the Moder of alle Then into Purgatory sche must be doe And have the paynes that longs thereto Tyl sche be bryghter than the Sune For than thow hast the Maystrey wone And that schalbe wythin howres three The wych forsooth ys grete ferly Than do her in a clene Glass Wyth some of the Watur that hers was And in a Furnas do her againe Tyl sche have drunke her Watur certaine And aftur that Watur give her Blood That was her owne pewre and good And whan sche hath dranke alle her Fyer Sche wyll wex strong and of grete yre Than take yow mete and mylcke thereto And fede the Chylde as you schowlde do Tyl he be growne to hys full age Than schal he be of strong courage And tourne alle Bodies that leyfull be To hys owne powre and dignitye And this ys the makyng of owre Stone The trewth here ys towlde yow evereech one For all that taketh any other wey Mouch they looseth and mouch they may For trewly there ys no other way of righte But Body of Body and Lyghte of Lyghte Man of Man begottyn ys And Beste of Beste to hys lykenes Alle the fooles in the worlde seeken A thynge that they may never meeten They wolde have Metalle owte of hem That never was fownde by worldly men Ne never was fownde by Goddis myghte That they schould beare any such fryghte All Saltes and Sulphures far and nere I interdite hem alle in fere Alle Corosive waters Blood and Hayre Pyss Hornes Wormes and Saudiver Alume Atriment alle I suspende Rasalger and Arsnick I defende Calx vive and Calx mort hys Brother I suspende them both one and other For of alle things I wyll no moe But fowre Elements in Generall I say soe Sun and Moone Erth and Water And here ys alle that men of clatter Our Gold and Sylver ben no common plate But a sperme owte of a Bodi I take In the wych ys alle Sol Lune Lyfe and Lyghte Water and Erth Fyre and Fryght And alle commyth of one Image But the Water of the Wood makyth the marryage Therefore there ys none other waye But to take thee to thy Beades and praye For Covetous Men yt fyndyth never Though they seek yt once and ever Set not your Hearts in thys thyng But only to God and good lyvynge And he that wyll come thereby Must be meeke and full of mercy Both in spyrit and in Countenannce Full of Chereti and good Governaunce And evermore full of almes deede Symple and pewerly hys lyf to leade Wyth Prayers Pennaunces and Piety And ever to God a lover be And alle the ryches that he ys sped To do God worschyppe wyth Almes deede In Arsenyck sublymed there ys a way streight Wyth Mercury calcyned nyne tymes hys weight And grownde together with the Water of myght That bereth ingression lyfe and lyght And anon as they togyther byne Alle runnyth to Water bryght and shene Upon thys Fyre they grow togethyr Tyll they be fast and flee no whythyr But than feede hem fowrth wyth thy hond Wyth mylke and meate tyle they be stronge And thow schalt have there a good Stone Whereof an Ounc on fowrty wyll gone Upon Venus or on Mercury Thys Medicyn wyll make thee merry All yow that have sowght mani a day Leave worke take yowre Beades and pray For the longer that yow seeken The longer yt ys or yow meeten And he that now fayne would be sped Lysten to my Daughter Megg For schhe scall tell yow trewth and ryghte Hearken now wyth all your myght I am Mercury the myghty Flower I am most worthy of Honour I am sours of Sol Luna and Mars I am genderer of Iovis many be my snares I am setler of Saturne and sours of Venus I am Empresse Pryncesse and Regall of Queenes I am Mother of Myrrour and maker of lyght I am head and hyghest and fayrest in syght I am both Sun and Moone I am sche that alle thynges must doone I have a Daughter hight Saturne that ys my darlyng The wych ys Mother of all werkyng For in my Daughter there byne hydd Fowre thyngs Commonly I kydd A Golden seede and a spearme rych And a Silver seede none hym lich And a Mercury seede full bryght And a Sulphur seede that ys ryght Of my Daughter wythowten dred Byn made Elyxirs whyte and redd Therefor of her draw a Water cler The Scyence yf thow lyst to leare Thys Water reduceth every thynge To tendernes and to fyxing It burgeneth growyth and gyveth fryght and lyght Ingression lyfe and lastyng in syght Alle ryghteous werkes sooth to say It helpeth and bryngyth in a good way Thys ys the Water that ys most worthy Aqua perfectissima flos mundi For alle werkes thys Water makyth whyte Reducyng and schyning as Sylver bryght And of the Oyle greate marvell there ys For all thyngs yt bryngyth to rednes As Cytrine gold he ys full high None ye so redd nor none ys so worthy And in the Erth grete marvele ys hyd That ys first so black and than so red And alle ys done in howres three Thys may be cleped Gods Prevetie Than the Erth shall torne red as blood Citrine Gold naturall cleere and good And than the red Oyle to hem schall goe Red Ferment and red Mercury alsoe And grow togeder weekes seaven Blessed be Almyghty God of Heven One Ounce of thys Medycine worthy Cast upon two hundred ownces of Mercury Schall make Gold most royall And ever enduring to holde tryall Fyre and Hammer Tuch and Test And all essayes most and least And yt ys Medycen above common Gold To mans body as God yt would For Gold that cometh from the Oare Is nourished with fowle Sulphur And Engendered upon Mercury he ys And nouryshed by Erth and Sulphur I wys And our Gold ys made of thre pewre soules In the wych ys noe Corrupcyon foule But purged pewre as clene as Chrystall Body and Spyryt and Sowle wyth all And so they grow into a stone In the wych Corrupcyon there ys none And than cast hym upon Mercury And he schalbe Gold most worthy Now have you heard the makyng of our Stone The begynyng and endyng ys all one THE WORKE OF RICH CARPENTER OF Titan Magnasia take the cler light The rede Gumme that ys so bryght Of Philosofris the Sulfer vife I called Gold wythouten stryfe Of hem drawe owte a Tincture And make a matrymony pure Betweene the husband and the wyfe I spoused wyth the Water of lyfe And so that none dyvysion Be there in the conjunccion Of the Moone and of the Sonne After the marriage ys begonne And that Mercury the planete In loef make hem so to mete That eyder wyth oder be joyned even As a Stone engendered sente down fro heven Of hem make water clere rennynge As any Chrystall bryght schynynge Drawen out of bodyes fyxed By Nature prively mixed Within a vessal depured clene Of Philosofris bright and schene
wythout delusyon For though yt in Water ly a hundred yeres and more Yet shold thou fynd it sound as ever it was afore But and thou kepe hyt somtyme wete sometyme dry As thow many se in Tymber by usuall experyment By prosses of tyme that Oke shall utterly Putrefy And soe in lykewyse accordyng to our entent Sometyme our Tre must wyth the Son be brent And then wyth Water sone after we must hyt kele That by thys menes thou shalt to rottyng bryng hyt wele For nowe in wete and nowe agayne in dry Now in grete hot and now agayne in cold To be shall cause yt sone for to putrefy And so shalt thow bryng to rottyng thy Gold Entrete thy Bodys therfore as I have thee told And in thy Putrefying wyth hete be not so swyft Lest in the Askys thou seke after thy thryft Therfore thy Water out of the Erth thow draw And make the soule therwyth for to assend Then downe agayne into the Erth hyt throw That they oft tymes so assend and dessend From vyolent hete and sodayne cold defend Thy Glasse and make thy fyre so temperat That by the sydys thy Water be never vytryfycate And be thou wyse in chesing of thy Water Medyll with no Salt Sulphure nor mene Minerall For whatsoever any Water to the do clatter Our Sulphure and Mercury be only in Mettall Which Oylys and Waters som men call Fowlys and Byrds wyth other namys many one Because that folys shold never know our Stone For of thys World our Stone ys callyd the sement Whych mevyd by craft as Nature doth requyre In hys encrese shall be full opulent And multeply hys kynd of thyne owne desyre Therfore yf God vouchsafe thee to enspyre To know the trewth and fancies to eschew Lyke unto the shal be in ryches but few But many be mevyd to worke after ther fantasy In many subjects in whych be Tynctors gay Both Whyte and Red devydyd manually To syght but in the Fyre they fle away Such brekyth Potts and Glassys day by day Enpoysonyng themfelfs and losyng of theyr syghts Wyth Odors and smoks and wakeyng up by nyghts Their Clothes be bawdy and woryn threde-bare Men may them smell for Multyplyers where they go To fyle theyr fyngers wyth Corrosyves they do not spare Theyr Eyes be bleryd theyr Chekys both lene bloe And thus for had I wyst they suffer losse an d wo Such when they have lost that was in theyr purse Then do they chyd and Phylosophers sore accurse For all the whyle that they have Phylosophers ben Yet cowde they never know our Stone Som sought in Soote Dung Uryne som in Wyne Som in Sterr slyme for thyng yt ys but one In Blood Eggs Som tyll theyr thryst was gone Devydyng Elements and brekyng many a pott Multyplying the sherds but yet they hyt yt not To se theyr Howsys it ys a noble sport What Fornaces what Glassys there be of divers shape What Salts what Powders what Oyles and waters for t How eloquently de materia prima they clape And yet to fynde the trewth they have no hap Of our Mercury they medle and of our Sulphur vyve Wherein they dote and more and more unthryve They take of the Red Man and hys whyte Wyfe That ys a speciall thyng and of Elixers two Of the Quintessence and of the Elixers of lyfe Of Hony Celydony and of Secundyns also These they devyde into Elements wyth other mo No Multeplyers but Phylosophers callyd wyll they be Whych naturall Phylosophye dyd never rede nor see Thys felyshyp knowyth our Stone ryght wele They thynke them rycher then ys the Kyng They wyll hym helpe he shall not fayle Fraunce for to wyn a wonders thyng The holy Crosse home wyll they bryng And yf the King were prysoner I take Anon hys Raunsome would they make A mervell yt ys that Westminster Church To whych these Phylosophers do haunte Syth they so much ryches can woorche As they make boste of and avaunte Drynkyng dayly the wyne a due taunte Ys not made up perfytly at on s For truly hyt lackyth yet many Stonys Folys doe folow them at the tayle Promotyd to ryches wenyng to be But wyll ye here what worshyp and avayle They wyn in London that nobyll cyte Wyth Sylver Macys as ye may se Sarjaunts awayting on them every owre So be they men of great honour Sarjaunts sekyth them fro Strete to Strete Marchaunts and Goldsmyths leyeth after them watch That well ys he that wyth them do mete For the great advantage that they doe cache They hunt about as doth a Rache Wenyng to wyn so grete tresure That ever in ryches they shall endure Som wold cache theyr goods agayne And some more good would aventure Som for to have wold be full fayne Of Ten pound one I you ensuer Som whych hath lent wythout mesure Theyr goods and be with powerte bestad To cache a Nobyll wold be full glad But when the Sarjaunts do them arest Ther Paukeners be stuffed wyth Parrys balls Or wyth Sygnetts of Seynt Martynes at the lest But as for Mony yt ys pyssyd on the walls Then be they led as well for them befalls To Newgate or Ludgate as I you tell Because they shall in safegard dwell Where ys my Mony becom seyth one And where ys myne seyth he and he But wyll ye here how suttell they be anon In answeryng that they excused may be Saying Of our Elyxers robbyd we be Ells myght we have payd you all your Gold Yf yt had been more by ten folde And then theyer Creditors they begyn to flatter Promysyng to worke for them agayne The Elyxers two in short space after Dotyng the Merchaunts that they be fayne To let them go but ever in vayne They worke so long tyll at the last They be agayne in Pryson cast Yf any then aske them why they be not ryche They sey they make fyne Gold of Tynn But he they sey may surely swym in dyche Whych ys upholden by the chyn We have no stock therefore may we nought wyn Whych yf we had we wold some worche I now to fynysh up Westmynster Churche And some of them be so Devowte They wyll not dwell out of that place For there they may wythowten dowte Do what them lyft to their Solace The Archedeacon ys so full of grace Yf that they please hym wyth the Crosse He forsyth lyttyll of other menys losse And when they there syt at the wyne These Monkys they sey have many a pound Wolde God seyth one that som were myne Hay hoe careaway lat the cup go rounde Drynk on seyth another the mene ys founde I am a Master of that Arte I warrant us we shall have parte Such causyth the Monkys then evyll to don To wast ther Wagys thorow theyr dotage Som bryngeth a Mazer and som a Spone There Phylosophers gevyth them such corage Behotyng them wynnyng wythout damage A pound for a peny at the lest agayne And so fayre promys
by Drynes and by Hete Dygestyd ys to Whyte and Red complete But here thou must another secret knowe How the Phylosophers Chyld in the Ayre ys borne Besy thee not to fast at the Cole to blowe And take that nether for mock nor skorne But trust me truly else thy work ys all forlorne Wythout thyne Erth wyth Water revyvyd be Our trew Congelyng shalt thou never see A sowle betwyxt Hevyn and Erth beyng Arysyng fro the Erth as Ayre wyth Water pure And causyng lyfe in every lyvely thyng Incessably runnyng uppon our foresayd Nature Enforsyng to better them wyth all hys cure Whych Ayre ys the Fyre of our Phylosophy Namyd now Oyle now Water mystyly And thus mene Ayre whych Oyle or Water we call Our Fyre our Oyntment our Spryte and our Stone In whych one thyng we grownd our wysdomes all Goyth nether out nor yn alone Nether the Fyer but the Water anone Fyrst yt outeledyth and after bryngyth yt yn As Water with Water whych wyll not lyghtly twyn And so may Water only our Water meve Whych mevyng causyth both Deth and Lyfe And Water doth kyndly to Water cleve Wythout repugnance or any stryfe Whych Water to Folys ys nothyng ryfe Beyng of the kynd wythowten dowte Of the Spryte callyd Water and leder owte And Water ys the secret and lyfe of every thyng That ys of substance in thys world y found For of the Water eche thyng hath begynnyng As showyth in Woman when she shall be unbound By water whych passyth afore if all be sound Callyd Albyen fyrst from them rennyng Wyth grevose throwys afore ther chyldyng And truly that ys the cause pryncypall Why Phylosophers chargyd us to be pacyent Tyll tyme the Water were dryed to powder all Wyth nurryshyng hete contynuall but not vyolent For qualytes be contrarious of every element Tyll after Black in Whyte be made a unyon And then forever congelyd wythout dyvysyon And furthermore the preparacion of thys conversyon Fro thyng to thyng fro one state to another Ys done only by kyndly and descrete operacion Of Nature as ys of Sperme wythin the Mother For Sperme and Hete as Syster be and Brother Whych be converted wythin themself as Nature can By accion and passyon and at the last to parfyt Man For as the bodely part by Nature whych ys consumate Into Man ys such as the begynner was Whych though yt thus fro thyng to thyng was alterat Not owt of kynd to menge with other kynds dyd yt pas And so our Mater spermatycall wythin one Glas Wythin hyt selfe must turne fro thyng to thyng By hete most temperate only hyt noryshyng Another example naturall I may thee tell How the substance of an Egg by nature ys wrought Into a Chyk not pasyng out of the shell A playner example cowd I not have thought And there conversions be made tyll forth be brought Fro state to state the lyke by lyke yn kynd Wyth nurryshyng hete only bere thys yn mynd Another example here may you also rede Of Vegetable thyngs takyng consyderacyon How every Plant growyth of hys owne sede Thorow Here and Moysture by naturall operacyon And therefore Mineralls be nurryshyd by mynystracyon Of Moysture radycall whych theyr begynnyng was Not passiyng theyer kynd wythin one Glas. There we them turne fro thyng to thyng agayne Into ther Moder the Water when they go Whych pryncyple unknowen thou labourest in vayne Then ys all Sperme and thyngs ther be no mo But kynd wyth kynd in number two Male and Female Agent and Pacyent Wythin the matryce of the Erth most oryent And these be turnyd by Hete fro thyng to thyng Wythin one Glas and so fro state to state Tyll tyme that Nature do them bryng Into one substance of the Water regenerate And so the Sperme wythin hys kynde ys alterate Abyll in lykenes hys kynde for to Multeplye As doth in kynde