The Rosary of John Dastin - Johannis Daustenii Angli ROSARIUM

1. Rosary of John Dastin - English Version
2. The vision of - John Dastin Allegory - English
3. Rosary of John Dastin - German Version
4. Rosary of John Dastin - Latin Version
5. The vision of - John Dastin Allegory - Latin


(Fluidity of the English text is often sacrificed, in order to achieve a higher degree of precision.)

() addition for the better understanding of the text

[] original word or meaning in the printed Latin Geismaria edition of 1647

[[G. ]] single variant of the German manuscript CPG 467 / text until [[]] =that section of text in the German manuscript. Note: The variants of the German manuscripts are only mentioned or taken into consideration, if they sufficiently deviate from the sense of the Latin text. [ + word] addition, / [ - ] missing word-/s

{} probable additions by an earlier editor of the Latin text, to embellish the text.

The Dutch edition of the Latin text, dating from 1599, although it apparently stems from the same Latin text base, avoids some obviously corrupted places in the Geismaria edition, but also introduces unnecessary changes in other places. I still decided to use it as a control.

Division into chapters is likely the idea of the 1647 edition's editor. The German manuscript has some headings without numbering them, as was common in that kind of document. The Leyden edition has none of everything and has also suppressed all the "marginal" notes, so called Notabene remarks, which are included in the German manuscript.

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ENGLISH VERSION

TITLE:

Here begins the rosary including the most secret arcanum of the philosophers written by the author John Dastin, the most experienced English philosopher.

[[G: Here begins the booklet rosarius, called the rose-garden. And it teaches the rightful way of the divine art alchemy etc.]]

(Prologue)

A desire of desires, a priceless / price [[G. treasure]], this (collection) has been composed from the books / of the elders [[G. of many wise masters.]] We [[G. I]] have now unified them into one concise collection [summa], / so that the most excellent and certain arcanum of the chemical truth may now be sufficiently laid open to you, dearest (reader) [[G. so that the most certain truth of the multiplying and super-extending of the named and most excellent treasure may be understood in a sufficient way.]] We call this collection [summa] a rose-garden, because we picked it out for you from the books of the elders, like one would pick roses from the thorns. [[G. likewise this booklet (coming) from the masters of nature has been picked and read out from the old books.]] // And because truth is hurt by anything that stands against truth itself or reason, we shall therefore concisely present, by way of truthful clauses that do not contradict each other, also in clear speech, in the right order, and from one word to another, all the relevant causes we found necessary to pick out from the same (old) books for the completion of the opus, / (taking care) not to present anything superfluous or additional [[G. neither too much nor too little]] / with regard to the whole of the magisterium [[G. such as would reveal the final end.]] Now it shall please Jesus Christ, our Lord, to send unto us [inmittere] / the spirit of His intelligence [[G. the spirit of the right understanding.]]

(Chapter 1)

(Firstly) all [universal] works created by the Lord's excellence [bonitas] are circle-like and perfect, and are being spherically rotated (back) to Himself, from who they have originated. As from the beginning of His creation, when putting nature before everything (created), He made four simple corpora, out of which He afterwards assembled all the mixed corpora (bodies). Of those mixed corpora He made some of an intelligent [intellectivus], some of a sensitive kind, some of a vegetable and some of a mineral kind. The intelligent kind, having all been taken from the subtle part [raritas] of the elements, He created in His own image. Therefore our heart is uneasy towards Him, until we return to Him; as the most subtle part of all the elements rise above towards the fire which is near the stars. And therefore we, having been created from such origins as well, are naturally [merito] inclined to rise upwards towards God, as to our first beginning [or principle=principium.]

[[G: All created things [Geschöpf] of God's divinity are surrounded with a sphere and perfect in Him. From (Him) they went out, having been spherically put into the sphere of the heavens, and from the beginning of their creation have been made to stand in their own nature, into four particular bodies. From them afterwards all things have been made, and each of them assembled [mixed] in its own kind of composition [mixture]. One part being intelligent [verständig], stems only from the changing (or alterations), the (other part) being intellectual [vernünftig], is only in the elements, truly rising above the firmament of the stars, to the fire. And therefore we are naturally [billig] inclined above towards our first beginning.]]

// (Secondly) all things having senses [sensitiva] and all the vegetable {and mineral} things, composed from the grossness (or thickness) of the elements, He divided into different species, and, when they will have been dissolved by their death, all of them shall be returned, not without merit, to earth and water like to their own matter and mother. [[G. The sensitive creatures, endowed with intelligence [Vernunft] are from the thickness of the elements, (when) destroyed by multiple changes to their form, quite logically and not illogically shall be returned to the earth, or into water, as into their first matter, or mother,]] as the [[G. + thickness and]] grossness of all the elements naturally turn themselves below towards their centre, that is the earth {which is like a mother to all things having an earth-like nature.}

/ Thirdly there is a (natural) limit [terminus] to size and growth, so that any thing produces [augments] in its own kind that which is similar to itself. [[G. Then in any given natural composition there is a certain terminus of its size in its own kind, as well as the augmentation in a natural way, according to its own likeness.]] And some of those things are composed of dissimilar parts, like flesh, blood, bones, / veins, nerves and similar, like in man [[G. and similar.]] Others are composed of wood, bark, leaves and similar, / as in a tree. [[G. -]] Others again are composed of similar parts, / so that all of them come from one essence [[G. that are completely of one essence,]] like is seen in [[G. + glass and]] in the metals. But those which are made of dissimilar parts possess a semen within themselves, so that they might multiply and grow, like is seen in all (animate) things / and in vegetables [bushes] [[G. and in the parks (?) (in the sense of garden)]]. But those that are composed of similar parts, do not multiply, unless they are brought back into their first matter.

Therefore the philosopher [L. + Aristotle] says: "The artists of Alchemy shall know that the species of metals cannot be transmuted, unless they're reduced into their prime matter, and then they might well be transmuted and will be converted into something they weren't before." [L. + Take note of the logical need that a dissolution of the corpus into its first matter must be made, that is into argentum vivum], and that's because the destruction [corruptio] of one is the birth of the other, both in artificial and in natural things. Art imitates nature and {in some respects} corrects and wins over nature, / just like nature fallen ill will be / changed [L. helped] by the doctors' diligence [[G. as is seen in the doctor and the ill person.]] But nature does not build a house (alone), neither does she prepare a medication (by herself) [[G. Gepierde?]], because she does not possess the proper activity [motus] to achieve this.

// Likewise our Stone, although it naturally possesses within itself the tincture ((as it had been created in the earth in a perfect manner)), does not have the proper activity [motus] to become the perfectly completed Elixir, unless it is moved along (moveatur) by the art, so art accomplishes what nature cannot operate by itself. Now art imitates nature and performs the natural things, in as far as things have been born in being suitable for nature to fully complete them, and therefore nature also has to be helped by art, as some things have been omitted by nature. [[G. Likewise our lapis does not possess the movement to become the elixir by itself, unless worked on by the art. So the art operates that which nature may not accomplish by itself, especially (art) acts on its property to generate. Therefore it is necessary to help nature by the art.]]

/ Neither is there [[G. if there is]] a difference between nature and the art, only that art acts on the outside, but nature in the inside. / But art as an instrument to nature administers the (necessary) activity [motus], [[G. as art like the origin administers the natural movement]] / but nature acts really by itself, as she / returns to [L. relies on] her own perfection. [[G. -]] Now each and every corpus is either an element, or something / composed of the elements [[G. drawn from a pure element;]] / but each generation of a composed (corpus) consists of the four simple elements. [[G. -]] It is therefore necessary that our Stone / has to be led back to its first sulphuric / origin and the mercurius has [G. and L.: and mercurial origin, and] (then) to be divided into the elements, [[G. our lapis should come from the origin of its own sulphur and mercury and then be divided in the elements]] otherwise it cannot be (thoroughly) cleansed, nor reassembled [coniungi], because its most minute parts cannot enter into the most minute parts of the corpus, but when divided they can be purified and again made to be joined together, and the Elixir we are looking for, / can be made [operatur]. [[G. that we can safely make.]]

Now the practical process [experimentum] will destroy its / specific form [[G. Ansehen=external form]], and introduce a new form [species] [[G. Gestalt=form, shape.]] But verily after [L. before] the dividing of the elements, nothing is seen or touched of them, except for earth and water, as air and fire are nowhere to be seen, neither will their virtues be known except in the foregoing elements, as being so rarefied and simple [un-composed], that they cannot be seen by the (human) eye [[G. bodily eyes.]] Do not care about them [[G. any further]], it shall suffice you to return [[G. lead]] the stone into its / simple [simplex=un-composed] [[G. highest]] purity.

Chapter 2. [[Title in G: Properties of the elements]]

There are four elements, / [L. + four modes] and four humores: The blood, the choleric, the phlegmatic and the melancholic; [[G. -]] and four properties: [modus] hot, cold, humid and dry. The elements are: Fire, air, water and earth, two are friends, two are foes; two are active, two are passive. / Fire and air are friends, likewise water and earth; fire and water are foes, likewise air and earth. Fire and air are active, water and earth passive. [[G. -]] Two ascend, and two descend, one / is in [[G. holds]] the middle. And one is below the other, and that is because one contrary thing is remote from the other, and they cannot be united without a middle thing [medium.] And heat is contrary to cold, and the humid (or moist) is contrary to the dry, and therefore it is obvious that they can only be united / by a middle thing between the two [medium.]

/ So what is not contrary in its own way [[G. That which does not stand against its contrary in nature]] is apt to unite [adunativus], as (the) hot part and (the) dry part go together [[G. makes itself equal]], {as in no wise they oppose each other}, and therefore from them the element of / fire is combined by uniting [[G. originates]]; also hot and humid do not stand against each other, [[missing in G. probably due to oversight, and corrupt in L.]] since out of them results the element of air. Nor is there any opposition between cold and dry, from them the element earth is generated; nor are cold and humid contrary, from them the element of water is assembled [[G. born.]]

But (on the other hand) hot and cold can be combined only by a middle thing, that is by means of the dry and the humid, as alone they will not be stand, as one weakens [[G. hurts]] the other // because of their contrary nature, but by means of the humid and the dry they coexist, as one sustains the other. And verily hot and cold assemble and disassemble the homogeneous [unigenea] / but not the heterogeneous [L. -] by dissolving and coagulating, but the humid and the dry are assembled [aggregare] and disassembled [disaggregare] by contraction and wetting. [[> // G. -]]

A straightforward [simplex] generation and permutation is the operation of the elements. It is quite obvious all things have to be generated equally by (the action of) hot and cold, likewise also to be permuted. Thus the hot and the cold bear forth overcoming matter, but whenever the active things are overcome, it is clear that / in part undue violence is used. [L. + and indigestion, / because it's obvious that all things variable have to be generated by (the action of) hot and cold in a simple manner and to be naturally permuted. (repetition from above)] / And of any given thing another thing will not become, [L. -] but a specific [determinatus] thing will only come from another specific thing, since there is no congruous generation except from convenient (parts) in nature.

[[G. last part corrupted: Now generation is manifold and the natural transformation is clearly discernable in the experiment. When hot and cold come into contact with each other in their matter, it disturbs (?) its contrary in generation. If nothing is being born, it is appropriate that nature makes ... equal to herself.]]

Chapter 3

But there is a doubt cast [[G. and (L.) one queries doubtingly about the Philosophical Stone]], what it is [[G. + and how it is composed]] that the philosophers have spoken about, as none of them names it expressly [L. and G. openly.] Now in this matter many things have been stated by as many people, but as truth is found [[G. valued]] only in one (thing), and we certainly guard the same closely [[G. we quietly hold (the truth) to our (bosom)]] and teach / to avoid all the other things [[G. it openly with all its circumstances]]; since it is clear from the writings of the philosophers that it is one thing only to which nothing extraneous [alienus] must be added, because nothing is convenient unto this thing, except that which is closest to it and from its own nature; as things do not bring forth things unless / similar to themselves, nor do they bear fruit except for their own [[G. + brothers]]. So man procreates man, a lion a lion, and so each and every (species) brings forth what is similar to itself. A mule being composed of different species, can at no time reproduce itself, nor generate anything that's similar to its parents, {and that is the way with all (beings), being born of differing species.} It is therefore necessary that the elements be of one kind, not of different ones, otherwise there would be no active or passive relation between themselves, as one / has no relation with [tangere=does not touch; G. augment] the other. Therefore, if things are from one kind [genus], their roots are one.

/ The diversity of things is caused by [[G. As confusion therein arises from]] the diversity of their parts. So learn to discern the pure from the impure, as nothing can give which it does not possess. / The pure is of one essence without any alterations, the impure is combined of differing and contrary things, being easily liable to corruption. [[G. as below: To the impure ... destruction. / was inserted here]] The proof of this is found in Sol (gold) and in Saturn (lead), as Saturn corrupts easily, Sol hardly at all, therefore all the other planets lack its lustre [lumen.]

[[G. To the impure (other) impure adheres, as it is worthy of it, but it cannot overcome because of the defect of the mixing together, which means: The (part) of the pure is of one essence with the ones that are fighting [or: acquire by fighting]; the impure are sundry things (made by) joining together parts that are adverse to each other [widerwertig], having taken on the faeces of destruction.]]

// Understanding the adversity of the bodies and the principle of their generation makes this magisterium easy, as the unclean (things) adhere to the unclean, as they are of the other's nature [genus,] but the pure [mundum] overcomes the nature of the impure, as it does not tolerate the defect (arising from) mixture. So do not look for something in nature that it does not possess, as things only come into being according to their own nature, and more corruption is seen in the passive thing than in the active.

[[G. The understanding of the bodies and their composition belongs to the first light (understanding) of this masterly work. So do not look for something in nature, that is not in it, as (all) things shall only become that which nature permits [gives,] and more corruption is seen in the passive than in the active thing.]]

/ The tincture is in the stone, like the heart is in man. [L. -] So use the nobler and simpler part [limb] and let it suffice you. As [the limb of] the heart is from the body, likewise [the limb of] the brain is from the head; therefore in the heart lies / the power of the irrational soul (or life) [vis animae irrationalis] [[G. the soul of wrath]], but in the brain the power / of the rational soul (or life) [[and soul of the intelligence]]. {Everything that possesses fewer corners is more noble and closer to the simple, (un-composed) just like}, [[G. In such kind of reckoning]] the triangle is closer to the simple (un-composed) than the square, as it has fewer terminations [[G. endings.]]

// Our simple un-composed principle is spherical (or round), that is, a simple body not having a single angle (corner). So leave behind the mixed or composed things, and use that what is simpler, as that is the kind of kinds [genus generum], the form of forms, because that same is the first and last of the planets, like the sun among the stars. [[G: Now take note: A simple corpus is one that does not have an angle, and therefore in the (process of) mixing take und make use of the simple and just way, as something else is the birth to those born, than the (one who) forms to the forms, (text app. corrupted) as to the first belongs the first position [going in front,] and to the other the last [going behind], as is shown in the planets, in the (position of the) sun (when compared) to the other (planets.)]]

I'll therefore transfer the discourse to the homogeneous (things) in nature, as it's apparent they're more powerful. Now in those who possess a distinguishing mark [symbolum] / it's easy to make the transfer [transitus] (or: change is easily effected), [[G. literally: as in those who have belief the going is easier.]] So if your enquiry is about the nature of the two luminaries of the world, it's advisable to elect the homogeneous (component) of the same. And / when that genus is being appropriated to man [L. the light] [[G. when that genus leans towards the light]], we know for sure that (our) opus can only be made by means of the same.

Therefore it is described thus by Aristotle (writing) to Alexander: The king's head-bands (diademata, crowns) are decorated with precious stones, the beauty of which is wonderful to behold [[G. the eyes are being helped by their beauty]], they make the soul joyous [[G. move the soul (Gemüt)]], nobility is their ornament and by their virtue the most serious illnesses are expelled from the bodies. Without their assistance medicines would have little effect, therefore doctors (of old) used them in their preparations to drive out the most serious diseases. / But the truest argument of those doctors is that the best stone of all stones is worth most in expelling all sicknesses. [[G. And in those sayings the truest argument is, that our Stone exceeds by far the virtue of all precious stones in driving out all sorts of sicknesses]] / (( Now take note concerning the best stone of all stones, by (applying) the intellect, it has to be gold)) [[G. -]]

Now the best of all stones is the one that has been cooked the most, which is closest to the fire, / sustains the fire the longest and is broken up by the fire the latest [[G. that is: which suffers the fire the more, is being destroyed by it slowly, which is heavy and always stays in it.]] Therefore the precious stones like the ruby and the sapphire are worth more than other stones, as they are generated in hotter places, closer to the sun and by a higher degree of heat. The same applies to the metals: Gold is worth more than silver, as it has been cooked for longer; and silver more than copper and the remaining metals. And as the ruby is endowed with the effective virtue [[G. effect]] of all the precious stones, so also does gold possess the virtue of all the malleable / stones [[G. flowing metals;]] as it contains within itself all the other metals, it tinges them and gives life, / as it extends its light upwards up to (the sphere) of Saturn (lead), and downwards to (the sphere of) the moon (silver) [L. -], because it is nobler than all of those, / so it is the gold you take (for your opus). [[G. -]]

/ Now verily the ruby is evenly [proportionaliter] composed [complexionatus] from the elements, as for its greater part it is of a lucid substance [[G. Now the ruby has the least complexion with the elements, as in all its parts it is but of one substance,]] like of a clear water, and is being coagulated with / the dry (things) [[G. with glass]] and with intense heat, so it cannot be worked on with a hammer [cuditur], [[G. + neither can it be made to flow,]] nor can it be reduced to another state, unless when completely destroyed [[G. hewn to pieces]], as it stands contrary to fire from all of its parts.


[[G. + as title: Description of the gold]]

/ Gold on the other hand, as it is made from an earthy substance intimately mixed with water, is homogeneous with respect to fire from one part of two extremes, [[G. Gold is mixed in its substance (which is) earth-like to water, so the nature enters nature intensively. In the part that is towards the most exterior (or extreme), it is]] coagulated by means of the cold after the effect of the heat on it, it therefore can be formed by / hammering [cuditur], casting and / have its quality improved [melioratur] by the (action of the) fire, as it is [[G. + recognized to be]] proportioned in the best [[G. + form and]] complexion, and is of a more equal, / nobler [[G. -]] and more / durable [[G. cast out]] composition than all other precious stones.


[[G. + Title: The silver]]

Right after gold, there comes silver, so also take silver for the stone. [G. -] The defect [[G. properties]] of the other corpora lies in that the heat is augmented in them or the cold reduced, like cold is missing in copper / and iron, [[G. also as there is too little moisture in iron,]] but heat is missing in lead and tin. / So their nature cannot become / gold, unless it first were to become [[G. - due to error]] silver, as nothing can pass directly from the first to the third, if not by way of the second. [L. -]


[[G. + Title: Properties of the gold and the silver]]

So gold and silver are / rightly and evenly composed [[G. of one composition]], are really temperate (or balanced), preceding all the other stones that are found under the heavens, (thus) belonging to the species [[Gestalt=form]] of our most precious stone. And clearly [[G. And it is true:]] gold is the master of all stones, the noblest of all the corpora, the / king and [[G. -]] foremost head of [[G. + all of]] them, as it is not corrupted by air, nor by water, [[G. + nor by fire,]] nor by earth, // even fire cannot diminish it, but on the contrary fire nourishes, [humectat=give humidity] decorates and corrects it. (Even) things on fire cannot burn it, nor can corruptive ones corrupt it, as its composition [commixtio] is balanced [temperatus], - and its nature straight in equal measure of hot and cold, humid and dry, nor is there anything superfluous or diminished in it. [[G. By none of those things is it be reduced, consumed or destroyed, as its complexion is temperate and its nature justly (ordered) in heat, cold, humid and dry, and none of those in too much or too little a measure.]]

So there are no [[G. + noble]] stones found / that are more precious than [[G. equal to]] gold, although there are of course some that cost more. / They are dearer, but not because they exceed its virtue [pretium], [[G. -]] but only because they are fewer and harder to find. But of all the knowable things gold is worth the most, it is the ferment / of the Elixir [[G. of joy]], / without which nothing can be achieved, [[G. -]] it makes the soul joyous, conserves youth, reverts old age and expels any kind of / bodily ailment [[G. illness of the heart.]] It is like the ferment in the pasta, and the milk coagulate in the cheese, / and like the moschus in good perfumes. [[G. -]] [Leyden: Take closely note that there is no stone better than Sol (gold), and that without Sol our work can in no way be achieved, because it is the ferment of the Elixir. Of all things of this age there is nothing worth more than gold (repetition and rest like above)]

/ So it's merited that [[G. Therefore]] gold surrounds the higher [[G. highest]] part of the Sun, but silver the lower lunar part, / therefore if I did not see the Sun and the Moon I would certainly say the magisterium were not true. But as I see them, I know for certain that the magisterium is true. [[G. And as sun and moon exist ... I realize that the masterly work [Meisterschaft] is true]]

/ Now as any given thing brings forth [augmentare] that which is akin to it, and all these things are homogeneous (as in the) vegetable realm, therefore its bringing forth ought to be similar to that of the vegetable realm. [[G. As any given thing bears fort what is equal to it, and all are recognized as being of the same nature.]] And the Sun (gold) is the tincture of the redness [rubedo], that transforms [[G. + and converts]] any corpus; the Moon (silver) on the other hand being the mistress of humidity, is the tincture of / the [[G. all]] whiteness. [albedo]

With Sol (gold) the spirits are to be mixed / and (have to be) made fixed [figere] by the same in a most intelligent manner, (a thing) which does not suit the insipid operator [artifex durae cervicis] [[G. with great dexterity, so you might not become an "hard-necked" (unintelligent, unable) operator.]] / Because when the spirit has been converted into its nature (that of the gold?) [[G. When it is being helped to be reconverted into its own (nature),]] it dies and will be seen as dead - but afterwards it will come to life, (receiving) the spirit, and it will grow and multiply like other things. / So unless the purest gold, and the reconverted [conversus] mercurius will be dead, the same will remain alone*, but as it will be dead, it will bring forth much and diverse fruit, and when it will be seen to lose that what it once was, that which before was not shall begin to appear. He who does not know its destruction (of the gold), must necessarily also ignore its (re-)assembly out of nature's action [actu.] It must be calcinated and dissolved by hard work, not giving any profit. [[G. And therefore where clean and pure gold will be turned into mercury, it will stay dead by its own. But when it is dead, it brings forth much fruit. And when it is seen to have lost that what it once was, then again that which (before) was not, will be seen to appear. He who does not recognize nor understand the (process of) destruction, necessarily cannot understand the process of the making (or the assembly) in the way of nature, and will therefore labour with great toil without getting anything in return. (last part about the calcination is missing in G.)]]

* The text appears corrupted here, because a segment from the Gospel of John (12, 24-5) was integrated into the text: "nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram mortuum fuerit, ipsum solum manet, si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum adfert." now our text reads: "Idcirco nisi Sol purissimus, & Mercurius conversus mortuus fuerit, ipse solus manet, - si autem mortuus fuerit, multum fructum adfert. It is therefore not clear if "conversus", relates to the mercury AND the gold, G has its own way, but it's not clear if the sense given by the German translator from an older Latin version of this tract, is correct. Anyway the German is in places hardly intelligible and has been made readable. The Leyden texts inserts the whole segment of the gospel text, but the above unclear place is not included.

/ Therefore you need no other corpora, if you can have in those that which is of a higher equilibrium [temperantia] and having less faeces. [[G. But concerning the other corpora, should you need them, use those that have the most temperance, you get them (also) having the fewest faeces.]] If you need them to be used, it is necessary that they first have to be converted into the kind of the perfect things, and only then you may commence your operations with them. / Now it is possible that somebody operates in those (other things), since there is a science (of working) in all corpora (bodies), but those are not as good as the aforementioned ones, as in the greater work all those lesser corpora (bodies) are not of the same (state of) perfection, as they are not (apt) to make an ingress into the opus, until they become as subtle in their composition as the perfect corpora [[G: It is possible to work with all corpora, but the work done with them rarely is of profit, so (work with those) that are perfect for the most part, if (you add) others corpora before they are brought on the right way, they will destroy the work, before they might become of use.]]

But the white and the red coming from one root, bear forth [pullulare] without the intervention of a corpus of another kind. / Now the Luna in the work of silver (bears forth) the same white, that is formed the purest matter of the Sol, not showing to retain anything of its own colour. But the same Sol without the argentum vivum present, is being robbed of its (operative) effect, as from matter and form only there shall be a real generation. The whole profit [benificium] of this art lies / in the Mercurius and the Sol, and the Mercurius and the Luna [L. in the Sol and in the Luna] but you have to investigate how in the process of their dissolution you may reconvert them into their first matter. [[G: Album and rubeum (unreadable verb) from one root, need no other corporal species, as they blossom forth by themselves, as the man (male) in the work of the silver gives the shining (light), and that which is being formed from the substance of the purest gold, holds with it the colour, as only in the matter and form a generation in nature shall be. And therefore all the assistance and ability of this art lies in the Mercurius and in the Sol, and also in the Mercurius and in Luna, but it is necessary that in the process of their dissolution they have to be worked towards the first matter.]]

Chapter 4

[[G. + Title: The Prime Matter]]

The prime matter of all metals is the argentum vivum, / because when they're turned into a liquid [[G. whenever so it flows,]] all of them will be converted (back) into the same. / Now it's certain that every thing originates from that, into which it can be dissolved [[G. In that it's clear that they all come out of it, when they are dissolved]] As ice [frozen] dissolves into water when heated, it's clear that it was water first. Thus all metals [L. malleable (things)] can be dissolved / into [[G. by]] argentum vivum, and that is why they were argentum vivum before. {Geismaria and L. + And take note of this concerning the dissolution of the corpora into argentum vivum.}

Blessed be God, / the creator of all natures sublime [[G. blessed be He in nature, the most noble God]], who has given us the understanding [ratio] to / disassemble [destruere] [[G. -]] and return each thing into its first / matter [L. + and nature, G. nature,] that is the prepared substances [corpora] [[G. that is to prepare seven corpora]] into their sulphuric and mercurial origin, so we may make from them in a few days above earth that which nature has / worked [[G. achieved]] below earth [[G. + hardly]] in a thousand years.

If we had no other / benefit [[G. power, might]] from the argentum vivum than its (ability) to make subtle the corpora into the way of its own nature, that ought to suffice us / as it is friendly and conciliatory [placabile] to the metals [[G. and therefore it ought to be a friend unto us, favourable to the metals,]] a medium to join the tinctures together, as it receives into its (bosom only) that which is of its own kind, but repels the alien (thing), being totally uniform in substance, and homogeneous in all its parts. And argentum vivum is a thing that conquers fire and isn't conquered by it, but is quietly [befriendedly] seated within it, enjoying the fire. That is because of the sound adherence of its parts in the strength of its mixture, that is, when its parts are being thickened by the fire, it neither does itself allow to be further corrupted, / nor to rise up in fumes [[G. -]] at the ingress of the furious flames [[G. it does not result to turn to the flight,]] / as it does not suffer to be mortified because of its density and the lack of its propensity to get burned. [[G. Further it does not give itself up into destruction, neither by the fire into volatility, because of its density [thickness], nor will it adhere to combustion because of the sulphur's (presence.)]]

With that we / truthfully indicate [[G. learnt]] that the more argentum vivum the corpora contain, the more perfect they are, and the less, the less perfect they are. // And certainly the lessening (of virtue) [diminuitio] in the imperfect corpora comes from the paucity of the argentum vivum, and from its improper solidification [inspissatio,] whereas there is going to be an improvement in them [complementum] by the argentum vivum's multiplication, good solidification and permanent fixation. [[G. 1st part missing, then: Therefore in the perfect corpora there is good multiplication, a proper solidification and durable conservation.]]

/ Whilst in your operation, reason [[G. Therefore study assiduously] how to overcome the mercurius / in the mixing (process) [[G. in all your workings]] and if you can / perform [[G. rule]] (your work) / by it alone [[G. -]], you will become an investigator of the most precious perfection and will enjoy / the final result of [[G. -]] its perfection, / by which [[G. when you see that]] the opus will overcome nature; as then you may intimately purify [[G. + your work]], to which nature has not gotten to, and subsequently create the / opus [[G. medicine]] from it, which will overcome all nature, as there shall be no difference / if this will take place in natural or artificial workings [organum] [[G. if it will have a natural or artificial [meisterlich] origin.]]

// From that you may extract a secret, that our medicine necessarily has to be drawn from those (things) that adhere the most to the inner depths [in profundo eius] of the argentum vivum; and they must be admixed to it by means of the tiniest parts [per minima], before it will become volatile. But the argentum vivum best adheres and is most befriended to itself, then follows gold, and then silver. [[G: From that you may extract the secret (matter), we are in dire need of; it adheres to the argentum vivum and is befriended with it, [missing words?] and after that (comes) gold, and then silver.]]

Other corpora don't have such a conformity to the same, as they participate much less from its pure nature. / So nothing is to be sunk down [demergitur] into it but the Sol (sun, gold). [[G. Therefore they are not under the rule of mercurium, except for the gold.]] Now because of that this medicine has to be necessarily [[G. principally]] and definitely drawn from those (things) of which it / principally consists [[G. is mostly composed of]], though it is also (found) in other corpora as well as in the argentum vivum according to nature, as they are found to be of one nature. But harder to (find it) in those (other) corpora, but easier [propinquius=closer] in the argentum vivum, but not in the most perfect manner [[G. in the "mert" (for mercurium?) according to the content of nature, closer, but not in a more perfect way.]]

Of whatever kind [genus] the medicine may be, be it of corpora, / be it of the substance of the argentum vivum, the most precious stone's matter has to be investigated [[G. be it of the argentum vivum or of the precious stones, the work shall be turned to the same nature]], and that's because there is no passing from one extreme to another without an intermediary [medium.] But on the extreme (end) of the metals we have the argentum vivum on one side, on the other the / final [[G. completed]] Elixir [[G. + and the medicine.]] In the middle between those we find / six [Geismaria -] corpora which can be stretched under the hammer, of which some are purer, more cooked and / digested [[G. tinged, coloured]] than others, therefore they're closer (to our operation), / which should not be ignored by (al-)chemists [L. which we believe, dearest (reader,) you ought not to ignore.]

/ Now do not err [[G. Now know ye, beloved]], there is no [[G. + just and]] real tincture, except from our [[G. true]] ore. Know you that all gold is ore, but not all ore is gold, since there is no given path [consequentia] from the genus to the / species [[G. form]]. So all gold is red sulphur, but not all / sulphur [[rubeum]] gold, / since there is none of the corruption in gold that is found in sulphur. So our stone according to the diversity of its operations must convert argentum vivum into the truest silver, even into the purest gold, as will become clear in the following. [[G. so all gold is red sulphur, but not each and every red is gold, as it is in gold out of the corruption of the sulphur, especially when the whitening is done without the first process, there will become a sulphur which coagulates the mercurium into silver, but when it will be digested into the red by a (process of) strong cooking, it will become the best sulphur with a pure redness and it shall (in turn) convert the mercurium into pure gold. (text in G. seems corrupted)]]

So hold your step [[G. + and stand (up) in great thankfulness,]] and stop looking for another stone, do not stupidly lose your money, so as not to bring eternal grief to your soul, - for what you will saw, you shall reap, - as a bad tree will not bring forth good fruit, [[G. + nor a good tree bad fruit]], so do not put flies and / beetles [[G. Rossmücken=horseflies]] into your work, nor do eat from the son, whose mother is corrupted, but instead take a mouthful of the fatted meat, since it would be utter stupidity to attempt to make your magnus opus from the worse, if it can be made from the better.

Use the honourable (part of) nature, leave behind the multitude of dark names, as they have called that thing as many names, as colours appear in its opus. When it's [[G. + coarse and]] raw, it's called argentum vivum, [[G. + mercurius]], a persevering water, lead, moon's spit, [[ore and]] tin etc. When cooked, it's called silver, magnesia and white sulphur; but when it has turned red, it's called auripigmentum, / coral, gold and the ferment [[G. -]], so those and other similar names are applied to it because of the excellence of its nature.

/ But in whatever manner its names are diversified, it always is (of) one single nature only [[G. But as often the names are changed, (they) all point to one single nature. + Nature will not be changed and therefore]] you do not introduce to it anything foreign [alienus], neither powder, nor water, nor any other [[G. foreign]] thing. / Your will must be constant in your work [[G. Look up and be of a constant will in this work of nature,]] do not attempt to jump from one operation to another [[G. + and to another particular one]], as in the multitude of things our art shall not be completed. [[G. + Take especially note: Our opus is but]] one stone, / one matter [[G. one medicine]], one vessel, one operational mode [regimen] and one disposition, to which we do not add anything foreign nor take away anything, except the superfluous we remove in the preparation, as nothing that has not been borne of it shall enter into it, neither into a part, nor into the whole of it. But should anything foreign [extraneus] be put into it, it will be corrupted right away, neither will become of it, what is being desired.

Chapter 5

Now our stone is one, that is, a persevering [permanens] water, pure, lucid, clear, having a celestial colour, and truly, if this water did not contain within itself that which (is able to) correct its own (defects,) [emendo=make better] the thing you look for, should not come into being. [L. + Take note that this water cannot be improved [emendetur] without Sol.] So we rightly honour the Sun (gold), as our water is improved [emendetur=bettered] by it, for without the Sun and its shadow (moon, silver) / no penetrating substance (venenum) that (is able to) tinge will be generated [[G. our tincture with its venenum will not be born]] [L. + that is the prepared argentum vivum.] So if anyone attempts to produce the tincture without those, he goes about the practical work blinder than a donkey looking for his fodder in the darkness [corrected with G.] // That is because a corpus does not act on a(nother) corpus, nor spirit upon spirit, as one shape (forma) does not receive it's impression from another, neither matter from matter, - as similar does act on similar, nor receives from it, as none of the two is superior to [more dignified than] the other. Therefore none of those things acts on the other, as equal does not reign over equal. [[G. is shorter: And that is because a corpus does not act onto another, as equal has no dominion over equal.]]

But in reality the corpus receives its *impression from the spirit, like also matter from form, as they're suitably made to act [agere] upon themselves and to suffer [pati] from each other. // But the corpus tinges, and the spirit penetrates, but the corpus does not tinge unless it had been tinged first; since the thick of the earth cannot be entered into because of its density, but what is thin and air-like, that may enter into and tinge, and that is the sulphur of the corpus extracted by (means of) the spirit. [[G. is shorter: The corpus suffers (receives), but the spirit penetrates the corpora, and the corpus doesn't tinge unless it is tinged, because it is thick, dense and tough]] *impression has to be understood literally, like when striking a coin

Therefore gold can only tinge itself, until its concealed spirit is extracted from its belly, and only then will it be made wholly spirit-like [spiritualis]. And our living water is a fire, // burning the gold, mortifying and disintegrating it more than the ordinary [elementalis] fire (could), and the more is admixed to it by means of a light fire, (the more) it will be scoured [teritur] and the more its (structure) will be dissolved [diruatur] and made thinner by this fiery, living water. But when it will have been reduced totally to its smallest parts [tritus] and has become one (with the spirit), it will have all the tincture within and will be able to sustain the fire. [[G. .. burning the gold more than a fire, fortifying and fortifies. And the more is mixed to it by stirring it, the more it will be divided (into its parts), when it is spread out by the power of the fire. But when they are torn (or scoured) and have been made into one, they have within them all the tincture, suffering the fire.]]

Thus dyed with the spirit, the corpus will also dye in turn, and possesses / all the tincture [[G. all the tincture to tinge]] within it / and is able to give it freely (to others), // - so those who produce a penetrating substance [venenum=poison] that (is able to) tinge from the sun (gold) and its shadow, that is the moon (silver), are fabricating our Stone. But in reality, if our Stone did not possess (qualities) both from the one and the other substance, it would not act or be acted upon with respect to the other, and one would not tinge the other. [[G. And therefore Sol and its shadow or penetrating substance [venenum] accomplish the tincture of our Lapis. But only if the Lapis is one and of one substance, otherwise it did not have suffering or activity with respect to the other, as one does not have a relation [contact] with the other.]] Also a stone and a piece of wood / in no way share a common process (operatio) [[G. have no reciprocal action]] since they're made of different materials, / and the same goes for all things differing by matter [[G. and therefore there is a difference in all materials.]]

// It is therefore clearly necessary that the active and the passive / in their nature [genus] be one and the same, although differing in species, just like a woman is differentiated from a man, as it's proper that they are the same in genus and nature, but [L. + they are distinct and] differ though from each other in their function, just as it is suitable to be between matter and / shape (or form) [L. -], and between the active and the passive. [[G. It is therefore obvious that the suffering and the generative must be from one matter, but as the women was differentiated [divided] from man, although they convene by genus, they do differ in their operative function (Wirkniß) as suits to be the case between matter and form.]]

// Matter is acted upon, - form or shape acts / by conforming [assimilare] matter to itself. So matter naturally craves for form or shape, like a woman desires the man, and the ugly the beautiful. Thus also the spirit loves to embrace the corpus, so that it may come to its perfection. [[G. Matter suffers action, form likewise acts in the materials. That is why matter naturally craves for the form, just as the man desires (the woman), as she is something to be protected. And the corpus candidly woes for the spirit, so that it may come to its perfection]]

So know you [[G. diligently take note of]] the roots of the minerals, [[G. having to]] make your opus from them, since we can neither express / our Stone by names, nor call it another way than to name the same by the very part of describing its roots [[G. the name of our Lapis in another way, than by the difference of its roots, the desired (Stone) is named.]]

And that is why our Stone is called (to be) all things by the philosophers, because it possesses within itself and by itself all things needed / to come to its perfection, - it is called so many [all] names, because of the excellence of its nature, and its hidden and diverse activity and it is found everywhere because of the participation of the elements [[G. for the well-being of the human being, and is found everywhere to its perfection because of the participation of the elements and is called so many names for the dignity of its concealed mystery in nature:]] - it's the vilest by its putrefaction, the most precious for its virtue. It is black, white, yellow [citrinus], according to the changing of its colours. / So put behind you the multitude of its names, as [[G. -]] by whatever name it is called, it always is one and the same thing. The / philosophers [[G. masters]] surely don't care about names, but about the properties denoted by those names, so by naming one, they make you recognize another, // as the thing is not subjected to a (certain) name, but their speech (the name) is subjected to the (property of the) thing itself [[G. Differing names are being given to it because of the changing of the colours, as those names are not being subjected to the speech, but the speech is subjected to the thing (itself).]]

/ Our medicine therefore is one, both in essence and in its active mode of operation [[G. Now our medicine is one in the white and the same in the work (operation),]] it's therefore necessary for / the same medicine [[G. it]] to be white, before it can become red, as it cannot become red, without having been white before, / as no one can pass directly from the first [[G. since the first cannot come]] to the third if not by way of the second. Likewise there is no transition from black to yellow [citrinus] if not via the white, since the yellow is composed of much white / and very little black [[G. and the purest black]], so if you do not whiten the medicine first, you cannot make it properly red [[G. you will otherwise not make a real red.]]

Therefore the white and the red matter do not differ at all by essence, but only by the fact that the red medicine needs a higher degree of refinement [subtilatio, G. sublimation] and a longer digestion / or heating in the fire in its process [[G. and to get hotter in its operation [regiment] ]] - and that is because the end of the white (operational) phase [operatio] is the beginning of the red (operational) phase, so what has been completed in one, has to be begun in another. But the whole magisterium is begun and accomplished in one manner. The red work needs the red ferment, likewise the white work needs a white one.

Chapter 6

Now the vessel / of (our) work [L.+G. of our stone] is (only) one, in which all the magisterium is to be completed, and it is some gourd-shaped blind vessel [cucurbita], without any separations [[G. deck perhaps as in English]], that is, a single thick (-walled) glass vessel, closed all-over, / an elbow (cubit) long, circular below and above, without any pores, plain and wide, [[G. sufficiently wide, in depth like a small "Kumb", plain-walled]] / its bottom slightly curved, [[G. -]] its walls straight, its width the size [amplitudo] of a (human) head, so in the (process of) sublimation (that which has to) ascend, can do so freely. It has to be put up in a way, that when necessary / a fire can be lighted easily from below and above, [[G. the fire may go beneath or above.]]

Some other material than glass is not suitable, unless it were similar in substance to it, because only glass and a similar material whose body (or material) / was transparent, clear and pore-less [[G. is equal to it in respect to its transparency and lack of pores]], is capable of [[G.+ forcefully]] holding back the fleeting spirits, so that they may not be destroyed by the fire, / and [[G. that]] the (different) colours may / show themselves in the work [[G. be openly discerned,]] in order that / the operator [[G. one]] does not err / in the regulation (of the fire) [[G. in the work.]] / Now other kinds of vessels are not suitable, since they have opaque and porous bodies, through which the spirits would slowly, that is little by little, disappear as a fume [[G. but the other materials are open and full of pores, so that the spirits might ooze out and disappear;]] and since it is / natural [proprium] for mercury to rise up by ways of fumes, [[G. a property of the matter is to rise up in the fume]] therefore / the top porthole of the vessel [spiraculum] has to be forcibly and permanently sealed, so that nothing might escape nor enter therein, for if air or some / foreign liquid [humor] [[G. other matter]] were to enter within, / it would corrupt the working process [administratio], but if the work's blossom, that is the white fume, would get out and flee, the whole opus would be robbed of its effect. [[G. that would right away destroy the work, also make its flowers escape, and the whole work would come to nothing.]]


[[G. + Title: The regiment (mode of operation)]]

The mode of operation (for making) our Stone is one, and that is to cook it incessantly and constantly in its vessel without any interruption, / until you come to the desired end [[G. and with dexterity and cleanliness until its completion, so that no uncleanliness shall be brought in.]] // But the philosophers have thought up many artifices to the honour and occultation of this art, especially in its aspect of its purification [mundificatio], / so no unclean or sordid matter might be introduced; [[G. -]] and those are: mixing together, cooking, sublimation, roasting, grinding to small pieces [terere], coagulating, watering, putrefying, whitening, making red. Now those are many names of that which is one process only, namely that of cooking, {and therefore it's nothing else than a woman's work or the play of children.} [[G. Now the sages have put forward many things just in the concealment and purification of the art, as are: to mix, to cook, to sublimate, to roast, to congeal, to water, to purify, to whiten, to make red [rubificare], now those are the names which are (only) one in the regiment.]]

/ Therefore grind or break it down [contero], cook it, repeat (the whole), and don't be annoyed to repeat it all over again. If the philosophers had known that a single process of cooking and (another) of breaking down [contritio] are sufficient, they would not have repeated it all over again in their sayings, but they did it for the reason that the composite [compositum] ought to be broken down (or torn) and cooked permanently without intercession. [[G. So the masters cook and grind down [terere] (only), so do not get annoyed by its manifold (repetition), it is because of this that the masters said, one should grind down and cook the compositum without intercession]]

So the whole operation [regimen] consists in keeping the fire temperate, as the diversity of its operational modes stems from the different grades of the fire's (intensity), so that keeping order in those grades shows if the artist is an expert. [[G. Now the regiment (control) lies in a temperate fire, as the changing of the (fire's) control [regiment] lies without doubt in the different grades, and the order in the fire's intensity [size] is an image of the practical work's progress. [experiment] ]]

In the process of dissolution the fire must always be light, in the process of sublimation medium, in the coagulation moderately high [temperatus], in the dealbation phase (whitening) continuous, and strong in the process of rubification (reddening.) Now should you err carelessly in those (grades), you will often / cry about a work gone to tatters [[G. cry about your own destruction.]]

/ It's therefore imperative [L. very much advised] that you sedulously adhere to (your) work, so as not to leave it behind truncated, as in no way can you acquire knowledge or profit from a work left to its own devices, but much more there will be loss and desperation. [[G. Therefore it is necessary that you sedulously stick to that, as in the proper intelligence one work shows (the way) to the next.]] // {But you must be well learnt in the science of the natural philosophy, gifted also with a high degree of diligence, so that at the time of error you might intervene with the help of your knowledge or science, for it's not possible that by sheer human diligence alone the error might be corrected, - as the art is helped by intelligence, and intelligence [ingenium] by the art.

Similarly it will suit you not to ignore the principles of this art (together) with the fundamentals [principal roots] pertaining to the inner being [esse] of the work, because: "He who knoweth not the beginning shall not find the end." Also do not attempt to aim for a sophistical goal, but keep your mind concentrated on the work's real destination, so that God, in whose power this art lies reserved, may not deny you (the knowledge of it's) true being [veritas] in all eternity.} [[in G. the foregoing paragraphs in {} are missing]]

/ Take also closely note of our Stone's disposition, which is the whole opus. [[G. -]] So the disposition of our Stone is one only, that it has to be put into its vessel and cooked continuously in a (light) fire, until everything dissolved will ascend; then (secondly) the fire's intensity has to be brought to a medium level, until it throws out (exhauro) its own liquor [humor, G. humidity] and becomes / dry and very [[G. truly]] white; and thirdly the fire has to be intensified, until (the stone) becomes yellow [citrinus] and then / very [[G. truly]] red. / {But in truth, should you be negligent in your operation, you will not see those colours.} [[G. -]] / And as long as you pursue this operation, [[G. -]] / (carefully) study all of those signs that appear in each stage of the cooking process, keep them in your mind and investigate the reasons why they appear, as that is very necessary to the artist suited (for this work), in order to bring the opus to completion, since they who ignore the cause, must also ignore the consequences. [[G. And diligently pay attention to the signs that appear in each stage of the cooking (process), also to the form of the colours, considering the reasons why those very colours (came to be); because he, who is unable to understand the causes, is also unable to be of profit to the work.]]

/ Note also about the vessel: The seed has to be put into it once only, and not many times, in order that the process of generation shall be good; - even though the philosophers talk of it in different fashions, - put it into the vessel and seal it firmly, it shall suffice you to insert and to seal it once only, until you will have completed the magisterium. "Whatsoever is more than that, cometh of evil. (Mt. 5, 37b)" For if you were to insert something more than once, then without doubt the gold will not be transformed into the red, neither into the white; all that what has otherwise been written or said, has been put out only to conceal the art. [[G. Now it is sufficient that our Lapis be inserted once only into its vessel, until the whole work shall be completed. But should this be done more often, it means nothing good, since without any doubt concerning the multiplication of the gold it will neither become red or white any sooner. The rest that's said about this, is reserved to conceal the art.]]

And surely in the generation of both the man and / all vegetables [[G. all animals]] the seed is always to be inserted only once into the matrix (womb.) If indeed another were added, then it would [[G.+ vex and]] destroy the former because of its / partially digested state [[G. unreadiness and uncooked state]] or because of the / entering of (fresh) air [[G. -]] or the superabundance of the matter, - just as women who expose themselves to many men only very rarely conceive, and if they do, it (the child) will be aborted. / So whenever raw things are superimposed onto digested things, or the undigested onto the digested, they do not nourish the corpora, but destroy them, as the foetus is only nourished by the mother's blood, and will live (in such a way) until it will see the light of day. [[So raw stands against cooked, digested against the undigested, if mixed to the work it will not give life, but death, as (the foetus) is nourished by the menstrual blood, until it sees the light of day.]]

/ From the foregoing it is obvious that we do not need diverse things for our opus, neither are its expenses great, [[There is also no need for great expenses, nor a great number of things]] since there is only one stone, [L. and G. + one medicine,] one vessel, / one matter, [L. and G. -] one operational mode [regimen] and one disposition of the same, (to get) to the white and successively to the red stage, that is, in a gentle and slow manner [[G. only one after the other]] / {And the price of all the stages of this work and its constituents does not exceed 50 pieces of silver (coins.)} [L. and G. -] // So if you (are able to) alter the natures, and manage it well, [L. so if you truthfully and beautifully direct the natures,] adapt your process well, and join one kin of blood [consanguineus - plural] to their other kin of blood, you will bring to an end the whole opus, because, - when natures meet natures, they follow them, and are exalted in them, they then become putrefied and will bear forth, - because nature is governed by nature, (nature) disassembles nature, liquefies and turns into a powder. [[G. unclear: And therefore if you can nicely describe (meaning: to organize) the altering of nature and its composition, in which you are caught (involved), and join the blood-coloured* to the blood-coloured* suitably, you shall complete your whole work, as nature will assist nature, will follow it, will rise therein, will multiply and bring forth. So as nature delivers, nature is able to convert what used to be liquid into powder. (*the first translator did not know how to render "consanguineus" (of the same blood) in German, and read "con-" for colour)]]

And then nature will regenerate nature, bear forth and renew, until it brings about the end of the opus itself. / But because according to the merit of the materials form or shape will be given, it is not advised to operate with the unprepared (state of) nature. [[G. But according to the property of nature the form will be set, and if nature has been prepared too little, it is not suited to work with it.]] The very best of all preparatory modes is to remove the superfluous and supply the wanted, / in this way both the uncorrupted [integra] and corrupted will be turned again to the perfect state. [[G. as when the whole and the broken shall be required (to come) into its own standing.]]

And this is, that starting from the *dry [L. fictis, formed or imagined] things, which do not have any familiarity with each other [[G: That was said, so that you may be careful in (introducing) things that are not convenient to the work.]] You shall bring the mercurius by strong sublimation to (a state), [[G. (It is) the mercurius that has to be put into sublimation,]] until it will acquire a blue celestial colour. But of all things pay attention that in this process of purifying you do not deprive it / of its virtue [[G. of its natural powers]], so that / the active force [[G. its natural life(-force)]] may not be suffocated in some other (thing). Just as the seeds of all / growing things of the earth [[G. greening (things)]] do neither multiply nor grow, if their generative power is / being taken away from them [[G. heated]] by some external heat. / So by the same token those natures (we're talking about) cannot be multiplied, if not prepared properly (beforehand) [[G. Therefore this (thing) will also not multiply, if nature has not been properly prepared.]]

*siccis (dry) / fictis (imagined); in my opinion fictis as in L. and probably G. is correct, pointing to the intriguing possibility that an f was read for an s in a hand-written manuscript.

So do not take this (kind of) nature, unless it's pure, clean, raw, agreeable [amoenus], / flowing, sincere and straight [rectus] - / but should you act otherwise, it will serve you nothing. But its additional (substance) is best cleansed by a process of cementation. [[G. So take not (something) without nature, if it's not pure, clean, raw, (?) [stehn], of the earth, transparent and rightful. And (putting it) onto a light fire, doing it properly, you shall not lose any of the things (sing.), neither by its addition, bettered by a process of cementation]]

So if you wish to fulfil your intention, / dissolve in that (nature) the ligatura [[G. dissolve the first ligatura,]] - since the first step [gradus] of its preparation is for it to become mercurius, which it shall not become, until you / make (it) softer by the dominion of water [[G. make it light by the distillation of water,]] and by the continuous movement of the heat, just in the way of a human birth (or generation), [[G. and the constant action [exercise] of the warmth, according to the process of the human birth,]] in which, if the uterus' humidity and the constant warmth were not present, / the sperm would not persevere, nor would a foetus be produced [[G. the sperm would not exist, neither in a bodily nor in a real manner.]] So in our work it is necessary that the heat should be moderate, that there should be much water and much oil, because according to the quantity of the water, the quantity of the tincture is related.

The most gentle manner is to rule nature according to the proper [debitum] course of nature itself, so that the magisterium may not perish by means of too much or too little heat (being applied). Because if nature is controlled to a higher or a lesser degree than is suitable, it [[G. the work]] will be right away corrupted, and that what / is looked for [[G. you look for]], will not come into being. // So operate in a prudent and not in a careless manner, because nature is wise and diligent in the bringing forth [production] of itself, and its solicitude knows no end, to which effect the verse:

The art is not be accosted and entered into, unless nature is (properly) assisted,
do this in an unhurried manner, and let the order of things take their (natural) course.

[[G. So operate wisely and not in vain, as nature is unpretentious and attentive to itself: Therefore do not attempt to accelerate her course and do not overstep the time. (Last phrase not being marked as a Nota Bene)]]

Chapter 7

/ We then properly [sane] dissolve the gold, so it is brought back into its first matter, and more precisely that it should really become sulphur and argentum vivum, because from there we might (proceed to) perfectly make silver and gold from it, when it (the gold) will have been converted into the nature of the (aforesaid) two>; ((mscpt. reading: into the prime matter)) [[G. And when gold cannot be dissolved, it has to be turned back into its first matter, and afterwards has to be once more converted [reducirn], so that it may become sulphur and argentum vivum. And after that we can preciously make of it gold, if it is turned back into their own matter,]] > and therefore it has to be [[G. + much]] cleaned (lavari) and cooked, so that it may become a / living [[G. real]] sulphur and a / living silver [[G. argentum vivum,]] since those, according to the philosophers, are the / prime matter [[G. properties]] of all the metals.

And surely our dissolution is no other, than / to have the corpus brought back [[G. to make the corpus to convert itself]] into the humid (state), / and that the nature of the argentum vivum is revealed in it; [[G. and might come into the nature of the argent. viv.]] and its sulphuric saltiness will be reduced, but not in such a way that it might be turned [[G. + again]] into water / from the clouds [[G. -]], as some stupid people had assumed: Because if it were to be brought back into such a water, (and) were then (further) to become dry by force, (but) not in nature's way, (but) in the way of all the salts and alumina, / and so when liquefying them at the fire, they would be turned into glass [[G. if it would then flow in the fire]], - but that is false, just as the intention / of those (people) [[G. -]] is.

So our dissolution is such that you may give Gabricum (the man) in marriage unto Beja (the woman), and he, when lying down with Beja, will die / right away [[G. soon,] and will be transferred into her own nature. And then, after many days have gone by, he will rise above Beja, and will then (in turn) transfer her into his body. {And although Beja is female, she will ameliorate Gabricus, and that is because he came (lit.: is) out of her. And although Gabricus is more precious than Beja, we know that he would not be without her,} because there is no regular (lit.: congruent) generation, if not out of the male and the female. [[G. and we know though that the generation is not sufficient (unto itself) without her, as no generation is suitable [ziemlich] without a man and a woman.]] So therefore join our red servant to his odoriferous sister, and between themselves they shall bring forth the art, / to that effect the verse: [[G. -]]

/ When the white woman is married to her red husband
they right away embrace themselves, and in their embrace they conceive
All by themselves they are dissolved, all by themselves they will be reassembled, -
so that two that were once one, should become a single body. [L. -]

[[G. - when the wooing woman, when being red, will be married unto her man,
right away or soon they will become of one complexion,
and in that complexion they will conceive,
and shall be dissolved all by themselves,
and they, who had been two, soon will by themselves become one body.*]]

* In the German manuscript the above lines are not marked to stand out from the rest of the text in this particular section.

