THE BOOK OF CRATES

Arabic Manuscript No. 440 from the Leiden Library

8th century AD. J.-C.


In the name of the merciful and merciful God!
Lord, give us the grace to lead us in the right way!
Praise be to God who fills us with his blessings! May he shower his blessings on our Lord Muhammad, his prophet, and grant salvation to him and his family!
Fosathar de Misr was the first to claim the title of emir.

(The author then says :) I had been informed that the Emir repeated that, according to what had been told to him, I had never ceased to concern myself with the work; on this subject, I had collected many things that no other person of our time had been able to collect. I must add that the emir was a follower of philosophy, and that he practiced the doctrines traced in the works of the philosophers, in accordance with the books in which he had sorted them together.
The request that the emir made of me, to give him extracts of works from which he would be able to profit, could not necessarily have been addressed to me by anyone other than him. It was in fact an order, and, given the rank he occupied, I had to take all my care to render him this service. but they also said not to be stingy with the initiates.

I am sending you one of my books on philosophy; if the Elders could have read it, they would surely not have divulged its contents. Not a single one of these philosophers composed a similar treatise, and when they formulated their philosophical doctrines in such a complete manner, they kept them secret and did not divulge them to the public, nor even to the majority of their followers. It was so under the first caliphs, and it lasted until Christianity was eliminated.
Here is now the history of this book: it was entitled Kenz el-konouz (the Treasure of Treasures), and was part of the collection of the treasures of the philosophers, which were kept in the sanctuaries of the divinities. The principal of these deities was in Alexandria and was called [...] . Now there was in Alexandria a young man named Risourès, who belonged to a family whose members were followers of philosophy. This young man with a resplendent face, a slender figure and endowed with the most accomplished intelligence, paid court to one of the servants of the chief of the diviners of the temple of Serapis. This temple was named Athineh and the chief of the diviners Ephestelios.Risourès having succeeded in making himself loved by the servant and in marrying her, the latter showed him all the books and made him acquainted with all the other mysteries of the philosophers. Then, when it was learned that Constantine the Great was in Rome, she stole the books of Serapis, as well as this book which I am sending you, and she fled with her husband. Until Christianity ceased to flourish in Syria and Egypt, such is the story of this book; all the sovereigns studied it at length, until the day when the Arab dynasties established themselves in the countries of Syria and Egypt.

At that moment, this book having reached me, I sent it to you, strongly recommending that nothing be changed. I had first thought of having it translated, and the translator was already ready when, reflecting on the difference that Greek and Arabic present as a style and as a course of discourse, I gave up on this project; invoking the assistance of the Holy Spirit, I send it to you, so that you in turn transmit it.

The book begins with these words:
In the name of the merciful and merciful God!
I had completed the study of the stars, that of the surface of the earth, its position and its varied elements; I had completed the study of the science of law and the forms of logic, when I came to the temple of Serapis, proclaiming that there is no other divinity but God the Creator. I found there, in the king's library, a clear book, without obscure expressions and which treated of the sublime work whose knowledge God has reserved for those who possess wisdom and [...]. Never has a more admirable and clearer book been composed before mine, and nothing like it will be composed afterwards, for I have acquired a certain knowledge. I brought my book and hid it in the sanctuary of the temple of Serapis;it is only with the permission of God and on his special designation that anyone can take it.

While I was praying and asking my Creator to take away from me the serpent that creeps into the hearts of humans and to help me in the company I had formed to compose my book, I suddenly felt myself carried up in the air, following the same path as the sun and the moon. I then saw in my hand a parchment entitled: Modzhib ed-dholma or monawwir ed-dhu (He who chases away darkness and makes light shine). On this parchment were traced figures representing the seven heavens, the image of the two great shining stars and the five wandering stars which follow an opposite route. Each sky was surrounded by a legend written with the stars.

Then I saw an old man, the handsomest of men, seated in a pulpit; he was dressed in white clothes and held in his hand a board from the pulpit, on which was placed a book. Before him were admirable vases, the most marvelous I had ever seen. When I asked who this old man was, I was told: "It is Hermes Trismegistus, and the book in front of him is one of those which contain the explanation of the secrets he has hidden from men." Remember everything you see and remember everything you will read or hear, to describe it to your fellow men after you. But do not go beyond what will have been ordered to you, when you want to explain things to them; it will be acting in their interest and being kind to them. »
Here is what there was first: figures of circles, around which there were inscriptions thus traced: (In the margin the manuscript contains the following lines:
I found a second copy, in which were circles surrounded by an inscription. This inscription will be found in the margin. There were seven circles corresponding to the first firmament, the second, the third and so on until the seventh. Below each circle were letters without diacritical dots which I have reproduced.)







Definition of the stone which is not stone, nor of the nature of the stone: it is a stone which is generated each year; its mine is on the tops of the mountains.
It is a mineral contained in the sand and in the rocks of all the mountains; it is also found in coloring matters, in the seas, in the trees, in the plants and waters, and all that is analogous. As soon as you recognize it, take it and make lime. Extract soul, body and spirit; then separate each of these things and place them each in the known vessel assigned to it. Mix the colors, as painters do with black, white, yellow and red, and as doctors do in their mixtures, where wet and dry, hot and cold, soft and hard enter, so as to obtain a well-balanced mixture favorable to the bodies. This is done using determined weights, according to which weighted things are combined; then the various qualities are confounded into one.I have just given you an example; I have taught you the certain principles and the mysteries, freeing them from the enigmas in which the Ancients had enveloped them. Do not deviate from the description found in the volume entitled: Modzhib ed-dholma or monawwir ed-dhou.
(Then were the figures below that circled the manuscript lengthwise):


When I had finished examining these figures and grasped their secret qualities, I bent down to read what was in the volume Hermes held in my hand. I saw in it the description of two men, one of whom thought only of the goods of this world and its joys; while the other cared only for virtue, wisdom, peace and goodness, in accordance with the principles of revealed religion. Each of them believed they were on the right track. One was called Thatha men El-Hokama(he bowed to the philosophers); he was the virtuous and spiritualist man; as for the other, I did not know his name. They had discussed among themselves on a question. The spiritualist had said to the other: “Are you able to know your soul completely? If you knew it properly, and if you knew what can make it better, you would be able to recognize that the names that the philosophers once gave it are not its true names. When I had read these words in the volume, I clapped my hands together and exclaimed: “O dubious names which resemble the true names, what errors and anguish you have provoked among men! Then it seemed to me that an angel answered me: “You are right; such has been the work of the philosophers,and this is what they put in their books; for one called it Magnesia; another, in his book, called it the great Electrum; a third gave him the name of the great Androdamas; a fourth, Harchqal; a fifth, the iron water stone; a sixth, (the stone) more precious than golden water. Finally, no philosopher has wanted to accept the denomination which his predecessor had used to designate the operation. Doubtless the thing was the same, identical were the ways and means; but the difference was over the appellation. Each of those who had arrived at the summit of science claimed to formulate a denomination of origin different from that of his competitor, and it was for this reason that the confusion increased.We did the same for the operation, the colors and the weights. They troubled all who, after them, followed their doctrines and led them into doubt; so that most denied that it was all a real thing.

