The Philosophers call their Stone vegetable, because it vegetates, growesgrows, -
is increasdincreased and multiplydmultiplied as a plant: which indeed to the ignorant seems
strange and contrary to truth; it being manifest that stones doedo neither
vegetate, nor grow after this manner, nor any thing at all relate to -
liquable metallsmetals: but they are deceived in their judgment: for that which
is unknowneunknown to them they suppose is not in rerum natura, measuring
the immensity of the universe by their capacity: For who could ever
have beleivedbelieved that a stone should grow under water, or a plant there ge=
nerated become a stone, if experience together with the credible testimo=
nyestestimonies of writers had not confirmdconfirmed it? where is that petrefyingpetrifying, where -
that tinging virtue, which hardenethhardens and tingethtinges CorallCoral, whether in the
water, or in the aireair, or in the earth? weewe may reasonably beleivebelieve it
to be, as they affirmeaffirm, a soft and flexible plant, whilst it is under wa=
ter, yet of a very terrestriallterrestrial nature, which, when it is cut ofoff and exposed
to the cold winds, becomes hard, and acquires a stony frangibility, the
watrywatery parts abounding being dryeddried up by the cold and dry aireair (for these
North winds blowing doedo introduce siccity) and the terrestriallterrestrial body -
remaining congealed with cold and siccity beingbeing the qualityesqualities of the earth:
for constriction appertainesappertains to the earth alone, not to the water, nor aireair,
as to the proper and genuine virtues of either. Besides the sea in other
places yeildsyields three medicinallmedicinal stones deduced partly from the vegetable
kind, partly from the animallanimal, or rather partly from the secrets of na=
ture; as Pearls, AmbarAmber, and Ambar=-griseAmbergris: the production of Pearls, -
and the way of taking them have been knowneknown to us, but not of the
rest: AmbarAmber is found and gathered on the Sea coasts of Sudavia, on the
shoarsshores, after a most vehement South or westerly wind, which without
doubt boylesboils out of the veins of the earth into the Sea, or is washdwashed -
out by the water, and driven by the waves to the shoarsshores: For weewe -
have seen some veins of iron and Silver swimming with the AmbarAmber,
which could not be done but in the earth. But as to the flyesflies, gnattsgnats,-
Spiders, ButterflyesButterflies, froggsfrogs, Serpents which are seen in some peicespieces (as
weewe have had 120 beads turned out of AmbarAmber, which did every one
containecontain some flyesflies, gnattsgnats, Spiders, butterflyesbutterflies, and one particle nine,
not without a singular miracle of nature) that happens by the influ=
ence and imagination of the heaven; as weewe have elswhereelsewhere demon=
strated.

That Ambar=-griseAmbergris is found after the same manner on the
ShoarsShores of the east and west IndyesIndies, cannot be denyddenied, and though -
some declare it to be the juice or gummegum of trees, as the AmbarAmber -
aforesaydaforesaid, yet they that conceive it to proceed out of veins of the -
earth doedo judge more probably: For fruitfullfruitful trees of AmbarAmber have
been in noeno place seen, which notwithstanding, if there be, doedo -
most certainly grow out of the water in the open aireair: WeeWe -
therefore ascribe both sorts of AmbarAmber to subterranean veins or stones, as
Pearls to Zoophytes (that is, a midlemiddle nature between animallanimal and plant) -
and CorallCoral to vegetables. The Philosophers stone is indeed like to these stones
and especially to CorallCoral: for as CorallCoral growesgrows in water, and drawesdraws nutriment
from the earth; soeso allsoalso the PhilosophicallPhilosophical stone growesgrows in MercuriallMercurial -
water, and from it receives whatsoever is earthy, for the augmentation of it=
selfeitself, the superfluous moisture expiring. A red colourcolor is allsoalso fixed in CorallCoral
by coagulation, which modern authors call the tincture of CorallsCorals, noeno other=
wise than as in the PhysicallPhysical stone, which becomes red in the last coagu=
lation of it, and appears like the reddest CorallCoral, which is the tincture: -
but as CorallCoral becomes hard by cold and siccity, soeso that by heat and sicci=
ty, which being augmented it likewise dissolves, contrary to the nature of
other stones, which doedo indeed dissolve, but turneturn into glasseglass, which thing
is noewisenowise agreableagreeable to this: And as CorallCoral is præparedprepared into severallseveral medi=
cines of great virtue, soeso allsoalso hathhas the PhilosophicallPhilosophical CorallCoral transferrdtransferred -
the virtues of all herbs into itselfeitself, soeso that is alone is able to performeperform
as much as all the medicines of all vegetables: For the cœlestiallcelestial SunneSun,
which infusethinfuses medicinallmedicinal virtue and efficacy into vegetables, contributes
to this its SonneSon and terrestriallterrestrial deputy more, than to all others: This is -
the PhilosophicallPhilosophical vegetable, animallanimal, and minerallmineral CorallCoral, which lyeslies
occult in the vast ocean, and is not knowneknown, except it be exposed to the
eyes and put into the hands of the ignorant: But it must be cut ofoff in
the water with very great caution, lest it looselose its juice and blood, and
nothing remayneremain but a terrestriallterrestrial chaos without its true formeform: For
herein consists all the difficulty of taking corallcoral, besides which there is -
scarce any: The superfluous moisture I meanemean, which kills the stone,
unlesseunless it be separated, which suffers not the corallinecoraline rednesseredness to -
appear, which admittsadmits not coagulation, whilst it is therein . . . . .
Avoid all disputes as much as poss...
Beware of all unruly passions
Crave the divine protection...
Demonstrate your care by improvem... *