Mentem Alit et excolit - Nourishes and develops the mind

K.K. Court Library Austrian National Library

75.J.69

Johannes de Monte Raphaim

Vorbote

der

am philosophischen Himmel hervorbrechenden

Morgenröte

(Harbinger of the dawn breaking through the philosophical sky)

„Foreshadowing the dawn breaking in the philosophical sky“

Hamburg

Zu finden bei Samuel Henl/ 1716.

Tota die fedebit conflans & mundabit aurum & argentum, qua purgatione peracta erit coelum novm & terra nova.

All day long the smelter will burn and purify the gold and silver, by which purification will be completed a new heaven and a new earth.

---

Address

to

the true children of wisdom.

Well done! You children up! You who walk in the light!

And love true wisdom, realise what you are doing here.

You researchers of nature and true originators.

Whom GOD has created, arise, prepare yourselves!

Come, look at the view that wisdom grants you,
Do not look at the ray, scars you can see.

The wonder of nature, where wisdom belongs,
If you want to recognise it, notice what you are taught.

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At first you must consider with the utmost diligence What is imperishable, then direct your senses To that which brings all things to beautiful growth And brings from the centre to the circumference.

For this power is great and full of marvellous works A living fire and the strongest strength Which destroys all power; a light full of clarity.

That breaks through the darkness with all forces.

But what this thing with a frame may be called.

I will show you the same in these writings Remember, it is in a word the fiery Mercur, who drove out into freedom in the work of creation.

He opens and breaks, he kills, he makes alive It binds, overcomes, makes fleeting and permanent,

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Transforms what he meets according to its quality and gives each thing its allotted power In this spirit of fire lies hidden all power By which the dead body is fully awakened; The first man also received form from it, And stood very highly adorned with a multitude of colours.

This is the lump from which the first being Also took its beginning and still nothing can recover, unless the ground is swept out, Otherwise it remains eternally as dead earth.

So now this thing lies alone in its things From which, as our wise men find The heavenly nature and high spirituality And in such measure eternity is made of time.

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What the great world now lays clearly before our eyes And is hidden in the earth's bedrock Has every fine part of it in itself But the small world is also about you and me.

Then this surpasses the realms of this earth No other thing can be compared to it GOD Himself places in this heavenly pledge The eternal light known to few.

That is why the small world is full of balmy powers It always drips from itself the purest juices A spirit of salt springs from her, which makes perfectly pure.

As witnessed by the woman who suddenly became a stone.

My Jesus, the Son of God, gives beautiful teachings about this Who only wants to turn his mind to this reason

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can easily understand why the salt of the earth Is so highly praised with its sweetest lard Realise and understand rightly what is implied here And that you are only instructed by parable alone But GOD gives the spirit of wisdom and understanding Thither turn your mind, thither stretch out your hand.

The frames of this thing are not to be told Once you have recognised it, you may choose for yourselves What you want to call it, the three times twelfth number Gives you the right word, now I leave you the choice.

The gold alone resembles it and comes quite close to it And yet eat no gold; when the wise man saw it Yet he rejoices, he thought in his mind Where do I put this treasure in a hurry?

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I must not tell the rich man before this meal The poor can count it for me even in shock For everyone does not respect it and he has too much of it But I will not throw it away, it serves me as a game.

Take note sons! This thing slips on metal bands And closes them again with a gentle fire It gives its juice to a prey And takes it again with important profit.

But first it must itself die a bitter death Before it can inherit the power of heaven; Then it is under stone, vessel, the furnace, fire The key of our art, which is both cheap and dear.

Therefore not at first for this high work serves The red nugget of gold, till it has the greatest strength

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It has attained its fullest strength; then it pours on the gold And shares its gold abundantly from the servants This thing is perfect according to its first nature But it will be perfect once it has recovered From the death it has suffered, it never dies again And reigns forever according to all wise teachings.

Now this is the Mercur, which all wise men love Not the common quick, the sixth among seven For this would be far too bad; this comes from that That comes from itself, none is by chance.

With this spirit of fire wonders are to be wrought He tends to settle all disputes in nature Purifies weapons, fire, dries up what is too moist Moisturises what is too dry, burns what has dried up.

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To summarise: Its power cannot be fathomed at all And is a strange thing that few can find Whether it is known to all alike; it is mostly pleasant And yet it often makes many uncomfortable.

Nothing can stand before it, it devours what it creates And presents alive what tends to death.

