The Work of the Lion Verd
THE WORK OF THE LION VERD
Jacques LE TESSON
XVIth century
FIRST TREATY
DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND THE MATERIAL
The Artist:
1. As I was one day in admiration, contemplating how I could have the knowledge of this divine science so hidden by the Sages, that there is no living man who can have any knowledge of it, I remain quite confused in my understanding,
2. and to pass my fancy, I went for a walk around a mountain [1] where I saw a dark and deep cave, and approached very near to it, and saw that it was really deep and dark, and at the bottom of it dwelt a green lyon[2], which had six horns[3] and six ears, which were all full of living water: and then I was greatly astonished to see such a horrible monster and so strange, and considered it in myself, and as I was in thought, he looks, notices me, and begins to tell me fondly
The Material:
3. Whom do you come to seek in this land here, which is so barren and deserted, for no one dwells there, nor can anyone dwell there, because of my cruelty: for as soon as anyone[ 4] presents itself, it is immediately devoured and reduced to my nature.
The Artist:
4. When I heard such a statement, I was astonished and made myself humble towards him saying to him: forgive my too curious will, however without vice, but the great desire that I have of your knowledge makes that I have lost all countenance, and for this, lord,
5. Support the zeal I have to serve you, and if you have any knowledge of it, please give me a little spark, namely the name of this matter and its conduct, otherwise I am deprived of all hope.
The Matter
6. Purify me, and set all my minds and senses straight.
The Artist:
7. O Reverend! I've read a few books that talk like you, but it's so obscure that I can't understand anything about it.
The Material:
8. So do not get angry since I know your good will and you want to do me service, I will lead you to the right path, and (you) will achieve the fulfillment of your desire, but note my words well because they are divine and of great effect,
9. and for the first point, I am[5] the one you seek, as monstrous and savage, however great virtue and wealth are drawn from me.
10. This is how you will do; you must hear that I descended from the celestial regions, and fell here below in these said concave caverns of the earth, nourished myself there for a space of time and only desire to return there, and the means of to do this is that you kill me, and then that you raise me up, and with the instrument that you kill me you will raise me up, for, as the white dove says[6], whoever kills me will make me live,
11. and mean like you gotta kill me; you must take me pure and clean as I am; for I have never been in bad company, and am not defiled with any blemish, and for this maintain me in my purity and afterwards you will cut me into very small strips and cut me off in it [7] my water which is my beloved as gently as possible, and will mingle me in such a way that nothing of me is recognized and that there are two different matters; though they are of one root, yet it is only one nature, however one is called male and the other female.
12. And after thou hast done wisely, thou shalt put me in a room round[8] and clear, for that end which thou seeest around me, and that it be justly closed, and that nothing can enter or cause harm.
13. And further, you shall build two other chambers[9] and put them one inside the other, and take the one where I am, and put it in the middle of the two, so that nothing can harm.
14. And when I am thus accommodated, you will warm me without any violence[10], with a heat suitable for killing me, for there is nothing that can kill me but this, and it must be a languid death[11] and not sudden, for it would be damnable.
15. I also warn you of one point, namely that you be patient, especially as the heat must be vaporous and humid continuously until I am dead and resurrected, and you must give guard from this Vulcan dart and fire[12], and do not be lazy for we shall all be ruined and destroyed, namely you, and nature, and me without ever rising again.
16. Here is half the time of the work[13] and you must not move or change anything during the first time.
17. We shall now speak of the depth of science point by point, and of the secret operations of Nature, to that end thou knowest nothing.
18. Know, for the first point, that I have to make a journey of a year[14] and have to pass through various paths[15]. This is where you must be careful and without failing, because this is where everything lies.
19. Flee three enemies who will surprise me on the way, not to be well instructed, but as you are well warned, you will take heed, so that you know them I want you to name them:
20. It is Vulcan[16], Neptune[17] and the god of impatience, these are the three who want to harm me, and will always be neighbors to me during my journey, and will lurk to surprise me in dark times , but as a sage you will accompany me, furnished with preservations and defenses such as you need, and will carry in your hand a flaming torch[18] to light me along the way both day and night continuously without any interval.
21. And then, note well, when we are close to these dangerous passages, you will cause by your art to be born a dark cloud very black [19] and tenebrous and will cover me with it and in passing I will not be seen, and must that you continue it until I have passed everything, and then of itself it will fade away little by little, for then I will strengthen myself and fear nothing except the god of impatience, who does not I won't give up until I return from my journey and will always be in danger.
22. This is why I command you to be constant and patient, and not to be bored in maintaining me, because he only asks you to get angry, and if you have heard and remembered well, you are very happy and have what you are looking for.
The Artist
23. O Reverend! You are like a shining torch which illuminates all my occult parts and moreover it is a source of blessing to me, your words are words of life to me, you revived me and restored all my senses.
24. As for what you want from me, to know if I have retained what you liked to say to me, I will give you a little speech about it, please listen patiently to your reverence. .
25. And to begin with, I believe that this big mountain around which I was walking is nothing other than the house where you live.
The Material:
26. This is a very good start; continue.
The Artist:
27. And as for the cave, I believe that it is the tower and the two chambers all built in which you lie very softly, namely one inside the other, and you are accommodated in the third and surrounded by it. of a rolling sea, just as the earth is surrounded by the sea, yet it does not touch you, and if it is the cause of your death and resurrection.
The Material:
28. My friend, you couldn't say it better, keep going until the end. So let's talk about the person.
The Artist:
29. I know you, you are beautiful, resplendent like the sun[20], perfect in beauty, tractable, manageable, desirable, because I do not know a man who does not want to have you in company and blessed is he who possesses you.
30. And as for the color that I see in you, it is the one that is so desired by the wise, which is mussed in your occult, it is the first appearance[21] that will come out of you while making your journey, because I saw you only in spirit and knew well the great treasures hidden in your depths which seemed priceless to me.
The Material:
31. O sons of doctrine! I swear to you that you are really wise, one could not speak of me better than you did, and for this, I beg you to continue.
The Artist:
32. And when I said that you had six horns and six ears, which were full of living water, I believe it is the water of which you were begotten, and since fed, and without which you cannot can reign, and the 6 horns and 6 ears, it is nothing other than the course of your journey, because for six months[22] or thereabouts, Nature has done nothing but reform and subtlety.
33. The other six months coagulate, desiccate, calcine, incise, fix and rubify, that's how I understand it.
The Material:
34. O my friend, I have not found a man who has dared to undertake to lead me on my journey so surely as you; you know my occult and manifest naturalness, always follow this straight line without going astray and continue.
The Artist
35. As for the cruelty that you say is in you, I do not find it cruel towards me, nor in general to the human body, so cordial, delicious; it is true that those who are contrary to your will, who are of your nature, you precipitate them when you please, for what they have not been able to follow the right path.
36. This is why two opposites[23] do not help each other.
37. And here is the cause; you are abundant in virtue and spiritual and temporal riches, seeing that you came full of all that is necessary to multiply and populate your kingdom[24] without in any way diminishing you.
[Furthermore, what is the universal mind than that of C, isn't it? Are there others other than the one who begot it.]
The Material:
You're right.
The Artist
38. When you commanded me to kill you, you did not intend that I kill you humanely with a cruel death, but with a natural death; for he who kills himself is homicidal, and is damnable and lost forever; instead of ascending to the high heavenly places[25], and descends to the deepest abysses of the earth, without any remission or means of resurrecting or saving oneself.
The Material:
39. Your word is true.
The Artist
40. I want to go further; when you commanded me to accompany you night and day with a blazing torch, to light you up the path of your journey, it is nothing other than warmth that must be made and maintained for as long as necessary for the decoction, to that end to render your body in such degree as it was in its first creation, then you will be spiritual and will ascend to the celestial regions, and from there you will see your subjects and your vassals[26].
41. And know, reverend, that there is no other way, and all who seek any other way are deceived and far from the right way.
42. And as for the warning which thou hast given me that thou hast three enemies of whom I must beware, and fear them.
43. Make sure by my loyalty that they will not offend you, because I know all that they can do and will keep me from it by the grace of God.
44. As for Vulcan, he is dangerous, but I will bridle him and hold him so short that he can do nothing, and therefore do not be afraid of him.
45. And for Neptune he has no strength, except I give it to him;
46. but weight and measure is in my brain.
47. As for the god of impatience, I command my faculties, so that it will not surprise me, for I will arm myself with unspeakable patience and for this do not fear, for I will not abandon you until you be glorified and have completed your journey.
48. And for your maintain; I know the strength of your stomach and what you can digest, in short I will lead you with a prudence and cheerfulness of heart, that you will have no occasion to get angry because I know the outside and the inside of your complexion.
The Matter
49. You say well, my friend; it is now necessary to speak of the nuances, and signs that will be made while walking, and of the occult operations as they will work one after the other, and the means as you will govern yourself in the diet and all in order and to distinguish time celestial influences, without which I would have neither life nor virtue, and in what capacity I could be at the end of my journey, and who will come to recognize me for his lord, and who will offer me his service, and what opinion they will have of me, and what good they claim of me, and with what degrees, I can honor them.
The Artist:
50. Reverend, you have entrusted me with great and very difficult things[27]; Blessed is he who hears such words, for they are words from heaven. I am not amazed if you are hardly common to men, for your qualities and properties are more spiritual than temporal, and a big-brained man must not approach it to find out about it, yet. that is said to him word for word, he will understand nothing if God does not inspire him. However, O Reverend, I will deduce it as best as I can according to the grace that God has given me, and if there is any fault in my deduction, I pray your reverence to straighten me up and put me on the right path. We must speak of the operations that Nature performs occultly in the profound Radical tone.
51. And first, as soon as the composition is made of the two matters[28], they embrace ten days or so. Example: when a man takes his meal, he will put a piece of bread in his mouth and a piece of flesh and he will chew them first than to swallow; this is the embrace we say.
52. After that another ten days, we call moistening so that the pores of both are opened and begin to enter into each other, and all this is done with the virtue of heat which circulates all around,
53. and eight days later, we call dérupter[29], which is the first subtiliation (or sublimation) or the beginning of generation, it is then that Nature is on the way to do her duty well and to unite them together, to so that they are inseparable.
54. This is what the Sages say, after forty days we will see the love affairs[30], because we will see the first appearance which will be a little shady, which is the sign that the body begins to dissolve, and lasts long enough and for what you don't need to get angry but have patience.
55. At this hour, the artist should rejoice, because as he grows more dark and shady, it is a sign that he is going away dying, and dissolving and also I will only say that for your glory and your honor. For that is the main point of the journey, for otherwise you could not see the glory of the heavens as you desire. Example: how do you want to resuscitate if first you don't die and to do this I used all my industry to make you die and Nature did everything she could also to do this.
56. And note that by this means all the glory of the heavens and of the gods [31] and goddesses will come to present themselves to receive you and offer their services each according to his office, in their times and places, which is the right path of your journey. , and will lead you faithfully.
The Material:
57. O my friend, I have taken great pleasure in hearing the discourse you have made of my nature and hidden complexion; I believe that you have been nourished in the depths of my entrails so much you speak about it learnedly. Yours is an angelic discourse and I beg you to continue, I take great pleasure in hearing you speak, for you have well understood the intention of Nature and the natural course of my person, by which I cannot fail. to make my journey under your guidance, God helping.
The Artist
58. The water[32] with which I have soaked and dominated you until now, and from you there appeared no form, and now you begin to appear and take life.
59. This is what the Sages called sulphur[33], because the body which was broken and dissolved had in itself a virtue which could be destroyed[34], and when it was seen deprived of its body natural, suddenly another of greater virtue is formed, and the whole thing has been by the good regime from which I have led you.
60. It is true that being in the past buried and bathed [35] in this water in abundance, its virtue was not in any way dominating, but worked so subtly that all its contrary parts felt nothing, and did not feel it. see that until you have overcome them with half their strength, namely their frigidity and humidity, and then they can no longer resist against you, and let themselves be governed.
61. Here is the first appearance of their resurrection which we call, and the cause is that this water is generative, and of such a nature that it can only be vanquished by the cruelty of Vulcan against whom I have put a bulwark, which could neither harm you nor approach, because it is of him that I most mistrust during your journey.
62. And now, I will speak of freezing, desiccation, cinerization, calcination, fixation, finally of rubification.
63. And first, freezing is nothing else than the decrease of humidity, becoming something dry, otherwise earth, but the humidity still dominates, and so goes thickening the humidity goes away consuming , and when the dry dominates, the humidity loses its strength, we call this desiccation, however it is not yet dry, because there is a difference between dry and dry, because drying is only the way to come to dry .
