Of the Incidental Purging of Mercury and Gold
Perfect gold is found in the bowels of the earth in little pieces,
or
in sand. If you can meet with this unmixed gold, it is pure enough; if
not, purge it with antimony or royal cement, or boil it with aqua
fortis,
the gold being first granulated. Then smelt it, remove the impure
sediment,
and it is ready. But Mercury needs inward and essential purging. which
radical cleansing is brought about by the addition of true Sulphur,
little
by little, according to the number of the Eagles. Then it also needs an
incidental purgation for the purpose of removing from its surface the
impurities
which have, by the essential purgation, been ejected from the centre.
This
process
is not absolutely necessary, but it is useful, as it accelerates the
work.
Therefore, take your Mercury, which you have purified with a suitable
number
of Eagles, sublime it three times with common salt and iron filings,
and
wash it with vinegar and a moderate quantity of salts of ammonia, then
dry and distil in a glass retort, over a gradually increasing fire,
until
the whole of the Mercury has ascended. Repeat this four times, then
boil
the Mercury in spirits of vinegar for an hour, stirring it constantly.
Then pour off the vinegar, and wash off its acidity by a plentiful
effusion
of spring water. Dry the Mercury, and its splendour will be wonderful.
You may wash it with wine, or vinegar and salt, and so spare the
sublimation;
but then distil it at least four times without addition, after you have
perfected all the eagles, or washings, washing the chalybeat retort
every
time with ashes and water; then boil it in distilled vinegar for half a
day, stirring it strongly at times. Pour off the blackish vinegar, add
new, then wash with warm water. This process is designed to purge away
the internal impurities from the surface. These impurities you may
perceive
if, on mixing Mercury with purest gold, you place the amalgam on a
white
sheet of paper. The sooty blackness which is then seen on the paper is
purged away by this process.
Of the Amalgam of Mercury and Gold, and of their
Respective
Proportions
When you have done all this, take one part of pure and laminated
gold,
or fine gold filings, and two parts of Mercury; put them in a heated
(marble)
jar, i.e., heaved with boiling water, being taken out of which it dries
quickly, and holds the heat a long time. Grind with an ivory, or glass,
or stone, or iron, or boxwood pestle (the iron pestle is not so good; I
use a pestle of crystal): pound them, I say, as small as the painters
grind
their colours; then add water so as to make the mass as consistent as
half
melted butter. The mixture should be fixable and soft, and permit
itself
to be moulded into little globules --- like moderately soft butter; it
should be of such a consistency as to yield to the gentlest touch.
Moreover,
it should be of the same temperature throughout, and one part should
not
be more liquid than another. The mixture will be more or less soft,
according
to the proportion of Mercury which it contains; but it must be capable
of forming into those little globules, and the Mercury should not be
more
lively at the bottom than at the top. If the amalgam be left
undisturbed,
it will at once harden; you must therefore judge of the merits of the
mixture,
while you are stirring it; if it fulfils the above conditions, it is
good
Then take spirit of vinegar, and dissolve in it a third part of salt of
ammonia, put the amalgam into this liquid, let the whole boil for a
quarter-of-an-hour
in a long necked glass vessel; then take the mixture out of the glass
vessel,
pour off the liquid, heat the mortar, and pound the amalgam (as above)
vigorously, and wash away all blackness with hot water. Put it again
into
the liquid, let it boil up once more in the glass vessel, pound it as
before,
and wash it. Repeat this process until the blackness is entirely purged
out. The amalgam will then be as brilliant and white as the purest
silver.
Once more regulate the temperature of the amalgam according to the
rules
given above; your labour will be richly rewarded. If the amalgam be not
quite soft enough, add a little Mercury. Then boil it in pure water,
and
free it from all saltness and acidity. Pour off the water, and dry the
amalgam. Make quite sure that it is thoroughly dried, by waving it to
and
fro on the point of a knife over a sheet of white paper.
[...] The substance
which will go into this vessel consists of 1/2 oz. of gold, and one oz.
of mercury; and if you have to add 1/3 oz. of mercury, the whole
compound
will still be less than 2 oz.
Of the Progress of the Work during the First Forty
Days
When you have prepared our gold and Mercury in the manner
described,
put it into our vessel, and subject it to the action of our fire;
within
40 days you will see the whole substance converted into atoms, without
any visible motion, or perceptible heat (except that it is just warm).
