The Fire-Stone of Basil, or the Golden Apple

the power of their master craftsman, the remnants of which are still to be felt in gold medicine. Those who hold that there is no aurum potabile drinkable gold, but that it is fraud and inania comercia hominum ociosorum empty trading of idle men, will hate this Chrysomelon golden apple in vain, as will those who try to persuade others of the same, and who say that even if it could be done, it would have to be accomplished through poisonous materials and those unworthy of human nature, and that one must fear a complete corruption and destruction of the gold's power through these corrosives. Furthermore, they claim that according to the chemists' pretense, the resolved gold would be reducible back into metal, and therefore would be as useless to man as gold leaf. My Chrysomelon golden apple will hold the infallible experience, which is the teacher of arts, against this stoltzen Opinionisten inscitiæ prideful ignorance of the opinionists, and with well-grounded reasons, it will show this foolishness to be false and will defend its praise with its own virtue. Now ad propositum to the point: that gold is made into a subtle and inconceivable powder with nature-consistent, clever manipulations and the art of Vulcan with slow time and tireless industry. Upon this, the menstruum universale Raymundi Lullij universal solvent of Raymund Lully is poured, which resolves the gold successively into a ruby clarity; it resolves the purest parts and leaves the residue until nothing more can be dissolved, pouring more of this menstrui solvent upon it. From the resolution, the menstruum is now gently drawn off through an alembicum alembic/distilling apparatus usque ad mellis consistentiam until the consistency of honey, and the operated liquor aurum potabile drinkable gold liquid will remain at the bottom. If one wishes to make this medicine more penetrative and spiritual, one must distill the quintam essentiam quintessence of the gold through an alembicum alembic. Now take one ounce of this auri potabilis drinkable gold and one pound of the most generous wine, mix them well together, and give a spoonful of it to a patient often, without regard to the disease or the complexion of the human; which will then do its effects well and is not reducible by our heat. Further necessity is to be learned more extensively from the following.