all other thyngs naturally In the tyme of thys seyde processe naturall Whyle that the Sperme consevyd ys growyng The substance ys nurryshed wyth hys owne Menstruall Whych Water only out of the Erth dyd bryng Whose colour ys Greene in the fyrst showing And for that tyme the Son hydyth hys lyght Taking hys course thorow owte the North by nyght The seyd Menstrue ys I say to the in councell The blod of our Grene Lyon and not of Vytrioll Dame Venus can the trewth of thys the tell At thy begynnyng to councell and yf thou her call Thys secret ys hyd by Phylosophers grete and small Whych blode drawen owte of the seyd Lyon For lac of Hete had not perfyt Dygestyon But thys blode our secret Menstruall Wherewyth our Sperme ys nurryshed temperatly When it ys turnyd into the fecys Corporall And becom Whyte perfytly and very Dry Congelyd and Fyxyd into hys owne body Then brustyn blod to syght yt may well seme Of thys warke namyd the mylke whyte Dyademe Understonde now that our fyery Water thus acuate Is called our Menstruall water wherein Our Erth ys losyd and naturally Calcenat By Congelacyon that they may never twyne Yet to Congele more water thou may not blyn Into thre parts of the acuate water seyd afore Wyth the 4th part of the Erth congelyd no more Unto that substance therefore so congelat The fowerth part put of water Crystallyn And make them then together to be Dysponsat By Congelacyon into a myner metallyne Whych lyke a sworde new slypyd then wyll shyne After the Blacknes whych fyrst wyll showe The fowerth parte geve yt them of water new Mo Inbybycyons many must we have yett Geve yt the second and after the thyrd also The seyd proportyon kepe well in thy wyt Then to another the fowerth tyme loke thou go The fyfth tyme and the syxth passe not there fro But put two parts at eche tyme of them three And at the seventh tyme fyve parts let there bee When thou hast made thus seven tymes Inbybycion Ageyne then must thow turne thy Whele And Putrefy all that Matter wythowte addycyon Fyrst Blacknesse abydyng yf thow wylt do well Then into Whytenes congele yt up eche dele And by Rednes into the Sowth assend Then hast thou brought thy Base unto an end Thus ys thy Water then devydyd in partyes two Wyth the fyrst party the Bodys be Putryfycat And to thyne Inbybycions the second part must go Wyth whych the Matter ys afterwards Denygrat And sone uppon by esy Decoccyon Albyfycate Then yt ys namyd by Phylosophers our Sterry Stone Bryng that to Rednes then ys the syxth Gate woon OF CIBATION The seventh Gate NOw of Cibacion I turne my pen to wryte Syth yt must here the seventh place occupye But in few words yt wylbe expedyte Take tent therto and understond me wyttyly Cibacion ys callyd a fedyng of our Matter dry Wyth Mylke and Mete whych moderatly they do Tyll yt be brought the thyrd order unto But geve yt not so much that thou hyt glut Beware of the Dropsy and also of Noyes Flood
By lyttyll and lyttyll therfore thou to hyt put Of Mete and Drynke as semyth to do hyt good That watry humors not overgrow the blood The Drynke therfore let hyt be mesuryd so That kyndly appetyte thou never quench therfro For yf yt drynke to much then must yt have A Vomyte ells wyll yt be syk to long Fro the Dropsy therfore thy Wombe thou save And fro the Flux ells wyll hyt be wrong Whych rather lat yt thyrst for drynke amonge Then thou shold geve yt overmuch at on s Whych must in youth be dyattyd for the nons And yf thou dyatt hyt as Nature doth requyre Moderatly tyll hyt be growen to age Fro Cold hyt kepyng and nurryshyng wyth moyst Fyre Than shall yt grow and wax full of corrage And do to thee both plesure and advauntage For he shall make darke Bodys hole and bryght Clensyng theyer Leprosenes thorow hys myght Thre tymes thus must thou turne about thy Whele Abowte kepyng the rewle of the seyd Cibacyon And then as sone as yt the Fyre doth fele Lyke Wax yt wylbe redy unto Lyquacyon Thys Chapter nedyth not longer protestacion For I have told thee the dyatory most convenyent After thyne Elements be made equypolent And also how thou to Whytnes shalt bryng thy Gold Most lyke in fygure to the lenys of an hawthorn tre Callyd Magnesya afore as I have told And our Whyte Sulfur wythowte conbustebyllyte Whych fro the fyer away wyll never fle And thus the seventh Gate as thow desyred In the upspryng of the Son ys conqueryd OF SUBLIMATION The eight Gate HEre of our Sublimacion a word or two I have to speke whych the eyghth Gate ys Folys do Sublyme but Sublyme thou not so For we Sublyme not lyke as they do I wys To Sublyme trewly therfore thou shall not mys If thou can make thy Bodys first spirituall And then thy Spyryts as I have tought the corporall Som do Mercury from Vitriall and Salt sublyme And other spryts fro Scales of Yern or Steele Fro Eggshells calcynyd and quyk lyme And on theyer manner hyt they Sublyme ryght well But such Sublymyng accordyth never adele To our entent for we Sublyme not so To trewe Sublymyng therfore now wyll I go In Sublymacyon fyrst beware of one thyng That thou Sublyme not to the top of thy Vessell For without vyolence thou shalt yt not downe bryng Ageyne but there yt wyll abyde and dwell So hyt rejoysyth wyth refrygeracion I the tell Kepe hyt therfore wyth temperat hete adowne Full forty dayes tyll hyt wex black abowen For then the Sowle begynnyth for to com owte Fro hys owne vaynys for all that subtyll ys Wyll wyth the Spryts assend withouten dowte Bere in thy mynde therfore and thynke on thys How here eclypsyd byn thy Bodys As they do Putrify Sublymyng more and more Into the Water tyll they be all up bore And thus ther venom when they have spowtyd out Into the water than Black yt doth appeare And become spirituall every dele withoute dowte Sublymyng esyly on our manner Into the water which doth hym bere For in the Ayre one Chyld thus must be bore Of the Water ageyne as I have seyd before But when these to Sublymacyon continuall Be laboryd so wyth hete both moyst and temperate That all ys Whyte and purely made spirituall Than Hevyn uppon Erth must be reitterate Unto the Sowle wyth the Body be reincorporate That Erth becom all that afore was Hevyn Whych wyll be done in Sublymacyons sevyn And Sublymacyon we make for causys thre The fyrst cause ys to make the Body Spirituall The second that the Spryt may Corporall be And becom fyx wyth hyt and substancyall The Thyrd cause ys that fro hys fylth orygynall He may be clensyd and hys fatnys sulphuryose Be mynyshyd in hym whych ys infectuose Then when they thus togeder depuryd be They wyll Sublyme up whyter then Snow That syght wyll gretly comfort the For than anon parfytly shalt thou know Thy Sprytts shall so be a downe I throw That thys Gate to the shal be unlockyd Out of thys Gate many one be shyt and mockyd OF FERMENTATION The ninth Gate TRew Fermentacyon few Workers do understond That secrett therfore I wyll expounde to the I travelyd trewly thorow many a Lond Or ever I myght fynde any that cold tell hyt me Yet as God wolde evermore blessed he be At the last I cum to knowledge therof parfyt Take heede therfore therof what I do wryte Fermentyng in dyvers maners ys don By whych our Medcyns must be perpetuate Into a clere Water som lesyth Son and Mone And wyth ther Medcyns makyth them to be Congelate Whych in the Fyer what tyme they be examynate May not abyde nor alter wyth Complement For such Ferments ys not to our intent But yet more kyndly som other men don Fermentyng theyer Medcynes in thys wyse In Mercury dyssolvyng both Son and Mone Up wyth the Spryts tyll tyme wyll aryse Sublymyng them together twyse or thryse Then Fermentacyon therof they make That ys a way but yet we hyt forsake Som other ther be whych hath more hap To touch the trothe in parte of Fermentyng They Amalgam ther Bodys wyth Mercury lyke papp Then theruppon ther Medcyns relentyng These of our Secretts have som hentyng But not the trewth wyth parfyt Complement Because they nether Putrefy nor alter ther Ferment That poynt therfore I wyll dysclose to thee Looke how thou dydyst wyth thy unparfyt Body And do so wyth thy parfyt Bodys in every degre That ys to sey fyrst thou them Putrefye Her prymary qualytes destroying utterly For thys ys wholey to our entent That fyrst thou alter before thou Ferment To thy Compound make Ferment the fowerth parte Whych Ferments be only of Son and Mone If thou therfore be Master of thys Arte Thy Fermentacion lat thys be done Fyx Water and Erth together sone And when the Medcyn as wax doth flowe Than uppon Malgams loke thou hyt throw And when all that together ys myxyd Above thy Glasse well closyd make thy fyre And so contenew hyt tyll all be fyxid And well Fermented to desyre Than make Projeccyon after thy pleasure For that ys Medcyn than ech dele parfyt Thus must you Ferment both Red and Whyte For lyke as flower of Whete made into Past Requyreth Ferment whych Leven we call Of Bred that yt may have the kyndly tast And becom Fode to Man and Woman most cordyall Ryght so thy Medcyn Ferment thou shall That yt may tast wyth the Ferment pure And all assays evermore endure And understond that ther be Ferments three Two be of Bodys in nature clene Whych must be altryd as I have told thee The thyrd most secret of whych I mene Ys the fyrst Erth to hys owne Water grene And therfore when the Lyon doth thurst Make hym drynke tyll hys Belly burst Of thys a Questyon yf I shold meve And aske of Workers what ys thys thyng Anon therby I sholde them preve
Yf they had knowledge of our Fermentyng For many man spekyth wyth wondreng Of Robyn Hode and of his Bow Whych never shot therin I trow But Fermentacion trew as I the tell Ys of the Sowle wyth the Bodys incorporacyon Restoryng to hyt the kyndly smell Wyth tast and color by naturall conspysacyon Of thyngs dysseveryd a dew redyntegracyon Wherby the Body of the Spryte takyth impression That eyther other may helpe to have ingression For lyke as the Bodys in ther compaccyon corporall May not show out ther qualytes effectually Untyll the tyme that they becom spyrituall No more may Spryts abyde wyth the Bodys stedfastly But they wyth them be fyrst confyxat proportionably For then the Body techyth the Spryt to suffer Fyer And the Spryt the Body to endure to thy desyre Therfore thy Gold wyth Gold thou must Ferment Wyth hys owne Water thyne Erth clensyd I mene Not ells to say but Element wyth Element The Spryts of Lyfe only goyng betweene For lyke as an Adamand as thow hast sene Yern to hym draw so doth our Erth by kynde Draw downe to hym hys Sowle borne up wyth Wynd Wyth mynd therfore thy Sowle lede out and in Meng Gold wyth Gold that is to say Make Elements wyth Elements together ryn To tyme all Fyre they suffer may For Erth ys Ferment wythouten nay To Water and Water the Erth unto Our Fermentacion in thys wyse must be do Erth ys Gold so ys the Sowle also Not Comyn but Owers thus Elementate And yet the Son therto must go That by our Whele yt may be alterate For so to Ferment yt must be preparat That hyt profoundly may joynyd be Wyth other natures as I seyd to thee And whatsoever I have here seyd of Gold The same of Sylver I wyll thou understond That thou them Putrefye and alter as I have told Ere thou thy Medcyn to Ferment take in hond Forsowth I cowde never fynde hym wythin Englond whych on thys wyse to Ferment cowde me teche Wythout errour by practyse or by speche Now of thys Chapter me nedyth to trete no more Syth I intend prolixite to eschew Remember well my words therfore Whych thou shalt preve by practys trew And Son and Mone loke thou renew That they may hold of the fyfth nature Then shall theyr Tynctures ever endure And yet a way there ys most excellent Belongyng unto another workyng A Water we make most redolent All Bodys to Oyle wherwyth we bryng Wyth whych our Medcyn we make floyng A Quyntessens thys Water we call In man whych helyth Dysesys all But wyth thy Bace after my Doctryne preperat Whych ys our Calx thys must be don For when our Bodys be so Calcenat That Water wyll to Oyle dyssolve them sone Make therfore Oyle of Son and Mone Which ys Ferment most fragrant for to smell And so the 9th Gate ys Conquered of thys Castell OF EXALTATION The tenth Gate PRocede we now to the Chapter of Exaltacion Of whych truly thou must have knowledge pure Full lyttyll yt ys dyfferent from Sublymacyon Yf thou conceve hym ryght I thee ensure Herto accordyth the holy Scrypture Chryste seyng thus Yf I exalted be Then shall I draw all thyngs unto me Ower Medycyn yf we Exalt ryght so Hyt shall therby be Nobylyzate That must be done in manners two Fro tyme the parts be dysponsate Whych must be Crusyfyed and examynat And then contumulate both Man and Wyfe And after revyvyd by the Spyryts of Lyfe Than up to Hevyn they must Exaltyd be Ther to be in Body and Sowle gloryfycate For thou must bryng them to such subtylyte That they assend together to be intronyzate In Clowds of clerenesse to Angells consociate Then shall they draw as thou shalt se All other Bodys to ther owne dygnyte Yf thou therfore thy Bodys wyll Exaltat Fyrst wyth the Spryts of Lyfe thou them augment Tyll tyme thy Erth be well subtylyate By naturall rectyfyyng of eche Element Hym up exaltyng into the Fyrmament Than much more presyose shall they be than Gold Because they of the Quyntessence do hold For when the Cold hath overcum the Hete Then into Water the Ayre shall turnyd be And so two contrarys together shall mete Tyll ether wyth other ryght well agre So into Ayre thy Water as I tell the When Hete of Cold hath gott domynacyon Shal be convertyd by craft of Cyrculacyon And of the Fyer then Ayer have thou shall By losyng Putrefyyng and Sublymyng And Fyer thou hast of the Erth materyall Thyne Elements by craft thus dysseveryng Most specyally the Erth well Calcenyng And when they be eche on made pure Then do they hold all of the fyfth nature On thys wyse therfore make them to be Cyrcular Ech unto other exaltyng by and by And in one Glas do all thys surely sygylate Not wyth thy honds but as I teche the naturally Fyer into Water then turne fyrst hardely For Fyer ys in Ayer wych ys in Water exystent And thys Conversyon accordyth to our entent Than ferthermore turne on thy Whele That into Erth thy Ayre convertyd be Whych wylbe don also ryght well For Ayre ys in Water beyng in the Erth trust me Then Water into Fyre contraryose in ther qualyte Sone turne thou may for Water in Erth ys Whych ys in Fyer conversyon true ys thys Thy Whele ys now nygh turnyd abowte Into Ayre turne Erth whych ys the proper nest Of other Elements ther ys no dowte For Erth in Fyre ys whych in Ayre takyth rest Thys Cyrculacyon thou begyn must in the West Then forth into the Sowth tyll they exaltyd be Procede dewly as in the Fygure I have towght the. In whych proces thou may clerly se From an extreame how to another thou may not go But by a mene syth they in qualyte contraryose be And reson wyll forsoth that hyt be so As hete into cold wyth other contraryose mo Wythout theyr menys as moyst to hete and cold Examples suffycyent afore thys have I told Thus have I tawght the how for to make Of all thy Elements a parfyt Cyrculacyon And at thy Fygure example for to take How thou shalt make thys foresayd Exaltacyon And of thy Medcyn in the Elements trew graduacyon Tyll hyt be brought to a quynaryte temperat And then thou hast conqueryd the Tenth Gate OF MULTIPLICATION The eleventh Gate MUltyplycacyon now to declare I procede Whych ys by Phylosophers in thys wyse dyfynyd Augmentacyon yt ys of that Elixer indede In goodnes in quantyte both for Whyt and Rede Multyplycacyon ys therfore as they have seyd That thyng that doth Augment the Medcyns in ech degre In Color in Odor in Vertue and also in Quantyte And why thou may thy Medcyn multeply Infynytly the cause forsoth ys thys For yt ys Fyer whych tyned wyll never dye Dwellyng wyth the as Fyer doth in housys Of whych one sparke may make more Fyers I wys As musk in Pygments and other spycys mo In vertue multyplyeth and our Medcyn ryght so So
