twelve pound thereof Now give careful attention for we now come to the point and period of Ripleys error for if you put four pound of this Sericon to distill in a Limbeck and from thence would draw a Menstruum as Ripley teacheth perhaps you would have scarce one ounce of this Oyl and some part of a black earth will remain in the bottom and most part of the Gum melted again into Lead by which you may know that the Sericon is not well dissolved nor as yet sufficiently prepared that a Chaos may be made thereof fit for distillation because it is not yet well dissolved therefore in Isaacus there is found a way of resolving this Gum with distilled Vinegar acuated with calcined Tartar and Salt-armoniack Wherefore saith he if thou be wise resolve thy Gum but I like not this acuation of the Vinegar as I may call it I rather choose to resolve the Sericon in Raymund's calcinative water which is a compounded water of the Vegetable Mercury or fire natural with the fire against nature as Ripley testifieth and it is more verified by Raymund in his Book of Mercuriis where he teacheth how to dissolve bodies with his calcinative water I will reveal unto you this water which is almost unknown Note therefore that the Vegetable Mercury is the spirit of Wine instead of which we may sometimes use distilled Vinegar and that the fire against Nature is a corrosive water made of Vitriol and Salt-Peter Therefore take which you will either spirit of Wine rectified or Aqua Vitae or distilled Vinegar four pound and two pound of corrosive water and mix them together In this watet thus compounded resolve half a pound of Gum of Sericon in a circulatory and set it in Balneo four or five days and the Gum will be totally dissolved into the form of water or Oyl of a duskish red colour Then distill away the water in Balneo and there will remain an Oyl in the bottom which is then the Chaos out of which you may draw a Menstruum containing two elements and this is the true resolution of the Gum of Sericon in this water you may resolve so much Gum as you please by reiteration Take two pound of this Chahodical substance and prepare it for distillation in naked fire or sand and lift up the clear red Oyl wherein both the spirit and soul doth secretly lie hid which Isaacus calleth the water of Paradise which when you have you may rejoyce for you have gone through all the gross work and come to the Philosophical work Therefore now proceed to conjunction and joyn the white heart of Saturne with the red Oyl as it is found in the Rosary Candida succincto jacet uxor nupta marito That is to say the red Mercury to the Salt if you proceed to the red work Therefore take four ounces of the Salt or heart of Saturne and as much of the red Oyl or water of Paradice and seal them up in a Philosophers Egg and so soon as they shall feel the heat of the Balneum the Salt will dissolve and be made all one with the Oyl so as you shall not know which was the Salt which was the Oyl Set your glass in Balneo and there let it stand in an equal degree of fire till all your matter be turned white and stick to the sides of the glass and shine like fishes eyes and then it is white Sulphure of Nature but if you proceed to the red work then divide your white Sulphure into equal parts reserving one part for the white work and go on with the other part and in a new glass well sealed up set it in Ashes till it be turned into a red colour When your Sulphure is thus converted imbibe it again with equal weight of its soul dissolving and congealing till it remain in an Oyl and it will congeal no more but remain fixed and flowing This then is to be fermented with the fourth part of the Oyl of Gold as is often mentioned before We have set down already before of the augmentation in quantity and quality therefore it is not necessary to repeat it here We will now return to the white Sulphure before reserved that we may set down the manner of the white work When you have your red Oyl or Soul if you desire to make the white Elixir set part of the said Oyle in a glass in Balneo to digest then take it out and put it into a body and in a lent fire distill away the spirit or white Mercury which you must try that you may know whether it arise pure without water or not as you do when you try the spirit of Wine for if it burn all up it is well if it do not rectifie it so often till it be without any wateriness at all then have you rectified your spirit wherewith dissolve your white Sulphure till it remain fixed and flowing as you did before in the red work then ferment it and augment it with the fourth part of the Oyl of the white Luminary or Luna as you did the red and it will be the white Elixir converting imperfect bodies into perfect Silver A Corollary Ripley divided the scope of this work into four operations whereof the first is the dissolution of the body the second the extraction of the