64. And in order to come to dryness, this humidity must be consumed little by little and when it is at all consumed, then it is truly dry and is true desiccation.
65. Now, let's come to the calcination. Properly calcining is drawing superfluous moisture incorporated into the deep root of matter, which hinders more than it helps.
66. And for this, I pull it by subtle means, especially as by pulling it I could offend the one who is generating.
67. This is why many people err, because they immediately shoot at the one that must remain than at the one that must be shot and in doing so spoil everything and reduce everything to moist ashes without any virtue yet that this humidity does not cannot be seen, however, it is still there, but the artist must know how to recognize that it is there, so that if it remains there, the material would be soiled and would do no good and when it is fired, we call it calcination because it is deprived of this superfluous water, and does not need to change the regime of fire for that whatever happens.
68. Cinerization[36] of which we must speak, is when the matter is completely separated from all good and bad humidity, and it remains altered, that is to say without any humidity, and this is like an impalpable gray ash of a fiery nature and cannot be held in a body because of its igneous dryness and cannot be in a solid body.
69. But the remedy is very easy, because it is only necessary to re-imbibe[37] with its very water, then it will resume a manageable and treatable body.
70. Let us now come to fixation, and note that those who would help themselves of the said powder could not, for it has not yet received the gift of fixation, and when we have imbibed it we will heat it with the first heat because we demoted it; it is true that it performs its operation more briefly than the first, however, in order to leave nothing behind, the more matter there is, the more virtue there is.
71. We must now speak of fixing and rubification according to truth and so to fix Nature must have worked from the beginning until now without any fault, for if she did. some error in its regime, by accident, because of itself it cannot make any, we would be deceived, but having not failed, everything can be fixed, because the true fixation is that all things and nuances aforesaid have lost their force.
72. The fixation cannot be shown otherwise, but Nature and I have promised each other to finish the whole thing and not to abandon each other until it is finished; thus, when we have conducted the fixation well and precisely and from nuance to nuance, then it shows itself which is conceived and engendered from the beginning steam goes on increasing, as the work goes on doing, because fixing is not something other than to fortify in order to sustain all the assaults that could be given to it.
73. And to know that it is and, as it happens, I will say it in detail at the beginning of the work, all volatile and humid things dominate, exhale and evaporate, especially as they are not cooked, but cooking them as they should, these volatile and spiritual things dry up, and they dry up. are fixed[38], and as the regime continues until the end that it resists all examination[39], it is true that the fire must be increased by one degree and as for the rubification,
74. she follows closely or they cannot walk one without the other because as the fixation goes on little by little, the red goes blushing, and do not trust the books of the envious who put all this in several parts, it is only to deceive and confuse the understanding of the poor seeking knowledge.
75. There is one more point that I want to warn you about, and that is that there must not be separation of all the above things, otherwise all would be lost because the regime must do everything, and not something else ; but it is necessary to know the possibility of Nature, which that will know, will know all the art.
The Matter
76. Friend, it cannot be that you were not the scrutinizer of the principles of my nature, because you know their complexions and their occult and manifest properties, and for this, speak a little of my virtues and liberalities and as it is necessary apply them and to whom, both for illnesses and for the convenience of this lapsed life and also works of mercy and all in order faithfully.
The Artist:
77. I have declared the course of the work from the beginning to the end, and now I want to speak of the character and quality nearer to the truth.
78. Your acquired complexion and first creation is this: knowing that you were simple and had no power except for yourself [40], because it did not descend further than your person, and the reason, for what you do not was not glorified and had acquired only what you needed, and also Nature had only mere matter, and could only make mere form, and being thus in this first quality you were in danger of being thus at Never.
79. And I seeking to come to this blessed knowledge, I found you, however cruel you said you were, and do not fail to have a great desire to have you in my company, because I [did] not know [ not] that in you[41] was hidden a great treasure, and for this cause I feared nothing because I knew the way to tame you (a) Variant of the Third Treatise: "And as you declared yourself a me, I heard your will of which I rejoiced to have met you because I will make you see the glory of the skies which is your desire and then your great hidden virtue which did not show itself will be seen and known and then you will be will receive, because before you were not taken into account. When you ordered me to kill you, which I did, and then rise again,
When I wanted to start, I took you as Nature had formed you and made you die languidly, because violent death is damnable and knows no other than that, it is happy death and resurrection. glorious, and if you had died another death you could not glorify your vassals. The example of this is that the man in his first creation is conceived and begotten from sin by the corrupt flesh of Adam who only seeks to lead this body to perdition and is so stupid that he would never want it. move, and by this means would never want to see the glory of the heavens, for the earth asks only for the earth, but when man dies in God, his body is laid in the earth, and the earth eats all this gross corruption from him and when the time comes for each one to rise again then each one will take back his body, which will be glorified and will no longer be subject to corruption or anything. This is what your mystery looks like. I led you by the same way or similar according to your nature. , and thus I did as you had told me, because I put you as Nature had formed you[42], and little by little I made you die languidly[43], because violent death is damnable and the death by which I caused you to die is happy, and after it follows the glorious resurrection from which you are resurrected if it were otherwise, that you had died of another death, and resurrected of other resurrection, you could not see the celestial gods[44] nor their glory,
80. Now do not be ungrateful to me, consider the greatness in which I have put you, advise if I have failed in any point, tell me and declare the fault to me for the purpose that I know it, because it is unknown.
The Material:
81. My friend, you have been assisted and led by this great divine prudence because a mortal man of himself would not know where to start, so unknown and difficult is it, I cannot give you better than that, it is that I put both my body and my virtue in your hands, to dispose of it in such a way that you will know that it will be good and necessary, it is all the recognition that I can give you I want you to participate in all my faculties and to be well either.
The Artist:
82. We have talked about the fruit of blessing that came out of you, now we will talk about how. it must be applied.
83. First one must look where the need is great and there to employ it, whether sickness, need, drink or eat, and what people.
84. I mean who are the poor, they are the widows, orphans poor marriageable girls, shameful prisoners and those who have consumed all their goods in seeking this divine science, I mean with all loyalty and sincerity of heart, who do not did not use the style of the sophists to help their neighbors by deceiving them, to redeem the captives from the hands of the infidels.
85. This is what I hear O Reverend; I want to make a little exhortation to all the faithful children of science, so that they can more easily hear it.
Dear readers, all be attentive, and lend your ears to hear well the fact of this little speech that I made as faithfully and familiarly as possible to me, and pray to God with a good heart and he will inspire you of his spirit, on condition that you take the resolution to live well by keeping his holy law and the means that must be kept without fear of failing, serving you as mediatrix of the holy virgin Mary. You have to keep a single easy and easy way, and there is no great labor required of the hands, only to hear what is suitable for the matter, and what is contrary to it. Those are the two main points, and leave me all these drugs and foreign matters, but what[49] I used, I got it in the globe[50] namely in the depths of my matter. I have put forward nothing that is not necessary for the Artist, because if he does not know that he will fail from the first day he begins, because I have only spoken of my material and its nature, and of all the nuances which are made by cooking it, and of the occult operations of Nature and of time; why you shouldn't leaf through so many books, which only break the reader's head and put him back rather than forward, and for this I beg you all not to have fun with it, if you want to achieve, because it is not done with a multitude of materials, but only it is done with two, which have come from the same source; it is true that one is cooked and the other raw, and must be taken pure and clean, as they come out of their mines, and the whole thing is to know how to accompany them by a holy marriage, namely by good smells, as Arnaud de Villeneuve says. It is all art, and multiplies itself in its germ, and does not ask for foreign help, because it has in itself all that it needs for its organization without borrowing anything from others. Witness the generation of man and woman, and similarly of four-legged beasts to multiply, nothing else is needed but the sperm of male and female [51] of the volatile, just as one conforms in this, for that is all. We leave the judgment to any wise man. because it has in itself all that it needs for its organization without borrowing anything from others. Witness the generation of man and woman, and similarly of four-legged beasts to multiply, nothing else is needed but the sperm of male and female [51] of the volatile, just as one conforms in this, for that is all. We leave the judgment to any wise man. because it has in itself all that it needs for its organization without borrowing anything from others. Witness the generation of man and woman, and similarly of four-legged beasts to multiply, nothing else is needed but the sperm of male and female [51] of the volatile, just as one conforms in this, for that is all. We leave the judgment to any wise man.
Now, I want to speak to those who want to do our work by distillations, vulgar sublimations, and others by triturations; all these are off the right path, in great error and pain, and will not succeed, because all names and ways of operating are metaphorical words, and for this reason the Sages have written them to hide them. The names, however, are real to whoever hears them, to dissolve [52] the fixed bodies, that is to say, to remove them and make them lose this so hard form and make it volatile, that is what distilling is in philosophy. Now to sublimate is also the same thing, it is principally to raise this fixed earth to heaven, that is to say to the heaven of your globe[53] and not to the heaven of the ship; this is the true sublimation of the wise,
The Material:
I have nothing to argue against you, since you have said everything and well explained by the menu, and very easy to hear.
The Artist:
I will deal with the three houses and their foundation; I believe I have left nothing to say: it is true that there are little hidden things that can only be said or known by working, and for this be patient and vigilant to discover these little hidden and secret passages deep in the globe of our magisterium; the philosophers have written these things only confusedly, to hide the art from the wicked.
As for multiplication, when matter has come to its perfection it is the true elixir, and to multiply it to infinity R of the water which served for its composition and in which fi has been made a weight of elixir on ten of water and dice the whole in a vessel made like the first on the same regime of ten days, by the same way one on ten, the ten on a hundred, a hundred on a thousand, etc. and from it is made the medicine of the metals which must be lowered by taking a weight of the elixir and the aforesaid water and incorporating them and cooking together at the same rate until everything is in powder. Do this four times then, if it's on the white R four thin moon drams when it's melted, throw a medicine dram over it, mix with a stick until the moon has drunk everything, throw in an ingot and be medicine for the imperfect.
Have the agent who is the green lion and the patient who is his uterine brother, called nigrum nigrius nigro, draw in the spirit or the upper part of the soul by dissolution, it is the mercury of the Philosophers then draw out the soul which is the oil, fire or secret and hidden sulfur red and blood of this green lion, then draw the body from it and after the purification join them by imbibition, trituration, desiccation, either to the white or to the red, that it is suitable for projection.
For my conclusion I will give you a brief summary of several points that I have not written, especially since the Philosophers do not mention them in their writings, at least most of them, and this will be for my conclusion.
86. It should be known that Nature in her actions, compositions, corruptions and conjunctions does all this occultly in her first time.
87. Then having done so, begin to manifest them [one after another] as they appear, and this is what we call shades, which is nothing but the operations of the celestial bodies, and are all different from each other.
88. To understand well in the mortification of the body and dissolution everything is done occultly, and only darkness and obscurity are seen which is the true sign of the death of iceluy, and the spirit is not corrupted when the body is corrupted and it is because of its rawness and frigidity, and then the body corrupted, it corrupts the spirit and to this corruption of the spirit appear all the colors of the world, as well as the concoction continues; in the beginning when the mind becomes corrupted the colors appear one after the other; but at the end all come to go above the surface of the globe of matter, and that is near the end; icelles exhaled will only appear the perfect white from which we can help ourselves.
89. And after that will come the lemon, but it is useless because it is nothing other than the color that appears between white and red, and is neither white nor red, but a fantastic and unusual color.
90. I will begin to speak of the multiplication, and of the first, of that which is for the human body, as the first matter has come to the end of its perfection, it is the true elixir and for the. multiply to infinity, it is necessary to take water from which it was made and composed in it, to know a weight of the elixir on ten weights of the said water and put it in a vessel similar to the first and put the whole in decoction like the first work and on the same regime of ten days.
91. And at the end of ten days start again and do so four times and will multiply ad infinitum.
92. By the same path the first out of ten, the second out of a hundred, the third out of a thousand, the fourth out of ten thousand, and would go on ad infinitum who would follow this path.
93. And from it is made the medicine of the metals which is not made thus, because it must lower this force, for what being thus it would precipitate them and would not do anything worthwhile.
94. And to lower it will have to do as follows
95. I take a weight of my elixir and the aforesaid water and incorporate them well together and cook them at the same rate as the first until all is converted into powder and do this four times and when it is at the end, if it's white, take four ounces of fine silver and melt it, then throw an ounce of the medicine on it and mix it with a stick until the silver has drunk it all, and then throw it away in ingots, and will be medicine for imperfect metals, and for red it is necessary to do the same with red. Laus Deo.
