Non ita deterremur saith that Object of the Worlds wonder Kircherus ut proinde nobis hastam abjiciendi animus sit est aliquid prodire tenus si non datur ultra Let us wish therefore we had Pliny's fontem Leontinum cujus aquas qui bibisset scientem evadere medicum recitat and being arm'd with this phantastical conceit take upon us to tell you that all waters are either mixed with different Glebes of terrestrial matter wherein we comprehend all species of Earth or with the different sorts of Salts which are called concrete Juyces and so there will be as many different species of waters as there are different sorts of Salts or they are adjoyned to the different species of liquid juyces such as are unctuous and fat as Bitumen or not unctuous as are all strong caustick waters or they are mixed with the Metalline Bodies and so invest themselves with the same nature they are ting'd withall or lastly they are imbodied with divers kinds of stony Seâ—inalities such as that at Knarsborough Out of the manifold complication of all which ariseth that admirable variety of waters which if you conjugate according to the principles of Art combinatory there will be according to renowned Kircher 479001600 different species that is four hundred seventy nine millions one thousand and six hundred sorts of waters Let none therefore wonder if we be not dogmatically positive in our Assertions concerning the Virtues of waters since no less than an approach to infinity can determin the various complications of Mineral Metalline and Saline Principles with which these are impowred yet so far as sensata experientia and natural Philosophy which is an experimental Chymistry and mechanical knowledge of things can carry us we may safely believe as one well observes Spagyria sola est speculum veri intellectus monstratque tangere videre veritatem I shall not therefore go about to obumbrate the Truth under the veil of obscure Appellations nor attach other Mens Reasonings of weakness nor sing Matins and Evening-song to my own 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by a sort of big and exotique expressions calling with Basilius Valentinus Hippocrates's Ignis and Aqua Gladiatores and Asa and Phalaia nor with Paracelsus shrowding the same Instruments of Nature under the names of divers Spirits Spiritus alter trahit alter protrudit idem autem uterque facit nor with Helmont stiling the animal vital and natural Spirits of the Ancients by that bugbear name of Archaeus which can be nothing else but the most fine volatile and Aetherial parts of the Blood contained in the Veins Nerves and Arteries But I shall endeavour clearly and spagyrically to demonstrate the true Principles and Constituents of this our Spaw in our following Discourse Soli illi docent qui per causas principia docent In the interim for more clearness sake I shall set down since the first qualities give us but an uncertain and conjectural rule of finding out the true Essences of waters a threefold manner of proceeding for discovering in general the genuine and true mixtures of all Medicinal waters I. The first is by Concoction thus Take a glass vessel or an earthen one glazed and boil therein your Mineral water 'till a third part be wasted afterwards let it settle well for three days space for separating its Faeces then take a gross thick Cloth fit for filtration and shape it in the form of an inverted Pyramis hang the pointed pyramidal end in the water and let the other extremity first being moistened hang down without the vessel and it will come to pass that the moistened end hanging without the vessel shall draw the water in the other extremity of the filter which was plung'd in the water and thus by little and little all the water and only the pure water shall be drawn out the sediment remaining which being expos'd to the Sun you may thence discover the mixture of the Minerals II. The second way of judging Mineral mixtures in Spaw waters is by evaporation thus Take a glass vessel with a large orifice place it midway deep in another earthen vessel full of sand and evaporate all the moisture and dry the sediment or Faeces in the Sun and you shall know the mixtures by the diversity of the Mineral particles the difficulty of this way of trial is that together with the water the Mineral Spirits flye away which happeneth not in the former nor in this following way of proceeding III. The third and indeed the securest way of finding out the nature of Mineral waters is by distillation because hereby not only the grosser particles of every Mineral but even the predominant spirits and vaporous are infallibly made known and it is thus Prepare a furnace with vent-holes and place therein a proper earthen vessel full of sand in this sand another vessel filled with water up to the middle v. g. a Cucurbita or glass still bottom with a prety strait mouth to this Cucurbita you must fit a Capitellum with a nose or an alembick rostrated being well luted that nothing can expire and to this nose of your Capitellum you must adapt another Fistula or glass pipe well luted which pipe must run through a wooden vessel full of cold water