/> that all visible, tangible things are made of the Spirit of Mercury,

which excels all earthly things of the whole world, all things being

made out of it, having their Off-spring only from it; for all is found

therein which can perform all whatsoever the Artist desires to find; It

is the beginning to operate Metals, when it is become a spiritual

Essence, which is meer Air flying to and fro without wings; it is a

moving wind, which after it is expelled its dwelling by Vulcan, it is

driven into its Chaos, where it again enters, and resolves it self

into the Elements, where it is elevated and attracted by the Sydereal

Stars after a Magnetical manner unto themselves, out of love, whence he

proceeded before, and was operated, because it affects its like again,

and attracts it to it. But if this Spirit of Mercury can be caught,

and made corporal, it resolves into a Body, and becomes a pure, clear,

transparent water, which is the true spiritual water, and the first

Mercurial Root of the Minerals and Metals, spiritual, intangible,

incombustible, without any mixture of earthly Aquosity; it is that

Celestial water, whereof very much hath been written; for by this Spirit

of Mercury all Metals, may if need require, be broken, opened, and

resolved into their first Matter, without Corrosive; it renews the age

of Man or Beast, even as the Eagles; it consumes all evil, and conducts

a long Age to long Life. This Spirit of Mercury is the Master-Key of

my Second Key, whereof I wrote in the beginning; wherefore I will call;

Come ye Blessed of the Lord, be anointed, and refreshed with water, and

embalm your Bodies, that they may not putrefie or stink; for this

Celestial Water is the beginning, the Oyl, and the means, seeing it

burns not, because it is made of a spiritual Sulphur, the Salt Balsam is

corporal, which is united with the Water by the Oyl, whereof I will

afterwards treat more at large, when I shall write of them, and mention

them.



And that I may further declare what is the Essence, Matter and Form of

the Spirit of Mercury, I say, that its Essence is blessed, its Matter

spiritual and its form earthly, which yet must be understood by an

incomprehensible way; these are indeed harsh Expressions, many will

think, thy Proposals are all vain, strange Effusions, raising wonderful

Imaginations, and true it is that they are strange, and require strange

people to understand these Sayings; it is not written for Peasants, how

they should grease Cart-wheels, nor is it written unto those who have no

knowledge of the Art, though they be never so learned, or think

themselves so; for I only account them Learned, who next unto Gods Word,

learn to know Earthly things, which must be pondered and judged by the

Understanding, founded upon a true Knowledge, to distinguish Light from

Darkness, who chuse that which is good, and reject the evil.



It is needless for you to know what the beginning of this Spirit of

Mercury requires, because it can in no wise help nor advantage you,

only take notice of this, that its beginning is supernatural, out of the

Celestial, Sydereal and Elementary, bestowed on it from the beginning

of the first Creation, that it may enter further into an Earthly

Substance. But because this is necessary which hath been declared to

you, leave the Celestial to the Soul, apprehend it by Faith, and let the

Sydereal likewise alone, because these Sydereal Impressions are

invisible and intangible, the Elements have already brought forth the

Spirit perfect into the world by the Nutriment, therefore let that alone

likewise; for man cannot make the Elements, but only the Creator, and

remain by thy made Spirit which is already formal and unformal, tangible

and intangible, and yet is presented visibly. So have you enough of the

first Matter, out of which all Metals and Minerals grow, and is one only

thing, and such a matter which unites it self with the Sulphur in the

following Chapter, and enters into a Coagulation with the Salt of the

fifth Chapter, that it may be one Body, and a perfect Medicine of all

Metals, not only to bring forth in the Earth at the beginning, as in the

great World, but also by help of the vaporous Body to transmute and

change, together with the augmentation in the lesser World: Let not this

seem strange to you, seeing the Most High hath permitted, and Nature

undertaken it.



Many will not believe this, esteeming it impossible, despise and vilifie

these Mysteries, which they understand not in the least, they may remain

Fools and Idiots till an illumination follows, which cannot be without

Gods Will; but remains till the time predestinate. But wise and

discreet, men who have truly shed the sweat of their Brows, will be my

sufficient witnesses, and confirm the Truth, and indeed believe and hold

for a truth all that which I write in this case, as true as Heaven and

Hell are preordained, and proposed as Rewards of good and evil to the

Elect and Reprobate. Now I write not only with my hands, but my Mind,

Will and heart constrain me to it: Those who are highly conceited,

illuminated, and world-wise, hate, envy, scandalize, defame and

persecute this Mystery to the utmost Rind, or innermost Kernel, which

hath its beginning out of the Center; but I know assuredly, there will

come a time, when my Marrow is wasted, and my Bones dried up, that some

will take my part heartily, after I am in the Pit; and if God would

permit it, they would willingly raise me from the dead; but that cannot

be; wherefore I have left them my Writings, that their Faith and Hope

may have a Seal of Certainty and Truth, to testifie of me what my last

Will and Testament was, which I ordained for the poor, and all the

Lovers of Mysteries, though it did not behove me to have wrote so much,

yet I could not refrain without prejudice to my Soul, but to drive a

Light or Flash through a Cloud, that the Day might be observed, and the

dark Night, thick and gloomy, rainy Weather expelled.



