At present I do not indeed speak according to my own Poetical manner, nor after such a way as I directed my stile, when I treated of the wonderful generation of the seven Planets in my occult Philosophy, nor after a Magical or Cabalistical manner and custom; much less do I observe the method which teaches, and diligently marks the Mystical, Secret and Supernatural Arts, to wit, of Hydromancy, Æromancy, Geomancy, Pyromancy, Nigromancy, and the like: But my present purpose and intent is directed to reveal Natures Secrets, that all the Lovers of Art, and the Children which seek and desire wisdom, may by Gods Grace, Blessing, and Permission, easily understand, observe, mark, and likewise after diligent observation learn, & retain something that is beneficial; this concerns the generation of Metals in two parts, in the great and in the little World, as likewise what is the true Medicine contained in the inward part of those Metallick and Mineral Forms, which must be apprehended and made moveable by their dissection that their first beginning may be made notoriously visible in three distinct things; Then is Nature stript, and her secret parts discovered by laying off her temporal Cloathing, and all the secret Virtues, Powers, and, Operations revealed for Mans Health. My Persecutors, and, indiscreet Physicians will now tell me, thou talkest much of Geese, and knowest not a Duck; who knows whether all what thou writest be true? I will stick where I am, and remain by what I have tried, and bears the sway among all my Associates and Physitians; so shall I not be deceived, and am assured that I shall not need to take paines to learn any new Matter. He that is of such a resolution, may remain with the Ducks; for he is not worthy of a roasted Goose, nor to learn what is concealed in Nature.
But this in truth I acknowledge, and confess it before the Supreme Trinity, speaking it to the hazzard of that most Noble Ecclesiastical Jewel, that all what I have wrote, and yet shall write in this point, is all true, and shall be found to be no otherwise in truth: But that every ignorant, or vulgar person, which are haters and persecutors of this Mystery, do not well, fully, and clearly understand my Writings at first; alas! that cannot I help; pray unto God for his Grace, and ye Persecutors for pardon, labour without repining, read with understanding, then will no Mystery be withheld from you, but will be very easie for you to find out. I moreover admonish, that the finder of this gift of God, above all things give thanks unto God day and night without ceasing, with all reverence and due obedience, from the bottom of his heart; because no Creature can yield sufficient praise which may recompense so great a benefit; but Diligence is known by a right and true industry according to our capacity. I have done my part, which I hope to justifie before God and the World; for what my Eyes have seen, my Hands felt, and apprehended by an undeceived Judgment, that shall no man take from me in this Life; only Death, which is the determiner of all things.
This my Speech hath indeed had no force to poure forth from it what is written by me herein; but what I have done is not out of curiosity, nor out of a desire of vain and transitory Glory; but I have been induced thereunto by the Command of Christ the Lord, that his Glory and Goodness in eternal and temporal Matters, should not be concealed from any man, but to the praise, honour, and glory of his holy everlasting Name, that it might be exalted, acknowledged, and revealed in his Majesty by reason of his Highness and Almightiness, through the confirmation of his wonderful Deeds! And secondly, I have been led thereunto by Love and Charity towards my Neighbour, for his good as for my own, and to heap burning Coals on my Enemies heads. And last of all, that all Opposers may know, what erroneous waies others have gone against me, and whether I am most of all to be condemned, or they adjudged most just in what hath been written most truly of the concealments of Nature; & likewise that the supremest Mystery may not quite be suffocated in darkness, nor be drowned in overflowing waters, but be delivered out of the deep and filthy mire of the Ideotish Crew by the right appearance of the true Light, and obtain many witnesses by the spreading abroad of a sure, true, and right Confession, who may follow me in the Writings of Truth. In my Nativity of the twelve Signes in the Zodiack, Sagitary and Pisces were allotted unto me; I was born under Pisces, for I was in Waterishness before my Life, but Sagitary set an Arrow to my Heart, whereby I lost my Waterishness, and by the heat I became worthy of the dry Earth; and although at the first the Earth was turned by the Water into a soft substance, yet you must understand that the Water was consumed by the heat of the drying Air, so that all the soft Matter of the Earth went away, and by this drying up was dignified with a Hardness; whereby thou Learner, and much Understander should carefully observe and take good notice, that Tin is subject to all the four Elements, as also to the other principal Planets; which Elements received their Center from above, and are generated as others.
To conclude, I let you know, and give you to understand, that if thou extract out of Benevolent Jupiter its Salt and Sulphur, and lettest Saturn flux well with it, Saturn assumes a fixt body unto it, purges it self, and becomes clear thereby, there being a full change and real transmutation of Lead into good Tin, which may be found to the height by a durable infallible proof. And though you may think this to be false, yet you must take notice, that seeing the Salt of Jupiter only by its Sulphur is made more corporal, yet likewise it hath obtained an efficacy and power to penetrate Saturn, the basest and most volatile Metal, and bring it to a melioration of its Equals, as you will find it in reality.
