Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A36714
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The tomb of Semiramis hermetically sealed which if a wise-man open (not the ambitious, covetous Cyrus) he shall find the treasures of kings, inexhaustible riches to his content / [by] H.V.D.
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H. V. D.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing D24; ESTC R5297
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11,784
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34
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our Gold is nearer than in common Gold and Silver if you seek it in the hour of its nativity which melts in our Mercury as Ice in warm Water c. But leaving now these more imperfect Metals at present we declare those two great and more perfect Luminaries Sol and Luna to wit Gold and Silver to be the Physical subject of the Stone which way a great part of the Philosophers have followed and came to their desired end Which same thing Augurellus shews 2 Chrysop when he saith Take a Metal pure and purged of all its dross whose Spirit recedes in its secret part and being pressed with a great weight lives privily and desires to be released from bands and to be sent out of prison to Heaven being spread into thin plates The same in Chrys lib. 1. Seek not the principles of Gold any-where else for in Gold is the seed of Gold though being close shut up it retires further and is to be sought by us with tedious labour And concerning the dignity of both the Luminaries Lully that Star of Spagyrick Philosophy in his Book P.M. 28. saith Two are more pure than the rest namely Gold and Silver without which the Work cannot be begun or finished because in them is the purest substance of Sulphur perfectly purified by the ingenuity of Nature and out of these two bodies prepared with their Sulphur or Arsenick our Medicine may be extracted and cannot be had without them And Clangor Buccinae saith You must operate prudently and expresly because neither Sol nor Luna can be without ferment and any other seed or ferment is not proper and useful but Gold to the red and Silver to the white which bodies being first subtiliated under weight must then be sowed that they may putrify and be corrupted where one form being destroyed another more noble is put on and this is done by the means of our Water alone From hence a certain Anonymous in his Answer excellently concludes As Fire is the principle of Fire so Gold is the principle of Gold such as the Cause is such is the Effect such as the Father such the Son such as the Seed is such is the Fruit Man generates Man and a Lion a Lion But you will say The Philosophers affirm that the matter ought to be such that the Poor as well as the Rich may obtain it from whence that saying is God hath granted this treasure to be sought by all men nor doth he deny that great Good to any man except to him that makes himself unworthy by the depraved affections of his heart And Geber You ought not to consume your goods because of mean price if you understand the principles of Art which we shall deliver to you you will attain to the compleat Magistery For if it were Gold or any such costly thing the Poor would be constrained to postpone this glorious Work And whereas an Artist may often-times happen to erre a poor man could not repeat the Work after an error committed which must absolutely be done if there be no other remedy And Lilium This Stone is openly sold at the meanest rate which if the Sellers knew they would keep it in their hands and by no means sell it And another Anonymous Our expences exceed not the price of two Florins which Arnoldus thus confirms Hold fast because the charge of our most noble Art exceeds not the price of two pieces of Gold in its emption that is in the operation And Geber saith If in operations you lose your money reflect not injuriously on us but impute it to your own imprudence for our Art requires no great expences To which we answer That we never denied that besides Gold and Silver there is not also granted another subject of meaner value where we excluded not imperfect Metals as we mentioned before out of an Anonymous Philosopher in these words There is yet one thing in the Metallick Kingdom of an admirable beginning c. though many Philosophers would have this vile price to be understood of our dissolving Menstruum Moreover you will say out of Sendivogius Tract 11. in your Operations take not common Gold and Silver for these are dead things We answer by granting that the Stone is not made of common Gold and Silver as such and so long as they are dead but when resuscitated and reduced into their first seminal nature and made like unto the Philosophers Gold then do they not only express their seed but also do serve instead of ferment which a certain Philosopher confirms in these words saying Neither the ancient nor the modern Philosophers have ever made any thing but Gold of Gold and Silver of Silver yet that was not common Gold or Silver By which it appears that the Philosophers Gold is not common Gold neither in colour nor in substance but that which is extracted from them is the white and red tincture CHAP. II. What the Physical or Philosopher's Gold is THe Philosophers Gold or Silver is a metallick body resolved into the last matter to wit into Mercury which is the first matter of the Stone and is thus proved Every thing is from that into which it is resolved But all Metals are reduced into Argent vive ergo they were Argent vive For according to the common opinions of Philosophers that which the wise men seek is in Mercury Moreover Mercury is the radix in Alchymy because from it by it and in it are all Metals And Theophrastus that most profound Sea of the Spagyrick-Philosophy thus speaks concerning the first matter of Metals To extract Mercury from metallick bodies is nothing else but to resolve or reduce them into their first matter that is running Mercury even such as it was in the center of the Earth before the generation of Metals to wit a moist and viscous vapour which is the Philosophers Gold or Silver containing in it invisibly the Mercury and Sulphur of Nature the principles of all Metals which Mercury is of ineffable vertue and efficacy and contains divine secrets CHAP. III. Of the preparation of Bodies for the Philosophers Mercury AVicen saith If you desire to operate you must necessarily begin your Work in the solution or sublimation of the two Luminaries because the first degree of the Work is that Argent vive may be made from thence but because these as the more perfect Bodies are closer bound and have an harder coagulation that they may be reduced into Mercury they do in the first place require preparation and physical calcination which indeed is not so necessary in Silver for by reason of the cleanness and softness thereof our Water easily acts upon it which is not done in Gold and the other Metals which do all require Calcination on which our Water then more easily acts especially if those which are impure be depurated for the similitude of substance Concerning the Calcination of Bodies out of the secret Work of the Doctor and Bishop of Trent for the
