The Fountain of Science Lovers

Compiled by Maître Jean de la Fontaine de Valenciennes.
Revised & edited in its entirety with the Figures, by maîtres
Antoine du Moulin Masconnois.



IN LYON,

By Iean de Tournes.

1545

Antoine du Moulin Masconnois


To the reader.

Domitian Emperor of Rome knowing that the Egyptians were great Philosophers and Inquisitors of the secrets of Nature, and among other things, that they had a true and perfect science of metallic transmutations, by means of which they amassed several riches: & fearing that they would trust in their treasures thus and by such means amassed, they did not want some day to wage war and rise against the Romans: they did such and so good diligence, that he had assembled and amassed all the books dealing with the said things, of which the said Egyptians had them a large number:

Then made them burn. Also since then the Emperors have by decree publicly prohibited and defended this science. We find these stories, that a Philosopher found among things, the means to make glass malleable, so soft and tempered that it could be used to make all kinds of dishes.

This having come to the notice of Tiberius Cesar Emperor, he had the glass work made by the said Philosopher abolished and completely destroyed, and then burned the piece itself.

For this reason we should not be surprised that few people of our time have knowledge of it: because the main works, which are like tutors, or silent masters, have been hidden for so long a time, and what by chance has remained to us, is written in such obscure terms that it is almost impossible to have the true interpretation of it, if it is not the goodness of God, which inspires it in the brains of good people, & lovers of the daughter of God Nature, or else that the intelligence in be given and abandoned from Pere to Filz as hereditary.

For as the Italian Polyphile en ha writes very obscurely, if he is the author of the Romant de la Rose, which work hopes to shine a clear light according to the most correct and ancient copies, with certain figures coming at the right time, and as necessary.

Also of this alkimic subject the present author in ha writes quite obscurely, but nevertheless more sourly than the others, especially since he wrote in French rhyme, in some places a little difficult & constrained because of the subtle subject, and also that it was required be obscure in certain places, in order not to prophane science, & mechanically divulge the secrets & mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII.

which work hopes to bring to light clearly according to the most correct and ancient examples, with certain figures coming at the right time, and as necessary. Also of this alkimic subject the present author in ha writes quite obscurely, but nevertheless more sourly than the others, especially since he wrote in French rhyme, in some places a little difficult & constrained because of the subtle subject, and also that it was required be obscure in certain places, in order not to prophane science, & mechanically divulge the secrets & mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII.

which work hopes to bring to light clearly according to the most correct and ancient examples, with certain figures coming at the right time, and as necessary. Also of this alkimic subject the present author in ha writes quite obscurely, but nevertheless more sourly than the others, especially since he wrote in French rhyme, in some places a little difficult & constrained because of the subtle subject, and also that it was required be obscure in certain places, in order not to prophane science, & mechanically divulge the secrets & mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII.

Also of this alkimic subject the present author in ha writes quite obscurely, but nevertheless more sourly than the others, especially since he wrote in French rhyme, in some places a little difficult & constrained because of the subtle subject, and also that it was required be obscure in certain places, in order not to prophane science, & mechanically divulge the secrets & mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII.

Also of this alkimic subject the present author in ha writes quite obscurely, but nevertheless more sourly than the others, especially since he wrote in French rhyme, in some places a little difficult & constrained because of the subtle subject, and also that it was required be obscure in certain places, in order not to prophane science, & mechanically divulge the secrets & mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII. in order not to prophane science, and mechanically divulge the secrets and mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII. in order not to prophane science, and mechanically divulge the secrets and mysteries of such an art so high, so noble, and so divine, and as if surmounting Nature itself. From Lyon to the house of Ian Tournes this V of July MDXLVII.

---

1
It was at the time of the month of May,
that we had to mourn and mourn,
that he entered into an orchard
of which Zephyrus was the gardener.
When the gardener passed by,
But I was not dressed in silk,
So I was dressed in knots,
And in very badly worn sheets.
And for my displeasure,
I went to frolic and play.
I heard the song of an oyslet
In front of the little garden:
So I looked at the entrance
to the garden, which was closed.
Then it seemed to me
that Zephirus would break him;
And then entered into a withdrawal,
Showing what he would not have done.
And when I see this way,
He pulled me back a little,
and then entered inside.
I haven't eaten teeth since the day;
There is a great thirst and great hunger:
But I would have had bread with me,
That I would keep it a week.
Then perceived a Fontaine,
Who was under a Aubespine.
Of very cold water, pure and fine,
When I humbly sat down,
And of my bread made soups there,
Then I fell asleep, after eating,
Dened the lover's orchard.
Now you will be able to know from my dream,
If after I found it a lie,
My power will tell you,
And what aduction I thought:
But according to my understanding,
I slept quite long,
For the pleasure that
Euz took in the dream that he dreamed,
And through the dreams Daniel,
I can represent
my dream well and beautifully as you say,
After hearing what I want.
It is true, if what has happened to me,

