ROSARY MINOR - Rosarij Minoris - Rosarius Minor

FOLLOWS ANOTHER LITTLE BOOK ΠΕΡΙ

A most useful treatise concerning Chemistry, and most full of knowledge of metallic matters, entitled Rosarius Minor.

Of an uncertain author indeed, but one not unskilled in these matters.

PREFACE

A riddle about the art of Alchemy and the author's method of proceeding.

1.

The author of the book, which is called Rosarius, says:

I descended into my garden to behold the beds of various plants springing up, and among the other flowers of my Rosary, I found a snowy or white rose, and also one adorned with blood or redness; I chose the most beautiful, and observed that there were few and rare, "for the pomegranates had not blossomed."

And I said with an audible voice: Return, return, O Gardener, return and bring increase.

Multiply my Rosary throughout the entire garden, or build and plant it anew, so that the garden may be adorned with white and red roses shining brilliantly. With the superfluous removed and rejected, apply careful attention to what is useful and necessary.

Then the Gardener separated the rose plants and replanted them, and increased them by doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and thus multiplying in turn, until they reached full whiteness, and then perfect redness.

But all this was done “through the increase of the plants,” which pleased me. However, he hinted that this was still not enough. Yet whatever was perceptible regarding this he fully demonstrated to me.

And in due time he planted both white and red roses in his soil, and left them to grow in his land — I say, his own land, from which they had sprung. And in the following year, a plant came forth, which annually produced a thousand thousand roses.

And behold, my garden is now filled with rosebeds, yielding roses sufficiently for me and for all who enter each year. Therefore, I give praises to God, and grateful thanks to the Gardener.

And in this book, better than the others, which is not without reason entitled Rosarius, I will write perfectly all things which I have seen and truly tested, for those who understand, are wise, and skilled in the art — so that whoever enters this Rosary through the gates, with the Gardener’s help, will not only have a share of the roses, but will also see the crafts of all who work in the white or red Rosary. And consequently, he will acquire discernment in understanding the intention of all writings, wherever the work may seem obscure or clear.

For in this lies the truth both utterly naked and also clothed. Naked to those who are knowledgeable and discerning in the nearer natures of minerals. Clothed, however, to fools, who seek in the more distant — indeed, impossible — natures of vegetables and animals, relying only on the texts of masters who, out of envy, obscure the art for those who labor at it.

For I write to you the perfect truth, and sure, true, and complete operations, without any deviation.

Admonition: Two kinds of deceivers to beware of, and that the art consists in fixed Mercury

2.

But truly, truly, many pseudophilosophers will come after me, who will deceive practitioners. Of these I find only two general types, who obscure this knowledge. The first is the ignorant and sophistic. The second is the knowledgeable but envious philosopher.

The first writes deceitful books, bearing witness to his own deceits and sophistry, and “places upon their titles the names of good philosophers,” so that they may appear to have good art and perfect elixir.

And so that he may be more believed by men, he carries powders of stones, white or red, and treats gold and silver — but those who follow him fail in their operations when they test his writings.

The second is wholly envious, and writes books on things far removed from the truth, to lead men away from the true path as much as he can. He tries to prove his claims with mere arguments, which seem to fools to be most certain. He places the art in herbs, and fruits of plants, and in many foreign and remote vegetables.

Or, so that he may seem to leave us the true art, he speaks more philosophically, grounding himself in the four elements, which are the materials of the philosophers, and draws these from many things — from vegetables, animals, and many others — namely from the egg, from hair, from blood, from dung, from urine, from seed, from toads, and from many other things, as their writings show and declare.

Or he substitutes one thing for another, either in likeness or plainly, and places the entire art either in the aforementioned principles or in remote mineral intermediates, such as ink, borax salt, alum, marcasite, magnesia, tutia, and many other minerals. And although these may help sometimes to hasten or to purify, or to increase color, nevertheless they are envious who put them forward as the complete philosophical matter.

And thus they either expose the art, or else cover it up, and deceive the unwise, so that they may despise the art — or, although they receive the true matter and mineral nature, yet through their various fictitious and impossible or unsuitable operations, they prevent the fool from reaching completion.

And oh, you novices who purchase the art of Alchemy wholly as above — do you believe that you should expect good and true transmutation from that which is quickly destroyed by the fire’s combustion and reduced to ashes? Is it not said that sulphur and orpiment burn quickly and are quickly consumed by fire? But azoth always remains longer unburned. “What is perfect in metals is fixed mercury,” as said above.

Concerning the same, that fixed Mercury brings perfection. Division of operations and of the booklet into two parts

3.

Now I have openly proved, according to straight truth, that the defect in metals is the defect of mercury — fixed and pure — and whatever is chosen in this art to perfect it is the cause thereof. Therefore, in it is the perfection, and not in any other.

Know this — do not forget it — wherever you find it, hold it as the greater stone, for no other thing exists like it, nor can do what it does. If it is corrupt, it corrects; if fixed, it fixes; if liquid, it dissolves; if thick, it coagulates; if tinged, it tinges. It surpasses all bodies in purity.

“And he who could endure the fire’s pain, would make from it, with its congealed sulphur, the most excellent elixir.”

It is taken both living and dead, but the pure is always to be chosen, “which is living.” Many operations are done from it, which are divided into two.

The first is done with assistance.
The second from itself alone — but nature proceeds with its sulphur.

In two chapters I will complete these two operations perfectly. And I will write whatever I have tested, done, or seen. From the sayings of the philosophers I hold nothing at present, except that they affirm my statements — which I will speak with truth. And I have become free from envy; let him understand who wishes to understand my words.

CHAPTER ONE

The promise and division of the things to be said concerning the operations of Alchemy

1.

In the first chapter I will speak of all operations which proceed from the matter with divine aid, etc. No sophist shall enter this book; I will always set forth a regimen leading to perfection. There are indeed many aids. I say briefly that the aid of calcination is this. (And first I will speak of the bodies) [the imperfect ones.]

On the Calcination of Saturn and Jupiter

2.

Saturn and Jupiter are calcined with the help of fire first, and with the diligence of the artisan, and this fire must not exceed their fixation, in an earthen vessel, strong, stirred with an iron rod, until they are reduced to ashes.

The ashes are to be moistened with sharp cleansing waters. For red, purified human urine is useful, blood water, or red vinegar. For white, white vinegar is useful, water of common salt and alum, and many other sharp substances. After the moistening, dry them over fire or in the Sun, until they become white or red lime.

They are also calcined with the help of salts, and this calcination is good, and with the aid of vitriol and other sharp things. They are also calcined with the help of sulphur or orpiment, and this is better.

But best of all, they are calcined with Mercury thus: First they are amalgamated, then ground, and washed with sharp things until perfectly purified; then they are mixed with sharp salts by grinding, and with alums and other acidic substances, and dried and corroded; afterward the saltness is removed by washing. However, the Mercury, before it is dried, should be extracted by sublimation with salt, and thus remains a white lime, than which nothing better can be.

And I give you this general rule: however Jupiter is calcined with fire, it produces white lime; Saturn always red, unless whitened with sharp things.

On the Calcination of Venus and Mars

3.

Venus and Mars are calcined with the help of fire, first in the reverberatory furnace, if their filings are placed inside; through the reverberation of the flame, they are calcined, and the result for Mars is “crocus of iron,” which is called iron cement. For Venus, it is simple burnt copper, or χαλκὸς κεκαυμένος.

They are also calcined by ignition and extinction in sharp things, until they are totally converted into scales, just as Jupiter and Saturn are calcined by removing their scoria. Then the lime is moistened with sharp and salty substances until it becomes red and clean.

The lime of Venus and Mars can also be whitened. They are also calcined with sulphur and orpiment, mixed with metal plates or their filings, and even with salts, alums, and other corrosives. The lime is then prepared with washing and drying until it reaches the desired condition.

They are also very well calcined by ignition and extinction in Mercury, and whatever can be scraped off during each extinction should be scraped off with a knife, and the process repeated until it is as desired. And it is prepared with washing and drying with salts, and by removing the Mercury, and it will become excellent lime. And know that the lime of a body is not fixed unless it is calcined with fire. And I say this: that all bodies can be calcined over sharp vapors, or with sharp substances. But the best calcination of bodies is with Mercury.

On the Calcination of the Sun and Moon

4.

The Sun and Moon are calcined in the manner of Venus and Mars, but what is better and best is by amalgamation with Mercury, and washing and drying, or by extracting the Mercury through sublimation, as has been said. Spirits, however, cannot be calcined unless they are first fixed.

On the Calcination of Other Things and Mixtures

5.

Many other things are also calcined to extract their tincture, and to make their parts more subtle and purified.

And know that each body is calcined by itself; and if some things are combined and calcined together, a lime is produced which is marvelous in effect. Do not forget this — test it, and retain what is best. Let this suffice for now on these matters.

On the Sublimation of Spirits

6.

Spirits and intermediate minerals are sublimed with assistance. Spirits are sublimed either from salts, or from vitriols, or from alums, or from bodies, or from mixtures of these. [including quicksilver]

And note that sublimation is done for the purpose of purifying the tincture. If spirits are sublimed with impurities, they become impure. If with adherent substances, they remain more fixed with the tincture below, which is what we seek.

Therefore, it is necessary that they first be purified through sharp substances and through washing, or by a singular separation of the impure from the pure. Consider this carefully, for this method is a secret. Sublime the purified spirits with the pure limes of bodies until they are fixed, and you will see that I have spoken the truth.

On the Sublimation of Imperfect Bodies

7.

Bodies are sublimed with the aid of fire, and this by the action of fire. This is done to obtain a clean, tempered matter. For that which is too volatile and earthy impurity are separated by sublimation, and the tempered substance remains, as I have said, which we seek.

They are also sublimed with substances that elevate, with sulphur, orpiment, mercury, and other spirits. And I say this concerning unfixed bodies, such as Jupiter and Saturn, which can be sublimed without residue or anything else, and with any of the aforementioned. Venus and Mars can also be sublimed with those aforementioned.

