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
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
thys one thyng therfore putrefye Wash hym wyth hys owne broth tyll whyte he becoom Then Ferment hym wyttely nowe here ys all and soom Now to God Almyghty I thee Recommend Whych graunte the by Grace to knowe thys one thing For now ys thys Treatys brought to an end And God of hys Mercy to hys blysse us bryng Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus where Angells do syng Praysyng without ceasynge hys gloriose Magestye Whych he in hys Kyngdome graunte us for to see AN. DOM. 1471. Explicit Alchimiae Tractatus Philosophiae Cujus Rypla George Canonicus Auctor erat Mille quadringentis septuaginta unoque Annis qui scriptus compositusque fuit Auctori lector praebe praece quaeso Iuvamen Illi purgamen leve post vitam ut sit Amen Englished Thus heere the Tract of Alchimy doth end Whych Tract was by George Ripley Chanon pen'd It was Composed Writt and Sign'd his owne In Anno twice Seav'n hundred seav'nty one Reader Assist him make it thy desire That after Lyfe he may have gentle Fire Amen LIBER PATRIS SAPIENTIAE THow that in thys Boke beginneth to rede Keepe well thys Councell the better schalt thow spede Be thow in a place secret by thy selfe alone That noe man see or here what thow schalt say or done Yet ere thow begyn to rede much take thow good hede Wyth whom thow kepest company I councell thee indede Trust not thy freind too much wheresoere thow goe For he that thow trustest best sometyme may be thye Foe And take hede to the words of the Fader of Wysdom How he techeth hys Sonne how he schould done To kepe hys presepts of bodely governance And wyth hys Conyng he wyll the gretly advance And yf thow wylt not to hys wordys take hede Thow schalt stand here oft in gret feare and dred For he that hath a fore wytt he nedes not do amysse And he that doth Folly the Folly schalbe hys Now my dere Sonne be thow not a know To Lerned nor to Leud to Hygh nor to Low Neyther to Young nor Old Rych nor Poore Unto them thow tech nothyng my Lore Also to scuche men that hold themselves wyse And so forth to the foolys that glyde on the Ice They weene in grete Bokes schould be the Art O◠the Science of Alchemy but they be not worth a fart Therefor my Sonn to thee thys Science I may well teach And yf thow wylt upon thy enemy be wreach Or to purchase or build any good thyng It schalbe to thy gret furtheryng Thys worthy Scyence of Alchemy if thow wylt it leare A lyttle mony out of thy purse thow must forbeare To buy therewyth Flos Florum it is most worthiest And to build well her Cabyn and her Nest And if thow put out mony for any other thing It is to thy losse and to thy great hindring Except yt be for thy workes naturall Foode Which is had out of Stone Ayre and Wood. And if thow have all thyngs wythin the growing Then thow needest not to buy any manner of thing That schould be to thys Science belonging But beware of thy selfe for feare of hanging For then thow and thys Scyence were for ever lost If thow make thereof any manner of boast To any Man or Woman Old or Young Beware of thy selfe for feare of discovering For if thow make any man privie Of thy Councell Rich or Needy Thow must so beware Sleeping or Waking For once ymagining of Money making For yf God sends thee grace and understanding Wyth thys Scyence thow mayst have good lyving But beware of speach of Women liberall And of the voice and sight of Children generall Sonn in thyne owne howse thow maist well gett A good Morsell of meat thy mouth to sweet Both Pheasant Partridge Plover and Leveret Though thow cry yt not owte in the common Market Therefore kepe close of thy Tongue and of thy Hand From the Officers and Governours of the Land And from other men that they of thy Craft nothing know For in wytnes thereof they wyll thee hang and draw And thereof the People will the at Sessions indight And great Treason against the they wyll write Wythowt that the Kings grace be to thee more Thow schalt for ever in thys world be forlore Alsoe wythowt thow be sure of another thyng To purchase the Lycence of thy King For all manner of doubts thee schall betide The better thow maiste Worke and both goe and ride Also another thing I schall thee lere The poore People take thow nothing deare But ever serve thy God alway at the begynnyng And among the poore People the better schalbe thy livyng Now my Chylde to my precepts looke thow take hede Whatsoever fall after the better schall thow spede Better it ys to have a thyng then for it to wish For when thow feelst a Sore t is hard for thee to get a Leech Now my deare Son to the I wyll declare More of thys Warke which schalbe thy welfaire If thow canst consider all my sayings For therewyth thow mayest finde a full precious thing And Son though thys Writing be made in Ryme Yet take thow thereat noe greate disdaine Till thow hast