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on oldotcHemrTreof ise

Tnanslated fnorn7Lg0r1rby

M.Wrig

PRODUCED BY:BAMSt986


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At{ OLD ALCHEII ICALTREATISE

(TransIated, out of Lat in)

The Phi losophers f the past, in deep medi tat isn on theuniyersslmisergbroughton bg Adam's s l l and he fol lowingcurse, searched hrough ol l divine crest ion hoping o f indsomething hat would hel f themavert or o l lev iate the worstaf f l ic t ions of mind and bodg. For no one at a l l can resistdeath when t comes. And so theg hoped o d i rect the br iefspsnof thei r l iyes, in heol thof bot lgandsereni tgof mind, othe treasuresand jogs of God,using thei r knowledge f a l lmarvels hat occur,E knowledge hich is a lso a gi f t of Hisnsture. Thegwere ro ined n vi r tue and ntegr i tg,so th0t theghormed o onebut insteadhelped reseryei fe.

For th is purpose heg foundno substancemore noble hangold, ond no art more valuable han HermeticpgrotechnicsFor of a l l created hings that exist below he sphereof thel ' loon here s nothingmoreperfect or more ast ing than gold,which no element an destrog ecause f the vergstructureofi ts perfect ion. The Phi losophersconcluded hat 0severgth ingwas created or man'suse gold w6s extremelg

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effect ive not onlg againstong oss of bodi lg heol th but a lsoagoinstang mperfect ionof i ts speci f ic metal l ic noture. Infoct , the bonds hst makeup goldare so t ighi lg kni t that thegcannotbe undone Unatural orces alone. Even houghnaturerepeatedlg hattersanddestrogswhat i t hasbrought or th, oscan be seen n metals that have travel led down to the depthsof the eorth, neverthelessgold, when foundappareni lg n justsuch a state of destruct ion, in deep mineral deposi ts, hos nomedicinal power at a l l . For, ss has beennoted, as long as goldis bound ogether in i ts natural state of perfect ion, i t is noteffect ive for e i ther of the above-mentioned urposesdef inedbg the Phi losophers. The Phi losophers appl ied al t theird i l igence and effor t to breok up or d issolve the structure ofgold, using their own ski l l , the aid of nature, and especial lgthat ingeniousart of pgrotechnicsor olchemg which can beconsidered he mother of o l l ar ts. i lext theg planned o renewor enhance gold, ra is ing i t to E state more perfecl thanperfect ion. Final lg, when theg had come through al l to i ls anddongers, heg would achieve heir fervent hopeand purposebgthe grace of God.Later , theg must have rer l ized - th is is easu to surmise -that no door csn be openedwithout a keg. Furthermore,goldcannot natural lg be combined with 0r improved bg angsubstanceexcept i ts speci f ic and or ig inal -mother- substancein which i t was formed at the beginning. Theg cal led thissubstsncebg its true name, irst matter or Frima llater ia. so,

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when he Phi losophersonsidered ow gold andother metalswere formed, hegdiscoveredhat the matter composinghemcamepart lg from the heayens nd part lg from the earth. Sotheg cal led the former ' the h igherport 'ond the lat ter - thelower part , 'eyen whi le theg ryere observ ing he s imi lartendencies f each. Thegnoted hat the two k indsnecessar i lghod between them E pul l of desi re or reciprocal love.Accordinglgheg ssid that the lower port , which theg cal ledfeminine,was bound g natural af fect ion to the higherpart ,namelg he f i rmament,which theg cal ledmsscul ine; nd thegsaid thot nei thercould unct ionwi thout the other- l t is forth is reason that rags of in f uence coming dorvn rom theheavens re known s sct ive - the rags that, f i rs t I ink ing hestors together, Ess rom the highest i rmament o the earth 'ssurfaceand hen descendhroughspecialpossageso meetati ts verg centre. Afterward, once he terrestial Arthaeushasenfolded hem and st i r red them into swi f t mot ion, heg Eredr iven back up to combinewi th the moistnessof terrestr ia lsubstance,which is cal led passive. Then, because hedi f ferent parts of the earth where heg sppesrhavedi f ferentqual i t ies in accordonce i th var isusother nf luences thegform andproducemetalsandmineralsof mang i f erentk inds.

Sendivogiusn The fgsle.rg: l{e must look for the hiddensourceof a, iguid which csn breakup or d issolvegoldwi thoutongvio lentor loudact iv i tg - something,n f rct , as gent leandnaturs l Es ice mel t ing in hot wster. l f gou can discoyer t ,

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Uou wi l l hove the mater ia l f rom which gol t l is produced nnature. And even houghal l metals tnd ol l minerals have heir0r ig in in th is purt icular mster i r l , nothing is os closelgrelated to i t Es gold. For a certa in impur i tg is inherent ineyeru other substance,but not in gold, because t is at oncei tsel f and ts own mother substance.

Treat ise 3: The f i rst matter of metals has two parts, bsthof which must be present to create metal . The f i rst and chiefone s moisture mixed wi th warm air . The Phi losophers al ledit mercurg, which is steered into the Phi losophic sea bg therags of the sun and the moon. The second s the drg qual i tg ofearth, which the Phi losophers al led sulphur.

Trett ise 4: After the elements have sent their force andveloci tg to the centre of the earth, Archaeus dist i l ls theforces bg the heat of perpetual motion and draws them up tothe surface in the form of steam. The earth is porous, i l ledwith channelsor psssages,and the wind or steam is dist i l ledthrough the earth 's pores and formed into woter, f rom whichal l mater is ls ar ise. Simi lar lg, when the steam passes oyerplaces where oi lg mEsses of sulphur are found the steamwhich the Phi losopherscal led mercurg i t sssimi lates andcombineswith the oi l iness, and from that mixture a certa inviscous substance remains which c6n no longer be cal ledsteom.

Treot ise 6: Four elements dist i l l f rom perpetual motion tothe depths as heavg water v6pour, and this is the seed of

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metols. l t is cal led mercuru becauseof i ts f lu id i tg andbecause f i ts l ink wi th eyerusingle substance, ot becauseof i ts essence.Eecause f i ts internalheat t assimi lates osulphur- When t combineswi th the oi l iness of the soi l , i tbecomes moist andviscous odicalor bose.

Treat ise E: The elementsproject thei r seed o the centreof the earth eager lg,0s f into l iv ing lo ins. Bg ts mot ion, hecentresends he seedon to o matr ix or womb. Thesematr icesare innumerable; here 6re 6s mang of them as there areplaces. Each s purer than the one before,one after anotheralmost to inf in i tg. Clear lg, hen, E pure matr ix wi l l br ingforth s pureoffspr ingsimi lar to i tsel f .

Treat ise 4: l f s teampssses hroughhot, pure placesandcombineswi th them, i t becomes old; i f i t pssses hroughdark, mpureplaces t becomesead,andso on wi th the rest .

ADDEiIDUTI

Concerninghe f i rs t matter and ormat ionof metols, hereare a lmost ss monuopinionsEs thereare Phi losophers.n mgopinio i , Theophrastus oracelsus ook closest a im at thetarget. Hecal ledmineralsproducts f the elementwoter, sndplants productsof the e lementearth. So mineralshave heiror ig in in seawoter, but take thei r f ormlessmEss chaai l f romthe soi l where theg gr0rr . Plonts, 0n the other hond,have

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thei r or ig in in the soil , but look for thei r formless mass nthe ai r where theg r ise and expand- Theophrastusurthershows thot minerals receive thei r mascul ineseed 0r formfrom celest ia l in f luenceand therr mstter or bodg rom sef lwater. Theg 6re nour ished o motur i tg in the bel lg of theeorth,as i f in a womb. Ant l heg are thrust out bg the act ionof f i re ins ide the earth, thot is , bg volcanicheat dr iven upfrom the centreof the earth; t var iesso that sometimest isstrong and sometimes ather weak. So the oforesaidplocesrnd the matr ices 0f the earth acqui re di f ferent quol i t iesthroughvar ious nf luences rom Eboye,nf luenceswhich cEnpiercestra ight to the midmostpoint of the esrth wi th thei rrsus. These qual i t ies ore producedn di f ferent k inds andnaturesbg meansof forms that have beenset in bodiesorotherwise impr inted. One except ion s the substanceofI lercurg,which is both moist l ike water and dru l ike earth.The elementwater - sal t sea water which s fecundatedorseveraldrgs and nights bg the sun snd the l loon travelsaroundhe earth 'ssphere, i rc l ing andencompassingt. Eut tdoes not keep onlg to the outs ideof the planet; to E muchgreaterextent t s lso posseshrough he inter ior , penetrat ingabgsses ndhiddenwaterwags nside he eorth. YJi th ts sal tqual i tg i t makes he eorth, onceemptgand yoid, fer t i le . Iwi l l not take trouble o expla in urther or in greaterdetai lsng s ign of th is act of generat ion,or whether celest ia lin f luence eaves sng s ign behind. As evidencewe do have

