De naturæ secretis quibusdam ad Vulcaniam artis chimiæ ante omnia necessariis - On certain secrets of Nature necessary above all things for the Vulcania of the alchemical art

Anonymous

1617

Transcription and translation by Paul Ferguson

On certain secrets of Nature which are indispensable for the Vulcanism of the alchemical art

To the most enlightened and erudite gentlemen of the Philosophical Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross,
From certain devotees of the divine and natural secrets and of the laudable arts.
Non Rosa absque spinis:
Sic nulla beatitudo sine afflictione.
Nec scientia absque labore.

That is to say:
There is no rose without thorns,
And therefore no blessedness without affliction,
Or knowledge without hard work.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom - Psalms 51.6

Printed in 1618.

But the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the world: and a wise king is the upholding of the people, etc. - Wisdom of Solomon 6.24

For [wisdom] is a treasure unto men that never faileth: which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts that come from learning. - Wisdom of Solomon 7.14

Noble, most honourable, estimable, most learned, most wise and erudite gentlemen of the Philosophical Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, In the beginning Almighty God created, out of nothingness, both heaven and earth along with everything that therein is, both visible and invisible, but after He had formed all the other creatures He finally formed man after His own likeness from a clod of earth and then from His divine mouth breathed into him a sentient soul and so blessed him with wisdom and understanding that he might have knowledge of all the animals and might give to each its name, and He finally also made him a master of all such creation both under heaven and upon the earth.

And because man in this way became a microcosm and, in the opinion of the Philosophers, had the whole heavenly firmament concealed within him, and because one would therefore have to consider it reasonable to assume that from that first man Adam until the present day it would be possible to investigate us men to discover all kinds of secret arts, we first earnestly petition our Creator for true knowledge and understanding that we might consider how best to honour these sublime gifts of His Divine Majesty God and how best to use and apply them for the benefit of our unfortunate fellowmen.

This is why the ancient Philosophers, such as Hermes Trismegistus, Pythagoras, Geber, Morien, Arnold de Villanova, Bernard Trevisan, Avicenna, Brother Basil Valentine and many others, who possessed the Light and knowledge of Nature and who, in their writings (still widely available) dealt with the composition of the Philosopher's Stone, as also did the German 'Monarch of Philosophy' Theophrastus Paracelsus, acquired their skill and knowledge from God, honourably, while retaining their good name and reputation, and in no way through sorcery or by using evil spirits as many impertinent scholars have so ignominiously accused them and others of doing, even at the present day, just because they investigated the secrets of Nature.

And so, to my unsophisticated way of thinking, a man does not act against God when he assiduously applies himself to and investigates the secrets of Nature, and when he considers and decides how best to apply and exploit the usefulness of those secrets to honour God and to benefit his unfortunate fellow-men.

I, the undersigned L. L., in offering you my sincere wishes for your great prosperity as well as my unspecified services, am unable to humbly explain to your Noble, Most Honourable, Most Wise and Philosophical Brotherhood how it has come about that I, as a lover of truth and the natural arts and for many years an assiduous investigator and researcher into hidden secrets, have been able to peruse many writings of the Philosophers – indeed as many as I, poor fellow that I am, have been able to do – and have pondered and assimilated their parables, and have sometimes also (for reasons of expense) practised and worked hard at Vulcanism and have searched through the materials relating to the subject and have (praise be to God!) finally succeeded, to the extent that the Arcanum of the Art and of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil has been made known and manifest to me, which is something that is indeed visible to all men even if they are not aware of it, and which is also a key and a tool of all the secret things to help bring them into the light and make them manifest.

And so I found that this Arcanum should and must be the very beginning of the Philosophical Work as well as of all other particulars, because it is only through this Arcanum and medium in the laboratory that the fiery spirit that engages in fellowship with minerals and metals brings forth from those things their hidden secrets, instils a new life into dead bodies, and unexpectedly reveals itself in a clear, transparent and apprehensible body has making itself manifest. Since however I was still unaware at that time of how to involve myself further in this matter and how to experiment with it further, and also wondered why no Artist or Vulcanist was able to give me any good advice (if I had wanted to ask for any), my efforts in this connection stagnated.

