Treaty of the Secret of the Philosophical Art or the Open Ark in other words

THE LITTLE PEASANT CASSETTE

Aperta Arca Arcani Artificiosissimi
1617

FIRST PART

We have here in Germany a common and old proverb, after much tears great joy, after the rain the fine weather; it is quite the contrary, it has been to my great regret for a few years, my fatal fate; the same thing has sometimes happened to others, who have begun the Work without a real foundation, as I will show throughout; because thinking I had everyone in my hands, I had nothing less than that, especially since my glass vessel on which I had relied all my happiness came to break with a great noise and all the material spilled over into my minutes of Philosophy, which were spoiled and soiled by it, which caused me a lot of loss, but I pass this over in silence; I only say that I was very surprised with astonishment by this unexpected disaster, that I did not know where I was, nor what I was doing, so sad and afflicted had I become; for all my joy and my hope had turned into venom and not into the Gold and Silver which I expected.

Having therefore come back a little into myself, and having carefully considered the great loss I had suffered, and the inconvenience I received from this accident; I began on my knees, with tears in my eyes, and with a groaning heart, to represent my misfortune to him who from all eternity sees all. things ; for God gives and takes away from whomever he pleases. I made him an instant prayer, so that he would have pity on me, inspiring me the true way to arrive before his Divine Majesty by the spirit of truth and wisdom; what also gave me consolation, was what Zachaire said, that many Philosophers have failed at the beginning who nevertheless have finally arrived at the end of their Work. As therefore I was almost overwhelmed with various thoughts for the unfortunate accident which had befallen me-on the breaking up of my vessel,

After these anxieties and movements, I finally took the resolution not to worry my mind any more, considering that all those who preceded us, and who reached the perfect knowledge of this holy mystery, did not stop being sinners like us, and that this gift of God is not revealed because of any merit that is in man; but it is a particular grace of God, since we are only very useless and full of error. This consideration made me take a firm resolution to convert myself to God, and to have only His honor for my object, and the help of my neighbor for all my undertakings. Being in this firm will, I felt a holy ecstasy and certain emotions which gave me clarity among my previous afflictions; and rising from my prayer,

But it seemed to me that I ought above all to prefer the Comte de Trévisan, which, although previously I had leafed through thoroughly, I nevertheless discovered nothing in it which gave me an assured foundation, but after this illumination, as I was at the place where the Author deals with the first matter, I felt interiorly enlightened, recognizing in what really consists the virtue and power of the Work, and at first I quivered with joy, but continually examining this science, I I found my understanding quite open, where before it had been closed and narrowed, and although with so much breadth and care I had formerly occupied myself in many operations, they had nevertheless been made in vain, for I was ill-founded. Everywhere I praised God, and called upon his holy name with joy; I continued to humbly pray to him that he would give me the perfection of these good and solid beginnings, which had no other end in me than his glory and my salvation.

At the moment I continued to understand this matter well, so that I no longer despise myself by appearances, but that I put my finger on that which can be said and named near and not distant matter; for the former is richer and more fertile than the latter, although they both tend to the same end, according to the good Riplée, in his axioms of the Twelve Gates, and according to Flamel, mad. 120 Item fol. 180, or 150, where he says that it is above all a very great secret to be able to know of which mineral thing one must soon make the Work.

Now, as I had gone on a trip, I found myself between two mountains, where I admired a man of the fields, grave and modest in his bearing, dressed in a gray coat, on his hat a black cord, around him a white scarf girded with a yellow strap, and wearing red boots, whom I saluted. Approaching me, I perceived that he held in his hands two very dazzling, starry flowers with seven rays; one of these flowers was white, and the other red. I considered them well, because they were very beautiful, brilliant and of very beautiful colors, very fragrant and agreeable to the taste; moreover, one was feminine and the other masculine, nevertheless both growing from the same root and from the influence of all the Planets.

