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The Book Concerning The Tincture Of The Philosophers
by Paracelsus
THE BOOK CONCERNING THE TINCTURE OF
THE PHILOSOPHERS
WRITTEN AGAINST THOSE SOPHISTS BORN
SINCE THE DELUGE, IN THE AGE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON
OF GOD;
By PH. THEOPHRASTUS BOMBAST, of HOHENHEIM,
Philosopher of the Monarchia, Prince
of Spagyrists, Chief Astronomer, Surpassing Physician, and Trismegistus
of Mechanical Arcana.
PREFACE.
SINCE you, O Sophist, everywhere abuse me with such fatuous
and mendacious words, on the ground that being sprung from rude
Helvetia I can understand and know nothing: and also because
being a duly qualified physician I still wander from one district
to another; therefore I have proposed by means of this treatise
to disclose to the ignorant and inexperienced: what good arts
existed in the first age; what my art avails against you and
yours against me; what should be thought of each, and how my
posterity in this age of grace will imitate me. Look at Hermes,
Archelaus, and others in the first age: see what Spagyrists and
what Philosophers then existed. By this they testify that their
enemies, who are your patrons, O Sophist, at the present time
are but mere empty forms and idols. Although this would not be
attested by those who are falsely considered your authentic fathers
and saints, yet the ancient Emerald Table shews more art and
experience in Philosophy, Alchemy, Magic, and the like, than
could ever be taught by you and your crowd of followers. If you
do not yet understand, from the aforesaid facts, what and how
great treasures these are, tell me why no prince or king was
ever able to subdue the Egyptians. Then tell me why the Emperor
Diocletian ordered all the Spagyric books to be burnt (so far
as he could lay his hands upon them). Unless the contents of
those books had been known, they would have been obliged to bear
still his intolerable yoke, - a yoke, O Sophist, which shall
one day be put upon the neck of yourself and your colleagues.
From the middle of this age the Monarchy of all the Arts has
been at length derived and conferred on me, Theophrastus Paracelsus,
Prince of Philosophy and of Medicine. For this purpose I have
been chosen by God to extinguish and blot out all the phantasies
of elaborate and false works, of delusive and presumptuous words,
be they the words of Aristotle, Galen, Avicenna, Mesva, or the
dogmas of any among their followers. My theory, proceeding as
it does from the light of Nature, can never, through its consistency,
pass away or be changed: but in the fifty-eighth year after its
millennium and a half it will then begin to flourish. The practice
at the same time following upon the theory will be proved by
wonderful and incredible signs, so as to be open to mechanics
and common people, and they will thoroughly understand how firm
and immovable is that Paracelsic Art against the triflings of
the Sophists: though meanwhile that sophistical science has to
have its ineptitude propped up and fortified by papal and imperial
privileges. In that I am esteemed by you a mendicant and vagabond
sophist, the Danube and the Rhine will answer that accusation,
though I hold my tongue. Those calumnies of yours falsely devised
against me have often displeased many courts and princes, many
imperial cities, the knightly order, and the nobility. I have
a treasure hidden in a certain city called Weinden, belonging
to Forum Julii, at an inn, - a treasure which neither you, Leo
of Rome, nor you, Charles the German, could purchase with all
your substance. Although the signed star has been applied to
the arcanum of your names, it is known to none but the sons of
the divine Spagyric Art. So then, you wormy and lousy Sophist,
since you deem the monarch of arcana a mere ignorant, fatuous,
and prodigal quack, now, in this mid age, I determine in my present
treatise to disclose the honourable course of procedure in these
matters, the virtues and preparation of the celebrated Tincture
of the Philosophers for the use and honour of all who love the
truth, and in order that all who despise the true arts may be
reduced to poverty. By this arcanum the last age shall be illuminated
clearly and compensated for all its losses by the gift of grace
and the reward of the spirit of truth, so that since the beginning
of the world no similar germination of the intelligence and of
wisdom shall ever have been heard of. In the meantime, vice will
not be able to suppress the good, nor will the resources of those
vicious persons, many though they be, cause any loss to the upright.
THE BOOK CONCERNING THE TINCTURE OF
THE PHILOSOPHERS.
CHAPTER I.
I, PHILIPPUS Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast, say that, by
Divine grace, many ways have been sought to the Tincture of the
Philosophers, which finally all came to the same scope and end.
