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The benign Jupiter is almost of a middle nature amongst all the metals. He is neither too hot nor yet too cold, nor too warm nor too moist. He hath not too much of Mercury nor yet of Salt and of Sulphur there is least of all in him. Pewter is found white in its colour, yet of these three principles one doth exceed the others as it hath been clearly discovered in its division according to the true enquiry into Nature's secrets. Out of this composition and mixture of the three principles is generated and wrought and coagulated into a metal and brought to a maturity of perfection benevolent Jupiter. The Spirit of Jupiter doth protect and preserve from all distempers and diseases incident and hurtful to the liver. Its Spirit is naturally, as for its taste, like unto Honey. Its Mercury being made volatile doth get a venomous quality, for its purgeth vehemently and penetrates with violence. Therefore it is not always good that its unlocked Quicksilver should be thus simply used by itself; but if a correction goeth before, it may be very well used with exceeding great usefulness in those distempers and diseases which are immediately subject to his influence; that is to say, when you have taken away from Zadkiel its venomous volatility and it is placed into a better and more fixed state, which doth resist poison. To conclude, if you do extract out of the benign Jupiter his Salt and Sulphur and make Saturn flow very well together with them, Saturn doth get a fixed body, is purified and becometh clear by them and is a total change and real transmutation of Lead into good Pewter, as you will find it upon a most accurate trial. And though this may seem to you not to be true, yet are you to understand that by reason that the Salt of Jupiter is made more Corporeal only by its Sulphur, it likewise hath received an efficacy and power to penetrate Saturn, as the vilest and most volatile metal, and to bring it to its own substance by making it better and you will really find it to be so.
Of the Spirit of Saturn or Tincture of Lead
Saturn, to generate his metal, which is Lead, is placed in the Upper Heaven, above all the Stars. But in the lower parts of the earth he doth keep the lowest degree. As the uppermost light of Saturn is mounted to the highest altitude of all the lights of Heaven, so likewise in imitation of the same hath Nature given leave and permitted that his children of the Lower Region have retired themselves by Vulcan to those of their quality according as Saturn hath been moved. For the Upper Light is the cause of it and hath generated an unfixed body of Lead through which go and are drawn open pores, that the Air can have its passage through this Saturnine body and bear itself up. But the fire easily worketh upon and consumeth it because the body is not solid and compact by reason of its unfixedness. This is well to be observed by a serious enquirer into all things because there is a vast difference betwixt fixed and unfixed bodies and then the causes of this fixedness and unfixedness. And though Saturn is of a singular ponderosity before other metals, yet will you observe that when they are poured out together after their conjunction in the melting of them, the other metals will always fall to the bottom, as likewise, it happeneth with other metals by pouring them through Antimony. Whereby it doth appear that other metals have a more solid and compact body than Saturn can raise, because it must give place to other metals, make room for them and yield the victory; for it vanisheth away and is consumed together with those unconstant and unfixed metals. For there are the three grossest qualities of the three principles in Saturn and by reason that its Salt is altogether fluid in comparison to other metals and planets, therefore is likewise its body more fluid, inconstant, unfixed and more volatile than any metallic body.
As for how Saturn doth proceed towards his regeneration, you are to know that as common water, through natural cold, by the alteration of the Upper Heaven, is congealed so that it becometh a coagulated ice, so likewise it is demonstrated that Lead is coagulated and made corporeal reason of the great cold which is found in its Salt before any other Salt. The coagulated ice is resolved through warmth and so is the coagulated Lead made fluid by fire. It hath most Mercury in it yet inconstant and volatile; but less of Sulphur and, therefore, according to the small quantity of the same, its cold body cannot be heated; and least of all Salt, but fluid; otherwise the Iron would be more liquid and malleable than Saturn if the Salt alone could impart both the malleableness and fluidity, because Iron doth carry with it more Salt than any other metal. And being there is a difference to be found in these things, you must carefully observe how metals are to be distinguished.