I asked this man what his design was for these two flowers, for I had quite a good knowledge of them, but not that there was a distinct intention in them, nor that they were male and female, that is to say of two different natures. Then, staring at me fixedly, he asked me who had sent me to this uninhabited place; that he was, he said, sought after by the greatest of this world, but full of many perils, and almost inaccessible.

As I had described to him the course of my life, my adventures and employments, he smiled at me, not taking much account of it; he treated me very civilly, however, beginning to say this to me:

“You will know that no one comes to the knowledge of these two flowers, that he is not called of God, guided by faith and by invocation; still he arrives in his researches of great pains, boredoms and afflictions, so that this high science will be to him with great veneration when he will possess it like a dearly purchased treasure. »

“But since you have reached these places, you will see that God authorizes me to tell you, that from these two flowers comes (after their conjunction, and not earlier) the first matter of all Metals, which is confirmed to you by Trevisan at the end of his second part, where he names these two flowers, red man and white woman; but the Philosophers, for many reasons, have said many things on the subject of this first matter, to cover it and its root as with a veil, and they have also taken good care not to discover the second matter: although it is necessary that you first treat this second matter, which is raw and indigestible, and which is nevertheless the subject of the Stone, you must draw it as from man and woman, which after the conjunction becomes the first matter which I declare to you here with sincerity. »

I was astonished at this speech, which nevertheless gave me joy for the contentment in which I found myself at being with him; on these things, I could not refrain from saying to him: Friend, your simplicity would have prevented me from looking for things of such high intelligence in you; he began to smile and said to me: It is in truth this simplicity which misleads everyone, and which causes me to be neglected by everyone; for my outward form deceives them all, seeing my baseness, and what seems vile in me; but when they politely ask me to take off my gray jacket and my homespun cloak, I answer them, and show them a diamond dress underneath, and a ruby ​​fur, or if you like, a very precious shirt; but the Almighty has blinded them almost all, so that they do not see from what these Metals took their origin.

I share with him, dear Friend, inhabitant of the fields, these flowers have a very high luster and brilliance, but nevertheless they also have the property of Medicine. He answered, they are very medicinal, but their greatest property is hidden in them, because when they are on their own root, they are poisonous: this is why their root must be benignly and delicately sublimated with care, as I want to believe you know; what I judge by your operations; although they have not worked well for you up to now, I do not doubt that you do not understand well what this sublimation means here, which is done without ever entering into it anything biting or corrosive, which would destroy the goodness of its nature: and it is from there that these two beautiful flowers take their birth, without addition of other things, foreign and different, drawn from this contagious mountain; and if I had not known under which Planets the men of the fields are constellated, I would never have arrived, nor been able to go to this remarkable place.

I say to him, dear Friend, your speeches engage me to beg you again to tell me, if these two flowers take birth and grow both at the same time, and what is of their production; because I propose that in this clarification are revealed great help from science: I hold it to honor and great advantage to be clarified, because the Philosophers have spoken of it very little. At this, instead of smiling, he shook his head a few times, and remained silent for a long time; then he said to me, you ask me for the stumbling block, where many stumble; for many know the first matter, but they err in the knowledge of this mastery; however, be here tomorrow at this same hour (twenty-four hours later), you will find me ready to give you an understanding of these things, as much as I am permitted. I thanked him,

So I saw him arrive, holding the two flowers in his hand, and summoned him to keep his favorable promise, begging him to believe that I was absolutely his, although I recognized that I was very useless to him. To which he said these words to me: provided that you are well with God, I will be well with you, and you with me; otherwise I will always be far from you, if you are far from God; but as much as I believe that you belong to God, I will reveal to you here the whole process, and will repeat to you my first words, on each of which you must have particular attention, with continual prayers to God. This Science is a special gift of supreme goodness; take heed therefore to all my said words, and examine them very exactly. Sit with me on this greenery, for I am old and of a cold nature, I have not good legs, nor very robust,

You have no doubt read that our Magi, Philosophers and Kings, write and say to everyone, follow Nature, follow Nature; and it is from there that you must infer that all those who want to produce something advantageous and great in this Science, must above all have full knowledge of the origin and foundation of all the Metals, of their origin, production and difference, of their sympathy and antipathy, that is to say love and hatred.

