The Hartlib Papers

Title:Chemical Treatise In Hand ?, Alex. Van Suchten
Dating:undated
Ref:16/1/48A-63B
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                     [Hartlib's hand: Alex. Van Suchten.]
   The Second treatise of antimonium vulgaris
.       by Alex: van Suckten, by the Honorable Iohn
        Baptista van Seebach.
Noble Sir my Honourable Patron & good Friend, my humble Service, in the first place, presented to you; at your Earnest request I can not but accomplish your desires - seing you[H alters from yet] haue a great Loue & affection by Experience to find out the secrets of nature, which at this time are knowne to few, and even wholy hid in darknes. Although many of the Ancients haue Writen therof, & their books dispersed, yet are they written in a Magicke stile, & profitable to none, but to those who from their youth haue been trayned vp in the Magicke, or instructed by God in such Secrets, Therefore the secrets, for the which you trouble yourselfe, are in a deepe pit strongly Locked vp So that noe man can open them vnles he haue received the key from the Spirit of truth, Of the magicall antimony or of that antimony of the Ancients, will I speake nothing in this treatise, seing that men will know nothing of it, but what they[H alters from then?] read of it, they apply only to Common antimony, of the which only you desire a treatise, which I will freely Communicate to you & will write: I. What it is: [catchword: 2.]
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2. of what parts it is Compounded, 3 into what it may be resolued againe.
  And you shall in this treatise vnderstand me no otherwise, then according to the Letter, for I will vse here no Methaphores Allegory or similitudes, only I will describe antimony in the playne Stile, that you may not be deceiued, though you prepare it according to the Letter & you shall obtayne that of which I write; by this you may also Iudge whether[altered] in Common antimony, that secret or Chymicall & Physicall mystery be, or Not, of the which Paracelsus & the Magitians haue written.
  Now antimony as it Commeth out of the Mountaynes is not pure, as it should be, for it is mingled with stones of the mine, I never saw any that Came forth pure from the Mountaine, Therefore [Ere H? alters?] one vse it, it must be purifyed, which purification is done by digestion, but this digestion is a [sulphureus? H alters] fire. the best sulphur, is a sulphur Metalline, & although Artists do purify it with the Vegetable fire, that is with tartar, yet is this digestion not naturall: But that the tartar [left margin: /] divideth the Regulus from its foeces, this is the Cause that the sulphur of antimony is more Vegetable, than[altered from that] Metalline: but you shall it purify with the sulphur that is Sprung from mercury & not from salts, for this Metalline sulphur will be reduced in the Arg: Vive, of antimony into Arg. [catchword: vive]
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vive, & Lastly out of this Arg: vive, will[altered from is] pure[altered] Gold be made. Now this metalline sulphur, which purifyeth antimony is only in iron & no where Else, & this purification is done thus. R. iron or Iron 4 ounces (I am wont to take peeces of nayles, which are neither Grosse[H alters from Grose] nore thicke) put them into a Strong Crucible, & set them in a wind furnace, Let it stand so Long till you see, that the Iron or Nayles are soft, then put into the Crucible VIII ounces of antimony, make a Strong [right margin, H?:] fire, that the iron may flow well in the antimony, then Cast into the Crucible with an Iron Ladle a good handfull of Salt peter, Let them boyle vp together, in the Crucible (Let the Crucible therefore be considerably great that it boyle not ouer) & Let it stand, till all be quiet & flowing; Then Cast it forth into a casting[H alters from trusting] pot, so the Regulus settleth it selfe, so soone as the matter is Coagulated in that puckle[H underlines] pot, doe [right margin, H?: //] it out & Let it Coole, & strike the foeces from the Regulus, which appeareth & shineth Like a Markasite: The foeces you may Lay vp, till you know what to do with it, for in it is a Mystery, of which I will not Speake at this time: Put the Regulus into a Crucible againe and make it flow, when it floweth then Cast therein ounces js of antimony, & let [right margin, H?: //] them flow well together, then put in it as much [catchword: nitrum]
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nitrum as you did before. Let it flow as at the first time, [left margin, H?: /] Cast it into your Puckle[H underlines and alters from Purkle], Strike the Regulus off from the foeces, this Regulus is purer & finer then the first, Cast away the foeces, for they are nothing worth: Let this regulus melt the third time in a Crucible, and when it floweth, powre theron a ladle full of nitrum & when you see that the nitrum floweth on the metall, as an [left margin, H?: /] Oyle (which must be done with a strong fire, otherwise the nitrum Coagulateth it selfe and will be hard, then Cast it into a puckle, Strike the Regulus from the foeces, this Regulus is yet finer, purer & more metalline then the former, the foeces are nothing worth:
  4thly Let this Regulus melt in a Cleane Crucible & when it's melted as pure silver Cast some nitrum thereon Let it penetrate throw each other & then Cast it [left margin, H?: /] into a purkle[H underlines], beate the foces off from that Regulus, which foeces will be of a Golden Colour, & then is it prepared, the Regulus will be white as argenta & haue aboue a fine star, this Regulus if it be rightly wrought will weigh ounces 1111, & the worke may well be finished in 2 houres (some Copyes say 12 hours) And in this manner is common antimony prepared, wherein you shall marke this piece, Viz What it is, that thus divideth the foeces from antimony, you shall not thinke that nitrum doth it, but know, that antimony draweth [catchword: forth]
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forth the soule from iron, that is, his best sulphur and reduceth the same into mercury: this mercury or Mercury is nothing else but fire, & hath the operation of fire, which digested the Crude mercury in antimony, & divideth the mine from the metall: you shall also know, that the mercury of iron is hid in this purged antimony vnder the whitenes of [antimoniall?] [mercuriis?] for this silverary whitenes, which you see in this Regulus, is not from his sulphur but from Arg: Vive, vnder which lurketh mercury, [ferris?], which is nothing else then gold. this mercury of iron also is nothing else in the aforesaid [mercuris?] of antimony, then as a Spirit, or an Ayre, & remayneth so Long Living in the Arg: vive of antimony, till out of it, it be made a body again that is gold, & then divideth it selfe from the [mercuris?] of antimony.
