Four books of Johannes Segerus Weidenfeld concerning the secrets of the adepts, or, of the use of Lully's spirit of wine : a practical work, with very great study collected out of the ancient as well as modern fathers of adept philosophy : reconciled together by comparing them one with another, otherwise disagreeing, and in the newest method so aptly digested, that even young practitioners may be able to discern the counterfeit or sophistical preparations of animals, vegetables and minerals, whether for medicines or metals, from true, and so avoid vagabound imposters, and imaginary processes, together with the ruine of estates.

The Mercurial Sal Armoniack, or Mercury of the Mercury of Lully. In Experim. 18.

TAke Mercury being twice sublimed with Vitriol and Salt, put the sublimate upon an Iron Plate, being first very well pulverized, add to it two Ounces of Tin calcined, then set it in a moist place, and it will be dissolved: sublime again, and lay it upon an Iron Plate as before, and it will be all dissolved, and thus may you dissolve as much Mercury as you please: then take this Water, and rectify it seven times in Ashes, or till it will yield no more Terrestreity, then distil it in Balneo with an easie heat, and distil one part of ten, which is of no use, be∣ing Phlegm, which it contracted in the moist place, then know the weight of the Water remaining in the bottom, and to eve∣ry four Ounces put one Ounce of the Vegetable Salt of the first or second Experiment, being both of the same strength, then di∣stil in hot Ashes with an Alembick and Receiver well luted, which being all distill'd, add new Salt to it again, observing the same weight as before, of the Salt as well as Water, then distil again as before, and this same way distil four times, to every distillation adding new Salt as before, and distilling in Ashes, and so will you have a Mercurial Water fit for all Physical Ope∣rations: Then take common Mercury, washed with Vinegar and Salt, and strained through a Goats Skin, put it in a Vessel, and if there be one Ounce of Mercury, add four Ounces of the aforesaid Mineral Water, and having put on a blind Head in Ashes, let it boyl gently, and it will in a short time be all dissol∣ved, empty the dissolution into another Vessel warily, that if any Terrestreity be left in the bottom, it may be separated from the said dissolution, as a thing of no effect: you may this way dissolve as much Mercury as you will. Then take the afore∣said Mercury dissolved, and putrify thirty Days in Balneo or hot Dung, which must be changed every ten Days, that the heat may endure, and not be extinguished: having putrify'd, re∣move the Vessel, and putting on an Alembick to, with an Uri∣nal

and Receiver well luted, distil all the Water in Balneo, and the Mercury will remain in the Vessel white as Snow, then pour to it so much of this Water, which you now distilled, as to be four Fingers above it; the rest of the Water keep in its Vessel well stopp'd in a cold place, then putting a blind Head upon its Vessel, and sealing the Joynts, putrify a Natural Day, then ta∣king away the blind Head, and putting on an Alembick with a Receiver close luted, distil in Ashes, and increase the Fire, that the Soul may pass over into its distilled Water; lastly, distillati∣on ceasing, let the Vessel cool, take away the Receiver, and keep it well stopp'd, for that which is distill'd therein is the animated Spirit; but to the matter remaining in the Vessel, that is, the Urinal, pour again of the distilled Water so much as will swim four Fingers above it, and having put on a blind Head, putrify as before, and taking away the blind Head by turns, and put∣ting on an Alembick with its Receiver, wherein you kept the other part of the animated Spirit, the Joynts being well luted, distil again by Ashes, and lastly increase the Fire, for the Soul to go over into the distilled Water as before, then the Vessel be∣ing cold, keep the animated Spirit in the Receiver as before, well stopp'd, and to the matter remaining in the bottom pour again new Water as before, and putrify as before, distilling in Ashes, pour the Spirit into the same Receiver, where you kept the other: thus repeat the Magistery, till the Body remains dead, black, and void of all moisture, which you will prove by this sign; take a little of this black Body or Earth, and lay it upon a hot Plate, and if it fumes not, nor flyes away from Fire, then take that Earth, and put into a little Glass-Globe wel luted, and the Mouth well stopp'd; set in a reverberating Fire the space of twenty four hours; then remove that calcined Earth, and put it in hot ashes very well stopp'd to prevent the attract∣ing of any moisture: Then take the animated Water, and recti∣fy it seven times in Ashes, which animated and vivifyed Water divide into two parts, whereof one we will use for the vivisying of the Earth, the other for the dissolving of Sol and Luna: Then take one part of the said Water, and know the weight of the Earth reserved before, grind first, put it in an Urinal, then pour upon it of the aforesaid Water a fourth part of its weight, and joyning a blind Head to it well luted, set the Vessel in Bal∣neo,

not to touch the Water of the Balneo, but for the matter to be heated by the vapour only, and so let it remain four days; then having taken away the blind Head, and put on an Alem∣bick, distil in Ashes with a gentle heat like that of the Sun, and an insipid Liquor will flow over, which cast away, as nothing worth; then again imbibe with a fourth part of the animated Spirit as above, digesting as above, and distilling the Liquor by Ashes as above: This Magistery thus repeat, till the whole Bo∣dy hath re-assumed its Liquor or Soul, and remains white as Snow, which Body take out, dry, and grind; being ground, put it into a small Cucurbit, strongly luted with lutum sapientioe, and the Mouth of the Cucurbit, stopp'd with Cotton, and set the Vessel in a Furnace of Ashes; but take notice, if the Fire be too violent, the matter will turn into Oyl, and cannot be sublimed, besides there will be danger of breaking the Vessel, as has hap∣pened to us, and therefore we are willing to advise you to con∣tinue an easy heat, till the matter be sublimed: This also ob∣serve, that this way of subliming may also be done in the Fire of an Athanor, but then the matter will not be sublimed in less than the space of three or four days; which sublimation will indeed be most white, as the Scales of Fish, or as Talk: Then warily take out the Magnesia, the first matter of our common Mercury, our Sal Armoniack, our Sulphur, which keep in a small Cucur∣bit, well stopp'd in Ashes, warm as the Sun, but that which re∣mains in the bottom, and cannot be sublimed, cast away, because of no efficacy, its precious Seed being vacuated.

Here he dissolves Mercury with calcined Jupiter upon an Iron Plate per deliquium, with which he cohobates the Vegetable Salt of the first or second Experiment (Salt of Tartar impregnated with the Spirit of Philosophical Wine, or sublimed into a Vegetable Sal Armoniack) in equal weight (yet by degrees) through an Alem∣bick; (instead of this Menstruum may be taken the Vegetable Hea∣ven of Lully) with this Menstruum he dissolves common Argent vive, and reduceth it into a white Oyl, out of which Oyl he draws the animated Spirit, repeating the Work, till the Earth of the Mercury remains black, fixed, and without fume on a hot Plate: This exani∣mated and reverberated Earth he revivifies, by imbibing it with a fourth part of the animated Spirit seven times rectify'd, till it be∣comes white and volatile, which then he sublimes into a Mercurial

Sal Armoniack, the making of which differs not from the antecedent Descriptions of the Sal Armoniacks; but if it be mixed with four parts of Lully's Vegetable Heaven, that which is call'd the incalci∣nated Menstruum is made from thence, and so much the stronger, as that Sal Armoniack is stronger than the Oyl of Mercury, but if this first matter of Mercury be circulated according to its time, you will make a Menstruum deserving the Name of Mercurial Heaven. Guido prepares the incalcinated Menstruum not from common Mer∣cury, but the Mercury of Metals, Sol or Luna.