Hermes Trismegistus, the Egyptian, approached this task in his
own method. Orus, the Greek, observed the same process. Hali,
the Arabian, remained firm in his order. But Albertus Magnus,
the German, followed also a lengthy process. Each one of these
advanced in proportion to his own method; nevertheless, they
all arrive at one and the same end, at a long life, so much desired
by the philosophers, and also at an honourable sustenance and
means of preserving that life in this Valley of Misery. Now at
this time, I, Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast, Monarch of the
Arcana, am endowed by God with special gifts for this end, that
every searcher after this supreme philosophic work may be forced
to imitate and to follow me, be he Italian, Pole, Gaul, German,
or whatsoever or whosoever he be. Come hither after me, all you
philosophers, astronomers, and spagyrists, of however lofty a
name ye may be, I will show and open to you, Alchemists and Doctors,
who are exalted by me with the most consummate labours, this
corporeal regeneration. I will teach you the tincture, the arcanum1,
the quintessence, wherein lie hid the foundations of all mysteries
and of all works. For every person may and ought to believe in
another only in those matters, which he has tried by fire. If
any one shall have brought forward anything contrary to this
method of experimentation in the Spagyric Art or in Medicine,
there is no reason for your belief in him, since, experimentally,
through the agency of fire, the true is separated from the false.
The light of Nature indeed is created in this way, that by means
thereof the proof or trial of everything may appear, but only
to those who walk in this light. With this light we will teach,
by the very best methods of demonstration, that all those who
before me have approached this so difficult province with their
own fancies and acute speculations have, to their own loss, incurred
the danger of their foolishness. On which account, from my standpoint,
many rustics have been ennobled; but, on the other hand, through
the speculative and opinionative art of these many nobles have
been changed into clowns, and since they carried golden mountains
in their head before they had put their hand to the fire. First
of all, then, there must be learnt - digestions, distillations,
sublimations, reverberations, extractions, solutions, coagulations,
fermentations, fixations, and every instrument which is requisite
for this work must be mastered by experience, such as glass vessels,
cucurbites, circulators, vessels of Hermes, earthen vessels,
baths, blast-furnaces, reverberatories, and instruments of like
kind, also marble, coals, and tongs. Thus at length you will
be able to profit in Alchemy and in Medicine.
But so long as, relying on fancy and opinion, you cleave to
your fictitious books, you are fitted and predestinated for no
one of these things.
CHAPTER II.
CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF THE SUBJECT
AND MATTER OF THE TINCTURE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS.
Before I come, then, to the process of the Tincture, it is
needful that I open to you the subject thereof: for, up to the
present time, this has always been kept in a specially occult
way by the lovers of truth. So, then, the matter of the Tincture
(when you understand me in a Spagyrical sense) is a certain thing
which, by the art of Vulcan2, passes out of three essences into
one essence, or it may remain. But, that I may give it its proper
name, according to the use of the ancients, though it is called
by many the Red Lion, still it is known by few. This, by the
aid of Nature and the skill of the Artist himself, can be transmuted
into a White Eagle, so that out of one two are produced; and
beyond this the brightness of gold does not shine so much for
the Spagyrist as do these two when kept in one. Now, if you do
not understand the use of the Cabalists and the old astronomers,
you are not born by God for the Spagyric art, or chosen by Nature
for the work of Vulcan, or created to open your mouth concerning
Alchemical Arts. The matter of the Tincture, then, is a very
great pearl and a most precious treasure, and the noblest thing
next to the manifestation of the Most High and the consideration
of men which can exist upon earth. This is the Lili of Alchemy
and of Medicine, which the philosophers have so diligently sought
after, but, through the failure of entire knowledge and complete
preparation, they have not progressed to the perfect end thereof.
By means of their investigations and experiments, only the initial
stage of the Tincture has been given to us; but the true foundation,
which my colleagues must imitate, has been left for me, so that
no one should mingle their shadows with our good intentions.
I, by right after my long experiences, correct the Spagyrists,
and separate the false or the erroneous from the true, since,
by long investigations, I have found reasons why I should be
able justly to blame and to change diverse things. If, indeed,
I had found out experiments of the ancients better than my own,
I should scarcely have taken up such great labours as, for the
sake, the utility, and the advantage of all good Alchemists,
I have undergone willingly. Since, then, the subject of the Tincture
has been sufficiently declared, so that it scarcely could or
ought to be exceeded in fidelity between two brothers, I approach
its preparation, and after I have laid down the experiences of
the first age, I wish to add my own inventions; to which at last
the Age of Grace will by-and-by give its adhesion, whichever
of the patriarchs, O Sophist, you, in the meantime, shall have
made leaders.
CHAPTER III.
CONCERNING THE PROCESS OF THE ANCIENTS
FOR THE TINCTURE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS, AND A MORE COMPENDIOUS
METHOD BY PARACELSUS.
