A considerable error occurs among false physicians who have given people the leprous calx of the Sun instead of potable Gold, the quintessence of gold, the tincture of Gold and so forth, without considering the difference and the resulting harm. Two important and necessary points must be observed. If calcined or powdered Gold is given to people, either it gathers in one heap in the stomach or passes out again with the dung and is taken vainly and uselessly; or it is reduced by the great inner heat of the human body and encrusts and gilds the intestines and stomach. This obstructs digestion, causing many different illnesses and finally even death. What you have heard about the Sun must also be understood of the remaining seven metals: take no metallic arcanum or medicine internally unless it has first been made volatile and cannot be reduced to any metal. This is the first stage and beginning of preparing potable gold. Such a volatile substance can then be dissolved through spirit of wine, so that both rise together and become volatile and inseparable. As you prepare gold, you can also prepare potable Silver, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead and Mercury.

When metallic arcana are to be taken internally.

How potable and irreducible metals are made.

Proof of resuscitation taken from animals, worms and so forth.

Let us return to our purpose and prove by examples and sufficient reasons that mortified things are not dead and compelled to remain in death, but can be reduced, resuscitated and brought to life by humans under nature’s guidance and pattern. Consider lions, all born dead and first brought to life by their parents’ dreadful roar. Lions are thus awakened like a sleeper roused by a shout, but they are not simply asleep: someone naturally asleep must wake, whereas lions would remain dead without that awakening roar and life would never be found in them. From this it is clear enough that they acquire life and are animated through the roar. You see something similar in animals not born but arising from putrefaction, such as flies. If drowned in water until no life remains apparent or discoverable, they would remain dead if left so and never revive of themselves. But if sprinkled with salt and placed in warm sunshine or behind a warm furnace, they recover their former life: this is their resuscitation. Otherwise they would remain dead. Likewise, if a serpent is cut into pieces, placed in a cucurbit and putrefied in the horse’s belly, the entire serpent revives in the glass in the form of little worms or fish spawn. If those little worms are properly reared and nourished in putrefaction, many hundreds of serpents will be born from one, each as large as the first. Putrefaction alone can accomplish this. As described for the serpent, many animals can be resuscitated, recalled and restored. Following this process with the aid of nigromancy, Hermes and Virgil attempted to renew and resuscitate themselves after death and be born again as infants. Things did not turn out as they intended, but ended badly.

The vivification of lions.

How flies are resuscitated.

The generation of many serpents from one.

The unsuccessful attempt of Hermes and Virgil.

The resuscitation of metals is twofold.

The reduction of metals to living Mercury.

Leaving examples and approaching the practice of resuscitation and restoration, it is necessary and fitting to begin with metals, since metallic bodies are often compared with human bodies. The resuscitation and restoration of metals is twofold. One reduces calcined metals back to their first metallic body; the other reduces metals to their first matter, quicksilver. The latter proceeds as follows. Calcine the metal through common Mercury. Put this calx and an equal quantity of quicksilver in a sublimatory and leave them until both coagulate into an amalgam. Then raise Mercury from the calx by sublimation. Grind what has risen with the metallic calx again and sublime as before. Repeat until the metallic calx melts over a candle like wax or ice; then it has been properly done. Place this metal in digestion for its proper time, and it will all turn into living Mercury, its first matter. This Mercury of metals is called the philosophers’ Mercury, which very many alchemists have sought but few have found. Living Mercury is thus prepared from all metals: the Mercury of Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Tin and Lead.