Menstruum and the separation of the Elements the third is not necessary in our work because we cast away the earth after every distillation instead of which we use our Salt or heart of Saturne the fourth is that there be a conjunction of our Salt as is before described Hereafter followeth the Accurtation of the work of Saturn The way of extracting Quick-silver out of Saturne is found in Isaacus of which I know how to make a special accurtation with his water of Paradice which I gathered partly from the foresaid Author and others Ripley made his accurtation with Quick-silver precipitated with Gold and the imbibition with Corrosive water which I like not because the Elixir so made will be the greatest poison as himself confesseth that it were better for a man to eat the eyes of a Basilisk then taste that Elixir But because I desire to set down this accurtation of Lead alone and his Elements that no strange body may be added to our Elixir and also that it may be made a Medicine for all uses I have found out the way of making alone with the Mercury of Saturne and his own proper Tincture for I make a body of one thing which is a spirit and make that Medicine with its own proper spirit Read all the Philosophers and you shall never find a word of this process nor none of the Ancients will teach thee how to make the Mercury of Saturne which that it may be briefly done this following work will shew at large in our Holy Guide CHAP. II. The Medicine Elixir Fermentation Imbibition Precipitation Quick-Silver Saturne Lead The Toad MY great Grandfather
Christopher Heydon saith in a certain Manuscript of his Levi enim Arte norunt Alchimistae Mercurium currentem conficere explumbo that is to say the Alchimists knew how by an easie Art to make current Mercury out of Lead but what Art that was neither he nor any of the ancients have shewed unto us Quaerite quaerite saith the first Alchimist so Paracelsus was pleased to say in imitation of him invenietis pulsate operietur vobis that is to say Seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you which may rather seem to be the words of an envious Master then the precepts of a Teacher But having learned this I learned to seek that is to say to read I read I knocked that is I tried many experiments although they were repugnant to doctrine and Philosophy therefore although I almost despaired of that Art yet because nothing is difficult to the industrious by often knocking at last I found it apart by what means I attained to the Art of such a facility that is to say of making Quick-silver of Lead and when the process is read to the operator it will be rather rejected then believed but to the end this Art may be revealed as a great secret I thought it necessary to speak first of the Instruments necessary in this work before I come to declare the doctrine which are three in number that is to say a Furnace a Crucible and a pair of Tongs as appeareth in the Holy Guide CHAP. III. The Crucible the Furnace the Hole in the Top of the Furnaee the Tongues the Coals LEt the Furnace be D the place filled with Coles E whereunto put fire and when the Coals are well burnt so that they give a clear flame and fire take your Crucible A well anailed that it break not with the suddain heat and put therein three ounces of filed Lead having twelve ounces of Mercury sublimate well ground and Salt Armoniack six ounces mixed together which put upon the filings of Lead into the Crucible A and when the fire is strong and glowing hot â—ake your Tongs C and presently take up your Crucible and put it in B the hole in the top of the Furnace till you hear a great noise and buzâ—ing then so soon as you can least the Quicksilver flie away with the spirits take away the Crucible with the matter therein and set it in an earthen dish filled with ashes to cool and when it is cold strike the lower part of the Crucible so that the matter of the Lead may fall into an earthen dish and you shall find your Lead conâ—erted into Quick-silver This Crucible and Furnace is at large characteâ—ed in the Holy Guide This work is to be reiterated with new spirits â—ill you have a sufficient quantity of Quick-silâ—er with which proceed as followeth to precipitate this Quick-silver that from a spirit it may be converted into a fixed body by fixation Take of this Quick-silver so much as you please and put it to precipitate in a round glass well luted and set it in ashes to the top of the glass yet let us stay here a while that your unstanding may be the more enlightened Therefore understand that the intention of this work is to fix the spirit which may sooner be done with the spirit of a fixed body which before was Homogeneal with the body and which of its own nature desireth to joyn again with its body Therfore nature requireth that she may be helped by Art in this work to which the Artist consenting he adminstreth thereto the