The works of the highly experienced and famous chymist, John Rudolph Glauber

by Johann Rudolf Glauber

Now then, seeing that such kind of troubled drinks are used by men for nutriment, it is clearly necessary, that (the internal Bowels of the body being stopt by their dregginess) their nourishing property of the Life must with-draw, like as the feculent Oil withdraws from the light of the Lamp: For all those things which a man feeds upon, and daily drinks, do in process of time stop up the passages of the internal bowels and conveyances in the body of man, and so despoil the vital Fire of its nutriment. Therefore by how much the more this nutriment of the Life is withdrawn, so much the sooner is the light or vital Fire extinguished, and the cold and darksome death approacheth the nearer, and becomes superiour. From hence arose that old Proverb, Eat such things as are well cook’d or baked; Drink such drinks as are clear; Speak such things as are true, that so you may be long-lived.

But now some may say, I will therefore shun troubled drinks, and feed upon well-drest and well-prepared Meats, that so by shunning the way for Death’s entrance, I may enjoy a long-life. I confess, ’tis well said, for sobriety in meat and drink, and the shunning of gross and crude meats, and troubled drinks, do much help to conserve health: But yet it does not follow, that he shall not be at length subject to Diseases, nor die; for there is no meat that is so well cook’d, and no drink that is so clear, but it carries with it its hidden fæces, with which the internal Vessels may in a longer process of time, be stopt up, and Diseases introduced, even as we shewed but now, by an example drawn from Fountain-water, which in process of time stops up its own passages: And by the same reason too must those Trees that are in the highest tops of the Mountains at length die, when (though they are nourished with most clear Rain-water) their nutrition is with-held from them by the stopping up the pores of the Roots.

But yet I do not say that an Oak, or some other wild Tree, in wild places, which is nourished only with the Rain-water, and the Leaves which yearly fall off, dures no longer than some Fruit-bearing Tree does, which is dunged and nourished in the Gardens with singular care and labour: No, for it is known, that an Oak doth many times endure and live a Thousand years; whereas on the contrary, such a tilled or tenderly-kept Tree scarce attains to the Hundredth year, and this is to be imputed to the diversity of nutriments. The Stag in the Woods, and the Crow in the Air, live above an Hundred years, but being caught and finely fed, they scarce live Fifty years. A man that lives barely upon Bread and Water, will doubtless prolong his Life to far more years than if he used delicate food and drink; and this is a most manifest thing, and yet men lay it not to heart, but by enjoying too great a plenty of delicacies, they burthen Nature with too great a load, from whence obstructions of the bowels do arise, and a way laid for Diseases to enter in. A Tree that is dunged with too much Dung, gets to it self, together and at once, too much fatness, and this choaks up the Roots and hinders nutrition, whereby the body and boughs thereof cannot be supplied, and so consequently Death must enter in, and put out the Life of that Tree. What Counsel now? You will haply say, If that obstructions be the principal causes of Diseases and Death, are there no Remedies, by whose help such like obstructions may be prevented; or (if they already are made) be wholly removed and taken away? Yes, I say, that both may be done, viz. a timely prevention, and also a thorough abolition of them, when they have gotten head; and this to be done by such kind of Medicaments which are friendly to Nature, and contrary unto the things from which those obstructions and constipations have their rise; for cold, tenacious, impure, and watery humours must necessarily be attenuated, mollified, cut, and opened by heating, attenuating, inciding, or cutting, penetrating, and fiery Medicaments; for daily Experience teacheth, that it is a thing clearly impossible for obstructions to be taken away, what kind soever they be of, without the help of warming and penetrative Medicaments. And amongst all those Medicines, these are found to be the most certain and most efficacious, viz. the volatile Spirit of common Salt, or of Vitriol, void of corrosiveness; the volatile spirit of crude Tartar; the spirit of Urine, and of Salt-Armoniack, and other the like fiery Spirits, which do exercise their Virtues with most excellent success in the taking away of those kind of obstructions. But forasmuch as those volatile spirits do for the most part set upon and resolve such obstructions as are but beginning, and not as yet confirmed, but do not seize upon the more fixt and inveterate ones, as having not so much strength as to subdue and cast out them, for they are to be cast forth by their like, that is, by the more fixt Medicaments; which thing no skilful Physician will gain-say. The whole drift therefore of the business lies in this, viz. by what means such kind of Medicaments may be gotten, as by whose help not only the newly-risen obstructions, but also the inveterate and confirmed ones too, may be driven out of the body of man. Now, this cannot be effected by Herbs, and such-like natured things, as is sufficiently witnessed by this present Age, for no body that is subject to those kind of obstructions, is cured by the help of the Herbs, and such-like things. For after that the sick Patient hath a long time used the palliative Cure in vain, Death at length comes forcing in, and snatcheth him away after his licking in many Pots full of such stuff, which notwithstanding, by some good Medicine might have been easily prevented: For, I pray, how can it possibly be, that a cold, gross, crude, and not well-prepared Medicine should draw forth cold and gross humours, which should be heated, cut, and mollified? ’Tis just as if a man would melt one piece of Ice with another piece of Ice, and so reduce it into Water; but yet it will never be done without fire or heat. And therefore a penetrating, fiery, living, and good Medicament, is to be applied unto those cold and tenacious obstructions, to heat, extenuate, and scowre them out; and the Syrups, Conserves, and the cold, dead, and mucous or slimy Juleps should be removed.