fruitefull Land Cockle is not meete Gall is ever bitter Honey is ever sweete Of all things contrary is fals Conneccions Let Male and Female together ever meete But both be clensed of their Complexions A Man of Nature ingendereth but a Man And every Beast ingendereth his semblable And as Philosophers rehearse well can Diana and Venus in marriage be notable A Horse with a Swine joyneth not in a stable For where is made unkindly geniture What followeth but things abominable Which is to say Monstrum in Nature All this I finde in the said Boke Brought to me when I lay a sleepe And of one thing good heede I toke The Wolf in kinde is Enemy to the Sheepe The Rose full divers to the wild Neepe For things joyned that be contrary Dame Nature complayning doth sit and weepe For falce receipts found in her Library And there it was so pitiously complained That men so err by false Opinions That be so farr from truth away restrained Like as they had lost wholly their Reasons Not considering in their discretions What mischeife followeth as is oft seene By these false froward Conneccions As doth leapers with folkes that byne cleane Notwithstanding he that is sate so high in heaven Crown'd with a Crowne of bright stones cleere Borne there to raine as cheife chosen of seaven Equall with Phoebus shone in the same sphere Without difference as Clerkes to us leare Sate there most royallin his diadem Very Celestiall and Angelike of cheare And in all vertue like as he did seeme And in that Boke I found well by writing Like as the processe made mention How that there was once a mighty rich King Cleane of nature and of Complexion Voyde of deformity from head soe forthe downe Which for his beauty as it is specified And for his cleanes most soverayne of renowne Was among Planets in heaven stellefyed Certaine Brethren I found he had in Number And of one Mother they were borne every each one But a Sicknes did them sore cumber That none was whole on his feete to gone Hoarse of language cleere voice had they none For with a scabb that was contagious They were infected hole was their none For ever exiled because they were Leaprous The said King rose up in his Royall see Seeing this mischeife cast his Eye downe And of his mercy and fraternall pittye Surprized in heart full of Compassion And began to complaine of their Infeccion Alas quoth he how came this adventure Under what froward or false Constelacion Or in what howre had yee your ingendure But sithence this mischeife ys to you befall There is nothing which were more expedient Then to chuse one out amongst us all Without spott all cleere of his intent For you to dye by his owne assent To save the people from their Damnation And with his blood ere yo be fully shent To make of his mercy your remission The which Liquor most wholesome is and good Against leprous humors and false infeccions When from a veyne taken is the blood Cleansing each parte from all corrupcions The Originall taken from generacions Which is descended downe from stock royall Nourished with Milke of pure complexion With menstrous which are not superficiall But when the Brethren of this worthy King Heard the Language they fell in full great dread Full sore weeping and said in Complayning That none of them was able to bleede Because their blood was infeccious indeede And of corrupt blood made is noe Sacrifice Wherefore alas there is noe way to speede That we can finde to helpe us in any wise Of our Birth and of our Originall Cleerely and truly to make mencion Excuse is there none in parte nor in all In sin was first our concepcion Our bringing forth and generation Fulfilled was in sorrowe and wickednesse And our Mother in a short conclusion With Corrupt milke us fostred in distresse For who may make that seede to be cleane That first was conceived in uncleanes For cancred rust may never I meane By noe crafte shew forth parfect brightnes Now let us all at once our Course addres And goe unto our Mother to aske by and by The finall cause of our Corrupt sicknes That she declare unto us the Cause and why The said Children uprose in a fury Of wofull rage and went by one assent Unto their Mother that called was Mercury Requiring her by greate advisement Before her Goddesses being every one present To tell them truly and in noe parte to faine Why their nature was corrupt and shent That caused them evermore to weepe and complaine To whome the Mother full bright of face and hew Gave this answer remembred in Scripture First when I was wedded a new I conceived by prosses of true Nature A Child of seede that was most cleane and pure Undefiled most orient faire and bright Of all the PLANETS cheife of ingendure Which now in Heaven giveth so clcere a light Whose Complexion is most temperate In heate and cold and in humidity In Erth also that there is noe debate Nor noe repugnaunce by noe quallity Nor none occasion of none infirmity That among them there may be none discord So well proportioned every-each in his degree Each hower and space they be of so true accord Whose Nature is so imperiall That fire so burning doth him noe distresse His royall kinde is so celestiall Of Corrupcion he taketh no sicknesse Fire Water Air nor Erth with his drines Neither of them may alter his Complexion He fixeth Spirits through his high noblenes Saveth infected bodyes from their Corrupcion His Heavenly helth death may not assayle He dreadeth noe venome nor needeth no treacle Winde Tempest ne Wether against him may prevaile Soe high in Heaven is his Tabernacle In Erth he worketh many a miracle He cureth Lepers and fetcheth home Fugitive And to gouty Eyne giveth a cleere Spectacle Them to goe that lame were all their lief He is my Son and I his Mother deare By me conceived truly in Marriage As touching your Birth the sicknes doth appeare Of Menstruous blood brought forth in tender age Your Leprie is shewed in Body and in Visage To make your hole Medicine is no other Drinke nor potion to your advantage But the pure blood of him that is your deare Brother A good Shephard must dye for his Sheepe Without grudging to speake in words plaine And semblable take hereof good keepe Your Brother must dye and newe be borne againe Though he be old be hereof well certaine To youth againe he must be renewd And suffer passion or else all were vaine Then rising againe right fresh and well hewd Old Aeson was made young by Medea With her drinks and with her potions Soe must your Brother of pure Volunta Dyeand be young through his operation And that through subtile natures Confections By whose death plainely to expresse Yee shal be purged from all infeccions And your foule leaprie changed to cleanes With the said words the King began to abrayd The tale
befall Mankinde in health preserve they shall Reneweth Youth and keepeth it sound As trew by proofe the same is found And here I will teach you plaine How for to make their Mixtures pure In order faire without disdaine I will tell you no Dreame be sure Beleeve me while my life may dure Looke what with mouth to you I say My deedes shall prove it true alway Yett shall some Figure my Meeter hide Least the Arte with wings should fly awâ—y And soe as vile abroad to slide Whose sence or Truth cannot decay And without fraude I will display The matter plaine on every side And true likewise what soe betide Although ere this you have heard say That such as practice doth this Arte Their thrift in Ashes seeke alway And learne at length with heavy heart Not more but lesse to make their part Yet be not you dismayed therefore Ne feare nor shrinke for it the more But trust the words which I you tell For truly I doe flatly say I have both seene and known it well And wittnesse will the same alway This the Marrow called is I say A truer Text full well I wote In all this World finde shall you not Then as this writing of our Wine Whereof I bring you here a taste Whose heavenly Water pure and fine Doth all things worke withouten waste To your desire the bodyes fast It doth dissolve make light and open With other things not yett of spoken Against Nature yet is it not But naturall as may men trow Which being cleansed from his spott There Phoebus splendor shall forth shewe And cause it fragrantly to grow For how more fragrant it shal be Soe much of Valor more is hee For Phoebus nature doth surpasse And bodyes pure and eke the sky It doth beshine both Corne and Grasse The Sonn reneweth from on hye And causeth things to fructifie Doth mix and fix and natureth Drives plagues away and nourisheth Abandoneth draweth and clenseth the Aire Maketh dews sweete floods and humors dry Maketh softe hard sweete and fayre And purifieth Natures perfectly By his working incessantly It maketh all things to grow I say And chaseth Vgly things away In Laurell Tree it is full greene In Gold it lodgeth glistringly It decketh Stones with brightnes sheene The shinening bodyes are made thereby But if you will more certeinly Of Phoebus vertue have knowledging Then Saturns Chyld must yssue bring O Pastor meeke draw Water cleere From buds of Vynes out of a Glasse As red as blood as Gold it were Which will you give a Gummy Masse As pretious as ever was Thus without fraude made open is by wyse The Arte which you shall not dispise It multiplyeth and maketh also Gold Potable know this for trewe By it are things increased soe That health thereby you may renewe To learne those Secreats dayly sue Which formally prolong well may Your Life in joy from day to day For although many hate this Arte Yet it is precious over all Try and discerne within your hearte By all the Lessons misticall A Gift it is Coelestiall Which here is taught to you him by That prov'd it hath Assuredly This have I written for your sake Not in vaine stile but order plaine This little Booke of him you take Which frankly doth bestowe his paine To God committinge you againe And all that doth wish well to thee In any place wheresoever they bee If you unbroken long would keepe In perfect health your Vessel still Then for your Cannon looke you seeke Remembring him that hath good will By your assistance to fulfill And in such sort your Worke display As sound may to your lawd alway A SHORT WORKE That beareth the Name of the aforesaid Author Sir G. RIPLEY TAke Heavy Soft Cold and Drye Clense him and to Calx grind him subtily Dissolve him in Water of the Wood If thou can do any good Thereof take a Tincture And Earthy Calx good and pure Of this maist thou have with thy travaile Both Mercury Water and Oyle Out of the Ayre with Flames great Fire into the Earth doth Creepe In this Worke if thou wilt winn Take heed wherewith thou dost begin And in what manner thou dost work For loosing thy way in the darke And where with what and how thy matter shal end I tell and Councell thee as my Frend Make Water of Earth and Earth of Water Then art thou well onward in the matter For thou shalt find hid in the myre Both Earth Water Ayre and Fire I tell thee my Brother I will not flatter Of our Earth is made our Water The which is cleere white as Snow And makes our Earth Calcine and growe Blacknesse first to thee doth shew As by thy practise thou shalt know Dissolve and Calcine oft and oft With Congelation till the Body to whitnes be brought Make the Body fluxible and flowing With the Earth perfect and teyning Then after Ferment is once done Whither thou wilt with Sunne or Moone Dissolve him with the Water of life Ycalled Mercury withouten strife Put the Soule with the Body and Spirite Together in one that they may meete In his Dammes belly till he wax great With giving Drinke of his owne sweate For the Milke of a Cow to a Child my brother Is not so sweete as the Milke of his Mother This Child that is so marveilously wrought Unto his Heritage must be brought His livelyhood is so worthy a thing Of abilitye to spend with a King He that beareth all this in minde And understandeth these Parables all With Seperation he may finde Poore and Rich great and small With our Sulphur we make our Antimony White and Red And thereof we make our Mercury quick dead This is a Mettall that I speake of one of the seaven If thou be a Clerk read what I meane There is no Plannet of six neither great nor small But if he be put to them he will Calcine them all Unto red blood he must be brought Else of him thou gettest right nought Reach him then with the Wood Water Man and Woman Clothed under one hatter In and of them is conceived a Child Lovely of beauty meeke and mild Out of the Earth with dropps strong Nourish the Child in his Mothers wombe Till he be come to full age And then make thou a Mariage Betweene the Daughter and the Sonne And then thou hast the Mastery wonn The beginning of this Worke if thou wilt crave In holly Writ thou shalt it have Both in Masse Booke and in Psalter Yea wrighten before the Preest at the Alter And what is Antimony that thou shalt worke I have written to thee if thou be a Clerke Looke about before if thou canst finde Plainely written which maketh men blind Our Werke is bringing againe our Mercury And that Philosophers call Solucion And if thou loose not the uncleane body Thou werkest without discretion The Inbibition of Water is not the loosing But bringing the Body into water againe turning That is to say into
full glade With more Tresour then hath the Kyng of Inde Of pretyous Stoonys wrought in their kynde The Cetryn Colour for the Sonne bryght Whyte for the Morne that shyneth all the nyght This Philosophre brought forth in Paris Which of this Stoonys wroot fully the nature All the Dyvysion set by grett advys And thereuppon did his besy cure That the perfeccion long should endure Lyke the entent of Aristotles sonde Which none but he cowd well bryng on honde For though the mateer opynly nat toold Of this Stoonys what Phylosophres mente Aristotiles that was experte and Oold And he of Paris that forth this present sent And in all hys beheste feythfull true of Entent With Circumstances of Araby Inde Perce Towching the Stoonys that Clerkys can reherse Hermogenes hadde hymselfe alloone With the seyd Phelip that with him was secre Knewh the vertue of every prevy Stone As they were dispoosyd of Degree From him was hyd noon uncouth prevyte This Hermogenes and he knewh every thing Of alle suych vertues as long to a Kyng THE FIRST CHAPTER IN the name of the holy Trinitie I will write of this Worke breiflie Leaving matters of circumstance And promise the truth to advance I will not write Figuratively But declare the Matter plainely And how things must be made to accord By Natures true worke and the helpe of our Lord The World is but one inclosed with heavens round Though divers matters and formes be therein found The Earth this worlds Center borne up by the Aire In kinde hath noe more but being baire And neerest to not being Philosophers have told In kinde of Complexion is full dry and cold And now for my Figure of rotundity I will shew how Elements accord and disagree And though the Elements be so contrary Yett by heavens Influence they are brought to unite And when once togeather a body they binde Nought may them loosen without wrecke to the kinde First Fire in Nature is hott and dry Aire differs from Fire in moisture only Earth only for coldnesse from Fire disagrees This Concord and discord every man sees Aire hot and moist of complexion and kinde Water differs from Aire but in heate we finde Soe that in moysture we finde them both one Naturall heate in Water we finde none Water cold and moiste of Complexion is Earth differs from Water in drynes I wis Earth agrees with Fire in drynes noe doubte Thus one in another the Wheele turnes about From this round Circle proceeds a quadrant Each line unto another an equall distant And as the round Figure concludes all in One Soe the Quadrant of foure things makes distinction From this Quadrant a Fire must proceed Which is Animall Vegitable and Minerall we reede And with the Fire I will begin Pray God I be not too bold therein The whole Composition of this world is fram'd Of the Three things which before I have nam'd Now to make things of Excellencie We must take things neerest Nobilitie And as this greate Masse conteines things Three Soe Blood Flesh and Bone in the least World we see Yett lesse World and greate World is all but One Thus still we keepe an Unyon Whatsoever itt is that is alive Without Blood they may not thrive Sperme is Generacion of each thing Of what kinde soever itt bene Blood is Sperme be itt White or Redd For without Blood each thing is dead Blood conteineth the three things I have told And in his Tincture hath Nature of Gold Without Gold noe Mettle may shine bright Without Blood noe Body hath bene fitt of light Thus doth the greate and lesse World still Hold the Union according to Gods will Now of all things Blood Noblest is For nothing in the World may itt misse Blood hath true proporcion of the Elements foure And of the three species I