means wherof that which before lay hid doth now appear neither can the moysture be separated but is retained by the drinesse And in like maner we see that whosoeuer is in the worlde is retained by or with his contrarie as heate with colde and drinesse with moysture Thus when each of them hath besieged his Companion the thin is mingled with the thicke and those things are made one substance to wit their soule hote and moyst and their body colde and drie then it laboureth to dissolue and subtiliate by his heate and moysture which is his soule and striueth to enclose and retaine with his body that is colde and drie And in this maner is his office changed and altered from one thing to another Thus haue I tolde thee the truth which I haue both seene done giuing thee in charge to conuert natures from their subtilitie and substances with heate and moysture into their substances and colours Now if thou wouldst proceed aright in this mastery to obtaine thy desire passe not the boundes that I haue set thee in this booke CHAP. VI. The manner how to fixe the Spirit KNowe also that when the bodie is mingled with moysture and that the heate of the fire meeteth therewith the moysture is conuerted on the body and dissolueth it and then the spirite cannot issue forth because it is imbibed with the fire The Spirits are fugitiue so long as the bodies are mingled with them and striue to resist the fire his flame and yet these parts can hardly agree without a good operation and continuall labour for the nature of the soule is to ascend vpward whereas the center of the soule is And who is hee that is able to ioyne two or diuers things togither where their centers are diuers vnlesse it be after the conuersion of theyr natures and change of the substance and thing from his nature which is difficult to finde out Whosoeuer therefore can conuert the soule into the bodie the bodie into the soule and therewith mingle the subtile spirites shall be able to tinct any body CHAP. VII Of the Decoction Contrition and washing of the stone THou art moreouer to vnderstand that Decoction contrition cribatiō mundification and ablution with sweet waters is very necessary to this secret and mastery so that he who will bestow any paines herein must cleanse it very well and wash the blacknesse from it and darknes that appeareth in his operation and subtiliate the bodie as much as hee can and afterwarde mingletherwith the soules dissolued and spirits cleansed so long as he thinke good CHAP. VIII Of the quantitie of the Fire and of the commoditie and discommoditie of it FVrthermore thou must bee acquainted with the quantity of the fire for the benefit and losse of this thing proceedeth from the benefit of the fire Wherupon Plato said in his booke The fire yeeldeth profit to that which is perfect but domoge and corruption to that which is corrupt so that when his quantitie shall be meete conuenient it shal prosper but if it shall exceed measure in things it shal without measure corrupt both to wit the perfect and corrupt and for this cause it was requisite that the learned should poure their medicines vpon Elixir to hinder and remoue from them the burning of the fire his heate Hermes also said to his father I am afraide Father of the enemie in my house to whom he made answer Son take the dog Corascene the bitch of Armenia put them together and they shal bring a dog of the colour of heauen and dip him once in the sea water for he shall keepe thy friend and defend thee from thy enemie and shall helpe thee whersoeuer thou become alwaies abiding with thee both in this world and in the world to come Now Hermes meant by the dog bitch such things as preserue bodies from the scorching he ate of the fire And these things are waters of Calces and Salts the composition whereof is to be found in the Philosophers books that haue written of this mastery among whome some haue named them sea-Sea-waters and Birdes milke and such like CHAP IX Of the Separation of the Elements of the Stone THou must afterward bother take this precious Stone which the Philosophers haue named magnified hiddē concealed put it in a Cucurbit with his Alembick diuide his natures that is the foure elemēts the Earth the Water the Aire and the Fire These are the body and soule the spirit and tincture When thou hast diuided the water from the earth and the aire from the fire keepe both of them by themselues and take that which descendeth to the bottom of the glasse beeing the lees and wash it with a warme fire til his blacknesse be gone and his thicknesse departed then make him very white causing the superfluous moysture to flie away for then hee shall bee changed and become a white calx wherein there is no cloudie darkenesse nor vncleannesse and contrarietie Afterward returne back to the first natures which ascended from it and purifie thē likewise from vncleannes blacknesse and contrarietie and reiterate these works vpon thē so often vntil they be subtiliate purified and made thin which when thou hast done thou shalt acknowledge that God hath bin gracious vnto thee Know brother that this work is one stone into which Gatib may not enter that is to say any strange thing The learned work with this and from hence proceedeth a medicine that giueth perfection There must nothing be mingled herewith either in part or whole This Stone is to be found at all times in euerie place and about euery man the search whereof is not troublesome to him that seeketh it wheresoeuer he be This Stone is vile blacke and stinking It costeth nothing it must bee taken alone it is somewhat heauie and it is called the Originall of the world because it riseth vp like things that bud sorth This is his reuelation and apparance to him thut maketh inquirie after it CHAP. X. Of the nature of the Stone and his birth TAke it therefore and worke it as the Philosopher hath told you in his booke when he named it after this maner Take the Stone no Stone or that is not a Stone neither is of the nature of a Stone It is a Stone whose myne is in the top of the mountaines and here by mountaines the Philosopher vnderstandeth liuing creatures wherupon he saide Sonne go to the mountaines of India and to his caues pull out thence precious stones which will melt in the water when they are putte into it And this water is that which is taken from other mountaines and hollow places They are stones Sonne and they are not stones but we call them so for a Similitude which they haue to stones And thou must know that the rootes of their mynes are in the ayre and their tops in the earth and it wil easily be heard when they are pluckt out of
