The Great Farmer
The Fruitfulness of Him Who Is the Beginning and the End

The holy Apostle James says, Chapter 1:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation nor shadow of turning."

Paul says, 1 Corinthians 3:
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth."

Alanus Phil.:
Son, set your heart more on God than on the Art, for it is a gift from God, and to whom He wills, He grants it. Therefore, have peace and joy in God, and you shall have the Art.

Alphidius:
Son, you must know that you cannot attain this Art unless you have cleansed your heart and soul before God and have sincerely reconciled yourself with Him. When God then sees that you are of an honest and well-meaning disposition, He will in His grace allow you to rule over this Art.

Dionysius Zacharias, fol. 69:
It will be fitting for you first to read the philosophers patiently and steadfastly, without weariness, before stretching out your hand to the work, always asking God for His grace and understanding. For no one attains this Art through fortune or without danger, but rather through prayer than through other means—yet means must be employed.

The great king and philosopher Hermes in the book On the Unity of Being:
Turn yourself wholly and entirely toward that which is above you; lift the wings of your understanding toward the radiance of the higher substance, and you will behold with your inner and outer eyes the countless and lofty beauties, and another light that surpasses all lights. You will marvel and value the works of the world no more. You will, even before the appointed time, wish for and choose death in your heart, chasten and mortify your body; beyond that, you will deny and despise your own soul, praise the King of all kings and the God of glory with glorious, beautiful hymns, and we are to worship and love with all our heart and soul the Word of the Father, which has so greatly loved us and is the heart of the Father.

And over so great a treasure, we shall marvel, glorify Him, so that we may at last be made worthy of the communion of God, and be filled with grace through Him—
To whom be praise and honor, world without end. Amen.

These Testimonies or Witnesses I have set forth here so that no one may think in their mind that they could accomplish it by themselves alone (no matter by what means).
No: above all things, God is to be prayed to for this, since it is the highest thing that God has created next to the soul of man. And this is a mirror of all things above and below, in which God's essence is sufficiently visible as in a mirror.

It is the Mercurius vitae (Mercury of life), without which no man, animal, or plant can live. On this, read Clangor Buccinae, fol. 475 at the beginning, fol. 468 at the end, fol. 474 at the end.

Therefore, my dear friend and brother in Christ Jesus, whoever you are, to whom I entrust this secret out of Christian love:
Keep God before your eyes, pray, read the philosophers and not the writings of the sophists, work with patience, and you shall see wonders.

If you attain it—do not misuse it, or God's punishment will follow you swiftly. Be sure to keep silence.
Therefore, I command this to you for your own well-being, and you shall give an account of it on the Last Day.

Amen.

The mighty and most wise King Geber writes in Chapter 1, Part 1 of Summa Perfectionis:
Whoever does not understand the foundational principles and causes of the growth of metals is already far removed from our Art, for he has no solid root on which he can establish and found the certainty of his undertaking.

This is also affirmed by the excellent philosopher Arnoldus de Villa Nova in the following words:
Whoever does not understand or know the root of the minerals, which has been told and which is composed by nature, also does not understand the original and natural beginning of their growth; from this it follows that he understands even less of the Art.

Likewise, the excellent magus and philosopher Aristotle the alchemist also says:
He will necessarily never attain the end of these matters.

These fundamental admonitions from such highly wise men serve us well and rightly in our intent and purpose. For there he speaks of the matter of the blessed Stone, as is explained in the Rosarium Majus, folio 219:
That namely all error arises from this—that the true foundation and origin of the genuine material of the Stone is hidden and sealed from them.

And from this follows (he further says) that:
He who does not know the right beginning will never attain the desired end.

For whoever does not know what he is seeking also does not know what he will find. Therefore, all those who seek without a true foundation must doubt and flounder until God the Almighty shows them other means—which rarely happens.

But since all the philosophers faithfully warn and admonish anyone who dares to prepare himself for this high divine Art and Mystery, they say that he must first pay attention to the order, course, or path of nature, namely how nature proceeds and from what she generates and continues the metallic root, which the artist must follow like an ape.

For art cannot create the proper elements at the fundamental beginning—no, they are already made by nature. The artist does not need to make them (as we will later explain). He is not a master but a servant of nature, for he must serve and assist nature.

Nature, within the earth, cannot so swiftly separate the impure from the pure as the artist can externally. For the external, stinking sulfur must be separated from the true kernel, as will follow.

Therefore, it is now most necessary that we follow the faithful warnings of the philosophers—namely, how nature generates and brings forth the metals in the earth, which every true artist must imitate.

All the philosophers call upon nature, and everything brings forth its like, loves its like. And Hermes the king and philosopher says:
No foreign thing, which has not sprung from or been composed of metallic matter, has the power to produce, alter, or transmute metals.

This is also shown by Count Bernard, fol. 20:
Every substance has its own proper seed, from which it breaks forth, and it is multiplied only through that seed and no other.

And further, fol. 21:
Such things are born and multiplied through the metals.

Before I now treat this point together with the requisites or related matters, I consider it good first to lay out the entire sequence in general, and thereafter proceed to each particular according to the table of contents, which I am obliged to describe—for from general principles, the specific ones can be more easily recognized and understood.

Above all, in the description of this high Art and divine Wisdom—which is rightly a mystery of natural philosophy—one must carefully observe and consider the subject, the matter, or chaos impurum, as the philosophers call it. This is the substance which nature has shaped in the earth into a metallic form, but has left unfinished. This material must be gradually purified by the artist without heat.

For as soon as the external heat exceeds that which is within, the metallic spirit immediately flees and cannot be brought into dead bodies—just as we see with all metals: they are all dead, for their life has escaped and flown away in the fire. Therefore, they are powerless and without virtue.

The entire first operation or action, up to the composition, is nothing other than that the matter must be sublimated, that is, made subtle (as will be discussed later). Thus, Hermes says: Make the gross subtle.

In this, many stages occur, which the philosophers, for the sake of the unlearned, separate into distinct chapters—such as:

purificatio (purification)

sublimatio (sublimation)

solutio (dissolution)

mundificatio (cleansing)

subtiliatio (refinement), etc.

Yet in essence, it is nothing other than a cleansing of the remaining sulphurous filth, and then a dissolution of the body, so that it may be brought either to the sal metallorum (salt of metals) or into the philosophical water (aqua philosophica).

After its final purification, this substance becomes so beautifully pure and virtuous—indeed, far nobler (for the spirit of life still resides within it, which is lacking in common gold or silver)—that it surpasses common gold or silver in every way.

When now this purified Mercurius or sal metallorum is united with its like, then the water or Mercurius first endeavors to dissolve the earth, so that the earth may come into the subtlety of the water.

This happens when the nature and property of the water has absorbed and overcome the earth. Thereafter, the earth begins to act upon the water, rising and falling, and thickening it, forming it in such a way that it will henceforth remain stable in any fire.

This occurs as soon as the nature of the water has been overcome. For indeed, a very great part of our mastery lies in the dissolution of the body or corpus in the water (but this all takes place once the composition is completed).

This process the philosophers call putrefaction, decay, or corruption, without which the circular transformation of metals, one into another, cannot take place (as also affirmed by Zacharius, fol. 78, § quam ob causam).

For the destruction of the one is the birth of the other—especially when such decay or corruption and generation both arise from the same origin and foundation.

Since all metals spring from one root, as will be elaborated in detail, the Philosopher's Stone arises from a humble thing, and yet becomes from it the most noble treasure—namely, from the sperma, or seed of our gold, which, through conjunction or union, is cast into the womb of Mercurius.

And then this becomes the nearest matter from which this high and precious treasure proceeds.

The nearest matter (understand this as when nature first raises the appropriate components within the earth) is the natural or active moisture, which, from both parts or both parents, is brought forth in their mutual union and conjunction for generation. For only such radical moisture or vapor of the body and the spirit are the essential components of the Stone (Lapis Philosophorum).

Thus, from two natures, a third cannot be born unless one stands in the role of the agent (the acting force) and the other in the role of the patient (the passive recipient) in their mutual interaction.

It follows then, irrefutably, that one must extract, draw out, and take the subject or matter of the Elixir—that supreme medicine which is to transmute and perfect the imperfect metals—from base things, which originate from the springs or sources of the primary minerals. It can be made from no other thing in the world than from mineral ore, from which all metals grow and have their origin.