Having put them into their vessel, / seal it most carefully, [[G. -]] and cook (them) / continuously [[G. with a highly attentive diligence]] at a light fire, until they will become a seamy [saginatus, G. feist=fat] broth; as out of nature's principles it is clear, that each thing whose root is earth [L. and G. + and water,] can be dissolved / in water [L. and G. -] / and will become a running (liquid) [[G. -]] / And certainly, according to the philosopher [[G. - / + and so]] earth will become water, / when the properties of water will have gained the upper hand in it [[G. when they will have conquered the form [Gestalt] of the earth]]; / and (also) that water will become earth, when the properties [qualitates] of earth will have gained the upper hand in it. [[G. -]] / So the dissolution of the corpus is a congealing (or solidification) of the spirit (-s), and the congealing (or solidification) of the spirit(-s) is a dissolution of the corpus [[G. And therefore the solution of the corpus is a congealing of the spirit. And the congealing of the spirit is a congealing (should read dissolution) of the water. And water will become earth, when the properties [qualitates] of the earth will overcome it]], / since they have one common operative mode (operatio), because / one is [[G. they are]] not dissolved, unless the other [[G. + part=thing]] is solidified.

/ So apply the poison (toxicum) to your leaf, and it thereby shall be strengthened [L. verified to you] in the beginning of your work. [[G. -]] // Out of the heavens' dew the fortunate and the unfortunate thing germinate in the earth, so also in the beginning of your work assist the dissolution by the Moon, and the coagulation by the Sun, / and effects thereof will show, because the inferior is weakened, as the superior assists. But the superior (things) shall have power over what is inferior. [L. but an effect will show itself thereof, and as the superior is suppressed, when it helps the inferior, likewise the superior (pl.) overcome, as the inferior are being dominated.] Hence the verse:

First dissolve the thing you caught by means of a thing suited well,
extracted in a gentle way, break down the mass you prepared [made] (beforehand.)

[[G. As out of the heaven's dew the blessed and the unblessed (things) are made to germinate on the earth. And therefore in the beginning of your work assist those with the Luna and congeal with the Sol. When the powers come out of it, that which is less, shall be suppressed. But if it is assisted, it will govern over the others.


NOTA BENE:

Keep hold of what (you) caught first by means of a (thing of)light? prepared for it; extracted in a gentle way, rub (down) what (you) have prepared.]]


So be patient in your administration, seal the vessel firmly, and do not relent (in your work), as there shall be no generation, unless constant movement (of the constituents) is applied, excluding any ingress of additional air, and by means of a temperate heat [[G. Therefore be unconcerned in (preparing) the venenum (=active substance, poison), seal your vessel firmly, do not try to push it along and also relent not in your work, as no generation will take place in the things, unless by (applying) continuous movement [Übniß,] driving out the repugnant air (?) and (by) a temperate heat.]] An example of which is the woman's uterus, which, right after she conceived, her matrix will be sealed, and by way / of the warmth and humidity of the blood the foetus will be generated, which never will come into contact with any extraneous winds, until [unless] it is born [[G. by the warmth the being will be bred, without any external winds, [flatus, Blast] unless it is born.]]

Likewise and in the same way our Stone / remains constantly put and shut [[G. led]] in (its) vessel until it will have drunk its own moisture, and, perfectly nourished by the heat, shall become white, because (only) then will it be born, and the air's winds (flatus) will not harm it (anymore). / It is therefore of capital importance to continue the operation, regulate the fire well, exclude (the ingress of outside) air, and to observe this scrupulously [maxime] until the white (phase). [[G. Therefore it's necessary to hold the operation, to reduce or moderate he fire and most importantly to expel the air in the best possible way until the whitening [albedo] (comes)]] So burn our ore with a light fire and nurture it like you would do unto an egg, - until the corpus will be / undone [[G. broken]], and the tincture extracted. But (take note) that the whole will not be extracted all at once, but that it will come out little by little each day, until (the process) is completed in a long time.

And that what is dissolved always rises above, although the (part) that stays below is of a greater (quantity). So always do take heed not (to apply) a strong fire, so as not the get to the solution ahead of its proper time, / as this will lead to a disconnected removal [remotio remotam] (of a part of it), depriving the opus with regard to its operation and its (internal) movement. [[G. - so that you have to put (some of) it aside. (But) the removal (of a part) destroys the work and will kill it,]] That is because intense heat will destroy the compositum, [[G. -]] cold makes it to flee, - but a moderate (heat) will nourish and preserve it. So having put it into a temperate bath, rub it down [contero, G. zerreiben=rub down] (the matter) by means of the fire, and without manual intervention / clean it by means of [[G. wash down]] the moisture of it's own water, so that its fiery / virtue [[G. Stärke=strength]] may not be burnt, neither its sulphuric / substance [[G. powers]]. / But the same comes over first, as it is of a lighter separation, and more suitable to the process, than the qualities of the other constituents [elementorum.] [[G. As it [she] passes over first (contracted or faulty verb), since it [she] is lighter, and more dignified in the estimation, stronger in the effect than the other elements.]]

[L. Now take note of the signs regarding the true dissolution:] Continue with the temperate bath (going) over it, until it is dissolved into [[G. rises like]] an immaterial [impalpabilis=untouchable] water, and all the tincture comes out in the colour of the blackness, which is an indicator [sign] of the / real [[G. -]] dissolution, as the heat acting on the humid, first produces the blackness, and (acting) in the dry operates the whiteness, and (acting) in the whiteness the yellowness [citrinitas], like is seen in the lead when the (red) minion is made of it.

/ By (means of) a humid fire continue with it, / and do neither hurry it [L. -] nor cease from it, until the corpus becomes (completely) undone / and [L. + all of it] will have become a spirit-like [spiritualis] powder. Now the powder having become spirit-like, it will ascend above in the vessel, - but what is thick and gross, remains below in the vessel, and [L. adds: Take note of this sign of the real grinding down of the corpus with the spirit, because] if you do not convert all of it into the spirit-like powder, you have not yet "ground it down" completely; so go on cooking, until (all) it will have been converted and everything will become a powder. [L. + Take note that this is done by the fire, not by the hands]

[[G. Grind it down continuously by the fire, do not hurry, and also do not cease from it, until the corpus is broken down, and when it becomes a spiritual powder, it will rise in the vessel, but if it thickens, it will descend once more. And that is why all of it has to be converted into a spirit-like powder, and thus you have to go on cooking it until you will bring it into such (a state.)]]

But this "grinding down" is one of decoction, not one of the hands, and must be achieved only by a tepid kind of cooking, by a humid putrefaction, by a continuous "grinding down" [contritio], by means of fire and not the hands, since a manual process of grinding (or rubbing) is not needed here; / surely the (principle) of "Alkien" does this, and by that it is being achieved. And "Alkien" of the earth is a kind of secret generation in the earth. And it is like "Alkien" in the man, as by its virtue (and ability) to prepare (things) it always purifies [clarifico= to make light, clear], separates in the way it knows, and nourishes, as nature is wise and self-sufficient in all the things it needs. [[G. but the "luck" (perhaps providence is meant) does it. And it is achieved by the strength [Perg=Sterk?] of the earth, (which) is an Elixir in the man, that is, if (things) are prepared by its powers, it purifies [clarifico] completely and also separates. And then nature acts and nourishes, as nature is wise and self-sufficient in all the things it needs in its work. > (there is no mention of "Alkien" in the text of G.)]]

/ Now a part of its work is, [[G. continues from above >]] to convert earth into water, and water into earth, according to / what kind of / operation [L. composition] is used [[G. the content of the various modes of composition.]] Firstly therefore it has to be attempted to make the water dissolve the earth, so that the latter may acquire the subtle nature of the former; and secondly that earth may coagulate the water, so that it might endure the closeness of the fire: [[G. Firstly water will attempt to dissolve the earth, so that it may acquire a subtle nature, just as itself is with respect to the other, then earth will congeal water, so that it will endure the fire together with it (the earth.)]] Now this is the dissolution of the corpus and the coagulation of the spirit [[G. pl.]] (achieved with) a light cooking by fire [[G. of cooking with a light fire]], in (around) 150 [L. 140] days, and perhaps the albedo appears after (a period of) 70 days [L. 40], but if it comes about earlier, the better, since that is an indicator of a well-regulated fire and the validity of the preparation.

Nothing other than the argentum vivum [L. our sulphur] acts on the gold, // because it is apt to be mixed and of a penetrating (nature) [perforativum.] [L. -] / It [L. But our sulphur] will make the same corpus black, consume it and torment it, because it is of the latter's nature. But the (thing) which blackens [L. which is blackened] is that which opens the gate to the non-fleeting (singular), and / converts [L. -] the non-fleeting (singular) together with the fleeting things [L. are converted], but when tormenting, they do not torment by damage or corruption, but for unification and with profit. [[G. because it is mixable (eßlich = erzlich) and a penetrating fire and a validity of the preparation, but it does not act on the gold, only the argentum vivum, because it can be mixed and penetrating, but it does make the corpus black and converts it, because it is of its nature. (text perhaps corrupted) That aurum is made black (or: blackens), comes from (the fact) that it does not open the gate to the fleeting (plural), and converts the non-fleeting (pl.) with the fleeting (pl.), but does not torment it, neither for damage, nor for destruction, but for unification and utility.]] Because, if / this [[G. its]] action of tormenting were damaging and inconvenient, it would not be not embraced by the same [[G. other,]] neither could it extract its colours, the ones that we / call water of sulphur. Now in truth that which has (the ability) to make black at first, / we call the key to the opus, because it will not come into being without the blackness. [[G. we name a subtle water, and call it a key to the work, though it is also not without the blackness.]] But the same is the tincture that we look for; with it we tinge into any other corpus, which before was hidden in its ore, like the soul in the human body.

Now, unless our ore is undone [diruo=tear down; G. broken] / imbued, [[G. mixed]] torn up [teratur,] and diligently administered in its own right, until it is extracted from of its dense state [spissitudo] and changed into a / thin and bodiless [[G. mild, thin]] spirit [[G. + not felt by the hands]] / - one has worked in vain [[G. our work had been in vain.]] Because if bodies [corpora] are not converted into non-bodies [non corpora], and non-bodies into bodies, you have not yet found the right method of the work, and that's because we cannot extract this most subtle of souls / that contains within itself all the tincture, [[G. -]] from its corpus, unless the (same) is first undone [diruatur] [[G. zerbrochen=broken up]] and turned into a [[G. + most]] thin and immaterial spirit. Nor can a body be dissolved having contracted (lit. bound together) constituents, if not by fire and water.

But our water is a fire burning the corpus more than an (ordinary) fire would. Therefore, / whoever controls them (the corpora) by the same, extracts a (type of) nature that has power over all (other) natures [[G. who cleverly controls it, extracts from it by nature all separated natures.]] / Therefore be a diligent operator in all the operational states [[G. be constant in your work, in all its states,]] patiently continue the process of cooking, until all the tincture is coming out on top of the water in the colour of a liquid tar, and when you will see the nigredo / stand out over that water [[G. adhere to the water]], you shall know / the [[G. your]] corpus to be (fully) turned into a liquid.

Chapter 8

And then / it is recommended to continue with the light fire over it, until it will bear forth a dark mist [[G. Continuously apply a fire lightly onto it, until it bears forth a mist born from a darkness.]] Now the intention of the philosophers is that the corpus having been already dissolved into a black powder, should again enter into / its own [[G. the]] water, so that it shall become one. {Now if you say: How can a powder turn into water? Then know you that the powder (in question) is nothing else than the sulphuric water dissolved by the heat of the fire,} / because rightly water will receive water as being of its own nature. Now unless everything will be converted into water, in no way will you arrive at perfection [[G. As water rightly takes its own water, therefore everything has to be turned into water, otherwise in no way will it get to perfection;]] as at no time is it convenient to use some other (thing) in the (process of) mixture, in the grinding down [contritio=German: Zerreibung], nor in all (other) operative modes [regimen], - than this one persevering water; [aqua permanens; L. + by now well-known] / And take note that [[G. -]] as its force is the spiritual blood, without which nothing shall come into being [fit].

// But it shall be converted into a corpus, and by it the corpus shall be converted into a spirit. Thus mixed with each other, und made into one, they convert each other, as the corpus will give a body / to the spirit [L. adds: to the same (spirit), and take note that the spirit colours the corpus in the colour of fire] and verily the spirit will convert the corpus into a spirit like a dye [tinctum] made from blood. [[G. Now the spirit will be turned around into a corpus, and again the corpus into spirit, and thus mixed together and made towards each other, they will be converted, when the corpus incorporates the spirit, and the spirit turns the corpus into a spirit, then the blood will tinge.]]

Because each thing that possesses a spirit, also possesses blood, and thus it is advised that this nigredo / protruding from its water [[G. adhering to the water,]] / ought to be continuously kept busy [occupari] by means of a light fire, until it will become submerged in its water, / so it becomes water in water, [[G. -]] that is, - until all becomes one water.

And so when one water is mixed to the other water, then water will / embrace [[G. mix with]] water, so that they cannot be separated from each other. Now when the insipid (operators) hear the word "water", they think right away it must be ordinary rain-water, but if they had intelligence, // [[> G. see at bottom of th. ch.]] they would know it to be the persevering water, {which could not persevere without its own corpus unto which it had been dissolved and made one with.}

Now, that very water the philosophers called the water of the Sun [L. gold], the fiery penetrating poison [venenum] and a fair lot of other names as well. Now once we possess that / water having the characteristics [forma] of sulphur [L. sulphuric water], it serves us to mix it with our acid, so that its blackness will be deleted. So give the coal to its own water, so that it may be extinguished in it and that there may be a (new) creation [conceptio], / like in the verse:

With a tepid fire they are heated without the fire's fervour,
And the vessel constantly sealed whilst the conception takes place,
so that two that once were one, should become (one) corpus
A seed like one of man born out of the pure blood
Extracted from the kidneys, / taken from the thighbone of the wet-nurse (nutrix) [this part perhaps corrupted where nutrix had been read for matrix, cf. G. below]
Joined to the female with the seed, it shall be like one (thing),
By that row of things the conception of the specific things [species] is made.

[Leyden has the following for the verses: ... and the vessel has to be sealed constantly, until (the thing) is in the making. Take note we talk about a conception that has to take place inside of three days, and the time of its conception is a space of three days, in which the conception of the species is made by a consecutive order of things, where the mixture of things is denoted by the coitus and the bringing forth, when mixed unto(?) the female, and something like mixed milk will be seen.]

[[G: // they would recognize it as being that persevering water which the philosophers call aqua, aurum, ignem (fire), venenum (poison), and more names of many other things. And therefore we have to possess together with that water a sulphuric form and mix it to our acid, so that its nigredo shall be deleted. So give (the) material of coals to its water, that it may be quenched in it and may become a conception of things:


NOTA BENE:

In the time the warmth (is applied) protect it from great heat,
and seal the vessel constantly, so it may brood (by) itself,
so that those, that were two, are joined to become one,
like the human seed breeds the birth from the blood.
It has been extracted from the hip, locked up in the chamber of the matrix (womb),
And like from an assembling of seeds (or semen) one (thing) shall be born
likewise (from) our things the (living) being [Geschöpf] will be extracted.]]

Chapter 9

// Now he who knows how to lead (the subject), to make it pregnant, to make it generate, to mortify and to revivify it, to introduce the light [lumen] into it, to cleanse it further from its blackness and its [L. the] darkness, - he is of the highest dignity. But when joining our crowned king to our red daughter, and knitting a knot [nodus] for her by means of a light fire, she will conceive and bring forth a son unto us. And then the clouds full of water, that were above her, will return into their corpus in the same way they left (before).

[[G. And he who understands of how to take a woman, to make her pregnant, to make her give birth to a child, to cleanse, to vivify, and to bring it to the light and to clean its face from blackness and darkness, is worthy of a great dignity. Then a crowned king will be born unto us, a son of the red mother, common (or universal) to all generations, having been conceived and born from both, in a mild fire that does not scorch; when the wet [gegossen] clouds that were above him are turning back into its corpus from which they [it] came out.]]

// That which tinges (dyes), and that which is being tinging has to be undone [diruere], because that which will be mixed with it, will overcome and convert (the other) to its own colour; and in the same way, as it conquers superficially and visibly, it will also overcome that which is inside. So it is to be mixed with the corpus and will be held (by it), so that it may be tinged with it, it will (then) convert the same (corpus) into a spirit and tinges (it) with a spirit-like and / unalterable tincture [L. the nature of an unalter. (tinct.)] that cannot be deleted.

[[G. Now be persevering, as perseverance is necessary (here), break him (the king) down completely, and those (things) that are being mixed with him, - he will conquer them and turn them into his own colour. And in the same way, as outwardly he betrays the eye (in overcoming it), he also overcomes it from the inside. And so when he is mixed to the corpus and is being made to stand quiet [an Nachlassung angehalten, unclear), he will work himself into the tincture and will extract from it a spirit, and does tinge with the spiritual tincture lasting eternally, which can never be deleted.]]

After the operational process [regimen] (of those things) has been continued for a period of forty days, both of them will become the persevering water which will be covered [G. contaminated; L. freed from] by the blackness. But that nigredo, if the control is done in the right manner, does not remain for longer than 41 [G. 40; L. 42] days, // and directing (or controlling) it in its proper [suo] bath, subject it to the fire until it becomes a clear water, and like a true argentum vivum rising in the air [[G. after that direct (or control) [regere] it in its balneo with a fast fire, until it becomes a clean and clear weater, also like a argentum vivum rising in the air.]]

[L. + Take note of the water's destillation] now when you will see that the natures [[G. sing.]] have become water and are made to rise in the air [sublimari], then all (of them) have become a vapour [[G. Geschraj= lit. shouting]], and as / the soul has [[G. all have]] been separated from the body, and carried [defero] by sublimation into a spirit, both of them are made fleeting (or volatile). But the water has / opened the gate [[G. wrongly: prevented the flight by the gate]] to the non-fleeting (-volatile), // converting the same into a spirit similar to itself, and thereby they are made airy spirits rising in the air together [simul], where they will receive life by being spirited by its moisture [humor], - like man (gets life) from the air. And therefore it will multiply and grow in its own species, (just) like other things. Rightly therefore vapour then contains within it vapour, because in the cooking process both of them were joined to the other. So the volatile nature, though volatility [fuga] is an essential part of it, will cease from fleeing, because in the process of sublimation they are joined to one another. / Therefore the whole must be made to rise up multiple times as a vapour by means of medium grade [mediocris] fire, until it will receive the spirit by the air and may live.

[[G. - converting it into a spirit similar to itself, because they had become air-like; [missing text?] so it grows manifold in its species, that is, in its form [Gestalt] and is volatile property is reduced, although being fleeting by essence, it refrains from it, as in the (process of) sublimation (they) are joined together, and afterwards they have to be often thrown into each other by means of a medium fire in (the process of) sublimation, so that it may become spirited in the air and may live.]]

// Now the life of all existing things in nature lies in the blowing in of the spirit [inspiratio], and the whole opus lies in the vapour and the sublimation of its water. And most importantly during all processes of sublimation take the highest care / not to break your glass or vessel [L. avoid breaking the glass, or liquefaction (repetitions), or vitrefaction of your vessel,] because if you apply a fire in such a way that the water will rise to the top of the vessel, it will adhere to (its walls) there, enjoying the cooling, and so you will not be able to perform the sublimation of the elements, and this is because it's essential that each of them should be often made to ascend and descend in a circular movement [rotatu sphaerico] , (but take note:) That which ascends (only) by violence, will not descend without violence.

[[G. Everything in nature having a life, needs air to prepare life. Then in all (processes of) sublimation in a glass vessel, when the fire is again lit, take care that aqua does not ascend to the top of the vessel, and joyously looking for rest, will adhere itself to it, and therefore the sublimation of the elements will not be achieved, as instead each of them has to be rectified on its own with the spirit by pushing it down and making it ascend. But that which only ascends with necessity [Not], will not again descend without necessity.]]

So make the fire easy [lentus], so that the whole opus may ascend and descend by its own accord [libere], without adhering to the vessel's (walls). So, unless we make the corpus thin (and moveable) by means of the water and the fire, until it is able to rise like a spirit, we've achieved nothing. But when rising in the air, it will be born, and converted into air, / and will come to live [lit.: will become life] [[G. that is: turned into air and will live with a life]], so that one may not be separated from the other, just like water mixed to other water. / So born in air it is wisely born, because it will be made wholly spirit-like [[G. Therefore he, who is born in the air, shall be made spirit-like, because he comes from the spirit.]]

[[G. adds a "Notabene" that is missing in Geismaria and L. :

When the work's matter has been turned into a powder immaterial*
when it has been made completely subtle, it is the best,
rising up high and leaning down below,
light** when made anew, join it together, earth and fire.

[*ungreifflich] =that which cannot be held, or felt with the hands; ** like in old German, the English "light" [liecht] may mean the light (noun), or light in weight, here it is not clear which of the two is meant]

Understand also that we undertake the process of sublimation for a threefold cause: The first is for the corpus to become / a spirit taking on the nature of the subtle [[G. of a subtle nature like the spirit in its (own) nature]], the second is for the spirit to become incorporated with the corpus and shall become one with it, the third is, that all (those things) / must become pure and [[G. shall be cleansed and become]] white and that the saltiness of sulphur is reduced, because by the process of sublimation all that is combustible in the opus / [[G. corpus]] will be burnt.

// And certainly it is of the highest need to us, that the elements may become simple [simplicia; meaning un-composed], so they might be joined to each other, but they cannot become simple, unless they are separated in their parts, - it is therefore necessary to apply sublimation to both of the vapours for many times, so that the water will descend in the process of filtration [cribratio]. We therefore filter the materials seven times by means of a spherical sieve, until all become a transparent and clear water, - as (otherwise) the corpus will never permit to have its soul separated from it, as she is a companion to it in the closeness of that which is simple (=un-composed.) We therefore repeat the sublimation of them, until they will take on a subtle nature.

[[G. And it is especially of need that the elements can be joined together without additions and without adjuvants [Arznuß], which is impossible, unless they are divided in their parts, and then each part has to be made spiritual [gesublimiren] by a subtle heat, until the water ascends. In order to achieve that, the material has to be led seven times through a circular [gescheibt, from Scheibe=disc] sieve, so that the nature will be brought to a state of subtleness, as the corpus will in no other way suffer to have its soul separated from it, as she is equal to him in property and simplicity]]

So the sublimation has to be carried out / according the whatever is possible [[G. -]], so that nothing of the oily [pinguis=fat] nature of the soul might be left over in the corpus, / excepting that which goes / unnoted [[G. unsensed]] in the process of its exaltation [[G. + or went out because of (a state of) impurity.]] {- otherwise it would be impeded in the operation.} // But it has to be filtered time after time by means of a circular sieve, and then the corpus will descend to the lowest part, and the water will rise in a white (colour) together with the soul, being close in their kind of simplicity (of being un-composed.) By letting them flow, join together part with part all the time, until they become rectified and will be able to resist the elements, and mainly the fire, - but those parts that are least able to resist, will be divided away and perish. [[G. Now after being sifted seven times, one after the other, the corpus will seat itself to the ground (bottom), and the aqua rises up with its anima, simple and being inclined (to each other). Therefore work part with part all the time, that the rectified elements resist [original reads by error "unterstehen" (be subjugated to)] the elements, foremost the fire, as only the resisting ones are able to resist, otherwise they'll default and will suffer loss]]

It is therefore important for the corpus to be dry and arid, but for the soul to be moist [[G. pallid]] and for the spirit to be flowing. It is true also that some [[G. + of the most stupid]] people think that the separation has to be worked in many different ways, / but leave that aside, because you will prosper in reducing the operation in similarity to the simple (non-composed) and not in a way that each of them should be separated into the elements separately [[G. which is not to be cared about, as the fortune lies in reducing (the things) by your operation, not that you ought to separate each one singularily from the other.]]

And surely it will not be difficult to reduce / all the things to the simple white, as they (already) are of its nature [[G. each thing into something simple (=un-composed) or into the whiteness, as it is of its nature]]: "Its father is the Sun, its mother the Moon, and the wind carried it in its belly; and the earth has been made pregnant / from it" [[G. by the simple (un-composed),]] because you have received the water from the air, the air from the fire, and the fire from the earth by the (process of) distillation, as by many successive sublimations the soul by ascending together with the water will be purified, as its grossness descending to the lowest (part of the vessel) will be ground down [limatur] into earth.

So therefore from fire make earth, and water from air, / which you [[G. the same aqua]] bring again over the earth. [[G. + So]] its power will be complete [integrus], when it will have been converted into earth. So convert earth into water, water into fire, but fire into air, and hide the fire in the / folds [[G. innermost]] of the water, but the earth / in the belly of the air [[G. sow into, or give it to the belly.]]

Mix the warm with the moist, but the dry with the cold, for in this way you make a mixture, as there is no transition from one extreme to another without a middle thing [medium]. Now / the eagle [[G. our vulture]] flying through the air, and the toad wandering [[G. crawling]] on the earth, - that is / the [[G. our]] magisterium: Therefore "you shall separate the earth from the fire, and the subtle from the gross / with the highest intelligence [[G. gently with the highest diligence.]] It ascends from the earth to the heaven, descends again to the earth, // it receives the superior power of the spirit, and the inferior (power) of the body, because it will overcome any subtle thing by congealing it, and will penetrate any solid thing by altering its (nature). In such a way both the superior and the inferior things are being dominated, as it operates both in spirits and in bodies." [[G. and takes with it the power of the above, the power of the spirit. And so it takes on the power of the corpus, by which it overcomes all subtle things, and congeals all things, and penetrates (any solid thing) wholly, altering it and so it reigns in the superior and the inferior (things) and acts on the spiritual and the bodily (things).]] [L. + here take closely note of the spirit, the soul and the body.]

Chapter 10

It is clear that our ore possesses, just like man, a body, a spirit and a soul. The spirit is its water, the soul / the [its] tincture and the body is its earth. The spirit acts as a vehicle or carrier of the soul [L. + 's virtues] onto [super] the body, [[G. It is for the spirit to spread out the powers of the soul onto the corpus,]] like the dye of the dyers is transferred onto the fabric by means of the water. And the soul is the spirit's connective bond [vinculum, G. Element], just like the body is the soul's connective bond [[G. corrupted word]], but the body is fixed, dry, holding within it both the spirit and the soul. And the spirit penetrates, the body solidifies [figere], and the soul connects together [copulare], tinges and whitens.

/ Those who did not make two kinds of sulphur from the sulphur, know nothing [[G. He who does not separate two sulphurs from one, does not know the art;]] as there are two sulphurs, that are produced by sublimation from / the mixed and joined [[G. our]] stone / towards [[G. and]] the tincture, (those) also tinge and are fleeting (or volatile), / but are held fast by the sulphur which (itself) cannot flee, since it is the connection of the said fleeting (or volatile) ones [[G. as in the sulphur is held that which may not be made fixed as it adheres to the fleeting. (sing.)]] But in those three is found the fume, the blackness [nigredo] and the death, and unless (those) are removed, they cannot be made perpetual. It therefore is necessary to expel the fume [[G. + or vapour]] from the water, the blackness from the soul, and the death from the body by way of a / frequent [[G. constant]] dissolution.

So mix the eggs of the / black [[G. -]] hens with the ore, and you will have gold and silver, as much as you desire. And [[G. When]] / the eagle [[G. vulture] without wings flies on the top of the mount, it calls out: / "I am the white of the black, the red of the white, and the yellow [citrinus] of the red, I am the rightful son, [[G. I am white, black and red. The yellow of the white and the proper son of the red and I speak the truth and]] I lie not, / join me to the [L. my] mother and her breast, because I shall hold together her substance [[G. -]] Do not introduce anything foreign unto / us [[G. your work,]] do not cease from the work, / as all nature is brought together with her companion (female) and will be brought to completion by her [[G. as all nature in its very unpretentiousness lends you assistance, as the saying is true:]] I was begotten by my mother, and she herself was born out of [per] me. At first she had dominion over me, but further on I shall have dominion over her, because I have become a prosecutor [[G. Ächter=denouncer]] of my mother, / after [L. before] I had received from her (the ability) [[G. gift]] to fly. Now she, in the best / way she is able to, like a pious mother will hedge and nourish the son she had begotten, until I shall get to a perfect state [[G. manner she was capable of, has nourished me as her son, until she will bring me into the perfect state.]]

// Put me into a humid fire [L. + constantly], that will augment the heat of my moisture [humor], and will keep off the combustion of the dryness, until it will induce the end of the opus. Then extract my redness and my shadow by (the virtue of) themselves, until I may persist in the third part, - but the (process of) cooking makes me wane, whereas the (process of) mincing (or rubbing down) augments (me), and that which will be made less after the fifteenth day, will be made more after the thirtieth, - that is the beginning and the end.

[[G. Therefore put me into a humid (state) constantly that does augment my heat [or colour] and turns away the combustion of an increased dryness, until the work will come to its end. Then slowly and gently extract my redness and shadow, until I shall remain as one part of it. The cooking reduces me and [missing text] augments the tincture, (and) when the light of the moon is reduced in the twenty-five days and augments beyond the thirtieth, that is the beginning and the end.]]

/ Now guard the argentum vivum in / the inner part of its bedroom where it had been coagulated, as by a repeated filtering the water will ascend together with the soul in a white (colour) up the alembic, and the corpus will little by little descend to the lowest bottom [[G. Now hold the argentum vivum in its tube [Rohr], wherein it had been coagulated .... when out of the manifold form of the filter (?) [Vite, or Wite] the (now) whitened water will ascend in the alembic, and the corpus will go down to the ground,]] and that same thing is the argentum vivum, which is called / the residual earth, that receives and drinks the water, because it is the connection between the tinctures [[G. the other left over earth which holds the water and drinks it fully, being the connecting together of the tincture.]] Now keep the vessel and its bond [ligatura], so that you [[G. it]] may be powerful in / the conservation [[G. the keeping]] of the spirits, - / as water that previously was in the air, (now) took up habitation in the earth, and thus cannot flee. [[G. as aqua at first has its habitation in the earth, therefore it may not be not able to fly.]] [L. - if it is not able to fly, give it to>]

// Give it then to the superior (things), and collocate it non ineptly by its limits, and join it by its own (virtue) to the corpus which had previously been cleansed: "For wheresoever a dead body is, even thither will the eagles resort!" (Mt. 24, 28 + Lc. 17, 37) - because the water follows the earth, like iron does with the magnet, so the water that ascends without violence, will (also) descend without violence. / So wet the earth with dew, and make clean the blackness, as in the verse: [L. -]

Without a body no fruit will ever grow,
in that when the seed will die, the fruit will be made to bear forth,
like the food in the stomach will receive the ferment from within,
divides away the pure and equally adapts it for the limbs,
fortifying that which had (been) altered, what maketh pregnant flows into the cleft,
its pasture the menstruum will therein find, until its exit will come about. [L. -]

[[G. Afterwards return to the higher (things) and let it (pass) through in a decent way via its places to its first-most corpus, connecting it to the first element in a subtle manner, as where the corpus is, there it will be congealed, and the eagle, that is the water, follows (it) like the iron after the magnet. But (the part of) the water that has separated away without violence, cleanses the earth and the blackness.

And (it) does not rise up again without the corpus,
also not without the fruit of the corpus,
But when that dies, it brings forth fruit,
as the food in the belly takes on nourishment internally,
all that is clean and pure, it will separate,
And afterwards by means of its shadow
it will be made to bury the way... (or away- ...)
being made to be pregnant
and has sadly has born forth the son
and feed [augment] him, until he is mature.

Chapter 11

Now bind the hands of the / breast-feeding [[G. whitened]] woman behind her back, so that she cannot flee from / Gabricus [G. -; L. + that is the man] // and put the son she gave birth to onto her (breast,) so she may feed him, because when the woman is going to be dead, the toad shall be full of milk. [[G. put (on)to her the son, she had brought forth and given milk to, so that she may stop feeding him, as a cause has been the dead woman and the grossness of the toad and the milk. (this clause perhaps corrupted)]] Then cut the toad in the middle, giving it to the hen that it may eat the same, and when the toad will have been eaten, it will be white on the inside and the outside.

Bring back the water unto the earth by means of / administering a moderate [temperatus] fire [[G. moderately adding more liquid]], / until it takes root in its own nature, knowing for sure that it's necessary to first feed the same with a little milk, like / it is seen in the bringing-up of infants, so (also here) feed it with a little milk and nurture it with a little fire, as long as it is a small child. [[G. until its nature may take root, and it has to be fed at first like a child with a little milk and fire.]] And the more it will grow, the more food and warmth will it need, until it will drink its own liquid [humor], / but that liquid is first cold, therefore / beware of a stronger fire [L. use the fire], because it is an enemy to the cold [[G. its moisture is cold, so flee the hot fire, and (it is) an enemy of the cold.]]

// But in truth, if you were to put the corpus over the fire without the acid, it would be burned, and what is expected of it, will not come into being, - because if the fire does not encounter a moisture that it may dry up, it would burn the corpus, - (but) if the acid will be put to it, that will prevent the fire's combustion, as it will dry up together with the corpus, so the latter will not suffer damage [laesio] and the more it will be covered by the flames of the fire, the more it will take refuge in the inner recesses of the water, so as not to be burned by the heat of the fire. [[G. And if the corpus were put onto a fire, until it is consumed, then that will not be found out of it, what one is looking for; but if acid were put therein / because of ? the fire's combustion, and the more the fire's flame is wandering, the more the inner water is hidden, so that it might not burnt by the heat of the fire.]] [L. + Take note here of the proportion and the weight of the water and the corpus.]

I would therefore advise not to let all the water imbue it at once, so as not to drown the Elixir, - apply the water little by little, so that the corpus may always be cooked with three parts of its own water, since if it were configured without (taking in consideration) the weight (or quantity), a hiatus (mscrpt: death) would ensue, which, if it were to come about, the bad would be born of it. But if it's conveniently configured, there will be a fruitful [peaceful] relation (of the body) with its water over the fire. [[G. Therefore do not put (the liquid) to it (right away), so that the substance may not be drowned, but in such a manner that the corpus may be cooked with three parts of its water. And if you configured it without (taking into account) its weight (or quantity), death will ensue therein and you would have calculated badly, but if it will be administered in a decent manner with its water over the fire, your desire shall be fulfilled.]]

/ It's true that [[G. -]] in the beginning the corpus possesses only little root, and its virtue is / not [[G. - by error?]] equally abundant in all its parts, just like the splendour of the sun is / not equal [[G. - by error?]] among the planets, - therefore patience and waiting are necessary, as in the length of the cooking process the water will overcome the fire's / fist [[G. fight]], since in a gentle cooking the water will become congealed, and the / corruptive moisture shall be extracted, and the warmth of the root humidity [humor radicalis] will be enhanced, / and the dryness will be kept from the combustion [L. the combustion of the dryness.] [[G. and the gate to combustion will be averted.]]

/ But it may happen that [[G. Therefore]] one opus will be congealed sooner, but another later, which necessarily stems from the diversity of the cooking processes, because if the place, where the cooking takes place, is humid and full of dew, the opus can be brought to its conclusion faster, but if it were a dry place, it will be congealed later. [L. -] / I therefore advise [[G. Therefore it is necessary]] that our fire should always be light [[G. mild]] [L. + in the beginning], until the water is congealed into a stone, and [[G. + all the water]] / shall stay [L. and G. fiat= shall be] below, - as inside a period of forty days all will be converted into earth, - so when you see that the water begins to coagulate itself, / you can be certain that our science is true, as the corpus coagulates its humidity into a dry state [[G. taking on a dry state by itself,]] just like the coagulated milk of the lamb will be turned into cheese [[G. + then (things) will be right with it.]]

// So cook the corpus together with the water of life, and by roasting it [assare] gently, coagulate it near the fire, until it becomes thick and [L. + very] dry. And when it will have become dry, it drinks its residual moisture fast, then add to it more (or: other) water, cook it gently [L. to the fire], close the vessel with much care, and neither hurry, nor cease from the work. [[G. When it has become dry, soon (add) the remaining moisture and give another [ein ander] water onto it, close the vessel, and do neither hurry nor cease from it.]]

Chapter 12

But / in truth [[G. -]] the water is to be divided into two parts, the first of which will be coagulated into the (or a) corpus, whereas the other will putrefy and become liquid [[G. dissolved=zergeen]]. / Now to coagulate is to (re)convert the watery substance into earth, and to putrefy is to dissolve the coagulated [L. + in another manner;] [[G. Now congeal the (re)converted fiery substance and putrefy or liquefy that which has been congealed;]] since putrefaction only comes about with the humid and the dry, as in such way the spirit will penetrate the body, and there will be a mixture / right down the most minute (particles.) [per minima] [[G. -]]

The fire being administered from below has to be of medium kind [temperatus], and beware not to extract it in a hurry from its vessel, of fear that it will / be moved, [L. and G. die, perish] because the infant never bears its exit, until it draws in its first breath of air [pl.], - therefore also guard it (our stone), keeping it constantly sealed, surrounded by the dew, being always attentive that its blossom [flos] does not disappear into the fumes, and that therefore the magisterium might come to nought.

[[G. Apply a temperate fire from below and beware not to extract (it) too fast by hurrying things up, so that it might not perish. Also do not open the exit, until the airy wind will have been absorbed [lit. drunk away], protect it [him] also by keeping it constantly sealed, surrounded with dew, so that its flower (or blossom) may not get out in the steam or fume, and your masterly work were lost.]] [L. adds: Grind it down, cook, repeat, and let it not be tedious to repeat it all over again, as in this work ...] /

But in this work, (correctly) operate everything by the (right) weight and measure [[G. And be attentive [fair] in measuring (things), controlling all things by (their) weight,]] so that as many times the corpus will be / made to drink the liquid [[G. have the liquid poured onto it]], it shall be made to dry a corresponding number of times, (just as you yourself) should not eat too fast, nor drink while you eat, or eat while you drink, / but the drinking should be after the eating, and not the eating after the drinking, otherwise you make the stomach wet, so it cannot receive the dryness [[G. But if the eating be after the drinking, or the drinking after the eating were too much, it makes the stomach wet and does not let it take the dryness.]]

So eat and drink, one after the other, according to the ratio, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, computing unto the twelve faces of the Moon. Now that number is counted forth from the multitude [L. multiplication] of the ternarius by (the number) four, and it shall become 12. The real ternarius come from one in three, and there are also three primary salsaturae (salty properties or things**), and each of them has to divided into three* other salsaturas (saltiness, pl. as above), and it shall be 12.

[[G. Therefore eat and drink one after the other, according to the speaking, counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, until (you get) to twelve, and thus you also do unto the Luna with the aqua, when the number, by multiplying three with four, shall make twelve, and the number is threefold from one in three. And there are three jumps**, in which each jumps into the other three*, which makes twelve.]] (1. *perhaps the author originally stated "four", but its interesting that the same error? is found in all the sources // 2. ** It seems that the first German translator did read "saltaturae, which does not exist as a word, or saltationes for salsaturae)

So then convert the triangle [L. and G. "quadrangle"] into a circle [[G. plural]] and you have the magisterium. And that will come about, when the square [quadrangulus] will have three equal angles in each of its peaks [specula, G. Spitzen]. Then make a circle, and a central (point) in the middle of the circle. Then in each of the equal peaks [[G. + of the quadrangle]] // make three triangles starting from the central point. But the line(-s) going from the first center to the remaining points must (all) be of equal length, so the triangles [tertiarius] shall be equal and of one measure. [[G. make three angles, from the center of the circle. Now the linea (scribe reads luna by error) is to be (of) equal (length) from the first center toward the others, and they have to be of a single measure.]] // Then compute the tertiaries and you shall find 12. Over them lead the compass(-es) and you shall see, that it touches each of the ternaries {ms: tertiaries}, so by means of the 12 triangles the square shall become circular. [[G. then ride (perhaps: calculate) the three, so you get twelve, so by jumping over you'll find what you look for. So by means of the twelve in the triangle, led through (or via) the quadrangle the circle comes into being.]]

Compose the magisterium in such a way, that all the segments [spatulae] [[G. peaks of the quadrangle]] come together / at the centre of the compass [[G. -]], and in this same way all the water has to be brought (back) to its corpus by the means of its tertiaries [[G. triangles]]. If one of the angles were to be reduced, its / portion [[G. strength]] is (also) reduced. So hunt [[G. falsely reads venerare=honour]] for the souls, as in the earth they have their habitation, / so that they cannot flee. But be (circumspect) and gentle [lentus] in the hunting [[G. and so that they might not flee, do not be sleepy in their hunt but gentle,]] taking heed, that by an excessive fire they may not be converted into fumes flying away, but when they flee, they cannot be caught with the falcon. But if they will be locked in [includuntur], / they cannot flee, [[G. -]] but will then go back to the corpus from which they had left, / for the reason that the corpus attracts its own moisture [humor], just like the magnet does with iron [[G. -]]

So convert [L. grind down] the earth, cook the water, and repeat the operation, until / one of the third parts [ternarius] will be turned downwards [[G. one out of the triangles will bring her (the earth?) below itself,]] - but should you kill one of the three [[G. + triangles]], all will be dead, // as if one may be volatile, while the other endures the fire, both will endure the fire when they are joined together, [L. + take note here what it is that fixes the spirit;] as one contains the other, because of the proximity of their natures, - and that then is our coagulation, because any volatile thing is held back from fleeing by its fixed (part.) [[G. but if one becomes fleeting, the others will follow, but when all are joined together, it will endure the fire; as one contains the other because of the equality of nature, and (so) our congelation will hold back everything that flies.]]

// But truly all of this is not achieved with the help of the hands, but nature operates towards it by means of a circular or rotary manner, - because nature dissolves herself, and coagulates herself, it makes herself white, and decorates herself with a red (colour), it paints herself into a saffron colour, and also into black, she gets married by herself and conceives by herself, until she induces the end of the opus all by herself. Therefore it is obvious that this whole preparation [confectio] is not a manual operation, but a transformation of the natures, a miraculous combining together [connexio] of the warm with the cold, and the humid with the dry, // like in the verse:

There is a pure wave from the concealed river,
which from its breasts pushes forth arms like veins in a twofold way,
all by itself it breast-feeds and gives life to the dead.
When that will be congealed which has been seen to distil (forth)
nurture it with a bland fire without fervour,
it will wash, cleanse, renew, rule, unite and make flow like a wave
It will germinate like the earth bringing forth flowers and exhales scents. [L. -]

[[G. Note that a man is not born by the work of hands (meaning: manually), but it's nature that configures (it) thus in all respects. As nature can dissolve herself and reassemble itself, whiten herself, decorate herself with a red colour (rubeo), make herself yellow (lit. jaundices herself), makes herself black, gets married by herself, conceives by herself, - until she puts an end to the work. Therefore it is made clear that our preparation [confectio] is not a manual work, but a process [Übniß] of nature, (being) a miraculous joining together of hot with cold, and moist with dry.

There is a pure water of the concealed river,
that extends its arms to both sides,
distilling forth [treuffen] by itself and making alive what is dead
When it is congealed, / or (should probably read: that is) seen to be distilled
then, avoiding great heat, gently (unreadable verb = vermitt..+ extension) it
then whitens, cleanses, renews, washes, unifies and makes stable. [setzt]

Chapter 13

// So take the volatile (thing) that flies and (keep it) below, bringing it under your control so that it does not fly around in places [regionibus], but flies in its flight according to your liking; [[G. Take (and control) the thing that flies with measure and (make) it serve you (?) as do the un-flying in the reigns. (perhaps misread regio=region for regnum=reign) And the flight that has flown away, hold it fast and keep it captive]] as "that which is inferior, is like that which is superior, and that which is superior is like that which is inferior." Therefore our blessed water comes to water its own earth, to cleanse [mundare] the blackness, and take away all / of the bad odour [[G. impurities]], / as there is a very strong attraction [libido] between them, as between the / sea [Geismaria and L.] and the female [[G. As between them there is the desire like between a man and a woman]]

Thus do take care that it's moisture [humiditas] does not escape from the vessel and / perishes [[G. there will be destruction,]] but rather bring the same back to the earth, coagulate it with a light fire, like the sperm coagulates in the matrix [[G. + surrounded by its redness.]] / Now the female, having embraced her spouse, will quickly transfer herself into / his [L. the] body [[G. Therefore join it together quickly, when it enters into its corpus]] So bring the water over its earth, until it will coagulate [[G. + itself]] below, and then it will quickly change from one nature into another, and in each grade of its operational modes will take on a / new [[G. -]] nature.

// Now give to the ashes / the moisture it perspired [sudor=sweat] ((mscpt reading: according to the tertiary of its water; L. -)); grind it down [conterere], cook, repeat (the process), and be not annoyed to repeat it all over again, [[G. therefore it is administered to the ash, according to the third part of its aqua. Grind it, don't get annoyed by often repeating it,]] as the earth will not germinate, unless it is frequently irrigated, / nor can it receive the irrigation unless having been (properly) dried beforehand [[G. nor without the process of drying described before.]] So after each cycle of its desiccation grind / it [L. the earth] down (finely) and pour the water gently [temperate] over it, not too much, nor too little of it, because if it were too much, (the earth) would become swamped and perturbed [pelagus conturbationis], and if were too little, (the earth) would be burned / into a white hot ash [favilla] [[G. powder;]] [L. + and do deeply take note of that]

// So in any weighting the (right) weight, and in all measuring the (right) mode has to be served; and in each (of) those processes [opus] care has to be exerted, that neither by administering excessive dryness nor superfluous humidity [humor,] (the subject) may be corrupted. So [L. but] cook only so much in your process of roasting [assare], / as has been added in the process of dissolution, and when imbuing, dissolve (only so much), as went missing when roasting [L. which was added by the dissolution and went missing when imbuing.] But pay always attention, that the acuity [asperitas] of the fire does not cause combustion [exustio,] and also do not cease from your activity, until the whole takes on the form of a dry stone. [[G. So to each weight render its (proper) weight, and the (proper) measure to each measure; and the (right) measure is, that in this work neither too much humidity, nor too much heat is to be administered, so as not to break (or destroy) the work. And in the cooking, roast that what you have obtained by the dissolution, and administer in the imbuing that what you consumed in the roasting. And beware all the time, not to burn your work with the sharpness of the heat, and also do not cease from it, until the lower (part) takes on the form of a dry stone.]]

Truly there is no movement in nature if not by the effect of / heat [[G. fire.]] [L. + take note of the utility of adjusting [mensura] the fire (properly.)] So if you have gauged [mensurare] the heat well, water and fire will suffice / you, as they [[G. to]] cleanse the corpus, / purify it [[G. to make it white]], / nourish it [[G. augment it]] and take away its darkness; / and truly the whole opus and its operation (regimen) lies in no other thing [is no other] than (in) / the [[G. a]] persevering water, containing within itself everything / we need [L. it needs]: Since it liquefies and congeals, it dissolves (lit. destroys) and makes white [[G. as it cleanses, congeals, dissolves [zerrühren] and whitens.]] (Therefore) one should not use anything else in the whole operation [regimen,] other than this persevering water. [[G. -]]

So [[G. + accomplish it all, and ]] and therefore keep this water at hand with (all of) its good works [operatio] (pertaining to it), as it will make white unto the white, and red unto the red, but its / effect [[G. power]] lies in the control [regimen] of the fire, as by it the water is divided, by the same / it [L. the fleeting] will be kept from flying away [[G. the flight of the fleeting will be brought to an end]], / by it the soul will be joined to the body [[G. by it one may join together the corpuses]], by it our coagulation is accomplished. / But beware of the intensity of the fire, because should you augment it too much ahead of its time [terminus,] [[G. But beware of lighting the fire before the time is right, otherwise]] a red will result that is of no use [[G. + to you.]]

// So keep the fire easy until (the advent of the) white (stage), {do often inspect how you make the spouses embrace each other, as the spirits have to be overcome by strong bonds [nodus=knot], so being thus fortified they might battle the fire, - because if you permit the woman to loiter around, she will flee looking for another man's embrace. But if she will be locked in, so she cannot flee, she will go back to (her) man, will sleep with him, and will then kill him. Now he, being heating up (in the process), will consume the moisture of her and will make her die too, together with himself,} - as the spirits, having been taken away from the corpuses, desire to be (once more) inside them, (so) they will follow them, and love to take up house inside them, - they will make them alive, and will never be separated from them (again).

So the sperm is not inserted into the vulva in vain, as one follows the other, like the bride does the groomsman, [L. + that is the husband. Now here take note of the mortification of the live spirit and the revivification of the corpus mortuum.] So bring back to life the dead, that is the body, and kill the living (thing,) that is the spirit, and you have the magisterium, like in the verse:

With the things suitably (prepared), cook the milk of virginity
with a mild fire without smoke of the fire's fervour,
Thence, when it is dried, the serpent will be made to drink right away,
and now it's good that the water is so mild,
the stream [unda=wave] of its fountain distils forth from the top of the mount,
That and the other source's source of that river (unclear)
shall receive the honeyed water to the beat of the tortoise (maybe denoting the slowness of the process)
And keeps clean the wave of the dried blood.

[[G. is different and much shorter: Therefore be your fire sluggish, until the albedo (white phase,) so that the spirits might withstand the fire powerfully. And there are white spirits seen in the corpus. Go after it (them) joyously, so you may have them, as they are alive and will never separate themselves from it. And one follows the other, as the bride does the bridegroom.

NOTA BENE:

Go easy with [Ver(l)orn=loosen] the fire, until the virgin's milk / will appear (or: will be separated),
(then) gently increase [zu-wermb] the fire, (but) without (excessive) heat.]]


Now extract from the cloud [L. from the ray] its shadow and its sordid (thing), as the mist that is settling over it contaminates it, and keeps it from the light, as it fences it in [angustatur] and holds it away from its own redness. [[G. Now extract from the splendour [Glanz, also brightness] the bad and its shadow, that came onto it by way of the mist, (which) keeps its light from (coming) into its redness.]] Therefore it is necessary to burn the first part of its water with our ore, and to coagulate it by cooking until it is / liberated [[G. robbed]] from [L. in] its redness, and then it's called the ferment of gold [[ G. auripigmentum]] by the philosophers // and the coagulate of coagulation, as it receives and drinks the water, coagulating / the same together with itself into earth [[G. with itself its own earth.]] / And in this (process) there is the end of the first operation and the beginning of the second, since that is begun and finished in the same manner. [[G. -]]

// But the mode of rubification of the white stone described before is that it's necessary to imbue it with its own remaining water many times, and then to make the congealed wax-like*, purifying that which had been burnt, and then to bring it to an unchangeable colour, until all of the water shall be below. [[G. After that on has to often imbue our ore with its remaining water, until all of it turns itself below, onto that which had been congealed, to incerate* towards that which had been burnt; in order to vivify (it), and to change the colouring.]] *all sources have "incerare" which means to "cover with wax", but that verb seems to make little sense in the above context, unless it should mean the congealed matter was to take on the property of wax

Chapter 14

So imbue the same seven times, time after time, / cleaning up [[G. converting]] the blackness, until it will be broken down [diruatur] and converted into earth, as in forty days everything will be converted into earth. Open and close, dissolve and knit together [nodare], extend it and fold it up, wash it down and dry it, and do this continuously, / until you convert the quadrangle into the circular, [rotundus] {with its kind. [genus] (L. and G. -)}

Dissolve the ore that has been / worked thus [gubernatum] by cooking it, [L. In a similar manner dissolve the ore you worked; [[G. And if the ore will be worked on [ruled] by cooking and by repeated dissolving,]] until it becomes similar to a water and a real mercury [argentum vivum.] Afterwards coagulate it by the fire according to how you are used to. / We say, coagulate according to how you used to do, [[G. -]] because it had been coagulated before into a dry red [[G. + colour]]. / Then, once it has become dry [[G. -]], dissolve that what can be dissolved / from it [[G. in it,]] and / that which cannot be dissolved [[G. the un-dissolved]] you continue to cook until / it [[G. all of it]] will be dissolved / anyway. [[G. -]]

When thus reiterating the process, this order is to be adhered to [[G. Stick to that order,]] until its major part [quantitas] will be dissolved, then coagulate it by gently roasting [assare] and keep it in a temperate fire, until the same fire may be administered stronger according to the needs (of the work.) Repeat the sequence [ordo] of all those preparations four times, and lastly calcinate according to its (proper) mode, by fixation and calcination, since in that way you sufficiently managed [regere] the administration to that most precious earth of the stone.


[[G. + Title: CALCINATION]]

Now to calcinate, in reality is nothing else than desiccating and turning into ashes, you therefore burn (your substance) [the same] without fear [L. moisture,] until it will turn to ash. And when it will have become an ash, it means you mixed things well, as that ash will [[G. + gladly]] receive and drink the spirit, or rather will be imbued with its own moisture [humor,] until it becomes of a more beautiful colour than it had before. / Oh, how precious is this ash, my dearest! [[G. -]] Therefore do not treat this ash lightly [[G. Do not mix the ash,]] but give unto it the sweat that it had perspired, until the whole is turned below. (And), as many times as the ash will be imbued, so many times it will have to be dried, until everything will turn into white and / burnt-like [cremated] [[G. -]]. / Because when its has been dried it is able to hold itself and the other together. [[G. Afterwards it shall be (made) dry again, until it holds itself together [lit. + to each other]]

/ Because it is necessary to grind the ore down [conterere], imbuing it many times with the water of life, and dry it time after time, until it drinks [L. + all of] its own moisture [humor] [[G. Afterwards make it dry, until it drinks all of its moisture. That's how the philosophers have worked: Congeal the aquam vivam ... ]] I recommend to make the living water coagulate, mix it to its own body, and cook it until it becomes dried out. But then you shall find the whole of the living water made to coagulate by itself, and held together [[G. turned]] into earth. Then join the spirit to the body, the water to the ash, and the woman unto the man, since when the ore has been conveniently administered to [regitur], it is befriended with the water, and will be coloured by a white colour. [L. + Take well note of the ablution of the body by the spirit.] {That is good, as} as our whitening will only take place by decoction and by congealing of the water, and the more often the [[G. + powders of the]] ore is [[G. are]] washed [abluitur], the more intense [[G. complete]] the (final) whiteness will become.

{That is why the philosophers have taught to imbue (the subject) ever so often with Ethelia*. But if they had known, that one process of decoction and grinding down [contritio] had been sufficient unto them, they wouldn't have repeated their sayings all over again, - but they did it, in order that (the subject) ought to be continuously ground down, [teratur] and cooked without intermission.} [[G. -]] So grind it down, cook it, repeat (the process), and do not let this become a chore, but cook / it [L. the cloud] with its ore. Imbue it, wash down the blackness with the water of life [aqua vitae], roast the Laton, until it will become dry / and become a renewed corpus, - because the water of life governs and whitens any (kind of) corpus, turning everything into its own colour. (*Ethelia: vide Lexicon Alchimiae Rulandi p. 201)

[[G. So repeat the process often, do not get annoyed by repeating it, and cook it together with its ore. Imbue it and cleanse the blackness by means of the aqua vitae, roast the Laton, until it will be dry and will take on a new corpus, as when the aqua vitae is used, it turns all corpora into its own colour.]]

But this fume is white, / (being) the one, by which the whitening is made, in whatever subject that is meant to be whitened, as nature converts nature [[G. therefore it makes white, whatever can be made white, by virtue of its nature.]] / Now mix this fume to its own faeces, [[G. -]] cook and rub it down [terere=tear] many times until it will be coagulated and is robbed of its blackness. And surely the water of the May's dew cleanses the same and makes it pure, coming down from heaven in the time of the rains ((ms. time of the hoar-frosts)), penetrating and whitening, as it, having its habitation in the air, follows the earth like iron does with the magnet.

