Now for a Farewell, take this which follows. If the God Appollo the Inventer of Medicine, would bestow his light upon any one, and by his hot Beams melt the waxen Wings of the untamed, flying, and (to his Father Dedalus) disobedient Son Icarus, (and flying out of the Isle of Creet, over the Icarian Sea,) that so he might fall down into the sweet and sulphureous Sea of the Sun, and may remain drowned therein: Then from this dead Body (which is not wont to be subdued by any other means) may a most excellent Medicine be prepared. For what way soever he is handled by otherwise, whether he be turned into a white sublimate, or be reduced into a yellow or red precipitate, he is notwithstanding always corrosive; and brings more hurt than good, and therefore may very deservedly be eschewed.
Or if we did but know the way of fixing it without any corrosivity, by those three principal Columes of all Medicine, namely Vitriol, Sulphur, and Antimony, he would undoubtedly be administrable without any fear, and be withall capable of performing great matters. For then he would not stir up and cause so many purgations, and such vehement Salivations, and other hurtfull symptoms as usually comes to pass, but would bring a most speedy help to the Sick by his gentle operation by Sweat and Urine, and get the Physician a most eminent praise.
This I would have every one know, that Sulphur has a power of killing all Corrosives, and reducing them to a sweetness, whether it be done by the dry way or by the moist. And of all Sulphurs, a Vegetable Sulphur is the fittest, which being freed from its inflamable nature, is capable of reducing [any] Corrosives, though never so great, unto a sweetness in one hours space. Nay more, any Metal being first dissolved in such like Corrosives, doth together with the same become a sweet Medicament: And so when Gold is dissolved in Spirit of Salt, and Silver, Tin, Copper, Iron, and Lead are dissolved in Aqua Fortis, and that that Corrosive Dissolvent is transmuted by a sweet Sulphur, it so comes to pass that the Metal together with the Corrosive is made a Medicament, and becomes potable. Such potable liquor of the Metals, (but especially of Gold and Silver,) and void of all Corrosivity, will you meet withall in my Medical-shop; which liquor, as well those of Silver, and Copper, as that of Gold, are red. The Liquor of Gold may be used instead of Aurum Potabile, and it guilds Quicksilver and the other Metals with a golden Colour, like as the Silver-liquor guilds Mercury, and Silver [or Copper, probably] with a Silver Hue; and the Coppery-liquor guilds Mercury and Iron with a Coppery Colour.
N. B. Aurora being inflamed with the love of Jupiter, and withdrawing him together with her self into Heaven, if both of them be again thrust down headlong by the other Gods into the Salt-Sea, they come forth out of this Bath, so delicate and so white, that she resembles the fairness of Diana; and he, the comliness of Apollo: but not as yet constant in the Fire. But when the time of bathing is over, Mars coming to the Sea Shore, draws both of them out upon a dry Island called Irony, from Iron; where they are yet once more washt by Vulcan, (who makes use of Saturns help) in a dry Bath, who washeth off the Defilements far more accurately than the Salt Sea could, for he leaves not off washing and purging them, untill all the Defilements are separated from both their Bodies, and that they be made like unto Diana and Apollo, in Constancy and comeliness.
Mars seeing that his Sister Venus, and Brother Jupiter did come forth out of the Salt Sea with so lovely a fairness, leapt thereinto himself, that so by spending some time in washing, he might rinse off those black Defilements from his black Body. But there was such store of filth washt off, as made all the Sea green and sweet, and it hid [or swallowed up] Mars himself, being now much diminished, insomuch that he could never have escaped out of that Sea, had not Sol, out of meer pity on him, dried up the water of the Sea, for old limping Saturn to come unto him, and to take poor wretched him out of the Dirt and Mire, which he also did.
But because there was such a deal of Mire and Filth as that this (slim) lame, (hopping Fellow) could not get out agen, he even there stuck fast with Mars, and so lost his Life. Of the dead Bodies of these two, viz. of Mars and Saturn, Vulcan did at length make one Head having two Faces, or a double Countenance, one resembling Apolo, the other Diana; and upon this account was the name of double-visaged Janus bestowed upon it by Vulcan.
By these few and short Operations and Processes, may any one make and devise many more such like. I am not at this time, for my part, minded to busie and trouble my self about any more tedious a description of such matters, for I guess that in what I have already said and disclosed to the unthankfull, I have too much exceeded my bounds. Every one may choose to himself those things which he shall deem most profitable, and forbear to despise that which he shall not be capable of apprehending the meaning of.
’Tis a usual Proverb, That a Cup of generous Wine must accompany Dainty Delicates.
Because therefore we have in the three precedent Sawces or Junkets, presented you with fine savoury Cates, it is but fitting that we accompany the same with three dainty draughts, and those drawn out of the best of Metals too, namely out of Gold and Silver, because the Cates or Sawces themselves were composed of the same. Our Ancient Predecessors called those Drinks of old time Nectar, or the drink of the Gods, which in our days are known by the names of potable Gold, and potable Silver.
Concerning these two, do many of Ignoramus his Fraternity babble many Stories, and falsly boast that no true potable Gold can be prepared, or be in Being without the Philosophers Stone. This conclusion of theirs is clearly untrue, for a Man may easily make Gold and Silver potable, though he hath not any knowledge at all of the universal Medicine, which is to be thus understood, viz. when the Gold and Silver either alone or conjoyned, are dissolved in a sweet and not Corrosive Menstruum, and rendred fit to be administred to the Sick in Water, Ale, Wine, or any other Liquor. For those kind of Solutions may be taken for a simple potable Gold and Silver.