96. Note that one must have the agent who is the green lion, and the patient who is his uterine brother called niger nigrius nigro and draw the spirit which is the upper part of the soul, by dissolution, which is the Mercury of the Philosophers.
97. After drawing out the soul which is the secret and hidden oil, air or sulfur which will be red, which is the blood of this green lion, and after drawing out the body, and after purification joining them by imbibition, triturations , dessications either to white or to red as long as it is fit to make projection.
SECOND DIALOGUE
ON THE CONDUCT OF PHILOSOPHERS
OR THEIR GREAT THERIAC
by Jacques Tesson
Asked. — What is it that the Philosophers have so diligently sought and found, so obscurely treated in the composition of an unknown metallic body?
Answer. — It is a hermaphrodite substance which has the virtue of curing all infirmities of the body, both hot and cold, and of resuscitating all metals dead by the accidents which have occurred to Nature, at the time of their decoction.
D. — What was this substance and from where do we derive such a virtue?
A. — Of two contrary species, yet both of one nature and virtue.
D. — What are the qualities of each in its particular and in its complexions?
A. — One is hot and dry, and that is the masculine, the other is cold and damp, which is the feminine. One is hard, the other is soft, one is fixed, the other volatile. One is citrine the other is white. One is ground in nature, the other moon. One is fire the other is water, one is fetal spirit, the other is raw spirit. And you should know that there are only these two matters so much only to which matters the Philosophers have given infinite and strange names knowledge to the masculine King, old man, fire, earth, sun, fetal spirit, agent, form, masculine sperm, gum red, Gabertin brother of Beja, sulfur and several other names. And the woman is called Queen, white woman, Dew, fleeting spirit, snow, dove, flowery salt, living water, Beja peach blossom, Dragon, lion, southern dog,
D. — What is the Magnesia of the Philosophers?
A. — It is when the Philosopher has made his composition as required, then is the true magnesia of the Philosophers. It was held that it was necessary to take the whole celestial order to make this composition, namely the Most Holy Trinity, the Angels, Archangels, Cherubim, Seraphim, Principalities, Thrones, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, and all what is in heaven. Such people do not understand anything about it, but we must confess that when we want to begin the work, we must have the grace of God with us, because whoever is in the grace of God, he will have everything that is above it. said and as for the matter it has in itself all that it needs to multiply in its nature and that is why it is called hermaphrodite.
D. — When it is thus properly composed, what first effect does it have in its operation?
A. — Matters embrace each other inseparably, namely corporeal and gross matters, afterwards they moisten each other, they break apart, they mingle with corporeal blending, then are vivified by corporeal union.
To understand this mixture perfectly, it must be known that this matter is of such a nature that no more than a dead thing will ever produce or have effect, if first these two matters are not made of a single thing, of which after this union the elemental virtues enclosed in one and the other come to manifest the operations they have carried out occultly, by which production we know the true material and corporeal union.
It is the method of the artist to know if the matter has been well conducted by the regime he has made when he sees the mutation of his matter and that the elements have operated occultly, it is that in a certain time [54] they demonstrated the occult operation which is a black color, which would never manifest itself without this bodily union which is as was said above earth & water from which the other two elements are hidden: because in the earth the fire is hidden in its depth and shines in the bowels of the water and by this bodily union the said elements are mixed and united with each other which is the cause of the aforesaid demonstration or I say as well as this mutation of color is true transmutation in that the natures (large metallics),entirely lose this quality and form, and are on the way to acquiring one without comparison more excellent and more worthy in all virtue and power than this first, provided that the artist does not fail him in his duty.
which are three and yet in one thing, and so according to its nature and quality, because God created our one and only matter having in itself all that is needed for the increase of its kind, and is called Cahos, the origin or primary cause of all metals. Cahos by natural decoction from the veins of the earth has conceived and engendered the most incorruptible matter of all created matter which is our fixed body which I call human body because it is mortal, and must die and rise again. , so that after his resurrection he may raise up all the other imperfect metals,
D. — What is dissolution and putrefaction of the wise Philosophers?
A. — Purgation, putrefaction, dissolution, sublimation takes place in four and a half months[55]. Vegetation coagulation fixation and resuscitation of the dead body and vivification is done the rest of the time until nine and a half months.
but saying so he meant no other than true philosophical subtlety and true union. Whereupon the ignorant toil and labor to pass quicksilver and dissolved metals with iceluy into a skin, saying this is the true subtiliation and union of the Philosophers, alleging the authors. But they never heard the intention of their authors because if they had heard them they would not have taken the words according to the letter, and after this union the putrefaction of the two matters takes place, which is their mortification two fixed and non-fixed bodies and must be understood in that the virtues are never corrupted but the 'coarse and corporeal matters, and in the destruction of these said matters the elementary virtues come to unite together and after this union the active and vegetative virtue come to produce that quintessence which never corrupts and is both in virtue and in quantity a single thing without ancient partiality, namely that it no longer partakes of either fire or air or earth or water, for it is only the one and only virtue and substance of them, but when matter is putrefied and corrupted it serves for this quintessence of nutritive substance; for it attracts heat to itself and maintains it for the duration of the whole operation, which is winter time, as all the Philosophers say in this passage: sublimation is done at the same time, and by this same Saturn, because to sublimate is nothing else than to make of a hard material homogeneous body big fixed terrestrial heavy matter a subtle light liquid, soft, volatile airy matter in short that it has the same effect of permanent water and the true purgation and lavation of the Philosophers: for it entirely loses the quality and property the form and . the coarseness of this metallic first and acquires a more excellent one in all excellence both in virtue and in quantity which is neither hot nor cold nor wet nor dry, well tempered in all perfection. for it entirely loses the quality and property the form and . the coarseness of this metallic first and acquires a more excellent one in all excellence both in virtue and in quantity which is neither hot nor cold nor wet nor dry, well tempered in all perfection. for it entirely loses the quality and property the form and . the coarseness of this metallic first and acquires a more excellent one in all excellence both in virtue and in quantity which is neither hot nor cold nor wet nor dry, well tempered in all perfection.
Revivification, vegetation coagulation and freezing.
It is done so
Jupiter[57] now takes possession of the office of Saturn because if Saturn remained longer than his required time, matter would not advance and would remain imperfect, like a black thing and submerged in water due to frigidity and humidity in this part, for the operation of Jupiter is different, because of its frigidity and dryness, it assembles and incorporates what Saturn had subdued and thrown by the air, which had made it rise from the earth to the heavens, Jupiter causes it to be reserved in its center, and in the proper places from which they had issued, which is their profound radical, and thus it gathers and rebinds the beginning of a new form to the body, which is coagulation; this is what the poet says, pretending that Jupiter has become a golden rain, which falls on the earth drop by drop,
So much for the first coagulation, which lasts twenty days. It is said that this Jupiter is the washerman of the Philosophers in these twenty days and because in this time the matter is going purging little by little of its darkness and corruption, so it was black corrupted and putrefied, now it is clearly revived as long as it no longer participates in its first operation. This is the end of Jupiter.
This work is done and conducted by the operation of the planets according to their places and each one in his time by order, because the operations of the planets really operate in this divine matter, but is to be understood substantially and virtually, as they also do in all other vegetative species, but which more which less, cy that the influences abound more in some than in others, as in our matter, they abound abundantly in all plenitude just as our compost has in itself really and perfectly, which virtues and qualities elements also he participates in all the influences of the planets: for God has spared him nothing, this is why he is called of the Philosophers a small world, which all other genera are not, and this is done in all time and in all places by his art and by his good diet,as matter requires in its degrees and times, and not by thinking and imagining, as I do not know what fickle people who without foundation imagine that it is necessary to begin when the planets are in their exaltations and forces, and that otherwise cannot be done, and as Saturn operates the first, but one must expect him to be in his strength and likewise from all the others according to the time of their exaltations, which is full of error and falsity.and as Saturn operates first, but he must be expected to be in his strength and similar to all others according to the time of their exaltations, which is full of error and falsehood.and as Saturn operates first, but he must be expected to be in his strength and similar to all others according to the time of their exaltations, which is full of error and falsehood.
For the third operation we must know that aqueous humidity has always dominated in this work up to now, and that Jupiter, for being imperfect and impermanent, without any stop, vaporous and mobile, is not enough to fortify nor give no beginning of fixation or desiccation, and in the absence of her impotence Venus came, which put and posed the principle of sequestering the internal virtues, like animating matter and arranging it to come to the perfect end, namely the beginning of desiccation and fixation which is according to the Philosophers to move, affections tending to one's own end and quality, to know the beginning of wanting to increase one's kind, which is to the readers in a few words a disposition of the matter to come to the perfection of the lunar matter.
D. — And so Venus, as you said, only brings appetites and forces to invite matter to multiply its species.
A. — Yes, but it is only the beginning only because its strength only extends so far.
D. — Who comes after that, if she is to be potentially more virtuous?
A. — Yes without comparison, for it is next in perfection and more it produces lasting and substantial fruit, free from corruption until the last day when all things will end.
D. — Name her.
A. — The moon is perfect and it is not, for as regards the lunar quality alone it is perfect and imperfect according to the intention of nature, because the same nature tended with all its forces and virtues to lead it to the perfection of the sun.
D. — And when she comes, what sign does she make more than the others?
A. — It makes marvelous and terrible signs, firstly its sight drives away all the vapors scattered through the air which are with all their filth, renders the operations super-alleged, as of Saturn and Jupiter; thirdly the operation of Venus which are only apparent colors [58] which demonstrate the aforesaid operations of which the Philosophers made use for the profit of the poor artists in the form of method; because it is necessary that the artist by his good art make them arise from the center of the matter one after the other and each one in its time without usurping anything one from the other and all that is the true guide of the artist. Because he must see black, then an ashy color that comes between white and black; but notice that when black appears in its matter it holds and partakes of the virtue and complexion of Saturn and its color that is why they called this place Saturn and not that it is necessary to hear a certain time more than a another, and so likewise of all the others. And again be warned that all the colors of the world all appear together between black and white which should not be used: for to tell the truth only black, white and red are required: for black has entered to reach white and to red, which is the total end of our intention; and also of perfect ending. Which moon as I said above hides from view all colors and besides cleanses and clears and purifies all darkness and leprosy from them and more makes all the movement of the sky take up and fix it, and whoever eats so much of it whatever, he lives a long time without any infirmity; and resurrects the nearest of his nature; this is what she does when she comes.
D. — Does she always remain in this perfect virtue and dignity, is this a durable thing in her and also her vivid whiteness and splendor is it intolerable to her? Can she ever lose it by some artificial means?
A. — No, leaving it in this degree of knowledge who wants to use it as it is will never change its power nor its vivid whiteness and splendor, but will always increase in affinity both in virtue and in whiteness and its multiplication in virtue and quantity, because the more it is subtilized, the more its virtue is infinite likewise also its whiteness makes it permanent in whiteness and virtue.
Q. — How do you use it in this degree of whiteness?
A. — Remove her from her diet by which you brought her to such perfect whiteness.
D. — And who would take her further by this same regime, what would become of her and what would be her quality?
A. — This is a great secret, and listen to it. When this moon is present and has driven out all the celestial influences all the operations of the planets and other vapors that have presented themselves before her sight, she is found pregnant and you will laugh as the air has disappointed her very finely, for to disappoint her, he took the effigy of mercury, because he knew well that between the moon and mercury there was great consanguinity and proximity and coming to her in the form of the said mercury, she was moved completely and did not was able to resist kissing him when he came, and he and she, so much so that in this kiss they did their required work, after kisses and other touching, and moved each other so well that he imbued with a son who is unique and unparalleled,
D. — So you want to say and conclude that it shouldn't be touched until this time of nine months for the best, if it wasn't for some great necessity.
A. — It is true and that is of course understood.
D. — Treat, I pray you, of the advent of this child and the advent of the mother, for it must be some beautiful mystery and great consolation to whoever hears it.
R — Certainly it cannot be a greater consolation, for it is said to be the greatest and most excellent work which is under the lunar globe after having made man.
D. — Tell me the rest as easily as you can until the elixir is finished. .
A. — When the gods learned of its impregnation and the danger that could arise from it. Mars came at their request, for her discharge, he led her to the great Phoebus, and bringing her, the pangs which follow such things took him, and then lost all his life whiteness, and entirely moulted of his nature. However on her arrival Phoebus with all his glory received her in all perfect sublimity and covered her with splendor as yellow as gold, and clearer without comparison, and Mars after having delivered her returned deprived of her. of all their service, being the noble goddess left in health in the hands of King Phoebus, and Phoebus on receiving the child shuddered seeing that at his accession gods and demi-gods, and at its sight raised up all the dead universally, and from its smell healed all infirmities in the human body, and for this cause is called elixir made from the tree of life, potable gold, medicine, phoenix, and never diminishes in virtues and qualities. Amen.
