I 



On Sal Nitrum and Nitro- Aerial Spirit 37 



embrace. For it has been shown above that nitro- 

 aerial spirit is detained as in a suitable hospice in 

 fixed salt which has passed into the fluid state. But 

 when held in the embrace of a salt and coalescing 

 with it, which is partly acid partly saline, to form 

 nitre, it exists in a condition of the greatest fixity. 



But meanwhile the terrestrial sulphur which, not 

 so long ago, wrapped in wedlock with fixed salt, was 

 fixed indeed, now, the saline yoke thrown off by help 

 of the nitro-aerial spirit, attains a condition of vola- 

 tility and gets the mastery, the nitro-aerial spirit 

 being depressed. And in this way, in fine, extremely 

 volatile and inflammable sulphureous particles (such 

 as the oils which are obtained by distillation from 

 plants) are very likely produced from the rude mass 

 of the earth, which seems to behave like a caput 

 mortuum. For the volatilisation of sulphur consists 

 in its being liberated from a union with fixed salt. 

 And it is therefore clear that the fixation of sulphur 

 arises from its intimate union with a fixed salt. For 

 if sulphureous oils are combined with fixed salt, as is 

 the case in soap, they lose their inflammability alto- 

 gether. For soap, which is partly composed of oil, 

 will not blaze if thrown into the fire. 



When in this way nitro-aerial spirit, effervescing 

 obscurely with terrestrial matter, raises its sulphureous 

 part to the requisite volatility and coalesces also with 

 its saline part to form nitre, the elements of natural 

 things are brought into the condition required for 

 the production of plants. For all plants seem to be 

 composed of terrestrial sulphur in a sufficiently volatile 

 and inflammable condition, and of nitro-aerial spirit 

 held in the embrace of salt and subdued, that is to say 

 of nitrous salt, as will be shown presently. 



It serves as a proof of the origin of vegetables in 



