Coelum philosophorum seu de secretis naturae liber

The heaven of philosophers
Where the secrets of nature are contained,

and how man can maintain health and live long,
composed by Philippe Ulstade,
extract from the books of Arnauld de Villeneuve, the great Albert, Raymond Lulle, Jehan de la Roche trench, & several other good authors,
again translated from Latin into French, to which book the figures were added,
to give more understanding, with the table of what is contained in said book.
With Privilege of the King.
1550

Preface.

No one is unaware that several of the ancient authors wrote beautiful volumes of the quintessence of potable gold, also useful waters for the conservation and health of the human body, with the help of God who is the true author of all things, and without which nothing can be done, which the moderns have similarly followed. But seeing in me that their description has been undermined & obtruded, & so obscurely deduced, that rather diligent inquisitors may have erred in the reading of this art, that no fruit & profit could have taught promptly. This knowing I could not refrain from the labor of my pen, & from giving any more certain reason & institution, which the practice & rhetoric of this art can contain, by which mode observed, we could very easily go to the effect of us intended and which we have therefore made this book for the usefulness and benefit of everyone, however brief and succinct it may be to all studious of this art, and redundant with delight, seeing that it is thus a depository of new & ancient medicines, & also rightly so that it was collected from people of great knowledge, like Jehan de la Roche Trenche, Raymond Lulle, Arnauld de Villeneuve, & the great Albert, scrutinizers & inquisitors of this art, & secrets of nature both philosophical and medicinal, & Alchemical, & this cause noble readers beg you to accept this little work, defending it from the language of the envious and ill-spoken. In doing so you will make it known that it was neither made nor described for glory & science, but for the convenience of all those who desire the health of their bodies, & aspire to prolong their life, & know the profit & utility of it water of life & drinkable gold & quintessence, which is something worthy of great praise & memory.

General canon.

The strength & virtues of the stars that we call philosophers in Heaven, of whatever complexion, nature or property it may be, attracts them very perfectly to oneself, as testified by Master Raymond Lulle, Arnauld de Villeneuve, & Jehan de la Roche trench.

Contents.

General canon. 2
Table of Contents. 3
Introduction. 5
The first story. 6
How quintessence can be extracted by distillation. Chapter 2 7
How the harsh matter less obedient to distillation must be putrefied. Chap 3. 10
How we can know if wine, well putrefied by circulation, is good for distillation. Chapter 4. 13
How to distill circularly. Chapter 5. 15
On the difference in circulation and digestion Chap. 6. 16
Of the manner of extracting and extracting quintessence without any labor and expense. Chap. 7. 17
Of the easy way of circulatory distillation & of drawing quintessence without fire. Chapter 8. 19
From how to draw the quintessence of the four elements, to resolving in it the sun for potable gold. Chapter 9. 20
The way how the quintessence is made to resolve the Sun, for tinctures & colors. Chapter 10. 22
On the manner of drawing and extracting quintessence, which can be resolved into gold to make potable gold. Chapter 11. 31
How to extract the quintessence of honey which enters into potable gold. Chapter 12. 32
How to extract the quintessence from the herb of celandine. Chapter 13. 34
On how to get the quintessence from flowers, herbs & roots. Chapter 16. 40
On the manner of drawing & extracting the quintessence of antimony. Chapter 17. 42
On how to draw the quintessence of the sun. Chapter 18. 43
On the manner of distillation by descent. Chapter 19. 45
Of the manner of closing the seal or signet of Hermes. Chapter 20. 48
On the manner of distilling vinegar & urine from home, in which things all calcined metals can be resolved. Chapter 21. 49
Of the manner of distilling Honey, which becomes potable gold. Chapter 22. 50
Common drinking gold. Chapter 23. 51
Drinking gold without strong water. Chapter 24. 54
Potable gold without strong water or earth. Chapter 25. 57
Potable gold with aromatic species. Chapter 26. 61
Potable gold made & taken from flowers, which are cordial. Chapter 27. 62
Of the drinking gold of the quintessence by the Philosophers' stone. Chapter 28. 64
Drinking gold with honey. Chapter 29. 68
Drinking gold, gold alone, & water of life. Chapter 30. 68
Drinking gold with arenas. Chapter 31. 68
Drinking gold with Greek wine or Malvasia or similar things, & aromatic species. Chapter 32. 71
Of another excellent drinking gold. Chapter 33. 72
Drinking gold profitable for paralysis. Chapter 35. 74
Of another potable & good gold. Chapter 36. 76
Of another potable gold with strong water. Chapter 37. 76
Of another potable gold. Chapter 38. 77
Volatile drinking gold. Chapter 39. 79
Of another potable gold. Chapter 40. 79
Of another potable gold. 41. 79
Vegetable drinking gold. Chapter 42. 80
Of the last potable gold. Chapter 43. 82
Water of life composed for men of weak complexion. Chapter 44. 83
Of the water of life composed of the emperor Frederick the third. Chapter 45. 85
Of another compound brandy. Chapter 46. 85
Other compound brandy. Chapter 47. 86
Composed water of life. Chapter 48. 87
Of another compound brandy. Chapter 49. 87
Of another brandy which was not used against Palatine. Chapter 50. 87
Of another precious compound brandy. Chapter 51. 88
Of another species of good & composed brandy. Chapter 52. 90
Of another composed life. Chapter 53. 91
Of another compound brandy. Chapter 54. 91
Of another compound water of life, which causes paralysis & advertine & headache. Chapter 55. 92
Of another composed water of life, greatly precious. Chapter 56. 92
Of another compound water of life more precious than all others. Chapter 57. 93
Conclusion of the Book. 97

The Heaven of the Philosophers, Or SECRET OF NATURE

composed by Philippe Vista, a very necessary book for studious people & LOVERS of GOOD letters, both Doctors, surgeons, Apothecaries, & all people who wish to keep & maintain the health of their bodies, & live at length.

Introduction.

Therefore, we must first know what the quintessence of each matter is, and when this is known, other things will appear more easily to the light. Because as Cicero says, any instruction that is given about a thing must be done by definition, so that we understand what we want to deal with. Know then that the quintessence is the fifth of each thing, which forms a kind of very subtle body, which we extract from the four elements by the very subtle, and final, distillation, which will teach us. Furthermore, let no one be surprised if this art has been unknown to men for a long time, because several ancient philosophers have worked in this matter, that if through this art they nourish the life of men by sustaining and lengthening it, and deferring the death term of nature, without however prolonging the duration of life beyond nature, by our established lord god, which is however easy to promise to men who are vain, what Saint Paul says that everyone is ordered to die once . By which thus it is strange of nature to preserve forever by any corruptible medicine the life of man but thus to keep it at all ages, without being injured by next medicine of corruption is powerful nature, which thing if that it is very well made, the quintessence is very good antidote, want that it is not any elementary thing, But like no soul from its body separated in such a way, that in it does not remain any cold or hot quality, wet or dry which have in them the four elements and all other things mixed: by which it is greatly made that the fifth being is close to incorruptible nature, in such a strong way that everything which is necessary to it is in no way incorruptible: because it confers & restores all the forces through the excrement or purgation of the elements removed from man & is the spirit of life because it digests all indistible things, & cuts off all the superfluous qualities, preserves the flesh of corruption, comforts the elemated things, restores early youth, quickens the spirit, hardens soft things; the hard softens, the species rarifies, thickens the tender, fattens the lean, attenuates the fatty, cools the hot, the cold inflames, dries out the damp & moistens the parched & repels any complexion which is to the contrary.

By which it extinguishes inconvenient things, superfluous humors, and dampens natural heat, so much so that no thing has ever been found by the greatest philosophers more suitable for the sustenance of life, although this quintessence sometimes has the complexion of the thing which is added to it, because it draws the complexion of every complexed thing, to which it is added, however if it is alone of itself, it has in it totally no complexion of the four qualities, not of the air also Know quarterly, & for the last, that such quintessence also has nothing of the earthly element, cold or dry, because it cures melancholic illnesses, which are cold. To conclude, then, you see it being neither hot nor cold, dry nor humid, for what it is of a temperate nature, exceeding all the elements which act under the sky: for when it is administered to someone, it makes that temperate body does not escape from its temperance, taking on qualities or complexions, and also does not escape until it is medicine for the cold; diseases, because it is of a warm nature, and also because it cures lime diseases, because it is of a cold nature, because two opposites cannot be in a body, because one is the opposite of the another is expelled and expelled by him. And yet we see that it must not be called hot or cold, neither dry nor humid, from which thing it cures consumption, which is wet and cold. But all these four qualities are in them corrupted and totally removed, and although it is not an element, it is nevertheless a thing tempered by these elements purified, and extracted from the filth and dregs of the four elements, which are the very cause of corruption. These sludge & lees are therefore separated, like large bodies, but very large freed from their matter, like from the very subtle soul, by the art & science of distillations. And nevertheless, let quintessence be a common word, of all things which have form and species, to draw it from that thing, and also let this be understood, even of wine, however several other matters are, from which that quintessence can be drawn, like all metals, all fruits, flesh of eggs, roots, herbs, & other things, like juices & broths, as we teach: however the fifth being excels all other things, for its very great subtlety, & yet has it been called by several philosophers, the philosophical sky. For what reason has the sky with the four elements, such has this sky of philosophers, which we call the quintessence, with the four qualities of the human body, which is composed of these elements. It is also called by some fiery water, because it is burned with fire, when it is carried out to perfection and extreme distillation, leaving no superfluous humidity, in this vessel, as we show the way of knowing it, by some others is called the soul of wine, because just as this soul is nobler than its body, so too is the quintessence, which is drawn & extracted by true distillation, more noble than the wine from which it is drawn. Others call it water of life, because it preserves human life from corruption as we see in those who have fainting and heart failure. And because it is variably drawn we will speak first of the first way of extracting the water of life into distillate, being depicted here the shape of the oven.

The first story.

How quintessence can be extracted by distillation. Chapter 2

Having therefore known that it is quintessence, and what it is used for, or for what purpose it was invented: it is necessary to know and is to be confederated, by how much, and by what ways, can this quintessence be drawn and from which things. But as for what it is extracted from moist, dry, hot, and cold things, we will tell the first how it is extracted from moist things, like this wine which is in this way. Take a very good red wine, a little declining in sweetness, which is in no way mixed or sophisticated, but is true and natural, not too new, not too recent, too old too, but from the tempered season, and if you cannot to have red wine, take very good white wine, in such quantity as you wish, and put it in such a vessel to be distilled, as here you see figuratively full of only two parts.

Then after the still with the spout, be placed on it as it is shown here, so that the spout enters the upper part of the receptacle. And let all these things be well mixed together with good wisdom, made of wet paper or flour & egg albin mix together until the thickness of honey. This can thus be done according to Raymond Lulle with frankincense or modified mastic, or with quicklime incorporated with eggs and with which the three vessels are joined together, and well lubricated so that the animal and vegetable virtue which we commonly call spirit of the The material that we want to distill does not evaporate and lose itself as it appears from the figure shown here.

The Figure of the Arcane Tripod

Then we will colloquiate it continuing in a vessel having several holes and openings which we call the arcane tripe, made in this way Either then after put the tripe on the oven, having a large boiler & ample, sealed & walled, in the shape of marine bath, half full of water or two thirds: or be put in the oven commonly called accidie: which one could say laziness oven, for the reason that it does not move from one place, from which the glass form to the end of this chapter. To begin with, you will make a slow fire under the said cauldron, little by little, always increasing it, little by little, and when the container is lukewarm you will no longer increase the fire: but in this way, you will always continue it, as much as possible. It will be possible for you by putting nature there, which, as Gallienus and Lullius say, cannot tolerate any violent thing, without the corruption of its first being. For according to Avicenna, four degrees of heat are according to the four first complexions or qualities, of which the first is to be lukewarm, like lukewarm water, so heated that no member put in it can be burned, the second degree, is to be hot so much, that no member put in it can endure it in said hot water, without any injury the third degree is to be hot, so much that the member put in this water can be injured, in it by the heat of the boiling. The quarter degree is so vehement that the heat in any way cannot be tolerated: because it exceeds too much, and is this degree called boiling, or boiling, some call the Fez of the first degree, the fire of the bath but the fire of the second degree is the fire of ashes.

The third degree is said to be burning fire, and the quarter is of no value, according to other artists, the bath fire is in the first degree, the fire of ashes is in the second degree, the fire of the arena and sand is in the third degree , but if it were necessary to carry out a quarter-degree fire, which is not often done, instead of the arena put iron filings, and the fire will be very hot and fervent, and then the continent of the vessel must be littered from all parts of clay, as is done in the distillation of strong water, so that the said vessel does not rupture and break by too great heat: for iron filings redden like flaming coal, and by these four degrees you will be able to govern your fire very well and profitably: because according to Avicenna, otherwise could not be done, except with great labor: as for this, I would like him who is a diligent follower of this art of distilling, to note well the mysteries and known that in each and every distillation the fire must never be increased, up to a quarter degree: because the fire would be more violent than the nature of the material to be distilled could tolerate: and consequently this nature could be violated by too much great and violent heat, and for this cause, this fourth degree is rejected by all artists, and yet there are no apothecaries, and others of this kind, to whom without merit is permitted the power to distill, as so be it the office philosophers and doctors, who are investigators and inquisitors of nature and its secrets: for nature has been so ordered by the most good and sovereign God that it cannot suffer anything vehement without being corrupted, as can be proven by several opinions philosophers, by which I pray and advise lovers of this art, that they do not interfere in this noble art, given by the providence of God for the preservation of human life, except that they have perfect knowledge of these four degrees of heat, and knowing how to temper them by fire, as must be done by all things. And yet in the first distillation is the fire to be made with soft coals and light, or very dry wood: until the end of the third degree of heat, so much so that the bath boils almost the second distillation you will go down making the fire, and you will move it by the third part of a degree, or by two thirds, and almost to a degree, that it is almost diminished to the second degree: but in the third distillation, you will always descend thus from degree to degree, in diminishing the fire, until it is reduced to the second degree, and to the third part of a degree: but in the fourth be diminished to the second degree, you will thus descend to the fifth, that the fire be of a degree, and two thirds of a degree, in the sixth part decreases so that it is reduced to the first degree with a third: but in the seventh and last distillation the fire is thus to raise and soften that it be taken to the first degree of heat, which is tepidity, and furthermore no more will come down. And note that each degree of heat at three intervals, namely, the beginning, the middle and the end, furthermore is this to be understood, why the degrees of heat are thus always diminishing, it is with reason that in the first distillation the matter is very large in such a way that it cannot easily obey the distillation, for the impurity and raw substance: and by this it is not similar to the other following distillations, it is to namely the second or the third, and others which follow, and for this reason in the first distillation, the fire is to be raised by one degree to the third, so much so that it touches the last part of the third degree, and is the bath very hot, however it must not boil in the second distillation, open must be more tender: because by the first, the size of the matter is in no way attenuated: and yet the fire does not have to be so big, and in the third be done more subtly, and thus always descending little by little each tender and attenuated distillation, because in the way that we have already often said, if you strained this substance too much, which must be distilled, such nature would be corrupted: because Galen says and Aristotle also says that nature is incompatible with more vehement movement. By which look as diligently as you can, and all the forces must prepare you to temper the degrees of heat, and do not need to do this: because there consists and lies the true art of all distillations: by which we want to declare all the substance of the matter, declaring it openly, and we are seen to have intermingled the honey with the bitterness and the wormwood.

How the harsh material less obedient to distillation must be putrefied. Chap 3.

We must consider diligently and with perfect industry, what substance is the matter we want to direct: that is, hard or soft substance, large or subtle, and by what art it can be digested or putrefied, so that 'it obeys more to distillation, and that the pure can be divided and be apart from the impure, the gross from the subtle, and on the contrary, something therefore whatever, from which you want to draw the quintessence of distillation: firstly and above all things, be putrefied and digested by two months in natural horse manure without adding anything that increases its heat, and again, between the first and the second distillation by a month, between the second and the third in three weeks, between the third and the fourth, in fifteen days, between the fourth and the fifth, in eight days: between the fifth and the sixth, in four days, between the sixth and the seventh, in two days. And know that the manure must always be of the same heat: because if the heat failed there, the circulation of water and movement would be corrupted, and consequently such matter which had to be redigested into the fifth essence, would be separated into the heat of the sky, which thing you will be able to see in the diametrical line, which motto that quintessence which is the upper part of its sludge, feces, and dregs, which is the lower part, you will note these degrees of digestion and purification must be thus attributed to their matter, that it has been narrated above the degrees of heat, for this as need is of longer putrefaction before the distillation, that after and being made the first distillation, this matter no longer contains in it so much of size, and is more apt and suitable to make the quintessence, than before: and for this reason after the first distillation, the putrefaction must be done in a shorter time than before, because the matter is already made more subtle and worlded of its sludge and lees, than before: and yet, not without cause as necessary as seven distillations.

The manner of digestion according to the opinions of philosophers is taught in this fashion, who wants such a perfect work, facing a pit five feet deep, two feet wide, or a foot more, in such shape, the said pit be made in a very stripped, as in a cellar or cellar: and it being made, be immediately made a bed in the bottom of quicklime, half a foot thick: on which bed be made another, horse manure which is not rotten nor recent, on which you will place the vessel, in which is the matter to ferment, and around the vessel, be placed on all sides of it, until the pit is ample: this done, wet the sediment with lukewarm water, according to the size and quantity of the pit, until the heat around the vessel where the material is is known, which thing is commonly done in the space of half an hour, and if not done in half an hour, either spread lukewarm water over it, and either this is done three or four times a week, so that the lime and old manure are always removed and new beds are made, as above and said. And this fashion must be kept in all things, which you wish to distil, and for this reason digestion is made, to the end that lightly and gently without any vehement movement of nature, by action and mutation the gross matter is more subtle, and distillation obeys: but digestive things are variably ordered, the four degrees of heat so that in the first there is more to open than in the second, than in the third, only in the fourth , nor also others, as was said before the heating of the bath. And yet it is necessary to open more temperament in the second digestion, and the bed of hot is less tender, and the bed of manure above it higher than in the first. And thus and further you will proceed until the last distillation, in which the bed should not be made of lime, but of manure only. Digestion can also be done by placing your vessel with the material to be digested at no time in the sun on scorching days, or can also be placed such material to be digested in its flask, or as on the oven or furnace no, at the time of winter no putrefaction can also be done to the steel mirror, so that the matter to be digested is placed in the sun between this mirror and the sun, so that the rays of the sun reverberate on this vessel and thus heat it and make the digestion mainly on scorching days, or immediately in a vessel full of sand, which will heat little by little with lukewarm water, or put it in a sea bath, which can be done in two ways, one is that we have a cauldron at the neck of the furnace, so that the fire is not underneath: because by the too great heat of this fire, nature would be more corrupted than it would be justified. The other way will be that we must put the vessel in summer, in which is the matter to be digested in the heap of cheeses, so that the bottom of the circulatory is totally buried, and that the Sun reflects on its extremity, and in this you will see admirable digestion. Seventhly and finally this matter can be digested and putrefied in the month of October into a vinacea, that is to say into a marc of wine, because also it has no heat by accident, like that of horse manure, and it is this when the grapes are expressed, and is also a marvelous operation, when the circulatory vessels are buried in such vinacea. And nevertheless that many do not put otherwise seven forms of digestion, Isodorus however speaking of juniper, says that if the coals of this tree are put in the ashes, by covering them very well the fire can be kept there throughout the year without going out, and in this ash can also be made very good digestion, and these things sufficient to make putrefaction and digestion of all things.

How can we know if wine, well putrefied by circulation, is good for distillation? Chapter 4.

The wine thus digested seven times as above has been said, can be known in this way if it will be good for distillation, take a small cloth, and wet it with the digested wine, and then be lit with a candle , and if the wine is burned without injury and combustion of the linen it is not rectified, but is bray sign, and indication that no aqueous substance, that is to say water is still remained in it, and yet always It is necessary to be diligent so that it is digested so many times, and for so long, that it can be tested. No one says that it is necessary to add sugar, and if this material is well rectified the sugar with the wine will be completely burned, you will therefore note that the wine thus digested cannot yet be called quintessence, but is only the subject of quintessence. . And when a sheet of linen is burned with it, and it will completely lose all horrible sharp and sulphurous flavor, so that it seems almost sweet to the one who tastes it, and nothing remains, of the smokiness in such adustion , then you will be able to call it the quintessence: but these are insensible things, and which have no flavor it is necessary to consider the smoke as in gold and silver, and other metals and precious stones, from which the essence is sometimes taken. quintessence which enters into drinking gold. The vessels of circulatory distillation are diverse according to various authors, who have shown them, none are who thus prepare the vessels, he applies the screed without a spout, which is called a stuffed screed, on the vessels containing, at the top said screed, or is a small sluice, through which the material is put in, or extracted when it must be distilled, circularly and is blocked with a small portion of glass, made clean, so that each one is well closed, so that the matter cannot come out or breathe, closure can also be made of silver in this way, provided that the hole is completely sealed, and is the vessel called pelican, of which such is the shape, the others are this vessel equal in any part, ample at the bottom as well as at the neck, of which here is the form. None also bind and connect two vessels having their yokes with the spout together, so much so that the spout of it enters into the sale of the other, from which follows the shape, and can be called the twins, which the matter by circulation descends from the one in the other, and continually rising and falling, as much as one wishes.

The others have a single vessel, wide above and below: but narrow in the middle, and with the spout proceeding from the lower part, and when the material is put into said vessel, either well enclosed with a lid of glass or silver, and is thus the shape of this vessel.

The others take two vessels, one of which will be container having the mouth wider than the other, to put one in the other, and after that, they must fight with good knowledge, from which follows the figure. The others are equal circulation vessels, so much so that from one end to the other, they are of the same size, but in the middle of them there is a beak as the figure appears here.

The others also make the glass vessel from a single fragment, that is to say from a single piece which has two handles like two arms, so that the said handles come from the upper part, entering the belly of the lower, and the upper part has a small opening with a spout, through which the material is put in, and it is removed after it has circulated as it appears.

The one must be well sealed and blocked with good lut or cement, as of the others has been said, and the third and last circulatory one is called of no pelican, and of the others the vessel of Hermes, and is very noble and very accommodated between all the circulatory: but few can be done, because the glassmakers are so rude and imbecile, or stupid in making this form in one piece, that they cannot achieve it: but if you could find an expert worker, don't leave him, let him not make you this vessel for gold or silver.

How to distill circularly. Chapter 5.

When you have known the probation written above, and will have experienced the matter before said: by the frequent putrefaction having been sufficiently digested, and that you will have the vessels to the suitable circulation, put the matter in said very noble vessel to the circulation, and the put in horse manure, or in the sun on scorching days, or in a water bath, heated to the first degree of heat, or a little more, depending on whether you see the matter being tempered and subtle by digestion and left there for a long time, until it is converted into the quintessence, so much desired by you, and this you will be able to know by that flavor as was said above, and note very diligently that if at the bottom of the vessel appears any hypostasis, it is i.e. no small cloud, it must first be separated from its matter, by distillation, and this is either circulated again, as you will have already started, and if it can be done profitably it must be cast into another circulatory vessel, so much so that the size of the matter is left to the first vessel. When therefore the diligent inquisitor of this art will have known the quintessence in the subtlelation and purification of the matter of wine or fruits, find and believe something similar to happen to him in all other things in this way, and yet it is to be believed the opinion and sentence of Aristotle, that matter thus by distillation ennobled and immaterial can no longer be reduced to any form or spirituality, as it is without elemental substance exceeding formality, and corruption, and for this cause it is almost a celestial body, for just as this heaven contains itself and all lower things, so this quintessence contains all lower things and qualities, and in the way that all the stars have their course from the very noble influence of the first mobile sky, similarly also all the medicines in which the quinte essence is mixed attract their virtue from it in the way that the magnet stone attracts iron; but because this requires great labor and generates much annoyance, it is for this reason vilified by all, and this is why in our time few philosophers are found who want to study and plow in this matter.

On the difference in circulation and digestion Chap. 6.

Much to think about and consider is the difference between circulation and digestion. Firstly, we must speak of the glasses, which are necessary for each thing of this kind, and yet you must have for digestion, an instrument and vessels ample and wide in the upper part, to put in them the large substance on which are to impose blind stills without spout, so that when in them is digested, you can extract and pull out the large material, being removed the blind still, and putting another with the spout: but if the material is high , when it is once distilled, and the sludge and lees are not mixed with the thing distilled, as is in this quintessence of wine, then the circulatory can be taken, so that it is equal above and below, and ample in shape: but it must be in the middle narrow, and have near the head of the lower belly a channel or trough the length of the finger: but in size be less than the finger, no font, however which are the vessels to circulate, which are called pelicans, of which here is the shape and figure, in this vessel can be the clear things digested and each thing also be circulated: but because these glasses are difficult to make, our glassmakers cannot overcome them, and know that I have a very good friend in Fribourg, who left from Dauphiné near Vienne, wanted to have a glassmaker compose a pelican in this way: but he cannot have it for the prize and the sum of three tournament books, which are towards us two florins of Rhenes, however whatever it may be, yet know that all other vessels are surmounted by this one in price and value, thus this vessel is more noble in all things than every other circulatory vessel , what can be done, and yet I advise all studious of this art, that if they need this fashion of glass, provided that they can find a very expert glazier or glassmaker, that they will not spare gold nor money.

There is therefore a difference between fermenting or digesting and circulating, and even in that you must with all your strength think and consider how the glass must be placed and seated, so when you want to digest, either take a squash with a blind still , but if the material is purified, either take a circulatory system, and put the material to digest, and make a pit as above and have been said, in which a bed of pulverized quicklime is made, three or four times thick. fingers, on which is made another of seven or eight thick fingers of horse manure, not too soft and rotten, nor too hard and close to the circulatory, or placed all around the manure at the height of a foot and a half , and put water on the glass, so that by lowering the manure into the lime, it heats the manure, and be renewed by each week the manure and the lime twice, we could also put in the pit of the fient or recent vinacea without lime: but when you want to draw the glass when the material is sufficiently digested, carefully be received, so that it is not struck and broken by any violent movement: but when you want to circulate, we must put the glass in the material before said and with the shape, except that the circulatory one in its upper part must not be occult nor hidden, or pushed to the dung, but at least the lower part of the instrument must be put back in the lime or manure, up to half, and at least a third part must be outside the manure to the air, so that by the coldness it descends again, which was raised by the heat to the neck of the circulatory: and This can also be done in a water bath in lime or sand, putting the material to circulate in the sun on summer days, or it can be put in the autumn time in a recent vinaccée, which is as I have says a grape marc, after the grapes have been pressed as we have already said and written about in previous things.

On how to extract and draw out the quintessence without any labor and expense. Chap. 7.

We have looked at the sentence of Virgil, which teaches us that we cannot all do all things, in addition let us note the words of the poet Hesiod, in his little book which is Ionis, where he tells us, that God does not do all things to a single man, because of too much work which always annoys, and for the great labors and expenses which are customarily incurred in this work, and not without cause. We have proposed to yawn the fashion and a shorter and easier and less expensive way. I know one and several studious people of this art, who, in our opinion, could withdraw and take away from such noble work at all; because of which we will give another mode of drawing and having the quintessence in this way, take the best wine that you can find, white or red, which is a little sweet, and distill it by the still four times, as we commonly made in us water of life or fiery, which thing if you repeat it several times, will be much better, which you will know by experience to be sufficiently distilled by putting it in a vessel of silver or tin to which you will set fire , and if everything burns without leaving any moisture, this is the true publication. The wine thus distilled is very suitable and convenient for making circulatory distillation, such material thus digested and rectified is put into the pelican having two handles which we formerly call the vessel of Hermes, having at its top a slit through which it is put and extracted the material which is to be circulated: but when this material is thus in the vessel well lubricated and well cemented: so that the material cannot be lost by evaporation by going up and down several times circulatory. Such wine thus distilled as above in the end will convert into quintessence such eau de vie has been said as long as it has all the four elements, however by its motion & agitation often made which is because of the ascent & descent is converted & passed from corruptibility to incorruptibility at all.

