Artist.

Not at all Sir.  For so great power was never conferred on any Medicament, that it could change the Nature of Man.  Wine inebriating, taken by diverse individual Men, in him, who is drunk, changeth not his Nature but only provokes, and deduceth into act, what is naturally, and potentially in him, but before was as it were, dead.  Even so is the Operation of the Universal Medicine, which by recreation of the Vital Spirits, excites Sanity, for a time only suppressed, because it was naturally in him before; even as the heat of the Sun changeth not Herbs, or Flowers, but only provokes the same, and from the proper potential nature of them, deduceth them into act only.  For a Man of a Melancholy temper, is again raised up to exercise his own Melancholy matters; and the jovial Man, who was pleasant, is recreated in all his chearful actions, and so consequently, in all desperate Diseases it is a present, or most excellent Preservative.  Hence a Man, presaging that some evil will befal him, will rather prevent than be prevented.  But if any prolongation of Life, by some Philosophick Medicament, could have been induced, against the predestination of the Omnipotent God, undoubtedly neither Hermes Trismegistus, nor Paracelsus, nor Raymundlully, nor the Count Bernhard, and many more like illustrious Possessors of this great Mystery, would not have yeilded to the common death of all Mortals, but perhaps have protracted their Life until this very Day, Therefore, it would be the part of a fanatick, and foolish Man to affirm this, yea of a most foolish Man, to believe, and assent to the same, touching any one Medicament in the things of Nature.

Physician.

My Friend, whatsoever you have spoken no less regularly, than fundamentally, touching the Operation of the Universal Medicine, I indeed cherefully, and willingly grant, but as long as I am ignorant of preparing the same rightly, I do no other than attempt to carry my Boat from a very small Lake, into the Vast Ocean, because it will certainly be driven back to the Shore, without any Fruit.  For although many of those illustrious Men have written somewhat touching that laudable preparation, yet they involved that in such a Wrapper of shadowed Caution, as the Footsteps of them latently demonstrated, can be known by few or none of the most diligent Readers, who should follow them so far, as until they come where they would be.  Also, who is so wealthy, and well informed, as to be able, and to know where to buy all those Books, in which, here, and there an Hypothesis of this kind is handled:  betides, you may consume the greatest part of your life, before you can gather thence any sufficient knowledge, or the direct manual Operation.  Therefore it is best for us to abide patiently in our Laboratory, praying to the blessed God, according to that Saying: 

      Ora, ac Labora; & Deus dat omni hora.

      Labour, and Pray; God gives alway.

Artist