The miracles of waters are soeso many and soeso great, as scarce to be -
comprehended in a large volume, concerning which severallseveral authors -
have here and there treated: But above all the two PhilosophicallPhilosophical wa=
ters are celebrated with that name, because they doedo as it were not one=
lyonly æmulateemulate, but allsoalso exceed the virtues and propertyesproperties of all the rest. -
The rivers Sybaris, Axus of Macedonia, and Melas of BœotiaBoeotia make -
Cattle blackeblack, if they drinkedrink thereof; but the rivers Crathis, Clitummus
of Mevania, and Cephisus make blackeblack Cattle white. The waters of -
Sinuessa in the country of Campania takes away barrennessebarrenness from -
both sexes. The river Afrodisius makes women barren: Cabura a foun=
tainefountain of Mesopotamia hathhas water of a sweet smell; The water of Any=
ger in Peloponnesus stinks very much: The fountainefountain of Jupiter Ham=
mon is cold in the day time, hotthot by night, and morning and evening -
luke=-warmelukewarm by turnesturns. WeeWe need not insist upon others, all things even
contrary one to the other are performdperformed by the Philosophers waters. Of
which SaythSays Lully in his bookebook of the Quintessence, distin: 3. of ince=
ration; And soeso there is a twofold consideration in the art, that is, of
the single nature of one metallmetal to make two contrary liquors in the -
composition; one, which hathhas a fixing, congealing, and hardninghardening vir=
tue, and the other, which is volatile, unfixed, and soft. But that se=
cond liquor is hardened, fixed, and congealed by the first: from both -
which liquors results one stone congealed, fixed, and hardened, which
hathhas the virtue of congealing not a thing congealed, to harden a thing
mollifyedmollified, and to mollify a hard thing: From which it is evident, -
what those two waters are, and why to be reduced into one water: -
For the Stone is called water, because fusible, and on the contrary,
water stone, because frangible: But these waters are drawnedrawn out of -
different places, sometimes in a long tract, as may be seen at Rome -
about Aqua Virginis, and other artificiallartificial fountains, and then they -
must be mixed by conflux, that one may be made of two. For if
one be of a hotthot and the other of a cold virtue, being mixed together
they will acquire mixdmixed virtues, and after a wonderfullwonderful manner re=
gulate one the other: From hence are most excellent medicinallmedicinal and
bath waters to be produced, which will profligate all sorts of diseases -
and maladyesmaladies, and restore a man to firmefirm health. Nature dothdoes in=
deed by her occult artifice of composition confound and mix many -
waters in the bowellsbowels of the earth with severallseveral virtues of MynesMines, which
are wholesome and coḿodiouscommodious to many sickesick and infirmeinfirm persons,

but
if art be added with due regiment, all evacuations being præmisedpremised and
other things to be prætermittedpretermitted, and mix those things that are to be -
mixed together, that composition will be farrefar more effectualleffectual: -
Which, though it seem artificiallartificial, is notwithstanding merely naturallnatural,
because of things different it is made one simple homogeneous matter,
which can never be effected by art: A mixtion and confusion is indeed cau=
sed by art, without the helpehelp of nature noeno true and naturallnatural union, -
which is made by nature alone: There is an artificiallartificial mixtion of various -
simples in Triacle, which is performdperformed by contrition and fermentation, -
but noeno man will (except inconsiderately) affirmeaffirm it to be a naturallnatural -
composition, much lesseless a homogeneous medicament: As to the artificiallartificial
mixtion of substances it is manifest, that they doedo not enter one -
into the other in the least parts, though they cannot againeagain be divided
and separated one from the other by the industry of man. But as to
the mixtion of all qualityesqualities weewe must enquire, whether the first Tri=
acles of all Simples may be reduced into one Quintessence, illeg.
or yet in their powders or substances be, as before, as accidents in a subject,
or colourcolor in a wall; and then what is to be saydsaid of the second, third, and
fourth qualityesqualities? Probable it is that all the qualityesqualities are yet inhærentinherent
in their owneown subjects, and not compounded together by a true natu=
rallnatural mixtion; otherwise, if the qualityesqualities should relinquish their bo=
dyesbodies, there would be four Quintessences in every 2composition 1arti=
ficiallartifical composition, according to the number of the order of the qualityesqualities, first, -
second etc. without their bodyesbodies, and separable; which they say
is not soeso with the coagulum of a hare, which being in flux -
by the tenuity of the blood stops and as it were coagulates it, -
but in the coagulation and concretion cuttscuts and resolves the same;
soe the operations of vinegar, lead, and many other things are con=
trary according to the different use of them, because nature hathhas -
soe wonderfully mixed them: SoeSo allsoalso hathhas the PhilosophicallPhilosophical
water different and contrary virtues, because nature hathhas by the -
helpehelp of art mixed it with things contrary into one indivisible -
substance, which is nothing elselse but a Quintessence, in respect of -
other things to be mixed with it . . . . . . . .