Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	dry_a	hot_a	moist_a	3,301	5	10.4672	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44608	Aurifontina chymica, or, A collection of fourteen small treatises concerning the first matter of philosophers for the discovery of their (hitherto so much concealed) mercury which many have studiously endeavoured to hide, but these to make manifest for the benefit of mankind in general.	Houpreght, John Frederick.; Flamel, Nicolas, d. 1418.; Ripley, George, d. 1490?	1680 (1680)	Wing H2941; ESTC R31127	85,086	301

adequate activity and passion for some of the Elements are therein either in an active or passive power and the rest are therein actually But in the Philosophers Stone which is Gold being it is an uniform Work of Nature all the four Elements active and passive are actually therein and permanent in an equal proportion For the Essence or Nature of Gold is nothing else but the four Elements equally mixed not that their form and matter may be said to be therein equal but their passive and active power that is they are each alike and equal not in quantity but in quality because that the active doth not exceed the passive in its acting nor on the other side the passive doth not exceed the active by suffering more because there is an equal proportion as to measure in our Gold or in our Medicine double hot double moist double cold double dry and all these are actually therein by actual action and passion that is Fire Air Water and Earth as we have said before And all these are said to be alike and equal in quality not quantity because they are equal in actives and passives and they are therefore durably permanent in Gold because the passive in it consists permanently in its active and on the other part the passive rises not up against the active And they ought not to be alike in quantity that is there ought not be so much matter of Fire as there is matter of Earth because then the Fire by reason of its quality would be everywhere of an unequal activity with its passive Earth and of a far greater Wherefore there is in Gold as to its matter but not as to its quality much more of the heavier and more passive Element than of the lighter and more active that ●s more in quantity there is in ●t a greater quantity of Earth than Water a greater quantity of Water than Air a greater of Air than Fire wherefore it is the heaviest of all Metals But in this ●nequal proportion of quantity there is an equal and like proportion of quality of hot dry moist and cold because each of these is in Gold as hath been said The cause of which weight is the permanency of the solidity of the Earth and Water and the solution of an homogeneous Water with the Earth because Water dissolves an homogeneous Earth Also their intrinsical thorow mixture in their very least particles is the cause of the weight because the Water as well in Gold as Quick-silver suffers not the Earth to have any ●res in it which is otherwise in other Metals in which pores are insensibly made in their congelation because of the dross mingled in those Metals all over rejected by the Mercurial nature and heterogeneous whereupon their lightness results which is nothing else but want of matter and porousness of the same as weight is nothing else but a solid addition of matter Wherefore if there were in an equal commensurative quantity so much of the solid matter of Fire as there is of the matter of Earth Fire would be as weighty as Earth But the cause of the weight of Saturn is its immature congelation because it d●●● not yet reject the dross of its parts whence pores are made in it but the pure and impure abide through mixt together in it everywhere as in the first crude Quick-silver in which the inspissation and coagulation is weak for that cause Saturn or Lead retains the weight of its Quick-silver not because of the purity of its solid matter but because of its immature coagulation or coction Wherefore if in this Work you would not destroy the Fire and Air you must preserve in a distinct and like proportion the heat of the Compound But if you would not destroy the Air and the Water then in the same Compound you must cherish the humid so in the same manner you may preserve the Water and Earth or the Earth and the Fire in the said Work by preserving rightly and by the artifice of the Philosophick skill both the cold and dry because if you destroy any one of them the proportionab●● form and kind of Gold is lost For this cause the Philosophers say our Gold is made of every thing that is of every Element every Element being intrinsically preserved in it and actually compounding it wherefore all the Elements are intrinsically in act or power the principles of all compounded alterable things and for that cause are said to be all things Furthermore my Reverend Doctor for your credits sake you must understand the sayings of the Philosophers according to the possibility of Nature and not according to the sound of Words For they have handled this holy and hidden Art and its Secrets under Similitudes Fables Riddles and obscure words and have hid it purposely that it might not be exposed to the unlearned impious and unworthy Furthermore that I may go on to other Heads of your Epistle I understand the artifice of your Stone to be a composure from Gold but from your writing I cannot apprehend it because you set not down the first original of that Composition Therefore I shall not need to handle it more at large till you instruct me fully and more plainly in its Composition and Operation For I cannot neither believe that the Elixir or Philosophers Stone can consist of the signs appearing in it and of the properties of the nutritive vegetation of the flaming Fire which you attribute to it as I have openly shewed in what I have said already But when I received your Work and the gift of so great a Secret sent unto me I at once understood your unfeigned love and free confidence in me Wherefore for your Friendship sake I reserve your Stone with me and keep it as a most acceptable gift and shall write unto you more concerning it when you shall declare it to me more manifestly But whereas you say that in your Stone there are three a Body Spirit and Soul which is manifest to you by your experience and work the Philosophers when they said those three natural things were in their artificial Stone understood it by way of resemblance and experiment For they called the Earth its Body and Bones because it is an astringent Compound and restrains the fluid Elements from their raw flexibility having the Fire also with it symbolically by its driness But they called the Water and Air its Spirit because they are the Elements that moisten and dissolve the Earth But they called the Air and Fire the Soul because they ripen and digest the whole Compound And they named them thus with resemblance unto Humane nature because in a well-constituted Flesh there ought to be Bones to sustain the Body and likewise there ought to be in the Flesh a vivacity of vegetable Accidents which are called its Spirits contrary to the errors of the Pagan Philosophers who thought the vital Spirits to be something distinct from the Body compounded and parts compounding