2
That a Lady, who had the heart of my life,
came to me in my dream.
Knowing how he can tell me:
Another had in his company,
Who goes through many a Barony.
Mise was in many noble surroundings,
Rich enough for a Senatour:
Towards me came very gently. One spoke first
Of a reason so gracious,
So pleasant, and so virtuous,
So loving and so benign,
Many gently began to speak,
And I listened to him well,
And when his reason had come to an end,
I asked them Noble ladies,
May God save you in body and soul,
Please tell me your names,
Do not see me driven away .
Then says one, we will say:
This will not lead you.
It's a pleasure to tell you.
Amy I have my Knowledge,
And here is Reason with me,
Who companions me in noble district.
God has left you transmitted to us,
Without long space to have put it,
So we must go elsewhere,
If you listen well to speaking to us.
As reason said,
Everything in my dream seemed to me,
That in this lonely place I am,
And many form me wrath
of what was due to me:
For at bedtime I would not have seen
At the Fountain of empres me,
Seven Streams of many noble irrigated:
For none of the seven I did not see,
Until my dream saw them:
And of all the seven there were many
ties of which I was much amazed,
Well there was something to choose from.
Then requested Lady Reason,
Who with Knowledge was,
And who brought him to this place,

3
That she would willingly
tell me the significance of it,
And the Fountain began
From which he came gently:
And to whom was the rotten one ,
Who was so well undertaken
Of trees and flowers, and of streams,
Who are so loving and beautiful,
That none but the like live.
It seemed like Paradise to me.
So say I, Honored Lady,
I am glad that you have found
To tell me what I ask:
I believe that God through you commands it,
And that you are his messengers.
Well know the manners.
Amy, said Reason, you say you see,
I want you to know.
Or hear something even,
Of the seven beautiful Streams the story.
In the Fountain there is one thing,
Which is very nobly enclosed.
He who knew it well
would love it above all others.
Whoever wants to dig it up and square it,
Then dig it up and put it in the ground
, Ditch it in a small powder keg,
Then dissolve it in its back water,
But let them know so many parts.
Then assembled the parts,
Which the earth would feed
In its water it must rot,
And from it must be born a virgin
Full of double-breasted fruit,
Who would leave the rottenness
Of which she does not care.
The candle that I deuise
Si fist and ard in many ways:
For high rises in the flying air,
Then descends low in the current valley,
And in descending Fashion,
Fashion that Nature gives it.
He is a Dragon who has three ghouls:
Families don't get drunk:
But they might as well chase and hunt.


4
Grease which runs over his face.
There it blackens and goes away,
Then compresses it and mengues it,
And the wholesomeness itself:
This done lovingly.
More powerful than two large sums:
After drinking apple juice.
So it succeeds in its own way.
Often drinks and rejoices behind,
As long as the crystal is clearer.
For real the fact is there.
And when he is thus shining, In high pitch very strong and powerful,
He thinks to deuorate his mother,
Who ate his brother and father
So like the milkweed and couue
The Dragon the pride of his coucouage.
His mother in two parts leaves,
Who taught him this art:
And then he looses three ghouls,
Who took him sooner than garghouls:
So is the most powerful in the world.
There is never anything that confuses him.
Merueilleux is strong and powerful.
One ounce in one hundred vaults of gold weighing.
It is a fruit of such a nature
that it passes all decay,
and transmutes into another substance,
when it attains its semblance.
And heal all illness,
Apostume, leprosy, and gout:
And your old body gives youth,
And your young, sense and joy.
It's like God's miracle.
This cannot make the triacle,
Do nothing that is under the Hole in the Sky,
Fors ceste, which is approved
by the ancient Prophets
and by Phisicians.
But we no longer dare to question him,
For fear of the Lords of the earth;
But do not admit such a wicked person,
for this can be done without sin.
Many Sages loved it;
Mauldissoit who defamed him.

5
For it must only be reueled
to those who want to love God:
And who love well, have victory
To serve God, to love, or to believe:
For he to whom God gives space,
To live as long as he has the grace
of 'to have this plowed work,
To have the impregnated grace of God
In itself; definitely know.
Of which prayer must be deuotment
For the holy men who have put it
In writing according to their divinity;
Philosophers and saints, great men,
whose sums I cannot tell,
but God to them all, mercy,
who have worked so far:
And those who love science ,
God owes them good and patience.
I must know that this Serpent,
Which I told you first,
Is governed by seven Streams,
Which are so loving and beautiful,
This is how I wanted to represent it,
But otherwise I saw it named:
Fact is by scientific work,
It is a precious stone,
in which virtue abounds
More than anything in the world:
For it is made by Astronomy
And by true Philosophy.
And let us continue in the mountains,
where nothing strange grows.
Hide the proven truth,
Several wise men have found it there.
Philosophers in the stone,
Who are so loving and dear.
Still it can be found
For pain of plowing well,
Sowing I can have it.
She is better than anyone else.
But you will have endured much pain,
So trust that you have found it.
And when you have it, and you hold it,
In the world you no longer owe anything:
May you have found it.

6
And when you have it, and you hold it,
In the world you no longer need anything:
Paradise you can gain.
You don't have to retract it anymore.
But I told you about La Fontaine
Who is so loving and healthy.
This Fountain of value
belongs to a Lady of Honor,
Whom Nature is called,
Who must be greatly honored
For by her all things are made,
And if she fails, it is soon undone.
Long time that
this Lady was established, I affirm to you:
For as soon as God had made
The Elements which are perfect,
Water, Air, Earth and Fire,
Nature in all perfect fire.
Without Nature, the little oyster
can no longer grow inside the sea.

