Section 2

22
THE SECOND TREATISE
wherewith kings are decorated and crowned."
Though this Mercury alone is the matter and the one only thing and a combination of other things, yet is this thing so manifold in its effects, and in its names, that no one can find out the true meaning from the writings of the Philosophers, and this is done for the purpose as RosiNUS says, " that every one may not get at it."
It is at the same time a way of producing effects and a vessel wherein all things multiply themselves, because of the adjustment of all things comprised in Nature.
For now the Philosophers say : " dissolve the thing, and sublimate it, and then distil it, coagulate it, make it ascend, make it descend, soak it, dry it, and ever up to an indefinite number of operations, all ofjyhich-iake_ place at the jamejuBfi anrl in thPLSJtmp^y^ssfil " Alphidius Confirms this and says : " You must know that when we dissolve we sublimate as well and calcinate without interruption," and if our Corpus is being thrown into the water, for the pur- pose of dissolution, it first turns black, then separates itself, dissolving and sublimating, it unites itself with the spirit which is its origin and birth.
It has been compared as analogous to all things in the world, visible or invisible, possessed of a soul or not, cor- poreal or animal, dead or alive, mineral or vegetative ;
23
THE SECOND TREATISE
analogous to the elements and their compositions, to things hot and cold, further to all colours, all fruits, all birds, and in short to all things between Heaven and Earth, and among all these are belonging to this Art the aforesaid operations, which are explained by the Philosophers in two word " Man and Wife," or " Milk and Cream." He who does not understand these does not understand the pre- paration of this Art.
24
Plate IV.— THE THIRD TREATISE.
[face f. 25.]
THE THIRD TREATISE
NOW FOLLOWS THE MEANS WHEREBY THE WHOLE WORK OF THIS MASTERY IS PERFECTED ; EXPLAINED BY A FEW SUITABLE ILLUSTRA- TIONS, PARABLES, AND VARIOUS APHORISMS OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
HERMES, a Father of Philosophy, says : " It is indeed needed that at the End of this World, Heaven and Earth should meet and come home." Meaning by Heaven and Earth the aforesaid two Operations ; but many doubts arise, before the Work is finished. Thkt the following Figures may be better understood we give a few Parables in illustration :—
AND THIS IS THE FIRST PARABLE: God created the Earth plain and coarse, and very pro- ductive of Gravel, Sand, Stones, Mountains and Vallej^, but through the influence of the planets, and the working of Nature, the Earth has been changed into many forms. Outside there are hard stones, high mountains and deep
25
THE THIRD TREATISE
valleys, and strange things and colours are inside the Earth, as, for instance. Ores and their beginnings, and with such things earth has come from the original form, in the following manner : Where the Earth first began to grow large, or to expand and multiply, the constant operation of the Sun-Heat also formed in the interior of the Earth a sulphury vapourous and damp heat, penetrating her through and through. This penetrating work of the Sun's heat caused in the cold and damp of the Earth, the formation of large quantities of vapour fumes, fog and gas, all of which grow with the length of time strong enough to follow their ten- dency to rise, thus causing on the Earth's surface eruptions, forming hill and dale, &c. Where there are such hills and dales, there the Earth has been matured and most perfectly mixed with heat and cold, moisture and dryness, and there the best ores may be found. But where the earth is flat there has been no accumulation of such fumes and vapours, and there no ores will be found, while the uplifted part of the soil, especially, such as has been slimy, loamy, and fat, and has been saturated with a moisture from on high ; got soft again, forming dough-like layers one on top of the other, which in the course of time, under the influence of the Sun's heat, become more and more firm, hard and baked ; and other ground as gravel and sand, brittle and yet soft, hanging
26
THE THIRD TREATISE
together like grapes, is too meagre and dry, and has not received enough moisture, consequently it could not form itself into layers, but remained full of holes, like badly prepared pap, or like a mealy dough, wl^ich has not been watered enough ; for no earth can become stone, unless it be rich and slimy and well mixed with moisture.
After the drying up of the water by the Sun's heat, the fat substance will keep the ground together, as otherwise it would remain brittle and fall to pieces again. That which has not become perfectly hard as yet, may become so, and turn to stone, under the constant influence of the Sun's heat and Nature, as well as the aforesaid fumes and gases originating in the properties of the elements, which are by these means still being operated upon in the interior of the earth, and when they seize upon watery vapours with a pure, subtle earthy substance, then they form the Philoso- phers' Mercury ; but when they are solid and brought to a fiery, earthy and subtle hardness, then will the Philosophers' Sulphur be the result.
About this Sulphur Hermes says : " It will receive the
powers of the highest and lowest planets, and with its force
it penetrates solid things, it overcomes all matter and all
precious stones."
