OPERA VEGETABILE

PREFACE

To THE LOVERS OF LIGHT AND CHILDREN OF TRUTH

The most r~le and very dear nouth of our beloved LORD Jesus GIRIST has not caily itself, in its ~n voice, addressed inex ressibly !racious and above all desire "ind ~rds to the oor human bein!s# so that those very $ell%neant ~rds, $hich issued forth fran his livin! nouth%$hen, in erson or the fullness of the essential Godhead incarnate, he $al"ed on earth in his nost holy visible form %~ and $are dili!ently recxrded for our ~nfort by the evan!elists, es ecially John, can easily drive a$ay the tears of a ri!hteous man $ho reads or hears th&n, on acoount of the !reat !raciousness of that LORD, undeserved in all eternity' (ut this holy, holy, holy Li!ht, $hich illi~nines all men $ho ~re into this ~rld, has also fran time)to%tine, in all nations ~ii ed various ersons adorned $ith !ratifyin!, deli!htful !ifts of the Li!ht as messen!ers $itnessin! his outflc~*iin! ~odness, and has resented than ublicly to the ~rld to serve it' +either has he left us ,i!h and L~ Germans out fran this hi!hly valuable !ift' -e $ill not s ea" about other German men, rich in Li!ht, such as Albertus Nagnus, Tauler, Paracelsus, Basili us Valentinus, etc. ,but $ill nc~ ret&nber only the excellent hilo) so her Johannus Isacus Hollandus. &ven $ithout ~ ranarberin! him, this man* s name is $ithout doubt "ri~in in all ~iro e on acoount of his extraordinary illumination and incci~arable ex erience in matters of natural science and hiloso hy $hich he had throu!h the !racious illumination of the &ternal Li!ht' This is sufficiently a~.arant in his $ritin!s, $hat there is left of than, and $hich are held in very hi!h re!ard not only by our /o$n0 iTodest hiloso hers but also by those of many other nations' That is $hy there is a !reat denand by many fanciers for his other $ritin!s, of $hich it is "no$n that they $are also cciiinitta1 to a er but $hich are $ithheld to this hour by envious ersons' The danand is es ecially for his 2e!etable -or", fran $hich he 3uotes over 455 cha ters in other tractates $ritten by him and already a6~vunicated to the ~,rld' The same for his ~niinal -or", $hich is robably not nur'h &naller, and others $hich I have not yet seen# neither en I infonnati $here they mi!ht be' ~ould there be sareone $ho ossesses than, or "no$s about than, I ~uld re3uest him, in the name of the fanciers $ho si~uld be !rateful for it, to release their ~munication into their $aitin! hands, and in turn to be assured of the same readiness on their art' If all those ~nderful $ritin!s $are to ~te to!ether

into the hands of sincere investi!ators of s "i~led!e, 7aich benefit ~uld robably accrue he /Ibilander0 had a s ecial noble !ift fran the !reat Mysteria in detail in very siii le re etition of the in.ortant oints'

iritual and natural to than thereby' 8or God for describin! terms and fre3uent

9 In addition, he has such a friendly and affable style $hich leases the reader so very ni~h and ma"es him feel inclined to read his ~r"s often and to bear then in mind, all of $hich brin!s in !reater returns for hun' Therefore, rer&rberin! all this, I could not but be hel ful in the ublication of these $ritin!s# also because sane tune a!o there carre into my hands sate $ritin!s $hich, to the best of my Jcnc:~led!e have never been ublished, such as the secret boo" entitled' The Hand of the Phil oae hers, also ! us "rinae, $hich t~ boo"s have not been rinted, also ! us #aturni, $h'tch has been added to the (asilii Tri'uT.ant%thariot, li"e$ise ! us Minerale $hich has been ublished in the latin ton!ue, also ! us Vegetab.$le,of $hich I do not "nc; if it is a art of the above mentioned O us 2e!etabile %sic&, or a se arate ~r"' These <ust mentioned I~ German ,manuscri ts $are received a short tiite a!o by the son%in%la$ of Justus a (albians, and then reached me' Thus I have first translated the little Vegetable 'or( into ,i!h German, collated it $ith another $ritten co y, and amended it far as ossible That is the ~r" I am hereby releasin! for rintin! for the sa"e of the fanciers In re!ard to the ,and of the =hilosc.;rs and O us >rinae, I have to $ait then $ill nore co ies of than are to Li!ht, so that they may be collated and corrected should deficiencies exist in then' True, I also re~rber that $hat is contained in this little 2e!etable ?br" is also fo$~d rinted in art fran the German (oo" entitled Al ch$)ia Vera, or Mons Philoso horu) (it I sensed that there $as in it much that $as !arbled and not a enall art that $as left out entirely' 8or this reason, the rintin! of the O us 2e!etable has been hastened' In so doin!, I a) fully cr:~fident that the fanciers of the secret divine !ifts $ill reali7e that I am doin! it for their s ecial leasure, to $hich end, that is, to rove to then that my mind is assiducusly bent on servin!, I have already done the little Thactate $ritten by myself in German and Latin about the Sendivo!i@n third be!innin! of the minerals as the Salt of the Sa!es' *lb many, this has not been un$elcxxne, as I notice' +evertheless, it has also aroused misunderstandin! in sane % this, a!ain, bein! my o inion In it, I tried to reveal, they said, that I ~uld in oral thilo!ue reveal to anyone $ho contacted me, the must difficult oints of the hiloso hical ~r" $hich has for so

many centuries renamed secret And $hich an untold ni<rber of the must learnin! and cunnin! men had failed to understand and that, in my verbal discussions, ~uld not hold bac" any of then as secret' This ~uld indeed be a !reat sacrile!e, because fran the be!innin! of this art God had instructed his hiloso hers that the extraction and the use of this Divine #A+I# A,M-NIA.I should only be revealed to his servants redestined for it and by none but him alone, ,im alone $ho "no$s the hearts, ~er ain of a miserable malediction to befall he $ho ~uld brea" this seal' I leave it at that' (ut $hat has been done out of !ood$ill in my little boo", is meant solely for the other ri!hteous lovers of God and ,is Art, since it may be considered the obvious ~r" of Divine =rovidence that God $rou!ht us to!ether by ,is favorable Divine $ill' 8or ,e alone "no$s the minds $hich is in ossible for us hunans to 0ax~i' I must also inform then that I "no$ that a short tune a!o sane /mien0 have su osedly been found $ho clained that they !ot to "r~ me and obtained my confidence' BThese clained to have received the revelation of these ii secrets fro) me, and that the same revelation is a!ain availab6,e to any other $ealthy fancier for a sum of money In order to counter this "ind of fraud, I hereby declare myself ublicly and s$ear by the hi!hest truth, $hich is the LORD J&S>S himself, that I have not revealed to anyone in the $orld the $hole foundation of the ;atery %s.+c& for the =hiloso hical -or"' If someone had boasted of some revelation by me, or $ould boast about it in the future, see"in! to rofit thereby monetarily, such a one $ould in truth be a $ic"ed cheat and a liar' A d may he suffer $hat the A ostle =eter said to those $ho thin" that God*s !ifts can be bou!ht $ith money ,avin! said this much, let this matter also rest' +o$ to return to our love ) and raise$orthy ,ollandus ;any a man may $onder at the mi!hty o$ers he ascribes no$ and then to the /"INT-##-N.-, includin! the castin! out of the devil from those ossessed, and $or"in! such uns ea"able miracles beyond all reason that it a ears unbelievable to many' I cannot !ive these eo le any other testimony than to state that it is the ure, unadulterated truth' This is so not only of ,ol6'andus, but also of the other hiloso hers $ho had actually ossessed the Cuinta &ssentia' This has often been ex erienced and found to be true, as I shall sho$ at the end of this tractate' All this can easily be believed by one $ho considers and heeds <ust a little, the su er) abundant, inexhaustible love of God for ,is ima!e' man Dea, he $ill find that that is nothin! in com arison $ith the de th of love % redestined to the earnest believer on Ehrist, even before the foundation for the creation of this $hole $orld had been called forth and laid' About this too, I must be silent, since no

eye has yet seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into anyone*s heart, $hat GOD has re ared for those $ho love ,im faithfully' Therefore it~is not ossible to as" for anythin! better of God but that one should love ,im in /the erson of0 the LORD J&S>S E,RIST $ith all one*s heart, all one*s soul, all one*s mind, and $ith all one*s mi!ht, and li"e$ise all other men as one*s nei!hbor $ho is the $onderful dear ima!e of /our0 beloved God' -hoever ossesses this !reat treasure %i.e.& that he finds some love for God $ithin himself, let him !ive than"s most humbly for it# for $ithout ,is Grace he $ould not have it' Let him also ray most earnestly for an increase of it /love0 in himself and others' At the resent time, $hen the a!ed body of the Ehristian Ehurches has almost !ro$n com letely cold, it is very necessary that some rouse themselves to fervent rayer and, to!ether $ith men of $ea" faith, call day and ni!ht to our 8ather in ,eaven $ith the follo$in! or similar humble si!hsF 5 Glorious, most blessed Ereator, dearly beloved Abba Jehova Gebaoth' I, thy un$orthy $orm and oor mite, am not $orthy to thin" of Thy almi!hty, terrible +ame, much less call u on it $ith my im ure li s, because Thou lettest Thy $ise servant bear $itness that before Thee, 5 8ather, the $hole $orld is li"e the needle of a balance, and li"e a dro of de$' -hat then should I, insi!nificant little $orm, be conceited about, I $ho am not even a mote in a sunbeam in such a !reat $orld' And yet, Thou livin! fount of Love and "indness, hast besto$ed so much mercy and Grace u on me, a mean creature fran my mother*s $F7rb, that I can never oount it all, let alcn~e than" Thee for it' I than" Thee nevertheless for such !reat, untold mercy, $ith all my heart, in dee est htinility, es ecially for havin! best~ the Grace u on me to love Thee dearly in my ~aJc~ess' That love fran Thee also b.els me to do !ladly $hat is dear to Thee, that is, Thy noble and solely !ood $ill and leasure' I am a oor sinful man,I~ever, and cannot do anythin! exce t Thou !ivest me both the $illin! and the acccxr.lislm&nt' BTherefore, I be! Thee, I $hine unto Thee, and in lore Thee, by the dear name of J&S>S E,RIST, ~ slau!htered larth, to !rant sara mercifuliness to me, Thy miserable creature, sanctifyin! me to /bein!0 Thy faithfull servant' Since ~xu, 1a~o$er of hearts, "nc:iest % and I also s$aar to it before Thy anniscient ;a<esty and before Thy An!els % that I desire or d~nand no other blessedness than that Bflx0> ma"est of )e, Thy faithfull servant, lettin! )e do leasin! service for Thee and i$ fello$ men, and hel in! to increase the bonor of Thy !lorified +ame' Do let me see $ith my eyes and let me hear $ith my ears that Thy Hbly +ame is hallo$ed over the $bole $orld' And do a$ay $ith that infamous Satan and the ra acious $olves and tyrants $hich only cHx"e and dissi ate Thy oor shee , and thus desecrate the $ill of Thy mercy' LORD J&S>S CffiIST, at the ri!ht of the o$er of God, $bo art $ith us all the time till the end of the $orld,

these my rayers nust be heard in virtue of Thy Almi!hty +ame, as truly as Bflx,> hast said that there shall be one she herd and one fold' God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rat~*rber the ~x7nises ~u hast made to Thy servants, that Bfl~u $ilt soon brin! than alon! by Thy Almi!hty Arm, and oct~ lete and establish the Iin!Jin of Thy Annointed /be' Of all this, may I obtain the siir.le little art of yet bec~nin! and rKnainin! Thy faithfull servant' ~ that ~ may Thy terrible Ibly +ame, Jebovah Gebaoth, hel me, and the most dearly beloved name of our blessedness, J&S>S E,RIST, $ho $ill eternally ~it to shame all Thy disobedient creatures' Amen' Anen' ~en' In such a $ay, beloved brethern, let us hunble ourselves under the mi!hty hand of God, because the rayer of the h~7ble has al$ays leased ,im, and, in ,is ~bst ,i!h seat in ~aven and on &arth, he has cast ,is !racious eyes solely u on the lo$est' Let that be an unfor!ettable L'~orial for us throu!bout life and a continual reninder to learn fran the Lord J&S>S E,RIST to be !entle and Iurble $ith all our heart' ;ay he !ive us that attitnde and let ,im ever rotect us under ,is $in!s'

0one in -ngland, on the first of the year 1234. 8rom one 5ho o5es a ser6ice of lo6e to the reader' J'8I,'SS 8ILI>s S&+DIM2GII -ORI

T,&

2&G&TA(L&

JO,A++&S ISAAE ,OLLA+D>S

E,A=T&R I' +o$ I $ill teach and describe the secret of the arts, $hich secret is at the heart of all secrets hidden in the art of alchemy# since one $ill here understand the $onderful $or"s that God has accom lished in all the thin!s he has made out of the four elements' 8or I shall here teach you to "no$ the s irits of herbs, trees, and all !ro$in! thin!s# ho$ to se arate them from their bodies, and also ho$ to urify the four elements and to restore them to their first bein! and their erfect o$er# that is, that $hen the elements are urified, ho$ they can be ut to!ether a!ain aind ma"e a erfect and fixed body of them, $hich is then !lorified and has a miraculous effect' &nou!h of this for no$' E,A=T&R II' And no$ I $ill teach you ho$ to dra$ and ma"e #al A))oniac from

all !ro$in! thin!s# for from all thin!s that have the four elements in them you can extract #al A))oniac, because the s irit of all thin!s is #al A))oniac. That is $hy #al A))oniac is de% si!nated and ictured as the sun' 8or the sun is the su reme si!n and the most o$erful lanet of heaven, since the sun li!hts u everythin! in its essence# and it $arms in the $hole $orld, and does much more $hich is im ossible to describe here' That is $hy A))oniac is com ared to the sun and is a $ondrous thin!, because $ithout it nothin! in alchemy can be brou!ht to erfection'

)9) Just as no thin! or fruit can ri en $ithout the sun, no $or" can be brou!htto erfection in alchemy $ithout A))oniac. 8or #al A))oniac can unite all thin!s that are anta!onistic and cannot be mixed, so that after$ards they mix and con<u!ate' That, therefore, is one of its ca abilities, in accordance $ith the follo$in! exam leF The sun has so much o$er in the mountains and in the minerals that, by the heat and o$er !ranted him by God, it can level and unite all unli"e and anto!onistic thin!s, as bi! as they may be' 8or $hat is more anta!onistic than heat and cold, dryness and humidity, $ater and fireN +evertheless, the sun is able, by his heat and o$er, to level all those thin!s and to unite them in such a $ay that they $ill nevermore se arate' That is #ul hur and Mercuriu#. Sul hur is hot and dry# ;ercurius, ho$ever, cold and humid' (ut the sun, throu!h his heat and o$er, unites Sul hur $ith ;ercurius, from $hich then !old, silver, lead and co er are !enerated' Accordin! to $here the minerals lie and the earth is !ood or bad, the metals are also !enerated' The sun, ho$ever, is he $ho must coo" everythin!, and he coo"s the metals better in one lace than another, because he shines more in one s ot than in another, since one area is more tem erate than another' That is due to the lanets under $hich a country is situated' In a lace $here the sun is too hot, he cannot coo" moderately enou!h on account of the !reat heat, but finally the coo"in! $ill ta"e lace nevertheless' Instead, $here the sun is too cold, the coo"in! is done slo$ly' (ut $here the sun is tem erate, that is neither too hot nor too cold and the lace is under a !ood lanet, by $hich is understood a $ell)tem ered country /a country $ith a !ood climate0, $here there is !ood earth, the minerals are coo"ed moderately and !enerated into !old and silver' It is the same $ith A))oniac. It must unite and bind all anta!onistic thin!s, mix and level them by its tem erate heat' 8or $here the A))oniac is too hot, it $ill coo" all the lonaer# if it is too cold, it $ill coo" ro ortionately lon!er# but if it has the ri!ht tem erature, it $ill coo" more* !ently and therefore accom lish a hi!her ro<ection'

E,A=T&R III' ,o$ is it to be understood that one "ind of #al Arn)oniac is too hot and the other is too coldN Dou have to understand it in this $ayF ,erbs are une3ual# one is cold, the other hot' +ever% theless, they both have A))oniac $ithin them' Det one "ind of A)rnoniac is better than another' &ven so, both have o$er to coo" in this art and to ma"e a ro<ection and a connection# that is, to mix and unite t$o anta!onistic thin!s' (ut it may also ha en sometimes that the A))oniac is not $ell%cleaned or urified, that the unteir ered heat that herbs have $ithin them is not ro erly "illed and urified' -hen then A))oniac is made from them, the oisonous heat is detrimental to it, so that the ro<ection becomes the smaller for it' Li"e$ise $ith cold herbs' Should anythin! remain in them, the ro<ection becomes the more insicmificant and small' That then is the differenceF One "ind of A))oniac does not ma"e the same sort of ro<ection from one s ecies or one "ind of herb' Such, ho$ever, is the fault of the laboratory $or"er $ho has made the A))oniac. /It means0 that he has not urified it $ell enou!h and

)1) hasnot dra$n it off often enou!h' 8or he $ho $ould ma"e the A))oniac correctly, must dra$ it off and off, often, till nothin! remains and it becomes as $hite as sno$' Then theA))oa.iac is of the ri!ht tem erature# then the evil, oisonous heat $hich the herbs or s ecies /other thin!s0 had $ithin them $ill not be a hindrance $hen the A))oniac is made# or if the evil, oisonous cold $as in the herbs, it $ill no lon!er be a hindrance, because no$ everythin! is cleansed and of the riaht tem erature, havin! left behind everythin! that $as not of the ri!ht tem erature' E,A=T&R I2' 8urther, my child must "no$ that all thin!s GOD has made from the four elements must die, be annihilated, and cleansed, but are after$ards a!ain created and a!ain born' Thereafter, the recreated and reborn thin!s $ill never a!ain die or be annihiliated# nor $ill anyone be able to s oil or annihilate them# no fire can burn them' (ut they $ill henceforth last into eternity, because they have reverted to their rime o$er, !iven them by GOD $hen he created and made all thin!s at the be!innin!' As a conse3uence of the sin committed by our first arents, Adam and ,evae, GOD the LORD $as so an!ered that he s oiled the four elements and made them corru tible, so that they must no$ all die and come to nauaht' Then GOD the LORD himself s o"e to Adam as he $as !ivin! him this command, sayin!F OAdam, of all the thin!s that are in aradise, you may eat, exce t from this tree, because it is the $ood of life' And I am tellin! you thus, Adam' If you

eat of this tree, you and everythin! created of the four elements shall die, that I s$ear~P

)Q% GOD made an oath there of $hich $e have all become $ell a$are' That is $hy everythin! created and made of the four elements must no$ die, includin! human bein!s, all animals, and everythin! that has received a body or has sensitivity in it# yes, also everythin! that has no sensitivity in it, such as herbs and trees and every% thin! made of the four elements' 8or if some may not have any feelin!, they yet live and brin! forth their fruit' Just li"e the sensitive creatures, herbs brin! forth fruit and their seed, or $hatever nature GOD has im lanted into them' Trees carry a les and ears, or that $hich GOD the LORD has bid them do' Thus live all herbs, all trees and all other thin!s created by GOD the LORD from the four elements# and God the Lord has !iven a s irit to all trees, all herbs and all other thin!s created by him out of the four elements' As many a thin! or herb there may be $hich he made of the four elements, GOD the LO=D has !iven to each of them its s ecial s irit of a articular o$er and a articular nature' &ach has its articular body and sha e, and that same body is simultaneously made of the four elements' One herb is cold, the other hot# the third is humid, the fourth dry, accordin! to $hether each has in it much or little of one or another element' That is ho$ it ha ens that one herb is cold, the other hot' (ut s irit is somethin! else $hi@h GOD the LORD has !iven to all thin!s' And as many different thin!s GOD the LORD has created contrary or anta!onistic to each other, as many different s irits he has also infused into them' &ach s irit has a miraculous o$er and virtue for a s ecial sic"ness# and each s irit has the o$er to accom lish some s ecial $or", $ith the hel of other s ecies,

)R) as $ell in metals as in human bein!s, for GOD has created all thin!s in behalf of man' E,A=T&R 2 Accordin!ly, each s irt erforms a s ecial cure in man or in Mercurius. The s irits, ho$ever, have not 7nuSh o$er because of the im ure body by $hich they are sullied and surrounded' 8or it /the body0 is made of the four elements, and the four elements are so im ure and dirty that the s irit is 3uite unable to a ly the same o$er and do the same $or" for $hich it $as created by GOD' In addition, the time of the $orld is u , and it is no$ becomin! too old and $ea"' The sun and the elements are losin! their o$er, and the elements are becomin! so infected / olluted0 and im ure that the s irits, on account of the im urity of the elements, can only have an insi!nificant curative effect' Of course, at the time

GOD the LORD ushed and drove Adam out of aradise, herbs had !reater o$er than they have no$adays' That causes the $orld to !ro$ old, and therefore eo le do not live as lon! as in former times' That is due to the resent old ace of the $orld and the fact that the sun and the lanets are losin! their o$ers' (ecause of the a!e of the $orld and the ollution of the elements, the s irits in the herbs are so overcome by the ollution of the elements that they can no lon~er !enerate their o$ers in man as they did a!es a!o' If no$ they $ould still manifest their o$ers as they did lon! a!o, human bein!s $ould still live today into their 455 years and beyond, and they $ould in everythin! have the same o$ers as they had reviously# althou!h eo le are no$ also $ea" and delicate and could not tolerate the s irits of the herbs if they still had the o$ers of years a!o' They $ould certainly have to ta"e and use them tem ered' If they did that, they $ould live even much lon!er and stay youn!er' That is $hy all herbs and other thin!s have to be "illed, annihilated and reduced to o$der and ashes and finally to $ater' After$ards, the soul, or s irit, has to be infused bac" into them and a erfect body must be made of them' Then you have an earhly treasure that is better than !old and silver and recious stones' 8or you have a erfect !lorified cor us /body0 $hich $ill never ass a$ay but $ill last eternally, assin! throu!h all thin!s' And $here it asses throu!h, it $ill not leave any corru tion or disease at all, but it $ill heal that throu!h $hich it enetrates before leavin! it' +ot only $ill it ma"e it healthy but much healthier than it had ever been, and it $ill also "ee it healthy from then on' Des, if it had never been healthy before, it $ould be made healthy thereby and reserved' That is $hy I may $ell say that it is above all earhly treasures, and you $ill notice yourselves $hat a treasure you have here' To those $ho understand, enou!h is said hereby' &nou!h of this' E,A=T&R 2I' In addition, my child, you must "no$F

The fact that I said

in the revious cha ter that one must "ill and let the herbs die, and ma"e a o$der or ashes of them, is to be understood as follo$s' One must dra$ off the evil, im ure humidity, or let the herbs dry of themselves, $hich is best' Or else dra$ it off in ;ary*s (ath' The evil moisture is that $hich hinders and overcomes the s irit most, so that it cannot !enerate its o$er in man or in metals that is, in ;&RE>RI>S The miserable fools $or" in their laboratories $ith the humidity# and althou!h there is no dan!er that anythin! !ood be done or found by them, the evil humidity robs them of that $hich they are see"in!' They ut the herbs to utrefy, then dra$ them of f and o erate $ith the utrefied matter they have dra$n off' They $or" hard, but at the end everythin! the oor $retches have done, is lost~ They cannot fix it' That is due to the utre% fication and the evil moisture $ith $hich they $or"ed' Then every%

thin! the oor fello$s have messed about $ith is lost' Thus, the art seems im ossible to them' They start dis~isin! and slanderin! it' -hy did I say thisN So that you should or may "no$ $hat causes their mista"e and $hat they are lac"in!' Dou mi!ht thin" that they se arated the four elements and /$onder0 $hat is the reason that the s irits do not have their o$ers, since, after all, the elements $ere se arated and urified' (ut that is done by the evil $ateriness $ith $hich the herbs are utrefied and $ith $hich they have $or"ed' That is the reason $hy' >nderstandin! it, be$are of the evil $ateriness' An accident "no$n beforehand is easier to revent' And that is $hy Ihave told you so' E,A=T&R 2II' 8urther, $hen you have dra$n of herbs are dry, dra$ off the s irit you later on' After that, calcinate Then you have t$o natures, that is, f the evil moisture and the er descensu), as I $ill teach the cor us as $hite as sno$' body and s irit'