Chap. IX.
Of the Spirit of Saturn, or Tincture of Lead.
Saturn to generate his Metal Lead, is placed in the upper Heaven above all Stars, but he possesses the lowest and vilest degree in the under-parts of the Earth, even as the supreme Light of Saturn is mounted aloft in the highest supremacy of all the Celestial planets, so hath its Children of the lower Region succeeded it in Kind; and Nature hath permitted that Vulcan should conduct them to their like, if Saturn be content; for the upper light gives occasion thereunto, having generated an unfixt Body of Saturn, penetrated with open pores, that the Air can pass through this Saturnine Body, that the Air can keep it aloft, but the fire can quickly assault it, because the body is not compact by reason of its unfixedness, so that it must decay, which must be in all points observed by him that will attain to the search of it; for there is a great difference between the fix'd and unfix'd bodies, and of the causes of their Constancy and Inconstancy. And though Saturn hath an especial ponderosity above other Metals, yet observe, when they are poured forth together, after their union in the Flux, the other Metals alwaies settle at the bottom, even as it likewise comes to pass in the pouring of Antimony through with other Metals, whereby it is evident, that the other Metals fall through equally, and are more compact than Saturn, for it must give place and preheminence to the other Metals, leaving the victory with them; for it must vanish and be quite consumed with the unfixt inconstant Metals; in it all the three properties of the three principles are most course; and because its Salt is very fluxible above that of other Metals and Planets, so is its Body more fluxible, inconstant, unfixt, and volatile, than any other Metallick Body. As Saturn steps to its regeneration, so know that in like manner, as common Water is forced by the natural coldness, by the change of the Heavens, whereby it becomes a coagulated Ice, in like manner is it to be made evident, that by reason of the great coldness which is found to be in the Salt of Saturn above other Salts; Saturn is also coagulated and made corporal; Ice dissolves into water by heat; so likewise the coagulated Saturn is made fluxible by Fire, it hath most of Mercury in it, but it is inconstant and volatile; it hath least of Sulphur, and therefore according to its small quantity its cold body cannot be made warm; it hath little Salt, but fluxible, otherwise Iron would be more fluxible and malleable than Lead, if the Salt alone could cause a malleableness and fluxibleness, because Iron contains more Salt than any other Metal: Seeing then there is a difference to be found in this point, you must therefore observe and remember the difference, and how to distinguish between Metals.
All Philosophers have wrote as well as I, that the Salt gives the Coagulation and Body to every Metal; and it is true; but to prove it by an example, how and after what manner this Relation is to be understood: Plume Allom is esteemed to be only a meer Salt, and is approved to be such, which in this particular may be compared to Iron, that the Salt of the Plume Allom is found to be a thing unfluxible as Iron is. On the other side, Vitriol likewise is a Salt, manifesting it self in a small quantity, but fluxible and open, therefore its Salt cannot yield such a hard congelation unto its appropriated Metal, as the other can; although all the Salts of Metals grew out of one certain Root, and out of one Seed, yet nevertheless you must observe a difference in their three Principles, as also you must observe & remember, that a difference is found in one Herb from the other, and likewise how man differs from other Creatures and Animals in Qualities, Original, and the three Principles; for one Herb is indued with more of this, another with more of that kind, which in like manner is to be understood concerning Man and other Animals. The Soul of Lead consists in a sweet quality, as also doth the Soul of Tin, and sweeter yet, that nothing almost may be compared to it, being first of all purified to the highest by separation, that the pure be well separated from the impure, that a perfect accomplishment may succeed in the Operation: Otherwise the Spirit of Lead is by nature cold and dry, wherefore I advise, that it be not much used by Men and Women, because it over cools Nature, so that the Seed of both cannot perform their Natural Function; nor doth it much good to the Spleen and Bladder, but in other cases it attracts flegmatick Humours unto it, which raise up much Melancholy in Men; for Saturn is a Ruler, and such a Melancholicus, whereby a Man is confirm'd in his Melancholy, wherefore its Spirit is used, for one Melancholy Spirit attracts another unto it, whereby Mans Body is freed and delivered from its infused Melancholy. Externally the Soul of Saturn is so healing, in all Sores old or new, Cuts, Thrusts, or Accidents by Means or Nature, so that no Metal can do the like; it is cooling in all hot, tumified Members; but Noble Venus hath the pre-eminence to mundifie and cauterize all putrid Sores, and to lay a ground for their Cure, which have their access from within; for in her essence she is hot to dry up, but Saturn on the contrary is found to be cold in his Essence.