And because it is at that very point where the Magic stops that the Kabbalah must begin and flow forth this point may fairly be referred to as the key to natural magic and to the supernatural Cabala. And one might summarise by saying that he who investigates the natural and supernatural secrets and thinks of how he might share in them must first and foremost look towards himself and try to discover what he himself might be.

And because the most wise Brothers certainly understand this opinion of mine it is simply unnecessary for me to say anything more about it simply in order to entertain the unworthy mockers and cynics.

If however I want to continue in my present work then, poor fellow that I am, I cannot proceed any further from sheer impossibility and must therefore wait until Almighty God comes mercifully to my aid with unforeseen but to Him possible ways and means to equip my laboratory.

The Brothers might however say in response to this, and not unjustly, 'Previously you didn't know how to involve yourself further in this matter but now you do know how to proceed. So tell us exactly how and in what way you want to tackle it so that we can hear whether or not you are on the right path, and therefore test and evaluate your understanding of this matter and, in accordance with your request and desire, hear what you think we should do or not do in this regard'.

Although this is a hard nut to crack, since the whole foundation of the Art rests upon it and it can therefore be quite a challenge for any Alchemist, and though indeed many a person will certainly not yet have achieved the right goal, nonetheless I shall try to answer this question in the form of a parable, not concerning myself indeed with the whole Universal Tincture or the Philosopher's Stone, but concentrating only on a simple tincture that imitates the Universal Tincture, and according to two different ways along which I directed my thoughts and imagined that I had indeed achieved understanding.

So here they are. I am certainly at fault in one or the other, so I humbly beg the Brothers not to think less of me, especially with regard to any mistakes, and to be willing to magnanimously explain them to me by means of an easily-understood parable in a published work which I, as a disciple, will gratefully accept and recognise as a wellintentioned gesture.

Regarding the first way of preparing the Tincture I have this to say:

Because the fiery spirit spreads invisibly yet perceptibly in the hot southern countries, so Pluto, with the advice and assistance of Maia, will re-arm himself against that spirit, gain the upper hand, attack him on all sides and skirmish with him, chase him up hill and down dale, and then finally pile him up into a heap, throw him down, take him prisoner with his whole might, and banish him to the Island of the Sea where he must thenceforth dwell.

He then lives on the island, grows sufficiently strong from the food to be found there, joins with the goddess Venus, and then, through another hellish occurrence, grows even stronger so that he most subtly penetrates all the bleak and ravaged castles, towns and mountains, and is able to bring forth from them their hidden treasures. And because a great treasure is concealed in the utterly ruined and ravaged Mountain of the Suns, Pluto will take pains along with the fiery spirit to penetrate that mountain with all his might, will seize the entire treasure, will bring it forth and carry it away.

This is my first way of working.

The second way is as follows.

Although Cerberus is certainly more closely related to the fiery spirit in that both of them are of one and the same gender and origin they are not the same as regards quality, since the property of the fiery spirit is hot and fiery, whereas Cerberus has the sluggishness and laziness of the cold nature. This sluggishness and laziness encourages Pluto to chase him up hill and down dale, to drive him into the House of Maia and from there into the Isle of Thule, and to chase and afflict him to the extent that he is finally quite strong, agile and rapacious and will certainly stand up to any man. Even if Cerberus is by now quite spry and well-tested, Pluto cannot do anything with him alone: in particular he must, by some other means, acquire further substantial assistance and strengthening in the form of people, gold and armour that is well-suited to him if he is to otherwise achieve a victory over the Devil and triumph over him. For 'pecunia nervus militiæ - the money of the nerves of the army', that is to say 'money is the sinew of war'2, and it is on that which Venus and Mars, along with their knights, pulled to draw forth the treasure from the mountain, and if they were not able to carry the treasure away with them then it was left inside the mountain as a hidden treasure lying beneath a large heap of armour.

And so Pluto, along with Cerberus, will race to the mountain, dive into it, recover the hidden treasure from beneath the battle-armour and bring it forth. Then he will acquire substantial help and assistance as well as victuals from the southern islands and, thanks to them, will acquire an infernal power for which he pays, which he equips and to which he binds himself. He then climbs the Mountain of the Suns, which he storms with all his might, then conquers and plunders, and from which he recovers a great treasure along with arsenals of weapons. When this has happened via either this or the previous way Pluto will share out the treasure between four knights and then make those knights into kings.