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mEnU inds of sweet waters thst have lowed from the abgssof the sea o the depthsof the earth. After the waters hsvedeposi ted omeor a l l of thei r sal t in the earth which drawsi t , theg rush for th once more wi th n0 sal t 0r onlg a t ingomount.Simi lar lg, t is c lear that in ordinErs able sal t , justas at the centre of the elementwater, there is E hul l orcdver ing, nd his surfoce s pla in, taste lesswater. Wi th th issal t a l l minerals and metals, Es long Es thei r ingredientsremainspure,canachieve adical d issolut ionwi th or wi thoutongthingelse being added-Theresre monuwogs o r l issolvethem,al l cal l ing for sk i l l , not sophistrg. Aboveal l , goldcanbe renewedust as i f i t were n i ts ownmothersubstance. tc tn slso be great lg mul t ip l ied and transmuted,wi th i tsnaturalworth intact .

l lo one shouldbe surpr ised hat wi th the except ionofmercurg the fsrmat ionof sal t , l ike the format ionof metal ,beginswi th such a process. For s ince eyerg seed-bear ingmater ia l s a sal tg l iquid, t f o l lows that mercurg, ommonlgheld to be the proximotesource and seed of metals, r lsoar ises rom sal t . And f th is ctn be done g art , whgnot alsobg nature? Therefore t happenshat whi le we cannotseedeep nto the e6rth,yrecanentrust that feat to Archaeus,heelder so ski l led in the wugsof natureandso tl i l igent in hiswork.

In th is wEU,placesdeep nside the earth are wateredandmade fer t i le bg underground hannels coming from deep

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reservesof sol t water. Also, he sunand he moon srru seedto the esrth 'ssurfacebgrain, dew,and he inf luences f otherstors. From his seed,herbs, rees, eayes,andgrass spr ingforth andgrow. And n th is wEU ense ndheavg team,dr ivenup from the depths, uppl ies he femininekind of seed- 0ncethe higher nf uence rom the f rmoment the mascul ine eed- has been dded ndpressedo it , metalsandmineralsstartto grow in the depthsof the earth. l lext , the f iner, l ighter,and more volat i le steam hat r ises to the earth 's surfoce sthe l iquid of esrth, or the seedsf womEn. 0nce the astra lseed the seedof man - hos beenadt led ndpressed o i t ,t rees andgrassstart to grow on the eorth 'ssurface- Enoughhasnowbeen aidon this topic.

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THECO}IPOSITIOIIFTHEPHILOSOPHER'STOI{E

I shal l now turn from the f i rs t matter and format ion ofmetals to the composi t ion f the Phi losopher 's tone l t hastwo sources: E metal l ic seed provid ing i ts form andsulphurous element and 6 speci c primordi l moi tureprovid ing ts matter and mercur ia l e lement. Later i t w i l lbecome lear howeach0f thesesourcess ts be understood.

Thosewho think that the matter of the Phi losopher 's toneis the s6meas the f i rs t matter of mets lsEre wrong. Surelgdi f ferent qual i t ies point to the art isan'sdi f ferent intent ions-His purpose s not to producemetals,s incehe has no needofei ther the matter or the process,both of which occur innoture. He is trg ing to do somethingmuchmore ambi t ious,something that unaided nature does not do angwhere.Thereforehe needs0 specia l methodand E specia l k ind of

'matter . Even o, in somewsgs he imi tates nature 'smethods,especial lg he wog he draws snd borrows he matter he needsfrom the samesourcesandpr incip lesas nature. So in somewsus he matter of or t canbe s imi lar to the motter of noture,but theg are not sirnolgone and the same. 0n the contrarg,there are two- The art issn re l ies on naturewhenhe hondlesmatter suppl iedbg nature,and also whenhe actual lg formsthe stone hat produces ol r l .Throughhe art isan'sart , naturemakes he stone grow lorger andmul t ip lg. Understrndt in

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th is wag.The art isan does not concern himsel f wi th captur ing

matter , for whstever s a l readgcreated needs n0 creator.t {hat is cal led ul t imate matter matter thst nature hasf in ished wi th and ceased o sffect is a lwags the f i rs tmatter of ar t , f rom which art begins. That is the cose wi thgold, so that wi l l be mg start ing-point . Just Es in naturenothing angrowwi thout E seed, o everuth inghst hasa seedcan be mult ipl ied bg art , wi th nature 'said- Hatureprovidesthe increase,or the matter that wi l l be added. Ho one ofsoundmind cEn deng hat gol t l has i ts oyrn seed nside i t .Therefore from that seed i t can be mul t ip l ied bg art .Consequent lg,o l t l must be the matter or substrate f romwhich the seminal form of the stone that is , i ts bssicprinciple wi l l be el ic i ted.

Since noture, ike E parent,br ings for th al l th ings endmul t ip l ies them n two closses mascul ine nd eminine,orsct ive and passive the sr t isan'sart must mi tate nature nthis respect. So the act ive elementor form of th is ort mustbe the seed of gold ment ioned boye,which assimi lates toi tsel f to increase ts matter . The samemercurg la imedbgthe Phi losophers i l l e f fect the mul t ip l icat ionof the passive,mater ia le lement,which n turn mul t ip l ies inctureand oisesi t l ike geast- l t should not trouble anuone hat thePhi losophers ometimesuse var isus nEmes or these thingsi nterchangeabl.

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In addi t ion, t sometimes appenshat something hat isact iye in the beginnings passiveat the end,andvice yersa.Al though evergth ing belongs to one sex or the other,neverthelessnature teachesus that there wEs E commonorig in of both. Bg th is we see eyergsingle hing that existsre jo ic ing and del ight ing in i ts own nature, Es wel l aspreserv ing ts l i fe ond mul t ip lg ing- For l {oture oyercomesl lature, henaccepts t and eta ins i t . Therefore,ust as theseedof gold,when t was f i rs t formed, ook i ts or ig in f romcelestial in f luence, o natural heorgdictates hat i f i t is tobe renewed snd mul t ip l ied, i t must look for and borrowmercurg rom the rags of the sun, he moon,andother starsl ' lercurg as d issolv ing r0pert ies,whi le gold s the substanceto be dissolyed;mercurg s volat i le , whi le gold s f xed. l {hentheg combine,t is as though rogalchi ld, the noblechi ld ofthe sun,hasbeen orn or us.

Astra l in f luences, ike the other,mater ia l pr inc ip leof theStone,are a l l universalandspi r i tual ; s ince theg do not havebodies, heg cannotbe perceived r touched. Therefore hegmust take on some sort of receptacleor container hat iscorporesl and Es c lose to them Es possib le Evenso, thegcont inue o exist in thei r natural s tate, as wel l Es in thebeautgand s impl ic i tg proper o e lements. This is the cosewi th the elementof earth: there s a commoneceptacle oral l the celest ia l nf luences,whichseryesEs 0 nurseandeyenas 0 womb or al l growing hings. t#ecal l water the motherof

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ol l th ings n nsture,End he skg thei r father andbegettor . Sowe conclude hat esrth is f i rs t in the theoret icalorder inwhich he Hermet icArt part ic ipates. l t is the Substrateandthe l lognetof the Phi losophers, t t ract ing ond incorporat ingthe celest ia l in f luences. Since al l th is is most assuredlgtrue, we con conclude hat the motter of the stone,no lessthan he f i rs t motter of metals,shares n the notureof heavenand earth s imul taneouslg.Also, t csn c la im that i t is madeup of and ar ises from both. But, as we have said, in somewogs i t is d i f erent f rom the f rs t matter of mets ls,preciselg because t has a d i f ferent rank and o d i f ferentpurpose.

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svl{0PstsFTHEET{TIRE OOK

Essent i lParts

I t ( theStone)is preporedin two rYsusor bg womethodsnamelg,throughdrg-nessondmoi ture.

l lotterwhich s col ledmercuru doubleor doubled.SeeCh.7. l t port ic i -potes n o Form,which s the sul -Fhurof the Phi lo-sophers, r thegold-produci gseed hot is ex-tracted romourum iYum,l iv ing gold- Seech. 6, 9, 10.Thedrg component,whichcannotmokehandswet. SeeEh.| | and 12.Themoist , whichleaves ingerswet. SeeAddendato Ch.7, 10, I l ,ond 2.

Esrthwhichprovideslower port of thematter for thestone. SeeCh. , 2,3, ond4.

Heaven r the Skgwhichprovides hehigherpart of themotter for thestone. 0n th is to-p ic, seeCh.5 antl6.

