This demonstration, which might be otherwise omitted, is therefore set down, that it may be known how Gold proceeds from the Sun, and is secretly endued with its proper strength and proprieties, by Chymistry, reducible into that which it was before its coagulation, namely, into a heating and living spirit, communicating its strength and faculties to man’s body. Therefore the Ancients used great diligence in the reduction of gold, in which nothing is found more excellent than the purest and finest spirit of wine made by distillation, and they did not use common gold melted out of stones, or washt out of sand, but purged by benefit of fire, and Philosophically quickened and unlocked, not by help of corrosive spirits, the usual way of vulgar Chymists, but by some water which Nature freely gives without help of violent distillation; by which they manifest that which is hid in gold, and they have hid what is manifest, and therefore they have made it fit for the separation of its tincture from a gross and black superfluous body. For they knew that the compact body of gold hath no affinity with the vital Spirits, therefore they have chosen only the finest part of gold to their Elixir, viz. Its tincture, which they have radically joyned with the spirit of Wine, and being joyned, have made them spiritual or volatile, so that neither can be separated from each other in the fire, and being in the fire, are sublimed, or fixed by a longer digestion; and coagulated into a fixt stone, which they count for the greatest treasure in this World. Therefore the ancient Philosophers affirming, that there is not a better medicine under the Sun than it, which is made from the Philosophical union of wine and gold, both by an inseparable recoagulation and fixation; nor without gold can spirit of wine, nor this without it be made a medicine, because gold without spirit of wine cannot be made volatile, nor this be coagulated and fixt without it. We therefore, their posterity justly, follow the opinions of the most famous men, not for their authorities sake, but for ocular demonstration, which is the truest tryal.
Therefore the knowledge of the preparation of this medicine being bestowed on me from the highest, I have intended, because a man is not born for himself, briefly to deliver its preparation and use: but I will not cast pearls before swine; but I’le only shew the way to the studious searchers of the work of God and Nature, who doubtless will understand my writing, but not the ignorant and unskilful; let therefore the brevity of the preparation offend no man, because I mean not to prostitute this Art (divinely obtained, not with idleness, but with much watching, labours and pains) nor give to the unworthy a bit before chawed, but only to communicate it to the pious, who shall see with open eyes, that the thing is so. I desire therefore, the simplicity of my stile may offend no man, being not adorned with rhetorical figures, after the wonted manner, for truth wants not many and elegant words, being contented with simplicity and brevity, with which it is easier and better demonstrated, than with those intricate and sophistick discourses.
℞ of living gold one part, and three parts of quick Mercury, not of the vulgar, but the Philosophical every where to be found without charge; and labour, (thou maist also add living silver of equal weight with the gold, and indeed better than only gold, for the greater variety of colours proceeding from the mixture of male and female: but one perswaded that a better Tincture proceeds from gold alone may mix gold only, not so, one skilful of metals, who knoweth the power of the cordial union of gold and silver, dissolved in one and the same Menstruum) put them mixt in a Philosophical vessel to dissolve, and in the space of one quarter of an hour, those mixt metals will be radically dissolved by the Mercury, and will give a purple colour; after encrease the fire by degrees, and it will be changed into a very fine green, to which taken out, pour the water of dew to dissolve, which may be done in half an hour, filtre the solution, and abstract the water through a glass alembeck in B. which pour out again afresh, and abstract, which do three times, in the mean time that greeness will be turned into a black colour, like Ink, stinking like a carcass, and therefore odious: and it behoves sometimes to take away the water reaffused and digested, and that blackness and stink will depart in the space of forty hours, and will produce a pure milky whiteness, which appearing, take away all the moisture till it be dry, which will be a white mass, and in few hours of a pleasant colour, divers colours first appearing, it is turned into a fine greeness better than the former, to which you must affuse the spirit of wine well rectified, to the depth of two or three fingers, and that green gold dissolved will draw that spirit of wine, for the great amity, like a dry spunge drawing waters, and will communicate to it a quintessence as red as blood, by which means the greeness is deprived of its quickening tincture, the superfluous ashy body being left.