SUMMARY
FROM THE PREVIOUS DRIVING
IN PRACTICAL SHAPE
CHAPTER I
seeing what, I go straight to the virgins, and take them and apostate them near the king, not however without great pains, for two causes, one for the weight of them, the other for the quality, because they do not had no stops. But the king seeing them said nothing to them except what Adam said when God had presented Eve to him: Behold, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, for before had been but substance, and by the great desire to see generation come out of them I married them and coupled together according to the order of nature preserving them as very wise Philosopher all their virtues as much radical as vegetative and multiplicative, where in this place one must have great consideration, because, it is said, to put in the oven badly we make cornus breads, I have adapted them in a chamber of glass very clean for them and surrounded by a small wall for their safety from any collision, and the said chamber is founded and placed on three pillars raised in the air, and to help me to serve them in all their necessities, have taken Tepor for the service of the king and Temperence for the service of the virgins. Tepor is of the complexion of the king and Temperence of the complexion of the said virgins; their service must not be changed in any way from beginning to end, for their service is becoming and proper according to their nature. took Tepor for the service of the king and Temperence for the service of the virgins. Tepor is of the complexion of the king and Temperence of the complexion of the said virgins; their service must not be changed in any way from beginning to end, for their service is becoming and proper according to their nature. took Tepor for the service of the king and Temperence for the service of the virgins. Tepor is of the complexion of the king and Temperence of the complexion of the said virgins; their service must not be changed in any way from beginning to end, for their service is becoming and proper according to their nature.
Tepor heats the bath, and the bath purges and heats the material, and you have to continue this until your compost turns white. And all this was stopped by the western celestial and southern water gods. On this passage Trevisan says that it is necessary to make a moist and vaporizing fire, but I say that slow fire cannot be without humidity, and when I added the whole thing as it belongs, I closed the chamber very quickly where the newlyweds are in bed and all that is necessary is to be careful that the aforementioned servants fail in their duty and leave them in rest until forty days and at the end I looked at how my king was doing, and looking at him found him dead and denatured and no longer had the form of a man and was so fit and disposed for the increase of his gender that he converted everything into sperm, and also he is called between the Philosophers agent and besides in philosophical terms it is said that in these first forty days it moistens and dissolves and unites. So much for the first operation of my materials.
CHAPTER II
OF SUBLIMATION AND ITS EFFECTS
Now we will talk about philosophical sublimation and distillation. Philosophical sublimation means raising the heavy and fixed matter which remains in the center of the said matter at the top by cooking because the said matter causes a film to be generated which surrounds the said matter which is called the sky and the vessel of the philosophers: and thus to sublimate is not other thing than making corporeal matter dilate with all the volatile. Example put a vessel full of water on fire then take a handful of salt and put it inside; said salt suddenly will fall to the bottom then liquefy and spread through all said water, and not do like. the ignorant who hear their vessel in which matter is,
Distillation according to the Philosophers is done in this way: you have heard what it is to sublimate; and to distil is only to bring down what has ascended to heaven as it is said, and note that it is only a continuation of the same diet. without manual work; but understand that however much there is only one regime however in iceluy alone all the degrees of fire are included, for what there is fire of sublimation, fire of putrefaction, fire of distillation and fire of calcination which are all done in one place without moving anything: for it is said, a furnace a vessel a diet and a matter. But take example from the man who has only one diet and has several qualities like drinking, eating, sleeping, heating, a volume would not suffice, and using the words and terms of the sages and saying that they subdued gold and put it in cordial waters, give it this name of drinkable gold. I leave to consider the difference that there is between one and the other, at the very least if they added to it the title which belongs to it of sophistic drinkable gold I would be satisfied, and more they are called philosophers and are not, but prompters and deceivers and how much their potable gold is applied to the human body makes him no profit, I mean as to gold simply, how much the doctors say he has great operation and gives great relief from disease,
CHAPTER III
OF DISSOLUTION AND PUTREFACTION
Dissolution and putrefaction ensue. I have said and given to understand what it is to sublimate and distill. This is what Hermes says, the top is of the nature of the bottom and the bottom of the nature of the top because what has risen to the top has returned to the bottom from where it came out and has almost become a single thing; because there is still some resistance between the matters and for this the elements cannot embrace and join together if first the agreement is not made between here matter, and here is the means, to know the dissolution which is appropriate in this passage of the Philosophers because to dissolve means as much as to annihilate the resistance and to increase the diminution and thus the philosophical diminution serves to unite together the two opposites, to know how to diminish the strong, and to fortify the weak, so that they have lost their first qualities and forms and have acquired another to which there is nothing in the world to which it can be compared, and this putrefaction lasts forty days at which time you must make a fire which digests the matter that the Trevisan calls digesting fire, and not doing like the ignoramuses who make amalgams of quicksilver, gold and silver also, each to his own and put them in the saddle saying that it is heat of putrefaction, and tell the truth, but it is not that of the Philosophers; I do confess that she is corrupt and very stinking and putrefied. and this putrefaction lasts forty days at which time you must make a fire which digests the matter which the Trevisan calls digesting fire, and not do like the ignoramuses who make amalgams of quicksilver, gold and silver also each aside and put them on horseback saying that it is heat of putrefaction, and tell the truth, but it is not that of the Philosophers; I do confess that she is corrupt and very stinking and putrefied. and this putrefaction lasts forty days at which time you must make a fire which digests the matter which the Trevisan calls digesting fire, and not do like the ignoramuses who make amalgams of quicksilver, gold and silver also each aside and put them on horseback saying that it is heat of putrefaction, and tell the truth, but it is not that of the Philosophers; I do confess that she is corrupt and very stinking and putrefied. but it is not that of the Philosophers; I do confess that she is corrupt and very stinking and putrefied. but it is not that of the Philosophers; I do confess that she is corrupt and very stinking and putrefied.
CHAPTER IV
DEALBATION, FREEZING,
FIXATION AND REVIVIFICATION
It now remains to deal with dealbation, freezing, fixation and revivification. I have above said abundantly that what was raised and fell in its center, which are the rains above said, now being removed, must be gathered together in a mass and henceforth gradually deprived of the humidity which is in it, which will be the desiccation of the Philosophers and the beginning but its right name as to these passages is freezing; thus, this freezing requires a temperate fire, as Arnaud de Villeneuve says, and which will otherwise cause his labor to be pitied, because the Philosophers have applied their fires according to the places where they are required and therefore their commandments must not be prevaricated in any way, or not come close to this magisterium, because they all said one thing, and are true in all their conclusions, however different they seem to the ignorant, and so in this place must continue this temperate warmth without mutating or changing anything; such temperate heat will consume this moisture, and consuming it converts it into an average quality, namely neither hot nor cold nor hard nor soft, which is a beginning of the reformation of an old body into a new and young body, and that is the first presentation of the vegetation of the Philosophers, for just as up to now the materials have only diminished their first material forms, now they begin to take up another, which will go on increasing by the regime until its end; this is freezing. Desiccation follows her closely, for what to dry up is necessary because they cannot be done without each other, for to freeze properly is not sufficient to dry up this humidity, and to dry up in this place is properly the active virtue, which continues until the dealbation where all wet things come to an end; and to better understand this passage, know that freezing is nothing else than assembling several things into one and making a body of them, and desiccation is what consumes all humidity and partialities that could be in the said matter. which continues to dealbation where all wet things come to an end; and to better understand this passage, know that freezing is nothing else than assembling several things into one and making a body of them, and desiccation is what consumes all humidity and partialities that could be in the said matter. which continues to dealbation where all wet things come to an end; and to better understand this passage, know that freezing is nothing else than assembling several things into one and making a body of them, and desiccation is what consumes all humidity and partialities that could be in the said matter.
Fixation is understood in this work to give it an invisible form which form is acquired by means of freezing and desiccation, for while they lose this metallic form, they acquire another more than perfect one, and this is the degree that Trevisan says that we carry out our work to a degree more than nature does hers, for nature works only simply in all her works, so they acquire only simple forms, and cannot give or help in any way. thing: for they have only what they need simply for themselves alone, and ours by this degree moreover acquires their aid and perfects them whatever shrug or examination that may be made of them, for it is more than perfect; and from this superabundance which she has acquired, distributes in general to every creature, as in the human body and other animals, and this way lasts until the very high redness, and according to which one will know the possibility of the matter make him increase the fire, but imperceptibly; note all that I have said and alleged, it is only the resurrection of the king: for iceluy's death ends when the freezing begins, and when it begins he begins to resurrect, which resurrection lasts until the end , and also we ask only the first death and the last life, and how much that all these words are said and alleged, however one would do well to write them; but nevertheless we must know them because they are necessary for the disciples and inquisitors of our science, and if we did not know them we would work like a blind man, and if we did not know if we were doing good or bad, for this I have written them only by doctrine and clarification for the method of the regime and the qualities from degree to degree as well as the matter changes, which one could not know otherwise: and know that all this is done by itself - even without touching hands; and the ignorant wanting to do more than the wise Philosophers by erroneous and strange ways, circulate quicksilver amalgamated with gold or silver in a vessel which has two arms which is called vessel of circulation or the armed man and circulate in it the poor god Mercury so many times that one cannot know the number, and astonishes me that being thus light and fickle he does not become mad and senseless; moreover want to take away from the moon what nature has given it, namely its natural humidity by their sophisticated artifice, where I certainly knew their real madness. O poor people, do you not know that one cannot take away what nature has given by any artificial and sophisticated means that you can do, and would put so much quicklime in it that ten men could cinnabar that you could find, because there is no other material than ours which is made by means of our way and regime as says Pythagoras in the Peat: "but with the help of our God, we have arrived at the port of salvation and can say like the good sailor that we have escaped great perils, especially since all the danger is in the dissolution of bodies; having thus arrived at the white we have escaped, how much however that it is necessary to have regard until the end because we still have to bring out the lemon, but it is done by itself continuing the fire of calcination, until the extraction is done; read the books of the Philosophers, and you will find in them that it is only necessary to cook in general, and come first to the destruction of bodies, namely to make them spiritual, which is their first matter and also the entrance to arriving at our stone. which is the greatest secret of our magisterium, not without cause therefore they commanded it thus, having thus done it, we have reason to rejoice in God, and if you have any judgment you will know that I will have all discovered their palliations and occultations and will find in my style so familiar that if I had a son and wanted to teach him by books I could not write to him more familiarly,
So, to continue our topic, you should know that at the dissolution of bodies there is talk of a sublimation to raise from earth to heaven, it is to make the volatile fixed. Now I want to talk about another one which is the second. The former was corporeal, and this is by virtue tincture and fixative, which cannot be had without the former, thus both make the excellent perfection of the whole work, for without the former the latter cannot come, and this is why the first is spoken of more than the second; thus before the permanent and immobile virtues, namely the tincture and the fixative virtue, have always been enclosed and submerged in vaporous humidity and mobile mutations, and grossnesses of matter that one could not see them, so much were occulted deep within them, how great the omens of their advent were, nevertheless whatever beautiful appearance there was, were in danger of perishing, but the help of God with the industry of the wise artist has them makes appear with all the properties, as Hermes says on this passage: who will know how to lead the deer to his odoriferous sister with their good smells and he has all the art, which is also on this passage of the fountain of lovers, that it is well turned of ploughman, and were driven out all vapors aforementioned to the places from which they had left before without making any damage nor offense; for just as the spermatic substance was drawn from the depths of nature from gross matters, corrupted exactly and by great machinery, and instead of it will come a golden color which carries in its entrails that which is desired by everyone wise, which is the red that Mary the Prophetess says is similar to the poppy field, and besides will be red like a beautiful vermilion wine, throwing rays in his nature as does the sun in his; then you have to fire as you want because it supports and resists like any violence you would like to do to it because it is more than perfect and can't you give it a title, because if it were only perfect he could not perfect the imperfect and he to whom God gives the grace to arrive at such perfection passes into excellence emperor, king, and any other, and if anyone other than him knows it he is only equal to him . casting rays in his nature as does the sun in his; then you have to fire as you want because it supports and resists like any violence you would like to do to it because it is more than perfect and can't you give it a title, because if it were only perfect he could not perfect the imperfect and he to whom God gives the grace to arrive at such perfection passes into excellence emperor, king, and any other, and if anyone other than him knows it he is only equal to him . casting rays in his nature as does the sun in his; then you have to fire as you want because it supports and resists like any violence you would like to do to it because it is more than perfect and can't you give it a title, because if it were only perfect he could not perfect the imperfect and he to whom God gives the grace to arrive at such perfection passes into excellence emperor, king, and any other, and if anyone other than him knows it he is only equal to him .