  So now you vnderstand what that fire is, which thus purifyeth Common antimony. you must also vnderstand, what that fire is, which purifieth & digesteth, Magicall antimony. that is. what that gold [Philosophor.?] is, which we call gold potabile, which Euen [H underlines] so well divideth it selfe in the End from the mercury of [word altered] <H: Philosophers> as the gold divideth itselfe [right margin, H?: /] from the Arg: Vive of antimony. Therefore it is very Necessary, that you seriously Consider Nature, how it Worketh, so shall yee find, what nature is, not only in Common metalls, but euen in all things, & in the[H underlines and alters from that] mettalls of [right margin, H?: /] [catchword: philosophers]
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philosophers, which are knowne to the Wise men, The Alchymists doe assay antimony by Iron, when they have done this, they know not what they haue made, nor the working of nature, nor doe they know, what Nature is here, therefore teach they nothing, but remaine fooles & Asses: seing that they now haue divided antimony from his minerall feces, they should also know that in this antimony there is as yet a feces, which is nothing else then a burning sulphur, when[altered from where] this <sulphur> is divided, so commeth antimony againe into his first Matter or being, which is nothing else but fire, & this is nothing Else but Arg: vive, & this Arg: vive, is created out of the greatest mystery of Nature, but Plato Commandeth me to rest here. Vide Nicolas Allobroges.
[left margin, H?: /] To divide the sulphur from the purged antimony is the operation light [H underlines] but therin is a great knowledge hidden, so much thereof as is necessary of the knowledge of this Work, will I manifest, but the other for diverse reasons will I passe by.
 A thing if it is destroyed & mortifyed shall be raised againe & made Living, & the same thing which is the Cause of death by separating the Life, must haue two powers in it, of Separating and Vivifying, & these two must be one in power, but two in Number, for all Mysterys[H alters from Mystery] doe spring from [catchword: this]
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this fountayne, & are one Essence[H alters from Essente], wonderfully distributed[H alters from destributed] according to the will of God. this will of God is the specifique of Euery Creature, & in being incomprehensible by sense, not Leses than[H alters] God: Now [right margin, H?: /] is[H underlines?] Arg: vive. dead in antimony, shall it be made Living, so [right margin, H?: /] must it be raysed vp, by that which it hath been. Ere it was dead, for that Life is in it very aboundant and incorruptible, there is nothing which is dead can be made Liuing, then through his owne & proper life, & not by the Life of other things, who writes & teacheth other wise, is no Philosopher. & the destroyed[H alters from distroyed] Life, when it is againe made Living <right margin, H: in the ferment of the living things by which it was made living.>, & that thing is his Augmentation & Multiplication Magicall. hence it followeth that in Living things there must be a disposition, which is transmutable into the disposition of other things if it would be raised againe, for the will of God, that all things must dye, is that Specifique of all Creatures<H: ,> which after death augmented it selfe in finitly[H alters].
  Now it followeth further that those Living things which are seruiceable to our work & manuall[H alters] operation, by which the metals[H alters from matals] are also transmuted in gold, must alos haue such a Specificke[H alters] in that here[H underlines] <H: they> can be brought thus by no Art, without regeneration, as the senselesse Alchymists giue forth, For were there [catchword: no]
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no specificke therein, how would they be transmuted because species is not transmuted into species, Now if transmutation be not done, so can also no seed grow & augment it selfe, for that is against Nature. Therefore must the Living thing haue the nature of Water as you see, that a grayne of Corne Cast into the Earth is made Living by water. that is in the graine is a dead water, which is by water made Living againe. & the forme[H alters] of water is that, which giveth the water his Specifique nature, so do infinite grayne grow from one, So vnderstand in this operate [left margin, H?: /] that the Arg: vive of antimony. lead. stannum. is dead, & can never more be made Living, but by Arg: vive. In this manner is corruption regeneration & multiplication of the forme of Metall's made.
You may here demaund, seeing that water multiplyeth the graynes in the Earth, & is transmuted into the very graynes, if also the Arg: vive of metalls multiplyeth with Common mercury, may be made againe into Metalls[H alters from Metall], to this I answer, that this is not possible in common metalls, but Philosophicall[altered from Philosophicalls] metalls, it may be done very easily. for our mercurius Layeth his Specifique from him, & taketh it againe by Art, that is from him may be made againe gold & silver, which it [catchword: was]
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was before, but why this cannot be done in Common metall's, there are many Reasons, which I will passe by at this time. Now the mercury of antimony shall be Living, that is Arg: Vivi shall be made [p. abbreviation?] Arg: vive, but this cannot be done without mixture, <H: and> further we see that Regulus will not mingle it selfe with Common Arg: [vive?], by reason of the sulphur which is in the Regulus: for seing the same is not metalline, it hath noe Communion with Arg: Vive that is Common, & it hindreth the Mixture. therefore must there be a medium betwixt Common Arg: Vive & the mercury of antimony. & in this medium must be a separative power, which is not in Common Arg: Vive, for in it is noe Specifique, & the Separatiue power is a Specifique, which Coagulateth mercury: God hath made this Arg: Vive in the Will of Man, which notwithstanding is nothing Else, than Common mercury & that of the Philosophers, These two remaine free in the will of man, that he can bring a Specifiq into them, which is necesary for them; Now then according to these things the vis separatiua[H alters from separatiue] is a Specifique Mercuriall, but one must know in what mercuriis it is to be found, & by Experience it is found, that it is in no other mercury then in the Mercury of argenta.
