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. LXVII. Two other Mineral Elixirs, or Two other Processes of Mercury.

I. THere be many other Noble and Profita∣ble Secrets in this Art, or Mystery of our Mineral Stone; viz. good Elixirs to be made out of Metalline Bodies; of which Mineral Elixirs, two are more ex∣cellent than the rest, the first of which we shall han∣dle in this Chapter.

[Here comes in the Process or Practical Operation of Mercu∣ry mentioned Chap. 61. Sect. 13. aforegoing.]

II. The first of these Elixirs is only in Mercury: The second, in Mercury and the White Body for the White Elixir; and with the same to the Red too, if you so please, being prudently pursued and sought af∣ter.

III. The first manner to Elixirate only with Mercury is thus. Dissolve Mercury only, by it self into a Milky water, with the which Mer∣cury so dissolved, you may dissolve so much more Mer∣cury, and so continually, as long as you please.

IV. Put this into a gen∣tle Fire to be Distilled, so shall you have Our Virgins Milk White and Chrystal∣line, wherewith all Bodies may be dissolved into their first Matter, Washed and Purged.

V. This water is of a Silver Colour, which if you fix with its Earthy Faeces Calcin'd, and after that dis∣solved again in the quanti∣ty of its remaining water,

and then again Coagulated and Congealed, (which work is to be done upon a Stone,) you will have at length the Elixir of Argent Vive, which will transmute all Imperfect Bodies to a perfect Whiteness.

VI. And so of this Mer∣curial substance is made a water permanent or fixt, wherewith the Calces of all Bodies may be so depurated and Whitened, as thereby to become the most pure and fine Silver.

VII. And therefore as I have said before in the be∣ginning of this work, when Mercury is dissolved, then are its Elements separable; and after the separation of its Mercurial Liquor, and that a competent putrefacti∣on is performed; after the same White Liquor, there will Distill a Golden moi∣sture or humour, to which if you add a small quantity of the Ferment of the Gum of the aforesaid Elix∣irated White Stone, that then the same White Stone, with the said Golden hu∣mour, shall be made the Red Stone, which shall transmute Argent Vive, and all Metalline Bodies into the finest and most pure Gold.

VIII. Again, if you take the aforesaid Red humour of Mercury and Dissolve in it a little of the aforesaid Red Ferment, being made as aforesaid of the White Stone, and then with the same Red humour of Mer∣cury, so Fermented with it self, the Calces of all Bodies, may be so depura∣ted and Citrinated, that thereby they may become most pure Gold.

IX. When also Argent Vive is dissolved, then dis∣solve in it a little of the a∣foresaid Red Ferment, and so put all into Kemia, or a proper Vessel, which firm∣ly close up with a Philo∣sophick Seal. Then with a continual and easie or gentle Fire, draw out the Char∣riot of the four Elements through the Depth of the Sea, until (the Floods be∣ing dryed up) there appears

in the Matter a bright shin∣ing substance, like to the Eyes of the Fishes.

X. For by this Operati∣on, if you keep your Tem∣perate Fire continually a∣live, the Floods shall dry up, with an exceeding drought, and the dry Land or Earth shall appear, as in the days of Noah, the waters were dryed up from off the Earth, and behold the Face of the Ground was dry. And by lifting up the Rod of Moses, and stretching out his hand, the waters were dryed up, and the dry Ground appeared in the midst of the Sea: for so says David, He Rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dry∣ed up; he led them through the Depths as through the Wilderness.

XI. And then by the Space of Forty days following, it shall be Rubified, (as the Philosophers Demonstrate) by the help of a Vehement Fire, as the Nature of it requires, continuing and remaining in the same strong Fire till it melt and flow like Wax, whereby it will be able to transmute all Bodies into pure fine Gold.

XII. And thus the White and Red Medicines are mul∣tiplied with their own pro∣per humidities: viz. only by the solution of the White Medicines in their own pro∣per White and Red hu∣mours, and by their Coa∣gulation again of the same, as necessity requires. Thus have we explicated, with singular plainess of Speech, the Elixiration of Mercury per se, or Argent Vive a∣lone.