De Duello Animi cum Corpore - Of the Duel of the Mind with the Body

Transcription with corrections and translation of the text from Theatrum Chemicum (1659-1661) by Paul Ferguson

On the conflict between mind and body

So far we have discussed that form of Spagyric Medicine that is specifically concerned with the body. It will not be out of place to repeat here what we said above about the Meditative Medicine, especially because it may help us to resist those tricks and sophistries of the Serpent that he ceaselessly exerts in our minds every day of our lives through his sophistical question, 'Why has God has forbidden it?' and, similarly, through his deceitful answer, 'Ye shall not surely die'.

Unlike Eve therefore we should always listen carefully to God but should go deaf in the presence of the Devil, who was judged unworthy of any response other than that which our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ gave him: 'Get thee behind me, Satan' (Matthew 16:23). When however he has cunningly insinuated himself into our thoughts and imaginings we may always manfully repel him with these words, which are thought to have the power to drive him away as soon as he has heard them.

Afflicted Saturn therefore tries to insinuate his idleness, sloth, indifference and sluggishness into the human intellect, while by the same token introducing earthy, serious and Saturnine diseases into the body.

Mercury insinuates avarice, worthlessness, trickery, deception and things of a similar kind into the intellect, and aqueous and Mercurial diseases into the body. Mars and Venus, for their part, together inflict a desire for brigandage, assassination, sedition, murder, etc. into the mind, and fiery and at the same time airy Martial ones into the body. Venus instils lust and lewdness into the mind, and airy and fiery sicknesses, along with venereal disease, into the body.

Fortunate planets on the other hand impress good images upon the mind, especially when they are accompanied by favourable planets. Saturn for example in this state sometimes favours a rich imagination and power of fantasy, thanks to the eminent degree of intellectual enthusiasm that it instils. This imagination and fantasy can develop into a fortunate Mercury, which here favours a keen perception of justice and an ability to tell truth from falsehood thanks to the degree of understanding that it is said to govern. A fortunate Venus - because it governs a degree of love - instils a regard for purity and chastity, and presents to the eyes of our imagination an image of honourable love. Fortunate Mars adds vigilance and spirit, as well as the courage to resist evil temptations.

These planets do not however do these things in absolute autonomy, for that is the prerogative of God alone. Rather, they work by mediation through that to which God has imparted this power, i.e. with the celestial nature performing a regulatory function.

No doubt many see these things as ridiculous because they do not understand whither they tend, but they should do more studying before they pass judgement. I shall however try a different way of inculcating this idea into the minds of the sceptical.

There are seven Leaders {dux/duces} governing human inclinations, as well as seven Companions {comes/comites}. Each Leader has a coLeader and five Companions. At planetary level the seven Leaders and Companions are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. Those who have both Leaders favourable and no afflicted Companions are termed 'fortunate', and are well suited to the study of the Philosophia Adepta, but there are also unsuitable people for whom this study is not thought to be appropriate.

If you want to acquire some idea of this kind of Astronomy you should first form a judgement about yourself, so that you know yourself well, before you start making judgements about another person.

Saturn is the universal Leader of all studies, and especially of the study of the occult; Jupiter that of religions; Mars, of wars and controversies; the Sun, of kingdoms and dominions; Venus, of love affairs; Mercury, of business negotiations and the mechanical arts and sciences; and the Moon of perseverance and loyalty.

Those who have Saturn as Leader and Jupiter as co-Leader, with the Sun as first Companion, the Moon as second Companion, Mercury as third, Venus as fourth and Mars as fifth, have no difficulty in ascending to the most sublime things.

Those however who have Saturn as Leader and Mercury as coLeader, with Mars as first Companion; Venus as second Companion; Jupiter as third; the Moon as fourth; and the Sun as fifh, will not find it easy to go to Corinth, yet if they are not assisted in this task by nature they can still achieve it by artifice by converting, with the greatest dedication and effort, Mercury into Jupiter, Mars into the Sun, and Venus into the Moon.

To give an example. Those who wish to become very wealthy so that they can live a carefree life and who have a favourable Sun could not care less about other people; are neglectful of fraternal charity towards the poor; and have miserly Mercury as co-Leader, whom they follow. They should however try to seek after that Universal Medicine that we have just discussed more than they seek wealth, so that they can raise the sick and destitute out of their misfortunes. In this way they will have converted their sordid and miserly Mercury into the most shining, most resplendent and most liberal Jupiter, who is full of piety and charity.