Therefore R. of argenta purifince[H underlines] <H: purissima> for ounce j. Reguli [? H alters abbreviated word] [right margin, H?: /] [catchword: ounce]
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[left margin, H?: /] ounce ss. Let the silver glow well in a Crucible, afterward Cast the regulus on it, so will they melt presently & stand in the Crucible as fine Arg: Vive. Cast them into an Ingot[H alters], & so shall find a Masse Metalline, of the Colour of Lead, beate this Metalline Masse to powder, which will easily[H alters from easilly] be done: [Afterwaid?] R. of fine [symbol for ?] Argent Vive ounce IIII or V. powre it in a small viol glasse, & then powre the powder on it, Let it stand a night and a day in B. M. so goeth the powder into the Arg: Vive, stirre it well together, & when the powder is well mingled with the Common Arg: vive, then powre it out, & Amalgame it well on a stone, so will the Amalgame thereof be red, Put this Amalgame into a wooden dish, powre [left margin, H?: //] water thereon, & rub it well with a pestall, so will the Water be blacke <H //,> Cast this Water off in parte, put more Water on, & rub it, till this water be blacke also doe thus so long, till the Amalgame be made white, The blacknes which is washed from the Amalgame, settleth it selfe to the bottome of the Water, which keepe & Cast the Water away. put this Amalgame againe in a viol Let it stand in Balno a night, powre it out, & Wash it againe, so giueth it blacknes againe, which powre to the other, wash it so Long till it give no more blacknes, you may also grind this Amalgame with [catchword: pure,]
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pure cleane salt, so commeth[H alters from cometh] the blacknes the sooner from it: Now when the Amalgame is made cleane againe, set it againe in a Viole in Balno a night & Wash it againe, Reiterate this work so Long till no more blacknes goeth from the Amalgame, then will it be pure cleane bright & White, and marke the more blacknes the Amalgame giueth the more mercury is resolued from antimony. So soone as no more blacknes sheweth it selfe in Washing, presently then distill in a glasse Retort[H alters from Retord] the Arg: Vive from argenta if the washing be rightly done, so shall you find your argenta bright Cleane & white in the Retort[H alters from Retord], but if the argenta be of a Leaden Colour, it is a signe, that it hath as yet some antimony amongst it, therefore must this washing be done, so Long & oft, till no blacknes[H alters from slacknes] [right margin, H?: /] come forth; the Recipient must be full of Cold[altered] Water, Ere you distill the mercury into it, then shall you find[altered] a bright Argen: Vive, which now is 3 [ld? altered]. Viz Argen: Vive Common:<H: 2> Arg: Vive of [right margin, H?: /] antimony<H: ,> & <3> mercury of iron: This you must know that the mercury of iron, transmuteth not the other two into his nature, as the other metalls doe, because mercurius ferris is not vniversally & radically mixed, with the other two. but divideth it selfe from them, as you shall heare: Therefore this Argen: Vive is not [catchword: Called]
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Called Arg. Vive of iron but mercury of [antimony?] <left margin, H: for antimony is fuller of mercuris then Arg. Vive of iron which is hid in this mercury of antimony.> is gold[altered] volatile, & this you may not only beleeve, but also see it with your Eyes, if you take a Little of the Amalgame washed Cleane, & gently evaporate the Arg: Vive from silver, so remayneth the Aurum Volatile that is the mercury of iron with the argenta: & tingeth the silver into the highest Colour of [symbol for gold], but seing that this gold is not fixt, the fire driveth this tincture from argenta, Heere also is a point to be marked, that this gold volatile[H alters from volatille], which tingeth silver only into Gold[H alters from Gould], but not fixt, who vnderstandeth the Cause of this, is not ignorant of the Sophistication[alters] of the Alchymists, who would ting silver into gold. for they vnderstand well that mercury alone[H alters from allone] is the tincture, but when it is Changed into metals then it Looseth the power of tinging, & if it were fixt, so is it a fine metall, for the metals are nothing else then mercury Coagulated or fixed. but in this Worke how mercury of iron tingeth silver, is a more subtile[H alters from subtille] manuall[H alters] operation, he[altered] that will make it must[H alters] well know the fire, therefore Look well thereto I my selfe haue oft times made it, & I haue also oft fayled.
