The Instructed Beginner in Chemistry: A Hermetic Epistle

of the philosophical vinegar a special acidic solvent, and then congeals, grinds, evaporates, and waters again, must be done not too little, nor too much. Use only enough so that the dough becomes soft, except for the first time. In order for the salt to be well dissolved, it is necessary that the spirit of vinegar rises four fingers above it. Thereafter, after the first evaporation, a single half-measure of the spirit of vinegar is enough for every pound of the body. This watering and evaporation is to be repeated eighty or more times before we can renew the waterings with the other spiritu volatili volatile spirit. The salt must be sufficiently saturated, opened, and first dissolved by the vinegar, otherwise it would never be united with the other spirit. You will recognize this when the water vanishing from the vinegar is no longer tasteless but acidic, as was said before.

How then will you be able to extract this quantity of spirit from your regulo martiali metallic antimony, from the metals and mineral ores? This would be against the natural principles of nature, since the Sages emphasize nothing more than that we

should follow nature in this art. Those things have no spirit. The Sages say that everything necessary for our work comes from our single living, fertilizing, and electric mineral ore. Furthermore, they say it is not permissible to add anything foreign, otherwise the whole work would be immediately ruined. Your Excellency has already heard that from our universal chaos we have the spirit of wine, the spirit of vinegar, the animated salt, and everything necessary, and we add nothing foreign at all. Also, after the first separation, once the wine and vinegar are finished, and the tartarus tartar is calcined and the salt taken out, we work only in a single glass vessel.

A small woodcut illustration depicts a mortar and pestle, representing the repetitive labor of grinding and mixing required to prepare the alchemical salt.