it self be brought to the effect of generation for where one cannot meete with the cause of generation or the roote and heate it selfe it will fall out that the labour shall be lost and the worke nought worth The like mischiefe will happen in respect of weight which if it be not aright in the compound the partes of the same nature passing their boundes by augmentation or diminution the propertie of the compound is destroyed the effect therof voyd and without fruit whereof I will giue you an example Doo not you see that in Sope with which cloathes are washed cleane and made white there is this property if it be rightly made by reason of equalitie one proportion which participate in length and breadth wherupon through this participation they agree and then it appeareth because it was truely made and so the vertue which before lay hid is nowe made known which they cal a property being the vertue of washing engendred in the compound but when the grauity of the compound passeth his bounds either by addition or diminution y e vertue it self breaketh the limits of equality becōmeth contrary according to y e distēperāce of the cōpound And this thou must vnderstād to happen in the cōposition of our mastery CHAP I. Of the foure Masteries or principall works of the Art to wit solution congelation albification and rubification NOw begin I to speake of the great worke which they call Alchimy wherein I will confirme my woordes without concealing ought or keeping backe any thing saue that which is not conuenient to bee vttered or named We say then that the great work containeth in it foure masteries as the Philosophers before vs haue affirmed that is to say to dissolue to congeale to make white and red And these foure quantities are partakers whereof two of them are partakers betweene themselues and so likewise are the other two And either of these double quātities hath another quantity partaker which is a greater quantity partaker after these two I vnderstand by these quantities the quantitie of the natures and weight of the medicines which are orderly dissolued and congealed wherin neither addition nor diminution haue any place But these two to wit solution and congelation shal be in one operation and shall make but one worke and that before composition but after composition their works shall bee diuers And this solution and congelation which wee haue spoken of are the solution of the bodie and the congelation of the Spirite and they are two yet haue but one operation For the Spirites are not congealed except the bodies beedissolued is likewise the bodies is not dissolued vnlesse the spirit be cōgealed when the soule the body are ioyned togither either of them worketh in his companion made like vnto him as for example when water is put to earth it striueth to dissolue the earth by the moisture vertue and propertie which it hath making it more subtile then it was before and bringing it to be like it selfe for the water was more subtile then the earth and thus doth the soule worke in the bodie and after the same manner is the water thickened with the earth and becommeth like vnto the earth in thicknesse for the earth is more thicke then the water And thou must knowe that betweene the solution of the bodie and congelation of the spirit there is no distance of time or diuerse work as though one should be without the other as there is no difference of time in the coniunction of the earth and water that one might be knowne discerned from the other in their operations but they haue both one instant and one fact and one and the same worke conteineth them both at once before composition I say before composition least he that shall read this booke and heare the names of resolution and congelation shoulde suppose it to be the composition which the Philosophers entreat of for so he should fowly erre in his worke and iudgement because composition in this worke or masterie is a coniunction or marriage of the congealed spirit with the dissolued bodie and this coniunction or passion is vpon the fire For heate is his nourishment and the soule forsaketh not the bodie neither is it otherwise knit vnto it then by the alteration of both from their owne vertue and properties and after the conuersion of their natures and this is the solution and congelation which the Philosophers first spake of which neuerthelesse they haue hidden in their subtile discourses with darke obscure words that so they might alienate and estrange the mind of the reader frō the true vnderstanding thereof where of thou maist take this for an example Annoynt the leafe with poyson and ye shall approue there by the beginning of the worke and mastery of the same And againe labour the strong bodies with one solution til either of them be turned to his subtilitie So likewise in these folowing except ye conuert the bodies into such subtilitie that they may bee impalbable yee shall not find that ye looke for and if you haue not ground them returne backe to worke till they bee ground and made subtill which if you do you shall haue your wish And many other such sayings haue they of the same matter The which none that euer proued this Art could vnderstand til he hath had a plaine demonstration thereof the former doubt being remoued And in like maner haue they spoken of that cōposition which is after solution congelation And afterward they haue said that Cōposition is not perfect without marriage and putrifaction yet againe they teach solution congelation diuision mariage putrifaction and composition because composition is the beginning and verie life of the thing For vnlesse there were composition the thing should neuer be brought to passe Diuision is a separatiō of the parts of the cōpound so separation hath bin his