On the Sublimation of Perfect Bodies

8.

But it must be especially noted that fixed bodies can also be sublimed, namely the Sun and Moon.

But the reason for their elevation is that they may be purified with sulphur, orpiment, or quicksilver, which makes them ascend more quickly by rarefaction and fixes them (more) swiftly.

And this is an innermost secret, which I tell you as certain, and which almost all conceal.

Nevertheless, I say: Bodies must be made incorporeal in ascending, and incorporeal bodies corporeal in descending.

The greatest skill is to make a body into spirit, and vice versa. But it is true that if extreme volatility surpasses the extreme of fixity, in the end it will return to a spiritual body, either white or red. Truly, I am not envious, for I have laid it bare completely.

On Fixation

9.

Everything volatile is fixed when purified with the aid of fire, namely through daily decoction — and this is my secret — or by the aid of some fixed thing, that is through imbibition and repetition of the things mentioned before, as I have clearly described in sublimation. And this is one of my great secrets. Bodies are also fixed, as I foreshadowed, by calcining or cooking with fire alone.

On Distillation

10.

Many things are distilled to aid this work.

Water is distilled from green or Roman vitriol, from saltpeter, and from feathered alum. These are of great help to this work, for with them all crude and calcined bodies are marvelously dissolved, and calcined or fixed spirits too — by a marvelous and beautiful solution. Many other waters and oils are distilled as well, from salts, vitriols, alums, and many other things, both mineral, vegetable, and animal, as is found in the books of philosophers who have dealt with this art.

On Solution

11.

All bodies and spirits are dissolved with the aid of the aforementioned corrosive water, or with other corrosive waters, which are made in many ways. And because such things are found quite truly and openly in many books of the philosophers, we are excused from treating them in this Rosary. But hold this, my friend: the better solution is made in fire at gentle heat, and with living mercury and the water of life — when it is purified. But at first, it is called poison or a deadly thing.

On Ceration

12.

Calcined bodies are cerated with dissolved bodies, by imbibing and cerating. And though there are many imbibitions of bodies, the best is with mercury, that is, when it is purified living water. The best ceration is done with living azoth and a drop of soap. For the water of the body, when the body is reduced into mercury, is called blood. And in whatever way something is cerated with oils, it is worthless unless the oil has first been made fixed and incombustible. And this oil is obtained only from fixed metals — know this most excellent secret, and that it is most highly prized among the philosophers.

On Coagulation
13.

All things that have been dissolved are coagulated with the help of fire, and this in vessels firmly sealed. But hold this as my secret: that a thing is perfectly coagulated when it flows with appropriate ignition and withstands the test of fire. Otherwise, repeat the work, and through repetition you will arrive at the goal — with God’s favor.

On Particulars Toward White in General
14.

Behold, I have told you all the true and necessary operations in the work of this art, to shorten the labor and to assist nature in general.

Now, to be complete, I will unfold better special and particular instructions in this chapter.

First, therefore, how bodies are multiplied, and afterward about abbreviating time and labor, and the elixir. And since the red can in no way be made unless the white first precedes, I now give you such instructions for multiplying white roses so that perfect Luna may be produced.

First, the body of Luna must be dried, and this through the calcination I have described. And the purpose of this is that the moisture of that which we propose to augment it with may adhere more deeply and firmly to it without separation. Then another non-fixed body, with which you intend to work, must be calcined — this so that it may be fixed by it.

For the volatile part in them flies off through the calcination by fire, and what remains is an unleavened and pure earth. By this same calcination, the sticky greasiness and impurity of the body is removed, and it is brought back to its pristine state, and what remains is a clean earth that does not burn or blacken bodies.

Then dissolve the lime of Luna in pure and clear water, as I showed you in the chapter on Dissolution.

Second, likewise dissolve the unleavened lime of any other body, combine the waters, and mix them well, then congeal them into a white mass, and at the end of the congelation let it descend through the bottom. This is the best method I have ever tried.

I took one part of the fixed body and three parts of the non-fixed. I again combined the dissolved lime of Luna and the water of the non-fixed body, and I again combined this water with the first mentioned mass, again calcined and dissolved, and thus the first part was augmented by three parts of its kind. I made that whole coagulate and descend a second time. I repeated this work fifteen times — and never did God create a better Luna; I held it dearer than gold.

I also found another much easier method: namely, by imbibing the lime of the non-fixed body with the water of the lime of Luna, grinding or cerating it upon marble, drying it well, and letting it descend.

Then, on the second time, taking new lime of the non-fixed body, imbibing it with the dissolved lime of new Luna, and adding the lime of the first mass — namely, one part of this with three parts of the other — then drying and descending, and repeating the process fifteen times.

Thus I came to a Luna much better than natural. Therefore, I tried another way, still easier: namely, dissolving calcined Luna in water, and with that water imbibing the lime of the non-fixed body, grinding and drying and descending.

Again I repeated the work with new material, and when it was dried, I added three parts of the newly dried material to one part of the previously generated mass — I omitted nothing from the repetitions — and I found by the fifteenth time a good Luna, equal in quality to natural Luna.

One can also proceed well, if one prefers, with about ten repetitions. However, the more the metallic work is repeated, the better. And know that the previously mentioned dissolutions can be done excellently with corrosive waters, but the better dissolution is always with Mercury. Know this: oh, how many good things come from bodies amalgamated with Mercury. These I have now said in general — now I will treat each body individually.

On Particulars Toward White in Specific
15.

Take one part of Luna and five or six parts of Mars, and let them descend together through the bottom, as was said above, and you will have good Luna.

Take one part of Luna and two or an equal part of Venus, and let them descend together through the bottom, as stated above, and you will have good Luna.

Take one part of Luna and three parts of Saturn, and let them descend together through the bottom in the way described, and you will have better Luna.

Take one part of Luna and three parts of Jupiter, and make them descend together through the bottom as explained before, and it will be excellent Luna, equivalent to natural in every test without fail.

If my word is faithful, remember my soul for the things I have said.

Also, the best operation can be done in another way, by amalgamation with Mercury.

Amalgamate dried Luna with Mercury in equal parts. But let there be double the amount of Mercury or of the amalgamated Mars. Then place six parts of this with one part of the first. Boil the whole amalgam together until the Mercury is separated, and let it descend, and repeat this work fifteen times, and the Luna will be good.

Luna is also amalgamated with Mercury as I said, and Venus also should be amalgamated in the manner of Mars — two parts of it, and one part of the amalgam should be sublimed and descended by the same method, and when the work has been repeated fifteen times, the Luna will be good.

Luna is especially amalgamated with Mercury, and Saturn likewise in equal parts, and three parts of it are placed with Luna, subliming and descending, and repeating in the prescribed manner, and you will arrive at better Luna.

Luna is especially amalgamated with Mercury, and Jupiter likewise in equal parts, and let three parts of it be with one part of Luna, and through repeated sublimation — for the separation of Mercury — and by repeating the descent of the work, you will arrive at the best Luna in the world.

The foregoing should suffice for the multiplication of white roses.

On Particulars Toward the Red in General
16.

Let us now proceed to the multiplication of red roses.

The first general rule is: in every red work, place the Sun, just as Luna is placed in the unleavened matter.

But note: the calxes of some bodies are reddened by the help of fire alone, and some are not. Those whose calxes are reddened are: Mars, Venus, and Saturn. But the calx of Luna, Jupiter, and fixed Mercury is not reddened by the help of fire alone — in this first chapter.

However, in our second and last chapter — namely, in the great magistery — the calx of these is reddened at will, and they tinct without measure. Behold the treasure of the philosophers.

They are, nevertheless, reddened in this first chapter with tincting things such as sulphur, atrament, iron water, and the red oil of the philosophers, extracted from minerals, vegetables, or even animals.

And the manner of operating is the same as in the white work of Luna, but in this work the Sun must be calcined and dissolved. Let also all non-fixed bodies be calcined. And through that same calcination, reddened in corrosive or dissolving waters — I mean those more red — join the waters, congeal, and descend into a red mass as you did for the white, and repeat this work as you did with the unleavened matter, fifteen times, and you will have a perfect operation.

Indeed, in this work you may preserve every method I told you in the white. This is true for those calxes that can be reddened with the help of fire.

And that all calxes of bodies can be reddened with the aid of many tincting things remains here for us to declare. But since much good and true information about these is found in the books of the philosophers of this art — waters tinged with redness, powders, and oils — with which the calxes are often imbibed, dried, dissolved, congealed, and descended until redness is achieved,

Therefore it seems superfluous to treat of them here. Yet take from me, to satisfy you, a special tincture of the Sun.

A Particular Recipe for the Red
17.

Wash the filings of Mars in warm salty water, then in warm fresh water, and finally in vinegar many times — say, twenty — until they are clear and well purified. Place them in a glass or glazed vessel with excellent white vinegar for several days, until they become quite red by this, which will occur quickly. Then put the whole into a glass distilling apparatus and distill repeatedly until the filings completely vanish.

For they will surely be sublimed with the said vinegar and the whole of those filings will pass into red water. Let it rest further in stillness for several days — this water tinges prepared and molten Luna wonderfully into a red color. And with each repetition of the work, imbibe the calxes with this water, dry, dissolve, congeal, and descend, until the tincture is sufficient. This water is mineral and corporeal.

Another good recipe is made by this method: Take one pound of egg yolks, one pound of fresh human blood, and two pounds of clean human hair; mix these in a glass vessel. Then take two pounds of finely ground sal ammoniac, and mix everything together. Place the mixture in the glass with sifted ashes, and ignite gently below.

Once all is resolved into water, then cast over it yellow sulphur equal to half of the total ingredients. Immediately remove the vessel from the fire, stirring everything together. Then pour it all into a cucurbit for distillation, and distill repeatedly over the feces, mixing with the water distilled from them, until everything remaining in the bottom is dry.

This mixture, ground and combined with dissolved calxes and congealed, tinges particularly well. This is a tincture of vegetable or animal origin.

An Address to the Reader, and a Prayer to God
18.

