Page 22 - Stahl - Philosophers' Stone

becomes manifest; though indeed ’tis in all of them immediately reduced to an actual
accretion, and the fix’d body of common Gold; which for the philosophical Work,
ought first to be detain’d for some time in its subtilized state, by the volatile mercurial
substance, and purged of all the accidental heterogeneous matters that might adhere
thereto, so as at last, along with this attenuated mercurial Substance, to be coagulated
into a very subtile and fix’d body.

To this purpose likewise ought to be remember’d, what Vigani23 says upon the
Subject of Vitriol; viz. that Mr. Boyle obtain’d his Ens Veneris by subliming calcined
Vitriol along with Sal-ammoniac: where he likewise observes, that the same thing will
be produced upon using the Salt extracted with hot Water from the Caput mortuum of
Vitriol, instead of the calcined Vitriol itself.

19. But as Becher24 sollicitously advises, that the separation of this fix’d Sulphur in its
pure state, free from all heterogeneous parts, does not succeed so well by means of
liquid, corrosive, saline Menstruums, as by means of semi-metallic Concretes; there
can be no dispute but the Operation perform’d with the martial Regulus of Antimony,
and a running metallic Mercury, wou’d be much more certain and successful than that
by Vitriol, or by means thereof.

20. As to the method by Nitre, we frankly acknowledge there appears to us no
practical probability of succeeding in it, besides that general one asserted by Becher25,
where he says, that the second Earth, or the sulphureous Principle, to speak in his
own way, lies concealed, unmix’d, or out of all metallic mixture, in Nitre. But the
author himself being very silent as to the manner of demonstrating this thing, except
where he obscurely hints somewhat about converting Silver into Gold by Spirit of
Nitre26 ; we have but little reason to expect any solid and practical steps in this Method.
But if any one has got the way of demonstrating or procuring this Substance from
Nitre, he may, without doubt, conjoin and fix it with Gold; and when it is thus fix’d,
digest it with a fresh parcel of the same matter, and so repeat the Operation in the
manner above mention’d. But unless the Method of procuring this matter from Nitre
be already known, our knowledge does not enable us to direct how it may be thence
procured.

23 Medul. Chym. pag. 5, 6.
24 Miner. Arenar. pag. 909. Physic. Subterran. Sect. VII. §. 2.
25 Physic. Subterran. sub. init. & pag. 118. Nº. 14.
26 Miner. Arenar. pag. 877.

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