coniunction I tell you againe that the spirit wil not dwel with the body nor be in it nor by any meanes abide with it vntill the body be made subtil thin as the spirit is But when it is attenuate and subtill and hath cast off his thicknes put on thinnes hath forsaken his grosnesse corpority is become spirituall then shall he be mingled with the subtill spirits imbibed in them so that both shall become one and the same they shall not be seuered like as water put to water cannot be diuided Suppose that of two like quantities that are in solution and congelation the larger is the soule the lesser is the body adde afterward to the quantitie which is the soule that quātity which is in the body it shall participate with the first quantity in vertue only then worke them as we haue wrought them and so thou shalt obtaine thy desire and Euclide his line shall bee verified vnto thee Afterwarde take his quantity and know his waight and giue him as much moysture as he will
account Wherefore that which seemeth to many that is to the common people so farre forth as it seemeth such must of necessitie bee false I speake of the Common sort in that Sence as it is heere distinguished agaynst the learned For in the common conceytes of the minde they agree with the learned but in the proper principles and conclusions of Arts and Sciences they disagree toyling themselues about meere appearances and sophistications and quirks and quiddities and such like trash whereof wise men make no account In things proper therefore and in secretes the common people do erre and in this respect they are opposite to the learned but in common matters they are comprehended vnder the lawe of all and therein consent with the learned And as for these commyn things they are of small value not worthy to bee sought after for themselues but in regarde of things particular and proper Now the cause of this concealement among all wise men is the contempt and neglect of the secretes of wisedome by the vulgar sort that knoweth not how to vse those things which are most excellent And if they do conceiue any worthy thing it is altogither by chance and fortune they do exceedingly abuse that their knowledge to the great damage and hurt of many men yea euen of whole societies so that he is worse then mad that publisheth any secret vnlesse he conceale it from the multitude and in such wise deliuer it that euen the studious and learned shall hardly vnderstand it This hath beene the course which wise men haue obserued from the beginning who by many meanes haue hidden the secrets of wisedome from the common people For some haue vsed Characters and verses and diuerse others riddles and figuratiue speeches as Aristotle witnesseth in his book of Secrets where hee thus speaketh O Alexander I will shew thee the greatest secret in the world God grant thou maiest keepe it close and bring to passe the intention of the Art of that stone which is no stone and is in euery man in euery place and at all seasons and is called the end of all Philosophers And an infinite number of thinges are founde in many bookes and sciences obscured with such darke speeches so that no man can vnderstand them without a teacher Thirdly some haue hidden their secretes by their maners of writing as namely by consonants only so that no man can reade them without he knowe the signification of the words and this is vsual among the Iewes Chaldeans Syrians and Arabians yea and the Grecians too and therefore there is a great concealing with them but especially with the Iewes for Aristotle sayth in the aboue named booke that God gaue them all maner of wisedome before there were any Philosophers and all nations borrowed the principles of Philosophy of them And thus much we are plainly taught by Albumasar in his booke named the larger Introductory and other Philosophers and by Iosephus in his eight booke of Antiquities Fourthly things are obscured by the admixtion of letters of diuerse kinds thus hath Ethicus the Astronomer cōcealed his wisdome writing the same with Hebrew Greeke Latin letters all in a row Fiftly they hide their secrets writing them in other letters then are vsed in their owne counrty to wit when they take letters that are in vse in forreine nations and feigne them according to their own pleasures This is a very great impediment vsed by Artephius in his booke of the Secrets of Nature Sixtly they make certain formes not of letters but such as are vsed by diuiners and enchanters which according to the diuersitie of pricke and notes haue the power of letters and these likewise hath Artephius vsed in his science Seuenthly there is yet a more cunning sleight of occultation behind by the helpe of Art notory an art wherby a man may write or note any thing as briefly as he will as swiftly as he can desire And in this sort haue the Latine authours hidden many secretes I deemed it necessary to touch these tricks of obscurity because happily my self may be constrained through the greatnesse of the secrets which I shal handle to vse some of them that so at the least I might helpe thee to my power I giue thee therefore to vnderstand that my purpose is orderly to proceed in the exposition of those things whereof I made mention before as to dissolue the Philosophers egge and search out the partes of a philosophicall man And this shall serue for a beginning to the rest Take salt and rub it diligently in water and purifie it in other waters after by diuerse contritions rub it with Salts and burne it with sundry assations that it may bee made a pure earth separated from the other Elements which I esteeme worthy of thee for thestature of my length Vnderstand me if thou art able for it shall vndoubtedly bee composed of the Elements and therefore it shall be a part of the stone which is no stone and is in euery man which thou shalt finde at all tymes of the yeare in his owne place This done thou shalt take oyle after the maner of a searecloath and of viscous cheese not able to be cut at the first wherevnto all the fierie vertue must bee diuided and separated by dissolution now it must bee dissolued in a sharpe water of an indifferent sharpenesse with a light fire and decocted vntill