estate Betwixt Men and Gold is debate Soe fer forthe that unneths there is none This Multiplyeng blyndeth so many one That in good fayth I trowe that it be The greatest cause of such scarsyte These Phylosophers speken so mistily In this Crafte that men cannot come thereby For any witte that men have nowe adayes They may well chattre and jangle as doth the Jayes And in her termes sett her luste and payne But to her purpose shall they never attaine A man may lightly lerne if he have ought To Multiply and bring his good to nought Lo such a Lucre is in this lusty game A mans myrthe it wol turne all to grame And emptien also greate and hevy purses And maken folke to purchase curses Of hem that han alsoe her good ylent O fye for shame they that han be brente Alas cannot they fly the fyres hete Ye that it usen I rede that ye it lete Lest ye lesen al for bet then never is late Never to thryve were to long a date Though that ye prolle aye ye shall it never fynde Ye ben as bold as is Bayarde the blynde That blondereth forth and perill casteth none He is as bolde to renne agenst a stone As for to go besyde in the way So faren ye that multiplyen I say If that your Eyen can not sene aright Loketh that your Mynde lacke not his sight For though ye loke never soe brode and stare Ye shall not wynne a myte in that chaffare But waste all that ye may repe and renne Withdrawe the fyre least it to fast brenne Medleth with that Arte noe more I mene For yf ye done your thrifte is gone full cleane And right as swythe I woll you tellen here What that the Phylosophers sayne in this mattere Lo thus saith Arnolde of the newe toune As his Rosarye maketh mencioune He sayth right thus withouten any lye There may noe man Mercury mortifye But if it be with his brothers knowlegyng Lo how that he which firste sayd this thyng Of Phylosophers father was Hermes He saythe how that the Dragon doutlesse Ne dyeth not but if he be slayne With his brother and this is for to sayne By the Dragon Mercurye and none other He understood that Brimstone was his brother That out of Sol and Luna were ydrawe And therefore sayd he take heed to my sawe Let no man besye him this Arte for to seche But he that the Entention and speche Of Phylosophers understonde can And if he do he is a leud man For this Science and this connyng quod he Is of the Secre of the Secres parde Alsoe there was a Disciple of Plato That on a tyme sayd his Maister to As his booke Senior wol bere wytnesse And this was his demaunde in sothfastnesse Tell me the name of the privy Stone And Plato answered unto him anone Take the Stone that Tytanos men name Which is that quod he Magnatia is the same Said Plato ye Sir and is it thus This is ignotum per ignotius What is Magnatia good Sir I you pray It is a Water that is made I say Of Elements foure quod Plato Tell me the Rocke good Sir quod he tho Of that Water if it be your wyll Nay nay quod Plato certayne that I nyll The Philosophers were y sworne echone That they shulde discover it unto none Ne in no Boke it write in no manere For unto Christ it is so lefe and dere That he wol not that it discovered be But where it liketh to his deite Man to enspyre and eke for to defende Whan that him lyketh lo this is his ende Then conclude I thus sens the God of heaven Ne wyl not that the Phylosophers nemen Howe that a Man shall come unto this Stone I rede as for the best lett itt gone For who so maketh God his adversary As for to werche any thing in contrary Unto his will certes never shall he thrive Though that he Multiplye terme of his live And there a poynte for ended is my Tale God send every true man Bote of his bale THE WORKE OF JOHN DASTIN NOt yet full sleping nor yet full waking But betweene twayne lying in a traunce Halfe closed mine Eyne in my slumbering Like a Mā rapt of all cheer countenance By a manner of weninge Remembrance Towards Aurora ere Pheebus uprose I dreamed one came to me to doe me pleasaunce That brought me a Boke with seaven seales close Following upon I had a wonderfull dreame As semed unto my inward thought The face of him shone as the Sun-beame Which unto me thys hevenly Boke brought Of so greate Riches that yt may not be bought In order set by Dame Philosophie The Capitall and the flowrishing wrought By a wise Prince called Theologie Thys Boke was written with letters aureat Perpetually to be put in memory And to Apollo the Chapters consecrate And to the seaven Gods in the hevenly Consistory And in Mercuries litle Oratory Groweth all the fruite in breefe of thys Science Who can expresse hem and have of hem Victory May clayme the tryumph of his Minerall prudence Of this matter above betweene Starrs seaven By Gods and Goddesses all of one assent Was sent Caducifer to Erth downe form Heaven Saturnus as Bedell by great advisement For to summon a generall Parliament By concord of all both old and younge of age To say in Breife their Councell most prudent For Common proffit to knitt up a Marriage Betweene twaine Borne of the Imperiall blood And descended from Iupiters line Of their Natures most pure and most good Wythowte infeccion their seede is most divine That noe Eclips may let them for to shine So that Mercury doth stint all debate And restraine their Courage by meaknes them incline That of frowardnes they be not indurate For the Sunne that sitteth so heigh a loft His golden dew-droppes shall cleerely raigne downe By the meane of Mercury that moven first made soft Then there schalbe a glad Conjunccion Whan there is made a Seperacion And their two Spermes by Marriage are made one And the said Mercury by devision Hath taken his flight and from both is gone These be the two Mercuries cheife of Philosophers Revived againe with the Spirit of lyfe Richer then Rubies or Pearles shut in Cofeurs Washed and Baptized in waters vegitative The body dissevered with heate nutrative By moderate moysture of Putrefaccion So that there is no excesse nor no strife Of the foure Elements in their Conjunccion The graine of Wheate which on the ground doth fall But it be dead it may not fructifie If it be hole the vertue doth appayle And in no wise it may not Multiplye The increase doth begin whan it doth Putrefie Of good Grafts commeth Fruites of good lastage Of Crabs Verjuyce of Ash is made Lye Of good Grapes followeth a good Vintage Who soweth good Seede repeth good againe Of Cockles sowne there can grow no good Wheate For as such a Ploughman traveleth in vaine To
they called Wooden hence Wodensday now our Wednesday For they believed that this Dame Herthus Intermediated in Humane Affaires and Relieved the Poore whose Image was made Armed standing among Flowers having in its right hand a Staffe and in it a Banner wherein was painted a Rose In the other Hand a Ballance and upon the Head thereof a Cock on the Brest a carved Beare and before the Midle a fixed Scutchion in Chiefe whereof was also a Ballance in Face a Lyon and in Point a Rose And for their God Wooden they esteemed him as their God of Battaile representing him by an Armed Man Insomuch that wee to this very day retaine the Word Wood among us to Signifie Fierce Furious Raging as when one is in a great Rage we usually say he is Wood So the Mercury of the Philosophers is shaddowed under the fierce and terrible Names of Lyon Dragon Poyson c. But this is not All although it be Something And now to come yet neerer to our Selves we must needs say that of Later Times since the Conquest our Nation hath produced such Famous and eminently learned Men as have equall'd if not surpast the greatest Schollers of other Nations and happy were we if now we could but partake of those Legacies they left and which Envy and Ignorance has defrauded us of Howsoever the small remainder which is left we have good reason to prize For out of olde Fields as Men saythe Cometh alle this new Corne fro yeare to yeare And out of olde Bokes in good faythe Cometh alle this Scyence that Meuleare That England hath beene successively enrich'd with such Men our Country men John Leland and I never heard he was Partiall abundantly Testifies who avers That Generally wee have had a great number of excellent Wits and Writers learned with the best as Times served who besides their knowledge in the foure Tongues in which part of them excelled there was no Liberall Science or any Feate concerning Learning in which they have not shewed certainte Arguments of great Felicity and Wit And thus much for the Generality of Learning Now for a Particular account of the Hermetique Science vouchsafe Ingenious Reader to accept the ensuing Collections yet not so as if therein were contained all the Workes of our English Hermetique Philosophers for more are design'd in a Second Part to follow and compleate this a full Theatrum the which GOD allowing me further Time and Tranquility to run through it as I have already this I intend shortly to make ready for the Presse Whereby yet more to manifest what Men we have had no lesse famous for this kinde of Philosophy then for all other Commendable Arts and Sciences To adde any thing to the praise thereof were but to hold a Candle before the Sunne or should I here deliver a full Account of the Marvellous Operations and Effects thereof it would be as far beyond the limits of a Preface as remote from the Beliefe of the generality of the World Nor doe I expect that all my Readers should come with an Engagement to believe what I here write or that there was ever any such thing in rerum natura as what we call A Philosophers Stone nor will I perswade them to it though I must tell them I have not the vanity to publish these Sacred and Serious Mysteries and Arcana as Romances t is enough that I know Incredulity is given to the world as a punishment Yet I le tell them what one of our Ancient Poeticall Philosophers sayes If yow wyl lysten to my Lay Something thereby yow maie finde That may content your minde I will not sweare to make yow give credence For a Philosopher will finde here in Evidence Of the Truth and to Men that be Lay I skill not greatly what they say I must professe I know enough to hold my Tongue but not enough to Speake and the no lesse Reall then Miraculous Fruits I have found in my diligent enquiry into these Arcana lead me on to such degrees of Admiration they command Silence and force me to lose my Tongue Yet as one greatly affecting my Native Countrey and the satisfaction of all Ingenious Artists I have published for their use these ensuing Collected Antiquities and shall here say something more then they speak of He who shall have the happinesse to meet with S. Dunstans Workâ— De Occulta Philosophia a Booke which E. G. A. I. made much use of and which shall chiefly back what here I am about to say may therein reade such Stories as will make him amaz'd to think what stupendious and Immense things are to bee performed by vertue of the Philosophers Mercury of which a Taste onely and no more And first of the Minerall Stone the which is wrought up to the degree onely that hath the power of Transmuting any Imperfect Earthy Matter into its utmost degree of Perfection that is to convert the basest of Metalls into perfect Gold and Silver Flints into all manner of Precious Stones as Rubies Saphirs Emeralds and Diamonds c. and many more Experiments of the like nature But as this is but a part so it is the least share of that Blessing which may be acquired by the Philosophers Materiâ— if the full vertue thereof were knowne Gold I confesse is a delicious Object a goodly Light which we admire and gaze upon ut Pueri in Junonis avem but us to make Gold saith an incomparable Authour is the cheifest intent of the Alchimists so was it scarce any intent of the ancient Philosophers and the lowest use the Adepti made of this Materia For they being lovers of Wisdome more then Worldly Wealth drove at higher and more Excellent Operations And certainly He to whom the whole Course of Nature lyes open rejoyceth not so much that he can make Gold and Silver or the Divellâ— to become Subject to him as that he sees the Heavens open the Angells of God Ascending and Descending and that his own Name is fairely written in the Book of life Next to come to the Vegitable Magicall and Angâ—licall Stones the which have in them no part of the Minerall Stone Quatenus a Stone Fermented with Metalline and Earthy Nature for they are marvelously Subtile and each of them difforing in Operation and Nature because Fitted and Formented so severall 〈◊〉 and Purposes Doubtlesse Adam with the Fathers before the â—lood and since Abraham Moses and Solomon wrought many Wonders by them yet the utmost of their Vertues they never fully understood nor indeed any but GOD the Maker of All things in Heaven and Earth blessed for evermore For by the Vegitable may be perfectly known the Nature of Man Beasts Foules Fishes together with all kinds of Trees Plants Flowers c. and how to produce and make them Grow Flourish beare Fruit how to encrease them in Colour and Smell and when and where we please and all this not onely at an instant Experimenti gratia but Daily Monethly