I then questioned this character on the reason which had thus corrupted the people and had misled them. He answered me: "You have the volume in front of you, read it and you will find there all that I taught you." I then read the treatise on sulfur water. I believed, without the slightest doubt, to understand the meaning of what I was reading. “Do you think, I said to him, that all this is obvious? God preserve us from error! he exclaimed: all that they exposed is exact, and they did not say anything other than the truth; but they used names that could create confusion about the truth. Some have designated it according to its taste, others according to its characteristics, or its usefulness, without worrying about what was beyond.Know, O Crates Es-Semaoui (the Celestial), that there is not a single philosopher who has not made every effort to demonstrate the truth. The difficulty they found in making these things clear to the ignorant led them to prolixity. So they said what was necessary and what was not necessary. The ignorant have treated the books they had in their hands like a toy; they derided them and then dismissed them as disastrous, off-putting, saddening and derisory, so far as the knowledge of the truth is concerned. "How," I replied, "can one not be put off by the reading of these books and volumes, in which one finds words which seem to say the same things and yet which differ in their application?"We are disturbed by not knowing what sense we must adopt, the lesson we need. - I'll tell you, O my son, he replied, whence come these errors and these disastrous troubles. All men necessarily belong to one of the following two categories: the first includes any individual whose mind is solely directed towards wisdom, the search for science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. whence come these errors and these disastrous troubles. All men necessarily belong to one of the following two categories: the first includes any individual whose mind is solely directed towards wisdom, the search for science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. whence come these errors and these disastrous troubles. All men necessarily belong to one of the following two categories: the first includes any individual whose mind is solely directed towards wisdom, the search for science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. All men necessarily belong to one of the following two categories: the first includes any individual whose mind is solely directed towards wisdom, the search for science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. All men necessarily belong to one of the following two categories: the first includes any individual whose mind is solely directed towards wisdom, the search for science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. the research of science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God; if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly.the research of science, the teaching of the laws of nature, the affinities of the latter, their advantages and their disadvantages. One who belongs to this category is concerned with having books, with researching them, with devoting his mind, his soul and his body to spreading the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God; if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. his soul and his body to spread the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God;if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly. his soul and his body to spread the notions they contain. When he finds something clear and precise in it, he thanks God; if he encounters an obscure point there, he makes every effort to have an exact idea of ​​it through his studies, thus arriving at the goal he has set himself and acting accordingly.

In the second category, we will place the man who thinks only of his stomach, who worries neither about this world nor about the future life; that one, the books only increase his ignorance and his blindness; therefore he must necessarily be dull in spirit and become more and more so. »

"You are right," I told him, "and your words are true." Then I added: "If you authorize me, I will explain to you what I intend to do with this marvelous science, for those who will come after me." - Say, he replied. When I had explained my ideas to him, he smiled and added: "Your intentions are excellent, but your soul will never resolve to divulge the truth, because of the diversity of opinions and the miseries of pride." - Tell me, I say, how far I must go. »
“Write this,” he said to me: “Take copper and what looks like copper, the weight of two men; that the madeira is raw and has not undergone any preparation. Also take the same weight of mercury and what looks like mercury, the two white materials, raw and unprepared, alike. All those who come after you will not be able to recognize that they are spirits, if you have not designated them by their names. The weak and unwise man who reads this, will take weak spirits, who cannot stand the fire, who will have no strength, and who will be devoured by the fire during the operation. As he will obtain nothing, his anguish and his blindness will only increase, since he should have followed this precept of the Ancients: make the bodies incorporeal.Know that copper has, like man, a soul, a spirit and a body. Do not speak in your book of dry sulphur, nor arsenics and the like; for in all these substances there is nothing good. You know it besides, because the fire devours them and burns them; you can't get any profit out of it. As for our sulfur, of which you will have to speak in your book, it is a sulfur which does not burn and which the fire cannot devour, but which volatilizes under the action of the fire. This is why the ancients claimed that the substances which volatilized contained the dye spirit, at the same time as the smoke. In the same way, compound water is perfect only on condition of being similar to the (previous) mixture.All of this is taken verbatim from the book. of which you will have to speak in your book, it is a sulfur which does not burn and which fire cannot devour, but which volatilizes under the action of fire. This is why the ancients claimed that the substances which volatilized contained the dye spirit, at the same time as the smoke. In the same way, compound water is perfect only on condition of being similar to the (previous) mixture. All of this is taken verbatim from the book. of which you will have to speak in your book, it is a sulfur which does not burn and which fire cannot devour, but which volatilizes under the action of fire. This is why the ancients claimed that the substances which volatilized contained the dye spirit, at the same time as the smoke.In the same way, compound water is perfect only on condition of being similar to the (previous) mixture. All of this is taken verbatim from the book.

These tinctorial spirits, likely to volatilize by the action of the intense heat of the fire, when the bodies are bleached, it is advisable to add them to the tinctorial spirits which come from the bodies, from which (the last spirits) were extracted by volatilization. It is this product which, by God's permission, will revive the bodies, improve them and restore them to the perfect state that you seek to give them. »

I remained amazed with admiration. He then repeated his words to me and added: “Write your book according to the information I have given you; know that I am with you and that I will not abandon you, as long as you will not have completed your enterprise; it will earn you the favor of God. Know also that the combination of bodies takes place only insofar as the bodies present between them a certain affinity of color and taste. You melt them together, so that they mix and become a homogeneous liquid, which is then called pure sulfur water: it no longer contains any bad principle. Here is a mystery solved.

