Page:Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus Vol I (IA cu31924092287121).djvu/153

 and conserved for ever from decay and bad odour without any balsam. And not only does this process preserve flesh and blood, but (so to say) it preserves all other kinds of flesh and blood, and especially the body of man, from all decay and from many diseases which arise from decay, better than the common mumia does. But in order that blood may be preserved of itself from decay and ill odour, and not as a quintessence; and in order, also, to protect other blood, as aforesaid, you must use this process: Let the blood be separated from its phlegm, which moves of itself, and is driven to the surface. Draw off this water by a dexterous inclination of the vessel, and add to the blood a sufficient quantity of the water of salt, which we teach you in our Chirurgia Magna how to make. This water at once mingles with the blood, and so conserves the blood that it never putrefies or grows rancid, but remains fresh and exceedingly red after many years, just as well as on the first day; which, indeed, is a great marvel. But if you do not know how to prepare this water, or have none at hand, pour on a sufficient quantity of the best and most excellent balsam, which produces the same effect. Now this blood is the Balsam of Balsams, and is called the Arcanum of Blood. It is of such great and wonderful virtue as would be incredible were we to mention it. Therefore you will keep this occult, as a great secret in medicine.

In the conservation of metals the first thing to learn is what are their enemies, so that they may be thereby the better kept from loss. The principal enemies of metals, then, are all strong waters; all aquæ regiæ, all corrosives and salts, shew their hostility in this circumstance, that they mortify all metals, calcine them, corrupt them, and reduce them to nothing. Crude sulphur shews its hostility by its smoke; for by its smoke it takes away the colour and redness from Venus, and renders it white. From white metals, as Luna, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, it takes away their whiteness and reddens them, or induces in them a reddish colour. From gold it takes away the agreeable yellowness and golden tint, renders it black, and makes it as uncomely as possible.

Antimony shews its hostility in this: that it spoils all metals with which it is liquefied in the fire, and with which it is mixed; it deprives and robs them; moreover, like the sulphur, it robs metals of their genuine colour and substitutes another.

Quicksilver, on the other hand, exercises a hostile force upon the metals with which it is conjoined, in that it invades and dissolves them so that it makes an amalgam from them. Moreover, its smoke, which we call the soot of Mercury, makes all metals immalleable and fragile; it calcines them and whitens all red and gold coloured metals. It is the chief enemy of iron and