Worke it selfe it is sheav'd up from a few gleanings in part of our English Fields where though I have bestowed my Industry to pick up here and there what I could finde in my way yet I believe there are many other Pieces of this Nature in private Hands which if any are pleas'd out of the same Ingenious score that I have published these to Communicate to me I shall set thereon a value sutable to the worth of their Favours and let the World know its Obligation to them besides The Style and Language thereof may I confesse to some seeme Irksome and Uncouth and so it is indeed to those that are strangers thereunto but withall very Significant Old words have strong Emphasis others may look upon them as Rubbish or Trifles but they are grosty Mistaken for what some light Braines may esteem as Foolish Toys deeper Judgements can and will value as sound and serious Matter We English have often varied our Fashions such is the levity of our Fancies and therefore if you meet with Spellings different from those in use or uncouth Words as strangely ridiculous as a Maunch Hood Cod-piece or Trunke-hose know as they were the fashionable Attyres so these the usuall Dialects of those Times And Posterity will pay us in our own Coyne should we deride the behaviour and dresse of our Ancestors For we must consider that Languages which are daily used in our Discourse are in as continuall Mutation what Custome brings into habit is best lik'd for the Present whether it be to revive what is lost or introduce something new or to piece up the present with the retained shreds of what preceded But learned Tongues which are contain'd in Books injoy a more immutable Fate because not subject to be washt away with the daily tyde and current of Times They are like the fashion and Drapery wrought on Marble Statutes which must â—ver be retained without alteration And therefore that the Truth and Worth of their Workes might receive no Diminution by my Transcription I purposely retain'd the old Words and manner of their Spelling as I found them in the Originalls except only some palpable Mistakes and Blemishes of former Transcribers which I took upon me to correct and purge as litle more then Litterall Imperfections yet not to leave the Reader unsatisfied have added a Compendious Table for the Interpretation of Old unusuall and obsolete Words and thereby smooth'd as I suppose the Passage for such as have not hitherto bin Conversant in these Ancient Rough hew'd Expressions Wherefore you that love to converse with the Dead or consult with their Monuments draw near perhaps you may find more benefit in them then the Living There you may meet with the Genii of our Hermetique Philosophers learne the Language in which they woo'd and courted Dame Nature and enjoy them more freely and at Greater Command to satisfie your Doubts then when they were in the Flesh For they have Written more then they would Speake and left their Lines so Rich as if they had dissolved Gold in their Inke and clad their Words with the Soveraign Moysture My Annotations are limited within the Bounds of what is Historicall or what occasionally must needs intrench on the Confines of other Arts and all Glosses upon the Philosophicall Worke purposely omitted for the same Reasons that I chose to send forth other Mens Children into the World rather then my own And what presumptuous Mistaks or Errors the Candid Reader shall meet with will I hope be Censured with no lesse Favour and Charity then that whereby they are wont to Judge the Faults of those they esteem their Friends and Well-wishers And now to Conclude May the GOD of NATURE be gratiously pleased out of the Immense Treasury of his Goodness to vouch safe all such whose good Angells direct them to or have alreadly Religiously Engaged them in this Mysterious knowledge the Full and Entire Accomplishments of a True and Pious Philosopher To wit Learning Humility Judgement Courage Hope Patience Discretion Charity Secrecie That so they may enjoy the Fruits of their Labours which otherwise will be but vain and unpleasant and causelâ—sly render the Divine Science and Secret it selfe Contemptible Farewell Industrious Students and let your Goodnesse still invite â—e to accomplish the End I have proposed In doing which I presume you may one Day esteeme me better deserving your Patronage At least-wise your charitable Censure which is all the Recompence Expected or Merited by him who is 26 Jan. 1651 2 Yours Really Devoted E. Ashmole THE ORDINALL OF ALCHIMY VVritten by THOMAS NORTON OF BRISTOLL LIber iste Clericis monstrat scientiam Liber sed Laicis auget inscitiam Liber honores juvans per copiam Et Liber pauperum fugans inopiam Liber fiduciae est veritatis Regibus consilium doctrina Praelatis Et Liber utilis viris beatis Vivere qui cupiunt absque peccatis Liber secretum Liber doni Dei Electis semita vires bonae spei Valens constantibus firmae fidei Ve non credentibus verbis oris mei Quaerunt Alchimiam falsi quoque recti Falsi sine numero sed hi sunt rejecti Et cupiditatibus heu tot sunt infecti Quod inter mille millia vix sunt tres electi Istam ad scientiam multi sunt vocati Nobiles pauperes inscii literati Qui noelunt labores neque tempus pati Ideo non perficient quia sunt ingrati Liber Artis filios docet iste satis Quibus haec percipere deus dedit gratis Versiculis propheticis quatuor his credatis Omnia dat gratis divinae fons pietatis Haec nobilis scientia est tantum illis data Qui diligunt justitiam mente cum beata Dolosis raptoribus sed est denegata Propter peccata tardantur munera grata Saepe Reges Angliae decorasset haec res Firmasi in domino fuisset eorum spes Ille sed qui capiet per hanc rem honores Antiquos mores mutabit in meliores Iste cumque venerit regnum reformabit Virtutibus moribus exemplum dabit Sempiternum Regibus plebs tunc jubilabit Et mutuo se diligens laudes Deo dabit O Rex haec facturus Deum Regem ora Et ejus auxilium pro re hac implora Tunc regi justo fulgenti mente decora Grata supervenient quâ non sperabitur hora. THis Booke the greatest Clearkes may teach But shorteneth the Vulgar-Reach A Booke that gets by Wealth Renowne And Boggles at a thred-bare-Gowne A trusty-Booke of faithfull-Things Instructing Priests Advising Kings A Booke that 's fitted for the sence Of Man who lives without offence A Booke of secrets given by God To men Elect a Beaten-Trod Availing such as constant be In Faith and Hope and trusting Me. Good Men and Bad even Numberlesse The latter but without successe Desire the Art But still Alas They are so given to Avarice That of a Million hardly three Were ere Ordaind for
Alchimy Yet many called every Houre Learn'd and Unlearned Rich and Poore who 'll neither Tend nor take the Paines And therefore Trudge without the Gaines On whom God doth this Art bestow Her Sons may herein fully know By these foure-lines you may believe Heaven doth all things gratis give This Art in such you only finde As Justice love with spotles-Minde But t is deny'd to guilefull Men For sin protracts the gifts of Heaven These had adorn'd the English-Throne If they had trusted God alone For he that hereby Honor winns Shall change the old for better things And when he comes to rule the Land Reforme it with a vertuous hand Leaving examples of good deedes To every King that him succeedes Then shall the People Jubilize In mutuall love and sacrifise Praises to God O King that shall These Workes implore the God of all For timely helpe in this good thing So to a Just and Glorious King Most goodly Graces shall descend When least look'd for To Crowne his End THE PROHEME TO the honor of God One in Persons three This Boke is made that Lay-men shulde it And Clerks alsoe after my decease Whereby all Lay-men which putteth see To seech by Alkimy great ryches to winn them in prease May finde good Counseller they such warke begin And greate deceipts they may hereby eschewe And by this doctrine know fals men from trewe Nathles Clerks greate seacreats heere may leare But all Lay men shall finde heere cause to feare And to beware of falsillusions Which Multiplyers worke with their Conclusions But for that I desire not worldly fame But your good prayers unknowne shall be my name That no man shulde therafter search ne looke But wisely Consider the flowers of this booke Of every estate that is within Mankind If yee make search much people ye may finde Which to Alkimy their Corage doe address Only for appetite of Lucre and Riches As Popes with Cardinalls of Dignity Archbyshopes with Byshopes of high degree With Abbots and Priors of Religion With Friars Heremites and Preests manie one And Kings with Princes and Lords great of blood For every estate desireth after good And Merchaunts also which dwell in the fiere Of brenning Covetise have thereto desire And Common-workemen will not be out-lafte For as well as Lords they love this noble Crafte As Gouldsmithes whome we shulde lest repreve For sights in their Craft meveth them to beleeve But wonder it is that Wevers deale with such warks Free Masons and Tanners with poore Parish Clerks Tailors and Glasters woll not thereof cease And eke sely Tinkers will put them in the prease With greate presumption but yet some collour there was For all such Men as give Tincture to Glasse But many Artificers have byn over-swifte With hasty Credence to fume away their thrifte And albeit that losses made them to smarte Yet ever in hope continued their hearte Trusting some tyme to speede right well Of many such truly I can tell Which in such hope continued all their lyfe Whereby they were pore and made to unthrife It had byne good for them to have left off In season for noughte they founde but a scoffe For trewly he that is not a greate Clerke Is nice and lewde to medle with this warke Ye may trust me well it is no small inginn To know all secreats pertaining to the Myne For it is most profound Philosophie The subtill science of holy Alkimy Of which Science here I intend to write Howbeit I may not curiously indite For he that shulde all a common people teache He must for them use plaine and common speache Though that I write in plaine and hoemely wise No good Man then shulde such writenge dispise All Masters that write of this Soleme werke They made their Bokes to many Men full derke In Poyses Parables and in Metaphors alsoe Which to Shollers causeth peine and woe For in their practise whan they would it assay They leese their Costs as men see aldaye Hermes Rasis Geber and Avicen Merlin Hortolan Democrit and Morien Bacon and Raimond with others many moe Wrote under covert and Aristotle alsoe For what hereof they wrote with their penn Their Cloudy Clauses dulled many Men Fro Lay-men Fro Clearks and so fro every Man They hid this Art that no Man finde it cann By their bokes do they shew Reasons faire Whereby much people are brought into dispaire Yet Anaxagoras wrote plainest of them all In his boke of Conversions naturall Of the old Fathers that ever I founde He most disclosed of this Science the grownde Whereof Aristotle had greate envy And him rebuked unrightfully In many places as I can well report Intending that men to him shulde not resort For he was large of his cunning and love God have his soule in blisse with him above And suche as sowed envious seede God forgive them their misdeede As the Mounke which a Boke did write Of a thousand receipts in mallice for despight Which be coppied in many a place Whereby hath beene made pale many a Face And many Gownds have byne made bare of hewe And men made fals which before tyme were trewe Wherefore my Pitty doth me constreyne To shew the trewth in fewe words and plaine Soe that you may fro false doctrine flee If ye give Credence to this boke and mee Avoide your Bokes written of Receipts For all such Receipts are full of Deceipts Trust not such Receipts and lerne well this Clause Nothing is wrought but by his proper Cause Wherefore that Practise falleth farr behinde Wher Knowledge of the cause is not in minde Therefore remember ever more wisely That you woorke nothing but you knowe howe and whie Alsoe he that would in this Arte proceede To eschewe falshood he hath greate need For trewth is good which this Arte must guide Wherefore to falshood ye may never slide But stedfastly your minde must be set Fals Colloured Metall never to Counterfett As thei that seeke Blanchers or Citrinacions Which woll not abide all Examinacions Wherewith fals Plate they make as they cann Or Money to beguile some good trew Mann But God hath made that of this blessed Arte All that be fals shall have thereof noe parte He must have Grace that would for this Arte sue Therefore of right him needeth to be trew Also he may not be trobled in his Minde With outward charges which this Arte would finde And he that would have his intent He must have Riches sufficient In many wayes he maie not looke But only pursue the order of this Boke Named of Alkimy the Ordinall The Crede mihi the Standard perpetuall For like as the Ordinall to Preesti sotteth out The service of the dayes as they goe aboute Soe of all the Bokes unordered in Alkimy The effect is here set out Orderly Therefore this Boke to an Alchimister wise Is a Boke of incomparable price Whose trewth shall never be defiled Though it appeare in homely wise compiled And as I had this Arte
