THE LITTLE BOOK ON ART

Caspar Hartung vom Hoff

16th century


To the respectable, noble, and learned theologian Mr. Wilhem Guntzhoffer, first pastor of Kreych, I, Caspar Hartung vom Hoff, dedicate this little book of philosophy dealing for the first time with the Art tested and experienced through real practice as well as the explanation of the natural order with a prologue and figures.

1549

Noble and respectable learned theologian, I have a very fraternal prayer to address to you: Please accept willingly and with pleasure my little book, because I have taken great care to elaborate everything as well as the details. As it is God who wants me to be diligent, as it is he who obliges me to carry out this work, then I try to carry out my work meticulously and to bring it to a happy end.

I have always observed and I observe what respect and love we have for this divine and celestial art, both Princes, Lords and Nobles as well as common people, lay people or clergy belonging to the upper and lower classes. However, not only are these people unable to access the slightest truth, but they also end their lives in a frighteningly sad way. The only reason for their failure is ignorance, because they do not understand what nature can or cannot endure. They must know that a laxative no longer has any effect on the dead man; but if there remains a thread of life in man to which this art can help, he succeeds, thanks to this same art, in maintaining the proper functioning of his body.

When a man boasts, making a point of making an elixir from salnitre, salt, alum, verdigris, vitriol, orpiment, tuthia, arsenic, ammonia or antimony, to transform all metals into heavy silver, I claim that what he says is impossible because all these materials do not come from the same nature. It is as impossible to make Sol et Luna using such recipes, as it is improbable to transform a mouse into a dairy cow giving good milk which produces good cheese.

This is why we must carefully examine the nature of bodies before constituting their unity. This is what Arnaud de Villeneuve explains: “White is white because of its whiteness, red is red because of its redness.” But here it is not a question of a set of characters, as certain sophists think who use a confused mass of atrament, calamine, magnesia, hematite, child's urine or goat's blood . Raymond Lulle explains: “our Art is not found in a multitude of things but only in a single thing. » Johannes Lezen expresses the same idea in the following way: “Our stone is made from a unit taken from the mines, possessing a living soul, which we designate by three names: body, soul and spirit. »

In the name of God, for greater clarity and easier access for the reader to this Art, I must develop this subject, continue my experiments and consider the whole in its desirable, honest and philosophical aspect. In this regard, I rely on Holy Scripture and other philosophies. The origin of everything is found in Genesis and the first chapter of St John is particularly interesting on this subject. :

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was empty and vague, darkness covered the deep, a wind from God swirled over the waters” (Gen I, 1-2 and Jn I, 1-5). As well as “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

Everything was through him and without him nothing was. That which was in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shined in the darkness and the darkness did not grasp it. ".

In Psalm 139 we can read: “Where shall I go from your spirit, where shall I flee from your face? if I climb the heavens, you are there, if I lie down in Sheol, there you are” (Ps 139, 7-8). In Psalm 29: “Bring to Yahweh the glory of his name, worship Yahweh in his splendor of holiness. Voice of Yahweh on the waters, the God of glory thunders; Yahweh over the innumerable waters” (Ps 29:1-3). worship Yahweh in his splendor of holiness.

Voice of Yahweh on the waters, the God of glory thunders; Yahweh over the innumerable waters” (Ps 29:1-3). worship Yahweh in his splendor of holiness. Voice of Yahweh on the waters, the God of glory thunders; Yahweh over the innumerable waters” (Ps 29:1-3).

So God began to create everything on earth and under the earth. Then he gave each nature its similar nature, as he explains to Noah in the 7th chapter of Genesis: “Enter the ark, you and all your family” (Gen 7, 1-2). God orders him to bring up the animals, both clean and impure. At the end of divine wrath, each species produces a male and a female who are identical in every way.

In the 31st chapter of Exodus, we see how the Lord sent to Bazalel, son of Uri, himself son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, a spirit of God, granting him wisdom, reason, knowledge, and all other things. gifts, so that he could work the Art of gold and silver. Thus he sowed in man the desire for wisdom and reason, so that light might shine out of darkness - this was promised in Holy Scripture and by the prophets to those who dwell in faith. and trust – and let that which is sealed be revealed.