+o$ dissolve the S irit in A7ua 6itae, $hich is very !ood, or in !ood distilled $ine)vine!ar that is ure' That is the licruor $ith $hich you should $or"' In the same $ay, dissolve also the cor us, as 9 instructed you concernin! the s irit' -hen

)T) coa!ulated, you have t$o "inds of ;ateria, to $or" $ith each in a s ecial $ay' (ut you still have no erfect !lorified cor us, since the s irit is not yet united to it, and they are not yet married to!ether and connected /or <oined0' That is also $hy they have not yet !ot their erfect o$er, althou!h they are clean and ure' And althou!h they have already been ashes and $ater and have no$ come alive a3ain, they still differ in as much as each is alone by itself' +evertheless, each has !reat o$er by itself, $hich they sho$ each in its o$n $ay' E,A=T&R 2III' In order to understand better $hat is bein! said, you must understand~ that there are t$o "inds of sic"nesses in man and also in ;&RE>RI>S' In man, there is a disease called Os iritual sic"nessP, and still another called Obefallin! sic"ness'P I do not, ho$ever, mean infirmities of the soul $hen I s ea" of ff Os iritual sic"ness'P The meanin! is that eo le may $ell have different dis ositions in their bodies' (ut $hat I call Os iritual sic"%daysP are those $hich befall eo le by accident or chance, such as, because of an!er, fantasies, re!rets or !rief, or unex ected misha s, or because of losses, or from much studyin!, or if man !ives too much to do to his senses, or from anxiety or troubles of the senses, or from fear and fri!ht, $hich befall eo le or are caused by them, and from many more otherthin!s $hich

it $ould ta"e too lon! to $rite about here' All of them are s iritual sic"nesses from $hich serious diseases can develo for eo le, such as, bad fevers, bad hot sic"nesses and others too lon! to relate here' All such infirmities must be treated $ith the s irt of herbs' -hen they are thus re ared on their o$n, the s irit has the o$er to ur!e them' E,A=T&R IU' 8urther, there are in man other sic"nesses $hich are called befallin! ones' They come from much eatin! and drin"in!, or from bad food or drin" that eo le ta"e, or from overstuffin! themselves after sufferin! !reat hun!er and thirst' 8rom that, bad sic"nesses arise and A oste)en, bad $ater s$ellin!s on the liver and the s leen' The lun! is s oiled by harmful cold or heat' In addition, the "idneys are made sic" by excessive eatin!# and by too much le$dness, $hereby the blood of the loins is lost' These and similar sic"nesses, of $hich there is a !reat number, are called befallin! sic"nesses' They are cured $ith the body of herbs after they are re ared in this $ay, and that is their o$er and effect' (ut $hen the body and the s irit have been ut to!ether and unified, $hich means, brou!ht to!eter to fi8ity, they have such a miraculous effect that one cannot describe it $ith any en $hat o$er and virtue they have' There is no ;aster in the $orld $ho could fully fathom the mi!ht and ca abilities GOD the LORD has !ranted them' Vhus, the s irits of all herbs, trees and s ecies are so noble that all doctors in the $orld could not understand the nobility of a sin!le s irit, even if it $ere from the meanest little herb GOD has created in the $orld' ,o$ then could they "no$ the o$ers of all herbs, trees and s ecies, since each s ecies has a s ecial nature and s irit, and one s irit is al$ays nobler than the other' E,A=T&R U' I am $ell a$are, ho$ever, that amon! all insensitive s irits none is noble and vi!orous as the excellent s irit the noble vine has

)95) for Almi!hty God has foreseen from eternity that the noble -ine Should !ro$ on it, $hich $as to be transformed into God*s blood and body' Thus the sa!es "no$ $ell that the s irit of $ine is above all s irits of the other herbs' That is $hy the ancient hilosO hers did not find better o$ers in any herbs, trees or s ecies than in the s irit they dre$ from the $ine' That is $hy I may $ell say that the noble s irit of the vine is the noblest and best amon! all thin!s' Therefore, the s irits are one nobler than the other, but their utmost o$ers cannot be !au!ed or found by

anyone but GOD alone' The fattest herbs, ho$ever, $hich carry seed, are best to ma"e #al A))oniac $ith' After these, the hottest herbs /are best0 from $hich the most vi!orous and stron!est ~a1 A))oniac is made' E,A=T&R UI' If then you $ish to re are a medicine $hich is to affect metals or Nercurius, you must ta"e the hot and vi!orous herbs or roots, that are of no use to either human bein!s or cattle, and re are an A))oniac from them, and an eli8ir, as I shall teach you later' If, hO$ever, you $ish to re are a medicine for men, ta"e !ood, lovely herbs that eo le can use' =re are a medicine or elixir from them, $ith $hich you may $or" on eo le' Then you $ill effect such miraculous cures in eo le that the $hole $orld $ill $onder at you, and everybody $ill $ish to see you' &nou!h of this' >nderstand me $ell, ho$ever, concernin! the Materia I have hinted at from all sides' E,A=T&R UII' ;y child must further understand that I have said and tau!ht '' I %% in revious cha ters ho$ one can reco!ni7e the nature of herbs, se arate their s irits from their bodies, and $hat one is to do $ith them' That I $ill no$ ex lain and teach better' Ino$, therefore, that there exists still another s irit or A)n~onIac, that is, comin! from salinic thin!s $hich is also #al A))oniac. 8or the s irits of all insensitive thin!s, $hen they are se arated from their bodies, are called #al Arn)oniac. Ino$ therefore that the s irit of all #alien /salty matters0 is called #al A))oniac, but it is not the A))oniac meant by the hiloso hers' Of that /the one meant by the hiloso hers0 they re are elixirs, but one cannot ma"e elixir from the other' It is the hiloso hers* soa and $ashin! $ater, $ith $hich they urify and cleanse the bodies' And $ith it they dry the elements of their evil moisture' In addition, they dissolve the bodies $ith it and con<u!ate thin!s $ith it $hich are contrary or anta!onistic to ea@h other' It is a volatile s irit, one that !oes in and out# and if it $ere not so the elixir $ould not come in' In this A))oniac there are also many thin!s $hich cannot be described, since one can do miraculous thin!s $ith it if it has first been fixed' (ut that is not necessary for this $or"' (ut anythin! the A))onia9c from the salts can do, the A))oniac dra$n from the herbs can do also# and an elixir can be re ared from the A))oniac dra$n from the herbs $ithout addin! any other s ecies, -hich cannot be done $ith the A))oniac from the #aliu). (ut one can $ell re are such an A))oniac $ith other o ecies, so that Mercuris can be dissolved $ith it in $ater# the same for all other metals and thin!s, rovided one roceeds as I have tau!ht

else$here' &nou!h of it for no$' E,A=T&R UIII' +o$ I $ill further teach my child and describe the o$ers and virtues that the herbs have $hen the elements are urified, cleansed, se arated, calcinated, made to $ater and after$ards a!ain ut to!ether and fixed, and a !lorified .or us has been made of them' +either I nor all the doctors of the $orld can sufficiently com rehend the o$ers and nature $hich I, and the <ourneymen $ith $hom I $or", have seen and tested, and of $hich other ;asters have told me' 8or only GOD alone can com rehend the extreme o$ers that herbs ossess $hen they have thus been re ared and made into a erfect .or us. +obody can "no$ it but GOD alone' It is "no$n to him and to no one else' E,A=T&R UI2' In addition, you must "no$ that there are many mista"en men amon! those $ho $or" in this art, $hose error I mentioned briefly before, $hen I !ave information on the bad $ateriness the herbs have $ithin them' -ith that they $or" and let the herbs utrefy $ith it' After$ards, -hen they have distilled that $ateriness from the herbs, they call the &lement of the $ater' (ut throu!h it they cannot reach erfection at the end, of $hich I shall s ea" more later' ,ere I shall teach ho$ to se arate the elements' Dou must "no$ that there are many "inds of se aration of the elements, since there have been many artists $ho all thou!ht they "ne$ the $ay of se aration' (ut one /$ay of0 se aration is better than the other' Det both are !ood' Amon! the learned and the unlearned one finds foolish men $ho also $ish to erform these $or"s' They be!in to $or" in laboratories and ima!ine that they also understand the art of se aration of the four elements' Then they say that they have se arated the elements from each other, and each in a s ecial $ay' They ima!ine that they have erformed !reat miracles, sayin! O-e have made the 3uintessence'P True, they all drive out many sic"nesses from eo le' That is certain, because it /the 3uintessence0 has a !reat o$er and virtue in it, more than they "no$' (ut the miserable fools fancy that they have made the 3uint% tessence and se arated the elements one from the other, is nothin! and sheer deceit' True, they have a !reat medicine, more so than they "no$ themselves' (ut that they retend and say that they have made the 3uintessence is far from the truth' Dou oor fools, you have no 3uintessence' The 3uintessence is 3uite another thin! than you thin"' It is your !lorified cor us brou!ht to erfection and fixed, and lasts throu!hout eternity' -hoever has such a thina can say that he has the 3uintessence' ,e has an earthly treasure that is better than a "in!dom' It is a !ift of GOD, $hich he besto$s es ecially on his friends' ,a y the man $ho ac3uires it and "no$s ho$ to use it $ell for the blessedness of his soul and the benefit of the oor' ,e $ill fare $ell in this $orld and the next'

Instead, those $ho use these !ifts of GOD differently shall have their troubles here in this $orld, and later suffer infinite tortures in the eternal hellish torment' Ta"e !ood care, therefore, that you use the art for the honor of GOD and the salvation of your soul' 8or I s$ear by the livin! GOD, $ho has created heaven and earth, that, if you use this !ift of GOD other$ise, you shall not live lon!, and you shall be tortured in this $orld $ith tem orary, but after$ards $ith eternal torments' Therefore, ta"e care yourselves $hat you do' It $ould be better for you not to be born than that you had the art and misused it' Therefore, $atch $elfl &nou!h said to those $ho understand' E,A=T&R U2 +o$ $e $ill return to the se aration of the four elements' About that there are many different treachin!s and ar!uments, to 3uote $hich $ould ta"e too lon!' I $ill only conclude /the matter0 in brief $ords' 8irst, all herbs have $ithin them the four elements' Three elements are visible and tan!ible as $ater, earth and fire, but air is invisible' It is hard to se arate the $ater from the air# yet it is ossible to do it by dra$in! it off slo$ly in ;ary*s (ath, on a small and !entle fire, so that nothin! rises exce t the $ateriness' If one $ere to !ive a stron! fire, ho$ever, so that the $ater $ould boil, the air $Ould also rise, a little or much' (ut the $ater can be se arated from the air by a !entle fire' The earth and the air are also difficult to se arate from each other# but by a bi!, hot, stron! and lon!lastin! fire, the earth can $ell be se arated from the air' Should one !ive a $ea" fire, the air -ould stay $ith the earth $hich $ould then <oin the ele% ment fire# for the element fire is the last one to se arate from the earth' It must be se arated from the earth by stron! heat and a lon!lastin! fire' 8or if somethin! of the element fire $ere to remain in the earth, the air $ould not be se arated from the earth# because fire and air cannot be se arated, althou!h many fools $or" in this art $ho are of the o inion that they se arate the elements into four arts' They are mista"en' True, they se arate four thin!s, and then they believe that each is a se arate element in itself' Oh, no, you foolsL And althou!h you are learned in $ritin!, you are nevertheless more foolish than the unlearned' 8or if the latter have already !one astray by thin"in! that they have divided the four elements each by itself, you, considerin! that you are scholars, should by ri!hts not remain in error, since you have sufficiently studied the boo"s of the ;asters of natural science as also other $ritin!s' Accordin!ly, I am sur rised that you tal" yourselves intO believin! that you can se arate the elements one from the other, each by itself' I do not s ea" of the true, trust$orthy and ex erienced

artists $ho understand the hand of hiloso hy, but I am s ea"in! of some learned men, both clerics and laymen, $ho $ish to $or" in this art and do not have the old hand of the hiloso hers, and are not familiar $ith, nor have been s$orn into this art, $ill lose everythin! they em loy in it' +ever $ill some of them reach erfection, unless GOD $ould enli!hten them miraculously' The devil has no o$er at all to teach anyone, as has often been ex erienced' Therefore, I "no$ $ell that he has no o$er' That is $hy it must come solely from GOD, and the art is therefore called a !ift of GOD' ,a y the man $ho has it and uses it ri!htlyL E,A=T&R U2I' Accordin!ly, I call such eo le, $hether they be clerics or laymen, !reat fools for ima!inin! that they have understood the art $ith the hel of some boo"s $hich deal $ith the art in ara% bles' Thereu on they roceed to $or" and lose all their ex% enditures, because of $hich they often land in overty and des air'

)9W% &ven so, they do not sto ' I have seen this myself in clerics and laymen $ho used u all their belon!in!s, becomin! oor because of it, so that they may ri!htly be called fools' Of course, the unlearned cannot be blamed, for they "no$ not $hat they do' After$ards, $hen they have become oor, the art seems to be an im ossibility to them, and accordin! to their be% lief, it is also true' 8or it is im ossible for idiots and the unlearned to erform the art' ,o$ should the art be erformed by an unlearned ersonN Such a man could not understand it' That is $hy an unlearned erson believes that it is im ossible to erform the art, and in that they believe the truth, since it is true that the art is im ossible for such eo le' -hy have I said all this about the learned and the unlearnedN I am doin! it because of the se aration of the four elements, since they say that they are able to divide the elements one from the other, each in a s ecial $ay, so that one element is not mixed $ith another' To do that is im ossible for them' They must be mixed, air and fire' (ut that must be done by the ri!ht ;asters $ho have had the hand of the hiloso hers and understand this' They may $ell be able to divide the four elements, each to its o$n# but no one else in the $orld /can do it0, unless it $ere the $ill of GOD, as I said before' E,A=T&R U2II' It is here not re3uired that the elements be divided from each other, each alone in a s ecial' $ay, but only to cleanse and urify them' To that end you must se arate the $ater from the air, the earth and the fire' Then you must se arate the air and the fire from the earth, and urify the air' 8ire in itself is ure, but fire must be $or"ed u on to!ether $ith the air,' by means of the air that is in the fire' Then urify the air by calcination,

as I have tau!ht before and shall teach still better later on' After you have dra$n from the herbs the evil $ateriness, "ee them standin! closed in the fire' Give them a small and !entle fire for 94 hours, some$hat stron!er every hour' Then there $ill !o from them a $hite, red or yello$ smo"e, accordin! to the s irit of the herbs' 8or there are some herbs that have a red s irit, but all ordinary herbs of the $orld have a $hite s irit' That a fe$ have colored s irits $ould here ta"e too lon! to relate, nor $ould it serve this $or"' -ith this !entle fire one !ives it, increasin! it !radually for t$elve hours, the element air $ill in the meantime !o over' That is the $hite, or the colored, s irit' The old hiloso hers call the element of the air A))oniac $hich $ord A))on.iac has much in it' Therefore, they call all s irit A)rnoniac. This $or" must no$ shos~ the reasons therefore' -hen no$ the air, or the $hite s irit, has been dra$n over cleanly in such a $ay, you must heat stron!er for another 94 hours, increasin! every four hours# still stron!er for 45 hours# and as stron! as you can durin! the last four hours, so that the barrel stands in the heat' The oil $ill !o over $ithin that time, mixed $ith the air, or $hatever it is to be called' Then you have to dra$ the three elements from the earth' 8irst, the $ater, then the air, and follo$in! that, the oil or fire' +o$ you must calcinate the earth in an even heat for three days and three ni!hts' Give a stron! fire, as hot and stron! as you can' Then ta"e it out, and you $ill have the earth ure and clean' After this also urify the air and the fire, and !ive it its $ater, ure and clean' That is the vine!ar or brandy /Oburnt $ineP0, $ell cleansed and urified by distillation, as I tau!ht you reviously' +o$, ut the four elements to!ether and ma"e of them a erfect .or us. +o$ the elements are a!ain !athered and united $ith each other, <oined and fixed' +o$ it is a erfect !lorified body $hich lasts im erishably into eternity' If no$ all artists $ho $ere ever born, or may yet be born, $ould come to!ether, they could never a!ain se arate the elements from each other' Des, all the devils in hell no$ have no o$er to do that, neither anyone else but GOD alone' Only no$ may you say that you have the 3uintessence, $hich is indeed a !ift of GOD' E,A=T&R U2III' +o$ $e shall see from $hat the ure !lorified EOR=>S is made $hich is called the 3uintessence' It should be re ared from herbs' Dou as" from $hat herbsN I say from all the herbs that are in the $orld, hot or cold, dry or humid, as they are,and even if they are oisonous because of !reat heat or cold' Some*herbs, ho$ever, re3uire more $or" than others# because the !ood, natural herbs that eo le are used to eatin!, need not be sublimated, dis% tilled and calcinated as much as the stron!, hot and dry herbs or those that are so very cold, moist and oisonous, and are totally

inedible for eo le' The evil cold or heat has to be removed from them by sublimation, distillation, calcination, dissolution and fixation, and by calcination, dissolution and coa!ulation' That has to be done so often that the bad oison the herbs have $ithin them disa ears and a !reat medicine becomes of them# yes, a !reat elixir' 8or the stron!er and more oisonous the herbs are, the hi!her ro<ection they ma"e, rovided they are brou!ht to erfection throu!h the hard $or" of the ;aster $ho has treated them the $ay I tau!ht before' One should coo" a sna"e or dra!on into a basilis" throu!h sub% limation, distillation, calcination, dissolution and fixation' Or, as one should say of such a $or", the venomous animals are finally to turn into a !reat medicine and the elixir for metals and human bein!s' One can in that $ay "ill the venom in venomous animals and turn it into a !reat medicine and elixir' -hat is most suitable to do that are the stron! herbs $hich eo le cannot use' In this $ay they can be brou!ht to erfection' Li"e$ise the herbs that are naturally !ood' E,A=T&R UIU If you should no$ as" $hat and ho$ many herbs you should ta"e, hot or dry ones, or of $hat nature they should be, I ans$er by tellin! you that you should ta"e many "inds of herbs, as I said before, hot and cold ones, dry and moist ones' The more different herbs are used to!ether in the $or", the better it is and the more o$er and mi!ht the 3uintessence $ill have' -hen they have been brou!ht to erfection, that is, to their hi!hest o$er % for GOD has created no thin! $ithout a reason and has besto$ed on each thin! a s ecial o$er and virtuous nature, as I have already indi% cated# therefore, the more different herbs you ta"e, the better it is, since the more eo~1'e are to!ether the more coura!eous they rove to be, and one leads the other# li"e$ise $ith the different herbs ) $hen they have reached erfection and then !et inside man, they roduce miracles, because each herb does its o$n, and $hereever they !et into, they do not leave anythin! im erfect in man so that no "ind of disease remains in him' 8or if any in% firmity $hich had befallen him in his lifetime and he $as not born $ith it, $ould remain in him, the medicine could not !o by the name of 3uintessence' &ven if anyone should be ossessed of the devil and he $ere !iven the 3uintessence, the devil $ould be forced to leave the man immediately, because the evil s irit in articular cannot stand the 3uintessence' These are the reasons' The devil is the real cause that the elements have been made corru tible by GOD the LORD and that they have been altered' That is $hy he cannot suffer that the elements should a!ain reach their erfection as they $ere before our first arents Adam and &ve $ere brou!ht into sin by him9 on account of $hich the elements have after$ards been corru ted $ith im urity and decayin!' That is $hy the enemy cannot stay $here the 3uintessence !ets into' And $hoever carries the 3uintessence $ith him, is rotected from the devil' There are many reasons $hy the devil must flee

from the 3uintessence# but it $ould ta"e too lon! to describe them here, because there are many such reasons' (riefly, there remains no evil $here the 3uintessence !ets into, be it from heat, cold, dryness or humidity' The 3uintessence corrects everythin!, because the herbs $hich had reviously been hot and dry, and $ith them cold and li3uid eo le had been hel ed, are no$ reversed# the out% side /has been turned0 in$ards# the inside, outside' They died and have risen a!ain and have become alive' ,enceforth, they $ill never a!ain die' The heat and dryness $hich $ere their nature be% fore, have no$ been reversed, so that no$ hot, !aunt eo le can be healed $ith the same herbs $hich $ere reviously osion for them'

It has no$ been chan!ed into it had already been curative curative medicine' As is the herbs $ith $hich one used to in reverse $ith the hot, dry

)49) a medicine' The cold, humid, althou!h before, is no$ an all the better, and case no$ $ith the cold and moist cure hot, dry sic"nesses, it is no$ herbs'

E,A=T&R UU And further, if a man $ere to ta"e everyday a little of the 3uintessence in $ine, $ith his food and drin", or in the mornin!, he $ould not die, unless nature $ould die of its o$n' ,e $ould remain in the same bein!ness and condition as he $as $hen he be!an ta"in! the 3uintessence, and his face $ould not !et older nor his members more a$"$ard, stiff or bent, because the 3uintessence $ould drive out ri!ht in the be!innin! the evil $hich man mi!ht have $ithin him' 8or $herever the 3uintessence X!ets, no infirmity or evil can remain' That is $hy it is called 3uintessence or elixir' As soon as it has consumed or driven a$ay the sic"ness, it ma"es the blood youthful a!ain' -hen then the blood has been re<uvenated, all members a!ain become $ell, 3uic" and stron! and remain al$ays so' +either need he be afraid of any "ind of oison, for no oison can harm such a man' I, myself, have seen that an ounce of arsenic $as ut in a !lasR of $ine vine!ar and !iven to drin" to a man $ho had forfeited his life' Thereu on he $as !iven a !lass of $ine in $hich there $as as much of the 3uintessence as a !rain of $heat is heavy, and the oison did not harm him' ,e told me that he "ne$ nothin! of it, that he had felt nothin!, and one month had already assed )44) $hen I as"ed him' That is $hy such a man is safe from =oison and from the fire of the la!ue, no matter of $hat "ind it may be, seein! that the fire of the la!ue is of different "inds' I have, myself, !iven it $ith my hands to more than a thousand ersons $ho had the fire of the la!ue' They $ere lyin! there and ravin! li"e madmen' As soon as the 3uintessence had assed throu!h the throat, they became immediately healthy, and the fire ran off them as

blac" as itch and $as stin"in! so much that nobody could tarry there' The same eo le told me that, as the blac" matter $as dischar!ed from them they did not feel other than if their behind had been burnin! $ith !reatheat, or if one had driven a hot iron into it' Li"e$ise, I !ave it to t$elve le ers' They $ere so le rous that they could not be reco!ni7ed at all' -ithin nine days they became healthy and !oodloo"in! li"e a ne$born child, althou!h one could still see the scars $here the le ra had been bad' -ithin a month those had also disa eared by ta"in! as much of the auinessence as $as e3uivalent to the $ei!ht of a !rain of $heat' Also, I have !iven it to about one hundred ersons on their deathbed' They had already been !iven u by the hysicians $ho said that they $ere to die and that it $as im ossible for them to live one more day' I !ave them the 3uintessence and brou!ht them bac" to health $ithin 4Q hours' Thereu on, I !ave them a .onfortati6e, and they $ent outside a!ain $ithin T days' They said they had not been as healthy durin! all of their lifetime, and they thou!ht they $ere flyin! $hen they $ere $al"in!' 8or the 3uintessence had driven off everythin! bad in their bodies, and the tonic had made them ne$ blood and !iven them so much

)41) stren!th that they felt so $ell that they did not "no$ $here they $ere' Also, I have hel ed many a il!rim $ho had come do$n $ith S' John*s, S' Eornell*s, S' ,ubert*s and other troubles' I have also driven the devil from ossessed ersons, because the devil must leave $here the 3uintessence reaches' And aside from those, I have accom lished more than a thousand deeds $ith the 3uintessence, $hich it $ould ta"e too lon! to relate here' (ut I $ill close $ith a fe$ brief $ords and say that $here natural death is not resent, or the hand of the Almi!hty, meanin! that GOD $ants to trouble man on account of his sins,', no infirmity can enter man*s body that could not be removed by the 3uintessence, and that $ithin nine days' (ut enou!h of this' E,A=T&R UUI +o$ $e chall see ho$ one should ma"e the 3uintessence, or a !lorified EOR=>S, and $hat are the characteristics of a trans% fi!ured body# in $hat manner one is to roceed, and $hat belon!s to such a Eor us' A !lorified body must be above all infirmities, erfect in all arts, clean and ure' It must enetrate all thin!s# nothin! can resist it, because s irit and body $hich before $ere a!ainst each other and stran!ers, are no$ !reat friends' They are married and <oined to!ether, so that they $ill never a!ain se arate from each other, since S iritus and Eor us

are no lon!er t$o but one sin!le substance and an inse arable thin!' As lon!, ho$ever, as it is more than one thin!, of $hich the elements can be divided from one another, they are not fixed but contradictory to each other' (ut $hen contradictory thin!s are re ared and

