And so, when an equal weight of Spirit of Wine and Oil of Vitriol are digested together, and in Distillation yield two fragrant and volatile Spirits which will not mix with one another, and a fix'd black Earth remains behind; doth not this shew that Oil of Vitriol is composed of volatile and fix'd Parts strongly united by Attraction, so as to ascend together in form of a volatile, acid, fluid Salt, until the Spirit of Wine attracts and separates the volatile Parts from the fixed? And therefore, since Oil of Sulphur per Campanam is of the same Nature with Oil of Vitriol, may it not be inferred, that Sulphur is also a mixture of volatile and fix'd Parts so strongly cohering by Attraction, as to ascend together in Sublimation. By dissolving Flowers of Sulphur in Oil of Turpentine, and distilling the Solution, it is found that Sulphur is composed of an inflamable thick Oil or fat Bitumen, an acid Salt, a very fix'd Earth, and a little Metal. The three first were found not much unequal to one another, the fourth in so small a quantity as scarce to be worth considering. The acid Salt dissolved in Water, is the same with Oil of Sulphur per Campanam, and abounding much in the Bowels of the Earth, and particularly in Markasites, unites it self to the other Ingredients of the Markasite, which are, Bitumen, Iron, Copper, and Earth, and with them compounds Allum, Vitriol, and Sulphur. With the Earth alone it compounds Allum; with the Metal alone, or Metal and Earth together, it compounds Vitriol; and with the Bitumen and Earth it compounds Sulphur. Whence it comes to pass that Markasites abound with those three Minerals. And is it not from the mutual Attraction of the Ingredients that they stick together for compounding these Minerals, and that the Bitumen carries up the other Ingredients of the Sulphur, which without it would not sublime? And the same Question may be put concerning all, or almost all the gross Bodies in Nature. For all the Parts of Animals and Vegetables are composed of Substances volatile and fix'd, fluid and solid, as appears by their Analysis; and so are Salts and Minerals, so far as Chymists have been hitherto able to examine their Composition.
Cuando el sublimado de mercurio se vuelve a sublimar con mercurio fresco, y se convierte en Mercurius Dulcis, que es una tierra blanca e insípida apenas disoluble en agua, y el Mercurius Dulcis vuelto a sublimar con espíritu de sal se convierte de nuevo en sublimado de mercurio; y cuando los metales corroídos con un poco de ácido se convierten en herrumbre, que es una tierra insípida e indisoluble en agua, y esta tierra impregnada con más ácido se convierte en una sal metálica; y cuando algunas piedras, como el espato de plomo, disueltas en menstruos adecuados se convierten en sales; ¿no muestran estas cosas que las sales son tierra seca y ácido acuoso unidos por atracción, y que la tierra no se convertirá en sal sin la cantidad de ácido necesaria para hacerla disoluble en agua? ¿No provienen los sabores agudos y punzantes de los ácidos de la fuerte atracción mediante la cual las partículas ácidas se precipitan sobre las partículas de la lengua y las agitan? Y cuando los metales se disuelven en menstruos ácidos, y los ácidos en conjunto con el metal actúan de un modo diferente, de manera que el compuesto tiene un sabor diferente mucho más suave que antes, y a veces dulce; ¿no es porque los ácidos se adhieren a las partículas metálicas y, por ello, pierden gran parte de su actividad? Y