Maier, Michael - Atalanta Fugiens

8/8/2019 Maier, Michael - Atalanta Fugiens

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ATALANTA FUGIENS THE FLEEING ATALANTA

or

NEW CHYMICAL EMBLEMS OF THE SECRETS OF NATURE by

MICHAEL MAIER Count of the Imperial Con i tory

M.D., Eq. ex. &c

OPPENHEIM Printed by Hieronymous Gallerus

Publi hed by1 Johann Theodor de Bry1618

*** ***** *** Michael Maiers alchemical emblem book Atalanta fugiens was first published in Latin in1617. It was a most amazing book as it incorporated 50 emblems with epigrams and adiscourse, but extended the concept of an emblem book by incorporating 50 pieces ofmusic the fugues or canons. In this sense it was an early example of multimedia.

An English translation exists in the British Library MS. Sloane 3645. Clay Holden waskind enough to allow his transcription of emblems 1 to 10, and Hereward Tilton hastranscribed 11 to 34, and Peter Branwin has completed the work by transcribing 35 to 50.Peter Branwin is currently working on a new translation of the discourses from theoriginal Latin. [There is another English translation in Mellon MS. 48 at Yale in the USA.]

Adam Maclean.

The text following is for the most part taken from the transcriptions mentioned above, asposted on the Alchemy website; these gave Latin and English mottoes for emblems 1-10,English mottoes only for 11-46 and none at all for the last four. The Latin epigrams wereonly given for 1-10, of which only the first was translated. All the omitted Latin mottoesand epigrams have been restored from the facsimiles published by H. M. de Jong in her

Michael Maiers Atalanta Fugiens: Sources of an Alchemical Book of Emblems(Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1969). I have interpolated de Jongs translation of the mottoes for 47, 49 and 50 andgiven my own translation of 48. I have not yet begun to undertake a translation ofepigrams 2-50.

In the original print edition, each emblem was set out in a consistent format: on a leftpage, the Latin motto, the image below it, the six-line epigram below that; on the facingright page, a German translation of the motto, the musical score (in each case a 3-part

1 lit. at the expense of


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EP I G R A M M A A U T H O R I S .He perii precium iuvenis tulit impiger horti

Dante De pomum Cypride tergeminum:Idque equens fugientis humo glomeravit adora

Virginis, hinc tardas contrahit illa moras:Mox micat is, micat hc mox ante fugacior Euris,

Alteratum pargens aurea dona olo,Ille morabatur ve tigia lenta puellae

Rur us at hc rur us dat ua terga fug;Tertia donec amans iterrit pondera, ce it

Victori merces hin A TALANTA uo.Hippomenes virtus e t ulphuris, illa fugacis

Mercurii, in cur u femina victa mare e t.Qui po tquam cupido e complectuntur amore

In fano Cybeles corrigit ira Deam;Pelle leonina vindex & ve tiit ambos,

In de rubent po thac corpore, untque feri.Huius ut exprimeret imulacra imillima cur us

Voce tibi tern dat mea Mu a fugaes:Una manet implex pommque refert remorans vox,

Altera ed fugiens, tertia rit equens.Auribus i ta tuis, ocul que Emblemata pro tent,

At ratio arcanas expetat inde notas:Sen ibus haec objecta tuli, intellectus ut illis

Illicibus caparet, qu precio a latent.Orbis quic quid opum, vel habet Medicina alutis,

Omne Leo geminus uppeditare pote t.


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TH E A U T H O R S EP I G R A M .[Explanation of Fronti piece]

Three Golden Apples from the He perian grove.A pre ent Worthy of the Queen of Love.

Gave wi e Hippomenes Eternal Fame.And Atalantas cruel Speed Oercame.

In Vain he follows till with Radiant Light,One Rolling Apple captivates her Sight.And by its glittering charms retards her flight.

She Soon Outruns him but fre h rays of Gold,

Her Longing Eyes & Slackened Foot teps Hold,Till with di dain She all his Art defies,And Swifter then an Ea tern Tempe t flies.

Then his de pair throws his la t Hope away,For he mu t Yield whom Love & Gold betray.

What is Hippomenes, true Wi dom knows.And whence the Speed of Atalanta Flows.

She with Mercurial Swiftne s is Endued,

Which Yields by Sulphurs prudent Strength pur ued.But when in Cybels temple they would proveThe utmo t joys of their Exce ive Love,

The Matron Godde s thought her elf di dained,Her rites Unhallowed & her hrine profaned.

Then her Revenge makes Roughne s oer them ri e,And Hideous feireene e Sparkle from their Eyes.

Still more Amazed to ee them elves look red,

Whil t both to Lions changed Each Other dread.He that can Cybells My tic change Explain,

And tho e two Lions with true Redne s tain,Commands that trea ure plenteous Nature givesAnd free from Pain in Wi doms Splendor lives.


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EM B L E M A I .Portavit eum ventus in ventre uo.

(The Wind carried him in his belly)

EPIGRAMMA I.Embryo vento Bore qui clauditur alvoVivus in hanc lucem i emel ortus erit;

Unus is Heroum cunctos uperare labores Arte, manu, forti corpore, mente, pote t.Ne tibi it Coe o, nec abortus inutilis ille,

Non Agrippa, bono ydere ed genitus.Engli hd thus:

If BOREAS can in his own Wind conceive An off pring that can bear this light & live;In art, Strength, Body, Mind He hall excell All wonders men of Ancient Heroes tell.Think him no Cae o nor Abortive brood,

Nor yet Agrippa, for his Star is good.


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D ISCOURSE I.Hermes, the mo t indu trious earcher into all the ecrets of Nature, doth in hisSmaragdine Table exqui itely thus uccinctly de cribe the Natural Work when he ays:Wind carried Him in his belly, as if he hould have aid that He who e father is Sol &

mother is Luna mu t, before he can be brought forth into the light, be carried by windyfumes, even as a Bird is carried in the Air when it flies.

Now from fumes or winds (which are nothing el e but Air in Motion) being coagulated,Water is produced, & from Water mixed with earth all minerals & metals do proceed.And even the e la t are aid to con i t of & be immediately coagulated from fumes, o thatwhether He be placed in Water or fume the thing is the ame; for one as well as the otheris the ma ter of Wind. The ame the more remotely may be aid of Minerals & Metals, butthe Que tion is: Who is He that ought to be carried by Winds? I an wer: Chymically it isSulphur which is carried in Argent Vive (contained in quick ilver), as Lully in his

Codicill cap. 32 & all other Authors atte t. [Marginal note: Lully ibid: The wind carrieshim in his belly; That is, ulphur is carried by Argent Vive; & Ch. 47: The Stone is Fire

carried in the Belly of Air.] Phy ically it is the Embryo, which in a little time ought tobe borne into the light. I ay al o that Arithmetically it is the Root of a Cube; Mu ically itis the Di diapa on; Geometrically it is a point, the beginning of a continued running line;A tronomically it is the Center of the Planets Saturn, Jupiter & Mars.

Now although the e are different Subjects, Yet if they be well compared together theywill ea ily demon trate what the off pring of Wind mu t be. But this enquiry mu t be leftto every man's own Indu try, be it remembered. But I hall point out the matter moreplainly thus: All Mercury is compo ed of fumes, that is of Water elevating Earth togetherwith it elf into an aerial rarity or thinne s, & of Earth forcing Air to return into WateryEarth or Earthy Water; for when the Elements are in it altogether & mixed throughout &mutually blended, ubdued & reduced to a certain Vi cous Nature, they do not ea ilyrecede from one another, but either follow the Volatile flying upwards, or remain belowwith tho e that are fixed.

Nor is it indeed without rea on that Mercury is called the Me enger or Interpreter & as itwere the running intermediate Mini ter of the other Gods & has Wings fitted to his head& feet; for He is Windy & flies through the air as wind it elf, which many Per ons arereally & experimentally convinced of, to their great damage. But becau e he carries a Rodor Caduceus about which two erpents are twined acro s one the other, by which he candraw ouls out of bodies & bring them back again & effect many uch contrarities, He is amo t Excellent figure or repre entation of the Philo ophical Mercury. Mercury, therefore,is Wind, which takes Sulphur, or Diony ius, or (if You plea e o to call it) A culepius,being yet an imperfect Embryo out of the Mothers belly or out of the A hes of theMother's body burned, & carries it thither where it may be brought to maturity.


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And the Embryo is Sulphur, which by the cele tial Sun is infu ed into the Wind ofBoreas, that he may bring it forth in maturity. Who, after the complete time of hisTeeming, does bring forth twins, one with white Hair, Called Calais, the other with Red,named Zethes. The e Sons of Boreas (as Orpheus the Chymick Poet writes) wereCompanions to Ja on among t the et of the Argonauts when he went to fetch the GoldenFleece from Colchis, for Phineas the blind Prophet, being infe ted by the Harpies, couldnot be freed from them but by the e Sons of Boreas, & for o great a benefit obtained bytheir means, He out of gratitude howed the whole cour e of their way to the Argonauts.The e Harpies are nothing el e but corrupting Sulphur which is driven away by the Sonsof Boreas when they come to full age, & from a thing imperfect and mole ted withnoxious and hurtful Volatiles becomes perfect & not ubject to that Evil, & afterwards hows Ja on its Phy ician the way how to obtain the Golden Fleece.