Silver perfect through fine Now am I perfect Goulde excellent better then the prime 6. I was a Pipe of Leade well nigh two hundred yeare And now to all men good Silver I appeare 7. The seventh said I Leade am Gould made for a Maistrie But trewlie my fellowes are nerer thereto then I. This Science beareth her name of a King Called Alchimus without leasing A glorious Prince of most noble minde His noble vertues holpe him this arte to finde He searched Nature he was nobil Clerke He left Extorcion than sought and found this werke King Hermes alsoe he did the same Being a Clerke of Excellent fame In his Quadripartite made of Astrologie Of Physique and of this Arte of Alkimy And also of Magique naturall As of four Sciences in nature passing all And there he said that blessed is hee That knoweth things truly as thei bee And blessed is he that maketh due proofe For that is roote of cunning and roofe For by opinion is many a Man Deceived which hereof litle cann An old Proverbe In a Bushell of weeninge Is not found one handfull of Cunninge With due proofe and with discreet assaye Wise men may leare new things every day By Cunninge Men know themselves and every thinge Man is but a Beast and worse without Cunninge But litle favour hath every Man To Science whereof he litle can And litle Cunning maketh men proud and wilde Sufficient Cunning maketh men full milde Nobil men now in manner have despighte Of them that have to Cunning appetite But noble Kings in auncient dayes Ordained as olde Auctors saies That the seven Sciences to learne and can Shulde none but only a Noble man And at the least he shulde be so free That he mought Studie with libertie Wherefore old Sages did them call The seaven Sciences liberall For he that would leare them perfectly and well In cleere liberty he must dwell From worldly warkes he must withdrawe That would lerne but Mans Lawe Much more the Worlde he must forsake Which many Sciences woulde overtake And for that cause Men may well see Why Cunninge men dispised be Yet nobil Memory shall never cease Of him which Cunninge doth increase Hee which loveth Cunning Justice and Grace Is set aside in many a place But whoe to Courte bringeth in with guile Profit or present he is the Man that while Wherefore this Science and many Graces moe Be lost and be departed all ye fro And furthermore remember what I say Sinn caleth fast for his ending day Covetise and Cunninge have discorde by kinde Who lucre coveteth this Science shall not finde But he that loveth Science for her owne kinde He may purchase both for his blessed minde Of this Chapter more I need not teach For here appeareth what men may it reach That is to remember only the trewe And he that is constant in minde to pursue And is not Ambitious to borrow hath no neede And can be Patient not hasty for to speede And that in God he set fully his trust And that in Cunning be fixed all his lust And with all this he leade a rightfull lyfe Falshoode subduinge support no sinfull strife Such Men be apt this Science to attaine The Chapter following is of Joy and paine CHAP. II. NORmandy nurished a Monke of late Which deceived Men of every state But before that done he in his fantazie Weened he had caught this Art fully Such rejoycing thereof he had That he began to dote and to be madde Of whose Joyes albeit they were smalle For an ensample I write this Tale. This Monke had walked about in Fraunce Raunging Apostata in his plesaunce And after he came into this lond Willing Men should understonde How that of Alkimy he had the grounde By a Boke of Receipts which he had founde In surety thereof he set all his minde Some nobil Acte to leave behinde Whereby his name should be immortall And his greate Fame in laude perpetuall And ofte he mused where to beginne To spend the riches that he shulde winn And ever he thought loe this I cann Where mought I finde some trusty Man Which would accorde now with my will And help my purpose to fulfill Then would I make upon the plaine Of Salisbury glorious to be saine Fifteen Abbies in a little while One Abbie in the end of every mile Hereupon this Monke to me resorted Of trust he said which men of me reported His foresaid mind he did to me tell And prayd me to keep his great Councell I said before an Image of Saint Jame That I would never disclose his name Yet I may write without all vice Of his desires that were so nice When he had discovered his great Cunning He said that he faughted nothing But a good meane for his solace To labour to the Kings good grace To get lycence of his estate And of his Lords mediate To purchase lond for the Abbies aforesaid For which all coste should be well paied But yet he had great doubt and feare How to purchase of whom and where When I had heard of this greate werke I searched to wit what manner of Clerke He was and what he knew of Schoole And therein he was but a Foole. Yet I suffered and held me still More to lerne of his lewd Will Then said I it were a lewd thinge Such matter to shew unto the Kinge But if the proofe were reasonable He would thinke it a foolish Fable The Monke saide how that he had in fire A thing which shulde fulfill his desire Whereof the trewth within forty dayes I shulde well know by trew assaies Then I said I would no more that tyde But forty dayes I said I would abide When forty dayes were gone and past The Monkes Crafte was cleane overcast Then all his Abbies and all his thought Was turned to a thing of nought And as he came he went full lewde Departing in a minde full shrewd For soone after within a little while Many trewe men he did beguile And afterwards went into Fraunce Loe this was a pittifull chance That fifteene Abbies of Religion Shulde in this wise fall to confusion Great wonder was what thing he meant And why he set all his intent Abbies to build then was it wonder Why nould he live Obedient under But be Apostata and range about This blessed Science to finde out But as I wrote above in this Boke Let no Deceiver after this Science looke AN other Ensample is good to tell Of one that trusted to doe as well As Raymond Lully or Bacon the Frier Wherefore he named himselfe saunce peere He was Parson of a little Town Not farr from the Citty of London Which was taken for halfe a Leach But little cunning had he to Preach He weened him sure this Arte to finde His Name he would have ever in minde By meanes of a Bridge imagined in dorage To be made over Thames for light passage Whereof shulde grow a Common ease All the Countrey thereabout to please
Yet though he might that warke fulfill It might in no wise suffice his will Wherefore he would set up in hight That Bridge for a wonderfull sight With Pinacles guilt shining as goulde A glorious thing for men to beholde Then he remembred of the newe How greater fame shulde him pursue If he mought make that Bridge so bright That it mought shine also by Nighte And so continue and not breake Than all the Londe of him would speake But in his minde ran many a doubt How he might bring that warke about He trowed that Lampes with lights of fire Shulde well performe his nice desire Wherefore Lampes for that intent He would ordaine sufficient But then he fell in full great dreade How after the time that he were deade That light to find Men would refuse And chaunge the Rent to some other use Then thoughte he well is him that wiste In whom he mought set all his trust At the laste he thought to make the light For that Bridge to shine by nighte With Carbuncle Stones to Make men wonder With duble reflexion above and under Then new thoughts troubled his Minde Carbuncle Stones how he mought find And where to find wise men and trewe Which would for his intent pursue In seeking all the Worlde about Plenty of Carbuncles to find out For this he tooke soe micle thought That his fatt flesh wasted nigh to nought And where he trusted without despaire Of this Science to have been heire When the yeare was fully come and goe His Crafte was lost and thrift also For when that he tooke up his Glasse There was no matter for Gold ne Brasse Then he was angry and well neere wood For he had wasted away his good In this wise ended all his disporte What should I more of him report But that Lay-men and Clerks in Schooles Maie know the dotage of theis two fooles Remember this example where ye goe For in such Mindes be trewlie many moe Theie lewdly beleeve every Conclusion Be it never so false an elusion If it in boke written they may finde Thei weene it trewe thei be so lewde of minde Such lewde and hasty confidence Causeth poverty and lewde expence Of trust of this Arte riseth Joyes nice For lewde hope is fooles Paradice The trewe tought Children made this confession Lord without thee all is digression For as thou arte of our Science begininge Soe without thee may be noe good endinge Confiteor Astissimè nullus ista rapit Licet prius didicit absque te nilsapit 〈◊〉 tanta stat gratia te Deumsemper apud Perficere sicut capere nam finis es et caput AS of the Joyes of this Arte ye have seene Soe shall ye now heare some deale of the Paine Albeit contrary to the appetite Of them that hath to this Science delight The first Paine is to remember in minde How many seeken and how few doe finde And yet noe Man may this Science wynn But it be tought him before that he beginn He is well lerned and of full cleere witt Which by teaching can surely learne it Of many diversities he must be sure Which secreats woulde know of working Nature Yet teaching maie not surely availe But that sometime shall happ a man to faile As all that be now dead and gone Failed before theie found our Stone One tyme or other first tyme or laste All Men failed till trew Practise were paste No Man sooner faileth in heate and colde Then doth the Master which hasty is and boulde For noe Man sooner maie our Worke spill Then he that is presuminge his purpose to fulfill But he that shall trewlie doe the deede He must use providence and ever worke with dreade For of all paines the most grevious paine Is for one faile to beginn all againe Every man shall greate Paine have When he shall first this Arte covet and crave He shall oft tymes Chaunge his desire With new tydings which he shall heare His Councell shall oftentimes him beguile For that season he dreadeth noe subtile wile And oftentymes his minde to and fro With new Oppinions he shall chaunge in woe And soe long tyme continue in Phantasie A greate adventure for him to come thereby Soe of this Arte be ye never so faine Yet he must taste of manie a bitter paine OF Paines yet I must shewe more Against your appetite though it be full sore It is greate Paine as all wise-men gesse To witt where a trewe Master is And if ye finde him it will be Paine Of his trewe love to be certeyne Forasmuch as noe Man maie teach but one Of the making of our delicious stone And albeit yee finde him that will ye teach Yet much trouble and paines may ye reach For if your minde be verteously set Then the Devil will labour you to lett In three wises to let he woll awaite With Haste with Despaire and with Deceipte For dreade of Vertue which ye maie doe When ye shulde attaine this grace unto The first perill aforesaide is of Haste Which causeth most destruction and waste All Auctors writing of this Arte Saye haste is of the Devils parte The little Boke writ of the Philosophers feast Saith omnis festinatio ex parts diaboli est Wherefore that Man shall soonest speede Which with greate Leasure wisely woll proceede Upon assay ye shall trewly knowe That who most hasteth he trewly shal be slowe For he with haste shall bringe his warke arreare Sometymes a Moneth and sometymes a whole Yeare And in this Arte it shall ever be soe That a hasty Man shall never faile of woe Alsoe of haste ye may trewly be sure That she leaveth nothing cleane and pure The Devil hath none so subtill wile As with hastinesse you to beguile Therefore oft tymes he will assault Your minde with haste to make default He shall finde grace in Towne and Land Which can hastines all tymes withstand I say all tymes for in one pointe of tyme Haste may destroy all your engine Therefore all haste eschewe and feare As if that she a Devil were My witt trewly cannot suffice Haste sufficiently for to despise Many Men have byne cast in greate care Because thei would not of haste beware But ever call upon to see an end Which is temptation of the Fende Noe more of haste at this present But blessed be ever the Patient WHen with Haste the Feind hath noe availe Then with Despaire your mind he will assaile And oft present this Sentence to your minde How many seeken and how few maie finde Of wiser Men then ever were yee What suretie than to you maie be He woll move ye to doubt also Whether your Teacher had it or noe And also how it mought so fall That part he tought you but not all Such uncertainety he woll cast out To set your minde with greevous doubt And soe your Paines he woll repaire With wann hope and with much Despaire Against this assault is no defence But only the vertue of