It is with this substance that dry sulfur is made, which the philosophers have called rust and ferment of gold, gold in the test, and coral of gold (literally: gold of purple). But this can only take place when the mixture of - the bodies has constituted a homogeneous substance; then it is called the excellent thing and it receives several names. Write all this, in order to obtain molybdochalcum, in which resides all secret virtue. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that you do not write down all these multiple combinations in a book intended for those who will come after you; for the whole work is contained in molybdochalcum alone.

When he had made me understand all these things, he disappeared and I came back to myself. I was like a man who wakes up with a heavy head and disturbed by his sleep. Two things in particular had made a strong impression on me: the first was that he had diverted me from the project of writing the book I had conceived; the second is that he hadn't finished his speech before disappearing from my eyes.
So I asked the Eternal of Eternals to recommend me to this angel, so that I could finish obtaining from him the revelations he had begun on the nature of things. I began to fast, to pray, to remain in contemplation, until finally the angel appeared to me (again) and said to me: “You know that when we speak of coined waraq (right?), we only mean to indicate our silver and our gold . When these substances are mixed in the vessel and white, we call them silver; we call them gold when they are red. If we add sulfur to it and we work the product, we then give it the name of golden ferment, or some name of this kind.

Write: Take the minerals in the desired weight; mix them with mercury and operate until the product becomes an igneous poison, and you will have what we call molybdochalcum. When the bodies have been burned and fixed, we will call the product dry sulphur. Then he will produce pure gold and tint silver into gold. (We do not mean here the money of the vulgar, but the money combined by the philosophers and to which alone we give the name of money ( ouaraq ). If we add the rest of the poison to it, it will dye the gold, and it will not be the gold of the vulgar, but the combination that dyes red, and which we call gold. We will tell you the weights later .As for the bodies, they all have a shadow and a black substance, which are found on the surface, in all the metals which possess them. Mercury, like all other bodies, has a shadow and a black substance. It is necessary to extract from it this shadow and this black substance, as one extracts them from other bodies. »

I asked him how we could extract the shadow from the mercury. He replied: "By mixing it with other bodies, because then it is bleached." - What do you mean? I said to him, since the philosophers say that mercury alone is capable of whitening copper. - They should rather say, he replied, that the mercury is bleached; for bodies which resist fire do not release anything, and only mercury is released and volatilizes under the action of fire. When it is extracted by means of fire, it volatilizes, and the other bodies resist the fire. If you put these bodies back on the fire, as soon as they have been put back there and (the mercury) has mixed with them, we will have a pure body, because it will remain with them.The spirits, under the action of a violent heat, emerge from these bodies, and these bodies become dead, without spirit, since they have undergone volatilization. If the bodies are given back their spirits, they become alive again. This is why the Ancients said that copper had a body and a soul. Yet some people sought his spirit, and for this they operated on copper, in order to make it a strong body, able to dye and resistant to fire. These people let themselves be seduced by [...] when they wanted to transform spirits into bodies, without the aid of a body. No one, in fact, has ever seen a soul which was fixed elsewhere than in a body, nor a body which existed without a soul.The soulless body is incapable of moving, of generating and of contracting union. This is why the Ancients said that copper had a body and a soul. Yet some people sought his spirit, and for this they operated on copper, in order to make it a strong body, able to dye and resistant to fire.

These people let themselves be seduced by [...] when they wanted to transform spirits into bodies, without the aid of a body. No one, in fact, has ever seen a soul which was fixed elsewhere than in a body, nor a body which existed without a soul. The soulless body is incapable of moving, of generating and of contracting union. This is why the Ancients said that copper had a body and a soul.Yet some people sought his spirit, and for this they operated on copper, in order to make it a strong body, able to dye and resistant to fire. These people let themselves be seduced by [...] when they wanted to transform spirits into bodies, without the aid of a body. No one, in fact, has ever seen a soul which was fixed elsewhere than in a body, nor a body which existed without a soul. The soulless body is incapable of moving, of generating and of contracting union. ] when they wanted to transform spirits into bodies, without the help of a body. No one, in fact, has ever seen a soul which was fixed elsewhere than in a body, nor a body which existed without a soul. The soulless body is incapable of moving, of generating and of contracting union.] when they wanted to transform spirits into bodies, without the help of a body. No one, in fact, has ever seen a soul which was fixed elsewhere than in a body, nor a body which existed without a soul. The soulless body is incapable of moving, of generating and of contracting union.
“Know in a certain way that all bodies contain impurities, and that the impurities of the three bodies cannot be eliminated except by mixing them to achieve volatilization. The fire cleans them, so to speak, and eliminates the black part; for a fire whose heat is suitably directed, cleans the bodies and purifies them. It is fire alone that cleanses them, purifies them, improves them, refines them and makes them turn white and red. But I must tell you how often mercury must be put back into the bodies. "Tell me, please," I cried. “The Ancients,” he replied, “said that roasting with lead and sulfur constituted a first form of roasting; roasting with mercury, the second. Then they added: put the blades back in the solution,in order to draw out the impurities: this will be the third operation. Grind with mercury, it will be the fourth. Crush with honey and eye drops, it will be the fifth. Pound with litharge, with honey, it will be the sixth. Crush the golden ozza with calf's urine, it will be the seventh. Then he added: “As for me, I consider that the bodies must be put back into the solution: for the more one puts them there and the longer one leaves them there, the more they acquire beauty and aptitude for dyeing. But you always have to look for the best, when possible. I have just revealed to you things which, I fear, cannot be understood by anyone's intelligence, sagacity and science.

As for the names that the Ancients gave,? as, for example, those of copper, of silver, of flesh, of molybdochalcum, of gold, of golden flower, of golden coral, these are denominations which they have created to designate the elixir. They wanted to thus indicate each of the colors which the elixir takes, and they followed until the end the order in which they occur. Each time the fluidity of the mixture was increased, a new color was determined; with each color change, a new name was given to the mixture, and its tinctorial power increased.
Also the secret books of the philosophers first named it lead; then when it was cooked and the black was extracted from it, it was called silver; then, when transformed, copper. When moisture has been poured over this product, after rust; when we eliminated the black matter in the rusty part and we saw the yellow appear, we then gave it the name of gold. Following the fourth operation, we called it gold ferment; following the fifth, gold to the test; following the sixth, gold coral (purple gold); finally, following the seventh operation, it is the perfect work, the penetrating dye.

