Now having understood what Artephius and Pontanus have written of our secret Fire, I could not but describe it somewhat more openly, to shew the Artist a nearer and easier way to obtain it. I Glauber can truly affirm this, That in my young days I have travelled many Countries, and diligently searched for an Experienced Philosopher, that might teach me some good. But I no where found my desire, but I often found some diligent Physician, who following Crollius, Hartman, Beguinus, and other Experienced Physicians, prepared their own Medicines, by which they gained Honour and Wealth, and were therewith content. Some of them had indeed read Artephius and Pontanus, but had not light enough to understand them. I have also endeavoured to frequent the elaboraories of Princes, to learn something there. Indeed I found Processes enough there, which were sent from great Men. By following of which, and working in Arsenick, Orpiment, Cobalt, Cinabar, Mercury and the like Minerals, I drew a great deal of Poison into my Body, till at length I grew weary of it, and therefore set my mind upon Spagyrick Medicines, by which I have found many curious Secrets, and gain’d a sufficient Livelyhood. But yet at the same time, I attentively read the Writings of the Philosophers, and out of them learned many good things, chiefly Basilius, Braceseus, Neusementius and the like good Authors; but the secret Fire of Artephius, or the proper Agent, I could not Learn, I have often Discoursed of it with Learned men, but always found, that they understood less of it than my self. For they had not read the Ancient Philosophers, but had spent their time in getting of Money, and sending their Receipts to the Apothecareis Shops. But after a light was enkindled in me from above, and I began to know this secret Fire, I began to have an aversion to the tedious, and troublesome work with Glasses, therefore I set it all aside, and now find my self more at ease, by this Capital work, for I make no further use of Furnaces, Glasses, or Coals, but can now do more and greater things in half a Nutshell or Eggshell, than I could before, with all my Furnaces, Glasses and Coals, for which I give incessant thanks to God, who is the giver of all Good. This I was willing to add, viz. that our Fire is hard to be found, but easie to be made, when known. Concerning the Matter, it is not always the same, but may be taken after several ways, yet according to the true proportion of the Fire, for this is all in all, the proper Agent must be only excited by our Fire, and carried on to the promoting of the Maturation of our Matter; for the proper Agent is here as much concerned, as the fire it self, for that alone could not work sufficiently to prepare an unripe Mineral by it self, without the help of the proper Agent, in so short a time, into a Tincture constant in the Fire, or universal Medicine. Now whoever hath a mind to do any thing with our secret Fire, must have constancy of mind, tarry at home, and beg assistance of God, whose Blessing he must wait for with Patience.
Now concerning the farther use of our secret Fire, it is thus, that all Vegetables, as Herbs, Roots, Seeds, Woods, &c. and all Animals, none excepted, together with all Minerals and Metals, may without Cost, be easily brought into excellent Medicaments, particularly. For our Fire Maturates the purest Anima, or Quintessence of all things. Poysonous Subjects are converted into Medicine, sowr and bitter into pleasant and sweet. The immature is ripened; and our Fire can be better compared with nothing, than with the Sun, which gives Life to all Vegetables, Animals, and Minerals, and makes the imperfect, perfect, nothing excepted. In fine, Our Fire is the greatest and most noble in the World, the Sun excepted: But God is above all, the Lord of the Creation. But what need I say much of the Melioration of Vegetables, Animals and Minerals, by our secret Fire, I have said enough, if I should say more, it would render it too Common.
But thus much it will be necessary to add, viz. what the Subjects are, which are the most easily wrought upon by our Fire. Among Vegetables, Wine, and what pertains to it is the best; Among Minerals, Antimony and Mercury, which is our living Gold; Among Animals, Man, and what appertains to him. You have your own choice to chuse, which you will, you have sufficient Advice, and want nothing more, but the Blessing of God, without which all is in vain.
Here followeth the Composition, or Preparation of our secret Fire.
