But seeing Tin and Iron do for the most part, contain much Gold (but chiefly Tin)viz.inseparable by the common way, it will be worth our pains to seek another Lead and way of separation; as it is apparent to Refiners, proving Tin and Iron by the common way on a test; whilst Tin and Iron melted in the Lead, do forthwith shew their stubbornness by innate proprieties and forsake it,viz.as a contrary rising to the top like dross or ashes, without any separation, Gold and Silver being excepted, if accidentally mixt together, which are left with the Lead; but not so being hid in their middle or center. But that the truth hereof may appear, I will demonstrate it by example: Place on a test under a tyle 16. parts of Lead, and one of Tin, after the manner of proofs, give a fusing fire for to separate the dross; and all the Tin almost flying away, will at the bottom be burnt, and separated like ashes, being sublimated on the top of the Lead; not deprived of its Gold and Silver incorporated together, which afterward I shall demonstrate, when all the Tin is sublimated from the Lead, and calcined, and the test taken from under the tyle, and the rest of the Lead poured off, and you shall find after cupellation no more Silver than the sixteen parts of Lead did contain before, if they had been cupelled without Tin; sometimes less, Some part being taken away by the Tin in the examination: the same is done with Iron, altho’ thou shouldst add Copper with glass of Lead, to retain the Tin and Iron, thereby to separate their Gold and Silver, you would effect nothing: for although some more Silver may hereby be extracted, yet that would not come from the Tin or Iron, but from the Copper: it may therefore be extracted another way, of which, hereafter.
In the mean while I will prove clearly, that the separation of tin and iron by common lead, thereby to get their gold and silver, is of no value, which being left in them, are turned into ashes and dross.
Take any tin, and reduce it into ashes by lead, or agitation, on a smooth earthen vessel (tryed before, by the common way, for distinction sake, which calcine well, that the corporeal tin powdered, may be calcined, or being melted, may be separated from the ashes). Then take of these ashes one part, and of the following flux, or of that a little after six parts or more; being mixt, fuse them in a strong crucible with a strong fire, until the Flux have Consumed or drunk up all the calx of the Tin, and of them both shall be made one,viz.yellow or red Glass, which may be tryed with a crooked wier put in: which if it seem not clear, the crucible must be covered again, and a greater Fire be given, until the Fire be perfect; which labour in one half hour is finished: which done, pour it into a brass mortar, afterward to be covered, until it be a cold, that it leap not out and be lost.
Afterward powder it, which with calx of Tin, mix the equal weight of filings of Iron; being mixt, put them into a strong Crucible (because the Flux is very penetrative) covered, and give a strong fire for fusion half an hour: which done, pour it out, for the Tin hath made separation, and reduced some part of the Lead out of the Flux, sinking to the bottom to be separated when it is cold, to be reduced into dross on a test, and then to be cupelled, and you shall find grain Gold drawn from Tin without Silver. And if before you weigh the calx of Tin by the lesser Hundred weight, and after that the grains of Gold, you may easily conjecture how much Gold is contained in the whole hundred weight of Tin ashes,viz.at the least 3, 4, 5, or 6.Lotones, orhalf Ounces, if thou work aright.
See then the Fault is not to be imputed to the metals, but us, being ignorant of the separation of the Gold and Silver.
You should not perswade your self by this means to get much wealth out of Tin; for I have not written this for that end, but only to demonstrate the possibility. And if thou think that Gold will come out of Iron by the fluxing powder, mingle then filings of Iron with the Flux, before thou put in the calx of Tin, and thou shalt find in so doing, that Gold doth come neither from the Flux or Iron, but out of Tin; then being hereby assured, that ’tis the Tin which contains Gold, thou mayst consider, how most conveniently that may be extracted,viz.with other Lead, and another way, as shall be hereafter taught. Neither think that Tin contains no more Gold than you have heard; for more there is if you can wisely extract it: neither do I deny, that more Gold may be extracted out of the Tin, but more care than this is to be given, if you desire more plenty. But Gold may thence be extracted, not only by Flux, but diverse other wayes, in diverse weights; for what is written, is only for demonstration of the possibility, that the Gold contained in the imperfect metals, may be extracted by a secret separation.