All these names are acquired only under the influence of fire, and it is thanks to it that the operations engender these qualities, which no tincture develops to such a high degree, nor with such intensity and which one cannot, without illusion, seek to obtain otherwise. If people knew the power necessary to form the best quality, they would know that a single matter can give rise to the ten products named by the Ancients. »

“Show me,” I said to him, “what is this unique matter which produces the ten. "Know," he replied, "that the ten which can be thus formed corresponds to the ten names which were established by Democritus, and for each of which he determined an operation. As for the single matter which has more effect than the ten, the philosophers have refused to give it a particular name; but had they given him one, that would not have allowed him to profit from it: for they did not indicate whether the matter was compound or simple. its composition, it is called unique. It is thus that the milks bear only one name, although they contain four natures ,who ensure the existence of their body and their spirit; they have only one designation and one nature. The philosophers proceeded in this way: they mixed their ingredients and combined them, so as to obtain a homogeneous product, to which they gave only one name. It is said that they swore to each other never to make this thing known to anyone who was not one of them. — If they have sworn, I replied, not to divulge this, why do they blame people and reproach them for their lack of intelligence, their incapacity to find the true way of this science; why do they blame these people for undertaking research on a subject of which they did not want to give them any notion? »they mixed their ingredients and combined them, so as to obtain a homogeneous product, to which they gave only one name. It is said that they swore to each other never to make this thing known to anyone who was not one of them. — If they have sworn, I replied, not to divulge this, why do they blame people and reproach them for their lack of intelligence, their incapacity to find the true way of this science; why do they blame these people for undertaking research on a subject of which they did not want to give them any notion? they mixed their ingredients and combined them, so as to obtain a homogeneous product, to which they gave only one name. It is said that they swore to each other never to make this thing known to anyone who was not one of them.— If they have sworn, I replied, not to divulge this, why do they blame people and reproach them for their lack of intelligence, their incapacity to find the true way of this science; why do they blame these people for undertaking research on a subject of which they did not want to give them any notion? I replied, not to divulge this, why do they blame people and reproach them for their lack of intelligence, their incapacity to find the true way of this science; why do they blame these people for undertaking research on a subject of which they did not want to give them any notion? I replied, not to divulge this, why do they blame people and reproach them for their lack of intelligence, their incapacity to find the true way of this science;why do they blame these people for undertaking research on a subject of which they did not want to give them any notion? »

“Did I not tell you,” he answered me, “that Democritus' master had not taught him the combination of subjects and that he had left him in poignant doubt on this point? So Democritus had to study the books, do research, multiply the experiments and the . information and experience serious setbacks, before arriving at the right path. According to what he tells, he found nothing more difficult than to obtain the intimate mixture, proper to achieve the combination of materials. I then say to him: 'Leave aside the incidental details; be quick to describe the purpose and be brief in your speech; discard all unnecessary length and amplification. He replied: “The operation will whiten the copper on the outside and also on the inside;just as it is rusty on the outside, it will be rusty on the inside; Finally, everything that shines on the outside will also shine on the inside. "And when it shines both inside and out?" I exclaimed, trying to induce him to clear up all these things and explain them to me, the conversation between us leading me at last to the goal I had set for myself, and to the hope of profiting by the opportunity. "I only taught you," he told me, "that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will evaporate." But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. it will be rusty inside;Finally, everything that shines on the outside will also shine on the inside. "And when it shines both inside and out?" I exclaimed, trying to induce him to clear up all these things and explain them to me, the conversation between us leading me at last to the goal I had set for myself, and to the hope of profiting by the opportunity. "I only taught you," he told me, "that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will evaporate." But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. it will be rusty inside; Finally, everything that shines on the outside will also shine on the inside."And when it shines both inside and out?" I exclaimed, trying to induce him to clear up all these things and explain them to me, the conversation between us leading me at last to the goal I had set for myself, and to the hope of profiting by the opportunity. "I only taught you," he told me, "that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will evaporate." But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. "And when it shines both inside and out?"I exclaimed, trying to induce him to clear up all these things and explain them to me, the conversation between us leading me at last to the goal I had set for myself, and to the hope of profiting by the opportunity. "I only taught you," he told me, "that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will evaporate." But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. "And when it shines both inside and out?" I exclaimed, trying to induce him to clear up all these things and explain them to me, the conversation between us leading me at last to the goal I had set for myself, and to the hope of profiting by the opportunity."I only taught you," he told me, "that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will evaporate." But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. he told me, that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will volatilize. But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust; when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture. he told me, that the substance will whiten and rust, then it will volatilize. But you must also know that the main goal is to obtain rust;when this result is obtained, you will have the beginning of the preparation, that is to say the fleeting tincture.

Any combination is made up of two components capable of uniting. For example, man and woman are component elements; if they get together and mate. God causes a child to come out of them, and this by virtue of the attraction that God has placed in each of them for the other; so that they are necessary to each other and experience joy in meeting each other. Such is the science of the unique thing and its demonstration. »

“By my life! I exclaimed, you have just clearly explained the single matter to me and demonstrated it to me. You therefore claim that the single matter, although so called, is formed of various matters, and that it is a combination: when one operates on it, it passes from one color to another color. He answered: 'Thus lead does not have the same energy as litharge and does not produce the same effects; litharge, in its turn, does not have the same power as white lead, which itself does not act like minium. These four things come from a single matter, which is lead, and yet each of them has its particular character, its own energy and its qualities which develop under the influence of fire.People of subtle mind and penetrating intelligence will understand the meaning of the words I just said. As for the ignorant, they will call me an impostor, because their understanding does not allow them to reach the knowledge of what we have just exposed. So they will deny the truth, they will claim that the worm does not become a serpent and the serpent does not become a dragon. Now, you know that the (symbolic) animal on which the philosophers operate is a certain thing, which from worm becomes serpent, and from serpent, dragon. Indeed, at the beginning of the operation the body is shiny like silver, hard like gold, and sometimes red like minium, sometimes black like darkness.Whoever treats all this as fable and who claims that what you have written in this book is only made to deceive the obscurities and the enigmas of the works of the Ancients, by imitating them; it is really very strange that this man does not go to find people who operate with the help of lead, litharge, white lead and minium; for he would then see that everything we have said is the truth, since with a single material these people have made various products, to which they have given different names, although in reality all this was the same material. It is the same with what we have explained. Each time we made an addition, we obtained a new color, to which we gave a name, until we had exhausted the series of names of these various mixtures.At first the body was called molybdochalcum and body of magnesia; then it took the name of lead, or sometimes black lead, or white lead. Now the only thing is lead, which the Elders said had superiority over the ten. She was born from the combinations of this unique principle that we called lead. »