And from where all metals have their initial origin will be fittingly discussed in the specific account of the birth of metals. For it is the will and final opinion of all the philosophers that we should only take the inner, true, pure, and simple elements, and cook and boil them with gentle, moist heat. They say that if it is done any other way, it is useless.

They also say:
Take the purest, freshest, clearest, nearest, and best thing from or out of our metallic ores, and raise it to the tops of the mountains or even to the stars of the heavens, and bring it back again down to its roots—then all is accomplished, and thus you have found the rectification of the One Thing.

How this is done will be explained in detail in the special account of the points of sublimation.

Take further note:
Whoever wishes to seek or prepare the Tincture of the Wise with benefit must first recognize the root of the minerals. From this, the great work must be accomplished.

For the knowledge of the bodies and the origin of natures is the thing which makes this work easier.

Thus, this tincture or medicine can also be properly, suitably, and excellently taken from corporeal substances, which nature has already brought into metallic form, and which are harmonious with that nature and united with it.

This point shall later be sufficiently explained and demonstrated in the sayings of the philosophers. And truly, such a tincture is to be sought and found both in bodies and in such natural spirits, since both are found to be of one and the same nature and property.

Only, the said tincture is harder to prepare from the bodies and easier and closer to prepare from the spirits, though not more perfect in its effect upon imperfect metals.

For the white path, like the red, both proceed from one root and foundation, and the ferment or agent, which is added to our Mercurius, is—as Morienus attests—from one and the same thing.

From this one thing, the work of the white as well as of the red is carried out and completed. For there is only one stone and one operation, which is brought slowly and gently to perfection in fire and by cooking in a vessel, until it becomes a white or red fixed and incombustible stone.

However, this must also be observed:
That one must take the form or shape of the great Elixir from the power of its nearest matter, in which it lies set and hidden by nature.

It must also be carefully observed that no foreign waters or powders are to be introduced into the composition of the Stone during the second operation (as Zacharius, fol. 103, affirms). For nothing corresponds better to a thing than that which is most closely related to it and of its own nature and property.

If something foreign is added, then the outcome of the work will not be what one had hoped or expected; instead, everything will take on a different form and effect.

For no proper generation of a thing can occur unless it proceeds from that which is of its own nature and essence.
Nature does not allow itself to be changed or improved except within its own nature.
Nature delights in its own nature.
Nature seeks out its own nature, embraces it, unites with it, governs it rightly, supports it, gives birth to it, nourishes it, overcomes it, retains it, renews and increases it, whitens and reddens it, tinctures and elevates its own nature and essence.

This is testified by Bernhardus Comes Trevisanus and other philosophers.

Furthermore, it is especially necessary that the coarse, impure, earthly parts of the elements, through which they are burned and corrupted, be removed by artificial preparation or separation, and be completely separated from the pure metallic substance.

Otherwise, the metallic body, due to the impurity it possesses from a natural defect, cannot be well resolved or opened.

For the metallic form must be removed, and this is accomplished by gentle cooking and digestion, dissolution and coagulation, so that you may bring it to the pure quintessence, to clear mercurial water or crystalline salt of metals,

—which is nothing other than a pure, clean sulphur that does not burn, because it is only the pure natural warmth into which the natural moisture has been infused.

For the gently tempered fire has the nature and property that it unites the parts which belong together even more closely and densely per minima—that is, in the most inner way, it mixes and binds water with water inseparably, and destroys the contrary elements even more thoroughly, consuming them completely and transforming them into a worthless ash.

Therefore, the philosophers instruct that one must bring the outermost into the innermost, and the innermost into the outermost—then one has the Art.

That is to say:
You must remove the coarse, earthly, combustible, sulphurous parts, which appear in the outermost part of the material, through the particular skill of the artist.

And on the other hand, you must bring the innermost, clear, and purest substance, which was planted in the first root of nature, outward—by separating the accidental and destructive parts.

In other words:
You must bring the hidden interior to light and reject and destroy the exterior, for it is of no use.

This is easy and very possible for an experienced artist to do, since the interior of every thing always opposes and contradicts its exterior in quality and property.

And this is the same process in all contrary things:
When they are placed opposite one another, they become all the more recognizable and radiant.

Philosophical art requires no special method (as many believe, that one must, for instance, create a new kind of gold or silver), for nature already gives birth to such things in the veins of the earth.

Thus, the artist needs nothing more than to act as an instrument, and through his tools simply remove the form of the philosophical Sun or Moon (depending on which work he wishes to begin) through our Mercurius, and in so doing, to set nature into motion in the solution of the composite, so that by artificial fire, it may be awakened again and return from death into life.

In the artificial cooking of the imperfect body, it is necessary that the external, active heat be maintained in such proportion that it does not in the least exceed the internal, active heat and power which perfects the work—neither too much nor too little. This will be explained in full in its proper place.

For if there is too much heat, the spirit of life flees, leaving behind its dead body. If there is too little warmth, the matter will not stir itself toward life or growth.

The inner nature is a pure, fiery, sulphurous, incombustible essence, which, once fixed, may be called the Light of Nature, for it is the radiance and form of all metals—it illuminates and perfects all bodies. If the artist does not perceive this light, he may go astray in many ways before ever reaching the truth.

This light cannot be seen until the hidden has been brought into the light and the elements reversed. Thus, Hermes says:

Our spirit, which makes all the metallic bodies alive and is also a natural fire, cannot be seen unless it is revealed by the Spirit of God or by a living human being.

And these errors arise because there is only one true path to this Art. For as the Rosarius says:

Everything good, and everything that is to become good, is prepared and made by only one path.

Although one person may use more steps and means than another in the first operation or working (which all takes place before the composition), after the composition the work must be entrusted again to nature, who brings it to its intended and divinely ordained goal.

And the simpler the artist or master keeps it, the better and more secure it is. For nature works simply and directly, and the master must follow her. But what is evil can be made in many ways and with countless errors. For as soon as even a single unsuitable thing is introduced into the work, it brings with it many errors and problems, because of the foreign and opposing substance—especially when one works against nature, which everyone must avoid. For such things are vanity.

The perfect Elixir or white Tincture, compared to perfected metals, is the most powerful form and effect of a single thing. When it is added in a molten state to purified, imperfect metals, which are its closest related materials, and it corresponds to them, then it forms, perfects, and tinctures them even in the greatest and most intense fire, so that they remain completely stable and everlasting.

This is the true medicine and perfection, both for humans and metals. It brings joy, renewal, and transformation, and after God, there is no other medicine that can drive away poverty and all forms of bodily suffering and preserve the human body in perfect health.

Yet, in our time, few physicians have reached this understanding, though many believe themselves to be on the right path.

In our matter—which, as previously stated, has not yet been prepared or made ready—it is not appropriate to begin working, for preparation is the true secret of this Art.

For the preparatio of the active thing, through which another thing is brought to the goal of motion, perfection, and completion, is the means by which an imperfect thing is brought to the form of a perfect metal—and this happens only through the above-mentioned activity, motion, light, and warmth.

As soon as warmth disappears or is lacking, motion or operation in the thing also ceases, just as is seen with eggs abandoned by birds, which become cold.

Since every natural or artificial operation has its appointed time, during which it must reach its ordained goal, and since nothing acts beyond its own form, it follows that once the proper form is achieved, the motion or active principle is complete, and the active force separates itself from the matter as something no longer needed.

It must also be carefully observed that the bodies must be made subtle from their coarseness and impurity, until they become spiritual, light, and pure; and conversely, that the spirits must be made corporeal and dense, such that they become stable and lasting with the bodies.

For this reason, the Ancients say:

Unless you know how to make the bodies spiritual and the spirits corporeal, you have not yet found the true path or process to this venerable Art.

Which is nothing other than:

Make the thick thin and light, and the light thick and heavy,
as the great King Hermes says:
Crassum fac subtile, et hoc spissum redde, etc.

From this, one should rightly understand that every thin and light thing is more noble than the thick and heavy, because heavy things cannot rise unless they are first united with light things.
And light things, on the other hand, cannot be fixed or retained unless through the power of the heavy, coarse parts.

For the body does not act upon the spirit, but rather the spirit acts upon the body.
Yet for them to act and suffer in one another, the bodies or earths must be united with the spirit—that is, the fixed with the volatile—according to the weight (pondus) of the sages.

But the spirits must also be sublimated or subtilized to the highest degree of purity.