his fatnesse be seuered as the fat in flesh by distillation that no part of the oylinesse and blacke vertue wherein the vrine is distilled may get out Afterward let it bee decocted in Vineger till it be dryed into a coale which is the cause of addustion and that his blacke vertue do appeare But if it be not cured therof let it be done againe be watchfull and attentiue for my speech is difficult The oyle will dissolue both in sharpe waters and in common oyle that worketh more apparauntly or in a tart oyle of Almondes ouer the fire so that the oyle may bee sundred and the hidden spirite remaine both in the partes ofliuing creatures and in Sulphur and Arsenicke For the Stones wherein there is an Oyle of a superfluous humiditie haue certaine boundes of their humours partly because there is no strong vnion sithens one may be dissolued from the other by reason of the nature of the water which is put to liquefaction in the Spirite which is the meane betweene his parts and the oyle Dissolution therefore beeing finished there will remaine a certaine pure humiditie in the spirit which though it bee throughly mixt with the dry parts which are mooued to and fro in it yet is the fire able to resolue it beeing called by the Philosopher a melting Sulpur and sometime Oyle sometime an ayrie humour sometime a comunctiue substaunce which the fire dooth not separate sometime Camphora and wash it This is the Philosophers Egge or rather the ende and accomplishment of the Egge And let so much of the
drink the weight of which moysture we haue not here determined Then againe worke them with an operation vnlike the former first imbibing and subliming it and this operation is that which they call Albification and they name it Yarit that is Siluer and and white Leade And when thou hast made this compounde white adde to him so much of the Spirit as maketh halfe of the whole and set it to working till it waxe redde and then it shall be of the colour Alsulfir which is verie red and the Philosophers haue likened it to golde the effect hereof leadeth thee to that which Aristotle saide to his Disciple Arda wee call the claye when it is white Yarit that is Siluer and when it is red wee name it Temeynch that is Golde Whitenesse is that which tincteth Copper and maketh it Yarit and that is rednesse which tincteth Yarit that is siluer maketh it Temeynch that is Gold He therefore that is able to dissolue these bodies to subtiliate thē to make them white and red and as I haue said to compound them by imbibing and conuert them to the same shall without all doubt attaine the masterie and performe the worke whereof I haue spoken vnto thee CHAP. II. Of the things and instruments necessarie and fit for this worke IT behoueth thee to knowe the vessels in this masterie to wit Aludela which the Philosophers haue called Church-yards or Cribbles because in them the parts are diuided and cleansed and in them is the matter of the masterie made compleat perfect and depured And euery one of these must haue a Furnace fit for it and let either of them haue a similitude and figure agreeable to the worke Mezleme and many other Philosophers haue named all these things in their bookes teaching the maner and forme there of And thou must know that herein the Philosophers agree togither in their wrytings concealing it by signes and making many books thereof instruments which are necessarie in these foure foresaid things As for the instruments they are two in number One is a Cucurbit with his Alembick the other is Aludel that is well made There are also foure things necessarie to these that is to say Bodies Soules Spirites and VVaters of these foure dooth the masterie and minerall worke consist These are made plaine in the Philosophers Bookes I haue therefore omitted them in mine and onely touched those things which they passed ouer with silence which he shall easily discerne that is but of indifferent iudgement And this booke I haue not made for the ignorant and vnlearned but for the wise and prudent CHAP. III. Of the nature of things appertaining to this worke KNow thou that the Philosophers haue giuen them diuerse names for some haue called them Mynes some Animal some Herball and some by the name of Natures that is Naturall some other haue called them by certaine other names at their pleasures as seemed good vnto them Thou must also know that their Medicines are neere to Natures according as the Philosophers haue said in their bookes that Nature commeth nigh to nature and Nature is like to nature and Nature is ioyned to nature and Nature is drowned in nature and Nature maketh nature white Nature doth make nature red and generation is retained with generation generation conquereth with generation CHAP. IIII. Of Decoction and the effect thereof KNow thou that the Philosophers haue named Decoction in their Bookes saying that they make Decoction in thinges and that is it that engendreth them and changeth them from their substances and colours into other substāces and colours If thou transgresse not I tell thee in this booke thou shalt proceed rightly Consider brother the seed of the earth wheron men liue how the heate of the Sunne worketh in it till it be ripe when men and other creatures seede vpon it and that afterwarde Nature worketh on it by her heate within man conuerting it into his flesh and blood For like hereto is our operation of the masterie the seed whereof as the learned haue sayde is such that his perfection and proceeding consisteth in the fire which is the cause of his life and death without somwhat comming betweene and his spiritualtie which are not mingled but with the fire Thus haue I tolde thee the truth as I haue seene and done it CHAP. V. Of Subtiliation Solution Coagulation and commistion of the Stone and of their cause and end KNow that except thou subtiliate the bodie till all become water it will not rust and putrifie and then it cannot congeale the fitting soules when the fire toucheth them for the fire is that which congealeth them by the ayd therof vnto them And in like maner haue the Philosophers commanded to dissolue the bodies to the end y e heat might enter into their bowels Again we returne to dissolue