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Dhapter .Concerninghe substrateof Esrth, or thelower part of the matter of thePhi losopher 'stone.

l f the earth, in forming metals, is o mother in the sensethat the skg is o father, i t fo l lows thot we should borrow partof the matter f rom the eorth. Since there Ere so mangdi f ferent k inds of soi l , i t is necesaru to choose which oneshould make up the terrestr io l part of the motter . 0ne kind ofearth is bound o be better than others for th is purpose.Thereis o natural lg red clag thnt has alwags beenconsideredbetterthan the black, whi te. and gel low var iet ies. Becauseof i tscofour some people have cal led i t Adamic {Addm FadmanHrl IVor Spanishsoi l . And even hough his tgpe of c lag can befound eyergwhere, i t tends to be f iner, more beout i fu l , ofh igher quol i tg or lower qual i tg, of a special k ind or universalin some ploces rather thon others- AccordinglU thePhi losophers hought that the veru f inest ond best qual i tg clagwos mined n the east, in s i tes next to veins of metaf. l t hasthree kinds of sal t stored in i t . The f i rst is volat i le, l ike salammoniac; the second is somewhere between volat i le ondf ixed, and contains natron; the th i rd is completelg f ixed, l ikeolkal i . I might add that these three sol ts, in a bodgor in part

once combined were given the nome mercurg bg thePhi losophers,which is to sou water that is both l iquid onddrg-

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sendivogiuswrote his famous book about the mfn whodevised he f i rs t real pr inc ip lesof th is exemplarg cience,and,os he attested n the Epi logue: l hovestated evergth ingclear lg. ' I havenot revealed s cleorlg how sal ammoni6c, r'our mercuru ' - sophic,Phi losophicmercurg is extractedfrom 'our pontic water' tbqua nastra pantica), because heLord of naturehos not giyen me further permissiono speak,andonlgGorlmag eveal h is, ondso 0n- For th is reason hsveent i re lg lef t out how to prepare the base and the maincomp0nent f the true phi losophic lementmercurun i ts newlustre. l leverthelesst seemedo me thot, s incesendivogiushad yeru l i t t le to sog obout th is in his book, I shouldoddsomethinghere. In his passage n The lgsterg in which thepresent opic is discussed,he author who deseryes raisefor his treatmentof i t - modeE comporisono a lovelg ondfru i t fu l is land. Eg this he meant he sphereof the eorth,which is compossed l l around g the elementwater. Ei ther0n the earth or out of i t al l th ings grow. Furthermore,evergth ingmonneeds o sustoin i fe is provided.He referredto th is in the second reat ise: 'Dig a di tch, stand n it up touour knees,and ful lg receive his earth of ours, which haswi th in i t s treamsand iving woters '

A Ful lerandClearerExplanat ion:In the preceding ext, the subject of earth is c lear lg

descr ibed. From t one component r ingredient s selected

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out for duplex philosophic mercuru {'mercurii philasophictduplimti)sr for the mstter in the composition f the stone. Ishal l provideenough nformst ionabout the dist inct ion onemust observewhenonemokeso select ion. I shal l sag more0b0ut th is topic to make t eosier to understand.For th ispurpose,shal l t ie in a fa i r lg usefulcomparison hich I readin an ancientmanusct iptn th is topic. l t should onf i rm thef i rs t chapter of the text , and goes os fo l lows: l ' rankindscreated rom esrth, Uet does not reproduce rom eorth butfrom i tsel f . However,monkind eceiyesnour ishmentrom theearth, tak ing increase from it that makes reproduct ionpossib le. s imi lar lg, gold andsi ver produce old and si ver.F i rst theg must be nour ishedwi th a s ingle, pure, pr imordio lsubstance.Accordingo Hermes,he nurtur ingogentof thatsubstances earth,which I proceed o cal l bg i ts real name:sulsh sunemrasuehur lf uou reyerse the letters, theg readEalus-armenusuheus,a clod of red soil, E genersl term foral l k inds of gel low orchre and volcanic soi ls used forimportantpurposes ndsti l l unf red.

Let us understondhe subject of earth or soi l in twosenses, ememberinghat the Phi losophers rote about r8yfsoi l andprepared oi l . Sendivogius ent ioned0rr - or roughandsimple - red earth. Bg th is term he understood ng soi lthst is red in i ts notural s tate and that is mined. In someveinsof metal ,wi thout ang ntervent ion g men, his red soi l

or mud in th is cEse is washedbg underground aters

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coming hroughmountainpassagewaus. he clods of soi l ormudwhich remainhidden n darkness ndneyersee the l ightof r lsg are considered uper ior . In addi t ion o this tgpe orc lod of red soi l , there is another upe that must emergethroughapproximatelg ine mineralveins. To extract i t , goumust be carefu l not to d isturb i t , for i t might lose i ts ownchsracter is t icsand take 0n those of another,more speci f icminers l . s imi lar c lodsof red soi l maghsve akenon someofthesespecia lcharacter is t ics.Youwi l l know hat theghave ftheg acqui rea vi tr iol ic or caust ic guar i tgwhengou preporethem or at tempt to break them down. However, heg cEnquicklg be restored o thei r or ig inol integr i tg. In the somewau, n the csseof vi tr iol ic soi l , the vi tr iol hasoccasional lgbeenput back nto i t bg art , so that i t wi i l not d issolve 'atal lin water. usual lg th is can be donewi th simplerain water.t rJhenhe vi tr iol is heoted,eyengel low soi l that contains tadheres o fead, and bg this methodsf f i r ing 6 br ight redsubstances produced.These wo substances re general lgtakenEs one,and ogical lgso, s ince hegconeasi lg shedangpart icular form andreturn to thei r eor l ier state of integr i tg.Then heg sre super ior n guor i tgand worth to almost everuother tupr of soi l , both raw and prepared. That is 6nimportantpoint . How I shourd ag something boutpreporedsoi l , which s vssi lg super ior o the rsw or crudevar ietg. l tis a lso cal led 'monured, 'because hendung s odded o itssulphur icproFert ies t is increased nd nvigorated.This is

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not E guick process- l t doesnot tske place unt i l the dungmixed n wi th the lEgersof soi l hos complete lgdecomposedand converted o soi l . This topic msg seem ow, vulgar,anddisgust ing to some of the more del icate people0m0ngus.Heverthelesst rests on he sol id foundat ion nd i rm basisoftrue Phi losophg. armers nowmoresbout t than thesepettgprotestors,and in fact i t is conf i rmed n the standard ysumEnU aturalmater ia lsare formed. Accordinglg achspeci f ccharacterproper o l iv ing th ings on earth is f reed from itspart icular qual i tg or individuol orm when, n the bel l ies ofpeopleandanimals,bg meonsof naturalheat,nour ishmentskept separate rom excrement.Y/hat emoins n the form ofexcrement s destrogedonce t is bur ied n earth, and sonature is complete lg denuded and reduced to extremesimpl ic i g.

How can someonewho hos no conceptof th is ul i matematter understondhe f i rs t matter? And someone ho doesnot understand i rst matter wi l l not even have heard oful t imate matter . Such people Ere al together ignorant ofheoven ndeorth,andwhi le i t al l remains mgsterg o them,no oneshould lace he sl ightestconf dence n them.

Here s the method ndpreparat ion f E new andhigher Upeof generat ion,which should be used instesd of the f i rs t ,former tgpe - t incture or dgeing.How,al though umanFehisis super ior o other dung,we hove earnedsomething boutsheepdung rom exper imentat ion-t is deal t wi th under he

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f ol owing headi g: 'Concerning the Bel es of Rams.-Sendivogius teppedaround his quest ionand kept his feetdrg, though t is highlUappropr iate nduseful to the currentdiscussion.Sheep ung s c loser han the rest ts the qual i tgof natron, and s ince natron is nei ther especia l lg ixed norespecia l lg o lat i le , i t is c lear lg best for th is exper iment. ncontrsst , the Fehisof dovesmimics sal ammoniac, nd horsedung s alkal ine. The fo l lowing is the wag to ferment andprepare t. l {e ore not requi red o do this at ang speci f ict ime. However,n the monthof September when t is msstof ten done dig a d i tch as deepas a man s ta l l in ordinsrgsoi l . Thenput into it row soi l mixedwi th ang k ind sf dung-Cover he mixturewi th a beamwhichhos mEnU gles n i t 0ntop of the beampi le ordinargsoi l , f i l l ing i t to the surfaee,ond eaye t untouched nt i l the monthof l ' larch-Then,once thas 0l l turned to l iquid, it can be dug up and used for thepurpose escr ibedn chspters2 and 4 of th is book. I sm notunaware hat humanFehis, f i t is not mixed n with soi l andis lef t for an ent i re Sesr to decompose nd dissolve, isreduced to its formless mass tbhaos)and first matter,ur i thoutang trace of imperfect ionor impur i tg. I shsl l lesveto the jut lgmentof o Phi losopherhe meonsbg which thisprocesscan be great lg accelerated nd fort i f ied wi th theaddi t ion of quick l ime. But s ince this pract icr l methodel iminstes he highermethod, nd he topic of th is chapter snot minorobjects n the microcosm, ut the kindsof soi l that

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are dug up throughouthe wor ld - the mocrocosm I shal lreseryea specia lp lace or the pract ical d iscussion, s for aremarkoblemgsterg. Even he t ime when the soi l is in aneor lg or s imple state, reodg o be acqui red0r dug out, hasbeen ndicated: i t is the beginning f spr ing,when the sunenters he constel lat ion r ies.

leornest lg want to warn gounot to lsok for angmater ia lfor phi losophicappl icat ion in herbs, trees, metals, sal t ,v i t r io l , or o lum, al l of which Ere useless or th is purpose.Evengolr l and s i lver are of n0 use wi thout the f i rs t Being,popuf rlg cal led Prima fateria Hewhoknows his is wise.