spoke of before The Blood must be the principall matter of each thing Which hath any manner of increasing Mercury in Mettalls is the Blood certeine Sperme in Animalls getts the like againe Vegetable moysture from heaven so good Yett all these three are but Blood Then Blood in procreation is neerest of kinde This Secrett good Brother keepe close in thy mynde And uppon that Condition Which Blood thou shalt take I will make repeticion The true Blood of Mettalls is hard to have And long tyme of getting itt doth crave Blood of Vegetables hath moysture greate store And therefore to have itt requireth much labour The true Blood to finde without labour and cost Thou knowst where to have it ere thy witts be lost Seeke out the noblest as I said before For now of the Matter I dare say noe more This Secrett was never reveal'd till this tyme By any Mans writings that ere I could finde But I which by practice have found itt true Knew how things caused things to renew God grant noe Alchymists meete with my Booke For they would have Elixir by hooke or by crooke And he would spend what his Freinds wan And be as neere at the last as when he began And would promise to give men Gold greate store But beware thou of Expence as I said before CHAP. II. Of the manner of the Worke. NOW after the Matter the Manner compute How to bring this our Worke aboute First take the Matter crude as itt is Which will cost you little or nought I wis Searce it soe cleane as it may be Untill from filth itt is all free Which wil bee done in houres three or foure Then will it be cleare from his ill humour Then take the Faces which you shall finde In the same which the Matter left behind Purge him also with the noblest Element Untill that he to Earth be brent Then have you a Stone of wonderfull might With small Cost a secret right Take ye this Stone and use Millers Craft Till it be fine powder and made very soft Then give him the moisture which from him ye tooke Then use him as ye shall finde in this booke But give him noe other Drinke but of his owne kinde For elce you doe not after my mynde Let him drinke noe more then will suffice Beware of Floods I you advise Then search him twice againe as you did before And still put uppon his owne liquor Thus their first Order to passe is brought And your foulest Worke fully wrought CHAP. III. Of the second Order NOW the second Manner I will shew plaine How you shall worke it with little paine When your three searsings be done after my lore Then breake the Stone as you did before Then must you have one Veschell Which must be made like an Eggshell Into the which Vessell the Matter you must putt Then see that itt be well closed upp The Vessells divided in parts three Whereof two still voyde must bee This Vessell must be set in a kinde heate That the Matter may kindly sweate The Spiritts must not be opprest with Fire For then thou shalt never have thy desire Neither must thy
lyfe is Fyre Wheare hast thowe goe too Scolle to learne all this For that thou sayest is right true I wisse And I suppose it in thie thought That with iiii Spirits it must be wrought Nay your Spirits are too wilde quoth Marlin againe Therefore I will not medle with them certaine I will have a Spirit made by kinde naturally That will abide with every body kindly Such a Spirit could I macke quod Marlin And yet men would hold yt but in veyne And yet of all workes it is the best Lest of Cost and most surest For if it should faile then were we done all And therefore for the most parfitest worke we it call It is so rich when it is wrought Though all the world were turned to nought As mennye rich bodyes agayn make would he As ever were or ever should be Take Earth of Earth Earths Brother c. I have seene an old Coppy of the said work of Pearce the Black Monk to the end of which these following Verses were joyned NOW of this Matter derke and nothing clere An Exposicion I doe mack here Wherein I charge you secre to be That frend ne foe doe yt se Erth hyd within the bodies center is most fine Water of Wood Essell of Wine For by the moyster of the Grape This centrall Earth who can it take It and Sercion do our Maistry make For it shall become Mercuriall And after that Essentiall But now beware that you not faile For then you loose your greate travaile Whan you have drawne owte of the Gum All the Mercury that wyll come Understand that Lycowres three In that Mercury conteyned be The first is the Watur of lyfe Ardent By Bath departed that is most lent It burneth as Aquavite by live And is called our Mercury attractive Wherewith is made Earth Christalline Out of all Collours Metallyne I speke no more thereof as yet For in this worke we neede not it Then runneth a Water after thilke Litle in quantity white as mylke Whych ys sperme or nature of our Stone That is earnestly sought of many one For of Man Beste and every thynge Sperme is there begynyng Therefore we our Mercury do it call Whych ys found here and there and over all For wythout yt ys nothyng lyvyng Wherefore yt ys in every thyng As well in thyngs most preciouse As in thyngs most vyle and odious Of yt they have there first nature Thys moyster to you as now is clere Thys ys the Mercury that we call Vigetable Minerall and Animall Our Quicksilver and our lac Virginis Our Water permanent forsooth yt ys Wyth thys Water Mercuriall We wasch the fylth Originall Of our Erth tyll yt be whyte Lyke a Gumm that floweth lyte By dry fyre after that schale cume Oyle wherewyth we make red Gumm Wych ys our Tincture and our Sulfur vive The soule of Saturne the Golde of life Our Tincture and our airy Gould Wych before was never so plainely tould God graunt that I do no displeasure To hym in fulfillyng your desire Now Elements be divided every one Wyth thys Oyle make red your Stone Owre Gumms two then have schall ye Wythout the wych no Elixir may be They go the Body and the Spirits betwixt Wythowte the wych our Ston cannot be fixt And makyth of hym in a lytle space Two Elixirs by Gods Grace Whereby are trewly alterate All Metalline Bodies into a better state Wyth Sol and Luna equall to be To helpe us in our necessitie Now thanked be God most gracious Wych hath this Secret lent to us Hys grace therewyth to us he leave To our Soules helth us for to meve This following Fragment in some copies I have found placed at the end of the aforegoing Exposition of Pearce the Black Monke In others immediately before With Hic and with Hac c. and bearing this Tytle A CONCLUSION TAke Wynde and Water white and greene And thereof draw a lac Virgine Where some it call a water cleere The which water hath no Peere And then make your Fier stronger When the white fume doth appeare Chaunge your Receiver and continue longer And then shall you see come a Fire Red as blood and full of Yre Quod dicitur menstruum faetens sol philosophorum In quo fit nostra dissolutio congelatio Sublimatio attractio etiam fixatio Et Sulphuris nostri five foliati creatio WIth hic and with haec thus may ye do As Husband and Wife toogeather them wed Put them in a chamber both two And shet fast the dore when they be a bed The woman is both wanton and wilde With her husband she cannot rest Till she have conceived a Child Of all his kin he shall be best He is a Childe of the Elements Both by Father and by Mother None so worthy in presence Not perfect Sol his owne Brother Sol and Luna owe unto him obedience And all that him needes they to him bring Saturne doth to him obesance Howbeit he is next of his kinne There is neither Emperour or Kinge But of his presence they would be glad If he from them were one yeare wanting In their hearts they would be full sad In riches he exceedeth all other The Elements in him are so even Luna is his Sister and Sol is his Brother His Father dwelleth among the planets seaven Nulla virtus mineralibus where shall we him seeke Sit tibi principium principale Councell we must it keepe Reperitur ubique localis by way in every streete An other Conclusion FIrst Calcine and after Putrefie Dissolve distill sublime discend and fix With Aquavitae oftymes wash and dry And make a marriage of Body Soul the Spirit betwixt Which thus together naturally if ye cannot mix Then shall the Body utterly dye in the flix Bleeding and changing Collours as ye shall see In bus and nubi he shall uprise and descend First up to the Moone and after up to the Sun Onely shipped within a litle glasen Tunne When he commeth thether then is all the Maistry wonne About which Journey great goods ye shall not spend And ye shall be Glad that ever it was begun Patiently if ye list to your worke to attend Who so shall our Pearle and our Ruby make Our Principle let him not forsake For at the beginning if his Principle be trew And that he can by craft so him bake Trewly at the end his Worke shall him not rew The whole Scyence THere is a bodi of a Bodi And a Soule and a Spryte Wyth two Bodyes must be knete There ben two Erthys at I the telle And two Waters wyth hem do dwelle The ton ys Whyte the tother is Red To quick the Bodies that ben ded And oon Fyre in Nature y hydd And oon Ayre with hem that doth the dede And all hyt commeth out of onn kynde Marke thys well Man and beare yt yn mynde TAke Mercury from Mercury which is his wyfe For Mercury wife to Mercury maketh greate stryfe But
say Oyle and the vegetable Menstruall Ether so by labour exuberate And made by Crafte a Stone Celestyall Of Nature so fyrye that we yt call Our Baselysk otherwyse our Cokatryse Our great Elixir most of pryse Whych as the syght of a Basylysk hys object Kylyth so sleyth it crude Mercury When thereon itt ys project In twynke of an Eye most sodenly That Mercury teynyth permanently All bodyes to Son and Moone perfyt Thus gyde thy base both Red and Whyte Aurum potabile thus ys made Of Gold not comyn calcynat But of our Tyncture whych wyll not vade Out of our Base drawen wyth the Menstrue circulate But naturall Calcynatyon must Algate Be made ere thy Gold dyssolved be That Pryncypall fyrst I wyll tell thee But into Chapters thys Treatis I shall devyde In number Twelve with dew Recapytulatyon Superfluous rehearsalls I ley asyde Intendyng only to geve trew Informatyon Both of the Theoryke and Practycall operatyon That by my wrytyng who so wyll guyded be Of hys intente perfytly speed shall he The Fyrst Chapter shal be of naturall Calcination The Second of Dyssolution secret and Phylosophycall The Thyrd of our Elementall Separation The Fourth of Conjunction matrymonyall The Fyfthe of Putrefaction then followe shall Of Congelatyon albyfycative shall be the Syxt Then of Cybatyon the Seaventh shall follow next The secret of our Sublymation the eyght shall shew The nynth shall be of Fermentation The Tenth of our Exaltation I trow The Eleventh of our mervelose Multyplycatyon The Twelfth of Projectyon then Recapytulatyon And so thys Treatyse shall take an end By the help of God as I entend OF CALCINATION The first Gate CAlcinacion is the purgacyon of our Stone Restauryng also of hys naturall heate Of radycall moysture it lesyth none Inducyng Solucion into our Stone most mete After Philosophy I you behyte Do not after the comyn gyse Wyth Sulphure and Salts preparat in dyvers wyse Nether with Corrosyves nor with Fire alone Nor with Vyneger nor Water ardent Nether with the vapour of Lede our Stone Is Calcyned to our intente All they to Calcyne whych so be bent Fro thys hard Scyence withdraw they re hond Till they our Calcyning better understonde For by such Calcynyng they re bodyes be shent Whych mynysheth the moysture of our Stone Therefore when bodyes to powder be brent Dry as askys of Tre or Bone Of such Calx then wyll we none For moysture we multiply radycall In Calcynyng mynyshyng none at all And for a sure ground of our trew Calcynacyon Woorch wyttyly kynde only wyth kynde For kynd to kynde hath appetyble inclynacyon Who knoweth not thys yn knowledge is but blynd He may forth wander as Myst doth wyth the Wynd Woting never wyth perfytnes whereto lyght Because he cannot conseve our words aryght Joyne kynd to kynd therefore as reason ys For every Burgeon answereth to his owne Seed Man begetteth Man a Beast a Beast lykewyse Ferther of thys to trete it is no need But understond thys poynt yf thou wylt spede Every thyng ys fyrst Calcyned in hys owne kynd Thys well consevyng frute thereyn shalt thou fynde And we make Calxes unctious both Whyte and Red Of three degrees or our Base be perfyt Fluxyble as Wex ells stond they lyttle in sted By ryght long processe as Phylosophers wryte A yere we take or more for our respyte For in lesse space our Calxe wyll not be made Able to tayne with colour whych wyll not vade As for the Proporcyon thou must beware For therein many one ys beguylyd Therefore thy warke that thow not marre Lat the Body be sotelly fylyd With Mercury as much then so subtylyd One of the Sonn two of the Moone Tyll altogether lyke pap be done Then make the Mercury foure to the Sonne Two to the Mone as hyt should be And thus thy worke must be begon In fygure of the Trynyte Three of the Body and of the Spryt three And for the unytye of the substance spirituall One more than of the substance corporall By Raymonds Reportory thys ys trew Proporcyon there who lyst to looke The same my Doctour to me did shew But three of the Spryt Bacon tooke To one of the Body for thys I wooke Many a nyght or I hyt wyst And both be trew take whych you lyst If the Water be equall in Proporcyon To the Erthe whych hete in dew mesure Of hym shall spryng a new burgyon Both Whyte and Red in pure tyncture Whych in the Fyre shall ever endure Kyll than the quyck the ded revyve Make Trynyte Unyte wythout any stryve Thys ys the best and the surest Proporcyon For here ys lest of the part spyrytuall The better therefore shall be Solucyon Then yf thou dyd it wyth Water small Thyne Erth over glutyn whych losyth all Take heede therefore to potters loome And make you never to nesh thy wome That loome behold how yt tempered ys The meane also how thou hyt Calcenate And ever in mynd loke thou bare thys That never thyne Erth wyth Water be suffocate Dry up thy moysture wyth heate most temperate Helpe Dyssolucyon wyth moysture of the Mone And Congellacyou wyth the Son then hast thou done Foure Natures shall into the fyfth so turne Whych ys a Nature most perfect and temperate But hard hyt ys with thy bare foote to spurne Agaynst a brodyke of Iyron or Stele new acuate Soe many one doth whych bene infatuate When they such hygh thyngs don take in hond Whych they in noe wyse understonde In Eggs in Vitryoll or in Blod What ryches wene they there to fynde Yf they Phylosophy understode They wold not in worchyng be so blynd Gold to seke or Sylver out of kynd For lyke as Fyre of brennyng the pryncyple ys So ys the pryncyple of gildyng Gold I wys Yf thou intend therefore to make Gold and Sylver by craft of our Philosophy Therto nother Eggs nor Blood thou take But Gold and Sylver whych naturally Calcyned wysely and not manually And new generacyon wyll forth bryng Incresyng theyr kynde as doth ech thyng And yf yt true were that perfyt myght be In thyngs which be not mettallyne In which be Colours plesaunt to see As in Blood Eggs Here Uryn and Wyne Or in meane Mettalls dyggyd out of the Myne Yet must theyr Elements be putrefyed and separate And wyth Elements of perfyt Bodys be dysponsate But fyrst of these Elements make thou Rotacyon And into Water thy Erth turne fyrst of all Then of thy Water make Ayre by Levygacyon And Ayre make Fyre then MASTER I wyll thee call Of all our secretts greate and small The Wheele of Elements thou canst turne about Trewly consevyng our Wrytyngs wythowt dowte Thys done go backward turnyng thy Wheele againe And into thy Water then turne thy Fyre anon And Ayre into Erth ells laboryst thow but in vayne For soe to temperment ys brought our Stone And Natures contraryose fower be made one After they have three times ben Cyrculat And alsoe thy Bace