If therefore we see that the pure is separated from the impure the bulk of the subtle by frequent and assiduous circulatory distillation how much advantage will there be more mash by the distillatory to which by infinite descents of sublimations is more and more pure and of elemental matter, is made non-elemental matter & incorruptible body, by which must therefore all the more as the sky is less corruptible than the four elements all the more our quintessence is less corruptible than the body elements, but when this sublimation will have been made several times at the distillatory in front of said finally open the sluice which is at the top of the pelican, and from this precious & redollent smell you will be able to know if any thing remains of the matter of the four elements, which must be converted into quintessence: because if it comes perfectly, to this quintessence, from the circulatory system will emerge a very odoriferous smell so precious that by this we are seen, lifted up to the sky by the great sweetness, and appears in no way to be the redolence & celestial fragrance, & if such smoke enters any secret place of the house so strong will fill her with the fact that there is nothing in the world sweeter, nor delectable and suave, and ultimately the most perfect odor that one could smell: so much so that it is a marvelous thing to say, and almost incredible. And if it is placed at the top of a tower, it will attract all the nearby birds to itself: but if it happens that this does not give off such an odor, either close the pelican again and stick it well with mud or cement, and put it again to distill with circulatory distillation, for as long as the quintessence shows itself & appears, as Raymond Lulle says in his first book second chapter vegetable mercury, that is to say quick silver, which you will always be able to know by the smell in front of you. said, not only does it have this excellent smell and taste, but also no incredible incorruption towards other medicines, and it certainly has no rusting and adusting in the mouth like brandy, nor also any humidity or phlegm: because all terrestrial & elemental matter resides & remains at the bottom & just as the sky is composed of matter & form, so is this quintessence, & yet it is compared to it: however it is not totally incorruptible, because if she was very perfect in incorruption, without any obstacle, she would make our bodies perpetual & eternal which thing is not permitted by God of all things creator who established for us the end of life, which we cannot pass as the psalmographer says & royal prophet David: for according to Seneca there is nothing more certain than death, nor more uncertain than the hour one must die, & yet when no thing is turned into quintessence, it is not divine, but natural: However, it is with the help and assistance of the mighty God, without whom no thing is done or put forward.

From the easy way of circulatory distillation & drawing quintessence without fire. Chapter 8.

If in this very excellent work you desire and want to escape and avoid all the costs, and the loss of time which is a great thing, keep this double path of drawing the quintessence, which you can do without any fire or coal. The first way is this, either take horse manure, and put it in any large and deep vessel, or in a pit made expressly for this: and in the middle of the manure put the distillery with its material to be distilled full until two-thirds. The third part waves out of the manure, as nature requires so that the macere can rise & fall, & consequently be converted into very clear water, & is this done without any labor & without fire. However, it is necessary to renew the manure throughout the week at least once, and perhaps this is also done in the vinacea or wine marc as was said above: provided that it is taken at harvest time, immediately that the grapes were pressed and crushed in the press, and in this you will see a marvelous operation, or it can also be done in the sun on scorching days, and yet divine providence also provides for the rich and the poor, if they can have the manner of the operation of this art. The quintessence can also be extracted from foul & rotten cloudy wine, but it should not be sour, because then it is presumed that the quintessence will be exhaled & evaporated from such wine as Lulius says in the first book, third chapter & as much as the wine be rotten & of bad substance, however always remains in it the quintessence, which thing can be thus known, when you have corrupt wine which is believed in the right place & made in no way disturbed or badly savored, however we see of it being made very good brandy, and yet such wine is not to be rejected, because nevertheless the wine is imperfect and in no way corrupted, nevertheless the quintessence which is made of it is in no way harmed. The other way & means of drawing it without any labor & without fire is this. Receive the very noble brandy & the best you can find & be put into a glass which has a long neck, having at its top a port, which must be closed & anointed with such wax as we will say later, be turned the glass, & placed in the dung with the neck as above has been said many times, such that the size of the material resides at the bottom of the distillatory. And when it has been for some time sufficiently buried in the sediment, be removed from it again, and gently, in the form as it will have been put, from which the glass and vessel follows the figure.

When all the spirits are assembled be put into the distillatory or circulatory of Hermes, of which is the figure below.

However, it would be better if a barrel were buried in the grape marc which is otherwise called stillage, as we have said: but the channel or trough must be so long that it appears besides the droppings on which a still with its receptacle, not touching in any way the marc or vinacea (spirit from wine distillation).

And when you have thus gathered by one or another way the spirits from the receptacle, be put into the pelican, and distill culatory, in any manner and way as has been said above.

From how to draw the quintessence of the four elements, to resolving in it the sun for potable gold. Chapter 9.

Enough has been said above that what the quintessence is, & what operation it is, & how it is extracted & drawn from its material, & we have shown the way of extracting it for the rich & the breadings & how are drawn not only the forces of gold, silver, brass or metal, & other metals, but also the virtues of precious stones & herbs, when they are dipped & placed in it: but however I am not ignorant that many studious in this art want & want to go further. By which I am forced to recount the things that I have known by frequent lesson & experience, which is the master of things, namely the way of drawing & extracting the quintessence of wine, in which the gold, the silver, margarites & precious stones & other metals, to make drinkable gold, which thing however more consonant to artists who seek the little streams of none, than to doctors: & how many authors are & scribes of ancients who teach the way of extracting the quintessence of wine by the separation of the four elements, in such a way that they are reduced into a substance & being, which thing thus subtilized & extracted like humors & any superfluity of the four elements, can be said quintessence to the resolution of the sun. By it therefore we can not only resolve, but also extract all its forces, so much so that it can enter into potable gold: but in truth, whoever will look at the matter completely, will judge that it is better suited to arquemy, than 'to medicine: but I do not deny by several ancients having found the modes in this way to dissolve the Sun, they however co-opted it more to arquemy than to the art of medicine, by this art therefore, many are disappointed, believing gold to be made of such quintessence. And although much is constant in several and of great pitch with the splendor of gold, however in our time this is judged to be false by true corroboration when it is plundered & put little by little into soft & flattened strips, & resolved into strong water with other metals, or also by antimony which is the last proof of well approved gold: by which the feigned & strange color is known perfectly: for this cause Arnauld de Villeneuve says that the wine to which will be extinguished the gold blade forty or fifty times, is seen in no places & held towards no places of potable gold: by which said to Jehan Roche cut, that better would be made this wine of the extinction of the gold blades, if the gold was calcined and reduced to a very subtle powder, or if it were rolled, that is to say, put into small pieces, and then sliced into small pieces, because the virtue would be more easily extracted from it, if it was thus sliced very fine, that when it is rolled and put into blades: either natural gold, however, are the mines of the earth found, & not that which is made by the industry of men & subtleties: for that has no virtue in the preservation of human life, but rather is deception, & obfuscation of the eyes . Who is this one of the arquemists who dares to boast of having never composed gold, without venom matter, which is Mercury, and yet in truth this gold of the arquemists, although it has the true color of gold, the form also the sound, & the weight, it does not however have the virtue like the material gold coming from the earth mine. Therefore the essence of wine can be extracted from this good wine, according to the opinion & doctrine of the ancients, from whom I will recite the way & path, leaving the other doubts & ambiguities of words. Hang some gold, and mix it very subtly to be resolved in a potable form of the color of gold, which also by itself or also by other medicines we can use as we will show later, whatever it is also other way find to resolve the gold with strong water, or distilled vinegar, or by distilled human urine, of which things it is not appropriate to speak instead of medicine, because they are more corrosive by nature than to valid health. And how much also that nothing can be removed here, as some say: however this is not a sure thing, and not well to believe, and if it could be done, I would not however want to use that: because our Philosophers say that it is necessary to choose between two doubts the most certain, and the most uncertain to avoid and avoid: for this reason we will show the easier and safer way of separating the quintessence of the four elements, and of digesting it into a single being through it. the acuity which is mixed in it, with subtlety, by which gold & silver & other metals can be resolved, & the virtue also of extracting it from it itself, if it can be reduced to potable form similar to pure water, by which acuity the metals are resolved, and not by anything else, when the four elements are not yet separated, and the earth is not yet calcined, or by adustion made and converted into salt, lime, or ashes in the form of no stone, called no ancient, the stone of the philosophers, of this are two ways: no thing made in extracted with discretion from the wine above said, in which is great labor (I am silent) as I taught above, of this subtle substance like the soul segregated from the gross, that is to say from this carnal body, by the subtlety being able to do any subtle thing & penetrate also, by which thing this force & effective greatly is multiplied: in such essence therefore the virtue of each thing can be extracted as from the Sun & the Moon & other metals, margarites & precious stone, herbs & other such kinds, but gold cannot be dissolved but by another way by separating from this quintessence, air, fire, water, & earth, & then later by calcination of the earth with other qualities, by sublimating it into one, by type circulatory distillation, & digestion. The way of doing such quintessence is understood by two means & paths. Firstly, by the way which serves to separate the four elements, and how they can be redigested into a body, and in this way, according to none, the stone of philosophers is seen to be composed, and by its hidden and secret force, can being all metals resolved, dyed, colored, & assembled, the Sun, the Moon, & other things: secondly is to know how is to separate the earth, being extracted, the quintessence, by which the virtue of the earth is elevated or drawn, & by which also can be resolved, gold, silver, & other metals, & can be reduced into form & substantial beverage of human life conserving & restorative.

The way how the quintessence is made to resolve the Sun, for tinctures & colors. Chapter 10.

So take red wine, and the best you can find, and that in no way is dissolved, if as we said above, and is distilled three times in such an oven or furnace, this furnace is called by some the bain de marie, it is however different from that of which we have said above and spoken about, by which the upper part, that is to say the still, which receives the spirits and returns them, must remain in lukewarm water, and must be governed & governed by this water, so much so that the wine to be distilled, embraces even less any igneous complexion: that is to say, relating to the complexion of fire, which would very difficultly be abstracted by many of variable distillations, and consequently this is more harmful than beneficial to human nature, as you will be able to see alertly, this one channel or trough of the distillery, in which is the wine passed & ironed by lukewarm water: but the other bath of mary, of which we spoke above, at the lower & lower part of the furnace, like a cauldron, to which must be placed all the vessels & distillatory instruments with the water & the upper part, which is the still, must not remain in this vessel containing no water: but specifically the wine which must be distilled, & this is the water bath, & however & when nothing is to be distilled in the first bath of the boiler, one must be diligent that one has dishes or circles of lead large and small, on which the glasses must be linked, so that they are not agitated here and there, by the heat of the water, or of the bath, and are also not thereby broken, of which here is the shape .

And note reader, that in such a bath or cauldron must be walled, and at the side of the furnace there must be a long channel of iron or copper, into which the coals must be thrown which must be under the caldaire ablaze with fire, or that the heat of the coals reverberates against the limestone: because in this canal they cannot be burnt, for this reason several slits are in the furnace, and also for the enclosure of the canal. Item the still which remains in the water must be of copper, and either tinned inside, and bottom and top be the vessels cemented together, and in the outside part, where the joints are very well joined and glued with tin , so that no thing of water can come out of there: but when the water is heated, either open the palle or the sluice from below, and let the hot water go, putting in again other water cold: for from this the water of life becomes better in its distillation, and all the less does it attract to itself the heat which is between nature: but the instrument or vessel in which the water is contained, must be of copper or of metal similar to gold, in color which is called in Latin auricalum, & be as wide as a palm, or a little more, & have a hole in the middle, & be the circuit which is on the outside wide & two fingers thick & be placed on the cauldron, & be not larger than the other hole which is in the distillatory, & be all things well glued together with good knowledge, & bind it well with linens & flags around it: so that nothing don't get lost. Now therefore when you have also put your wine in the cauldron, all the things which are well stuck and cemented will remain in their place until you have distilled as much wine as will be enough for you: for if you took away any things , you will have greater difficulty in corking it, if you do not have enough wine, and yet at the lower caldaire is the sluice through which the water must come out, when the wine is distilled, and when no longer will be effective in it. wine, other wine must be put there from the part at the top, where is the small opening into which we put the funnel through which the distillery will be filled: either then well glued & closed, so that no vapor comes from it. can come out, and be nailed with a tin instrument: or also stick it with good lut, made of horse droppings. And know that such furnaces are rarely found among the artists of our country: therefore when you have distilled all your wine you must reserve the phlegm of which we will speak later, but that wine thus distilled be put in the accidious oven, or from laziness in the sand , of which the form will be depicted: but if you do not want to put it in the oven of laziness, be put in the bath, where are several distillatory vessels, together, & be each put in its circle: but all the circles be assembled & held together in a ring or tripod, and either the bath as well as the furnace, be made in the lower part of any house, & be as wide as a sextier, or as three quarters of an alder, & be made of copper the lid: but the place where the coals must be thrown be made of walled bricks by joining them very well on all sides with good mortar, to the thickness of two or three fingers, & either the lid is made in such a way that when it is closed, this heat which rises can once again return to the foot of the furnace , & be very well closed on both sides, so that the heat designed cannot easily be lost, so the channel is above the furnace & below the channel, or a grid the size of a palm: so that the ashes can flow at the bottom, the furnace must be square, and in each of the corners have a vent or vent, through which the smoke can escape, and have this channel a window one palm distant from this furnace, through which window must be thrown the coals, & is always well closed with any instrument, this fact which must be as thick as that channel: but the fire is always moderated by these four angular openings, with no registers to suppress, to this suitable & appropriate, & thus the heat will pass through the channel to the copper cover, & no one will know where the fire can come from. Let a wooden vessel be made in this way in the magnitude & circumference of the wheel of a cart: so that it completely surrounds the copper cover to which the vessel must be filled with water, so that this cover remains completely on the vessel full of water. water up to the middle part of the vessel: but either this vessel is four or five cubits high, and two cubits from the bottom of the vessel, or the cover is made of wood with several openings, so that each vessel can enter each opening , & above each coil be placed an alembic & below each alembic a receptacle, above the lid of the large vessel, & be all these things very well cemented & glued with good lut or cement: that is to say the large lid which covers all the openings of the said cover, the escapes, & the receptacles near them, & thus you will have the heat, for this sufficient work, & the secret fire. But when you want to know when all the spirits are distilled and separated from this wine, look at the still, and when you have seen no distilling drops in it, then it is a certain and very certain sign that no thing anymore rest of the spirits, & therefore this water be set apart & kept & filled again with the courn of water of life, putting the alembic on top, & be well blocked & sealed, so that no spirit can exhale or breathe outside, & be distilled by the ashes in the oven of laziness:

The shape of the stove & its bath.

When you thus distil according to our doctrine in a water bath or in a lazy oven, take the phlegm which remained in the distilleries, and be distilled eight or nine times, each time, the said phlegm remaining, joining it with the first, and or this is done as many times as is required, until this water of life is converted into a substance and nature of fire, so much so that if a sheet is wetted with it, and is set ablaze with fire, it is burnt immediately with this water, if you also put a single drop of olive oil in it, it will immediately be immersed at the bottom, and will never rise, however much this vessel is stirred and struck as much as one wishes, and thus you will have the quintessence of this wine separated from the four elements. And note mainly that all the cracks around the still & other vessels, as long as they are well nailed with virgin earth: that is to say clay, if you should not yet cease to wrap it with three or four sheets of linen: because the more the vessels are well closed, the less are evaporated, also note that from this brandy of two measures you will remove only one or one and a half, and all the residue which will remain in the cauldron is of no value, & has totally no virtue, & is called phlegm, that is to say water of which air, fire & earth are composed. So out of sixty measures of the first distillation you will only have seven goblets, and in the second five, and in the third two or three, and so the more you distill it, the less you will have, and what will be at the last distilled will be very pure, very subtle, and very good for composing potable gold, in which water you will also be able to dissolve the sun: but when you have distilled it three times, it will be very subtle. And yet if you are not careful, all its virtue will easily escape in vapor and be lost. So take a collatory when you want to put from one vessel to another, and be placed in the vessel to which you put the wine, and all around it be covered with such wax, as it will be taught here below, by placing another vessel on top , so that the neck is completely precipitated in the coulouer, and in straw manner you will luteras, that is to say, that you will glue the neck of the coulouer with lut or cement. And having done this, allow the wine to flow into another vessel, and less will exhale virtue, and make the pourer the length of half a palm: but the fashion of making wax to stick, like mud or cement, is such . Take two pounds of pine resin, and melt it into an earthen vessel well glazed inside. When this is thus done, take another pot or earthen vessel, in which either clear water, and on this vessel put straw. Then take this straw again or transfer this resin into another vessel, and all its impurity will reside in the straw: But if you see it is not purified enough, get half a pound of virgin wax, two or three spoonfuls of olive oil, or if you have no oil, take as much butter, and mix it with spread all things together, be able after that with a small spatula or palette until some time, that it is cold, then you will open with your hand & will pour it completely & of this wax must be stuck all the vessels & distilleries, which none will want to keep the water of life. Let the vessels be very well leveled and polished, and then place a soft glass on them like a lid, and be lubricated and glued again with the wax in front of the said wine, note similarly that when such a wine has been distilled two or three times, you will be able to take a subtle sponge, which must be cut into pieces, so large that from any part they can touch the cocure in the highest part, & must be tied the front said with three or four eminent ropes from the outside, when you put the alembic above, so much so that the sponge cannot fall to the bottom of the distillery, and is soaked in olive oil, and then is expressed a little again, so that by chance this oil does not fall into the cocurd. And when this material to be distilled is mixed, & closed with the wax before said, being the alembic placed on it, these spirits will be very well distilled by this sponge, and the phlegm will not pass through that, because of the oil, & in this way you will open more in a single distillation than in three others, the still however be made in this way without double margin, like the blind stills, except only that they do not have a spout like these.

You can also make chapels or seats of up to four, so that in each one there is a coil, in which the material to be distilled is placed, that is to say the wine thus distilled as above has been said, and thus you will be able to more briefly & easily achieve the effect you so desired: but the channel, which is in the middle, is not higher than the furnace & can be made that square channel of unfired tiles, & in each angle be made a window in length & width of four or five fingers, & be made with their margin, so that from top to bottom can be thrown any iron instruments, or registers to temper the fire, & such registers must be so large that all the margin of the window is filled with ice, through which the heat can project, this iron instrument has a side, which has several segregated openings and divided from one another by the space of an oblique finger or across , so much so that if you want to have great and good heat, either the iron most highly hung, and in the lower vent put a receptacle or small rhe. But if you want a little heat in your work, let the iron hang down as low as you want, the shape of the said registers is such: But under the channel, however, be a grid under which the coals are placed, of which the shape is 'then.

You can also have the registers made so that they have three or four holes or more, so that at the top is the smallest thing, and at the bottom the largest, all the more as you lift these registers, all the more the more heat you will have, and thus you will be able to make a large or small fire, according to your pleasure: this furnace is made for two causes the first is: because in it you will be able to make a large fire to strongly distill, or lightly, depending on it will please you, the second cause is because when it is once heated it is easily cooled, and yet little coal is lost, and note that these distilleries must not be removed or put in, except that they are first cooled, & this can be done, by putting at the bottom none of the registers, & nevertheless the others will have their operation, & when again you have put a vessel full of brandy, you will govern the fire at your pleasure, until you have the sufficiency of the material. But the four elements must be thus separated, take all the water above said together brought, and be put in the caldaire of the first furnace, or in the large cocurde: and if you cannot have a large cocurde, put it in several small ones , & be distilled in one of the said furnaces, & from it the phlegm is drawn until nothing more comes out, being the slow fire as if it were in a water bath. And when this is thus distilled to the end, remove the receptacle, and you will find there the phlegm, and in this cocure, or caldaire remains, the very black matter, like liquid pitch, is melted: but some, who want to abbreviate , put this material in the vessel or iron cap over the slow fire of the coals, until this black substance appears like pitch, which is soft, & is this placed in the cocourde, then after is put in the other phlegm in the capse & be done thus of the first, & again put the black matter with the other & this will often do, until no phlegm remains there, & again put the black manner in the cocurd & be put in the arena & drawn from it the superfluous humidity, & then spread the quintessence, which you first abstracted from that in the thickness of four or five fingers, & are well mixed together, & put in the water bath to digest , & then afterwards distilled by the still, & when the water is thus distilled, be spread again on the sludge & lees, & again be distilled & again digested & distilled.

And the more often it will be, the better it will be, and that which is distilled in the seventh distillation is called human blood, which the arquemists diligently inquire into, and is that air, and thus you have two elements exalted in virtue quintessence is air and water. After that take the matter, of which we spoke above, which remained in the distillatory, and be distilled in the arena by the still, and in it separates its oil, which is fire, and when nothing remains in it you you will keep this oil apart, & at the bottom of the cocurde you will find the dry black matter, which is that earth from which fermentation can be made to unite & sharpen the quintessence, & in this quintessence, the gold & all the metals, and when you see at the still the distilling drops like clear oil: then remove the receptacle and put a larger one in front, as if you wanted to make strong water, because of the spirits, which enter into it , and do not make too high a fire in twenty-four hours, because this black material would rise to the still, and from it would pass into the receptacle. Lately when nothing appears from the oil, the fire is to be increased, until all the drops have gone from the still, and at the bottom the black matter will remain, dry and burnt, smelling & having such an odor like no other burnt rat, you then have phlegm, as was previously said that you will put in the capse, as has often been said above. And when it will be consumed by expesses or frequent boiling. Receive of this water, which remains after the distillation of the water of life, when it is purified, so that it has one pound of sludge, and four pounds of the water before said, and are well mixed together and put in a glass vessel, or leaded earth pane. And when the sludge has gone to the bottom: as if to rest, be stuck, and on top of the sludge again be placed four pounds of water in front of said, and either it has been so many times that the stench goes away from this black matter & if you do not do this like this you will lose the oil & your labor & pain: because if you do not spread & infuse the quintessence on it in this way, & again distilled from it, as was said above: it will be worth nothing , you will completely dry out the washed & purified black earth, & make a very subtle powder & mix it with the two elements named above, rectified, that is to say, water & air, which we named above, before human blood, & are in the water bath for three days, & as many nights, or a little more.

The figure of the reverberation furnace.

After it is distilled again, & the water which comes from this distillation is called, igneous water, that is to say rectified fire, & thus you have three elements exalted in the virtue of quintessence: after that take this black matter, & is made by burning it in a reverberation furnace or calcination into ashes having the whiteness of lime: however it is not always made so white: because it never retains redness, as is this redness of combustion : but the fire in the reverberation furnace is never strong and powerful enough, and yet to avoid the great labor and several costs, you will put this material in a brand new earthen bowl, and be covered with a lid, and be well glued with the mud of sapience or mud made of wool, that is to say wads, which the cloth shearers reject, & be put in the furnace very well heated lime, & you will calcine it in such kiln by as much space, in which the lime can be burned this is commonly done in Germany, of none, in the space of twelve or fourteen days continually, by firing as is done in making lime: after that, when this material has been exempted from the lime kiln, the better you will be able to calcine it in the reverberation kiln, and if you had done so before having constituted it in the lime kiln, it could not have been calcined for a long time: but if it is not burned enough the first time in the lime furnace: either put it again in the same furnace. And when it is sufficiently burned, mix with it the element of fire: that is to say the water, which has fire in its power, of which we have spoken, and allows it to remain three days and three nights in the water bath, and either then distilled again, and either done this seven times and as many times or calcined in the reverberation furnace. And when it will be seven times thus distilled, and as many times recalcined, what you will be able to consider by this, that when you take of this earth and put it in the air, and dry it, and then you will spread on it three or four drops of water before said, if it is not resolved then you have the very certain demonstration, that it is quite prepared: but if it is dissolved it must be calcined again, & reverberated, & dissolved in a water bath, like us we said, and this is done as many times as is necessary, and until the earth is no longer dissolved, and then it will be truly prepared, and is called water of life, by which, from it & through it gold is resolved & subtleted: but very surely it is the earth, & not salt, as some say, which is called the rectified philosophical stone, & it is the quintessence, of its four separate elements, in which is hidden the spirit of the separated spirit, that is to say from its phlegm, which is this water, & from its oil, which is air, & igneous water, or fire which properly is this water, & burnt sludge & lees, which is the terrestrial element, & earth, & this essence thus reverberated, calcined, resolved, & again recalcined, in the form said above is converted into stone, with which all minds are fixed, because it has supermity, the highest virtue of spirituality, & the infinite & low virtue of corporeality, & yet says Hermes, the highest is, which is below, & the lowest is, which is the highest, & is that a single essence to perfect the sun, & resolve all and each other metals, as long as it always retains its force & virtue, & to the whole substance of the four qualities, or of the elements, in a complex & assembled essence, in which are contained the secrets of the secrets of nature, & yet says the philosopher, that the stone of earth, as of the four qualities corruptible ascends to heaven, which is incorruptible, & it itself descends from heaven to earth, which he signified by the words before said, when he said the very high is that which is below & the low is that which is supreme & higher, & is this a single seed, to form these metals, which comes from the earth, it is the elixir stone, & is like crystal, which comes from mercury, mother of all metals. And when this quintessence is mixed with the stone before said, and the leaves of gold are added to it, they are resolved by the copious penetration, which is in this stone, and the superfluous subtlety, which is in this quintessence: is hidden & occult, is converted into potable gold. & is like crystal, which comes from mercury, mother of all metals. And when this quintessence is mixed with the stone before said, and the leaves of gold are added to it, they are resolved by the copious penetration, which is in this stone, and the superfluous subtlety, which is in this quintessence: is hidden & occult, is converted into potable gold. & is like crystal, which comes from mercury, mother of all metals. And when this quintessence is mixed with the stone before said, and the leaves of gold are added to it, they are resolved by the copious penetration, which is in this stone, and the superfluous subtlety, which is in this quintessence: is hidden & occult, is converted into potable gold.

On the way of drawing and extracting the quintessence, which can be resolved into gold to make drinkable gold. Chapter 11.