pure and desired metal which it delighteth to adhere unto which metal is Gold which is thus prepared thaâ— it be sooner parted by the Quick-silver and sticâ— thereunto Take as much pure Gold as you please and dissolve it in aqua regis mixed with equal part oâ— acetum acerrimum or Lac virginis then set 〈◊〉 to digest the space of a day then put your dissolution into an Alimbeck and set it Balneo tâ— distill away the water as dry as you can and dâ— thus three times and the third time distill it iâ— ashes that the Salt Armoniack may sublime Theâ— put distilled Vinegar upon the matter remaining and after it hath stood three days in Balneo distiâ—â— the Vinegar away in ashes that all the substancâ— of the Salt Armoniack may sublime and do thâ—â— three times always putting in new Vinegar uâ—till the Oyl of the dissolved Gold remain in thâ— bottom then take of your Quick-silver three times so much as your Gold and pour it upon the solution of the Gold that they may mix together and be united then put your quick-silver with the solution in a round Glass stopped onely with a peece of Cotton and with a stick put it down every day as it doth ascend and keep your Glass â—n ashes the space of a moneth till your quick-silver be turned into a red precipitate then again dissolve it in new distilled Vinegar till the whole substance of the quick-silver be dissolved and the Vinegar be coloured in a golden colour then diâ—â—ill away the Vinegar in ashes and again preâ—ipitate the quick-silver which is in the bottom â—f a Gold colour into a red and fixed body and 〈◊〉 have you the Mercury precipitate of Saâ—â—rne It remaineth now that the body be imbibed â—ith its soul that this being from a spirit reduâ—â—d into a body may again imbibe its soul that it â—ay be dissolved therewith therefore put it into 〈◊〉 Glass and add thereto equal proportion of its â—ul or water of Paradice and shut your Glass â—ell the space of five days till the body be disâ—â—ved with the soul Then dry it in ashes till it penetrate and flow â—â—d when it is dried try it upon a hot Iron plate it be fixed and melt if not imbibe it again with â—f the weight of its water and do so till you â—â—ke it fusible and piercing by imbibing and â—â—ying it and when it will melt in the fire and penetrate it is then the stone and fit for fermenâ—ion We have said enough of the manner of fermentation in the second Book and therefore it is not necessary to repeat it here and so after fermentation it will be the Elixir Then it is to be augmented and projected as is before declared and thus the work of Saturne is accurtated of which George Ripley saith Adrop is the father of the stone Sericon his brother Lympha his fister the earth its mother But if you desire to know all the secret of Saturne or Lead I will set you down one process out of Paracelsus when you have well prepared the heart of Saturne saith he take two or three ounces of that heart and grind it small with double weight of Salt-peter and put it in a subliming Glass with a head well luted to sublime encreasing the fire by little and little as long as any thing will ascend or sublime thus far Paracelsus now if you find this
transformed and made as God As the Lord spake concerning Moses saying I have made thee the God of Pharoah this is the true Rosie Crucian Philosophy of wonderful works that they understand not the Key thereof is the intellect for by how much higher things we understand with so much the sublimer vertues are we endowed and so much greater things do work and that more easily and efficatiously But our intellect being included in the Corruptible flesh unless it shall exceed the way of the flesh and obtain a proper Nature cannot be united to these vertues for like to like And is in searching into the Rosie Crucian secrets of God and Nature altogether in efficatious for it is no easie thing for us to ascend to the Heavens for how shall he that hath lost himself in Morral Dust and ashes find God How shall he apprehend spiritual things that is swallowed up in flesh and bloud can man see God and live what fruit shall a grain of Corn bear if it be not first dead for we must dye I say dye to the world and to the flesh and all sences and to the whole man Animal who would enter into these closets of secrets Not because the body is seperated from the soul but because the soul leaves the body of which death S. Paul wrot to the Collossians ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ And elsewhere he speaks more clearly of himself I know a Man whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tel God knows caught up unto the third heaven c. I say by this death pretious in the sight of God we must dye which happens to few and not always for very few whom God loves and are vertuous are made so happy And first those that are born not of flesh and blood but of God secondly those that are dignified by