CHAPTER XVIII.

COKCERNIKG ArSENIC USED FOR AlCHEMY.*
It seems right to connect Arsenic generically with Sulphurs rather than with Mercuries, and to treat it immediately after Sulphurs. Some old chemists, or rather sophists, labouring at chemistry, swelling with jaundice, that is, with desire of gold, and a sort of yellow dropsy, when they saw in arsenic the white Tincture of Venus, and the red tincture in the calamine stone, believing, too, that the true arcanum of the stone was contained in these, thought the white and red elect rum were silver and gold until they found out the contrary by tests, and learnt that they had been engaged in a vain work. And not content with that they went on perversely in order to arrive at fixation, and persevered until they had neither house nor possession left. They had wrought a transmutation in themselves rather than in the metals ! And what wonder? They approached this work without judgment, and possessing no knowledge of minerals and metals, as so many of those who embark in the Art at the present day do. Since the time when the name of electrum given by the ancients passed into oblivion, there has forthwith followed the ruin of those
* In thk c&i«, Also, tb« Geneva fdio offers considerable VAmtiom from the text as it stands abo\'«. Cokcekming THE AjLCHfiMICAL ViKTU£5 IK Aasenic.— A Certain name was invented and put forth by our anceston, namely, electrum. Electrum is a metal proceedings from another metal, and unlike the metal Trom which it descends For example : Copper turns to white metal. When its redness is removed it i* called electrum. In like manner, from copper, by means of cadtnia, b made orichakum, and this b called red electrum. These difTerent kind^ of electrum certain aldsemicat Kiolssta and artist a reckoned as silver, and jtomeltmca took in place of gold ; nor did they understand or believe: anything ctte save that thk wa& silver ,^ and ^o that tilver cotild be produced from copper. Omitting the name of electrum, they took it for silver or for ||old, and did nol leave off Ihcir investigations so long as a house or a court remained. 1 point otit this tn order (bat error may be Avoided, and that doe consiideration may be given to the ques- tion*, What lA electrum 1 what is gold ? juid what i* silver T and thAt in this way no rash measure* may be taken. Now, t will lay before you a certain mulicament. Take the metal arsenic, prepared in a metallic way ; cement the same with Venus in the usuaJ manner, and you will fim! a targe quantity of electrum to the copper. No one need Incur great expend for this substance, because it costs a good deal to make electrum. So, then, it is better to leave copper as copper ip its own form* In no respect \% its electrum better, but rather commoner^ So by dissolving it in graduated water it leaves a calx. It is not that silver is produced, but electrum ; and it is rendered so subtle tliat nothing what- ever remains, but it vanLshev, and because it is nol fixed it is consomed. Thus not only in copper, but also in iron, tin, steel, etc, a residuum is Irfi ; but nothing of a fijted character is present, and in this way many are deceived. Eventually matters came to this crisU, that electrum lost its name and was called silver, whereupon there began for die aJcbemists destruction^ exile, misery, and disappointed hopes. There are nuiny recipes of this kind which it is not neceasary to recount. They are well known to artistic who follow me in this chapter, who aUo have well weighed their own error in seeking it in vain etsewbere. There is a good deal of seduction for juniors to desert the method of their elders, and when the pupil wishes to be more learned than the master, and no longer remains in the right path, but judges lUiiig^ for himielf, and Is prepared to abide by his own opinion. All that conies of it is, he labours in vain^ thus atoning for his fault and incurring grievous loss. The ancients called this substance electrum, and such is its proper name. The modems call it silver — its improper name. Our forefatlier& avoided all loss because they knew what they were about ; the rij>iug getieration do not know, and ki incur loss. It has been a constant custom in alchemy that
io8 The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus.