If you do not yet rightly know the meaning of "our gold," take one part
of common gold (well purified), and three parts of
our Mercury
(thoroughly
purged), put them together as directed, place them over the
fire, and there keep them at the boiling point, till they sweat, and
their
sweat circulates. At the end of 90 days you will find that the Mercury
has separated and reunited all the elements of the common gold. Boil
the
mixture 50 days longer, and you will discover that our Mercury has
changed
the common gold into "our gold," which is the Medicine of the first
order.
It is already our Sulphur, but it has not yet the power of tinging.
This
method has been followed by many Sages, but it is exceedingly slow and
tedious, and is only for the rich of the earth. Moreover, when you have
got this Sulphur do not think that you possess the Stone, but only its
true Matter, which you may seek in an imperfect thing, and find it
within
a week, by our easy yet rare way, reserved of God for His poor,
contemned,
and abject saints. [...] I say
then,
that both ways are true, and come to the same thing in the end --- but
there is a vast difference at the beginning. Our whole Art consists in
the right preparation of our Mercury and our gold. Our Mercury is our
way,
and without it nothing is effected. Our gold is not common gold, but it
may be found in it; and if you operate on our Mercury with common gold
(regulating the fire in the right way), you will after 150 days have
our
gold, since our gold is obtained from our Mercury. Hence if common gold
have all its atoms thoroughly severed by means of our Mercury, and then
reunited by the same agency, the whole mixture will, under the
influence
of fire, become our gold. [...] The gold of the Sages
may then be prepared out of our common gold and our Mercury, from which
there may afterwards be obtained by repeated liquefactions, Sulphur and
Quicksilver which is incombustible, and tinges all things else. In this
sense, our Stone is to be found in all metals and minerals, since our
gold
may be got from them all --- but most easily, of course, from gold and
silver. Some have found it in tin, some in lead, but most of those who
have pursued the more tedious method, have found it in gold. Of course,
if our gold be prepared in the way I have described, out of common gold
(in the course of 150 days), instead of being found ready made, it will
not be so effectual, and the preparation of the Stone will take 1 1/2
years
instead of 7 months. [...] If you choose common gold, you should espouse
it
to Venus (copper), lay them together on the bridal bed, and, on
bringing
a fierce fire to bear on them, you will see an emblem of the Great Work
in the following succession of colours: black, the peacock's tail,
white,
orange, and red. Then repeat the same operation with Mercury (called
Virgin's
Milk), using the "fire of the Bath of Dew," and (towards the end) sand
mixed with ashes. The substance will first turn a much deeper black,
and
then a completer white and red. Hence if you know our Art, extract our
gold from our Mercury (this is the shorter way), and thus perform the
whole
operation with one substance (viz., Mercury); if you can do this, you
will
have attained to the perfection of philosophy. In this method, there is
no superfluous trouble: the whole work, from beginning to end, is based
upon one broad foundation --- whereas if you take common gold, you must
operate on two substances, and
both will have to be purified by
an elaborate process. [...] If you operate on Mercury
and pure common gold, you may find "our gold" in 7 to 9 months, and
"our
silver" in 5 months. But when you have these, you have not yet prepared
our Stone:
that glorious sight will not gladden your eyes until
you have been at work for a year-and-a-half. By that time you may
obtain
the elixir by subjecting the substance to very gentle continuous heat.
Of the Appearance of Blackness in the Work of the
Sun and Moon
If you operate on gold and silver, for the purpose of finding our
Sulphur,
let your substance first become like a thin paste, or boiling water, or
liquid pitch; for the operation of our gold and Mercury is prefigured
by
that which happens in the preparation of common gold with our Mercury.
Take your substance and place it in the furnace, regulate the fire
properly
for the space of twenty days, in which time you will observe various
colours,
and about the end of the fourth week, if the fire be continuous, you
will
see a most amiable greenness, which will last for about ten days. Then
rejoice, for in a short time it will be as a black coal, and your whole
compound shall be reduced to atoms. The operation is a resolution of
the
fixed into the not fixed that both afterwards, being conjoined, may
make
one matter, partly spiritual and partly corporal. Once more, I assure
you,
the regulation of the fire is the only thing that I have hidden from
you.