We promised to show two ways, as are to separate the four elements, & redigest into a form to resolve the sun, the moon, & all the other metals. Of which first way has been quite declared above. Now we must proceed to the second way, that is, how the earth is to be separated, being extracted from that quintessence, by which all metals can be resolved, & digested into the substance of drinking water, for all philosophers say together, that the water of life, can be made to substantiate human nature and avoid all illness. So make rectified clear water of life, so that it burns, it burns, as we said above, and do not in any way make it human blood: because if any herbs or other material thing is put in it, they would lose their strengths by the superfluity which is in it, & all the good flavor, & will also be to be abhorred for human use if it were also made water of fire: because it would contain in itself such heat & sharpening or acuity, that all material things, except metals would attract such superfluous heat, and would have the quality of fire: so much so that when you think you are making water of life: you will rather be making water of death. By which since all virtue, & perfection is in this earth, reduced to stone, as above we declared, we therefore attribute this earth, to this our present water, not making human blood: or water of fire, & then it is called the quintessence, or water of life. And not water of death, and all the more since it is distilled by the earth, all the more is it made more effective, and better, and it should be noted that little of this earth has very great virtue in this work, because just as a very little ferment makes a large and copious dough for baking bread, so the smallest part of this earth produces very great perfections and virtues, very suitable for the human body, and yet we must avoid those who make tartar , or who burn the pomace of grapes into ashes, or who take pulverized lime from vines and willows, and say this is the land from which our expression is, which is entirely strange from the truth as Geber says, that it is stone & rather incomparable of the mixture of strange things, when you have thus made the water of life, rectified three or four times, so that no sign & indication of humidity remains, or binds, or it is burned, this earth be separated from its phlegm, by the shortest possible route, & this phlegm put in caldaire, & cooked to the thickness of dissolved honey on the fire, remove it from the fire then afterwards, & allow it cool until the next day, and you will see small stones at the bottom of the vessel, as if it were nitrated salt spread, either poured from them on top, being water & oil, & or other water spread on this earth: or small stones, & mixed together. Let's do this again, then reside & this evening, as was said above. And when you have poured the water, put it in the first place, and allow it to boil as above. Either then cooled, for two days, as above was said, and you will find white stones as above, and this will do as many times, that no stone is found at the bottom of the vessel, after that, all the small stones assembled , are very well dried & placed in an earthen pot, or in a goldsmith's crucible, & are calcined until white, like snow & this is done in the calcination oven, from which the figure follows.

Figure of the reverberation furnace.

Also take care that they are not melted by very high heat: because you would lose your oil and your effort, although no one says that they must be put in the lime furnace, or in a glass furnace , and that there must remain twenty-one days, but this earth would sink, from the too great heat, and therefore would be more suitable for arqueemia, than for medicine. And yet they say, that with such earth, no doubt can resolve the sun, but it is enough that it is calcined in this oven of reverberation: until it is transformed to the whiteness of salt, or of snow, & when it is thus calcined, it is spread over brandy, thus rectified, as has often been said above & is distilled seven times as has already been demonstrated. In this water you will be able to make a solution, and loosen the leaves of gold because it draws from it their strength and odor, consequently it is made of potable gold of marvelous operation, to the sustenance of human life: because by it all the diseases of the body, when we have used them: and yet it is said, because it makes man live again.

How to extract the quintessence of honey which enters into drinking gold. Chapter 12.

Now we have to proceed to the quintessence of honey, when you want to extract it you must have a good quantity of very good honey, from which the bruch is not yet removed and separated: but it must be taken, and when it is removed from the hive, then will express this honey from the knives without fire, making three or four sheets of a sinking bag of the length of two cubits, the length must be as much as the sheet extends: this accomplished, put the honey with the bruche & wax the bag above said, & on summer days put these bags & hang in the sun, & under each bag put a clean vessel to receive the honey distilling from the bags. And if it is by chance on winter days, either heat the bath to evaporate, as in Germany are the baths of the richest, & or the bag hung on the wall: so that the heat of the bath is spread the honey, and when all the honey has been liquefied and poured, put other honey in the bag, and do as with the first, and this will be done so many times that you will have a sufficient quantity. And have wax made of sludge and lees, according to custom, then have after six or eight vessels of the best earth that you can have which are made, almost in the manner of a cocourde, and that each of the said vessels is so ample , that it can hold fifteen or sixteen pounds, and be narrow at the throat, and wide at the belly, if you can put on it a still which has two handles, from the mouth and opening containing the space of a palm, and in length of a little finger, so that we can put through these handles and remove the vessels from the furnace, and are well glued with struggles or cemented from below, whose shape is such: and when all these things will be prepared, the master of the work fills each vessel up to the third part, with honey thus drawn as we have said, and the other two parts of the vessel are vague, so that the honey can rise and fall, and be put in the lazy oven, & the alembic on top, & all the cracks are very well blocked all around with a sheet of fermented linen of soft clay, & make distillation over a low, slow fire: because if you heat the oven too much, it honey would rise in the still, and yet you will always watch over this matter, and see if the vessels are too hot: and if they are, be wet with linen sheets, and all around be wrapped the vessels around the still. still, do not touch it however, and do not let any drop of water fall on it: because sooner the still would be broken, and the little cloths wrapped around it, until it is cooled, and thus the honey cannot rise, or distill through the still, and the first water which is distilled from this honey has in it the spirits which enter into potable gold.

And when they feel a little heat, they rise and do not remain, and yet the honey which is drawn and extracted from its bruiche by the fire, does not fully serve any purpose in this present work: for all the spirits are removed from it, exhale and separate, and this diligently you will consider, when you see no spirits at the still, are extracted the vessels, and this well will be able to consider, when drops will appear around the lines of the still, and then the vessels be taken from the furnace, & be put the honey apart in any vessel: for it is also not valid for this matter. Spread it immediately after boiling water in your cocurd, and be washed very well, and have an iron palette two fingers wide, with which you will clean this cocurr, so that if any thing of the burnt honey resides in it it can be removed from it. icelle, & this you will always do when you want to put the honey in: but if you want to surely distil your honey, so that you have no solitude that it can rise to the still, take a handful of ivy up to a handful , & a pound of honey, & be mixed together, & distil, & so your honey will never rise. And in this way it could be distilled by the chapel or campane: however some are who take small white stones, which are found on the banks of the rivers, and put them with the honey in the cocourde, and is all one: for the honey cannot climb for these stones. And when you have distilled the honey in this way, and the water in which the spirits are contained you will have put in the cocoure, put the glass alembic on top, and distill, and the spirits will be distilled from this water: as it says above brandy, and this will be the quintessence of honey, this therefore has a very sweet smell, like the germ of sour plums: but if you cannot know at the still when all the spirits will be separated, and will have gone away, you will remove the lid, and taste the distilled material, and if it tastes like honey, know that the spirits are still there, and you will continue in this vessel to distill this material for as long as time, that no flavor of honey remains in it. But the assembled spirits be placed in a circle, and either close this circle on the surface with glass, and be stuck with the wax above said, and with the law of sapience, and be done as above has been said of the quintessence of wine, & if you want to open this, have a good quantity of honey.

How to get the quintessence of celandine herb. Chapter 13.

Celandine according to Raymond Lulle & Jehan of the trenched rock, is the gift of heaven: but if we want to look at the etymology of the word & Greek derivation, otherwise it will be to speak of this derivation: because Pline says & Aristotle that celandine is called the swallow: or from its sight: because in Greek chelidon is called the swallow with celandine or lightning, & from it was made the proverb, if we see a swallow, however it is not to say that spring is came, and celandine or lightning from it took its name, and the virtues from it man has known, which by its virtue restores sight to its little ones, if by chance they are blind. There are two kinds of this herb, the major and the minor, the major is the one which has a very fruitful stem and produces several branches and fruits, but the bark is thicker and ample, it grows two cubits high with an albicante color, the yellow flower, the minor one, is the one which has leaves smaller than ivy & rounder, less white, saffron juice, poppy seed, they flower when the swallows come, & wilt when they go: when they flower their juice is expressed & cooked in a vessel of arain with honey tenderly & fermented in hot ashes, we use it as a singular remedy against the darkness of the eyes, & as a singular remedy we use the juice alone of these eye drops which are called celandine, they also have other innumerable virtues, and yet not without cause I wanted to mix it in this work, and show how from this herb is to be drawn the quintessence which also enters into the one with potable gold.

So take celandine, which we commonly call eclair, in summer when it is fully ripe, green, and almost begins to turn white, and all its substance, namely the flower, the root, and the grass. in such quantity as desired, be cut into small pieces, & plundered into a stone mortar. Then after putting it in a coil of glazed earth, & filling the coil, & tightly closed, & glued with mud or cement.

Either put then later in recent horse manure to be fermented & digested over the space of three weeks, & either put the still on it, & be distilled in a water bath, & be the fire very slow, & that all things be very well smothered, & the phlegm will come out of that, & the three other elements will remain at the bottom of the distillatory, then after drawing the sludge & lees, & very well broken on a marble, & very soft, & done as subtly as you can, once again, be put in the vessel, and spread on it the phlegm, of the three things previously said to be distilled, and place on it the blind alembic.

And let all things be well glued with mud or cement, & put in a water bath, for seven or eight days, to be putrefied & digested: but if you fear the expense, either this fermented in horse manure, that done, or successively cooled the material, & then after putting it in another furnace to distill with the ashes, & either put the still with the spout, & be distilled as was said in the tenth chapter of the separation of oil from this earth , & then clear water having the color of oil will come out, which in it embraces & contains two elements, that is to say air & water, & the other two elements will reside at the bottom, which are fire & the earth: but when you want to separate this phlegm from the air, put oil in the recent & new distillery. And carefully distill in a water bath with a small fire, and you will see the phlegm rise, and the oil will remain in the distillery, and thus you will have two elements, air and water, each separated from one another: because the oil cannot rise or be sublimated in a water bath, because the fire is not powerful enough: but when you want to separate the other two elements, take rubbish and the lees, from which you have distilled the oil, and be broken on the marble as before has been said. Then take four parts of the phlegm and one part of the garbage and mix them together, and incorporate them into one. Be then put in the bath furnace for seven days, & then distilled by the sand over a high fire, until the red water comes out, & be always distilled until it is converted into this water, & you will have two elements in it, which is water and fire: but the third will remain at the bottom of the cocurde, as black matter.

Then after this red water is put in another pot, by putting on it a rostray still, that is to say with the spout, & is distilled in a water bath, & the phlegm will be separated from it, & will remain the oil at the bottom of the red vessel, which is the element, namely fire, & thus you will have all the four elements separately extracted from each other: but either calcined the terrestrial element with strong fire, & either constrained by it in the space of ten days, if it can be dried. Either then broken again on the marble, & be imbued, that is to say immersed with the phlegm, & be distilled by the alembic, until in this matter you see small stones white like salt, & be again that salt dissolved with the water from which you distilled, & then again either dissolved & distilled & or it has been so many times that this earth leaves everything impure & of earthy color that is to say that it whitens & is brought to the whiteness of wax, and then you will have this rectified earth. None could, however, inquire why this earth resides and remains at the bottom, it is because at the bottom of putting air, and the fire by this water, as by phlegm, can be extracted, and not in any other way.

And whoever wants to do this by an easier way, let each element be dissolved and loosened with its water, in equal parts, as if you were distilling the phlegm from which the air is, so that as much air remains at the bottom. Take again as much of this phlegm and be distilled with air, and make it seven times: but from the other phlegm, take the air of the one that remained, after the air in the same way, or extract the fire as shown above. Either it is then distilled in a water bath, and the phlegm is attracted, and such material is added to as much red oil as it had previously remained at the bottom of the distillery as we have declared, and it is distilled seven times. Either then after washing this earth with phlegm, and is by this form each of the elements more perfect in its virtue, to open and carry out its appropriate operations, is also another more subtle way of reducing each element into its greatest substance & quintessence, however we presuppose that each of the elements is first justified, then after is taken & put in a circulatory vessel, & then in the horse manure: or in the water bath for thirty days, but when you have thus circulated it by this space of thirty days, or again distilled, therefore the body as gross matter, will be changed & permuted into spirit, or very subtle substance. There are no others who do this and work in an easier way, and take four parts of earth, and a portion of one of the four elements, whatever you want, and be digested in the form before said, & circulated by thirty days, & by the express & frequent rise & descent of the matter, which is made in the circulatory & is this transformed into the quintessence, that is to say each of the elements by as much time.

And when you want to know when matter is sufficiently circulated, see when this quintessence swims above the other matter, and then it is enough. So & more than enough is declared, how are to separate the four elements, & how this quintessence is to be drawn from celandine, & it now remains to say the virtues of this quintessence, of this celandine extracted & drawn, therefore the element of water, or phlegm, serves and applies to all diseases of the body, hot and cold, it also tempers all the veins around the heart and drives out all venom from the human heart. And it also cures all accidental illnesses of the lungs, purifies the blood, and preserves man from all corruption of natural virtue: finally it helps with all illnesses, whatever infirmity they may be: but the element of the The air is like oil, and with these virtues, it preserves the young in their strength and beauty when they have not used any in their meat, because it does not allow any blood in the body to rot, it also burns and expels all salty phlegm, and removes melancholy, and finally all adustment of anger, through much great admiration: but the element of fire, when one takes him the quantity of a grain of wheat, and is counted and broken, and incorporated with very good wine, and put on the neck of a sick man more than half dead, he has this virtue and effective that he recovers all the forces lost body, & strengthens: because it penetrates to the heart, & heats it, & expels all venoms & all moist superfluities from the heart, if you want to heal a man being in the anguish of death, in twentieth part of an hour, if it is a miracle, and quasi illusion, you will give him a grain of this oil, which is the element of fire, and immediately he will come in health, so much so that the assistants will all be amazed, & will say that it is a great miracle, & thus teaches Raymond Lulle in the second book second distinction, some are who in another way draw the quintessence, by taking the celandine when it still blooms with the root & the flower, & either weighed & reserved the pitch until its time, either cut very small & on it pour pure fountain water, & be put on the fire, & boil so much that it is reduced to its weight before said, this is done either plundered in a stone mortar: & the juice is expressed by a pouring sheet, & the sludge is removed & the residue is boiled to the thickness of honey, & then this material will be prepared to separate the four elements one from the 'other, & either put this in this squash, filling it up to half, & be well lubricated & glued the still & seal with mud by the best way you can, & also be distilled over a slow fire at water bath, so that the water is expelled from this material, or after put the distillery in the ashes, and from it will be another water separated, which is like oil.

And when you see at the third time the oil swimming above, either remove the receptacle, and another be put in front to cover this oil which is fire, and thus you have three elements separated from each other, it is namely, water, air, & fire: because the earth or terrestrial substance remains at the bottom of the vessel as burnt material, & each of these elements is reserved separately for the vessel: but when you want to rectify each of the elements: because this is what should be done, if you want to use this in place of medicine, let this water be distilled seven times by the alembic, and in each distillation be well washed the cocourde of the rubbish which has remained there, which must be mixed with the terrestrial element, and are distilled in a water bath, and the vessel in which this water must be kept is very well adhered to the manner mentioned above, you will also rectify the air in this way, by the reiteration of seven times in the ashes, always mixing the mud & lees with this earth by this form, also you will moderate the igneous & fire element, & will justify it, & this is this third oil & each of the oils be reserved in a well-closed vessel, after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of the water is expeller all the heats & venoms of this stomach, & the blood thus mond: it is equally valid against the opilations of the lung & the liver, it corrupts all the humors & phlegms vain & superabundant: finally it delivers the man from all infirmity in nine days .

Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. by always mixing the mud & lees with this earth by this form, you will also moderate the igneous & fire element, & justify it, & this is this third oil & each of the oils be reserved in a well closed vessel, after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of the water is expeller all the heats & venoms of this stomach, & the blood thus monds: it is equally valid against opilations of the lungs and the liver, it corrupts all the vain and superabundant humors and phlegms: ultimately it delivers the man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously.

The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. by always mixing the mud & lees with this earth by this form, you will also moderate the igneous & fire element, & justify it, & this is this third oil & each of the oils be reserved in a well closed vessel, after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of the water is expeller all the heats & venoms of this stomach, & the blood thus monds: it is equally valid against opilations of the lungs and the liver, it corrupts all the vain and superabundant humors and phlegms: ultimately it delivers the man from all infirmity in nine days.

Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. also you will moderate the igneous and fire element, & will justify it, & this is this third oil & each of the oils be reserved in a well closed vessel, after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessarily necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of the water, is expelled all the heats & venoms of this stomach, & the blood thus mondified: it is similarly valid against the opilations of the lung & of the liver, it corrupts all the vain and superabundant humors & phlegm: ultimately it delivers man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things.

It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. also you will moderate the igneous and fire element, & will justify it, & this is this third oil & each of the oils be reserved in a well closed vessel, after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessarily necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of the water, is expelled all the heats & venoms of this stomach, & the blood thus mondified: it is similarly valid against the opilations of the lung & of the liver, it corrupts all the vain and superabundant humors and phlegm: ultimately it delivers man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously.

The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of water is expeller all the heats & venoms of it stomach, & the blood thus mond: it is equally valid against the opilations of the lung & the liver, it corrupts all the vain & superabundant humors & phlegm: finally it delivers the man from all infirmity in nine days.

But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. after having shown the rectifications of each of the elements, it is necessary to know the nature & virtue of each of the elements, the force therefore of the aqueous quality, that is to say of water is expeller all the heats & venoms of it stomach, & the blood thus mond: it is equally valid against the opilations of the lung & the liver, it corrupts all the vain & superabundant humors & phlegm: finally it delivers the man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. it is equally valid against opilations of the lungs and liver, it corrupts all vain and superabundant humors and phlegm: ultimately it delivers man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. it is equally valid against opilations of the lungs and liver, it corrupts all vain and superabundant humors and phlegm: ultimately it delivers man from all infirmity in nine days. But the oil of the air guards & preserves youth, & strength with beauty, honesty, venuousness & decency, & does not allow the blood to be rotten, or to dominate melancholy, or to burn with anger, nor to abound in the human body with phlegm , & increases the blood, & disintegrates it & separates it by each limb, & yet those who use this air oil often phlebotematize: because it is greatly penetrative. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. It subsists and greatly nourishes the sick, and is also valid when no one fears, and is in danger of the perdition of an eye: because if he puts a drop of this oil in his eye, for the space of thirty days once each day, it will benefit him miraculously. The effectiveness of the igneous and fiery quality is much greater than the other two: because it works in those who have not benefited from the first things. It keeps men young, without them appearing old, and makes them rejuvenate, and if the man was at the judgment of death and he took this oil of fire in the quantity of a grain of wheat with wine or tempered brandy it would restore it to life. It warms the blood, recreates the heart, preserves man from death & restores to him the strength of youth. And if we take it with rye water, it is said to be the elixir of life as for earthly matter rectified by dissolutions, coagulation, calcinations, it is the subtle earth salt, with which all metals can be transmuted into stone, & with which all minds are stuck before radical humidity, it also nourishes lepers, the ancient philosophers made a stone of this salt, which they called philosophical, & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way. & the way of taking this medicine is this. Receive three drops of celandine fire, three spoonfuls of rose water, half a spoonful of blood air, and take all these things mixed together for the health of the stomach. And if the disease is hot, drink it with wine, and if the man had passed twenty-four years, with brandy: but if the fevers are hot, it must not be administered to the patient in any way.

On how to extract the quintessence from human blood, eggs, flesh & similar things. Chapter 14.

If you want to draw the quintessence of human blood, take the blood of a man who is of sanguine complexion, or of healthy anger, and middle age, and who drinks good wine, after he has been plebotematized, & that this blood residing at the bottom of the vessel will have been separated from this water be broken in any vessel with the tenth part of common salt, & itself mixed seems by breaking it very well, & striking, & then be put in the closed pelican . After that be placed in a pit five feet deep, & two wide having a bed underneath of quicklime, & another of horse manure as above has been said of the digestine thing, & either close it with the space of 'a moon or thereabouts, depending on whether you see the weather being cloudy, cloudy, or clear. But when you have seen this matter be resolved or melted into water, that is to say that the large substance which remains at the bottom of the pelican, is also completely separated from the water, or taken from the waste, and is put into the water bath with the still & distilled over a very slow fire, as above has been said of the quintessence of wine. And when you have completed the first distillation, either mix again with the lees, which remained in the distillery, and again with the dung, to be putrefied until you see that the pure from the impure will be well sequestered, and that the purified and subtle matter will swim on the lees, and if the weather is clear be purified at the named place, for longer than if it had been cloudy: or rainy. This is either secondly distilled: then after again it is left to digest with the sludge & lees, & again distilled & either it is done four times at least, but after the fourth distillation, you will circulate it for a long time as was said above the quintessence of wine, so much so that it acquires such perfection, that by its clarity it obtains immateriality & incorruption, & by its distillation, it is appropriate to the quintessence of human blood, & is this quintessence very greatly substantive in all diseases by its very great nobility & virtue, because it supports much human nature & very lightly delivers the patient & sick from each evil & illness these things are enough from human blood. When you want to extract the quintessence of flesh and eggs, this flesh from which you want to extract it is either subtly and in small pieces sliced, and then plundered in a mortar, with the tenth part of common salt in the same way or plunder the eggs in a mortar with salt, until they are reduced to water, & then put into a cocourde, & put the blind alembic on it, & be in all things, in digestion fermentation & distillation, as already declared & illustrated human blood.

On how to extract the quintessence of apples, pears, & other fruits. Chapter 15.

Do you want to extract the quintessence of apples, pears, cherry plums, chestnuts and other types of fruit, be these things sliced very finely, with a knife, & then pounded with an earthen mortar & very well incorporated with the tenth part of salt common, are then after put in the cocourde, & either put on the blind alembic, & be very well stuck & put in the droppings to rot. as we said about human blood, then you will have to look if any of the fruits will have the virtue to that, what you want to use it for: because this virtue & presence of this fruit comes from its essence which is in this hidden & occult matter . And when that will be reduced almost to no immateriality incorruption of its lees & sludge, & of larger separated matter, not without cause is that called by the Philosophers the quintessence of fruits, & yet, it has a thousand times greater virtue than before that she was still an elemental body: for said fruits are composed of the four qualities, as everyone knows and of this there is no doubt.

How to get the most out of flowers, herbs & roots. Chapter 16.

If you want to separate the quintessence of the four qualities of flowers from herbs & roots, take them when they are fully ripe with all their substance: in clear & serene weather, & being the Moon in crescent, & almost full: because then all flowers, Root herbs have almost no corruption so much that they are separated from all strange & supernatural heat: & are purged perfectly of all impurity & filthiness. Are then plundered by slicing them finely, in a marble mortar with the tenth part of salt & put everything in the circulatory system, or these things are fermented into horse manure for the space of a month, renewing the manure every week : after the completed month, be taken from the manure by removing the blind alembic, & be put the alembic with the spout, & be distilled in a water bath, by increasing the fire firstly to a third degree, & be the distilled water kept, & draw the lees from the squash, & pulverize very fine: after that, spread the distilled water on the lees & again put the blind still in a good stick of good lees or cement all these things together, like you have the first time. And are distilled in a water bath, reducing the heat to medium degrees. After that, the feces & marc are pulverized again, & the water poured on top, which was distilled from it, & is again digested as above & distilled thirdly, & rotted, always decreasing the fire by the medium degree & always decreasing the putrefaction by the middle degree, that is to say that in the second digestion it is necessary to putrefy by twenty-one days, in the third by fourteen days: And in the fourth by eight, so that it is fermented by four times, after the perfect fourth distillation, be put into the circulatory system and buried in horse manure or in a bath, making fire to the first degree.

This can also be placed in the Sun on summer days, or also hidden in a vinacea and grape marc, and either circulated for a whole month, and a little more because it is more circulated as much nobler becomes, when the superfluous humidity, of the four qualities is totally digested, consumed & resolved in the circulatory by the frequent ascension & descent. And also you have the quintessence in which the very great virtue of herbs, flowers & roots is hidden: it is however more effective: if you take the grass, the seed or root, and you distill water from it: And it thus distilled again on these sludges & lees, from where it is distilled or spread digesting it into horse manure every seven days. Either then distilled from the ashes by all means, form and manner, as was done with celandine: because by this, you will separate from it the four qualities and the material will be made all the more noble and more attractive , and otherwise the sludge will be of no value, one can inquire what is quintessence since it is nothing other than other distilled water. To this I reply that it is nothing other in form & vision than other distilled water: But it is much more subtle, greater, great & noble than other distilled water which is simple, insofar as all phlegmatic & aquatic humidity is in it summarily by several digestions & variable circulations & distillations in the same way, when that is spread on these lees, & digested again. And is also distilled again after having returned to the marc what would have been drawn from it, then it recovers all its virtue and its strength, which was hidden in it. And yet it is compared to burnt wood which is reduced to coals. And yet these coals are no longer in any other fire or flame. To the dead body this is compared: because when the soul is separated from the body, the carrion has no value other than being rotten and putrefied. And yet I wanted to manifest all things with the nail, as Ion says: so that if you wanted anything of subtlety and great effectiveness, you could carry it out to its operation, according to the desire of your courage, by taking this quintessence instead of the other waters, and adding each species to it whatever you wish. And be in the same distilled form, as we have often heard above: namely by receiving six ounces of the quintessence, and four drams of each other species. And be very subtly pulverized, & be put in the squash, putting the blind alembic on it, & be digested into horse manure for a whole month. After that, it is distilled, firing until the end of the third degree. And then the feces and marc are pulverized from it put back on the water, and are put again in the blind still digesting for three weeks, & then after it is distilled again & digested for fourteen days, always reducing the fire by one degree, & when you have distilled it four times & putrefied again, the feces are pulverized, & finally it is fired at the first degree of heat, & Digestion is done for eight days, then afterwards put into the circulatory system, and the same circulated as long as you wish. Then you will find in everyone a marvelous operation, to which matter is ordered, but if you thought you were making the corruptible the incorruptible, you will disappoint yourself, as Jehan said of the trenched rock, even though this makes the corruptible next to the incorruptible : however it is not brought to its true perfection, as Lulius says: for everything under heaven is corruptible, & yet poorly consonant, & is an absurd thing to prepare or do variable things: so that no matter can be totally preserved from corruption, as we see the sick who are sometimes relieved by doctors, by accident without any duly previous cure: but nevertheless, as Ovid says: it is not the doctor's business that always be cured the patient, because if that were the case, the men who died a hundred or two hundred years ago would still be alive. And yet if you used real potable gold, as it has already been in use for six hundred years or more, would you believe you would still live three hundred or five hundred years, as many of the ancients are read? This is a lie and a frivolous thing, and much to laugh at in this modern age, seeing that the nature of men and the vegetative virtue are decreasing day by day for the fact that no good regime exists among the men of the present, when at eating and drinking, because in our time what Saint Paul also said was common, no one is who dies several times, more from gluttony than from the sword. Finally, no divine honor is observed today: love & fear of God & good ceremonies, so no one observes them as our good predecessors did. And for this reason the just dies and is ravished, so that his understanding is not moved by malice, and murderous and deceitful men will not live half their days and yet what we think is a vain thing and of no value. however it is not brought to its true perfection, as Lulius says: for everything under heaven is corruptible, & yet poorly consonant, & is an absurd thing to prepare or do variable things: so that no matter can be totally preserved of corruption, as we see in the sick who are sometimes relieved by doctors, by accident without any duly previous cure: but nevertheless, as Ovid says: it is not the doctor's business that always be cured the patient, because if that were the case, the men who died a hundred or two hundred years ago would still be alive. And yet if you used real potable gold, as it has already been in use for six hundred years or more, would you believe you would still live three hundred or five hundred years, as many of the ancients are read? This is a lie and a frivolous thing, and much to laugh at in this modern age, seeing that the nature of men and the vegetative virtue are decreasing day by day for the fact that no good regime exists among the men of the present, when at eating and drinking, because in our time what Saint Paul also said was common, no one is who dies several times, more from gluttony than from the sword. Finally, no divine honor is observed today: love & fear of God & good ceremonies, so no one observes them as our good predecessors did. And for this reason the just dies and is ravished, so that his understanding is not moved by malice, and murderous and deceitful men will not live half their days and yet what we think is a vain thing and of no value. however it is not brought to its true perfection, as Lulius says: for everything under heaven is corruptible, & yet poorly consonant, & is an absurd thing to prepare or do variable things: so that no matter can be totally preserved of corruption, as we see in the sick who are sometimes relieved by doctors, by accident without any duly previous cure: but nevertheless, as Ovid says: it is not the doctor's business that always be cured the patient, because if that were the case, the men who died a hundred or two hundred years ago would still be alive. And yet if you used real potable gold, as it has already been in use for six hundred years or more, would you believe you would still live three hundred or five hundred years, as many of the ancients are read? This is a lie and a frivolous thing, and much to laugh at in this modern age, seeing that the nature of men and the vegetative virtue are decreasing day by day for the fact that no good regime exists among the men of the present, when at eating and drinking, because in our time what Saint Paul also said was common, no one is who dies several times, more from gluttony than from the sword. Finally, no divine honor is observed today: love & fear of God & good ceremonies, so no one observes them as our good predecessors did. And for this reason the just dies and is ravished, so that his understanding is not moved by malice, and murderous and deceitful men will not live half their days and yet what we think is a vain thing and of no value. so no one observes them as our good predecessors did. And for this reason the just dies and is ravished, so that his understanding is not moved by malice, and murderous and deceitful men will not live half their days and yet what we think is a vain thing and of no value. so no one observes them as our good predecessors did. And for this reason the just dies and is ravished, so that his understanding is not moved by malice, and murderous and deceitful men will not live half their days and yet what we think is a vain thing and of no value.

