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THree of the Wife, and one of the Man thou take, &c. From the Pondus be∣tween the Earth and Water, come we to view the Proportion between the Man and his Wife; Here the Pondus is laid down Three to One, and so there are Four parts of Earth to Four of Water, or more, until Twelve; that is, Three of Water to One of the Earth. This also is
clear from the Chapter of Conjunction, where the Woman is allow'd 15 Veins to 5 of the Man, as to the Act of their Foe∣cundity, which is interpreted of the first Conjunction by himself, that the Man must have but 3 of Water, and his Wife 9, which is 12 of Water to 4 of the Earth; by which it is evident, that the Woman is to exceed her Husband in a three-fold Pro∣portion.
Or Two to One after Reymund: Or Four to One according to Alanus; but Three to One is best.
However, in Reymund's Doctrine of Proportions cited by our Author in his Gate of Calcination, One of the Sun is joyn'd with Two of the Moon, which make Three of the Body; and to these are added Four of Mercury, which is One more of the Spiritual than of the Corpo∣ral part; and this the Author compares to Trinity and Ʋnity, both are good; Yea, and Alanus prescribes Four parts to One, which may be done, but Three to One is best and equal Pondus of Spirit and Life, for compleating of the Marriage between this Royal Pair, the Sun the Husband, and the Moon the Wife: Of this speaks this
Author in his Gate of Solution; One in Gender they be, but in Number not so; The Father is the Sun, and the Moon the Mother, the Mover is Mercury.
This Compound according to its vari∣ous Considerations, hath many Relations, and as many Denominations; Sun and Moon, Man and Wife, Body, Soul and Spirit, Earth and Water, Sister and Bro∣ther, Mother and Son, with many others; but its Proper Name is Magnesia.
Quest. What is the Red Man? what his White Wife? What the Spirit of Life?
It may be here questioned, what this Red Man is? what his White Wife? and what the Spirit of Life? for that is the only knot in understanding the Writings of Philosophers, whose various Expressi∣ons, and seeming Contradictions herein, do obscure the Art wonderfully: Yet however they seem to differ in their Writings, they mean all one thing, if well or rightly understood.
Answer 1st. What the Red Man is?
The Red Man betokens the perfect Body of the Sun, or his Shadow the Moon; For Lune the Body, which is one of the Seven, is a Male, and a perfect Bo∣dy,
and fixed, only wants a little Dige∣stion; and therefore the Red is hid under its visible White, as White is hid under the visible Red of Sol: Therefore our Author in his Work of Albification, saith, that the Sun appeareth White and Bright: And Trevisan saith, our King, who is cloa∣thed in Garments of pure Gold, after he is once in the Bath, appears no more till after one hundred and thirty days; and then he appears White, and wonderfully bright and shining. And an old Philo∣sopher saith, Honour our King at his return from the East in Glory and admirable bright whiteness. Therefore saith Artefius, Our Water is of kin to the perfect Bodies, to the Sun, and to the Moon; but more to the Sun then to the Moon; (Note this well.) And in all his Books he joyns the Sun and Moon the perfect Bodies Gold and Silver for the work. So doth Ripley, and so all Philosophers; by which it is evident, that either of the perfect Metals or Luminaries with o••r Aqua Vitae, will compleat the work; as Arnold expressly saith in his Questions & Answers to Boniface; and Jodocus Gre∣verus
in his Treatise, confirms the same in these words; If so be (saith he) thou be so poor that thou canst not take Gold, then take so much Silver; yet Gold is the better, as be∣ing nearer of kin to our Water and Mercury.
Answer 2. What is the White Wife?
Secondly, The White Wife, otherwise called the Moon, is a Female; it is a Co∣agulated Mercury, but not fixt: A spiri∣tual Body, fluxible in nature of a Body, yet Volatile, in nature of a Spirit; It is called therefore Mercury of the Philoso∣phers; Our Green Lyon; Our immature or unripe Gold: It is Pontanus's Fire, Ar∣tephius's middle substance, clear like pure Silver, which ought to receive the Tin∣ctures of the Sun and Moon, his sharp Vineger, his Antimonial-Saturnine-Mercu∣rial Argent Vive, without which ••aton cannot be whitened; of which an old Philosopher saith, whiten the red Laton, by a white, tepid, and suffocated Water; of which testimony Tr••visanus affirms, that nothing could be said better or clearer. This is that which is intimated in the Vi∣sion of Arislaus, who found a People that were Married, yet had no Children, be∣cause
they married two Males together: Such are they who mix Sol and Lune, both Corporal and fixt together, whom the Spirit will never revive, because there is not conjugal Love. Joyn therefore Ga∣britius to his beloved Sister Beya, which is a tender Damsel, and straight∣way Ga∣britius will die; that is, will lose what he was; and from that place where he ap∣peared to have lost what he was, he shall appear what he was not before.
Answ. 3. What is the Spirit of Life?
Thirdly, The Spirit of Life is Mercury; The Mover saith this Author is Mercury, with which the Stone is to be multiplyed when it is made: And it must be true Mineral Mercury, without any forreign mixture, as Arnold resolves expressly in his Answer to Boniface: And so Ripley saith, some can multiply Mercury with Sa∣turn, and other substances, which we de∣fie; Distil it therefore till it be clean, &c. It moreover must have all the proporti∣ons of Mercury its ponderosity, otherwise it could not be Metalline; its Humidity, otherwise the Feminine Sperm would be deficient, and its siccity, not to wet the
hand; which it can no sooner lose by Corrosives or otherwise; but it straight-way loseth its first Mineral Proportion, and so is no longer an Ingredient of our true Tincture.