  Now know <H: how> the mercury of mars shall be fixed into true gold & the mercury of antimony shall be transmuted from other metalls into their nature. will I not hould from you for in this Operation, Euery one seeth, what the [catchword: metalls]
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metalls are, who hath not his five senses bewitched (I speak of true Coagulation not Sophisticall) & can marke. That it is not possible to make gold from Venus, or out of lead or stannum Silver. So seeth he also very well that Common mercury will not be Coagulated artificially, but the Arg: Vive of metalls, Easily, which before hath been Coagulated<H: ,> yet not Euery mercury Coagulated, but the mercury alone[H alters from allone] of iron, for in this mercury of iron is found the nature of the Last fixation, but in lead. stannum. iron. not, therefore cannot any man giue <H: that> them, which they haue not from [right margin, H?: /] God & Nature: it troubleth me nothing, that so many Alchymicall bookes are written against the truth<H: :> what the searcher of Alchymy imagineth <right margin, H: and vnderstandeth in his transmutations, is altogether another thing.> therefore Can I write of this Sophistry[H alters], & Speake with Paracelsus, they which vnderstand Alchymy according to the Letter thresh nothing but bare straw. now Concerning the mercury before mentioned which is distilled from argenta, you shall know, that it penetrateth[H alters] the Metalls, & divideth the Elements of that metall's, that is mercury & sulphur from one another: Common mercury doeth it not, it must then be acuated by the mercury of antimony, & be changed in his nature & Essence, as now is declared to you in this operation: you shall also know, that euery Metall hath his peculiar [catchword: opera-]
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Operation, & is not resolued as another, I will in an houre bring mercury out of lead, out of antimony copper can I hardly doe it in 2 monthes, therefore much Lyeth in the manuall[H alters] operation: The practise how it is performed which the mercury of copper, must I here shew, for this Cause that you may find the Gold[H alters from gould], which comming from iron Lyeth hid in this mercury of copper, that is it, of which I haue made mention, this <gold> is nothing Else then the mercuriall spirit of which is in iron as the soule in Man. but seeing this gold is noe more Corporeall[H alters from Corporall], as it was before in iron, but through[H alters] that mercuriall Spirit of antimony is made a Spirit, it can no more be Corporeall[H alters from Corporall], but only by the Spirit of the Salt of copper. This Spirit is not the mercury of copper, also not his sulphur but a middle betwixt both, when this middle commeth[H alters from cometh] forth of copper, then doe his parts fall in pieces, that is his mercury & sulphur, the mercury of copper abideth in the mercury of antimony, the sulphur must be washen from it, & is a cuprous gray Earth as Ashes.
 R. Lib. ii of the best Vngar. [symbol for ?], dissolue it in Common water, set it in a strong pot ouer the fire, & Cast halfe an handfull of small peeces of Iron therein, let them seeth therein halfe a quarter of an houre [left margin, H?: /] & put away the Water, then put thereto the mercury gold to the Iron which you haue distilled from argenta, so the Venus which the Iron had reduced from [symbol for ?] amalgamateth it [catchword: selfe]
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selfe with this Arg: Vive. Wash this Amalgame cleane, that all the peeces of Iron Come from it. Now when this Amalgame is wholy pure & cleane let it dry, & then put it into a glasse violl, set it in Balno MariƦ & let it stand therein 8 dayes, So will this Amalgame be of a dark gray, then powre it out and wash it Cleane, as men are wont to doe to wash an Amalgame in a dish, The powder which is washen from the Amalgame, put apart, put this Amalgame agayne 8 dayes in Balno, and then Wash it as before; this Worke must be reiterated thrice: but if you would resolue all the copper into mercury & sulphur, then must you doe this so oft till that the Amalgame be made into pure Arg: Vive, for it will not be done so quikly. When you haue had this Amalgame thrice in Balno & thrice Washed, then distill the Arg: Vive from the Venus as you drew it before from argenta. this is Called mercury of copper, for it is no more mercury vulgar, nor yet mercury of antimony, but throw that mercury of copper it is fermented & transmuted into the mercury of copper. this mercury of copper is a Wonderfull <right margin, H: mercury in the eye of <as every> one can trie who shal vse it in Chymical operations. The precipitate also made of this mercury is exceeding bright and wonderful> in the Eyes of Alchymists, but as bright as it is, it is a grosse poyson in Physicke, keepe yourselfe from it, & Let not his fine appearance deceive you, In this mercury of copper is gold out of iron, which I haue oft mentioned, yet hidden it Wanteth the frigidity[H alters] of the moone, by the which it shall [catchword: be]
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be Coagulated in the perpetuall & first Coagulation of gold, & the processe of Coagulation is thus.
  R. of the fine argenta part i wherein is no Gould, of this mercury of copper parts foure make an Amalgame thereof, & that the Amalgame may the Easier be accomplished. dissolue the silver in an aqua fortis & precipitate it with copper as it is commonly done, so falleth the silver to the botome, & is a fine bright powder, which may Easily by Grinding be amalgamated with the mercury of copper, wash this Amalgame, till it be cleane & bright, put it into a viole, & let it stand 24 hours in Balno bulliente, then will it be as black as a Coale, take it out, grind it on a Stone & Wash it Cleane, this blacknes is the Soule of iron, which is drawne from the Spirit of antimony, & in this Last Worke is Coagulated into gold, with this gold there are as yet feces of sulphur, which seperate themselues, from the mercury of copper. throw this Coagulation: for the mercury of copper is allwayes greene in the Superficies, this green shall be Coagulated with gold (other Copyes say silver) & being seperated from Arg: Vive, shall be reduced into a body, & so is the Spirit of iron found, & so you see what it was, & againe, what is from him. Now who hath a desire to take paynes, he may try how much mercury is in a pound of iron, so much gold shall he find therein, & not more, & he shall also see, that more Cost goeth to this Worke, then that gold is worth, the Arg: Vive which [catchword: is]
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is in other Metals cannot be so coagulated into gold, but it Continually remayneth Living the reason haue been showen before. Thus is the Arg: Vive Vulgar[altered] acuated with the mercury of copper antimony, that it draweth all the Mercury from imperfect metals, & it transmuted by them into their nature, as it Cometh to passe in copper, haue I heere declared, by the Way of gold out of iron which must be in this Worke for the purifying of antimony. so haue you also heard how this gold is agayine extracted out, & appeareth before the Eyes, otherwise you would not beleeve, that the purification of antimony is done by the gold in iron.
