only Common Water, and so are the other Elements. This is why the Philosophers forbid not to distance metal too much from metallic Nature. If you enclose the fire in the water, it will extend there the Body, the Sulfur or the Earth in its degree, not in its own body, because it would be converted into it, and would no longer be earth; but in the vessel of its quality, which is the void, whose Elements help each other to move.
As for us, what is empty of one is full of the other. The Vulgar does as one can fill a vessel with Metal, glass or wood, because it consists of the containing figure; one each fills the Water by Example of Salts, etc. because all this is done by means of the Air. But who is it that can fill or tread on the fire of art, seeing that it expands in proportion to what is put in it, carrying away the damp, and liquefying the Bodies, and as it is multipliable? , until things return, it can cause the multiplicative power.We see this every day in Saltpetre, which having lost its moisture in the fire, dissolves into oil by attraction of a greater quantity of water than before, and even when this water is separated and received by distillation, the Salt being in the Air, takes it again; and always so,
The same happens with Gold and Silver; before separating their foreign humidity, because they can then by projection amass Mercury or imperfect Metals and retain more or less of them, according to their decoction, especially since the elementary bodies are subject by nature to a continual extension, and by art to concentration: and for that we called dead a body motionless in itself, and which has action only by accident, as when a stone is thrown against a wall. Lead has its parts extended as long as it is necessary to be Lead, it cannot digest what is given to it as long as it remains as it is, and for that it is considered dead;but if it is animated by Fire, and its gross humidity separated by circulation, then an ounce has the power to attract the radical humidity, or the determining Sulfur of so much gold, that the world could contain other Metal; which shows us that the end of the Art, which is called Transmuting, is not to have an aquatic substance; but on the contrary a concentrated fire, similar to an earthly body which, being thrown on the Metal, comes to upset all its pores, extending like a spring.
Thus the beginning of this Medicine, consists in separating the raw Argent-Vive from the imperfect body, by giving it to a very cooked Mercury, the middle, to cook it as long as it no longer varies in color; and the end is to render this Sulfur fusible by its own sulphurous humidity, which is a small portion of the Mercury friendly to it, like the Air of the Fire: therefore just as the Air willingly surrounds the Fire; the part of Mercury which has suffered with Sulfur, is considered the air of fire, or the humidity of Sulfur. For example, a salt dissolved in water is evaporated to dryness;this Salt, although dry, does not fail to be fusible at such or such a degree of fire, and when its humidity is still exhaled, by the long fusion it melts at a greater one, and when it freezes at this degree, one it can recast by another, and so until its last term, which is when the Water,
The reason, why the Glass is transparent, is that the water which still dominates, divides the parts of the earth: this water as well as the other has its round atoms, as we have said, and in such a way that these bodies circles could be heaped up, there always remain places that our sight can cross; similarly the cause, that the thicker a Glass is, the less one sees through, is because the small holes have halves, thirds, and sometimes whole circles opposite the openings; what can be experienced in punched cards, considering, that just as well as you can put the holes directly opposite each other; the same is done with very thick glass, dark or transparent. Do you want to know why glass or something else melts and flows when heated?
The movement of artificial Fire is direct, and that of Nature, circular: Man can well imitate a circle and move in circles, but it is only by the accident of his will: for artificially he cannot throw a thing in the air, which can go anywhere but to the directly opposite place, and Art has finished sooner than Nature, because by direct movement, it is more transfer arrived at the end, than if it were going round like Nature.
The Philosopher Artist knowing what are the things due to the perfection of a subject for use, goes to seek them where they are, and gives them to the things which lack them, or else he removes what harms them, bringing out the Water or Earth by Fire and Air, in accordance with Nature, the abundant Earth makes black appear, because the flat lying figure (which corresponds entirely to the earth) does not resist the light, which slides above without impediment, abundant Water causes whiteness, because the round figure moderately resists the action of light, still sliding in a circle on the half balls or blunt angles which refer to Air; Fire corresponds to right angles or perpendicular lines, and because they are better met, they cause more action, and make the redness appear to us;the mixed colors, arriving according to the mixture of the mixed figures.
All these diversities proceed from the movement of the parts to the situation, more inside or more outside, I mean outside as regards the simple, and not of the compound, and the inside or center of a compound, and not of a simple.
I said, how one can introduce movement by the artifice of repulsive and attractive things, as one can still see with quicklime. When pebbles are exposed to Fire, it drives out the superfluous humidity, and concentrates the natural humidity, this humidity by concentrating, divides down to the smallest parts, to enter the most intimate place, and leaves the outside destitute. of wet. These Stones being cooled, and having no more heat, take the Water which one throws above with such violence, that the speed with which they take it back, causes flames; thus the Fire serves to rarefy the foreign humidity and to tighten the natural humidity: when it acts on the natural humidity, it causes the cold, and when it operates on the foreign humidity, it causes the heat:
chapter viii.
True and false Operations and the Means of operating on all things.
O
He taught us that Art must begin where Nature left off, meaning that Art is a general thing, but is determined by the thing on which it operates; if it is on Vegetables, it is for herbs, and not for Metals; because to cultivate a plant, is not to file a metal, similarly the Art to purify the Metals, has no other goal than the Metal.
If you want something that can perfect or improve a Metal, the improving thing must be better than the thing you want to improve. Thus by what, with what, and as what do you want to perfect a Metal, to perfect the imperfect Metals, if the most perfect is perfect only for it, and that the most perfect thing that we can have from the impure Metals, is the 'Gold? and the perfect Gold not being clean, the rest of the Metals which we called imperfect, cannot receive any perfection from it? Consider well what you have to do, and what you want before operating. Isn't it true that you are looking for something that has the power to perfect an imperfect Metal? For this, a perfect thing is required, and it is true that the most perfect thing is Gold,and if Gold has not the power to perfect, having itself nothing too much, with what do you want to perfect, or elevate its dignity? It cannot therefore be by spirit-affixing of any Salt, and tincture, and other deceptions of Alchemists: but only by subjugation, or imprisonment of cold Elements of the compound.
We have shown that the foreign Sulfur, or the Elements which are not converted to Metal, cause their imperfection. Now it is decided that common water, or anything that wets something other than the metallic body itself, had no metallic substance; and since the end of this Art, is to separate from Metal all that is not it, it is to sin against its own intention to put elementary things there. We called elementary things, everything that has the appearance of water, oil, or any color whatsoever; unless they are of the metallic mercurial appearance, which cannot be corrupted or altered for the better, except by the aid of secret fire.
This Fire is the vessel and is not the vessel, and yet is the vessel: it is natural and is against nature, and it is natural; it is closed and is not closed, nevertheless it is closed.
It is the ship, because it is the first container where the mercurial soul of the Sun and the Moon is. It is not the vessel, because it is itself contained, and is the vessel, because it contains the Elements; it is natural, inasmuch as it is brought to the nature of the thing on which it acts, it is against nature, because it is not yet naturalized to it, and it is natural, because it is the Fire of its composition; it is closed, because it does not burn like the flaming fire; it is not closed, especially since it is ardent like the common fire, and it is closed, because it is enclosed by the proper subject; and to express myself better: who operates without this fire, operates without matter, and who operates without matter, operates without this fire.But those who operate on matter do not operate with this fire, whatever they operate with this fire; they do not operate with this fire, because it is in the center of the compound, and nothing has any action except as long as it finds resistance. This fire excites and awakens the spirit of fire which dominates in this body which we call Gold, and it is then that this spiritualized Gold spiritualizes and adorns the imperfect Metals, because as much as it is tinted, it tints them, and as it is fixed, it fixes them.We see the experience of these things in the smallest subjects, and all that there is in the Elementary World, serves as an example to us, which has led the Philosophers to say, that everyone has this work before their eyes: or to explain them to you, all things are done in this way. The fat or oleaginous acts on what is not; Acid versus Alkali; cold versus hot; wet versus dry, the hard against the soft; the heavy against the light; the volatile against the fixed, and the fixed against the volatile.
The Arsenic put in powder dissolves in fountain water, and filtered, turns into Salt after its coagulation: This Salt put in a Matrass and sublimated, separates from its fixed part which remains at the bottom whiter than snow , whereas in front of it everything was sublimated: the cause of this fixation is that the earth or the dry body which lodges in the water, retains a portion of this fleeing body, because we see that by redissolving what is is is sublimated and continually reiterating, everything remains fixed; the Orpiment crushed with twice the Salt of Tartar which has been melted, remains fixed in the fire, and the Salt separates from it with the Water, leaving its terrestrial part at the bottom.