Three Heathenish Deities command this our secret Fire, viz. Apollo, Diana and Pluto. Apollo affords the warm Sun-shine. Diana gives the cooling and refreshing Night. And Pluto gives his Fiery Hellish Rain. That you may better understand it, Apollo gives Wine three times, Diana Milk twice, and Pluto his Hellish Fire once. Out of these three Gifts, our Fire is prepared. This is the true Preparation of our wonderful Fire. To speak of this more amply, is not convenient; we must not cast Pearls before Swine, which way this Fire is to be used to any Subject, is sufficiently discovered to a Man thereunto elected by God. But there are many, who having no dependency upon God’s Blessing proceed after an evil and cheating manner, so that those Alchymists, or Gold-makers, are become a scorn to the Country, and no Man cares to dwell by them, lest their great and continual Fires should bring damage to his Neighbours, and this not without reason. For in making Oyl of Vitriol after the common way, a Fire is kept ordinarily for forty or fifty hours, which is a very tedious Work; but the Adepts can force over a Pound of Oyl of Vitriol in an hours time, with very few Coals, which thing I have already touched in my Writings, and shall say more of it in my Second Appendix. I have recommended this compendious way of making Oyl of Vitriol and Sulphur, to some Men; but they adhered so close to their old lingring way, that they were regardless of a better, notwithstanding that the Oyl of Vitriol, and the Acidum of Sulphur, are the Basis or Foundation of all the common Hermetick Medicine, for all other Mineral Spirits are by them acquired easily and plentifully. That Mineral Acid which is plentifully found in Vitriol and Sulphur, is the only Agent whereby Nature Maturates the yet volatile and unripe Minerals in the Earth. And also all Tinctures, which are fixed and constant in the Fire, are by the hand of the Artist prepared by this, yet with the Addition of its Compeer, the external Fire. This universal Acidum is our Horse-dung, and the Stygian water, in which Jason drowned his Dragon and made him fixed: But when I here mention Jason’s Dragon, it comes into my mind what happened to me, when I once attempted to make such a Dragon, which vomited out Fire, and a black poysonous Smoke, out of Sulphur and Saltpeter: And because this History, may serve as a warning to many, who may incur much danger oftentimes by the common Alchymy, I will here insert it. A little before I became Bed-ridden, I had undertaken to steal from the ever watchful Dragon, that Golden Fleece which he hath in his keeping, and because this fierce Dragon will part with nothing before he be half slain, or at least, laid to sleep, therefore I was busied in this work, and had made a mixture of Sulphur, Niter and Tartar, and also another of Salter-peter, Antimony and Tartar, each apart in an Earthen Pot, in order to Fire them for Detonation. And although I had ordered, that one Pot should first be detonated, and then the other, that the Smoke might not be too great, yet this was not done, but they were fired both together, which caused such a great, black and stinking Smoke to ascend the Chimney, that when the Neighbours saw it, they thought the House had been on fire, and cryed out, Fire, knocked at my Door, to come in to quench it, when there was none, notwithstanding this was not done in my dwelling House, but in a House remote from all others, so that it could have done no hurt to any else, if it had been burnt down, but they not being satisfied got Ladders and looked down the Chimney, and seeing no Fire there, they then said, it was Witchcraft. Out of this History, one may see what a dangerous Toyl the common Alchymy hath. This work to kill the Dragon, and to spoyl him of his Golden Fleece, is one of the pleasantest that ever I did in Alchymy, except the secret Fire. For when the Sulphur, Salt-peter, Antimony and Tartar, are denotated together, and sublimed with Sal Armoniack, the Golden Fleece riseth in a curious Golden Colour, and tingeth the Head, and Receiver with all sorts of Colours, like unto the Rain-bow, or a Peacocks Tail, and also one sees the Foot-steps of the scaly Dragon most gloriously in the Head; which Neusementius hath excellently described, in a few French Verses, and hath omitted almost nothing which belongs to this Work: And because I here write of this sort of Work, it will not be amiss, to add those Verses. Concerning this, Medea thus exhorts Jason in Ovid.
Pervigil ecce Draco, squamis crepitantibus horrens,
Sibilat & torto pectore verrit humum.
Which Neusementius hath thus rendred into French.
Voy le Dragon veillant de fureur forcenè
Qui d’escaille bruyante a le corps entournè