0n this topic, I recommendhe treat ise of Arnol ofv i l lanovs,which begins: A stonecascading own rom earthgrows argerwhen t is submergedn clear water for severalhours, 'etc.

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Chapter .

Concerning he Dist i l ls t ion of Red orAdamic oi l into a l iquid.

The text cont inuesn th is vein: The Phi losophersook thatpart icularclng and ormed t in to l i t t le bal ls smal l enoughobe ploced n a retort which heg henput in Enoyen.Then hegset up a huge eceiverandoppl iedhest, f i rs t low heat, thenhigh enough o igni te the retort . f {ext var ious coloursappeored s e ight to ten meosures f water dist i l led out.Then hegadded al t to the l iqui t l n the neckof the retsr t . InThe {gstergof Sendivogius,his substrateof errth is cal ledthe mineralof 'our steel . ' ln that sEme ect ionknownas Theffgsterg, he author ntends o show,bg means f Enspparit ionof l {eptune, od of water, thst water must d ist i l l f rom th ismineral .

ADDEl{DUH

It shouldherebe noted hat somePhi losophersid not formangsuch i t t le bal ls or patt ies. Insteod, o force the t l i f fusemineral po,wer nto E narrorvspsce and achievemore in Esingle dist i l la t ion than could ordinar i lg be done n four orf iye, theg formed ge from the ssi l . Bg f i rs t f i l ter ing i t and

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le t t ing i t eyaporate, heg f inol lg col lected enoughof thel iquid ond dist i l le t l i t , in moderateheat. Theg obts inedEsoeoge, ntomed pi r i t thot tossedobout ike the vr f ,ves f theseount i l a t last i t came o rest on he water.

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Chapter .

Concerninghe doubleRect i f icat ionof thedist i l led Liquid, which is def in i te lg amediate {media}spir i tual substance,andhow t is sepsratedrom i ts tws ef f luv ia -EgaEphle.gmaticq phlegmotic yroter, ondterrestr ia l f i l th-

The text c0nt inues:From his l iquid theg drew off phlegminto 0 bath andpreserved achseparatelg-Furthermore,hegrepeatedlg is t i l led the remaining pi r i ts out of the ssnd,andthese hegalsopreseryed eparatelg.

Since his text is c lear 6s dag, do not th ink i t needs ngfurther explanot ion r addi t ionof mine.

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Chapter .

Concerning he Extract ion of f ixed sal tfrom the residue or taput lfartuum and itsresolut ion nto i ts rect i f ied Spi r i ts .

The text c0nt i ues: l {ext theg beat the mater i l heotedfrom the f i rs t d is t i l la t ion into pebblesn a mortar, hen pourthe reservedagua hlegmaticaorperhaps rdinorgwater oyeri t , ondonce heg have i l tered i t theg extract the f ixed sal t .Theg mix it with EguEspiritualis.. and when theg have donethat, the remaining errestr ia l part 0r bodg, mercurU, scomplete-

ADDEI{DUH

The l iquid prepared frommagnet, which attracts themoon,as wi l l be shown n theinf luences it th ickens into 6

the mineral steel is cal led ocelest ia l inf luence of sun andfol lowing chapters. From thesedrg, crgstal l ine substance,and

th is is what Sendivogiusn The lgstp.r?meanto sgmbol ize gthe old man Saturn,god of esr th.

At the end of the text of the f i rst chapter , there is Ediscussionof the three sal ts t hot l ie quiescentand hidden nthe mineral steel as wel l as in eyerg speci f ic mater is l . AnS

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of themcsn be extracted, inglgor al l three; he Phi losophersset up modesof operot ion n e i ther case and accompl ishedgreat advances. shal l at lda l i t t le informat ionabout hesesal s.

t lang peopleanxiouslgand painstakinglg earched or salammonioc, h ich theg not unsui tablg al led the sulphurandsal t of nature,0 lso he mercurg f the Phi losophers,el ievingi t to be a valuable, yenkinglg, sal t . Thegobtained t e i therfrom fresh soi l 0r sng substrate,wi th the a id of d ist i l la t ion0nd he eventual utrefsct ion nto i ts ownproper iquid, or otleast another, e lated,usableone. Thegobtained t af ter i thadbeen oisedor exal ted o i ts soi l bg imbibit ion, ixat ion,and f inal lg subl imat ion. Hext theg cerated t and set i t instonewi th the oi l of sophic u lphur-

But natron sal t , when i t is correct lg, sk i l fu l lg , andthoroughlg ef ined is hardlg infer ior 0r secondarg o salammoniac,art lg becauset is so eEsg o prepare. lo subt letgis requi red; t caneasi lube doneeyenbg a woman. t is olsosuper iorbecouse f i ts powerand ef fect iyeness,which havebrought t to complet ion n harmong i th the ru les of or t . l tis acgui rednot bg dist i l lo t ion but bg s imple exuberat ion rexcess and simple handl ingof the lUe, according o usualpract iceat natrondeposi ts . And so i t is good o be able torecognizehe tgpesof authent ic o i l andknowwhich s betterthan another. l t is eyenbetter to knowhow to ref ine natronfrom the lge occompEngingt. And t is best of al l to know

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how to strengthenhe qual i t iesof notron n the c lor i f icat ionprocess,whetherUouuse heavenlU r earth lUpowers. Ei therwEU, ouhave eason o thankGod hot the tosk is so eosgondso l ight . You wi l l be spared great msnu di f f icu l t anddangerousosks, andgouwi l f not hove o worrg aboutothersal ts , f ixed 0r volat i le , or about anu impregnat ionorimpression rom astra l in f luences. For th is tUpe of sal tcontains wi th in i tsel f evergth ing t needs,except for theferment ing gencg f gold,bUwhich t is brought o l i fe andful lg r ipened.

As for the f ixed sal t , cal ledslkal i , which s extracted romeyerucalc inedsoi l and occasionol lg lso f rom basercalcinedfru i ts of the earth such Es the straw of wheat i t can beploced n the highest rank in the opin ion of msnu people,includingPrisc ian- l t mag emoin aw, or i t magbecome edart i f ic io l lg , bU he mani festat ion f something idden. tYi ththe aid of E sui table meansof t ransport t d is t i l ls in to Evolat i le state n the form of c leor water 0r red,sweetoi l , andi t has the power to dist i l l gold in En alembic. So oi l isproduced; lso two k indsof sal t and he oi l of goldcombined,and t mokes greatproject ion nto o coagulated tone. Thisdescr ibes he f ixed sr l t of the mineral orming he subjectofth is chapter. Whoevers not equipped ith o golden avel infor f ish ing - Es the saging oes tokes up commonmercuruolone nsteodof gold, for i t is f ixed ond hos precip i totednothingbut i tsel f Andso th is chapter omes o an end.

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Chapter .

Concerning he Attraction of Aqua aerea..water condensedrom Eir , or concerninghelegi t imate wsU thot corporeslond eorth lgl iquid is animated and impregnatedbgastra l rous.

The text br ief lg breaks off the discussion ond f ive or s ixmeEsuresof a i r Ere token.

From Sendiyogius, The l fgsterg.' This water is foundevergwhere, nd no one con ive wi thout i t . l t can he drownout bg unusualmesns; he best k ind is extroctedbg force ofthe steel found n roms'bel l ies. Few people now hat thereis o nucleusor h idden ustenance f l i fe in ai r , get evergonehos seen,cont inues o see, and oves he shel l o l' shadow fthe object . In the Epi f guehe also ssus: l faturehos ts ownspeci fc l ight , which s not percept ib leo our eges. l {oture 'sshadowsppesrs o our euesos E bodg. And i f the l ight ofnatureshinesupon omeone, t once he shadows l i f ted fromhis egesand he can seewi thout impedimenthe point of themagnet orrespondingo the centreof eoch og in the skg ondon earth. For the l ight of noturepenetrates s far as thot,reveol ingwhat is wi th in.

Healso ssgs: Everg reoturemakes seof i t , but invisiblg-And evergth ing n the wor ld is made rom i t and ives in i t .