Ba il [Valentine] as well as other Authors takes Notice of the e Winds & in his ixth Key ays thus: For there ought to come a double Wind named Vulturnus & a ingle Windcalled Notus which will blow impetuou ly from the Ea t & the South, upon the ce ationof who e motion o that Water is made of their Air. You may confidently believe that aCorporeal thing will be made of a Spiritual. & Ripley, Gate 8th, ays that our infantought to be born again in Air, that is, in the Belly of the Wind. In the ame en e may thatbe taken which we find in Scala Philo ophorum Degree the 6th: You mu t know that theSon of the Wi e is born in the Air, & Degree 8th: Airy Spirits a cending together intothe Air do love one another; as Hermes aid, the Wind carried him in his Belly, becau ethe generation of our Son is made in the Air, & being born in the Air is born Wi ely, forhe a cends from Earth to Heaven, & again de cends to Earth acquiring both the uperiour& inferiour Virtue.


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EM B L E M A I I .Nutrix eius terra e t. (The Earth is his Nur e)

EPIGRAMMA II.Romulus hirt a lupae pre i e, ed ubera caprae

Jupiter, & factis, fartur ade e fides:Quid mirum, tener Sapientium vi cera Prolis

Si ferimus Terram lacte nutri e uo?Parvula i tantas Heroas be tia pavit,

Quantus , cui Nutrix Terreus Orbis , erit?


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D ISCOURSE II.It is determined by the Peripatetic & other Philo ophers of ound Judgment that thething nouri hing mu t be converted into the ub tance of the nouri hed & made like to it,not before but after it has received an alteration, & this is admitted as an undoubted

axiom. For how hould the thing nouri

hing,

uppo

ing it beforehand to be like to, or the ame with the thing nouri hed, have need of any change in its e ence, which if it hould

happen would hinder it from remaining the ame or alike. For how hould tho e thingsbe received for nouri hment which cannot be converted into a like ub tance with thething nouri hed, as wood, tones, &c. As therefore the fir t is vain o the econd iscontrary to Nature.

But for an infant newborn to be nouri hed with the Milk of Animals is a thing notrepugnant to Nature, for milk will become of the like ub tance with it, but more ea ily ifit be ucked from the Mother than any other Creature. Wherefore Phy icians conclude

that it conduces to the health & trength of an infant as likewi

e to the conformity oftemper & manners if it is always fed & nouri hed by the milk of its own Mother, & that

the contrary happens if it is done by that of a Stranger. This is the Univer al Harmony ofNature: That Like delights in its Like & as far as it can po ibly follows its foot teps ineverything by a certain tacit con ent & agreement. The ame thing happens of cour e inthe Natural work of the Philo ophers, which is equally governed by Nature in itsFormation as an Infant in its Mother's womb. And although as Father, Mother & even aNur e be a cribed to it by way of imilitude, Yet it is not more Artificial than thegeneration of every Animal.

Two eeds are by a plea urable Artifice joined together by Animals & both the Human exes which being united by ucce ive Alteration produce an Embryo which grows & isincrea ed, acquires life & motion, & then is nouri hed by Milk. But it is nece ary for aWoman in the time of Conception & impregnation to be very temperate in heat, Food,drink, Motion, Re t & all things el e; otherwi e Abortion will follow & de truction of theconceived Embryo, which Ob ervation in the ix non-naturals becau e it is pre cribed bythe Phy icians according to their Art is al o Artificial. After the ame manner, if the eedsbe not joined together in the Philo ophical Work, they ought to be joined, but if theycould anywhere be found joined together as the eed of a Cock & Hen do ub i t together& are contained in one Egg, then would the Philo ophers work be more natural that thegeneration of Animals.But let us grant (as the Philo ophers do a ert) that one comes from the Ea t & the otherfrom the We t & are made one: what more is as mini tered to 'em than mixture in theirown Ve el, Temperate Heat, and Nutriment. The Ve el is indeed Artificial, but in thisthere is no more difference than if the ne t were made by the Hen her elf or made for herby the Country Dame in ome convenient place as commonly it is. The Generation ofEggs & Hatching of Chickens from them will be the ame. Heat is a Natural thing,whether it proceed from the Temperate Heat of furnaces, putrefaction of Dung, from the


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Sun & Air, from the Bowels of the Mother, or otherwi e. Thus the AEgyptian from hisFurnaces does by Art Admini ter a Natural Heat for the Hatching of Eggs. The eeds ofSilk worms & even Hens Eggs are aid to have been Hatched by the Warmth of aVirgin's brea ts. Art, therefore, & Nature, do mutually join hands & officiate one for theother. Neverthele s, Nature is always the Mi tre s & art the Handmaid.

But a doubt may [be] rai

ed how the Earth may be

aid to be the NURSE of thePhilo ophical Infant, eeing it is the Element which is mo t dry & void of Juice, in omuchthat Dryne s appertains to it as its proper quality. It may be an wered that EarthElemented is to be under tood, & not the Element of Earth, who e Nature we have fullyexplained in the fir t day of our Philo ophical Week. This Earth is the Nur e of Caelum orHeaven, not by opening, wa hing, or moi tening the Infant, but by coagulating, fixing,coloring and converting it into more Juice & Blood. For Nutrition implies anAugmentation in length, breadth & Depth which extends it elf through all theDimen ions of a Body, & eeing this can be afforded & admini tered to the Philo ophicalInfant by Earth only, it can in no wi e be improper to call the Earth by the name of hisNURSE. But this admirable Juice of Earth has a quality different from other kinds ofMilk which are converted & do not convert for this by rea on of its mo t efficaciousVirtue does mightily alter the Nature of the thing Nouri hed, as the Milk of the Wolf isbelieved to have di po ed the Body of Romulus to a Nature that was Magnanimous &prepen e to War.


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EM B L E M A I I I .Vade ad mulierem lavantem pannos, tu fac imiliter.

(Go to the Woman Wa hing Clothes & do after the ame Manner.)

EPIGRAMMA III. Abdita qui quis amas erutari dogmata, ne isDe es, in exemplum, quod juvet, omni trahas:

Anne vides, mulier, maculis ab tergere pannosUt oleat calidis, quas uperaddit, aquis?

Hanc imitare, tu nec ic fru traberis arte,Namque nigri faecem corporis lavat.


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D ISCOURSE III.When Linen Clothes are oiled & made dirty by earthy Filth, they are cleaned bythe next Element to it: Namely Water; & then clothes being expo ed to the Air, themoi ture together with the Faeces is drawn out by the heat of the Sun as by fire,

which is the fourth Element, & if this be often repeated, they become clean & freefrom tains. This is the work of women which is taught them by Nature. For we ee (as I aac remarks) that the Bones of Bea ts if they are often wet with Rain & asoften dried by the heat of the Sun will be reduced to a perfect whitene s. The ameis to be ob erved in the Philo ophick Subject, for whatever faeces or Crudities arein it will be purged & taken away by the infu ion of its proper Waters, & thewhole body will be brought to a great perfection & cleanne s. For all Chemicalpreparations, as Calcination, Sublimation, Solution, Di tillation, De cen ion,Coagulation, Fixation, & the re t are performed by wa hing only. For whoeverwa hes a thing unclean with waters does the ame thing as He that runs throughall the e Operations. For, as the Ro ary of the Philo ophers [Ro ariumPhilo ophorum] aith; "The Inner Clothes Prince Divinick, being oiled by weat,are to be wa hed by Fire & burned in Waters, o that Fire & Water eem to haveinterchanged their mutual Qualities, or el e the Philo ophic Fire is not to be uppo ed of the ame kind with the common Fire;" & the ame thing is to be aid ofthe Philo ophic Water.

As for the Calc Vive or Quicklime & Ignis Graecus, we know that they are kindled

by Water & cannot be extingui hed by it contrary to the Nature of other thingsthat will take Fire; o it is affirmed that Camphor over-kindled will burn in Water.

And An el. de Bood ays that the Stone Gagates being et on Fire is more ea ilyquenched by Oil than Water, for Oil will mingle with it and choke the fiery body.Whereas Water not being able to mix with the fatne s yields the the fire unle s ittotally covers & overwhelms it, which it cannot ea ily do, becau e although it be aStone, it wims upon the top of the Water like Oil; o Naptha, Petroleum & the likeare not ea ily quenched by Water. Some write that there are Subterranean Coals inthe Country of Liege which, taking Fire under the earth, cannot be extingui hed by

water, by by Earth thrown in upon them. Cornelius Tacitus mentions uch a ort ofFire which cannot be quenched but by Clubs & Clothes taken from the Body &thrown upon it.

There is, therefore, great diver ity in Fires, both in their being kindled &extingui hed, & there is no le s in Liquors, for Milk, Vinegar, Spirits of Wine, aquafortis, aqua Regia and Common Water differ very much when they are thrownupon Fire; ometimes the matter it elf will endure Fire, as tho e fine Linen Clothes


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which were of great E teem among the Ancients & were cleaned by Fire, their dirtbeing burned away. What is aid of the Hairs of a Salamander, that they will makethe wick of a Lamp that hall be incombu tible is not to be Credited. But there areper ons who really affirm that there was a contexture prepared from Talc,Plumous Alumine & other materials by a Cunning Woman of Antwerp which he aid to clean

e by Fire, but that

he of envy

uffered that Art to die with Her, & theTemperament could never be found out afterwards. We do not peak here of

combu tible matters.

The Philo ophical Subject, whenever it is prepared, mu t be con idered under allthe e differences, for their Fire, Water & Matter it elf is not Common. But their Fireis Water & their Water is Fire. Their Water at the ame time wa hes & calcines, & o does their Fire.; & the Clothes which mu t be wa hed have the ame nature withthe Fine linen before mentioned or Talk prepared; but the Tempering of it & theArt in its preparation is not known to everyone. For the wa hing of this Linen, aLye mu t be made, not of Oak a hes or their Salt, but from Metals, which is moredurable than any other; and it mu t not be Common Water, but Water Congealedinto Ice & now under the ign Aquarius, for this has finer Particles than the tanding Waters of Fens and Mar hes, & con equently can better penetrate into theRece es of the Philo ophic Body to wa h and purge it from filth & Blackne s.


