Page 12 - Book of quintessence

Right so our quinta essentia, that is, man’s heaven, will be made fair with
the sun mineral, fine, shining, incorruptible, and even in quality that fire
may not impair, corrupt, or destroy. And this is very gold of the mine of
the earth, or of the floods gathered. For gold of alchemy made with
corrosives destroys mankind, as Aristotle and many other philosophers
proved, and therefore good gold natural, and of the mine of the earth, is
called of philosophers Sol in Latin. For he is the sun of our heaven, like
as sol the planet is in the heaven above. For his planet gives to gold his
influence, nature, colour, and a substance incorruptible. And our quinta
essentia, man’s heaven, is of the nature and the colour of heaven. And
our sol, that is, fine gold of the mine, shall make it fair, right as sol the
planet makes heaven fair. And so these two together joined shall give
influence in us, and the conditions of heaven and of heavenly sun, in as
much as it is possible in deadly nature, conserving and restoring of
nature lost, and renewing of youth. And it shall give plenteous help. And
so it is proved by astronomy above, that stars that have influence upon
the head and the neck of man, as be the stars of aries, taurus and gemini,
give influence singularly upon Hiera picra Galieni [a purgative drug
composed of aloes and canella bark]. And therefore it has a singular
strength by the ordinance of God to draw away the superfluous humours
from the head, the neck and the breast, and not from the members
beneath. And so I say of species that draw humours from the knees, the
legs, and the feet, that receive a singular influence of the stars of
Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and right so of others, etc.

Commune you not this book of divine secrets to wicked men and
avaricious but keep it in privacy.

Take the best wine that you may find, if you be of power, and if you
be right poor, then take corrupt wine, that is, rotten, of a watery humour,
but not eager, that is sour, for the quinta essentia thereof is naturally
incorruptible, the which you shall draw out by sublimation. And then
shall there lie in the ground of the vessel the four elements, as it were,
rotten faeces of wine. But first you must distil this wine seven times, and
then have you good burning water. Forsooth, this is the watery mater
from which is drawn our quinta essentia.

Then must you do make in the furnace of ashes, a distillatory of glass
all whole of one piece, with a hole above the head where the water shall
be put in and be taken out. And this is a wonderful instrument that that

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