Four Different Chymical Treatises - German rhymes

Four Different Chymical Treatises.

Heretofore composed in old German rhymes
by unknown authors.

The Author to the Reader

Translated from the German book:
Neue Sammlung von einigen alten und sehr rar gewordenen philosophisch und alchymistischen Schriften ... welche sämtliche Werke nicht nur an und vor sich selbsten vollständig sind, sondern auch als eine neue Fortsetzung des bekannten Deutschen Theatri chymici [of F. Roth-Scholz] angesehen und gebraucht werden können - 1769

Gracious, dear Reader, since at the present time many strange things are everywhere being put into print, which for the most part are nothing but fables, useless chatter, foolish interpretations, shameful and indecent songs, and feeble jests, and since such things now come to light in great quantity, from which little use or benefit, much less any admonition for one’s neighbour, is to be drawn; I have therefore been moved to communicate to good people these poor verses of mine, which nevertheless are founded in truth and are well meant, communicate them, with the request that every honest man to whom these matters are unknown should take good care and be on his guard, lest he allow himself to be too greatly persuaded by the sophists, idiots, vagabonds, and deceivers who boast highly of this Art, and finally, through his credulity, fall into loss, mockery, and the utmost harm.

I do not doubt that no honest man will take this well-meant warning of mine amiss, or receive it with ill will, since, alas! it is as clear as day and plainly before one’s eyes how the alchemists and supposed gold-makers deceive so many with their great and costly oaths and golden promises. Let no one believe them, and he will remain undeceived. Let everyone take note of this, & experto credat Ruperto. Vale.

& experto credat Ruperto. and let him believe Rupert, who speaks from experience.

Vale. Farewell.

Protestation of the Author

That he who finely and skilfully distils,
Who doctors and anoints the sick,
Has understanding, money, and time enough
To investigate the secrets of Nature,
This is by no means despised here,
Much less is the Art itself mocked;
But rather, that a man lets himself be robbed,
And is willing to believe every idle lie,
To hazard his estate, calling, and trade,
To leave what is certain and seek what is uncertain,
To fish in the sea for a golden table,
For catfish with golden hooks,
For green frogs with red rubies,
Yet thresh nothing but empty straw
That is a jest which brings harm,
For which one otherwise would not gladly strive.

Therefore the deception is shown here:
He who allows himself to be warned is wise;
But he who will not, let him go ever onward,
And take ashes instead of gold as his gain.



Treatise 1.

On the Right and True Art of Making Gold,

of which many ash-blowers boast without foundation, and thereby make rich people poor.

Published as a warning to all lovers of the Art, the avaricious, the credulous, idlers, and deluded gold-cooks.

Ex Bibliotheca From the Library
of Mr. Andreas Marterstecken, formerly Preceptor to the Counts of Schwarzburg, etc.

Alchymia vera Lapidis philosophorum.

True Alchemy of the Philosophers’ Stone.

Whoever does not wish to let himself be deceived,
Let him by no means allow himself to be misled
By the lying Alchemists;
They are full of deceit and false tricks:

They can do nothing but swear and lie,
Thereby deceiving many a man.
They are all called Scheumaus’s band,
I tell you this without any mockery.
Daily experience proves it
In all lands, far and wide.

I can indeed tell you this for certain:
If you have one of them in your house for a year,
Who promises to make you as much gold
As anyone could ever wish for,
Then one lot of the gold will cost you
Nearly five hundred red guilders.
For when you reckon up the expenses,
I tell you, with reverence,
After he has eaten meat and bacon,
He leaves you a turd as a pledge,
Makes himself invisible and runs away,
And seeks another man again,
To whom he does just as he did to you;
To deceive is his only desire.

Guard yourself against this harmful band;
They bring many a man into scorn and mockery,
And into poverty, whoever trusts them.
Beware of this worthless rabble.

They are not slow to boast of their Art;
They lie until their mouths foam.
One claims to have a pars cum parte a part with a part
Yet of it he himself scarcely ever obtained anything.

The second has a good Augment,
Which has neither beginning nor end.
The third can fix Lunam the Moon,
Yet it is not worth a baked pear.

The fourth has his Præcipitat precipitate,
Which contains neither gold nor silver.
The fifth also has a Tinctur tincture;
Art with him is a strange figure.

The sixth has four Loth in the Mark,
Yet it is not worth a rotten curd.
The seventh has a Coagulat coagulate,
And asks for counsel in many lands,
Where indeed the man might dwell
Who can fix the same.

Then Stuß directs him into the field,
Who has travelled around the whole world:
He dwells in a hermitage,
In Schlaraffen, at Nirgendshausen.
Since no one can find that place,
He must therefore remain behind;
He must silently make himself away from it,
And let the Coagulat remain as it is.

The eighth makes lapidem philosophorum the Philosophers’ Stone,
Which in turn makes him into a fool;
For although the Stone of the Wise exists,
No rogue obtains it,
Nor does it allow itself to be found
By honourless villains.