All these fixings are without profit, because it is done by a foreign body; but if a metallic substance is fixed by a metallic one, things as precious as gold and silver are made of it.
There are things which are believed to dissolve, congeal and fix without addition; nevertheless if one looks closely, one will find that the water which is stretched out in the air joins with the subtle smoke of the dry Spirit, as when making sourdough of Sulphur, and that the 'one breads the Mercury by a fiery earthen vessel: one still puts the resolve in the bath, in the cellar and in horse manure, without considering that it is not a resolution as for the Metal, because the body does not have been dissolved, but foolishly extended in a foreign water, which leaving to its evaporation the muddy Salt, which the Metal holds and surrounds around its parts filed or attenuated by it, easily takes up the smoky humidity of the dung or the cellar.
gold solvent; they want to dissolve radically before getting to the root, and stop at a heap of rubbish, which disguises the bodies.
But the Philosopher (say I) separates from degree to degree all that is impure until he arrives at the natural Water of the compound, which he then freezes into powder of such whatever color he likes: on the contrary the Alchemist works incessantly, and neither advances nor retreats, because he only puts and takes away, gives and takes back, thus consuming his miserable life doing nothing, always working without awareness.
chapter ix.
Particular profits that can be drawn from the Metals.
R
stretch the pure from the impure by Water and Fire, then join the cooked with the cooked, so that the dry helps the wet, the wet the dry, the strong the weak, the heavy the light, and that the good part of an imperfect be joined to what is good of another imperfect, separating what harms one and the other as much as possible.
The means of conjoining one extremity to the other is the thing capable of uniting the two; and the bond of these two is the love of one or the other, and the love of one or the other is introduced by the Fire. If it acts on a solid body, it disposes it to take up moisture, if it acts on moisture, it makes it penetrating and corroding dry bodies, and if both have been excited by it, they kiss with much more ardor than before
There is Gold which is sometimes suffocated from the nourishment which its stone gives it by the perspiration of the nitrous Spirit, so that according as Water or foreign Earth abounds in it, it appears to us as Lead, Iron, Copper and Tin, so that they are sold as such. He who will consider these bodies as Gold removed by volatile Salts, will be able to withdraw the Gold from them, stopping these Salts by more fixed Salts: just like when one wants to put back a dissolution or volatilization of Gold in body. The same happens with Money.One can still draw Gold and Silver from their bodies spoiled by Mercury reduced to Bismuth, Antimony, Zinc, Sea Lead, Gold or Silver Marcasite, but this cannot be do so only by the volatile Salts, because the volatile Salts refer to the Sulphurs, and the fixed Salts to the Mercury.
Natural Sulfur also sometimes causes accidents in the mines, because when it is too much excited by the Motor Sulfur, it deteriorates so strongly that it cannot have enough moisture, which causes it to come from it. dry Minerals such as Emeril if it is Iron, Calamine if it is Copper; and when the natural Sulfur lacks action, it cannot digest what its stone gives it, like a sponge on a teat which fills with the humidity occurring at the Mine. From this defect comes (if it is Copper) Slate, Marble, Black Earth, from which pencils are made; and if it is Iron, it comes from Ocher, from Umber, and such another; if it is Lead, it comes with Bol, Mountain Green, etc. Finally, according to the accidents of too much and of little, various things are apparently born.
One can remedy all this as dissolved or calcined Metals, but it would be useless to extract the imperfect Metals from them, because they are too cheap. All these Stones and these Marcasite are very useful to us, if we want to operate on the imperfect Metals to attract what is perfect in them, because to draw what is good in Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus, they must be put in the form of Salt, under the appearance of lime, powder or earth, of Amalgam, and other preparations, which we find already prepared by Nature without struggling to make them. Vitriol or Black Earth can be taken for dissolved Copper, Calamine for calcined Copper, Sulfur for volatile Copper, and so on, from which one can separate the foreign Sulfur impregnated with the natural Sulphur, and join it to the Metal which contains it. lack.
The red is changed into yellow by means of the White, and this yellow is sunk to the last carat, by means of the Black. This is how the tinctures of the bodies must be governed in order to have Gold.
And in conclusion, I warn you that you will never join the Moon to the Sun, except by means of Saturn: nor Mercury without Jupiter, and Venus without the permission of Mars.
RECAPITULATION
of the second book.
AT
mi of truth, and honorable reader, do not allow the envious evil one to blame and accuse of falsity what experience will put in your hands. For assurance that I have written nothing but truth; these are not operations of long duration, one can see the end of them in a few days. In the first place, I taught the conversion or specification of the Waters by calcined Mercury, so that time would no longer be wasted in reducing the Metals to vulgar water; and if I have not sufficiently declared the means of making use of it, it is because it is necessary to leave something to exercise to the fine minds, so that they may be distinguished from the ignorant.I also taught how it is necessary to separate with the Nitre, the Spirit of this calcined Mercury, from which comes out a Quicksilver, which is so friendly to Gold that it can never be separated from it. I also did not want to divulge it, for fear that, being public, it would become common to the wicked, who would do whatever they wanted with it for the resemblance of Gold and Silver.Besides that, I would terminate the practice of those who meddle in Medicine, since the coarsest could by themselves alone cure all diseases, because the hot congealing, the icy dissolution, which make the extremities of Nature, have witnessed. of the birth of this Hermaphrodite, who moved me to teach the movement of Binary, after having spoken of the usefulness of Mercury, and said that without him our Sulfur was only imaginary, and that however by him alone, he could not arrive at the center without fire, and only with him which is to say in him, he did nothing except by means of the double body.
I still leave to the heirs of fine knowledge, the consideration of the Motor Sulfur of each compound, and warn them that all Metals are similar in seed, but some purer than others; for just as there are Elements more subtle than the others, there are things more perfect in each kingdom, so that the cause of their imperfection coming from their indigestion (as we say) is not to be understood from their second digestion which is done according to nature, nor from the third which is done according to the Art, but only from the first coming from the Sovereign, who separates the pure parts from each participating part.
End of the second book.
THE RETURN OF HERMES, FOR THE SAME SUBJECT.
BOOKIII.
chapter i.
From the Conference of two Philosophers.
K.
After having seen so many beautiful things, here is my Vessel broken, am I not unhappy? what will I do? so many more will happen if I start again, since it's the tenth time.
X.
I think that's a Chemist. Alchemist, let us approach him, he was not mad to speak alone; despair constraints strong.
Sir, maybe you don't think we can hear you? You are looked askance like an imaginary!
K.
What does it matter? the rage caused by my displeasure defends me from shame.
X.
Stop sir, where are you going?
K.
Spite leads me to down.
X.
What a poor resolution for a man like you, whom everyone esteems! is it an act of force to destroy oneself?
K.
Liars, I no longer trust my reason, since it deceived me, Farewell, I know that death is the remedy for all ills.
X.
One more word Sir, a good resolution banishes all misery; If it was only money you seek, there is one here who makes as much as he wants.
K.
Take advantage of it, and leave me alone.
X.
We can't Sir, because he only opens up to learned people, the others he pays them with trifles, and thus gives them to each according to his scope, if we had thought you curious, we would have had recourse to you who save time and spirits.
K.
I don't care about anyone, for Science, I've had enough, I've silenced the Oracles, me.
X.
And why don't you prevent your pot from breaking?
K.
Everyone is provided to fate.
X.
Fate with its chance son, and its fortuitous daughter, does not however break our bottles.
K.
It is therefore that you are not working on the real matter.
X.
It must nevertheless be the right one, then it must show us all the required marks and signs; I have a philosophical egg which is already four months dark, and my Friend has one which is almost white, we once had a red one; but a Lackey stole it.
K.
What, your Ships don't break, how do you avoid that?
X.
It is that we are working on real matter.
K.
If so, all your eggs would break.
X.
So no one has ever done it?
K.
Who doubts that? otherwise I would come to the end like the others.
X.
The one we spoke to you about earlier, you could show the opposite. Let's see it, let's see it, let's see it.
X.
Good day, sir, we came here to have the honor of bowing to you.
H.
Do gentlemen, do.
X.
Sir, it looks like you're going out.
H.
Do you still want something?
X.
It's that we have heard, that you possess many rare secrets, and that all the beautiful qualities shine in you.
H.
Do you believe it?
X.
Yes.
H.
There is therefore no need to persuade you further. Farewell.
X.
Hey, sir, you will prove those who say good is communicable wrong.