Given the proper-regimen, take the Stone, govern it as you know how,
and
then these wonderful phenomena will follow: The fire will at once
dissolve
the Mercury and the Sulphur like wax; the Sulphur will be burnt, and
change
its colours from day to day; the Mercury will prove incombustible, and
only be gradually tinged (and purified, without being infected) with
the
colours of the Sulphur. Let the heaven stoop to the earth, till the
latter
has conceived heavenly seed. When you see the substances mingle in your
distilling vessel, and assume the appearance of clotted and burnt
blood,
be sure that the female has received the seed of the male. About
seventeen
days afterwards your substance will begin to wear a yellow, thick,
misty,
or foamy appearance. At this time, you must take care not to let the
embryo
escape from your vessel; for it will give out a greenish, yellow,
black,
and bluish vapour and strive to burst the vessel. If you allow these
vapours
(which are continuous when the Embryo is formed) to escape, your work
will
be hopelessly marred. Nor should you allow any of the odour to make its
way through any little hole or outlet; for the evaporation would
considerably
weaken the strength of the Stone. Hence the true Sage seals up the
mouth
of his vessel most carefully. Let me advise you, moreover, not to
neglect
your fire, or move or open the vessel, or slacken the process of
decoction,
until you find that the quantity of the liquid begins to diminish; if
this
happens after thirty days, rejoice, and know that you are on the right
road. Then be doubly careful, and you will, at the end of another
fortnight,
find that the earth has become quite dry and of a deep black. This is
the
death of the compound; the winds have ceased, and there is a great
calm.
This is that great simultaneous eclipse of the Sun and Moon, when the
Sea
also has disappeared. Our Chaos is then ready, from which, at the
bidding
of God, all the wonders of the world may successively emerge.
Of the Caution Required to Avoid Burning the
Flowers
The burning of the flowers is fatal, yet soon committed: it is
chiefly
to be guarded against after the lapse of the third week. In the
beginning
there is so much moisture that if the fire be too fierce it will dry up
the liquid too quickly, and you will prematurely obtain a dry red
powder,
from which the principle of life has flown; if the fire be not strong
enough
the substance will not be properly matured. Too powerful a fire
prevents
the true union of the substances. True union only takes place in water.
Bodies collide, but do not unite; only liquids (and spirits) can truly
mingle their substance. Hence our homogeneous metallic water must be
allowed
to do its work properly, and should not be dried up, until this perfect
mutual absorption has taken place in a natural manner. Premature drying
only destroys the germ of life, strikes the active principle on the
head
as with a hammer, and renders it passive. A red powder is indeed
produced,
but
long before the time: for redness should be preceded by blackness. It
is
true that, in the beginning of our work, when heaven is wedded to
earth,
and earth conceives the fire of nature, a red colour does appear. But
the
substance is then sufficiently moist; and the redness soon gives way to
a green colour, which in its turn gradually yields to blackness. Do not
be in a hurry; let your fire be just powerful enough, but not too
powerful;
steer a straight course between Scylla and Charybdis: you will behold
in
your vessel a variety of colours and grotesque transformations ---
until
the substance settles down into a powder of intense blackness. This
should
happen within the first fifty days. If it does not, either your
Mercury,
or the regulation of your fire, or the composition of your substance is
at fault --- if, indeed, you have not moved or shaken your glass
vessel.
Of the Regimen of Saturn
All the Sages who have written on our Art, have spoken of the work
and
regimen of Saturn; and their remarks have led many to choose common
lead
as the substance of the Stone. But you should know that our Saturn, or
lead, is a much nobler substance than gold. It is the living earth in
which
the soul of gold is joined to Mercury, that they may bring forth Adam
and
his wife Eve. Wherefore, since the highest has so lowered itself as to
become the lowest, we may expect that its blood may be the means of
redeeming
all its brethren. The Tomb in which our King is buried, is that which
we
call Saturn, and it is the key of the work of transmutation; happy is
he
who can salute this planet, and call it by its right name. It is a boon
which is obtained by the blessing of God alone; it is not of him that
willeth,
or of him that runneth; but God bestoweth it on whom He will.
Of the First Regimen, which is that of Mercury
This first regimen has been studiously kept secret by all the
Sages.