This would be the second way on which I set my thoughts and which I imagined would be a successful approach.

As for work on the whole Universal Tincture or Philosopher's Stone, I shall also set time aside to report on this (if it be pleasing to God).

When the Fama by the most praiseworthy Brotherhood came my way for me to read I was able to readily identify from it, and not just for my own benefit, that the Brothers were so blessed by Almighty God as learned Magi and Cabalists that they had acquired through His divine will the true knowledge and light of Nature in the form of the Sun of Righteousness in which all the secrets of Nature were made known and disclosed to them, and that they were therefore kindly offering to share such sublime gifts and presents of God with every true lover of the hidden truth. In particular, other very true-hearted scholars in their printed texts and letters sent to the most wise Brothers expressed approval of such a work, and praised and extolled it highly while also very clamorously expressing a desire to share in such sublime gifts of God, a gesture through which I myself was all the more attracted and encouraged.

Then I also accepted the same kind invitation, begging them humbly and with the highest devotion to be willing to condescend to kindly accept me into their most praiseworthy Brotherhood or, at the very least, to kindly inform me through the ways and means stated above as to what my proposal might be lacking in the way of learning and other requirements, and so be willing to offer me their substantial encouragement so that I could happily start upon, mediate and complete such work correctly, without any deficiencies and with a good foundation, and by so doing might help increase the christening-gift for that future hero to which Europa will one day give birth as well as to honour God and put the Work to use on behalf of my unfortunate fellow-men.

Another of my close friends, the well-known H. S., who is also named at the end of this document and who is also a lover and Investigator of the hidden secrets, also humbly petitions that he might fruitfully enjoy the gifts that Almighty God has granted to the praiseworthy Brotherhood, because we hope that the most praiseworthy Brothers will recognise us in their Rota animorum nostrorum fidelitatem, quam juramento confirmare non recusamus - The wheel of the loyalty of our hearts, which we confirm with an oath We do not refuse, that is to say their 'Rota of our souls, an act of loyalty that we do not refuse to confirm by oath', followed by our expression below of indebted gratitude and our offer of pleasant and agreeable services which together form an authentic resolution.

May Almighty God extend to us His mercy so that, through the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we might also recognise and grasp the tree and root of the life of our bodies, namely our Lord Jesus Christ, through belief in Whom we shall penetrate the veil of death and enter once more into life and enjoy eternal bliss. Amen.

SigiLLum HoneStatis in tuto.

The Seal of Honesty in safety

To the Christian reader, but especially to the Theosophical, Philosophical, highly-enlightened and famous Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, God's Mercy and Peace in addition to a sincere offer of my services.

Since from my youngest days I have always found my greatest pleasure and delight in reading and hearing about and contemplating those strange and unusual things that not everyone is familiar with I finally and in a most wonderful fashion came across Alchemy, from which however at that time I, along with the great masses of people, derived no benefit or, at least, very little.

After I had learned just how many people both high and low had spent a considerable time on Alchemy but all to no avail (even though I was told that a very few people had indeed rightly understood it, and had mastered it, and made good use of it) I discovered so many texts on this subject, some in manuscript and some printed, and developed a desire to read them, not to master the Art (for I held that to be impossible) but simply to find out what sort of strange animal Alchemy was.

Once I had begun my studies I noted how certain additions had to be made to many straightforward procedures, while in other accounts the techniques were described and illustrated only by means of parables, using strange and wonderful phrases, comparisons, religious and worldly allegories, and images. Some of these were full of good instruction, and suggested to me many natural secrets from which, along with many other things, Man should properly know and understand God his Creator both in Himself and in Nature (i.e. that Will of God which is to be found in all things, as Plato puts it), as well as mirror the wisdom and the pure sense of the Holy Scripture.

Not only did such books cause me great wonderment, they also increased my desire and enthusiasm to own and read them, along with other books of the same kind.

