The Good cannot appear by reason of its covering. The hider or veil must be taken away, that the Good may be freed and become conspicuous; that also the first covering, under which metals are hidden, and wherein they are generated, is a Mountain, Sand, Stone, or Earth, all which are to be separated by fusion, that the metals may become pure.
Here the Metallurgist desists, and is clearly ignorant of any other covering. But Paracelsus addeth, That each metal is a hider of the other metals, which thing the Seven Rules do largely demonstrate, and adviseth the Chymist not to rest satisfied, when he hath gotten from the Mines a vendible metal, as ♂, ♀, ♃, ♄, melted from the dross, but to consult further with natural Philosophy, and to examin whether or no these are pure enough, without any adhering and deteriorating veil.
How great the difference is betwixt a rude and a vile Mineral (where the metal is largely dispers’d and commixt with much stony matter and other impurities) and a tractable metal faithfully separated, is well known. So much, and more, is the difference betwixt a vulgar and imperfect metal, and the Gold and Silver which it contains shut up in its bowels. But because the melting of metals out of their mines is, by reason of its long use, grown vile, and not esteemed an Art, but a Trade, and every where exercised, without any ones admiration; yet in its beginning, before it became so commonly known, it was worthily accompted a deep Secret, although now disrespected. We may not doubt, but that even yet another veil adheres to metals, and may with as much facility be removed; and its inward, pure, and fixt center, Gold and Silver be melted out and separated, if the way were but known. But because men do not bestow any further Labour and Industry in searching, and the use of vulgar metals is highly necessary, we rest contented, in that metals once melted from their mines become malleable, and fitted for the use of man: Nor is this unadvisedly done, for the life of man can as little want Iron, ♃, ♀, and Lead, as it can gold and silver.
Paracelsus teacheth, That imperfect metals are corrupted and brought into a nothing, by the force of fire; which they cannot sustain or bear; but their good parts, Gold and Silver, cannot be destroyed, but in the great strait and force of fire do come together out of the imperfect metals, and mutually defend each other, the impure portion being burnt up and removed.
Now then, that the species and ingredients of this process may be understood, something must be mentioned by us thereabouts.
Thus then ’tis written; ℞. ♁ melt it with Nitre and Tartar, of this take one lot; ’tis to be noted that you are not to take the lot of the whole molten mass, but of one of the two, either the upper part being the Scoria, or inferiour or lower being the Regulus, which this flowing mixture sends downward.
But which it is, it cannot be perceived by the words; yet because Paracelsus’s intention here is to destroy gold and silver by the admixtion of the aforesaid ingredients, and to bring them to nothing, out of which nothing the destroyed augmentation of the sun may be afterwards by some additament, obtained, in reducing it, it seems probable to think that the Scoria of the mixture is not to be taken, but the Regulus, which hath Ingress into Tin, Arsenick, and Schlich, and unites them with gold and silver, for it is the Property of the Regulus, to unite & conjoin contrary Metals and Minerals.
Tin is joined with malleable metals, and melted and suffers the fire with them, brings them into Scoria, the which thing Sulphur, Vitriol, and Schlich, also perform, and are here used by Paracelsus for no other end than to corrupt the sun and moon, and bring them into Scoria. But what schlich (Schlich) this is, because no proper name of Gold, ☽, ♂, ♀, ♄, or ♃, is added, no body can easily tell, for this is called schlecht by Chymists and Metallurgists when they take a Mineral excellently well ground, and washed with water, thereby separating the mineral or the rubish and stone, the heavyer, and more noble part of the metal remaining in the bottom of the vessel, which examining they thereby Conjecture the value of the metal or mineral: this labour they call a bringing into Schlich, or also Secher, and because all metals may be reduced into schlichs or calx, this word Schlich or Calx may suit with all metals, or else it may be that most small dust or powder in polishing mills, (Schleiff-muhleu) where various Iron Instruments, Swords, Brest-plates, and other Arms are Polished, and which is wont to be under the grinding stone in deep guttars destinated to that purpose, or gathered in wooden vessels, and sold to such as dy black cloaths, and is called calx or Schlich. But now whether or no, he means this or the calx of any other metal, it is uncertain, nor doth it much concern; for the Sun and ☽ may be reduced into a nothing without any of these Calces, and may be again augmented, and brought into something, as you shall see in the following Chapters of the Transmutation of metals.
Vain was their expectation who thought to turn all these speices, thus blown together, into Gold and Silver, but yet could not get any other thing than a yellow, or spadiceous Scoria contrary to their hopes but the Corruscation (Blief) is most blessed and gladsome, if any one can get by reduction from a destroyed metal brought into Scoria, a most noble one and better than heretofore it was. But this destruction and reduction is not uniform, but is perfected many several ways as the following Chapters teach.