the Woman hath Vaynes fyfteene The Man but five to the act of her fecundyte Requyryth in our Conjunccion fyrst I mene So must the Man our Sun have of hys water three And nine hys Wyfe whych three to hym must be Then lyke whych lyke wyll joy have for to dwell More of Conjunccion me nedyth not to tell Thys Chapter I will conclude right sone therefore Groce Conjunccion chargyng the to make but one For seldome have Strumpetts Chyldren of them I bore And so thou shalt never cum by our Stone Wythout you suffer the Woman to lygg alone That after she hath conceyved of the Man The Matryce of her be shyt from all other than For such as addyth evermore crude to crude Openyng theyr vessells and lettyng ther matter kele The sperme concevyd they norysh not but delude Themselfes and spyllyth ther work every dele If thou therefore lyst for to do well Close up the Matryce and norysh the seed Wyth heat contynuall and temperate if thou wilt spede And whan thy Vessle hath stond by Monyths five And Clowds and Clypsys be passed ech one That lyght apperen increase thy hete then blyve Tyll bryght and shyneing in Whytnesse be thy Stone Then may thou opyn thy Glasse anone And fede thy Chyld whych ys then ybore Wyth mylke and mete ay more and more For now both moyst and dry be so contemperate That of the Water erth hath recevyd impressyon Whych never assunder after that may be seperate And ryght soe Water to Erth hath given ingressyon That both together to dwell hath made professyon And Water of Erth hath purchasyd retentive They fower be made one never more to strive And in two thyngs all our entent doth hing In dry and moyst whych be contraryous two In dry that hyt the moyst to fyxing bryng In moyst that hyt geve lyquyfaccion the Erth unto That of them thus contemperate may forth go A temperament not so thyk as the Body ys Nother so thyn as Water wythout mys Losyng and knyttyng therefore be Princypalls two Of thys hard Scyence and Poles most pryncypall How be hyt that other pryncyples be many mo As shyneyng fanells whych shew I shall Proceed therefore unto another wall Of thys strong Castle of our wysdome That Inner at the Fyft Gate thou may come OF PUTREFACTION The fift Gate NOw begynnyth the Chapter of Putrefaccion Wythout whych Pole no sede may multyply Whych must be done only by contynuall accyon Of hete in the body moyst not manually For Bodies ells may not be alterat naturally Syth Chryst do it wytnes wythowt the grayne of Whete Dye in the ground encrese may thou not gete And in lykewyse wythout thy Matter do Putrefye It may in no wyse trewly be alterate Nor thyne Elements may be devyded kyndly Nor thy Conjunccion of them perfytly celebrat That thy labor therfore be not frustrate The prevyte of Putrefying well understond Or ever thou take thys Warke in hond And Putrefaccyon may thus defyned be After Phylosophers sayings it ys of Bodyes the fleyng And in our Compound a dyvysyon of thyngs thre The kyllyng Bodyes into corrupcyon forth ledyng And after unto Regeneratyon them ablyng For thyngs beyng in Erth wythowt dowte Be engendryd of rotacyon of the Hevyns aboute And therfore as I have seyd afore Theyn Elements comyxt and wysely coequat Thou keepe intemperat heate eschuyng evermore That they by violent hete be never incynerat To powder dry unprofytably Rubyfycate But into powder blacke as a Crowes byll Wyth hete of Balne or ells of our Dounghyll To tyme that Nyghts be past nynty In moyst hete kepe them fro eny thyng Sone after by blacknes thow shalt espy That they draw fast to putrefying Whych thow shalt after many colers bryng To perfyt Whytenes wyth Pacyence esyly And so thy sede in hys nature shall multeply Make ech on other to hawse and kysse And lyke as Chyldren to play them up and downe And when ther sherts be fylyd wyth pysse Then lat the Woman to wash be bound Whych oftyn for fayntnes wyll fall in a sound And dye at the last wyth her Chyldren all And go to Purgatory to purg ther fylth orygynall When they be there by lyttyll and lyttyll encrese Ther paynys by hete ay more and more The Fyre from them lat never cese And se thy Fornace be apt therfore Whych wyse men do call Athenor Conservyng hete requyryd most temperately By whych the Water doth kyndly putrefy Of thys Pryncypull spekyth Sapyent Guydo And seyth by rottyng dyeth the Compound corporall And then after Moryen and other mo Uprysyth agayne Regenerat Sympill and Spyrytuall And were not hete and moysture contynuall Sperme in the wombe myght have now abydyng And so ther shold therof no frute upspryng Therfore at the begynnyng our Stonys thou take And bery ech on wyth other wythin ther Grave Then equally a Marryage betwyxt them make To ly together six wekys then lat them have Ther sede consevyd kyndly to norysh and save From the ground of ther grave not rysyng that while Whych secret poynt doth many on begyle Thys tyme of Conceptyon wyth esye hete abyde The Blacknes showing shall tell the when they dye For they together lyke lyquyd Pyche that tyde Shall swell and burbyll setyll and Putrefye Shyning Golors therin thou shalt espye Lyke to the Raynbow mervelose unto syght The Water then begynnyth to dry upryght For in moyst Bodys hete noryshyng temperate Ingendryth Blacknes fyrst of all which ys Of kyndly Commyxyon to the tokyn assygnate And of trew Putrefying remember thys For then to alter perfytly thou may not mysse And thus by the Gate of Blacknes thou must cum in To lyght of Paradyce in Whytenes yf thou wylt wyn For fyrst the Son in hys uprysyng obscurate Shalbe and passe the Waters of Noyes flud On Erth whych were a hundred dayes contynuate And fyfty away or all thys Waters yode Ryght so our Waters as wyse men understode Shall passe that thou wyth Davyd may say Abierunt in sicco fluminae bare thys away Sone after that Noe plantyd hys Vyneyard Whych really floryshed and brought forth Graps anon After whych space thou shalt not be aserd For in lykewyse shall follow the floryshyng of our Stone And sone uppon that thyrty dayes overgone Thou shalt have Graps ryght as the Ruby red Whych ys our Adrop our Ulyfer red and our Lede For lyke as Sowles after paynys transytory Be brought into paradyce where ever ys yoyfull lyfe So shall our Stone after hys darknes in Purgatory Be purged and joynyd in Elements wythoute stryfe Rejoyse the whytenes and bewty of hys wyfe And passe fro the darknes of Purgatory to lyght Of paradyce in Whytnes Elyxer of gret myght And that thou may the rather to Putrefaccyon wyn Thys Exampull thou take to the for a trew conclusyon For all the secrett of Putrefaccyon restyth therein The heart of Oke that hath of Water contynuall infusyon Wyll not sone putrefy I tell the
thys one thyng therfore putrefye Wash hym wyth hys owne broth tyll whyte he becoom Then Ferment hym wyttely nowe here ys all and soom Now to God Almyghty I thee Recommend Whych graunte the by Grace to knowe thys one thing For now ys thys Treatys brought to an end And God of hys Mercy to hys blysse us bryng Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus where Angells do syng Praysyng without ceasynge hys gloriose Magestye Whych he in hys Kyngdome graunte us for to see AN. DOM. 1471. Explicit Alchimiae Tractatus Philosophiae Cujus Rypla George Canonicus Auctor erat Mille quadringentis septuaginta unoque Annis qui scriptus compositusque fuit Auctori lector praebe praece quaeso Iuvamen Illi purgamen leve post vitam ut sit Amen Englished Thus heere the Tract of Alchimy doth end Whych Tract was by George Ripley Chanon pen'd It was Composed Writt and Sign'd his owne In Anno twice Seav'n hundred seav'nty one Reader Assist him make it thy desire That after Lyfe he may have gentle Fire Amen LIBER PATRIS SAPIENTIAE THow that in thys Boke beginneth to rede Keepe well thys Councell the better schalt thow spede Be thow in a place secret by thy selfe alone That noe man see or here what thow schalt say or done Yet ere thow begyn to rede much take thow good hede Wyth whom thow kepest company I councell thee indede Trust not thy freind too much wheresoere thow goe For he that thow trustest best sometyme may be thye Foe And take hede to the words of the Fader of Wysdom How he techeth hys Sonne how he schould done To kepe hys presepts of bodely governance And wyth hys Conyng he wyll the gretly advance And yf thow wylt not to hys wordys take hede Thow schalt stand here oft in gret feare and dred For he that hath a fore wytt he nedes not do amysse And he that doth Folly the Folly schalbe hys Now my dere Sonne be thow not a know To Lerned nor to Leud to Hygh nor to Low Neyther to Young nor Old Rych nor Poore Unto them thow tech nothyng my Lore Also to scuche men that hold themselves wyse And so forth to the foolys that glyde on the Ice They weene in grete Bokes schould be the Art O◠the Science of Alchemy but they be not worth a fart Therefor my Sonn to thee thys Science I may well teach And yf thow wylt upon thy enemy be wreach Or to purchase or build any good thyng It schalbe to thy gret furtheryng Thys worthy Scyence of Alchemy if thow wylt it leare A lyttle mony out of thy purse thow must forbeare To buy therewyth Flos Florum it is most worthiest And to build well her Cabyn and her Nest And if thow put out mony for any other thing It is to thy losse and to thy great hindring Except yt be for thy workes naturall Foode Which is had out of Stone Ayre and Wood. And if thow have all thyngs wythin the growing Then thow needest not to buy any manner of thing That schould be to thys Science belonging But beware of thy selfe for feare of hanging For then thow and thys Scyence were for ever lost If thow make thereof any manner of boast To any Man or Woman Old or Young Beware of thy selfe for feare of discovering For if thow make any man privie Of thy Councell Rich or Needy Thow must so beware Sleeping or Waking For once ymagining of Money making For yf God sends thee grace and understanding Wyth thys Scyence thow mayst have good lyving But beware of speach of Women liberall And of the voice and sight of Children generall Sonn in thyne owne howse thow maist well gett A good Morsell of meat thy mouth to sweet Both Pheasant Partridge Plover and Leveret Though thow cry yt not owte in the common Market Therefore kepe close of thy Tongue and of thy Hand From the Officers and Governours of the Land And from other men that they of thy Craft nothing know For in wytnes thereof they wyll thee hang and draw And thereof the People will the at Sessions indight And great Treason against the they wyll write Wythowt that the Kings grace be to thee more Thow schalt for ever in thys world be forlore Alsoe wythowt thow be sure of another thyng To purchase the Lycence of thy King For all manner of doubts thee schall betide The better thow maiste Worke and both goe and ride Also another thing I schall thee lere The poore People take thow nothing deare But ever serve thy God alway at the begynnyng And among the poore People the better schalbe thy livyng Now my Chylde to my precepts looke thow take hede Whatsoever fall after the better schall thow spede Better it ys to have a thyng then for it to wish For when thow feelst a Sore t is hard for thee to get a Leech Now my deare Son to the I wyll declare More of thys Warke which schalbe thy welfaire If thow canst consider all my sayings For therewyth thow mayest finde a full precious thing And Son though thys Writing be made in Ryme Yet take thow thereat noe greate disdaine Till thow hast proved my words in deede and in thought I watt it well it schalbe set at nought Therefor of all Bodyes and Spyrits more or lesse Mercury is called Flos Florum and worthiest Pryncesse For her Birth and marvelous dealing Sche ys most worthiest to have byne King For sche ys Erth and Water most heviest And sche will conjoyne wyth Fire and Aire most lyghtest And so forth wyth her love sche will run and flee For sche delighteth noe other game or glee Some say that of Sulphur and Mercury all Bodyes minerall are made Ingendered in the Erth with divers Colours cladd By the vertue of Decoccion before Preperacion To the lykenes of every body Mynerall in ther fashion I will first begin wyth Saturne after other mens sayings How he ys ingendered in the Erth wyth unclene Mercury flying And of Mercury he ys most heviest wyth black Sulphury Erth mixed Save he ys soft of fusion and hys Sulphur nothing fixed Iupiter is a whyte Body made of pure Mercury outward And of clere Sulphur somewhat Erthly and white inward He ys in kynde softest and well in his fixation For he is almost fixt but he lacketh Decoction Mars ys a white Body most of unclene ☿ in the Erth y'made And he ys hardest of fusion with Sulphur Erthly cladd To blacknes and rednes he will soonest consume By heate or by corrosive when the Spirit beginneth to fume Sol is the purest somwhat red is made of clene ☿ Sulphur fixed Ingendered with clere red Sulphur in the Erth well mixed And therefor he ys without defalt and lacketh no degree For he ys almost hardest of Fusion and heviest in ponderossity Venus ys a Body more red of pure ☿ made in hys substance Most of red Sulphur and greene and therein is greate variance In the Erth ingendered with
Corrosive and bitter substance Well fixed and hard of fusion rude in governance Mercury ys a Body if he be with a Substance moved Mixing one kinde with his kinde so schall he be loved One Spirit received wyth another the which of them be maine Is cause of ingeneration of every body Mettalyne Luna ys a pure white Body of clene Mercury Sulphur white ingendered And sche is a litle hard of fusion almost well fixed And sche is next cleanest in Tincture of whitenes Of Ponderosity light of Iupiter bearing his whitenes And soe after the Colour of that Erth ys Sulphuri and receptuall Some men do say ys engendered every Mettall But my Son the perfect worke of thys alteration I schall informe the true way of another fashion Now have I declared the working of the Bodies Mynerall Whereof they be ingendered after other mens sayings over all And as in place of the Erth one Body was fully wrought Soe must the artificiall Medicine be or else it ys nought Now will I declare the worthines of Mercury in speciall How sche ys the notablest Spirit that ys mynerall Most marvelous in working and in degree Sche ys called the Matter principallest of the three Also sche ys very subtile in many things artificiall Sche will both give and take Tincture most speciall To hym or of hym that sche loveth most best In speciall when sche ys warmed in her Nest My Son Mercury ys called the mightiest Flos florum And most royall and richest of all Singulorum Sche ys very Patron and Princes most royall And sche ys very Mother of every Mettall Sche ys Vegitable Animalle and Minerall Sche ys Foure in kinde and One in generall Sche ys Erth Aire Water and Fyre Among all other sche hath no Peere Sche kylleth and slayeth and also doth calcine Sche dyeth and also doth sche live againe Sche giveth lyfe and also ingression For joyntly sche ys three in one Sche ys a very frendly mixar The progeneration of a greate Elixar Sche ys both Body Soule and Spirite In Colour very red black and white Many be the wooers that hang on her tayle But sche will not with them I'deale They would her wedd against her will With foemen that liken her full ill Sche will deale with no manner of wight But with her Husband as it ys greate right With him sche will beare much fruite For he ys by nature of her selfe same sute My Son of hem Fooles have much dispight And therin such Fooles loose their light For sometymes he ys darke and sometymes bright For he ys lyke no other wight For if they have their kynde ingendering Their naturall foode and good keeping They schall increase frute by dene Very red and white King and Queene My Son in thys Scyence I doe deny All things that be discording truly All manner of Salts I doe defie And all manner of Sulphurs in waters of Corrosie Also Alloome Vitriall Auripigmentum and Haire Gold Silver Alkaly and Sandiver Honey Wax and Oyles or Calx else Gumms Galls and also Egg shells Also I defie Antimony Berrall and Christall Rosin Pitch also Amber Jett and Corrall Hearbs Dated Stones Marble or Tinglas If there come any of all these it ys the worse Also Berrills Gotts Hornes and Alome plome Good with them will none be done All things that discordeth from Mettall It ys contrary to thys worke in generall My Son many fooles to me have sought But they and I accord right nought I leave them there as I them finde And as Fooles I make them blinde For whych Mercury they have errd full sore And then when they had they could doe no more Therefor in Phylosophers sche bear'th the floower For sche ys King Prince and Emperour Yet my deare Son be thow not a knowne To Learned nor to Lewde to High nor to Low That thys worke standeth by Mercury and in her fire Her owne speciall Love both life and deare For he ys her Son sche ys hys Fright In whome sche worketh all her myght