be departed a twinn Into foure Elements if ye would to winn Which thing to doe if ye ne can Goe and lerne it of Hortolan Which made his Boke of that Doctrine How ye shulde part the Elements of Wine Moreover ye must for your succour Know th' effects of the quallities fower Called Heate Colde Moisture and Drines Of which fower all things Compounded is And sith in this Arte your cheefe desire Is to have Colour which shulde abide fier Ye must know before you can that see How everie Colour ingendred shall be For every Colour whiche maie be thought Shall heere appeare before that White be wrought Yet more ye would have to this summe Swiftly to melt as Wex or Gumme Els mought it not enter and perce The Center of Mettalls as Auctors reherse Soe ye would have it both fix and flowe With Colour plenty if ye wist howe Such three Contraries joyntly to meete In one accord is a greate Secret Nethles he that is cleere of Minde In this Chapter maie it well finde And first to give you a short Doctrine Of the aforesaid qualities prime Heate and Cold be qualities Active Moisture and Drines be qualityes Passive For they suffren the Actives evermore As Stones to be Lyme and Water to be Froare Hereupon to Judge ye maie be bold Nothing is full wrought but by Heate and Cold Nethles the Passives have some Activity As in Handicrafts men ye maie daily see In Bakinge and Brewinge and other Crafts all Moisture is opperative and soe Drines be shall Aristotle in his Phisicks and other manie moe Said ab actionibus procedit speculatio They said that Practise is roote and beginning Of Speculation and of all Cunning For the properties of every thinge Be perceaved by their working As by Colours of Urins we may be bold To give sentence of Heate and Colde By thes aforesaid foure qualities prime We seeche Colours with length of tyme Of White Colour we be not full sure To seeche it but in a substance pure Greate Doctrine thereof lerne now ye maie When ye know how Colours growe all day COlour is the utmost thinge of a Body cleere Cleere fubstance well termined is his matter heere If Heate hath maistery in matter that is drye White Colour is ever thereof certainely As it appeareth in sight of brent Bones And in making of all Lyme Stones Where Cold worketh in matter moist cleere Yet of such working Whitnes woll appeare As it sheweth in Ice and Frosts hore The cause is set out in Philosophie before I write not here of common Philosophie But by example to teach Alkimy That one maie be perceived by that other As is the Child perceived by the Mother If Heate in moyst matter and grosse withall Warke thereof Black Colour ingender shall Example hereof if ye of me desire Behold when you see greene Wood set on a fire When Cold worketh in matter thick and drye Black Colour shall be this is the cause whie Such matter is compacted and more thick With Cold constreyning enimy to all quick Thicknes made Darknes with privation of Light Soe Collour is private then Black it is to Sight Therefore evermore remember this How cleere matter is matter of Whitenes The cause efficient maie be manyfold For somewhile it is Heate and sometime Cold But Whire and Black as all men maie see Be Colours contrary in most extremitie Wherefore your warke with Black must beginn If the end shulde be with Whitenes to winn The midle Colour as Philosophers write Is Red Colour betweene Black and White Nethlesse trust me certainly Red is last in work of Alkimy Alsoe they say in their Doctrine How theis two Colours Rufe and Citrine Be meane Colours betweene White and Red And how that Greene and Colour wan as Lead Betweene Red and Black be Colours meane And freshest Colour is of matter most Cleane Physitians in Urines have Colours Nynteene Betweene White and Black as thei weene Whereof Colour underwhite Subalbidus is one Like in Colour to Onychyne stone Of such like Colour Magnetia found is But Magnetia glittereth with Cleerenes In our suttill warke of Alkimy Shall be all Colours that hath beene seen with Eye An hundreth Colours more in corteyne Then ever hath been seene in Urine Where in so many Colours mought not be But if our Stone conteyned every degree Of all Compositions found in warke of kinde And of all Compositions imaginable by minde Of as manie Colours as shall therein be saine So manie graduations your wisdome must attaine And if you knowe not such graduations all Lerne them of Raymond in his Atre Generall Gilbert Kymer wrote after his devise Of 17. Proportions but thei maie not suffice In this Science which he coude never finde And yet in Phisick he had a nobil minde Wher the royalty of the nature of Man Advaunceth ofte Medicines of the Phisitian And so honoreth oft times his Crafte When that the Medicines peradventure mought be lafte But it is not so in Phisick of Mines For that Arte exceedeth all other engines And resteth only in the wisdome of Man As by experience wise men witnes can ANd soe of Alkimy the trew foundation Is in Composition by wise graduation Of Heate and Cold of Moist and of Drye Knowing other Qualities ingendered thereby As hard and soft heavy and light Rough and smoothe by ponders right With Number and Measure wisely sought In which three resteth all that God wrought For God made all things and set it sure In Number Ponder and in Measure Which numbers if you doe chaunge and breake Upon Nature you must doe wreake Wherefore Anaxagoras said Take good heede That to Conjunction ye not proceede Till ye know the Ponders full compleate Of all Components which shulde therein meete Bacon said that old Men did nothing hide But only Proportion wherein was noe guide For none old Auctor King Prince ne Lord Writing of this Science with others did accorde In the Proportions which if ye would reach Raymond with Bacon and Albert done it teach With old Anaxagoras of them fowre ye shall Have perfect knowledge but not of one have all And if you would joyne fowre Qualities to intent Then must ye Conjoyne every Element As Water and Erthe after your desire Well compounded with Ayer and Fier Knowing the worthiest in his activitie The second the third every-each in his degree The fourth and the vilest maie not be refused For it is profitable and best to be used And best maie extend his Multiplication In whome is the virtue of our Generation And that is the Erthly Lytharge of our Stone Without him Generation shall be none Neyther of our Tincture fixation For nothing is fixt but Erthe alone All other Elements moveable be Fier Ayer and Water as ye daily see But Fier is cause of extendibility And causeth matters permiscible to be And cleere brightnes in Colours faire Is caused of kinde evermore of Ayer And Ayer also with his Coaction Maketh things
as Waters be made Some with Brenning as Colophonie And some with Water as Women make Lye Some be otherwise brought about And by naturall working fet out As Urin Sweat Milk and also Blood And Renniet which for Cheese is good By as manie manners and moe by one We seek Liquors for our Stone Every of the forenamed woll cleave To that thei touch and some deale leave But Quicksilver albeit it is fleeting Yet he woll never cleave to any thinge But to a Mettall of one kinde or other For there he findeth Sister or Brother Medling with suttill Erth doth him let To cleave to things such as he meet All the said Liquors which rehearsed be Conteyne fower Elements as well as he As Milke conteyneth Whey Butter and Cheese So done trewly every-each of all these Which fower maie be departed a twinn And after conjoynd to make ye winn But much more craftily they be heere sought Then Cheese and Butter and Whey be wrought And drawe neerer to simplicitie Then Cheese Butter or Whey maie be Of all Liquors which be in our Stone None is called simple but Water alone Of every Liquor which to our Stone shall goe Ye must know complexion and degree allso And than with Liquor ye maie abate The principall Agent from his Estate If he permanent and abiding be In any point of superfluitye As if the reigning qualitie be Driness Ye maie amend it with humour of Moistnes Now more now lesse as ye see need And so in all qualities proceede And in such wise order at your will The principall Agent your purpose to fulfill With knowledge of diversity contrarietie and accord Ye maie chuse which quality shall be Lord. Your Liquors be ordained to add and subtray To make equalitie by wisdome of assay But trust not that any thing maie be Hot and Moist both in one Degree For all that trust two qualities to be soe Shall be deceived where ever thei goe Common Schooles so teaching be not true Leave that Opinion and lerne this of new All Old men in that were oversecne To set in one degree anie qualities twaine Else thei said so that Schollers shulde not finde The secret mixtures of Elementall kind Therefore who cannot his graduations Maie not be perfect in our operations For in true Number God made every thing Without true Number no Man trulie maie sing Who faileth of his Number faileth of his Song Who faileth with us must doe Nature wrong COnsider also the nature of the meane When it is in the Third degree made cleane The purer that your meanes be The more perfection thereof ye shall see The meanes reteyne a great part Of the vertues of this Arte For the Principle maie not give influence To the Finall end neither the refluence Unto his Principall without succour and aid Of meanes conteyning the extremities aforesaid For like as by meanes of a treble Spirit The Soule of Man is to his Body knit Of which three Spirits one is called Vitall The second is called the Spirit Naturall The third Spirit is Spirit Animall And where they dwell now lerne ye shall The Spirit Vitall in the Hert doth dwell The Spirit Naturall as old Auctors tell To dwell in the Liver is thereof faine But Spirit Animall dwelleth in the Braine And as long as these Spirits three Continue in Man in there prosperitie So long the Soule without all strife Woll dwell with the Body in prosperous life But when theis Spirits in Man maie not abide The Soule forthwith departeth at that tide For the suttill Soule pure and immortall With the grosse Body maie never dwell withall He is so heavie and She so light and cleane Were not the suttilnesse of this Spirit meane Therefore in our worke as Auctors teach us There must be Corpus Anima Spiritus Also in our worke ye shall so finde That our meanes must accord in every kinde Of both extremities with wisdome sought Els all our worke shall turne cleere to nought For prudent Nature maie not by workinge Make Complement of appetite of a thing And so passe betweene extremities But if she first passe by all degrees Of everie meane this is truth unfained Wherefore Nature manie meanes ordained NOw after all this to lerne ye had need Of seven Circulations of Elements for your speede According to number of the Planets seaven Which no man knoweth but he have grace from heaven Old Philosophers men of great engine Said how of Circulations there shulde be Nine It is the â—urer to doe by their advice Nethles Seaven maie your worke suffice By inventions late found of new Of later Philosophers whos workes be trewe But for Circulations of Elements Some Clerks ween to have their intents When they fro Fier ordaine to descend To Aire thei ween not to offend If thei to Water doe then proceed And thens to Erth when thei see need And in such wise by order fall From the highest to the lowest of all Upon these words they tooke their ground That Aer est cibus ignis found But trust me that such Circulation Is but only a rectification Better serving for separation And for correction than for transmutation But the truth is that appetite of the Fier Hath to worke in Erth his cheefe desire As upon his cheefe foode materiall For Fier with Erth hath most concord of all Because that siccitie is the lyme of heate But Ayre of her kind is most wet Yet Fire without Ayre worketh not For Faces of Elements be knit with a knot Of Gods hand that they maie not depart By noe engine ne craft of Mans art As in Plomps ye have example faire Where heavie Water ariseth after Ayre Whereof noe cause reasonable ye shall finde But Connexion of faces of Elementall kinde But our Circulation is from Fier on high Which endeth with Water his most contrary Another Circulation beginneth with Ayre Ending with his Contrary cleane Erth and faier Fro Fier to Erth fro thence to Water cleane Fro thence to Ayre then fro thence by a meane Passing to Erth then eftsoones to Fier To such Circulations the Red worke hath desire Other Circulations be better for the White That be rehearsed for her appetite Every Circulation hath her proper season As her lightnesse accordeth with reason For as one Planet is more ponderous Then is another and slower in his course So some Circulations which Clerks seeks Must for her time have full thirtie Weeks Other Circulations shall oft time have lesse As one Planet is lighter then another was But the time of one with another will amount To twenty six Weekes proved by accompt After all grosse workes made before hand And after all Circumstances had I understande Ignorance hereof deceiveth manie a Man Causing them to cease where Wisemen began Common People which for this Science have sought Ween how in forty dayes it mought be wrought They know not how Nature and things of Arte Have a proper time assigned for their part As
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
perfytly consummate Thus under the moysture of the Moone And under the temperate hete of the Sonne Thy Elements shal be incynerate sone And then thow hast the Maistery wone Thanke God thy worke was then begon For there thow hast one token trew Whych fyrst in blacknes to thee wyll shew The hede of the Crow that tokyn call we And sum men call hyt the Crows byll Sum call hyt the Ashes of Hermes Tre And thus they name hyt after theyer wyll Our Tode of the Erth whych etyth hys fyll Sum name hyt by whych it ys mortyfycat The spyryt of the Erth wyth venome intoxycate But hyt hath Names I say to the infynyte For after each thyng that Blacke ys to syght Namyd hyt ys tyll the tyme that hyt wex Whyte For after blacknesse when yt wexeth bryght Then hath hyt names of more delyght After Whyte thyngs the Red after the same Rule of Red thyngs doth take hys name At the fyrst Gate now art thou in Of the Phylosophers Castle where they dwell Proceede wysely that thou may wyne In at mo Gates of that Castell Whych Castle ys round as any Bell And Gates hath Eleven yet mo One ys conquered now to the Second go The end of the first Gate OF SOLUTION The second Gate OF Solucion now wyll I speke a word or two Whych sheweth owt that err was hyd from syght And makyth intenuate thyngs that were thyk also By the vertue of our fyrst Menstrue clere and bryght In whych our Bodyes eclypsyd ben to syght And of ther hard and dry Compactyon subtylyat Into ther owne fyrst nature kyndly retrogradate One in Gender they be and in Nomber not so Whose Father the Son the Moone truly ys Mother The mean ys Mercury these two and no mo Be our Magnesia our Adrop and none other Thyngs there be but only Syster and Brother That ys to wene Agent and Pacyent Sulphure and Mercury coessentyall to our entent Betwyxt these two in qualyte cotraryose Ingendred ys a Mene most mervyllosely Whych ys our Mercury and Menstrue unctuose Our secrett Sulphur worchyng invysybly More fersely than Fyre brennyng the body Into Water dyssolvyng the Body mynerall Which Nyght fro darknes in the North parte we call But yet I trow thou understandyst not utterly The very secrett of Phylosopers Dyssolucion Therefore conceve me I councell thee wyttyly For I wyll tell thee trewly wythout delusyon Our Solucyon ys cause of our Congelacyon For the Dyssolucyon on the one syde corporall Causyth Congelacyon on the other syde Spyrytuall And we Dyssolve into Water whych weytyth no hond For when the Erth ys integrally yncynerat Then ys the Water congelyd thys understond For the Elements be so concatenat That when the body fro hys fyrst forme ys alterate A new forme ys inducyd immediately For nothyng being wythout all forme ys utterly And here a secret to thee I wyll dysclose Whych ys the ground of our secrets all And yf thou hyt not know thou shalt but lose Thy labour and costs both great and small Take hede therefore in Errour that thou not fall The more thyne Erth and the lesse thy Water be The rather and better Solucyon shall thou see Behold how Yse to Water doth relent And so hyt must for Water hyt was before Ryght soe agayne to Water our Erth is bent And Water thereby congelyd for evermore For after all Phylosophers whych ever was bore Every Mettall was on s Water mynerall Therefore wyth Water they turne to Water all In whych Water of kynde occasyonate Of qualytes bene repugnaunce and dyversyte Thyngs into thyngs must therfore be rotate Untyll dyversyte be brought to parfyt unyte For Scrypture recordyth when the Erth shall be Trowbelyd and into the depe Sea shall be cast Mountaynes our Bodyes lykewyse at the last Our Bodyes be lekenyd convenyently To Mountaynes whych after hygh Planets we name Into the depenes therfore of Mercury Turne them and kepe the out of blame Then shall ye se a Nobyll game How all shall become powder soft as sylke So doth our Runnett by kynde curd our Mylke Then hath our Bodys ther fyrst forme loste And other be enducyd