Die Alchemie. Das ist die Lehre von den grossen Geheim-Mitteln der Alchemisten und den Speculationen, welche man an sie knüpfte

...distill it. "One places an earthen vessel containing sulfur underneath and ignites it; however, one must position the vessel below in such a way that the evolving steam does not extinguish the flame and can rise into the bell jar, where it condenses into a liquid that drips down into a nearby vessel." The process relies on the fact that when sulfur burns in the air, sulfurous acid is formed. In the presence of air, through the oxygen in the air, this converts into sulfuric acid. It therefore happens slowly that, due to the presence of air, the sulfurous acid becomes more highly oxidized; that is, sulfurous acid becomes sulfuric acid. Therefore, the matter is actually approached by bringing nitrous acid a nitrogen-based acid into contact with the sulfurous acid formed during the burning of sulfur. Here, the nitrous acid gives part of its oxygen to the sulfurous acid. In this way, one produces Nordhausen sulfuric acid fuming sulfuric acid, which stands alongside the last-named alchemical preparation, Spiritus Sulphuris per campanam Spirit of Sulfur by the bell. The first listed preparation stands alongside the Nordhausen sulfur. For medical use, the vitriol sulfate or sulfuric acid obtained by burning sulfur must also be rectified.

When, in the later period of Western alchemy, chemicals became more widely distributed among school physicians mainstream academic doctors, the alchemists resorted to a maneuver where they offered these doctors certain chemicals instead of the true Arcana secret remedies. These chemicals had a near or distant similarity, or a direct or indirect relation, to the Arcana. They sought to turn the attention of the school physicians toward these chemicals in order to turn them away from the true Arcana. Thus, it happened not infrequently that a school physician believed he held an Arcanum in his hands when he actually had nothing more than a mystified version of it. In this way, instead of Natron carbonicum sodium carbonate and Natron nitricum sodium nitrate, a series of intermediate and neutral salts were provided and recommended to the school physicians.

Liquor hepatis.

original: "Liver liquor" or "Solution of sulfur"
The simplest way to produce this arcanum is to pass hydrogen sulfide into Spiritus salis Ammoniaci spirit of sal ammoniac or ammonia solution. This method of preparation was known to the later Westerners. The older alchemists, by contrast, took a much more complicated path; they obtained the Liquor hepatis by distilling sulfur, sal ammoniac, and lime, where they acted upon potassium and sodium. To express themselves more precisely here, they said it was not just a matter of "oil," but a specific oil, the "Ammonia-Oil." And sticking closer to the ammonia, they said it involved something "fragrantly smelling." And so, instead of "Liquor hepatis is the solution of sulfur in oil," the definition was expanded to: "Liquor hepatis is the solution of sulfur in oil with the addition of something fragrantly smelling."

This designation, this definition of Liquor hepatis, provided the handle to mystify the school physicians. The "oil" as an alkali solution became a fatty oil; the "fragrantly smelling" substance became an essential oil. And so, the mystified Liquor hepatis emerged as: the solution of sulfur in fatty oil with the addition of Oleum Juniperi juniper oil, Terebinthinae turpentine, and so on. Such compositions are still popular with some doctors today, and there are regions where people still greedily fall upon that "divine panacea" known as Haarlem Oil, which consists of sulfur, linseed oil, and turpentine oil.

The alchemists did not stop there. Fearing that the school physicians might discover the true nature of the oil, they thought of removing the sulfur. They believed that if the school physicians no longer had sulfur in such mixtures, they would no longer think to dissolve it in mineral oil instead of fatty oil. Now they said: you must have "Balsam," but what is balsam? Surely a fragrant substance. But is there a shadow of fragrance in a mixture of sulfur, fatty oil, and essential oil? We think quite the opposite is the case. What is the reason for the bad smell? The sulfur. Therefore, this must go; only the fatty oil and the essential oil must remain. And there we have the pharmacological fragrant balsam, the concept of which was extended so that the simple fatty oil was expanded into what we have come to know as the Corpus pro balsamo body for the balsam.