those bodies congeale them after their solution with that thing which cōmeth nigh to it vntil we ioyne all those things which haue beene mingled togither by an apt and fit commixtion which is a temperate quantitie Whereupon we ioyne fire and water earth and ayre togither when the thick hath bin mingled with the thin the thinner with the thick the one abydeth with the other and their natures are changed and made like wheras before they were simple because that part which is generatiue bestoweth his vertue vpon the subtill and that is the ayre for it cleaueth vnto his like and is a part of the generation from whence it receyueth power to moue and ascend vpward Cold hath power ouer the thick because it hath lost his heate and the water is gone out of it and the thing appeared vpō it And the moisture departed by ascending the subtil part of y e aire and mingled it selse with it for it is like vnto it and of the same nature And when the thicke bodie hath lost his heat and moysture and that cold and drinesse hath power ouer him and that their parts haue mingled themselues and be diuided and that there is no moysture to ioyne the partes diuided the parts withdraw themselues And afterwards the part which is contrary to colde by reason that it hath continued sent his heat and decoction to the parts of y e earth hauing power ouerthem and exercising such dominion ouer the cold that where before it was in the thicke body it now lurketh and lieth hid his part of generation is changed becomming subtil and hot and striuing to dry vp by his heat But afterward the subtill part that causeth natures to ascende when it hath lost his accidentall heat waxeth cold then the natures are changed and become thicke and descend to the center where y e earthly natures are ioyned togither which were subtiliate and conuerted in their generation and imbibed in them and so the moysture coupleth togither the parts diuided but the earth endeuoureth to drie vp that moysture cōpassing it about and hindring it from going out by
their places for there will be a great noyse Goe with them my sonne for they will quickly vanish away CHAP. XI Of the commistion of the Elements that were seperated BEgin composition which is the circuite of the whole worke for there shall be no composition without marriage and putrefaction The Marriage is to mingle the thinne with the thicke and Putrefaction is to rost grinde and water so long till all be mingled together and become one so that there should bee no diuersitie in them nor separation from water mingled with water Then shall the thicke labour to retaine the thinne then shall the soule striue with the fire and endeuour to beare it then shall the Spirite labour to be drowned in the bodyes and poured foorth into them And this must needes bee because the bodye dissolued when it is commixt with the Soule it is likewise commixt with euerie part therof other things enter into other things according to theyr similitude and likenesse and are changed into one and the same thing And for this cause the soule must partake with the commoditie durablenesse and permanencie which the body receiued in his commixtion The like also must befall the Spirite in this state or permanencie os the soule and boby sor when the Spirit shall bee commixt with the soule by laborious operation and all his partes with all the partes of the other two to wit the soule and bodie then shall the Spirite and the other two bee conuerted into one indiuisible thing according to their entire substance whose natures haue beene preserued and their partes haue agreed and come together whereby it hath come to passe that when this compounde hath met with a body dissolued and that heate hath got hold of it and that the moysture which was in it appeareth and is molten in the dissolued body and hath passed into it and mixt it selfe with that which was of the nature of moysture it is inflamed and the fire defendeth it self with it Then when the fire would been flamed with it it will not suffer the fire to take holde of it that is to say to cleaue vnto it with the Spirit mingled with his water The fire will not abide by it vntill it be pure And in like manner doth the water naturally flie from the fire wherof when the fire hath taken hold it doth forth with by little and little euaporate And thus hath the body beene the meanes to retaine the water and the water to retaine the oyle that it should not burne nor consume away and the oyle to retaine tincture and tincture the precise cause to make the colour appeare and shew forth the tincture wherein there is neither light nor life This then is the true life and perfection of the worke and masterie which thou soughtest for Be wise therefore and vnderstande and thou shalt find what thou lookest for if it please God CHAP. XII Of the solution of the Stone compounded THe Philosophers moreouer haue taken great paines in dissoluing that the body and soule might the better be incorporate for all those things that are together in contrition assation and rig ation haue a certaine affinitie and alliance betweene themselues so that the fire may spoyle the weaker of nature till it vtterly fade and vanish away as also it again returneth vpon the stronger parts vntil the bodie remaine without the Soule But when they are thus dissolued and congealed they take the parts one with another as well great as small and incorporate them well together till they be conuerted and changed into one and the same thing And when this is done the fire taketh from the Soule as much as from the body neither more nor lesse and this is the ceuse of perfection For this cause it is necessary teaching the composition of Elixir to afford one chapter for expounding the solution of simple bodyes and soules because bodyes doo not enter into soules but do rather withhold and hinder them from sublimatiō fixation retention commistion and the like operations except mundification go before And thou shalt know that solution is after one of these two wayes for either it extracteth the inward parts of things vnto their Superficies and this is solution an example whereof thou hast in Siluer that seemeth cold and drie but being