Know moreover, that all Metals have come from the same root, the matter from which they take their origin being only one and unique, and they acquire their difference only by cooking, that is to say, according to whether they are more or less cooked or digested. The good Authors confirm this truth to you; but do not be disgusted with their different ways; flee only from the givers of particular recipes and processes; therefore be indefatigable in reading good Authors, and delay will reward your patience and your trouble.

But know in a few words, that whoever understands the origin of our Metals well, will know that the matter of ours must be metallic, also born from metallic mining without metal; for there is no metal without metallic lights, nor also metallic lights without metal; and so consequently one relates to the other; for their natural being and kind is one, which is called unripe mineral-minor electra, or magnesia, or otherwise lunar; and hence it is that the Philosophers always speak in the plural when they say, for example, our metals.

But I must tell you about it more clearly, since you have the true knowledge of true matter, of which this metallic root must be gently separated from what is contrary to it, or against nature; I mean that she accidentally acquired poisonous fumes.

Then it is necessary to extract from it that white and mercurial liquor, which is so delicate and fluid, which must be sought in its upper part; and his name is Azoth, or eagle's glue; but its sulphide fixed liquor, red and incombustible, must be sought in the most occult lower part, and is called brass, or red lion; understandably enough.

But if you lack any light, invoke the Name of the Lord of lights, and the Author of all good gifts; and especially remarks with admiration that these two flowers never dry up or wither, that one can be converted into the other in all forms and shapes, and that it has slope and inclination to all the seven Planets, to which if once it joins, it does not separate again: the natural virtue and the property of these flowers cannot be learnedly enough described by any Philosopher whatsoever.

You see now that these two flowers come from the same stem, which is sevenfold and capable of all colors; but these flowers are quite distant from each other, which comes from their different natures, and therefore it is necessary to find a way to join and unite them, to make them vegetate and grow; from these two must procreate an excellent, indissoluble and perpetual fruit, which does not happen without the express permission of the Sovereign.

Moreover, know that the count, where the number of the seed or germ of the white lily is different from that of the red lily, and that these two flowers do not operate at the same time; what the ancient Sages kept tightly closed and covered, and this is what they call their weightless weights: these two lilies do not unite and do not mingle in small parts. The Ancients among the Arabs speaking of these things in these terms, say that the weight of the male is singular, and that of the female is always plural; what the Count of Trévisan exposes in this way: The earthly power on its resistant according to the deferred resistance, it is the action of the agent in this matter; do you hear that? I replied that these terms are obscure; to which he replied that I should not trouble myself about it; for, he said, if you manage to increase these two fleur-de-lis, then you will know by their own essence, property and nature, what you will have to do and not otherwise; I advise you to take great care that the heat of your fire is slow and benign; for otherwise the seed of the white lily would evaporate in smoke, and all your work would be reduced to nothing.

Then I said to him, you mentioned two lilies, and yet the Philosophers sometimes say that in a single thing, or a single Mercury and Azoth, consists all that the Philosophers, or Sages seek, sometimes they speak of three things, Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt, and most often of soul, spirit and body; however you make no mention of it.

I must, he said, laugh at you, that you do not yet understand the terms of the Philosophers, and that they are so little known to you, or else you want to test me; I must therefore relieve you of this. Know therefore that the Philosophers understand by one thing the Salt of the Metals, or Philosopher's Stone, and by two, the body and the soul, of which the third is the assemblage of these two; namely the spirit, which cannot be seen, since it is hidden in these two; and so we can say that this spirit floats on the waters; but you can read it in Moses: let that be enough for you.

