O thou holy everlasting Trinity! I praise, honour, and magnifie thee with Heart and Mouth, that thou hast revealed unto me the great wisdom of this earthly World, next unto thy Divine Word, whereby I have known thy Almighty Power, and supernatural Wonders, which Man will not discern; I heartily beseech thee to give me more understanding and wisdom, that I may bestow the use and profit thereof with a continual Sacrifice of Praise before thee, unto the Christian-like Love of my Neighbour, and to my own welfare both spiritual and corporal, in power and virtue, that thy Name may be made glorious, honoured, and praised, for all thy works in Heaven and Earth; and that my Enemies may know, that thou art the Lord full of eternal Wonders, that they may repent and be converted, and not be drowned in the falshood of Darkness. God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost help me, and all of us, from his heavenly Throne, exalted above all Glory, Might, and Majesty, whose Wisdom hath neither beginning nor end, and before whom all Celestial, Earthly, and Hellish Creatures must tremble with fear, to him be Glory forever, Amen.
O Seraphin! O Cherubin! how great are thy Wonders and Actions, look graciously upon thy servant, and be entreated to be pacified that he hath manifested this.
The Reader must moreover know concerning the Generation of Copper, and observe, that it is generated of much Sulphur, but its Mercury and Salt are in an equality, for there is found to be no more or less of the one than of the other, seeing then that the Sulphur in quantity excels the Mercury and the Salt, thence arises a great coloured redness, which possesses the Metal, that the Mercury cannot perform its fixation, that a fixt Body should be generated thereof. Observe and understand it so of Copper, that the form of Venus Body is so stated as that of a Tree, which abounds in Rosen, as the Larch Tree, the Firr, the Pine, Deal Tree, and other sorts of Trees more, the Rosen of the Tree is its Sulphur, which it evacuates at sometimes by reason of its superfluity, for it cannot bear it all; such a Tree which is tinged with abundance of fatness, by the digestion of Nature and the Elements, burns quickly and freely, and is not ponderous, nor so durable as is the Oak, or other hard wood which is close and compact, whose Pores are not so open, as those sorts of light wood, and wherein the Sulphur doth not so predominate, but the Oak hath therefore the more Mercury, and a better Salt than the Pine, Firr, and Deal trees have, and such wood doth not float so well above the water, as the Deal, being bound & closed up compactly, so that the Air is easily prevented in bearing it up. So is it to be observed of Metals, and especially of Gold, which by reason of its abundant, fixt, digested and ripe Mercury, hath a very close, fast and compact, fixt and invincible Body, which neither Fire nor Water, Air, nor any Corruption of the Earth can prejudice, that the consuming power of the Elements can do them no harm; this fixedness & close compacted Conjunction gives evidence of its natural ponderosity, which cannot be evidenced in other Metals, which is to be observed, not only by weighing it in the scales, but likewise you will find it thus: if you lay but a scruple of pure Gold upon a hundred weight of Quicksilver, it immediately sinks to the bottom, whereas all other Metals being laid upon Quicksilver in like manner, float on the top of it, and sink not to the bottom, because they are more open, that the Air or Wind can penetrate them and bear them up.
Now what further concerns the Spirit of Venus or Copper in Physick, you must last of all take notice and observe, that it is throughout in its virtue and power discerned to be very wholsom and beneficial, not only that Spirit which lies in the first Ens, but also that very Spirit which is found in the last Matter, its virtue, power and operation is, that it is preferred before all other Medicines in the Rising of the Matrix: It's like is not yet found particularly against the Falling Sickness. This Spirit hath also received an especial gift to dry the Dropsie up; it preserves the Bloud from putrefaction, digests all which is adverse to the Stomach, breaks the Stone, of what kind soever it be. Externally in Wounds, this Spirit lays a ground to heal: Noli me tangere and all other Sores cannot defend themselves, nor their ill Qualities, but this Spirit doth assault them, and prepares a good ground for their Cure; externally it mundifies and searches out that whereby the Medicine may operate, fasten, and make a beginning of the Cure. Internally this Spirit penetrates through & through, searching out all that is evil in the Body; even as doth the noblest Vulnerary potion; No Imposthume can withstand this Spirit, but is reformed by it. I say briefly, observe the Spirit of Venus very well, it will manifest it self to admiration both internally and externally, that many will esteem it to be incredible & supernatural. Last of all, you must understand that this Spirit of Copper is a fiery Spirit, penetrating, searching and consuming all evil Humours, and superfluous Flegme in Man and Metals, and may in reason be accounted the Crown of Medicines; it is very fiery and sharp, incombustible, but spiritual and unformal, and therefore as a Spirit it can particularly help to make unformal things fiery, digest and ripen them; and if you are a true Naturalist, I recommend this Spirit unto thee; it will not fail thee in the least, in any necessity of Health or Wealth, in case you observe it rightly, and execute according to Justice. I hope my Call and Request will at last take place, and have a hearing with those who regard Nature, and have an earnest and longing desire to search out, and learn, whereby they may whet their Wits, open their Eyes, and let their Ears hear, and learn such a thing out of my Advice, which was never taken notice of, or learn'd before, and is to be found in this Spirit of Copper, internal and external. He that doth not observe, or truly understand my Writings, will not fathom many Secrets, nor search out to purpose and in truth, nor learn to advantage without me, therefore no Man can direct me, as concerning the Spirit of Copper, except he hath beforehand inverted and turned the Copper inside outwards, and truly learned all the Mysteries of its internal Virtues, as I have done, if he can find out any thing better, which I know not, I earnestly desire him not to conceal any thing, so shall his instruction be well rewarded, with a thousand-fold advantage, and recommend you herewith to the Highest Creator.
Vain Reason cannot alwayes apprehend
Each matter which Venus can bring to an end:
No man can find it presently in sence,
Vain Reason banns it far away from thence;
Such a Spirit only can all things speed,
So that Mercury be joyn'd with it indeed.
Chap. V.
Of the Spirit and Tincture of Mars.
Mars and Venus have a Spirit and Tincture as well as Gold and other Metals, be that Spirit which is in each Metal never so mean and little. It is undeniable and known to all, that many men have many minds, though all men originally are of one first Matter, born and produced from one Seed; yet have they divers different Minds, because the Stars have so operated them, and not without cause; for the influences of the great World operates the next to it in the little World; for all Opinions, Natures and Thoughts, together with the whole complection of Man proceed alone from one Influence of the Stars, manifesting themselves according to the Course of the Planets and Stars, so that nothing can prevent, nor can such Influences hinder it, when the Birth hath attained to the end of its perfection.