Behold, my beloved friend, see how many good things I have now told you, from those contained in my Rosary. Yet you cannot, from the foregoing, gather any roses from it.

For my Rosary is so strongly fortified with the deepest trenches, strongest walls, and many defenses, that no one is able to enter by any craft unless through seven most secure and metallic gates, miraculously sealed with many keys.

O most merciful and gracious God, if I have sinned in any of this, look upon me with the eyes of Your kindness, for You alone know the hearts of men — and know that I have said this only from the fountain of Your mercy.

And I beseech You humbly and devoutly, heavenly Father, that this not fall into the hearts of the wicked. But let the sons of wisdom and understanding know that my Gardener, filled and infused with the grace of the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, showed me only the one key, by which all gates open miraculously and, as if by miracle, in the blink of an eye — as I wrote in the first chapter of my Rosary. And the grace that my Gardener showed me through his kindness, I will kindly and amicably write for all learned and understanding persons.

The Composition of Aqua Fortis, Which Is the Key to the Rosary
19.

The Gardener took three herbs, which he found growing in the place of the Rosary, from the same soil from which the Rosary sprang forth. These were: celandine, sea purslane, and mercury plant.

From these three he composed the aforementioned key. And I shall now explain the method of its preparation most perfectly for you.

Take two pounds of green vitriol, two pounds of saltpeter, and one pound of feather alum, grinding each one separately. Then combine them. Next, have a glass alembic well sealed, externally all around with the clay of wisdom, and place the powder of the above in it. Set a glass alembic atop it, and seal the joints firmly with good clay so that no air may escape. Place it upon the distillation furnace, giving it gentle heat.

The first water will be distilled first — collect it in a long-necked glass flask. Let the flask be sealed with the said clay together with the alembic. Keep the gentle fire constant until the alembic inside becomes colored yellow — this is the sign of the second water.

Then remove the first water with its flask and seal it with wax. Attach a new flask and seal it firmly, increasing the fire until the alembic becomes red inside — this is the sign of the third and strongest water.

Remove the second flask and seal it. Place a new thick flask with a very long neck, sealing it firmly with the best clay, and continue increasing the fire until all the water has come over. Then remove it and seal its mouth with potter’s clay — and reserve it for use.

Praises of the Forementioned Aqua Fortis
20.

This is the most precious, most powerful aqua fortis — known as corrosive water — and it is truly the key by which alone all seven metallic gates of my Rosary are opened in an instant.

With this mineral key, you can unlock the seven aforementioned gates and enter the Rosary, and take white or red roses from whatever plate (metal) you wish, according to your will.

And without doubt, whoever possesses this key will come to know all things that are contained within the Rosary.

Understand what I say, and prepare a guest-chamber in the midst of your heart, that He may dwell therein forever.

With this praiseworthy corrosive water, you can in an instant dissolve all bodies — raw or calcined — all spirits, and all minerals, even precious stones, and congeal them when you wish, as previously described, all in one hour.

This water has such marvelous and praiseworthy effects: it dissolves the solid, renders liquid, purifies the impure, corrodes the superfluous, drives off the fugitive, consolidates the dispersed, increases unleavened tincture excellently, and the red one too. It penetrates all things, softens the hard, hardens the soft, reconciles opposites — and is the key of this whole art, in our present chapter.

What more shall I say about it? Its praises are beyond measure. The first and second waters are also useful for many things in this art. Combine them, and you will possess nothing better in the world for washing the calxes of any metals.

For every impurity, blackness, corruption, and burning sulphureity is removed through it. In the dregs, moreover, is the greatest tincture. Study them well, for in them lies a great arcanum.

Imbibe the dregs with all the water — both the first and second — and let it stand and be incorporated for four days, and then distill again by the prescribed method, and you will have more aqua fortis than you had before. And this is the final secret.

For in this water all tinctures that are to be united are resolved, for its water can then be mixed with the waters of calcined and resolved bodies.

In it are resolved Saturn and Jupiter, Mars and Venus, Mercury, Luna, and Sol.

Through it also cinnabar is improved, and many other things — by which the work is shortened, colored, and augmented. And these suffice for the first part of the first chapter. Yet to complete it, I shall treat of its second and final part. For the Elixir rightly follows, with its help, after the full augmentation of all bodies.

The Reclosure of the Rosary by the Same Water
21.

Take a body that has been putrefied and then philosophically calcined by tempered heat and with the retention or preservation of its radical moisture. Dissolve it — but let it first be purified from all corrupting matter — and this shall be the beginning of the work. And this is of the unleavened matter. Let the calx be white, of a near-imperfect body, the ferment likewise unleavened, well cleansed and calcined. Dissolve the unleavened matter as first stated.

Let the waters be cleansed from the impure dregs. Then join them together in a glass flask with a narrow and tall neck, the mouth of which is to be sealed very firmly.

The proportion must be observed: always four parts of the imperfect to one of the perfect. The flask with the water is to be placed in the furnace of coagulation until the whole coagulates into a stone, with good and fixed coagulation. Then you have the plants of your Rosary of one year.

Next, resolve a new material, as before, in the same proportion, and resolve again the coagulated stone, equal parts of each.

Join the resolved waters and congeal them by the previously mentioned method, and you will have plants of two years.

Third, resolve new matter as before in the weight of the first year's stone, and join it with the stone of two years resolved, and congeal as before, and you will have a Rosary tenderly blooming, producing ten roses.

Fourth, resolve new matter as before, always in the equal proportion of the first-year stone, and join it with the waters of the third year's stone, and congeal as before, and you will have a stone of four years producing twenty flowers of roses. Do the same a fifth time, and the five-year Rosary produces thirty roses.

In the sixth: a hundred roses.
In the seventh: two hundred roses.
In the eighth: three hundred roses.
In the ninth: a thousand.
In the tenth: two thousand.
In the eleventh: three thousand.
In the twelfth: one hundred thousand.
In the thirteenth: two hundred thousand.
In the fourteenth: three hundred thousand.
In the fifteenth: a million.

And so, on the fifteenth day, you will have the perfect Work of Luna.

In the red work — or for the red — you will always work in calxes of reddened and resolved bodies, and with the resolution of Sol.

But here is my final secret: the more the tincture is increased through nourishing adjuncts, the deeper it tinges.

Study and test this said art, and you shall quickly be fortunate. As for all the helps and auxiliaries of this art, they were clearly enough explained in the first part of this first chapter. Therefore, I now close the chapter of my Rosary.

SECOND CHAPTER

That the cause of perfection is only Mercury
1.

It has been said above that the final aim of this most precious art is to improve imperfect metals and bring them to the highest grade.

And the imperfection and corruption of these metals arises from a lack of good and pure fixed mercury, as I have said many times, and as all skilled philosophers say. It therefore follows that Mercury alone is the perfective agent.

Let us therefore choose it, and bring it to perfection, just as the philosophers once did who attained perfection. It alone, whatever is written, is the Stone that the philosophers everywhere praise, which they hide under infinite parables, fictitious writings, and similitudes, and which they reveal with their great philosophies. And now the Spirit of God has inspired me with such grace, that with two words of His, I will explain all philosophical books concerning this art.

Behold the word of the Holy Spirit:

MERCURY IS THE STONE WHICH THE PHILOSOPHERS HONOR.

My heart is divided, and like a book that is opened, let everyone read and attend: We seek only Quicksilver. For in it is everything we desire; therefore, it contains its own tincture within itself.

O how precious and delightful a creature is that, for God has created nothing better — save the rational soul. It has within it a body, soul, and spirit: the body remains, the soul gives life, the spirit gives tincture.

These are found in Mercury alone, derived from water thickened by the power of sulfur of a pure burning nature.

Therefore Mercury is our Stone, and it can be no other thing — which we also name "dry water", because it is thickened uniformly by the power of unleavened or red sulfur. From it all bodies draw their origin, for from it they are made, and into it they return.

For example: the Sun is made from living Mercury in its pure state, and it is again reduced into quicksilver by artifice. And thus must it be with all bodies.

On the Difference between Types of Mercuries
2.

But I say this to you: Quicksilver made from the Sun is of incomparably greater power, and gives fixation more quickly than that which was not yet a body. Still, it is always quicksilver derived from quicksilver, and it is warm, moist, and masculine.

Quicksilver made from the Moon gives quick fixation also, but it is cold, dry, and feminine.

Quicksilver which was not a body — from which nonetheless all bodies are generated — does not differ from the other quicksilver, except only in digestion. And by it alone, and in no other way, all bodies are returned into quicksilver.

A Similitude Indicating the Universal Way
3.

All things born, or all plants sprung from the earth — do they not always return to the earth? And when they have again rotted in that same earth over time, then all becomes earth again.

But not all earth has the same virtue.

We see that from the earth wheat is born, having a stalk and many grains; and if then, artificially, the stalks are returned to the earth after they are turned into dung, we see that all the dung returns into earth through putrefaction.

But the grains that are preserved — if again they are planted in the same stalks turned to dung — they increase much more, as experienced farmers know well.

So too, bodies submerged in Mercury, through proper putrefaction, are returned to the quicksilver which they once were. And afterward, the metallic grains cast into that putrid earth are multiplied and grow without measure.

Practice Shrouded in Darkness
4.

The mode of working is indeed very natural.

Our quicksilver, coagulated or thickened by the power of unburnt or red sulfur, must first be cleansed from every filth and superfluity that can be removed by artifice—and that artifice is sublimation, which is done in this way:

Place the stone in an open vessel over a moderate fire, agitating the mercury, so that all the superfluous moisture—which is accidental in it, and through which the work would be corrupted—may evaporate. Do not neglect this.

Then will remain (after all the aqueous and undigested part, which was too volatile, has been removed—provided the fire has not overcome its radical fixed nature) a tempered substance, between fixed and unfixed, suitable for carrying out this work.

Let the seed or ferment be most purely purified, one part of which is sufficient for twelve parts of the purified stone. Let an ingenious amalgamation of both be made. Then place the whole amalgam in a very strong glass vessel with a narrow neck, or in an earthen one capable of withstanding the density of glass—which is better—and let the mouth be firmly sealed.