Once both are thus resolved and dissolved, they will mix like water with water, unite with one another in such a way that no force of fire, however strong, can separate them.

At this point, the artist must also be well instructed in the degrees of fire, how to govern and regulate the fire from the beginning to the end of the entire work.
Otherwise, error is easy. This will be discussed at length in the main section.

Accordingly, all wise men, magi, and philosophers advise that one should never project a tincture onto any imperfect metal unless it has first been well purified.
Otherwise, great harm will follow, for the tincture will not only be hindered by the scoriae and stinking sulphurous accidents, but it will often remain above, causing great loss.

The entire aim and intent of the Art is to bring perfection to common metals—to lead them into completion.

For every tincture works only on its like among the metals, since they all originate from the same metallic root, and not from foreign things which do not arise from the pure substance of sulphur and mercury.

For it is to be found and proven in all metals that their prima materia is entirely the same in powers and virtues, and that there is indeed a very easy path to transform one into another,
except that they differ in this respect: namely, in their degree of purification and digestion—that is, one has been more highly purified, refined, and digested by nature than the other.

Therefore, the impure metals must be further and better purified by art, and those that have been too little digested must be more thoroughly digested.
Thus, through these degrees of preparation, all accidents and accidental parts which defile the baser metals are separated from them, so that only their pure, incorruptible substance remains.

And only this substance, and no other, can possibly be transmuted and transformed into the form of a perfect metal.

For in this way, the operations of the active agents are brought to completion and perfection in the prepared and receptive passive matter.

You should further observe that only three distinct things (respectively speaking) are necessary for the perfection of the tincturing stone, in which, if they are rightly prepared, lies the entire mastery of this Art—namely:

the Stone of the Sun,
which denotes or encloses within itself the Red Lion,
that is, the red incombustible sulphur.

Next comes the Stone of the Moon, in which pure, clear, incombustible white sulphur predominates, as Clangor Buccinae explains in the Turba Philosophorum, fol. 484:

“In the lunar subject there is a white sulphur.”

And the Stone in which our Mercurius resides contains within itself both natures—that of the white and the red.

This is the foundation of the entire mastery:
For our Mercurius is the Earth, and whatever is sown into it, that it brings forth.

Lastly, there is the third Stone, which is a medium between the two, and encloses both of their natures within itself.

Nam lapis Mercurii amplectitur utramque naturam —
“For the stone of Mercury embraces both natures,” as said.

These three metallic and mineral species you must most carefully conceal from the common, ignorant, and unworthy people, and allow the fools to continue wandering on their paths of error, for they are neither predestined for this nor capable of understanding it.

And it shall remain well sealed to them until they can bring Sun and Moon into one body—which cannot and must not happen without the will of Him who lives from eternity to eternity.

For this high Art is the Almighty God's greatest earthly gift, and is kept in His hand, to give or withhold only to whom He wills.

Yet it is sometimes attained by:

profound and sharp intellect,

prayer,

diligent and constant reading of the books,

and zealous seeking,
or by the revelation of a faithful master.

And so it shall happen to me, too, by the grace of God, without doubt.

For a true philosopher has God before his eyes and acts rightly—otherwise, he would rather abstain completely.
I do not make this revelation for my own sake, but for the reasons which shall be mentioned.

I thank God for the abundant support of His wondrous deeds.
And indeed, whoever has rightly read and understood the books of the ancients will not be able to deny that in this my methodical discourse I have brought forth the truth, and have not withheld the principles or beginnings of this holy Art and its mysteries, as shall follow.

May the eternal God grant it to all who intend to use it for the glory of His name, for the benefit of their neighbor, and for the edification of the Christian Church.

Amen.

Now follow the main points, in which the true foundation is truly brought to light—so clearly, in fact, that it might even be grasped by hand. And though some may claim otherwise, it is simple and not difficult.

Up to this point, the high arcanum has been treated in a general manner due to its length and necessity.
What follows, then, is a thorough instruction and demonstration in specific and particular terms.

In this section, it is first necessary—after this extended introduction—to present the generation or birth of minerals and metals, from which will consequently arise the identification of the true materials or subject of the Stone, with the relevant circumstances, requisites, and related matters, which must and shall especially be derived from the course of nature.

That is, how metals and similar things take their origin from it, which every true philosopher and artist must follow, since all philosophers write of and call upon Nature.

Before I begin to explain this, it must necessarily be understood that the philosophers speak of three types of minerals:

The greater minerals:
These are metals while they still lie in their chaos, matrix, or, as Theophrastus calls it, the workshop of nature—that is, before they are melted into metal by the force of fire.

The middle minerals:
These are marcasites and similar types in which a metallic sheen can be seen or discerned, such as antimony, bismuth, arsenopyrite, etc.
But no metal will arise from them, even if they lie in the earth for a long time.
They are not a complete flower or bud, for they have only two principles—namely, sulphur and mercury; they lack salt.

The lesser minerals (minora mineralia):
These are salts and similar substances, such as alum, vitriol, saltpeter, and all kinds of ores or earthy substances in which no metallic form or shine can be perceived.

I found it necessary to indicate this so that no confusion may arise over the name “minerals.”

Now follows the necessary explanation of the generation or birth of metals, which the artist must rightly follow, for everything brings forth its like, as can be observed in all living things.

You must especially understand this: all metals arise from one root, one matter, one foundation and ground, from which they have their origin. Otherwise, they would not be homogeneous or consanguineous—that is, closely related by blood.

This is affirmed by all true philosophers, and experience confirms it as well. For no tin exists that was not previously lead, and likewise, all gold was first silver.

As the highly enlightened Count of Trevisan also states in folios 31 and 32, where he very clearly describes how metals grow. He says:

"First it becomes lead, then tin, then silver, then copper, and finally iron and gold."

That nature spends more time on iron and copper is due to their impurity, which they received at birth.
Anyone can read it there, and it is indeed so.

Dionysius Zacharias, fol. 92, also reports (as I myself know) that mines have often been opened prematurely, and in them immature silver was found. Its appearance was like lead ore, so they closed the mine again and allowed it to digest for another 40 or 50 years.
Then it produced almost pure silver.

And although this may seem strange—since lead is impure, and silver is a fine, tender, and pure metal—let no one think otherwise:
Nature expels the impurity of lead over time.

This is demonstrable, and the inner Mercury, salt, and sulphur of Saturn (lead) are just as beautiful, pure, lovely, and good as they ever are in Luna (silver) and Sol (gold), as shall be shown later.

That all metals spring from one root is affirmed by the true philosophers who have possessed the Philosopher’s Stone, and they write as follows:

One must give credence to a craftsman or artisan when he speaks about that which he has learned from his craft—
how much more, then, to such high masters as the magi and philosophers.

King Geber and Clangor Buccinae in the Turba Philosophorum (fol. 473) speak very usefully on this point:

Secundum varietatem Sulphuris & ipsius multiplicationem diversa metalla procreantur in terra.
— “According to the variety and multiplication of sulphur, various metals are produced in the earth.”

Yet their first matter, from which they are made, is one and the same.
The metals differ only on account of accidental operations—that is, because one has received more or less heat, has been more or less tempered, and has taken on combustible or incombustible sulphur in the womb of the earth.

“On this point,” he says, “the company of philosophers agree.”

How this comes about will be explained later in the section concerning how metals are composed by nature.

In Turba Philosophorum, fol. 579, it says:

“The philosophers held such lofty thoughts that they wished to unite the lowest bodies of the planets with those high in the firmament, striving for a likeness in outward appearance, light, and purity.”

And they succeeded, that is, because they discovered in truth that metallic bodies differ only by greater or lesser digestion,
but that the origin and beginning of them all is Mercury.

Thus the Turba, fol. 610, declares:

Noster Mercurius est omnia metalla — “Our Mercury is all metals.”

And the philosophers always use plurality in this point—speaking of metalla, metallorum, metallis,
even though they could say a single metal or the metal. But always they speak of the metals, from the metals, of the metals.

By this they make clear that the metals are so closely related, as Count Bernard says in his parable, where he states:

“The other six also come from the same well,” meaning from Mercury,
“but they have not yet earned the glory that he (Sol) has.”

