Since promises are so much the better
esteemed, by how much the sooner
they are fulfilled, I, without any
dilation, immediately come to my
promised Declaration of the following
History, which thus take.
At the Hague, on the sixth Calend
of January or the 27th.
of December, in the year 1666, a
certain man came to my House in
the Afternoon, to me indeed planely
unknown, but endued with an
honest gravity, and serious authority
of Countenance, cloathed in
a Plebick Habit, like to some
Memnonite of a middle Stature,
his Visage somewhat long, with
some Pock-holes here and there dispersed:
his Hairs were indeed very
black, yet not curled, little or no
no hair on his Chin, and about
three or four and fourty years of
Age: his Countrey (as far as I
am able to conjecture) is the Septentrional
Batavia, vulgarly called Nord Hollund.
After salutations ended, his new
Guest, with great Reverence, asked,
whether he might have freedom to
come to me; because for the Pyrotechnick
Art sake, he could not, nor
was he willing to pass by the Door
of my house; adding, that he had
not only thought to have made use
of some Friend to come to me,
but had also read some of my little
Treaties, especially that, which I
published against D. Digbies Sympathetick
Powder, in which I discovered
my doubt of the true Philosophick
Mystery. Therefore, this
occasion being taken, he asked me,
whether I could believe, that place
was given to such a Mystery in the
things of Nature, by the benefit of
which a Physician might be able to
cure all Diseases universally, unless
the Sick already had a defect either
of the Lungs, or Liver, or of any
like noble Member? To which I
answered. Such a Remedy is exceeding
necessary for a Physician,
but no man knows, what and how
great are the Secrets yet hidden in
Nature, nor did I ever, in all my
Life see such an Adept Man, although
I have read and perused
many things, touching the verity
of this thing, or Art, in the Writings
of Philosophers. I also enquired
of him, whether he (speaking
of the Universal Medicine) were
not a Physician? But he answering
by denyal, professed, that he
was no other than a Melter of Orichalcum,
and that in the Flower of
his years, he had known many
things, from his Friend, rare to
the Sight, and especially the way
of Extracting Medicinal Arcanums
by the force of Fire, and that for
this very cause, he was a Lover of
this so noble Science of Medicine.
Moreover, long after other discourses,
touching Experiments in Metals,
made by the violence of Fire,
Elias the Artist spake to me thus;
Do not you know the Highest Secret,
when it is offered to your sight,
viz. the Stone of Phylosophers,
you having read in the Writings
of many Chymists most excellent,
touching the Substance, Colour,
and strange effect of the same?
I answered, not at all; except what
I have read in Paracelsus, Helmont,
Basilius, Sandivogius, and like Books
of Adept Phylosophers extant. Nevertheless,
I think, I am not able
to know the Phylosophick Matter,
whether it be true, or not, although
I should see it present before me.
Whilst I was speaking thus, he
pulled out of his Pocket an Ivory
Box, in which he had three ponderous
Fragments, in magnitude
scarcely equalizing a small Walnut;
these were Glass-like, of the colour
of pale Sulphur, to which the Interior
Scales of that Crucible did adhere,
in which this most noble
Substance was liquified, for I
suppose the Value of it might
equalize twenty Tun of Gold. But
after I had plighted my Faith, I
held that [Greek: cheimhêlion], [or pretious
Treasure] of this Stone, within these
my hands for almost a quarter of an
hour, and from the Philosophick
Mouth of the Owner, I heard many
things worthy of note, touching
the Wonderful Effect of the same,
for humane and Metallick bodies.
