Dicta Alani - Short teachings and instructional sayings
On the preparation of the great stone of wisdom

by

an old philosopher Alano de Insulis or von Ißle from Flanders, described and left behind.

German to English

Translated by Mitko Janeski

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Son, set thy heart on God, then to art, for it is a gift of God, and to whom he wills he communicates it, therefore have rest and joy in God, so thou hast art, therefore set thee a guardian of thy mouth for the lips. Thou shalt not remember when we sublimate, that we separate the part that rises above thee from that which remains below, then in our sublimation the parts that are joined are not raised, but the parts that are not joined are raised. But we must join the two as corpus and spiritum, so that they remain in the flow. Item, if the heat works in the moisture, it draws towards the black colour. Item, if the heat works in the dryness, it draws towards the white colour and in the same white colour the red colour is hidden. Therefore the seekers after the art of alchemy should know that they may not change the form of the metals, they are first transformed into their first essence, which first essence is no different from Mercurius. And just as many artists consider such a transformation of metal into mercury to be impossible, consider the possibility that there are metals in the earth other than mercury and sulphur. And all this because Mercurius is the origin of all metals, it is possible,

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that the metals thus become Mercurius again. Then from what thing a thing has an origin, into that it is most possible to get it back again. The very first work in this art is that we dissolve the dry stone Solem or Lunam into Mercurio, or that we turn it into its very first essence, for then the dry stone is dissolved in it, and bound together with it, so that they have no separation from each other for ever. Then each one works in his fellow being in such a way that the dissolution of the corporis occurs, and this is then called a thing of which all philosophers speak in their books of philosophy.

It is only a certain thing, which certain thing alone is the mere Mercurius, which holds in it the property of nature and of all metals, and is therefore called the philosopher's stone. And although it is the only key of the metals, it does not itself have the power to colour alone. It is then first coloured or tinged with the anima Solis vel Lunae, for no spirit does not work in another spirit, nor no body in another body, therefore the art consists solely of the soul of the body and the spirit, understands Sulphuris and Mercurii, then the soul Sulphuris is a being of the body and therefore he who cannot or does not know how to extract the soul from the body or corpore, Sole or Luna, and afterwards can give it back in projectione of the body, who is mistaken. And the history of this know.

The soul of the Corporis Solis vel Lunae is drawn out by the means of the spirit Mercurii, and thus the spirit MErcurii is fused, and the soul is uniformly united with the spirit,

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which union of the soul and the spirit subsequently takes the body, scilicet Veneris vel Jovis, to it and receives from it the life of perfection and as such the corpora imperfecta are resurrected from their imperfection and this happens only with our stone.

Our stone, which is made from one thing alone, and with one mastery and government alone, then our water of philosophy dissolves the corpora Solis vel Lunae, then our water is living and has in it all things needful because of its perfection and where this is found, it is called by a thousand names, then it is the pure translucent water in which the corpora, Sol vel Luna dissolve and in no other thing on earth. And that this is true, hear the philosophers.

Our stone, scilicet corpus Solis vel Lunae dissolves in the spirit Mercurii, and with the same it congelates itself and receives from it itself the soul of gold or Lunae, and marries itself to it, it figurates itself in the soul Solis vel Lunae.

Lucianus Philosophus says: Our stone is airy and volatile in its exterior cold and moist and in its concealment warm and dry and the cold and moisture, which is on the outside, is a watery smoke and a destruction and a blackness that breaks itself and all other things with it and the same cold and dampness flies from the fire and the warmth and dryness that is hidden from it is the gold, or the oil of the purest penetration into the bodies and is not fleeing from it. For the warmth and dryness of the medicine colours

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and nothing else. Therefore, make the cold and watery moisture, which is so obvious, equal to the warmth and dryness that is hidden. See that it comes together and is united and that it becomes one thing in essence. Understand that spiritus mercurii becomes anmia and anima corporis spiritus. So you have to act and penetrate, but the moisture must be destroyed by the temperature of the fire, which is weak and moderate.

But the stone is thus: Nimb Mercurium, that without it nature has not the power to work anywhere, as Rhasis testifies, when he says: Through it alone may we do our work, which overcomes all nature. Then Mercurius is common to all metals and is alone the one agent that adds the tincture. Then, indeed, the nature of Mercurius always takes to it, apart from gold or silver, that which is of its nature and which it separates and spurns, see, the earth leaves it and the soul receives it from the body, for the soul is like the spirit Mercurius, with all its properties, and then the stone of the philosophers becomes the earthly one, the incomprehensible, the natural stone, the more it is boiled, the more it dissolves the corpus solis vel lune, and in the dissolution it is blackened and the more it dissolves, the more it is dried and whitened and in the manner, the more it is boiled, the more raw it becomes and that without doubt. So our stone is lifted from the vile thing, is est, Mercurio, into the most precious treasure.

Then the Giver says: this happens only through our Mercurium, through our

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Fire, our water, our vinegar, understand the mere Mercurium, with its corpore.

Take, therefore, a part of painter's gold and silver, or thin beaten gold or silver, for the more subtle it is, the sooner it will become mercurio, and therefore into a furnace hermetis, thus formed, as you know, and put into it 12. Part (sign) optimè purgati and make it into an amalgama, and put it, well bequeathed, into a dry boiled ash, that the ash may cover all the matter, and then further make a moderate fire and let it boil on and on, so long as they are noted there by the sign: As it has stood in a sapieniae for a month of the philosophers, so are accomplished and made cruel blackness, one consecrates the other, understand, it consumes one colour the other, so long, until to the last one remains and that is the wise Mercurius and the perfect blackness. And if you take three parts of Mercurius and one part of corpus, you have too little Mercurius, so that you cannot putrify three months with it, but the water Mercurius consumes itself rather into the animam Solis vel Lunae, as it should be. Therefore it is well to bequeath the first twelfth part of Mercurii and one part of Corpus, put it into the ashes and let it boil for three months, so that what is hidden, id est anima, will be revealed and what is revealed, id est, Mercurius will be hidden. But such an extraction of the animae with the spiritu Mercurii does not happen all at once, but several times, a little at a time, and a little at a time, so long, until the work is accomplished, as is written above.

Thus Philosophus Senior testifies to us, saying: The soul does not leave the body at one time, but at many times.

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times, and in the vessel of dissolution, in which the corpus solves itself, it solves itself not all at once, but a little and a little at a time according to its government. So you must not think that the dissolution of the corpus happens all at once, but by and by, as is written above in the sayings of the philosophers.

Therefore, labourers in this art, be of one mind in your work, not that you begin to work and try one thing and then another. Then art is not in the quantity of species, but in body and spirit. And for truth, the medicine of our Steins is one thing, one vessel, one assembly, one government, then all mastery is concerned with one thing, sicilet Mercurio. And although philosophy gives many other ways to honour the art than constant boiling, mixing, sublimating, grinding, drying, watering, firing, whitening and reddening and by how many names it can and may be called. Yet it is only one government that is called there, trituration and boiling. Mercury grinds all things, and fire cooks them to perfection. Therefore, says Rhasis, cook without restraint, and do not let yourself be put off, and do not hurry with it, nor think of other futile things, but wait for it with diligence until the end.