workes Daulton kept dilligently Many yeares till that Channon must dye And for his service he said in that space The Cannon gave him all that thereof was The Kinge gave to Daulton Marks foure With liberty to goe where he would that houre Then was the Kinge in his herte sore That he had not knowne Daulton before And ever it happneth without leasinge That Tyrants be full nigh to a Kinge For Herberte lay for Daulton in waight And brought him to Stepney with deceipte The servaunts of Herbert the mony tooke away Which the King gave to Daulton that day And after Herbert carried Daulton farr From thence to the Casle of Gloucester There was Daulton prisner full longe Herbert to Daulton did mickle wronge Fro thence he had him to prison fast To Troy till foure yeares were nigh past And after he brought him out to dye Daulton to death obeyed lowly And said Lord Jesue blessed thou be Me thinks I have byne too longe from thee A Science thou gavest me with full greate charge Which I have kept without outrage I founde noe man yet apt thereto To be myne Heyer when I am goe Wherefore sweete Lord now I am faine To resigne this thy guift to thee againe Then Daulton made devout prayers and still Withsmiling cheere he said now doe your wil. When Herbert sawe him so glad to dye Then ran water from Herberts Eye For Prison ne Death could him not availe To winn this Arte his Crafte did him faile Now let him goe said Herbert than For he shall never hurt ne profett man But when Daulton from the block should rise He looked forth in full heavie wise And so departed with full heavie cheere It was not his will to live one yeare This was his Paine as I you tell By men that had no dread of Hell Herbert dyed soone after in his bed And Deluis at Teuxbury lost his head This wise greate Paine as you may see Followeth this Arte in every degree Heere lost the King all his intent For Herbert was proude and violent Soe nobil a man to opprese with pride And like a Fellone him leade and guide Where that by goodnesse patience and grace There might have growen full great solace As well to the King ye may understonde As for th'ease of Commons of this londe But wonder not that grace doe not fall For sinn reygneth in this londe over all Loe here was grace full ready at honde To have ceased Taxes and Tallages of this londe Whereby much Love and Grace would have be Betweene Knight-hood Priest-hoode and Comminaltie Here ye maie see how vicious violence Maie not purchase the vertue of sapience For vice and vertue be things contrary Therefore the vicious maie not come thereby If Vicious men mought lerne this Science They would therewith doe wondrous violence And with Ambitiousnesse grow evermore Worse of Conditions then they were before Now is this Chapter of Joy and Paine gone The Chapter following sheweth Matters of our Stone CHAP. III. TONsile was a labourer in the fire Threescore years and more to win his defire Brian was another with Holton in the Weste Thes were ever busie could practice with the best But yet this Science thei never founde For thei knew not the Matters ne the Grounde But rumbled foorth and evermore they sought They spent their lyfe and their goods to nought Much losse much cost much anguish they bought Amonge their Receipts which they had wrought Then made Tonsile to me his greate complainte With weeping Teares he said his heart was fainte For he had spended all his lusty dayes In fals Receipts and in such lewde assayes Of Herbes Gommes of Rootes and of Grasse Many kindes by him assayed was As Crowefoote Celondine and Mizerion Vervaine Lunara and Martagon In Antimony Arsenick Honey Wax and Wine In Haire in Eggs in Merds and Urine In Calx vive Sandifer and Vitriall In Markasits Tutits and every Minerall In Malgams in Blanchers and Citrinacions All fell to nought in his opperacions For he considered not how he did rage When to Gods proportions he layde surcharge After all this he thought nothing so good To worke upon as shulde be mans Blode Till that I said how blode would waste and fume In mighty fire and utterly consume For Christ his love then saide he teach me Whereof the substance of our Stone should be Tonsile said I what shulde it you avayle Such thing to know your lims doth you faile For very Age therefore cease your lay And love your Beades it is high time to Praye For if you knew the Materialls of our Stone Ere you could make it your dayes would begone Thereof no charge good Master said he It were sufficient Comfort now to me To know the trewe Materialls without wronge Of that Stone which I have sought soe longe Tonsile said I It is noe litle thinge Whereof you would have trewe tydinge For many Auctors write of this doubte But none of them sheweth it Cleerly oute For Auctors which of this Arte doe write Besought God as witnesseth Democrite That he unpained would fro this Worlde take Their Soules whom he tought Bokes thereof to make For greatly doubted evermore all suche That of this Scyence they may write too muche Every each of them tought but one pointe or twayne Whereby his fellowes were made certayne How that he was to them a Brother For every of them understoode each other Alsoe they wrote not every man to Teache But to shew themselves by a secret Speache Trust not therefore to reading of one Boke But in many Auctors works ye may looke Liber librum apperit saith Arnold the greate Clerke Anaxagoras said the same for his werke Who that slothfull is in many bokes to see Such one in Practice prompt shall never be But Tonsile for almes I will make no store Plainly to disclose it that never was done before By way of answer for your recreation If ye cann wisely make Interrogation Good Master saide he then teach me trewly Whether the matters be Sol or Mercury Or whether of Sol or Lune it maie be Or whether I shall take them all three Or Sol by it selfe or Mercury alone Or Sulpher with them for matters of our Stone Or whether I shall sal Almoniack take Or Minerall meanes our Stone thereof to make Here be many questions Tonsile said I Wisely remembred and full craftily You name it not yet but onely in generall For you must take some deale of theis things all Of these and of other you must take a parte One time or other to minister this Arte Many things helpeth to apt our Stone But two be Materialls yet our Stone is one Betweene which two is such diversity As betweene the Mother and the Childe may be An other diversity betweene them find ye shall Such as is found betweene Male and Female Theis two kindes shall doe all your service As for the White worke if you can be wise One of thes kindes a
Magnus In his Boke De Mineralibus Hereof a Secreate disclosed was By my good Master to more and lesse Saying Si Deus non dedisset nobis vas Nihil dedisset and that is Glasse Instruments needefull there be more As be Furnaces ordeyned therefore Olde Men imagined for this Arte A speciall Furnace for everie parte Everie-each divising after his owne thought But manie Furnaces of them be naught Some were too broade and some too longe Manie of them did Nature wronge Therefore some Furnaces maie be well used But manie of them must be refused For theie were made but by advice Of them which seemed and were not wise The most Commendable Fashion of them all In this Boke portraied finde ye shall One Furnace by me is found of newe Such as Olde Men never knewe Whose secreate Power with study sought And with greate Cost was dearely bought In him wil be at one tyme wrought Threescore Warkes and cost right nought More than it shulde for one Warke or twaine Therefore profitable it is certaine Threescore degrees divers ye maie gett For threescore warkes and everie-ech of divers Heate Within that Furnace to serve your desire And all thei served with one litle Fier Which of a Foote square onlie shal be Yet everie-ech of the threescore as greate space as he Manie purposes ye maie thereby fulfill For here you shall have Heate after your will Of this Instrument all Men maie not be sure Therefore it is not formed in Picture Another Furnace woll serve threescore Glasses trewly and yet farr more Everie-ech of them standing in like Heate As by the Picture Doctrine ye maie gett Another Furnace for this operation By me was found by Imagination Notably serving for Seperation Of dividents and for Altification And for Dis-junction called Division And for Correction called Ablution Yt woll for some things serve Desiccation Yt serveth full well for Preparation Soe for six things it serveth well And yet for all at once as I can tell This is a new thinge which shall not be Set out in Picture for all men to see Another Furnace in Picture be shall More full of perills than other Furnaces all Made for Magnetia whereof bould Men had doubte To tuch with hands a poore lynine Cloute Which in the midle thereof unbrenned stoode For feare of flames brenning fierce and woode Which suttill Furnace I devised alsoe In which I found manie wonders moe Than is convenient at this season to tell Whose graduation is doubtfull and casuell Wherein Magnetia matter of greate coste Must quickly be served or suddainly be loste Of whose graduation if you woll not misse Consider your Stoples and lerne well this The more is the Stople the lesse is the Heate By manifould Stoples Degrees ye maie gett Whoe knoweth the power the working and kinde Of everie Furnace he maie well trewth finde And he which thereof dwelleth in Ignorance All his Warke faleth upon Chaunce Noe man is sure to have his intent Without full concord of Arte with Instrument Manie more Instruments occupied ye shall se Than in this Chapter now rehearsed be Which ye must ordeyne by good or sad advice And prove them before hand oft if ye be wise THe fourth Concord is full notable Betweene this Arte and Places Convenable Some Places must needes be evermore dry Close from Aier no waies Windy Some must be darke and dimme of sight In which Sun-beames none maie light But for some Places the trewth so is Thei cannot have too much brightnes Some Places must needes be Moist and Cold For some workes as Auctors toulde But in our Warkes in everie place Winde will hurt in everie Case Therefore for everie Warke in season Ye must ordaine Places by reason Philosophers said by their engine How it shulde be wrought within locks Nyne Astrologers said it was a grace To finde a Chosen Working Place For manie things woll wonderous doe In some Places and elsewhere not soe But contrarie wonders be of one thinge In contrarie Countries wrought without leasing Whereof none other cause maie appeare But only contrarie places of the Sphere Whereto Places contrarie of the grounde To them Concordaunt and Obedient be found Hereof great Evidence and wittnes full cleere In the Magnets Stone openly doth appeare Whose North pointe draweth toward his Countrie Which under the Southe starr driveth Needles awaye Wherefore wise Men which for this Arte sought Found some Places concordant some Places nought Trewly such Places where Lechery is used Must for this Arte be utterly refused THe fift Concord is knowne well of Clerks Betweene the Sphere of Heaven and our Suttill Werks Nothing in Erth hath more Simplicitie Than th' elements of our Stone woll be Wherefore thei being in warke of Generation Have most Obedience to Constellation Whereof Concord most kindly and convenient Is a direct and firie Ascendent Being signe common for this Operation For the multitude of their Iteration Fortune your Ascendent with his Lord also Keeping th' aspect of Shrewes them fro And if thei must let or needely infect Cause them to looke with a Trine aspect For the White warke make fortunate the Moone For the Lord of the Fourth house likewise be it done For that is Thesaurum absconditum of olde Cleâ—ks Soe of the Sixt house for Servants of the Werks Save all them well from greate impediments As it is in Picture or like the same intents Unlesse then your Nativity pretend infection In contrariety to this Election The vertue of the Mover of the Orbe is formall The vertue of the Eight Sphere is here Instrumentall With her Signes and Figures and parts aspectuall The Planets vertue is proper and speciall The vertue of the Elements is here materiall The vertue infused resulteth of them all The first is like to a workmans Minde The second like his Hand ye shall finde The third is like a good Instrument The remnant like a Thing wrought to your intent Make all the Premises with other well accord Then shall your merrits make you a greate Lord. In this wise the Elixir of whom ye make mention Is ingendered a thing of a second intention Trust not in Geomantie that superstitious Arte For God made Reason which there is set aparte Trust not to all Astrologers I saie whie For that Arte is as secreat as Alkimy That other is disproved and plainely forbod By holy Saincts of the Church of God Trust not ne love not Negromancy For it is a property of the Devill to lye Trust to this Doctrine set herein your desires And now lerne the Regiment of your Fiers CHAP. VII Aparfet Master ye maie him call trowe Which knoweth his Heates high and lowe Nothing maie let more your desires Than ignorance of Heates of your Fiers Of manie Auctors written ye maie see Totum consistit in ignis regimine Wherefore in all Chapters you must so proceed That Heate worke not more ne lesse than it need Wherein manie of Gebars Cookes Deceived were though thei be wise