Nature is the mother all around
Of all things in the world.
Noble thing is that of Nature.
Much is lost on the face
of man, which Nature has made,
in which nothing has been done wrong.
Also he makes several things
Which by Nature are open,
Birds, trees, beasts, flowers,
Which all by Nature are made;
And so it is with metals,
Which are not even equal,
Why Reason will count you,
Which with Nature will come to
Speak to you without any delay:
So soon they will bring you.
Because to declare I do not have to do my
work I sit with you,
To Reason too much better belongs,
And Nature from which it comes.
Let me see them without slowing down,
And I will make them come to you.
First hear Reason speak,
And then see Nature open,
Which will declare to you

7
Of the seven Streams, and will tell you,
That the Fountain signifies,
Who is noble, gente iolie.
So let's go, don't doubt it.
Mother Nature is brought to her,
Who is guard of the Fountain.
And when I saw him, without delay,
I went away
to greet them humbly.
But these were first.
They never knew me so much
that they were inclined to me
sooner than they could not be,
Because of how well they know their being.
Many gently greeted me,
And then boarded me,
And also saluted the wines,
As best as I was taught,
And their inclination
To my power, it was right.
And when I had greeted them
In my power, and inclined,
Lady Reason to speak printed,
And they of nothing printed me.
I listened to her diligently,
And she spoke wisely.
First asked where I was,
And in this place I came,
And from what part I came,
And why I was there:
Because it was a very wild place,
And for the non-clergy very shady.
Lady, die Ie, by God of heaven,
I have come here like heaven,
Who does not know where to go,
For good luck to find.
But I will tell you without delay,
All my words and my understanding.
A very great Prelate vey iadis,
Great cleric, very wise and subtle,
Who predicted in common language,
As do many wise men,
And spoke of many great knowledge,
Made of true euidence,
Of Medicine, and of other things ,

8
That it is not time for me to put it down
Again, because it is not time:
But we will return there,
When it is time to talk about
it We will know how to return,
Just as they predicted,
And of the Philosophers spoke,
Of their doing, and of their knowledge,
There came a man of great prudence,
Whose name was Palamedes,
And the one who spoke Cybeles.
But these are not the Poets,
Of whom Ouide speaks in his Festes:
For several names are similar
to those which Ouide puts in fables.
In Palamedes, hear this,
And tell me by your oath,
Where you first learned
The science that you have uttered,
I beg you to lie nothing.
Palamedes, who was very wise,
and who was very old,
did not speak to me in parable,
answered my friend at school,
we were there for a long time,
There I learned many things.
And all the time it makes me suffer,
To learn what to do and to remember.
So Cybeles responded,
Now tell me I am emprying with you,
The thing that he believed,
And from which the first knowledge came,
And who was the one who showed it,
When it was written it was found.
Palamedes said without delay,
All I have said will tell you.
Science is a gift from God,
Which comes by inspiration,
So is science given
From God, and in man inspired:
But with this we learn well
In school by its engine.
But as long as this letter was seen,
if science was known,
the greatest that we can know,

9
Who is better than money to have?
No man, whether cleric, knows
what non-clerics found in
Iadis by inspiration.
It was a noble gift from God,
And yet God is almighty
To give to his true servants,
Science such as he pleases,
What many clerics displease.
And they say that a man is not sufficient,
If he has not been a student,
Who is not a master of arts, or a doctor,
the cleric will not value his morals,
So long as he is well moralized,
And for that we must blame,
When others do not know how to praise:
And who would blame them,
All their books osteroi.
That would be a failed science
In several places, have no doubt about it;
And it would not be the laiz
Who are round and round,
And who know how to master,
And several things, which profession
Do to many people in delirium,
Which they do not find in their lineage.
The Carpenter and the Masson
study very little,
and they do as well as
students in Medicine,
Law, and Theology,
for having practiced their lives.
So Cybeles si iura,
That he will practice without doubt,
Without studying at any time,
And since then he was sufficient,
Also there have been many other summers,
Who were not literate.
And when Cybeles heard
This word, written in my heart,
And spoke to Mother Nature,
And she told me about my adventure,
And she listened to me very well
In that after which you heard it.
There, say I, Ladies hear me:

10
For I tell you in good faith,
That I have great desire to learn
Science, where I cannot be mistaken,
To have honor in my life,
Without anyone being bored:
For all my good I see he acquires,
Like the Plowers of the earth;
The earth digs and hoes,
And then its seed sows,
As the true Plowers do,
Who are their goods and their honors.
And for this I pray to you,
That you dictate to me from your sight,
As we call the one Fontaine,
Who is so loving and healthy.
Amy, she said, saw
The Fountain of Lovers.
Thus can we name this lure,
which is high delirium,
hoped for by noble minds,
ancient philosophers,
as we will later show,
and by their science prove.
First must know for certain,
That since our mother Euain,
So great as he is in the second year.
Without me nothing can reign,
Unless God wants to inspire it.
I, who am Nature called,
I have the earth surrounded,
Outside, inside, and we take my place:
In all things I have taken my place,
By command of God the Father.
Of all things I am mother;
To all things gives virtue,
Without me there is nothing ever,
Thing which is under the Hole in Heaven,
Which by me is not governed.
But since you listen to reason,
I want to give you a beautiful gift,
By which, if you are willing to do well,
You will be able to acquire Paradise,
And in this world great wealth,
From which we can come Nobility,
Honor, and great Lordship .

