Frater Albertus

Antimony in its natural form displays an exceptional external appearance. (See our cover photograph!) Its raylike extension in every direction impresses us as a manifestation of energy from a core of enormous potency. There is no metal known that appears in nature like antimony. Several minerals have similar characteristics (uranium ore, for example, which is known to contain enormous amounts of energy, sometimes has an antimonial appearance) but no mineral displays the outstanding spearlike lustre of antimony.

However, to the average person antimony is of little significance. One may have beard of it as an elemental metal, being of a poisonous nature, like arsenic, but beyond this usually little is known. As to any medicinal value of this poison, even less emerges. What, then, is so wonderful about antimony?

The ancients knew about antimony, praising it very highly for its hidden medicinal virtues. During medieval times, a rediscovery of these virtues by Basil Valentine and the Father- of modern medicine, Paracelsus, caused considerable renewed interest. Both found antimony to be of extraordinarily curative potency and wrote extensively about it. Valentine called antimony one of the seven wonders of the world, praising it as the best blood purifying agent available. He claimed to have used it for the cure of many diseases, including cancer. These claims were substantiated by Dr. Kerckring of Hol land about two hundred and fifty years later when he prepared and used ant monial tinctures in his medical practice. Since that time, the Latin translation of Basil Valentine's Triumphal Chariot of Antimony by Dr. Kerckring and subsequent publication in other languages including English have caused considerable interest in antimony and its therapeutic virtues. Unfortunately, attempts to reestablish and confirm these early claims have proven fruitless for a hitherto unexplained reason.

Failure has stalked modern attempts to verify the medicinal potency of antimonial tinctures because of insufficient knowledge of the original alchemistical terminology and symbolism used by Valentine and Paracelsus. When modern chemistry replaced some of the archaic sounding names and symbols with terms that conformed to modern chemical theory, the modern researcher was not able to fathom the true meaning of the original concepts and hence was unable to duplicate the procedures so clearly outlined by Valentine. It is here where the controversy begins, (This does not mean that in former times there were no misconceptions about antimony. On the contrary, ignorance as to how to purify antimony of its powerful poisonous nature so that it could be safely used as a medicine was even in medieval times a stumbling block for those who failed to carefully follow the instructions of the alchemists.)

Contemporary research has established the fact that to unravel some of the alchemistical jargon requires a deep insight into the thought-world of the former alchemists. Only when the meaning of their wording and terminology has been uncovered, a difficult task as there are of ten great dif ferences from presently established nomenclatures, is it then possible to begin making interpretations and verifications of the results claimed by the alchemists. Those who have made sincere and diligent efforts to establish the validity of the ancient claims about antimony are literally amazed by the diversity of the procedures involved and their results. Then one appreciates why Valentine calls antimony one of the seven wonders of the world and states that one person's life is not long enough to explore all the wonders of the substance.

Nevertheless, the claims made by those who say they have accomplished the freeing of the potencies inherent in antimony give rise to many questions. First of all, why is so little known about antimony if it was once so famous? If it has great curative powers, where are the results of these investigations? If antimony preparations do exist, why is more not known about them? Why is this medicine not used to prove its efficaciousness7

There is sufficient literature available about antimony to fill many bookshelves but, unfortunately, modern inerest has concentrated on the commercially profitable metallurgical exploitation of this substance. Very few people have made attempts to probe beyond the poisonous characteristics of antimony and master the proper formulation necessary to reveal its medicinal qualities. Evaluations can only be made after the substance to be tested is sufficiently available and there is hardly enough to be had for this serious clinical evaluation. So it is not surprising that so little is known about the wonders of antimony.

For several decades Paracelsus College and its predecessor, the Paracelsus Research Society, have placed considerable emphasis on the preparation of antimony for therapeutic evaluation. Experiments and tests have shown that careful contemplation is required before any laboratory attempts are undertaken. As statements by former alchemists do not find substantiation in modern textbooks and appear from the outset as impossible because of linguistic misunderstandings, modern researchers understandably face difficulties and even shy away from such an undertaking. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been made. Efforts being made continue to produce gratifying evidence and further substantiation of the methods advocated by former alchemists for the production of antimonial tinctures and essences.

To produce medications that have their formerly inherent toxins removed so as to become harmless places a tremendous strain on the novice who wishes to enter into this field of research, particularly when no previous alchemistical studies under competent guidance have been completed. If it was not for the evidence at hand that this can be done, at least to a certain extent, the frustration of present-day researchers would be even greater.

However, if the potencies in antimony are so profound, why has modern medical science not made greater efforts to find out more about it, particularly when small quantities of antimonial tinctures have become available for clinical evaluation. The fact is that attempts to place these tinctures into the hands of those legally qualified to test them have failed because authorities such as the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have no testing reports to pass judgement upon. Such required testing involves enormous amounts of money and time extending over several years. Unless other ways and means become available, it looks like the wonders that are hidden in antimony will remain concealed even though Dr. Kerckring proved in his medical practice that much of the suffering of mankind can be alleviated by antimony.

