The works of the highly experienced and famous chymist, John Rudolph Glauber: containing, great variety of choice secrets in medicine and alchymy in the working of metallick mines, and the separation of metals. Also, various cheap and easie ways of making salt-petre, and improving of barren-land, and the fruits of the earth / Translated into English, and pub. for publick good by Christopher Packe.

Glauber, Johann Rudolf, 1604-1670.

Date:: 1689

Credit: The works of the highly experienced and famous chymist, John Rudolph Glauber: containing, great variety of choice secrets in medicine and alchymy in the working of metallick mines, and the separation of metals. Also, various cheap and easie ways of making salt-petre, and improving of barren-land, and the fruits of the earth / Translated into English, and pub. for publick good by Christopher Packe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

744/820 (page 34)

$34 But, proceed you but on with this firft Degree of Fire only, and that little and little, until the whole water be turned into an afliy Colour’d earth; When this ts V done we will encreafe the Fire by little and little, one Degree more, which willleifurely turn the adiy Colour into a Black one. ' A. I tyill ufe my utmofi diligence and objervancy. B. Do you fee now that lleeke and (hining Black- nefs like the Head of the Crow, covered over with abundance of black and very.' fmall Feathers : And upon this .Account^ the Philofophers have called this thus appearing Colow, rheCrorv/head. To thrs black Crows head,^ admini'tfer the third Degree of Fire, which win tfanfmute this’ blatk head- ahto Various, moft delicate Colours , fiiining like o and D : Then continue on this degree of Fire, that all the faid un- Bable Colours may vanifl^ and may prefeijt to’yicw the white Colour. • After Whitenefs, folloi^s Yellow- nefs, which at la^ will be covered ovef v^th the conftant and permanent l^ed.nTs : Which appeatiilg; the fourth Degree of Fire is to be adminiftred, that that Rednefe may be more and more exalted, and waxing Redder may attain unto its due Filthy and •Conftancy s the which,by way of fimilitude, the Fhi- lofophers call, Salamander and is the.end of our whole Work. r, , A. ,r Jlsoald never have fo, much as dredrnty that fo hlack, a B.ody ,coiild in fo Poort ^Jpace of time hdve been tranfmuted into a mojl ifhitenefs, and that this fame Whitenefs could, by an admirable pajftng through all Colours, pafs into amoji ‘delicate Kednefs^ bkt I pray, when this Matter hath obtained this Kednefs, is it to be accompted f, as an 'Vniverfal Medicine f B. Yes,'. Verily, becaufe.all the curable Difeafes of Men, may (by that fame Matter) be refiored tofor- rher Health y and thatfafer, better and perfedlier than can be done with any Herbs, qr any other known Me¬ dicaments. I except that Medicament, which is ex- traded out of this, and concentrated into a much nobler Nature. But, as concerning the Tranfmuta- tion of Metals, it yields not any Profit,afore it be made fixt and conftant in the Fires to the effeding of - which^there is required a fufficiently great fpace of time. A. As far as I can underjiand, there may he a yet better and proptabler Medicament prepared, than this is. B. Yes, Verily, that there may, a much .better and miore ufeful, becaufe. that with this, there arc as yet admixt many unprofitable Feces, which ought to be feparated therefrom: And the Cafe is far otherwife in the perfeding of this Work out of this Mineral, then in that which is done with Gold, for this is all over defiled with many impurities: For every one muft needs think, that there are abundance of Feces that are to be] feparated from that Mineral, and by how much the more impurities are feparated, fo much the more efficacious muft the Medicament it felf of neceftity be. Now in this preferit Degree and State it is brought unto by us, it would be fufficient for all kind of Difeafes s wbiefi if we would yet have • to be far more efficacious and ftronger, it would be expedient, that we feparate yet the more unprofitable and ufelefs Feces,and concentrate the more pure Eflence into a more narrow Room and lefTcr Body. For ’tis the Soul only orQuinteftence of things, that heals Difeafes. 