If thou dissolve that which is fixed, and render it Volatile,
And again fix the Volatile, thou shalt not want.
We have proceeded according to this Verse, in making the fixed Iron Volatile, although we have not yet again rendered the Volatile fixed and constant upon the Cupel. The Fixation requires but little Art, so that it may abide the Fire, but to make it abide the Cupel is a great Art, and cannot be done by idle talking, but by a fundamental knowledge, without which all is in vain.
Now concerning the Fixation of those Volatile Tinctures, so as to abide the Cupel, I have (thanks to God) often experimented, and have already communicated to some who are Curious, out of kindness, whose success I do not yet know. This Fixation cannot be effected without Common Gold, for when Gold in a liquid form according to a due proportion, is mixed and radically conjoyned with the Tincture, and cast into Hell to Pluto, and Pluto finds his dear Consort deeply in love with the Anima of Mars, or this Beautiful Hermaphroditical Youth, he burns with Jealousie, so that he bends them so close together, as they can never afterwards be parted by Saturn. But wheresoever one of these three goeth, draweth the other two with it. And because they are also constantly together, as if it were one Spirit and Tincture united to the fixed Body of Gold, therefore they have an easie admittance into the Chamber of the Queen Diana; for Diana doth by no means shut out her dearest King Apollo, but willingly admits him, and therefore she is recompensed with all the Treasures which he hath received from his true and Warlike Servant, Mars: And of this, by Neptunes help, she hath made her self a glorious and constant Red Garment, which neither Water nor Fire, nor the old and envious Saturn can spoil her of. Here I have Fundamentally described the Fixation of the Martial and Antimonial Tincture, clearly without any reservation, yet somewhat enigmatically, according to the manner of the Poets. He that doth but a little consider, cannot fail, but must comprehend it, if he hath but a moderate Capacity, except God shall prohibite him.
Now let us further see, what may be further done with our Red Oyl of ♂, and ♁, in Physick and Alchymy. When we powr upon this Oyl our Alcahest, and again draw off the Liquor by a Retort with a gentle heat, and at length give a stronger Fire, the most subtle and cleanest part of the Tincture will come over, and the grossest part will remain behind, which is an Universal Purge. The subtle part, may yet be made purer and nobler by Rectification, and this you may afterwards dulcify from its Salt, and dry the Anima Martis and Antimonij, then put it into a Glass, and with an easie Sand-Fire melt it into a Red Stone, for this Stone melts as easily as Wax, and hath as easie Ingress into all Metals, as Oyl hath into dry Leather. This Stone hath not its equal, for it is better than the Fire-Stone of Basilius, it is better than Butlers Stone, to which Helmont hath ascribed such Wonders. Of this Stone and its incredible Virtues, which it shews in Physick, I shall treat at large in the following Treatise. This Treatise shall Discourse of three unknown Fires, and Stones: First of the secret Fire of the ancient Philosophers, which is called the Fire of Artephius, by Virtue of which secret fire, is generated the vegetable, Animal and Mineral stone of Philosophers, and also particularly out of all Vegetables, Animals, and Minerals, their Quintessence, or highest Power, without the help of any common Fire, without Furnace, Glasses, or any other known Chymical Instruments, is to be obtained in a few hours, without any Labour or Cost: And also things incredible and unheard of are by it brought to pass; of which great Secret, no Philosopher hath hitherto made the least mention; as the before cited Treatise will sufficiently testifie. The second Fire is like to it, viz. the same with which the Israelites in old time did set fire to their Sacrifices, which their Priests, when they were to go into the Babylonish Captivity, did hide in a dry hole in the Earth; and many years after, when they were released from their Captivity, and returned, they found not a Fire, but instead of it a Viscous water, which they poured upon their Sacrifice, and it kindled it, as well as if it had been done by the secret heavenly fire, of which you may read more in the Maccabeus. This secret fire of the Ancient Caldeans is also comparable to the Æthereal fire, of which Meteors, Thunder and Lightning are generated, and also the Thunderbolts themselves, which are cast down upon the Earth, to the great astonishment of Mankind. Hermes hath very well said, that what is above is also below, which is proved by the secret Fire of the Caldeans. For by a light, plain and cheap Art, one may easily produce the same Lightning fire, together with the Thunder, here upon Earth; of which the following Book shall treat more fully. And therefore to that I refer the Reader. I could not but here touch a little at these three Principal Fires, by which are generated the three chief Jewels of the World, that the Enquirer after the Wisdom of God may know, what great Mysteries of God are to be imparted hereafter to the ungrateful World, before I publish this Book of Fires and Stones. Now to return to our particular, and see by what means our Red Oyl of Mars and Antimony may be Coagulated, after a nearer way, into a tinging Stone, with which Silver particularly, with all other inferiour Metals, may be Meliorated, that out of them may be had good Gold and Silver with profit. And also, how by it the Tinctures of Stones, both noble and ignoble, may be drawn out of them, and after the Tincture is drawn out, to incorporate it with Silver, and Colour it. And also, all precious Stones exalted in their natural Colour, and if their Colour be too high, it may be diminished, and the Stone rendred more precious, and how this is to be done, the following Practice will reveal. The second and easier way, how to bring our tinging Red Oyl of Mars and Antimony into an hard, sweet, and not Corrosive Stone, is this.