He ys her Son sche ys hys Mother Sche loveth him peramore and no other In Sol and Lune in her meeting ys all love For of Mercury only ys all her behove And with them sche worketh all her might But they may never increase on fright Therefor it ys possible to cast a Projection pure Upon a Million to make a perfect Body of tincture Wyth Medicine of Spirits well joyned and fixed It schall not be perceived where it ys well mixed And therefor if there com Silver or Gold in at thy Gate The which men use in Aoyne or in common Plate I sweare by God that all thys world hath wrought All thy labour and warke schall turne to nought For with what Mettall soever that Mercury be joyned Because of her Coldnes and Moistnes sche ys acloyd Put them never so close togeder sche will fume anon And when they come into the fire sche wil sone be gone Therefore Mercury hath a Lover that passeth them A thousandfold who so will him ken And he ys her Lover and her Leman sweete And so hys Councell sche will keepe Both in hys Chamber and also in hys Bedd Also alive and when they byne dead Seeke yee forth fooles as ye have sought For in all other things finde yee right nought Now my deare Son to thee I will indight The truth in word and deede I will write How that a precious Stone shal be made Thee to rejoyce and make thee full glad As I said in the 32. Chapter unto my Conclusion How I schould informe the truth after another fashion And to performe thys Scyence both in word and deede In making of our Medicine God must us speede The which ys called the greate Elixer And ys verily made with a stronge mixar The which is a Stone very Minerall And thow maist him wellgett ever all My Son thow schalt take to Mercury no other thing But Erth that 's heavy and hard and stiff standing The which in himselfe ys derke bright dry and cold To joyne them togeder thow maist be full bold One of them to 10 parts of that Water running most heaviest And they schalbe both one and to thy warke most mightiest Then hast thow Man and Woman togeder brought The which ys done by greate love in a thought The which two be both Spirits one Body most heaviest When they be in your Chamber and bed joyned in the Element lightest The which ys more bigger and bigger hott and dry And therein they will both kiss togeder neither weepe nor cry For when Erth and Water ys well mixed By the vertue of the lightest Element well hardned and fixed For before that time they be Water running both And then schall turne to fix body be they never so loath For in theyr bed they schall make a perpetuall Conjunction After the feeding of the light Element and of their proportion Soe schould they be decoct having the parfeit fixascion In the
cast myne Eye aside and there I did behold A Lady most excellent sitting in an Arbour Which clothed was in a Robe of fine Gold Set about with Pearles and Stones manifold Then ask't I Father Tyme what she should be Lady Philosophy quoth hemost excellent of beauty Then was I stricken with an ardent Audacity The place to approach to where I saw this sight I rose up to walke and the other went before me Against the Arbour till I came forth right There we all three humbly as we might Bowed downe our selves to her with humility With greate admiration extolling her felicity She shewed her selfe both gentle and benigne Her gesture and Countenance gladded our comming From her seate imperiall she did her selfe decline As a Lady loving perfect wisdome and Cunning Her goodly Poems her Beauty was surmounting Her speech was decorate with such aureat sentence Far excelling famous Tullies Eloquence Then Father Tyme unto that Lady said Pleaseth it your highnes this poore Man to heare And him to assist with your most gratious aide Then she commanded him with me to draw neere Son said the Lady be thou of good Cheere Admitted thou shalt be among greate and small To be one of my Schollers principall Then she committed me to Raymund Lullie Commanding him my simplenes to instruct And into her Secrets to induce me fully Into her privy Garden to be my conduct First into a Towre most beautifull construct Father Raymund me brought and thence immediately He led me into her Garden planted deliciously Among the faire Trees one Tree in speciall Most vernant and pleasant appeared to my sight A name inscribed The Tree Philosophicall Which to behold I had greate delight Then to Philosophy my troth I did plight Her Majesty to serve and to take greate paine The fruits of that Tree with Raymund to attaine Then Raymund shewed me Budds fifteene Springing of that Tree and fruites fifteene moe Of the which said Tree proceedes that we doe meane That all Philosophers covet to attaine unto The blessed Stone one in Number and no moe Our greate Elixer most high of price Our Azot our Basaliske our Adrop and our Cocatrice This is our Antimony and our Red Lead Gloriously shining as Phoebus at midday This is our Crowne of Glory and Diadem of our head Whose beames resplendant shall never fade away Who attaines this Treasure never can decay It is a Jewell so abundant and excellent That one graine will endure ever to be permanent I leave thee heere now our seacrets to attaine Looke that thou earnestly my Councell do ensue There needes no blowing at the Cole buisines nor paine But at thyne owne ease here maist thou continue Old Antient writers beleive which are true And they shall thee learne to passe it to bring Beware therefore of too many and hold thee to one thing This one thing is nothing else but the Lyon greene Which some Fooles imagine to be Vitrioll Romaine It is not of that thing which Philosophers meane For nothing to us any Corosive doth pertaine Understand therefore or else thy hand refraine From this hard Scyence least thou doe worke amisse For I will tell thee truly now marke what it is Greene of Collor our Lyon is not truly But vernant and greene evermore enduring In most bitternes of death he is lively In the fire burning he is evermore springing Therefore the Salamander by the fire living Some men doe him call and some na other name The Mettasline Menstruall it is ever the same Some call it also a Substance exuberate Some call it Mercury of Mettaline essence Some Limus deserti from his body evacuate Some the Eagle flying from the North with violence Some call it a Toade for his greate vehemence But few or none at all doe name it in his kinde It is a privy Quintessence keepe it well in minde This is not in sight but restest invisible Till it be forced out of Chaos darke Where he remaineth ever indivisible And yet in him is the foundacion of our warke In our Lead it is so that thou it marke Drive it out of him so out of all other I can tell thee no better if thou wert my Brother This Chaos darke the Mettalls I do call Because as in a Prison it resteth them within The seacret of Nature they keepe in thrall Which by a meane we do warily out-twyne The working whereof the easier to begin Lift up thy head and looke upon the heaven And I will learne thee truly to know the Planets seaven The second parte of the BOOKE SAturne in all to this Arte hath most respect Of whom we draw a Quintessence most excellent Unto our Magistery himselfe he doth connect United in quallitie and also made equipolent In strength and in vertue who lists to be diligent Shall finde that we seeke an heavenly tresure And a precious Jewell that ever shall endure Jupiter the gentle endewed with Azure blew Examiner by Justice declareth true Judgement Altering his Colours ever fresh and new In his occult Nature to this Arte is convenient To Philosophie is serviceable and also obedient Joyned with Lunary after his owne kinde Conteyneth this Arte and leaveth nothing behinde Mars that is Martiall in Citty and Towne Fierce in Battaile full of debate and strife A noble Warriour and famous of renowne With fire and sword defendeth his owne lyfe He staineth with blood and slaieth with a knife All spirits and bodyes his Arts be so bold The harts of all others he wyns to him with Gold The Sun most glorious shining with power potent Above all other faire Planets seaven Shedding his light to them all indifferent With his glorious Beames and glistering shine He lightneth the Earth and the Firmament of Heaven Who can him dissolve and draw out his Quintessence Unto all other Planets he shall give influence Lady Venus of love the faire Goddesse With her Son Cupid apperteyneth to this Arte To the love of the Sun when she doth her addresse With her Darts of love striketh him to the hearte Joyned to his seede of his substance she taketh parte Her selfe she endueth with excellent Tissue Her corrupt nature when she doth renew Mercury this seeing begineth to be fugitive With his rodd of Inchantment litle doth he prevaile Taken often Prisoner himselfe doth revive Till he be snared with the Dragons Tayle Then doth he on a hard Coate of Male Soudred together with the Sunn and Moone Then is he Mastered and his Inchantment done The Moone that is called the lesser Lunary Wife unto Phoebus shining by Night To others gives her Garments through her hearb Lunary And from the North to the South shineth full bright If you do for her looke she hydeth from your sight But by faire intreaty she is won at the last With Azot and Fire the whole Mastery thou hast The Maistery thou gettest not yet of these Planets seaven But by a misty meaning knowne only unto us Bring them first to Hell and afterwards
me For I have done If Reason take no place What can be said but that there doubts will be Doe what one can where folly wins the race Let it suffice this is the perfect Base Which is the Stone that must dissolved be How that is done I will declare to thee This is the Stone that Ripley bidds you take For untill thus it be it is no Stone Be rul'd by me my councell not forsake And he commands Let Crudities alone If thou have grace to keep thee free from moan Then stick to this let Phansey not o'resway thee Let Reason rule for Phansey will betray thee Take thou this Stone this Wife this Child this All. Which will be Gummous crumbling silken soft Upon a Glasse or Porphire beat it small And as you grinde with Mercury feede it oft But not so much that Mercury swim aloft But equall parts nipt up their seed to save Then each in other are buried within their grave When thus and there you have it as is said Worke in all points as Nature wrought at first For Blacknes had thow needest not be afraid It wil be White then art thou past the worst Except th ou breake thy Glasse and beaccurst But if through Blacknes thou to Whitenes march Then will it be both White and soft as Starch This very place is cal'd by many names As Imbibition Feeding Sublimation Clyming high Mountaines also Childrens Games And rightly it is termed Exaltation When all is nothing else but Circulation Of the foure Elements whatsoere fooles clatter Which is done by heate upon Forme and Matter Earth is the lowest Element of All Which Black is exalted into Water Then no more Earth but Water wee it call Although it seeme a black Earthy matter And in black dust all about will scatter Yet when soe high as to Water it hath clym'd Then is it truly said to be Sublym'd When this black Masse againe is become White Both in and out like snow and shining faire Then this Child this Wife this Heaven so bright This Water Earth sublimed into Aire When there it is it further will prepare It selfe into the Element of Fire Then give God thankes for granting thy desire This Black this White doe we call Seperation Which is not manuall but Elementall It is no crude Mercuriall Sublimation But Natures true worke consubstantiall The White is called Conjunction naturall Secret and perfect Conjunction not grosse Which bringeth profitt all other losse When thrice yee have turned this Wheele about Feeding and working it as I have said Then will it flow like Wax without doubt Giving a Tincture that will not vade Abiding all tryalls that can be made If wisely Project you can and keepe free Both profitt and creditt to you it wil be Your Medicine fixed and perfectly flowing White you must thinke will Whitenes increase So Red begets Red as Seede in the sowing Begetteth his like or as kinde doth in Beasse And fire must be the true maker of peace For white or red Ferment your Medicine augmenteth And perfectly tinckteth and soone it relenteth That is to say your Medicine ended If White melt downe Silver and thereon Project it If Red melt downe Sol for so it is intended Like unto like in no wise reject it And out of the purest looke you elect it Medicen one parte upon Ferment ten That One on one Thousand of Jupiter then Your Jupiter standing red hot on the fyre So soone as your Medicine upon him is cast Presently standeth so hard as a Wyre For then he is fixed and melteth by blast And of all your working thisis the last Then let it by Test or strong water be tryde The best Gold or Silver no better shall bide Mercury erude in a Crucible heated Presently hardeneth lik Silver anealed And in the high Throwne of Luna is seated Silver or Gold as Medicine hath sealed And thus our greate Secret I have reveled Which divers have seene and my selfe have wrought And dearely I prize it yet give it for nought E. K. FINIS SIR ED KELLEY CONCERNING the Philosophers Stone written to his especiall good Freind G. S. Gent. THe heavenly Cope hath in him Natures fower Two hidden but the rest to sight appeare Wherein the Spermes of all the Bodies lower Most secrett are yâ—tt spring forth once a yeare And as the Earth with Water Authors are So of his parte is Drines end of care No Flood soe greate as that which floweth still Nothing more fixt than Earth digested thrise No Winde so fresh as when it serveth will No Profitt more then keepe in and be wise No better happ then drie up Aire to dust For then thou maist leave of and sleepe thy lust Yett will I warne thee least thou chaunce to faile Sublyme thine Earth with stinkeing Water erst Then in a place where Phaebus onley tayle Is seene att midday see thou mingle best For nothing shineth that doth want his light Nor doubleth beames unlosse it first be bright Lett no man leade unlesse he know the way That wise men teach or Adrop leadeth in Whereof the first is large and easiest pray The other hard and meane but to begin For surely these and no one more is found Wherein Appollo will his harp-strings sound Example learne of GOD that plaste the Skyes Reflecting vertues from and t'every poynt In which the mover wherein all things lyes Doth hold the vertues all of every Joynt And therefore Essence fift may well be said Conteining all and yett himselfe a Maid Remember also how the Gods began And by Discent who was to each the Syre Then learne their Lives and Kingdomes if you can Their Manners eke with all their whole Attire Which if thou doe and know to what effect The learned Sopheis will thee not reject If this my Doctrine bend not with thy brayne Then say I nothing though I said too much Of truth t is good will moved me not gaine To write these lynes yett write I not to such As catch at Crabs when better fruits appeare And want to chuse at fittest time of yeare Thou maist my Freind say what is this for lore I answere such as auncient Phyficke taught And though thou read a thousand Bookes before Yett in respect of this they teach thee Naught Thou mayst likewise be blind and call me Foole Yett shall these Rules for ever praise their Schoole TESTAMENTUM JOHANNIS d ee PHILOSOPHI SUMMI ad Johannem Gwynn transmissum 1568. THis Letter third and last I minde to make At your request for very vertues sake Your written panges and methods set aside From that I byd looke that you never slide Cut that in Three which Nature hath made One Then strengthen hyt even by it self alone Wherewith then Cutte the poudred Sonne in twayne By length of tyme and heale the woonde againe The self same Sunne twys yet more ye must wounde Still with new Knives of the same kinde and grounde Our Monas trewe thus use by natures Law
