THE FIVE BOOKS
OR

THE KEY TO THE SECRET OF SECRETS

Nicolas Le Valois d'Escoville

FIRST BOOK
THEORETICAL

The first Elements: B.
Their vapors, which condense into ponderous Water: E.
Vapor: C.
Flowing Mercury: D. or Water.
Calcaduc Chaos: E.
Philosophical Mercury: F.
Dry Sulfur: G.
Metals: H.

The first Principles are two, namely D. and H., from which, through philosophical sublimation, F. is generated—that is to say, the Philosophical Mercury is a mediating disposition, possessing the power to convert Water into Vapor. Now, everything is found in the first Elements, for these Elements are reduced to Vapor or ponderous Water, from which one must extract Mercury instead of living Water. And this Mercury, having descended from the said Metal into the first Element, is changed through a transmutation of form into dry Sulfur; but first, the first Elements descend into Vapor from those very Elements. The white or red Calcaduc, as the complete progression toward the final end of the entire Work, signifies the ferment and the final injunction of Nature.

Brief Explanation in Common and Ordinary Terms

God is Eternal and Almighty, who begot His Son, from whom proceeds the Holy Spirit—one God in Trinity—who created Heaven and Earth and all that dwells within them. He also created the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, which cast their influences into the womb of the wind, as into the first vessel of nature. This triple seed transforms into the substance of all things in the world, meaning each kingdom separately, without any being able to cross from one to another. Instead, they multiply within themselves by their own virtue, producing their likeness, without regression—except through their reduction into their first universal Matter, which is the Limbo and Chaos of Nature.

In the name of Almighty God, know, my dearly beloved son, the intention of Nature through the Teachings hereafter declared. As I approached the last days of my life, my Body, ready to abandon my Soul, awaited only the hour of the Lord and my final breath. I was seized with the desire to leave you, as a Testament and final will, these Words, through which you will be taught many beautiful things concerning the most noble Metallic Transmutation—that is, the Philosopher’s Stone—so scorned today by the ignorant masses and so deeply concealed by the Wise that even those who are on the true path can scarcely believe it until they have witnessed the truth of the matter through experience.

This is why I have taught you the principles of Natural Philosophy, to make you more capable of understanding this sacred Science. However, since I leave you at an age when discretion is not yet fully within you—as I could have instilled in you had God granted me more time—I speak with fear and sorrow, worried that your heart, like those of the Kings of Judah, may turn away from the virtues of your father. Solomon, the father of Sciences, foresaw that wealth could corrupt a kind heart, the very kindness that your birth and my example have begun to instill in you. Often, the children of wicked fathers incline toward virtue, but even Angels can give birth to Demons, so greatly can inclinations differ from those of their fathers.

To avoid this misfortune, which would disturb the peace of my soul every time you might misuse this divine secret for impure and evil purposes, I want you to understand that, just as God granted it to me through my prayers and righteous intentions, so too must you use it well. Through it, I have acquired all the wealth I leave in your hands and those of your brothers, yet it will perish as soon as its possessors become corrupt in their ways. This is a secret reserved by God for His chosen ones—those who follow His divine commandments—whom He selects based on the purity of their hearts.

For He can see into the secrets of our Consciences and foresees the excesses that often come with worldly authority and wealth. Thus, He grants this knowledge only to those worthy of such a great Treasure—namely, the humble in heart, the patient, and the charitable. These virtues will guide you to this supreme secret, provided that you understand the metallic Principles and the operations of Nature. For through Nature, you will be enlightened—so long as you remain in grace.

Yet, I will withhold something still—the truth of the Practice. However, you will find it sufficiently explained in the ancient authors, provided that you know how to uncover their true intentions, which are concealed beneath a confusion of empty words. You must, as in a shuffled deck of cards, know how to arrange each thing according to its proper value.

I will lead you to this knowledge better than any man in the world could, at least in terms of Theory and the understanding of the first Principles, which are the keys to the House of Nature, where you must work. But as for Practice, do not rely solely on me—seek guidance from the authors, who speak both truths and falsehoods. Yet here lies the Secret…

Know that all speak in the same way, yet in two manners: one true and the other false. The true one is such that it can only be understood by the Enlightened, who walk rightly and according to Nature. However, it is veiled in comparisons and examples, under names and equivocations that do not themselves belong to the Science but are instead symbolic of it. For in this Science, only one thing is needed, and only one means of operation—through a simple and natural path—without getting lost in the multitude of things contrary to our unique ferment.

The false path is that confusion of different methods and harmful substances. Even though everything may seem to signify something related to the Science, one should not concern themselves with its qualities, because Nature is simple and operates only in a simple manner.

We must begin all things with a first Principle, which is called universal, and end with the species that Nature intends to produce—not by taking from one to impose upon another, for Nature is incapable of generating anything new except when each thing, after its time, returns to its original Limbo. This is the first Key of Nature. If you carefully observe this precept, you will avoid the abyss of errors into which so many fall before reaching true knowledge.

One must be a person of great simplicity; yet, once illuminated by this ray of light, one must also be steadfast. Just as obstinacy in a false opinion is harmful, Perseverance in the truth is beneficial. To illustrate this, I will now give you the following Example.

When I first, unfortunately, allowed myself to be deceived by the wicked and deceitful Alchemists—who, through their damnable practices, ruin both the bodies and fortunes of men—we were only three, wandering the world with every hardship imaginable. Submitting ourselves to every new opinion, we endured all possible struggles—sometimes under the rule of the Great, and at times even as slaves to the lowliest—seeking to attain some new knowledge.

But after testing so many Materials and experiencing so many sophistications that brought us nothing but regret for our lost time and wasted wealth—until we found ourselves mocked for our poverty—we finally, in despair, withdrew from these errors. We carefully examined among ourselves the most demonstrative signs of the true intentions of the Philosophers. Soon, we recognized our blindness and acknowledged our past mistakes, which brought us a new sorrow—for we knew of so many others who were wasting away in these vain and ruinous pursuits, just as we had. Truly, this can be called a labor without expense; yet, wicked Sophists empty their purses before their various vessels can even be prepared or their furnaces set up.

Thus, after diligently reviewing the good Books—such as those of Arnaud, Raymond Lull, and The Code of All Truth—we made a resolution. By the grace of God, we reached our goal after so many years of toil in search of this great Secret. However, one of us, being too drawn to particular sophistic methods and constantly seeking new things that dazzled his eyes, refused to abandon them.

I was 45 years old when this happened, in the year 1420, and after 20 months, we finally saw the great King seated upon his royal Throne, making his first projection—first upon white, then upon red.

You should do as I have done if you wish to take the trouble and become what you ought to be—especially fearing God—and it doesn’t require much expense, time, or effort. I will recount the time I spent on the journey, which I leave in writing, up to the perfection of the Work. It only takes 18 months, during which time the Work was completed, though it did fail once. That is the least amount of time, and for this reason, it is necessary to have two people, so that if one falters, the other can make up for the lack, both in labor and in counsel. You should take care to ensure you have a faithful Companion, endowed with the same virtues I have recommended to you, someone who will never abandon you, to whom you can confide everything as you would to yourself. Without being stubborn, follow his advice at times, just as he will follow yours. Do not adopt any particular opinion except by mutual consent of both, and if your understanding falters, to whom should you turn?

Ah, to the Rabble, or to Lull’s Codicil and his Testament, in which everything is taught from beginning to end. But sometimes it is written enigmatically—the great Rosary, the flower of flowers, the Elucidation of the Testament, the Apport and others, where the Science is complete, though the two matters are concealed and hidden from the less enlightened. But I will present them to you openly if God grants you the grace. You will also find a small Treatise written by one of us, should you take the trouble to search for it, in which you will find part of what I omit, but somewhat obscurely, unless you possess this bright light and the knowledge of the two matters.

For in the Work, nothing else enters except the same thing. Here is an example: In front of a besieged city, there is only one man, just as water divided into several drops is still just water, which, when reunited, forms a single body. Thus, these men may be separated to trouble the city, but once the breach is made, all unite as one body to assault, each striving for plunder. So it is in the Work.

FIRST PRACTICE According to the Philosophers

There is a Stone of great virtue, called the Stone yet is not a Stone. It is Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal, and is found everywhere, at all times, and in all people. This must be putrefied in fresh manure for nine days, then the Elements must be distilled. From it will arise a multiplicative sperm of all Metals, that is, a mineral seed which, by perpetuating itself, will reach the perfection of infinite generation.

Take 8 ounces of what the Philosophers command, which you will grind on marble, then imbibe it with 12 ounces of common Philosophical oil, until it becomes like paste. Place it on the fire and dissolve it. When you see the red foam rising, remove it from the fire, then put it back on the fire and repeat this process until everything is as thick as melted wax. From this, you must extract your virgin Milk through the philosophical process, then separate the Elements and recombine them, projecting onto quicksilver, then return it to as fine a powder as possible. Continuing your work, you will have made the Red Stone, which will have the same virtue on the red as it does on the white.

But beware of the obscurity of some who deceive more than they teach, especially those who instruct you to use things that Nature knows nothing about and teach materials that are not necessary for our Work. They speak to the enlightened, not to the ignorant. For beneath these riddles, everything is understood. But you must separate the good grain from the bad, and do not be discouraged if you hear of such things.

SECOND PRACTICE

Take two parts of Saturn, if needed, from the Sun or the Moon of Jupiter, and three parts of Mercury to make an amalgam, which becomes a brittle Stone. Grind it several times on the marble, and imbibe it with very sour vinegar and well-prepared common saltwater, soaking and drying often until it contains within itself a very great substance of the Heavens. Then, soak it again with this Alum Water, until it becomes a soft paste, and dissolve it, then freeze it, and you will have a powder that will convert Jupiter into the Moon.

But for the Sun, take Vitriol of stone and red calcined, dissolve it in children's urine, and distill everything. Do this several times until the Water becomes very red. Then, combine this Water with the previously mentioned Water, before it freezes, and place these two Waters on manure for a few days to allow them to mix better. Distill both Waters together and freeze everything, and you will have a red stone like a Hyacinth, from which you will project one part on seven of purified Mercury or Saturn, and it will become the red Sun.

Lull and others teach all that is required beyond this. But as I have said, it is under Figures and Allegories, for know that all the materials they describe are not the materials in their Essence, but figurative of the effects produced by these two and only materials in the Philosophers' Work.

OF THE FIRST AGENT OR PRINCIPLE

The Philosopher's Stone is nothing other than very perfect Gold, that is, brought to such a degree of perfection that it can perfect all imperfect Bodies. Gold is, therefore, this Stone, but not the common kind, for it is dead, while ours is alive. It is this one that must be taken, but know which is this living Gold. When fruits are ripe, they bring forth seed by which they can be multiplied infinitely; thus, Gold is a fruit that has never acquired this maturity in the mines and is therefore said to be dead, for its seed is the thing that can make it live and grow like the other two kingdoms. But we can imagine this seed, which is already potentially in it, for it is created to multiply, just like its two other brothers, otherwise, it could be said to be impotent in Nature. It truly has this imagined seed, which Nature has tried by all means to make come to fruition; but its forces were not strong enough and require the help of the Artist. That is why it is said: Help me, and I will help you. Therefore, be very certain that Gold is the beginning of our great Work. But not in the state it is, because it is hard, solid, and very uniform in all its parts; but it must be broken, and then Nature will operate. It is also said that it must be reduced to its first matter, which is nothing other than living silver, from which Gold was first created and engendered. But since to reduce it to this first matter, an aid and a liquid substance is necessary, just as saffron imparts its dye. For what can make a Body that is naturally hard and dry liquid, if not a liquid substance, as we see that mud is made of Water and Earth? Therefore, a warm Water is needed in which the Body will convert, and instead of being thick, it will become muddy and slimy. And this is done for two reasons: the first is to cleanse the Body and purge it of any impurities that by nature have remained in it, which can only be cleansed by its hardness. Because in the state it is in, or even when it is melted, nothing can be separated from it, as it is so well united that one part always follows the other. But when it is softened in the solution of the thing it desires, the evacuations occur on their own, and the impurities separate from the pure things.

The Philosophers have concealed this reduction entirely, only speaking of it in veiled terms, such as "convert the Elements into one another," which the ignorant interpret wrongly, thinking that they should separate them. This separation, therefore, is the conversion of them, which is called Sublimation, Calcination, and Dissolution, and such names are only given to mislead the ignorant down the path of error.

Thus, the first body, the agent of the Philosophers, is Gold, which must pass through the Cements, and it is to cleanse it of the mixtures that might be enclosed in its body, and then to place it in small pieces or fine powder. It must be disjointed in Water and redissolved as many times as necessary, until the whole body is dissolved, so that there is nothing but Water, and all of this is done in several Waters, which are still only one Water. Once everything is dissolved, the Waters must be passed through, and the Soul of the body must be extracted from within these Waters, then the oil or balm, which will later be reunited with the imperfect Body.

All of this work is merely to imitate Nature, in her purifications, distillations, and philosophical congelations. Thus it is said, observe how Nature works, and imitate her as closely as possible. For you need only to soften the Body on which you are working, since I tell you with certainty that it is that Body, along with the Water I will teach you; but keep this secret hidden and do not reveal it to anyone.

Of the Spirit of Water or the Second Principle.

Many have believed that Water, the first Principle of the Philosophers, was simply the elemental Water, whether from rain or from the sea, while others have thought it to be the dew of the Sky; others have sought it in plants, herbs, and animals, and such heterogeneous things, misinterpreting the words of the Philosophers and clinging to their expressions rather than grasping their true meaning. As when they spoke of the Water of Life, red and white wine, vinegar, tartar oil, and similar things, as well as the Water of our sea. For you must know that they speak in many ways, just as when they say: 'Take the water of our sea'; in another place, they say: 'Mercury,' or 'our Quick silver,' because the word 'Our' carries a different meaning. If they had said 'Sea water,' one could be misled at that point, but the Water of our sea, which is the sea of the Philosophers, is something else. By their sea, they mean the generality of this Water because it is everywhere, in all places. It is in the Sky, since the Sky generates it, in the Air, since it is nothing but Air, and in the Earth to produce all things. Secondly, they call their Sea the entire Work, and once the Body is reduced to Water, of which it was originally composed, this Water is called Sea Water, because it is truly a sea in which many Wise Sailors have shipwrecked, having no guide to the Star, which will never fail those who have once known it. It is this Star that guided the Wise to the birth of the Son of God, and it is the same that shows us the birth of this young King.

