The PROCESS.
℞. Three or four Ounces of our Coagulated Oyl of Mars and Antimony, into a Red Stone by the help of ♄, grinde it into an impalpable Powder, and draw from it ten or twelve Ounces of strong Aqua Fortis, which hath been first abstracted from decrepitated Salt, and in which is dissolved half an Ounce of Gold: Secondly, and Thirdly, abstract from it again fresh Aqua Regia, but without Gold; then the Gold will radically unite it self with the Tincture of Mars and Antimony, and they will be constantly fixed together, by means of Aqua Regia. When this is done, pour upon it a good quantity of common Water, let it boyl for some hours, and it will draw out the sharp Spirits, which remained with the Tincture, this may be once or twice repeated, then dry it, and it is fit to tinge Silver into Gold. This Tincture melts as easily as Wax; the Saturn which is mixed with it, doth not hinder it, it is true, he goes into the Silver with the Tincture, but is easily separated by the Cupel. I could set down many more Dexterities, in the Preparation of this Tincture, but it would swell too much, it being already greater than I expected, for I only thought to have annexed this to the Appendix, as a Corollary, but it is grown bigger than the Appendix it self. Here should have been added, how this Tincture of Antimony and Mars, by the help of our Alcahest, might be made into a constant Tincture, easily and in great quantity, without Cost; so compendiously, that in three or four days time, a good quantity of Tincture may be made fit to graduate a great part of Silver into Gold: But the time will not allow me here to insist any farther on it, but must defer it the second Appendix, where the Reader will find greater Contentment. For this work is so easily done with the Alcahest without great Cost, that the most ordinary Mechanick may imitate it, and profit by it. There will come another World, when Art will flourish, and Pratlers perish. Take notice of this, for the time is at hand, Elias the Artist will soon appear, of this Read Paracelsus in his Book of Vitriol. At such a time there will be great changes in Europe, and chiefly in the German Empire, France and Swedland. For Elias the Artist, it may be, when he comes, will bring with him some Military inventions, and by his great Power establish the Fifth Monarchy. That in these times great Changes will be in Europe, is not to be doubted, for the Heavens do foretel it. God send us what is good, there being now nothing of good left, how then is it possible, it should remain longer in Peace?
OF
ELIAS the ARTIST:
OR,
What we are to understand by Elias the Artist, and what he is to reform in the World at his coming.
VIZ.
The true Spagyrical Medicin of the Ancient Egyptian Philosophers, which has been lost for above 1000 Years, and will be restored by him, and illustrated with many new Inventions, by rejecting much unprofitable Smut-work, and pointing out a nearer and better way to obtain good Medicines, with little Trouble or Charges; which true Medicine he will bring along with him, and declare the same to the present deceived World. Translated out of the High-Dutch.
Courteous Reader,
Towards the end of my last published Treatise concerning the Infernal Goddess Proserpina, I took occasion to mention, that probably soon after my Death, the long-since fore-told Elias Artista would appear, and bring along with him a great Light, to enlighten the dark World, enabling them to reject the Evil, and embrace that which is good: As likewise, that many great changes will happen in divers Kingdoms, and especially in the Roman Empire, where one Potentate will overcome the other, and make himself Master of his Dominions. I there also shewed what, Paracelsus hath declared concerning Elias Artista, and fundamentally confuted the groundless Opinion of some Persons concerning the same in my [Fourth Part of the Prosperity of Germany], shewing that that Prophecy is not to be understood according to the Letter, and to be meant of some great Man in the World, but Magically; for the word Elias by transposition of Letters, makes out Salia, and so likewise doth the word Elisha, as I have formerly explained these words in my Treatise of the Nature of Salts. Elias Artista therefore according to the style of Philosophers, signifies extraordinary and unknown Salts, by which great and incredible things may be performed, and accordingly when manifested, will be the cause of great changes in the World.
