This translation of the Seven Chapters attributed to Hermes was published in 1911 in issue number VIIIXI which concluded the publications of the journal Commentarium directed by Giuliano Kremmerz. The translation is signed PC. The set of notes has been omitted.
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Anonymous – The Seven Chapters of Hermes (trans. by PC from Commentarium VIII/XI of 1911)
Here's what Hermes says:
During the long time that I have lived, I have not ceased to make experiments, and I have always worked without sparing myself.
I have not received this Art or Science except by the sole inspiration of God. He has deigned to reveal it to his Servant.
He has given to those who know how to use their reason well the means of knowing the truth; but he has never been the cause that anyone has followed error or lies.
As for me, if I did not fear the day of judgment, and of being damned for having hidden this Science, I would not have spoken of it at all, and I would not write at all to teach it to those who come after me.
But I wanted to give back to the Faithful what I owed them, teaching them what the Author of faithfulness deigned to reveal to me.
Listen then, Sons of the wise Philosophers our Predecessors, not corporally nor thoughtlessly to the Science of the four Elements on which one can operate and which can be altered and changed in their Forms; and which are hidden with their action.
Because their action is hidden in our Elixir; because this would not be able to act if it were not composed of the exact union of these same Elements; and it is not at all perfect if it has not passed through all the Colors, each of which notes the domination of a particular Element.
Know ye, O Sons of the Wise, that there is a division of the Water of the ancient Philosophers, which divides it into four other things. One is to two, and three to one.
And to the color of these things, that is, to the Humour which coagulates, belongs the third part, and the other two thirds are for the Water. These are the weights of the Philosophers.
Take of the Humour an ounce and a half, and of the Southern Red or Soul of the Sun a fourth part, which corresponds to half an ounce, and half of Orpiment, which are eight, that is, three ounces.
And know that the Vineyard of the Wise is drawn in three, and that its wine is perfect at the end of thirty.
Conceive how the operation is done. The cooking diminishes it in quantity and the Tincture increases it in quality; for the Moon begins to decrease after its fifteenth day, and increases on the third. There is therefore the beginning and the end. Behold in this way declared to you that which was hidden from you. For the work is with you and near you; so that finding it in yourselves, where it is continually, you also always have it in whatever place you are, whether on Earth or at Sea.
Keep therefore the quicksilver which is made in the interior Places or Cabinets, that is, in the Principles of the Metals which are composed of it, and in which it is coagulated. For it is there that this quicksilver which is said to be of the Earth which remains.
Whoever therefore does not understand my words, let him seek understanding from God, who does not justify the works of any wicked man, nor withholds from any good man his due reward.
For I have discovered all that was hidden of this Science; I have made clear a very great Secret; and I have also told all the Science to those who will be able to understand it. Ye, therefore, Inquisitors of the Science, and ye, Sons of wisdom, know that the vulture that is on the Mountain, cries out with a loud voice: “I am the white of the black, and the red of the white, and the orange of the red.” Surely I speak the truth.
Know also that the Raven that flies without wings in the black of night and in the light of day, is the head and the beginning of Art.
The Color is taken from the bitterness that is in his throat, and the tincture is drawn from his body and a true and quite pure Water is drawn from his back.
Therefore understand what I say, and receive by the same means the Gift of God that I communicate to you: but hide it from all the Imprudent.
It is a stone that must be honored, which is hidden in the Caverns or in the depths of the Metals. Its color makes it dazzling; it is a sublime Soul or Spirit, and an open Sea.
Behold, I have declared it to you: thank God for having taught you this Science; for he loves those who are grateful for his graces.
Put then this stone, that is, its matter, in a moist fire and cook it. That fire increases the heat of the moisture, and kills the dryness of the incombustion, until the root appears: that is, until the Body is dissolved in its Mercury. After that, make the redness and its light part come out of this Matter, continuing to do this until only the third part of it remains.
Sons of the Wise, the reason why they have called themselves Philosophers (Envious) is not because they have ever had the design of concealing anything from good people, nor from those who live piously, nor from the legitimate and true Sons of Science, nor from the Wise.
But because they hide it from the Ignorant, that is, from those who do not know enough to know it, from the Vicious and from those who live without law and without charity; for fear that by this means the Wicked may not become powerful to commit all sorts of crimes, for which the Philosophers would be responsible to God. For all the Wicked are unworthy of possessing wisdom.
Know that I call this Stone by its name. For the Philosophers call it the Female of Magnesia, or the Hen, or the white Saliva, the Milk of volatile things, and the incombustible ash, in order to hide it from the Imprudent, who have neither sense, nor law, nor humanity.
But I called it by a very well-known name, by calling it the Stone of the Wise.
So keep in this Stone the Sea, the Fire and the Bird of Heaven, until the moment of its Exit.
Now I conjure you all, O Sons of Philosophers, in the name of our Benefactor who grants you such a singular grace, never to reveal the name of this Stone to any madman, to any Ignorant, nor to anyone who is unworthy of it.
As for me, I can say that no one has ever given me anything without me giving back everything he has given me. I have never failed to show him the respect I owed him, and I have always spoken very honorably of him.
My son, this Stone is wrapped in many Colors that hide it; but there is only one that gives a sign of its birth and its entire perfection. Learn what this Color is and never say anything about it.
With the help of Almighty God, this stone will deliver you and guarantee you from diseases no matter how serious they may be; it will preserve you from all sadness and affliction, and from everything that could harm the body and the spirit. It will also lead you from Darkness to Light, from the desert to the mansion, from necessity to abundance.