11
And noble pleasure in your life.
For in joy you will do it,
And many noble people will see.
By that Fountain and Cauerne,
Which governs all the seven metals,
They come, it’s a clear thing,
And de la Fontaine am mother.
This Fountain of value,
Is huy compared this day,
So that it is sweet as honey,
To seven high planets of the sky,
Saturnus, Iupiter, and Mars,
Mercury, Venus with Sol,
Which are very friendly and mol,
And Luna perfect the septiene,
Which makes many noble discipline,
Plant where they figure,
I who am called Nature:
And in the earth compares them,
To metals of noble material.
Gold is understood by the Sun,
which is a unique metal.
And then let's hear for the money,
Luna, noble and gentle metal.
Came for the leather, let's hear,
And also that's his name very well.
Mars for iron, and for tin
Let us understand Iupiter the healthy;
And the lead for Saturn in bel
And if let's call gold mesel.
Mercurius is quicksilver,
Who has all the government
Of the seven metals: for it is their mother,
Ensement who compares them there,
For the imperfect can perfect.
Afterwards you would like to retire.
Now understand that I will say,
And as I declare
the Fountain of Mother Nature,
Which you see here in the figure.
If you know how to use Mercury well
, as the letter says,
Medicine you will make,
Of which paradise will then acquire,
With the honor of this World,


12
Where great planted with good abounds.
La Fontaine de nostre makes
Verras in this present fruitlet.



We must know by Astronomy
And by true Philosophy,
That Mercury is of the seven metals:
The master, and the main ones:
Because by its leaden weight,
It stands under the earth in a mass,
Notwithstanding that it is volatile
And is other many coniuectiue
And is subdue the broken earth,
sow like rust.
And then in the air of Heaven it rises,
Me, Nature, tells it to you
And if afterwards then conceuoir
Who in vault medicine or auoir
If you put Mercury, or vessel,
Whose furnace you see here,
You will sublimate,
Which is from God a noble gift,
Which I see you show,
In my power, and figure.
For if you are pure in body and soul,
it will not make a good amalgam.
Here you will see the Furnace,
And the vessel as it should be.


13


This is the form and manner in which I sublimated, and prepared my Mercury, to
amalgamate with the body of the King,
prepared because real, as it belongs, seven sons.


Now listen and let it be known,
For better is common sense than no possession.
Take your body and try it out;
From this be in esmay..
Your mind must be well worlded,
So that it can be incorporated.
Want to have a good battle
Twenty against seven plays flawlessly.
And if your body cannot destroy.
Twenty, at this point it must be moulting.
If is the first battle
Of Mercury strong and proud,
Making him return is what it takes,
So that nothing can be attracted from it.
And when surrender is for taking
At your will, and at your will,
If you want to be right,
Where the prison is in your prison,
And that it cannot be moved,
Make it a first gift,

14
Or for you nothing will want to do.
It turns out to be the opposite.
And if you want to please him,
It is designed for you to expand,
And return to its first being,
And for this you will be its master:
Otherwise you cannot know
What you require, only want.
But by this point you will know it,
And all your pleasure will come,
But that you face with your body
This, of which here makes the record.
But you must do without contradiction,
First of your body of hope,
And the spirit to be incorporated
In its body of the spirit without per.
And if you don't know how to do all this,
don't start the business.
After this connection,
the operation begins,
from which, if you continue,
you will have the glory of heaven.
But you must know by this binding,
That I Nature binds you,
That the matter of the Sun,
Is not the same as the Moon:
For all must remain white,
To do something in its likeness.
For that which serves the Sun,
It must resemble the same:
For it must be rubified:
And this is the first plowing.
And then assemble them can we
As I said, in the reason
Cy deuant that you have heard,
Who must enter into your hearing.
And if you do not understand this,
In your plowing you will be able to misunderstand:
And by this point you would lose
a long time, and in vain would you use it.
And if I said I knew how to plow,
Surely we can do it.
But you have a point of cell work
that me Nature disheartens you.
But you must, for good reason,

15
Make after freezing
Of body and spirit together,
As long as one resembles the other,
And then you understand by good sense
To separate four Elements,
Which all new you will make,
And then I will put them in place.
First you have to extract the fire,
And say cy est, ou cy fu,
And then compose the air afterwards:
Ce te ditz ie par motz expresses.
Earth and water, on the other hand,
Which are well suited to this art,
And also make the quintessence:
For this is our making of sense.
When you have the four found
And one from the other separated,
And what I said above,
Your fact will be half concluded.
Now you can proceed,
Let you face what
I have said in this chapter.
You will burn it in the small oven,
Which I call marriage,
When it is made by a wise man:
And also that is its name very well.
Now understand the reason carefully:
Because the masculine is very linked
to the amicable feminine.
And when pure and clean are found,
And one with the other assembled,
Generation are certain,
If it is a lofty work,
And which is of great substance:

Of many a man, and of many a woman,
Who have good life and good fame,
By their children whom they know how to make,
Whose affair each must value.
Of birds, of beasts, and of fruit,
Nobly prowish the can.
Put the seed of a tree
In the ground for good knowledge:
After putrefaction,
Generation will come.