And Longanus Philosophus says: See that in the work the vessel is constantly closed and has constant warmth, then no thing in the world will be perfectly accomplished and more noble without constant warmth and so you are in the work. Be mindful of all the signs that appear in any boiling and see that the vessel is half closed in the ashes.

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and half outside, so that you may see into it every day. And usually in forty days, a blackness appears on top, as a cup, and is other than the dissolved corpus, for what becomes spiritual swings all the way above itself and the earthly remains below. Atq: omne leve sursum, all light things rise above, omne ponderosum tendit deorsum, and all heavy things remain below. And if the water of the corpus has brought into an incomprehensible essence and solvir ad nigredinem, then for this is the solution, and the tincture in the blackness, then the four elements agree, so that you have air in the water, and fire with the earth. But you should not think that the tincture is drawn out all at once, but a little at a time, and but a little, a blackness every day, until it is completed with the long time and dissolves with the Mercurio, which lies all over itself, although there is more underneath. The blackness has many thousand names, it is called the fire, the soul, the mist, the raven's head, and the blackness unites the spirit with the body, and such mist comes through our calcination, as Avicenna says: Our beginning, when corpus and spiritus are together, is called calcinatio in the introduction. And the philosophers give examples of such calcination in woods in which there are still green woods, three humidities, the first protects the wood from burning, the other moisture protects the wood from burning, the other moisture is almost solid or oily, such makes the wood burning and the two are without odour, and incombustible in the fire, but the third moisture remains in the ashes and is solid, little and subtle, with an eternal permanence. And it is in this way that we are commanded to combine our stone Mercurii with the corpus.

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calcine than is now said of the woods, from this you will learn to expect first the blackness, then the whiteness, which whiteness, if it is degenerated for itself in our fire, comes to the very highest permanence.

The philosophers, however, have only two fires in their books, a dry and a moist one. The dry fire they have called the common fire, which has power to burn any thing, but the moist fire they have called the horse-dung, in which moisture the hidden heat is retained. But as the moisture in it decreases or is consumed, so the heat decreases. Phares, the philosopher, says of this fire: "The property of the fire of the horse's belly is that it does not destroy the gold, but increases it through its moisture, since other fires destroy it through their dryness. Therefore says Alchidonus Philosophus: Truly our medicine is to be hidden in the damp horse dung, which is the dung of the fire of the wise.

Turba reports that the living silver is our fire, which has the power to burn, kill and break the corpora, like natural fire. Calid testifies to this: it is indeed a fire that burns up all things on earth. Senior also testifies to this, saying: Our water is the fire that burns gold more than natural fire. And our water is stronger than the fire, for it turns the gold into a spirit, which the natural fire cannot do, although of course this is also part of the work, for immediately our water enters the body and turns it into earth, then into powder or ashes, and if it does not turn black at first, it will not turn white afterwards either, and if the blackness appears, know that it will last for forty or more years.

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fifty days and that is the putrified corpus. If, therefore, the putrefaction of the corporis is the beginning of the work, and this is done with less heat, so that nothing rises with it, then a separation of the Mercurii and Corporis, which should not be so long and much until man and woman, Mercurium and Anima, come to heap and come to be completely together in one being or blackness, which perfect union of the two, Spiritis and Animae, appears on top as a certain sign in the true dissolution. O dear son, therefore have good diligence in the putrefaction and the putrefaction must happen in mild warmth, which is in mild horse dung, id est, Mercurio through the promotion and help of a foul mild warmth. But that the living silver is the horse dung, is evident per Seniorem Philosophum, since he says: To the dissolved corpori, which is dissolved after seven days, is dung all the way beyond the fourth day. Scil: Mercurirum, to renew, understand to add, and this renewing means the imbibing, softening and dissolving of the hard bound together sweat holes of gold and silver, so that we may draw out its soul through our spirit scil. Mercurium.

For a whole truth, to hand after putrefaction, this pure grows in it just as is evident in every kernel, if it stands for some days in the warmth of the earth, it swells, and after the swelling, which is pure and good in it, It grows out of it and is then multiplied a thousandfold, but that which is impure disappears completely, so we digerate our matter so that it may swell and that which is in it may grow and be multiplied and the rest disappear. That is why there is nothing left in our mastery

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Need, for only the putrefaction and dissolution of the corporis in the water of the philosophers.

Then let it be that the grain of the corpus solis vel lunae be dissolved into its very essence, otherwise you labour in vain, then the corpus does nothing by itself, except rot and not become rotten, for with its Mercurio, for truly every thing, by whatever cause it grows, is destroyed by the same, and there is nothing so natural as that every thing has its bond dissolved, so that it is bound with the thing from which it came, scil. Mercurio.

But the way of dissolving the corporis is many and varied, one happens in the cold and damp of cellars and sandy places like the aquae Mercuriales. The other and best way happens in dry heat, as the aquae Mercuriales do not become, but our water is made in the dry ashes with a bequeathed vessel and is the very first and best way, but the foretold first way is quite perishable and unsafe. And this is the reason why the philosophers say that their solution of the corporis is some, whereby the dryness of the corporis is turned into water.

Quasi dicant, fac Mercurium per (☿) sive per aquam Mercurialem (As if to say, make Mercury through (☿) or through Mercurial water), for then the dry corpus receives Mercuri's own moisture, and is then called a thing to which we neither add nor take away anything foreign, for in it there is no destructiveness or lack at all. But if you think to turn the matter into the form of the water of the clouds, in the cellar or humid place, it receives a destructiveness from it, for the matter is infected with the moisture and poisons the moisture.

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There are many who speak and understand nothing of art, and who do not know the nature of metals and despise art in the words of Aristotle in the fifth book of Meteorum: The seekers of art should know that they may not invert the form of metals, such as to make tin out of copper, lead, iron, silver or gold, and it is true as they say, for there will be no inverting for ever, they will then be dissolved into their first materiam and essence of Mercurial water and thus brought into a different essence and form than they were before. Listen to what follows. Ours Mastery breaks the form of things mostly in the bodies, for we have seen that the corpora have been turned into living silver, which is unbelievable and impossible with many people, then their lack of understanding does nothing, for they do not know that the metals were born and came from Mercurius and sulphur. And if Mercurius is the origin of all metals, then it is possible that with Mercurius the metals in turn become Mercurius. I give you an example of this: that ice is turned into water by means of heat. So the corpora grow and multiply all living finds as is evident in all trees and plants and animals, for from a single nucleus a thousand times a thousand and from one tree innumerable branches. And just as the metals grow and green from the earth, so it is possible that they may also grow and multiply without end, and therefore the reversal of things is now sufficiently known and evident with all possibility, which is why the philosophers speak:

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Whoever can or knows how to break gold or silver so that it no longer becomes gold, will achieve great mastery. It is easier to destroy the twofold corpora than to reverse them. For it is essential that we see that the copper takes on a gold colour and becomes brass from lead we make white lead and lead, and from the lead a glass, so that each one remains in its own unconverted nature, so that the white, intelligent one can now well calculate and may calculate that no dissolution of the corporum should not be, nor happen, but in his own blood and no benefit may not be obtained, the corpus is then dissolved beforehand, which way you will afterwards hear very clearly.