)4Q) brou!ht to their o$n nature, and are throu!hout reversed, as I have tau!ht in Mercuris, and are subse3uently to!ether so that one mixes $ith tI~e other throu!h the art of the laboratory $or"er, only then are they made inse arable, so that one sin!le thin! remains' Althou!h many thin!s have been brou!ht to!ether and made inse arable, they are yet after$ards no lon!er many thin!s but one thin!' Then it is fixed, incombustible and invulnerable' Or do you thin" that $hen GOD $ill raise the bodies from the dead, create them a!ain and restore to each his body, everythin! $ill be as it $as beforeN +o, but the body $ill be created a!ain and made ne$, com letely reversed, invulnerable and immune to sic"ness' Those $ho no$ have fat abdomens and bad, $atery stomachs or bodies, do you thin" that GOD the LORD $ill !ive them a!ain such obese abdomens or unhealthy liversN +OL +ot at all' GOD $ill restore them to their first nature and their first bein!%ness' ,e $ill ta"e from them everythin! unclean and !ive them $hat is re3uired' ,e $ill remove every bad $ateriness and dry the bodies and then moisten them $ith heavenly de$# that is the ,eavenly ,umidity $ith $hich GOD $ill moisten the bodies' ,e $ill ta"e a$ay all combustible fattiness and dry the marro$ of all the bones and members $ithout obesity' And GOD $ill fill the tubes of the oor, the thi!hs and the s"ull, $ith fat s irit' That is the fattiness $hich the transfi!ured bodies receive after the soul a!ain enters the ure body' Then it is one /thin!0 and they $ill never a!ain art from each other' It is one thin!' The body is s irit# and the s irit, body' Then it is fixed and one 3uintessence'

)4R) To $hat ur ose have I said all thisN So that you should understand the $or" of the herbs all the better' 8or <ust as I have said that GOD the LORD $ill recreate the bodies and remove from them their bad $ateriness and $ater them $ith ,eavenly De$, <ust as he $ill detach from them their combustible fattiness, ma"in! them fat a!ain $ith the fat s irit of the souls, thus you must also do $ith the herbs' Dou mustta"e from them the bad $ateriness, as I have tau!ht in the be!innin! cha ters, and !ive them a!ain the burnt vine!ar or $ine, $hich must be !ood and strai!ht, as I have reviously instructed you' That is the ,eavenly De$ $hich I have in mind'

E,A=T&R UUII9 -hen the body has been se arated from the s irit, or the ele) merits from the earth, or as you $ish to understand it, you must s"im off $ith a feather the oil that s$ims on to , and that oil must not a!ain come to!ether $ith they earth or the Eor us' +othin! else must !et to!ether $ith the earth than the s irit $hich has been dra$n off from it, or the A))oniac, as you understand it' It is the fat s irit that I mean, $hich GOD the LORD $ill !ive bac" to the bodies and infuse into them' Thus you should understand, $hen I s ea", that you must ta"e from it $hat is too much in it# and you must restore to it that $hich it is lac"in!' (y that I mean that you should ta"e from it the bad /thin!0, $hich is the bad heat or oisonous cold, throu!h distillation, or throu!h sublimination, calcination, dissolution and coa!ulation' Re eat that so often till the badness $hich the ;ateria contained is driven out of it and it becomes natural and leasant' In that $ay

)4W) you should understand $hat I mean $hen I s ea" of a thin! $hich you should rid of $hat is too much of and !ive $hat it is lac"in!' That is my o inion and that of all hiloso hers' -hen they refer to it, they $<sh to have it meant and understood the $ay I have instructed you sufficiently' E,A=T&R UUIII, +o$ $e shall return to our first $or", that is, ho$ to <oin .or us and : iritus. -hen, therefore, you have arted the s irit from the body, you must remove the oil $ith a feather, so that none remains on it' Dou must ut the oil in a !lass, $ell sealed $ith Luto Sa ientiae, and reserve it $ell, because you $ill erform miracles $ith it $hen it is re ared the $ay I am !oin! to teach you to re are it' The un re ared oil, ho$ever, is too unnatural and oisonous, for in it there is still the oisonous heat $hich the herbs have had in them' They mist be driven out# then you $ill after$ards accom lish miraculous cures $ith it' After you have removed the oil, ut the s irit into an alernbic# ut a head and a receiver on it' Distill it $ith a tem erate fire, that is, not too hot and not too cold' -hen you have distilled it, add the feces that have stayed in the alembic to the earthin order to calcinate them to!ether' =ut the s irit bac" into the aleinbic, ut the head on it and the rece tacle' Distill as you did at first' Thus, you must distill over and over ten times' Then the s irit, $hich $as before oisonous, hard, evil, shar and useless to anyone, becomes leasin!ly s$eet and natural' +o$, ho$ever, it is leasin!, !ood and natural, so that its virtue cannot be described or ex lained' That is the fat s irit I mean $hen the ure, dry EOR=>S is to be fattened' E,A=T&R UUI2, And no$ $e $ill also !ive information on the earth, or the body'

It must be re ared artificially, for $hen the element earth has been re ared and brou!ht to its first nature and its o$n bein!, it does miraculous thin!s $hose o$er is indescribable# reviously, the earth $as blac" and useless, and all elements $anted to flee and be se arated from it, because they $ere clothed over and covered by the earthly blac"ness, so that the elements could not use their nature' +o$, ho$ever, after the earth has been brou!ht to its hi!hest o$er, or to its o$n bein!, that is $hen it reaches the state in $hich it $as $hen it $as created by GOD before Adam and &ve and he after$ards cursed the four elements so that they became corru tible and adulterated# $hen then you have brou!ht the earth into its state of urity, the elements $hich reviously fled from it no$ desire to be $ith it, as I have tau!ht before' Therefore, $hen you have dra$n all the elements from the earth, ut the earth into a lon! earthen$are vessel, ba"ed out of otter*s earth, so that it !ets heated throu!h all the better' =ut it into thefurnace of ca6cination, and calcinate it for three days and three ni!hts in as much heat and stron! fire as you can !ive' -hen the three days are over, ta"e it out of the vessel and ut it on a stone' Rub it firmly $ith brandy /Oburnt $ineP0 out of the vessel' After that, ut it into a !lass barrel, our more of the $ine u on it, and lace the vessel into the (ath till the earth is dissolved' (ut cor" your !lass $ell to revent the s irit of the brandy from flyin! out# since the s irit is alto!ether

)4T) too a!ile and too subtle, it $ould fly a$ay invisibly' -hen it is dissolved, let it !ro$ cold and let it stand for three days to settle' Then ta"e another !lass, s"im the clear above from the fecibus in it' =our more brandy u on the feces and ut it a!ain into the (ath for one day and ni!ht, in order to dra$ the earth $ell out of the fecibus. ~Add it to the other clear $ine' Do this three or four times till youhave the EOR=>S of the earthcom letely out of the fecibus. After that, ut the EOR=>S into an alembic $ith a head, and distill the brandy' Then you have a very clean, $hite EOR=>S' Thereafter, you can infuse the s irit into the EOR=>S, and dis% solve the EOR=>S in the S=IRIT>S' Then ut the thus dissolved EOR=>S into a !lass to!ether $ith the s irit, and ut it to utrefaction, or into ;ary*s (ath for fifteen days' After that, ta"e it out# ut the head on, distill, and test /to see if0 $hether somethin! more is distilled than ~the $ateriness' If you find that s irits are distilled, distill toQthe other side' =our it a!ain u on the earth, close your !lass, and ut it a!ain to utrefaction or*into ;ary*s (ath, for three days' Then ut the head on the vessel, distill and test if somethin! else than the

$ateriness is distilled' If somethin! of the s irit is distilled, distill everythin! the other $ay com letely' After$ards, our it a!ain u on the earth and ut it to utre% faction for three days' Dou must do this so lon! till nothin! is distilled but the $ateriness' -hen nothin! is distilled but the $ateriness, it is fixed' Then distill the $ateriness off, our it on a!ain, and distill it a!ain' =our it on a!ain' Do the ourin! on and distillin! off so often till it has absorbed all the $ater and is coa!ulated hard' The re<oice' Dou have a !lorified EOR=>S $hich is recisely the 3uintessence' E,A=T&R UU2, Eoncernin! the earth of $hich I said reviously that you must a!ain dra$ off the brandy that is !ood' Dra$ it off and do as I have tau!ht you here' (ut it $ould be better if you $ere to our the brandy bac" u on the earth and distill it off a!ain# then our it on a!ain, as I have tau!ht until no$' And this so often till the $hole 3uantity of the distilled $ine $ere a!ain infused into the earth, and you $ould a!ain dissolve it, that is the EOR=>S, in a !ood other brandy and ut it a!ain into the (ath, as you did at first# and a!ain distill the brandy off, and our it on a!ain till it had suc"ed in everythin!# and dissolve it a!ain as at first' And if you did this the fourth time, the earth $ould become so stron! that it could not be described# neither could its virtues be ex ressed' -hen the earth is thus dissolved in its o$n s irit, as I have tau!ht before, and becomes fixed $ith it, it does then ten thousand thin!s $here before it did one' This !lorified EOR=>S, or 3uintessence, re ared in this $ay, no Iin! could ay $ith allhis $ealth for one ound of it, so !reat is its stren!th and virtue' (lessed is he $ho has it, and thin!s $ill !o $ell for him $ho uses it $ell' (ut he $ho misuses it $ill be tormented by GOD tem orarily in this life and eternally in the next'

)15) E,A=T&R UU2I' +o$ $e shall teach and sho$ you another $ay $hich is better than the one I tau!ht you before' +evertheless, the first $ay is short and !ood' (ut this one is surer and better but re3uires more time and $or"' Det both are !ood, and I have $or"ed in both several times $ith my o$n hands, throu!h the !race of GOD, as follo$sF 8irst, you must ta"e, $ith divine hel , any "ind of herbs you $ish, the more the better' Let them dry in a room shut off from sun and air, as I tau!ht you reviously in re!ard to the other $or"' -hen the herbs are dry, ut them into a $arm oven, not too hot, so that the s irits do not volatili7e' -hen the herbs are so dry that they can be rubbed into o$der by your hands, remove them from the oven and ound them in a mortar into subtle o$der' After

that, rub them on a stone $ith distilled $ine, as small as you can' ,ave at hand a lar!e !lass or earthen$are vessel' =ut the o$dered herbs into it, so that they lie by one%3uarter under the burnt $ine' Sto the vessel $ith a cor"' Then ta"e one art $ax, one art itch, and one art resin' ;elt them to!ether in a an to $hich you must also add one art of .ertissae or Miny, and stir everythin! to!ether' Thereafter, ta"e a stron! hem en cloth, ut it around the mouth of the vessel and tie it ouside $ith a hem en strin!' Smear the strin! over $ith the Materia that has remained in the an into $hich you had di ed your coth' +o$, ut on it one fin!er*s breadth of sand or ounded bric"' In that $ay, the cloth

)19) cannot come undone in the (ath over the sand or the stone% o$der, but lute it $ell' +utu) of a hand*s breadth all around, and ut a stron! hem en cloth over the +utu). -ind strin!s around it and then let it dry very hard' -hen it is dry, ound ashes $ith the $hite of e!!s and coat $ith it the cloth tied around the Lute' Do it also one fin!er*s breadth, and let it dry in the cold' Then the vessel is re ared for bein! ut to utrefaction, or in ;ary*s (ath' ;y advice is to ut it into the (ath' Let it stand therein for 1W or Q5 days' Iee the $ater day and ni!ht at such a tem erature that you cannot "ee your hand in it' At the end of Q5 days, let it !ro$ cold durin! four days' Then o en it, and "ee ready an alembic $hich you can ut into sand' =ut your matter therein' Distill it, first by a very small and later by a stron!er fire' Distill everythin! you can' Remove the feces that remain in the alembic and rub them on a stone $ith !ood, fresh burnt $ine, so that they become im al able' Then return the feces to the aforementioned vessel and our u on it $hat you have distilled' Elose the vessel a!ain as before, ut it a!ain into the (ath for nine or ten days# !ive it fire or heat as before' After that, let it !ro$ cold' Then o en the vessel, ut it into the alembic, a head on it, and distill, as I have already tau!ht you before' Remove the feces, rub them on a stone as before, and return the matter into the alembic' =ut the head on, and distill' Do that three or four or several times# as often as you do it, meanin!, dra$in! off and a!ain ourin! on, as I am here teachin!, its o$er !ro$s and increases tenfold, $hich tenfold is each time increased tenfold' Therefore, do not !rud!e any ains' Dou $ill be re$arded a hundredfold for it' One should really dra$ it u and off /to

multi ly it0 so often that it $ould at last achieve a as !reat as the Great &lixir'

ro<ection

8I+IS =R&=ARATIO+IS C>I+TA& &SS&+TIA& D>O(>S ;ODL' /&+D O8 T,& =R&=ARATIO+ O8 T,& C>I+T&SS&+E& (D T-O DI88&R&+T ;&T,ODS'0

)11)

TRACTATE
HOW TO MAKE THE VEGETABLE STONE, OR QUINTESSENCE, FROM ALL GREEN HERBS, SEEDS, ROOTS, ETC., FROM WHICH THE WATER OF THE CLOUDS IS DISTILLED. +o$ one $ill learn another method of distillin! herbs, from $hich the $ater first comes over' Aside from that, one $ill understand all "ids of herbs from $hich the $ater of the clouds

is first distilled' /The ri!ht $ay of distillation is heatin! the herb solution and steam comes over and is cooled by cold runnin! $ater ) then the steam becomes Lherb0 brandy or alcohol $hich is inflammable0 8or in the course of this o eration and instruction relatin! to it, one $ill understand all that can be made of !reen herbs and roots' After that, the teachin! $ill cover all dry s ecies, !ums, $oods, and everythin! that is dry, each thin! to!ether $ith in% structions relative to it' E,A=T&R I 8irst, my child, you must "no$ that $e intend to ma"e the 2e!etable Stone from !reen herbs, from $hich the cloud $ater is distilled' ;y child must therefore "no$ above all at $hat time he is to !ather and store the herbs, $hen they are stron!est to ma"e the stone thereof' Ino$ then, my child, that the herbs have three eriodsF The first, $hen they'~are be!innin! to s rout' Then they are li"e a child $hen it first comes into the $orld, $ithout stren!th or o$er, humid and $atery' Li"e$ise $ith herbs' Their second eriod is li"e that of a 4R year old man' ,e is in his flo$erin! until his Q5th year' It is the same $ith herbs in their time of !ro$th, till they be!in to bloom and !o into seed' Then they are in their flo$erin! until the seed becomes ri e' The third eriod is li"e that of a Q5 year old man till his T5th year, $hen all his forces be!in to fall off' Li"e$ise $ith herbs' -hen the seed is ri e, the herb be!ins !radually to ass a$ay and $ither, until it comes alto!ether to nau!ht' E,A=T&R II' % Therefore my child must ic" the herbs $hen they are full% !ro$n and the seed is be!innin! to come or to ri en' 8or all herbs !o into seed and sometimes flo$er at the same time' That is $hy you must ta"e the herbs that have mostly !one into seed, althou!h a art of them are still flo$erin! and have not yet !one to seed' =ic" such to!ether $ith leaves, flo$ers, roots, and seed, on a clear day, $hen the sun is shinin! stron!est' Elean them $ithout $ashin! them or addin! any moisture in your haste' =ut them thus $hole into a can, as thic"ly u to the brim as you can' =ut the alembic !ently on the can, and lace the can into the (ath' Start distillin! immediately, so that you do not lose the $ild s irits that fly a$ay invisibly' Of this I have tau!ht in the Tractate of the -ine' The s irits are the !reenness, the taste, and the smell, and their life' That is $hy the hiloso her Dantin saysF OTa"e care that you $ell reserve your !reenness# other$ise you $or" in vain' E,A=T&R III' >ntil no$, my child, I have tau!ht at $hat tue you must !ather the herbs' +o$ $e shall see from $hat herb $e are !oin! to ma"e this 2e!etable Stone' I do not find any ordinary herb less esteemed than .helidonia. I am tellin! you for sure, my child, that there are three herbs $hich have reference over all others' They are .helidonia, #olaria, and +unaria. All three serve the Art $hen they are re ared, and coa!ulate Mercuris into the true !old'

About that you $ill be instructed in the ;ineral Stone' I am tellin! you, my child, that the noblest of all three is .helidonia, because the other t$o ass a$ay in $inter, $hile Ehelidonia al$ays remains in its !reenness and flo$er' All other herbs of the $orld also $ither and dry $hen it is very $arm in the summer, but this Ehelidonia al$ays stays !reen' And even if it $ere lyin! under the sno$ throu!hout $inter, it does not die' Therefore, it is not affected by heat or cold, dryness or $etness' It is the very best and stron!est of the three' GOD has infused such an influence into this herb that it cannot be sufficiently ex ressed by anyone' That is $hy, my child, $e $ill dra$ the other and second 2e!etable Stone from it, to cure all eo le of all diseases and let them s end their life in !ood health to the last hour, and at the same time coa!ulate Mercurius into fine !old' -e shall, therefore, ic" this herb $hen it is in its first flo$erin!' Elean it, and ut as much as you are able to into three or four clean ots, $ithout crushin! it' =ut the alembic on them immediately, and lace them into the (ath in order to distill everythin!' Dra$ off all the $ater from it, till it is so dry that one could ulveri7e it' Then rub it on a stone $ith its $ater so that one could aint $ith it' =ut it into a bi! stone ot' If you have filled four or five ots $ith .helidonia, ut everythin! to!ether into a bi! stone ot' Dou must start $ith a !reat amount of herbs in order to obtain much Materia and much $ater' The uncrushed herbs ta"e u much room' E,A=T&R I2' ;y child mi!ht as", O-hy do you not ound the herbsNP Ino$ that if one $ere to ound the herbs, art of the three s irits $ould fly a$ay, that is, the !reenness, or color# a art of their deli!ht, or taste# and a art of their natural $armth, since the three s irits are volatile that they cannot suffer any oundin! or bruisin!' That is $hy you $ould lose the ma<or art of them' And after$ards, your $or" $ould be S oiled, because you $ould only o erate on a dead body $hich $ould have been robbed of its soul and life, since the herb is Mortified by oundin! it' Try itF =ound a !reen herb very small in a mortar' It $ill 3uic"ly lose its !reen color and natural moisture, since the $hole house is filled $ith the smell of the herb as it is bein! ounded' The smell, ho$ever, no lon!er !ro$s $hen the nature of the herb has been bro"en' It is )ortified, so that it is as it $ere es% tran!ed from +ature and the Influence of heaven $hich ma"es its fra!rance !ro$' +or do heaven or the stars, $hich !ive or thro$ their influence on it, !ive it any more hel , because it has been bro"en off and therefore no lon!er !ets hel from any side' Therefore, the volatile s irits, $hich are its life, its soul, and its 3uintessence, art from it' Let the herbs, therefore, not suffer any oundin! or crushin!, as little as a man $ould li"e to be hac"ed into ieces# because the soul, $hich is his

life, $ould immediately leave him' Eonse3uently, my child, do not ound !reen herbs# but do as you have been instructed above so that you do not $or" on a dead body, as has been sufficiently roved above' E,A=T&R 2' +o$ let us return to our $or"' Dou should rub everythin! that is left over a stone' =ut it all to!ether into a bi! ot, and the latter into a lu"e$arm (ath' =our its o$n $ater u on it, and stir it $ell $ith a $ooden s oon' Then ut a small iece of cut !lass on the mouth, and let it stand for t$o days and t$o ni!ht' Stir it $ell every four or five hours, so that the $ater can $ell dra$ out the &lements' At the end of the second day, ta"e the ot out of the (ath and ut it aside' Let is sin" for three or four days' /settle0 Then our the li3uid off the fecibus into a clean ot' 8ilter it, and our the licVuid into another ot' It is Golden -ater' Eor" it u and reserve it $ell' Thereafter, our somemore $ater u on the feces and stir $ell' It $ould be !ood to dry the feces before ourin! $ater u on them' +o$ ut them bac" into the (ath for t$o days and t$o ni!hts' Stir a!ain, and cover' Then let everythin! !et cold' Do as before' =our the $ater to the first one in the ot' Ta"e a!ain of the $ater and our it over the feces. Do this so often till the feces no lon!er color the $ater' Then you have the air and fire from the earth, and you have done enou!h $aterin!' (ut should it ha en that you have not !ot enou!h $ater from the herbs, you may ta"e ordinary $ater from the (ath, distilled t$ice or three times, for all ve!etable $or"s, rovided it is $ell distilled so that no feces remain' It is then <ust as !ood for addin! to all !reen herbs' Dry herbs, ho$ever, cannot be extracted or oured over $ith ordinary $ater but only $ith distilled Aceto. -hen, therefore, the $ater has thus been distilled from the herbs, ta"e care of it, rofit by ~it, and dra$ the elements out $ith ordinary $ater' E,A=T&R 2I' And no$, my child, $e $ill !o bac" to our $or", to rectify our air and fire a!ain to!ether and to cleanse them from their fed bus. So, ut all colored $ater into a clean dish' +o$ ta"e the $hite of Q5 or R5 e!!s, beat it $ith a $ooden s oon until it is thin li"e $ater' =our it into the colored $ater, beat both tO!ether for a half hOur so that they mix $ell' After this, ut the "ettle on the fire, let it become !radually hot and finally boil' (ut do not touch it at all' +o$ ta"e it from the fire' ,ave at hand a bi!, $hite, $oolen D ocras%ba! /sac"0' =our all your $ater into it# let it tric"le throu!h into a !lass ot' -hen it no lon!er dri s, ta"e distilled $ater and our it into

the sac" tmon the coa!ulated e3!$hite' Let it sin" throu!h the feces , in order to dra$ the &lements from the fecibus' Do this as lon! as the feces !ive some color to the $ater' Then you have dra$n all the &lements from them' Dry the feces in a an and "ee them' They must a!ain be ut into the Retort, to the earth, in order to dra$ from them the combustible oil and the #alar)en;ac for there are many feces in the $hite of e!!s' Thereafter, ta"e the li3uid that has tric"led throu!h the sac", ut it into the (ath, distill it so dry that it raisesss dust, and let it stand for 4Q hours in the $arm (ath' Stir it occassionally $ith a $ooden s oon, and a!ain cover the mouth $ith a iece of cut !lass' Then ta"e it out of the (ath and allo$ it to settle do$n for three or four days' +o$ turn it !ently to one side and s"im it carefully er filtrum' Loo" if you can find a fe$ feces at the bottom' If not, it is sufficiently clear' If you do find some feces, ho$ever, it is not clear and must a!ain be clarified as before' E,A=T&R 2II' ;y child must "no$ that all thin!s in the $orld, if one dra$s their $ater dry er distillatione so that it raises dust, and one then ounds and boils it, thereafter rubs it small on a stone, and a!ain ours the $ater on it $hich has been dra$n from it,or other ordinary distilled $ater, and one uts it into the (ath, the $ater then dra$s to it all &lemental $ater, air, and fire' It becomes red, and the redness is contained in the innermost of the !reenness $hich the herb had' And as it coa!ulates $ith the $ater and is dissolved, it leaves its feces each time' If this o eration is often re eated, it $ill finally cleanse and urify itself until it leaves no more feces' Det this is a lon! $ay' (ut $ith the $ater of e!!s it is shorter' (ut, as re!ards the !reen herbs $hich, after ic"in!, are dried at the sun and ulveri7ed, if you $ere to our on them all the distilled $ater of the $orld, it $ould not extract or color anythin!' They must be dra$n out $ith distilled vine!ar' +either $ill the vine!ar turn red but a bad yello$, since their !reenness is !one, $hich $as their life, soul, and 3uintessence' The yello$ness $hich it !ets comes from the elements $hich are still in them, but the three s irits are mostly !one, and it is a dead cor se' Althou!h it may stilll have somethin! of the elements $ithin itself, it is not $orth $hile $or"in! on it' Therefore, mar" $ell $hat I say' E,A=T&R 2III' +o$ $e $ill ta"e u our $or" a!ain' -hen you do not find any more feces at the bottom of the ots, you must our all the li3uid to!ether into a stone ot' =ut it into the (ath and distill it do$n into $ater but not com letely, so that you can our the feces from the ot into a !lass vessel# other$ise /if you $ere to distill ALL the $ater0, you $ould have to brea" the ot' Thereafter, ut the !lass into a basin $ith sand above the basin filled $ith $ater# ut therein the !lass $ith the ;ateria' Let the

