Various injuries & abuses in chymical and Galenical physick, committed both by physicians & apothecaries, detected for the benefit of such, who being conscientious and studious in physick, aim chiefly at the welfare of the sick, and of those patients, whether rich or poor, who are willing to preserve their lives & healths / by Robert Godfrey, Med. Londinensis.

Concerning Glauber.

When I view Glaubers works and examine the forepart of them, I must needs conclude he wrote not a few things that were very good and useful; though methods tedious enough in Prae∣paration are delivered: But when I view the lat∣ter part, to wit, the Appendix to the fifth part of Phylosophick furnaces, his Annotations to his Appendix, his way of making Aurum Potabile, and his separation of Gold out of Flints, Sand, Clay, &c. By the assistance of the spirit of Salt,, it makes me even admire at the Man: and judge if he was not mad nor out of his Wits, when he wrote those impertinent dis∣courses, yet conclude he was resolv'd to abuse the World with a parcell of Figments and fic∣tions, and out of a desire to impose on the too∣credulous, pretend to teach lucriferous secrets. I could wish with all my heart, I might be acquainted with; or at least wise hear (which I never yet could) of some persons that had been profited by his gain-bringing Arts; or that ever made his Aurum Potabile, and found

its vertues answering his Charactet; or that e∣ver produced Gold from Flints, Sand, Clay &c. in such wealthy quantities that they could get a tolerable subsistance at it; that so I might, without wronging my own judge∣ment, count him neither Knave, Fool, nor Mad-man. For on the other hand I have in his discommendation met with an Anony∣mous Latin Treatise publisht in Holland in the year 1660. that* 1.1 has fully painted out his deceit.

Concerning which had the Author been silent and not bla∣med him for defrauding several Persons of their monies, under pretence of selling wonderful secrets; his own writings would have so amply manifested it to the in∣telligent, if thorowly con'd, that no other proof had been wanting. For if it was not to defraud the too-credulous, and perswade them into the belief of an imposture, what meant he by exposing Gainful Arts to sale, whilst himself was poor, and use whining Religious Phrases, and make use of the name of the thrice∣holy God, to back and cloak his deceit: Truly I could heartily wish, that the name of the Al∣mighty and the Lord Jesus Christ were not thus made a cloak for roguery, But it ever was, and ever will be in this world we may believe, that where true Men are associated in fellowship;

a crew of whining smooth-tongu'd Hypocrites will enter, that under the notion of Religion they may with more ease and a fairer gloss im∣pose on the simple and unwary.

But to return to Glauber again: I say un∣less it were to deceive his Reader, what made him publish gainful Arts whilst he manifest∣eth himself a wanter of such: for in his Preface after his Appendix, he tells us: He had lived in these places, meaning Holland, many years with disprofit, and therefore was resolv'd whe∣ther the peace of Germany succeeded or not, to be∣take himself to such places, where he might have opportunity to handle Coals and Mines—Of which what need was there, seeing he himself could teach such gainful Arts as the separation of Gold out of Flints, Sand, or Clay. If these Arts were really such, how came he to live idle with disprofit? What were neither Flints, Sand, nor Clay in Holland, nor the Provinces adjoyning, that he might in some sort profit himself? For Charity begins at home: what were none of them there? Surely then 'tis such a Country as is not in the World beside. Besides, is it not strange, that he himself could n••ver meet with one of those whole rocks (nor half ones) and mountains of Gold, and great mountains filled with Golden Sand and Clay, of which he speaks in the first part of his Mine∣ral Work, Pag. 412, and concerning which

he saies how poor soever, Gold may be extracted out of it, by the spirit of Salt, with Gain: and tells us 'tis such a secret by which no man can be an impediment to another? 'Tis very strange he could never: and may we not suppose him in his generation to have been Tantalus redivi∣vus? another Tantalus that in the midst of Golden Arts was poor? Who can suppose him to be otherwise?