this done put fire to your furnace and draw off all the water and what remains of sediment expose to the Sun to be dryed which done for dissolving the several species of the Minerals proceed thus Expose the sediment upon a polish'd Iron Table red hot and being mixed with water the Chalk Marble and Gypsum or Plaister will not be burnt but after all the others are burnt they will remain more shining white than formerly the Gypsum presently but the Chalk and Marble require more time If there be Brimstone it discovers it self by its accustomed strong sent Salt and Niter sparkle Salt with crackling but Niter without any If Ceruss be there it is turn'd into an intense redness an evident sign of Lead Allum being melted turns white like Milk and Vitriol darkly reddish like Colcothar and this effect had the sediment of this our Spaw-water without any sulphureous smell at all the Faeces whereof I gathered both by Coction and Distillation but less remained of Faeces by Evaporation an evident sign of the spirituous subtilty of the Mineral mixture Now as to the discovery of Metalline tinctures in waters they are known by their proper excrements and corruption of their sediments therefore the manner of proceeding is thus If Metal be in waters infuse the sediment of the Metalline water in some Chymical corrosive water or in some generously sharp Vinegar and if you see an Ironish rust upon the sediment you may be sure of the mixture of Iron with the water and so of Brass Gold and all others Thus have I given some Remarques in general and hinted only by the by at my greatest concern the Constituents of our Spaw of which hereafter I shall now only
to the darksom Region of meerly conjectural Speculation If therefore I have erected any verisimilous conjecture concerning the causation of Springs and their derivation from their proper Originals and given but any probable Solution of that abstruse Phaenomenon I hope others as well as my self will rest contented CHAP. III. Of the true Essence and constituent Principles of Vitriol GReat pregnant and teeming Constitutions and such as are constellated unto knowledge think they come short of themselves if they outgo not others and indeed they may well think they do nothing 'till they outdo all But my Minerva bids me say Nos numeri sumus and I shall think I have done well if in the disquisition of the true nature of Vitriol I hold the stirrop to Pyrotechnical Philosophy and so urge nothing but what Autoptical experience reason and authority shall illustrate First then I define Vitriol to be a Mineral Body generated in the Bowels of the Earth from a sulphureous Spirit Water and the Mineral either of Iron or Copper or both and that these are the material Ingredients of its composition appears from hence because its acidity and caustical acrimony it necessarily hath from the Spirit of Sulphur its clarity and fluidity from Water and its colour and metalline taste either from the Mineral of Copper or Iron and of these three viz. Spirit of Sulphur Water and an Ironish or Copper Glebe is Vitriol composed which is also called Atramentum Sutorium and by the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some notwithstanding will have it composed of Allum and Sulphur because say they take a Vitrioline Loam or Clay and dilute it with water and upon standing in a cold Cellar you may gather thence an alluminous Efflorescence to which I yield so far as that there may be a mixture of Allum with Vitriol in regard of their affinity but it follows not thereupon that Allum makes up its composition of parts for though as all other Minerals have their acidity from Spirit of Sulphur and are both under that general notion of Salt and Concrete Juyces yet cannot they Vitriol especially be called purely and properly Salts but make up specifick differences of such Salts Others deny Sulphur to be an ingredient because in the calcination of Vitriol there 's no smell of Sulphur as is when Antimony Orpin or Marcasites are calcin'd though these be far more compact solid Bodies but the reason of this is because it partakes only of the Spirit and more subtil parts of Sulphur the others of the grosser substance Now to shew you how Vitriol becomes a specifick Salt I must first premise this general Hypothesis that there is a common Salt of Nature and Water which diffuse themselves throughout all the particles of this Geocosm and being considered in themselves are indifferent Subjects for the reception of various forms accordingly as they meet with diversity of Glebes in the bowels of the Earth therefore when Water impregnated with Spirit of Sulphur or a Vapour from that accensed Body of Sulphur passeth thorough a salsuginous Glebe already endowed with the common Salt of Nature it produceth Salt when thorough nitrous Veins Niter when thorough alluminous Allum when thorough a Copperas white Vitriol when thorough a Silver Mine blew Vitriol and lastly when thorough an Ironish Glebe it shares of some particles of Iron more or less according to the proportion of the Waters acidity and the fertility of the Vein and produceth green Vitriol So that if Water be thus