The Sixth Part.

Earth. But to return to Helmont, the same Authour somewhere supply’s me with another Argument against the Earth’s being such an Element as my Adversaries would have it. For he somewhere affirms, that he can reduce all the Terrestrial parts of mixt bodies into insipid water; whence we may argue against the Earths being one of their Elements, even from that Notion of Elements which you may remember Philoponus recited out of Aristotle himself, when he lately disputed for his Chymists against Themistius. And here we may on this occasion consider, that since a Body from which the Fire hath driven away its looser parts is wont to be look’d upon as Earth, upon the Account of its being endow’d with both these qualities, Tastlessenesse and Fixtnesse, (for Salt of Tartar though Fixt passes not among the Chymists for Earth, because ’tis strongly Tasted) if it be in the power of Natural Agents to deprive the Caput Mortuum of a body of either of those two Qualities, or to give them both to a portion of matter that had them not both before, the Chymists will not easily define what part of a resolv’d Concrete is earth, and make out, that that Earth is a primary, simple, and indestructible Body. Now there are some cases wherein the more skilful of the Vulgar Chymists themselves pretend to be able, by repeated Cohobations and other fit Operations, to make the Distilled parts of a Concrete bring its own Caput Mortuum over the Helme, in the forme of a Liquor; in which state being both Fluid and Volatile, you will easily believe it would not be taken for Earth. And indeed by a skilful, but not Vulgar, way of managing some Concretes, there may be more effected in this kind, then you perhaps would easily think. And on the other side, that either Earth may be Generated, or at least Bodies that did not before appear to be neer Totally Earth, may be so alter’d as to pass for it, seems very possible, if HelmontNovi item modos quibus totum Salpetiæ in terram convertitur, totumque Sulphur semel dissolutum fixetur in Pulvearem terreum. Helmont in Compl. atque Mist. Elementor. Sect. 24. have done that by Art which he mentions in several places; especially where He sayes that he knowes wayes whereby Sulphur once dissolv’d is all of it fix’d into