Both binde and lewse only with rype and rawe And ay thanke God who only is our Guyde All is ynugh no more then at this Tyde THOMAS ROBINSONUS DE LAPIDE PHILOSOPHORUM THe Heavens the Earth and all that in them is Were in six Dayes perfected from Abisse From One sprung foure from foure a second One This last a Gritt that first the Corner Stone Without the First the Last may not be had Yet to the First the Last is too too bad When from the Earth the Heavens were seperated Were not the Heavens with Earth first cohobated And when the Heavens and Earth and all were not Were onely Heavens create and Earth forgott No Heavens and Earth sprung all from one at first Then who can say or Heavens or Earth is worst Is not the Earth the Mother of them all And what the Heavens but Earths essentiall Although they have in Heaven no Earthly residence Yet in the Earth doth rest their Heavenly influence Were not the Earth what were the other Three Were not the Heavens what on the Earth could be Thus as they came so shall they passe together But unto Man not knowne from whence or whither And for the tyme of Earths Heaven purifying Six thousand yeares they live and have their dying Then all shall rest eternall and divine And by the beauty of the Godhead shine I sweare there is noe other truth but this Of that great Stone which many seeke and misse FINIS EXPERIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY HAve you not heard yee Princes great you Lords Ladies all Of the mishap and heavy chaunce that now of late did fall A wofull Tale to tell VVho could expresse it well Oh that some learned Poet had byne With me to se that I have sene Or else some other standing by That well could write a Tragidy Of lasting fame and memory For yet not since this VVorld began Such cry such clamour as was than Heard never any earthly Man Experience that Princesse greate I saw her in her Throne Of glory where her Majesty delightes to sitt upon And on her wayting by A blessed Company Of Virgins pure that as I gesse VVere Children to that great Goddesse Their Princely port their Comly grace Their pierles featur'd hands and face Did shew them of most Noble race But of their prudent skill to tell In Artes where in they did excell No earthly Tongue can do it well And as I gazed thus upon that strange and dreadfull sight I saw how that Experience did teach these Ladies right The seven Artes Divine With desent discipline By divers rules and orders grave As she thought good for them to have But for to see how diligent And buisily their time they spent To learne those Artes most excellent The endlesse travells that they tooke From place to place from booke to booke Amazed me on them to looke For some in divers Languages did reason and dispute And other some did sing and play on Organ Harpe and Flute And some with Compasse found All Measures square and round And some by Cyphering could tell Infinite Summes and Numbers well And some with Eloquence began As Poets and Orators to scan The Causes betweene Man and Man And some upon the Stars did gaze And other some sat in a Maze To judge of Seacrets that there was Soe that nothing created was under the Firmament That hath a Being or Life by any Element No Simple nor Compound In all the World is found Under the Sky or Clouds that fly But they sought out the privity This Rocky Earth this heavy Masse This Articke Virgin this let not passe To seeke the thing that therein was But put themselves in presse to creepe Into the Center of the Deepe Where sundry Soules and Spirits doe sleepe This thing Experience gan prudently to debate VVith cheerefull looke and voyce full mylde as seemed to her state And soone decreed she Of her benignity Not for their sundry paines I take But only for her Glory sake That all these Ladies in a row Should further of her Secrets know That from her Majesty did grow VVherewith to Councell called shee A Lady grave of greate degree That named was Philosophy And after their discourse and talke that Lady fell downe flatt On hands knees before the Queene in heaven where she satt And looking upon her face Did say unto her grace Blessed be thou Experience Full mighty is thy Influence Thy wondrous workes records full well In wordell of wordels where thou doest dwell In Earth in Heaven and in Hell That thou art now the very same That of Nothing All things did frame VVherefore now blessed be thy Name Wherewith the Heavens opened and fiery flames did fall Downe from the Throne of endles Joy and seate imperiall Where Angels infinite Like glistering Starrs did fitt So pure and simple was the Light As all the World had burnt bright The flames and floods began to roare And did present their hidden store Of Spirits that fing for evermore All glory and magnificence All humble thankes and reverence Be given to EXPERIENCE Then sylence fell upon the face of Heaven Christalline Where all the Powers mustered full ready â—o encline To that most Sapient The high Omnipotent That said be it and it was don Our Earth our Heaven were begun I am said it the most of might In worde in lyfe and eke in light I am Mercy and Judgment right The Depth is myne so is the Hight The Cold the Hot the Moyst the Dry Where All in All is there am I. What thing can tell when I began or when I make an end Wherewith I wrought and what I mought or what I did intend To doe when I had done The worke I had begun For when my Being was alone One thing I made when there was none A Masse confused darkely clad That in it selfe all Nature had To form and shape the good and bad And then as Tyme began to fall It pleased me the same to call The first Matter Mother of all And from that Lumpe divided I foure sundry Elements Whom I commanded for to raigne in divers Regiments In Kinde they did agree But not in Quality Whose simple Substance I did take My seate invisible to make And of the Qualites compound I made the Starry Sky so round VVith living Bodyes on the ground And blessed them infinitely VVith lyfe and long prosperity And bad them grow and Multiply Respecting these divided things so created by me Their light and lively spreading forth of them in their degree Retourning to the Masse VVhere there begining was And saw the refuse of the same How Voyd and Empty it became All darke and nothing to remaine I put with wrath and greate disdaine My only Curse there for to raygne For I the Author of all Light Did banish Darknes from my sight And blessed all things that shined bright So that I mard nothing I made for that I made is still And so shal be unto the end only to
Well Tyl all his Leprousie will no longer dwell In his owne Nature he altereth cleane Into a pure substance ye wat what I meane I shew you here a short Conclusion c. WHy art thou so Poore and I so Rich Aboundance of Tresure in me thow maist In all the World I am nothing so liche As Man that is so proginitous to my kynde The Rych man on the Poore hath no pity In me therefore have thow affiance It is oft tymes seene in Towne and Cittie He is evyll at ease that hath no Craft nor Scyence The Ryche men of the Poore now have greate dispight That they should wyth thyr cunyng any good thing wyn And to give to the Poore almes they have no delight Lytle is the Charity that is them within And Ensample of Dives as the Scripture can tell Poore Lazerus at his Gate for default dyed Had he given him Almes he had not gon to hell Now for to repent him truly it is too late Man thou hast no goods but God doth them send Departe with thy Brother as God doth thee Comand Thy lyfe that wyll the better amend Death will with thee make a suddaine hand Thy worldly goods thow schalt forsaken Give every Beast againe his due And than schall thy body be full naked Death on the will nothing rue Why so far and I so neare Hast thou no grace Man me to meete So oftyn as I to the do appeare And yet of me thou takest no keepe In common Mercury thou doest me seeke In Alkali and in Alembroke In common Sulphur and Arsenick eke Which makes many a man to dote Common Mercury is not good It bringeth many a man to care It makes his Haire grow through his hood And his Purse both thin and bare Mercury and I are of allye But she with me may not compare In nature she is both cold and dry Therefore I councell thee to beware Many a man she makes full bare Because she lacks humidity On her to spend they would spare She brings many a man to poverty I am she which wise men seeke Mercury which is most of might Hot and moyst light and weake Of the Elements I am full right Water Earth Aire and Fire Quality and Quantity you can never have your desire Without Concoction perfectly Great riches in us be Who hath grace us for to know By vertue of her humidity In the Fire our Stone doth grow Thou needy man where is thy minde I councell thee this lesson leare Our Mercury is but of one thing In our Vessell thin and cleere Common Mercury in him is none Neither Gold nor Silver in him none is Of Mettalls we make not our Stone By proportion more or lesse All manner of Mettalls we deny Untill the time our Stone be wrought All other Receipts we defie That of the Potecaryes be bought With all Spices save onely Mercury Gould with him stands us in steed Our Medicine for to Multiplie After our Phisicks Stone be Red. A true Lesson I have thee tought Pray for me and forget it nought Many Bookes mayst thou see That is not writ so openly And as I am true Christian man A truer Booke findest thou none And thou wilt of this Scyence leare In riches thou shalt have no peare He that made this Booke hath it well preved The better therefore he may be beleived Therefoee I pray you for charity To keepe this Booke very secretly If any man this Science of you will crave Know he be Sapient that the Coppy shall have I made it not for every man Neither for them that litle good can But for me and for my Brother Such as have Reason and no other Keepe this Lesson well in minde Beware thou worke not against Kinde And in thy Worke make no greate hast That thou labour not in wast Worke in light and not in darke And ask Councell of a Clerke Else may you both lightly fayle Without you have both good Counsayle TAke our Rose with the red Flower Which thou maist know by his Colour And him knock into Plates small A like thin beate over all And with a Corosive good and fine Forthwith drawe the same tyne Of things that be new and good And diverse in Nature and one in Moode And put together with strong grinding In Horse wombe ever abiding In a Vessell good and strong Thou so it rule and thinke it not longe For within a Moneth or litle moe And with his might the Body slo Thy Corrosive will thy Rose so frett Till he be thin as Milke in Meate But how the Corrosive made shal be I will it shew plainely to thee As I said to thee before Elss knowest thou litle of this lore Take Maidens Urine younge of age Ashes Salt and Lyme Of him together make a mariage Then the Corrosive is both good and fine For without this Corrosive shortly said Well compound together in One All your Worke is but voyd As Philosophers write every ech one For Doctors both to lay and Clearke Written that our first Warke Is to bring our Body all and some And him to reduce in Mercurium Then is our Worke well begun If the first love be thus wone Now say Philosophers much more Our second Worke if thou wilt know Labour with paine and travell therefore And God is ready thee it to shew To bring our Water into Air Of Philosophers the second verse Spare not to worke and be not afraid For so it will be without lese But yet be wise in the Warke For hasty men never lack woe And aske the Councll of a Clarke For sober thrift is best thereto And so Continue night and day I thee charge and sleepe thee not For in six Weekes truly in fay All into Earth it wil be brought So the Fyre continued be Every Decoction to even measure And after that fyre his quality Thou must all the Worke rule For when it is in Earth full black Then is it our black Stone He is so strong he may not lack Tyll all thy Worke be y done The third degree as I thee say Of our Stone now black as pitch Thou must him wash with waters gay And make him white for so did Ich And when thou hast washt him cleane Then is his blacknes gone Then is he bright and shine As Carbuncle or Beril stone But ere he come to that degree It wil be labour but thinke not long For many a Colour change will he Browne Red Russet ever amonge After that to many other mo Greene Blew Pale and Whyte But all these let them goe They are not to thy profit And when thou hast thus wrought By six weekes and a day Then is the Earth truly sought A white powder collor'd in fay But then spare the fyre And bate him even to measure And within a month and litle mo The Whyte Stone hath nigh sure done Which will shine and melt as wax He must needes Masteries do The Spirit and Soule make him
such water That is turning the Body into his first Matter The second Werke is to bring Earth and Water to Congealing The cleansing of the Third is another Unto Whitenes my owne Brother With this Water of his owne That is full marvalous to be knowne The fourth werke is distilling Of Water and Earth upsweating And thus hast thou by one assent Earth Ayre Water and Fire the foure Elements The Ashes that are in the bottome of the Vessell Looke thou dispise them not though left For I tell thee right well There is the Diadem of our Craft FINIS JOHN LYDGATE MONKE OF St. EDMUNDS BURY In his Translation of the second Epistle that King Alexander sent to his Master ARISTOTLE WHan Alysaundre as is Rehersyd heer This Phylosophre for vertues manyfoold Sent unto hym a secret Messengeer Without exskus to come to hys housoold But he ageyn for he was feeble and old And impotent on the tother syde And unweldy for to goon or ryde But chiefe cause why Alysaundre sente A purpoos take and a fantasye To declare pleynly what it mente He wyst in sooth that in Philosophye Wyth other secrets of Astronomye He was experte and mooste cowde understonde Thys was in cheefe Cause of the Kynges sonde Powder of Planetys and mevyng of all Sterrys And of every heavenly Intelligence Dysposicion of Pees and ek of Werrys And of ech othyr straunge hyd Scyence As the sevene Goddys by theyr Influence Dyspose the Orders of Incantacions Or of sevene Metallys the Transmutacions With othir Craftys which that besecre Calculacion and Geomancye Dyfformacions of Circes and Meed Lokynge of Facys and Pyromancye On Lond and Watir Craft of Geometrye Heyghte and Depnesse with all Experyence Therefore the Kinge desires his presence But for all this within himselfe a thing There was a Secre he kept not to disclose Nor to publishe opynly to the Kynge Takeyng Example by two things in a Roose First how the Flower greet sweetnesse doth dispoose Yet in the Thorne men finde great sharpnesse And thus in Konnyng there may been a lykenesse In Herbe and Flour in Writeing Word and Stoon Ech hath his vertue of God and of Nature But the knowyng is hyd froo many oon And not declaryd to every Creature Wherefor he cast twen Reason and Measure To shape aweye both the Kyng to plese Somewhat to unclose and set his herte at ese There is of ryght a greete difference Tween a Princes royall Dignite And a twen Commons rude Intelligence To whom nat longeth to meddle in no degre Of Konnynges that should be kept secre For to a Kynges famous magnificence And to Clerkys whiche have Experience Itt cordeth well to search out Scripture Mysteries hid of Fowlys Beeste and Tree And of Angellys moost sotyl of Nature Of Myneralls and Fysshes in the See And of Stonys specially of Three Oon Myneral another Vegetatyff Partyd on Foure to lengthe a Mannys lyffe Off whych I radde oonys among othir Stonys There was oon calyd Anymal Foure Elements wrought out for the noonys Erthe Watir and Ayre and in especyall Joyned with Fyre proporcyon maad egal I dar seyn breefly and not tarye Is noon swych Stoone found in the Lapidarye Irad Oonys of a Phylosophre Ageyn ech syckenesse of valew doth moost cure All the Tresure and Gould in Craesus Coffre Nor all the Stoonys that grow by Nature Wrought by Craft or forgyd by Picture Lapis non Lapis Stoon of greetest fame Aristotiles gaff it the same name And for I have but little rad or seyne To write or medle of so high mateerys For presumcion some would have disdeyn To be so bold or clymbe in my desires To scale the Laddere above the nyne Speerys Or medle of Rubyes that yeve so cleere a light On hooly shrines in the dirk night I was nevir noon expert Joweleere In suych mateerys to put my sylfe in prees With Philosophres myn Eyen wer nat cleer Nowthir with Plato nor with Socratees Except the Prynce Aristotilees Of Philosophres to Alisaundre Kyng Wrott of this Stone the mervaylle in all werking In prevy wyse lych to hys Ententys Secretys hyd cloos in Phylosophye Fyrst departyng of the foure Elementys And aftyrward as he doth speceffye