THE SHORT WORK OF THE DIVINE THOMAS

Aquinas, On the Being & Essence of minerals, contains four chapters.


The first chapter treats of the Being of the stone	123
The second of the Being of Metal	132
The third of the Being of Metals through artifice	134
The fourth of minerals, namely how gold and silver are made by artifice	138

THE BOOKLET OF CORNELIUS ALVETANUS ANS-

rodius dedicated to Elizabeth, Queen of England, treats of making two oils for the divine Elixir

for transmuting

imperfect metals.


The first is the Philosophical oil	144
The second is the Sperm of metals	147
To make strong water Aqua fortis	148
To make royal water Aqua regia	ibid.
To make the water which the Philosophers called by various names to conceal it, such as Virgin’s Milk, Menstruum, but most powerfully and frequently Mercurial water, which is the key to the whole of Philosophy.	150