I soon began to become suspicious however of the whole alchemical process, for I worked out that if it was indeed true and correct then Alchemists would not be such a bunch of poor and wretched knaves, and that many a lord's treasury would not be so lacking in money, and so on.

For that reason I turned to other writers, who presented their material on this subject in the form of obscure terminology, puzzles and adages (although not unsupported by subtle and natural-sounding reasoning). These I read and re-read over and over again, formulating from them many thoughts and ideas, and drawing sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect conclusions. I often changed my views, and sometimes I wanted to hang a particular passage on the wall and recommend it to other people who perhaps had a special vocation for this task, whose stars predetermined it and who had been specially chosen for it, but it often came into my mind that God was a creator, redeemer and lover of all men and was not just a spectator of persons but was ready and willing to share equally with everyone all His gifts, both natural and supernatural, both earthly and heavenly, and that He also all beckoned all to come unto Him, and commanded them to seek and knock3 , etc. and that there was nothing so difficult that it could not be achieved in this way through effort and hard work.

I comforted myself in this regard with other examples, and so through much effort and study I finally achieved an understanding of the truth and left other people to their books.

Sometimes I thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could spend your entire life in perfect health, without the burden of other people, free of avarice, usury and drudgery, with a good conscience, living in peace and tranquillity and with no other care, serving God, investigating His secrets and those of Nature which lie concealed within Him, free of any expense – wouldn't you enjoy that?' For I began to note that the Art of the Philosopher's Stone was not an empty fable but was actually true, and that although it was something natural that was easily understood by knowledgeable people yet it was nonetheless a special gift of God, like a door leading to greater wisdom and knowledge.

Finally, since I also sensed that reading and contemplation of this kind were not completely futile but provided me with more and more guidance to a better understanding of the many forms of knowledge of divine wonders and, especially, of the hieroglyphic characters of the Great Book of Nature, I concluded that, even if one did not learn how to make gold and silver then at least one developed a better understanding of Nature, so that one did not live like an ox and so that, should an emergency arise, one could reason about it decisively and orientate oneself correctly thereafter. You should see it as like spending your time in the Amadis4 or elsewhere, where you are supposed to remain.

I spent many years like this, pursuing only this subject as best I could through prayer and study, although I kept it to myself because I was ashamed of the reputation that the imprisoned alchemists had acquired and did not want to end up sharing their fate. This was how people who had studied all the books of the Philosophers until their covers were falling off and who had devoured everything they could find about the Art sometimes ended up. They would jabber on at me with their pure invention and promise me much, but everything was always offered to me in dribs and drabs, and there were other things that made me suspicious. Then I thought of Bernard Trevisan and his dictum, 'Qui scit non dicit, qui nescit adjuvare non potest - He who knows does not say, he who does not know cannot help', that is to say, 'He who knows does not tell, and he who does not know is unable to help'.

I therefore left such people to their own devices and (as I sometimes found was the case thereafter) to the betrayal of others. I for my part found all my solace in, besides God of course, the writings of the wise, as it was supposed that they understood the Art correctly and had written something sensible about it.

After all these and similar digressions God finally opened my eyes so that I gradually began to see where the writings of the Philosophers agreed with one other and also with the whole of Nature, and what among their subject-matter provided a means and, as it were, a handle through which the whole Work might be revealed and moved from mere potentiality (potentia) to actuality (actus).

I was not a little cheered by this, yet I still did not dare do these things, but instead for many years studiously pondered the Work and disputed its pros and cons. Many was the time when I heartily wished that God would give me just one pious, well-educated and experienced Philosopher with whom, on the firm basis of Nature and so many alchemical writings, I could converse in confidence about these and other related mysteries, because I could see that there were other ways that led to the Dragon's caves5 (regarding which incidentally I am not reluctant to report to the wise) which might be either confirmed or at least indicated on the next page of the text I was reading. For 'cum nulla subtilis adinventio ab origine consummata reperiatur: Prætereâ ars longa & vita brevis, multisque difficultatibus & afflictionibus adgravata sit - since no fine invention is found to have been completed from the beginning;', that is to say, 'since no brilliant discovery is ever made on the basis of an already perfected origin the art is long and life short and is encumbered with many difficulties and afflictions'.

