Chemical Beginner

[Digestion] thins the humors original: "humores"; in early modern medicine and chemistry, humors were the bodily or elemental fluids that needed to be balanced or refined., cooks away the remaining wateriness in the juices, softens harshness, and brightens what is opaque, so that by digesting, substances that were previously unmanageable become suitable and milder for the works. If anything within remains half-cooked, it is brought to the condition of completed parts, so that a more abundant harvest of essence may follow. For the harsh part or juice is, as it were, tamed, so that it becomes mild; this not only increases the essence but also allows it to be easily drawn away from the inert dregs original: "foecibus inertibus"; the "feces" or dregs are the leftover, useless solid materials after the essence has been extracted.. By another name, this is also called Maceration: for Maceration has a certain power of penetrating, unlocking, and freeing a substance from its impurities.

Menstruum

The liquid used in putrefaction is called a menstruum from the word for "month" original: "A mense"; Beguin explains the etymology of the term from the Latin mensis, as the process was traditionally thought to require a philosophical month (40 days) to complete.. It is either the substance's own natural moisture, or another similar liquid, and is very often water menstruum|A solvent used in alchemy to dissolve solids or extract their medicinal virtues..

Distillation

Distillation is the drawing forth original: "prolectatio"; the act of enticing or drawing out the subtle parts of a substance. by which an essence is extracted in the form of a liquid. By this process, a separation of thin spirits from the coarser parts is achieved; and this is done either by ascent Distillation "by ascent" refers to the vapors rising up into a still-head (alembic) before condensing, whereas distillation "by descent" involves the essence flowing downward.,