The Second Dialogue, or Conference, Or a Continuation of the precedent Colloquy or Dialogue, treating of the Preparation of an universal Medicament out of the black venemous and Volatile, Saturnine Ma

A.Blessed be the name of the Lord, who hath caused another Day to shine upon me. I will presently haste to my faithful Master, and will beg from him the Doctrine of the second universal Medicament, that he promised unto me.

All hayl t’ yee, my dearest of Friends! God Grant that this Day may prove happy and lucky to me and you: I am come hither to hear from you, if it stand with your Conveniency, to make good your Courteous Promises at this present, and to teach me the making and Preparation of your second universal Medicament: For I have an exceeding ardent desire, to know the manner of Preparing it, out of that Volatile and poysonous Mineral.

B. I thank you for your good Wishes, and wish unto you the same you wisht me. Look here, here’s a piece of our venemous Saturnine Magnesia, which is the true Matter, that the Philosophers Stone is prepared out of.

A. I pray, is this black stone the true Matter, out of which is wont to be made the universal Tincture, and Stone of the wise Men? Verily I much wonder, that this should be the Gold of the Philosophers, I am extraordinarily desirous of seeing, by what means so excellent a Medicament, and so noble a Tincture can arise out of so base and venemous a Body. I should rather adhere to that old and common Proverb, and say, Who can wash the Blackmoore white, which Nature hath generated Black? This now seems unto me more estranged from the Truth, than that which you propounded last week of the common Gold. For how could it seem at all likely to any ones bare reason, that such a Body could be brought into a nothing, and again reduced unto a certain Body: But time will instruct, whether this be possible or not. I will therefore very patiently wait for the Event of those things, which you shall shew unto me.

B. What? Still more incredulity, and do you anew produce [and Practise] the Faith of unbelieving Thomas [viz. to see and feel afore you believe?] What do you think, I would go about to persuade you, that you have a wooden Nose sticking on to your Face? Alas, Sir! my time is a little more precious than so, to spend it in an unprofitable Tattling. And that time which I now bestow upon this our Conference, is spent to this end, to free you from your unbelief, and to bring you unto a true and evident Credency; to the performance of which, I am stirred up by the Authority of the Sacred Writ, which Commands, that we reclaim such as err, into the right way, and that we shall receive from God this reward for our Labour, viz. our Star shall shine in Heaven brighter than others. Besides Christian love requires the same at our hands, that we do good to others. And forasmuch as I have well known your Christian like Conversation, and Godly way of living these many years past, why should I deny you the things you demand, or wind you into the Intricacies of a greater Labyrinth, seeing you have but too long stuck in them already? The things which you cannot at first understand or believe, the end will at last constrain you thereunto. Your part is to listen very attentively to all the words, I am about to speak. For I can easily take away from you all incredulity, and remove out of your mind every Scruple of doubting. How sourely you look upon this black Mineral, well, but you shall presently find, that all the most delicate Colours of the whole World are most abundantly found therein; and by the help of an Art described by the Philosophers, they will appear one after the other in Operation, even from the Black head of the Crow, to the Red Salamander.

A. Bless me, what an ardent desire have I to see these things?

B. Have you not read in the Philosophers, that the pure is to be separated from the impure, and the purer part is to be ripened? Separate, say they, the pure from the impure, and bring it to Maturity. And they call Separation, the washing away of the Blackness, which being washt off, the Whiteness presents it self to view? The Fire (say they) and Azoth wash Laton; Laton signifies our black Mineral: Azoth signifies their strong Acetum, which wetteth not the hands. This Acetum, as well as our Salarmoniack [afore mentioned] hath its Rise from common Salt. Both of them, as to the external shape, and taste too, and Efficacy and Virtue are in a manner just alike. With such an Acetum is our black Matter dissolved into a Snowy-white, pellucid and very clear, water, as you may here see. This water have the Philosophers called their Mercury; In it, are hidden all the Colours that are in the whole World, but yet not visibly evident afore that this water, or this Mercury be put upon the water, [I believe he means, upon the Fire] and be cherished by little and little, like Hens Eggs, which cherishing drys up the water by little and little, into Earth, and renders the Colours visible one after another, as you shall presently see.