ymedyately Then hast thow well beset thy cost Wheras some other uncunning must goe by Not knowyng the secretts of our Phylosophy Yet one poynt I more must tell thee Every Body how hyt hath dymencyons three Altytude Latytude and Profundyte By whych algates turne we must our Whele Knowyng thy entraunce in the West shall be Thy passage forth into the North yf thou do well And there thy Lyghts lose they re Lyght eche-dele For there thou must abyde by Ninety Nyght In darknes of Purgatory wythowten Lyght Then take thy course up to the Este anon By Colours passyng varyable in manyfold wyse And then be Wynter and Vere nygh over-gon To the Est therfore thyne assendyng devyse For there the Son wyth Day-lyght doth upryse In Somer and there dysporte the wyth delyght For there thy Warke shall becom parfyt Whyte Forth fro the Est ynto the South assend And sett thou up therein thy Chayre of Fyre For there ys Harvest that ys to say an end Of all thys Warke after thyne owne desyre Ther shynyth the Son up in hys owne sphyre And after the Eclyps ys in rednes wyth glory As Kyng to rayne uppon all Mettalls and Mercury And in one Glasse must be done all thys thyng Lyke to an Egg in shape and closyd well Then must you know the mesure of fyryng The whych unknowen thy Warke ys lost ech dele Lett never thy Glasse be hotter then thow may feele And suffer styll in thy bare hand to holde For dread of losyng as Philosophers have the tolde Yett to my Doctryne furthermore intend Beware thy Glasse thou never opyn ne meve Fro thy begynnyng tyll thou have made an end If thou do contrary thy Warke may never cheve Thus in thys Chapter whych ys so breve I have the taught thy trew Solucion Now to the Thyrd Gate goe for thys ys won OF SEPARATION The third Gate SEparacyon doth ech parte from other devyde The subtill fro the groce fro the thyck the thyn But Separacyon manuall look thou put asyde For that pertaynyth to folys whych lyttyll good don wyn But in our Separacyon nature doth not blyn Makyng dyvysyon of qualytes Elementall Into the fyfth degree tyll they be turned all Erth ys turnyd into Water black and bloe And Water after into Ayre under very whyte Ayre ys turned into Fyre Elements there be no mo Of thys ys made by crafte our Stone of grete delyte But of thys Separacyon much more must we wryte And Separacyon ys callyd by Phylosophers dyffynycyon Of the sayd Elements tetraptatyve dyspersyon And of thys Separacyon I fynde a lyke fygure Thus spoken by the Prophet yn the Psalmody God brought out of a Stone a flud of Water pure And out of the hardyst Stone Oyle abundantly Ryght so of our precyose Stone yf thou be wytty Oyle incombusteble
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
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
Vessell have cold For then itt will spoile as Philosophers have told But keepe itt in a temperate heate alwayes For the space of fortie dayes Then Blackesse will appeare to sight That Blacknesse thou must bring to be White ake out t he Glasse at the forty dayes end And se that from cold thou doe itt defend And set itt in a Furnace with dry fire Till itt be White after thy desire Which wil be done in Weekes three And dryed from his moysture utterly Then with the first Water thou first didst imbibe Againe thou maist feede it att this tyde But give itt noe more nor you doe thinke May suffice at once for itt to drinke This done putrefy as you did before Even in the very selfe same maner And in the said tyme which it stoode before Itt will becom of blacke Colour And in the same Order if it congeale White Then is your Worke both perfect and right Now you must goe lerne the Bakers occupacion How he Leavens Bread by Fermentacion And truly to Ferment take noe plate of Gold But parte of that the plates doe hold You know that if Sol shew not a faire Tincture Itt will be had but in little honour Then Tincture of Gold is a most noble thing With a grace to noble men of our workeing For that true proverbe doth well accord Base things befitt not a noble Lord. Now have I told you what Ferment is To teach you to Ferment I will not misse This Chapter is now brought to an end And now the third Order to shew I intend CHAP. IV. Of the third Order of this Worke. RECIPE Sol that is pure and good And see that from him you take his pure blood Your Stone you must divide in parts three And the fourth of the Ferment must be If you will have for Red and White too To Red after this Order you must doe And the White after the same Must be ferment with Lune by name And the matter equally divyde One for the Red the other for the White Another like Vessell for the White you must looke As before is taught you in this Booke When your Ferments to your matters be put Then your Vessell close you must shut And sett it to Putrifye as you did before The full tyme as I said of yore And use itt in every degree As in the next Chapter before you may see But looke that you knowe your two Ferments assunder Or elce of your folly itt were great wonder And when from his Blacknesse you have brought itt White Then have you Elixir of wonderfull might Your Red to his perfection is not fully brought But your White is perfectly wrought Your Red with most strong heate must be fedd In a close Furnace untill itt be Redd When itt is Redd and will melt like waxe Then of all that should be nothing laxe Now have you a Stone of wonderfull might Which will take Mercury before his flight And command him to stay and cause him to bring All Mettalls unto him and call him their Kinge And make such obedyence without Digression That of him they shall all take Impression Now have you a Stone of wonderfull power Which conteineth the three Species and the Elements foure Fire in Colour Water by Effusion Earth to sight without delusion Aire is in Water all men doe knowe And thus the foure Elements accordeth nowe As for the three Species I will shewe How in your Stone you may them knowe Tincture for Blood perteineth to the Animall Moysture the Vegetable part possesse shall All Earth is Minerall without any doubt Thus keepe we in one Circle and never goe out Now have I my Figure perfectly wrought Yett of the Center I have said right nought A Center is a pricke of whatsoever itt be Without any manner of divisibilitie And made as Nature doth well provide So as no Accident may itt divide Only by hand but in the Quantitie But by noe Element seperate the Qualitie If in greate Fire you sett it downe A true Salamander itt wil be found If in the Water thou throwe I wis It will live there as doth a Fish If in the Aire you cast it up hye There will it live and never dye If in the Earth thou bury itt fast Then will it remaine there and ever last Thus can no Element divide without doubt The Center which our Wheele turnes about Now how to Multiply your Medicine I trow Would doe you much good for to knowe For unlesse you know howe to Multiply Your Medicine will be spent quickly Then would itt put thy minde to much paine To thinke that thou must make itt againe Therefore the next Chapter shall teach thee right To Multiply this Stone of wonderfull might CHAP. V. How to Multiply NOW in this Chapter I meane to shewe How to Multiply that thou may knowe If Iron to the Load-stone be not put certeinly Itt will decreace wonderfully The Species of all things both more and lesse each one Are mainteyned by reason of Multiplication Then if they be not Multiplyed they decay But Multiplication makes them be all away All things after Conception receive naturall Food To mainteine their kind as Nature seeth good Soe likewise our Stone must needs Multiply Or elce the Species of that Stone will dye And Multiplication must needs be of such thing As the thing multiplied takes best likeing Fire which burneth perpetually If Matter want Fire will dye But for to feed our Stone rightly The way I will shewe presently Take your Glasse and Medicine withall And in a warme Fire sett itt you shall And when itt begins to liquefy Put common Mercury to itt by and by And itt wil be devoured anon By vertue of heate that is in our Stone And as much as you putt in quantitie Soe much doth your Medicine augment truly Yett you must have reason not for to cloye With overmuch cooling kind heate thereby And as of a Dragme you will make a Pounde You may well do itt if you keep round And when it is Multiplied sufficiently Then from the Fire set it by A man in this Land once I knewe That marred that he made and so may yowe Except ye doe as I have taught And then neede you to feare nought Another I knewe which wanted good direccion And at once spent all at one projection These knew not howe itt should be multiplyed Which things I have taught you at this tyde But see that the Mercury wherewith ye Multiply Be made soe cleane as itt may be Now to make him extend his perfection It is needfull to know how to make projeccion Whereof in the next Chapter I will treate For of Multiplicacion I will noe more speake CHAP. VI. Of Projection NOw lacke we but onely this Lesson to take Perfectly projection for to make Take one parte of the Medicine and of ☿ ♄ or Tinn But see that you make them exceeding cleane And when your Mettall doth Liquefy Then cast in your
in Bokes Such Heate wherewith Pigg or Goose is Scalded In this Arte Decoction it is called For Minerall meanes serveth such heate And to make our Letharge to give sweate Such Heate as dryeth lawne Karcheefes fayre In thirty operations serveth for our Ayre But for Divisions you must use such heate As Cookes make when they roast grosse Meate The same Heate with a circular Fier For Separation of Dividents we desire But for Circulation of Elements Ignis candens observeth our intents Which Fier must ever be Coequall In every minute and yet perpetuall For it maie never abate ne increase And yet the Fier maie never cease Study wisely and looke about Such a Fier trewlie to finde out And in that Fier no moisture maie be Which Hand maie feele or Eye maie see Ignis humidus an other Fier alsoe Is and yet it seemeth oppositum in adjecto Such Heate dissevereth at certaine tydes Matters cleving to Vessells sides Manie moe things that Heate maie wynn It maketh oft thick Matters to be thynn A Philosopher mistely spake of this Heate And saide the highest degree thereof to get Shall cause and gender such Siccitie As of drie heate shall be in the First degree Another Fier is Fire of Disiccation For matters which be imbibed with Humectation An other Fier is Fier of Conservation For all drie things of his operation For Magnetia is Fier of effusion Full of perills and full of illusion Not onely perill which to the Warke maie fall But such alsoe which the Master hurte shall Against which once received is noe boote Ordaine therefore to fetch breath from your foote Provide for Mouth Eyes Eares and Nose For it is worse than ten times the Pose Men hereby hath sound paines sore Because they had not this warning before Ignis corrodens serveth in this Arte Elementa propinqua wisely to departe By one point of excesse all your Warke is shent And one point too little is insufficient Who can be sure to finde his trewe degree Magister magnus in igne shall he be It is the harder to know trewly his might There is no triall for it but our Eye sight Therefore all men faile in his presence Where Heate is lerned with cost of Experience Of this Heate in speciall Anaxagoras said thus Nemo primo fronte reperitur discretus Another is Heate of mighty Coaction For Mineralls that be of hard Liquefaction This Heate cannot be too stronge Be he continued never so longe Another is Heate of Calcination For fowle Mettalls for their Preparation Which maie not brenn ne doe them melte For so all thei maie soone be spilte The twelfte is Heate for to Sublime All rhe Spirits of the Mine The last Heate of theis goeth for all When to Projection our Stone shall fall Use maketh Masterie there is noe more to saynâ— But he that faileth must needs begin againe Now have I tought you everie thing by name As Men teach other the way to Walsingham Of every Village Water Bridge and Hill Whereby wise Men their Journey maie fulfill Soe maie a Clerke by this Doctrine finde This Science well if he be cleere of minde All other maie finde himselfe hereby a foole To deale therewith which litle can of Schoole For this is the end of all worldly Cunninge Where to attaine can neither Pope ne King By their Honours ne by their great Councell But only by Vertue and Grace as Auctors tell This precious Stone will not be found ne wrought But he be right devotely sought The Auctors forenamed with this Boke of mine Sheweth of Alkimy all the Doctrine If ye compleate their Sentences all Not by Opinion but after this Ordinall For in this Ordinall I fet you from all doubt Is nothing set wronge nor one point left out The dayes were when that this Doctrine and ground Had pleased me more than a Thousand pound Three Hundred pounds was not for my desire As would have byne this Chapter of the Fier And mervaile not Lords ne ye freinds all Why soe noble a Scyence as all Men this Arte call Is here set out in English blunt and rude For this is soe made to teach a Multitude Of rude people which delen with this Werkes Ten Thousand Laymen against ten able Clerks Whereby yearely greate Riches in this Londe Is lewdly lost as Wisemen understonde And manie men of Everie degree Yearely be brought to great Povertee Cease Laymen cease be not in follie ever Lewdnes to leave is better late than never All that hath pleasure in this Boke to reade Pray for my Soule and for all both Quick and deade In this yeare of Christ One thousand foure Hundred seaventy and seaven This Warke was begun Honour to God in Heaven THE COMPOVND OF ALCHYMIE A most excellent learned and worthy worke written by Sir George Ripley Chanon of Bridlington in Yorkeshire Conteining twelve Gates Titulus Operis HEre begynneth The Compound of Alchymie Made by a Chanon of Bridlington After his learning in Italy At Yxning for tyme he there did wonne In which be declared openly The secrets both of Sunne and Moone How they their kinde to multiplye In one body togeder must wonne Which Chanon Sir George Ripley hight Exempt from Claustrall observance For whom pray ye both day and night Sith he did labour you to advance He turned darknes into light Intending to helpe you to happy chaunce Gyving Counsell that ye live right Doeing to God no displeasaunce GEORGE RIPLEY UNTO King EDWARD the fourth O Honorable Lord and most victoryous Knyght With Grace and Fortune abundantly endewed The savegard of England maynteyner of right That God you loveth indeede he hath well shewed Wherefore I trust thys Lond shal be renewed With Joy and Riches with Charyty and Peace So that old ranckors understrewed Tempestuous troubles and wretchednes shall cease And now syth I see by tokens right evident That God you guydeth and that ye be vertuous Hating synne and such as be insolent How that also Manslaughter to you is odious Upon the Indygent also that ye be piteous Greate ruth it were if ye should not lyve longe For of your great fortune ye be not presumptuous Nor vengeable of mynde to wreke every wrong Theis considered with others in your most noble Estate Like as God knoweth and people doe witnesse beare So entyrely me meveth that I must algate Recorde the same and therein be no flatterer And that not onely but also to write here And to your Highnes humbly for to present Great Secretts which I in farre Countryes did lert And which by grace to me most unworthy are lent Once to your Lordship such thyngs I did promise What tyme ye did command to send unto me And since that I wrote in full secret wise Unto your Grace from the Universitie Of Lovayne when God fortuned me by Grace to see Greater secretts and moch more profyte Which onely to you I wyll disclosed to be That is to say the great Elixirs both Red and
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