tinged with this acid Spirit it becomes the true and proper Menstruum for the dissolving of all sorts of Glebes whatsoever and this Liquor thus replenish'd v. g. with the raments of Iron is condensed into this Vitriol which now I speak of And that I may further declare some genuine Effects of this Vitriol I say that 't is caustical and eateth into and corrupts all sorts of Metals excepting Lead which it cannot penetrate by reason of its Mercurial parts which resisteth and represseth its activity But to analize it more intrinsically this Vitriol consisting of the aforesaid three sustances yieldeth spagyrically seven several Medicaments first there is extracted from it per Balneum vaporosum Water which is called Ros Vitrioli because of its Aerial lightness and partakes least of all of the Spirit of Sulphur this corroborates the Bowels mitigates the inflammation of the Blood and strengthens the Brain with its heat and siccity Secondly there 's another Water drawn per arenam and this partakes more of the Spirit of Sulphur and is called the second Water of Vitriol it purgeth the Reins opens obstructions in the passage of Urine and helpeth all internal corrosions if taken in Veal Broath fasting Thirdly there 's extracted another substance of Vitriol which is the most subtil portion of Sulphur and called the Spirit of Vitriol a most admirable Prophylacticon or preservative against all sorts of Diseases for whatever it finds in the Body putredinous poysonous or apparently disposed to any capital Disease it presently incides attenuates and wastes it purifies the Blood from all fuliginous damps prevents the Stone purgeth the Reins and Bladder consuming all mucilaginous and tartarous viscosity whatever Fourthly being tortur'd with a further degree of Fire it gives a certain Oyl not so safe to be taken inwardly though some by reason that it 's a Narcotick use it in Maniacal Distempers but outwardly it is used for curing Imposthumes Fifthly a certain Vitriol is brought over the Helm which Chymists call Purificatum or Sal Vitrioli being only the remaining Dregs from the acid Spirit representing a purplish thin Earth and good externally used as aforesaid this is not Sal Vitrioli Vomitivi so much used at present being a repeated Solution of white Vitriol with frequent filtrations Sixthly all the Spirits being drawn off there remains a certain Aerial substance being a most subtil dust of Vitriol which may be called Ferrum or Aes Vitrioli being it may be reduced into either of them this cleanseth rotten Sores and is an Incarnative And seventhly and lastly all Distillation ended there remains in the bottom of the Retort or Reverberatory a Caput mortuum or Colcotar or Terra Vitrioli and inservient for mixing with cicatrizing Plaisters Thus have I to my weak ability analyzed the whole Body of Vitriol In quod quid resolvi potest ex illo necessario debet constare But before I advance further in my journy homeward I will instance only in one process of making artificial Vitriol for the better clearing and understanding the nativity of natural Vitriol which Dr. Browne as an Eye-witness saith in Hungary to be thus There is saith he a Vitriol Mine nigh the Golden Mine the Earth or Ore whereof is reddish and sometimes greenish infuse this Earth in water three days then poure off the water and boil it seven days in a leaden Vessel 'till it comes to a thick granulated whitish or greenish substance according as the Ore is either of Brass
Metal makes white Vitriol not green as Iron doth neither will any say we have any Copper Mine as we have Iron in these parts Moreover write what you please with the Solution of ferrugineous Vitriol and after it is dry there shall nothing appear but besmear what is written with a simple Infusion of Gall and in a moment the Alkali of the Gall makes the Letters black and again by any potent acidity as v. g. Aqua fortis they are quite deleted and yet again by any fixt Alkali they become black as before By which foundation of Cryptography 't is apparent not only that the acidity of Vitriol tingeth not black without it be imbibed and absumpted with an Alkali but also that no Alkali tingeth black without a vitrioline acidity This my positive Assertion is sufficiently back'd by that inquisitive Chymist and experienced Philosopher Ot. Tachenius who after much pains taken in this Disquisition concludes thus Unde liquet saith he quod Sal volatile vel Alkali gallarum vel corticum granatorum vel herbarum vulnerariarum non tingunt colore nigro nisi cum ferro in minerali acido soluto But why is not our Urine tinged black as well as the Excrements This I say is because the Colcothar is precipitated before the Liquor comes into the Miseraicks so as it necessarily remains in the Guts Cyprus Vitriol indeed being much from Copper turns black with Galls but this is by reason of its intermixture with Iron for Vitriolum Veneris purely without Mars turns not black with Galls as that of Mars without Venus will though they being as Man and Wife joyned together cannot well be found the one without some mixture of the other White Vitriol of Corinth partakes of both but