Let a great philosophical furnace be constructed, compact and solid, in the middle of which the strong, ample, earthen vessel is placed—able to endure fire. Into it all vessels containing the matter are to be put. Then let the furnace be covered, and from above let it be closed with a thick lid, and let there be three or four openings at the top to moderate the heat. Apply a gentle fire continuously.

A gentle fire is called one which does not overcome the fixation of the stone. And the regulation of the fire should be such that lead remains continuously molten in it.

This alone is manifest. For with such regulation you will, in 124 days, have complete putrefaction.

Blackness, too, is a sign of proven putrefaction.

Still under the same regimen, you will have the second sign, which is redness, lasting for thirty days—during which the process is perfectly completed.

The third sign is greenness, which under the same heat regimen will be completed in seventy days. Between the third and fourth sign, all colors that can be imagined will appear. Then occurs the marriage, the union and conjunction of spirit and soul—then they reign together.

Each previously reigned under its own sign:

In the first sign, the body dominated,

In the second, the spirit,

In the third, the soul.

The time of conjunction, with a slight increase of regimen, will be fully completed in seventy days, and the fourth sign will appear, which is the useful fermenting, and the sign of whiteness will be fully achieved in 140 days.

If afterwards you continue the regimen with augmentation, you will see between the fourth and fifth signs discolored ashes—yet cherish them, for God will restore them to liquefaction, by infusing His fiery spirit. And when God wills, you will see the fifth sign, splendid with an inexpressible clarity and redness.

Fear God, and honor Him with your substance.

On the Perfect Tincture and Its Properties
5.

Indeed, many things have been recounted in this Rosary of mine, to give knowledge of the work and to introduce the ignorant to the mastery of truth.

And because nothing in it is placed without purpose, nor do I wish it to be sent forth diminished:

Look upon the complete red, and the red diminished in its redness, and all redness of the fixed and the unfixed, the dead and the living, of minerals, vegetables, and animals. Consider the living and life-giving, the dead and death-dealing, the white that whitens, and the red that reddens, and that which perfects the imperfect.

And the more the whiteness of the perfect is increased, the more it whitens; and so with the red.

But note and consider what kind of bodies they are, and what may be added to them in their liquefaction, so that they may be preserved and remain in the test. For not every white or red tinges bodies into Moon and Sun.

The tincture of a body must be such that it mixes with the melted body, and enters it as though it were the very same body itself.

Therefore, the tincture must be a bodily substance, extracted from bodies, or augmented by the benefit of mineral, vegetable, or animal agents, yet always corporeal.

The truest tincture of whiteness is sulfur from true Luna, most white and perfect; and the tincture of redness is sulfur from true, most red Sol.

Thus, one is as possible as the other.

This the wise and discreet artist knows.

Epilogue or Recapitulation of All That Has Been Said
6.

If by the aid of raw quicksilver—cold and moist—and by its benefit, the sulfurous principle, which is hot, dry, and clean, and which burns all things by reason of its burning virtue, is extracted, then pure quicksilver remains, cooked in bodies or coagulated by sulfur.

Thus, by the aid of a certain quicksilver, the purest sulfur is extracted from the Moon or the Sun, and azymous sulfur (white) or red sulfur remains, which tinges blackness and is fixed.

One part of this can tinge two, three, four, or six parts of the matter (by the aid of the first part) into Luna.

But one part of the red tinges cooked quicksilver (from the first chapter), according to the purity of that quicksilver, in two, three, four, or six parts, as with the white.

However, in the second and final chapter, one part of sulfur from Luna or Sol tinges a thousand parts of the body—i.e., of cooked quicksilver—and the virtue of this sulfur is so greatly augmented by the skill of the artisan with fire or aids, that after completion it tinges more than a thousand, or even a million and beyond.

Yet, all things are perfected by fire alone.

For every white or red tincture must receive its color from fire—otherwise, it is of no value.

The aids, moreover, are certain stones, with which the purity of the tincture and its fixation are increased, namely: eggs, hair, blood, quicksilver, sulfur, orpiment, sal ammoniac, vitriol (ink), alum, saltpeter, borax (tinkar), tutty, marcasite, magnesia, and others.

But do not think that any of these alone is sufficient to complete the Work by itself.

They are helps and, so to speak, assistants, by whose help bodies are cleansed and rectified, tinged and perfected, and they are like coadjutors and mediators of conjoining bodies. Among them, the most precious and excellent in our experience are eggs, hair, and the blood of a young male, from which the four elements are extracted.

After these elements are rectified, they supply the deficiency of the elixir prepared from metals. For neither metals by themselves, nor stones can be perfected.

But from these, the four elements extracted are placed in the stone in place of oil, or as the tinged soul.

The prepared calx of the metallic bodies serves as the body of the white (azymous) or red stone.

The spirit, whether white or red, is extracted from bodies, or is fixed and prepared from the spirits themselves.

Furthermore, with the help of the aforementioned stones, the stone is washed and cleansed, fixed and tinged, and rectified, for the expedition of the work.

And in the proportionate mixture of these prepared substances, a new form results, and thus the Elixir is made, inasmuch as the matter has been more digested and tinged than natural Sol.

End of the Rosarius Minor, by an unknown author.

---

LATIN VERSION

ROSARY MINOR

SEQUITUR
LIBELLUS ALIUS ΠΕΡΙ

Χημείας utilissimus, et rerum metallicarum cognitione refertissimus, Rosarius Minor inscriptus.

Incerti quidem, sed harum tamen rerum non imperiti authoris.

PRAEFATIO.

Aenigma de arte Alchemiae, & de modo tractandi authoris.

§. 1.

Inquit author libri, qui Rosarius dicitur.

Descendi in hortum meum, ut viderem platas diversorum nascentium, & inter flores caeteros Rosarij mei, inveni rosam niveam seu albam, itemque sanguineam seu rubedine decoratam; elegi pulcherrimam, & inspexi, quod paucae & rarae, "quia non germinaverant mala punica".

Dixique ego voce non tacita: Revertere, revertere Hortulane, revertere & augmenta.

Rosarium meum, per totum hortum multiplica, seu de novo construere & planta, ut decoretur hortus albis & rubeis rosis splendentibus, superfluisque abstractis & reiectis, utilibus & necessarijs diligenter intende.

Ipse autem Hortulanus rosarum plantas separavit, & replantavit, augmentavitque duplicando, triplicando, quadruplicando, & sic vicissim multiplicando, usque ad albedinem plenam, & deinde ad rubedinem perfectam.

Sed hoc totum "per augmentationem plantarum", quod mihi placuit. Innuebat autem adhuc non satisfecisse. Quicquid tamen circa hoc erat sensibile, mihi plenarie demonstravit.

Posuitque idem tempore debito rosas albas & rubeas in terra sua, dimisitque eas increscere in terram suam, dico propriam, unde egrediebantur. Et in primo anno subsequenti, egressa est planta, quae annuatim mille milla rosarum produxit.

Et ecce hortus meus iam rosarijs impletus est, educetibus sufficienter pro me rosis, & pro omnibus intrantibus annuatim. Deo itaque reddo laudes, & gratias Hortulano gratas.

Et in hoc codice, caeteris meliori, qui non sine causa Rosarius intitulatur, cuncta quae
vidi, & vera probavi, intelligentibus, sapientibus, & artifici idoneo perfecte scribam, ut quicunque per portas Hortulano mediante, ad hunc Rosarium ingressus fuerit, non solum de rosis partem habebit, sed videbit etiam artes cunctorum operantium in Rosarium album vel rubeum, & per consequens acquiriet discretionem discernendi circa hoc intentionem scripturarum omnium, ubicunque magisterium obscurum videbitur & manifestum.

Nam in hoc est veritas omnino nuda, & etiam vestita. Nuda scientibus & discretis in propinquioribus naturis minerarum. Vestita autem stultis, in remotioribus, imo impossibilibus naturis vegetabilium, & animalium, secundum solum textum magistrorum, artem invide obscurantium laborantibus.

Perfectam enim vobis scribo veritatem, & operationes certas, & veras & integras, sine deuiatione aliqua.

Admonitio, Cauenda duo genera seductorum, & quod ars consistat in Mercurio fixo.

§. 2.


Sed vere, verè, multi venient pseudophilosophi post me, qui seducent operantes, quorum in genere, tantummodo duos invenio, scientiam istam cooperientes. Primus est ignorans artem, & sophisticus. Secundus vero sciens, & philosophus inuidus.

Primus componit libros deceptitorios, deceptiones suas & sophistica testificantes, & "scribit super capita ipsorum titulos philosophorum bonorum", ut videantur habere bonam artem, & elixir perfectum.

Et ut magis credatur ab hominibus, ferunt pulveres lapidum, albi vel rubei, & tractant aurum & argentum, sed sequentes deficiunt in operationibus, dum probant scripta illorum.

Secundus est totus invidus, & composuit libros de illis, quae magis remota sunt a veritate, ad prolongandum homines a via vera, in quantum potest, studetque probare dicta sua per solas rationes, quae videntur insipientibus esse certissimae. Ille ponit artem in herbis, & plantarum fructibus, & in multis vegetabilibus extraneis & remotis.

Vel ut videatur nobis relinquere veram artem, magis philosophice loquitur, accipiens fundamentum super quatuor elementa, quae sunt materiae philosophicae, eaque a multis extrahit, velut a vegetabilibus, & animalibus, & a multis alijs extraneis, videlicet ab ovo, a capillis, a sanguine, a stercore, ab urina, a spermatae, ab bufonibus, & ab alijs multis, quemadmodum scripta illorum demonstrant, & declarant.

Vel ponit unum pro alio, vel similitudinarie, vel ad planum, & ponit totam artem vel in principijs praedictis, vel in medijs mineralibus remotis, ut est atramentum, sal borax, alumen, Marcasita, Magnesia, Tutia, & alia mineralia multa. Et quamuis praedicta iuvant ad festinationem quandoque, & ad mundificationem, seu ad coloris augmentationem, tamen invident, qui ea ponunt pro materia philosophica completa.