adverting that she had tould How might a Man by nature thus he said Be borne againe namely when he ys old Then said hys Mother by reason manifold But if the Gospell thus doth meane In Water and Spirit be renovate hott and cold That he shall never plainely come into Heaven The King was tristy and heavy of cheere Upon his Knees meekely kneeled downe Prayed his Father in full low manner To translate the Challice of hys passion But for he thought the redempcion Of his brethren might not be fulfilled Without his death nor their Salvation For them to suffer he was right willed And for to accomplish hys purpose in sentence By cleere example who so looketh right Heavy things from their Circumferance Must up assend and after be made light And things light ready to the flight Must descend to the Center downe By interchaunging of natures might As they be moved by meane of Revolucion Soe as Iupiter in a Cloud of Gold Chaunged himselfe by transformacion And descended from hys hevenly hold Like a Golden dewe unto Danae downe And she conceived as made is mencion By influence of hys power divine Right so shall Phoebus right soveraigne of renowne To be conceived of his Golden raine decline And to comfort hys Brethren that were full dull The Sun hath chosen without warr or strife The bright Moone when she was at the full To be his Mother first and after hys wedded wife In tyme of Ver the season vegetative In Aries when Titan doth appeare Inspired by grace with the Spirit of lyfe This marriage hallowed at midday Spheare And at this feast were the Godes all Saturne from blacknes was turned to white And Iupiter let his mantle fall Full pale and meager of greate delight Clothed in lylies that every maner wight Of Heaven and Erth and Gods of the Sea Rejoyced in Heart and were full glad and light To be present at this great Solemnity Mars forgot there hys sturdy black hardines Cast off his Habergeon fret with old rust Venus forsooke her minerall rednes Tooke Gold for greene and she againe also for lust Because she had in Phoebus such a trust That he should this feast hold of most noblenes Of brotherly pitty needs as he must Give her a mantle of Orientall brightnes After this Wedding here afore devised Of faire Phoebus and fresh Lucine Philosophers have prudently practised A Closset round by their wise Doctrine Cleere as Christall of Glasse a litle shrine With heavenly deawe stuffed that dungeon Kept night and day with glorious maidens nyne To keepe the Queene in her Concepcion Religiously they kept their Sylence Till that from heaven their a royall light And there with all in open audience Was heard a voyce almost at mid night Among the Virgins most amiable of sight That said unto them to save that was forlorne I must againe through my imperiall myght Be of my Mother new conceived and borne I must passe by water and by Fire The brunt abide and there from not decline To save my brethren I have so greate desire With new light their darknes to yllumine But sore I dread that venomous Serpentine Which ever advanceth with his violence My tender youth to hurt and to invenome But in your keeping doe you your diligence The King thus entred in his bed royall The Queene conceived under a Sun bright Under her feete a mount like Christall Which had devoured her husband anon right Dead of desire and in the Maidens sight Lost all the Collour of his fresh face Thus was he dead the Maidens feeble of mighr Dispaired flept in the same place The Serpent bold shed out his poyson The Queene and Maidens for feare tooke them to flight Seaven tymes assending up and downe With in a vault now darke now cleere of light Their generation was so strong of might Tfter death now passeth Purgatory Ao Resurreccion as any Sun bright Things that were lost to bring to his glory The Queene tooke her full possession The Soule reviving of the dead King But of old hatred the toxicate poyson Was by the Serpent cast in to their hindring The Prince was buried but of his rising The Btethren were glad the truth was seene When they were washed by his naturall clensing And their old Leprie by Miracle was made cleane The full Moone halfe shaddowed the Sun To putt away the burning of his light Black shaddowed first the skyes were so dunn The Ravens bill began who looketh right Blacker then Jett or Bugle to sight But lâ—tle and litle by ordinary apparance The temperate fire with his cherishing might Turned all to white but with noe violence Tyme to the Queene approched of Childing The Child of Nature was ready to fly Passage was there none to hys out going He spread hys wings and found no liberty Of nyne Virgins he devoured three The other six most excellent and faire Fearefull for dread in their greatest beauty Spread their feathers and flew forth in the Aire The Child coloured first Black and after White Having noe heate in very existence But by cherishing of the Sun bright Of forraine fire there was noe violence Save that men say which have experience He dranke such plenty of the Water of the well That his six sisters made noe resistance But would have devowred Dasten can you tell Sometymes black sometymes was he redd Now like ashes now Citrine of Colour Now of Safforne hew now sanguine was his head Now white as a lylie he shewed him in his bower The Moone gave nourishment to him in his labour And with all their force did their buisnes To cloath hym fresher then any flowre With a mantle of everlasting whitnes PEARCE THE BLACK MONKE upon the Elixir TAke Erth of Erth Erths Moder And Watur of Erth yt ys no oder And Fier of Erth that beryth the pryse But of that Erth louke thow be wyse The trew Elixer yf thow wylt make Erth owte of Erth looke that thow take Pewer sutel faire and good And than take the Water of the Wood Cleere as Chrystall schynyng bryght And do hem togeder anon ryght Thre dayes than let hem lye And than depart hem pryvyly and slye Than schale be browght Watur schynyng And in that Watur ys a soule reynynge Invisible and hyd and unseene A marvelous matter yt ys to weene Than departe hem by dystillynge And you schalle see an Erth apperinge Hevie as metale schalle yt be In the wych is hyd grete prevety Destil that Erth in grene hewe Three dayes during well and trew And do hem in a body of glass In the wych never no warke was In a Furnas he must be sett And on hys hede a good lymbeck And draw fro hym a Watur clere The wych Watur hath no peere And aftur macke your Fyer stronger And there on thy Glasse continew longer So schal yow se come a Fyer Red as blode and of grete yre And aftur that an Erth leue there schale The wych is cleped
the keepe hit secretlye And serve thy God both nyght and day The better thou shalt speede thys ys no nay Now I have taught the how thow schalt do The blys of hevyn God bryng hus to HER ys an Erbe men calls Lunayrie I blesset mowte hys maker bee Asterion he ys I callet alle so And other namys many and mo He ys an Erbe of grete myght Of Sol the Sunn he taketh hys lyght He ys the Fader to Croppe and Rote Wyth fragrant Flowris that ben sote Flowrys to bere in that stede Swm ben Whyte and swm ben Red Hys Lewys grwyth both day and nyght Lyke to the Ferment that ys so bright I shall declare thys Erbe so lyght To many a man hyt ys a fayre seyght Frist at the Rote I wolle be gynne That cawsyth alle thing for to sprynge A growyth a pon a Mowntayne brym Where Febis hath grete dominacion The Sune by day the Mone by nyghâ— That maketh hym both fayre and bryght The Rote growyth on stonns clere Whyte and Rede that ys so peyre The Rote ys blacke the Stalke ys red The wyche schall ther never be dede The Lewis ben rownd as a Nowbel son And wexsyth and wanyth as the Mon In the meddes a marke the brede of a peni Lo thys is lyke to owre sweght Lunayre Hys Flowrys schynith fayre and cler In alle the Worlde thaye have non pere He ys not fownde in no maner wyse But of a Schepeherd in Godis servyse The good Schepeherd that I her mene Ys he that keepeth hys Sowle clene Hys Flowrys ben gret and sum ben small Lyke to hem that growyth in Dale With many a vertu both fayre and cler As ther ben dayes in alle the yere Fro fallyng Ewel and alle Sekeneys From Sorowe he brengyth man to Bles Unto that blese that wee maye come by th the help of Marys Sonne And of hys Moder that ys so fre Amen good Lord for cherite Spiritus Anima Corpus I Schal yow tel wyth hert mode Of thre Kynggys that ben so goude And how thaye cam to God almyght The wich was ther a sweet syght I figure now howr besset Stone Fro Heven wase sende downe to Solomon By an Angele bothe goude and stylle The wych wase than Christis wylle The present of hem in Bedlem than To Cryst brwght Aurum Tus Myrham Owre Sol and Sulphir wyth his Mercuri Both Bodi and Soule wyth oure Luneyre Aurum betokeneth heer owre Bodi than The wych was brwght to God and Man And Tus alleso owre Soule of lyfe Wyth Myrham owre Mercurye that ys hys Wyfe Here be the thre namys fayre and good And alle thaye ben but one in mode Lyke as the Trenite ys but on Ryght so conclude the Phylosofeers Stone Thow mayst a se her now in syght Off owre Stone figuriet a right How sende he wase out of Heven By an Angele wyth mylde Stefyn And by hys fygure thow mayst se That hyt ys lyke to personis Thre To Fader and Sonne and holi Gost The wych was and ys of mytis most Into hys blyse now come wee Amen goud Lord for cheyte Ishew you here a short Conclusion To understand it if ye have grace Wrighten without any delusion Comprehended in a litle space All that in this Booke wrighten is In this place comprehended is How Nature worketh in her kinde Keepe well this Lesson in your minde I have declared micle thing If you have grace to keepe in minde How that our Principle is One thing More in Number and One in kinde For there ben things Seven That in a Principle doe dwell Most precious under Heven I have so sworne I may not tell In this Booke I shew to you in wrighting As my Bretheren doe each one A similitude of every like thing Of the which we make our Stone Our Stone is made of one simple thing That in him hath both Soule and Lyfe He is Two and One in kinde Married together as Man and Wife Our Sulphur is our Masculine Our Mercury is our Femenine Our Earth is our Water cleere Our Sulphur also is our Fier And as Earth is in our Water cleare Soe is Aer in our Fier Now have yee Elements foure of might And yet there appereth but two in sight Water and Earth ye may well see Fier and Aer be in them as quality Thys Scyence maie not be taught to every one He were acurst that so schould done How schould ye have Servants than Than non for other would ought done To tyl the Lande or drive the Plough For ever ech man would be proud enough Lerned and leude would put them in Presse And in their workes be full busie But yet they have but little increse The writings to them is so misty It is full hard this Scyence to finde For Fooles which labour against kinde This Science I pray you to conceale Or else with it do not you meale For and ye canot in it prevaile Of much sorrow rhen may you tell By suddain mooving of Elements Nature may be letted And wher lacks Decoction no perfection may be For some Body with leprosy is infected Raw watery humors cause superfluity Therefore the Philosopher in his reason hath contrived A perfect Medicine for bodyes that be sick Of all infirmetyes to be releeved This heleth Nature and prolongeth lyfe eak This Medicine of Elements being perfectly wrought Receypts of the Potecary we neede not to buy Their Druggs and Dragms we set at nought With quid pro quo they make many a ly Our Aurum potabile Nature will increase Of Philosophers Gold if it be perfectly wrought The Phisitians with Minerall puteth him in prese Litle it availeth or else right nought This Scyence shall ye finde in the old boke of Turb How perfectly thisMedicine Philosophers have wrought Rosary with him also doth record More then four Flements we occupie nought Comune Mercury and Gold we none occupie Till we perfectly have made our Stone Then with them two our Medicine we Multiply Other recepts of the Potecary truly we have none A hundred Ounces of Saturne ye may well take Seeth them on the fire and melt him in a mould A Projection with your Medicin upon hem make And anon yee shall alter him into fine Gold One Ounce upon a hundred Ounces is sufficient And so it is on a thousand Ounces perfectly wrought Without dissolucion and Subtillant Encreasing of our Medicine els have we nought Ioy eternall and everlasting blisse Be to Almyghty God that never schal miss In some Copies I found these following Verses set before this Worke. EArth out of Earth clensed pure By Earth of himselfe through his nature Rectified by his Milke who can it tye And afterward united with Water of lyfe truly A Dragon lying in his deepe denne Rotting in Water to Putrefie then Leprouse huge and terrible in sight By bathing and balning the Dragon cometh to light Evermor drowned in the bottome of his
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
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
Yearly at any Time at any Season yea in the depth of Winter And therefore not unlike but the Wallnut-Tree which anciently grew in Glastenbury Church-yard and never put forth Leaves before S. Barnabies Day yet then was fully loaded with them as also the Hawthorne there so greatly fam'd for shooting forth Leaves and Flowers at Christmas together with the Oake in New-Forrest in Hampshire that bore greene Leaves at the same Season may be some Experiments made of the Vegitable Stone Besides the Masculine part of it which is wrought up to a Solar Quality and through its exceeding Heat will burne up and destroy any Creature Plant c. That which is Lunar Feminine if immediately applyed will mitigate it with its extreme Cold and in like manner the Lunar Quality benums and congeals any Animall c. unlesse it be presently helped and resolved by that of the Sun For though they both are made out of one Natural Substance yet in working they have contrary Qualities neverthelesse there is such a naturall Assistance between them that what the one cannot doe the other both can and will perform Nor are their inward Vertues more then their outward Beauties for the Solar part is of so resplendent transparent Lustre that the Eye of Man is scarce able to indure it and if the Lunar part be expos'd abroad in a dark Night Birds will repaire to and circulate about it as a Fly round a Candle and submit themselves to the Captivity of the Hand And this invites mee to believe that the Stone which the ancient Hermet being then 140 Years old tooke out of the Wall in his Cell and shewed Cornelius Gallus Ann. 1602. was of the Nature of this Vegitable Stone For upon the opening his Golden Box wherein it was inclosed it dilated its Beames all over the Roome and that with so great Splendor that it overcame the Light that was kindled therein Besides the Hermet refused to project it upon Metall as being unworthy of it but made his Experiment upon Veronica and Rue By the Magicall or Prospective Stone it is possible to discover any Person in what part of the World soever although never so secretly concealed or hid in Chambers Closets or Cavernes of the Earth For there it makes a strict Inquisition In a Word it fairely presents to your view even the whole World wherein to behold heare or see your Desire Nay more It enables Man to understand the Language of the Creatures as the Chirping of Birds Lowing of Beasts c. To Convey a Spirit into an Image which by observing the Influence of Heavenly Bodies shall become a true Oracle And yet this as E. A. assures you is not any wayes Necromanticall or Devilish but easy wonderous easy Naturall and Honest Lastly as touching the Angelicall Stone it is so subtill saith the aforesaid Author that it can neither be seene felt or weighed but Tasted only The voyce of Man which bears some proportion to these subtill properties comes short in comparison Nay the Air it selfe is not so penetrable and yet Oh mysterious wonder A Stone that will lodge in the Fire to Eternity without being prejudiced It hath a Divine Power Celestiall and Invisible above the rest and endowes the possessor with Divine Gifts It affords the Apparition of Angells and gives a power of conversing with them by Dreames and Revelations nor dare any Evill Spirit approach the Place where it lodgeth Because it is a Quintessence wherein there is no corruptible Thing and where the Elements are not corrupt no Devill can stay or abide S. Dunston calls it the Food of Angels and by others it is tearmed The Heavenly Viaticum The Tree of Life and is undoubtedly next under GOD the true Alchochodon or Giver of Years for by it Mans Body is preserved from Corruption being thereby inabled to live a long time without Foode nay 't is made a question whether any Man can Dye that uses it Which I dot not so much admire as to think why the Possessors of it should desire to live that have those Manifestations of Glory and Eternity presented unto their Fleshly Eyes but rather desire to be Dissolved and to enjoy the full Fruition then live where they must be contem with the bar â— Speculation After Hermes had once obtained the Knowledge of this Stone he gave ever the use of all other Stones and therein only delighted Moses and Solomon together with Hermes were the only three that excelled in the Knowledge thereof and who therewith wrought Wonders That there is a Gift of Prophesie hid in the Red-stone Racis will tell you for thereby saith he Philosophers have foretold things to come And Petrus Bonus avers that they did Prophesie not only Generally but Specially having a Fore-knowledge of the Resurrection Incarnation of Christ day of Judgement and that the World should be consumed with Fire and this not otherwise then from the Insight of their Operations In Briefe by the true and various use of the Philosophers Prima materia for there are diversities of Gifts but the same spirit the perfection of Liberall Sciences are made known the whole Wisdome of Nature may be grasped And Notwithstanding what has been said I must further adde There are yet hid greater things then these for we have seen but few of his Workes Howbeit there are but a few Stocks that are fitted to Inoculate the Grafts of this Science on They are Mysteries Incommunicable to any but the Adepti and those that have beene Devoted even from their Cradles to serve and waite at this Altar And how rarely such have been heard of may appear by Norton For few saith he or scarcely Due In Fifteene Kingdomes hadour Red Stone And they perhaps were with S. Paul Caught up into Paradice and as he heard unspeakeable Words so they wrought unoperable Workes such as it is not lawfull for to utter Of such as these therefore will I glory yet of my selfe I will not glory but of mine Infirmities And truly whether such were in the Body or out of the Body I cannot tell GOD knoweth doubtlesse they were not far from the Kingdome of GOD. But I feare I have waded too farre and therefore now to give some Particular Account aswell touching the Publication of this Worke as also the Disposition thereof and the Nature of the Obselete Language wherein t is written I shall in the First place acquaint the Reader that the kinde Acceptance my former Endeavours received at the Hands of Candid Artists in publishing some Chemicall Collections very earnestly invited me to finde out a Second Piece wherewith to present those Gratefull Persons Whereupon I intended to rally up some of my own Conceptions in this Science and expose them also to the Test But to this end reviewing the Philosophers I found that many assuming that Name wrote what their Fancies not their Hands had wrought and further then in Apprehension had not seene Projection amongst whom our Ripley was
