wonderful Method, the wonderful God gave me. In this way, in which I walked, God alone, I say, immediately, and mediately; yet subdelegately, Nature, Fire, and Art, of my Master, as well living as mute, corporally, and spiritually good, sleeping and waking, gave the same to me, &c.

The same.

I write not Fables; with your hands you shall handle, and with, your eyes you shall see Azoth, viz. the Catholick [or Universal] Mercury of Philosophers; which alone, with the Internal and External Fire, yet with Sympathetick Harmony, with Olympick Fire (by reason of inevitable necessity) Physico-magically united, will suffice thee for obtaining our Stone, &c.

The same.

You shall see, the Stone of Philosophers; our King, and Lord of those that bare rule, coming from his Bridal Throne of the Glassy Sepulchre, into this Mundane Scene, in his glorified body, viz, regenerate, and more then perfect: namely, a shining Carbuncle, a most temperate Splendour; and of which, tire most Subtile, and Depurated parts, are by the concordant peace of Mixtion, inseparably united into One, and perfectly equallized, clear as Crystal, compact, and most ponderous, as fluid in fire, as Rosin, and before the flight of Mercury, as Wax flowing, yet without fume, entring and penetrating, solid and close bodies, as Oyl, Paper; resolvable in every Liquor, melting, and commiscible therewith; brittle as Glass, in Powder, of the colour of Saffron, but in the intire Mass, like a blushing Rubie; (which Redness is a sign of perfect Fixation, and fixed Perfection) permanently Colouring, or Tinging; in all Examens whatsoever, even of Sulphur adurtive, and in Tryals of corroding Waters, and in the most vehement persecution of Fire, fixed, alwayes during, and unburnable; permanent as the Salamander, &c.

The same.

The Stone of Philosophers in the greater World, is in the parts thereof, fermented; by reason of the Ferment, it transforms it self into whatsoever it will &c. Hence you may learn the reason, why Philosophers on their Azoth imposed the name of Mercury which adheres to bodies, &c.

The same.

It is fermented with Metals, viz, the White existant in the highest Whiteness, with pure Silver for the White; but the Sanguineous Stone, with Gold Obrizon for the Red. And this is the Work of three dayes, &c.

HELMONT, Of Eternal Life

For I have oftentimes seen it, and with, my hands handled the same, &c. See in the same place further. Then I projected this quarter of one Grane, wrapt up in Paper, upon eight Ounces of Argentvive, hot in a Crucible, and immediately the whole Hydrargyry, with some little noise ceased to flow, and remained congealed like yellow Wax: after fusion thereof, by blowing the bellows, there were found eight Ounces of Gold, wanting eleven Grane. Therefore, one Grane of this Powder, transmutes 19186 equal parts of Argentvive, into the best Gold. Within the Earth, the aforesaid Powder is found, or what is in a sort like thereunto, which transmutes almost an infinite Mass of impure Metal into perfect Gold, by uniting the same to it self, it defends from Rust, and Ærugo, from Cankring, and Death, and maketh the same, as it were, immortal, against all torture of Fire, and Art, and transfers it into the Virgin-purity of Gold; it requires only heat.

The same Helmont, Of the Tree of Life.

I am compelled to believe the Aurifick, and Argentifick Stone; because at several distinct: times, with my own hand, made projection of one Grane of this Powder, upon some thousands of Granes of Argentvive hot in a Crucible; and in the presence of our principal friends, the business, with a pleasing admiration, succeeded well in the Fire: as our books promise Thee, &c.

The same.

He, who first gave me the Powder, had at least, so much thereof, as would be sufficient for transmuting two hundred thousand pound weight of Metal, into Gold, &c..

The same.

For he gave to me not so much as half a grane of that Powder, and with that were transmuted nine ounces, and three quarters of an ounce of Argetitvive. That was given me one Evening by a strange Friend, &c.

The same

So also it is written, that sixty years since, Alexander Scotus, made projection of that kinde, in the trust: famous City of Colonia and Hanovia, &c.

I cannot in this place over-pass, some Examples worthy of note, touching the possibility of Transmutation.

Read the following true Extract out of an Epistle written by Doctor Kufflerus.

Kufflerus: Artist, I found-in my own Laboratory, an Aqua-fortis. Secondly, I again found another in the Laboratory, Caroli de Roy; this Aqua-Fortis I poured upon the Calx of Sol, prepared of Gold, in the Vulgar manner, and after the third Cohobation, it sublimed the Tincture of Gold with it self in the Neck of the Retort; this Tincture I mixed with Silver, precipited in the vulgar manner, and I saw that one ounce of the sublimed Tincture of Gold, with ordinary Flux in a Crucible, had transmuted one ounce, and halfe of the two ounces of precipitate Silver, into the best Gold: but a third part of the Silver yet remaining, was a white and fixed Gold: the other two parts thereof were perfect Silver, fixed in every examen of Fire. This is my experience, after this time, we could never find the like Aqua-fortis. I, Helvetius saw this Gold white, and without Tincture.

The same.

There is yet one other Example very rare; of what was done at the Hague by a Silver-Smith, whose name was Grill: how he in the year 1664. by Spirit of Salt, not prepared in the Vulgar manner, transmuted Lead so, as from one pound, he received three parts of the best Silver, and two ounces of most fixed Gold.

At the Hague, a certain Silver-Smith, and a much exercised Disciple of Alchimy, but according to the nature of Alchimy, a very poor man; did sometime since require Spirit of Salt, not vulgarly prepared, of a loving Friend of Mine, a Cloath-Dyer, by name, John Casparus Knottnerus. My Friend giving the same to him; demanded, whether he would use that Spirit of Salt, he now had, for Metals, or not? Grill made answer; for Metalls. And accordingly he afterward powred this Spirit of Salt upon Lead, which he had put into a Glass Dish, usual for Conditures and Confections. The space of two Weeks being elapsed, supernatant on the Spirit of Salt, appeared a most splendid Silver-Starre, so exceeding curious, as if it had been made With an Instrument by a most ingenious Artist. At the sight of which, the said Grill, filled with Exceeding Joy, signified to us, that he had seen the Signate Star of Philosophers, touching which he had read in Basilius, as he thought. I, and many other honest Men, did behold this Star supernatant on the Spirit of Salt, the lead in the mean while remaining in the bottom of an ash colour, and swollen like a Sponge. But in the space of seven or nine dayes, that humidity of the Spirit of Salt, being absumed by the exceeding heat of the Aire, in July, did vanish; but the Star settled down, and still stood above that Earthly Spongeous Lead. That was a thing worthy of admiration, and beheld by not a