Et sic detegunt artem, vel etiam operiunt, & seducunt insipientes, ut vilipendant artem, aut quamuis accipiant veram materiam, & naturam mineralem, tamen per diversas eorum operationes fictas & impossibiles, seu ineptas, prohibent inspientem pervenire ad complementum.

Et o novelli Alchemiae artem comparantes per totum ut supra. Creditis expectadum bonum, & transmutationem bonam, & veram, ab eo quod cito ab ignis combustione destruitur, & in cineres redigitur. An non dicitur, quod sulphur & auripigmentum cito comburuntur: & ab ignis combustione cito consumuntur: Sed azot semper diutius manet incombustum. "Perfectum in metallis est argentum vivum fixum", ut supra.

De eodem quod Mercurius fixus perficiat. Et divisio operationum, & libelli in duas partes.

§. 3.

Iam probaui aperte, & secundum rectam veritatem, quod defectus in metallis, est defectus argenti vivi, fixi, & puri, & quicquid eligitur in hac arte ad perficiendum, est causa illius, & ergo in ipso est perfectio, & non in aliquo alio.

Scies hoc, ne trade oblivioni, ubicunque inveneris ipsum, tene pro lapide maiori, cui nulla res similis existit, nec potest facere quod facit. Si est correctum, corrigit: si fixum, figit: si liquidum, solvit: si spissum, coagulat: si tinctum, tingit. ipsum enim praecellit cuncta corpora in puritate.

"Et qui posset poenam sustinere ignis, faceret ex eo cum sulphure suo congelato, elixir excellentissimum."

Accipitur vivum & mortuum, sed purum est semper eligendum, "quod vivum est". Multae operationes ex eo fiunt, quae dividuntur per duo.

Prima fit cum adiuvamine.
Secunda ex se solo, sed natura procedit cum suo sulphure.

In duobus vero capitulis binas operationes perfecte complebo. Et scribam quicquid probaui, vel feci, vel vidi. Ex dictis philosophorum nihil teneo ad praesens, nisi quod affirmant dicta mea, qua veritate dicam, & liber factus sum ab invidia, intelligat ergo qui vult dicta mea.





PRIMUM CAPUT.


Promissio & divisio dicendorum de operationibus Alchemiae.

§. 1.

In primo capitulo dicam cunctas operationes, quae egrediuntur de materia cum auxilio divino &c. Nullum sophisticum hunc librum intrabit, ponam semper regimen, ad perfectionem perducens. Multa siquidem sunt coadiuvantia. Dico breviter, quod adiuvamen calcinationis est hoc. (& primo dicam de corporibus). [imperfectis.]


De Calcinatione Saturni, & Iovis.

§. 2.

Saturnus & Iupiter calcinantur cum adiutorio ignis primo, & cum industris artificis, & hoc igne non superante suam fixationem, in vase terreo, forti, movendo cum baculo ferreo, donec sint incinerata.

Cineres imbibuntur cum aquis acutis mundantibus. Ad rubeum valet urina humana purificata, aqua sanguinis, vel acetum rubeum. Ad album valet acetum album, aqua salis communis, & aluminis, & alia acerba multa. Post imbibitionem desiccat ur ad ignem vel Solem, donec pervenient ad calcem albam vel rubeam.

Item calcinantur cum adiutorio salium, & illa calcinatio bona est, & per adiutorium vitrioli & aliorum acutorum. Calcinantur etiam cum adiutorio sulphuris, seu auripigmenti, & illa est melior.

Sed optime calcinantur cum Mercurio sic: Primo amalgamentur, & terantur, & abluantur cum acutis, usque ad emendationem perfectam; deinde misceantur cum salibus acutis terendo, & cum aluminibus & alijs acerbis, & exiccentur & erodantur, deinde deponatur salsedo, cum ablutione. Sit tamen Mercurius, priusquam desiccatur, cum sale per sublimationem extractus, & sic remanet calx alba, qua melior esse non potest. Et regulam tibi do generalem, quod qualiter cunque calcinetur Iupiter cum igne, facit calcem albam, Saturnus semper rubeam, nisi cum acutis fuerit dealbata.


De calcinatione Veneris & Martis.
§ 3.

Venus & Mars cum adiutorio ignis calcinantur, primo in furno reverberationis, si ponatur intus limatura illorum, per flammæ reverberationem calcinatur, & sit de Marte crocus ferri, quod dicitur ferri cementum. De Venere, æs ustum simplex, vel χαλκὸς κεκαυμένος. Calcinantur etiam per ignitionem & extinctionem in acutis, donec totaliter convertantur in squamas, quemadmodum Iupiter & Saturnus calcinantur per abstractionem suæ scoræ, deinde imbibitur calx cum acutis & salsis, donec fuerit rubeum & mundum.

Potest etiam Veneris calx dealbari & Martis. Calcinatur etiam cum sulphure & auripigmento, mixtis cum laminis, vel cum limatura illorum, quin etiam cum salsibus, aluminibus, & alijs corrosivis. Et praeparatur calx cum ablutione, & desiccatione, donec fuerit ad libitum.

Calcinantur etiam multum bene per ignitionem & extinctionem in Mercurio, & quicquid in qualibet extinctione abradi potest, abradiatur cum cultello, & iteratur opus, donec sit ad libitum. Et præparatur cum ablutione & desiccatione cum salibus, & abstrahendo Mercurium, & fiet calx optima. Et scias, quod calx corporis nō figitur, nisi calcinetur cum igne. Et hoc dico, qa omnia corpora possunt calcinarī sup vapores acutore; vel cŭ acutis. Sed melior calcinatio corporū sit cum Mercurio.


De calcinatione Solis & Lunæ.

§ 4.

Sol & Luna, calcinantur ad modum Veneris & Martis, sed quod melius est, & optimum, per amalgamationem cum Mercurio, & ablutionem, & desiccationem, vel per abstractionem Mercurij per sublimationem, sicut est narratum. Spiritus vero non possunt calcinari, nisi prius sint fixi.


De calcinatione aliarum rerum & mixturarum.

§ 5.

Calcinantur & aliæ res multæ ad extrahendam tincturā ex illis, & ut subtilientur illarum partes & mundentur.

Et scias quod quodlibet corpus per se calcinatur; & si aliqua coniungantur, & calcinentur simul, fit calx mirabilis in effectu. Ne obliviscaris hoc, tenta, & optimum retine. Hoc de his sufficit.


De sublimatione spirituum.

§ 6.

Sublimantur & spiritus & media mineralia, cum adiuvamine. Spiritus sublimantur vel à salibus, vel ab atramentis, vel ab aluminibus, vel à corporibus, vel ab istis mixtis. [argento vivo]

Et nota, quod sublimatio fit causa purificationis tincturæ. Si sublimantur spiritus cum immundis, immundantur. Si cum adherentibus, remanent magis fixi cum tinctura inferius, quod quærimus.

Unde de necessitate oportet ut mundentur prius per acuta, & per lavacrum, aut per unicam separationem impuri a puro. Cogitate diligenter super hoc. Nam illud medium est secretum. Spiritus mundificatos cum calcibus puris corporum sublimate, donec figantur, & videbitis me verum dixisse.


De sublimatione corporum imperfectorum.

§ 7.

Sublimantur corpora cum adiutorio ignis, & hoc expressione ignis. Et hoc sit ad habendum materiam mundè temperatam. Nam quod nimis est volatile, & terrestritas immunda, dividuntur per sublimationem, & remanet substantia temperata, ut dixi, quam quærimus.

Sublimantur etiam cum rebus eleuantibus, cum sulphure, auripigmento, Mercurio, & alijs spiritibus. Et illud dico cum corporibus non fixis, ut sunt Iupiter & Saturnus, qui sine fece, vel re aliqua possunt sublimari, & cum quolibet praedictorum. Et Venus & Mars quae sublimantur cum praedictis.


De sublimatione corporum perfectorum.

§ 8.

Sed notandum præcipue, quod corpora fixa possunt etiam sublimari, scilicet Sol & Luna.

Sed causa suæ elevationis est, ut hæc purificemus, vel sulphure vel auripigmento, vel argento vivo, quod ea facit ascendere citius per rarefactionem, & velocius sigantur (figantur).

Et hoc est secretum intimum, quod dico pro certo, & omnes ferè celant.

Dico tamen: Corpora debent fieri incorporea in ascendendo, & incorporea corporea in descendendo.

Maxima industria est, de corpore facere spiritum, & econverso. Sed verum est, quod si summa volatilitas superat summam fixi, finaliter reuertetur in corpus spirituale, vel album, vel rubeum. Vere non sum inuidus, nam denudaui omnino.


De fixatione.

§ 9.

Figitur autem omne volatile cum mundatur per iuuamen ignis, uidelicet decoctione diurna, & hoc est meum secretum, aut per alicuius rei fixæ adiutorium, hoc est per imbibitionem, & reiterationem prædictorum, ut in sublimatione narravi satis aperte. Et hoc est unum de secretis meis magnis. Corpora etiam figuntur (siguntur), ut præ figuraui calcinando vel coquendo solo igne.


De distillatione.

§ 10.

Distillantur autem multa pro adiuuamine operis istius.

Distillatur aqua à Vitriolo viridi vel Romano, à sale petræ, & alumine plumoso, quæ maxime ualet pro adiuutorio istius operis, cù ipsa enim soluuntur mirabiliter omnia corpora cruda & calcinata, & spiritus calcinati vel fixi, solutione mirabili & pulchra. Distillantur & aliae aquae multae, & olea, de salibus, atramentis, aluminibus, & alijs rebus multis, mineralibus vegetabilibus & animalibus, sicut inuenitur in libris philosophorum de hac arte tractantium.


De solutione.

§ 11.

