Chapter XVIII, Other extraction, that’s to say Oil.
Take some antimony and tartar salt n, and put into crucible to melt and then throw as when you make the glass, then that hot get it crushed and put in common water, in a quantity suitable to extract all the tincture, which will precipitate with distilled vinegar, and dried the said precipitated, put it in a glass bowl pouring over some very pure and purified spirit of wine, and then filtering the extraction you will extract two parts of the above said spirit, and a tincture will remain in the bottom, which will not mix with the extracted spirit, but one will float above the other, like the oil with the water, very wonderful thing, the dosage is from 1 scruple (20 grains) till two.
Chapter XVIIII, Other above Mentioned.
Take Vitriol and common salt in equal parts, and put in a vitrified earthenware, and very well luted, and placed in a reverberation oven, and at first with a very moderate fire, in the last very strong you will distill a water, and a matter very thick like the oil sludge and the whole will be kept for use, and the remaining Caput Mortuum will be crushed and ground with the said, since very easily will be converted in water and soon put on a marble stone, or a sheet, or glass plates in the cooking room, or in another cold and humid place, to be converted in water, which you will filter through an emporetica paper, then take the most excellent antimony you can get and subtly grind and put it in a flat bottom bowl, and pour over some said filtered water, which will overwhelm by four fingers, or even more, and put slowly in cinders, and let as long as the said water is purple color, then you will increase the fire till strong, carrying the vessel in a hotter sand and the said water by that heat will get a beautiful oriental sapphire color, and filtered the said solution of Caput Mortuum pour over some common water and a white powder will precipitate, which purges by vomit from three to ten grains.
Of the said solution made in cellar you will convert the iron lamina in real copper, making boiling into the said water the said lamina, but do follow our operations.
Take the said water, the above mentioned distilled oil and put over the Crocus of Mars prepared with sulphur, and reverberated till redness, put to digest with heat, you will extract a red, like blood, tincture, take of the said a part of the extraction of antimony made with saltpeter and the spirit of wine three parts of the water of mercury extracted as I will teach you further on, a part you will calcine of gold in that dissolved water, half part mixed all the mentioned things, and put all in a retort at moderated fire ( after those said things are clear, not doing distill again) and distilling a very beautiful powder will remain in the bottom, and that is useful against the old sores, and as Kerckringer says, it is good to remove the leprosy from metals.
Chapter XX. Diaphoretic Antimony of Basil.
Take some antimony as above, and powdered has to be mixed with as fixed niter the antimony weight, and get it detonated in a crucible, or new pan according to the art, that done take the matter after being cooled down, and crushing it put in a vitrified earthenware over some warm water, and well stir to better extract the nitrous saltiness in so doing the antimony gets sweetened, and then make it get to the bottom, and the water impregnated with the fixed niter has to be empty by tilting ( and you have to conserve it to be then filtered by evaporation, and then crystallized the fixed niter of antimony, the dosage is from one scruple to one drachm) and over pour new water, repeating as many times as the antimony gets totally sweetened, and then while drying it mix it with as niter as the weight, and again for three times the above mentioned operation always detonating, and sweeting, and the third time it will become white and impalpable, after dried and putting the said powder into a bowl with some spirit of wine, closing with a blind helm making it to circulate for one month, and after you will have to burn in the surface of the said spirit three times, into an iron vessel, then clean, and dried put it into a crucible in the fire, for 24 continuing hours, and that powder placed in the hollow of white hard-boiled egg, or on a marble stone, or in sheets or glass plates, in a cellar, or other humid place, and will turn into liquor, and again dried in powder has so many virtues that those who have not tried it find it hard to believe. Dosage of twelve grains in wine or in spirit of wine.
Chapter XXI. Oil of Antimony without addition.
Take some good antimony and subtly grind, and put in a flat bottom cucurbit, pouring over some antimony vinegar increased by its own salt, then well sealed the mouth put it into manure, and in balneum to putrefy for forty days, or until the body is dissolved, and the vinegar turned red like blood and then empty said vinegar by bending and put over again the remaining, other new vinegar as above , and repeat till the vinegar is no more tinted, and so get all said vinegars filtered, and together put together in a glass bowl, sealed as before, put to putrefy as above until you will see the body dissolved by the vinegar is perfectly solute, and the sign will be its turning completely black, the said matter like ink, and the said matter will be put in a bowl with its helm, and distill at moderate fire, and will come out a clear vinegar, and in the bottom will remain an ugly matter which will be crushed, and will be sweetened more and more, washing it with rain water then dried, and put it in a circulating vessel made as below, and having put the figure, to make it clearer. And so placed the said matter into said vessel, if you pour over some very rectified spirit of wine, which overwhelms by three fingers and very well closing the vessel put to circulation fire for two months, and then you will see the spirit of wine to be colored like the vinegar was before, and separated the tinted spirit of wine from the feces, put in a bowl to distill, and will pass with the said spirit the tincture of antimony, and you will see in the helm and container in a beautiful and bright golden color, which the distillation finished it will perish, and inside the bowl will remain few feces, and the red matter, which distilling is passed in the container, you will put to circulate for ten days, which by that circulation the antimony oil will separate placing in the bottom of the spirit of wine, which will float well clear, or white as before, said separation surely separates with the separatorium the spirit of wine from the antimony oil, which will be of a wonderful sweetness and very tasteful, and the lover of the art is warned that here there is the best of the antimony world and this is what made many authors to write, who have described this operation well shrouded into enigmas, and also our Basilius has clearly exposed and great are its virtues, the operation can be long, nevertheless not too much to achieve that treasure, which being oil make the man as he were born again, and given together with tincture of corals freed from its leprosy removes all hopeless diseases.
The image on the left shows how to distill the Antimony vinegar placed into the bowl A and distilling in the container B. The pyramid-shaped tool demonstrates the vessel called inferno, which is a glass vessel where in the middle of the body is like an ampoule, with a little hole where the mercury is put.