Take in the name of the Lord the very best sublimated Mercurium, sublimated seven times, and revificir it again with a portion of living lime and with half as much Tartarum crudum, and it will be purgated or purgir it to the best of your ability. Of the same mercurii take three parts and one part of thinly beaten gold or silver, which the painters use, put it together in a solvir-chal and grind it up so that it becomes an amalgama; when this is done, add to it nine parts of the purified mercurii, and put it in such a vessel as you are well aware of, and put it in boiled ashes, so that the ashes go a little over the vessel and give it moderate and constant heat.

Thus the senex sits in the bath, so leave it in a closed vessel until the visible Mercurius is hidden and the hidden corpus is revealed and that is what philosophy calls the solution and sublimation and also gives it many and varied names and yet it is only a work, a

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regiment, a vessel, a furnace, and when it stands in moderate heat for forty days, a blackness appears at the top as a black cup, that is the raven's head of the philosophers and Mercurius of the sages. Praise and thanks be to God.

Anno Domini 1512.

Per me Johannem Gyer, oriundum de Rodenbergen, illo tempore manentem in Colonia.
Through me John Gyer, a native of Rodenbergen, at that time staying in Cologne.

Epitaphium Alani. Quod Cisterciis extare scribit Albertus Cranzius. Hîc jacet Alanvs, quem hora brevis tumulavit, Qui Duo, qui Septem, qui totum scibile novit. Vixit in Gallia Ludovici XI. tempore, circa A.C. 1430

Alan's epitaph. Albertus Cranzius writes that the Cistercians existed. Here lies Alanus, whom he buried in a short hour, Who two, who Seven, who knows all that is knowable. He lived in France under Louis XI. at the time, about A.C. 1430

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THE SAYINGS OF ALAN PHILOSOPHER ON THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

Translated from the German text into Latin.

By

Just A Balbian

Alostanian

DICTA ALANI PHILOSOPHI DE LAPIDE PHILOSOPHICO,

E Germanico idiomate Latine reddita.

Per

Justum A Balbian

Alostanum.

English and Latin Version

Translated from Latin to English by Mitko Janeski

Ad Deum, mi sili, & cor & mentem convertito quam ad artem magis: ipsa enim donum Dei summum est, cuique bene placitum fuerit eam largitur.

Turning your heart and mind to God, my son, rather than to art: for it is the highest gift of God, to whom he bestows it upon whom it pleases him.

Deum igitur ex toto corde totaque anima tua diligito, atq; in o solo & spem & fiduciam omnem locato : sic pocul omni dubio hac arte nobilissima cum gaudio perstuere, linguae interea silentium indicens labiis compressis.

Therefore love God with all your heart and with all your soul; in which all hope and confidence are placed: thus the cup, without any doubt, perseveres with joy in this most noble art, while the tongue indicates silence with compressed lips.

Porro autem non est quod tibi persuadeas, nos dum sublimationis mentionem facimus, vel etiam sublimamus, separare eam partem quae superius est ab ea quae est inferius.

Moreover, there is nothing to convince you that when we mention sublimation, or even sublimation, we separate that part which is above from that which is below.

In nostra enim sublimatione partes fixae non elevantur, sed partes non fixae Nos itaque & corpus & spiritum debemus una figere, ut facilioris efficiantur fluxionis.

For in our sublimation the fixed parts are not elevated, but the non-fixed parts.

Atqui si calor agat in humiditatem, niger in primis color apparet : sin autem calor agat in siccitatem, apparet calor albus, & in eo albo colore occultatus est color rubens.

But if heat acts upon moisture, the black color first appears: but if heat acts upon dryness, white heat appears, and in that white color the red color is hidden.

Sic tamen statuant Alchemiae studiosi, & istius abditae artis inquisitores, non posse metallorum formas immutari, nisi reducantur in suam primam materiam : quae prima metallorum materia non alia est quam Mercurius.

Nevertheless, the students of Alchemy, and the investigators of this hidden art, state that the forms of metals cannot be changed unless they are reduced to their first matter: which first matter of metals is none other than Mercury.

Metallorum autem haec in primam materiam, id est, in Mercurium reductio, quamquam a plerisque artis in dagatoribus impossibilis credatur; ob id tamen possibilis censenda est, quod metalla omnia e Mercurio & sulphure in terris generentur.

And this reduction of metals into the first matter, that is, into mercury, although it is believed impossible by most of the art-makers; for this reason, however, it must be considered possible that all metals were generated from mercury and sulfur on earth.

Cum igitur metalla ex Mercurio & sulphure originem habeant, possibile dicendum est metalla per Mercurium in Mercurium reducere.

Therefore, since the metals have their origin from mercury and sulphur, it must be said that it is possible to reduce the metals through mercury to mercury.

Omnis enim res in eam vel maxime convertibilis est, ex qua originem sumpsit.

For every thing is at least convertible into it, from which it took its origin.

Primum porro hujus artis divinae opus est, lapidis sicci, puta Solis vel Lunae in Mercurium solutio, sive duorum alterutrius in suam primam materiam reductio, atque eo modo lapis siccus in eo solvitur, & cum ipso colligatur, ut deinceps nunquam separationem admittant, quoniam unumque dque simile gaudet suo simili: idque ita ut si fiat solutio corporis cum coagulatione spiritus Mercurii, una eademque opera siat coagulatio spiritus Mercurii per corporis solutionem : fit que tunc res una, de qua passim in libus suis Philosophi loquuntur, dicentes: Est una sola res, quae unica & sola res Mercurius noster existit, in se continens proprietatem & naturam metallorum omnium, & ob id Mercurius Lapis Philosophorum nuncupatur a plerisque : & quanquam revera non sit, est tamen clavis metallorum unica, carens nihilominus tingendi proprietate per se, nisi ipsemet prius tingatur cum anima Solis aut Lunae.

The first further work of this divine art is a dry stone, for example the solution of the Sun or the Moon into Mercury, or the reduction of either of the two into their first matter; and the like rejoices with its like: and this in such a way that if the dissolution of the body takes place with the coagulation of the spirit of Mercury, the coagulation of the spirit of Mercury through the dissolution of the body is one and the same work: then it becomes one thing, of which the Philosophers speak here and there in their books, saying: There is only one thing , which is the only and only substance our Mercury exists, containing in itself the property and nature of all metals, and for this reason Mercury is called by most people the Philosopher's Stone: and although it is not really, it is nevertheless the only key of metals, lacking nevertheless the property of dyeing by itself, except itself first it is dyed with the soul of the Sun or the Moon.

Nullus igitur spiritus agit in alium spiritum, neque etiam ullum corpus in aliud corpus.