The first Companion of such men is Mars, while Saturn has so channelled their ambition that they seek mastery over others and none over themselves. With the help of Jupiter, however, whose influence they have recently acquired, they now try to regulate and restrain their vain ambitions and proud appetites. In this way they will transmute Mars, which is imperious over other people, into the Sun, which can control their ambitions and appetites, and will prove the reformer of their evil life.

Venus would also have urged her subjects to seek wealth in order to satisfy all the carnal appetites. However, such people are now constantly seeking a love of chastity and honesty and will therefore commute their lascivious Venus into the most pure and chaste Moon.

Just in case you do not understand this sufficiently I shall explain it at greater length. As soon you feel within your mind the money-boxes of miserly Mercury haunting your imagination, cultivate the voluntary poverty of Christ. Against the vindictive tyranny of Mars, oppose Christ's patience.

Against the lasciviousness of Venus, oppose the cleanliness of the temple of God that your heart should be. More concisely, in the face of all these things, be ever-mindful of death and the Resurrection.

If, while you are trying hard to follow these precepts, the Devil should drag you from your pious meditations and involve you in other vain and pernicious thoughts (as is almost always the case), then resist this with the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, saying, 'Get thee behind me Satan', and immediately return to your wholesome meditations. In this way, by putting up an assiduous fight, you shall conquer evil with good, that is to say you will drive temptation back with words, for eloquence is the most powerful weapon in such a war, and it is how we acquire strength and power over our enemy.

So that this kind of doctrine is better understood, I shall repeat: to the extent that Saturn is the general Leader of all inclinations and ambitions, during the first month of life he governs the foetus in the mother's womb, while another co-Leader is joined to him (otherwise he would always perform one and the same activity in everything, which would be absurd).

This co-Leader assists the first Leader as his deputy, while in the third place is the first Companion, in the fourth the second Companion, in the fifth the third Companion, in the sixth the fourth Companion, and in the seventh the fifth Companion.

For example, if someone has Jupiter as second Companion, then his ambitions will be directed towards piety, charity and holiness, while if the Sun is the first Companion then his inclination will be towards seeking the Kingdom of God; if the Moon, towards great dedication in his future profession; if Mercury, life as a mercenary; if Mars, contentious behaviour, and a desire to cause upheavals in the Church; if Venus, corruption through carnal delights.

An ambition that is governed by Mars as Leader with the Sun as first Companion seeks the kingdom through warfare; if Jupiter is first Companion then he will cultivate piety; if Venus, lasciviousness; if Mercury, avarice and an increase in wealth and riches; if the Moon, the preservation of peace.

If the Sun is Leader and the first Companion is Jupiter then his inclination is to seek the kingdom in the glory of God; if Mars is first Companion however it is sought in cruelty and tyranny; if Venus is, in voluptuousness; if Mercury is, in the accumulation of wealth; if the Moon is, in the tranquillity of the father-land.

If Venus is Leader and Jupiter is the first Companion then the ambition will be directed towards honest matrimony in the observation of sanctity; if Mars is first Companion then it will be the satisfaction of carnal desires; if Mercury, money-making or pandering; if the Moon, the most constant bond of amity; if the Sun, wealth and riches.

If Mercury is Leader however and the first Companion is Jupiter this signifies honest industry or lawful pursuits without deceit; if Mars is first Companion, brigandage and plundering; if the Sun, dominion; if Venus, lust; if the Moon, probity.

If the Moon is Leader and the first Companion is Jupiter then the inclination is towards a healthy conscience; if Mars is first Companion, perseverance; if the Sun is, wisdom; if Venus is, chastity; if Mercury is, the preservation of one's acquired wealth.

The reader will be able to work out his own ideas about the other second and third Companions, etc. He should get to know these Leaders and Companions by his own self-examination if he is unable to learn by some other method. He should begin by asking himself what the first and most powerful thing is that comes into his mind, and the ambition and desire that he adheres to most tenaciously.

If, for example, he finds out that he wants to be rich, this suggests an inclination of Saturn towards Mercury. Second, if he desires wealth in order to be lazy and free, he has the inclination of Mars, which desires to reap where it has not sown, and to rule and not obey. Third, if he desires wealth in order to be surrounded by earthly delights then he has the inclination of Venus. Nor should he despair about these inclinations as long as they are accompanied by favourable Companions. Fourth, if he has ever pitied a miserable or destitute brother then he now has the inclination of Jupiter which can take the place of Mercury. Fifth, if he feels he would like to be more diligent towards God in the future, he now has the inclination of the Sun which should replace Mars. Sixth, if he has abstained from indulgence in the vanities then he now has the inclination of the Moon, which he shall be able to substitute for Venus.

