Mineral Stone, or the Highest Medicine

[found] desiring to seek seekers original: "Liebende," literally "lovers" of the alchemical art. It is the beginning for the working of metals, when it has become a spiritual being, which is pure air, and flies back and forth without wings, and is a moving wind which, after its expulsion from its dwelling, is driven by Vulcan original: "Vulcanum"; the Roman god of fire, here representing alchemical heat or the furnace into its Chaos original: "Chaos"; the primordial, unformed state of matter, where it then enters again and resolves itself into the elements. There it is drawn up and to itself by the sidereal stars in a magnetic fashion, out of the love from which it previously went out and was worked, because its like gladly desires and takes it to itself again. But where this Spirit of Mercury original: "Spiritus Mercurii" can be captured and made corporeal literally "fleshly" or tangible, it resolves itself into a body original: "Corpus" and becomes a clear and pure transparent water, which is the true spiritual water and the first Mercurial root of minerals and metals. It is spiritual, impalpable, and incombustible, without any mixture of earthly wateriness original: "aquosität", and is the Heavenly Water original: "Himmelwaasser" of which so much has been written. For through this Spirit of Mercury, all metals can be broken, opened, and resolved into first matter original: "primam materiam" where necessary, without any corrosive. This spirit rejuvenates humans and livestock like the eagle A common alchemical reference to Psalm 103:5, "your youth is renewed like the eagle’s," signifying the restorative power of the Philosopher's Stone; it consumes all evil and leads to a great age, even to a long life. This Spirit of Mercury is the Master Key original: "Hauptschlüssel" of my other keys about which I wrote in the beginning; therefore I will call out: Come here, you bles- The text cuts off here with the catchword "segne-," likely continuing as "blessed" (gesegnete) on the following page.