But as for me, I gladly stick to these two; therefore take these two lilies very clearly polished, and having enclosed them in a well corked crystal, without fire, put them in a gifted and light heat of athanor: then the white lily will spread out, embrace and contain in itself the red lily, and as much as the red lily is of an igneous nature, and that it receives help from external heat, it communicates and gives its odor and whale of baum e warm in the coldness of the white lily, from which arises a discord, one not wanting to yield to the other, which proceeds from the contrary qualities which are in them, as you know, then they both rise to Heaven, or better said, they both grow into Heaven, but they are afterwards blown away by the wind, and this by many and so many times that they became weary and weary of the work of going up and down; they are compelled to rest in the ground, and know that unless the bath be so regulated and governed, that their natures do not both rise at once, but each apart, or one after the other, you will never enjoy their odor: therefore take good care of this greatly remarkable operation.

Now all the more so because of these two enemy and contrary natures or qualities, one of these two lilies cannot make itself predominant over the other, they come together and unite in such friendship together that they no longer wish to separate; then afterwards, in this union or rallying, the whole Firmament is similarly moved, and the Sun and the Moon become dark and obscured, as much as the Most High pleases; after which by the love of the Almighty, the Rainbow of all colors is seen in the air, to mark that then you can no longer doubt that God is favorable to you, and that the deluge of these two fleur-de-lys will not happen again, of which you must rejoice.

You will also see in a short time, that the Moon will gradually be seen less dark than before, and finally adorned with a gleam, whiteness and clarity of a very beautiful luster, but the Sun is still hidden behind the Moon, which because of the interposition of the earth cannot yet be seen; that if you have the eyes of the understanding opened, you will perceive four Planets in the Moon, which by the glare of its gleam, you will convert and transform into its permanent nature.

But when the Lunar or the Crayfish approaches the Sun, and the heat multiplies and grows more and more, then the Moon is obscured by the rays and the luminous glare of the Sun, until it is forced to hide behind it and in its rays; As on the contrary, this brilliant sun comes by the conspiracy of the other planets to put on a beautiful and pleasant color, and being irritated by their means, it begins to pale, then to cover itself, and becomes red as blood: but all the more as these planets humble themselves before him, as before their Lord, and good master, God having thus ordered him, he finally receives them, and to associate them with his reigns. Being therefore thus united and ennobled, they praise God for so great and so marvelous an ornament,

See now that I have taken you out of your doubt and your uncertainty, and be entirely in this belief, that you have acquired the entire understanding of the whole affair; but you must keep silent, praying God to grant you the grace to use it rightly and with great discretion, for if you do otherwise you will never see me again.

I was so astonished and bewildered at this that I had no words sufficient to give him thanks, although I was inclined and inclined to show him all sorts of gratitude. to which he answered me graciously: You will know that the virtue and the efficacy of these two fleur-de-lis are amplified and renewed from three days to three days, that they multiply and sow themselves in thousands; what happens when the seed is sown in the first and previous earth; thus on the first day darkness appears; at the second, a bright moonlight is seen; and on the third a Sun chases away the darkness from its setting, and this matter is taken care of as much as the Almighty wills or permits.

From the nature of this Stone are formed other precious stones of all kinds; but its great effect tends to the knowledge and worship of the Almighty, and to the length and prolongation of life; and even if anyone comes to possess the least leaf of these fleur-de-lis, he will have antidotes against all infirmities and diseases; just as he who comes to possess the least fleur-de-lis will have enough to make himself happy.

But I'll come back to see you in nine months, and then I'll tell you more about the properties of these flowers, because I have to retire; I perceive however that you are in some trouble because of my exterior, especially since you see me covered with this envelope or gray jacket, which I have put on, in order to veil me from the Powers who want to ravish me and torment me by their Gehenna; but did I not tell you that I am in my interior and within clothed and adorned with Gold, Diamonds, Emeralds and Rubies.

