and that the Particles of Spirit of Wine and Spirit of Urine well
rectified unite, and letting go the Water which dissolved them, compose
a consistent Body; and that in subliming Cinnaber from Salt of Tartar,
or from quick Lime, the Sulphur by a stronger Attraction of the Salt or
Lime lets go the Mercury, and stays with the fix'd Body; and that when
Mercury sublimate is sublimed from Antimony, or from Regulus of
Antimony, the Spirit of Salt lets go the Mercury, and unites with the
antimonial metal which attracts it more strongly, and stays with it till
the Heat be great enough to make them both ascend together, and then
carries up the Metal with it in the form of a very fusible Salt, called
Butter of Antimony, although the Spirit of Salt alone be almost as
volatile as Water, and the Antimony alone as fix'd as Lead?
When _Aqua fortis_ dissolves Silver and not Gold, and _Aqua regia_
dissolves Gold and not Silver, may it not be said that _Aqua fortis_ is
subtil enough to penetrate Gold as well as Silver, but wants the
attractive Force to give it Entrance; and that _Aqua regia_ is subtil
enough to penetrate Silver as well as Gold, but wants the attractive
Force to give it Entrance? For _Aqua regia_ is nothing else than _Aqua
fortis_ mix'd with some Spirit of Salt, or with Sal-armoniac; and even
common Salt dissolved in _Aqua fortis_, enables the _Menstruum_ to
dissolve Gold, though the Salt be a gross Body. When therefore Spirit of
Salt precipitates Silver out of _Aqua fortis_, is it not done by
attracting and mixing with the _Aqua fortis_, and not attracting, or
perhaps repelling Silver? And when Water precipitates Antimony out of
the Sublimate of Antimony and Sal-armoniac, or out of Butter of
Antimony, is it not done by its dissolving, mixing with, and weakening
the Sal-armoniac or Spirit of Salt, and its not attracting, or perhaps
repelling the Antimony? And is it not for want of an attractive virtue
between the Parts of Water and Oil, of Quick-silver and Antimony, of
Lead and Iron, that these Substances do not mix; and by a weak
Attraction, that Quick-silver and Copper mix difficultly; and from a
strong one, that Quick-silver and Tin, Antimony and Iron, Water and
Salts, mix readily? And in general, is it not from the same Principle
that Heat congregates homogeneal Bodies, and separates heterogeneal
ones?
When Arsenick with Soap gives a Regulus, and with Mercury sublimate a
volatile fusible Salt, like Butter of Antimony, doth not this shew that
Arsenick, which is a Substance totally volatile, is compounded of fix'd
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