A. [Good lack,] who would ever have believed, the things which I at present See? Our Mercurial water hath been scarce three Days in digestion, yet begins to change it self into a White Milk. And now it is [but] the eighth day, and this said Milk goes into a Coagulum or Curd, and within in the Glass about the Edges [of the Matter] there shines a delicate Redness, but yet I believe it is not fixt or Constant.

B. Pray, how can it be constant, seeing it does but represent the Dragons Blood and will presently be gone. But, proceed you but on with this first Degree of Fire only, and that little and little, until the whole water be turned into an ashy Colour’d earth: When this is done, we will encrease the Fire by little and little, one Degree more, which will leisurely turn the ashy Colour into a Black one.

A. I will use my utmost diligence and observancy.

B. Do you see now that sleeke and shining Blackness like the Head of the Crow, covered over with abundance of black and very small Feathers: And upon this Account, the Philosophers have called this thus appearing Colour, the Crows head. To this black Crows head, administer the third Degree of Fire, which will transmute this black head into various, most delicate Colours, shining like ☉ and ☽: Then continue on this degree of Fire, that all the said unstable Colours may vanish, and may present to view the white Colour. After Whiteness, follows Yellowness, which at last will be covered over with the constant and permanent Redness: Which appearing, the fourth Degree of Fire is to be administred, that that Redness may be more and more exalted, and waxing Redder may attain unto its due Fixity and Constancy; the which, by way of similitude, the Philosophers call, a Salamander, and is the end of our whole Work.

A. I should never have so much as dreamt, that so black a Body could in so short a space of time have been transmuted into a most pure Whiteness, and that this same Whiteness could, by an admirable passing through all Colours, pass into a most delicate Redness, but I pray, when this Matter hath obtained this Redness, is it to be accompted of, as an Universal Medicine?

B. Yes, Verily, because the curable Diseases of Men, may (by that same Matter) be restored to former Health; and that safer, better and perfectlier than can be done with any Herbs, or any other known Medicaments. I except that Medicament, which is extracted out of this, and concentrated into a much nobler Nature. But, as concerning the Transmutation of Metals, it yields not any Profit, afore it be made fixt and constant in the Fire; to the effecting of which there is required a sufficiently great space of time.

A. As far as I can understand, there may be a yet better and profitabler Medicament prepared, than this is.

B. Yes, Verily, that there may, a much better and more useful, because, that with this, there are as yet admixt many unprofitable Feces, which ought to be separated therefrom: And the Case is far otherwise in the perfecting of this Work out of this Mineral, then in that which is done with Gold, for this is all over defiled with many impurities: For every one must needs think, that there are abundance of Feces [that are to be] separated from that Mineral, and by how much the more impurities are separated, so much the more efficacious must the Medicament it self of necessity be. Now in this present Degree and State it is brought unto by us, it would be sufficient for all kind of Diseases; which if we would yet have to be far more efficacious and stronger, it would be expedient, that we separate yet the more unprofitable and useless Feces, and concentrate the more pure Essence into a more narrow Room and lesser Body. For ’tis the Soul only or Quintessence of things, that heals Diseases. The shells or husks bring no Profit at all, and this the Husbandmen well know; for they separate the husks and chaff from the Corn, afore they bake Bread. The Medicinal Virtues of Herbs and Minerals are but of a small weight, afore they are freed from the Bonds and Fetters of their Bodies: But now, after that they are separated from their Bodies, they can perform incredible effects even in a most small quantity, and such as the great weight of that Body, whence they are extracted, will never effect. Look but on a living Man that is in good Health, with how ready and nimble a Motion can he stir his Limbs, and what strength he can put forth: But as soon as ever the Soul shall have separated it self from the Body, how insensible and immoveable the Body lies, and not serviceable for any Use? It is therefore a certain and undoubted Truth, that the Life of all things wanteth weight, and this shall be more clearly, and more evidently demonstrated by the Concentration of this universal Medicament. For that which one Ounce, now, does, of this thus prepared Medicament; half an Ounce, when concentrated, will perform the same: And that which half an Ounce of this Medicament once concentred will effect; one quarter part of an Ounce, or a Dram of the same twice concentrated, will effect the same. And according to this compute, may you proceed on farther. For by how much the oftner the prepared Medicament is concentrated, so much the more Feces are separated therefrom: And by how much narrowlier the Virtues are contracted, so much the greater effects do they produce. And thus there needs not in a manner any weight in Medicinal use. That which ten Grains of an unconcentrated Medicament is wont to accomplish, you will effect the same with one Grain of the Medicine, when concentred, to be put either in Ale or Wine for some hours, if need be, or else held in the Mouth. For soe it will no less display its occult Virtues and Powers, than if the Powder of the not concentrated Medicament had been otherwise drunk down. Besides too, such a Medicament may be a long time used without losing of its Virtues, and that not only inwardly, but outwardly also in all Wounds, Ulcers, and such like external affects. For all new Wounds, as also old Ulcers whatsoever they be, are happily cured by the laying on of those Medicaments, if the same Medicines be likewise used inwardly. Nor needs there here many Emplasters, Cataplasmes, and Ointments: Concerning which thing, see more in the Fifth Part of my Pharmacopœa Spagyrica, where the use of this Medicament is treated of.