To which I share in great submission, gratitude, and very humble prayers, that I be allowed for a greater clarification, to make this request again; I therefore said to him: all the great Authors represent to us that there are great observations to be made in the regime of fire, and that great things depend on it, since it must often be more or less hot in its degrees; moreover, I would very much like to know distinctly what is the closest material to the Stone, from which the specific form must be extracted, or else these two beautiful flowers; for although I know the general matter, I am nevertheless still in doubt on this first point touching the nearest one, and this all the more so as Clangor Buccinoe tells us, that one can hardly draw from a pound of matter the weight of a drachma,

You press me too closely, he replied, and all you will still get from me today is that you take care that under this gray coat or jacket of mine, I wear a green and red shirt, that if you make it polished and perfected with the stones or pebbles of fire and philosophical, adding filings or rust of Mars, and the red Eagle fixed in the Work, then this shirt will be greatly improved, and then when you have immersed it in a shining fountain of a very clear Moon, this Moon will enrich it with six other Suns, good and valid, which you will withdraw at each operation for your own use, and which you will be able to procure for yourself this profit each week, on which you will live with honor and convenience, even until very good annual income, while waiting for the perfection of your Work.

This is what the friend can openly say and declare to his friend, always keeping silent about what constitutes the entire conduct of the great Work, which God distributes from himself; he has reserved the dispensation of it to himself alone.

At these words my Doctor fainted and entered the vast and deep of the mountain, and the two fleur-de-lys remained in the same place, to which slipped the said Agricola, that is to say, the man of the fields; I went forward to pick these flowers, but having arrived at the place where I had seen them, I perceived in their place a large heap, or mass of raw material, and the real Stone, the weight of which was several pounds, and close by was a Sign bearing these words; God sells these goods by works; which was the end of my interview.

SECOND PART

When I had thanked with all my heart, praised and exalted the Eternal, only Almighty God, Creator of all things, for the grace which he had given me for the above revelation; I took my second subject (the first subject will follow below); I kissed it with joy as something for which I had languished and sighed with all my senses, and about which I had lived so many years in doubt, misery, sadness and anxiety; I regarded her with great astonishment, especially because she had no outward appearance and yet she must be able to accomplish and perfect such a high, important and supernatural Work; I remembered at that very moment what the Peasant had told me, that God had ordered it so for very important reasons, so that the poor likewise, and as well as the rich might enjoy it, and that no one had cause to complain to God, that in this he preferred the rich to the poor; no really, the rich do not care about it and even less do they believe that such a virtue is hidden in such a vile matter, as we can read on the twenty-eighth leaf of the great Rosary; if we named our matter by its own name, the mad, the poor and the rich would not believe it was it; thus the poor find it by hand rather than the rich. as can be read on the twenty-eighth leaf of the great Rosary; if we named our matter by its own name, the mad, the poor and the rich would not believe it was it; thus the poor find it by hand rather than the rich. as can be read on the twenty-eighth leaf of the great Rosary; if we named our matter by its own name, the mad, the poor and the rich would not believe it was it; thus the poor find it by hand rather than the rich.

When therefore I had well wrapped up and enclosed my material, I returned home with joy, singing the Canticle along the way. I was not long at home when I began to provide myself with: 1° a good part of the things necessary for the Individual, which the good Peasant had taught me, so that with more rest and firmness I could go about preparing for the universal; thus I began in the Name of God, I bought a considerable quantity of coal, because that consumes much; I built very useful stoves and ovens for the same purpose, and in a short time I had a considerable supply of coal; but the Demon, enemy of Christianity, could not suffer that, he caused me several alarms on each other. The neighbors accused me of setting their houses on fire; my friends and other acquaintances represented to me that there was a rumor of counterfeit coins, and that I was abandoning such a vain enterprise for fear of falling into suspicion; that I should rather devote myself to the exercise of Jurisprudence, telling myself that with more reason, I would find more success and profit in it, because I was a Doctor of Laws, and that this exercise alone was capable of providing me with ample support.