It is like the eagle, it descends from the sky And skywards again from its deep grave.

This is the only thing that men strive for The tool of nature, so all things live And remains eternally the true ground of wisdom The Most High be praised for it every hour.

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(II)
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In the name of God!

I.
Just as at the present time the Sun of heaven, imparting its natural and powerful warmth, brings forth its new creatures in this great universe, but always works and acts through the growing power planted in it by GOD the Almighty Creator, not only to preserve all and every thing, but also to promote their reproduction and births; Thus the earthly Sun, the Gold, cannot transcend the goal once set for it, but remains once and for all in the nature and state in which it was placed by nature, and also produces in and for itself its other gold, no matter how long it lies in the smoke of the earth; so it is even less capable of increasing other imperfect metals and making them equal to it, while it possesses for itself no more than what it needs for its own majesty.

2.
Note this, ye naturalists, and consider it well, for here lies a great secret

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which the Book of Divine Truth gives us to understand as it were under a riddle, when it says: The Sun shall shine seven times brighter, and the Moon like the Sun.

3.
For if Gold is to do and work more, it must necessarily be seven times stronger, and be placed in a super-perfect state, that is, it must first be coloured or tinged to super-perfection itself before it becomes capable of communicating anything to others; then the wise man rightly said: Gold tinges nothing, it is then first tinged.

4.
For just as the Divine Word clearly indicates that if one day this whole world structure is to be glorified, the Sun will shine seven times brighter, so also the wise say that Gold, before and before it is able to do anything glorious, must first be glorified itself among its brethren, then the Moon will shine like the Sun and the stars like the Moon, that is, the base metals will be transformed into Gold and Silver, to the glory of God and the preservation of his poor believers.

5.
Is there one among mortals in whose heart there is but a little spark of

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wisdom glows in his heart, who does not seek this incomparable treasure with the greatest desire to be its master? The cruelly raging war has indeed obscured the great splendour of this science all too much, and how forgotten that the possessors of such a secret, as terrified and fearful, have lost themselves, even that not the slightest word is heard of it, and seem, as if they had even abandoned Europe, which had almost lost its freedom, because now everyone thirsts for human blood so as not to chase honour as well as Gold, but despises, even scorns, and tramples underfoot the precious lion's blood of nature, which is the life of all creatures; so indulgent is the money-sucking world! But I am confidently hopeful that when GOD will control the warfare that corrupts land and people, and yet is loved by high and low, and give noble peace, that this whiteness will begin to green again and shine as the dawn.

6.
Yes, there is no doubt that many will make ghouls of your sister, curse her practised folly, and look at this wisdom with frozen eyes and say: Fie, this shame, that we have so shamefully missed the path of this wisdom! In the meantime, it cannot be denied that the above-mentioned theorem

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of the wise, namely, that gold does not tingire, it will tingire first.

Whoever now intends to attain this secret cannot possibly proceed in any other way than to consider and endeavour not only to purify the naturally common gold, but also to tingirise (dye - color) it so highly that it becomes seven times more beautiful, redder and stronger, after the likeness of the heavenly Sun, which will also shine more brightly.

8.
The seventh number has a great mystery in it: for Gold, when it has been coloured seven times, attains plus perfection, and becomes capable of raising other imperfect metallic bodies and transforming them into Gold; indeed, when this work is repeated seven times, then, through these three great revolutions, it has reached the twenty-first number, which is called perfect. Here some wise men ask that our tincture is made in seven, in twenty-one and in forty-two days, yes, some have have even reached the sixty-third number, that is, the seventh and ninth together.

9.
As often as the common purified Gold is tingirised (dye - color), so often does it decrease in strength and

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youth, so that it can be multiplied infinitely, both in weight and quality.

10.
And it is to be known that kind Nature has done us an exceedingly great favour in this work, and has already perfected the Gold for our work to such an extent that we and may continue where she left off, and follow her instructions, for she calls out without stopping: follow me, follow me, I follow you! Just as it is then also impossible to proceed in any other way than Nature herself has done, and still does every day.

11.
But now Nature has reached her goal in the perfection of gold, but to go further, and to make gold plus perfect, is not in her power; she must therefore be helped by an intelligent son of art, if the jewel of wisdom is to be attained otherwise.