Read also those things, which that most excellent Philosopher Van Helmont declares of another certain Philosopher, Butler by Name, viz. that he had a certain Stone, at London in England, which being sweld a very little in Oyl Olive, rendred the same exceedingly Virtuous, that some few drops thereof taken into the Body, would drive away the most grievous Diseases, and being outwardly applyed to Wounds [or Sores] would speedily heal them. These things Helmont testifies to be true, as being an Eye witness of the same. But I do not attribute such incredible Virtues unto my Medicament, for as much as I my self doubted of this Story of Butler, and could not believe, that any Medicament could be promoted to this so high a Degree of powerful Efficacy: But now, seeing I perceive that it is possible to Art, for the Virtues of things to be contracted into a narrow Room, and be concentrated; I do upon good ground cast this doubting off from my mind, and adhere to those things which I see with mine Eyes, and touch with my Hands. Certain, and firmly undoubted it therefore is, that not only the Medicinal Virtues and Powers of this our Matter may be contracted into such a narrow Compass, as to effect an hundred fold more in Medicine, than that more gross Body could do: But also this may be acquired or effected too, viz. that hidden Colour or Tincture in our black Magnesia may likewise be concentrated, together with that Multiplication of Virtues; insomuch, that in the several Concentrations, the Colour of the concentrated Body may be exalted, the which, most high Colour, or exalted Tincture can never at any time be gotten, without our secret Concentration: For otherwise, if there were no need of that Concentration, it would necessarily follow, that that Magnesia of ours would be no other than a most pure Body, not at all needing any ablution of its gross, and unprofitable, and black impurity: But this is not so, as we said afore about the Gold, which is pure in its own Nature, and of it self void of all Defilements, and being a ripe Body and mere Tincture, needs no other thing, than this, that its inward Parts be turned outwards, and its outward Parts inward, by that Philosophical introversion, and that so its external Yellowness may betake it self inwards, and the internal Redness may come forth outwards, or (to speak the more clearly) that the manifest Yellowness may be hidden, and the hidden Redness may be manifested. But now, the Case is not thus with this our black Earth, and impure Saturnine Mineral; in the which, both good and evil, pure and impure, Poison and Medicine lye mixt together: Insomuch, that it is altogether necessary to separate the black and gross impurity, from that noble and tender Medicinal Pearl, and to reduce it unto Fixity.

A. With gaping Mouth, and open Eyes, do I even swallow down your Discourse, and yet I cannot pierce into the Foundation of the whole business, nor understand it. You speak of such an artificial Concentration, and which is beyond all my apprehensions, for I never in all my whole Life time heard any thing of it, as far as I remember, much less read ought concerning it.