thys one thyng therfore putrefye Wash hym wyth hys owne broth tyll whyte he becoom Then Ferment hym wyttely nowe here ys all and soom Now to God Almyghty I thee Recommend Whych graunte the by Grace to knowe thys one thing For now ys thys Treatys brought to an end And God of hys Mercy to hys blysse us bryng Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus where Angells do syng Praysyng without ceasynge hys gloriose Magestye Whych he in hys Kyngdome graunte us for to see AN. DOM. 1471. Explicit Alchimiae Tractatus Philosophiae Cujus Rypla George Canonicus Auctor erat Mille quadringentis septuaginta unoque Annis qui scriptus compositusque fuit Auctori lector praebe praece quaeso Iuvamen Illi purgamen leve post vitam ut sit Amen Englished Thus heere the Tract of Alchimy doth end Whych Tract was by George Ripley Chanon pen'd It was Composed Writt and Sign'd his owne In Anno twice Seav'n hundred seav'nty one Reader Assist him make it thy desire That after Lyfe he may have gentle Fire Amen LIBER PATRIS SAPIENTIAE THow that in thys Boke beginneth to rede Keepe well thys Councell the better schalt thow spede Be thow in a place secret by thy selfe alone That noe man see or here what thow schalt say or done Yet ere thow begyn to rede much take thow good hede Wyth whom thow kepest company I councell thee indede Trust not thy freind too much wheresoere thow goe For he that thow trustest best sometyme may be thye Foe And take hede to the words of the Fader of Wysdom How he techeth hys Sonne how he schould done To kepe hys presepts of bodely governance And wyth hys Conyng he wyll the gretly advance And yf thow wylt not to hys wordys take hede Thow schalt stand here oft in gret feare and dred For he that hath a fore wytt he nedes not do amysse And he that doth Folly the Folly schalbe hys Now my dere Sonne be thow not a know To Lerned nor to Leud to Hygh nor to Low Neyther to Young nor Old Rych nor Poore Unto them thow tech nothyng my Lore Also to scuche men that hold themselves wyse And so forth to the foolys that glyde on the Ice They weene in grete Bokes schould be the Art O◠the Science of Alchemy but they be not worth a fart Therefor my Sonn to thee thys Science I may well teach And yf thow wylt upon thy enemy be wreach Or to purchase or build any good thyng It schalbe to thy gret furtheryng Thys worthy Scyence of Alchemy if thow wylt it leare A lyttle mony out of thy purse thow must forbeare To buy therewyth Flos Florum it is most worthiest And to build well her Cabyn and her Nest And if thow put out mony for any other thing It is to thy losse and to thy great hindring Except yt be for thy workes naturall Foode Which is had out of Stone Ayre and Wood. And if thow have all thyngs wythin the growing Then thow needest not to buy any manner of thing That schould be to thys Science belonging But beware of thy selfe for feare of hanging For then thow and thys Scyence were for ever lost If thow make thereof any manner of boast To any Man or Woman Old or Young Beware of thy selfe for feare of discovering For if thow make any man privie Of thy Councell Rich or Needy Thow must so beware Sleeping or Waking For once ymagining of Money making For yf God sends thee grace and understanding Wyth thys Scyence thow mayst have good lyving But beware of speach of Women liberall And of the voice and sight of Children generall Sonn in thyne owne howse thow maist well gett A good Morsell of meat thy mouth to sweet Both Pheasant Partridge Plover and Leveret Though thow cry yt not owte in the common Market Therefore kepe close of thy Tongue and of thy Hand From the Officers and Governours of the Land And from other men that they of thy Craft nothing know For in wytnes thereof they wyll thee hang and draw And thereof the People will the at Sessions indight And great Treason against the they wyll write Wythowt that the Kings grace be to thee more Thow schalt for ever in thys world be forlore Alsoe wythowt thow be sure of another thyng To purchase the Lycence of thy King For all manner of doubts thee schall betide The better thow maiste Worke and both goe and ride Also another thing I schall thee lere The poore People take thow nothing deare But ever serve thy God alway at the begynnyng And among the poore People the better schalbe thy livyng Now my Chylde to my precepts looke thow take hede Whatsoever fall after the better schall thow spede Better it ys to have a thyng then for it to wish For when thow feelst a Sore t is hard for thee to get a Leech Now my deare Son to the I wyll declare More of thys Warke which schalbe thy welfaire If thow canst consider all my sayings For therewyth thow mayest finde a full precious thing And Son though thys Writing be made in Ryme Yet take thow thereat noe greate disdaine Till thow hast proved my words in deede and in thought I watt it well it schalbe set at nought Therefor of all Bodyes and Spyrits more or lesse Mercury is called Flos Florum and worthiest Pryncesse For her Birth and marvelous dealing Sche ys most worthiest to have byne King For sche ys Erth and Water most heviest And sche will conjoyne wyth Fire and Aire most lyghtest And so forth wyth her love sche will run and flee For sche delighteth noe other game or glee Some say that of Sulphur and Mercury all Bodyes minerall are made Ingendered in the Erth with divers Colours cladd By the vertue of Decoccion before Preperacion To the lykenes of every body Mynerall in ther fashion I will first begin wyth Saturne after other mens sayings How he ys ingendered in the Erth wyth unclene Mercury flying And of Mercury he ys most heviest wyth black Sulphury Erth mixed Save he ys soft of fusion and hys Sulphur nothing fixed Iupiter is a whyte Body made of pure Mercury outward And of clere Sulphur somewhat Erthly and white inward He ys in kynde softest and well in his fixation For he is almost fixt but he lacketh Decoction Mars ys a white Body most of unclene ☿ in the Erth y'made And he ys hardest of fusion with Sulphur Erthly cladd To blacknes and rednes he will soonest consume By heate or by corrosive when the Spirit beginneth to fume Sol is the purest somwhat red is made of clene ☿ Sulphur fixed Ingendered with clere red Sulphur in the Erth well mixed And therefor he ys without defalt and lacketh no degree For he ys almost hardest of Fusion and heviest in ponderossity Venus ys a Body more red of pure ☿ made in hys substance Most of red Sulphur and greene and therein is greate variance In the Erth ingendered with
say it is worth his weight in Gold Son give theis two one penny in their Journey to drinke And thou shalt speede the better truly as I thinke The third Chapter NOw have I good will largely to write Although I can but slenderly indite But whether I can or cannot indeede With the Chapter of Fire I will proceede Which if thou knowest not how to governe and keepe Thou wert as good go to bed and sleepe As to be combred therewith about And therefore I put thee most certainely out of doubt For when I studied this Scyence as thou doest now I fell to practise by God I vowe I was never so troubled in all my lyfe beforne As intending to my Fire both Midday Eve and Morne And all to kepe it at an even stay It hath wrought me woe moe then I will say Yet one thing of truth I will thee tell What greate mishap unto my Worke befell It was upon a Newyeares day at Noone My Tabernacle caught fire it was soone done For within an houre it was right well And streight of fire I had a smell I ran up to my worke right And when I cam it was on a fire light Then was I in such feare that I began to stagger As if I had byne wounded to the heart with a dagger And can you blame me no I think not much For if I had beene a man any thing rich I had rather have given 100 Markes to the Poore Rather then that hap should have chanced that houre For I was well onward of my Work truly God save my Masters lyfe for when he thought to dye He gave me his worke and made me his Heire Wherefore alwaies he shall have my prayer I obteyned his grace the date herefro not to varie In the first and second yeare of King Phillip Queene Mary Yet lewdly I lost it as I have you tould And so I began the new and forgot the old Yet many a night after I could not sleepe in Bed For ever that mischance troubled my head And feare thereof I would not abide againe No though I shoulde reape a double gaine Wherefore my charge rose to a greater summe As in hyring of a good stoute Groome Which might abide to watch and give attendance Yet often tymes he did me displeasaunce And would sleepe so long till the Fire went out Then would the Knave that whorson Lout Cast in Tallow to make the fire burne quicker Which when I knew made me more sicker And thus was I cumbred with a drunken sott That with his hasty fire made my Worke too hott And with his sloth againe he set my worke behinde For remedy thereof to quiet my Minde I thrust him out of dores and tooke my selfe the paine Although it be troublesome it is the more certaine For servants doe not passe how our workes doe frame But have more delight to play and to game A good servant saith Solomon let him be unto thee As thyne owne heart in each degree For it is precious a faithfull servant to finde Esteeme him above treasure if he be to thy minde Not wretchles but sober wise and quiet Such a one were even for my dyet Thus having warn'd thee of an ill servant sufficient But a good servant is for our intent The fourth Chapter WHen my Man was gone I began it anewe And old troubles then in my minde did renew As to break sleepe oftentimes in the night For feare that my Worke went not aright And oftentimes I was in greate doubt Least that in the night my fire should go out Or that it should give to much heate The pensivenes thereof made me to breake sleepe And also in the day least it should miscary It hath made my minde oftentimes to varie Wherefore if thou wilt follow my reade See thy fire safe when thou goest to Bed At Midnight also when thou dost arise And in so doing I judge thee to be wise Beware that thy Fire do no man harme For thou knowest many a mans House and Barne Have byne set on fire by mischance And specially when a Foole hath the governance Our Fire is chargeable and will amount Above 3. pound a weeke who hath list to cast account Which is chargeable to many a poore man And specially to me as I tell can And Geber bids poore men be content Haec Scientia pauperi agento non convenit Sed potius est illis inimica and bids them beware Because their mony they may not well spare For thou must have Fires more then one or two What they he George Ripley will thee shew Above a hundred pounds truly did I spend Only in fire ere 9. moneths came to an end But indeede I begun when all things were deare Both Tallow Candle Wood Coale and Fire Which charges to beare sometymes I have sold Now a Jewell and then a ring of Gold And when I was within a Moneths reckoning Warrs were proclaimed against the French King Then a Gentleman that ought me greate mallice Caused me to be prest to goe serve at Callys When I saw there was none other boote But that I must goe spight of my heart toote In my fury I tooke a Hatchet in my hand And brake all my Worke whereas it did stand And as for my Potts I knocked them together And also my Glasses into many a shiver The Crowes head began to appeare as black as Iett Yet in my fury I did nothing let But with my worke made such a furious faire That the Quintessence flew forth in the Aire Farewell quoth I and seeing thou art gon Surely I will never cast of my Fawcon To procure thee againe to put me to hinderance Without it be my fortune and chaunce To speake with my good Master or that I dye Master I. S. his name is truly Nighe the Citty of Salisbury his dwelling is A spirituall man for sooth he is For whose prosperity I am bound to pray For that he was my Tutor many a day And understood as much of Philosophie As ever did Arnold or Raymund Lullie Geber Hermes Arda nor yet King Caleb Understood no more then my good Master did I travelled this Realme Est and West over Yet found I not the like betweene the Mount and Dover But only a Monke of whome I le speake anon Each of them had accomplished our White Stone But yet to the Red Worke they never came neere The cause hereafter more plainely shall appeare And thus when I had taken all this paines And then could not reape the fruit of my gaines I thought to my selfe so to set out this Warke That others by fortune may hit right the Marke The fift Chapter I am sorry I have nothing to require my Masters gentlenes But only this Boke a litle short Treatise Which I dare say shall as welcome be to him As if I had sent him a Couple of Milch Kine And heere for his sake I will disclose unto thee A greate seacret which by