They have spoken of the second regimen, or that of Saturn, as if it
were
the first, and have thus left the student without guidance in those
operations
which precede the appearance of that intense blackness. Count Bernard,
of Trevisa, says, in his Parable, that When the King has come to the
Fountain,
he takes off the golden garment, gives it to Saturn, and enters the
bath
alone, afterwards receiving from Saturn a robe of black silk. But he
does
not tell us how long it takes to put off that golden robe; and thus,
like
all his brethren, leaves the poor beginner to grope in the dark during
40 or 50 days. From the point where the stage of blackness is reached
to
the end of the work their directions are more full and intelligible. It
is in regard to these first 40 days that the student requires
additional
light. This period represents the regimen of Mercury (of the Sages),
which
is alone active during the whole time, the
other substance
being
temporarily dead. You should not suffer yourself to be deluded into the
belief that when your matters are joined, namely, our Sun and Mercury,
the "setting of the Sun" can be brought about in a few days. We
ourselves
waited a tedious time before a reconciliation was made between the fire
and the water. As a matter of fact, the Sages have called the
substance,
throughout this first period, Rebis, or Two-thing: to shew that the
union
is not effected till the operation is complete. You should know, then,
that though our Mercury consumes the Sun, yet a year after you shall
separate
them, unless they are connected together by a suitable degree of fire.
It is not able to do anything at all without
fire. We must not
suppose
that when our gold is placed in our Mercury it is swallowed up by it in
the twinkling of an eye. This conception rests on a misunderstanding of
Count Bernard's teaching about the King's plunge in the fountain. But
the
solution of gold is a more difficult matter than these gentry appear to
have any idea of. It requires the highest skill so to regulate the fire
in the first stage of the work as to solve the bodies without injuring
the tincture. Attend to my teaching therefore. Take the body which I
have
shewed you, put it into the water of our sea, and bring to bear on the
compound the proper degree of heat, till dews and mists begin to
ascend,
and the moisture is diminished night and day without intermission. Know
that at first the two do not affect each other at all, and that only in
course of time the body absorbs some of the water, and thus causes each
to partake of the other's nature. Only part of the water is sublimed;
the
rest gradually penetrates the pores of the body, which are thereby more
and more softened, till the soul of the gold is enabled gently to pass
out. Through the mediation of the soul the body is reconciled and
united
to the spirit, and their union is signalized by the appearance of the
black
colour. The whole operation lasts about 40-50 days, and is called the
Regimen
of Mercury, because the body is passive throughout, and the spirit, or
Mercury, brings about all the changes of colour, which begin to appear
about the 20th day, and gradually intensify till all be at last
completed
in black of the deepest dye, which the both day will manifest.
The Regimen of the Second Part, which is that of
Saturn
The Regimen of Mercury, the operation whereof despoils the King of
his
golden garments, is followed by the Regimen of Saturn. When the Lion
dies
the Crow is born. The substance has now become of a uniform colour,
namely,
as black as pitch, and neither vapours, or winds, or any other signs of
life are seen; the whole is dry as dust, with the exception of some
pitch-like
substance, which now and then bubbles up; all presents an image of
eternal
death. Nevertheless, it is a sight which gladdens the heart of the
Sage.
For the black colour which is seen is bright and brilliant; and if you
behold something like a thin paste bubbling up here and there, you may
rejoice. For it is the work of the quickening spirit, which will soon
restore
the dead bodies to life. The regulation of the fire is a matter of
great
importance at this juncture; if you make it too fierce, and thus cause
sublimation at this stage, everything will be irrecoverably spoilt. Be
content, therefore, to remain, as it were, in prison for forty days and
nights, even as was the good Trevisan, and employ only gentle heat. Let
your delicate substance remain at the bottom, which is the womb of
conception,
in the sure hope that after the time appointed by the Creator for this
Operation, the spirit will arise in a glorified state, and glorify its
body -- that it will ascend and be gently circulated from the centre to
the heavens, then descend to the centre from the heavens, and take to
itself
the power of things above and things below.
Of the Regimen of Jupiter
Black Saturn is succeeded by Jupiter, who exhibits divers colours.
For
after the putrefaction and conception, which has taken place at the
bottom
of the vessel, there is once more a change of colours and a circulating
sublimation. This
Reign or Regimen, lasts only three weeks.
During
this period you see all conceivable colours concerning which no
definite
account can be given. The "showers" that fall will become more numerous
as the close of this reign approaches, and its termination is
signalized
by the appearance of a snowy white streaky deposit on the sides of the
vessel. Rejoice, then, for you have successfully accomplished the
regimen
of Jupiter. What you must be particularly careful about in this
operation,
is to prevent the young ones of the Crow from going back to the nest
when
they have once left it; secondly, to let your earth get neither too dry
by an immoderate sublimation of the moisture, nor yet to swamp and
smother
it with the moisture. These ends will be attained by the proper
regulation
of the outward heat.
