Hence it comes to pass, that in one days digestion six pounds of Spirit of Salt will give seven pounds of the same; unto which, if you again add one pound of Water, and one pound of Salt, you shall have eight pound of Spirit of Salt: which by the addition of another pound of Salt, and one pound of Water more, it may be farther augmented; insomuch that the Spirit of Salt, by a continually-repeated addition of Water and Salt, gets a perpetual encrease, and the Metal is so far from being at all hindred in its maturation, as that it is daily ripened more and more. For the Agent and Patient are continually encreased, and become bettered both in quantity and quality, which verily is a most excellent work, and never so manifestly described by any body as by my self.
But that I may be yet better understood by every one, I will here adjoyn a way which every one may imitate, and which teacheth how, by the Spirit of Salt alone affording not Gold but Silver, the said operation may be instituted with Copper.
You must take care to have a Vessel made either bigger or lesser, of such matter as the Spirit of Salt cannot spoil or prey upon; And pour thereinto as many pounds of the Spirit of Salt as it will well hold, and as many pounds as there be [of Spirit,] so many ounces of Copper-plate must you put in, and to them add twice as many ounces of Salt, so that to one ounce of Copper there may be two ounces of Salt. The Spirit of Salt being drawn off even till the Copper and Salt be dry, it will be stronger and more in quantity, because, from the adjoyned Salt, it hath acquired to it self an encrease and greater Virtues. Pour this Spirit agen upon the Copper, which in the first distillation was wholly dissolved up; and boil the Spirit of Salt over the fire, that the Copper, together with the Salt, which was not carried over by the Spirit in the first distillation, may be again dissolved.
The Furnace being cool’d, Take the glass out of the Sand, and pass the Spirit of Salt with the dissolved Copper through Cap-paper, and wash the white Calx that remains in the Paper with water, dry it, and melt it with a fix Lixivial Salt, and you shall find as much pure Silver, nay, even somewhat more than the Copper had in it by its own nature. Put the green filtred Solution agen into the Cucurbit, being first well wash’t; of which, if there be six pounds, add thereunto one pound of Salt, and half a pound of Water, that so there may be seven pounds and an half, provided the Cucurbit will contain so many pounds, if not, then put the less matter therein. Then being placed in Sand, draw off the Spirit of Salt from the added Salt, even to dryness, and as much increase as you find it have above six pounds, lay it by, and add as much water to these remaining six pounds, which you must again put upon the dry matter in the Cucurbit, and then agen distill it off till the said matter be dry, and repeat the same Operation again by pouring on and distilling off. If the Spirit of Salt be augmented in quantity one pound, then put more Salt into the Cucurbit, and agen augment the six pounds of Spirit of Salt by the addition of Water, and repeat the pourings on, and drawings off after the aforesaid manner, always removing at each Distillation, the increase that is over and above six pound: and renewing the apposition of more Salt, after that the former is drawn off, untill you shall have gotten in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or tenth Distillation as much Spirit as you at first took, to begin your Distillation, [which was six pound.] Now all the operation consisteth in this knack, namely, that you so operate, as that nothing flies away in fume, for all the encrease ariseth from the Salt and Water which you added thereunto. When you have gained thus much, you may (without adding any more new Salt) pour on the Spirit of Salt several times upon the Salt which is left remaining in the Cucurbit, and agen draw it off so often thencefrom, untill it hath brought over with it self almost all that Salt. Which [Salt] being almost wholly changed by the Spirit of Salt that was poured into the Cucurbit, Dissolve up the remaining Mass of the Copper and Salt, and the Sand being cold, take out your Cucurbit, Filter the Spirit through Cap-paper, and wash the white Powder left in the Paper, and dry it, and melt it as afore with a Lixivial Salt, and you shall have as much pure Silver as the Spirit of Salt was able to fix, of the Copper, in such a time. Then put this green Spirit of Salt into the Cucurbit together with more new Salt, and repeat the said labours ten or twelve times, and the Spirit of Salt will be always encreased and rendred more strong, and the Copper will agen yield forth Silver.
This Labour, you may at your pleasure, continue as long as you list, for you will always get some Silver, and have an encrease of Spirit. For both the Agent, viz. the Spirit of Salt, and the Patient, viz. the Copper doe encrease both as to quantity and quality.
But it may be demanded, Whenee that Silver comes? That which gave forth it self the first time we impute not unto the Spirit of Salt, as if by it made, no! but we say that it was in the Copper before, and was melted out of the Oar, together with the Copper, for this may well be. For there’s no Copper to be found which does not hold some Silver hidden in its belly: and though the Refiners have as accurately separated it as they could, yet nevertheless we doe conclude that that first Silver separated in the first Operation, was what was left of the Oar in the Copper, and remained unseparated by the Melters [or Refiners] therefrom, and was not made by the Spirit of Salt, but onely separated. And the Spirit of Salt being in its nature an enemy to Silver, does not dissolve it. But whence then did that come, which offered it self unto us the second, third, and fourth time; whereas in the first Solution, all the Silver was clearly taken out, and none at all left therein, but was all of it separated by filtration? What shall we here say, or indeed how shall we dare say otherwise, but that we believe and confess, that the Spirit of Salt did by its operation make the same of the Copper. Nor is there any reason why this should seem so very strange unto us, forasmuch as yearly, in the Earth, all Copper is naturally turned by Salt into Silver, and not onely Copper, but all the other Metals were at first, Salts: not such indeed as we use about our Cookery in the Kitchins, but such as are impregnated by the Sulphureous Stars [or Constellations.]