Indeed, I, with a sad and afflictedly
afflicted Mind, restored this Treasure
of Treasures to him, the Lord
and Possessor, who gave the same
into my hand for a very short
space of time; and yet I did that (after
the manner of Men overcoming
themselves) not without the
greatest action of thanks, as was
fit in such a Case. Afterward I asked
him, how it came to pass, (since
I had otherwise read, that the
Stones of Philosophers, were endowed
with a Rubinate, or Purple Colour)
that this his Philosophick
Stone was tinged with a Sulphureous
Colour? He answered me
thus: O Sir; this is nothing to the
purpose: for the Matter is Sufficiently
mature. Moreover, when
I entreated him, that he would
give to me, for a perpetual remembrance,
one small part of the Medicine
included in his Box, although
no more in bulk than a
Coriander-Seed; he denied, answering:
O no! For this is not
lawful for me to do, although you
would give me this whole Roome
full of Gold in Duckets; and that not
by reason of the price of the Matter,
but by reason of another certain
Consequence; Yea, surely,
if it were possible, that Fire could
be burned with Fire, I would sooner
cast this whole Substance into
the devouring Flames of Vulcan,
before your Eyes. A little after
this, he also asked me, whether
I had not another Room, the
Windows of which were not to
the Street-side; I presently brought
this Phænix, or Bird most rare to
be seen in this Land, into my best
furnished Chamber; yet he, at his
Entrance (as the manner of Hollanders
is, in their Countryes)
did not shake off his Shooes, which
were dropping wet with Snow.
I indeed, at that very time, thus
thought: perhaps he will provide,
or hath in readiness some Treasure
for me; but he dash'd my
hope all to pieces. For he immediatey
asked of me a piece of the
best Gold-mony; and in the mean
while layed off his Cloak, and
Country Coat; also he opened
his Bosom, and under his Shirt
he wore in green Silk, five great
Golden Pendants, round, filling up
the magnitude of the Interior Space
of an Orb of Tin. Where, in
comparing these, in respect of
Colour and Flexibility, the difference
between his Gold, and
mine, was exceeding great. On
these Pendants he had inscribed
with an Iron Instrument, the following
Words, which, at my
request, he gave leave I should coppy out.
The form of the Pendants, and
words engraven thereon, are as
follows.
I.
AMEN
Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord our
GOD, for all
things are full of
his Power.
Leo: Libra.
II.
The wonderfull
wonder-working
wisdome of JEHOVAH
in the Catholick
Book of
Nature. Made the
26. day Aug. 1666.
[Alchemical symbols: Gold, Mercury, Silver]
The wonderfull
GOD, Nature
and he Spagyrick
Art, make
nothing in vain.
Sacred, Holy Spirit
Hallelujha
Hallelujha
Away Devil,
Speak not of
GOD without
Light, Amen.
The Eternal Invisible,
only wise,
Best of all and omnipotent
GOD of
Gods; Holy, Holy,
Holy, Governour &
Conserver deservedly
ought to be praysed.
Moreover, when I, affected with
admiration said to him; My
Master, I pray tell me, where had
you this greatest Science of the
whole World? He answered, I
received such Magnalia from the
Communication of a certain Extraneous
Friend, who for certain
dayes lodged in my House, professing,
that, he was a Lover of
Art, and came to teach me various
Arts; viz. how, besides the
aforesaid, of Stones and Crystal,
most beautiful precious Stones are
made much more fair than Rubies,
Chrysolites, Saphires, and
others of that kind. Also how to
prepare a Crocus Martis in a quarter
of an hour of which one only
Dose infallibly heals a Pestilential Dysentery
Likewise a Metallic
Liquor, by the help of which, every
species of the Dropsy may be
cured certainly in four dayes space
Also a certain Limpid Water, more
sweet, than Hony, by the help of
which, I can extract the Tincture
of Granates, Corals, and of all
Glasses blown by Artificers, in the
space of two hours in hot sand only.
Many other things like to these
he told me, which I neither well
observed, nor committed to
memory; because my intention was:
carryed further, viz. to learn the
Art of pressing that so noble
juice out of Metals for Metals;
but the Shadow in Waters deceived
the Dog of his piece of Flesh,
which was substantial. Moreover,
this Artist told me that his Master,
who taught him this Art, bad him
bring Glass full of Rain water,
with which he mixed a very small:
quantity of a most white pouder;
commanding me, (here the Disciple
of that Master proceeds in
his Discourse) to go to the Silver-Smith,
for one ounce of Cupellate
Silver, laminate, [or beat
very thin,] which Silver was dissolved
in a quarter of an hour, as
Ice in hot water. Then he presently
gave to me one half of this
potion, by himself so speedily
made, to drink; which in my
mouth tasted as sweet Milk, and I
thence became very cheerful.