While I was having these thoughts and was engaged in this meticulous work I came across the Fama and Confessio by the most praiseworthy Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross along with many missives and theosophical treatises written by others and sent to the Brotherhood, and after reading them through I was not so much gladdened as swept up into a state of wonder:

1. First, that God is so wonderful in His wise counsel, beneficence, provision and government of all things, and that everything is so admirably and favourably disposed in its time and according to His will and pleasure.

2. Second, that He is so merciful and that for the destruction of the wicked world, in addition to His purified Word, He also cleanses the darkened light of Nature for the great benefit and improvement of so many men, and allows it to shine quite openly and, in accordance with the Sybilline Oracle, He desires that all treasures still hidden will be revealed.

3. That everyone in Europe, learned or unlearned, if they will only fear God and love wisdom and truth, will be invited and summoned to share in this light and blessed knowledge.

4. Finally, that God enabled me to see at this time such a light and that He wanted to expose the misstated and unjustly decried truth, with great fame and honour, to the jeering and mockery of all the godless scorners of the truth.

Consequently I tried to find anyone who was associated with this old and new brotherhood, treasure-house and school of wisdom. My opinion was (and still is) that if I had been silent thitherto then it was for a good reason, i.e. to allow the highly learned to take precedence, and that I would not like to be seen as having acted more from imprudence and greed than from reasonable motives when speaking my mind, and that in that way I might discover how one or other person was allowed to criticise and denounce, set his cap at and repeatedly question the opinion of the Brotherhood.

But as is always the case with the eternal wisdom so it continues with her children:

the youth is in no way above his master, but if the worldlings called Christ Beelzebub then what will they call His followers?

I for my part then examined a few missives and pamphlets from many well intentioned private individuals (although at that time there will still none from university teachers, let alone from the universities) either congratulating and thanking the Brotherhood or expressing their own views and opinions, although in the case of many of the originating locations the authors did not want them printed. Initially many among both the great and the not so great had much to say, but even so there were many widely divergent opinions.

Many took the Brotherhood for a mere fable, refusing to believe that it actually existed. Far fewer might possibly have said, 'All this just shows their ignorance: they have never accepted the Great Book6 or seriously studied it'.

For others (as far as we can tell) it was all about the purse of Fortunatus7 , as if they were able to enrich themselves without work and effort, not to mention the foolish masses of the people and the sons of Philantia8 , along with many eager theologians who immaturely judged, targeted or simply wrote about the Brotherhood either in a spirit of intellectual fun or from sheer unmindfulness, in response to whom it might well be said, 'Discite prius & posteà judicate; quàm si nequiveritis intelligere, non ipsas artes vel scientias, (quia bonæ sunt) sed obtusa ingenia vestra reprobate: Multa enim naturaliter sunt possibilia, quæ nescientibus vires naturæ, impossibilia vel etiam supernaturalia videntur. Unde etiam artes nullas habent osores nisi ignorantes', that is to say, 'Learn first and judge afterwards. If you have not understood something then you should blame your thick head rather than those arts or sciences (when they are genuinely good), for many things are naturally possible which, to the unlearned, seem to be mere forces of nature, impossible or even supernatural'.

It is truly mean and infamous to put words in the mouth of another, to completely misinterpret what they have written, to carp and to seriously distort the sense, so that the common people (if they have not understood the writings correctly) blame, smear and condemn them and so on. These are not the fruits of right-thinking Christians and theologians but are much more the sort of thing that frivolous people and undisciplined mockers engage in rather than sensible and honourable men.

In response to this we should say, 'Tua cura, aliena relinque''9 , that is to say, 'Take care of your own things and do not concern yourself with other people's'. The Brothers (if I am correct) do not hold themselves out as preachers but rather as theosophists (who are are only regarded as evil by those whose eyes and thoughts are filled to overflowing with the idle ephemeral world, with passion and care, who live the life of the Cross and experience temptation but who cleave only to the letter and not to the spirit, and so on) as well as philosophers, natural scientists and patrons of the laudable arts and secrets. They are able to pass as such because they do not posit the impossible, as those do who, to take an example that springs readily to mind, have to even a minor extent embellished various techniques and subtleties. Trying to make improvements is not forbidden to anyone: since all trades and human endeavours are constantly improving themselves, who would wish to set a precise limit and boundary on the other liberal, honourable and useful arts? He who claims to have learned everything is most certainly a fool, because even our highest knowledge is only a part-work. That is why our Lord and Master10 Christ Himself recommends delving into Holy Scripture and so on.