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EM B L E M A IV.Coniunge fratrem cum orore & propina illis poculum amoris:

(Join the Brother & the Si ter & drink to em in the Bowl of Love.)

EPIGRAMMA IV.Non hominum foret in mundo nunc tanta propago,

Si fratri conjunx non data prima oror.Ergo lubens conjunge duos ab utroque parente

Progenitos, ut int faemina ma que toro.Praebibe nectareo Philothe ia pcla liquoreUtri que, & faetus pem generabit amor.


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D ISCOURSE IV.Divine & Human Laws prohibit tho e Per ons to intermarry who are joined byNature in too near degrees of Blood, whether in a Line a cending, de cending, orcollateral, & that for very ju t rea ons. But when Philo ophers peak of the

Marriage of a Mother with her Son, a Father with his Daughter, or a Brother withhis Si ter, the e neither peak nor act again t the Laws before mentioned, Becau ethe Subjects di tingui h the Attributes, & the Cau e the Effects. For the Per ons ofwhom the Philo ophers peak are as much at liberty as the Sons & Daughters ofAdam, who intermarried without the Imputation of any Crime. The chiefe t rea on eems to be that the Human Race might be more trictly United & a ociated byaffinity & friend hip, & not be divided by enmities & Hereditary Factions offamilies. So nothing hindered the Sons & Daughters of Adam, though Brothers &Si ters, to be joined in marriage, for mankind did exi t in them alone & theirParents, & therefore, although they were allied in blood, yet were they to be joinedin affinity.

But the number of men increa ing & being di tributed into innumerable families,the true & ju t Cau e was found, why Brothers & Si ters hould not marry. ThePhilo ophers have a different rea on why the Brother hould marry the Si ter,which is the imilitude of their Sub tance, that Like may be joined to its Like. Ofthis kind, there are two which are alike in Specie but different in Sex. One ofwhich is called the Brother, the other the Si ter. The e therefore being in the ame

liberty & Condition as the fir t kindred of men, are Lawfully indeed, & by aninevitable nece ity to be joined together in Matrimony.

The Brother is hot & dry, & therefore very Cholerick. The Si ter is cold & moi t,having much Phlegmatick matter in her. Which two Natures, o different in theirTemper, agree be t in fruitfulne s, Love, & Propagation of Children. For as Firewill not ea ily be truck out of the harde t Bodies, Steel & Steel, nor out of tho ebrittle Bodies, Flint & Flint, but from the hard & brittle, that is, Steel & Flint, oneither from a burning Male & Fiery Female, nor from both of 'em being cold (forcold is the unfruitfulne s of the Male) can a living off pring be produced. But hemu t be hot & he more cold than he, for in Human Temperament, the hotte tWoman is colder that the colde t Man, uppo ing him to be in Health, as LevinusSemnius, in his book of the Hidden Miracles of Nature affirms. The Si ter,therefore, & Brother are rightly joined by the Philo ophers.

If a man de ire off pring from a Hen, Bitch, or Ewe, or other animal, He joins it to aCock, Dog, or Ram, every animal to that pecies to which it is mo t like, & o heobtains his End. For he does not regard the Con anguinity of the e Brutes, but the


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genero ity of each & agreement of their Natures. The ame may be aid of the bodyof a Tree & the Hip that is to be ingrafted into it. So the Metallic Nature, whichabove all things has a likene s or Homogeneity of Sub tance, de ires its like whenany thing is to be joined to it. But the Brother & Si ter being married will not befruitful or long per i t in their Love, unle s a Philothe ium or Cup of Love be

drunk to 'em as a Philtre. For by this, their minds being compo ed & united, theybecome drunk, & (like Lot) all hame being bani hed, they are joined & produce an

off pring that is Spurious but Legitimate.

Who can be ignorant that Mankind is very much obliged to Medicine, & that thereare thou ands of per ons in the World who had not exi ted unle s their Parents hadbeen freed from Barrenne s, either by removing the Cau e, or taking away theimpediment, either near or remote, and pre erving the Mother from Abortion.Therefore the Cup of Love is given to the new-married Pair for the e rea onswhich are three: the Con tancy of Love, the Removal of Barrenne s, & theHindrance of Abortion.


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EM B L E M A V. Appone mulieri uper mammas bufonem, ut ablactet eum,

& moriatur mulier, itque bufo gro us de lacte. (Put a Toad to the Womans brea t, that he may uckle him

till he die, & he become gro s with her milk.)

EPIGRAMMA V.Foemineo gelidus ponatur pectore Bufo,

In tar ut infantis lactea pocla bibat.Cre cat & in magnum vacuata per ubera tuber,

Et mulier vitam liquerit aegra uam.Inde tibi facies medicamen nobile, virus

Quod fuget humano corde, levtque luem.


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D ISCOURSE V.The whole body of Philo ophers agree in this, that their work is nothing el e butmale & female; the man's part is to generate, & govern the wife, & Her part is toconceive, impregnate, bring forth, uckle & educate the off pring, & be ubject to

the Commands of her Hu band. For, as he nouri hes the conceived Embryo beforeit is brought forth with her blood, o he does afterwards with her milk. Hence,Nature has prepared for the tender Infant a Dige tible & well proportionedNutrient in the mother's Brea ts, which waits for his coming as his fir t provi ion & u tenance in his Cour e of Life. By milk therefore He is nouri hed, grows, & isincrea ed 'till he be furni hed with teeth, his fit in truments to eat bread withal.Then He is properly weaned, becau e Nature has provided him more olid food.

But here the Philo ophers ay that a Toad mu t be put to the Woman's brea ts, that he may Nouri h him as an infant with her Milk. This is a mi erable & horrid pectacle, & indeed, an impious thing, that milk de igned for an infant hould begiven to a Toad, being a Venomous bea t & contrary to the Nature of Man. Wehave heard & read of erpents and Dragons ucking the Teats of Cows, & Toadsperhaps might do the like if they could gain an opportunity.

There is a noted tory of a Toad that fixed him elf upon the mouth & out ide of thelips of a Country man that was a leep, & could not be removed by any contrivanceunle s by Violence, which could not be attempted without the hazard of the man'slife, for he would then have pit his poi on, which he u es as his offen ive &defen ive weapon. A Remedy was found for this mi erable man, from thatAntipathy which the Spider bears for the Toad, for they hate one the othermortally. He was carried to the place where an overgrown Spider had made hisweb, who, as oon as he aw the Toad, he let him elf down upon his back &pinched him with his ting; but this doing no hurt, the Spider came down the econd time, & truck him more violently, upon which the Toad immediately welled & fell dead from the mans mouth without any harm to him.

But here the contrary happens, becau e the Toad does not eize the mouth, but the

Brea t of the Woman, by who

e milk he increa

es

o much that he becomes of anextraordinary trength & bigne s; but the woman, having her pirits exhau ted,

con umes & dies, for poi on is ea ily communicated to the Heart by the pectoralVeins, & infects & de troys it, as it is evident in Cleopatra, who applied vipers toher brea ts, that by a Voluntary death he might prevent her coming into thehands of her enemies & being led in Triumph by them. [In margin: Theophilus inTurba makes mention of a Dragon joined to a woman.]


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But, le t any man hould think the Philo ophers o cruel as to fa ten a Venomousreptile to a womans brea t, it mu t be known that this Toad is the off pring or Sonof this woman, brought forth by a mon trous birth, & therefore by Natural Rightmu t be fed with his Mother's Milk, & that it is not the Sons de ire that his mother hould die; for he could not infect his mother, eeing he was formed in her Bowels

& nouri hed with her blood till the time of his birth. It is indeed a thing ominousfor a Toad to be born of Woman, which in our knowledge hath happened

otherwi e: William of Newberry, an Engli h writer, aith (how truly let others judge) that in a certain Quarry in the Dioce e of Vintonia, a great tone being plit,there was a living Toad found in it, with a golden Chain, & it was by the Bi hop'scommand, hidden in the ame place & buried in perpetual darkne s, le t it mightbear an ill omen with it. Such al o is this Toad, for it is embelli hed, although notoutwardly, with an artificial chain, but inwardly with natural Gold, to wit: that ofthe Stone which ome call Borax, Chelonitus, Batrachites, Crapaudina, &

Garatronium, for this far excels Gold in Virtue again t the poi on of all animals, &is commonly et in Gold as a ca e or Cover, that it may not be hurt or lo t.Regularly it ought to be had out of an Animal.

But if the Stone be taken out of ubterranean Caverns, as it is commonly, it may beneatly contrived in that hape & u ed in tead of it, being cho en from the be tminerals & mo t relevant to the Heart. For in the e the Philo ophical Toad is reallyfound, not in the Quarry (as that fabulous author a erts), & has Gold in it elf,though its pomp does not outwardly appear. For to what end hould a Toad adornhim elf, eeing he lurks in darkne s & ecret places? Perhaps that he might be verymagnificently acco ted by the Beetle, if by chance he hould meet him in theTwilight. What Subterranean Gold mith hould make him that Golden Chain?Perhaps that Father of the Green children, that came out of the Land of St. Martin,or rather from the Earth it elf, as the two Dogs came out of a Quarry, according tothe ame Author.


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EM B L E M A VI.Seminate aurum ve trum in terram albam foliatam

(Sow Your Gold in the white foliate Earth.)