“According to your words, O virtuous soul, what should be extracted from this lead: colors, or (colourable) materials? — What must be extracted, he replied, are the tintable materials, and the colors to which the Ancients gave names of materials. Thus what we call cinnabar (color) is not true cinnabar; it is the same with the ten names of which I spoke to you and which dominates the single matter; these substances are ten in number only as nouns. But each time one of these ten substances has acquired a new coloration, we have given it a name; although it was always the same principle, that is to say the lead whose nature I taught you.It includes various substances, mixed, coupled and intimately united to each other, so as to provide a homogeneous whole. Each of the properties focused on the substance that corresponded to it, assimilated it and made it a solid, non-fleeting whole, which became more and more consolidated. Such is the unique matter of which I spoke to you and which the philosophers have distributed among numerous operations and of various colors, without however ever being in agreement, neither on the substances, nor on the colors, nor on the operations. Some have given it the names of solid substances, and others the names of liquid substances.I have delivered to you all the clarifications that I had planned to make known to you on this subject, freeing it from all the obscurities with which it had been enveloped; I have removed, thank God, all the mysteries that surrounded the implementation of the practice of this book, mysteries that the philosophers had deliberately piled up, to prevent obtaining the results indicated in concise and unintelligible terms. »

'Now,' said I, 'give me an explanation of this unique matter, which you call lead; and on this water, that is to say on the water which is formed from it. Why was this combined product named single material? Finally, put the height of your goodness by explaining all this to me and by condescending to confide in me completely […]. You will then be entitled to all the recognition of the crowd of scholars, and God, because of this, will shower you with his blessings. Above all, be clear. »

“In this lead,” he replied, “there are the four natures analogous to those found in this world, and the sought-after secret, which was the cause of the successive death of men. These four natures have various colors: one is white; the other red; another black. Some destroy each other when they are mixed, to form a homogeneous whole in which black dominates, and the white is then enclosed within the interior of the substance, which is covered and enveloped by the color black. Such is the case with the substances which we call [white lead and black glass.

“Know in a positive way, you who already have knowledge and certainty, that the Ancients did not use the denomination of sun (gold), and yet they made it enter into their combinations. Indeed, the essential substance (for dyes), that is to say Venus (copper), does not dye before having been dyed. When it is dyed without having directly produced gold, it enters into the other combinations: those who possess it, squeeze it and keep it, because the influence of its color manifests itself on the other dyes. They call him the writer,when she entered the combinations. The writer is what holds everything together; it makes the bodies live and their colors appear. As for me, I order all those I love, among my faithful, my brothers and my particular disciples, to be content with this writer; for none of the Ancients, as you know, was satisfied with what has been explained to you.

While I was chatting with my interlocutor and asking him to add other clarifications and precise notions, to be used for the writing of this book, I suddenly lost consciousness, after the disappearance of the sun, and I saw myself as in a dream, transported to another sky and a new firmament. I headed for Phta's sanctuary which contains the colors of fire. When I entered the sanctuary, by the eastern door, I saw in the heavens a great number of golden vessels; I saw no one prostrate before them, but only before the idol of Venus. It is this idol, in fact, that was worshiped in the sanctuary.

“Who made these vases? I asked. The idol replied, “They were made with the Sage's molybdochalcum. Know, O Crates, man of many desires, that it is neither a crime nor a sin for me, if I teach you that it is the lead of Temnis the Wise which was used to manufacture these vases; but thereupon keep silence. And he added: "Yes, keep that secret; for all the philosophers have kept it with the greatest care." However, I can tell you something about it, it is that it is extremely cold and that bodies ask it for life to be able to resist the action of fire: it is thanks to it that (metallic) bodies solidify and form into ingots. »
Addressing myself then to the firmament of Venus, I said to her:

“I give thanks to your creator. This unique nature which thus vivifies the bodies and which allows them to fight against the fire, is it not gum? - Yes, she replied, it is the gum, not the gum of the vulgar, but a purified, imperishable gum. "I desire," I replied, addressing myself to Venus, "to make this substance clearly known to those who are ignorant of its secret." How can you say such a thing about lead, when all the books teach us to transform it into a volatile spirit? - So you did not understand the words of Democritus, in the passage of his book: “If he hopes to obtain what he seeks. If it were not so, he would have said: "Lead, mix it and test it in the bubbling fusion." Don't make him say the wrong things.

Then Venus added: “If you want me to tell you more, leave by the southern door, by which you entered, and enter my dwelling. I went out through the southern door and met a large number of women: some were entering the dwelling of Venus, others were leaving it. There were some who sold jewellery, others who bought it and still others who made it. It seemed to me that I was in a busy bazaar. I was surprised at the amount of jewelry that was trafficked, most of which consisted of bracelets, the color of mixed purple, and in which stones had been set. After having examined all this, I also saw caskets of women, of various colors, formed of gold and precious stones, and many rings, also adorned with precious stones and pearls. This does,I went towards the house of Venus and entered it; this stay was such that it cannot be described. Venus was in the middle of the sanctuary; her beauty defied all description, and she was adorned with many jewels, such as I had never seen the like. On her head was a diadem of white pearls; in her hand she held a vase [...] from the orifice of which cash flowed ceaselessly. My gaze was dazzled and my heart troubled by the wonders I saw. On her head was a diadem of white pearls; in her hand she held a vase [...] from the orifice of which cash flowed ceaselessly. My gaze was dazzled and my heart troubled by the wonders I saw. On her head was a diadem of white pearls;in her hand she held a vase [...] from the orifice of which cash flowed ceaselessly. My gaze was dazzled and my heart troubled by the wonders I saw.

To Venus's right was a seer from India, whispering secretly in her ear. I asked quietly who this personage was, who was talking secretly with Venus. I was told that it was her minister, who wanted to join her for [...]. I then approached him to try to understand what he was saying in secret to Venus; he then turned to me, frowning and showing me a stern face, then he beckoned me to describe all the objects contained in the sanctuary.

Scarcely had I taken it upon myself to do so than I was distracted by seeing people from India who, all without exception, were readying their bows to shoot arrows at me. One of them approached me and gave me a push, he led me out of the sanctuary, saying: “No, by Venus! I won't let you write the description of what you saw in this shrine, since you intend to divulge our secrets. Then he took hold of me and hit me with the greatest violence, so that it seemed to me, the pain was so strong, that I woke up, terrified about my fate. I felt sick and aching at heart; my eyes then closed under the impression of great anguish and I fell asleep. I had just experienced what I had sought to flee and what I wanted to abstain from.

