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But when as such Work-men have waited their time out, and it may be outagain, and see not blackness, then they run into another extreme, and sharethe fault of their errour (which was only in their Mercury, or withall in theirproportion for pondus and heat of external Fire) between both principles,and then say with Hogheland, our Mercury and our Gold are not vulgar, butthey are something (no man knows what) which the Philosophers havecalled Gold and Mercury; which yet are some strange thing which mannever heard of, or some common thing, or some vile thing. Thus theyvanish into smoak, and all for want of knowledge of our true Mercury.For until the Soul be separate,And cleansed from its original sinWith the Water, and thoroughly spiritualizate,The true Conjunction mayst thou never begin.Therefore the Soul first from the Body twine,Then of the corporal part and of the Spiritual,The Soul shall cause Conjunction perpetual.Remember then that thou get such a Mercury, which may destroy andconquer thy Body; mollify it, soften it, and draw out its Seed, and sever theSoul from it, by virtue of that Spirit which is in thy dissolving Water;Spirits naturally uniting with Spirits, as one flame will mix with another.The Soul being thus severed from the Body, it will dry and rot as naturallyas any other thing will, that hath its Soul separated. And as by the Water(which extracts the Soul) it dies and grows putrid and black, so by the sameWater it is washed from its filthy blackness; then the clean Soul havingcleansed the Body, is united to it, that from that time the Body follows theSoul, and is moved always with it upon the Fire, flying and descending inthe form of a Spirit, which is a wonder to behold.This is our Secret so much esteemed, Conjunction, which is celebrated afterthe looting, putrefying and purifying of our Body. This is the true processof our Work, according to the true exigency of nature; first the Soul is to bedivided from the Body, that is, grossness may be purged by corruption androtting, and the Spirit which is a form of light, and seminal, may, being letloose, multiply it self by the Spirit of the Water, and so being allied to theBody from whence it was drawn, and to the Water from whose Spirit itreceives an increase in virtue and Tincture, it may unite both the Spirit andthe Body with a perpetual bond. He who works thus, shall undoubtedlyattain unto perfection.Of two Conjunctions Philosophers mention make,Gross when the Body is with Mercury reincrudate;But let this pas, and to the second heed take,134