When he has done all this he will have a mastery of a form of astrology far more powerful than what the heathen have taught, for their version is based on worldly wisdom which, compared with the true wisdom, is little more than stupidity or insanity, since it involves trying to make judgements about future events, which things form part of the secrets of God.

I have explained these matters as simply as possible for the benefit of the mockers, so that if they wish to engage in greater insanity they may go ahead and ridicule, since they hear but they do not understand. And indeed that serpent Quarenus1 does stop up the ears and blind the eyes of the intellect with his shadows lest his people see their nakedness and, finally acknowledging it, come to their senses, just as Adam did.

To ensure that men do come to their senses, it is high time that we revealed to you, as best we can, just how cunning the serpent is in his various attempts to beguile, for as the prophet Moses said: 'Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' (Genesis 3:1).

First we need to consider the cunning of the Devil the calumniator, who would rather insinuate a species of serpent than any another creature.

He did this because he knew that this would be the most guileful, and that he would therefore be able to acquire authority through deceit. Aware that the woman would place greater faith in him than the man would, he decided that he would need to wear an oblong cloak beneath which the individual parts of his iniquities from the beginning to the very end of his planned deceptions would be concealed from her from top to toe.

Then, because he saw this kind of animal as the most suitable for penetrating any cracks or fissures, he insinuated himself by slowly crawling into the integral mind, which was still unaware of any form of evil. Thus disguised by his cloak and having attacked her as the epitome of simplicity with deceptive and cunning questions taken from his school of sophistry he said: 'Why did God warn against every tree?' This is how the father of the Sophists cunningly sought, through the proposed fallacy and mendacious questioning, to constantly drag the vulnerable woman {muliercula} towards falsehood, seeking by this approach to make a small crack in the still entire monarchy and so insinuate himself, which he did.

The foolish woman (who would have acted far more sensibly if she had simply remained silent or else had said, 'Go away, far from here') then answered the lie of the devil (i.e. regarding 'every tree') with a duplicate falsehood of her own, saying: 'But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die' (Genesis 3:3).

But God did not say, 'Thou shalt not eat of any tree'. Indeed, on the contrary, He specified, 'Of every tree of the garden'. But, as I have said, the Sophist tried to use the food of mendacity to tempt her into the trap of falsehood.

The Lord God had also prohibited Adam and Eve from even touching the tree, nor did He leave them in any doubt about the death that would ensue if they should eat of it. Indeed, he stated it with absolute clarity, saying, 'Thou shalt surely die' (Genesis 2:17), as if to say, if you die then you most certainly will die.

The worthless blasphemer, having found a way of insinuating himself through a falsehood that was now apparent on both sides of the conversation, then repeats the lie, and at the same time accuses God Himself of lying, saying, 'You shall not surely die' (Genesis 3:4), which is tantamount to saying that the situation was not as God had persuaded her.

To reinforce his false and sophistical argument the worthless one added, 'For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil' (Genesis 3:5).

So first he accuses God of spite in order to render the woman inimical to God, almost as if he begrudged the happiness of those who possess divinity; second, he tries to persuade the woman to look upon the fruit with carnal eyes and so instils lust within her, for she speaks as if God had bewitched her eyes lest they saw a happiness in the fruit which would make them more and more disobedient to God; third, he concludes that it is unnecessary to obey God, so that she would be better off putting the outcome to the test.

This is identical to the doctrine of the heathen sages up to now, for they too deceive insidiously with the usual tricks. First their doctrine wins the respect of all through a certain cloaked ostentation, with the decoration of their clothes extended into the long thin shape of a serpent, and their speech displaying a serpent-like guile, partly through an elegance that relies on cunning interpolations, now using a few words of Latin, next a few words of Greek origin, now some Chaldaean, Hebrew and Arabic (since hardly any of them understand their mother tongue) so that through this constant variety the ears of men are enchanted and, lost in admiration for these passages of variegated speech, they assume that much wisdom must be concealed beneath the cloak.

In the same way the Pharisees, in times gone by, concealed their serpent beneath a similar garment, and attacked Christ in the same way that the serpent-like binary attacked Eve, i.e. starting with sophistical questioning, hoping in that way to make inroads so as to entangle Him in their cunning ways so that it would be difficult for Him to extricate himself without committing some error, which would of course give them an opportunity to mock Him and, perhaps, to even find an excuse, in His state of confusion, to get rid of Him altogether.

But Quarenus, the Devil, the serpent, the binary of falsehood, the original sophist or whatever you want to call him, was frustrated in his ambitions, and had different experiences with Christ, the wise teacher of the world, than he had with Eve.

