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 ...

Congelation, &c. It is of soft things in duration of colour white, &c. How to congeal he needeth not much to care for Elements: But Congelations be made in divers wise of Spirits, &c. Of Salts dissolved, &c. and then congeal'd, And some dissolveth congealing manu∣ally, &c. But such congealing is not, &c.

HAving largely run through the first five Gates, in which is all the difficulty, pre-supposing now that you have passed the shades of the Night, and are now come to the approaching of the Day, whose dawning is to be seen soon after the darkness of the Night,

and is discovered by variety of gay Clouds, which run before the Sun in its up-rising.

The first remarkable way mark that you are to meet with, is the whiteness of the Compound, for the Peacocks tail though with its gayness it refresheth and delights the beholder, yet those colours are but transient; but the white is a sta∣ble colour, and it is thy first Harvest, in which the moisture is vanquished▪ and volatile Natures are fixed.

The Work as it is the long-wished Haven, so it is performed without any help of the Artist, any more then to con∣tinue a due degree of outward heat; for know that thou hast not so great a desire after this sight, but Nature hath as great an appetite to obtain it, for it is the end of all her former Operations, from the attaining whereof thou canst not hinder her, if the external heat be continued as it ought.

Yet about this the whole company of Alchymists do mightily busie themselves, who have nothing more in their hopes then to make our great Elixir; do main∣ly

labour after Congelation, though in their Solution, in which the Key of our Coagulation resteth, they are as stupid as Blocks.

Some dissolve Metals with Corrosives, others Salts, and afterwards filter them, which they think graduates them, with which trumpery they intend no less a Coagulate, then the true permanent Tin∣cture: but alas they are deceived▪ for they work not upon the right Matter.

Others although they happen to stum∣ble in part upon the right Matter, yet herein they erre, that they understand our Operations preposterously, and in∣terpret our meaning contrary to our true intent; for all that they dream of, is such Operations which are to be performed by hand: thus they dissolve and congeal, but stumble in operandi modo.

For our Congelation is no such thing as this, but in every point it is contrary to it; for in our Operation Nature only works, who therefore doth bring forth a true, and not a Sophistical Operation.