Marengus — Chemical Pallas, ca. 1675 Multilingual MS

and has little or no tincture of the Sun Gold. Under the
name of "Virgin’s Milk," the ordering of that middle substance
itself, converted into water or oil, is understood.

What the soul of metals is

The soul of metals is their tincture, or the mercurial
part: whatever therefore is separated from the metal by distillation
or by extraction, so that
only the element of earth remains, is called the soul of the
metal.

What the medicine of metals is

By the name of medicine is understood that which is complete,
either for protecting and recovering the health of men,
or for performing the transmutation of imperfect metals.

What the Solvent original: "Menstruum" is and of how many kinds

the solvent is nothing other than a certain sublime
spirit separated from the element of its own earth,
which, when it is well and rightly prepared and sweetly
joined to the salt or sulfur, has the power of dissolving
the physical metal from their corporeality while preserving
their substantial form: rather, it does so with an increase of their
generative power. In this
art, three species of solvents are found, namely:
animal, vegetable, and mineral. The spiritual solvent

is twofold: the first is extracted from irrational animals,
such as salstitium a salt-based substance, but this is worth nothing by itself and without
the help of the vegetable spirit; the second
is indeed drawn out from the rational animal, such as human urine,
and this is the best. The vegetable solvent is also twofold:
the first is distilled vinegar, and
in this are included all sharp, pungent, and sour things
which can also be fortified either with the spirit of common salt
or with the spirit of quicklime: the second, however, is made from
the spirit of wine alcohol together with its own salt or with its A^e likely an abbreviation for "Acetum" or "Essence",
and if this solvent emerges more perfectly from circulation,
it makes a greater vegetative impression.
It should be noted, however, that if it is sharpened, fortified, and animated by the Salt or sulfur
of human urine, it may dissolve metals physically more quickly, and reduce them to their first
matter, even when fortified with vegetable salt
and sulfur; nevertheless, for making potable gold which may serve
the health of human bodies, we ought only to use the vegetable
solvent or fortified vegetable sulfur. Likewise,
the mineral solvent is twofold: the first is made from
the middle substance of common mercury when, namely, it
is turned into water, and it is called the "dissolving solvent"