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But there s no speci f ic qur l i tg in i t ; r t ther i t mixes n witheschspeci f icqual i tg.

ADDEHDU|'1

Besideswater captured rom air , mel tedsnow and i r thatfreezeson trees in the monthof Decembers good or th isuse. In summer,mel ted hai l is better than angthingelse,becauset has eft an impression r impr int on the f i rmamentandhasbeenmixedwi th l ightn ing. Dewshouldalso be givenproper redi t here.

Among ther methodsof captur ingai r in the substtnceofwi ter is the f o l lowing: a iop-per nstrument, ne or 'seyeral ,on the modelof a smal l measur ing-cuponsist ingof two orthree parts is preparedand f i rmlg soldered. Put a ' lorgebathing pongen the lowerpart , which s then weighted swnunder wo pounds f marble hat hos beencr lc ined for f ivedagsand nights n a glass-blowing urnace,andone poundofred marblebroken nto chips he size of f i lberts. Ai r is thendrawn outunderneath-

bg E lo\y, narrow tube into a vessel placed

The hotter the f urnace n which his instrument s placed,the more ntensewi l l be the cold outs ide he channel hroughwhich the higher part of the instrument gradual lgextendssvrsg rom the lower part towardan extremelg srrow,minute

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Chapter -

Concerninghe higherpart of the l lat ter ofthe Phi losopher 's Stone, that is , theInf luence f sun,moon,andstars, bUwhichthe corporegl L iquid is made into starswhen mixed with aqaa aerea watercondensed rom Eir. including a clearExposi t ion n the l ight of dag, bg thesgmpathet ic nf luence of the higher andlower spheres.

0n this topic, the text reads: Then this Eguaspiri tual isemerges,End both kinds of woter 6re seen jo ined in onevessel ,undera clearskg wi th br ight stars; andcelest ia l ragsconverge pon t . But f ra in fa l ls , coyer t .

Sendiyogius,n the Epi logue:Think carefu l lghow the fourelementsdist i l l , in the centreof the earth, a moist radical ,andhow the terrestr ia l sun at the centredraws t out bg itsown mot ion and ra ises i t to the surface. How considerhowthe celest ia l sun correspandso the centro l sun- For thecelest is l sun and moonhove E speci f ic force 0r polyer ofdist i l lat ion in the rous theg send to earth. l t is essu tocombine eatwi th heatandsal t wi th sal t . Just ns the centra lsun has i ts seE, wi th he0vg, rough, tangib le wEter, thecelest ia l sun has ts seo,wi th f ne and ntangib lewater. 0n

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the earth 'ssurface, ogs l ink up wi th other rsus and producef lowers andal l th ings. In addi t ion,when ain fa l ls , i t takesal i fe force from the air and combineswi th natronsal t in thesoi l , as that sal t appearsn the form of calc ined artar . Bgi ts drgness, t at t rscts ei r , which then dissolves nto waterins ide i t . l t der ives ts powerof st t ract ion from the nstronin the soi l , notron which has also beenair combinedwi thoi l iness n the soi l . l {hen he sun's sgs ncrease, o does hequont i tgof natronsal t . As a resul t , there s moreof i t eyerudau-

ADDETIDUIl

| ) L iquid sal t woter and captured oquaoerga, water condensedrom Eir , olwagshave he sameweight.2) Tne glassshouldbe readi tgavai lableandinexpensive.3) Youshouldput a mark on i t , so that goucan observe how much of the waterc0ndenser lrom air wi l l drg up in the sun'sheat and so that Uou con replenish t bgpour ing n more.4) l f the sun'sheat s too intense, he glassshouldbe coveredwi th a bouoh.

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5) l t shouldolso be set out at the t ime ofthe ful l moon.6) The onger t is set out in the open ir ,the better t wi i l be.?) After three dogs t wi l l be obvious hotthe woter is th ickeningand beginning ocongeol .

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Chupter .

Concerninghe Union0f h igher and lower,that is , concerning he format ion of thecentra l sal t in mixed water; and thei rder ivat ives,which ore knownos congealedwater that hasno power o moistenhands.

The text adds he fol lowing: Crgsta lswi l l be formed,andi t is important o col lect them. This is the doubledmercurgof the Phi losophers, h ich s the motherof a l l mets ls,and hef i rs t matter .

Sendivogius,reat ise l0: Celest ia lwoter has no power omoistenhands; t is not commonploce,ut i t is c lose o rainwater. l t is a lso cal led luna nosl ra - 'our l loon' or sophicmercurg 0r the womb hat receives he seedof gold.

Sendivogius anted o sketch n a few words he principlesbg which this water is prepared.From reat ise 2: Considers imple water f rom clouds: has angone yer bel ieved hat i tcontainsevergth ing he world conts ins hard stones,sal t ,a i r , earth, i re - whenwoter ooksso s implebg tsel f? lJhatcan lsag sbouteorth, rvhich 0lds nside t woter, f i re, sal t ,o i r , and so of , , get bg i tsel f looks bare? How marvel lousnature is ; out of woter i t producesmarvel lous ru i ts in theearth,andout of a i r i t provideshemwith the meons f l i fe .

From the Epi logue: Ai r is the matter of the ancient

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Phi losophers. l t is the wster of dew, from which thesal tpetreof the Phi losopherss extracted;andbg the act ionof th is sal tpetreal l th ingsgrowandare nour ished. t is atso0 magnet,which have cal ledsteel in the precedingext. Airgenerates his magnet; he mognetgeneratesour air { 'aerennastrum) ndmakes t appear. I havesolemnlg evealed histruth to gou;prEU od to fovourgourundertakings.There salso in ai r a hidden ubstance f l i fe which we cal l dew bgnight and rar i f ied woter bg dug; i ts invisible spi r i t , oncecongealed,s better than ang soi l whatever. Also our pont icwater {aqaanastra panlica) coagulotes o sophic sulphur andsophicmercurg ifal and unal also wonttrouslgo sophicsteeltbhalghe ostro)bgmeans f arti f ice anda prudentartisan.

From The fgsterg: This water is aqaarilae- which has theporyer o improve he fru i t of E solar tree s0 greai lg thataf terwards the tree needsno plant ing 0r grr f t ing; bg i tsfragrance lone t produces ix more dent ical rees. I{ootherwater, whether agaE antis or aqaa artis or woter drawn outof var ioussubstancesan do th is; but i t is a lwagspoisonousunless t is drown out of the raus of sun snd moonwi th Emagnetor sophicsteel. lts propernEme s agaamaris naslri.0ur se8water,or aqaavi tar that doesnot leavehandswet.

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FIRST DDEHDUH

The text c la ims that crgsta ls grow bg themselyes ur ingastorm, but we must let th is processhappenn i ts own t ime,becausef we rush i t we could disturb i t . Somepeopleusemixed water that hos beenexposedo air for s whi le. t {hentheg th ink that i t has beensuff ic ient lg impregnatedg lunarand solEr rEgs, heg et i t evaporste verssnd o the hol fwagpoint ; then theg set i t out in a cool place0r E cool room oform crgstols, These heg extract wi th woodenongs,pour nsome ai r f rom the new water into the lef tover woter, andogainset i t in the open ir as before;and heg repeat his foras longas crgsta lskeep orming.

Here I do not want to leave angthing ut, so I shouldsagthat someof the Phi losophers ixedcrgsta ls wi th raw f i rs tmrt ter and formed i t t le bal ls of i t , then t l is t i l led i t in themannerdescr ibed n chapter2. After th is, dark terrestr ia lspi r i ts andcelest ia l ones ed as bloodsett ted down nto thereceiv ingvessel . Theg al led his water the double dupl icem,mercurgof the Phi losophers. n i ts moist and l iquid form,thegalso cal led t v i rg in 'smi lk andextremelg ourv inegar.

t f th th is menstruumhegrrere oble o dissolveol l metalson o table andextract sulphurandsoulsor essencesanimustfrom them, or the corporeal art fa l ls to the bottom. But nosolut ion of gold can be made rom the sedimentunless hef ixed sal t f rom i ts dist i l la t ion hos i rs t been issolvedn the

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s6me iquid. Then hegpour hreeptr ts of water overonepartof ref ined gold and complete he extract ion n hal f an hsur.The Phi losophers id not t rouble wi th lesser metals; thegpr izedgold andsi lver for medicalusesand or the purpose fmakinggold. Thegachieved his purposen var ious wags bgmeans f a substrate, s the f ol lowing ex t wi l l show.