The old Spagyrists putrefied Lili for a philosophical month,
and afterwards distilled therefrom the moist spirits, until at
length the dry spirits were elevated. They again imbued the caput
mortuum with moist spirits, and drew them off from it frequently
by distillation until the dry spirits were all elevated. Then
afterwards they united the moisture that had been drawn off and
the dry spirits by means of a pelican, three or four times, until
the whole Lili remained dry at the bottom. Although early experience
gave this process before fixation, none the less our ancestors
often attained a perfect realisation of their wish by this method.
They would, however, have had a shorter way of arriving at the
treasure of the Red Lion if they had learnt the agreement of
Astronomy with Alchemy, as I have demonstrated it in the Apocalypse
of Hermes3. But since every day (as Christ says for the consolation
of the faithful) has its own peculiar care, the labour for the
Spagyrists before my times has been great and heavy; but this,
by the help of the Holy Spirit flowing into us, will, in this
last age, be lightened and made clear by my theory and practice,
for all those who constantly persevere in their work with patience.
For I have tested the properties of Nature, its essences and
conditions, and I know its conjunction and resolution, which
are the highest and greatest gift for a philosopher, and never
understood by the sophists up to this time. When, therefore,
the earliest age gave the first experience of the Tincture, the
Spagyrists made two things out of one simple. But when afterwards,
in the Middle Age, this invention had died out, their successors
by diligent scrutiny afterwards came upon the two names of this
simple, and they named it with one word, namely, Lili, as being
the subject of the Tincture. At length the imitators of Nature
putrefied this matter at its proper period just like the seed
in the earth, since before this corruption nothing could be born
from it, nor any arcanum break forth from it. Afterwards they
drew off the moist spirits from the matter, until at length,
by the violence of the fire, the dry were also equally sublimated,
so that, in this way, just as the rustic does at the proper time
of year, they might come to maturity as one after another is
wont to ascend and to fall away. Lastly, as after the spring
comes summer, they incorporated those fruits and dry spirits,
and brought the Magistery of the Tincture to such a point that
it came to the harvest, and laid itself out for ripening.
CHAPTER IV.
CONCERNING THE PROCESS FOR THE TINCTURE
OF THE PHILOSOPHERS, AS IT IS SHORTENED BY PARACELSUS.
The ancient Spagyrists would not have required such lengthened
labour and such wearisome repetition if they had learnt and practised
their work in my school. They would have obtained their wish
just as well, with far less expense and labour. But at this time,
when Theophrastus Paracelsus has arrived as the Monarch of Arcana,
the opportunity is at hand for finding out those things which
were occult to all Spagyrists before me. Wherefore I say, Take
only the rose-coloured blood from the Lion and the gluten from
the Eagle. When you have mixed these, coagulate them according
to the old process, and you will have the Tincture of the Philosophers,
which an infinite number have sought after and very few have
found. Whether you will or not, sophist, this Magistery is in
Nature itself, a wonderful thing of God above Nature, and a most
precious treasure in this Valley of Sorrows. If you look at it
from without it seems a paltry thing to transmute another into
something far more noble than it was before. But you must, nevertheless,
allow this, and confess that it is a miracle produced by the
Spagyrist, who by the art of his preparation corrupts a visible
body which is externally vile, from which he excites another
most noble and most precious essence. If you, in like manner,
have learnt anything from the light of Aristotle, or from us,
or from the rules of Serapio, come forth, and bring that knowledge
experimentally to light. Preserve now the right of the Schools,
as becomes a lover of honour and a doctor. But if you know nothing
and can do nothing, why do you despise me as though I were an
irrational Helvetian cow, and inveigh against me as a wandering
vagabond? Art is a second Nature and a universe of its own, as
experience witnesses, and demonstrates against you and your idols.
Sometimes, therefore, the Alchemist compounds certain simples,
which he afterwards corrupts according to his need, and prepares
thence another thing. For thus very often out of many things
one is made, which effects more than Nature of herself can do,
as in Gastaynum it is perfectly well known that Venus is produced
from Saturn; in Carinthia, Luna out of Venus; and in Hungary,
Sol out of Luna; to pass over in silence for the time being the
transmutations of other natural objects, which were well known
to the Magi, and more wonderfully than Ovid narrates in his Metamorphoses
do they come to the light. That you may rightly understand me,
seek your Lion in the East, and your Eagle in the South, for
this our work which has been undertaken. You will not find better
instruments than Hungary and Istria produce. But if you desire
to lead from unity by duality in trinity with equal permutation
of each, then you should direct your journey to the South; so
in Cyprus shall you gain all your desire, concerning which we
must not dilate more profusely than we have done at present.
