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 ...

CHAP. LXII. A farther Discourse of the Philosophers Mercury.

I. OF this Mercury, speaks another Phi∣losopher thus, when its Ele∣ments are separated, and again joyned and mixed together by equal weight, then is it made a compleat Elixir upon Saturn and Ju∣piter; but its Elements can∣not be separated, until such time as it is dissolved: and of this Metalline Water, ought the Artist to draw the Tincture.

II. [ The Elements of Mer∣cury being separated, and again commixed by equal weight or proportion, make the Elixir compleat, with of∣ten dissolving and congealing of the Spirit, which must be done upon a Marble Stone, weighing the Body, and then taking its weight of the Secret Salt, grinding them together very subtil, then putting them into Balneo, that they may be dissolved; which done, take it out, and make your congelati∣in a dry Fire, do so oftentimes, and then, &c.]

III. And therefore to confirm this, Raymundus saith, O my Son, Our Tin∣cture is drawn out of one Vile thing, and is decked, finished, and ended with another thing which is more Noble; for we do Ferment it with Vulgar Gold: He calls it Vile, be∣cause he saith it is sometimes found in Vile places, as in Old draughts: also it is Vile, because (as Raymundus saith) it is found not only in a fil∣thy form, and ugly shape, but because it is in every thing, of the which (saith Albertus) is made a Perma∣nent or fixt Water.

IV. [ Here is to be Noted, that Raymundus commands this Tincture to be drawn out of the Body of Venus, which Tincture he does Ferment with the prepared Calx of common or Vulgar Gold.]

V. And therefore saith Avicen, it behoves you to have a great quantity of our Gold, and of our Silver, to the end, that thereby the humours may be drawn forth; viz. to have at the least sixty pounds weight, which will be a sufficient quantity for your whole life. He also saith, the best Mercury is brought in skins, from Mount Passulane. Of this Mercury, Geber saith, you must labour in all your work to separate Mercury, or as others read it, to con∣vince or over-come Mercury, in commixing and conjoyn∣ing; for he that cannot de∣stroy Mercury, or undoe it in its composure, cannot re∣pair or restore it: nor may you work with it as Ray∣mund saith, till it is dis∣solved.

VI. And therefore it is said, joyn not that which is Crude, with that which is Decocted; for of that only with the Ferment, is made the Elixir, which does con∣geal all manner of Argent Vive. Wherefore as Ray∣mund saith, it is never con∣gealed without a congealing Sulphur; and being congeal∣ed, you have a great secret: for in the dissolved, Decoct∣ed Mercury, is a great and hidden Mystery.

VII. Another Philoso∣pher also saith, that there is a certain subtil Fume, which does spring forth from its proper Veins, dispersing and spreading its self a∣broad, the which thin Fume if it be wisely gathered to∣gether again, and sprinkled upon its proper Veins or Matrix, it will make not only a certain fixation (of which thin Fume, in short space is made the true Elixir) but also cleanses the Im∣pure Metals or Alchymick Body.

VIII. [ As to the Tincture

mentioned at Sect. 4: above, it rather seems by other words of the said Raymundus, that he drew it out of Quick-Silver, and no other vile thing, of which Mercury is made. What is meant at Sect. 6. by not joyning the Crude with the Decocted, is to be understood of not joyn∣ing Crude Mercury to the Decocted Bodies or Metals, but to put to them Decocted, i. e. dissolved Mercury. And herein is hidden a great secret, for Mercury being dissolved, is an hot and moist Sperm; but Crude, it is cold and dry Saturn. So that if you pu∣trifie its hot and moist Sperm with its cold and dry Earth, you will have Quick-Silver dissolved, which is not Crude, but Decocted Mercury. So that in Crude Mercury dis∣solved is hidden a great My∣stery. And however it is dis∣solved by a Fire not natural or against Nature, yet it must be mixed, conjoyned, fixed.]

IX. This Alchymick Body is called Leprous Gold, wherein Gold and Silver, are in Essence and Power, but not in sight or appear∣ance; in its Profundity or Depth, it is Airous or Spi∣ritual Gold, which none can obtain, unless the same Body be first made clean and pure. The which im∣pure Body after mundifica∣tion, is a thousand times better than are the Bodies of common Sol and Luna, Decocted by natural heat.

X. [This Leprous Gold the Philosophers call, Adrop, or Adrup, which Gold is the Philosophers Lead. This Al∣chymick Body (in his Concord) he calls Venus in the lesser Work, both for Gold and Sil∣ver, because it is a Neutral Body, and very easie to be changed to either: and by this the sense of Sect. 4. and 8. aforegoing may be more easily understood. The Earth, the uncleansed Body, is to be pu∣rified with its own Water, and afterwards nourished with its Mothers Milk, which is called the Sulphur of Nature.]

XI. The first Matter of this unclean Alchymical

Body is a Viscous Water, which is thickened in the Bowels of the Earth. And therefore of this Impure Body (as Vincent saith) is made the great Elixir of the Red and White, whose Name is Adrop, or Adrup, viz the Philosophers Lead. From the which Raymundus commands an Oyl to be drawn: from the Lead of the Philosophers (saith he) let there be an Oyl drawn of a Golden Colour; if you can separate this Oyl [where∣in is Our second Tincture and Fire of Nature] from its Flegm, which is it watrish∣ness, and wisely search out the Secret thereof, you may in the space of thirty days perform the Work of the Philosophers Stone.

XII. This Oyl does not only make the Medicine penetrable, being amicable and conjoynable to all Bo∣dies or Corporeal things, but it is also the hidden or Secret fire of Nature; which does so augment the Excellencies of those Bodies to whom it is so joyned, that it makes them to ex∣ceed in infinite proportions of goodness and purity. So much as does appertain to the Work of Alchymiae, which is only for the Elixir of Metals, is now suffici∣ently opened, which if you rightly understand, you will find that no great cost is required to the perform∣ance of this Philosophick Operation.

XIII. [The Innatural Fire is Our Aqua Foetens, or Sea-Water, sharp, peircing, and burning all Bodies more fiercely than Elemental Fire, making of the Body of Sol, a meer Spirit, which common Ele∣mental Fire has not power to do.]

XIV. But this Elixir of Metals is not all that I in∣tend to shew you; the Elixir of Life is that which I chief∣ly designed, infinitely ex∣ceeding all the Riches of this World, and to which the most excellent of all the Earthly things cannot be compared. And therefore, I shall. 1. Shew in the Mi∣neral

Kingdom, the Elixir of Metals, and that after divers manners. 2. In the Vegetable Kingdom, the Elixir both of Metals, and of Life. 3. In the Animal Kingdom, the Elixir of Life only; albeit the same Elixir of Life is most excellent for the transmutation of Metalls.

XV. There are three things necessary to this Art, of which you ought not to ignorant, viz. 1. The Fire wherewith: [The fire of Na∣ture, Innatural, Elemental, and which is against Nature, de∣stroying the special form of all that is dissolved therein.] 2. The Water whereby: [as in the Compound Water.] 3. And the thing whereof: [is made the congealed Earth, as White as Snow.] Of all which in their proper order.