dissolued and that his inwards appeare it is found hot and moyst or else it is to purchase to a body an accidentall moysture which it had not before and to adde hereunto his owne humiditie whereby his parts may be dissolued and this likewise is called solution CHAP. XIII Of the coagulation of the Stone dissolued SOme among the learned haue said Congeale in a bath with a good congelation as I haue tolde thee and this is Sulphur shining in darknesse a red Hiasinth a firy deadly poyson the Elixir that abideth vppon none a victorious Lion a malefactor a sharpe sworde a precious Triacle healing euery infirmitie And Geber the sonne of Hayen sayd that all the operations of this masterie are contained vnder fixe things to put to flight to melt to incerate to make as white as Marble to dissolue and congeale That putting to flight is to driue away and remoue blacknesse from the spirit and soule the melting is the liquefaction of the body to incerate belongeth properly to the body and is the subtiliation thereof to whiten is properly to melt speedily to congeale is to congeale the body with the soule alreadie prepared Againe flight appertaineth to the body and soule to melt whiten incerate and dissolue belong vnto the body and congelation to the soule Bee wise and vnderstand CHAP XIIII That there is but one Stone and of his nature BAuzan a Greeke Philosopher when it was demaunded of him whether a stone may be made of a thing that buddeth made answere yea to wit the two first stones the stone Alkali and our stone which is the life and workmanship of him that knoweth it but he that is ignorant of it and hath not made it and knoweth not how it is engendred supposing it to be no stone or that conceiueth not with himselfe whatsoeuer I haue spoken of it and yet will make a tryall of it prepareth himselfe for death and casteth away his money for if he cannot finde out this precious stone another shall not arise in his place neither shall natures triumph ouer him His nature is great heate with moderation He that now knoweth it hath profited by reading this booke but he that remaineth ignorant hath lost his labour It hath many properties and vertues for it cureth bodies of their accidentall diseases and preserueth sound substances in such sort that their appeareth in them no perturbations of contraries nor breach of their bond and vnion For this is the sope of bodies yea their spirit and soule which when it is incorporate with them dissolueth them without any losse This is the life of the dead and their resurrection a medicine preseruing bodies and
purging superfluities He that vnderstandeth let him vnderstand and he that is ignorant let him bee ignorant stil for it is not to be bought with mony it is neither to be bought nor sold. Conceiue his vertue value and worth and then begin to worke wherof a learned man hath said God giueth thee not this masterie for thy sole audacity fortitude subtilitie without all labour but men labor and God giueth them good successe Adore thē God the creator that hath vouchsafed thee so great fauor in his blessed works CHAP. XV. The maner how to make the Stone white NOwe therefore when thou wilt enterpise this worthy worke thou shalt take the precious stone and put it in a Cucurbite couering it with an Alembicke being well closed with the lute of wisdome and set it in vorie hote dung then shalt thou distill it putting a receiuer vnder it whereinto the water may distill and thus thou shalt leaue it till all the water be distilled and moysture dryed vp and that drynesse preuaile ouer it then shalt thou take it out drie reseruing the water that is distilled vntill thou hast neede of it thou shalt take I say the drie bodie that remayned in the bottome of the Cucurbite and grinde it and put it in a vessell in greatnesse answerable to the quantitie of the medicine and burie it in verie hote horse-dung as thou canst get the Vessell beeing well shut with the lute of Wisedome and so let it rest But when thou perceyuest the dung to waxe colde thou shalt get thee other that is fresh and very hot and therein put thy Vessell Thus shalt thou do by the space of fortie dayes renuing thy dung so oftenas occasion shall serue and the Medicine shall dissolue of it selfe and become a thicke white water which when thou beholdest to be so thou shalt weight it put there to so much of the water which thou hast kept as will make the halfe of his weight closing thy Vessell with the lute of VVisedome and put it againe in hote horse-dung for that is hote and moyst and thou shalt not omit as I haue sayde to renue the dung when it beginneth to coole till the tearme of fortie dayes be expired for the Medicine shall be congealed in the like number of dayes as before it was dissolued in Again take it and note the iust weight of it and according to his quantitie take of the water which thou madest before grind the body and subtiliate it and poure the water vpon it and set it againe in hot hors-dung for a weeke and a halfe that is to say ten daies then take it out and thou shalt see that the bodie hath already drunk vp the water Afterward grinde it againe and put thereto the like quantitie of that water as thou didst before bury it in dung and leaue it there for ten dayes more take it out againe and thou shalt find that the body hath already drunke vp the water Then as before grinde it putting thereto of the foresayd water the foresayd quantitie and bury it in the foresayd dung and let it rest there ten dayes longer and afterward draw it out so shalt thou do the fourth time also which being done thou shalt drawe it forth and grinde it and burie it in dung till it bee dissolued Afterward take it out and reiterate it yet once more for then the birth is perfect and his worke ended Now when this is done and that thou hast brought this thing to this honourable estate thou shalt take two hundred and fiftie drams of Lead or Steele and melt it which beeing molten thou shalt cast thereon one dramme of Cinna barus that is of this Medicine which thou hast brought to this honourable estate and high degree and it shall retaine the Steele or Leade that it fly not from the fire it shall make it white and purge it