EPIGRAMMA VI.Ruricolae pingui mandant ua femina terrae,

Cum fuerit ra tris haec foliata uis.Philo ophi niveos aurum docuere per agros

Spargere, wui folii e levis in tar habent:Hoc ut agas, illus bene re pice, namque quod aurum

Germinet, ex tritico videris, ut peculo.


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D ISCOURSE VI.Plato ays that a City does not con i t of a Phy ician & a Phy ician, but of aPhy ician & a Hu bandman; that is, of men of diver e Crafts & Profe ions, & hementions then two more, e pecially becau e their Labors are more vi ible in the

Imitation, Improvement, & Perfection of Nature. For they both take a NaturalSubject to which, according to their Art, they either add omething that isnece arily wanting or remove tho e things which are uperfluous. So that boththeir Arts may (as medicine is by Hippocrates) be defined to be the addition ofwhat is wanting or Subtraction of uperfluity. For the Hu bandman does no morethan add ploughing, furrowing, Harrowing, dunging or manuring, & la tly owing to the Land that is left in its Original State.

But as for the increa e & produce of it he leaves that to Nature which admini tersRain to the Heat of the Sun, & by the e two Multiplies the eeds & improves theminto tanding Corn fit for reaping. While the blade is growing he weeds out thethi tles & throws out all other impediments. He reaps the Corn when it is ripe &cleans it when reaped from its traw & Chaff. So the Phy ician (likewi e theChemi t in a different re pect) admini ters preventing Phy ick to the Patient aswell as Re torative, removes the Cau e, Cures the malady, a uages ymptoms,takes away uperfluous blood by opening a vein & if low re tores it by aRegulation of Diet, evacuates ill humors by purging, & o by a thou and methodsimitates, upplies & corrects Nature with the operations of Art & Under tanding.

Our pre ent Con

iderations are not concerning the

e things which are commonlyknown, but of matters merely Chemical.

For Chemi try hows its Affinity to Hu bandry even in its ecret Terms & cour esof Operation. The Hu bandmen have their Earth into which they ow their eed & o have the Chemi ts. They have their Dung with which they enrich their ground, o have the e without which nothing can be accompli hed nor any fruit expected.They have eed from which they hope for an increa e, & unle s the Chemi ts had otoo, they would be like a Painter (as Lully ays) endeavoring to draw the face of aMan of whom he had never een o much as the lea t re emblance. The Countryman expects Rain & Sun hine & o indeed the Chemi ts mu t upply their workwith uch & Heat & Rain as is proper & convenient. What need of many words?

Chemi try runs entirely Parallel with Agriculture as its Deputy, & repre ents it inall things, but under a mo t compleat Allegory. From hence the Ancientsproduced their Cerereus, Triptolemus, O irideus, Diony ius, Golden Gods, or uchas had Relation to Chemi try, but at the ame time repre ented them as teachingmortals to ca t their eed into the Earth & howing them Hu bandry & the planting


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& Cultivation of Vines & the u e of Wine. All which things the Ignorant fal elyapplied to their Countries Employment. For the e ab tru e My teries of Natureunder the e Veils are at the ame time explained to the Wi e, whil t they areconcealed from the Vulgar.

Hence the Philo ophers affirm it to be owed in White foliated Earth, as if they

would have aid that the owing of Wheat mu t be looked upon as an example &con equently imitated. Which the Author of Tractatus de tritico & Jodoc Greverushave mo t excellently performed in their De criptions for they have very elegantlyadapted each Operation of Hu bandry in the production of Corn to theSemination of Gold & the generation of the Tincture. White Earth as being Sandyyields little fruit to the Countrymen who e teem that which is black as beingfatte t. But the other is of mo t Value to the Philo ophers if it be foliated, that is,well prepared. For they know how to improve it with their Dung, which theothers do not. For emination is the propagation of the world by which Care istaken that what cannot la t in the individual may be continued in the pecies. Thisis in Men, Animals & Plants; in the fir t, Hermaphroditically, in the two la t underdifferent exes, but in Metals it is far otherwi e, for in them a Line is made from theflux of a Point, a Superficies from the flux of a Line, a body from the flux of aSuperficies.

But the Stars produce that point before either the line, the uperficies, or the Body,becau e it is the Principle of them all. Nature added the flux a long timeafterwards; that is, the Caele tial Phoebus generated a Son underneath the Earth,

which Mercury committed to Vulcan to be Educated, & to Chiron, that is, toManual operation, to be in tructed, as it is reported of Achilles that he wasdetained & Hardened in Fires by his Mother Thetis. Among other things Helearned Mu ic & the Art of playing on the Harp from his Ma ter Chiron. Achilles isnothing el e but the Philo ophic ubject, who e Son is Pyrrhus, with red Hair,without which two, Troy could not be ubdued, as we have demon trated in the ixth Book of our Hieroglyphics.


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EM B L E M A VII.Fit pullus nido volans, qui iterm cadit in nidum.

(A young eaglet attempts to fly out of its own ne t & falls into it again.)

EPIGRAMA VII.Rupe cav nidum Iovis Ales truxerat, in quo

Delituit, pullos enutritque uos:Horum unus levibus voluit e tollere pennis,

At fuit implumi fratre retentus ave.Inde volans redit in nidum, quem liquerat, illis

Junge caput caudae, tum nec inanis eris.


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D ISCOURSE VII.That which Hippocrates, the tandard of all Phy ick, affirms concerning Humors,that they are different & many in the Body of Man, & not one only, otherwi evarious di ea es would not ari e, is found by us to be true likewi e in the Elements

of the World. For if there was but one Element, there could be nom change of thatinto another, no generation nor corruption would happen, but all would be oneimmutable thing, and no meteors, minerals, plants or animals could be naturallyproduced from it. Therefore the upreme creator compo ed the whole y tem ofthis whole world of diver e & contrary natures, namely of light & heavy, hot &cold, moi t & dry, that one might by affinity pa s into the other, & o a compo itionbe made of bodies which hould be very different one from another in E ence,Qualities, Virtues & Effects. For in things perfectly mixed are the light Elements,as Fire & Air, & likewi e the Heavy, as Earth & Water, which are to be poi ed andtempered together, that one flies not from the other.But the neighboring Elements ea ily uffer them elves to be taken & detained bytheir Neighbors. Earth & Air are contrary one to the other, & o are Fire & Water,& Yet Fire maintains friend hip with Air by heat common to both, & does o withEarth by rea on of dryne s, & o Air with Water & Water with the Earth. By whichmeans they are joined in bonds of Affinity, or rather con anguinity, & remaintogether in one compo ition, which, if it abound with the light Elements, elevatesthe Heavy with it; if with the heavy it pre es down the light. This is illu trated by

two Eagles, one with Wings, the other without; the fir t of which, endeavoring tofly, is re trained by the econd. There is a plain Example of this Matter in the fight

between the Falcon & Heron, for the Falcon, oaring higher in the Air by his peedy Flying & wift wings, takes & tears the Heron with his Talons, by who eweight, both fall to the ground. The contrary appeared in the Artificial Dovewhich was an Automata or elf-moving piece of Workman hip made by Architas,who e heavy things were carried upwards by light, that is, its wooden body waslifted into the Air by the Spirit that was enclo ed within it.

In the Philo ophical Subject, the light things are fir t predominant over the Heavyas to their quantity, but they are overcome by virtue of the heavy, 7 in proce s oftime, the eagle's wings are cut off, & one very great Bird (namely an O trich) ismade of two, which Bird can con ume Iron, & being hindered by its own weight, eems rather to run upon the Earth that to fly in the Air, although it has goodlywings. Concerning this or one like it, Hermes (as the Author of Aurora, ch. 5thaffirms) writes thus: 'I have con idered a Bird Venerable to the Wi e, which flieswhen it is in Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn,' & 'You will acquire it Perpetually


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to your elf out of mere minerals & Rocks of Mountainous places.' Senior in Tabularelates to the ame thing, where two birds are een, one flying, the other withoutwings, whereof the one holds the other's Tail by its beak, that they cannot ea ily be eparated. For this is the machination or device of Univer al Nature, always torai e heavy things by light, & to depre s light ones by heavy, as the Author of

Perfectum Magi terius declares: 'Who con

titutes

even Mineral Spirits, as it wereerratic or Wandering Stars, & o many Metallic Bodies & Fixed Stars, and enjoins

the e to be married to the others.' And thence Ari totle the Chemi t ays: 'The Spirithaving di olved the Body & Soul o that they may exi t in their form, does notremain unle s You Occupy it.'

Now this Occupation is that You join it with the Body from whence you preparedit in the beginning. Becau e in that the Spirit at the uperexi tences of the Body isOccupied from flight. In Camphora, as Bonus ob erves, the light Elements, that is,Air & Fire, prevail over the Heavy, & therefore it is aid wholly to exhale &evaporate into Air. In Argent Vive, the Flowers of Sulphur, Antimony, the alt ofHeart's blood, Sal Armoniac & uch other things, the Earth flies with the Alembic,& is not eparated from it. In Gold, Gla s, Diamonds, the Stone Smiris, Granite, &the like, the Elements remain joined a long time notwith tanding the fire, withoutany detriment. For the Earth retains the other Elements with it elf. In otherCombu tibles, a eparation or divi ion of one from another is effected, o that theA hes are left in the Bottom, & the Water, Air & Fire fly upwards.

We mu t not therefore have re pect to the unequal Compo ition of the e la t, being

not o trongly mixed, nor to the Commixture of the fir t, which is more de irable,though compo ed of Volatiles. But to the olidity, Con tancy & Fixity of the middleones. For o the Bird without wings will detain that which hath, and the FixedSub tances will Fix the Volatiles, which is the thing that of nece ity mu t beEffected.