Doubtless these very pretty Crotchets, no little pleas'd him, when he consider'd how they would be admir'd and star'd at. But I wonder with what confidence he could send them to the Press. I remember the before∣quoted Anonymus Author saies: how that he used to agree with the Printer for to have some hundreds of the Copies for his Book; and how he us'd to bind them curiously, and put his name incompassed with a Laurel, and the marks of the seven Planets to set them off, and present one to this Plenipotentiarie, another to a∣nother Great Man, and thus get same and greater rewards for them, and excite them to buy his strangely gainful secrets: which was I must confess a subtile trick, but I cannot say an honest one. Nor did he this alone, but the same Author affirms, he cheated several of a∣bundance of money; pretending to teach won∣derful secrets, and then put a trick on them at last.

To one Plenipotentiarie (he saith) Glauber sold a Tract entituled Explicatio Miraculi mundi, as it was in its manuscript for a hundred Duckets, and afterwards publisht it in Print: that Glauber for some highly prais'd secret, had bargain'd with the same Great Man, and had receiv'd six hundred Imperials before hand: and though a time was set wherein he was to prove the certainty and truth of the secret; secret; yet that, and a longer, time being past the expected certainty of it no where ap∣pear'd. Another Person (he also saith) com∣plained to him how he was defrauded by Glau∣ber, and lost but four hundred Imperials.

After this, the Anonymus saith, he came into England, and at London found that the writings of Glauber, which were translated into the English Idiom, did excite many de∣tractions and filthy speeches against him (to wit) because the prescribed processes of the Author were most vain; and that frequently many men, had vainly tried the greatest part of them, to their very great loss.

He saith also that in Germany, Holland, and other places, complaints concerning him were then frequent. One saith,

Alas for me! who have spent so much money on Glauber, & have not indeed received on Pins worth of profit, or gainful retribution from his Arts.

Saith a second, I was seduced after this

manner; in that I saw a little honest good from Glaubers works: But all things in great quantity being bought for the Pro∣cess in labouring, and all things being effe∣cted according as I was commanded; I re∣ceiv'd nothing again from thence but an ut∣ter loss of my expences.

A third saith, behold what incredible naughtiness is in Glauber; his own Con∣science tells him, he cannot perform the Concentration he so exceedingly boasted of. For notwithstanding, as he desired, won∣derful Cauldrons, with all other requisits for Concentration of Corn, and Wine, were prepared for him, and that at other Mens costs: yet in lieu of these large expences he produced nothing of worth, insomuch that the most poor and indigent, were unwilling to drink the Beer which he made; And yet desists not for all to invite even the whole World, to such his Fallacious Arts.

Thus writes our Nameless Author; who I am perswaded was a Man singularly honest, and wrote no waies out of design, but for the real benefit of his neighbour: however his Princi∣ples are consentaneous with the Chymical, whilst Glaubers seem uncouth and forreign. And whether or no he did write, what he did did causlesly, ask those who have attempted Glau∣bers Mineral Work, and if you can meet with

one that came not off a looser at last, you'l prove by farmore fortunate than I have. On the other hand I knew one, a quick-witted, and confi∣dent unlearned Junior Chymist, that was a mighty adorer of Glauber, and gave no little credit to his writings: who on a time (doubt∣less he had read Glauber well) boasted he could get twenty pounds a week by working on Minerals, which made us not smile a little: But after his roving conjectures were put into practice, he easily found his mistake; in that instead of getting twenty pounds a week, he, I be¦lieve did not convert much less than a hundred pounds yearly into Fume. And 'tis a wonder my Honest Tutor had not been caught amongst the rest; however I believe he went not alto∣gether Scot-free: and had doubtless confoun∣ded a great deal more, had not this Anonymous Latin Treatise which I have before cited, been sent him as a Present out of Holland, by a learned acquaintance of his, not long after he had met with Glaubers works.

Who can sufficiently admire at the Folly of Glauber, and his ridiculous and foppish im∣pertinencies? surely I think none. Nor can any man skill'd in Chymical Science count him ought but such a Fantastical Scribler as the Au∣thor of a book some years since Printed in Lon∣don of five or six shillings price: the Title of which promis'd to teach the Knowledge of all

things past present and to come. When the Book to give it's due, it was at the best, but a bundle of Blockish Impertinences.