While I was like this, I felt enveloped in a perfume whose source I did not know. Suddenly a cheerful woman appeared who could not contain her bursts of laughter. She resembled Venus in her beauty, and her friends had given her the name, borrowed from that of the idol; but it was not her real name, and it had only been applied to her because Venus had great affection for her. She who is so called by the name of Venus experiences a natural thrill, thanks to which God unites good and felicity. She called out to me thus: “By Venus! O Crates, wear to me that if I tell you where this delicious perfume comes from, you won't tell anyone. - As true as I received a vote of blows, I replied, I promised to keep the secret on that.Immediately she unfastened a golden belt from her waist, in which were embedded two stones, one white and the other red; on these two stones were set two pieces of sulfur, which were not pieces of (true) sulfur. “Take,” she said to me, “this belt; water it with the liquor, until it lives and changes its nature: then the perfume that you have just smelled will come out of it. »
It is claimed that the substance from which these jewels that I have seen are extracted serves [...], and that this substance experiences the action of humidity and dryness [...] .

This is said for one who is intelligent and who understands.

At that moment, I woke up and found myself in the place I had previously occupied in this sky. I saw appear the angel who had promised me not to leave me, before having given me in a complete and clear manner the information on the subject (which tormented me). “Go back,” he said to me, “to the things you were busy with and complete the writing of the book you have designed, in order to explain the meaning of the texts of the Ancients and their strange speeches. - Speak, I cried. - The white composition, he replied, is the body of magnesia; it is composed of fixed things, brought together in a single composition, so as to form a homogeneous whole, which is designated by a single name: this is what the Ancients also called molybdochalcum.When he has undergone the operation, he is given the ten names, drawn from the colors which appear during the operation on the body of magnesia; it is during this operation that the mercury acts on the four bodies. The reacting bodies are: mercury, shining earth (?), earth drawn from the four bodies and selenite. All of this having been melted together gave birth to the body of magnesia. It is then necessary to transform the black lead; then the ten colors appear. However, by all these names that we have given, we wanted to understand only molybdochalcum, which is the dyeing agent of all the bodies entering into the combination. However, any wetsuit is made up of two elements: one wet, the other dry.If we submit it to the coction, they merge together; it is then called the excellent thing; it has many names. When the product is red, it is called fleur d'or and ferment d'or, or again minium, red sulphur, red arsenic. But, for us, we continued to call it molybdochalcum, ingot and blade (metal). I have just explained to you the names, before and after cooking, and I have given you all the distinctions that it was possible for me to make known to you.
Now, it is fitting that I speak to you of the various kinds of fire, of the number of days it must last, of the variety of fire, according to the intensity that one wishes to obtain at all degrees. Perhaps by knowing this subject well, and by making a special study of it, we will succeed in overcoming the misery which cannot be cured otherwise than by this august work. The categories of fire are numerous: there is the weak fire, the fire under the ashes, the embers, the light flame, the medium flame and the sharp flame. Experience alone can produce the various spells which take place between these categories. As to the number of days, molybdochalcum, the treatment of which is our essential object, is produced in a day, or in a fraction of a day.Further on, I will tell you, instead,
Know, positively, that if pure gold is placed in the combination, the tincture takes on a pure red color; if white gold is added, the dye is also bright white. It is for this reason that we find in the treasures of the philosophers the expressions superior gold and brilliant gold, according to the gold which they have introduced into their combination. When all these natures have mixed together and become molybdochalc, the primitive natures merge into a single nature and they form a single species. When the material is in this state, it is poured into a glass vase, in order to see how the combination absorbs the liquid, and also to see the succession of colors, that of the combination at each of its degrees, until finally we have obtained the generous red, formed by the elixir.

As for the agent that the philosophers have repeatedly prescribed to implement, it should be used only once. If you want to be sure of the truth on this dubious point, you have only to examine what Democritus says about it, in the passage which begins thus: “from below upwards”; then he comes back to this by saying: “from top to bottom”, and he adds: “Put the iron, the lead; lead because of copper, and copper because of silver; then silver, copper, lead and iron. Finally, he explains himself clearly in these terms: "Only apply it once." »

Rest assured that gold only transforms with lead and copper. It dissolves in this vinegar, the composition of which is known to the philosophers, and it is transformed into rust: it is of this rust that the philosophers mean when they say: Put gold, it will soften; add more gold and it will be gold coral. (All these names are the real names of the bodies. As for the vague indications provided by the philosophers, about the matters which have special names, their object is to designate the solid bodies and the solution. However, it is advisable to name the single matter.) It is advisable to put vinegar, because it is this which produces the colors. It is only necessary to put it once, so as to obtain rust; and when the rust already exists, then we also put the vinegar,which brings out the colors indicated above. We let it react for a day; the liquid evaporates. When the matter has become dry, we water it, and we introduce it into a vase, which we put on the fire, until the useful result is obtained. In the first degree, we have a kind of yellow mud; in the second degree, this mud is red; finally, in the third degree, we have something that looks like dry saffron reduced to powder. It is then projected onto ordinary silver, and, the combination being penetrated by humidity and dryness, a spirit is obtained. we have a kind of yellow mud; in the second degree, this mud is red; finally, in the third degree, we have something that looks like dry saffron reduced to powder.It is then projected onto ordinary silver, and, the combination being penetrated by humidity and dryness, a spirit is obtained. we have a kind of yellow mud; in the second degree, this mud is red; finally, in the third degree, we have something that looks like dry saffron reduced to powder. It is then projected onto ordinary silver, and, the combination being penetrated by humidity and dryness, a spirit is obtained.

Bodies do not penetrate bodies and cannot dye them. What stains them is the igneous and aeriform poison, which remains imprisoned in the bodies; it alone can easily penetrate and spread through bodies. As for the bodies, they are thick; they can neither penetrate nor spread into another body. That is why tincture does not in any way increase the weight of a body; for what dyes it is a spirit that has no weight.

