Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/100

 A L K

A L K

cine tt. By others as a mercurial liquor, which by a fimili- tude of parts, penetrates the texture of mixed bodies, dcftroys their cohefion, and without undergoing any re action, or loiing any part of its ftrength, divides them into feveral fubftances b. By others as a faline, inodorous, homogeneous fluid, in- differently difpofed with regard to all mixts, which it pene- trates like a wedge, and reduces them into their true elements, without communicating any thing to, or receiving from, the the bodies fodiffolved. By Helmont, as the principal and inuifc fuccefsful among falts, which having obtained the higheft de- gree of fimplicity, purity, and fubtility, alone enjoys the fa- culty of remaining unchanged and unimpaired, by the fubjects it works on, and of difiolving the molt ftubborn, and un- traceable bodies, as ftones, gems, glafs, earth, fulphur, me- tals, &c. into real fait, equal in weight to the matter dii- folved ; and this with as much eafe, as hot water melts down fnow. — [» Ephem. Acad. N. C. Dec. 3. An. 3. app. p. 103. b Wcdekhid. Ux^Az Alkaheji. Erf. 1685. c. 2. §.4.] The Alkaheji differs from aqua regla and other mcnftruums, as thefe latter operate by corrofion ; the former by a kind of fympathy, or content of parts, whereby it eafily infmuates itfelf among the fulphureous parts of bodies. MemdeTrev. 1708. p. 331- See Dissolution, Cyd, and Menstruum, Aqua-Recia, fete Cyd. and Suppl,

It differs from fixed alkalies volatilized, in that the former is fuppofed to volatilize the bodies itdiffolves, whereas the latter coagulates them c. — It difFers from the mercury of the philo- fophers, in that the former is a fait, the latter real mercury : add that the philofophical mercury is a metal which only aits on metals ; whereas the Alkaheji diflblves all bodies, but with- out uniting radically with any of them ; and fo as {till to remain feparable from them d. — It alfo difFers from the mer- cury of the philofopbers, as the former, according to Becher, coniifts of mercurial earth intimately mixed with water ; whereas the latter confifts of a mercurial and fulphurous earth, as its principles' 1. Faber f, indeed, and fome others, make the Alkaheji and philofophical mercury to be the fame. — [ c Mem. deTrev. p. 328. d Mem. deTrev. 1704. p. 1865. • Bech. Phyf. Subter. Se£t. 6. c. 8. p. 540. Stahl. Philof. Princip. Chem. Supp. §. 1. p. 38. junck. Confpec. Chem. Tab. 28. p. 634. ' Manufc. Chem. c. 30. Ephem. Acad. N. C. Dec. 2. An. 8. app. p. 112.] See Mercury. Somediftinguifh two kinds of Alkabejls, fimple and compound. ■ — Simple is that compounded of the acids of metals, pure and rendered volatile with the fpirit thereof. — Compound, that made of the acid of minerals, and the pure and faline parts of animals, and vegetables. Faber. lib. clt. p. 113. The Alkaheji is faid to be heavy, as being fait without any phlegm ; volatile as being pure fpirit without any mixture ; its fmell is weak, as not being compounded of heterogeneous parts ; it is alfo faid to be immortal, as not being alterable by its action. Pelletier, in Mem. deTrev. 1704. p. 1867. The Alkaheji is reprefented as an inftrument of ufe for pre- paring divers remedies. All the medicinal virtues found in animals, vegetables, metals, minerals, pearls, ftones, are by this menftruum extracted from the other matters. By this a fpecific againft the gout may be drawn from hellebore, a febrifuge from colocynthis ; and other fovereign remedies, from myrrh, aloes, fafTron, &c. all which are indeed procurable oneafier terms, without the Alkaheji, but much inferior in vir- ture. Gold which {hinds all the trials of the fire, being di- gested in the Alkaheji, and the menftruum drawn off, re- mains at the bottom of the veffel, in form of a fufible fait. The fame liquor being cohobated feveral times on the fait ; this latter becomes volatile, and being raited by diftillation, forms two kinds of Aurum potablle ; of two different colours, the one red, which is the Tinclura htzmattna, the higheft preparation of gold, by fome reprefented as an univerfal me- dicine. By the Alkaheji are alfo prepared Argentimi potabile^ and the wonderful oil of Venus and mercury, whereof chemifts relate fuch wonders. Pellet, in Mem. de Trev. 1704. p. 1867.

The different conjectures of chemifts, with relation to the matter of the Alkaheji, are innumerable. Boerhaave feems to expect it from the fea-falt, and mercury together. — Few bodies but fome alchemifts or other has fixed on, as the ob- ject of his reteaches after the Alkaheji. Some have wrought on equinoctial dew ; others on rain-water, others on talc, others on zink, others on antimony itfelf. — Poterius and Glau- ber confined themfelves to nitre ; Beguinus did the fame, only concealing it under the name of hermaphrodite fait. Angel. Sala, Sir Kenelm Digby, and feveral others held for vitriol. The difciples of Paracelfus, commonly choote fea-falt ; San- divorgius, Tachenius, Beverovicius, Boyle, and fume others, water. Pollemannus, Mullerus, &c. built all their hopes on black lead ; others preferred flint ; fome Potters varnifh E. Helmont pretends, that the Alkaheji is prepared from common fait and raddifh juice, unlefs his words are to be taken figuratively. Becher will have it made of a moft pe- netrating mercurial earth j others of a foliated earth of tartar, and an urinous fait, combined, digefted, and circulated toge- ther ; others of fpirit of wine, and fait of urine, coupled in due form ; others of fublimate mercury, and vi- triol i others of the fame mercury, and highly rectified fpirit

of wine, frequently cohobated ; others of the fapa of urine, expofed to the magnet ifm of the air, &c b. — [s Martini, in Mem. de Trev. 1707. p- 1452. h Junck. Confpect. Chem, Tab. 7. p. 202.]