Therefore no spirit acts upon another spirit, nor any body upon another body.

Ars porro haec in solo spiritu & corporis anima consistit, puta sulphuris & Mercurii : sulphuris enim anima essentia quaedam corporea existit.

Furthermore, this art consists only in the spirit and the soul of the body, for example of sulfur and Mercury: for the soul of sulfur exists as a kind of corporeal essence.

Quamobrem qui extrahere non norit animam e corpore Solis vel Lunae, atque eandem corpori in projectione restituere, is tota se sciat aberrave via.

Wherefore he who does not know how to extract the soul from the body of the Sun or the Moon, and restore it to the body in projection, let him know that he has gone astray.

Id autem hoc fit qui sequitur modo : Corporis anima, solis scilicet vel Lunae, elicitur sive extrahitur medio spiritus Mercurii, at que ea ratione Mercurii spiritus exaltatur & melioratur, ac anima cum spiritu conformis counitur; quam unionem animae & spiritus corpus scilicet Veneris vel JOvis postmodum in se recipit, ac vitam inde accipit perfectionis, atque sic corpora imperfecta a sua imperfectione, ad perfectionem deducuntur ac reviviscunt, idque lapidis nostri virtute & beneficio.

And this is what follows: the soul of the body, that is, of the sun or of the moon, is elicited or drawn out by means of the spirit of Mercury, but by that reason the spirit of Mercury is exalted and improved, and the soul is united with the spirit in conformity; which union of soul and spirit the body of Venus or Jupiter afterwards receives into itself, and thence receives the life of perfection, and thus imperfect bodies are brought from their imperfection to perfection and revived, and this by the power and benefit of our stone.

Fit ergo, uti dictum est, noster lapis ex una sola re, uno tantum magisterio & regimie, nostra enim aqua Philosophica, Solis & Lunae solvit corpora, siquidem aqua nostra viva existit, continetque ob suam exuberantem perfectionem in se omnia quibus indiget.

It is therefore, as has been said, that our stone is made of one thing only, by one only mastery and rule, for our Philosophical water dissolves the bodies of the Sun and the Moon, since our living water exists, and because of its exuberant perfection contains in itself all that it needs.

Haec igitur inventa varia apud Philosophos nomina sortitur.

These inventions, therefore, are given various names among the Philosophers.

Est enim pura illa & transparens aqua in qua & Solis & Lunae corpus solvitur, neque id proprie in alia ulla re hujus mundi, id autem ita fese habere Philosophos audi.

For it is that pure and transparent water in which the body of the Sun and the Moon is dissolved, and it is not properly so in any other matter of this world, but hear the Philosophers so tired of having this.

Lapis, inquiunt, noster scilicet corpus Solis vel Lunae, dissolvit se in Spiritu Mercurii, qui una cum eo se coagulat, seipsum nigrefacit, albificat, & rubificat, ac per se animam Solis vel Lunae recipit, & se cum ipso desponsat, seipsum figit in Solis vel Lunae anima.

The stone, they say, namely our body of the Sun or the Moon, dissolves itself in the spirit of Mercury, which coagulates itself together with it, makes itself black, whitens, and reddens, and through itself receives the soul of the Sun or the Moon, and espouses itself to it, fixes itself in The soul of Sol or Luna.

Lucianus Philosophus - Lapis, inquit, noster aereus est & volatilis, extrinsecus frigidus & humidus, intrinsecus autem & occulto suo calidus & siecus.

Lucian the Philosopher - Our stone, he says, is airy and volatile, cold and moist on the outside, but hot and dry on the inside and hidden.

Frigidum autem ejus & humidum extrinsecum, quod apparet, sumus quidam aqueus est, destructio, alteratio, & nigredo quaedam seipsam corrumpens, atque alia quaeque secum : fugitque & aspernatur haec ipsa humiditas ac frigiditas ignem : calidum autem & siccum in ipso occultum aurum est, vel certe oleum illud purissimum corpus penetrans, neque ignem fugiens aut metuens.

But its coldness and moistness from the outside, which appears, we are, is a kind of watery, destruction, alteration, and blackness, some corrupting itself, and other things with it: and this very moisture and coldness flees and repels the fire. or at least penetrating that purest oil into the body, neither fleeing nor fearing fire.

In Alchemia autem praeter calidum & siccum tingit nihil. Fac igitur ut frigidum & aquea illa humiditas & extrinsece apparens conformis atque similis sit calido & sicco intrinsecus occulto: id vide uti ad unum quid deveniant, & homogenea, seu unius naturae efficiantur in essentia: id est, ut spiritus Mercurii anima fiat, & anima corporis fiat spiritus, isthoc nempe modo tingendi ac penetrandi vim nancisceris & potentiam.

But in alchemy nothing but hot and dry dyes. Therefore, make that cold and watery moisture, and outwardly visible, to be conformed and similar to the hot and dry inwardly concealed: see that they come to one thing, and become homogeneous, or of one nature in essence: that is, that the spirit of Mercury becomes the soul, and the soul let the body become a spirit, that is to say, by this means of dyeing and penetrating you will acquire strength and power.

Humiditatem igitur per certos ignis gradus turbari sive alterari necesse est, igne videlicet lento ac moderato.

It is therefore necessary to disturb or alter the humidity by certain degrees of fire, that is to say, by a slow and moderate fire.

Lapis porro noster hoc fit modo: Sumito Mercurium, citra ipsum enim ne natura quidem ipsa potis est laborare, uti Rhasis testatur, inquiens: Per solum Mercurium possumus perficere opus nostru, ita ut omnem naturam superet.

Our stone is made in this way: Take Mercury, for on this side not even nature itself is able to work, as Rhasis testifies, saying: Through Mercury alone we can complete our work, so that it surpasses all nature.

Mercurius enim de facili omnibus metallis associatur, est que unicum medium, per quod tinctura adsciscitur.

For mercury is easily associated with all metals, and is the only medium by which the dye is obtained.

Re vera autem Mercurii natura hoc unum, quod suae naturae est, e mineris auri vel argenti ad se rapit, atque id quod conforme est Mercurii spiritui cum tota proprietate, & sic fit terreus Philosophorum Lapis, naturalis, incomprehensibilis, innumerisque etiam aliis nominibus a Philosophis nuncupatus.

But in truth the nature of Mercury snatches to himself this one thing, which is of his own nature, from the mines of gold or silver, and that which is conformable to the spirit of Mercury with all its properties, and thus becomes the earthy Philosopher's Stone, natural, incomprehensible, and also by innumerable other names called by the Philosophers.

Iste autem lapis benedictus, quo magis ac diutius decoquitur, tanto magis solvit corpus Solis vel Lunae, & in solutione denigratur, & quo magis solvit, tanto magis siccatur & albescit; ac post albedinem, quo magis deconquitur, tanto magis fit rubeus; idque procul ullo dubio.

And this blessed stone, the more and longer it is boiled, the more it dissolves the body of the Sun and the Moon, and becomes black in solution, and the more it dissolves, the more it dries and whitens; and after the whiteness, the more it is discolored, the more it should be red; and that is far from any doubt.