H.
It is true that if the greatest or the heaviest were the most virtuous, they would have forbade the use of measure as well as the rest, for fear of being known to intruders.
X.
You have communicated to less than us, our conversation was not so contemptible. We disputed the rank of illustrious with people, who no doubt knew something.
H.
It is difficult to be and not to know anything, I confess that these people there knew more than me, then they disputed against you. This is what I cannot do, because it is impossible, as you would not be able to say anything about yours, to argue against you, but indeed against those from whom your memory borrows the doctrine. In my time Science was served by ingrates, just as much as now, we arrange the thoughts of others to our whim, instead of subjugating our senses.
X.
It is to have a bad opinion of your neighbour.
H.
It is not from my neighbour, it is from those distant from me: for as for me, I am a servant of the truth, I love my fellow men very much.
X.
Know that we know the truth well, and that we have faced the heat and the cold to guarantee the Philosopher's Stone which is its footstool, which it keeps hidden in the center of the body.
H.
I assume that you only know what hot, cold, or center is by hearsay.
X.
Ha, by God, should I reveal my secret, I want you to see the opposite, I knew very well that I would find the occasion to let you know who I am. Just give me the grace to listen to me, and you'll see.
chapter ii.
Of a Philosopher who says thoughts to Hermes, without knowing him.
X.
I
It is certain that any quality such as it is, does not add weight to matter, as is seen by the influence of the celestial bodies, which no longer diminish to give us, that we increase to receive. Similarly the hermetic Planets impress by their movement the effects of their power in the Spheres of their Heaven (which is the subject of the Philosophers, in which is hidden the Treasure from which God drew the mercurial wind, or the air sublimated and dignified by virtue superior bodies) to serve as a prison for the metallic Spirits, according to the power of the Art; so that the life of the Plants was distinguished according to the intention of Nature, and that of the Animals, according to the will of God, who willed that one of them (as a witness of his glory) knew his Author in the Anatomy of each gene,which is made according to the contrariety and concordance of the Elements, which composed the next matter of which they were made; because nothing has any action except insofar as it finds resistance; and if the Elements had no contrary qualities, everything would perish, because the movement which is the instrument of the conservation of each thing would be prevented by equality, so that the strong would no longer act against the weak; the Fire would not heat the air, and the air would not give birth to the light by means of the Wind, from which results the Sulfur or Soul; the Earth would not drink the water, and the water would no longer produce the spirit which subsists only through its body.The Spirit is only the idea of the Soul, and the Body had only the work of the Spirit, the Soul can regain its Spirit only by means of the Body; the Body can take back its Soul only by means of the Spirit, the freedom of the Spirit comes only from the separation of the soul: the Soul can subsist without its body, but the Body and the Spirit perish each apart; because the Body lives only as long as it is agitated, and the Spirit is alive only as long as it has action: for the Spirit is a corporeal soul, and the Soul is a body spiritual, or better speaking carrying some quality of the body , as does the Mercury of the Philosophers, which is only an animated Spirit, which draws the Sulfur from each thing, that is to say the vivifying Tincture, or the soul which keeps the compound alive.For example, Gold is a body, and when the Soul is separated from it by sulphurous Quicksilver or metallic Sperm; it remains as heavy as it was before, without having increased the Mercury at all. So this mass which is not at all diminished for having lost its soul, which this dart, this knife, this philosophical spear has forced out, can never become Metal again, on the contrary remains in the ground, powder or filth, for that the Soul which has no weight (any more than that of Man, who has not diminished the weight of his body by leaving it) dwells in the Heaven of the Sages freer and more powerful than she was; waiting for the Artist to give him back his body glorified by the fire of his judgment.while the Soul which has no weight (any more than that of Man, who has not diminished the weight of his body by leaving it) dwells in the Heaven of the Sages freer and more powerful than she was; waiting for the Artist to give him back his body glorified by the fire of his judgment. while the Soul which has no weight (any more than that of Man, who has not diminished the weight of his body by leaving it) dwells in the Heaven of the Sages freer and more powerful than she was; waiting for the Artist to give him back his body glorified by the fire of his judgment.
This Soul, this Sulfur of Gold, or these rays of the Sun which one draws from its shadow, does as I have said, all that the Philosopher wants, so much so that he can send it back to the World, because the throwing on a body, however imperfect it may be, it returns to dwell among the others, with as much value as it had before.
It is therefore evident that virtues will not increase matter, and matter cannot serve anything without virtue, and virtue proceeds from the action of matter, and the action of matter is the spirit, and the power of the spirit is the effect of the soul. Which makes us know that transmutation does not consist of the Body, which can do nothing of itself, without the Spirit, which derives from the Soul the power to prepare a similar dwelling in the place from which it came.
This is what made the Master of Plato say, that the earthly power on its resistant according to the deferred resistance is the action of the Agent in this matter, given that the earthly power is the thing which informs the body, which gives it existence, and makes it subsist, such and such; and the thing which has the power to destroy the body in order to have the body of the body, is its resistant.
Those who have seen this solvent which Avicenna interprets as Salt of the Wind, following the opinion of Hermes who says that the wind carries it in its belly, have admired the effects of this universal Spirit, that is to say the Spirit which is universally in the metallic kind for its conservation, and not for those of the other kinds, which have no affinity with each other, and much less this universal Spirit, which one can call the Universal of Universals which is God.
If any Grass has been found that has frozen Mercury into Metal; it is because of the dissolution of some metallic body made by the activity of the Salts which are found in the earth; whose dissolved part has vegetated with the juice of the Grass: for only Metal has the power to join Metal.
Something equally surprising happens to the animal genus, when its natural humidity is carried away by the Air outside or inside the Trees, from which are born worms, and even from the breath of Brutes in the trees. places where they withdraw, which attaches to the wood, according as the matter is more or less susceptible to the vapor which is exhaled, because the dense and tight wood is not so soon corrupted by some animal substance as the air in it. leads;thus Air is the messenger, which carries with it the aqueous vapor of the bodies, or the Balm of the southern wind, which makes the Zodiac of the signs roll by the alteration of the colors, according as they are more or less excited by Nature . or by Art, especially since by Nature the Animal movement is the strongest, and the vegetable exceeds the mineral, on the contrary by Art, the mineral is the most violent, the vegetable the weakest, and the animal the weakest. This is the difference between the three genera, in so far as they are supplied to Art or to Nature. Take for example something to which the Art has helped;because the greatest heat that nature can give is the weakest that Art can provoke: A stone reddened in the fire, can always be preserved such, as long as the Artist perseveres, but as soon as he is removed from the degrees artificial fire to follow those of Nature, Art will no longer have a place. All things made by Nature are also reborn by Nature, the Worms of the human body put into powder and swallowed, cause the other Worms to die, because of the heat and dryness only, which their bodies contracted to be made powder, but as soon as they are moistened,
It happens as much with all the Insects, to which Art has contributed nothing, because the Spirit is so linked to Matter because of the coldness, which cannot be lost, if this body is not annihilated. This is the reason why the Argent-Vive which is made by nature always resumes its being: which moved the curious Naturalises to extract them from the bodies, so that being born by art, they obey the Artist, knowing very well the lack of sufficiency of the common Mercury, which the Idiots boast of destroying, without thinking that if they took as much trouble to revive it as they took to mortify it, it would easily return to what it was before, unless they know it, noticing that the Serpents which twist together are adopted by art, to be continued in their species,
The vulgar Quicksilver is in no way different from the other bodies, except that this one is liquid with Air, and the other liquids with Fire. It is liquid to Air, because in its composition Water predominates in quantity, and it does not wet, because Earth predominates in quality, and because it has more water than all other bodies, it greatly blackens the things with which it is mixed, and as Water is continually moved by Air, it always becomes what it was by hot things, and is always congealed by cold things. like elemental water.
But the thing which made this Mercury is the dissolvent, the restless Air, the Cream of the Universe, and the Vehicle of the Soul of the World, which alone has the power to unmask Nature, and which knows the quintessence of metallic bodies, and those who say there is another, will find the opposite.
The Salts and Crystals of all Metals, are only calcined bodies, from which the metallic spirit which caused their fulgidity has withdrawn, and cannot give anything mercurial, if they are not reduced in that they were before, which was to be Sol, Moon, Saturn or Mars, And when they are reduced as they were, nothing can be done about them without liquefying them, so that the water of the matter which causes them to liquefy, may be moved and altered by air, or the spirit of compound by means of fire.