There are still many more of these arcana which exhibit transmutations,
though they are known to few. And although these may by the Lord
God be made manifest to anyone, still, the rumour of this Art
does not on that account at once break forth, but the Almighty
gives therewith the understanding how to conceal these and other
like arts even to the coming of Elias the Artist, at which time
there shall be nothing so occult that it shall not be revealed.
You also see with your eyes (though there is no need to speak
of these things, which may be taken derisively by some) that
in the fire of Sulphur is a great tincture for gems, which, indeed,
exalts them to a loftier degree than Nature by herself could
do. But this gradation of metals and gems shall be omitted by
me in this place, since I have written sufficiently about it
in my Secret of Secrets, in my book on the Vexations of Alchemists,
and abundantly elsewhere. As I have begun the process of our
ancestors with the Tincture of the Philosophers, I will now perfectly
conclude it.
CHAPTER V.
CONCERNING THE CONCLUSION OF THE PROCESS
OF THE ANCIENTS, MADE BY PARACELSUS.
Lastly, the ancient Spagyrists having placed Lili in a pelican
and dried it, fixed it by means of a regulated increase of the
fire, continued so long until from blackness, by permutation
into all the colours, it became red as blood, and therewith assumed
the condition of a salamander. Rightly, indeed, did they proceed
with such labour, and in the same way it is right and becoming
that everyone should proceed who seeks this pearl. It will be
very difficult for me to make this clearer to you unless you
shall have learnt in the School of the Alchemists to observe
the degrees of the fire, and also to change your vessels. For
then at length you will see that soon after your Lili shall have
become heated in the Philosophic Egg, it becomes, with wonderful
appearances, blacker than the crow; afterwards, in succession
of time, whiter than the swan; and at last, passing through a
yellow colour, it turns out more red than any blood. Seek, seek,
says the first Spagyrist, and you shall find; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you. It would be impious and indecorous to put
food in the mouth of a perfidious bird. Let her rather fly to
it, even as I, with others before me, have been compelled to
do. But follow true Art; for this will lead you to its perfect
knowledge. It is not possible that anything should here be set
down more fully or more clearly than I have before spoken. Let
your Pharisaical schools teach you what they will from their
unstable and slippery foundation, which reaches not its end or
its aim. When at length you shall have been taught as accurately
as possible the Alchemistic Art, nothing in the nature of things
shall then at length be so difficult which cannot be made manifest
to you by the aid of this Art. Nature, indeed, herself does not
bring forth anything into the light which is advanced to its
highest perfection, as can be seen in this place from the unity,
or the union, of our duality. But a man ought by Spagyric preparations
to lead it thither where it was ordained by Nature. Let this
have been sufficiently said by me, concerning the process of
the ancients and my correction of the Tincture of the Philosophers,
so far as relates to its preparation.
Moreover, since now we have that treasure of the Egyptians
in our hands, it remains that we turn it to our use: and this
is offered to us by the Spagyric Magistery in two ways. According
to the former mode it can be applied for the renewing of the
body; according to the latter it is to be used for the transmutation
of metals. Since, then, I, Theophrastus Paracelsus, have tried
each of them in different ways, I am willing to put them forward
and to describe them according to the signs indeed of the work,
and as in experience and proof they appeared to me better and
more perfectly.
CHAPTER VI.
CONCERNING THE TRANSMUTATION OF METALS
BY THE PERFECTION OF MEDICINE.
If the Tincture of the Philosophers is to be used for transmutation,
a pound of it must be projected on a thousand pounds of melted
Sol. Then, at length, will a Medicine have been prepared for
transmuting the leprous moisture of the metals. This work is
a wonderful one in the light of Nature, namely, that by the Magistery,
or the operation of the Spagyrist, a metal, which formerly existed,
should perish, and another be produced. This fact has rendered
that same Aristotle, with his ill-founded philosophy, fatuous.
For truly, when the rustics in Hungary cast iron at the proper
season into a certain fountain, commonly called Zifferbrunnen,
it is consumed into rust, and when this is liquefied with a blast-fire,
it soon exists as pure Venus, and never more returns to iron.
Similarly, in the mountain commonly called Kuttenberg, they obtain
a lixivium out of marcasites, in which iron is forthwith turned
into Venus of a high grade, and more malleable than the other
produced by Nature. These things, and more like them, are known
to simple men rather than to sophists, namely, those which turn
one appearance of a metal into another. And these things, moreover,
through the remarkable contempt of the ignorant, and partly,
too, on account of the just envy of the artificers, remain almost
hidden. But I myself, in Istria, have often brought Venus to
more than twenty-four (al. 38) degrees, so that the colour of
Sol could not mount higher, consisting of Antimony or or Quartal,
which Venus I used in all respects as other kinds.