They indeed shall never obtain it,
As the whole company of philosophers says.
Only to those who live in the fear of God
Will GOD give the true Art,
Provided that they live holily
And continually call upon GOD
To grant them such gifts;
They shall indeed possess this Art.

But the wicked and the avaricious,
Also the false and the envious,
Though they apply themselves greatly to it,
Shall nevertheless never find it;
And even if they obtain the Art,
It will be taken from them by GOD.

Now I must say further,
Although it may not please them:
When they have tried and carried out everything,
None of their processes is of any use;
Then they will renounce all of that
And consider it better to make the lapidem the Stone,
Which they have never known in all their days,
Before they take it in hand.

Yet they do not properly know
Either beginning, middle, or end;
At first they must stand in great anxiety:
The Materia Matter is hidden from them,
And furthermore the Forma Form
Is by no means close at hand for them.

But as far as East is from the West,
So far is the Materia Matter known to them,
And likewise its Präparation Preparation,
Together with the Resolution Dissolution,
Which is the key to the Art,
As the Philosophi Philosophers say without envy.

How then could they know with certainty
The true regimen ignis regimen of the fire,
And also the sigillum Hermetis Seal of Hermes?
They are likewise uncertain concerning the furnace.

Not one of you knows anything of the weight,
O you lying villains!
You never learn the time of the colour
Which is called Caput Corvi the Raven’s Head,
Nor how long the Work must stand
Until the Whiteness is seen;
From the white into the red colour,
Like the stone called garnet,
Or the blossom of the red wild poppy,
Until it has had its fill of its colours.

The King Apollineus will not receive and marry the daughter of Minervæ Minerva, until she has first attained the royal purple garment. Therefore ferment red with red, and white with white.

Moreover, they do not know at all
How to prepare the true Ferment Ferment

Much less do they know that there must take place
Two Solutiones Solutions in the Work alone:
The one must be without Ferment Ferment,
The other with the pure Ferment Ferment,
So that it passes through all the colours
And thereby acquires its powers.

For they have not understood the power
Which comes from the two Lights,
From Sol the Sun, Luna the Moon, and their Tinctur Tincture,
And from Mercurius Mercury, the noble figure.

Solem, Lunam Sol and Luna alone I mean,
And Mercurium the Mercury of the Wise alone.
The Mercurius Mercury of the Wise is nothing other
Than the Materia Hermetis Matter of Hermes.

Aurum philosophorum the Gold of the Philosophers is also there,
Tinctura Tincture, anima soul, forma form.
Thus from Materia Matter,
And also from Forma Form,
Comes the true Stone of the Wise;
Understand here what I am saying.

The Materia Matter is not known by one in a thousand,
Without which, however, no one comes to the End.
He may search diligently before and behind,
Yet he will never find the Art.

And that all this must be true
The company of Philosophers clearly declares;
They indeed knew the Materia Matter,
Yet none of them ever named it:

Although it has very many names,
By which many a man has been made a fool,
Who undertakes more concerning this thing
Than is fitting for human understanding.

One thing more I must also relate,
Which otherwise you will seldom hear reported:
If the Ferment Ferment is not prepared
With the Materia Hermetis Matter of Hermes,
And is prepared with other things,
Then hear this account concerning it:
The Work will not be good in the end,
And will never produce its effect.

If you are not rightly experienced herein,
You may spare your time and expenses.
Let this much concerning these matters be told to you,
If you wish to make the Stone of the Wise.

Concerning this also says Johann Baptist,
Who dwells beyond Venice,
A man of nobility and a Philosophus Philosopher,
To whom these things are not unknown,
That the right Solution Solution
Is the crown of the whole treasure,
Which takes place in gentle heat,
Which the wisdom of Hermes first discovered,
And which must be employed in the Art,
Wherein indeed many a man stumbles.

Although there are many Solutiones Solutions,
Yet among them all there is none

None of them belongs to the Work of the Wise,
But rather by them they are all deceived.
As Christ alone is the Way
To salvation upon one path,
So also in the Art there is only
One Solution Solution, which is not common.

All the others are inventions,
As the company of Philosophers says.
And whoever, according to the philosophical Art,
Can sublime purely and delicately,
He accomplishes the Work of all things,
Says the Master to the young man.

I marvel indeed very greatly
That certain people, wholly empty of the Art,
Dare to put forward such a thing,
Though they can neither write nor read it,
As though they were filled with every Art;
They swear as though they were mad.

And when one examines it rightly in the light,
It is indeed nothing at all.
They have much labour and great unrest,
Deceiving themselves and others besides.

It is and remains sophistical gold,
And gives only a very small reward;
In it there is only poverty and need in the end.
They must drink water and Covent small beer.