There is also another Water of our Sea, which is the Water spoken of by Augurel in these words: 'The Water I speak of is externally a powder of the proper species, which is the great Elixir, which, in an impalpable white or red powder, performs wonders on all kinds of imperfect and sick Bodies; this is nothing but the first Water, but sublimated seven times and sometimes ten. Those who call it the Water of Life, Red Wine, Vinegar, and the rest, are speaking the truth: for it is a vivifying Water that makes all things grow and flourish. It is a powerful and strong Vinegar; and to say it in a word, it is a strong Water that has the power, without any aid other than from itself, to convert all Bodies into their first matter: for it is that which destroys everything. It is in the wombs of Mothers to procreate Children. It is also in the Tombs to consume them and return them to their first nothingness. And although some have condemned strong Waters, which the deceivers and charlatans use to corrupt and break the Bodies of Metals, they mean those strong Waters made from various compositions and things contrary to the substance and quality of our one and only subject; for our Water is derived from a single and unique thing, which contains within it all things in the world, and if there were something foreign in it, it could never come to its effect unless that thing were separated from it.

Therefore, we must prepare it before all things, just as we must prepare the Body, lest some mixture or contrary thing oppose the conjunction of the two. It is a strong Water, for if it did not have a great and admirable strength, how could it render the Body perfect in its first matter? The common Spirit of salt dissolves Gold, but it does not permanently mix with it. But our Salt dissolves it in an admirable dissolution, such that there is no difference between the Gold and the Water, and they become one and the same thing.

Now, I will tell you the cause of this. Gold, in its first beginning, was made from Earth and Water, which are understood to be Sulfur and Mercury. These, when combined by the ingenious work of Nature, were cooked and hardened over time in the Mountain where these materials met. But during this cooking process, the Earth gradually separated, as the arrangement and digestion progressed, after the body began to take shape and solidify. This is what makes it more perfect than other Metals, for in them the Sulfur remained, and they were not purified as Gold was. This was either due to the Matrix not having a fire powerful enough, or to the impurity of the Sulfur, which could not be prepared for this separation. Thus, it is only Water thickened in the mines by a certain degree of digestion and boiling; and it was the same Water that had to be given to drink to swell and rot, like a grain of wheat.

But even though Nature has digested and cooked it until its heat was great, know that it is still not perfect, for it still contains some imperfection and moisture, which is inseparable from it, no matter how much effort is made to remove it. If it did not have this moisture, it would not be fusible. This moisture allows our Water to enter and convert the whole Body into It, just as the Leaven converts the whole mass into its substance. Then, gradually, as the Water made the Body Water, that Water becomes the Body by the virtue of the Leaven. But first, a battle occurs between them, so that they devour each other through a sharp and violent putrefaction.

It is this imprisoned Water that cries constantly, 'Help me, and I will help you.' That is to say, 'Release me from my prison, and if you can make me come out, I will make you the Master of the fortress where I am.' Therefore, the Water that is locked in this Body is the same nature of Water that we give it to drink, which is called Mercurius Trismegistus, of which Parmenides speaks when he says: 'Nature rejoices in Nature, Nature overcomes Nature, and Nature contains Nature.' For this imprisoned Water rejoices with its Companion, who comes to deliver it from its chains, mixes with it, and finally, by converting the prison into them, rejects what is contrary to them. This is the preparation, and they are converted into mercurial and permanent Water. Nature overcomes Nature because the quantity of Water that we give it by repeated doses forces the Body to dissolve, and by subjecting it to It, the imprisoned Water compels the Body to dissolution, which is a supernatural way of undoing the work of Nature through Air, without the destruction of the Body.

Nature contains Nature, meaning the Body contains the Spirit, and the Spirit contains the Body, because after dissolution comes congelation, as if to say: 'Help me dissolve, and I will help you congel.' Therefore, it is rightly that our divine Water is called the Key, the Light, Diana who shines in the thickness of the night. For it is the entrance to the entire Work and the one that illuminates all men. It is the bird of Hermes, who has no rest, neither day nor night, only striving to corporify itself in all places of the Earth; for its whole center is filled with this Spirit, which is like a point, to which an infinite number of rays, originating from the surface, will return.

Now I will tell you the way to recognize this Water. But if the love I bear for you leads me to commit a sin here, pray to God that He forgive me, and beware of obliging me to some punishment by your imprudence. First, you must know that some have sought it in various drugs, such as Antimony, Salts, Alums, Vitriols, and Atterments; but they have never found what they were looking for, nor will they ever find it. For whoever does not know what they are looking for, does not know what they must find; one must first know through the increase that to believe one can come to it by chance, and without first having tested it well in the understanding, is foolishness.

For example, how, among an infinite number of men, would you find someone with whom we are dealing, if we do not know them all well, or if we are not well informed of some particular traits they have, whether in their clothes or in their person? Now, this Water is in a Body, and in all the Bodies in the World, which have it inside them. And what makes people seek ours in Antimony, Vitriols, and others, is because these are such names, which the Philosophers have given it, and they give them intentionally. Both to deceive the ignorant and for some other reason, because nothing is said without purpose.

Furthermore, our Magistery can be compared to all things in the World. One says it is necessary to take common Salt of Stone, another says it is the Salt of Ammonia, Vitriol, and thus all kinds of drugs, and they speak the truth. For our Matter is Salt of Stone (note well), Salt of Ammonia, and true Vitriol. Some say Antimony, but all these things are particular and not universal. On the contrary, our Salt of Ammonia and vegetable Salt is universal, which has no rest until it is corporified in a virgin Earth; then from Body it becomes Spirit, and thus infinitely, or until it has reached the production of something, like a species or form included in some realm, and then after, by itself, it destroys its composition to return to its original Limbo.

For nothing in the World is lost, nor is anything made; but everything remains in its entirety. All things only change form and place, just as Water, when raised into vapor, returns again to Water. For everything ends where it began and returns to the place from which it came. But here is the difference between these wicked drugs and our true Salt of Ammonia. They are all formed underground and in certain places, or composed industriously by men, who, however, contain some strong substance within them, which can indeed corrupt and disjoin some metal. This has led the ignorant to think that all these Waters can be our Quick Silver, since they have the power to dissolve, and because our Quick Silver must be a dissolvent.

This error is truly based on some slight appearance; but it has no reason, because they do not consider all the sayings of the Philosophers, which is that there are three kingdoms, each possessing its own particular realm, without usurping or ever attempting to encroach on one another. And these three kingdoms exist each for itself, without borrowing from one another, except for the Animal, from which the other two kingdoms are derived; but not that any of them has this power, for they are all obliged to the Animal, and not the Animal to them, nor one to the other. Thus, those who have worked with Animals in the belief that they would find something metallic were greatly blinded, as were those who worked with Vegetables. The Animal can only produce the Animal, for each thing produces its like. And although Operators, through their calcinations, dissolutions, sublimations, and the like, believe they can convert and change one species into another, they are greatly mistaken, for one cannot change the matter of things; this is only the work of the Agent, which is Nature itself. Thus, such people are usually of the Devil. Others, more subtle, considering these things, abandon the two kingdoms and turn to the Mineral, remaining in the Maxim that each thing produces its like; but they do not follow them, because there is as much danger sometimes in taking the Mineral to produce an animal seed as there is with Vegetals or Animals.

Now the reason is that no metallic matter, whatever it may be, truly has seed in it, because there is no metal so pure that it does not have impurities, and no impurity can carry seed, because seed is a very noble Quintessence, which can only come from a very perfect Body. Now Nature has never been able to bring Metals to this perfection, and this is the labor of the Artist. Therefore, it is necessary to seek something that has the power to open the most noble Body, to separate the superfluous things from it, and to put into it the seed of that Body. This thing is a Water full of fire, which by its humid quality softens the Bodies; and that is why it is called strong Water, engendered from the Sun and the Moon, which has in it the power to destroy and to vivify.

To express myself more clearly, I will tell you what I have been able to understand, since the time I have sailed, like others, on this strange sea. Know then that our Water, which is called raw and imperfect Mercury, is a strong Water resembling other strong Waters in its Body, having the same effects; but still quite different, because the others are specific and particular for dissolving certain Bodies, whereas ours is universal, dissolving everything in the World. The others are found in some part of the Earth; but ours is everywhere; even before our eyes, and there is nothing that is not filled with it.

And although it is everywhere, it nevertheless has a Body that makes it visible to us, which is nothing but a true and pure Salt: for it is a white and virgin earth, which has never yet produced anything, and if it had produced anything, it would be useless to us. It is a true Ammoniac Salt; but here is the difference. The common Ammoniac Salt dissolves Gold, but not perfectly, whereas ours does, and also Silver, and it intimately and inseparably mixes with them, since the common one, at its beginning, after corporification, is an impure Earth, which is not of the nature of the perfect Metals, as we see that Earth has its particular properties and produces everything according to the disposition of the places and qualities of the said Earth.

Thus, the earths that have turned into a drug, being impure and of bad qualities, have corrupted the Mercury within them, making it subject to the nature of their Element. And having contracted such an alliance between them, we cannot separate them with our Water. So, in vain, we attempt to join them with that which is contained in Gold, because the impurity of these gross Earths repels it, for they are heterogeneous. But our Matter or Earth, which has not yet taken on a particular form, that is, in which it can remain, like Vitriol in the Vitriolic cavern, can never be anything other than Vitriol and not ours. For it is a universal Earth, Father and Mother, called Virgin because it has not yet produced anything.

It is this Virgin Beïa, which has not yet been corrupted nor lost its freedom, to marry infirm and impure Bodies, like the captives, who can never escape their foul prisons without the help of men. Thus, preserving its freedom with integrity, we philosophically see this luminous Star making infinite circular turns, until it has entered into some kingdom; before which, we must certainly seize it and not wait for any of the said kingdoms to come. For this, I will give the following example. Common Water serves us all and is applied to everything because it is a Body that can be filled with all the things we add to it; it is suited to receiving tastes, colors, and substances we wish to give it, provided that we take it in its natural purity; for if it had previously been mixed with Absinthe, Salt, or even some poisons, it would then take on the substance of the things mixed with it. And by inseparably uniting with them, it would become useless and poisonous to us, just as Sea Water cannot be used for human necessities due to its salinity. Sailors are forced to supply themselves with fresh water for their needs during their voyages.

Thus, the Mercury contained in all kinds of species is indeed our universal Mercury. But such as it is, it is useless to us in this Work, because it has contracted such an affinity with the thing that contains it, that it cannot be separated from it without taking on the quality and substance of the thing with which it has made such an alliance. For the said thing, which is its Sulfur and its Body, whether Animal or Vegetable, has so closely bound it to all its conditions and humors that it cannot produce any other species than through their Sulfur, or part of it, just as two germs will not prevent each other’s effect, but will always produce only monsters.

Now then, the best advice I can give you now, my dear Son, is that if your Companion tells you: "Our universal Mercury is in Antimony, Alum, or Vitriol, because these are pure and clean substances that contain a penetrating and strong Spirit, such as the one we seek, and these are even from the Mineral or Metallic kingdom, or the Philosophers say that our matter is a pure Salt, Salt is everywhere, the Spirit of Salt dissolves Gold, therefore our Mercury is the common Salt," you should answer him: "The Philosophers truly say that our first Matter is a Salt. But their words receive several interpretations. And although in the Work, there are many Sals, I mean many regimes, I still find that our first subject is a pure Salt, which is universally spread across the Earth. But here is the difference. I have already said that all and such drugs, previously mentioned, are impure Substances, formed in a certain particular earth, and allied with a Spirit coming from the Living Fountain, which are called Metallic because they are in the Mineral kingdom, but their Spirits have been corrupted and spoiled by the contrary qualities of their impure Sulfur.

I now say that common Salt is just as little the Stone, because it is not universal, and it is a Body formed by Nature, just like other Bodies, which can never change by itself, nor be converted, or rather go to the production of anything, as our natural and vegetable Salt does, which produces all things: because it is the Spirit of the Universe, and from it the seed of Nature is drawn.

To truly say what it is, it is a Fire enclosed in a Water, which forms into a terrestrial Body, from a material not bound or affected to anything, but capable of converting into all Bodies because of its purity: which is a pure white Salt, leafy and virgin Earth, which has yet produced nothing. This Salt generates itself and goes as far as it pleases, without the help of any man. And to show that common Salt, or others, found in certain regions in the depths of their vitriolic caverns, are not our Matter, who has ever seen or heard of any of these substances being converted into grains, flowers, or fruits; just as our vegetable Salt does every day, which I show you so clearly, that when I tell you its true name, you would not believe me, unless you understand it through my words; and I do not know how I have the boldness to speak to you so openly, for I would think I deserve punishment if the natural love of a Father to his Son were not an excuse for the offense committed.

That is why I do not dare to continue with the rest of the Work, because I fear I might fail, by saying too much, while others say too little. And it is at this point where everyone has gone astray, because it is the entrance to the Garden that the Philosophers have so carefully concealed, covering it with riddles and deceptive appearances. It is the Key to the entire Work, and although you find difficult things to understand in my Books and in those of all others, know nonetheless that you can understand everything easily in a few words, and that this Water is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all the Magisterium; for we need nothing else but it, which dissolves, freezes, and finally returns the Body to the complete perfection of the noble Stone, which is called Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal; because it has as its material foundation the most perfect Body of Nature, which is the flaming Sun, father and first cause of this new vegetal creation; because it similarly has as its mother and first lunar matter, this imperfect Body that is the womb, Vegetable Water, for it is the Universal Fountain of all things tending to vegetation.