the blessed assistance of Angels and Genii the Power of Nature Influence of Planets and the Heavens and vertues of the figures and Ideas at their birth now this I humbly intreat you that you be not mistaken concerning me as if I at any time having received such divine things should boast of them to you or should arrogate any such thing to my self or could hope to have them granted to me Although I have hitherto kept my self unmarryed and free from the company of a woman yet I have been a souldier following the Armies of the King and in other Countries consecrated with mans bloud and exposed to all the blasts of inconstant fortune being crossed in my flesh in the world and worldly afairs and therefore could not obtain the sublime Gifts of the Immortal God But I would be accounted a director who always waiting at the dores shews to others which way they must go And here I present my self your most humble servant and honourer May the 9th 1664 ☽ 5 h â—â— A. M. John Heydon An Apologue for an Epilogue ABout the year 1648 we Studied Astronancy and Geomancy and writ the Harmony of the World in two Books the first Printed for Mr. Brome with the Temple of Wisdome at his house in Ivy-Lane The Holy Guide Elhavareuna being an Introduction to the Rosie Crucian philosophy and diversly Compiled in these Books in short words yet sufficient for those who are wise some of these things are written Methodically some without order pur posely some things are delivered by fragments some things are even hid and left for the search of the wise who more acutely contemplating these things which are written and diligently searching the Harmony of the World the Temple of Wisdome and the Holy Guide may obtain the Compleat rudiments of the Rosie Crucian Philosophy and also infallible experiments and if you desire to study these Books keep silence and Constantly conceal within the secret closet of your Religous breast so holy a determination for as Taphthartharath saith to publish to the knowledge of many an Art wholly filled with so great Majesty of the Deity is a sign of an Irreligious spirit and Divine Plato Commanded that holy and secret misteries should not be made publique to the people Pythagoras and Prophiry consecrated their followers to a religious Silence The Rosie Crucians with a certain terible authority of religion do exact an oath of silence from those they initiate to the Arts of Astromancy Geomancy Telesmaticall Images because by them the dead are raised to life by them they alter change and amend bodies cure the deseased prolong Life preserve Health renew youth in old folke make dwarfs grow great men make fools and Madmen wise and vertuous destroy the power of writchs by these Arts they make men fortunate in play law suits love victory over enimies in Horse Races in Gameing in Merchandize and at sea silencing the violent waves by these Arts they know all things and resolve all manner of questions present or to come as saith Beata YOu that admirers are of vertue stay Consider well what I to you shall say But you that sacred laws contemn prophane Away from hence return no more again But thou O my Eugenius whose mind is high Observe my words read them with thine eye And them within thy sacred breast repone And in thy journy thinke of God alone The Author of all things that cannot die Of whom we uow shall Treat And Engenius The odidactus Proclaims Beata Pulchra comes hence hence all ye prophane Theodidatus cryes from her grove refrain Now in celebrating the holy misteries of Hester Heaton and Beata Pulchra they only were admitted to be initiated Eugenius Theodidactus proclaiming the prophane vulgar to depart of these goddesses you may read at Large in our Temple of Wisdome in Esdras we read this precept concerning the Cabalisticall secret of the Hebrews declared in these verses thou shalt deliver those Books to the wisemen of the people whose hearts thou knowest can comprehend them and keep those secrets in the Temple of Wisdome you see obscure Figures of Astromancy and Geomancy whereunto is added the Alphabet of Angels or writing and Language of Haeven affording compendious words partly by Starrs Characters set in manner of a wheel thick the reading thereby being defended from the Curiosity of the prophane therefore my worthy Schollers in this science be silent and hide those things which are secret in Religion for the promise of silence is due to Religion as Tertullian affirms but they which do otherwise are in great danger Now concerning these secrets my Ingenious disciples I would tell you if it were lawfull to tell you you should know all if it were lawfull to hear it but both eares and tongue would contract the same guilt of rash curiosity the divine Goddess Hester Heaton sings in those verses the power of God The Heavens Ioves Roiall Pallace he 's King Fountain vertue and God of every thing He is omnipotent and in his brest Earth water fire and aire do take their rest Both night and day true