Alchemists always wish to be
Where there is more good wood than stone

They do not fear the wood of the gallows,
So brazen are the rogues and so proud;
Although they have deceived many a man
And lied many thousands of Thalers out of him.

For all that they can still remain,
And let him dare who wishes to drive them away.
But how they shall stand before GOD,
When the Judgment begins,
They may then learn, and receive their sentence
For their deceit and false oath,
When with great lamentation they must
Answer for themselves on the Last Day,
When GOD shall hold judgment
Over all accursed villains.

This I must tell you rogues;
If I am wrong, then punish me.
How would you claim to have learned the Art,
When many a man of eighty years
Has devoted himself to the Art day after day and hour after hour,
Yet has found nothing?

Even those who have studied it
Must nevertheless leave these things alone.
If someone finds a Process-book,
He thinks he has enough for all his days.

Processes are found throughout the world,
Counted by a thousand wagonloads;
Nevertheless, within them one will find
No truth of the Art

But only Sophists’ trash,
Unknown to the ancient Wise;
Nothing but the Devil’s invention
And his cunning suggestion,
How men are to be deprived of their goods
And brought into poverty.
For this he employs his members,
Countless in number upon all roads.

The whole thing is nevertheless nothing at all
But lies and pure poison.

Deceptio plebis & principium Deception of the people and the beginning/principle.
Non vera res philosophorum. Not the true thing of the Philosophers.

I must speak still further of this,
And also complain of learned fools.
They cause great books to be published
Which Paracelsus is said to have made;
These, in order to deceive the people,
They cause to circulate throughout all lands,
Although they are nothing but lying trash,
By which they deceive cities and countryside.

Paracelsus’s Art was soon lost,
When, in fury and great anger,
He had his books burned,
Because the people envied and hated him,
Because he told them the truth,
Which displeased them greatly;
Because he did not dance as they piped,
But sharply took them to task

You who cause your books to be published
Think that no one can understand the Art
Except you alone; yet you are not certain
Of the Materia of the lapis Matter of the Stone,
Although you have flown about through the land
And drawn it out of all books,
In order thereby to obtain much money
And to deceive the blind world.

Spiritum tingentem multi sunt qui sciunt; sed spiritum praeparantem pauci sunt qui intelligunt, vel eum inveniunt.
Many there are who know the tinging spirit; but few there are who understand the preparing spirit, or find it.

You idiots likewise
Ought to be ashamed to the neck,
And attend to your Vocation calling,
Then you would not come into mockery and scorn.

If you can make the Stone so precious,
Why do you not step up to the furnace
And take the Work itself in hand?
Then your matter and Art would become known,
Whether you understand these things
And can make the Philosophers’ Stone.

Even if there were ever so many of your kind
Who write about the Stone of the Wise:
If someone asks, as I know for certain,
What is the Materia lapidis Matter of the Stone,
Then your heads will grow grey
Like fools and blockheads.

If then such a thing is unknown to you,
Deceive the people no longer with your hand
Through your foolish writings,
But henceforth let it alone,
As the praiseworthy Philosophi Philosophers
Have described it clearly and freely
In the book which is called the Turba,
Which is known to the children of the Wise,
Who have indeed been able to understand
What they meant thereby.

I will tell you a little saying,
So that you shall ask me no further;
It shall pain you in your heart.
It is called:

fac fixum volatile;
Et fac volatile fixum
Et habebis mysterium.

Make the fixed volatile;
And make the volatile fixed,
And you shall have the mystery.

First learn rightly to understand this saying;
You will have enough to do with it,
Even if you are the most learned Chymist,
However clever you may be.

Tota ars nihil aliud est, quam sulphur Solis vel Lunæ in oleum redactum, cum quo inceratur materia Hermetis. Hæc res divina non exposcit nisi bina; sulphur purgatum, bene Mercuriumque lavatum, & fabrica lapidem philosophorum.

The whole Art is nothing other than the sulphur of Sol the Sun or Luna the Moon, reduced into an oil, with which the materia Hermetis Matter of Hermes is incerated. This divine thing requires nothing but two things: purified sulphur and well-washed Mercurius Mercury; and make the lapidem philosophorum Philosophers’ Stone.

The Art is res bina a twofold thing,
And thereto also res divina a divine thing

Therefore such lying villains
By no means obtain it;
The proud and the puffed-up
This Art makes them into great hares.
I may indeed say this for certain:
It is plain as day and manifest.

Who has ever, in any place,
Heard a single true word
From an Alchemist’s mouth?
What day was it, what was the hour?
Let each man ask his own conscience;
That will surely tell him the truth.

Yet I do not mean any honest man
By this writing of mine:
I mean the deceivers alone,
The secret thieves, great and small,
Among whom there are many learned men,
For whom it is neither proper nor seemly
That they utter such loose jests
Like frivolous idiots.