never had sight to peinte How shoulde a borne blinde Man be sure To write or make good Portrature To build Poules steeple might be greate doubt For such proude Clerks to bring aboute Such might well happ to breake their crowne Ere they coude wisely take it downe Wherefore all such are full farr behinde To fetch out the secreatest pointe of kinde Therefore all Men take theire fortune and chaunce Remit such Clerks to their Ignorance NOw ye that will this Science pursue Learne ye to know fals Men from trew All trew searchers of this Science of Alkimy Mustbe full learned in their first Philosophie Else all their laboure shall them let and greive As he that fetcheth Water in a Sive The trew men search and seeke all alone In hope to finde our delectable stone And for that thei would that no Man shulde have losse They prove and seeke all at their owne Coste Soe their owne Purses they will not spare They make their Coffers thereby full bare With greate Patience thei doe proceede Trusting only in God to be their speede THe fals man walketh from Towne to Towne For the most parte in a threed-bare-Gowne Ever searching with diligent awaite To winn his praye with some fals deceit Of swearing and leasing such will not cease To say how they can Silver plate increase And ever they rayle with perjury Saying how they can Multiplie Gold and Silver and in such wise With promise thei please the Covetise And Causeth his minde to be on him sett Then Falsehood and Covetise be well mett But afterwards within a little while The Multiplier doth him beguile With his faire promise and with his fals othes The Covetise is brought to threed-bare clothes But if he can hastily be well aware Of the Multiplier and of his Chaffare Of whose deceipts much I can reporte But I dare not least I give comforte To such as be disposed to Treachery For so much hurte mought come thereby Wherefore advise you and be wise Of them which proffer such servise If they had Cunning have ye no doubt They woll be loath to shew it out When such men promise to Multiplie They compasse to doe some Villony Some trew mans goods to beare awaye Of such fellowes what shulde I saye All such false men where ever thei goe They shulde be punished thei be not so Upon Nature thei falsely lye For Mettalls doe not Multiplie Of this Sentence all men be sure Evermore Arte must serve Nature Nothing multiplieth as Auctors sayes But by one of theis two wayes One by rotting called Putrefaction That other as Beasts by Propagation Propagation in Mettalls maie not be But in our Stone much like thing ye may see Putrefaction must destroy and deface But it be don in its proper place Mettalls of kinde grow lowe under ground For above erth rust in them is found Soe above erth appeareth corruption Of mettalls and in long tyme destruction Whereof noe Cause is found in this Case But that above Erth thei be not in their place Contrarie places to nature causeth strife As Fishes out of water losen their Lyfe And Man with Beasts and Birds live in ayer But Stone and Mineralls under Erth repaier Physicians and Appoticaries faut appetite and will To seech water flowers on a dry hill For God hath ordeyned of his wisdome and grace All things to grow in their naturall place Against this doctrine some Men replie And say that Mettalls doe Multiplie For of Silver Lead Tinn and al so Brasse Some veyne is more and some is lasse Or which diversitie Nature shulde cease If Mettalls did not multiplie and increase Wherefore they say that reason sheweth nowe How that under Erth they multiplie and growe Why not then above Erth in vessells close and faire Such as shulde preserve them from Fire Water and Aier Hereto we say this reason is but rude For this is noe perfect similitude For cause efficient of Mettalls finde ye shall Only to be the vertue Minerall Which in everie Erth is not found But in certaine places of eligible ground Into which places the Heavenly Spheare Sendeth his beames directly everie yeare And as the matters there disposed be Such Mettalls thereof formed shall you see Few grownds be apt to such generation How shoulde then above ground be Multiplication Also all men perceyven that be wise How Water conjealed with Cold is yse And before tyme it harded was Some lay in more places and some in lasse As water in fosses of the Carte-wheele Were veynes smale whan they began to keele But water in ditches made veynes more For plenty of water that was therein froare Hereupon to say it were noe good advice That therefore of yse should multiply more yse Soe though there be of Mettalls veynes more and lasse It proveth not that they increase more then it was Alsoe ye may trust without any doubt If Multiplying should be brought about All th'engredience must draw to simplcity And breake Composition as yearly ye may see For Multiplying of Hearbes how Nature hath provided That all things joyned in the seede be divided Else stalke and leaves which vertually therein be May not come forth actually that eye mought them see But Mettall holdeth his holle Composicion When corrasive waters have made dissolucion Therefore syth yse is nerrer to simplicity Then is Mettall and maie not increased be Trewly ye maie trust as I said before How of one ounce of Silver maie Silver be noe more Also nothing multiplyed shall ye finde But it be of Vegetative or of Sensitive kinde Where Mettalls be only Elamentative Having noe seede nether feeling of life Wherefore concluding all Multipliers must cease For Mettalls once Mettalls shall noe more increase Nathlesse one Mettall transmuted we finde Unto a Mettall of another kinde For propinquity of matter that in them was As it is knowne betwixt Iron and Brasse But to make trew Silver or Gold is noe ingin Except only the Philosophers medicine Wherefore such leasings as Multipliers use Clerks reprove and utterly refuse Such art of Multiplying is to be reproved But holy Alkimy of right is to beloved Which treateth of a precious Medicine Such as trewly maketh Gold and Silver fine Whereof example for Testimonie Is in a Citty of Catilony Which Raymond Lully Knight men suppose Made in seaven Images the trewth to disclose Three were good Silver in shape like Ladies bright Everie each of Foure were Gold and did a Knight In borders of their Clothing Letters like appeare Signifying in Sentence as it sheweth here 1. Of old Horshoes said one I was yre Now I am good Silver as good as ye desire 2. I was said another Iron fet from the Mine But now I am Gould pure perfect and fine 3. Whilome was I Copper of an old red pann Now am I good Silver said the third woman 4. The fourth saide I was Copper growne in the filthy place Now am I perfect Gould made by Gods grace 5. The fift said I was
to be of light liquefaction As Wax is and Butter and Gummes all A little heate maketh them to melt and fall Water clenseth with ablution blive And things mortifyed causeth to revive Of multiplying of Fier is no greater wonder Than is of multiplying of Erth set under For Erth beareth Herbes daily new and newe Without number therefore it is trewe That Erth is wonderfull as well as Fier Though one sparke maie soone fill a Sheere If all a Sheere were filled with Flaxe One sparke than would wonderfully waxe Fier and Erth be multipliers alone And thei be causers of multiplying our Stone Of this Erth showeth Albert our great Brother In his Mineralls which Lytharge is better than other For the white Elixir he doth it there rehearse And the booke of Meeter showeth it in a verse NOw to Conjunction let us resorte And some wise Councell thereof reporte Conjoyne your Elements Grammatically With all their Concords conveniently Whiche Concords to healpe a Clerke Be cheefe Instruments of all this werke For nothinge maie be more contrary nowe Than to be fixt and unperfectly flowe All the Grammarians of England and of Fraunce Cannot teach you this Concordance This Ordinall telleth where ye maie it see In Phisick in the Boke de Arbore Joyne them also in Rhetoricall guise With Natures Ornate in purified wise Sithens our Tincture must be most pure and faire Be sure of pure Erth Water Fier and Ayre In Logicall wise be it early or late Joyne trewe kindes not sophisticate Ignorance hereof hath made many Clerks Lewdly to leese their labour and their werkes Joyne them together also Arithmetically By suttill Numbers proportionally Whereof a litle mention made there was When Boetius said tu numeris elementa ligas Joyne your Elements Musically For two causes one is for Melody Which there accords will make to your mind The trewe effect when that ye shall finde And also for like as Diapason With Diapente and with Diatesseran With ypate ypaton and Lecanos muse With other accords which in Musick be With their proporcions causen Harmony Much like proportions be in Alkimy As for the great Numbers Actuall But for the secreate Numbers Intellectuall Ye must seeche them as I said before Out of Raymond and out of Bacons lore Bacon sheweth it darkly in his three letters all And Raymonde better in his Arte Generall Many men weene which doth them reade That theie doe understonde them when theie doe not indeede With Astrologie joyne Elements also To fortune their Workings as theie goe Such simple kindes unformed and unwrought Must craftily be guided till the end be sought All which season theie have more obedience Above formed Natures to Sterrs influence And Science Perspective giveth great evidence To all the Ministers of this Science And so done other Sciences manie moe And specially the Science de Pleno Vacuo But the chiefe Mistris among Sciences all For helpe of this Arte is Magick Naturall WHen the foure Elements wisely joyned be And every-each of them set in his degree Then of divers degrees and of divers digestion Colours will arise towards perfection For then worketh inward heate naturall Which in our substance is but Intellectuall To sight unknowne hand maie it not feele His working is knowne to few Men and seild And when this heate naturall moved be shall By our outward heate artificiall Then Nature excited to labour will not cease Many diversities of degrees to increase Which is one cause by reason you maâ—e see Whie in our warke so manie Colours be Therfore it causeth in this Arte great doubt Ignorance of heate within and without To know how theis two heates shulde accord And which of them in working shulde be Lord. DIgestion in this warke hath great likenesse To digestion in things of Quicknes And before other as I witnesse can It is most like to digestion of Man Therefore said Morien our Stone in generation Is most like thing to Mans Creation In whom saith Raymond the fowre degrees all Of the fowre Complexions together finde ye shall And that actually which ye cannot finde Amongst Creatures in none other kinde Wherefore amonge Creatures theis two alone Be called Microcosmus Man and our Stone Now of Digestion the aliment and foode Perfectly to know is needfull and full good It is humor sollid constant with siccitie Mightily medled after some degree In opposite passives mixed duly Ingendered by inward and outward heat trewly Soe nothing else is our Digestion But of humour substantiall a create perfection I pray ye Laymen have me excused Though such Tearmes with you be not used I must use them for all Auctors affirmes How every Science hath his proper Tearmes Digestion sometimes advanced maie be By outward cold as yearly ye maie see How in Winter men eaten more meate Than in Summer when expansed is their heate For colde maketh heate inward then to flye And ligge nigh together then stronger is he Which by his strength his power is more To make Digestion than he mought before But our cheefe Digesture for our intent Is virtuall heate of the matter digerent Nethles heate of the digestible thinge Helpeth digestion and her working Feaverly heate maketh no digestion Baines maie helpe and cause also destruction Wine digested hath more heate naturall Than hath new Muste whose heate is accidentall Coagulation is noe forme substantiall But onlie passion of things materiall MOre ye must know when Colours appeare Who is principall Agent in that matter Cleere For sometimes it is Heate and sometimes Cold it is And sometime Moysture and somewhile Drines The principall Agent to know at every season Requireth great search made by suttill reason Which is not perceived but of Masters fewe For thei mark not how Colours arise by rewe The principall Agent of the qualities fowre Hath power royall as Lord of most honour The remnant of qualities to Converte to his kinde Of which conversion Anaxagoras maketh minde In his Boke of Conversions Naturall Whereof Raymond sheweth causes speciall It is no Jape neither light to lerne Your principall Agent all seasons to discerne Which I teach you to knowne by signes fowre By Colour Odour Sapor and Liquore ANd first by Colour to serve your intente To know thereby your principall Agent Looke in your Vessell which Colour sheweth most He that causeth him is principall of the host As for that season whose pride ye maie swage By this our Doctrine if ye see him rage Which ye maie doe when ye well understonde The cause of all Colours which ye have in honde Which I woll teach you now shortly withall Bycause here and there seeke them ye ne shall Whitnes is caused of manie matters cleere In another thing termined and soe it is heere Blacknes is when parts of a body darke With thicknes oppresseth the cleernes of the Warke Or els it is of a Combust terrestrietie But of such Combustion greate hardnes shall be And by Commixion of Darke Cleere and Cleane Shall be
so farr in preass That secreate Trewth to shew I cannot cease Rehersing such as were greately too bold So great secreats to shew as thei tolde Thei said that within the Center of incompleate White Was hid our Red Stone of most delight Which maie with strength and kinde of Fier Be made to appeare right as we desier Pandulphus in Turba saide mente secura Et ejus umbra in vera tinctura Maria confirmed it in fide oculata Quod in ipsa albedine est rubedo occultata The Boke Laudabile Sanctum made by Hermes Of the Red Worke speaketh in this wise Candida tunc rubeo jacet uxor nupta marito That is to saie if ye take heede thereto Then is the faire White Woman Married to the Ruddy Man Understandinge thereof if ye would gett When our White Stone shall suffer heate And rest in Fier as red as Blood Then is the Marriage perfect and good And ye maie trewly know that tyme How the seminall seed Masculine Hath wrought and won the Victory Upon the menstrualls worthily And well converted them to his kinde As by experience ye shall finde Passing the Substance of Embrion For then compleate is made our Stone Whom wise Men said that ye shulde feede With his owne Venome when it is neede Then ride or goe where ye delight For all your Costs he woll you quite Thus endeth the subtill Warke with all her store I need not I maie not I woll shew no more Vaughan sculp s CHAP. VI. TOwards the Matters of Concordance Consider there be no variance Betweene such things as shulde accorde For of variance maie grow discord VVhereby your VVarkes maie be lost VVith all your labour and all your cost He that wol take our VVarke in hande Five Concords he must understande The first Concord is neede to marke VVhether his Minde accorde with the Warke VVhich shal be Lord to paie for all Els all your labour destroy ye shall The second Concord is needfull to kenn Between this Crafte and her Workemen The Third shall serve well your intents VVhen Warke accordeth with Instruments The fourth Concord must welbe sought VVith the Place where it shall be wrought For trewlie it is no little grace To find a perfect working Place The Fift is of Concord and of Love Betweene your VVarkes and the Spheare above Of theis five Concords reherse we shall Beginning with the first of all FOr the first ye shall well finde That full few Lords be stable of Minde Thei be hasty the VVarke is longe Thei woulde have you doe Nature wronge Some now be onward as hasty as fier Halfe a yeare after have noe desire And some in a Weeke it is noe Nay Woll chaunge their mindes and some in a day And for one Moneth have full beleife And the next Moneth thei woll the Arte repreeve It were much better for such to cease Than for this Arte to put them in preasse Let such like Butterflies