And although the envious and lying Devil should oppose the truth even with his greatest power, and should most cruelly rage against it, yet notwithstanding he will not be able to shew us any one Man that hath produced and brought the truth forth to the light with greater perspicuity and evidence than Glauber hath.
I have therefore yet once more at present shown by a most evident demonstration even before the whole World, and have asserted it for a truth, that not onely the more imperfect Metals do admit of being really transmuted by Salt and Fire into the more perfect ones, but withall, that by them, [viz. Fire and Salt] a Tincture may be made.
And now let all mine enemies visible and invisible ones, open and secret ones, what name soever stiled by, come forth and publickly produce the true Transmutation of Metals, with a clearer and more conspicuous manifestation than I have here done. I acquiesce with what I have hitherto spoken; if God shall please I will divulge admirable things in my next third Century. In this little Treatise there are laid open onely four secrets, but yet so clearly and conspicuously that no body hath as yet manifested such and so eminent things with clearer and more perspicuous expressions.
For that first Instrument is clearly enough described, by the help of which, not onely a great plenty of all sharp Spirits may be prepared with very little costs and easie labour, and the four-fold use of these Spirits is able to bring most great profit to the Countrey.
1. All Gold, Silver, and Copper are thereby extracted out of the poorer sort of Oars which Germany abounds with every where, and that in a far easier manner than by fusion, and are so brought to a very gainfull improvement, to the great benefit of all Germany, the which hath never been hitherto done.
2. Of the said Spirits is made a Water-attracting Magnet, for the bettering of poorer Wines, that so they may keep good, and be the easilier transported out of one place into another, as I have signified in my second Century. It is a secret which offers gain both to the rich and poor, and may be prepared in great plenty.
3. The imperfect Metals are sundry ways bettered by those saline Spirits, of which may be made vast quantities as I have shown in this Work or Book, and this melioration my Writings do variously teach and treat of.
4. By the help of these fiery Spirits of Salts, preparable in mighty plenty, which is a thing commodiously to be done by the Instrument described in this Book, may the Turks who are the Enemies of the Christian World be resisted without any Bloud-shed. Concerning these fiery Waters, which being such a notable destruction on the Enemies, this is here to be noted, that immense quantities of them are easily gotten without any Distillation and with very little expences.
For if much be to be effected by them, it is necessarily requisite to have vast quantities of them in readiness, without which, no great matters are in this case to be accomplisht. But as concerning the manner of so greatly endammaging the Turks by these moist Waters I cannot so accurately describe the same here, as being a meer stranger to, and ignorant in military affairs. However I will briefly and in few words shaddow out, what way I think it may be done by, viz. to resist and mightily endamage the Enemies by them.
First of all, this is the nature and property of these moist Waters. As to outward view they are like Water, and may be handled or dealt with as other common Waters, but their inward virtue is nothing but a meer Fire. And because these moist Waters may be thrown not onely with the hands, but with greater Warlike Engines or Guns a good way off, by artificial Instruments prepared for that purpose; therefore is the use of them manifold, and as necessity requires may they be used several ways for the expulsion and overcoming of the Enemies. We will illustrate our meaning by an example. Suppose I am in a City or Castle besieged by the Enemies, and that I have by me some of those kind of Instruments which are accommodated to this use for the moist Fires. If now the Enemy should set upon the Trench, Wall, or a Bul-wark, and I were furnished with that defensive Water of mine, should stand behind the Wall or Bul-wark in that place which the Enemy sets upon, he could not possibly come at me; for those moist Fires may be cast by the said Instruments far without the City, like a fiery showr of Rain, or like a Cloud, which Rain being forced out of but one onely Instrument would dilate it self far and wide upon many hundreds of Men, and whatsoever it touched it would hurt and burn like common natural Fire, and it would especially blind their sight, so that the Men would not be able to look up or see. If now the Enemies should make their attempt upon any place, and there should be shoured down upon them such a fiery Rain, and by hurting their Eyesight make them quite blind, how would they be able being blinded to get over the Walls or Bul-warks? I do believe that if they should have gotten over the Walls or Forts, and be made thus blind, they would be heartily glad if they could but get out again and recover their own party. But it would be better to beat them off, and blind them when they come with their Ladders to scale the Walls, than to permit them to approach any nearer. But yet if it should so happen that the Enemies had gotten even into the City it self, and there were some Houses in the principal places or streets in which the defendants may rally themselves and that such Houses were furnisht with such moist Fires, and that such fiery showers were shot out thence so blinding them that they durst not open their Eyes, what I pray would they be able to do, being blinded and clearly deprived of the use of their sight? Would they not throw away their Arms and solely mind the getting the Fire out of their Eyes, and yet it would hardly be so done in half a days time, nay if it should touch their Eyes in pretty quantity, it would scarse be quencht in two days time, and if they should go to wipe their Eyes with their hands, then would they make their torments much more intolerable, and would add more Fire to their Eyes, because their hands are likewise moistned and plagued with that continual shour. And now may not such unbidden Guests be overwhelmed and slain with Stones cast on them out of the adjoyning Houses? And may not one Single Woman with such a little Instrument onely filled with these moist Fires defend her House against an hundred Soldiers. Verily in my opinion there may be made a better defence with such a little Instrument that one may carry about with him, than with ten or even an hundred Musquets. For 100 Musquets require 100 Men, all which when they have discharged their Guns once, and have slain some ten or twelve Men (and yet it is not wont usually to happen so in such cases neither) they need some time to load their Musquets again, if they would keep on shooting. But this Instrument may be used even by Women, two or three of whom will haply do more hurt to the Enemy than twenty or thirty, yea haply one hundred Men are able to do with their Musquets. And if the Women and other weak Men do but blind their Enemies, the armed Men may take them thus blinded Prisoners; that so not being killed but made Slaves, they may be set to Work and Till the Land, and this would be far more profitable than the killing of them would be. So then, may not an hundred Soldiers by the help of my Instruments defend any Fortress with greater and more certain defence than a thousand Men could otherwise do. Verily I believe they may. For these blinding Fires of mine, or fiery Clouds and Rain being adjoyned to other usual and customary military Weapons, will most mightily endamage the Enemy, nor will there need so many Soldiers, for the Citizens themselves may use the other [customary] Arms, and the Women and Children may use the Instruments, whereby they would haply defend themselves more strongly than if they committed their defence to chosen and registred Souldiers.