There are people who, when they pour the poison on the money, leave it one hour, others two hours, others three, others four. Each one lets the poison act according to his knowledge of its strength, and in such a way that it penetrates the silver and stains it, and the silver absorbs it. It is this nature that is called ouilâda(birth), life and tincture. It was given this name because the poison, by uniting with the dye spirit which is constituted by the (previous) mud, in turn becomes a spirit, within the compound body with which it unites. When this substance has penetrated the living silver, it lives in its turn: what manifests itself to the eyes by the appearance of the color. This is how the seven letters are placed in the writings, specifying that five of them have no sound. As soon as it has entered the body, this substance makes it live and it itself lives there, as soon as it has tinted it. There are sometimes dyes which give more varied and more beautiful colors;but that is due to the perfection of the operation, to the duration of the heat, of the coction, or even to the great number of washes.
Now, I unveiled in this book the science of poison; I said how one operates with it, how it colors and how it combines. Smart people were able to sort of see it for themselves. I have clarified certain things to which the philosophers had given names proper to confuse the vulgar. »

I then sought to have the extraordinary things that the philosophers had explained to me, so that my book would prevail over all the other works, since I would have in my possession the key to many things and their demonstration. Finally, I wanted to know what the philosophers have said about the dyeing of bodies by bodies. He replied: “Rust comes only from sulphur. Indeed, any combination results in wet molecules and dry molecules. As for the dry particles, they consist in the mixture of copper with copper, and of mercury with bodies.
The dry molecules are obtained by cooking in the vase. Until desiccation occurs, all the moisture leaves and what was white turns red. This is what philosophers call mercury and sulfur.

“How is it that the tincture is fixed and persists in fire, whereas the philosophers say that it is fleeting and volatile? - It is, he replied, because the fixed bodies are rendered fusible with the volatile parts, and then the exchange which takes place between the body and the fleeting part brings about the transformation into volatile matter.

“Why did the philosophers call the combination othsious (?)? - This is because the othsious stone is generated every year and it has various colors, which change in nature every lunation. The combination has therefore been named after this othsious stone, because at each stage of the operation it passes from one color to another. »

"Why didn't the philosophers call all changes in the combination whitening or blushing?" "Because, when entering the combination, the dye modifies it." After the first cooking, it turns it white, and after the second, red. So we did not want to use the terms whiten and blush in a general way, because the first two combinations, yellow and red, are the only two which fix dyes. »
“What do the last two sulfides signify? — The last two sulfurs are so only in name; for if these were really the last two, there would be no mixing of bodies; but they are designated by the name of the last two sulphurs, although they are not sulphurs. »

“Why do philosophers say that nature rejoices in nature? — This has also been said of the two sulfurs, which are only sulfurs in name. »

“Why did the philosophers say that the fixed body is the one that imprisons and that its nature is hostile? — This has also been said in connection with the two sulphurs, which are sulphurs only in name. »

“Why then is this thing which retains the dye, which makes it resist the fire and which mixes with the combination, is it not visible to the naked eye, as long as it has not been projected on the vulgar silver, and does it only manifest itself when the operation is finished? - It is like the drop of sperm that falls into the uterus and cannot be seen: the uterus retains the drop of sperm and the blood, which are cooked by the fire of the stomach, until the moment when the sperm takes the form of a body and its color. All this is done inside the womb, without our seeing it and without our knowing it, until the moment when the Creator of souls makes the being that we then see appear outside. It is exactly the same for the thing you asked me about. »

“Why did the philosophers name their combination: rust, water of sulfur and gum, so that they said: seed of gold, rust of copper, water of copper, honeyed poison, poison agreeable to the taste; finally that they used masculine and feminine names, and names which are neither masculine nor feminine? - Because, in the composition of all these things, if they used the denomination of copper water, it is because the copper had become liquid; the denomination of golden seed, they had sown gold there. By using the term: dead gum, they were right, because it is after the combustion of the bodies and their mortification that the combination becomes usable and is transformed into tinctorial spirit. They were also right in giving male names,feminine nouns and neuter nouns; for among these things there are males and females, which, once mixed, are no longer either male or female: for example, when they are called ingot and blade. »

“Why is the combined body called limestone? — Because limestone, which was at first a dry and cold stone, once fired (and changed into quicklime), manifests the spirit of fire, which gave it an internal life. »

“What do we call combustion, transformation, disappearance of the shadow and production of the incombustible compound? — All these names apply to the compound when it whitens. »

“What is the most efficient operation among those of the philosophers? - The operations of philosophers can all be reduced to a single one, and the best is that which retains sulfur and makes one blush. But above all it is necessary to know the weights, because it is thanks to them that one becomes master of this unique operation, which the philosophers ordered to be carried out well and completely, but in which they hid the weights, as well as their distribution. Some have given them approximately and in obscure terms; others did not even mention them, so that they were better hidden and kept more secret. »

“How, O virtuous spirit, can those who come after us know these weights? — They will have to take good care, when no weight has been indicated to them, to put the materials in equal quantities. — Which substance should be weighed and which should not be weighed? — The molybdochalcum must be added in equal parts and similarly for other similar things; as for sulphur, it must equal them all in weight. »

“Why did Democritus the Wise complain about the mixture, saying: Nothing has been more difficult for us than the mixture of natures and their assembly to combine them? — Democritus was right. Don't you know then that the whole work can take place only on the condition of knowing each thing in particular; it is then only that you know the mode according to which it is necessary to proceed to the mixture, according to the weights which are appropriate to ensure the perfect execution of it. The philosopher must therefore know before anything else and before putting his hand to work whether the thing is or is not, of what it is formed and how it is. »

“Why did the philosophers say: Make the suit incombustible? But everyone orders it to be burned, so that it becomes like ashes. — The philosophers were right in what they said and ordered; for the elixir burnt, transformed into ashes and mixed with the liquid becomes like honey. It is then cooked until it dries up; then the liquid is added to it, and these operations of mixing and cooking are repeated several times, until the calcination is complete and nothing remains in the combination which has not been burned; finally, the combination must be transformed into ashes, such that they cannot be burned again. It is thus with wood that the fire does not cease to consume, until it has reduced it to ashes;but these ashes, once removed from the fire, can no longer be burned. We can also compare the combination to the fever which seizes man and never leaves him until he has burned all the superfluities of his body, superfluities which are precisely the causes of this fever. When all these superfluities have been consumed, the fever leaves the man. So the philosophers ordered the suit to be burned, until it could not be burned any further. until we can burn it no more. until we can burn it no more. »

“Why did the philosophers say: Amalgamate the particles of the golden ferment with the mercury, until a homogeneous whole is produced? In saying this they agreed to the amalgamation. When dyers gild weapons and amalgamate the gold with mercury, why does the gold turn white and appear so to the eyes, then, when the firing is complete and the operation completed, does it turn red? — It is the same (in our operation) with mercury, which first subdues the particles of gold and whitens them, making the red color disappear; but the mercury, tamed in its turn, allows the red color to reappear at the end, so that we no longer find the white and we no longer see it. »

“How do the four natures subjugate each other and how do they mix with each other, resulting in created beings? — Understand this well: the compact matters of the four natures simply mix with each other: but it is only the subtle matters which join together, during the mixture, and penetrate each other. The subtle matters act on the subtle matters, not the compact ones on the compact ones. Thus earth and water are compact elements, while air and fire are subtle elements. The two subtle elements weaken the two compact elements and transform them into subtle matters, and God causes all created beings to come out of them, by means of cooking and the absorption of air.