Brothers the wicked do eschew Let Flasehood and Flattery goe least thou it rue Devoutely serve God call daily for his grace Worship him in Spirit with heart contritâ— and pure In no wise let Sathan thy prayers deface Looke thou be stedfast in faith and trust most sure Lay up treasure in heaven which ever shall endure In all Adversity be gentle in thy heart Against thy Foe so shalt thou him convert Most heartily therefore O Lord to thee I call Beseeching thee to ayde me with thy heavenly grace Lovingly thy Spirit upon me downe let fall Overshaddowing me that I at no tyme trespas My Lord and my God grant me to purchase Full knowledge of thy Secrets with thy mercy to wine Intending thy truth this Practise I begin Listen thou my Son and thine Eares incline Delight have thou to learne this Practise sage and true Attend my saying and nore well this Discipline These Rules following do as it doth ensue This labour once begun thou must it continue Without tedious sluggardice and slothfull wearines So shalt thou thereby acquire to thee greate Riches In the name of God this Seacret to attaine Joyne thow in one Body with a perfect unity First the red Man and the white Woman these twaine One of the Mans substance and of the Womans three By Liquefaction joyned together must they be The which Conjunction is called Diptative That thus is made betweene Man and Wife Then after that they be one Body made With the sharpe teeth of a Dragon finely Bring them to Dust the next must be had The true proporcion of that Dust truly In a true Ballance weighing them equally With three tymes as much of the fiery Dragon Mixing altogether then hast thou well done Thy Substance thus together proportionate Put in a Bedd of Glasse with a bottome large and round There in due tyme to dye and be regenerate Into a new Nature three Natures into one bound Then be thou glad that ever thou it found For this is the Jewell shall stand thee most in stead The Crowne of Glory and Diadem of thy head When thou hast thus mixt thy Matter as is said Stop well the Glasse that the Dragon goe not out For he is so subtile that if he be overlayd With Fire unnaturall I put thee out of doubt For to escape he will search all about Therefore with gentle Fire looke that thou keepe it in So shalt thou of him the whole Maystery winne The whole Maystery hereof duly to fulfill Set thy Glasse and Matter upon thine Athenor Our Furnace called the Philosophers Dunghill With a temperate heate working evermore Night and day continually have Fuell in store Of Turfe of Sawdust or dry chopped segges That the heate be equipolent to the Hen upon her Eggs. Such heate continually loke thou doe not lack Forty dayes long for their perfect union In them is made For first it turnes to Black This Collour betokens the right Putrefaction This is the begining of perfect Conception Of your Infant into a new generation A most pretious Jewell for our Consolation Forty dayes more the Matter shall turne VVhite And cleere as Pearles which is a declaration Of voiding away of his Cloudes darke night This sheweth our Infants full organization Our White Elixir most cleere in his Creation From White into all Colours withouten faile Like to the Rainebow or the Peacocks Tayle So forth augment thy Fire continually Under thy Matter easily they must be fedd Till these Collours be gone use it wisely For soone after appeareth Yellow the messenger of the Redd When that is come then hast thou well sped And hast brought forth a Stone of price Which Raymund calls his Basiliske and Cocatrice Then 40 dayes to take his whole Fixation Let it stand in heate most temperate That in that tyme thou spare thy Fermentation To increase him withall that he be not violate Beware of Fire and Water for that will it suffocate Take one to a hundred of this Confection And upon crude Mercury make thou Projection One of thy Stone I meane upon an hundred fold After the first and second right Fermentation Of Mercury crude turneth it to fine Gold As fine as good and as naturall in ponderation The Stone is so vehement in his penetrations Fixt and Fusible as the Gold-smiths Souder is Worke as I have said and thou canst not doe amisse Now give thankes to the blessed Trinity For the benefit of this precious Stone That with his grace hath so much lightned thee Him for to know being three in one Hold up thy hands to his heavenly Throne To his Majesty let us sing Hosanna Altissimo Deo sit honor gloria The Conclusion OUr Magistery is Three Two and One The Animall Vegitable and Minerall Stone First I say in the name of the holy Trinity Looke that thou joyne in One Persons Three The Fixt the Variable and the Fugitive Tâ—ll they together tast Death and Live The first â—â— the Dâ—agon fell That shall the other twaine both slay and quell The Sun and Moone shall loose their light And in mourning Sables they shall them dight Threescore dayes long or neerâ— thereabouts Then shall Phoebus appeare first out With strange Collours in all the Firmament Then our Joy is coming and at hand present Then Orâ—ent Phoebus in his hemisphere To us full gloriously shall appeare Thus who can worke wisely Shall attains unto our Maâ—stery FINIS SIR EDWARD KELLE'S VVORKE ALL you that faine Philosophers would be And night and day in Geber's kitchin broyle Wasting the chipps of ancient Hermes Tree Weening to turne them to a pretious Oyle The more you worke the more you loose and spoile To you I say how learned soever you be Goe burne your Bookes and come and learne of me Although to my one Booke you have red tenn That 's not inough for I have heard it said The greatest Clarkes ar not the wisest men A Lion once a silly Mouse obeyd In my good will so hold your selves appaid And though I write not halfe so sweete as Tully Yet shall you finde I trace the stepps of Lully Yt doth you good to thinke how your desire And selfe-conceit doth warrantize vaine hope You spare no cost you want no coals for fier You know the vertues of the Elitrope You thinke your selves farr richer then the Pope What thinge hath being either high or low But their Materia prima you do know Elixir vitae and the precious Stone You know as well as how to make an Apple If'te come to the workinge then let you alone You know the coullers black brown bay and dapple Controwle you once then you begin to fraple Swearing and saying what a fellow is this Yet still you worke but ever worke amisse No no my friends it is not vauntinge words Nor mighty oaths that gaines that sacred skill It is obteined by grace and not by swords Nor by greate reading nor by long sitting still Nor fond conceipt nor working all by
Science of himselfe is trew Uppon the forme as it was founded Whereof the names yett be grounded Of hem that first it founden out And thus the fame goth all about To such as soughten besines Of vetue and of worthines Of whom if I the names call Hermes was one the first of all To whom this Art is most applied Geber thereof was magnified And Ortolane and Morien Among the which is Avicen Which founde and wrote and greate partie The practicke of Alconomie Whose bokes plainlie as thei stonde Uppon this Crafte few understonde But yet to put hem in assay There ben full manie now a day That knowen litle that thei mene It is not one to wite and wene In forme of words thei it trete But yet thei failen of beyet For of to much or of to lite There is algate found a wite So that thei follow not the line Of the perfect Medicine Which grounded is upon nature But thei that writen the Scripture Of Greke Arabe and Caldee Thei were of such Auctoritee That thei firste founden out the wey Of all that thou hast herd me sey Whereof the Cronicke of her Lore Shall stonde in price for evermore THE VISION OF Sr GEORGE RIPLEY CHANON of BRIDLINGTON WHen busie at my booke I was upon a certeine night This Vision here exprest appear'd unto my dimmed sight A Toade full rudde I saw did drinke the juce of grapes so fast Till over charged with the broth his bowells all to brast And after that from poysoned bulke he cast his venome fell For greif and paine whereof his Members all began to swell With drops of poysoned sweate approaching thus his secret Den His cave with blasts of fumous ayre he all be-whyted then And from the which in space a golden humour did ensue Whose falling drops from high did staine the soile with ruddy hew And when this Corps the force of vitall breath began to lacke This dying Toade became forthwith like Coale for colour blacke Thus drowned in his proper veynes of poysoned flood For tearme of eightie dayes and fowre he rotting stood By tryall then this venome to expell I did desire For which I did committ his carkase to a gentle fire Which done a wonder to the fight but more to be rehear'st The Toade with Colours rare through every side was pear'st And VVhite appeared when all the sundry hewes were past Which after being tincted Rudde for evermore did last Then of the venome handled thus a medicine I did make VVhich venome kills and saveth such as venome chance to take Glory be to him the graunter of such secret wayes Dominion and Honour both with Worship and with Prayse AMEN VERSES BELONGING TO AN EMBLEMATICALL SCROVVLE Supposed to be invented by GEO RIPLEY I Shall you tell with plaine declaracion Where how and what is my generacion Omogeni is my Father And Magnesia is my Mother And Azot truly is my Sister And Kibrick forsooth is my Brother The Serpent of Arabia is my name The which is leader of all this game That sometyme was both wood and wild And now I am both meeke and mild The Sun and the Moone with their might Have chastised me that was so light My Wings that me brought Hither and thither where I thought Now with their might they downe me pull And bring me where they woll The blood of myne heart I wiss Now causeth both Joy and blisse And dissolveth the very Stone And knitteth him ere he have done Now maketh hard that was lix And causeth him to be fix Of my blood and water I wis Plenty in all the World there is It runneth in every place Who it findeth he hath grace In the World it runneth over all And goeth round as a ball But thou understand well this Of the worke thou shalt miss Therefore know ere thou begin What he is and all his kin Many a Name he hath full sure And all is but one Nature Thou must part him in three And then knit him as the Trinity And make them all but one Loe here is the Philosophers Stone THe Bird of Hermes is my name Eating my wings to make me tame IN the Sea withouten lesse Standeth the Bird of Hermes Eating his Wings variable And thereby maketh himselfe more stable When all his Fethers be agon He standeth still there as a stone Here is now both White and Red And also the Stone to quicken the dead All and sume withouten fable Both hard and nesh and malliable Understand now well aright And thanke God of this sight TAKE thou Phoebus that is so bright That sitteth so high in Majesty With his beames that shineth soe light In all places where ever that he be For he is Father to all living things Maynteyner of Lyfe to Crop and Roote And causeth