And it is called Animal, because the Body, being dead, regains life in this Water, feeds on it, as from the milk of the white breasts of its first nurse. Which in a short time acquires in it an admirable form and power. This is what this mystical Water is, so industriously hidden until now, that I make you touch it with your finger, if you are such as you should be, and may God grant you the graces He has granted me, not by any merit of mine, but by a good will He has towards His Children, who are humble and charitable. I speak to you as a Father and not as a Philosopher, for I am not one, and in telling you little in appearance, believe that I am saying much, even more than any man has ever said; for what I fail to say, others will teach you, and no one had ever revealed to you what I have just told you.

And it is reasonable to leave something for your labor, for a little effort you will have will make you value it, which, perhaps, you might despise because of its great ease. Consider only the intention of the good authors I have taught you; in them, what I omit will be revealed to you. And so that you do not say I am naming a large number, which might put you in great confusion, know that the least of them teaches you the whole Work. And there are some who repeat it several times; but I tell you those to whom you should trust most, and if you can see all of them, so much the better, provided that you are careful with their turns of phrase, and that you know how to discern their intentions in their words; for one may clarify a matter more than another, each having their different style and their words more or less intelligible, depending on the places where they wish to manifest themselves more or less clearly.

To God, my dear Child, pray for my Soul, and keep this present Treatise as faithfully and secretly as it deserves, and may it not fall into wicked hands.

Praise be to God.

Second Book

My dear child, although I have been reluctant to disclose the Holy Science and Philosophy, for which reason I would have stopped at the two preceding principles, if it were not for my good will and my trust in your prudence, I have had no hesitation in giving you this small summary, by which you may be more fully enlightened on the principles, and especially about the first mystical Water of the Philosophers, which is the Mother of all Metals and all things in the World. I tell you that it is nothing other than a burning Water, in which every body must be broken and torn apart, in order to be guided, through the stages of digestion, to perfect sublimation. This Water is indeed a Water of Life, which must be subtly extracted from a pure and virgin Earth, and then revived, until there remains neither earth nor foreign Water in it; but it should be clear as pure Silver, and one must have a good quantity of it.

Or if by my previous chapters, I have not made it clear enough to you, do not blame my book, but blame yourself, for you are not in grace, as I have truly declared to you the truth of the matter. And in order to give you every opportunity and means to reach that point which opens the eyes and hearts of men, I wish to reiterate the same words, provided that you remain secretive and that neither greed nor covetousness leads you to seek wealth. For this is the Work of God, and this light, so hidden by the Ancients, is the Seal of Seals, which opens and closes the Book of Life, in which are written the names of the Chosen, and of those who love God and their neighbor.

Know, therefore, O Son of Doctrine, and dearest of my children, that the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars constantly pour their influences into the center of the Earth. To reach this center, one must first pass through the middle regions of the Air, in which these influences are gathered. These, mixed and joined together, are then distilled through the pores of the Earth, all the way to its center, purifying themselves from sand to sand, until the last drop of their aerial moisture is gone. Thus, the Air is full of these influences, the Earth is also teeming with them, and there is nothing in the World that is not filled with them; because this is the center of all things, and the universal Soul of all Bodies. But this seed is greatly abundant in two qualities, namely heat and moisture, from which all things in the World emerge, though by proximity to the first Male, which is the ferment that joins with the seed, and which attracts and converts it to its Nature. Thus, it divides the species and arranges them according to the will and the first ordinance of the Almighty, so that nothing is confused, and that each thing produces fruits of its Nature.

The heat of this seed is hidden in its center, and therefore it is invisible. But this moisture is the Body or the Sperm of it, which, swelling in the Air, requires a separation and physical purification, which is the preparation of the extremes; this must be carefully considered in the operation of Nature in this way. This seed, called by Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, because of its triple Virtue, passes from place to place in the veins and traces of the Earth, purging and cleaning the places by an infinite repetition; because these moistures intermingle like the waves of the sea, until they reach their end or term, which is the hearth or center of the Earth.

For, having reached this place, the elemental Water, or the Water of the Air thickened, has left the pure Air, which, through the said centric Fire, has been elevated to the surface in the form of steam, just as it had descended as aqueous moisture, until it encountered a purified Earth, through the previous evacuations, to attach itself and join to it. According to the purity or impurity, it produces Gold, Silver, and other Metals. But when said steam does not find this Earth, or when this Earth is not enclosed between other lands, as are the places where mining is done, but is porous on all sides, the steam cannot be cooked, but always rises toward the circumference, where it produces, through the attraction of the celestial Sun, Herbs, Trees, and all other things, or it is frozen by the Air into a certain white Body, sometimes mixed with the fat of the Earth, sometimes also visible in places where there is something for it to adhere to, and then, when it meets with rain or other moisture, it is redissolved and carried down by a circulation that never ends.

Thus, ponder in your mind what this Matter might be, for if you do not recognize it this time, do not inquire any further, for you will never reach it. Now, those who require this Steam, which would always be imperceptible to our sight without the Body it borrows from the purest part of the Earth, know well how to take their time, and do not wait for this Bird to take flight again, but with industrious and subtle hands, separate it from that Body, and by doubling or even tripling their labor, clean it completely from its aqueous and gross elemental terrestrity; for nothing strange must remain in it, as it would hinder the Work, moisture diminishing the strength of the Spirit, and terrestrity thickening the Body instead of making it transparent. For our primary intention is nothing other than to take that Body in the condition Nature left it imperfect and to perfect it through Art; that is to say, Nature intended to render that Body, in its mine, completely purged of that Earth, and then to cook it to perfect maturity, which would be the same as the perfect Elixir. But the delay came from the Air, which, piercing the walls of Nature’s furnace, cooled the materials, although Nature made all her efforts to overcome it.

But I will speak now of how the principles are gathered. First, it must be noted that the principles of Metals are only Sulfur and Mercury: that is to say, the heat and purity of the Earth for Sulfur, and this humid vapor for Mercury, which is the very one that has cleaned and purified the said Sulfur of its lingering terrestrity, reducing it through repeated distillations to a fatty substance in various and particular places of the Earth, sometimes enclosed in a place where heat from the center is retained by a certain natural vault that makes it reverberate onto that matter. Sometimes also in a vague place surrounded by pores, through which the heat dilates; and in those places, Metals never form.

But to the one who is surrounded by heat, where this fat has accumulated over time and natural distillations, upon the arrival of this vapor, the vapor joins with this fat, which putrefies together, because one resists the other; but the vapor, overcoming the Sulfur each day, digests it, so that it is consumed in the said Mercury, which increases as its enemy diminishes, and in the end, Gold would only be Mercury cooked by the virtue and ferment of the said Sulfur, which, thus separated from the Mercury, would leave us with a Body as bright as the Sun. But as I have said, the Air intervened, which prevented the total separation, and consequently the maturity; that is why Gold does not bear seed, for it could only be ripened after the Sulfur is well digested or separated. Thus, common Gold is not transparent because of the earthly Sulfur that fills its Body, and the other Metals are even less so, each to its degree, because they abound more in bad Sulfur.

We must therefore begin our Work by the separation of this Sulfur, which can never be extracted without reducing the Body to its first matter, that is to say, to the state it was in the mine when the raw Air came to freeze it, which is not a very heavy labor for those who understand and know this first matter; for it is this that does everything. But those who have never reached this point, or who do not have this light, believe it impossible, relying on the wonder of the thing, or on the obscurity of those who have written about it; of whom most have rather intended to hide the Science than to teach it, believing it enough to ensure the true Science without showing the way, on the contrary, they have hidden it, for this search is not subtle, but simply natural.

And the one who first found it had no book; but followed Nature, observing how and with what she works. For whoever wants to succeed must first be a God-fearing man; then observe how all things come into being, and by the example of natural things, make good and strong resolutions. For do not inquire about human experiences, because the work is deceptive, even though everything consists only of experiments; but it is after good and strong philosophical resolutions. For example, what would be the point of putting two substances together in a furnace to await their Colors, if these are not the true substances of the Stone? And then, even if they were the true substances of the Stone, what would be the point of all that, if they were not well-prepared? For without preparation, they cannot properly mix together through a true marriage, nor can conjunction be achieved due to the impurities contained in those substances. Thus, one must first know the substances for what they truly are, not by poorly founded opinions, but with a sound and firm judgment.

For instance, when it is said that the Philosophers have a Gold that is alive, and that common Gold is dead, who is the ignorant person who would dare maintain that there is any Gold in the World other than common Gold? Although it is called dead, it is nonetheless the purest thing on Earth, and the last effect of Nature, and consequently, the material upon which we must begin our Work, and we must understand this difference before or after the preparation, by which, instead of being buried in a tomb, it is resurrected and set on the path of growth. Just as those who would think that common Water, or Sea Water, or even other countless waters, would be our universal Spirit, after having declared so many fine and rare things about it, which are not in these waters, nor in common Mercury, on which so many people have been deceived.

A Philosopher like Raimond Lulle would say that so many vessels and methods of operation are required in preparation and in the Work, that it would confuse the disciples, if they do not know how to separate the good from the bad, in order not to sow the tares with the good grain. Just as another would say, so many fires and furnaces to which faith is given, without considering that the furnace of Nature and its fire is unique, which is nothing other than a round Mountain, in which a continuous heat rises from the center to the circumference and passes through mineral Earths, to be enclosed and obscured within these Mountains, where over time, it cooks the substance through various degrees. However, the degrees can be imagined by a good Spirit.

For who would be so ignorant as not to judge that, after having put two substances together, one fixed and the other volatile, which one wants to make take the form of a cheese, if one makes the fire too strong, the volatile will rise, and the fixed will remain alone; thus, no conjunction will be made. For that person would indeed be very ignorant who would not judge that one must gently retain the fugitive by a tempered heat until it is captured with the fixed; for then they will embrace, and one will not be able to leave the other. And I assure you that you will see the sign you are warned of by so many good authors when it is time for the little Ravens to leave their Nest. For know that your work will be a Teaching for you, provided that you work with the right material, for your Spirit will find new things, and will no longer esteem those who, by their writings, lead you astray more than they help you.

I will give you another example to help you deduce it. You will find in their writings that the Projection is made at a weight of ten to one, another at fifteen to one; but is that not an abuse, since in all the practices that have ever been done, there has always been some difference, either in the first composition of the substances, or in the advancement or delay of the Work, or in the fact of having more or less concocted it? No one can assure the weight of the projection, because not everyone is taught by the same Master. And therefore, work is always done differently. Thus, the Projections differ: but who will be the ignorant person who would not judge that one must always project until the substance is no longer fragile but remains firm under the Hammer; it is reason and judgment that make us know everything, provided that this great light does not fail us. Fear God, says the Wise man, and be steadfast, the rest is easy, and with these things, one can easily come to the Work, of which I will mention a little more at the end of this Summary.

Take your two Substances, as long as it is enough, and prepare them as you have been taught, by the example of the two natural purifications and distillations. For your Spirit will dissolve your Body, and opening it, the two Spirits will mingle together, namely the free and the imprisoned, which some call the Eagle and the Lion. Then the Soul will follow the Spirit, abandoning the Body, which in turn will return to the earthly and sulfurous mud with which it had languished for so long, and then the aforementioned Spirit will be returned to that Body, which will attract many others to itself, and they will share the aforementioned Soul, which will grow through a slow and suffocated heat, carefully administered with ingenious artifice.

For this is the labor that is said to be supernatural, being the link of the conjunction which, as I have said, is made by an admirable and supernatural decoction. Patience is the ladder of the Philosophers, and Humility is the door to their Garden. For whoever perseveres, without pride and without envy, God will have mercy on him. And from one, by one, which is only one, three are made, the three are made two; and the two, not without a long struggle, which must be completed by the prudence of the worker, will be made one, clear, beautiful, and transparent, which will compensate for all the defects of its crippled brothers. I will not say more, for it is enough, and what I do not say, many others say, though it may be in obscure words. But work a little, and God will grant you grace, for He will never refuse it to His servants when they ask with a firm resolve to use it well. Thus, I will continue to exhort you as much as I can to guide you like a man of good character, and to keep secret what I give you, as the most precious thing in the world. May God have mercy on us all, to whom be honor and glory throughout the ages.

In the name of the Holy Trinity of Paradise, may the Work be brought to completion, three times very great, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

THIRD BOOK

CHAPTER I

Nicolas Valois to his children, Greetings

My dear Son, when I first decided to give you light, I did not believe the love of a Father for his Child could be so strong that I was compelled to declare further; but as I believed in your kind nature and good will, I want to entrust to your conscience the hidden secrets of my heart, so that they may be preserved in yours, without anyone being able to usurp them at the peril of your conscience, upon which I leave them, so that after this life, no harm may ever come to me. And believe that no greater treasure can be given to you, for none can compare to it.

I have already given you the fundamental Principles in my previous Chapters, and according to my plan, the end of your undertaking will come, if the Creator of all things permits it. Otherwise, I command you, under the penalty of excommunication, you or anyone else who wishes to follow them, to mince and turn them to ashes, so that they are not profaned and no failure comes from them. For my words are simple; but Truth is embedded within them, to the extent that knowledge was given to me. For in no other way can we practice this, so that the Ancients had another way of working, but their work is always one and goes towards the same end, and any simple and virtuous child cannot err, as it is said, having the aforementioned Principles and knowing what they are looking for, even if they may sometimes take one path for another and go astray, as I have done.

But no one living in this world will be misled by the most basic needs if they are not introduced by any Master, and for this reason, they should not withdraw their hand. For this Art, which surpasses all others, is of greater worth than patience, which must accompany all those who seek it. And if this Treatise were given to you only at the cost of all the goods I leave to you, you would still have enough chance, as long as you take it with proper care, having, as it is said, these virtues and knowing what you seek. For the Stone is not what so many impostors assure, explaining the words of others more subtly than the matter requires. And without calling for so much nonsense, where so many have been deceived, just believe that man begets man, and metal begets metal, for Gold, although it is said to be dead, still has within it its seed, by which it can be multiplied infinitely, and this Gold is composed of three things, two of which are superficial, and one essential. For Gold and Silver are but red and white earth, animated by this essentiality, without which these metals would be of little worth.

