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.

    778/820 (page 68)
    and 1 {yuft \hat for time to come I (hall be more cau¬ tious ot communicating ought to falfe and wicked Men. . ri • • f- TT7* • I Let no Man therefore imagine Spirit of Wine to be the fecret Fire of Jrtephm^ whereby fome Minerals and Metals, without any foregoing reparation of the pure from the impure, may without any diminution of their weight be changed into a mere pure Tindure. No in no wife, for no Spirit of. Wine hath any fuch porvet. But as for what limple Spirit of Wine i^able to perform, that we will here declare, and no more at this time. I doubt not but many will perfuade themfelves, that in having the Spirit of Wine, they are Mailers of the whole Secret i but that’s a great miftake, he that quellions it, let him read Artefhiuf^ Font^nm, and fome few others who write of it, and he will find that a fimple Spirit of Wine hath no re- femblance with the Fire of Artephm. For the Philofophers who write of it tell os, that their Fire ads at a proper Agent sn its Patient, with an invisible Flame, continually, e/jually in one and the fame degree, and at lafi changes it into pure fincture. Which things cannot be faid of Spirit of Wine, which doth *ot burn continually, equally , or invifibly, from whence it is apparent, that Spirit of Wine is not the Fire of Artephius, nor can be compared with it. Now what this Fire of Artephm is, has been fuffi- ctently declared by me, in my Treatife of the threefold Fire, and therefore unneceffary to write more of it here. It remains only for me to declare, how Vege¬ table^, Animals, and Minerals with the help of any burning Spirit, not only that of Wine, but of Corn, Honey, Fruits, Leaves or Grafs may be moft highly purified, and reduc’d to the Higheft Medicines. In my little Treatife of Elm the Jrtiji, I have taught at large how to bring the ElTences of Metals, Stones, Vegetables and Animals over the Helm, by means of an Alcolifed Spirit of Wine, and to prepare Oniverfal Medicaments ftom them, to which therefore I refer the Lover of Art. And will now proceed to declare, to hovstgood pur- pofe Spirit of Wine may be made ufe of in Phyfick. We all know that in general there are but two ways of clcanfing impure things, viz. IVater and Fire. Now ^Water can only take away thofe defilements that are outward and fuperficial, not being able to pierce to the Center', whereas Fire does not only purge the out- fide, but even that which is in-moft, feparating the impure for the pure, 3s hath already been mention d. W^e know alfo, that the Flame of Fire can confume nothing but its like, the Combufiible b'Ut cannot confume the incombuftible Mercury, nor de- ftroy, burn, or annihilate it, the Flames fervingonly to meliorate and exalt if. For the Mercury of all things can no way better be purged than by Fire, by which though it be driven away, yet may always be found again, as-being incorrsbuftible. For Mercury is the belt and pureft of the three Principles, fdrafmuch as it cannot be hurt by any Ele¬ ments, not by the molt violent Fire., much lefs de* firoyed, becaufe it is throughout Hemogeneal. There are three things in the World which be in¬ corruptible, the firft of which is the Mercury of Ve¬ getables, Animals and Minerals, which, when by its Enemy the Fire, it is tormented, and driven from its Body, lofc-th none of its Virtues, but is only purified thereby. This incombuftible Soul of Vegetables, Ani¬ mals and Minerals, is one of tho'e three things in the World, which are fixed, ccnftant, and unperiHuble in nil trials and cotiflidts vviiatfoever. The fecond thing which is confiant, permanent, in” i i corruptible and invincible is Trijth, which cafinot be I , fupprefs’d by any Lies or oppofition wiiatfoever i Cp- 1 prelfed flie may be, but not totally fupprelTed y for , ; God himfelf is the Truth, and as God cannot be 1 overcome, fo neither can Truth. [ The third and lafi incorruptible fubjetS in the c World, is the Immortal Soul of Man ■, for whatfoever Afflictions or Pcrfecutions a good Man fulfers from 1 V^-icked Meh, can riot in the leafi hurt his Soul, but ' I ferve only to purifie, exalt, and enoble it. The more i Gold fuffers in the Fire, the better and purer it be- |l ‘ comes, and as true it is, that the Soul by the adverfi- t tics of time, becomes refined and graduated to the ! height of Purity, being by this Earthly Purgatory dig- ] nified and prepared for Eternal Glory. ‘ c But to return to our purpofe, which is to fhew that ! the cleanfing of Vegetables, Animals and Minerals, ( mufi be performed by their own Furgatory, viz. a com- ! ( mon burning Spirit. We will begin with Wine, as ! ^ being a very noble Creature, and fee what good thing 'ii may be had from it, by means of its own. Purgatory or j' Cleanfing Fire, which without it could never have . | been brought to Light. ji Now to fpeak fundamentally of this matter, we ! mufi firft of all know, that feveral different Spirits lie i ( hid in Wine, which alfo may feparately be diftill’d J ) j from it. As in the firft place the known burningSpi- | j rit i next that Spirit which is difiill'd from Crude I ] lartar, which is of a quite different nature from that which is tliftill’d from Wine, or its Lees, which be¬ ing kindled burns away in Flame,' confuming all the Sulphur, leaving nothing but the incombuftible Mercury or ElTential Salt behind, and that in a very fmall quan¬ tity, but of great Virtue ■, whereas the Spirit of Tartar which is diftill’d by Retort, though it be much more .i fubtil and penetrative than the burning Spirit, yet will not fuffer it felf to be kindled or burnt away, being ffi otherwife of great ufe in all Taitareous Difeafes, and ■ obftruftions of the Body. * There is alfo an Antinephritical Spirit diftill’d from 5! the fixed Salt oP Tartar with diftill’d Vinegar, which r afterwards fuffers it felf to be fublimed, and being di- i,| ftilled yield a very ftrong Spirit, of which time doth if not permit to treat at prefent. We will only, point I I out to you, by what means the moft glorious I- and Effential Salt of Wine, may moft eafily be obtained, I and what great things may be perform’d by it in Phy- *• fick. '.V j Of white Tartar well pulverifed i /. Spirit of Salt 11. and half, mix thefe well together, and fill there- jml with the fourth part of a Glafs Body, and pour on 3 /. m \ of Spirit of Wine, lute the head on immediately, for when thefe two Antagonifts, the Acid Crude Fartar, 'W [ and Urinous of 2 meet, they furioufly attack * each other, and in their Conflitft fend forth a very fub- y til Spirit, and a glorious Effential which Mer» '• cury the Spirit of Wine when diftilled carries over with . it. When now this Spirit of Wine being kindled burns away, the Mercury or moft pure Effential Sj// isthcre- by loofened, and with the Flame goes over into the Receiver, where it is caught of the Phlegm, fro* which being feparated by diftillaticn in a Vaporous Bath ’tis fit for ufe. This Gaeleftial Salt of Wine is of wonderful Virtue, concerning which I have given a full account in fome of my laft pubfiflred Writings. Its Virtues are chiefly thefe» Ic has the Fraremi- nence of all Medicaments whatfoever, in curing the Stone, Gout, and the like Tartatous Difeaffs. More¬ over