7 or 9 times untill you have a sufficient quantity of this powder that is to say a pound or more And this is the Calcination When you see your ☿ will ascend no more but remain in the bottome of a black colour and that is dead and brought perfectly into calx let it cool and remove your body into sand till it be turned into a red colour And this is the perfect precipitation prose without the help of any corrosive water take a little of this powder upon a hot iron plate if it fume dry it longer if not it is well Take of this red powder as much as you will dissolve and put thereupon at least his double weight of Lac Virginis and set in Balneo till you see your Lac Virginis stained a yellow or red colour then filter it from its feces and keep it by it self in a glass well stopped and dry the matter that remaineth in Ashes and pour thereon new Lac Virginis and do as before till you have drawn out all the tincture And so your ☿ is dissolved Put these solutions into a body luting to a head and in balneo distill away the Lac Virginis and the red oyl precipitate will remain which is fixed and needeth no distillation but is the tinging oyl of red Mercury and the red tincture of the red stone of ☿ and the soul and spirit of the same stone joyned Therefore take part of the white Sulphur reserved in the first Table and rubify it in ashes till it be red then imbile it with equal weight of the oyl of the tincture of this red ☿ and set it to dissolve in Balneo and when you see it is dissolved into a liquid substance take it out Then set it in ashes or under the fire to fix till the matter being dried remain fixed and fusible standing in a mean heat not over hot which try upon a hot Iron plate and if it fume not it is well if it do encrease your fire till it be totally fixed and dry If this matter be imbibed again with its oyl till it drink up as much as it will and again dissolved in Balneo and then dried in Ashes it will shew many colours and lastly appeared And then it is the stone penetrating and fusible apt for forme Join this imbiled matter or stone with the 4th part of the liquor or oyl of the red sulphur of Gold or the red Ferment and dissolve it in Balneo and drie it again and again dissolve it in a glasse hanged in the fume of hot water or Balneum and congeal it again till it stand like honey Then it is the perfect red Elixir of Mercury The Multiplication or Augmentation of the vertue and quantity is shewed in the former Chapter CHAP. IV. 1 Gold Sol. 2 Purged Gold 3 Calcination 4 Solution 5 Putrifaction 6 Filius solis Coelestis 7 Filia Lunae Coelestis THe putrifaction or purgation of gold is done as the Goldsmiths use to do by melting it with Antimony that the gold may remain in the bottome pure and clear from other mettalls which they call Regulus Take 4 or 5 ounces of this refined gold leaf or fileings and dissolve it in Lac Virginis mixed with equal weight of Aqua fortis wherein salt Armoniack sublimed is dissolved and when it is dissolved into a red Liquor or deep yellow then it is well calcined The solution and putrifaction is done as before you did with silver in the preparation of the white Ferment When you have your white sulphur of nature after putrifaction sticking to the sides of the glass let it cool and take out your glass and set it â—n Ashes and encrease your fire but not too much lest your matter vitrifie and let your ashes be no hotter then you can hold your hand therein and so let it stand till the sulphur be of a perfect deep red colour Then have you the red sulphur of the red Luminary If you resolve this red sulphur in spirit of wine or distilled Vinegar into an oyl it is then the Liquor of the red Luminary And Auram potabile curing all infirmities if the spirit of wine or vinegar be destilled from it But for this work it were better to dissolve it in our red Lac Virginis spoken of in the second Chapter of the second Book distill away the Lac from the sulphur in Ashes and the sulphur remaining in an oile is the Ferment of all stones to the red The augmentation of this red Elixir in vertue is with his red Tincture as before in the white Elixir with his white Tincture The augmentation in quantity is by projection upon the body of gold molten And that brittle matter of gold upon ☿ and if it be powdered and resolved with spirit of wine inan oyl as was said before of silver then it is the Quintessence of gold and the great Elixir of life and the spiritual ferment for the transmutation of mettals and for the health of mans body The 5 Chapter sheweth the abbreviation of the Red Elixir CHAP. V. 1 The Liquor of the red sulphur 2 Fermentation ALthough Raymund writing to King Robert was pleased to say That every Accurtation diminisheth the perfection because Medicines which are made by accurtation have less effect of