// Between them there is a clear affinity [societas] and a (mutual) desire [libido], because of the proximity of their natures {as natures coming towards natures take up joy in each other.} Apply the residual moisture while cooking continuously, until it becomes coagulated and very white, knowing for sure, once it will have become dry, that it will quickly drink its residual moisture [humor]. To that effect the verse:

The things have to be mixed in a way to be nurtured,
in their meal the thirsty sand shall be watered
whose living waters are green as the olive's oil,
twice the parts have to be made partners with the sixth part of the sand (unclear) etc.* [L. -]

* apparently a scribe did not bother to copy the remaining verses, or did not understand them, this, together with the great discrepancies found with respect to the text of the G. manuscript points to the very real possibility that those verses were originally in the vernacular, and not in Latin.


[[G. As there is a desire between them because of the vicinity of their natures, but the remainder of the moisture do cook over and over again, until it becomes congealed and verily whitens, when handled quickly:

NOTA BENE:

The things (substances) must be mixed and (kept) protected
in their meal they have to be watered and made dry .. the sand (?)
the green of the aqua viva is like the winding olive's (branch)
During the meal to him is joined the drink .. the sand (unclear)
there will be an assembly between the unequal and the sign (symbol)
when the fire is lit, it shall be a gentle fire,
it dissolves, so it may be effectuated pure,
if it is made to congeal in a tepid manner, it will be accomplished.
A pure, humid chalk consumes the blood.
Blood that is pure, the snakes drink the (flowing) river once again (unclear)
When (the liquid) has been poured into and has been fully absorbed [drunk] by him
then again drying all of it, as had been taught before,
and kept that way, until it will become a powder.]]

Chapter 15

/ Now observe in what way the composite drinks the water, and how it is changed in each grade by the way the colours are changing. [[G. Look at your composite how it will be torn by the water with its colours in each (different) grade.]] Because when / the [L. any] substance [res] is put over the fire, it will / change [[G. be converted]] from one colour to / a multitude of others, as nature (performs) its operations [[G. another by nature's multiple effects.]] But the spirit and the soul will not be united with the body except in [[G. with] the white colour, since, as long as the / obscure [G. -] blackness is apparent, / the woman has the upper hand [[G. the dark woman,]] and it is her who is our stone's first power. Because, if it did not become black (first) it would not become white, nor red, as the red is composed of the black and the white.

Now in truth it is the temperate heat acting /on [[G. in]] the humid that produces the blackness, / dries up [[G. working on]] the humid, and takes away the corruption, whereas on the contrary the / increasing [[G. attacking]] heat // produces the redness, makes the moisture [humiditas] flee and generates corruption [[G. produces the blackness, dries up the humid and bears forth corruption. [Zerstornuß=destruction] ]] It is therefore obvious that if the composite is controlled [regatur=ruled] more [[G. stronger]] than is / recommendable [[G. necessary]], it will be right away extinguished, neither will come of it what / is looked [[G. you look]] for.

So beware that by applying an excessive fire the water may not be turned into fumes and made to fly of, // as there will be a fight between the water and the fire in the long process of cooking. Just as the sun's heat dries up the water, - (here) in the long (process) of a temperate decoction, the coagulated water holds itself tight in the earth from the fire's fist. But the water may win over the fire's fist in the length of the cooking by thickening and coagulating itself. [[G. And therefore in the long run water becomes embattled by the fire in the cooking, when the heat of the fire battles against the water. Therefore control it in a way that the water may overcome by becoming congealed and thick by the length of the cooking (process.)]] Because, if you perfectly knew its nature, / you may sustain the long process of cooking anyway [[G. you are not going to be annoyed by the length of the cooking]], until you get to your desired end [propositum], as the validity [bonitas] of its venerable nature will be tested / to the highest degree [[G. well]] in (its effect) on the bodies [corpuses], / because under no destructive circumstances [causes of extermination] [[G. - due to oversight]] / does it permit itself to have its composition divided into its parts, - as it either recedes from the fire with the whole of its substance, or it will remain steadfast in the fire as a whole, [[G. + in a blackness,]] / as perfection is recognized as being its necessary raison d'être. [[G. Therefore necessarily it is noted in it the necessary cause.]] [L. adds: Here take note of the operational mode of the congealing of the mercury with the sun, as it is said that the same be a pure water and a true tincture, when it is patiently controlled in ascending and descending, until it will coagulate into the white.]

So control [lit. rule] that nature patiently, gently coagulating the argentum vivum, as out of our ore it will rain onto the same, bitter clouds ascend and the rains come down onto the earth [[G. Therefore rule it with patience in its nature, between the congealing and the mercurium vivum. Out of our ore drops are falling onto it, and the clouds descend by nature]], as [[G. + does]] each body that is heavy and dense / shall naturally fall back onto its centre. [[G. -]] // But really the argentum vivum that has been sublimated from / the [L. our] ore, from which everything will come into being, it is a pure water and a true tincture that deletes the shadow of the ore, as it itself is the white sulphur that alone can whiten the ore, and by it the spirit is held, that it may not flee. But that sulphur would not be able to whiten the ore, unless it itself had been whitened in the previous work, as only the white sulphur will whiten our ore, because it's obvious that the beauty of the ore shall just be as great as the whiteness of the sulphur had been. [[G. Argentum vivum is to be brought by sublimation out of our ore, from which a pure water comes without (the help) of any intermediary, and a tincture, and the nature of the ore, cancels and takes away the shadow. And it is the white sulphur, which alone may whiten our ore and holds the spirits that they may not flee. And that sulphur may not whiten it, unless it had (previously) been whitened (itself) in the work [opus.] And it is obvious that our ore shall (just) be as beautiful, as our sulphur had already been.]]

If you wish to get to the true tincture, apply to it little by little the moisture that it gave out (previously), cooking it diligently until it will take on a more beautiful colour [[G. And add to it solely the moisture that it gave out from itself during the cooking, for as long, until it will dress itself with (that which is) beautiful,]] and as many times it is imbued, just as many times it shall be made to dry / until it is converted into the white that is being looked for. / As the wax-like [inceratum=covered with wax] (substance) [[G. -]] when dried, holds itself together, [[G. -]] and if one is fixed, the other will also be made fixed, and when it is white on the exterior, it will also be white in the interior.

Thereby do not relent / in imbuing it, [[G. -]] to cook and to dry it [L. + little by little], until it will have been imbued with all of its moisture. Prepare [conficere] the same by means of the persevering water, and cook it in a light fire, until the blackness disintegrates and recedes. Imbue it continuously with the water of life, until you judge by your eyes that it is sufficient, (then) roast [assare] and cook (it) until it drinks all the moisture [humor], knowing that it will not take on* a purple colour if not by the cold / and the humid, [L. -] neither will it take on* the white (colour), if not by the dry, nor will it take on* the red (colour), if not by the heat. Now cook that ore by roasting [assare] it with its remaining moisture [humor], until it makes itself germinate, then grind it down, [terere] drying it in the sun, until everything will / turn itself below. [[G. *wrongly reads in all instances: the purple (white, red) colour does not tinge anything else than the cold (dry, hot)]]

Chapter 16

{Now honour the king and his wife, and do not let them be burned, so they may not flee by excessive heat, as you need to be patient and long-suffering, bringing the king and his wife into a better state [emendare] by your operation, so cook them until they become black, then white, afterwards red, - and there will come (from them) a penetrating substance [venenum=poison] that will tinge (other metals) into gold.} [[G. -]]

Now at first, the more our ore will be cooked, the more it will be dissolved, and will become a spirit-like water. Secondly, the more it is further cooked, the thicker it becomes and will become a powder of a greater whiteness; in the third place, the more it is further cooked, the more it will be coloured, and will become a tincture of a / greater [[G. more solid]] redness. And the whole of that operation is nothing else than an extraction of the water from the earth, // and its letting return [dimissio, L. remissio] onto the earth. / So let [adesse] your administration be diligent, let a (sense of) constant expectancy be present [adesse], and all the explanations will be made to reverberate inside of you, and in such a way your desire will be fulfilled. [L. -] [[G. water .. and its reduction. Because by the falling back of the aqua onto the terra Abraham is constituted, if a diligent administration and constant attention is provided therein. And renew inside you all the explanations that were described, then your desire will be fulfilled.]]

[[G. Small space in the manuscript]]

// Now let the water having been completely extracted and (by now) contained in the earth putrefy in its vessel over a mild fire for some days, ((that is 60 days)) until a most precious white colour may appear on top of it [[G. And when all of the water has been drunk and turned back into its earth, it should be putrefied for a couple of days in its vessel on a gentle fire, until its beautiful white lustre will show forth.]] But the heat of the fire shall be gentle until the (phase of) the whiteness [albedo,] because if an intense heat were suddenly to break in, it would produce a black vapour, / and the white (component) of the composite (would) be made to flee [[G. and your opus would fly away.]] Therefore that vapour is to be white and when it will become solidified [figitur] with the ore, it whitens the same both on the inside and on the outside, but if it were to flee from it, it (the composite) would be turned into a red that is of no use.

// And in the putrefaction of the ore / the spirits are really unified with the body and are being dried out together with it, and unless they are made to dry out, the colours of the soul will not appear, because the putrefaction is nothing other than the mortifying of the humid with the dry, as the whole of the humid shall be coagulated with the dry, or by the dry. The vulgar person putrefies only the humid, but our putrefaction does not take place without the humid a n d the dry, as it is really the dryness that holds back the moisture [L. adds: and although the cold and moist naturally flees (from) the fire, it is held back by the corpus], so it cannot not flee; - as the heavy things may not be lifted above without the help of a lever, neither can the light ones be brought below without the help of something heavy, and in both of those things lie the beginning and the end of the opus. [L. repeats from above: So let there be a diligent administration, let there not be a hurried expectation, may all explanations return to you, and thus your desire shall be fulfilled]

[[G. And in the putrefaction of our ore the spirit also will be made to die in the corpus. And unless they are dried in it, the soul's colours shall not appear. Now putrefying is nothing else than mortification of the humid with the dry, as humid congeals itself with the dry and the humid makes it putrefy, as the natural putrefaction cannot take place without humid and dry, as the humid (or moist) will be held (back) by the dry, and although humid and cold naturally flee the fire, they are kept back inside the corpus, so they may not flee, as the heavy not (being) above and the light not (being) below cannot share company (with each other), and both are a beginning and an end of the work.]]

{Now keep your operation going continuously, cook without intermission, do not hurry, nor cease from your work, because if the humidity and the warmth of the uterus were not constantly present, the sperm would not survive, nor would the development of the foetus be accomplished. When the mother were to die, so would the foetus, because of the sudden onset of the cold. But God did constitute the blood and the warmth of the uterus in order to nourish the foetus until the time of (its) birth, and just in the same manner you ought to work your opus by way of a constant heat until the (arrival) of the whiteness, because only in the white colour the spirits will be unified with the body in a way, that they may not flee.

Because then it will begin to live, and it is not hurt by external [alien] winds, provided you do not rush headlong towards the red (phase). [L. adds: Now take good note regarding the nourishing by way of a very gentle fire, which ought to be similar to (the warmth bestowed) on the eggs below the hen's belly.] But bathing it in an intense heat, will make it perish, the cold (on the other hand) will push it away, but the temperate (heat) nourishes [foveo] and conserves it.} [[the foregoing two paragraphs are missing in G.]]

/ Therefore one ought to administer (the heat) gently {like in the laying of the eggs}, until all of it becomes white, as it is prescribed: Make white the Laton, tear up the books, so that the hearts my not be shattered. [[G. And therefore it is necessary to govern our work with a constant warmth until (the phase of) the albedo, as was said before. As in the (phase of the) albedo the spirits are made one with the corpus, so they cannot flee. It is also suggested to dealbate the laton and to tear up the books, so the hearts may not be reaped asunder]]

Then the earth will putrefy together with the water and will be thus cleansed, as, when it has been dried out, the blackness will recede and it will become white. Then the dark reign of the woman shall perish, and then the man ascending on top of the woman will take the reign away from her. Then the fume will penetrate the body and the spirit / will be constrained [[G. dilated]] in the dry, and then the deforming [[G. destructive, L. corrupting and deformative]] black colour will cease to exist and it will become / white, lucid and clear [[G. a shining white.]]

As the heat acting on the humid / first generates the blackness, likewise acting on the dry, it will [[G. - prob. by error]] produce [[G. breed]] the whiteness, and in the whiteness the lemon colour. / And an example is seen in the burning wood, when coal is produced, [[G. you may observe this in the wood, when it is turned to coal by the fire and lastly into ash]] likewise in the substance of our stone, where firstly, the more it is cooked, the more it will be dissolved and blackened, and secondly, the more it is (further) cooked, the more it will become dried out and whitened, and thirdly, the more it is (further) cooked, the redder it becomes, until it [[G. all]] will be accomplished.

/ Now the thing whose head is red, the feet white, and the eyes black, is the magisterium. [[G. That is our magisterium, if the head of the ore is red, its feet white and its eyes black.]]

Chapter 17

/ There are [[G. And find]] four / principal [[G. special]] colours that appear in / the [[G. our]] work, and those are: black, white, yellow [citrinus, lemon-coloured] and red. And all the names (given to) the ore stem from those four colours appearing in its corpus which are brought forth by the adjunction of the acid to it. Now concerning the appearance of the above-mentioned colours, each of them has to be cooked for a period of forty days; and once the whole of its water has been used up, it has to be gently dried (further) until the white [[G. + begins to]] appear/s. [paragraph miss. in L.]

That it should be necessary to let the opus first become black, can be proven by the fact that a generation (of one thing) does not take place without the corruption (or destruction) of another. Now (such a) corruption does not take place without a putrefaction, and the action of heat onto a humid (thing), and the heat working on the humid first produces the blackness, therefore it is obvious that the beginning of our opus is the raven's head. Similarly it is necessary to putrefy the same, as nothing ever was born, / nor grows [[G. nor was anything born statuated?]], / nor becomes filled with life [animatus] [[G. -]] if not after the putrefying [L. unless it first enters the putrefaction.] / So if it were not putrefied (in the first place) it could not be made to flow [fundi], nor dissolved, - but it if it hasn't been dissolved it would come to nothing. [[G. But if that which was putrefied cannot be made to flow (like a liquid), or dissolved, it is of no use in the administration.]]

[L. + It is obvious that our putrefaction is necessary for any kind of generation.] Now our putrefaction is neither sordid, [[G. stinking]] nor unclean, but it is a mixing together [[G. putting together]] of earth with water and water with earth / down to their smallest particles [per minima], until / all of it [[G. the whole work]] becomes one corpus. / So cook the male [[G. man]] and (his) wife at the same time, until both of them will be coagulated into a dry (thing.) [[G. Now cook the man and his vapour and fume, until both of them will become coagulated.]] But unless it will be made dry, different colours will not at all appear, as it will always remain black, - as long as the humid dominates it. Therefore seal the mouth of the vessel diligently and cook it on the fire, until all of it will be turned below.

Then the dragon will eat its own wings and shall bring forth / diverse colours. But many times it will change from colour into colour, until he will get to a stable white, since all colours of the world will appear [[G. a manifold change from one colour into another, until he gets to a constant white, as all colours of the world appear in him,]] when the blackening humidity is being dried out. But do not pay much attention to those colours, since they are no real colours, as it will turn yellow and red many times, (as) it is dried and becomes liquid, before the real whiteness. But the spirit is only solidified [figitur] with the body in the white colour. It's therefore obvious that the whitening has always to be waited for, as that is the completion of the whole opus, because afterwards there is not going to be another change into a real colour, except into the red.

So in each of the grades observe how the water congeals itself, and in what manner the composite changes from one to another colour, - but if you govern (the work) carelessly, you will never see its colours and will often cry over the work you lost, for the reason that there is no other way for you to know / to [[G. in]] what grade the fire / has to be regulated [[G. shall be]], were it not for the colours that appear in the work. So the colours teach you what to do with the fire, as the same indicate at what time the fire has to be / operated [[G. shut down]] for the first, the second, and the third time. So / if you will have been a [[G. be you]] diligent / administrator, [[G. -]] the colours will teach you what to do [[G. + with it.]] [L. adds: Take well note of the fire and its proportion in its grades, as the fire in the (process of) dissolution has to be >]

And / whenever you are [[G. take note that in the]] dissolving and coagulating the fire will have to be light [lenis], in the sublimation medium, and strong on the rubification. But the more the colours keep changing, the more you have to continue applying a light fire [[G. turn down the fire and (keep) it small]] in the whitening (process), until you get to your destination that is the albedo, (the white phase.) So before the white (phase) we do / not apply much fire [[G. the fire is not turned around a lot]], because the same (composite) is cold, raw and half-cooked, / and so the fortunes [vices] of the white are similar to those of the woman. [[G. and therefore women are whiter (or: wiser) than men.]]

So in the process of whitening the fire shall be light [lenis], / until the vapour shall be congealed with its companion [L. corpus] [[G. until the woman breaks down her own body]], otherwise, should you step up the fire ahead of time [[G. pay no attention to the fire]], it will become a (premature) red that is of no use, since the (real) red is composed of a great amount of white and of the purest black / by means of an intense heat [[G. -], / hence the verse:

That lovely reddish vein out of the shining fountain,
still full of dew it will become full under the sun serene
slowly fostered, until it calms down the dried things
thence it will be candescent and will start to shine in a full white
By their white splendour the veins are made serene,
Full of mysteries it brings forth the shining sands. [L. -]


[[G. Nota Bene:

Therefore the beautiful or the sparkling red fountain are still full of things
under the serene sun it is lightly heated, until it shows forth its / brightness*
and appears like (a thing) blossoming and incandescent all over,
as the incandescence makes it good, serene in appearance,
full of mystery it is born like a shining sand.]]

* [prob. by scribal error: holiness, Helligkeit/Heiligkeit differ only by one letter]


So, if you measure the fire well and / manage (or: rule, govern) the operation well [[G. rule the work by itself,]] you will come to the white colour [L. + first.] //

And when it has become white, the fire shall be made more intense and the (real) albedo will be seen. When a dry heat has been applied above and below it / for the period of some days, [L. so that] all of it will be congealed [figetur] below, and no spirit will ascend above (any longer,) which is the sign of the perfect fixation, hence the verse:

He who despises the fire does not aim for the sublime,
and if you see something little by little aim for above,
you are reminded to repeat the cooking of the things,
The time of cooking are three times seven days,
until the single things [species] are dissolved and bring forth
So the highest bringing together of the materials shall be,
from that mixing rises the going together [coitus] of the things to be born,
Having lit the fires they burn with a stronger flame,
with the fire applied above you make (things) descend again,
until the term of the days of cooking passes by,
in which the contrary (or: adverse) powers of the substances [species] are unified,
which accede in such a way, that not even the dissociate recede,
and the sure thing of (your) hope will follow - the shining of the line of things*
the nature of which in all things gives everything pure.

* Geismaria reads seriei [fr. series], G. reads a form of serene, which makes more sense)


[[G. And once it is white, light a stronger fire, so that you may .. its whiteness in a few .. and therefore make up the fire above and below. And the time of the dry heat is twenty and one days, so that everything will be congealed below itself, and no smelling-out (evaporation) of the spirits will rise above and that is its sign of perfection:

Nota bene:

Does it loathe the fire, it does not rise above itself,
Having lit the fire, there burns a stronger fire;
And if you see only something rising above
then the substances remind you of reiterating the (prior) cooking,
until the time has past, the days of the cooking,
the time of cooking in days is three months,
inside of that the adverse powers of the substances [things] are unified,
and so it is dissolved, but not consumed,
and so they come hither, but the un-associated not thither,
in that way happens the highest coming together of the substances [things],
and after the material has taken (on) a certain form, follows the serene,
Out of the mixing there rises a (new-)born child of splendour
The nature of which all by itself deals out plenty of good in all things.]]

Then that what is fugitive / will not fly away from the non-fugitive, [[G. is not able to fly because of all the cold]] even as / the fire is very hot [[G. it is a burning fire]], because when the magnesia is being whitened, it does neither allow the spirit(-s) to fly away, nor / the ore's [[G. any]] shadow to appear, as it itself is the fixed white sulphur, that / brings to perfection any corpus (body) by tinging it and converting it into [[G. tinges all bodies and converts into]] real [[G. true]] silver.

Therefore the philosopher speaks thus: / When the argentum vivum will have become pure, that force of the non-corrosive white sulphur will coagulate it into silver. [[G. -]] And that is the best thing the operators of alchemy might take on, so that they may convert it into silver, as then nature / contains [[G. holds]] nature [[G. + within itself]] / and they will be converted [L. copulated; G. will give] towards each other in a true matrimonial unification [[G. Vermählung.]]

So in truth there is only one nature, that in each of its operational grades (or phases) is converted into another nature, and because nature delights in nature, nature transcends [superat] nature, and nature holds nature (in its bosom), teaching it of how to battle against the fire. So there are neither diverse natures, nor more than one, but truly there is just one nature containing within itself the nature and all things / that suffice her [[G. she is in need of.]] Therefore in one / manner the work is begun and brought to an end [[G. measure begin you opus and let it end therein.]]

But the mode of the composition is twofold: One is humid, but the other dry, (but) when they will be cooked, they will become one, in a way that one does not leave the other, {which is a good thing, as the humid easily receives the impression* and easily sheds it again, whereas the dry receives the impression* only with hardship and lets it go away only with hardship. So when the humid and the dry have moderated each other;} / the dry receives the impression* easily from the humid, and the humid acquires it from the dry, so that it retains the impression* firmly and sustains all the fire. [[G. as the influx happens by means of the humid, and the humid receives from the dry, so that it may firmly retain the influx, in such a way as to sustain all of the fire.]] *impression must be understood literally here: that what is impressed (e.g. an image or a form) onto a malleable substance, G. translates it as "influx", lit. "in-flowing"

Therefore because of the moist, the dry is kept from its separation, and because of the dry the moist (or humid) is kept from flowing (like a liquid). An example is seen in the potter, who binds the earth with water by cooking it on the fire, so one does not let go the other. In the same manner / the [L. our] magistral art [magisterium] is dealt with by configuring the earth [L. earthly substance] only by means of the moisture and the heat, until they come together and will be joined, / so as they might neither be in discord, nor separate (from each other.). [[G. -]] [L. + Now take note of the two operational virtues of the water, but also of the fire in which the opus shall be completed] Then join to them two / operational [[G. magnificent]] virtues, (that is) the water and the fire, and the magisterium will be completed, but if you mix to them only the water, it will make white; but if you add [[G. mix to it]] the fire, it will make red.

Now [L. + Mark well that] the white is completed in three / rotations [[G. -]], in which there is no fire, but the red is circulated / by four [[G. -]] rotations, [L. + in which the fire must hardly differ in strength] / and now that Elixir which tinges by its own tincture [[G. and as some people think that it is the perfect Elixir, when its tincture tinges and it will be drowned ...]], will be submerged in (or: by) its own oil and / solidified [figitur] by its own chalk [[G. and its colour fixed,]] and the oil is the conjoining and aggregating agent between the chalk and the water. And the water is spreading out the tincture onto its chalk. And when the chalk is solidified [figitur], so will the water because of the sudden violence of the mixing process; and then the corpus will be the cause of / retaining [[G. by error? expelling]] the water, and the water for / holding and conserving [[G. by error? expelling]] the oil so that it may not burst in flames over the fire. And the oil is the cause for retaining the tincture, and the tincture the reason for letting the colours appear, and the colour is the cause for bringing into the open the whiteness [albedo], and the albedo the cause of retaining anything volatile from fleeing, as the corpus, once it is whitened, does not allow the spirit to flee, nor the blackness to appear again.

/ Now the soul is the bond to the spirit, as the corpus is the bond to the soul [[G. -]], but this bond is not a bond of nature, but a bond of the / composites [[G. composition,] as the assembling / of nature [[G. -]] happens by the ingress of the contrary things. // And our assembly [compositio] happens by the fixation of the composites. And he who does not liquefy the corpus with the spirit, so that they become one immaterial [impalpabilis=untouchable] water, and then coagulates it over a light fire, errs in many ways! [[G. And the bond of nature by the fixing of the natural (things); L. + G. add: And therefore he who cannot make (it) flow and coagulate, / errs in many ways.]]

Therefore make black the / earth [[G. ore]], / separating away its soul, make the water return onto the earth by itself, gently whitening and drying the whole [[G. only: make white the earth]] and you have the magisterium. Now he who turns black the earth, and dissolves the white by the fire, and coagulates, until it will take on a colour / like a naked sword, will be liberated from all darkness [[G. like a light from the darkness.]] And when he, once the dealbation is completed, reintroduces its soul, and / afterwards the whole [[G. -]] will be liquefied and then / made fixed in a rapid fire [[G. the fire fixes the redness]], (then he) merits to be called a happy [[G. blessed]] man and to be exalted above the spheres of the world.

Chapter 18

My dearest, you have already learned of how to make the white work, and now it is appropriate / for you to know how to do [[G. to talk about]] the red (work); but / in truth, unless you [[G. only if you first were able to]] whiten (the opus), [[G. + otherwise]] you may not be able to make (your opus) truly red, as nobody is able to get from the first to the / third [[G. last]] without passing by the second. And likewise you are not able to accede from the black (phase) to the yellow [citrinus; G. red] (phase) without the white (phase). But the yellow [citrinus] is composed of much white and / very little [[G. the purest]] black.

So whiten the black and make the white red [[G. blacken the white, so that it is able to redden,]] and you (will) have the magisterium. And just as the year is divided into four seasons [[periods, G. parts,]] so is our blessed work. / First there [[G. the first part]] is the winter, / moist, [[G. -]] cold and rainy. The second is / spring, [Geism. -] cold [L. -], / dry and blossoming [[G. hot, moist and green with vegetation]]. The third is the summer, hot, dry and / reddish [[G. red.]] The fourth is the autumn, [G. + cold and dry,] the time of collecting / the fruit. [[G.-]]

/ According to that disposition rule [regere] the natures in their colouring [[G. So with dexterity rule nature,]] until she has matured and brings forth fruit [[G. + of the substances, Guetter]] according to your desire. Now winter is really gone, the time of the rains has passed and night has pulled back, [L. + and day is near] and the flowers begin to appear in our earth in this time of spring [[G. summer,]] / but only by standing on the white rose we take heart in resting [[G. but on the white roses stands that what we are looking for]] / [L. but standing on the white rose we look for the Sol], for by it alone the virtue [effect] [[G. gift]] will come forth to turn the sad and the sick [aegra] corpora into / real silver [[G. vivum argentum.]]

Now when you see that whiteness to appear [L. + G. [(and showing forth) throughout in the whole,] you may be sure that the redness is hidden in it (as well.) But then it is not advisable to extract that whiteness, but to instead cook it, until it all turns red, [[G. + and truly will be called red.]] // The redder it is, the more its value, because it tinges more abundantly, and so what is cooked more, is redder. [L. And certainly the red, the redder it is, the more it's valuable;] because what is cooked more, / is worth more, [L. is redder, and therefore what is cooked more, is worth more] and therefore also / what (is) the best, (is) even the best (?) [quod maxime, etiam maxime.] [[G. from // has only: And the more straightforward it tinges, the higher is its goodness.]]

/ And certainly the colour of the redness is only caused by the completion of the digestive process [[G. That what really colours, will never lack the redness and comes from the perfect digestion;]] as the blood in man will not be produced unless it is well cooked in the liver. Also, in the morning, when you see that our urine is white, and knowing we slept only a little, we return to bed, and once we got (enough) sleep, / the digestive process is completed, [[G. -]] and the urine will turn yellow [G. red.] // Likewise only by the cooking process following the white phase [albedo] you may get to the redness [rubedo] and then you can no longer err, / provided you continue with a dry fire over it [[G. So only by (the process) of cooking, the albedo might turn into the rubueum, penetrating it more and more with an arid fire.]]

{Do you also not know that the sperm may not be generated from the blood, unless it were thoroughly cooked in the liver before, until it is endowed with an intense redness, and if it were not so, there would be no sperm coming from it? In the same way our ore will not become red, unless it is properly cooked. And it is certain that only the warmth of the liver makes the liquor [chylus] red, and only the heat of a raised [accensus] fire can turn the white sulphur red, as the stomach's primary digestive phase makes everything white, and the second phase, that of the liver, will make everything red, as only in the liver the heat resides, just as the dryness in the stomach.} [[paragraph miss. in G.]]

G. adds (missing in Geismaria and Leyden)

NOTA BENE:

Do not make our roses glowing hot, but in a way that a light will appear,
and whenever they are (in) the heat, always stir them in the heat
in the (sparkling) lustre they [it] will bear fort a shining (light)
and the red (will bring forth) the redness.

So cook the dry with a dry fire and a dry calcination, until it becomes red as cinnabar [L. + that is of a crimson colour,] to which you must not further add / neither water [[G. the soul,]] nor any other thing, until / the redness is cooked to its completion [[G. the magisterium has been cooked to its completion into the red.]] But in (this) time of summer / and the fruit, the flooding of [[G. -]] the rains / corrupts [[G. destroy]] / the magisterium [G. the fruit, likewise also our work.] Therefore it is advisable to burn the same without fear with a dry fire, until it will put on the most reddish colour.

But do not cease from the work, if the redness is a little late in appearing, [[G. + as in the first digestion in the stomach it turns into white, likewise the second by means of the liver into red,]] for by the intensified fire after the white phase, out of the first colours (that show,) / you will have the redness [[G. it will give you out of the first the second, which is the redness;]] but in between those colours the yellow [citrinus] will appear, but that colour is not of a stable kind, as soon afterwards the red will not be long in coming, and once it is there, / you can be certain [[G. -]] that your work is completed [G. ready,] // as then the woman has turned into a man; and everything that was unfinished turned into the true / solar kind [solificum] [L. Sol.] [[G. when it has turned the woman into a man.]]

// Therefore the philosopher speaks thus:

When the sulphur will be pure [mundum], the best it can be [optimum] (endowed) with a clear redness, and if there is a virtue of one single fieryness within it that does not burn or consume [urere], it will be the best thing that the alchemists might take on, so that / from [L. of] it the may make gold. [L. + Now this argentum vivum converts any imperfect corpus into gold, because] from that it is abundantly clear, that the it alone is our true sulphur we are striving for, being white and red, by which we can turn [tingere] any corpus into the best / gold [L. -] and silver, better that which is produced from the mines; depending on the way the Elixir had been prepared, in the white or in the red. [L. -]


G. marks the following lines with a Nota Bene, Geismaria and L. do not

[[G. The philosopher speaks (thus):

NOTA BENE:

When sulphur becomes pure in a good and clear redness,
and when within it there is the sole strength of a fire that does not consume,
it becomes the best good that the alchemists might accept.
Now from that it is obvious, that it alone is our sulphur,
being white and red, by which we tinge any corpus into gold and silver,
better than what is hewn out of the ore,
(and) according to the manner, the Elixir had been prepared,
in the white, or in the red.

Chaper 19

// As you lead out each kind [species] from the (different) parts of the work, in the manner we taught you to direct them, then lead back the spirit(-s) to the same and raise everything by sublimation, because it will be made into a shining clear (thing) by sublimation that cannot be mixed with the elements. [[G. Therefore each kind [species] (coming) from the (different) parts of the work shall be put into order. That is, the spirits are going to be led back to it, and everything will be raised in sublimation, when the light and that what shines shall be (combined) in sublimation in an un-mixable manner.]]

And this is that you should take / the most pure part of this stone known to you [[G. the part of that pure stone,]] and by means of an ingenuous subtle manner // conjoin it in the most intimate way, and everything will be raised. Should this not take place, you ought to add to it a certain part of (the stone) that is not fixed, so that the quantity of the volatile exceeds that of the fixed, until it is sufficient for the elevation of the same. [[G. conjoin the red (things) together, then it will raise itself above, but should that not happen, add to it that which is not fixed, a certain part, for the reason, that the volatile may lift up the fixed, and take only so much that it may be lifted and not more.]]

// But we have seen in those (substances) that we have used in our (operational) experience that those that are admixed [L. + strongly] with water, [[G. Those that are mixed with water, have to be mixed quickly,]] - if the sum (or quantity) of the volatile has the upper hand over the sum (or quantity) of the fixed, then the fixed will fly (up) with it, / but if it does not win over, it will be congealed to (the fixed) [L. -] {That is because the spirit lifts up anything above to the higher [ad superiora], that had been conjoined to it. So it carries that along faster which is wholly from its own nature. And that (type of) sublimation has to be made by means of a dry heat.} [ {-} missing in L. and G.]

So when [L. and G. therefore] it has been raised, this type of sublimation has to be done again, time after time, until by means of this repeated sublimation everything will be congealed [figere] [[G. + below itself.]] But when it has been fixed (or congealed,) / make the fixed (or congealed) imbue with an equal quantity of the non-fixed, again and again taking the same quantity [[G. take a part of it that is equal to the size of the un-fixed and imbue it by means of your knowledge,]] until the whole get's raised / another time [[G. completely.]] (Then) [[G. + At last]] it has to be / repeatedly [[G. -]] congealed [figere,] [[G. + as long]] until it can be made to flow easily like a wax.

And this then is the lasting medicine that tinges, / penetrates [L. + consolidates, G. + make to flow over, make unite] and perseveres, of which one part will convert a thousand / and more parts [[G. times thousand]] of any corpus into the truest gold and silver, / according to the way the Elixir had been prepared, either into the white, or into the red. [G. -]

Chapter 20

But the validity [bonitas] of this multiplication / depends only on the often repeated [[G. is (found in) nothing else than in the manifold]] process of sublimation and fixation of that medicine, because the more the series [ordo] of that / additional [complementum] process [[G. Verbringnis]] is repeated, the / more its exuberance [G. stronger and more beautiful its goodness will become, and it] will also be multiplied, / and the validity [bonitas] of its perfection will be raised to the highest degree, [G. -] until it will be able to convert / without limit [in infinitum, G. endlessly] any corpus that is reduced in its perfection, as well as the argentum vivum, / into the real lunar and solar quality [[G. into the good and the permanent.]]

Now as many times as you do sublimation unto this perfect medicine and dissolve it (again), the same number of times / you make a gain each time in its projection by one onto a thousand, // {so that if the first time it is thrown onto a thousand, the next time it will be thrown onto ten thousand (parts), and the third time onto a hundred thousand, and the forth time onto a thousand thousand, and in the fifth time onto infinity. So the more the Elixir is turned into a higher degree of subtlety, the more it will tinge, so to the degree you elevate your opus to, to the same degree will its value rise, as it operates more abundantly and converts a greater part.

And that is what Geber talks about, he who was a master of masters in our magistral work: "Now you operate with your stone, and I shall with mine, and my stone shall be worth more than yours, for when you project one (part) onto a thousand (parts), I shall project onto ten thousand (parts) and the whole will be good; but if you project onto ten thousand (parts) I shall project one (part) onto a thousand thousand, because my stone is worth more than yours, as in the transmutation of many thousand (parts) it will transcend your stone."

Now Geber says that tempting us, as his and our stone are one and the same, but he dissolved it so much and put it so many times through sublimation, that one (part) of his stone transcends ten (parts) of ours, and so, the more times it will be raised by sublimation, the more power of conversion it will possess, so what is the highest, to the highest degree. (unclear) So do not fall short of making your Elixir more subtle [subtiliare] as much as you can.} [[the foregoing paragraphs in {} starting from // are missing in G.]] And certainly the cause of its rapid liquefaction is the making subtle [subtilatio] of its parts by the fire in the final phase. Because if anything coming from the mercury, when brought to fixation in its own right [natura], is made more subtle, it will be dissolved more, and what is the highest, to the highest degree. (unclear)

[[G. from above // + Now mark you, the more often that perfected medicine will be (going through the process of) sublimation, each of those times it will become redder and it will become more perfect to tinge a thousand parts. >> And the reason of the rapidity of its nature lies in the flowing from the fire and finally in the sublimation. And all that which remains in the mercury staying in its own nature and being joined to the fixed, is more subtle and can be made to flow better. (translt. not certain)]]

And the reason, why the accomplished Elixir gives a very fast fusion in the manner of a wax, much more than any other metal, / is that it consists [[G. mark you, the substance that had been extracted]] of the purest / substance of the [[G. -]] argentum vivum brought into fixation, and of the most subtle, pure / and fixed [[G. -]] matter that took its origin from the argentum vivum / and was created by it, [[G. our medicine took its origin and beginning.]]

And that is because, the argentum vivum being fugitive, and of a ready, if not inflammatory kind, it is in need of another medicine, that adheres deeply and joins itself to it by its most minute constituents [per minima], just before the moment it is about to fly away, thickening it and protecting it from fleeing the fire by fixating it, converting the whole by its good virtue [beneficium] into the real lunar or solar kind in a blink of the eye, according to how the Elixir had been prepared. [[G. And that has been said, because the argentum vivum being volatile, it is in need, without getting inflamed, of our medicine, which adheres to it fast / to the bottom or ground (G. is misinterpreting "in profundo adhereat" meaning to adhere profoundly) joined and mixed to it (just) before its flight, it keeps it from fleeing by fixing and thickening it, and converts it into a permanent and rightful thing, which does not happen, unless the Elixir is ready for it.]]

{Because if it were not of an easy fusion, it would not be liquefied [funderi] before the mercury's flight, neither would it be able to hold back the same. [L. + now here take note of a secret:] If it were not of its nature (of the mercury), it would not deeply attach itself to it, neither would it like to mix itself down to the most minute parts [per minima], as the argentum vivum only receives into its bosom that which is of its own nature. Now if the medicine were not fixed, it could not make (something else) fixed, and if it were not of purest and most lucid [fulgidissimus] kind, it could neither convert the mercury nor other corpora into gold and silver, as nothing may give away, what it does not possess itself, as you do not find in a thing that, which hasn't been in it before.

Therefore it is obvious that our medicine must necessarily consist of a substance of the highest subtlety and purity, adhering to the argentum vivum by way of its own nature, also to have the property to be made to flow in an easy and most subtle [tenuis] manner, (but also) holding fast [fixam] in the fire's fist, as this medicine coagulates the same mercury and converts it into the nature of the solar and the lunar kind.

And by now we have completed our medicine to be equally balanced [temperatus] in the qualities of hot, cold, humid and dry; so if anything is put close to it [apponitur], it* shall take on the complexion of that which has been put to it, so if you did put water to it, everything would be dissolved like water, but if it was fire, all would become fire, and that is the reason the medicine can be multiplied endlessly. Because the same (medicine) is like the fire in the wood, and like the musk in the fine spices, and its (quality) will rise the more, the more it's being ground [conculcatus]. So you always have to leave behind a portion of it, because it is a gift by itself, just who is in possession of fire, has a gift by it.} *(in my opinion, "it" here refers to the medicine, not to that which has been added.)

[[G. the foregoing three paragraphs in {} brackets are missing in the German manuscript]]

// [L. + Take closely note of the Elixir's multiplication:] Now the medicine is multiplied by solution, as well as by fermentation, but in a delayed manner by solution, whereas our medicine is augmented faster by fermentation, because in the dissolved state it cannot be well augmented unless it's first fixed by its own ferment. And the dissolved and fermented medicine works much more profusely [abundantius] than if it's only fermented, as the more subtle it is made [subtiliatus], it is possible by fermentation alone to multiply it to infinity. [[G. Therefore it is necessary to prepare the medicine (for use), either by dissolution or by a (process) of fermentation. By dissolution it will take longer, whereas by fermentation the augmenting of our medicine will take place faster. But, as long as it is not dissolved, it will not be very active, unless it has been made fixed before in its own ferment. And it operates better still, when it is both dissolved and fermented.]]

And that is, because the ferment brings [[G. draws]] that what has been joined to it, into its own nature, as well as the colour and the odour [sapor,] in a complete manner, as it whitens the preparation [confectio], protects it from the combustion, contains the tincture so it might not flee, vivifies [G. makes supple, L. raises] the corpora, and makes them approach each other and to be joined together. That now is the end of the works, and without the same (ferment) the Elixir cannot be made, just like dough [pasta] cannot be fermented without the leaven.

So, when you solidify [fixare] the Elixir by (the process of) sublimation, do bring back over the same the appropriate spirit, so that it will be mixed and liquefied by the secret of the natures in the philosophical vessel, because when they [[G. it]] will rest for a while, the stronger of the two will overcome, converting the whole into a spirit similar to itself, / and the same, having power over the (attractive) bond, is not able to (further) stand (or exist by itself). [[G. -]] [L. + Now here take note of the spirit's marriage with the corpus, from which it had been extracted in the beginning:] Now conjoin the same (spirit), so it may generate / something [L. a corpus,] similar to itself / but do not join it to some other thing in order that it may convert it into its own (nature), [[G. -]] / but only to that, with which it had been together in the beginning [[G. that is with the thing with which it was together in the beginning;]] if you do it that way, even that which was joined, will become the Elixir. And that is because sulphur will be contained by the sulphurs, and the humid by the same humidity, as when the spirit converts the sulphur [L. Plural] into a spirit like itself, / both will be made volatile, and the airy spirits rising up into the air love each other [[G. both of its parts will have become volatile and the spirit will make itself lift equally up into the air.]]

Now, when the philosophers saw that the same did not flee with the (other things) volatile [fugiens], they brought that which was made volatile [fugiens] again to a similar non-volatile corpus, and introduced the same therein, from where it could by no means fly away, because of the close proximity of its nature. [[G. As the philosophers saw, that the (thing) that did not fly with the volatile (things), become fleeting (or volatile) itself, they (brought) that same (thing) again into a similar non-volatile corpus, introducing it into the same, from where it could not fly away from, because of the retentive (quality) of its nature.]] [L. + Take note here of the real ingress of the spirit into the body.]

// Now the soul introduces itself faster into its own body than if it was put into another, and if you tried that you'd work in vain, as there is no familiarity [communicatio] between darkness and light, but to a corpus that is similar to other corpuses from which the same were drawn, they will return, because that which tinges and that what is to be tinged have become one tincture. [[G. But the soul will soon introduce itself into corpuses that are closer to it, than into another one, as she is an interchanging [Verwechselnuß] of darkness and light, when that which tinges and that which is to be tinged have become one tincture.]]

/ But you don't believe that a thing which tinges and is volatile, should be the true tincture of the philosophers, do you? Because sulphurs tinge and do not fly away, unless they are joined to argentum vivum similar to its own kind. [[G. Now have present (thinking) of that which tinges and flees from nature, might be the philosopher's tincture? (Only) because the sulphura tinge, but similarly not the argentum vivum, of its kind. (unclear)]] Therefore it is necessary to mix the same [ipsum] to / a [[G. another]] / white [[G. -]] or red argentum vivum of its kind, and to contain it, so it does not fly away. / Because we commend (you) to mix (one) argentum vivum with (another) argentum vivum, [[G. - by oversight]] until it will become one pure water, composed of the both argentum' vivum'. But importantly in their mixture [L. conjunction] you put little of (your) work [opus; G. corpus by error] onto much of the corpus, so that it may have the power [potentiam] to convert it (also) into the medicine, otherwise the whole would be converted into a spirit similar to itself.

But if you project a smaller part of the work onto a big part of the corpus, let's say one part of it onto four parts of the other, / in a short time the colour of your powder will be red or white [L. after some time it will become a powder and its colour will be white or red,] according to what the ferment was, onto which you project [L. projected.] And that powder is the Elixir completed / having the nature of those (things) by which the Elixir had to be made of. [L. and G. -] [[G. Therefore project only a small quantity, that is four parts onto one part of the other, then in a short time it will turn into a powder, of a white or a red colour, according to the kind of the ferment's nature that has been projected. And that powder is the finished Elixir.]]

// And the Elixir has to be a simple [simplex] powder and has to be made of the best things of this world, and the corpus / and [L. or] the ferment you mix with it, has to be a subtle / and dissolved [L. -] powder; [L. + Take note that he says, one part of the opus onto four parts of the corpus, and the opus will be dissolved by itself as well, and before that happens they (are to be) joined] since you will not be able to mix any of them together, until each of them is separately dissolved in water, because he who dries out, before he imbues, does not join (them) down to their most minute parts [per minima], neither does he make them wholly subtle, as it is also easier to separate wine from earth than from water. [L. + Take note here that when the corpus will be dissolved in water, that it will never be disjoined from its own water.] But when water is mixed with water, then one water takes up the other water, so that they may never be separated again from each other.
[[G. Therefore our Elixir has to be a one (un-composed) simple powder, made by way of the magisterium from the best things in the world, and its corpus is the ferment before it will be mixed, and has to be a subtle powder in the first place, dissolved in water, but each in a special manner, otherwise the one with the other would not have a true joining together, because of the fact that the ore takes a long time to dry, before it can to be imbued. Therefore it is easier to divide (wine) from the earth than from the water. But if water is mixed with water, one takes up the other, and they may never be separated again.]]

Now, if you were a hydropic, drink / a lot [[G. -]] of the said drink [[G. confection]], and you will be healed [[G. he will be cleaned (healed) without doubt]], [L. + Take note of the saffron and the multiplication of the medicine;] because each tincture tinges more than a thousand parts in a liquid [G. + substance] / than in a dry substance [G. or in the dry], which we see in the saffron, / when it is put into liquids; [G. -] / but if it will be projected on dry things [[G. when it is put into water in a raw state]], it tinges (or dyes) little, but if dissolved / and joined to a little (liquid) [[G. -]] that little tinges infinitely when put to the great quantity.

Chapter 21

This is how you do the projection: First multiply ten in (by) ten, and that shall be a hundred; and a hundred in a hundred, and it shall be a thousand; and a thousand in a thousand, [[end of ref to German manuscript CPG 467]] and its going to be ten thousand; and ten thousand in ten thousand, and it shall be a hundred thousand; and a hundred thousand in a hundred thousand, and it's going to be a thousand thousand; and a thousand thousand in a thousand thousand and it shall become an uncountable number. That is to say: First put one (part) onto ten (parts), and one of those onto a hundred, and it's going to be ten thousand, and likewise with the others.

[[G. And therefore at first ten (parts) are thrown onto ten (parts), and twenty (parts) onto twenty (parts) and thus one proceeds in augmenting, until (one gets to) a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand; // end of ref. to extant latin text // and the cause for this augmenting is twofold: the good need and the perfection, > (first) the goodness, by it (the tincture should) tinge more abundantly and operate the better and convert the nature more, (second) the perfection, so that it may tinge better, fix more, and bring forth that which is similar to it. That is why a just [gerecht] medicine should convert the number by the mercury. (> text corrupted) Imperfect into perfect, argentum (silver) into aurum (gold), as the number of perfection is ten, a hundred, a thousand, etc. And therefore the projection shall happen from the first to the last. And therefore all foundations of the medicine are to be subtracted. The subtraction ... (The rest of the text is probably missing)]]

Geismaria and Leyden continue:

And again according to another philosopher: Put one part over ten parts of a prepared metal, and one part of those onto a hundred (parts) and it shall be converted by a stable and durable conversion, if God desires. But if you did put one part only once and right away onto a thousand parts, it were to be feared that because of the intense heat it may be consumed and would exhale, before it could penetrate and perform its operation [confectio]. But if you apply one (part) to ten (parts), it will penetrate right away and mix itself to (those parts); and then it is neither necessary to increase the fire's intensity, nor to continue any further, but instead one should take it down right away. And when it has cooled down, it already attaches itself to the other and adheres to it because of the closeness of the nature; therefore, if from thereon you project one (part) onto a hundred, the substance of the stone shall be held by that, to which it was mixed, clinging to it, until all of it will have been transmuted.

So now mix the prepared argentum vivum with (the) oils, not that it is the (principal) matter of all the metals, like some affirm and many surmise, but by means of the cold it will hold on to the medicine over the fire, until they shall be (properly) mixed, so that (the medicine) does not exhale; so take good care of it und you will be a fortunate (person) on the earth. But the cause of that all is threefold: the validity [bonitas,] the necessity (or need) and the perfection. The validity [bonitas] is the cause that it tinges more abundantly, that it performs better, in order to convert a higher quantity. The necessity (or need), that it its colouring comes about in a better way, that it generates that which is similar to itself, and that it may be solidified [figere] better. The perfection, because the perfect medicine needs to convert an imperfect metal into the most perfect gold or silver.

But the number of perfection is: Ten, a hundred, a thousand. So from the first (orderly progressing) to the last, you do your projection, because if such a small thing were simply to fight against such a big thing, it would be overcome by it, because of its smallness. [L. + Take note in the following about the foundations of the medicine:] It is true that all the foundations of the [our] medicine are to be found in making it very subtle and (able) to tinge, because the more subtle the Elixir is made, [L. + the more] it shall tinge, and will operate more abundantly, / so what is the best, (operates) the best (sense unclear)

Therefore put solution to solution, and apply the drying (process) [desiccatio] to the dissolved, and put everything to the fire, and pay attention to the fumes, being careful not to let anything escape from it. But the (right) administration of the whole lies in the temperate kind of the fire, so stay close to the vessel, and in watching, marvel at how it is moving from colour to colour in less than an hour of a day, until it (finally) gets to its destination, (that is) the whiteness and the redness; as (by then) it will be liquefied very quickly in the fire and be congealed in the air, because the fume, feeling the heat, will penetrate into the body, and the spirit will be compressed in the dry, and the whole will become a single corpus, solid [fixus,] clear, white or red, according to what kind of a medicine and a ferment were prepared (in the first place.)

Then remove it from the fire, letting it all cool down, and one part of its [L. + projected] weight shall fall onto a thousand thousand and more, of any corpus, converting the whole into the best gold and silver, according to how the Elixir was prepared.

But in truth the white medicine needs a white ferment, just like the red a red ferment, as into the red work, nothing but the red has to enter, likewise into the white work nothing but the white is admitted. So what you do in the white, you do in the red, as there is one and the same preparation of both (processes), but that which joins [folds] together the tinctures and the spirits is the ferment, as it is obvious that whosoever does not join the white argentum vivum, suffering the fire, to the mere, or pure silver, does in no way choose the path (leading) to the whiteness; and whosoever does not join the red argentum vivum, sustaining the fire, to the mere, or pure gold, in no way chooses the path (leading) to the redness.

So he should not tire his body with things that he is not able to attain, as that is of no use to himself, nor to somebody else, nor to the world, - until the driving force [motor] shall not come to rest (or: stabilises) in the sublime motions of nature in an uncorrupted or rather non corrupted (state).

Chapter 22

[L. + Now we connect [knit] together the recapitulation of the whole opus:] But as a speech being too extended or big overloads the intellect and (only) increases errors, we shall narrate the whole making of this work in a very few words: It consists in taking the stone by now well-known, onto which, in an assiduous work by means of the process of sublimation perfection has to be brought, so that the stone shall first be cleansed, and [L. + thereby profoundly] be made subtle, until it comes to the last stage of the purity of subtilty, so that it ultimately becomes volatile, and that then is the first grade of its administration.

From there it has to be (re-)solidified by the mode of fixation, until it may quietly rest in the fire's asperity. But the work of the moon has to be very white, and the work of the Sun [L. + very] red; as white is the work of winter, and red the work of summer. Therefore the (second) is in need of a higher degree of sublimation of its parts in an extended process of decoction with special modes of fermentation [lit. digestion] until it assumes a colour of a perfect red, and in this goal of perfection the second grade consists.

But in the third grade one finds the completion of the whole work and it consists in (the following): You have to make the stone, by now solidified, volatile by processes of sublimation together with that which is not solidified [fixus]; and the volatile (again) fixed, and the fixed has to be dissolved again and made volatile; then again the volatile must become solid, until it flows and liquefies, and is able to alter (things) into the solar und lunar completion; as by the repeated operational process [preparation] of the medicine's third grade will come about the validity [bonitas=goodness], and multiplication of its (ability) to change (the nature of things), so that it may convert any of the imperfect corpuses into the real Sun (gold) and Moon (silver) infinitely.

In addition to that it also has the effective virtue to heal every sickness, more than other medicines can do; as it gives joy to the soul, increases the virtue, conserves youth and reverts [renews] old age; as it does not permit the blood to putrefy, neither allows the phlegmatic (liquids) to dominate, nor the choleric (heat) to burn, nor for melancholy to take over, - verily it does augment the (quality) of the blood above measure, it cleanses blockades in the spirited things, keeps healthy all the body's limbs, and generally cures illnesses that originate from (an excess of) the hot and the cold, exceeding all other medicines.

So if a sickness had lasted one month, it will cure it in one day; if it lasted one year, it will heal it in twelve days; but if it was older and had lasted a long time, it will cure it in one month. It expels all the bad humores, and induces good ones, it will also bring reciprocal love in those, to who it was proffered, security to those who falter, and audacity and victory.

Now then nature's highest secret of secrets has been brought to completion, which is greater than the most precious of precious things of this world. [L. + Here ends the truly golden rosary.]

---

The vision of the same John Dastin, an Englishman.

(from the printed edition of 1657, Geismaria)


As in the nature of all existing things there is an effect of bringing forth and multiplying, we take it from that basis that an influence of the planets has necessarily to be assumed. Thence, eagerly awaiting the dawn of the Sun and the Moon, we beheld the following vision:

Having had the impression to be in rapture with (the whole of) Nature before us, - behold, seven planets appeared. And they, according to the will of the same nature, did choose their first-born brother as their king, and after they had endowed him with the regal crown as a sign of his reign, they adored him as their ruler, and openly made their own short-comings manifest to him, as all of them suffered from some kind of scab or leprosy. Now the king, endeavouring to console them, said unto them: It shall be of the essence that he who is without blemish among us, ought to die for all the others, so that not all of the generation might perish, and that by his newly shed blood being spread onto us, we all shall acquire (perfect) health, just as Plato says: "According to the merit of the substance, form shall be given."

Now as the remaining planets listened to their king, they said: But who of us is without blemish? From an impure seed we have been conceived, and our mother set us forth being subject to weakness, - so who can purify a thing that had been conceived from an impure seed? You cannot find in a thing something that it does not possess! Now Mercurius, being the mother of all of them, responded: My sons! Six bodies I bore forth, and of those there is one that is full of brilliance, without blemish, a king, a head and the best of all the planets, - there is nothing superfluous in him, neither does he lack anything, as his complexion is temperate, and nature is set straight in (the qualities of) heat and cold, of humidity and dryness. Therefore the burning things cannot burn him, nor will the corrruptive things attack him, nor will earth or water make him change to any effect. With him the spirits are to be mixed, and are also made fixed by him, - using the highest intelligence, which cannot pertain to a "stiff-necked" (unintelligent) artist. Now by him we will bring all of them to a good end, just because he, having perfect will and deed, cannot be made to die.

Then they all began to cry out aloud in a heart-wrenching way: How painful!! Why, mother, did you make us impure and him so perfect?! Woe to us, why did you make us unto brothers of bitterness and pain? Why were we not suffocated in your womb, so we might have perished before seeing the light of day? Why, taken from your body, fed by your breasts, have we been born into fire's way, burning as fire's food? Then nature answered them thus: All things have been created in wisdom and measure, he who gave counsel, also shall give assistance, just as the good sovereign shall give his life for his subjects.