Of the Regimen of the Moon
When the Reign of Jupiter comes to an end (towards the close of
the
fourth month) you will see the sign of the waxing moon (Crescent), and
know that the whole Reign of Jupiter was devoted to the purification of
the Laton. The mundifying spirit is very pure and brilliant, but the
body
that has to be cleansed is intensely black. While it passes from
blackness
to whiteness, a great variety of colours are observed; nor is it at
once
perfectly white; at first it is simply white --- afterwards it is of a
dazzling, snowy splendour. Under this Reign the whole mass presents the
appearance of liquid quicksilver. This is called the sealing of the
mother
in the belly of the infant whom she bears; and its intermediate colours
are more white than black, just as in the Reign of Jupiter they were
more
black than white. The Reign of the Moon lasts just three weeks; but
before
its close, the substance exhibits a great variety of forms; it will
become
liquid, and again coagulate a hundred times a day; sometimes it will
present
the appearance of fishes' eyes, and then again of tiny silver trees,
with
twigs and leaves. Whenever you look at it you will have cause for
astonishment,
particularly when you see it all divided into beautiful but very minute
grains of silver, like the rays of the Sun. This is the White Tincture,
glorious to behold, but nothing in respect of what it may become.
Of the Regimen of Venus
The substance, if left in the same vessel, will once more become
volatile
and (though already perfect in its way) will undergo another change.
But
if you take it out of the vessel, and after allowing it to cool, put it
into another, you will not be able to make anything of it. In this
Reign
you should also give careful attention to your fire. For the perfect
Stone
is fusible and if the fire be too powerful the substance will become
glazed,
and unsusceptible of any further change. This "vitrification" of the
substance
may happen at any time from the middle of the Reign of the Moon to the
tenth day of the Reign of Venus, and should be carefully guarded
against.
The heat should be gentle so as to melt the compound very slowly and
gradually;
it will then raise bubbles, and receive a spirit that will rise upward,
carrying the Stone with it, and imparting to it new colours, especially
a copper-green colour, which endures for some time, and does not quite
disappear till the twentieth day; the next change is to blue and livid,
and at the close of this Reign the colour is a pale purple. DO not
irritate
the spirit too much --- it is more corporeal than before, and if you
sublime
it to the top of the vessel, it will hardly return. The same caution
should
be observed in the Reign of the Moon, when the substance begins to
thicken.
The law is one of mildness, and not of violence, lest everything should
rise to the top of the vessel, and be consumed or vitrified to the ruin
of the whole work. When you see the green colour, know that the
substance
now contains the germ of its highest life. DO not turn the greenness
into
blackness by immoderate heat. This Reign is maintained for forty days.
Of the Regimen of Mars
When the Regimen of Venus is over, and therein has appeared the
philosophical
tree, with all its branches and leaves, the Reign of Mars begins with a
light yellow, or dirty brown colour, but at last exhibits the
transitory
hues of the Rainbow, and the Peacock's Tail. At this stage the compound
is drier, and often shews like a hyacinth with a tinge of gold. The
mother
being now sealed in her infant's belly, swells and is purified, but
because
of the present great purity of the compound, no putridness can have
place
in this regimen, but Some obscure colours are chief actors, while some
middle colours come and go, and they are pleasant to look on. Our
Virgin
Earth is now undergoing the last degree of its cultivation, and is
getting
ready to receive and mature the fruit of the Sun. Hence you should Weep
up a moderate temperature; then there will be seen, about the thirtieth
day of this Reign, an orange colour, which, within two weeks from its
first
appearance, will tinge the whole substance with its own hue.
Of the Regimen of the Sun
As you are now approaching the end of the work, the substance
receives
a golden tinge, and the Virgin's Milk which you give your substance to
drink has assumed a deep orange colour. Pray to God to keep you from
haste
and impatience at this stage of the work; consider that you have now
waited
for seven months, and that it would be foolish to let one hour rob you
of the fruits of all your labour. Therefore be more and more careful
the
nearer you approach perfection. Then you will first observe an
orange-coloured
sweat breaking out on the body; next there will be vapour of an orange
hue. Soon the body below becomes tinged with violet and a darkish
purple.
At the end of fourteen or fifteen days, the substance will be, for the
most part, humid and ponderous, and yet the wind still bears it in its
womb. Towards the 26th day of the Reign it will begin to get dry, and
to
become liquid and solid in turn (about a hundred times a day); then it
becomes granulated; then again it is welded together into one mass, and
so it goes on changing for about a fortnight At length, however, an
unexpectedly
glorious light will burst from your substance, and the end will arrive
three days afterwards. The substance will be granulated, like atoms of
gold (or motes in the Sun), and turn a deep red --- a red the intensity
of which makes it seem black like very pure blood in a clotted state.