All the philosophers, indeed, besides myself, have writ that the Salt causeth the coagulation and the body of every metal; and this is true; but I shall show by an example how this is to be understood. Alumen plumosum is reputed and probably accounted to be a mere Salt, and herein may be compared to Iron, which Salt of the aforesaid Alumen plumosum is nevertheless found to be as a matter and not liquid as Iron. On the contrary Vitriol doth show itself like Salt in a small quantity, yet liquid and open, and therefore its Salt cannot cause so hard a congelation in its appropriated metal as that other Salt doth. Although all Salts of metals are grown out of one root and one seed, yet there is a difference of their three principles to be observed. As one herb differs from the other, and likewise in men and beasts a difference is found as concerning the original of their qualities and their three principles, where one herb has something more of this, another herb more of that kind, which is likewise to be understood of men and beasts. The Soul of Lead is of a sweet quality, as also the Soul of Jupiter, and yet sweeter, so that as for sweetness there is hardly anything comparable to it, being first highly purified by separation, that the pure being very well severed from the impure there may follow a compleat perfection in the operation. Otherwise the Spirit of Lead is naturally cold and dry, therefore I do advise both men and women not to make too much use of it, for it over cooleth human nature, that their seed cannot perfect or perform its natural operation, nor is it good for the spleen and bladder. It doth attract the phlegmatic quality, which breedeth melancholy in men. For Saturn is a governor and such a melancholy one whereby a man is upheld and strengthened in his melancholy. Therefore if its Spirit be used, one melancholy Spirit doth attract the other, whereby a man's body is freed and released from its infused melancholy. Outwardly is the Soul of Saturn very wholesome in all sores and wounds, whether they be old or green, whether they happen by thrusting, cutting or naturally by means incident, so that hardly any other metal will do the like. It is a cooling thing in all hot and swelled members, but to eat away and to lay a foundation for healing in all corrupt and putrefied sores, which have their issuing forth from within, there the nobel Venus hath the pre-eminency because Copper is hot in its essence to exiccate and dry up, but Lead, on the contrary, is found to be cold in its essence.
That heavenly light of the Sun is much hotter than the light of the Moon, because the moon is much lesser than the Sun, which doth comprehend the eighth part of magnitude in the circle of measuring and dividing. And if the moon should exceed the Sun in this magnitude of the eighth part, as the Sun doth exceed the Moon, then all the fruit and whatsoever groweth upon the earth would be spoiled and there would be continual winter and no summer would be found. But the Eternal Creator hath herein wisely prescribed a certain order and law to His creatures, that the Sun should give light by day and the moon by night and thus be serviceable to all creatures.
Those children which are addicted to the influence of Saturn are melancholy, surly, always murmuring, like old, covetous misers, which do not good to their own bodies and are never satisfied. They use their bodies to hard labour, vex and fret themselves with troublesome thoughts and are very seldom so cheerful as to recreate themselves with other people, neither do they care much for natural love of women although handsome.
To sum up all, Saturn is generated out of little Sulphur, little Salt and much immature and gross Mercury, which Mercury is to be accounted like scum or froth which swimmeth upon the water in comparison to that Mercury which is found in Gold, being of a much hotter degree. Hence it is that the Mercury of Saturn hath not so fresh and so running a life as that which is made out of Gold, because more heat is found in this latter, to which the running life oweth its original. Therefore it is likewise to be observed in the inferior world of the little Vulcan, in the augmentation and transmutation of metals, what description I have given you of these three principles of Saturn concerning their original quality and complexion.
And everyone is to know that no transmutation of any metal can arise from Saturn by reason of its great cold, except the coagulation of Mercury, which can be achieved because the cold Sulphur of Lead can quench and take away the hot, running Spirit of Quicksilver if the process be rightly performed; therefore it is rightly observable that the method be so kept that the theory may agree with the practice and concur in a certain measure and concord. Wherefore you must not altogether reject Saturn, nor vilify and disparage it, for its nature and virtues are but known to a few. For the Stone of the Philosophers hath the first beginning of its heavenly, resplendent tincture only from this metal and by the infusion of this Planet is the Key of Fixedness delivered to it through putrefaction, because that out of the yellow there cannot come any red thing except there be first made at the beginning of the black a white one.
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