But though the old artists were very desirous of this arcanum,
and sought it with the greatest diligence, nevertheless, very
few could bring it by means of a perfect preparation to its end.
For the transmutation of an inferior metal into a superior one
brings with it many difficulties and obstacles, as the change
of Jove into Luna, or Venus into Sol. Perhaps on account of their
sins God willed that the Magnalia of Nature should be hidden
from many men. For sometimes, when this Tincture has been prepared
by artists, and they were not able to reduce their projection
to work its effects, it happened that, by their carelessness
and bad guardianship, this was eaten up by fowls, whose feathers
thereupon fell off, and, as I myself have seen, grew again. In
this way transmutation, through its abuse from the carelessness
of the artists, came into Medicine and Alchemy. For when they
were unable to use the Tincture according to their desire, they
converted the same to the renovation of men, as shall be heard
more at large in the following chapter.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING THE RENOVATION OF MEN.
Some of the first and primitive philosophers of Egypt have
lived by means of this Tincture for a hundred and fifty years.
The life of many, too, has been extended and prolonged to several
centuries, as is most clearly shewn in different histories, though
it seems scarcely credible to any one. For its power is so remarkable
that it extends the life of the body beyond what is possible
to its congenital nature, and keeps it so firmly in that condition
that it lives on in safety from all infirmities. And although,
indeed, the body at length comes to old age, nevertheless, it
still appears as though it were established in its primal youth.
So, then, the Tincture of the Philosophers is a Universal
Medicine, and consumes all diseases, by whatsoever name they
are called, just like an invisible fire. The dose is very small,
but its effect is most powerful. By means thereof I have cured
the leprosy, venereal disease, dropsy, the falling sickness,
colic, scab, and similar afflictions; also lupus, cancer, noli-me-tangere,
fistulas, and the whole race of internal diseases, more surely
than one could believe. Of this fact Germany, France, Italy,
Poland, Bohemia, etc., will afford the most ample evidence.
Now, Sophist, look at Theophrastus Paracelsus. How can your
Apollo, Machaon, and Hippocrates stand against me? This is the
Catholicum of the Philosophers, by which all these philosophers
have attained long life for resisting diseases, and they have
attained this end entirely and most effectually, and so, according
to their judgment, they named it The Tincture of the Philosophers.
For what can there be in the whole range of medicine greater
than such purgation of the body, by means whereof all superfluity
is radically removed from it and transmuted? For when the seed
is once made sound all else is perfected. What avails the ill-founded
purgation of the sophists since it removes nothing as it ought?
This, therefore, is the most excellent foundation of a true physician,
the regeneration of the nature, and the restoration of youth.
After this, the new essence itself drives out all that is opposed
to it. To effect this regeneration, the powers and virtues of
the Tincture of the Philosophers were miraculously discovered,
and up to this time have been used in secret and kept concealed
by true Spagyrists.
HERE ENDS THE BOOK CONCERNING THE TINCTURE OF THE
PHILOSOPHERS.
NOTES
1 The Arcanum of a substance is not the virtue
(virtus) but the essence (vir) and the potency
(potentia), and is stronger than the virtue; nevertheless,
an old error of the doctors conferred the name of virtues upon
the potential essences. - Paramirum, Lib. IV. Many things
are elsewhere set forth concerning the Quintessence, but what
is described is really a separation or extraction of the pure
from the impure, not a true quintessence, and it is more correctly
termed an Arcanum. -Explicatio Totius Astronomiae.
2 The office of Vulcan is the separation of
the good from the bad. So the Art of Vulcan, which is Alchemy,
is like unto death, by which the eternal and the temporal are
divided one from another. So also this art might be called the
death of things. - De Morbis Metallicis, Lib. I., Tract
III., c. 1. Vulcan is an astral and not a corporal fabricator.
- De Caduco Matricis, Par. VI. The artist working in metals
and other minerals transforms them into other colours, and in
so doing his operation is like that of the heaven itself. For
as the artist excocts by means of Vulcan, or the igneous element,
so heaven performs the work of coction through the Sun. The Sun,
therefore, is the Vulcan of heaven accomplishing coction in the
earth. - De Icteritiis. Vulcan is the fabricator and architect
of all things, nor is his habitation in heaven only, that is,
in the firmament, but equally in all the other elements. - Lib.
Meteorum, c. 4. Where the three prime principles are wanting,
there also the igneous essence is absent. The Igneous Vulcan
is nothing else but Sulphur, Sal Nitrum, and Mercury. - Ibid.,
c.5.