CHAPTER V
MULTIPLICATION
And to come to the accomplishment of my book, and also not to give cause to the inquisitors of my book against me, saying that I would have left this work imperfect, I did not want to miss anything of what must be put there to achieve the perfect enjoyment of this divine work, why I will deal with the multiplication for which well and duly to do, must take a grain of the said elixir and ten of pure and earthy mercury without any offense of fire, and mix everything together, then to put everything in a well-suited vessel of glass over a fire like that of sublimation until the imbibition is thoroughly dried and diminished to a lesser degree of its first color and virtue,then put back in iceluy vessel of the same matter ten thousand of the said mercury and make the fire like that of freezing until the matter is frozen to make that of fixation, and when the whole is well dried it will be reduced by two degrees as above, by the third imbibition one must take another 200,000 of the said mercury without anything else and imbibe the whole very well, cook until it is dried out, and will be diminished by three degrees, for so much the more there is d humidity and so much the longer it takes to dry it out, after, for the fourth and last imbibition, it is necessary to imbibe another ten thousands, and to cook as above is said, and this medicine will be lowered from its vehement power and virtue in the proper way to convert all metals into the total perfection that nature makes in gold and silver,such as it is either white or red and the very sudden transmutation is done in projection which throws itself in fusion on the nearest body of its complexion and nature, and note that a grain in these four imbibitions will engender twelve million one hundred thousand one cent, but for that specific to the human body it must not be in any way subtilized of its strength and virtue and one must only use the first so-called Elixir.
CHAPTER VI
RECAP OF WHAT ABOVE
I spoke above of the extraction of the spermatic matters and of all the conduct by the same order until the extraction of the perfect tincture and the fixative virtue, and the true means of extracting them both. others and of the multiplication of projection without any conversion or concealment.
In short, because where there is an abundance of words, there cannot be confusion, and God wants the one to whom I dedicate this little work to be secretive, God-fearing and loving, to the one end that he grant him the grace to restore everything to his honor and glory, after having the enjoyment of it and not being ungrateful to his neighbor; and may he hold her as dear to his heart as he is the apple of his eye.
Damascene said when he wanted to start it, he looked all over his room to see if there were any flies, meaning by that that it could not be kept too secret by the danger which might arise from it. It is the end.
The Lord be blessed forever amen.
REGIME TREATY
Figures:
A man who digs and digs in a rock.
Birds. Crows.
Hand showing.
Dragon. Man who kills the dragon.
Satyr who kills the digger from behind.
Here snakes and animals.
In this first figure appears like the artist caves so low in the depths of a rock[62], as long as he has found the clean and good material, and afterwards he wisely arranges his generative and augmentative virtues, which consists at all to the composition which is called holy matrimony of the Philosophers, which will conceive a son of such a nature more celestial than terrestrial, and will be called unique among the Gods.
Figures:
A man in a chair.
A snake.
Three figured people.
Two other people, one holding a sun
and the other a child she hugs.
Several kinds of animals.
A stove closed above.
A pot with three feet.
A vase covered with a lid.
A small curcurbite.
In the second figure above written are included all the utensils necessary for the beginning of the magisterium and how one must proceed to the conjunction of the two sperms, and the means of extracting them according to nature, which is done by the same means and at the same time and with the same fire.
In this place, the sages called her hermaphrodite, because she has in herself the two generative virtues, and intertwine in such a way that they are inseparable, which is the true physical homogeneity, at least the beginning. of it, which is done little by little and patience is necessarily required.
Figures:
A flying, green lion.
An ashy male figure.
A green man backwards riding an animal
four feet.
A naked wild man.
A black man holding a basket in one hand and
in the other an ax or brooch.
A green figure soaring in the air.
A dragon.
A curcurbite, small flame above, flame below.
A large stove closed everywhere.
In this third figure appears how the manual conjunction[63] is made and that nature begins to take possession to operate continuously, witness all the celestial influences[64], which are greatly moved by it, and each in its time and place.
And first Saturn begins, and to know the truth, if he works duly accompanied by Nature, it will be when the whiteness of matter is seen to be lost, and it becomes as if of an ashy color, for more is the true sign that the body which is buried in its belly is close to death, and that the subtleties and digestions are going on little by little, and to put it in a word, it is nothing other than the reduction in its first matter with which the sages have filled their books.
Figures:
Two men holding a four-legged animal.
Animals.
Woman holding a broom in her hands, passing it
on the tower representing the globe.
A large man figure demonstrating by sign
and by something to Jupiter that he is leaving.
Jupiter fleeing the woman.
A small figure of a man holding a square in his hand.
Closed stove, with a hole at the top of its lid.
In this fourth figure appears how Saturn fulfills his duty in the digestion and subtiliation of the body which is buried and engulfed by the raw and liquid matter which is represented by the woman who pushes this blackness which is seen in her which demonstrates the pain that she endures by the discord of the elements which are locked up in the depth of her radical and earthly for having eaten her son who is of hard digestion and also to show that Nature is not idle, which is the true sign of the operation occult and mortification of the body.
And the more the darkness grows, the more we will know the truth of his death which is the fulfillment of the joy of the artist, for what it is the entrance to come to a glorious bliss and when we see it so black it is entirely the sign that he is dead.
And for this Jupiter must come to work after Saturn, he asks the artist how he must govern.
The fifth figure
In this fifth figure appears as after Saturn destroyed this body by the help of Nature, without which one cannot reform another more glorious, having power above all other gods of his nature, and abounding in all infinite abundance. divine blessings both in wealth and other things to pass this life and to devote oneself to works of mercy and also in desirable virtues for the health of the human body.
And the cause of this virtue and supernatural power proceeds only from a grace which he has acquired more than nature could do, because she works with simple matter, she can only make simple form. And we, we take double matter and double fire which is the cause that we do in 9 months what nature cannot do in 500 years. This is why all the Celestines bring such great joy to his birth, and are all the celestial parts of it moved, luminous and resplendent like the sun.
It is true that he is still young and tender and cannot yet show his virtue and power until he has come of age.
Now Jupiter arouses in the presence of Saturn and before going away he must be the first to mow the flowers to rejoice this young king for his welcome, and as soon as he has mown, he will vanish, and Jupiter the heap up and sow around the child and clean it up until it is clean. It is this new body of which the Sages spoke when they said that a king would be born from a maiden, begotten and conceived of the four elements, who would feed on the flesh of his mother.
So Jupiter begins to sweep this black sky little by little until it colors the entire surface of the globe which represents the woman with the brooms she has in her hand.
The sixth figure
Here is represented the obscure blackness which returns to the center from whence it departed. Here a young white child on the back of Saturn. Here is represented the figure of Jupiter having rods in hand which hunts Saturn. Here is a gentleman who holds a book in his hand to reform. Here a man coming out of the sea. Here the sea where there is a crowned man who kills a black man whom he pushes to the bottom to drown him. Here there is a man with wings on his head and his arms appearing in the sea. There are moreover at the corners of the figure the four winds.
In this sixth figure it appears that there is agreement between the celestial bodies and the elements, which were very contrary. And during this annoyance nature could not show her operation, which astonished me greatly. However, knowing that patience is one of the main qualities required in this magisterium, I took help from it and waited until I saw some commendable figure or appearance, which by the grace of God I I saw: the sky which was very clear at its beginning then dark and dark, and then a little fly away which is the true sign of the death of our body and that it was by the operation of Saturn.
And then resuscitates likewise as it appears by the figure of the woman and the child. The woman believed she had swallowed up and devoured the mighty roy in body and soul, but she was deceived because she could only destroy the material and gross form, and could not touch the soul or the generative virtue.
And this generative virtue which is in it being mussed within the extrinsic parts, the aforesaid form always works subtly so that the feminine nature did not notice it until time that it acquired force.
To the eye it is manifest as it appears by the figure, for it has such advantage over it that it will consume it in body and soul, and in all that can be in it without dying it will convert it at all into its nature and will be but one and unique substance.
Here is the passage that the poets figure when they allege the golden rain of Jupiter, they say true because it is the beginning of the virtue of the pure that the young child represents to us, and besides we see how Jupiter drives out his form with all the filthy and black clouds and makes them fall to the center from which they came out and during his charge he has done his duty so well that he has purified all the annoyances, which has been the cause that Nature has extracted all these laudable appearances as we see in our matter.
Here is figured the starry sky.
Icy Mercury with his wings holding his caduceus.
Here a figure of a man surrounded on his knees.
Here he is raised glorious, being figured around him.
Ten Kings; these are ten weights.
Here is a rod where there are 13 faces of the sun.
Here is the final end of the multiplication, very easy to understand either by figures; who will have common sense and good understanding and also who will be elected easily will hear my motto because there is nothing superfluous, the weight, the diet is there in all fidelity and without envy and besides there is no figure that does not have above or below it a name of God.
I believe that this figure had been transposed to the manuscript loaned to me.
The seventh figure
In this seventh figure appear the crows which fly through the air, as Count Trevisan says, which make their nest in a hollow of oak cut in the middle, and at the same time Jupiter sows flowers around the king who begins to grow strong and grow in virtue. For the dragon that had swallowed it up will consume as it grows, and will not come to perfect growth until it has completely consumed it and reduced it completely to its own flesh and substance which will be the end of the work.
And so when Jupiter has finished sowing all the flowers the crows will fall into the abyss where Saturn has fallen and will prepare the place clean or close to it.
And believe that everything that is seen in this way is done occultly inside the tower; but whoever wants to know art, he must have all that in his brain, namely everything that is done occultly as long as it is manifested to the Artist as if he saw it with his bodily eyes.
And as for these dragons that we see eating each other, it is nothing other than the composition of the magisterium: for in the beginning one eats the other, and after that the one who was eaten wakes up, he eats the one who ate him and in the end all the contradictions come to be pacified so that everything comes to be converted into a single liquor which is no longer subject to any created thing except to a single one. God.
The eighth figure
In this 8th figure is the end of all dissolutions, distillations, conjunctions, reductions and sublimations, as we see in the figure that all the vapors which have issued from this deep radical of the globe have fallen and returned; for they had come out to testify that the body was dead, and thus all the annoyances and disputes which were between the celestial and aquatic bodies which only required discord and disputes were pacified with each other, so that the 'we know of only one substance, a taste and an incomparable virtue, doing something miraculous.
These are the marvelous operations of Jupiter which being at the end of its time will be against Saturn, because it is he who drives them out as he now sees himself coming from sublimations, namely as we see the King growing, it is is the true sublimation of which the sages spoke, because to sublimate is not the sublimation of the sophists who want to sublimate the mercury by 7 times as they say, but the sublimation of the wise is to exalt what is vile and to to do something great and superlative: and to make true sublimation better understood, it is to raise to heaven the fixed earth which is held at the bottom of the vessel and which does not exceed more than the sky to know that 'it does not go beyond it.
The ninth figure
In this ninth figure appears how peace is made between heaven and earth and that tranquility and union is throughout the universe of the globe from which it is impossible to separate them and by this union great things are produced, which cannot be could otherwise, and the cause of this has been that Saturn and Jupiter discharged their duties faithfully.
So when all the Celestines held council to send someone to govern this round machine, they found none more capable than these two, and having finished all their task, they both retired to the low places the one after the other, each in his own time, for they must not usurp one on the other, that would be their confusion; but the influences of the celestial bodies always assisted them, which prevented that each one stood elsewhere than in its limits and more they helped to kill the King and also to resuscitate it and then they withdrew.
Now the moon with the rest of the Celestines come to recognize the King and pay homage to him and present their services to him in all humility and joy of heart with melodious songs and great recognition of the coming of iceluy.
As for the snake that we see, which nearly eats the other, it is called the cold snake, and the dead is called the hot snake that does not burn which is the laudable composition where lies the content of the great work.
And all that is figured in this book lies in the depths of its entrails, and there all the different operations that are seen in this book take place occultly.
The tenth figure
In this tenth figure is manifested the fruit of all the care that one claims to have for this divine work as much for the present and transitory life as for the health of the body that one sees in his two hands; in his right he holds a box for medicine, in the sinister a golden apple, that is why he is so cherished.
