Professional Documents
Culture Documents
But while the philosophers spoke little of the variable yield of the chrysopeus, on the
other hand they displayed more prolixity toward the medicinal properties of the Elixir, as
well as on the surprising effects that it enables one to obtain in the plant kingdom.
"The white Elixir," says Batsdorff, "performs marvels on illnesses of all animals and
especially on those women suffer from... for it is the true potable moon of the Ancients".
The anonymous author of The Key to the Great Work, mentioning Batsdorff's text once
more, asserts that "this medicine possesses other even more incredible virtues. When it is
at the white stage of the Elixir, it has so much sympathy with women that it can renew
their bodies and render them as robust and vigorous as they were in their youth... For this
effect, a bath is first prepared with several fragrant herbs with which they should scrub
themselves clean; then they go into a second bath without herbs, but in which 3 grains of
the white elixir were dissolved in a pint of wine spirit and then poured into the water.
They remain in this bath for a quarter of an hour; after which, without drying themselves,
a great fire is to be prepared to dry this precious liquor. The ladies then feel so strong
within themselves, and their body is rendered so white that they could not imagine it
without having experienced it. Our good father Hermes agrees with this operation, but,
besides these baths, desires that, at the same time and for seven consecutive days, this
Elixir be taken internally; and he adds, if a lady does the same thing every year, she will
live exempt from all diseases to which other ladies are subject without experiencing any
discomfort."
Dosage
Huginus Barma certifies that "the stone fermented with gold can be used in medicine in
this medicine in this manner: one scruple or twenty-four grains are to be taken, dissolved
according to the art in two ounces of spirit of wine, and two to three and up to four drops
will be prescribed depending on the illness' requirements, in a little wine or in some other
suitable vehicle". According to the ancient authors, all ailments are radically healed on
one day that lasted for a month; in twelve days if they are a year old; in a month if they
appeared more than a year ago.
Furthermore, he does not acknowledge any limits to the virtues of the Elixir: "Leprosy,
gout, paralysis, kidney stone, epilepsy, dropsy... could not resist the virtue of this
medicine." And as the healing of these reputedly incurable diseases doesn't seem
sufficient to him, he eagerly adds to the list even more admirable properties. "This
medicine causes the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the mute to speak, the lame to walk; it
can totally renew a man by causing his skin to change, his teeth, fingernails and white
hair to fall out, in stead of which new ones will grow, in the color desired". We are now
drifting into humor and buffoonery.
Effect On Plant Kingdom
Going by what the majority of sages say, the stone can give excellent results in the plant
kingdom, particularly in what concerns fruit trees. In the spring, if we pour a solution of
the Elixir highly diluted with rain water on the soil close to their roots, they can be made
resistant to all causes of decay and barrenness. They produce even more and bear healthy
and delicious fruits. Batsdorff goes so far as to say that it could be possible, using this
process, to cultivate exotic vegetables in our latitude. "Delicate plants," he writes, "which
a dose at the same moment so we would excarnate together if it should prove fatal. But it
proved beneficial and energized our bodies.
Shortly after that event, the wife of a prominent local physician died; and the doctor,
knowing of our experiments and that the books claimed that such a stone, if used within a
reasonable time, would raise the dead, asked us to experiment on the body of his wife.
Half an hour had elapsed since her death and her body was growing cold. A dose of the
dissolved White Stone was put into the mouth of the corpse without perceptible result.
Fifteen minutes afterward a second dose was administered and the heart commenced to
pulsate weakly. Fifteen minutes later a third dose was given and soon the woman opened
her eyes. In the course of a few weeks, the patient became convalescent, after which she
lived seven years.