Thus Solomon confirms it, in the 7th chapter of the book of the book of Wisdom: “It is he who gave me an infallible knowledge of beings to know the structure of the world and the activity of the 4 elements; the beginning, the end and the middle of times; the alternation of the solstices, the changes of seasons; the cycles of the year, the positions of the stars, the nature of animals, the instinct of wild beasts; the power of the minds and thoughts of men; the varieties of plants, the virtues of the roots. “Everything that is hidden, everything that is visible, I have learned. For it is the worker of all things who instructed me, Wisdom! » (Wis 7, 17-21). Solomon, in chapter 16 of Proverbs says: “Yahweh made all things” (Pr 16).

In reading these passages of Holy Scripture, we observe that all the philosophy expounded by Solomon comes to him from the Spirit of God for the service of the one God, our Lord.

From all this came the decision to write this work. At the beginning of my research, I wasted six years in frequenting useless and worldly sophistry. At the time I entered the order of the flourishing School of Speyer. After the first five years, I rejected all the useless, erroneous, vain books, full of false recipes and superfluous discussions. Then I prayed to God to grant me wisdom, reason and understanding in order to have access to the Garden of the Sages, to make up for lost time, and to discover the Thing among all things, the treasure hidden in the field.

We can read in chapter 13 of Matthew, where we speak of fine pearls: “So every scribe who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like an owner who brings out of his treasure something new and something old” (Mt 13:44 -46, 52). Read again the words of Sirah in chapter 51 of Ecclesiasticus: “Come near to me, you ignorant ones, put yourselves to school. Why pretend you are so deprived when your throat is so thirsty? I opened my mouth to learn. Think and buy wisdom without money. Yoke your neck and your souls will know the way. See, Wisdom is close by, within your reach. » (Si 51, 23-27).

Look at me, I labored a long time, but great was the reward; I never tired of being surprised and pursued her tirelessly. She and I became one heart. She seemed pure to me from the start. My heart cried out for this wisdom and finally I found the treasure of knowledge. Receive this teaching like a great treasure of silver and watch over it like a great heap of gold. Rejoice in the mercy of God, do not be ashamed to praise him and do what you have been commanded. Give him the necessary time, he will reward you when the time comes.

As for me, to make up for and compensate for the lost time, I want to begin my work, drawn from the commandment of Jesus Christ, which I will devote to the future merit of eternal glory. This will help me find eternal life with God's help. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, I saw and experienced many things. This is how I understood the usefulness of this philosophy, the meaning of which God revealed to me. Thus I can, myself, transmit this teaching to poor pious men who follow the words of the Holy Gospel and the prophets of God, the very words announcing the wisdom of the mystery of all mysteries.

This mystery is only medicine, for all illnesses, both human and animal; both for that of plants, as well as for those of roots and trees. It is a medicine that heals and keeps alive every being and everything, until the end, until the final moment that God wants to grant them. Here I am, imploring our almighty God, the one who reveals the mystery of his philosophy to me, a vile and unworthy sinner; I humbly beg him and with all my strength, not to leave this book in the hands of the wicked, the violent, the unworthy, who would like to use it in the sole desire to acquire glory and earthly wealth; men who would not share with other blessed and virtuous men, according to the will of God. However, God will give it to those who are worthy, vigilant and sincere.

This is why I entrust this little work to my Lord God and to Jesus Christ his only son, who themselves will communicate it to those who are worthy of it. With this conviction, I now approach the revelation of the mystery, following the order of the chapters and figures.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit: “Reveal to me what I do not know, teach me what I do not know how to do, give me what I am deprived of, inhabit my five senses, offer me the seven gifts, grant me the divine peace that is yours; O Lord, instruct me and teach me to live righteously, for God and for my neighbor. So be it. »

Chapter One

Here is the first secret of all existence: every force given to nature, itself subject to the human race, serves for the health and vigor of man until his old age. When age prevents a man from devoting himself to work, this same force restores lost youth and energy. This is the great secret hidden in nature.

Senior hides the beginning and the origin, then reveals it: Visit the Interior of the Earth by Rectifying Iventez the Occult Lapis True Medicine.

Arnaud de Villeneuve expresses it this way: “It is therefore a stone and a medicine that we know and which we master perfectly”. No foreign element should be added. Job says, in chapter 28: “There is a place for silver in the mines, and for gold a place where it is refined; iron is taken from the ground; the molten stone produces copper. We put an end to the darkness, we search to the very limit and we end up finding what is hidden” (Jb 28:2-11). A spring gushes out, such that the people living all around cannot cross it on dry foot. She's too strong. For many humans, it flows out of sight.