They are not ashamed to boast and lie,
And thereby to deceive people.
When some fool has eaten himself fat,
He then promises mountains of gold;
He promises that, when winter begins,
There shall be no lack:
Before Christmas comes,
The gentleman shall slaughter so many pigs

And besides, so many oxen out of Poland,
O, that the hangman must fetch you!

What may you rogues be thinking,
When you thus torment the people,
When you obtain money in heaps,
Only that you may run away with it?

You make a mockery of GOD’s gift;
You deceivers, you forget GOD.
The Art is regarded as a piece of roguery;
Your knavish tricks cause this.

O you accursed villain,
Let not your soul be pledged
To the Devil in the abyss of Hell,
With all his companions.

If your soul were lost as often
As you have sometimes sworn
That your Art was right and good,
What harm that would do many a man
Who receives you with pleasure and love!

You hangman-worthy, loose thieves,
Upon whom this title is laid
By Count Bernhardus Trevisano.

When your Arts are at an end,
And no truth is found therein,
Then you know yet another Art,
Which you give to no one for nothing,
But for a hundred thousand Thalers.

Thus you also boast of your lousy Praxis Practice

You would then present it to the man
Whom you have helped to consume what was his,
Until you get the door upon your neck,
And say Deo gratias Thanks be to God with your heels;
You bid good night so that no one hears
How people complain of this in many places.

You metallic Alchemists,
What great thing have you ever accomplished
In the Art with all your tricks?
Have you ever found anything at all
That could give you beer and bread,
And help you in your need?

Even though you may indeed transform
Metal into a good appearance and colour,
It is nevertheless no fine gold possessing the virtue
That could restore youth,
As does the philosophical Gold,
Which gives such a rich reward,
Namely health and long life.
He who reads this, let him take good note of it.

For this reason the great kings
Of the world have sought after it.
And how its Art is to be found
Is through the Materia Hermetis Matter of Hermes.

It must be drawn forth pure
From the body of its Mother,
As is found written in the Tablets:

What is above is also below.

And likewise also in reverse,
One finds it there in sum.
The Wind has carried it in its belly.
If anyone should now ask further
What that same thing might be,
I will now tell him plainly:

It is the Quinta essentia Fifth Essence,
That is Hermetis materia the Matter of Hermes;
From it comes lapis magnesia the Stone of Magnesia,
And terra alba foliata the foliated white earth.

And into this same earth
The seed shall be sown,
For red and white, whichever one desires,
As is written in many books;
Therein the Philosophi Philosophers teach:
What one sows, that shall one reap.

Here you now have the whole account,
That your Arts are nothing else
But only lies and empty trifles;
For this, disgrace befalls you,
And you shall be forsaken by GOD,
And finally die in hunger and distress.

Because you are utterly corrupted,
And through many thousands of oaths have forsworn
The almighty, eternal GOD,
Therefore you remain in scorn and mockery,
Until the monstrous Devil
Fetches you to himself into the eternal fire.

May GOD preserve us from all suffering;
If you amend yourselves, it is time.

This is but a simple layman’s poem;
Whoever is learned, let him give a better account.
For thus to deceive people,
And shamefully lie to them,
Is almost worse than theft.

It may one day happen to you because of it
As happened in the land of Württemberg,
And as you have seen depicted.
Yet no one believes it beforehand
Until he gets the rope around his neck.

Thus this poem has an end,
In which I have given an account
Of how one should escape deception
And rid oneself of the cunning of rogues.

Then they shall no longer have anything to pilfer
From the chests and pockets of honest people.

Treatise 2.
A Fine Description of the Philosophical Matter and Its Preparation, Set Forth in Rhymes

ab incerto Autore.
by an unknown Author.

If through the grace of GOD alone
You wish to obtain the Philosophers’ Stone,
Seek it not in herbs and animals,
In sulphur, mercury, and minerals.

Vitriol, alum, and salt are worth nothing;
Lead, tin, iron, and copper are not desired.
Silver and gold likewise cannot accomplish it;
Hyle primordial matter, or Chaos, accomplishes it all.

It is enclosed in our salt-springs,
In the tree of the Moon and of the Sun.
Flos mellis Flower of Honey, I call it;
The flower which the Wise know.

Flos flower, and mel honey, in sum,
Are the sulphur sulphur and argentum vivum living mercury of the Wise.

Namely, Water and Earth by name,
The growing Seed of all Metals:
The Water volatile, the Earth fixed;
One without the other effects nothing.

Both born from a single Root,
Lowly, yet chosen by the Wise;
It possesses the powers of all Metals,
Yet is not dug from mountains of earth
With picks or other instruments.

In the place and at the ends
Where our Materia Matter is found,
There is no Metal at any time,
Except only in virtue and power,
In the Hyle Primordial Matter or Chaos.

Well known to Homer,
It is called the herb Moly,
Which, in its proper state,
Has an entirely black root,
And is green, white, and blood-red.

