ANONYMOUS TREATISE on THE MATERIAL of the PHILOSOPHER'S STONE * TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY MIKE DICKMAN The primary and remote matter of the Stone is triple, to wit, Mercury,
Silver and Gold, in that all perfection consists in triplicity, and that all
that is triune is perfect. There is but one sovereign and independent
perfection which is God, and yet within His unity He embodies the Trinity of
persons. OF THE MERCURY OF THE PHILOSOPHERS Now since the principal part of our work consists in knowledge of our
hermaphrodite, that is to say Mercury, guard well that you take it not for the
leprous, common and vulgar mercury, in no wise proper to this subject.
ON THE PREPARATION AND PURIFICATION OF THE MERCURY Take then your Mercury and purify it well by passing it several times
through a cloth folded in three, and until it seem pure as clear and
crystalline water. OF THE SUN AND THE MOON AND THEIR PREPARATION The second matter of the Stone, the so–called female, is the Moon which is
to be taken very pure, as it comes from the mine, the which has never been put
to any other use, nor too much suffered the violence of fire, which is unmixed
with any foreign body and easily malleable. In a word, let it be of the most
excellent to be found of its kind, and this should you hammer into leaf of the
very finest, though others again reduce it simply to a lime; that which I say
of the Moon say I also of the Sun, that one take the highest coloured there
may be, for as is the seed, so shall be the harvest reaped. THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK Note first here that depending upon whether one would make the White Stone
or the Red a different material is to be used. This being as it may, the
manner of working for the one and the other is exactly the same and so is here
said for the operation of the white should be understood as concerning also
the operation of the red. PART THE FIRST OF THE WORK Of the very pure menstruum of a prostitute woman, take 12 parts, of the
perfectly washed lower body 1 part, in a long– necked and oval vessel, mix
well all together until the whole materia be amalgamated. But let first there
be added to the body 2 or 4 parts of the menstruum, and allow the whole to lie
for 15 days or thereabouts, during which time the dissolution of the body
shall take place.
PART THE SECOND OF THE WORK Take all of the aqua vitae and place it in a sealed vessel like unto the
one above, and at the same degree which is the first degree of the fire of
ashes, for 8 days and 8 days it shall form upon its surface a black skin,
which is the head of the crow and this you shall gather with the black powder
which is beneath it, drawing off first the aqua vitae by inclination.
PART THE THIRD OF THE WORK Take all of the dead head you have gathered, and place it upon a fire of
the ashes of oak, in the Philosophic Egg which same seal hermetically at the
orifice, but with paste only at the joining of the two sections of the Egg,
that it may the more easily be opened. PART THE FOURTH OF THE WORK Take now this materia and place it within an Egg upon a fire of the second
degree, leaving it there for several months until finally, having passed
through divers colours, it becomes white. PART THE FIFTH OF THE WORK The EARTH being white, is near ready to receive the seed, and this because
of the fecundity it has acquired through the preceding operations. Take
therefore this earth after having weighed it, and divide it into three parts.
Take of the ferment one part equal in weight to one of the three parts of your
divided materia, and four parts of the menstruum of a prostitute woman, make
of the ferment laminated as before and the menstruum an amalgam, and work the
dissolution at slow heat for 14 days, until the body be reduced to a subtle
lime; for we seek not here the aqua vitae. PART THE SIXTH CONCERNING THE PREPARATION OF THE STONE FOR THE EFFECTING OF PROJECTION Many have made the stone without however knowing how to prepare it so as to
effect the projection. Also, the Stone although prepared and achieved will
make no transmutation if one does not make it have ingress into the body. To
this end, break up your Stone, grind and place in a vessel well sealed with
lute right up to the neck, that it my suffer great fire such as that of the
fourth degree, give it fire of charcoal so strong that the sand be that hot
that when one cast upon it drops of water these last make sound, and that one
dare not touch with the hand the neck of the vessel placed upon the sand, by
cause of its great heat. PART THE SEVENTH AND LAST OF THE AUGMENTATION AND MULTIPLICATION OF THE STONE Once made, you may multiply the Stone unto infinity, without needing to
make it again. FINIS
CONCERNING THE MATERIAL OF
THE STONE IN GENERAL
Spirits separate from matter are of three kinds, men are good,
bad and middling, all that is most perfect loves triplicity.
The principal
members, too, are three, namely the heart, brain and liver, whence spread
forth throughout the body the arteries, veins and nerves, through which stream
the natural, vital and animal spirits, sustaining the natural, vital and
animal faculties.
In like manner, there are in humankind three sexes,
masculine, feminine and hermaphrodite. And so, too, in our work, is Gold male,
Silver female and Mercury the androgyne, the three converging into a single
oeuvre.
For should others such as those that hold the matter of the Stone
to be Tartar, vitriol, antimony, vinegar, urine, menstrual fluid, semen,
after–birth, blood, the celandine, moonwort, salamander or other things
similar assert the contrary, either they know not the Art, or understand some
other thing having either the aspect, colour, consistency or some other
similar quality at least.
