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
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.
769/820 (page 59)
![Gf ELI<,J..S’ the qJ 'RTIST. ^9 / ™ c^“l ‘''*'5’ ?■'’• Theft pieces oraiAr.ated 7, .curt rf A el^rm T’' “ “l-'’'l “c “''j ?°' ’ '7' , ■'''' ‘‘5 contrary, for « hich you can chooft ot the cheriflMng heat of the Sun and Rain, are the ' ’ ' • -■ - DpcfU of oil » ui • ■ I ■■■■' better than a Liquor of Flints .prepared in Deatl) ol all Vegetables, u is app^arent^that there can the fame manner, which I have (aught in the ft- tables ,h 't'b / '77'’ n ?' 7 P' T The Glafs^ wherein you rf I ift o ‘‘’i??“;.T''«“hcnnnng and vivifying v l pu, this Liquor of Flints, muft be of the fame wide- VevblU 1? 7 t. ■ “7 7, nefs at the top, as at the bottom, and about an hand- Vegetables are llecped therein , and fee only m Sand, | breadth high , and SUM with the faid they immcuiatcly flioot up and grow : And having Liquor, to which, put your A,V/ concentred by the this effect upon Vegetables, we have the lefs reafon to doubt of its cherifhing, and vivifying Virtue on human Bodies, as. indeed there cannot be abetter Medicine to rid the Body of Man, of all manner of Difeafes than this Univcrfal Bleffcd v of Life, or heavenly Rain v. When we attentively confider Na¬ ture, we find, (hat the Life and growth of all Vege¬ tables, Animals and Minerals, is Originally from the Air, or an Airy volatile Spirit. Thus we can make all hard Stones and Metals grow as it were in a moment, by means of fuch a volatile Spirit, concer¬ ning which, 1 have fpoken in the Second Part of my Furnaces. This fudden growth of Stones and Metals, I have many years fince (hewed to fomeof my Friends, who greatly admired the fame, but could not comprehend that reafon thereof. Now therefore, to fatishe the Seatchers after truth, I declare, that all growth, whe¬ ther in the Mkrocofme , or Macrocofme proceeds from a Spirit, or Volatile Salt^ arifing from two contraries, viz. an Acid and an Alkali ^ for when an Alkali.^ and an Acid Spirit meet, they caufe an Effervefcence, du¬ ring which, there proceeds from them both a very fubtil Spirit, .which has the Nature and Property to make all things grow. If a Man takes this Spirit in¬ wardly ^ it procures and preferves health i if it be joyn’d to an Herb, it makes it to grow and (hoot up fuddenly. With this Spirit we can make an Herb grow from its Seed in the midft of Winter, ( but it muft be in a warm Room,)fo as it may be feen to grow ^ which my felf have performed more than once. And to make it appear, that this fwift growth only prcH-, ceeds from a volatile Spirit, produc’d by the ftrife of two contraries, I’le give this inftance j pour one Pound of Oyl of upon one or two Pound of •calcined tartar^ not at once, but by degrees, and at fe- vcral times, and it will caufe a great ftrife and Effer- Vefcence, cover the Cucurbit with its Head, and give Fire in a Sand Furnace, by which means a very fub- til volatile Spirit comes into the Receiver. If before this Work be undertaken, a Stone hath been difTol- ved by the calcined Tartar.^ and a Metal in the Oyl of Vitriol, then the Spirit, which proceeds from them, will be much more powerful •, becaufe the Virtue both of the Stone and Metal comes over with the Spirit. In this manner may a volatile Spirit be had from all Acids and Alkali}. ; Todemonftrate this further, that the growth of all things proceeds from the ftrife of two contraries, take this inftance: Diffblve fome Iron or Copper in Spirit of S.alt, or Oyl of Vitriol, draw off the Flegrti, in which Diftillation none of the Acid Spirit will come over j be- caufe it is joyn’d and concentred with the Metal, ani¬ mating and difpofing it to (hoot up and to grow fwiftly, foas the eye may perceive it grow, like a Tree with a Body, Bnuglrs, Branches, and Twigs; Take this Spi¬ rit of Salt or Vitriol, concentred by the (J,as foon as ypu have taken it out of the Furnace, whilft it is yet warm, and break it into little Bitts, about the bignefs of large Peafe ( if you fhould Buffer it to grow cold, ft would by attraiTiing the Air, fuddenly'run into ah S , laying the pieces orderly a thumbs breadth from one another, and place the Glafs, where it may not be fhaken or jogg’d. As foon as thefecontraries are thus joyned, they'begin to aft upon one another •, but forafmuch, as the one of thefe contraries is concen¬ tred by the $, and become hard, it cannot mingle it felf with its adverfary, or deftroy it, fo they only vex and anguifh one another, in doing which, a warmth arifeth between them, and the one contrary pufheth the other to fhoot and grow ■, the hard and dry part, viz. the animated S drawing fo much moi- fture from its contrary, the Liquor of Flints, as makes it heave and begin to grow in form of a Plant, with Root, Stock, Branches, and Twigs, very pleafant to behold, the growth being very fwift, fo as within an hour and an half, or two hours at the moft, the whole Glafs is fill’d with little iron Trees, which grow har¬ der and harder, and when they are hard enough, ( which will be in the fpace of twenty four hours ) then the Liquor of Flints maft be let out from it through a hole, left on purpofe in the bottom of‘the Glafs, and the Plant, or little Tree, remains. If we defire to make a more pleafant fight of it, we may take feveral Metals, and make them grow up like a Tree •, <J affords a dark brown, Veuus a green , T? 2jL and 5 a White and Grey,]) a Blew,and © a Yellow Co¬ lour. Minerals alfo give different Colours from Me¬ tals i Lapis Calaminaris grows not into Trees,-but into the refembLnce of Mountains and Rocks of a White and Greyifh Colour.^ If wchave a mind to make Stones to grow, we pro- eftd thus, firft we melt the Stone, whether White or Coloured,into atranfparent Glafs, and pout it forth in¬ to a Copper Bafon, where it will flow broad and thin, and will be the fitter to be broke info as fmall pieces as we defire. Which peices we place as before in a flat bottom’d Glafs before deferibed, which muft be full of an Acid Spirit mixed with vvater, fo as it may nei¬ ther be too (harp, nor too weak j for if it be weak- ned with too much water, it will not retain ftrength enough to make it grow, and if the Acid be too ffarp, it wilt diffolve the Alk^liz.ed Stone, wherefore great care muft be taken, as to this particular. ^. N. B. The Magmfia gives a Blood-red Tree, and much more beautiful than any of the Metals; Only obferve, that Metals may be made to grow with lefs trouble than Stones. , . From what hath been faid, it appears beyond dif- pute, that the growth of Vegetables, Animals and Mi¬ nerals ( Stones not eXcepted ) proceeds from two con¬ traries. I could eafily make this out more amply and fully, but having treated of the fame in other parts of my Writings, Ifhall let it reft here. An](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30322522_0769.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