Solvuntur omnia corpora & spiritus cum adiutorio aquæ corrosivæ supradictæ, vel cum alijs aquis corrosivis, quæ multis fiunt modis, & quia talia in multis inveniuntur philosophorum libris satis veraciter & aperte, excusamur de illis in hoc nostro Rosario tractare. Sed hoc teneas amice mi, quod melior fit solutio in igne in simi calore, & cum Mercurio vivo, & aqua vitæ, dum ablutus est, sed in primo dicitur venenum seu res mortifica.


De Ceratione.

§ 12.

Cerantur corpora calcinata cum corporibus resolutis, & hoc imbibendo & cerando, & quamvis multæ sint imbibitiones corporum, tamen melior sit cum Mercurio, scilicet quando est aqua viva depurata. Et melior inceratio fit cum azot vivo, & gutta saponis. Nam aqua corporis, cum corpus redactum sit in Mercurium, dicitur sanguis, & qualicunque modo aliquid cum oleia inceratur, non valet quicquam, nisi oleum prius sit fixum, & incombustibile factum, & istud oleum non habetur nisi ex metallis fixis, scias hoc excellencissimum secretum, & quod magis carum apud philosophos invenitur.


De Coagulatione.

§ 13.

Coagulantur cuncta resoluta cum adiutorio ignis, & hoc in vasis firmiter clausis, sed teneat me hoc secretum, quod res perfectè coagulata est, quæ fluit cum ignitione convenienti & cum expectatione examinis ignis. Sin aut non, reitera opus, & peruenies per reiteratione ad propositu, Domino annuete.


De particularibus ad album in genere.

§ 14.

Ecce narravi tibi cunctas operationes veras & necessarias in opere huius artis ad laborem abbreuiandum, & adiuua andam naturam generaliter.

Modo ut satisfaciam, specialia & particularia meliora enodabo in hoc capitulo.

Primo ergo quomodo corpora augmentantur, & postea de abbreviatione temporis & laboris, & elixir. Et quia nullo modo potest fieri rubeum ver, nisi præcedat album, talia uero ad augmentandas rosas albas, ut fiat Luna perfecta, tibi dono.

Primo desiccandum est corpus Lunæ, & hoc per calcinatiōem quam narraui. Et ista est causa, ut humiditas istius, cum quo proponimus augmentare ipsam, radicalius & firmius illi adhæreat sine separatione, deinde calcinandum est aliud corpus non fixum, cum quo proponis operari, & hoc ut per eam figatur.

Nam volatilie in ipsis euolat per calcinatiōem ignis, & remanet terra azyma & munda. Per eandem etiam calcinationem deletur unctuositas glutinosa, & immunditia de corpore, & reducitur in statum pristinum, & remanet terra munda, non adurens, nec denigrans corpora.

Deinde resolue calcem Lunæ in aquam mundam & clarā, sicut demonstraui tibi in Chapter §. Dissolutionis.

Secundo calcem azymam cuiusuis corporis similiter resolue, aquas coniunge, & illam bene commixtam congela in massam albam, & in sine congelationis descendē per botum. Et melior modus est iste, quem unquam probaui.

Accepi unam partem corporis fixi, & tres partes non fixi, Item resolutam calcem Lunæ, & aquam etiam corporis non fixi, iterum coniungēbam istam aquam, coniunctam composui cum prima massa prædicta iterum calcinata, & resoluta, & erat tunc augmentata prima pars, & tres sui partes, illud totū congelatum feci secundo descendere, illud opus reiteraui quindecim vicibus, nec meliorem Lunam Deus unquam creauit, tenui ipsam auro cariorem.

Inueni etiam alium modum leuiorem multum, videlicet imbibendo calcem corporis non fixi, cum aqua calcis Lunæ, terendo uel cerando super marmor, bene desiccando, & descendendo.

Et iterum secunda uice nouam calcem non fixi, imbibendo, cum resoluto calcis nouæ Lunæ, apponendo calcem primæ massæ, videlicet unam partem istius cum tribus partibus alterius, deinde desiccando & descendendo, & reiterando per quindecim uices.

Sic enim perueni ad Lunam multo meliorem naturali. Propterea probaui & alium modum adhuc multo leuiorem, videlicet resoluendo Lunam calcinatam in aquam, & imbibendo cum illa aqua calcem corporis non fixi, terendo & desiccando, & descendendo.

Iterum reiteraui hoc opus de noua materia, & quādo desiccatum erat, posui super tres partes, de nouo desiccato, cum parte una massæ præcedentis generaræ, nihil tamen de reiterationibus obmisi, & inueni in decima quinta uice Lunam bonam, aequipollentem naturali.

Homo etiam bene potest transire, si uult melius, cum decem reiterationibus, uel circiter, quanto plus tamen reiteratur opus metallicum, tanto melius. Et scias quod prædictæ resolutiones optimè fieri possunt cum aquis corrosivis, sed semper melior resolutio fit cum Mercurio. Scias hoc, O quam multa bona procedunt ex corporibus cum Mercurio amalgamatis. Haec iam dixi in generali, nunc uero de quolibet corpore simpliciter tractabo.


De particularibus ad album in specie.

§ 15.

Accipe unam partem Lunæ, & quinq partes uel sex Martis, & descende simul per botum, ut præactum est, & habebis bonam Lunam.

Accipe unam partem Lunæ, & duas partes, vel tantundem de Venere, & descende per botum simul, ut prædictum est, & habebis bonam Lunam.

Accipe partem unam Lunæ, & tres partes Saturni, & fac descendere per botū simul, per modum prædictum, & habebis meliorem Lunam.

Accipe unā partē Lunæ, & tres partes Iouis, & fac descendere ista adinuicem per botum, sicut narratum est ante, & erit Luna optima, aequipollens naturali in omni examine sine fine.

Si fidelis est sermo meus, estote memores animæ meæ, propter ea, quæ dixi.

Item, aliter etiam fieri potest optima operatio per amalgamationem Mercurij.

Lunam desiccātam amalgama cū Mercurio, ana. sed sint in duplo, Mercurij vel amalgamationis Martis, & pone sex partes istius cum una parte primæ, totum amalgamatum simul decoque, donec Mercurius sit separatus, & descende, & reitera hoc opus quindecim vicibus, & erit Luna bona.

Amalgamatur etiam Luna cum Mercurio, sicut prædixi, & Venus etiam amalgamari debet ad modum Martis, duæ partes istius, & una amalgamationis sublimetur, & descendatur per modū iam dictum, & cum opus iam quindecies reiteratum est, erit Luna bona.

Amalgamatur Luna præcipue cū Mercurio, & Saturnus cum eodem ana, & tres partes ipsius cū Luna pone, sublimādo & descendendo, & reiterando per præscriptum modum, & pervenies ad Lunam meliorem.

Amalgamatur præcipue Luna cum Mercurio, & Iupiter cum eodem ana, & sint de ipso tres partes, cum una parte Lunæ, & per reiterationem sublimationis, pro Mercurij separatione, & per reiterationem descensionis operis pervenies ad Lunam meliorem de mundo. Prædicta vero sufficiunt in albarum rosarum augmentatione.


De particularibus ad rubeum in genere.

§ 16.

Ad augmentandas rosas rubeas procedamus.

Prima regula generalis est: pone in omni opere rubeo Solem, quemadmodum Lunam in azymo.

Sed notandum, quod calces quorumcunque corporum solo ignis adiutorio rubificantur, quorumdam non. Quorum rubificantur, sunt hæc: calx Martis, Veneris, & Saturni. Calx vero Lunæ, Iovis, & Mercurii fixi, non rubificatur solo adiutorio ignis, in hoc capitulo primo.

Sed in capitulo nostro secundo, & ultimo; in magno videlicet magisterio, calx illorum rubificatur ad libitum, & tingunt sine mensura. Ecce thesaurus philosophorum.

Rubificantur tamen in hoc capitulo primo, cum rebus tingentibus, sicut sunt sulphur, atramentum, aqua ferri, & oleum rubicundum philosophorum, & a mineralibus seu vegetabilibus, vel etiam animalibus extractum.

Et talis modus est operandi, sicut in albo Lunæ, sed in hoc opere Sol est calcinandus & dissolvendus. Solvantur & omnia corpora non fixa calcinata. Et per eandem calcinationem rubificata in aquis corrosivis vel dissolventibus, dico rubicundioribus, aquas coniunge, & congela, & descende in massam rubeam, ut de albo fecisti, & reitera hoc opus, ut de azymo fecisti, per quindecim uices, & habebis operationem perfectam.

In hoc enim opere servare poteris omnem modum operandi, quæ in albo narravi, & istud est in his quæ rubificari possunt cum adiutorio ignis.

Et quod omnes calces corporū rubificari possunt, cum adiuvamine multarum rerum tingentium, restat hic nobis declarare. Sed quia de talibus, q& plurima bona & vera reperiuntur in libris philosophicis istius artis, & aquae rubedine tingentes, pulveres, & olea, cù quibus calces tā sæpe imbibuntur, desiccantur, solvuntur, & congelantur, & descenduntur, usque ad rubedinem.

Ergo videtur nobis superfluum de illis tractare. Solis tamen tinctura speciale, ad satisfaciendum, a me accipiatis.


Particulare ad rubrum in specie.

§ 17.

In aquam salsam calidam, postea in dulcem calidam, finaliter in acetum multoties, puta viginti vicibus limaturam Martis lavate, quousque sit clara, bene munda, & ponite eam in vase vitreo, vel vitreato, cum optimo aceto albo, per plures dies, quousque per hoc multum rubescat, quod erit citò. Tunc totum ponitur in distillatorium vitreum, & distilletur sæpius, quousque illa limatura totaliter evanescat.

Nam sublimabitur proculdubio cum aceto iam dicto, & transibit tota illa limatura in aquam rubeam, stetque præterea in quiete per aliquot dies, hæc aqua Lunam praeparatam & fusam tingit mirabiliter in colorem rubeum, & in qualibet reiteratione operis, calces cum hac aqua imbibe, & exsicca, solve, congela, & descende, donec tinctura sit sufficiens, & ista aqua est mineralis & corporea.