The two superficial elements are the Earth, which we perceive as alive, and the Water that was joined to it, which is only visible when the metal is in a fusible state; but that essentiality is the Soul or Fire of the metal, which gives it much virtue, provided it is stripped of the Earth, meaning it must be purified; for without the Body, the Spirit cannot act, and without the Spirit, the Body will vainly desire the Soul. Therefore, be aware of what you are seeking, and you will find that it is nothing more than the separation of these three, in order to arrange them better than they were before, because Nature did not have sufficient time to concoct them. But through our Art, we perfect them, and to achieve this, it is necessary for us to first extract the bond of the two others, which is the Spirit, highly condensed. Once separated, no harmony can remain between them; but the Soul will desire to follow the Spirit, and thus the Body, stripped away, will be greatly whitened, like such by a proper calcination, after which the Spirit will be gradually applied until it melts like Wax, and this Spirit will then be called a vegetable Menstruum, because it will bring the Stone back to life and help it putrefy, so that it ferments with its soul.

For note that all things in the World are composed of five elements, the first is phlegmatic, which is excessive moisture; the second is mercurial, which is the substance of the former; the third is oily, which is the vivifying Soul; the fourth is earthly, which is the Body; and the fifth is the superfluity of the Earth, which is converted into individuals, called the black test. But our Composition is not phlegmatic, but laden with this damned Earth, which is the prison of our Stone. And thus, this malignant Earth, ingeniously separated from the other pure Earth, will be our said Composition, the matter of the Stone without delay or hindrance. Thus, you cannot be taught more clearly. For no other regimes are required, except for you to dissolve your Metal little by little, as Nature operates and not hastily; then, once the Body is dissolved, separate it in the Waters, and the subtle part, once well separated, washes the dregs until whiteness is achieved. Then, apply the Spirit to the Body and rot them, and then many colors will appear. For these two Materials will call forth new forms, and the Dragon, not yet separated, will cause Fire and Water to fight; then darkness will cover the Earth; then the light will appear, and a balm will be formed, which will need to be multiplied at will.

For as much in one word as in a thousand, Gold is our Body, which must be greatly subtilized and rotted in the Water, and from this putrefaction will be born the Salamander that perseveres in the Fire. And in my God, I marvel at the diversity of the Workers and the way they are led, for they condemn without seeing, and none is alive, except they have acquired this rotting, either by one way or another, provided they can reach it, and they will find something miraculous. For many things have been said about this rotting, of which books have been written, which seem to the fools to mean something else, on which they waste their time and their goods.

For note that Fire and Azoth are sufficient for you; that is to say, the prepared Matter as it has been stated, and the Fire administered through the mechanism and subtilty of the furnace, for the purpose of bringing this matter to putrefaction. For once it is putrefied, it is impossible that anything more perfect will come from it. But note that every Agent requires the Patient, which have already been declared in a single matter, with the help of the middle thing. And although some speak more clearly than others, and indeed everything has been said in truth; however, one does not believe the truth in these words, because the weights, time, nor the materials (as they might be required) have not been literally deduced, as significantly as needed, and the naive enemies of Philosophy, who seek only short and easy recipes for such Philosophy, do not care; but they try everything they find written, without considering that the Science is well written, but not fully taught, and that through reasons and meanings, as in Rasés, Archélaus, and several others, whose practices are as different as they are repeated; having no resemblance or conformity in words, but only in intention, which is nothing other than dissolution, and then freezing after the materials are already prepared, as the Ancients wish to signify, when after saying so many sophistical regimes, they teach that even though these regimes are false, they are nonetheless examples of Truth.

And when others believe that this Science could only be understood word by word, with all things greatly deduced, it would follow that no one would ever succeed by the Book, against the words of Cyrus in the Crowd. It is so noble that it can be understood in an hour, namely the Science simply and not all its dependencies; for no living being has yet had all this knowledge, which extends over all the things in the World, because the single Elixir, through different arrangements, is a medicine for all, which Hermes could not experience due to his short life. But concerning the simple Stone, it can be understood in a few words by a man of good faith. As if to say, the Stone is the Gold that Nature left imperfect in the mine, which the Artist must perfect to the final degree of perfection; and only needs to be cooked, and it cannot be cooked without digestion and separation, until finally this Gold becomes Elixir, if the heat of the mine had been sufficiently great.

Our final intention is therefore nothing other than to take this Gold, clean it with Antimony, or Cement; then open it in our Water and make a separation of the Body, the Spirit, and the Soul, which must be much washed and whitened, so that the Soul may be better glorified within it. After this conjunction, the Mercury of the Philosophers and their First Matter will be extracted, on which you will work, as Nature desires; namely, by a simple decoction in a single vessel, in which many beautiful things will appear to the sight, and you will be rejoiced.

Thus, seek nothing but my Teachings, which must be followed without any other regimes than those which are hereafter declared to you: for in a good Engine, enough is understood about the things that appear in this Work without going astray in your task, no more than so many others who have never had a Master. But since the only natural love of the Father for the Son has overcome me this time, and made me surpass the boundaries that God commands, to tell you what no one else has dared to think; do not be surprised if I have made several Chapters, and if in these brevity is placed; for I say nothing that is not worth noting and weighing carefully, without you believing in deceit, but simple Truth without any malice, as a Father can say to his Son, who tenderly loves him. For the difficulty of the Art is clearly laid out, and the rural simplicity is sent back to the differential practices of the Chemical operations which teach you the rest, such as cements, distillations, and other common operations, which would harm the brevity I wish to maintain in my Treatise.

Chapter II: On the Furnace

Before dealing with anything, it is necessary to speak of the furnace, which must resemble Nature in its equal and proportionate fire, digesting the material, just as you would have observed in the mine, where such furnaces still exist in various places in France, like in Paris, where the whole work has been completed. But mine will be made in a round globe shape, approximately one foot in diameter, or based on the quantity of your material, made of strong earth resistant to fire, with the globe being four fingers thick. In the middle will be a small circular iron ring, attached to the sides of the walls, in which will be suspended a vessel made of good oak wood, old, dry, and not porous, split into two hemispheres. In the upper hemisphere, a brass wire will be suspended, passing through the top of the furnace to raise these hemispheres when needed to view the glass vessel similarly suspended at the center of the wooden vessel. Then, the first globe will be suspended in the furnace, surrounded by a strong and thick wall sealed on all sides, except at the top, where there will be a round window the size of the wooden vessel to pass it through, as well as the material, which will be sealed tightly. On the two opposite sides of this furnace, there will be two other windows: the first, four inches in size, to observe the colors and to pass the hand to test the heat of the furnace; the other opposite will be only two inches in size, to allow light to the appearing colors, which will be well-glassed and tightly sealed with two plugs, each having small handles to pull when needed. Below the globe will be a sturdy and thick support, with four windows at the four corners, where four iron or earthen shutters will be, with their tails passing through the walls to open and close these windows as needed. Below these two supports, there will be an even thicker and stronger one, separated from the previous one by four inches, with a square window facing the fire, through which heat will pass to the top four and circulate around the large globe. By this heat, the globe will warm, creating a slow heat that will suffocate the material. This heat will be so gradual that you desire, sealing the windows as mentioned. Below these supports will be the hearth, as large as needed, around which there will be registers to add or remove air. Beneath the hearth will be the ashtray, all tightly sealed except when you remove the ash or add charcoal, which should be done every 24 hours. The charcoal must all be made the same way, using fine wood.

Another way for the furnace is to have an Athanor tower placed beside the furnace, from which the heat, emerging from the base, will enter the furnace below the supports and pass through the window. As the heat passes through the Athanor, you can also place a shutter.




FIGURE 1
(philosophical furnace)

A. Top Cap: The cap on the top of the furnace.

B. Globe Cap: The cap for the globe, which contains the alchemical vessel.

C. Four-inch Window Cap: The cap for the four-inch window, which is used for observation or interaction with the internal environment.

D. Window Cap, with Glass: The cap for the window where the glass would be placed, likely for viewing the reactions inside the furnace.

E. Wooden Vessel, Containing the Matras: A wooden vessel that contains the matras, a type of glass flask used in alchemical processes.

F. Globe with Four Inches of Thickness: The globe itself, with a thickness of four inches, providing insulation and maintaining the necessary heat for alchemical processes.

G. Window Above the Hearth of the Two Atres, like C: A window located above the hearth (firebox) of the two Atres, similar to the one mentioned in C, for controlling or observing the fire.

K. Second Bracket: A second bracket or support, which helps hold the components of the furnace in place or ensures the proper positioning of materials.

L. Hearth (Foyer): The firebox or hearth, where the heat is generated in the furnace.

M. Hearth Door: The door of the hearth, which allows access to add fuel or control the fire.

N. Ashtray: The ashtray or ash collector, where the residue from the fire is collected.

O. Ashtray Door: The door of the ashtray, allowing access to remove the ashes.

These components form the structure of a philosophical furnace used in alchemical processes. Each piece has a specific function in controlling heat, enabling observation, or facilitating the alchemical transformation.

The furnace described above will be sufficient for you to complete your work; consider it carefully to understand its use.

CHAPTER III

Preparation of the Water

Having already taught you the Substance that contains the Water you need, you will separate it in the following manner. Dissolve it in distilled common water, and once dissolved, purify it by filtering it through gray paper. Then, cook it in a clay vessel, skimming it frequently; before it freezes, grind it on the marble, and add three parts of finely washed and dried sand in a strong stone glass vessel, well sealed, with a large container placed in water, so that this moisture will condense the Spirit to the bottom. Then, apply heat gradually over 10 or 12 hours, and you will obtain 12 ounces of Spirit from a pound of matter. This Spirit must be well deflegmated and rectified, and then seal the vessel finely so that the Spirits do not escape. Continue in this way until you have enough of these Spirits.

CHAPTER IV

Preparation of the Work

My son, since my primary intention was not to provide you with every little detail of the necessary steps for the work, which would only cause confusion and a headache, but rather to simply declare what the work is, how it begins, and how it is perfected, I will leave aside all the other things that are well-known to common operators, from whom you may take lessons for those operations, but not from these chapters of mine. These chapters were never written in their entirety but are obscured under allegories and useless repetitions. Therefore, trust not in these but proceed in the following manner.

When you have a good quantity of the aforementioned Water, place it in two well-sealed vessels. Afterward, take pure gold or silver that has been purified by Cement and in powder so fine that it cannot be perceived. Wash and dry it, then place it in a Cucurbite (a type of flask) and pour the Water over it, enough so that it covers the metal by the thickness of one finger. Seal the vessel with an alembic without a spout and let it digest for one natural day. Then, distill it at a slow heat, separating the more volatile Spirits.

Afterward, pour more Spirit onto your metal as before, and continue distilling. Repeat this process until your metal retains half of its weight in the more fixed Spirits, having removed all the phlegm in the boiling bath. Afterward, separate the Spirit that is joined with the metal from the ashes and repeat the process of pouring water onto the metal, as described above, until the metal is changed, and half of its weight is absorbed by the more fixed Spirits of the Water. Then, extract all the Spirits and leave behind only the simple Water, free of acrimony.

After this, take all of these Waters and slowly add them drop by drop onto your metal, burying it in the mixture until the Water is stained. Then, extract the Water through the ashes and add more Water, repeating the process until the metal is decolorized. After this, gather all of the Waters together, let them digest, and then extract the Water from above your gold oil. Continue this labor on the oil with your Waters until the oil has passed entirely through the Waters.

And if, after the aforementioned processes, some impurity, like the first Earth, remains at the bottom of the vessel, you must gather these Earths together and continue this process until the oil no longer produces any Earth. After this, draw off all the Waters from above the oil, place them in a well-sealed glass vessel, then take the Marc, or Earth that was separated from the oil, and extract its substance. Afterward, calcine it with a strong fire.

Next, take the other Water that was kept aside and begin the work again on the Earth, adding Water as described before, allowing it to digest, and then extracting the Water with whatever substance it can carry away. This process must be repeated until no more substance can be extracted from the Earth, at which point it should be recalcined. Once this is completed, the matter will be cleansed, and all the Waters should be gathered together and separated from their Earth to begin the process once more, continuing until all impurity is removed from the Earth.

The works involved here are nothing other than the extraction of the Soul and the calcination of the Body. Once this is accomplished, you will have the animated Mercury, weighing twelve times the amount of the Earth. Let it digest until it becomes somewhat fixed, then add more, repeating this process up to twelve parts. Afterward, place everything in a large digestion. But be careful that the Volatile does not escape and that the Fire is natural, allowing it to rejoice in its work.

Once the digestion has been completed over 30 days, allow your vessels to cool, separate your materials, and extract your quicksilver using the heat. Keep it in a temperate place. Then, take the impregnated Earth and separate the moisture into clear Water, which should be kept in a clean place. After this, gradually add the oil or Soul, which was kept earlier, drop by drop, until the Body is fully filled and reaches the consistency of melted wax. With this, add one-tenth of the quicksilver you separated earlier, as this will serve as the Menstrue for the Stone.

The other way to proceed is as follows. Take and purify your Body as mentioned earlier, then pour the Water over it until it is submerged by about one finger’s width. Let it digest for 29 hours, as described before, and then distill by means of a strong bath. Repeat this process until the Body is no longer tinted, then extract your oil and pass it through again as many times as needed until no Earth remains. This can only be achieved through the use of our Waters. Once this is done, the oil, now well purified, should be washed several times and kept clean.

Next, from the other part of the Water that you have already kept, you must extract the Spirit of the Earth, as previously described, and create a new Earth, discarding the old one which can no longer serve. Then, wash this Earth as many times as necessary until no impurity remains. After this, pour the golden Waters back onto the Body through small digestions and imbibitions, and then extract the Waters through a gentle bath. Repeat this process as many times as necessary until the Earth regains its Spirit. To do this, it is not necessary to separate the Soul from the Water.

But note that the Earth will not regain its moisture if any impurity remains in it. Once properly joined together, the matter of the Stone will be placed in the furnace for rotting, as will be explained later. You will then witness a perfect sublimation, which, by separating the pure from the impure, will yield clear and shining Mercury. Through philosophical fixation, this will give you a perfect Stone, and that should suffice for you.