On how to draw & extract the quintessence of antimony. Chapter 17.

The quintessence of antimony extracted is good for drying wounds, and is thus made. Receive antimony powder, & be incorporated with distilled vinegar, & the best that can be had, & as long as there is held the antimony that the vinegar is converted into a very red color, then pour the vinegar, & put in a clean vessel, & pour the other distilled vinegar on it, & put a little on the fire, until the vinegar is colored, & do this as many times as the vinegar ceases to be colored, & this which is colored you will take it, putting it to distil in the squash by the alembic in the furnace of the ashes. And first the vinegar will be distilled, and after that you will see through the spout of the still the matter jutting out with a thousand colors, and this is the quintessence that Philosophers call philosophical lead. It is also called by some artists virginal milk, and however it is different from that of which we will speak later, and is almost similar in color to blessed oil. This quintessence is put in the pelican to circulate for four days, and you will be able to use it on all wounds instead of balm, because this vinegar heals easily and very quickly all wounds and injuries, it is also wonderfully useful for all apostumes, of this lead too , where white lead is drawn out the quintessence like antimony by spreading distilled vinegar over it with four fingers, either then digested into horse manure, as has been narrated & said of the quintessence of herbs & flowers: then either distilled, & first you will see that vinegar rise, & after it no moisture, as is oil, & is thus called that oil of lead, or quintessence of lead, & has in it no sweetness like oil of antimony, & is worth against all burns & adustions from fire, & hot water, & against rot, itch, scabs, & angry bladders: however it should be noted that this white lead must first be washed often times with rose water, running it through a linen sheet , until no thing remains in it of the powder of white lead. Then be dried, & reserved for use, as wills it & says Albucasis, in the book which was called the servant, & Jehan de saint Amand, on the antidotory of mesue.

On how to get the quintessence of the sun. Chapter 18.

Many in various ways have spoken & written about the quintessence of gold, however for brevity we demonstrate a more subtle & brief way of doing it. So when you want to extract the quintessence of the Sun, namely gold, as the most perfect and precious of all metals, take four ounces of very good gold, of mercury which is well-washed quicksilver twenty-four ounces , & be made amalgam, & take three or four or more glass instruments, which are very good, made by the potter, & are shaped like a box, of a latitude & width, & ample from a bottom to to the other, & are round at the bottom, wide in length of a palm, so that a goldsmith's rod can enter it: that is to say crucible or pots like an alembic, & are glazed or plumbed from within, & around the circuit & orifice, which is the shape in this way.

When these instruments are made, they will be polished & very well matched, even very perfectly. This done, you will take three or four rods, putting them in the fire, if they turn red: & when they are thus red, one be removed & put on top of the marble, sending the amalgamated one: & suddenly have one of the tops said instruments putting it on that tigille, which is the amalgam, & thus allowing it to cool on a stone, then after the foot of a hare, with which a small vessel is very well washed & stripped of all the mercury & silver live, which rises into it from the inside, & again put the water to boil with the amalgam, from there be put amalgam into a clean vessel, breaking it very well, & agitating with an iron instrument or small pestle, & you will see bring up no black matter, subtle & very light like powder, which you will draw with a feather, leading it into the squash, & stick it very well with the edge of knowledge. After taking Amalgam, & put into another whitening rod, by placing one of the said vessels on it, & be cooled on the marble one, & be made in all things as of the first: & if you want to open this more briefly, divide the amalgam into three or four parts, putting each part into one of the vessels, as has been narrated in all things. And when the amalgam has cooled, always have the reddening tigille of the prepared fire, if another vessel is imposed on this one, cleaning it with the hare's foot, as has already been said: & Mercury which is mounted from within, must always be mixed again with the amalgam until you see no Sun mixed with Mercury, but this black matter of which we have already spoken, is called by the Philosophers the head of the raven, and is the beginning of all true and perfect science, and however black and offensive it may be, is nevertheless gold, which you will be able to prove by spreading it. And when you see that mercury no longer releases this black matter, it is therefore a very certain sign & indication that no Sun & gold is no longer contained in it, when you pick it like this, it must be washed very well , if all the Mercury goes away from it, and this lotion or wash made in this way is separated. Distills fountain water once only through the alembic, imposing the black material in a glass or glass vessel, pouring this distilled water over it, and is broken with the finger, cleanly, on both sides of all parts, & you will see Mercury separated from this matter residing & remaining at the bottom: after that, you will pour the water & the matter of this mercury into another vessel or glass vessel, pouring other distilled water over it, doing as before, & will do this so many times that all matter is separated from Mercury. Receive then after the urceau with this black matter, & put it in a secure place by covering it very well, so that no impure thing can fall into it, & let it rest for a day & a night, & all the matter will reside or remain at the bottom, consequently it will be sunk water this material with a clean white linen sheet, and either dry this material over a small fire made of coals, or be placed in a hot arena, or ashes. Afterwards you will put it in a cocure, sticking it very well with mud or cement suitable for this, & be reserved for your use, until you want to use it: you must thus prepare your Mercury as much as you want: & either put in a mortar with vinegar & common salt, or broken & mixed together with a wooden pestle, until the vinegar has become completely black, this done, or separated from the Mercury one, & poured by spreading another recent one on top vinegar, & pounding it again until it blackens, then pouring it again & putting another on it, & doing this as many times as the vinegar ceases to be black. Then allow it to remain until you see the mercury in it melt, and again the vinegar is poured, but you will put the mercury with salt in a glass vessel heated in the fire, and it is dried: this makes , this material will be transmuted into a hard substance in no way so you will break it again with the wooden pestle in the mortar, pouring pure fountain water on it, always breaking it. And when you see the matter being black, you will pour the water from it, and put some fresh and recent ones in it, and do this as many times, until all the blackness goes from Mercury with the salt , & therefore it is prepared for the Sun to convert it, after that it is poured with a linen three or four times, & at the last with a leather, as the Goldsmiths do you will therefore have the true rectification of Mercury. However, there are no others who prepare it differently, namely by taking the heads of the garlic, which must be very well cleaned & stripped of their bark & then pounded as much as you can, & squeezed the juice with a cloth, & take as much Mercury as you want, & be broken on the marble with the said juice of the garlic until it is mortified & separated, the Mercury of the whole: if whatever is no longer appears from it. Then after take another Mercury, crushing it again with garlic, and doing so as with the first: and this done, either put in a glazed earthenware vessel, or in a mortar, breaking it strongly with a wooden pestle mixed with salt and vinegar: and when it is black, either pour it, and put another vinegar in it again, and either do this so many times that no thing of the black material remains there, and thus it will be very well prepared. The others purge it differently, and is better than this purgation, which is done with glass salt and vitriol, and is like this.

On the manner of distillation by descent. Chapter 19.

I believe that no one is ignorant of the manner of doubly distillation, namely by sublation and by descent, one of which is easily known to all, and the other to few, what need is to recite any thing. If I show & teach the way of distillation by descent to young apprentices of this art.

Several things are distilled in this way, as is done in juniper oil, & in blessed oil, in nutmeg oil, also in oil from egg centers, & mash of other oils. Such a distillation can therefore be done in a square furnace, made of unfired tiles, and either in amplitude and width of three cubits, or a little more, putting one stone after the other, as is done in Germany, in the construction of hearths, on which the meats are cooked, & be this earthen furnace at the height of a cubit and a half on all sides, except the front, on which the fittings are placed: on which are other soft tiles, that we call baked tiles to cover: but in the middle be a slit the width of a cubit, seeing that a ring is made of this length: through which a man's foot can enter.

So above this hearth, be made on all sides a position of mutilated tiles, at the height of a cubit or approximately two: the shape of which is such that you will have after a furnace prepared to distill, & seal all the distillatory glasses that you will want to reclose, and is called the seal or signet of Hermes, as we will declare abundantly in the following chapter. When you therefore want to distill by descent, either take the gourd from the best earth you can find: or if you cannot have good earth, be made of copper or aurical, and fill it up to the third part with this material that you want to distill & is closed with an iron cover which is very soft, made of iron blades, & is full of small holes, & is turned the orifice, that is to say the mouth & entrance of the squash in this way. And enter into this slit which is at the foundation of the furnace, in the width of three fingers: and let everything be well stuck together, so that no thing can fall from the top of the furnace to the bottom of it: but in the lower part of the furnace be placed the receptacle to receive the distilling material, & in the upper part of the foundation of the furnace be fired with coals on all sides, & be however far from the distillery, as far as it is possible.

And at the beginning the fire must be very small, and successively increased, and so you can prepare it little by little from the said squash. And know that each matter will distill water at the beginning, however one more than the other, the matter that the follower of this continual art can see by the distillation of the materials, which are very variable. So be placed on top of the orifice through the part of the upper foundation, a glass gourd, in the lower part of the furnace, to receive what you will distill. And when you see the distilling oil, this vessel must be evacuated and again be supposed, and the fire will always increase by approaching it to the distilling one or to the squash, until you see that no more oil will be distilling. Then the fire is to be removed and thrown back, and the further away it is, the better, until it is extinguished and the upper part of the cocurde is cooled, and then you will remove the fire. the lower part, in which is the oil, and will reserve it separately, as for this, the fire is to be made at the beginning too small, and must be successively increased, so that it is at a quarter degree, this is done to two first causes is, for what is consumed by this abundance and vehement heat all the humidity, from which can be made oil, and is this mainly made by the oils of egg hubs and nutmeg: but by the other oils like that of juniper, you can make a fire suddenly, as much as you like. The second cause is that the wood can injure the gourd: if it can be burned or broken, or that this oil can attract some bad smell from the wood, and yet the fire at the beginning according to the course of nature is to to do, seeing that this nature does not tolerate any violent thing, as is already proven by the sentences of Avicenna, & Aristotle in the quintessence of wine. But in simple blessed oil: you must at least increase the heat at the end of the distillation. You can also make the furnace in this way that it is an earthen pit in length, width, and depth, as the material to be distilled requires, and requires in which a glass or glass bowl is placed, well washed with water, to avoid that the distilled oils do not enter into it, and a blade of soft iron, pierced with many holes, is placed on the orifice of it, so that the oil rises in the blade, the width of a finger oblique or sideways, and on top of this earthen vessel another is placed, turning one orifice against the other, but in this upper one is the material to be distilled, closing the vessel well, so that the material cannot flow. Then after all things are well glued with mud or cement, & fire is fired at the upper joulle tower, which must be all outside the pit, take out the orifice, which is in its size of its pit: but this second way cannot be done well like the first, for two reasons, the first of which is: because at the first time we cannot separate the water from the oil. The second is such, because one cannot easily know when all the matter is distilled, except by frequent use and practice, and by experimenting with custom. The furnace can be made by another way to distill by the descent in this way, either make a pit in a precipitating mountain, & or put there a distillery in its predicted form, always putting another there, at the bottom of which are several port, & above that distillatory or vessel be placed a cover from its lower part to its upper, closing it very well or flowing, & be the turn & circuit of the vessel from above lower than its small mountain, so that this mountain rises in this hill, and then a fire is made in its shape in front of said, you can also put a glass under this hill, because the first part of the furnace of lower loulle must be open, so that you can know when all the material is distilled.

On the manner of closing the seal or signet of Hermes. Chapter 20.

Most often the oil or noble water requires great closure, so that the spirit & vegetative virtue cannot exalt or expire & leave it & more often still requires this the matter to circulate, or to ferment, if lest the virtue of the thing be diminished. And this closure is called the seal or sign of Hermes, and among all the other sigilations this one is the most noble and very excellent, which is thus customarily made, the glass or distillery filled up to the third part of the material to digest & circulate have the neck long, & be pushed from below to the slit of the small furnace, as it was narrated in the chapter before put: so much so that this vessel penetrates the slit of the oven by four oblique fingers: but if this slit is larger than the neck of the glass, it must be blocked with clay on all sides, so that no thing around the glass can fall into the lower furnace, and be as long as you can burn this glass or distillatory, then afterwards you will often bring it close to the squash, increasing it little by little, until you see the glass turn red. So take the pincers of a goldsmith reddening with fire in the front part with which you will grip the highest part of the glass, heating little by little & holding these pincers, & then remove it little by little, & you will see this glass be made whole in this part, as it is in the others, so after that, the fire a little to remove & soften, & hold in shape & manner, & this is done little by little, until this vessel is fully cooled. For if after the extended heat were followed by the cold repentantly or suddenly, it would break immediately and thus all the labor industry and the expenses would be done in vain, and for this cause the fire is to decrease, not by little diligence, and this glass to cool , in this way you can keep the instrument or vessel secluded as long as you want: but when you want to open it, have a sulfurized wire with which you will surround the neck of the glass, six or seven times, and set the sulfur ablaze little by little. small of a wax candle, and when all the wire is burned, break the glass, remove the neck, and impose or remove whatever you want, or three or four iron instruments, the length of two cubits , or a little more, at the end of which are two rings, one of which is at the neck of the glass, of those which will be seen more apt & suitable for this, & after a short time this glass is broken, & in this manner you will be able to slice large or small glasses as you wish, and will be equal in this slicing as if it had been sliced with any saw, of which here is the shape depicted.

On the way of distilling vinegar and urine from home, in which things all calcined metals can be resolved. Chapter 21.

In the upper chapters of this work we said that in distilled vinegar the sun can be dissolved, and how also through it the quintessence of lead & antimony is drawn: it is therefore necessary to write the method of distilling it for young apprentices & artists. There is a big difference between the distillation of brandy and vinegar: because in brandy the best substance is first digested: but not in vinegar, but at the end, so much so that water or vinegar phlegm is to the later & last wine, & to the earlier vinegar. And yet when the best substance of the vinegar is released by the distillation in the receptacle, you must have very good vinegar, and the best that you can, and be put in the squash putting on the still, and be distilled by the ashes, or in a water bath with slow & low heat until no more water enters, then tasted then often on the tongue, to know if it is fortified in sourness, with no bite. Then it will be time to remove the receptacle, and put another one in its place, which is glued with lint or cement, and increases the fire a little. And when you see no little white lines like little crumbs in the alembic, you will distill it further until the spirits come out, from which you will see the vapor being raised to the supremity, & at the top of the squash coming out of it the still in the receptacles: But when no drops of blood will be seen in the still. Once again another receptacle is placed, and as much is distilled that all the blood material has come out of the receptacle and this material is greatly fetid and stinking smelling of combustion. And yet this vinegar is not good for resolving the Sun which is calcined gold to make potable gold: but it is good for dyeing metals: for the stench of combustion adheres to the solar substance from which potable gold would be more corrupted than improved. But if you want to distil the urine of a man or a woman you will do it well to which the gold leaves can be resolved, or also the calcined gold, from which the urine thus distilled can extract & draw the color: to make potable gold . Already named many times, which also has great power to cure sore throat: when the patient's feet are anointed with it each day two or three times, and know in the same way, it is also valid for consumptives, and can be adapted to many medicines that I leave to summarize: because this is not also our purpose, and so you will distill man's urine in this way. Take the urine of a healthy man of blood or anger, who drinks good wine and who has not passed nor exceeded the age of twenty and five years. Either distilled four times by the still in a water bath: And then circulated with a pelican through the space of forty revolutions & reserved for its use. Others distill it seven times and it is better.

On how to distill honey, which enters into potable gold. Chapter 22.

Honey, as Pliny testifies, is called by the Greek name  & honey flies are called . Good honey grows where there is an abundance of good flowers, the Greeks make three kinds of good honey among several others. So the first is the spring honey called Antimun, because it is the flower of the hive. The second is summer honey which they call Horeum because every fruit of summer retains the name, from Greek hora diction which means the time par excellence that such fruit has come. The third is called sylvester which we prepare after the first rains of Autumn, and is triceum, which we commonly call heather honey, which alone flowers in this time of Autumn, in the wood, and from which it is called: but because in our country we do not find Greek honey or any of the above-mentioned species: we must take the one that grows in our country, and the best that we can find, and must be the reddening and thick one having no aquosity in it: be put in a cauldron or in an iron vessel, in the quantity you wish, & be added pure fountain water, in the quantity of honey, & be cooked over a slow fire, pouring always the foam until the water is consumed and spoiled, & either this is done nine times: or cooked finally until it is reduced to the proper thickness of the honey, then is circulated in a bain-marie heated to the first degree of heat by forty revolutions, this makes: either put in the squash, which is longer & higher than that with other materials to be distilled, & earth, glazed on the inside to distill by the still. And if by chance the honey does not want to rise: take wet and cool sheets, which around the squash are turned inside by the still, and clear water will first come out, which must be reserved separately: because it worth lengthening & coloring hair. Afterwards, citrine water and gold with oil will come out, and this you will keep separately again, and this second water is held towards no surgeons, instead of artificial balm it is worth to the interior places to be cleaned and filled, and to world the wounds which are deep, & to color the hair too. Thirdly & finally it will be distilled by the ashes, red water will come out, little declining in any darkness, & worth to world & embody the wounds. But if you want to have a larger quantity of the first, put it on its lees and you will distil it, as you did the first time, and you will scour it, and will close each water and oil separately in their vial and keep it.

Common drinking gold. Chapter 23.

In the upper chapters, we have dealt with the manner of drawing & extracting the quintessence of all things which have form, essence & species, which even are administered to make potable gold, by which human life is preserved from corruption until at the end of our prescribed age: for varying people work in different ways, and each one praises his fashion, however laudable it may be. I find four more principal ways, by which gold in ancient times was reduced to drinkable substance, however so that I do not stupefy nor obtunde the tender ears of young artists: for the adage of the rustics is, that one cannot err by the beaten & trodden path: & thus I will show the fairly trodden & used path, of which you will be able to have very good practice: because no great secret is extracted from this quintessence, to which the ancient Philosophers having great labor have nevertheless sealed & hidden from us all things, by no reason, because this thing has an occult virtue, which it has given divine providence, by which young people can recover their lost and lost power, by which, also old age is totally chased away, not however in that degree where it is: but it represents the ancient man to be young, if he uses this distillation as we will teach more abundantly. And is this the substance & first in matter, which the ancient philosophers have studied & worked so much, so that they can keep & preserve in any way the substance & human nature from corruption not yet ripe, because all the kind of men according to the philosopher Aristotle stagirity is concupiscible to be preserved from corruption: but it is foreseen & predestined by God very good & very great that we must die once why our moral Seneca de Cordube elegantly says, that thing is no longer certain than the dead, & uncertain that its time has been ordered for all. And Saint Paul also says that it is ordained and established for all that we must die once: and he himself also says, that we all die in Adam. It is impossible that we can find corruptible matter which preserves us from corruption, seeing that there is nothing under heaven (according to Aristotle) which is exempt from death. And yet we must find something which is close to incorruption, I judge several to have plowed in this that they lived eternally, who have written this quintessence to be so perfect & incorruptible that no thing fails. Which thing is very holy: for if it were so perfect that no thing failed in it, it would make us eternal, which is against the will of God, as has often been said: However we can find the way & the art to prolong our mortal life, until the end prescribed to us, provided that we fear God and honor, as it is right and worthy to do so, & let us maintain such a regime that it is not inconvenient to our life. However, Jehan de Tholette, and Hugue, both cardinals, have done well in this way. Which they always used in their meats and drinks, and admitted it as a great hidden treasure: and is thus done. First, before all things, have water, in which gold can be dissolved, silver and all precious stones, and is made in this way. Take a pound of armoniac salt, nitre salt as much of one as the other, broken and pulverized with a mortar, and then add an ounce of live sulfur, sublimated mercury as much of one as the other & all these things be broken and mixed together.

And this done, take the said powdered things up to the weight of three ounces, and distill them with slow fire, this increasing at the end, as one does when distilling strong water, because this water comes out with great impetuosity: and make that you can have a pound of the said water, which you will reserve in a glass with a narrow neck, very recluse, & when you want to make a soup, receive very fine gold two ounces or a dram, or as much as you need. will please: because you can do as you please. Either mixed into strips which are very soft & very subtle as much as you can for one part of the gold take three parts of mercury, which will not have yet been sublimated, heat it in a crucible or tigille until it smoke, & then make the amalgam, like a boil, & be amalgamated for so long that all things are incorporated together. And when everything is well amalgamated, spread it in cold water, the amalgam can also be made with the large one that remains in the bombards, when they have often been extorted & turned: because when the material is well melted & liquid, it must be spread, by bombarding it & here & there by agitating it & becomes an amalgam. And do this so many times, shaking it and moving it until it seems like mush, then weigh it and take as much live sulfur as the mercury and gold will weigh, again putting it in a vessel or pot on the fire, and stirring it until all the sulfur is burned after it has been extracted from the fire: either broken again, and whole, putting it on the coals until it reddens which thing done, or removed from the fire, you will find your gold very well & very subtly calcined, so from this gold powder you will take two drams, & water before called an ounce, & be put in the glass with a long neck, closing very well that orifice, so that no vapor, wind & spirit can be exhaled or evacuated, & at the moment of the eye that gold will be poured out, & into pure water converted, of citrine color, so much so that if the skin of the man is dyed by it, it appears to be red or vermilion, and with such water are the golden feathers in vermilion color: from which it also comes that many diverse things in them acquire various colors: for if you put in the water before called the material of silver, or calcined silver, this water acquires the celestial color, from which the hair & manes of horses or other animals can be dyed in the color of the sky, but if you impose in it calcined silver with as much mercury it will turn into black color, dyeing everything you impose on it. And if you put copper which is burnt, it will be transformed into a green color & in such proportion the hair is green, & all other things which with such water are dyed, & consequently it can have several & diverse colors, because of the various substances imposed there, which I abandon for fear of the anger of the readers, this water is not made to color or to dye: But better to resolve gold, or silver, & all precious stones, to the end that they can be converted into drinkable substance . And this is a very big secret in medicine, is also this water found for the purpose that lepers and sick people can be cured, because it cures all palate, and yet no one says that it can be drunk by lepers, which I leave it to the medical consultant: but I judge it to be horrible, and of nature as much as it can be corrupted very strange, because of the poisonous recipe, because you clearly see in it enter sublimated mercury, armoniac salt, fixed, & water strong. For which thing she is of great horror. So when you want this well-worked drinking gold. Take strong water separated from these feces before said, in which the gold is resolved, and then is distilled by the still over a slow fire. And does this so many times that this water is separated from the gold, and remains at the bottom like melted butter. Take after this pimperial pound and half chamedreos, gentian of each an ounce, and be all things well broken and on top put brandy well rectified, and put these things in a glass for a day and a night closing very well the vessel. Either then distilled by a felt-tip pen. And if this is mixed with the predicted gold like butter, it will immediately be converted into gold, having a very good color, like saffron.

It also has no sweetness in it like honey or sugar. And this must be taken as meat or drunk whenever you want. Nature for this is very sustenant, it also makes a good memory & if the leper washes himself with it, it will marvelously benefit him, the paralytics similarly, because it is a spirit to recover all lost heat: & in this way, the precious stones can be reduced to drinkable form: But you must not put mercury, which is quicksilver, but sulfur. And yet from each precious stone you will be able to take any portion & pulverize it very well, & after that, purify as much sulfur as you mix with it & be all things broken & recounted, & rewritten into very subtle powder: then be put into the tigille on the coals until the sulfur is lit, all burned, and everything has gone from the tigille.

Then after again be broken very subtly on the marble, putting as much purified sulfur there, as the first time & again be burned as above: & this is done by pulverizing it very subtly & it will be primed. After that take stones before said, thus purged & mondified, half an ounce: & strong water before said, three ounces. And be put together in a glass, having a long & narrow neck, closing it well, & immediately the stones will be dissolved & melted. And when they are thus dissolved, the glass be opened, so that the strong water evaporates and loses all its substance and its force, and you will see the precious stones at the bottom like butter: from which you will work the first way as you have gold butter: and if you add brandy and the species mentioned above, you will have real drinkable gold, which is valid for large operations and very serious illnesses.

Drinking gold without strong water. Chapter 24.