  Now will I further write to you, what Medicine there is in Common antimony. [word deleted] <H: afterward>, for a Conclusion will I impart to you as to a Brother what further out of this Regulus of antimony can be made, for I dare in truth boast & say, that it is not vnknowne to [letter deleted] me, & I will write to you for a Warning (if God giue you his Grace, that you can vnderstand) what that is, that seduceth so many people, yea euen the Learned, & Captivated them, & brought them euen to their graue
[right margin: De sulphuris antimony]
   Now Concerning the other part of antimony that is his sulphur you shall know that it is a fatnes & assimilateth it selfe to the fire, which is in a black Coale. Therefore take the blacknes, which you haue washen from the Amalgame of silver [catchword: &]
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[left margin, H?: /] & antimony, dry it in the Sun, or otherwise in some gentle warmth, so shall you haue a powder of a Leaden [left margin, H?: /] Colour, to the which as yet some mercury Arge: Vive vulgar doth Cleave, abiding with it in the washing: So now if you can, stiffle this powder in a close warmth, as Collyer make wood Coales, then will it be blacke & altogether[H alters from alltogether] Like vnto beaten or powdred Coales but if you cannot so stiffle it, its no great matter.
R. this powder of a Lead Colour, put it into a Crucible, put it on the fire, but make it not to glow either inwardly or outwardly so will the mercury fume [left margin, H?: /] a way: this powder is inflamed by the warmth and burneth not as sulphur with a flame, but as a glimmering dry Coale, which giueth no flame, When it is so burnt out, so there remayneth in the Crucible a powder, which may be reduced into Regulus, Weigh this powder so shall you see, how much of the antimony is resolued into his partes, & if you could dry vp this powder, that it be blacke, & the Common mercury Commeth from it, so may you reckon, how much of the Common mercury is come into this mercury of antimony & how much of Combustible sulphur was in this Arg: Vive. So then you haue the Knowledge of antimony fully, that is his Element of Arg: Vive & sulphur: This is Enough to shew what antimony is, & how that Common Arg: Vive is fermented and [catchword: acuated][H alters from accuated]
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[2 letters deleted] acuated, through[H alters] & with it, that it thereby can resolve the other metalls, Euery one according to his nature & disposition how it is done in copper the processe is sufficiently declared for Examples sake, but how it is to be done in other metalls. Viz how by the mercury of antimony, a mercury may be brought forth, that commit[altered], I to your Experience [right margin, H?: /] & Skill in the fire, for it was not my purpose to manifest all things, The Medicinall Secret in antimony, Its knowne [right margin, H?: /] to you before, to prepare many Wayes antimony for Physicke, but I haue not as yet seene any, who haue obserued the Arcanum[H alters from Arcana] in it, the good people Imagine, that whatsoeuer is written of antimony, is written of Common antimony, which notwithstanding they find not by the proofe, therefore we may Iustly thinke, that the medicinall antimony, is much another thing as indeed it is. for the antimony of philosophers is their mercury & in it are all medicaments[H alters from medicament] in potentia, therefore is it Called 5 Essence In the Vulgar antimony is the 5 Essence of Physicke not[H underlines], but only the essence [right margin, H?: /] of the Element of Water, which Essence is a Medicine against the Sicknesses, which Spring out of the microcosmicall fire. Now the Physick of this [H underlines] antimony is not in [right margin, H?: /] his mercury but in fire, of the which I haue spoken briefely which you shall in this manner vnderstand. In wood there is a fire, which we must haue in our Kitchins to prepare our Meates, so is antimony a fire, by the which we digest our Medicine, which thereby receiveth the Essence of his Ellements, & throw this Essence the Elementall [catchword: heat.]
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heat in our Sicknesses, for though the Galenists thinke that to driue forth the Heat throw Purslane Endive[H alters], nightshade[H alters] & other could simples but cannot do it, for the Heate Looseth[H alters] its selfe naturally. So is this medicinall Virtue in antimony vulgar, & not only in it, but in all other things, of the which the Element[H alters from Ellement] of Water is the Mother. Therefore is a Physitian Euen so Little bound to this antimony as a Coone[H alters] to Beech[H alters] wood, for when he [left margin, H?: /] hath it not but Birch or Willow, by the which he cannot so well dresse his meat. So haue we this Essentiall medicine in other things as Well as in antimony, & its Called in Magick Aurum: but of that Medicine, which is prepared by the fire of antimony, I haue nothing to say, it is knowne to God, & to those he hath manifested it, The wisemen Called it mercurium[H alters] Philosophor[H alters], and its an Essence which may <H: can> be changed in all the Elements of nature & art, for yee know that this antimony purgeth Strongly vpwards & downeward, which is done not by the Essence, but by the body to the which the Essence hangeth. Now who can divide that Essence from the body, he hath found a medicine, which worketh neither vpward nore downeward, but with out purgation finisheth the worke, & Though through a Strong Calcination with salt Spirit, which is[H alters from in] the Cause of a Metalline [left margin, H?: /] fusion[H alters], it be driven from it, that it Causeth neither vomit nor stoole, but forceth sweate, yet is it not [catchword: the]
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the medicine but antimony Calcined, which is a poyson, as the other Metalls are, which are Strongly Calcined, which taken in the body, manifest it, as calcined [right margin, H?: /] copper. lead. iron.. It may also be well digested by sulphur metalline, that it may be red & fixed in the fire, yet is there not in it, which the Artists Seeketh, therefore all is Lost, which is begun with this medicine, there is then a thing which divideth his Essence from his body, & is to be administred to the sicke conveniently in euery sicknes.
