houres with burning coals, (it would be better in an oven of reverberation) draw it from the fire and cast it yet all hot into an earthen vessell, leaded, full of water, salt will dissolve it self therein, and that of the silver which shall be calcined will goe to the bottome: Let them reside well; and separate them warily, by inclination: after put again the plates to bee recalcined with new salt, and reiterated as before, evaporate the water, or the salt if it be dissolved, and that which remains shall be as good as new, to the third or fourth reiteration, all your plates will find themselves reduced into chalk: which you shall easily dissolve in distilled vinegar, for silver, lead, and iron, are not of hard resolution, nor also Copper to take it in _Roche_ of _azur_: Tin much more, and Gold more then all the rest, for that its calcination, is very uneasie. Which _Geber_ knew very well: the compleat calcination of Sol, is most difficult: He renders the causes thereof. But it would be too long to dilace upon all these things: wee will content our selves, to trace some shadows of that which our perquisition and labour hath enabled us to acquire, by the space of 50. years of one side, and another, and proved more then once, not to speake unadvisedly: All which secrets are revealed as is said; by the Fire. And not by mervails, since it analogically discovers the spirituall: _Thou hast tried me with fire, and in mee, there is found no iniquity_; said the Prophet, _Psal._ 16. There where you see, how hee couples fire with iniquities, as if it were it, that revealed them as well as hee did the impurities of mettalls, where it doth the same operation, and effect, as salt doth, in corruptible things; for although metalls, bee the permanent substance of all others, by reason of their most strong composition which doth not permit them easily to cast away out of their radicall form any alteration which men may make them indure in powder, chalk, salt, water, oil, glasse, Isicles, and infinite others: which happeneth not to one of the other elementaries, Minerals, Vegetables, Animals; the which being once changed from their primitive form, they cannot again reintegrate or be put together. By means whereof, to speak of fire without metals, which are its true subject, it would bee as to propose to an Artist furnished with necessaries and instruments, but had no stuffes proper to imploy them, so that would remain to him unprofitable. In metalls then there may be revealed and considered the fairest secrets of nature, by the help of fires action. Which if in some more particularly then in others, she hath shewed a will to recreat, yea to put in evidence her greater knowledge. It seems this was in stones and metals, then which nothing could be presented more fair or agreeable to the sight, nor more profitable and necessary, at least in regard of Iron without which mans life would irksomely passe away, shee receiving so many commodities thereby.