ELUCIDATION
OR
CLARIFICATION
OF THE WILL / TESTAMENT
OF
RAIMOND LULLE

By himself.
(Library of Alchemical Philosophers, Vol. IV. Paris, 1754)

Though we have composed several Books of the various operations of our Philosophical Art; however, this little Treatise, which is our last, is the one we prefer to all the others, because it well deserves to be entitled by us the Elucidation of our Testament; especially since what we have really hidden in our Testament, and in our codicil, by long speeches touching the Writings of the Philosophers, we clarify them here very clearly in very few words: but so that I do not need to compose other Books, since composition is nothing else, and consists only in the subtlety of a beautiful mind to cover and hide our Art well, what has been abundantly demonstrated in our Books now comes out of its darkness, and is led into a pleasant light; especially since not one of the Philosophers has ever dared to undertake this undertaking.

However we divide this Book into six Chapters, in which all the mystery of this Art is cleared up by very clear words, of which Chapters:

The first deals with the matter of Stone,
The second deals with Vaisseau,
The Third of the Furnace,
The fourth of the Fire,
The fifth of the Decoction.
And the sixth of the Tincture, and of the multiplication of the Stone.

FIRST CHAPTER

Of the material of the Stone.

Let us therefore first begin to make known the matter of our Stone; for we have applied things foreign to our Magisterium by their similarities; however our Stone is composed of a single thing, triune in relation to its essence and its principle, to which we do not add anything strange, nor do we diminish it; we also described three Stones; namely the mineral, the animal and the vegetable, although there is only one stone in our Art; we want, O children of doctrine, to tell you that this compound contains three things, namely soul, spirit and body. It is called mineral, because it is a mineral; animal, because it has a soul; vegetable, because it grows and is multiplied, in which is hidden all the secret of our Magisterium, which is the Sun, the Moon, and the Water of Life; and this Water of Life is the soul and the life of the bodies, by which our Stone is vivified; for this reason we call it Heaven, incombustible quintessence, and other infinite names; especially since it is almost incorruptible, like Heaven in the continual circulation of its movement; thus by this clear demonstration you have the matter of our Stone in all its extent.

CHAPTER II

From the Vessel.

We have resolved to speak now of our Vessel; O you children of doctrine, lend your ears well here, so that you may hear our feelings and our spirit; although we have discovered for you several kinds of Vessels which are enigmatically described in our Books, yet our opinion is not to use various Vessels, but only one, which we will show here by visible and sensible demonstrations, in which Vessel our Work is accomplished from the beginning to the end of the whole Magisterium; however our Vessel is thus composed; there are two vessels attached to their stills, of the same size, quantity, and shape at the top, where the nose of one enters the belly of the other, so that by the action of heat, what is in one and other part shows in the head of the vessel, and afterwards by the action of the coldness, that it goes down in the belly. O children of doctrine, you have knowledge of our vessel, if you are not hard-brained people.

CHAPTER III

From the Furnace.

We will now speak of our Furnace, but it will be very unfortunate for us to report here the secret of our Furnace, which the ancient Philosophers hid so much; for we have depicted in our Books various Furnaces: nevertheless I sincerely declare to you that we only use one Furnace, which is called Athanor, the meaning of which is to be an immortal fire, because it always gives the fire equally and continual in the same degree, vivifying and nourishing our compound from the beginning to the end of our Stone. O children of doctrine, listen to our words, and hear; our Furnace is composed of two parts, they must be well sealed in all the joints of its enclosure; such is the nature of this Furnace; whether the furnace is made large or small, according to the quantity of matter requires a large Furnace, the small one small; it must be made in the manner of a distilling furnace with its lid, that it be well closed and closed; so when the Furnace has been composed with its lid, make sure that there is a ventilator at the bottom, so that the heat of the lighted fire can breathe there; for Furnace this nature of fire requires and demands this only Furnace, and not another; and the closure of the joints of our Furnace is called the Seal of Hermes, as it was known only to the Sages, and is in no place expressed by any of the Philosophers; for it is reserved in Wisdom, especially as it guards it by a common power.