℞ one part of very pure and white Sand, or Flints, having no Gold fusible; to which, add three parts of Litharge of Lead; being mixt, fuse in a very strong Fire, that thereof a transparent Glass may be made of it, which pour out, that it may be cold, and reduce it to powder; which use in the aforesaid manner. But you may ask, why Sand and Flints are mingled, seeing they are not of a metallick nature: to which I say, the calx of Tin, cannot, as also other Fossiles be Examined by Lead alone, for the following Reasons,viz.because in the Calcination of Tin, its metallick nature is hidden, but the impure and earthy parts are manifest, wherefore it hath no longer affinity with Lead and other metals; unless the hidden parts of the lead be manifest, and also other metals and the manifest be hidden, for then they easily embrace one the other, and are again mingled well, and not altered.
What belongs to the alteration of other metals doth not belong hither; for to this place only pertain Lead and Tin, the alteration of which is demonstrated by this tryal; whereby it appears to be thus.
Lead reduced into ashes, by it self, or into Litharge, and deprived of its metallick form, cannot so in this work be used without the flints or sand, for the following reason. The lead and glass thereof made by it self is very fusible and volatile; but the calx of tin is very difficultly fused: which two calxes, although they should be mingled to fuse in a crucible, yet would not be mingled, norbeing fused, embrace one the other, by reason of the difference of their fusibility; because the calx of lead alone being fused by a small fire, will perforate and penetrate the crucible, the calx of Tin being left in the crucible: wherefore you must add sand or flints to the lead,viz.to hinder its fusibility, that it may endure the same degree of heat with those that are difficultly fused, and further their flux. For like things do mutually affect and embrace each other; as water doth water, oyl oyl, and glass glass; and metals other metals; but water is not mingled with oyl; neither are glasses mingled with metals, but metals with metals, and glass with glass, whether it be made of metals or out of sand. Wherefore they greatly err who mingle the calx of metals difficultly miscible, or other hard things with lead to prove or examin, not considering that corporeal lead hath no affinity with them: who remaining in their errour, and not weighing the thing further, consequently can find nothing of any moment.
But when the calx of metals united with lead by amedium, as flints or sand, are brought together into transparent glass; then the lead being precipitated and separated from the mixture, it cannot be, but that the gold and silver contained in them must be carried away with it. This is a true and philosophical tryal, and not to be contemned, for many things may be by it performed.
N. B.But this is not to be passed by, that in the mutual mixture and fusion of the glass of lead and the calx of tin, and other hard metals, one may easily err,viz.in the precipitation (which is done with the mixture of iron) of the gold with the lead intoRegulus, by either the excess or defect, so that nothing may be gotten, which is committed in precipitation. For if the mixture stand long in the fire not fused, it is burnt, so that it cannot well be separated, and if it stand too long fused in the fire, the gold is attracted by the dross, by reason of the mixture of the iron, having great affinity with the gold, so that by this means nothing can be gotten: wherefore the Work is to be done warily, and with wisdom and industry. You must have a care you burn not theRegulusof lead with too much fire, when you reduce it into dross; for fear of attracting the gold from the iron, and turning it into dross. And although this may by Art be prevented, yet we must not presently create every oneMaster of Arts, it requiring diligence and daily exercise, besides the reading of Books. But this Secret shall other where be communicated.
