Page 13 - Book of quintessence

thing that by virtue of fire ascends and distils within the vessel, per
canales brachiales, that is, by pipes like to arms, be bore again, and again
ascends, and then again descends continually day and night till the
burning water heavenly be turned into quinta essentia. And so by
continual ascensions and descensions, the quinta essentia is departed
from the corruptible composition of the four elements. For before that
thing that is twice sublimed is more glorified, and is more subtle, and far
from the corruption of the four elements more separate than when it
ascended but once, and so unto a thousand times. So that by continual
ascending and descending by the which it is sublimed to so much
highness of glorification, it shall come that it shall be a medicine
incorruptible almost as heaven above, and of the nature of heaven. And
therefore our quinta essentia worthily is called man’s heaven.

And after many days that it has been in this subtle vessel of glass
distilled, you should open the hole of the vessel in the head that was
sealed with the seal of lute of wisdom, made of the subtlest flour, and of
white of egg, and of moist paper, mixed together so that nothing respire
out. And when you open the hole, if there come out a surpassing
heavenly sweet flavour that all men that come in naturally draw thereto,
then you have our quinta essentia, and else seal the vessel, and put it to
the fire again till you have it.

And another manner working of our quinta essentia is this. Take the
noblest and the strongest burning water that you may have distilled out of
pure mighty wine, and put it into a glass called amphora, with a long
neck, and close the mouth strongly with wax. And look that half or the
third part be full. And bury it all in horse dung, prepared as it is said
hereafter, so that the neck of the glass be turned downward, and the
bottom be turned upward, that by virtue of the horse dung the quinta
essentia ascend up to the bottom. And the grossest of the matter of the
water descends downward to the neck. And after many days, when you
take it out, softly lift up the glass as it stands, and you shall see in
thickness and clearness a difference between the quinta essentia
sublimed, and the gross matter that is in the neck.

The wonderful mastery of the parting of that one from that other is
this. Take a sharp point, or a prick of iron, and pierce into the wax that
hangs in the mouth of the glass against the earth. And when you have
you have pierced all fully to the water, take out the point or the prick and

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