Of Natural and Supernatural Things by Basilius Valentinus (classic literature books .TXT) 📖

the Spirits, so that there is in it a red and a yellow Sulphur. In it is Mercury, as may be seen, for Mercury is extracted out of Saturn in a short time, and with little labour.

So that all three are in Saturn, but they are not fix'd therein, but they are clean, pure, incombustible, fluxible as Wax; in it are all things which the Philosophers have mentioned. They say, our Stone is made of a stinking menstruous thing: What think you, is not Saturn digg'd out of a stinking Earth? for divers are killed with the ill Sents and Vapours where Saturn is digg'd, or they live not long who labour in that stinking black Mine, whence Saturn is digg'd. And the Philosophers say, our Stone is of little value, being unprepared; they say, the poor have it as well as the rich, and they say true; for there are not poorer or more miserable people to be found than those which dig and work Saturn in the Mine; and they say it is to be found in all Towns and places, wheresoever you come Saturn is there. They say it is a black thing: What think you, is it not black? They say, it is a dry water, if Gold or Luna be to be refined upon the test, must it not be done with Saturn? they must be wash'd and tried with it, as a foul garment is made clean with Sope. They say, in our Stone are the four Elements, and they say true; for the four Elements may be separated out of Saturn. They say, our Stone consists of Soul, Spirit and Body, and these three become one. They say true; when it is made fix'd for the white Mercury and Sulphur with its Earth, then these three are one.

Whereby is to be observed, that the Philosophers have said true; they concealed its Name for the ignorants sake, who are not their Children, to keep them still in their Ignorance. Thus, my Child, the Ancients took care to conceal the name of the Stone; now let us return to our purpose.

You have now Saturn wash'd and cleansed from all its impurity, and made as white as Snow, fusible as Wax, but is it not fix'd yet; we will make it fix the Mercury and Sulphur with its Earth.

Take a Glass-Vial, put half of your purified Saturn into it, reserve the other half till you have occasion to use it; lay a polish'd Glass upon the mouth of the Glass, set it in a Cuple with sifted Ashes upon a Furnace; or set it on the Tripos of Secrets, or in the Furnace wherein you calcine Spirits; give it Fire so hot as the heat of the Sun at Midsummer, and no hotter, either a very little hotter, or a very little cooler, as you can best hit it. But if you give it a greater heat, such as you may keep Lead in flux, then your Matter would melt as if it were Oil; and having stood so, ten or twelve days, its Sulphur would fly away, and your Matter would all be spoiled, for the Sulphur which is in your Matter is not yet fix'd, but is in the external. Wherefore the Matter melts presently, and though it be clean, yet it is not fix'd; wherefore give so gentle a fire to it, that it may not flux; so keep it six weeks, then take out a little of it, lay it on a glowing hot Plate, if it immediately melts and fumes, it is not yet fixed, but if the Matter remain unmelted, the Sulphur is then fix'd which is therein; then strengthen the Fire notably, till the Matter in the Glass begins to look yellow, and continually more and more yellow, like to powdered Saffron, then augment the fire yet stronger, till the Matter begin to be red, then prosecute your Fire from one degree to another, even as the Powder becomes redder and redder by degrees, so hold on your Fire, till the Matter be red as a Ruby, then augment the Fire yet more, that the Matter may be glowing hot, then is it fixt, and ready to pour the curious Water of Paradise upon it.

My Child must know, that there are two ways of pouring on the Water of Paradise; I will teach you to make and prepare both, then may you take which you will; for the one is half as good again as the other.

