Thus you will have the true aurum potabile.[1] Sweeten this with the alcohol of wine poured over it, and then distil in an alembic until you perceive no acidity to remain in the Aqua Regia.
This Oil of the Sun, enclosed in a retort hermetically sealed, you must place for elevation that it may be exalted and doubled in its degree. Then put the vessel, still closely shut, in a cool place. Thus it will not be dissolved, but coagulated. Place it again for elevation and coagulation, and repeat this three times. Thus will be produced the Tincture of the Sun, perfect in its degree. Keep this in its own place.
Concerning the Green Lion.
Take the vitriol of Venus,[2] carefully prepared according to the rules of Spagyric Art, and add thereto the elements of water and air which you have reserved. Resolve, and set to putrefy for a month according to instructions. When the putrefaction is finished, you will behold the sign of the elements. Separate, and you will soon see two colours, namely, white and red. The red is above the white. The red tincture of the vitriol is so powerful that it reddens all white bodies, and whitens all red ones, which is wonderful.
Work upon this tincture by means of a retort, and you will perceive a blackness issue forth. Treat it again by means of the retort, repeating the operation until it comes out whitish. Go on, and do not despair of the work. Rectify until you find the true, clear Green Lion, which you will recognise by its great weight. You will see that it is heavy and large. This is the Tincture, transparent gold. You will see marvellous signs of this Green Lion, such as could be bought by no treasures of the Roman Leo. Happy he who has learnt how to find it and use it for a tincture!
This is the true and genuine Balsam,[3] the Balsam of the Heavenly Stars, suffering no bodies to decay, nor allowing leprosy, gout, or dropsy to take root. It is given in a dose of one grain, if it has been fermented with Sulphur of Gold.
Ah, Charles the German, where is your treasure? Where are your philosophers? Where your doctors? Where are your decocters of woods, who at least purge and relax? Is your heaven reversed? Have your stars wandered out of their course, and are they straying in another orbit, away
- ↑ Aurum Potabile, that is, Potable Gold, Oil of Gold, and Quintessence of Gold, are distinguished thus. Aurum Potabile is gold rendered potable by intermixture with other substances, and with liquids. Oil of Gold is an oil extracted from the precious metal without the addition of anything. The Quintessence of Gold is the redness of gold extracted therefrom and separated from the body of the metal.—De Membris Contractis, Tract II. , c. 2.
- ↑ If copper be pounded and resolved without a corrosive, you have Vitriol. From this may be prepared the quintessence, oil, and liquor thereof.—De Morbis Tartareis. Cuprine Vitriol is Vitriol cooked with Copper.—De Morbis Vermium, Par. 6. Chalcanthum is present in Venus, and Venus can by separation be reduced into Chalcanthum.—Chirurgia Magna. Pars. III., Lib. IV.
- ↑ There is, indeed, diffused through all things a Balsam created by God, without which putrefaction would immediately supervene. Thus, in corpses which are anointed with Balsam we see that corruption is arrested, and thus in the physical body we infer that there is a certain natural and congenital Balsam, in the absence of which the living and complete man would not be safe from putrefaction. Nothing removes this Balsam but death. But this kind differs from what is more commonly called Balsam, in that the one is conservative of the living, and the other of the dead.—Chirurgia Magna, Pt. II., Tract II., c. 3. The confection of Balsam requires special knowledge of chemistry, and it was first discovered by the Alchemists.—Ibid., Pt. I., Tract II., c. 4.