To list all the authorities and testimonies in both Latin and vernacular would take too long, so I will simply cite the places where you may read them yourself:

Count Trevisan, fol. mihi 44

Flamel, fol. 119 (at the end)

Arnold in Rosarium, fols. 399, 411

Magister Degenhardus, De Lapide, fol. 116

Hollandus, Liber Vegetabilis, in the section on Saturn, fol. 212

Bernardus Agnensis, fol. 29

Turba Philosophorum, fol. 277

Clangor Buccinae, fol. 437

B. Agnensis, fol. 109

Turba, fol. 177

and many similar places.

And indeed, in truth and in fact, it is just as they say.

Now it rightly follows: from what and by what means does Nature generate or give birth to metals in the veins of the earth?

To this you should be attentive:
Nature has its passages and channels in the earth, which absorb, draw in, drip, and yield salty, clear and unclear waters, as is observed in mines—where sharp, salty waters constantly drip.

Now, when these salty waters descend from above (for all heavy things sink downward), they meet the sulphurous vapors that rise from below—from the center of the earth.

If it happens that both the salty waters are pure and clear, and the sulphurous vapors are also pure, and they encounter and unite, then a good metal is produced.

But if not—then an impure metal results, one which Nature must labor upon for hundreds or even thousands of years to bring to perfection. This is due to the impurity either of the mercurial, salty water or of the sulphurous, impure vapor.

When these two meet and join in a sealed crevice or stone, a moist, thick, greasy vapor rises from them, by the natural warmth of the earth. It settles in place (as there is no air, otherwise it would escape), and from this vapor forms a mucilaginous or slimy matter, white like butter—which Mathesius calls a Gur.

It can be smeared like butter, and I can even demonstrate it above or outside the earth, in the hand.

This Gur is often found by miners, but nothing can be done with it, because people do not know what Nature is working there.
It could just as well become a marcasite as a metal.

This composite matter is then—through long, gentle, vaporous cooking by Nature—transformed into a metallic form or mass.

The first form of the metals is a leaden matter, in which there is always a hidden grain of the fixed, from Luna or Sol.
This seed always continues to grow and hastens toward the perfection of the Moon, and thus it is rightly called Lunaria, and even Sonnenwend (Solstice).

Therefore Flamel says, fol. 118:

One may observe in lead mines that there is no lead ore from which a grain of gold or silver cannot be separated.

Count Trevisanus demonstrates this sufficiently in folios 31 and 32, where he sets out the generations of metals in order:
First lead, then tin—and all books of the philosophers are full of this teaching.

My prior claim about the generation of metals is thus confirmed—namely, that it happens and proceeds exactly as I described.

Clangor Buccinae, fol. 473, states:

“Each of the metals is first composed of Mercury and Sulphur, then transformed into an earthly substance.
From these two earthly substances, a subtle, light, and pure vapor rises.
From this, pure metals are formed, due to the inner warmth in the hollows of the earth.
There they are digested and cooked until they become entirely earthly in substance and nature, eventually attaining fixity, having lain long in Nature’s workshop, and are finally transformed into metallic nature.”

Nicolas Flamel, an excellent philosopher, writes helpfully on this in fol. 152:

“Surely, no foreign or contrary thing can make imperfect metals perfect, nor can it transmute them.”

Therefore, it is entirely right to consider as foolish and witless those people who think they can achieve anything in this Art using animals or other growing (vegetable) substances—since we have minerals that are so closely related to metals, and because only from these two principles—Sulphur and Mercury—are all metals generated.

Let no one be led astray by the fact that the philosophers often speak only of these two, Sulphur and Mercury, and seem to leave out Salt. You must understand that in mercurial water, the Salt is hidden—and this water can easily and quickly be transformed into the Salt of Metals, and likewise, Salt can again become water.

It has already been stated that metals are born from a salty vitriolic water and a sulphurous vapor.

Semita Semitae in the Turba, fol. 473, says:

“You must understand and observe that Mercury, when it has been ‘cooked,’ is the son of all the imperfect metals, digested in the womb of the earth by sulphurous warmth or vapor.”

And depending on the quality of the sulphurous vapor—whether it is pure or impure—different metals are born in the earth.
Yet their original matter is one and the same; they differ only in that one has been more thoroughly cooked, or more burned by impure sulphurous vapors than another.

And in this, all philosophers agree.

It would take too long and be too tedious to list every testimony from the philosophers here, since they all agree with one another.
You can read them yourself in the following places:

Count Bernard in the cited passages

Turba Philosophorum, fols. 495, 356, 476

Flamel, fol. 183

Clangor Buccinae, fol. 493

Turba, fols. 411, 569 (end), 31, 32, 40, 44

Magister Degenhardus, fol. 122

Richardus Anglicus, fols. 127, 310, 579

Rosinus, fol. 278

Arnold, in Flos Florum, fol. 475 (at the end)

Turba, fols. 158–160

Flamel, fol. 152

In the Salt of Metals (sal metallorum), all things are hidden:

Body (corpus),

Spirit (spiritus),

Soul (anima),

Sulphur,

and Mercury.

And to prove this, Hermes says:

Sal Metallorum est Lapis Philosophorum
— "The Salt of Metals is the Philosopher’s Stone."

And also:

Et qui habet Sal Metallorum, ille habet Secretum Sapientum antiquorum
— "Whoever possesses the Salt of Metals possesses the secret of the ancient sages."

All these authorities, and many more, agree on this:
That all metals are born from Sulphur and Mercury, in which the Salt lies hidden—
and this is truly the case.

Now that I have sufficiently and completely explained the manner, place, and properties of how metals are generated and born—
and since every true artist must follow this—
it is therefore necessary that we also show, name, and describe the true and actual material,
so that the artist may follow Nature, which is the most important aspect.

For it is useless to try to build if I have no material from which to build.

Yet one might object here and say:

“Yes, you may name or show me a material—but who knows if it is truly the right one?
And is it even possible that metals can grow, multiply, or be increased?”

Because this is such an important and necessary point, we will for now delay the explicit naming and exposition of the materials,
and instead demonstrate, explain, and prove this matter with several foundational and irrefutable principles and arguments.

The most wise and inspired man Arnold de Villa Nova, in Liber Flos Florum, presents the first irrefutable argument and proof in the following words:

“Everything that grows can also multiply,”
as we see in trees, grain, and all living things.
Metals also grow; therefore, they too can be multiplied, just like other things.

That metals grow is shown by experience, as previously mentioned—how a mine is often found containing unfinished ore, which is then closed off and allowed to continue maturing by nature, until it reaches perfection.

All experienced miners are familiar with this.

Furthermore, God Almighty Himself, at the creation of all things, commanded growth and multiplication, when He said in Genesis 1:

“Let each thing bring forth after its kind, and let it multiply also within its kind”—
and there is no doubt about this.

A notable philosopher who possessed the Philosopher’s Stone, namely Dionysius, writes in fol. 78:

“Everything that is destined for perfection and completeness, but is left imperfect due to lack of digestion,
can be brought to perfection by subsequent cooking and digestion.
Perfected metals are predestined for perfection; therefore, through steady digestion, they may be brought to perfection.”

This argument principally applies to our materia, for it too has been left imperfect by nature, and the artist must assist it, through purification and cooking, as will later be explained.

The next argument, the third, concerns the certainty of transmutation, or what is now called tinging.

On this, Aristotle in Meteor. I.4, as well as Zacharius (fol. 79), Count Bernard, Albertus Magnus, and Avicenna, all affirm:

“The alchemists cannot transform one metal into another
unless they first reduce it to its first matter.”

And:

“The reduction into its first matter is very easy and possible.
Therefore, transmutation or change is also easy and possible.”

On this reduction into the first matter, I could fittingly speak here, but since my Bauer (that is, my treatise written by myself) has already explained it sufficiently, and this can also be demonstrated from many philosophical books,
I shall simply refer you to them—e.g., Count Bernard, fols. 17, 18, 19.

This is a point well worth noting, because many esteemed people err in this matter—thinking that, when they possess the Philosophical Mercury or the Salt of Metals, they already have the prima materia.

No!

It becomes the prima materia only after the conjunction—
after the union of the male and female,
as Count Bernard shows in fol. 21 (end) and fol. 22 (beginning):

He says:

“Ista conjunctio dicitur prima materia, et non prius” —
“This conjunction is called the prima materia, and not before.”

Only after the conjunction or composition is it properly called the first matter of the Stone or of all metals.

See also Turba Philosophorum, fols. 415 and 364, and others.

