IN THE BEGINNING, the spirit of the Lord was carried over the waters and the waters

overflowed the earth. The water remained without wavering, but by breathing the Spirit
made it flow. These waters poured across the land and strengthened it, lest it break
apart. And where the fiery power that flows in water penetrated the earth, the fire of the
water transformed the earth into gold. Where the purity of the flooding water penetrated
the earth, that purity transformed itself and the earth which it suffused into silver. Where
the fluctuation of the water penetrated the earth, moved by the wind, it and the earth it
transfused were changed into steel and iron. Therefore, iron and steel are stronger than
other metals, just as the fluctuation of water moved by winds is stronger than that
moved by calm breezes. And, just as the spirit of the Lord first made the waters flood,
so it also vivified the human being and gave plants, trees, and stones their vitality.

I. GOLD

Gold (aurum) is hot. Its nature is somewhat like the sun’s, and it is almost like the
element air. A person who is virgichtiget should take gold, cook it so there is no dirt in
it, and reduce it to a powder. He should take a half handful of fine flour and knead it
with water. He should then add to this paste a half pennyweight of the gold powder and
eat it in the morning, before breakfast. on the next day, he should again make a little
cake in the same way, with the same amount of gold, and eat it that day, before
breakfast. This little cake, prepared and eaten in this way, will keep gicht from him for a
year. The gold will lie in his stomach for two months, without irritating or ulcerating it.
If the stomach is cold and full of mucus, it will warm it and purge it, without danger to
the person. If a healthy person does this, he will retain his good health; if a sick person
does it, he will get healthy. Again take pure gold, and heat it in a clay pot, or on a piece
of pottery. So heated, place it in pure wine so it warms the wine. Drink it often, thus
heated, and gicht will disappear. For one who has fever in his stomach, heat pure wine
with hot gold in this way for him to drink, and the fever will abandon him. If a tumor
rises up somewhere on a person’s body, he should heat gold in the sun and rub it around
the swelling, and the tumor will vanish. One who has deaf ears should prepare a paste
with gold dust and fine flour, as described above, and stick a little of it in his ears. The
heat will pass into his ear. If he does this often, he will recover his hearing.

II. SILVER

Silver (argentum) is cold [because it contains cold wind, which makes even the earth
cold]. A person who has in him a superfluity of humors, which he often expels [by
coughing them up], should heat very pure silver in fire and, thus heated, put it in good
wine. He should do this three or four times, so that the wine gets hot from it. He should
drink it often, heated this way, before breakfast and at night. It will diminish his
superfluous humors.

[The strong natural cold of silver diminishes hot, cold, and moist humors by its
sharpness, joined with the heat of the fire and the heat of the wine, altered as described.
If someone takes food or drink in a silver vessel, it will not benefit him much, nor will it
harm his physical health.]
If someone should eat silver reduced to a powder, it would be too cold and too heavy in
his stomach, and he would be injured internally, even if it might be helpful against some
illness at the time.

III. LEAD

Lead (plumbum) is cold. It would harm a person if taken into the body in any way [and
it would do this because of the cold it contains and because it is indigestable and just
like the scum and refuse of other metals]. If a dead person begins to swell up and lead is
placed on top of him, the lead will restrict that swelling a bit [since he does not have
vital breath in him]. If, however, it is placed on top of a living person who is beginning
to swell, he would completely split and be unable to live [since its coldness, being like
the scum of other metals, going through him, would split him. Neither food nor drink in
a leaden vessel is beneficial, because of lead’s coldness].

IV. TIN

Tin (stagnum) is more cold than warm. If a person puts tin on his skin, so that his skin
and flesh warm up, it will carry illness into his body because of its coldness. If a person
eats or drinks from a tin vessel, he will get sick, because tin is almost like poison. If the
skin around a person’s eyes droops, he should reduce tin to ashes and place them in pure
wine. At night, when he goes to bed, he should smear this wine around his droopy
eyelids. The eyelids will become healthy and beautiful, since the coldness of the tin,
tempered with the heat of the wine, heals and sets right the flesh which hot humors
shake up and let slip. However, this does not get rid of cloudiness in the eyes.