This Mercurius Mercury, the heathen god,
Shows to Ulysses in his wandering,
That he might preserve himself
From the sorceries of Circe.

This, as a special Gift,
Men have from GOD for their comfort,
From which there springs, with thanksgiving,
Nectar Nectar, the sweet drink of the Gods.

Chelidonia it is especially called,
As a particular heavenly Gift.

Radix solaria the Solar Root it is also called,
The Root is known to the Wise.
According to the Astronomers it is highly adorned,
Metaphorice metaphorically it is compared with the Planets:

Lead, tin, copper, and iron,
Silver and gold, all of the Wise.
Azoth in Chaldean it is called;
In German, it is an ensouled Spirit;
In Latin, argentum vivum animatum animated living Mercury,
Namely Mercurius Philosophorum the Mercury of the Philosophers.

The herb Adrop it is also called;
It is a well-known Chaldean word,
Meaning in our language Saturnus Saturn,
According to the Astronomers, as I must say.

Saturnus Saturn rules the Earth,
Metaphorice metaphorically it is compared with our Matter,
Which is the red Lead and the red Earth,
Despised and held worthless by fools.

The red and green Lion it is called,
Terra Adamica the Adamic Earth, well known;
An extract which the Creator wisely,
With diligence, drew from all creatures,

The powers of all Natures together
Comprised and enclosed in one massa mass.
From the massa mass and the red Earth
The almighty GOD creates Adam,

Our first Father, highly adorned;
Therefore he is called Microcosmus the Microcosm.

Adam, the red Earth, you shall know,
Primam materiam the First Matter we call it.
Further I will likewise now
Show you its Preparation.

Kill the Lion with strong courage,
Take only his coagulated Blood,
The splendour of Gold, noble and precious,
Separated from the centro centre of the stinking Earth.

Dissolve it with the greatest diligence;
Follow wisely the Creator of Nature,
May He enlighten our understanding
To separate the dry from the moist,

That is, the Water from the Earth,
The volatile from the fixed.
Spiritum animatum the animated Spirit, at the end,
Water and Earth, two visible Elements,

Have, through GOD’s Will and providence,
Air and Fire hidden within themselves,
Impregnated, also pure and wholly pure,
With the fifth invisible Nature.

If now the Work is to come to its End,
Then marry the Woman to the Man,
Our Adam to Eve, clearly,
Both of them wholly bare and naked.

For then Nature herself, pure and pure,
Rejoices in her own Nature;
They desire the mingling with longing,
And one Nature is preserved by the other.

The animated Spirit dissolves the Body,
The Body coagulates the Spirit;
This is Mercurius Mercury alone,
Upon which the Philosophers’ Stone is founded.

It makes itself black, green, white, and red,
It is Proteus, the God of the Sea,
Who, when he is caught, wondrously
Turns himself into a thousand forms.

For he himself dissolves and coagulates,
Putrefies and distils,
Also sublimes and calcines,
Mortifies and vivifies,
Also washes and incerates,
Clarifies and fixes.

In all these things
Heaven and Earth shall move;
Sun and Moon shall also thereby
Be darkened and black as a raven.

Heaven and Earth also wholly melt
In the Hyle Primordial Matter and Chaos.
A most wondrous conflict
Arises among the Elements on every side:

The Water covers the whole Earth;
But in order that the moist may become dry,
Let our mighty Giants, without ceasing or weariness,
Continually fight
With our wondrous little Dwarf,
Who finally, through GOD’s miraculous work

Overcomes and conquers,
Catches, kills, and binds all the Giants.

From the broken, worthless thing
GOD creates anew Heaven and Earth;
He builds the new Jerusalem indeed
Of clear, translucent Gold,
And also of pure precious Stones.

That is the worthy Stone of the Wise,
The one good bird, Phoenix,
Which now, through the heat of the Fire,
Has been killed and born anew,
And has become a true Salamander.

He who now lives beautifully in the Fire
Is filius Solis the Son of the Sun;
Who, through his special power,
Works miracles and great wonders.

He drives away every sickness
In men and in metallic bodies;
With glorified Body, Flesh, and Blood
He purifies all bodies.

The immortal Adam, highly adorned,
Tinges common Silver and Gold,
So that thereby they also become fruitful,
To bear fruit like themselves upon the Earth.

Treatise 3.
Tractatulus rhythmicus vom Stein der Weisen. Ex m.s.

A Little Rhymed Treatise on the Philosophers’ Stone. From a manuscript.

Chapter 1
On the Prima Materia First Matter.

A faithful teaching I will give to you;
According to it, order your life here.
Pray to GOD for grace, that you may obtain His favour;
Through wisdom the Art is attained.

This shall be your first beginning,
If you desire the noble Stone:
Labour diligently and follow Nature;
Do not believe everything that is told to you
By every false mouth and writing,
For this is truly nothing but poison.