This admonition then I give, that thou do not impute thy errour (if thou dost err) to me, but to thy self, for what I have written is true: and do not thence infer an impossibility of attracting gold by iron, out of lead, and of turning it into dross, which is no wonder to me, though it may so seem to thee. Which he who hath the knowledge of metals will himself easily perceive. But that thou maist be certain, try the certainty after the following manner: Take two hundredlib.of lead, of the lesser weight of the Refiners, put it on a test under a tyle; add eight or tenlotonsof pure gold, of tin two or threel.six or eight of iron,viz.of the lesser weight: make them flow together an hour to make dross; as Examiners use to do; then pour it out, and separate the lead from the dross,viz.to cupel that which is separated, then weigh the grains of gold left, and thou shalt find half of it consumed by the dross. If this happen to corporeal gold and fixt, How will it be with that which is newly extracted out of an imperfect metal? Therefore you must diligently search out the natures of metals, and then such cases will not seem incredible.
From hence then, and other Examples mentioned it appears, that that separation which is done by tests and cupels, is not true and legitimate; and consequently, that another profitable separation of metals is to be sought; because by this the greater part of gold and silver burns into dross, witness Experience, for which cause the former example was alleadged; whither belongs the proof,viz.how much gold the dross hath attracted, which is done as followeth: ℞ the remaining black dross, to which add a double weight of salt of tartar, put it in a crucible filled but to the half (for fear of boyling out) and covered, that nothing fall in, under a tile or among live coals, one or two hours space to digest; and a newRegulusof lead shall be precipitated, which separated from the dross, you may cupel, and you shall find new grains of gold attracted by the iron in the dross, and now separated by the salt of tartar, overcoming the force of the iron. And so you have heard from two examples, how in the coction of the separation gold may be drawn out of the lead by tin and iron, and that therefore there is need, that gold be separated by theAntimonial Regulusout of the aforesaid metals, and not by lead, if you would extract the true substance with gain.
N. B. Gold may likewise be separated out of the glass of lead (being first dissolved with the ashes of tin) with coal dust, adding it in the flux and stirring it with an iron wier; and also with common sulphur, by burning it on it: but the aforesaid way with iron, is to be preferred before those two which spoyl the gold,&c.wherefore the remaining dross is to be gathered, which by some abstracting furnace by other means may be tryed, for to recover the spoyled or lost gold and silver.
And all these are alleadged to demonstrate that the gold in tin and iron is to be separated by theAntimonial Regulus, and not by Lead. But how this separation may be perfected, you shall hear in the third part, where we will treat of lead, explained byParacelsus, in his book calledCœlum Philosophorum, and other artificial Chymical labours: wherefore here we omit it, being superfluous to handle one thing in divers places. In the mean while exercise thy self in lesser things, that thou maist be more fit for greater when they shall be set forth. But wonder not at my liberality in publishing so great secrets, for I have reasons for it. Such a burden is too much for me alone, neither doth it profit the Covetous to sell his goods to them which keep not their words, nor pay the money, after they have obtained their art, which hath hapned to me. Wherefore I have determined to communicate some secrets to all the world indifferently, that the poor may receive some profit by them; knowing that though I write plainly, yet that all will not at the first view obtain their desires. For some are so dull, that they cannot imitate a work though often seen. For some have often visited me, to see my new manner of distilling, which though it was sufficiently demonstrated to the eye, yet they could not imitate it, till with often perusals at length they have found theright path. Others have left it as too hard a work, when it would not presently succeed, which if it hapned to those who had an ocular demonstration, how much more difficult will it be and hard to them who have nothing but what they have heard or read. Wherefore I am certain, that though I should publish every one of my secrets, yet could they not be performed by all men, my coals and materials being left sufficing for my necessity. Wherefore I fear not to publish, the next opportunity offered, divers profitable and excellent secrets,viz.in favour of all and every one.
As for that spirit of salt necessary to this work, you may find it in the first part of my Philosophical Furnaces corrected and amended; but the way of separation in the fourth part.
And so I finish this work, being published in favour of those who by war (though honest men) are reduced to poverty. But what things are deficient in this little tract shall (God willing) be delivered in the next (which shall follow in a short time) largely and clearly without fraud.
FINIS.