[right margin: Great secrets[H alters from secret] in Regulus[H alters from Regullus.]]
  Further[H capitalises] of diuerse Arcanaes, which are in the aboue mentioned Regulus, I haue wonders to tell you, he[H alters] which hath not throwly Searched it, will not beleeve me, for God Lets not such things to be common, & come forth pulblickely, Especially in these[H alters from those] base times in the which Honour & shame, Virtue & Vice<H: ,> Lying & truth are equally prized: Now we seeke not the truth but vayne glory, therefore doth God infatuate our senses, & we hate & Envy one another, & distroy our Wealth, & we ourselues are the Cause thereof, further I warne you, that I haue discovered much, & from my Writing, you may vnderstand more then I say, but all things shall not be Written[H alters from Writen], by reason of Pralers [H underlines] & Sophisters, which flatter themselues, [right margin, H?: /] that they haue been of the Counsell of Iove: I will [catchword: also.]
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Also by this shew forth my mind to you, & that I wish you well from my heart that you may try in these things as much as my selfe, & I hope that time will giue that which now I cannot, & in time know, what I meane. Now that I may keepe my promise, you shall know that this Regulus hath deceived the best Philosophers & Chymists of greatest account & reading amongst vs, for it is such a rare minerall, that there is scarce the Like in the World, & can make even the most Learned and vnderstanding men fooles, what is given me from it, what I haue seen from my good Companions. the[H alters from that?] [left margin, H?: /] Marke. In my Litle booke, concerning the Mysteryes[H alters] of antimony which no man vnderstandeth, euen to this houre[altered] haue I said, that metals might be made out of it, so much belongeth to this poynt[altered]. I did not then much [lumber? H alters] or trouble my selfe with it, but only Explayned my selfe & manifested the medicines, which are in it<H: ,> & goe vnder its name: but now know that out of this Regulus all Metalls may be made, as Lead, Tin, Copper, Iron, Siluer, & gold, & so made, that to the appearance, & in hammering, Melting, Casting, proofe of the Test, & in the driving by antimony, they are as good as the naturall metalls. Lead which is made thereof, is in all profes good Lead, only it is a Little harder [catchword: then]
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then the naturall, but the Lead which is made of antimony Crude not Washed, hath not that hardnes, The Tin is Exceeding fine, & before Coagulation on the touchstone so Certayne as the finest silver. the nature of tin Easily taketh it to itselfe, & is Easily made tin. With the Copper it is thus also, for so soone as the odor [H underlines] of Venus is [Vegeteirt? H underlines], it penetrateth the Regulus[right margin, H?: //] & giueth it the nature of Copper, this operation is done very quickly, I can make an ounce of Regulus into Copper, in the time you can Eate a soft[H alters] Egge.
 Iron & antimony are Easily Changed one into another, therefore is antimony presently iron, & out of iron is antimony Easily made, & also lead. stannum. & copper may be reduced into antimony, yet iron easiest of all, those 4 metalls I myselfe haue made out of Regulus, the other two, viz[H alters from out] gold & silver haue I seen my friend make. The silver is bright & may be cast hammered & beaten as other naturall <H: natural> silver & may be driuen off[H alters] in lead & goeth not away from the test. I thought a Long time that it was nothing else but the best silver but my Companion said[H alters], that in Weight it was heauier then other silver. I therefore being Iealous what it was, did Endeauour to dissolue it in aqua fortis made of [symbol for ?] & nitrum, but it would not touch it, then I was much troubled in my thoughts [catchword: &]
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[left margin, H?: /] & Layd it in an aqua regis & it dissolved totally, then I thought that in the reduction it would be gold, but I found a white powder, very Like to Tin, which is Calcined in aqua fortis, when I reduced this powder, there was ther out a glasse of a Milky Colour, So found I what I had for good silver. Neverthelesse I was not Content with these proofes, hoping better things, & therefore I took ounces iiii of this argenta & amalgamated it with Common mercury, & did set it in a gentle heat 4 week's, & it was in the superficies black, & indifferent hard, I took it out & did beat it to peeces with an hammer & then did grind it to powder, & After <H after> by oft rubbing I made it an Amalgame agayne, as it was before, then drew I the mercury away in a retort & found my silver againe. this argenta I Amalgamated againe, not with Common mercury but with mercury of antimony, of the which I haue spoken before. This Amalgame did I set as the former 3 dayes & night, & found that this Amalgame the Longer it stood the moister it was, in 8 dayes it was as melted lead & so it stood in the fire a month, afterward I took it out, & distilled it [per?] Retort, & the [left margin, H?: /] mercury of antimony & the silver come all throw the Retort & were a [left margin, H?: /] mercury. so know I that silver made of Regulus was nothing else than mercury Coagulated, & not constant in a metalline forme, but goeth away againe, & it will be mercury, [catchword: which]
