Of the Heat of Mercury

They that believe that Mercury is of a moist and cold nature, must lay down the Bucklers, for ’tis not so, but it abounds with a great heat and moisture, which being naturally planted therein, keeps it alwaies fluid: For, were it of a cold and moist Nature, it would alwaies remain rigid and hard, like to congealed Water, and were to be melted like other metals, by the heat of the fire, which it (viz. ☿) hath no need of, because it hath already a fluidity from heat, whereby it flows, and is alwaies constrained to live, and not to die, grow stiff, congeal, or be fixed. But this is singularly to be noted, that the Spirits of the seven Metals, or of as many of them as are conjoyned in the Fire, are wonderfully provoked and stirred up, and Mercury chiefly, and they emit, and send out their forces amongst each other, for a mutual Victory and Transmutation; the one takes away the Virtue, Life, and Form from the other, communicating a new Nature and Form; so the Spirits or Vapours of Metals are stirred up by heat and mutual action and passion, and are transmuted from one Virtue to another, and at last to Perfection and Purity. But what else is to be done with ☿, that so his heat and moisture being taken away, he may catch a great Cold, and be congealed, stand still, and die; do as you hear in the following Figment.

℞ a most pure Silver Vessel, in which shut up Mercury, then fill a Pot with molten Lead, in the midst of which put in the Vessel with the Mercury; let it flow a whole day, and the hidden heat will be taken away from Mercury, and the external heat will communicate to it the internal cold of the Lead and ☽, being both of a cold nature, by which Mercury will grow stiff, rigid, and become hard.

Note, The Cold which Mercury hath need of for its hardening and death, is not outwardly perceptible, like Snow or Ice, but is rather hot. Nor is the heat by which Mercury flows, felt by the hands, but ’tis rather cold. Hence Sophisters (that is men speaking without knowledge) pronounce him cold and moist, and study how to coagulate him with hot things, and thereby rather liquifie than harden him. Which thing Experience it self testifieth. True Alchymy, which by one only Art teacheth to make ☉ and ☽ out of the Five Imperfect Metals, useth no other Receipts, than only from Metals, out of Metals, by Metals, and with Metals, are Perfect Metals made; for with other things it is Luna; for in Metals it is Sol.

Glaub.] Here Paracelsus demonstrates their Judgment to be false, who say that Mercury (in it self a meer Fire) is by nature Cold, and returns to speaking of Spiritual Metals, the which being stirred up by great heat of Fire, do operate upon one another, meliorate, change, and advance to perfection, as hath been taught in the foregoing Chapters. Then he adds a Fable or Story, how to coagulate or fix Mercury; but it must not be taken in the literal sence, but of the spiritual ☽, whereby Mercury is to be promoted to Coagulation, in a moist way, and not in a dry, as the other Metals are, which Process I never yet attempted. Then he finisheth with an universal Rule of Transmutation, saying, Perfect metals are made from metals, out of metals by metals, and with metals, and that out of some ☽, out of others ☉ is made. He adviseth to take no strange thing, and only metalline subjects are to be taken for this Work out of some Luna only; out of others Sol only, or ☉ and ☽, both are to be extracted, which I have often tried; as in ♄, which of it self gives only ☽, Tin, ♀, and ♂, by themselves give only Luna, and pure Sol; but commixt with other Metals in a due proportion, they give only ☉, and very little or no ☽: Which maturation is to be ascribed only to the labour and mixtion, which is deservedly to be admired.