So it will suit you, oh King, to be borne again, as in no other way can you die, or cure your brothers and bring them to perfection, - because he, who will convert the fourth into the sixth, shall then convert (him-)self into the seventh and the fourth. Now the king could not help smiling and said: How can an old body be born again, - as it cannot enter back into the womb of its mother and be born again? Then nature responded to him: You are the head of your family and do not know this? Do you not know that nothing may be submerged into the Mercurius but the Sol? Nothing will suit you better, than being joined to your mother and her breast, - as in such a way you may calm down her flight and preserve your own substance. As it is impossible for the heavy things to be lifted up without the help of a lever, neither may the light things descend without the help of the heavy ones, - so nothing has been created without a cause!

Now who loves his soul will loose it, but if that which existed appears to be lost, then that which did not exist before, is beginning to appear, just as the things that bring about destruction also bring about the cure, - and where corruption proceeds, healing shall appear. Then the king started to groan, saying: My mistress, I beseech thee, take away from me that burden, - but if it may not be taken away, I have to bear it according to your judgement, - as he is not worthy of the empire, who is not ready to fight for the same. So I am ready to take up the Moon as my mother, so I may become white to the black, red to the white and yellow to the red, being a truthful son who is not lying.

Now the brothers rejoicing at the promised marriage of their king, prepared him a large, circular rest-room, fully cushioned, well lit, surrounded in all parts by the moist dew, being also well sealed. There nine beautiful virgins anxiously waited for the king's liberation, being ready to offer unto him suitable protection and service. Then, as all of them kept their silence, a light with dazzling rays broke forth from the regal throne and spake unto the nine virgins thus: "It shall suit me to pass through fire and water, but the only thing I fear is the snake's poison, that it may not kill me with its great voracity as I am of a tender age. Therefore render me protection, until I get to a mature age and then I shall be able to give you passage into my kingdom where we all shall become immortal." Now as the virgins gave him perfect protection, the king entered safely into his sleeping mansion, and by way of being a burning desire, he suddenly was set alight, succumbed to slumber and slept with the most beautiful of the virgins, his mother's daughter. And he, being of an indigested state, heating up greatly, lost all of his powers, being ill-disposed all-over.

Then the woman, who was clothed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, suddenly absorbed her husband into her (bosom), so that of him nothing more was there to be seen, because she, having been made steaming hot by her desire now fulfilled, drew out the soul of the king with her kisses, so that even the virgins, being desperate for the life of his, believing the king to have died, were similarly put to a deep slumber.

Now as the sly serpent got wind of that, and remembering its enmity of old against the woman, it quietly entered the sleeping mansion and began to exhale its poison little by little, so as not to awake the sleeping. Then the toxic fumes very slowly ascended and gradually began to corrode the body of the sleeping king. Now the woman being in a very high heat by such an ardour of her blood, began to flee, ascending into the higher chamber together with her virgins, having cleansed themselves seven times, and another seven times, in the bath of the purgatory diluting their sin, so that they might only take with them the soul of the king, lest by his death they would be damned in turn to a horrible death, if any part of the king's body had adhered to them.

But the wife, as she loved the king, and possessed within her his exhaled soul, she pondered in what way she might resuscitate him from the dead. And as she knew very well from the science of nature, that without frequent changing (of states) he could not be resuscitated, whereby she would have to make the air enter into his dead body, then burn it to ashes, and, after having splendidly celebrated the king's burial, she would have to joyously bury herself with his burnt cinders. But as the snake in its old jealousy envied this act of charity, it belched forth its poison little by little, and not intending to desist from the work it had already undertaken, it hurriedly went on to bring the labour of the woman to nought. And all of that took place in the first light of October.

But the woman, in the way a mother would do to her child, tried to protect her man by huddling him up tightly in the innermost of her belly, as to protect him from further injury while at the same time repelling the poison. And the more the foetus was being infected by the snake's poison, the more she made it ingress into her most inner maternal fold, lest she might suffer an abort due to the intense heat. Now the Moon, being full of its own moisture, covered the foetus in clouds, expelling the flames from afar. Now the female, being exhausted from her labours and from bearing the burdens lay prostrate on the ground, being black-faced and so feeble as not to be able to lift up her eyes or hands in her state of utter weakness.

Now the beginning of the art is the raven's black head, being dried little by little by the fire, so it may take on a white garment after the darkish-brown one (it donned before.) In the meantime the time of giving birth had arrived unto the woman, and she brought forth her first-born son. And thinking about the future, that he might not successively be poisoned by the snake, she took precautionary (measures): Getting hold of her wings, she ascended above to the superior chamber trying to find a way out, but as she could not find it, she returned to the nest she had been in before. Not finding the rest she desired though, opening (and flapping) her wings, again and again she (attempted to) flew above, but finding the exit locked, she thought of turning back. And just as she battled thus attempting to fly away, our (newly) born son devoured three of the virgins, their feathers having been torn out and being thus totally deprived of fleeing. As the six remaining virgins carefully observed this, they were becoming greatly afraid, being (themselves) in the process of taking to the air by a moderate kind of movement. Now as he (the son) was (slowly) drying in the sun, he turned from a black to a white colour. But those happenings took place in the month of march.

Now as the serpent learnt this, it was filled with the most intense fury, and began to incinerate the king by means of a more intense fire, but he, drawing more and more water, devoured the remaining six virgins one by one, coagulating himself with them in the fire, just as he did with the others before, so that in the space of another forty days he was completely converted into earth, and then, after the space of another forty days, and being constantly held in a uniform heat, he at last put on a garment of a perfect white.

Then he changed his face many times in showing himself forth, being sometimes black or dark-brown, at other times red and golden-yellow, sometimes of a light yellow or white, so that I might speak with Horace:

By way of which knot shall I hold fast this ever-changing countenance of Protheus?

But right when he stays put in a pure whiteness, we know that he is in need of being married to the Moon, his sister. Now, as we marry him unto her, we can effectuate a projection onto other bodies, and behold: One part of him onto a thousand thousand parts of the other planets will turn them into the best silver.

As at this juncture the snake observed itself being torn to pieces, it was gripped inside by a pain of the heart, and in attempting to at least fulfil that, what it had neglected before, it laboured heavily with all its powers to destroy the king in his white garments. But the king having had his inner bones fortified, not only put on fierce resistance, but even managed to crush the snake more and more under his feet. And, as time went by, he did not have to fear the snake's poison anymore, as it had by now been killed. But having been excessively heated up by that battle's wrath and all the moving about, the king changed his colour into a bloody red, and thus, finally taking hold of his kingdom once again, he triumphed over all the others, leaving no offence unpunished.

Now as the Sun vests itself with its regal purple, by copulating it with itself, we can effectuate a projection onto other bodies, and behold: One part of it onto a thousand thousand parts of other (bodies) will turn them into the best gold.

Now after waking up, and putting the vision into writing, we were greatly delighted, and having got rid of (our) poverty, from the present onwards we shall decline to stay in our own mansions for any longer.

So, in directing our thanks towards our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall climb onto the tree and reap its fruit, but shall (always) fear the seas.

The end.

---

The Rosary of John Dastin, text of German manuscript Codex Palat. germ. 467

Cod. Pal. germ. 467
Alchemistische Sammelhandschrift
Papier · 487 Bll. · 30,5 × 20,6 · Neuburg/D. · um 1550

>Hye hebet sich an Das Buchlein Rosarius genandt der Rosengarten,
Vnnd leret den rechten weg der Gottlichen kunst Alchamÿa etc.<. Ain begierliches begern, vnnd vnzallbarlicher schatz auß denn alten Buchern von viel weißen meistern außzogen ... 309v welcher Gott verleihe, der da regirt von wellt zu welt. Amen. Erstdruck des lat. Grundtextes: Johannes Dastin, Rosarium secretissimum philosophorum arcanum comprehendens, Hofgeismar: Salomon Schadewitz 1647 (VD 17, 23:294927Y; Brüning, Nr. 1.718). Auf dt. erschien der Text erstmals 1675 in dem Sammelband Alchymisch Sieben-Gestirn, das ist: Sieben schöne und außerlesene Tractätlein vom Stein der Weisen ...,
Hamburg: Johann Naumann (u.a.) 1675 (VD 17, 39:116191L; Brüning, Nr. 2.301), hier verglichen mit der Ausgabe Frankfurt/Leipzig: Krauß 1772, S. 119–230 (Brüning, Nr. 5.094).
Erwähnte Person: Aristoteles (256v [An Alexander]). Zu Autor und Text vgl. Joachim Telle, in: LexMA 3 (1986), Sp. 573f.

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[252 v] (Kapitel 1)

Hye hebet sich an das Büchlein Rosarius, genandt der Rosengarten. Unnd leret den rechten Weg der Gottlichen Kunst Alchamija etc.

Ain begierliches Begern, unnd unzallbarlicher Schatz, auß den alten Buchern von viel weißen meistern außzogen, thue ich sie kurzlich inn ain Summa verejnigen, also das genugsam wurde erkennth die aller sicherst Warheit der Mehrung unnd Uberaußstreckung des genentenn unnd aller ubertrefflichsten Schatzs. Darumb genentt Rosarius, das ist ein Roßengarten, wann inn gleicher Weiß, alls auß denn Dornen die Roßen werden geleßen. Allso ist diß Buchlein durch die naturlichen Meister auß den alten Buchern außgeklaubt und außgeleßen. So aber alles das der Warheit widersteet, die Vernunfft inn dem Endt des Wergks gibt zu erkennen, gab ich inn dieser lautern Furlegung durch rechte Ordnung, wenn Wortt zu Wortten mitt allen seinen Thejlen, nach genugsamer Weiß, was zu unserm Wergkh dinet, dargesatzt, nicht zuvill, noch zu wenig, alls dan offenbart das Enndt, unnd darumb gefall es unserm [253r] Herrn Ihesu Ch(r)isto zu schicken den Geist der rechten Verständtnuß.

Alle Geschöpff der gottlichen Gotthait seindt mit dem Kraiß umbgeben unnd verkommen in jhm. Davon sie sindt außgangen, in den Spher der Hiemel geschejbt (kreisförmig gesetzt), unnd von Anfang ihrer Beschaffnuß in irer Natur gestellt, in vier ajgene corpus. Darauß darnach alle Di[u]eng seindt gestellt, unnd jedes mit seines Vermischung vermischt. Ajnen Thail verstendig unnd denselben allein auß der Verandernuß, der vernuns(f)tigt allein ist in den Elementenn, wahrlich aufsteigent uber das Firmament der Stern, zu dem Feuer. Unnd darumb sein wir billich ubersich genaigt zu unserm ersten Anfang.

Die empfindlich aber Creatur beschaffn an Vernu(n)fft auß der Spißigkeit der Element zerstort in der Gestallt inn vielfeltig Verandernuß, auß Billigkait nicht unbillich werden sie wider inn Erttrich gefurdt, oder in Waßer, alls inn ir erste Materie unnd Mutter, wan Spißigkait unnd Grobigkait aller Element naturlich gehedt under sich in das centrum der Erden.

Dannach ist ainer jeder naturlichen Zusamensetzung inn seinem Geschlecht [253v] ein gewiße Endnuß (terminus) seiner Groß, unnd die naturlich zemern nach ir Geleichnuß. Unnd derselben seindt ettlich auß ungeleichen Theiln, alls auß Fleisch, Bluett unnd Bainen, oder auß Holtz, Rintn unnd Laub, unnd dergleichen. Ein Tail der Zusamsetzung ist aus gleichen Thailn, die da gentzlich sindt ajnes Weßens, alls Glaß unnd Metall; wann auß ungleichen Tajlln in ihn (sich) besitzen sie iren Samen, unnd mehren sich unnd wachsen, alls andere Guetr, wie dann gesehen wirdt in den Gefelten unnd Pariken. Unnd die auß den geleichen Tailn zesamen werden gesetzt, thuen sich nicht mehrn, denn sie werden in ir erste Materi bracht.

Wenn Philosophus spricht: Die Arbeiter sollen wißen, die Species nicht mogen verkeren, dann sie werden gewendet inn ihr erste materi, alsdann sindt sie ettlich verbandln. Wann die Zerstornuß in einem ist, die Gebernuß in dem andern, in der Kunst unnd in der Natur. Wann die Kunst ist Nachvolgen der Natur, unnd zu Zeitten rajnigen unnd uberwinden, alls gesehen wirdt in dem Artzt mit dem Kranken. Auch bauet die Kunst (k)ein Haus, unnd Gepierde, nicht den Zewg (Zeug?), wann vonn ir selbs hatt sie nicht Bewegnuß solches zuverbringen.

Also auch unser Lapis hat nicht [254r] Bewegnuß, das er werde Elixir, nur allain er werde durch die Kunst geubt. Alß wurkt die Kunst, das die Natur allein nicht mag verbringen, sonderlich wurkt sie das ihr Eigenschafft ist zu geperen. Darumb thut noth der Natur mith der Kunst zu helfen.

Wann Unterscheidt ist zwuschen der Kunst unnd Natur, wann das die Kunst verbringt außwendig, wurkt die Natur innwendigk, wann die Kunst gleich alls der Ursprungk zuraicht der naturlichen Bewegnuß. Wenn ein jedes corpus entweder es ißt ein Element, oder auß einem lautern Element genohmen. Darumb thut nott das unser Lapis aus dem Ursprung seines Sulphure unnd Mercurij kumb, unnd werdt thailt in denn Elementen, sonst mag er nicht werden gerajnigt unnd zusamgefugt, darumb das sein Theil mugen eingeen in die wenigsten Theill der corpus, unnd getailter wierdt er woll gerajnigt, unnd widerumb zusamengefugt, inn das Elixir, das mir sicher zu machen.

Wann der Gebrauch zerstort das Ansehen unnd furt ein ain neue Gestalt. Vermerck die Warheit: Nach der Zertailung [254v] der Element wurdt gesehen auß inen nicht, noch gegriffenn, dann Erdtrich, Wasser. Lufft unnd Fewer werden nimmer gesehen, noch ihr Krafft, dann inn den vorigen Elementen, wan gantz lauter sindt sie unnd rajn, darumb von leiplichen Augen inn kainem Weg gesehen, weitter thue nicht sorgen, wann es ist genug, den Lapis zu furen in sein hochste Rainigkeit.

Kapitel 2

Eigenschafft der Element

Der Element seindt viere. Unnd ire Aigenschafft vierfaltig, das ist heiß, kalt, feucht unnd trucken. Die Element sindt Feuer, Lufft, Wasser, Ertrich. Zwaj sindt gefreundt, unnd zwaj ungefreundt. Unnd zwaj wurken, zwaj leiden, zwaj steigen auff, unnd zwaj ab, ains halt das Mittel. Under den andern ist ains under dem andern, unnd das darumb, wann Widerwertigkeit steet an dem Wertisten gegen seinem Widerthaill widherwertig, wurdt nicht zusame gefugt allein durch das Mittel. Hajß steet wider kallt, unnd feucht wider trucken, unnd der wirdt kains mith dem andern veraindt, allain durch das Mittel.

Das aber seinem Gegenthail in der [255r] Natur nicht widersteet, verglaicht sich selbs, alls haiß unnd trucken, unnd in dem entspringt das Element {Feuer. Haiß und feucht widersteet nicht und geberen} die Lufft. {Es} widerstrebt auch nicht kallt und trucken, wann sie geberen das Element der Erden, auch vergleich sich kalt und feucht, unnd gebiert das Element Waßers.

Aber haiß unnd kallt vergleichs sich nicht, allein durch das Mittel, das ist durch feucht und trucken, wann fur sich selbs wollen sie bej einander nicht steen. Dann ains thuet das ander {ver-}letzen.

Nun ist die Geberung vielfaltig unnd die naturlich Verwandlung offenbarlich erkenth inn der Uebung. Haiß unnd kallt wann so ains das ander inn der materi berurt, so verjrret es seinen Gegentaill in der Geburt. Wann kain geboren ist fuglich, dann die Natur thue sich geleich.


Kapitel 3

Nun wirdt mit Zweiffell gefragt umb den Lapis Philosophorum, wer der sej, unnd wie er gestallt sej, so er doch durch ihr kainen offenlich genandt wirdt. Nun haben ir viell in dem menigerlej geacht, unnd ist doch allein in einem die Warhait bewurdt, die mir schweigendt [255v] unns verbehalten unnd all Umbstendt offenlich lernen. Allso aller Philosophorum Schriften zaigt ain Gueth, dem nichts frembds zu wirdt gefügt. Dann kainerlej ist im zimblich (ziemlich), allain was im in der Natur geleicht; wann die Guetter nehmen nichts an dann ihre gleichen, unnd fruchtbaren auch nichts dann ihre Brueder, alß der Mensch gebuert ein Menschen, der Leo ein Lewen, als ein jedes seinen gleichen. Der Maull der da kumbt vom mehrer Geschlechten nimbt zu kainer Zeit vonn ihm selbs, gebiert auch nicht seinen gleichen. Also thuet noth das die Element sein aines Geschlechts, sonst hetten sie Wurcknuß unnd Lejdnuß nicht mith einander, wann ains wermert das and(er) nicht. So dann die Guetter sollenn sein ajnes Geschlechts, also auch ihre Wurtzen.

Wann Verjrnuß darinn kombt auß der Ungleich ihrer Thaill. Darumb lerrn erkhennen das rain vonn dem unrajnen, wann kaints mag geben, das es nicht hatt. Dem Unrajnen hangt Unrajnigkeit an, dann es ist sein wirdigh, aber es uberb(w)indt nicht auß Nachtaill der Vermischung. Das ist: Das des rain ist ainer Eßentz mith den kriegenden; unrajn ist mancher- [256r] lej auß widerwertigen Tailln veraint mith den feces der Zerstornuß angenommen. Die Prob erzaigt sich im Golt und Saturno, wan der Saturnus wirdt zerstort gentzlich, aber das Golt nichts. Unnd darumb bedurffen alle Planeten ires Lichts. Erkendtnuß der corpus unnd ihrer Beschaffnuß ist in dem ersten Licht dieser Meisterschafft. Darumb such nicht in der Natur das darinnen nicht ist. Wann die Guetter werden nicht, dann was die Natur gibt. Unnd die großer Zerstornuß kombt auß den lejdenden Species, dann auß den wurkenden wenig.

Ist die Tinctur in dem Lapis, dann das Hertz in dem Menschen. Unnd darumben brauch das edlist Gljedt unnd schw{l}echist, unnd ist dir genug das Gljedt. Auß dem Leib ist das Herz, das aus dem Kopf ist das Hirrn, ihnn dem Hertzen ist die Seel des Zorns, als inn dem Hirrn die Sterck, unnd Seel der Vernunft. Inn solcher Maß ist neher dem Schlechten der Driangl, wann der Vierangl, dan er hatt weniger Endnuß.

Vermerk ein schlecht corpus ist, das kainen Angl hatt und darumb gee in der Vermuschung {den} schlechten oder gerechten Weg unnd brauch. Wen [256v] ein anders ist der geborrd den gebornen, dan der former den Form, wann sein ist der Vorgang unnd des andern der Nachgang, alls sich erzaigt in den Planeten, in der Sonnen, gegen den andern.

Darumb kehr ich die Redt, das man glaich die Thail inn der Natur wiewoll sie sterker sind, wann in den gelaubhabendten ist leichter der Gangk. Darumb so dein Suchnuß ist in bejden Geschlechten deß Ursprungs der Licht der Licht der Welt. Erwele darinnen das da sej ainer Aigenschafft, unnd ist gewiß, so das Geschlecht sich zunaigt dem Licht wißen wir inn Gewißheit, das dies Wergk nicht wirdt verbracht, dann in ihm.

Darumb wird es also beschrieben durch Aristotelem zu dem Alexandro: Bezierdt werden die Diadema der Konig mith kostbarlichen Gestain, dardurch das Gesicht auß irer Schon wurdt verholffen, das Gemuet bewegt, die Wirdigkait gezierdt, unnd durch ihre Krefft die schweristen Gebrechen des Leibs außtreiben, darann dan gar wenig krefftig ist die Artznej. Darumb brauchen sich ir die Artzt in ihrer Artznej außzutreiben die hertisten Gebrechen. Unnd ist dieser Sage das warest [257r] Argument, das unser Lapis inn seiner Tugendt ubertrifft allles kostbarlichs Gestain außzutreiben all Krankheit.

Also zu erkennen: Der {Stain} wirdt billich beßer gesprochen der mehr kocht ist, unnd dem Feuer neher, das ist: Der das Feuer mehr leidt unnd landsam darvon zerbricht, der schweer ist unnd allweg inn ihm bleibt. Darumb seindt beßer die Stain, alls Rubin, unnd Saphjr, dann das ander Gestain. Dann sie werden gebruett inn hajßern Gegenten, neher der Sonnen, mith mehrer Hitz. Also auch in den Metall, mer das Goldt, dann das Silber, wann es ist mer kocht dann das Silber. Unnd Silber mer dann Kupffer oder andere Metall. Unnd alls der Rubin in ihm hatt die Ubnuß aller edeln Gestain, also hatt das Goldt die Tugendt aller flußiger Metall, dann in ihm sindt die Krefft tingirt, unnd lebendigt all Metall, gibt sein Schein ubersich untzt auff Saturnum, unter sich untzt auff Lunam, wann es ist edler uber sie alle.

Nun hatt der Rubin die wenigst complexion mith den Elementen, dann inn allenn seinen Theilen ist er auß ainher Substanz, unnd ist ein klar Waßer [257v] unnd wirdt coagulirt mith Glaß, durch große Hitz. Darumb wirdt er nicht gehemert, nicht goßen, noch inn ein ander Stain reduzirt, dann er wurde gantz zertrummert, dann in allen seinen Theilen widersteet er dem Fewer.


Beschreibnuß des Golds

Aurum inn seiner Substanz erdisch vermischt mith Wasser sterklich inn ain ander genaturt inn seinem Thail gegen den eusersten coagulirt mit Beltn (sollte heissen: mit Keltn) nach der Wurknuß der Farb (der erste Übersetzer liest color anstatt calor=Hitz) in ihm. Unnd darumb lejdtlich den Hamer, und Fluß, durch das Feuer gerajnigt und beßert. Unnd darumb ist es erkandt in der besten Gestallt und Complexion in geleicher unnd außtribener Zu(sammen)setzung uber all edels Gestain.

Argentum

Die Ajgenschafft der andern corpus kumbt durch Zulegung der Hitz unnd Abnehmung der Kelten, als mangln ist Kupffer in der Keltn, als ist mangeln in Feuchtigkeit das Eißen unnd Blej auch Zihn der Hitz; unnd der kainer mag nicht wern argentum, auß der Ursach, wann [258r] {sie} mögen nicht geen von dem Ersten zu dem Dritten, dan sie geen fur (durch) den andern.

Ajgenschafft Auri unnd Argenti

Aurum und argentum seindt ainer Gleichzusamfuegung und temperirt fur alles edels Gestain das under dem Himel ist, zu der Gestallt unserm Lapis zugehorendt. Und ist war: Aurum ist der Herr des Gestains und den corpus das edelst unnd ir aller Hauff(-pt), wann es wirdt nicht zerrudt noch durch den Lufft, noch Waßer, noch Fewer, noch Erdtrich. Ir kaines ist es minnern, noch verzeren, noch zerstoren, wann sein Complexion ist temperirt unnd sein Natur gericht inn Hitz, Kellten, Feucht unnd Trucken, unnd der kains nicht zuvill, noch zu wenig.

Unnd darumb ist kain edels Gestain auro geleich, wiewol sie hoher werden verkaufft, das macht das ir weniger werden gefunden. Under allen Guetern der Wellt halt es den Vorgang, dann es [258v] ist ein Ferment der Freuden, ein Senfftmuetigung des Gemuets, ein Behaltnuß der Jugent, ein Vernewerung des Elters. Unnd Außtreibnuß aller Krangkheit des Hertzens, gleich alls der Hoffel in dem Taigk, unnd alls die Raum inn der Millich des Keß.

Darumb umbgibt aurum den oberisten Thail der Sonnen, unnd argentum den undern des Monds. Unnd darumb so ist Solem unnd Lunam sich, erkenne ich das die Meisterschafft gerecht ist.

Wann ein jedes Gutt meret sein geleichen unnd werden erkenndt ainer gleichen Natur. So aber Golt ist die Tinctur aller rubedo die alle corpus transformirt unnd verkerdt, unnd Luna ein Frawe (für domina=Herrin) der Feuchtigkeit, ein Tinctur aller albedo.

Dem Golt so vermisch die spiritus mit großer Geschaidtheit, daßtu nicht werst geleich ainem hertmerkigen Meißter. ... verholffen wirdts on seiner {Natur} verkhert, stirbet unnd einem Todtn angesehen gleich, darnach widerumb geistigt gelebendigt wercht unnd mehrt sich alls andere Guetter. Unnd darumb wo rain lautter Golt inn mercurium wirdt kerdt, todt bleibt er ainig. So er aber [259r] todt ist, bringt er vielfaltige Frucht. Unnd woll angesehen, er hett verloren das er was und widerumb angesebt zu schejnen das er nicht was. Der der kain Zerbrechnuß erkenndt, noch versteet, auß nott ist er die Machnuß inn dem Weg der Natur nicht erkhennen, darumben mit großer Arbeit on Frucht sein Muhe verzerrt.

Aber der andern corpus so du ir notturftig bist, so brauch die, die da sindt der mehristen Meßsigkait, magstu sie haben, unnd der wenigsten feces. Bedarfft du ir aber, so ist nott, das du sie redigiert inn ain verkummene (vollkommene) Species. Unnd darnach hebe an zue arbeitten. Muglich ist mit allen corpus zu arbeiten, so man aber darmith arbeit thuet selten gutt, sonder mit den fur den mehristen Taill sindt verkommen wan ehe unnd man die andern corpus bringt inn den rechten Weg, zerstoren sie das Wergk ee unnd sie nutz werden.

Album und rubeum auß einer Wurtzen geundt, bedurffen keiner andern corperlichen Geschlacht, wann sie sindt fur sich selbst gruenen (pullulant), wann der Mann inn [259v] dem Wergk argenti gibt den Schein unnd das geformiert auß der Materi deß rajnisten Golt hellt mit ihm die Farb wan in der materi unnd Form wirdt allein die Geburt in der Natur. Unnd darumb aller Behilff unnd Begabnuß dieser Kunst ist in Mercurio unnd Sole, auch Mercurio unnd Luna, eber es thut nott das in irer Solvirung sie gearbeitet werden ad primam materiam.

Kapitel 4

PRIMA MATERIA

Prima Materia der Metall ist argentum vivum, wann so das fleußt, keren sie sich alle zu ihm. Darinnen erscheinet, das sie alle kumen auß ihm, so werden solvirt. Kalten solvirt in aquam mith mittler Hitz, darin sich erzaigt das sie aqua gewesen sindt. Also werden alle Metall solvirt mit argento vivo. Darumben sindt sie geweßen argentum vivum.

Darumb der hochste Gott gebenedeit in der Natur, Gott der Ehrwirdigkeit der unns geben hatt die Vernunfft zu erkennen das mir reducirn alle Guetter in ire erste Natur, das ist sjben corpus prepariert oder beraith inn den ersten Ursprung ihres Sulphur unnd Mercurij in wenig Tagen auff Erdtrich das die Natur unter dem Erdtrich khaumb [260r] verbracht in tausent Jarn.

Unnd darumb so mir khain andere Macht nicht hetten von argento vivo, nur allein das es die corpus macht subtill zu seiner Natur, so ist sein genug. Unnd darumb sej er unns freundtlich, den Metallen gefalliglich unnd ein Mittell zu einer Zusamfugung der Tinctur, wann er nimbt an sich, das seiner Natur ist. Das ander thut es(r) verachten, wen er ist ainformlich in der Substantz, mith allen seinen mitgeleichen Taillen. Unnd argentum vivum ist, das Feuer uberwindt unnd wirdt von im nicht uberwunden, sonder in im beleiblich ruert mith Freu(n)den vonn wegen seiner gutten anhenggendten Taill, unnd furcht seiner Vermischung aber wie die seinen Thail durch das Feuer gedickt werden, das sie sich weitter nicht zerrutten, weder durch den Eingang deß zornigen Feuers, unnd in Ergebnuß der Flucht nicht schicken etc. Dann weiter ergibt er sich nicht inn Ze(r)storung weder durch das Feuer in Flüchtigkeit von wegen seiner Diknuß, noch in Verbrennuß anhengt von wegen des Schwebels (Schwefels).

Wir haben gelernt das die corpus der merren Verkomnuß [260v] sein, die an dem merißten halten argentum vivum, unnd die corpus die am wenigßten halten der wenigßten Verkomnuß. Darumb inn den verkommen corpus ist gutte Multiplisatzung, rechte Inßpißsatzung das ist Hertnuß unnd bleibende Bewarung.

Unnd darumb lern mit Vleiß in allen deinen Werken argentum vivum zu uberwinden. Unnd so du allein in dem Hershen bist, on Zweiffel bißtu der Kunst ein kostbarlicher Maister. Unnd in seiner Volkommenhait wurstu Freudt empfahen, gesiehestu in der Natur in der Uberb(w?)indnuß, so magstu rainjgen dein Wergk, darzu die Natur noch nicht kommen ist, und magst darauß machen Medicin die all Natur uberwindt, wann es ist nicht underschaidt es gescheh aus naturlichen oder mejsterlichen Ursprung.

Darauß magstu außzihen die Haimligkeit unns notturftig anze(u)nehmen, die argento vivo anhengt unnd mith ihm ist gefreundt, unnd nach im aurum unnd darnach Argentum.

Aber die andern corpus haben nicht ein solche Formlichkait zu ihm, wann sie weniger tajllbar sein seiner Natur. Darumb seindt sie nicht underthan mercurio, allain Gold. Darumb ist notturfftig das die Medicin [261r] zu dem foderisten auß den muß werden außgezogen, wann an dem meisten ist sie darinnen begriffen, gleich alls woll in den corpus alls in mert nach Inhalt der Natur, naher aber nicht vollkommener.

Darumb was Geschlechtes die Medicin sej, es sej der corpus, oder argenti vivi, oder der edeln Stain, so soll derselben Natur die Arbeit zukert werden, wann kein Gang ist nich von dem außern zu dem außwenigen, nur allein durch ein Mittel. Auswendigkeit der Metall ißt auff einer Seitten mercurius, auff der ander verbracht Elixir und die Medicin, unter den der sindt sechs corpus, die sich lengen under dem Hamer, darunder ains fur das ander mer gerainigt, kocht und tingirt ißt; unnd dieselben seindt die nechsten.

Weißtet ir Liebsten, es ist kaine gerechte unnd ware Tinctur, dan sie sej von waren Eß (Erz). Unnd ein jedes Goldt ist Eß (Erz), und nicht ein jedes Eß (Erz) ist Goldt, wann von dem Geschlecht zu der Gestalt ist kain Nachfolgung. Alßo all aurum ist Sulphur rubeum, aber nicht ein jedes rubeum ist aurum, dann es ist in auro auß Zurruttnuß des Sulphur, sunderbar so on der [261v] ersten Wurknuß wirdt albiert, so wirtz Sulphur der Mercurium coagulirt in argentum, wirdt es aber durch große Kochung digerirt in rubeum, so wurde es der best Sulphur mith einer lauterer Rodt, der verkerdt mercurium in lauter Goldt.

Nun haldt auff, unnd stee mith großer Dankhbarkait, unnd such keinen anderen Lapidem, verzere nicht norzlich dein Geldt unnd Trauerigkait ewig deinem Gemuth. Darumb, wastu seen bist, das magstu schneiden. Wann kain boser Baum bringt gutte Frucht, noch kein gutter Baum boße Frucht, satz nicht in dein Wergk Fliegen und Roßmucken. Iß nicht des Sons deß Mutter zerstort ist, sondern iß deß faisten Fleis(c)h, ain große Narrheit ist angehoben mith dem zernichtigen, so es geschehen mag mit dem Besten.

Brauch dich der erwirdigen, unnd der finstern mennig thue vermejden, wenn vielfaltig nahmen werden dem Gutth zuegeben, unnd wegen der vielfaltig Farb erschejnende in deinem Werkg. Dann so es ist crud, grob oder rauh, wirdt es genendt argentum vivum, mercurius, aqua permanens, plumbum, sputum Lun(a)e, Eß (Erz) unnd stannum. Aber gekocht haißt es argentum, magnesia, sulphur album. Wirde es aber roth, nenndt [262r] manns auripigmentum, solch unnd der gleichen Namen werden im geben, von wegen Ubertrefflichhait seiner Natur.

Alls offt aber alle die Nahmen werden verandert, so zaigen allain danach die ainig Natur. Die Natur wirdt nicht verandert unnd darumb thue ir nichts Fremdes zusetzen, weder Pulver, noch Waßer, noch kain frembds Gutts. Shawe unnd biß aines bestendigen Willens in dem Wergk der Natur, nichts itzt das zu dem andern ein anders, unnd aber ein besonders zuversuchen, wann inn der Menig der Guetter unnser Kunst nicht wirdt verbracht. Merkg furbar: Unser opus ist ein lapis, ain Medicinen, ein Vaß, ein Regiment, unnd ein Geschickligkait, dem mir nicht zuegeben kain frembt Guett, noch darvon nichts minnern, nur allein das wir im der Beraittnuß sein wegk thuent den Uberfluß. Wann darein ist nicht eingeen, das in ihm seinen Ursprung nicht hatt, noch in seinem Thaill, noch in dem Gantzen. Thuestu aber etwas frembds darein, zehandt wirdt es zerstort unnd gibt nicht das s(o) du suchest.


Kapitel 5

Nun ist unser Lapis ajnig, das ist ein bestendig [262v] Wasser, rain, licht, klar, mit himlischer Farb unnd nur allain es sej in ihm aqua das peßern sej, sonst wirdt nicht das du suchest. Sein (soll heissen: Soll) mir darumb ern eß, wann onn eß wirts nicht beßert, wann onn das Soll unnd sein umbra, Schatten, wird nicht geboren unser Tinctur mith seinem Venenum. Der aber onn sie (die) Tinctur glaubt zemachen, der geet plinter (blinder) ann die Arbeit alls ain Esell inn der Finster(keit) zu dem Fuetter. Unnd das darumb, wenn das corpus wirket nicht inn ain ander, wann gleich inn (falsch: un-) gleich hatt kein Herrschen.

Das ist: Das corpus hatt sein Einfluß vonn den spiritus, alls die Materi vonn den Form, wann sie sindt geschickt aines vonn dem andern zu lejden, unnd wirken. Das corpus thuet lejden, aber der spiritus durchgeet die corpora; unnd das corpus tingirt nicht, dann allein es werdt tingirt, wann es ist spißig, dick unnd dradisch (evt. von drahtig).

Darumb tingirt aurum nicht dan sich selbst, alslang biß sein haimlich spiritus auß seinem Bauch werden herrauß zogen unnd gantz gejstigt gemacht. Und unser lebentigs aqua ist ignis, aurum prennet mehr dann Feuer, sterkendt unnd sterkt. Und je mehr im wirdt [263r] zugemischt unnd zerirt, she mer wirdt es zertailt, wann durch die Krefft des Feuers wirdt es außbraitt. So sie aber werden gerieben, unnd ajnig gemacht, haben sie inn ihn alle Tinctur, leident das Feuer.

Unnd darumb das corpus mith dem spiritus also colorirt, hat in im zu colorirn alle Tinctur. Unnd darumb der Soll (Sol) unnd sein Umbra oder Venenum verbringen die Tinctur unnsers Lapis. Sunderbar der Lapis sej ajnig unnd ein Substantz, sonst hett er nicht Lejdnuß unnd Wirknuß zu einander, dann ains beruert nicht das ander. Dann Stain unnd Holtz haben miteinander kain Wurknuß, wann sie sindt mehrer Materi, also ist inn allen Materien ein Underschaidt.

Darumb ist offenbar das lejdende unnd gepierend mußen sein ainer Materi, aber so sich das Weib zertailt vonn dem Menschen wiewol sie zusammen komen inn dem Geschlecht, so haben sie doch ir Werknuß mith Unterschaidt, als sich zimbt unter der Materi unnd Form.

Die Materi die lejdt die Wurknuß, der Form wurkt sein gleichen in der Materien. [263v] Darumben begert die Materi naturlich den Form, alls das begert den Man (die Frau?) wie sie ist ein Schutzguet. Also umbfolget mit Veillen das corpus den spiritum, darumb das es kumb zu seiner Volkommenhait. Nun geb Fleiß zu erkennen die ertzlichen Wurtzen, machent muß in dein corpus, dann in kainem andern Weg muegen wir den Namen unsers Lapis außsprechen sunder durch die Underschaidt seiner Wurtzen wirdt genendt der begert (Stain).

Unnd das darumb unser Lapis wirdt genendt durch die Maister alles Guett, dann er hatt in ihm unnd auß ihm alles Guett dem Leben des Menschen nottürftig, unnd wird zu seiner Volkomenhait uberall funden von wegen der Mittailung der Element unnd wird mit allen Nahmen genendt unnd wegen der wirdigen Verborgenhait seiner Natur; unnd der schno(ö)dist vonn wegen seiner Fauelung, (teuerst) vonn wegen der Tugent. Schwarz, weiß, citrin unnd roth auß der Verb(w)andellung der Farben. Unnd in welchem Weg er genendt wirdt, so ist er doch ein Guett. Aber die Maister achten nicht auff die Nahmen, sunder auff die Ajgenschafft der Nahmen, darumb daß [264r] das ajns gibt zuversteen das ander. Wan mehr Nahmen werden im geben von wegen Verwandlung der Farben, wan nicht der Rede, sunder dem Guet ist die Rede unterworffen.

Nun ist unser Medicin ain in dem Weßen, unnd der gleichen in dem Wergk, unnd darumb ist nott das sie sej weiß ehe dan sie wirdt roth; denn es mag nicht werden rubeum, dan es sej vor album, dann das Erst moge nicht komen zu dem Dritten, dann durch das Ander. Unnd also ist nicht ein Gang von nigro in citrin, nur durch album, wan citrin kumbt auß viel albo, unnd allerrajnisten nigro. Unnd nur allein du albierst dein Medicin, sunst machstu kain wares rubeum.

Wann sie haben unnter in selbs nicht Unterschaidt die Medicin weiß und roth in der Eßentz, dann allein das die roth Medicin mehr sublimatzen bedarff unnd lengere Digerierung, unnd haißer inn seinem Regiment, unnd das darumb, wen das Ersdt der Werknuß in rubeo (sollte heissen: in dem album), dann das in ainem ist verbracht, gibt den Anfangk in dem andern, wann die gantz Meisterschafft wirdt inn ainer [264v] Maß verbracht unnd geendet. Aber das roth Opus bedarff eines rothen Ferment, dergleichen das weiß Opus bedarff eines weißen Ferment.


Kapitel 6

Nun ist das Vaß unsers Lapis ains, darinnen die gantz Meisterschafft wirdt verpracht. Unnd ist ein Cucurbit gantz blind onn alle Deck, ein ajnigs Glaß, dick, woll recht allenthalben beschloßen, genug weith unnd teuff ainer klainen Kumb mit glatten Wentten in der Weith als Kopff. Darumb das die Sublimierung das der (desto) frejer auffsteige, also so sich die Notturft gibt, das des Feuer darunder unnd daruber mug.

Kain andere Materi ist nicht gueth allain Glaß, es wer dann Sach, das es der Substantz wer, dann allein Glaß ist im gleich von wegen seiner Durchschejnigkeit, unnd Mengllung der Porroß. Dann die Geist sindt starck zu halten die behleben, oder Verhuttnuß das sie nicht werden vonn dem Feuer verzerdt, (auff) das die Colores inn dem Wergk offentlich muegen erkennth werden, darumb das man in dem Wergk nicht thue irren. Aber die ander Materj ist offen unnd voller Porroß, dadurch die spiritus außrichen unnd verschwinden, dann deß Materj Ajgenschafft ist in dem Rauch [265r] auffzestejgen. Darumb wirdt das Dampffloch (spiraculum) des Vaß sterklich vermacht täglich (dauerhaft), das nichts darauß oder darein mueg. Wan so ein Lufft, oder ander Materi darein khem, zohandt wurdt das Wergk zerstortt, auch so sein Bluemen darauß gieng, oder flueg, das gantz Werk wurdt zunicht.


DAS REGIMENT

Aber das Regiment unsers Lapis ist ains. Unnd ist Kochnuß taglich (andauernd) inn seinem Vaß onn Unterlaß biß an das Endt mit Geschickligkait und Rajnigkait, das kain Unsaueberkait werdt eintragen. Nun haben die Weißen vill gesetzt der Kunst zu ajnigen Verbergnuß unnd Rajnigung, alls mischen, kochen, sublimirn, braten, congelirn, wäßern, purificirn, albiren, rubificiren, das sindt die Nahmen, die in dem Regiment ains sindt.

Aber coquiren unnd conterir(n) die Maister, der laß dich in der Mannigfaltigkait nicht verdrißen, darumb haben die Maister geredt die Zusamensetzung soll terirt unnd coquirt werden on Unterlaß. [265v]

Unnd das Regiment ist in temperirten Feuer, wann die Verwechsellung des Regiments ist (un-)zwejvelhefftig in den veranderten Graden, wann der Arden in der Groß des Feuers zeigt ann Geleichnuß des Experiments.

Darumb sej inn der Solvirung das Feuer lindt, inn der Sublimirung mittellmeßig, in dem coagulirn temperirt, in dem albirn taglich (andauernd) , in dem rubificirn sterklich. Unnd so du in dem unweißsendt thuest irren, mustu dein Verderben offter bewainen.

Darumb ist nott, das du deme statlich obligest, wann die aigen Vernunfft zaigt ain Arbeit die ander.

Die Beschickligkait unsers Lapis ist allain aine, also setz in im sein Vaß unnd koch in stetz in dem Feuer, biß er aller auffsteig gesolvirt. Darnach mittel das Feuer, bitz es außringkt sein Feuchtigkait, unnd wird erlich weiß, darnach sterck das Feuer, untz das es wirdt citrin farb und erlich roth. Unnd vermerk mith großem Vleiß in einer jeder Kochung in deiner Erkentnuß die Zaichen die erschejnenden, unnd die Gestallt der farben, unnd thue nachgrunntten derselben Farb Ursach, wann der die Ursachen nicht waiß zu erkennen, der waiß auch nicht [266r] dem Wergk zuhelffen.

Wann es ist genug das unser Lapis ein mall werdt eingesetzt in seinem Vaß, untz (bis) das das gantz Wergk werde verbracht. Geschicht es aber ofter, bedeuett es nichts gutts, dann on Zwejffell vonn wegen der Mehrung des Golds wird er dester leichter noch belder nicht rubuem, noch album. Daruber alles uber das wirdt verbehalten Zuverpergnuß der Kunst.

Also zu geperen ein Menschen, oder ein jedes Thier der Samen wirdt nicht mer dann ein mall inn der Matrice beschlossen, thet aber mehr damit eingeen, so wur ains das ander irren unnd zerbrechen, aindtweder auß Ungedult oder Unkochung oder Uberflußigkait der Materi. Darumb underlegen sich viell, aber solten thuen sie empfahen. Empfahen sie aber so wirdt ein Abwurff darauß. Also stellt sich rauh (roh) gegen dem Kochten, digerirt gegen undigerirten, vermischt dem Wergk ist es nicht lebendigen, sunder todten, wann von dem Bluett menstruo wirdt es ernert, untz das es kumbt an das Licht.

Nott ist noch viel Schatzung begert, noch [266v] viell Guetter, wen es ist ain Lapis, ain Medicin, ein Vaß, ain Regiment, ain Geschickligkeit, ains zu dem anderen geaintzing. Unnd darumb so du die Verandernuß der Natur hubschlich redest, unnd ir Zesambsatzung, darinnen du gefangen bist, unnd bluettfarb dem bluettfarben zimlich zufugst, dein gantz Wergk verbringst, wann die Natur kombt zuhulff der Natur, unnd folgt ir nach, erhebt sich darinnen, meret sich unnd gebierdt. Wann die Natur gibts, die Natur macht unnd verkerdt den Fluß zu Pulver.

Darnach zeucht die Natur die Natur herwider, gebierdt unnd ist vernewen, untz das sie das Endt des Wergks einfurt. Sunderbar nach der Aigenschafft der Natur kumbt die Form unnd darumb so die Natur zu wenig ist preparirt, zimpt sich nicht damith zu arbeiten. Die beßt Arbeit under aller Arbeit ist das uberflußigk wegkzuthuen unnd das notturffig dar zulegenn, wann also das Gantz unnd das Zerbrochen wirdt erfordert inn sein aigen Standt.

Unnd das darumb gesagt, das ir in den Guettern (die) dem Wergk nicht ziemet sejet fursichtig. Mercurius werd sublimirt alls [267r] lang, untz er himellfarb ist, unnd verhuett dich zu dem vorderisten inn seiner Rajnigung, das du in nicht entsetzt seiner naturlichen Krefft, das sein natürlich Leben nicht werd in etwas erstickt; wann in allen gruennenden wirdt der Samen nicht gemerdt, es ist auch nicht wachsen, so die Sterk irer Geberung durch ein außwendige Coloratur wurdt coloriert (Verwechslung von Calor u. Color). Also wirdt auch das nicht gemerdt, so die Natur nicht wirdt recht beraith.

Unnd darumb nim nicht on die Natur, weder lauter, weder rajn, weder rauh, weder sthen (?), weder erdisch, weder durchschajnnig unnd recht. Unnd auff ein linder Feuer, furbar thuestu also, dir wirdt nicht verloren kainerlej, noch durch sein Zuelegung, beßer geschatzt durch Cimentum.

Unnd darum willtu dein Furnehmen verbringen, so solvir die erst Ligatur. Wann das erst Grad seiner Beraittnuß ist, das es werde Mercurius unnd das wirdt nicht, untz du es leicht machest, durch distiliren aquae, unnd teglicher Ubung der Wirmb nach Geleichnuß der Uebung menschlicher [267v] Gepurdt, darinnen so Feuchtigkait nicht braucht wurde, unnd embsige Wirmb, so wurde nicht Sperma, were auch nicht beleiblich noch wurgklich. Also ist nott un unserm Werk, das mith temperirter Wermb werde viel aqua und viel Oll, dann alls viel der Menig des aqua ist, alls viel wirdt der Menig der Tinctur.

Aber das allersußest ist das die Natur werdt geregirt nach rechten Lauff der Natur, das nicht durch Hitz zuvill, oder wenig die Mejsterschafft verderb, wann so die Natur zuvill oder wenig, dann nott ist, regirt wirdt - zuhandt wirdt das Wergk zerstort, unnd kumbt nicht das du suchest. Darumb weißlich und nicht vergebens thues arbeiten, wann die Natur ist beschaiden und auffmergklig inn ir selbst. Darumb uberejlle sie nicht, unnd die Zeit thue nicht ubertretten.


Kapitel 7

Unnd so aurum sich nit solvirt, so werde es wider in sein erste Materj kert, unnd darnach widerumb reducirt, das es werd Sulphur unnd argentum vivum. Unnd darnach mugen mir kostbarlich darauß machen aurum, so es inn ir Materi wirdt verkert. Unnd darumb soll [268r] es alls viel werden gewaschen, unnd kocht, das es warer Sulphur sej unnd argentum vivum, wann das sindt alls anzaigt Philosophuß die Aigenschafft aller Metall.

Unnd darumb ist unser solvirn anders nicht, dan das corpus sich kere inn Feucht, unnd kumb in im die Natur argentj vivi, unnd werde geminndert die schwebelige Versaltznuß, nicht das er widerumb (geet) in dem aqua, alls etlich benaredt (Narren) haben vermeindt. Wann so es also keme, so were es trucken mith Gewaldt, nicht durch die Natur, alls die Saltz oder Alaun, wann alsdann flueß es bej dem Fewer, unnd das wer falsch unnd darumb ist falsch im Furnehmen.

Aber unser Solutzen ist das du gebst Gambricum der Beje zu einer Hausfraw, unnd so er sie beschläfft, so stirbt er baldt, unnd geet in sein (eius) Natur. Unnd darnach uber viel Tag stejgt er auff Bejam unnd verkerts in sein corpus, so wißen wir doch, das die Gebernuß on sie nicht genuegsamb ist, wann kain Gebernuß ist nicht zimblich onn Man unnd Weib. Unnd zusambfueg unsern Knecht rubeum [268v] seiner wolrichender Schwester, das sie under in selbst die Kunst gebern,

(Verse nicht als Nota Bene bezeichnet, fortlaufender Text)

wann das frhejnendt Weib, so sie rotthe, vermehlet wirdt ihrem Man.
Zohandt oder baldt werden sie ainer complexion,
unnd in der complexion empfahen sie,
unnd sindt sich durch sich selbs solviren.
Unnd die, die zwaj seindt geweßen, werden baldt von in selbs alls ain corpus.

Aber gesetz in ir Vaß thues mith großer auffmerklicher Fleißigkait kochen, onn Unterlaß bej lindem Feuer, unntz das darauß wirdt ein faist Brode, wann aus dem Anfang der Natur kumbt das ein jedes Gutt des Wurtzen Ertrich ist unnd aqua, werden solvirt, unnd also wird Erdtrich zu Waßer, so sie uberwinden die Gestallt der Erden. Unnd also die Solutzen des corpus ist ein Congelatzung des spiritus. Unnd die Congelatzung deß spiritus ist die Congelatzung aquae. Unnd aqua wirdt Erden, so es uberwinden die qualitates der Erden, wann ein Wurcknuß haben sie, das sie sich nit solviren, nur allein der ander Thail werdt congelirt.

Alls auß dem Thaw des Himels werden selige unnd unselige ge- [269r] pruett auff Erdtrich. Unnd darumb in dem Anfang deines Wergks verhilf solchem mith der Luna unnd congelirn mith dem Soll. Wann die Krefft erschein darauß, in dem das der weniger wirdt undertrugt. So er aber wirdt verholffen, so ist er uber die undern herschen.

Notabene:

Verhallt den gefangen an den ersten mith lichtem (?) darzu beraidt,
lj(n)dlich außzogen, rejb das gemacht.

Daruber biß (sei) unbetruebt in dem veneno und schleuß sterklich zue dein Vaß, thues nicht uberejllen unnd hore nicht auff von deinem Wergk, wann kain Gebernuß ge-geschicht in den Guettern dann durch tegliche (andauernde) Uebnuß inn widerwertig den Lufft auffgeschloßen und temperirte Hitze, und deß ein Exempel ist der Bauch ainer Frawen, so die empfahet, so wirdt zehand die matrix zuegeschloßen, unnd das Geschopff pruedt sich durch die Wermb, on allen außwendigen Plast (Blast), dann so es geboren wirdt.

Unnd also, so unser Lapis in dem Vaß wirdt gefewrt (geführt?) bleibt er verschloßen, untz er tringkt sein Feuchtigkeit. Und mit der Hitz des Fewers vollkomenlich genertt, [269v] untz das er wirdt albus. Nun wirdt unser Lapis geborn. Unnd schadt im nimmer der Lufft. Darumb ist notturftig anzehalten die Arbeit, zu meßigen das Feuer, unnd außzetreiben den Lufft, auff das grost, unntzt auff die albedo. Unnd darumb prenn unser Eß (Erz) mit lindem Feuer, alls der Ajr außpruet, untzt das corpus zerbrech unnd die Tinctur her ziech. Aber sie wirdt nicht alle mit ainander heraußzogen, sunder je ain wenig, unntz das sie uberlang wird außzogen.

Unnd waß sich solvirt, begert uber sich, wie woll der resident großer ist. Unnnd darumben freuch (fleuch) großes Fewer, das du es vorr rechter Zeit nicht solvirest, unnd wegk mußest thuen. Wegkthueung verderbt das Wergk, unnd wer(dt) es todten, die Kalten (macht) fluchtigen, aber linde Wermb nerdt unnd behält. Nun setz inn ain temperirt balneum, zerreib das (mit dem) Feuer, unnd nit mit den Henden wasch ab die Feuchtigkeit seines Waßers, das nicht weiter verprinn die fewrig Sterkh unnd schweblige Krefft. Wann sie geet zu dem ersten Herrm (herüber?), dann sie ist geringer (leichter), und inn der Schatznuß wurdiger, inn der Wurknuß sterker, dann die [270r] andern Element.

Teglich (stetig) daruber das temperirt balneum, untzt es erhebt sej in aquam inn ungreifflichs, unnd alle Tinctur herauß gee in schwartzer Farb, das ist ain Zeichen der Solvirung, wann die Hitz wurkendt in feucht gebiert an dem ersten Schwertz, unnd inn der trucken weiß, inn der Weiß citrin, alls man dann sicht an dem Blej, so man macht nimium (soll sein=minium.)

Darumb mit Fewer terirs teglich (stetig) , unnd ejll nicht, auch hore nicht auff untzt das corpus zerbrech, wann so es wirdt ein geistigs Pulver, so stejgt es auff in dem Vaß, so es aber wirdt spißig, so gehet es wider herabe. Unnd darumben mueß es alles inn ain geistigs Pulver werden kerdt. Unnd darumben koch furbas, alslang untz du es darein bringst.

Unnd das ist die Reibnuß inn unser Kochnuß, nicht mit dem Henden, sunder mit lindem Fewer, feuchter Purificierung on Auffhorung geriben mit dem Fewer, unnd nit mith den Henden. Darumb beduerffen wir nicht die rejben der Hendt, das Gluckh thuet [270v] das. Unnd ist verbringen das der Perg (?) der Erden, ist Elixir in dem Menschen, das ist mit seiner Krefft gepreparirt ist, es clarificiren allweg unnd dividirn. Alsdan thuet unnd nehrt die Natur, wann die Natur ist weiß unnd genugsamb in allm das im nott ist inn seinem Wergk.

Zu keren terram in aquam, und aquam in terram, nach Inhalt der Mennigfaltigkait der Zusambsatzung. An dem ersten unterstehet sich aqua zu solviren terram, das es hab ein subtille Natur all(e)s es selbs zu dem andern, so congelirt terra aquam das es mith jm lejde das Fewer. Unnd das ist die Solutzen der corpus, unnd Congelatzen der spiritus. Kochung mith lindem Fewer (in) hundert unnd funfftzig Tag, unnd vieleicht erschejnet albedo inn siebentzigk Tagen, aber das erst ist beßer, wann es zaigt an Meßigkeit des Fewers unnd Guethat der Praeparirung.

