Medicina practica, or, Practical physick shewing the method of curing the most usual diseases happening to humane bodies ... : to which is added, the philosophick works of Hermes Trismegistus, Kalid Persicus, Geber Arabs, Artesius Longævus, Nicholas Flammel, Roger Bachon and George Ripley : all translated out of the best Latin editions into English ... : together with a singular comment upon the first book of Hermes, the most ancient of philosophers : the whole compleated in three books / by William Salmon ...

I. THus you see that Na∣ture is to be amend∣ed by its own like Nature; that is, Gold and Silver are to be exalted in our water, as our water also with those Bodies; which water is called the medium of the Soul, without which nothing is to be done in this Art.

II. It is a Vegetable, Mi∣neral, and Animal fire, which conserves the fixed Spirits of Sol and Luna, but destroys and conquers their Bodies: For it destroys, o∣verturns, and changes Bo∣dies and metallick forms, making them to be no Bo∣dies but a fixed Spirit.

III. And it turns them into a humid substance, soft and fluid, which hath in∣gression and power to enter into other imperfect bodies,

and to mix with them in their smallest parts, and to tinge them and make them perfect.

IV. But this they could not do while they remained in their metallick Forms or Bodies, which were dry and hard, whereby they could have no entrance into other things, so as to tinge & make perfect, what was before imperfect.

V. It is necessary there∣fore to convert the Bodies of Metals into a fluid substance; for that every tincture will tinge a thousand times more in a soft and liquid sub∣stance, than when it is in a dry one, as is plainly appa∣rent in Saffron.

VI. Therefore the trans∣mutation of imperfect Me∣tals, is impossible to be done by perfect Bodies, while they are dry and hard: for which cause sake, they must be brought back into their first matter, which is soft and fluid.

VII. It appears therefore, that the moisture must be re∣verted, that the hidden trea∣sure may be revealed. And this is called the reincruda∣tion of Bodies, which is the decocting & softning them, till they lose their hard and dry substance or form; be∣cause that which is dry does not enter into, nor tinge any thing besides it self.

VIII. Therefore the dry terrene Body doth not enter into nor tinge, except its own body, nor can it tinge except it be tinged; because (as I said before) a thick drie earthy matter does not pe∣netrate nor tinge, and there∣fore, because it cannot enter or penetrate it can make no alteration in the matter to be altered.

IX. For this reason it is, that Gold coloureth not, until its internal or hidden spirit be drawn forth out of it bowels by this our white water, and that it be made altogether a spiritual sub∣stance, a white Vapour, a white Spirit, and a wonderful Soul.