3 The Book of the Revelation of Hermes, interpreted
by Theophrastus Paracelsus, concerning the Supreme Secret of
the World, seems to have been first brought to light by Benedictus
Figulus, and appeared as a piece de résistance
in his "Golden and Blessed Casket of Nature's Marvels",
of which an English translation has been very recently published.
("A Golden and Blessed Casket of Nature's Marvels".
By Benedictus Figulus. Now first done into English from the German
original published at Frankfort in the year 1608. London: James
Elliott and Co. 8vo., 1893). Among the many writings which have
been fabulously attributed to Hermes, there does not seem to
be any record of an apocalypse, and it is impossible to say what
forged document may have been the subject of interpretation by
Paracelsus. As the collection of Figulus is now so readily accessible,
it is somewhat superfluous to reproduce the treatise here, but
since this translation claims to include everything written by
the physician of Hohenheim on the subject of Alchemy and the
Universal Medicine, it is appended at this point. It should be
premised that Benedictus Figulus complains bitterly of the mutilation
and perversion to which the works of Paracelsus were subjected,
and the Revelation of Hermes seems in many parts to betray another
hand, especially in its quotation of authorities who are not
countenanced by its reputed author. Hermes, Plato, Aristotle,
and other philosophers, flourishing at different times, who have
introduced the Arts, and more especially have explored the secrets
of inferior Creation, all these have eagerly sought a means whereby
man's body might be preserved from decay and become endued with
immortality. To them it was answered that there is nothing which
might deliver the mortal body from death; but that there is One
Thing which may postpone decay, renew youth; and prolong short
human life (as with the patriarchs). For death was laid as a
punishment upon our first parents, Adam and Eve, and will never
depart from all their descendants. Therefore, the above philosophers,
and many others, have sought this One Thing with great labour,
and have found that that which preserves the human body from
corruption, and prolongs life, conducts itself, with respect
to other elements, as it were like the Heavens; from which they
understood that the Heavens are a substance above the Four Elements.
And just as the Heavens, with respect to the other elements,
are held to be the fifth substance (for they are indestructible,
stable, and suffer no foreign admixture), so also this One Thing
(compared to the forces of our body) is an indestructible essence,
drying up all the superfluities of our bodies, and has been philosophically
called by the above-mentioned name. It is neither hot and dry
like fire, nor cold and moist like water, nor warm and moist
like air, nor dry and cold like earth. But it is a skilful, perfect
equation of all the Elements, a right commingling of natural
forces, a most particular union of spiritual virtues, an indissoluble
uniting of body and soul. It is the purest and noblest substance
of an indestructible body, which cannot be destroyed nor harmed
by the Elements, and is produced by Art. With this, Aristotle
prepared an apple, prolonging life by its scent, when he, fifteen
days before his death, could neither eat nor drink on account
of old age. This spiritual Essence, or One Thing, was revealed
from above to Adam, and was greatly desired by the Holy Fathers;
this also Hermes and Aristotle call the Truth without Lies, the
most sure of all things certain, the Secret of all Secrets. It
is the Last and the Highest Thing to be sought under the Heavens,
a wondrous closing and finish of philosophical work, by which
are discovered the dews of Heaven and the fastnesses of Earth.
What the mouth of man cannot utter is all found in this spirit.
As Morienus says: "He who has this has all things, and wants
no other aid. For in it are all temporal happiness, bodily health,
and earthly fortune. It is the spirit of the fifth substance,
a Fount of all Joys ( beneath the rays of the moon), the Supporter
of Heaven and Earth, the Mover of Sea and Wind, the Outpourer
of Rain, upholding the strength of all things, an excellent spirit
above Heavenly and other spirits, giving Health, Joy, Peace,
Love; driving away Hatred and Sorrow, bringing in Joy, expelling
all Evil, quickly healing all Diseases, destroying Poverty and
misery, leading to all good things, preventing all evil words
and thoughts, giving man his heart's desire, bringing to the
pious earthly honour and long life, but to the wicked who misuse
it, Eternal Punishment". This is the Spirit of Truth, which
the world cannot comprehend without the interposition of the
Holy Ghost, or without the instruction of those who know it.