$ater boil and the ;aterial eva orate till it is dry' Then ta"e the !lass out, brea" it into ieces, and your ;ateria is clear, dry and red, and you have your &lemental $ater, fire and air' And you have your three s irits of $hich I have s o"en be%for in a rectified and coa!ulated ;assa % but not fixed' =ut it in a dry room until $e need it' E,A=T&R IU' In such a $ay, my child, the &lemental fire, the &lemental $ater, and the &lemental air, to!ether $ith the three s irits, must all six be dra$n into a mass from the earth, $ithout dis% tillation' They cannot be dra$n out of the earth in any other $ay in the $orld, since the three reviously mentioned s irits d$ell in natural $armth and heat as taste, tincture, and smell' These three cannot stand any heat comin! from fire' If one $ould $ant to dra$ $ater, air and fire from the earth by dis% tillation, it $ould have to be done throu!h heat and dryness and throu!h ashes or sand' The &lemental $ater, air and fire $ill not rise throu!h the (ath, but solely the $ater of the clouds' If one $ould dra$ out the &lemental $ater, air and fire throu!h distillation, it $ould have to be done $ithout fire, since the three aforementioned s irits cannot stand the heat of the fire, $hich one a lies $ith the fire' They $ould volatili7e invisibly, and then you $ould be de rived of their soul, their life and their 3uintessence, and you $ould have a dead body' +evertheless, you $ould have the four elements to!ether, but they $ould be de rived of their soul and 3uintessence, $hich are "ee in! the four elements to!ether and connect them' 8or $hen these three s irits are se arated, the four elements cannot stay to!ether but must art from each other' They be!in to rot and die' &ach element returns to its nature as air to air, fire to fire, $ater to $ater and earth to earth' Ta"e, for exam le, a man $ho has died and his natural $armth is !one' 2ery soon the color $hich d$elled in his blood, his natural smell and taste, all three are leavin! the man# $hich three AR& the soul $hich AR& "ee in! the body to!ether in one bein!' /Trans' +oteF The version from Dale >niversity Library hasF O$hich three are "ee in! the soul to!ether $ith the body in one bein!P0' >nderstand $ell, my child, $hat it is $hen a child is con% ceived in the mother*s $omb by means of the natural hel ' -ithin Q5 days a human bein! is thereby formed' All members are erfectly re ared by the $armth of nature $hich the mother has in her blood' 8or these three s irits are d$ellin! in the blood as in natural $armth, that is -AR;T, /Trans' +oteF Dale version has OcolorP0, smell, and taste' 8rom the blood of $omen the members of the child are formed $ith the hel of nature, as it has leased GOD' And thus these three s irits d$ell in the blood of $omen, and the child*s members are formed $ith the hel of nature' Just so

these three s irits are in all forms and members of the child, thou!h very insi!nificantly# for the little members of a child, $hen its little arts are made $ithin forty days, are at first so tender and small as if they $ere small $ires, and it /the head0 is li"e a small seed' Therefore, there cannot be much of those s irits in it' As soon as the little members are formed in a minute $ay, God infuses the soul into them, $hich comes out of his su reme $ill, miraculously ori!inatin! in it' -e $ill not s ea" of that here, because it does not belon! to this ;ateria' The soul has an eternal bein!, $ithout the be!innin!, in GOD' That is $hy it comes out of GOD' And the little members have not been formed so

Q1 minutely, the soul immediately comes into bein! and lives in the body' 8or if the soul did not immediately enter it, the three s irits $ould esca e from it' That is $hy all three s irits must first be in the human bein! before the sould can d$ell in it, and the three s irits are "ee in! the soul and the body to!ether' As lon! as these three s irits are in the body, the soul also remains in it# and $hen the body becomes bi!!er, older and stron!er, these three s irits also become 3radually bi!!er, older and stron!er' That is $hy they are called !ro$in! s irits' As soon as these three s irits leave the body, the soul must immediately follo$ and vacate it# for it has no s ot or lace $here it can rest' Try this in a man as soon as he is deadF Eut, do $hat you li"e, you $ill not find blood in it, neither heat nor $armth nor smell, but stench' +evertheless, these four elements are in the body, e'!', the &lemental fire, air, $ater and earth, mixed $ith the stin"in! fecibus' (ut their 3uintessence is !one' That is, these three s irits, the natural $armth, the color and the air' GOD has adorned them % the elements % $ith these three and $hen these three s irits leave the four elements, they can no lon!er stay to!ether but must se arate, because they do not have the medium $hich "ee s them all four to!ether' &ach !oest to $here it came from# nothin! remains but stin"in! feces' And if one really "ne$ this medium, all $or"s $ould roceed more easily' (ut they do not notice that no s irit $ants to stay to!ether $ith the body $ithout a medium $hich "ee s s irit and body to!ether' They do not "no$ such a medium and do not "no$ that the mediums must be s irits that are very volatile and lie in the de th of the ;ateria' It is an un"no$n s irit to the i!norant' ;ore of it $ill be ex lained in the ;ineral Stone' >nderstand also, my child, $hat these three s irits are, since, if

you do not "no$ these three s irits and their nature, you $ill not ma"e ro!ress either in ve!etable, animal or mineral matters, but $ill treat a dead body' That is $hy, for the reasons 3uoted, one can dra$ out these three s irits $ith fire and air, so that they coa!ulate to!ether into a mass, but in no other $ay than the one $e have tau!ht' /The Dale text hasF O'''these three s irits cannot be dra$n out before they stay to!ether and coa!ulate into a mass~0' Do not see" other means, or you $ill lose the three s irits invisibly and $ill then have a dead body' >nderstand my $ords thorou!hly' They are o en $ords and no arables, so that you should not be led into error' E,A=T&R U' +o$ $e $ill return to our $or"' -e ta"e all feces that have remained in the ot and the clarified $ater of the e!!s, $here there are also some feces' =ut it into a bi!, earthen$are Retort, $ell !la7ed on the outside, as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine' =ut it into a furnace, in such a $ay that the fire and the flame can !et at it all around' Add a lar!e, stone ot, nearly full of distilled $ater, to the nec" of the Retort, lute it ti!htly' Give it first a small fire, increased every three hours and !radually stron!er,for 4Q hours, till the ot /retort0heats throu!h all around' Iee it standin! thus for six hours' Llithin that time the combustible oil and the #alar)eniac $ill !o over' Let it cool do$n' +o$ remove the ot /retort0 and our everythin! into a lar!e earthen$are test /rece tacle0 that is $el6' !la7ed' Let it stand for three or four days' +o$ the combustible oil $ill s$im on the to ' Remove it carefully as neatly as ossible' Then ut the li3uid that is in the test in a lar!e earthen$are ot and thus "ee it until such time as you must rectify it by coa!ulatin! and dissolvin! it' Ta"e the combustible oil and ut it into the little vessel /barrel0 about $hich I have tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine' =our distilled $ater, boilin!, on it and start churnin! as if you $ere to ma"e butter' This is as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine, $here the combustible oil is cleansed of the Salarmeniac' It is all one o eration' -hen the oil is cleansed, ut it into a clean !lass' >se it' It~ serves for all sufferin!s that come from cold and humid dis% eases, to anoint all lame members, and in the aralysis' After that, ta"e the $ater in $hich the combustible oil has been urified, and the $ater from $hich the combustible oil has been s"immed off' =ut everythin! to!ether in a (ath so as to coa!ulate and to let the feces settle do$n and be dra$n off by filtration, as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine, to rectify of the Sa6'ar7neniac' -hen your Salarmeniac is $ell rectified and alsodry, as $hite as sno$, "ee it in a very dry lace'

E,A=T&R UI After this,ta"e all the feces that have remained in the Retort,

<I also those left durin! the rectification' =ut them all to!ether to reverberate, as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine, until they become sno$ $hite' Then rectify them a!ain $ith distilled $ater by ourin! it over them and lettin! it stand over them' After$ards, let the feces sin" do$n, and then dra$ them off er filtrum, and a!ain coa!ulate them' Do this as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine, until your earth is $hite as sno$' +o$ ta"e the $hite earth, dissolve it in your rectified $ater' =ut your Salmiac into the same $ater# dra$ the $ater of f until it is as dry that it dra$s dust' Then ut it into the e!!, to calcinate in the secret furnace, and do as above' -hen all has been calcinated, dissolve it in your A3ua rectificata' Let the feces sin", dra$ them off by filtration# coa!ulate, and do as before till no more feces remain' After that, coa!ulate a!ain your &lemental $ater, fire, air and earth' Then you have rectified your mass of the outer and inner fecibus, and also your Salmiac' They are no$ re ared to ma"e the 2e!etable Stone from them' E,A=T&R UII' 8ollo$in! that, ta"e a bi! rece tacle, as has been tau!ht in the $or" of the -ine' =ut therein your Salarmeniac, &lemental $ater, air, fire and earth, to!ether $ith their three s irits' =our u on them some ofyour rectified $ater, $hich has been dra$n from them, so that it may dissolve correctly, and no more' +o$ ut it into a crucible $ith strained ashes' Eover the !lass $ith a cut little !lass, un!la7ed, and a $ei!ht on to of it' Give it heat li"e the Sun in the middle of the Summer for t$enty%four days' Then let it cool do$n, our it into the e!!, and ut it into a crucible $ith sifted ashes' Let it eva orate in a !entle heat till everythin! is 3uite dry, $hich you should test $ith a a shar "nife ut on the mouth of the eye%nec"' Loo" if there is steam formin! on it' If no moisture forms on it, it is dry' (ut, in order to be more certain, let it stand for three or four days in the $armth' 8ollo$in! that, fixate it $ith the Lute of ,ermes, and han! it into the secret furnace for Q5 days' ,eat it li"e the sun shines in the summer, or some$hat hotter' After the Q5th day, let it cool do$n' (rea" the !lass, ta"e the o$der out, ut it into a !lass crucible of 2enetian !lass' =lace it on hot coals' The o$der $ill melt li"e $ax' =our it into a small !lass form, reviously !reased

$ith oil' -hen it is cold, it becomes hard li"e a stone, clear li"e a crystal, red li"e a ruby , trans arent' This is the second ve!etable stone, $hich cures all diseases and infirmities of the $orld' If one ta"es every day in $ine as much as a !rain of $heat is heavy, you $ill see $onder u on $onder in a fe$ days' E,A=T&R UIII' 8urthermore, if you $ish to achieve that it /the stone0 coa!u% late ;ercurius into the true !old, ound your stone into o$der, and ut it into a very thic" !lass' Then ta"e fine !old, $hich has been cemented and dissolved in A3uafort, $hich must be made of e3ual arts of Salarineniac and salt eter' Dissolve as much !old in it as your stone $ei!hs' -hen it is dissolved, distill the A3uafort dry, and re are the !old lime, so that it may dissolve in !ood A!uavit' Then it $ill tincture beautifully yello$' =our off $hat is clear, and our a!ain more A3uavit u on it till there is no more tincture' =ut it a$ay' -hat stays at the bottom is salt from the stron! $ater $hich is not dissolved in rectified A3uavitae' Then eva orate your A3uavitae from the !old# dissolve it a!ain $ith fresh A3uavitae' =our it off from the fecibus, and continue in this $ay till no more feces remain at the bottom' Iee the feces some$here' Dissolve and coa!ulate the !old till it turns into an oil $hich $ill no lon!er coa!ulate' Then it is re ared' Or $hen it is first dissolved in the A3uafort, as said before, our u on it a lar!e amount of fresh, ordinary $ater' =ut your !lass over the fire, let it boil for one hour, then ut it to one side, and let it settle into a o$der for three or four days' Dra$ li3uid off by inclinin! !lass to one side, or by filtration' After that, our it off and dry your o$der in a !lass dish, on $arm ashes' -hen it is dry, ut it into a !lass such as you see here' =our $ell rectified A3uavitae u on it, lace it in a crucible $ith sifted ashes , close the mouth of the !lass $ith a cor" or ut a small head u on it' =ut a rece tacle in the s out, !la7e, and heat it li"e the sun shines in the summer' Then your !old $ill nicely dissolve' The amountof the A3uavita $hich rises above it, our a!ain u on the !old throu!h the button /"nob0 of the head in $hich there should be a hole and a little !lass funnel' Let it stand for T or 95 days, and your A3uavita $ill become nicely !olden%yello$' (ut if everythin! has not yet been dissolved, so that there stays o$der at the bottom, continue ourin! off from above and fresh A3uavitae u on the o$der' =ut the head on a!ain and do as before till all your !old is dissolved in the A3uavitae' Then ta"e your dissolved !old to!ether $ith the A3uavitae and our it u on the ve!etable stone $hich you have ulveri7ed' =ut it in a !lass ot# ut the heat on the ot# ut the ot into a crucible $ith strained ashes and !ive it a !entle heat, li"e that of the sun shinin! in the summer' Then your o$der of the stone $ill be

dissolved in A3uavitae $ith your dissolved !old' -hen you see that everythin! is dissolved, !ive it a bit stron!er fire, so that the A3uavitae is distilled of f' That $ill be a slo$ rocess, because the stone and the !old coa!ulate the A3uavitae in themselves and "ee it' -hen you have dra$n some off, our it bac" on a!ain throu!h the heat, $ith a !lass funnel# fix the rece tacle bac" on it, !la7e and distill a!ain' &ach time you ta"e it off, you must increase the fire# for the more you our on, the more stays $ith the stone' so that it $ill no lon!er come over' Then the Stone is fixed, s$eet, delicious' It has cc,nverted the A3uavitae into its nature $ith the !old' As lon! as it is $arm, our the stone into a small form' It $ill immediately coa!ulate' After that, you must a!ain ulveri7e it and ut it into the e!!, sealed' ,an! it into the secret furnace for 49 or 19 days' =ut fire underneath it li"e the sun shinin! in ;arch' Dou must not !ive it more heat, because it $ould melt in the fire, since it is fusible in a little bit of fire' If it$ere to melt in the e!!, the !old in the A3uavitae $ould be calcinated or distilled to!ether $ith it /The Dale text saysF O'''the !old and A3ua vitae $ould not be calcinated and distilled $ith it /the stone0 for there must be nothin! in the stone that is not calcinated, and yet the !old and the A3ua vitae $ould not be calcinated'P Then /at the end of the 19 days0, ta"e the e!! out and brea" it' Ta"e a bi! !lass, ut the o$der of your stone inside# our a lar!e amount of your rectified ordinary $ater u on it# ut it into the ashes or the (ath, it does not matter $hich' As soon as it is $arm, it $ill dissolve' -hen it is di&solved, immediately ut the fire in the furnace out' Let the !lass stand in a cru% cible, and the feces from both the A3uavitae and the !old $ill sin" do$n' 8or there is no thin! in the $orld so ure that it $ould not have a combustible oil and im ure feces in its inner% most nature' And that cannot be ur!ed out of it, unless its body be first mortified and die, meanin!, that it cannot a!ain be% come a body' After that it must be calcinated in a secret fur% nace, each accordin! to itsnature# one $ith more the other $ith less heat# the third $ith a !entle, the fourth $ith a lu"e$arm fire, before its innermost feces can be dra$n out' And in the stone there must not be any feces at all, either inside or out% side' That is $hy the !old must be ut into the secret furnace to!ether $ith the A3uavitae in order to be calcinated, if one is to brin! out their innermost feces' In this $ay the feces are dra$n from the !old and se arated from its body and have sun" to the bottom of the !lass' -hen it has thus stood for four or five days in order to sin", drain it carefully throu!h filtration into another !lass' A!ain, our more

rectified A3uavitae u on the feces that remain in the !lass, stir $ell, let them sin", and a!ain drain them as before' Eontinue doin! this till the feces no lon!er color the $ater' Then you have all the o$er of the stone out of the fecibus' Eoa!ulate your stone u on $arm ashes in an o en vessel' Or if you $ish to "ee the $ater, drain it $ith a head' -hen it our it into a small !lass form'

/the stone0 is dry, melt it and

Thus your stone is ready to coa!ulate ;ercurius into fine !old' '''' ;y child must "no$ that E,&LIDO+IA thus re ared $ill coa!ulate and fix +ercurius into real !old' The same for SOLARIA and L>+ARIA if they are re ared in this and no other $ay' Do y~i believe that the art lies in herbs or other thin!s /exce t in !old and silverN0 Don*t you let such thou!hts arise in you, or you, to!ether $ith many fools, $ill be !reatly mista"en' Do not see" in a thin! $hat is not in it, of $hich I $ill teach more in the ;ineral stone' ;y child must "no$ that in this $ay one can ma"e a ve!etable stone from all !reen herbs' In addition, there $ill be instructions concernin! the ma"in! of another 2e!etable Stone, to heal all diseases of the $orld' And the third manner of o eration roceeds from su!ar, because out of that a noble 2e!etable Stone arises' Y O=&RA 2&G&TA(ILIA by

Johannes Isaacus ,ollandus =R&8AE& O8 ,OLLA+D>S ;y child should "no$ in the course of time that God the Almi!hty Lord has created heaven and everythin! in it, and the $orld and everythin! in it, as is $ritten in the (oo" of Genesis, and that the first ;ateria $as $ater, u on $hich the S irit of the Lord rested' Therefore I say, my child, rinci aliter, that nothin! in the $orld is naturally com osed by God the Lord substantially out of the four elements' In his first oint of creation, it is !enerated subetantialiter from #ul hur and Mercuriu=, ure and clean and incombustible' If then, my child, all thin!s of this $orld have their substantial, s ecial and accidental form out of the first ;ateria, it follo$s clearly that there is no thin! in the $orld, no matter $hich, that is not ori!inally and rinci a liter com osed of the said Materiae Sul hur and ;ercurius' And $hen nature $ants to !ive birth to anythin! into a substantial form, it ta"es the first Materia,

$hich is then still a sim le and im erfect form, and be!ins to fix in it the four elements, $hich are of varied natures' Accordin! to the difference in the mixture of those elements, and their urity or im urity, different co) le8ions arise and different fi!ures# also different smells, colors and tastes in the )ineral as $ell as the 6egetable and ani)al /thin!s0' Since the first)mentioned ;ateria is sim le and unco) ie8ioned /not ut to!ether into one com lex matter0, it may assume an infinite number of various forms' After the four elements become co) le8ioned, this $ay or that, it also has the o$er to move from one form into another' If then they !et !ood nourishment, ure and clean, they $ill assume a noble form and a deli!htly 3uality, $hich $ill be noble and !ood' 8urther, $hen God the Lord had created all thin!s in that $ay, he infused into them five common natures, so that all human bein!s, cattle, fish and all other animals, yes, trees, herbs, lants, and $hatever God has created in the $orld, all have five natures im lanted into them' One is the nature of generation, i'e', that each thin! should !enerate its li"e and not other$ise' ;an shall !enerate a man, and not other$ise' 8or God has not !iven to man to be!et anythin! but a man, since he cannot !ive $hat he has not' -hat is not in a thin!, you cannot ta"e out of it' The same a lies to all other animals' A horse be!ets a horse# a fox, a fox# a fish, a fish, etc' The same may be noticed in all herbs, and in everythin! God has created' +o a le % or ear tree can !ro$ from a turni seed' &ach be!ets its li"e, as said, for $hat is not in a thin! cannot be brou!ht out of it' All thin!s, therefore, have a common nature of !eneration, each in itself and its li"e' Aside from this, God has !iven t$o further natures to $hat he has created and made' One is an active nature, the other a !ro$in! nature' These t$o natures cannot be one $ithout the other, because the t$o natures must hel each other, as $ill be clearly roven and tau!ht at the end of the boo"' -hen the %1 active nature be!ins to act u on a ;ateria, or <ust created thin!s, the !ro$in! nature must also be resent' If it $ere not immediately ready $ith its nourishment, the active nature could not o erate lon! on a thin!' It $ould immediately s oil and come to nau!ht' 8or exam le, $hen the male semen reaches the )atri8 of the $oman and nature $ould soon be!in to $or" % $hich she does, rovided she is not hindered by other thin!s ) and $hen then nature be!ins to $or", the !ro$in! nature must immediately be ready $ith its nourishment' These t$o natures do not sto but are both at $or" $ithout ceasin! until they come to the time $hen they reach the end to $hich GOD has ordained them by !ivin! them a certain measure above $hich they cannot !o' -hen those t$o natures have reached the same a ointed time and the s ecific measure !iven and set to them by GOD the LORD, they sto their $or"in! and !ro$in! as lon! as they are not moved

further to $or" more' O-hen does it ha en, ho$ever, that these t$o natures omit their $or" in a created thin!NP my child $ould li"e to as"' ;y child should "no$ that GOD the LORD has !iven a certain si7e to every man, animal, bird, fish, tree, herb, lant, and everythin! created by God, rovided it is not hindered by ha ha7ard accidents or by la!ues of God, and a certain fixed number of years beyond $hich it cannot !o' As $e may see, one becomes bi!, the other,small# one lar!e, the other narro$# one retty, the other u!ly' Such is caused by $ay of the elements and the t$o%fold influence of the lanets and the fixed stars, all of $hich are active in them accordin! to the min!lin! of the elements and the said influence of heaven' After that, then, a thin! is stron! or $ea", beautiful or loathsome, small or bi!, or it lives lon! or a short time' This $ill later on be better ex lained $hen the mixin! of the elements is tau!ht and the elemental nature infused into them by God $ill be clearly roven' Thus, my child, $hen these t$o natures have brou!ht a thin! to its erfect si7e and its erfect o$er, if it is not hindered by somethin! else, these t$o natures se arate a!ain from it and are no lon!er active in it because they are no lon!er moved, /im elled0' God the Lord, ho$ever, has not made anythin! here on earth or u above in the s"y that can stand still' It must be moved either for !ood or for evil, for risin! or for declinin!' Therefore, $hen the first t$o natures have done the $or" for $hich they $ere moved, $hen they have brou!ht the created thin! to its $hole stren!th and erfect si7e and thic"ness, that is, to its hi!hest o$er to $hich God had ordained it, the t$o natures cannot act further in it, because they are not moved further to / roduce0 more $or" and nourishment' 8rom then on, they se arate from the created thin!' Det no created thin! can stand still but must necessarily be moved, as $ill be tau!ht later' Thereu on, immediately, at the same moment, yes a thousand times faster than the first t$o natures $hich have brou!ht the created thin! to its hi!hest erfection, leave it, so that here on earth it can never a!ain attain more stren!th and a !reater si7e throu!h the action of nature' >nderstand me correctly, my childL I exce t the Art, because a thin! may $ell attain more o$er throu!h the Art, but here I sim ly s ea" of the action and nourishment of nature' These % s t$o cannot brin! the created thin! to !reater si7e and stren!th, or to more loftiness, more nobility, because they are not stirred further to !reat o$er' Thus the t$o art from it, and immediately the last t$o natures arrive as the sic"%ma"in!, or declinin!, or decreasin!, or !oin!)bac"$ard nature, and the sufferin! nature'