Why is it so surprising that these members of the heathen sect attack the Spagyric Philosophers, the partisans of truth, through sophistical questions that they have brought all the way from Athens?

How should we answer them? Obviously in exactly the same way that Christ answered the Pharisees, i.e. 'If you think that the Spagyric Philosophers write a lot of nonsense then, Athenians, show us the evidence of them having done so! If, on the other hand, they in fact write quite sensibly, then why do you oppose the truth, or is it that your minds have been seduced by a desire for glory, or by the avarice of him who said, 'All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine' (Luke 4:6-7)? For he wants to possess everybody through his false promises, and yet he does not want anybody to follow him except his own creatures.

We should be no more attracted by the false questions and pleas, the maxims, axioms, riddles or, if you wish, 'propositions' of the Athenians than Eve would have been by the binary serpent if only she had really wanted to remain obedient, or had said to the serpent in response, 'Get thee behind me Satan, I am not of your school, you teach nothing except falsehoods which you have dreamed up: my own teacher however teaches nothing except the truth, and I am obedient to him, not to you, which is why I shall not answer you'.

Indeed, if the doctrine of the heathen had proceeded from the word of God or if it had been generally adopted and subsequently proved then we would certainly have embraced it without hesitation. But that wretched serpent of the binary will revert to being an angel of light before that will happen!

We stand therefore in the centre of truth, which is the most secure basis for resisting any attacks by the cunning serpent. It will provide us with many defences from its storehouses, and many arms from its armoury with which we can defend ourselves from the tyranny of this world, which is doomed to pass, along with all that belongs to it. The word of God however remains in eternity: it is to that alone therefore that we adhere and which we embrace in all our works and utterances.

So that we might become increasingly more cautious to help us resist the cunning of the serpent, which tries to creep into our mind at particular moments by diverting and eradicating positive thoughts and inserting his own vain imaginings delineated by the compasses of falsehood to produce an image of the desires of this world, like a shadow of fleeting likenesses, we should more broadly consider the cunning which the arch-sophist used to deceive Eve.

That cunning imposter did not want to begin his assault with his first horn, i.e. the argument by which he himself had fallen, but decided to keep it in reserve for the end, just as the Sophists, from time to time, are accustomed to putting forward conclusions as if they were premises, a tactic which they thought might make their talents more persuasive by inducing confusion in the minds of their listeners.

The Devil had, after all, transmuted himself from an angel of light into an angel of the shadows. He therefore started with his second horn, that of calumny, which was located opposite the semi-circumference, directing it against God and telling falsehoods about His works. He knew that the contrary was true, but he stated that God did not forbid any tree.

Either he was pretending not to know or else, through deceit, he began an interrogation in which he incited the weak-willed woman who was his interlocutor to also answer untruthfully, as is apparent from the first words of Eve, who replies, 'We may eat of the fuit of the trees of the garden: but of the fuit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die' (Genesis 3:2-3) as if he had said to her, 'Things are not as you depose, but rather thus'.

Next Eve initiates conversation with the Devil. She also was infected with the calumny of lying against God, and, wounded by the horn, she increased the lies twofold. For what else is calumny than lying accompanied by mockery, and vice versa?

At this point you might retort that I recently said that the monarchy was not fractured except in one part, because the calumniator had not been able to persuade Adam to commit calumny. Why, you may well ask, am I apparently contradicting mysef But I have not said anything which I have not said before, for Adam never was reduced to calumny; indeed he confessed the pure and unadulterated truth to his Lord, saying: ' I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself (Genesis 3:10) and, similarly, 'The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat' (Genesis 3:12). So what lies was he telling? None at all, since everything had come about just as he had said.

This is why, for his part, the monarchy of the truth was fractured but still cohering, whereas on Eve's part it had an opening through which the serpent was able to insinuate himself. For he knew that he could not effect an entrance through the ternary of Adam, as the unary was protecting the ternary, and so he tried to enter the binary of Eve so that, through the similitude of the first number, he might accomplish the binary of multiplicity and confusion, for like attracts like more readily than it attracts unlike.

Again it might be asked, since Eve was created perfect, how could she be led astray, for surely to slip and fall is foreign to all perfection? We may respond with another similar question which, when it has been answered more lucidly than it is being answered now, we shall also respond. Did not he who was created as an angel of light, and who was created far more perfect then Eve (and, what is more, was created in an incorruptible heaven) also fall, even though he had no occasion to do so and even though no one was persuading him to do so?

We should therefore take the greatest care, my brothers, lest those things that are outside the monarchy of truth lead us astray by false imaginings.