This liquefaction is not to reduce them to clear water like rainwater which becomes yellow, green or red, as happens in the dissolution that the ignorant do by their washings and etchings, which is as I said. , rather a calcination than a dissolution; but it is only to soften them, and to reduce them in matter of Quicksilver, that is to say that the body, however liquid it may be, were it more runny than rock water, must always retain its metallic sheen, no less than the common Quicksilver.
This is what the Mercury of the Philosophers does, and not the spirit of the Salts or of the destroyed bodies, which only volatilize a compound, which afterwards no longer has any affinity with the metal, because the spirit mercurial, or the metallic splendor is hidden under the poison of their atrames, which they say without corrosion to be sweet, not considering that the taste of sweetness comes as well from Salt, as acrimony and bitterness; for lack of knowing that this word corrosion does not mean anything other than what is contrary to the true naturalness of the manifest being of Metal.All the tinctures that they say they derive from their atrames are not the true tint of Metal, but only an alteration of corrosive Water, which according to whether it is more or less excited by the preparation of the overdominant Salts, corrodes and burns Bodies instead of moistening them; and the excess of this acrimony always appears under some color, which is the Demon of this seductive Art of the presumptuous, who believe that the blackness or the whiteness, caused by the foreign Water which holds a metal under the species of rubber or of oil , that is to say the true color of the alteration of the metal, not taking care that because there is nothing homogeneous, sooner or later the fire or the water will separate them.
What does not happen in the work of the Philosophers, because the dissolving water is impregnated with something more subtle than itself, which is the soul of the metal, as can be made clear by the common water that receives the heat from the fire. Also it is not a body dyed by the lamppost of the fire of our hearths, since all the tinctures that the imaginary ones call Sulphurs, are only a part of the body that the Philosophers throw away, as one would say to draw the tingent part of some matter which, after natural or artificial fusion, is as much a body as the body from which it was taken. It is true that fire brings out color, but it cannot separate it without a greater fire, which is that of the love of the Planets which is called the light of Fire.Gold has a Sulfur in it, and the seat of this Sulfur is the fire of the decoction, and although this Sulfur is very hot, it is nevertheless cold with regard to this Quicksilver; and yet this Mercury is the female for the generation of the Bodies, because it serves them as matrix, and as this matrix had only fire, it cannot contain anything other than qualities which cause the life of metallic Bodies, which is the effect of the life of fire.
chapter iii.
Of two alchemists who discuss their matter in the presence of Hermes, who explains the Emerald Table to them.
H.
Here is a collection of many beautiful things, if you hear them; And you gentlemen, what do you say? let's talk in turn.
K.
For me, Sir, I would have interrupted this speech a long time ago, had it not been for the respect I owe the Company. What good are so many words? it seems that you have to be a Sorcerer to do all this! why do we say that the truth is in wine? It is to teach us that we can draw the fund of knowledge from it. The Poets have represented it to us by the foaming Serpent, which devoured the Companions of Cadmus who killed it with a stroke of the Spear against a hollow in the Oak. Cadmus is the Artist, the Spear is the Forest which pierces the Hollow Oak, that is to say the Barrel, Also the Philosophers have painted bodies winding like the saps of Vine;and we find nothing else in their Books than Treatises on their vegetal Mercury or spirit of mercurial Wine. There are white and red Vines, some correspond to the Sun and others to the Moon: it is Abraham the Jew's own intention, he paints a King with a large Cutlass, who has soldiers kill in his presence a large number of little Children, whose Mothers cry at the feet of the pitiless Gendarmes, and the blood of these Children is collected by other Soldiers, and put in a large vessel, where the Sun and the Moon of the Sky come to bathe. This King, is he not the lord of a Land bearing a quantity of Vines?The Soldiers are the Workers who each have their trencher to cut the grapes or small Children, then don't other Gendarmes Workers take them to collect the blood from them at the press? And then don't we put it in barrels or vessels that give us Tartar, whose spirit of his Salt dissolves Gold and Silver? You see that one does not need so much finesse: this is the reason why the Poets have pretended that Midas, a coarse man, received from Bacchus the power to transmute all things into Gold. As for the Instruments, I am of the opinion of the Sages, I say they are of little value, all the operations I do can be done in the head of a pot and a mortar; two wicked pieces of meeting bricks, and a penny of coal suffice for my fire and stove.(Here's a good deal) And you my neighbor who are very rich, you nevertheless have more Furnaces than Pistoles: you need a year, and I only need three days of preparation, as Mary the Prophetess says, and twelve hours to cook and finish this Stone which made you say so many useless words.
X.
I said nothing but the truth, they told me.
Z.
Sir is not wrong in everything. He met a Cabalist the day of S. Louis passed, who told him that the Sulfur of the Philosophers is more common than the common, that there is nothing better known, and that the Peasant knows it, that it is everywhere, and nevertheless that there is only one subject in the World from which it can be entirely separated from Salt and Mercury: that a certain metallic Salt puts Mercury in a short time like that of the Metals. in Water, which can pass easily into spirit, that there is between the Metals, only one Metal which is Metal and not Metal, that one can destroy and actually separate the substances from it;that this Sulphur, instead of actually being Gold, it must not simply be matter and an indeterminate thing: on the contrary, Mercury, instead of being potentially, it must actually be; of matter there must be form, and from indeterminate it must be determined to the metallic species: that the Mercury of the Philosophers is more common than the vulgar Mercury, because it is Water, that it is simpler than common Water, because it is Element . If the Sulfur of Gold is actual it is a body, and if it is a body how to join a body with a body?since two forms cannot be joined together, neither two matters, nor a matter to a Body: in the same way one cannot join a form to a body, because it would have two forms: He also tells him that the destruction of Gold is impossible , because its Mercury cannot by any means be separated from its Sulphur, otherwise it would not be constant in fire and proof, that the general solvent cannot destroy Gold by any means, but only projective matter, and this by extension of the parts ; that common Gold has much of the virtue of philosophical Sulfur and substance, because it is very pure;that it has much Mercury, and little of the quick Spirit of Mercury: that the Quicksilver abounds in the substance of philosophical Sulfur, and has little of its virtue: that it has little of the substance of Mercury, and a great deal of virtue: that the General Agent is so powerful that he acts without fire in a few hours, like the thunderbolt which scorches the Sword in its scabbard, because he has such a subtle and celestial spirit: that the Sulfur of the Philosophers is dissolved in a moment, the longest is half an hour, it passes into clear water, which in three or four hours becomes white as milk, green as an Emerald, then black and red, and in this time takes various colors. It coagulates into cheese with an Iris around the vase,then turns into black ash, which takes on all the colors before becoming white and red, after the colors one draws from it in a certain way a white Water which must be put back on one's body, and finally a red Water, from which one does the same, which are the Imbibitions, they are done to shorten the time of the coction, and that this Agent does everything in a short time for individuals, that in the beginning the spirit of the Mercury of the Philosophers silvered, gilds and makes Peacock tail; this Stutterer assured him that he would see with his Agent the proof of what he told him.they are done to shorten the time of the coction, and that this Agent does everything in a short time for individuals, that in the beginning the spirit of the Mercury of the Philosophers silvers, gilds and makes the tail of Peacock; this Stutterer assured him that he would see with his Agent the proof of what he told him. they are done to shorten the time of the coction, and that this Agent does everything in a short time for individuals, that in the beginning the spirit of the Mercury of the Philosophers silvers, gilds and makes the tail of Peacock; this Stutterer assured him that he would see with his Agent the proof of what he told him.
X
He therefore had no reason (when we met him) to complain that he was burdened with miseries, stratified with misfortunes, charred with displeasures, volatilized with rage, concentrated and fixed with spite; on the contrary, he can imbibe others with his Wisdom, and freeze us with his Doctrine, since he is dissolved or loosed from the faeces of ignorance.
Z.
He is partly right in blaming your discourse, for in this Art, whoever fails in one thing fails in another; I am also not of your opinion in everything; I have something better than that. The Constellations teach us that it is necessary to conjoin the microcosmic Spirit with the macrocosmic encyclopaedically according to the chaotic Elements. The Spirit of my Microcosm makes me discern that of the Macrocosm by a magnetic, astral and magical virtue. The Rain of the Equinox serves me as an instrument, to bring out from the center of the earth the Flos Cœli or the universal Manna that I am going to gather to makeit corrupts, in order to miraculously separate from it a Water which is the true fountain of youth that dissolves Gold radically.