In the foregoing Appendix, I have said somewhat of the Coagulation of the sharp Spirits, of Metals and Minerals, and have proved, that such Coagulation is to be made by the help of Old, cold and dry Saturn, but because I did not there declare, how it is to be effected, I think fit to do it here, and it is thus. All Liquors or moist things, if they are to be dryed, then the moisture must be drawn off from the thicker part by an easie heat, and then the thicker part remains by it self, and is used according to its Appropriation, as we know, that Aloes, Myrrh, Opium, and all other Gums and Juices were thin at the first, and were inspissated into concrete Juices, by the Sun or Fire. It is true, such an Inspissation of vegetable Juices is easily done in this manner; but Mineral distilled Spirits, and Corrosive Oyls, cannot be thus dryed, for they will endure heat, but if you give too great a heat, they will fly away and not be thickned, as you may see in Oyl of Vitriol, which by it self can never be dryed, although it be never so long kept in heat. But if you will have it dry, you must add something to it which is more than dry, and hath also power to exsiccate moisture. We see in the baking of Bread, when we put water to the Flour, and mix them together to make Dough, and of that bake Bread, that the Flour, although it be dry, yet it cannot retain with it self the Water, in a hot Oven, for that perfectly flies away from the Meal by the heat, and if the Fire be encreased, all the moisture would be gone, and only the Meal remain in form of a dry Earth, having quite lost the form of Bread, because the Meal was not radically united with the water, and therefore they could not endure the heat together. If one take a dry Earth, Sand or Powder of a Stone, and put water to it, the dry Earth will imbibe the water, and to the Eye reduce it into Earth, but this is not constant. For if you distil this Earth by a Retort, all the added water will again come over, and leave the Earth alone, but this is to be understood of common water. But suppose, one should add a heavy Mineral water as ol. Vitrioli to a dry Earth, and should commit this mixture to the Fire, in hopes, that the dry Earth should retain with it self the Corrosive Oyl of Vitriol, and also reduce it into a dry Earth, it would prove a mistake, for the Oyl of Vitriol, in a sufficient heat, would wholly forsake the Earth, because the Earth is dead, and hath no Sympathetick, or Magnetick power, to conjoyn it self radically with the Oyl of Vitriol, so as to remain together constant in the Fire; but such an Earth, which by an innate Love draws the Oyl of Vitriol to it self, and endures with it in heat, or cold without Separation, must proceed from the same Original with it, for every thing loves its like, and hateth what is unlike to it. Now, because the Oyl of Vitriol proceeds from a Mineral kind, therefore it loves the Metals, but no common Earth or Stones, for it hath no affinity with them. Now if the Oyl of Vitriol be to be converted into an hard Mineral stone, it must be done by its like, to wit, by Metals, and by such Metals as are most nearly related to it, viz. the Metals that are yet imperfect, for all Metals and Minerals proceed from the same Root, and therefore they all love one another, yet one Metal loves Oyl of Vitriol more than another, and the immature Metals, better than the ripe ones. For although Gold and Silver also love Oyl of Vitriol, yet they do it by Compulsion, and not out of true Love, for they are very difficultly dissolv’d by it, because they have put off their vitriolick Nature in their Fixation: On the contrary, Mars and Venus have not yet so done, and therefore they easily assume the Oyl of Vitriol, and are dissolved by it, because it was driven out of their Body by the force of Fire, therefore one might say, that Mars and Venus were the true Metals, and easiest to Coagulate the Oyl of Vitriol and Antimony, and to fix them into a Stone, yet this is not so, for Mars and Venus are of a gross Nature, and have too much unprofitable Earth, which may easily be seen by their difficult melting in the Fire. Then what is to be done? Shall Saturn or Jupiter do it, both which are of an easie Fusion? Or shall Mercury do it, which is always Liquid? I answer, that Mercury cannot Coagulate, nor make fixed, because he himself is not fixed, nor Coagulated. Neither can Jupiter do it, for although