He having related these things,
I ceased not to enquire of him, to
what end he had instanced this?
Whether the Potion was Philosophick?
To this, he answered, You
must not be so curious.
Afterward, he told me, how he,
by the command of that Laudable
Artist his Master, took a piece of
the Leaden gutter of his house,
and when the Lead was melted in
a now Crucible, the said Artist
drew out off his pocket a Gasket
full of Sulphureous Powder, of
which, he took a very small part
upon the point of a knife, once,
and again, and injected the same;
upon the Lead in Flux; presently.
giving order, that the fire should
be blown with two pair of Bellows
strongly, for exciting the heat
more vehemently; a little after
he powred out of the crucible,
most pure Gold, upon the Red
stones, which were in the Kitchen.
I (said this most pleasing discourser
to me) did commodiously
behold this verity of the Transmutation
of Metals, but was so astonished
with fear and admiration,
that I was Scarcely able to speak
one word; But my Master heartning
me, said; Cheer, up and be
contented: take for your self a
sixteenth part of this Mass, which
keep For a Memorandum; but the
other fifteen parts distribute to the
poor: and I did as he said.
For, (if my memory deceive
me not) he bestowed this exceeding
great Alms, on the Sparrendamen
Church; but whether, he
gave it at distinct times Or not, or
whether he told it down in the
Substance of Gold, or of Silver, I
asked him not.
And at length (saith he speaking
of his Master) he directly
taught me this great divine Art.
Therefore, the; Narration of all
these things being ended, I most
humbly entreated him, that he
would shew me the effect of Transmutation
upon impure Metals, that
I thence might have the better assurance
of those things by him related
to me, and my Faith being
confirmed, securely give credit to
the real Truth of the matter. But
he very discreetly gave me the repulse;
yet taking his leave of me,
he promised to return again
after three Weeks, and then shew
to me certain curious Arts, by Fire,
as also the way of projecting; making
this Provisoe, if it should
then be lawful for him. The three
Weeks being elapsed, according
to his word, he Came to my House,
and invited me to walk abroad
with him for one hour, or two,
as we both did, having in that
Time Certain, Discourses of the
Secrets of Nature in the fire, but
in the mean while, this well spoken
Companion in the way, was
not lavish, but rather too sparing
of his words, touching the great
Secret; affirming, that this singular
Mystery tended not, but to
the alone magnifying of the most
illustrious Fame of the most glorious
God; and that very few men
considered, how they might; condignly
Sacrifice; themselves by
their Works to so great a God
uttering these Expressions no otherwise,
then as if he had been
a Pastor of the Church. But I, in
the mean time, fayled not to solicit
him, to demonstrate to me the
Transmutation of Metals. Moreover,
I beseeched and intreated
him, to vouchsafe to eat with me,
and to lodge in my house, urging
him with such Earnestness, as no
Rival, or Lover, could ever use
more perswasive Words, for winning
his beloved to a willingness
of gratifying him above all others:
but he, agitated by a Spirit of so
great constancy, made void of all I
endeavoured. Nevertheless, I could
not choose but speak to him thus:
Sir, You see I have a very convenient
Laboratory, in which you
may shew me the Metallick
Transmutation. For whosoever
assents to him, that asketh,
obligeth himself to him. It is true (answered
he) bit I made a promise
to you of imparting some things
with this Exception, if at my, Return,
I be not interdicted, but have
leave to do the same.
All, and every of these, my requests
being in vain, I instantly, and earnestly
besought him, that (if he
would not, or by reason of the
Heavenly Interdiction could not
demonstrate what I asked) he
would only give me so much of his
Treasure, as would be sufficient
for transmuting four grains of Lead
into Gold. At this my request, he,
after a little while, pouring forth
a Flood of Philosophick Mercy,
gave a small particle, as big as a
Rape-Seed, saying: Take of the
greatest Treasure of the World, which
very few great Kings, or
Princes could ever see. But I, saying
my Master, this is so small particle
perhaps will not be sufficient
for tinging four granes of Lead.