It is thus then that those who seek the materia
without the metallic genus, and in other place than within metals, work idly
and in vain. May it please God they have firmly graven upon their minds this
axiom of the Philosophers to wit that like engenders like.
Has it ever
been that bull engender lion? Do men sire trees, or plants or metals? It has
ever been constant that man engender man, horse or, which is the same, that
man is fathered of the human seed, horse from the seed of the horse, and that
from the seed of Rue springs never Sage but only Rue. The same, then, is true
of Gold, which never can be produced in the absence of gold, nor yet silver
without Silver; and let those who stray from this path be forcibly persuaded
that they waste their time and their oil, and also that they waste upon it all
of their wealth and shall work at it all the time of their lives. And in that
there are many who spend long years at this work at great expense to
themselves, I warn them that they are off the true path, for it needs not so
much time nor excessive expense, for there is in this work almost no other
thing that costs but the fire.
But
where will you then — you ask — that I seek and find it? I answer that he is
imprisoned and bound by many chains, and that there be none but the
Philosopher can deliver him and set him free. He sees him at all times, though
his dwelling be without gate or window; but the vulgar see it not nor know it
at all, though it is at all times and in all places possessed by each and
everyone, rich and poor, night or day. All beings handle, touch and spurn it
underfoot, and yet know it never, for as is said, its prison is void of door
and window.
Now, a certain one believing, having heard that it be handled,
spurned underfoot, wasted and fouled by the vulgar, set course for the
mountain wherein he had heard it said that four men and two women were
occupied in the digging of minerals, each carrying on his or her breast that
thing which he sought. Being thus persuaded of this, he entered into the
mountain, and having met with the first personage who was occupied at working
and digging the earth, looking attentively upon him perceived a strong and
robust man in the habit of a soldier, red in colour and returned from the war,
and knowing no other trade by which to earn his bread. Now he, having regarded
this traveller, spoke unto him rudely and asked of him what its was that he
sought, and who had made him so hardy as to venture into these realms where
no–one had ventured before.
The traveller, astonished to find himself
looked upon askance and addressed in tones so brusque, replied right gently:
"O Man of strength, I have heard it told that there be four men and two
women who work this mountain, and that by long travail you all possess the
materia of the Philosophers' Stone. And, since I, myself, burn with ardour for
this hallowed Stone, I have no fear in coming to this place, traversing
waters, mountains and rocky crags; will not you give me some hope of obtaining
of one of you that which I seek?"
"You have well understood," replied the
strong man, "that we are four men and two women, and that all possess in truth
such that we are that which you seek, and could give it you, though I doubt
that that will be, yet may you obtain it more easily of the one than the
other. For my part, if you fight me not valiantly like with some greatly
experienced soldier, only if you slay me, for I bear that which you seek in
the depths of my heart, it being my nourishment and life; and so of us all
such as we are in this mountain."
The traveller replied, "O man of great
strength, you are hardy and robust, I should not at all like to fight with
you, I should be like some puny Trojan against Achilles; and yet could I do
all that David did against Goliath."
"I advise you," — quoth the robust
man — "to lay neither no hand upon my neighbour and concubine, who also is
most powerful in combat, and if I be lion, she surely is the lioness. Nor do I
advise you to attack our Sovereign Chieftain and his wife, for they be the
King and the Queen; they have too much of pomp and splendour; take care then
to attack them not, though well you might them vanquish. But going further
along, you shall come upon others whom if you subdue you shall arrive at your
desired end."
The traveller thus continued on his way, until he met with a
most comely man, well–dressed and right splendid, with whom he spoke as
before. This man replied that in no wise would he give him something from
which he, himself, drew nourishment and life, and that he would go not only
unto his own death, but to that also of the King and Queen, were he to grant
what he asked of him.
The traveller spied on every side to assure that
no–one watched, for it was his intention to slay him and take from his breast
that which he there had so well conserved. And since he had said that on his
death depended also that of the King and Queen, he rejoiced also already, in
the hope that he would kill them straight way, and take from them that which
he sought.
Seeing thus that no–one appeared, he made attack on that
splendid man, taking him by the throat, but he cried him mercy swearing that
in that case he would reveal unto him the secret he demanded.
The
traveller having thus released him, he replied, "If you go further along, you
shall come upon a dotard possessing the treasure that you seek in more
abundance than I, and, he being old, you shall easily overcome him. And
inasmuch as he is most close to our King and Queen, as their porter and he who
carries the keys, when once you have cast him down you shall easily approach
unto the King and Queen, and slay them also."
The traveller thus continued
on his way, and came finally upon a certain ancient, a man of poorly mien and
ill–clothed, the most miserable and despised of them all in that he seemed sad
and melancholy, and he held with him the same discourse as before. But the old
man answered:
"O goodly man who seeks here a thing neither Kings nor
Queens may obtain, it is indeed true that you may easily find it in me, and
that you nay also easily vanquish me in combat, for I am old and feeble and do
not carry in the depths of my heart that which you seek as do the first with
whom you spoke or his concubine. But do I keep it only in the ventricle, for
that my body and that of others do there take ever their nourishment
"None
the less must I lose my life, if you would take from me that which you seek.