The same is of a mysterious nature, wondrous strength, boundless
power. The Saints, from the beginning of the world, have desired
to behold its face. By Avicenna this Spirit is named the Soul
of the World. For, as the Soul moves all the limbs of the body,
so also does this Spirit move all bodies. And as the Soul is
in all the limbs of the Body, so also is this Spirit in all elementary
created things. It is sought by many and found by few. It is
beheld from afar and found near; for it exists in every thing,
in every place, and at all times. It has the powers of all creatures;
its action is found in all elements, and the qualities of all
things are therein, even in the highest perfection. By virtue
of this essence did Adam and the Patriarchs preserve their health
and live to an extreme age, some of them also flourishing in
great riches. When the philosophers had discovered it, with great
diligence and labour, they straightway concealed it under a strange
tongue, and in parables, lest the same should become known to
the unworthy, and the pearls be cast before swine. For if everyone
knew it, all work and industry would cease; man would desire
nothing but this one thing, people would live wickedly, and the
world be ruined, seeing that they would provoke God by reason
of their avarice and superfluity. For eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, nor hath the heart of man understood what Heaven hath
naturally incorporated with this Spirit. Therefore have I briefly
enumerated some of the qualities of this Spirit, to the Honour
of God, that the pious may reverently praise Him in His gifts
(which gift of God shall afterwards come to them), and I will
herewith shew what powers and virtues it possesses in each thing,
also its outward appearance, that it may be more readily recognised.
In its first state, it appears as an impure earthly body, full
of imperfections. It then has an earthly nature, healing all
sickness and wounds in the bowels of man, producing good and
consuming proud flesh, expelling all stench, and healing generally,
inwardly and outwardly. In its second nature, it appears as a
watery body, somewhat more beautiful than before, because (although
still having its corruptions) its Virtue is greater. It is much
nearer the truth, and more effective in works. In this form it
cures cold and hot fevers and is a specific against poisons,
which it drives from heart and lungs, healing the same when injured
or wounded, purifying the blood, and, taken three times a day,
is of great comfort in all diseases. But in its third nature
it appears as an aerial body, of an oily nature, almost freed
from all imperfections, in which form it does many wondrous works,
producing beauty and strength of body, and (a small quantity
being taken in the food) preventing melancholy and heating of
the gall, increasing the quantity of the blood and seed, so that
frequent bleeding becomes necessary. It expands the blood vessels,
cures withered limbs, restores strength to the sight, in growing
persons removes what is superfluous and makes good defects in
the limbs. In its fourth nature it appears in a fiery form (not
quite freed from all imperfections, still somewhat watery and
not dried enough), wherein it has many virtues, making the old
young and reviving those at the point of death. For if to such
an one there be given, in wine, a barleycorn's weight of this
fire, so that it reach the stomach, it goes to his heart, renewing
him at once, driving away all previous moisture and poison, and
restoring the natural heat of the liver. Given in small doses
to old people, it removes the diseases of age, giving the old
young hearts and bodies. Hence it is called the Elixir of Life.
In its fifth and last nature, it appears in a glorified and illuminated
form, without defects, shining like gold and silver, wherein
it possesses all previous powers and virtues in a higher and
more wondrous degree. Here its natural works are taken for miracles.
When applied to the roots of dead trees they revive, bringing
forth leaves and fruit. A lamp, the oil of which is mingled with
this spirit, continues to burn for ever without diminution. It
converts crystals into the most precious stones of all colours,
equal to those from the mines, and does mayn other incredible
wonders which may not be revealed to the unworthy. For it heals
all dead and living bodies without other medicine. Here Christ
is my witness that I lie not, for all heavenly influences are
united and combined therein. This essence also reveals all treasures
in earth and sea, converts all metallic bodies into gold, and
there is nothing like unto it under Heaven. This spirit is the
secret hidden from the beginning, yet granted by God to a few
holy men for the revealing of these iches to His Glory - dwelling
in fiery form in the air, and leading earth with itself to heaven,
while from its body there flow whole rivers of living water.
This spirit flies through the midst of the Heavens like a morning
mist, leads its burning fire into the water, and has its shining
realm in the heavens. And although these writings may be regarded
as false by the reader, yet to the initiated they are true and
possible, when the hidden sense is properly understood. For God
is wonderful in His works, and His wisdom is without end. This
spirit in its fiery form is called a Sandaraca, in the aerial
a Kybrick, in the watery an Azoth, in the earthly Alcohoph and
Aliocosoph. Hence they are deceived by these names who, seeking
without instruction, think to find this Spirit of Life in things
foreign to our Art. For although this spirit which we seek, on
account of its qualities, is called by these names, yet the same
is not in these bodies and cannot be in them. For a refined spirit
cannot appear except in a body suitable to its nature. And, by
however many names it be called, let no one imagine there be
different spirits, for, say what one will, there is but one spirit
working everywhere and in all things. That is the spirit which,
when rising, illumines the Heavens, when setting incorporates
the purity of Earth, and when brooding has embraced the Waters.