Now how the Archaeus operates further by the Spirit of Mercury in the

Earth, or Veins of the Earth, take this Advice, that after the

spiritual Seed is formed by the impression of the Stars from above, and

fed by the Elements, it is a Seed, and turns it self into a Mercurial

Water, as first of all the great World was made of nothing, for when the

Spirit moved upon the Water, the Celestial Heat must needs raise a Life

in the cold watrish and earthly Creatures; in the great World it was

Gods Power, and the Operation of the Celestial Lights; in the little

World it is likewise Gods Power, and the Operation to work into the

Earth by his Divine and Holy Breath. Moreover the Almighty gave and

Ordained means to accomplish it, that one Creature had obtained power to

operate in the other, and the one to help and assist the other, to

perform and fulfil all the Works of the Lord; and so an influence was

permitted the Earth to bring forth by the Lights of Heaven, as also an

internal Heat, to warm and digest that which was too cold for the Earth,

by reason of its humidity, as unto every Creature a peculiar fashion

according to its kind; so that a subtile sulphurous Vapour, is stired up

by the Starry Heaven, not the common, but another more clarified and

pure Vapour, distinct from others, which unites it self with the

Mercurial Substance; by whose warm property, in process of time, the

superfluous Moisture is dryed up, and then when the foulish property

comes to it, which gives a preservation to the Body and Balsam,

operating first into the Earth by a spiritual and sydereal influence,

then are Metals generated of it, as it pleaseth the Mixture of the three

Principles, the Body being formed according as it assumes unto it the

greatest part of those three. But if the Spirit of Mercury be intended

and qualified from above upon Animals, it becomes an Animal Substance;

if it goes upon Vegetables by order, it becomes a Vegetable Work; but

if, by reason of its infused nature, it fall on Minerals, it becomes

Minerals and Metals, yet each one hath its distinction as they are

wrought, the Animals for themselves, the Vegetables, on another manner

and form by themselves, and so likewise the Minerals, each one a several

way, whereof to write particularly would be too tedious, and yield large

and various Narrations.



Many one may here demand and not without cause, how such a Spirit of

Mercury may be procured, how to be made, and after what manner it is

to be prepared to expel Diseases, and change all the kinds of the meaner

and baser Metals, as if they were born in a little world, by

transmutation and augmentation of their Seed; many expect this with

impatience. I answer without concealing any thing, but will truly

discover as much as is permitted me by Gods Command, in manner and form

following.



In the Name of the Lord, Take a Red Quick-silver Ore which is like

unto Sinople (or Vermilion) and the best Gold Ore you can get; grind

of each a like quantity both together, before they partake of any fire,

poure an Oyl of Mercury, upon it made per se, of common, purified

and sublimed Quicksilver, set it a month to digest, you have an Extract

rather Celestial than Terrestrial; distil this Extract gently, as in

Balneum Mariae, the Flegme ascends over, the Oyl remaining at bottom,

being heavy, which in a moment receives all Metals into it poure thrice

as much Spirit of Wine to it, circulate it in a Pellican, till it be as

red as Bloud, and become so sweet that nothing may compare with it;

decant the Spirit of Wine to a Liquidness, poure fresh Spirit of Wine

upon it, this reiterate so often, till the Matter be exceeding sweet,

and transparent red as a a Ruby, then put all together, poure that which

ascended over upon white calcined Tartar, and distil it strongly in

Ashes, the Spirit of Wine remains behind with the Tartar, but the

Spirit of Mercury ascends over. If this Spirit of Mercury be mixt

with the Spirit of Sulphur, together with its Salt, and so brought

over jointly together, that they can never be separated, you have such a

work which if it come over, and it get its ferment with Gold by solution

according to a just measure and time appointed, and be brought to a

perfect ripeness, unto the Plusquam perfection, nothing may compare

therewith, for prevention of Diseases, and poverty, and to a rich

excessive recreation of the Body and Goods. This is the way to obtain

the Spirit of Mercury, which I have revealed as far as it is permitted

me to do, by the Supremest Emperour; the Manual Operations are found in

the Work which I have revealed; you must wisely observe, that you may

not endure a Bath in Hell for me, by my true admonition to thee,

forasmuch as a true opening of the Door which leads to the Royal Palace,

is performed but with one Key, which cures all Diseases, be it

Dropsie, Consumption, Gout, Stone, Falling Sickness,

Apoplexy, Leprosie, or howsoever called in general: This Medicine

likewise cures all kinds of the French Pox, and all old Sores of long

standing, be it Wolf, Noli me tangere, Tetter, Ring-worm,

Cancer, Fistula, and corroding hollow Sores; all which I have

declared, and concealed nothing. Last of all, observe, that you do not

discover too much, or no more, because all Art hath its Original or

Source out of the Spirit of Mercury, which is refreshed and raised to

Life by the spiritual Sulphur, that it becomes Celestial, & with and

by the Salt they are made corporal and formal; but the beginning of the

Soul, of the Spirit, and of the Body, let it be and remain a Magnet,

even as it is, and can be acknowledged to be nothing else. This is the

summe in brief, that without the Spirit of Mercury, which is the only

true Key, you can never make Corporal Gold potable, nor the Philosophers

Stone. Let it remain by this Conclusion, be silent; for I my self will

at present say no more, because Silence is enjoyned thee and me by the

orderly Judge, recommending the Execution and further Search thereof to

another, who hath not as yet reduced the Matter into a right Order.