You will also be able to make drinking gold without strong water, and is better suited to the art of medicine, than what we have already said: when you have solution of gold with the water of life. To have the strength of this stone, which is called Philosopher's, made of the quintessence by the separation of the four elements, as has often been demonstrated above, because this quintessence has such great virtue that whatever you put in it, it will attract its effective & to its strength. if it preserves the dead flesh of corruption, all the more does this to human flesh still alive, and in which is the spirit of life. It digests everything indigestible, and everything digestible, by its nature puts it outside. And yet it chases away & expels all the bad humors, & complexions of human nature, so be it that it is not an element, but a very subtle substance, from the elements extracted. And because these four elements are corruptible, we must therefore have an incorruptible substance, or a very similar incorruptible one. And this is the quintessence, from which gold can be resolved, and all its force extracted: for gold does not suffer any corruptibility of these four qualities, except artificially, and not by nature. Who is he who ever saw gold being putrefied into water? who saw him burned with fire? who knew him to attract the rust of the earth? & who finally saw that metal could be consumed by water? But these things in all other substances are possible. By which when gold is put to the quintessence & mixed, it is made drinkable. And yet it is a great science to find the subtle way to resolve gold, and reduce it to drinkable form: So that by chance when you think of making water of life, you make water of death. It is gold therefore drinking must be made with brandy rightly & duly as it belongs artifice, being removed & abstracted from the four elements of this wine where they are secret & hidden. Also do not make human blood a bad smelling and stinking material, because there it would lose its strength, and would attract all the stench of the oil of human blood. And if it were not made of this earth, of which the stone of the philosophers is composed, you would not be able to resolve the sun, because you would believe that you were making water from fire, and that would be an absurd and dissonant thing, and which would harm the one who uses it. would use, and yet you will not have a cure if there is any little of this earth: for however little it may be, if it has great virtue. Also avoid taking strange soil, as some do who take lime, others the ashes of the willow, others burnt tartar. And the others finally the ashes of the vine as we recited over them abundantly. And with this strange earth they believe they are making water of life, and do not know that they are preparing, water of death, as Geber says, this being earth and incompatible medicine of another mixture, as we have often said: because this earth confers & gives virtue to this water of life, when it is thus made as above is taught. You must therefore have the fashion of separating the four elements, if you can make the true water of life, or quintessence, in which gold can be resolved in two ways. First with the water of life, which attracts the virtue of the philosophers' stone. Secondly by reducing the gold to powder, & calcining it as we will teach below. When you therefore want to separate the four elements of this water of life or of the wine from which it is made: you must take the best wine that you can in large quantity, putting it in several coils, so that it can enter in good quantity in each coil, and when all the wine is distilled, you will put it apart, and keep the phlegm, separating it too. And the wine thus distilled is always put on the feces & materials & when the phlegm is extracted & taken as from its feces, the earth will remain at the bottom. When therefore you need the earth, which is the burnt matter, as was said above, be washed very well with the phlegm, as we have demonstrated. If nothing of the substance smelling of combustion & burning remains, & by this water of life is justified. So is another more subtle way, when the wine has been extracted from its faeces or received the phlegm, with what remained in the distillery, from which you have separated the distilled wine, & so much so that it is cooked in a cauldron with temperate fire that it either deducted and remained in the thickness of liquefied honey, or then remove from the heat, and cooled until the next day, and you will see the small stone almost completely residing at the bottom as clear as if it were niter salt. Then afterwards either the water poured, & the oil swimming on it: & either the phlegm spread on the stone or earth before named, until it is clarified of its faeces. This is either second boiled & cooled as above. And do this so many times that the earth is separated from it, you will then dry it in the reverberation oven, into a clean vessel, which is covered in the highest part. And in this furnace of reverberation so much will calcinera that it will become a very white wine-like substance. However, before all things the fire will quench, unless the matter is melted by too much heat: for if this were done, it would be more suitable for arquemy, than for medicine. And when this earth is sufficiently calcined, put it in a glass, which has a long neck, on which the distilled wine is placed, which must be separated from its phlegm, and rot in the water bath for two or three days. After that it is distilled by the still, and you will see this earth with the water rise to the still like clear crystal. And in this water pure gold can be dissolved, and fine, rolled: that is to say put in rolls, which are very softened: however it would be better if it were in gold leaves, because they would be more easily resolved, & converted into drinkable substance. Drinkable gold is also made by separating each of the elements separately, and then drawing the quintessence into which you can melt the Sun, and change and permute it into drinkable gold, presupposing however that the gold is put into very tender blades: & thus when the spirit is abstracted & removed by the still, like the soul from its phlegm, like from the body the feces or earth which have recently remained in the distillatory are taken, & four times as much of its phlegm, & are put in a water bath for nine days until they are very well putrefied: then they are distilled by the alembic, and citrine oil will come out. And when no more can go up to the still, know three elements still remaining in the distillery: because you will see the water or clear phlegm will come out but the air will remain at the bottom, like golden oil: after that be separated the fire of the earth, by taking four parts of the phlegm, and one part of the earth, and be digested in a water bath, with very violent fire, and you will see the vermilion and red oil, in which is the element of fire & water: & thus you will have four separate qualities, which you will finally reduce into the quintessence, so that the earth is calcined in a furnace of glass in three weeks: then you will spread the phlegm on it, & will digest it seven times, & you will distil it as many times, & thus you will have the water of the Sun, with which you will be able to resolve the Sun subtly laminated, & put in softened laminas. And know that all the more as you distil seven times more of its earth, which we also called the stone of the philosophers, all the more noble, more useful, & more virtuous, & more effective will be to resolve. And when you want to resolve the Sun in this water, you must have very subtle gold leaves, and be placed in a glass that has a long neck. And when you have a part of the gold, sprinkle on it three parts of this water of life, which of the earth before said be distilled seven times, and put in a water bath, until it is resolved . And also can be made drinkable gold to nourish and sustain human nature, and make man live again, even though no doctor had judged him to die, and yet have it always with you. It should also be noted what virtue this stone has, by which the operation of water is accomplished. Because the spirit inspires or it pleases. And yet whoever shows this art to the unlearned & ignorant & manifests it is cursed. But whoever teaches it to learned people and lovers of knowledge, he is worthy of the laurel crown: because he speaks things worthy of cedar. Many have sought this science, but very few have found it. So when you have the four elements separated, one each of them will reserve: because each has its singular operation. And the oil which is separated from red or vermilion water by the element of this fire, very well benefits young people & adolescents, & corroborates them in vigor, strength, venus & beauty of face, & does not allow any blood to be rotten, & it also removes all anger & chases away all phlegm. It is highly generative to blood & sperm. And yet whoever wishes to use it often must make it bleed: otherwise it would penetrate the veins. And if a man uses it before the thirtieth of his age he grows so greatly that everyone marvels at it. It is also worth it to recover your sight, when every day you put a drop in the eye for the space of a month. It also greatly benefits lost hearing. But the element of red fire is red water which from the said oil is distilled. It is valid for all the things above written, and the old and very decrepit makes it young and colorful. The elders should use this oil with a little brandy, and the young with very good wine. It chases away all the diseases of old age, and therefore it is called the elixir of life and is this a great secret of medicine, which has never been discussed by any doctor. But there are many of these Philosophers, and the reason why the doctors are silent about it, is it seems to me that it has no acuity that it has attracted from the earth or the stone of the Philosophers, and yet is not worth it does not belong to those who use it, it is however safer than what is done by strong water.

Potable gold without strong water or earth. Chapter 25.

The way of making potable gold without this acuity of stone or strong water is such. Take honey and spread it drop by drop on a marble, adding to it, and imposing leaves of gold on it, grinding and breaking it often, as if you wanted to write with gold in such a way that nothing of gold does not appear there. And when you have thus broken & crushed two or three of the said gold leaves, let it remain thus for twenty-four hours, you can also add prepared common salt, so that it is not necessary, otherwise so that rather it is the broken & crushed material. And when the matter has thus remained for the said space of time, either put it in a silver vessel or in a large cup, throwing on it lukewarm water distilled from honey, or distilled fountain water, & the honey will be separated from this gold. But if you add salt, the separation will also be done in this way. You will then pour the salt, throwing other distilled water on top, and then let it remain and take up residence as was said above, and be dissolved in the same way, as we said. And when you mix salt with it, do so often, as if you had not mixed it, until everything is separated and resolved. After again pour water over it, in the form already mentioned, & put it in the squash, distilling it in a water bath, so that the only gold remains in the distillery: & that the salt & honey are separated from it: But if you mixed with salt, the longer it will take to break on the marble: but when all the honey has been distilled, the gold will be put on top and distilled again: and this will do two or three times. But finally when you see perfectly that all the honey is separated from the gold, either put on it very good distilled vinegar, as we taught above, & is made of the best wine that can be had, or it is distilled from wine cooked, four times. But when you have finally distilled the vinegar, three parts of it are distilled, and the fourth part remains at the bottom of the distillery. For as was said above, the distillation of wine and vinegar is contrary to each other: for in wine the matter is better at the first, but in vinegar, it is at the last distilled, you must therefore spread this fourth part which remained at the bottom, above the gold one: & thus rests for three days, then after you will put as much distilled vinegar, as the first times: but it must be put in horse manure or in a water bath . So in this vinegar the gold is subtly dissolved & then afterward it is again separated from the gold by distillation, & again it is distilled in a water bath: & finally spread over it the phlegm of the phlegm & distilled again in a similar manner. This will do up to seven times, and after it has been seven times, be distilled, put brandy on it: and again by distillation be separated: but at the end you will sprinkle on it water of life, which has no phlegm in it, and is in the same way separated from it, and this is done in two ways. You will distil from this gold into this form. Honey, vinegar, & phlegm with brandy, and it will be very well prepared & digested to dissolve in the place of digestion, or circulatory in this brandy, which is the quintessence: But when you want to make drinkable gold, either taken gold before said resolved, & brandy written on it, or spread on it, of which twelve parts are distilled from one of the portions of the philosopher's stone, & be put to circulate in a bain-marie, by forty turns, or more at length, & thus will be gold resolved in citrine water: but because all things are to be judged equally, it has in it none of the bite or sharpness of that distilled vinegar: & of the quintessence which is distilled by him, and from this stone of the Philosophers: and by him, as by strong water gold can be dissolved, not however thus harming, as it would be done by strong water: although none are of this sentence and opinion that they judge to healthy men, that it is not very useful: because we never see any things being useful to the sick, which can damage those who are healthy, & this is done by the violence & infection of nature of the patient & sick: but seeing that the drinking gold must be drunk by the healthy, if they are preserved in their first health. Our newest Philosophers have taken the gold before said, thus pulverized as has already been said, for what it is prepared without the quintessence of distilled vinegar, by spreading on it the true rectified water of life separated from all its phlegm, without stone before said, three or four times: again always distilling from it, so that always remains gold at the end of the distillation, no wet thing: But finally they took this wet thing in one part, & twelve parts of straight essence, & put it in the squash, putting the blind alembic on it: & circulating it for at least forty days in the water bath, & you will have the real drinkable gold, to preserve healthy men of illness, & deliver the sick from their illness. No harm, however, could come and arise from such drinking, for the reason that we alleged in the ninth chapter above written: For in a long time the human stomach could be golden, by which devouring it could lose its accustomed digestion. By which everyone, not ignorant of medicine, can judge how much damage could happen to the human stomach: By which reason moves us with kindness, we rather want to benefit man than to harm him. And as much as I may be increpated & reproached by any of the most learned & learned of this science, for what I publicly demonstrate such a thing, we answer them, that we want to benefit all: For Solomon says, that hidden knowledge & unknown treasure, does not profit from anything. By which we will teach the very true science & way of making potable gold, according to the capacity of our little machine. How much in truth it is not very convenient or reasonable, such and such a great treasure to reveal: however this is done more for the learned, and lovers of good disciplines, than for the ignorant. By which I pray to all those to whom this our little work will achieve, that if I say anything more secret matter than it is lawful and just to declare and manifest to unlearned people, who will by chance be good at saying, let them hear it with good courage: for just as day and night this Ciceronian word meuerse appears before their eyes: it is because we were not born before those: but in the country and our friends, who participate in this and that the wise Solomon says that knowledge is of no value, so I immediately wanted to bring this little book to light, so that it would be honored and promoted in the country and to my parents. And so that we have composed it, as much for the learned as for the unlearned: however it is not without cause that we have done, and want everyone to know it, envious, seeing that the very great and sovereign creator of all created things, & universal father visits the good & bad, & shines his sun by such light on all in common. Cursed is he who prefers and proposes his own utility for the benefit of the republic, and although this book can be condemned and vilified by the unlearned, I nevertheless know of none of the most learned and learned who will elevate my little work to heaven. By which I will teach you, O reader, the true potable gold, to which my opinion none of our Philosophers can refute, when he will look at the natural reasons here put & alleged: for I know that other is the sermon & speaking between the arquemists & others among doctors: But for the reason that we must elect the certain thing for the uncertain, & what benefits for the thing which is born to adhere to these doctors, seeing that Marsilius Ficinus describes none of the ancient Philosophers had ever followed this path of making potable gold, which the master Philosophers are now following, who will doubt the sun which they resolve into strong water who will also doubt mercury, with which they amalgamate gold to use their words, which they are not harmful, no one will certainly doubt it, except that she was more blind than the Mole. And although I do not contradict these things being able to enter into drinking gold for the sick, as for lepers, because the venom would be released by the venom, but in virtue I would not advise them to use it, seeing that they are greatly corrosive as anyone, not mediocrely educated, can well conjecture similar thing. And of what is distilled by vinegar, and which is resolved by stone, However it is not so harmful as that which is dissolved by strong water, it has however no vehement sharpness, that the quintessence received from the stone, but if this reason is seen less sufficient to some, moreover can be proven by the saying of Gallienus, that the natural substance must be incompatible with any more vehement motion, to which Aristotle consents and stipulates, which thing is thus to be understood that this potable gold above shows that it cannot be made, except by superfluous igneous nature , that is to say of the fiery quality of this quintessence. Which nature of fire, when it is sublimated beyond its hard term & defined, dissolves the sun very quickly. By which according to my opinion, such superfluity ignity is more to the harm of human nature than it benefits it, and not without cause & reason is to find another more subtle means, by which the gold will be converted into potable substance. Then after if it was necessary by chance that the gold written on it potable could be added to it. If no infirmity this would require, as it is a necessary thing for the patient, however always we must add potable gold, like cordial stones, or daisy and others of such kind, even if it is not said potable gold , seeing that no gold enters into its composition, however it can be so called for its excellent virtue & light operation. No time, however, is it useful to use this one alone: But no time should it be mixed with another, when you want to slightly open up to penetrate: because the other does not have such virtue. No time also we can have this cordial gold in use, by mixing it with the other, according to which the illness of the patient requires here is the form of using this potable gold: But before I come to its composition, I will prove 'it is possible or not, therefore firstly and before all things, the Philosophers take and collaborate with it gold, for the reason that among all metals, it is of a tempered nature, and resembles the sun for its great clarity and color: It is also appropriate to Jupiter for its attraction. And yet it can wonderfully quench and moderate natural heat with coldness, and preserve these moods of death and incorruption. And yet we attribute to it the virtue of the Sun & Jupiter, whose office is to attribute the vital spirit to the interior members. Which nature of fire, when it is sublimated beyond its hard term & defined, dissolves the sun very quickly. By which according to my opinion, such superfluity ignity is more to the harm of human nature than it benefits it, and not without cause & reason is to find another more subtle means, by which the gold will be converted into potable substance. Then after if it was necessary by chance that the gold written on it potable could be added to it. If no infirmity this would require, as it is a necessary thing for the patient, however always we must add potable gold, like cordial stones, or daisy and others of such kind, even if it is not said potable gold , seeing that no gold enters into its composition, however it can be so called for its excellent virtue & light operation. No time, however, is it useful to use this one alone: But no time should it be mixed with another, when you want to slightly open up to penetrate: because the other does not have such virtue. No time also we can have this cordial gold in use, by mixing it with the other, according to which the illness of the patient requires here is the form of using this potable gold: But before I come to its composition, I will prove 'it is possible or not, therefore firstly and before all things, the Philosophers take and collaborate with it gold, for the reason that among all metals, it is of a tempered nature, and resembles the sun for its great clarity and color: It is also appropriate to Jupiter for its attraction. And yet it can wonderfully quench and moderate natural heat with coldness, and preserve these moods of death and incorruption. And yet we attribute to it the virtue of the Sun & Jupiter, whose office is to attribute the vital spirit to the interior members. Which nature of fire, when it is sublimated beyond its hard term & defined, dissolves the sun very quickly. By which according to my opinion, such superfluity ignity is more to the harm of human nature than it benefits it, and not without cause & reason is to find another more subtle means, by which the gold will be converted into potable substance. Then afterwards if it was necessary by chance that the gold written on it potable could be added to it. If no infirmity this would require, as it is a necessary thing for the patient, however always we must add potable gold, like cordial stones, or daisy and others of such kind, even if it is not said potable gold , seeing that no gold enters into its composition, however it can be so called for its excellent virtue & light operation. No time, however, is it useful to use this one alone: But no time should it be mixed with another, when you want to slightly open up to penetrate: because the other does not have such virtue. No time also we can have this cordial gold in use, by mixing it with the other, according to which the illness of the patient requires here is the form of using this potable gold: But before I come to its composition, I will prove 'it is possible or not, therefore firstly and before all things, the Philosophers take and collaborate with it gold, for the reason that among all metals, it is of a tempered nature, and resembles the sun for its great clarity and color: It is also appropriate to Jupiter for its attraction. And yet it can wonderfully quench and moderate natural heat with coldness, and preserve these moods of death and incorruption. And yet we attribute to it the virtue of the Sun & Jupiter, whose office is to attribute the vital spirit to the interior members. according to whether the patient's illness requires here is the form of using this potable gold: But before I come to its composition, I will prove whether it is possible or not, therefore firstly & before all things, the Philosophers take & collaborate with it now, for this reason that among all metals, it is of a tempered nature, and resembles the sun for its great clarity and color: It is also suitable for Jupiter for its temperament. And yet it can wonderfully quench and moderate natural heat with coldness, and preserve these moods of death and incorruption. And yet we attribute to it the virtue of the Sun & Jupiter, whose office is to attribute the vital spirit to the interior members. according to whether the patient's illness requires here is the form of using this potable gold: But before I come to its composition, I will prove whether it is possible or not, therefore firstly & before all things, the Philosophers take & collaborate with it now, for this reason that among all metals, it is of a tempered nature, and resembles the sun for its great clarity and color: It is also suitable for Jupiter for its temperament. And yet it can wonderfully quench and moderate natural heat with coldness, and preserve these moods of death and incorruption. And yet we attribute to it the virtue of the Sun & Jupiter, whose office is to attribute the vital spirit to the interior members.

From this the Philosophers know that nothing is more suitable for human life, retaining no corruption, than having a very subtle and very hard substance, almost incorruptible, which passes and penetrates the interior members. From this it comes that the gold rolled very subtly, & intermixed with the cordial species, is to be reduced to powder. Yet says Jehan of Trenched Rock, that we must be careful to open the possible things, and to avoid the impossible. For we see many marvels of metal: namely, lead, iron, tin, and silver, which we no longer consider to be more effective in anything more precious than that of gold: for we see, witness Avicenna, that the water in which the fine steel, very reddened with fire, is extinguished, holds back the flow of the belly, and almost connects together the entrails congregated and united together, which we can see and know in the same way about iron: all the more therefore more than this is to be believed of gold, in which there is no corruptible thing of the four elements, as in iron, steel, and other metals. If this metal has the virtue of coercing, and almost assembling the entrails and intestines together, this is not seen as more possible in gold, and since it is the purest and most purely purged of its feces and most incorruptible than the metal one? we can also secondly prove it by obvious reason & experience, when the lead is often put in water & immersed, in which the blade of gold or copper or iron has been extinguished: because we see it harden, & from this we can clearly believe that this water attracted its force from the matter which was extinguished in it. On the contrary also we experience by daily use of every day, that if the lead is melted in any water, & then after the iron it is extinguished, or the leather, or gold, the obvious thing will be that it will soften by this water, which draws its strength from lead, which softness, does not have such metals of this nature, and as this is found of iron and lead, by the use of each day, so likewise is it of the gold, & here is the true manner of drinking gold towards the natural Philosophers, as Marcilius Ficinus says. Not, however, that its corporeal substance is brewed: but that virtue and effectiveness extracted from it, in a very subtle way: because it is a totally false thing to believe that the matter of gold enters into the composition of the human body, as very well and beautiful proves it before alleged Marsilius, or also that it is pretended to the human body, or converted into drinkable substance, and that one can drink: because it is appropriate firstly that this substance be transmuted into blood, and after this in flesh, which is impossible for its hardness. And yet it is known that in several things the virtue of gold strengthens the human body & substance.

Drinking gold with aromatic species. Chapter 26.

When you want to make potable gold with any species simply: some of which purge & consume superfluous moisture, & the others comfort the noblest members for this cause, it is to use this potable gold with just & true regime, & diet to ensure that you sleeping, eating, drinking & filling, & evacuating too much, & this is how it is done. Take of the best wine you can have, thirty-two pounds & be put in the cauldron of the water bath & be so distilled that it is reduced to eight or six pounds. Then take another wine and distill it in the same way, and do this so many times that you have thirty-two pounds of distilled wine, and put it again in the cauldron and be distilled, so many times that it is half consumed. Either put after that in the squash, & be distilled there for so long that all the aqueous substance & water quality is gone, or after distilled in a water bath four times, & be added after the distillation these species, aloe wood, cardamoms, cucubes, recent, of each one dram cinnamon, nutmeg, white ginger, long pepper, seed of paradise & sandal, as much of one as the other also of each four drams. Let all these things be subtly pulverized & put into a glass by putting distilled wine on it & very well closed, the glass & be everything put in a water bath by eight turns, putting the still on it & be distilled over a slow fire, then afterwards be put in the squash, which has the long neck & then after are added two dragmes of pure flaky gold, two of cloves, good amber of each two dragmes. Let these things also be pulverized. And when they have been placed in the squash, it is closed and placed in a cauldron, in a water bath, for forty-two days, in constant heat. Then increase the heat to a quarter degree, for the space of an hour, and water will come out in a golden color, and reserve this water separately. Because it is the drinkable gold. Take four pounds, of this quintessence, & they be added, pure gold, margarites, good amber, fine musk, Amomon, anise, cardamom major, ginger, cinnamon, zedouar, mace, nutmeg, cloves, oriental saffron, cucubes aloe wood, blanched white turbit, sorted & well-gumed, white agaric, senna, one dragma of each, five mirobolans of each one dragma, cicotin, three ounces. And let these things be ground together and put in a bain-marie for a whole month. And when you want to keep anyone in health, you will give him a drink to drink from the first distilled water, a scruple, and if he is an unhealthy and sick man, you will give him a drink to deliver him from the first water, a scruple, and of the second two scruples. But if the illness was very serious you could give it two scruples from the first water, and from the second a tragedy, and a scruple, in this recipe is the secret of secrets, to subsist human nature, until the end of the life that God has prescribed for us. And yet says Avicenna take the herb which is commonly called iacea nigra, and to the good authors ocymoides, and either pounded in a stone mortar and or the juice that you take distilled in a bain-marie, by the alembic. Be made in the same form of the bugloss, then take from each water, half an ounce, and add three grains of pure and very good gold to be drunk soberly for three continuous days being however the body first purged: the but before said is also valid against leprosy, when it is drunk each day up to one scruple, of the first & second two scruples, with half an ounce of an old distilled capon: But Raymond Lulle, says that this must be drunk with such Julliep, near syrups of agresta acetosa simplicis of each half ounce, water of buglosa, one ounce, water, of chicory two ounces, be made julliep, & be given to the leper, with the preceding gold. But Jehan of the Trenched Rock says, that if this drinking gold is taken with water of celandine, two ounces, it protects a lot, and even against all diseases, mainly against etic and hydropical fevers. And note that this young adolescent uses this gold twice a year at least, he must be phlebothomised: but the old people can take it every day, that is to say one drop with five drops of the quintessence, being still the stomach on an empty stomach, and it is necessary to fast after taking it, for a whole hour: because it wonderfully removes the whiteness of the head, and comforts the heart, and also the brain, and all the other main members.

Potable gold is made & taken from flowers, which are cordial. Chapter 27.

We have proposed, not to write any more, besides drinking gold: but the true love that we have towards all students, that we know to be greedy & covetous to read wonderful things, & more useful than those which are already written so far, move us, by which we will teach, leaving all long words, and prolicity which could harm their ears, true potable gold, which none of the Philosophers, however learned, will be able to prove, by saying it, to be in any way way contrary to human nature, because it can be given to man, being seriously ill. And is the said gold even approved, by Arnauld de Villeneuve & by Marsillus Ficinus, & nevertheless that it does not need much cost & expense, however is it not to be condemned if it is thus done, take the bugloss with its flowers, its root, its grass, all its substance, in a day that is very clear, provided however that in the previous night there was no rain & being the growing Moon & in the good look & aspect of Jupiter or Venus, either these things are all reground with all the substance & either digested into horse droppings for eight days, or then after distilled three or four times while melting & always putting the distilled material back on this mass, or then after digested again in a water bath by four or five days. Take borage in the same way with all their substance at the time and limitation above said in the buglosse by always pulverizing this marc after the distillation, & putting the distilled matter back on it, & in the same way be made of celandine & lemon balm. And then you will have all the waters thus distilled mixed together in equal parts and put into a glass which has a long neck, placing it to lie in the Sun. These waters are very well kept until you want to use them. So when you want to make this drinkable gold, take water before said, mixed together a pound, and put in an earthen vessel glazed on the inside, and then take the sheet of pure gold not sophistic, weighing sixteen ounces or more or as much as you can have: but the more there are, the more the better. Let the said gold lamina be heated in the fire: until it reddens, and then the waters that I have named are extinguished, so many times that the fourth part of them is consumed, and so it is desired and commanded Marsilius Ficinus. Either then pour very well with a very clean cloth, & put in the glass very well closed. You will then take four drams of pulverized daisies on which are spread six ounces of brandy, red wine, four times distilled, & are put in a well-sealed glass, & are put in a bain-marie after twenty-four hours, & when the case is distilled, you will keep it apart. And when you want to help the sick person who has already been judged to be dead by doctors, you will take water, in which the golden blade will have been extinguished to half an ounce, & water of life with the margarites a dragme, & be all mixed together, yawning to the patient each time, & after six hours have passed as much, & as much after twelve hours have passed. And if this gets the patient too hot, we should give him a dragme with purple syrup. We can also take the quintessence of red wine such as we taught above: up to an ounce and a half, in which must be placed a dragme of laminated gold, neither broken nor pulverized, & the quintessence will draw to itself the virtue & color of gold. And these golden leaves remain thus with the quintessence. And when you give the patient the waters mentioned above, you will put three or four drops of this quintessence. Marcilius also wants that although the gold blade is often extinguished many times by the waters before said, nevertheless it must be put into the leaves of it gold. For this cause, instead of these gold leaves, you will take the quintessence which has already taken the strength of gold, & thus you will have the very true potable gold, which is the best & more precious than if you spent a thousand ducats believing to have better & more useful & sumptuous ones: because it has the virtue of comforting the heart & consuming all superfluous bad humors, generates very good blood, & all the bad it expels: it marvelously keeps youth provokes the urine, & cures the obsolete disease, & the rabid & the lepers too, it nourishes. But be careful that you do not mix the gold of the arquemists with it, because it would do more harm than benefit, as Master Arnauld says, for the poisonous substances which enter into this composition. you will take the quintessence which has already taken the strength of gold, & thus you will have the very true potable gold, which is the best & more precious than if you spent a thousand ducats believing you had better & more useful & sumptuous: because it has the virtue of comforting the heart & consuming all superfluous bad humors, generates very good blood, & all the bad it expels: it marvelously keeps youth provokes urine, & cures obsolete evil, & the rabid & the leper too, he feeds. But be careful that you do not mix the gold of the arquemists with it, because it would do more harm than benefit, as Master Arnauld says, for the poisonous substances which enter into this composition. you will take the quintessence which has already taken the strength of gold, & thus you will have the very true potable gold, which is the best & more precious than if you spent a thousand ducats believing you had better & more useful & sumptuous: because it has the virtue of comforting the heart & consuming all superfluous bad humors, generates very good blood, & all the bad it expels: it marvelously keeps youth provokes urine, & cures obsolete evil, & the rabid & the leper too, he feeds. But be careful that you do not mix the gold of the arquemists with it, because it would do more harm than benefit, as Master Arnauld says, for the poisonous substances which enter into this composition.

Drinking gold of the quintessence by the Philosophers' stone. Chapter 28.