proved my words in deede and in thought I watt it well it schalbe set at nought Therefor of all Bodyes and Spyrits more or lesse Mercury is called Flos Florum and worthiest Pryncesse For her Birth and marvelous dealing Sche ys most worthiest to have byne King For sche ys Erth and Water most heviest And sche will conjoyne wyth Fire and Aire most lyghtest And so forth wyth her love sche will run and flee For sche delighteth noe other game or glee Some say that of Sulphur and Mercury all Bodyes minerall are made Ingendered in the Erth with divers Colours cladd By the vertue of Decoccion before Preperacion To the lykenes of every body Mynerall in ther fashion I will first begin wyth Saturne after other mens sayings How he ys ingendered in the Erth wyth unclene Mercury flying And of Mercury he ys most heviest wyth black Sulphury Erth mixed Save he ys soft of fusion and hys Sulphur nothing fixed Iupiter is a whyte Body made of pure Mercury outward And of clere Sulphur somewhat Erthly and white inward He ys in kynde softest and well in his fixation For he is almost fixt but he lacketh Decoction Mars ys a white Body most of unclene ☿ in the Erth y'made And he ys hardest of fusion with Sulphur Erthly cladd To blacknes and rednes he will soonest consume By heate or by corrosive when the Spirit beginneth to fume Sol is the purest somwhat red is made of clene ☿ Sulphur fixed Ingendered with clere red Sulphur in the Erth well mixed And therefor he ys without defalt and lacketh no degree For he ys almost hardest of Fusion and heviest in ponderossity Venus ys a Body more red of pure ☿ made in hys substance Most of red Sulphur and greene and therein is greate variance In the Erth ingendered with
Corrosive and bitter substance Well fixed and hard of fusion rude in governance Mercury ys a Body if he be with a Substance moved Mixing one kinde with his kinde so schall he be loved One Spirit received wyth another the which of them be maine Is cause of ingeneration of every body Mettalyne Luna ys a pure white Body of clene Mercury Sulphur white ingendered And sche is a litle hard of fusion almost well fixed And sche is next cleanest in Tincture of whitenes Of Ponderosity light of Iupiter bearing his whitenes And soe after the Colour of that Erth ys Sulphuri and receptuall Some men do say ys engendered every Mettall But my Son the perfect worke of thys alteration I schall informe the true way of another fashion Now have I declared the working of the Bodies Mynerall Whereof they be ingendered after other mens sayings over all And as in place of the Erth one Body was fully wrought Soe must the artificiall Medicine be or else it ys nought Now will I declare the worthines of Mercury in speciall How sche ys the notablest Spirit that ys mynerall Most marvelous in working and in degree Sche ys called the Matter principallest of the three Also sche ys very subtile in many things artificiall Sche will both give and take Tincture most speciall To hym or of hym that sche loveth most best In speciall when sche ys warmed in her Nest My Son Mercury ys called the mightiest Flos florum And most royall and richest of all Singulorum Sche ys very Patron and Princes most royall And sche ys very Mother of every Mettall Sche ys Vegitable Animalle and Minerall Sche ys Foure in kinde and One in generall Sche ys Erth Aire Water and Fyre Among all other sche hath no Peere Sche kylleth and slayeth and also doth calcine Sche dyeth and also doth sche live againe Sche giveth lyfe and also ingression For joyntly sche ys three in one Sche ys a very frendly mixar The progeneration of a greate Elixar Sche ys both Body Soule and Spirite In Colour very red black and white Many be the wooers that hang on her tayle But sche will not with them I'deale They would her wedd against her will With foemen that liken her full ill Sche will deale with no manner of wight But with her Husband as it ys greate right With him sche will beare much fruite For he ys by nature of her selfe same sute My Son of hem Fooles have much dispight And therin such Fooles loose their light For sometymes he ys darke and sometymes bright For he ys lyke no other wight For if they have their kynde ingendering Their naturall foode and good keeping They schall increase frute by dene Very red and white King and Queene My Son in thys Scyence I doe deny All things that be discording truly All manner of Salts I doe defie And all manner of Sulphurs in waters of Corrosie Also Alloome Vitriall Auripigmentum and Haire Gold Silver Alkaly and Sandiver Honey Wax and Oyles or Calx else Gumms Galls and also Egg shells Also I defie Antimony Berrall and Christall Rosin Pitch also Amber Jett and Corrall Hearbs Dated Stones Marble or Tinglas If there come any of all these it ys the worse Also Berrills Gotts Hornes and Alome plome Good with them will none be done All things that discordeth from Mettall It ys