Those are t$o natures $hich remain $ith the created thin! till it a!ain attains its first ;ateria of $hich it $as com osed and created by God in the be!innin!# but not to the same de!ree, because a human bein! does not a!ain turn into a human s erm# neither does a herb to a small seed from $hich the herb !re$ u in the first lace' A bi! a le % or ear tree $ill not a!ain become a i out of $hich it had s routed in the be!innin!, but it $ill loo" as thou!h it $ere a!ain comin! to nau!ht' That, ho$ever, $ill occur to a different de!ree, as $ill be clearly roven later, $hen $e shall $rite of the !lorification $hich God $ill accom lish in all created thin!s at the Last Jud!ment in this very lace' Li"e$ise, $hen $e shall treat of the erfection of the stone, as much in the ve!etable as in the animal or mineral, $here it $ill be clearly tau!ht' 8or everythin! said in this reface of the first ;ateria and of the different natures $hich God has created and incor orated in these lo$er thin!s, and other rationes, $ill later be !athered in order to attain to the ro osito, understandin! and com lete com rehension of our Art, as also to the erfection of the three stones' 8or I am tellin! you, my child, if $e do not "no$ the first ;ateria of a created thin! and its nature, be!innin!, middle and end, inside and outside, all its infirmities, all its circumstances, and all its o$ers, as also everythin! that may !et or fall into it, $e shall $or" as a blind man shootin! at a little bird' That is $hy my child must !et to' "no$ the first lQateria of all created thin!s and their nature, as also all their o$ers and sic"nesses' (ut $e $ill no$ return to our t$o natures, bein! the sic") ma"in! and sufferin! natures' These t$o $or" in a created thin! to the contrary of the first t$o natures, of $hich I first re orted' 8or the first t$o, bein! actin! and nourishin! or !ro$in!, $ere $or"in! and nourishin! !radually by de!rees, for a lon! time, until the created thin! had reached its hi!hest erfection, so that the said t$o natures could no lon!er $or" in it, since they $ere not called to accom lish any further erfection' Then those t$o had necessarily to retreat from the created thin!' +o$ the created thin! could not stand still, as I informed you, but had to be moved by one or the other nature' Therefore, there must /needs0 be t$o other natures in the created thin!, since the sic"%ma"in! or decreasin! nature, and the decreasin! or sic"%ma"in! nature could not be alone in the created thin! but must have a com anion $ith it, bein! the sufferin! nature' 8or the one, bein! the sic"% ma"in! nature in the created thin! consists in $or"in!# and if it had not also found a sufferin! nature, it could in no $ay destroy the thin! $ith its sic"ness' 8or if there had not been a sufferin! nature in it, $hat $ould the sic"ness have acted u onN Li"e$ise, as the actin! nature consisted in the be!innin! in $or"in!, if it had not had a com anion in the leadin! nature, u on $hat $ould the actin! /~o nature have $or"edN

;y child, understand thorou!hly the $ords I am teachin! you here, for it is the root from $hich all natural arts arise, as you $ill robably later understand better $hen it $ill be clearly roven' Thus, these effects must ta"e lace e3ually in the three stones, in the same $ay as in our $or"s' If they are to reach their hi!hest otency, these first five natures must first and above all ha en /erei!nen0 or unite'-hen that has been done, our stone $ill attain such o$er and stren!th and such a erfection that no nature $ill have the o$er to act in it, but it /our stone0 $ill have the o$er to act in all other natures, to ush out all forei!n natures from a created thin!, and to drive them a$ay, and to brin! the created thin! to its nature' >nderstand $ell, therefore, $hat I $rite about those natures, because that must be $ell absorbed in the first lace, as one $ould !et a $ron! basic understandin! $hen all reviously told thin!s $ill later be dealt $ith in detail and clearly' Learn, therefore, my child, to understand thorou!hly the matters no$ discussed, then you $ill after$ards understand them all the better' Therefore, <ust as the t$o aforementioned natures have brou!ht the created thin! to com letion gradati), over a lon! time, <ust so the last t$o natures have also $or"ed in the created thin!, by de!rees, !radually, over a lon! time, until they have brou!ht the created thin! to the same ter)in /end or state0 in $hich it $as $hen it $as first created in its creation, but not to the same de!ree at $hich the first t$o be!an to $or"' ;y child, do $ell understand the meanin! /of my $ords0, because this discourse is some$hat difficult to understand' If I $ere ersonally resent $ith you, I $ould ex lain it more clearly and understandably' These last t$o natures of $hich $e have <ust s o"en, are to be used from the end to the first $or" of all stones, in order to o erate bac" /to undo0 that $hich nature has $or"ed of itself $ithin them, until $e have made it s iritual a!ain# so the the Art must a!ain undo $hat nature has done in them' Althou!h the Art cannot $or" in the created thin! to a!ain undo, as I have tau!ht, that $hich the last t$o natures have bro"en do$n after the first t$o natures had built it u ' 8or the last t$o natures have !radually, by de!rees and over a lon! time, chased a$ay and driven out the three s irits, or the 3uintessence, from the created thin!, so that they must finally leave the created thin! totally' -hen the three s irits are out of it, those t$o, the sic"%ma"in! and the sufferin! natures, !et t$o com anions to hel them, that is, the fat salts or the combustible oil, and : ' And immediately these four se arate and destroy the $hole mixture, and it $ill remain se arated until Jud!ment Day, $hen God $ill re air them a!ain to their erfection' True, the Art must $or" in a created thin! in order to undo $hat nature has done# but the Art must $or" in the created thin! in con trariu) to $hat the last t$o natures have' done in it' 8or

the last t$o natures have robbed the $hole mixture of its s irits or its 3uintessence' They have caused the $hole )assa of the mixture to se arate from one another, and have destroyed it' A!ainst that the Art must to the contrariu), and a!ain undo in the created thin! $hat the first ~,9 t$o natures did' (ut it must reserve the three s irits and the four elements $ith their salts in such a $ay that they are not diminished in the least' It must ma"e the created thin! s iritual, as it $as before, but not to the same de!ree' Thus, my child, $e must follo$ nature in some $or"s# in some other $or"s, ho$ever, a!ainst nature, $e must o erate 3uite the contrary, as is roven here' &ven if not everythin! is ertinent, I am $ritin! this for my child, so that my child may better understand my vie$s in this reface $hich lain here $ritin! about the first Materia and the natures, to enable you by !reatest dili!ence to com rehend my $ords com letely' Thus I have no$ indicated to my child the first )ateria out of $hich such ri)a )ateria is com osed, and $hat it is, includin! $hat arts it has' Aside from this, my child should also understand that, althou!h the first materia is /com osed0 of many arts, it is nevertheless only one art# for one art cannot be $ithout the other, and /the $hole0 is therefore no more than one art' Just as there are three =ersons, as 8ather, Son and ,oly S irit, it is yet but one God, for one cannot be $ithout the other' Thus and not other$ise is it also $ith the first )ateria, as $ill be clearly roven hereafter' Above all you must "no$ that, if you $ish to try your hands at the ractice, you must reco!ni7e four thin!s, my child' And unless my child "no$s these four thin!s, you $ill not accom lish anythin!' 8irst, my child must "no$ a dead cor us from a livin! body' In addition, you must "no$ a com lete cor us, meanin!F A body $hich is in its Y ~ full o$er, on $hich the aforementioned t$o natures have accom lished all their $or", so that it is in full o$er and its hi!hest stren!th and force' The third "no$led!e is that my child must "no$ of $hat natures the cor us is on $hich you $ish to o erate, $hether it contains that $hich you $ish to extract# for one cannot dra$ out of any thin! that $hich is not in it' 8or if you $ished to dra$ s$eet $ine from a cas" of vine!ar, it $ould be im ossible, because no thin! can !ive $hat it has not itself' The fourth "no$led!e is that my child must "no$ a si) le cor us from a co) osito, so that my child does not mista"e a cor us corn ositu) for a sim le cor us' 8or if my child $ere to ta"e a com osent /com osed0 cor us for a sim le cor us, my child $ould ma"e a mista"e' ,ere ends the Prologue, in $hich Theoretica has been li!htly

touched u on, aside from many references that are im ortant for the understandin! of the hiloso hical Art, $hich is secret' And therefore I advise you $ho $ill read this theory, that you do not reveal it to anyone, unless they are true lovers of the Art' (ut if you do other$ise, you act li"e a sim leton and fool, for it $ould sound stran!e in the ears of the i!norant'

>tI Y Y T,& 8IRST =ART O8 T,& 2&G&TA(L& STO+& O8 T,& -I+& (D ISAAE ,OLLA+D>S E,A=T&R I In order to obtain such a medicine $hich cures and removes all sic"nesses and "ee s the healthy, healthy and drives a$ay old a!e, $hile "ee in! ~it in !ood condition to the last ter)in of life, as has been set by God the Almi!hty, it is first and above everythin! else necessary to "no$ the four elements and their nature, inside and outside, their o$er and their feces, and $hat is contained in them' 8or in them there are t$o natures, one that is erishable and eternal' Therefore it is necessary that $e should first have a "no$led!e of the elements, since everythin! in the $orld has ori!inated in and is com osed of the four elements' Accordin!ly, my child should "no$ that I $ish to teach him, in undis!uised $ords and $ithout the interference of forei!n termini, the ri!ht truth to reach this Art and $ondrous medicine' E,A=T&R II ;y child should "no$ that the divine medicine consists in three ty es of "no$led!e and three ty es of $or" by the hands' They have three s ecial names, althou!h they are nevertheless all one, <ust as the ,oly Trinity consists of three se arate =ersons $ith three s ecial names, such as, 8ather, Son and ,oly Ghost# /but0 the 8ather is not the Son, and the Son is not the 8ather or the ,oly Ghost# and the ,oly Ghost is neither the 8ather nor the Son' Det each is a se arate =erson, and nevertheless these three se arate =ersons are one bein! and have one mi!ht and one o$er' Thus it is also $ith these three different medicines# one is not the other, but althou!h they are of three different "inds, they are nevertheless one in essence and of the

same nature and o$er, but $ith three different namesF 2e!etable, Animal, and ;ineral' (y O2e!etableP you must understand everythin! !ro$in! out of the soil, such as herbs, trees, s ices, fruits# and everythin! s routin! out of the soil, such as roots, flo$ers, etc' The second is called OAnimalP, $hich refers to everythin! that has life and feelin! in it, such as human bein!s, animals, cattle, birds, fish, $orms, and everythin! that has received life' The name of the third is O;ineralP, namely everythin! that !ro$s in the earth, such as !old, silver, and all metals, minerals, marcasites, roc"s, and everythin! that comes out of mines' These are three se arate names and three se arate natures and bein!s, and differentiated in three se arate substances' Det $hen they are brou!ht to their hi!hest otency to $hich God has created them, they are one in na% ture and retain the same e3ual o$er and bein! in all eternity, as $ill be tau!ht later /God $illin!L0' E,A=T&R III Above all, my child should "no$ that $ater $as created first, and to that $ater God incor orated his earth' Out of the earth all thin!s have s routed, and out of it everythin! has !ro$n that has received its bein! and life by the $ill of God, $ith the hel of the u er choirs, such as the sun, moon, lanets and stars, $hich to!ether our their influence and o$er over them, in the $ay God has rovided in his divine order, as $ill be discussed subse3uently' E,A=T&R I2 8urther, there are t$o nianife~t elements, such as $ater and earth, in $hich t$o others are concealed, namely, air and fire, $hich are influencing elements' Air is contained in $ater, and fire in earth# and they are so "nit to!ether that they can never be ri!htly se arated' In addition, earth and fire are fixed, $hereas the other t$o, $ater and air, are volatile' That is $hy $ater rises to!ether $ith air, and earth and fire stay to!ether at the bottom' Amon! these four elements, fire and $ater are o osed to each other, as are earth and air' (ut air ayrn honi$ee, or e3uali7es, $ith fire in $armth, and $ith $ater in humidity' Li"e$ise $ater sym honi7es $ith earth in coldness' &arth has e3uality $ith fire in dryness' -hich ex lains clearly that each element can be made concordant $ith t$o other elements, and that in ro erty one is contrary or o osite the other' E,A=T&R 2 8urther, I admonish my child to "no$ that there are t$o "inds of bein!s in every elementF One is erishable, sub<ect to decay, corru tible and combustible# the other, ho$ever, is eternal and im erishable li"e the indestructible heaven, also of a heavenly nature, so that it can neither rot nor be burnt by fire' In addition, in these t$o natures there is still another one

concealed and mixed $ith them' It is calledF Rotten, stin"in! feces. It is so much united and mixed $ith them that it robs them of all their o$er, so that they have little or no o$er# and it ma"es the elements stin"in! and utrefactable, of $hich $e are no$ !oin! to s ea"' E,A=T&R 2I ;y child should "no$ that there are t$o "inds of $ater' One is the $ater of the clouds, a la"e or a cree"# the other is the -le)ental $ater, and this latter counts as the element $ater' It is the $ater of the hiloso hers, $hich the i!norant do not "no$' Li"e$ise, there is an earth $hich is $hite, ure, shinin! and eternal' It is the earth of the hiloso hers' Aside from this, there is another, blac", stin"in! and combustible earth' In the same $ay, there is an -le)ental fire, $hich is eternal and is the fire of the hiloso hers# a!ainst that, there is another fire $hich is stin"in! and combustible' Li"e$ise there is an air $hich is elemental and is the air of the hiloso hers' In addition, there is also a stin"in! and combustible air' These base thin!s are mixed $ith the rest and are the reason $hy all thin!s in the $orld are so easily destroyed, so that nothin! can last lon!, but they brin! them death and corru t all natures, by and by, no matter ho$ noble they may be' This is true for all thin!s, ve!etable, mineral and animal' E,A=T&R 2II +o$ I $ill teach my child ho$ he is to se arate, by Art, the eternal, elemental nature from this corru tible nature' I $ill also inform him of $hat harm it can brin! to human bein!s, cattle and animals' ,o$ever, to obtain such a thin! that is harmless to nature, necessity demands to learn above everythin! the manner in $hich $e must se arate the eternal from the erishable, stin"in! and combustible' After this, it serves my child to "no$ that many mista"es are made in i t the se aration of the elements, inasmuch as some i!norant eo le are found $ho ut herbs and s ecies /s ices0 to utrefy, retendin! that they intend to se arate the elements from them in the follo$in! $ayF -hen they ta"e them out of utrefaction, they dra$ from them the $ater er balneu) or by fire' Then they remove the )ateria from $hich the $ater has been distilled and rub it $ith its o$n $ater' +o$, they distill it a!ain by fire' Then a yello$ $ater !oes over $hich they se arate er balneu). The $ater becomes clear and the yello$ matter stays in fundo and $ill not rise in the balneu). This they say to be the element air# but they do not "no$ $hat they are sayin!, since it is some im urity~ of the fire and the air $hich had risen $ith the $ater durin! distillation because of the stron!er burnin! of the fire used for the distillation'

Thereafter they ta"e $hat has remained in the ot and rub it $ith its o$n $ater' Then they ut it into utrefaction for W or V days, and after$ards distill it a!ain on fire' Then a red, thic" and fat )ateria !oes over, $hich they call the element fire' They remove it from the balneu) /orF they se arate it in the balneum0, and the red, fat )ateria stays at the bottom and $ill not !et out of the balneurn. They are ta"in! it out and then say that they have the element fire' +o$ they calcinate $hat remained at the bottom of the ot and dra$ the salt out of the fecibus. After that, they rectify each element by itself and are heard to say that they have se arated the four elements, althou!h they do not "no$ $hat they are sayin! or doin!# neither do they understand Y B , themselves nor the $or" they have done# nor do they have a "no$led!e of the elements' The roof is as follo$sF 8irst, they set to utrefy and rot a thin!, $hen the external heat in $hich it stands drives the inner, natural $armth out of the thin! they utrefy' 8or the natural $armth a thin! has in it is a s irit $ith $hich three "inds of s irits are min!led' One of them is the color of the thin!, be it a herb, a flo$er, or a s ice' That is its !reen, red, bro$n, yello$ or other color $hich a herb, folia!e or flo$er has' The second s irit is the taste, and the third s irit is the s)ell or air $hich every thin! !ives off, and this /smell0 is the subtlest of all three s irits' Therefore, these three are subtle s irits $hich esca e so adroitly and unnoticeably that the hiloso hers have therefore called them $ild s irits, $hich cannot be fixed, althou!h the Artist can nevertheless fix them $ith s"ill in the $or"' These three s irits ta"e their be!innin! in every thin!, be it a ve!etable ) or animal cor us. As soon as that thin! has received its o$er or form, it is ready to receive these three s irits, by the $ill and decree of God, $hich he has infused into nature, each thin! accordin! to its "ind' These three s irits !ro$ u !radually $ith the body, and the bi!!er, lar!er and stron!er the body becomes the bi!!er, lar!er and stron!er these three s irits become, each in its o$n o$ers, namelyF In taste, smell and color until the thin! reaches its hi!hest o$er, that is, $hen it is fully !ro$n' Then, my child, the herbs should be ic"ed, $hen they are fully !ro$n and not $hen they are half)!ro$n# nor $hen they are $ithered, since they are then in /the state ?@A I ~i of0 decreasin! in stren!th' E,A=T&R 2III After a thin! has reached its !reatest !ro$th, it is in its hi!hest otency' Subse3uently, it be!ins to !o do$n and to

decrease in taste, smell and color, until it has come to nau!ht' 8inally, these three s irits esca e com letely from it' As soon as they are out of it, the thin! /be it ve!etable or animal0 is dead, becomes evil)smellin! and decays' The same occurs durin! utrefaction' -hat they set into it may $ell be alive and !ood, but $hen they ta"e it out a!ain, they are rid of these three s irits and the matter is dead, stin"in!, and rots' E,A=T&R IU Det none of these three s irits is of the -le)ental elements, but God has adorned and clothed the elements $ith these three s irits, and they are their life and soul' Of them, the 8ire is animal, the -ater, Aire elementall and no man but God can se arate them but the $ater of the clouds may be se arated from them' Also, all the feces may be se arated from them, $hich are min!led $ith them# $hich are the stin"in! and corru tible elements, and the four elemental)elements may be brou!ht to achrystalline shinin!' (ut these three elements, 8ire, Air and &arth are unse arable' Then they distill this in the Balneu) and $ithdra$ its o$n $ater, and rub that $hich stays at the bottom $ith its o$n $ater' Then they set it a!ain to utrefy in manure or in the Balneu), for V or T days, maybe also 95 or more# so that, if anythin! !ood of these three s irits should have remained, they drive it a$ay com letely and are thus s oil% in! it in one !o' To this they may no$ ob<ectF -e lute the vessels 3uite firmly before $e ut them into utrefaction' Ino$ then, my child, that, if a !lass $ere a foot thic" and $ere ever so stron!ly hermetically luted, it $ould nevertheless brea" into a hundred ieces if the utrefaction $ere to !et heated and the s irits $ere to rise' Try it, you $ill find that it is so' -ell then, they lute $ith some materials of luta)ents, u on $hich they ut their trust' (ut, althou!h they $ere to lute a foot thic" $ith the stron!est lutaments one could find, the three s irits are yet so subtle that they enetrate invisibly' Try it, ut fra!rant herbs for Q5 days into utrefaction, and $hen you ta"e them out, all their natural fra!rance is !one# they smell sour and stin", no matter ho$ stron!ly you may have luted' E,A=T&R U The other reason isF -hen then they ta"e it /the matter0 out of utrefaction, they ut it to distill in a vessel set in sand or ashes, so that a yello$ $ater !oes over' They call it the element air' It rises over to!ether $ith the $ater' ,o$ever, they do not "no$ $hat they are sayin!, inasmuch as they are not a$are that the element air cannot be se arated from the element $ater, althou!h one can $ell se arate the $ater from the earth' (ut the -le)entalB 5ater, the -le)entalBair, and the -le)entalBfire, these three can% not be se arated by anyone in the $orld but by God alone, $ho has the o$er, and no one else# $hile they are united and married that they cannot be se arated either no$ or in all eternity' BV4'

True, one may $ell se arate from them the $ater of the clouds, $hich is moist and runnin! $ater and, in addition, all corru tion and feces mixed $ith it, so that one can brin! the elements to crystal clearness' (ut the three elements, air, $ater and fire cannot be se arated' The i!norant cannot understand that there can be no fire $ithout air# for if the air has been dra$n from the fire, the heat of the fire $ould have to cho"e, die, and come to nau!ht' And if the fire $ere dra$n a$ay from the air, it $ould be mere $ater# because the air is $arm and humid and artici ates $ith $ater and fire' If then the fire had been dra$n from it, it $ould be all $ater' And if $ater $ere dra$n from the air, it $ould be all fire' Thus you can easily understand that the said three elements are inse arable' One may, of course, se arate those three elements from the earth, but not com letely' Some earth must remain $ith them# other$ise one could not ma"e a cor us $ith them $hich $ould be tan!ible in s ecie. That is $hy the elements cannot be se arated, because the three elements fire, air and $ater carry $ith them, from the !ross art of the earth, a subtle terrestrial ortion. They incor orate themselves $ith it, so that they become dry and tan!ible but not fixed' 8or if one $ishes to fix them, they must ossess somethin! of the !ross art of the earth' Det the ;aster must render the !ross arts of the earth subtle before uttin! them to!ether' ,o$ this can be done $ill to tau!ht later' The reason $hy the $ater !oes over yello$, is that it is distilled on fire, and that the burnin! of the fire drives u of the air and the fire to!ether $ith the $ater, $hich art r % causes the yello$ colorin!' Then they ut it into the Balneurri and abstract the $ater, $hile the air and the fire remain in fundo of the vessel, to!ether $ith many feces $hich they reserve' 8urther, they ound that $hich first stayed bac" at the bottom of the vessel and rub or i)bibe it $ith its $ater' They then ut it a!ain into utrefaction, for T or 95 days, accordin! to their foolish $him' After$ards, they ut it on the furnace, and distill by fire, !ently to be!in $ith and subse3uently by a stron!er fire' In so doin!, they drive out everythin! they can, so that the vessel $ith the )ateria starts to !lo$' Then they say that the fire has !one over to!ether $ith the $ater' (ut they do not "no$ $hat they are sayin!# nor do they "no$ that $hich !oes over' These are the reasons $hyF (ecause all the other three elements $ent over $ith the $ater, that is, the air, the $ater, the fire,~ and a art of the earth $hich $ent artly over $ith the other elements on account of the stron! fire' -hat also $andered across $as the combustible oil and the QQ , $hich t$o are li"e$ise concealed in the elements and intermixed $ith them' E,A=T&R UI 8or <ust as the three noble s irits are hidden in the

elements, these three, that is, the combustible oil, the and the im ure feces are li"e$ise hidden in the elements' The first three, ho$ever, are so volatile that they !o over first or se arate first from the elements# and the last three se arate last from the elements' E,A=T&R UII That is $hy my child should be a$are that the first )ateria of everythin! in the $orld $as MercuriusC since $ater )D ) X ~ t $as before time $as, and the S irit of the Lord rested on the $ater' (ut $hat "ind of $ater $as itN -as it $ater of the EloudsN Or a moisture that could be oured outN +o, but it $as a dry $ater unto $hich God hath <oined ,is earth $hich $as his #ul hur, so that the earth coa!ulated $ith the $ater' And out of it came the four elements $hich $ere ordained in these t$o by the command of God and ,is su reme $ill' Mercury dissolves the #ul hur, and #ul hur coa!ulates Mercury. And these t$o cannot be one $ith the other, for Mercury is never $ithout the #ul hur, $hereas it is bein! transformed into it' 8or the nature ro er of Mercury is that it dissolves its #ul hur and $hitens it# and the nature of the dry #ul hur ur!es and coa!ulates its Mercury. And as these t$o cannot be one $ithout the other, they cannot be $ithout #alt, $hich is the rinci al means $hereby nature accom lishes all her generation in all thin!s, in ve!etable as $ell as mineral and animal /$or"s0' ;ay you $ell understand my $ordsL 8or if nature did not have Mercury in her !eneration, strai!ht at the be!innin! of the ori!inal com osition of every created thin!, it could not "ee to!ether in natural humidity, $hich is one of the most necessary items for "ee in! a thin! in its essence' And if she did not have #ul hur, the humid arts could not be coa!ulated' In the same $ay, if she did not have #alt /a means $hich connects both and causes one to enter the other0, it $ould not mix or unite $ith anythin! in the $orld# because there $ould be no shar ness to enetrate, or it could not mix $ith any thin!' Therefore these three, Mercury, #ul hur and #alt do not exist one $ithout the other' -here you find one of them, you find all three# and there is no created thin! in the $orld $herein you do not find them' And from these three, everythin! in the $orld has s run!' They are also in the four elements, min!led in such a $ay that they are one in one body' #alt, ho$ever, hides in the very dee est of the elements, $hich it must "ee them to!ether $ith its shar ness and dryness' +evertheless, it is a s irit and volatile'

