This transcription was originally made by W.A. Ayton in the latter decades of the 19th century, from the original manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Ashmole 1421. Samuel Norton was the great-grandson of the famous 15th century English alchemist Thomas Norton, author of the Ordinall of alchemy. Back to Key of Alchemy page . Back to transcriptions page .
Here beginneth the 5th treatise of the Key of Alchimie containing
the mixed Stone
The Philosophers sometimes vexed, and grieved with the length of the
time which they consumed are they might bring the Elixir to effect by putrefaction,
did think with themselves to finde out some shorter way; which as last
they found by joining together of contrairie natures; for whereas afore
they were driven to make two worcks; one in a corroding, and an other in
recomforting the corroded; that they at last found out to doe at one time
by joining of their natures so eauqallie together, that as much as bodies
were hindered by the fire against nature; so much they might on the contrary
side be helpen even at that present instant by the fire of nature; wherefore
they drew them both together: Or else after they were drawne, did commixe
them; and put them together; so that they might jointlie have the use of
them at one time; by vertue of which they might create their Elixirs in
shorter time and space by alteration, where afore in longer time they did
it by putrefaction.
Which Elixirs so made, happened by the vertue and benefit
of the mixed water; wherefore think it no unnecessarie to give them the
names of the mixed stones; for that all but such elixirs are perfected
by the power and strength of the vegetable and minerall wee heere speake
of; is not all one with that which in the vegetable afore I speake of:
for by this our alteration which now we intreat of are the purities of
all bodies lifted into [...] and so become calces of a second intention
and of alterate qualities by vertue of our philosophicall fire against
nature: Of which manner of working Caleatus [not in Dufresnoy] the philosopher
saith that from the minerall and vegetable joyned together in the depth
of this secret art proceedeth; And of these two waters writeth Raimond
both in his Magic and in his Accortations: In the Magick, My Sons, there
are two waters trough which the whole art of Alchimie is accomplished and
in his Accortations Tota enim vita mineralium est, for the whole way of
the minerall worck consisteth in two waters, of which two, the one maketh
the stone volatile without labour and perill, the other fixing it, doth
fixe and is fixed with him without any labour or perill, for that is made
or drawne forth from out of a certaine stinking menstruall made of four
things and this water is more strong and mortall than any other water in
the world: whose only spirit doth multiply and increase the tincture of
the ferment.
Of these waters verie few of the elder philosophers ever seemed
to speake of, nor darklie to name it, except that in one only place I have
redd of two dragons fighting together in the floud of Satalia; [not in
Dufresnoy nor Johnson nor Pernetty]: which our noble Ripley expoundeth
and aplieth to this worcke; with these waters: In whom and in Raimond I
only heard of these waters: Of which I gave gud proofe, for that it will
lift up calces into [Elixir], as I have seene.
And seing therefore that
Raimond, is the elder philosopher whom Ripley most seemeth to follow. I
will first of all beginn with the practick of Raimon on this mixed stone:
Which I find written in his Accortations to king Robert; and is that which
I afore referred over to this place; and is to be handled after the manner
of the vegetable accortation rehearsed: Raimond therefore speaking of minerall
and vegetable water saith that by a deepe consideration of which a man
may so mingle the minerall, and vegetable together, that in short space
he may make the greater medicine after this manner: The vegetable water
saith hee; that is the water ardent being five time rectified; At which
distillation, the water most commonlie: is void of flegme; then having
verie good vitrioll, faire and clear and amber, so likewise in equall waight;
Mingle them together, grind them verie well and drie them in the Sun, and
afterwards on the fire: so that you would judge their watrinesse were gone;
and then put them into your water; and in the beginning destill them with
a lent fire, and in the end with a strong fire, as is the manner in corrosive
and sharp water of philosophers. So doe five times, every time putting
to new water. Alwaies taking heede that your powders be verie well dried;
and so shall your minerall spirit be well joyned with the blessed spirit
of water ardent: This, thus handled, take your gold in proportion and manner
as is afore said in the vegetable Accortation, and doe in all points as
afore and then shall you see that wonderfullie the spirit of the waters
will be in four daies fixed with the gold; which in the vegetable will
not be in 25 daies; and the reason is that one spirit engrosseth another;
and because that the spirit of the quintessence of vitrioll is more fixed
and gross than the spirit of the quintessence of the Ardent water, and
for that also there is a greater concordancie between the spirit of vitrioll
and the nature of gold; inasmuch as they have their beginnings from the
same principles, in that they are Mineralls; Therefore the spirit of vitrioll
joyned to the spirit of water ardent, doth make him more thicke and grosse
and causeth him to cleave quickly into the metall:for the which cause
and reason beleeve me that of all accortations this is most excellent as
touching gold Alchemick.