He answered; Give it me. I,
accordingly gave it him, conceiving,
good hope of receiving somewhat
a greater particle instead thereof;
but he breaking off the one half almost
of it with his thumb-nayl,
threw it into the fire, and wrapping
the other up in blew paper,
he gave to me, faying, It is yet
sufficient for thee. To which, I with,
a sad Countenance and perplexed
Mind, answered: Ah Sir! What
mean you by this? Before I doubted,
and now I cannot believe,
that so small a quantity of this Medicine
will suffice for transmuting
four grains of Lead; O, said he,
if you cannot rightly handle your
Lead in the Crucible, by reason
of the so very small quantity thereof
then take two drams, or
half an ounce, or a little more of the
lead, for more must not be
tinged, then well may. To him
I again said: I cannot, easily believe
this, viz. that so little of the
Tincture will transmute so great a
quantity of Lead into Gold. But he,
answered; what I say is true. In,
mean, while, I, giving him
great; thanks, inclosed my diminished
and in the Superlative degree
concentrated Treasure, in my
own Casket, saying: To morrow
I will make this Tryal; and give no
notice to any Man thereof, as long as
I live. Not so, not so, answered;
he, but all things, which tend to
the Glory of God Omnipotent,
ought by us, singularly to be declared
to the Sons of Art that we
may live Theosophically, and not
at all dye Sophistically.
Then, I confessed to him; that
when held the Mass of his Medicine, in that
short space of time, I attempted
to raze something there-from with
my Finger Nayl, But I got no
more, than a certain invisible
Atome; and, when I had cleansed
my nayl, and had injected the
collected matter, wrapt in paper,
upon Lead in Flux, I could see no
Transmutation of it into Gold; but
almost the whole Mass of Lead
vanished into Aire, and the
remaining Substance was transmuted into
a Glassy Earth. At the
hearing of this, he smiling, say'd
You could more dexterously play
the Thief, than apply the Tincture.
I wonder, that you, so expert
in the Fire, do no better understand
the fuming Nature of Lead.
For if you had wrapped
your Theft in yellow Wax, that it
might have been conserved from
the Fume of Lead, then it would so
have penetrated into the Lead,
as to have transmuted the same
into Gold. But now a Sympathetick
Operation was performed in
Fume, and so the Medicine permixed
with the Fume, flew away:
For all Gold, Silver, Tin, Mercury,
and like Metals, are corrupted
by Lead Vapours, and
likewise converted to a brittle
Glass. While he was thus speaking,
I shewed him my Crucible,
who, viewing the remaining Substance,
perceived a most beautiful
Saffron-coloured Tincture,
adhering to the sides of the Crucible,
and say'd, To-morrow at nine of
the Clock, I will return, and
shew you; how your Medicine
must be used to transmute Lead
into Gold. In which promise of
him, I rested secure. Yet, in the
mean while, I again and again
requested information of him,
whether this Philosophick Work,
required great Charges in the preparing,
and a very long Time.
O my Friend, answered he, you very
accurately affect to know all
things, yet I will open this to
you; The Charge is not great, nor
is the Time long. But, as touching
the matter of which our Arcanum
is made, I would have you to
know; there are only two Metals
and Minerals, of which it is prepared.
And because the Sulphur
of Philosophers is more abundant
in these Minerals, therefore it is
made of them.
Then I again asked him: What
the Menstruum was, and whether
the Operations were made in Glasses,
or in Crucibles. He answered;
The Menstruum is a Celestial Salt,
or a Salt of Celestial Virtue, by
the benefit of which, Philosophers
only dissolve the Terrene Metallick
Body, and in dissolving, the
noble Elixir of Philosophers is
produced. But the Operation is,
performed in a Crucible, from
the beginning to the end, in an
open Fire. And the Whole Work
may be begun, and plainly ended
in no longer time, then four dayes:
Also in this whole Work, no greater
Cost is required, then the value
of three Florens. Lastly he added;
Neither the Mineral, from Which,
nor the Salt by Which, is of any
great Price. I again said to him:
My Master; This is strange, for
it is repugnant to the sayings of
various Philosophers, Who have
writ, that at least seven, or nine
Moneths are imployed in this
Work. He answered: The true
writings of Philosophers are only;
understood by the truly Adept.