he is fluxible and dry, yet he is easily transmutable by a small Fire, into an influxible Earth, which cannot again be reduced into a fluxible Metallick Body: What then, shall despised Saturn do it, (may one ask) who is unfixed himself? and which way is it then possible for him to fix a Body, which is more fluid than himself? To this I answer, that the Fixity is not the only cause of the Coagulation of the Oyl of Vitriol, for then this Coagulation might be easiest performed, by Gold and Silver, which, yet is not done, and therefore this Coagulation of Corrosive Spirits must be done by dry Metallick Subjects. Now we know very well, that among all the Metals Saturn is the driest, of which Paracelsus writes very well in his Book of Vexations, which I have already alledged, and confirmed in the foregoing Appendix, [viz. Pharmacopœa Spagyr. Pars 7.] It is also true, that a better Coagulator, of all Corrosive Mineral Spirits cannot be found, than old, cold, and dry Saturn; for by his great dryness he Coagulateth the moist Mineral Spirits; by his great innate sweetness, he dulcifies all Corrosives; and by his fluxible Sulphur, he renders all influxible Metallick Subjects, fluxible. Now we need nothing more to our Red Oyl of Vitriol, Mars and Antimony, but that it be Coagulated into a hard, sweet and fusile Stone, which Coagulation can only be done by Saturn, and by no other Metal or Mineral, which I have sufficiently proved in the before mention’d Appendix, and also in my Book of the Three Principles of Metals. Now we have sufficiently understood, that the Coagulation and Dulcification of our Red Corrosive Oyl of ♂] and ♁ into a fusile Red Stone, can only be done by the help of the Old, Cold, and, of all Fools, despised Saturn. Concerning the Nature and Property of Saturn, it would not be here amiss, to say somewhat of it: But because Paracelsus hath already sufficiently done it, in his Cœlum Philosophorum, and I have already confirmed it in the forementioned Appendix, I think it here unnecessary to add any more. Yet I cannot forbear to say this, that Saturn naturally contains yet a good quantity of the Corrosive Oyl of Vitriol, which doth not vanish in melting, nor cannot be easier perceived, than when other Metals are added to him upon the Cupel, how soon he swallows them, and draws them with himself into the Cupel, except Gold and Silver, which he cannot touch, because they have no radical Communion with him, but are cleansed by Nature from their superfluous Sulphur, for this devouring Wolf Saturn, can consume nothing, but the combustible Sulphur of Metals, but the incombustible fixed Sulphur and Mercury, he cannot touch, as appears in Gold and Silver. The ancient Philosophers painted Saturn, as an Old Man, with one foot on a Wooden stilt, having in one hand a Sythe or Sickle, and in his other hand a Child, which he puts to his mouth to devour it. By this they would intimate the devouring Nature of Saturn, which they have also expressed in these Words, Falx ejus Mordax est, he hath a sharp Sickle, beware of him, for he hath no mercy, which I have found to be true, not only by the Cupel, that he Corrodes and eats through them, for he Corrodes Sand and Stones, and reduceth them into a transparent Glass; if he doth this by his own Nature, what will he not do, when his Sythe is whetted by the Corrosive Oyl of Vitriol? Certainly he can do ten times more: I have experimented it, he that will know it, may also do the same: By him we wash and cleanse common Gold and Silver on the Cupel, but that Gold and Silver, which is still hid in the imperfect Metals, as Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, as also in the vile Minerals and Stones, which is still closely tyed to the combustible Sulphur, here the common Saturn is too weak and can make no Separation. On the contrary, ours can effect it very well, and therefore I commend him, for after his Sythe is whetted by the Corrosive Oyl of Vitriol, if then one handle any Metal, or Mineral with him in a Crucible, he will in a moment eat a hole through it, and run out; Nay, if one should put two or three Crucibles one into another, he would do the same, but if one cast somewhat before him, to satiate his Wolf-like Appetite, then he leaves the Crucibles whole, but doth what the Artist would have him, and is used as a tame Wolf, devours the Sheep no more, but keeps them from other devouring Wolves.