12.
It is irrevocably true that Nature is an exceedingly rich possessor of the golden tincture, and that she likewise prepares it to tingirise (dye - color) the Gold in the earth with it, so that it may be called Gold with truth; this must now be imitated by the artist. But how this is done, and by what means Gold is worked into Gold by Nature, and wherein.

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The artist must follow Nature in order to find the tincture of Nature, by which he can, should, and must further tincture the common Gold, and transform it into a tinctural, physical, and super-perfect gold, requires investigation; above all, one must not put the must into the raven's mouth, because it lies before his nose without it, and he may only bend down and grasp it.

13.
The pious and honest would like to have everything clearly laid before their eyes, but where are they, and who knows them? Let alone that the command not to cast pearls before swine makes it clear; look around and see everything whitely, for it is not so deeply hidden what makes a son of art noble.

14.
Behold, all Nature, heaven and earth, cannot but reach plusquamperfection (more than perfection), that they seven times more beautiful, more lovely, more powerful and more glorious, unless they attain the seventh number in their course; then the six thousand years of the world's creation will be completed, the thousand will begin, and the Sabbath will take place, when all will appear seven times more glorious, more powerful and more beautiful than it is, which can only be recognised by the fact that the Sun is seven times brighter, the Moon like the Sun, but the stars without

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the Moon, but the stars will undoubtedly shine like the Moon; and in the same way the common Gold in our work must ascend seven gradations, become more and more perfect and finally plus perfect.

15.
But how is this to be done, and how is it to be done? Or how is the work to be done? Notice! When Nature gives birth to Gold in the belly of the earth, she does so by means of the very subtle tincture hidden within her, and tingitises with one part of it, twenty-four parts; Nature cannot and is not able to go higher, therefore she calls out, as it were, to the artist, Help me! So I will help you! If you dissect the common art of Gold and seek therein that with which Nature has tinctured it, you will find that in a whole ounce of Gold no more than ten granules of true tincture can be found, but more of the Gold body remains as a white-grey earth, which after reduction in melting becomes a Silver as stable as Gold, so that it can easily be restored to its former state by an intelligent worker, so that it regains the throne of the earthly Sun.

16.
So reckon these ten granas (Grains) of natural tincture before one part, and divide the ounce of Gold into twenty-four parts, and thou shalt see that

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If you are wise, and know how to increase this tincture in the body of Gold only once, this increased or tinctured Gold will infallibly suffer the addition of twenty-four parts of Silver, and make it the best Gold; and if you repeat this seven times, and can pass it through the first great rotation, you will find that the decision of the first great rotation is one part 1536. in the other 196608, and that of the third 25165824. parts will tingiren (dye - color).

17.
A large rotation contains seven pleins (illegible), as follows:

The first great rotation: (see sketch)
24.,
48.,
96.,
192.,
384.,
768.,
1536.

The other large rotation: (See sketch)

3072.
6144.
12288.
24576.
49152.
98304.
196608.

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The third major rotation: (see sketch)

393216.
786432.
1572864.
3145728.
6291456.
12582912.
25165824.

And although the master could go even further and up to the seven great revolutions or rotations, he alone would not be able to comprehend the power of the tincture, but would have to leave it to Sabbatismo.

18.
How you must now go to work in order to increase the tincture hidden in the common Gold, so that the whole Gold becomes pure tincture, and can tincture many thousands of parts of lesser metal, that is where the whole mastery lies. Nature shows you the beginning by tingirising twenty-four parts with one part, and if she did not do this, there would be no Gold to be found, much less a tincture to be made.

19.
From which it clearly appears that a tincture metallica is truly to be found in Nature, and only requires a multiplication, and its new Composition with Principles of its own devising; for it is quite impossible to make the Tincturam Sophorum absque Tinctura Naturae (Tincture of Sophorum without Tincture of Nature);

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But this we cannot make, any more than a farmer is able to make a grain of white corn, because it stands alone in the power of Nature, is made by it ready for all, and is and will be incorporated into all creatures and natural things, and it is only up to an intelligent worker to bring it cooperante Natura a Specialismo ad universalitatis statum (by cooperating Nature from Specialism to the state of universality) and multiply it.

20.
For just as it was universal at the beginning of creation, before it was incorporated into the productis seu rebus creatis (products or things created), and thus became special: so the master can, should and must in turn bring it to specialismo ad gradum universalitatis (specialization to the degree of universality) by often repeated rotations as small as large, otherwise hops and malt are lost.