Words of Matthew, chapter II: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened; I will relieve you. Take up my yoke, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find relief for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Mt 11, 28 to 12-0). He adds in chapter 21: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not hesitate, that in addition to this, you say to the mountain, “Arise and throw yourself into the sea” , it will happen. And whatever you ask in a prayer full of faith, you will obtain” (Mt 21, 18-23).

In front of the people, Jesus declares: "Have you never read in the Scriptures: the stone that the builders had rejected, it is this which has become the cornerstone, this is the work of the Lord and it is marvelous in our eyes. ". In Psalm 118, we note: “The right hand of Yahweh has done mighty feats; the right hand of Yahweh prevails; no, I will not die, I will live and publish the works of Yahweh; he punished me, but he did not deliver me to death.

Open to me the gates of justice, I will enter, I will give thanks to Yahweh. This is the gate of Yahweh. The righteous will enter. I thank you, for you have humbled me; you were salvation for me. The stone that the builders rejected has become a cornerstone; this is the work of Yahweh, it was marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that Yahweh has made for us gladness and joy.

So I beg you, my brother, like all brothers who are inclined to this noble Art, pray to God to grant you wisdom and knowledge of this Art, very famous and noble, so simple and difficult at the same time.

Our Stone has all the colors that philosophers describe; it contains within itself all the properties of minerals. It is necessary to extract the four elements, then unite them in different degrees to obtain a new birth; for the destruction of one thing is the generation of a new thing, itself containing all things. In it are united man and woman, death and life, soul, spirit and body, tincture, fixed and volatile; air, water, fire and earth; sperm and quintessence, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as we can read in the words of Wisdom.

Chapter 24 of Sirach: “I grew up like the cedar of Lebanon, like the cypress on Mount Hermon; I grew like the palm tree by the water, like the rose plants of Jericho, like a magnificent olive tree in the plain. I have stretched out my branches like an oak tree, they are the branches of glory and of grace” (Si 24, 13-16).

Solomon, in the Song of Songs, says: “I am entering into my garden, my sister, my bride” (Song 5:1) and in chapter 7: “How beautiful you are, how charming you are, Love, O delight ! In your impulse you are like the palm tree, your breasts are its clusters and I said: I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches” (Ct 7, 7-10).

And here are the verses of Senior:

O pain, here I am a naked woman
when my first body was unaware of bliss
I had never been a mother
until my second birth.

Then I acquired the power of all plants and all roots.
My whole being was victorious
because my son became my father,
an essential species sent by God.

The mother who gave birth to me
was thanks to me, herself on this earth,
she was pregnant with me,
in a barren field, she gave birth.

the One, Wonder of nature which must be astonished,
was majestically swallowed up by the mountain.
Thus the work of the master, the quaternary,
was absorbed into one in our stone.
The Septenary became Trinity
to be accomplished in a single being.

will possess the power
to drive away all diseases
from metals and humans.

There is a tree
from which come two torrents,
one comes from the East,
the other from the West.

Eagles talk about this tree
with their plumage burned,
naked, they fall to the ground.
Having reconstituted their plumage,
they remain subject to the sun and the moon.

O Lord Jesus Christ
You who offered this gift
for the Holy Spirit so good,
take all this into your custody.

One who receives the truth
and listens to the words of the Master
will eventually envision the future life
when soul and body are unified.
So he will fly to the kingdom of the Father;
the Art here below will nevertheless be maintained,
come oh my beloved
let us embrace and generate a son
not at all similar to his parents
for red will be his head,
black will be his eyes
and white will be his feet.

I come to you, yes,
ready to give birth to a son
who will have no equal in the world.

In the beginning, our stone is only coarse water, carrying in it heat and cold, which together devour it. This stone, I could not compare it to any kind: It is green and blue, generated in our mines.

Sons, ascend the high peaks, those who are on the left hand and on the right hand, in order to find our stone.

The mountain which bears all kinds of peppers and spices, also gives, through God's creatures, wisdom, reason and knowledge.

O you, blessed nature, so be your work! Because it is thanks to you that everything imperfect will become perfect.

This is why you must accept only pure, clear, joyful, earthly and just nature. If you act otherwise, nothing afterwards will be able to help you.

