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econcile the Mercury with its qualities of cold and moisture, to Sulphurwith its qualities of heat and driness, so shall thy Exhalations remain at thebottom, and thy exhalations shall cease, and the moisture being dailyterminated into driness, by the ferment of the Body, as Milk by Runnit isterminated into Cheese, thou shalt have a middle product, partaking of thecomplexion of either Parent.But hard it is with thy bare foot to spurnAgainst a bar of Iron, or Steel new acuate;For many so do which be infatuate,When they such high things take in and,Which they in no wise understand.Thus we have plainly and faithfully done our duty, and by a Line as it weredissevered the Truth from Falshood; yet we know, that in the World ourWriting shall prove as a curious edged Knife; to some they shall carve outDainties, and to others it shall serve only to cut their Fingers: yet we are notto be blamed; for we do seriously profess to any that shall attempt thisWork, that he attempts the highest piece of Philosophy that is in Nature;and though we write in English, yet our Matter will be as hard as Greek tosome, who will think they understand us well, when they misconstrue ourmeaning most perversely: For is it imaginable that they who are fools inNature, should be wise in our Books, which are testimonies unto Nature?In Eggs, in Vitriol, or in Blood,What Riches ween they there to find?If they Philosophy understood,They would not be in working so blind,Gold and Silver to seek out of its kind:For like as Fire of burning principle is,So the principle of gilding is Gold I wis.If thou therefore intend for to makeGold or Silver by craft of our Philosophy,Thereto neither Eggs nor Blood thou take,But Gold and Silver, which naturallyCalcined wisely, and not manually,A new Generation will forth bring,Increasing its kind as doth every other thing.Some I know will serve my Book as they have served others, out of it theywill read their own fantastick processes, which I never dreamt of, nor yetare they in Nature; and whatever I write most plainly, they will Allegorize,and say it is true, for matter of Operation he wrought well, but withal veryenviously and mysteriously: he calls the matter Gold, and Mercury, but that86