transmutation which I also ascent to with him for a truth if the work be begun from the first fountain yet because this work hath its beginning from those things which before were brought to a perfect degree of perfection therefore in this there is no diminution of the perfection as the same Raymund witnesseth lib. Mecur pag. 103. saying thus Therefore it ought to be declared unto thee that if they be both well prepared and that thou begin with them thou wilt do a wonderful work without any great labour sooner then if thou should begin with one thing alone Therefore my son begin thy work of two things together as 〈◊〉 shewed to thee in the greater stone when we spoke of the twofold custody of the actions which are caused by the bodies and spirits By that which is caused by the bodies and spirits he means nothing else but sulphur willing that we should begin with sulphur to which I do so well agree that I begin this my accurtation with sulphur alone and I add no other body to this Elixir but onely the sulphur of ☿ alone created of his own body and spirit Take therefore 2 ounces of the white sulphur that was described in the first Chapter and set it in ashes to rubifie in 30 days it will be turned into red sulphur Which when you have done dissolve that sulphur in the red Tincture of Mecury when it is dissolved draw away the Tincture in the bottom remaineth the Liquor of the sulphur To which if you add a due proportion of the liquor of the red Luminary it will be perfect Ferment which if you dissolve and congeal as before is shewed it is then Elixir of very great vertue to the
red work and no man can make a shorter abreviation in the world And when the sulphur of any body is prepared it may this way very speedily be converted into Elixir by adding the liquor of the ferment CHAP VI. 1 The Body 2 The Spirit 3 The Lion 4 The Eagle 5 The Phylosophers Lead 6 Antimony 7 Antimony Mercury 8 The Glue of the Eagle 9 Solution of the red Lion into Blood 10 Solution of the Glue of the Eagle 11 Solution of the Blood of the red Lion 12 Conjunction 13 Putrifaction 14 The Stone 15 Fermentation 16 In the Trinity of The Phisical and Alchimical Tincture The Soul 17 Is the Vnity of the Medicine TAke Antimony calcined so much as you please and grind it to a subtile powder then take twice so much Lac Virginis and put your powder of Antimony therein and set it in balneo 7 days then put it into a body and set it in sand or ashes till the Lac be turned red which draw of and pour on more and so let it stand when that is coloured red pour it to the other and thus do till you have drawn out all the tincture set all this water in balneo or lent ashes to distill with a Limbeck and distill it with a lent fire and first of all the Lac will ascend then you shall see a stupendious Miracle because you shall see through the nose of the Alimbeck is it were a thousand veins of the liquor of this blessed minere to descend in red drops just like bloud which when you have got thou hast a thing whereto all the treasure in the world is not equall Now you have the blood of the Lion according to Rupesissa let us here rest a little and speak of the Glew of the Eagle of which Paracelsus thus saith Reduce Mercury so far by sublimation till it be a fixed Christall this is his preparation of Mercury and his way of reducing it into the Glew of the Eagle but above all I require that that way be used which is described by me before in the first Chapter or that hereafter set down after this Then saith the foresaid Author go on to resolution and coagulation and I again will you to observe the same manner of solution shewed in the first Chapter before Now let us come to conjunction after the solution of these two take equal weight of them and put them in a vessel well shut After you have thus joined them together set your glass in your furnace to putrifie and alter the space of certain days Therefore Paracelsus saith then at length and presently after your Lili is made hot in your glass it appeareth in wonderful manners or demonstrations blacker then the Crow after that in process of time whiter then the Swan and then passing by yellow to be more red then bloud This being putrified and turned into red is to be taken for the stone and then it is time it be fermented Of which Fermentation Paracelsus thus speaketh one part thereof is to be projected upon 1000 parts of molton gold and then the medicine is prepared and this is the Fermentation of it But if the half or one part of the liquor of the sulphur of gold before described be added to it then it would be spirituall ferment and would be much more penetrating in fortitude and fusible as Paracelsus doth testifie in his Aurora where he would have us to join the star of the sun or the oyl of sol to this stone And thus the phisical Alchimical tincture is performed in a short time for curing all manner of Infirmities