The Philosophers have in many places made mention of two stones given to us
gratis, as IsaackIsaac, Arnold, and others, amongst whomewhom AvicenneAvicenna saythsays they lyelie in -
dung neglected and rejected by the vulgar, which, if they be joyndjoined together, are
able to complete the Magistery: Some men extollextol the occidentalloccidental Mercury, which
hathhas præferrdpreferred itselfeitself before gold, and overcome it: But the Author of the ad=
vice of the wedlockewedlock of Sol and Luna out of the epistle of Aristotle dothdoes -
best of all describe the two stones, where heehe saythsays: That there are two -
principallprincipal stones of this art, the white and the red of wonderfullwonderful nature: at
the setting of the SunneSun the white begins to appear upon the surface of the
waters, hiding itselfeitself till midnight, and afterwards declines to the bottomebottom: But
the red operates contrariwise, it beginning to ascend upon the waters at the
rising of the SunneSun till noonenoon, and then descends to the bottomebottom. These -
Stones therefore are the aforesaydaforesaid Eagles sent by Jupiter from Delphi; -
These allsoalso are the wolfewolf and doggedog coming from different or opposite parts -
of the earth, which bittbit and werry'dwerried one the other, and both became mad, as -
Rhasis in his epistle declares: These stones are the most true Bezoar, -
whereof the east IndyesIndies send the best, drawnedrawn from the bowellsbowels of -
wild beasts, the West IndyesIndies yeildyield another but of lesseless efficacy, had
at Peruana out of animallsanimals made tame; SoeSo the East affoardsaffords a -
most fierce wolfewolf, the west a doggedog familiar to men, that is, Sulphur
comes from the East, Mercury from the Western tract, whereof this is
gentle and tractable, that cholerickecholeric and angry; which two, when
first they find one another, doedo fall together by the ears: and -
the doggedog being of notable bignessebigness obtains the first victory, -
prostrating the wolfewolf, and bringing him to deaths dooredoor: But the
wolfewolf recovering strength afterwards overthrowesoverthrows the doggedog, and be=
ing cast downedown never leaves him till heehe be utterly killdkilled and dead; -
In the meanemean time receiving from the doggedog noeno lesseless wounds nor lesseless
mortallmortal, than heehe gave him, till they werry one another to death: As -
touching the wolfewolf SaythSays Rosinus to Euthicia: That heehe is a fortifydfortified
souldiersoldier the conquerourconqueror of two, of much esteemeesteem and most intense
strength, perforating bodyesbodies when heehe meets with them, and is white
in apparition, red by experiment, and is the man which tooketook Luna
to wife, whomewhom some men suppose to be gold of a most pretiousprecious con=
nexionconnection and composition, whose congealed part is never dissolved, nor
footsteps or impressions defaced, which God hathhas freely bestowed -
upon the pious and elect Philosophers: You must know, that nature -
hathhas gotten

an æquallequal as an enemy. These are his words. And a little after
heehe saythsays: That Sulphur is most strong, and fighting against fire -
which it containescontains and is contained: for a most pretiousprecious colourcolor proceeds
from them being joyndjoined together, and that Sulphur, which is naturally
volatile, can never afterwards flyefly away, because the SouleSoul hathhas--
perforated it, in like manner the tincture of the SouleSoul hathhas both perforated
and is mixed with the body, and the body hathhas contained the soulesoul, and
restrained the naturallnatural part from flying. And then to one demanding which
of the stones was strongest, heehe answers: That stone which is noeno stone
is stronger than the other enemy: but the red is stronger than that -
which strengthened its companions by its fortitude. The OrientallOriental wolfewolf is
therefore stronger than the OccidentallOccidental doggedog, though heehe obtaineobtain not the
victory effectually, but perishethperishes together with the enemy: but the tinging
poysonpoison is producdproduced from both: The difference between a wolfewolf and doggedog is
small, a MastiveMastiff or great doggedog representing the formeform and shape of a
wolfewolf, soeso as to seemeseem a wolfewolf originally, but made tame by long progene=
ration: After the same manner Sulphur and Mercury doedo little differ one
from the other, because that proceeds from this, or this from that: Mercury
did indeed begettbeget Sulphur, but Sulphur purged Mercury and made it soeso:
Concerning these the same Rosinus, the quæstionquestion being asked, from --
whence comes its colourcolor? answers, from the most intense bitternessebitterness of it:
and againeagain. From whence comes its bitternessebitterness and intension? heehe answers
from the impurity of its metallmetal: And againeagain: Is its red colourcolor never su=
pereminent? heehe answers, Yes: And againeagain: Is it allsoalso never hotter than -
fire? heehe answers; Fire in respect of it is as water in respect of fire: And
againeagain: Is it not stronger than fire? heehe answers, not. And againeagain: Why -
therefore doedo you affirmeaffirm it to be stronger than fire? heehe answers, because
fires meeting together doedo one destroy the other. It is therefore manifest -
that one becomes the food and aliment of the other, and soeso much as one
decreasethdecreases, soeso much the other increasethincreases, till that which increasethincreases præ=
vaylesprevails, and the Dragon devouresdevours the serpent: In great fights it often times
happens, that they that undergoeundergo the greater slaughter doedo winnewin the
feildfield and victory; SoeSo allsoalso though the doggedog lay prostrate, yet was not -
alltogetheraltogether overcome, heehe holding his enemy soeso fast, that heehe could not
live without him, nor heehe dyedie without the other . . . . . . .