Bernard, Count of Treviso, says: “Our work is made from a root and two raw, pure and clear mercurial substances which, extracted from the mine and united by fire, are treated according to the requirements of their material. Thus, they will be subjected to permanent cooking until fusion. At this stage of unity, the body has become the mind and the mind has become the body. It is then necessary to strengthen the fire until the fixed retains the non-fixed in its shape and in its color. When they are well mixed, the fix will then dominate the whole. He will reduce it to himself and his color. Know that you must then make a dye at the proportion of 200 multiplied by 1000, then 1000 multiplied by 1000.”

Revelations made in the writings of the noble Pythagoras, Anaximander and various other books. These, in their books, affirm that living and coagulated mercury, quicksilver in the state of sulfur, form after cooking, the first material of all metals.

Know that this multiplication was impossible for me to find outside of the "Pandects of Mary", the "Testament of Pythagoras", the collection "the Peat of the Philosophers", the "Great Rosary", and the fourth chapter in the Song of Songs, where it is written: “She is a walled garden, my sister, my bride, a sealed spring.

Your jets make an orchard of pomegranate trees, with the most exquisite fruits; spikenard and saffron, fragrant reed and cinnamon, all incense trees; myrrh and aloe have the finest aromas; source of gardens, wells of living waters, runoff from Lebanon.

Get up, aquilon, run, autan! Breathe on my garden, let it distill its aromatics! This is the way of my beloved; see how he leaps over the mountains and rushes over the hills. My beloved looks like a deer, to a young fawn. See, he hides behind our wall, he watches through the window, they spy on us from the gate” (Ct 4, 12-16 and 2, 8-9).

Hermès adds: “From two waters, we must make one. He who understands my words will possess all the Kingdoms. The two waters will generate the noble plaster, which cures all illnesses, all vices. It is a supreme remedy for all men, animals, birds; for tin, copper, steel, iron and lead. » It is a supreme remedy for all men, animals, birds; for tin, copper, steel, iron and lead. » It is a supreme remedy for all men, animals, birds; for tin, copper, steel, iron and lead. »

Hermes the father of all philosophers said: “All things are created from one, created according to the will and order of the One. The sun is the father, the moon is the mother, the wind carried it in its womb, Earth was its nurse. This is perfection or the completion of absolute mastery, when it is transformed into this earth. »

You must gently and with great finesse separate earth from fire, what is consistent from what is light or subtle, so that the latter rises from earth to heaven, and descends from heaven to earth, thus reconciling the powers upper and lower.

It is then that the darkness will disappear, you will be left with the honor and the clarity of the whole world. There lies the strength of the greatest strength; power which gives everything subtle, which penetrates everything hard, hardens what is cold, and cools what is hot.

At the beginning of everything there was only a contemptible and shapeless thing, green and mucilaginous, being only a mixed kind linking the pure with the impure. From there the four elements were extracted, with the help and assistance of our Almighty God.

This is how the microcosm was constructed containing Wisdom, Reason, Knowledge and Honor, which are the cure for the diseases of all living creatures, of all plants and trees, of all animals, and of the human race . It also removes all spite, removes all melancholy, and brings with it wealth, gold, silver and precious stones.

This is what Solomon says in the book of Wisdom: “For Wisdom is the worker of all things. She was the one who taught me. In it is in fact the intelligent spirit, holy, unique, multiple, subtle, mobile, clear, impassive, lover of good, prompt, beneficent, irresistible, friend of men, firm, sure, without worry, who can do everything, who watches over everything, penetrates all minds, all intelligences, whatever their purity, their subtlety. Because more than any movement, Wisdom is mobile, through its limpidity it penetrates and crosses everything. It is an effluvia of the power of God, an entirely pure emanation of the Glory of the Almighty; nothing defiled is introduced into it, since it is a reflection of eternal light, an unblemished mirror of the activity of God, an image of his goodness.

Although alone, she can do anything; remaining in itself, it renews the universe, and from age to age, gains access to holy souls. It makes them friends of God and prophets because God loves the one who dwells with Wisdom. More beautiful than the sun, it surpasses all the constellations. Compared to light, it prevails; for light gives way to night, but against Wisdom evil does not prevail.

With strength, she goes from one end of the world to the other, and governs the universe for her good” (Wis 7:21 to 8:1). evil does not prevail. With strength, she goes from one end of the world to the other, and governs the universe for her good” (Wis 7:21 to 8:1). evil does not prevail. With strength, she goes from one end of the world to the other, and governs the universe for her good” (Wis 7:21 to 8:1).