wander and passe And lerne this lesson both more and lasse Following the Sentence of this holie letter Attingens à fine usque ad finem fortiter Disponens omnia suaviter That is proceede mightily to the End From the Beginning maugre the feinde All things disposing in the meane space With great suavity that commeth of grace All short-witted Men and mutable Such must needs be variable And some doe every Man beleive Such credence doth their Cofers greive To everie new Tale to them tolde They give Credence and leave the olde But some Lords be stable of wit Such be apt to finish it Everie such Lord or Master of this Werke Be he Layman or be he Clerke Be he rich man Knight Abbot or Lorde He hath with this Arte greate Concorde THe seconde Concorde with this Arte is When ye can finde apt Ministers Noe Minister is apt to this intent But he be sober wise and diligent Trewe and watchfull and also timerous Close of Tongue of Body not vitious Clenly of hands in Tuching curious Not disobedient neither presumptuous Such Servants maie your workes of Charge Minister and save from all outrage But trust not that two such Servants or three Maie sufficient for your worke be If your Matter be of quantity reasonable Then Eight such Servants be convenable But upon litle quantity finde ye shall Foure men able to performe all That one halfe of them must werke While the other Sleepeth or goeth to Kerke For of this Arte ye shall not have your praye But it be ministred as well by Night as Daye Continually except the holy Sonday alone From Evensong begin till Evensong be done And while thei worke thei must needes eschewe All Ribaudry els thei shall finde this trewe That such mishap shall them befall Thei shall destroy part of their Works or all Therefore all the Ministers must be Men Or else thei must be all Weomen Set them not occupied one with another Though some to you be Sister or Brother Yet thei must have some good disporte Their greate labours to recomforte Then nothinge shall better avaunce Your worke than shall this Concordance THe Third Concord is to manie full derke To ordeyne Instruments according to the Werke As everie Chapter hath divers intents Soe hath it divers Instruments Both in Matter and also in Shape In Concord that nothing may mis-happ As workes of Dâ—vision and Seperation Have small Vessells for their Operation But Vessells broade for Humectation And some deale broad for Circulation But longe Vessells for Precipitation Both short and long serve Sublimation Narrowe Vessells and foure inches high Serve Correction most properly Of Vessells some be made of Leade And some of Clay both quick and deade Dead Clay is called such a thinge As hath suffered greate roastinge Such medled in powder with good raw Claye Will Fier abide and not goe away But manie Claies woll leape in Fier Such for Vessells doe not desire Other Vessells be made of Stone For Fier sufficient but few or none Amonge Workemen as yet is founde In any Country of English grounde Which of Water nothing drinke shall And yet abide drie Fier withall Such Stones large for our intente Were a precious Instrument All other Vessells be made of Glasse That spirituall matters should not out-passe Of Ashes of Ferne in this Lond everi-each one Be made but els-where be of Stone Of our Glasses the better kinde The morning stuffe ye shall it finde Which was Ashes the night before Standing in Heate all night and more The harder stuffe is called Freton Of clipping of other Glasses it come Tincture with anealing of Glasiers Will not perse him as thei reherse By this Doctrine chuse or refuse Take which you woll unto your use But for figures of Vessells kinde Everie Man followeth his owne minde The best fashion is ye maie be sure She that best concordeth with Vessell of Nature And figure that best Concordeth with quantity And with all Circumstances to matter best is she And this sheweth well Albertus
and Water thou shalt draw And thereabout thou nedyst not at the Coles to blow Do thys wyth hete esy and mesuryng Fyrst wyth moyst Fyre and after wyth the dry The flewme by Pacyence owt drawyng And after that thy other natures wyttyly Dry up thyne Erth tyll hyt be thrysty By Calcenyng els thou laboryst all in vayne And then make hyt drynke up his moysture agayne Separacyon thus must thou ofte tymes make Thy Matter dyvydyng into parts two So that the Symple fro the groce thou take Tyll Erth remayne benethe in color bloe That Erth ys fyx for to abyde all wo The other parte ys Spyrytuall and fleyng But thou must turne hem all into one thyng Than Oyle and Water wyth Water shall dystyll And thorow her help receve menyng Kepe well thys two that thou not spyll Thy Wark for lack of dew closyng Make thy Stopell of glas meltyng The top of thy Vessle together wyth yt Than Phylosopher-lyke usyd ys hyt The Water wherwyth thou must renew thy Stone Looke thou dystyll afore thou warke wyth hyt Oftentymes by it selfe alone And by thy syght thou shalt well wyt Fro feculent feces when hyt ys quytt For sum men can wyth Saturne it multeply And other Substance which we defye Dystyll hyt therfore tyll hyt be clene And thyn lyke Water as hyt shold be As Hevyn in Color bryght and shyne Kepyng both fygure and ponderosyte Therwith dyd Hermes moysture hys Tre Wythyn hys Glas he made to grow upryght Wyth Flowers dyscoloryd bewtyosely to syght Thys Water ys lyke to the venemous Tyre Wherewyth the myghty Tryacle ys wrought For yt ys Poyson most stronge of yre A stronger Poyson can none be thought Att the Potecarys therfore oftyn yt ys bought But no man shall be by hyt intoxycate After the tyme yt ys into Medycyne Elevate For then as ys the Tryacall trew Hyt ys of poysons most expulsyfe And in hys working doth mervells shewe Preservyng many from deth to lyfe Loke thou meng yt wyth no corrosyve But chese hyt pure and quick rennyng Yf thou thereby wylt have wynnyng It ys a mervelose thyng in kynde And Wythout hyt may nought be done Therefore Hermes calleth hyt hys Wynde For it ys up flying fro Sonn and Mone And makyth our Stone flye wyth hyt Sone Revyvyng the ded and gevyng lyfe To Son and Mone Husband and Wyfe Whych yf they were not by craft made quick And ther fatnes wyth Water drawn out And so the thyn dyssevered from the thyke Thou should never bryng thys worke about Yf thou wylt speed therefore wythout doubt Reyse up thy Byrds out of they re nest And after agayne bryng them downe to rest Water wyth Water accord wyll and assend And Spryt wyth Spryt for they be of kynde Whych after they be exalted make to dyssend And soe thou shalt devyde that nature before dyd bynde Mercury essencyall turnyng into wynde Wythout whych naturall and subtyll Seperacyon May never be compleat profytable Generacyon Now to help thee in at thys Gate The last Secret I wyll tell to thee Thy Water must be seven tymes Sublymate Ells shall no kyndly Dyssolucyon be Nor Putryfyyng shall thou none see Like lyquyd pytch nor colours apperyng For lack of fyre wythin thy Glasse workyng Fower Fyers there be whych you must understond Naturall Innaturall against Nature alsoe Elementall whych doth bren the brond These foure Fyres use we and no mo Fyre against Nature must doe thy bodyes wo That ys our Dragon as I thee tell Fersely brennyng as Fyre of Hell Fyre of Nature ys the thyrd Menstruall That fyre ys naturally in every thyng But fyre occasionat we call Innaturall And hete of Askys and balnys for putrefying Wythout these fyres thou may not bryng To Putrefaccyon for to be seperat Thy matters togeather proportyonat Therefore make fyre thy Glasse wythin Whych brennyth the Bodyes more then fyre Elementall yf thou wylt wyn Our Secret accordyng to thy desire Then shall thy seeds both roote and spyre By help of fyre Occasionate That kyndly after they may be seperat Of Seperacyon the Gate must thus be wone That furthermore yet thou may procede Toward the Gate of secret Conjunccion Into the Castle whych wyll the Inner leade Do after my Councell therefore yf thou wylt spede Wyth two strong locks thys Gate ys shyt As consequently now thou shalt wyt The end of the third Gate OF CONJUNCTION The fourth Gate AFter the Chapter of naturall Separacion By which the Elements of our Stone dysseveryd be The Chapter here followyth of secret Conjunccion Whych natures repugnant joyneth to perfyt Unyte And so them knyttyth that none from other may fle Whan they by Fyre shall be examynate Soe be they together surely conjugate And therfore Phylosophers geveth thys deffynycyon Seyng thus Conjunccion ys nought ells But of dysseveryd qualytes a Copulacyon Or of Pryncypylls a coequacyon as other tells But some wyth Mercury whych the Potecarys sells Medleth Bodyes whych cannot dyvyde Ther matter and therefore they step asyde For unto tyme the Sowle be Separate And clensyd from hys orygynall Syn Wyth the Water and purely spyrytuallyzate Thy trew Conjunccion may thou never begyn Therfore the Soule fyrst fro the Body twyn Then of the corporall parte and of the spyrytuall The Soule Conjunccion shall cause perpetuall Of two Conjunccions Phylosophers don mentyon make Groce when the Body with Mercury ys reincendat But let hyt passe and to the second tent thou take Which as I sayd ys after Separacion celebrat In whych the partys be lest whych lest so collygate And so promotyd unto most perfyt temperance Then never after may be among them Repugnance Thus causyth Separacion trew Conjunccion to be had Of Water Ayre Earth and Fyre But that every Element may into other be lad And so abyde for ever to thy desyre Do as done Laborous with Clay and Myer Temper them thyke and make them not to thyn For so to up drying thou shalt the rather wyn But manners there be of thys Conjunccion three The fyrst ys callyd by Phylosophers Dyptative Betwyxt the Agent and the Patyent which must be Male and Female Mercury and Sulphure vive Matter and forme thyn and thyke to thryve Thys lesson wyll helpe thee wythout any dowte Our Conjunccion trewly to bryng about The second manner ys called Tryptative Whych ys Conjunccion made of thyngs three Of Body Sowle and Spyrit tyll they not stryve Whych Trynite must be brought to perfyt unyte For as the Sowle to the Spyrit the bond must be Ryght to the Body the Sowle to hym must knyt Out of thy mynde let not thys lesson flyt The thyrd manner and also the last of all Fowre Elements together whych joynyth to abyde Tetraptative contently Phylosophers doth hyt call And specyally Guydo de Montayno whose fame goyth wyde And therfore the most laudable manner thys tyde In our Conjunccion four Elements must be aggregat In dew proportion fyrst whych asonder were separat Therefore lyke as
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
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
makyth folys fayne A ryall Medycyne one upon twelve They promys them thereof to have Whych they could never for themselfe Yet bryng abowte so God me save Beware such Phylosophers no man deprave Whych helpyth these Monkys to ryches so Wyth thread bare Cowlys that they do go The Abbot well ought to cherysh thys Company For they can tech hys Monkys to leve in poverte And to go clothyd and monyed relygyously As dyd Seynt Benet eschuyng superfluyte Esyng them also of the ponderosyte Of theyr pursys wyth pounds so aggravate Whych by Phylosophy be now allevyat Lo who so medlyth wyth thys rych Company Gret bost of ther wynnyng may they make For they shall have as much by ther Phylosophy As they of the tayle of an Ape can take Beware therfore for Jesus sake And medyll wyth nothyng of gret cost For and thou do yt ys but lost These Phylosophers of whych I spake afore Medlyth and blondryth wyth many a thyng Renuyng in errors more and more For lac of trew understandyng But lyke must lyke alway ferth bryng So God hath ordeyned in every kynde Wold Jesus they wold thys bere in mynde Wene they of a Nettyll to have a Rose Or of an Elder an Apple swete Alas that wyse men ther goods shold lose Trustyng such Losells when they them mete Whych seyth our Stone ys trodyn under fete And makyth them therfore vyle thyngs for to styll Tyll at theyr howsys wyth stench they fyll Som of them never lernyd a word in Scolys Such thynk by reason to understond Phylosophy Be they Phylosophers nay they be folys Therfore ther Warkes provyth unwytty Medyll not wyth them yf thou be happy Lest wyth theyr flatteryng they so the tyll That thou agre unto ther wyll Spend not thy Mony away in waste Geve not to every speche credence But fyrst examyn grope and taste And as thou provyst so put thy confydence And ever beware of grete expence But yf thy Phylosopher lyve vertuosely Trust the better to hys Phylosophy Prove hym fyrst and hym oppose Of all the Secretts of our Stone Whych yf he know not thou nedyth not to lose Medyll thou not ferther but let hym gone Make he never so pytyose a mone For than the Fox can fagg and fayne When he wold faynyst hys prey attayne Yf he can answer as ought a Clarke How be hyt he hath not provyd indede And yf thou wylt helpe hym to hys Warke Yf he be vertuose I hold hyt mede For he wyll the quyte yf ever he spede And thou shalt weete by a lytyll anon Yf he have knowledge of our Stone One thyng one Glasse one Furnace and no mo Behold thys pryncypyll yf he take And yf he do not then lat hym go For he shall never thee rych man make Trewly yt ys better thou hym forsake Then after wyth losse and varyaunce And other manner of dysplesaunce But and God fortune the for to have Thys Scyence by doctrine whych I have told Dyscover yt not whoever thee crave For Favor Fere Sylver nor Gold Be none Oppressor Lecher nor boster bold Serve thy God and helpe the powre among Yf thou thys lyfe lyst to continew long Unto thy selfe thy secretts kepe From synners whych hath not God in dred But wyll the cast in Pryson depe Tyll thou them tech to do hyt in dede Then slander on the sholde spryng and sprede That thou dyd coyne then wold they sey And so undo the for ever and aye And yf thou teche them thys conyng Their synfull levyng for to mayntayne In Hell therfore myght be thy wonnyng For God of the then would disdayne As thow nought cowd for thy selfe sayne That Body and Soule you may bothe save And here in pece thy levyng have Now in thys Chapter I have the tought How thou the bodys must Putrefy And so to guide the thou be not cawght And put in duraunce losse and vylanye My doctryne therefore remember wyttyly And passe forth toward the Syxth Gate For thys the Fyfthe ys tryumphate OF CONGELATION The sixt Gate OF Congelacyon I nede not much to wryte But what yt ys now I wyll fyrst declare It ys of soft thyngs Induracyon of Colour Whyte And confyxacyon of Spyrits whych fleyng are How to congele thee nedyth not much to care For Elements wyll knyt together sone So that Putrefaccyon be kyndly done But Congelacyons be made in dyvers wyse And Spyryts and Bodys dyssolvyd to water clere Of Salts also dyssolvyd ons or twyse And then to congele in a fluxyble Mater Of such Congelyng folys do clatter And some dyssolvyth devydyng manually Elements them after congelyng to powder dry But such Congelyng ys not to our desyre For unto owers yt ys contraryose Our Congelacion dredyth not the fire For yt must ever stond in yt unctuos And also in hys Tincture be full bounteous Whych in the Ayre congelyd wyll not relent To Water for then our Worke were shent Moreover Congele not into so hard a Stone As Glasse or Crystall whych meltyth by fusyon But so that hyt lyke wax wyll melt anon Wythouten blast and beware of Delusyon For such Congelyng longyth not to our Conclusyon As wyll not flow and ren to water agen Lyke Salts congelyd then laboryst thou in vayne Whych Congelacyon avaylyth us never a dell Hyt longyth to Multyplyers whych Congele vulgarly Yf thow therefore lyst to do well Syth thy Medcyne shall never flow kyndly Nether Congele wythout thow fyrst yt Putrefye Fyrst Purge and Fyx the Elements of our Stone Tyll they together Congele and flow anone For when the Matter ys made parfyt Whyte Then wyll thy Spryte wyth the Body Congelyd be But of that tyme thou must have long respyte Yer yt appere Congelyd lyke Pearles unto the Such Congelacyon be glad for to see And after lyke graynys red as blod Rychyr then any worldly good The erthly Grosnes therefore fyrst mortyfyed In Moystnes Blacknes ingendâ—yd ys Thys pryncypell may not be denyed For naturall Phylosophers so seyth I wys Whych had of Whytenes thou may not mys And into Whytenes yf thou Congele hyt on s Thou hast a Stone most presyose of all Stonys And by the Dry lyke as the Moyst dyd putrefy Whych causyd in colors Blacknes to appere Ryght so the Moyst Congelyd by the Dry Ingendryth Whytenes shyneyng with myght sull clere And Drynes procedyth as Whytyth the matter Lyke as in Blackyng Moysture doth hym show By colors varyante aye new and new The cause of all thys ys Hett most temperate Workyng and mevyng the Mater contynually And thereby also the Mater ys alterate Both inward and outward substancyally And not to as doth folys to syght sophystycally But every parte all fyre for to endure Fluxybly fyxe and stabull in tyncture And Physycke determyneth of eche Dygestyon Fyrst don in the Stomack in whych ys Drynes Causyng Whytnes wythout questyon Lyke as the second Dygestyon causyth Rednes Complet in the Lyver by Hete and temperatnes And so our Stone