These Salts were known to the Philosophers of old, who yet did not think fit any further to open themselves concerning them, than in declaring, that the Philosophers Stone must be prepared by them. Turba Philosophorum speaking concerning this matter, saith, This our Salt encreases the Redness in ☉, and whiteness in ☽, and further, if God had not created this Salt it were impossible to make the Elixir. It is probable, that the Philosophers who wrote concerning this wonderful Salt, had no knowledge of any other, supposing that this Salt only was proper to extract and prepare Tinctures. I must acknowledge there is no Salt in the World, that hath such virtue to encrease and exalt the Tincture in common as well as Philosophical ☉ and ☽, and that as it were in a moment, as soon as the Monarch of Salts is added to them. Neither doth our Salt only exalt, but it also joyns the King of Metals so indissolubly with his Queen, that no Art can separate them. A thing worth our wonder, that a Volatile white Salt should have the power to meliorate ☉ and ☽, and to exalt the same permanently. For to give some further light to the matter, I declare, that this Salt of which the Turba speaks, doth sublime white, and being dissolved in Water, gives a white Solution: It is white, and continues white both in and out of the Fire, and is altogether Volatile, for which reason I have called it my Secret Salt Armoniack; but as soon as it is join’d with ☉ or ☽ it becomes fix, and makes the ☉ and ☽ fixer than they were before, affording them a kind of plusquam perfection, and inseparable Conjunction. Let none think that this Salt of which I here speak, is like, or the same with that, which is made of Oyl of Vitriol and Spirit of Urine, of which I have treated in the Seventh Part of my Pharmacopæa Spagyrica; for this our Sovereign Salt has no affinity with that, for as much as that Salt makes all things Volatile, and separates their purer part by Sublimation from the gross fæces, but this our white Salt, though it be unfixt it self, yet has the power to fix unfixt Metals, so as to endure the Test, provided always that the virtue of this unfixt Salt, be first fixed by its conjunction with ☉ and ☽. For the whole substance of this Salt (which the Philosophers have called a Bishop or High Priest) when ☉ and ☽ as King and Queen are inseparably join’d by it, doth not abide with the ☉ and ☽, but only by its hidden Tincture and Virtue, whereby it exalts all colours, the unprofitable body of the Salt separating from them, as soon as the Conjunction is made, even as a Priest, when he has join’d two Persons in Wedlock goes his way, having performed his Office. And indeed this inseparable Conjunction of ☉ and ☽, may well be compared with the Conjunction in Marriage performed by a Priest; for as when the Priest has join’d two Parties together in Wedlock, they must inseparably continue so till death; so likewise when the Metallic Copulation of ☉ and ☽ is performed by means of our Metallick High Priest, consecrated by Jupiter, then are their Bodies thence forward inseperable; the Water finds no ingress into them, the Air cannot pierce them, and Earth much less, yea, the strongest of all Elements, the Fire hath no power over them, but, like a Married Couple, abide together in all contrariety and adversity, and according to their Kind do multiply in infinitum, being supported with due Food and Nourishment; for we know, that except we be refreshed and strengthened with Meat and Drink, we can neither live nor multiply; the multiplying virtue in many and all Creatures proceeding from the Nourishment they take in. And the same we are to understand also concerning the Metallick Multiplication, for when ☉ and ☽ are permanently conjoined, by means of the Metallick High Priest, this alone is not sufficient in order to their multiplication, but they moreover must be supported with convenient Meat and Drink. And as Man at his first coming into the World is nourish’d with his Mothers Milk, in like manner the Philosophers do feed their ☉ and ☽ with their Mothers Milk, that is, with their first Essence, from whence they deriv’d their Original. Now we know that in contemptible Antimony, the first Ens of ☉, is copiously to be found, and may with ease be drawn thence, in the appearance of Milk, with which ☉ and ☽ are to be nourished in order to their Multiplication and Increase. The Nourishment then wherewith our conjoined ☉ and ☽ are to be refreshed, and disposed to a Multiplication in infinitum, is our Lac Virginis, Virgin Milk and Mercurial Water, which strengthens and increaseth the Procreative Seed in ☉ and ☽ both in quantity and quality. Wherefore also this feeding or inceration has always been recommended by the Philosophers, as a most necessary thing, whereby, as it were, a new life, and multiplying virtue is communicated to the inseparably united ☉ and ☽.
Furthermore we are to know, that after common ☉ and ☽ by means of the Salt of Art, are inseparably conjoined and exalted in their colours; yet nothing can be performed with them, because they want an ingress into other Metals, which they have lost by their Conjunction, which therefore must be restored to them by means of our mercurial Water, which not only communicates Ingress, but also easie Fluxibility and Multiplication to the destroyed Bodies of ☉ and ☽. For when our ☿ Water is fixed in Conjunction with the fixt ☉ and ☽, then it is no longer a Volatile ☿, but is changed by the exalted ☉ and ☽ to a fixt Tincture. This done, if we would multiply this Tincture, we must add to it some of our Mercurial Water, and fix them together as before, which Multiplication we may repeat as oft as we please. For when once ☉ and ☽ are made irreducible and more than perfect, by means of our Salt of Art, we need never after to begin our Work a-new, but only mingle the fixt with the volatile in order to their Fixation; seeing that our Mercurial Water is in its inside better than ☉, for which reason also it turns the ☉ and ☽ when fixed with them into mere Tincture. Let no Man wonder why in this Operation we join ☉ and ☽ together, and not rather make use of ☉ alone, forasmuch as this ☽ hath no colour at all outwardly, though in its inside it be higher of colour than ☉ it self, both which Metals nevertheless, except their colours be exalted by the Salt of Art, and Inceration, without our Mercurial Water can never be changed into a true Tincture, because ☉ and ☽ have no mere Tinctures than is sufficient for themselves, but being exalted by the tinging Salt of Art, they are capable of colouring white Metals, but not before. Indeed ☉ alone without the addition of ☽ may be exalted by our Salt of Art, and Mercurial Water into a Red Tincture. In like manner also may ☽ alone be exalted in its whiteness by our Salt of Art, and ☿, one part of which exalted ☽ tingeth many parts of ♀ into good and fixt ☽♀, for our ☿ wherewith we incerate and multiply, may be fixed into a Red or White Tincture, according to the ferment we join with it, with ☉ it makes a red, and with ☽ a white Tincture. However the best way is to put ☉ and ☽♀ together in due weight and proportion, exalting them with the Salt of Art, by which means the whiteness in ☽♀ when join’d with ☉, becomes changed into Redness, of which mine Eyes are Witness. Of this Exaltation of ☉ into a high purple colour, and of ☽♀ into the highest whiteness, I gave an Ocular Demonstration to some of my Friends, before my Sickness, but none of them have since undertaken the Work, and my self by Sickness have been hindered hitherto.