Of the Causes of W onderful things. 25
soakit in liquor, that it may bethroa B hly wet both within and without, so that themore subtil and intimate part of it may. be drained and squeezed our, and.the grosser and earthly parr be left behind, to receive that humour in tfie verymiddle, which we would have in it. Boiling we then use, when we cannot other-wise well get out the juice of any thing: for by boiling we draw out of the centreinto the circumference, when we cannot do it by deeping ; though thereby theslighter vapours may be resolved. So we use to burn, to rode, to pown things, thatwe may take away all their moisture from them ; for by this means, they may themore easily be resolved, and the sooner converted into liquor, and the bettermingled with other things tob^ put to them. So we rode or broil things when o-thervvil'e we cannot break'them, that they might become dust; yet alwayes wfcmutt cake heed that we do not so burn them, as they may lose their strength- nor soboil things but only as they may be fitter to receive that subtil humor and quality,which we would convey into them. Distillation of things is used, as well to get outwater that may be of greater strength^herby to work more easily & handfomlyjts alsobecause the slighter and more subtile parts of Medicines are fittest for us, the gros-ser parts must be cast away, as being an hindrance to our purpose: and the like wemust conceive of other operations. These things I thought fittest for this work. Hethat would be instructed more at large herein, let him look into the books of Phy-sitians. Buc let us now proceed to further matters.
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