Lapis itaque noster istiusmodi e re abjecta & vili exaltatus in rem & thesaurum pretiosissimum.

And so our stone, cast off / vile from such a thing and base, was exalted into a most precious thing and treasure.

Ait enim Geber: Hoc solum sit per nostrum Mercurium, per nostrum ignem, per nostram aquam, per nostrum acetum; hoc est, per unicum cum suo corpore Mercurium.

For Geber says: Let this alone be through our Mercury, through our fire, through our water, through our vinegar; that is, through Mercury alone with his body.

Sumito igitur auri vel argenti foliati, quali pictores uti consueverunt, partem unam, quorum alterutrum quanto fuerit magis tenue, vel subtilius, tanto citius in Mercurium convertetur.

If, therefore, I take one piece of gold or silver leaf, such as the painters are wont to use, the thinner or finer each of them is, the sooner will it be converted into Mercury.

Impone autem fornaci hermeticae formatae uti nosti, addens ei Mercurii ut par est purgati partes duodecim & amalgama facito, ponensbene sigillatum vas in cinere cribrato & sicco, ita ut materiam cineres cooperiant; ac postea ignem administrato lentum & moderatum, continue coquendo tantisper quo ad sapientum dicta compleantnr, quae ex signis agnoscuntur.

Now put in the hermetic furnace, which you know how to use, adding to it twelve parts of purified mercury, and make an amalgam, placing the well-sealed vessel in sieved and dry ashes, so that the ashes cover the material; and afterwards, having managed a slow and controlled fire, cooking continuously for the time being until the words of the wise, which are known from the signs, are completed.

Ubi jam mense uno integro in igne steterit sapientiae, nigrae oriuntur nebulae, paulatim fese disperdentes ac evanescentes: hoc est, colorem color sen sim consumit, quo ad tantem unus permaneat: est que hic Philosophorum Mercurius & nigredo perfecta.

Where already for one whole month he has stood in the fire of wisdom, black clouds arise, gradually dispersing and disappearing: that is, the color consumes the sens, so that only one can remain: this is the Mercury of the Philosophers and perfect in black.

Porro si tres tantum Mercurii partes assumpseris, cum unica corporis parte, nimis partum Mercurij habueris, quodque vix trium mensium putrefactioni sufficiat, at que ita citius quam par est, vel quam ipsa Mercurii natura desiderat, Mercurii aqua ab Solis vel Lunae anima absumetur.

Moreover, if you have assumed only three parts of Mercury, with only one part of the body, you have had too much Mercury, which is hardly sufficient for three months of putrefaction, but which is thus faster than is equal, or than the very nature of Mercury desires, the water of Mercury is consumed by the soul of the Sun or the Moon.

Praestat igitur statim ab initio duodecim Mercurii partes cum unico corporis sumpsisse, & in sigillato vase cineri imposuisse: hinc coqui permittito trium mensium spacio.

It is, therefore, right from the beginning to have taken twelve parts of Mercury with one of the body, and to have placed them in a sealed vessel of ashes;

Tunc siquidem quod occultum erat, videlicet anima, sit manifesta, & manifestum scilicet Mercurius, sic occultus.

Then indeed that which was hidden, that is to say the soul, should be made manifest, and manifest, namely, Mercury, thus hidden.

Istius modi porro extractio animae per Mercurii spiritum non una vice semel & simul accidit, sed vicibus pluribus, quoquo tempore & diebus; nec non singnlis quibusque horis & momentis paululum quid, quoad opus ad perfectionem deductum suerit, uti superius etiam scriptum est.

Furthermore, the extraction of the soul through the spirit of Mercury does not happen once and at the same time, but several times, at any time and day. and not only at every hour and moment, he sewed a little something in regard to the work brought to perfection, as is also written above.

Id ita attestante Seniore dicente: Anima a corpore una non simul exit vice, sed pluribus elicitur: neque in vase continente solutionem, seu in quo corpus solvitur, unica in eo vice solvitur; sec quotidie in eo paululum quid, atque rursus, alias tantillum, secundum operantis & naturae regimen.

This is thus attested by the Senior, who said: The soul does not depart from the body one time at a time, but is drawn out by many; every day a little something in it, and again, at other times a little, according to the rule of the operator and of nature.

Non igitur cogites, una vice corporis solutionem fieri, sed successu temporis ac paulatim prout superius Philosophorum dicta dilucide attestantur.

Do not think, therefore, that the dissolution of the body takes place at once, but by the success of time and little by little, as is clearly attested by the sayings of the Philosophers above.

Hujus ergo artis inquisitorem, ac in ea sese exercentem, constantis & immutabilis esse animi ac voluntatis, apprime necessarium est.

Therefore, it is extremely necessary for the investigator of this art, and the one who exercises himself in it, to be constant and unchangeable in mind and will.

Idque praecipue caveat, ne modo unum opus aggrediatur, ac modo aliud, relicto priore, experiri tentet.

And let him be especially careful, lest he should at once begin one work, and attempt another, leaving the former.

Ars enim ista in multitudine specierum minime consistit; sed in corpore & anima.

For this art does not consist at all in a multitude of species; but in body and soul.

Est autcm revera medicina nostri lapidis res unica, vasuaum, conjunctio una, unum regimen atque decoctio: totum enim magisterium cum re unica, videlicet Mercurio, inchoatur, & cum re eadem, scilicet Mercurio terminatur & perficitur; quantumvis in artis honorem Philosophi multas alias vias indicent, quales sunt continua decoctio, commixtio, sublimatio, contritio, desiccatio, aquatio, ignitio, dealbadio & rubificatio, & quotcunque aliis nominibus dici possit ullo modo, non est tamen aliud quam unicum regimen, quod contritio & decoctio recte dici possit, Mercurius denique uti terit vel conterit omnia, sic ignis in ea perfectionem decoquit, qua de causa & Rhasis ait: Coque, neque te taedeat, ne festines, aut inanibus animum torqueas cogitationibus, at cum diligentia patienter optatum finem expectato.

Or indeed, the medicine of our stone is a single thing, a vessel, a single conjunction, a single regimen and decoction: for the whole mastery begins with a single thing, that is, Mercury, and ends and is completed with the same thing, that is, Mercury; however much the Philosophers mention many other ways in honor of the art, such as continuous decoction, mixing, sublimation, crushing, drying, watering, ignition, bleaching, and rubification, and however many other names it may be called in any way, yet there is no other than one rule, which is crushing and the decoction may be rightly called, Mercury, in fine, wears out or crushes everything, so the fire in it cooks to perfection, for which reason Rhasis says: Cook, and do not tire yourself, lest you hurry, or torment your mind with empty thoughts, but patiently await the desired end with diligence .

Longanus praeterea ita inquit: Hoc in opere curato uti vas optime sigillatum vel clausum assidue sit, caloremque continuum & uniformem habeat, nulla enim res sine calore & continuo motu ad perfectionem in hoc mundo deducitur.

