Of the Separation of Vegetables.

 

 

How Vegetables are separated.

The separation of those things, which grow out of the Earth, and are combustible¹, as fruits, hearbs, flowers, leaves, grasse, roots, woods, &c. is made many wayes.

For first by Distillation² the Flegm is separated from them, then the Mercury, then the Oyle, then the Refine, then the Sulphur, and lastly the Salt.

All these Separations being made according to the Spagiricall Art many notable, and excellent medicines come from thence, which are to be used as well within, as without the body.

But now seeing idlenesse is so much in request amongst Physitians, and all labour and study is turned only to insolency; truly I do not wonder, that all such preparations are every where neglected, and coales sold at so low a price, that if Smiths could be so easily without coales in forging, and working their Metalls, as Physitians are in preparing their Medicines, certainly Colliers would long since have been brought to extream want.

A reprehension³ of Physitians.

In the mean time I will give to Spagiricall Physitians their due praise. For they are not given to idlenesse, and sloth⁴, nor goe in a proud habit, or plush and velvet⁵ garments, often shewing their rings upon their fingers, or wearing swords with silver hilts by their sides, or fine and gay gloves upon their hands, but diligently⁶ follow their labours, sweating whole nights, and dayes by their furnaces.

[Pg 93]The commendation of Chymists, and how they differ from other Physitians.These doe not spend their time abroad for recreation, but take delight in their laboratory. They wear Leather garments with a pouch⁷, and Apron⁸ wherewith they wipe their hands. They put their fingers amongst coales, into clay, and dung, not into gold rings. They are sooty, and black, like Smithes, or Colliers, and doe not pride themselves with cleane, and beautifull faces. They are not talkative when they come to the sick, neither doe they extoll their Medicines: seeing they well know that the Artificer must not commend his work, but the work the Artificer, and that the sick cannot be cured with fine words.

How many degrees of Alchymie there be.

Therefore laying aside all these kinds of vanities, they delight to bee busied about the fire, and to learn the degrees of the science of Alchymie: Of this order are Distillation, Resolution, Putrefaction⁹, Extraction, Calcination, Reverberation¹⁰, Sublimation¹¹, Fixation, Separation, Reduction, Coagulation¹², Tincture, &c.

But how these separations may bee done by the help of distinct degrees according to the Art of Alchymie, hath been in generall spoken of already. Wherefore it is needlesse here to make repetition.

But to proceed to particulars, and briefly¹³ to explaine the practise, you must know that Water, Spirit, Liquor, Oyle, &c. cannot bee separated after one and the same processe, out of Flowers, Hearbes, Seeds, Leaves, Roots, Trees, Fruits, Woods, by the degree of Distillation.

For Hearbs require one processe, Flowers another, Seeds another, Leaves another, Roots another, Trees[Pg 94] another, the Stalkes another, the Fruite another, Woods another.

The degrees of fire in Distillation.

And in this degree of Distillation, there are also foure distinct degrees of Fire to bee considered.

The first degree of Fire in Distillation is Balneum Mari?, this Distillation is made in Water.

Another degree of Fire is Distillation made in Ashes.

The third in Sand.

The fourth in a naked Fire: as also Distillation may bee made by Aqua fortis, and other sharp Waters.

With what degrees of fire every Vegetable is to be Distilled¹⁴.

To the first degree of Fire belong, Hearbs, Flowers, Seeds, and such like.

To the second, Leaves, Fruits, &c.

To the third, Roots, and Boughes of trees, &c.

To the fourth, Wood, and such like.

Note, that every one of these must bee beaten small, and bruised¹⁵ before they bee put into the Still.

And thus much bee spoken concerning the Distillation of Waters out of the Vegetable substances.

As concerning the Seperation and Distillation of Oyls, the processe is the same as that of Water, only some of them are to bee distilled per descensum, and cannot ascend¹⁶ as Waters, the processe of these in this case is to bee changed.

But Liquors are not separated in Distillation as Waters, or Oyles, but are expressed from their corporeall substances with a presse.

[Pg 95]

And here wee must know, that there are some Oyles that are pressed out, and separated after the same manner, by a Presse as liquors are, and that for this reason, because they should not contract an ill odour from the Fire, as otherwise they would doe.

Of this Order is the Oyle of Almonds, Nuts, hard egges, and the like.

Also wee must note, that all Oyles, if they be prepared, and coagulated according to the Spagiricall Art, yeeld a kind of Vernish, Gumme, Amber¹⁷, or Resine, which may bee also called Sulphur, and that which remaines in the bottome of the Still may bee calcined, and brought to ashes, and from it may bee with warme water alone, the Alcali extracted, and separated from it.

The Ashes which is left behind is called the Dead Earth, out of which never any else can bee extracted.

1 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

2 distillation   

n.蒸馏，蒸馏法

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century.通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• The oil is distilled from the berries of this small tree.油是从这种小树的浆果中提炼出来的。

3 reprehension   

n.非难，指责

参考例句：

4 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

5 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

6 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

7 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

8 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

9 putrefaction   

n.腐坏，腐败

参考例句：

• Putrefaction is the anaerobic degradation of proteinaceous materials.腐败作用是蛋白性物质的厌氧降解作用。
• There is a clear difference between fermentation and putrefaction.发酵与腐败有明显区别。

10 reverberation   

反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物

参考例句：

• It was green as an emerald, and the reverberation was stunning. 它就象翠玉一样碧绿，回响震耳欲聋。
• Just before dawn he was assisted in waking by the abnormal reverberation of familiar music. 在天将破晓的时候，他被一阵熟悉的，然而却又是反常的回声惊醒了。

11 sublimation   

n.升华，升华物，高尚化

参考例句：

• Presently, entrepreneurship, innovation and excellence-creating are the sublimation of the spirit. 在新的历史条件下，“创业创新创优”的三创精神是新时期江苏人文精神的升华。 来自互联网
• Luleng deems that public will is a sublimation of human's free volitions. 摘要卢梭认为，公意就是人类自由意志的升华。 来自互联网

12 coagulation   

n.凝固；凝结物

参考例句：

• Blood becomes stickier to help coagulation in case of a cut.割伤的时候，血液会变得更为黏稠以助于凝结。
• Man has been intrigued with blood coagulation.人类一直对血凝感兴趣。

13 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

14 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

16 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

17 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。