itfo

" - THE

FIFTH BOOK

O F

Natural Mao-ick:

, D

Which treateth of Alchymy • {hewing how Metals

may be altered and transformed, one into aft other.

The Proemb.

\7ifE dre now come ( according to that order which we proposed unto our selves in the be-’ ” ginning) to those experiments which are commonly called by the name of t/flckymjmatters, wherein not onely a great part of the world is much conversant , but also every oneis very defrosts to be a practitioner in them , and doth thirfl as.er them with an unquench-able las. fVheresore we are conftrained to speaks something concerning this Sisbjtcl therather , because many rude and unskilful men , being drawn on, partly by the hope of gain,which they looked for by it , and partly by the pleasure and delight which they did tak$ in it,have bestowed themselves ttt theft experiments to the great flandef both of the *s4rt it self,and also of the professors thereof ; so that nowadays, a man cannot handle it without thescorn and obloquy of the world, because of the disgrace and contempt, which those idiotshave brought upon it. For whilst they , being altogether ignorant of the Principles of these

things, have labored to make sophistical and counterfeit gold , they have utterly miscarri-ed in their endeavours, and.wast ed all their substance, and quite undone themselves, andso were deluded by that vain hope os Gold, which set them on Work- Demetrius Pbalerc-m said very well of these men, That which they (heald have gotten, faith he, they did notget,& that which they had in their own possejsenjhey lost - t andso,whereas they hoped to work.ametamorphofs or alteratienin the Metals , the alteration and change hatb lighted heavilyupon themselves, in respect of their own estate: and when they have thus overthrown them-selves, they have no other comfort left them but onely this, to broach many lies and'eoun-terfeit devices, whereby they may likewise deceive others, and draw them into the veryfame lurches which themselves have before fallen into. And surely the defire partly of theArt it (elf , and partly of the great gain which many men hoped after by the fame , hathfilled the world with so many Bools, and such an infinite number os lies, that there isscarce any other matter in the like request ; so that it was very well done of Dioclesian theEmperour , and it was high time for him so to do , to eSlabhsh a T)ecree , that all such lyingBooks that were written concerning that matter, should be cast into the fire and burnt toashes. Thus was an excellent good osfrt discredited and disgraced by reason that they abu-sed it £ Vrhich fa Us out also in many other better things then this is. The Art of it self is notto bl first ncught , but rather to be embraced and much to be fought aster ; especially bysuch as apply their minds to ‘Philosophy, and to the searching out of the secrecies of Nature :[or they jhall find in it many things which they will wonder at , and such as are exceedingnecessary for the use os men: and when they (hall behold the experience of many kinds of trans-mutations and sundry ejseffs, tt wiUbe no small delight un:o them ; and besides, it will (hewthem the way to profounder and worthier matters , such as the best and soundest Philosophershave not been ashamed to search into , and to handle in their writings. 1 do not here pro-mise any golden mountains, as they fay , nor yet that ‘Philosophersstone , which the worldhath so great an opinion of,and hath been bragged os in many ages, and happily attained untobrsome; neitheryetdo I promise here that golden liquor , whereof if any man do drinks tfis supposed that it will mste him to be immortal ; but it is a meer dream , for feeing that theworld it self is variable and sub j eel to alteration , therefore it cannot be but that whatsoeverthe world yields, should likewise be fubjttt to destruttiony so that to promise or to under-take