,o$ever, because it is contained in the dee est of the mixture and is "e t under by the fat combustible oil to $hich it clin!s ) for the salt lies in the combustible oil li"e the yol" in the e!!, and the combustible oil lies in the dee est of the elements $hence, to!ether $ith the #alt and the fecibus, it se arates last from the earth, and the salt lies buried at the bottom of the feces of the earth and the combustible oil %it cannot flee from the earth exce t by the o$er of the fire' These three S irits, $hereof $e have s o"en must first be se arated from the mixture of the elements, $hich is the soul of all thin!s, or their /uintessence. This is $hat binds to!ether the $hole mixture of the elements' 8or $hen the s irits are dra$n out, then the mixture $ill dissolve or se arate of its o$n and is divided' +either is there need of fire to ex el the salt from the earth# $hen the elements are se arated from the feces, then is the salt also se arated $ith it' This salt is un"no$n to the i!norant, because it is contained in the dee est of the elements' Those, therefore, $ho do not "no$ this salt, must remain in error' Salt therefore, is the means bet$een the !ross, earthly arts, and the three volatile s irits restin! in the natural heat' That is, the taste, moist%smell and Solor' These three are the life, soul and 3uintessence of everythin! nor can one of these three be one $ithout the others' E,A=T&R UIII =reviously, I told you that these three s irits $hich esca e invisibly durin! utrefaction are so subtle, that they cannot be fixed' -hereu on I immediately saIdF They can nevertheless be fixed to!ether $ith the coarse art of the earth $hen the same has been rendered subtle by a ;aster -ho is s"illful in the -or"' And $ith this Salt, $hich is a medium bet$een these coarse, fixed arts of the earth and the three volatile s irits, these S irits are li"e unto the 8ather, Son and ,oly Ghost, bein! one, yet three ersons, and one not bein! $ithout the others' -hich is $hy they are the life and soul of all created thin!s' The /uintessence. (ut the i!norant understand it not and ma"e fun thereof' 8or these three s irits, bein! tied to the !ross and earthly fixed arts, if they are subtili7ed and if their Salt is <oined and min!led $ith them, the one enetrates the other and fixes them into a crystalline body $hich is Dia hanous, red and trans arant li"e a ruby, $hereof $e $ill instruct you later' (ut those $ho do not "no$ this Salt, they $ill never achieve anythin! in the Art' =hiloso hers have called this Salt a dry $ater and a lively salt' (ut the i!norant thou!ht they meant ;ercury thereby' They also named it an ensouled Salt and concealed its name' They also called the three s irits ;ercury and !ave &arth the name of Sul hur $hich the i!norant also did not understand' +o$ one cannot be $ithout the other and there is no created thin! in the $orld $herein these are not all to!ether, yet so intert$ined $ith the four elements that they form one )asea /mixture0 or cor us /body0'

E,A=T&R UI2 So, I sin sayin! once a!ain that those $ho distill in that $ay and drive one thin! over $ith the other in the fire, they do not themselves "no$ $hat they are doin!' +either have they noticed that all their $or" and distillations are stu id business# because they "no$ not the three S irits' +or are they a$are that they are the main factor in the $or"' Des, the Cuintessence $hich they are see"in! has already esca ed them durin! utrefaction' Eonse3uently, $hen they strive $ith all their mi!ht to drive thin!s out $ith the fire, they also force the Salt $ith the combustible oil over and the feces as $ell' Similarly, a ortion of the four elements !oes over' Thus they s oil one $ith another, as $ill be tau!ht later' +either do they "no$ the elements in their inner and outer nature# nor do they "no$ the fine substance $hich "ee s them to!ether and binds them, $ith $hich God has adorned them' Therefore, I am <ustified in sayin! that their thin! is alto!ether madness and fraud, and they do in no $ay understand the $or", as has been roven' E,A=T&R U2 +o$ I $ill teach my child the formost and rinci al factor of the 2e!etable%$or", $hich is the first be!innin! of the Vegetabilia, since there is nothin! nobler nor subtler amon! all !ro$in! thin!s' And amon! them there is all that of $hich the /uinta -ssentia !oes over first' Its name is the noble $ine' Eom rised in it are also $heat and all cereals, all fruit of trees, and everythin! of $hich the Cu' &ss' !oes over' B?~E I $ill therefore instruct my child ho$ to ma"e the 2e!etable% stone of these, $hich stone sur asses the mineral and also the animal stone' And it is not corrosi6e li"e the other t$o stones' And the !old made of it is not corrosive li"e the !old that comes from the other t$o stones' That is the reason $hy it is the su reme medicine of human life, drivin! a$ay in a short time all sic"nesses that may befall man, of $hich instruction $ill be !iven later on' These are the reasons $hy it is secreter, but none of the other t$o stones is' It is also easier to roduce and re3uires less time and costs' Therefore, it is secreter, $hile the other t$o stones are not' E,A=T&R U2I Let my child therefore ta"e, in the name of the 8ather, the Son and the ,oly Ghost, a !ood, old, clear $ine, of !ood smell and taste, as it comes from its !ra es ) not bre$ed or made but such as has !ro$n of itself, so that nothin! forei!n /orF alien0 may be in it' +either should there be a mother, druse or yeast in it, but it should be a $ine $hich has been drained three or four times of its druses or fecibus, each time into a clean or fresh cas"' -hen you have this $ine, you should have a bi! "ettle built by masonry into a furnace' The latter should be constructed $ith a

snout comin! out of one side and extendin! to the bottom' Into that i e the $ater is to be oured $henever it has boiled or steamed a$ay' Into this "ettle ut a lar!e, earthen$are itcher of 9W or 45 Eolo!ne 3uarts' 8ill those almost com letely $ith $ine' Then you should have a broad cor" $hich fits the mouth of the itcher' Or have a turner turn a lar!e sto er $hich $ill <ust fit into the mouth of the itcher' +o$ ut a helm on and lace a receiver to the s out of the helm' In addition, the reci ient should have a snout in the stomach, to $hich snout you must a!ain ut a receiver' Into that the noblest s irits $ill !o' If one $ishes, one may still ut a !lass to such a reci ient' Then the s irits have room for lay and thus much less violence is done to the luta)ents by the s irits $antin! to enetrate out throu!h them' Dou could, therefore, as you $ish, ut four or five reci ients, one next to the other, and each time the subtlest s irits $ill be in the !lass' Distill your $ine over in such a $ay, and "ee the residual hleg)a. =our the s irits or a7ua 6itae to!ether# ut them a!ain into the earthen$are itcher# ut the cor" bac" into the nec", and ut a helm on' =ut three or four receivers to the snouts' +o$ distill !ently er balneu), and $atch carefully for some de$ or smo"e in the alembic, $hich is a si!n that some $ateriness rises to!ether $ith the s irits# for $hen the s irits rise alone, the helm is as ure and clear as crystal' (ut $hen $ateriness rises $ith the s irits, it sho$s in the helm' Loo" carefully, therefore, if you do not notice some ha7y va or in the helm' This $ill ha en durin! the last distillation, $hen almost everythin! has !one over' As soon as you notice somethin! of such a ha7e or va or in the helm, sto the distillation and "ee that $hich remains in the itcher se arately, because you must distill it a!ain' Gather for this ur ose all the residue of all the distillations, and distill them a!ain er balneu) until they rise $ithout smo"e' Re eat this till you have all the s irits out of the $ine, $ithout findin! any steam in the helm' Then you must no lon!er distill er balneurn, but you must still rectify the s irit by fire, in a !lass, in a cu el $ith strained ashes' This must be a lon! !lass $ithout a helm' /The lon! !lass must have a hole above to allo$ you to our into it throu!h a funnel, and after$ards it has to be luted0' E,A=T&R U2II =ut it, in this $ay, in the ash to!ether $ith the receivers attached to it, and distill on a !entle fire, since the heavy s irits sin" do$n on the side of the !lass, loo"in! li"e little veins or strea"s' They fall do$n to the bottom of the !lass because they are heavy and coarse $hile there is still some hleg)a $ith them' The subtle s irits move throu!h the s out, $hile the heaviest art falls do$n to the bottom of the first reci ient' (ut that $hich is subtle stays floatin! in the receiver and $anders throu!h the snout into the second receiver, and so

forth into the third, and in each case the most subtle s irit is in the last rece tacul. Dou should also al$ays leave somethin! in the !lass $hich stands in the cu el $ith the ashes' ;a"e a!ain an infusion of everythin! there is in the first t$o receivers# but "ee $hat is in the third alone in a !lass, $ell closed' Distill it a!ain /reducin! it0 to <ust a small amount, for a little must remain, and our it to!ether into a !lass' =our also everythin! you find in the third reci ient to!ether# it is the subtlest, and that $hich you leave is the coarsest' That must still be distilled often till you have everythin! to!ether in the third receiver' If it should ha en that you notice some va or or de$ in the helm, you must distill a!ain er balneum, as has been tau!ht before, and after$ards by means of the lon! !lass, leavin! each time a little until everythin! to!ether is in the third receiver, $hich you must !radually !ather in a !lass till you have everythin! of the third receiver to!ether' +o$ our it into the lon! !lass and distill over into a receiver that should have a tube in its stomach' (ut that tube must be $ell luted' -hen it has !one over, ut the receiver into the cu el $ith the ashes' Eover it above $ith a small iece of cut !lass or tile, but o en the tube and ut another reci ient of $hich also has a snout in the stomach that must be closed ti!htly' +o$ distill from one receiver into another, and you do not need to oi~r /li3uid0 over it# but, $hen it has !one over, remove the !lass from the ash and ut the receiver $ith the s irits into it' =ut the other one /reci ient0 on a!ain, and in that $ay distill over and bac" a!ain' Or you can have t$o elicans made, $hich are called t$o brothers' They distill one into the other $ithout an o enin!' (ut one has to ut them over and bac" a!ain so that, if one is distillin!, the other is the receiver' Rut it /the li3uid0 $ill rise over so easily and in so short a time that you $ill be sur rised, and that $ill last throu!h 9W or 45 distillations' After$ards it $ill !radually be!in to become la7ier, so that it no lon!er rises over as fast' &ach distillation becomes slo$er, since the s irits be!in X 9Zi' O 9 to become coarser and thic"er, and finally it rises so slo$ly that the !~lass $ill !lo$ at the bottom' It $ill finally sub% limate' It is not necessary, ho$ever, to dra$ it over so lon!, because it $ould ta"e too much time' +evertheless, it is ossible, and I have done it myself and have also seen someone else do it, but there are many other $ays to reach such a sublimation, as I

$ill instruct you later' Therefore, if it be!ins to !o over slo$ly and la7ily, sto L The $ine has then been sufficiently rectified of its hle!ma' =ut a !lass on, sto er it 3uite firmly and reserve it until I teach you $hat to do $ith it' (ut no$, my child should rectify all the $ater from $hich he has dra$n his $ine, since you must dra$ your $ater out of the fire and the earth# as you have dra$n it out of the air, so you must also dra$ it out of the fire and the earth, as $ill be tau!ht later' That is $hy Aristotle saysF O-hen you have the $ater out of the air, and the air out of the fire, and the fire out of the earth, you have the ri!ht Art, and from it there comes a stone $hich is no stone, neither has it the nature of a stone' ;y child should no$ ta"e all the $ater and rectify it er balneum in an earthen$are itcher $ith a helm' -hen all the $ater has !one over, remove the itches from the balneum and you $ill find at the bottom a blac" matter, as blac" as itch' In that blac" matter the element fire to!ether $ith the element $ater are hidden, as is the combustible oil to!ether $ith the dry $ater, $hich is #alarrnoniac. Dou must ta"e the latter out and rinse the itcher, ta"in! care that nothin! !ets lost# and reserve it $ell' Do not dra$ the $ater off dry from it, but leave a ) I little moisture, or a little $ater, $ith it' Other$ise you could not remove the aforesaid itch)blac" matter clean out of the itcher' After that you must eva orate it 3uite dry in another vessel $hich must be $ide enou!h above, so that you can ta"e it out more easily' +o$ our the distilled $ater bac" into the itcher, and distill it over to!ether er balneum, as before' -hen it has !one over you $ill a!ain find a blac" matter at the bottom of the itcher' Ta"e that also out clean, let it smo"e of f, and add it to the revious /blac" matter0' Iee it $ell' Then distill all the $ater once a!ain er balneum' Dou must re eat this till nothin! remains' Add $hat remains each time to the other' -hen the $ater !oes over ure, $ithout anythin! left behind, you have the $ater clear out of the fire and out of the earth' E,A=T&R UIII +o$ ut all the blac" matter into a bi!, earthen$are itcher of 9W to 45 3uarts' =ut all the blac" matter into it' +o$ set it in the balneum and our enou!h of the $ater you have dra$n from it into the itcher to fill it to one 3uart' Stir it $ith a $ooden s oon to mix it $ell' (rin! ~the balneum to the boilin! oint, but $ithout actually boilin3, for one or t$o hours, till the blac" matter has disinte!rated in the $ater and become mixed $ith it' +o$ cool the balneum to the oint $here you can ut your hand in

it' Let it stand at that $armth for t$o days and t$o ni!hts, stirrin! it every three or four hours $ith the $ooden s oon, so that that $hich is at the bottom rises# al$ays close the itcher $ith a fittin! and cut little cover E,A=T&R UIU Let it not be a secret for my child that then the $ater $ill extract the &lemental%fire and become red as blood# neither $ill it dra$ anythin! else into it but the &lemental%fire' E,A=T&R UU ;y child should "no$ that from everythin! God has created and is com rised amon! the 6egetabiliac, the air must first be dra$n off by distillation er balneuin, as has been tau!ht before' -hen the air has been removed from the $ater, the $ater must be dra$n from the fire and the earth by distillation, as has been indicated before' E,A=T&R UUI After that it is no lon!er necessary to distill $ith the alembic in order to dra$ the fire from the earth# for if the $ater has once been se arated from the fire and the earth, it $ill no lon!er mix $ith the fecibus' And even if the feces became mixed $ith the $ater, the $ater $ill nevertheless ush them a$ay and ma"e them fall to the bottom' Instead, it $ill absorb the &lemental%fire, $hich is red, and $ill let the feces dro to!ether $ith the earth and the combustible fire, in $hich the salt, or the dry $ater, or QQ is loc"ed % the $ater $ill let all these sin" to the bottom, but it $ill "ee in itself the &lemental%fire, $hich is red' 8or if the $ater has once been erfectly se arated from the elements and the fecibus, $ith $hich the elements are mixed, the $ater of the clouds, $hich is the hleg)a, $ill henceforth at no time mix a!ain $ith fecibus of the $orld from $hich it has been se arated' That $ater of $hich $e are no$ s ea"in! is $ater of the clouds and not an &lemental)$ater, as has been roven before' There) fore my child should "no$ that this $ater dra$s out everythin! &lemental from the fecibus of the elements# and it lets the fecibus dro do$n, "ee in! in itself that $hich is &lemental' E,A=T&R UUII ;y child should also "no$ that $ith all thin!s included in ani)alis, be it herbs, s ices, animals, cattle or human bein!s, the $ater first !oes over, and the air and fire are both dra$n out simultaneously $ith the $ater of the clouds, as $ill be tau!ht, if it leases God, in the Animal%$or"' -ith everythin!, ho$ever, included in 6egetabilia, the air !oes over first, such as $ine, honey, and all cereals, such as $heat, barley, oats, buc"~Qheat, vetch, and some seeds, all fruits of trees, some from herbs, and everythin! com rised under ve!etabilia' -ith those the air has first to be se arated from the $ater, as has been tau!ht here' After$ards the $ater must also be dra$n out from the fire, and from the earth, and from the fecibus' Then the distillation has been done erfectly' After that one can dra$ out from the earth

$ith the $ater# follo$in! that one dra$s the earth from the fecibus $ith the $ater# one also dra$s the salt or [Q from the combustible oil, as $ill be tau!ht later' Therefore my child should "no$ that in the 2e!etable%$or" there must be more distillations, also more labor, more time and !reater costs' This does not a ly to the Animal$or", for in all animal $or"s the $ater of the clouds !oes over first, $hile the air, fire and earth stay at the bottom $ith the fecibus' -hen one has the $ater ure and clean, so that nothin! remains, the $ater has to be oured on a!ain' +o$ the $ater $ill dra$ the fire and the air to!ether from the earth %and the fecibus' Eonse3uently, the $or" ta"es in everythin! less time in the animal than in the ve!etable $or", on account of the reasons mentioned above' E,A=T&R UUIII +o$ $e $ill ta"e u our $or" a!ain' -hen the itcher has stood for t$o days and t$o ni!hts in the balneum, in accordance $ith the revious teachin!, ta"e it out and let it stand for t$o or three days in order to sin" do$n' +o$ have at hand another clean itcher or vessel' Let it /the li3uor0 run off its fecibus into it /the vessel0 er filtrum or throu!h a little iece of cloth, accordin! to the Art' -hen everythin! has been dra$n off, ta"e the itcher $ith the fecibus and the earth and ut it a!ain into the balneurn' A!ain our its o$n $ater u on it till the itcher is filled u to a 3uart and stir it /the fecibus and the earth0 $ell into the $ater $ith a $ooden s oon, as before' Then remove it and let it sin" a!ain for t$o or three days, so that the feces and the earth settle do$n at the bottom' +o$ se arate it a!ain er filtru) and our it to the first' Eover it, then ut the itcher $ith the fecibus and the earth bac" into the balneum' A!ain our some of its o$n $ater u on it, and roceed in everythin! as you have been instructed before' Dou must re eat this dra$in! off, sin"in! and filterin! till the $ater is no lon!er colored but stands ure and clear above the fecibus' Then you have the fire from the earth' Ta"e the feces mixed $ith the earth from the itcher and ut them into another vessel' E,A=T&R UUI2 +o$ ta"e all the $ater in $hich the fire is and ut it into a bi! "ettle' Ta"e a lar!e 3uantity of e!!$hite and beat it as thin as $ater' Ta"e some of the $ater in $hich the &lemental%fire is and stir it for a$hile $ith a s oon in a ot or itcher, to!ether $ith the e!!$hite' +o$ our this mixture to the other $ater in the "ettleL stirrin! constantly, so that the e!!$hite is $ell mixed $ith the $ater and the &lemental)fire that is in the "ettle' +o$ ut it over the fire and let it come to a boil on e3ual /steady0 heat' The e!!$hite $ill coa!ulate# and should there be feces left in it that did not sin" do$n, the coa!ulated e!!$hite $ill attract and urify them' S"im and dro them# then dra$ them off er filtru) or han! them in a Oclaret%ba!P and let them se arate /dri of f0 $ell' +o$

you have your $ater and your fire E,A=T&R UU2

ure and clear'

Aside from this, there is still another $ay for clari% fyin!' -hen you ~batract the $ater er balneum, the fire stays at the bottom, $hile the fire in the balneum does not rise' Then our the $ater a!ain u on it and mix them $ell, and it $ill dro its feces' +o$ dra$ it off a!ain er f iitrum and distill the $ater from the balneum, as before' This must be re eated so often till there are no more feces' Then you have both your $ater and your fire ure, and this is the best $ay, but it ta"es lon!er and costs more on account of the fire' The feces are each time added to the first fecibus from $hich the fire has been dra$n' In the same $ay, the f eces $ith the e!!$hite are added to the first' ;y child should "no$ that if the $ater has been dra$n off the fire, the earth and the fecibus, and is oured on a!ain, it does not absorb anythin! exce t $hat is ure# and it lets the im ure sin"' That not only occurs in this $or" but in all $or"s $here the follo$in! is doneF The $ater, $hich $as thus rectified beforehand, so that it does not leave any feces, is dra$n of f# The same $ater is oured on a!ain, be it on fire, earth, salt or , any of those $ell mixed $ith the $ater so that it dissolves# It stands for one or t$o days to let the feces sin", since no feces dissolve in it# The $ater is oured bac" a!ain, as has been tau!ht before'

+o$ the fire or the earth or the ~ can be brou!ht to crystal clearness, coa!ulated hard, het one harder than the other, since the fire may $ell be coa!ulated in clearness but not in hardness' It becomes li"e cheese $hich may be bent $hen it is not old# and if one ta"es a iece of it thic" li"e a fin!er, one can $ell stretch it' Or li"e a iece of horn from co$s or oxen, $hich has lain for some time in boilin! hot $ater ) that may also be bent' Thus it is also $ith this element of fire' It becomes dry, hard and clear, li"e crystal, red li"e a ruby, and yet it is not brittle but can be bent' That is due to the humidity of the elements $ater and air $hich are in it and mixed $ith it, as $as roven before, so that air and fire should not be se arated' (ut $hen the element earth has been clarified $ith the $ater of the clouds, it is hard, dry and brittle, clear, trans arent and $hite li"e crystal, because the element earth is cold and dry' E,A=T&R UU2I