27
THE OTHER PARABLE Hermes, the First Master of this Art, says as follows : " The Water of the Air, which is between Heaven and Earth, is the Life of everjrthing ; for by means of its Moisture and Warmth, it is the medium between the two opposites,- as Fire and Water, and therefore it rains water on earth, Heaven has opened itself, and sent its Dew on earth, making as sweet as honey, and moist. Therefore the Earth flowers and bears manifold coloured blooms and fruits, and in her interior has grown a large Tree with a silver stem, stretching itself out to the earth's surface. On its branches have been sitting many kinds of birds, all departing at Daybreak, when the Ravenhead became white. The same tree bears three kinds of Fruit. The First are the very finest Pearls. The Second are called by Philosophers Terra Foliata. The Third is the very purest Gold. This Tree gives us as well the fruit of Health, it makes warm what is cold, and what is cold it makes warm, what is dry it makes moist, and makes moist what is dry, and softens the hard, and hardens the soft, and is the end of the Whole Art. Thereof says the Author of " The Three Words," " The Three Moistures are the most precious Words of the whole Mastery." And
28'
Plate V.— THE FIRST PARABLE.
[face fl. vi,]
Plate VI.— THE OTHER PARABLE.
[lace -pi. v.]
THE THIRD PARABLE
the same says Galenus, when he speaks of the Herb LuNATiCA or Berissa.' Its root is a MetaUic Earth; it has a red stem, spotted with black, grows easily and decays easily, and gains Citrine Flowers after three days ; if it is put in Mercury, it changes itself into perfect Silver, and this again by further decoction changes into Gold, which then turns hundred parts of Mercury into the finest Gold. Of this tree speaks Virgilius, in the sixth book of the Aeneide, when he relates a Fable, how Aeneas and Silvius went to a tree, which had golden branches, and as often as one broke a branche off, another one grew in its place.
THE THIRD PARABLE
AviNCENA says in the Chapter on the Moistures : — " When Heat operates upon a moist body, then is blackness the first result." For that reason have the old Philosophers declared they saw a Fog rise, and pass over the whole face of the earth, they also saw the impetuosity of the Sea, and the streams over the face of the earth, and how the latter became foul and stinking in the darkness. They further saw the King of the Earth sink, and heard him cry out with eager voice : " Whoever saves me shall live and reign with me for ever in my brightness on my royal throne," and Night enveloped all things. The day after they saw over
29
THE THIRD PARABLE
the King an apparent Morning Star, and the Light of Day
clear up the darkness, the bright Sunlight pierce through the
clouds, with manifold coloured rays, of brilliant brightness,
and a sweet perfume from the earth, and the Sun shining clear. Herewith was completed the Time when the King
of the Earth was released and renewed, well apparelled,
and quite handsome, surprising with his beauty Sun and
Moon. He was crowned with three costly crowns, the one
of Iron, the other of Silver, and the third of pure Gold. They
saw in his right hand a Sceptre with Seven Stars, all of which
gave a Golden Splendor, and in his left hand a golden
Apple, and seated upon it a white Dove, with Wings partly
silvered and partly of a golden hue, which Aristotle so
well spoke of when he said : " The Destruction of one thing
is the birth of another." Meaning in this Masterly Art :
" Deprive the thing of its Destructive Moisture, and renew
it with its own Essential one which will become its perfection
and Ufe."
THE FOURTH PARABLE
Menaldus the Philosopher, says : " I command all my descendants to spiritualise their bodies by Dissolution, and again to materialise the spiritual things by means of a gentle decoction.
30
Plate VII,— THE THIRD PARABLE.
\jace fl. viii.]
Plate VIII.— THE FOURTH PARABLE.
[face -pi. vii.]
THE FOURTH PARABLE
Mentioning which Senior speaks thus : " The Spirit~\ dissolves the body, and in the Dissolution extracts the Soul of the Body, and changes this body into Soul, and the Soul is changed into the Spirit, and the Spirit is again added to the Body, for thus it has stability." Here then the body becomes spiritual by force of the Spirit . This the Philosophers give to understand in the following Signature, or Figure : They saw a man black like a negro sticking fast in a black, dirty and foul smelling slime or clay ; to his assistance came a young women, beautiful in countenance, and still more so in body, most handsomely adorned with many-coloured dresses, and she had wings on her back, the feathers of which were equal to those of the very finest white Peacock, and the quills were adorned with fine pearls, while the feathers reflected like golden mirrors. On her head she had a crown of pure gold, and on top of it a silver star ; around her neck she wore a necklace of fine Gold, with the most precious Ruby, which no king would be able to pay ; her feet were clad with golden shoes, and from her was emanating the most splendid perfume, surpassing all aromas. She clothed the man with a purple robe, lifted him up to his brightest clear- ness, and took him with herself to Heaven." Therefore says Senior : " It is a living thing, which no more dies, but when used gives an eternal increase."
31
THE FIFTH PARABLE The Philosophers give to this Art two bodies, namely : Sun and Moon, which are Earth and Water, they also call them Man and Wife, and they bring forth four children, two boys, which are heat and cold, and two girls, as moisture and dryness. These are the Four Elements, constituting the Quintessence, that is the proper white Magnesia, wherein there is nothing false. In conclusion Senior remarks : " When these five are gathered together, they form One substance, whereof is made the natural Stone, while AviCENA contends that : " if we may get at the Fifth, we shall have arrived at the end."