So my dear son, it is she whom I cherished and sought from my youth, I sought to take her as my wife and became in love with her beauty. She brings out her noble origin by living with God, because the Master of all loved her. She is in fact initiated into the science of God, and it is she who proclaims his works.

So my dear son does not give up looking for this stone, which at first is not a stone but a garden of living waters and a fountain of all things.

Job says in chapter 28: “Melted stone yields copper. We put an end to the darkness, we search to the extreme limit and finally find what is hidden. »

A spring gushes out, such that the people living nearby cannot cross it on dry foot; many find it too deep, and it flows out of sight. We thus come out of the fire of the depths of our earth, although its surface gives food, that in certain places we find sapphire and mulch, and blocks of earth which are, in fact, gold. No bird since has recognized it.

No vulture's eye has seen it, proud children have not trodden it, and no lion has yet discovered it. Rocks are attacked in the same way, streams are torn from them, mountains are upset, for the eye seeks all the delights of the world. We stop the flow of rivers and bring to light what is hidden.

Do the same ! and seek wisdom if you want happiness. For God, our Lord, granted it to us in the Revelation of St John, in chapter 2 of the Apocalypse, he explains to us that he does not want us to sacrifice to idols, to prostitute ourselves, to be tainted multiple vices. God wants someone who keeps patience throughout his work, he wants someone who is faithful, generous, sincere, genuine, who suffers silently from all the slander and persecution of the world.

Then in the same chapter: “Come now, repent, or else I will come to you quickly, and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.” Whoever has an ear hears what the Spirit says to the Churches: To the victor I will give heavenly manna, I will also give a white stone, engraved with a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

So do not be discouraged, for great is the divine promise. You need great understanding because the one who is a bad theoretician only arrives at this art slowly. I therefore want to continue to open myself to him, to bring to light all the necessary understanding, by no longer hiding anything; I want to ignore all sophistry and speak only the pure truth.

Second Chapter

Now my son, I want to explain to you the difference between the two seeds; that of the man and that of the woman. I will thus speak to you of the quintessence of which this noble art is constituted and created, and this profound and experienced medicine. Philosophers call Microcosm what God has implanted in man and what he has inspired in those who strongly believe in his word and observe his commandments.

You should also know that there are four elements, two males and two females, the fifth being their life. You have to know how to compose them according to the eternal law of male and female desire. There are five properties of desire, the names of which are: impudence, conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding; nature must be composed according to these provisions: cold and humid, hot and dry, in order to transform the sulfur and obtain a perfect elixir.

I will then explain to you which of the four distinct powers is male or female in nature. Also know that the black residual earth is cold and dry, that it is melancholic and seems to be of a female nature; this one is also watery, cold, humid and phlegmatic. As for the two male natures: these are the air, which we call oil, hot, humid and sanguine, as well as fire, which we call sulfur, hot, dry and of a choleric nature. The quintessence itself is neither cold and dry, nor cold and damp, nor hot and humid, nor hot and dry, for it is the life that gives life to all things. Think therefore, and seek our composition, that which brings desire, itself called impudence, so that you can arrive at conception, then at pregnancy, then at birth, then at breastfeeding.

Senior:

A virgin who was not even a day old was taken by a male thanks to the power of God.
Before reaching the age of one year,
she gave birth thanks to the power of man
before her own begetting.
Be careful not to lose what you guessed.
I let myself be guided, I let myself be instructed,
I would not turn away from my nature
even if the day came
when I could follow my nature.
Laying everything down
a second time, I would follow my nature.

Hermes:

I saw four faces from the same father; the first grows in the waters, the other in the air, the third in the mountains, the fourth in the caves or on the rocks. Let us search for the nature of the four elements that the ants bring from the belly of the earth. Our stone is an indelible body, which dies with difficulty, but which gives life. Give the servant his fragrant sister, and they beget this unique art. When a white woman is united to a red man, and when the woman by coupling finds herself pregnant in the belly of the wind, it is evident that this wind is the air, that this air is the soul, that this soul is life. By life, let us understand oil and water.

In the first chapter of the Song of Songs, Solomon says:

“I am black and yet beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the carpets of Solomon. Pay no attention to my swarthy complexion, it is the sun that has scorched me” (Ct 1, 5-6).

