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

by Johann Rudolf Glauber

The use of Aurum fulminans.

There is little to write of the use of Aurum fulminans in physick; for because it is not unlockt, but is only a gross calx and not acceptable to the nature of man, it can do no miracle. And although it be used to be given per se from 6, 8, 12. grains to ℈ i. for to provoke sweating in the Plague, and other malignant feavers, yet it would never succeed so well as was expected. Some have mixed it with the like weight of common sulphur, and made it red hot (or calcined it) whereby they deprived it of its fulminating vertue, supposing thus to get a better medicine, but all in vain, for the gold calx would not be amended by such a gross preparation. But how to prepare a good medicine out of Aurum fulminans, so that it may be evidently seen, that the gold is no dead body, nor unfit for physick, but that it may be made quick and fit for to put forth or shew forth those vertues which it pleased God to treasure up in it, I shall here briefly discover.

First, get such an instrument (as above hath been taught) made for you out of Copper, but not too big, nor with a lid at the top, but only with a pipe, unto which a receiver may be applyed, which must not be luted to it; but it sufficeth, that the pipe enter far into the belly of the receiver; and at the lower part it must have a flat bottom, that it may be able to stand: over the bottom there must be a little hole with a little door, that closeth very exactly: and there must be also two little plates or scales of silver or copper, as big as the nail of ones finger, whereupon the Aurum fulminans is to be set into the Instrument; which is to stand upon a Trevet, under which you are to lay some burning Coals for to warm or heat the bottom withal. The Instrument together with the glass Receiver being so ordered, that it stands fast, and also the bottom thereof being warmed or heated, then with little pincers one of the little scales, containing 2, 3, or 4. grains of Aurum fulminans must be conveyed upon the Instrument set upon the warm bottom, and then shut the little door, and when the gold doth feel the heat, it kindleth and giveth a clap, and there is caused a separation, and especial unlocking of the gold; for as soon as the clap is done, the gold doth go through the pipe like a purple coloured smoak into the receiver, and sticks on every where like a purple coloured powder. When the smoak is vanished, which is soon done, then take the empty scale out of the Instrument or Oven, and set it with the gold, which will likewise fulminate and yield its flores. Then the first being cooled in the mean time, is to be filled again and put in, instead of that which is empty, and taken out, putting in one scale after another by turns, continue it so long till you have got flores enough: After the sublimation is performed, let the Copper Vessel grow cool, and then sweep or brush the gold powder which is not sublimed with a haires foot, or goose feather out of the vessel, which powder serves for nothing, but to be melted with a little borax, and it will be good gold again, but onely somewhat paler than it was before it was made into fulminating gold. But the flores in the receiver cannot be brushed out thus, especially when they are cast in with an addition of salt Nitre, as by the flores of silver hereafter shall be taught, because they are something moist, and therefore pour in as much of dephlegmed Tartarised spirit of wine unto it, as you think to be enough, for to wash off the flores with. This done, pour out the spirit of wine, together with the burnt Phœnix into a clean glass, with a long neck, set it (being well luted first) into a gentle Balneum, or into warm ashes for some dayes, and the spirit of wine in the mean time will be coloured with a fair red, which you must pour off and then pour on other fresh spirit and set it in a warm place for to be dissolved, this being likewise coloured, put both the extracts together in a little glass body, and abstract the spirit of wine (in Balneo) from the Tincture, which will be a little in quantity, but of a high red colour and pleasant in taste. The remaining flores from which the Tincture is extracted, may be with water washed out of the glass, and then dryed if they are to be melted; and they will yield a little pale gold, and the most part turneth into a brown glass, out of which perchance something else that is good may be made, but unknown to me as yet.

N. B. If you mix the Aurum fulminans with some salt nitre, before fulmination, then the flores will be the more soluble, so that they yield their Tincture sooner and more freely, than alone of themselves; and if you please, you may adde thereto thrice as much salt nitre, and so sublime them in flores, in the same manner, as shall be taught for the making of the flores of silver.

The use of the Tincture of Gold.

The extracted Tincture is one of the chiefest of those medicines, which comfort & cheer up the heart of man, renew and restore to youthfulness, and cleanse the impure blood in the whole body, whereby many horrible diseases, as the leprosie, the pox, and like may be rooted out.

But whether this Tincture by the help of fire may be further advanced into a fixed substance I do not know: for I have not proceeded further in it, than here is mentioned.

Of the flores of silver and of its medicine.

Having promised in the first part of this book (when I was describing the preparation of flores out of Metals) to teach in the second part to make the flores of gold and silver, those of gold being dispatcht; there followeth now in order after the gold, to speak also of silver and of its preparation, which is to be thus performed.

Take of thin laminated or small granulated fine silver as much as you please, put it into a little separating glass body, and pour upon it twice as much in weight of rectified spirit of salt nitre, and the spirit of salt nitre will presently begin to work upon the silver and to dissolve it. But when it will not dissolve any more in the cold, then you must put the glass body into warm sand or ashes, and the water will presently begin to work again; let the glass stand in the warm ashes, until all the silver be dissolved. Then put the solution out of the little glass body, into another such as is cut off at the top, and put on a little head or Limbeck, and in sand abstract the moity of the spirit of salt nitre from the dissolved silver; then let the glass body remain in the sand till it be cool; after take it out, and let it rest for a day and a night, and the silver will turn into white foliated crystals, from which you must pour off the remaining solution which is not turned; and from thence abstract again the moity of the spirit, and let it shoot or turn in a cold place; and this abstracting and crystallising you are to reiterate, until almost all the silver is turned to Crystals; which you must take out and lay upon filtring paper to dry, and so keep it for such further use, as hereafter shall be taught. The remaining solution, which is not crystallised, you may in a copper vessel by adding of sweet water thereto, precipitate over the fire into a calx, and then edulcorate and dry it, and keep it for other use, or else melt it again into a body. Or else you may precipitate the same with salt water, and so edulcorate and dry it; and you will have a calx, which doth melt by a gentle fire, and is of a special nature, and in the spirit of urin, of salt Armoniack, of Harts-horn, of Amber, of Soot, and of hair it doth easily dissolve; and it may be prepared or turned into good medicines, as shortly in our treating of the spirit of urin shall be taught. Or else, you may choose not to precipitate the remaining solution of silver, but with the spirit of urin to extract an excellent Tincture, as hereafter shall be taught.