Seek it not in herbs, animals, and fats,
Nor in trees, metals, and salts.
Vitriol and alum are worth nothing
To whoever seeks them for this Work.

Neither Sol the Sun nor Luna the Moon can accomplish it,
Unless their primum Ens First Being brings it about.

It is a Stone, and yet no Stone;
In this alone lies the Art.
Nature has made it thus,
That it has not been brought to Perfection.

Its like shall not be found upon Earth;
It grows in mountains and in valleys.
Materiam primam the First Matter men call it;
He is very wise who knows such a thing.

☿ philosophorum the Mercury of the Philosophers it is also called;
Upon this rock stands our wall.
Within it lies the whole Art.

Whoever has the vapour of this same thing,
Or the clear radiance of the Red Lion,
Has extracted ☿ vivum living Mercury, wholly pure and clean;
Likewise Sulphur Sulphur, I tell you truly:
He has indeed the foundation of the Art.

Chapter 2
On the Solution.

I believe that you are now quite certain
Of the true Materia of the lapis Matter of the Stone,
For truly I cannot describe it to you more clearly,
Nor indicate it to you more plainly.

For this time, therefore, accept this as sufficient;
Now hear how one proceeds further with it

If perhaps someone should ask me
How the vapour is to be driven from it,
Then, briefly, I give you this answer:

According to the proper practice, dissolve the Stone;
Not in the sophistical manner and practice.
All corrosives you shall also avoid:

For upon Earth there can be no water
That might dissolve our Stone,
Except a little spring, pure and clear,
Which opens itself; that is the fountain,

Within which our Solution Solution is most secretly
Hidden from every man.
Of itself it becomes heated,
So that the Stone, from anguish, must sweat.

No Philosophus Philosopher in this world
Has openly revealed this Solution Solution.
A gentle fire does it good;
Keep these words carefully guarded,

So that you may be well experienced therein;
Otherwise you may spare yourself your labour.
For whoever is near to the prima materia First Matter
And to its Solution Solution,

He accomplishes the Art in good repose;
May GOD grant good fortune and blessing thereto.

One thing more I must also tell you:
If you do not see a black smoke
Below, and the Whiteness standing above,
Then you have not performed your matter correctly

And you have not rightly dissolved your Work;
By this test it will soon be perceived.
But if you have dealt rightly with it,
Then you shall soon see a black mist,
Which very quickly settles downward;
Its Spirit turns into a white form.

Cleanse this quickly and skilfully;
Thus the four Elements are separated.
The pure must be brought forth from the impure;
When this happens, it has great power,
Also to perform and accomplish wonders,
Of which many wise men sing.

For it is now truly and certainly
The pure Essentia Solis Essence of the Sun,
Its primum ens first being and true Tinctur Tincture.
It assumes a new form,
Very different from its form in the Stone;
Therefore our Gold is not the common gold.

Of this the worthy man
Theophrastus also speaks, and clearly declares
That the Essenz Essence has such power
That it makes the Corpus Solis Body of the Sun
Entirely anew into pure primum ens first being.

These are the three beginnings of Gold,
Namely Sal Salt, Sulphur Sulphur, and Mercurius Mercury.
Yet in two of them there is no virtus virtue;
Rather, the Sulphur Sulphur and the Sal Salt
Leave all their virtus virtue in Mercurio Mercury

And also very much Mercurius Mercury
Loses of its pondus weight;
When it is skilfully separated
And extracted from the Body,

This same Essenz Essence has such virtue
That it brings in renewed youth:
For that which before was his Father
Indeed transforms his very own essence,
And is certainly the true Magnet Magnet.

One thing more concerning this, wherein consist
The beginning of the Art, also the middle and the end:
Now, through GOD’s help, is completed
The true philosophical Solution Solution,
Through the true Putrefaction Putrefaction.

In the Athanor it has taken place;
Sublimationem philosophorum the Sublimation of the Philosophers you have seen,
Also the separation of the Elements,
The extraction of the Spirit from the Body,

Through which his death has come upon him;
Whom GOD will awaken again
Through the proper Composition Composition;
Albatio Whitening will not long be delayed.

Chapter 3
De Compositione On the Composition.

Now I will proceed further,
And teach you rightly how to compose

Therefore take careful note, and keep this in mind:
That Mercurius philos. the Philosophical Mercury be brought
Into Mercurium vivum living Mercury,
Which formerly was its Mother.
From the earth it has come forth;
Cast it back therein, and you shall have great benefit from it.

Thus the terra earth will dissolve the Seed,
And the Seed will coagulate the terra earth;
And then from the two there shall become one,
It also remains one, and nothing separates it.

Now set the Old Man in his Bath;
Then he becomes powerless, weary, and weak.
And let the old fool fly
Until at last he remains lying below,
And from it becomes a white Swan,
Fairer than he had ever been upon Earth.

His own Blood makes him young,
If only he drinks the ninth draught;
Afterward he flies up high,
And yet at last remains lying snow-white.