But forasmuch as we doe at present treat onely of Copper, we doe not therefore meddle with the rest of the Metals: for very rarely is Copper digged out of the Earth but it hath Vitriol therein, or, in defect of Vitriol, a Sulphur salted with a vitriolate salt. For any sort of Sulphur being burnt, and its fatness flaming, the sharp Salt is released, and passeth away in fume, resembling the tast, of the fiery Oil of Vitriol, and is captivated [or caught] in the great Alembick under which the Sulphur is burnt. This sharp Oil supplies the place of an Agent as to the Minera’s or Oars, in the Veins of the Earth; and doth more and more ripen the Minerals and Metals, but exceeding slowly: for Nature doth scarce attain to that limit in a thousand Years, which Art doth in a few Months time. For there are no impediments to obstruct the operativeness of our Agent, such as are the Stones, Flints, Sands, and various Earths which frequently occur, and are much abounding in the bowels of the [Metallick] Veins: insomuch that it can discharge its Operations freely, and without any Impediment at all: and besides too, we use our external fire by which we help this our Agent, and strengthen its virtues, and keep it in a continual action.
By all this discourse may every one see, that when we speak of ripening Silver out of Copper by the Operations of the Spirit of Salt, it is not contrary to nature, but altogether agreeable with the same. But now we doe not say that any one will suddenly become rich by this Labour, done with the Spirit of Salt and Copper, but we have described this Operation in this place, for this end, namely, that hereby the possibility of the thing may be learned, and that there may be good ground to believe, that even this too is most true, viz. when we write that by such or such an Agent, corroborated or fortified with such or such Subjects, and placed in such-like Digestions, Gold may be extracted as well as Silver out of the meaner Metals, which how little soever there be of, may notwithstanding prove profitable. For having once made onely some pounds of Spirit of Salt, you will not need to make any more anew, for in the digestion and maturation of the Metals, it will daily encrease, and that in a plentifull manner, and that too without any considerable costs, seeing that the Salt it self, which is to be added, is likewise cheap enough. If you make your Cucurbit of pure Silver, (for the Spirit of Salt will not work upon that) and digest your matters therein, you need not then stand in fear of the breaking of Glasses: Besides too, you may always let such a made Vessel lie in the Furnace, and as soon as ever the Spirit is drawn off, you may presently put it on agen, nor is there any need of your waiting so long, and ceasing from the work till the Vessel cool. If therefore a Tower to put the Coals in (as afore) be added to that Furnace, or Furnaces, then is it a true Countrey Farmer, or Tenant, for the sustaining of whom, there will need no other charge but that of Coals, and yet notwithstanding he gives you a perpetual gain without labour, cost, and trouble. Nay more, if we do but rightly weigh the business, we shall find that the daily encrease of the Spirit of Salt in these labours, is easily sold for more Money than the Coals will cost, so that all that Gold and Silver which is gotten out of the Metals, doth offer it self unto us for nothing. Besides, such kind of Metals may be taken for this Operation as are wont to yield more Silver and Gold than Copper, and the plentifulness thereof will be yet more, if several such kinds of Metals are joyned together and so dissolved, and digested, in which operation they better one another by a mutual action; for one supplies what another wants, and likewise from another, are those superfluities which it has in it, taken therefrom: so that (as we said afore) the mutual melioration of those Metals may be set on foot and promoted, as it were without any cost, and by a very little labour.
Whosoever he be therefore that has the knowledge and experience of the nature and property of the Metals, which they are, that have a correspondency with each other, and that love to better each the other; and is not ignorant what Agent is agreeable to Gold; such a one I say as this is, will commit unto his Countrey Tenant the care of Weekly and Monthly paying the due Rent, and will be able by this means to serve God his Creator without wicked Usury; to do good unto his Neighbour, to extricate himself out of that Diabolical Fellowship, of the impious and the great crew of evil Men; and to lead his Life in Tranquillity and Quietude; which verily is a great and singular gift of God, unto any one that can arrive unto such a knowledge.
But yet no Man hath any reason to perswade himself, should he be a Master of this Art and Science [here shewn,] that he shall be able daily to separate great heaps of Gold out of the more imperfect Metals, whereby he may be enabled to lead a vicious Life. No, for my endeavour shall (in the first place) be, not to make any wicked Man partaker of this Art.