SECOIID DDEilDUM

In th is sect ion feel that lmust ment iondrg, crgsta l l inewater, which grovrs n and out of the o i l 0f common al t .Art i f icers call the crgsta ls sweet sal t , as theg haveearnedthe t i t le 'phi losophicmercuru. ' Thegare also consideredobe psrt of the greot Phi losopher 'stone, incecommon sl t isdeemed nddecreed he centreof the e lementwater, act ingasradicalandprinciFleof metal format ion. But there Ere othercrgsta ls fsr super ior to these: the ones that come fromcommonsal t ,are moistenedseveral t imes wi th essence{bnima}of ead anddr ied,and inal lg t l is t i l led bg the ru les ofart . Theg are super iorbecause he coolness f the h ighestmetal is lent to the process, nd he crgsta l l izat ionof natronis re inforced- Youshouldsee to i t that the crgsta l l izat iontakes place natural lg in the open ai r and that i t isimpregnatet l g astra l inf luencewi th the aid of capturedai r ,accordingo the process escr ibedn chapters , 6, and7. l f

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Uou do th is, gou wi l l not have to yr0rrg ahout the tasksdescr ibed n chapters2,3, ond 4; theg wi l l be sccompl ishedyergsimplUwith lumpsof soi l andnothingelseadded. n th iswag Uouwi l l obta in he noblemagnesio f f i re, whichhasbeennurturedand ncreasedn f i re and hrough i re; i t forms andproduces he outhent icson of f i re. l f somethings added oanimated al t f rom substrateof the eorth.and a d ist i l la t ionof both is mode according o the method and proceduredescr ibed g Andreaof (Plawen),t wi l l provesuper ior . Asfor how to accompl ish his - how to prepore weet crgsto lsfrom the oi l 0f sal t s implg, bg E commonprocess thepract ice rvas lucid lg descr ibed bg the great Phi losopherJohannes ugurel lusn a longpoem nd n E summarghat waslater madeof i t . l refer the k ind reader o him. He himsel fsags that th is work cannotbe completed n less than threeUeors,and to r l is t inguish he work f rom others i t has beencol led the work of three gesrs. Actual pract icevar ies; hereEre mongpaths o the samegoal . Someworks o l low a shortpoth, others o long one. f{ecessi tg ompels s, i f we are toachieve E true understandingof s0 msng di f ferentPhi losophicalwr i ters, to make useful d ist inct ions smongthese diversePhi l , rsoFhical orks snt lnot to bendand twisteyeru s ingle th ing so forc ib lg into onlg one stone, onemedic ine,oneyessel ,one i re, andss on. Al l th ings proceedfrom a s ingle adical or bEse, ndare therefore undamental lgone,so that in prepar inghemonemustuse wo ingredients

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matter and form, act ive ond passive. St i l l , the octualpract iceof arr iv ing at the somecomposi t ion an di f fer , andthat is whg he worksare so diverse.

Accordinglghere s now,besides he work of three Ueors,E work of three months, three weeks, three dags, End,surpassing l l of these, hree hours. I larg the prophetess astra ined n this last work; a Phi losopherf keen nte l lect , or awel l - t ra ined art isan, wi l l be oble to invest igatewhat shelesrned rom her d iscussionswi th the Phi losopher ros. Inaddi t ion, heresre otherworks,cal led he work of onenaturaldag,one month,oneUesr,Endnine months. Angonewho doesnot know he dist inct ionssmong heseand other such hingslags c la im to th is saging: 'He should ake his handoff there ins. ' And though al l these aforesaid works Ere to beunderstood nlg bg the t ime of operat ion rom f i rs t to last ,neverthelesst can happenhat otherworkssre mixed n wi ththem, and then both operat ions, ntecedent nd consequent,Ere inc luded n the t ime spon is ted above. But s ince thepurpose ere has been merelg o give Uoua casual warningsbout these matters, there is no need to dwel l on themfurther.

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ChapterE.

Concerninghe substrateof the form of thestone, that is, concerningEarutnvivumorl iv ing gold,and he preparat ionor ref in ingi t .

The text on th is topic begins: 'Gold and s i l, rer Ere,fsmi l iar lg speaking, ead,but the sol ids thst are token romveins of gold deposi ts ,0r rom rivers of water to be washed,and which have neyer beensubjected o f i re, Ere l iv ing andshouldbe ref inedwi th precis ion. '

ADDEHDUT{

Thereare various udgmentsabout Earur? i tum, as well asopin ionsof Phi losophers nd Art i f icers 0n suchsubjects Eswho can possess old hat hasneyerbeen ubjected o f i re 0rworked;what sort occurs n compsct orm, spark l ing n l i t t lepoints and grains; a lso what sort 0ccurs in r ivers 0r inmineralsof the mountains.Surelg his person s proceet l ingcorrect lg according s the l i tera l sense;st i l l , in t ime ofnecessi tg, he sulphurof gold n minerals sophicsulphurcan occssional lg ake the place sf notural compacted old.t r lhen he coarsesandof gold is takenout of washingboths,

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the other minerals f re imbuedwi th the radionceof gold.Other than gold there is no metsl which can fa i thfu l lg beident i f ied bg sn asssgof onlg 0 minutepiece. In th ings thatare simi lar to i t , aurei las, he essence f gold, s verg near,appear ing i rect lg in other metal substrates. Someof thePhi losofhersgsve these th ings the name of green gold oraaramvivumbecausef thei r imperfect ionn comporison i ththe highestperfect ionof solar gold. The nature of the golddescr ibedobove includes E certa in remote, indeed yergremote,potencg,which part lUbg the pothof progression ndpart lg bg the psth of regression can be led back wi thconsiderable f for t to the height that is , to the perfectststus and rank of gold. Paracelsusight lg denied hat th ispotencgwas remotewhen, n the f i rs t t reat ise, he said thefol lowing aboutminerals: l f the a lchemistscould ind th issulphur, ince t can be ound n the tree of sophic u lphurandalso n i ts root, theg wouldhave eason o rejo ice. For i t isthe sulphurof gold,which is not the sEme s that drawn outof i ron andcopper. This is what theg take pains wi th in al lthei r work.

Even though our text is abundant lg onf i rmed bg thisc i ts t ion of author i tg, or Eneyengreaterconf i rmat ion shal lbr ing n a comparisonrom Paracelsus n th is subject- In thesecond reat ise on the methodof prepor ing rugs, he sags:0bserve he dist inct ionbetween tones ntmelg he ones hstare in water ond he ones hst are out of water- A stone n

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ryater s composed f i ts own vigorous iquids; a stoneout ofwater has ost them. Here,sagsParacelsus,ies the error ofthe alchemists;a lso the error of those who search or thequintessencer f i f th essence, ndwhowant to prepare reatEl ix i rs , great magister ia, and 6rcEnE. Theg Ere a l lfundamental lg rong as long as theg cannot el l l iv ing f rsmdead ssmething hat must be understoodoncerningusedorigni ted snd raw, st i l l unfusedmetals. Sendivogius greeswi th that whenhe sags n the seventh reat ise: There s nopoint in looking for seed 0n trees that have beenchoppeddown; t can be foundonlg 0n green rees. In the sameplacehe sags: l {o seed s found n desd hings;as long as there sseed n a bodg, he bodg s ol ive. lJhenal l of i t is consumed,the bodgdies. Y/ecansee hst af ter the emission f seedal lbodiesbecomeweak. From treot ise 3: Do not look for thatpoint in metols in which i t doesnot exist , for thesemetals,and gold in part icular ,are dead;but our sophicmets ls havespi r i ts and are l iv ing. Theseore emphat ical lg he onesUoumustchoose.Understandhat the l i fe of metafs s f i re, for aslong Es i t remsins in i ts minerals; he death of metals ispreciselg he f i re of fus ion. Healso sags, n The tgste.r3r . 'Thedeath of th ings is nothingbut rhe separat ionof one fromanother. Poracelsus ogs: l t is c lear that miners lsore ofgreaterpower hsn thei r metal , or ' these metals,andgof inpart icular , are dead,but our sophicmetals havespi r i ts andare l iv ing. Understandhat the l i fe of metals s f i re, for as

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longas t remains n i ts miners ls 'ands0 on. For n fusion tsl iguids of l i fe depart rom i t - namelg, he spi r i ts of sal t ,sulphur, ndmercuru and eavebehind eadmetal .