V. COPPER

Copper (cuprum) is hot and quickly grows cold. It is somewhat like a golden spark—
that is, like the sparks that fall from burning coals. If a person has fevers of the kind that
arise in the stomach (but not quotidian, tertian, quartan, or ague), so that he yawns, is
slow, and disdains food, he should take five pennyweight of pure copper. He should put
this in a beaker of Franconian wine, boil the wine until it begins to be reduced, and then
remove it from the fire. He should drink it moderately, while fasting, for nine days. The
fevers will cease. But, if someone is virgichtiget, so that he is completely contracted and
bent, take pure copper and throw it into the fire, until it is hot, twice. Take it from the
fire, and let it cool down. Throw it into the fire a third time. When it is then hot, place it
in good wine and cover the top of the vessel, so the heat and vapor do not escape. Then
give it, moderately warm, to the person to drink, and the gicht in him will cease. [If
someone eats or drinks poison, take good wine and a third as much vinegar and mix
them with rue juice (half as much as the total amount of wine and vinegar). Place a bar
of pure copper in fire and when it is hot place it in the wine so that it warms it up. Drink
the warm wine, on an empty stomach, for three days. The poison will leave through
nausea or evacuation of the bowels.]
Also, if horses, asses, oxen, goats, sheep, pigs, or any animals have a constriction of the
throat or pain in the head, one should place a large piece of copper in a caldron, a clay
pot, or a bucket. Pour water over it, and heat the water with the copper on a fire until it
boils. Sprinkle this warm water on the animal feed whether oats or hay, so they eat it, so
sprinkled, and the malady will go from them.

VI. BRASS

Brass (messing) is hot and made from something else, just as lime is made from a stone.
Brass is not natural, but is made from other metal, just as a soldier is not a soldier from
birth, but is made a soldier. Therefore it is not useful as medicine. It harms a person
more than it helps him. If a person wears it as a ring on his finger, or if any of his flesh
heats up from it, it will attract more illness than health [because that metal has no virtue
in Itself].

VII. IRON

Iron (ferrum) is naturally very hot and therefore is strong. Its strength is useful for many
things. If someone has iron next to him, so that his flesh warms up, it is less harmful
than tin [because iron is warm and correctly balanced. When its heat is roused by a fire
and placed over a person’s stomach, it chases off the cold humors that make his stomach
sick]. If one’s stomach is cold, so that he is in pain from it, he should take a thin sheet of
iron and heat it on the fire. He should place it, thus warm, over his stomach, then
remove it. He should heat it again, and place it on his stomach. If he does this often, he
will be better.

VIII. STEEL

Steel (calybs) is very hot and is the very strongest form of iron. It nearly represents the
divinity of God, whence the devil flees and avoids it. If you suspect there is poison in
food or drink, secretly place a hot piece of steel in moist food, such as broth or
vegetable puree. If there is poison present, the steel will weaken and disable it. If the
food is dry, such as meat, fish, or eggs, place a hot piece of steel in wine and pour the
wine over the food. If there is poison in it, it will suppress it, so that it does less harm to
the person who eats it. Also, place the hot piece of steel in a drink—whether wine, beer,
water, or any other beverage. Any poison present will immediately weaken. If steel, so
heated in the fire, has been placed in poisoned food or drink, or if wine heated with the
hot steel is poured over poisoned food—whether bread, meat, fish, or other foods of this
kind—the power of the poison will be restricted and weakened. There is so much power
in the steel that it dries up the poison, making it less able to harm the person who eats or
drinks it. It will not be powerful enough to kill a person who tastes it, even though he
may swell up or become sick for a little while. He will be able to evade death if the
poison is weakened by the hot steel, as described.