contrary to thys worke in generall My Son many fooles to me have sought But they and I accord right nought I leave them there as I them finde And as Fooles I make them blinde For whych Mercury they have errd full sore And then when they had they could doe no more Therefor in Phylosophers sche bear'th the floower For sche ys King Prince and Emperour Yet my deare Son be thow not a knowne To Learned nor to Lewde to High nor to Low That thys worke standeth by Mercury and in her fire Her owne speciall Love both life and deare For he ys her Son sche ys hys Fright In whome sche worketh all her myght He ys her Son sche ys hys Mother Sche loveth him peramore and no other In Sol and Lune in her meeting ys all love For of Mercury only ys all her behove And with them sche worketh all her might But they may never increase on fright Therefor it ys possible to cast a Projection pure Upon a Million to make a perfect Body of tincture Wyth Medicine of Spirits well joyned and fixed It schall not be perceived where it ys well mixed And therefor if there com Silver or Gold in at thy Gate The which men use in Aoyne or in common Plate I sweare by God that all thys world hath wrought All thy labour and warke schall turne to nought For with what Mettall soever that Mercury be joyned Because of her Coldnes and Moistnes sche ys acloyd Put them never so close togeder sche will fume anon And when they come into the fire sche wil sone be gone Therefore Mercury hath a Lover that passeth them A thousandfold who so will him ken And he ys her Lover and her Leman sweete And so hys Councell sche will keepe Both in hys Chamber and also in hys Bedd Also alive and when they byne dead Seeke yee forth fooles as ye have sought For in all other things finde yee right nought Now my deare Son to thee I will indight The truth in word and deede I will write How that a precious Stone shal be made Thee to rejoyce and make thee full glad As I said in the 32. Chapter unto my Conclusion How I schould informe the truth after another fashion And to performe thys Scyence both in word and deede In making of our Medicine God must us speede The which ys called the greate Elixer And ys verily made with a stronge mixar The which is a Stone very Minerall And thow maist him wellgett ever all My Son thow schalt take to Mercury no other thing But Erth that 's heavy and hard and stiff standing The which in himselfe ys derke bright dry and cold To joyne them togeder thow maist be full bold One of them to 10 parts of that Water running most heaviest And they schalbe both one and to thy warke most mightiest Then hast thow Man and Woman togeder brought The which ys done by greate love in a thought The which two be both Spirits one Body most heaviest When they be in your Chamber and bed joyned in the Element lightest The which ys more bigger and bigger hott and dry And therein they will both kiss togeder neither weepe nor cry For when Erth and Water ys well mixed By the vertue of the lightest Element well hardned and fixed For before that time they be Water running both And then schall turne to fix body be they never so loath For in theyr bed they schall make a perpetuall Conjunction After the feeding of the light Element and of their proportion Soe schould they be decoct having the parfeit fixascion In the
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
will But as I said by grace it is obteined Seeke grace therefore let folly be refrained It is no costly thing I you assure That doth beget Magnesia in hir kind Yet is hir selfe by leprosie made pure Hir eyes be cleerer being first made blind And he that can Earths fastnes once unbind Shall quickly know that I the truth have tould Of sweete Magnesia Wife to purest Gold Now what is meant by Man and Wife is this Agent and Patient yet not two but one Even as was Eva Adams Wife I wisse Flesh of his Flesh and Bone of his Bone Such is the Unionhood of our precious Stone As Adam slept untill his Wife was made Even so our Stone ther can no more be said By this you se how thus it came to passe That first was Man and Woman then of him Thus Adam heere as first and cheefest was And still remaineda Man of perfect limme Then Man and Wife were joynd together trimme And each in love to other straight addressed them And did increase their kind when God had blessed them Even so the Man our Stone is said to sleepe Untill such time his Wife be fully wrought Then he awakes and joyfully doth keepe His new made Spouse which he so dearely bought And when to such perfection they be brought Rejoyce the beauty of so faire a bride Whose worth is more then halfe the world beside I doubte as yet you hardly understand What Man or Wife doth truly signifie And yet I know you beare your selves in hand That out of doubt it Sulpher is and Mercury And so yt is but not the common certeinly But Mercury essentiall is trewly the trew Wife That killes her