Ylhotever sppensn this cgse, f we consider t somewhatmore profoundlgand fundamental lg, Phi losophers bg nomeonscompel led o deal wi th these mater ia ls that are sodi f f icu l t to compsre nd hat do not occur evergwhere, inceangdeodmater ia l at a l l can easi lgatta in generEt ion ndnewl i fe in and through ts mother substance-And so gold andsi lver fused together, usual lg considered dead andunproduct iye, En be resusci tatedand revived so that thegbecome owerfu landeff icocious n medic ine ndother th ingsas well . I wi l l sagnothingaboutmercurial Eqaae i tae. which6re useful in both the drg and the moist methods. l t ispoint less o resusci tate he deadbot lgof ordinarggold withthemso that i t cancome orward or l iv ing operat ions.At theendsf the Epi logue, endivogius r i tes: Evergone ho workswi th herbs,anlmals,stones,and mineralsother than sophicsulphurandsophicmercurg,which are drawn down rom thesphere f Saturn, obours n voin. And n treat ise 9: There sone metol which has the power to eonsume thers. l t octsalmost Es i f i t r lere thei r vroter,snd acts authent ical lgEsthei r mother substsnce. l f gold uni tes wi th i tsel f elevent imes, t emi ts ts seedandbecomes eakalmost o the pointof death. ln treat ise 2, Sendivogius r ief lg shows how thiscalc inat ionshouldbe done: ' l f gougive an old mangold and

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si lver to swal low, so that he consumeshem and undergoescombust ion venas he is about o die, then scatter h is ashesover some extract ingwoter and cook them suff ic ient lg, gouwi l l hove a medic ine hat cures eprosg. ' Here shouldorldthst the c loser the dissolv ingand extract ingmenstrus ometo ei ther the rodical pr inc ip lesof metals or to the excel lents impl ic i tg of the e lements ndare re lated to them, he moreexcel lentand morevaluable he solut ionswi l l be, Es wel l asmoreeffect ive andusef l .

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Chapter .

Concerninghe solut ion 0r openingof thepores 0f the bodgor of Eurutnyiyum n thephi losophic mercuru duplex, for theemission f sperm.

The ext cont inues:Take en partsof mercuru uplexof thePhi losophers nd one port of the aforement ioned ol t l ors i lyer, put i t in a phia l , eaying wo ports emptg,snd seal i thermet i a l g.

In t reat ise 7, Sendivogiusous: The poresof bodiesmustbe opened o that theu can emi t sperm, n the centreof whichl ies the seedwhich s ai r . t r {henhis comes nto i ts dest inedmatr ix , i t becomes ongealed,ndalso congeals hat i t f ndsin a purestote or a mixtureof impureandpure.

ADDEHDUH

Sendivogius,reat ise 7: The gold-producingeedcEn beextracted n two wogs: geni lg and orc ib lg. l f gou want toperform he oct iongeni lg, ol low the text of th is chapter, ndset the process n mot iongent lgandslowlg wi th agua sicra. .drg water, which hss grovrnbg natural sgencgwith onlg thesl ightest help from art . Sendivogiuscal led th is drU

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crgsto l l ine water the other k ind of steel , which s simi lar toth is metal l ic one,or lea{, in i ts magnet ic owerof at t ract ion.I t is createdbg nature,End rom the sun's sgs i t can el ic i twhat so mangpeoplehaye ooked or, bg a wondrous arth lgforce andpower. l t is the pr inc ip leor beginning f our work,that is , the second r incip leor ingredient. t takes he placeof form-

Thereoppefrrso beo certa indist inct ionbetween he animtor essence f sophic u lphur sal is} ,as i t is commonlg a l led,and the seedof gold,since n his prefoceSendivogiusal ledthe extract ionof the essencemerepersuasion;he k ind readershould ake noteof th is. Sendivogiusid not compute he twomater ia lsas one;st i l l , the essence roduces simi lar ef ect ,l ike the seedof gol t l when a work is ski l ful lg managed. nth is matter there s onlUonewog to a im at the target to keepsomeonerom fa l l ing into error about he meth0d real lg twomethods of extract ing En essence. 0f these methodsonealchemicalmethod s sophist ical and sui ted to impostors;s ince n fact the sulphur0r essence f goldextracted n th iswagproduces n mpermanentincture,whichParacelsusal lsa t incture of merecolour ather thanporver.Theothermethoddepends, n the Phi l0sophic {ag, bg which snu metal isauthent ical lgand permanent lginctured into sophicsulphur{salem}accordingo al l the requi rements f assag.

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Chspter 0.

Concerning the Extract ion of thegold-producing eed ef fect ivelg he formof the stone which is the second art ofi ts Composi t ion.

The text fur ther ssgs: Leave t for three months n Evaporousi re, andnot onlgwi l l gold n suff ic ient quant i tgbeuncoyered,ut i t w i l l g ive forth the redness f a rubg. l t isnecesssru o take care wi th th is red substonce, ince i t isphi losophic old, he true seedof gold,and he second art ofour stone. Ffhatever lse s lef t oyercanbe poured ut; t hasno Yalue.Sendivogius,reat ise 7: Sincenaturedoesnothingwi thoutthe spermof mater ia ls, hereforewe must seekout the spermof gold to makea gold-producingtone; nothingcsn be donewi thout i t . The spermor seed of gold: i ts f i f th Essence,El ix i r , most perfect decoct ionand digest ion, he kernel ofsulphur.

From reat ise 2; Thenput i t in our f i re, anda drg l iquidwi l l form. F i rst d issolve he soi l - that is . the drg water -into the water cal led the mercuruof the Phi losophers, ndthis woter wi l l d issolve hosebodiesof sophicsulphurandsophic mercuru {sal is et lunae)and consume hem. 0nlg Etenth part of i t wi l l be eft over,and his wi l l be the seedor

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the moist metal l ic radical .

ADDEHDUTI

The fo l lowing is the process of extract ing thegold-producingeed.Take en portsof the menstruum ndonepart oI aurum irun, not common old. l lel t i t over low heat,pour t of f a longsn incl ine, and et i t evoporate ent lg o hal fa f inger 's depth; henput i t in a coolp lace,ondcleorcrgsta lst incted or dged he br ightest shadeof gel low wi l l Eppesr.Take them out wi th wooden ongs,put them n o phia l , thenser l the phial hermet ical lgand put i t in En Athanor n thef i rs t s toge,where he f i re is , for four dagsandnights,af terwhich t ime i t wi l l appear lack. In the second tate i t wi l lburn o ashand ook ike a peacock'sai l . In the thi rd stage twi l l turn whi te. l {ork wi th th is whi te substonce nt i l i t turnsred. And at the end, when f lame str ikes the vessel in thefourth stage, gou wi l l see o beaut i fu l , c lesr red substanceappear ing eparotelgn the glass. Thenbe carefu l to breakthe glassski l ful lg and ske the red substance ut andpreseryei t This red substance s true phi losophicgol t l 0rrd themetal l ic seed of gold.whole l i fet ime.

Onegrainof i t is enougho last gour

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Chapter l .

Concerning the plant ing of thegold-producing eed in i ts soi l , 0r inPhi losophic lercurg. That is , concerningthe Conjunct ion f the matter and form ofthe Stone of sal t and centra l sophicsulphur (sol is centra l is) for thesuper-nstural enerat ion f the chi ld of thesun.

The text cont inues:Hext ake one part of the seedand enparts of Phi losophic'1ercuru,sdi rectedabove.

At the endof t reat ise 5, Sendivogiusogs: trdhoevernowshow to congeslwster wi th hest ond oin to i t a spi r i t - thespi r i tual seed of gold wi l l surelg d iscoversomethingEthousandimes moreprecious hangoldandeyeruother th ing.5o see to i t that the prol i f ic spi r i t of goldseparatesrom thewater that is mixed n with i t in a kindof partnership. t wi l lt lecagand a grain or seedwi l l Eppear.Then,oncegou havethrown owEg the dregs, t wi l l draw back the spi r i t f rsmabove the seedof gold that has been aisedandsubl imatedinto water separate lg n E phia l . Theg wi l l at once beconjo ined. That conjunct ion wi l l generate En offspr ingdi f ferent in form from i ts parentsubstEnces.

From reat ise 8: Evergseed s of no importance n i tsel f

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unless t is ploced n i ts dest inedmatr ix ei ther bg art or bgnature. And eyen though his seed n i tsel f is nobler thaneyerg other created hing, i t is the matr ix that makes hegrain decagand causes he congeal ing f the pure point . Inaddi t ion, t nour isheshe grain wi th the heatof i ts bodgandmakes t grow.From reat ise 9: |Jhen he seed s placed n i ts matr ix , i tpurges t and makes t E thoussnd imes better equipped obr ing orth the bestproducts.

ADDET{DUHThe Phi losopher s lso observed simi lor proport ion n the

humidmethod,as fo l lows: Takeone grain of th is seed,andadd o i t ten grainsof the woter of the menstruum escr ibedabove; s soonas thegare conjo ined,ma_kehermet ic eolsndproceed hrough he stagesof the Athonor or f ive, seyen,orten monthsunt i l the work s compf te.

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Chapter 2.

Concerninghe matur ingof the Y/ork ntoi ts perfect ionandcomplet ion.

Final lg he text concludes i th thesewords: Put th is in anAthanoror phi losophic urnaceand eave t there on low heatfor sevenmonths.Then,bg God's r0ce, ouwi l l f in t l whot gouhavebeen ooking or.

Sendivogius,reat ise l0: Afterward t is kept in 0 steadgf i re for seyenmonths,sometimes or ten, unt i l our woterconsumeshree parts ond eayesone,and his is done wice.Then t is nour ishedwi th the mi lk of the eorth - or wi th i tsoi l iness- whichspr ings orth f rom the earth 'sabundancendis kept free from decag g natural sal t . Andso the infant ofthe second enerat ions begotten.