Having therefore on this wise made fixation, you
may proceed to solution by often dissolution and coagulation as in the
vegetable Accortation, altho it will not so soone be dissolved as in the
vegetable: for that it will aske 9 days solution, which solution must be
reiterated thrice as in the vegetable; except it be dealt with all as hee
teacheth immey in these words following; In which he openeth a great secret
saying, O king, that I may in as much brief manner as is possible, write
unto you, you must understand that out of the lead of philosophers, there
is an oile of golden colour extracted or there abouts: With which you shall
after their first fixion dissolve either the stone minerall mixed; or Animall,
three or four times, or for the space of 3 or 4 days, it shall excuse you
from all labour of solution and coagulation; The reason is for that this
is the secret oile which maketh all medicines penetrable, amicable and
conjungible to all bodies and doth above measure incrase his effect in
such wise that in this world, there is nothing more secret than this; wherefore
I will tell thee, O king, that which shall be wonderfull, and that which
will seem incredible unto all the old philosophers that if you know how
to separate this oile from his watrishness and shall therein labour according
to the manner of mixion afore said, you shall in 30 daies accomplish the
stone, the order of which is alreadie shewed in the separation of elements,
and in the vegetable stone yet in no wise meddle therewith all in the vegetable
accortation; and so endeth that worcke of the mixed stone collected out
of Raimond.
If not resteth therefore to speake of the mixed stone, according
to the way of Ripley: For sure it is that among all men there are none
that gave himself so much to the diverse and sundrie opinions of practice,
as hee did; but most speciallie of Raimond's: Who marvaille therefore,
if his schollers finde so much profit in Raimond; considering that this
mr was so conversant with Raimond's worcks, and was so great an expositor
of Raimond, that almost he might deserve the proverbe of Raimond's Apes;
and yet in this hee sure exceeded Raimond, so that looke what soever hee
fetched out of him, he proved it to the uttermost; yea more waies then
one as may well appeare by his worcks on this mixed stone: For whereas
in Raimond there is only one way rehearsed, hee setteth downe 3 several
practises:
Of which one is with the water of the pure sea, that is our
sharp vinegere of Mercury sublimed, and mingled with the ardent water upon
the calx prepared, which I heere slightly overpasse; for that it is shewed
and meaneth the like manner of dealing in the minerall treatise, by circulating:
To come to the making of these mixed waters which are in number, two, the
one consisting of the 4 things; of salt peter, vitrioll Romaine, vitriol
sericon [or opus come to the red, according to some] that is the gum of
sericon, and vermillion or cinober; The order by manner of drawing heereof
is alone with the order by manner of drawing of the corrosive water afore
shewed in the last treatise: the proportion of the ingredients followeth;
Let the gumm of the sericon bee double the vitrioll, the peter half to
the vitrioll, and the cinobar half to the peter: The process of the work
set downe by Ripley, I cannot advise thoroughly to be followed for that
hee doth that with crude Mercury sublimed and fixed: for that I never think
it philosophically done when crude things are dealt with all, - therefore
forsake crude Mercury and worck on this sort; Take Mercury sublimed, &
sublime it by itself 7 times more; which will then bee scarce willing to
rise from the bottome of the sublimatorie, and of that Mercury take 6 parts,
and of the oile of gold one part and a halfe; & grind them well together
on a glasse made broad and smooth like a marble stone: That done; put it
into a long necked glasse stopped with clay or cotton; and set it to precipitate
in ash fire, increase the fire daily; and in five it will be precipitated
into redd powder in 5 daies if it be well followed with strong fire; so
that it will be of thoroughlie fixed: Then with this fire against nature,
dissolve this pouder, and being dissolved, draw the corrosive therefrom
untill it be as thick as oile in the bottome, and stopping well the glasse,
let that be fixed into drie powder; first with a lent fire, after with
a stronger, a soe reiterate this worcke 10 times, for then it cannot be
made drie, but remaineth oile transmuting all imperfect bodies into true
Sol; The order how to dissolve Sol with this water is thus; Your Sol being
made into powder or fine calxe as aforesaid, dissolve it in a great quantity
of the first water that cometh of in the drawing of this compound water;
and let it stand therein in balneo 20 daies, and then it will be redd and
faire oile to see to, from which in a Limbeck, and in an ash fire, draw
of the water, and the oile shall remaine in the bottome; where which inceare
your Mercury as aforesaid.