Since we have earlier, by natural foundation and rational causes, rightfully and lawfully rejected animal and vegetable substances as foreign, contrary, and unfit for our high work,
we must now rightly and justly place our Materia Lapidis among the minerals,
since all metals are smelted out of ore, or minera, unless they are found native (gediegen)—in which case, they have freed themselves from the minera, like a chick from its shell.

Otherwise, they are extracted and purified by other means.

But now a question arises for us here.

Since we have previously identified the three main types of minerals—namely:

Majora (greater minerals),

Media (middle minerals), and

Minora (lesser minerals),

from which, principally and especially, our Materia is to be drawn, or at least approached—
we must now determine which of these is our Minera, or metallic ore, and which constitutes the true Materia.

That it must be metallic—this we shall shortly prove.
For every thing brings forth its own kind,
every thing delights in its own kind, and abhors its opposite.

The philosophers speak very cryptically and colorfully in their description or naming of the true materials.

As Flamel says (fol. 152, at the end):

"Above all, it is hidden from us from which mineral material our Stone could be made."

But they are partly highly secretive,
and partly they speak of materials that are so humble, and most often so impure,
that many despair at this point in the work.

Clangor Buccinae writes (fol. 478) that he obtained only half a lot (≈ 8 grams) of Mercury from a whole pound of material,
which was suitable for the work.

Arnold de Villa Nova also writes about this in the Rosarium (fol. 404), as do Zacharius, fols. 433, 92, and 150.

For there are some minerals among these that are more purified, cooked, and digested by nature,
and those are closer to our work, more suitable, and better.

Which, I hope, you—my dear friend—will come to recognize.

For what Nature has already accomplished,
I need not repeat—
and that is, for me, a great advantage.

You must also understand, as a foundational principle, that the Materia Lapidis—the Philosopher’s Stone—can be prepared from all metals, especially when they are still within their ore (minera).

But as soon as they come into fire, the tinging spirit escapes and leaves behind its dead body (corpus).

Therefore, the Rosarium Philosophorum says (fol. 209):

“Our Stone is a thing or matter that never comes into the fire.”

I can, with the spiritual essence that flees from metals, tinge Venus (copper) into apparent gold in an instant.
But this is not permanent, because it is a volatile spirit.

Yet in this we see the possibility—
If the raw spirit can do that, what might it achieve once it has been advanced and ennobled by Art?

However, the difficulty lies in this:
Some metals are too hard-bound, others are too impure or difficult to dissolve.

That is why the philosophers have chosen the nearest and easiest path, selecting the materials that can be opened most readily,
and in which the primum ens (first being), and the generative and multiplicative power, are abundant—
so that they may more quickly reach completion.

And especially since the matter is one and the same in all metals,
why should I struggle for a year or two to resolve one,
when I could accomplish the same in 4, 5, or 6 weeks with another, more favorable material?
Since I can obtain the same materia in short time as in long.

That this is true is confirmed by the highly renowned philosopher Avicenna, fol. 433, who says:

“One should know that one metal can be brought to the Elixir much more easily than another.”

Turba Philosophorum, fol. 404 (at the end), also says:

“I say that all metals inwardly are gold and silver,”
which anyone who understands this Art can recognize.

Flamel, fol. 120, says even more clearly:

“From all metals (so long as they have not been in fire), the Stone can be made.
In Luna (silver),” he says, “you will find it—if you seek it there.
In lead, iron, copper—more certainly.
But I,” he says, “have found it in gold.”
(Understand: not in common gold.)

All of this must be understood only if the metals have never been in fire.

This distinction is made by Count of Trevisan, fol. 16 (at the end), where he writes:

“Let all minerals be set aside”
(understand: the minor and middle minerals)
“and retain only the metals alone.”

Most artists do not understand this little word “alone”, and yet it makes all the difference.

Because:
When the metals have passed through fire and have been melted into a metallic form or mass,
then they are “sola” (alone)—
for they have lost their tinging spirit and are dead.

Furthermore, in the melting process, one body is driven away from the other.

For in nature, one rarely finds a metal truly alone.
Rather, one sees that:

Venus (copper) and Luna (silver) often occur together,

Luna and Saturn (lead) are often joined,

Luna and Sol (gold) may be found together, and so on.

These compound bodies are then further processed,
and people try to separate Venus from Luna, Saturn from Luna, Luna from Sol, etc.,
until the metals become powerless, spiritless, dead, and "sola corpora" (bodies alone).

They can no longer do anything.
Even Sol (gold) can do no more than what it is.
Therefore, they are “sola”, that is, alone, without body, soul, and spirit united.

The spirit has left the body,
the soul has no more strength,
therefore, nothing can be made from them.

Let us proceed further.

We previously spoke of three kinds of minerals—greater, lesser, and middle:

The lesser minerals cannot be it, for they are only salts.

The middle minerals are not it either, for they are only marcasites, possessing only two principles, as previously stated.

Moreover, Count Trevisan rejects all minerals that do not bear metals.
Indeed, he even rejects the metals themselves once they are separated from their life.

Now one might reasonably ask:

“There are so many minerals that yield metals—
but how do I know which ones are the nearest and best,
from which I could easily obtain our Materia Nostra or the Philosophical Mercury?”

This is a valid question—and in the next section, we will begin to answer it clearly.

This point or question is explained by the philosophers themselves, who say:

“We must take that minera or materia which Nature has just begun to turn into metal,
which has already received a metallic form or sheen, but has been left incomplete.”

Such a material is the one we should choose.

Now, from the prior discussion on the generation of metals, we have learned that Nature first produces a mineral lead ore,
as Count Trevisanus writes:

“The first is Saturn (lead), and then Jupiter (tin).”

Someone might not be inclined to believe me on this point,
and so I will prove my intention clearly, and explain the true materia—that which is nearest and best—
so that no doubt remains whatsoever.

Therefore:

Open your reason,
uncover the eyes of your understanding,
pray, and you shall indeed be able to comprehend it.

As for how it went for me regarding the Materia,
you can see it explained in my Tractate of the Farmer.
Not everyone will immediately understand it—
but I will strive for the clearest and most just explanation of the truth.

God grant you discretion, so that you do not easily reveal it to another—especially one who is not worthy. Amen.

As I mentioned earlier, I will now prove that our blessed Stone arises only from a metallic root,
and that it must also be a metallic body,
since otherwise it could not rectify, heal, and tinge other impure metals.

This also serves to ensure that you do not seek it in vegetable or animal substances,
although our Stone is also vegetable and animal in a certain sense:

When it is dissolved in water, it is called Aqua Vegetabilis, because

“it causes its own body to grow.”

It is animal, because it has an anima—a soul—as Zacharius and others explain.
And this is its life, which flees from common metals in the fire—leaving them dead,
since their spiritual nature, their tinging power, is gone.

For a body cannot penetrate or tinge another body;
the spirit is the driver, the carrier—it is the one who must do the work.

That the materia must be metallic is clearly proven in the Rosarium Magnum, fols. 2 and 31, where it says:

“The Philosophers’ Mercury is that in which Nature has worked only a little,
or has brought it into a metallic shape or appearance,
but has left it still imperfect.”

Likewise, Rosarium, fol. 252, says:

“Our Mercury is not just any, but that in which Nature has completed her first operation,
and has set it into a metallic nature,
but has left it imperfect.”

And again, fol. 394:

“This alone—because it is metallic—contains within itself everything necessary for the Work.”

In Clangor Buccinae, fol. 476, Epimidius the Philosopher in the Turba says:

Per colorem temperatum extrahitur a materia
— “By gentle heat, a viscous or vaporous slime is extracted from a metallic material—but it is subtle.”

This is the Sublimation of the Philosophers, as Hermes says:

Crassum fac subtile et hoc spissum reddito
— “Make the gross subtle, and the subtle dense.”

A certain earthiness, purified and mixed well—that is what they call Elixir:

a universal medicine for humans, animals, trees, metals, and herbs,
through which one may transform the metals.

It would be too lengthy to list all authorities and proofs here,
so I will name a few sources for you to read and follow:

Arnoldus, in Rosarium, fol. 405

Flamel, fols. 137, 141 (§ Lapis)

Clangor Buccinae, fols. 475, 510

Turba Philosophorum, fols. 155, 433 (sed sciendum)

Count Trevisanus, fols. 21, 35

These are enough to leave no doubt that the Materia Lapidis is, or has, a metallic form or nature.

However, this metallic form must be taken from it by solution, as will be explained further on.

