Mirror of Lights.

...by art, [a substance can] be made white or red, according to the will of the craftsman, once it is freed from all sulphurous and terrestrial corruption. ¶ Every perfected metal that has been purged of sulphurous and terrestrial corruption and whitened dealbatum the process of "whitening," a key stage in alchemy called albedo is pure quicksilver living silver, whether that metal was previously copper, iron, tin, or lead. The proof is that the cause of perfection in these metals, according to alchemy, is that clean pure and pure argentum vivum quicksilver or mercury, considered by alchemists to be the "mother" or base of all metals is any metal that is clean and uncorrupted—lacking all sulphurous and terrestrial corruption. Once whitened, it is clean, pure quicksilver clean pure, whether the metal was formerly copper, iron, tin, or lead. This [substance] "A" the author uses "A" as a logical placeholder to represent the metal under discussion is a perfected metal, purged of all sulphurous corruption, and therefore it is not gold, nor copper, nor iron, nor tin, nor lead; rather, this "A" is pure quicksilver now? in a greater? [sense]. This is made clear by examining each of the aforementioned metals individually. For this "A" is a clean metal, lacking all corruption no The gloss "ne" likely stands for "negatione" (by negation) or "non" (not), because by possibility?, "A" is fully purged of all sulphurous no and terrestrial corruption. It is not gold because it is white, and gold is red. Since, therefore, gold and clean, pure quicksilver clean pure and red? pure [gold] differ, just as "A" is not gold, neither is "A" copper; for "A" is white and clean, lacking all corruption, while copper is red and corrupt; therefore "A" is not copper. Nor is "A" iron, nor tin, nor lead, because iron, tin, and lead are corrupt metals. This "A" is a clean metal, lacking all corruption no; therefore it is not iron, nor tin, nor lead. It is therefore evident that

"A" is a clean, uncorrupted no metal, lacking all corruption no, and it is not gold, nor copper, nor iron, nor tin, nor lead; and consequently, "A" is pure quicksilver pure that is to say?. This means that every metal perfected and fully purged of all sulphurous and terrestrial corruption and whitened is pure quicksilver pure, whether that metal was previously copper, iron, tin, or lead. ¶ Every metal fully purged of all sulphurous no and terrestrial corruption that is red is pure gold, regardless of which metal it was before—be it copper, iron, tin, or lead. The proof is that the cause for such a metal, being fully purged and pure red, is that? it is then pure gold. ¶ ¶ Every clean metal, lacking all corruption no, which is not pure quicksilver pure, nor copper, nor iron, nor tin, nor lead, is pure gold. "A" is a clean metal, lacking all corruption no, fully purged; and it is not pure quicksilver pure, nor [yet] pure red, nor copper (because copper is a corrupt metal), nor iron, nor tin, nor lead (because those are white and corrupt metals). "A" is a red, clean metal, lacking all corruption no; therefore "A" is pure gold. ¶ Copper, iron, tin, and lead can, through art, become pure quicksilver pure; whereby any? copper, iron, tin, and lead that can be fully purged of all corruption through the arts and whitened can become pure quicksilver pure. This is evident from its? prior [state]. But through art, copper, iron, tin, and lead can [be fully...]