“I am the flower of Sharon, the rose of the valleys.
Like the rose between the thorns, such is my companion among the girls.
Like an apple tree among wild trees, so is my companion among young sons.
In its shadow that I desire, I sit and its fruit is sweet to my senses.
He leads me to the cellar and his love is like a banner over me; he feeds me with apples, he revives me with flowers because I am sick with love.

His left arm is under my head, and his right hugs me.

I beseech you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, by the deer of the field, do not awaken, do not awaken my friend before the hour of her good pleasure” (Ct 2, 1-7).

Now take into consideration again this furnace which is called Athanor, with all its instruments. Without it, we can do nothing, execute absolutely nothing.

Third Chapter

The sun was fixed with secret mastery, in the firmament, so that it influences the lower world, and gives light and life to our body. Now is the time to adorn our sky, to hang our sun and its characteristics there, so that it generates the clearest day of all days, capable of illuminating our entire life. May this day be so sweet and so perfect that it will be possible for us to avoid the forces of darkness until we reach the end of our life, itself set by God in bliss.

Know also that the great mystery consists of being able to hang our sun in the firmament and that our quintessence, or elixir now found, becomes so subtle, reaches such a state of spirituality and obedience that it desires, by its natural effect , rise to a higher state.

This is why it must be chained up, sealed, in the containers, so that no odor escapes. Otherwise, it slips out of our hands; what Arnaud explains in “Rosarius Major”, in the first chapter: If the soul, that is to say the sun, fled, you could not even catch it with a falcon; yet our sun is so enduring, solid and so strange, that no fire can burn it, nor destroy it to nothing.

It is absolutely unimaginable to find the mastery to annihilate it. Its quality and purity only increase because it has inherited the energy of Almighty God, its creator, who glorified it in its first matter, and in its first form: thus it united the form to matter such a love that no igneous power can separate them, nor destroy this unity.

I assure you that God, through the influx of the seven planets, placed the seven metals in the veins of the earth. By the planet Saturn, lead which has in itself the nature and characteristics of this planet, tin by Jupiter, iron by the planet Mars of which it has the nature and property, and by the sun gold which has , of the said sun, nature and property; this is the reason why our gold is called sun. By the planet Venus, copper, possessing the nature and character of the said planet. Thus mercury bears the characteristics of the planet Mercury. The same goes for the Moon and money, for money also possesses the nature and character of the moon. Gold comes from the Sun, of which it has the character, as was ordained by God.

The sun descends from the firmament and gives brightness, light and heat, three principles which represent the natural beginning of the growth of things, and natural life.

This is how the sun has within itself virtue, that is to say, the gold of God. But it is in no way a question of man's gold, as Saint John reveals to us in the third chapter. “You told yourself that I am rich, that I lack nothing and that I ignore your poverty, your life in misery.

So I give you this advice: buy from me purified gold, passed through the fire to enrich yourself. This is why it is time for me to reveal to you the influence of our sun, its brilliance, its light and its indestructible heat. You must also know how it is hung in the firmament, and what are the characteristics used to restore and renew our body, so that it remains in good health, until the end fixed by God.

Take the thing that hangs over the sea, add spirit and soul to it, put it to rot for 40 or 42 days, by constantly separating heaven from earth. Thus you will see how nature is transformed into another nature, as we can read in Morien: "The destruction of one thing is the generation of another, for nature does not create anything foreign, although It is suitable for several different names. All existence is a single thing, comes from a single thing; this is valid for all eternity. »

Senior Epilogue :

Who seeks to build our stone of the Great Work
First observe the beginning of nature.

What are the first principles and natures of metals?
It is art that produces the highest tincture for us.

Neither fountain nor water resembles me.
I give health, youth and wealth.

I give and yet am still a deadly poison in my sudden action.

King, I am a strong-bodied King.
My heart and soul desire a wife.

Queen, I am, of noble origin.
A husband would suit my tender body.

O Moon, allow me to become your husband
so you will beget the richest Emperor in the world,

O Sun, I should easily submit to you.
But first let's return to our natural bed.

Projection:

O Moon, how noble this bath is, and so delicious,
so we resemble the bodies of the heavens.

O Sun, were it not for this celestial bath,
no star would ignite our radiance.

O my Moon, kiss and hug me
and you will be as strong and as beautiful as me.