Now his mother comes as a forerunner to make the place clean and spotless for him, and to that end that his virtue be in no way tainted with any corruption when it is employed and that nothing prevent it from having its effect.
However, he has not yet consumed the dragon at all, but one cannot fail any longer, one must only continue the same diet because one would rather fail by more than by less.
This dragon that we see represents the whole work; in him lies the whole and all these operations that we see distinct are carried out in the deep root one after the other, that is to say from his entrails at their fixed time provided only by a single gentle and amicable regime which fact that all the influences show themselves by operating on the surface of the globe which serves as a guide and contentment to the artist, even though the whole thing is written a little metaphorically, however it is easy to understand for those who have good sense. And if we make a fire that is contrary, all these influences will show themselves at once which would be the perdition of everything and for this, we must beware of violent fire. And note how much it is written in the form of figures, I warn you that these are influences of celestial bodies,
The eleventh figure
In this 11th figure, the Queen would like to govern the kingdom after she has cleaned and purged it of all defilement and asks the king to let her govern, and the king who is old enough to govern his kingdom does not want to companion and said to her while chatting with her: keep your patrimony and do nothing on mine, I feel capable of governing my monarchy well and doing something that exceeds your power, of which my vassals and all my subjects will say they are blessed with my coming. and also I want to do to them what you cannot do to them; and then the Queen clung to what belonged to her.
And the King goes further to the confines of his empire, carrying in his hand his trophy of victory, and there he will take his red and indical robe and his monarch's crown and each of his nature will come to render him obedience.
Now, therefore, the Queen does not go further and sticks to what is hers, and uses some liberalities according to her power. However, these were not with regard to those of the king, and whatever she can do, she will be all her life subject to the king, and to know the truth of her subjection, she cannot wear in her clothes any other color than the white if the Roy does not give it to him. And what we see in the figure falling into the abyss is only the remnant of the influences of the celestial bodies which have run their course as long as nothing volatile remains. But by the grace of God everything is firm and permanent.
It is in this dragon that all the magisterium is made and came in such power and fiery virtue that it will destroy and precipitate like fire with great power on those who are of its nature and also on the human body as we will see. below.
The twelfth figure
In this 12th figure appears as nature has made a masterpiece, namely an extraordinary operation by means of the artist's help, which she would never have done or could do on her own, but having helped her by art she has come to this end, for he has acquired a degree which exceeds the power of nature and has extracted himself from the substance and quality of the elements.
And for this cause the elements were moved and disturbed and being still on the said limits of them, wanted to make war to prevent them from separating from them, which they have nothing to do because their power does not extend so far for he has broken the bond of nature, so long as he exceeds in power and virtues all elementary species, and is free from natural corruption, for he changes not, and all things change; for to tell the truth, it is simple in matter but abundant in virtue, for what it has been extracted from these 4 qualities and is drawn from the pure of fire; but he does not yawn except to those who are of his nature, for to those certainly he precipitates them all by the exchange of their nature into another more excellent than the first,
The thirteenth figure
In this 13th figure appears as he shows to distribute the treasure which he has acquired by this additional degree, what nature has not done and could not do of herself which is a divine work and more miraculous than otherwise, and she faithfully distributes according to the need that arises, and refuses no one, both for the health of the human body and for the nourishment of this decrepit and transitory life, as well as the resurrection of imperfect metallic bodies.
O that the sages have aptly named it by the name that belongs to it, namely of celestial origin, because in virtue it surpasses all the other medicines that men can make and invent, however subtle they may be, and makes the man who possesses her blessed, great, prosperous, notable, audacious, robust, magnanimous, and besides the change at all of. her vicious nature into one which aspires only to all virtue, benignity and leniency, and it is the cause that she is so desired by the wise.
Many others desire it as some do to make themselves rich in this world filled with vanity, others to live lustfully and carnally and others to reign viciously by committing all wickedness against God who will only allow such people they come to the knowledge and enjoyment of such a work.
The fourteenth figure
In this fourteenth figure, we know the virtue and effectiveness of this precious material, and the artist's diligence in fulfilling his duty, knowing how to distribute it in charity and fraternity as our good God commands first of all to Christians. regenerated and who are poor in the goods of this world, and yet very rich in the goods of God by his holy grace and mercy, and having no help or support in this lower universe of the necessities required of this human body and as regards infirmities and diseases, we can help all people in general, the poor for the honor of God and the rich for money for fear of being discovered, because he who has this gift of God has no greater enemy. than the great ones of the earth, because they are envious of it,and do not want greater than them for fear that one does not come to strip them and deprive them of their goods and greatnesses, and this is the reason why the sages keep themselves secret and do not reveal themselves to men devoid of all charity, who have no fear of God, and the less poor they will be able to have.
I speak here only of bodily life and also that the said figure is seen where its virtue extends, knowing about metals and their decoction, resuscitating them and moving to their perfect affinity.
Praise be to God and to the Virgin Mary.
The fifteenth figure (multiplication)
Here begins figure multiplication with the meaning, and first there are two points to consider; the first is that most men can neither understand nor believe in the virtue, greatness, nor the facility of this glorious transmutation, which engenders in them a mistrust, which however is natural, but certainly, however natural miraculous than otherwise, it is that he who wants to put his hand in it must be assured and must believe against hope, and must have science infused in his brain. Moreover, if God does not bless the artist in his work, he will do nothing, because it is more divine than earthly.
In this fifteenth figure appears how the king is advised by his mind to bathe naked in this celestial sea which has this power to rejuvenate him and increase in number, and also that it is she who conceived and engendered him, and she will multiply it and increase it in infinite number, especially since so much alone could not live long, and therefore the advice of the good spirit is very necessary and profitable to him, and distrust advises him just the opposite by telling him that if he throws into this sea, for certain he will die without ever resuscitating and will be held of no value.
Now the king as experienced having listened to the advice of one and the other, and considered what is in it, and that he cannot perish, and that if he dies he will rise very well accompanied, and that he is well assured of it, because he has already passed through it by the same path, and that he came out of it powerful, robust and glorious, he deliberates to bathe there without fearing anything because it is the only way and without another to achieve its infinite increase.
The sixteenth figure
In this 16th figure it appears that the king is willing to bathe in the said sea, being assured that he will come out of it in his honor. It is true that he will suffer a lot, but for that he will not fail to return victorious, even though fire and water will define him this beautiful royal form; however he will conquer them and subjugate them to his nature and substance, both in matter and in virtue, for he is assured of the path because it is the path he took at his first and long decoction, and one must not add nor decrease either in weight or diet; but follow the straight natural path only.
The seventeenth figure
In this 17th figure appears as this sea devours it[65] and makes it lose its coarse form, and reduces it to pure water similar to itself, however it does not have the power to touch its virtue which is secretly in its depth. radical, which works so subtly that it does not notice it at all and warms it with its natural heat [66] accompanied by the artificial which are the sweet nutritive breaths of continual rest, because it is the true means of exempt from all danger which might prevent it from coming to increase in number, and also there is nothing else, something that one can do. Now seeing him in this perplexity so dangerous, all the celestial hierarchies of his nature held counsel as they might recover and serve,
The eighteenth figure
then begins to reform and even knows that it is the true way of operating of the two substances and not of only one which wants to achieve the perfect and holy resurrection of our king and magisterium, which 'shows clearly that any species having soul alive cannot increase in its germ without sperm of male and female: and one should not believe nor give faith to those who think of making this magisterium of several and various foreign drugs. For all this is against God and Nature.
The nineteenth figure
In this 19th figure we know the damage which proceeds from difference, to show that all those who have no faith in this science are deprived of having the knowledge and enjoyment of it and it is necessary to believe against hope it is to know when you know the possibility of nature. Who would think, seeing only water in this sea of the fourth figure of the multiplication and 18th figure of the whole treatise, that one could form a body of the king so glorious and magnanimous as one sees in the hands of the reformer in this figure, that passes all good understanding.
But when we know that nature overcomes all matters according to what they are cannot be that they do not produce the species according to its quality and property always following the order which it holds without accident, and thus the man being well instructed in this science imitating nature will do something incredible to the ignorant and reprobate and easy to the Sages who love it.
The twentieth figure
In this twentieth and last figure which is the end, appears as nature well favored Prometheus to the reformation of the king who was entirely broken and disjoined, and nothing remained to him of his first form, but God who is author of nature , for fi is naturating nature, and gave force and power to nature and express command not to abandon Prometheus, to lead him, instruct him and even to lend him hands in all his faculties to restore this king in all perfection and affinity and all by the very path which she ordinarily takes in her actions and continuing has come to this perfect affinity of her perfection with great victory, great honor and profit: for he has begotten of his own virtue and substance so much he is abundant in virtue and power, even being in his extreme torment,ten kings by his own liberality without diminishing anything, which will have the same effects as him.
O infinite goodness in which abounds all plenitude of goodness and wisdom. O lord, what made you the man you loved until you opened the closet of your secrets to him; his understanding is not capable of understanding the blessings and graces you bestow upon him, of which all honor and all glory be returned to you.
So be it
Praise to God and to the Virgin his Mother.
APPENDICES TO THE SECOND DIALOGUE
Shard, July 1, 1658
The sheet which I have marked at the bottom of 1 signifies the spring solution of matter when the mercury having attracted the soul or the spirit of gold begins to smoke and the blackness to swim above the mercurial water . Sheet 2 marks the mercury totally dyed with blackness which rushes little by little in the form of clouds into the philosophical water, beginning to dry up and reduce to mud. The third represents the dragon eating its tail, that is to say the philosopher's mercury devouring the philosophical gold which is its tail or generation, for the philosopher's mercury thus consuming the philosophical gold which it has engendered represents enough naively an animal that eats its tail, the ancients depicted a Saturn that ate children to signify the same thing. The fourth is the philosopher's Saturn whitening and drying at the bottom; the ancients figured the same thing by the fable of Diana in love with Endymion, and descended notwithstanding her chastity to earth for love of him, as a philosopher's moon, which notwithstanding her purity, willingly dwells with the earth of Saturn. The two principles purified and put by the Philosophers in the philosophical vase mingle and combine by nature and contribute to the generation of the elixir as follows: nature by its heat conjoins them melting one into the other by the dissolution which causes elevation into an invisible vapor which coagulates at the top of the vase, in crystalline drops which all the Philosophers call mercury and rebis, that is to say a thing created from two,
Parnassus, page 35
nourish it with its mother's milk or its father's flesh to make it capable, unlike the chameleon, of communicating its color and its virtue to all that approaches it; after 45 or 50 days the true blackness shows itself, and after a while settles down, truly and gently resolves into the volatile and both then condescend together to a slow and steady distillation which towards the end , these putrefied confections begin to purify themselves and give marks of them by color changes whose shades deviate more and more from black to then arrive by the way of distillation from one end to the other, that is, from black to white.
Practice Letters, page 9e
and ascending to the top of the vase and its solidity and coolness, this invisible and delicate vapor congeals into crystalline drops; it is what our schools call with the word Rebis because this vapor and the drops are composed of two different things which agree in the same matter; this mercury is properly that of the Philosophers, who is endowed with all that one can desire to achieve the desired perfection, these are the birds of Zadith ben Hamuel who aim with their bows and arrows towards the sun and the moon which are opposed, especially as these frozen drops being composed not only of the wet but also of the dry, see themselves falling by their gravity to the bottom of the vessel carrying there a thick and bituminous matter which fills the vessel little by little with a matter similar to a blackish silt, the dissolution not taking place by leaps but by degrees; this silt which is the principle of coagulation increases little by little as well as the vapor which engenders the drops, and the drops which engender the silt, so that you will see successively swimming on the edge of your matter of small black bluettes the number of which will increase with the number of days of your digestion; at the beginning you will only see what I have just said on the edge of the vessel where the matter confines there, but gradually this blackness will extend over the entire surface the dissolution not taking place by leaps but by degrees; this silt which is the principle of coagulation increases little by little as well as the vapor which engenders the drops, and the drops which engender the silt, so that you will see successively swimming on the edge of your matter of small black bluettes the number of which will increase with the number of days of your digestion; at the beginning you will only see what I have just said on the edge of the vessel where the matter confines there, but gradually this blackness will extend over the entire surface the dissolution not taking place by leaps but by degrees; this silt which is the principle of coagulation increases little by little as well as the vapor which engenders the drops, and the drops which engender the silt, so that you will see successively swimming on the edge of your matter of small black bluettes the number of which will increase with the number of days of your digestion; at the beginning you will only see what I have just said on the edge of the vessel where the matter confines there, but gradually this blackness will extend over the entire surface so that you will see successively swimming on the edge of your matter of small black bluettes whose number will increase with that of the days of your digestion; at the beginning you will only see what I have just said on the edge of the vessel where the matter confines there, but gradually this blackness will extend over the entire surface so that you will see successively swimming on the edge of your matter of small black bluettes whose number will increase with that of the days of your digestion; at the beginning you will only see what I have just said on the edge of the vessel where the matter confines there, but gradually this blackness will extend over the entire surface
of your matter and little by little you will see this darkness descend into the bottom of your vessel, because it will encroach on your matter so much that the sun will become invisible to you and you will no longer see the bottom of the ship, then you can be certain that matter tends towards the new creature, and that it prepares for a marvelous regeneration.