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EM B L E M A VIII . Accipe ovum & igneo percute gladio.

(Take an Egg & mite it with a fiery word.)

EPIGRAMMA VIII.E t avis in mundo ublimior omnibus, Ovum

Cujus ut inquiras, cura it una tibi. Albumen luteum circumdat molle vitellum,

Ignito (ceu mos) cautus id en e petas:Vulcano Mars addat opem: pulla ter & inde

Exortus, ferri victor & ignis erit.


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D ISCOURSE VIII.There are many & diver e kinds of Birds who e number is uncertain & theirNames unknown to Us. Story tells us of a very great Bird named Ruc [Roc?], thatappears at certain ea ons of the Year in a mall I land of the Ocean, which can bear

an Elephant up with it into the Air. India & America end us Crows & Parrots ofdiver e Colors. But it is not the Philo ophical intention to enquire after the Eggs ofthe e birds. The AEgyptians yearly per ecute the Crocodiles Eggs with weaponsof Iron & de troy them. The Philo ophers do indeed mite their Eggs with fire, butit is not with an intent to mortify it, but that it may live & grow up. For, eeing thatan animate & living chicken is thence produced, it cannot be aid to be Corruption,but generation. It cea es to be an Egg by the privation of the Oval form, & beginsto be a two-footed & volatile Animal by the introduction of a more noble Form, forin the Egg are the eeds of both male & female joined together under one Shell orCover.The Yolk con titutes the Chicken with its radical parts & Bowels, the eed of themale forming it & becoming the internal Efficient, whereas the White...[**Albumen materiam eu ubtegmen & incrementum dat rudimento eu taminipulli.] The external heat is the fir t mover which by a certain Circulation of theElements & change of one into the other, introduces a new form by the in tinct &guidance of Nature. For Water pa es into Air, Air into Fire, Fire into Earth, whichbeing joined together, & a pecific being tran mitted by the tars, an individual

Bird is made of that kind who e Egg it was & who

e

eed was infu

ed into it. Thisis aid to be mitten with a fiery word when Vulcan performing the office of a

Midwife as he did to Pallas coming from the brain of Jupiter, does by his ax makea pa age for the newborn Chicken. This is what Ba il Valentine affirms, thatMercury was impri oned by Vulcan at the command of Mars, & could not berelea ed before he was wholly purified & dead. But this death is to him thebeginning of a New life, as the Corruption or death of the Egg brings newgeneration & life to the Chicken.

So an Embryo being freed from that human vegetable life which alone it enjoyedin the Mother's womb, obtains another, more perfect one, by his birth & cominginto the light of the world. So when we hall pa s from this pre ent life, thereremains for us another that is mo t perfect & Eternal. Lully in many places callsthis fiery word a harp Lance, becau e fire as a Lance or harp word perforatesbodies & makes them porous & pervious [?], o that they may be penetrated bywaters & be di olved & being reduced from hardne s become oft & Tractable. Inthe Stomach of a Cormorant, which is the mo t voracious of all Birds, there are


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found long & round worms which erve it as the in truments of Heat, & as wehave ometimes ob erved, eize upon tho e Eels & other fi h which he has wallowed & Pierce them like harp needles, & o con ume them in a hort time bya wonderful operation of Nature. As, therefore, Heat pierces, o that which pierceswill ometimes upply the ab ence of Heat. Upon which Con ideration, that

wherewith the Philo ophical Egg ought to be

mitten may not unde

ervedly becalled a fiery word.

But the Philo ophers had rather have it under tood of Temperate Heat, wherebythe Egg is cheri hed, as Morfoleus in Turba declares: It is nece ary [that a] wi emans moi ture be burned up with a low fire, as is hown us in the Example of thegeneration of a Chicken, & where the fire is increa ed, the Ve el mu t be toppedon all ides, that the body of the Air (or bra s) [aeris in original] & the fugitive pirit of it may not be extracted. But what Birds Egg mu t it be? Mo cus tells usin the ame place: Now I ay that no in truments are made except of our white tarry plendid powder, & of the white Stone, of which powder are made fitin truments for the Egg. But they have not named the Egg, nor what Bird's Egg itmu t be.


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EM B L E M A IX. Arborem cum ene conclude in rorida domo,

& comedens de fructu eius fiet iuvenis. (Shut up the Tree with the Old Man in a Hou e of Dew,

& eating the fruit thereat He will become Young.)

EPIGRAMMA IX. Arbor ine t hortis Sophiae dans aurea mala,

Haec tibi cum no tro it capienda ene;Inque domo vitrea claudantur, rorque plen,

Et ine per multos haec duo juncta dies:Tum fructu (mirum!) atiabitur arboris ille

Ut fiat juvenis qui fuit ante enex.


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D ISCOURSE IX.All things that grow in length, breadth & Depth, that is, are Born, nouri hed,augmented, brought to maturity, & propagated, the ame things likewi e decrea e,that is, have their trength dimini hed, dice, fall away, as we ee in all Vegetables &

Animals. Wherefore man al o, when he arrives at full growth, admits of decay,which is the ame thing as old age, whereby his trength is en ibly dimini hed 'tillhe die. For the cau e of old Age is the ame with that of a Lamp that burns dim forwant of Oil, for as there are three things in a Lamp: the wick, fatne s & flame, o ina man the wick is the Vital members, the Bowels & Limbs. The fatne s is theradical moi ture, & the flame is the Natural Hat. The only difference is, the flameof a Lamp hines bright, but the Natural Heat does not, it not being fire but onlyHeat, & whereas that fatne s is oily, the Radical moi ture is vi cous, being of a eminal principle. As, therefore, a Lamp is extingui hed for want of oil, o man byold age, without any other di ea e, falls into atrophy [ mara mus, lit. dying away,from the Greek] & aged con umption, & la tly into his grave. It is reported of theEagle, that when he grows old, his beak becomes o crooked that he would diewith Hunger, unle s he could ca t it. So Deer eem to grow young again bythrowing off their horns, Serpents their kins, & Crabs their hells; not that theyreally do o, for their radical moi ture is not re tored to them, but only inappearance.

There is nothing that can re tore Youth to man but death it elf, which is the

beginning of Eternal life that follows it. However, there are ome that

ay as to hisexternal Form & the re toring of his trength in ome mea ure, together with the

taking away of wrinkles, & changing of grey Hair, a proper remedy may be foundout, as Lully affirms of his Quinte ence, & Arnold of prepared Gold. But here thePhilo ophers ay that if the Old Man would become Young, he mu t be hut up in aHou e of Dew, & then he will eat of the fruit of the Tree, & o recover Youth. It is carce believed by the Vulgar that uch Trees can be in Nature. The Phy icianswrite wonders of Myrobalanis [literally: 'miracle fruit'], the Fruit of a certain Tree,that they re tore grey Hair to blackne s, purify the blood & prolong life. But this is carce credited.Mar ilio Ficino, in his book of pre erving the health of tudents, recommends ucking the milk of a beautiful young woman, others recommend the eating ofVipers fle h, but the e remedies are more trouble ome than Old Age it elf, & couldnot be obtained by one in a thou and, although their effect hould be certain.Paracel us, in his book of Long life, ays a ick man may attract to him elf theHealth of another by imagination only, & o an Old Man may gather Youth. But


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in this he eems rather to be guided by his fancy than experience. It is certain thatthe people called P yllis, with their double pupils, & witches by their very a pectbewitch Cattle & Children, according to Virgil: Ne cio quis teneros oculus mihifa cinet agnos. The e things are done without contact. But as for the Tree whichis to re tore the Old Man, the fruit of it is weet, red & full ripe, turning into the

be t blood, as being ea

y of dige

tion, & affording the be

t Nutriment, leavingnothing in the body that is faecal or uperfluous. But the Old Man abound with

white Phlegm, has white Hair & Complection, which Humours, Color, & Hair arechanged into that Red which appears in Youth & Vigor.

Therefore the Philo ophers ay their Stone is fir t an Old Man that is white, & thena Young man, which is Red. And they ay further that the Old Man mu t be placedtogether with the Tree, not in the open air, but in a Hou e, & that not dry, butmoi t, with Dew. It may eem trange that Trees hould pring & grow in a clo eplace, but if it be moi t, there is no doubt of their continuance. For the Nutrimentof a Tree is moi ture & Airy Earth that is fat, which can a cend into the body &Bough, & the e produce leaves, blo oms & fruit. In which Natural work then isthe concurrence of all the Elements.

Fire gives the Fir t Motion as the efficient, Air gives Tenuity & Penetrability,Water Lubricity, & Earth Coagulation. For when any of their uperfluities a cend,Air turns into Water, & Water into Earth. By Fire, I under tand the Native Heat,which being propagated with the eed, does by the Power of the Stars as if it werea Smith, forge out & form uch fruits as are like to tho e things from whence the

eed ari eth. But a Dewy Evaporation is not only Expedient, to moi ten the Tree oas to make it yield fruit, but likewi e the Old Man, that he may the more ea ily bemade Young again by that fruit. For the Dewy Vapors will mollify, fill up, &re tore his dry & wrinkled kin with temperate heat & moi ture. WhereforePhy icians very rationally & with good ucce s pre cribe Warm Baths for theatrophy [mara mo] or Con umption of Old Age.

But if the thing be well con idered, that Tree is the Daughter of the Old Man,which as Daphne is changed into a Vegetable of the like ort, & therefore the OldMan may not unju tly expect Youth from it, eeing He him elf was the cau e oftheir being.


