But if any man will explore another man’s nature, let him permit him
to speak, and he shall easily know what temper he’s of; but especially
that, of all things, may easily be discern’d in a drunken or angry man,
who can very hardly conceal his internal blemishes. In like manner we
may see by _Farnner_ that he endeavours to hide his lying Proceedings
in my name. What if I had seen his way of preparing metallick flowers,
what profit or loss should I sustain by it? He glories of those things
which merit no praise. He promises to make metallick Flowers under a
frixatory Cover, when yet Flowers can’t be made under it, for they are
not Flowers when the metals are burnt under a frixatory Cover, into
a Calx, or reduc’d to ashes, there is, and so remains a heavy Calx:
but the Flowers of metals shou’d be brought to a very light sort of
Flowers by Sublimation; as is describ’d at large in the First Part of
my Furnaces.
_Farnner_ indeed, with his Shop, leaving his filthy knife, should
rather have gone to the Chymical School a little, than (being ignorant
of Chymical terms) sold his heavy Calxes or Metals to other men for
light Flowers, and despised _Glauber_’s way of preparing Flowers, which
yet has been reprehended by no man. These his Flowers, with his Coral
Flowers, are course Meal, which don’t deserve the name of Flowers, but
Cream. Indeed, if _Farnner_ had not so vehemently inveighed against me,
I had not display’d him thus, nor deign’d his vain Proceedings one word
of answer.
Yet ’tis no matter, though good men are sometimes in this life bark’d
at, and provok’d by mad Dogs, since it often happens that by this means
excellent things are made publick, which otherwise would lie secret.