132 The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony. 



a wind furnace till the tartar is entirely 

 burned ; pulverize the burnt substance, 

 pour over it common hot water, and 

 cleanse and sweeten the substance with 

 lye. It will then become a " liver" 

 (hepar), a name given to it by the 

 ancients.* Dry this "liver," place it in 

 a cucurbit, add pure spirit of wine, ex- 

 tract the spirit by distillation in S. 

 Mary's Bath, so that a third part of it 

 remains. (First strain the spirit, etc., 

 through a piece of paper.) This extract 

 should be used with great caution. It is 



* The liver is a thing highly esteemed by gourmands, 

 and so is liver of Antimony among Alchemists. The opera- 

 tion is greatly improved by substituting salt of tartar for 

 plain tartar. Nor does Basilius tell us that the mortar in 

 which they are pounded must be hot ; also he forgets to 

 specify the quantity of the water in which the powder must 

 be dissolved that it may assume a more beautiful colour. 

 Now, in this exaltation of colour there is a great inhering 

 virtue. Further, he omits to say that the precipitation of 

 the "liver" in the water takes place by means of vinegar. 

 Moreover, this fusion of Antimony, like all such fusions, 

 must be carried out on a bright sunny day. For, if you 

 laugh at me when I affirm that the heavenly bodies have 

 an important influence on the operations of the Alchemist, 

 I also will laugh at you when your experiments come to 

 nought. I know better than to waste any elaborate refu- 

 tation on those who make our Art and its claims the subject 