He also often becomes black, white, red, and yellow-coloured;
Yet none of the colours is clear
Until he appears wholly clear, white, and pure,
Much clearer than crystal stone,

Properly candied, cubical, not hard, yet bright;
So clear does his own Soul make him,
By means of the Spirit, though not so quickly;
In several weeks it will be completed

And this is the true Ferment, indeed;
Preserve this Good with the greatest diligence.
Without mockery and truly,
It is accomplished through Water and Earth:

For in the Earth is the Fire,
With the Water the noble Air, so precious;
Purified unto the highest End,
Thus the Elements are composed.

If you wish to augment it and enjoy it,
Then you must water it again
With Water, wherein are Spirit, Soul, and Life;
Then it will yield four hundredfold more fruit,

It will kill itself and rise again,
And finally proceed to Autumn and Harvest.

Chapter 4
De Augmentatione On Augmentation.

After the Earth is now prepared
To receive its constancy,
So that it may increase in virtue,
Therefore turn what is last to the front,

And take at the same time Spirit, Soul, and Life;
Add these properly to the Earth,
Namely the Water which is called aër air;
By this you come ever nearer to the Art.

For what is Earth without Seed?
A Body that has no Soul,
A dead, despised, and worthless thing.
Therefore bring the Soul to the Body

Seek the Earth’s own Seed,
Thus you shall provide a remedy for all things.
This is properly Mercurius Mercury,
Which makes the dead vivus living.

The Soul is the fine Seed;
Sow it into the flying Earth,
With its like, understand me rightly;
If this does not happen, it bears no fine fruit.

For whatever Seed is sown,
Such fruit it also brings forth.
Here the Soul makes the Body sound;
They unite and make a bond,

So that henceforth no one can separate them,
Neither Water, Fire, nor any other suffering.
Now the fixed has become volatile;
The volatile assumes the order of the fixed.

If now you understand me rightly,
And sow this Seed many times,
Then it will bring you fruits without number;
It rests with you you have the choice.

You may augment it eternally without end;
It is certainly an eternal Ferment Ferment.

Chapter 5
De Projectione On Projection.

One thing more is lacking to you, I know well:
How one should perform Projection Projection.
This I will conclude briefly and well:
You shall let the best Good flow

Yet you must take note of the weight:
Direct yourself to a hundred or a thousand Loth;
Upon this, one Loth of the Tinctur Tincture,
Cast upon it, brings a new form,
So that it tinges ten times as much;
Without end in sum, it has no limit.

But if your intention were wholly directed
Not henceforth to cast upon Solem the Sun,
Then take one Loth of tinged Sol Gold;
Every metal serves well for this.
When cast upon it while in fusion,
It soon changes itself into the form of Gold,
Quite certainly, enduring in every assay;
For this you shall thank and praise GOD.

One path, one Work, one certain End
Completes the white and red Tinctur Tincture.
Therefore I tell you quite openly
That this is wholly the End of the Tincture.

The highest Good in this world,
Salvation, is Christ’s Blood;
He who died for us men
Has obtained salvation for us.

His precious Blood, the true Tinctur Tincture,
I set before you as an example.
Were He not Man and God at once,
Yet neither departs from the other.

He was at once Spirit, Soul, and Body,
Yet nevertheless none departs from the other.
He was more than we all are;
Therefore He could endure such suffering

But if He had not been so,
Then we could not have been healed;
For since we were to be redeemed,
He had to come from Heaven to Earth.

He alone, righteous and without all guilt,
Obtained for us His Father’s favour.
He willingly gave Himself unto death
And suffered great anguish and distress for us,

So that He might redeem us all, corrupted as we were,
From Adam’s Fall.
He allowed Himself to be scourged, tortured, and killed,
And His holy Blood to be forced from Him,

His side to be opened with a spear.
That this is true, he bears witness
Who saw that Water and Blood
Flowed forth, for the good of us men.

When He had now been tortured and beaten,
Crucified, killed, and buried,
Then the Spirit departed from the Body;
The Soul and Spirit GOD preserved.

Then the Elements were separated;
Each came to its proper end.
The Body remained lying in the grave;
The Soul had ascended into Heaven.

Yet with this it was not accomplished,
If Christ had died and had not risen again;
And although He had indeed shed His Blood,
We still would not have benefited from it,

If Soul and Spirit had not returned again,
And the Body had not taken the Soul back to itself

We would have remained lost;
But because Christ was born anew,
He rose with great power
And brought life back to us.

For we were dead and wholly lost;
But now we are born anew,
Certain heirs in His Kingdom,
And equal to all the beloved Angels.

We too shine with a clear radiance,
Like the fine red Gold.
For now we are so highly tinged,
That the serpent’s bite does not touch us.

With Grace we are crowned,
Forever reconciled with GOD.
Whoever now believes this from the ground of his heart,
For him the blessed hour is prepared

To behold GOD’s glory.
May He help us thereto in eternity.