And this way accordeth somewhat with Raimond
worcks written both in Magick and in the Accortation where hee saith, Moreover,
if thou shall impast Mercury 7 times sublimed with thy gold dissolved;
and although there be 7 parts of silver and but one of gold; yet if thou
wilt put thy Mercury to sublime sundrie times, ever putting that downe
againe upon his foeces which riseth up, this Mercury shall at last bee
fixed into medicine piercing and tincting; this manner of worcking carrieth
a farr greater likelihood then to worcke with Mercury crude: For that
the one is almost, nay very near brought to fixion, and the other is raw
and crude, and will aske a longer time of doing; besides that the proportion
of ferment is verie smale after that way and all the benefit of the fixion
must in crude Mercury rise by the oile of gold; where heere it hath 2 healfs,
the one from the quintessence of vitrioll wheron Ripley saith that the
bodie of the spirit volatill is fixed by the fire against nature, which
is the quintessence which riseth up (is saith Rupescissus) in snowie whiteness,
and the other from the oile of gold; wherefore I conclude that this manner
of dealing must of necessity far excell the other crude mercurie; of which
this is the way, Take gold calcined in the colour of bloud with the first
water, viz. Mercurielle, very clear and clarified 20 daies: For in less
time nothing is done; which calcination cannot be so much profitable, unlesse
gold be mercurized into such thinness, that it may with that to whom it
shall be joyned in a 24 proportion strained through a linnen cloth without
any glob remaining: for myself saith hee have so seen it ordered; for
then may it without fail be precipitated in a long vessaile, and strong
and surelie luted on every side; except in the top: where let it boile
into red powder, like unto cinober, with violence of fire; as I have seene
it done, saith hee by profe thereof; and being fixed, dissolve it, and
doe as is afore declared; for now both waies are shewed.
Let that be followed
which hath most reason; And for the fixing of sublimate I have done it
into red pouder with the onlie elemental fire; above and beneath in the
space of 8 houres and less, The other compound water which serveth for
the alteration of calces, followeth in these words: Make a compound water
of 3 things, that is, gumm of sericon. Naturall vitrioll, and Salt Niter
or Salt Peter and them destill according to Art, it worketh many things,
and is called the two dragons of philosophers and fighting in the bloud
of satatia: Besides touching the vertues of this water he speaketh much,
which I heere now omit for brevitie sake: Touching the order of the worcke,
he giveth this note; and so commeth to practick, the working with the
prepared Calces therein innceted, must be placed in a could place, the
vessaile hard stopped with a linen cloth: Now to the practick; Take the
prepared calx of the body, and put upon him such convenient quantities
of compound water as may well cover it, or no more, agreeable to the reasonable
judgment of the expert Artist: which straightway shall boile without any
other externall fire added to it: which dissolving and lifting and
letting up itself inform of yce, the hand of the workman must remove; and
so doing tell the whole Calx of it bee lifted up and made to powder; which
must be put in a good quantity of naturall fire rectified into water ardent,
which by administration of outward fire as in the Balneo or Lent heat of
sand, must be dissolved into oile by substracting the water from it, the
oftener it be done the better: with this oile if it be of Sun and Moon
may the calces of other bodies be lifted up after this manner be inceared,
until they be fixed and flowing which shall congeale Argent vive and other
imperfect bodies: the same oile may also be put in kymia, [or kymena, a
Matras - q] there to putrefie and to be burned into ferment, which is that
which was spoken of, touching alterations for ferment; with which in a
great deale shorter time we may make ferment redie for the stone, then
by putrefaction and an end of the mixed stone.
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