The conceitedly clever may persist and go on scratching away on their old fiddles, but others are not so obstructive, etsi verum quod omnis mutatio & novitas admodum periculosa sit (si restaurationem vetustissimarum artium & scientiarum, novitatem indigitare licet), that is to say, 'even if it is true that every change and novelty is very dangerous if, that is, we can refer to the restoration of very ancient arts and sciences as a novelty'. And in the end-times many false prophets shall arise11 so that they may also (if it is possible) deceive the other-worldly, etc. Our Saviour has long warned us of this and told us to take great care and to exercise caution, and the Apostle Paul also commends us to test everything thoroughly and not trust or believe in everything, and especially anything that is against the word of God, for the Devil also can assume the guise of an Angel of Light.

So it certainly does not follow that the Rosicrucians are false prophets, heretics, Photinians12, agitators and subversives of the secular polity, for with such fellows I also certainly wanted to have nothing to do.

I would say that in its Fama and Confessio (if such texts are viewed fair-mindedly) the Brotherhood has shown itself to be quite otherwise, and that it has also been sufficiently exonerated by Julian de Campis13, although no doubt when the time is right the Brotherhood will explain things in even more detail and allow themselves to be heard, so that their gainsayers will slink away with little honour and remain as quiet as a mouse because they are afraid that, until they do that, they will get no peace from the carping cats.

Now I recall that other people with impressive minds well-suited to this subject have also been toyed with in this way. Who am I thinking of? Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, when he published his little book De vanitate scientiarum14 did not think ill of it, and it is the pure truth. And how many have racked their brains (and still do) over the writings of the brilliant and extremely learned Abbot Trithemius? Even today everything that Everyman cannot immediately assimilate into his oafish head is considered to be either bogus or otherwise sorcery and heresy.

Come on, everyone should take responsibility for the things that are their own! 'If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought, but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it' (Acts of the Apostles 5.38-39).

God will protect and sustain those of His flock who join Him with a pure heart and who put into effect whatever He has decided, even if should be abhorrent to the whole world.

Therefore the Brothers have perhaps taken the opportunity, following the example of their Founder, to abandon to their stupidity the stubborn scorners of the Art and wisdom, to on the other hand repudiate their ungrateful fatherland, to henceforth remain silent, to keep safe the gifts that they have received and their beloved Arcana, and to put them aside for another age (sæculum - forever).

This approach is certainly not unjust to the fools and the mockers, but is much too short a way of dealing with the Philosophers, the righteous lovers of wisdom and the investigators of the honourable Secret and arts (among whom I would also, if I may, like to include myself), many of whom would thereby be hindered and discouraged in their good conduct. That would not be fair, and would not in any way atone for anything that the others have done, since even Christ the World Saviour (Whose true children and successors the Brotherhood aspires to be, as all men should properly have been) was unable to firmly establish His preaching, miracles and work of redemption, due to the ingratitude and hardness of heart of the high priests, the Pharisees, scribes and the largest part of the people, and yet everyone, even the basest of men, who seeks Him out finds that He gives them safe haven, teaches them, comforts them, heals them and so fulfils His mission15.

I would therefore sincerely wish that this enlightened Brotherhood (as befits such wise and steadfast people) should also seek out the best in them, proceed with their Christian and honourable project, defend and propagate the assailed truth to the honour of God and human utility, and not allow themselves to be upset by the hardness of heart and ingratitude of the great masses of people, but should instead try to remember that 'nec Ecclesiam neque sapientiam veram in multitudine, sed in doctrina & virtute consistere', that is to say, 'neither the Church nor true wisdom is to be found in the multitude but only in doctrine and virtue'. And the truth shall therefore remain true and all pious hearts will be drawn to it and will espouse it.