who changed that name into fictitious g^old and silver. That has been the destruction ot modern chemists. To define Electrum : it is a metal made from some other by Art, and no longer resembling that from which it was made. For example : arsenical metal» prepared according to the form of metallic pre- paration, cemented with Venus in the accustomed manner, converts the whole copper into white electrum more worthless than its own copper. What need is there to deprave metals at great expense? Would it not be better to leave the copper in its own natural essence, to keep one*s money, and devote time and labour to a more useful work? The ancients called Electrum by its proper name; the moderns falsely call it silver* The ancients were not losers, because they knew the Electrum itself; the moderns, because they have no knowledge of Electrum^ throw away their faculties, labour, and time* Now, since in Alchemy all mistakes are constantly propped up with some new hope, \t was tried to fix Arsenic by means of reverberations for some weeks, and bj"" other devices. Thence it ensued that the Arsenic became red and brittle like coral, but of no use in Alchemy except for Electrum, as was just now said. Then by descent and precipitation they elTected nothing more than by their calcinations. Thus it happens that in Alchemy obstinate men are deceived because they do not learn thoroughly from the foundation all the terms of the^Art. It is true that Arsenic does» in its own natural condition, contain gold ; and that this gold, by the industry of the artist, can sometimes be separated in a cement, or a projection, or otherwise, into silver, copper, or lead by attraction ; but it does not therefore follow that this is produced by his operations and his tinctures. It means only that the gold which was there before has been derived by a process of separation, as it generally is, from its ore. It is nearly always found golden, and ver>^ seldom lacks gold, as is the case with many
investigations shall be made with persistent good hope, liejice ofjemlors have tried to fix arsenic, and to transmute it into another essence, oo. the chance that it may be, or may be remlcreH, better, and prove of greater efficacy. Hereupon followed the reverbcraliwn of arsenic, a«d lU circulation in a reverbcratory of reeds for some weck»» or b>' some similar process. Arsenic haA been rendered like crystal, red and beauiiful', like r«l glas^ for its hardness, light weight, and fragility. There i» no place for ihe virtues of this arsenic in medicine, li regjirds only electra, as has already been ftttid.^ Moreover, it has been attempted lo deal with this, too, by another method of preparation, namely, by deitceat. By this method it is rendered red and yellow, aiid in potency i» equivalent to tbe ipecie^s already mentioned^ Some have precipiuicd it, and it ha*, approached, or even reached, a red colour ; and yet not all the operators in this way have reaped the fruit of their labours or arrived at the result they contemplated, but only at the electric Mtageofit, which, on account of their ignorance and inexperietice, led many artists astray. Wherefore it is neccsj;>ar>i' that e%-ery* ot3e it) the^ things should be farsighled. He who has not full knowledge and comprehension) of at! iiainct doc* nothing, and the heads, however full of braln», do not get at the foundMion of the matter. One thiiig is wantiDf to them for a foundation— to know electrum and other substances when they see them. Then they understand of them- selves whether they can progress with electrum or not. Nevertheless it often happens that arsenic ib auriferous in itA nature, and contains gold in it^ Now, if an operator is skilled in separating gold from arsenic, whether by a cement or by Aome method of projection, or by another process, so that be can reduce that gold to some metal, such as silver, copper, or lead, without doubt he will find it to be gold, atui of excellent quality too. To follow \\{\& up so that a tincture shall be produced, or it shall is«ue forth from a tincture, is nothing ; but the gold is in the arsenic, and the whole matter lies in depurgation, separation, and kindred proce&ses, according as anyone has experience therein. Arsenic, especially, which comes from auriferous districts, or from gold, is rarely without gold. The only point of importance is that the separation shall be properly made. I know nothing mtirc of arsenic and it* species l>eyond what t hfive put forward ; at least, nothing which it U lawful and expedieTil to make known, whether with refcreuce to medicine or to alchemical operations. Whoever has prudence ought to be sufhcienily skilful for this purpo^^ If lie has it not, let him altogether abstain^ No faculty can subdue itself ; but failure must ensue if due order and a genuine mode of procedure have not been preserved. Vou should follow the guidance of your own ]udgtu«nt. The num who follows no other guide is not in a «taie of sulucrviencc to any.
The Economy of Minerals. log
other substances. So far, then, have I g-iven concerning Arsenic what I know, or what it is advisable to write. Let everybody first of all diligently examine its name, so that he may understand. Otherwise error is apt to arise easily in both faculties, which is only at lengfth discovered by the result,