Because it is a metallic body, it cannot tinge in its current state.
Therefore, it must be brought into spirituality by physical sublimation,
so that it may penetrate and tinge.

First, I shall set down the text through which the eyes of my understanding were opened,
by the mercy of God, and this is found in Flamel, folio 118:

“When the Mercury of the metals is only slightly congealed at first,
a fixed grain of gold is soon found within it.
This grain, born from the two seeds—fat sulphur and salt—
brings forth and generates a true rootlet of our Mercury,
as may be seen in lead mines, where one never finds lead ore
from which a fixed grain of gold or silver cannot be openly extracted.”

For the first coagulation or freezing together of Mercury
is a minera of Saturn, or a lead ore,
into which Nature has placed it.

This is also confirmed by Count Bernard, fol. 31.

This may truly be perfected, brought to full completion,
without any doubt or error,
but the grain of fixity must still be within the Mercury,
and by no means separated from its minera or lead ore.
Otherwise, through the power of fire, it will be extracted and made into silver—
in which case it is useless, as the text continues:

“For when a metal still lies within its minera or workshop,
it is Mercury; but once its fixed grain is separated,
it is like picking an unripe apple from a tree,
which soon rots entirely.”

The grain of fixity is like an apple, and Mercury is like the tree.
So one must not separate the fruit from the tree,
because it cannot have any other origin than from its Mercury.

This
text is so clear and precise
that even a very simple person can understand it,
and this text is the first revelation granted to me through the grace of God.

Now from this single saying (dicto)
one must derive the true and only foundation,
for all the philosophers write:
one must take such a materia which Nature has just begun to form,
brought it into metallic shape,
but left it incomplete.

That’s exactly what is said here.

For the first form of metals is plumbago (lead ore),
as Count Trevisanus also attests,
when he says:

“The first is lead.”

But he does not mean common lead,
for that has already been in fire,
and has lost its spirit or vital force,
which alone could, in an instant, tinge copper into golden appearance—
though not stably, because:

The entire body has merely been started by Nature toward becoming metal,
and left incomplete.

Yet we see the possibility:

if the raw spirit can do this,
what could it truly accomplish once elevated by Art?

This spirit must also have a body,
namely the Moon, or Lunaria,
which lies hidden within it,
but can be brought forth in the Salt of Metals (sal metallorum).

Thus says Hermes:

“His father is the Red Sun,
but his mother is the White Moon.”

This White Luna, he says,
to distinguish it from the common Moon (silver),
for this our Luna is translucent,
and yet it is still the Moon within.

This can be demonstrated:

Our Luna must lose its metallic form,
otherwise it cannot mix by minima—
that is, like water mixes with water.

Much could be said about this,
but I must strive for brevity.

All of this will be discussed again at length
in the section on the resolution of the body or materia,
where the salt is prepared.

Here follows another text.

Flamel, fol. 120:

“In the earth there grows a leaden materia, a coagulated mercury. One should throw it into prison, then release it, and thus one shall find the weight — otherwise hardly.”

This leaden materia should be sealed in a vessel and purified there,
then from the weight one can judge (that is his meaning),
because as long as it is impure, it is impossible to determine it correctly.

In summary of our Work,
Flamel writes that in the entire world, only one single metal is found
in which our Mercury is abundant:

“Saturn — that is, Lead — is heavy and soft,
thus it is likened to Gold and is called leprous gold.”

Indeed, he says:

“Lead, which has never been in fire, is leprous gold.”

This leprosy is taken from it in the dissolution,
and it is made clear, just like the substance of true gold.

Hence Clangor writes in Turba, fol. 502:

“Our ore has a leprous and dropsical body,
like the Syrian Naaman (4 Kings 4),
who needed to bathe seven times in the Jordan
to be cleansed of his congenital impurity.”

Flamel, fol. 116:

“Climb, therefore, the mountain,
that you may see a vegetable, saturnine, lead-like, and royal,
likewise also a mineral root or herb.
Take only the juice, and throw away the husks.”

He cannot avoid it:
he must also call the leaden mass a royal materia,
for in it and from it gold is produced and born,
as has been abundantly shown above.

Let us now also hear what the esteemed Theophrastus Paracelsus says on the matter,
and what his materia was.

In Libro Vexationum, fol. 38, he writes:

“Thus says Saturn of his own nature:
They [the six metals] have cast me out as their tester,
rejected me from the spiritual realm,
and assigned to me a destructive body for residence.
For what they do not want to be or have — that, I must be.
My six brothers are spiritual,
and so whenever I am burned, they pass through me,
and I perish in the fire
(he refers here to testing in the crucible).

Thus they too perish with me —
except for two of the best: Gold and Silver,
which purify themselves splendidly through my water and grow proud.

My spirit is the water that softens all frozen and hardened bodies of my brothers.
But my body is like the Earth,
and made into a body by us.

It would not be good for the world to know or believe what is in me and what I can do.
Much better would it be if they could do unto me what I can truly do —
then they would leave all other alchemical arts aside
and rely solely on what is to be accomplished in and with me.

The Stone of Coldness is in me:
that is, my water, by which I cause congelation and freezing,
transforms the spirits of the six metals into the bodily nature of the seventh,
that is, Gold promoted with Silver.”

This text is clear enough and requires no interpretation,
except that it must not be understood as referring to common lead,
for that has already been in the fire.

Here follows a text, which I have in Theophrastus’ own handwriting:

“Therefore I tell you,” he says, “that you must take the sickest among the seven sick ones (that is, Saturn), and it is necessary that you lead him into his bath of purification and cleanse him from that which Nature has implanted in him against his will — then you have a mystery,” etc.

Arnold de Villa Nova, in Novum Lumen, fol. 457, says:

“I testify before you, that such possibility lies in the materia from which, with my own hands, witnessed by my own eyes, though taught by another, I made the Elixir, which turns lead into gold. This I now name to you: it is the philosophers’ magnesia, from which the philosophers have extracted the gold hidden in its body.”

This aligns completely with the previous sayings.

Magister Degenhart, a monk of the Augustinian Order, who certainly possessed the Philosopher’s Stone, writes in his book De Via Universali:

“It is a thing which inwardly conforms to all things, and in it are hidden all earthly (i.e., sublunary) substances.
Its tincture surpasses all tinctures; its power cures all diseases;
it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
In it lies the secret for reaching the treasure of the wise — and that is the Plumbum Philosophorum (the Philosophers’ Lead), otherwise called by them Plumbum aeris, which is lead ore.
Hidden within it is a beautiful, shining white dove, called the Sal Metallorum, in which lies the highest mastery of the Work.

This is the chaste, intelligent, and rich Queen of Sheba, clothed in white linen, who wished to submit to no one except the wise King Solomon.
No human heart can fully comprehend all of this.”

He concludes his tract:

“Truly wise is the man who can understand the nature of lead.”

He speaks rightly when he says the white dove lies hidden in the metals — namely those that have not yet been in the fire.

But the philosophers are nearly all agreed that it is in Saturn (lead),
because the body of Saturn is the easiest to open and unlock,
as has already been pointed out.

Thus, one must, as said before, take the kernel and throw away the husks,
as the Dialogus Philosophiae elegantly explains, fol. 14 & 16:

“One must not take what the metals come from — no, but rather that which is extracted from the metals.
That is, what lies hidden within them.”

This is charmingly explained by the Turba, part 1, fol. 577,
with the example of a tree:

“When you want to propagate a tree, you must not take the water or the earth,
but rather something from the tree — a kernel or a twig —
and entrust that again to Nature.”

You can read it again there.

Ripley, in Axioms, fol. 179, says:

“The combined metallic lump is lead ore (Bleischweif),
and that is why we rightly call it lead.”

Its shining quality comes from Sol and Luna.

Hermes, the great king and father of the philosophers, says in his Book on the General Chaos, chapter 19, fol. 268, number 14:

"The foremost purification of our Mercury is this — that one must take from it the leaden darkness or form by the help of wine, so that it may become splendid, clear, and transparent, like crystalline translucent salt. For it is essential: the forma metallica must be removed, that a spiritual being may be made — as will be discussed in the section on solution."

Dionysius Zacharias, fol. 92, says:

"We must take precisely the same materia from which Nature makes the metals in the Earth."