The generality of chemifts take the Alkaheji s of Paracelfus and Van Helmont, for the fame ; fome others conclude them to be entirely different things. It is certain thefe two authors fpeak of their refpective Alkahejls, in terms very different. Para- celfus only fpeaks of his as a medicine for the liver, which would prevent diforders of that vifcus, or even fupply, and reftore it if entirely gone. — Van Helmont chiefly ipeaks of his, as a menftruum which would diffblve all bodies. — Cnoeffe- lius, after an exact comparifon of the feveral paflages of Van Helmont, wherein the Alkaheji is mentioned, concludes, that what he elfewhere calls Tgnijgehhtnee, is not the fame liquor with that which Paracelfus talis by the name of Alkaheji ; but with that whicH Paracelfus calls his corrolivc fpecific, which appears to be a different thing from his Alkaheji : mice Para- celfus never ufed his fpecific internally, nor does Helmont, in all his writings, mention one word concerning the internal ufe of his Alkaheji ; ,tho' he commends it externally for the leprofy. And it appears from Paracelfus himfelf, that it was only on account of its external application, that he ranked it among medicines. Puracelf. p. 817.

On the whole, it appears, that a diftinction is by all means to be made between the Alkaheji of Raym. Lully, mentioned by Helmont, the medicinal Alkaheji of Paracelfus, the cor- rofive fpecific of that author, and the difiolving Alkaheji of Helmont) however authors have generally confounded them; and by this means involved a thing, already myftericus enough in itfelf, in a darlcnefs more than cimmerian '. It rather ap- pears that Paracelfus, by his Alkaheji ^ meant a fpecific purga- tive, prepared of tartar and vitriol, for expelling peccant mat- ter of all kinds lodged in any part of the body fc . — [' Ctweffd. in Ephem. Germ. Dec. 1. An. 4. Obf. 108. p. 104. — 106. k Id. ibid. p. 108.]

The moft celebrated forms and preparations for Helmont's Alkaheji are thole given by Starkey, Zwelfer, Cnoeffelius, Glauber, and Pelletier ; to which may be added, that of a late anonymous French chemift.

Starkey will have the Alkaheji of Van Helmont to be made of urine; in which opinion he is fupported by Phiklethes, and teconded by a late ingenious author, M. le Pelletier of Rouen, who fhews the conformity of this fyftem with Helmont's mind. Difeates, according to that chemift, arising from a difturbance of the archseus, are only to be cured bv compos- ing the fame; and the body of the archseus, i.e. the vital fpirit, being faline, it follows, that the remedies made ufe of to appeafe it muft be of the fame nature. Put urine is known to be a faline agent : add, that life, according to the fame fyftem, being only fire, or light ; and ficknefs only a decay or impairing of that light ; where lhall we find a matter more fit for this purpofe, to rekindle this fire, or light; fince urine itfelf is in great meafure fire, as appears from its volatile fait burning quite away, and the phofphorus which is pre- pared from it. — The the only difference between Starkey and Philalethes is, that the former prepares his Alkaheji from urine alone ; and the latter, from the fait of urine, with the admixture of a little human blood. Pellet, lib. cit. Jour. des Scav. T. 34. p. 837.

Starkey was lead to the difcovcry of his Alkaheji by meditat- ing on thefe words of Van Helmont : " the matter of this " difiblvent, is both bate, and precious. It cofts nothing. " All men have it in their power. Adam carried it with " him, when he went out of Paradife. It is concealed in " in the microcofm, and very powerful inthemacrocofm. — In " fine it is human urine. 5 * V. Mem. de Trev. An. 1704. p. 1867.

But it feems incredible, that all the Alkahejls above recited fhould agree to urine, in what manner foever prepared. It fhould feem, that all that can be had from urine, can only ferve to extract the fulphurs of bodies, to be afterwards vo- latilized, and is doubtlefs what Paracelfus means by his Arcanum Microcofmi. To arrive at the true Alkaheji of Paracelfus, and Helmont; it muft firft be known how to procure their fal enixum ; to reduce it into a fweet alkali ; then into a fub- limate ; and laftly, into the precious mercurial liquor, which lias been the object of the inquiry of fo many chemifts. De la Caze^ Lett, in Mem de Trev. 1707. p. 1463. teq. Tho' the matter of Alkaheji be explained by Starkey, the manner of preparing it, he owns, is ftill difficult : in effect:, he defcribts it in terms only one degree tefs enigmatic, than Van Helmont himfelf. All he has left us, as to the method of compofing the Jlkahe/l, is what follows. This fbarp, fubtile, penetrating fpirit of human urine, by means of another intermediate fpirit, not of a different fer- ment from its own, but centrally the fame with it, muft be united with an acid that is not corrofive, but perfectly agreeable to it. This acid muft alfo be as volatile as the fait of urine, before it can unite intimately with it. The mixture, by re- peated circulations, arrives at a due degree of purity, which entitles it to the denominations of the Ens Prhnum of falts, the moft ufeful and glorious of all falts. M. Pelletier gives an explanation of all the ambiguous terms in this paffage, 4 and