consists of three; and besides these there is the magnet, which is a medicine. The magnet has attracted this and it is found in Mercury. But Mercury itself, too, in its ultimate separation, loses much of its weight.
When Nature is thus prepared and lead to such increase, at first the gold becomes a tree after its kind. This spreads itself, and afterwards are generated the branches. The flower follows; then the fruit. The flower in the earth, like that in any other tree, is at the extremity. And as the flower is at the extremity, and the nucleus too, while yet immature, so there is the same method observable in the generation of gold and of all metals. When the flower falls the fruit is born in its place. This, it is true, does not always burst forth where the flower had stood, but this is the nature of the auriferous tree, that the fruit flourishes sometimes at the distance of several hundred ells in the interior of the tree itself, some straightway in the open air, and others midway between the two. There is thus some difference amongst auriferous trees, the natures of which vary one from the other. Hence they are found distributed in different ways, just as their own peculiar mode of growth is assigned by God to other trees.
Besides, with regard to gold, this fact also deserves to be well weighed, namely, that it is sometimes overloaded with impediments, so that occasionally nothing takes place except a generation of Mercury. If this takes place, it leads one astray. If corrosive salts fall on the flowers, they are eaten away, just as the actual flowers on trees are eaten by worms. The gold, too, is chilled by Mercury or burnt by Salts. There are many mishaps of this kind. The earth, and the firmament, and the air may destroy it. Unless these are fruitful they bring forth no good. As trees are burnt up by a blazing sun, so here also it takes place in the water. The light of philosophy teaches us all these matters, and they are abundantly established by experience. The minerals of gold, therefore, and others, are forced to submit to hindrances of this kind. There is nothing in existence which is not occasionally shaken with its tempests. But there are other impediments which are wont to effect the degree. Of this class are cachimiæ, resins, and other marcasites, which insinuate themselves into the workings, and send forth their tinctures. All these are rejected in the Art.
Concerning Silver.
Silver is generated from white Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury, which, being most subtly prepared and rendered transparent, have been restored to a fixed nature, that is, they are fixed from their special nature nearest to gold in a fire of ashes, but not with antimony, regale, and quarta. Here is the difference in fixation between gold and silver, in this respect, that gold is male and possesses masculine virtues, while silver is female and is possessed of feminine virtues. Herein lies the difference between the fixation of gold and of silver. Since gold is male it can bear more fixation, but silver less. Thus the matter of silver is comprised in its primals, as is the case with a woman. Gold
