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

by Johann Rudolf Glauber

Some perhaps may ask, where that ancient Foundation laid by God ought to be sought, or where it may be found? I answer, Every where, inasmuch as it is before the eyes of every man, but especially shewing it self in the Heavens, where the Sun, Moon, and all the Stars are constituted by God in a round Figure, signifying to us that all Forms and Figures take their beginning from a round Circle, and that a Circle or Rotundity it self, as a most perfect thing, pertaineth to the Heavens, and to GOD Himself. The Ancients certainly put it in that manner, that by a round Circle they might denote those things which they could neither comprehend by number, pronounce by words, nor conceive by their ingeny; and on the contrary, those things which did not exceed their capacity, ingeny, nor number, they signed with a square Figure: So that things celestial, and exceeding humane capacity, they have denoted by a Circle, but things visible, earthly, and subject to humane capacity, by a Square, proceeding from a Circle.

And although the same ancient Philosophers, attributing a Circle to God only, were of the opinion, that God could not be more aptly exprest by any thing than a Circle, having (like Himself) neither beginning nor end: Nevertheless all those things which after God they esteemed great, they also noted with a Circle, to wit, the Sun in the Firmament, and Gold in the Earth; the first of which, some of those Philosophers thought to be God himself. Others of those Heathen Philosophers have feigned for God the Effigies of a Serpent, winding himself into a round Circle; and all earthy things of a celestial original, they have represented by a Square, and so they have shadowed out the Celestial and the Terrestrial, by the Circle and Quadrant.

Therefore as they observed how much of the Celestial or Terrestrial Nature were in the things to be signed, so much of the Circle or Square they added or substracted, and according to that they varied their Figures: And not only in the Celestial Lights, to wit, the Sun, Moon, and other Planets, but also in all earthly Creatures, produced in the Earth by the operations of the Sun, Moon, and the rest of the Planets and Stars, viz. Gold, Silver, Copper, Tin, Iron, Lead, and Argent-vive; they have used this manner in signing them all with Characters of this sort, and have noted them with the same Characters which they have given to the Celestial Lights, producing and effecting the Causes of those inferiour Creatures. So the Sun and Gold, as the most perfect Creatures of God, are signed with a Circle having a point or center in the middle; the Moon and Silver appear in the figure of an half Circle, or of two semicircles, at a small distance from one another; which shew their Bodies not to be absolutely perfect, but as yet to labour under some defect. The Characters of the other Planets, as ♄, ♃, ♂, ♀, and ☿, are also the Characters of the rest of the Metals, viz. Lead, Tin, Iron, Copper, and Argent-vive, because they are much more vile and imperfect than Gold and Silver, and are noted with more imperfect Characters; such are an half Circle and half Square, signifying that they scarce answer to the perfection of Silver in the half part, and hardly to the fourth part of that of Gold.

But that I may propose the thing more clearly, I think it necessary to inclose the Characters of the Celestial Lights, as ☉, ☽, ☿, ♀, ♂, ♃, and ♄, and of the Terrestrials, as Gold, Silver, Argent-vive, Copper, Iron, Tin, and Lead, which the ancient Astronomers and Philosophers have imposed upon them, in Squares, consisting of the same magnitude, that by those it may appear in what degree they differ from each other in perfection.

Here those Characteristick Figures of the Signatures are enclosed as it were in little Houses, which are the Squares: Now, if into one of those I put the Character of the Sun or Gold, viz. a round Circle noted with the letter B, it toucheth four parts of the Square, marked 1, 2, 3, 4, and filleth it up, signifying that among Celestial and Terrestrial Creatures, the Sun and Gold do excell all other things, in their perfection.

The Character of the Moon or Silver, under the letter C, toucheth three sides of the Square, to wit, the superiour with the top of her Horn, marked 1, the lower side marked 3, and the bending of her back toucheth the third side, marked 2; but by reason of the incurvating concavity of her Superficies, she cannot touch the fourth side, marked 4.

The Character of Mercury, under the letter D, with both his horns toucheth the upper side of the Square, marked with number 1, and with the bottom of the Cross the lower side number 3: the other two sides, 2 and 4, he leaveth untouched, so that the half part of the Square remaineth untouched by Mercury. Luna toucheth three sides or the same, and Sol or Gold is contiguous to all the four sides.

Venus or Copper, under the letter E, also adhereth only to two sides of the Square, to wit, to the superiour number 1, and to the inferiour, marked with the number 3, but the sides, 2 and 4, remain untouched.

In like manner also Mars, or Iron, toucheth only the upper and lower sides, as you see under the letter F. So also Saturn, or Lead, under G; And Jupiter or Tin under H, you see touch but two sides of their Squares. Therefore from this figure may be seen in what degree of perfection the Metals exceed one another, so that he who hath respect to this figure, cannot erre in discerning the said degrees.