<“ 
| of Plintes Naturall Hiftorie. Aq7 
A theluftre foone.And yet this Minium is taken to be but a kind of ruftin mettals, eithetfilver or 
_lead,as they lie in the mines. Moreover, the minerall Vermillion a y in the forefaid 
Minium mines of ae no filver mixed,therewith, boyle andtrie ivin the fireas much 
as you will. Alfothe way to fiad true Minium from falfe, is by the ineanes of gold: for touchthe 
fophifticat Minium with a peece of gold red hot it will wax blacke: wherasthe true Minium kee- 
peth colour ftill. [Where by the way note, Pat Tread it may be falfified with Quickelime:] And 
afcer the fame manner, if there beno gold ac hand to trie it by,you hall foone fee the proofé and 
find the fal(hood bya plate of yron red hor,and uled accordingly. Furthermore,this hath beene 
-obferved, That the fhining beames either of Sun or Moone, doe much hurt to ihe luftre of Ver- 
million,or any thing painted therewith, But what meanes to prevent this inconvenience ? Even 
B rovernifh the wall after the colour is dried upon it in this manner: Take white Punicke wax,mele 
» it with oile,and while itis hote,wafh the faid painting all over with penfils or fine brufbes of bri- 
ftles,wet in the faid vernifh.But when this vermifhis laid on,it muft be well chafed & heatagaine 
_ with red hot coales made of Gall-nuts held clofe unto it,tchat the wall may {weat and frie againe: 
which done, it ought afterwards to be rubbed over well with cerecloths,and laft of all with cleane 
linnen cloths,that it may fhine againe and be flicke as ftatues of marble be, | 
Moreover, the workmen that are emploied in their fhops about the making of Vermillion,do 
bind unto their faces in manner of Maskes,large bladders, that they may take and deliver their 
wind at libertieand yet not bee in daunger of drawing in with their breath that pernicious and 
deadly pouder, which is no better than poyfon:yet fo,as they may fee out of the faid masks ne- 
C verthelefie. 
To conclude,Vermillion is ufed much in limning the titles and infcriptions of rols and books, 
itferteth foorth the letters alfo,and maketh them more faire and beaunfull which are written in 
tables over fepulchres,be they enriched otherwife either with gold or marble ftone. ; 
Cuar. vin me | 
eee Of Quick/ilver artificial called Hydrargyrum Of guilding filver.Of Touch- stones | 
for to trie the diverfe kinds of filver, , 
> Oinventive is the wit of man, that there hath beene devifed in the world a meanes to make 
D an artificiall Quickfilver in ftead of the true andnaturall,and that out of the fecond kind of 
Minium which before I called Secundarium. I fhould erewhile have fpeken thereof in the 
chapter of the right Quickfilver,but deferred itl have no farther than to this prefent place. Firft 
therefore this is to beunderftood,that made it is two manner of waies,fometimes of the Minium 
“aforefaid punned with vinegre in morters,and with peftles all of brafic; otherwhiles iris drawne 
by fire : for they putfecundarie Vermillion in an earthen pot well luted all over with cley, upon 
which there is feta pan of yron,& the fame covered over the head with another pot well cemen- 
ted ; under which earthen por abovenamed,there ought to be a good fire made,& the fame kepe 
continually with blowing:and thus by circulation there will appeare a dew or {weat in the upper- 
moft veffell proceeding trom the vapors refolved which beeing wiped off, will in fubftance thew 
E liquidas water and in colour refemble filver:The fame liquor is eafie to devide into drops,andas 
Ht againe by the lubricitic thereof,to run into an humor. This Quickfilver beeing by the judge- 
ment of all men aranke poyfon,uppofe,that al! things reported of Minium as medicinable,be 
dangerousremedies,unlefle haply that by inunétion of the head or belly, it ftaieth flux of bloud 
with this caution and charge notwithftanding that it neither perce and enter into the inward nes 
le parts,nor touch the wound:for otherwife my conceitis,that ic ought not to be ufed.| fee that 
now adaies filver onely, and in manner nothing elfe, is guilded by the meanes of this artificial] 
Quicktilver:wheras gold foile fhould be laidalio after the fame maner upon vefléls,or any work- 
manthip of brafle: but(asI have beforefaid) the deceit and fraud thatis every where inthe world, 
which maketh men fo wittieas they be,hath devifed other meanes of guilding,and thofe of leffk 
F difpence and charge than with any Quickfilver, according as I have before declared, 249 
I cannot thus writeasI doe fo much of gold and filver,but me thinks I muft ofneceffity {peak 
of the ftonewhich they call in Latin *Coticula,which in times paft was not ufually found in any * 3. The touchs 
place but in the river Tmolus, as faith Theophraftws : butin thefe daies wee find it every where ; fone, | 
fome call it Heraclius, others Lydius. Now thefe ftonesall the fort of them are but {mall, nor 
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