If you want to make potable gold in another way, take the quintessence distilled by the so-called Philosopher's Stone, in which the leaves of gold are placed, and are thus dissolved in the said quintessence, so that no gold is made. drinkable liquid thing: this is a wonderful operation to support the life of humans & to chase away all diseases; also to refocus & highlight the half-dead man & to restore him to his first health, & will be all the more perfect if you put two parts of the quintessence of honey there also as we said above. Let these things be placed in a circulatory glass so that of the brandy before said there is a pound of the quintessence of honey ten ounces, of gold leaf four drams, closing very well the circulatory one in the upper part, & either lute i.e. of such wax, glue that we have shown above: or then after put in a water bath for four or five months, because the more it circulates, the better it is in substance , and all the more also that gold is dissolved, and with other matter incorporated: but if you cannot have the gold leaves, you will take three or four ducats, and mix them very subtly, as is done es Goldsmith when they want to gild, but however nothing is better than gold leaves, when you can have them with good ducat gold: & if you can have them, & also when you don't want to mix gold in this way, you will be able to reduce it to powder, receive the best gold that you can have: or take gold from florins, & be thus refined & hardened, receive one part of gold, two parts of antimony, a little tartar, & be spread together until all the material is melted & liquid: either then melt into such a melt, & be still stirred, & then allow it to cool a little, & you will find the gold at the tip of the melt, it That is to say the instrument to be melted, and above that is the separated antimony, and this is the very good way of refining gold. And when all things have cooled: either break the gold at the tip of the other material: and if it is not sufficiently refined, either melt it again with antimony, and be done as in the first time. You can also refine the Sun by such cement, take Roman vitriol, or in its place have rubified or reddened window salt, armoniac salt, verdigris, bowl of Armenia, powder from well-burned cooked tiles as much of the one on the other an ounce, be all these things well pulverized, & be made paste with man's urine, & be made a bed on top of another in any crucible, so that at the bottom is the bed of said paste, and the other top bed of florins, and again a bed of dough, and a bed of florins, always proceeding thus until you have put the gold there, and in the supremity,

It can also be cemented by royal cement in twenty-four hours, by taking two parts of prepared common salt, & one part of cooked tiles put into powder, & either made paste, & either incorporated with man's urine, or if you want, you can also refine the sun by such cement. Get well prepared common salt an ounce, powder of cooked tiles half an ounce, red vitriol an ounce, sublimated mercury a dragme, be all these things pulverized very subtly, & be made paste with man's urine, do then after lit su lit, as it was narrated in the first cement, either after the gold has melted, & on it is spread ammoniac salt a dragma, of mercury sublimated half a dragma, & is put little by little in the crucible where is the 'molten gold, is thus another cement in this way: take salt armoniac one ounce, verdigris one ounce, well calcined vitriol six drams: & this is the last way when you refine the gold of four parts of a florin , only three parts will remain: but if you covet the sun or the moon to separate from the antimony and refine, be added a little tartar and the antimony will not be able to touch the sun or the moon, then must be mixed with Venus. The way to make ice sun powder is this. Be received no ducats or florins prepare the manners above said, & put in the fire until they turn red: & then be mixed as much as you can very subtly, as the gilders do: be then sliced by pieces, & small pieces & very fine rolls, & for one part of the gold you will add six parts of mercury, put together in the fire, & heated until you see the mercury smoking, & be the gold on the other side , & be heated in the same way, as you did with mercury, then be melted in smoking mercury, & be stirred for a long time & moved around with a small stick, until everything is well melted & refined, then afterwards, again be moved & struck, until it is cooled, after this be put together into a white leather, like the Goldsmiths, & be very well bound & expressed, so that all the Mercury comes out of that white leather: but the remainder is placed in the crucible in the fire, until the mercury smokes, and then the marble is placed on top, and is often broken, and again is put in the crucible, until the smoke comes out of the mercury, and be broken again, and this is often done by breaking it and heating it, until all the smoke ceases from mercury, and the gold is reduced to a very subtle powder.

Either then put into the calcination fire, making a flame of dry wood fire, and not with coals, and this fire lasts four or five hours, and is thus calcined, until you see the sun being purified and mond, after being washed two or three times with brandy, & well mixed together with a pipe of a quill or whole feather, you will then pour brandy, sprinkling it with very recent ones: either do this three or four times then after you will dry it in the sun over a small coal fire.

Either then put in the circulatory system put on it with this quintessence of wine, another way is to pulverize the sun: make a copper or iron instrument in the shape of a squash in this way, & have the neck narrow, & a cross in the orifice, made of an iron point, the size of the shape, of a florin or ducats, so that it cannot fall into it, and the ducat or florin must touch the orifice of the squash from each part.

Let this instrument be heated, and at its bottom be made a bed of liquid lead, the thickness of a finger, on which another bed of tartar be made, and thus always you will do, until the squash is full: after that either put a ducat or florin on it, & be put on the cross, collocating it in such an oven, so that the lead is still liquid, & when the gold will be for a little time on one side: be turned on top of the other, and in such a way it will be done obediently to make the powder of the sun: afterward it will be calcined in the reverberation furnace as it has been said: and in this way you will be able to make this from four or five florins and other currencies silver.

Drinkable gold with honey. Chapter 29.

Take as we said above, rock salt well prepared from very good millet, taken from the hive without fire, as we said above, water of life rectified as much on one side as on the other equal parts: be distilled all things three times, after that take a pound of this distilled material, & as much as you want of very fine gold leaves, & put it in the squash putting it on the ashes, then add good rhubarb & aloe wood well broken, repontic, or from the heart of a deer, fresh & recent Alexandrian musk, good amber as much of one as another a dragma, & all things are mixed together & after eight days spent distilling everything with a felt pen, & you will have very good drinking gold benefiting & preserving several diseases, & wonderfully restoring the entire human body.

Drinking gold, gold alone, & water of life. Chapter 30.

Take four drams of very fine gold, and subtly mix it and slice it into very small strips. Then take an ounce and a half of washed mercury, and make Amalgam, then put it on the marble, adding as much live sulfur, and be well broken together: then put it in the crucible on the coals, and leave them there until all the sulfur is burned: after that, put it in the hearth, and again put it in the crucible on the fire, until the one turns red: after that, remove the crucible, you will find the sun in powder very subtle yellow calcined color, after being put in the reverberation oven, & your gold will be very well prepared either washed then afterwards with simple brandy, & be dried, & this powder will take as much as you want, & be spread on it rectified brandy, as much as it appears, and either eminent in addition to the gold three or four fingers, or put afterwards in the circulatory, and put in a bain-marie with these small stones at half the pitch of the gold, and be circulated as it belongs: & that gold will melt & be liquid & resolved in water of citrine color, or yellow, & also it will hold human hair, & thus you also have the real drinkable gold.

Drinking gold with arenas. Chapter 31.

A noble prelate & bishop of Treves made potable gold in this way. When you have distilled the brandy, and at the bottom of the distillery the phlegm will reside as matter adhering to the base, take the distilled brandy twice in a bain-marie, spreading it on this black material, when it has cooled , and remains thus for a day and a night, then afterwards it is drawn from this material eau de vie, again by distillation over a slow and small fire, until you have reached this material, and is made lukewarm, if you want to reserve it to see it whole: then afterwards, let the fountain water be sprinkled on the black matter, from the height of six fingers, and thus rest for three or four days. After that you will wash it with other fountain water, and you will find the substance or matter at the bottom, as if it were sand, and it is this earth that you will dry with a slow and small fire: but when it is dry, be spread the rectified brandy on it to the height of four fingers, and thus let it remain in the water bath for twenty-four hours, closing the opening of the glass with another glass, and sticking it with the wax previously mentioned. After that, the brandy is again withdrawn, and this you will do often, because the more often you spread it and again attract by distillation, the better it will be: and when it is dry, put the squash in sand, burying it in ice up to the neck, & abstract thirst over high heat for so long that no smoke you will see from the still, by not removing the receptacle, because the water of life must & the spirit or smoke are mixed together, & thus you will have two elements fire & air, after that take the earth, & very well broken on the marble, & be put in the gourd, spreading the rectified brandy, to the height of three or four fingers, & put it in a bain-marie for a day & a night, until it is dissolved, & when it is thus dissolved, cool & then abstract once again & this earth be dried in the sun, & when it is dried, it must be put in the crucible, sticking it very well with the lute of sapience, & be calcined in the reverberation oven for four hours, & then cooled: & once again broken on the marble, & put in the squash, spreading rectified brandy on it, & either put in a water bath to dissolve, or again draw out the brandy, & or the earth again calcined by four hours, when it is dry, or it can also be burned in this way if it turns red, and then again dissolved in a water bath with brandy, and as many times you will resolve it and calcine it until you cannot moreover, calcine or resolve, and this is commonly done in seven times, when the master works rightly. But when you want to know when this earth is no longer dissolved, take a little of this earth, dry it in the air and spread three or four drops of its water on it, and if it is dissolved it is sign that it is not yet prepared: and yet it still needs to be dissolved again in a bain-marie, & then calcined until you can have a real sign & clue that it cannot be further dissolved. But finally it must be dried & calcined, & cooled, & then it is for it alone, & the fire & air are separated from it, after all these waters with which you dissolved the earth before said: because they must be put together in the squash with this earth, mixing them together also in the bain-marie, & adding this quintessence, & either abstracted up to half with slow fire, & either put in another receptacle then afterwards, either the fire increased until all the humor & phlegmatic matter from it is separated.

This further increases the fire to expel these spirits, until you see no small pustules in the still visible have passed completely, & then again be calcined & dissolved as you did above this must be done seven times, and as many times, the earth is always dissolved and calcined: either then broken again on the marble, and put in a pelican, to circulate the ashes, and dissolve in eight days, and you will see this matter being coagulated, but if adventure you did not have the pelican, it must be put in such a circulatory system.

When you see the material being coagulated like this, it must be dissolved in a water bath: and then either coagulated again in the ashes, or this is done as many times as you can, until the material comes out as oil, and is that the quintessence: but if you did not have a pelican or circulatory, take two squashes of the same size, placing them one on top of the other, when they are in the office, both very well polished & equal, in which the calcined earth is placed, and as much of its water is placed there until it is reduced to the thickness of mustard, and an iron channel is made around and circuit of the conjunction of these squashes , by sticking them around the channel with the wax, which we have written on it: & thus the still is made almost no in this way, then after this is put to circulate in the water bath, after is distilled by the still with good fire, until the dry matter remains at the bottom, and the water which is distilled from it is reserved, after which other water is poured out, which you poured from it at the first circulation on this matter, and either circulated for eight days, or again distilled, and this is done every eight days, always until all the waters are drunk, and having done this, all the waters are collected in a vessel, and poured over it rectified brandy, & this material is first calcined by four hours in the reverberation furnace, until it is white, always weighing it first, so that you know how much it is increased, & this done you will put it again with its waters in the circulatory putting on the blind still, sticking them with mud, or cement as above, then after this is put to circulate in the bath, for two months or more, according to whether the quantity of the material is indigent , afterwards when you have placed the blind alembic, you will find this material at the bottom of the circulatory translucent & clear as is the crystal, in the size of any daisies, & it is the true quintessence: if therefore with it you want to make true & fair drinking gold, have a dragma of very fine gold leaves, which must be mixed with an ounce and a half of the quintessence, & be poured on top of the best compound brandy that you can have in the quantity of two and a half pounds, you can also add twelve parts of the quintessence of honey, & then the glass must be very well glued with mud, or cement, & be put in a water bath, & you will see marvelous operation, & union of this gold, & of the quintessence, for they will always rise together, & will also descend until both of them are converted into thick oil, like human blood. When you have seen the oil being thus coagulated & assembled, let the glass cool, and then be very well closed, & put in the cellar, and there of itself it will be dissolved, after that, and again be coagulated in the manner before said, and be dissolved as many times, that it can no longer be coagulated, if there is also a big fire, then know this material must be sufficiently prepared, so this oil is very good medicine in all serious illnesses and harmful infirmities, it is also a preservative for diseases of healthy men. So take care that it is not given to the healthy or the sick, unless this necessity requires it, so much so that in three months you only give three drops: for if you gave it more often, this water would only be so much of it. would delight and rejoice so much that she could also separate her body from that, when you give it to anyone in summer, it will be washed with pure water from fountains but in winter with capon juice, or with wine: but if you want to make small stones or crystal in a short way, either distill the phlegm, which remained, as for the first time you distilled the water, or put it in the gourd, distilling it through the arena, until therefore that the black tender matter remains at the bottom, like large and thick wine, which must be put back into another course again, spreading the phlegm over it and distilling it as at the first time. And again thus be done, so that you can extract this matter, which must be put in the caldaire, and there remains until again, it is turned and converted into tender substance, as it was at the beginning: after that it is taken and rested in the cellar, covering the vessel very well, so that no impure thing can fall into it, and the same is cooled for the space of a month or a little more, and when it has thus remained in the cellar for the time before said, either sprinkle clear fountain water on it, and be mixed together by hand, and be poured into a glazed vessel, and you will find small translucent stones like crystal, and it is it true earth, which must be broken, & mixed with gold, which is in the circulatory with this quintessence of wine & honey, & you will see the solution of gold: but the remainder, be drawn out, & be made oil as above has been demonstrated, & in this way you will also have very good drinking gold. this water would only delight in this and so much would rejoice that it could also separate itself from that of its body, when you give it to any in summer, it will be bailed with pure water from fountains but in winter with capon juice , or with wine: but if you want to make small stones or crystal in a short way, either distill the phlegm, which remained, as for the first time you distilled the water, or put in the gourd, distilling it by the 'arena, until the black tender matter remains at the bottom, like large and thick wine, which must be put back into another course again, spreading the phlegm over it and distilling it as at the first time. And again thus be done, so that you can extract this matter, which must be put in the caldaire, and there remains until again, it is turned and converted into tender substance, as it was at the beginning: after that it is taken and rested in the cellar, covering the vessel very well, so that no impure thing can fall into it, and the same is cooled for the space of a month or a little more, and when it has thus remained in the cellar for the time before said, either pour water from a clear fountain on it, and be mixed together by hand, and be poured into a glazed vessel, and you will find small translucent stones like crystal, and it is it true earth, which must be broken, & mixed with gold, which is in the circulatory with this quintessence of wine & honey, & you will see the solution of gold: but the remainder, be taken out, & be made oil as above has been demonstrated, & in this way you will also have very good drinking gold. this water would only delight in this and so much would rejoice that it could also separate itself from that of its body, when you give it to any in summer, it will be bailed with pure water from fountains but in winter with capon juice , or with wine: but if you want to make small stones or crystal in a short way, either distill the phlegm, which remained, as for the first time you distilled the water, or put in the gourd, distilling it by the the arena, until the black tender matter remains at the bottom, like large and thick wine, which must be put back into another course again, spreading the phlegm over it and distilling it as at the first time. And again thus be done, so that you can extract this matter, which must be put in the caldaire, and there remains until again, it is turned and converted into tender substance, as it was at the beginning: after that it is taken and rested in the cellar, covering the vessel very well, so that no impure thing can fall into it, and the same is cooled for the space of a month or a little more, and when it has thus remained in the cellar for the time before said, either sprinkle clear fountain water on it, and be mixed together by hand, and be poured into a glazed vessel, and you will find small translucent stones like crystal, and it is it true earth, which must be broken, & mixed with gold, which is in the circulatory with this quintessence of wine & honey, & you will see the solution of gold: but the remainder, be drawn out, & be made oil as above has been demonstrated, & in this way you will also have very good drinking gold.

Drinking gold with Greek wine or Malvasia or similar things, & aromatic species. Chapter 32.

Take the best wine you can have, such as Malvasia, Bastard, Roman, Corsic, Greek, or Spanish, and be distilled by the still until it can be rectified as above has been said of the water of life, & when you have a good quantity of this distilled wine, again, you will distill it six or seven times, after which it is circulated with the pelican filling it to the third part & almost until halfway, then after closing the pelican's hole with dough made of egg yolk, & very good flour & put in a bain-marie over slow heat for forty revolutions or more, then after if by tasting it you feel no sweetness with excellent odor, boldly believe that it is not circulated enough, and if it is not enough you must put it again to the pelican, until it succeeds. And when this is done, be put in a very well closed glass: & this is the quintessence of the wine which must be taken instead of all medicines, & be given to the sick patient in the morning, its weight is two drams up to three depending on whether the illness is intense, or remitted: but if you want to mix in any aromatic species, you can take an ounce of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, zedrac, galangal, white ginger, & seed of paradise, & be pulverized & put into a pound of water predicted two ounces of these species, & put into a glass which has the long neck well closed over the ashes, for twenty-four hours by moving & shaking the glass three or four times, or after pouring with a linen sheet, separating the feces & lees, but the other material must be distilled so many times that it cannot be further distilled. It must be circulated then after as above, & thus you have the quintessence & true drinkable gold.

From another excellent drinking gold. Chapter 33.

There are those who distill and attract the water of life from the earth in the best way they can by the best wine they can have, so that the phlegmatic matter remains at the bottom, and yet if you are not disappointed, firstly you will distill the middle part, and the other half is like clear fountain water at which you should not be amazed, and must be this again distilled over a slow fire, and then be put back separately: but the thick material, which is remaining at the bottom, you will boil over the fire until it is dried, you will also be able to extract thick black oil from this: which is hot, and this too must be very well kept: then after you will calcine it black matter in the reverberation furnace, & for a part of the earth, you will take of this water of life before said five parts which must be sweet, spreading it on, & thus remains for fifteen days until it is dissolved, or then after distilled by a felt, throwing away the lees, & distilling the water again & calcining it for four or five days, this done you will find the earth white, so work carefully in this so that you can have a good part of this earth , & you will be able to whiten & mondify it by the heat of the fire, & humidity of the water, & also if you can clearly understand that this water is worth nothing except to mondify only, & yet it must have no spirit: but it is very true that fire is in this water of life, and spirit too: but it has in it the acquired quality, namely the substance of water which is phlegm & earthly quality which is the prevention of perfection, & for this reason, it must be distilled six or seven times, if it is well rectified, it must be after circulated, in the quintessence, & if this water of life: namely the spirit & the fire did not have the matter of this quintessence of the said earth, it could not rise as is the opinion of Hermes, nor the spirit and the fire could be stuck in the earth: but this water of life is of the quintessence, have a squash with a rostrum alembic, that is to say which has a beak, & put four pounds of rectified brandy in it, then afterwards you will pour very well the alembic with such paste as we often have said & be put in the furnace, to distil thus that it is decent, from which the form follows. The distilled water is received at the receptacle, when it is well clarified. After that put out the fire & keep the water in a glass very well closed so that no air enters: because it is nothing other than spirit, do this three times, always leaving nothing remaining at the bottom of the distillery: that you surely know, something other than the well-rectified spirit, this way you will distill four times & you will have water of very good smell & marvelous operation: because if no venom or pestiferous smoke,

Afterwards, either put in brandy or quintessence, and you will have very good drinking gold: it can also be put in honey water, or in distilled sugar water. And this gold is wonderful for drinking, because it cures all diseases and even leprosy.

But if you want to make potable gold with gems, namely simaragdes, sapphires, rubies, granades, iacintes, or with margarites, it is advisable very subtly to break & break all the gems on a marble stone, & the powder of these stones you will put in this brandy before said, & be circulated at no time to the pelican, & then also be distilled. This water is the solution of all things, and rises as if it wanted. And certainly if you make it rise above the gold, never again will it rise & this is a very great secret in nature: but now passing to this white earth in front of said, if we can make it rise so that it acquires the nature of quintessence, to dissolve the Sun or the Moon. Either take this white matter and the Sun or the Moon, as much of one as of the other equal parts, and as much of the weight of the water of life before said, and when the gold is dissolved, be put in the squash not too high because it could not rise any higher, and make it rise through the still, and when it rises you will have worked in addition as is decent: but if you cannot have the squash that is suitable: take a retort such as is commonly called cornue, know also that when the water of life is purified of its lees & rectified, and that it will have reached the quintessence with very great & good smell, know that it has its own earth from it coming, which reaches the water, & rises as willing by the nature of the water which makes it rise with it, if you therefore understand the things said before you will be able to make water to dissolve all metals & if that you do not hear, you will not be able to do anything, because in this is and consists the whole way of dissolving: but the medicine which must be given to man after the protection, you will take it in the quantity of a grain of barley, & either put in a silver vessel with white wine, or with pure water, heating it strongly over the fire until it is dissolved, or then after removing from the fire & stirred & moved with a spoon of money until it cools, is given to the leper with an empty stomach, after midnight it can also be given to anyone suffering from any illness whatsoever, & if he is in bad health health detained for two months, he will be cured in two days but if the man is healthy take this medicine once a year, by which Arnauld de Villeneuve says that he treated Henry of Verona at the prayers of his father King of Aragon, who was a leper for three months, and was healthy in three days, he is also said to have used this medicine in his old age, and however and when he had heat due to a defect of nature or for other cause, also to have tempered this Medicine with frigidity: but if he were cold he would use this as a medicine from his heat, he used this at least twice a year,

Drinking gold profitable for paralysis. Chapter 35.

We make gold greatly precious to all paralysis, in this way, be dissolved pure gold, in the quantity of four drams, in strong water, then after distilled fountain water, by so many times it softens , in which the gold must be washed before said & when it is reduced to powder be put in simple brandy putting it in a small glass & must fill all this with brandy. Take a dram of camphor, and be dissolved similarly in this way: but finally take two drams of candy sugar, and must also be in this way the sun dissolved in water of life, after all things have been dissolved. Take these four waters in which you have dissolved the said materials & be distilled by the ashes over a slow fire, as long as all the aqueous substance is separated from the other matter in such a furnace as it appears here, & be done so many times that The material at the bottom can be seen to be similar to oil.

After that, put the glass with this material in a humid place, and the material will be turned into a crystalline substance, then afterward, dissolve in water the four dissolved substances of ambergris and alexandrine musk, recent, as much of the one as on the other a dragme and of that no oil is made. And when you want to help the sick, take the leaves and flowers of borage and sage, half a handful of lavender as much of one as the other, and put it in a quarter of brandy and remain there in threes. whole days then after having distilled, & kept in a very well closed glass. And when you want to yawn to the patient: Take a drop of this oil, and a hundred times as much of the water of the three herbs, and this will give to the patient with great discretion and providence: because it is medicine which seals and conceals all the infirmities of men, & is also a hidden & secret treasure of all philosophers.

Of another drinkable & good gold. Chapter 36.

Take two ounces of simple brandy, fine stone borax, in other words metallic, two drams, and dissolve the borax in the said brandy, after that dissolve an ounce of rock sugar in three and a half ounces of brandy, dissolved also half an ounce of camphor in two and a half ounces of brandy, finally leaves of very pure gold are taken, which are also dissolved in said brandy, & these four brandy are put in the squash, by closing it very well: & thus rests for a day, after that, by putting the still on top distilled, until half, i.e. after putting the squash in a humid place, & these four materials will be converted into very white crystal, dissolved then afterwards in distilled crystal water these things which follow, namely good amber, fine musk, & recent as much of one as the other a dragme, very good margarites one ounce, & are put in the bath -marie, & be all things well glued with mud or cement, & in three days they will be converted into oil which is drinkable.

From another drinking gold with strong water. Chapter 37.

Take very good gold, and the best you can have, which must be dissolved in strong water, and then evaporated, and the water drawn from it by the alembic, it must not however be completely remade, because it would be as is oil: after that, either spread honey water on it, which is also distilled by the alembic, and pass and transcend this matter with four fingers: or put to digest four days and as many nights in the water bath afterwards this honey water, once again be extracted by the alembic, and then you will put other honey water in it and digest it as above, and in all things you will do as you did the first time, and know that it remains like very tender oil, seeing that this water of honey remains after very little, then you will draw so much water from the honey, that no saltiness remains there from the substance of the strong water, in which the gold has been dissolved, and when you perceive by the taste of honey the bitterness in the tongue, have water of life twelve times distilled, in which there is no phlegm, and in it dissolves gold, so that the water transcends the gold of four fingers, & then stick the distillation well to which you will have put with strong lt, & done in a water bath until it is dissolved, this however can be done rather in channel droppings & is more natural , than otherwise, when it is put in the fixative, or in the pelican, then afterwards the brandy is drawn from the gold by the alembic so that the gold remains at the bottom of the glass, like no oil, or butter , and this is this potable gold, which each sick person can use in an electuary or with wine, but the honey water which is spread in this gold, is made in this way. Take a squash and put the honey in it, and when it rises, open the still a little, and it will reside again at the bottom of the squash, and do this until all the honey is distilled so that the water is white: but the others after the first are good for the whiteness of the head, because when the head is anointed with it, the hair grows, they are also good for drinking gold, because they draw out the bitterness from it.

Of another potable gold. Chapter 38.

Take pure flaky gold, & be broken with prepared common salt, & when it is broken add a little salt to it again & be mixed well together & calcined in the reverberation oven for four or five hours, making good flame of fire, & then let it cool, either washed afterwards with lukewarm fresh water, & then put into the next water, to digest for nine days, after that this water is drawn from the gold, & again spread on it & digested, & be again abstracted & always do this two or three times with a slow, & small fire: then sprinkle fountain water on it, & remove it again: but avoid drying the gold too much, because its solution would be too harsh, & almost inobedient to the solution: but the water above named must be so made. Take four pounds of very good honey, and boil it over a slow coal fire, in an iron chair, and always remove the scum, by sprinkling fountain water, to the height of two fingers: then put it again over the fire until it foams, and again you will remove the said foam, then you will melt on top of it the albins of four very well beaten and purified eggs, and let them boil a little, always removing this foam. And when it has boiled well, pour it with a felt: after that, put the poured honey over a slow & small fire: until all the aquosity or quality of the water leaves the gold. And after this, be distilled from this honey, and whatever you distill from it again, be distilled again two or three times, and when it has rested after the distillation for eight or ten days, you will have pure water, and when you have distilled the honey. phlegm of wine or lees, & that this refuse will be thickened like honey be put in the sand by putting brandy on it, if it is apparent on the feces & marc of three fingers, & be purified by eight days on such blind still.

Once again, draw the water of life through the water bath, after that spread sixteen or seventeen pounds of very pure phlegm on it, and place it in cold sand for six days, and there will grow no small stones in this earth, which must be washed then afterwards with the phlegm until they are purified, & then dried over a low heat.

After that, sprinkle brandy on it, if it is touching on three fingers, & after four days again be removed & abstracted by the water bath, & be this done three times: but finally be put in the arena with strong fire, so that the spirits are expelled and chased away, then you will see the oil coming which you will let out into the receptacle, until the smoke stops, and the earth will then be quite calcined, but this water will be thus in use, and must therefore be used. Take calcined earth, on which spread the best brandy that you can have, digested under the blind still in the bath for four days, after again attract the brandy little by little, by flowing it so much that it be colored with earth: then sprinkle other brandy on it, and be done as before. This will do so many times that the water will no longer be colored in addition to the earth: then put this water in a water bath, with the earth, and be attracted over a low and slow fire, and at the bottom of the squash you will find the white earth very harsh like salt, which you can once again resolve & coagulate together as previously demonstrated, until it is seen quite harsh & subtle. Sun oil is made in this way. Receive prepared brandy four pounds, twelve ducats which are dissolved in strong water, pouring cold water on it, & they will be converted into lime, which you will break with double weight of candy sugar, & then wash it with distilled fresh water, so that sugar is extracted from gold. And when this is dried, one part of the lime must be broken with three parts of prepared mastic, and brandy added to it: if it is paste, which is put into a glass, and set on fire, & the wine with the mastic will be separated from the gold by the combustion, & this lime will be changed into oil: remove this oil from the fire very subtly, & if the lime is not completely dissolved, you will wash it again with fresh water , & break with putty, & do in all things as above has been said, & if it has any blackness, or impurity, it must be washed with distilled vinegar, & when all is converted into oil, be taken two parts of the white earth prepared, & mixed with the oil before said: if it is paste by adding a little brandy, then after put in brandy prepared to digest in the bath for a month or more depending on which you you will see the solution of the sun sooner or later being made: but the solution of the sun is made in this way. And receive pure and good gold, half an ounce of mercury well washed and purged, three ounces, and either made an amalgam, or then separated the mercury from the gold on the ash hearth, as the Goldsmiths do, and then remains as well as no citrine flour. After this take half an ounce of armoniac salt, and put it in brandy with the gold which is calcined, & remains in a bain-marie digesting it for six days, & then all the humidity is drawn out with the heat of the first degree fire, & it will be separated. After take the gold thus prepared, & put it in the clean glass gourd, putting the alembic on it with the spout & make everything stick well with good lut & spread a little olive oil on this material, & be thus distilled at the beginning with very slow & small fire: but finally in strong & very strong fiery fire, as one does in strong water: which things done opens the gourd, & if nothing remains in it, be done in all things as above, this will do until no thing remains in the glass, be drawn then after the phlegm by distillation, doing nothing otherwise, & you will have very good drinking gold oil, which is good & expert in many things.