This
is the Great Wonder of Wonders, which has not its like on earth.
Of the Fermentation of the Stone
I forgot to warn you in the last chapter to be on your guard
against
the danger of vitrification; too fierce a fire would render your
substance
insoluble and prevent its granulation. You now possess the
incombustible
red Sulphur which can no longer be affected in any way by fire. In
order
to obtain the Elixir from this Sulphur by reiterate solution and
coagulation,
take three parts of purest gold, and one part of this fiery Sulphur.
Melt
the gold in a clean crucible, and then cast your Sulphur into it
(protecting
it well from the smoke of the coals) Make them liquid together, when
you
will obtain a beautiful mass of a deep red, though hardly transparent.
This you should permit to cool, and pound into a small powder. Of this
powder take one part, and two parts of our Mercury; mix them well, and
put them in a glass vessel, well sealed. They should be exposed to
gentle
heat for two months. This is the true fermentation, which may be
repeated
if needful.
The Imbibition of the Stone
Many authors take fermentation in this work for the invisible
external
agent, which they call ferment; by its virtue the fugitive and subtle
spirits,
without laying on of hands, are of their own accord thickened, and our
before-mentioned fermentation they call cibation with bread and milk.
But
I follow my own judgment There is another operation, called Imbibition
of the Stone, by which its quantity rather than its quality is
increased.
It is this: Add to three parts of your perfect Sulphur (either white or
red) one part of water, and after six or seven days' coction the water
will become thick like the Sulphur Add again as much water as you did
before;
and when this is dried up, with a convenient fire, add three distinct
times
so much water as shall be equal to one-third of the original quantity
of
Sulphur. Then add (for the 7th imbibition) five parts of water (the
parts
being equal to the original parts of the Sulphur). Seal up the vessel;
subject it to gentle coction, and let the compound pass through all the
different Reigns of the original Substance, which will be accomplished
in a month. Then you have the true Stone of the third order, one part
of
which will perfectly tinge 1,000 parts of any other metal.
The Multiplication of the Stone
Take the perfect Stone; add one part of it to three or four parts
of
purified Mercury of our first work, subject it to gentle coction for
seven
days (the vessel being carefully sealed up), and let it pass through
all
the Reigns, which it will do very quickly and smoothly. The tinging
power
of the substance will thus be exalted a thousandfold; and if you go
through
the whole process a second time (which you can do with ease in three
days)
the Medicine will be much more precious still. This you may repeat as
often
as you like; the third time the substance will run through all the
Reigns
in a day, the fourth time in a single hour, and so on --- and the
improvement
in its quality will be most marvellous. Then kneel down and render
thanks
to God for this precious treasure.
Of Projection
Take four parts of your perfect Stone, either red or white (of
both
for the Medicine): melt them in a clean crucible. Take one part of this
pulverisable mixture to ten parts of purified Mercury; heat the Mercury
till it begins to crackle, then throw in your mixture, which will
pierce
it in the twinkling of an eye; increase your fire till it be melted,
and
you will have a Medicine of an inferior order. Take one part of this,
and
add it to a large quantity of well purged and melted metal, which will
thereby be transmuted into the purest silver or gold (according as you
have taken white or red Sulphur). Note that it is better to use a
gradual
projection, for otherwise there may be a notable loss of the Medicine.
The better the metals are purged and refined, the quicker and more
complete
will the transmutation be.
Of the Manifold Uses of this Art
He that has once found this Art, can have nothing else in all the
world
to wish for, than that he may be allowed to serve his God in peace and
safety. He will not care for pomp or dazzling outward show. But if he
lived
a thousand years, and daily entertained a million people, he could
never
come to want, since he has at hand the means of indefinitely
multiplying
the Stone both in weight and virtue, and thus of changing all imperfect
metals in the world into gold. In the second place, he has it in his
power
to make stones and diamonds far more precious than any that are
naturally
procured. In the third place, he has an Universal Medicine, with which
he can cure every conceivable disease, and, indeed, as to the quantity
of his Medicine, he might heal all sick people in the world. Now to the
King Eternal, Immortal, and sole Almighty, be everlasting praise for
these
His unspeakable gifts and invaluable treasures. I exhort all that
possess
this Treasure, to use it to the praise of God, and the good of their
neighbours,
in order that they may not at the last day be eternally doomed for
their
ingratitude to their Creator.
To God Alone be the Glory
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