“Similarly there are four seasons in the year; each of them has its special temperament: the first is winter with the cold; the second, summer; the third, the strong summer; the fourth, autumn. Winter and cold tighten the earth and what it contains of seeds, so that they express and bring out the first plants. In the second season, summer, plants and seeds acquire full development and maturity. If the strong summer, with its blazing sun, reached these plants (from the start), it would burn and damage them; but spring preserves them, by its average temperature: so that you see the plants gaining strength and developing. When the intense heat of high summer reaches the plants, it brings out the fruits,that take on their size and shape. If this intense heat continued to act on these plants and on these fruits, it would burn and damage them. Then comes the fourth season for these fruits, autumn, during which the air temperature is average. The fruits improve at this time; they take on color, acquire the good taste of maturity and are used by men.

It is appropriate to operate on our combination and to make the various degrees of fire act on it, in a manner analogous to that (of the seasons), which the philosophers have taken as a term of comparison. As for me, I order you not to disdain a single word, nor a single comparison from the books of the philosophers; for they put nothing there that was not the truth. »

At this moment my eyes closed in spite of myself, and under the influence of my concerns I fell asleep. It seemed to me that I was on the banks of the Nile, on a rock which overlooked the river. Suddenly I saw a vigorous young man struggling against a dragon. As the young man rushed at the dragon, he breathed against him and hoisted violently, raising his head. The young man called me to his aid, beckoning me to cross the river. I rushed immediately and soon found myself close to him. I took an iron pike, which I threw at the dragon; but the latter, turning towards me, blew with such violence that he knocked me over, without, however, causing me to lose consciousness. I returned to the charge a second time.Seeing me turn against the dragon, my iron pike in hand, the young man shouted at me: "Stop, Crates, that won't be enough to kill the dragon." I stopped and said to him: “Well! make it your business. The Young Man took some water and threw it at the dragon: its head fell, and it lay dead. Then addressing the dragon, the young man said to him: “Show the profit that is expected of you. Then he took his navel and pressing it hard, he squeezed out a crocodile egg. As I believed that this egg was a rezin egg (?), I said to the young man: “You are unfair to the rezin by taking away one of his eggs. 'It's not a rezin's egg,' he replied, 'it's a crocodile's egg and this egg doesn't spoil; it does not dry out;he is not burned with blood; it does not destroy itself; but it turns into a rust, from which we profit. Gradually the stomach cooks the contents and from this delicacy comes the four natures: pituite, blood and the two biles. But, he added, I must first show you what this dragon is..."

So we found a bathars under rock(?) parched by the heat of the sun, the intensity of which had cracked him. In the crevices of this rock stood the dragon and his female; they were so huge and so languid that they could no longer move [...]. The dragon was motionless, slumped, and had only one breath of life left. As soon as he saw me, he thought I had come to sixteen him; he immediately left where he was and fled into one of the cracks. The young man showed me a spear and at that very moment I saw a brilliant light which frightened me. “Look,” said the young man to me. I will kill him with this spear. "Why," I replied, "didn't you take away his bright eyes, when he was weak and decrepit and before he became young again?- We must not, he replied, that we take his eyes before we have seized his female. Hearing him say that, I thought he wanted to fight a female dragon, other than this dragon. I then stopped questioning him, seeing his confidence. He then took the dragon and tore it to pieces, using his spear. All these pieces had various colors; he then joins together the pieces of the same color. As I had fixed my attention for a long time on what he was doing, I realized that these colors resembled the colors of our work. There were colors like those of adamas and electrum; others resembled ferruginous marcasite, deprived of his mind; others to the ashy caddy;others with yellow mud and others with red cinnabar. When he had finished reuniting the similar colors, he took the crocodile egg and broke it; then he separated the white from the red and the moisture, and then he put the white with the white, the red with the red.

While the young man was occupied with this operation, the dragon filled with life rushed forward; he blew against us and if I had not taken the precaution of throwing against him living water, which made his head fall from his body, he would certainly have destroyed us.

When the young man saw what had happened to the dragon, he flew into a violent rage and swore that he would reduce this dragon to dust. Then he began to recite powerful magic spells, until the dragon was reduced to dust. He placed the debris in a vase, without pressing them too much. Out of it came water, in which there was poison. Each time he removed some of this water, he turned his face away so that nothing entered his nostrils.

When the young man had finished his operation, he said to me: “O Crates, remember well what you have just seen and record it in your book, for those who will come after you. What you saw me do, when I slew this dragon, is the secret of Hermes Trismegistus; he hid it in his book, because he was reluctant to make it known to the profane. Know that it was I who discovered the sky for you, when you ascended there. If you hadn't kept the secret about what you saw me doing, I would have killed you before revealing this secret to you. And if you describe in your book what you saw and you want to divulge the secret, see this dragon that I reduced to dust and whose colors appeared, it would have been fatal to your existence and it would have separated your soul from your body.»

Because of the extreme fright which the engagement he had just made me take had caused me to experience, and of the marvels which I had seen and which he asked me to keep secret, I remained completely stunned and cried out:

“God, - may he be glorified and exalted! - revealed to me that I should refrain from disclosing secrets, since none of the Ancients could do such a thing. Let him who finds this book fear the Creator of souls and abandon himself to him, he will reach the goal. As for the one who will not have touched the goal and who will not have understood the author, he will perish in pain and sorrow. »
When Khâled ben Yezid had read this book, he wrote to Fosathar to inform him that he was sending him a book, which was attached in the library of the Treasures to the book of Crates, and to announce to him that this last book was slightly abridged, but that it contained many teachings and furnished much indications on philosophy.

Here ends, with the help of God and thanks to him, the book of the philosophizing Crates.

END