Preface.

F iiij

possesses the following virtues: Firstly,
that it tints The term "tints" or "tinges" in alchemy refers to a permanent transformation of the inner essence of a substance. the blood of man toward
the highest health and drives away
all diseases; for this reason, it was
primarily given to man by God
the Almighty, and was called the
true Balsam by Theophrastus Referring to Theophrastus von Hohenheim, better known as Paracelsus (1493–1541). in the Manual.
The second virtue and effect
pertains to the metals, whereby the
unclean, imperfect metals are
purified and become perfect.
For whatever tints the human
body also tints the metals, and
one is as easy as the other.
But what the Philosophers and
also Theophrastus call imperfect metals original: "metalla imperfecta",
he indicates in the Book of Ve- Likely referring to the "Liber Vexationum" by Paracelsus, a treatise on the transformations of metals.