I do not do like those who pass through Antimony the Tin of ice, which they call their King, and reduce it to Water by the blood of the Wolf or Azinat butter made by means of sublimate ; I would be foolish to claim like them the leafy earth of the Philosophers.
Well sir, how about my Azot ?
H.
It is a very beautiful Azot; You do, you others, like certain Horoscope Drawers, who say so many things that some of them are true, although they cannot distinguish them if they are not shown them. We no longer study ourselves except to keep up appearances, it seems that the goal of Science is to surprise others; I have known people who have changed Matter, and true principle to find another which they did not know. The most sincere writings only serve to adorn the discourse;the Trimegist who is believed by common accord to be the chief of those who have possessed this Science, has left in a few words the general Theory of all that there is to Spaces, and to the Spaces of Spaces, as one can see in its tablet of Emerald which was found so difficult to hear, that very few people understood what it contains, This is true that what is below is similar to what is above; by this are acquired and wrought the wonders of one thing , namely, Nature which is one, so one ascending refers to one or the first descending, the highest Fire and the Lowest Earth, Air above Water, Water below Air, all this is only Nature; and its diversities are only to produce things according to its power: and as (he continues)all things are made by one and meditation of one, so all things are made of one, by conjunction , meaning: As all things are made of this unique Nature by the will of God, all species are also multiplied by one by conjunction, namely of male and female. He gives an example of it by speaking of metallic multiplication in this way: The Sun is its Father and the Moon its Mother, the Wind carries it in its womb and the Earth is its Nurse, the Mother of all perfection : it is to say , the Gold is the Father, and the flowing Silver the Mother, they cannot be joined without movement; one cannot move without agitating the Air, the agitated Air is the wind which serves them as a belly, adding that the Earth is its Nurse, to teach that they are two liquid things which cannot sustain themselves without a vessel of earthly firmness to contain them. Also a thing is imperfect if it does not support itself, that is why self-support is the symbol of perfection. He argues that her power is perfected and she is changed into earth , commanding to freeze liquid matter, and make it like Earth. From there he says: separate the Land of Fire, the subtle from the big and the thick with modesty and wisdom, which must be observed exactly in the coction, dividing the central Fire out of its own earth by the fire, that the subtle be disunited from the gross and the thick by the corruption of the Bodies, having the modesty not to be in too much of a hurry, and the wisdom to get there quickly enough; during which, it will ascend from Earth to Heaven, and descend from Heaven to Earth, and will receive the power of superior and inferior things, for the mixture sometimes rises partly to the top of the vessel, then it falls back to the bottom, thus the body receives the virtue and property of the fixed and the volatile. Finally he says: by this means you will have the glory of everything; reject darkness, all darkness and blindness. It is truly very glorious to have gone so far, all that remains is to make this material diaphanous, like a Diamond or like a Ruby by applying the necessary moisture, especially since in this way the force is multiplied: which is (as he concludes ) the force of forces, which overcomes all forces, and subtle things , as are violent diseases, and penetrates hard and solid things , namely the common Gold and Silver. In this way the World was made, and its admirable conjunctions and effects, and it is the way by which these marvels are made . It is also very surprising to see that a little powder converts so much Imperfect Metal. Can we speak better than that? Can we say more?In order to explain oneself too clearly, must one not be heard and considered obscure in order to be too open?
K.
Whipped cream all that! But the movement you talked about. Sir, am I not introducing it into the reincrudation by a very long decoction?
H.
No, really, since it is impossible to make a thing raw by cooking it: and moreover it is because Metal can only move in itself, namely in what is Metal; because to move in another, that is to say in what is not manifestly, like oils, waters, metallic butters, and everything that has the appearance of something else, like Elemental water, I say it cannot be.
X.
Sir, how do you know? have you experienced it? Certainly not, since I did the opposite. Here again is the hand which made a happy projection of the Gold which had been vivified by three substances, which I helped to separate from the Adamic earth, which a Turk showed me.
Z.
As for me, I have seen with a thousand others multiply the Antimony, calcining it with the Burning Mirror. We drew the rays of the Sun into clear Water, with a little ice. Besides this God would punish me if I revealed the secret of attracting the Roral vapor, honey-like, aurific, argentic, which gives us the narcotic Sulfur and the diaphoretic Mercury. I have been inexorable to those; who asked me how to bury the Glass Bells to have this Balsamic Water, on which the spirit of the Lord is carried, which rolls and turns in the vessel from Blue to Black, and from Black to Blue, as long as Water freezes in whiteness . Who would dare to say the miracles that I had done, if a Specter had not forbidden me to use it?Have you heard of the error of the Crystalline Stones that feed the Saturn Mine? My only advice has made the operation successful, adding to it the Spirit of urine, which the Philosophers have called the water of our Sea, because just as the great World has a Sea, the little World which is Man, likewise has a rendezvous of all the Waters which is his bladder full of salty liquor. It was a Satyr traveling in the Distant Regions who taught it to me in praise of the Macrocosm, of which he claimed to be the true copy. His reasons were so good that he seemed to speak some truth. He related one to the other, arguing that to look like the original, you had to participate analogically in just like him. I did not, however, take his urine,
K.
Consequently you are wrong, Sir: it is not today that I am also possessor of this Catholic remedy of Nepenthe from Helena and Moly from Homer, I even know a Man who with Spirit of common salt extracts saltpetre, binds all the metals by dissolution and digestion, and converts them into gold.
H.
Would you swear in favor of this Art of a pure love, of a true friendship, of a frank inclination and tenderness, prostrate before the Altar of sincerity, on pain of the present and future misery, that this had TRUE? Do you dare to assure what you have never done, and to resort to lies, to overcome my reasons?
Can you deny that the whole can move in another, then that if it moved in another, it would not be everything, everything that is necessary for metallic being? Is it not found in metallic Nature? His Sulfur extends into his own body, and cannot move into another, because it would cease to be what it is; if it extended into water, it would be changed into water, and would no more be worth it, if it does not extend there, the operation is false, and if it extends there, it is useless: should we be surprised that water gnaws and cuts Metal, since a chisel does it well, although we could not do it so subtly because of the weakness of our sight? If the smallest filings, which can be made of the largest mass of Gold, does not convert the Metal into Gold,it is very wrong to claim that the most subtle powder that can be made from the smallest filings converts it. You called the Sulfur or Soul tinctures, and you know that Soul is the occult thing of the compound that is seen; which being, if the tinctures which you draw from the bodies against the opinion of the Sages are visible, these tinctures (say I) and these Sulfurs are not Souls. The metallic soul is only what causes its splendor, for the grasses and the bricks are dyed, and do not make Metal.
K.
But, Sir, there are so many deceived ones, all the Authors say that the stone is made of such a base material that everyone has it.
H.
It is true that a grain of gold is much less valuable than an infinity of Mars which it produces for us.
K.
So here I am happy. Sir, I have a Gaulish manuscript, which devoutly teaches the preparation of Gold and others. Metals, he names the Salt of Saturn Nitre, the Salt of Mars common salt, that of Venus such as Alkali, that of Gold salt Albrot, Mercury salt Armoniac, the Moon Salt Gemstone salt, and that of Jupiter salt of Talc , ordering to mix the salts of the white Metals with the whites, and the citrin with the citrins to make Medicines for Gold and Silver.
H.
There are so many Books, which begin with: In the name of God my Son, take.
X.
What do their Works mean, animal, vegetable, and mineral?
H.
It is that they follow the Philosophers to the Letter, taking Blood or something else for the Animal, the Vine to do the vegetable work, and the Minerals for the mineral, not considering what the Sages call animal work, when the Soul or the natural Sulfur of Mercury act on its own body; which they call vegetable work, when this composition multiplies in quality and quantity, and mineral work because the whole proceeds from the mineral Spirit.
K.
Lord, how unhappy I am! so I will never make the stone?
H.
The time that we must all share equally is approaching.
Z.
You make us happy, sir, tell us when.
H.