But empte his purse and make his witts thyn And whan he thorow his madnesse and folye Hath lost his owne good through Jeopardye Than he exiteth other men thereto To lese her good as himselfe hath do For unto shrewes joy it is and ese To have her fellowes in paine and disese For thus was I ones served of a Clerke Of that noe charge I wol speke of our werke When we be there as we shall exercise Our elvish Craft we semen wonder wise Our termes ben so Clergiall and so quaynte I blow the fyre tyll myn hearte faynte What shold I tell each proportion Of things which we werchen uppon As on fyve or syxe unces may well be Of Silver or of some other quantite And besye me to tellen you the names Of Orpiment brent Bones Yron squames That into powder grounden ben full small And in an Erthen pott how putt is all And salt y put in and also pepere Before these powdres that I speke of here And well y covered with a lompe of Glasse And of moch other thing that there was And of the potts and glass englutyng That of the ayre might passe out nothing And of the easy fyre and smerte alsoe Which that was made and of the care and wo That we had in our matters Sublymeing And in Amalgamyng and Calsenyng Of Quicksilver icleped Mercurye rude For all our sleight we conne not conclude Our Orpyment and Suolymed Mercury Our grounde Litarge eke on the porphirye Of eche of these unces a certayne Not helpeth us our labour is in vayne Ne eke our Spyrites assnecioun Ne yet our matters that lyen al syxe adoun Mowe in our werkyng nothing avayle For lost is our laboure and our travayle And all the Coste a twenty dyvel away Is lost alsoe which we uppon itt lay There is alsoe full many another thing That is to our Craft apertaynyng Though I by ordre hemâ—ne reherce can Bycause that I am a leud man Yet wol I tellen hem as they come to mynde Though I ne can sette hem in her kynde As bole Armonyake Verdegreece Boras And sondry Vessles made of Erth and Glas. Our Urynalls and our Discensories Vyols Crosseletts and Sublimatories Concurbytes and Alembykes eke And other such dere ynough a leke It needeth not to reherce them all Waters rubyfyeng and Boles Gall Arsneke Sal Armonyake and Brymstone And herbes could I tell eke many one As Egrimonye Valeryan and Lunarye And other such if that me liste to tarye Our Lampes brennyng both night and day To bringen about our Crafte if that we may Our Fournyce eke of Calcination And of our Waters Albifycation Unsleked Lyme Chalke and glere of an Eye Poudres divers Ashes Dong Pisse and Cley Sered pokettes salt Peter and Vitriole And divers fyres made of wood and cole Sal Tartre Alkaly and Sal preparate And combust matters and coagulate Cley made with horse donge mans heere and Oyle Of Tartre Alym Glas Berme Worte and Argoyle Resalgor and other maters enbybyng And eke of our Maters encorporing And of our Silver Citrynacion Our Cementyng and eke Fermentacyon Our Ingottes Testes and many mo I wol you tel as was me taught also The fowre Spyrites and the bodies seven By order as oft I herd my lord nemene The first Spyrite Quicksilver cleped is The second Orpyment the third I wis Armonyake the fourth Brimstone The Bodyes seven eke lo here hem anone Sol Gold is and Luna Sylver we threpe Mars Iron Mercury Quicksilver we clepe Saturnus Lede and Iupiter is Tynne And Venus Copper by my father kynne This cursed Crafte whoe soe wol exercyse He shall noe good have that may him suffyse For all the good he spendeth thereaboute He lese shall thereof have I no doute Whoso that lysten to utter his solye Let him com forth and lerne to Multiplye And every man that hath ought in his cofer Let him apere and wexe a Philosopher Askaunce that Crafte is so light for to lere Nay God wot all be he Monke or Frere Preist or Chanon or any other wight Though he sytte at hys boke both day and might In lernyng of this Elvysh nyce lore All is in vayne and parde moche more Is to lere a leude man this subtelte Fye speke not thereof itt wol not be Al coulde he lettrure or coulde he none As in effect he shall fynd itt all one For bothe two by my Salvacyon Concluden in Multyplycacyon Ilyche well whan they have al ydo This is to sayen they faylen both two Yet forgate I moche rehersayle Of waters Corosyfe and lymayle And of Bodyes molifycacion And also of her Induration Oyles Ablucyons Mettall fusyble To tellen you all wolde passe any Byble That O where is wherefore as for the best Of all these names nowe woll I rest For as I trowe I have you told ynowe To reyse a Fende al loke he never so rowe A nay let be the Philosphers Stone Alixer cleped we seken faste echeone For had we him than were we syker ynowe But unto God of Heaven I make a vowe For al our crafte whan that we han al ydo And all our sleyght he wol not come us to He hath made us spend moche goode For sorrow of which almost we wexen wode But that good hope crepeth in our herte Supposyng ever though we sore smerte To ben releved by him afterwarde Supposyng and hope is sharpe and harde I warne you wel it is to syken ever That future temps hath made men discever In trust therof all that ever they had Yet of that Arte they could not waxe sad For unto him itt is a bytter swete So semeth itt for ne had they but a shete Which that they might wrappen hem in a night And a bratte to walken in a day light They wolden hem sel and spend it on this Crafte They conne not stynte tyl nothing be lafte And evermore where that ever they gone Men may hem ken by smell of Brimstone For al the world they stynken as a Gote Her Savour is so rammish and so hote That though a man a myle from him be The savour wol infecte him trusteth me Lo thus by smelling and by threde-bare aray If that men list this folke know they may And if a man wol aske him prively Why they be clothed so unthriftely Right anon they wil rowne in his ere And sayne if that they aspyed were Men wold hem slee bycause of her Science Lo thus these folke betrayen innocence Passe over this I goe my tale unto Ere that the pott be on the fyre ydo Of Metalls with a certayne quantyte My Lord hem tempreth and no man but he Now he is gon I dare say boldly For as men sayne he can done craftely Algate I wotte wel he hath such a name And yet full oft he renneth in the blame And wotte ye how full oft itt happeth so The potte to breaketh and farewel all is go These Mettalls ben of soe greate violence
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
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
Altitude Latitude and Profundity of the Stone To be three in Substance and one in Essence A most Heavenly Treasure procreate by Quintessence Then studied I what this Quintessence should be Of visible things apparant to the Eye The fift being even a strange privetie In every substance resting invisibly The invisible Godhead is the same thought I Primer cause of being and the Primer Essence And of the Macrocosmy the most soveraigne Quintessence This is that heavenly seacret potentiall That divided is and resteth invisible In all things Animall Vigetall and Minerall Whose vertue and strength in them is indivisible From God it cometh and God maketh it sensible To some Elect to others he doth it denay As I sat thus musing a voyce to me did say Study thou no more of my Being but sted fastly Beleive this Trinity equally knit in One Further of my Secrets to muse it is but folly Passing the Capacity of all humane reason The Heavens closed up againe at that season Then Father Tyme set me at the Gate And delivered me a Key to enter in thereat The Key of knowledge and of Excellent Science Whereby all secrets of Philosophy are reserate The seacrets of Nature sought out by diligence Avoyding fables of envious fooles inveterate Whith Recipe and Decipe this Scyence is violate Therefore to me this Key he did dispose The seacrets of this Arte to open and disclose Thus said Father Tyme this Key when he me tooke Unlock quoth he this Gate now by thy selfe And then upon him sorrowfully did I looke Saying that one Key could not undoe Locks twelve Whose Axe quoth he is sure both head and helve Hold will together till the Tree downe fall Soe open thou the first Lock and thou hast opned all What is the first Lock named tell me then I pray thee said I and what shall I it call It is said he the Seacret of all wise Men Chaos in the bodyes called the first Originall Prima materia our Mercury our Menstruall Our Vitrioll our Sulphur our Lunary most of price Put the Key in the Lock t will open with a trice Then the Key of knowledge I busily tooke in hand And began to search the hollownes in the Lock The words thereof I scarce did understand So craftily conveid they were in their stock I proved every way and at last I did unlock The crafty Gynns thus made for the nonce And with it the other Locks fell open all at once At this Gate opening even in the entry A number of Philosophers in the face I met Working all one way the secrets of Philosophy Upon Chaos darke that among them was set Sober men of living peaceable and quiet They buisily disputed the Materia Prima Rejecting cleane away Simul stulta frivola Here I saw the Father of Philosophers Hermes Here I saw Aristotle with cheere most jocund Here I saw Morien and Senior in Turba more or lesse Sober Democritus Albert Bacon and Ramund The Monke and the Chanon of Bridlington so profound Working most seacretly who said unto me Beware thou beleeve not all that thou doest see But if thou wilt enter this Campe of Philosophy With thee take Tyme to guide thee in the way For By-pathes and Broad wayes deepe Valies and hills high Here shalt thou finde with sights pleasant and gay Some thou shalt meete with which unto thee shall say Recipe this and that with a thousand things more To Decipe thy selfe and others as they have done before Then Father Tyme and I by favour of these men Such sights to see passed forth towards the Campe Where we met disguised Philosophers leane With Porpheries and Morters ready to grinde and stampe Their heads shaking their hands full of the Crampe Some lame with Spasmer some feeble wan and blind With Arsnick and Sulphus to this Art most unkinde These were Brooke the Preist and Yorke with Coates gay Which robbed KING HENRY of a Million of Gold Martin Perien Major Thomas De-la-hay Saying that the King they greatly inrich would They whispered in his Eare and this Tale they him tould We will worke for your highnes the Elixer vitae A princely worke called Opus Regale Then brought they in the Viccar of Malden With his Greene Lyon that most Royall seacrett Richard Record and litle Master Eden Their Mettalls by Corrasives to Calcine and frett Hugh Oldcastle and Sir Robert Greene with them mett Roasting and boyling all things out of kinde And like Foolosophers left of with losse in the end Yet brought they forth things beautifull to sight Deluding the King thus from day to day With Copper Citrinate for the Red and albified for the White And with Mercury rubified in a glasse full gay But at the last in the fire they went away All this was because they knew not the verity Of Altitude Latitude and Profundity Thence Father Tyme brought me into a Wildernes Into a Thicket having by-paths many one Steps and footeings I saw there more and lesse Wherein the aforesaid men had wandred and gone There I saw Marcasites Mineralls and many a stone As Iridis Talck and Alome lay digd from the ground The Mines of Lead and Iron that they had out found No marvel I trow though they were much set by That with so greate Riches could endue the King So many Sundry wayes to fill up his Treasury With filty matters greate charges in to bring The very next way a Prince to bring to begging And make a noble Realme and Common wealth decay These are Royall Philosophers the cleane contrary way From thence forth I went Tyme being my guide Through a greene Wood where Birds sing cleerely Till we came to a field pleasant large and wide Which he said was called The Campe of Philosophy There downe we satt to heare the sweete Harmony Of divers Birds in their sweete Notes singing And to receive the Savour of the flowers springing Here Juno here Pallas here Apollo do dwell Here true Philosophers take their dwelling place Here duly the Muses nyne drinke of Pyrenes Well No boasting broyler here the Arte can deface Here Lady Philosophy hath her royall Pallace Holding her Court in most high Consistory Sitting with her Councellors most famous of memory There one said to me an ancient Man was hee Declaring forth the Matter of the Stone Saying that he was sent thither to Councell me And of his Religion to chuse me to be one A Cloath of Tishue he had him upon Verged about with Pearles of Collour fresh and gay He proceedeth with his Tale and againe he did thus say Here all occult seacrets of Nature knowen are Here all the Elements from things are drawne out Here Fire Air and Water in Earth are knit together Here all our seacret worke is truly brought about Here thou must learne in thy buisines to be stoute Night and day thou must tend thy worke buisily Having constant patience never to be weary As we satt talking by the Rivers running cleere I
Brothers the wicked do eschew Let Flasehood and Flattery goe least thou it rue Devoutely serve God call daily for his grace Worship him in Spirit with heart contritâ— and pure In no wise let Sathan thy prayers deface Looke thou be stedfast in faith and trust most sure Lay up treasure in heaven which ever shall endure In all Adversity be gentle in thy heart Against thy Foe so shalt thou him convert Most heartily therefore O Lord to thee I call Beseeching thee to ayde me with thy heavenly grace Lovingly thy Spirit upon me downe let fall Overshaddowing me that I at no tyme trespas My Lord and my God grant me to purchase Full knowledge of thy Secrets with thy mercy to wine Intending thy truth this Practise I begin Listen thou my Son and thine Eares incline Delight have thou to learne this Practise sage and true Attend my saying and nore well this Discipline These Rules following do as it doth ensue This labour once begun thou must it continue Without tedious sluggardice and slothfull wearines So shalt thou thereby acquire to thee greate Riches In the name of God this Seacret to attaine Joyne thow in one Body with a perfect unity First the red Man and the white Woman these twaine One of the Mans substance and of the Womans three By Liquefaction joyned together must they be The which Conjunction is called Diptative That thus is made betweene Man and Wife Then after that they be one Body made With the sharpe teeth of a Dragon finely Bring them to Dust the next must be had The true proporcion of that Dust truly In a true Ballance weighing them equally With three tymes as much of the fiery Dragon Mixing altogether then hast thou well done Thy Substance thus together proportionate Put in a Bedd of Glasse with a bottome large and round There in due tyme to dye and be regenerate Into a new Nature three Natures into one bound Then be thou glad that ever thou it found For this is the Jewell shall stand thee most in stead The Crowne of Glory and Diadem of thy head When thou hast thus mixt thy Matter as is said Stop well the Glasse that the Dragon goe not out For he is so subtile that if he be overlayd With Fire unnaturall I put thee out of doubt For to escape he will search all about Therefore with gentle Fire looke that thou keepe it in So shalt thou of him the whole Maystery winne The whole Maystery hereof duly to fulfill Set thy Glasse and Matter upon thine Athenor Our Furnace called the Philosophers Dunghill With a temperate heate working evermore Night and day continually have Fuell in store Of Turfe of Sawdust or dry chopped segges That the heate be equipolent to the Hen upon her Eggs. Such heate continually loke thou doe not lack Forty dayes long for their perfect union In them is made For first it turnes to Black This Collour betokens the right Putrefaction This is the begining of perfect Conception Of your Infant into a new generation A most pretious Jewell for our Consolation Forty dayes more the Matter shall turne VVhite And cleere as Pearles which is a declaration Of voiding away of his Cloudes darke night This sheweth our Infants full organization Our White Elixir most cleere in his Creation From White into all Colours withouten faile Like to the Rainebow or the Peacocks Tayle So forth augment thy Fire continually Under thy Matter easily they must be fedd Till these Collours be gone use it wisely For soone after appeareth Yellow the messenger of the Redd When that is come then hast thou well sped And hast brought forth a Stone of price Which Raymund calls his Basiliske and Cocatrice Then 40 dayes to take his whole Fixation Let it stand in heate most temperate That in that tyme thou spare thy Fermentation To increase him withall that he be not violate Beware of Fire and Water for that will it suffocate Take one to a hundred of this Confection And upon crude Mercury make thou Projection One of thy Stone I meane upon an hundred fold After the first and second right Fermentation Of Mercury crude turneth it to fine Gold As fine as good and as naturall in ponderation The Stone is so vehement in his penetrations Fixt and Fusible as the Gold-smiths Souder is Worke as I have said and thou canst not doe amisse Now give thankes to the blessed Trinity For the benefit of this precious Stone That with his grace hath so much lightned thee Him for to know being three in one Hold up thy hands to his heavenly Throne To his Majesty let us sing Hosanna Altissimo Deo sit honor gloria The Conclusion OUr Magistery is Three Two and One The Animall Vegitable and Minerall Stone First I say in the name of the holy Trinity Looke that thou joyne in One Persons Three The Fixt the Variable and the Fugitive Tâ—ll they together tast Death and Live The first â—â— the Dâ—agon fell That shall the other twaine both slay and quell The Sun and Moone shall loose their light And in mourning Sables they shall them dight Threescore dayes long or neerâ— thereabouts Then shall Phoebus appeare first out With strange Collours in all the Firmament Then our Joy is coming and at hand present Then Orâ—ent Phoebus in his hemisphere To us full gloriously shall appeare Thus who can worke wisely Shall attains unto our Maâ—stery FINIS SIR EDWARD KELLE'S VVORKE ALL you that faine Philosophers would be And night and day in Geber's kitchin broyle Wasting the chipps of ancient Hermes Tree Weening to turne them to a pretious Oyle The more you worke the more you loose and spoile To you I say how learned soever you be Goe burne your Bookes and come and learne of me Although to my one Booke you have red tenn That 's not inough for I have heard it said The greatest Clarkes ar not the wisest men A Lion once a silly Mouse obeyd In my good will so hold your selves appaid And though I write not halfe so sweete as Tully Yet shall you finde I trace the stepps of Lully Yt doth you good to thinke how your desire And selfe-conceit doth warrantize vaine hope You spare no cost you want no coals for fier You know the vertues of the Elitrope You thinke your selves farr richer then the Pope What thinge hath being either high or low But their Materia prima you do know Elixir vitae and the precious Stone You know as well as how to make an Apple If'te come to the workinge then let you alone You know the coullers black brown bay and dapple Controwle you once then you begin to fraple Swearing and saying what a fellow is this Yet still you worke but ever worke amisse No no my friends it is not vauntinge words Nor mighty oaths that gaines that sacred skill It is obteined by grace and not by swords Nor by greate reading nor by long sitting still Nor fond conceipt nor working all by