Verily, I cannot sufficiently enough wonder, when I think upon the small regard that is had to the Life of Man, and how rashly and wantonly it is neglected, out of meer pure ignorance.

The present World is so blind and perverse, as that it neither will nor can believe this, though it be shown it even with ones fingers: But yet this stubborn perverseness does not hurt any so much as it does the Innocent, who understand not these things, and are even constrained to credit those things only which they hear of; all other things they commit to Chance and Time, together with the rest of those errours, unto which, as likewise unto other abuses, this endeavour of mine, will (if God so please) some time hereafter administer some Redress.

We do therefore conclude and determine, that the principal and chiefest occasion and cause of Diseases and Death, are these slimy, gross, tenacious humours, which by little and little seize on and stop up the internal bowels of the body, and withdraw (or withhold) from the radical humidity its nutriment, and so debilitates the vital fire more and more, and at length quite extinguish it.

Now, to remove and throw off these Furrings, there is no other Remedy, but that the passages of the internal bowels be kept open and clean, or that they be opened and unlocked, as ’twere, if already stopt up.

Now this thing my Aurum Potabile can perfectly effect; a better Medicine than which, and one more apt and fit to open all the obstructions of the body of man, ’twill not be so easie a matter to find; for it is in its nature a subtile, fiery, penetrating essence, warming all cold affects, attenuating the gross, inciding or cutting the tenacious, and consuming, and drying up all humours and Waterishness; insomuch that (being made use of) it doth inhibit and impede the generation (or growth) of all kind of obstructions, and by mollifying and inciding them when they are already generated, doth wholly take them away: Upon this accompt, by its corroborating the radical moisture and vital spirit, and preserving it safe and sound, it gets the preheminence over all other such Medicaments as perform the same effect: Most worthy is it therefore to be called and esteemed the concentrated center of all Medicaments. For all those virtues which are found simple and divers or distinct in any of the Vegetables, Animals, and Minerals, and which do, by a Particular Efficacy, set upon Diseases; are concentrated in my Aurum Potabile, and being collected into one, do display all the virtues of those particulars universally, and therefore do these virtues discover it to be well worthy the name of an Universal Medicine: For this Medicament does not only exceed all other Medicaments in the most speedy operation of its virtues in the curing of the bodies of men, but also it plainly abounds with the same admirable virtues in the bettering of the Vegetables and Minerals; and therefore it is to be preferred beyond all others, and to be extolled with the highest Praises.

But now, if in case it should abound with far more noble and more efficacious virtues, (as to the taming and subduing the Diseases of men) then it already hath; and yet, on the contrary, should effect nothing by those its virtues in the melioration or amending of the Vegetables and Minerals, it could not possibly claim to it self the Title of an Universal Medicine, but would be rank’d amongst the number of Particular Medicaments, as tending only to the curing of the Diseases of Animals. But now, seeing that (as we said before) my Aurum Potabile doth most powerfully help not only men, in the Animal Kingdom, but likewise in all the Vegetables and Minerals, (out of the Dominion of which three Kingdoms, viz. Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral, there is nothing in all Nature to be found) and is a most high Medicine unto them all; therefore also the Name and Title of a Universal Medicine doth rightly and properly appertain thereunto.

The Philosophers do indeed ascribe thus much unto their Universal Medicine, viz. that it is able to heal all the Diseases of Mankind, and of the imperfect Metals, and their defects, and transmute the said metals into perfect Gold. But concerning its being the supream medicine for Vegetables too, that they are silent in: Why they silently pass this over, for my part, I cannot certainly tell, nor do I deem it necessary to expound the same: ’Tis sufficient that my self have proceeded farther, and do manifestly declare, that it will perform the same in the Vegetables too.