That is why we needed to show you certain examples from Holy Scripture with which you can arm yourself and become more vigilant and more cautious in repelling the ambushes of the devil which you should now perceive more clearly in your imaginings and cogitations than you did before, ambushes through which, like a thief and a robber, he strives to enter into your monarchy of truth and simplicity so that he might injure it by enticing it to respond to him or dwell with him.

Any one of us may have this same experience within ourselves, for there is no one who has not inherited from the biting into the fruit a desire for the knowledge of good and evil, and through that act an exceptionally keen desire to investigate all things, both those things that are of minimal importance to us and those which are related to our most intimate concerns, whence he who persuades us from day to day to eat of the fruit promises us either honour or wealth.

Let me give you an example. Our spirit is never idle: even in a quiescent body it is extremely vigilant, and in the mind it engages in many cogitations on a wide range of subjects, now this, now that, according to its natural inclination, as we have described above. But soon the serpent has joined us, and is forcing his fantasies upon us. Unless we identify these fantasies there is a danger that we shall be caught in his snares. So what should we do about it? We should burnish our thoughts on the touchstone {lapis Lydius} that is Christ, and in the light of His words examine them through the lens of His soul.

When we become aware of imaginings of this kind we find that they are usually something to do with those first harmful sophistries of the serpent of the binary, such as, 'Why did he forbid them from every tree?', or 'Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods' (Genesis 3:4-5). Soon we flee to that most secure of anchors, the words of Christ, that is to say, 'Get thee behind me Satan, for nothing in you is common to me, therefore I shall not enter into conversation with you. Jesus Christ is my teacher, I am His disciple, and in His auspicious name I have dedicated my own. I am crossed off your list, I have been snatched to safety by my teacher, so that in another and far happier Academy I shall learn what is true and what will endure in perpetuity'.

The serpent is forced to depart immediately, but there is only a short delay before he starts once more to repeatedly insinuate something new into our intellect, e.g. 'Ye shall not surely die'. With this deceitful stratagem he tries to persuade us to act disobediently, and to eradicate from our hearts the fear of God, as happened to Eve. But by taking refuge in Holy Scripture you may again detect that this is the lying of the devil as before, for it is said, 'As many times as you shall eat of it, ye shall die' and 'Eat of every tree, ye shall not eat of the tree of knowledge'.

Once that second lie is discovered that counsellor of mendacity is routed, just as before. But he returns again, and uses his false compasses to construct an argument along the lines of 'Then your eyes shall be opened'. This is how he cunningly tempts us, through the sense of sight, to do what he has not been able to persuade us to do through imaginings. It is as if he had said, 'God has bewitched your eyes so that you cannot see the advantage of His creation, but at least try, take a risk, and you will immediately see that what I am saying to you is true, but look at it more deeply, feast your eyes upon it, look again at the appearance of this delicious fruit, look at it again and even more closely this time'. By this gaze he tries to inject the venom of the basilisk into the heart, and when that happens our very life is in danger. Fleeing, we turn over in our mind the words of God, so that when we avert our eyes they do not see vanity.

Since he has failed to conquer you with this stratagem he will soon return with a new one, even more virulent than the others, i.e. 'Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil' (Genesis 3:5). Now at last he uses his first horn, which he knows from experience is the most effective temptation of all, for it is the horn that brought about the Fall through the crime of lesemajeste against God. For he was not content with the happiness with which God had dignified him, namely with His presence and the fruition of his glory and with the greatest good - he also wanted to be God. He had experienced how detestable he was in the eyes of God to seek what was appropriate to God alone. Thus in the extreme torment of the minds of men he focusses on ambition as the most persuasive and thus also the most pernicious of all vices. He then uses his very first horn to inflict a lethal wound in the hearts of men, and then inflicts a second wound, this time with the second horn, namely that of brutality, by which he now deprives men of all reasoning and intellect and makes them like the more irrational beasts, so that they can no longer understand either God or themselves.

Through this it comes about that, having been handed over to the Devil, they are easily carried without resistance wherever he might choose to drag them. At this stage, unless the mercy of God comes to the rescue, the ambitious wretch is imperilled, lest the four-horned beast strike him with the next horn, namely that of separation from his creator (which Heaven forfend!), after which he will despair of all salvation.

I beg you, dear reader, to see how dangerous it can be to suffer, due to an inclination, the impressions of the infernal influxes of the stars, and how beneficial and indeed necessary it is to have studied celestial astrology. You allow others, who have now experienced brutal wounds with the horn, to mock this, but if you have any sense you will immediately step back from the broad way that leads to the infernal regions, lest you find yourself unable to do so later. I say these things to you and to everyone else in earnest, even if they are condemned by many as frivolous and ridiculous, and as if they were being uttered (as they like to say) by donkeys.