Nature forth to spring With his wife being soote For he is salve to every sore To bring about thys precious worke Take good heede unto his lore I say to learned and to Clerk And Omogeny is my Name Which God shaped with his owne hand And Magnesia is my Dame Thou shalt verily understand Now heere I shall begin For to teach thee a ready way Or else litle shalt thou wyn Take good heed what I say Devide thou Phoebus in many a parte With his beames that byn so bright And thus with Nature him Coarte The which is mirrour of all light This Phoebus hath full many a Name Which that is full hard for to know And but thou take the very same The Philosophers Stone thou shalt not know Therefore I councell ere thou begin Know him well what it be And that is thick make it thin For then it shall full well like the. Now understand well what I meane And take good heed thereunto The worke shall else litle be seene And tourne thee unto mikle woe As I have said in this our Lore Many a Name I wiss it have Some behinde and some before As Philosophers of yore him gave ON the Ground there is a Hill Also a Serpent within a Well His Tayle is long with Wings wide All ready to fly on every side Repaire the Well round about That the Serpent pas not out For if that he be there agone Thou loosest the verue of the Stone What is the Ground thou mayst know heere And also the Well that is so cleere And eke the Serpent with his Tayle Or else the worke shall litle availe The Well must brenne in Water cleare Take good heede for this thy Fyre The Fire with Water brent shalâ—e And Water with Fire wash shall he Then Earth on Fire shal be put And Water with Air shal be knit Thus ye shall go to Putrefaccion And bring the Serpent to reduction First he shal be Black as any Crow And downe in his Den shall lye full lowe I swel'd as a Toade that lyeth on ground Burst with bladders sitting so round They shall to brast and lye full plaine And thus with craft the Serpent is slaine He
full glade With more Tresour then hath the Kyng of Inde Of pretyous Stoonys wrought in their kynde The Cetryn Colour for the Sonne bryght Whyte for the Morne that shyneth all the nyght This Philosophre brought forth in Paris Which of this Stoonys wroot fully the nature All the Dyvysion set by grett advys And thereuppon did his besy cure That the perfeccion long should endure Lyke the entent of Aristotles sonde Which none but he cowd well bryng on honde For though the mateer opynly nat toold Of this Stoonys what Phylosophres mente Aristotiles that was experte and Oold And he of Paris that forth this present sent And in all hys beheste feythfull true of Entent With Circumstances of Araby Inde Perce Towching the Stoonys that Clerkys can reherse Hermogenes hadde hymselfe alloone With the seyd Phelip that with him was secre Knewh the vertue of every prevy Stone As they were dispoosyd of Degree From him was hyd noon uncouth prevyte This Hermogenes and he knewh every thing Of alle suych vertues as long to a Kyng THE FIRST CHAPTER IN the name of the holy Trinitie I will write of this Worke breiflie Leaving matters of circumstance And promise the truth to advance I will not write Figuratively But declare the Matter plainely And how things must be made to accord By Natures true worke and the helpe of our Lord The World is but one inclosed with heavens round Though divers matters and formes be therein found The Earth this worlds Center borne up by the Aire In kinde hath noe more but being baire And neerest to not being Philosophers have told In kinde of Complexion is full dry and cold And now for my Figure of rotundity I will shew how Elements accord and disagree And though the Elements be so contrary Yett by heavens Influence they are brought to unite And when once togeather a body they binde Nought may them loosen without wrecke to the kinde First Fire in Nature is hott and dry Aire differs from Fire in moisture only Earth only for coldnesse from Fire disagrees This Concord and discord every man sees Aire hot and moist of complexion and kinde Water differs from Aire but in heate we finde Soe that in moysture we finde them both one Naturall heate in Water we finde none Water cold and moiste of Complexion is Earth differs from Water in drynes I wis Earth agrees with Fire in drynes noe doubte Thus one in another the Wheele turnes about From this round Circle proceeds a quadrant Each line unto another an equall distant And as the round Figure concludes all in One Soe the Quadrant of foure things makes distinction From this Quadrant a Fire must proceed Which is Animall Vegitable and Minerall we reede And with the Fire I will begin Pray God I be not too bold therein The whole Composition of this world is fram'd Of the Three things which before I have nam'd Now to make things of Excellencie We must take things neerest Nobilitie And as this greate Masse conteines things Three Soe Blood Flesh and Bone in the least World we see Yett lesse World and greate World is all but One Thus still we keepe an Unyon Whatsoever itt is that is alive Without Blood they may not thrive Sperme is Generacion of each thing Of what kinde soever itt bene Blood is Sperme be itt White or Redd For without Blood each thing is dead Blood conteineth the three things I have told And in his Tincture hath Nature of Gold Without Gold noe Mettle may shine bright Without Blood noe Body hath bene fitt of light Thus doth the greate and lesse World still Hold the Union according to Gods will Now of all things Blood Noblest is For nothing in the World may itt misse Blood hath true proporcion of the Elements foure And of the three species I spoke of before The Blood must be the principall matter of each thing Which hath any manner of increasing Mercury in Mettalls is the Blood certeine Sperme in Animalls getts the like againe Vegetable moysture from heaven so good Yett all these three are but Blood Then Blood in procreation is neerest of kinde This Secrett good Brother keepe close in thy mynde And uppon that Condition Which Blood thou shalt take I will make repeticion The true Blood of Mettalls is hard to have And long tyme of getting itt doth crave Blood of Vegetables hath moysture greate store And therefore to have itt requireth much labour The true Blood to finde without labour and cost Thou knowst where to have it ere thy witts be lost Seeke out the noblest as I said before For now of the Matter I dare say noe more This Secrett was never reveal'd till this tyme By any Mans writings that ere I could finde But I which by practice have found itt true Knew how things caused things to renew God grant noe Alchymists meete with my Booke For they would have Elixir by hooke or by crooke And he would spend what his Freinds wan And be as neere at the last as when he began And would promise to give men Gold greate store But beware thou of Expence as I said before CHAP. II. Of the manner of the Worke. NOW after the Matter the Manner compute How to bring this our Worke aboute First take the Matter crude as itt is Which will cost you little or nought I wis Searce it soe cleane as it may be Untill from filth itt is all free Which wil bee done in houres three or foure Then will it be cleare from his ill humour Then take the Faces which you shall finde In the same which the Matter left behind Purge him also with the noblest Element Untill that he to Earth be brent Then have you a Stone of wonderfull might With small Cost a secret right Take ye this Stone and use Millers Craft Till it be fine powder and made very soft Then give him the moisture which from him ye tooke Then use him as ye shall finde in this booke But give him noe other Drinke but of his owne kinde For elce you doe not after my mynde Let him drinke noe more then will suffice Beware of Floods I you advise Then search him twice againe as you did before And still put uppon his owne liquor Thus their first Order to passe is brought And your foulest Worke fully wrought CHAP. III. Of the second Order NOW the second Manner I will shew plaine How you shall worke it with little paine When your three searsings be done after my lore Then breake the Stone as you did before Then must you have one Veschell Which must be made like an Eggshell Into the which Vessell the Matter you must putt Then see that itt be well closed upp The Vessells divided in parts three Whereof two still voyde must bee This Vessell must be set in a kinde heate That the Matter may kindly sweate The Spiritts must not be opprest with Fire For then thou shalt never have thy desire Neither must thy
seeke to make amense Who went away three weekes then brought a Stone That in projection yeelded ten for one This did he lay downe att Apollo's feete And said by cureing one th' hast saved three Which three in this one present joyntly meete Offring themselves which are thine owne to thee Be our Physitian and as we growe old Wee 'le bring enough to make new worlds of Gold With that this Hermite tooke me by the hand And ledd me to his Cell Loe here quoth he Could'st thou but stay and truly understand What thou now seest thou knowst this Mystery I stayd I saw I tryde and understood A Heav'n on Eaâ—th an everlasting good A DISCRIPTION of the STONE THough Daphne fly from Phoebus bright Yet shall they both be one And if you understand this right You have our hidden Stone For Daphne she is faire and white But Volatile is she Phoebus a fixed God of might And red as blood is he Daphne is a Water Nymph And hath of Moysture store Which Phoebus doth consume with heate And dryes her very sore They being dryed into one Of christall flood must drinke Till they be brought to a white Stone Which wash with Virgins milke So longe untill they flow as wax And no fume you can see Then have you all you neede to aske Praise God and thankfull be The standing of the Glasse for the tyme of the Putrifaction Congelation of the MEDICINE THe Glasse with the Medicine must stand in the fyre desire Forty dayes till it be Blacke in sight Forty dayes in the Blacknesse to stand he will And then forty dayes more till itt be White And thirty in the drying if thou list to doe right And then is the Sulphur perfectly Calcinate To drinke up his moysture for him being preparate In this tyme the Glasse neither open nor shutt But still let him stand all the aforesaid dayes Not once from the Furnace that ye take him upp For by Cooling the Matter the Medicine decayes Therefore you must Fire continue alwayes In one measure and temperatenes of heate Untill all be White and the Sulphur compleate This heate sufficeth for this principle one Which is the cheife ground of our Secretts all Without which Knowledg thou must not make the Stone If thou labour thy lyfe tyme not prosper thou shall Therefore merry beware thou doe not fall But first truly learne before thou beginne And so to true workeing thou shalt the better wynne Follow this Booke and wander not aside Out of the way to the left hand nor the right But streight betweene both directly you guide Thy Worke soe as I to thee doe write For in this Booke I will thee plainely excite How thou shalt make the Philosophers Lead That is Elixir to the White and the Redd And then the Golden Oyle called Aurum potabile A Medicine most mervelous to preserve Mans health And of Transmutation the greatest that can bee For in the same Oyle is nothing but wealth Then glorious he is in the power of himselfe For noe sicknesse can stand where he is in place Nor povertie dwell in the pleasures of his Face Aenigma Philosophicum THere is no light but what lives in the Sunne There is no Sunne but which is twice begott Nature and Arte the Parents first begonne By Nature 't was but Nature perfects not Arte then what Nature left in hand doth take And out of One a Twofold worke doth make A Twofold worke doth make but such a worke As doth admitt Division none at all See here wherein the Secret most doth lurke Unlesse it be a Mathematicall It must be Two yet make it One and One And you do take the way to make it None Lo here the Primar Secret of this Arte Contemne it not but understand it right Who faileth to attaine this formost part Shall never know Artes force nor Natures might Nor yet have power of One and One so mixt To make by One fixt One unfixid fixt D. D. W. Bedman FRAGMENTS COPPIED From THOMAS CHARNOCK 'S owne hand writing WHen an hundreth fourscore had run their Then sone after in short time space race Blacknes began to shew his Face in fyght But when a C. and L. had overcumde hym He made him wash his Face white bright Which unto me was a joyfull syght Yet xx at last came in with greate bost And made both Black and White to fly the Cost Written by T. Charnock at the end of Scotus de Bufone HEre in Gods name take thy rest Quietly in thy warme nest For so Charnocke