Ripley reviv'd, or, An exposition upon Sir George Ripley's hermetico-poetical works containing the plainest and most excellent discoveries of the most hidden secrets of the ancient philosophers, that were ever yet published / written by Eirenæus Philalethes ...

Earth is turned into Water under black and bloe, And Water after into Air under very white, Then Air into Fire, Elements there be no moe, Of these is made our Stone of great delight. But of this Separation much more I must write; And Separation is called by Philosophers definition, Of several qualities a Tetraptive dis∣persion.

SO then this is the method of our Ope∣ration, Earth, that is Sol, is boiled in our Mercury, in such a heat in which the Mercury may ascend constantly in a smoak, and descend in drops, and the Body below stand liquid and boil: then shall the Water dry up, under which is blackness hidden, which when the Wa∣ter is dryed up shall appear like the Crows Bill.

Then shall this Powder again relent, and after 40 days rotting without fumes, shall send up a smoak again, which shall ascend and descend so long, till the whole be made volatile and Aërial; then shall the black colour vanish, and the white appear.

This white Argent vive, or Mercury animated, which appears after blackness, shall then totally congeal, and shall be then Fire, whose Nurse is the Earth; then hast thou the four Elements, that is, cohobated thy Natures to the highest degree of perfection of the white Stone, then canst thou go no further, but go back and turn the same Wheel till thou hast attained the red Stone. Thus hast thou the true Principles and Operation of our great Elixirs both red and white, which if thou once hast, thou hast Riches enough, and needest no more in this life.

This, if no more were said of this point, might be enough to shew thee the truth of our true Separation: yet because Philosophers have spoken much of it, and indeed it is all the work to cause ascen∣sion

and descension of our true Water on our true Body, so long till by the Water the Body be volatized, and after that by the Body the Water fixed; and till that be brought to pass, there will come and go the four Qualities in their season, and will cause change of colours suitable to their station, pleasant to the Philosopher to behold.