O Sun, how recognizable you are among all the lights.

Yet you need me as the cock of the
male and female hen are one united body.

There lie the king and queen, dead
the soul separates from the body with great difficulty.

The dew of the sky has fallen
moisten the tomb of the lifeless body.

Then the soul launches itself from the sky to revive the corpse.

And here is the purification of the body
resplendent with all the colors on earth
let's call it, Mercury of the Philosophers.

There is locked within, the Moon
amalgamated with the Mercury of the Philosophers.

There the Moon is drowned
with the Mercury of the Philosophers.

There the Moon blackened
, becoming a heart united with the Mercury of the Philosophers.

There the life of the Moon ends.
the Spirit rises upwards
the elements resemble me leaving the body.

From the sky falls the dew
washing the white body, the lifeless body in the grave.
Out of it comes a completely white and clear soul which resurrects the lifeless body.

Here is born the noble, very rich Queen.
Most call her their daughter's lookalike.
She proliferates and bears many children
who are immortal and pure.
The Queen hates death and poverty.
It surpasses gold, silver and every precious stone, every medicine big and small.

Nothing on earth resembles it.
Let us give thanks to God in heaven,
The Queen consumes the fire
and will be transformed into Emperor.

Here is born the Emperor, full of honor.
There can be no superior being by art or by nature.
Philosophers call him their son being able to do what men desire.
It gives health for a long time as well as gold, silver and precious stones.
To youth he gives strength and beauty,
warding off anger, mourning, illness and poverty.
Happy is the man to whom God has given this gift!



Now follow the images which have been enlarged. The associated description is not in Caspar Hartung vom Hoff's work but has been inserted for ease of reading.


Note that there are two other works by the same author:
Von der Bereitung des gebenedeyten philosophischen Steins: exists in manuscript form in London, “Wellcome Historical Medical Library” 1543
The Vademecum: exists in manuscript form at the “Yale University Library”; The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Mellon (MS 39)



Description:
A naked woman places her right foot on the sun, her left on the moon. In her right hand she holds a leaning torch and in her left hand a straight torch. On his left arm perches a bird (a crow?). Behind is a tree splitting into three branches. On the right the branch is leafy and birds are climbing. It is listed VOLATILE. A branch on the left is cut. On the left the branch is leafless with birds descending. It is listed FIXED. A branch on the right is cut. In the middle, the branch is the leafiest and without any cut branches. In this branch are two birds in the shape of a circle which devour each other by the tail. One above with wings. The other below without wings. It appears that the birds on the right and left are moving up and down from the central pool (or a flower). It also seems that the tree came from this basin. At the very bottom one can imagine the conjunction in the center of two rivers arriving on each side.

---

Description:

LEFT:

OLEUM and AQUA are poured into the upper basin through the mouths of a man's and a woman's head respectively, both topped with the same crown. At the top left is the sun. The mixture from the upper basin is poured into the lower basin where three figures bathe. Below the basin is a man, visibly dead, lying in the basin at the bottom of the fountain where the word PUTREFACTION is written. From this man rises a man surrounded by clouds. The term SOLUTION is either related to this last character or to the mixture of the upper pelvis or to the whole image.

TO THE RIGHT :

In a balloon we observe the union of the King and the Queen. A sort of angel with wings escapes from above. Three flowers come out of the balloon. The ones on the left and right are identical. The larger central one has two rows of petals.

Description:
The following operations are inscribed in the main star:
SOLUTION – ABLUTION – REDUCTION – FIXATION1.

In the second star located behind the first, each branch bears the following inscriptions:
RIGHT: IGNIS AND AQUA – Sign of the ram
BOTTOM: AER IGNIS AND AQUA – Sign of the lion
UP: TERA NIGRA AND OLLEI – Sign of the balance
LEFT: ERDT WASSER LUFT FEVER – Sagittarius sign

In the four circles inside the star are represented the four elements:
FIRE – AIR – WATER – EARTH.

Around the star are represented in a circle the seven planets:
SATURN – JUPITER – MARS – SUN – VENUS – MERCURY – MOON

In a circle even further from the center we find the twelve signs of the zodiac.
ARIES – TAURUS – GEMINI – CANCER – LEO – VIRGO – LIBRA – SCORPIO – SAGITTARIUS – CAPRICORN – AQUARIUS – PISCES2.