But although in good conscience I could not earn my bread by such means, I did not fail to greatly double the price of coal, so that the Blacksmiths and Goldsmiths accused me in Court, as being the cause of its dearness, complaining that they could not continue their trades, and have as before their necessary food, consequently that they could not on this account continue the payment of taxes and contributions to the Republic, because I paid more dearly for coal in order to to be preferred to others; they treated this subject at length, so that the Council made me make the defense, and know at the same time that I had to withdraw myself from this use of coal, and to live in the Laws of my vacation; in short, the dispute was so ample that I had to knock down my stoves, leave from there,

However, I did not declare to anyone the design I had; the same tribulations and inconveniences lasted almost until the third year; God knows what pain it gave me in my heart to hear bad things about myself, without being able to advance in the Work; I even thought that God did not yet see fit to allow me to do so: for we must follow the path where destiny leads us and brings us back. Count Bernard de Trévisan similarly testifies to having had all the science of the universal perfectly, two years before he could have put it into effect because of several impediments.

During my journey I conferred with learned people, I became more learned, and we gave each other mutual assistance by science and conference, as it is customary to do; I also made a heap of fine material, of all sorts of mines and working stones; but I found very few, not even more than three, who held the right physical path; they all wanted to use common Mercury, Gold, Antimony, and Cinnabar; and even the simpler and lesser things, in which they all wandered as long as they were, not working and following the natural path of nature; but if they had followed him, they would not have erred so miserably, besides that a gift of such great excellence does not accord to all; let everyone make up their own mind about it, and experiences himself long before loss and damage come to overwhelm and surprise him; notice this, whoever is able.

As therefore I had finished the course of my travels, I returned happy or lodged, then soon came to me to see again my so-called friends, wanting to know where I had been so long, what I had done and what I wanted to do: I gave them a brief answer: Isn't the world big enough, perhaps you think your city makes everyone; and that outside of it we cannot feed ourselves; but if you had tried so little, you would judge quite differently. There are, thank God, enough people who receive and acknowledge with great thanks what you despise and mockingly reject; and you will also know that from now on I will not cause you much inconvenience for the coal, because now I do not need it.

They were greatly surprised at these words, and shook their heads to find out where the hare was lying, but I completely deprived myself of their company; I rented a house where I only took a boy with me.

After the thanks given to God, by the great desire I had for the Work, I resolved to accomplish it. Patience and perseverance being the main part of the whole Work; for all the Philosophers write it, and it is the key to the Art; each can easily test it to his confusion, by burning the flowers with fire, or otherwise burning the growing virtue and the germinating nature; this is why I had to use great caution. I also took great care that no accident happened to me through lateness or lack of warmth, as Theophrastus speaks of in his Manual, but in the end, by the goodness of God, everything worked out well for me.

Now as the poisonous vapors were withdrawn from the Stone, our two flowers appeared, as our Peasant had said, growing beautiful, yet gently. I saw the white one earlier, the red one not having reached its degree yet. I took a little leaf of the white one, tasted it, and indeed found in it quite a sweet, excellent, and agreeable taste, the like of which I had never experienced, and about which I then rejoiced greatly and heartily. The surplus of this little leaf, I put it on iron red with fire, it sank there suddenly and turned into smoke at the same moment, by which I recognized that it was the female, seeing that she was so volatile and light, and in this way I used great prudence, so that with that I made myself master of the red,

However, before I had covered these two lilies, I had rather large crosspieces, of which I do not want to mention here, but that was soon forgotten, when I had covered these two lilies; I thought of the Peasant, and marveled at his profound and sublime judgment; I always followed the instruction he had given me, and joined the two lilies together, and in this junction I perceived at the time remarkable things, because of which I then enclosed them both in a beautiful vessel of crystal, which I placed very gently in a place which gave great heat.