Aber nichts wirgkt in dem auro allain argentum vivum, wann es ist eßlich (ertzlich) unnd durchgengig Fewer unnd die Gutthat der Preparatzen, aber nicht ist es werchen (wirken) in auro, allain argentum vivum, darumben es ist eßlich (ertzlich), unnd durch- [271r] gengig, aber das corpus ist es nigriren unnd verkeren, darumb das es ist seiner Natur. Das aurum nigrierdt, kumbt das es den fluchtigen nicht auffdueth die Thur unnd die Unfluchtigen mit den Fluchtigen widerkert, aber peiniget es nicht, weder zu Schaden, noch zu Erstornuß, sonder ein Vereinignuß unnd Nutzbarkait. So aber sein Pejnligkait schadt ist unnd unfluglich, so wirdt es nicht umfangen vonn den andern unnd zueg auch nicht auß sein colores, das mir subtill aquam nahmen; unnd ein Schlußl des Werchs sprech(-en) wiewol es nicht on ein Schwertz ist; wann es ist die Tinctur die mir suchen fein damit wir inn ain jedes corpus tingirn unnd doch verporgen was (verborgen war) in ihrem aer, alls die Seel in dem Leib des Menschen.

Unnd darumben allain unser Eß (Ertz) werdt zerbrochen, vermischt unnd terirt, unnd durch sich mit Vleiß geregiert so lang, untz es auß seiner Spißigkait werde zogen, unnd in ein milden oder dunnen Spiritum, unnd ungreifflichen werde kert, anders wer umb- [271v] sunst unser Arbeit. Wan es keret sich in uncorperlich unnd oncorpus in ein corpus, unnd das darumben, dan unmueglich ist die allersubtillist Seel von seinem corpus herauß zu zihen, dann es werde on dem ersten Zerprechen unnd in den aller subttillisten unnd ungreifflichen Spiritum gekert, auch solvirt sich kain corpus das da hatt verpunden Taill, allain durch das Fewer unnd Waßer.

Aber unser aqua ist ignis, das corpus mehr prennendt dann ignis. Unnd darumben der es kluglich regirt, zeucht von im mit der Natur alle abgeschaidene Natur, unnd darumben biß (sei) steett in deiner Arbeit, in allen ihren Ständten, in teglicher (stetiger) Kochung, untzt die gantz Tinctur ist herauß gangen, auff das aquam in schwartzer color, unnd so du sihest die Schwertz diesem Waßer anhangen, so weiß das dein corpus gefloßen ist.



Kapitel 8

Nun täglich dein Fewer ljndlich darauff, untzt es empfahet ein Nebel auß einer Vinster geborn. Unnd ist die Majnung der Philosophorum, das das corpus nun gesolvirt inn ain schwartzs Pulver, wider eingee in aquam unnd wird alles eins. Wann von recht nimbt [272r] Waßer sein ajgens Waßer, darumben werde jedes kert in aquam, sunst kombt es in kainem Wegk inn die Volkomenhait. Darumb soll zu kainer Zeit etwas (anderes) gebraucht werden, weder in Vermischung, oder Zerrejbung, noch in dem gantzen Regiment, wann allain das bleibendt aqua, wann sein Sterk ist das gejstlich Pluet, daran (ohne das) nichts nit geschicht.

Nun wirdt umbkert der spiritus in corpus, unnd widerumb das corpus in spiritum, unnd also zu ainander vermischt und zuainander gemacht. Sindt sie sich verkeren, wann corpus incorporirt spiritum, unnd der spiritus kehrt corpus ihnn spiritum, alsdan sanguis tingirt.

Wann alles das Spiritum hatt, das hat auch sanguinem, darumben muest man die Schwertz dem aqua anhengendt, mit lindem Fewer stättlich ueben, untzt es ein singk in sein aqua, das ist, das es alles werdt ein aqua.

Unnd so ains dem andern wirdt zu goßen, thuen sie sich vermischen, das man sie nicht mag schaiden. Die Unbesindten so die hören aquam nennen, mejnen sie es sej das Waßer [272v] der Wolken, hieten sie aber Vernust (Vernunft), so erkenneten sie ditz bleibent Waßer, das die Philosophi nennent aquam, aurum, ignem, venenum, unnd mit viel Guetter Nahmen. Unnd darumben mußen wir mit diesem aqua den schweblischen Form besitzen, mith unserm aceto mischen, darumb das sein nigredo werdt abthon. Darumben gib Kohlen guet seines Waßers, das in im erlescht werde, unnd rerum Empfengknuß werde.

NOTABENE:

In der Zeit mit Wermb verhuetts vor großer Hitz,
und werdt verschloßen das Vaß stett so es sich pruett.
Das die zwaj sein geweßen, sich fueg zu ainem,
als der menschlich Sam pruet auß dem Pluet die gepuerdt.
Außzogen auß der Huff(t), in der Kamer der matrix beschloßenn,
Unnd alls auß der Zesambfugung der Samen ains wird geboren.
Also auch unser Guetter wird das Geschepff(t) gezogenn.


Kapitel 9

Unnd der erkenndt ain Weib zenemen, schwengern, unnd ein Kindt geperen, rajnigen, lebendigen unnd ann das Licht zubringen, unnd zu rajnigen sein Angesicht von der Schwertz unnd Vinster, der ist wirdig ainer großenn [273r] Eher. Also wirdt uns geporn ein gekronter Konig, ain Son der rotten Muetter gemain allen Geschlechten, inn sanfftem Fewer, das nicht prennt, empfangen unnd geborn auß in bejden. Wann die gegoßen Wolken, die ob im ist geweßen, kerdt sich wieder inn sein corpus, darauß es ist gangen.

Darumben biß beständig, wann Bestendigkait thuet nott, - zerprich in furbar, die im werden zugemischt, er ist sie uberwinden unnd keren in seinn color. Unnd inn geleicher Weiß alls er das Gesicht von außwendig betreugt, also ist er es vonn inbenig (inwendig) uberwunden. Unnd darumb so er dem corpus wirdt vermischt und an Nachlassung angehalten, so arbeit es sich in die Tinctur, unnd zeucht auß ihm in ain spiritum, unnd mit der gejstigen Tinctur tingirts bleibendt ewiglich, das vertillgt nicht mag werden.

Nun also angehalten ir Regiment in viertzigk Tagen wirdt beider Taill, das ist aqua permanens, das bestendig Waßer verderkt (verdreckt) mit nigredo; wellche nigredo, so es recht wirdt regirt, nicht belejbt dan viertzigk Tag. Darnach regirs in seinem balneo mith schnellem Feuer, untz es wirdt [273v] ein klar lautter aqua, auch alls argentum vivum auffstejgendt in den Lufft.

Unnd darumb, so du sihest die Natur wermb (werdend) zu aqua, unnd in den Lufft sublimieren, so seindt sie alle worden ain Geschraj, wan alle von dem corpus geschaiden, unnd in spiritum sublimatione pracht, unnd sindt worden bejde fluchtig. Aqua verhuett die Thuer der Flucht, ..... nun kere es in spiritum im geleich, davon sie sindt worden lufftig, so wegst es mannigfeltig inn seiner species, das ist in seiner Gestallt, unnd nimbt ab in seiner Flucht, wann sie woll im Flucht ist aus seiner Essentz, so thuet es doch laßen, darumben das in der Sublimacen zu ain ander werden gefuegt, die man darnach mennigfeltig durch ein mittell Fewer in der Sublimacen in ain ander muß werpffen, darumb das es in dem Lufft gejstigt werde unnd leben mug.

Wan aller Natur, die Leben hat, bedarff den Lufft, das Leben zu beredten. Darnach ist zu flihen inn aller Sublimaczen zu ainem gleserm Vaß, wan so (s)ich widerumb anzundet das Fewer, das aqua aufstieg in das Vaß zu hohst mit Frewden suchendt ein Ruhe, so hengt es sich an unnd [274r] also mag der Element Sublimatzen nicht werden verbracht, sunder man muß ain jeder fur sich selbs offter rectificirn mith dem spiritus undertrucken unnd elementirn (soll sein: elevirn). Aber was nicht nott wirdt außtriben (soll sein: aufftriben), geet on Noth nicht here widerumb abher.

Darumben sej dein Fewer gering, das das gantz opus sej auffsteigen, unnd frej herwider abe, on Anhangung deß Vaß. Unnd allain corpus werdt subtill gemacht alslang untzt es auffsteigt, [unnd] (wie) der Gejst, (es) nichts sej. So es aber auffsteigt in den Lufft, so wirdt es geborn unnd in Lufft gekerdt, das ist inn aerem gekerdt unnd wirdt leben mit dem Leben, unnd wirdt ains nicht geschaiden von dem andern, alls ein Waßer vermischt dem andern. Darumben der geboren in dem Lufft, der wirdt gejstigt, dann er kumbt auß dem Gejst.


N.B.:

Das Guett des Wergks gemacht zu Pulver ungreifflich
Gantzlich n(m)agendt subtill, so ist es bestlich
Stejgendt in die Hohe unnd genaigt under herab
liecht in vernewen, fuegt es zusam terram unnd ignem


Darumb wirdt Sublimation von drejer Ursach wegen: Die erst ist, (dass) das corpus subtill werde alls der spiritus in seiner Natur [274v]. Die ander Ursach ist (dass) das corpus sich incorporire mith dem corpus, unnd werde mith im ains. Die dritt Ursach: Das sie alle werden gerajniget unnd wejß, unnd die Versaltznuß des Sulphur werde geminnert, wann in der Sublimatzen wirdt verprenndt alles das in dem corpus verprinnlich.

Unnd ist in Sunderhait nott, das die Element werden on Zusatz unnd on Arznuß sich muegen zesamen fuegen, das dann ist unmuglich, dann sie (nicht) werden in Thail zertailt, unnd darumben mag jeder Thail durch ein subti(e)lle Hitz gesublimirt werden, untzt das Waßer auffstejgt. Darumben werde das Guett durch ein gescheibt Sieb gefurdt sieben mall, das die Natur werde reducirt zu Subtilligkait, wann corpus lejdt nun in kainem Weg, vonn ihm scheiden die Seel, wann sie ist im gleich in der Aigenschafft unnd Schlechthait.

Darumben (mußen) mußen mir nun die Sublimacen brauchen, das nichts vonn der Faist der Seel in dem corpus bleib, das ist das nicht empfindt seiner Erhöchnuß, oder abgieng durch Unrajnuß. Nun gepeutelt sieben mal, ains nach dem andern, so setzt sich corpus an den Grundt, unnd aqua stejget auff mith seiner anima, schlecht unnd [275r] zuegenai(g)t. Darumben volg nach allzeit Tail mith Thail, das die rectificirten Element understen (soll seine: widersten) den Elementen, unnd zu forderist igni, dann allain die widersteenden sein wider stenn, sunn (sunst?) erlegen sie unnd nemen Nachtaill.

Unnd darumben ist nott das corpus sej durr unnd trucken, die Seel blaß unnd ein fliessender spiritus. Ettlich findet man der torsthen (törichsten), die vermajnen Schaidnuß muegen gescheen durch viel species, davon nicht zu sorgen ist, wan in dem geluckt es sich, das du reducirst durch die Werchnuß, nich das du jedes separirst sunderlich von dem andern.

Unnd furwahr es ist nicht unmuglich, ein jedes zu reducirn in schlecht, oder in albedinem, wan es ist sein Natur. "Der Vatter ist Soll, sein Mutter Luna, hat tragen der Bauch (Wind) in dem Bauch", terra ist besundert auß im durch schlecht, so du aquam von dem aere, unnd aerem von igne, unnd ignem von der terra durch die Distillation hast empfangen, wann auß vielfalltiger sublimatzen, unnd wider sublimatzen, anima mit aqua auffsteigendt wird gerajnigt, unnd sein Grobhait an [275v] den Grundt inn die Erden trieben.

Also wirdt auß dem ignis terra, unnd auß dem aere aqua, daßelb aqua reducir auff die terra, so ist sein Sterk gantz, so es verkerdt wirdt in die terra, darumben kher umb terram in aquam, unnd aquam in ignem, unnd ignem in aerem, unnd verbirg ignem in das Innerst dem aqua, aber terram faen (säen?), oder gib dem Venter.

Hajß vermischt der Feucht, unnd trucken mit Kallt, alß ihme vermischen, wann sonst ist kain Gang von dem außwennigen zu dem außwennigen, allain durch ain Mittel. Nun ist unser fliegender Gejr durch den Lufft unnd die kriechendt Krotten auff der Erden unser Meisterschafft, unnd darumb schaidt die terra von dem ignis, unnd subtill von spissig, senfftlich mit großem Vleiß, so ferdt von der Erden geen Himel, unnd stejgt wider herrab in das Erdreich, unnd bringt mit im die Sterk von der Heckh (Höhe), die Sterk des Geists. Unnd also nimbt es die Krafft des corpus damith es uberwindt alle subtille Gueter, unnd congelirt alle Gueter, unnd durchtringkt das gantz unnd thuet es verandern unnd also herscht es in den obern unnd den undern unnd wirket [276r] in geistigem unnd lejbigem.


Kapitel 10

Damith ist erlangt, das unser Eß (Ertz) gleich alls ein Mensch hat ein corpus, spiritus unnd ain Seel. Der spiritus ist sein aqua, Tinctur ist sein anima, unnd sein corpus ist terra. Der spiritus hatt außzep(r)aitten die Krefft der Seel auff das corpus, alls beraidt wirdt die Farb der Ferber mit dem Waßer auff die Tucher. Unnd sein anima ist das Element des spiritus, alls das corpus ist ein Stab(?) der Seel, aber corpus ist trucken, ein Haltnuß des spiritus unnd der anima. Spiritus durchgeet das corpus unnd figierts, die anima zusamenfuegts, tingirt unnd albirt.

Nun der nicht schaidt zween Sulphur vonn ainem, der kan die Kunst nicht. Wann zween Sulphur sein, die auß unserm Lapis sublimirt werden unnd Tinctur, die tingiren unnd fliehen, denn in dem Sulphur ist beschloßen, das nicht mag figiert werden, wann es ist dem Flüchtigen an(ge)hengt. Unnd in den drejen ist Rauch, Schwertz und der Todt, die mueßen [276v] werden abzogen. Darumben muß vonn dem aqua der Rauch, oder Tampff, von der anima die Schwertz, vonn dem corpus der Todt außtriben werden durch stete Solvirung.

Unnd darumben mische Hennen Ajer mith dem Aer, so hastu aurum unnd argentum, alls viell du willt. Wann unser Gejer fliegendt (ai-) onnflug(-el) auff den Berg, der schreidt: Ich bin albus, niger unnd rubeus. Der albin citrin, unnd rubin ajgenner Sonn, unnd spricht die Wahrhait, unnd leugt nicht, darumben trag nichts Fremds ein in dein Werkh, auch thue nicht auffhoren, wann alle Natur mith hoher Beschaidthait gibt dir Hulff, alls das war ist der Spruch: "Die Mutter hatt mich geborn, unnd wirdt durch mich geboren, an dem ersten ist sie uber mich herschen, hinfur so thue ich herrschen uber sij, wann ich bin ir Achter (Ächter) worden, alls baldt ich von ir Gab empfangen den Flug, aber sie auff das Best alls sie hatt vermuegt, hatt sie mich generdt alls ihren Sun, untz das sie mich hat bracht in den volkomen Stonndt."

Darumben setz mich in ain [277r] Feucht stetigklich, die meiner Color [oder Calor] Mernnuß geb, unnd merner Durr Verprinnuß verkere, untz das deß Wergk kumb zu der Entnuß. Danach zeuch langsam und lindlich auß mein Rubedo unnd Umbra, biß das ich sein ain Thaill bleib. Die Kuchnuß thuet mich minnern unnd die Tinctur meren, wann der Schein des Monnts (Mondes) in den funff unnd zwantzig Tagen sich minnern thuet, unnd uber den trejschigen (dreissigsten) meren, das ist der Anfang unnd das Endt.

Nun halt argentum vivum in sejnem Rohr, darinnen er ist congelirt, wann auß der mennigfeltigen Forumb Vite (?) stejget aqua gealbirt auff in dem Allembico, unnd das corpus zeainaging ab an den Grundt, unnd ist argentum vivum, gesprochen terra, die ander ubrig Terra, die das aqua hellt unnd tringkt auß, so die Zesambfuegung ist der Tinctur. Darumben behalt das Vaß unnd sein Pindtnuß (Bündnis), das es stark sej inn der Behaltnuß der spiritus, wann aqua an (oder: kain) dem ersten hat Bonung (Wohnung) in dem Ertrich, so es nicht fliegen mag.

Darnach [277v] gee wider zu dem Obern, unnd laß es sittlich durch seine Ortter zu seinem vodern corpus, dem ersten Element subtill zugefuegt; dann wo das corpus ist, da wirts congelirt, unnd der aquila, das ist das aqua, volget nach gleich als das Eißen dem Adamanten oder Magneten. Aber das aqua das abgeen ist on Nodtnuß, das rajniget terram, unnd die nigredo.

Unnd steet nicht auff on das corpus,
auch on die Frucht des corpus
So das stirbt, so ist es Feucht (Frucht) bringen, als die Speiß in dem Magen die Nahrung nimbt inwen(d)ig,
alles das rajnn unnd lautter ist, das separirts.
Unnd darnach durch seinen Umbra ist es zwingen bestatten den Wegst (oder Wegfl....)
verbrochen die Schwengernuß
unnd trawrig den Sun (Sohn) geborn,
unnd den mehren, untzt er gezeittigt.


Kapitel 11

Unnd darumben pejntt dem Weib gealbirt die Hendt hinder den Ruck, das sie nicht fliech; lege ir zu den Sun, den sie geborn unnd gesewgt hat, das sie in absetz sawgen, wann ein Ursach ist geweßen das todt Weib und die Grobhait der Krötten unnd der Milich. Darnach schneidt die Krotten durch die Mitten unnd legs fur der Hennen, das sie sij eß. Unnd so die Buffo: Krotten ist geeßen worden, so wirdt [278r] sie wejß innen unnd außen.

Nun reducir aquam auff die terra, maßiglich zugegoßen, untzt sein Natur mag einwurtzen unnd muß an dem Ersten erneren gleich alls ein Kindt mith einer wenigen Milich unnd Fewr. Unnd so es je baß wegst (wächst), so es je mer Speiß bedarff unnd Hitz, untz es außtringkt sein Feuchtigkait; unnd sein Feuchtigkait ist kallt, unnd zeflihen das Fewer hajß und der Kellten Feindt.

Unnd so das corpus wurde gesetzt auff ein Fewer, untzt es werde verzert, so wurde auß im nicht funden das man suchen, ist Eßig aber darein gestend wendt Verprinnmuß des Fewers, unnd je mer die Flamme des Feuers wirdt verirt, je mer wirdt das inner aqua verborgen, das es durch die Hitz des Feuers nicht verbrinn.

Unnd darumben geuß es nicht mit einander darein, das die Substanz nicht ertrinck, sonder zeaintzing das das corpus allweg mit drejen Thaillen seines aqua kocht werde. Unnd so du es conficirt on Gewicht, so kumbt im der Todt, unnd wer (wäre) nicht guett geschatzt, so es aber zimlich [278v] wirdt regirt mith seinem aqua auff dem Fewer, so kumbt dir dein Begern.

Unnd das corpus hat an dem ersten wenig Wurtzen, aber sein Tugent ist gleich austailt inn alle Thaill, alls sich außthaillen ist der Schein der Sonnen in den anderen Planeten, unnd darumb ist Gedult unnd Verzichnuß nott. In dieser Verlengernuß des Kochens uberwindt aqua den Streit des Fewers, wann durch ein leichte Kochnuß wirdt aqua congelirt unnd die Feuchtigkait außzogen mit Zerstornuß. Der wurtzlichen Feuchtigkait calor wirdt augmentirt unnd die Thur der Verprinnuß abkertt.

Unnd darumben kumbt, das unser corpus ee palder, dan spatter sich congelirt, das kumbt auß der Verwechssellung (Verschiedenheit) des Kochens. Wann auß Nott ist kommen, so die Stadt (Stätte), da man kocht feucht ist oder thawig, das es belder gescheh, - ist sie aber durr, so wirdt es spatter congelirt. Unnd darumben ist nott, das unser Fewer allweg linde sej, untzt es sich congelirt in dem Lapis und alles Waßer werde untersich. Wann in viertzigk Tagen es alles verwandelt in terram; unnd darumben so du sihest das aquam congelirn sich selbs die Trucken an sich zenemen [279r] alls ain Schaff Keß aus der Feuchtigkait der Milich, so ist im recht.

Unnd darumben koch das corpus mith aqua vita(e) lindlich gepraten mit Coagulirung bej dem Fewer, untz es dick wirdt unnd trucken. Unnd so es trucken ist, so thue baldt die ubrig Feuchtigkait unnd geuß mer ein ander aquam daran, unnd mach das Vaß zwe (zu), unnd ejlle nicht, höre auch nicht auff.


Kapitel 12

Unnd das Waßer ist in zween Taill zotaillen, der ain werde in das corpus congeliert, unnd der ander zergeent unnd putrificirt. Nun congelir die redigirt feweren Substanz unnd putrificir oder liquir das Congelirt. Dann putrificirn wirdt nicht, dann auß feucht unnd trucken, wann also durchgeet der spiritus das corpus unnd wirdt ein Vermischung.

Raich Fewer darunder temperirt unnd verhuetter das durch das Ejllen nicht zeschnell zogen werde, das es nicht sej sterben, auch soll nicht geoffendt werden der Außgang, untz der lufftig Windt wirt außtruncken, verhuett in auch täglich verschloßen, umbgeben mith Thaue, darumben das sein [279v] Pluem (Blume) nicht außgehe in dem Tampff, oder Rauch, unnd die Mejsterschafft sej verdorben.

Unnd mergk veill (feil) sein Ermeßenn, darumben regir alle Ding mit Gewicht. Unnd also offt das corpus wirdt begoßen, alls offt soll es werden getrucknet. Unnd thue nicht ejllendt eßen, auch iß nicht, das du nicht thuest trincken, auch trinck nicht, das du nicht thuest eßen. So aber das Eßen nach dem Trincken, oder das Trincken nach dem Eßen zuvill wer, so macht es den Bauch feucht unnd nimbt nicht Truckenhait.

Darumben iß unnd trinck ains nach dem andern nach dem Anzagen (Ansagen), - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 gezalt, untz auff zwolffe, also thue dem Luna mit dem aqua, wan die Zall inn der Multiplicirung drejmall in vier macht zwolffe, unnd die Zall drejmall auß ainem in drej. Unnd sindt drej Ubersprungnuß, darunder jede in den andern drejen springe, unnd macht zwolffe.

Nun kere den Vierangel inn die Schejben (Kreise), so hastu die Mejsterschafft. Unnd das geschicht, so der Vierangell in jeder seiner Spats (Spitze) hat drej geleich Angel. Nun mach ein Circkl, unnd inmitten in dem [280r] Cirkl (ain) Centrum. Unnd darnach in ainer jeden Spats (Spitze) des Vierangls mach drej Angl, vonn dem Centro des Cirkls. Nun sej Luna (soll heissen: linea) gleich vonn dem ersten Centro gegen den andern; unnd sej ir aller ain Maß. Darnach raid die drej, so komen zwolffe, also furs (führs) uberhupffent, so findestu, das du suchest. Also durch die zwolffe in den Drejangell gefurt durch den Vierangell kumbt die Rotundt (Kreis).

Unnd also setz unser Meisterschafft, wann also komen all Spats des Vierangls zusamen, unnd also ist das gantz aqua in sein corpus durch sein Drejangel zue reducirn. So es aber gemindert werd in ainem Angl, so werdt auch sein Sterk gemindert. Darumben thue eren die Seel, wann in der Erden ist ir Wonung, unnd so sie nicht mugen fliehen, so biß (sei) an dem Gegajdt (Gejage, Jagd) nicht schlafferig, sonder friedsamb, unnd verhuet, das es durch uberigs Feuer nicht khert werde in Rauch. Fliegen sie aber, sie werden vonn dem Falckhen nicht gefangen. Werden sie aber eingeschloßen, so komen sie wider zu dem [280v] corpus, da sij auß sindt gangen.

Darumben verkere die terra, unnd koch das aqua, vernewe dein Arbeit, allslang untz ainer auß den Triangel sie under sich kere, wann so du ainen auß den Triangel hast ertodt, so sindt sie alle todt. Wen so ains ist fluchtig, so sindt die andern nachgengig, aber uberall zusamen gefugt, so lejdt es Feuer. Wann ains heltt das ander von wegen der Geleichhait der Natur, unnd ist unser Congelatzen haltendt alles Fliegendts.

Mergk der Mensch wirdt nicht geborn mit Henden, sunder die Natur ist i(h)n allenthalben also stellen. Wann die Natur ist sich selbs solvirn unnd zusamen satzen, unnd albierdt unnd zierdt mit rubeo, sie gilbt (gelblich machen) sich selbs, und macht sich schwartz, vermehlet sich selbs, unnd ist selbs empfahen, untzt sie dem Werch ein Endt gibt. Darumben geoffenwart ist, das unser Confectio nicht ist ein hendliche Arbeit, sonder ein Ubnuß der Natur, haiß mith kaldt, unnd feucht mith trucken, ain verwunderliche Zesamfuegung:

NOTA BENE:

Es ist ain rains Waßer des haimlichen Fluß,
das außreckt sein Armb uff bejde Sajtten,
treufft durch sich selbs, unnd lebendigt todts.
Wirdt es congelirt, oder gesehen distillirt, [281r]
darumben senfftlich verhuet groß Hitz vermitt ...
So albirts, rajnigt, vernewt, wascht, einiget unnd setzt.


Kapitel 13

Nimb das fliegendt Fligen mit der Maß unnd sein Knecht (?) geleich dem Unfliegenden in den Reichen. Unnd den Flug der auß ist geflogen setz zue, unnd gefangen behalt. Unnd das under geleich alls das ober, unnd das ober gleich alls das under. Also kumbt unser gesegent aqua ze waßern sein Erdtrich unnd zerajnigen die Schwertz unnd alle Unsawberkaitt. Wann under in ist die Begir des Manns unnd Weibs.

Darumben so verhuett das auß dem Vaß nicht gehe die Feuchtigkait, unnd sej Verderben. Sunder reducirs auff die Erden mit senfftem Fewer, das es sich coagulir, alls sich coagulirt die Sperma in der Matrix, mith sejner Röth umbfangen. Darumben fuegs schnell zusamen, wann es geet in sein corpus. Darumben brauch aquam auff die terra, alslang untz es sich under sich congelir, darnach baldt ist die Natur die ander verkeren, unnd in allen Graden seiner Wurknuß ann sich nemen ein Natur.

Darumben werde es geben dem [281v] Aschen, nach dem Drittail sejner aqua. Reibs, laß dichs nicht verdrießen, thues offt vernewen, wann die Erden grundt (grünt) nicht onn tegliche Weßerung, (fehl. Text: noch die Wäßerung) on die vorgesetzt Trucknuß. Darumben allemal nach jeder Trucknuß so rejbs, geuß aquam darauff maßiglich nicht zuvill, noch zu wenig. Zu viel machts zu dinnen ajer(?), zu wenig verprenndts zu einem Staub.

Und darumb gib einem jeden Gewicht sein Gewicht, unnd einer jeden Maß sein Maß. Unnd das ist die Maß, das man in diesem Wergk nicht zuvill Feuchtigkait, noch zuvill Hitz sej darraichen, darumben das du das Wergk nicht sejeßt zerbrechen. Unnd in dem Kochen, so thue pratten das die Solvirung geben hat, und mit dem Eintrenken gib das du in dem Pratten verzert hast. Unnd verhuet allezeit dastu mith der Scherff der Hitz dein Wergk nicht verprennst und horr nicht auff, untz das unter aines trucken Stains Form an sich nehm.

Unnd mergk die Natur hatt nit ihr Bewegnuß, dann durch die Wurknuß des Fewers. Unnd darumben so mir der Hitz recht zurajchen, so ist aqua unnd ignis genug das corpus zurainigen, albiren, mehren, unnd sein Vienster auffzuheben. Unnd furwar das gantz [282r] Regiment des gantzen corpus ist anders nicht, dann ein bleibendes aqua, in ihm habendt alles das mir notturfftig sein, wann es leutert, unnd congelirt, zerrurt unnd albirt.

Unnd verprinngt es alles unnd darumben hanndthalt diß Waßer mit seinem gutten Werken, wann es macht album zu album, unnd rubeum zue rubeum, unnd sein Krafft ist in dem Regiment des Fewers. Mith im wirdt dividirt aqua, mit im geendet die Flucht der Fluchtigen, mit im ist man die corpus zusambfugen, unnd wirdt verbracht unser Congelatzung. Darumben verhuett dich vor dem Anzunden des Fewers vor der rechten Zeit, wann es wurde rubeum, unnd were dir nit nutz.

Darumben sej dein ignis trag, untzt auff die albedo, das der spiritus mit Sterkh dem Fewer muge widersteen. Unnd weiß spiritus werden gesehen in dem corpus. Volg im nach mit Freuden, so du sie hast, dann sie sindt lebentigen unnd thuen sich nimer davon abschaiden. Unnd volgt ains dem andern nach gleich alls die Prautt dem Brautga(m). [282v]


NOTA BENE:

Verorn (?) das Fewr untzt erschejdt der Jungfraw Milich,
senfftig das Fewer zu wermb on Hitzt.

Nun zeuch auß dem Glantz seine Majll (das Schlechte, niederdeutsch) unnd seinen Schatten, der im von dem Nebl kommen ist, unnd in seinem Licht vermailligt (verhindert?) in seine rubedo. Unnd darumben ist nott, das man sein ersten Thaill aquam unser Eß (Erz) prenn unnd mit Kochen coagulir, alsolang untzt es seiner rubedo wirdt beraubt, alsdann wirdt es durch die Philosophi genendt Auripigment (unnd) die ubrig Erden und coagulum, wan es nimbt unnd tringkt unnd congelirt mit ihm sein ajgene Erden.

Darnach muß man unnserm Eß (Erz) sein ubrigs aqua offt imbibirn, allslang und es alles under sich kumb zu dem Congelirten, inceriren zu dem Verprunnen zu lebentigen, zu verwandl die Coloratur.



Kapitel 14

Darumben imbibirs siben mall, ains nach dem andern, zu verkeren die nigredo, untzt das es zerbricht unnd in Erdtrich wirdt verkerdt, wann in viertzig Tagen wirdt es alles in terram verwandelt. Darumben thue auff unnd mach guett, solvir unnd knupff zesamen, strecks auß unnd valtens zusam, wasch ab und trukens, unnd das geschech taglich untzt der Vierangel geschejbdt werde.

Unnd so das [283r] Eß (Erz) dergleichen wirdt geregiert mit Kochen unnd Widersolviren untz das es wirdt alls ein aqua, oder warlich alls argentum vivum. Unnd darnach nach der Gewonheit coagulirs bej dem Fewer, das die Coagulatur kumb in ein trucken rodt Farb, unnd solvir das sich darinnen solviren leßt; das Ungesolvirt thue kochen, untzt es alles gesolvirt werde.

Unnd die Ordnung werde gehalt(en), untzt mehrer Taill gesolvirt werde. Darnach coagulirs lindlich gebratten mit einem sanfften Fewer gehalten, unntz der mehreist gegen dem Ansehen des Fewers mugen werden zugeraicht. Darumben alle diese Ordnung der Beraittnuß auff in beschech vier mall, unnd zu dem letzsten calcinirs nach seiner Ordnung, auffstehendt den calcinir alls die Erden des kostbarlichen Stains zugeraicht, hast regirt.


CALCINIRN etc.

Calcinirn ist anders nicht, dan trucken unnd gemacht zu Aschen. Darumben thues prennen on alle Fercht, untzt es zu Aschen werde. Unnd so es Aschen ist, so hastu guett zu vermischen, [283v] wann der Aschen nimbt den Spiritum gern an, unnd trinckt in unnd furth in in sein Feucht, untzt es kerdt wirdt in schonere color dann er vor waß. Nun thue den Aschen nicht vermischen, gib im wider seinen Schwajß, den er auß hatt geben, untz das er sich kere undersich unnd alsofft der cinis wirdt imbibirt, alls offt wirdt das Außerst siccirt allslang untzt es sich kerdt in album. Darnach werde es wider siccum, untzt es sich selbst hellt zu einander.

Darnach truckens untzt es trinkt alle sein Feuchtigkeit. Darumben schaffen (vmtl sagen) die philosophi: Aquam vivam congelir unnd seinen corpus vermisch unnd kochs, untzt es trucknen. Dann so findestu aller aquam vivam von im selbs congelirt, unnd in ein Erdtrich verkerdt, dann fuegs zu dem corpus spiritus, - aqua dem cineri, unnd das Weib irem Man, wann mit Es (aes) wirdt es fuglich regirt, mit aqua gefridet, unnd colorirt mit weißer color. Nun geschicht die Albierung / nicht nur allain = nisi / durch Kochung unnd Congelirung des aqua, unnd je das (desto) baß die Pulver des Eß (Erz) mer werden gewaschen, je gentzer wirdt die albedo.

Darumb kher die Arbeit offt widerumb, laß dich sein [284r] nicht verdrießen, unnd kochs mit seinem Eß (Erz). Imbibirs unnd wasch die Schwertz davon mit aqua vit(a)e, prat den Lat(r)onem, untz das er trucken, nnd ein newes corpus annemb, wan aqua vit(a)e gebraucht, albirt alle corpus kherendt in sein color.

Wann es ist ein weißer Rauch, darumben albirt es, was zu albiren ist auß Krefft seiner Natur. Darumben kochs und reibs offt, untzt es sich congelir, unnd von seiner nigredo rajnig. Maj Thaue Waßer wescht abe unnd rajnigt herab stejgendt von Himel zu den Zeitten rajnes (von englisch "rain" ?!) durchdringt unnd albirt, wann das Waßer Wonung habendt in dem Lufft, nachvolgt der Erden alls das Ejßen dem Magneten.

Wann und in ist Begir von wegen der Nahendt ihr Natur, aber die ubrig Feuchtigkait thue fur unnd fur kochen, untzt sie congelirt unnd gar erlich albirt, wann schnell ist es angreiffen:


Nota Bene:

Die Guetter solln werden gemischt unnd verhuet (=beschützen)
in irm c(o)ena soll werden gewaßert und trucken wen : Sant(?)
des aqu(a)e viv(a)e gruen alls der windt Oliv(a)e
Mit guet im c(o)ene Tranck im zugefugt aren(a)e
zusamgefugt we(rdt?) ungleich mit dem Zaichen,
angzundt ignis wirdt senfftmutig ignis [284v]
dissolvirt das es lautter werd conficirt
Wirdts congelirt lindlich, so wirdts verbracht.
feucht Kalch rain verzert sanguis
Pluet das rain, schlangen wiederumb trinck Fluß
Als in goßen das von im gentzlich wirdt truncken
dann austrunckent alles als vor gelernt ist.
Unnd werdt behalten, untz es Pulver werd gemacht.


Kapitel 15

Schaue nun an dein Zusamfegung durch aquam in ainem jeden Grad mit dem Farben zerißen, unnd so das Guet dem Fewer wirdt unterworffen, so wirdt es von ainer Farb zu der andern durch vielfeltige Wurknuß der Natur verkerdt. Der spiritus unnd die anima verainen sich nit mit dem corpus, nur mit der alba color, wan alls die Schwertz erscheindt, das finster Weib, wann sie ist die erst Krafft oder Sterk unsers Lapis. Wann allein es werde in dem ersten nigrum, sunst wirts nicht album, noch rubeum. Wann rubeus auß nigro und albo ist zusamen gesetzt.

Sunder wer die temperirt calor in der Feucht wurkent macht nigredinem, truckent die Feuchtigkait, unnd hebt auff die Zerstorlichkait, hinwider die anfallendt Hitz wurckt die Schwertz, truckent auß die Feucht unnd gebirdt Zerstornuß. Darauß offentlich erscheindt, so die Zusamsetzung sterker dann noth ist geregirt wirdt, so ist sie schnell erlescht, unnd [285r] wirdt darauß nicht dastu suchest.

Darumben verhuett, dastu du aquam nicht durch uberigs Fewer treibst in ainen Rauch unnd aufflieg. Unnd darumb wirdt in die Lenng aqua ain Strejt ignis in der Kochung, wann die Hitz des Fewers streidt wider das Waßer. Darumben regirs, das das Waßer überwinde unnd durch die Lenge des Kochens sich congelir und dick werde. Wann so du sein Natur vollkomenlich erkennest, die Leng des Kochens thet dich nicht verdrießen, untz du dein Furschlagk fundst, wann die Gutthat seiner Natur wirdt wol probirt in den corpus, nemblich das es sich laßt austaillen in die Thail unnd aintweders es ist nicht aller seiner Substanz von dem Fewer fliehen, oder mit aller seiner Substanz stehendt bleiben, in ainer Schwertz. Darumben auß Nott wirdt in im vermergkt die notturfftig Ursach.

Darumben mith Gedult regirs in sejner Natur, zwischen dem Congelirn unnd argentum vivum. Wann auß unsern Eß (Erz) trofft es darauff unnd vonn Natur steigen ab die Wolken, unnd regnen auff das Erdtreich, alls ein jedes schwers und dicks corpus {fehl. Text, wie z.B.: fallet abe gegen sein centrum) Argentum vivum auß unserm Eß (Erz) werde [285v] sublimirt, darauß dann on Mittel ain rajns aqua kumbt unnd Tinctur, unnd die Natur das des (soll heissen: Eß (Erz)) tillgt abe denn Schatten, unnd ist Sulphur album, der allain unser Eß (Erz) albirt, unnd hellt die spiritus das sie nicht fliehen. Unnd dieser Sulphur mag es nicht albirn, dann es sej in dem opus albirt. Unnd erschejnnt, das unser Eß (Erz) also scho(ö)n wirdt, alls scho(ö)n der Sulphur ist geweßen.

Unnd zoaintzing werde im zugesetzt die Feuchtigkait, die er in dem Kochen hatt von im geben, allslang untzt er sein Schön anlegt, unnd als offt er wirdt getrenkt, alls offt thue in trucken, unnd so eines fix wirdt, so mach(ts) auch das ander fix. Unnd so es album wirdt außen, so wirdt es auch innen album.

Unnd darumben laß in nicht mit ruhen zu kochen unnd zu trucknen, untzt in allen hast getrenkt mit seiner Feuchtigkait. Conficir in mit dem bleibenden rajnen Waßer, gekocht mit lindem Fewer allslang, untzt die nigredo hingeet, unnd trengkt i(h)n stätz mith aqua vit(a)e, untzt dich nach deinem Gesicht gedunkt es sej genug. Unnd pratte es so lanng, untz es alle seine Feuchtigkait auß hatt truncken unnd merck, purpur Farb tingirt nichts dann Kalldes, unnd album nichts dan trucken, unnd [286r] rubeum nichts dann Hitz. Unnd darumben koch unser Eß (Erz) mit der ubri(n)gen Feucht, untzt es sich selbs gruennen mach. Darnach truckens an der Sonnen, untz (soll heissen: unnd) reibs untz es sich alles under sich geb.


Kapitel 16

Unser Eß (Erz) je mer es kocht wirdt, je mer thuet es sich solvirn unnd wirdt ein gejstigs aqua. Zu dem andern mall, je mehr es kocht wirdt, je dicker wirdt es, unnd wirdt ein Pulver einer mehrern albedo. Zo dem Dritten, je mehr es kocht wirdt, je mehr wirdt es colorirt, unnd ein Tinctur ain dickern rubor, unnd die Wurknuß kumbt allein auß dem Außzihen aqu(a)e auß der terra, unnd seiner Reducirung. Dann durch das Einfallen aqu(a)e auff die terra ist beschaffen Abraham, darinnen so da sein flejßige Zuraichnuß unnd tägliche Auffwartnuß. Unnd vernewe in dir alle beschriebene Erklarnuß, so kumbt dir dein Begern.

(Absatz im Manuskript)

Unnd so das Waßer alles ist außtruncken unnd kerdt in sein Erdtrich, so werde es ettlich Tag in seinem Vaß auff linden Fewer gefawlt, alls lang, untzt sich sein schoner [286v] weißer Schein erzaigt. Unnd die Wermb soll gering sein, untz auff die albedo, wann so die Hitz groß wurde, zohandt machet sie ein schwartz Rauch unnd flueg dein opus auß, unnd darumb soll der Tampff weiß sein, unnd wann er figirt mit unserm Eß (Erz), so albirt es innen unnd außen. So es aber von im fluch, so wurde es rubeum unnd nichts nutz.

Inn der Putrificirung unsers Eß (Erzes) unnd (Lat. "et" für "auch"?) der spiritus wurde ertodt inn dem corpus. Unnd mer (nisi?) sie werden getruckendt in im, sunst weren nicht erschejnen die colores der Seele. Nun ist Purtificirn anders nicht dann Todtnuß feucht mit trucken, feicht congelirt sich mit trucken, unnd feucht thuet es fawln, wan naturlich wirdt Putrificirung nicht on feucht unnd trucken, wann feucht wirdt durch trucken auffgehaltenn, unnd wiewol feucht unnd kallt naturlich fliehen das Fewer, so werden sie doch in dem corpus auffgehalten, das sie nicht flihen mugen, wann das schwer nicht oben, unnd das gering nicht unden muegen Gesellschafft haben (vermtl: sociantur), unnd sie beide sindt ein Anfang des Werchs unnd ein Endtnuß.

Unnd darumben ist notth, mit teglicher (=stetiger) Wermb unser Wergk zu regiren, [287r] untz auff die albedo, alls gesagt ist. Wann in der albedo werden die spiritus veraint mith dem corpus, dass sie nicht fliehen mugen. Es wirdt auch gebotten zu albiren lat(r)onem unnd zerreißen die Pucher, das sich nicht die Hertz thuen reißen.

Die terra mit dem aqua thuet fawlen unnd wirdt gerajnigt, so sie wirdt getruckent, die Schwertz vergehet unnd wirdt albirt. Alsdan verzerdt sich des Weibs vinstere Herschung, unnd der Man stejgt auff das Weib, unnd nimbt ann sein Reich, so der Rauch durchgeet das corpus. Unnd der spiritus wirdt genent (gähnen, genen, vllt gedehnt) in trucken, alsdann hört auff die zerstorlich Nigrung unnd wirdt ein schejnends album.

Wann alls die Hitz wurkt in der Feucht, unnd pruett albedinem, unnd in albo citrin, unnd das magstu sehen in dem Holtz, so es durch das Fewer wirdt zu Koln, unnd zuletzt zu Aschen, also auch die Substanz unsers Lapis. An dem ersten, je mer sie kocht wirdt, je mer sie wirdt solvirt unnd nigrirt. Zu dem andern, je mehr sie wirdt kocht, je mehr wirdts truckent unnd albirt. [287v] Zu dem dritten, wirts je mehr rubificirt, untz es alles ist verpracht. Nun ist das unser Mejsterschafft, so unsers Eß (Erzes) Haubt ist rubeum, sein Fueß album, unnd seine Augen nigrum.


Kapitel 17

Unnd finde vier besunder Farb in unserm Wergk sich erzaigen, das ist nigrum, album, citrin unnd rubeum. Unnd all ir Namen in unserm Werch haben auß diesen vier Farben in den corpus erschejnendt iren Ursprungk, unnd die all sindt auß dem aceto im zugesetzt kommen. Unnd diesen erschejnendten Farben ist jeder darunder nott, das sie viertzig Tag kocht werde, unnd das gantz Waßer verzerdt, unnd lindlich außgetrunckt, untzt die albedo anhebt zo erscheinenn.

Das aber nott sej an dem ersten, an dem Werch nigredinem zu erschejnen, probirt sich also, die Gebernuß ajnes Thails ist nicht anders dann die Zerstornuß des andern, unnd die Zerstornuß in dem Putrificirn geschicht nicht, nur durch die Wermb, wurckendt in der Feucht, unnd die Wirmb in der Feucht macht am ersten nigredinem, unnd wiewoll sich offent, das der Anfang unsers Werchs ist der Raben Kopff. Darumben ist auch nott ihn [288r] zu putrificirn, wann nie wardt geborn, noch Geborns gesellt den(n) nach der putredo. So aber das Gefawlt nicht mag goßen oder solvirt werden, so ist es unnutz in dem Prauch.

Unnd unser Putrificirn ist nicht stinckendt unnd unrain, sonder ein Zusamsetzung aqu(a)e unnd terrae, oder terra mith aqua, mit dem klajnem, untzt das gantz Wergk wirdt einn corpus. Nun koch den Man unnd seinen Tampff unnd Rauch, untzt sich bejder Thaill coagulirt. Unnd nur es sej trucken, sunst sein nicht viel Farben erschein, sonder allweg nigrum, wann die Feucht thuet herschen. Darumben vermach den Mundt des Vaß mit Fleiß und kochs bej dem Fewer, untzt es sich alles kere untersich.

Alsdann macht der Track (Drache) sein Flug (Flügel) fressen unnd vielfeltig Bewegnuß vonn einer Farb in die ander, untzt er kumbt zu ainer bestendigen albedo, wann all Farben der Welt erschejnen in ihm, so die schwartz Feucht wirdt getruckent. Sunderbar du darfft darauff nicht mercken, wann es wirdt offt citrin, unnd offt rodt, so es getrunckendt [288v] wirdt, unnd fleußt vor der albedo. Aber der spiritus wirdt nicht figirt mith dem corpus, nur in albo. Unnd darumben ist nott albeg (allweg) der albedo zu wartten, unnd wirdt hinnach in ander Farben nicht verandert, dann allain in rubeum.

Unnd darumb so merck in ainem jeden Grad wie sich aqua congelir, sich selbs auch wie von ainer Farb in die ander sich der Furschlag verkher. Wann so unerkhentlich wirdt regirt, die Farben werden nicht gesehen, unnd also offt ist die Arbait den Fall bewainnen, wan in kainem Weg magstu leichter wißen in waß Grad das Fewer sej, dann durch die Farben in dem Werch erschejnendt. Die Farben erzaigen in welchem Zeit zu dem ersten, andern, oder zu dem dritten das Fewer sej zuenden. Unnd darumben biß (sei) du fleißig, die Farben lernen dich was du ihm solts.

Unnd merck in den Solviren unnd Coagilirn sej dein Fewer klain. in dem Sublimirn mittel, inn dem Rubificirn starck. Unnd so sich die colores je mer verkeren, je mer ist das Fewer anzehalten unnd klain, untzt es kumbt zu der Zill (Ziel) der album. Zu dem album aber wirdt das Fewer nicht viel verkert, das es ist [289r] kalt, rau(c)h unnd halbenwegk kocht; unnd darum sindt die Weiber weisßer dann die Mannen.

Unnd darumben sej das Fewer gering in dem Albirn, untzt das Weib zerbricht iren corpus, sunst so man nicht auffmercket, so wurde ignis vor der Zeit rubeum, das dann nicht gutt were. Darumben wann rubeum kombt auß viel albo unnd auß dem rajnisten nigro zusamen gesatzt.


Nota Bene:

Darumb die lustig oder des roten scheinenten Bronnen noch voll der Guetter,
wirt unter der Sunnen haitter leichtlich gehitzt, untz es sein Hei(l)ligkeit ertzaigt,
allenthalben bluendt unnd gluendt gentzlich erschein,
dan gluendt machts gut mit Erschainnuß haitter.
Haimligkeit voll geborent ein scheinenten Sandt.

Darumben thuest du das Fewer recht ermeßen, und das Werch durch sich selbs regirn, so kumbstu zu der weißen Coloratur. Unnd so es album ist, so zundt an ain stercker Fewer, das du sein albedinem magst in wenig. (..) unnd darumben machs auff in, unnd untter in. Unnd ein Zeit auff die trucken calor ist(?) ain unnd zwanzigk Tag. Darumben, das es sich alles under sich figir unnd kain Außrichnuß der Geist sej auffstejgendt, unnd das ist sein Zaichen der Verkommenhait. (=Vollkommenheit) [289v]

Nota Bene:

Ist es das Fewer schmehen, es thut nicht uber sich steigen
Antzundt Fewer print (brennt) stercker Fewer
Unnd also so du siehet zoaintzigen uber sich steigen
das ermanen die Guetter wider zu neuen das Kochen,
untzt das verget die Zeit, der Tag des Kochens,
die Zeit der Koch gibt in Tagen drej Monat,
darinnen veraint wirdt die widwertig Sterck der Gutter
unnd also wirts zersolvirt unnd auch nicht verzert
Also geen sie her, und die Ungeselten nicht hin dann,
also geschicht der Guetter die höchst zosamben,
unnd der gewißen G(e)stalt des Guts nachvol(g)t die haitter
auß der Ver(?)mischung steet auff ein geborns Kindt des Scheins (Glanzes)
Waßelben Natur gibt in allen allain guets genug.

Nun ist der fluchtig nimer fliegen vor lautter Kellten, wiewol es ist ein prennents Fewer, wan magnesia, so das wirdt albirt, so leßt es die spiritus nicht fliegen, unnd auch kainen Schatten erscheinen. Unnd ist Sulphur fix unnd weiß, unnd alle alle corpus tingirt unnd in war argentum kerdt.

Unnd spricht Philosophus: Das ist das best Guett, das nehmen mugen die Scribenten in der Alchamej, das sie das verwandeln in argentum, wann die Natur hellt in ir die Natur, unnd mit warer Vermehlnuß geben zu ainander.

Unnd das ist also war, so ain Natur [290r] in dem Grad seiner Werchnuß in die ander werd kerdt, wann die Natur erfrewet sich der Natur. Unnd die Natur uberwindt die Natur, auch die Natur hellt die Natur, und lernt sie strejtten wider das Fewer. Unnd ir sindt nicht mehr noch minner, sunder allain aine habendt in ir alle Natur und alle Guetter der sie bedarff. Unnd darumben mith ainer Maß geb an dein opus unnd thueß darinnen enden.

Nun ist die Maß der Zusambsetzung zwejfeltig: Wann aine ist feucht, die ander trucken, unnd so sie kocht werden, so werden sie ajnig, das ains das ander nicht laß, wan durch die Feucht geschicht die Einfließung unnd uberkumbt feucht von trucken, das es die Einfließung starck ist halten, also das es alles Fewer lejdet.

Unnd darumben von der Feucht wirdt verhalten trucken vor seiner Schaiden, unnd durch die trucken verhuett vor seiner Fließung. Ein Exempll nimb an dem Haffner, der feucht die Erden mit Waßer unnd kochts mith dem Fewer, so lest es das ander nicht. Also ist unser Meisterschafft schickenn die [290v] die Substantz der Erden auff die Feuchtigkeit und Hitz, untzt sie zusamen komen, unnd sich fuegen. Darnach fuege im zue zwo kostliche Tugendt, das ist Waßer unnd Fewer unnd wirdt erfult unser Majsterschafft, wann so du allain aquam vermischest, so albirts es; mischstu unter ignem, so rubificierts.

Nun wirdt album verbracht mith drejen: Darinnen ignis nich(t) ist, rubeum rotatur rotis, unnd als ettlich majnen, es sej Elixir vollkomen, wan sein Tinctur tingirt, unnd wirdt ertrengkt mit seinem oleo, unnd sein color figirt, unnd oleum ist zusam fuegen unnd zusamb sameln zwuschen dem calx unnd aqua. Aber aqua furt unnd bringt die Tinctur auf seinen Kalch. Und wann der calx figirt wirdt, so figirt es sich mit ihm von wegen der schnellen Vermischung unnd darnach ist corpus ain Ursach auß zutrejben aquam, unnd aqua ein Ursach außzutreiben oleum, dann es nicht werde anzundt durch ignem, unnd oleum ist die Ursach der Haltnuß der Tinctur, unnd die Tinctur ist ain Ursach der Zaignuß der color, unnd die color zaiget die albedo, unnd albedo ist ain Ursach [291r] der Haltnuß alles Fluchtigen. Nun so corpus albirt ist, so last es die spiritus nimmer flihen, noch weitter nigredinem erscheinenn.

Aber diß Bandt ist nit alls das Bandt der Natur, sonder alls ein Bandt der Zusambsetzung, unnd die Zusambsetzung wirdt trungen durch den Einfluß der Widerwertigen. unnd das Bandt der Natur, durch das fix der natürlichen. Unnd darumben, der nicht fließen macht unnd coagulirt, der ist vielfeltig irren.

Nigrir das Eß (Erz) unnd albir terram, so hastu die Mejsterschafft, wann der, (der) terram nigriert unnd album mith Fewer solvirt unnd coagulirt, untzt das es wirdt in der color, alls ain Licht auß der Vinster; unnd wann die verbracht, albatzen in die Seel einfurdt, so es gefloßen ist; unnd das Fewer rubedinem figirt, der verdient selig gesprochen und uber die Krajß der Welt erhöhet.


Kapitel 18

Nun hastu kurtzlich gelernt album zu machen, so fueget sich nun von dem rubeo zu sagen, sunderbar allain du sejst es an dem ersten albiren, sunst magstu nicht rubeum [291v] machen, wann nimandt mag komen von dem Ersten zu dem Letzten dann durch den Andern. Also magstu auch nicht von dem nigro kommen zu dem rubeo, dann durch albo. Wan citrin nimbt sich auß viell albo, und auß dem rajnisten nigro.

Darnach nigrier album, das es rubier, so hastu die Meisterschafft, unnd alls das Jhar tailt wirdt in vier Thaill, also auch unser gesegnents opus. Der erste Thail ist der Wintter, kallt unnd rengnig. Das ander der Lentz, haiß, feucht unnd gruennendt. Das dritte, der Sommer, haiß, trucken unnd roth. Das vierdt der Herbst, kallt, trucken unnd die Zeitt der Samlung (=Ernte.)

Also mith der Geschickligkait regir die Natur, untzt sie zeittig, unnd die Frucht der Guetter bring nach Gefallen. Nun ist der Wintter hin, unnd der Regen alhin gangen, die Nacht sich auff zogen, unnd die Pluemen (Blumen) erschejnen in unser Erden in dieser Zeit des Somers, aber auff die wejßen Rosen steet das mir (wir) suchen, wann sie gibt die Gab traurigk verkherendt in vivum argentum.

Unnd darumb so du siehest die albedo erscheinen allen uberflußig, so biß genugsam wan die rubor ihr dieser albedo ist verborgen. Darnach mueß [292r] man sie nicht herauß ziehen, sunder kochen, untzt es alles wirdt rubeum unnd billich genendt rubeum. Wann je baß es tingirt, je uberflußiger ist sein Guttath.

Unnd das erlich colorirt, manglt nimer der rubedo unnd kommet auß der vollkommen Degung (digestio, Ver-Daung), wann das Pluet wirdt nicht gepruet in dem Menschen, dan es sej vor(-her) woll kocht durch die Leber. Also so wir zu morgens sehen den Haren, das er weiß ist, wißenn wir, das wir zu wenig haben geschlaffen. Darumben geen wir wider zu Beth, unnd davon volkommenlich, so finden wir zu morgens den Harem roth. Unnd also allain durch die Kochung mag die albedo kumen in rubeum, mit durem (dürrem) Fewer mehr unnd mer zu tringen.


