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Preface.

It has long been world-renowned from the mineral works of Isaac Hollandus Isaac Hollandus and his son John Isaac were 15th-century Dutch alchemists whose writings were highly influential in the 1600s., Samuel Norton Samuel Norton (1548–1621) was an English alchemist known for his "Key of Alchemy," which sought to simplify the works of George Ripley., and others, how the ancient philosophers consistently held that they must seek and obtain their so-called Metallic or Mineral Stone from no other thing than the metals themselves and their root.

Initially, they indeed sought this in quicksilver original Latin: Argento Vivo or common mercury original Latin: Mercurio Vulgi alone—though with much loss of time. Subsequently, they sought it in the perfect metals, especially Gold, as the most highly perfect, by means of the Spirit original Latin: mediante Spiritu or Mercurial Water original Latin: Aqua Mercuriali. Following this, they also found the Star of the Sun original Latin: Astrum Solis—which is the Soul of Gold or the Red Tincture—no less in the imperfect red metals, after first reducing them to the First Matter original Latin: previa eorundem reductione ad Materiam primam. This is possible because the Metallic Root original Latin: Radix Metallica is contained within each and every one of them in greater or lesser degrees original Latin: secundum magis & minus; they found it especially in Mars The alchemical name for Iron. and Venus The alchemical name for Copper..