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EM B L E M A X.Da ignem igni, Mercurium Mercurio, et ufficit tibi. (Give Fire to fire, Mercury to Mercury, and you have enough.)

EPIGRAMMA X. Machina pendet ab hac mundi connexa catena

Tota, Suo Quod Par Gaudeat Omne Pari: Mercurius ic Mercurio, ic jungitur igni

Ignis & haec arti it data meta tuae.Hermetem Vulcanus agit, ed penniger Hermes,

Cynthia, te olvit, te ed, Apollo, oror.


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D ISCOURSE X.If this aying be taken literally, it only increa eth the quantity of Fire & Mercury,but introduceth no new quality into the ubject. For every like added to its like,makes it become more like. Hence Phy icians affirm that contraries are healed &

removed by contraries. So we ee Fire is extingui hed by Water, but fomented bythe addition of Fire. As the Poet ays: Venus in wine, as fire in Fire, does rage.[Et Venus in vinis, ignis in igne furit.] But it may be an wered that Fire differsvery much from Fire, & Mercury from Mercury, for there are everal orts of Fire &Mercury among t the Philo ophers. Moreover, the ame heat & cold, being di tantonly in place & ituation, differs from another of its own kind, o as to attract to itthat which is like to it elf.

So we ee that Heat fixed in any part is drawn forth by the ame Heat. Limbsbenumbed & almo t dead with Fro t & cold water will be re tored by putting theminto cold Water rather than by the application of external heat. For as the greaterlight ob cures the le er, o al o greater heat or cold has power over the le er, o itis nece ary that the Cold or Heat that is outwardly applied hould be le s than thatwhich was before imprinted or fixed in the joints, otherwi e the ame impre ionwould be made as before, & the like would rather be much more increa ed thandrawn forth by the like.

This drawing out of cold by cold water, & of fiery heat by heat, is agreeable toNature, for all udden changes in contraries are dangerous & le s acceptable to it,but that which comes by degrees can more ea ily be endured. So we ay there isone internal Fire which is e entially infixed in the Philo ophical ubject, & anotherexternal. The ame may likewi e be aid of Mercury. The internal Fire isEquivocally o cold becau e of its fiery qualities, virtue, & operation, but theExternal Fire is Univocally o. Therefore, External Fire & Mercury mu t be given tothe internal Fire & Mercury, that o the intention of the Work may be completed.For in boiling we u e Fire & Water to Mollify & mature any thing that hascrudities & hardne s. For Water penetrates into & di olves the parts contracted,whil t the heat adds trength & motion to it. Thus we ee in the common coction ofPul e ["pult"], which, being hard in them elves, yet well are broken and reducedto a pulp in Water, the heat of the Fire rarifying the Water by ebullition &reducing to almo t an aerial ub tance, o the heat of Fire re olves the crude parts ofFruit or Fle h into water, & makes them Vani h into Air together with it.

After the ame manner, Fire & Mercury here are Fire & Water, & the ame Fire &Mercury are the Mature & Crude parts, of which the crude are to be matured byCoction, or the mature to be purged from uperfluities by the a i tance of Water.


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But we hall in hort demon trate that the e two Fires & the e two Mercuries areprincipally & olely nece ary to the completion of the Art. Empedocles was ofopinion that the Principles of all things were Friend hip & Di cord. Thatcorruptions were made by Variance, and generations by Love. This Di cord ismanife tly apparent in Fire & Water, Fire making Water evaporate & Water

extingui hing Fire when applied to it.

But it is likewi e plain that generations will proceed from the e ame things by acertain Friend hip. For by heat is made new generation of Air, & by the ame Heatthat induration of Water into the Stone is performed, & o from the e two as thefir t Elements are made the other two, & con equently from thence the productionof all things. Water was the Matter of Heaven & all Corporeal things. Fire as theForm moves & informs this matter, o this Water or Mercury yields the Matter &Fire or Sulphur the Form. That the e two may operate & mutually movethem elves by Solution, Coagulation, Alteration, Tinction & Perfection, there willbe a Nece ity of external Helps, as in truments without which, no effect canfollow. For as a Smith cannot Work without Hammers & Fire, o neither can thePhilo opher without his in truments, which are Water & Fire.

This Water is by ome called the Water of Clouds, as this Fire is called Occa ionedFire. It is without doubt called the Water of Clouds becau e it is di tilled as MayDew, & con i ts of mo t thin parts. For as it is affirmed that May Dew beingenclo ed in the Shell of a Egg will rai e it up by the Heat of the Sun, o this Waterof the Clouds, or Dew, makes the Philo opher's Egg a cend, that is, Sublimes,

Exalts & Perfects it. The ame Water is al o mo t harp Vinegar, which makes thebody a mere Spirit. For as Vinegar has different qualities & can penetrate to thebottom & bind, o this Water di olves & coagulates, but is not coagulated, becau eit is not of a proper Subject. The Water is had from the Fountain of Parna us,which, contrary to the Nature of other fountains, is upon the Top of the Hill madethe Hoof of the flying Hor e Pega us.

There mu t al o be actual Fire, which, notwith tanding, mu t be governed &qualified by its degrees as with Bridles. For as the Sun proceeding from Aries intoLeo, & o approaching nearer, gradually increa eth heat to things growing, o it ishere nece ary to be done, for the Philo ophical Infant mu t be nouri hed by Fire aswith Milk, & the more plentiful that is, the more he grows.


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But the chief work and labour is how to whiten Latona. The book called ClangorBuccin defines Latona as an Imperfect Body of Sol and Luna. The mo t AncientPoets and writers affirm Latona to be the Mother of Apollo and Diana; others callher their Nur e, and tate that Diana was brought forth fir t (for Luna andwhitene e do fir t appear), who afterwards but the ame day performed the office

of a Midwife in bringing forth Apollo her brother. For Latona was one of thetwelve Hieroglyphicall Gods of the gyptians by whom the e and otherAllegoryes were propagated among other Nations. Very few even of theirgyptian Prie ts knew the true en e and meaning of them, the remainder of thePeople applying them to other Subjects that were not in the Nature of thinges,namely Gods, Godde es and the like. Wherefore Latona had the mo t umptuousTemple next to Vulcan adorned with gold becau e he was the mother of thePhilo ophickal Apollo and Diana.

But this Latona is brown and blacki h, and hath many moles in her Face, whichmu t be taken away by Dealbation or blanching. Some make their dealbations ofCeru e, Sublimate Mercury, Talc reduced to Oyle and the like, by which theyencru t, cover and o would whiten the out ide of her kin. But the whiteningencru tations fall off by every wind or liquor, becau e they do not penetrate theinward parts, and o deceiving only their eyes by their fal e Colours are notregarded well by the Philo ophers. For the Philo ophers would have Latona's facemade white by penetration and by altering the kin it elf, that is truly and not uperficially or by colouring alone. You may a k how this can be done? I an wer,Latona mu t fir t be ought out and known, which though he be drawn from aVile place, yet he mu t be ublimed to one more worthy. But if he be taken from amore worthy place, he is to be ubmer ed in a place more vile- that is, into Dung.For there indeed he grows white and becomes white lead, which being obtainedthere is no doubt of ucce s; for from White Lead proceeds the Red Lead, which isthe beginning and End of the Work.


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EM B L E M A XII.Lapis, quem Saturnus, pro Ioue filio devoratum, euomuit,

pro monumento in Helicone mortalibus e t po itus. (The Stone which Saturn vomited up, being devoured in tead of his Son Jupiter,

is placed on the Helicon as a Monument to Men.)

EPIGRAMMA XII.No e cupis cau am, tot cur Helcona PotDicant, quodque eius cuique petendus apex?

Est Lapis in ummo, Monumentum , uertice po tus,Pro Ioue deglutiit quem uomuitque pater.

Si ceu uerba onant rem captas, mens tibi lua est,Namque est Saturni Chemicus ille Lapis .


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D ISCOURSE XII.We find the Allegorye of Saturn to be taken diver e ways, for the A tronomersreputed him the Highe t of the Planets, and the tudents of chemi try the ba e t ofmetalls, namely lead. The Heathen Poets ay he was the Father of Jupiter, the Son

of Heaven. The Mythologi ts explain him by the notion of Time. But though allthe e may eem to have a probable opinion according to their own en e, yet theywill never be able to explain certain thinges which are el ewhere poken of Saturn; uch as why he hould devour his Sons and Vomit up a Stone in tead of Jupiter. Orwhy he hould be the Finder Out or Di coverer of Truth; why he hould beremarkable for his Scythe and Serpent, or his Blackne e, moro ene s and di tortedfeet. The Mythologi ts think they give the be t interpretation when they ay Timereveals and manife ts Truth out of Darkne e, that it rolls it elf around and glidesaway like a Serpent, and that it cuts all thinges down with Death as with a Scythe.That he devours his Sons, to wit all beings that he ever begot, but that he cannotcon ume or dige t hard Stones, and therefore may be aid to Vomit them up again.

The e may in part have ome re emblance to the Truth, but they do not agree in theTruth of the thinges in all its Circum tances. But the experienced Philo ophers aythat Saturn is fir t in their work, and that if he be really pre ent they cannot Err, forTruth is di covered in darkne e, and nothing comes into exi tence withoutblackne e. Wherefore they ay in the Turba Philo ophorum, whatever Colourcomes after blackne e is prai eworthy, becau e it is the beginning of the Work.

