The Golden Chain of Homer

13A further objection will arise here, and someone will say: he establishes only two principles, namely aqua recolacea and the spirit or seed hidden within it. If aqua recolacea alone is to be separated, the whole globe—mountains, stone, rocks, meadows, fields, and earth—is nothing but coagulated spirit, seed, and generative matter. Answer: whoever will not believe that the point of earth is pure generative matter should take earth wherever and of whatever kind he wishes—the nearest will do—and simply leach out the salt, so that the spiritual corrosive seed does not consume itself to death upon it; then dry the earth and heat it a little to redness. Note its weight and pour spirit of nitre or aqua fortis upon it. If that does not attack it, add spirit of salt until it is entirely dissolved. Then draw off the spirit, and at the bottom you will find some salty, white, corrosive earth, which through the first or primordial spirit has returned to its earlier condition, namely salt. Now consider whether such earth is a terra damnata, a condemned earth, or dregs. Here, however, I must explain a point or knot on which all chymists stumble. When they handle aqua fortis, aqua regia, spirit of salt, and so forth, intending to dissolve minerals with them, and these solvents—especially aqua regia—do not attack them, or attack them far too little, they say that the solvent is spoiled or useless, although they spoil it themselves. Suppose, for instance, they wish to dissolve gold: they mix eight loth of sal ammoniac or spirit of salt into one pound of aqua fortis. If the aqua fortis is strong and contains little water, it dissolves the gold well; but if there is little aqua fortis and too much water, it leaves the gold untouched or dissolves very little. There lies the trouble.