from his drosse and blacknesse and conuert it into a tincture perpetually abiding Then take a dramme of these two hundred and fiftie and proiect it vpon two hundred and fiftie drammes of Steele or Copper and it shall conuert it into Siluer better then that of the Myne This is the greatest and last worke that it can effect if God will CHAP. XVI The conuersion of the foresaid Stone into red ANd if thou desirest to conuert this masterie into Golde take of this medicine which as I saide thou hast brought to this honourable estate and excellencie the waight of one dramme and this after the manner of thy former example and put it in a vessell and bury it in hors-dung for fortie dayes and it shall be dissolued then thou shalt giue it water of the dissolued body to drink first as much as amounteth to halfe his waight afterward vntill it bee congealed thou shalt bury it in most hot dung as is aboue sayd Then thou shalt orderly proceed in this Chapter of Gold as thou hast done in the former Chapter of Siluer and it shall be Golde and make Golde God willing My Sonnekeepe this most secret Booke and commit it not vnto the handes of ignorant men beeing a secret of the secretes of God For by this meanes thou shalt attaine thy desire Amen Here endeth the secrets Alchimy written in Hebrew by Calid the sonne of Iarich An excellent discourse of the admirable force and efficacie of Art and Nature written by the famous Frier Roger Bacon Sometime fellow of Merton Colledge and afterward of Brasen-nose in Oxford SOme there are that aske whether of these twaine bee of greatest force and efficacie Nature or Art whereto I make aunswere and say that although Nature be mightie and maruailous yet Art vsing Nature for an instrument is more powerfull then naturall vertue as it is to bee seene in many thinges But whatsoeuer is done without the operation of Nature or Art is either no humane worke or if it bee it is fraudulently and colourablie performed for there are some that by a nimble motion and shewe of members or through the diuerfitie of voyces and subtillitie of instruments or in the darke and by consent doo propose vnto men diuerse things to bee wondred at that haue indeede no truth at all The worlde is euerie where full of such fellowes For Iuglers cogge many things through the swiftnesse of their hands and others with varietie of voyces by certaine deuices that they haue in their bellies throats or mouthes will frame mens voyces farre of or neare as it pleaseth thē as if a man spake at the same instant yea they will counterfeite the soundes of bruit beasts But the causes hidden in the grasse or buried in the sides of the earth proue it to bee done by a humane force and not by a spirit as they would make men beleeue In like maner wheras they affirm things without life to moue verie swiftly in the twilight of the euening or morning it is altogither salse and vntrue As for concent it can faigne any thing that men
Oyles as commeth to our hands bee reckoned among Seeny seede which must bee separated from the water or Oyle wherein it is purged Moreouer the oyle is putrified as thou knowest by braying it with drying things as with salt and vitriall and by burning it though passion arise from the contrarie and afterward it must bee sublimed vntill his oylinesse be quite taken away and that the water bee like Sulphur or Arsenicke in the minerals for it may be prepared in the same maner that they are Neuerthelesse it were better to decoct it in waters of a temperate sharpenesse vntill it bee purged or made white And yet there is another profitable concoction in a dry or moyst fire where distillation must bee renued if you would haue your worke come wel to passe and the matter rectified of which rectification the last signes are to bee white and cleare as Christall And where 's other things grow black in the fire this waxeth white is purified and euen shineth againe through the notable clearnes brightnes that is in it Of this water and earth is Argent-uiue engendred being not vnlike the Argent-uiue that is in the Mynes Now when the matter is waxed hot after this maner it is coÌ„gealed but the ayrie stone which is no stone must be put into a Pyramis in a warme place or if you think good into the belly of a horse or oxe and so be changed into a sharpe feuer And when it hath passed froÌ„ this itno 10. and from that into 21. so that the lees of the oiles are dissolued in their water before it be separated they do so often reiterate dissolution distillation til at length it be rectified And here endeth this intention But thou must remeÌ„ber that wheÌ„ thou hast made an end thou art then to begin a new againe Now will I hide an other secret from thee Prepare Argent-uiue by mortifying it with the vapour of Steele for Margarites and with the vapour of Lead for the stone Iber and rubbe it with drying things and atraments and such like as before and boyle it this done let it be sublymed is for vnion 10. if for rednesse 21. vntill the moysture bee consumed in it Neither is it possible that the humiditie shoulde bee separated for the vapour as the foresayde oyle because it is very strongly commixt with his drie partes neither doth it set any bound as we haue already taught in the foresaid mettals In this chapter thou maist easily bee deceiued except thou perfectly vnderstand the signification of the words Now it is high time obscurely to intreat of the third chapter to the end thou maist behold the very key of the worke thou lookest for The calcined bodie is sometime put to which is done to this end that the moysture in it might be consumed by salt and Sal Armeniack and Vineger and againe sometime it is nourished with Argent-uiue and sublimed by them till it remaine as pouder These then are the keyes of the Art Congelation Resolution Induration Proiection and this is both the end and the beginning but as for purification distillation separation sublimation calcination and inquisition they are fellow-workers with the former and now thou maist sit downe and take thine ease Sixe hundred and two yeares of the Arabians being accomplished thou didst aske me of certaine secrets Take therfore the stone and congeale it with