1 he ffielis or husks bring no Profit at all, and this the Husbandmen well know ', for they fepa- rate ihe Husks and chaff from the Corn, afore they •bake Bread. The Medicinal Virtues of Herbs and . Minerals are but of a ftr.all weight, afore they are . fited from tiie‘Bonds and Fetters of their Bodies; But now, after that they are feparated from their Bo¬ dies, they can perform incredible effeds even in a moft fmall quantity, and fuch as the great weight of that Body, whence they are extraded, will never efted. Look but on a living Man that is in good Health, with how ready and nimble a Motion can he ftir his Limbs and what ftrength he can put forth : But as fuon as ever the Soul fliall have feparated it fclf from the Body, how i.nfenlible and immoveable the Body lies, and not ferviceable for any life > It is therefore a certain and undoubted Truth, that the Life of all things wanleth weight, and this ftiall be more clearly, and more ^evidently demonfirated by the Concentration ofothw iftiiverfarl Medicament. For that which one Ounce, now, does, of this thus prepared Medicament; half an Ounce, when concentrated, will perform the fam,e : .And that which half an Ounce of this Medi- carnefit once concentred will effed - one quarter part oT an Ounce, or a Dram of the fame twite concentra¬ ted’, will effed the fame. And according to this com¬ pute, may you proceed on farther. For fey how much the pftner the prepared Medicament is concentrated, fo fnucli the morC Feces are feparated therefrom: And by hoW much narrowlier the Virtues are contraded*, fo rriifch the greater effeds do' they produce. And thus there needs not in'a manner any weight in Medi¬ cinal ufe. That which ten Grains of an unconcentrated -'Medicament is Wofit'foaccomplifh, you will effed the fame With one Gtain of the Medicine, when concentred, to be put either in Afc or Wine for fotfie hours, if need be,’or .elfc held in the Mouth. For foe it will nolefs difplay its oCcuIt Virtues and Powers, than if the P6wderof the not concentrated Medicaincnt had been othetwife dtunk dowfi. Befidcs too^ fuch a Medica¬ ment may be a long time iifed without lofing of its Virtues, and that not only inwardly, but outwardly alfo in all Wounds, Ulcers, and fuch like external affeds. For all new Wounds, as alfo old Ulcers whatfoever they be, are happily cured by the laying on of thofe Medicaments, if the fame Medicines be likeWife ufed inwardly,. Nor needs there here many Employers, Cataplafmes, and Ointments : Concerning which thing, fee more in the Fifth Bart of my Fhar~ macopaa Spagyrica, where the ufe of this Medicament is treated of. Read alfo thofe things, which that moft excellent Philofopher VanHelmont declares of another certain Philofopher, Butlerhy Name, viz, that he had a cer¬ tain Stone, at London in EnglaHd,wh\ch being fweld a very little in Oyl Olive, rendred the fame exceeding¬ ly Virtuous, that fome few drops thereof taken into the Body, would drive away the moft grievous Di- fcafes, and being outwardly applyed to Wounds [or Sores] Would fpeedily heal them. Thefe things He/- mont teftifies to be true, as being an Eye witnefs of the fame. But I do not attribute fuch incredible Vir¬ tues unto my Medicament, for as much as I tiiy felf doubtdd of this Story of Butler, and could not believe» that any Medicament could be promoted to this fo High a Degree of powerful Efficacy : But now, feeing 1 perceive that it is pofiible to Art, for the Virtues of things to be contra<!fted into a narrow Room, and be concentrated I do upon good ground caft this doub¬ ting olf from my mind, and adhere to thofe things which I fee with mine Eyes, and touch with my Hands. Certain, and firmly undoubted it therefore is, that not only the Medicinal Virtues and Powers of this our Matter may be contradlcd into fuch a narrow Com- pafs, as to effed; an hundred fold more in Medicine, than that more grofs Body could do; But alfo this may$

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