CHAPTER IV

Fire.

Although we have dealt perfectly in our Books with three kinds of fire, namely, natural, unnatural, and unnatural, and various other kinds of our fire, nevertheless we mean by this to you a fire composed of several things, and it is a very great secret to come to the knowledge of this fire, because it is not human, but angelic; this celestial gift must be revealed to you, but lest the curse and execration of the Philosophers, which they left to those who will come after them, be cast upon us; do we pray to God, so that the treasure of our secret Fire can pass and arrive only in the hands of the Wise, and not in others? O children of wisdom, lend your ears to hear well and perceive our compound Fire, which will do two things; learn that the Creator of all things has created two proper things among others for this Fire, namely horse dung and quicklime, the composition of which causes our Fire, of which nature is such: take the belly of the Horse, c i.e. one part well-digested horse manure, one part pure quicklime; these things being composed, kneaded together and put in our Furnace, and our Vessel being placed in the medium containing the matter of our Stone, then the Furnace being well closed on all sides; you will then have the divine fire without light and without coal, which is placed in its Furnace, and cannot be otherwise, having all that is necessary for it: but this manure and this lime are philosophical, and being understood of our matter , which has its internal and divine fire; for our artificial fire is the weak heat produced by the lamp fire.

CHAPTER V

Decoction.

There are also several manners of preparations of our Peter in our Testament, which are declared in our other Treatises; namely solution, coagulation, sublimation, distillation, calcination, separation, melting, inceration, imbibition and fixation, etc. The meaning of all these operations is only the single decoction; yet in our decoction alone, all these ways of working are accomplished, but the nature of our decoction is to put the matter of the compound according to measure, in its vessel, its furnace, and its fire, decucising continually; it is in what consists all our Work, according to the Philosophers; by means of this linear cooking, soft at first, and unctuous, the material reaches its perfect maturity; which will be accomplished in ten philosophical months, from the beginning to the end of the whole Magisterium, without any manual work; but we wish by these manners and these operations thus described, to make known to you the excellence and the sublimity of our Art, and how the spirit of the Sages surrounded it with a tenebrous veil, lest he who is unworthy of this Art, does not reach to the peak of the mountain of our secret, but rather that it persists in its error, until the Sun and the Moon are assembled in a globe, which is impossible for it to do otherwise by the commandment of God.

CHAPTER VI

Of Tincture and Multiplication of our stone.

Lastly, we will speak of tincture and multiplication, which is the end and fulfillment of the whole Magisterium; for we have shown in our other Books several sorts and manners of the projection of our tincture; However, since our dyeing is no different from multiplication, and neither of them can be done without the other, however, our Stone must first be dyed. O children of wisdom, push back the shadows and the obscurities of your mind, to hear the secret of secrets, which is hidden in our Books by an admirable industry, which secret comes out here from an abyss and appears in the light. Hear and hear, especially as our multiplication is nothing other than the reiteration of the composite of our composite primordial Work; for in the first reiteration a part of our Stone tints three parts of the imperfect body, and in as many parts it is multiplied and increases in quantity; in the second iteration one part dyed seven parts; in the third part dyed fifteen; in the fourth reiteration a part in complexion thirty-one; in the fifth reiteration a part in complexion sixty-three; in the sixth repetition one part becomes one hundred and twenty-seven, and always it is multiplied and increased in as many parts, proceeding thus to infinity.

Behold, O children of doctrine, how our Writings which had hitherto been hidden under parables, are uncovered; and we clarify them against the precept of the Philosophers; but we are willing to excuse ourselves from their reproofs and reproaches, lest we fall by divine permission into their execration and curse; however we place the words of this little Treatise in the custody of Almighty God, who gives all knowledge and every perfect gift to whom he wills, and takes it away from whom he pleases, that they may be restored to the power of his divinity; and also, that he would not allow them to be found ungodly and wicked. O children of doctrine, now give thanks to God, that by his divine illustration he opens and closes the human understanding; and may the holy name of God be blessed forever and ever.

So be it.

END