NOTA BENE:

Das nicht glue die Roßen, sonder Liecht erschein,
unnd so sie Hitz setz, sie stetz zerue (zerrühre?) in der Hitzt,
schejnendt gepirtz (gebärt es) den Schein,
unnd rodt die Roth.

Unnd darumben mit trucken Fewer unnd truckner Calcinirung kochs trucken, untzt es sich roth (rötet) in Cinober, dem du hinnach in kainem Weg solt einsetzen die Seel, auch sonst nichts anders; untzt die Meister- [292v] schafft kocht ist an das Endt inns rubeum. Wan in dem Sommer verderben die Gueß die Frucht, also auch unser Werch. Darumben thues onn Forcht brennen untzt das ann dem rothisten stehe in der Farb.

Unnd hor nicht auff so die Roth ein Weill verzueg in der Farb zeschejnen, wan alls die erst Dauwung (Dauung) in den Magen sich kert in weiß, also die ander durch die Leber alls in roth, also zaigt sich so das Fewer wirdt gemerdt nach der albedo, so gibt es dir auß der ersten die ander, das ist rubedinem, mitten aber zwischen den colores erscheinet die citrin, aber sein color ist nicht bestandig, wan baldt darnach erscheinet rubeum; unnd so die kumbt, so ist dein Werch beraith, wen es hatt dann das Weib kert in ein Man.

Philosophus spricht:

NOTA BENE:

Wirdt Sulphur rain mit guetter rubor lautter,
und ist in im ainig die Sterk des Fewers unprinnlich,
so wirdt es das best Guett das annemen Alchaimisten.
Unnd auß dem erscheinet offenlich, das diß allain unser Sulphur ist, weiß unnd roth, damit mir (=wir) in ain jedes corpus tingirn Goldt und Silber, peßer das auß dem Ertzt gehauen wirdt, nachdem alsdan Elixir beraitt wirdt, auff weiß oder roth.



Kapitel 19

Darumben werde geordent [293r] ain jede species auß den Thaillen des Werch. Das ist, die spiritus werden reducirt zu im, unnd sublimirts alles, wan das Liecht unnd Scheinnendt wirdt sublimirt unvermischlich. Unnd ist das, das du nembst den Thail dieses lauttern lapis unnd durch die subtill Verstaittnuß fueg die rubeum zesamen; so erhebt es sich gar uber sich, kumbt es aber nicht, so gib im zue das nicht figs ist, ain Thaill, darumben, das das Fliegendt das Figs heben sej, nimb auff (so) viel, das es zu heben genueg unnd nicht mer.

Die aber mit aqua werden vermischt, werden schnell gemischt. Unnd uberwindt die Menig des Fliegenden den Thail des Figs, so fleugts mit im, unnd uberwindt nicht, dann es werde figirt mit ihm, unnd darumben, das sich auf gehebt hatt.

Deßelben Sublimatzen werde wider vernewet ain mall nach dem andern, allslang untzt es durch die Sublimatzen widerumb figirt werde alles unter sich. Unnd so es figs ist worden alles, so nimb sein ain Thaill, unnd alls viel, oder groß des Unfig(s)en, unnd imbibirs durch dein Erkenthnuß, untzt es widerumb sich gentzlich auffheb. Zu dem [293v] letzsten so figirs als lang untzt es sich gießen laß, wie ain Wachß.

Unnd das ist die Medicin steendt, tingirn, ubergießen, zusambfuegen unnd bleibendt, des ain Thail verkert in tausent mall tausent, aines jeden corpus inn das warest Gold oder Silber.


Kapitel 20

Unnd ist sein Guthait anders in nichts, dann in der menglfeltigen Sublimatzen, unnd Fixatzen dieser Medicinej. Unnd je offter diese Verpringnuß wirdt vernewett, je mehr wirdt sein Guethait sterker unnd schoner, auch mer gemerdt, unnd ain jedes corpus geminnert in seiner Verkommenhait, unnd auch argentum vivum thuet es verwandel on Ende guet unnd bestendig.

Unnd merckt, die verkomen Medicin, je offter wirdt sublimirt, jede Zeit wirdt sie rotter unnd verkomener zu tingirn ain tausent Taill. Unnd die Ursach der Schnellhait seiner Natur ist in dem Fließen von dem Fewer unnd endtlich die Sublimation. Unnd alles das da bleibt in mercurio, bleib in ajgener Natur gefuegt zu der figs, ist mer subtillirt unnd mer fließlich.

Unnd ist das die Ursach wann unser verprachts Elixir in der Gestallt alls Wachs gibt ain schnellen Fluß, belder dann all ander Metall. Merck [294r] die außzogen Substanz auß dem aller rajnisten argento vivo zogen in figs und aus der aller subtillisten unnd aller rajnisten, die in argento vivo hatt genomen ihren Ursprungk, hatt unser Medicin genomen ihren Ursprung unnd Anfang.

Unnd das darumben gesagt, wan so argentum vivum fluchtig ist, bedarffs on die Flamen unser Medicinej, die dan schnell vor seiner Flucht an den Poden oder Grundt im anhengt, zugefugt unnd vermischt, zu inspissiren, vor der Flucht fixirn unnd behalten, unnd inn Guett bestandigt unnd gerecht verwandeln, doch nicht gerichts sunder das Elixir darzu sej beraith.

Darumben ist nott, das die Medicin aintweder durch die Solutzen, oder durch ain Fermentatzen werde beraith und geschicht spatter durch die Solutzen, schneller durch die Fermentatzen wirdt unser Medicin augmentirt. Darumben, wann unsolvirt, werchts nicht woll, dan es sej vor figirt in ihrem Ferment, unnd noch mehr wercht sie, so sie ist solvirt unnd fermentirt.

Unnd das darumben, wann das zugesetzt Ferment zeucht zu seiner [294v] Natur die color unnd den Geschmach, unnd albirt die Confecten, verhelt das Verprinnen unnd behalt die Tinctur vor der Flucht, lindet das corpus unnd machts in ain ander geen unnd fuegts zusamen, das dann das Endt ist in dem Werch. Unnd on das wirdt Elixir nicht gemacht, alswennig als der Taigk on die Heffl.

Unnd darumben so du Elixir durch die Sublimatzen fixiren bist, reducir sich selbs zue geajgendt in dem Nahmen spiritus, das er vermischt, unnd flußig durch die haimliche Natur in dem Vaß Philosophie; wann so er ein weill steet, so uberwindt er sterker die ir Krefft, kerendt gentzlich in spiritus im geleich. Darumben fueg in, das er seinen gleichen sej gebern (gebären), das ist mit dem, dabej er waß inn dem Anfang. Darnach wirdt der selben Elixir davon im zue ist gefuegt, wann Sulphur wirt von den Sulphurn gehalten, unnd dergleichen feucht von dem Feuchten. Wann der Spiritus, der da kerdt (den) den Sulphur in spiritum im geleich, ist worden ir bajder Thaill flucht(-ig) und spiritus auffhebendt in den Lufft gleich steigent sich schickt.

Als das ansahen die Philosophi, das der nicht floch mit den flüchtigen, [295r] waß fluchtig worden, verneweten sie solchs in ain gleich corpus unfluchtig, unnd trugen ein zu im davon er nicht fliehen mocht, von wegen der Halltnuß seiner Natur. Aber die Seel, die geet baldt ein in die corpus, die ir sindt belder (näher), dann in ain anders, wann sie ist ain Verwexßelnuß der Finster unnd des Liechts, wann das tingirt, unnd das tingirt soll werden, seindt worden ein Tinctur.

Dann (habe) gegenwertig ab dem das tingirt unnd die Natur fleucht, sej die Tinctur Philosophorum, darum das die Sulphura tingirn, unnd nicht dergleichen argentum vivum, sein Geschlecht. Darum ist nott, ein Zumischen mit ainem andern argento vivo, oder rubeo seins Geschlecht, haltendt vor der Flucht, untzt es ein lautters aqua werd auß paiden argento vivo zusammen gesetzt. Sunderwar in der Zusambfuegung werde than ein wenig von dem corpus auff viel des corpus, darumb das es Macht mög haben zuverkheren in die Medicinej, sonst wurde es alles verkert in ain Spiritum im gleich.

Darumben werde wenig geworffen, das ist vier Thaill auff des andern ajnen [295v] Thail, so wirts in ainer klainer Zeit zu Pulver an der Farb weiß oder roth, nach Inhalt der Natur des Ferments das darauff geworffen ist. Unnd das Pulver ist ein verbracht Elixir.

Darumben soll unser Elixir sein ain ainigs schlechts Pulver, gemacht durch die Meisterschafft von den besten Guettern der Weldt, unnd sein corpus ist das Ferment ee unnd es vermischt wirdt unnd mueß an dem ersten sein ein subtill Pulver, solviert in aquam, ein jedes besunder, sunst wurde ain mit dem andern nicht ein ware Zusambfuegung, auß dem das Eß (Erz) lang trucknet, ehe unnd es sich imbibirt. Darumben ist es leichter zu schaiden von der terra, dann von dem aqua. Aber so vermischt wirdt aqua mit aqua, so nimbt ains das ander, unnd muegen nimer von ein ander geschaiden werden.

Unnd so ainer wer (wäre) waßersuchtigk, tringkt er von diesem Confect, er wirdt ohn Zwejffel geraint, wann ain jede Tinctur mehr dann den tausenten Taill tingirt, inn fließender Substanz, oder in truckner, als sich dann erzaigt in den Saffran, wirdt er roher gelegt in Waßer, er thuet wenig tingirn, so er aber ist solvirt, unnd sein ein wenig wirdt than [296r] zue groß, so tingirt er on Endt.


Kapitel 21

Unnd darumb wird er an dem ersten geworffen zehen auff zehen, und zwantzigk auff zwantzigt und allso fur unnd fur gemert, untz auff hundert, von hundert untzt auff tausend; // end of ref to extant latin text // unnd die Ursach dieser Mehrung ist zwejfeltig, untz die gutha Notturfftigkait unnd Verkommenhait, die Guethait, dass sie dester uberflußiger tingir unnd beßer verbring unnd mehr verkehr die Nat(ur) das sie peßer tingir unnd mehr figir, unnd sein Geleichen gebere die Vollkommenhait. Darumb wann ain gerechte Medicin soll verkeren die Zall durch den Mercurium. Unvollkomen ihnn vollkomen, argentum in aurum, wan die Zall der Verkommenhait ist zehen, hundert, tausent, etc. Unnd darumb von dem ersten untzt auff den letzten geschech die Auffwerffung (Projektion.) Unnd darumben alle Fundament der Medicin sindt zu subtrahirn das Abzihen.

(vermutlich unkomplett / rest of text probably missing)

---

LATIN VERSION

Johannis Daustenii Angli ROSARIUM, secretissimum Philosophorum arcanum comprehendens.

Geismariae, Typis SALOMONIS Schadewitz
sumptibus SEBALDI Köhlers

M.DC.XLVII.


{} probable addition or imbellishment of the Geismaria edition or an earlier editor.
(()) original brackets in the Geismaria edition
L. important variant in the 1599 Leyden edition
G. important variant of the German manuscript
[ -] missing [ +] addition

FINAL REVIEW Chapter I - XI



[03]

INCIPIT ROSARIUM Arcanum Philosophorum secretissimum comprehendens, Authore Johanne Daustenio Anglo Philosopho expertissimo.

[Leyden: ROSARIUM PHILOSOPHORUM EX COMPILATIONE OMNIUM PHILOSOPHICORUM LIBRORUM per Toletanum philosophum maximum]

{Prologus}

Desiderabile desiderium & impretiabile pretium hoc compositum fuisse supponitur ex libris antiquorum. Nos autem hoc in summa una breviter adunabimus omnia, ut tibi, charissime, chimicae veritatis excellentissimum simul & certissimum sufficienter pateat arcanum. Quam quidem summam vocitamus Rosarium, eo quod ex antiquorum libris tanquam rosas a spinis tibi ipsam avulsimus. Et quia nocet veritati quicquid contrariatur veritati vel rationi, ideo sententiis veritati per omnia convenientibus, claro sermone, recto [04] ordine, & de verbo ad verbum cum omnibus suis causis sufficientibus succincte trademus, quicquid ex ipsorum libris reperimus necessarium ad operis complementum, nihil penitus superfluum, nullumque additamentum ad totum magisterium ponentes. Placeat ergo Domino nostro Iesu Christo nobis inmittere spiritum intelligentiae suae.

[Leyden page 33: Desiderabile desiderium impretiabile pretium, a cunctis Philosophis positum, quod non deponitur nec male propositum fuisse supponitur ex libris antiquorum hic in summa una breviter adunabimus, ut tibi, charissime, sufficienter pateat veritatis argumentum, tam excellentissimae partis philosophiae esse probatissimum. Atque hanc quidem summam vocitamus Rosarium, eo quod ex philosophorum libris tamquam rosas a spinis evulsimus tibi ipsum, in quo quidem claro sermone rectoque ordine, ac de verbo ad verbum, cum omnibus suis causis sufficientibus succinctum trademus, quicquid ex illorum libris reperimus necessarium ad operis complementum. Et quia nocet veritati quicquid contrariatur rationi, ideo sententiis veritatis per omnia utentes nihil ponemus in eo superfluum, nihilque diminutum ad totum magisterium. Placeat Domino nostro Iesu Christo nobis inmittere spiritum suae intelligentiae.]

Universa / bonitatis Domini [L. divinae bonitatis] opera circulata sunt & perfecta, ad ipsum a quo prodierunt, sphaerice rotata. Ab initio namque suae creationis, [L. + primordium] naturam cunctis praeponens, [L. Deus] quatuor fecit corpora simplicia, ex quibus postea constituit corpora quaeque mixta. Mixtorum autem quaedam fecit intellectiva, quaedam sensitiva, quaedam vegetabilia, / & quaedam mineralia. Intellectiva quidem cuncta ex raritate elementorum creavit {ad similitudinem sui ipsius}. [L. quaedam tantum intellectiva, quaedam tantum ex raritate elementorum creavit] Ad ipsum ideo inquietum est cor nostrum, donec veniamus [L. redeamus] ad ipsum. Nam omnium elementorum raritas ascendit ad ignem, qui est iuxta [L. super] stellas: Ideo nos ab ista creati merito tendimus sursum ad Deum, tanquam ad / principium nostrum primum [L. unum principium.]

[05] Sensitiva vero cuncta / & quaeque [L. nec non] vegetabilia / & mineralia [L.-] ex spissitudine elementorum composita in species distinxit [L. distinguuntur] diversas, quae omnia, cum dissolvuntur per mortem, non immerito revertuntur ad terram & aquam, veluti ad suam [G. + primam] materiam [L. -] / et matrem. [L. and G. +] Nam spissitudo elementorum omnium naturaliter tendit deorsum ad suum centrum, id est terram, / tanquam omnium terrea natura constantium matrem. [L. -]

/ Tertius [L. Omnium tamen natura constantium certus] est terminus magnitudinis & augmenti, ut in sua specie augmentet [L. -ent] / unumquodque [L. -] suum simile. Et eorum quaedam ex partibus sunt dissimilibus, ut [L. + a] carne, sanguine, ossibus, / venis, nervis & similibus, ut homo. Quaedam ex ligno, [L. -] corticibus, [L. cortice &] foliis / & his similibus, ut arbor. [L. -] Quaedam vero ex partibus sunt [L. con-] similibus, ut ea quae per totum sunt unius essentiae, sicut est videre in metallis. Quae autem sunt ex partibus dissimilibus, in se suum possident semen, unde [L. + terra infixa] multiplicantur & crescunt, ut videtur in / omnibus animatis & arbustis [L. arbustis et herbis.] Quae vero ex partibus constant consimilibus, non multiplicantur, nisi ad suam primam reducantur materiam.

Quare dicit [06] philosophus [L. + Aristoteles]: Sciant artifices alchemiae species metallorum transmutari non posse, nisi forte in primam reducantur materiam, & tunc quidem transmutantur, & in aliud quam prius erant, [L. + bene] convertuntur. [L. + Nota rationem quare oporteat fieri corporis resolutionem in primam materiam scilicet argentum vivum.] Et illud ideo, quia corruptio unius est generatio alterius, tam [L. + quidem] in artificialibus, quam in naturalibus. Ars enim imitatur naturam & in quibusdam corrigit & superat eam, sicut / mutatur [L. & iuvatur] natura infirma medicorum industria. Nam natura non construit domum, nec conficit electuarium, quoniam de se [L. + ipsa] non habet motum ad hoc faciendum.

Sic etiam Lapis noster, quamvis in se tincturam naturaliter contineat, ((nam in terra perfecte creatus est*)) tamen per se non habet motum, ut fiat Elixir / perfecte [L. -] completum, nisi moveatur per artem. Aliquando [L. alia] ergo ars perficit quae natura non potest [L. + sola per se] operari; ars [L. alia] vero imitatur / naturam, & naturalia [L. -, &] perficit, in quantum apta nata sunt perfici per naturam, & ideo succurrendum est [L. + naturae] per artem / quia quaedam omittuntur per naturam [L: in eo quod per naturam omittitur, quia non est differentia ...] *identical brackets found in Geismaria and Leyden edit.

Nec est differentia inter naturam & artem, nisi quod ars agit exterius, natura vero interius [07] / operatur [L. -]. Ars enim tanquam organum / naturae [L. -] administrat motum, / ipsa quidem [L. natura autem ipsa] per se agit, quando ad suam vertitur [L. nititur] perfectionem. Omne ergo corpus, aut est elementum, aut ex elementis compositum, sed omnis compositionis generatio ex quatuor elementis / consistit simplicibus [L. simplicibus habet consistere.] Quare oportet necessario, ut lapis noster / deductus sit [L. reductus] ad primam originem sui Sulphuris, / & Mercurius [L. -ii,] dividatur in elementa, - alias depurari non potest, nec coniungi, quia partes eius minimae non possunt ingredi in minimis partibus corporis; divisus autem depuratur & iterum coniungitur, & Elixir quod quaerimus operatur.

Nam experimentum destruit formam eius specificam, / novam introducens speciem. [L. -] Verum post [L: ante] elementorum divisionem non videtur ex eis quicquam, nec tangitur nisi terra & aqua, quia aer & ignis nusquam videntur, nec virtutes eorum sciuntur nisi in [L. + dictis] prioribus elementis; rara quippe sunt omnino & simplicia, quare ab oculis corporis [L. -] videri [L. + corporeis] penitus non possunt. De illis ergo non cures, quoniam sufficit tibi reducere lapidem ad / simplicem puritatem [L. simplex puritatis.]


[08] CAPUT II (Leyden p. 36, l. 12)

Elementa autem sunt quatuor, [L. + modi item quatuor] & humores quatuor: Sanguis, cholera, phlegma & melancholia; & modi sunt / quatuor: [L. -] Humidus, calidus, frigidus & siccus [L. Calidum, frigidum, humidum & siccum.] Elementa sunt: Ignis, aer, aqua, terra, quorum / duo sunt amica, & duo inimica, [L. -] duo activa & duo passiva. / Ignis & aer sunt amica, ut et aqua & terra; ignis & aqua sunt inimica, ut et aer & terra. [L. -] Ignis & aer sunt activa, aqua & terra sunt passiva; duo ascendunt & duo descendunt, unum est in medio, & alterum sub [L. ab] altero, & illud ideo, quia / cum [L. -] contrarium remotum / sit [L. -] a suo contrario, non coadunantur nisi per medium. Caliditas contrariatur frigido & humiditas sicco; quare liquet quod neutrum eorum coadunatur alteri nisi per medium.

Igitur quod non est contrarium per se ipsum, est adunativum. Sicut calida pars siccae coadunatur quoniam in nullo contrariantur, ideo ex illis coadunatur / elementum ignis. Sic calidum & humidum non contrariantur invicem, [L. - by oversight] quare ex illis resultat elementum aeris. [09] Nec contrariantur insimul frigidum & siccum, ex quibus generatur elementum terrae; nec etiam frigidum & humidum, ex quibus congregatur elementum aquae.

Sic calidum & frigidum non coadunantur nisi per medium, videlicet per siccum & humidum, quoniam per se nolunt simul stare, cum unum obtundat reliquum propter suam contrarietatem, ideoque / simul stabunt per humidum & siccum, cum unum sustineat reliquum. Verum [L. -] calidum & frigidum congregant & disgregant unigenea / & non heterogenea, [L. -] dissolvendo & coagulando, sed humidum & siccum aggregantur & disgregantur constringendo & humectando.

Simplex ergo generatio & simul permutatio est elementorum operatio. / Liquet ergo manifeste res universas per calidum & frigidum insimul generari, & similiter permutari. [L. -] Nam gignunt calidum & frigidum vincentia materiam. Cum vero vincuntur agentia, liquet quoniam secundum partem violentia / indigne fit [L. + & indigestio fit, + quare liquet res universas variabiles per calidum & frigidum, (&) simpliciter generari & naturaliter permutari.] / Ex quolibet tamen non fit quodlibet, sed determinatum fit ex determinato [L. Verum ex quolibet determinato fit suum determinatum], [10] quia non est generatio congrua nisi ex convenientibus in natura. [Leyd. inserts from chapt. 3: "homo quippe generat hominem etc., whereas G. has what follows below]


CAPUT III (Leyden, Page 37, l. 22)

/ In dubium ergo revocatur, quid sit de quo philosophi loquuntur, cum nullus illorum illud exprimat [L. In dubium igitur revocatur de lapide qui dicitur philosophorum, quis sit vel qualis, cum numquam ab aliquo philosophorum nominetur aperte.] In hoc ergo diversi diversa sanxerunt, cum tamen in uno solo consistat veritas; ipsum certe care servamus & omnia alia docemus evitare; nam patet per scripta Philosophorum rem unam esse, nec alienum quid sibi iungi debere, quia nihil convenit rei, nisi quod illi propinquius est ex sui natura; non enim proferunt res nisi sibi similia, nec fructificant nisi fructus suos. // Homo quippe generat hominem, & leo leonem, sic unumquodque generat suum simile. Mulus cum sit ex diversis generibus, nunquam recepit seipsum, nec generatum suis similibus parentibus; sic est de omnibus ex diverso genere procreatis. Ideo est necessarium, ut elementa sint unius generis, & non diversi, alias actionem & passionem non haberent ad invicem, cum unum non tangeret reliquum. [L. inserts this paragraph at the end of Chapt. 2] Ergo cum res ex uno genere sint, radices earum sunt unum.

[11] Diversitas ergo rerum causatur ex diversitate partium suarum: Cognosce ergo mundum ab immundo, quia nihil dat quod non habet. Mundum est unius essentiae vacuum alterationibus, immundum est diversum & ex contrariis partibus adunatum, facilis corruptionis susceptivum, - horum probatio in Sole patet & Saturno, quia Saturnus omnino corrumpitur, Sol vero minime, & / ideo omnes Planetae egent lumine illius. [L. -]

Cognitio ergo contrarietatis corporum & suae creationis principium facile facit hoc magisterium, nam sordes adhaerent sordibus, cum sint de genere earundem, sed mundum vincit naturam immundi, non patiens commixtionis defectum. Non quaeras ergo in natura quod in ea non est; quoniam res non fiunt nisi secundum suam naturam, & maior corruptio est in re passiva quam in activa.

/ Et tinctura est in lapide, quemadmodum cor in homine. [L. -] Utere ergo nobiliori [L. -e] membro & simpliciori [L. -e], & sufficit tibi; membrum tamen cordis ex corpore est, sicut membrum cerebri ex capite, quia in corde est vis animae / irrationalis, sicut in cerebro vis [12] animae rationalis. [L. rationalis, rest of the phrase miss. prob. by error] / Sed [L. Horum tamen] quod minus habet de angulis, est nobiliori & simplici propinquius, sicut propinquior est simpliciori triangulus quam quadrangulus, quoniam terminos habet pauciores.

/ Principium nostrum simplex non commixtum est rotundum, ergo est corpus simplum nullum habens angulum [L. Rotundum est corpus simplum nullum habens angulum.] Dimitte ergo commixtum [L. coniunctum] & utere simpliciori [L. -e], quia illud est genus generum & forma formarum, nam ipsum est prius & posterius in planetis, sicut Sol in stellis.

Transferam igitur sermonem ad homogenea in natura, licet sint fortia; nam in habentibus symbolum facilis est transitus. Igitur cum quaesitum tuum sit de genere amborum mundi luminarium, oportet eligere in eo quod est homogeneum ipsorum. Et certe cum hoc genus approprietur / homini [L. lumini] multum, scimus / quod [L. quoniam] non perficietur opus nisi per ipsum.

/ Quapropter sic describitur ab Aristotele ad Alexandrum [L. -] Decorantur regum diademata lapidibus pretiosis, quorum pulchritudine visus iuvatur, animus delectatur, dignitas ornatur, & eorum virtute aegritudines gravissimae a corporibus [13] expelluntur, sine quibus parum est efficax omnis medicina; quare iis utuntur medici in suis medicinis ad gravissimos morbos expellendos. Est autem Doctorum verissimum argumentum, quod melior lapis omnium lapidum melius valet ad expulsionem omnium infirmitatum. ((Nota hic de meliore lapide omnium lapidum, quod est aurum per intellectum.)) [L. no brackets]

Melior ergo lapis omnium lapidum est ille, qui magis est coctus, & igni proximus, qui plus sustinet ignem & tardius frangitur ab igne. Idcirco magis valent lapides pretiosi, ut rubinus [L. -i] & saphyrus [L. -i], quam lapides alii, quoniam generantur in loco calidiore, propinquius Soli & cum maiori calore. Et sic etiam in metallis magis valet aurum quam argentum, quia magis est coctum; & argentum magis quam cuprum vel aliud metallorum. Et sicut rubinus habet in se omnium lapidum pretiosorum effectum, sic habet & aurum in se virtutem omnium lapidum ductibilium; nam continet in se omne metallum, tingit ea & vivificat, / quoniam dat lumen suum sursum usque ad Saturnum & [14] deorsum usque ad Lunam, [L. -] cum sit nobilius omnium istorum, ergo aurum capias.

Verum Rubinus proportionaliter ab elementis est complexionatus, cum pro maiore parte sui sit ex substantia lucida, ut ex aqua clara, & coaguletur cum sicco & calore magno: ideo neque cuditur, ne ad alium statum reducitur, nisi ex toto destruatur, quoniam igni ex omni parte contrariatur.

Aurum vero, cum sit ex substantia terrea mixta cum aqua per minima, est homogeneum igni ex una parte duarum extremitatum & coagulatur cum frigore post actionem caloris in / ipsum, [L. ipso, + ipsum] ideo cuditur, / funditur [L. -], & in igne melioratur; est enim proportionatum meliori complexione, aequali, nobiliori / & durabiliori [L. -] compositione prae omnibus aliis lapidibus pretiosis.

Post illud immmediate est argentum, ergo sume et argentum pro lapide. Defectus autem aliorum corporum est, quod in eis est caliditas / aucta [L. addita] aut frigiditas diminuta, - sicut deficit frigiditas cupro & ferro, caliditas autem plumbo & stanno. / Et natura eorum non potest fieri aurum nisi prius fuerit argentum, eo quod [15] nihil transire potest de primo ad tertium nisi per secundum. [L. -]

Aurum ergo & argentum iuste & aequaliter sunt composita, & vere sunt temperata prae omnibus aliis lapidibus qui sub coelo sunt, ad speciem nostri lapidis / pretiosissimi [L. -] pertinentia. Et certe aurum est Dominus lapidum, nobilius corporum, rex & caput optimum eorum, - non enim corrumpitur ab aere, nec ab aqua, nec a terra, nec ignis minuit ipsum, immo ignis / id [L. eum] humectat, decorat & rectificat, & res comburentes illud non comburunt, nec corrumpentes corrumpunt, eo quod eius commixtio est temperata, & natura directa in aequali caliditate & frigiditate, humiditate & siccitate, nec in eo / quidpiam [L. quicquam] superfluum est, nec diminutum.

Nulli ergo lapides quamvis / cariores videantur auro, magis valent quam aurum, [L. quantumvis magno vendantur auro praevalent, tametsi auro] cariores quidem sunt, non quia pretium auri excedunt, sed quia rariores & pauciores inveniuntur. // De omnibus ergo rebus scibilibus magis valet aurum, quoniam est fermentum [16] Elixiris, sine quo nequaquam peragitur; laetificat animam, conservat iuventutem, renovat senectutem, & omnem corporis depellit aegritudinem. Est enim sicut fermentum pastae, & coagulum lacti in caseum, & sicut muscus in aromatibus bonis. [L.: Nota igitur intime quod non est lapis melior quam Sol, & quod opus absque Sole nullo modo peragitur, quia est fermentum Elixirii. De omnibus ergo rebus huius seculi magis valet aurum (repitition) .. fermentum El. .. rest like in Geismaria]

Merito ergo aurum circumdat partem superiorem Solarem, argentum vero inferiorem Lunarem, - unde nisi Solem & Lunam viderem, pro certo dicerem quod magisterium non esset verum, sed quia Solem & Lunam video, certissime scio quod magisterium est verum.

Quaelibet namque res augmentat suum simile, & ista omnia sunt homogenea / vegetabilium [L. -] in natura, quare oportet ipsorum augmentum esse sicut est vegetabilium [L. + in natura.] Porro Sol est tinctura rubedinis, quae transformat omne corpus, Luna vero, cum sit domina humiditatis, est tinctura albedinis.

Cum Sole tamen commiscentur spiritus & figuntur per ipsum ingenio maximo, quod non pervenit ad artificem durae cervicis. Spiritus namque in naturam suam conversus moritur & / mortuus [L. mortuo similis] videtur, - inde postea inspiratus vivit, crescit & multiplicatur ut [17] res ceterae. / Idcirco nisi Sol purissimus, & Mercurius conversus mortuus fuerit, ipse solus manet, - si autem mortuus fuerit, multum fructum adfert [missing in L., instead inserts the complete gospel test: Ideo nisi granum ... fructum adfert] & unde videbatur perdidisse quod erat, inde incipit apparere quod non erat. Qui ergo illius destructionem ignorat, constructionem eius ex actu naturae necesse habet ignorare. Calcinatur tamen & solvitur labore maximo absque utilitate.

/ Corporibus ergo aliis non indiges, [L. Igitur quare alliis corporibus uteris?] cum possis habere in istis, quod est maioris temperantiae & minoris faecis. Si autem indigueris usu eorum, oportet primo ut convertantur in speciem / perfectorum [L. aliorum praedictorum], & tunc demum incipere operationem in eis. Possibile tamen est quod / operetur quis in eis, [L. operentur cum eis] cum in omnibus corporibus insit scientia , sed non erunt / ita [L. -] bona sicut praedicta, quia in maiori opere non unius perfectionis sunt omnia corpora diminuta, cum non ingrediantur / illud [L. opus], donec in compositionis subtilitate fuerint sicut corpora perfecta.

Album tamen & rubeum ex una radice, nullo alterius generis corpore interveniente, pullulant: Nam Luna in argenti [18] opere ipsum candidum, quod de purissimi Solis materia formatur, nihil tum ipsius coloris retinens designat. Ipse tamen Sol, absente argento vivo, privatur effecto quia ex materia & forma tantum fit [L. + omnium] generatio vera. Totum ergo beneficium istius artis / est in Mercurio & Sole, et Mercurio & Luna, [L. in Sole & Luna existit] - sed indiges quod circa eorum solutionem labores, redigens ea ad suam primam materiam.


CAPUT IV [L. page 42, l. 18]

Prima autem materia metallorum est argentum vivum, quia cum liquantur, omnia convertuntur ad ipsum. Certum quippe est omnem rem esse ex eo, in quod resolvitur. Gelu resolvitur in aquam calore mediante, clarum est igitur aquam prius fuisse. Sic omnia / metalla [L. ductabilia] resolvi possunt in argentum vivum, ergo ipsa prius fuerunt argentum vivum. Haec igitur nota de resolutione corporum in argentum vivum.

/ Benedictus ergo Deus sublimium naturarum creator, [L. Benedictus ergo & sublimis naturae dominus] qui nobis dedit rationem destruendi & reducendi omnem rem ad [19] primam suam materiam [L. adds et naturam], puta corpora praeparata ad primam originem sui sulphuris & sui Mercurii, ut ex eis in paucis diebus faciamus super terram, quod natura est operata subtus terram in mille [L. + tantummodo] annis.

Unde si aliud beneficium non haberemus ab argento vivo, nisi quod corpora reddit subtilia ad sui naturam, / deberet nobis hoc sufficere, [L. hoc ipsum satis nobis deberet sufficere] ipsum enim est amicabile & metallis placabile, & medium coniungens tincturas, quia in se recipit quod suae naturae est, alienum vero respuit, quia est uniformis substantiae, in omnibus suis partibus homogeneum. / Argentum etiam vivum [L. Ipsum quidem] est quod ignem superat, & ab eo non superatur, sed in eo amicabiliter quiescit, eo gaudens; propter enim bonam partium adhaerentiam in suae mixtionis fortitudine, / scilicet quando [L. si quo modo] partes ipsius inspissantur per ignem, ulterius non permittit se corrumpi, neque per ingressionem fumosae flammae se in fumum ulterius sinit elevari; quoniam / mortificationem [L. rarificationem] sui non patitur propter suam densitatem & adustionis carentiam.

Veridice ergo innuimus corpora ea maioris [20] esse perfectionis, quae plus argenti vivi continent, & quae minus, minoris. Et certe diminuitio in corporibus imperfectis est paucitas argenti vivi, & non recta inspissatio eiusdem, - quare complementum in illis erit argenti vivi multiplicatio, bona inspissatio & fixio permanens.

Studeas igitur, cum in opere fueris, Mercurium / solummodo [L. -] superare in commixtione, & si per illum solum perficere poteris, pretiosissimae perfectionis indagator eris, & et eius perfectionis summa laetaberis, quae naturae vincit opus; mundari enim intime poteri/t [L. -s] ad quod natura non pervenit, & sic per consequens opus ex eo poteri/t [L. -s] creari, quod omnem superabit naturam, quia non est differentia, utrum hoc fiat in organis naturalibus, an in artificialibus.

Ex eis ergo elicias secretum, medicinam nostram necessario ex iisdem esse assumendam, quae argento vivo maxime adhaerent in profundo eius, & ei per minima commiscentur ante illius fugam; argentum autem vivum argento vivo magis adhaeret, & eidem magis amicatur, post illud vero aurum & postea argentum. [21]

Alia autem corpora non habent tantam conformitatem ad ipsum, quia minus de sua pura participant natura. Tum etiam nihil in eo demergitur nisi Sol. Idcirco est necessarium, quod haec medicina ex illis potissimum elici debeat, in quibus maxime consistit, - est autem tam in corporibus, quam in [L.+ ipso] argento vivo secundum naturam, cum unius sint reperta naturae. / Sed [L. -] in corporibus quidem difficilius, in argento autem vivo propinquius, non / autem [L. tamen] perfectius.

Cuiuscumque ergo generis sit Medicina, tam ex [L. in] corporibus, quam ex [L. in ipsius] argenti vivi substantia, lapidis praetiosi indagatur materia, & illud ideo quia non est transitus de extremo ad extremum nisi per medium: Extremum autem metallorum ex uno latere est argentum vivum, ex altero Elixir completum; medium autem istorum sunt [G. and L. + sex] corpora, quae se elongant ad malleum, quorum alia aliis magis sunt depurata, decocta & digesta; atque illa sunt propinquiora, / quod chimistas non credimus [L. ut te charissime credimus non] ignorare.

Non igitur aberres, quia nulla est tinctura vera, nisi ex aere nostro [L. + id est ex Lapide Philosophico]. / Et scias quod omne [L. Omne porre] aurum est aes, [22] sed non omne aes est aurum, quia de genere ad speciem non est consequentia. Sic omne aurum est sulphur rubeum, sed non omne sulphur est aurum, quia auro nihil inest de [L. ex] corruptione sulphuris. Lapis ergo noster secundum diversitatem suae operationis habet convertere argentum vivum in verissimum argentum, vel etiam in aurum purissimum, ut patebit in sequentibus.

[L. + Verum cum in opere fuerit dealbatum, operatur operatione sulphuris albi, mercurium coagulans in argentum purum, & si maiorem habuerit digestionem, erit sulphur optimum rubeum, Mercurium convertens in aurum obrisum.]

Hic ergo siste gradum, desinens [L. desistens] alium quaerere lapidem, stulteque tuam consumere pecuniam, & animo tristitiam inducere perpetuam, quia quae seminaveris, haec etiam metes, / quia non potest arbor mala fructus bonos facere [L. -], non ponas ergo in opere tuo muscas & scarabaeos, nec comedas de filio cuius mater est corrupta, sed frustum de pinguiori carne comede, quoniam stultitia est magna opus tuum facere de peiore, cum possit fieri de meliore.

/ Venerabili ergo utere natura [L. -], tenebrosorum nominum dimittens pluralitatem, quia huic rei diversa imponunt nomina, quoad diversos colores in opere apparentes. // Quando enim crudum est, [23] vocatur argentum vivum, aqua permanens, plumbum, sputum Lunae, stannum &c. Quando autem coctum, dicitur argentum, magnesia & sulphur album, cum vero fuerit rubeum, dicitur auripigmentum, corallus, aurum & fermentum; ista enim & similia imponuntur nomina propter naturae suae excellentiam. [L. -]

Quocumque tamen modo diversificentur eius nomina, semper est una sola natura, cui [L. + eadem et eadem, venerabili ergo utimini natura, quia natura non emendatur nisi in sua natura, ideo] non introduces rem alienam, nec pulverem, nec aquam, nec aliam rem. Constans etiam sit voluntas tua in opere, ne modo hoc, modo illud praesumas attentare; quia in rerum multitudine ars nostra non perficitur. Est enim lapis unus, materia una, vas unum, regimen unum, & una dispositio eiusdem, cui non addimus rem extraneam aliquam, nec minuimus, nisi quod in praeparatione superflua removemus, - non enim ingreditur illud quod non sit ortum ab eo, nec in eius parte, nec in toto, - si vero extraneum aliquid / sibi imponitur [L. ei apponitur], statim corrumpitur, nec fiet ex eo quod quaeritur.


[24] CAPUT V [Leyden pag. 46; l. 4]

Est itaque Lapis noster unus, aqua videlicet permanens, munda, lucida, clara, caelestem habens colorem, verum nisi sit in illa aqua quod ipsam emendet, quod quaeritis, non fiet. [L. adds: Nota igitur quod ista aqua non possit emendari absque Sole], Solem sane honoramus, eo quod aqua nostra emendetur ab ipso, - nam absque Sole & eius umbra nullum tingens generatur venenum; [L. adds: id est argentum vivum praeparatum] qui vero sine his / tincturam efficere credit [L. venenum tingens facere nititur], procedit ad practicam sicut [L. &] asinus ad coronam [L. coenam]. Et illud ideo quia corpus non agit in corpus, nec spiritus in spiritum, eo quod forma non recipit impressionem a forma, nec materia a materia, nam simile non agit in suum simile, nec ab eo patitur, cum neutrum eorum sit dignius alio [L. altero;] nullum ergo eorum agit in alterum, quia par in parem non habet imperium.

Verumtamen corpus suscipit impressionem a spiritu, sicut & materia a forma, eo quod apta nata sunt ad invicem agere & pati. Corpus namque tingit, spiritus penetrat, - corpus tamen non tingit nisi tingatur, quia spissum / terrae [L. terreum] non ingreditur propter suam grossietiem [25], - verum tenue aereum est [L. + id] quod ingreditur, & tingit, & hoc est sulphur corporis extractum per spiritum.

Non ergo tingit aurum nisi seipsum, donec spiritus eius occultus extrahatur ex ventre eius, fiatque omnino spiritualis. Et aqua nostra viva est ignis, aurum comburens, mortificans, & confringens magis quam ignis elementalis, & quanto magis illi miscetur & teritur per ignem lenem, tanto magis diruitur, aquaque viva ignea attenuatur. Cum autem fuerit trita & unum quid facta, habet in se omnem tincturam, ignem patientem.

Corpore ergo cum spiritu sic colorato, colorat, & omnem tincturam in se habet & donat, ideo qui è Sole & eius umbra, h.e. Luna, venenum tingens conficiunt, - nostrum lapidem perficiunt. Verumtamen nisi Lapis haberet tam ex substantia una, quam altera, non haber/et [L. -ent] actionem & passionem ad invicem, & unum non tingeret alterum. Nam lapis & lignum nullo modo inter se habent operationem, cum sint ex diversa materia, sic & in omnibus [L. + est] materia differentibus.

/ Quare liquet esse [L. Ideo est] [26] necessarium, ut agens et patiens in genere sint res una & eadem, in specie vero altera & diversa, secundum quod & mulier diversificatur a viro [ab homine L. + G.], - quia licet in uno genere & natura conveniant, tamen inter se habent [L.+ distinctionem &] operationem / differentem [L. distinctam,] ut convenit / inter materiam & formam [L. -], & inter agen/s [L. -tem] & patien/s [L. -tem.]

Materia namque patitur actionem, forma vero agit, assimilans sibi materiam. Ideo materia naturaliter appetit formam, sicut mulier appetit virum, & turpe pulchrum. Sic etiam spiritus / libens [L. lubens] amplectitur corpus, ut ad suam deveniat perfectionem.

Cognosce ergo radices minerales, faciens ex eis opus tuum, quoniam non possumus Lapidem nostrum alio modo nominando exprimere, nec ipsum alio nomine nominare, sed per descriptionem suarum radicum / ex [L. à] parte nominamus ipsum.

/ Et illud ideo, quia [L. Merito ergo] Lapis noster a philosophis dicitur omnis res, quae [L. quia] habet in se & de se omnem rem necessariam ad sui perfectionem; omnibus nominatur nominibus, propter naturae suae excellentiam, & absconditam & diversam actionem, - ubique invenitur propter [27] elementorum participationem: Vilissimus est per putrefactionem, carissimus per virtutem, - niger, albus, citrinus, secundum colorum mutationem. Diversorum ergo suorum nominum postpone multitudinem, quia quocumque modo nominetur, semper tamen est una sola res & eadem. Philosophi certe non curant de nominibus, sed de nominum proprietatibus, eo quod per unum dant intelligere reliquum, non enim sermoni res, sed rei sermo est subiectus.

[L. + Nota intime de medicina quod rubea fieri non possit antequam alba fuerit,] medicina igitur nostra est una in essentia & in agendi modo similiter; est tamen necessarium ut illa eadem medicina sit alba antequam rubea fiat, quia non potest fieri rubea nisi primo fuerit alba, eo quod nemo potest transire de primo ad tertium nisi per secundum: Sic non est transitus de nigro ad citrinum nisi per album, quia citrinum ex multo albo & paucissimo nigro est compositum, ideoque nisi hanc medicinam primo dealbaveris, verum rubeum facere / non poteris [L. nequibis.]

Non ergo diff/erunt [L. -ert] inter se materia alba & rubea in essentia ulla, sed in hoc quod medicina [28] rubea maiori indiget subtilatione & longiore digestione ac calore in igne in suo regimine, & illud ideo quia finis operationis / albi est principium operationis [L. - due to error] rubei; & quod completum est in un/o [L. -a], incipiendum est in ali/o [L. -a]. Nam totum magisterium uno modo incipitur & finitur. Opus tamen rubeum fermento indiget rubeo, sicut opus album albo.


CAPUT VI [Leyden p. 48/49]

Nostri porro / operis [L. et G. lapidis] vas est unum, in quo totum completur magisterium, & est quaedam cucurbita / caeca non habens sectionem [L. & alembicum,] sive vas unum solum vitreum, spissum, undique clausum, [L.+ unius] cubiti longitudine, subtus & supra rotundum, sine poris, planum, / & amplum [L. -], cuius fundus sit parvae curvitatis [L. circuitatis cum] parietibus tamen planis & amplitudine capitis, ut sublimandum per illud ascendat liberius. Sic enim, cum necesse fuerit, ignis subtus & supra [L. + ut] melius / poterit [L. possit] accendi.

De alia quidem materia non valet quam de vitro, nisi fortassis similis esset substantiae cum illo; - quia solum vitrum & vitro simile ((cum [L. cuius] corpus [29] sit lucidum, transparens, & poris carens))*, potens est spiritus fugaces tenere, ne exterminentur ab igne, & colores in opere apparentes ostendere, ne operator erret in regimine; alia vero vasa non, quia corpora habent opaca [L. + id est obscura] & porosa, per quae spiritus successive, id est parum & parum transiens in fumum evanesceret. / Et quia proprium est Mercurii per fumositatem ascendere, ideo claudatur spiraculum vasis [L. has instead: Proprium sane est fumorum spirituum ascendere & non descendere, ideo cucurbita spiritibus debilibus suis usque ad zonam subintret alembicum suum. Sit autem iunctura ingeniosa, bene conveniens ut nihil per illam possit incidere, claudatur etiam] fortiter & continue, ne quid per illud possit exire vel subintrare; quia si aer vel alienus humor intraverit, administrationem corrumpet, - si vero flos eius, id est fumus albus, egrediatur & fugiat, totum opus privatur effectu. [* no brackets in L.]

Regimen autem nostri lapidis est unum, & est ipsum decoquere iugiter & continue in suo vase sine intermissione, donec finem consequaris optatum. Philosophi tamen multa posuerunt artificia ad artis suae venerationem / & occultationem & praesertim in [L. velut, continuationem, occultationem &] mundificationem, ne sordidum / & immundum quid introducant ut [L. quid introducatur, vel immundum, ut item] sunt commiscere, coquere, / sublimare, assare, terere, coagulare, [L. -] adaquare, putrefacere, dealbare, rubificare, - hic sunt nomina plurima quorum [30] {{unum}} tamen regimen est, quod est coquere tantum, & ideo non est aliud quam opus mulierum & ludus puerorum.

Contere ergo, coque, reitera, nec te tedeat pluries hoc reiterare, quia si scirent philosophi quod una decoctio & una contritio [L. + sibi] sufficerent, non toties sua dicta reiterarent, / quod ea de causa [L. ideo quidem ista] fecerunt [L. + & dixerunt] ut compositum teratur continue, & coquatur sine intermissione.

Totum tamen regimen eius est in temperie ignis, quia diversitas regiminum suorum est a diversitate graduum ignis, / & ordo inter ignis quantitatis expertum demonstrat artificem. [L. -]

Quoniam ignis in solutione semper erit lenis, in sublimatione mediocris, in coagulatione temperatus, in dealbatione continuus, in rubificatione fortis [L.+ & continuus.] Si vero in istis nescienter erraveris, cassum saepissime laborem deflebis.

{/ Necessum [L. Consultissimus] est ergo, ut sedulus operi insistas, nec opus detruncatum dimittas; quia nec scientiam nec proficuum ex opere dimisso acquires, sed potius damnum & desperationem. Necesse quoque / est [L. habes] in scientia naturalis philosophiae eruditum [31] esse, & industria / praeditum [L. provectum,] ut in puncto / temporis [L. -] errori subvenias per scientiam, quia per solam naturalem industriam emendare non posses; nam ars ab ingenio iuvatur, & ingenium ab arte.

Similiter expedit, te huius artis principia non ignorare, / & radices principales, quae sunt de esse operis, [L. -] - nam qui / principium [L. illa] ignorat, finem non inveniet. Non etiam nitaris sophisticam operis metam invenire, sed soli vero operis complemento intendas, ne forte Deus, in cuius potentia reservatur ars nostra, eius veritatem tibi deneget in aeternum.}

Nota ergo intime de lapidis nostri dispositione quod est totum opus. Dispositio autem lapidis nostri est una tantum, & est ut ponatur in suo vase, & iugiter coquatur in igne, quousque totum ascendat solutum; deinde moderandus [L. fortificandus] est ignis, donec suum exhauserit humorem, fiatque siccum & multum album; tertio fortificandus est ignis, quousque citrinum fiat & multum rubeum. Verum si in operando negligens fueris, istorum colorum nihil videbis. / Idcirco [L. Studeas igitur] cum in opere fueris, / studeas [L. -] omnia signa, quae in qualibet [32] decoctione apparent, in mente recondere, & illorum causas investigare, quia hoc multum necessarium est artifici / idoneo [L. & idonea] ad totius operis complementum, eo quod ignorantes causam necesse habent ignorare causatum.

Nota enim de vase, quod semel semen imponendum est, ut generatio bona fiat & non pluries: Et quamvis a philosophis multoties dicatur, pone in suo vase & firmiter claude, sufficit tamen semel imponere & claudere, quousque totum compleveris magisterium; quod amplius est a malo est, quia si pluries aliquid imposueris, tunc / procul dubio [L. -] aurum non vertitur in rubeum, neque fiet album; totum ergo residuum ponitur ad artis occultationem.

Et certe ad generationem hominis & omnis vegetabilis nunquam nisi semel matrici imponitur semen, - si autem aliud apponeretur, tunc / unum destrueret reliquum [L. illud destrueret aliud semen] propter indigestionis cruditatem, aut aeris ingressum vel materiae superabundatiam, - ideo etiam mulieres multis viris sese exponentes rarissime [Geismaria by error varissime] concipiunt, aut si / concipiunt, abortum [L. concipere contingat, abortivum] pariunt. Sic cruda coctis [L. crudis cocta] & indigesta [33] digestis / superponentes, corpus [L. apponentes, opus] non nutriunt, sed occidunt, quia de [L. + illo] matris sanguine tantum nutritur foetus, & vivit quousque producatur in lucem.

Ex his ergo patet, quod pluribus rebus non indigemus ad opus nostrum, neque / magnis opus sit expensis [L. etiam magnas requirit expensas], quoniam unus est lapis, [L. + una medicina,] unum vas, / una materia, [L. -] unum regimen, & una dispositio eiusdem [L.+ tam] ad album / & [L. quam] ad rubeum successive, id est paulative faciendum. / Et omnium capitulorum huius artis, & ipsarum medicinarum pretium non excedit quinquaginta argenteos. [L. -] / Igitur si verteris naturas, pulchre direxeris, [L. Igitur si vere & pulchre naturas direxeris, eiusque] operationem bene coaptaveris, & consanguinea suis consanguineis convenienter iunxeris, totum opus perficies; nam naturae naturis suis obviantes sequuntur eas, & exaltantur in eis, putrescunt namque & gignunt, eo quod natura [L.+ nostra] regitur (natura?), natura diruit naturam, liquefacit & in pulverem vertit.

Deinde natura naturam recreat, gignit & innovat, quousque finem operis inducat. Verumtamen quia secundum meritum materiae dantur formae, ideo cum natura non praeparata / non [L. minime] [34] convenit [L.+ aliquid] operari. Optimus autem omnium praeparationum modus est, superflua demere & absentia supplere, sic enim tam integra quam corrupta ad perfectum / revocantur [L. renovantur] statum.

Et illud quidem est, ut a rebus / siccis [fictis], sibi in nullo convenientibus, valde sublimes Mercurium, quousque coelestinum acceperit colorem. Caveas tamen praecipue in eius mundificatione a privatione virtutis suae, ne vis activa suffocetur in aliquo. Nam omnium terra nascentium semina non multiplicantur nec crescunt, si vis generativa eorum per / aliquem [L. nimium] calorem extraneum tollatur: Sic certe nec ista natura multiplicatur, si non praeparetur modo debito.

Igitur non assumas / istam [L. ipsam] naturam, nisi puram, mundam, crudam, amoenam, currentem, sinceram & rectam; si vero secus feceris, non proderit quicquam. Additamentum autem eius melius depuratur per caementum.

Ergo cum volueris facere intentionem, solves in illa / ligaturam [L. lunaturam], nam primus gradus suae praeparationis est, ut fiat Mercurius, nec fit hoc, donec lenifices per aquae dominium, & [35] caloris motum continuum, / secundum humanae generationis modum; in qua, si humiditas uteri & calor continuus non esset, sperma non maneret, nec foetus produceretur. Sic oportet in opere nostro, ut calore temperato fiat, & [miss in L. > oportet itaque ut] aqua sit multa & multum oleum, quia quanta fuerit multitudo aquae, tanta erit multitudo tincturae.

/ Suavissimum est tamen, ut natura regatur secundum debitum naturae cursum, ne per calorem multum vel eius defectum pereat magisterium. Nam si natura minus vel plus regatur quam oportet, statim corrumpitur, nec fit ex eo quod quaeritur. Prudenter ergo & non casualiter operare quia natura est sagax & solicita in productione sui ipsius, cuius solicitudinis non est finis, unde Versus:

Ars non tentetur, nisi naturam comitetur
Haec non festine, sed temporis ordine sine.

[last section and verse miss. in L.]


CAPUT VII [Leyden p. 53; l. 10]

Solvimus / sane [L. autem] aurum, ut in suam primam / reducatur [L. redigatur] materiam, hoc est ut vere fiat sulphur & argentum vivum, quia tunc possumus optime argentum & [36] aurum inde facere, cum fuerit conversum ((MSS: in materiam primam)) in naturam ipsorum; ideoque debet lavari & decoqui, ut sit / vivum [L. verum] suphur & vivum argentum, nam ista secundum philosophos sunt materia prima omnium metallorum.

Et certe nostra solutio non est aliud, nisi quod corpus revertatur in humidum, & reveletur in eo natura argenti vivi, / suique sulphuris salsetudo minuatur [L. suaeque salsedines sulphuris minuantur;] non autem / ut revertatur [L. revertitur] in aquam nubis, ut quidam stulti putaverunt: Nam si reverteretur in talem aquam, fieret tunc siccum per vim non per naturam, ad modum salium & aluminum, & sic cum liquefierent [L. locarentur] ad ignem, converterentur in vitrum, - sed illud est falsum, ergo & / intentio illorum [L. opus eorum.]

Est ergo solutio nostra ut tradas Gabricum Bejae in coniugium, - qui cum Beja concumbens statim moritur, & in eius transfertur naturam. Deinde transactis diebus multis, ascendit super Bejam, transferens ipsam in corpus suum. Et quamvis Beja sit foemina, Gabricum tamen emendat, eo quod ex ipsa est. Et quamvis Gabricus sit carior Beja, scimus tamen quod non / sit [L. fit generatio] absque ea, / eo [37] quod [L. quia] nulla / est [L. fit] generatio congrua, nisi ex masculo & foemina. Idcirco coniunge servum nostrum rubeum sorori suae odoriferae, & inter se artem gignent, / unde Versus:

Candida si rubeo mulier sit nupta marito,
Mox complectuntur, complexaque concipiuntur
Per se solvuntur, per se quoque conficiuntur,
Ut duo quae fuerant unum quasi corpore fiant. [missing in L.]

Positos igitur in suo vase claude diligentissime, coquens continue ad ignem lenem, donec brodium fiant saginatum. Nam ex principibus naturalibus est planum quod omnis res cuius radix est terra, / in aquam [L. et aqua,] solvatur & fiat currens. Et certe secundum Philosophum terra fit aqua, cum vincunt eam aquae qualitates; & aqua fit terra, cum vincunt eam terrae qualitates. Sic solutio corporis est congelatio spiritus, & congelatio spiritus est solutio corporis, nam habent unam operationem, quod non solvitur [L. solvatur] unum nisi congeletur reliquum [L. alterum.]

