Now read diligently over and over again what Paracelsus writes at the end of the Chapter, and it will appear, that he speaks of fusion, and not destillation in Glasses; where he shews, that a metallick spirit at its first descending from the stars into the earth, hath a most vile form, like a stone, or dirt, which the digger of it melts with a strong fire, whereby it gets a better form, and becomes a malleable metal. And here he is at a stand, and cannot proceed any farther. Now, saith Paracelsus, the Alchymist comes and takes this metal, and by his Art destroies the metallick body, killing and preparing it; and by his labour it assumes a more noble and fixt body, called (because of its maturity) Gold or Silver. The ☽, although it be more pure and excellent than ♀, ♂, ♃, and ♄ yet having not arrived to maturity, it is (in comparison of the ☉) like a flower, which is more excellent than the herb, but inferiour to the seed, which is the most perfect part of the same. And, as in Vegetables the flowers are indued with a more elegant colour than either the seed or fruit: So also is the ☽ more abounding with Tincture than the ☉; which I have very often tried, and could demonstrate by many Examples; contrariwise, altho’ the flower be, as to the form, colour and odour, above the seed, yet in goodness and durability it is much inferiour; for the flower at an approaching cold falls away;, but the seed endures, and if it be helped, it produceth a new herb, flowers, and seed, by which its species are conserved and propagated. And as in Vegetables the herb is the greatest part, the flowers less, and the seeds least, so in Minerals is the like order most fitly observed: for should Nature produce only Flowers and Seeds with the Herb, whence would there be Grass for Beasts, whereby they might fill their Bellies, and so yield dung for the Country-man to dung his ground withal, that it might produce a new Crop of Herbs. Without doubt there’s more Tincture hidden in ☽ than in ☉, the inmost part of which is a meer redness; but the centre of ☉ is a most fixt and splendid Sky-colour, which is to be well observed. As for the other Properties of ☽, which are most frequently known, ’tis needless to mention them; as to purity and fixation, ’tis nearest to ☉, and therefore in metallick things ’tis to be likened to a Flower: ’Tis plainly void of combustible and preying Sulphur; but being not as yet arrived and concocted to perfection, it is a most suitable Vehicle to extract ☉ out of volatile and unripe Marcasites, and other auriferous Minerals, and to make it corporeal. Concerning which I have formerly written, and will write more hereafter.
The Seventh Rule.
Of the Sun, its Nature and Property.
Corporeal ☉ is the seventh Metal of the six spiritual ones; in it self it is a meer Fire; but the Reason of its being outwardly of an elegant, yellow, visible, sensible, ponderous, cold and malleable body, is, because it hath in it the coagulation of the other six metals, whereby ’tis compell’d into a visible body. And as to its being melted with Elemental fire, ’tis from hence, because it hath a fluidity of Mercury, ♓, and ♒, spiritually hidden in it self; the which is also outwardly evident, because it is most easily mixt with the ☉, and detained by him.
And whereas after melting, it grows hard by the Cold, viz. is coagulated, and grows stiff, that comes from the other five metals, ♃, ♄, ♂, ♀, and ☽; in these five metals the Cold dwells and bears sway, and therefore ☉ cannot be fluid out of the fire, because of Cold. Nor can ☿ with his heat, nature, and fluidity help him against the five cold metals, for its heat sufficeth not to keep the ☉ in perpetual flux, so that it is enforced to obey the other metals rather than one only, ☿, who (as to coagulation of metals) hath nothing to do, its Property being to make liquid, and not hard: It is the work of heat and life to make liquid, but cold is the cause of hardness, stiffness, and unmovable, being therefore likened to Death.
For Example. If you would reduce the six cold metals to fluidity, whether it be ♃, ♀, ♄, ♂, ☽, ☉, it is to be done by the heat of the fire, for metals are not melted with cold Snow or Ice, but are hardened thereby. Now, as soon as they are melted by the fire, and that the heat ceaseth, the cold rusheth in, whereby the metal stands still, grows stiff, dies, and remains immovable. And because that ☿ is alwaies fluid and living, tell me, I pray, whether or no such a thing proceeds from heat or cold? Some or other may say, it is because of its cold and moist nature, and that it is living because of Cold; but whoever saith thus, and believes thus, is ignorant of Nature, and deceived and seduced with the vulgar, whose belief of any thing is out of the right way, & amiss, & are therefore to be avoided and shun’d by him that would truly know; for ☿ is not living, by reason of cold, but because of its heat and fiery nature, as all things else live because of heat, for heat is the cause of life, and cold the cause of death.
But that ☉ is in it self a meer Fire, not alive indeed, but hard, shewing its fiery heat only outwardly, as yellow mixt with red, and the other five metals, are cold, viz. ♃, ♂, ♄, ♀, and ☽, giving their virtues to the ☉, viz. according to their frigidity a body, by their fire colours, by their siccity hardness, by their moisture weight or heaviness, by their resplendancy sound; and that it is not combustible, and to be destroyed by the Element of Terrestrial Fire, that is by reason of its fixedness. Fire doth not burn Fire, nor destroy it, but Fire joined to Fire becomes the greater and more powerful in strength. The Cœlestial fire descending from the ☉ upon Terrestrials, is not such a fire as is in Heaven, nor such as our fire is on Earth; but with us the Cœlestial fire is cold, a rigid and congealed fire; and this is the body of Gold, and therefore we cannot tame or master ☉ with our fire, we can only divide it and melt it, as the sun dissolves and melts snow, congealed ice and water. Wherefore it is not permitted for one fire to destroy another, because ☉ it self is fire, and in Heaven it is resolved, but with us it is coagulated.
Gold is in a threefold state with its Essence.
| 1. The Cœlestial |  | is |  | Resolved. |
| 2. The Elemental | Liquid. | |||
| 3. The Metallick | Corporeal. |