What use the air is for as to the life of things

What is Death?

The death of all naturall things is an change and destruction of their powers, and virtues, a predominancy of that which is evill, and an overcoming of what is good, an abolishing of the former nature, and generation of a new, and another nature.

Many living things have varioius virtues. But when they are dead retaine little or nothing of their virtue, but become unsavory, and unprofitable.

So on the contrary many things, whilest they live, are bad, but after they are dead, and corrupted, manifest a manifold power, and virtue, and are very useful.

I give one of many examples to silence those Sophisters who say that:

• we can receive nothing from dead things
• we must not seek or expect to find anything in them.

The reason is, because they do esteem nothing of the preparations of Alchymists, by which many such like great secrets are found out.

For looke upon Mercury, crude Sulphur, and crude Antimony, as they are taken out of their Mines, i.e. whilest they are living, and see what little virtue there is in them, how slowly they put forth their virtues, yea they do more hurt, then good, and are rather poison, then a Medicine.

The preparation of Mercury Sulphur and Antimony.But if through the industry of a skilfull Alchymist, they bee corrupted in their first substance, and wisely prepared (viz. if Mercury be coagulated, precipitated, sublimed, dissolved, and turned into an oyle, if Sulphur bee sublimed, calcined, reverberated, and turned into an oyle; also if Antimony bee sublimed, calcined, and reverberated and turned into oyle) you shall see how usefull they are, how much strength, and virtue they have, and how quickly they put forth, and shew their efficacy, which no man is able to speak enough in the commendation of, or to describe. For many are their virtues, yea more then will ever bee found out by any man.

Wherefore let every faithfull Alchymist, and Physitian spend their whole lives in searching into these three: For they will abundantly recompense him for all his labour, study, and costs.

What the Death of man is.

But to come to particulars, and to write particularly of the death, and destruction of every naturall thing, and what the death of every thing is, and after what manner every thing is destroyed; you must know therefore in the first place, that the death of man is without doubt nothing else, but an end of his daily work, the taking away of the Aire, the decaying of the Naturall balsome, the extinguishing of the naturall light, and the great separation of the three substances, viz. the body, soule, and spirit, and their return from whence they came.

For because a naturall man is of the earth, the Earth also is his Mother, into which he must return, and there must lose his natural earthly flesh, and so be regenerated at the last day in a new celestiall, and purified flesh, as Christ said to Nicodemus when he came to him by night. For thus must these words bee understood of regeneration.