-hen the1/ has been clarified $ith the cloud%$ater' it is li"e$ise $hite, clear and trans arent, hard and brittle, because it is hot and dry' Therefore my child should "no$ that one can brin! everythin! in the $orld to crystal clearness by the $ater of the clouds, once it has been dra$n off ure from that $hich is to be brou!ht to clearness, but it must not leave behind any feces' Then /if it should still leave feces0 it is oured on a!ain and $ell stirred' After that, it should be allo$ed to settle do$n, and then it $ill discard its feces, "ee in! $ithin itself that $hich is erfect. +o$ it has to be oured off the fecibus er filtruni and distilled over in balneo er ale)bicu) until it is dry' This $or" has to be re eated so often till no more feces are left behind' Then, dried a!ain, it becomes hard, clear and trans arent li"e crystal, as has already been tau!ht and $ill a!ain be tau!ht hereafter /if it leases GodL0 This is the ri!ht $ay to brin! all thin!s to crystal clearness, not only in this $or" of the $ine, $ith $hich $e are dealin! here, but in everythin! God has created, in human bein!s, cattle, birds, fish, animals, herbs, flo$ers, fruits, metals, stones, and everythin! that exists under Animal, 2e!etable, and ;ineral' Amon! those three all thin!s are com rised that God has created in the $orld' And thus it is ossible to brin! everythin! created to crystal clearness by means of the Art $hich God !ives to his children and lovers' 8or after Jud!ment Day, God $ill se arate all thin!s and ma"e them clear li"e crystal and red li"e rubies' After that, no corru tion $ill enter them a!ain, and they $ill last in all eternity' Do you believe, my child, that everythin! created belo$ here by God $ill ass a$ay at Jud!ment DayN +o, not the meanest little hair God ever created $ill !o under, no more than the incorru tible heaven# but God $ill transform everythin! and ma"e it crystalline accordin! to his $ill and leasure' Therein the four elements $ill be erfect, sim le, fixed and unchan!eable, and then everythin! to!ether $ill be /u. -Bsentia and +a is hiloso horu). That can be roven here in this $orld by the Art, by our ability to brin! crystalline clearness to everythin! created by God, and by reunitin! the four elements into a sim le and fixed nature, so that they can after$ards not be chan!ed by anyone' +either can they be transformed or burnt by fire, but they $ill remain in all eternity as they are' And all this may be accom lished by human intelli!ence and subtle mastery, God havin! !ranted his children such $isdom throu!h s ecial Grace' 8rom here it comes that the hordes of hiloso hers say in their boo"s that the Art is in everythin! God has created, by $hich they s ea" the truth# but they $ithhold information on ho$ one is to dra$ it out, and the i!norant

can therefore not understand their $ords because of the dar"ness of their intelli!ence' The fact, ho$ever, that I am 3uotin! those discourses so extensively is for the ur ose of lettin! my child understand all thin!s at bottom and "no$ $hat he does' Also, if you should ma"e a mista"e in your $or" or if it $ent $ron!, or if you had missed somethin!, or one or another defect had occurred in your current $or"s, you should "no$ to $hat it is due and $here you $ent $ron!, so that you can easily correct the matter' Therefore, my child, read and reread this boo" often and understand it $ell at bottom' ,ere nothin! is resented to you in arables, or communicated to you in some dar" $ords, but it is told you in its ro er meanin!, as you yourself can test $ith your o$n intelli!ence, lest you should fall in error' E,A=T&R UU2II +o$ $e $ill return to our $or"' After rectifyin! the fire either $ith e!!$hite or er balneum, so that no feces remain, ut it finally into a lar!e 2enetian !lass' Dra$ the $ater of f clean till it is com letely dry# then let it cool do$n' After that, you must brea" the !lass' Ta"e it out, and your fire is as clear as a crystal, red li"e a ruby' Iee it till you need it' E,A=T&R UU2III +o$ have a otter ma"e a lar!e earthen$are vessel for you of !ood earth' It must be fire roof' ,ave it $ell !la7ed $ith lead /verbley!lasen0 on the outside' On to of that, lute $ith a !ood lute on the outside,about t$o or three f in!ers* $idth' Let the lute dry $ell' That vessel should be made thus /see icture0' =ut in it all the feces you have in $hich the earth is still, and the combustible oil lus the ' In addition, you should have a lar!e stone itcher of 45 Eolo!ne 3uarts' 8ill this itcher half $ith your cloud$ater' ,ave ready a suitable furnace' =ut the aforementioned vessel in it u on a !rill, so that the flame can reach it all around' Stuff the mouth or the I . nec" of the vessel $ith hay and tie a cloth around the mouth of the vessel to revent the hay from fallin! out' =ut the itcher containin! the $ater on the nec" of the vessel to revent the air from esca in!' Let the lute dry $ell before you li!ht a fire in the furnace' After the lute has com letely dried, li!ht the furnace, first $ith a !entle fire, for six hours, so that it /the matter0 !ets $armed thorou!hly' Then increase your fire a little for another six hours, so that your vessel $ith the materia be heated throu!h and throu!h' +o$ increase your fire considerably,

so that your vessel be!ins to !lo$, meanin! that your vessel is heated throu!h after six hours' Subse3uently, increase your fire so much that your vessel be!ins to !lo$ stron!ly for five or six hours' Then let it cool do$n of its o$n' +o$ remove the can from the mouth of the vessel and you have in it the combustible oil and the salt, or : , $hich lay hidden in the innermost of the combustible oil and $as mixed $ith it as also $ith the earth and the fecibus, from $hich they have no$ been se arated by the !reat heat of the fire' The fire has driven the combustible oil and the : from the earth and the fecibus, and the combustible oil is s$immin! u on the $ater, blac" and thic" li"e lees' The [~ , ho$ever, $hich has no$ been se arated from the combustible oil, has blended $ith the $ater and made it $hite li"e mil"# and it is very corrosive on the ton!ue' After that, you must ta"e a lar!e, !la7ed cu el, burnt of clay' Into it you must our everythin! there is in the itcher' ;a"e your $ater boilin! hot# our some of it into I , the itcher and rinse it till it is clean, because the combustible oil clin!s to the sides of the itcher' =our everythin! to!ether into the cu el' Dou must rinse the itcher so lon! till it is clean, and then to!ether into the cu el' E,A=T&R UUIU +o$ you must have a vessel made of $ood, but it $ould be better if you had one made of earth by a otter' Let it first be burnt, un!la7ed# and $hen it is burnt, let it be !la7ed $ith t$o arts of miniuin /red lead0, one art of co er ashes or co er sla! /Schla!0, and \ art of tin ashes, rubbed to!ether $ith salt and ashes' +o corrosives can enetrate this !la7in!, so ti!ht is it' ,ave all your other earthen$are ots that you re3uire for this $or" !la7ed in this $ay and burnt' Such a vessel should be made in the follo$in! mannerF The lid should be made of $ood or stone# the body /orF stoc"0 $ith the late in $hich there are the holes, should be made of $ood' +o$ s"im the combustible oil neatly from the to and our it into this vessel' =our the $ater bac" into the itcher from $hich you had first oured it, and "ee it till I teach you ho$ to rectify the Salmiac /ammonia0' Remove also the earth from the lon! retort and "ee it till I instruct you as to $hat you should do $ith it and ho$ you are to calcinate it' -hen the combustible oil is in this cas", ta"e some of our everythin!

your $ater and ma"e it boilin! hot' =our it boilin! hot into the cas" u on the combustible oil, and 3uic"ly ut the body /stoc"0 $ith the late /orF dis"0 and the holes into it' =ut the lid on so that the stoc" enters the hole of the lid' Elose it u around and around $ith a linen cloth' Start um in!, and ush u and do$n li"e $omen churnin! butter' Do that for a !ood half hour' Then sto , remove the lid, ta"e out the stoc"' -ith hot $ater $ash your stoc" and lid clean of the combustible oil adherin! to them' -hatever you $ash off, add to the cas" and let it settle do$n for one day and one ni!ht' +o$ ta"e a lar!e, $ell !la7ed earthen$are cu el and dra$ all the $ater off throu!h the ta , until the oil be!ins to come' Then sto ' =our the dra$n off $ater into the itcher in $hich the $ater $ith the ~ is, since some [~ is still $ith it' After this, you need no lon!er ta"e of your $ater, but ta"e only common distilled $ater' ;a"e it a!ain boilin! hot and our it into the cas" u on your combustible oil' A!ain start um in!, or churnin!, for a half hour' Then sto ' Rinse your lid and stoc" $ith the $ater and our it into the cas"' Let it a!ain settle do$n for one day and one ni!ht, and then dra$ the $ater off into the cu el till the oil comes' Should it ha en that some oil $ere runnin! out of the ta to!ether $ith the $ater, remove it neatly and ut it bac" into the cas" to the other oil' =our the $ater into a itcher or vessel by itself, for there is still somethin! of the element earth in it, $hich has !one over $ith the combustible oil' -hen the oil is thus clear, all the $ater must be eva orated in order to calcinate the earth contained in it alon! $ith the rest' -hen the [Q is rectified, the earth comin! out of it should also be added to the other, so as to calcinate them to!ether' Then ta"e a!ain boilin! hot, distilled $ater and our it into the cas", and um as before' Dra$ it off, and ut all the $ater into a cas"# a!ain our other hot, distilled $ater u on the oil, etc' Do this till the $ater runs off as clean as $hen you oured it on' Then the combustible oil is $ell clarified' As to the $ater $hich you have all oured to!ether, eva orate it# that $hich remains, add to the earth in order to calcinate it alon! /to!ether $ith the earth0' E,A=T&R UUU This Bcombustible oil $hich you have <ust rectified, is no$ clear, thin and red li"e blood, also !reasy li"e other oils, and is hot and humid' It is used to anoint or rub nerves in $hich one has a cold or stiffness /orF !out, arthritis0# also lame, chilled members /arms and le!s in $hich one has a cold or rheumatism0' ~Li"e$ise, it is !ood for ersons $ho have the Odri P /Tro fen0:or a stro"e /Schia!0' It is

also used in all ointments and oultices for incarnating or causin! flesh to !ro$ in all dee holes and $ounds' :/ed'F robably Odro syP0' E,A=T&R UUUI It serves my child to "no$ that, if this combustible oil did not exist in all the thin!s !ro$in! out of the earth, $e could not live, <ust as $e could not live $ithout the $ater of the clouds or the rivers, since $ithout $ater no food can ~e re ared and no medicine blended $ith another' +either could dyers ut color in cloth, if it $ere not done by means of $ater' -hatever one $ishes to do or re are in the $orld, $ater must al$ays be there' If there $ere no $ater of the clouds, eo le $ould be hel less' (ut $e could dis ense even much less $ith the combustible oil' 8or if there $ere no combustible oil, nothin! in the $orld could !ro$ from the earth, neither cereals nor fruit, neither trees nor herbs' +othin! in the $hole $orld could !ro$, since the mother of the combustible oil is the fattiness of the earth from $hich all fruits ta"e their nourishment' 8or if the combustible oil $ere not in abundance in the earth, corn and all cereals, seeds, trees and herbs $ould have no combustible oil in themselves' +o$ then, ho$ever, corn, cereals and everythin! !ro$in! out of the earth !radually dra$ the combustible oil from the earth, each as much as it re3uires, until it has reached its full !ro$th' After that, it no lon!er attracts but starts $itherin!' 8or exam leF So$ corn or the seeds of other herbs into nothin! but sand in $hich there is no combustible oil' +othin! $ill !ro$ or !reen from it but it $ill dry and come to nau!ht' See $hat ha ens $hen the farmer lants his field for six or seven years in a ro$ $ithout uttin! manure in it' Such a field becomes arid and mea!er that fruits finally no lon!er !ro$ in it, <ust as is the case in sand' This is due to the fact that the fruits $hich it had, had attracted all the combustible oil, and that finally there $as none left in it and nothin! could !ro$ in it' If instead, there is a iece of land on $hich !rass is !ro$in! and it is left $ithout bein! attended to and it is not !ra7ed bare, lettin! the !rass rot on it throu!h the $inter so that the combustible oil thereby see s bac" into the earth, then $atch ho$ lux~riant and fat the land becomes $hen the combustible oil doubles from year to year' Eonse3uently, $e cannot live $ithout the combustible oil, since $e must ta"e our nourishment from it' +evertheless, it is also the cause of our death' Observe if the revellers and !luttons live very lon!, for they ta"e into themselves more than is necessary for their nature' And as $e ta"e more food into us than our nature re3uires, bad and harm%full hu)ors arise $ithin us, such as blood boils /(luteissen0, abcesses, cancer and fistulas, or other bad ulcers, and many "inds of sic"nesses $hose rinci al cause is that there has accumulat~d too much combustible oil $ithin us, for the reason that our nature attracts too !reat a 3uantity of it from our food and drin" than nature re3uires' 8or exam leF if a ;aster

or sur!eon uts an excess of fatty oil into a $ound he $ishes to heal, a ran" !ro$th of flesh starts under his banda!es and bad flesh $ill then !ro$ there If he ersists $ith the same ointment for a lon! time, not reducin! its f attiness, corru tion and utrefaFtion $ill arise in the nerves and flesh, so that finally, fistulas, cancers, and runnin! holes /sores0 $ill $ell u in it' All of that is caused by the combustible oil, for all oils and fattiness ta"e their ori!in in this combsutible oil $hich they have dra$n from the earth, and thus it follo$s as a conse3uence, that the combustible oil can also be the cause of our death' X ' 9 E,A=T&R UUUII Eombustible oil is also found in mines' It is called #ul hur, because the hiloso hers call #ul hur every combustible oil found in the elements# and they sayF Our is not common ' That is, our sul hur is incombustible %$hereby they are s ea"in! the truth# for $hen they say that our sul hur is incombustible, they mean the &lemental)8ire $hich is extracted from the combustible oil' That is the sul hur they mean' Thus there is in all thin!s in the $orld combustible oil that is not erfected / erficiret0' Des, in all metals there is combustible oil, exce t solely in !old in $hich there is no combustible oil' (ecause of this, it is also fixed and, therefore, the fire cannot destroy it# about $hich, sufficient has been said in the material on the ;ineral)Stone' I am s ea"in! so much about the combustible oil, my child, so that you should understand the nature of all thin!s and "no$ the elements and $hat is mixed $ith the elements, so that you may "no$ the inner and the outer and thus, not ma"e errors in the $or" you underta"e' And if by chance you should ma"e errors in your $or", or if you had ne!lected certain matters, you should then "no$ $hat "ind of a mista"e it is and ho$ you can correct it' Therefore, understand all my $ords and their meanin! $ell, so that you $ill not !o astray' E,A=T&R UUUIII +o$ $e $ill resume our $or" a!ain and thus underta"e to rectify, or clarify of its fecibus, the Salt, or dry $ater, or our : ' Therefore, ta"e the itcher~ containin! the $ater $ith the : , from $hich you have s"immed the combustible oil' =ut it in the (alneum $ith a helm attached, and distill all the $ater of f until the matter is dry' Thereu on, remove the helm, our the $ater bac" u on the matter, and ut a cut iece of slate /orF shale0 on the mouth of the itcher' Let it stand for t$o or three hours in the (alneum# ta"e it out and let it settle do$n /clarify0 for one day and one ni!ht' 8ollo$in! this, filter the clarified $ater from it and our this clear $ater a!ain on the feces' Stir it and allo$ it to settle a!ain' Once more, filter the ure

/clear0 $ater from it and add it to the first $ater +o$ test your feces on your ton!ue to see if they are still shar If you still find some shar ness, you can our some more of your $ater u on them and roceed as before -hen no more shar ness is discerned, add your feces to the earth in order to calcinate also $hat had been driven over by the stron! heat of the fire at the time that the combustible oil came over to!ether $ith the #al)t.ac +o$ ta"e all the $ater and our it once n*ore into the itcher, then, ut it into the (alneum $ith a helm attached, and dra$ the $ater off until it is dry' Remove the helm, our the $ater bac" on it, and let it stand for three or four hours in the (alneuxn# $hich should be 3uite hot, so that the Salmiac can be $ell dissolved' +o$ remove the itcher, let it stand for one or t$o days in order to let it settle, and a!ain f iiter it of its fecibus' Do this until no more feces are left, then it is sufficient' 8inally, dra$ the $ater off throu!h the helm in the (alneum, till the is dry' &ach time, add the @@ remainin! feces to the earth in order to calcinate them alon!' Then, $hen your ~0f~ has thus been dra$n off dry, ta"e it out' It is as $hite as sno$' =ut it into a !lass bo$l and set it into your dry livin!%room' 8or if you left it standin! in cold air, it $ould dissolve' /edF er deli7uiu)&. =ut it near your S iritus, or Air, and near your &lemental)8ire, and reserve it $ell until I teach you -hat to do $ith it'

E,A=T&R UUUI2 Let my child be informed that <ust this is the Salt of the -ise, of $hich the multitude of the hiloso hers s ea" about so often and so covertly in their boo"s' -ithout this Salt, no =hiloso her*s Stone can be re ared, for if this salt $ere not a art of the Stone, it $ould have no ingress. 2ery often they refer to this as our <dry 5aterG, for $ithout $ater, there can be no com osition in the $orld, to brin! one thin! into another, as been mentioned reviously' Thus it is called by them, their Odry $aterP and $hen sim letons read this in the boo"s of the hiloso hers, they thin" it is ' This leads them into a !reat error' Therefore, the Sa!es have !iven many names to the Salt, so as to hide or obscure it' They also call it the #alt of the 'ise, sometimes also, the Hlying -agle. Then the sim 6'etons believe that they have understood the Salt to be , and thin" they have com rehended the $ords of the hiloso hers, yet they are sorely mista"en' 1D ~ E,A=T&R UUU2 +o$ $e $ill a!ain return~to our $or", $hich is, to calcinate, or to re6erberate, the~earth' ~To do this, ta"e your earth, ut itQnto a flat, Bearthen$are an, stre$n on the bottom about the thic"ness of a thumb or a fin!er' Arran!e~them in

the~reverberatin! furnace, one next~to the other, till all ans stand in the reverberatin! furnace' +o$ heat~the furnace $ith dry $ood# and let~the flames of the fire !o~nicely over the ans until they !lo$ moderately' Let them stand thus in medium~heat, so that the earth does not melt or turn into !lass' 8or if you $ere to heat them too much,~ as iron is $elded to!ether, the earth $ould melt and turn into !lass, because it has <ust too many feces in it' (ut should it ha en that throu!h ne!li!ence you have !iven too stron! a fire, and the earth thereby~came~into flux, turnin! into !lass, your $or" $ould~yet not be alto!ether s oiled# you $ould have to ta"e it out, o$der it in an iron mortar, and subse3uently rub itvon a stone $ith distilled vine!ar till~it is intan!ible' ~After that, you must ~ ut it into a itcher of stone and our distilled vine!ar on it, leavin!Jt in the (alneum for one day and one ni!ht' Then it has to be ta"en out, allo$ed to settle, and filtered# a!ain vine!ar has to be oured on the~feces' They have to be stirred, ut for one day in the (alneum, then removed, filtered, and everythin! to!ether ut into a itcher, and a!ain ut in the (alneuxn, the vine!ar dra$n off until your earth is dry'~Then you a!ain ta"e your earth out ~of the fecibus, dissolve it a!ain in~your $ater once or t$ice, in case there should still be some feces $ith it' ;y child should "no$ that althou!h the earth $ith the fecibus has turned into !lass, it is no $orse for it, and it is solely due to the fact that you heated it too much, causin! the earth to melt' The feces in the earth cannot melt, ho$ever, because they are not li3uid, and they are so mixed $ith the earth that they are one Eor us' In addition, the fecuin is $orth ten times more than the earth, and $hen then the earth is also meltin!, it ushes under the feces and becomes dry, turnin! into !lass' At first, it is blac" and then it is called sla!' If you leave it still lon!er in the fire, it $ill finally become $hite and clear' If no$ the earth $ere to fly a$ay /eva orate0 and burn, one could not ma"e !lass of it' Just loo" at the !lass factories' -hen they have burnt their ash, they ut it into a reverberatin! furnace for fourteen days and calcinate it 3uite moderately until it is as $hite as sno$' Then they ut it into ans and set those into their furnace, heatin! $ith a stron! fire until it*/the ash0 flo$s# they let it stand for three or four days until the materia is tou!h enou!h' Of that, they then ma"e !lass' (ut if they $ere to ut the ash as it $as first burnt in $ood from fern and other herbs, $ood or the li"e, strai!ht into the furnace, usin! such !reat heat that it had to melt, it $ould turn into a blac", u!ly, dar" and o a3ue !lass' 8or the element earth has curdled /coa!ulated0 to!ether $ith the fecibus, and althou!h it $ere standin! in the fire for a $hole year, it $ould not become $hite, because it is a firm co) actB cor usC thus the earth coa!ulated the feces' That is $hy the !lassblo$ers must first reverberate their ashes till their feces become $hite as sno$ before heatin! their ashes

so much that they flo$# for as lon! as the ash does not ccme into flux, the feces $ith the cor us of the earth are o en, so that the heat may $ell burn throu!h till the feces are $hite as sno$, for then it is easy to ma"e $hite, trans arent !lass of it' -hy am I tellin! this to my childN So that you should "no$ that the element earth cannot be burnt by fire, for it is an &lemental% element' If it had no feces in it, and if it $ere heated till it $ould melt, and even if a cu el $ere as thic" as ten shoes, and there $ere enou!h earth, it $ould enetrate throu!h it' Therefore, my child, if you failed in your $or" $ith the fire, you should "no$ ho$ to !et your &lemental%earth bac" out of the fecibus' E,A=T&R UUU2I +o$ $e $ill a!ain return to our $or"' Give heat, therefore, and let it stand in heat until your earth is as $hite as sno$, $hich you can see in the follo$in! $ayF Lift a an out of the furnace $ith ton!s and let it cool do$n' Then you $ill see if it is $hite as sno$' If it is not yet that $hite, ut it bac" a!ain till it is $hite' Then remove it nc and ut all the earth of the an into a lar!e ,essian or 2enetian !lass, but not into a stone itcher# for $hen the earth is dissolved in its $ater, it $ould enetrate throu!h it /the itcher0, even if the itcher $ere as thic" as ten shoes' So subtle is the element earth $hen it is freed from its fecibus' It is also the smallest of all elements, yet the most subtle, of $hich more $ill be tau!ht' Therefore, toD ut it into a lar!e, double !lass, our your $ater u on it, and ut it in the (alneum for one day and one ni!ht' Let the (alneum boil, then cool do$n' Ta"e it out, ut it aside, and allo$ the feces to settle durin! t$o days and t$o ni!hts' +o$ our everythin! carefully do$n into another lar!e !lass, by bendin! the first to one side /decant0' A!ain our some of your $ater over the feces and ut it bac" in the (alneum as before' =roceed in everythin! as before, and a!ain our it off into the !lass by inclination /of the first !lass0 to the revious' 8or the third time, our $ater u on the feces and do everythin! as before# then remove the feces' Set the !lass $ith the earth in the (alneum $ith a helm, distill the $ater off till the earth is as dry, that it is li"e dust' +o$ let the (alneum cool do$n, our your $ater on a!ain and !ive fire for three or four hours till your earth dissolves' Then remove your !lass a!ain from the (alneum and let it settle for one day and one ni!ht' +o$ our it off a!ain er inclination from its feces into another !lass, and ut it bac" into the (alneum $ith a helm# a!ain distill the $ater off till it is dry, as before, then our it bac" on a!ain and let it dissolve as reviously' Remove it and let it settle as before, and a!ain our it off by inclination /decantin!0 from its fecibus, as before' Re eat this $or" of ourin! on and dra$in! of f till no feces or residue remains' Then finally abstract so dry that it becomes li"e dust, then you have your &lemental)earth ure and clear, and as

$hite as sno$' +o$ my child should "no$ that one may $ell clarify, or rectify, this earth and the : , as also the &lemental%fire, $ith e!!$hite, as has been tau!ht before, but it must in so doin! be urified about three or four times till nothin! is left of the feces' Dou should test it in the follo$in! $ayF Ta"e a small !lass each time and eva orate the $ater' Then our other $ater on it and let it dissolve' If it does not leave any feces, it is enou!h# other$ise you must urify it better' It $ould also be necessary, after you have urified it, that you should our $ater on the feces and the e!!$hite $hich you have s"immed, or $hich stayed at the claret%ba!, if somethin! elemental $ere still in it, either of the fire, the air, the : or of the earth $hich you have urified' That is $hy it $ould be !ood if you $ere to our some of your $ater and let it extract and settle, then our it off a!ain by inclination or er filtrum, and add it to that $hich you are urifyin! % or you can once a!ain urify it by itself before addin! it to that $hich has been urified' This urifyin! is the $orst $ay, for one may $ell carry out this urification t$ice a day# but clarifyin!, as has been tau!ht before, is best and most useful thou!h it ta"es lon!er' Therefore, you may choose $hat you li"e best' E,A=T&R UUU2II +o$ $e $ill a!ain turn to our $or" and stee the s iritus or air in its earth and its ~Q ' Accordin!ly, let my child ta"e the earth and the : and rub them 3uite dry on a stone' This must be done in a dry room, so that no cold or humid air, nor $atery humidity, $ill be added to it' -hen one has been should blended $ith the other in this $ay, you ut it into a Io~ t !lass han!in! lam , or into a !lass of the sha e of an e!!, as is sho$n in the icture' =our the s irit over it and let the s irit or air i)bibe into its [Q and earth, till everythin! has been absorbed' Then seal the !lass $ith #igillus Her)etis and han! it into the secret furnace' Give it fire of such heat that you can "ee your hand in it, $ithout in<ury, /by stic"in! it throu!h the hole in the side of the furnace0, for the duration of one Ave ;aria' Let it stand in such heat for t$enty days and ni!hts' Then let it cool do$n, remove it and brea" the !lass' +o$ the air or the s irit has con!ealed $ith its [~ into a hard, clear, trans arent stone, $hite li"e crystal, because the element%fire is not yet in it' Ta"e it out, crush it to a subtle o$der, ut it into a !lass ot $ith a stron! bottom $hich must be $ide belo$' Add a bi! helm and a receiver to its

snout, and lute it 3uite ti!htly' Start a fire in the furnace, !entle to be!in $ith, and !radually stron!er by de!rees, till the s iritus and the : sublimate to!ether in the form of a clear crystal, and $hite as sno$' -hen everythin! is sublimated, let it cool do$n, remove the helm and brea" it into ieces, because the sublimate is clin!in! so much to it that the !lass has to be bro"en or else it /the sublimate0 cannot be ta"en out' It is due to the [Q that the s iritus must attach itself so firmly to!ether $ith it' (ut if one $ere to sublimate the s iritus alone throu!h its earth, $ithout addin! the : ~ the s iritus $ould not settle on the !lass but $ould sublimate li"e sno$' +o$ ta"e it out and "ee it in a dry room' Remove your earth from the !lass ot and dissolve it in your rectified $ater' Small $hite feces $ill settle at the bottom' 8ilter the $ater off them into another !lass# set that in the (alneurn $ith a helm, and distill'all the $ater off to a dustin! dryness' +o$ ta"e it out and rub it a!ain in your dry room $ith the s irit and the : $hich have been once sublimated to!ether' =ut them a!ain to sublimate, as has been tau!ht before' Dou must re eat the sublimation so often and in the same nianner as you have already been instructed, till your earth does not leave any more feces' Then your s iritus, your , and your earth are $ell rectified and ready for your $or" of ma"in! your stone' (ut my child mi!ht $ish to as"F -as the s iritus or air $ith the [Q not $ell rectified before you blended them $ith the earthN -as the earth not $ell rectified before you made a con<unction of all threeN In re ly, it $ill serve my child to "no$ that they may all three have been $ell rectified before they $ere coinmixed# only, it shall not be concealed from you that there are t$o "inds of feces in all thin!s created here belo$ by God, one exterior /"ind0 and the other inside in the de th, $hich cannot be brou!ht out unless the exterior feces have first been discarded' After that the thin! $hose inner feces one $ishes to extract must first be calcinated# and $hen it is calcinated, its feces can also be dra$n out of its dee est or Innermost' As lon! as a thin! has not been re ared in this $ay, <ust as lon! it is not suitable for ma"in! the stone of it, neither in the 2e!etable, the Animal, or the ;ineral' The calcination, ho$ever, ta"es lace in the secret fur% nace or tri od. There the s iritus or air is calcinated to !ether $ith the Then, durin! sublimation, they leave the feces $hich they contained in their innermost' +o$ ut them into your dry room and "ee them $ell, till I teach you $hat to do $ith them' E,A=T&R UUU2III +o$ $e $ill return to our $or"' Ta"e the &lemental)fire and ut it