And the Ro ary out of Arnoldus

ays, when it fir

t glows black we

ay it is the Keyof the Work, becau e that cannot be made without blackne e. And out of the

Speculum when you are working ee that in the beginning you obtain a blackcolour, for then you will be certain that you cau e putrefaction and proceed in theright method. And again, that blackne e is cold Earth which is made by a lightdecoction and is often reiterated till blackne e be mo t eminent. Hence they aythat Saturn po e ed the Earth, Mercury the Water, Jupiter the Air, Sol the Fire-Blackne e therefore is Saturn, the Di coverer of Truth who devours a Stone in teadof Jupiter. For Blackne e is a dark cloud covering the Stone at fir t o that it cannot

be een.Thence Morienus ays each body that wants a Soul is dark and ob cure. AndHermes pre cribes thus, Take his brain and wear or rub it with Sharpe t Vinegar orUrine of Boys till it becomes dark. This being performed he lives in putrefaction,and the dark clouds that were upon him and in his Body before he died arereturned. This Stone is again ca t up by Saturn when he becomes White, and thenit is placed upon the Top of Helicon as a Monument to Mortals, as He iod writes.


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For Whitene e is really hid in blackne e, which is extracted out of his belly, thatis, out of the Stomach of Saturn. Therefore aith Democritus, Clean e Tin with a peciall ab olution, extract from it its blackne e and ob curity, and the whitene eof it will appear. And in the Turba it is aid join the Dry with the moi t, that is theblack earth with its water, and decoct it till it becomes white. Arnold in his work

called Novum Lumen, chapter 4, very well expre

es the ame thinge when he ays, That moi ture therefore which cured the blackne e in the decoction hows

it elf to be dried up when the white Colour begins to appear. And a little after:And my Ma ter aid to me that Browne e a cended becau e the whitene e wasdrawn out of the Belly of the Blackne e, as is aid in the Turba. For when you ee itblack, know that whitene e is hid in the belly of the blackne e fir t appearing.

As this blackne e is called Saturn, o it is likewi e called Lead. Thence Agadimonin the Turba ays decoct the s or bra e till the blackne e which they call moneycomes forth, and mix well the materials of our Art, and then you will pre entlyfind blackne e, which is the Lead of the Philo ophers o much poken of in theirbooks. Emigamus has relation to this when he ays that the Splendour of Saturnwhen he a cends into the Air appears no otherwi e then Darkened. And o Plato inthe Ro ary: The fir t Regimen of Saturn is to putrefye and put it upon Sol. From allof which it is evident that the en e of the Philo ophers when they peak of Saturnis quite different from the Vulgar acceptation. This Saturn generates Jupiter whichis an ob cure Whitne e, and Jupiter begets upon Latona fir t Diana which isperfect Whitene e, and then Apollo which is Redne e. And this is the ucce ivepermutation of perfect Colours. This Stone ca t up by Saturn is aid to be placedupon the Top of a mountein as a monument for men, which is a thinge mo t True.


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by that wa hing is a miracle of the Divine Omnipotence. For the Lepro y, being eated in the blood and radical parts of a man's body, is as it were an univer allCanker, which cannot be taken away or cured by any externall wa hing, muchle e by cold water uch as that of the Jordan.

So likewi e that the Philo ophers Bra e, labouring under the di ea e of a Drop ie, hould be freed from it by wa hings of water, and that even an imperfect thinge hould be made perfect and a ick thinge healthy, and that to o great a degree asto be able to impart its health to ick bodyes, mu t be next to a Miracle. For uch anexample is not el ewhere extant in Nature; nor is it indeed the ordinary cour e ofNature to produce the Philo ophers mo t ab olute Tincture unle e it be governedby Art, and fit ubjects be admini tered to it with the externall efficient. So there titution of luxations, that is, thinges di located or out of Joint, is not peculiar toNature but to Art. Neverthele e, the Os Sacrum opens it elf miraculou ly at thebirth of a Child, that the Infant may come forth thereby as through a door, and inthis the mo t great and mercifull God operates by Nature above Nature.So that the Stone hould be perfected eems a thinge upernaturall though it reallybe Naturall. From whence the Ro ary: You mu t know, ays he, that our Airy andVolatile Stone, according to that which is manife t and apparent, is cold and moi t,but according to that which is occult and hidden, is hot and dry. And thatcoldne e and moi ture which is manife t and is a Watery Fume, corrupting,blackening, and de troying it elf, flees from it by the Fire. But the Heat anddryne e which is occult is Hot and dry Gold and a mo t pure Oile able to

penetrate bodyes, and is in no way Fugitive, becau e the Heat and dryne e ofAlchemy tingeth, and no other thinge whatever. See therefore that the coldne eand moi ture which is manife t be equall to the heat and dryne e which is in theOccult, o that they may both agree and be joined together, being at once madeone penetrating, Tingeing and Fixing Body.

But the e moi tures mu t be de troyed by Fire and degrees of Fire with a oftTemperament and an agreeable and moderate Dige tion. If this be True, how hallit be from waters? It may be an wered, there are certain Waters of Hot and dryqualityes, uch as are many Baths, in which it mu t be Philo ophically wa hed. Forthis is the meaning of what they ay, wa h with fire and burn with water, for thatFire which wa hes and that water which burns differ in Name only, but agree ineffect and operation. Therefore with this water or this Fire the Philo ophickal sor Bra e mu t be wa hed from its uperfluous Humors: that is, it mu t be dried.

We have known Experiments of Drop icall Bodyes cured by ix months ab tentionfrom all manner of Drink; or by burying them in Hot and and Cow dung, or byputting them into a Hot Furnace and letting them weat, and innumerable other


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helps as likewi e by drying Baths uch as tho e of Carl bad or Wie baden. By the ame methods mu t this patient be cured; ometimes by waters, ometimes by theHot Air of Furnaces; now with Cow dung, then with Sand and Ab tinence fromDrinking. For the e are the mo t effectuall Remedyes in both Ca es, ome at onetime are to be u ed and ome at another. But in all the e thinges Heat is the

Operator which, by the Emunctoria or pores of the Body, draws out the uperfluous waters. For the outward heat quickens the inward, that is the Vitall pirits, that they may expell that moi ture which is hurtfull to them as anunprofitable excrement, by which the Naturall Heat was before uppre ed as byan Enemy.

In this Cure there is need of great diligence and precaution, lea t whil t one bowellis relieved another may be hurt. In a Quartan (which according to the Platoni tswill try the kill of a Phy itian) we have experienced that thick Vi cous humor, likethe Gum or Glue of Trees, being gathered together from all the veins or Ma e ofblood, and de cending through the Vena Cava or great Vein even to the bottom ofthe back, where it ob tructs the emulgent Veins which draw the erous matter outof the blood or the pa ages of them. Thus they are le e able to operate, and moreof the erous matter remains in the Body, and o in a hort time if care be not takena Drop ie may happen, the other Bowell being in no way hurt at the fir t. HereDiuretica do little or no good, Purgatives yet le e unle e Diminution or eductionbe made in ome certain eries of time. Sudorificks manife tly do harm becau ethey draw out the more ubtile parts and leave the thicker, and if they arecontinued will weaken the body, for Nature's cu tom is to find that way ofevacuating the erous matter through the Pores only when he is ob tructed aboutthe Bladder. One therefore is Scylla, the other is Charybdis, both of which he that hall hath a mind to pre erve him elf ought to avoid.

That Drop ie which proceeds from an impaired Liver or pleen is the mo t difficultto be cured; but in the Philo ophickal Bra e the Cure is not impo ible, thedi temper being rather by Accident and econdary than E entiall and primary.This is provided it be undertaken cautiou ly, as we have aid concerning theplenty of Serum in a Quartan, to wit that it may not by too much excitation fall

into a Con umption or by too much moi ture fall into uch a Drop ie as may bedifficult to be Cured.


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EM B L E M A XIV.Hic e t Draco caudam uam devorans.

(This is the Dragon that devours his Tayle.)

EPIGRAMMA XIV.Dira fames Polypos docuit ua rodere crura,

Humanaque homines e nutrii e dape.Dente Draco caudam dum mordet & ingeret aluo,

Magn parte sui fit cibus ip e ibi.Ille domandus erit ferro, fame, carcere, donec

Se uoert & reuomat, se necet & pariat.


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D ISCOURSE XIV.It is the aying of the Ancients that a Serpent that has devoured a Serpent becomesa Dragon, for like a Thief or a Murderer it preys upon its own kind. There were uch Serpents in Africa, of a va t bigne e and in great numbers, which devoured

part of Alexander's Army- the larger are bred among the A chans, a people ofEthiopia, which being placed together after the manner of herds do with theirheads erected make their way to better Pa tures. It is reported that the Kings ofIndia nouri hed two Dragons, one of eighty the other of ninety Cubits in bigne e.It is remarked by the ob ervations of later writers of the e times that there are erpents found near Angola which equall the main ma t of hips. So there is areport that in ome mounteins of India and Africa there is greatne e of gold, butthat it is kept by Dragons lea t any per on hould come and take it away. For at thefounteins or Rivulets which fall from the mounteins the Dragons meet, and o byAccident are aid to keep watch over the gold enclo ed in them.For this rea on do the Philo ophers a ign o many Dragons to their Trea ury, as tothe Golden Fleece, the Garden of the He perides, and the others per ons orchymicall ubjects uch as Cadmus, Saturn, culapius and Mercury, who eCaduceum is bound with two erpents, a male and female. For they mean nothingel e by Dragons but Chymicall ubjects. Hence they ay, Dant Rebis montesdracones terraque fontes: Dragons to Rebis do give mounteins, And the earth doesgive him Founteins. And they denote his extreme hunger by his devouring his

Tayle, which though ome may interpret this as the year returning into it

elf andre embling a Circle, yet it was fir t applied to their work by the Philo ophers, who

by this Dragon would have uch a Serpent under tood as devours another of itsown kind, and which is properly called Sulphur, as all of them Atte t ininnumerable places.