Yet the donkey has carried many secrets in its time, and Christ, who is the fount of all secrets, deemed he-mules and she-mules to be useless for such tasks. So we are quite happy to be called donkeys, for we would rather ride into the New Jerusalem on a dark-coloured donkey with our prince the Christ than be led to eternal tortures on the most beautifully- decorated mules.

In all things both supernatural and natural therefore you must learn to beware, dear reader, of the condemned binary, and of its progeny the quaternary.

Now we may explain more extensively how the serpent planted his imperfection far and wide, so that we can see how he has tried to enter the universe by stealth.

After being excluded from the unary of eternal heaven and cast outside the ternary of the incorruptible created heaven he fell into the quaternary and elemental region which he had also most wretchedly corrupted, and would try to corrupt more and more from day to day.

We said above that the world was created in a state of order, and that this order consists of three things, namely number, measure and weight, which God has wanted us to use as instruments in our doctrine.

Let us begin with number. We have said that all the numbers can be consummated in the ternary, and that in the ternary lies the absolute end of all the numbers. For after the ternary has been folded back {reflexo} into itself it produces by generation the novenary, beyond which you may not go in terms of numbers, for at that point you must return to unity, through which there arises a second unity of the second order of numbers. This also happens with the first three numbers, i.e. 2, 3, 4, when they are added together, for they too perform this absolute consummation. Hence we can readily see how the ternary is the most outstanding of all the numbers.

The binary on the other hand must be regarded as imperfect. For its reproduction the binary generates the quaternary, which however is a long way from being a consummation of the numbers, even if there are some who claim to see such a consummation in the quaternary, since they say that adding together the first four numbers, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, forms the denary.

But the contrary is sufficiently established, because the denary is surpassed by the quaternary, as is apparent by adding the first few numbers together, i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5. For the unary is not a number, nor must it be counted among them. Even if, erroneously, they did add the numbers together in this way, i.e. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4, so as to bring the denary into existence, we nonetheless deny that the denary is the consummation of numbers through generation, because if that procedure is followed then this progeny of the quaternary surpasses the denary by two [i.e. 3 + 4 + 5 = 12]. And although in progressing beyond the denary there comes about a regression to unity, it should not be thought on account of this that this unity is assuming the guise of a multiplicity or composition, since it is to be found forming part of a series of composites, for at that very place its purpose is the reduction of composites into simplicity and purity, so that it plays the same role in the denary as a centre does in a circle.

In the double-denary {vigenarius} however this is not the case, for there the binary is the centre of the double-denary for constructing the Duel {monomachia} which we discussed above. In the centenary, the millenary etc., we again find unity at the centre. These examples should be studied very carefully, because they are of the highest importance for Spagyric Medicine.

The prophets of old said that the consummation of every number through the unary alone was better achieved in the ternary than in the quaternary. We do not deny that the quaternary can lie dormant in the ternary for the purposes of constituting the Philosophical Week, which we referred to extensively in our previous treatise, but this cannot come about until it lays aside the nature of its binary parent, making transition through the ternary to the simplicity of the unity and, thereafter, to the Philosophia Adepta.

All even numbers, whose father is the ternary, are considered masculine in form, while odd numbers are feminine and material, and their mother is the binary. If anything that helps with the promotion of studies of the arcane truth lies hidden in the binary (except, that is, in its reduction, as we described above, in its quaternary through the ternary to the simplicity of the unity) then please let us hear what it is, for we should certainly listen to such things with great delight.

In the meantime however let us move on to the subject of the ordering of numbers. Our ternary, which we are dealing with now, is triple in form, i.e. it is natural, artificial and supernatural. Naturalness can be either simple or composite, while artificiality is made up of composites {decompositus}, and is either moral or supernatural. Usually the latter closely follows artificiality, but at other times precedes it. The simple does not allow composition, since the pure is entirely separate from the composite. The composite ternary accepts the quaternary, but cannot be thoroughly mixed with it except after its binary has been removed. Once the ternary has been overcome by the quaternary, the septenary is formed.

That which is composed of composites {decompositus} comes about by the Spagyric Art through any kind of separation of the binary from the septenary in bringing about the union.

The moral ternary is achieved through the 'ladder' of the Meditative Philosophy as discussed in our treatise on that subject. The supernatural however is a gift from God and lies quiescent in the union of the mind.