It seems to me our fore-cited Anonymus did not too-too-egregiously err, when by an A∣nagram he call'd him Vah longus Verbo sed nil supra! For about his non sen••ical Aurum Po∣tabile, separating Gold from Flints, and other such like guilded stories, he hath made such a clutter in Print; that many who meet with his Books, and believing all that they read is true, count themselves more than ordinarily happy, and that hundreds a year are at their foot-steps▪ If they are not I heartily wish they were, and that so many had not been deceiv'd by his writings as have been; for then I had not had the trouble of mentioning him here, to give warning to others for the Future.

To make Aurum Potabile he saith Recipe (which you may make Decipe by changing the first Letter)

Of living Gold one part and three parts of Quick-Mercury, not of the vul∣gar but the Philosophical, every where to be found without Charges, and Labour; thou mayest also add of Living Silver equal weight with the Gold: put them mixt in a Philoso∣phical vessel to dissolve, and in the space of a quarter of an hour, those mixt Mettals will be radically dissolv'd by the Mercury, and will give a purple colour.

At the Abortiveness and irrationality of which Recipe who is able enough to admire? First he bids us take living Gold, but tells us not wh••re 'tis to be found: for common Gold is Dead. Next Quick Mercury not the Vulgar, but the Philosophick every where to be found, without Charges, and Labour: yet gives us no account, whree this every where is, nor tokens whereby we may know it. He calls it also the Mercury of the Philosophers, yet confesseth in another place he knew it not; for speaking about the Philosophers stone, (which by some of them is call'd their Mercury) he saith in the fourth part of his Philosophick fur∣naces, that he needed not to add any thing; of himself who was altogether ignorant of the thing and if he was altogether ignorant of the thing, he knew not their Mercury; and therefore blockishly bids others take what he knew not. But must not Glaubers be a strange kind of Mercury, that being found without cost or labour, is nevertheless so powerful and corro∣sive, that in the space of an quarter of an hour shall dissolve the Living Gold and Silver too. Verily I am perswaded, and that not ground∣lesly, he at last for the sake of mony, and to get profit by Printing, cared not (whilst he was idle) what fables he publish••, so he might but make a noise in the World: for as saith

the oft fore named Anony∣mus.* 1.2

After that Glauber too much confided in the preganncy of his own Wit, and was wounted to expose in publick for certain truth what ever came into his head, he inserted in his Books very many Vanities, Trifles, and Toyes; against which not a few have hitherto Dasht, but may as yet dash.

Now if Glauber had profest himself an Ae∣nigmatical writer, as many others have, and had told us he was not to be understood accor∣ding to the Letter, he had had some cloak for his Folly: But he on the contrary so much disowns such a thing, that he professeth him∣self a plain writer of Receipts. Only like a Cunning Sophister, in the first part of his Mi∣neral work, he saith to his Reader.

Impute the fault if the errest not to me, but to thine own ignorance, if thou knowest not to extract the Gold; For I have written clearly, though thou shouldest not know any thing that were omitted: for it is cer∣tain, and no fiction, that in many places there are found Golden Flints, and Golden Clay, and Sand, oft-times abounding with Gold; and if they do not abound with it yet may they be extracted with profit.

And thus he G••lls the unwary and leads▪ them along, that having once ••••Spdn••••d they may•…•…er hazard more moneys, the•• count him •…•…f Lyes.

I cannot but exceedingly wonder, that any persons should be so stupidly idle, and vain, to publishes unexperimented Processes: seeing that though they may for some time, deceive the ignorant with their guilded impertinencies, and fruitless Receipts; yet such must needs in the end be manifested false, and even render them odi∣ous to Posterity. What may it be that they expect, as the result of such Actions? Is it fame, and an honourable name, for the future? Surely no; for they steer a wrong course, see∣ing no honout can proceed from a publishing untruths, or an imprinting of that which is false: in regard 'tis the custome of the veryest, Deceivers, much more of those Men who are True, to speak against Vice and Falsity.