Iniunge ergo toxico folium tuum, & fortificabitur [L. verificabitur] tibi in eo operis principium. Ex roratu tamen caelorum felicia & infelicia germinant in / terris [L. terrenis;] ideo in principio operis [38] tui / adiuva solutionem per Lunam, & coagulationem per Solem, [L. prob. by overview: aduna solutionem per Solem] / nam effectus inde apparebunt, eo quod inferior deprimitur, cum iuvat superior. Superiora namque inferius (inferiis?) dominantur, [L. nam effectus inde apparebit, & quod superior deprimitur, cum iuvat inferior, sive vincant superiora, siquidem inferioribus dominantur] / unde Versus:

Destrue rem captam primo per rem satis aptam,
Leniter extractam, sic massam contere factam. [miss. in L.]

Esto ergo longanimus in regimine, vas firmiter claude, ac noli cessare, quia nulla fit generatio [L. + & corruptio] rerum nisi per motum continuum, aerem exclusum & calorem temperatum. Et huius exemplum est uterus mulieris, quae, cum conceperit, immediate clauditur matrix, & caliditate & humiditate sanguinis generatur foetus; numquam tamen flatus extraneos recipit, nisi cum natus fuerit.

Sic & eodem modo noster lapis in vase iugiter maneat clausus, donec suam biberit humiditatem, & calore ignis perfecte nutritus / fiat albus, tunc enim nascitur, nec ipsi [L. sit, albus enim tunc nascitur lapis, nec sibi] aeris nocent flatus. Est ergo summe necessarium continuare operationem, moderare ignem, excludere aerem, & maxime usque ad albedinem. [39] Combure ergo aes nostrum levi [L. leni] igne, / & sicut ova nutrias [L. sicut in ovorum pullificatione,] donec diruatur corpus, & tinctura extrah/itur [L. -atur.] Non autem extrahitur totum simul, sed parum & parum egreditur omni die, donec in longo compleatur tempore.

Et quod solvitur semper / sursum [L. superius] ascendit, licet residens sit maius. Ideo ignem semper caveas magnam, ne pervenias ad solutionem ante tempus necessarium, quia hoc perducit [L. + opus] ad remotionem remotam, / privans opus secundum operationem & motum. [L. privans illud sensu, operatione & motu. Nota igitur intime de calore leni, & de contritione philosophica quae fit igne nostro & non manibus. Calor itaque>] Nam calor intensus compositum perimit, frigidas fugat, sed [L. + calor] lenis nutrit & conservat. Positum ergo in balneo temperato contere igne, & non manibus ablue ipsum humiditate suae aquae, ut non aduratur virtus eius ignea, nec comburatur sua substantia sulphurea: Nam ipsa primo egreditur, / cum sit levior separatione [L. separatione cum sit lenior,] & dignior operatione quam virtutes aliorum elementorum.

[L. + Nunc nota de signis verae dissolutionis:] Continua super eum balneum temperatum, donec in aquam solvatur impalpabilem, & tota egrediatur tinctura in colore nigredinis, quod est signum solutionis verae; nam calor agens in humido generat primo [40] nigredinem, & in sicco operatur albedinem, & in albo citrinitatem, sicut est videre in plumbo, cum ex eo fit minium.

In humido ergo igne ipsum continue, noli festinare, nec ab opere cessare, quousque / corpus [L. totus] diruatur & pulvis fuerit [L. + omnino] spiritualis. / Nam [L. Id autem] quod pulvis fuerit spiritualis in vase sursum ascendit, quod vero spissum & grossum in vase remanet deorsum, ideo [L. + Nota itaque de signo verae contritionis corporis cum spiritu, quia] nisi omnia in pulverem vertas spiritualem, nondum ea contrivisti; / coque ergo deinceps [L. igitur deinceps tere] quousque convertantur, & omnia pulvis fiant [L. + & nota qualiter id igne fiat, non manibus.]

/ Et haec quidem contritio est decoctionis, [L. Contritio igitur decoctionis est] non manuum, quae tantum debet fieri leni [L. + de-]coctione, humida putrefactione, continua contritione, igne & non manibus; nam manuum contritione non egemus. Alkien certe facit hoc, & per eam perficitur; quia Alkien terra(e), id est quaedam generatio secreta in terra, & est sicut Alkien in homine, illud virtute sua praeparativa clarificat semper & dividit sicut scit & / nutrit [L. merito], - natura namque sagax est & sibi sufficiens in omnibus quibus indiget.

Ex opere quidem suo est, ut convertat terram in aquam, & aquam in [41] terram, secundum operationem [L. compositionem] diversam. [L. + Nota primo ad solvendum terram cum aqua .. repetition and then continues as in Geismaria >] Primo siquidem conatur aqua solvere terram ut ad modum sui subtilem habeat naturam, secundo autem terra coagulabit aquam, ut secum sustineat ignem: Et haec est solutio corporis & coagulatio spiritus leni decoctione ignis in 150 [L. 140] diebus; & forte apparebit albedo in 70 [L. 40] diebus, sed primum est melius quoniam significat temperantiam ignis & bonitatem praeparationis.

Nihil tamen nisi / argentum vivum [L. sulphur nostrum] agit in aurum, / eo quod est commixtibile & perforativum. [L. -] / Ipsum autem corpus [L. nostrum enim sulphur ipsum] denigrat, consumit & cruciat, eo quod de sua consistit natura. Quod vero denigrat [L.-ur], est / id [L. -] quod non fugient/e (L. -i) ianuam / operit [L. aperuit,] & non fugiens cum fugientibus verti/t [L.-tur]; crucians tamen non crucia/nt [L. -t] nocumento nec corruptione, verum coadunatione & utilitate. Si enim eius cruciatus esset noxius & inconveniens, non amplecterectur ab illo, nec suos extraheret colores, quos aquam sulphuris nuncupamus. / Verumtamen [L. -] quod [L. + ergo] primo denigrat, clavem operis esse dicimus, quoniam non fit absque nigredine. Nam ipsa est tinctura quam quaerimus, [42] qua in quolibet corpore ting/imus [L. -amus], quae quidem prius occultata fuerat [L. fuit] in suo aere, / quemadmodum [L. sicut] anima in humano corpore.

Ideo nisi aes nostrum diruatur, imbuatur & teratur, ac per se & diligenter regatur, donec a sua spissitudine extrahatur, & in tenuem spiritum & impalpabilem vertatur, / in vanum laboratur; [L. -] / quia [L. et] nisi corpora vertantur in non corpora, & non corpora in corpora, nondum regulam operis invenisti; - & illud ideo, quia non possumus istam tenuissimam animam, omnem tincturam in se habentem, a suo corpore extrahere, nisi prius diruatur, & in tenuem spiritum impalpabilem vertatur, / nec solvitur corpus [L. ac corpus solvatur] partes habens constrictas, / nisi [L. -] per ignem & aquam.

Sed aqua nostra est ignis corpus comburens magis quam ignis, & ideo qui per se ea regit, [L. + &] extrahit [L. + ex eo] naturam omnem naturam superantem. / Esto ergo assiduus operator [L. Est ergo affinis operationis] in omnibus statibus suis, patienter continuando decoctionem, quousque tota egrediatur tinctura super aquam in colore picis liquidae, & cum videris nigredinem illi aquae / supereminere [L. eminere], scias / tunc corpus liquefactum esse. [L. - due to oversight]



[43] CAPUT VIII [Leyden p. 57; l. 31]

[L. + Scias] tunc oportet ignem lenem continuare [L. conservare] super ipsum, donec / conceperit [L. aqua perceperit] nebulam [L. + quam peperit] tenebrosam. Intentio / quippe [L. ergo] philosophorum est, ut corpus iam solutum in pulverem nigrum suam ingrediatur aquam, & fiat totum unum. {Si vero dicas: Qualiter pulvis fiet aqua? Scias quod iste pulvis non est nisi aqua sulphuris soluta calore ignis}, - de / iure [L. merito] ergo aqua suscipit aquam sicut naturam propriam. Ideo nisi quodlibet vertatur in aquam, nullatenus devenies ad perfectionem, [L. + Nota tamen quod nihil debet apponi in commixtione, neque in toto regimine, nisi sua aqua propria,] quia non oportet umquam aliquo alio uti in commixtione, contritione / & [L. nec in] toto regimine nisi illa sola aqua permanente / [L. satis nota]. / Et nota quod / vis [L. + enim] eius est spiritualis sanguis, sine quo nihil fit.

Convertitur autem in corpus, & corpus per id ipsum vertitur in spiritum: Sic enim ad invicem mixta & in unum redacta, se invicem vertunt, - nam corpus incorporat / spiritum [L. ipsum, + nota tamen quod spiritus colorat corpus in colore ignis,] spiritus / vero [L. ergo] corpus / vertit in spiritum instar sanguinis tinctum. [L. in spiritum tinctum vertit prout sanguis;]

Quia omne quod habet spiritum, habet & sanguinem; quare oportet [44] istam nigredinem aquae suae imminentem igne leni iugiter occupari, donec in / suam demergatur aquam [L. sua reiungatur aqua,] fiatque aqua in aqua/m, id est, donec totum fiat una aqua.

/ Et cum [L. Cum autem] aqua alteri aquae miscetur, tunc aqua amplectitur aquam, sic ut non / possint [L. poterint] separari ab invicem. / Insipientes [L. ignari] autem aquam audientes, putant eam aquam esse nubis, - sed si rationem haberent, scirent utique eam esse aquam permanentem, quae tamen absque corpore suo, cum quo soluta / est [L. -] & facta / sunt unum [L. unum est,] permanens esse non potest.

Hanc autem aquam philosophi, dixerunt aquam / Solis [L. auri], igneum venenum, & bonum multorum nominum. Ideo oportet nos, cum hanc aquam / formam [L. -] sulphuream / habentem [L. -] possidemus, / aceto nostro [L. + eam] miscere, ut eius nigredo deleatur. Redde ergo carbonem suae aquae, ut in ea extinguatur, & rerum conceptio fiat, // unde Versus:

Igne tepescente caleant fervore carente
Et vas claudatur iugiter dum concipiatur,
Ut duo quae fuerant unum, quasi corpore fiant.
Semen ut humanum puro de sanguine natum,
Renibus extractum nutricis femore sumptum [45]
Foemineo iunctum cum semine, fit velut unum
Hac serie rerum conceptio fit specierum. [L. -]

[L. has instead: > et vas claudatur iugiter dum conficiatur. Nota quod hic loquitur de conceptione quae debet fieri intra tres dies, tempus ergo suae conceptionis est spatium trium dierum, quae serie rerum fit conceptio specierum, rerum mixturam coitus notat & genituram, femina(-e?) miscentur quasi lac quae mixta videntur.]



CAPUT IX [Leyden p. 59; l. 11]

Qui ergo noverit ducere, praegnantem facere, generare, mortificare & vivificare, lumen inducere, & mundare ulterius a / sua [L. -] nigredine & tenebris, erit maximae dignitatis. Nobis enim regem coronatum filiae nostrae rubeae coniungentibus, & ei [L. + in] leni igne / nodum nectentibus [L. adhearenti], concipiet & filium gignet. Nam fusae nubes, quae super eam fuer/ant [L. -unt], revertentur in suo corpore, sicut exierunt.

Tingens ergo & tingendum / oportet te [necesse est] diruere, - ipsum enim quod miscetur sibi, superat & in suum avertit colorem; & quemadmodum apud visum superficialiter vincit, sic intima superat; ideo cum corpore miscetur & continetur, ut tinctum sit cum eo, vertit ipsum in spiritum & spirituali tingit / tinctura & [L. natura] invariabili, quae deleri non potest.

Continuato igitur eorum regimine [L.+ in] quadraginta dierum spatio, fiet utrumque aqua permanens / cooperta [L. liberata a] nigredine. Quae tamen nigredo, si debito regatur modo, non permanet [46] nisi 41 [L. 42] diebus, - ideo in suo eam regens balneo, subiice ignem quousque fiat aqua clara, & ut verum argentum vivum scandens in aerem.

/ Idcirco [L. Nunc nota de destillatione aquae:] cum videris naturas aquam fieri, ut [L. &] in aerem sublimari, tunc omnia vapor facta sunt, - nam anima a corpore separata, & in spiritum sublimatione delata, / factus est uterque [L. factum est utrumque] fugiens. Aqua enim reseravit ianuam [L. + fuge] non fugienti convertens ipsum in spiritum sibi similem, - unde facti sunt aerii spiritus in aera simul scandentes, ibique accipientes vitam / inspiratam [L. inspirantur] a suo humore, sicut homo ab aere; quare multiplicatur & crescit in sua specie, sicut res caeterae. De iure igitur / tunc [L. -] vapor continet vaporem, eo quod simul utrumque in decoctione est iunctum. Ideo fugiens natura, quamvis sit ei fuga essentialis, dimisit tamen / fugere [L. fugae servitutem,] eo quod in sublimatione iunguntur ad invicem. Quare / debet [L. debebit] totum igne mediocri in vaporem multoties / sublevari [L. elevati,] ut inspiretur ab aere & possit vivere.

Nam omnium natura constantium vita [L. const. vita natura] ex aeris consistit inspiratione, quare totum opus consistit in vapore & sublimatione suae aquae. [47] Summopere tamen caveas in omni sublimatione / a fractione vitri aut [L. + seu liquefactione aut fractione, a vitrificatione] tui vasis, quia si in tantum accenderis ignem, ut aqua ad vasis ascendat summitatem, gaudens refrigerio adhaerebit [L. + tunc] ibidem, & sic elementorum non poteri/s [L. -t] perficere sublimationem, eo quod oportet unumquodque illorum rotatu spaerico per se pluries deprimi & elevari; - sed quod per violentiam ascendit, / sine [L. absque] violentia non descendit.

Sit ergo ignis lentus, ita ut per se totum opus ascendat & descendat libere, absque vasis adhaesione. Ideo nisi corpus aqua & igne attenuemus, quousque ascendat ut spiritus, nihil facimus. Eo autem scandente in aere nascitur, & in aerem vertitur, fitque vita [L. + cum vita,] ut una non separetur ab / alia [L. altera,] sicut nec aqua mixta aquae; ideo natus in aere sapienter nascitur, quoniam omnino spiritualis efficitur.

Intellige ergo quod tribus de causis sublimationem facimus: Prima est ut corpus fiat spiritus de subtili natura; secunda est, ut spiritus se incorporet cum corpore & fiat unum cum eo; tertia est ut omnia fiant munda & alba, & salsedo sulphuris minuatur, nam / per [L. apud] sublimationem comburitur [48] quicquid ex opere fuerit combustibile.

Et certe summe nobis est necessarium, ut elementa fiant simplicia, ut possint coniungi ad invicem, fieri tamen simplicia non possunt nisi in partes separentur, - ideo oportet utrumque vaporem pluries sublimare, donec aqua descendat in cribratione. Cribramus / autem [L. ergo] res cribro sphaerico septies, ut omnia fiant aqua limpida, clara, quoniam corpus numquam dimittit animam a se separari, quae sibi compar est in propinquitate simplici, & ideo reiteramus eorum sublimationem, ut ad subtilem reducantur naturam.

// Oportet ergo separationem pro posse exercere, ut nihil de pinguedine animae remaneat in corpore, nisi quod non sentiatur in sui exaltatione, alias impedietur in operatione. Cribratur namque cribro sphaerae vice post vicem, & corpus descendit ad imum, & aqua ascendit alba cum anima simplici propinqua. Confunde ergo omni tempore partem cum parte, ut rectificata resistant elementis, & praecipue igni; quae enim resistenti resistunt minime, separantur & deficiunt.

Unde oportet corpus esse [49] aridum siccum, animam humidam & spiritum fluentem. [from // missing. in L.] Verum quidam [L. + sagaciter] opinantur separationem fieri multis speciebus, de quo non cures, quia prosperabis in eo, quod reducas operationem ad aequalitatem simplicis, & non in eo, quod separetur unumquodque singulariter in elementis.

Et certe non erit difficile omnia reducere ad simplex / album, cum sint de natura eius: [L. albedinis. Pater eius .. ] "Pater eius est Sol, mater eius Luna, portavit illud ventus in ventre suo, terra praegnata est ex eo." / Eo [L. Idque] quod aquam ab aere, aerem ab igne, & ignem a terra destillando recepisti; nam ex multa sublimationis iteratione anima cum aqua ascendens depuratur, & eius grossities ad ima descendens in terram / limatur. [L. lunatur?]

Sic ergo de igne facies terram, & de aere aquam, quam reduces super terram. Vis enim eius integra est, / cum versa [L. si reversa] fuerit in terram. Verte ergo terram in aquam, aquam in ignem, ignem vero in aerem [L. tunc vero ignem in aerem,] & occult/es [L. -ans] ignem in intimis aquae, terram vero in aeris ventre.

Calidum autem misceas humido, siccum vero cum frigido, quoniam isto modo facies [50] mixtionem, quia non est transitus de extremo ad extremum nisi per medium. Aquila ergo volans per aerem, & bufo gradiens per terram est magisterium. Idcirco "separabis terram ab igne, subtile a spisso suaviter [L. + destillando] cum magno ingenio. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, recipit vim superiorem spiritus, & inferiorem corporis, quia vincit omnem rem subtilem congelando, omnemque rem solidam penetrabit alterando. Sic enim dominatur superioribus & inferioribus, quia operatur tam in spiritibus quam in corporibus." [L. + Hic nota intime de spiritu, anima & corpore.]


CAPUT X [Leyden p. 62; l. 20]

Liquet ergo quod aes nostrum / habet ut homo corpus, spiritum & animam [L.: hab. spirit, corp. & anim.] Spiritus est eius aqua, anima est [L. + eius] tinctura, corpus vero est eius terra. Spiritus [L. + tamen] est / delator sive portator [L. delator virtutum] animae super corpus, sicut portatur tinctura tinctorum per aquam super pannum. Anima autem est vinculum spiritus, sicut corpus est vinculum animae, - corpus vero est fixum, siccum, continens spiritum & animam. Spiritus ergo penetrat, corpus figit, & anima [51] copulat, tingit & dealbat.

/ In his autem qui non fecerint duo sulphura de sulphure, nihil norunt; & duo sulphura sunt, quae ex lapide mixto & iuncto sublimantur ad tincturam, quae quidem tingunt & fugiunt, sed a sulphure continentur, quod fugere non possit, quoniam / ipsum [L. omnium] fugientium est connexio. [transposed in L. >] In his / tamen [L. -] tribus est fumus, nigredo & mors, quae nisi ablata fuerint, perpetua non erunt. Oportet ergo ab aqua fumum, ab anima nigredinem, & a corpore mortem expellere frequenti dissolutione [L. + quae non differt. > continues with above: In his autem ...]

Commisce ergo ova gallinarum nigrarum cum aere, & habebis aurum & argentum, quantum [L. + ipse] volueris. Vultur autem sine alis volans supra montem clamat [L. + dicens]: "/ Ego sum albus nigri, rubeus albi & citrinus rubei [L. ego s. albus, niger & rubeus, albi & citrinus rubei,] filius veridicus & non mentiens, me igitur [L. + meae] matri & suo pectori iunge, quia suam substantiam facio continere. Noli ergo alienum nobis introducere, nec ab opere cessare, nam omnis natura cum sua coadunatur socia, & per eam perficitur. Mater me genuit & per me gignitur ipsa. Ipsa enim primo dominabatur mihi, de caetero dominabor ei, quia [52] persecutor matris meae factus sum, postquam ab ea [L. priusquam ab ipsa] accepi volatum. Ipsa tamen meliori modo quo potest, sicut mater pia, fovet & nutrit filium quem genuit, donec ad statum / devenero [L. pervenero] perfectum.

Pon/e [L. -as] ergo me in humido igne [L. + continue], qui mei humoris calorem augmentat, & siccitatis combustionem vetat, quousque finem operis inducat. Deinde rubiginem & umbram meam extrahe per se, quousque tertia parte persistam; decoctio namque me minuit, tritum vero augmentat, & quod post 15 dies diminuitur, post 30 augmentatur, - hoc est initium & finis."

Custodi ergo argentum vivum in intimo thalamo suo in quo coagulatum est, nam ex iterata cribrationis vice, aqua ascendit alba cum anima ad alembicum, & corpus paulatim descendit ad imum [L. unum], & ipsum est argentum vivum, quod dicitur terra residua, quae aquam recipit & bibit eam, quoniam connexio est tincturarum. Conserva ergo vas & ligaturam eius, ut sis potens in conservatione spiritus, - nam aqua quae prius erat in aere, habitab/it [L. -at] in terra, / & sic fugere nequibit [L. si fugere nequibit, redde eam ..]

Redde eam tunc ad superiora, & per suos terminos non inepte [53] eam / mitte, deinde corpori priori eloto per se eam coniunge [L. deinde suo corpori rubeo priori electo per te coniunge:] "Nam ubicumque fuerit corpus, congregabuntur & aquilae," // quia aqua consequitur terram, quemadmodum ferrum magnetem; nam aqua quae sine violentia ascendit, sine violentia descendit. Irrorate ergo terram, & mundate nigredinem, unde Versus:

Consurgit nullus umquam sine corpore fructus,
In quo dum moritur semen, fructum dare fertur
Sic cibus in stomacho fomentum suscipit intro,
Deinde merum separat, & idem per membra coaptat,
Firmans mutatum, praegnatio spondet hiatum,
Menstruus hunc pascit, donec suus exitus adsit.

// [L. quia si sine violentia ascenderit, sine violentia descendet super ipsum, si vero non, non. (last phrase plus verses are missing in L.)]


CAPUT XI [Leyden p. 64; l. 13]

Liga ergo mulieris lactantis manus post tergum ut non fugiat Gabricum [L. + id est virum], & / appone illi [L. apponite sibi] filium quem genuit ut lactet eum, quoniam cum fuerit mulier mortua, erit bufo grossus de lacte, - tunc scinde bufonem per medium, apponens gallinae ut comedat ipsum, / & cum fuerit bufo comestus, erit albus intus & exterius. [L. -]

Reducas aquam ad terram temperatum administrans ignem, [54] quousque in natura sua radicem fecerit, sciens pro certo quod oportet istum [L. ipsum] nutriri primo pauco lacte, sicut est videre in infantis educatione, nam pauco lacte nutritur & igne / parvo fovetur [L. -] dum parvulus est, & quanto magis crescit, / maiori [L. tanto magis] indiget cibo & calore, quousque suum biberit humorem, - nam humor primus est frigidus, ideo / cavendus est ignis nimius [L. capiendus est ignis] qui frigori est inimicus.

/ Verumtamen [L. -] si corpus posueris super ignem absque aceto, combur/etur [L. -itur], nec fiet ex eo quod quaeritur; quia si ignis non invenerit humiditatem quam desiccet, comburit corpus; acetum autem sibi impositum prohibet combustionem ignis, desiccans se cum corpore, ne patiatur laesionem; - & quanto magis flamma ignis occupatur, tanto magis in aquae intimis absconditur, ne calore ignis comburatur. [L. + Hic nota de proportione, & pondere aquae & corporis.]

Iubeo / autem [L. igitur] non simul infundere aquam, ne submergatur Elixir, - verum paulatim infunde aquam, / & [L. ut] semper corpus cum tribus aquae suae partibus decoquatur, nam si conficiatur absque pondere, mora {MSS + L. mors sibi} eveniet, / qua, superveniente, malum inde orietur [L. qua eveniente malum esse putabitur.] Si vero [55] convenienter regitur, cum sua pacificatur aqua super ignem.

Verum quia corpus primo parum habet radicis, cuius virtus non aequaliter abundat in omnibus partibus, sicut nec splendor Solis in Planetis, ideo patientia & mora sunt necessaria, ut prolixitate coquendi aqua vincat pugnam ignis; nam leni [L. + namque ignis] decoctione aqua congelatur, & humiditas corruptiva extrahitur, humoris radicalis calor augmentatur, & / siccitas a combustione [L. siccitatis combustio] prohibetur.

/ Sed accidit quod opus aliud citius, aliud vero tardius congelatur, quod ex coquendi diversitate accidit necessario; quia si locus, ubi coquitur, humidus sit & roridus, citius perficitur opus, si vero siccus sit, tardius congelatur. [L. -] Iubeo ergo ignem nostrum / semper [L. in principio] esse lenem, donec / congeletur [L. coaguletur] in lapidem aqua, & / maneat [L. totum fiat] deorsum, nam intra spatium quadraginta dierum tota [L. + aqua] vertetur in terram, - ideo cum videris aquam coagulare se ipsam, tunc ratus esto scientiam esse veram; nam corpus coagulat suum humorem in siccum, sicut coagulum agni lac coagulat in caseum.

/ Idcirco corpus [L. Corpus igitur] coque cum aqua vitae, & leniter / assando [56] coagula [L. coagulando] ad ignem, quousque fiat spissum & [L. + multum] siccum, / cum autem [L. quia cum] fuerit siccum, velociter bibit / suum humorem [L. sui humoris] residuum, - tunc aliam aquam impone, / suaviter decoque [L. leniter coque ad ignem], vas diligenter claude, noli festinare, nec ab opere cessare.


CAPUT XII [Leyden p. 65; l. 29]

Verumtamen aqua dividenda est in duas partes, quarum / prima in [L. una parte] corpus coagulatur, & altera putrescit & liquatur. Coagulare est, - aqueam substantiam in terram redigere; putrefacere / vero [L. -] est, - coagulatum [L. + alias] resolvere, nam putrefactio non est [L. fit] nisi cum humido & sicco, sic enim spiritus penetrabit in corpus, & commixtio fiet per minima.

Ignis autem subtus administratus temperatus sit, - cave etiam ne nimis festinanter extrahatur a suo vase, forte namque moveretur [L. + G. moreretur,] quoniam infanti numquam patebit egressus, donec aereos flatus / hauriat [L. exhauriat, ideoque] / custodi ergo [L. -as eum] eum continue clausum, rore circumdatum, omnino praecavens, ne flos eius egrediatur in fumum, / & pereat magisterium. [L. Contere, coque, reitera, & ne te tedeat hoc ipsum pluries reiterare, verumtamen in opere .. >]

Verumtamen in opere, pondere & mensura / omnia [L. cuncta] rege, ut [57] quoties corpus imbuitur, toties [L. + &] desiccetur, - non tamen comedas festinanter, nec comedas quod non bibas, nec bibas quod non comedas, sit autem potus post comestionem, nec comestio post potum, alioquin facies ventrem humidum, nec recipiet siccitatem.

Comede ergo & bibe unum post aliud secundum rationem, / unum 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. computando [L. unum dico tria & sic usque] ad 12. facies Lunae. Currit / autem [L. -] hic numerus ex / multitudine [L. multiplicatione] ter(n)arii in quatuor & erunt 12. / Verus [L. & numerus] ternarius fit ex uno in tria, & sunt tres / salsaturae primariae [L. salsaturae; G. reads saltaturae] quarum quaelibet in / aliis tribus [L. alias tres] dividitur salsatur/is [L. -as], & erunt 12. [The early German translator read "jumps" for "saltiness"]

Verte ergo / triangulum [L. + G. quadrangulum] in rotundum & / habe/s [L. -bis] magisterium. Et illum quidem fit, si quadrangulus in unaquaque / specularum [L. spatularum] suarum tres habeat angulos aequales. Fac / ergo [L. -] circulum, & in medio circuli centrum; deinde in unaquaque / specula aequali [L. spatula circuli] fac tres triangulos de circulo centri, - sit autem linea aequalis de primo centro ad / reliquos [L. caeteros] punctos, & aequalis & una sit omnium / tertiariorum [L. ternariorum] mensura. Computa / tertiarios [L. ternarios,] & 12 invenies, - desuper quos ducas compassum & invenies quod tanget unumquemque ter[r](n)arium {MSS: tertiarium}, [58] / ergo per 12. triangulos quadrangulus [L. per duodecim ergo triangulos circulus] eveniet rotundus.

Sic / compone [L. componitur] magisterium, quia sicut omnes spatulae concurrunt ad centrum compassi, sic tota aqua est ad suum corpus per suos / tertiarios [L. ternarios] reducenda. Si autem diminutum fuerit / angulo [L. -] uno, diminuetur / portio sua [L. + G. potentia eius.] Venare ergo animas, quoniam in terra est mansio earum, / ut fugere nequeant; [L. si fug. neq. >] non sis in veneratione nisi lentus, praecavens, ne igne nimio vertantur in fumum, fugam, si autem fugient, non capientur cum falcone, - si vero includ/untur [L. -antur] nec fugiunt, tunc revertuntur ad corpus unde exierunt, eo quod corpus attrahit suum humorem, sicut magnes ferrum.

Converte [L. Contere] ergo terram, decoque aquam, & reitera operationem, quousque unus ex [L. + tribus] ternariis vertatur deorsum, nam si unum ex tribus occidisti, omnes sunt mortui, quia si unum sit fugiens, alterum vero ignem patiens, utrumque iunct/am [L. -um] patitur ignem, [L. + Hic nota quid sit quod spiritum figit] / eo [L. dico] quod unum continet reliquum, propter naturae suae propinquitatem; & haec quidem est coagulatio nostra, / nam [L. -] omne volatile / a fuga prohibetur suo fixo [L. retinens a fuga.]

Verumtamen non efficitur [59] hoc manibus, sed natura ad ipsum circulariter operatur, quia natura se ipsam dissolvit & coagulat, se ipsam albefacit & rubore decorat, se ipsam croceam facit & nigram, se ipsam desponsat & a se ipsa concipit, quousque finem operis inducat. Quare liquet, quod haec confectio non / est [L. sit] manualis operatio, sed naturarum mutatio, & earum calidi cum frigido & humidi cum sicco admirabilis connexio, // unde Versus:

Est ergo munda secreti fluminis unda,
Quae sua bis senis extrudit brachia venis,
Per se stillabit & mortua vivificabit.
Si congeletur quod destillare videtur
Igne tepescente foveas, fervore carente;
Abluit, emundat, renovat, regit, unit & undat,
Germinet ut florem tellus & spiret odorem.
[missing in L.]


CAPUT XIII [Leyden p. 67 infra]

Accipe ergo volatile volans submersum, & mancipa ut tibi respondeat non volando in regionibus, sed volatu evolans ad tuum contentum; "Nam quod est inferius, est sicut id quod est superius, & quod est superius sicut id quod [60] est inferius." Ideo aqua nostra benedicta suam venit adaquare terram, mundare nigredinem, & omnem malum auferre odorem, eo quod inter eos est libido, sicut maris [G. viri] & foeminae.

Caveas ergo ne a vase exeat sua humiditas & pereat, verum ipsam reducens ad terram, coagul/es [L. -a] leni igne, sicut coagulatur sperma in matrice, - foemina namque suum amplexata coniugem velociter transit in corpus / suum. [L. -] Verte ergo aquam super terram suam, quousque coaguletur deorsum, tunc enim citius a natura / transit in naturam [L. in naturam convertitur,] & in unoquoque gradu suarum operationum novam assumit naturam.

Redde cineri ((Mscrpt: secundum tertiarium suae aquae; L -)) sudorem suum, - contere, coque, reitera, nec te taedeat reiterare, nam terra non germinat / absque [L. sine] frequenti irrigatione, nec / suscipit irrigationem [L. and G. -] absque praemissa desiccatione. Ideo omni vice post dessicationem / tere & [L. terrae] superfunde aquam temperate, nec multum, nec parum, quia si multum fuerit, fiet pelagus conturbationis, - si vero parum, comburetur in favillam [L. + et heac nota intime.]

Ideo in omni pondere pondus, in omni mensura modus servetur, & [61] in omni opere opus est, ne nimia siccitas aut superfluus humor administratus corrumpat, / ut [L. sed] tantum assando decoquas quantum / in dissolvendo adiectum est, & imbibendo dissolvas quantum assando defecit [L. dissolutio adiecit & imbuendo defecit;] semper autem cavendum, ne ignis asperitas exustionem generet, nec ab actione cessandum [typo in Geismariae: cassandum], donec totum sicci lapidis formam assumat.

Verumtamen natura non habet motum nisi per caloris actionem, ideo [L. + nota igitur de utilitate mensurae ignis; si ergo calorem ..] si calorem bene mensuraveris, aqua & ignis sufficient tibi, nam corpus abluunt, mundant, nutriunt, & eius obscuritatem auferunt; & certe totum opus & regimen eius non est nisi aqua permanens, omnia in se habens quibus indigemus [L. indiget;] nam liquefacit & congelat, diruit & dealbat, nec oportet / aliquo alio [L. alio umquam] uti in toto regimine, nisi hac aqua permanente.

Manutene ergo hanc aquam cum suis / operibus [L. bonis operationibus], quoniam facit album ad album, & rubeum ad rubeum; effectus tamen eius consistit in regimine ignis, nam cum eo dividitur aqua, cum eo retinetur [L. + volatile] a fuga, cum eo corpori iungitur anima, cum eo fit coagulatio nostra. Caveas tamen intensionem ignis, quia si intendetur [L. -datur] ante terminum, fit rubeum quod non prodest [L. + hoc autem verbum memoriae tuae commenda percipiendum.]

Sit ergo ignis lentus usque [62] ad albedinem, inspice autem multoties, quomodo facias coniuges amplexari, nam fortibus nexibus vinciendi sunt spiritus, ut roborati pugnent contra ignem, - quia si mulieri vagae patuerint egressus, alienos amplexus quaerens fugi/et [L. -t.] Si vero occludatur [L. recludatur] ut fugere non possit, tunc rediens ad virum, concumbit cum eo, / & eum [L. quem] occidit; / ast iste [L. at ille] calefactus eius consumit humiditatem, faciens ipsam morari secum, - nam spiritus ablati a corporibus desiderant eis inesse, sequuntur ea, & gaudent [L. + ipsis habitis] habita/re [L. -nt] in ipsis, vivificant ea, nec umquam separantur ab eis.

Ideo non frustra confertur sperma vulvae, quoniam unum consequitur reliquum, tamquam sponsa paranymphum [L. + id est maritum. Hic igitur nota de mortificatione vivi spiritus & de revivificatione corporis mortui.] Vivific/a [L. -ans] ergo mortuum, h. e. corpus, occide vivum, h. e. spiritum, & habebis magisterium, // unde Versus:

Pluribus aptatis lac decoque virginitatis,
Igne tepescente fumo fervore carente,
Hinc cum siccatur citius serpens adaquatur,
Et tamen haec grata, quod aqua tam sit moderata,
Unda sui fontis distillat a vertice montis,
Alter & alterius fons fontis fluminis huius, [63]
Suscipiet mulsum propria testudine pulsum
Et teneat mundam siccati sanguinis undam. [verses miss. in L.]

Extrahe / a nube [L. a radio] suam umbram & sordidum, & quod nebula ei superveniens coinquinat & a luce retinet; quare angustatur & a sua rubigine detinetur. Ideo oportet prima parte eius aquae aes nostrum comburere, & coquendo coagulare, quousque / a sua liberetur rubigine, - tunc namque dicitur a philosophis fermentum auri [L. in sua fiat rubigine, quae quidem tunc dicitur ferment. a.], & coagulum coaguli, quia recipit & bibit aquam / coagulans ipsam secum in terram [L. cogulatque eam secum in terra;] & in hoc est finis primae operationis, & initium secundae, quoniam uno modo incipitur & finitur.

Modus autem rubificationis lapidis albi praedicti est quod oportet residua aqua sua multoties imbuere ad incerandum congelatum, ad mundandum combustum, & ad colorem immutandum, donec tota aqua fiat deorsum.


CAPUT XIV [Leyden p. 70, l. 16]

Imbibe [L. Imbue] ergo ipsum septies, vice post vicem, emundans nigredinem, quousque diruatur & in terram vertatur, nam in [64] quadraginta diebus totum vertitur in terram. Aperi & claude, solve & noda, extende & plica, ablue & desicca, - hoc facito continue, donec [L. + in] quadrangulum / vertas in [L. vertatur & in] rotundum / cum suo genere. [L. -]

/ Aes gubernatum dissolve coquendo [L. Modo ergo simili aes gubernatum resolves], quousque fiat ut aqua, & ut verum argentum vivum, post haec secundum consuetudinem coagula ad ignem. Dicimus quidem coagula secundum consuetudinem, eo quod prius fuit coagulatum in siccum rubeum; ideo, cum siccum fuerit, solve quod ex ille fuerit solubile, quod non solvitur, continue coque quousque solvatur omnimode.

Sic ergo reiterando iste ordo servetur, quousque istius [L. illius] maior / solvatur [L. servetur] quantitas, deinde coagula, & leniter assando in / igne temperato [L. ignis temperamento] conserva, quousque illi maior ad illius exigentiam, ignis administrari / possit [L. praestet]. Omnes ergo hos ordines praeparationum [L. -is] super ipsum quatuor vicibus reiter/a [L. -abis,] & ultimo calcina per modum suum figentem & calcinantem, quoniam sic pretiosissimum lapidis terram sufficienter administrando rexisti.

Et certe calcinare nihil aliud est, quam desiccare & in cinerem vertere; [65] ideo combur/es [L. -ens] ipsum absque timore [L. humore] donec cinis fiat [L. fuerit], / quod cum cinis fuerit [miss. in L.], optime miscuisti, eo quod cinis / iste [L. ille] spiritum recipit & bibit, ac suo imbuitur humore, donec in colorem vertatur pulchriorem, quam prius fuerat. / O quam pretiosus est cinis iste, carissime! [G. -] Hunc ergo cinerem ne vilipendas, sed redde / ei [L. sibi iterum] sudorem suum quem eiecit, quousque totum vertatur deorsum, - quoties enim cinis imbuitur, toties per vices desiccatur, / quousque totum vertatur in album & crematum, namque cum desiccatur, [L. -] / seipsum continet ad invicem [L. & se ipsum invicem continet.]

Quare oportet aes conterere, aqua vitae pluries imbuere, & vice post vicem desiccare, quousque / suum [L. totum] biberit humorem. Iubeo ergo aquam vivam coagulare, corpori suo miscere, & coquere quousque exiccetur [L. desiccetur;] tunc enim invenies totam aquam vivam a se ipsa coagulatam, & in terra contentam, - tunc corpori iungitur spiritus, aqua cineri, & foemina viro; quoniam quando aes convenienter regitur, cum aqua pacificatur & albo colore coloratur. [L. + Nota bene de ablutione corporis per spiritum.] / & bene quidem, quia dealbatio non fit, nisi [L. Dealbatio nostra fit] decoctione & aquae [66] congelatione, & quanto / plus [L. pluries] aes abluitur, tanto / intensioris fit [L. inten/t(?)ioris efficitur] albedinis.

Ideo philosophi decoqu/ere [L. -endo], Ethelia/* [L. -m] imbu/ere [L. -endo] & ter/ere [L. -endo] frequentissime praeceperunt [L. perceperunt.] Si autem / scivissent [L. certi fuissent], quod una decoctio & una contritio sibi sufficere potuissent, non toties sua dicta [L. + re-]iterassent; ideo ergo id fecerunt, ut teratur continue, & coquatur sine intermissione. Contere igitur, coque, reitera, nec te tedeat reiterare, cum suo aere decoque [L. + nubem], / imbue [L. -], ablue nigredinem aqua vitae, assa latonem donec exiccetur & fiat corpus novum, nam aqua vitae gubernat & dealbat omne corpus, vertens totum in suum colorem. (*Ethelia: vide Lexicon Alchimiae Rulandi p. 201 dx.doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-7375)

Ille namque fumus albus est, / cum quo [L. ideo cum illo] dealbatur, quicquid dealbari praecipitur, quoniam natura naturam convertit. Illum ergo fumum suae faeci admiscens, coque & tere multoties donec coaguletur & sua nigredine privetur. Et certe aqua roris Madii [L. madidi] ipsum abluit / & emundat, [L. quam dat] descendens de caelo tempore pluviae ((mscrpt: pruinae)), penetrat & dealbat, - ipsa enim aqua habitans in aere consequitur terram sicut ferrum magnetem.

Inter eos sane est societas [67] & libido, propter naturae suae propinquitatem, / nam naturae suis obviantes naturis laetantur in eis. [G. -] Residuum ergo humorem impone coquendo continue, donec coaguletur & nimis dealbetur, sciens pro certo, quod, si fuerit siccum velociter bibit sui humoris residuum, // unde Versus:

Tunc res misceri debent pariterque foveri,
In quarum coena sitiens adaquatur arena,
Huius aquae vivae viridis velut unctus olivae
Partes bis senae parti sociantur arenae &c. [miss. in L.]


CAPUT XV [Leyden p. 72, l. 22]

Inspice ergo qualiter compositum potat aquam, & in unoquoque gradu coloribus alteratur. Dum enim res / igne [L. quaelibet igni] superponitur, de colore ad colorem multiplicem, natura operante, transfertur. [L. + Nota de unione spiritus & animae cum corpore per quod figitur lapis.] Spiritus tamen & anima non uniuntur cum corpore nisi in albo colore, quia quamdiu apparuerit nigredo obscura, dominatur foemina, & ipsa quidem est prior vis nostri lapidis, quoniam nisi fuerit nigrum, non fiet album, nec rubeum, - rubeum enim ex nigro & albo est [68] compositum.

Verumtamen calor temperatus in humido agens operatur nigredinem, desiccat humiditatem, & tollit corruptionem, è contrario calor invalescens operatur rubedinem, humiditatem fugat, & generat [L. + causaturque] corruptionem. Quare liquet, quod si compositum plus [L. -quam] regatur quam oportet, statim extinguitur, nec fiet ex eo quod quaeritur.

Cavendum est ergo ne aqua per ignem nimium vertatur in fumum & fugiat, - idcirco sit pugna aquae & ignis proloxitate coquendi, nam ut calore Solis aqua desiccatur, sic leni decoctione ignis aqua coagulata in terram continet se ipsam contra ignis pugnam. Vincat ergo aqua pugnam ignis prolixitate coquendi, inspissandi & coagulandi se ipsam, - nam si eius naturam perfecte scires, prolixitatem coquendi sustineres utique, donec propositum invenires, quoniam bonitas huius naturae venerabilis probatur in corporibus maxim/a [L. -e,] / eo [L. -] quod propter nullas exterminationis causas se in partes suae compositionis dividi permittit, / sed [L. quia] aut cum tota sui substantia ab igne recedit, aut cum tota in igne stans permanet, quare [69] notatur in ea perfectionis causa necessario. [L. + Hic nota de regimine congelationis Mercurii cum Sole quia dicitur quod ipse sit aqua munda & tinctura vera, cum patienter regitur ascendendo & descendendo, donec coaguletur in album.]

Hanc igitur patienter rege naturam, suaviter coagulando argentum vivum, quod ex aere nostro pluit super ipsum, amarae ascendunt nubes & pluunt pluviae super terram, quia omne grave corpus & densum [L. + semper] ad suum / naturaliter [L. -] labitur centrum. Argentum / vero [L. certe] vivum ex aere [L. + nostro] sublimatum, ex quo omnia fiunt, est aqua munda & tinctura vera, quae aeris umbram delet, - ipsum / namque [L. similiter] est sulphur album quod solum aes dealbat, & quo spiritus continetur, ne fugiat. Illud tamen sulphur non poterat dealbare / aes, [L. -] nisi in priore opere esset dealbatum, eo quod solum sulphur / album [L. -] dealbat aes / nostrum; [L. -] quare liquet quod tanta erit pulchritudo aeris, quanta fuerit albedo sulphuris.

Volens ergo ad veram pervenire tincturam, impone / illi [L. sibi] paulatim humiditatem quam eiecit, coquendo assidue, donec colorem induerit pulchriorem, & quoties imbuitur, toties per vices desiccetur, quousque vertatur in album quod quaeritur, - nam inceratum, cum desiccatur, continet se ipsum, & si unum est fixum, figitur et reliquum, - & si sit album [70] exterius, album / etiam erit [L. est et] interius.

Idcirco [L. Ideo] ne desistas ipsum imbuere, coquere & [L. + paulatim] desiccare, donec toto suo imbuatur humore. Confice ipsum aqua permanente, & leni decoque igne, donec nigredo pereat & recedat. Imbue ipsum continue aqua vitae, prout videris ei sufficere / ad [L. apud] visum, - assa & coque donec totum biberit humorem, / sciens [L. scias] quod purpureus color non tingitur nisi frigido / & humido, [L. -] nec [L. + fit] albus nisi sicco, nec rubeus nisi calido. Hoc igitur aes assando coque residuo suo humore, donec se ipsum faciat germinare, deinde in Sole desiccando tere, quousque totum vertatur deorsum.


CAPUT XVI [Leyden p. 74, l. 26]

{Venerare ergo regem & suam uxorem, & noli eos comburere, ne nimio fugiant calore, quoniam indiges patientia & longanimitate, quae regem & suam uxorem in regimine emendant [L. + in regimine;] coque eos donec fiant nigri, deinde albi, postea rubei, & tunc fit venenum tingens in aurum.}

Aes / siquidem [L. enim] nostrum primo, quo magis coquitur, / eo [L. -] magis solvitur & fit aqua [L. + magis] spiritualis; secundo, quo magis decoquitur, magis inspissatur, & fit pulvis [71] / maioris albedinis [L. albioris coloris;] tertio, quo magis coquitur, magis coloratur, & fit tinctura maioris rubedinis, & tota haec operatio non est nisi extractio aquae a terra, & eiusdem super terram / dimissio [L. remissio.] / Adsit autem diligens ministratio, adsit continua expectatio, revertetur enim omnium declaratio, & sic eveniet tua desideratio. [L. -]

Aquam igitur totam exhaustam & in terra contentam per quosdam dies (id est per 60) in suo vase super ignem lenem dimitte putrefieri, quousque pretiosissimus ei color albus desuper appareat, - sit autem calor lenis usque ad albedinem, - quia si calor intensus / subito [L. -] irrepserit, vaporem nigrum facit, & album fugit compositum, nam vapor ille albus est, igitur si figitur cum aere, dealbat ipsum intus & extra; si vero fugit ab ipso, vertitur in rubeum quod non prodest.

Et certe in putrefactione / aeris [L. -] spiritus / uniuntur cum corpore & [L. -] desiccantur / cum [L. in] illo, - / qui [L. quando] quidem nisi desiccentur [L. + cum aere], non apparebunt colores animae, quia putrefactio non est nisi mortificatio humidi cum sicco, nam humidum / totum [L. cum] coagulatur / cum sicco vel [L. -] per siccum. / Vulgus tamen [L. Algor tum] solum humidum putrefacit, sed nostra putrefactio non fit absque humido & sicco [72], eo quod humiditas tantum siccitate continetur, [L. + quamvis autem humidum frigidum naturaliter fugiat ignem, a corpore tamen retinetur, quod] / ut / fugere nequeat; quia non possunt gravia [L. + non] nisi levium consortio superius elevari, nec levia nisi gravium consortio inferius detrudi, & utrumque est operis initium & finis. [L. + Adsit ergo diligens administratio, absit incontinens expectatio, revertatur omnium declaratio & sic eveniet tua desideratio.]

{Rege ergo operationem continue, coque sine intermissione, noli festinare, nec ab opere cessare, quia nisi humiditas uteri & calor continuus esset, sperma non maneret, nec foetus perageretur. Nam moriente matre, moritur et foetus propter imminens frigus. Deus ergo illum sanguinem & calorem uteri constituit ad nutriendum foetum usque ad tempus nativitatis; sic oportet te continuo calore opus regere usque ad albedinem, nam in albo tantum colore spiritus uniuntur cum corpore, ut [L. quod] fugere non possint.

Quare incipit tunc vivere, nec sibi nocent alieni flatus, / nisi decreveris [L. ne deterius] ad rube/um [L. -dinem + possit] procedere. [L. + Nota hic intime de nutritura per ignem suavem valde, circa quod sit calor ignis sicut ovorum sub ventre gallinarum] Balneum igitur intensi caloris perire facit, frigidum vero fugat, sed temperatum fovet & conservat.}

Idcirco oportet suaviter regere, sicut [L. + pro] ovorum exclusione, quousque totum fuerit album; quare praecipitur dealbare Latonem, & libros rumpere [73], ne corda rumpantur.

Terra / quippe [L. autem] cum aqua putrescit & mundatur, / quoniam [L. quae] cum desiccata fuerit, nigredo recedit, & dealbatur. Tunc peribit tenebrosum mulieris dominium, tunc vir ascendens super mulierem aufert / illi [L. ipse] regnum; tunc fumus penetrabit in corpus, & spiritus constringetur in sicc/um [L. -o]; tunc cessabit nigrum / colore deformatum [L. corrumpens deformativum], & fiet album, lucidum, clarum.

Quia [L. + sicut] calor agens in humido generat primo nigredinem, sic agens in sicco generat albedinem, & in albo citrinitatem; exemplum sit in ligno accenso, cum faciunt [L. + eum] carbonem, - sic & lapidis nostri substantia primo, quo magis coquitur, eo [L. + &] magis solvitur & denigratur; secundo, quo magis / coquitur, eo magis exiccatur & [L. desiccatur eo & magis] dealbatur; tertio, quo magis coquitur, tanto magis rubificatur, quousque perficiatur.

Res ergo cuius caput est rubeum, pedes albi, oculi vero nigri, est magisterium.



CAPUT XVII [Leyden p. 77, l. 3]

// Quatuor tamen sunt colores principales in opere apparentes, scilicet [74] niger, albus, citrinus & rubeus. Et omnia aeris nomina ex his quatuor coloribus, in corpore suo apparentibus, dicta sunt, qui quidem omnes ex aceto sibi imposito eveniunt. Praedictis autem coloribus apparentibus, oportet unumquemque eorum 40 diebus coqui, & aqua tota consumpta leniter desiccari, quousque albedo appareat. [paragraph miss. in L., but not in G.]

Quod autem sit necessarium opus primo denigrari, probatur per hoc, quod generatio non fit nisi per corruptionem alterius. Et corruptio non fit nisi per putrefactionem, & calorem in humido agentem, & calor agens in humido efficit primo nigredinem; quare licet quod principium operis nostri est caput corvi. Similiter ipsum putrefieri est necessarium, quia nihil fuit umquam natum, nec crescens, nec animatum nisi / post putredinem [L. primo in putredinem abierit.] Si enim putridum non fuerit, fundi non poterit, neque solvetur, - si vero solutum non fuerit, ad nihilum redigetur!

[L. + Liquet ergo quod necessarius est nobis putrefactio ad omnem generationem.] Nostra tamen putrefactio non est sordida nec inmunda, sed est commixtio terrae cum aqua, & aquae cum terra per minima, donec [75] totum fiat unum corpus, - coque ergo masculum & uxorem simul, quousque utrumque coaguletur in siccum, - quia nisi fuerit siccum, colores diversi minime apparebunt, eo quod semper erit nigrum, dum humidum dominatur: ideo / os [L. orificium] vasis diligenter claud/atur & [L. -ens] coque ad ignem donec totum vertatur deorsum.

Tunc [L. + fit] draco alas suas come/dit [L. -ens,] & [L. + tunc] diversos emittit colores. Multis siquidem diversisque vicibus / mutabitur [L. movebitur] de colore in colorem donec ad firmiam deveniat albedinem, - nam omnes mundi colores apparebunt, cum denigrans humiditas fuerit exsiccata [L. desicc.], - verum de illis coloribus non cures, quoniam non sunt veri colores, nam pluries citrinescit & rubescit, pluriesque desiccatur & liquescit ante veram albedinem; / sed [L. -] spiritus [L. tamen] non figitur cum corpore nisi in albo colore. Quare liquet quod dealbatio est semper expectanda, cum ipsa sit totius operis complementum; neque etiam variatur postea in colorem verum, [L. + praeter-]quam in rubeum.

In unoquoque igitur gradu inspicias qualiter aqua congelat se ipsam, & quomodo & [76] colore in colorem mutatur compositum, - quia si nescienter regatur, suorum colorum nihil videbitur, & sic saepissime / cassum [L. -] deflebis laborem [L. + tuum], eo quod minime scire poteris, in quo gradu moderandus / est [L. sit] ignis, [L. + qui sciri nequit] nisi per colores in opere apparentes. Colores itaque te docebunt quid facias de igne, - ipsi namque ostendunt quoto tempore, & quando ignis primus, secundus, & tertius est faciendus; unde si diligens fueris / administrator [L. -], colores te docebunt quid fieri oporteat. [L. + Nota igitur bene de igne & suis proportionibus in suis gradibus, quia semper ignis in solutione ...]

Nam omni tempore in solutione & coagulatione erit ignis lenis, in sublimatione mediocris, & in rubificatione fortis. Verum/tamen [L. -] quanto magis variantur colores, tanto magis continuandus est / ignis lenis / in dealbando, [L. -] donec ad metam deveniat albedinis, - nam / ante [L. ad] album non mittimus ignem multum, eo quod ipsum est frigidum, crudum & semicoctum, / & ideo albedinis vices sunt ipsius mulieris. [L. -]

Sit igitur ignis lenis in dealbando, / donec [L. ut] figatur vapor cum suo / compare [L. corpore,] - / alias si accenderis [L. alioqui si intenderis] ignem ante terminum, fit rubeum quod non prodest, eo quod rubeum ex multo [77] albo & purissimo nigro cum calore magno est compositum, // unde Versus:

Haec rubens vena candentis fontis amoena
Roris adhuc plena fiat sub Sole serena,
Leniter fervescat donec siccata quiescat,
Inde candescat, & candida tota nitescat:
Candida tunc venas faciens candore serenas
Mysteriis plenas candentes pandit arenas [miss. in L.]

Ergo si ignem bene mensuraveris, operationem/que [L. parce] rexeris, ad colorem album [L. + primo] devenies. Et cum fuerit album, tunc / ignis fiat intensior [L. ignem accendes fortiorem] / & etiam intendetur albedo. [L. -] Facto [L. Affecto] autem / supra [L. super] ipsum / & subtus [L. subtus & supra] calore sicco per spatium dierum aliquot, / [L. + ut] totum figetur deorsum, & nihil [L. + exaltationis] spiritus ascendet superius, quod est signum perfectae fixationis, // unde Versus:

Ignem qui spernit non ad sublimia tendit,
Et si quid videas paulatim tendere sursum
Haec ergo repetenda monet decoctio rerum,
Tempora cocturae tria sunt septena dierum,
Sicut solvuntur species & concipiuntur,
Sic fit summa rei congestio materiei.
Ex hac mixtura surgit coitus genitura,
Accensos ignes comburit fortior ignis; [78]
Igne superposito facias descendere rursum
Donec praetereat cocturam meta dierum
In quibus unitur contraria vis specierum,
Quae sic accedunt nec dissociata recedunt,
Et res certa spei sequitur candor seriei
Cuius natura dat in omnibus omnia pura. [miss. in L.]

Tunc fugiens non [L. a-]volabit a non fugiente, quamvis sit ignis aestuans, quia magnesia cum dealbatur, spiritus fugere non permittit, nec aeris umbram apparere [L. + non urentis], nam ipsum est sulphur fixum album, quod omne corpus ting/ens [L. -it &] perficit, & in verum argentum convertit.