Longanus further says thus: In this work, the vessel should be well sealed or constantly closed, and should have a continuous and uniform heat, for no thing is brought to perfection in this world without heat and continuous movement.

Si vero sedulus in operatione fueris, quaecunque decoctionis signa diligenter observabis, mentique tuae infiges.

But if you are diligent in your operation, you will carefully observe whatever signs of decomposition, and impress your mind.

Denique ut vas pro media parte cineribus obrutum sit, atque altera medietas emineat curabis, idque ut quotidie inspicere possis.

Finally, you will see to it that the middle part of the vessel is covered with ashes, and that the other half stands out, so that you can look at it every day.

Porro autem plerumque quadraginta dierum spacio apparet nigredo quaedam instar picus, quae aliud nihil est quam corporis jam soluti indicium.

Moreover, usually in the space of forty days, a kind of blackness like pitch appears, which is nothing but an indication that the body has already dissolved.

quicquid enim spirituale effectum est, superiora seu altum petit, & omne terreum in sundo remanet, atquc omne leve sursum, omne ponderosum deorsum tendit.

for whatever spiritual achievement seeks higher or higher things, and everything earthly remains in a state of flux, while everything light tends upwards, everything heavy downwards.

Quando autem corpus ab aqua sua solutum fuerit, in nigredinem & essentiam incomprehensibilem reductum, tunc praesto est solutionis tinctura in nigredine.

But when the body has been dissolved by its water, reduced to blackness and its incomprehensible essence, then the tincture of solution in blackness is available.

Sic denique in unum conveniunt quatuor elementa.

Thus, finally, the four elements come together in one.

Cum aere enim aquam habes, & cum igne terram.

For with air you have water, and with fire earth.

Cave tamen credas (quod saepius monui) tincturam una solaque vice elici vel extrahi: sed assidue paululum & rursus, alias parum quid, una nempe quotidie nigredo, tantisper dum successu temporis compleatur opus.

Be careful, however, to believe (as I have often warned) that the dye is drawn or drawn out only once: but constantly a little and again, at other times a little something, that is to say, once every day I blacken, for the time being until the work is completed with the success of time.

Quicquid autem cum Mercurio solutum fuerit, id sese rursum elevat, quantum vis major portio continue inferius remaneat.

But whatever has been dissolved with Mercury, it raises itself up again, inasmuch as the greater portion of the force remains continually below.

Nigredo porro ista aliquot nominum millia sortitur.

Then, in black, it is divided into several thousand names.

Nuncupatur enim ignis, anima, nubes, caput corvi: & nigredo haec animam corpori conjuagit.

For the fire, the soul, the clouds, and the raven's head are now taken care of: and these things unite the soul to the body with blackness.

Istiusmodi autem nubem nostra calcinatio producit, id ita attestante Avicenna: Initium, inquit, nostrum corpore & spiritu jam conjunctis dum conjungitur in opere, calcinatio dicitur.

But this kind of cloud is produced by our calcination, as Avicenna thus attests: The beginning, he says, when our body and spirit are already joined together while it is joined in work, is called calcination.

Ad hujusmodi calcinationem Philosophi nos remittentes exemplum sumere jubent a lignis, in quibus adhuc viridibus tria existunt humiditatum genera, primum quod lignum a combustione praeservat ; alterum admodum pingue & oleaginosum inflammationis & combustionis causam administrat, carentque duo ista odore, & ab igne consumuntur ; tertium autem unctuosum ac quantitate exiguum in cinere remanet, subtileque est & perenne.

For this sort of calcination, the Philosophers instruct us to take an example from wood, in which there are three kinds of moisture while still green, the first being that which preserves the wood from burning; the other, very fat and oleaginous, administers the cause of inflammation and combustion, and these two lack odor, and are consumed by fire; and the third, unctuous and of a small quantity, remains in the ashes, and is subtle and permanent.

Simili igitur modo de lignis jam dicto lapidem nostrum Mercurii & corporis calcinare jubemur.

Therefore, in the same way as we have already said about the trees, we are ordered to kick our stone of Mercury and the body.

Hinc denique drsces nigredinem expectare primitus, dehinc albedinem: quaesi in igne nostro per suum tempus digeratur, ad maximam perfectionem perventura est.

From here, in short, you will have to wait first for the blackness, then for the whiteness.

Philosophorum vero ignes duos tantum in eorum libris reperias, siccum quidem unum, atque alterum humidum; siccum quidem communem illum elementalem nihil non absumentem dixere; humidum autem ventrem equinum nuncuparunt, in cujus humore occultus calor reservatur, sin vero in eo humidum diminuitur vel consumitur, diminuitur etiam & calor.

But the fires of the philosophers you find only two in their books, one dry indeed, and the other moist; to say, indeed, that common elemental elemental being dry does not consume anything; and they called it the moist stomach of a horse, in whose humor hidden heat is reserved; but if the moisture in it is not diminished or consumed, the heat is also diminished.

Phiares Philosophus de hoc igne agens ita dicit: Igni ventris equini proprium est, aurum non destruere, corrmpere vel minuere, sed ob humiditatem suam augere potius, cum alioquin id omnis alterius generis ignis alteret & corrumpat, ob eam quam in se habet siccitatem.

Phiares, the Philosopher, speaking of this fire, says thus: The fire of the horse's belly is proper, not to destroy, corrode, or diminish gold, but rather to increase it because of its moisture, whereas otherwise it alters and corrupts every other kind of fire, because of the dryness which it has in itself.

Ob id ita loquitur Philosophus Alchidonus: Nostra, ait, medicina re vera in igne humido simi equini occultanda est, qui fimus sapientum ignis censetur.

For this reason the philosopher Alchidonus speaks thus: Our medicine, he says, is really to be hidden in the damp fire of the horse's dung, which is considered the dung of the wise fire.

Turba recenset, argentum vivum nostrum esse ignem, quod corpora comburendi, corrumpendi, ac occidendi, majorem alio quovis igne, vel elementali etiam ipso, vim obtineat, Calid id quoque asseverante: Est, ait, ignis quidam nihil non comburens, ut teri etiam possit.

Turba - The crowd declares that our living silver is a fire, which has greater power to burn, corrupt, and kill bodies than any other fire, or even elemental fire itself.

Idem ait & Senior, inquiens: Est aqua nostra ignis, aurum magis comburens igne elementali, & aqua nostra omni igne potentior est; siquidem aurum in spiritum convertit, quod elementalis praestare nequit, quantum vis & is operi conveniat, tunc enim aqua nostra corpus penetrat & in terram convertit post in pulverem vel cinerem.

And the Senior says the same, saying: Our water is fire, gold burns more than elemental fire, and our water is more powerful than all fire; indeed, he turned the gold into spirit, which the elemental is unable to perform, as much as the force and that is suitable for the work, for then the water penetrates our body and turns it to earth, then to dust or ashes.

Nisi igitur in principio nigredo appareat, nulla etiam albedo subsequetur: cumque nigredo apparuerit, scito ultra quadraginta vel quinquaginta dies non durare, estque hoc putrefactum corpus.