16
Through wheat the people can have possession,
which is better than any other possession.
Sowing one grain you will not have a thousand.
There is no need to be very clever;
No one was a creature,
Who can say like Nature,
I was formed without your doubt,
You can reproach me for nothing.
And so of metals is it,
Of which Mercury is the most subtle.
In this oven is placed, where his body,
Which I told you in my story,
Which you will see below,
And to do this he is very ready.
There he falls in love,
His like, and then plows.
But so that labor can come,
Together they must leave.
But after that leaves,
They come together, I affirm you.
The first time is betrothal,
And the second is marriage,
At the third time by righteousness
They two put together their nature,
If the marriage is made,
Or which lies very much our fact.
Now understand carefully as I said:
For truly nothing did I say
When you have separated them,
And repair well,
Then you will gather them together,
And one with the other you will put.
But you will make the departure,
Or four cy pres, have no doubt about it.




Here is the form and manner in which I separated by distillation my water of Mercury from my lime of the Philosopher's Sun.



17

Here you can see the way
of light separation.
Now remember in your lesson
the proverb that Cato says:
The man who lists, and nothing hears,
Seems to hunt and nothing takes.
So if you learn to hear well,
why can't you take up
the books again, don't be good at the postmen,
who are perfect listeners:
For all those who blasphemously do our work
neither know nor hear it:
And whoever would hear us well
would soon come to our work;
Many times it has been heard,
And by philosophers proven:
But several people considered wise
The blasment, of which they are foolish.
And everyone must blame them,
Who has meaning in himself without bitterness.
But we must praise well and well
All those who love such a yoyel,
And who think of it to find,
For the pain of plowing well.
And we must say, it is well done,
But we have done one thing,
That the briefing must be closed,
We have in the second chapter,
If we want to proceed as much.
But just to know the way,

18
Ains must have made the union,
As long as the betrothed can be
Or dish which knows well how to be
And then to make everything separate
It is well to order you.
Here you see the way of it,
And it is that resolution,
Which makes you great profession,
To pursue the profession,
And you see here the matter,
As you have to do with it,
As long as each one by himself is,
And then will have the righteous earth
Out of the water of Heaven by righteousness,
For they are all of one nature,
It is reason that it will be watered,
And by me will be governed.
But I told you, without mistaking anything,
How your body can take,
And how it is necessary to leave,
And one of the other to leave:
But the departure, without doubt,
Is the key to our entire work .
Because fire is the cause of the fact,
In this Four you monster the fact.


Here is the shape and figure like I froze my first Mercury water with my Sun lime, to calcine better.




19
Some say that Fire does not generate
From its nature, more than ashes:
But their honor be well guarded,
Nature is in the fire
And if Nature were not there,
I never would the fire have heat;
And if prouuer Ie the Vouloys
The Salt testifies that I took it.
But what we will say about this,
And what else we want to say.
And when you hear this talk,
The word in my heart is written,
And say: noble Lady of Arroy,
Please hear a little of mine;
And let's come back to seven metals,
of which Mercury is the main one,
And tell me you and Reason,
No declaration,
Or of your doing am abuse,
Because what you say above,
Because you want me to erase
This, which I did first of all face,
And expressly you say it.
I do not know whether these are repeated,
Or whether they speak in parables,
For I do not understand your schools.
Amy, Nature replied,
As you understand Mercury,
Which I have named before you:
I tell you that it is locked up,
And you must be keen,
If you want to know the practice,
How you can get it.
From now on we have to know a lot,
Notwithstanding that each one holds it,
And in several hands comes and goes,
Every day of very many people.
You must be very diligent
in learning and knowing metals,
or your work will not be worth a damn.
The Mercury that I te lo,
Mercury of Mercurio,
It is the Mercury of Mercurys:
Where many people take their cures,
To find it for their business:

20
For this is not the vulgar case:
And why you see it veer,
And without it I cannot find it.
Now I tell you where it is placed,
Why you hear the will,
And how to find the power,
And then at our will come,
For which your heart will be resiouys:
For in the world you will have Paradise,
And after the eternal oyster:
Because to gauge stinks my maternal:
But as this place tells you,
I beg you in the name of God,
That through you no
man may be received, unless he is well discreet,
And unless he is a son of knowledge:
For for this our work begins
And he who is old will vote
At this point to bring back the scuet.
Or nothing will be worth his business,
For no plowing that knows how to do.
For this name I in the Fountain,
Who is so loving and healthy,
Mercury that true van,
Who causes is of perfection.
Now understand that I will say:
Because for nothing I will not say anything.
That unparalleled mercury,
Can we find where the Sun is,
When it is in its great heat,
And when it brings forth many a flower:
For after flowers come the fruits.
By this point I can prove it,
And again by a hundred ways
Which are therefore many ways.
But it is here in principle,
And for this reason I recite it to you,
Embued that you have not been deceived:
Because to see it is found there:
And if Luna wants to plow,
We might as well find it there.
In Saturn, and in Jupiter,
And in Mars, which I call Iron.
Dedens Venus, and in Mercury
We can well find the surest:


21
But, as for me, I found it
In the Sun, and then plowed,
And for that you made this Liure,
That you hear me at deliure.
Inside Luna knows how to see,
Have I taken my first possession.
Still say to the hearers
That it is all two plowmen,
Except rubificantly,
Who serves the Sun nobly,
And no longer say you do not know,
If the practice does not show:
And you cannot withdraw from it,
Except that you see it done:
But have it in your memory,
What I have told you until you
have decided,
Do you have to inhibit:
But do not begin to do
What I I said on my messenger,
I have no doubt about the fact,
That you have revealed the imperfect.
And if you can't pass,
You can do it again,
And get back to the first fact,
The other was only a messenger.
Force it yawns in your face
Eus on chapter de Nature.
See it easily,
as it is done lightly.
In a shorter time you cannot come,
At the height of your adulthood,
And if you hear it, for certain,
You will not plow in vain,
So you will find perfection,
Which is a noble gift from God.
And after this plowing is done,
you have to undo the debris.
Putrefaction is to see,
From which great power must be born,
At this point lies the mastery
Where all our doing is satisfied.
And whatever you said before,
here lies the whole thing.
In the oven is placed the apparatus,

22 The like
of which you see here,
For the germ must first rot,
That it may die outside the earth:
Even the seed of man,
Which for probation names you,
Rots in the body of wife
And two blood, and then they take soul.
But in the form of a creature,
This secret cy tells you Nature.

This is the form and manner in which I made my resolution of the matter in question, which is called common salt, after I worked it out at the table of the Philosophers.


For one thing must be born,
Who must know more than his master,
To nourish the four children,
Who have already come all grown up,
Which Elements are named,
And one from the other separate.
Now you have five things together,
And one resembles another well,
And it's all just one substance,
And the same similarity.

23
There must the child eat his mother,
And then destroy his father.
Flower, milk and fruit with blood
can be found in a pond.
But look where the milk comes from,
And what blood does there.
If you do not know how to consider,
You waste your labor in plowing:
And if you know how to hear me well,
If plow without further delay:
For you have passed the passage
Where many a foolish and wise man has remained.
There you can rest a little,
And then start plowing.
From this Four has completed labor,
That I can name elixir.
After careful work, renunciation
becomes the precious stone of Philosophers, there begins reason. And there is no joy, there is no one to have,



Who can this stone be worth?
Its virtues are the main ones,
That it can cure all metals:
It can perfect the imperfectz,
Which is a very noble fact,
And many great virtues are inclined.
Yet let us call it Medicine,
Where are many precious virtues:
For it can cure lepers:
It is no longer a thing of the world,
For this where great virtue abounds.
And of all the other stones,
Which many Princes hold dear,
Man cannot so much rejoice,
That this is what I call you.
And why I remember it to you,
Which you consider to be notorious:
For on all the stones of the world.
Virtues within ours abound.
And for this I must do duty,
To gain such a noble estate.
If you are willing to follow me,
At this point I will be able to mature.
You see here a certain attraction


24
Of putrefaction the Oven.

I see the form and the manner by figure as I putrefiay my matter within the married bath to express the germ, etc.


Learn well if you will be wise:
For I have told you all the use of it,
In the oven you can see it well,
Which one must be the next.
The more you learned that from these parts
Your work remains in two parts:
Of this nothing more will tell you
Until you see it will have
Seruice why you dye it;
Because see the feroy madness.
But when you have loosened it,
In short, I will have said it to you;
If that doesn't ask me any more.
Because I told you too much about the surplus.
And when I had Nature heard,
And her reason was silenced,
And she no longer wanted to speak,
I was very tenderly taken to cry,
And I said, noble Lady of Arroy,
Please have pity on me,

25
By you I am very much high elected,
And from your Fountain watered:
I will never see me delirious,
From what I found in flight:
For I am much in love with it,
For the goods that you name there.
Tell me, noble and good Lady,
Auance if you will give alms.
Then replied, we will no longer know,
As long as you have it, you'll have it.
Then humbly said, dear Lady,
Please tell me the way,
How can I desist,
For you always want to remain
Loyal, without thinking about anything else,
My love gives you everything,
No one would be richer for me,
If not to increase your seruice:
Because I want to be your servant
Without ever thinking elsewhere:
Please take pity on me,
If you will give me a noble possession:
No more asking for you,
For in this world there is no one.
So Nature responds,
Beau Filz, please hear from me,
If you want to do my command,
I will declare it to you further.
Lady, say I, by God of Heaven,
I would like to be heaven,
Who must serve for his business,
All his work, without doing anything to me
If you please your pleasures to say,
For I do not want to contradict anything.
When Nature said without mistaking,
Beau Filz, you should learn
To know the seven metals,
Of which Mercury is the main one,
And with their qualities,
And all their enclosures:
After learning you should know
Whose suffering, salt, and oil comes from,
From what we remember you,
Who will make you my mission again.
Moult is the necessary soul,