THE TOMB OF SEMIRAMIS Hermetically Sealed Which if a Wise-man open not the Ambitious Covetous Cyrus he shall find the Treasures of Kings inexhaustible Riches to his content H. V. D. He that exerciseth Love will apprehend what I say but if I speak to the ungrateful he shall not comprehend my sayings S. Aug. of Divine Love London Printed for William Cooper at the Pelican in Little Britain 1684. Most Noble and most Famous S.R.J. curious in the inspection of Nature and my most honoured Patrons NOt only in former times but also in this old Age of the World nothing hath been deeper buried nor hitherto more desired by all especially the lovers of Art than the knowledg of that great Mystery of the Philosophers which by a known word is called the Philosophers-Stone We therefore preserving the Inscription of the Monument do raise this knowledge buried and obscured under the pretext of the Tomb of the most wise Semiramis formerly Queen of Babylon out of its Grave and present it to the View of the Learned which if not an ambitious covetous Cyrus but a wise man open he will to his satisfaction find Royal and inexhaustible Treasures I may also add constant Health which two you will say are the principal supporters of an happy life But some haply of no small ingenuity will imagin that this Tomb may be opened by Womens work or Childrens sport but let them know that this Knowledg is a most deep River wherein the Lamb wades that is the upright profiteth and the Elephant swims that is the most Learned do fluctuate yea are drowned in their opinions errors and doubts whilst one is yet doubtful concerning the true subject of the great Work yea generally a stranger to it another very solicitous in acquiring the sophical Mercury wearyeth himself with unsuccessful labours not knowing what it is or of what form Another tortures himself with vain perplexity to know what the Philosophers Fire is what the magical Elements the Key or dissolving Menstruum whence it is to be drawn whether sweet or corrosive cold or fiery it hath troubled me often to see such men so concerned and in vain laborious in those things wherein they at length could find nothing but vanity and affliction of mind wherfore commiserating them by the impulse of Charity I do freely impart though many will accuse me as guilty of violated silence the Light mercifully communicated to me that they may use the same as a Key to the Sanctuary of that sacred Knowledg But the curious Industry and indefatigable Curiosity of you being most excellent in the exact Arcana's and Work of Polydaedalus nature having invited all the Learned men of the World by your most sweet incitements to communicate the most secret things enjoyneth and obligeth me to make you the genuine Sons of all sorts of Knowledg Heirs of this which in my judgment is the most exact and curious Work of all Nature But who I am enquire not I am a man that makes it my study to profit others your Friend and an admirer of your Vertues known to many at least by name Farewell therefore ye Students of Nature and High-Priests of Art the lofty Stars of Germany God be with you and with his Power strengthen your Works and Thoughts that they may be highly advantagious to the whole Commonwealth of Learning for the encrease of the Publick-good and the immortal Glory of your own Names From my Study Jan. 1. 1674. THE Tomb of SEMIRAMIS Hermetically Sealed CHAP. I. Of the Physical subject of the Philosophers Stone THE Fear of the Lord is the beginning of our Work and the end Charity and love of our Neighbour Entring therefore with the assistance of our good God upon so divine a Work it must be first enquired what the subject thereof is For as a Plough-man in vain prepares his Ground for Harvest unless he be assured of the Seed so also he prepares the Chymical Ground without any recompence if he knows not what he sows therein and herein at this day many do perplex themselves and are hurried into different opinions But this is not a place to discuss all these things whilst some do seek it in the Animal Kingdom in Blood Sperm Sweat Urine Hair Dung Egs Serpents Toads Spiders c. Others are with great diligence imploy'd in the Vegetable Kingdom especially in Wine for the unprofitable Magistery For though it be manifest to us that the supreme Medicine of our health may be obtained in either Kingdom and indeed in Man especially in his heart as also in Wine for as Gold contains the vertues of all Minerals so do these two comprehend the powers of all Animals and Vegetables as contracted into one yet that the great work of Philosophers could be made from them was never in the thought of any Adept it is therefore requisit to be sought in the Mineral Kingdom But there is also here a great company of Dissenters so that we have need of an Oedipus For some there be that think to extract it out of the middle Minerals as they call them namely Salt Nitre Alom and such other but all in vain because they have in them no Argent vive into which they may be resolved in which error even we in our primitive ignorance were also involved It remains therefore to be supposed that Metals are the Physical subject of our blessed Stone But here also the matter is in suspence because Metals are some perfect and some imperfect But in fine we say that all fused Metals but especially the not fused though imperfect may by the intimate depuration of their original pollution which yet is very difficult and by outward appearance scarce possible be the subject of the Stone whereof saith Flamel some have operated in Jupiter others in Saturn but I saith he have operated and found it out in Sol and in Exercit. ad Turbam it is read That all Metals clean and unclean are internally Sol and Luna and Mercury but there is one true Sol which is drawn from them And the Author of the secret work of the Hermetick Philosophy Can. 16 saith He that seeks the Art of multiplying and perfecting imperfect Metals but by the nature of Metals deviates from the truth for Metals must be expected from Metals as the species of Man from Man of Beast from Beast And Can. 18. He proceeds thus Perfect Bodies are endowed with a more perfect Seed under the hard shell therefore of the perfect Metals lieth the perfect Seed which he that knoweth how to extract by Philosophical Resolution is entred into the Royal Path. So also that Anonymous Philalethes in his Introduction into the King's Sacred Palace Chap. 19. concerning the progress of the Work in the first forty days There is indeed in all even in the common Metals Gold but nearer in Gold and Silver though as the same Adept speaks well there is yet one thing in the Metallick Kingdom of an admirable off-spring in which