There are two main stones of this art. The white and the red, of a marvelous nature; the white begins to appear at sunset [70] the face of the waters, hiding until midnight and then tends towards the depths, but the red operates at Popposite, because it begins to rise on the waters at sunrise [71] from the sun until noon and then descends to the deep.
THIRD TREATY
BY JACQUES TESSON
ALMOST SIMILAR TO THE FIRST
Amy[72], I have not known a man in this world who knew better my occult and manifest properties. I cannot perish under your guidance, so say to whom it is necessary to apply my virtues and to whom, both for illnesses and for the convenience of this life.
I have declared the whole course of the work from the beginning to the end, now I want to speak of its character and quality. In the first creation you were simple and had no virtue and power except for yourself, and (it) did not extend beyond your person, the cause of this was that you were not glorified and had no of acquired that what you needed, also that your nature had only simple matter, and being thus in this first quality, you were in danger to be forever confined there. Yet I found you, and did not fail to be desirous of having you, whatever cruelty [73] you said you had in you, especially since I knew the great treasure hidden in your occult,
When I wanted to begin, I took you as nature had formed you [75] and made you die languidly, for violent death is damnable, and I know of no other than that, for it is happy death. , and the glorious resurrection, and if you had died another death, you could not glorify your vassals, the example of this is that man in his first creation is conceived and begotten in sin by the corrupt flesh of Adam who only seeks to lead this body to perdition and is so stupid that he would never want to move from it, and by this means would never want to see the glory of the heavens, because the earth only asks for the earth, but when the man dies in God, his body is buried, and the earth eats all this gross corruption from him, and when the time comes for everyone to be resurrected,then each one will take back his body, which will be glorified, and will no longer be subject to corruption or anything, this is what your mystery looks like.
I have led you by the same path or similar according to your nature; because in the first creation you were only earth, and who would not have dared you, you would still be there, never would you have risen glorious, and that the earth has eaten this grossness of this human body; I also made by my industry this first form that you acquired in your first creation, I made it consume by fire and water, as long as it was converted into another nature more precious than it was not in the first, especially since your virtue extends to infinity without being diminished by anything. And now you hold the most eminent seat of all who are of your nature, and will recognize you as their Lord and only the sovereign will be able to overcome you.
This is how I have led you all the way on your journey, and if I have failed in any point, declare it to me so that I may amend myself, for if I have made a mistake it is unknown to me.
My friend, divine providence has assisted you, for mortal man by himself would not know where to begin, so unknown and difficult is it, if he is not inspired by the Holy Spirit, he will never understand it. Nothing.
But the way to apply myself and to what kind of people? It is for the poor of Jesus Christ, widows and orphans, marriageable girls, prisoners of the Turks, the shameful poor, and those who, like good people, have used their property in search of it.
All faithful, pray to God that he inspires in you the understanding of this divine mystery, for without his favor you will be able to do nothing about it. I did not want to use large paper so as not to confuse the understanding, but a single easy, easy way, and no great work of hands is required, only to hear what is suitable for the material and what is appropriate to it. contrary, here are the two main points.
And leave me all these foreign materials and drugs, because the one I used, I had it inside my globe, namely in the depths of my material and did not put forward anything that is not necessary for the artist. ; that if he does not do this, he will fail from the first day that he begins, because I have spoken nothing but of my matter and of its nature and of its nuances which are made by cooking it, and of the occult operations of nature and time, for which it is not necessary to leaf through so many books which only disturb and retreat rather than advance; whereby I beg you not to amuse yourself with it if you want to succeed, because it is not done with a multitude of materials, but only with two which have come from the same source; it is true that one is cooked and the other raw, and you have to take them pure and clean as they come out of their mines and the whole thing is to know how to accompany them well with a good and holy marriage, namely with the right smells as Arnauld de Villeneuve says, that's all the art , and multiplies itself in its work, and does not ask for foreign aid because it has in itself all that it needs for its organization without borrowing anything from others, witness the generation of the human body, because it suffices of the seed of the man and of the woman, like beasts with four feet, to multiply, nothing else is needed but the sperm of the male and of the female, of birds likewise; that one conforms to that because it is all the art, I leave the judgment of it to any wise man and any true philosopher.
We will have recognized paragraphs 77 and following of the first treaty, with minute variations; paragraphs 85, 86 and 87 being strictly repeated here, we refer the reader to them.
To understand well in the mortification of the body and dissolution, everything is done occultly, and only darkness and obscurity are seen, which is the true sign of death, and the spirit is not corrupted when the body is corrupted and that is because of its rawness and frigidity, and then the body corrupted it corrupts the spirit and to this corruption of the spirit appear all the colors of the world, as well as the concoction continues; and in the beginning when the spirit becomes corrupted the colors appear one after another, but in the end all come to surrender above the surface of the globe of matter, and that is near the end; icelles exhaled will only appear the perfect white, from which we can help ourselves, and after that will come the citrin but it is useless because it is nothing other than the color that appears between white and red, but a fantastic and unusual color (cf.) and so to see them when they each appear in its time, be expert in arranging your vessel for the magisterium when the time presents itself without touching it or stirring it, because matter does not want to be stirred or manipulated or blurred. A Philosopher must be an expert to hear these small passages; if he does not hear them how will he be able to speak except by fickle imagination! However, I will not fail to put here the way and the way how I built it when I began this great magisterium. ) and so to see them when they each present themselves in their time, be expert in arranging your vessel for the Magisterium when the time presents itself without touching it or stirring it, because matter does not want to be stirred or handled or blurred. A Philosopher must be an expert to hear these small passages; if he does not hear them how will he be able to speak except by fickle imagination! However, I will not fail to put here the way and the way how I built it when I began this great magisterium. ) and so to see them when they each present themselves in their time, be expert in arranging your vessel for the Magisterium when the time presents itself without touching it or stirring it, because matter does not want to be stirred or handled or blurred. A Philosopher must be an expert to hear these small passages; if he does not hear them how will he be able to speak except by fickle imagination! However, I will not fail to put here the way and the way how I built it when I began this great magisterium. A Philosopher must be an expert to hear these small passages; if he does not hear them how will he be able to speak except by fickle imagination! However, I will not fail to put here the way and the way how I built it when I began this great magisterium. A Philosopher must be an expert to hear these small passages; if he does not hear them how will he be able to speak except by fickle imagination! However, I will not fail to put here the way and the way how I built it when I began this great magisterium.
It was in a cabinet 8 feet square and very clear and well caulked with frames to see clearly and right in the middle I made my tower which I will say below.
One day I wanted to begin this work but I was not too sure of the material and being in awe all pensive there appeared to me in vision a fountain of water in celestial color sparkling and resplendent like frozen snow, and the saw so crisp and clear that I couldn't get drunk watching her admiring the facts of God.
He presented himself an old man having the face like the sun, resembling him in form and nature and color and was very temperate in his matter, and asked me why I looked at this fountain so firmly? I told her it was for the great beauty that was in her and believed that there might be some excellent virtue in it which was the cause that I took such great pleasure in looking at her, and wanted to find some man who gave me the address to direct me to the straight path of this work, but from what I could hear he was almost unknown to men. It is true that I know how to drive and the utensils, but I doubt the material and its name.
Friend, since I know that you have a generous and subtle mind, that you did not come to know about the regime until you had a lot of work, I will declare them to you.
Know then that you have found what you are looking for and are very happy to have found me; give thanks to God because it is the fulfillment of your desire: for there is no creature in the earth of whom you can help yourself but from me or from a similar mine, and for this, note that I am the one you ask for but I want to tell you my nature, my complexion and my origin.
For the first I am only a ray of the sun which shines night and day at the bottom of my nature and I am of Ophir and was never married and to have generation of me it is necessary that you marry me; by this means you will derive great treasures from me.
"What company shall I give you that is worthy of you?"
— Friend, the fountain you were looking at is the one that engendered me, and is as I was when I came out of its womb, namely without a stain. Know that to do what you say your matter must be pure and clean, for filth only begets filth, and to give me company to my desire you must take the said fountain although it has given birth to me and let her be my mother, yet there shall not be found another in all the earth who is worthy of me nor who has the virtue to beget such a lord that we will make her and me, and for this, keep you to seek and take something other than her and me,
"Are you of the race of those of Ophir who were presented to King Solomon?"
— He replied that yes, and that it was the most noble and oldest of all the earth, and the fountain has begotten and distilled us all; you cannot fail to make this marriage since you have the entire means of supporting us for the time of our marriage, because if you failed or failed to support us and provide our necessary food, we would die damned without ever being able to rise again.
- I will not abandon you and will stand near you to sustain you and provide you with what you have to do, because if I had lacked the smallest thing for your food during your journey you would be lost and could not be resurrected, and for what I know you are such a small expense, do not doubt my benevolence because I will do nothing with regret. So be diligent and vigilant and sure that this great virtue that is hidden in you is not lost.
Make sure that this science is of such a nature that whoever knows the beginning knows the end and can only fail in three points, namely laziness, haste and curiosity. Haste is wanting to see the ship too often, which you shouldn't do.
These warnings are so many oracles for me to use night and day.
Hic desunt plura
I built a tower in the middle of a bright room opposite the window and made three doors in it, two at right angles to each other so when they would be open to see my matter there and how it is doing, and the third to put my hand in my tower if necessary, and I appropriated another vessel in the said tower in which I put the one where my matter is, and I cover everything just as it should be.
I light my fire as I should and continue it day and night without any interval until the resurrection of my body, and then I make the other which digests, and one which freezes, and for the last one which fixes, which common sense will hear me.
and the source of this debate is that some want to dominate because they abound in quantity of humidity and coldness, and the fire similarly wants to have the victory although it does not abound in quantity, however it exceeds in quantity. virtue the said virgins, and will conquer them, for it is he who gives life and movement to all things, whatever they may be after our great God who thus created her and more he is invisible, although they have swallowed it up and keep it wrapped up in their bellies, yet it does not cease to work occultly, for they destroy only the form. This is why philosophers have called it Dragon but it does not destroy virtue, and so much so that they hold it deep within. their belly we called it bed, others called it and named it coffin, for that it is buried deep, they called it dew because it is easy to fly away, and fugitive spirit because it goes diligently and that we do not see and perceive to the point of exhaling, and so many other names which would take too long to tell of which the sages have used, especially since in them are all these qualities, and in our connection this penetrating virtue cannot be overcome, but stripping it of its first body suddenly it forms another one that none of all its opposites know anything about, however they think well to hold for vain; but he works in them so subtly that none of them do anything with them, as long as he has overcome half of their forces,
Here is the operation of matter where the philosophers have said that the masculine is the form and the agent, and the feminine the matter and the patient, and so during all the lovemaking I continue its warmth as I must as long as it has conceived and fathered a son who has no equal in the world both in medicinal virtue for the human body and wealth for this deciduous and transitory life, and by the virtue of my diet that I continue, they agree; also this is the true means of accommodating them and there is no other.
Now I go back to approach the room but I hear no noise there and see nothing but good peace; it is true that they had changed color and had become very black, and looked like an undulating sea and darkness had dominion over the globe, and being in awe, considering where such a monstrous thing came from, I came to my oracle and asked him where this darkness came from.
My friend, remember the mystery of our redemption when our Lord Jesus Christ took death and passion for us for the purpose of reconciling us to God his father when he was lifted up on the cross and gave up his spirit, darkness was cast on the face of the earth, the sun lost its light and the earth trembled and the stones split open and Saint Denis the Areopagite said that the God of nature had to suffer or the world had come to an end, that without death we were children of Ire and in the power of the devil.