Now as the Sun began to shine, the white lily came to spread out, as if it had been all water, and just as one sees the morning dew on the grass or like a clear tear of Sun shining like the pure Moon, yet with a certain bluish reflection; and looking closer, I saw that she had consumed water and swallowed the red flower; so that I could not see the least leaf of it, yet it could not hide all the red, the red is of a fierier and drier complexion, and the white colder and more humid; and as the gleam of the Sun came to her aid externally, she tried to rise again, but she could not because of the strength of the white, the naturalness of which still predominated; yet they fought softly, both agreeing equally in Heaven, or towards Heaven, but they were driven down and driven back by the whirlwinds of the winds; this lasted until both, bound together, were forced to remain below, for the root which had been able to make them grow was cut off from them.

Then begins the first matter of Stone and Metals, after which the darkness gradually began to appear, and the Sun and the Moon were more and more covered this lasted a good space of time, as can be read in the Treatise of Count Bernard of Trevisan; however appeared the pacific and graceful sign of the Rainbow, with all kinds of admirable colors, which the Peasant said would be a sign of rejoicing and an omen of good faith.

Now, as the Moon came to be glimpsed, though not quite clear, the Sun began to shine brighter, until the Moon was full, and transparently wore a clear gleam, as if it were all pearls, and pieces of diamonds lightly piled; whereupon four Planets rejoiced; for by this means they can be changed from their imperfect naturalness into the splendor of the Moon, and into its nature, what the said Count Trevisan names in his parable, the King's shirt.

Then giving the third degree of fire, all sorts of excellent fruits came to grow and sprout, like quinces, lemons and oranges pleasant to see, coming out of a soil full of hyacinths, which were transmuted in a short time into lovely red apples, which are nicknamed from Paradise, growing from a ruby ​​land, and finally they were changed and congealed into an admirable, clear, pure, and always shining Carbuncle, which gives back by its own light , all the Dark Planets, and dark in color, and is shining, dazzling and celestial, and that in a very short time.

After that, as I had made some projections on many books of purified and purified Metals, which I rejoiced exceedingly, and marveled that so little of our Stone had so great a power to penetrate and change in an instant all kinds of Metals, that is to say one part into a thousand others, I laid down, sitting down after my Stone made; then my thanksgiving to God, I had the will to make another projection, with the intention and design that I could approach more closely the knowledge of the foundation of the projection.

Just as I had just started, here comes this good man from the Peasant, he greets me kindly first; I was greatly surprised, because I did not recognize him soon enough, and he entered suddenly, dressed for the moment in a robe of various colors; I let myself go on the bench, for my legs were shaking. He said to me with a laughing mouth, and with pleasant gestures, Fear not, my dear brother, you have a gracious and merciful gift with you, and what your heart desires in the world. I am coming back to see you now, as I promised you, to inform you more of the secrets and other more elevated and sublime things; for this is only the beginning; and to teach them to you fundamentally, hear, that making the Stone is a thing of little importance, simple and light, as now you must confess yourself, and that the Eternal God, for very important reasons, so disposed him; but in understanding well and perfectly; it is necessary that all the Philosophers, Adam, Hermes, Moses, Solomon and Theophrastus bow down and lower themselves before it; publicly acknowledging and making known to all their impotence on this point. As also Zachaire (who often made the Stone) openly testifies, mad. 39, saying: Our Medicine is a Science as divine as it is supernatural. In the second operation, or conjunction, it is, has been, and always will be impossible for all men to know and discover for themselves, by any study or industry whatsoever, were they the greatest and expert Philosophers who ever lived in the world, for all natural reason and experience fail us in this. for very important reasons, so arranged it; but in understanding well and perfectly; it is necessary that all the Philosophers, Adam, Hermes, Moses, Solomon and Theophrastus bow down and lower themselves before it; publicly acknowledging and making known to all their impotence on this point. As also Zachaire (who often made the Stone) openly testifies, mad. 39, saying: Our Medicine is a Science as divine as it is supernatural. In the second operation, or conjunction, it is, has been, and always will be impossible for all men to know and discover for themselves, by any study or industry whatsoever, were they the greatest and expert Philosophers who ever lived in the world, for all natural reason and experience fail us in this. for very important reasons, so arranged it; but in understanding well and perfectly; it is necessary that all the Philosophers, Adam, Hermes, Moses, Solomon and Theophrastus bow down and lower themselves before it; publicly acknowledging and making known to all their impotence on this point. As also Zachaire (who often made the Stone) openly testifies, mad. 39, saying: Our Medicine is a Science as divine as it is supernatural. In the second operation, or conjunction, it is, has been, and always will be impossible for all men to know and discover for themselves, by any study or industry whatsoever, were they the greatest and expert Philosophers who ever lived in the world, for all natural reason and experience fail us in this. thus arranged it; but in understanding well and perfectly; it is necessary that all the Philosophers, Adam, Hermes, Moses, Solomon and Theophrastus bow down and lower themselves before it; publicly acknowledging and making known to all their impotence on this point. As also Zachaire (who often made the Stone) openly testifies, mad. 39, saying: Our Medicine is a Science as divine as it is supernatural. In the second operation, or conjunction, it is, has been, and always will be impossible for all men to know and discover for themselves, by any study or industry whatsoever, were they the greatest and expert Philosophers who ever lived in the world, for all natural reason and experience fail us in this. thus arranged it; but in understanding well and perfectly; it is necessary that all the Philosophers, Adam, Hermes, Moses, Solomon and Theophrastus bow down and lower themselves before it; publicly acknowledging and making known to all their impotence on this point. As also Zachaire (who often made the Stone) openly testifies, mad. 39, saying: Our Medicine is a Science as divine as it is supernatural. In the second operation, or conjunction, it is, has been, and always will be impossible for all men to know and discover for themselves, by any study or industry whatsoever, were they the greatest and expert Philosophers who ever lived in the world, for all natural reason and experience fail us in this.