21.
The creation of the great world gives us an example: For just as before the creation everything was universally hidden in the Centrto Divino (Divinely centered), but in Creatione was led a Centro ad peripheriam (From the center to the periphery) by the Divine Word, It is, so that still this hour per modum generationis (by means of generation) everything hastens to the birth and periphery, and thus everything is full of the Spirit of God; likewise at the end of the world everything will also be reborn and purified, and the pure will again be led into the Centrum Divinum (The Divine Center), to the glory of God and the glorious freedom of his

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The unclean, however, will be swallowed up in this victory and held captive for all eternity with all the unregenerate in the dark abyss.

22.
You must therefore not linger in vain, and look around in which subjecto you have to begin, for kind Nature gives you both the subjectum patiens f. Recipiens (patient subject f. The recipient), as well as the true agens & augmentans, and it is only up to you that you first recognise the Tincturam Naturae (the dye of Nature) correctly, because ex debito subjecto exttrahiert (extracted from the underlying debt), and ultimately well applicirest (applied).

23.
Now it is certain once and for all that the vera materia Sophica (true Sophic matter), or debitum subjectum artis nostrae (due subject of our art), is a mineral; but because there are so many minerals, it is very difficult for some to recognise this; for, as may be seen from the writings of the sages, they say of all metals and minerals, it is notable to us, that they all put both together as many, and yet understand but one thing, because all are in one, and one is hidden in all; from which it may be concluded that it must be one mineral, in which all the others, but principally Gold and Silver, lie buried by force. If you can become capable of this subjecti, both according to knowledge and substance, well be it for you, but if not, so be it

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and take only one in regno metallico (metallic kingdom), which you like better, then you will, if you proceed correctly, find the Tincturam Naturae (the dye of Nature) in it, where you know it differently, for where you do not know it well, it will slip from under your hands, which then in Combination will exalt and augement the tincture of Gold both qualitatively and quantitatively ratione. But one subjectum speciale (special subject) is richer than the other; but which of these is the best has already been fairly proved, but say for good measure that it is to be found in domo arietis Saturnini (in the house of the Saturnian ram); but it matters little, you take it from where you will, if only you are experienced in extracting the aurum physicum h.e. Mercurio nostro (physical gold i.e. Our Mercury).

24.
Flamell says: "Many have sought it in Lead and Tin, others in Steel and Copper; theirs much in Silver and Mercurius: But I have sought and found it in Gold: But I tell thee, where thou canst have and obtain the Tincture ex Centro Macrocosmico (Tincture from the Macrocosmic center), thou art master of all.

25.
Now every man is at liberty to grasp at what he will, for the law and the prophets hang upon this; but see thou well that thou hast a right, true, and thorough knowledge of this thing, before thou extractest it from its gross body.

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But if you do not know it, it will be impossible for you, indeed you must be laughed at, for a cobbler knows that leather belongs to the craft and not paper.

26.
The Rotthgiesser in Gravenhaad said to Dr. Schweitzer, when he asked him what the vera materia (real matter) of the wise was, and what they made their Tincture of? Our Materia is a Heavenly Salt, or a Salt of Heavenly powers, by means of which we unlock the earthly body, and in time of resolution the Elixir is born; and both the Salt and the mineral from which the Salt is extracted do not cost very much.

27.
This can be all enough for a son of wisdom, for in D. Schweitzer's Golden Calf, both the materia ex qua (material from which) and per quam (material through which) are laid clearly and distinctly before his eyes, together with the perfect elaboration, so that I have seen his perfect recipe in this guild all my life, and it is to be wondered at that so many lovers read it, and cannot even understand what is said there; but it is no wonder, because the author does not understand his own book, much less recognise what he has written.

28.
I have previously said that the Tincture at first

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was universal, but later became special, and is therefore to be found in all things of the four kingdoms of Nature, as the Astral, Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral; Specialiter (Specially) it is best found in regno astrali (in the astral kingdom) in the Sun: in the Animal kingdom Man possesses it most purely: the Vegetable kingdom favours Wine, but the Mineral kingdom Gold.

29.
For the Sun, Man, Wine and Gold are very closely related and love each other; but the tincture in the sun is an incomprehensible fire, which can nevertheless be made tangible by an intelligent son of art; In animals it is fatness, in plants an oiliness, but in minerals sulphur, but here sulphur is not understood to be common stuff, although this also has its Granum Tincturae (a grain of dye) in it, but is very laborious and almost impossible to extract, or everything would remain attached to the buttocks and would grow to no or very little use.