Fit & alia bona per hunc modum: Sumantur de vitellis ouorum libra una, & de sanguine humano recenti libra una, & duæ libræ de capillis huminis bene mundis, permisce ista in vitrea rotunda. Deinde recipe salis ammoniaci bene triti, duas libras, & commisce omnia simul, & illa vitreata ponantur in illa cum cinere cribellato, & accendatur sub ea ignis lenis, & cum totum resolutum fuerit in aquam, tunc proijce de sulphure citrino super illud, quantum est medietas omnium medicinarum, removeatur etunc vas ab igne velociter, movendo totum simul, postea proijce totum in cucurbitam ad distillandum, & toties distilla super fecibus, commiscendo cum aqua, quæ ab eis distillatur, donec omnia remaneant in fundo sicca.

Istud mixtum & tritum cum calcibus dissolutis congelatum, tingit peculiose, & ista est tinctura vegetabilis, seu animalis.


Apostrophe ad lectorem, & oratio ad Deum.

§. 18.

Ecce amice mi dilecte, ecce quàm multa bona iam narravi, ex his quae in Rosário meo continentur. Non vales tamen adhuc per praedicta, ex illo aliquas accipere rosas.

Nam fossatis profundissimis, murisq́ue fortissimis, ac propugnaculis multis Rosárius meus tam fortiter est firmatus, quòd nemo per aliquod ingenium intrare valet, nisi per septem portas firmissimas & metallicas, multis clauibus mirabiliter clausas.

O clementissime Deus ac misericors, si iam aliquid peccaui, respice super me oculis benignitatis tuae, quia tu solus cognoscis corda hominum, & me iam istud dixisse ex fonte misericordiae solo.

Et deprecor te humiliter & deuote coelestis pater, ut non intret in corda iniquorum, sciant autem filij sapientiae & intellectus, quòd Hortulanus meus, gratia Spiritus sancti paracleti infusus & repletus, solam mihi clauem demonstravit, per quám cunctae portae in ictu oculi mirabiliter, & quasi miraculose aperiuntur, in mei Rosárij capitulo primo. Et gratiam, quam mihi Hortulanus meus fecit sua benignitate, piè & amicabiliter scribam omnibus doctis & intelligentibus.


Compositio aquae fortis, quae est clavis Rosarij.

§. 19.

Accépit enim Hortulanus tres herbas, quas generatas invenit in loco Rosarij ex eadem terra, de qua Rosarius est egressus, & erant Chelidonia, Portulaca marina, & Mercurialis.

Ex his tribus composuit clavem praedictam quem modum componendi vobis perfectissime enodabo, Recipe duas libras vitrioli viridis, & duas salis petrae, & unam libram aluminis plumosí, terendo quodlibet per se. Deinde conjunge. Postea habeas aludel vitretum bene lutatum, exterius circumquaque luto sapientiae, & pone in eo pulverem praedictorum, & alembicum desuper vitretum, juncturas firmiter cum bono luto sigilla, ut respirare non valeat, & pone super furnum distillationis, dando illi lentum ignem.

Distillatur enim prima aqua primo, quam recipias in phialam vitream cum longo collo, sitque phiala cum alembico sigillata cum luto praedicto, continua ignem lentum, donec alembicus intus colore citrino sit coloratus, & istud est signum aquae secundae.

Primam deinde aquam cum sua phyala depone, & obstrue cum cera, & appone novam phyalam, quam firmiter sigillabis augmentando ignem, donec alembicus intus rubescat, quod signum est aquae tertiae fortissimae.

Depone phyalam cum aqua secunda, & sigilla, & appone novam phyalam spissam cum collo multum longo, sigillando firmissime cum luto optimo, & augmentando ignem semper, donec tota aqua fuerit egressa, quam depone, & sigilla firmiter os cum luto figulorum, & usui reserva.


Laudes Aquae fortis praedictae.

§. 20.

Ista est aquafortis preciosissima, virtuosa, quae dicitur aqua corrosiva, & vere clavis est, per quam solam cunctae septem portae metallinae, uidelicet Rosarij mei aperiuntur in momento.

Cum ista clave minerali potes reserare septem portas praedictas, & intrare Rosarium, & accipere rosas albas vel rubeas de quacunque plata volueris, secundum velle tuum.

Et indubitanter qui clavem istam secum habuerit, cunctá in Rosario existentia, ipsi cognita erunt.

Intellige quod dico, & praepara et hospítum in medio cordis tui, ut intus per aeuum hospitetur.

Cum ista aqua laudabili corrosiva potes in momento resolvere cuncta corpora, tam cruda quam calcinata, omnes spiritus, & omnia mineralia, necnon lapides preciosos, & congelare quando volueris, ut praedictum est, in una hora.

Ista enim aqua tales habet effectus mirabiles & laudabiles, quod resolvit solidum, & reddit liquidū, mundat immundū, corrodĭt superfluit, fugit fugitivū, consolidat disgregatum, augmentat tincturam azymām, optime, & rubeā, omnia penetrat, durum mollificat, & molle indurat, & discordantes concordat, & est clavis totius huius artis, in hoc capitulo nostro.

Quid dicam de ipsa? Eius laudes inueniuntur interminabiles. Valet & aqua prima & secunda ad multa in hac arte, Coniunge ambas simul, nec meliorem rem habere potes in mundo, ad abluendum calces corporum quascunque.

Quia omnis immunditia, nigredo, corruptio, & sulphureitas adurens, per eam tollitur. In fecibus uero est maxima tinctura, studeas in ipsis, nam in eis est magnum arcanum.

Imbibe feces cum tota aqua, prima & secunda, & dimitte stare, & incorporari per quatuor dies, & iterum distilla per praescriptum modum, & habebis plus de aqua forti corrosiva, quam prius habuisti, & hoc est finale secretum.

In hac enim aqua resoluuntur cunctae tincturae coadunandae, earum enim aqua tunc admisceri potest cum aquis corporum calcinatorum & resolutorum.

In ea enim resoluuntur Saturnus & Iupiter, Mars, & Venus, Mercurius, Luna, & Sol.

Per ipsam etiam melioratur ziniar, & multa alia, cum quibus opus abbreviatur, coloratur, augmentatur. Et haec de prima parte primi capituli sufficiunt, Ad ipsam tamen complendam, de secunda ipsius parte, & ultima tractabo. Nam bene sequitur Elixir cum iuuamine, post omnium corporum perfectam augmentationem.


Reclusio Rosarij per eandem aquam.

§ 21.

Corpus putrefactum, & deinde cum calore temperato, Cumque retentione seu reservatione suae humiditatis radicalis philosophice calcinatum, dissolue. Sitque tamen prius mudatum ab omni re corrumpente, & hoc erit in principio operis, & istud est de azymo, sitque calx alba corporis vicinioris imperfecti, fermentum quoque azymum bene mundatū, & calcinatū, azymum resolue ut primūm.

Aquae mundadae sunt ab immūda fece, tuc coniungendo in phyalam vitream cum stricto collo & alto, cuius os firmissime sigilletur.

Pondus etiam est notandum, suntque semper partes quatuor imperfecti, & una perfecti, Ponenda est autem phyala cum aqua in furno coagulationis, donec totum coaguletur in lapidem coagulatione bona, & fixa. Et habes tunc plantas Rosarij tui unius anni.

Item secunda vice resolue nouam materiam, ut prius in eadem proportione, lapidemque coagulatum iterum resolue, sitque ana de istis.

Aquas resolutas coaduna, & unitas congela per praetactum modum, & habebis plantas duorum annorum.

Tertio resolue de materia noua, ut prius in pondere lapidis anni primi, & coniunge cum lapide duorum resoluto, congela ut prius, & habebis Rosarium tenerrime florentem, & decem rosas producentem.

Quarto nouam resolue materiam ut prius, semper in proportione aequali lapidis primi anni, & coniunge aquas anni tertij lapidis, & congela ut prius, & habebis lapidem quadriennij uiginti flores rosarum producentem, & hoc fac quinto, & Rosarius quinquennis triginta producit rosas.

Sexto & producit centum rosas.

Septimo, ducentas rosas.

Octauo, trecentas rosas. Nono, mille.

Decimo, duo milia. Undecimo, tria milia. Duodecimo, centum milia. Decimo tertio, ducenta milia. Decimo quarto, trecenta milia. Decimo quinto, mille milia.

Et sic in die decima quinta, habebis opus Lunae perfectum.

In rubeo, siue ad rubeum, semper operaberis in calcibus corporum rubificatis, & resolutis, & cum resolutione Solis.

Sed tunc hoc meum finale secretum. In quantum plus tinctura cum aduorijs augmentatur, tanto altius tingit.

Stude & proba in arte praedicta, & eris breviter fortunatus. De cunctis autem iuuantibus & auxilijs huius artis, manifeste satis in prima parte istius capituli primi dictum est, ideo mei Rosarij capitulum finio.



SECUNDUM CAPUT


Perfectionis causam solum Mercurium esse.

§. I.

Dictum est superius, quod huius artis preciosissime finalis intentio est, meliorare metalla imperfecta, & ad gradum perducere supremum.

Et imperfectio & corruptio eorum progreditur ex defectu boni & puri argenti vivi fixi, sicut multoties dixi, & omnes dicunt philosophi periti. Relinquitur itaque ipsum solum esse perfectiuum.

Eligamus ergo ipsum, & perficiamus, quemadmodum tunc fecerunt philosophi, qui perfectionem habebant. Ipsum solum, quicquid scribitur, est lapis quem philosophi laudant ubique, quem occultant in infinitis parabolis, & scripturis fictis & similitudinibus, & detegunt eum cum magnis suis philosophijs. Et iam talem inspiravit mihi spiritus Dei gratia, quod cum duobus verbis eius, omnes libros philosophicos, de hac arte exponam.

Ecce verbum Spiritus sancti:

MERCURIUS, EST LAPIS QUEM HONORANT PHILOSOPHI.

