How to make a Lamp, which being closed up in a Glass, may be made to burn continually by its own vertue, and give light without any other help.
Of the benefit of this Lamp.
Such a Lamp may serve all those who love to see light, as the Image of God; and may also be very available to those who by reason of continual Weakness are forced to lie much upon their Beds; which they may keep continually burning in their Bed-Chamber, not only because of its clear shining light, which doth neither smoak nor scent, like all other Combustible Lights, which scent is very prejudicial not only to the Sick, but also to the Healthy, because such smoaks offend the Heart and Brain. On the contrary, this Royal Fire is pleasant, strengthening, and refreshing to the Heart and Brain, and its Cotton or Wick is made of incombustible matter, and casts a sweet flavour all over the Room. This secret Fire might also serve the Hermetick Physicians to prepare a Universal Medicine; especially if the sweet refreshing Odour, which proceeds from it in Burning, be received in a Philosophick Receiver, and administred to their Patients, as a great Cordial, renovating, and restorative Medicine.
Although this secret Fire, be of far greater advantage than what hath been mentioned, yet for certain reasons its further use must be concealed. This Fire is appropriated to the Elemental Air, seeing it hath its own Air in it self, by reason of which it burneth in a Glass well closed, and if touched by the least Air, it extinguisheth and goeth out, of which you may see more in the Fifth Part of my Pharmacopœa Spagyrica.
There is another unknown Fire, which is appropriated to the Earth, because it resembleth a black Earth, and being shut up in a close Vessel of Glass, will keep its Fire perhaps to the end of the World, provided there cometh no Air into the Vessel; but if one would have it a visible Fire, the Glass must be broken that the Air may come to it, so the matter will presently enkindle it self by the Air, and in a short time burneth to a coal, yet without flame or smoak, and at length is consumed, and leaves heavy Ashes behind.
Of the Use of this Earthy Fire.
Although it may seem to many, that this Fire is not fit for any thing, yet I affirm it to be fit for great and weighty matters, which are not fit to mention, much less to make known, by reason of the abuse which may be made of it; this Fire being ten times more forcible than Gun-powder. Moreover, it also plays its part in the Melioration of Metals, for when this black Earth-fire is fluxed in a Crucible, then poured out, and exposed to the Air, it begins to move, and grow as it were living, so that one may see how forcibly it attracteth the Air, fills it self with puffing Bladders like an incensed Toad, continuing such a motion for the space of three or four days, then the matter falleth asunder, and there floweth out of it a red firey juice, the remainder is dead and unprofitable.
With this red juice, wonderfull things are to be done in Alchymy, not necessary to be mentioned in this place, because it is my desire onely to make known the Wonders of God. But he that will know more of it, let him read the Fifth Part of my Pharmacopœa Spagyrica, treating of the Stone of the Wise, where he will find how the blood of this Toad doth in few hours draw the Colour of Gold, so that the Body remains white, therefore it may be supposed to be the Chalybs of Sendivogius.
This Fire is also made of Steel, for when it is touched with a wet finger, sparks fly from it, as from a red-hot Iron which a Smith is forging upon an Anvil. But enough at this time of this wonderfull Earth-fire till another opportunity. Ripley seems to have known this Fire, and of it to have prepared his Universal Tincture: his Dream sounds thus, I have seen a red Toad drink so much and so long of the juice of the Grape, till his inwards did burst asunder, &c.
The third Secret Fire is appropriated to the Elementary water, because it softeneth and dissolveth all hard Subjects; it also radically joyneth the different nature of Metals, into wonderfull tinging Stones. Seeing that this Water-fire is of great vertue to the Metals, both particularly and universally, I am resolved (for brevity sake) to make known its vertue in a few cases, the rest will be known by the diligent. First, this wet Fire hath such great vertue, that it can dissolve radically the most fixed Gold, within the space of twelve hours, as also to unite it with Lune, to volatilise and render it irreducible. Which volatile Sol and Lune is no more like unto Sol and Lune, but in colour, easie flux, form and weight, appeareth like unto black Saturn; therefore the ancient Philosophers, because of its form and similitude, have called it the black Lead of the Wise, and because of its volatility the Mercury of Philosophers; which Mercury or black Lead of the Wise may be also per se, brought into a true Tincture.