Before I could bring him to that pass, to prevent his biting, I tryed many sorts of Vessels to hold him, nay I have put him upon a Test made of bone Ashes. ’Tis true, he did not eat in, but remained fixt upon the Cupel like Silver, and would not Coppel, by which I perceived, that any common Lead, by help of the Red Oyl of Mars and Antimony, may in a very short time, not only be reduced into Gold and Silver, but also be fixed into a true Tincture, which I have sufficiently shewn in the foregoing Appendix, that some of the ancient Philosophers have made their tinging Stone out of Saturn. But setting this aside, because I yet never went so far, but I should not think it at all difficult, to make an universal Tincture, to transmute all the Metals into perfect Gold and Silver out of Saturn, with the Red Oyl of ♂ and ♁, if my weakness of Body would permit. But I concern not my self about that, but leave it to those that are younger, for I can easier come to an universal Tincture, by the help of the secret Fire of Philosophers, than by Saturn; but in the particular Transmutation of Metals, I have performed many things with the Stone of ♄, as the following Practice sheweth.
Now followeth the easie Coagulation of our Red Oyl of Mars and Antimony, into a Red, Sweet, and fluxible Stone.
℞. Some Pounds of common Lead, melt it, and pour it out into a long Ingot, and rasp as much thereof as need shall require; take of this a Pound of more, and put it into a Glass Retort well coated, pour to it half the quantity of the Red Oyl of ♂ and ♁, set it in a Sand Cupel, and give Fire gently by degrees, and there will come over no Red Oyl, but only a clear and insipid Water, and all the sharpness, with the Red Tincture, will remain with the ♄. If you break the Retort, you will find no Saturn, but this Red, Tinging, and easie melting Stone, of such Virtues as I have told you before. Now if you will make use of this Stone for the particular Meliorating of the inferiour Metals, as also for noble and ignoble Stones, you must powder it, and mix it with the Metallick Ashes, and melt them, and you will find the good Metal to be separated from the rest, the unprofitable part, and superfluous Sulphur, will turn into dross, and the purer part will settle into a Regulus, which you must blow off upon a Cupple, and you will find the Silver and Gold, which our Stone hath separated out of that Metal; for our Stone hath this Nature, to separate in the Fire the good from the bad, to turn the Good into a Metalline Regulus, and the inferiour into Dross. For Example, I have a mixture of Metals containing Gold, Silver, Venus, Mars and Jupiter together, I granulate this mixture, and mix them with our Stone, melt them together in a Crucible, our Stone only spoils the inferiour Metals, as ♂, ♀ and ♃, which it consumes into a Dross, but the purer as ☉ and ☽ it separates from this Dross, and precipitates them into a Regulus. But if this Regulus should not be fine enough at the first melting, you must Cupel it with Lead, neither doth all the ☉ and ☽ come out of this mixture at one melting, but some remains with the Dross, therefore you must again put this into a Crucible, and put to it some filings of Iron, and so melt them together, then the wild Sulphur will be destroy’d by the ♂, and so let the Gold and Silver fall by Cupellation. The Dross you must reserve, till you have enough to melt in a small Wind Furnace, and it will be again reduced into Lead, which you may again use for the same Labour; for the Reduction of this, I have invented a peculiar small Furnace, which may be carried from place to place, and also you may pour out the Dross after it is melted, without breaking any thing of the Furnace, so that you may use it very often, before the Hearth will need mending. What is here said of the Separating of Metallick mixtures, the same may also be understood of those Mixtures, which are yet in the Oar, for the Oars are as easily separated by our Stone, as the Metals. This is the use of our Stone, before its Tincture is yet fixed, and therefore not able to transmute ☽ into ☉. Presently you shall also hear, how it may be rendred capable to transmute any Silver, by Degrees, into good Gold. I think it fit, first to say somewhat, how by the help of our Stone one may attain great Profit from Gems. For the Gems have in them fixed Tinctures, which our Neptune can spoil them off and so incorporate them with the naked Diana, to make her a Golden Vest, which is done thus: ℞ The fragments of coloured Gems, viz. of Granates, Rubies, Saphirs, Hyacinths, Jaspis, &c. put a little of these into a good Crucible, and put to it three times as much of our Stone, cover it well, and melt it upon those Stones, and our Stone draws out the Colour of the Gems, and Colours it self yet deeper. With this Red Stone, if any filed ☽ be mixed with it, and melted, it draws the fixed Tincture to it and becomes