Description :

An androgyne holding in his right hand a raised sword and in his left hand a chalice in which are placed three serpents. He has his feet on a dragon which raises its head and tail upwards. The female part wears a wing. At the bottom is noted CORPUS. On the left DER PESTAEIDIG GEYST IST DAS OLLEUM. On the right DER FLUCHTIG GEYST DAS WASSER DER GEYST. We also read OV SELL.

Description:

Mercury in the middle of the six planets or metals. The planets on the left are solar. The one on the lunar right. In the circle of Mercury we seem to see the signs of Scorpio and Gemini. The dragon, the bird and the peacock symbolize the stages of the work.

At the top we observe a distillation.


Description :

Union of man and woman at the bottom of the balloon. Above in a cloud of gas are four human figures. At the top of the balloon come nine flowers, three of which are round and seen from the front.


Description:

The Athanor.

Description: Links to planets and zodiac signs.

Description: Sun and Leo – Moon and Cancer.


Description:

A leafy tree growing from the fountain tray from which water flows. A man touches this water while appearing to think. On the tree a bird (crow?) as well as two alternating sun and moon. Above the man and the fountain tray, a radiant bird like the dove of the Holy Spirit whose radiance seems to descend (on a stone or the man's body?).


Description :
A fountain coming out of a cave stops at the foot of a man: SULFUR. This one is crowned and the bust is back. In his left hand he holds the branch of a leafless tree from which one branch has been cut. From his mouth comes a man surrounded by clouds. We see at the top left the sun enveloped in clouds. At the foot of the cave is a tree whose right side is without foliage and the left side with. Below this tree is a fortified castle with its ramparts.


Description :
The character has the face of a sun. It is SOLAR SULFUR. In his left hand he holds a fleur-de-lys scepter and in his right a circle in which is a cross. Under his left foot two suns (?) seem to influence two concentric circles. Under his right foot two dragons devour each other by the tail. The one on top has wings. Above are represented the Sun and the Moon. We see behind the character on the left a leafless tree with a cut branch. You can notice water at the bottom on either side of the two squares.


Description :

In the middle, on rocks, stands a triple flower. The ones on the left and right are identical. The central one, larger, has two rows of petals. On either side, a MERCURY woman and a SULFUR man are naked and both have swollen bellies as if they were pregnant. The man hides his penis with his right hand and with his left extends a flower towards the woman. This flower is the same as those to the right and left of the central flower. The woman hides her genitals with a leaf in her left hand and with her right points to the central flower. At the bottom we find the castle and the fountain.


Description :
The androgynous union of woman and man holds in his right hand the fleur-de-lys scepter and in his left a cup in which is the circle with the cross in the center. Under his right foot is the sun, under his left, the moon. At the level of the feet there is a cloud. Under the sun and moon are 7 large stars and 13 small ones. Both heads wear a single crown.

Description:
The crowned androgyne is lying in a tomb. At his feet are a skull on a bone. He seems to be escaping from the androgyne, a smaller man who is going to join the clouds.

Description:
A peacock is on the tomb. At the top left is the moon surrounded by three circles. At the top right is the sun.

Description :
The moon is in the tomb. She has two huge wings on her sides. Behind we see the tree of which only the right part is leafy. A branch on the right was cut. Four branches on the right and three on the left.

Description:
In the tomb all in black is the skeleton of the androgyne. Above dominates a castle on a hill.

Description:
The androgyne is still in the tomb. Only the head is not a skeleton. The crown has disappeared. A winged man seems to escape from it, heading towards the clouds above. In the clouds we see four heads blowing.

Description :
The androgyne is entirely in skeletal form in the tomb. Clouds from above fall drops on the skeleton. Between each line of drops we see lightning.

Description:
The two heads and the flesh of the androgyne have returned. The man's head is bearded. There is no crown. His feet rest on a moon. From the clouds above descends a winged man in the heads of the androgyne.

Description:
A queen is on her throne. She holds in her left hand a scepter with lilies and in the right a flower which has two rows of petals as well as four points. She observes or smells the flower. The queen is crowned. Above are represented the seven planets in the form of seven large stars and twelve small stars.

Description :
A bearded and crowned old man stands in the tomb. Above is the sun in the clouds.

Description:
A crowned king stands on his throne. In his left hand he carries a Lys scepter, and in his right hand he holds a lion on a leash. On each armrest there is a lion. Above are the 6 planets (Jupiter is missing).