From he Epi logue: ake en grainsof wel l -condensedir inthe form of natronsal t - thot is whg he cal ls i t 'our s0i l ' intreatise | | - and onegrain of Euramvivamw luna yiva. Putal l these nto gour vessel andcook the ai r f i rs t , so that i tbecomes ater, and of terward s not water. A l i t t le for theron, he sEUs:Dissolve he congeatedi r , then dissolves tenthof the gold n i t . Seal his andwork wi th i t in our f i re unt i lthe a i r turns ts dust andvsr iouscoloursEppearrom the sal tof th is wor ld.

From reat ise l l : Takewster of natronsal t f rom our soi l

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ondput wi th i t the moist metal l ic radical ; hen put i t on thef i re of decagand regenerat ion,houghnot the samekind goumade n the f i rs t operat iono extract he seedof gold. Handleal l thesewi th great ski l l unt i l co loursEppearike those n apeocock'sr i l . Handle hem bg separat ing hem, and do n0tstop working unt i l the cs lours are present and one colourpredominates the colour green and so on wi th the rest .Andwhengouseebrownashes f the bottom,and he water isolmostred, open he vessel ,dip in a feather,smeorsngpieceof i ron to see whther i t is t incted; hove0n handE specialwater about which more wi l l be soid later , and pour in thesameamount f i t as the amountof crudeai r a l reodg nside.Cook t oncemore n the fsrmer f i re unt i l i t is again incted.This is Es for Es mU oyrn exper iment as gone. The watershouldbe the menstruum f the wor ld from the sphereof thel ' loon, ect i f ied so mang imes that i t has he power o calcinesophic sulphur tkalem). Something t i l l remains o be saidabout i re. Thereare two k inds of f re: The rst is cont inualand encompssses at ter ; i t is external f i re assist ing theinternsl . Thesecond ind s naturol i re, which separates ndf ixes. This f i re of nature s the onlg one used n both thef i rs t and secondoperot ions; is tancebetweenplacesmakesangthingwork d i f ferent lg- [Jne esselshould e enough, ut toshorten he processwe use wo. Thevessel or the f i rs t workmust be round. But for the second s l ight lg smol leronecsnbe used for example, phial or an egg. There s also onlg

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one motter , though t is uni ted from tws substances, necheap snd one extremelg precious. I have now revealedevergth ing bout he f i rs t ondsecond orks.

From The tgsterg' Eur water has ire inside t, rnd i f i t ispromptedbg steadgheat i t burnsoff three parts of i tsel f .0nlg the minutest part wi l l remain, so smal l that i t canscarcelg e imagined, et possessingts f u l l excel lence. t isthen cooked g the wise ski l l o f a master or seyenmonthsatf i rs t , af terward or ten. In the meant ime ar ioussubstsnceswi l l appear, lwogsei ther moreor fewer on the f i f t ie th dag.

In the someplace,he sags: l t canbe mproved ven urther,as phi losophicwri t ings bear wi tness; i rs t i t can be exal tedto ten, af ter that to a hundred, ext to o thousand nd to tenthousand.

ADDEi lDUH

t {hat fo l lows is how he Phi losophers ul t ipl ied heir workin the moist path, andperhaps lso bg the same oken n thedrg path. l ' fu l t ip l icat ion akesplace n quant i tgas wel l as inq,ra l i tg,alwEUswi .h ten parts of i ts woter or of phi losophicmercurgduplexandso on to inf in i tg. The i rst t ime i t doesnot t inct , but i f i t is put in f i re the second ime it isperfected n two months ' t ime, and one port t incts onlg tenports. l f gouput i t in f i re o th i rd t ime, i t is f in ished n three

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weekssnd one part t incts a hundred arts. l f gouput i t inf i re a fourth t ime, i t is perfected n three dags,andonepartt incts a thousand arts. After that a wsrk of mul t ip l icat ionis completed n three dagsat a t ime,and th is is the work ofthree dags. The proport ionbg which the stone s exal ted nmul t ip l icot ion s the sameproport ionof t inct ing i t wi l l havein i ts quant i tg. l f onepart 0f i t is projected yer en parts 0fthe purestgold for fermentat ion, medic ine s producedhatis l ike br i t t le glass,a longwi th a t incture 0n the imperfectbodies especia l lg0n l lercurg,which is En openmetal . Adoseof the stone,before t is jo inedwi th gold, s one graindispensedn ang iguid at a l l , for the useof the human odg.

6odbe praised.Amen.

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l f gouwant to acqui re he Phi losopher 'stonebg 6od'sgr0cel lokesuregoudo not look or i t in herbs, n imals,

sulphur,mercuru, r minerals.Vi t r io l , a lum,sal t haveno value or th is work,nor areLead, in, copper, r i ron worth seeking.Even - i lverondgoldhaveno power.Eut HgIe- motter - andchaos formlessmass Eccompl ish

evergthi g.The lower of honegs onecomponentf th is chaos;Theother s red eorth,our f i rs t matter ,At oncewater andsoi l .Theseedof metals n a substancels made f volat i le water; ixed woter s from the earth.t {e i therof thesecando angthing i thout the other;These wo possesshe strengthof al l metals-But thegcannotbe mined n veinsof metal

wi th legionsof workersandwi th equipment.In the plaeeswhereour matter s foundi lo metal at al l canbe discovered:I t is foundonlg n the strengthandpotencgWhichwos created n Hgleor chaos.l {hat fol lows is how o begin he solut ionAndhowgoushould seeachof theseas a keg.Thekeg s putrefact ion,whichUoumEU nderstandn th iswou:Be strong and ki l l a l ion

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Andcol lect i ts c lot ted b lood,Thenobleandprecious plendour f the sunSeparatedrom the centreof the breeding arth.Let i t k indlespontaneouslU;nd t wi f sweotwi th anxietg.Wi th greatcores low f i re canbe compacted.l f goucsrrg th is out correct lgYouwi l l seeo blockcloud ow in the glass,And n a br ief spanof t ime i t wi l l subsideAndconYertts spi r i t to water.Di l igentlgseparatehe pure rom the impureAndat last i ts potencgwi l l appear.Thendissolve t to separate rg f rom moist :This is the water f rom the earth,y0lat i lesubstancerom

fi xed.Then he solut ionhas eached n end,Thesolut ionconsummatedg Putrefact ion.This operot ionwss done n sand,wheregousaw the

subl mat ionAndseparot ion f the e lements:Theextract ionof spi r i ts f rom the bot lgAnd he animated pi r i t of t he end.The wo visible Elements,{oter ondEarth,Have idden n themselves een ireAndare impregnatedurelgWith the f i f th inv is ib lenature.l {ow f the work s to achievets end,

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l lakea unionof womsn ndmon,OurownAdam nd air EveHow ie together, othnaked.SinceFlatures e legant ndpureThusnature ejo ices n i ts own realmAndachieves blendingwi th passionate ature,Andso onenoture s kept apart rom the other.An animated pi r i t loosens bodg;Thebodg ongeals ndconstr ic ts he spi r i t .Thot spi r i t hascome orth from the earthAnd nto earth againnowcast t ;This wi l l be done or gourbeneft .And rom two, onewi l l remain or gouAndonewi l l remainwi thout separat ion.PlaceUourmixture n a Eathandgouwi l l see t l imp,

fat igued,and nf i rm.Let i t f lg hereond hereUnt i l underneath crow remains,And hen rom i t a whi te swon ises,Andnothing ovel ierhaseyerbeen eenon earth;f s ownbloodwi l l br ing t gouth.t then t haseager lg akena ninth draughtI t habi tuol lg akes l ight af ter eachAnd n the endstand orth whi ter thansnow.Yet t a lso turnsblackoften, hen ed and awngAnd ich wi th mang thercolours

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Unti l i t sh inesbr ight,pureandwhi te,Far c learer hsn crgsta l ,Shiningwhi te andwel l -mode, ut not hardened,ndget

dist i nct ,l laden sucha vrsubg act ionof i ts ownsoulAndmediat ing p i r i t , get not quicklgmade omplete.ln the spanof severalmonths t is brought o perfect ion.This is the true sgencg f fermentat ion;Guard his gi f t wi th the greatestcare.Trulg andwi thout the least nsincer i tgI t is madeperfect or the good f water sndearth.For n the earth i re is hidden.ln water nobleandprecious i r surges:These wo form onesinglemercuru.In i t the threestonesof the wise are founded:Thestones hat spontaneouslgurn b lack,green,whi te, and

redAnd ree gou rom dangern greotestneed;This is wel l kn own o the wise,For t br ingsmangmarvelsandmiracles,Dr ivesol l s icknessesrom mankindAndbanishes efects rom the metals.

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