But he who knows how to do this by Nitre only, he may with great gain, and in a short time, purifie a great quantity of the aforesaid Regulus’s without loss of the gold, silver, or antimony. There are also other means for the doing of it which to relate were tedious and indeed impossible. Wherefore I will set down the best of all, most profitable in the separations of great quantities of Regulus’s. Where first is required some peculiar little Furnace with a Fire almost like to that in our first part of Philosophical Furnaces, built for the subliming of Flowers; it wants indeed a grate, but it hath little vents for to make the coals burn, that thy antimony separated from the gold, may be sublimated or elevated into sublimatory vessels. Which being rightly built and heated, let so much of the Regulus be cast in with a spoon as the Fire can bear, which will quickly melt and be elevated, the air being attracted by the vents, without any trouble: which being sublimed, you may cast in more, if you have more, until all the Regulus be separated and sublimated from the gold and silver, which are left in the Fire pure and malleable; the furnace being cold, you may take out the Flowers and keep them (of which afterwards) for uses, which way you may not only separate a great number of Regulus’s from gold and silver in a small time, but also keep all the antimony, which may many waies be used in Alchymy and Medicine with great profit. Which sure is an excellent knowledge, for not only hereby may any one get abundantly, without wronging his neighbour, but also help many sick People, viz. by that excellent Medicine made of the Flowers: which is a special gift of God, for which we owe immortal Thanks. And this is, of all others that I know, the best way of separation of gold from antimony, which is not only done in great quantity, in a short time, and with small charge, but also without loss of the Antimony.
Here follows the Use of the Antimonial Flowers.
First, you may take the whitest of the Flowers out of the lower hole, and keep them for a Universal Medicine; but reduce the rest (being less pure) into Regulus by the salt of Tartar, for divers uses, as shall be said afterward; or you may mingle them with an equal weight of common sulphur, or antimony, which being mixt in a covered crucible, melt them, and they will yield an antimony like to a natural, good to purifie gold: or thou maist mingle them with other metals or minerals, that by this means they may be made better. Or thou maist use them in Chyrurgery, for they of all stiptick plaisters make the best. In brief, the aforesaid Flowers may many waies be used with good gain and success.
The aforesaid antimonial dross may also be reduced into Flowers, and used in the same manner; which indeed are endowed with as excellent Properties, as they which are made out of Regulus’s; because in that fusion and separation of gold extracted out of Flints and Talc, the gold only that was fixt and mature, was separated from the Regulus’s, (the immature and volatile being left in the dross) and elevated with the Flowers: It follows thence, that these are better, as well in medicine as in the transmutation of metals.
Or, if thou wilt, add to the antimony (as aforesaid used) old iron, to reduce it in a furnace, and take the Regulus, having gold and silver, which may therefore be used in other operations of Chymistry, where there is need of Regulus, as we may shew hereafter. But the dross doth yield a Regulus, viz. in a very strong Fire, and a Furnace with a peculiar separatory by abstraction, which although it contain not gold, yet it may be used not without gain, as if it be mingled with Tin in fusion, it procures to it a hardness and sound, useful for fashioning divers sort of Houshold-stuff, which is not so easily darkened as the common Tin, or if thou wilt not, thou maist make weights of it.
Hitherto we have treated of the extraction of gold out of Flints, and of its putrification by antimony; now we will teach you how to use the rest of the antimony, as well in the perfection of base metals as in medicine, as well for the preserving of Health, as the curing of Diseases.
But seeing we have made mention of an Universal Medicine, to be made out of antimony aforesaid, I would not have thee think that that is such as can take away all distempers in general, without distinction, which vertue is only ascribed to the Philosophers Stone, but not by me to this medicine; to which I attribute no more than I have tryed: But this in truth I dare affirm, that there is, besides the stone, scarce any comparable to it; for it doth not only preserve the body from divers Diseases, but also happily frees it from the present, so that it may deservedly be termed a Universal Medicine.
The Preparation followeth.
℞ of the flowers purified from the dross a pound, viz. of Antimony, by which the extracted gold was purified, which for the most part are of a yellow colour, having gold volatile and immature: in defect of which, take the flowers made out of the golden Regulus’s, being for the most part white, to which pour in a Glass Vial, strong and long-necked, of spirit of wine tartarised, three or four pound, mingle and stir them well together, and put on it another crooked pipe (within which let there be some ounces of Quicksilver, as is described in the Fifth Part of our Philosophical Furnaces) and make strong the joynts with a bullocks bladder thrice folded, made wet; which dryed, place the glass in Balneum, and give fire by degrees, that the spirit of wine with the antimony may digest, in which leave it for 24 hours space, and so soon as the fire is out, take out the glass, when it is cold, pour off the spirit tinged red from the Flowers, and pour on fresh; and place it, as before, in Balneum, to digest 24 hours space, till it be red, and do this the third time, or so often till the Spirit be no more coloured, for then no more is to be poured on, and that which is coloured, is to be filtred with Cap-paper. The rest of the Flowers, after the extraction, as not requisite to this business, are to be either kept by themselves, or thrown away. But the tinged Spirit is to be abstracted out of a glass cucurbit by an alembick, to the half, from the tincture, which distilled spirit may again be used in the same work: but the tincture left in the cucurbit is the medicine, of which mention has been made.
Now mention being made also of tartarised spirit of wine, that I may satisfie the doubtful concerning that I will here also give its description, which is as followeth.