into a !lass' =our some of your rectified $ater u on it and let it dissolve in the (alneum' Then ut your earth into another !lass and also our some of your rectified $ater u on it# let it li"e$ise dissolve in the (alneum' +o$ our the t$o $aters to!ether, mix them $ell, ut them in the (alneum and distill the $ater off to dustin! dryness' Then remove them and ut them into a !lass han!in! lam or e!!, as you did $ith the s iritus and the ~ , and seal the !lass $ith Si!illus ,ermetis' ,an! it into the secret furnace for t$enty days in order to be calcinated' Give it the same heat that I told you in re!ard to the calcination of the s iritus and the [Q , or a little hotter, because fire is not as volatile as the s iritus and the : ' Therefore, you can !ive them so much heat that you could hold your hand bet$een the $alls of the furnace and the vessel' After it has stood for t$enty days, ta"e it out and brea" the !lass' Dou $ill find the earth and the fire hard, red and clear li"e a ruby' +o$ ut them into a !lass and our some of your rectified $ater u on them' Dissolve both in the (alneum# then ta"e them out and let /the matter0 settle for t$o days and t$o ni!hts' 8ilter the $ater of f# a!ain our some of your rectified $ater u on the feces and stir $ell' Let it settle a!ain, filter and add to the revious, removin! the feces' +o$ abstract the $ater er alembicum to the oint of dryness' +o$ a!ain our the $ater on it and dissolve it as before, and filter a!ain as before' Re eat this $or" till no more feces remain' Then a!ain dra$ the $ater off as dry as you can# ta"e it out, and you have blended your earth in such a $ay that it can never a!ain be se arated' Dou also have the s iritus or air and the [~m to!ether, $hich can li"e$ise never a!ain be se arated from one another, and all are rectified of their outer and inner fecibus, and re ared to ma"e the 2e!etable% stone of them' (ut my child mi!ht as"F -hy do you not calcinate the &lemental% fire simultaneously $ith the s iritus and the [Q N Dou should "no$ that there are t$o elements $hich are fixed, and there are also t$o $hich are volatile, and yet the elements are so mixed to!ether that one cannot $ell se arate one from the other, as has been roven before' Dou should also "no$ that air is $arm and moist and has a lot of $ater in it and not much fire' Air and $ater, ho$ever, are both volatile and are s irits' In contrast, fire is hot and dry and has not much $ater in it' +evertheless, it also has $ater in it, because there is also air in the fire' One does not find air, ho$ever, but $ater' Eonse3uently, it is mixed $ith the fire, air and $ater# but there is not so much of it that air and $ater have the o$er to raise the fire out of the earth durin! sublimation' -hen therefore, fire is $ith earth, $hich is also fixed, the element earth retains the fire so that it cannot be sublimated, for earth does not artici ate either $ith the air or $ith $ater, as fire does, since one may $ell se arate the air and the $ater from the earth, as much as

tb ossible' +evertheless, my child should "no$ that there is also earth in the air, in $ater and in fire# for if there $ere no earth at all in them and if they $ere ure s irits, they $ould be invisible and intan!ible, and they could not be coa!ulated, !ras ed or seen /orF touched0' (ut they do not contain so much earth that it $ould hinder them $hen risin! durin! distillation or sublimation' it is not so $ith fire, ho$ever, but fire contains a !reat deal of earth, because both, that is earth and fire, are fixed' (ut it does not have as much air and $ater in it that $ould rise, for it $ould have to be $ith the earth $hen the fire is calcinated $ith the air and the : ' One cannot calcinate elements unless they are mixed $ith the earth, other$ise they $ould volatili7e# and if they $ere calcinated, the fire $ith the air and the dry $ater or salt could not fly u ' In addition, these t$o volatile ones $ould not dro their innermost feces as one tried to dra$ those out of them throu!h dissolution and coa!ulation, as one did for fire, because they contain a !reat deal of humidity' That is $hy the innermost feces of the t$o volatile arts must be dra$n out by hot dryness, on account of their humidity# other$ise they $ould not allo$ their feces to dra$ a$ay from them' 8ire, too, $ould not $ish to let !o in hot dryness, the feces $hich are contained in its innermost, because it itself is hot and dryF Its body $ould only close u durin! sublimation' Des, if one could sublimate it, $hich one cannot do, it $ould only more stron!ly hold on to its feces, for one must o en u a contrary nature $ith another contrary nature' ,o$ $ould you o en u a hard, co) ~$ct thin! $ith another com act thin!N Such is im ossible' Rather, all thin!s must be o ened u by their contrarii= /o osites0, and be brou!ht out of their nature by another nature $hich is o osite i dia)etro to their nature' ,o$ $ould you fix a volatile thin! by another volatile thin!N Such is im ossible to do, $hich fools cannot understand, from $hich arises their !reat mista"e' Therefore,, my child, heed these $ords so that you do not !o astray# follo$ nature as much as you can, so that you ma"e no mista"es' 8ools sometimes believe that they are o enin! a thin! and yet may close it ti!hter than it $as before, because they do not follo$ nature, and thus they lose everythin! they s end /on their $or"0' That is $hy, in accordance $ith the reasons 3uoted above, fire is not calcinated $ith the s irit or air' Let my child ta"e all this $ell to heart and reflect u on it often' E,A=T&R UUUIU +o$ $e $ill a!ain resume our $or" in order to brin! these elements $hich $e have rectified com letely to their hi!hest and utmost rectification' Dou should therefore ta"e a lar!e reci ient, $hich should be very lon!' Into that you must ut the air $hich is

blended $ith the [Q and forms one Eor us $ith it' =our some of your rectified $ater u on it, a little at a time, and set it in a furnace, in a cu el $ith strained ashes' (ut before the mouth of the reci ient must be cut $ith a level stone' Then one has to form a small !lass accordin! to the lar!e !lass, $ith an iron instrument, as the !lassma"ers do' One can also !rind such a !lass on an even stone, subse3uently ut it on the mouth of the lar!e !lass, and a leaden $ei!ht on to of it' After that, start a f Ire in the furnace, first a !entle fire till your materia !ets $arm' Let it stand thus in $armth for t$elve hours and it $ill dissolve as if it $ere a red ruby' Should not everythin! dissolve in the $ater, heat some of your rectified $ater to the same de!rees as your materia in the !lass, and our it into it /the !lass0 by a !lass funnel' Let it stand another t$elve hours in the same heat as reviously in order to dissolve' If not everythin! is dissolved, our some more of your $arm rectified $ater u on it, and continue this until all your )ateria is dissolved into a clear, red $ater' +o$ my child $ould li"e to as" the 3uestionF -hy did you not our the first time enou!h rectified $ater u on it that it could dissolve /the matter0N Dou have to be instructed, ho$ever, that no more rectified $ater can be oured u on it than is sufficient to dissolve correctly# no more, for there must be no more moisture of the cloud)$ater in it than to allo$ it to dissolve ri!htly' That is enou!h, for it does not re3uire more cloud)$ater or moisture' If one is to mer!e one thin! $ith another, it must be done $ith cloud%$ater# and then $hen it is dissolved, $hat more moisture does it needN If then they are to blend in order to stay to!ether eternally, so that they can never be se arated, the dry $ater must be there toO# that is their Salt of + X Other$ise they $ill not stay to!ether and be loath to !ras each other thorou!hly, even if all elements have already been $ell rectified' (ut if they did not have $ith them the dry $ater, the elements $ould not $ish to fix each other, and if one $ere to fix unto God*s Jud!ment, one could not fix any S iritus or .or ora $ith each other $ithout the dry $ater $hich is the ~ C for the dry $ater causes the s irits and cor ora to mer!e $ith each other, and dissolve, one into the other invisibly, <ust as the cloud%$ater dissolves t$o thin!s $hich are o osites in order to blend them to!ether' The same thin! is done by this dry $ater in an even, invisible $ay# althou!h $e do not see this $ith our eyes, this dry $ater nevertheless dissolves the s iritus and cor ora thorou!hly, so that they never a!ain se arate' If the i!norant understood the secret of the )ateriae and "ne$ this dry $ater, $hich is a mediator bet$een the s irits and the bodies, all their $or" $ould be cro$ned $ith success' Therefore, my child, there have to be t$o solutions, one from outside, or from the $ater of the clouds, $hich one can see $ith one*s eyes# the other from inside, $ith dry $ater, $hich is invisible, if a ri!ht solution is to ta"e lace'

;y child $ould li"e to as" in additionF Dou are teachin! that one should not !ive more cloud%$ater to a thin! one $ishes to dissolve, than is necessary <ust to dissolve it, and not more, $hy thatN And if one $ere to our in more $ater, $ould then everythin! be s oiledN In re ly, you should "no$ that then it $ould not be s oiled# yet if you ta"e more cloud%$ater than necessary, you must dra$ it off a!ain in the (alneum, for after$ards one has to dissolve C in it' If then there $ere too much cloud)$ater, more than necessary, no harm $ould be done' Eonse3uently, one cannot s oil it $ith it, for if there is too inuchof it, one can a!ain dra$ it off in the (alneum# therefore, it does not s oil' ;y child mi!ht no$ also sayF Dou have told me about the cloud)$ater in order to carry out the external solution, and you say that no blendin! of the bodies and s irits can be accom lished exce t by means of the dry $ater $hich dissolves the bodies thorou!hly and 3uite invisibly' Should it no$ ha en that one $ished to <oin a body and a s irit so that they should stay to!ether, and $e had no dry $ater, ho$ much dry $ater $ould one have to add to brin! about such a unionN Dou should "no$ that if you $ish to blend a s irit and a body, but do not $ish to se arate the elements, you must ut the s irit and the body to!ether in $ater, each by itself and each in a s ecial !lass' Then you must ta"e half as much dry $ater and disso6ve it evenly in clear $ater that has no sediment' After that, you must our all three $aters into a !lass, stirrin! them $ell to!ether and then let them stand on $arm ashes, so that they dissolve all three to!ether in ure $ater $ithout feces at the bottom' Then they are $ell blended, of $hich sufficient instruction $ill be !iven in the ;ineral)Stone' Dou should also be informed that, should there be too much dry $ater in a thin! for blendin! them by dissolution, it does not matter' 8or if they became fixed, they $ould not retain more than necessary and $hat they could fix in themselves' They $ould let the rest fly a$ay' This is said about the manner of blendin! a s irit and a body $hen the elements are not se arated' (ut $here one se arates the elements, be it in any of the three stones, no dry $ater must be added, for there is already dry $ater in it, since in all thin!s in the $orld there is dry $ater# it is their salt, as has been tau!ht before' Therefore, understand all my $ords thorou!hly, so that you do not ma"e mista"es' E,A=T&R UL +o$ $e $ill a!ain continue our $or"' -hen no$ everythin! is disso6ved in ure $ater, the $ater $ill be red, clear and trans arent' Let such $ater stand on the furnace in !entle heat, <ust as $arm as the sun shines in ;arch, for three $ee"s, to blend the elements $ell, one $ith the other' Then, after three $ee"s have assed, they $ill be blended so much th~'t one cannot be se arated from the other, and yet they $ill not be fixed but be bet$een fixed and unfixed' +evertheless, they $ill not rise in the

(alneum# even if they stood in it for a $hole year, continually boilin!, nothin! of them $ould rise' (ut if they $ere ut into a stron!, thic" !lass into a cu el $ith ashes, heatin! them so stron!ly that the !lass ot $ould start to !lo$ at the bottom, and $ere left thus in even heat, it $ould !radually rise in the form of a red, trans arent oil, clear li"e a crystal, also red and trans arent# and as soon as it !ot cold, it $ould coa!ulate into a red stone, clear and red li"e a ruby# and it $ould last in the air, but disinte!rate in heat and dryness' And that is ho$ it should be' Therefore, after it has stood for three $ee"s in the ashes on the fire, you should our $ater from the bi! !lass into a !lass bo$l, set that on $arm ashes' Let the cloud)$ater steam off, and a dar" yello$ o$der $ill remain, reddish' +o$ ta"e a !lass retort, ut your o$der in it and ut the retort on a furnace in a cu el $ith strained ashes' ,ave at hand a !lass reci ient# attach it to the retort and lute the <oints ti!ht ly' +o$ start a fire in the furnace, at first a small, !entle fire# increase that fire by de!rees until the retort starts to become red $ith heat' Let it stand in such heat till everythin! has !one over into the receiver' +o$ remove the receiver and ut it into a basin $ith ashes' ,eat it, it $ill melt li"e $ax' Then ta"e a small !lass and our it into it as lon! as it is $arm, and 3uic"ly $hen it is coolin! do$n' Then it $ill be clear, as clear as a crystal, red li"e a ruby, and trans arent, also half)fixed and half)volatile' It $ill curdle in cold air and flo$ in fire' Thus then the 2e!etable%Stone has been done' Than" God for his $onderful !ifts $hich he has besto$ed u on his hiloso hers' This then is the stone $hich cures all sic"nesses $hich may come into man*s body, miraculously in a short time' If you !ive every day, one !rain of it $ith $ine, you $ill see more miracles than you can believe' =lenty enou!h is said to intelli!ent eo le' (ut at the end of the three stones, $hen their ro<ection $ill be tau!ht, more details $ill be !iven on its ossibilities' Thus, my child, have I no$ tau!ht you to re are the 2e!etable)stone, $hich is the foremost amon! all three stones' E,A=T&R ULI +o$ I $ill also instruct you in increasin! its o$er a thousandfold' To this end you should ta"e it and dissolve it in your rectified $ater in a !lass vessel, and coa!ulate it a!ain in the follo$in! $ayF =o$der the stone, or brea" it into small ieces' =ut it into a !lass ot $ith a $ide mouth' Grind the mouth even on a stone# also !rind a small, round iece of !lass li"e it, $hich is ut on the mouth' =ut the stone into it and ut as much of your rectified $ater on it D %', that the stone is almost under $ater' Set it on $arm ashes, and it $ill immediately dissolve' +o$ ut the small iece of !lass on the mouth of the !lass ot, and let it stand thus dissolved for t$elve hours' +o$ remove the lid, increase your fire and eva orate the

$ater till the stone is dry' Then dissolve it a!ain $ith your rectified $ater, as tau!ht before, and let it stand thus dissolved for another t$elve hours' After this, con!eal it as before, and re eat this $or" till nothin! $ill con!eal but remains as an oil' Then it is ready for dissolvin! C in it' Ta"e fine !old, and ce)ent it three times in ce)ento reguli. If my child $ere no$ to as"F -hy should !old be cemented, seein! that it is fineN Dou should "no$ that somethin! must be added to the !old from $hich one $ishes to !et money or coins, or else the coins $ould be far too soft and too flabby in the hands' That is $hy one has to cement three or four times to be more certain that it is fine' 8urther my child mi!ht as"F ,o$ and $hy is it that somethin! hard becomes soft throu!h bein! often dissolved and con!ealed, !ettin! the consistency of an oil, and no lon!er curdles, as you have here tau!htN ;y child should "no$ that one cannot turn anythin! in the $orld into oil as lon! as it contains any feces, either outside or inside' (ut $hen it has been freed from its fecibus, one can turn it into oil by dissolvin! and con!ealin! it often~ 8or by often turnin! into $ater and becomin! disembodied, each time bein! brou!ht bac" into a cor us, it $ill become so subtle and volatile that itdisembodies by itself' 8inally it be% comes so subtle that it cannot be retained in any !lass' In time, on account of its !reat subtlety, it $ould enetrate throu!h the !lass as oil enetrates throu!h leather, no matter ho$ thic" and hard the bottom of the !lass $ould be' This is $hy somethin! hard may $ell be chan!ed into an oil, because of the reasons !iven' E,A=T&R ULII +o$ $e $ill a!ain revert to our $or"' Ta"e the thus cemented 5 , as has been indicated# have it beaten into thin leaves, as ainters need for !ildin!' Rub those leaves on a marble $ith melted honey or $ith gu))i Arabicu) dissolved in $ater' =o$der it so fine as if one $ere to aint $ith a brush $ith it, or $rite $ith a 3uill' Then $ash the honey of f $ith distilled $ater# ut the o$dered 5 into a !lass bo$l and our $arm, distilled $ater on it' Stir it $ell $ith a clean rod and let it settle do$n' =our the $ater off above and add other distilled $ater# stir it a!ain and let it settle do$n' A!ain our it off, and re eat this so often till the $ater runs off as clearly as the one you our on' Then it is enou!h' +o$ ut it on $arm ashes and let it dry, and you have a subtle o$der' +o$ set your o$der to reverberate in a reverberatin!)furnace in $hich !lasses are made, t$enty, t$enty%five or t$enty%six days, or till your !old s$ells as thic" as a s on!e' ,o$ever, do not ut it so hot that it melts, but "ee it in a !entle heat $ithout meltin!' Or if you $ish, you may also dissolve your !old in A7ua fort and our ure, distilled $ater on it# then let it boil for half an hour in a !lass' Then ut it aside for a day or t$o and your !old $ill dro to the bottom' =our the $ater off cleanly, and a!ain our other, common, distilled

$ater on it' A!ain boil it for a half hour as before, and ut it a!ain aside' Then it $ill settle at the bottom' =our the $ater off' Dou may do that three or four times, till your !old is $ell $ashed off from the A3ua fort, $hich should be burnt of salt etre and : ' -hen your o$der is thus $ashed, set it to reverberate, for this !old% o$der $hich has been dissolved in A3ua fort does not melt so easily as the o$der $hich has been rubbed on the stone' In addition, it robably ta"es at best ten days for reverberatin!# other$ise, both are e3ually !ood' Dou can therefore erform any of these t$o, $hichever you $ish' -hen the o$der has s$ollen li"e a s on!e, it is suff i% ciently reverberated' +o$ ta"e it out, have $ell distilled $ine% vine!ar and ut the o$der into a !lass $ith a $ide mouth, !round even above, u on $hich there should also be a li"e$ise !round, round !lass fittin! the mouth' +o$ our your vine!ar u on the o$der, so that t$o arts of the !lass are full' Stir $ell and set it on a cu el $ith ashes' Elose the !lass above $ith the small round !lass and !ive it also the $armth of the sun, stirrin! it every day, three or four times' &ach time ut the !round !lass bac" on to , and your o$der $ill !radually dissolve in vine!ar, so that your vine!ar $ill turn a very beautiful yello$' Decant the yello$ vine!ar into a clean !lass and ut it a$ay $ell sto ered' =our more vine!ar u on the o$der and stir it a!ain' Set it in the furnace and do as before till your vine!ar a!ain turns yello$' Decant that to the first, and a!ain our fresh vine!ar u on your o$der# roceed as before' Re eat this till your vine!ar is no lon!er colored# then our it off, and ta"e out $hat remains in the !lass, dry it on $arm ashes and set it a!ain to reverberate as before, for ei!ht or nine days' Then ta"e it out and ut it bac" into the !lass' =our distilled vine!ar on it, stir $ell, and set it in the furnace, and do as before, till your vine!ar turns yello$' Then our it off to the first colored vine!ar and a!ain our other vine!ar u on it' Set it in the furnace and do as before till the vine!ar is no lon!er colored' And if somethin! $orth $hile is left over, set it a!ain to reverberate and roceed in everythin! as you have been instructed before, till all your o$der is dissolved' Some feces $ill remain, because they had flo$n into it from the ashes in the furnace' The !old, too, has feces inside, so that some feces $ill al$ays remain' Dou $ill yourself see if somethin! is left $orth reverberatin! or not' If there is somethin!, roceed as indicated before# but if you do not thin" it $orth $hile, let it be' (ut you can also "ee those feces so that, should anythin! have remained in them, you can ta"e it out after$ards' +o$ ta"e all your colored vine!ar and set it to con!eal on hot ashes, in an o en !lass vessel' A yello$ o$der $ill remain' Ta"e it and dissolve it a!ain in common $ater' If it does not dissolve, dissolve it a!ain in vine!ar and con!eal it as before' After that it $ill dissolve in common $ater' It also ha ens that some feces stay behind' =ut those to!ether $ith the first feces' They are of no im ortance# they come from the innermost fecibus of the 5 +o$

con!eal a!ain on $arm ashes to a o$der, and be careful not to !ive too much heat, for the o$der $ould run to!ether because it is OmeltableP' If you ma"e it too hot, it $ill melt li"e $ax' -hen it is then con!ealed, dissolve it a!ain in common $ater as before# our off the ure, and if some feces still remain at the bottom, they are of the innermost fecibus' Add those to the others and con!eal a!ain' Re eat this con!ealin! and dissolvin! till you find no more feces at the bottom of the !lass' Then it is enou!h' Then con!eal a!ain' ,ave a !lass late made s ecially for this ur ose, or a marble late, and s read it 3uite thin on it' =ut it into a humid cellar and ut a small !lass underneath it' &verythin! $ill dissolve into clear $ater' +o$ con!eal it a!ain on hot ashes to a o$der' +o$ it is ready to be added to the oil made of the 2e!etable%stone' E,A=T&R ULIII In this /cha ter0 I $ill instruct my son ho$ he can blend the 2e!etable%oil $ith the said !old% o$der into an oil' Ta"e therefore the ve!etable%oil and $ei!h it' Ta"e the same $ei!ht of !old% o$der' Divide your ul6erern folis into three arts, and ut your ve!etable%oil on fire, in its !lass vessel' Give it natural $armth, as the sun shinin! in mid%summer' In it ut the first third of your !old% o$der# stir it $ith a rod of bostree $ood so that it becomes $ell mixed' Let it thus stand in even heat for seven or ei!ht days' Then add the other third of the !old% o$der to the oil# stir it as before, and let it stand for another seven or ei!ht days' Subse3uently, add the last third of the !old% o$der to the oil, and let it stand for another seven or ei!ht days in the heat' Then everythin! is fixed, and a )edicine for con!ealin! into C ' ,eat a thin silver tin late /orF !riddle0# $hen it !lo$s, cool it in this oil and it $ill chan!e into !old' Or ta"e one hundred arts of )ercuriue eubli)atue, $hich has been sublimated by !old ten or t$elve times, until it left no more feces' Then i)bibe one art of oil into one hundred arts of this mercurius# after$ards ut it into the e!! and han! it in the secret furnace for forty days and ni!hts, and everythin! $ill turn into medicine' Than" God the Lord, my child' -e shall deal in detail $ith these $or"s in the ;ineral%stone' E,A=T&R ULI2 +o$ then, my child, I have tau!ht you the first art of the 2e!etable%$or"' If no$ you $ish to o erate in the 2e!etable, $here the air first !oes over, such as in honey and in the fruits of trees, or in $heat or other cereals, as also in everythin! $here the air !oes over first, it must be done in the $ay tau!ht here' If you $or" differently, you $ill be cheated and not obtain the 2e!etable%stone, and your $or" $ill be in vain' 8ollo$ this $ay, therefore, and you do not ma"e mista"es' ;y child should "no$ that one can do many "inds of $or" of

2e!etable%stones in the 2e!etable, i'e', of herbs, trees, leaves, roots, seeds, $ood, !ums and other s ices that fall under the Vegetable. All of them may be turned into a stone, $hich is alto!ether a 2e!etable%stone' (ut they are made in t$o different $ays' I have tau!ht you the first $ay $here the air !oes over first, $hich $or" one must follo$ in all 2e!etable)stones $here the air !oes over first, as has been tau!ht here in an elaborate $ay'