Page:The Mirror of Alchimy (1597, mirrorofalchimy00baco).djvu/17

Rh they might then wel perfect the imperfect. And foramuch as nature doth alwaies work imply, the perfection which is in them is imple, ineparable, & incommicible, neither may they by art be put in the tone, for ferment to horten the worke, and o brought to their former tate, becaue the mot volatile doth ouercome the mot fixt. And for that gold is a perfect body, coniting of Argent-uiue, red and cleare, & of uch a Sulphur, therfore we chooe it not for the matter of our tone to the red Elixir, becaue it is o imply perfect, without artificiall mundification, & o trongly digeted and od with a natural heate, that with our artificiall fire, we are carcely able to worke on gold or iluer. And though nature dooth perfect any thing, yet he cannot throughly mundiie, or perfect and purfie it, becaue he imply worketh on that which hee hath. If therfore we hould chooe gold or iluer for the matter of the tone, we hould hard and cantly find fire working in them. And although we are not ignorant of the fire, yet could we not come to the through mundification & perfection of it, by reaō of his mot firme knitting together, and naturall compoition: we are therefore excued for taking the firt too red, or the econd too white, eeing we may find out a thing or om body of as cleane, or rather more cleane Sulphur & Argent-uiue, on which nature hath wrought little or nothign at all, which with our artificiall fire, & experience of our art, we are able to bring vnto his due concoction, mundification, colour and fixation, continuing our ingenious Rh