Library of the Sages — Valentine, Khunrath, Hollandus, Bernard

nature, it influences the minerals and there are made
minerals and metals. However, each one has
its difference in how they are operated:
animals by themselves, vegetables in another
fashion, and minerals likewise. And each one
has a particular way of which, in particular,
one could particularly make and write
great discourses. Now some
might ask (as is reasonable) in
what fashion then one could have and acquire
such a spirit of mercury, or how it is made,
in what fashion and manner one should prepare it
so that they might drive away diseases and
transmute the lesser metals to?
generate and change the metallic nature
of metals of lesser value to be reborn
in the small world by the transmutation and
multiplication of their seeds. Of this,
many await the answer with great desire,
which however I will not hide from
them, but will discover it to them faithfully
as much as has been permitted to me by the Council,
judgment, and Command of God in
this fashion.
Take in the name of God and the Lord a
mine of quicksilver. Its color is called

in German Rothguldan red-gold ore; pyrargyrite or proustite, red similar
to Cinabre cinnabar; mercury sulfide, and of the best gold mine
that you can find. Grind it well
together subtly by equal weight before
they have touched any fire. Pour over
that an huile de mercure oil of mercury made by itself from
common quicksilver, purified and sublimated. Place
them to digest a month in digestion and you will have
an extraction that will be more celestial than
terrestrial. Distill this extraction by the bain
marie water bath. The phlegms will pass and the heavy oil
will remain at the bottom, which takes
all the metals in a moment. Then pour
over it three times as much spirit of wine
and circulate it in a Pélican pelican; a circulatory distillation vessel until it
remains red as blood and it has
acquired such an incomparable color. Withdraw
the spirit of wine by inclination down to the
liquor and pour fresh spirit of wine.
Reiterate that so often until the
matter has remained very sweet and red,
transparent like a ruby. Pour what has
passed over white tartre calciné calcined tartar; potassium carbonate
and distill it by the ash. The spirit of
wine will remain in the tartar, but the spirit of
mercury will pass. When this spirit of mercury