For if I were to speak of all the wonders within this process, you would not trust my writings, and you would believe my words to be deceitful. Also, you might neglect to experiment with the brevity I maintain (may God protect you from this). If in these matters there is any deceit, know well that you must seek to understand, and see the light that this work holds for those of good faith. For two things cause many people to fail in the Theory and prevent them from undertaking anything: little faith and little patience.

And in the Practice, too much Water or Fire.

For these things, well noted, reveal much, that you must first believe, be baptized by Fire and Water, and patiently endure the afflictions of this World if you wish to have eternal Life. Ah, my Child, the matter is not as difficult as the unbelievers of faith judge it to be, for in short, you will know the Truth if patience is with you, provided that you keep these four things in mind. For without faith, you will never believe such wonders; without patience, you will not be able to imagine anything, nor, without the proper measurements of Fire and Water, bring anything to completion.

The lack of moisture is indeed a delay to the Stone, but too much is its ruin, and the same applies to Fire. For in this, the Spirit and the Understanding advance with the help of the furnace, as it is in vain to turn the pegs of the Harp if one does not know what tone to take. It is true that one can return to thinking about what one is seeking—whether dryness, coldness, heat, or moisture—because moderation serves where excess is harmful. And when it is necessary to go from one extreme to the other, as it happens in the Work, it cannot be without great changes that do not occur all at once, but little by little; thus, the harshest impositions are placed on people, and the proudest Lions are softened, all by moderation; for what is done in a sudden leap runs the risk of burning.

Two things are in our Matter that must be noted: the first is the hardness and compactibility of the Body, which can only be softened by its own substance, which is returned to it; the second is the conservation of its Species, where all such words are heard only in Putrefaction, where the two parts of the Body are gathered together, one female and the other of the opposite sex, until, through its moisture, it attracts the dryness of the other to putrefaction, which is the great Secret; for all the mysteries of the Stone are contained there.

And in this part, you can consider the degree of heat by the heat of dung or some other thing in putrefaction, but it is a slow and mortified heat. And this must be considered with the measure of the Water, which is usually in a ratio of ten to one; a great misfortune will come if this measure is delayed. For if one misfortune occurs, the other will be repaired, so do not concern yourself with anything else to inquire about, if you wish to understand this Work. You must untie the Body from its impurity and then perfect it according to Nature: and untangling can only happen in preparation and putrefaction.

And throughout the Work, there are only two perfect dissolutions: namely, that of putrefaction and projection, which are only helped by the same nature. My words are clear, yet you will doubt their truth until knowledge is given to you from the first experience you draw from it, provided that you are a bit theoretical, as I have taught you. But let not the corruption of the World ruin you.

Afterward, seek the handling of vessels and the arrangement of materials, for this is necessary; and by following these present Treatises word by word, many wonders will appear before your eyes. And through these same errors, you will become wise, having, as said, the knowledge of the Theory, and knowing what the materials are and what must be sought in them; for although I have introduced the complete Science in brevity, the most common consequences of men will no longer make them wise without this faith, patience, and firm trust in God, from whom all our goods come; and then, being in this grace, you will be able to inquire what the Stone is, which Lulle declares clearly in his Theory.

Once this is known, observe in the same Lulle in his Practical Work the means of operation; what you have perceived through your own understanding. Keep the Water and the Fire; but no one will give you the furnace as clearly as I have done, for without it you will not achieve anything. And if I warn you, that of the two means of operation, one is false and the other true, with the true being hidden under the false. And I have also repeated the same thing several times; but as I said in my other Chapters, of the man who among a multitude is found knowing perfectly, I will tell you that you will find a pearl among a barrel of grains, where a blind man will not succeed in reaching it, in what it contains in the hand.

Thus, if through my Teaching your eyes are opened, do not doubt this studied practice: for you will not know how to untangle what the Work requires unless you are more learned from my exhortations. But beware of inquiring into another Book except that of Lulle, or any other that you know has been well written, like our Companions, who have left to their Children Books written on this Science, in which lessons of great value may be taken. But what they did not dare to say, I place here upon your conscience, assuring you that no misfortune will occur. Thus, I will conclude this Chapter by declaring the Work of the Mastery; but may the Holy Spirit be in my thoughts. Amen.

Chapter V: Of the Work

Every inquirer of any art must be a theorist before applying hands to practice. For one who does not understand what they are seeking may end up at a dead end, just as many inept laborers, who are simply sophistical, waste their time and resources, finding nothing they sought. On the other hand, the one who walks in a place they know, although they may stray, will sooner or later arrive at the place they desire. And even if they have no knowledge of the exact location, as long as they know whether it lies toward the East or North, they will eventually reach their destination, for by walking toward that climate, they will find someone who will teach them the way.

Such is the case with our work. For one who does not know which path to take may spend all their time on lead, tin, or any other material they desire, finding only names or qualities written on them, yet those who study the most noble substance may await a nobler outcome. For when we have no other guidance than the understanding that each thing can only give what it has, is that not sufficient to make us seek perfection in the perfect, and not in the imperfect? Though it is true that without these imperfect things, the Stone could not spread its virtue; for it is the Earth where we must sow our seed, so it may be transformed into that seed.

Thus, gold is the matter, which must be brought back to its primal matter, namely sulfur and mercury, through their separation and purification; this is to say, their impure earth that keeps this body buried, much like a tomb, which is the reason why the spirit cannot act as it will after it has been stripped away. Not that it is necessary to separate all of that earth, but rather to purify and cleanse it, as previously mentioned, for it is the body, just as water is the spirit, and fire, the soul and brightness, which enlightens the body. But because so many diversions are found in my small chapters due to Razes and others, do not doubt that the truth is present, for obscurity only serves to mislead. I wish to make it clear to you.

For if in these things you do not find sufficient substance according to your opinion, seek where I have taught you, although I have told you everything; for many opinions support resolutions. And if you believe that I have not said sufficient things, still I have not said anything useless. But above all, remain silent, and if no profit comes from this my brief treatise, as previously mentioned, then discard it, for one who does not know how to properly apply what others gather will sometimes find themselves lost. And against the opinions of certain rural investigators, my words should be noted, for in them lies the greatest treasure of the Earth.

That is why, above all, keep your eyes fixed on this noble matter, in which is what we seek; but it must be stripped away by a very slow and gentle process, so that its radical moisture does not suffer damage, for haste must be avoided, and it is necessary that the Seasons bring leaves, flowers, and fruits. For the tallest pines were not raised all at once, but little by little, drop by drop; in the same way, the Body must be led in its nature by the same method by which it was made; namely through purification, for the Spirit will leave the Body and will desire to follow the Water, and the Soul likewise.

Thus, the Earth will remain alone, which will also be raised by the Water, until nothing rises; and what remains at the bottom will be useless, then the earth must be separated from the water. And repeat this final labor as many times as necessary until no more residue remains. Then the Earth will be purged, upon which, little by little, you will rebind the Spirit. And when these are thus assembled, place all the fire in a round vessel, from which it will not leave until you see your Matter emerge as clear Mercury, which will attach itself to the side of the vessel; then amalgamate this Mercury with the Gold of the Philosophers, which is the aforementioned Soul, and place it in a retort in the furnace that I have taught you.

And there will be 40 or 50 days, with a very gentle fire that you will regulate, often placing your hand in the furnace, or judging with your eye the condition of the matter, so that it is not rushed. For note that in this matter is a fire enclosed, so small that in a short time it could suffocate. And this fire we need to preserve; because as long as death does not come to it, having taken our fire to its liking, it will rejoice in it, and from it will increase so much that it will dominate the moisture of the Matter; then it will be necessary for putrefaction to occur in all the Matter together, and it will turn into the color of lizard green, which little by little will turn into a brownish color, then into black. You will observe this often through the windows, lifting half of the wooden vessel with the thread of the archal. Here is the great difficulty of the Art, depicted by many of the Philosophers' allegories; it is also their sea, their forest, and in a word, the entire Work; for through this putrefaction, Nature is converted and changes its form, and no change or mutation can be made in anything in the World except by putrefaction. This is the mystical Water of the Philosophers, which is vile in all things, and without which nothing is generated. And if you were asked how to make the Stone, as well as anything else, you could teach it by this word: Putrefy. For without this putrefaction, nothing is made, and this alone is enough.

Thus, do not seek anything else, but that you may reach this point; for to keep brevity, as mentioned, I do not wish to make a longer process for you, nor dragons, nor lions, nor dogs, nor other animals, nor separations of Elements, nor anything else; for those who believe that to convert the Earth into Fire, the Elements must first be converted, are mistaken. First, the Earth becomes Water, then Water becomes Air, and Air becomes Fire, with the Air being closer to Fire than the Earth; but this process is long and muddles more than it teaches.

Therefore, when our Compound has blackened, it must come to whitening, and whiteness cannot come without becoming gray first, but the Fire continues its operation until perfect whiteness is achieved; for then it must be gently increased, not all at once, as the Body grows, nourishment must be provided. And the milk of our Stone is Fire; for it is nothing but Fire, which requires strong Fire, according to the strength of its complexion, and it was depicted by the Prophet Elijah, who devoured the flames of Fire entirely.

Among the aforementioned colors, many others may arise, but you should not seek them, as they are foolish flowers that serve no purpose; and with these brief words, the entire Science is described, with nothing left to say. But the work will be your teaching, when many things arise against your thinking, which you will recall reading in the Books, may the name of God be blessed. And what remains to be recommended is faith, patience, and purity, without which, with proportion and your arrangements, there would be delay. Let us now move on to the rest of the work.

CHAPTER VI

Of Multiplication

Fermentation is the extraction of the substance; but we do not need to make any further mention of it than what has already been said, and will be discussed later. But Multiplication is necessary to know, which is nothing but a pure repetition of the Work; that is to say, with the materials and not with the length of time. For if the first Work was accomplished in nine months, the second will be done in three, the third in three weeks, and at the end in a short time. For in the beginning, a long time is required, since Nature is dead, due to the little vigor that remains in it; which vigor, however, is the entrance and the leaven of the Stone.

For without it, our Fire would work in vain, as nothing from it would enter the matter; but it has an Attractive Power to draw its nourishment from the Fire of the Philosophers, and the more its strength and virtue increase, the more powerfully it acts on our Fire, and in less time, it draws its nourishment from it; and in the end, it is seen to become pure Fire. Therefore, in the beginning, it does not overcome so quickly, because the enemy is ten times more powerful, and now that its strength has increased tenfold, they are equal, and as soon as they sense the common Fire, putrefaction occurs. Thus, they increase in their projecting virtue, which I will mention at the end of this Treatise.

CHAPTER VII

On Projection

Although the concept of Projection is present in the Books of the Philosophers, I will mention it here so nothing is overlooked. In order not to require too much from these texts, I will say: Any union of opposing parts cannot occur without some mediator who has the power to penetrate the wills of both, in order to unite them. Now, the Elixir is so distant from imperfect Metals that it would not wish to marry them without the obligation and promise of faith. And since this Elixir comes from Gold, this Gold has the power to make the Elixir promise union and marriage with it without fear, which, by firmly holding it, compels it to enter into these other bodies; though not without regret, which is expressed by the complaint it makes during its projection.

Therefore, you must put three or four parts of refined Gold into a crucible to melt. Once melted, add a part of your Elixir on top, and stir them together with a small stick until they are well mixed. Then, cast them into a bar, and it will be a Medicine for Metals. If your work is at the white stage, use Silver instead of Gold. But for the Medicine of human bodies, this matter requires further explanation, which you will find sufficiently in Lull.

For now, enough has been said on these matters so that you do not doubt your ability to work. If, through this brief treatise, you cannot succeed, do not believe that all of Lull's works, or others, will suffice. This is not to say I forbid you from them, but I recommend them to you, though after experimentation, you will not find my teachings there. For their words are briefly declared by me, and mine will not be found in any of their books, except in a veiled form, mixed with fabulous things. Pray that God inspires you, for without His grace, nothing can be done; and observe my teachings carefully so that misfortune does not arise from neglect. May nothing prevent us from reaching the Heavenly Kingdom after this life, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit wish to lead us. Amen.

BOOK FOUR

This is my final statement in the form of an Epilogue, in which the Work is repeated and well taught, for those of my Children who wish to follow it, although with some obscurity, in some places Truth is still placed, and greater light cannot be given.

When it is a question of someone dedicating themselves to a need, in which they believe they will spend their life, that person cannot understand it well; therefore, in such learning, time is never wasted, nor is the delay harmful to the worker; for in any small Art, one must test themselves many times before exposing any task. Thus, in our Science, Theory must come first, then Practice must follow.

For this our Philosophy, which has never been measured by any other Science, rightly deserves that the one who seeks it fully dedicates themselves to it, without wasting time or opportunity, nor varying in their opinions until the final experimentation; however, it must be based on reason, and not believed that this Art comes to us without effort, for even the smallest Science consumes the youth of Students without much knowledge or profit from their studies, just as flatterers at Court, who are near the Great Ones, die ruined. These greedy merchants, artisans, as well as all lawyers and other officers, consume their years and bodies before they can achieve great wealth, such is the little profit of worldly things; but in this noble Art of Philosophy lies the Treasure of Kings, the favor of the People, and the glory of the Heavens; for through it, nothing is impossible for man.

Thus, my Child, in seeking this, leave aside everything else, not that I want you to follow only my Teachings; but those of all the good authors who have gone before us, and of whom I am but an imitator, like Lull, already highly recommended by me; for he who understands it well will not hesitate to engage in labor. But although I have already given you the complete Work, in which few things are obscured, my regret for not daring to speak more openly still makes me offer this small Summary, in which the Mastery will be repeated several times. You should note it with good sense, as something of great value; for although it seems to differ in wording, the intent is the same, though one may say what the other omits. And if a difference is found, it is only the difference of operations, according to the difference of the Masteries.