Thus Lully ays in his Codicillus, chapter 31: This my on ( aith he) is Sulphur, andthis the Serpent and Dragon devouring his Tayle, the rearing Lyon and harp word cutting, mortifying and tearing all thinges. And the Ro ary ays the Dragondoes not dye unle e he be killed with his Brother and Si ter. And a little after: theDragon is Argent Vive, extracted out of Bodyes, having in it elf a Body, Soul andSpirit. This in the ame place by another Name is called Stinking Water, which isto be had after the eparation of the Elements. Now the Dragon is aid to devourhis Tayle when he con umes the Voluble, Venomous and moi t part, o thatafterwards being without a Tayle he may eem more corpulent and lower, as ifhis Motion and Volubility had in a great mea ure con i ted in his Tayle.


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Emblema XV.Opus figuli, con i tens in icco & humido, te doceat.

(Let the work of the Potter, con i ting of dryne e and moi ture, in truct you.)

EPIGRAMMA XV. A pice qum celeri figulus ua ua a figuret Axe rot, argillam dum pede mi cet aqu:

In binis illi e t fiducia rebus, ut humor Pulueribus iccis temperet arte itim.

Sic quoque tu facies exemplo doctior isto,Terram aqu ne uperet, nec uperetur humo.


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D ISCOURSE XV.As this terre trial Orb is made into one Round Body by a complication of Earthand Water, o likewi e the Potter's work eems to be compounded of the ameparticular Elements; that is, the Dry and the Moi t, o that one may temper the

other. For if the Earth hould be without Water and no Ocean, Sea, Lake, River orFountein hould be near it, the earth could bring forth nothing of it elf but mu tperpetually remain unfruitfull. So if water hould not be received into the cavitiesof the Earth but tand round about it, it would ea ily cover the whole face of it and o it would remain uninhabitable. But one entering amicably into the other, andwater moderating the dryne e of the Earth and Earth the moi ture of the Water,by a mutual commixture the Fruitfulne e and advantages of both Elements dovery peedily appear.

In like manner the Potter mixes Clay with Water, and that o he may make thema e tractable which he hapes upon his wheel, and he ets it in warm Air o itmay drye lei urely. Then he adds the Violence of Fire, that his ve ells may be wellhardened and conden ed into a durable Stone which can re i t both Water andFire. So the Philo ophers ay we mu t proceed in the naturall work, and theytherefore et the Potter before us as an example; for it is certain as to the dry andmoi t, that is the Earth and Water, that they have a very great Affinity. But there isal o no doubt they have many differences in their way of Coction and in thematter and form of the Elements that are to be compounded. For the Potter's

Ve

ells have a Form that's artificiall, but the Philo ophick Tincture has one that isaltogether Naturall and o much Nobler than Theirs, as al o the matter of it is more

excellent than theirs. Each of them is indeed the Work of Earth, but there isnothing aid to be in the Philo ophickal which hath not a cended and attained tothe Heaven of Air, whereas in the other a thick and foeculent Earth ispredominant. The effect of both is a Stone- this a Common, that a Philo ophickalone.

By which imilarities a certain Per on being educed put a great Number ofArtificiall Stones or Tiles into one che t and the whiter ort of flints into another,u ing diabolicall conjurations over them that one might be turned into Silver, theother into pure Gold. But when the e were imagined to be the Stones of thePhilo ophers, and after a great um of money has been expended in purcha ing everall thinges, the new gold and ilver which were expected at a certain time didnot appear, and none of the Stones as it was hoped received conver ion. Deathcame very opportunely to put an end to his hame and Folly; for Gold and Silver isnot to be ought for in the thinge wherein they are not implanted by Nature, and


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Emblema XVI.Hic Lo, quas plumas non habet, alter habet.

(One Lyon hath wings and the other hath none.)

EPIGRAMMA XVI.Victor quadrupedum Leo pectore fortis & ungue

Ab que metu pugnat, di imulatque fugam: Aligeram cui tu pedibus coniunge Lenam,

Qu uolat & ecum uult releuare marem:Ille ed immotus tat humo, retinetque uolantem,

Hc tibi natur mo stret imago uiam.


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D ISCOURSE XVI.It is a thinge known by experience that a Lyon does not o much excell otheranimalls either in bigne e and trength of body as in the generou ne e of hisNature. When he is hunted, being a hamed to run away, he makes his retreat

lei urely if he finds him elf oppre ed by multitudes; when he is out of the view ofhis Pur uers he makes ha te away, thinking the ba ene e of his flight is atoned forby his endeavour to conceal it. He leaps upon the Prey that He follows, but Henever u es that motion in his retreat. His bones are olid, without any vacuity, andare aid to be o hard that Fire will be truck out of two of them as from a Steel andFlint. He fears Fire above all thinges. He eems to derive his Sub tance from theNature of the Sun, for in force and heat he excells other animalls as the Sun doththe Starrs. He always appears with fiery and open Eyes, as the Sun beholds theEarth with an open fiery Eye.

A Lyone e fighting for her whelps fixes her Eyes upon the Ground, lea t he hould be afrighted at the Hunter's pear. When the Lyon perceives the coition ofthe Panther he takes revenge upon the Lyone e for Adultery and inflicts everepuni hment. She therefore wa hes away the cent in a River, or being con cious ofher offence doth follow the Adulterer flying for fear of the Mate.

The Philo ophers therefore ob erving the wonderfull Nature of this Bea t havemade diver e Allegories from Him, which they u e as o many Hieroglyphicallwritings relating to their ecret work. And finding the Lyon to be a firm andcon tant animall void of deceit him elf- and con equently of u picion of others-they re emble the be t part of their Philo ophickal work to o noble a Character.For as he flyes not, o neither does that; as his bones are olid, o that is fixed andknows no Conqueror. But as the Lyone e is not always innocent and free fromAdultery, o neither is Luna or Mercury without ome pot or blemi h, but by theIgnorant is joined ometimes to one ometimes to another ort of Matter, fromwhence an adulterous conjunction of thinges different in Nature may be aid toproceed, rather than a true Matrimony to be contracted. For the products of theLyone e and the Leopard have no comely Manes about their Neck and houlders,which is the ignall Ornament of the Lyon's legitimate off pring. Therefore let thePhilo ophickal Lyone e be joined to her proper Male, and there will be born awhelp that is genuine and generous, which may ea ily be known by his paw. Butthis hould not be any ort of Lyone e, but one that has wings, which may be ableto fight and conte t with the Lyon as relying upon the wiftne e of her plumes that he may not be uppre ed by the violence of his wrath, but may be prepared forflight if at any time he become furious without ju t rea on. For when he is about


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to flye away and He retards her, He is incited with a greater Love towards her,and a firmer friend hip is contracted after uch a Variance.

But you will a k, whoever aw a Lyone e with wings? Or what u e can be made ofher plumes? There is a deep Valley near the Mountein Cythronem in which are een none but flying Lyone es. But to the Top of that Mountein there re orts a Red

Lyon, of the ame kind as that which was lain by Hercules. The Lyon thereforemu t be taken and brought into the valley, and then immediately He will becoupled with the winged Lyone e. She al o will ea ily uffer her elf to beovercome, becau e like will be educed by like. Afterwards they mu t both beadvanced out the aid Valley to the Top of the Mountein, and henceforth they willnever de ert one another but will always remain together in inviolable wedlock.The taking of the e Lyons I confe e is not ea y, but Lyable to many dangers. Butneverthele e it mu t be attempted. A Lyon feeds not with the Lyone e, butwanders apart as Tradition relates; therefore they are to be ought and hunted forin different places. But if the e two Lyons can be taken when they are Whelps,when their Claws fir t appear and they begin to walke which is two months aftertheir Birth, then afterwards they may be joined upon their coming to riper Age,and the whole matter will be effected without any danger. But they are born in theSpring time, which requires the clo e t ob ervation; eeing the Lyons afterwhelping u e cro e and winding wayes lea t their Den hould be found out, greatCare and diligence mu t be u ed to eek them and deprive them of their whelps.


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Emblema XVII .Orbita quadruplex hoc regit ignis opus.

(Four Orbs govern this work of fire.)

EPIGRAMMA XVII.Natur qui imitaris opus, tibi quattuor orbes

Qurendi, interius quos leuis ignis agat.Imus Vulcanum referat, bene monstret at alter

Mercurium, Lunam tertius orbis habet:Quartus, Apollo, tuus, natur auditur & ignis,

Ducat in arte manus illa catena tuas.


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D ISCOURSE XVII.The Philo ophers in many places make mention of four orts of fire nece ary to theNaturall work, namely Lully, the Author of the Scala, Ripley, and many others.The Scala ays that Raymund peaks thus of fires: It is to be remarked that here lye

contrary operations, becau e as the fire contrary to Nature doth di olve the piritof a fixed body into the water of a Cloud, and binds the body of a volatile Spiritinto a congealed Earth, o contrarywi e the fire of Nature congeals the di olved pirit of a fixed body into a Globular Earth, and re olves the body of the volatileSpirit fixed by the fire contrary to Nature, not into the water of a Cloud, but intoPhilo ophickal water.

Ripley peaks more clearly of the e fires.Gate 3, Stanza 15:Foure Fyers there be whych you mu t under tond,

Naturall, Innaturall, again t Nature, al

oeElementall whych doth bren the brond.

The e foure Fyers u e we and no mo:Fyre again t Nature mu t doe thy bodyes wo;That ys o

Maier, Michael - Atalanta Fugiens

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