3. Take of this mercury four parts; of sublimed mercury[17] (_mercurii meteoresati_), prepared with your own hands, eight parts; triturate them together in a wooden mortar with a wooden pestle, till all the grains of running mercury disappear. This process is tedious and rather difficult. [17] Probably corrosive sublimate. 4. The mixture thus prepared is to be put into an aludel, or a sand-bath, and exposed to a subliming heat, which is to be gradually raised till the whole sublimes. Collect the sublimed matter, put it again into the aludel, and sublime a second time; this process must be repeated five times. Thus a very sweet and crystallized sublimate is obtained: it constitutes the salt of wise men (_sal sapientum_), and possesses wonderful properties.[18] [18] Probably calomel. 5. Grind it in a wooden mortar, and reduce it to powder; put it into a glass retort, and pour upon it the spirit of wine (No. 1) till it stands about three finger-breadths above the powder; seal the retort hermetically, and expose it to a very gentle heat for seventy-four hours, shaking it several times a-day; then distil with a gentle heat and the spirit of wine will pass over, together with spirit of mercury. Keep this liquid in a well-stopped bottle, lest it should evaporate. More spirit of wine is to be poured upon the residual salt, and after digestion it must be distilled off as before; and this process must be repeated till the whole salt is dissolved, and distilled over with the spirit of wine. You have now performed a great work. The mercury is now rendered in some measure volatile, and it will gradually become fit to receive the tincture of gold and silver. Now return thanks to God, who has hitherto crowned your wonderful work with success; nor is this great work involved in Cimmerian darkness, but clearer than the sun; though preceding writers have imposed upon us with parables, hieroglyphics, fables, and enigmas. 6. Take this mercurial spirit, which contains our magical steel in its belly, put it into a glass retort, to which a receiver must be well and carefully luted: draw off the spirit by a very gentle heat, there will remain in the bottom of the retort the quintessence or soul of mercury; this is to be sublimed by applying a stronger heat to the retort that it may become volatile, as all the philosophers express themselves-- Si fixum solvas faciesque volare solutum, Et volucrum figas faciet te vivere tutum. This is our luna, our fountain, in which the king and queen may bathe. Preserve this precious quintessence of mercury, which is very volatile, in a well-shut vessel for further use. 8. Let us now proceed to the operation of common gold, which we shall communicate clearly and distinctly, without digression or obscurity; that from vulgar gold we may obtain our philosophical gold, just as from common mercury we obtained, by the preceding processes, philosophical mercury.