B. I will set before you then a Similitude, that so you may the readilier understand the knack. Examine well, and consider, Wine, Ale, or the Lees of Wine; and by your searching you shall find, that there is in them but very little of the Corroborating Spirit, or Soul, the remainder is nothing else but mere impurities, destitute of all Virtues. Now if some Physician or other should administer to his Patient a large Cupful of Lees, to cheer and comfort his heart withal, would you not accuse him of ignorance, and Folly? For though there is somthing of comforting Virtues in the troubled Lees, yet it is impeded, or clogged, by the great quantity of the dreggy Lees, from rightly performing its proper Office. But put Case, that it could display its own Virtues, yet nevertheless, even the admixt impurity would also exercise its own accustomed Evil, and so the Good would be confounded with the Evil, or rather be quite over powred by the same. For this reason, there is nothing more necessary, than that the good be separated from the evil, before any thing be used about making Medicine. Therefore even as there are Workmen to be found, who, by the vulgar Distillation and Rectification, do separate the Heart-refreshing Spirit out of the sordid Lees of Wine and Ale, and bring it unto use, give the remaining filthy dreggs and useless Feces to the Hogs to eat: Even so do we (the Lovers of the Spagyrick Art) separate the pure Virtues and Powers of things from the gross, sordid, and noxious impurities, afore we administer them to our Patients.

A. As concerning these Sayings of yours, I am clearly of your Opinion, and withal do stick close to that common Proverb, which saith, Speak that which is Truth, eat that which is baked, and drink that which is clear, if you be desirous of a long Life. For my part, I delight to have the Kernels, and purged or cleansed Fruits, and willingly leave the husks and shells to the Swine, that are delighted with Bran and Chaff, and their own Dung.

B. I am extreamly satisfied, that I have already (thanks be to God) seen the whole Work, and have a sufficient thorough understanding of the whole Basis of the same, viz. that the purer and subtiler part is to be separated from the more impure and grosser part, and, by an often repeated Separation, and artificial Concentration, to be advanced into a most subtile, most pure, and most noble Quintessence, if any one has a mind to produce effects of some great moment, or to do more than common things. And now, as you have learned, from the words of our precedent Conference, the way of making an universal Medicine out of common Gold: So have you likewise again received, from this our present discoursing together, the Confection of the universal Medicament, out of our Saturnine Magnesia, which is the Root of the vulgar Gold. But, although both of these Medicaments are, as per se and singly alone, very excellent and effectual enough, yet notwithstanding it plainly, and clearly appears unto our ken, that the power and Virtues of both the universal Medicines admit of being promoted unto a far higher Degree; the which thing we see is possible to be done by the means of Conjunction, and is to be thus understood. When a Seed is implanted into its own growing Root, it attracts out of such a Root, which is of its own kind, or Nature a far better, and more nourishing Alimentary juice, than out of the gross Earth. For example, The Seed of a Rape Root being put in the Earth, produceth Rapes of the same bigness that the Rapes were of, from whence the Seed came: And as often as you shall commit that Seed (by sowing) to the Earth, you shall, notwithstanding, never have greater and better Rapes than those, from whence the Seed was taken. But now, if the Seed of some Rape be sown into some other Rape which is in the Earth, and which hath grown unto the half of its bigness already; that Seed will sprout forth, and grow up like as the other Seeds planted in the Earth will do, but yet sooner, because it finds a better Nutriment in its own Mother, than that does, which is planted in the bare Earth: And hereupon, it must necessarily produce a greater Rape Root, and from the greater Root will proceed a greater Seed. And this is the reason, that there are such great grown Rapes, which make every Body wonder at them: Some such I have seen, that weighed ten, twelve, yea and twenty Pound weight. If you have a mind to try, sow a few Rape Seeds, throwing them into the Earth, which when they shall have grown to the bigness of an Egg, take a wooden sharp stick, and make therewith a small hole, even into the middle of the said Rape, and then put thereinto your Rape Seed, and stop up the hole with soft [clammy] Potters clay, that so the Rain may not get in and rot the Root. Thus now, that Seed will also (as being in its own Root) grow up out of this Rape, existing and growing in the Earth, and will dilate that its Root, and advance it to a greater bigness. The Reason’s this, because it can attract unto it self a better and more convenient Nourishment from a Root of its own kind, than out of the bare Earth. And if you shall practise thus with other Seeds likewise, you will effect the same, as with this. N. B. From the Seeds of small Radishes, implanted into great Rape Roots, there grow huge Radishes. This kind of Propagation may not unfitly be likened to a Mothers suckling her Infant, which attracteth and draws its Nourishment from the Mothers Breasts: But the Mother it self receives her Nourishment from the Fruits of the Earth, and that, being changed into a sweet Milk, supplies the Infant, whereby it is sustained and nourish’d. But that I may lay the whole business afore your Eyes, by a more full Declaration, I will yet farther add one Similitude more. Take you some wild and not yet ripe Stock of a Pear, Apple, Cherry, or some other Fruit-bearing Trees, such, I say, as is not yet full grown, but is as yet constituted in its first tender Age, take off from it all its Boughs, which bear [but] a wild and sower Fruit, and Cut it all off even unto the bottom, and to the Stock standing out of the Earth plant a Cion, pluckt off from another Tree that does not bear wild fruit, into this Stock, betwixt the Bark and the Wood of the same, where ’tis cut off with the Saw, and fence it well with Wax, or tenacious Clay, &c. against the Rain: If now you shall thus do, and do your work Gardner-like, that fruitful Cion will draw unto it self the wild Juice, out of that wild Tree or Stock, and make it better, so that it will no more bear any wild Fruit, but such as that Tree did bear, from which the Cion was pluckt. If now, so small a Cion of some cultivated and fruitful Tree can so change the wild Juice of a wild Stock, that it becomes far better, and more noble: Why, should not Gold do the same in our Metallick Tree, when ingrafted in Lead as in its proper Root? Verily in my Opinion, there is not a better Earth (from which that golden Seed may attract unto it self an Alimentary Nourishment, and so multiply it self even to infinity) to be had, than its own proper Root. But yet, with this Proviso, that all the gross and degenerate Boughs be first cut off from that same gross Root, for so, it will the easilier and readilier change its wild and degenerate Juice, (when joyned to the golden Seed or Cion,) and so will be changed into a far nobler, and produce Fruits a thousand fold. You see, my Friend! what good Will I bear to you, in that I have so faithfully opened unto you all those things which I thought necessary to be known, for the perfecting of so great a Work. Ponder well in your mind, upon the Similitudes of the Rape and Cion, and believe, that what I have here spoken is not casually and at Random. For they have more hidden under them, than they seem to shew for, and than you would imagine. Length of time will open your Eyes, which are as yet blinded, as to abundance of things, (if God permit.)