What has been made of the Elements by the adorable Creator parttakes of their qualities, and when one of the qualities dominates, the distinction of compounds begins. However, despite their different figures, virtues and properties, they are both Creatures as well. The World is also a Creature, being therefore a Creature, and having nothing so conformable as a Creature to a Creature; one can with all fairness compare one Creature to another, and it is very certain that the virtue of being such and such a Creature, is when the thing always remains as it is, nothing therefore could come to an end, if there was no dissipation of any part of the compound, all compound is of Water and Earth, one is like the male and the other the female, and both in their interior have their seeds invisibly,namely, the effect of Air and the power of Fire, by which all corporeal things are made; the Earth is fixed, and the Water volatile, this is why, when a subject loses something of his, it is never only Water. We also see that all that is formed of the Elements is altered, lacking proper humidity: for the Water being moved becomes rarefied in the Air by means of fire. But it must be remarked, that whatever an Element be compelled to be rendered according to its Agent, it is not yet converted into it, unless the thing which extends is widened beyond its last latitude, to enter into the first of what contains it, which is naturally impossible. The Elements may subdue each other, but not convert them;otherwise all forms would be corruptible, and the Water that had once been taken up into the Air, would not have been able in falling to submerge the Earth, if it had been converted into Air.The Fire had acted for a long time to raise such a great quantity of Water, and even so abundantly, that after its fall the highest mountains were covered with it, the Water could not have fallen if it had been raised without the circular power of that which remained on the surface of the Earth causing the ordinary rains, when it is not carried there, and this Water apparently exceeded its first quantity, because of the extension of the radical humidity which does not is that a Water concentrated for the conservation of the Elementary Creatures by the movement, which consists of a continual extension, and having no longer any formal place to agree, remains idle, what we call dead.
All Creatures in their middle ages stand somewhere between the wet and the dry; Man becomes dry and decrepit, which we take as a sign of old age and the last sign of the natural end, as well as the other things. The World was likewise at the time of the Deluge, seeing that there was so much clean moisture changed under the appearance of water, and water under the likeness of Air: to this something happened. It is admirable that the wrath of God prolonged the primary being of the general, by shortening that of the particular, for the action of Fire being stopped by its power, the Earth again received its humidity, which having filled the pores became as vigorous as before.After which, there was like a new World, the Earth resumed in thirteen months twenty-two days, what two thousand one hundred and six years or so, had dissipated, and from there, before the central movement arrived once more at the stage where it was, had since as much to subsist without entering into account of old age because of its new force. Let us consider presently in ourselves, that this time has already passed, there are this year one thousand six hundred sixty eight thousand five hundred seventy eight years to take it only in the middle of the age of the World; so that naturally this whole machine cannot last beyond five hundred and twenty-eight years: one nevertheless finds by the course of the Stars that it will not end soon, another from another; who should we believe?We must consult the truth of it, because only its Oracles can explain it. has since had to subsist without taking into account old age because of his new strength. Let us consider presently in ourselves, that this time has already passed, there are this year one thousand six hundred sixty eight thousand five hundred seventy eight years to take it only in the middle of the age of the World; so that naturally this whole machine cannot last beyond five hundred and twenty-eight years: one nevertheless finds by the course of the Stars that it will not end soon, another from another; who should we believe? We must consult the truth of it, because only its Oracles can explain it.has since had to subsist without taking into account old age because of his new strength. Let us consider presently in ourselves, that this time has already passed, there are this year one thousand six hundred sixty eight thousand five hundred seventy eight years to take it only in the middle of the age of the World; so that naturally this whole machine cannot last beyond five hundred and twenty-eight years: one nevertheless finds by the course of the Stars that it will not end soon, another from another; who should we believe? We must consult the truth of it, because only its Oracles can explain it. there are this year one thousand six hundred sixty eight thousand five hundred seventy eight years to take it only in the middle of the age of the World;so that naturally this whole machine cannot last beyond five hundred and twenty-eight years: one nevertheless finds by the course of the Stars that it will not end soon, another from another; who should we believe? We must consult the truth of it, because only its Oracles can explain it. there are this year one thousand six hundred sixty eight thousand five hundred seventy eight years to take it only in the middle of the age of the World; so that naturally this whole machine cannot last beyond five hundred and twenty-eight years: one nevertheless finds by the course of the Stars that it will not end soon, another from another; who should we believe? We must consult the truth of it, because only its Oracles can explain it.
Listen, she said, I approve that heat is the cause of the evaporation of the humidity of any creature, heat comes from movement, the Sun and the Courtiers who are the other Stars, move and will move for this indeed, as long as there is enough to move, since even they were established for the lower things, but the bottom being exhausted, the quality existing by the matter, will be multiplied by the action of the bodies, and thus this which is now will no longer be, until you are all reasonable in conversation, otherwise if you give up a point which will be that of believing, the most ignorant in the world will triumph over you. For assurance of this, that reciprocally or grants you to be believed, you will then be able to put forward all imaginable things, and there will be no contradicting it.
H.
See, I beg you, on what the pride of Men is founded, they deceive themselves to deceive others, and glory in the caprice of some dreamer, Farewell, KentIUD, XaLIo, zCesIM.
K.
What Man is that?
X.
O amiable truth, who have given us the grace to speak to us through him, tell us his name for love of him, who is your servant.
v.
That is, Hermes;
Z.
Let's run after my friends, beg him to stop, let's hasten our pace, early, skilful, quickly, advance, follow me.
chapter iv.
The Alchemists force Hermes to stay, showing him their Laboratory.
H.
What, are you still following me?
KZ, X.
We will not leave you until death, do with us whatever you please; for since we know who you are, there is some assurance that you have not come late to go alone, give us each a catch of your quintessence of general chaos, so that the other four essences, which are the Elements, have the power to corrupt us, until the coming of Enoch and the universal Elijah. You who are the Elijah of the Artists, will contemplate it with us if you want, to obtain our last fate: we will never be delirious, nor will we wish for other riches.
X.
I am no longer desirous of Treasures, I no longer think of putting Armies in order, as I had proposed to do, when I would have this blessed Pierre.
Z.
And me, I put all my vessels under foot, I no longer want to use any other vehicle than my arms. O Sir, allow me to embrace you, and let my heart serve as a tabernacle in your image.
X.
The echo from the street will discover us, let us withdraw, the People are gathering.
K.
We are near my house, let's go there. He's right, let's step out of the crowd. Come in, come in Sir, let's get into my Laboratory, and pay the time to the breaking point.
H.
How many glass vessels!
K.
Really the Fire has broken many others for me.
H.
What is this diversity for?
K.
It was to perform all the operations that I had imagined according to your writings, here is a compound of believers, whose beak enters the bottom of the other, it serves to separate from matter the subtle spirit, which passing in the middle one leaves its phlegm, which is then thrown on the earth from which it came, to extract the Salt.
H.
What did you call it?
K.
Botum barbatum.
H.
God, what a name! and this one?
K.
One Hell, the other a Pelican.
H.
Too bad he's not alive, what do you call this one?
K.
A Cucurbite, that's the head that we call a screed, this one is a blind screed because it has no beak, the rest are suction cups, meeting vessels, philosophical eggs, balloons, thuines, and funnels for filtering.
H.
As for the others, it is useless for me to ask their names, I know them well.
K.
These are wrong and matrass.
H.
There are many.
K.
Have you ever used furnaces like these? Here are some to reverberate, others to distill, some to Fire of suppression, others to Fire of sand; here is a tripod for cooking in the sun, here is a furnace with a lamp, an Athanor, a Bain-Marie. I'm not talking to you about wheel fires, and degrees that I made in the past, here are still Furnaces for melting, for vitrifying, etc.
H.
What good are these pierced pots that fit into each other?
K.
It's going down.
H.
And those interlocking earth pipes?
K.
It is to sublimate Minerals. The rest are terrines, crucibles, etc.
Z.
I believe that the truth has deceived us, because if it was Hermes, he would not ask what the lesser Artist must have.
X.
Don't say a word, be patient, wait for the end.
H.
What's in those Boxes?
K.
It's for experimentation, in order to have some particular reality, while Pierre is cooking himself, I've always hoped for a little Bidet to bear the costs of the expenses during the time of the great work, that's what makes me happy. 'has worked in any case with red, with Tutia of Alexandria, Calamine, Verdet, Vitriol, Crystals of Venus and Mars, with red Precipitate, Sulphur, mineral Cinnabar, 'Emeril, Mineral Lead, and with Red Sulfur from Jupiter, Antimony, Orpiment, Realgar, Ocher, Ferette from Spain, Aes ustum, Mineral and Common Gold. The other Boxes and Papers are filled with Venus pickling drugs, namely Tin Lime, Sublime, Alum, Tartar, Arsenic, Saltpeter and Bismuth, etc. nothing of all this.
H.
What would you like to claim other than the thing, since you use each thing as it is? Again if you separated from a subject, the white from the red for the red, and the red from the white for the white, good things would happen after the fusion, since there would be no contrariety. You know that when the Sun and the Moon are conjoined, the night is dark.
K.