Count Bernhard explains this:

"Nature first creates a lead-like materia, in which she sets her first disposition and properties. From this, we can most closely approach [the Work], as other bodies are too difficult to open" — as shown by Flamel, fols. 153 & 154, where he asks:

"Why do we not use the pure bodies of Sol and Luna for our work?"

He answers:

"Because Nature has so firmly bound them that they cannot easily be acted upon with fire. Instead, we use a body in which exactly the same pure sulfur and mercury are found as in silver or gold, but in which Nature has worked only a little, and left incomplete."

He further says:

"We must use what is not completed — for Sol and Luna are complete, and therefore already in their highest degree."

One may read further there, as he clearly explains the modus materiarum. It is also worth noting that philosophers always use the plural — bodies, metals, metallis, metalorum — never singular, to mock the unwise. For all metals, as previously demonstrated, come from a single root, and from them, especially before they have been subjected to fire, the universal can be prepared — particularly when they are still in their ore (mineral) state.

Thus Roger Bacon and Flamel, fol. 137, say:

"Nothing clings to the metals, nor can they be recombined or transmuted except with that which comes from themselves" — as was previously explained.

To explain all the texts would be too lengthy — we will merely provide the proofs, for there is truly no doubt about the materia, as will be proven in deed and in practice.

Rasis says:

"All secrets are hidden in lead — but not in common lead." He adds:
"Do not understand this to mean common lead, lest you be misled, but rather our brittle and black silver-glance (Silberglett)."

And truly, in our lead lies the potential of gold and silver, even if not visibly so.

This saying is clear enough:
That Luna is contained within it will be proven in practice — even if it cannot be seen when the components are joined.

But when its spirit separates from the body, it leaves behind a Lunar body, like the finest silver in every test.

It is undeniable that all gold was first silver, and gold can easily be made from silver. Thus Luna or the Lunaria is proven here — and through the higher operation, this may be easily brought to more-than-perfection.

Maria Prophetissa, Moses' sister, says in the Turba, fol. 322:

"The fixed or stable body comes from the heart of lead" — that is, from the inner part hidden within our lead, as said above:
That in Saturn, which has not yet been in fire, a grain or a few grains of Sol or Luna are always hidden, like a seed that can be propagated.

Thus Rosarius, fol. 265, says:

"Our Sol or Luna or fixed body is hidden, like the soul in a human body, or like fire in wood or stone."

Aurora Consurgens, in Turba, fol. 220:

"Behold, I have shown you the opportunity of our white lead (that is, when it is brought by solution into a white salt).
If you know this, the rest is women’s work and child’s play."

He means that after the composition, the work is the easiest imaginable — as Count Bernhard testifies, fol. 3:

"Our work is so humble and simple — yes, so easy — that if I were to describe it with words or show it by deed, you would not believe it."

Zacharias also says:

"If the philosophers had kept the correct order, one would understand this art in a day or an hour — so noble and simple is it."

Thus, the wise man should consider how God Almighty has placed such a lofty work into such a low and despised subject or materia — for He delights always in humility.

(Also because the rich should not presume to possess it, since their hearts are fixed only on gold. This humble gold they neither see nor value.)

How much more could He achieve through high things?

Turba, part 1, fol. 221:

"In lead there is a living death" — and this should be counted among the secrets of all secrets.

What the philosopher says:

"Nothing is so close to gold as lead" — what more could be said?

The hidden gold lies dead in the lead — but if its death (i.e., impurity) is taken away by solution, it becomes alive, and rejoices in its own kind to which it is joined.

For it is like wax, in which all seals may be imprinted.
Add gold to it, and you will get gold.
Add copper, and it brings forth copper, and so on.

This is proven by:

Rosarius, fol. 319

Turba, fol. 406

Arnoldus, in Rosarius, fol. 411

Turba, fol. 59:

"With Sol, it is Sol. With Luna, Luna. With Venus, Venus."

That it assumes all forms is stated by Nicolas Flamel, fol. 168:

"Mercury puts on all forms, just as wax takes all seals."

Turba, fol. 39:

"In our earth are three eyes: the rising, the setting — and from them our white Saturn is born, which is the Sal Metallorum."

Also, Turba, part 1:

"Our white camel is the seventh in number, among the high philosophers:
the Sun with the Moon, also Jupiter, our Mars, and Venus in our Mercury.
But Saturn is the seventh, in whom they are all gathered and contained."

He is:

the spatula,

the sword,

the knife,

the incision of wondrous births
— by which one may resist his enemies.

Also a barrel of good wine, etc.

What could be clearer?

He also includes the means of solution — for in the wine barrel it is hidden. That is first the wine — i.e., spiritus vini, acetum vini, sal tartari, and other things — although other means are used as well.

Yet they must not remain, but vanish again after the solution.

Arnold, in Flos Florum, fol. 471, at the end:

"Metals are not generated except from their own seed."

That metals arise only from their own seed has been sufficiently discussed above.

One should only consider: what is the first metal?

For that, read Trevisanus, fols. 31–32, and Turba, fol. 389, part 1:

"Our old man, who seems dead, is an example of our science.
In him (that is, the old Saturn) the natures are fully combined —
Earth, Water, Fire, and Air —
and all this is in Saturn."

Through him the doors of wisdom are opened,
and through him the doors of the seven metals are unlocked,
as Hermes and his ancestors say.

What could be said more clearly?

Rosarius, fol. 394:

"Blessed be the Creator of all things,
who has made from the most humble something noble, precious, and exalted."

And since this materia is metallic, it contains all that belongs to the whole Work.

Here he says it must be taken from the most humble —
which is Saturn — in which Nature has implanted the first metallic form,
as has been amply demonstrated above.

Arnoldus, in the Book of the Universal Chaos, confirms in Aurora Consurgens in the Turba, fol. 203:

“Our science's seed is drawn from a metallic body, which contains in itself the virtues and powers of all metals in a mightier form.”

Earlier you have already sufficiently heard what this materia is in which all metals are contained — and so it remains.
This text is as clear as daylight.

Magister Degenhardus, Lullius, and Matthesius, in his Sarepta, Sermon 3, write:

“The materia of the metals, before they harden into metallic form, should be like buttermilk, able to be smeared like butter. He calls it Gur, and I myself have found such in the mines, where Nature has made lead.”

And if such a materia can also be produced above the Earth, that should be a certain sign that one not only has the correct materia, but is undoubtedly on the right path.
Thanks be to God, I can readily make it by hand — and within an hour, it soon enters putrefaction in warmth, turning black, then reddish, finally red-brown.

This is what the philosophers call Lac Virginis — Virgin’s Milk.

And if one adds a little Sal metallorum to our water, it becomes like white milk. If much is added, it thickens like butter, and can be smeared like fat or similar.

This I have rightly mentioned, so that you do not carry any doubt about other materia — and this will be proven to you with the help of the one Creator.

Johannes Chrysippus Fannianus, a mighty philosopher — still living, as I am informed, and said to possess the Stone — calls himself so to conceal his identity. He speaks thus:

“The hand of the physician is required for the sick, not for the healthy. Likewise, the hand of the philosopher is needed for the base and imperfect metals, not for the precious and perfect ones.”

Magnesia is the common name for our materia — which in Chaldaic means “unmoved lead,” that is, lead just as Nature has prepared it, untouched by the hand of man and never subjected to fire.

Hermes says:

“In the metals lies the whole science — but not in the perfect ones, only in the imperfect.”

Ripley, in his Axioms, fol. 8:

“Do not believe the deceivers, for our sulfur and mercury are found only in the imperfect metals.”

Clangor Buccinae, fol. 475:

“If you seek a medicine that is to generate metals, you must seek it from the metals.”

Rosarius, fol. 379:

“It is Saturn who dismembers my limbs. I (i.e., Sol) am he who openly leaves his radiance in the others — this happens slowly after composition, which course I inherited from my father Saturn.”

Here it is clearly seen that gold comes in and out of Saturn.

Rosarius Magnus, fol. 382:

“There is a herb called Saturn, from its channels or veins comes our medicine.”

Here he speaks of the materia and also the solution.
For when Saturn is cleansed of all its impurity and stands in the final solution in water, small tubes can be inserted into it, upon which Sal metallorum crystallizes like saltpeter into long tubes.
One may also allow it to crystallize on its own into salt or even refine it into a beautifully sparkling powder — one method is as good as another.
This will be discussed more in the section on the solution.

Masar the Saracen says:

“There is impurity in the first metal.”

