Artephius His Secret Booke

Antimony ⁶ is of the parts of Saturne, ⁷ and hath in every respect the nature thereof: so this Saturnine Antimonie ⁸ agrees with the Sunne, having in it selfe Argent vive, ⁹ wherein no mettall is drowned but gold; that is to say; Gold onely is drowned in Anti-moniall Saturnine Argent vive, and without that Argent vive, no mettall can bee whitened: It whiteneth therefore Leton, that is, Gold, ¹⁰ and it reduceth a perfect Body into its first matter, that is, into Sulphur and Argent vive of a white colour, and shining more than glasse. ¹¹ It dissolves I say, the perfect Body which is of his nature; for this water is friendly, and pleasant to the Met-tails, whitening the Sunne, because it containes a white Argent vive. And from hence thou mayest draw a great secret, to wit, that the water of Saturnine Antimony ought to be Mercuriali and white to the end that it may whiten the Gold, not burning it, but dissolving and afterwards congealing it to the forme of white Creame. Therefore, saith the Philosopher, that this water maketh the Body to bee volatile, because after it hath beene dissolved in this water, and cooled againe, it mounts aloft upon the surface of the water; Take (saith he) gold crude, foliated, laminated, or calcined with Mercury, and put it into our Vinegre Antimoniall ¹² Saturnine, Mercuriali, and drawne from Sal Ammoniack ¹³ (as is 59said) in a broad vessell of glasse, foure fingers ¹⁴ high or more, and leave it therein a temperate heate; and in short time thou wilt see lifted up, as it were a liquor of oyle swimming aloft, in manner of a thinne skinne: ¹⁵ That gather with a spoone, or with a feather, dipping it in, and so doing many times in a day, untill there doe nothing more arise; aferward make the water vapour away by the fire, ¹⁶ that is to say, the superfluous humor of the vinegre, and there will remain unto thee a fifth essence of Gold in forme of a white oyle incombustible, wherein the Phylosophers have placed their greatest secrets; and this oyle is exceeding sweete, and is of great power to mitigate the pain and griefe of wounds.