and humane diseases which is also the great Elixir for mettals so courtly concealed by the Antients Which Hermes Trismagistus the Aegyptian Osus the Gretian Haly an Arabian and Albertus Magnus a German with many others have sought and prosecuted every one after their own method and one in one subject another in another so much desired by the Philosophers onely for prolongation of life In this composition Mercury is made a fixed and dissolved body the blood or spirit of the red Lion is the ferment or soul and so of trinity is made unity which is called the Phisical and Alchimicall tincture never before that I knew of collected or writ in one work And I swear I had not done this except that otherwise the composition of this blessed medecine had for ever been forgot A shorter way to make the glue of the Eagle If you desire to make the glue of the Eagle in a breifer way Take part of the red precipitate prose as is taught before in the table of Mercury and dissolve it in distilled vineger and the vineger will be coloured into a yelow or delightfull golden colour and after you have destilled away the vineger there will remain in the bottome a white substance of the Mercury fixed and fair which is to be joyned to the oyle of the Lion And this work is much shorter and less laborious look more hereof in the third Book The Calcination of Antimony into the red Lion Take Antimony well ground so much as you please and melt it in naked fire with salt Armoniack and when it is melted cast it suddainly into a vessel almost full of distilled vineger wherein salt Armoniack hath been dissolved and thus melt it and cast it in three times then pour off the vineger from the Calx of the Antimony and drie it well and grind it small and dissolve it as before is taught and so have you the Red Lion of the Philosophers Lead or Antimony CHAP. VII 1 Elixir 2 Conjunction 3 Seperation 4 the Stone 5 Fermentation 6 The Earth 7 Spirit oyl Blood of the Lambe 8 Distillation 9 Resolution 10 Putrifaction 11 Solution 12 Vitrioll 13 Calcination 14 Copper The first Chapter of the Elixir of Copper MAny have sought out the way of the Mineral stone in vitrioll or green Copperas but they were altogether received which common vitrioll by the Philosophers is called the green Lion of fools But this our noble red Lion taketh its original from the Metallick body of Copper Although I am not ignorant how to draw an oyl out of Romain vitrioll of a more sweet smell and delightfull taste then any balsome if the Tincture be taken out of the calcined vitrioll in spirit of wine yet the Philosophers will is and command that it do consist of a Metallick vertue wherewith the transmutaion of mettalls is to be effected Therefore they say it is to be made of bodies and not of spirits as of vitrioll sulphur as well and the like Whence I find it written in the Philosophers Turba and in the first Exercitation But the Philosophers stone is a metallick matter converting the substances and forms of imperfect mettalls and it is concluded by all the Philosophers that the conversion is not made except by its like therefore it is necesary that the Philosophers stone be made of a metallick matter yet if any be made of
hour then take all out that is melted in the Crucible and consider well the weight of it and according to the goodnesse of your Elixir make projection for medicine And thus you have created and compounded spiritual Electrum of the weight of seven ounces consisting of seven metals which metals so converted into medicine will be the Elixir of Electrum and an Universal medicine for you need not after regard upon what body or metall you project it It is also the chiefest medicine for mans body for although three or four of all the Diseases of the Microcosm were united together yet they may be cured with this one medicine If you dissolve part of this in Spirit of VVine and distill away the same spirit in Balneo and the Oyl of the medicine or Elixir remain in the bottome as is taught in the second book you shall have the chiefest medicine of life and most Noble Aurum potabile Note that if your Iron melt not well then dissolve your Electrum in the Oyl or Tincture of Mars dissolving and congeling until it have imbibed a sufficient quantity But if you desire to make corporeal Electrum when your medicine beginneth to fail to convert metals any more into medicine then in like manner project your medicine upon your melted metals or bodies and they will be converted into corporeal Electrum metallick and malleable of the vertue of which as I do endeavour to write nothing so also of its vice or rather of the viciousnesse of those that abuse it I will touch a little sparingly Paracelsus writeth that Virgill Hispanus and Trithemius made a Diabolical Bell of this Artificiall Electrum upon which when they would invocate Spirits which they called by a more decent name of Intelligences