Volatile drinking gold. Chapter 39.

Volatile drinking gold to many things benefiting, & is done in this way. Take the best wine you can have, and as much as you want, put in a glass that has a long neck, and close it very well as is customary with a seal or signet of Hermes, and then rot afterwards, and be very well kept so that it does not cool, and thus left to rest until it acquires the feces and the lees like vinegar, and is this citrine-colored lees, and thus allows it to remain for a long time until all goes away, and you will have no white veins, as if they were small flames of fire, and this is commonly done in the space of three months: either then put into a very well closed squash, and be distilled with fire made of dry wood, in lukewarm water, as you do in a bain-marie. Afterwards take two pounds of this distilled material, and put in it fifteen leaves of very pure gold, and boil in a water bath for twelve continuous hours. And either the glass is very well closed with the signature of Hermes, as has been said above, or after distilled over a very slow fire, and it is not still the fire at the first degree, and this is done when all the material is distilled, or reserved, & is that called volatile drinking gold.

Of another potable gold. Chapter 40.

Potable gold is also made in this manner. Take thick red wine, and be distilled four times, then receive calcined tartar, and spread on it, and rot in twenty-four hours, then be attracted and abstract all the humidity slowly and late, and you will see that tartar, which at first was white be converted into blackness, which you will calcine again: until it whitens like snow, and again the putrefaction is made as above, and you will distill it to the form before shown, and thus you will calcine it by seven times, and seven times you will digest, and seven times you will also distill the modes and forms before said, after that be put in a water bath, imposing the leaves of very pure gold on it, at your pleasure, and again by distilling it, and again by decreasing it, until this material is all converted into oil, which is very good for drinking for those who are in good health and keep them in it.

Of another potable gold. 41.

There are some more recent & new Philosophers who are making gold in this way. Take red or white wine, as much as you want & be distilled seven times by the ashes. Assembles then after all the lees & distils, pouring this water until it passes & is transformed into a thickness of honey. Then after spreading the phlegm on it, and rest thus for three days, and as many nights, all the small pieces will go to the bottom. This done you will wash the stones before said with the phlegm, until they are putrefied, & then be dried, & put in the squash by putting the blind alembic on it, & be put in the bain-marie, for three days & three nights, by spreading brandy on it, to the height of three fingers, then glued then successively, so that the wine does not become cloudy, & do so until the wine does not take any small color of these small stones, but finally all the wine is drawn from the stones, so that they all remain dry in the vessels: this is done by removing this oil by the arena with a strong and great fire, and that which remains after the oil is fetid or stinking earth which must be thrown away: because it is no longer worth anything. Afterwards put the still in the ashes, and you will find the small stones white as snow or salt, and the wine that you took from the stones when they remained white be kept for multiplication & fermentation, in addition that salt ferments with lime of the Sun & the Moon is imbued with brandy first drawn, & are three parts of salt & one of lime, & is put under the blind alembic, to digest in a water bath on a natural day, or after put the 'still with the spout, and either distilled, this done, again, or wine spread on it to the height of three fingers, as above was said, and be digested again under the blind still by a natural day, and again after distilled, as you did at the first, and do this so many times that the ferment and the earth will have passed into the receptacle, and will be converted into spirit or aqueous substance: that is to say, the quality of water. If you therefore want to reduce its spirits again in their body, either put it in a water bath, and these things will be coagulated & assembled into completely white milk, which above we have called lead oil, or after again pour water in front of it. said, & either put under the blind alembic to digest, & or it is done so long that everything is converted into volatile spirit. But the water of life which swims above this milk be distilled in a water bath, and at the bottom of the distillery you will find the real stone, and this is called the transmusion of the spirit to the body, so from this stone you will take into the quantity of a grain of barley, of mercury, ten ounces of wine, washed & purified, & when it is heated in the crucible & you see the mercury being coagulated & assembled in the true sun or in the Moon according to the first fermentation, & this you will be able to keep. But if you don't want any, put powder on it again, and everything will be converted into powder, which must be imbued with the water taken from the said stone, and that one is the real stone: if you put this tincture on another powder, & this can be increased infinitely: & if this water drawn from the said stone fails in increase, you can take in its place other good water of life: for in this there is no difference nor danger.

Vegetable drinking gold. Chapter 42.

Is also another way of drinking gold which wonderfully comforts superfluous humidity in man, & is made in this way. Receive this quintessence of wine thus extracted as we said above, in which the gold can be resolved, while retaining its virtue, & be done subtly by the way of familiarity, with the humidity of the bath, & be distilled this water over a slow fire, separating all the humidity from it, and thus the substance of the gold will remain completely dry at the bottom of the distillery. After that be taken from this wine & be distilled by the still so many times, that it can no longer be burned by the reduction of its sulfur, always receiving in each distillation, in each receptacle, & take from the second water so many times that no vein appears in the still, in this water you will throw this substance of gold, & very lightly it will be dissolved in vegetable water, & is this done because mercury by mercury is rectified from that phlegm, until you see it cannot be burned in anything else, which thing as it is like this, you will mix it with the first substance of gold, and then it will be the true water of life, or gold drinkable, this is the first water serving & benefiting the human body, receive the water of life, & from it you will separate all the humidity by the distillation of the quintessence, which is pure gold, & keep this apart & put in this vegetable water three parts of honey with its brueche, & let it be all together & put to be putrefied in the bain-marie, for four days & this digestion must be done nine times in the bain-marie or in the fient: for of this is rectified water. The second water is this: take a capon or old géline, and when all superfluous things have been removed and the bones also the flesh must be subtly broken in a stone mortar, then you will put this in the squash with the alembic , & will distill the water from that in a bain-marie, & this must be kept separately again. The third water is this: take the flesh of gelin or capon, and be distilled by the ashes, removing all the humidity over a low and slow fire, and keep the flesh from burning in the still, and that will also keep separate. The fourth water is this: take three parts of wine, & be put on one of the parts of the said flesh & put in the squash, closing it very well with a glass lid & sticky with mud or cement, & then either put it on ashes, over a slow fire, for three days, and then be distilled by the still and kept. The straight water is this, take all the substance of a capon or gelign, and you will separate from it all the humid substance, by the still as it is predicted and the water will reserve. The sixth water is this, receive all the bones of a capon or géline, and be pounded evenly in a stone mortar with a wooden pestle, & be put in a water bath, & then on the ashes & distill common before has been said, & this must be kept. The seventh water is this: take third water, fifth water, and sixth water, and be distilled together by the alembic, and very well kept: but the rectification of the waters before said , which are distilled by the ashes is such. Take gold thus prepared, as we said recently, & be coagulated & frozen together, for it is no natural moist thing, in any manner & heat, as if it were citrine pigment gold, & put its first water half a part, and immediately it will be dissolved of this water, and of the other three waters named. So take from this the quantity of a silver spoonful, and mix it very well with a good portion of the best wine you can have, and give some to the phlegmatic man in winter, and it will preserve him wonderfully well. in his health: but if the man is choleric, yawn him with water: but to the melancholic with cabbage juice, & to the sanguine, you will not give this water, but will yawn at what follows. Take a spoonful of golden water, put it in wine, and drink it and it will be assured of all infirmity: but in this it must be administered to the phlegmatic with juice of gelina, to which parsley is cooked. To the choleric be yawned, with juice and to the melancholic, when time requires it in its great operation of cold or heat. But if you want to give some to the sick person, you will give him some according to the part of the gold dissolved in the second water of the capon, if he is phlegmatic, you will give him a spoonful with two parts of water, it must also be given to the sanguine man. The choleric person should be given two spoonfuls of third-party water, and the melancholic should be treated in this way, and in three days he will be freed from any infirmity, however great it may be and perilous with death. When you want to give this medicine with the waters thus named, you will question the patient, what meat he is even delighted with: And although it is contrary to him you will give him notwithstanding, & of this medicine in the quantity of a pea, or large lens, this medicine applies to any natural or accidental infirmity, hot or cold. And when you want to go far and wander, such medicine, if you want to carry it with you, must be coagulated, and either put into a glass, and when you want to use it, be prepared in the humidity of potable gold, so when you prepare the vegetable things, as you said, take a vegetable thing, and in each glass put the leaves of gold by closing the said glass, so that the steam does not come out, be put in the center with slow fire, & the gold will be dissolved in twenty-two days, so if you want to make drinkable gold, either draw all the aqueous or aquatic substance from the gold with small & slow fire, & the gold which remained at the bottom, be put in the squash in a water bath, & be dissolved in four natural days, & this is the true potable gold, which must be put in a small squash by adding half an ounce of laminated gold, mercury washed with salt & vinegar an ounce, & all in eight days will be converted into real gold. And if you want to sublimate this more, take potable gold, to which mercury is added seven times sublimated with vitriol & common salt & revived again, and this must be placed for eight days on the ashes with a low & slow fire, & he will harden. A part of this matter dyes a hundred parts, and this can be increased infinitely.

The last potable gold. Chapter 43.

Take half an ounce, & be mixed very subtly, as when you gild something, & be sliced into very small parts, & add pure mercury, & be amalgamated on a marble stone, & be broken with as much sulfur, let it suffice, or better as much as the amalgam weighs. And when enough is broken, put the coals in the crucible on it and it will be burned immediately. This done, be cast again & broken on the marble, & put again in the crucible, sticking it to the fire, until it reddens, after that remove the crucible, & you will find your gold very well calcined into powder very subtle, as if it were saffron powder. After that be put in the reverberation furnace, & give it the flame of fire as it is decent, & it will be adorned, or after washed with four times distilled brandy, & then dry of this powder, take as much as you want , & sprinkle rectified brandy on it, as much as it exceeds this powder, to the height of three fingers, are after that put in the circulatory water bath with half of its small stones, & will be the one or solution in yellow water, if it will dye the skin of man in red color, after you will extract all the elements, as above has been demonstrated, & each one be well kept from the air: for they have virtue, which to express is not possible for us, and if it were possible, the hundredth part of the unlearned would not believe it: because the substance of water which we call aqueous, applies to all infirmities, which come from heat or coldness, it also applies to each passion of the stomach, the heart, and the lungs, & all venom expels, & all the supervacant matters and vain deity of the lung. And if any apostume was in the body easily it is cured by this remedy, it purges the blood, sharpens the sight, & all the spiritual members preserves from putrefaction the oil greatly benefits adolescents, because it preserves them in strength & beauty, & when we use it in meats, does not allow the blood to be putrefied, nor to dominate the phlegm, or to burn the anger nor the melancholy to have force, & the blood & the sperm: that is to say seminal matter multiplied & increases, and yet those who use this oil most often have to cut their veins. And if any limbs were injured or diminished, it restores them, and lost sight restores, when all night long we put a drop in the eye every month, the element of fire is valid and serves all things. before said, he makes the old come young and revive the dead. The old must use it with a little water of gold because it removes all the infirmities of old age and yet it is called the elixir of life: be resolved the fire into water of life, until you have the red color, and put dried mercury on a slow fire, and it will be slightly dissolved,

Water of life composed for men of weak complexion. Chapter 44.

We have spoken enough in the upper chapters of the simple water of life. It now remains to describe & elucidate any thing of the composite, although it is not necessary: but because the learned reader marvelously rejoices in diversity & strong variable, well seemed to me good & good advice nothing to speak of the composite of which the variables voice we will write various things. So first of all is to see that which must be administered to men of weak complexion, or to patients with cold causes. You can also use it in cold weather and regions, and this one. Take white ginger, eleu cinnamon, recent cucuebebes, blanched cloves, nutmeg, eleu mace, cardamom, zedrac, galangal, & long pepper, as much of one as the other equal parts, & be all things broken & roughly told , & are spread over a part of the species six parts of simple brandy, & are put in a long squash, putting the blind alembic on it, & subjected to digestion for fourteen days: or then after distilled in a bain-marie with very small and slow fire, and the lees are again spread on the distilled material, and are again digested within eight days. However, there are those who do not distill this by the still, but it is best that you distill it by this one, and when it is distilled three times, the first water is this holy water, the second water of life composed, & the third balsam water. They also add to its composition sage leaves, beaver rhue, recent, lemon bark, bay leaves & lavender flowers & roman flowers, as many as three drams. All these things must be distilled, with the species written on them, and always for one part of the species spread on top six parts of simple brandy. So this brandy is good for all head illnesses arising from the phlegmatic mood when taken in the morning at the weight of two drams with an ounce of very good wine: but some dip a piece of bread in this water, others anoint their heads with an ounce and a half of this water, adding an ounce of betony water: but be careful not to use it for the illnesses and pains of the head, which come from heat if other cold medicine is not mixed with it , which can temper the heat of this water, it is also worth remembering, when it is drunk on an empty stomach, each day, up to half a dragma mixed with rosemary water, and must be anointed with it. 'occiput, which is the back part of the head, and letting it dry on its own, it is also worth a damn and even when you shear your hair, and then you wet cloths in this water: mixed with marjoram water and rosemary, and you have to wrap the head, and then you feel a marvelous operation, this water is also worth paralysis when all the members are washed often with it, by mixing sage water or drinking it each day on an empty stomach mixed with water if paralysis when all the members are washed often with sage water or drinking it each day on an empty stomach mixed with lavender flower water: And against scars & macules of the face, & all eye diseases. It also has a wonderful operation in all tooth pain: If we also wet a piece of silk, or a comb in the predicted water & are combed the hair of this comb will never or very later turn white. And if one has a ringworm, it chases away ringworm at all: It is also good against earworms, comforts the stomach, cooled, and warms it who drinks it with wine, and with it the stomach is anointed, it restores deafness in the ears if it is placed in these places with cotton. The wounds washed from it: return in wonderful health, and the rotten flesh does not manage to grow in the body. If we drink it on an empty stomach, it is effective against all venom, and chancre, and all fistulas, against dropsy, the stone which is in the bladder. If the woman also drinks this water on an empty stomach who cannot conceive a child due to cold: she will conceive immediately, if the woman cannot have her flowers & menstruation, let her be given this water with galangal & gentian: or we wet cotton, and be the matrix. If this water also is put on fish, flesh, or other meats, they will not be corrupted, cannot, and will not be similarly infected with the filth of flies. If the wine has become sour and this water is sprinkled over it: it will return to its first substance and nature. If the sugar which is soft is wet with it, it hardens immediately, if the man is also anointed with it, it is against jaundice and trembling of all limbs and against stench of mouth and nostrils. And if a man cannot digest the meat he has eaten: he must wet a cloth with this water and place it on his stomach, because it has a wonderful operation. If the man suffers from spasm: wet a cloth, & place it on his stomach. If anyone with pain in the bowels drinks this water often, it also benefits against caustic disease, against scrofula of the face, and hemorrhoids. The great Albert even praised her for these miraculous operations against paralysis. And if one has a ringworm, it chases away the ringworm at all: It is also good against earworms, comforts the stomach, cooled, and warms it who drinks it with wine, and with it the stomach is anointed, it restores deafness in the ears if it is placed in these places with cotton. The wounds washed from it: return in wonderful health, and the rotten flesh does not manage to grow in the body. If we drink it on an empty stomach, it is effective against all venom, and chancre, and all fistulas, against dropsy, the stone which is in the bladder. If the woman also drinks this water on an empty stomach who cannot conceive a child due to cold: she will conceive immediately, if the woman cannot have her flowers & menstruation, let her be given this water with galangal & gentian: or we wet cotton, and be the matrix. If this water also is put on fish, flesh, or other meats, they will not be corrupted, cannot, and will not be similarly infected with the filth of flies. If the wine has become sour and this water is sprinkled over it: it will return to its first substance and nature. If the sugar which is soft is wet with it, it hardens immediately, if the man is also anointed with it, it is against jaundice and trembling of all limbs and against stench of mouth and nostrils. And if a man cannot digest the meat he has eaten: he must wet a cloth with this water and place it on his stomach, because it has a wonderful operation. If the man suffers from spasm: wet a cloth, & place it on his stomach. If anyone with pain in the bowels drinks this water often, it also benefits against caustic disease, against scrofula of the face, and hemorrhoids. The great Albert even praised her for these miraculous operations against paralysis. And if one has a ringworm, it chases away the ringworm at all: It is also good against earworms, comforts the stomach, cooled, and warms it who drinks it with wine, and with it the stomach is anointed, it restores deafness in the ears if it is placed in these places with cotton. The wounds washed from it: return in wonderful health, and the rotten flesh does not manage to grow in the body. If we drink it on an empty stomach, it is effective against all venom, and chancre, and all fistulas, against dropsy, the stone which is in the bladder. If the woman also drinks this water on an empty stomach who cannot conceive a child due to cold: she will conceive immediately, if the woman cannot have her flowers & menstruation, let her be given this water with galangal & gentian: or we wet cotton, and be the matrix. If this water also is put on fish, flesh, or other meats, they will not be corrupted, cannot, and will not be similarly infected with the filth of flies. If the wine has become sour and this water is sprinkled over it: it will return to its first substance and nature. If the sugar which is soft is wet with it, it hardens immediately, if the man is also anointed with it, it is against jaundice and trembling of all limbs and against stench of mouth and nostrils. And if a man cannot digest the meat he has eaten: he must wet a cloth with this water and place it on his stomach, because it has a wonderful operation. If the man suffers from spasm: wet a cloth, & place it on his stomach. If anyone with pain in the bowels drinks this water often, it also benefits against caustic disease, against scrofula of the face, and hemorrhoids. The great Albert even praised her for these miraculous operations against paralysis. it hardens immediately, if the man is also anointed with it, it helps him against jaundice and trembling of all limbs and against stench from the mouth and nostrils. And if a man cannot digest the meat he has eaten: he must wet a cloth with this water and place it on his stomach, because it has a wonderful operation. If the man suffers from spasm: wet a cloth, & place it on his stomach. If anyone with pain in the bowels drinks this water often, it also benefits against caustic disease, against scrofula of the face, and hemorrhoids. The great Albert even praised her for these miraculous operations against paralysis. it hardens immediately, if the man is also anointed with it, it helps him against jaundice and trembling of all limbs and against stench from the mouth and nostrils. And if a man cannot digest the meat he has eaten: he must wet a cloth with this water and place it on his stomach, because it has a wonderful operation. If the man suffers from spasm: wet a cloth, & place it on his stomach. If anyone with pain in the bowels drinks this water often, it also benefits against caustic disease, against scrofula of the face, and hemorrhoids. The great Albert even praised her for these miraculous operations against paralysis.

Brandy composed by Emperor Frederick the Third. Chapter 45.

Take then simple rectified brandy four pounds Malvasia wine four pounds, elected cinnamon three ounces, cloves, one ounce, white ginger, one and a half ounces, zedrac one and a half ounces, galangal, two drams, walnuts nutmeg one ounce, mace half ounce, cucubebes, hyssop as much as one half ounce, benedict root one ounce, sage, lavender flowers as much as one half ounce, lemon balm, balsamith juice as much of one ounce as the other, white roses an ounce and a half: all these things are pounded and put into a large squash: or can enter fifteen or sixteen pounds, adding white sugar three ounces of the grapes bags, figs as big as six ounces of one as the other, half-ounce camphor, rose water, dendinue water, water of suziau flowers as much as two pounds of one as the other & are all these things put into a squash, sticking it very well: & are placed in the Sun for twenty whole days, that is to say ten days before the feast of Saint John the Baptist, & another ten after, after the water is poured, & distilled by the still , reserving it in a dry place & preventing any menstruating woman from touching this water: its weight is in the quantity of half a spoonful: This is wonderfully valid for the stomach which is cold, & if keeps the whole body in very good health.

From another compound brandy. Chapter 46.

Take sage twelve ounces, nutmeg, cloves, white ginger, grains of paradise, cinnamon as much as one four drams, laurin oil one ounce recent castor one dram, spicemard, rosemary as much as one another half-dragme, rhue leaves one ounce, marjoram leaves one drageme, & lemon peel two dragemes: all these things must be recent, and if we cannot have them fresh the old ones must be powdered, by pouring over it very good white wine & the best we can have. Then after being put in the digestory it was putrefied for a month. This digestion is done in a bain-marie heated to the first degree of heat. Are then distilled in a water bath using the still. And when they are distilled: again be spread on their lees. But thirdly they will be distilled by the ashes, and you will keep them very well in a well-closed glass, this water has the virtues that follow. Any watered meat retains its smell & flavor. The wine in which it is put is made tasty, the pestilent air it repels, cures & saves all eye diseases & defects too. And are all wounds from her washed well healed, & if dropsy burns. And also applies to all pains of the lungs, spleen, bowels, head, and removes all stains from the face, stench from the mouth, nose & tooth pain. It provides good digestion, releases the blood and throws it out when it is corrupted, and wonderfully supports the memory. It also makes you youthful, and removes all sadness. It is effective against jaundice, it relaxes the intestines when they are too tightly constrained, & dyes the copper the color of silver, cures all the tremor of the limbs, & makes stutterers speak straight, & chases away pierced teeth, & bits of an asp or snake & even though the wound was bleeding, that is to say infected with rotten blood, it healed quickly. It removes the constraint & constriction of the chest & expels lice & the galling which is grieved: It is also wonderfully good against the stone in the bladder, chases away coughs, & clears the voice, the sterility of women converts into fertility, & covers deafness in the ears. It also dissolves all apostums, all ulcers & sores, ringworm, & other things of this kind: it removes leprosy when it is not inveterate, & saves all the tumor of the throat & cervix, & all the virtues natural balm: because it wonderfully keeps man in health. Those who are warm by nature should not use it, but phlegmatics should.

Other compound brandy. Chapter 47.

Take powder of cold diamargariton, powder of the electuary of diambre, powder of sweet diambre, as much of one as the other, a dragma, powder of letitia, powder of diarhodon, abatis, powder of triasandali, as much of one what else, two dragmas, powder of the electuary called liberantis, of the electuary of ozoardic, as much of one as of the other, four dragmas: of the great theriacus of Andromacus or of Galen, an ounce, of very good mitridac one ounce, diptame tormantelle, prope espergoute, angelice aristoloche as much of one as the other, four dragmes, prepared boliarmene, salted earth as much of one as the other, one ounce, ranedseny, two dragmes, spode powder from India, as much of one as the other, a dragme, three nuts called vamica, & six pounds of rectified brandy. All these things are left to digest for eight days, then are distilled in a bath. married by the alembic with strong and powerful fire: And when the water is distilled, put in it some recent Alexandrian musk of good amber as much as one as the other a scruple, of oriental saffron, wrapped in a sheet of silk: but it must not be broken, two dragmes, half-pound candy sugar, four ounces esticados syrup, two ounces liqueur syrup, recent fistula case & newly extracted from the half-ounce cellar, unicorn, a scruple. But the Armenian bolus must be prepared in this way. Take everything pulverized and paste it with barberry or sorrel water, prepared with water of roses and tanasia as much of one as the other two parts water of scabious of pimpenelle, of pas d'âne as much of one as of another part be mixed together, & be made paste with bowl of Armenian, & be dried, & then broken: And again be pasted with the waters before said & be made three times by breaking it & paste again, & thus you will have your Armenian bolus prepared. This water has wonderful action against the plague as it is experienced in several, when it is given with water of scabious, water of barberry, & water of donkey's step, & thus very great force to cure all diseases of pain of the head , sides, & kidneys: which proceed from no corruption of blood: because it purifies the lungs, comforts the heart, & from there removes all venom. Women, however, who are over the age of forty should not use it often: but very late due to excessive heat.

Compound brandy. Chapter 48.

Take brandy three times distilled four pounds, cinnamon, white ginger, nutmeg as much of one as another four dragmes, two ducats of very fine gold, and put all these things in a vessel of tin on all sides tightly closed for fourteen days, after which it is distilled three times by the still in a water bath, and is kept for use. This water is effective in softening and mitigating all infirmities when the patient uses it every morning and every evening, and makes old people rejuvenate,

From another compound brandy. Chapter 49.

Take simple brandy, four pounds distilled, cloves, white ginger, and rosemary as much as one half ounce. These species must be pulverized coarsely and then put in this water to rot in horse manure for eight days in the digestine vessel, on all sides well glued with mud or cement: & either after distilled by the still in a water bath, & this is done either again spread on the marc, & secondly distilled, & thirdly fermented & distilled in the modes & forms before said, thus the water will be prepared: It is valid for all the faults of man, & for the previous pains of coldness & moping, it also benefits all pains of the stomach, belly, & chest. And if the fat man wants to be voluntarily slimmed down, take each day on an empty stomach of this water: But if he is thin and he wants to become pregnant, take it every day with sugar mixed in it, and after two months completed, he will see his operation.

Of another brandy which was not used against Palatine. Chapter 50.

Take recent sage, one and a half ounces, nutmeg, one and a half ounces, elect mace, one ounce, white ginger, one and a half ounces, seed of paradise, six drams, elected cinnamon, one and a half ounces, zedrac , galangal, as much of one as the other, half an ounce, camphor distributed as much of one as the other, two drams, rosemary, an ounce and a half, lavender, marjoram, rhue, as much of one as the other , one ounce, chamomile flowers, half an ounce, matricaria two drams, fennel seed, one ounce and a half, red roses, a handful, betony, one ounce, aurone, four drams, recent beaver one dram, spinard, two drams , long pepper one ounce, bay oil, two drams, brandy, one ounce and a half, mint & mint as much of one as two drams. All things pulverized and those which must be cut down be so, and those which are to be plundered be also so, and everything be put in the squash. who has a narrow neck. Spread on it then after eight pounds of the best wine that you can have in a very well closed glass, & be buried near the ground for thirty days, & then remove it, & put in another squash, being placed on it the rostrate still which has a spout, & is distilled in a water bath three times, always spreading the distilled material on the lees. But when you want to distill it, add the leaves of recent sage as much as you want, and after the distillation be reserved for its use. The older she is, the better she is. And you can use it whenever you want: because it has and obtains innumerable virtues.

From another precious compound brandy. Chapter 51.