The axis of this whole mystery turns around the rejection of the binary. Finally, the ternary achieves a conjoining with the quaternary so that the latter lies quiescent in the former as the septenary. When the ternary has been restored to the septenary it achieves a likeness of unity in the revolution of the denary in the form of a centre which, as we have said, lies hidden both in natural and any other phenomena and in the supernatural.

That is quite enough about the ordering of the world through numbers. Now we come to the ordering of the world through measure.

Just now we said that, in the case of numbers, the unary is the centre of the ternary, and that its foetus is the centre of the novenary, like a point at the centre of a circle. The fount and origin therefore of the first measure is the centre-point, for if that point is allowed to run until it comes to rest then a straight line is formed which, if it is rotated through the fluid point just mentioned from the immobile centre until it returns to its original place, forms a circle and the image of the triad in unity, or the image of the monarchy. This same straight line precisely demarcates the circle into a perfect hexagon, which through the interrupted angle delineates alternately the figure of the ternary and an equilateral triangle proceeding from perfection.

Again it should be noted that the centre is unary and that its circle is ternary. However, whatever is inserted within the centre and enters the included monarchy is to be regarded as binary, or else as another circle or a triangle or some other figure. Indeed it was in this way that, in the beginning, the binary was turned from an angel into a devil.

We can also consider measure allegorically. I said just now that the dark angel made a pair of compasses for himself, one foot of which was fickle ambition, and the other calumny. When he tried to establish calumny he rotated it for as long as was necessary until he came to the semi-ternary figure. Finally ambition turned into calumny, but this was changed back into ambition, whence there has resulted the binary under the figure of the double serpent erecting four horns.

Hence the Kingdom of the Duel is divided within itself through the intersection of the serpents. It was on account of this division that the Devil was cast forth into the outer shadows. Although duped by evil trickery, he did not give up because of that, but in the second place (that is from a binary condition) stubbornly took up this instrument once more, trying to see if, on this occasion, he might be able to build a better monarchy than he could before.

Taking the said intersection as a starting-point, he tackled the problem using intersections. He therefore implanted both legs of the compasses, one in brutality, the other in separation, and when he had drawn a circle with the leg of brutality as far as a little more than a third part of the circle of delineation, he moved the leg of separation from its position and so deceived his Maker with increasing slipperiness and gave up the centre.

The leg of brutality was then called back by wicked artifice from the place to which it had formerly proceeded. He then achieved a change of centre by making an intersection with the leg of separation through the First Proposition of the First Book of Euclid, similar in extent to the previous one. But, this time round, the intersection of the leg of calumny touched that of the leg of separation, and cheated the wicked calumniator in doing so, so that even the deceitful one had to beat a retreat. The three points that enclosed nothing were then left, namely one in the intersection and the other two in the extremities of the serpents which were again dividing themselves.

And since the worthless artificer could see that he had now been deceived for a second time in a row, and had done nothing more than he had already done before, the roaring lion decided to try again, this time in anger. Seeking out the ternary he swallowed it, and surrounded it in a ring by repeating the intersections to which we have referred.

By making three intersections he then fixed three points, and in the universe six, i.e. four through the intersections and the other two divided between the extremes, as well as eight serpents, all of which however the most iniquitous corrupter of all arts and skills could neither form into a square surface nor into a cube of solidity. Indeed, his whole structure was lacking any centre, without which nothing perfect, solid or stable can ever exist in the entire order of things.

We can therefore conclude that, in terms of contingencies {per accidens}, the Devil is without a centre, i.e. without the word of God, for 'without him was not any thing made that was made' (John 1:3). For God alone can make something from nothing, the best from the weak, and all that which is from all that which is not, and that is done through His work alone, which is the supernatural centre of every virtue and truth of all things and in all things.

This figure, called the quaternary figure {figura quaternaria}, was trying, through the corruption of its ternary (beneath which the angel was created in the beginning) to fragment and divide the monarchy of the human ternary - by making four intersections of this kind as well as by eight serpents intersected two by two - into as many terrible irreparable parts. In doing so it was exploiting the lack of a centre. However, it was unable to do this because it is not permitted to destroy anything of the residual centre of the truth in Adam by inducing the calumny and mendacity into which the Devil had dragged Eve.

Almighty and merciful God, showing mercy on account of these things for the wretched misery and calamitous state of both Adam and Eve, decided to erase the split sign of perdition which had been introduced, and which was still cohering only at one very small point, and restore it to its integral monarchy through the establishment of this point in the centre which is its true character, and the surest sign of our salvation, situated as it is in the word of God. Hence it was necessary to introduce a centre into the Duel, which was done as follows. From single intersections facing each other from a mutual diameter, two of them always being omitted in the course of the revolution, three diagonal lines are extended. At the point where they intersect lies the true centre we are seeking.

