It troubles me Indeed, that I communicated this excellent secret
of encreasing the Virtue of acid Wines, and making them better, to
_Farnner_. What he writes, that he found out those things, is a pure
Lye, which he had of me; when nevertheless he is not afraid to tell so
impudent a Lye, as that he had found out a better foundation of that
Secret, which is most notoriously false; for neither he nor any other
man, nor I my self, can find any thing better than the pure Essence of
Wine, conducing to that Work; which Essence of Wine, by the strength
of its innate fiery Nature and Property, all sorts of immature Wines
may be ripen’d in fermentation, and turn’d to a brisk Staple, and good
Wine, in which lies all the Art.
For he that knows this, may also correct acid Wines, yet let him have
a care that he does not take foul Brandy-wine, as _Farnner_ has done,
wherewith he has done it, as he saies.
This excellent Art, and heretofore unknown, to him that knows how to
handle Wines, may serve instead of many; and this unfaithful _Farnner_
might have receiv’d much profit from it, if he had not made it publick;
but since he has every where publish’d it, there shall henceforth no
profit accrue to him nor me, if I should be destitute of better things,
for he has defamed this excellent Secret every where by his lying
Epistles sent abroad.
As for me, though he has taken from me the great profit which redounded
to me from it, by his prating and lyes, I do not this from such a
trouble of mind as will happen to him, if he shall be forced indeed to
want all its fruit.
If this perfidious _Farnner_ had hid this Secret, he would have needed
no other Arts, neither need he have sold it for an hundred Duckets,
but he might from it have procur’d to himself sufficient whereon to
live. A greater damage has happen’d to me by his publication than I
can declare; and I very hardly endure that so excellent and profitable
a Secret should be despised; neither will any good man approve it,
especially they that sustain loss by it, and for that cause will
alwaies abhorr him. He might have gotten enough by it, in secret, and
without detriment to his Neighbour, but that he was minded rather to
marr the profit and propagate the damage of not only himself, but me,
and many others that have knowledge of it; which no man can deny to be
a wicked act.
That Reward which _Farnner_ gave me for communicating to him my
Secrets, in all amounted to but sixty or seventy _Ungarici_ (an
_Ungaricus_ is Nine Shillings of our Money,) which yet, from the
communication of those Secrets I trusted him with, he receiv’d again,
so that all those things which he had of me, cost him little or
nothing. Nevertheless, he does not stick to say, That he gave me a
great sum of Money for my Secrets, which yet I refused to take; and
though he twice made a Journey of Fifteen miles to me, that he might
get something out of me, yet I deny’d him, and communicated nothing
to him, till he came the third time, and learn’d some of my Secrets,
and afterwards, when he had oblig’d himself to work with me in my
Laboratory, I communicated more to him. Neither had I shew’d him
the least of those many Secrets for his Present, which will never
compensate the damage I have sustain’d by him, had not he oblig’d
himself under the loss of all his Goods, as also his Credit and
Reputation, that he, his Wife and Children, should serve me so long as
I should live, as plainly appears from his Obligations given to me.
But if he had given me a Thousand _Ungarici_, or Duckets, and I had
known he would have expos’d this Secret to sale, I would rather have
given him all of it back again, than suffer’d it to be made common.
Neither can his vain Excuse, That he exposes his own inventions, and
not mine, to sale, profit him any thing; when ’tis evident enough, that
nothing in the nature of things can be found, which may render small
Wines better than the _Anima_ or Quintessence extracted from other
Wines; for the _Anima_ of Wine only, and nothing else, can encrease
the strength of Wine. Neither is the comparison of this melioration of
Wines incongruous with two torn Garments, neither of which can be worn;
but if either of this is cut, and that which yet is whole and good, is
sewed to the other, and so of two torn, one whole Garment is made; then
that Garment may be worn, when yet, before, neither of them was useful.
The same also is to be understood of small wines that are neither
durable nor vendible, but after one Hogshead is strengthen’d by
another, it becomes not only durable, as good Wine, but vendible, and
will yield as good a price as two small Hogsheads. And this Secret is
both very noble and profitable in those places, where the wines are
seldom brought to maturity, and for that cause are not durable nor
saleable. For there is a lamentable Complaint among Vintners, that
immature wines are not vendible, and they can get no money for them.
Thus they say, Have we labour’d in vain with our wines a whole year?
Look there the wines lie, and no man buys them: in the mean while we
suffer want and can’t make our selves merry with our wines, for they
neither profit us nor others; unless we have presently some other
better wine, wherewith to mingle this, and so render it vendible, it
will strait be corrupted, and turn’d to water. These and the like
Complaints I have often heard from Vintners; but if they had the wit of
Taylors, that can make one new Garment of two old ones, their affairs
would be in a better condition, for after this manner they might
preserve their acid wines, and there would be no need of mixing better
wine with them. For which excellent Invention, all men that deal in
wines, ought to thank GOD and me.
I pray, who would not have communicated these things to a man that
had given himself for a pledge? But if he must not stand to these
Obligations, I can’t see whom we may trust. I curse the unhappy hour
wherein this unprofitable subject and that perverse man (if he may be
call’d a man) came first in my sight: which troubles and molestations
he brings upon me in my old Age, which might spend its time much
better, than by refuting his detestable Calumnies. Neither does his
wickedness to me hurt me only, but my Children also.
In his last Obligation he promises, That if by premature death I should
be taken out of the world, that he, for the kindnesses I had done him,
would adopt my Children for his own, and make them his Heirs: but here,
in his most false writing, endeavours all he can to deprive my (yet
young) Children of their own, and convert their Goods to himself, as
indeed he has done.
Further, He in his last Obligation also saies, he humbly pray’d GOD
to prolong my Life and Health, but in this place he endeavours by his
Cavils and Calumnies to kill me, and if he could do it with his own
hand, (which God forbid) I believe he would not stick at it: It is a
small thing with him to spill Man’s blood, for he has experienc’d his
ability that way.
I indeed esteem it the Goodness of God to me, that it is His will,
perhaps, that this should rather turn to my profit than disadvantage;
for hereby I am taught to be wiser another time, and to shun humane
Frauds.