Take half a pound of sage, oregano, isop, savory, pimpenelle root, valerian root, wormwood, as much of one as the other, two drams, rhue, bistorte root, parsley root as much of one as of the other, one and a half dragma, rosat sugar, four dragma, Benedict root, polipode root, tormentil root, as much of one as the other, half a dragma: rosemary, parsley, chervil, lavender, marjoram, as many of one than another, half an ounce, red roses, white roses, as much of one as another, an ounce and a half, juniper grains four drams. These species must be put into the first distillation: and after this the distilled material is spread again on the feces, adding the things which follow. Take white ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, mace, galangal, aromatic alame, prepared coriander, candy sugar, as much of one as the other, half ounce: cloves, cinnamon, as much of one as of the other, six dragmes: recent cucubebes of the little seed of paradise, long pepper, & black pepper, zedrac, bay seeds, large andromache tiriacle as much of one as the other two dragmes, cumin, reupontic white carindiptame, pomegranate apples as much of one as two drèmes, with an ounce and a half grains of paradise, oriental saffron as much of one as of one drageme, of very good honey half a pound. And when all these things will be distilled, those which follow will be broken apart and poured again without any distillation: because they lost all their strength, and these are recent Alexandrian musk, good amber, as much of one as of other, half scruple, camphor half dragma, white sugar an ounce, this water must be distilled thus: take twelve pounds of rectified water of life, in which are the roots of the grass which are of large substance, & are put in a very well closed glass, & digest them into horse droppings for four days, then be distilled in a water bath, adding after the distillation the roughly pulverized species, & let them remain like this for eight days, & be distilled again , but finally when all things are distilled, you will put musk, amber, camphor, sugar, which do not need any distillation, because their smell would be removed from them by this distillation. And note that in all distillation the alembic on all sides must be wrapped in a cloth wet with flour & egg albinas because otherwise the material to be distilled would be evaporated, it must be taken in this way, whoever wants to use or morning or in the evening to eat or drink it, take a little breadcrumbs, and sprinkle on it three or four drops of the water before said, and it will wonderfully comfort the brain, all illnesses also of the head, and of the whole body are affected. slightly healed & saved: it similarly removes all superfluities from the whole body, whether from previous cold or heat, it preserves all the members of the body very well. Young people who have not yet passed the age of thirty should not use it unless they are late, regardless of whether they have any established illness: but those who are thirty years old can use it every day, and the more the man is ancient, the more he uses it: because it marvelously supports all natural virtue, so much so that man with the right regime of life can reach the end predestined for him: because it has virtue and effective of all other medicines, and will be able to use it in other wine, it is the true water of life, which has an odor and flavor more excellent than all the others, this is a very certain thing by the probation of several doctors of the art of medicine, that man cannot be infected from corrupted & polluted air, by the sole smell of this water, & yet they advise that one must take it in the time of the plague every day before going out outside the house, because there is no medicine that more sustains natural heat than this water of life: because it has the property with this nature, & yet it is converted into blood or natural heat: every day we use it. If you use it, you will be assured of not having paralysis, plague, or Gallican disease. It has great virtue in comforting the brain and driving away the whiteness of the hair. If any had the foul head of the moth, or other impurity, it must be anointed with the said water. It is also valid against all brain fluxes, and against syncope or heart failure. It cures all apostemas, when a linen sheet is wet in it, and placed on the ailment. It cures the obsolete disease when we dye a piece of cotton in it, and put it in the nostrils of the patient, and anoint the pulses with it: because it removes tremor from all the members, keeps youth, purifies the face, recalls all the wrinkles of the body, & finally removes the spots of the face: it clarifies the sight, cures the stilling eyes, when they are anointed with it. And if it is placed on the eyes, all their illnesses are saved and cured: and when you anoint the temples with it, it chases away all bad humors. And if you put celandine juice in it, or cold juice, it is useful for all darkness in the eyes, when you put two or three drops in the eye. It kills earworms, & cures noise & coughing, when it comes from cold, & removes all deafness, & alleviates tooth pain. If also anyone uses it with juice of solatre, which is nightshade, and powder of the emathite stone, it cures all spitting of blood: paralysis also if we anoint the temples of the head with it, and we puts it on the tongue. She also cures the difficulty of speaking by the impediment of the tongue, which forms words poorly, by giving cold pills all week. Several doctors & specialists are, who judge that it gives great help to the mute, when the tiriacle is mixed with it, and that it is given to the patient for the space of an entire year, taking however other medicines prepared and adapted for this purpose. Whoever is anointed by her will not feel any pain in his bowels or intestines. It nourishes the natural heat, the blood montifies, & removes all the opilations of the stomach, & greatly imparts to the spleen, the lungs, & the kidneys, & all the pathways of the body of man which are hugged, tightens & elongates when we drink it, and that no one takes it to the point, it is also valid against all pains of the stomach, and even against that inveterate phlegm, and removes the rage which is caused to the sides and to the stomach by cold. It cures all apostumes, cures dropsicals, & removes hemorrhoids, when these places are anointed with it. Whoever wants to be cured of podagra, firstly he must be purged well, and then drink this water, and wet the podagraous or waxy places of it. It is sovereign, and very helpful medicine for all the defects of the human body which come from humor or frigidity, it has all the members of the body divine operation, because it is the medicine of medicines.

From another kind of good & composed brandy. Chapter 52.

Take twelve ounces of purified turpentine, and wash it very well with white wine. After that take three pounds of purified honey with white wine, and mix it together: then add four pounds of very well rectified brandy, and put it in the squash. Afterwards take the herbs written below very well sliced, and put them into the things predicted for eight days by closing the glass very well without evaporating, and then you will distil them with great diligence from the ashes. These herbs are bugloss, borage, lemon balm, sage, lavender, as many as one handful, hyssop, chamomile flowers, blessed thistle, as many as one half a handful, rosemary, two handfuls, half-handful mugwort: & when they are distilled, add these very well pulverized, & be digested in horse manure every eight days, or in the bath every three. And are these that must be added, aloe wood, pilobalsm, of the three sansalea, aromatic calamus, arabic sticados, lemon seed, sieris mentani cumin, as much of one as the other, a dragma, nutmeg , cinnamon &lew, cloves, galenga, recent cucubebes, white ginger, long pepper, oriental saffron, large seed of paradise, small seeds of paradise as many as three dragmes, squinanti, half-dragmeme, prepared coriander , juniper grains, bacque or bay leaves, florence juice, as much of one as the other, half an ounce, bistorte six dragmes, catapuce, fennel seed, as much of one as the other, two ounces, requelice glade of oak, anise seed, as much of one as another, an ounce, blanched fines, recent shopping grapes, as much of one as another a pound, either taken a glass or distillery, to which is the material, & either put ashes, sticking it very well with mud, or cement, & either put on a slow fire for four hours. And when you see no water coming out of the receptacle: that is clear the fire must be increased & another receptacle be put in front, always sticking everything very well, & so long as it is distilled that the water comes out that is citrine, which must be separately kept. But thirdly, when you see the black oil being distilled, put another receptacle again, and in it be the oil received until everything is distilled, and you will keep it in another glass. The first water must be thus prepared, by putting in it recent alexandrine musk, good amber as much of one as the other, a dragme, gold leaves a scruple: Are no others similarly which add a lot of dianise a ounce. Whoever therefore wishes to comfort all his members, take an ounce of malvatic wine, adding a full spoonful of the first water, and mix together until they turn white like milk, then drink this on an empty stomach, in himself abstaining from eating for two full hours after drinking, and the body will be wonderfully comforted: but if you want to use it for head pain, take a full spoonful of the water above, with an ounce of betony water: it is good for the lungs, if it is taken with blackberry water or sage water. . And be this in winter time: but in summer take endive water an ounce, a spoonful of the water before said. It affects the stomach and the cold cough, also coming from the Cathar. Take water of hyssop, or borage, or fennel an ounce, and mix it with this water before said. For the heart take bugloss water, or borage, half an ounce, and as much of this brandy: and as much also lemon balm water, and be mixed and drunk on an empty stomach. For the stomach take water of wormwood, or mint an ounce with a spoonful of good water, & be taken as above. For the lungs, take water from pastenade, or polipoda, with that mentioned above, and use it as above. For the spleen take buglosa water: or tamarisk, with the water above said. To avert the head & paralysis, take water of pinoine, grass or root, grass parforated in water, with this water as above. From the stone in the bladder, take the water of pastinade, or horseradish, in the quantity of half an ounce, and two spoonfuls of the water above said. At strangurie, which is when one cannot piss, take water of watercress or parsley, or of saxirage, an ounce or spoonful of the water written above. Plantin or nightshade, and be drunk evening and morning, with a spoonful of the predicted water. To evoke menstruation in women, either take mugwort water, or semen 30 & water that I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, at the perils & danger of women, who carry midwives around, or of cold, who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & see spoonful of the water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take an ounce of matricaria water, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the eyes, take fennel water, enfrasia water, as much 'one than another half ounce, & of the water that I describe a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. but in summer take an ounce of endive water, a spoonful of the water before said. It affects the stomach and the cold cough, also coming from the Cathar. Take water of hyssop, or borage, or fennel an ounce, and mix it with this water before said. For the heart take bugloss water, or borage, half an ounce, and as much of this brandy: and as much also lemon balm water, and be mixed and drunk on an empty stomach. For the stomach take water of wormwood, or mint an ounce with a spoonful of good water, & be taken as above. For the lungs, take water from pastenade, or polipoda, with that mentioned above, and use it as above. For the spleen take buglosa water: or tamarisk, with the water above said. To avert the head & paralysis, take water of pinoine, grass or root, grass parforated in water, with this water as above. From the stone in the bladder, take the water of pastinade, or horseradish, in the quantity of half an ounce, and two spoonfuls of the water above said. At strangurie, which is when one cannot piss, take water of watercress or parsley, or saxirage, an ounce or spoonful of the water written on it. Plantin or nightshade, and be drunk evening and morning, with a spoonful of the predicted water. To evoke menstruation in women, either take mugwort water, or semen 30 & water that I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, at the perils & danger of women, who carry midwives around, or of cold, who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & see spoonful of the water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take an ounce of matricaria water, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the eyes, take fennel water, enfrasia water, as much 'one than another half ounce, & of the water that I describe a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. but in summer take an ounce of endive water, a spoonful of the water before said. It affects the stomach and the cold cough, also coming from the Cathar. Take water of hyssop, or borage, or fennel an ounce, and mix it with this water before said. For the heart take bugloss water, or borage, half an ounce, and as much of this brandy: and as much also lemon balm water, and be mixed and drunk on an empty stomach. For the stomach take water of wormwood, or mint an ounce with a spoonful of good water, & be taken as above. For the lungs, take water from pastenade, or polipoda, with that mentioned above, and use it as above. For the spleen take buglosa water: or tamarisk, with the water above said. To avert the head & paralysis, take water of pinoine, grass or root, grass parforated in water, with this water as above. From the stone in the bladder, take the water of pastinade, or horseradish, in the quantity of half an ounce, and two spoonfuls of the water above said. At strangurie, which is when one cannot piss, take water of watercress or parsley, or of saxirage, an ounce or spoonful of the water written above. Plantin or nightshade, and be drunk evening and morning, with a spoonful of the predicted water. To evoke menstruation in women, either take mugwort water, or semen 30 & water that I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, at the perils & danger of women, who walk midwives, or of cold, who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & see spoonful of water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take an ounce of matricaria water, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the eyes, take fennel water, enfrasia water, as much 'one than another half ounce, & of the water that I describe a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. For the stomach take water of wormwood, or mint an ounce with a spoonful of good water, & be taken as above. For the lungs, take water from pastenade, or polipoda, with that mentioned above, and use it as above. For the spleen take buglosa water: or tamarisk, with the water above said. To avert the head & paralysis, take water of pinoine, grass or root, grass parforated in water, with this water as above. From the stone in the bladder, take the water of pastinade, or horseradish, in the quantity of half an ounce, and two spoonfuls of the water above said. At strangurie, which is when one cannot piss, take water of watercress or parsley, or saxirage, an ounce or spoonful of the water written on it. Plantin or nightshade, and be drunk evening and morning, with a spoonful of the predicted water. To evoke menstruation in women, either take mugwort water, or semen 30 & water that I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, at the perils & danger of women, who walk midwives, or of cold, who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & see spoonful of water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take an ounce of matricaria water, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the eyes, take fennel water, enfrasia water, as much 'one than another half ounce, & of the water that I describe a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. For the stomach take water of wormwood, or mint an ounce with a spoonful of good water, & be taken as above. For the lungs, take water from pastenade, or polipoda, with that mentioned above, and use it as above. For the spleen take buglosa water: or tamarisk, with the water above said. To avert the head & paralysis, take water of pinoine, grass or root, grass parforated in water, with this water as above. From the stone in the bladder, take the water of pastinade, or horseradish, in the quantity of half an ounce, and two spoonfuls of the water above said. At strangurie, which is when one cannot piss, take water of watercress or parsley, or saxirage, an ounce or spoonful of the water written on it. Plantin or nightshade, and be drunk evening and morning, with a spoonful of the predicted water. To evoke menstruation in women, either take mugwort water, or semen 30 & water that I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, at the perils & danger of women, who walk midwives, or of cold, who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & see spoonful of water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take an ounce of matricaria water, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the eyes, take fennel water, enfrasia water, as much 'one than another half ounce, & of the water that I describe a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. or semen 30 & water which I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, to the perils & danger of women, who walk midwives, or from cold , who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & view a spoonful of water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take water of the matricaria an ounce, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the ices, take water of fennel, water of enfrasia, as much of one as of the other half ounce, and of the water that I describe as a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm. or semen 30 & water which I say seen in a spoonful, & the woman drinks it at that time, at which she must have her flowers or menstruate, to the perils & danger of women, who walk midwives, or from cold , who cannot give birth, either take water of valerian or betony, or wild roses an ounce, & view a spoonful of water before named, & be drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, at the womb, you will take water of the matricaria an ounce, and of this water before said either take half an ounce, and as above the ices, take water of fennel, water of enfrasia, as much of one as of the other half ounce, and of the water that I describe as a dragme, & be drunk as above to the macules & spots of the face. Take water of febues flowers, or water of pimpenelle an ounce, and half an ounce of the first water, and be mixed, and in the evening and morning wash your face with it, drink it whoever has the smeared face, all week with endive water two or three times, but the second water is citrine, and the third which is like black oil, and is greatly useful for fistulas and other wounds, and is tenuous instead of balm.

Of another composed life. Chapter 53.

Take very good honey one pound, brandy distilled four times a pound and a half, aloe wood three drams, gum arabic two drams, nutmeg, galaga, recent cubebes, cinnamon, mace, cloves, spinard as much of one as another three dragmes, recent alexandrine musk & good amber as much of one as another a scruple, all these things are roughly pulverized, putting them all in a glass gourd to be digested in droppings of horse per eight days, are then after distilled in a water bath, with slow fire, & thus very good brandy for several diseases very good & excellent.

From another compound brandy. Chapter 54.

Take cloves, long pepper, seed of paradise as much as one, two drams, nutmeg six draggers, mace one ounce, cinnamon, white ginger, galangal, as many as one other, four drams, lavender flowers, basil an ounce, sage half an ounce, rosemary flowers, polypody mint, hyssop as much as one or another two drams, balsamite an ounce, recent Alexandrian musk a scruple & a half, these herbs must be dried, then spread over sixteen pounds of well-rectified brandy, and digested into horse droppings for fourteen days, and distilled by the still, in a water bath, and enclosed in a vial closed very well.

Of another compound water of life, which causes paralysis & advertine & headache. Chapter 55.

Take recent sage nine ounces, lavender flowers four ounces, hyssop, mint, as much of one as the other, two maniples, cloves, nutmeg, chosen chamony, white ginger, seed of paradise, zedrac, galangal, as many as half an ounce, aromatic calamus an ounce, juniper grains an ounce, peppercorns half an ounce, very good white wine, twenty pounds, & are digested into horse droppings in eight days, or in a water bath for four days: or then after that distilled by the alembic, & reserved for use in a very well closed glass: because it has a wonderful effect against all paralysis & advertine of the head.

Of another compound brandy, greatly precious. Chapter 56.

None of our German doctors have made the water of life very noble and very excellent, and have experimented with it in two noble operations, to console and preserve the human body completely from many diseases, even the head, the brain, and others. interior ailments of the head proceeding from coldness & humidity to be resolved & expelled, & to rejoice the instruments of the soul & the five senses: it also wonderfully comforts the four main members, with the kidneys & all the bowels, it provides very good digestion in the stomach, & gives wonderful virtue to all the external members by its smell alone, when it is taken in this way. Take one part of this water and two parts of the waters of sage, and lavender and rosemary as much of one as the other: mix together, and wet a sponge with which evening and morning the members are anointed, and dry themselves, or if you put three or four drops in a goblet full of wine, and be drunk before dinner or supper: it is also good for comforting the head. So hang from this brandy composed a half-ounce of betony water, and be drunk every morning and every evening, or dip your bread in this water, and be eaten all day on an empty stomach, three hours before dinner, for the brain & memory. Receive from this water a dragema, waters of rosemary, marjoram as much of one as another half-dragma, and use it in the manner described above. To the stomach, take from this water a dragema, of isop, and hair of cames, as much of one as another two dragemas, and use it in the manner described above. At the heart a dragma of this water, water of bourches and bugloss, as much of one as of two dragmes, and uses it as above has been said. For the stomach, take a dragema of this water, wormwood water, mint as much of one as two dragemes, and use it as above. In the lungs take a dram of this water, adding chicory water and tanesy water to as much of one as two drams, and use it as above. The spleen takes from this water a dram, water of thamarise & centipede, as much of one as another, and uses it in this form & fashion before said. But if you want to use it for the conformation of all the members of the body, use the first part of this water, with four parts of wine. But the water must be made this way.

Receive the powder of cold diamargariton, powder of diarhodon abbatij, according to Nicolas, powder of diambre, according to Mesue, dianthos according to Nicolas, powder of lectue Galen as much of one as the other two dragmes, recent fistula breakage, & newly extracted & drawn cane, white sugar, as much of one as the other, a dragme & a half syrup & requelice 31 syrup of sticados, rosemary flowers a dragme, alexandrine musk a scruple on these species be poured two pounds of brandy simple very well rectified, by third distillation in a bain-marie: then distill this again in a bain-marie through the alembic with very slow fire, so much so that you number one, two, three, up to seven before a drop is distilled. And the musk must be bound in a sheet of red silk, and be suspended from the phialle where the water called distilled life is, and must not be extracted from it as long as the water lasts. However, there are those who putrefy with the species before saying a lure of bugloss water, half a pound of lemon balm water, four ounces of basil water, two drams of rosemary water, and then distill it in a bain-marie.

From another compound brandy more precious than all the others. Chapter 57.

So that we can bring a good end to our present work, we will declare a very rare and very secret water of life, which is in no way a celestial operation, and is made in this way. Take recent sage with its flowers, rosemary, arsenic, white ginger, cloves, nutmeg, seed of paradise, galangal, aromantic calamus, zedoac, as much of one as the other, small half-ounce mace seed , recent cucubes, rhue leaves, marjoram leaves, lavender flowers, red roses, as many of one as two dragmes, tiriacle of Galen or andromache, very good metridat, as many of one as of another, a dram and a half of laurin oil, borage flowers, bugloss flowers, lemon peel, rosemary flower, ostrucij, angelica, remponticum, centaury grains, mentastre, mint, matricaria as much of one as the other, a dragme & a half recent beaver, verbena with its flowers, bethonia, aloe wood, pilobalsame, carpobalsame, Indian spice, oak acorns, peonle grains, as much of one as the other, a ranedsene dragme, camphor , deabeine cluster seed, peonie root, polij with its flowers, basilicon seed, fennel seed, ronica, & oriental saffron, as much of one as the other, half-dragma, good musk amber, recent alexadrin as much of another half-scrupulousness, brandy for at least seven times distilled for ten pounds. All the following things must be put with brandy to digest in a water bath for four days, & as many nights, sage, rosemary, rhue, marjoram, lavender, rose, mitridae, triacle, bugloss laurin oil, borage, angelica ostricium , rempontic, grains of juniper mentastre mint, mitricaria, verbene, bethonic polium & castrol, & when they are putrefied be distilled by the still at a low and slow fire, so that there can be one, two, three, before a drop distills, and when all these things are thus distilled, dishes cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, seed of paradise, galangal, aromatic cabbage, long pepper, zedoac, cucubes, cardamom, aloe wood, lemon peel, carpobalsam, pilobalsame, espic nardi, oak acorns, peonie root, & the grains of icelle, prepared coriander, basilicon seed, donablie cluster seed of tonic doromicum R, all these things must be pulverized coarsely, & put in distilled water, and are fully digested over fifteen days, and then again are distilled in a water bath, by the alembic, and then add camphor, rubarb, saffron, amber & musk. But if you want to have even better water you will add diamangarton powder according to nicolas, diapluris with musk, according to niolas, diarhodon abbatis, diamascal according to mesue, diamboret powder as much of one as the other, a dragme powder of electuary albacore , powder of lepide Galen, powder of dialigini, aloe as much of one as the other half-dragma, And this distillation is very excellent among all the others. There are no doctors who made green water to comfort the stomach, which they used with the water described above, or with the following clear water, as some Count Palatine had done. This green water is made in this way, take brandy four times distilled by the still in the water bath four pounds, dry lemon balm three drams, balsamite two drams, or pour brandy over its herbs before written. And all things must thus rest for eight days, and then use it. And note that the herbs should not be dried in the Sun, but in the air, because the water would become dark as if it were the juice of any herb, but if they are dried in the air they are beautiful & green color, & is this very sweet water & brings to the one who drinks it.

Clearing is done in this way. Take very good white wine four pounds, hard white sugar four ounces, cinnamon one ounce, prepared coriander three drams, cloves two drams, grains of paradise & white ginger each one dram, & long pepper two scruples, be broken very subtly & made into powder, which must be poured afterwards, as is done for the saplings with aromatized wine which is hypocras, this powder is reserved in a tin vessel, & must be taken with the previous water & no others. The virtues of this water are such: it is worth to the memory if it is drunk every day half a dragma mixed with half an ounce of rosemary in distilled water marjoram water lemon balm water, as much of one as the other, two dragmes , to mania or also to brain pain, preceded by cold. Take half an ounce of this water, bethony water, poli water and as much of one as the other, two drams and mixed together, and wet a cloth while wrapping the head, or the patient drinks two drams of this water each day. water, & water of bethoine four drams, be taken also aureated pills & checked, as much of one as another a scruple, & be made other pills with water of bethoine taken in five in number, & take them every day when you go to sleep, or also when you get up, dianthos in tablets a drama. At the advertin of the chief, receive half an ounce of this water, the waters of lavender, sage, as much of one as the other three drams & that we take them each day on an empty stomach, diapleris with musk according to Nicolas, for the bald head. Take water of white lily, Aaron's beard as much as one half dragma, half an ounce of this water, or six dragma, adding to it oil of tartar one dragma. To whiten and whiten the face, take one part of febues flower water, two parts of this water, and mix them, and wash your face with it each day, you can also take one part of this water each day and very two portions of good wine, and drink on an empty stomach, and it will be worth the same. If you are deaf, you will put this water in your ears every morning and every day, and you will go to bed afterwards until the fourth part of an hour, and you will rest on this same ear, for whatever purpose it needs again, or receive from this water & very good wine as much of one as other equal parts, & be taken each day on an empty stomach. For earworms, take water in front of said half ounce, juice of rhue, parsley leaves as much of one as another two drams, & if you cannot have these herbal juices you will take some water distilled from these, adding a little bit of aloe vera suddenly crushed and powdered, and you will distill from these waters every morning, and every evening a little in this sick ear, while lying down and lying on the other side, & after a little time will rest on the side, where the worms are, & they will come out immediately & die. At optaline, receive from this water half an ounce of fennel, water of poli, water of valerian, as much of one as the other, a dragme, & be put in the eyes. For the tumor and swelling of the gums, take white wine nine ounces, worst, one ounce, and be cooked together, and of this take a part, and water before said, and then hold these things mixed in the mouth and in take it often, and do this until you are cured. To the stench of the curly or nose be given each day half an ounce with white wine, to which has been boiled mint, & red rose an ounce, adding a little musk: some however take of this water before written two ounces, waters of rosemary & red roses, as much of one half ounce as the other, & are mixed together, & musk is suspended in a sheet of silk, & good amber, as much of one as the other six grains : & it is necessary to wash the gums often with a silk cloth hanging in water: do this each day once at least, or again you can also drink water before said two times every month. For the high evil be drunk by each day half ounce of this water with water of preonie, one ounce. Some do this, they receive the root and the grains of the preonia, glue of oaks, as much of one as of the other equal parts, and boil them into very good white wine, and give it to the patient with the predicted water. At paralysis the limbs should be anointed with the predicted water, & this water should be drunk every day in the morning. But at vespers you will take diacastorem with white wine with which lavender, sage, juniper grains, as many of one as the other are cooked, a manipulate, pouring over four pounds of very good wine. At the lost word, receive from this half-ounce water, from the waters of lavender, peony, and sage, as much of one as the other, two drams, and be drunk, and received as a dram of metridat, with wine, in which the beaver will have boiled. To melancholy. Receive water described as half an ounce, with bugloss water an ounce, basilicon water, lemon balm water, as much of one as two drams, centipede water, borage, as much of one as the other , a drama & be mixed together, & let it be drunk three hours before dinner: also take a tablet of the preparation of the jubilation of Galen or of the liberating dalmansor. At the putrefaction of the liver, take half an ounce of this water with water of the epatic, and each one drinks an ounce or ounce and a half in the evening: and in the morning two or three hours before dinner, take diarhodon Abatin, according to Nicholas. Receive water called one part Sabuc flower water, two parts, fennel water, three parts, and be mixed together, and each time you will drink half an ounce: but in the evening at vespers when you you want to go to bed, take from the great tiriacle of Galen a dragme in wine, with which parsley, fennel, and the roots of ache, and the Veneris capilli have been boiled, as much of one part as the other, ten of wine, boil until the third part is consumed, and for three days in three days be given to the dropsical two or three hours before dinner dialaccae, according to Meseni two dragmes. But the patient should beware of potions which are vain and superfluous: for in this illness the less a man drinks, the more he urinates, and on the contrary. From the stone, take of this water recently written one part, water of saxifrage, water of alkikange, water of millium solis, water of horseradish as much of one as the other two parts & an hour later this potion be given to the patient two lytontripon dragees. Take from this water two drams, one ounce of white wine, water of yellow lilies, water of rosemary, water of matricaria as much of one as another two drams, and drink it in the morning or in the evening throughout the week, using two or three times of the diamargariton according to Avicenna two dramas, it also has innumerable virtues, which for brevity I leave.

Conclusion of the Book.

You will therefore accept this work, Felix my friend, which I have dedicated to you, which with great labor and diligence I have accumulated, a diligent man will be able to know it. I ask everyone to take it as willingly as I have composed & highlighted it, I could have added several things to it but that two companions & perfect friends Arnauld de Villeneuve & Raymond Lulle with their disciple Jehan de la Roche decision & several other recent authors have written diligently not without cause, so that we would not be accused of theft, we have omitted several things worthy of memory, however that many have taken from them. As Quintilian says, it is a shame free from liberality to confess by whom we profit, we would have added several other things if it had not been for fear of angering the readers. Often times long and verbose reading revokes the readers and annoys them, for this reason we did not want to go beyond it. And for this my friend Félix you will have our work in recommendation & will defend it against the envious for the great friendship that we have always had together in short, if God gives us health, I am deliberate to send you something more serious & more elite . Because of the brevity of time we were forced to leave and write. And for these reasons if we find something that does not please the reader.

The brevity of time will excuse. Saying goodbye to you and praying to your friend Philippe as is your custom.

END.

Coelvm philosophorvm, sev, Liber de secretis naturae - Latin PDF

Philippus Ulstadius

1553

The Heaven of Philosophers - Coelum philosophorum seu de secretis naturae liber

Coelum philosophorum seu de secretis naturae liber

The heaven of philosophers
Where the secrets of nature are contained,

Preface.

Contents.

The Heaven of the Philosophers, Or SECRET OF NATURE

Introduction.

Conclusion of the Book.

Coelvm philosophorvm, sev, Liber de secretis naturae - Latin PDF

Quote of the Day

Marsilio Ficino

1,086

187

512,280

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The Heaven of Philosophers - Coelum philosophorum seu de secretis naturae liber

Coelum philosophorum seu de secretis naturae liber

The heaven of philosophers Where the secrets of nature are contained,

Preface.

Contents.

The Heaven of the Philosophers, Or SECRET OF NATURE

Introduction.

Conclusion of the Book.

Coelvm philosophorvm, sev, Liber de secretis naturae - Latin PDF

Quote of the Day

Marsilio Ficino

1,086

187

512,280

The heaven of philosophers
Where the secrets of nature are contained,