But so that, as I promised you, you can be more educated and informed, as much as is permitted, and free to reveal and discover the secret, I want you to understand the thing fundamentally.

Be always assiduous in fervent prayers to the Sovereign; you can follow the road that I showed you because from God come all the greatest treasures of science; then you will undoubtedly be enlightened, illuminated and endowed with a great intelligence, with all science and knowledge, according to the testimony of the most wise King Solomon, in the Book of Sapience, ch. 7, v. 8. For the Eternal God rightly asks to be prayed for, he gives it as willingly as he did of old to others, to those who in heart long for it, with purpose to use so sovereign a gift of God, to his honor, to their salvation, and to the relief of their neighbor, and of the needy poor.

Now, because I know that you have already proceeded a little imprudently to the projection and establishment of the tincture; you must know that you must purge and clean the Metals well of their adustible accidents, or sulphurous dirt, before you make the projections, otherwise it will turn you to a loss, and the way in which this cleaning is done is described in the Books of the Philosophers and is thus treated.

As he said this, he took a piece of copper, put it in a crucible, threw a purgative powder on it to calcine it, and with a bent iron wire he drew out what was of the contrary earth, red, stinking, which cannot be burned, and prevents the dye from penetrating, and which was in quality like mud, or foam, for so long, that Venus became clean and pure and white mud; and as I then poured my tincture on it, it suddenly passed through and penetrated to the inside, and the body of Venus was entirely changed into a real excellent gold, and better than the natural gold of Hungary; whereupon I rejoiced with all my heart, and I humbly thanked him for the precious advice he had given me, for pride or self-esteem should never puff up the heart of a true Philosopher with vanity,

Then this little Peasant gave me a similar account of the purifications and cleanings of the other Metals, the test of which was a pleasant pleasure and entertainment; he said to me again: you must know that with this white, fixed Stone, you will make all sorts of white precious stones, like diamonds, white sapphires, emeralds, similar pearls; as also with the yellow Stone, before it is in its red top, you can make all kinds of yellow stones, like hyacinths, yellow diamonds, topazes, and with the red you will make carbuncles, rubies, garnets; when the stones are prepared and dressed, they far surpass the Orientals in nobility, virtue and magnificence. I want to train you myself for this and give you a hand in it, for it is easy to commit some fault.

END