The Wayfarer

and we commend him to God.

C H A P. I.

What we reported before, in the preface, about the Apollonian ox stolen by Mercury and hidden secretly under some mountain, that must be understood first and foremost about the Philosophical matter, as stated. In order to inquire into this, we shall go from mountain to mountain and search through every place and enclosure. It is, however, reasonable that Mercury has concluded this under a mountain of his own name, as if it were an ark, for which reason we shall search this one first of all. Although Mercurius Mercury is not properly a metal, because it shows neither malleability nor extension under the hammer, nor a natural mixture with other metals, yet because it seems to befriend all metals, and especially gold, on account of a similarity of nature, and most of them can be reduced through the art by flowing Mercury, it is not without merit considered by chymicis alchemists as a mineral water, from which metals, by the mixture of sulfuris sulfur—whether more or less fixed, or not fixed, pure or impure—have been congealed. It is not our purpose here to assert or refute the arguments for this opinion, but at least to demonstrate how Mercury is used for the use of the art, which is entirely threefold, as with the other following metals: first for gold, second for the Tinctura Tincture, third for Medicina Medicine. This is, some who use Mercury in chymical works aim for it to be congealed into gold by itself or with certain additives; some so that from it the Tinctura Tincture or lapis philosophicus philosophical stone may be made.