Lord, give some little example of this separation, for I have separated them by Waters, by Salts, it seems to me, and I have never seen anything good.
H.
which has the virtue of correcting spoiled Wines and stinking Waters. Etchings themselves also give very good smells by Art, if you sprinkle it on rye straw in a terrine, and then let it dry for some time in Summer to put it into powder, it will have a very sweet.
K.
Lord, I have volatility of Gold with Aqua regia by cohobing, and exposing it each night to the Air, and when it was paw, I put Water in it, as long as the everything was very weak, so I added Mercury to it which made my Gold rise in cream, which I collected and evaporated in oil to soak the Sulfur of Mars and Venus with it, I still made it with Spirit of Salt, another with the Spirit of Honey, I reduced the Saturn to oil, put the Moon in Gum by sublimation with Armoniac and Sublime, and all this in vain: then when I had wasted time, I started wanting to make big Diamonds, by amassing a lot of small ones.
H.
There is no great profit in changing Diamonds to Glass by melting.
K.
It is true that the fondant or the salts that melted them never wanted to be separated from them, so I lost everything.
H.
What's in those Vials in the Fire?
K.
Gold and Silver conjoined at the hour of Saturn and Mercury mixed between Mars and Venus on the day of Jupiter; I have amassed from time to time with a feather the soul of Gold, in the form of a red Powder which I have imbibed with its own radical humidity. Here is another which contains Gold dissolved by Silver Water; and this is the Spirit of the Sun and the Moon drawn by the animate Salt, which is done by dissolving common Salt in Water, and then pouring oil of Vitriol into it;the whole being filtered and evaporated into Salt, it must be melted in a Crucible, to which Gold is thrown, stirring it until it is in paste, which being put in the Air becomes oil, which It must be distilled, and after the distillation , mix it with Silver Water which must be extracted in the same way, except that instead of Common Salt, Saltpeter is used. That says it all, here they are cooking, the greenness appears. As for this one, I have seen wonders of it: it happened some time after dark, that one could see like moving little spider nets, from which a dragon with sparkling eyes was born, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me.Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. there they are cooking, the greenness appears. As for this one, I have seen wonders of it: it happened some time after dark, that one could see like moving little spider nets, from which a dragon with sparkling eyes was born, which became so big and so swollen that it burst;whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. there they are cooking, the greenness appears.As for this one, I have seen wonders of it: it happened some time after dark, that one could see like moving little spider nets, from which a dragon with sparkling eyes was born, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. greenness appears.As for this one, I have seen wonders of it: it happened some time after dark, that one could see like moving little spider nets, from which a dragon with sparkling eyes was born, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. greenness appears.As for this one, I have seen wonders of it: it happened some time after dark, that one could see like moving little spider nets, from which a dragon with sparkling eyes was born, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it.it happened some time after dark, which one saw as moving little spider nets, from which engendered a dragon with sparkling eyes, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it.it happened some time after dark, which one saw as moving little spider nets, from which engendered a dragon with sparkling eyes, which became so big and so swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it.from which sprang a dragon with sparkling eyes, which grew so large and swollen that it burst; whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. from which sprang a dragon with sparkling eyes, which grew so large and swollen that it burst;whereupon there was a noise in the ship like a trumpet, to which all those of the house came running with me. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees.Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it. Shortly afterwards as we gazed at the Vase attentively, it became azure, and above it appeared a Sun, a Moon with other stars, below a green, grassy ground filled with Trees. Next to it, there was a beautiful Fountain which spurted water abundantly, from which the Earth drank a little at a time, then everything disappeared. I do what will become of it; when it turns white, I will make a proof of it.
H.
Lies first adorned history a long time ago: couldn't you refrain from concealing the windy? I don't ask you all that, I want true things like the rest, although useless.
K.
You're right, sir, I was afraid that my comrades wouldn't consider me learned without telling them surprising things, but since the World will end soon, I don't want to lie any more. Metal can suffer Fire better than I, I will no longer blow up my ships as before, when I had made another conclusion according to the Authors, or when I had imagined some addition: I renounce the quarrels that I have often brought forth to take place of changing people, when they did not supply me enough.
X.
I know that the finest lesson one can give to a friend is to advise him not to lie.
Z.
As for me, I no longer want to water Onions of Flowers, nor the roots of grasses with soft solutions of Metals, so that having vegetated with their juice, they may freeze Mercury into Gold, if it be Gold, etc. which I disappointed and made so many people wander.
H.
May this good will always accompany you.
K.
Break us therefore something to pass this miserable life, because if we were rich we would not say to know everything to have Money, we would not sell the secrets which are still to seek; our Friends would not be Spagyric Doctors, and for counterfeit money, we would never talk about it.
H.
Should we have more bread than is necessary, and for superfluities, make us criminals before God and men? It is poor eating to feed on one's damnation.
K.
No digression, here is the Manuscript I spoke to you about earlier; at least explain it to me if you don't want me to say anything else.
H.
It is easier for me to teach the truth than to have someone who does not know tell it.
X.
I am therefore going to throw it into the Fire with this other, which is said to have been composed by a disciple of Artephius, surnamed le Saunier.
H.
The first part of our work greatly advances the one who possesses it, but in the second we do not use Salt.
K.
So there is something good?
H.
Nothing for everything.
K.
But who makes good Authors?
H.
Those who say that they have no other Sulfur than Water, no other Earth than Mercury, and no other Salt or Stone than the two spouses. Those also who teach to introduce into the Mercury a dry tincture, and then a liquid.
K.
It seems to me that there is something of that in the copy of the letters that were once written to Alexander. Here is another writing that contains this doctrine, or I am deceived, because it comes from a good old man who commanded the Demons.
H.
An Artisan whose trade requires many observations, has no need to write them down for himself when he makes them; and you want something that is written on the forehead of the smallest insect to be put there?
Z.
So what do the opponents do?
X.
They are not confronting, but they are people who study the Books, and each time put their thoughts on paper, then it happens that everything being written they come to die, so their successors have nothing else to inherit only imaginations, during which it is said that a Man of this sort knew the Philosopher's Stone. If we oppose that he was poor, we answer that he pretended to be so, for fear of being known, preferring his freedom to a captive life.
K.
For this one it is a writing which comes from a Man, who undoubtedly left it to his Woman six or seven bars of Gold, big and long like the arm, there is no mockery, I am an eyewitness.
H.
What is he talking about?
K.
Take your unit.
H.
Since it is enigmatic, you will immediately have taken the first printed Book that comes to your hand, provided that it is from a Philosopher, and not from a looter of Authors or a hoarder of receipts.
H.
But here is a recipe which comes from a holy Religious, whose life was irreproachable, I do not believe that he wanted to deceive.
X.
The Rosary is not deceptive, but it is used to deceive.
K.
Am I not talking to you?
H.
No quarrel: holla, what does this Monk use?
K.
He beats Gun Stones, and receives the fire from it in a bottle, which he calls his Sulfur, then puts it to cook, he still teaches how to make a philosophical fire, among other things an oil of Sulfur and Mars which is always hot , then another of crushed charcoal, mixed with two parts of earth, by means of a little water to put it into balls or balls, which being dry burn and heat greatly. He also makes a fire of brandy and loam. One finds there the manner of making a potential Fire with flour, or barks of shrubs, then it teaches to make incombustible oils to put in lamps.
H.
How can they be incombustible, since they are combustible?
Z.
By circulation and relapse of the oil which has risen.
K.
He still teaches admirable secrets for Medicine according to the writings of the Philosophers, who say that Nature rejoices in her Nature; that Nature improves in its Nature, and that Nature overcomes the ordinary effects of Nature. The heart of an old Raven serves against dropsy, the brain of an Owl against melancholy, the blood of snails against quartan fever, and the skin of a Lizard against taste, some out of sympathy, others out of antipathy. . This is the rare thing I have, which has hitherto been the treasure of my hopes, and I now know that these are follies. O that Man is chimerical. I confess that the first day I embarked on this perilous Sea, I thought I knew enough to brave the greatest and most learned, I could not fail, it seemed to me, but it was to fail:
Z.
Our Father, you can deliver us from evil, command, you will be obeyed, we are ready to do whatever you want, trust us, as people who have just stripped themselves of all vice.
X.
Make us work, and don't worry about the rest: a man like you know hearts well, if I cheated on someone, I was the first myself, you can't blame me like the others. that my first material was Money.
K.
Let us not do as those who do things without bodily interest, to better establish that of the Spirit. What should be done? what material do you like?