To which end therefore I do not intend (like those who stood idle until the eleventh hour16 before they were willing to allow themselves to be summoned into the vineyard to lend a hand) to allow my days to dwindle and to, as it were, pass in vain, like the weathercock or, even perhaps, someone who is reluctant to get up in the morning.

I have not therefore been able to refrain any longer from communicating my liking for alchemy and for good learning and knowledge but (although I do not know from what motivation) I do wish through his medium to make it public in many forms and to present it in response to your more than a fraternal proposition. If perhaps, through God's merciful permission and your own positive encouragement, the door of the Temple of Minerva which has been sealed to so many for so long or else is covered with cloud-caps and sophistical rags is now opened and dedicated to your service then I, along with others, might finally acquire my intended17 place and ingress.

May there come to the Brothers therefore, both as a whole and individually, my Christian and brotherly petitions, full of eagerness to serve, which seek in the first place to honour our miraculous God in His works, to act as helmsman of the noble truth, and to break the silence for the benefit and promotion of the lovers of that truth and for the mockery and destruction of the lies and their adherents, to show kindness towards the good-hearted, and especially to those foretold by your blessed Brother Christian (or, perhaps, the Founder of your Order who was still among the living at that time, Caspar [sic] Rosencreutz himself) 188 years ago in his Chymische Hochzeit, which is a true 'mirror of secrets' of all the wisdom of the human arts, and also to publish without demur the Catalogus librorum Pseudochymicorum (Catalogue of Pseudochemical books) mentioned on page 49 of your Fama and so open the eyes of many people both high and low so they may see exactly whom they have allowed to lead them up to now and those people with whom they have surrounded themselves and on which they have wasted their money, because not only are very many books about alchemy written by the ignorant on the basis of mere opinion without any practical experience but even the good ones (and especially the old ones) are very badly distorted through paraphrase and then subsequently during the printing-process due to a lack of understanding on the part of the writer and printer. As a result the Sophists, traitors and their adherents who think that with their letters of rejection they can violently assail the Royal Nuptial Palace will be unseated while the good-hearted Sons of the Doctrine will be guided with tolerable accuracy onto the right path that leads towards the correct gates.

Were it possible for me to obtain from these Brothers an opportunity to engage with one or other of them in a conversation or correspondence (as they do indeed freely offer to do) then what more desirable or pleasant thing could I experience in this world? Certainly one should be able to find truth in what I have written, in addition to genuine faith, discretion and a readiness to investigate all honourable things.

I consider it neither advisable nor necessary to reveal my name explicitly here, since your wisdom and Arcana (which, just from what is known to me, I can readily believe to be natural and true) will certainly provide a clue to it.

So I have nothing to boast about other than my ignorance, quia ineruditus idiota sum, plurimum extra scholas, in aulis, militiâ, & œconomiâ educatus, adhuc juvenis cœlebs &c. licet illiteratus, tamen amator literaturæ, artium, rerumque absconditarum maximus. Nam multa quæ prius nesciveram, per continuum legendi contemplandique studium, mihi revelata sunt, that is to say, 'I am an unlettered fool, educated mostly outside the schools in lecture-halls, in the army and in the business world, and I am still a young bachelor etc., but although unlettered I am a very great enthusiast for literature, the arts and for anything esoteric, for much that I formerly did not know has been revealed to me through constant application to reading and contemplation'.

As for my age, I was born one hundred years after the death of your late patron18 .

Pray therefore for one of the unlettered mob (who is not excluded, anyway, from your model19) since we cannot all have the same gifts, so that I might receive a favourable hearing.

This action should undoubtedly serve to bring praise, fame and the expansion of the noble truth to the eternal source of all arts and wisdom as well as honour and renown to the most praiseworthy Brotherhood, and finally benefit and service to worthy Christianity and to our unfortunate fellow-men. And Almighty God will bring the deeds of all men to light in their due time and reward everyone with eternal rest and peace, which is the consummation of our epoch, in which task we shall all be assisted by the triune merciful God in Jesus Christ, our only intermediary. Amen.

Written between Thuringia and the Sylva Sermana20 on 26th December 1617.

END.