Of the Death, or ruine of all things.
What Death is.
he death of all naturall things is nothing else but an alteration and destruction of their powers, and vertues, a predominancy of that which is evill, and an overcoming of what is good, an abolishing of the former nature, and generation of a new, and another nature. For you must know that there are many things that, whilst they are alive, have in them severall vertues, but when they are dead retaine little or nothing of their vertue, but become unsavory, and unprofitable. So on the contrary many things, whilest they live, are bad, but after they are dead, and corrupted, manifest a manifold power, and vertue, and are very usefull. Wee could bring many examples to confirme this, but that doth not belong to our purpose. But that I may not seem to write according to mine own opinion only, but out of my experience, it will bee necessary that I produce one example, with which I shall silence those Sophisters, who say, that wee can receive nothing from dead things, neither must we seek, or expect to find any thing in them. The reason is, because they do esteem nothing of the preparations of Alchymists, by which many such like great secrets are found out. For looke upon Mercury, crude Sulphur, and crude Antimony, as they are taken out of their Mines, i.e. whilest they are living, and see what little vertue there is in them, how slowly they put forth their vertues, yea they do more hurt, then good, and are rather poison, then a Medicine. The preparation of Mercury Sulphur and Antimony.But if through the industry of a skilfull Alchymist, they bee corrupted in their first substance, and wisely prepared (viz. if Mercury be coagulated, precipitated, sublimed, dissolved, and turned into an oyle, if Sulphur bee sublimed, calcined, reverberated, and turned into an oyle; also if Antimony bee sublimed, calcined, and reverberated and turned into oyle) you shall see how usefull they are, how much strength, and vertue they have, and how quickly they put forth, and shew their efficacy, which no man is able to speak enough in the commendation of, or to describe. For many are their vertues, yea more then will ever bee found out by any man. Wherefore let every faithfull Alchymist, and Physitian spend their whole lives in searching into these three: For they will abundantly recompense him for all his labour, study, and costs.
What the Death of man is.
But to come to particulars, and to write particularly of the death, and destruction of every naturall thing, and what the death of every thing is, and after what manner every thing is destroyed; you must know therefore in the first place, that the death of man is without doubt nothing else, but an end of his daily work, the taking away of the Aire, the decaying of the Naturall balsome, the extinguishing of the naturall light, and the great separation of the three substances, viz. the body, soule, and spirit, and their return from whence they came. For because a naturall man is of the earth, the Earth also is his Mother, into which hee must return, and there must lose his natural earthly flesh, and so be regenerated at the last day in a new celestiall, and purified flesh, as Christ said to Nicodemus when hee came to him by night. For thus must these words bee understood of regeneration.
What the destruction of Metalls is.
The death, and destruction of Metalls is the disjoining of their bodies, and sulphureous fatnesse, which may bee done severall ways, as by calcination, reverberation, dissolution, cementation, and sublimation.
Calcination of Metalls is manifold.
But the calcination of Metalls is not of one sort: for one is made with Salt, another with Sulphur, another with Aqua fortis, and another with common Sublimate, and another with Quicksilver.