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
so lax That all other kindes he tourne him to Then Ferment him with his like By joyning of true Decoction And feede him forth by litle and lite That both together be brought in one In Colour sight and Demeane That there be no division As thou hast wrought so will it prove Take heede how thou hast done In this worke of Conjunction Thou shalt se marvells greate Both going up and coming downe Of Colours springing by the heate For the soule that is so withheld Andthe spirit that is so bright I men it seene say they would Certaine it were a wondrous sight And all this is past That God and Kinde hath done his cure Of the Whyte Stone be not agast He will not flee but bide the Fyre Now farther if thou wilt Worke To have the ready way Take good heede and be not dull For I le tell thee the truth in fay Hold alwaies as thou did Before in the other Stone Thou cannot faile God be thy spede As Clerkes write every one For your Fyre will him dere So it be dry and lastingly Save other while the changing cheare Till he have sottill fasting and slye First I wot well change he woll Into Citrine and pure degree And after that Colour is full He shall never but be White ay After that Tawny and Colour de Pale He changeth often in such lay Till he be Red withouten faile As good Coroll or Rose in May. Then dread he nothing I wis Of this Worlds adversity An Emperour of conquest then he is The Philosophers sayne worthy to be And when thou hast thus done And thereof seene the privity Thanke God and Christ his only Son Together with our blessed Lady TAke of the eger bloud that is so Red And distill that by Lymbick till it be bright Therewith dissolve the Philosphers lead Filtering it till it be cleere in sight Evaporating it if ye do right And from the Medicine with strong Fier Dâ—still our Mercury most of myght Rede as blood and strong of Eyre And there you have your Stone I wysse Conteyning in them all that you neede The Erth thereof true Ferment is Of our purpose yf you will speede In other Bokes whatsoever you Reede From this Doctrine you never flitt But further with these Stones proceede Into foure Elements dividing it Ayre Water and Oyle well rectified The Earth by boyling make white as Whale bone Againe together them neately joyne And of them make a precious stone The matter goeth to the White alone This Aristotle tought Alexander his lore The Stone thus fixed make fugitive Againe with Aer reserved in Store And then againe make fix belyve Multiply it in one and more With Nature and Oyle reserved in store Both white and red as you did first This secret made me study full sore Many a night ere I it wyste For my Master from me it hidd Now is one point yet behind With this Stone that must be done Ingendering him of Water Ayr and Winde The Red on Sun the White on Moone Molten looke thow cast full soone And Multiply in them their Tincture And then take of the powder with a spoone And straine it on Mercury hott and pure And a marvelous Battell thow shalt se soone Betweene that and the said Mercury Either it will turne it Sun or Moone And then thou shalt the Mastery unfold And thus proceeding Multiply In every thing as I have tould And thus endeth our PHILOSOPHY THe World is in a Maze and wot you why Forsooth of late a great rich Man did dye And as he lay a dying in his Bed These words in secret to his Son he said My Son quoth he t is good for thee I dye For thou shalt much the better be thereby And when thou seest that lyfe hath me bereft Take what thou findst and where I have it left Thou dost not know nor what my riches be All which I will declare give Eare to me An Earth I had all Venome to expell And that I cast into a mighty Well A Water eke to clense what was amisse I threw into the Earth and there it is My Silver all into the Sea I cast My Gold into the Air and at the last Into the Fyre for feare it should be found I threw a Stone worth forty thousand pound Which Stone was given me by a mighty King Who bad me weare it in a fore-fold Ringe Quoth he this Stone is by that Ring found out If wisely thou canst turne this Ring about For every Hoope contrary is to other Yet all agree and of the Stone is Mother And now my Son I will declare a wonder That when I dye this Ring must breake assunder The King said so but then he said withall Although the Ring be broke in peeces small An easy Fire shall soone it close againe Who this can doe he neede not worke in vaine Tyll this my hidden Treasure be found out When I am dead my Spirit shall walke about Make him to bring your Fier from the Grave And stay with him till you my Riches have Theis Words a wordly man did chance to here Who daily watcht the Spirit but nere the neere And yet it meetes with him and every one Yet tells him not where is this hidden STONE A Dialogue betwixt the FATHER and the SONNE Concerning the two Principles of the BLESSED STONE Father MY Sonne if that Sulphur be absent away Our worke is reproved what ever they say And it is Water Fire as tru as your Creed Which constraineth a Body till it be dead Of him shalt thou never have your desire Till he be blew as Lead through his owne Fire I do liken our Sulphur to the Magnet Stone That still draweth to her Naturally So with our Sulphur the firey Woman Mercury When she would from her husband flye Son Father I pray you for Charity Where shall I this Sulphur finde For I never did him se with Eye Nor never knew him in his kinde Father In our Water my Sonne keepe it in your minde Where he will appeare so white as any snow Son Grammercy Father ye be full kinde For through your teaching full well I know Now teach me the Red stone when it is in minde How it is made by Natures Law Father The White and Red be both of one kinde Now hast thou my Son all thy desire Whose tincture by growing thou shalt it so finde Through vertue of the Sun and regiment of Fire His riches there he doth increase Farre passing all that I can name If they in Fire shall come in presse Gune is their glory but he the same For the vertues of the Planets seaven Shall have and also from the Pole of heven Since the VVorld began noe Gemme is found Equall him till in vertues all The Saphir nor the Diamond The Ruby rich behind shall fall So shall the Turkie and Carbuncle If they in fire togeather shall fight All One except shall loose their might The fire on
Science of himselfe is trew Uppon the forme as it was founded Whereof the names yett be grounded Of hem that first it founden out And thus the fame goth all about To such as soughten besines Of vetue and of worthines Of whom if I the names call Hermes was one the first of all To whom this Art is most applied Geber thereof was magnified And Ortolane and Morien Among the which is Avicen Which founde and wrote and greate partie The practicke of Alconomie Whose bokes plainlie as thei stonde Uppon this Crafte few understonde But yet to put hem in assay There ben full manie now a day That knowen litle that thei mene It is not one to wite and wene In forme of words thei it trete But yet thei failen of beyet For of to much or of to lite There is algate found a wite So that thei follow not the line Of the perfect Medicine Which grounded is upon nature But thei that writen the Scripture Of Greke Arabe and Caldee Thei were of such Auctoritee That thei firste founden out the wey Of all that thou hast herd me sey Whereof the Cronicke of her Lore Shall stonde in price for evermore THE VISION OF Sr GEORGE RIPLEY CHANON of BRIDLINGTON WHen busie at my booke I was upon a certeine night This Vision here exprest appear'd unto my dimmed sight A Toade full rudde I saw did drinke the juce of grapes so fast Till over charged with the broth his bowells all to brast And after that from poysoned bulke he cast his venome fell For greif and paine whereof his Members all began to swell With drops of poysoned sweate approaching thus his secret Den His cave with blasts of fumous ayre he all be-whyted then And from the which in space a golden humour did ensue Whose falling drops from high did staine the soile with ruddy hew And when this Corps the force of vitall breath began to lacke This dying Toade became forthwith like Coale for colour blacke Thus drowned in his proper veynes of poysoned flood For tearme of eightie dayes and fowre he rotting stood By tryall then this venome to expell I did desire For which I did committ his carkase to a gentle fire Which done a wonder to the fight but more to be rehear'st The Toade with Colours rare through every side was pear'st And VVhite appeared when all the sundry hewes were past Which after being tincted Rudde for evermore did last Then of the venome handled thus a medicine I did make VVhich venome kills and saveth such as venome chance to take Glory be to him the graunter of such secret wayes Dominion and Honour both with Worship and with Prayse AMEN VERSES BELONGING TO AN EMBLEMATICALL SCROVVLE Supposed to be invented by GEO RIPLEY I Shall you tell with plaine declaracion Where how and what is my generacion Omogeni is my Father And Magnesia is my Mother And Azot truly is my Sister And Kibrick forsooth is my Brother The Serpent of Arabia is my name The which is leader of all this game That sometyme was both wood and wild And now I am both meeke and mild The Sun and the Moone with their might Have chastised me that was so light My Wings that me brought Hither and thither where I thought Now with their might they downe me pull And bring me where they woll The blood of myne heart I wiss Now causeth both Joy and blisse And dissolveth the very Stone And knitteth him ere he have done Now maketh hard that was lix And causeth him to be fix Of my blood and water I wis Plenty in all the World there is It runneth in every place Who it findeth he hath grace In the World it runneth over all And goeth round as a ball But thou understand well this Of the worke thou shalt miss Therefore know ere thou begin What he is and all his kin Many a Name he hath full sure And all is but one Nature Thou must part him in three And then knit him as the Trinity And make them all but one Loe here is the Philosophers Stone THe Bird of Hermes is my name Eating my wings to make me tame IN the Sea withouten lesse Standeth the Bird of Hermes Eating his Wings variable And thereby maketh himselfe more stable When all his Fethers be agon He standeth still there as a stone Here is now both White and Red And also the Stone to quicken the dead All and sume withouten fable Both hard and nesh and malliable Understand now well aright And thanke God of this sight TAKE thou Phoebus that is so bright That sitteth so high in Majesty With his beames that shineth soe light In all places where ever that he be For he is Father to all living things Maynteyner of Lyfe to Crop and Roote And causeth Nature forth to spring With his wife being soote For he is salve to every sore To bring about thys precious worke Take good heede unto his lore I say to learned and to Clerk And Omogeny is my Name Which God shaped with his owne hand And Magnesia is my Dame Thou shalt verily understand Now heere I shall begin For to teach thee a ready way Or else litle shalt thou wyn Take good heed what I say Devide thou Phoebus in many a parte With his beames that byn so bright And thus with Nature him Coarte The which is mirrour of all light This Phoebus hath full many a Name Which that is full hard for to know And but thou take the very same The Philosophers Stone thou shalt not know Therefore I councell ere thou begin Know him well what it be And that is thick make it thin For then it shall full well like the. Now understand well what I meane And take good heed thereunto The worke shall else litle be seene And tourne thee unto mikle woe As I have said in this our Lore Many a Name I wiss it have Some behinde and some before As Philosophers of yore him gave ON the Ground there is a Hill Also a Serpent within a Well His Tayle is long with Wings wide All ready to fly on every side Repaire the Well round about That the Serpent pas not out For if that he be there agone Thou loosest the verue of the Stone What is the Ground thou mayst know heere And also the Well that is so cleere And eke the Serpent with his Tayle Or else the worke shall litle availe The Well must brenne in Water cleare Take good heede for this thy Fyre The Fire with Water brent shalâ—e And Water with Fire wash shall he Then Earth on Fire shal be put And Water with Air shal be knit Thus ye shall go to Putrefaccion And bring the Serpent to reduction First he shal be Black as any Crow And downe in his Den shall lye full lowe I swel'd as a Toade that lyeth on ground Burst with bladders sitting so round They shall to brast and lye full plaine And thus with craft the Serpent is slaine He