26
And if will give you prou to do.
Without salt you cannot do what you do,
you cannot put anything into effect.
Of oil you have a very great job,
And this is of no use to you.
Of this you must remember,
It is our work that we want to appear.
A word will tell you, or hear it,
You will be very happy with it.
A metal in a single dish,
You can put in a oven.
It is Mercury that I expose to you,
And if nothing else, something else.
But, for the embrace of the work,
From point to point disheartens you.
Now I see you say of gold,
Which of the metals is the treasure:
It is perfect, and is no longer
Of those that I have named above.
The Moon is,
Really, I assure you.
There is only one metal in the world,
In which our Mercury abounds,
And is found in all seven,
Much good is the thing proven.
Gold is hot and dry through righteousness;
The Moon is its nature.
Saturnus is heavy and soft:
For this reason he may resemble Sol.
Several Clers of speaking ignel,
want to name it or mesel.
Venus well the Moon resembles,
In pitch, and in forging together.
Cold and wet Mercury is;
Testimony Iupiter, who is.
Mars is hard, and heavy, and cold,
Of the others it is all the same:
So that if you are willing to learn,
He makes them seven understand,
Let me name you above,
And know all their virtues:
And from this point afterwards you will do
with Mercury what you wish.
Alas, dy ie, Lady, it will be done.
Tell me the truth of the fact,

27
And how can I reverse,
What I saw in your orchard:
For ever since I was born,
I was not so enamored
With anything of this world.
And for certain I also believe,
Let it be archanum Dei.
I hold it as a secret from God,
Who are met in this place.
Then says Nature, you say you see,
And that's all the world has:
All that has honor is seen,
Or the world in some way.
To all their actions I am mannered.
And because you saw,
here this little boy,
and you have good will,
like a venerable person,
who wanted to plow,
the aduance I see you show.
Said you to the notorious chapter,
I don't know if you remember it,
That in two parts is your work.
My Nature disheartens you.
Make your soul penetrative,
By fire to become attractive:
And then make him eat his mother.
S'auras accomplished no matter.
Put the mother in the womb to the child,
Whom he gave birth to by two,
If will be both father and son,
All perfect of two esperitz
And to see it is not something else,
For what I tell you.
And if you want to add
a strange thing to it, or administer it,
Soulphre, salt, oil, nothing else,
To see, your deed will be worth nothing:
Because the earth Salt can bear,
Other fruit that we want to sow there.
Creature makes creature,
And beast beast to its nature.
So it is with all seeds.
Take this from my sciences.
We Four cy pres must look,


28
How this point must be plowed.

I saw the oven and dish from which I prepared my quinte essence, which is called red sulfur, after the separation of the elements, using what I found on the table, by grinding the so-called philosophical trituration material.


Beau Filz does not say that it is equal:
Everything must rise and fall,
By a very graceful path,
Very pleasant and very loving.
The way has been foreordained,
All as dew.
In the air of Heaven it must rise,
And then gently fall
By a tresamorous path,
Which one must retreat well:
And to the descendant that makes,
Give birth to the perfect soul.
Vehu has it on Oven of empres me.
It is our doing all the arroy.
And if you can come to this,
You can say without lying,
How much more gold you will have without a messenger,
Than there is on the earth:


29
For if the whole sea were
Of metal such as one would see it
Cuyure, Quick silver, lead, or pewter,
And you put a single grain
On it, when it would be heated,
A smoke would come out of it,
Which would lead to a marvelous aroy:
And afterward he would stand still.
And when everything was calmed,
The smoke, and everything settled,
The Sea would find finer gold,
Than any King has in his treasure.
Now you can return to the subject,
What did you hear me having to name.
When your soul is eaten,
Your mortified Mercury,
Hold it in prison for forty days,
And then you will see your loves,
And God lets you do so well,
That Paradise can acquire.
You see here well ordered
The prison that I named for you,
By faith it gapes in your face.
Or remember Nature,
Who wanted to administer to you
So noble a gift, and reuel,
Than venerable science,
Which in this world works miracles. Otherwise , the stone that I have left for you
cannot be made .


I went to the secret oven of the Philosophers, with an egg, from which I made it drink red sulfur, after calcination, the virginal milk little by little until everything was fixed, in the form of a very fine powder. Of which powder I made a part over a thousand, and a part of these thousand was another thousand. And I have done this up to three times, and all this has been used in Medicine, to multiply and prey upon a thousand parts of Mercury raw.


30

The work is done by this means,
and if there is no other engine.
According to my little feeling,
He really finds it.
For this reason I name my work,
which says the matter is delicious,
and that the fact is virtuous,
The Fountain of Lovers.
Made known by lover seruage.
I was not aged,
In the year one thousand four hundred and thirteen,
That we had in two times six,
Comply suz in the month of June,
In the city of Montpelier,
Of ​​the said Ian de la Fontaine,
That held this houtaine work ,
If all men must be discreet,
Ly what is in two verses included,
Which are here after written.

Si fixum soluas, saciasque volare solutum,
Et volucrem voluas, faciet te viuere tutum.
If you loose the fixed, and let loose to fly,
And if you want a bird, it will make you live safe.

Who the two bodies know how to animate,
And their Mercury without extracting,



31
The ardent of them sublimate well,
The flying oysel knows how to retreat:
Water conceives by art to destroy,
Both are perfectly veneered,
Then put it in a circular vase,
For the fruit to be very excellent.
The Pelican must change
its position, I cannot say anything about it.
Do not forget to circulate it,
And the fleeing six know how to make,
By subtle fire of very good air:
And six must make flying:
Give by time Sol luminary,
For fruit to have very excellent.
Do not do this without altering
Nature in the opposite way,
Nor otherwise can it mutate,
Into the tinctuary substance.
Nature as exemplary
Of another noble transparent body,
In the end it faults a dairy,
For fruit which has very excellent fruit.