For there are several Masteries, some of which are simply called "Mines," of which I do not speak; others are called "Stones," and there are two types: one involves the operation of washing the Body well, both with Water and Fire. The operation of the other is to make Gold from living Azoth; the formation and generation of which follows Nature in the procreation of Metals, and to compose this properly, one must know the construction of furnaces, so that they do not exceed in either increase or decrease according to the necessary degrees, of which we will speak shortly; for the Fires must be noted, as well as the manner and quality of the vessel used in the Work.

This Work consists of four parts, namely, solution, congelation, albification, and rubification; these four parts I will explain according to the intention of the Philosophers, and not by ignorant country folk who confuse syllables with intent.

For there are two solutions in the Work, one mystic and the other philosophical. There are also two Conjunctions or Marriages, one ordinary and the other philosophical. The simple one is just the assembly of parts, but the philosophical one is the conjunction made on the Fire, namely in the natural dissolution of the Body and in the congelation of the Spirit; for this Body and this Spirit meet and join together, namely, the Water thickened to a certain point, and the Body softened to the same degree.

For the generative part imparts its virtue into the subtle, which is Air, and thus they are joined, and the solution, congelation, division, composition, and putrefaction of the Philosophers is hidden until today. Let the diversity of words be left aside, for all these things are the same operation, after which comes the imbibition of half the weight of the material with its Water until whitened, after which another imbibition is made, and then comes the compost for rubification, and these are the four parts already explained.

But before anything else, the Body, as stated, must be dissolved so that the heat enters its depth, and after that, it must be redissolved and congelated, as stated, with the thing that approached it. For just as worms are produced from a single matter, wheat alone generates more wheat, where the Sun and the moisture of Water cause germination, which produces its like, and in the end, that wheat is transformed into the flesh and blood of Man. So, our Fire, which resembles the Sun in this, is both the life and death of our Stone, by a certain in-between in its spirituality; and to put it simply, what is this our Stone, but wheat is its example. For it is nothing but a metallic seed drawn from a like Body, and sown in metallic Earth, to bring forth something of its Nature by the closeness of metallic Nature.

For in order to carry out this Work, many things are required, first and foremost, time. Although it can be done at any time, Spring especially advances the Work, because the cold of Winter, when it strikes the furnace, affects the Fire and weakens part of its strength; thus, at that time, much will depend on the skill of the worker to help the Fire against the cold. Secondly, the place must be free and secret, and suitable for all tasks without constraint. Thirdly, the person must be gentle, steady, peaceful, constant, and skilled, and must never contradict their Companion out of pride, except to offer counsel according to reason and Nature. As for the Materials, they have already been sufficiently explained by me, such that no better explanation can be given, other than declaring that everything generates its like: Nature approaches Nature and joins with it; and Nature contains Nature; for all foreign things are rejected from the Work.

But to understand the beginnings, know that all dry tincture is useless in its dryness; but through Water, all colors are applied to the fabric. Now, we have seen in the procreation of Metals, three main substances, the first being a humid vapor, called Mercury; and the second being the heat of the Earth, which is Sulfur; from which two substances the first matter of Metals is generated. And because it is necessary to reduce these Metals to this first Matter, much is required to refine them, as has been said, in order to extract from them this first and second Matter; for if the measure of our Stone could be constructed from Animals and Plants, as some claim, it would be necessary to extract from them living Silver and Sulfur, through long dissolution, since Nature does not perfect anything in any kingdom without the equal mixture of these two parts.

There are also three types of complexions among men, some being entirely coarse and rural, without any good understanding; others are very subtle and believe they know everything but accomplish nothing, inventing things outside of Nature, and refusing to hear any Books; but the third type is more perfect, and they hold the middle ground between these extremes, partaking in moderation of both; for just as strong wine, because of its heat, harms human health, so does Water kill with its crudity; but the proportionate mixture of the two is very suitable.

Therefore, in the Philosopher’s Stone, the first matter of it is not the first matter of all things, nor of Metals, but around them is found our first Matter; for the Body must be reduced, not to the four Elements, but to the metallic principles. And when that Body is degraded in form, it must take on a new form in its mineral Menstruum, and from it, it takes substance; as one sees in the womb of a woman, the child takes nourishment from her menstruations until the age of being born on Earth.

Thus, the first Matter of Metals is that vapor from the Earth and that heat, from which our Matter is generated through their conjunction; for Earth or Water alone are useless, but by their proportionate mixture, all things are generated. And to ensure you do not doubt my words, observe the Mines that still exist today; even though Air enters them, those hot vapors always rise in such abundance that the Laborers working there can barely endure their shirts, due to the heat that dwells in those places because of the vapors; indeed, these vapors rise so high that often the workers would be suffocated if they stayed any longer. For as soon as they emerge, their candle will extinguish; and when they return to the mine, they find those vapors clinging to the walls, and at the slightest touch, they condense into oily droplets.

This is the first Menstruum of the Philosophers, of which we are greatly in need. But Fire is the regimen of all things, which is divided into three parts. The first proceeds from the Sun, which subtly cooperates in all generation as the primary Agent of Nature, found in all types of seed, and is called natural Fire. The second is that which, from the center to the circumference of the Earth, carries those smoky vapors and is called unnatural; it is compared to that of Art, by the administration of which the natural Fire is augmented. The third is said to be against Nature, which is generated from the first, namely the vapors of Metals, and rots the compound, as we heard from the first Menstruum, which corrupts the material outside of its specific form, leading it to generation. Thus, the natural and the against Nature are essentially the same; except that the against Nature, through greater debilitation, moves more slowly in destroying the material. On the other hand, the natural, being more vigorous, generates it, and nourishes itself from the other, which is extrinsic, and yet, nothing can happen to this matter without the said intrinsic, which is the natural Fire. Thus, one awakens the other, which perfectly dissolves the Body through the furnace, whose degrees are, at first, the heat of fever or manure; the second, of the Bath; the third, of Ashes; and the fourth, of Charcoal or flame. For in these are the successive digestions, of which the first is the solution of the Body, which occurs in the conjunction of the male and the female, resulting in putrefaction into a homogeneous Water by this weak Fire. The second is the separation of the Waters, where the Elements are drawn from the Chaos, as the Philosophers say; the third comes as a Water known as the Dew Water; and in the fourth, all the Elements are fixed. Nicolas Flamel testifies to this process.

But above all, take care that the extrinsic does not destroy the intrinsic or fail to guarantee it; that is, preserve the Fire and Air together, which must be well maintained to nourish through this digestion, without the moisture or coldness of the Stone causing damage. Also, protect the Air and Water from the combustion of the Fire, while maintaining Cold and Dryness; for all these four seek their conservation in nourishment through the proportions and degrees of the heat in the furnace. For Fire and Azoth are sufficient; but Azoth, which is the composition containing within it the said four Elements, is Living Mercury, and not common, but that which is extracted from the Bodies, and not from the mine, dissolved by Living Mercury, since it is more refined than the common. For this Body is made into mercurial Water, from which comes Azoth, as an animated Spirit.

And note that the first composition is made from three things, namely metallic Water or sublimed Mercury, from the white or red Leaven, and from the Second Sulfur, from which you should look for the weights in Lulle; for as Mercury takes color, it imparts it to the others. From the Stone, three humors are also drawn by dissolving and coagulating them one after the other: namely that of Water, that of Air, and the radical one; but this radical one is nothing but Fire, which will not yield its Ashes except by a gentle fire of nature, and not like the radical humor of glass, which only yields to the strength of Fire; and this is the difference between the glass-making Art and our Art.

The Stone is also made from a single thing, which contains two, three, and four; for the four Elements are in it, the three Principles, and the two Matters, namely Sulfur and Mercury, which are not common in their Nature, but are the Bodies reduced into this matter; for when perfectly simple, they are useless to us without a clever refining and separation of imperfect things, dissolving little by little, in the philosophical dung, the dregs of Fire, Air, and Water, so that the Stone remains without impurity, and this will be the separation that is spoken of. Separate the Earth from the Fire, and the subtle from the thick with skill, for after the exaltation of this Stone, it must be nourished with a Juice that has emerged from it in the first operation, which is called the Water of the Stone. Thus, a vessel, a matter, and a regimen are enough.

Thus, both at the beginning and at the end, various regimens, vessels, matters, and fires are required, even up to seven Triturations. But as previously stated, since there are several Mercuries, these regimens cause their diversity; and because in this place, I wish to explain the Menstrue closest to the matter of this Stone, know that although the Spirit cannot be joined to the Body, as stated, until the Body has been made of the nature of Spirit by our first Menstrue, which has the Fire against nature, another Menstrue is required, which is the root of our Stone and is converted in it, just as the Matrix to Animals, where they find creation and nourishment. And from this last Mercury, multiplications are made, placing a part of the Elixir on a thousand of that quicksilver and with it fixed in the furnace with slow fire, then increasing it for three natural days, which is the Work of three days; this can be repeated until an infinite multiplication is achieved. Thus, the Art can be spoken of in brief words, but not like other Sciences, but through philosophical understandings; for it cannot be explained otherwise, even if one believed so, without similarity, as noble and admirable as it is. It must also be revealed only with figures and examples: as if to say, take the Earth, grind it with Water, rot it in other Waters and, through various grindings, crush it strongly with Salts, and burn it several times to acquire purity. Likewise, take a part of the Body, and seven or nine, even up to ten of Spirit, which you will place in the vessel in the furnace, where they will remain for forty or fifty days, becoming very white and red, which can be demonstrated through the red-hot iron plate. For if it runs without smoke, then take three parts of red Leaven and two parts of Water and Air, and make an amalgam that you will digest by degrees, from which will emerge a red and transparent crystal. Take a part of it and place it in the crucible, adding drops of its oil, until it is melted and runs without smoke. For then you will have perfection, both in white and red, placing, as stated, one weight of this Elixir on the same weight of red or white Water, following the Elixir as previously described, of which enough has been said, and it should suffice unless you wish to start over in this manner.

Extracted by the crude Spirit, the digested Spirit of the dissolved Body, so that you have a fixed Ash, which you will dissolve further, and then you will find in it the gummy oil of the incombustible stone, called the Soul, which vivifies the united Natures, for you will separate the Natures into Spirit, and gather them together in Oils.

And in these words is the whole Work, beyond what has already been spoken by me. As for the furnace, you have sufficient knowledge, though others still exist which I do not wish to speak of, but they will be required by you if necessary, and if you will diligently heed my warnings; for it will not be up to me if no one succeeds in this Work, but I will guide you as much as I can, provided that greed or laziness do not command you.

For to leave nothing unaddressed that might concern you, I will further elaborate on my furnace, in case the one as it is does not suffice, changing something of it in this manner. Know that, instead of constructing it as previously stated, you should make it only similar to B.C.D.F.L.M.N. and O. For you will remove A.G.H.I. and K. And instead of A, you will create a window similar to that of I. And also for G. and H., if necessary, but overall, ensure that it is tightly sealed so that nothing can escape or enter except by intention, upon which will be firmly placed a vessel similar to F. And whatever is placed with it, so that the vaporous heat of the first furnace enters into the said F, as long as necessary, it may serve for the gentler digestions, but it is important that F. is reinforced externally, because of the Air that will strike against it.

PRAISED BE GOD, AMEN.

God, in Your name, save me.

If you want to know the way

To make the Stone and the Mine,
In Lulle you should see,
It is he who made me know,
And taught me the true creation
Of the same Gold that Nature generates.
But for the Stone, it is necessary
To have the liquid that comes from it.
It is known as a seed,
Of immense strength and virtue,
From which Gold and its Wife
Are led to perfection.
But first you will dissolve it,
And then you will make it into stone.
As Nature and Science
Teach to those with true understanding.
By reducing it to its principles,
This noble and weighty metal;
Just as one dissects the human body
By sections,
To see the secret parts,
Above the qualities that are separated.
For a Seed here
Is the beginning and middle,
And the end of this admirable Work.
It is also, as written,
A Salt, a Water, and a Spirit,
Which, when united together,
Only make one balm, it seems to me,
And then to this perfect balm,
Mercury is given in effect.
Then from them an oil will emerge,
Incombustible without fail.
This is the occasion for more,
That Mercury is no longer recognized
And has devoured, without wings,
The tail of the poisoned Dragon;
Then Mars, by reason,
Puts Mercury in prison
By the light horses of the Camp,
And gives him into the care of Vulcan.
Then the colors appearing,
One after another, are born,
Lead being, then Mars like thunder,
Turns Mercury’s bones to powder.
Then the Moon, in a gray habit
Silvered by the Waters she has taken,
With tears and all in mourning,
Mourns for her husband the Sun.
And praying for his release,
She vexes him beyond all measure.
Nevertheless, Vulcan the Gaoler
Continues his daily Fire.
Until Venus, the beautiful,
Finally arrives, surrounded by her,
A red mantle lined with green,
With her whole lovely Body covered,
Holding in her dangling hands
Highly fragrant Flowers.
Then from the Sky, or Air issuing,
Comes a very powerful Animal.
With several little ones as well,
Whom Vulcan immediately devours.
So does beautiful Venus,
Who would go to him.
And if she cried out with a loud voice,
Women have begotten me without fault.
And my Seed in all places,
On this side, beyond, scattered;
But their Soul uniting in me,
I will feed on their Blood.
Then he and his little ones together,
Whom it is said resemble strong Gold,
Locked themselves in a room,
And shut the door behind them:
Eating far more still,
Than he had done until now.
So well that he had done,
This first oil indeed,
Incombustible and delectable,
Which some have named Potable Gold.
Then came a transparent Old Man,
Seizing this Animal,
From whom the thing ends here,
That all is laid out here
In this following discourse finally,
To which I now put an end
To tell you that if you are Wise,
Here you will make your apprenticeship
Of the greatest Secret ever
Taught by the Wise Hermes.

God be blessed, Amen.

BOOK FIVE

First Chapter of Theory

My very dear and natural Son,

Although previously, paternal love has led me to reveal to you many great and marvelous things—things that no man has ever so clearly spoken of—I have always obscured them through figurative similitudes. This was done to mislead the unworthy who seek this noble Art and to instruct the true Children of Science. I command you to keep this knowledge in silence and reveal it to no man, under pain of damnation, as we have been charged by those from whom we received it. For otherwise, all things would be debased on Earth. Keep it in your heart, for if not, I would not teach you further. He who holds this knowledge will grant you full understanding and explanation.