30.
Thus the Tincture in statu adhue Universalitatis considerata (considered as a state of universality) is an exceedingly subtle, volatile and sulphuric water, which mingles with all creatures in the four realms, and takes on the properties of a kedes body: as, in Animals it becomes Flesh and Blood,

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in Plants to Roots, Wood, Foliage and Grass, in Minerals to Earth, Sand, Grit, Chains, Stone, Mineral, Metal, in Astrals to Light and Fire.

31.
In a single subject, however, it is still universal, but that which is not to be named before this time is one being with Gold, but of unequal Form, hence it is called Aurum Physicorum (The gold of physics), by which the common Gold can, should, and must be enormously exalted, to say nothing of the fact that without the Aurum Physicum (Physical gold) its common gold can grow, of which there would be a great deal to refer, if it would suffer equity to present the shameful nature thus denuded; This time one should be amused to the extent that this tinctural power lies hidden in all things, and can also be extracted from all of them, especially if a Filius artis (the son of art) wants to amuse himself with Medicine to preserve his weak body.

32.
But how it happens that this power is brought out of Minerals and Metals, and how it is then combined with Gold, and how the latter thereby becomes a plusquamperfect (more than perfect) body, there is, unfortunately, little information to be found among the scribes.

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multiplication, and how the Metals grow and are transmuted.

33.
We see that when the Sulphur or Anima extracted from the Gold is carried from as much Silver as was previously Gold, the Silver is transformed into pure Gold, but this cannot be practised with so great an excess: But it is enough that this Sulphur Solare again takes a Corpus in Luna; now if you can find that thing which multiplies or augments the Sulphur or animam solis (the soul of the sun) , you have truly that which the wise keep so much hidden, but nevertheless the wise say that it must happen in and with the Gold; for he who has a little Sulphuris Solaris (Solar Sulfur) has also a little tincture, and to make this in quantitate consists in nothing else than its multiplication.

34.
For this purpose, however, one must seek such a moisture that does not dissolve the Gold with noise and noise, but dissolves in the solvent like ice in warm water, and a wise man says that such moisture is drawn from the rays of the Sun and the Moon in a miraculous way, by an intelligent master craftsman: but this auqa rarefacta (rarefied water) is a matter against the light, a form against the Creatis or Elemenatis, but in itself a

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astral Substance, and a Tincture of all natural things.

35.
Now how this water can be made tangible as a celestial matter and earthly form, for it is visible before, is again a great mystery, something one senses when one tracts the Corpora with it, that they become as heavy as they were before, which is well worth considering.

36.
Note here: if the fire were not so manifold, little or nothing would be known of the Tincture; therefore, as many different gradus (degrees) are now found of the fire, so manifold is the tincture, but all from one, which his man can pronounce or name; and he who knows and knows it, can teach it to no one; even if the master has done it often, thought it over and thought it through, he still always finds something new to be lacking, then it begins without end, and ends without beginning, therefore no one can give the disciple the understanding, but the latter shows himself according to the gift and will of God in many ways.

37.
For if we want to grasp this tinctural being of power at its base, it is itself the ingenium (talent) and foundation; if we judge from it, it makes the judgement itself; if we think and reason from it, it becomes nothing but senses

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and thoughts, we argue from it. If we become impatient that we cannot have it as we would like, it laughs at us, for it is able to teach the highest to the lowest; if we do not respect it at all, it makes itself, so that those who are not worthy of it can do violence to it. The process-labourers (working process) want to rule it against all thanks and force it into process, and think they are masters of it, but they are truly the most troublesome drops under the whole heaven.

38.
But GOD has created a thing which is also in Gold, which is esteemed less than Gold, namely red earth, and that is the Tincture! But how do you get this tinctural power earth? Answer: Gold must become non-Gold, life must be killed, fire must become water, water must become earth through fire into air.

39.
For as the fire becomes water, so also the water becomes earth, and the Tincture becomes free from its bonds; and it cannot be otherwise, but the Gold must pass through the Tincture-celebration so many times, until it comes even out of its kind, and is brought into a stony, red, transparent, fiery, spiritual earth, which changes all bodies, and that is the song of the end.