However, modern medical science considers that the cures claimed by Dr. Kerckring are impossible. This prejudice, and the alchemistical connotations of the work of Valentine and Paracelsus, have prevented serious contemporary scientists from researching the area of antimony as a medicinal substance. Whatever the case may be, there is sufficient evidence on hand to prove that non-toxic and beneficial essences and tinctures can be prepared from antimony, What is lacking is only appropriation and approval by those qualified to legalize medicines. Only in such a way can the Wonders of Antimony be made available to suffering mankind.

Lawrence Principe

The preparation of Basil Valentine, with some adaptations, the vinegar of antimony, was prepared from antimony sulphide. It was found that the native ore did not give a yield of vinegar superior to that from the chemically prepared sulphide. Furthermore, the vinegar's constitution was investigated, although its unwillingness to form well defined compounds impeded such study.

The vinegar of antimony is mentioned in many alchemistical texts, but it is Basil Valentine who gives what is probably the first account of its preparation In his Triumphal Chariot of Antimony he writes:

The ore from which antimony is melted and made pure must be ground most subtly and finely. Put this ground material into a round glass which is called a Phiole, and has a very long neck, and pour distilled rainwater over it until half the glass is filled. Place this flask, well sealed, in horse-manure in order to putrefy until the ore begins to ferment, and generates a foam which floats atop. Then it is the time to take it out, because such is the sign that the body has opened itself up.¹

This first step in the preparation is the digestion. In later editions of the work, Kerckring adds that "six pounds of antimony require 14 pounds of distilled water ². . ." In order to carry out this operation, two small volumetric flasks were taken (as they have a shape most approaching the Phiole, but when larger amounts of vinegar are being made, a Kjedahl flask would be even better) and into each flask six grams of antimony trisulphide were introduced. One sample was native stibnite, the other, chemically prepared sulphide. Fourteen mIs. of distilled water were poured over each, and then the flasks were sealed. Since putrefying dung generates a temperature of about 40^oC, a hot water Path was prepared to maintain this degree. A common fish-tank heater keeps the temperature reasonably constant, and an inverted flask maintains the water level. These flasks were placed in the bath so that the water levels inside and out were equivalent.

Although Valentine gives no period of time requisite for the completion of the reaction, another text states that six weeks is sufficient.³ After six weeks had passed, no foam had appeared, only a very slight scum floated on the surface of the water. The flasks were left for another six weeks, but still no foam appeared.

Such a foam would probably be produced only with larger quantities in more capacious vessels. This foam would be composed of hydrogen sulphide which is generally produced by the long term action of warm water upon finely ground sulphides of metals with chemical characteristics similar to antimony.⁴

The next step is the distillation. Valentine continues with the process:

Now put this digested material into an alembic, well closed, and draw the water off. Thus it will taste a little sour ... '⁵

Here Kerckring notes a special caution in distilling.

... when we wish to distill it after digestion, there is a certain manipulation to be observed, upon which the success of the whole work depends. Thus, the alembic is to be set up so that its beak touches the water which is in the receiver or which has passed into the receiver through distillation. Otherwise, the spirit of antimony is dispersed, and the most part thereof is lost, in which case much more time is required for the work to be perfected.⁶

In accordance with this behest, the distillation train was set up with the takeoff tube's end under the level of water placed in the receiver. When the apparatus had been prepared, one of the flasks was opened, and the contents transferred to the round bottom flask. At this point only a very faint odor of hydrogen sulphide was noticed. The receiver was kept cool, and the flow of gas through it was monitored carefully to avoid too rapid an evolution of whatever volatile substances might be present. After all the liquid had distilled over, the most part of it was removed and quickly sealed in a bottle,' only enough was left in the receiver so that the end of the takeoff adapter was under the liquid's level.

The sublimation follows next, for Basil states that "... when all the water comes over, then augment the fire so that a sublimate comes forth.⁷ Kerckring gives a more definite procedure in his commentary.

When all the water has passed through the alembic, the fire (as the author advises) is to be increased, and continued without intermission for three days and nights.⁸

Thus, the electric heating mantle was turned up to the highest setting which could be maintained with safety. The temperature, as recorded by thermocouple, rapidly rose to 400^oC. This temperature was maintained for the required three days. By the end of this alloted interval, the head was covered with a coating of sublimate whose color varied from yellow to vermillion to deep red.