Divisum est cor meum, & sicut librum aperiens legat quilibet & intendat: Solum Argentum vivum quaerimus. In ipso enim totum est quod desideramus, ergo suam in se continet tincturam.

O quam preciosa creatura est illa, & delectabilis, Deus enim meliorem non creavit, praeter animam rationalem. Habet in se corpus, animam, & spiritum. Corpus stat, anima vivificat, spiritus tingit.

Ista sunt in Mercurio solo, ex aqua grossitie, ui sulphuris purino nrēntis congelato.

Mercurius ergo lapis noster est, nec alia res esse potest, quam aquam siccam nominamus, eo quod ui sulphuris azymi, uel rubri uniformiter est inspissatus, a quo cuncta corpora trahut originem, ex ipso enim fiunt, & in ipsum reuertuntur.

Verbi gratia: Sol ex Mercurio viuo purosit, & iterum reuertitur in Argentum viuum per ingenium, & sic de cunctis corporibus habet fieri.


De differentia Mercuriorum.

§. 2.

Sed dico vobis istud, quòd Argentum viuum ex Sole factum maioris est virtutis incomparabiliter, & velociorē dat fixionem, quam illud quod non erat corpus, semper tamen est Argentum viuum de argento viuō, & est calidum & humidum, & masculinum.

Argentum vero viuum ex Luna factum, dat fixationem uelocem, quod est frigidum, siccum, & foemineum.

Argentum vero viuum quod non erat corpus, ex quo tamen generantur corpora, non differt ab alio argento viuō, nisi in sola digestionē, & per ipsum solum, non aliter, omnia corpora in Argentum viuum reuertuntur.


Similitudo viam vniuersalem insinuans.

§. 3.

Cuncta nascentia seu plantæ ex terra egressæ, nonne semper ad terram reuertuntur? & he postquam in eadem terra fuerint iterum per tempus putrefactæ, tunc totum est terra.

Sed non qualem virtutem illa terra habet.

Videmus enim quod ex terra frumentum nascitur, habens stipulam & grana multa, & si tunc artificialiter stipulæ in terram reponuntur cum fimus factæ fuerint, uidemus quod totus fimus reuertitur in terram per putrefactionem.

Sed grana reseruata, si iterum ponantur in eadem stipulæ suarū prædicta, multo magis augmentātur, quod expertis agricolis constat.

Sic corpora submersa in Mercurium per conueniente putrefactione reuertuntur in Argentum viuum, quod prius fuerunt, & postea grana metallica, in eadem terra putrida projecta, multiplicantur, & innumerabiliter crescunt.


Practica caligine obducta.

§. 4.

Modus vero agendi talis, est admodum naturæ.

Argentum vivum nostrum ui sulphuris azymi vel rubei non uretis congelatum seu inspissatum, in primis est mundandum ab omni sorde & superfluitate, quæ per ingenium deleri potest, & illud ingenium est sublimatio, quæ sic fit.

Ponatur lapis in vase aperto super mediocre ignem, agitando ipsum Mercurium, ut tota humiditas superflua evolet, quæ est in eo accidentalis, ex qua opus corrumperetur, & hoc non obmittas, & tunc remanebit (Postquam totum aquosum & indigestum, quod nimis erat volatile, erit depositum, cù igne non superante sua radicalem fixatione) substantia temperata inter fixum & non fixum, apta popere isto coplendo.

Sitque semen seu fermentum mundissime purgatu, cuius una pars, sufficit ad duodecim lapidis purgati, fiat amborum ingeniosa amalgamatio, deinde totum amalgamatum ponatur in vase fortissimo, vitreo, cum collo stricto, aut in terreo, vitri densitatem seu compactionem sustinens, quod melius est, sitque os firmiter sigillatum.

Fiatque furnus magnus philosophicus, & spissus, in cuius medio ponatur vas fortissimum, amplum, terreum, potens in igne durare, in illo sunt locanda cuncta vasa, materiam continentia, & tunc cooperiatur furnus, sitque superius cum spisso cooperculo clausus, sintque in illius summitate foramina tria, vel quatuor ad sumum delegandum, subijciatur ignis lentus perseveranter.

Ignis lentus dicitur, qui lapidis fixatione nequit superare, & ignis regimē tale debet esse, quod plumbum in ipso continue remaneat fusum.

Et hoc solus manifestō. Per tale nanque regimen habebis in centu vigintiquatuor diebus completa putrefactione.

Nigredo quoque est signum putrefactionis approbatu.

Adhuc per praedictum regimen, habebis secundum signum, qʰ erit rubedo duras per triginta dies, in illis vero diebus complebitur perfecte.

Tertium autem signum, est viriditas, quod in caliditate complebitur praedicto regimine, in septuaginta diebus; inter tertitium vero signum & inter quartum, apparebunt omnes colores, qui excogitari possunt, tunc fit ibi matrimonium, copulatio, & spiritus & animae conjunctio, tunc enim dominantur simul, & quodlibet prius per se, sub suo signo, scilicet in primo signo dominabatur corpus, in secundo signo spiritus, in tertio anima.

Tempus conjunctionis regimine modicum augmentato, erit completum in septuaginta diebus omnino, & superveniet signum quartum, quod erit azyomatio utilis, transibuntque cum augmento regimine, centum quadraginta dies, & erit completum albedinis signum quod diximus.

Si postea continuaveris regimen cum augmento, videbis inter quartum & quintum cineres discoloratos, sint tamen chari apudte, nam Deus reddet eis liquefactionem, infundendo spiritum suum igneum, & videbis cum Deus voluerit, signum quintum, claritate & rubedine splendida inenarrabiliter decoratum. Time Deum, & honora eum de tua substantia.


De tincturae perfectae & proprietatibus.

§. 5.

Multa quidem in hoc Rosario meo narrata sunt, ad operis cognitionem habendam, & ignorantes ad magisterium veritatis introducendos.

Et quia nihil in eo ponitur superfluum, nec ipsum volo mittere diminutum*

Respice rubeum conpletum, & rubeum a sua rubedine diminutum, & omnem rubedinem fixi & non fixi, mortui, & vivi, mineralium, vegetabilium & animalium, respice vivum & vivificantem, & mortuum mortificantem, album albificantē, & rubrum rubificantem, atque imperfectum perficientem.

In quantum autem albedo perfecti augmentatur, in tantū tingit in albedinem, & sic de rubeo.

Sed nota, & considera qualia sint corpora, & quid eis in sua liquefactione adhiberi possit, & secùt perfeueret, & permaneat in examine, neq́ue enim omne azymum, nec rubeum tingit corpora in Lunam & Solem.

Tinctura corporis talis esse debet, quod ipsa cum corpore liquefacto commisceatur, & ipsum liquefactum ingrediatur, quemadmodum ipsum met corpus faceret cum eodem.

Tinctura ergo debet esse substantia corporea, ex corporibus extracta, uel per beneficium medior mineralium vegetabilium, seu animalium augmentata, in semper corporea.

Verissima ergo tinctura albedinis est sulphur, ex Luna uera albissimu & perfectissima tinctura rubedinis, est sulphur ex Sole uero rubicundissimo.

Est ergo unum possibile, sicut & aliud. Hoc scit artifex prudens & discretus.


Epilogus seu recapitulatio omnium dictorum.

§. 6.

Si per iuuamen argenti uiui crudi frigidi, & humidi, & per ipsius beneficium extrahitur sulphureitas calida, sicca & munda, comburens omnia causa suæ uirtutis adurentis, remanet argentum uiuum purum, & coctum in corporibus, uel sulphuris congelatum.

Sic per iuuamem alicuius argenti uiui, extrahitur à Luna uel Sole sulphur purissimum, & remanet sulphur azymum (album) uel rubeum, tingens nigredines & fixum.

Cuius una pars tingit duas, uel tres, uel quatuor uel sex partes cuius iuuamine primæ partis in Lunam.

Pars uerò una rubei tingit argenti uiui cocti in primo capitulo secundum puritatem ipsius argenti uiui partes duas uel tres, uel quatuor, uel sex, ut de albo.

In secundo vero capitulo & ultimo tingit una pars sulphuris Lunæ uel Solis partes mille corporis, id est argenri uiui cocti, & uis istius sulphuris per artificis industriam in tantum augmentatur cu igne uel cum iuuamine, quod post cōplementu tingit super mille, uel mille milia & ultra, tamen solo igne cuncta perficiantur.

Nam omnis tinctura alba uel rubea debet recipere colorem ab igne, aliter non ualet.

Iuuamenta autē sunt lapides tales, cum quibus tincturae puritas, & fixio augmentatur uidelicet oua, capilli, sanguis, argentum uiuium, sulphur, auripigmentum, sal ammoniacus, atramentum, alumen, sal nitri, tinkar, tutia, marcasita, magnesia, & cætera.

Non tamen putes aliquid istorum sufficiens pro opere per se solum complendo.

Sunt enim adminicula, & quasi adiutores, cum quibus, & cum quorum iuuamine, corpora mundantur & rectificantur, tinguntur & complentur, & sunt quasi coadiutores & mediatores corporum coniungendorum, quorum preciosiora & meliora apud nos semper sunt inuenta, oua & caplli, & sanguis iuuenis masculi, ex quibus quatuor extrahuntur elementa, quæ postquam rectificata sunt, supplent defectum elixiris ex metallis praeparati, nec metalla per se, nec lapides perficiuntur.

Sed ex his quatuor elementa extracta pro oleo ponuntur in lapide, aut pro anima tincta.

Calx uero corporum metallorum praeparata, pro corpore azymo (albo) uel rubeo.

Spiritus uero albus uel rubeus ex corporibus extrahitur, uel figitur & praeparatur ab ipsis met spiritibus.

Si cæteris autem lapidibus abluitur lapis & mundatur, figitur & tingitur, & rectificatur, in operis festinatione (sestinatione).

In commixtione uero proportionata praedictorum praeparatorum resultat noua forma, & sic fit elixir, inquantum materia plus quàm Sol naturalis est digesta & tincta.

Finis Rosarij minoris, incerto authore.