My Child, you may remember, that I ordered you to reserve the one half of the purified Saturn, which take and put into a Stone-pot, pour upon it a bottle or more of distilled Wine-Vinegar, set a head on, distil the Vinegar again from it in a Bath, the head must have a hole at the top to pour fresh Vinegar upon the Matter, and abstract the Vinegar again from it, pour fresh Vinegar again on, and again abstract it, this pouring on, and abstracting or distilling off must continue so long, till the Vinegar be drawn off as strong as it was when it was put in, then is it enough, and the Matter hath in it as much of the Spirit of Vinegar as it can contain; then take the Pot out of the Bath, take off the head, and take the Matter out, and put it into a thick glass which can endure the Fire, set a head on it, put it in a Cuple with Ashes, which set on a Furnace, first make a small Fire, and so continually a little stronger, till your Matter come over as red as Bloud, thick as Oil, and sweet as Sugar, with a Celestial Sent, then keep it in that heat so long as it distils, and when it begins to slack, then increase your Fire till the Glass begin to glow; continu this heat till no more will distil, then let it cool of it self, take the Receiver off, stop it very close with Wax, take the Matter out of the Glass, beat it to powder in an Iron Mortar, with a steel Pestle; and then grind it on a Stone with good distilled Vinegar, put this Matter so ground into a Pot, poure good distilled Vinegar upon it, that two parts be full, set the Pot into a Bath with a head upon it, distil the Vinegar off, poure fresh Vinegar again upon it, distil it off again: thus do so long, that the Vinegar be as strong as it was when it was first poured upon it, then let it cool, take the Matter out of the Bath, take the head off, take the Matter out of the Pot, put it into a stronger round Glass which can endure the Fire, as you did before, set it upon a Furnace in a Cuple with sifted Ashes, set a head on, and a Receiver luted to it, then distil it, first with a small fire, which augment by degrees, till a Matter come over red as Bloud, and thick as Oyl, as aforesaid; give it fire till no more will distil, then let it cool of it self, take off the head, break the glass-pot, and take the Matter out, powder it again, and grind it on a Stone with distilled Vinegar, put it again into the Stone pot, poure fresh Vinegar upon it, set it into the Bath, and its head on, distil the Vinegar from it, poure it on again as hath been taught, till the Vinegar remain strong as it was.

Reiterate this distillation in the Bath until the Matter hath no more Spirit of the Vinegar in it, then take it out, set it in a glass-pot, distil all that will distil forth in ashes, till the Matter become a red Oil, then have you the most noble water of Paradise, to pour upon all fix'd stones, to perfect the Stone; this is one way. This water of Paradise thus distilled, the Ancients called their sharp clear Vinegar, for they conceal its name.

My Child, I will now teach you other ways to make the Water of Paradise; this is an easie way, but not so good, nor doth it that high projection in humane Medicines, yet it cures all Diseases within and without, but the other cures miraculously in a short time.

The second way of preparing the Water of Paradise.

My Child, if you would make it after this manner, you must take the half of your prepared Saturn which I ordered you to keep, upon which poure the half of your fix'd and prepared Water of Paradise, take the half, put it into a Stone-pot, poure weak Wine Vinegar upon it, mix it well together, then take two pounds of calcined Tartar, which is well clarified by solution and coagulation, so that it leave no more Fæces behind it, Salt Armoniac one pound, which is likewise so clearly sublimed, that no Fæces remain after its sublimation, pound both together to a Powder, put them speedily into a pot, and stop it close immediately, or else it will run out; for so soon as the Tartar and Salt Armoniac come to the Vinegar, they lift themselves up, and would immediately run out of the mouth of the pot, wherefore stop the pot presently, set the pot in a Vessel of Water, they will cool speedily, otherwise if the cold and hot Matter should come together suddenly, they would contest together, rise up, and become so hot, that the pot would break for heat, if it were not set in cold Water; therefore take heed, when you put the powders in, that you stop it immediately, and set it in cold Water before you put the other Powder to it, then will they unite, let them stand a day and a night in that Vessel, then take them out, set them into a lukewarm Bath two days and nights, let it cool of it self, take the Stopple off from the pot, and set a head on, set the pot in sifted Ashes, upon a Furnace, distil with a small fire, and continually greater till all the Vinegar be over, then augment your Fire notably, till you see quick Mercury drop out of the Pipe, when it ceases to drop, then augment the Fire by little and little and drive it so long as it drops; you may observe when it will leave dropping, if in the space of one or two Pater-nosters one drop doth fall, then augment the Fire till the pot glow at the bottom, for twelve hours and when the Mercury is over, then should the Salt Armoniac sublime up into the head, and the Tartar remain with the Body of Saturn at the bottom of the Pot, which take out, put it into a Linnen Bag, hang it in a moist Cellar, the Tartar will dissolve, receive it in a Glass, the body of Saturn remains in the Bag, take it out, and calcine it in a reverberating Furnace three days and nights, with a great heat, as is taught elsewhere, then extract the Salt out, as is taught in the Mineral Book. You may make projection with the Salt, and coagulate your Tartar again, it will be as good or better than it was, likewise take your Salt Armoniac out of the Head, it is good again, and if you could have no Salt Armoniac, then take three pound of calcined Tartar, likewise so clarified, that it leave no Fæces behind, you then need no Salt Armoniac, therewith