What calcination through living Mercury is.

Other mortifications of metals.

Rust is the death of iron, and so forth.

Beyond these mortifications of metals, destructions and removals of their forces, know that there are many further mortifications of metals. Besides rust being the death of all iron and steel, many others can be effected. Every vitriol, or burnt copper, is mortified copper. Every precipitate, sublimate, calcinate and cinnabar is mortified Mercury. Every ceruse, minium or yellow of lead is mortified lead; every lazurium is mortified silver. Likewise any Gold from which its tincture, quintessence, resin or crocus, vitriol or sulphur has been taken is dead: it no longer has the form of gold but is a white metal like fixed Silver.

The twofold crocus of Iron and the preparation of each.

Let us continue to explain how the mortification of metals is effected. First, iron is mortified and reduced to crocus in this way. Beat steel into extremely thin plates, heat them until glowing and quench them in the best wine vinegar. Repeat until the vinegar has acquired a striking redness. When you have enough red vinegar, combine it all, distil off its moisture and coagulate the residue into dry powder. This is a very excellent crocus of Mars. There is another way of making crocus of Mars, partly surpassing the first and requiring far less cost and labour: layer extremely thin steel plates with equal quantities of sulphur and tartar, then reverberate. This produces a very fine crocus, which must be removed from the plates.

Know likewise that any plate of iron or steel anointed with aqua fortis also yields a fine crocus. It happens too with oil of vitriol, water of salt, water of alum, water of sal ammoniac, water of salt nitre and sublimed Mercury, all of which mortify iron and reduce it to crocus. None of these methods compares with the first two: they can be used only in alchemy, absolutely not in medicine. Therefore use the first two methods and omit and avoid the rest.

How the mortification of copper is effected.

Copper vitriol is made in two ways.

Copper can likewise be mortified in various ways, reducing it to vitriol, verdigris or burnt copper. There are different processes, yet one is much better and more useful than another. We must therefore record the best and most useful and leave the rest unspoken. The best, easiest and most useful way to reduce copper to vitriol is this. Anoint copper plates with water of salt or saltpetre, and hang or place them in air until they begin to turn green, which soon happens. Wash this greenness off with clear spring water, dry the plates with a cloth and anoint them again with water of salt or saltpetre. Repeat until the water becomes entirely green or produces much vitriol on its surface. Remove the water by decanting or evaporation, and you will have excellent vitriol for medicine. In alchemy no vitriol is finer, more excellent or better than that made through aqua fortis, aqua regis or water of sal ammoniac. Proceed as follows. Anoint copper plates with one of those waters. As soon as the greenness has been drawn out and the plates are dry, remove the greenness with a hare’s foot, or by another method you choose, as ceruse is scraped from lead plates. Anoint them again as before until they are entirely consumed. A very beautiful vitriol results, which cannot fail to astonish you.

How water of saltpetre and of sal ammoniac are made.

Water of saltpetre is made as follows. Purify saltpetre, liquefy and powder it, then let it dissolve by itself in a bladder in boiling water: thus you have water of saltpetre. Water of sal ammoniac is made thus: calcine sal ammoniac and dissolve it on marble in a cellar. This is water of sal ammoniac.