Just as I clearly explained to you above the image of the reduction of the ternary to the simplicity of the unity through a casting-out of the binary, so also by this same reasoning the quaternary can lie quiescent in the ternary through conjunction, and together with it become a participant in the union. You should note the following. Draw straight lines from the single intersections to the other single intersections. This will give you a quaternary of equilateral triangles: one of these is included in the other three, but none of them has a life or a centre except the middle one, since in a monarchy there cannot be several centres nor several lives together.

You should now clearly see that the quaternary is enclosed within the ternary, but is not yet lying quiescent in the true Philosophical Week, to which I have referred twice above. Together with the ternary therefore it is reduced to the simplicity of the unity and, of course, the ternary should be completely cast away in the following manner. From the centre of the whole ternary to any of the three apices of the great triangle, draw a straight line which is mentally understood to be rotated from a part of its extremity to remain fixed in the centre from the other extremity. Each of the points and lines, through a circumvolution of this kind, can be removed and deleted until such time as it returns whence it was moved. Nothing binary will now appear in the monarchy of the circle, nor anything ternary, not anything quaternary, but now the quaternary lies quiescent and hidden in the ternary, and together with it rejoices in unity, although it is not visible to the external eyes but only to the eyes of the mind. Only the remaining line of the semi-diameter is visible, which is the remainder of the forbidden fruit, on account of which from day to day we shall have to fight with virility and not effeminately against the Duel of the cunning serpent while we cling on in a state of decline, lest, forgetful of the sin of both of our first parents, we ourselves lapse into that same sin.

Here, dearest reader, you now have an idea of the monarchy of the triad in unity, which I have depicted for you in words and placed before your eyes, and which will make a deeper impression upon you than any diagram or picture ever could. By using your intellectual acuity to penetrate these matters you will certainly understand everything that appertains to the Spagyric and the Philosophia Adepta, aided by those things which I revealed to you earlier in this little book.

I alone however cannot do anything for you if you yourself are not willing to make a corresponding effort, for you should not scorn, merely as a result of your own idleness and torpor, the joys of understanding these secrets which are more essential than anything else in this life, for through admiration of the mighty works of God they lead you, as it were, by the hand to his true cognition, and indeed draw you into his love, in which also lies concealed the greatest good of the Christians, and which lies open only to those who believe in God through the word, the centre of truth, His son, in Whom and through Whom are all things, to which Son along with the Father and the Holy Spirit be praise, honour and glory, world without end.

It remains for us to discuss how we keep the order of creation in balance with weight.

We said above that the order of creation consists of number, measure and weight. The first two of these we have been able to sum up through a discussion of the unary and ternary alone, without the support of any of the others. We can also use the unary and ternary to count out weights into infinity, because it cannot come about any better or more appropriately with anything else.

Using just two weights therefore - the first weighing one pound and the second three pounds - the balancing can proceed into infinite weightvalues. In achieving these values the two weights are balanced as one. One three-pound weight makes three, i.e. it weighs a total of three pounds; this weight once plus one pound once makes four; three once and one twice makes five; three twice makes six pounds; three twice and one once makes seven; three twice and one twice makes eight; three thrice makes nine; three thrice and one once makes ten; three thrice and one twice makes eleven: three weighed four times makes twelve; and so on into the many thousands of thousands.

If however someone wants to weigh things with greater precision he adds to the two weights that we have mentioned three unequal weights from the quinary, septenary and novenary, or else adds in dribs and drabs already weighed matter to already weighed matter as many times as seems to be expedient.

Actually the Spagyric weights always remain in unity, and it is only through unity that they can progressively increase, i.e. from one centre to its first monarchy and circumference is a decade; from its centre to the second unity is one hundred; to the third, one thousand; to the fourth, ten thousand; to the fifth, a hundred thousand; to the sixth, a million; to the seventh, ten million, and so ad infinitum.

This progressive sequence is not so much Spagyric as natural, and is very deeply concealed in the centre of nature, but the Spagyric Art brings it to light and makes it manifest, or, put another way, leads it from its potentia to its actum.

So those are the aspects of artificial numerical weights and natural weights through the unary, ternary and denary which it was appropriate for us to discuss here. But we can see the limitations of the binary, along with its quaternary, in the field of artificial weights. With one weight of two pounds and another of four pounds we could never balance either the unary or the ternary or, to sum up, any weight of odd numbers, but only a weight of even numbers, although in the world of natural weights they may still exercise their tyranny, dragging all the parts of nature out of their just proportion and monarchy through partial weights {sectiones}.