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
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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.

    762/820 (page 52)
    '5^ Of ELI AS tbs A%TI ST. Part HI. phecy is not to be underflood according to the Letter, and to be meant of fome great Man in the World but Magically ^ for the word ElhM by tranfpofition ot Let¬ ters, makes out Salia^ and fo likewife doth the word khjhu., as I have formerly explained thefe words in my Treatife of the Natare of Salts. Elits Artifta therefore according to the Hyle of Philofophers, lignifies extra* ordinary and unknown Salts, by which great and in¬ credible things may be performed, and accordingly when manifefted, will be the caufe of great changes in the World. Thefe Salts were known to the Philofophers of old, who yet did not think fit any further to open them* felves concerning them, than in declaring, that the Thilofophers Stone mud be prepared by them. T«r- ba Philofophorum fpeaking concerning this matter, faith, LhA bar Salt eacreafes the Liednefs in O, and Vrhiteneft in ]), and further, if God had not created this Salt it were impojjible to tnakje the Elixir, It is probable, that the Philofophers who wrote concerning this wonderful Salt, had no knowledge of any other, fuppofing that this Salt only was proper to extradl and prepare^ Tin- ^ures. I muft acknowledge there is no Salt in the World, that hath fuch virtue to encreafeand exalt the Tindtuie in common as well as Philofophical O and D, and that as it were in a moment, as foon as the Mo¬ narch of Salts is added to them. Neither doth our Salt only exalt, but it alfo joyns the King of Metals fo indiflblubly with his Queen, that no Art can fepa- ffate them. A thing worth our wonder, that a Vola* tile white Salt flrould have the power to meliorate Q and D, and to exalt the fame permanently. For to give Home further light to the matter, I declare, that this Salt of which the: fpeaks, doth fublime white, and being diffolved in Water, gives a white Solution : It is white, and continues white both in and out of the Fire, and is altogether Volatile, for which reafon I have called it my Secret Salt Armoniach^-., but as foon as it is join’d with O or D it becomes fix, and makes the O and D fixer than they were before, af¬ fording them a kind of plafqaam perfection, and in* feparable Conjunction. Let none think that this Salt of which I here fpeak, is like, or the fame with that, which is made of Oyl of Vitriol and Spirit of Urine, of which I have treated in the Seventh Fart of my Fharmacop£a Spagyrica ', for th'S our Sovereign Salt has no affinity with that, for as much as that Salt makes all things Volatile, and feparates their purer part by Sublimation from the grofs f<eces •, but this our white Salt., though it be unfixt it felf, yet has the power to fix unfixt Metals, fo as to endure the Tell, provided always that the virtue of this unfixt be iirll fixed by its conjunction with 0and^^D. For the whole fubflance of this Salt (which the Philofophers have called a Bifl-iop or High Prieft) when G and j) as King and Queen are infeparably join’d by it, doth not abide with the G and i), but only by its hidden Tincture and Virtue, whereby it exalts all colours, the unprofitable body of the Sj/t feparating from them, as foon as the Conjunction is made, even as a Priefl, when he has joki’d two Perfoiis in Wedlock goes his way, having performed his Office. And indeed this infcparable Conjunction of G and D, may well be com* pared with the Conjunction in Ma-'riage performed bv a Priefl i for as when the Priefl has join’d two Parties together in Wedlock, they mull: infeparably continue fo rill death fo likewife when the Metal- liek Copulation of o and D is performed by means of our hletallick High Priefl, confccrated Jupiter, then are their Bodies thence forward infcperable '■> the Water finds no ingrefs into them, the Air cannot pierce them, and Earth hiuch lefs, yea, the llrongcft of all Elements, the Fife hath no power over them, but, like a Married Couple, abide together in all con* traricty and adverlity, ahd according to their Kind do multiply in infinitum, being fupported with due Food and Nourifhment i for we know, that except we be refrefhed and flrengthened with Meat and Drink, we can neither live nor multiply j the multiplying virtue in tfiany and all Creatures proceeding from the Nou- riffiment they take in- Ancl the fame we are to un- derftand alfo concerning the Metallick Multipli* cation, for when G and D are permanently conjoined, by means of the Metallick High Priefl, this alone is not fufficient in order to their multiplication, but they moreover muft be fupported with convenient Meat aud Drink. And as Man at his firft coming into the World is nourifh’d with his Mothers Milk, in like manner the Philofophers do feed their G and D witli their Mothers Milk, that iS, with their firft EfTefice, from whence they deriv’d their Original. Now we know that in contemptible Antimonj,tht fitf\ Ehs of G,' is copioully to be found, and may with eafe be drawn thence, in the appearance of Milk, with which Q and P are to be nourifhed in order to their Multiplication and Increafe. The Nourifhment then wherewith our conjoined G and P are to be refrefhed, and difpofed to a Multiplication in infinitum, is out Lac Virginis, Vir¬ gin Milk and Mercurial Water, which firengthens and increafeth the Procreative Seed in O and P both iti quantity and quality. Wherefore alfo this feeding or inceration has always been recommended by the Phi* lofophcrs, as a moft neceffary thing, whereby, as it were, a new life, and tifultiplying virtue is commu¬ nicated to the infeparably united G and P. Furthermore we are to know, that after common G and p by means of x\it Salt of Art, are infeparably conjoined and exalted in their colours i yet nothing can be performed with theim, becaufe they want an ingrefs into other Metals, which they have loft by their ConjuntSion, which therefore muft be reftored tPthetn by means of our mercurial Water,- which not only com* municates Ingrefs, but alfo eafie Fluxibility and Mul¬ tiplication to the deflroyed Bodies of © and Vi For when our '0 Water is fixed in Conjunftion with the- iixt G and P, then it is no longer a Volatile '0, but is changed by the exalted G and P to a fixt Tincfture. This done, if we would multiply this Tindure, we muft add to it fome of our Mercurial Water, and fix them together as before, whidh Multiplication we may repeat as oft as we pleafe. For when once Gand P are made irreducible and more than perfefl, by means of our Salt of Art, we need never after to begin our Work amew, but only mingle the fixt with the volatile in Older to their Fixation ■, feeing that our Mercurial Water is in its infide better than ©, for which reafon alfo it turns the O) and P when fixed with them into mere Tinflure. Let no Man wonder why in this O* peration we join G and P together, and not rather make ufe of G alone, forafmuch as this P hath noco* lour at all outwardl ', though in its infide it be higher of colour than o it felf, both which Metals neverthe- lefs, except their colours be exalted by the Silt of Art, and Inceration, without our Mercurial Wzlzx cm never be changed into a true TincTiure, becaufe Gand p have no more Tineftures than is fufficient forthem- ftlves, but being exalted by the tinging Salt of Art, they are capable of colouring white Metals, but not before. Indeed G alone without the addition of f> may be exalted by our Salt of Art, and Mercurial Wa* ter