Therefore, touching the Time,
they would write nothing certain;
yea; I say, no Lover of this Art,
can find the Art of preparing this
Mystery in his whole Life without
the Communication of some
true Adept Man. In this respect
and for this Cause, I advise you,
my Friend, because you have seen
the true Matter of the true Work,
not to forget your self, and thirsting
after the perfection of this Art,
to cast away your own Goods;
for you can never find it out. Then
I say'd: My Master, although I
am so unknown to you, as you are
unknown to me; nevertheless, since
he was unknown to you who shewed
you the way of finding out
the Operation of this Arcanum,
perhaps you may also, if you be
willing, notifie to me somewhat,
touching this Secret, that the
most difficult Rudiments being overcome,
I may (as the saying is)
happily add somewhat to things already
found out; for by the occasion
of one thing found, another
is not difficultly invented. But
the Artist answered: In this Work
the matter is not so, For unless
you know the thing, from the beginning
of the Work to the end,
you know nothing thereof. Indeed
I have told you enough, yet you
are ignorant how the Stone of Philosophers
is made, and again, how
the Glassy Seal of Hermes is broaken,
in which Sol gives forth Splendor
from his Metallick Rayes, wonderfully
coloured, and in which
Speculum, the Eyes of Narcißus
behold Metals transmutable, and
from which Rayes the Adept gather
their fire, by the help of
which, Volatile Metals are fixed
into most fixed Gold, or Silver.
But enough for this time, because
(God willing) on the Morrow,
we shall have occasion of meeting
yet once more, that we may talk together
touching this Philosophick
matter; and according as I said, at
nine a Clock, I will come to your
House, and shew you the way of
Projecting. But with that happy
Valediction for one night, that
Elias the Artist hath left me most
sad in expectation unto this very
day. Yea, the Mercury of Philosophers
did with him vanish into
Aire; because from him I did no
more again hear so much as one
word. Yet he, (because he promised
that he would come again
to me betimes the next morning)
half an hour before ten,
sent to me another unknown man,
signifying, that, that friend, who
yesternight promised to revisit me
this morning, by reason of other
urgent business, could not come,
nevertheless, at three of the Clock
in the afternoon, he would again
see me. But after I had, with a
most vehement desire expected
him, till almost eight a Clock, I
began to doubt in the truth of the
matter. Besides, my Wife also,
a very curious Searcher in the Art
of that Laudable man, came to
me, troubling me, by reason of
the Philosophick Art, cited in that
aforesaid Severe, and Honest man;
saying, Go to, let us try, I pray
thee, the Verity of the work, ac
cording to what that man said.
For otherwise, I certainly shall
not sleep all this night. But I answered;
I pray let us deferr it till
to morrow; perhaps the man will
come then. Nevertheless, when
I had ordered my Son to kindle the
fire; these thoughts arose in me;
That man indeed, otherwise in his
discourses so Divine, is now found
the first time guilty of a Lye. A
second time, when I would make
Experiment of my Stollen Matter
hid under my Nayl, but to no purpose,
because the Lead was not
transmuted into Gold. Lastly
a third time, he gave me so very
little of the Matter, for tinging
so great a Mass of Lead; that he
almost drove me to Desperation.
Notwithstanding these thoughts,
I commanded yellow Wax to be
brought, wherein to wrap the
Matter, and finding Lead, I cut
off half an Ounce, or six Drachmes.