/ Quare dicit philosophus: {[L. Unde] si fuerit argentum vivum purum, coagulabit illud vis [L. + istius] sulphuris albi / non urentis [L. -] in argentum}, & illud est res optima quam recipere possunt operantes Alchemiam, ut converta/nt [L. -t] illud in argentum; quia natura tunc continet naturam, & vero matrimonio / convertuntur [L. copulantur] ad invicem.

Verum/tamen [L. -] non est nisi una sola natura, quae in unoquoque gradu suarum operationum in aliam vertitur naturam, eo quod natura naturam laetatur, natura naturam superat, & natura naturam continet, docens ipsam [79] praeliari contra ignem; nec sunt / tamen diversae naturae vel plures [L. tunc diversae ut prius,] verum est una natura tantum habens in se natura/m [L. -s] & res omnes, quibus sibi sufficit, / idcirco [L. ideo] uno ordine opus incipitur & finitur.

Duplex tamen est modus compositionis, quia una est humida, altera vero sicca; cum autem coquuntur, fiunt unum, / sic ut neutrum dimittat reliquum [L. + G. & unum non dimittit alterum], {& bene quidem, quia humidum faciliter impressionem recipit & faciliter dimittit, siccum vero graviter impressionem [L. re-] sus/cipit, & graviter / remittit [L. dimittit]; ideo cum humidum & siccum [L. + con-]temperaverunt se ad invicem,} adipisc/itur [L. -et] siccum ab humido facilem impressionem, & acquirit humidum a sicco, ut firmiter retineat impressionem, & omnem sustineat ignem.

Unde propter humidum prohibetur siccum a sua separatione, & propter siccum prohibetur humidum a sua fluxibilitate. Exemplum huius est opus figuli, qui ligans terram cum aqua coquit ad ignem ut unum non dimittat alterum, sic facito [L. + et] magisterium [L.+ nostrum], disponens / solam [L. substantiam] terram [L. terream] per humiditatem & caliditatem, [80] donec conveniant & coniungantur, & non discrepent, nec dividantur. [L. + Nota ergo de duabus virtutibus operativis de aqua, scilicet & igne in quibus completur opus.] Tunc [L. + ergo] adiunge eis duas virtutes operativas, aquam [L. + videlicet] & ignem, & complebitur magisterium; quia si / permiscueris [L. permiseris, G. ut Geismr.]] aquam solam, dealbabit, / si vero [L. & si] adiunxeris ignem, rubificabit.

Nam [L. Nota etiam bene quod] album completur [L. + in] tribus rotis, in quibus non est ignis, rubeum autem quatuor / rotatur rotis [L. in quibus ignis minime differri potest; (album igitur .. repitition)] & hoc quidem elixir quod tingit tinctura sua, submergitur [L. coniungitur] oleo suo, & figitur calce sua; & oleum est coniungens & aggregans inter calcem & aquam; & aqua est deferens tincturam super calcem suam, & quando figitur calx, figetur & aqua cum ea propter vehementiam commixtionis; // & tunc corpus est causa retinendi aquam, aqua conservandi oleum ut non accendatur super ignem, & oleum est causa tenendi tincturam, & tinctura est causa faciendi apparere colores, & color est causa demonstrandi albedinem, & albedo est causa retinendi omne volatile a fuga, nam corpus, cum dealbatum fuerit, spiritum fugere non permittit, nec nigredinem ulterius apparere. [L. 2nd part shifted below>]

Anima / autem [L. -] est vinculum spiritus, sicut corpus [81] est vinculum animae, nec est hoc vinculum sicut naturae vinculum, sed velut compositum: quia compositio naturae est per / ingressionem L. [ingressum] contrariorum, & compositio nostra est per fixationem compositorum, [L. from above > tunc corpus est causa retinendi aquam ..... nigredinem ulterius apparere.] / Et qui non liquefacit corpus cum spiritu, ut fiat aqua una impalpabilis & postea coagulat super ignem lenem [L. Qui igitur non liquefacit & coagulat,] multipliciter errat!

Quare denigra terram separando eius animam, postea / vertet [L. fac reverti] aquam super terram / per se, paulatim [L. -] dealbando / & siccando [L. -] totum, & habes magisterium. Nam qui terram denigrat, & album igne dissolvit & coagulat, donec fuerit in colore, sicut gladius denudatus, a tenebris liberabitur; & qui dealbatione completa / ei [L. -] animam inducit, totumque postquam liquefactum fuerit, in rapido igne figit, felix dici merebitur, & supra mundi circulos exaltari.



CAPUT XVIII [Leyden p. 81, l. 15]

Iam didicisti, charissime, album opus facere, nunc / quoque oportet ut scias rubeum perficere [L. ergo rubeum facere scire te oportet], / verumtamen nisi [L. nisi tamen] dealbaveris, [82] verum rubeum facere nequibis, quia nemo potest devenire de primo ad tertium nisi / per [L. prius fuerit in] secundum; sic non poteris / accedere [L. devenire] de nigro ad citrinum nisi per album, eo quod citrinum ex multo albo & paucissimo nigro est compositum.

/ Dealba ergo nigrum, & rubifica album & habes magisterium. [L. -] Quoniam sicut annus dividitur in quatuor tempora, sic & nostrum opus benedictum. Primum est hiems, humidum & frigidum, / pluviosum [L. -]; secundum est *ver / frigidum [L. -] & siccum floridum; tertium est aestas / calidum & siccum, rubicundum [L. tempus calidum;] quartum est autumnus, tempus / colligendi fructus [L. fructuum.] (*miss. in Geismaria due to error)

Hac dispositione tingentes rege naturas, donec / maturatae [L. naturae] fructum adferant ad libitum. Verum hiems iam transiit, imber abiit, & nox recessit; [L. + dies autem appropinquavit,] nam flores apparuerunt in terra nostra tempore veris, sed super rosam albam / Solem [Geism. solum] stantes / quievimus [L. quaerimus], quoniam ipsa [L. + tantum] sortitur effectum corpora quaeque aegra in verum convertendi argentum.

Cum igitur videris albedinem illam apparentem [L. + et in omnibus supereminentem,] ratus esto quod rubor in illa [L. + albedine] occultus est, & tunc non oportet illam albedinem [83] extrahere, / sed [L. verum] coquere quousque / totum [L. -] fiat rubeum; // & quo magis est rubeum magis valet, quoniam abundantius tingit; sic quod magis est coctum, magis est rubeum, ergo [L. et certe rubeum quo magis est rubeum, eo magis valet, &] quod magis est coctum / [L. + magis est rubeum, ergo quod magis est coctum] magis valet, & sic per consequens quod maxime, / etiam [L. iam] maxime.

Et certe color rubedinis causatur solum ex complemento digestionis; nam sanguis non generatur in homine nisi diligenter coquatur in hepate. Sic de mane, cum / videris [L. nos videmus] urinam nostram albam, scientes nos parum dormivisse, redimus ad lectum; somno autem recepto, completur digestio & urina citrinatur. Sic per solam decoctionem post albedinem devenies ad rubedinem, errare siquidem non poteris, si ignem siccum continuaveris super ipsum.

{Nonne vides quod sperma non generetur ex sanguine, nisi prius coquatur diligenter in hepate, quousque intensum habeat ruborem, & nisi ita fieret, nihil ex illo generatur spermate. Similiter & aes nostrum album nisi diligenter coquatur, non rubificatur. Et certe solus calor hepatis rubificat chylum, & solus calor ignis [84] accensus rubificat sulphur album; nam prima digestio stomachi omnia dealbat, secunda vero hepatis omnia rubificat, quia in solo hepate viget calor, sicut in stomacho viget siccitas.}

Igne ergo sicco & calcinatione sicca decoque siccum, donec / rubeat [L. fiat] ut cinabrium [L. + id est purpureum], cui de caetero nequaquam impones aquam, nec aliam rem, quousque ad / complementum [L. completum] decoquatur rubeum. Nam tempore aestatis & fructuum, [L. + in-]undatio pluviarum corrumpit magisterium. Quare sicco igne absque timore ipsum comburere oportet, donec rubicundissimo vestiatur colore.

Noli ergo / ab opere [L. -] cessare, quamvis rubor aliquantulum / differat [L. tardaverit] apparere, - nam igne augmentato post albedinem, ex primis coloribus habebis rubedinem; medi/us [L. -o] tamen [L. + tempore] inter illos colores apparebit citrinu/s [L. -m], sed ille color non est stabilis, quia post illum rubeu/s [L. -m] non moratur venire, quo [L. +e-]veniente, certus esto opus tuum esse completum, - quoniam / tunc mulier conversa est in masculum, [habebit tunc convertere mulierem in masculum] & omne incompletum in / Solificum [L. Solem] verum.

Quare dicit philosophus: "Si fuerit sulphur mundum, [85] optimum, cum rubore clarum, / & fuerit in eo vis [L. in se habens vim] igneitatis simplicis non urentis, / erit [L. illud est] res optima, quam recipere possunt / Alchymistae [L. operantes alchimiam,] ut / ex [L. cum] ea faciant aurum." [L. + Hoc enim argentum vivum omne corpus imperfectum convertit in aurum, quare] / Ex / his manifeste liquet, quod istud solum est verum nostrum sulphur album & rubeum quod quaerimus, quo / corpus quodlibet [L. in quodlibet corpore] tingimus in verissimum / aurum & [L. -] argentum melius quam quod de minera produc/itur [L. -tum], / secundum quod Elixir album vel rubeum fuerit praeparatum. [L. -]


CAPUT XIX [Leyden p. 83, l. 22]

Cum ergo duxeris unamquamque speciem ex partibus operis, sicut ostendimus ea dirigere, tunc reduc spiritus ad illud & sublima totum, quia sublimabitur lucidum clarum, impermixtibile elementis.

Et illud quidem est, ut accipias partem istius noti lapidis purissimam, & per ingeniosum subtilem modum coniung/as [L. -e] per minima, & levetur totum. Quod si non eveniat, addatur ei non fixae partis quantitas, ut summa volatilis [86] superet summam fixi, quousque ad elevationem istius sufficiat.

Nam vidimus in eis, quibus usi sumus experientiae modis, quod quae cum aqua [L. + commiscentur & vehementer] permiscentur, si summa volatilis vincit summam fixi, quod fixum volabit cum ea // & si non vincet, figetur cum ea. Spiritus namque portabit ad superiora quicquid sibi coniunctum fuerit. Ergo citius portabit quod est omnino de natura eius, - hanc tamen sublimationem cum calore sicco oportebit facere. [L. -]

/ Et [L. Igitur] cum elevatum fuerit, / reiteretur istius [L. revertetur illius] sublimatio, / vice post vicem, [L. -] quousque per hanc sublimation/em [L. -is] / & eius [L. -] reiterationem fig/atur [L. etur] totum. Cum autem fixum fuerit, cum /eo fixo non fixi parem [L. non fixo, iterato parce] quantitatem post quantitatem combibe per ingenium tibi notum, quousque iterato levetur totum, / ergo [L. igitur] iterato figatur [L. + totum], quousque fusionem praestet facilem / ad modum cerae [L. sicut cera.]

Et haec quidem est medicina stans, tingens, penetrans [L. + & consolidans] & perseverans, cuius una pars convertit mille & ultra partes cuiuscumque corporis in verissimum aurum & argentum, secundum quod Elixir album vel rubeum fuerit praeparatum. [87]


CAPUT XX [p. 84, l. 15]

Non ergo dependet bonitas huius multiplicationis nisi ex multiplicata reiteratione sublimationis & fixationis huius medicinae; quoniam quanto huius complementi ordo reiteratur pluries, tanto / etiam [L. et] ipsius exuberantia multiplicatur magis, & augmentatur bonitas perfectionis istius [L. illius] maxime, quousque omne corpus a perfectione diminutum atque etiam argentum vivum mutet in infinitum in Lunificum & Solificum verum.

Nam quoties [L. + more solito] sublimaveris medicinam perfectam & solveris, {toties lucraberis omni vice ad proiiciendum unum super mille; ut si primo cecid/it [L. erunt] super mille, secundo cadet super decem millia, tertio super / centena [L. centum] millia, quarto super / millena [L. mille] millia, & quinto super infinitum. Quanto igitur Elixir magis subtiliatur, tanto plus tingit, / atque adeo [L. ideo] in quantum elevaveris tuum opus, in tantum plus valebit, quia abundantius operabitur, & maiorem quantitatem convert/it [L. -et.]

Et hoc [L. + certe] est quod dicit Geber, qui fuit magister magistrorum in nostro [88] magisterio: "Operare / tu [L. -] cum lapide tuo, & [L. + ego operabor] cum / lapide [L. -] meo, & plus valebit [L. + lapis] meus quam tuus, quia si [L. + tu] proieceris unum super mille, ego [L. + unum] proiiciam super 10 millia, & totum erit bonum; si autem tu proieceris [L. + unum] super decem millia, ego proiiciam unum super / millena [L. decies mille] millia; quare plus valet lapis meus quam tuus, quoniam in transmutatione multorum millium transcendit lapidem tuum."

Hoc autem [L. + non] dixit Geber, [L. + nisi] ut nos seduceret quia lapis / eius [L. suus] & noster unus & idem est, sed solvebat totum & sublimabat multoties, ita / ut unum de lapide suo [L. quod unum de opere suo] transcenderit decem de nostro, - & ideo quanto magis sublimatus fuerit, tanto / maiorem [L. magis] convertendi / vim habuerit [L. virtutem habebit], ergo & / qui [L. quod] maxime maximam [L. -e.] Non ergo omittas Elixir tuum subtiliare & in quantum poteris / sublimare [L. alleviare;]} & certe causa suae velocis liquefactionis est suarum partium ab igne subtiliatio finalis. Nam quicquid ex Mercurio in natura propria ad fixionem deductum magis subtiliatur, magis / etiam [L. -] solvitur, & / ideo [L. ita] quod maxime / etiam [L. -] maxime.

Et / haec est causa quod [L. ideo] Elixir completum ad cerae modum [89] citissimam dat fusionem, magis quam aliquod metallorum; ipsum enim / non [L. -] est nisi ex purissima argenti vivi substantia in fixionem deductam, & ex subtilissima materia, mundissima, fixa, quae ab argento vivo sumpsit originem, & ab illo est creata.

/ Et illud [L. id] ideo, quia cum fugitivum sit argentum vivum, de facili absque inflammatione, / alia [L. aliqua] medicina eget, quae subito ante eius fugam illi in profundo adhaereat, & ei per minima coniungatur, illudque inspisset, / ac [L. -] sua fixione [L. + &] a fuga in igne conservet, convertens totum per suum beneficium in momento in / Lunificum & Solificum verum [L. Solem vel Lunam veram,] secundum [L. + illud ad] quod Elixir fuerit praeparatum.

{Si ergo facilis non esset fusionis, non funderetur ante Mercurii fugam, / neque [L. nec] retineret ipsum. [L. + Hoc igitur secretum nota:] si autem de / eius [L. sua] non esset natura, non adhaereret illi in profundo / eius, [L. -] neque / gauderet [L. coniungeretur] per minima / permisceri [L. -]; nam argentum vivum in se non recipit, nisi quod suae fuerit naturae; / si fixa non esset medicina, non figeret [L. neque alium eum figet,] & si mundissim/a [L. -um] / & fulgidissima [L. -] non esset, non converteret Mercurium neque caetera corpora in [90] aurum & argentum, quia nihil dat quod non habet, cum non inveniatur in re, quod in ea non fuerit / antea [L. ante.]

Quare / [L. -] liquet [L. igitur] medicinam nostram necessario debere esse substantiae subtilissimae & purissimae, adhaerentis argento vivo ex natura sua, & facillimae & tenuissimae liquefactionis / & fixam [L. + ad modum aquae fixae] super ignis pugnam; quia haec / medicina [L. -] ipsum / Mercurium [L. -] coagulabit, & in naturam Solarem & Lunarem convertet.

Iam ergo nostram complevimus medicinam in caliditate & frigidate, / in [L. -] humiditate & siccitate aequaliter temperatam; unde quicquid illi apponitur, erit eiusdem complexionis cum eo cui apponitur, ut si aquam illi apposueris, totum solvetur in aquam, si vero ignem, totus erit ignis; & haec est causa quare multiplicari potest medicina in infinitum. Ipsa enim est sicut ignis in ligno [L. Propterea est sicut ignis in lignis], & sicut muscus in aromatibus bonis, eo magis crescens, quo magis [L. + usu] fuerit conculcata [L. -us.] Quare oportet te partem / eius [L. -] relinquere omni tempore, quoniam ditatus est & ab illa, sicut qui habet ignem, ditatus est ab ipso.}

[L. + Nota ergo intime de multiplicatione Elixirii:] Multiplicatur autem / Medicina [L. -] sive [91] per solutionem, sive per fermentationem, sed per solutionem tardius, per fermentationem vero citius nostra augmentatur medicina, eo quod soluta non bene / augmentatur [L. operatur] nisi / primum [L. prius] in suo figatur fermento. Abundantius tamen operatur multo medicina soluta / & fermentata, [L. -] quam / solum [L. -] fermentata, quoniam magis / est subtiliata [L. subtilis est,] licet per solam fermentationem possit / etiam [L. -] multiplicari in infinitum.

/ Et illud [L. idque] ideo, quia fermentum reducit sibi appositum ad / sui [L. suam] naturam, colorem & saporem per omnem modum; nam confectionem dealbat, combustionem inhibet, tincturam continet / ne fugiat [L. non fugitat,] corpora / vivificat [L. leniat], & se invicem ingredi facit & coniungi, quod finis est operum & sine illo Elixir non peragitur, quemadmodum [L. + nec] pasta / sine [L. absque] fermento / non [L. -] fermentatur.

Idcirco cum Elixir sublimando fixaveris, reducas super ipsum / appropriatum spiritum sic ut [L. apparatum corpus &] commisceatur / & [L. ac] liquefiat per secretum naturarum in vase philosophico, - nam cum steterint per moram temporis, vincet fortius illorum, convertens totum in spiritum sibi similem, & ipse, cum potens sit [92] super vinculo, non stat. [L. + Hic nota de desponsatione spiritus cum corpore a quo extrahebatur in principio suo:] Coniunge ergo ipsum, ut generet sibi simile [L. + corpus,] nec coniungas [L. + eum] cum quovis alio, ut convertat ad se, nisi cum eo, cum quo fuit in principio; si feceris hoc, fiet Elixir / etiam illud [L. aliorum id] quod coniunctum fuit. / & illud ideo [L. Ratio autem quare debeat coniungi cum suo simile est,] quia sulphura sulphuribus continentur, & / humiditas [L. humida] simili humiditate, - nam spiritus convertens sulphur[L. -a] in spiritum sibi similem factus est uterque fugiens & spiritus aerei in aera simul scandentes / sese [L. se] diligunt.

Videntes igitur philosophi, quod illud non fugiebat cum fugientibus, fugiens factum iteraverunt ad simile corpus non fugiens, & intulerunt in id ipsum, a quo fugere minime poterat, propter propinquam naturae suae convenientiam. [L. + Nota ergo hoc esse verum de ingressione spiritus in corpus.]

Anima certe / suum corpore [L. corpus suum] citius ingreditur quam si in aliud mitteretur, quod si immittere studueris, in vanum labora/bis [L. -veris,] quoniam non / est [erit] communicatio tenebr/arum [L. -ae] & lucis, - ad corpus ergo simile corporibus ex quibus extracta sunt ipsa revert/entur [L. -erunt et peracta sunt] quia [L. + si] tingens & tingendum una tinctura facta sunt.

Non putes ergo / quod hoc [L. illud] quod tingit & [L. + non] fugit, veram esse tincturam philosophorum? [93] Quia [L. + autem] sulphura tingunt & non fugiunt, / nisi [L. si] simili argento vivo iuncta sunt sui generis; ideo oportet ipsum admisceri argento vivo albo vel rubeo sui generis & contineri ne fugi/at [L. -ant.] Quare iubemus argentum vivum commiscer/i [L. -e] argento vivo, quousque una munda aqua fiant, ex duobus argentis vivis composita. / Verumtamen in eorundem commixtione [L. verum in coniunctione eorundem] pones parum de opere super multum de corpore, ita / ut [L. quod] habeat potentiam illud convertendi in medicinam, alias totum vertetur in spiritum sibi similem.

Si / vero [L. autem] proieceris parum operis super multum corporis, puta unum istius super quatuor alterius, / sine aliqua mora pulveris tui [L. fiet in aliqua mora temporis pulvis, cuius] color erit albus vel rubeus, secundum quod fuerit fermentum super quod proiec/eris [L. -isti.] Et [L. + hic] quidem pulvis est elixir completum / naturae horum, de quibus elixir habet fieri. [L. -]

Et [L. + certe] Elixir debet esse pulvis simplex, & / habet fieri [L. -] de melioribus rebus huius / mundi [L. saeculi;] & corpus / & [L. ac] fermentum, quod ibi [L. sibi] misces, debet esse pulvis subtilis / solutus. [L. - ; + Nota hic quod dicit unum de opere super quatuor de corpore, & erit opus simul solutum per se & antequam sunt, iungantur] quia non facies / omnino [L. omnimodam] eorum / mixtiones [L. commixtionem], donec unumquodque solvatur separatim in aquam; eo quod qui [94] desiccat / priusquam imbibat [L. antequam imbuat,] non coniungit per minima, nec omnino subtiliat, / laevius [L. plenius] quippe est separare vinum a terra quam ab aqua. [L. + Nota igitur quod quando corpus solutum fuerit in aqua, quod nunquam disiungitur ab aqua sua.] Sed quando aqua miscetur aquae, tunc aqua recipit aquam / sic ut [L. quae] numquam separ/entur [L. -antur] ab invicem.

Ideo, si fueris hydropicus, bibe multum de dicto / potu [L. isto], & sanaberis, / quoniam [L. + Nota de croco & de multiplicatione medicinae;] unaquaeque tinctura / plus in millena parte tingit [L. in millesima parte plus tinget] in liquida quam in sicca substantia, ut patet de croco, cum ponitur in liquoribus, si / enim [L. -] in siccis proiiceretur, parum tingeret, sed si solutus iungatur cum pauco, & [L. + hoc] paucum cum / magno [L. multo] tingit in infinitum.


CAPUT XXI [Leyden p. 89, l. 20]

Sic ergo facies proiectionem: Primo multiplica decem in decem, & erunt centum, & centum in centum, / & erunt mille, & mille in mille [L. -] // [[end of ref to German manuscript CPG 467]] & erunt decem millia [L. millia decem], & decem millia in decem millia, & erunt centum millia, / & centum millia in centum millia, & erunt mille millia, [L. -] & mille millia in mille millia, & erit numerus innumerabilis, - hoc est dicere: / Primo [L. -] pone unum super decem, & unum istorum [95] super centum, / & erunt decem millia [L. & unum eorum super mille] & [L. + sic] de caeteris similiter.

Iterum secundum alium philosophum: Pone partem unam super decem metalli praeparati, & huius unam partem super centum, & convertetur conversione fixa, atque durabili, si Deus voluerit. Si autem una vice & prima pones unam partem super mille partes, timendum esset, ne prae nimio calore consumeretur & exhalaret, antequam penetrasset & confectum esset, - cum autem ponis unam super decem, cito penetrat & miscetur, unde non est necesse fortificare ignem neque continuare, sed cito debet deponi, cum autem infrigidatum est, iam illud se tenet cum illo, & adhaeret ei propter convenientiam naturae, - quare si dehinc partem unam super centum proiicias, retinetur substantia lapidis ab eo cui mixtum est, adhaerens ei, donec totum transmutaverit.

Cum oleis ergo misce argentum vivum praeparatum, non quod sit materia omnium metallorum, sicut quidam affirmant, & multi putant, sed quod per frigiditatem teneat medicinam super ignem donec misceatur, ne exhalet, - custodi [96] ergo illud, & eris fortunatus in terra. Causa autem eorum omnium est triplex, bonitas, necessitas & perfectio: Bonitas [L. + causa] ut [L. + perfectius &] abundantius tingat, ut [L. + in] melius perficiat, / ut plura [L. & plurima] convertat; necessi/tas [L. -tatis causa] ut melius coloretur, / ut sibi simile generetur, [L. -] ut melius figatur; / perfectio quia Medicina perfecta habet convertere metallum imperfectum in perfectissimum aurum & argentum [L. ut sibi simile generet aurum vel argentum.]

Numerus autem perfect/ionis [L. -us] est denarius, centenarius & / millenarius [L. millenus.] Ideo de primo ad ultimum facies proiectionem, nam si ita parvus simpliciter dimicaret contra ita magnum, superaretur ab eo propter sui paucitatem. [L. + Nota in sequenti de fundamentis medicinae:] / Verum [L. -] omnia medicinae [L. + nostrae] fundamenta sunt multum subtilianda & tingenda, quia quanto plus / subtiliatur Elixir, & tingitur [L. subtiliantur, tanto plus Elixir tingitur,] tanto[L. -que] abundantius operatur, ergo & quod maxime, maxime.

Ideo ad solutionem pone solutionem, & solut/o [L. -ioni] immitte desiccationem [L. defunctionem] & pone/ [L. -s] totum ad ignem, custodi fumum, praecavens ne fugiat aliquid ex illo. Regimen autem totum est in in temperie ignis, itaque morare prope vas, & intuere mira, quomodo movebitur de colore in colorem [97] in minus quam in hora diei, quousque perveniat ad metam albedinis / & rubedinis [L. vel ialoris, id est citrinitas,] quoniam citissime liquefiet in igne & congelabitur in aere; quia fumus, cum senserit ignem, penetrabit in corpus, & spiritus constringetur in sicc/um [L. -o], eritque corpus unum, fixum, clarum, album vel rubeum, secundum quod fuerit medicina & fermentum.

Tunc / depone ab igne, dimittens totum [L. de igne deme dimittens] refrigerari, quia / cadet [L. -] unum ipsius pondus [L. + proiectum] super mille / millia, & amplius [L. -] cuiusvis corporis, / convertens totum [L. imperfecti habet illud convertere] in optimum aurum / & [L. vel] argentum, secundum quod Elixir fuerit / praeparatum [L. proiectum.]

Verum/tamen [L. -] medicina alba album exigit fermentum, sicut rubea rubeum, quia in opere rubeo nihil intrabit nisi rubeum, sicut in [L. + opere] albo nihil [L. + intrabit] nisi album. Ideo quod facis in albo, fac et in rubeo, quia una & eadem est praeparatio amborum, sed complificans tincturarum & spirituum est / ipsorum [L. illorum] fermentum, - / quare [L. hinc] liquet quod qui argentum vivum album, ignem patiens, argento mero, id est puro, non coniungit, nullam elegit viam ad albedinem; qui vero argentum vivum rubeum, ignem sustinens, [98] non coniungit auro mero, id est puro, nullam viam elegit ad rubedinem.

Non ergo fatiget corpus suum in his, ad quae non poterit pervenire, quia nec sibi, nec alteri, nec mundo proderit, donec motor in sublimi naturae mobili quieverit in incorruptum quasi non corruptum.


CAPUT XXII [Leyden p. 91 infra]

[L. + Nunc totius operis recapitulationem subnectimus:] / Verumtamen quia nimius [L. quia igitur nimius] sermo intellectum [L. + mentis] obruit & errores augmentat, ideo sub brevitate sermonis totum huius operis complementum narrabimus: & est ut sumatur lapis sufficienter notus, & cum operis instantia assiduetur super ipsum perfectio sublimationis, ut / primo [L. -] mundetur [L. + per hoc intime] & subtilietur lapis, donec ad ultimam subtilitatis puritatatem deveniat, / tandem [L. ultimo] volatilis fiat; & hic [L. + quidem] est primus eius administrationis gradus.

Ab hinc vero cum fixionis modis figatur, donec in / igne asperitatis [ L. ignis asperitate] quiescat. Sit autem opus Lunae nimis album, opus vero Solis [L. + nimis] rubeum, quia album est opus hiemis, & rubeum aestatis; ideo maiori partium sublimatione indiget, per modos proprios [99] in maiori decoctione digestos, donec rubicundissimum assumat colorem; & in hoc uno meta perfectionis secundi gradus consistit.

Sed in tertio gradu est totius operis complementum, & est ut iam fixum lapidem cum modis sublimationis volatilem facias / cum non fixo, [L. -] & volatilem fixum, & fixum / iterato [L. -] solutum & / volatilem, & iterato volatilem fixum [L. solutum iterato fixum,] quousque fluat / & liquefiat [L. -] & alteret in complemento Solifico /& [L. vel] Lunifico certo; [L. + quoniam] ex reiteratione / igitur [L. -] praeparationis huius tertii gradus / medicinae [in medicinam] resultat / bonitas & [L. -] alterationis [L. + ac bonitatis] multiplicatio, ut unumquodque imperfectorum corporum convertat in infinitum, in Solem / & [vel] Lunam veram.

Praeterea etiam virtutem habet efficacem omnem sanandi infirmitatem super omnes alias medicinas; nam laetificat animum, virtutem augmentat, conservat iuventutem & renovat senectutem, quoniam non permittit sanguinem putrefieri, neque phlegma dominari, neque choleram aduri, nec melancholiam superexaltari; imo sanguinem supra modum multiplicat, contenta in [100] in spiritualibus purgat, & omnia corporis membra conservat, & generaliter tam calidas quam frigidas infirmitates citissime curat prae omnibus medicinis.

Quoniam si aegritudo fuerit unius mensis, eam uno die sanat; & si unius anni, sanat diebus duodecim; si vero antiquior & multi temporis, sanabit uno mense, & omnes malos humores expellet, bonosque inducet; confert et amorem illorum quibus offertur, deferentibus securitatem, audaciam & [L. + in palatiis] victoriam. In hoc completur secretum secretorum naturae maximum, quod est super omne huius mundi pretiosum pretiosissimum. [L. + Explicit Rosarium vere aureum.]

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VISIO EIUSDEM IOHANNIS DAUSTENII ANGLI. (Versio Geismariae 1657, et ex Bilblioteca Curiosa Mangeti, 1702)

Cum omnium rerum natura consistentium certus sit effectus generationis & augmenti, ex radice earundem sumimus necessarium Planetarum insinuationem; unde, ortum Solis & Lunae magno desiderio quaerentes, talem vidimus visionem: Putavimus nos raptos ante conspectum Naturae, & ecce, - septem Planetae venientes, volente ipsa natura, fratrem suum primogenitum praefecerunt sibi in regem, ac diademate regni insignitum, quasi dominum suum adorantes, suos eidem pandebant defectus. Erant enim omnes fere vel lepra vel scabie infecti. Rex autem, confratres consolari cupiens, ait: Expedit certe, ut unus ex nobis sine macula existens moriatur pro universis, & non tota [102] progenies pereat (*1), ut recenti ipsius sanguine liniti consequamini sanitatem, - nam, ut dicit Plato, "Secundum meritum materiae dantur formae."

Planetae autem caeteri suum regem audientes dicebant: Et quis nostrum caret macula? Nam ex semine immundo concepti sumus, & fragilitati subiectos peperit nos mater nostra, - quis igitur potest facere mundum de immundo semine conceptum? Non enim invenitur in re quod in ea non est! Quibus mater illorum Mercurius respondit: Filii! sex corpora genui, quorum unum est fulgidum, immaculatum, rex & caput & optimum Planetarum, nec quid superfluum in eo est, nec minus in eo, quia eius complexio est temperata & natura directa in caliditate & frigiditate, humiditate & siccitate: Ideoque res comburentes illud non comburunt, nec corrumpentes corrumpunt, nec terra nec aqua alterant ipsum umquam. Cum ipso ergo spiritus commiscentur & figuntur per ipsum maximo ingenio, quod ad durae cervicis artificem non pertinet; ipso ergo perficeremur bene omnes, sed quia perfectis moribus est, mori [103] nequibit.

Flebant ergo omnes fletu magno, dicentes: Proh dolor! Quare nos immundos & ipsum ita perfectum genuisti, mater? Heu nobis, cur nos constituisti fratres amaritudinis & doloris? Quare non in utero suffocati sumus, aut antequam nasceremur, periimus? Cur, excepti genibus, lactati uberibus, nati sumus in combustionem & in cibum ignis? Quibus Natura respondit: Omnia in sapientia & mensura creata sunt; qui dedit consilium, ferat auxilium: Nam bonus princeps animam suam ponit pro subditis suis.

Oportet ergo te, o rex, denuo nasci, quando alias mori non poteris, nec tuos perficere & curare fratres, - quia qui quartum convertit in sextum, poterit tunc ipsum convertere in septimum & in quartum. Rex autem subridens inquit: Quomodo potest corpus senile nasci denuo, - numquid potest matris suae uterum ingredi & renasci? (*2) Cui Natura respondit: Tu es caput familiae tuae & haec ignoras? (*3) Nonne scis quod nihil demergitur in Mercurio nisi Sol? Te igitur matri & suo pectori iuncto nihil melius, quia sic fugam suam quiescere & tua [104] contineri substantia facies. Non enim possunt gravia nisi levium additione sursum elevari, nec levia nisi gravium consortio inferius detrudi, - nihil ergo creatum est sine causa!

Qui ergo animam suam amat, eam perdet (*4), nam unde videbatur perdidisse quod erat, inde incipit apparere quod non erat; quoniam quae devastant, emendant, & unde corruptio procedit, inde emendatio apparet. Rex ergo gemens ait: Domina, transferatur, quaeso, a me onus istud, verumtamen si transferri non potest, nisi portem illud, parebo sententiae tuae (*5); quia non est digno imperio, qui negligit certare pro ipso. Lunam igitur plenam assumam in matrem, ut fiam albus nigri, rubeus albi, citrinus rubei, filius veridicus non mentiens.

Fratribus ergo gaudentibus de nuptiis promissis sui regis, pararunt illi cubiculum grande stratum (*6), rotundum, lucidum, rore circumdatum, bene clausum, quod & novem virginibus pulchrarum facierum ad tanti regis servitium decenter munientes, praestolabantur cum timore liberationem suam. Igitur, dum medium silentium tenerent omnia, lux [105] lucens valde rutilans, a regalibus sedibus veniens, novem virginibus dixit: Oportet me per ignem & aquam transire, solum serpentis venenum timeo, ne violentia nimia in aetate tenera perimat me, custodia ergo mei estote, quousque ad aetatem devenero perfectam, & vos tunc in regnum meum transferens, de caetero erimus immortales. Virginibus ergo custodiam optimam pollicentibus, Rex suum thalamum ingreditur securus, & magno libidinis ardore ex improviso succensus dormivit statim, & dormitavit cum virgine decora nimis, filia matris suae. Et quia indigestus nimium incaluit, omnino discrasiatus virtute defecit.

At mulier illa, Sole amicta & sub pedibus eius Luna (*7), subito absorpsit suum sponsum, ut de illo nihil reliquum videre possem; nam fumosa ex libidine effecta, totam suis basiis animam regis exhausit; unde & virgines regem mortuum existimantes, desperatae de vita ipsius, smiliter dormiverunt.

Quod sentiens serpens callidus, antiquas inimicitias erga mulierem recogitans [106] sub dicto ingreditur thalamo, venenum paulatim & paulatim effundens, ne forte e somno dormientes excitaret; & toxicum hoc, parum & parum ascendens, corpus regis dormientis sensim comminuit. Mulier vero de tanto sanguinis calore nimium calefacta, cum suis virginibus effugiens, cameram ascendit altiorem, iterum atque iterum septies in lavacro purgatorii peccatum suum diluentes, ut vel de regis corpore, si solam animam secum conservarent, ne forte pro eius morte, si quid corporis ipsius secum haberent, suspendii damnarentur.

Uxor autem, cum regem diligeret, & in se animam eius exhaustam possideret, cogitavit quomodo mortuum suscitaret. Et cum ex scientia naturali diligenter cognovisset, quod absque alterationibus multis nihil revivisceret, primo ne corpus mortuum inficeret aerem, combussit in cinerem, & regis exequiis magnifice celebratis, se cum combusto cinere gratanter sepelivit. Sed aemulatio antiqua serpentis charitati invidens, parum & parum [107] toxicum evomebat, nusquam ab inceptis desistens festinare opus mulieris destruere laborabat. Hoc fiebat prima luce octobris. Mulier autem more materno virum suum diligenter in intimis suis visceribus recolligit, ne amplius laederetur, volens venenum repellere: Et quanto magis toxico serpentis foetus infestatur, tanto magis maternis admissus visceribus occultatur, ne nimio calore abortum patiatur.

Luna namque humiditate propria plena, foetum obumbravit & ignis flammam eminus expulit. Verum ex labore conflicta foemina & onere fatigata, efficitur turpissima, facie denigrata, & toto corpore prostrata super terram, nec oculos erigere, nec manus extendere poterat prae languore.

Nam artis principium est caput corvi nigrum, parum & parum exiccans se ad ignem, ut album post fuscum induat indumentum. Interim mulieris adfuit tempus pariendi, peperitque filium suum primogenitum; & ne inficeretur a serpente praecavens in futurum, assumptis alis, superiorem ascendit cameram quaerens exitum, [108] nec inveniens, rediit ad nidulum unde exierat, nec inveniens requiem quam quaerebat, iterum atque iterum expansis alis superius evolebat, sed obserato exitu cogitur retroire.

Et dum in hunc modum certebat evolare, filius noster genitus tres virgines devorabat, ita ut illarum alis deplumatis fuga penitus privarentur. Quod cautius videntes sex coeterae virgines valde timuerunt cursu moderato aerem petentes; verum ipse desiccans se ad Solem de nigro ad album versus est colorem. Facta autem sunt haec Calendae Martii.

Serpens igitur cum ista didicisset, nimio furore repletus, regem incineravit fortiori calore, - at ille magis & magis aquam hauriens, unam post aliam ex sex virginibus singulas devoravit, semper cum ipsis, ut prius fecerat cum aliis, coagulans se ad ignem, ita ut intra spatium aliorum 40. dierum totus versus sit in terram, & tum post alias 40. dies in aequali calore iugiter consistens, ultimo albissimum induit vestimentum.

Multototies autem mutavit suos vultus, quandoque nigram & fuscam, quandoque [109] rubeam & croceam, quandoque citrinam & albam emittens effigiem, ita ut cum Horatio dicerem:

Quo teneam nodo mutantem Prothea vultus.

Cum igitur in mera perstaret albedine, coniugio sororis suae Lunae scivimus ipsum indigere. Cum illa igitur ipsum maritantes super alia corpora proiectionem fecimus, & ecce: Una pars sui mille millia partes aliorum Planetarum in verissimum vertebat argentum.

Igitur cum serpens videret se conteri, tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus, toto suo posse regem albis indutum vestimentis perdere insudabat, ut quod prius neglexerat, vel sero saltem provideret. At rex ossibus confortatis fortiter resistens magis ac magis serpentem conculcavit, & tandem post tempora, ipso interfecto, nullius prorsus venenum de coetero metuebat. Verum ex ira, motu & duello nimium calefactus, de albo in sanguineum versus est colorem, & sic imperium reassumens, de omnibus triumphavit, nulliusque culpam reliquit impunitam. Cum ergo purpura sese vestiisset regali, Solem cum [110] Sole copulantes super corpora alia proiecimus. Et ecce: una pars sui mille millia aliorum in verissimum mutavit aurum.

Expergefacti igitur visionem conscribentes, gaudio magno gavisi fuimus, ita ut paupertate exulata de caetero domos proprios inhabitare recusemus.

Unde Domino nostro Iesu Christo gratias referentes, arborem conscendimus, poma colligimus, maria timemus.

FINIS



References to the Vulgate

(*1)

Evg. Iohannis 11, 50 49 Unus autem ex ipsis, Caiaphas, cum esset pontifex anni illius, dixit eis: Vos nescitis quicquam, 50 nec cogitatis quia expedit nobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo, et non tota gens pereat!

Evg. Iohannis 18, 14 Erat autem Caiaphas qui consilium dederat Iudaeis quia expedit unum hominem mori pro populo!

(*2)

Evg. Iohannis 3, 4

3 Respondit IHS et dixit ei: amen, amen, dico tibi: nisi quis natus fuerit denuo, non potest videre regnum Dei. 4 Dicit ad eum Nicodemus: quomodo potest homo nasci, cum senex sit? Numquid potest in ventrem matris suae iterato introire, et nasci?

(*3)

Evg. Iohannis 3, 10

10 Respondit IHS et dixit ei: tu es magister Israhel, et haec ignoras?

(*4)

Evg. Matth. 10, 39

Qui invenit animam suam, perdet illam; et qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, inveniet eam!

Evg. Luc. 17, 33

Quicumque quaesierit animam suam salvare, perdet illam; et qui perdiderit illam, vivificabit eam!

Evg. Iohannis 12, 25b

Qui amat animam suam, perdet eam; et qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam aeternam custodit eam.


(*5)

Evg. Matth. 26, 39

Mi Pater, si possibile est, transeat a me calix iste! 39b Verumtamen non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu!

Evg. Marc. 14, 35

Abba! Pater! - Omnia possibilia tibi sunt, - transfer calicem hunc a me! 36b Sed non quod ego volo, sed quod tu.

Evg. Luc. 22, 42b

42b Pater! Si vis, transfer calicem istum a me! Verumtamen non mea voluntas, sed tua fiat!


(*6)

Evg. Marc. 14, 15

Et ipse vobis demonstrabit cenaculum grande stratum, et illic parate nobis.

Evg. Luc. 22, 12

Et ipse vobis ostendet cenaculum magnum stratum, et ibi parate!


(*7) Apoc. 12, 1

Et signum magnum paruit in caelo mulier amicta sole et luna sub pedibus eius et in capite eius corona stellarum duodecim


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An earlier printed Latin version of Dastin's "Visio" is found in the collection of alchemical texts assembled by Johannes Rhenanus, intitled "Harmoniae Chymico-philosophicae ..", Frankfurt 1625, [DECAS II, - 2nd tome] from page 301 books.google.ch/books?id=w3dpGSA_nj8C&pg=PA3&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q=Visio&f=false

That earlier print presents a number of variants when compared to the Geismaria 1647 edition used here. Which is by the way identical to the reprint in the Biblioteca Curiosa Mangeti.
Variant apparatus:

>word< of the 1647 edition, not followed by {} brackets, means it does not appear in the earlier edition.

>word< of the 1647 edition followed by {variant, 1625 edition} brackets, alternative reading

alternative word order is denoted by putting the word in question of the 1647 edition in > < and repeating it in an abbreviated form either before: {w. <}, or after the original position: {w. >}

Obvious spelling errors have not been included. The pagination still follows the 1647 edition, which, I believe, follows the manuscript tradition more closely.




[101]

VISIO EIUSDEM IOHANNIS DAUSTENII ANGLI.

Cum omnium >rerum< natura consistentium, certus sit effectus generationis & augmenti, ex radice earundem sumimus necessarium Planetarum insinuationem: Unde, ortum Solis & Lunae {quaer. <} magno desiderio >quaerentes<, talem vidimus visionem. Putavimus nos raptos ante conspectum >Naturae< {Antiqui dierum}. Et ecce: Septem Planetae venientes, volente ipsa natura, fratrem suum primogenitum praefecerunt >sibi< in regem, ac diademate regni insignitum, quasi >dominum suum< {dum} adorantes, suos >eidem< pandebant defectus {eid.>}. Erant enim omnes fere, vel lepra, vel scabie, infecti. Rex autem, confratres consolari cupiens, ait {aiebat}: Expedit certe, ut unus ex nobis sine macula >existens< moriatur pro >universis< {populo}, & non tota [102] >progenies< {gens} pereat, ut recenti >ipsius< sanguine {ipsius} liniti consequamini sanitatem; >nam< {quia}, ut dicit Plato, secundum meritum materiae dantur formae.

Planetae autem caeteri suum regem audientes dicebant: Et quis nostrum caret macula? >Nam ex semine immundo concepti sumus, & fragilitati subiectos< {quia in iniquitate concepti sumus, & in delictis} peperit nos mater nostra, - quis igitur potest facere mundum de immundo >semine< conceptum {sem.>}? Non enim invenitur in re quod in >ea< {re} non est!

Quibus mater illorum Mercurius respondit: Filii! sex corpora genui, quorum >unum< {primum} est fulgidum, immaculatum, rex & caput & optimum Planetarum, nec quid superfluum in eo est, nec minus >in< eo, quia >eius< {sua} complexio est temperata & natura directa in caliditate & frigiditate, humiditate & siccitate: Ideoque res comburentes >illud< non comburunt, nec corrumpentes corrumpunt, nec terra, nec aqua, alterant ipsum umquam. Cum ipso ergo spiritus commiscentur, & figuntur per ipsum maximo ingenio, quod ad durae cervicis artificem non pertinet. Ipso >ergo< {igitur} perficeremur bene omnes, sed >quia< perfectis moribus >est<, mori [103] nequibit.

Flebant ergo omnes fletu magno, dicentes: Proh dolor! >Quare< {ut quod} nos immundos & ipsum ita perfectum genuisti, mater? Heu nobis, cur nos >constituisti< {educasti} fratres amaritudinis & doloris? Quare non in >utero< {vulva} >suffocati< {mortui fuimus} >sumus, aut antequam nasceremur, periimus?< {egressi ex utero non statim perivimus?} Cur, excepti genibus, lactati uberibus, nati >sumus< in combustionem & in cibum ignis? >Quibus Natura< {Et Antiquus} respondit: Omnia in sapientia {creavi} & mensura >creata sunt.< Qui dedit consilium, ferat auxilium: Nam bonus >princeps< {pastor} animam suam ponit pro >subditis< {ovibus} suis.

Oportet ergo te, o rex, >denuo< nasci {de.>}, quando alias mori non poteris, nec tuos perficere & curare fratres, - quia qui quartum convertit in sextum, poterit tunc ipsum >convertere< in septimum {conv.>} & in quartum.

>Rex autem subridens inquit: Quomodo potest corpus senile nasci denuo< {Et Rex in risum dissolutis, sic inquit: Quomodo potest homo nasci cum sit senex?}, numquid potest matris suae uterum ingredi & renasci? {quoniam me dixisti: Nasci denuo!} Cui >Natura< {Antiquus} respondit: >Tu es caput familiae tuae< {Tu es Magister in Israel} & haec ignoras? Nonne scis quod nih>il< demergitur in Mercurio nisi Sol? Te igitur matri & suo pectori iuncto nih>il< melius, quia sic >fugam suam quiescere< {su. quiesc. fugam} & tua{-m} [104] contineri substantia facies. >Non enim< {quod non} possunt gravia nisi levium >additione sursum elevari< {superius}, >nec< {neque} levia nisi gravium >consortio< inferius {cons.>} detrudi, - nih>il< ergo crea>tum< {-vi} >est> sine causa!<

Qui ergo animam suam amat, eam perdet. Nam unde videbatur perdidisse quod erat, inde incipit apparere quod non erat. Quoniam quae devastant, emendant, & unde corruptio procedit, inde emendatio apparet. Rex ergo gemens ait: >Domina, transferatur, quaeso, a me onus istud, verumtamen si transferri non potest, nisi portem illud, parebo sententiae tuae< {Domine, si fieri potest, transeat a me calix iste, verumtamen si non transire poterit, nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua!} Quia non est digno imperio, qui negligit certare pro ipso. Lunam igitur plenam >as

Fratribus ergo {suis} gaudentibus de {premiss.} nuptiis >promissis sui Regis, {sibi} pararunt >illi< cubiculum grande stratum, rotundum, lucidum, rore >circumdatum< {inundatum}, bene clausum. Quod et novem virginibus pulchrarum facierum ad tanti regis servitium decenter munientes praestolabantur cum timore >liberationem suam< {suum salutare}. Igitur, dum medium silentium tenerent omnia, lux [105] >lucens< {lucis} valde rutilans, a Regalibus sedibus veniens, novem virginibus dixit: Oportet me per ignem & aquam transire {& renasci}, solum serpentis venenum timeo, ne violentia nimia in aetate tenera perimat me, - custodia ergo mei estote, quousque ad aetatem devenero perfectam, & vos tunc in regnum meum transferen>s< {-tes}, de caetero erimus immortales. Virginibus >ergo< {autem} custodiam optimam >pollicentibus< {permittentibus}, Rex suum thalamum ingreditur securus, & magno libidinis ardore ex improviso succensus, dormivit statim, >&< {ac} dormitavit cum virgine decora nimis, filia matris suae. Et quia indigestus nimium incalavit, omnino discrasiatus virtute defecit.

At mulier illa, Sole amicta & sub pedibus eius Luna, subito absor>psit< {-buit} suum sponsum, >ut de illo nihil reliquum videre possem< {quod de illo videre quicquam nequiveram}; nam fumosa ex libidine effecta, totam suis basiis {Regis exhausit} animam >regis exhausit<. Unde & virgines Regem mortuum penitus existimantes, desperatae de vita ipsius, smiliter >dormitaverunt< {dormierunt}.

Quod sentiens serpens callidus, antiquas inimicitias erga mulierem recogitans [106] sub dicto ingreditur thalamo, venenum paulatim & paulatim effundens, ne forte >e< {a} somno dormientes excitaret; & toxicum >hoc< {illorum}, parum & parum ascendens, corpus Regis dormientis sensim comminuit. Mulier vero de tanto sanguinis calore nimium calefacta, cum suis virginibus effugiens, cameram ascendit altiorem, iterum atque iterum septies in lavacro purgatorii peccatum suum diluentes, ut vel de Regis corpore, si solam animam secum conservarent, ne forte pro eius morte, si quid corporis ipsius secum haberent, suspendii damnarentur.

Uxor autem cum Regem {arctius} diligeret, & in se animam eius exhaustam possideret, >cogitavit quomodo< {visa est quibus modis} mortuum suscitaret. Et cum ex scientia naturali diligenter cognovisset, quod absque alterationibus multis >nihil< {nullum} revivisceret, primo ne corpus mortuum inficeret aerem, combussit in cinerem, & regiis exequiis magnifice celebratis, secum combusto cinere gratanter sepelivit. Sed aemulatio antiqui serpentis charitati invidens, parum & parum [107] toxicum evomebat, nusquam ab incoeptis desistens festinare, opus mulieris destruere laborabat. Hoc {autem} fiebat prima luce Octobris. Mulier autem more materno virum suum diligenter in intimis suis visceribus recolligit, ne amplius laederetur, volens venenum repellere: Et quanto magis toxico serpentis foetus >infestatur< {infestabatur}, tanto magis maternis admissus visceribus >occultatur< {occultabatur}, ne nimio calore abortum patiatur.

Luna namque humiditate propria plena, >foetum< {praegnantem} obumbravit & ignis flammam eminus expulit. Verum ex labore conflicta >foemina< & onere {foe.>} fatigata, efficitur turpissima, facie denigrata, & toto corpore prostrata super terra>m<, nec oculos erigere, nec manus extendere poterat, prae languore.

Nam artis principium >est< caput corvi nigrum, parum & parum exiccans se ad ignem, ut album post fuscum induat >indumentum< {vestimentum.} Interim mulieris adfuit tempus pariendi, peperitque filium suum primogenitum; & ne inficeretur a serpente, praecavens in futurum, assumptis alis, superiorem >ascendit< {assumpsit} cameram quaerens exitum, [108] nec inven>iens< {-it}, redi>it<{-iens ergo} ad nidulum unde exierat, nec inveniens requiem quam quaerebat, iterum atque iterum {multoties} expansis alis superius evolabat, sed obserato exitu cogitur retroire. Et dum in hunc modum certabat evolare, filius noster genitus tres virgines devorabat, ita >ut< {quod} illarum alis deplumatis, {secum a} fuga penitus privarentur. Quod cautius videntes sex caeterae virgines valde timuerunt cursu moderato aerem petentes. >Verum< Ipse desiccans se ad Solem de nigro ad album versus est colorem. Facta >autem< sunt {aut.>} haec {pridie} Calendae Martii.

Serpens igitur cum ista didicisset, nimio furore repletus, Regem incineravit >fortiori< calore {fort.>}. At ille magis & magis aquam hauriens, {de fontibus Salvatoris,} unam post aliam ex sex virginibus singulas devoravit, semper cum ipsis ut prius fecerat, cum aliis coagulans se ad ignem, ita >ut< {quod} intra spatium aliorum 40. dierum totus versus >sit< {est} in terram, & tum post alias 40. dies in >aequali< {aequo} calore iugiter >consistens< {persistens}, ultimo albissimum induit vestimentum; multoties autem mutavit suos vultus, quandoque nigram & fuscam, quandoque [109] rubeam & croceam, quandoque citrinam & albam, emittens effigiem, ita ut cum Horatio dicerem:

Quo teneam nodo mutantem Prothea vultus?
{Quod petiit, periit, repetit quod nuper omisit,
Diruit, aedificat, mutat quadrata rotundis.

Naturalia naturaliter efficiuntur, extra naturam neutralia proiiciuntur.

Ars non tentetur naturam ni comitetur (GEBER ARABUS)
Quod natura negat, nemo feliciter audet. [Gualterius Anglicus, Fabulae Aesopicae 17.15]

(AENIGMA: Nihil reputans inde lucrum, si ita faceres; sed benefacias ungentum de sulphure, & blanqueto) :
"Quia res cuius caput est rubeum, pedes albi, oculi vero nigri, est totum magisterium."
(Intellige quod dico, quoniam omnia vere sunt verissima, qualia nunquam philosophus aliquis tradidit meliora) Arnaldus de Villanova, Rosarium Philosophorum in Gratarolus, Verae alchimiae artis ... Basilea 1561, II p. 42 Aenigma, et in Biblioteca Curiosa Mangeti, Tom I, p. 666 }

Cum >igitur< {ergo} in mera perstaret albedine, coniugio sororis suae Lunae scivimus ipsum indigere, cum illa igitur ipsum maritantes, super alia corpora proiectionem fecimus, & ecce: Una pars sui, mille millia partes aliorum Planetarum in verissimum vertebat argentum.

Igitur cum serpens >videret< {perpendisset} se conteri, tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus, toto suo posse, Regem albis indutum >vestimentis< perdere insudabat, ut >quod< {qui} prius neglexerat, vel sero saltem {sibi} provideret. At Rex ossibus confortat>i<{u}s fortiter resistens, magis ac magis serpentem conculcavit. Et tandem post tempora, ipso interfecto, nullius prorsus venenum de caetero metuebat. Verum ex ira, motu & duello nimium calefactus, de albo in sanguineum versus est colorem, & sic imperium >reassumens< {resumens}, de omnibus triumphavit, nulliusque culpam reliquit impunitam. Cum ergo purpura >sese< vestiisset Regali Solem, cum [110] Sole copulantes super corpora alia proiecimus. Et ecce: Una pars sui mille millia aliorum in verissimum mutavit aurum.

Expergefacti igitur visionem conscribentes, gaudio magno gavisi fuimus, ita >ut< {quod} paupertate exulata de caetero domos proprios inhabitare recusemus {recusamus}.

Unde Domino nostro Jesu Christo gratias referentes, arborem >conscendimus< {conscendamus}, poma collig>i<{e}mus, maria timemus {timebimus}.

FINIS