The Works of Thomas Vaughan: Lumen de Lumine
XIII.—The Descent and Metempsychosis
There is in the world a scribbling, ill-disposed generation: they write only to gain an opinion of knowledge, and this by amazing their readers with whimsies and fancies of their own. These commonly call themselves chemists and abuse the Great Mystery of Nature with the name and nonsense of Lapis Chemicus. I find not one of them but hath mistaken this descent for the ascent or fermentation.
I think it necessary therefore to inform the reader there is a twofold fermentation—a spiritual and a bodily one. The spiritual fermentation is performed by multiplying the tinctures, which is not done with common gold and silver, for they are not tinctures but gross, compacted bodies. The gold and silver of the philosophers are a soul and spirit; they are living ferments and principles of bodies; but the two common metals—whether you take them in their gross composition or after a philosophical preparation—are no way pertinent to our purpose.
The bodily fermentation is that which I properly call the descent; and now we will speak of it.
When thou hast made the Stone or Magical Medicine, it is a liquid, fiery, spiritual substance—shining like the sun. In this complexion, if you would project, you could hardly find the just proportion, the virtue of the Medicine is so intensive and powerful.
The philosophers therefore took one part of their Stone and did cast it upon ten parts of pure molten gold. This single small grain did bring all the gold to a bloody powder; and, on the contrary, the gross body of the gold did abate the spiritual strength of the projected grain. This descent or incorporation some wise authors have called a bodily fermentation; but the philosophers did not use common gold to make their Stone, as some scribblers have written.
They used it only to qualify the intensive power of it when it is made, that they might the more easily find what quantity of base metal they should project upon. By this means they reduced their Medicine to a dust, and this dust is the Arabian Elixir. This Elixir the philosophers could carry about them, but the Medicine itself not so, for it is such a subtle, moist fire there is nothing but glass that will hold it.
Now for their Metempsychosis: it hath indeed occasioned many errors concerning the soul, but Pythagoras applied it only to the secret performances of magic. It signifies their last transmutation, which is done with the Elixir or Qualified Medicine.
Take therefore one part of it; cast it on a millenary proportion of quicksilver, and it will be all pure gold, that shall pass the test royal without any diminution.