My Wife wrapped the Matter of
the Stone in the Wax, and when
the Lead was in Flux, she cast
in that little Mass, which, with
Hissing and Flatuosity, so performed
its Operation in the Crucible
well closed; as in one quarter of
an hour, the whole Mass of Lead
was transmuted into the best
Gold. Certainly, had I lived in
the Age of Ovid, I could not have
believed, any Metamorphosis more
rare, than this of the Chimical
Art; but if I could behold things
with the hundred Eyes of Argus,
I should scarcely see any work of
Nature more admirable, for this
Lead, mixt with the Stone of the
Wise, and in the Fire melted,
demonstrated to us a most beautiful
colour, yea, I say, it was most green;
but when I poured it out into a
[Cone, or] fusory Cup, it received
a colour like Blood, and
when it waxed cold, shined with
the colour of the best Gold: I, and
all who were present with me, being
amazed, made what haste we,
could with the Aurificate Lead
(even before it was through cold)
to a Gold-Smith, who after a precious
Examen, judged it to be
Gold most excellent, and that in
the whole world, better could not
be found; withall, adding, that for
every Ounce of such Gold, he
would give 50 Florens.
The next day, the rumour of
this wonderful Metallick Transmutation
was spread all over our
Hague; whence many illustrious
men, and lovers of Art, made hast
to me, among which, by name,
the General Examiner of the Moneys
of this Province of Holland,
D^n Porelius, came to me, with certain
other most illustrious men,
earnestly desiring, that I would
communicate to them some small
particle of my Artificial Gold, to
prove it by legitimate Examens:
these, for their curiosity sake, I willingly
gratified; and we went together
to the house of a certain
very curious Silver-Smith, by
name Brechtelius, in whose Workhouse,
the Excellency of my Gold
was evidenced, by that form of
Probation, which Skilful Artists
call. Quarta, viz. when they in a
Crucible melt three or four parts
or Silver, with one part of Gold,
and then by hammering, reduce
that mixture into thin Plates, on
which they pour a sufficient quantity
of Aquafortis, by which the
Silver is dissolved, but the Gold
settles to the bottome, like a black
powder. Afterward, the Aquafortis
is poured off, and the golden
powder, is again put into a Crucible,
and by strong fire reduced to
Gold.
But when this work was ended,
we supposed, that one half of the
Gold was vanished, yet in very
deed it was not so: for we found
that the Gold, besides its own
weight, had transmuted some part
of the Silver into Gold, viz. two
drams of the Gold, transmuted
two scruples of the Silver (through
the abundance of its Tincture)
into like Gold Homogeneal to it self.
After this, we, suspecting that
the Silver was not well separated
from the Gold did presently make
a mixture: with seven times as much
Antimony. And after this Examen,
we lost eight grains of Gold;
but when I had again evaporated
the Antimony, I found nine grains
of Gold, yet in colour somewhat
pale. Thus, in the best Tryal of
fire, we lost nothing of this Gold,
And this infallible kind of Probation,
I thrice performed in presence
of those most noble and illustricsus
Men, and found, that
every Dram of Gold acquired from
the Silver for an augmentation to
it self, one Scruple, of Gold: and
the Silver, is pure good, and very
flexible. So according to this, the
five drams of Gold, attracted to it
self from the Silver, five Scruples;
and (that I may together, and at
once, comprise all that remains to
be said) the whole weight that
that Laudable Powder, in quantity
so exceeding small, did transmute,
was six drams, and two
Scruples, of a more vile Metal,
into Gold, in such wise fixed, as it
was able perseveringly to sustain
the most intense Torture of Fire.
Behold! thus have I exactly,
from first to last, commemorated
this History. The Gold I indeed
have, but where, or in what Land
or Countrey. Elias the Artist is at
this day hospited, I am wholly
ignorant for he told me, his purpose
was to abide in his own Country
no longer then this Summer;
that after he would travil into Asia,
and visit the Holy Land. Let the
most wise King of Heaven (under
the Shadow of whose divine
Wings he hath hitherto layn hid)
by his Administratory Angels accompany
him in his intended
Journey, and prosper it so as he
living to a great Age, may with
his inestimable Talent greatly
succour the whole Republick of
Christians, and after this Life gloriously
behold, and take of the
prepared Inheritance of Life Eternal.
Amen.