Our first metal (Saturn is the first Nature makes) bears much impurity, which is why people despise it and believe they can do nothing with it nor remove the impurity.

Turba, fols. 154 & 155:

“The Philosopher’s Stone is a metallic materia — and in all metals, both the pure and the impure, inwardly are Sol, Luna, and Mercurius.”

Isaac Holandus, in his Book on Minerals, where he speaks of our Saturn, says:

"It is truly worth deep consideration that there exists a metallic and saturnine body which can easily be dissolved and putrefied — whoever knows its correct preparation has every reason to rejoice."

Mercurius says:

"You should know that our impure body is lead (plumbum)."

Turba, fol. 268:

"I speak of lead ore (Bleierz), such that everything must go out from it and be accomplished through it."

Rosinus, fol. 270:

"I tell you, our sulfurous living water is extracted from lead ore — which accomplishes everything."

Furthermore, you should know that the spirit of silver and all whiteness must be composed from lead ore in such a manner, from which Luna, a white stone (Sal metallorum), emerges — without any blemish or impurity.

This is a beautiful statement: it says that Luna or Lunaria is within lead ore, and from it the white lunar salt is to be extracted. As is true: the shining whiteness that appears is drawn from the saturnine body. It is beautifully clear, and one sees no Luna within it — but if you cast it onto a hot plate of Venus or Mars, it melts like wax, and the spirit of life flies away above, leaving Lunaria behind in a beautiful form.

This is truly marvelous — for the white Luna, of which Hermes speaks, is not to be confused with the common moon (Luna vulgaris), for she is translucent.

Fol. 273:

"Our water or salt is extracted from our lead ore."

Turba Philosophorum, fol. 85:

"You sons of wisdom, you should know: without lead, no tincture can be made — for in it lies the virtue and power of the entire Work."

The reason is: the common man understands everything literally and believes it to be common lead. No! For all metals, as soon as they come into the fire, they are dead.

That is why Hermes says:

"Our Stone is a thing which no fire has yet touched — from which our Mercurius is derived."

More on this will follow.

Theophrastus calls it in the Manual:
Electrum minerale immaturum (immature mineral electrum).
Electrum artificiale is a compound mass, artificially made from all metals. He wrote a special book about this.

But this Electrum is such a thing in which the nature of all seven metals has been planted by nature, yet left unfinished, which is why he calls it immaturum (unripe).

That all metals spring from this lead has already been sufficiently proven — see Count Bernhard, fols. 31 and 32.
I could add many hundreds of texts from the philosophers to this, but it is unnecessary — I have selected the clearest ones, and whoever reads these proofs and authorities will not be able to deny that this and no other is the true and rightful Materia of the Philosopher's Stone —
since all metals originate and grow from it.

Now we shall go further and speak of the very closest matter:
For there have been some philosophers who, from an entire , could scarcely extract half a lot [~8 grams] that was suitable for the Work — as Clangor attests, fol. 478.

And this brings great advantage, for Nature has placed more Mercurius or Salt of Nitre into some things, and has also cooked one matter more or longer than another.
Therefore, it is likely that more is contained in those substances upon which Nature has labored the most — though still without crossing its proper terminus — otherwise, it would be too hard to dissolve.

On this Flamellus, fols. 152–153, writes:
"This is the most hidden thing — from which the innermost matter can or must most closely be taken."

This is explained also by Arnoldus de Villa Nova in his Rosarium, fol. 404:

"There are some mediocre materials among which some are more purified by Nature than others, and also more and longer cooked and digested — and these are better and closer to the Work."

I will list a few that I know and have tested, and will also describe others and name the places where they can be found — and I believe this will sufficiently satisfy the seeker, if not already too much.

But I exhort you, dear brother in Christ, who receive this my instruction, that you fear the judgment of God, for you must give an account of any misuse. And you should keep such a high secret hidden, for these are arcana — arca means a chest or box — in which such things should be kept, preserved, and hidden from unworthy people.

If this is done, God will also give His blessing, and there is no doubt that if the Lord is the author of a good intention, your desire will prosper, for the remaining points will likewise be clearly written.

As for secrecy, I have no doubt — otherwise, God is not part of it, and there would be no true faith or loyalty involved.

From the allegata loca (cited places) of the philosophers' books, you have sufficiently understood that they name the Materia:

Plumbum (lead),

Plumbago,

Lythargyros,

Plumbum aeris (copper-lead),

and all these things agree, although one may have had a closer matter than another — yet it can be just as well made from the more remote one, though with greater difficulty and effort. One contains more Mercurius or Salt of Metals than another.

But as said, they all aim at one purpose.

The poorest of these is found in Sankt Joachimsthal, and is called there “Glantz” [a type of mineral, probably galena or a silver-lead ore].
It yields only 6 or 8 lots of silver per hundredweight, but half of it is lead.

And you should know this: the richer it is in silver, the closer it is to the Work, because Nature has already worked much within it, and has often laid the fixed kernel therein.

And it is marked as follows:



The second type, which is better, is found in Poland, at Elkusch, and also at another location 13 miles from Kraków, where the king has his silver mine. This type is better, as it contains more fixedness of silver than the first one; therefore, it is closer to the Work.

And it is marked as follows:



It is called lead ore (Bleierz), also commonly silver glance (Silberglanz).

The third [type] is found at Freiburg in Meissen. When it is pure, it contains so many grains of Luna, since Luna is the grain of growth, hence it is called Lunaria. This one is even better than the previous one, when it is pure — but it is rarely found, and it is marked as follows:



The fourth is even better and purer, and is secretly mined by the citizens near the Hungarian borders, not far from the little town of Klobuck. For the authorities are watching closely; thus a citizen at Klumis told me: “Klobuck built my houses.” And it is marked as follows [symbol presumably follows]. There they call it in German “silver lead.”



The fifth is true native lead, but it has never been in any fire. It is found at Villach. It is easy to dissolve and, for you, likely the best, as it contains its Lunaria in abundance. It is marked as follows.



I have also used it before—it is easy to work with in the solution process.

The sixth and best to my knowledge is found in Meissen, though rarely at this time. Yet, if one orders it, it can be obtained, and there they call it Glaßertz. It is like lead—can be cut and stamped—and one hundredweight contains easily 24, sometimes even 26 loth of silver. From one , I myself have extracted 22 loth of Mercurius, whereas Clangor writes he only obtained half a loth from one — but he must have had the poorest kind of lead ore.

There is also Glaßertz at Sankt Annaberg, which is likewise rich in silver, but it does not allow itself to be stamped and cut as easily (though sometimes one finds a kind that can be stamped and cut and is indistinguishable from common lead). This I mark with this . It can also be dissolved, like that which is not distinguishable from common lead.

So now, my dear friend, you have the instruction not only concerning the concordances of the philosophers, but also regarding the materials. May the eternal Almighty God grant that you may use this knowledge to His glory and for the benefit of your neighbor.

How to proceed further will follow in the second part. This treasure cannot be bought with any amount of gold, as Solomon says in his Wisdom, chapter 7: Silver is to be regarded as mere sand compared to it.

Other things will also be shown later concerning the Gur and the prima materia, and there is absolutely no doubt—since I may well have seen and experienced enough that (if it were possible) I could also prove it through action. But it cannot be for now.

So you have now, my dear friend, the entire treatise completely, on the entire material, in which all the philosophers agree.

It could have been a little shorter, but because I did not know whether the heir understands Latin or not, I have provided it in double (i.e., both in Latin and German), though with difficulty. My son, just consult the books of the philosophers, and you will find nothing different, although I can now prove the entire operation in practice—praise be to God—and in this point, the best thing is that the philosophers are made to agree in harmony, for truth lies only in the metallic root, as Count Trevisanus shows on folios 14 & 16, Rosarium f. 36, Flamel fol. 147, Reuchlin in De verbo mirifico f. 100, who says: A manifest proof of truth is concord or agreement.

On the other hand, the foundation of lies is discord or disagreement. There I will leave it for now—for he who is not satisfied with these proofs will never be helped.

When the other points follow, things will truly shine forth, and miracles will be seen. But I ask and earnestly protest, for God's sake, that this my treatise be shown to no one. What is not yet understood, I will explain later as much as possible. But do not ask anyone else—rather, pray diligently: Honor, praise, and glory be to Him who lives from eternity to eternity. Amen.

Keep God before your eyes. Pray, read, and work.
God will help you, just as He has helped me.

To God alone be the glory.