a gentle boyling and strong contrition but without sharpe things And in y e end mixe it a little with sweete water and make a laxatiue medicine of seuen things if thou think good or of sixe or of fiue or of as many as thou wilt but my mind is content with two whereof the better shall be in sixe rather then any other proportion or there abouts as experience may teach you Neuerth elesse resolue the gold by the fire restraine it better But if you wil beleeue me you ought to take but one thing This is a secret of Natures secrets able to worke wonders It being therfore mixed with two things or more in number or with the Phoenix which is a worthie creature at the fire incorporated by a strong motion and that hereunto you putte warme liquor foure or fiue times you shall be maister of your hearts desire But afterward the celestiall nature is weakened and waxeth feeble if thou poure warme water into it three or fouretimes Thou must therefore diuide the weake from the strong in diuers vesselles if thou dare credite mee and draw out that which is good Besides thou shalt take the powder and throughly presse out the water that remained for certainely it will make the partes of the powder spirituall for which cause thou shalt saue this water by it selfe because the powder dryed vppe herewith hath the force of a medicine in a laxatiue body Worke therefore as thou didst before vntill thou hast remooued the weake from the strong and put the powder thereto three foure or fiue times or oftner alwayes working after one and the selfe same manner And if thou canst not worke with warme water thou shalt offer violence But if it bee broken by reason of the tartnesse and tendernesse of the medicine together with powder thou must verie warily put more Gold to and mollifie it but if the plentie of the powder cause it to breake thou shalt giue it more of the medicine and if it bee long of the strength of the water water it with a Pestill and gather together the matter so well as thou canst and separate the water by little and little and it will returne to his former state This water thou shalt drie vp for it hath both the powder and water of the medicine which are to be incorporate as dust Be not asleepe nowe for I haue tolde thee a great and profitable secret And if thou couldest tell how to place and sette in order the partes of a burnt shrub or of a willow and many such like things they would naturally keepe an vnion Beware at any hand that thou forgettest not this because it is very profitable for many things Thou shalt mingle the Trinity with the vnion beeing first molted and they will rise vp as I suppose like vnto the stone Iberus doubtlesse it is mortified by the vapour of the lead which lead thou shalt finde if thou presse it out of the dead body and this dead body thou shalt burie in a stillitory Hold fast this secret for it is nought worth And in like manner shalt thou deale with the vapour of a Margarite or the stone Tagus burying the dead as before thou art commanded And now forsooth the yeares of the Arabians being accomplished I make answere to your demaund after this maner You must haue a medicine y t wil dissolue in a thing that is melted and be annointed in it and enter into his second degree and be incorporate with it not proouing a fugitiue seruant and change it and be mixt with the roote of the Spirit and bee fixed by the calx of the mettall Now it is thought that fixation prepareth when the body spirit are layd in their place and sublimed which must be so often reiterated til the body be made a spirit and the spirit become a body Take therefore of the bones of Adam and of calx the same weight there must be sixe for the rocky stone fiue for the stone of vnions these you must worke togither with Aqua vitae whose property is to dissolue all other things that it may bee dissolued and boyled in it And this a signe of Inceration if the medicine will melt when it is poured on an Iron redde hot This done poure water into it in a moyst place or else hang it in the vapour of very hote and liquid Waters and congeale it in the Sunne 〈◊〉 thou shalt take Salt-peter conuert Argent-uiue 〈◊〉 lead and againe thou shalt wash and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therewith that it may come nigh to Siluer and afterward worke as thou didst before Moreouer thou shalt drinke vppe all after this sort Notwithstanding thou shalt take of Salt-peter Luru 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of Sulphur and by this meanes make 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thunder and lighten Thus shalt thou 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worke Nowe consider with thy selfe 〈◊〉 speake in a riddle or tell thee the plaine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be some that haue bin of another mind for it was said vnto me that al things must be resolued to the matter wherof you may find Aristotle his iudgement 〈◊〉 vulgar vnknowne places and therfore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my peace Now when thou hast them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haue many simples and equals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shalt effect by contrary things and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which before I tearmed the keyes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristotle saith that the equalitie of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 containe in it the action and passion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this likewise is the opinion of Auerroes reprouing 〈◊〉 It is thought that this is the most simple and 〈◊〉 medicine that may be found It is good 〈◊〉 the feauers and passions both of minde and bodyes more cheape then any medicine whatsoeuer 〈◊〉 these things shall haue the key that openeth and no man shutteth and when hee hath shut no man is able to open it againe FINIS The quanâ—â—â—â—â— is called by Logitians â—â—â—sion or passible qualitie An example of a passible qualitie is sweetnesse in hony or coldnesse in yce of passion when we blâ—â—â— for shame or waxe pale through fear Printed at London by Thomas Creede for Richard Oliue 1597.