Let a metall that is mixed, and joined with another, be taken, and beaten into thin plates, or brought into powder. Put it into a separating vessel, and poure upon it common _Aqua fortis_ as much as is sufficient, let them stand and bee macerated, until all the metall bee resolved into a clear water. If it be Silver, and contain any Gold in it, all the Silver wil bee resolved into water, and the Gold wil also bee calcined, and settle in the bottome like black sand. And after this manner Gold, and Silver are separated. If now thou wilt separate the Silver from the _Aqua fortis_ without Distillation, put a plate of Copper into the water, and the Silver will presently settle in the bottome of the water like snow, and the Copper plate will begin to be consumed by little, and little. The seperation of Silver, and Copper by common _Aqua fortis_ is done after this manner. Let the Copper which contains Silver, or the Silver which contains Copper be brought to thin plates or powder, and put into a glass vessel, upon which poure as much common _Aqua fortis_ as is sufficient: and by this means the silver will bee calcined, and settle to the bottome like white chalk: but the copper wil be dissolved, and turned into a clear water. If this water, together with the dissolved copper, be by a Glasse funnel separated from the silver calx into another Glasse: then the Copper that is dissolved in the water, may bee so precipitated with common water, or rain water, or any other water, that it wil settle to the bottom of the Glass like sand. Now the separation of hid Gold, from any metall, is by the degree of Extraction in _Aqua Regis_. For this kind of water will attempt to dissolve no metall, but only pure, fine Gold, &c. The same _Aqua Regis_ doth separate also fine gold from gilded plate. For if that be washed over with it, the Gold will be separated from it, &c. [Sidenote: By the degree of Reverberation.] Moreover also with cement by the degree of Reverberation two Metalls mixed together may be separated the one from the other, but especially if they are not in the like degree of Fixation, as Iron and Copper. For that Metall, which is but little fixed, as Tin, and Lead, is all of it consumed by the degree of Reverberation in cement. For by how much the more a Metall is fixed, so much the lesse is it consumed by cement. You must know therefore that fine Gold is the most fixt, and perfect Metall, which can bee destroyed, or consumed by no cement. Next to this is fine Silver. If then Gold, and Silver be mixed together in one body, which is wont to bee called part with part, or if Silver contain Gold, or Gold Silver: I say these being thus mixt if they bee reverberated into cement, then the Gold remains entire, and not at all injured, but the Silver is consumed by the cement, and so is extracted from fine Gold: so also is Copper from Silver, and Iron, and Tinne from Copper, and Iron, or Lead from Tinne, and so forth. [Illustration: *decorative divider*]