But, prithee, spare me for I am old, poor and despicable, and you may find
better treasure in my brilliant and magnificent neighbour who is related by
marriage to our Queen. Were you to vanquish him you would have a treasure more
precious than from me who is so poor, for never does one find the beautiful
and bright in the poor and despised."
The traveller taking pity on the
poor dotard whom he might easily have slain, believed then that it would be
more worth to seize the more precious treasure from the greybeard's neighbour,
be it by force of arms would he not give it up voluntarily.
How so be it,
as he was departing, the old man commenced to smile the more especially that
being the possessor of so precious a treasure he had tricked the traveller,
which same perceiving this on turning about, immediately retraced his steps in
a fine fury.
"Is it thus," demanded he, "you wicked old man, that you
would make mock of me? I know now that you pretend only to be poor, and that
it is you who hold the greatest treasure, just as your neighbour told me. Take
now the punishment for your laughter and receive your death at my hand." And
thus was the old man slain.
It is easily understood by all that has gone
above, where to find and take the Mercury. Now must we declare how it is to be
brought to birth and taken from the corporeal belly in which it be enclosed.
It is this that all Philosophers make well enough known and all books on
chemistry relate to the point of importunity. Whence this saying common to
Philosophers:
Let Mercury from Mercury be made,
the which being
so well known to many, we shall no longer tarry upon it here.
All other methods of purifying Mercury, such as those
making use of vinegar, salt, urine, quick lime, vitriol or other all
corrosives such as destroy rather than exalt the humidity of the Mercury, thus
harming more than they serve we deny.
We shall speak first of the putrefaction of the
materia, which is to be followed by a resurrection and exaltation, which will
not occur but that the putrefaction has preceded them, the corruption of the
one being the generation of the other. The seed of an herb soever, thrown upon
the ground, putrefies first and loses form, following which the virtue hid
within it, favoured by the warmth of the heavens, makes itself manifest, and
the earth containing this seed being dampened by heavenly rain and dews, makes
it to take on more noble and more perfect form, subsequently causing it to
bear forth fruit in abundance.
And Nature works in like manner in all
animals; they take first nourishment, then growth and finally they engender.
And if such be true among men, and animals, and plants, as may not be doubted,
must one not needs be blind not to see that the same be true amongst the
minerals? You will say that this thing is much different among the animals,
there being necessary to the production of but one animal the semen of two, to
wit the male and the female. I answer that that which is performed by the twin
seed, male and female joined together to engender one, single animal, one sole
seed performs in the realm of the minerals. And why should it not be so? for
in the vegetable realm the seed that produces them springs not from two
plants, but from one alone. For let it not be fancied that the sex, male and
female, attributed to plants, by cause of their mutual love, in any wise
contributes to their production of like others. But let us procrastinate no
longer.
Take then this materia, and press it that there comes
from it the menstruum which you shall keep. Upon the body remaining after
expression, place one or two parts of fresh menstruum, and let it stand it
again eight days, after which time you may proceed as you did at the
beginning, and continue in the same fashion until the body in its entirety has
transformed into water.
All such operation is performed with the gentle
fire of ashes, the vessel well sealed and corked with pasteboard.
Again place this water in the vessel and continue in like manner, until
blackness no longer forms.
For the first 8 days more or less
shall you give unto your black and moribund earth nothing to drink, in that it
is yet full drunk of humidity. Then, when it be dehydrated and parched, you
shall give it to drink in equal weight. Opening the vessel to this end, mix
well and then close it again and leave it thus, until it be not quite entirely
dried out, but only well coagulate; continue imbibition in like manner until
the materia has drunk off all of the water.
Take now the menstruum with the
lime of the body, and the three parts of your white earth, make of all this an
amalgam in a marble mortar, and in a vessel of glass upon a fire of the second
degree, for a period of one month.
Finally, give it the fire of the third
degree until the materia become quite white, which shall be like unto a mass,
gross and hard like a pumice stone, but weighty.
Thus for the operation of
the white Stone. For the red, you shall operate the same, save that at the end
you are to apply the fire of the third degree for longer time and more
vehemently than for the white.
Keep your vessel upon this degree of heat until
your matter becomes a most subtle and light powder; the which occurs usually
within the space of one month and a half.
When you have the Stone made and achieved at the fifth step
of the operation, one half shall you take to serve for yourself and this
prepare to effect projection, and the other shall you keep for multiplication.
Weigh then that part, and if it weigh three parts, take one part not of
the menstruum but of the aqua vitae; you shall then have four parts the which
you shall place within the Egg and upon a fire of the second degree for the
space of one month, following which you shall give it the fire of the third
degree until the end, as above taught by ourselves in the fifth part of the
operation.