So let us understand this meaning better. The Philoso- phers take for example an Egg, for in this the four elements are joined together. The first or the shell is Earth, and the White is Water, but the skin between the shell and the White is Air, and separates the Earth from the Water ; the Yolk is Fire, and it too is enveloped in a subtle skin, representing our subtle air, which is more warm and subtle, as it is nearer to the Fire, and separates the Fire from the Water. In the middle of the Yolk there is the Fifth Element, out of which the young chicken bursts and grows.
32
Plate IX.— THE FIFTH PARABLE.
[face p. 32.]
Plate X.— THE SIXTH PARABLE.
\Jace fl. xi.];
Plate XI.— THE SEVENTH PARABLE.
\_lace fl. X.}
THE FIFTH PARABLE
Thus we see in an egg all the elements combined with matter to form a source of perfect nature, just so as it is necessary in this noble art.
THE SIXTH PARABLE RosiNOS relates of a vision he had of a man whose body was dead and yet beautiful and white like Salt. The Head had a fine Golden appearance, but was cut off the trunk, and so were all the limbs ; next to him stood an ugly man of black and cruel countenance, with a bloodstained double- edged sword in his right hand, and he was the good man's murderer. In his left hand was a paper on which the fol- lowing was written : " I have killed thee, that thou may est receive a superabundant life, but thy head I will carefully hide, that the worldly wantons may not find thee, and destroy the earth, and the body I will bury, that it may putrefy, and grow and bear innumerable fruit."
THE SEVENTH PARABLE Ovid the old Roman, wrote to the same end, when he mentioned an ancient Sage who desired to rejuvenate him- self was told : he should allow himself to be cut to pieces and decoct to a perfect decoction, and then his limbs would reunite and again be renewed in plenty of strength.
33
THE FOURTH TREATISE
OF THE MEANS BY WHICH NATURE ATTAINS
HER ENDS
ARISTOTLE in the Book of Origins speaks thus : " Sun and Man create a Man, for the Sun's force and spirit give life, and the process has to be gone through seven times, by means of the Sun's heat." But as the Philosophers in their work have to aid Nature with Art, so have they also to govern the heat according to the Sun, so as to create the before-mentioned Stone, which as well has to undergo seven processes. For such a work requires Firstly, a heat powerful enough to soften and melt these parts of the earth that have become thick, hard and baked, as mentioned by Socrates when he says : that the holes and cracks of the earth will be opened to receive the influence of Fire and Water.
Secondly : The Heat is necessary, because through its power the earth becomes freed from darkness and blessed with light instead. In regard to which Senior says : that
34
Plate XII.— THE FOURTH TREATISE, FIRSTLY.
IJace pi. xiii.]
Plate XIII.— THE FOURTH TREATISE, SECONDLY.
[face fl. xii.]
THE FOURTH TREATISE heat turns every black thing white, and every white thing red. So, as water bleaches, fire gives off light, and also colour to the subtilized earth, which appears Uke a Ruby, through the tinging Spirit she receives from the force of the fire, thus causing Socrates to say : that a peculiar light shall be seen in the darkness.
Thirdly : The Heat causes earthly things to be pene- trated by a Spiritual Force, of which it is said in the Turba : Spiritualize the bodies and make Volatile that which is Fixed. Of which Rhazes reminds in his " Light of Lights," as follows : "A heavy body cannot be made light without the help of a light body, nor can a light body be kept pressed down to the ground without the aid of a heavy body.
Fourthly : The Heat cleanses that which is unclean. It throws ofi the mineral impurities and bad odours and nourishes the Elixir, In mention of which Hermes advises : Separate the gross from the Subtil, the earth from the fire. Whereof says Alphidius : The earth can be molten and becomes fire. Thereon says Rhazes : There are several Purifications preceding the perfect preparation, namely, Mundification and Separation.
35
THE FOURTH TREATISE Fifthly : The Heat works elevatingly, for by its force the spirits hidden in the Earth are raised up into the air, wherefore the Philosophers say, that whosoever can bring to hght a hidden thing, is a Master of the Art.
The same is meant by Morienus, when he teaches that " he who can recreate the Sout is able to see colour, and also by Alphidius saying : " Hence it is that this Combat raises upwards, or else you shall not gain by it.
Sixthly : The Heat warms the cold earth, that while cold was half dead. Thereof says Socrates : When Heat penetrates, it makes subtle all earthly things, that are of service to the matter, but come to no final form while it is acting on the matter. The Philosophers conclude on the mentioned Heats in brief words, saying : Destil seven times and you have separated the destructable moisture and it takes place as in one destillation.
Seventhly : Is the Force of the heat thus mixed with heat in the earth, that it has made light the collected parts and resolved them so as to surpass the other elements, and therefore this heat shall be modified with the Coldness of the Moon, " Extinguish the Fire of one thing with the Cold- ness of another " says Calid.