more of Venus for which cause as being also not enriched much with the Acidum naturale it slowly becomes black with Galls But Roman Vitriol which partakes most of Iron presently tingeth black so doth artificial Vitriol that is made of the shavings of Steel and Spirit of Vitriol the Vitriol corrodes and resolves the shavings and becomes sweet and hence it is indeed that all chalybiate Medicines are so powerful in all cochectical and obstinate Diseases the Alkali of the Steel imbibing the acidity and sowreness of the Blood and consequently dulcifies the same And this is the principal reason our Spaw being impregnated with Vitriol of Iron produceth such rare effects If it be demanded why these ferruginous or vitrioline acid Fountains make not the Tongue and Mouth black as it doth the Excrements I answer that this happens because the acid Spirit mixed with the water corroding the immature Vein of Iron or whilst it is in principiis solutis is not as yet saturated we drinking it whilst it is in the very action of corrosion and hath not yet time to precipitate in the Tongue but so soon as this grateful acidity is snatched into the Stomach the Colcothar being precipitated gives the tincture the acidity being then perfectly coagulated with its Alkali and whatever mucilaginous matter it meets withall in that coagulation it turns all into its own nature of constriction as we may see in the nativity and concretion of that Herculean Disease the Stone and this coagulum is that which ordinarily Physitians call Oppilation or Obstruction a noted hard word amongst our Water-casters those pedantick Pretenders to Science who if they can but shake an Urinal and gravely tell you of crudities and obstructions or that the Archeus is inraged c. believe themselves wise enough to rival Solomon when indeed they are as truely ignorant of the original of those words as their deluded Patients who even gape with admiration of their profound Physiology But to return home from the country this our water is therefore to be drunk at the Fountain-head for if it be let stand and settle any long time the action and consequently the benefit and virtue ceaseth the acid Spirit being imbibed and drunk up by the immature Iron or Vitriol thereof enfeebled and disarmed of its acidity and together with the resolved Mineral is precipitated into Oker which lyes at the bottom in a yellowish not a black colour as it is seen in all Vitrioline Spaws it having then no other proper Alkali that it meets withall as it doth in the Stomach or elsewhere to cause a blackish precipitation neither is its acidity so disarmed by the corrosion of the Iron Vein that it quite loseth its resolving and coagulating force with other Alkalies in the Stomach c. for the acidity is yet predominant and after it hath spent part of its virtue upon the Iron raments there is yet sufficient remaining for resolution and coagulation elsewhere accordingly as it shall meet with other Alkalies for that purpose for if this were not so we should not have that acidity which sensibly we perceive and taste in this water and then divites dimittuntur manes Besides this sulphureous acidity in the water there are unspecificated acids in the humours of our Body which run headlong with a natural propensity to the Vitriol or Esurine Salt of Iron and therewith coagulated and ejected together with the obstructive humours upon a strong irritation of Nature to expel her Ironish Enemy and upon this account it is that Iron and Steel or rather their Vitriol are said to open Obstructions I would not have any think that because Nature riseth in arms against all that 's offensive as Iron is and endeavours its expulsion that therefore Purgatives are not convenient for even then are they most fitting when the coagulation after fermentation is most prevalent Nature can but do her utmost endeavour and when that is not sufficient then the Physitian takes up the Cudgels for her assistance And here to rectifie the misapprehensions of some I must beg pardon to tell them that what Purgatives we administer work not by attraction or election unless we of that freedom to Druggs which some deny to our selves but by irritation in the primis viis and Bowels and by fermentation in the Blood and Humours and this purgative power by irritation depends not of the five Principles Salt Sulphur Water Earth and Spirits disjunctim and singly but of most or all of them conjunctim though I confess the fermentation is almost only from the Salts I fear I have spoken Aenigmatically and in the dark to somes understanding in so often repeating the word Alkali I will therefore briefly explain the Etymology and signification thereof By Alkali therefore or Sal Alkali is meant all such Salts as mortifie whatsoever acidities they meet withall not only in the Vegitable but also in the Animal and Mineral Kingdom I say whatsoever imbibes or sucks up the acid Salts and consequently sweetens the Blood and Humours is called by the name of Alkali whether it be a fixt Salt or volatile manifest or occult This Alkali is made of the Herb Kali brought to us out of Aegypt being there burnt into ashes