A. Surely, Sir, I cannot chuse but wonder anew, when I accurately consider the things you have declared unto me, of changing the wild Nature, of the wild Vegetative Fruits into a tame, mild, Property: And that such a Transmutation of the ignobler Nature, into a more noble One, takes place also in Metallick Affairs. They are verily such things, as are of weighty Concernment, and most worthy a most accurate Consideration. But, indeed, who can sufficiently enough consider of all the Divine Miracles? Blessed be his most holy Name for evermore.

B. Amen.

A. I give unto you, for your courteous instruction, most hearty thanks, and remain obliged unto you all my whole Life. And thus with what hath been said, I commit both you and my self to Gods protection.

B. My dearest Friend, I have now performed the Promise I made unto you, and am not meanly delighted, in that you have understood the meaning of those things, which I have said unto you: But yet I cannot but admire, that you are not Covetously desirous of knowing yet more, and that you do not Crave an yet more prolix unfolding of more matters. For you well know, that you cannot every day have the Enjoyment of my Company.

A. For those things, which I at present received from you, do I return you most hearty thanks, another time God will vouchsafe more: The greatest desire I have at present, is to set about so great a Work, and to have the Fruition of the hoped for Fruit. If you are so minded, and bent upon doing Friendly Favours, I do request you, that you would oblige my Brother by your good turns, if he shall hap to come unto you, and Petition for ought at your hands, for you may assist him in some small, yet good, Arcanum: For he hath been stupid, or unapprehensive enough hitherto, and much needs some accurate instruction. But what shall I say? The sick looks after the Physician, he that is thorough Well has no need of him. Such things as are hard to be understood, exceed his Capacity: The more easie things are more commodious. And so again, Farewel.