Prince knows your money well,
The patient with many affairs.
For very excellent fruit.

Rondeau.

I want it, and if I don't dare to do it,
Fear and Reason want me to withdraw.
On the other hand, I have in my understanding
Love constantly which is very pressing to me
So much so that I do not know which one I must please.
Love begs me to want to perfect:
Reason forbids that too much enlighten me,
In such a way, only when I don't
want it.
How can both be satisfied?
Reason complains, Love does not want to be silent,
Saying, who does not love, has no pleasure.
There, they both cause me so much torment,
Let me conclude my pitiful affair
if I wish.


32

Other Rondeau.

After sorrow and long wait,
In room, hut, or tent,
My lady give me comfort.
Since body has and comfort,
To endure well firm tent.

Of frank contented will,
Put my ditz at your waiting,
To lengthen my discomfort
After sorrow.

If Cupido tempts you,
Do not chastise you with uncle or aunt,
Let us take comfort from you and me:
So that together without delay,
We can have a competent voice
After sorrow.

Another Rondeau.

I chose it among a thousand and searched for it,
The one where I have my will attached,
And where I want my alliance at all,
That there is no Fortune, illness, or harm,
Who can undo this bargain on my part.
Even if a great evil were to pursue me,
I would not be attached to want me,
for I want it, and out of good faith,
I have chosen it.

God forbid, that I be reproached,
That other love my heart be prevented,
It is my arrest, my view my hope,
There where I took it for ever acquaintance,
Because it is not
I have chosen him with no vice .

Another Rondeau.

I would love it, there I placed my expectation,
Without my life repenting,
I want it to be known, that it is my beloved,
What glory is to me when loving him praises me.

33
Of my five senses, each one is content
to serve it, for the sake of reason.
As long as my body is on scorched earth
I will love it.

What I can offer him I present to him,
For his am, even better than his income,
Of my will master will be appointed.
Conclusion, I agree with you,
I love it.

Another Rondeau.

I love him so much that no other good pursues me,
Nor would I ever tire of seeing him:
For his love pursues me in all places.
Whoever speaks ill of it, or annoys it,
He does not chastise me, but be gracious.

To please him, that is what I am chasing.
Do not think that I apologize to him,
he will see me day and night,
I love him so much.

Now you know, that love which all senses pass,
Drives out Reason from the eye where it gathers:
For whoever loves well, has not always been guided
by what he does, so heightened are his senses.
Why I say, without fearing the threat,
I love him so much.

Another Rondeau.

It is not wise to love anything,
but it is well advised that we see how
we get started, before being defeated.
I love one, to whom I surrendered
By his virtue, and good understanding.

What harm do we do by loving loyally?
Some honest man, without changing in any way:
For without that a woman is lost
To love nothing.


34
For for certain a disloyal lover,
Ugly, and bad, makes more of a burden
To the part, which by him is disappointed,
Than sin, or the fault conceived.
To love nothing.

Another Rondeau.

My friend alone, for whom I unfold
All my five senses, there, that I fill them
To love you, as I am constrained,
And let it be known, I do not fear it, do not fear,
Reason leaves me, and Love multiplies.

For I have so fulfilled my will,
that since it is necessary for this word to be published,
there is no woman who is thus affected.
My friend alone.

And without lying the one, where it lye
In a good way when the friend forgets,
What I say, there, it is not by feint,
Listen to my sad complaint,
Come and see me humbly begs you
My friend alone .

Another Rondeau.

From you, where I have my expectations at all points,
To whom I have said many days my understanding,
And yet in another you have left
All your love, many have counted it to me,
Which without ceasing regrets and torments me .

And it is not possible for me to ever repent
of loving well, whatever evil I feel,
for which my heart complains of being treated so badly
by you.

For fear, or loss, or illness that we feel,
Not for slander, not for any wind that blows,
Love does not change, it is pure truth,
When it starts with good will:
Why I am now unhappy
with you.

35

Other Rondeau.

So it was, that I had known, That
I had lost the remembrance of me,
My pitying heart, which never despised,
Of doing something which should be reproached,
For in his life he did not offend you.

Whether day or night, so that I do not think in you,
May it be to God to keep you in the presence:
For I would very much have wished it to be taken
that way.

If someone told me that I had other acquaintances,
I would lose both sense and patience.
If it were true that you were surprised
by new loves, where many men are caught,
there, I would die very soon of displeasure
. So it was.

Ballad.

A Haquenee with all the golden frain
On the paué stalking gently,
Beautiful and pleasant to look at from afar,
See the other day to govern wickedly:
Who was quite honestly
Maintained, and well harnessed:
Walking without footing very hard
As those say who They cuddled her.

My companion will testify to you,
Will assure that she goes slowly.
Good to think, and does not care for care,
Ayme meat which dresses differently.
Held in hand, and passes widely:
Everyone stands on it joyfully,
As those who have lifted it say.

The desserts are as hard as the fist,
Fat thighs abundantly white,
Short ears, white soulciz, and the groing,


36
Legs and feet well done perfectly.
Very well crossed in all abundance,
From her duty to do well she is cut.
When it is pricked it jumps quickly,
as those who have bitten it say.

Prince, she is good in every season,
In no place is she flayed,
And without fail puts her man to reason,
As those who have cheated her say.

END.