You must decant and filtrate the tinged spirit, and in a B. by a glass alembeck, abstract it from the red tincture, attracting the fiery essence of the spirit of wine, so that they may be very close and inseparably conjoyned, from which an unsavoury water only distils, the vertue of the spirit of wine being left with the tincture of gold like a red fiery salt, fusile and volatile; of which grain 1. can tinge ℥ i. of spirit of wine, or any other liquor, with a blood-red colour, for it is soluble in any moisture; and therefore may be kept in a liquid form for the Panacea of most desperate Diseases. Now I will communicate the proprieties of the true tincture, by which true potable gold is known. This tincture next the stone is the best of all medicines, between which and that, there is but this difference, the soul of gold is volatile, nor hath entrance into imperfect metals, and therefore cannot transmute into pure fine gold, which vertue is attributed to the Philosophers stone. The soul of gold, though it be the best part, yet it is not fixt in fire, but volatile; but the Philosopher’s Stone is fixt in fire, and remains, by reason of a longer digestion. But whether that soul or volatile tincture and red Lyon may be fixt by help of fire, and turned into the Universal medicine, and tinging stone, that I know not, because hitherto I have not tryed, &c. therefore he may who extracts the soul of gold, make further tryal, whether he can find any thing better. For this Work treateth of nothing but the best medicine of gold, but other things I know not.
Therefore the deceit of the Distillers of Wine, and other vegetable waters, selling potable gold, is not unknown, being not ashamed to sell any water coloured yellow or red to the ignorant for a great price. And the errour of others dissolving the body of gold in Aqua Regia, or spirit of salt, which again they abstract to a dry remainder, to which for extraction they affuse the spirit of wine: Which is not an extraction, but some particular solution of gold, made by help of the corrosive spirits left in the gold, tinging the spirit of wine with a yellow colour, which so coloured, they call their potable gold; which notwithstanding is reduced into gold, the spirit of wine being abstracted, which can do no more than any other Calx of gold, which the Archeus cannot digest, but separates, being indigested, with the Excrements. And also it is the errour of others, ignorantly deceiving themselves and others, extracting the Calx of gold with peculiar menstruums and spirits, knowing not that the menstruum affused to gold to be red of it self by a long digestion, which decanted, they administer instead of potable gold, who if they weighed the remaining Calx, would by experience see that nothing departed from the gold; which you may try by the setting the spirit or menstruum in a remiss heat, or longer in cold, which of it self doth wax red, as if it had been affused to the Calx of Sol. But the cause of this redness is (unknown to them) nothing but a certain nitrous salt and volatile, as of Antimony, Urine, Tartar, Hartshorn, Hair, &c. exalting the colour of any Sulphur.
Wherefore it necessarily follows, if Artists mingle with the spirit of wine in which is a sulphur, such exalting salts, that it will thence be exalted in colour, and wax red; which also happens to them, who use to extract a tincture with distilled Oyls, having a volatile salt, as are oyl of Lemmons, Cloves, Soot, &c.
For such-like tincture or potable gold is inefficacious, as experience witnesseth. But I would not say there is no other tincture to be prepared out of gold, beside this tincture: for being dissolved in sweet menstruums, that it cannot be separated by precipitation, it can do wonderful things in many grievous Diseases; but alwaies the living metal is to be chosen instead of the dead.
But true potable gold is not so only in name and shew (as are divers waters tinged with a yellow or red colour) but also endued with golden faculties and vertues, so that it may actually appear to be made of gold, but irreducible by Fire into Gold, spiritual and penetrative, strengthning the vital spirits, that they may overcome their enemies. But it must also be endued with this Vertue, that it may change imperfect metals, chiefly Mercury, Lead, and silver into pure gold; not truly like a fixt tincture, tinging with profit the baser metals in flux; but only perfecting particularly in a moist way by digestion, where some part of the metal alone is turned into better. For this tincture of salt or gold is very volatile, so that it cannot resist the fire; but with a gentle heat it melteth like wax, and is sublimed like red salt, soluble in spirit of Wine, that it may be fit for Physical uses.
Also true potable gold being tasted, is neither corrosive, nor astringent like other solutions of gold: neither doth it pollute the hands, the nails and hair with a black or yellow colour, but rather makes them more fine; neither doth it infect copper, tin, lead, with rust or a black colour, but rather makes them more clear; neither is it a body of gold reducible by extraction, nor into white gold, which may recover its former colour by Antimony, and Aqua Regia, but it is like an ashy earth, and sublimable in a gentle heat like Arsenick, not enduring the tryal of the cuple, which vertues if it have, it may be called the true Tincture of Gold: but if not, not so, but rather a sophisticated potable gold, not to be medled withal.