ways will be a necessary
part of my Religious Office; especially since we must all die, and
no one of us which are now, whether high or low, shall long be seen
among the number of men For it concerns me to recommend these
Meditations of Mortality to Posterity, leaving them behind me, not
only that honor may be given to the Divine Majesty, but also that
Men may obey him sincerely in all things.

In this my Meditation I found that there were five principal heads,
chiefly to be considered by the wise and prudent spectators of our
Wisdom and Art. The first of which is, Invocation of God. The
second, Contemplation of Nature The third, True Preparation. The
fourth, the Way of Using. The fifth, Utility and Fruit. For he who
regards not these, shall never obtain place among true Chymists, or
fill up the number of perfect Spagyrists. Therefore, touching these
five heads, we shall here following treat and so far declare them,
as that the general Work may be brought to light and perfected by an
intent and studious Operator.

This book, though the title might seem to indicate it, is not devoted
entirely to the study of antimony, but contains many important
additions to the chemistry of the time. For instance, Basil Valentine
explains in this work how what he calls the spirit of salt might be
obtained. He succeeded in manufacturing this material by treating
common salt with oil of vitriol and heat. From the description of the
uses to which he put the end product of his chemical manipulation, it
is evident that under the name of spirit of salt {66} he is describing
what we now know as hydrochloric acid. This is the first definite
mention of it in the history of science, and the method suggested for
its preparation is not very different from that employed even at the
present time. He also suggests in this volume how alcohol may be
obtained in high strengths. He distilled the spirit obtained from wine
over carbonate of potassium, and thus succeeded in depriving it of a
great proportion of its water.

We have said that he was deeply interested in the philosopher's stone.
Naturally this turned his attention to the study of metals, and so it
is not surprising to find that he succeeded in formulating a method by
which metallic copper could be obtained. The substance used for the
purpose was copper pyrites, which was changed to an impure sulphate of
copper by the action of oil of vitriol and moist air. The