Wine is mixed with a great deal of Water and terrene terrestriety but by means of an artificial distillation the dry Spirit of Wine may be severed from all the phlegmatick humidity and terrene terrestriety in so much that all the Spirit is severed from the Water existent in Wine and the Water from the Earth and then remain the Lees out of which a white Salt is extracted and joyned again with the Spirit and then the Spirit is distilled and cohobated divers times until all the Salt be gone over with it whereby the Spirit is hugely fortified and acuated And in truth this is a notable typical description represented unto us by the Philosophers which in the preparation of the Water of Mercury we ought to imitate for after its dissolution we ought in like manner as hath been taught of the Wine by Sublimation sever the Water or Phlegm from the Spirit and the Spirit from the Earth and to rectifie the Earth and joyn and distill it together with the Spirit untill all together come over the Helm Of which preparation of this Water none of all the Philosophers hath written more clearly nor better than Raymund Lullie viz. in Testamento novissimo as also in the first Testament in libro Mercuriorum libro Q. Essentiae c. where he doth plainly enough declare that after the Putrefaction Separation Distillation of the Philosophical Spirit of Wine the Spiritual Water is to be mixed again and distilled with its own Earth that it come over with it he declareth also how this Philosophical Wine or Menstruum is fortified and acuated with its own Salt And further it is to be noted that this Water Menstruum or Philosophical Spirit of Wine being thus prepared doth dissolve or open its own Body or Mercury vive into the primum Ens or primogenial Water whereby it is multiplied without end by means of Putrefaction and Distillation But what is said of the Extraction of this Water is confirmed by Arnoldus de Villâ novâ saying It is a substance full of Vapours which containeth in it self a fat humidity whereof the Artist severeth the Philosophers humidity such as is fit for the Work and is as clear as the tears of eyes wherein dwelleth the Quintessence in a Metallick Nature very proper for the Metals and therein is the Tincture to bring forth an intire Metal for it containeth the nature both of Argent vive and also of Sulphur Rosarius Philosophorum saith concerning the distillation of this Menstruum or Water that great industry and care must be had and that the Vessels to be used for the cleansing of this Spirit must be of Glass and exactly closed to the end that the Spirit may find no vent nor place to fly through it being very forward to make its way through any hole it findeth And if the red Spirit should be gone the Artist will lose his labour the Philosophers call the red Spirit Bloud and Menstruum therefore be very careful to have good Vessels and to have the joynts well luted that you may get the dry Spirit with its Bloud into the Receiver by it self without evaporation of its Virtue and keep it until thou have occasion to work with it But concerning this distillation the ocular inspection goeth beyond writing and none can be a Master before he have been a Scholar or Apprentice Be provident therefore and discreet in thy Work lay on a Receiver and first distill by a gentle Fire the Element of Water which being over put it aside and lay on another Receiver and close the joynts exactly that the Spirit may not vapour away increase the Fire a little and there will rise in the Helm a dry yellow Spirit Continue the same degree of Fire so long as the Spirit cometh yellow But when the Alembick beginneth to be red then increase the Fire very gently and keep it going on thus until the red Spirit and Bloud be quite come over which in its ascending and going through the Helm will appear in the form of Clouds in the Air And so soon as the red Spirit is distilled over the Helm will be white and then cease quickly and thus you have in the Receiver the two Elements of Air and Fire having extracted the true dry Spirit and severed the pure from the impure Loe now you have the prima materia Metallorum wherein the Bodies are reduced For all the Metals have their rise from Water which is a ●oot of all Metals And therefore they are reduced into Water like as the frozen Ice by heat is reduced into Water because it hath been Water before Do not marvel at it for all things upon Earth have their root and rise from Water O how many there are that work and never think upon the root which is the Key to the whole Work it dissolveth the Bodies readily it is Father and Mother it openeth and shutteth and reduceth Metals into what they have been in the beginning It dissolveth the Bodies and coagulateth it self together with them the Spirit is carried upon the Water that is the Power of the Spirit is seen there operating which is done when the Body is put into the Water Whereupon the Philosopher saith Look upon that despicable thing whereby our Secret is opened For it is a thing which all know well and he that knoweth it not will hardly or never find it the wise man keepeth it and the fool throws it away and the reduction is easie to him that knows it But my Son it is the greatest secret to free this Stone or Mercury vive from its natural bonds wherewith he is tyed by Nature that is to dissolve and reduce it into its primigenial Water for without this be done all will prove but labour lost for else we should not be able to sever and extract the true Spirit or Watry substance which dissolveth the Bodies And this Solution hath been concealed by all the Philosophers who left it unto God Almighty's disposing anathematizing that man that should openly reveal it And therefore they spake very subtilly and concisely concerning the solution of this crude Body to the end that it may remain occult unto the unwise But my Son thou art to take notice that the solution of Mercury vive will hardly be performed without a means but none such are to be used as are Sophistical as many rude unwise and ignorant fools use to do who by strange extravagant ways reduce Mercury into Water supposing that to be the right Water They sublime Mercury with Corrosives with all sorts of Salts and Vitriols from which the sublimed Mercury attracteth the Salty Spirits and then afterwards they dissolve the sublimate into Water in Balneo or in the Cellar or divers other ways Item they reduce it into Water by Salt-Armoniack by Herbs Sope Aquafort by means of strange kinds of Vessels and many the like Sophistical proceedings all which are but