Zaj - vitriol

Essence.
The difference between vitriol - white, red, yellow, green, on the one hand, and Kalkatar, Kalkadis, Kalkand and Suri on the other - is that vitriol is substances capable of dissolving, mixed with minerals incapable of dissolving, while others are the substances themselves without impurities, capable of dissolving, which were liquid and then hardened. Kalkatar is a yellow substance, kal-kadiz is white, kalkand is green, and suri is red. All of them dissolve in water and when cooked, with the exception of suri, for this substance is very dense and highly hardened; green vitriol hardens faster than yellow vitriol and is more layered.

Each variety of vitriol is similar in nature to one of the named substances, similar to it in color. Galen imagined that the red vitriol was born from Kalkatar, since he once saw a Kalkatar covered with red vitriol that was falling from it. However, this is a controversial issue.

Choice.
Green Egyptian vitriol is stronger than Cypriot vitriol, but for eye diseases, Cypriot vitriol has a stronger effect. Unburnt vitriol is stronger, and burnt vitriol is more rarefied, but the most rarefied of them are kalkadis and green vitriol. The most balanced is Kalkatar, and the roughest is Suri, and therefore it does not dissolve in water. The power of vitriol with gold glitter is close to the power of kalkatar. The best kalkatar is the one that crumbles quickly; such, for example, is kalkatar, consisting of copper, clean and not old, as well as “ink vitriol”, which is called “sapling”. Its best grade is hard, shiny, like gold, and its strength is similar to the strength of a kalkatar.

The best suri is the one brought from Egypt. Its black cover crumbles and underneath there are many cracks: it has an unpleasant, astringent taste and an equally unpleasant smell.

Nature.
Hot, dry to the third degree.

Actions and properties.
All vitriol is burning and causes scabs and binds, but red vitriol burns less than kalkatar, and the vitriol of “shoemakers” is the most astringent, while kalkatar binds moderately.

Tumors and acne.
Kalkatar helps against carbuncle and creeping tumors.

Wounds and ulcers.
All of them are beneficial from wet jarab and safa. Wicks are prepared from kalkatar and other vitriols, which are inserted into the fistulas, and this stops the deepening of the fistula.

Tools with joints.
Suri with grape wine is used in enemas, and this helps against inflammation of the sciatic nerve.

Organs of the head.
These medicines are blown into the nose when there is bleeding, especially kalkatar. All of them help with caries and malignant tumors of the gums, and if you smear them on a wick with honey and insert it into the ear, it helps with ear ulcers and pus in the ear; it is also useful to blow them in with bellows.

Vitriol prevents teeth from corroding, and red vitriol, called suri, strengthens loose teeth - molars and others. Burnt vitriol mixed with colchicum is placed under the tongue, and this helps against the “frog”. Wax ointment made from vitriol, especially red vitriol, helps against corrosion and ulcers in the mouth and nose.

Organs of the eye.
Kalkatar par excellence and all vitriols in general help against hardening and roughness of the eyelids.

Breast organs.
Vitriol dries out the lungs so much that sometimes they even kill.

Poisons.
They have a poisonous property as they dry out the lungs.