But the alchemists did not only mystify the school physicians regarding the Liquor hepatis in this direction; they also led them astray in other directions by offering them other "livers of sulfur" instead of the ammonia-based one, and on the other hand, when it concerned the sulfur arcanum, they offered them simple sulfur. It is connected to this first mystification that Christ. Ludw. Hoffmann believed he had found an Arcanum in Calcaria sulphuratostibiata sulfurated antimony lime and sold it as such.

Pulvis solaris ruber et niger.

original: "Red and Black Solar Powder"
Regarding these two Arcana, we must consider:
1. Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum red mercuric oxide, 2. Sulphur auratum golden sulfur, 3. Stibium sulphuratum nigrum black antimony sulfide.

Nitric acid consists of nitrogen and oxygen. Since the nitric acid is broken down into these parts during the production of the mercury oxide, the nitrogen oxidizes into nitric oxide gas and escapes. This nitric oxide then combines with the oxygen of the hyponitrous acid, and this presents itself in the form of red vapors.

And when one finds that mercury oxide, Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum, is obtained from a solution of mercury in nitric acid, the ancients assumed that the mercury oxide was a precipitate. This is also where the name comes from: Mercurius praecipitatus ruber red precipitate of mercury, or precipitated red mercury. They assumed that if one has a solution of nitrate of mercury oxide and evaporates it until one obtains dry nitrate of mercury oxide, this is nothing other than the precipitate of mercury oxide from the nitric acid mercury solution.

First Method of Preparation. Preparation by means of nitric acid. One digests running mercury liquid quicksilver with nitric acid and thus obtains a solution of nitrate of mercury oxide. This is evaporated to obtain dry nitrate of mercury oxide. Upon further heating, this releases the nitric acid and presents itself as mercury oxide, which is Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum. With that, the matter would be settled. However, there is a practical trick, which the Alexandrians already knew: one does not simply heat the dry nitrate of mercury oxide obtained from the solution by itself, but first rubs it together with running mercury and then heats this mixture. Then the product, as the mercury oxidizes at the expense of the oxygen in the nitric acid, is also Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum. The red mercury oxide obtained in one way or another is rubbed very finely with distilled water and washed for medical use, and as such, it is also called Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum laevigatum smoothed or leveled red mercury oxide.

Now let us reflect on the following data, which are extremely important for alchemy.

...for Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum is indeed conceived as a precipitate, and the Sulphur auratum is inherently one.

3. Stibium sulphuratum nigrum black antimony sulfide. Antimony occurs in nature as grey antimony ore. This is melted and yields the official Stibium sulphuratum nigrum. This is finely prepared and thus represents Stibium sulphuratum nigrum laevigatum. The black antimony sulfide is also prepared by melting antimony metal (Regulus Antimoni) together with flowers of sulfur. In this process, the mass is often covered with a layer of decrepitated salt salt heated until it stops crackling.

The Western alchemists called this powder Bezoardicum, Bezoardicum minerale, and Bezoardicum animale. What other epithets were known for the Bezoardicum? Beside the mineral version stands the Bezoardicum animale, which is said to be made from snakes. "Snakes" are nothing other than a mystified Hydrargyrum oxydatum rubrum. The mentioned Bezoardicum animale is called Bezoardicum animale simplex simple animal bezoar, and the Bezoardicum animale compositum compound animal bezoar includes in its composition Pulvis serpentum powder of snakes, Radix Valerianae valerian root, Radix Angelicae angelica root, Pimpinellae pimpernel, and Herba Rutae herb of rue. Here they then took over the mentioned, naturally occurring carbonate of soda, which they then had for medical use in common salt, and the sodium carbonate obtained from common salt.

Natron nitricum.

original: "Sodium nitrate"
Hardly anyone today finds it difficult to artificially prepare Natron nitricum, the nitric acid soda or saltpeter, as it is imported in large quantities from South America. This so-called Chili saltpeter imported from South America merely needs to be purified to be used medically.

The alchemists prepared the sodium nitrate artificially, either from common salt or from Natron carbonicum sodium carbonate. To prepare it from common salt, nitric acid is poured over common salt, the hydrochloric acid is evaporated, and then the impure sodium nitrate remaining in the retort is leached out and allowed to crystallize. To obtain sodium nitrate from sodium carbonate, one brings sodium carbonate directly together with nitric acid. This then arises with the evolution...