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which thing might well make a Chymist a foole, Now Come I to gold & to tell you what happened to me, is a wonder, When I had shewed to my good Companion, who thought nothing Else, then that he shall <H had> got[H alters] a great prize, what his argenta was, he would not beleeve it, but tooke it into his owne hands, and at Length found the truth, and began to question his gold. & he Spake, although I haue often times tryed it, yet will I not trust my selfe, but take this ounce ss of gould & try it as you please. Mr Hans[H alters] [right margin, H?: /] the Gouldsmith, saith it is true Gould. So tooke I [right margin, H?: /] the gold & brought it to the Gouldsmith, & asked him if it were gould, he said it was, & he could worke it for gold, for to the sight, touchstone, & Hammer it was good gold. Neuertheles I tooke the gold, & did put to it ounces ii of silver to granulate & devide it in fortis, the silver [right margin, H?: /] dissolued it selfe, the gold fell to the bottome[H alters], this proofe[H alters] was true: this gold powder I mingled with antimony Crude & Cast it throw Regulus, Let it flow in a Crucible, & Cast nitrum on it & drew the antimony from the gold, & draue[H alters] it off with lead, this triall I found it also true: This gold driven off did I Cast againe throw with antimony & sulphur, then tooke I the Regulus, & Let them goe away before the Gould Smithes bellowes, for I had none, this tryall the gould stood also, on which [catchword: Euery]
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Euery Chymist may iustly rejoyce.
Nevertheles seing that the argenta had deceiued me, therefore Could I not trust the gold, but Causeth it to be beaten thin, & amalgamated it with my mercury of antimony, & did set it 4 weekes in a gentle warmth, & I tooke notice that the Amalgame was not hard, but soft, which was grievous to me, neuertheles I did Let it stand 4 Weekes, & found my Amalgame much moister, than when I had put it in, then did I put it into a Crucible ouer a small fire, that the Crucible did not fully Glow, & my mercury flow away incredibly swiftly from the gold, that I did not marke it but thought that my mercury was Coagulated into gold, but when I weighed my gold I found no more than ounces 5. & 2 quint's, [H underlines] <left margin, H: quintleins> and thought Certainly, that the 2 [quinters?] were pure gould.
[left margin, H?: /] These 2 quintleins[H alters] I proved further, with mercury of antimony, in the same manner as at the first time, then at Length I Evaporated the mercury from it, & found my two quintleins[H alters] againe, then was I mery & hoped that my Companion would communicate this preparation to me, & I had goulden Mountaynes in my head, & I brought a good Message to my Companion, but he himselfe was not Merry, but spake evill of it, Well said he I haue had great Labour & paynes with this gold, & more then I dare[H alters from dar] say, what [catchword: cannot]
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cannot be that shall I not desire, but Let it be a fine Sophistication, that which hath bin made, for the Gould seeking Alchymists which run hither and thither, to day devouring[H alters] one, to morow another, The [right margin, H?: /] gould which remayneth ouer & aboue to thee, is not come from the regulus, but is a Composition of the naturall gold, for I could not Coagulate the Regulus into gold, if there be good gold with it, this gold hath remayned in the test[H alters], but the other not, I know not how to bring it farther, & now vnderstand the Cause well, that that cannot be that I hoped. This Fell into the mind of my Companion[H alters] & I feared the manuall operation & thought of my metalls, he Spake that the sulphur of antimony, which Coagulateth his mercury is not vnited to it in Radice, & therefore remaineth it not with it, & if thou searchest it throwly thy Regulus will not be againe lead stannum copper iron & remaine soe but will be mercury againe, which neither thou, nor any other can coagulate to a good metall, as some Imagine, when they haue the mercury of gold silver. lead, that the Art will not faile them, but it is a lunaticke Melancholicke phantasy, from the which, they that are not Experimented in Alchymy, but only booke Learned, & haue gone on heare say, can make Arguments & Conclude by themselues, but when they come to the fire, they see their folly: Tell me when a dead thing is made Liuing, where is his bound of Nature in death or Life<H: ?> what hath it been before death [catchword: or]
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or Life<H: ?> Shall any Comme to his immutable fixt principle<H: ?> what seekest thou then in mettalls vivifyed, but these things, speake I not to thee nor of thee, but of the Alchymists, for whome pray God, that he deliver them from such vnreasonablenes.