For even if you had a certain truth of this Art, it still has many faces, from which this present Theory will protect you, provided that you are a true imitator of doctrine and piety.

For when, by your own hands, you shall see the entire Work brought to completion, you shall not be more knowledgeable for that alone, if your conscience is tainted. Deviation will befall any man who believes he can usurp this knowledge, and he will never reach the true outcome of his practices, no matter how clever he is or how straight a path he follows. Many have been cast away from this Art because of their vices, even though they had experienced its truth.

This is why the Jews and Arabs have lost it, as they were deemed unworthy, though they once held it through tradition, like the Kabbalistic tradition. This knowledge was given by the Almighty to Moses on Mount Sinai and was passed down from father to son, without writing, until Ezra. From Ezra to King David, it was preserved through certain symbols and characters hidden within the sacred histories of the Hebrews, so that by this knowledge, the great and marvelous edifice of the Temple of God could be constructed. However, King David, corrupting his ways through impurity, was not only deprived of this Art but was also denied the sight of that beautiful construction.

I tell you this as it has been taught to me, through a certain copy of this Judaic Kabbalistic tradition, which was once called Magic—the philosophical Science. It was this knowledge that Hermes, Pythagoras, Numa Pompilius, and many others taught to the youth, not merely for the understanding of this Science or the Art of the Stone, but for all knowledge of Nature, its harmony, and understanding. It was also meant to reveal the occult and hidden things to men, by uniting the superior and inferior realms in a true marriage.

And by naturally applying active things to passive ones, marvelous things come to be—things that are admirable to see and hear, and others that are considered miraculous, such as making roses and grapes grow in March or instantly bringing forth various reptiles and animals upon the Earth. Likewise, rains and thunder can be produced, which has led rural folk to believe that this Magic came from Satan, changing the term "Magic" into "Witchcraft" and "Enchantment."

Such learned Philosophers were Hermes, Joseph, Amanadus, Ptolemy, Apollonius, and many others, too numerous to name. But above all, King Solomon, the son of David, was such a wise and subtle man that he could argue and debate from the highest cedar of Lebanon to the smallest leaf of hyssop.

Likewise, those who, at the birth of the Son of God, came to present Him with mysterious gifts appropriate to His greatness and to the depth of their doctrine were also among them. Since then, many have labored in this Art, such as Arnold, Bacon, and many others, among whom the good Lullus, of blessed memory, was highly esteemed—especially for his Testament and Codicil.

For even though I have given you this Science well-written, do not be surprised if, in these writings, some points remain obscure to the ignorant. For whoever would reveal this knowledge in such a way that the whole world could practice it would deserve more Hell and damnation than there are blades of grass upon the Earth.

And when Flamel received the explanation of his Tablets from a Jew, he still took a long time before truly attaining the knowledge. For every worker, no matter how well taught, must contribute greatly with labor, patience, and firm Faith in God.

Thus, do not be troubled by these obscurities. Entrust your care to them, and to my Writings—yet above all, to those of Lullus, whom I so highly recommend, for it is impossible for me to say everything, even though everything has already been said by me, though not in succession, but according to reason and knowledge.

For, as has been said, Labor itself will be your teaching, provided you follow the right path, first considering what it is you seek, for what purpose, and by what means. And I am not surprised that so few today attain this Art, given the eagerness, disbelief, and impatience of its Seekers, who would like it to come to them without inquiry and to be achieved without putting their hands to work. For there are some who would not even take the time or effort to put it into practice, even if it were made clearer to them than I have given it to you.

Alas! A poor student is so bound to a book that it will grant him only a single word of this precious Art. And yet you, ignorant one, believe you can attain it without effort and through the labor of others! Cursed indeed would be the one who, after consuming his time and youth in its pursuit, would place it in the hands of such an idle and lazy man. For no worldly matter can be compared to this one.

Therefore, abandon all other distractions and devote yourself entirely to it—or else, turn away from it completely.

Thus, my dear Child, with the same affection as before, I wish to leave you this little Treatise, through which you will be instructed by way of theory in the most essential points—points that may have been omitted or obscured in my previous Treatises.

Chapter 2

The knowledge of this noble Art has come to us through books, both Theoretical and Practical, such as the Treatise of the Judaic Kabbalah, which the Lord gave to Moses to be carefully preserved among the Children of God. To them was given the perfect knowledge of all Nature, both inferior and superior, through which, as has been said, the Children are instructed to unite things according to their own kind and species, in order to produce things of their Nature—wondrous to behold and understand.

Thus, many, as has been mentioned, through this knowledge, have performed miracles—like the Magicians of Pharaoh, who opposed the miracles of Moses. According to some, this Science has existed since the time of the Flood. But this natural knowledge is divided into several parts, the first of which is the understanding of the stars and the conjunction of the superior and inferior Elements, such as the generation of rain and thunder, as well as of reptiles and insects, through the powerful force of Nature. However, we do not intend to discuss this, but rather the second division, which is our main focus. Though it shares the same principles and objects as the first, it is, in part, more restricted, being bound to certain natural Bodies, whereas the first is free and directed only by the will of the worker.

The third division concerns the occult Virtues of Animals and Plants, which rural and worldly Physicians claim to understand well. This knowledge derives from and depends on the second. Through it, every Artist may gain understanding. This second division is the Stone in all its circumstances. Though it exists everywhere, it is found most perfectly in Gold alone. For in Gold is enclosed all the power of Nature, which is called Sulfur, or Fire. It is an astral Virtue that, after many circulations within the Earth, condenses and thickens through a double force combined with the moisture of the Air, which adheres to it in proportion. Thus, Gold is the Universal Medicine and the Fountain of Life.

To obtain this Medicine, one must first consider what one seeks and by what path one intends to proceed. For to produce a tree, one must operate naturally, using living Natures—ones that have vigor and a growing virtue, like the Tree itself. The Tree has within it a soul that draws nourishment from the Earth and multiplies trees. This nourishment is nothing but subtle Earth mixed with Water, which secretly contains a small portion of Sulfur. This Fire causes the Earth and Water to rise to follow their Companion, which is already within the wood, through a certain attractive Virtue and affinity. And as soon as this aqueous Earth enters the wood through the fine ends of its roots, it begins to take on the nature of wood and transform into wood. For the denser part of the Earth, carried by the Water, remains in the trunk or branches to aid their growth, while the most subtle part ascends to form leaves.

And when the Water no longer has the strength to rise, it carries with it a subtle vapor that becomes a flower; then, thickening, it forms into fruit, at the center of which small seeds develop. In these seeds, the Soul is imagined through the power of Fire, just as it is present in the entirety of the Tree. This Soul, maturing through the Virtue of the Sun, comes into being and attains the power of the Soul. Thus, the species is continued through its seed. By this same analogy, Gold has an imagined seed, through which it can be multiplied and made into a Medicine for imperfect Bodies.

But common Gold is as if dead and contains no seed within itself, for it is like grass uprooted before its season. Yet, if one could replant this grass and allow it to mature, it would bear seed. The multiplication of plants lies within the plants themselves. And if a plant bears no seed because it has not received enough nourishment from the Earth, we must seek that seed in a greener, fresher plant—just as some seek it in imperfect Metals, which are cruder and greener than Gold and Silver. Others, being more subtle than Nature itself, seek it in the four primordial Elements, believing that Nature could as easily create a horse as a Metal. Some even attempt to take the First Matter of all things, failing to recognize that Nature lacks the power to create anew, for that power belongs to God alone.

For it pleased Him to create all things in the World from the First Matter and to give Nature power over the second—that is, over the seed. Though at times it may seem that things emerge from the Earth without seed, this is only because certain places or materials have the power to give form to new things without direct seeding—such as worms that arise in wood. In such cases, the species can arise from the material, not from a prior being of the same species. But this does not occur through the universal First Matter alone; rather, it is due to a Sulfur contained within that Matter, which has the power and virtue to produce a specific species.

For all Sulfur is male and acts as a ferment, which transforms the First Matter. However, we provide it with the second. Nature has given me my Body, but without my seed, it is impossible for Nature to create another like me. For all things are generated from Male and Female. And though, in order to first dissolve and open the Body of Gold, a moisture is needed—one that acts as a female—it bears within itself, hermaphroditically, both male and female, just as Plants do. Plants require no external female other than the Earth in which they are planted. Likewise, Gold alone is sufficient, for nothing enters into it except what is already within it—though I have said that the Stone can be made from all things. This is true, but in a different way, for first, we must obtain what we call the Stone.

Now, the Stone is nothing other than the very pure Quintessence of each thing, which is freed and extracted from its impure Earth, which held it bound within. This Quintessence is nothing but a virtue and a substance invisible to the bodily eye, which cannot sustain itself without a Body—just as the Soul of man cannot exist without one. Therefore, this most noble Quintessence requires a Body that is exceedingly subtle and close in nature to its own refined substance. Once this Quintessence is embodied, it becomes a marvelous medicine for all diseases, to a greater or lesser degree. But Gold possesses this Quintessence more perfectly than any other Body, due to its long and perfect digestion within the bowels of the Earth, where its Body is formed. Though common people call this Body "Gold," it is, in truth, nothing more than Earth.

For, as it is said, this Quintessence, or the Philosopher’s Gold, is invisible to the bodily eyes, and nothing is perceived but Earth in the Gold, just as the Soul of man is only evident through its effects and faculties. All things are composed of three things: namely Earth, which forms the Body; Water, which forms the Spirit; and Fire, which forms the Soul. Gold is made of this composition, for although the Earth is very pure, it is still only Earth shining by the Virtue of Water and Fire. For, as it has been said, from that Gold, this splendor, this Earth will be of little value.

Gold, therefore, having been composed of these three things, still holds in itself these three things, and can, after a more accomplished digestion, convert other matter to its substance, depending on the extent of that digestion, for it has within it a seed, like all other things.

Thus, as in the analogy of the Apple, which is neither an apple tree nor even a semblance of it, and whoever believes planting an apple will result in an apple tree would be mistaken. For the Apple is a Body made of Earth and Water, coagulated by the Sulfur of the apple tree, and it has no virtue to produce its like; but whoever opens this Apple will find within it the sperm, at the center of which is the seed capable of producing an apple tree. Gold, therefore, without deception, is the Matter from which the Matter of the Philosophers is drawn, for it is the Earth from which the Earth is drawn, in which the Philosopher’s Gold is sown. This means the spirituality already declared, without anything foreign being mixed into that Gold.

That is why I have so strongly recommended the Theory, which imbues reason in the heart of man, for the cause and fear of the ignorant peasants. For it is not that mixtures cannot be made from some Metals; but know for certain, that no Body can mix perfectly unless they are merely differential and impure Earths. But Spirits penetrate together. And it suffices you.

But I have said that all things are generated from two, and although Gold contains the two, another Spirit opens the entrance and the door to the supreme Heaven, which can be found in every elemental Body and is called the repupu, the Southern Bird, more radiant than fine Gold, and yet it makes its nest in retreats, just as it is contained in Gold. And so it is precious.

Thus, this thing is both noble and vile, that is to say, vile in its corruption and noble in its generation. For corruption never comes without a nobler generation following it. And so Nature improves all things daily until a certain limit, and then leaves them. But the Artist must resemble it, and if he believes to imitate it, let him imitate boldly; but if he believes to perfect it, let him consider with what it perfects things, and he will find that it is always with similar things.

As an analogy, whoever would wish to improve Nature in order to obtain good fruits, should graft fruit of the same Nature and not of another species, nor on a different Nature, like apple tree on apple tree. It is true that in Nature monsters can be born, through a terrible mixture of rational beings with brute ones, like grafting an apple tree on a pear tree, but always still according to Nature, meaning from Animal to Animal, from Plant to Plant, and even more closely related, like pear trees on pear trees and not on oaks or other trees of a contrary nature. But Metals are very noble or very imperfect, and do not believe you can improve the best by the worst, but rather refine and penetrate more and more by the help and means of the simple Matter, which is Nature, for fear that the union of a foreign thing might mix with our Matter and infect it, rather than purify it. For, as it has been said, each thing remains in its own realm without passing into another, each multiplying according to its species.

Chapter 3

Nature is very simple, and does not operate in diverse ways, but with the same Vessels and Materials in her operations. For the higher is like the lower, and the reverse. This means that they are made of a single and unique Matter, and through the same regime, while still keeping the order and observance of different regimes. For animal Sulfur will no longer have the power to freeze vegetable Mercury, nor will the Vegetable freeze the Animal, nor will either coagulate, or be coagulated by Sulfur or by mineral Mercury.

Thus, those are mistaken who believe they can extract their first matter from the Vegetable, relying on the fact that our Stone is said to be vegetable, or from the Animal, since it is called animal. For the Animal remains in the animal kingdom, the Vegetable in the vegetable, and the Mineral in the mineral, although animal substance can be converted to vegetable by the transformation of one Nature into another, according to the digestion of the convertible. But already the Metal will not become Vegetable or Animal, nor will the Animal and Vegetable become Mineral. For the Metal remains in its metallic Nature; so that it may go to one or the other, but it is through the Medicine of the perfect Elixir or the perfect Stone. Thus, when we say that our Stone is vegetable, we mean it because it depends on universal and vegetable Nature, which causes in it new vegetation and new life. It is also called vegetable, as it penetrates the Vegetables and repairs the Nature of vegetables, as is shown in Lulle in the virtue of his medicines. And the reason we call it animal is because it is composed of Body, Soul, and Spirit, and is an antidote and medicine to both Animals and Vegetables.

For it prolongs the lives of men, and restores their youth, although it is primarily mineral; but by successive degrees, it reaches animation, just as one reaches decay, with one leading to vegetation and the other to animation. This is why it is said that the Work is done in two nights and three days. The days being a likeness of the three kingdoms, and the nights representing the decay which is the dissolutions highly recommended, for although there are several dissolutions, there are only two types, one being rural and violent, the other gentle and philosophical, under which they are both included.