Friend, your mystery is similar according to what it contains in its nature and quality as much as by its death it resuscitates and revivifies all those which are of its nature; now to acquire this power, the death of your masculine must follow, and you will know his death when you see the sky of your black and dark globe, deaf and ugly to see, but after this death he rises again, and after this resurrection he carries as for him this virtue and power to be able to resurrect the deaths which are of his nature and to cure the diseases. Rejoice therefore when your matter becomes black, for it is a sign that the coarse form acquired by the art of nature is quite extinguished. Now the germ which is hidden in there will appear and will show the new body which it acquired during the time that it did not show itself and that it worked occultly. Saturn was a good conductor for it because in all species the Saturnian influence is to dissolve, rot, putrefy, subtilize and then cause to germinate and vegetate; here is his charge and his office, and do not pass any further and the Philosophers have called this passage the putrefaction of the work and the starchy earth of the, caput corvi where the said crows which fly in the air make their nests in a land of Oak. That's all they subtlety and then cause to germinate and vegetate; here is his charge and his office, and do not pass any further and the Philosophers have called this passage the putrefaction of the work and the starchy earth of the, caput corvi where the said crows which fly in the air make their nests in a land of Oak. That's all they subtlety and then cause to germinate and vegetate; here is his charge and his office, and do not pass any further and the Philosophers have called this passage the putrefaction of the work and the starchy earth of the, caput corvi where the said crows which fly in the air make their nests in a land of Oak. That's all they
have said of reduction in its first material and all this is done in four and a half months which is half the time of the work.
O that the man who has reached this point is happy, because most of those who undertake to do such a work fail at this passage and remain defeated, not knowing what to do; also it is the most difficult point which is in all the work, as the Peat says, after the putrefaction comes the generation, from here it goes forming and increasing and of the same fire.
Now all that time past, all the celestial hierarchies presented themselves when they heard that one of their confederates had died in his terrestrial parts, and addressing me, said to me: in these lower and terrestrial parts died a of our companions, the most worthy of us. If so, tell us and we will do what we can to resuscitate him, for nature has given us this virtue and property, so tell us the truth of the fact.
My dears. Lords, four months and a half and more ago there presented itself before my eyes in vision a fountain of celestial color which shone in me in the depths of my intrinsic parts, and recognized in me no darkness, and being thus delighted he appeared to me a man of celestial nature, beautiful and resplendent as the sun and his color and his nature were similar to him, and told me that I made a conjunction of him and the fountain, which I did without failing and the everything by his command, and have led and ruled them hither, awaiting your coming, that you may do what is in your power to raise him up: did what I could do to make you come,
but when the body is corrupted, the spirit comes to be corrupted and putrefied and then we will all appear on the surface of the globe, which will be the sign that all the influences have made and completed their charges one after the other, and do not there is only one way from the beginning to the end. All of these things have come out of the depths of the globe and have come down, all by the good industry of the artist. Because all these things put forward are only the operations of nature, which thus show themselves that they operate and this is what we call nuances for what each operates in its time one after the other, and a alone does all this, because it is the intention of the artist to bring them out - and after drink again, and to serve nature in all leniency and gentleness, because whoever violates her is not considered wise, so she does not want to be violated; it is not the artist who makes it engender and grow, so that we are not mistaken, it is nature, because the worker only administers the material already created by her, and then she works according to the nature.
Let us now return and speak of the qualities and operations distinctly. The first influence which nature uses does nothing but bathe and soak our earth, because it is so hard and so fixed that it is impossible for man to soften it by any means other than this. , and this distemper which is the first shade lasts 40 days. The moderns called it dissolution and the ancients reduced to its first matter, but at this point the homogenization is made, it is then that the sulfur begins to be born, but it does not appear until the dry has dominated humidity, we call this passage coagulate which is another shade, and the other shade that comes after this is true freezing, where the thick dominates the liquid; it is true that there is some appearance of humidity, but the dryness dominates. It is another nuance that are three.
Now let us come to desiccation which is another nuance which is thus that matter is dehydrated, humidity is consumed little by little, dries up and being dry the humidity is vanished; however it is only the vulgar desiccation, the reason is that the vulgar gold and silver would not be held in body if there were not some humidity, it would be only powder, but ours goes beyond , and overrides this and nature, because nature has claimed to make only a simple form which is good only for itself, and ours acquires for itself and for others all those of its nature and its power extends further. to human bodies. This is the reason why our desiccation goes a step further, it is to acquire this virtue,
When the fixation and rubification are together, the fixation acquires a force by the decoction and good regime of the artist, that it is invincible to sustain all the assaults that one could yawn to him and begins to acquire this force from the first day of the regime, which is as soon as we begin to heat the bath and as the material goes cooking it goes fixing, and the rubification goes following it closely, and note that one does not go without the other and all by the same path. We must then distinguish the nuances that nature operates occultly. Know that the first day that nature began to work until the last day of four and a half months is done dissolution, putrefaction, homogenization; and as for the rubification, it is certainly done during the time of the other 4 and a half months, but in this time various changes will appear as the material will cook it will change from one nature to another that we will say nuances and one lasts longer than the other, the first 40 days, the second 20 days, the third 40 days or thereabouts, the sixth lasts 15 days, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the industry of the artist, especially since if the fire is given to him too weakly, he will not nuance it, and if given give a little too much he will be spoiled, and for this reason one must be sure of the fire; I will tell you and declare what it must be. the third 40 days or thereabouts, the sixth lasts 15 days, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the industry of the artist, especially since if the fire is given to him too weakly, he will not nuance it, and if give it a little too much, we will spoil it, and for this reason we must be assured of the fire; I will tell you and declare what it must be. the third 40 days or thereabouts, the sixth lasts 15 days, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the industry of the artist, especially since if the fire is given to him too weakly, he will not nuance it, and if give it a little too much, we will spoil it, and for this reason we must be assured of the fire; I will tell you and declare what it must be.
The fire of solution must be like the fire of the geline when it broods its eggs, because the fire cannot destroy anything, and the fire which resuscitates, it must be a good fire which digests the thick matter and makes it rise to the sky, because if the earth remains always at the bottom of the vessel, the dissolution is not perfect, because it is necessary to return this material body spirit in pure mercurial water which is its first nature, and if you do differently, all your expenditure, time and work are lost, and believe me, for I say nothing that I have not experienced, and say nothing to you in doubt, and if you hear me you are blessed, out of poverty and misery of this world, live in rest of conscience, serving God.
I will treat a little of the multiplication for the human body, and then of that for the metals, so that we know everything, because what is for the metals is worth nothing for the human body and that which is for the body human can be converted for metals, and for this there are two multiplications:
For the human body
As the raw material has come to its end of perfection, it is the true elixir, and to multiply it to the equal virtue which it is, one must take water from which it was made, and thus compose it. , namely one weight of elixir out of ten of the said water, and put it in a vessel similar to the first, and put the whole in a decoction as you did in the first work and same regime of ten days and at the end of the said ten days repeat to put by four times, and multiplies to infinity by the same path, the first in ten, the second in a hundred, the third in a thousand, the fourth in ten thousand, and as you follow you will go to infinity always following the same way.
For metals
And from it becomes medicine on the metals and yes it is not governed in the same way, because it must lower this force because being thus it would precipitate them and would not do anything worthwhile, and to lower it do so.
I take a weight of my Elixir and 20 weights of the aforesaid work and incorporate them with the other, and put them to cook in the same way and mode as the first time until it is all converted into powder, and then you will take it all, and turn it over to compose with 80 weights of the said water, and then put it back again over the same fire, and when everything is cooked you will take it all, and again you will incorporate it with 160 weights of the said water , and cook it over the same fire and when it is cooked and come to an end, if it is white, you will take a marc of fine melted and very hot moonshine and you will throw in two ounces of the medicine, and mix them with a small stick as long as the moon has drunk everything, and that done, throw in an ingot and this medicine is for throwing on imperfect metals like Venus or others.
And to freeze mercury, take a wave of your medicine that will throw on 10 of very hot mercury as long as it smokes, holding it for a quarter of an hour on the fire then pour your mercury converted into a fine moon.
And for the red, you must do the same as you did for the moon except at the end, because you must take fine gold, and melt it, and being melted and very hot, throw the medicine into it, it is for project.
To know if the medicine is good: take a heavy grain of medicine then put it on a well reddened copper lamina, and if it pierces the lamina inside and out it will be well done.
END
[1] This mountain is the furnace and the green lion the matter or composition, cahos, or mercury of the Philosophers.
[2] The raw mineral.
[3] The six colors of metals, or themselves generated by the mineral in their mine.
[4] This someone is of said metals.
[5] The mineral.
[6] Good book to read.
[7] It is the spirit, the mineral water.
[8] Egg or matrass, hermetically sealed.
[9] Closed bowl, and stove. The furnace or the athanor.
[10] Moderate heat without flame.
[11] Death or putrefaction long in coming, at least four and a half months.
[12] Violent gunshot.
[13] Half of the work is when the great putrefaction has come and the smoke or cloud rises from the bottom of the vessel, that is half the time one is doing the work .
[14] One year for the first time or first brimstone.
[15] Four degrees of fire.
[16] Take care that the fire is not too strong.
[17] Too much water in your composition.
[18] Fire, hotter than melting lead and keeping it molten. It is quite a strong fire, for that of a lamp, however strong it was, would not suffice; it needs coal, but well governed.
The fire is very difficult until the great putrefaction that comes to the cloud, which is half the work.
[19] The cloud of great putrefaction.
[20] It is gold or its sulphur.
[21] The first color.
[22] By putrefaction and sublimation.
[23] Nature loves Nature.
[24] NB: Your kingdom; it is therefore not the universal, but someone from the three kingdoms, because there are not four of them, but to that I answer that it is indeed universal since it is reduced and demoted to first matter by spiritualization .
[25] The spirit rises above and carries sulfur there.
[26] The colors of metals.
[27] Art is very difficult to conduct.
[28] A composition is therefore necessary and these two materials are two bodies which is the philosophical moon with the soul which is the spiritualized sun, and the spirit which cannot be seen and which contains the soul, but will be seen in the egg in the fire of the athanor where he will flutter like an angel from our crystalline sky.
[29] By the imbibition of the spirit.
[30] The first blackish-shaped films floating on the water.
Who rushes to the bottom every week, which is very long.
And the artist must be happy seeing this because he has found the degree of fire suitable for putrefaction.
[31] All colors.
[32] Read our water that gives death and life.
[33] Black or sulphur.
[34] By the spirit putrefaction comes.
[35] Bathed in the spirit.
[36] Cinerization or ashes, gray. Read a nice note.
[37] Read the imbibition to be done, or dissolution. The imbibition or multiplication is done with the same fire as the first fire of the work.
[38] All vapors and waters over the degree of fire increases.
[39] Fire.
[40] The first virtue of the sun was only for him.
[41] In the “O” (idem) is his sulfur or seed.
[42] It is necessary if possible O coming from the virgin mine.
[43] By putrefaction.
[44] The planets or rather the colors.
[45] Through spiritualization.
[46] Death by putrefaction and by fire and water.
[47] Between philosophical metals.
[48] That our divine creator.
[49] Variant: because that of what.
[50] Variation: inside my globe.
[51] The two sulfurs.
[52] Dissolving in our great science is our putrefaction.
[53] On the surface of the material in a blackish film at first and then very black.
[54] Matter in forty days at most begins to blacken in films on the surface.
[55] Time of the first operations and the rest in as much time so it is nine and a half months or io months at the most for the first sulphur.
[56] Sieve of the wise because the dissolution and putrefaction makes the whole very subtle.
[57] Jupiter second planet in work, and a little increased fire.
[58] Visible colors that must be seen by working with well-conducted fire.
[59] But it is better to lead it to the reign of red.
[60] The mountains are the metals and planets among the Philosophers, but their sea is much more admirable.
[61] Read: great truth.
[62] The rock is the sun and its mineral; it caves in by putrefaction.
[63] Or composition of the mass of the sun and the moon.
[64] Colors and planets.
[65] Great Truth: The First Brimstone. How it is engulfed and dissolved by our sea.
[66] From sulfur and common fire all colors and planets appear.
[67] The wise artist.
[68] The Spirit of Stone.
[69] Read great truths in the work: on the surface appears like dandruff that rushes to the bottom.
[70] When gold is dissolved in the dark.
[71] At sunrise and makes the moon set.
[72] The sun to the Artist recognizes him as very scavan.
[73] Because it is almost impossible to dissolve and there is nothing so difficult even to true Philosophers.
[74] The sun died by putrefaction.
[75] You must, if possible, have virgin gold that has never smelled of Vulcan.