e

very searcher of this art must in the first place with a mature judgement examine the creation, operation, and vertues of the four elements together with their actings: for if hee be ignorant of the originall, and nature of these, hee shall not come to the knowledge of the principles, neither shall hee know the true matter of the stone, much lesse attain to any good conclusion; because every end is terminated upon its beginning. hee that well knowes what hee begins, shall well know what shall bee the end. for the originall of the elements is the chaos, out of which god the maker of all things created, and separated the elements, which belongs to god alone: but out of the elements nature produceth the principles of things, and this is natures worke, through the will[pg 144] of god alone: out of the principles nature afterwards produceth mineralls, and all things: out of which the artist also by imitating nature can doe many wonderfull things. because nature out of these principles, which are salt, sulphur, and mercury, doth produce mineralls, and metalls, and all kinds of things; and it doth not simply produce metalls out of the elements, but by principles, which are the medium betwixt the elements, and metalls: therefore if nature doth not make those things, much lesse shall art. and not only in this example, but also in every naturall processe a middle disposition is to bee observed. wherefore here in this treatise wee have sufficiently described the elements, their actings, and operations, as also the originall of the principles (because hitherto no philosopher hath discovered things more cleerly) that the well minded searcher might the more easily consider in what degree the stone differs from metalls, and metalls from elements. for there is a difference betwixt gold, and water, but lesse betwixt water, and mercury; and least of all betwixt mercury, and gold. for the house of gold is mercury, and the house of mercury is water: but sulphur is that which coagulates mercury; which sulphur indeed is most difficultly prepared, but more difficultly found out. for in the sulphur of philosophers this secret consists, which also is contained in the inward rooms of mercury, of whose preparation, without which it is unprofitable, wee shall discourse hereafter in the third principle of salt, seeing here wee treat of the vertue, and originall, not praxis, of sulphur.

[pg 145]

wherefore now wee have not writ this treatise that wee would disprove any of the ancient philosophers, but rather confirm their writings, and supply those things, which they have omitted: seeing that philosophers themselves were but men, they could not be accurate in all things, neither is one man sufficient for all things. miracles also have seduced some men from the right way of nature, as wee read happened in albertus magnus a most witty philosopher; who writ, that in his times there were grains of gold found betwixt the teeth of a dead man in his grave. hee could not find out this miracle, but judged it to be by reason of the minerall vertue in man being confirmed in his opinion by that saying of morien: and this matter, o king, is extracted from thee: but this is erroneous, for morien was pleased to understand those things philosophically. for the minerall vertue is placed in its own kingdome, as the animall is in its kingdome, as in the book of the twelve treatises wee have distinguished those kingdomes, and divided them into three kingdomes; because every one of these without the ingresse of any other thing stands in it self, and is multiplyed. it is true indeed that in the animall kingdome, mercury is as the matter, and sulphur as the vertue, but the animall is not minerall. the vertue of the animall sulphur if it were not in man, it could not congeal the bloud mercury into flesh, and bones: so also if there were not a vertue of the vegetable sulphur in the vegetable kingdome, it could not coagulate water, or the vegetable mercury into herbs, and trees. so also it is to bee understood in the minerall kingdome. these three mercuries doe not indeed differ[pg 146] in vertue, nor the three sulphurs, because every sulphur hath a power to coagulate its own mercury; and every mercury hath a power to bee coagulated by its owne proper sulphur; and by no other that is a stranger to it. now the reason why gold was found, and generated betwixt the teeth of the dead man is this, because in his life time mercury was by some physitian conveyed into his infirme body, either by unction, or by turbith, or some other way, as the custome, and manner was, and it was the nature of mercury to goe up to the mouth, and through the sores thereof to be evacuated with the flegme. if therefore in time of such a cure the sick man dyed, that mercury not finding any egresse, remained in his mouth betwixt his teeth, and that carkasse became the naturall vessell of mercury, so being shut up fast for a long time was congealed into gold by its own proper sulphur, being purified by the naturall heat of putrefaction, caused by the corrosive phlegme of the mans body. but if minerall mercury had not been brought in thither, there could gold never have been produced. and this is a most true example, that nature in the bowells of the earth, doth of mercury alone produce gold, and silver, and other metalls, according to the disposition of the place, or matrix; for mercury hath in its self its own proper sulphur, with which it is coagulated into gold, unlesse it bee hindred by some accident, or hath not a requisite heat, or a close place. the vertue therefore of animall sulphur doth not congeal mercury into gold, but into flesh: for if there were such a vertue in man, it would happen to be so in all bodies; which it doth[pg 147] not. many such miracles, and accidents fall out, which being not well considered by the writers, occasion the readers to fall into errors: yet the honest searcher must apply all things to the possibility of nature; if they doe not agree with nature, they must be let alone, and waved.

it sufficeth the diligent student, that he hath here heard what is the originall of the principles (since the beginning being unknown, the end is alwaies doubtfull) of which wee have in this treatise not ?nigmatically, but as cleerly as we could, and as it was lawfull for us, spoken unto the searcher thereof: by means of which, if god shall enlighten any ones mind, hee shall know what a successor owes to his predecessors, seeing this art is alwaies acquired by the same kind of wits, and dispositions. which art wee after this kind of clear manifestation of it, lay up into the bosome of god the most high creator, and our lord, and commend our selvs together with all honest hearted readers to his grace, and infinite mercy. to whom be praise, and glory, for ever, and ever.