Unless, therefore, it appears black in the beginning, no whiteness will follow: when it appears black, be aware that it does not last more than forty or fifty days, and this is a rotten body.

Putrefactio ergo corporis, initium operis est, & sit exiguo admodum calore, ne quid summitatem petat, nam si quid ascendere contingat, tunc sit separatio Mercurii a corpore: quod non prius sieri expedit quam vir & uxor, Mercurius scilicet & anima, ad unum quid deveniant, atque in unam perfectam essentiam nigram conjuncta vel commixta sint; quae perfecta duorum, scilicet spiritus & animae, conjunctio, desuper perfecte apparebit, solutionis videlicet verum ac certum indicium.

The putrefaction of the body, therefore, is the beginning of the work, and let it be with very little heat, that nothing may seek the top, for if anything happens to ascend, then let there be a separation of Mercury from the body: for it is not expedient to marry before man and wife, that is, Mercury and soul, to one thing let them descend, and be joined or mixed into one perfect black essence; which the perfect conjunction of the two, that is, the spirit and the soul, will appear perfectly from above, that is, the true and certain indication of the solution.

O sili ex animo care, ob id putrefactioni seu solutioni diligenter intentus esto, quam exiguo calore contingere necesse est, in ventre scilicet equino exigui caloris, hoc est, in Mercurio, exili calore opitulante.

O mind, beware of the evil, for that reason be carefully attentive to the putrefaction or solution, which must happen with a little heat, that is, in the belly of a horse of little heat, that is, in Mercury, subsisting on a little heat.

Quod autem argentum vivum fimus equinus sit, patet per Seniorem ita dicentem: Corpore soluto, quod septimo die solutum est, omni quatriduo simus, id est, Mercurius renovandus est, hoc est, addendus est.

Now that horse-dung is living silver, it is clear from the Senior who says thus: With the body dissolved, which was dissolved on the seventh day, we are every four days, that is, Mercury must be renewed, that is, it must be added.

Haec autem innovatio seu additio propria imbibitio dicitur, maceratio, solutio & penetratio in solidas & duras auri vel argenti partes, corum poros penetrans, id que ut ea ratione ex eis animam elicere possimus, per nostrum Mercurii spiritum.

Now this innovation or addition is called proper imbibition, maceration, solution, and penetration into the solid and hard parts of gold or silver, penetrating the pores of the skin, so that by that means we can elicit the soul from them, through our spirit of Mercury.

Hoc certo statuito, statim post solutionem, id quod purum est in suo simili incrementum accipere, uti manifeste apparet in nucleis, quo si aliquot diebus calori terrae committantur intumescunt, putrescunt, & quod in eis purum & bonum existit tandem ex ipsis emergit ac provenit, crescit & in numerum millesimum multiplicatur & augmentum accipit; id vero quod impurum est, perit ac evanescit.

Having established this with certainty, immediately after the solution, that which is pure receives growth in its own kind, as is clearly seen in the kernels, which, if left for a few days to the heat of the earth, swell and rot, and that which is pure and good in them finally emerges and proceeds from them. it grows and multiplies to a thousandth number and receives an increase; but that which is impure perishes and vanishes.

Ideo igitur & nos materiam nostram digerimus ut intumescat, & quod purum est ex ipsa, accrescat, & augmentum accipiat, superssuum vero evanescat.

Therefore, therefore, we digest our matter so that it may swell, and that which is pure from it may increase and receive increase, but the superfluity may disappear.

In nostro itaque magisterio nihil praeter solutionem corporis in aquam Philosophicam necessarium est.

In our teaching, then, nothing is necessary except the dissolution of the body into the Philosophical water.

Nisi enim nucleus corporis Solis vel Lunae elevetur, seu reducatur in primam suam essentiam vel materiam, srustra in vanumque omnem laborem sumpseris.

For unless the core of the body of the Sun or the Moon is elevated, or reduced to its original essence or matter, all your labor will be wasted and in vain.

Corpus siquidem per se solum efficit nihil, nisi solutum debite suerit, ut jam saepius dictum est, solvi vero aliter nequit quam cum suo Mercurio.

For the body by itself alone produces nothing, unless it is duly dissolved, as has already been said many times, but when it is dissolved it cannot do otherwise than with its own Mercury.

Omnis etenim res per quam crescit causam, per eandem etiam destruitur: neque quicquam naturae magis consentaneum est, quam ut quaeque res vinculis, quibus vincta est, solvatur ac liberetur, ejus rei medio a qua sumpsit originem, scilicet Mercurio.

Indeed, every thing by which a cause grows is also destroyed by the same cause: and nothing is more in accordance with nature, than that every thing should be freed from the bonds by which it is bound, and set free, through the medium of that thing from which it took its origin, that is, Mercury.

Porro autem viae & modi solvendi corporis alicujus varii sunt & multiplices: quidam in loco sit frigido & subterraneo, humido, vel etiam arenoso, prout aquae mercuriales; alter superiore praestantior sit in calore sicco, quod in aquis mercurialibus non contingit.

Moreover, the ways and methods of dissolving any body are various and manifold: some may be in a cold and subterranean place, moist, or even sandy, as in mercurial waters; the other should be superior to the superior in dry heat, which does not happen in mercurial waters.

Haec autem nostra aqua sit in cinere sicco vase clauso & sigillato, est que via cum primas tenens tum caeteris longe melior; alter autem, de quo supra memoravimus, incertus & destructivus est.

Now let this our water be in a dry vessel of ashes, closed and sealed, for the way of keeping the first is far better than the rest; but the other, of which we have mentioned above, is uncertain and destructive.

Ob id ergo Philosophi solutionem suam dicunt esse unicam, quae corporus siccum in aquam convertat, quasi dicant: Fac Mercurium per Mercurium, sive per aquam mercurialem.

For this reason the Philosophers say that their solution is the only one, which turns a dry body into water, as if to say: Make Mercury through Mercury, or through mercurial water.

Ita enim corpus siccum propriam recipit Mercurii humiditatem, atque sic res una & siunt & nominantur, quoniam nihil eis addimus extraneum quicquam.

For in this way the dry body receives the proper moisture of Mercury, and thus the things are united and named, since we add nothing to them that is foreign to them.

In eo namque neq; superest quidquam, neque deest aliquid; quod destructioni ansam dare queat.

For in it neither; nothing remains, and nothing is lacking; which can give a handle to destruction.

Si vero materiam tuam in penu aliquo in aquam nubis loco humido convertere tentaris, destructionem isthinc accipiet, quoniam loco humido materiainsicitur ac intoxicatur.

But if you try to turn your material into a cloud of water in a moist place, it will receive destruction, because in a moist place the material is infected and intoxicated.

Multos utique multa dicentes reperias artis hujus prorsus ignaros, principiorum que metallicarum specierum plane nescios, attem hanc divinam hisce Aristotelis e 5. Meteororum verbis calumniantes & spernentes, quod is praefato loco ita dicat: Sciant inquisitores artis, species metallorum immutari non posse, velut ex aere, stanno, plumbo, ferro, argentum vel aurum, ut fieri queat.