H.
Do you have some Cup Gold?
K.
No.
H.
So melt some lead, and then when it is very red, throw a quarter of a grain of this powder on three pounds, wrapped in a little wax.
K.
Alas! Sir, the Crucible is pierced from below, I believe Matter is flowing.
H.
Don't you know that to be transmuted into Gold, eight parts in size, it must contract, and appetize more than five?
K.
I thought it would have made a noise, as those who saw the screening say: Ah! the cheats, that they come to tell me henceforth that they have seen a weight projected on a thousand, on a hundred, etc. Can't we project on Metal in another way?
H.
Yes, when the powder is too strong, a grain of it is left to soak in a pint of water for the space of two or three minutes, then it is withdrawn without being reduced, or if it is, it is incomprehensible because of its small quantity, like a grain of Musk which gives its odor in a whole Room without one noticing the reduction, so this grain can always be used again and be put back in new water when it has had its effect , which is to dissolve the Bodies that one puts there, to separate from it the terrestrial Sulphur, which it pushes to the surface in the form of foam until the pure remains at the bottom, which it is necessary to put back in body.
We still use this Stone, when it is in oil, which is done by giving it its own humidity, so long as it can no longer be frozen, then we heat some pot or cauldron, however large it may be, then you put a drop of it with a little glass button, and it immediately spreads everywhere.
When our Medicine is not melting enough, and we don't have time to moisten it, we sublimate it with Volatile Minerals, then we use it.
We can also correct the Miners, by throwing some into the Waters around them.
We sometimes make it so penetrating that it transmutes Quicksilver into Gold in the palm of the hand, but when it is not penetrating or multiplied enough, we use the perfect Sulfurs which are found in the Metals, which we come to the end of by melting Copper, Iron and Lead together, then throwing a grain of Powder on it, and thus the Medicine is multiplied in virtue.
The Philosophers still amuse themselves by showing realities by the mixture of Metals, one weight out of twelve, out of three, out of four, out of two, etc. both white and red; insinuating a little of their Powder which they secretly hold at the end of their finger, with which they rub in advance some piece of Metal or Quicksilver, then when the Artists come to cement, calcine and melt them, they find that they have beautiful Gold or Silver, which they presume to do yet other times, starting over the operation, during which the Author being no longer there, they work in vain. This is not done to deceive, but to show presumptuous ignoramuses that the metallic transformation is real.
K.
Sir, shall I remove the Crucible from the fire?
H.
Yes, for.
X.
O beautiful Gold! it is more than twenty-three carats.
H.
Cut a dram out of it and divide the rest among yourselves.
Z.
That's done; what should be done?
H.
Make this big one weigh nothing more by means of the C and mix it with two parts of L, or A. C, then dissolve it in water putting there PM a fourth part of all the solution which will evaporate, then put the whole in fire, and it will be transmuted. After which you mix one part with four of Quicksilver extracted from red Nitre, if you want to finish in seven months: or with six parts, if you want to finish in nine; or with ten if you want to finish in twelve: because the more humid you put, the longer it will take to dry everything by fire: First, the Water passes through the natural pores of the grain, and the spirit whoever finds himself there being more free there, because it is liquid, than in a dry body, wants to fly away from it;but as Water is by its means extended from all its parts, it flees it, and of the two is made a mean body which seems to swell,
Remember to moisten it when it is dry, and to dry it when it is too moist by means of the dry, which can generate heat, and be adapted by apposition.
K.
These are beautiful things, let's see if I remember them correctly. We have taken the Mercury of Quicksilver, the Moon of Silver and the Sun of Gold, by affixing to the Volatile a fixed body, so that it is similar to the fixed: And before conjoining black with the white, we bleached it first.
Z.
Would you believe that something so easy was so hard to find?
X.
Isn't it almost like I said?
H.
Tell everyone your feelings by Parables, and give them to the Public.
XZK
Begin then the first, so we have nothing to do, while our Matter cooks.
FIRST PARABLE
of the Great Work.
H.
When I was in the Province of Pentapolis, located between Arabia and Palestine, where I had gone to see the remains of such a beautiful Country, which once was more plentiful than that of Promission, and would still be so, had it not been for the horrible sin of the inhabitants of some of these Cities, I wandered this way and that to find some Water which was not infected with their abyss, to supply my thirst, during which time II saw some Apples, whose attractive beauty promised me the help of their juice, but when I had bitten into them, I found them full of smoky Powder which they still hold from the curse of the soil, from which the wrath of God once banishes substances with a full conflagration.
As this violent alteration pressed me more and more, I noticed a height where I had climbed, like a small Being reflecting the face of a Woman with long hair, who pleasantly changed her place from time to time. I was a long time contemplating if it was not a swimming figure, and I would have believed it, if the tranquility of the water had not undeceived me. Being on the edge of this pond, I always saw the same thing except that it seemed more beautiful than from afar; a fear overtook my curiosity, and the confidence I had in my happiness made me look around for the original of this amiable Image. After my pain had put me beyond hope of satisfaction, I bent down and drank some Water which was very good. As soon as I took it,the eyes of my intellect were opened; for I saw, turning back to myself, the subject of this beautiful portrait which the Air had represented in the Water. She warned my civilities showing me a very small animal partly similar to a Man, which had the legs and the feet as many times larger than the head, that there were different things in the World. He is a bastard of Saturn, she tells me, an abortion of Venus, when he fights against Mars, he has no other help than the humidity frozen by the earth;in the meantime Vulcan sends a star to help, and Mercury separates him by the prayer of Venus who, with a little dregs of the Sea, disguises him as water to hide Mars from his fury, then this Water is put with the frozen water, until the heat of the Sun takes them both away, and the Moon makes them travel friends by dint of walking, then we have Phoebus stretched out by Pallas, and when he is whitened, we separate him from his superfluities, by rubbing him with the oil of fire, so that the snow cannot hurt him, until the rising Sun. XaLIo, speak your turn?
Z.
Let it be me, sir.
H.
So say.
SECOND PARABLE.
Z.
I used to be in great pain because it was said that the Sun was no longer elevated according to the degrees marked by the writings of the ancient Astrologers, since the moderns found it much lower than them; but presently I know that it proceeds from the abundance of Water which is rarefied in the Air, as Hermes taught me. And experience shows that Bodies appear larger in Water than elsewhere; the Sun being on our horizon, seems to us much larger than when it is at our Zenith, this proceeds from the coarse humidity, and from the Earth which takes it away from us by half its size.
If one no longer measured a luminous Body as a dark one, which does not help to be seen; if we made the penultimate of seven descending, be that of the middle, ascending and shifting; since it was made that the penultimate going up was the third going down: we would be undeceived by those who say that the Sun is larger than the Earth and by many other things, because we would easily arrive at the beginning of the fourth which is the middle, where one would find that half of the composition must really be on mercurial metallic principles, and the rest is imaginary.
X.
That was too clear.
H.
And you XaLIo, also say a few words.
THIRD PARABLE.
X.
The Zodiac is divided into twelve figs, the first four corresponds to the Plants; the four others to the Animals, and the last four to the Minerals: and according to the order of the Elements, there is always found a sign of Earth after one of Fire, and a house of Water after one of Air; but whoever wants to make this circle square, let him do it after the first five.
Let this teach you to know Water, because since all generations are made by extension of parts; consider how much it must be squeezed, being still near the center of the Earth, since Gold is so hot.
H.
It is very well spoken for those who know Nature.
K.
How to discover what it hides, if one has neither money nor credit?
Z.
It would be necessary to add some special procedure to help poor Artists, so that they could employ themselves without any other care than to study continually, and by this means arrive at the desired end, as well as those, who can give something to their amusement.
X.
It would be good if our writings, being divulged, should only come into the hands of people, who have already almost ended their days turning the foul coals of the smoke of an infinity of drugs which they have sacrificed to the Air, or of those who have ruined themselves for having been of the sentiment of the Imaginaries: On the contrary, the foolish flatterers of the ignorant, who have always despised and decried this divine Work, would consider our liberalities, only according to the lucre which can come from them , to make the beautiful and the brave. I don't care about the secret, said a Badin to me one of these Days, just make me Gold and Silver, we'll get on well. As if the Man who has become wise for having left superfluities, made a great deal of going mad, by the seduction of a fool.
Hermes concluded, as I was tired of listening, that the weakness of the simple often caused more harm than the malignity of the wicked . However, I left the Alchemists, supposedly reformed, cooking their Stone, to tell you about it, when it is finished.
END