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Moreover, Guttmann says in the Revelation of Divine Majesty that the common Gold is full of Light and Darkness, and that if one could separate the light from the darkness or from the opposite, and teach the inner light and sound of the Gold outwards, so that the darkness disappears, and the whole Gold becomes a red crystalline spiritual body, then one has achieved the masterpiece.

41.
For the red Gold is a deaf, dull, tasteless Salt, and serves for nothing but for the action in which it is, as it were, trodden down and crushed: But when, as thought, it is reversed, and made into a spiritual red, savoury Salt, then one has something new, namely a sulphuric Salt, which penetrates, regenerates and transforms everything, it cannot be given more clearly, one would then even want to break the seal of wisdom.

42.
In conclusion, I will repeat once more what has been said so far: The wise all write and cry: Aurum non tingit nisi prius tingatur (Gold does not dye unless it is first dyed) ; so now it appears from this that Gold is the only Recipiens, which, in order to obtain the true Tincture, should and must be tingiret.

43.
But the question is, with what should the Gold be tinctured, so that it may be used for plusquamperfection (more than perfection)?

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come, (for it is made perfect before by the Tincture of Nature,) and afterwards tinge the ignoble bodies? Answer: The Tincture with which Nature tinges Gold is beyond all doubt an exceedingly pure, subtle, spiritual, fixed and incombustible sulphur, by the power of which gold was born in the belly of the earth; If, then, the gold is to be tinged still more and higher, so that it may attain eminentissimum & plusquampefectissimum gradum (the highest and most perfect degree), and become wholly and entirely a tincture, it must necessarily follow that it can be done by any other means than by that very Tinctural Sulphur, which it receives and possesses from Nature as a sign of its perfection, for nothing foreign should and must be added to it, so that what the sages so often repeat and command may become true, namely that Gold must first be tinged if it is to be tinctured.

44.
But, sayest thou, where shall I get this tinctural Sulphur to tint the Gold? Answer: In Gold you will find the noblest, best, purest, most stable and most incombustible principles, and consequently a most delicious tinctural sulphur, in which the Solar Tincture is present, where Flamell also sought and found it; but whether this Sulphur can be infallibly obtained from Gold,

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the cost is so great that a poor man would have to wait for it forever, since experience testifies that many poor despised people have been and still are true possessors of this secret.

45.
It must therefore necessarily be possible to find and obtain a better material, from which a poor man can take and prepare as much as he needs for nothing; but he must not be so anaemic, since he must have clothing and food; moreover, says the farmer in the Gravenhaag to Helvetius, the Material costs four Gülden most of the time.

46.
In addition to all this, old Saturnus will give you a highly lustrous Mineram, in which all Metals have grown from the first Matter in his mountain, in which this noble tinctural Sulphur solare can often be found, if only you are able to extract it and then use it properly.

47.
Much is said of Saturnus and Jupiter, Venus and Mars, but here more labour and expense than benefit is to be expected, yet they are assistants in our art. Mercury seems to be a good and noble Subject, especially when it is still undestroyed in its mineral state.

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and comes into the hands of the artist before it has been adulterated by the materialists who corrupt Metal. There is also something good to be found in Antimony and Vitriol, provided you take it out of the mountain yourself, otherwise you will be cheated, for the materialists adulterate all things and can imitate all the Minerals of the Metals, so beware. But if you take what you want, you cannot steal this treasure from the heart of metals and minerals, unless you are well armed with the Universal Mercurius, the master key of our fortress, because everything depends on it.

48.
But this universal mercury is no different from the sal astrale (astral salt), which some call heavenly, but which the ancients call sal metallorum (salt of metals), because all metals have their beginning and growth from it; Ask GOD to enlighten your spirit to recognise and find this noble treasure of Nature and to bring what is hidden and dark into the light, to the praise and glory of his holy name; but also be warned that you should take good care so that you do not turn light into darkness and Nature is forced to cry out woe over you, but may GOD mercifully protect you! Amen.

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Appendix,

Several

Doctrines,

For the students of wisdom

1.
Nature is a spirit of light, created by GOD in a substantial way, and given a body, which is invisible and untouchable and lies hidden in all created things.

2.
The natural body, however, is nothing else than the Central Salt hidden in every thing, in which Sulphur and Mercurius, as brothers of Salt, radically rest; and yet it is its composition, but all three together are a very simple, uniform being, whether it already consists of three.

3.
This Central Salt is the body of Nature, in which all things' properties lie hidden, and is incorruptible, whether or not the bodies produced by the Central Salt are corruptible.