These three Stones are also represented in the Work by the three Sulfurs of the three kingdoms. For through the mineral Stone, or mineral degree, comes the color of metallic Sulfur; through the vegetable degree, comes the Coagulation and odor of vegetable Sulfur; and through the animal degree, attaining this perfection, through these degrees, on these kingdoms as well as on the Metals, to strip them of their impurity and filth, making the Hidden manifest, and perfectly perfecting what has hidden perfection, outside the mud of the Earth, on the vegetables, through a repair and restoration of the lost and consumed vital humor, by the debilitation and short duration of these Vegetables. And on the Animals, through a Separating Virtue of the pure from the impure, which impurity causes corruption in our Bodies, and diminishes the radical moisture and natural heat of them. Thus restoring health, reestablishing youth, and better arranging the Body proportionally in its Elements.

So that the exterior, which appears weakened by the interior weakness, regains its original greenness, both in Vegetables and Animals; and is, through this Medicine, stripped of the accidental inconveniences that had come to it because of the superfluous and corrupting humors, or astral dryness, from a weak and languishing nature.

This is why the Wise Doctors forbid the use of Gold in chemistry for medicines, because it has not been stripped of its Fire against nature, and has not attained these perfections through those decays which perfectly separate these things.

Chapter 4

But I have said that nothing is primarily generated from a single matter, because a matter has no movement, nor can it act upon itself. Therefore, it is necessary to have two matters of different natures, which are like Male and Female, though, as mentioned, some things are hermaphroditic and carry both male and female within them, such as Metals and Vegetables. However, in these, there must be one matter that acts as the female, and it is called menstruum because the matter corrupts in it, and from this corruption is born another Menstruum that is closer and more akin to the metallic matter than the one descended from the very general kind, from which and in which the Philosopher’s Child is born, through the seed of the first Male, which, as mentioned, attracts and converts all the virtue of this menstruum into its primary substance.

But to truly understand the order of Nature in Metals through their generation, I will repeat that all things in the World are composed of four elements: hot, cold, dry, and moist, which have descended primarily from heat and cold, which, according to Parmenides, are the two principles of Nature, but through the middle conversions of one to the other; these are Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Fire is hot and dry; Air is moist and hot; Water is cold and moist, and Earth is dry and cold.

That is why Fire can be made into Air, due to their correspondence and because heat is the medium between them. Air makes Water through humidity, similarly, it is the medium between Air and Water. And Water makes Earth through coldness, which is the medium between Earth and Water, both sharing this coldness. Thus, Fire, in this manner, forms an alliance with Air by losing its heat, and Air with Water through humidity, and Water with Earth through coldness. Therefore, that Fire, descending from one to the other, is carried, as said, to the center of the Earth, which is like a point to which everything converges.

And this center, thus agitated from all sides, sends forth its flames toward the surface of the Earth, but in a vaporous form, whereas when descending, it was in the form of Water, and this through other regions, so as not to impede the natural circulation. And this vapor, having been cleansed, heats the places through which it passes, until it reaches a place greatly purified by the previous vapors, where it joins with the very subtle, hot, and moist Earth, like grease. Then this vapor joins with this grease, and together they corrupt. So that from the two arises a slimy unctuousness, which, descending from the very general kind, enters the Mineral kingdom, which some call Calcaduc or Green Lizard, and then descends and reaches flowing metallic Mercury, which contains within itself its own Sulfur of Gold, Silver, or other metals, according to the purity or impurity of the Earth of that place, and which, finally, through perfect decoction, is converted into the Metal of its destination. But if this vapor and grease had never met, Metal would never have been made; each alone is not sufficient for the generation of that Metal, although both have primarily descended from one, by the conversion of that metallic greasy substance in those metallic Earths, which already thicken this vapor, and make it greasy. Thus, Metal is made when such a meeting occurs in a place proper and suitable for these digestions. Just as in a vaulted mountain, like a furnace, because the vapors that always rise are trapped there and cannot escape, and because the Waters and rains that roll and flow around these Mountains never make delay or linger on them; for in level places like plains, no Mine has ever been found, because the rains, making a lingering there, finally enter these Earths, leaving the surface of them deprived, only suitable for simple Vegetations, but always the Sun, the father and first cause of things, restores by its rays the debilitate Virtue.

For these rays and vapors have an alliance and attraction between them, and through these rays, the vapors, as mentioned, are restored to produce herbs, trees, wheat, and other similar things, because everything that is of them rises, and nothing is born in the World in any other way. Thus, sheltered from the winds and rain, Metals are generated, as the Fire acts more powerfully and naturally there than it would in an exposed place, where the Air and Waters cause hindrance; for this Fire accomplishes the intention of Nature, and this Fire is considered in this way, namely, in the form in which it is enclosed like in all kinds of seeds, and is generated from the Sun, as I have explained in more detail; but another is the underground Fire, which, proceeding from the Center or the things that move it there, excites and provokes this material Fire to extend and multiply its Powers more powerfully.

But the Fire of putrefaction is the third Fire, which can be considered by the similarity of several herbs gathered together, which, by the virtue of the Air, heat up together, move each other, and thus provoke their moisture to act against one another through the heat imagined by the Air. Through this heating and penetrating warmth, until it can cook Eggs, they corrupt with the help of the moisture, and together they rot these herbs. For each thing carries its Fire within itself, and at its Center. And this Fire is the Fire of Nature, contained within each thing. Thus, our Composition must have its Fire, which will be raised gradually, without destruction, by the work of the artisan. This Fire, when it encounters the said Menstruum, will lead the Matter to corruption; for this Menstruum, provoked by the Artisan, will gently prick the Fire of the Matter, and between them, a long battle will ensue, the outcome of which will be glorious, if the Fire of the Matter overcomes the Fire of the Menstruum. This will inevitably happen if it is not driven too fiercely, and if the Artisan takes care in guarding the work of the Lord.

Chapter 5

All those who have written about the noble Stone have rather confused the Students than taught the true operation of it, and yet many have reached this Science through Books. For the Wise have judged that it should suffice to hear and know without further understanding that there is a Stone of great Virtue, because every person of sound mind, based on the simple sayings of the Philosophers, should imagine great things, not only by their effects but by natural reasons. Just as when you have no other knowledge except that there is a Virtue that separates pure things from impure ones, and that converts the impure into the pure. Which has a more particular power over Metals, would it not be sufficient to make you understand that its origin must be from those Metals?

For if you know the Nature of things, you will know that each Sulfur only has the power to coagulate its Mercury, and it is impossible and unnatural to join the Lion to the Man, or the Man to the Metal. And when someone says that the noblest Virtue in Nature must proceed from Man, since Man is the noblest Body in Nature, I would respond: No Body is perfect as long as the Spirit is not; but although perfection belongs to the Bodies, from these Bodies we seek only this separating Virtue. And when we wish to extract it from these, it will never appear to our eyes except through the means of its Body, however small it may be, which will always be a ferment, drawing all things little by little to its Nature. And although the perfect Elixir has only the separating Virtue, it must always be penetrating and must also have the Fixative Virtue: otherwise, Quick silver would not become Gold in its projection. This Fixative Virtue only comes from the earthly Sulfur of Gold, which fixes and multiplies this Quick silver in our Work, settling and remaining at the deepest levels of imperfect Natures, to give perfection to them as Leaven; that is to say, until Nature has accomplished it, bringing this Multiplying Virtue according to the degrees of digestion of our Work.

This well considered, and knowing that the most perfect of all Metals is Gold or Silver; in some other matter, would you believe you could find this noble and powerful Virtue other than in Gold? And even if you did not know that this noble Metal contains within its secret both Virtues together, the fixed and the volatile, from which it was originally generated, and which by their diverse properties and contrary qualities corrupt one another, from this corruption emerging a new generation purer and more excellent than the first.

Since the first Gold, as said, was originally created and composed of these two contrary Virtues, and therefore, being made of two things, is subject to death. This is not the case with that which is born of a single thing; for it is also called the Phoenix, having the power to resurrect itself and take a second birth in its Ashes, and at the very least, to purify this Metal of its superfluities, as much as the Artist can, but always through the way of Nature.

This way, already declared, is nothing but putrefaction and purification, from which putrefaction all generation arises; according to each species and individual, and to reach this putrefaction, one must consider not adding to the Metal another Metal or foreign powder, but something very close and akin to its Nature.

For the one who is a good and natural Philosopher, with a keen mind, must imaginatively penetrate the secret of the more occult things. You will know this by the similarity of similar things; for Nature is not diverse in what it makes, but all things are of the same composition of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, where there are Sulfur, Salt, and Mercury. For although Gold is very tightly bound in its parts, and seems indivisible, yet it is constructed of these things, just like all others in Nature; for the low is like the high, and what is generated on Earth and in the Air is not different generations; that of wood and wheat, or of Man; just as that of Flies, Thunder, and Metals, according to the more or less spirituality or corporeality, and by the center and interior of one, one can know the center and interior of the other.

And if you were to say that to see the center and interior of wood, it would be necessary to corrupt it from its original form, so that it could no longer be wood, I would respond: I have already told you that there are two types of dissolutions, one violent and the other natural; that is, one that corrupts, and the other that preserves the species. However, both can yield some fruit. For if one preserves the species, the other still succeeds in separating the earthly superfluities from the compound, leaving only the things that carry the Virtues, from which the ancient wise Philosophers made marvelous things.

But if you doubt losing the specific form of wood in the devouring flames of Fire, perform your separation in Water; and if the Water is not strong enough to corrupt, add Fire to it. And if then you have not removed from the matter the specific form of wood, at least you will have given it a much more noble one than the first, which will be that of the Animal; as it happens in our Work.

Know then that at the beginning, a perpetual dew flows from the Sky to the Earth, which generates in its depths the Metals and the Minerals, and on its surface and outside of it, the Vegetables and Animals of all species, of which the most excellent of all is Man. This is what you must know and understand to realize how many things are in Nature, and from what they are originally derived; so that you can later discover where the universal power of things consists, in which all the secret of the Art is hidden.

These things thus well known, a subtle mind will be able to do miraculous things in Nature, as I have said of the Jewish Cabala. For in the past, by fully understanding this Science, many miracles were performed, such as commanding Nature and the Elements. This is what the miserable Jews believed to attribute to the miracles of Christ, which were made by the virtue and skill of this Science, by which, as unworthy, they lost it, and it was passed on to the Christians, who now possess it, and will use it for the honor and glory of the Lord; thus, as it is required, every Man who dedicates himself to it must first conform to His Will, then he will find glory. For I have left you in writing sufficient things, if you are a good Man.

Now, you must first purify your Gold, then dissolve and reduce it into an extremely fine powder; then from it, extract a white volatile Spirit like snow, and another red one like blood, which will together engender a third, in a continuously humid heat.

But our Work primarily consists of four operations: dissolution, ablution, conjunction, and fixation. These four are nothing more than dissolving and freezing; in dissolution, the parts are divided, and the entire matter becomes black; in ablution, the parts are assembled and begin to whiten.

In conjunction, a new blackness appears; and in fixation, all the Elements are fixed. These four parts are divided into twelve degrees, the first of which is the calcination of the Body, which the Ancients symbolized by a Dragon asleep in Fire, guarded by an Old Man, who is the virtue of Sulfur retained in the Soul, which Demogorgon of the Earth awakens through our Mars, proclaimed by some as Magnet, which is the first simple matter, or Air. For then the Earth causes the separation of those materials, which are the Sun and the Moon. In the second degree, which is dissolution, a fierce beast devours our Sun in the presence of our Magnet. It sets upon seven beautiful flowers, but Fire resolves through sweat and takes better birth. In the third degree, which is separation, Mercury separates the feminine parts, which are those of the Body, those of the Spirit, that is to say, the two Magnets.

The fourth is conjunction, where, with Water set apart, the Old Man unites Man to Woman, and through gentle dews, many colors appear. The fifth degree is Putrefaction, or blackness. The sixth is Freezing, the seventh, libation, where the Child is nourished three times with suitable milk. The eighth, Sublimation, where Gold and Silver are exalted; but at the degree of fermentation, which is the ninth, the seed is sown in the Earth, and the Sun and the Moon, which Saturn had slain, are resurrected and go to great brilliance, which is the tenth degree.

The eleventh and twelfth degrees have been preached and praised by me, which are multiplication and projection. It remains to mention the degrees of heat, which should be considered based on the temperature of the Air, from Aries to Cancer, from Cancer to Libra, and from Libra to Capricorn. But note that the seven Rivers that are in the Work are the seven imbibitions that Nicolas Flamel mentions many times. These seven imbibitions are repeated twice. And suffice it for you what I have said: for as it is said, if I were to explain more clearly, both the Wise and the Fool would come, and the Fool would be just as capable of understanding as the Wise, and I would deserve damnation for risking something that could never be repaired once it was known. That is why nothing has ever been written, nor will be written more clearly. But if you cannot understand what I say with paternal love and Truth, work boldly, as all those who have known it have done; for no man has ever spoken more clearly, regardless of the teachings given, than simply and superficially, not successively, to avoid all inconvenience.

For all the operations are sufficiently detailed in Lulle’s writings. I command you to follow them so that I leave you a Book where little is obscure. But I have just declared things that the greatest Kings of the Earth should value more than their own Empires. And guard it carefully, so that no one lays eyes on it, and when death comes to you, if you have not yet done so, burn my Book before you, according to which, if you have not already believed my previous writings, take those of Lulle and separate the grain from the chaff, until no contradiction remains.

But for the furnace and the Fire, I leave you three types: one from the Lamp, another from manure, and another from charcoal. And in that furnace, there are as many differences as there are between the bath, the Water, or the Air simply heated and tempered by a wooden globe that fits precisely, in which I place more trust than in the other. So, everything is one, provided that you know how to measure the Fire, and not in haste, which has caused the loss of many artisans. Thus, I pray and exhort you, as much as is possible for me, to observe my commandments, so that God may be blessed and honored, to whom honor and glory be given for ever and ever.

AMEN.