selfe to bring her Child to life For first and formost she receaves the Man Her perefct love doth make her soone conceive Then doth she strive with all the force she can In spite of love of life him to bereave Which being done then will she never leave But labour kindly like a loving Wife Untill againe she him have brought to life Then he againe her kindnesse to requite Upon her head doth set a Crowne of glory And to her praise he Poems doth indite Whose Poems make each Poet write a story And that she slew him then she is not sorry For he by vertue of his loving Wife Not only lives but also giveth life But here I wish you rightly understand How heere he mâ—kâ—s his Concubine his Wife Which if you know not do not take in hand This worke which unto fooles is nothing rife And looke you make attonemâ—nt where is strife Then strip thâ— Man into his shiâ—t of Tâ—shew And her out of her smock to ingender yssue To tell you troath he wanteth for no Wives In Land or Sea in Water Air or Fâ—re Without their deaths he waâ—eth not their lives Except they live he wants his cheif desire He bindes them prentice to the righteâ—â— Dâ—er And when they once all Sorrowes have abidden Then finde they Ioyes which from them first were hidden For then they finde the Joy of sweete encrease They bring forth Children beautifull to sight The which are able Prisners to release And to the darkest Bodyes give true light Their hevenly Tincture is of such great might Oh! he that can but light on such a treasure Who would not thinke his Joyes were out of measure Now by this question I shall quickly know If you can tell which is his Wife indeede Is she quick footed faire faced yea or no Flying or fixed as you in Bookes do reade Is she to be fed or else doth she feede Wherein doth she joy where 's her habitation Heavenly or Earthly or of a strange nacion What is she poore or is she of any wealth Bravely of her attyre or meane in her apparrell Or is she sick or is she in perfect health Mild of her Nature or is she given to quarrell Is she a Glutton or loves she the Barrell If any one of these you name her for to be You know not his Wife nor never did her see And that will I prove to you by good reason That truly noe one of all these is she This is a question to you that is geason And yet some parte of them all she must be Why then some parte is not all you may see Therefore the true Wife which I doe meane Of all these Contraries is the Meane betweene As Meale and Water joyned both together Is neither Meale nor Water now but Dow Which being baked is Dow nor Water neither Nor any more will each from other goe The meane betweene is Wife our Wife even so And in this hidden point our seacret lyes It is enough few words content the wise Now by this simile heere I do reveale A mighty Seacret if you marke it well Call Mercury Water imagine Sulphur Meale What Meale I meane I hope the wise can tell Bake them by craft make them together dwell And in your working make not too much hast For Wife she is not while she is in Paste This lesson learn'd now give me leave to play I shall the fitter be to learne another My minde is turn'd cleane cam another way I doe not love sweete secret thoughts to smother It is a Child you know that makes a Mother Sith so it is then must we have a Childe Or else of Motherhood we are beguild What will you say if I a wonder tell you And prove the Mother is Child and Mother too Do you not thinke I goe about to sell you A bargaine in sport as some are wont to do I st possible the Mother to weare her Infants shoe In faith it is in our Philosophy As I will prove by reason by and by Ripley doth bid you take it for no scorne With patience to attend the true Conjunccion For saith he in the Aire our Child is borne There he receiveth the holy Unction Also with it a heavenly function For after death reviv'd againe to lyfe This all in all both Husband Child and Wife Whilst all is Earth Conception it is termed And Putrefaction tyme of lying in Perfect Conjunction by artes-men is affirmd The womans Childing where doth all Ioy beg Who knowes not this his witts are very thin When she is strong and shineth faire and bright She 's tearm'd the VVife most beautifull to sight Loe thus you see that you are not beguil'd For if you marke it I have proved by Reason How both is one the Mother and the Child Conception Breeding Childing every season I have declared to you without all Treason Or any false ambiguous word at all And hewn you worke then finde it true you shall This is that Mercury essentiall truly Which is the principall of the Stone materiall And not those crude Amalgames began newly These are but Mercuries superficiall This is that Menstrue of perfect â—incturiall This is most truly that One thing Out of the which all profitt must springe If this content you not abide displeas'd for
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