know That in the fire will put him in prease We liken him therefore unto the Sun That to all Elements giveth light Never sith the World was begun Was any but he of so much might Were he never of so high degree Saphir Diamond or Emarald Stone The Turcas or the rich Ruby Of all vertuous Stones set ower alone The greatest Carbuncle that is full of light May not with our Stone Compaire For if they in the Fire should fight The Carbuncle of vertue should be full bare To destroy our Stone Son that will not be The Elements in him be so equall He is an Oyle incumbustible And of all things most imperiall Son In which Elements Father is our Sulphur in Is he in all or in any one Father In all Son he needes must be For Seperation of Elements make we none Sulphur in Elements Son we may not see By Nature in them he is so privily mixed In Elements he is a quality Our Stone will never else be perfectly fixed Quality Son growes also in fire Betwixt the White Stone and the Redd For many Colours there will appere While the tyme the Woman be dead Son Father must the Woman needes be dead Father Our Stone else my Son will never be Redd For whereas a Woman is in presence There is much moysture and accidence Wetnes and humours in her be The which would drown'd our Quality Perceive well Son by Noahs flood To much moysture was never good Like as quality is hid in quantity So must our Erth in Waters be The riches in him thou shalt finde After alteration of kinde His Oyle in him is congelate This makes our Body liquefact Sulphur and Oyle all of one kinde Which makes our Stone rich and couloring I cannot tell thee Son a richer thing Then he is in the Fire during The Fire to him may do no wrong Sulphur of Nature makes him so strong Son How to make our Stone Father I would faine know Father In soft heates my Son Elements will meete Hast not to fast whilst they be rawe In the Vessell Son the better thou shalt him keepe Rule well the Fire and and beware of the Lawe Shut well the Vessell for going forth of the Spirit Soe shall you all things the better keepe For how to get him againe it is strange to know It is hard for some men to make Elements meere Keepe well this Secret Son and God daily praise Put into thy Vessell Water cleare And set it in Fire full forty dayes And then in the Vessell blacknes will appeare When that he is black he will change tyte Many Colers in him then will appeare From coulour to colour till it be white Then it is tyme Son to change the Fire And melt the heat to your desire And if you will have him White still Then must you your Medicine apply A dry Fire put him till And a moyst Fire naturally Till he be made fixed For to take Mercury before his flight As he is by nature privily mixed Of fusion then he shal be light And if you to his proportion take Fine Luna then will he make So micle of piercing will he be Both fluxible with penetrabilitie And Son if thou wilt have thy Medicine Red In a dry Fire thou shalt him keepe Ever still in one steed That never your Vessell come to wet Son So hard so heavy and so peircing Father this a wonderous thing So hot so moyst so light so wet This greate Secret Father will I keepe So white so red so profitable Of all Stones most incomparable Father He may do more then any King He is so rich Son in his working Gould and Silver men would faine have Poore and rich for it do crave They that of it have most aboundance Of the people have most obaisance To serve them both day and night And in the feeld will for it fight Therefore Son upon my blessing Keepe secretly this precious cunning Of thy Councell make neither King nor Knight If they knew they would set it light For when they have what they will God's curse wil come they say the untill For had I wist and had I wend That commeth evermore behinde Our Mercury my Son is white and thin In our Vessell shining bright and cleere Our Sulphur is in him within Burning him more then our dry Fire He fixes him more in one yeare By his naturall working I understand Then doth the Sonne by his dry Fire In yeares a long thousand In short space we may have done When our Medicine thou wilt assay Thou maist make both Sol and Lune In lesse space then in one day Son Father is it Water in the well springing Or is it Water in the river running Other Water Father can I not finde Father Noe Son it is of another kinde Howbeit it is Water cleere Our Sulphur in him is soe cleving He may not be departed by any fire I tell thee the throath in this thing Son By no fire Father how may that be Father Fire he is ever brenning Our Sulphur is made of the Sun and such humidity That in the Fire he is ever during Son The tyme of our working would I know In what space might be made our Stone By Corne and by Frut Son thou maist it welknow Once in a yeare it is afore thee done The Sun in the Zodiack about doth gonne Through the twelve Signes once in a yeare Soe long it is eâ—e we can make our Stone Father Haste not to fast but rule well thy Fire The vertue of our Stone few men can tell The Elements in him be so mighty Aboundance of treasure in him do dwell For in riches all Stones exceeds he FINIS The Preface prefixt to Sir Geo Ripley's MEDVLLA Which he wrote Ann. Dom. 1476. and Dedicated to Geo Nevell then Arch-Bishop of Yorke RIGHT noble Lord and Prelate Deere Vouchfafe of me these Verses take Which I present unto you heere That mencion of the Stone doth make Of wise men meetered for your sake For which of you thus much I crave Your gentle favour for to have This Stone divine of which I write Is knowne as One and it is Three Which though it have his force and might Of Triple nature for to be Yet doe they Mettalls judge and try And called is of Wise men all The mighty Stone that Conquer shall Disdaine you not nor yet refuse To learne the vertues of them now By which you may if you them use Your selfe preserve and eke know howe Old age to hide and Youth out shewe And Brasse by them transmuted is And eger Bodyes clensed I wis Fined also and made full pure And Aurified be at the last The first of these I you assure Right hurtfull is for Man to tast For Life it will resolve and wast Of Corrosives made corrupting all And named is the Minerall But Animall the second is The third forsooth the Vegitable To cure all things their vertue is In every cause what soe
seeke to make amense Who went away three weekes then brought a Stone That in projection yeelded ten for one This did he lay downe att Apollo's feete And said by cureing one th' hast saved three Which three in this one present joyntly meete Offring themselves which are thine owne to thee Be our Physitian and as we growe old Wee 'le bring enough to make new worlds of Gold With that this Hermite tooke me by the hand And ledd me to his Cell Loe here quoth he Could'st thou but stay and truly understand What thou now seest thou knowst this Mystery I stayd I saw I tryde and understood A Heav'n on Eaâ—th an everlasting good A DISCRIPTION of the STONE THough Daphne fly from Phoebus bright Yet shall they both be one And if you understand this right You have our hidden Stone For Daphne she is faire and white But Volatile is she Phoebus a fixed God of might And red as blood is he Daphne is a Water Nymph And hath of Moysture store Which Phoebus doth consume with heate And dryes her very sore They being dryed into one Of christall flood must drinke Till they be brought to a white Stone Which wash with Virgins milke So longe untill they flow as wax And no fume you can see Then have you all you neede to aske Praise God and thankfull be The standing of the Glasse for the tyme of the Putrifaction Congelation of the MEDICINE THe Glasse with the Medicine must stand in the fyre desire Forty dayes till it be Blacke in sight Forty dayes in the Blacknesse to stand he will And then forty dayes more till itt be White And thirty in the drying if thou list to doe right And then is the Sulphur perfectly Calcinate To drinke up his moysture for him being preparate In this tyme the Glasse neither open nor shutt But still let him stand all the aforesaid dayes Not once from the Furnace that ye take him upp For by Cooling the Matter the Medicine decayes Therefore you must Fire continue alwayes In one measure and temperatenes of heate Untill all be White and the Sulphur compleate This heate sufficeth for this principle one Which is the cheife ground of our Secretts all Without which Knowledg thou must not make the Stone If thou labour thy lyfe tyme not prosper thou shall Therefore merry beware thou doe not fall But first truly learne before thou beginne And so to true workeing thou shalt the better wynne Follow this Booke and wander not aside Out of the way to the left hand nor the right But streight betweene both directly you guide Thy Worke soe as I to thee doe write For in this Booke I will thee plainely excite How thou shalt make the Philosophers Lead That is Elixir to the White and the Redd And then the Golden Oyle called Aurum potabile A Medicine most mervelous to preserve Mans health And of Transmutation the greatest that can bee For in the same Oyle is nothing but wealth Then glorious he is in the power of himselfe For noe sicknesse can stand where he is in place Nor povertie dwell in the pleasures of his Face Aenigma Philosophicum THere is no light but what lives in the Sunne There is no Sunne but which is twice begott Nature and Arte the Parents first begonne By Nature 't was but Nature perfects not Arte then what Nature left in hand doth take And out of One a Twofold worke doth make A Twofold worke doth make but such a worke As doth admitt Division none at all See here wherein the Secret most doth lurke Unlesse it be a Mathematicall It must be Two yet make it One and One And you do take the way to make it None Lo here the Primar Secret of this Arte Contemne it not but understand it right Who faileth to attaine this formost part Shall never know Artes force nor Natures might Nor yet have power of One and One so mixt To make by One fixt One unfixid fixt D. D. W. Bedman FRAGMENTS COPPIED From THOMAS CHARNOCK 'S owne hand writing WHen an hundreth fourscore had run their Then sone after in short time space race Blacknes began to shew his Face in fyght But when a C. and L. had overcumde hym He made him wash his Face white bright Which unto me was a joyfull syght Yet xx at last came in with greate bost And made both Black and White to fly the Cost Written by T. Charnock at the end of Scotus de Bufone HEre in Gods name take thy rest Quietly in thy warme nest For so Charnocke thinks it best Tyll the Sune hathe runne West Seaven tymes 600. and 16. just Then this Chyld awake thou must RIPLYE'S Cantalena ABowte 653. I dare be bold This Chyld shall put on a Crowne of Gold Or at 656. at the moste This Chyld shall rule the roste OTher Fragments scattered in the wast places of an Old Manuscript written with T. Charnock's own Hand WE worke this Worke of wonder By Wayght Measure and Number Quoth THOMAS CHARNOCK WHen he is full Black then take some payne To wash him 7. tymes in the water of Jourdayne CHARNOCK FRo the tyme that he be Black and Ded Wash him 7 tymes or he be perfect Red. ANd when he is full Black then take some payne To wash hym 7. tymes in the water of Jourdayne ANd when you see hym perfect Redd Then take a stone and knock him on the hedd Id est ANd when this Woman is brought a bed Take the Chyld and knock hym on the hedd CHARNOCKE 1573. PErfect Whyte will not be accomplished Untill it hath byne twelve tymes circulated Id est Six tymes Black and vi tymes Whyte BEtwixt true Black and true Whyte Wyll appeare many Collers to syght T.C. BEtwixt Purgatory and Paradyse The Raigne-bows Collers will arise T.C. BEtwixt Black and Whyte sartayne The Pekokes fethers wyll appeare plaine T.C. LOoke you conceive my words aright And marke well this which I have sede For Black is Ferment unto the Whyte And Whyte shal be Ferment unto the Rede Which I never saw till I had whyte heres upon my head T. C. 1574. The 50 yeare of my age In some Coppies I have found these Verses placed before Pearce the Black Monk upon the ELIXIR MAN and Woman God hath wrought And full mykle fruite forth they brought So multiplyeth the workes of our heaven King And yet come they but of one thing Now quod Marlin what may that be The slithe of the Yearth so say we Yearth it was some Men would say nay And yet was it nether cleane yearth sand ne clay But the feces of yearth it was of Colour grey Which then turned to yearth as it on yearth lay The Water turned to blude to make man stronge The Ayre and Fire was medled theare amonge How be Ayre and Fire quod Marlin Through the workes of our Lord quod Martin For the brightnes of the holy Ghost is the Aire And the lightnes that gafe
Mercurys wyfes Wyfe To Mercury maketh no stryfe AND thou wed Mercury to Mercury with her wyfe Then shall Mercury and Mercury be merry withouten stryfe For Mercuries Wyfe to Mercury maketh greate stryfe But Mercuries wyfe's wyfe to Mercury maketh no stryf A Ridle to you I will propose Of a Comon thing which most men knowes Which now in the Earth very reefe doth grow But is of small Price as all men know And that without roote stalke or seede Wherewith of his kinde another to breede Yet of that nature that it cannot cease If you plant it by peeces it selfe to increase Right heavy by kinde yet forced to fly Starke nought in the purse yet good in the Eye This something is nothing which seemeth full strange Having tasted the fire which maketh the change And hath many Collours yet sheweth but one This is the materiall of our STONE I Asked Philosophy how I should Have of her the thing I would She answered me when I was able To make the Water malliable Or else the way if I could finde To mesure out a yard of Winde Then shalt thou have thyne owne desire When thou canst weigh an ounce of Fire Unlesse that thou canst doe these three Content thy selfe thou get'st not me LEt the old man drinke wine till he pisse The meanes to the blest Stone is And in that menstrous water drowne The radiant brightnes of the Moone Then cast the Sun into her lapp That both may perish at a clapp Soe shall you have your full desire When you revive them both by Fire IF ye wolle to hys Medycyn aplye Make furst hevy hard hotte and drye Nesshe lyght cold and wete Put ham togeder and make ham mete Thus may ye spend mor thann the King Yf ye have connyng of suche a thynge IF thou the Fixid can dissolve And that Dissolv'd doest cause to fly That Flying then to Fixing bring Then maist thou live most happily R. B. ANNOTATIONS AND DISCOURSES UPON Some part of the preceding VVorke Pag. 6. lin 1. TO the honor of God FRom the first word of this Proeme and the Initiall letters of the fix following Chapters discovered by Acromonosyllabiques and Sillabique Acrostiques we may collect the Authors Name and place of Residence For those letters together with the first line of the seventh Chapter speak thus Tomas Norton of Briseto A parfet Master ye maie him trowe Such like Fancies were the results of the wisdome and humility of the Auncient Philosophers who when they intended not an absolute concealement of Persons Names Misteries c. were wont to hide them by Transpositions Acrostiques Isogrammatiques Symphoniaques and the lyke which the searching Sons of Arte might possibly unridle but with designe to continue them to others as concealed things And that upon the Question no other Answer should be returned then the like of the Angell's to Manoah His name was Peli to wit admirable and secret In imitation of whome t is probable our Author not so much affecting the vanity of a Name as to assist the lovers of Wisdome thus modestly and ingenuously unvailes himselfe Although to the generality of the world he meant to passe unknowne as appeares by his owne words For that I desire not worldly fame But your good prayers unknowne shall be my name Iobâ— Pitts from Iohn Bale and he from Robert Record relates that this Thomas Norton was Alchymista suo tempore peritissimus and much more curious in the Studies of Philosophy then others yet they passe some undecent and abusive Gensures upon him with referrence to this vaine and frivolous Science as they are pleas'd to tearme it and a better opinion I find not they had even of the Hermetick learning it selfe Indeed every one that is educated a Scholler is not borne to affâ—ct or be happy in every Art some love one some another but few All. And this ariseth from the various Influences of the Starrs which beget sundry Inclinations and Affections-in-Men according to the different Constitutions and Temperatures of their Bodies so that commonly what either a man does not affect or know he despises or condemnes yet seldome with any shew of Reason But it is no good Conclusion for Bliude men to affirme the Sun has no light because they were never so happy as to see it For though thy selfe saith Conwrath art ignorant of a Matter t is not denied to others to know the same However our Author was so happy as to become a Master of this Science very early which he learned in forty dayes and when he was Scantly of the age of twenty eight yeares He earnestly moved his Master who is generally thought to be Ripley to communicate the Red Medicine to him which after some tyme finding him capable of it he accordingly did Much more might be said in Honour of this Author but I refer the Reader to the Ordinall it selfe which will abundantly satisfie Besides this worke which is called both by Pitts and Bale Epitomen Alchymiae but by himselfe Nanied of Alkimy the Ordinall The Crede mihi the Standard perpetuall He wrote another Booke De transmutatione Metallorum and to these Pitts adds a third De Lapide Philosophico In the time of Hen 8. there flourished Nyne Brothers of the family of the Nortons and all Knights one of them viz. Sir Sampson Norton Master of the Ordnance to the said King an Office of greate Honour and not usually confer'd but upon Men very eminent lyes buried in Fulham Church nere London whose Tombe was adorned with severall Hermeticke Hierogliphicall paintings which have lately perisht by the Ignorant zcale of those that understood them not The Epitaph this Of yowr therite pray for the Soule of Sir Sampson Norton Knight late Master of the Ordinance of warre with King Henry the 8th and for the Soule of Dame Elizabyth hys wyff Whych Sir Sampson decessyd the eyghth day of February one thousand five hundred and seventeen Pag. 11. l. 7. That no Man for better ne for worse Chaungâ— my writing for drede of Gods curse Doubtlesse Norton was truly sensible of the high injuries done â—o learned men through the Erronious Transcriptions of their Bookes and had shared in the unimaginable misfortune which thereby befell the then Students in Philosophy for be lived in those tymes that could not afford him the use of any other Bookes save onely Manuscripts Printing having not served an Apprentiship to England when he wrote this Oridinall in that regard he layes this weighty charge upon unfaithfull Scribes who negligently or wilfully alter their Copy whereby the wariest Students are encombred with doubts and missed or plunged into unhappy Errors How ordinary a fault this was amongst the Transcribers of former times may appeare by Chaucer who I am confident tooke asgreate care as any man to be served with the best and heedefullest Scribes and yet we finde him complayning against Adam his Scrivener for the very same Soofte a daye I mote thy worke renew It
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