What is it an unbounded desire after money the root of all evill, and mischief amongst men? If so I cannot but pitty their Follies, and stand amaz'd to think any should, for a little momentanie Wealth, hazard their Souls Eter∣nally; and venture the lose of a Crown Immor∣tal for ter••estrial D••oss. Whilst forgetting that Golden Law do as you would be done by, they make self the center of their actions, and build lofty Fabricks on the Ruins of the un∣wary. Nay that is not all; for though Glau∣bers lucriferous Arts, have plung'd a pretty many lovers of Chymistry 〈…〉〈…〉 poverty, or at leastwise mad•• ••heir po••ke••s ••••ghter by far;

yet many other Receit-Mongers amongst the Galenick, and Astral Tribe, do as much (if not far more) hurt; whilst they fill the Press with Collections of Collections, and pretend they do it for the good of the Country. But that pretence only serves to mask their ambition, and to make the Book go off the better; for the business is they would be in Print, but they want abilities to accommadat the Press. There∣fore because their small portions in really Medi∣cinal knowledg as also in literature, incapacitates them to produce such a Physical Discourse, as as might prove truly advantagious in Medicine, they forth-with turn Plagiaries, and hunting up and down, steal a few Receipts from this Book, burying the Authors name (who per∣haps himself took them but on trust) and mak∣ing some small and inconsiderable alteration, or none at all, add more Receipts to them, taken out of another; as also more from a third, fourth, and fifth Book, with some small and sensless additions (perchance) to make them more Mysterious, or else diminutions, to alter them, lest any should cry Stop-thief: and ha∣ving digested them into a New-Method, this piece of Patchery must pass for a New-Book, when 'tis several Scraps of Old-ones stufttogether

And thus Book-Sellers Shops, as also our Libraries, abound with Books upon Books, but with few that are really Authors: How

Injurious which thing is in Medicine let any so∣ber Physician judge, whilst Diseases are more malevolent than to be play'd with.

Now the honest Country Gentleman, or his Charitable Wife, hearing of such a wonder∣working Book, that is come forth in English, (for it wants not a Splendid Title,) present∣ly has two or three shillings to spare for it, that they may knock down Diseases by Lapfuls. The better to perform which the Author (I mistake I should say the Collector or Plagiarist) tells them that this Remedy is good for this Dis¦ease, that Medicine for another, though he never tried them; and only have read so also a third for a third disease, & so on to the end of the Chapter. Insomuch that now not a Disease must offer to be so bold, as to peep where this Book is, least he pay the Punishment of his Sauciness.

For does he appear? away runs the well-in∣tending Gentlewoman presently to her Receipt-Book, and there meets with a Medicine that has twenty or thirty Ingredients, or we will suppose but ten or fifteen in it: yet it being made is at last so untoward and clo••ging, that it ra∣ter hurts than benefits the Sick; whilst the mu∣tinous ingredients are at a scuffle amongst them∣selves, who shall fall foull on the Disease, and predominate.

One, two, or perhaps three of the Ingredi∣ents in the Composition, who were formerly the

Basis of the Medicine before 'twas confound∣ed, they are willing to do it, and would, but that some other Cross-grain'd ones wont let them, but are rather fit to oppose then lend them their helping hand. And thus whilst some Ingredients in the Medicine would, but are clog'd and hindered by others, and others can't being improper, and only put in through want of no unskilfulness in Nature; the Dis∣ease takes the greater Liberty of Tyranniz∣ing.

Whereas if the honest Country Gentlewomen or Ladies for the relief of their Poor Neigh∣bours, would but make use of some such simple Medicines as a Carduus posset &c. or a Medi∣cine made of two, or three Ingredients, (for com∣monly the simpler a Medicine is, the better 'tis) which the long experience of Mothers, Grand-Mothers. and Great-Grand-Mothers, have told them is good, and profitable: the Sick might be sooner reliev'd, than by such Recipe con∣fused Medicines, as are commonly huddled into Books, and Printed through desire of Fame.

There being scarcely one Receipt of ten that is good for any thing, but that is subject one time with another to dammage more than help Nature: and those that are good in such books are commonly some few Balsams, Vnguents, Emplasters or Salves. But now to speak of a Fever, and its seat.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Sudum phi∣lososph. pro Secret. Chym perspic.
• * 1.2

  In praef. pa••. 2.