Golden, so that in the Separation it yeilds much Gold, N. B. The fittest Silver for this work is, that which is precipitated by ♀ out of Aqua Fortis, yet you may also use that, which is precipitated by Salt water. If the work be well done, the Gems will be white, which you may use instead of small Diamonds, for the Fire doth not take away their hardness, N. B. If a Man hath Skill enough to take away the Colour from the great Gems, as Granates, and Hyacinths, he may acquire Riches in a short time; for afterwards you may tinge other white Stones into Rubies, by the help of this Colour, but this Labour requires an experienced Artist, but no Pratler: And this is sufficient for this time, he that delighteth in these Arts may Practise them, and try how God will prosper him in it. If he can but obtain the Extracting of the Gems, he needs no more, for one Gem, of a Drain, is worth more than several Ounces of Gold. After we have briefly understood, how to make good Profit with our Red coagulated Oyl of Antimony and Mars, before it is yet fixed, with the imperfect Metals and Gems: You shall also hear what it will do, when fixed. And this you must know, that if a Tincture very well prepared, can endure melting in the Fire, yet for all that, it may not be accounted fixed; for inasmuch as they are made out of unfixed Metals, they cannot themselves be fixed; if one should object, and say, that the Tincture was drawn out of fixed Iron, and therefore it must also be fixed, although the Antimony was not fixed: I answer, that Iron cannot be called fixed, although it doth not fly in the fire, for Saturn can still devour it, but this only is to be reputed fixed, which endures the Cupel, which neither ♂ nor ♁ doth. Therefore the Tinctures which are extracted out of them, cannot endure the Cupel before they are made fixed. For which reason the highly experienced Philosopher Paracelsus tells us, that we must not take common Iron to draw our Tincture, but such as cannot be again reduced into Iron, which we must seek in the green and blue Scoriæ, out of which Iron hath been melted by the strength of Fire, and are cast away. Because the Iron, and also every imperfect Metal, containeth two sorts of Sulphur, viz. a combustible, and incombustible; the combustible is melted by a strong Fire, into a dead Glass, but the incombustible remains unhurt, hidden in the said Glass, and may be drawn out of it by Art, and brought into a Tincture, that will endure the Cupel. I could cite Paracelsus for several other things, because he writes very honestly, but it is not here convenient. It would be very well, if some one would reprint this Treatise, for it is out of Print, that the way to the Truth might be shewn to them that err. And if none will do it, I shall do it my self, for it is commendable to preserve a lighted Candle, and not suffer it to go out. This is enough of the Fixation of Paracelsus, which is done by the great strength of common fire. Now we will also hear, how this Fixation may be effected by an artificial moist fire, much easier than by the former. In my Treatise lately published of the Three Principles of Metals, I have taught how any combustible Sulphur may be fixed in a very few hours, so that no Fire can any more hurt it. Now if such a quick Fixation of combustible Sulphur, can be done with a moist Fire, as I have shewn it may in the said Treatise, what may not be done, by the same Fire in the more fixed Metals, such as Iron? I have also shewn in the same place, that ♁, as well as common 🜍, may be made fixed in few hours, I have also said that ♁ and common 🜍, so fixed have no ingress into Metals. After that, I have also taught, how to procure this ingress by common Gold, if the Gold and the Sulphur be united, and then a fixing Aqua Fortis drawn from them, that then it can never be separated from the Gold, but that the Gold so preserves it upon the Cupel, that Saturn cannot enter it: Now if this may be done with common Sulphur and Antimony, why not also with Mars, which in its Nature approacheth Fixity? Therefore it behoveth, that we should fix our Tincture of ♂ and ♁, after the same manner being united with ☉, by the Humid fire, that both may be permanent upon the Cupel. For without this Fixation nothing of moment can be done. For if these Tinctures be added to Silver, and are not constant in the Fire, they with the Silver, become Metals again, vanish upon the Cupel with ♄, and leave the ☽ nothing bettered. Therefore nothing else is to be observed, but to bring into Perpetuation the prepared Tinctures of ♂ and ♁, by the addition of Gold, and the due Abstraction of the fixing Waters; and then the Tinctures remain with the Silver unseparable, and the devouring Saturn cannot hurt them upon the Cupel. Let this suffice concerning the particular Fixation of our Red Oyl of ♂ and Antimony. Now followeth, how to make an universal Coagulation and Fixation of this Oyl.