they writ the Character of what Spirit they desired and at the third ring of the bell the Spirits obeyed their desires so long as they desired to talk with them and when they would talk no more they hid the Character and by the reverse ringing of the bell the Spirits departed He that will forsake God and require knowledge aid and assistance from the Devil let him share with Arbucell and with him descend to the Infernal Lake But we that are true Magicians or rather Philosophers confiding in God the Father and the holy Trinity approving of Natural and lawful Magick or true Philosophy but accounting the supernatural altogether infamous and unlawful And we require the doctrine and wisdome of divine goodnesse and the holy Spirit to whom be honour and glory for evermore Amen CHAP. IX The eighth Table which explaineth the meaning of the Philosophers when they speak of the tenth Number wherein the Elixir is finished And also sheweth the wonderfull secret of the Animal stone out of George Riply with two other of his workes WE now come to the Last Chapter of this Book wherein is declared what the Philosophers mean when they bid us finish the worke in the tenth number it is to be understood that as out of the Hyle or Chaos four are divided so out of the Hyle or Chaos of metals Because metals or bodies when they are dissolved into liquor then they are contained in the first or one number which is the solution of the body of which by distillation is made two That is to say Heaven and Earth the Menstruum and Salt that which remaineth in the bottome is the Earth or Salt that which is distilled over is the Menstruum and Heaven And so you have One two When the Menstruum is separated it is divided into Three that is to say into Water Air and Fire Yet it is to be noted that the Air which is the first part of the water containing an aery disposition although it be in the form of water yet it is reputed aer by reason of the consimilitude of the quality and after its perfect rectification it is a tinging Mercury and the white Spirit of metals In like manner is to be considered of the Oyl which although it is not in the form of fire but a liquor yet by reason of its Ardent heat it is called fire and the Soul or red tinging Mercury And so there is One Two Three When there is a Conjunction of these three that is to say the air and water with its Salt or Earth in putrefaction these three are united into one quintessence and are made a new body in which three are united in one Sulphur which Sulphur is the true Philosophers Mercury and in making this white Sulphur you have once turned the Philosophers wheel But that the work may be perfected in the tenth Number if you adde the fire which is the fourth Element to these three concluded in the foresaid unity and rubified then if these four in a new Conjunction be putrified in a lent fire of ashes then it is the stone for in this work it changeth colours again and is converted into a red stone and by this means you have joyned four into one that is to say 1.2.3.4 make ten And so the stone is finished in the tenth number because you have turned the Philosophers wheel twice as Ripley witnesseth thus But yet again two times turn about the wheel The stone is to be dissolved again with the fire or Soul or Tincture and dried again until it pierce and flow then it is to be fermented into Elixir with the Oyl of the Luminary and so you have turned the Philosophers wheel again which is then called the medicine of the third order Of the solution of this Ripley hath writ these verses teaching the resolution of the white and red stone before it be transmuting Elixir calling them his Bases saying Do as I bid thee then dissolve these foresaid Bases witty And turn them into perfect Oyls with our true water Ardent By Circulation that must be done according to our Intent These Oyls will fix crude Mercury and convert bodies all Into perfect Sol and Luna when thou shalt make projection That Oylie Substance pure and fixt Raymond Lully did call His Basilisk of which he never made so plain detection By which verses it plainly appeareth his Bases were onely two Sulphurs or two stones which in another place he called his Mineres and these mineres ought to be dissolved by his Ardent water by circulation of the Oyl or soul upon the Sulphur until it become a stone for in this place he takes both the spirit and the soul for the Ardent water willing that the spirit and soul be administred according to their tinging natures for the resolution of the proper Basis And thus have you the words of this Aenigma explained of the tenth number which seeing it is the end of the Art I have reserved it till the end It now remaineth that we reveal one secret of Ripley which was never spoken of by any Philosopher that is to say the manner of making the Sulphur of Nature out of the Minere of the Microcosm which is mans blood of