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4.
For the Cenral Salt, as the true body of Nature, is immeasurable in eternity. Whoever knows this central salt also knows GOD and the whole foundation of Nature.

5.
Nature is a spirit of light, created by GOD in the appendix, through which all things have become by Divine creation, and which is poured into every body of the Central Salt of every thing, as it were, for the nourishment, preservation and reproduction of all things.

6.
Nature is one and three: one because of its simplicity; but three because of the Sulphur, Mercury and Salt hidden in it; and these three make one spirit, or Nature, which sustains, nourishes, propagates and governs the whole world under divine government.

7.
These three, as Salt, Sulphur, and Mercurius, are often called together by one name, as either Salt, or Sulphur, or Mercurius; sometimes they are taken together, and called Nature; item Spirit

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of light: soul of the world; but is everywhere understood to be nothing but some essence of nature, which is a spirit of light, resting in these three, which are yet one in that.

8.
The knowledge of Nature is a great gift and gift from Almighty God.

9.
The essence of Nature is one, and cannot be divided in any way, because there is nothing repulsive to be found in it; yet there are three distinct things to be found in it, as the innate warmth: the initial moisture: and the grounding dryness; all of which make up the essence of Nature.

10.
The chemical philosophers call them the three beginnings of Nature, and such they call salt, sulphur, mercurius; yet they are not three natures, but only one, whether it already consists of three, for these three are one in essence, by means of which Nature produces, nourishes, and maintains all things.

11.
The innate warmth actually gives birth to all things: the initial moisture

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nourishes all things: the fundamental dryness; yet, as said, these three do not differ in the Centre of Nature.

12.
Amongst other innumerable names, Nature is also called Saturnus, because she meets her children again when she herself has begotten them.

13.
But among all Saturn's children there are three of them, whom Saturn, their father, spares, does not strike, nor can strike, because of their simplicity and smallness; for, while he devours the other children in their impurity, these three always remain unharmed.

14.
But such are not other than Salt, Sulphur, and Mercurius; these are called by the wise hands of Jupiter, Neptunus, and Pluto.

15.
Sulphur is the father of life; Mercury is the fountain of life; but Salt is the centre of life, in which all the treasures of Nature flow as it were into one.

16.
The four fundamental pillars of Nature are the four Elements, under which nature is the

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fifth being through which the Elements are governed, while the fifth being is the beginning of the four elements, and from which they all originate.

17.
The fifth being is its Element, but the beginning of all the Elements.

18.
Nature also has its Principles, from which it would be composed, because it is a simple, simple being.

19.
Sulphur has a great sympathy with the Sun, for the Sun is a fountain of the warmth of life, whereby all things are sustained; for the heavenly heat of the suns influences all things by its rays, nourishes and refreshes them, so that it may well be said that our Sulphur and the heavenly Sun are in uncommon concord, and are ratione calidi innati (on account of the innate warmth) one.

20.
Sulphur's constant companion is Mercurius, and they never depart from each other, for they are always in need of each other: But the Salt preserves all that sulphur and mercurius

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and Mercurius produce; thus Salt is a true bond of Sulphur and Mercurius.

21.
In sulphur there is heaven, fire and heat; in mercury there is water and air; in Salt there is Earth and Water.

22.
Fire acts in Air, Air in Water: Water in Earth; when Fire and Water act together, Sulphur is produced: when Air and Water act in each other, Mercurius is produced: Water and Earth produce Salt; and because Earth has its other Element, it remains the receptaculum (receptacle) of the other Elements.

23.
But if a master were so skilful that he could purify the Earth so that it would become pure Fire with the Fire, he would have the fourth principle, which is called Tincture, which is pure Fire, i.e. which is free from all impurities and is respected before heaven.

24.
Thus there is one Nature, but three Principles and four Elements.

25.
No Principle alone is able to give birth to anything, but all three together produce things.

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26.
From these three Principles the chaos or salvation came into being in the beginning, in which the power and essence of all things were disorderly mixed, from which GOD separated the Elements in which the tria Principia, as the seeds of all things, lie hidden.

27.
Sulphur, as Calidum innatum omnium rerum (Innate warmth of all things), is an immeasurable, fiery, juicy, greasy essence, of celestial, fiery, airy quality, primordial from pure astral celestial seeds, and elemental limbo, comprehending in itself all things' forms, and lies hidden in the centre of every creature.