 Of this sort, discoursed we much together, & seing I then was not so Intangled, as to hould the printed bookes of Alchymy for Gospell, but being Led with I know not what Spirit, I doubted more[H alters from mor] then beleeved. Therefore[H alters from Therefor] I alway did thinke of the Cause<H: ,> wherefore Alchymy was written by the first Philosophers, & did very oft treate with this my good friend & Companion, well skilled in the fire concerning our antimony. lead. stannum. copper. iron. gold & silver. In all which I found that true, which the Chymists put together for the Alchymicall art, & am in good hope, that he will put from him this phantasy, and thinke after the Philosophicall metalls; Now I so much as belongeth to you Louing Patron & friend there is as yet one thing to be handled pertaining to this operation, which I neither can nor will hould from you. The Chymists as Rhasis, Peter, Bonus, Ferr, Trevisan[H alters from Trovisan], & the Auther[H capitalises] of the Dialogue & many other, who haue well examined this imperfect Metall & had good Experience, they at Lenght remaine in this opinion, that it is imposible to make gold by Art, but only out of Argent Vive. Seing they see that gold is nothing Else, then Arg: Vive Coagulated with its proper sulphur & fixed. Now haue [catchword: they]
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they also well vnderstood by their operations that mercury cannot be fixed into perfect gold, vnlesse gold be dissolued & brought into mercury. This[H capitalises] opinion haue they taken from this ground, that they see that nature could not fix, that Arg: Vive of lead. stannum. copper. with the externall sulphur, which cleaueth to them, much Lesse shall Art[H capitalises] doe it. Therevpon they thought to take an Arg. Vive, which hath been perfectly fixed[H alters] before, & to mix this Arg. vive with Common mercury or other metalls that both may be one Individuum[H alters], but seing this mixture cannot be done with Common gold they haue taken the gold in iron, & haue thought to mix it so with the Common mercury, that they should never be separated[H alters], but the gould should alwayes remaine with the mercury & the mercury with gold, that is<H: ,> when the gold is Coagulated agayne, & also, the mercury is Coagulated & fixed. In this practice Euery one hath had his way of Working, according to his vnderstanding, & haue spent <H: a> Long time herein<H: ;> but thus much is Certayne to me, that they all dyed, Ere they obtayned the End of their speculation[H alters]. Therefore Saith the Worthy Trithemius[H alters] that Alchymy is a perpetuall Virgine, & writeth of it thus, Chymia is beloved by many, & yet She is Chast, she hath many demosticke [catchword: seruants [H alters from seruant] ]
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[left margin, H?: /] seruants[H alters from seruant], which keepe their Mistresse with a wealthfull [H underlines] Eyes, & oft take vpon themselues her name<H: ,> that they may preserue her from the Embracements of so many importunate Louers, and alwayes[H alters from allwayes] vnpolluted. Vanity, fraude, Deceit. Sophistication[H alters], Couetousnes[H alters], falsenes, bouldnes, Lying, foolishnes, pouerty, desperation, proscription, & Cheating are the Lacquayes[H alters from Laquayes] of Chymistry, who fayning themselues to be the Mistresse, that they may keepe her unrauished, Do freely prostitute themselues to Rich couetous, worldly & proud Louers<H: .> Thus[H capitalises] much he. He that will not beleeve this true man, may try & search according to his phantasy, as I and others haue sufficiently done. what I haue tould you here[altered] commeth[H alters] from Experience that it is so; who hath a desire to spend[H alters from spent] his money & time thereon, he shall also find it so. Thus haue I finished, what I promised to write of the mercury of antimony, & also what the Ancients haue sought and found in this mercury of antimony, all which I haue truly declared, on which you may conclude, wheter this Minerall is knowne to me or not, they which boast that they can make the mercury of metalls without Arg: Vive they giue us to vnderstand, that they are not philosophers. [catchword: and]
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and that they know not, what Corruption, regeneration, & the multiplication of things is. & if they did rightly behold their worke, they would see, that they are deceived. Let boasters be boasters, beleeve in these things, nothing but what your Eyes see & Consider alwayes[H alters from allwayes] the possibility of nature, so shall you Easily come out of this Labyrinth: Lastly I desire you, that you would not be offended. that I haue held you so long with this treatise, the Condition which at present I suffer permits little rest, to write of this operation, Therefore haue I Cast it on the paper so miserably, when I haue more Leisure I will finish other writings, which as yet for want of opportunity I cannot, The Almighty Euerlasting God Illuminate the Lovers of truth with his spirit, & bring them out of the bands of thick darcknes & vnprofitable talke of Supposed Learned men Amen.
----------------Addition Ex Haligraphia-----------------
     How to make the salt of antimony.
 Powder good Hungarish antimony small as meale & Calcine it ouer a small Coal[H alters from coale] fire, as men vsually doe, allwayes stirring it with an Iron, till all be whitish & it reake no more, but at Lenght endureth an indifferent strong fire, then put it into a melting pot, & melt it into a transpert [H underlines] <H: or transparent> yellow glasse, beat [right margin, H?: /] [catchword: this]
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this glasse small, put it into a Colben glasse, & powre on it strong [acetum destillatum?]. Let it stand in a gentle warmth & the [acetum destillatum?] will Extract the tincture of antimony, & will be Coloured vey high, which Tincture or Extract of antimony must be further prepared, & may be vsed for an Excelent Medicine. v. Bas: Val: Triumphwage.
   Now when the tincture is all extracted & Coloureth no more the Vinegar, then dry the powder at the Botome wholy, which will be black, grind it with so much yellow sulphur put it into a melting pot, well luted, & put it into an Indifferent[H alters] fire, till the sulphur be wholy burnt away, then grind the matter remayning very small, & powre on it new distilled [acetum destillatum?] & draw the salt thereby, & afterward throw reiterated distillations, draw the Eagernes of the Vinegar from it, & Clarify the Salt with the Sp: of wine, till it be bright, Cleare & White, if thou hast wrought [left margin, H?: /] rightly. you hast [H underlines] that salt of antimony wholy fixt & actiue although there is another way to make that salt of antimony, which is written[H alters] elsewhere [Dos?].[H underlines] 4. gr. it is Equall [left margin, H?: /] to the Salt of gold. & Cureth all diseases, it may easily[H alters from easilly] be made gold. [&c?]/.