A repetition of the operations results in fortification of the "vinegar" Basil writes:
Grind this material under the feces, and pour the water upon it again, and distill it off again, and thus it becomes sharper. This operation must be repeated so often until the water becomes as sour as ordinary sharp distilled winevinegar, and the sublimate becomes less and less.⁹

And Kerckring adds:
Then let it cool, and, as he teaches, let the sublimate be mixed with fresh antimony. Again go through the work for three days and nights, and thereupon repeat this thrice, and then your water will be acidic like common vinegar.¹⁰

Accordingly, the brightly colored sublimate was scraped from the head, and the glittering array of crystals of antimony sulphide which had sublimed in a ring just above the limit of the heating mantle were mixed and finely ground together. At this point two methods can be followed, for when the distillate is poured over the material, the slurry can either be allowed to stand for a while, or be distilled immediately. The latter plan is much to be preferred even though it seems logical to think that digestion would produce a greater product yield. This is not the case, however. There should be no delay in distilling the material during the repetitions. if, in fact, the vinegar is left on the material for a day or two, it will actually be weaker after distillation.

Nonetheless, if the digestion is allowed to continue for a day before distillation, the matter in the flask will resolve itself into three distinct substances during the sublimation. These are: 1) a red amorphous powder in the head, 2) the array of black crystals at the limit of the mantle, 3) a tan compound at the bottom. Analysis shows the red sublimate to be the common red allotrope ot antimony sulphide; the black crystals are, of course, antimony sulphide of the black form; and the tan powder (a substance which is not changed by high heat, and is insoluble even in aqua regia) was SB₂, (OH)₂, S₂,

However, if the distillation is done immediately, little or no hydroxysulphide is formed. In this case, the vinegar increases in pungency, at which point I will caution investigators that inhalation of the vapors of the "vinegar" will result in violent Headaches.

The Constitution of the Vinegar

A reasonable mode of proceeding in the determination of the constitution of the vinegar would be to first ascertain whether its chemical composition is that of common products arising from sulphide reactions. There are three sulphur compounds which are routinely produced from sulphides. These are: 1) hydrogen sulphide, H₂S, 2) sulphurous acid, H₂SO₃, and 3) sulphuric acid, H₂SO₄.

Hydrogen sulphide is easily produced from metallic sulphides by mixing them with acids, and can be quickly recognised by its powerful and sickening odor of rotten eggs and, in solution, by the precipitation of metallic salts as sulphides. This foul gas could be produced by the effect of water on heavy metal sulphides over a long period of time, but the vinegar of antimony neither exhibits this odor, nor provokes any blackness from lead acetate. Although some odor of this gas was faintly detected on opening the digestion flask, whatever quantity was present passed off before or during distillation, and was not at all present in the distillate. As stated previously, larger quantities of the sulphide would most likely evolve a foam or scum of minute bubbles of this gas during the "putrefaction."

Both sulphurous and sulphuric acid could arise from the decomposition of metallic sulphides. The sulphurous would be quite predominant, however, and the sulphuric acid would be generated mostly through the air-oxidation of the aqueous solution. Both acids can be detected by their precipitating solutions of salts of the alkali earths, particularly barium. An aqueous solution of barium chloride was not affected by the "vinegar."

Titrations with NaOH in order to form identifiable salts failed since the vinegar's acid refused to remain combined with the alkali. An endpoint by phenolphthalein is readily found, but on standing, the color grows more intense, and the acid (which is quite volatile) escapes into the air.

The "vinegar" also refuses to precipitate any metallic salts in aqueous solution, and has no visible effect on organic reagents.

At this point it seems inevitable to conclude that the acidity and odor of this so-called "vinegar" is due to a complex sulphur acid with a very low K2. A technique to analyse this compound is now in progress, but the manipulations involved in its concentration and isolation are complex, as they rely upon a delicate form of fractional distillation coupled with fractional condensation. I propose that this compound is a highly volatile liquid boiling at about room temperature composed of only sulphur, oxygen, and hydrogen. Further isolations should yield further data, especially concerning the mechanism of its formation, its exact formula, Ka, and metallic salts. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance studies are in progress, but at this point they have not yielded any important results.

REFERENCES

Note: All translations are those of the present author made from the first editions of the original works.

1. Valentine, Basil, Triumph-Wagen Antimonii. Johan Tholde, Leipzig, 1604, p. 223.
2. Kerckring, Theodore, Commentarius in Curru Triumphali Antimonii, p. 290.
3 Weidenfeld, Johan Segeri, Secretis Adeptorum, G. Schultzen, Hamburg, 1685.
4 Mellor, J. W. A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic Chemistry, Longmans & Green Co., London, 1929, p. 522.
5. Valentine, p, 223.
6. Kerckring, p. 290.
7. Valentine, p. 224.
8. Kerckring, p. 290.
9. Valentine, p. 224.
10. Kerckring, p. 292.