I do not wonder that those Slanderers, attempting the coagulation of Mercury into Gold, have erred, seeing that it hath sometimes happened to my self, that I have erred two or three times together, and could not effect that Transmutation, until the cause thereof was known to me: For if through too much haste the humidity of the Aurum Potabile shall exhale or evaporate too fast, the Mercury being dried up, cannot be sufficiently penetrated, nor throughly tinged.
An errour also may be committed, if the glass containing the Mercury and the Aurum Potabile grow hot too fast, so that the Mercury with the Aurum Potabile boil, and leaps, disperseth it self by too much motion, and exhibiteth it self in form of a powder, when it ought to remain in the bottom, concreted into a round mass. So will he also greatly erre, who shall use Mercury that is not pure and clean, but adulterated, and defiled with many sordes or impurities, which Impediments deny ingress to the Tincture, and render the trial uncertain and precarious. Therefore it is necessary that the Mercury be first well ground with Salt and Vinegar, in a lignum vitæ, or Stone or Glass Mortar, and by a diligent washing freed from all its blackness, whereby it more easily admitteth the Tincture. I have found that Mercury very fit for this Operation, which is sublimed by the Fulmen of Jove, into which my Aurum Potabile hath a swift Ingress, and tingeth the whole of it.
Truly it shews the great ignorance and boldness of those Calumniators, to dare to spread such false clamours and rumours, saying, That Mercury cannot be indeed tinged into Gold by my Aurum Potabile, but that the Gold which was before in my Aurum Potabile applieth it self to the Mercury, and in some sort coagulateth it, but doth not render it fixt and constant. But this is indeed a very rude and ignorant Assertion, which every one but meanly versed in the handling of Gold and Mercury, is able to detect of Folly.
For if common Gold, dissolved in Water, would readily coagulate Mercury, what should we further seek or desire? But this is greatly wide of the matter, seeing that in all such Solutions the Gold in digestion adheres to the injected Mercury by precipitation, and passeth with it into a white Amalgama, the Mercury constantly persevering in its pristine Nature, not admitting the least transmutation into Gold, the which exceedeth not the knowledge and capacity of Rusticks, but is difficult to be understood by those putatitious Doctors, who believe such things to exceed all Belief.
It is well known, that the purest Gold hath no more of perfection than what it needeth for its own defence; that hath not the least power to amend any other metal, and to render it fixt and constant, much less that it can coagulate Mercury, (the derider of all Alchymists and Sophisters) into Gold. Of both is made a white Amalgama, but not hard yellow Gold constant in the Fire. He that believeth not me, let him make trial himself, and he shall find it answerable to my words. Besides, all corporeal Gold refuseth solution by fixt Nitre, of which my Aurum Potabile is prepared, the which, if it were yet possible, the Gold would not be hid in it, but the solution would be yellow, and would colour the skin with a subrubid or blackish colour, which my Aurum Potabile doth not. Therefore its tinging Virtue consisteth not in corporeal Gold, but in a golden Tincture, from the first Ens of Gold, converted into an Astral Essence, by the benefit of Art. By a like reason the Astrum of Luna impresseth Mercury with the nature of Silver, the Astrum of Venus transmuteth it into Copper, the Astrum of Mars converteth the same into hard Iron, the Astrum of Jupiter of it maketh Tin, and the Astrum of Saturn investeth it with the nature of Lead. For Mercury is transmuted into that Metal, whose Astrum it shall receive. So the Astrum of Mercury changeth all the metals into a running Argent-vive, although this transmutation brings little or no profit. Nevertheless, I intend to prepare the Astrums of all the metals, and thereby to shew the power of Nature and Art to the studious of the Truth, and so to manifest it to the World. The Astrums of metals being extracted from their first Ens, they are no longer metals, but their tinging Anima’s, which at length with Mercury, become corporeal metals.
This is the true and genuine Foundation, upon which the whole structure of my Aurum Potabile is built. Therefore, as pure Gold, cannot render Mercury partaker of its own golden nature; so neither Silver, nor Copper, nor any other metal, will communicate its nature to Mercury, but being precipitated, attracteth it to it self, but in no wise changeth it. Hence the Philosophers say, That the Tinctures of Metals are not to be sought in the metals themselves, but in their first Ens. As Basil Valentine;
Quod prima Entia non efficiunt,
Hoc Aurum & Argentum non faciunt.
Which is to be well regarded by him who desires to attain his wishes.
From all these things it appears, that my Aurum Potabile being made of the first Ens of Gold, by Art, into an Astral Tincture, ought to be an excellent Medicine; as also, that it is such, I have largely demonstrated: For if it were not better than a common Solution of Gold, it would not change Mercury into true Gold, neither also would it have the power of transmuting a most potent Poison into an excellent Medicine. Without doubt, such Medicaments, which by the help of my Aurum Potabile, from most violent Poisons, are changed into so salubrious a nature, as Antidotes, do powerfully refill other Poisons and pertinacious Diseases, and may be used in Physick with great admiration. What would it profit, if the Body should be purged by an hundred stools, and at the same time the Disease doth not consist in the matter of stools, but still keeps its place, and gives no way, except it be attacked in its own quarters? Neither will it avail anything to let all the blood out of the body, if the fear of the Disease be not in the blood. Yea, if it were there fixed, and the whole mass of blood wholly corrupted, it would be in vain to undertake to amend the same by bleeding; for all the blood cannot be drawn out, without peril of Life. And if, for example sake, two or three pounds of twenty should be left in the body, to be amended by sanguifying Meats and Drinks, and good Blood to be encreased, yet the event would not be answerable, because the encreasing blood would be corrupted by the former. E. g. An Hogshead of sharp Vinegar, out of which, if you should draw all the Vinegar, leaving only the fæces or Lees, and should by degrees pour into it noble and generous Wine, the Wine would be plainly corrupted by those few fæces. Even so it is with those fixed Diseases, which have taken such deep root in the humane body, that they cannot be taken away neither by Purging, Bleeding, nor Sweating, nor by outward Anointings. Therefore they are to be tinged and amended in those places, to which they pertinaciously adhere, by the help of Tinctures or Astral Medicines, as above is done with Mercury, and Mercury sublimate, that remaining there, they may put on a better nature and quality, and no farther molest the humane body. And this is the true and genuine way of Curing radicated and incurable Diseases. Yet I would not be so understood, as if I condemned all Purgation; for Purging being used at a due time, brings no small profit. Blood-letting also being seasonably used, wants not its utility; but being often abused, is the cause of great mischiefs, and not seldom hastens on untimely death.