This spirit is named Raphael, the Angel of God, the subtlest
and purest, whom the others all obey as their King. This spiritual
substance is neither heavenly nor hellish, but an airy, pure,
and hearty body, midway between the highest and lowest, without
reason, but fruitful in works, and the most select and beautiful
of all other heavenly things. This work of God is far too deep
for understanding, for it is the last, greatest, and highest
secret of Nature. It is the Spirit of God, which in the Beginning
filled the earth and brooded over the waters, which the world
cannot grasp without the gracious interposition of the Holy Spirit
and instruction from those who know it, which also the whole
world desires for its virtue, and which cannot be prized enough.
For it reaches to the planets, raises the clouds, drives away
mists, gives its light to all things, turns everything into Sun
and Moon, bestows all health and abundance of treasure, cleanses
the leper, brightens the eyes, banishes sorrow, heals the sick,
reveals all hidden treasures, and, generally, cures all diseases.
Through this spirit have the philosophers invented the Seven
Liberal Arts, and thereby gained their riches. Through the same
Moses made the golden vessels in the Ark, and King Solomon did
many beautiful works to the honour of God. Therewith Moses built
the Tabernacle, Noah the Ark, Solomon the Temple. By this, Ezra
restored the Law, and Miriam, Moses' sister, was hospitable;
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and other righteous men, have had
lifelong abundance and riches; and all the saints possessing
it have therewith praised God. Therefore is its acquisition very
hard, more than that of gold and silver. For it is the best of
all things, because, of all things mortal that man can desire
in this world, nothing can compare with it, and in it alone is
truth. Hence it is called the Stone and Spirit of Truth; in its
works is no vanity, its praise cannot be sufficiently expressed.
I am unable to speak enough of its virtues, because its good
qualities and powers are beyond human thoughts, unutterable by
the tongue of man, and in it are found the properties of all
things. Yea, there is nothing deeper in Nature. O unfathomable
abyss of God's Wisdom, which thus hath united and comprised in
the virtue and power of this One Spirit the qualities of all
existing bodies! O unspeakable honour and boundless joy granted
to mortal man! For the destructible things of Nature are restored
by virtue of the said Spirit. O mystery of mysteries, most secret
of all secret things, and healing and medicine of all things!
Thou last discovery in earthly natures, last best gift to Patriarchs
and Sages, greatly desired by the whole world! Oh, what a wondrous
and laudable spirit is purity, in which stand all joy, riches,
fruitfulness of life, and art of all arts, a power which to its
initiates grants all material joys! O desirable knowledge, lovely
above all things beneath the circle of the Moon, by which Nature
is strengthened, and heart and limbs are renewed, blooming youth
is preserved, old age driven away, weakness destroyed, beauty
in its perfection preserved, and abundance ensured in all things
pleasing to men! O thou spiritual substance, lovely above all
things! O thou wondrous power, strengthening all the world! O
thou invincible virtue, highest of all that is, although despised
by the ignorant, yet held by the wise in great praise, honour,
and glory, that - proceeding from humours - wakest the dead,
expellest diseases, restorest the voice of the dying! O thou
treasure of treasures, mystery of mysteries, called by Avicenna
"an unspeakable substance", the purest and most perfect
soul of the world, than which there is nothing more costly under
Heaven, unfathomable in nature and power, wonderful in virtue
and works, having no equal among creatures, possessing the virtues
of all bodies under Heaven! For from it flow the water of life,
the oil and honey of eternal healing, and thus hath it nourished
them with honey and water from the rock. Therefore, saith Morienus:
"He who hath it, the same also hath all things". Blessed
art Thou, Lord God of our Fathers, in that Thou hast given the
prophets this knowledge and understanding, that they have hidden
these things (lest they should be discovered by the blind, and
those drowned in worldly godlessness) by which the wise and the
pious have praised Thee! For the discoverers of the mystery of
this thing to the unworthy are breakers of the seal of Heavenly
Revelation, thereby offending God's Majesty, and bringing upon
themselves many misfortunes and the punishments of God. Therefore,
I beg all Christians, possessing this knowledge, to communicate
the same to nobody, except it be to one living in Godliness,
of well-proved virtue, and praising God, Who has given such a
treasure to man. For many seek, but few find it. Hence the impure
and those living in vice are unworthy of it. Therefore is this
Art to be shewn to all God-fearing persons, because it cannot
be bought with a price. I testify before God that I lie not,
although it appear impossible to fools, that no one has hitherto
explored Nature so deeply. The Almighty be praised for having
created this Art and for revealing it to God-fearing men. Amen.
And thus is fulfilled this precious and excellent work, called
the revealing of the occult spirit, in which lie hidden the secrets
and mysteries of the world. But this spirit is one genius, and
divine, wonderful, and lordly power. For it embraces the whole
world, and overcomes the Elements and the fifth Substance. To
our Trismegistus Spagyrus, Jesus Christ, be praise and glory
immortal. Amen.
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