of the commixtion of metalls, or the drawing forth their seed.

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e have spoken of nature, of art, of the body, of sperm, and of seed, now let us descend to praxis, viz. how metalls ought to be mixed together, and what their correspondency, or agreement is one with another. know therefore that a woman doth not vary from a man; both are bred of the same seed, and in one matrix, there was nothing besides digestion, and that the matrix had in it purer bloud, and salt: so silver is made of the same seed as gold is, and in the same matrix; but the matrix had more water in it then digested blood, according to the season of the moon in the heavens. but that thou maist the more easily imagine with thy self how metalls couple together, that their seed may be sent forth, and received; behold and see the heavens, and the spheres of the planets: thou seest that saturne is placed the uppermost, or highest, next to that iupiter, then mars, then sol, or the sun, then venus, then mercury, and last of all luna, or the moon. consider also that the vertues of the planets doe not ascend, but descend: experience teacheth as much, viz. that of venus, or copper is not made mars, or iron, but[pg 27] of mars is made venus, as being an inferiour sphere: so also iupiter, or tin is easily changed into mercury or quicksilver, because iupiter is the second from the firmament, and mercury the second from the earth: saturne is the first from the heavens, and luna the first from the earth: sol mixeth it self with all, but is never bettered by its inferiors. now know that there is a great agreement betwixt saturne, or lead, and luna, or silver, in midst of which the sun is placed: as also betwixt iupiter and mercury, in midst of which sol is also placed: and in the same manner betwixt mars and venus, which also have sol placed in the midst of them. chymists know how to change iron into copper without gold: they know also to make quicksilver out of tin: and there are some that make silver out of lead: but if they knew by these mutations to give or minister to them the nature of gold, they would certainly find out a thing more pretious then any treasure. wherefore i say we must not bee ignorant what metalls are to be joined to each other, whose nature is agreable one to the others. moreover there is granted to us one metall, which hath a power to consume the rest, for it is almost as their water, & mother: yet there is one thing, and that alone, the radicall moisture, viz. of the sunne, and moon that withstands it, and is bettered by it; but that i may disclose it to you, it is called chalybs, or steel. if gold couples eleven times with it, it sends forth its seed, and is debilitated almost unto death; the chalybs conceives, and bears a son, more excellent then his father: then when the seed of that which is now brought forth is put into its own matrix, it purifies it, and makes it a thousand times[pg 28] more fit, and apt to bring forth the best, and most excellent fruits. there is another chalybs, which is like to this, created by it selfe of nature, which knows how to draw forth by vertue of the sun beams (through a wonderfull power, and vertue) that which so many men have sought after, and is the beginning of our work.