Of course, you will find many saying many things that are completely ignorant of this art, completely ignorant of the principles of the metallic species, yet these divine Aristotle from 5. slandering and slandering with the words of meteors, because he says in the aforesaid place: Let the inquisitors of the art know that the species of metals cannot be changed, as if from copper, tin, lead, iron, silver, or gold, as it were.

Idque uti dicunt ita se habet: nulla siquidem interveniet immutatio nisi prius in primam suam materiam & essentiam aquae mercurialis reducantur ac resolvantur, atque sic aliam essentiam, quam prius erant, reductae sint.

And they say that this is how it is: indeed, no change will take place unless they are first reduced to their first matter and essence of the mercurial water and dissolved, and thus have been reduced to a different essence than they were before.

Audi quid sequatur: Magisterium nostrum formam corporum maxime destruit: vidimus enim corpora in argentum vivum conversa, quod multi hominum impossibile credunt, est que in causa sola supina ipsorum ignorantia, quod nesciant omnia metalla generari, & originem accipere ex Mercurio & Sulphure.

Hear what follows: Our teaching destroys the form of bodies most of all: for we have seen bodies converted into quicksilver, which many men believe to be impossible, the only reason being their ignorance, that they do not know that all metals are generated, and take their origin from Mercury and Sulphur.

Porro autem si ex Mercurio metalla cuncta originem ducunt suam, quid quaeso obstet, quin cum Mercurio in Mercurium rursum reduci queant?

Moreover, if all metals derive their origin from Mercury, what, please, prevents them from being returned to Mercury again with Mercury?

Ejus possibilitatis exemplum accipe: Ut glacies calore rursus in aquam revertitur, ita etiam corpora quaeque crescunt, & incrementum accipiunt omnia viventia, quod & arboribus, plantis, nec non in aminantibus conspicuum est, unicum enim granu aut nucleum aliquot mille millia producere cernimus, & unam arborem innumeros surculos.

Take an example of its possibility: As ice turns back into water by heat, so also bodies and all things grow, and all living things receive growth, which is evident in trees and plants, and not only in plants, for we see that a single grain or kernel can produce several thousand, and one tree with innumerable shoots.

Si ergo & metalla e terra nascuntur ac in ea crescunt, verisimile utique est & credibile, & augmentum & incrementum, ut caeteris, ipsis quoque dari posse.

If, therefore, metals are born from the earth and grow in it, it is certainly probable and credible that growth and increase, like the rest, can be given to them also.

Sat superque jam de rerum conversione a nobis dictum existimamus; cunctisq; satis jam probatam & cognitam ex praedictis conversionibus possibilitatem : quod ipsum Philosophos induxit, ut ita dicerent: Quicumque aurum vel argentum ita destruere norit, utpostmodum in aurum vel argentum reduci non possint, is ad magisteriu pervenit.

Satisfied, and above, we think that we have already said about the turning of things; always a possibility already sufficiently proved and known from the aforesaid conversions: which led the Philosophers themselves to say thus: Whoever knows how to destroy gold or silver in such a way that they cannot afterwards be reduced to gold or silver, he has attained mastery.

Facilius enim est corpora destruere, vel eorum formas convertere, quam re vera est, quod accidere videmus, cuprum scilicet recipere tincturam auri & fieri orichalcum, ex plumbo fieri cerusam & minium, & e minio vitrum, remanente semper plumbi essentia.

For it is easier to destroy bodies, or to change their forms, than is really the case, which we see happen, viz., that copper receives a tincture of gold and becomes orichalcum, cereus and minium from lead, and glass from minum, the essence of lead always remaining.

Atque ita singula in propria & inconvertibili sua manent essentia.

And thus each one remains in its proper and inconvertible essence.

Hinc prudens quisque facile collegerit, nullam recte corporis solutionem sieri posse, quam in proprio suo sanguine; neque quidqua utilitatis posse obtingere vel committi, nisi prius corpus solutum fuerit: cujus solutionis modus & via brevibus dilucide sequitur.

From this, every prudent person will easily gather that there is no proper solution of the body, except in his own blood; nor can anything useful be obtained or committed, unless the body is first dissolved.

Accipe in Dei omnipotentis nomine, Mercurii septies optime sublimatum, ac eundem rursus vivifica per calcis vivae partem unam, atq; ejusdem ponderis partem dimidiam tartari crudi, & sic optime purgatus erit, vel purgato sane quam noris optime, utque commodum censebis.

Take, in the name of Almighty God, seven times the best liquor of Mercury, and revive the same again by means of one part of quicklime; half of the same weight of raw tartar, and so it will be cleaned very well, or cleaned of course as best as you know, and as you think convenient.

Hujus ita purgati Mercurii sumito partes tres, & auri vel argenti in tenuissimas lamellas & folia redacti, qualibus pictores uti consueverunt, partem unam, impone lanci vel scutellae solutionis, atque in ea optime terantur & commisceantur ut amalgama inde fiat.

Taking three parts of this Mercury, thus purified, and of gold or silver reduced to the thinnest plates and leaves, such as the painters are wont to use, put one part on a lance or dish of solution, and in it they are very well rubbed and mixed so that an amalgam is made from it.

Hoc facto ac peracto alias novem Mercurii partes, ut par est purgari ei addito, & impone vasi tibi cognito, atque id cineri cribrato & sicco imponito, ita ut cineres materiam paululum quid excedant, administrando ei calorem mediocrem & continuum.

When this is done and completed, add the other nine parts of Mercury, as it should be purified, and put it in a vessel known to you, and put it on sieved and dry ashes, so that the ashes may slightly exceed the matter, administering to it a moderate and continuous heat.

Atque ita senex in balneo sedet, quem in vase optime sigillato & clauso contine, quoad Mercurius visibilis invisibilis fiat & occultetur, corpus autem invisibile & occultum compareat & fiat visibile.

And so the old man sits in the bath, which he keeps in a well-sealed and closed vessel, as long as the visible Mercury becomes invisible and is hidden, and the invisible and hidden body appears and becomes visible.

Atq; hoc id ipsum est, quod Philosophi solutionem, & sublimationem & infinitis variisque aliis nominibus nuncuparunt; cum re vera una tantum res, unum opus, unum regimen, vas unum, & unicus furnus existat.

But this is the very thing which the Philosophers have called solution, and sublimation, and by an infinite variety of other names; when in truth there is only one thing, one work, one government, one vessel, and one oven.

Porro autem quando in mediocri calore quadraginta dierum steterit spacio, desuper comparere incipit nigredo quaedam instar picis, quae caput corvi Philosophorum est & sapientum Mercurius.

Moreover, when it has stood in moderate heat for a space of forty days, a blackness like pitch begins to appear from above, which is the head of the raven of the Philosophers and the wise Mercury.

His sinem facientes, soli Deo & honorem & gloriam adscriptam volumus.

Doing without these, we want honor and glory attributed to God alone.

Latin Version