Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	great_a	see_v	time_n	5,907	5	3.3926	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79445	Chymical, medicinal, and chyrurgical addresses: made to Samuel Hartlib, Esquire. Viz. 1. Whether the Vrim and Thummim were given in the Mount, or perfected by art. 2. Sir George Ripley's epistle, to King Edward unfolded. 3. Gabriel Plats caveat for alchymists. 4. A conference concerning the phylosophers stone. 5. An invitation to a free and generous communication of secrets and receits in physick. 6 Whether or no, each several disease hath a particular remedy? 7. A new and easie method of chirurgery, for the curing of all fresh wounds or other hurts. 8. A discourse about the essence or existence of metals. 9. The new postilions, pretended prophetical prognostication, of what whall happen to physitians, chyrurgeons, apothecaries, alchymists, and miners.		1655 (1655)	Wing C3779; Thomason E1509_2; ESTC R209495	57,805	193

of it seems to be more curious than profitable The fourth said That as the Mathematicians by endeavouring to square the circle though they have not done it yet are come to the knowledge of divers things which they knew not before So the Chymists though they have not light upon the Philosophers stone yet have discovered admirable secrets in the three great Families of Animals Vegetables and Minerals Now though no body had ever yet had it yet may it be possible to be found out not onely for this general reason that nature hath not given us desire in vain but particularly because all Mettals are of one kind being made of one Matter which is Sulphur and Mercury and are concocted by the same heat of the Heavens and differ onely in the coction as the grapes of one bunch which ripen at several times Which appears to be true because gold and silver may be extracted out of all Mettals yea even out of Iron and Lead which are the most imperfect of all So that Art ought not in this case to be counted inferiour to those things which it perfects And the Greek Etymologie of Mettals doth shew that they may be changed from one to another The fifth said That as in the production of corn by Nature the corn and the fat juice of the earth are the Matter and the Efficient cause is partly internal and inclosed in the grain and partly external that is the heat of the Sun and that the place is the bosome of the Earth So also in the production of gold by Art the Matter is the gold it self and its quicksilver the Efficient cause is partly in the gold and partly in the external heat the place is the furnace which holds the egge of glass wherein is inclosed the Matter which dissolves and turns black and this they call the crows head then grows white and after hardens into a red lump so hard that they call it a Stone which being beaten to pouder and kept three dayes together over a strong fire in a vessel Hermetically sealed turns into a purple colour and then one dram of it will turn two hundred drams of quicksilver into pure gold and the whole Sea too if it were of like Matter The sixth said That Art may imitate Nature but cannot outdo it As it would be if men could change other Mettals into gold that being impossible for nature to do even in the Mines and in never so long time For Mines of Iron Lead Tin or Copper never become Mines of Gold or Silver therefore muchless can the Alchymist do it in his furnace no more than he can produce something more excellent than gold as this Philosophers stone would be for gold is the most perfect compound of all mixt bodies and is therefore incorruptible muchless can the Alchymist bring to pass a thing concerning the immediate Matter of which its Efficient cause its Place Time and Manner of working men are not agreed there being as many several opinions about it as there are Authors who are in great number And besides it is a mistake to say that Mettals are all of one kind and that they differ but in coction for we see that Iron is more concocted than Silver it being harder and not so easie to melt and because their differing is needful for mans use Now those perfect species which are neer of the same kind as Mettals are do never change into one another no more than an horse changes into a Lion Nay if there were such a Philosophers stone could work upon Mettals yet would it not make gold or silver but other stones like it self or else would onely imprint its qualities in them according to the ordinary effects of all natural Agents And if it were true that this pouder of Gold being thrown upon other mettals could produce more Gold as one grain of corn being sown in the ground doth produce many other grains yet ought the same order and progress to be observed in the multiplication of gold that is in the production of corn but this the Chymists do not for they will have their multiplication to be done in an instant The seventh said That seeing Art doth draw so many natural effects out of one fit matter as out of little worms may be had Serpents Frogs Toads Bees and Mice and considering that the subject of these Metamorphosies is a great deal harder to receive life than mettals which are insensible to receive a Form as well divisible as its matter He did not see but that at least by the extraordinary help of good or evil Angels men might come to have some knowledge of it For besides we see that several species do naturally change the one into the other as Egpytian Nitre turns into stone Jasper into Emerald the herb Bazil into wilde Tyme Wheat into Cockle and Caterpillers into Butterflies And if we will believe the Scotchmen they have a Tree whose fruit falling into the water turns into a bird PHILARETVS TO EMPYRICUS SIR THough I am not ignorant that the Secrets you possess are equally unknown in their compositions and famed for their effects yet I dare confidently expect from your goodness and Communication of that which was proved so successful in the cure of that disease that the Proverb hath listed amongst the inconveniences of Wealth And though I doubt not but the charitableness of your own disposition needs no Auxiliary motives to obtain the grant of so just a favour yet a desire to let you see that Piety and Reason are no less your Petitioners in this particular then Philaretus will I hope excuse my zeal if to justifie your good nature as well as my request I take leave to represent to your consideration the immensity of that goodness that excludeth not its very enemies from its gratious effects and there heapeth benefits not onely where they were never deserved but where they never can be returned this is a noble president and fit for your raised spirit whose imitation cannot possibly mislead you since both Gods Wisdome and his happiness being no less infinite than his goodness places it above controversie that a transcendency in the one is not at all inconsistent with the possession of an equall degree of the others Our Saviour assureth us that it is more blessed to give than to receive and in effect we see that God that enjoyeth a felicity as Supream as any of his Attributes maketh it his continual employment to oblige and that there where he cannot expect a Retribution And therefore the more diffused and the less selfish and mercinary our good actions are the more we elevate our selves above our own and the neerer we make our approximations to the perfections of the Divine nature But to descend from these abstracted thoughts into less Platonick considerations we are all acquainted with the strong obligation that not charity onely but bare humanity layeth upon us to relieve the distresses of those that derive their