28.
This Sulphur is the central Sun of all creatures; it is the Green Lion, or green, even greening Sulphur S. Benedicta Natuare viriditas (Blessed is the greenness of Nature), for it comprehends and holds within itself all the vigour and powers of Nature.

29.
Sulphur is celestial, spiritual, subtle, penetrating, all-pervading, and common to all four kingdoms; all art lies in this sulphur's realisation, preparation and application.

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The Spagyrici (Spagyrics) call it Heaven, because it is the first and highest power of all things, which alone comes from heaven.

31.
And if the heavens were created first, and raised on high, but the Sulphur is the father of all effects, it follows that the heavens were also produced by the power of the Sulphur.

32.
For here it is not asked in vain: the Sulphur is of heavenly sex, whether it already takes its beginning ex limbo elementari (out of elementary limbo).

33.
For the body of the Sulphur is indeed elementary, but the Forms are celestial, and thus Nature comes together in one body as celestial as elementary.

34.
And it remains indisputably true that the Sulphur is not only celestial alone, as some would have it, but also elemental, and neither an Accidens (Accidental) after Qualitas (Quality), but a fountain from which all things of essence and life spring.

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35.
The Mercurius of the wise is the incorruptible root of the moisture of all things, arising from celestial and elemental spirit, and four elements for the nourishment and preservation of the Caloris nativi (Native heat), i.e. Sulphur.

36.
Mercurius or humidum radicale (moist radical) was created merely to nourish the native heat or sulphur, and therefore it is so firmly connected with the Sulphur that it can never be separated from it, but must be and remain a permanent food of the Sulphur.

37.
And just as the Sulphur keeps the Mercury resolved for its perpetual preservation, so also the Mercury keeps the Sulphur with it incessantly for its strength, which must also be understood of the Salt.

38.
For here no master of the art can boast that he knows how to distinguish and separate the tria principia from each other in such a way that one should or could say of each in particular that this is Sulphur, that is Mercurius, that is Salt; for they are bound together with an indissoluble knot, and can never be separated.

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39.
This Mercurius comprehends in itself the forces of all Nature, indeed, Nature itself.

40.
The Salt of Nature is a key, without which nothing in Nature can be done or accomplished, to say nothing of the fact that Nature as Nature could not exist without it.

41.
The Salt of Nature is the incorruptible gluten, through which Sulphur and Mercurius are kept indistinguishably together for the preservation and stability of all things in Nature.

42.
The Salt of Nature can never be without Sulphur and Mercurius, and against it, &c.

43.
Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury are not found distinct in the whole creature, otherwise they would be of no use.

44.
And no one, however wise he may think himself to be, may presume to make such things workable, while it is impossible for mere things, both in Nature and in art.

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45.
Now let those who are for and against principles judge what kind of product will result from their so ill-founded division.

46.
For as little as the farmer needs to separate and reassemble the Principles of the Seed when he wants to grow grain, so little does the Artist need to do so in the Work of the Wise.

47.
The Salt which the masters of art seek, and from which the marvellous Liquor Mercurii is prepared for their Art, is Earthly and Metallic, not that it is a Metal or Mineral, or anything of the kind, but because it is more closely related to a Mineral or Metallic being than to any other thing, for here it is called electrum minerale immaturum (Electrum is an immature mineral), because Nature has only begun to work it, but has left it unfinished and imperfect.

48.
With this liqoric guest the Artist is able to reduce all things to their first essence, so that they become Salt, Sulphur and Mercury, but indistinguishable.

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49.
Heaven is a fountain of life and communicates this to all creatures.

50.
For here heaven is the first and foremost element of Nature, which some have called Fire.

51.
For by its fiery rays it scatters its subtle Seed into the Air, with which the Seed of the Air mingles and works itself into the Water; the Water, impregnated as it were by the Seed received from heaven and the Air, sinks (*not fully legible), together with its own seed, into the Earth; the Earth, as a mother, receives all three seeds, mingles its own with them as a peculiar fatness, and preserves everything.

52.
From these now arises the Universal Balm and Mercury of the world, which comprehends in itself the tria Principia, as Salt, Sulphur and Mercury. For from the seed of heaven and Air comes Sulphur; from the Seed of Air and Water comes Mercury; from the Seed of Water and Earth comes Salt; but from Salt and Fire comes Tincture, and yet they are all but one thing, the end of which is the beginning, and its beginning the END.

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GERMAN VERSION