Whoever now hopes for good fortune from GOD,
And whose eyes are opened by Him,
So that he recognizes Nature and the Art,
Together with their Beginning, Middle, and End,

He to whom this Stone is given by GOD
Should lead a truly chaste and virtuous life,
So that pride and temporal possessions
Do not cause him to receive the fire of Hell.

May the Trinity preserve us from this;
May GOD grant salvation to us all.

Treatise 4.

Philosophia Philosophy, the noble Art,
Has recognized me through GOD’s favour;
Otherwise no one has ever recognized me,
Rich or poor, all alike,
Neither prince, nobleman, nor peasant.

Therefore many a man’s labour
Which he has undertaken has become bitter,
Without any foundation, early or late;
He imagined thereby to find me,
Yet it was altogether only in vain.

It could not, nor indeed might it be otherwise;
Nothing foreign may be introduced.
Therefore desist from your labour;
Seek rightly, and I can give you rest.

I allow myself to be found every day;
From the mountains I have my origin.
Men carry me before great princes,
Yet both poor and rich possess me,

And find me in their own house,
If only they look out of the window.
Thus they can taste and see me;
My smell is sweet and altogether delightful.

When you find me, it will do you no harm;
You shall lead me into a Bath.
Therein I sweat; my Sweat and Blood
Preserve it will serve you well thereafter.

When thirst now comes upon me
Through the heat of the Bath, understand me

Then give me drink, refresh me,
So I become blacker than a raven.
With my Blood you shall refresh me;
Nor should this frighten you,

If I retain my blackness for a time;
Thereafter much joy and delight will follow you,
When I become whiter than the snow.
Through diligent labour, understand me;

As you well know, I shall say no more,
For not everything belongs in the light of day.
When from the Raven there comes a Swan,
Then you shall have gained the victory.

For GOD’s sake, offer your hand to the poor.
Herewith you have my meaning,
What Rebis, the noble Stone, is.

Jonas, my friend, this alone
I have at last, out of friendship, placed into your hands.
May GOD turn all suffering and sorrow away from us.

The spiritual Being through Nature
Is the figure of our noble Stone;
It shall be found and prepared,
Properly separated and brought to completion.

Separate the noble, subtle, and fine
From the coarse, and keep it alone.
The chaff is of no use with the grain;
Upon it all labour is lost.

When this has happened, mark me well,
The Body must here temporally die;
It will taste and stink like a corpse,
And be black like a Moor, believe me,

Therewith he also consumes the time
Which Nature has allotted to him.
Thus it is rightly done with him.
Well then, let us go further,
And see how one is to proceed,
That he may become free from the stench,
And not remain black like a raven;
He shall become a beautiful white youth.

Through purification this may happen,
So that he becomes pleasant and fine,
Which Nature gave him in the beginning;
The stench he received in the grave.

The Elements dwell with him;
Not one of them will he let go free.
He wishes to retain them in marriage,
Purified and clean, understand me.

The purification shall take place
As if by itself, understand me well;
No foreign addition is needed for it.
Take heed, good fellow, do not let yourself be misled.

For a foreign addition fits it
As one who bridles a horse by the tail.

I cannot and may not pass over
Considering the Elements,
Wherein they stand, and what their office is,
So that I may be freed from my doubt.

My curiosity asks me every day
Where the Fire has its dwelling,
And where alone it may be found.
Nature gives the answer: in a Stone

It has its dwelling in the ground of the Earth;
Nowhere else could one find it.
When one attacks the Fire with anger,
It can quickly flee into the Earth.

In Air and Fire you find no place;
To the Earth it has its refuge.
Air and Water also together
Come together in friendship;

They likewise do not allow themselves to be separated.
To catch the Air is impossible;
It does not allow itself to be kept in any vessel,
No lock or gate can bar it.

Nor can one catch it with any hand;
Only in the Water, understand me,
With this it willingly allows itself
To be found, believe me certainly,

Purified and clean with its power.
The Water retains its property,
Also completely together with the Air.
Thus these two Elements are

In one house, so that one may
Understand them distinctly.

(The Living sat upon the Dead;
Death devoured the Living.
Through the laughter which the Laughing one made,
The Living died upon the spot.)

They also give their counsel and voice
To the white Swan, understand me,
From one house beneath one roof.
Let this be enough concerning this matter.

Fire and Earth thereafter
Willingly allow themselves to be separated.
Then there lies the poor Swan;
Without feathers he cannot fly.

As though he were dead, white as snow,
Come to his aid with that which before
Was taken from him by robbery;
Then he will become healthy at that very time.

Thus you have, briefly and readily,
The friendship and also the separation of the Elements.
Whoever thinks otherwise and wishes to understand it otherwise
May well go groping along the wall,

Like a blind man with a staff.
May the reader take this in good part.

END.