Every ech of hem for to recteffye And after thys lyk hys Oppynyon Of thys foure to make a Conjunccyon In suych wyse performe up thys Stoon Seene in the joynynge there be noone outrage But the fals erryng hath founyd many one And brought hem aftyr in full greete rerage By Expensys and outragyous Costage For lak of brayn they wern maad soe wood Thyng to begynne whych they not understood For he that lyst putte in Experience Forboode secrees I hold hym but a foole Lyke hym that temptyth of wylfull neglygence To stonde up ryght on a three foote stoole Or sparyth a stewe or fyssheth a bareyn poole Whan all is doon he get noon othir grace Men wyl skorne hym and mokke hys foltish face Itt is no Crafft poore men t'assayle It causeth Coffers and Chestys to be bare Marryth wytts and braynes doth affray Yit by wryting this booke doth declare And be Resons lyst not for to spare Wyth Golden Resouns in taast moost lykerous Thyng per Ignotum prevyd per Ignocius Title of this Booke Labor Philosophorum Namyd alsoe De Regimine principum Of Philosophres Secreta Secretorum Tresour compyled omnium Virtutum Rewle directory set up in a som As Complexions in helthe and sekenesse Dyspose them sylf to mornyng or to gladnesse The whych booke direct to the Kyng Alysaundre both in the werre and pees Lyke hys request and royall commanding Full accomplished by Aristotiles Feble for Age and impotent doubtles Hoole of corage and trew in his entent T'obeye his byddyng this booke he to hym sent How Aristotle declareth to King Alysaundre of the Stonys TOwching the Stone of Philosophres Oold Of which they make moost Sovereyn mencyon But there is oon as Aristotle toold Which alle excelleth in Comparison Stoon of Stoonys moost Sovereyn of renoune Towching the vertue of this rych thyng Thus he wrote to the most sovereyn King O Alysaundre grettest of dignite Of al this World Monark and Regent And of al Nacyons hast the Sovereynte Echoon to obeye and been obedyent And to conclude the fyn of our entent All worldly Tresure breesly shet in oon Is declaryd in vertue of this Stoon Thou must first conceiven in substance By a maneer uncouth dyvysion Watir from Eyr by a disseverance And fyr from Eyr by a departicion Echoon preservyd from all Corruptyon As Philosophres a forme have speceffyed Which by Reason may not be denyed Watir from Eyr departyd prudently Eyr from Fyr and Fyr from Erthe don The Craft conceyved devyded truly Withouten Errour or Decepcyon Pure every Element in his Complexion As it perteyneth pleynly to his parte As is remembryd perfyghtly in this Arte. This Stone of Colour is sometyme Citrynade Lyke the Sonne stremyd in his kynd Gold tressyd maketh hertes
of the World we may finde that God hath evermore been pleas'd to call upon the stage thereof in sundry Ages some choyce and eminent Men whom by the Illumination of his blessed Spirit he hath furnished with ability to reade the Characters of his blessed will writ in that ample and sacred Volume of the Creation and the severall Pages of individuall Natures And further to testifie his care of his Creatures hath also given them Balme in their hands to stoppe the over-spreading contagiousnesse of bainefull Diseases But to contract the Rayes of my Prospective to our owne homes the Phisitians Colledge of London doth at this day nourish most noble and able Sons of Art no way wanting in the choycest of Learning And though we doe not yet the World abroad has taken notice of sundry learned Fellowes of that Societie as Linacres Gilbert Ridley Dee Flood c. and at present Doctor Harvey who deserves for his many and eminent Discoveries to have a Statue erected rather of Gold then of Marble Neverthelesse it has beene observed in other parts that we English will socner abuse and detract from the worth of any of our owne Nation though never so well deserving then render them what they justly mâ—rit by a worthy Applause And rathercry up a Frie of Illiterate Quacks for every Galen hath his Plague a mounting ignorant Thessalus that cheate the poore and simple of their Money and I wish they did not often in Conclusion murder their over-credulous Patients then give the learned Phisitian the due Honour God has appointed us to pay him Now as God hath formerly shed most eminent Beames of the first light upon a few particular Men as it were to gratifie the deserving Labourers at all times of his day So I am confident there are yet most noble seeds of that light of Nature appointed to spring up for the Benefit of Posterity The Glory whereof we see hath shin'd in other Horizons shortly it will draw neere to ours and that which with incessant Toyle cannot yet be Discovered shall in those dayes be freely Revealed to some that little dreame of it I am more then Confident Succession will meete with many advantages and helpes which this corrupt and ingratefull Age deserves not nor shall have because we deride what Posterity will adore with a lasting admiration The Circuit of that great and Sabbathicall Conjunction of the two Superiour Planets which began An. 1603. in the Fiery Triplicity will Illustrate Enlarge and Refine Arts like the tryed Gold It shall produce more pregnant and famous Philosophers by Fire I meane such as is Etheriall then yet the world ere saw and so purifie some ingenious Inquisitors as to make them fit Mettall for Angells to Project on This Fiery Trigon shall not passe before that God make manifest what he commanded former Ages to keepe Secret Where old Hermes his Aetheriall Phisick viz. this Quintessentiall Water which Ripley here speakes of and which is Such as auncient Phisick taught shall be Restored whose perfect and incorruptible Qualities of Heate Cold Moisture and Drinesse are able not onely to Nourish Fortisie and Encrease the Vitall Spirits but Digest Correct and Consume all Impediments and Corruptions those hurtfull and Impure Seeds which crept in with the Curse and joyning themselves with the Good have ever since like a growing Tyde encroached so far upon the Body of Man till he is almost overwhelm'd and ready to Perish But it is to be acknowledged that those Chemists deserve a considerable share of Honour who for want of this Aetheriall and Universall Medicine which God hath hitherto granted to few zealously apply themselves to finde out a Particular one that sedulous Industry may afford to more and to raise up a Body of Phisick from those Three Principles which are to be found in every Body because compounded of them though strongly lockt up namely Sal Sulphur and Mercury to which De Clave of late adds two more viz. Earth and Phleagme and so comfortably relieve decaying Mortality and heale Diseases by the meanes they are Cured In the painefull and curious search of which Experiments where there is more of Nature that still lyes hid yea she is as Infinite in her Productions as the Minde of Man can be Unsatiable in the search let the satisfaction the Ingenious Artist findes in one Truth leade him cheerfully on to make Inquisition after a further perhaps the Event of his Labours may discover a Perfection in the knowledge he hunts after and Providence may be as kinde to so diligent an Inquisitor as Nature is to the Ant who bestows Wings on her in her declining Age as a reward for her former Labours And albeit I magnifie Chemicall Phisique yet I do not lessen the due commendations that belong to Galenicall nor dare I when so great an Hermetick Philosopher as Arnoldus de villa Nova has taken so much paines to Joyne them together And besides him it has been the worke of Maierus Faber and many other consciencious Philosophers to reconcile them Who laying aside indeede abhorring all thought of Faction conceive nothing to come neerer the Divinity of Nature or be any way more gratefull to God and Good men then to help the Afflicted and relieve the Sick nor greater Charity then to bestow health and support dejected Nature Nor is Galenicall Phisick hard to come by it being at all times easy to be met with the Superficies of the Earth never denying us some thing or other for Medicine and they Milde Gentle and Safe for weake and tender Natures Moreover it is observed by Nollius and others that where God strikes with any Disease in those parts he also sends forth a Plant that he endowes with vertue to cure it And truly I cannot but admire at those snarling humours who make it their Taâ—ke to disparage what they affect not nay oftentimes what is beyond their owne worth and rent those noble parts of Art asunder which Nature has conjoyned in an harmonious Agreement and whose wide breaches honest hearted Philosophers endeavour to make up by a friendly Reconciliation it being not to be denyed but that each hath their peculiar Eminencies for which they deserve both Praise Honour For my owne part I am none of the Detractors from Learning but beare an Universall affection to Arts and am in freindship with each of their particular Branches Nay even in those I understand not for I am perswaded by the satisfaction I have received in things which before time I knew not that there may be something deserving of my faire Opinion in what I am yet to know It has proved a great Errour in some Practitioners who tumbling up and downe their owne Speculations seeke out for Truth in the Little world and withdrawing themselves too much from the Contemplation of Experimentall Naturall Obsevations neglect to looke for it in the greate and common World When certainly such may far sooner arrive at that Truth they seeke for in
Vertues alike as well to things Artificially made as to those that are Naturally generated though sometimes they are more at othertimes lesse vigorous and powerfull according to the disserent Aspects under which they are wrought In which regard a fit Election must be built up from the foundation of Astrologie sutable to the Nature of the Operation proposed which being effected and the Stars finding a figure aptly disposed for receiving them they forthwith Impresse their vertue which they retaining doe afterwards operate in that they finde to be semblable And this is not strange if we reflect upon the Vulgar experiments of the Loadestone who communicating its vertue to a peece of Iron a thing made fit by Nature to attract and reteine that Piece thereby becomes of strength to communicate this vertue to a third But if we should consider the Operations of this Magnet throughly which proceeds onely from a Naturall Principle there is no other Mystery Celestiall Elementall or Earthly which can be too hard for our Beliefe Moreover these Celestiall vertues and peculiar Gifts are not infused into Individuall and particular things by the Idea and by meanes of the Soule of the World alone But also are invited thither through the Obedientiality of their Matter and a certaine aptitude and likenesse that these Inferiours beare to their Superiours which being once taken in they thereupon contract and reteine besides such as they receive from their owne Specieo those naturall Vertues and Roots of the Starrs wherewith they suscitate and stir up the Influences of the Celestiall Bodies who are as it were by compact when United Obliged to Operate in and for that purpose which the Artist appoints them And more especially if the Minde of the Operator be vehemently inclined towards the same For that through the strength and Efficacy of the Imagination and Passion being seriously intent upon any Operation is joyned with the Minde of the Starrs and Intelligences and as sodainly fitted with Vertues as if it were the proper Receptacle of their Influences and consequently helpes more effectually to infuse their Vertues into our Workes And the reason is because there is an appreheusion and power of all things in the Minde Whereupon all things having a naturall Obedieuce to it have also of necessity an Efficacy and more to that which desires them with a strong and intent Desire Notwithstanding all these Wonders are not wrought but by the Cooperation of second Causes dispositing of the Corporall Matter God the first cause of all things having variously distributed these vertues to every one as he pleaseth who by his Command and appointment are necessitated to produce their Effects which Matter by reason of its Purity or Inequality may cause the Celestiall vertues to erre in their Actings for certainly Influences may be hindred and prove ineffectuall through the indisposition or insufficiency of the Matter And therefore it is no ordinary Speculation to awaken the sleeping Spirit which lyes bound up in the straight Prison of the Body to invite and allure that propitious Spirit to descend from Heaven and unite it selfe with that which is Internall and there withall to convey a Vniculum thereinto that is of power to hold fast and fix the Celestiall Influencs from recoyling back into their united Centers This is the Series and Order of Nature conjoyn'd with Art and this and all this must be effected before one true Magicall Operation can be performed Pag. 194. Liber patris Sapientie THough I cannot yet satisfie the Reader who was the Authour hereof and therefore must Register it together with Experience and Philosophy the hermets Cale amongst the Anonymi yet I can assure him He gives exceeding good advice to the Student in this Science where he bids him be Secret in the Carriage on of his Studies and Operations and not to let any one know of his Undertakings but his good Angel and Himselfe and such a close and retyred Brest had Norton's Master who When Men disputed of Colours of the Rose He would not speake but keepe himselfe full close Privacy will questionlesse prove an unimaginable benefit to him whereas on the contrary Apertnesse exposeth a true Philosopher to a multitude of Misfortunes Witnesse Sir Ed. Kelley whose immoderate Ambition of spreading his Name lifted him up even to a Madnesse of publique Carriage which not correcting in Time he most miserably fell through the fatall Virtego of imprudent Glory To such therefore I shall only adde Chaucers Councell which may prove of no litle advantage if they remember it Make â—privy to your dealing as few as you maie For three may keepe Councell if twaine be awaie THe Figure cut in Brasse and placed in Page 210. is an Hierogliphicall device of Cremer somtime Abbot of Westminster and Scholler in this Science to Raymond Lully which he caused to be painted upon an Arched Wall in Westminster Abbey where now the Statues of our Kings and Queenes are set in their respective Habits I met with it Limned in a very Ancient Manuscript before the old Verses that follow which there seemed to serve as a Preface to that Worke which beares the Tytle of Hermes Bird. In it is conteyn'd the Grand Misteries of the Philosophers Stone and not more Popish or Superstitious then Flamell's Hierogliphicks portraid upon an Arch in St. Innocents Church-yard in Paris Notwithstanding it has pleased some to wash the Originall over with a Plasterer's whited Brush As also of late to breake in Pieces the Glasse Window behinde the Pulpit in St. Margarets Church at Westminster wherein was fairely Painted but unhappily mistaken for a Popish Story the whole Processe of the Worke in this manner The Window is divided into three Parts In the Outermost whereof upon the right hand was drawne a Man holding a Boy in his hand and a Woman with a Girle in hers all standing in upright naked postures upon a greene foliate earth The Man and Woman had Fetters wherewith their Feet seemed to be chained to the ground which Fetters were presented as falling from off their Legs Over the heads of these persons were the Sun and Moone placed and painted of a sad darke red Colour Within the Left side of the Window was a Beautifull Young man clad in a Garment of various Colours bearing a Yellow Crosse upon his Shoulders his Body Encircled with a Bright Glory which sent forth Beames of divers Colours He stood upon an Earth intimating Oculus Piscium At the Foote of the Midle Part of the Window was a faire large Red Rose full spread which issued Rayes upward and in the Middle an exeeding bright Yellow Glory Above the Rose was the Figure of a Man rising with Beames of Light spread about his Head somwhat like the Posture used to expresse Christ's rising from his Sepâ—lâ—hre He had a Garment of a Reddish Colour deepned with Red and heightned with Yellow In his left Hand a White Stone which he held towards the Persons arising in that paâ—t of the