The Philosophers have in many places made mention of four sorts of fire
necessary to the naturallnatural workework, namely Lully, the Author of Scala, Ripley,
and many others: and to this end Raymund speaking of fires (SaythSays Scala)
You must note, that here are contrary operations: because as the fire -
against nature dissolves the Spirit of a fixed body into the water of a -
cloud, and binds the body of a volatile spirit into a congealed earth, soeso
contrarywisecontrariwise the fire of nature congealescongeals the dissolved spirit of a fixed
body into a globous earth, and resolves the fixed body of a volatile -
Spirit by fire against nature, not into the water of a cloud, but into Phi=
losophicallPhilosophical water. Ripley speaks more clearly of these fires in gate 3. thus:
There are four sorts of fires, which you ought to know, the naturallnatural, unna=
turallunnatural, fire against nature, and elementallelemental, which kindlethkindles wood: These
fires weewe use, and noeno more. Fire against nature ought to excruciate -
bodyesbodies, that is the dragon, as I tell you, violently burning, as the fire of hell.
The fire of nature is the third menstruum, that fire is naturally in every
thing: Occasioned fire weewe call unnaturallunnatural, as the heat of ashes and baths
to putrefy: Without these fires you can bring nothing to putrefaction, where=
by your matter may be separated, that it may at once be proportioned -
for a new conjunction: Make therefore a fire within in your glasseglass, which
can burneburn bodyesbodies more effectually, than elementallelemental fire: these are their
sayings. They are indeed called fires, because they have a fiery virtue, -
the naturallnatural in coagulating, the unnaturallunnatural in dissolving, the fire against
nature in corrupting, the elementallelemental in administringadministering the first heat and
motion: And there is a concatenated order observed in them, that the Se=
cond may be incited by the first, the third by the second, the fourth by
the third and first together to action, soeso as that one is the agent, and
the other the patient, and the same both agent and patient in different
respect: That which is observed in iron rings or pillars held together by a
Magnet, and joynedjoined by mutuallmutual contact, the same in these fires: for the
elementallelemental dothdoes like the Magnet immitemit its virtue though the second
and third even to the fourth, and joynesjoins one to another by mutuallmutual -
operations, and causethcauses them to stickestick together, till internallinternal action be -
effected amongst the uppermost: The first is elementallelemental fire indeed -
and name, the second is aireair or airy, the third watrywatery or of a Lunar na=
ture, the fourth earthy: It is needlesseneedless to say any thing of the first, -
because it is knowneknown to every mans eye and touch: The three other are
dragons, menstrua'smenstruums, waters, Sulphurs, and MercuryesMercuries: Dragons, because -
being participants of venenosity, they devouredevour

serpents of their owneown
kind, frett and alter, that is, dissolve and coagulate bodyesbodies incorporated -
and mixed with them: They are called Menstrua'sMenstruums, because the Philoso=
phicallPhilosophical infant is produced from them, and nourished therewith even to
its nativity: Lully in his bookebook of the Quintessence, dist. 3. hathhas two -
Menstruums, the vegetable, and minerallmineral, Ripley in his PræfacePreface of the gates hathhas
three, which are really one and doedo agree: for the generation of the infant
is made of them alltogetheraltogether, and a white water præceedspreceeds the birth of it, which
is not of the substance but superfluity of the infant, and therefore to be -
separated: They are waters, because in fire they ShewShow a watrywatery nature, that
is, flowing and liquidity, which agrees with water: Manifest it is that the -
propertyesproperties of waters are different and wonderfullwonderful, whereof some doedo petrefypetrify, be=
ing coagulated into very hard stones fittfit for building: Very like these are the -
Philosophers minerallmineral waters, which doedo condense, and turneturn into a stony con=
sistence: They are allsoalso called Sulphurs because of the virtue of Sulphur, -
which they comprehend in them, for the Sulphur of nature is mixed and -
made one with the other Sulphur, and the two Sulphurs are dissolved by one,
and one is separated from two, and the Sulphurs are præservedpreserved and contained
by Sulphurs, as Yximidius in Turba saythsays: Now what Sulphurs are Dardaris
there declares in these words: Sulphurs are Souls hidden in the fowerfour elements,
which being extracted by art doedo naturally containecontain one another and are -
joynedjoined together: if you can by water governegovern and purify well that which -
is hidden in the belly of Sulphur, that hidden thing meeting with its owneown -
nature rejoycethrejoices, even as water with its like. I will now tell you (SaythSays Mosius
allsoalso) what it is: the first indeed, which is fiery Argent vive, the second, the -
body compounded in it, and the third is the water of Sulphur, by which the
first is washdwashed, and dilacerated, and governed, till the workework be accomplished:
That which is saydsaid of Sulphurs, the same may be understood of soeso -
many MercuryesMercuries: For this saythsays the same Mosius afterwards: Argent vive
Cambar is the Magnesia, but Argent vive or Auripigment is that Sulphur
which ascends from a mixdmixed compound: But I will omittomit the inference of
more testimonyestestimonies, they being infinite and obvious to every man: These fourefour
fires are included as it were in Spheres and orbesorbs, that is, every one hathhas a
particular center, from which or to which their motion tends, but neverthelessenevertheless
they are kept soeso bound together partly by nature, partly by art, that one
can operate little or nothing without another, yea the action of one is the
passion of another, and on the contrary . . . . . . .