But pretious stones beyond the simple contentment and pleasure of the eye, have nothing wherewith men may know to draw out profit or succours in any one of our businesses. And if they be once deprived of their naturall shining form, they never return thereto again, as mettals doe, so puissant and indissoluble is the assembling of their elementarie parties, and their mixtion one with another. Wherefore wee must not marvail if so many good spirits have travelled all their time to meditate upon this subject, and their divers transmutations, having been there unto drawn rather out of those fair considerations which they found therein for their spirits contentation, then for any sordid and greedy desire of gain, which hath made the ignorant so obstinate, who have so cried down this divine Art, sister germane to the _Caballe_: for that which the _Caballe_ is divine and intelligible things, into the profound secrets whereof, shee penetrates, _Alchymie_ is in naturall and elementary, which shee reveals unto us. _Geber_ saith some man cannot know the composition of a thing, that is ignorant of its destruction; which destruction is perfected by the separations caused by fire. Nature then taketh great pains, care, and pleasure, to labour in metals; and puts in them a very great length of Time, to bring them to the last degree of perfection, which settles in Gold, the most perfect and incorruptible substance of all others, and the homogeneall and equall in all his parties: whence it is taken for distributive justice, for mingle a party of Gold with 3. or 4. hundreds of silver, or Copper, leaving them melted together to sport never so little within a little Cruset, every portion how small soever it may be, of silver or copper, will suck up its equall part and portion of gold. It is moreover so exactly depured, that it cannot be altered or corrupted by any thing, that is either in the earth, water, air, or fire, nor by any corrosive or poyson that you can apply thereunto. It is not corrupted by clay, nor burnt with any burning thing: nor mortified or devoured, by any green colouring, or dividing water, there is nothing in it superfluous or defective: There are (saith _Hermes_) seven Metallick bodies, of which the most worthy and principall is gold, attributed unto the Sun: from whence it hath its name, for the same that the Sun is to the stars, gold is toward the elementary bodies, what thing soever burning it can bee, cannot burne it, the earth cannot corrupt it, nor the water destroy nor alter, because its complexion is tempered in heat, moisture, coldnesse and drinesse, and there is nothing in it superfluous or deficient. By reason whereof, I finde that those are farre wide of their accompt, which to keep themselves from poysoning, would serve themselves with vessells of gold to eat and drink in; for gold respects no more poisons nor venomes, then it would doe of capon broth: So do silver, pewter, copper, lead & iron, which would therewith