thinks it best Tyll the Sune hathe runne West Seaven tymes 600. and 16. just Then this Chyld awake thou must RIPLYE'S Cantalena ABowte 653. I dare be bold This Chyld shall put on a Crowne of Gold Or at 656. at the moste This Chyld shall rule the roste OTher Fragments scattered in the wast places of an Old Manuscript written with T. Charnock's own Hand WE worke this Worke of wonder By Wayght Measure and Number Quoth THOMAS CHARNOCK WHen he is full Black then take some payne To wash him 7. tymes in the water of Jourdayne CHARNOCK FRo the tyme that he be Black and Ded Wash him 7 tymes or he be perfect Red. ANd when he is full Black then take some payne To wash hym 7. tymes in the water of Jourdayne ANd when you see hym perfect Redd Then take a stone and knock him on the hedd Id est ANd when this Woman is brought a bed Take the Chyld and knock hym on the hedd CHARNOCKE 1573. PErfect Whyte will not be accomplished Untill it hath byne twelve tymes circulated Id est Six tymes Black and vi tymes Whyte BEtwixt true Black and true Whyte Wyll appeare many Collers to syght T.C. BEtwixt Purgatory and Paradyse The Raigne-bows Collers will arise T.C. BEtwixt Black and Whyte sartayne The Pekokes fethers wyll appeare plaine T.C. LOoke you conceive my words aright And marke well this which I have sede For Black is Ferment unto the Whyte And Whyte shal be Ferment unto the Rede Which I never saw till I had whyte heres upon my head T. C. 1574. The 50 yeare of my age In some Coppies I have found these Verses placed before Pearce the Black Monk upon the ELIXIR MAN and Woman God hath wrought And full mykle fruite forth they brought So multiplyeth the workes of our heaven King And yet come they but of one thing Now quod Marlin what may that be The slithe of the Yearth so say we Yearth it was some Men would say nay And yet was it nether cleane yearth sand ne clay But the feces of yearth it was of Colour grey Which then turned to yearth as it on yearth lay The Water turned to blude to make man stronge The Ayre and Fire was medled theare amonge How be Ayre and Fire quod Marlin Through the workes of our Lord quod Martin For the brightnes of the holy Ghost is the Aire And the lightnes that gafe
Mercurys wyfes Wyfe To Mercury maketh no stryfe AND thou wed Mercury to Mercury with her wyfe Then shall Mercury and Mercury be merry withouten stryfe For Mercuries Wyfe to Mercury maketh greate stryfe But Mercuries wyfe's wyfe to Mercury maketh no stryf A Ridle to you I will propose Of a Comon thing which most men knowes Which now in the Earth very reefe doth grow But is of small Price as all men know And that without roote stalke or seede Wherewith of his kinde another to breede Yet of that nature that it cannot cease If you plant it by peeces it selfe to increase Right heavy by kinde yet forced to fly Starke nought in the purse yet good in the Eye This something is nothing which seemeth full strange Having tasted the fire which maketh the change And hath many Collours yet sheweth but one This is the materiall of our STONE I Asked Philosophy how I should Have of her the thing I would She answered me when I was able To make the Water malliable Or else the way if I could finde To mesure out a yard of Winde Then shalt thou have thyne owne desire When thou canst weigh an ounce of Fire Unlesse that thou canst doe these three Content thy selfe thou get'st not me LEt the old man drinke wine till he pisse The meanes to the blest Stone is And in that menstrous water drowne The radiant brightnes of the Moone Then cast the Sun into her lapp That both may perish at a clapp Soe shall you have your full desire When you revive them both by Fire IF ye wolle to hys Medycyn aplye Make furst hevy hard hotte and drye Nesshe lyght cold and wete Put ham togeder and make ham mete Thus may ye spend mor thann the King Yf ye have connyng of suche a thynge IF thou the Fixid can dissolve And that Dissolv'd doest cause to fly That Flying then to Fixing bring Then maist thou live most happily R. B. ANNOTATIONS AND DISCOURSES UPON Some part of the preceding VVorke Pag. 6. lin 1. TO the honor of God FRom the first word of this Proeme and the Initiall letters of the fix following Chapters discovered by Acromonosyllabiques and Sillabique Acrostiques we may collect the Authors Name and place of Residence For those letters together with the first line of the seventh Chapter speak thus Tomas Norton of Briseto A parfet Master ye maie him trowe Such like Fancies were the results of the wisdome and humility of the Auncient Philosophers who when they intended not an absolute concealement of Persons Names Misteries c. were wont to hide them by Transpositions Acrostiques Isogrammatiques Symphoniaques and the lyke which the searching Sons of Arte might possibly unridle but with designe to continue them to others as concealed things And that upon the Question no other Answer should be returned then the like of the Angell's to Manoah His name was Peli to wit admirable and secret In imitation of whome t is probable our Author not so much affecting the vanity of a Name as to assist the lovers of Wisdome thus modestly and ingenuously unvailes himselfe Although to the generality of the world he meant to passe unknowne as appeares by his owne words For that I desire not worldly fame But your good prayers unknowne shall be my name Iobâ— Pitts from Iohn Bale and he from Robert Record relates that this Thomas Norton was Alchymista suo tempore peritissimus and much more curious in the Studies of Philosophy then others yet they passe some undecent and abusive Gensures upon him with referrence to this vaine and frivolous Science as they are pleas'd to tearme it and a better opinion I find not they had even of the Hermetick learning it selfe Indeed every one that is educated a Scholler is not borne to affâ—ct or be happy in every Art some love one some another but few All. And this ariseth from the various Influences of the Starrs which beget sundry Inclinations and Affections-in-Men according to the different Constitutions and Temperatures of their Bodies so that commonly what either a man does not affect or know he despises or condemnes yet seldome with any shew of Reason But it is no good Conclusion for Bliude men to affirme the Sun has no light because they were never so happy as to see it For though thy selfe saith Conwrath art ignorant of a Matter t is not denied to others to know the same However our Author was so happy as to become a Master of this Science very early which he learned in forty dayes and when he was Scantly of the age of twenty eight yeares He earnestly moved his Master who is generally thought to be Ripley to communicate the Red Medicine to him which after some tyme finding him capable of it he accordingly did Much more might be said in Honour of this Author but I refer the Reader to the Ordinall it selfe which will abundantly satisfie Besides this worke which is called both by Pitts and Bale Epitomen Alchymiae but by himselfe Nanied of Alkimy the Ordinall The Crede mihi the Standard perpetuall He wrote another Booke De transmutatione Metallorum and to these Pitts adds a third De Lapide Philosophico In the time of Hen 8. there flourished Nyne Brothers of the family of the Nortons and all Knights one of them viz. Sir Sampson Norton Master of the Ordnance to the said King an Office of greate Honour and not usually confer'd but upon Men very eminent lyes buried in Fulham Church nere London whose Tombe was adorned with severall Hermeticke Hierogliphicall paintings which have lately perisht by the Ignorant zcale of those that understood them not The Epitaph this Of yowr therite pray for the Soule of Sir Sampson Norton Knight late Master of the Ordinance of warre with King Henry the 8th and for the Soule of Dame Elizabyth hys wyff Whych Sir Sampson decessyd the eyghth day of February one thousand five hundred and seventeen Pag. 11. l. 7. That no Man for better ne for worse Chaungâ— my writing for drede of Gods curse Doubtlesse Norton was truly sensible of the high injuries done â—o learned men through the Erronious Transcriptions of their Bookes and had shared in the unimaginable misfortune which thereby befell the then Students in Philosophy for be lived in those tymes that could not afford him the use of any other Bookes save onely Manuscripts Printing having not served an Apprentiship to England when he wrote this Oridinall in that regard he layes this weighty charge upon unfaithfull Scribes who negligently or wilfully alter their Copy whereby the wariest Students are encombred with doubts and missed or plunged into unhappy Errors How ordinary a fault this was amongst the Transcribers of former times may appeare by Chaucer who I am confident tooke asgreate care as any man to be served with the best and heedefullest Scribes and yet we finde him complayning against Adam his Scrivener for the very same Soofte a daye I mote thy worke renew It
it appeareth by this Similitude The Elephant for that she is great and rude Goeth with Foale years full twayne And fifty yeares ere that Foale gender againe Anaxagoras said in his Consideration That Mettals had for their generation A thousand Yeares wherefore him list to say In respect thereof our Worke is but one Day Also ye must worke by good advice When ye see Erth above Water rise For as Water beareth Erth which we goe on So woll it doe in working of our Stone Wherefore Well-springs with strokes soft Soberly make ye must in tymes oft Whereby Water maie soberly flowe For violent Fluxes be perilous as nowe MOreover it healpeth in Alkimy To know seaven Waters effectually Which be Coppied with manie a Man While thei be common seeke them as ye can Desire not this Boke to show things all For this Boke is but an Ordinall By those Waters men Weene in mind All faults to amend of Metaline kinde Also thei weene of the Elements fower The effects to weene by their succour For thei suppose with confidence unfeined That all Vertues requifit in them be conteyned Some to molifie Mettalls hard wroght And some to harden Mettalls that be soft Some to purifie some to make malleable Everie each according that he was able Such Liquors to know it is profitt and good Howbeit thei maie not to our Stone be food Noble Auctors men of glorious fame Called our Stone Microcosmus by name For his composition is withouten doubt Like to this World in which we walke about Of Heate of Cold of Moyst and of Drye Of Hard of Soft of Light and of Heavy Of Rough of Smooth and of things Stable Medled with things fleetinge and moveable Of all kinds Contrary broght to one accord Knit by the doctrine of God our blessed Lord Whereby of Mettalls is made transmutation Not only in Colour but transubstantiation In which ye have need to know this thing How all the vertues of the Elements transmuting Upon the transmuted must have full domination Before that the substance be in transmutation And all partes transmuted must figured be In the Elements transmuting impressed by degree So that the third thinge elemented of them all Of such condition evermore be shall That it trewly have it maie be none other But her Substance of that one and her Vertue of that other A Child at his Nativitie can eate his meate and cry Our Stone at his Nativity woll Colour largly In three years after a Child can speake and goe Then is our Stone more Colouring also One upon a Thousand his tincture trewly is Of clean washen Mettall I am trew witnes Fastiely beleeve it and fully in your thought It maketh good Silver as of the Myne is wrought And also our Stone woll augment and increase In quantitie and qualitie and thereof never cease And therefore his growing and augmentation Is likned to Man in waxing and creation Nathles one pointe of trewth I woll reporte Which to some Men maie be discomforte At the first making of our Stone That time for winninge looke for none If ye then cease I understande Ye shall departe with loosinge handâ— The Costs be so great before Expended and set upon the score But at the first augment of all Which tyme our Stone depart ye shall In parts twaine full equally With subtill ballance and not with Eye One for the Red that other for the White To mainteyne both for your delight Then winning first beginneth to arise But afterwards if ye be wise At every augment continually Profit shall grow comodiously In this our White Warke alone As well as in the Ruby Stone Whereof said Maraa Sister of Aron Lyfe is short and Science is full long Nathles it greately retardeth Age When it is ended by strong Courage But some that have byne tought trewlie Have forsooke their worke lewdly When their greate labour have byne paste For thei know not how at the laste Groweth the profit and the winninge Which thei would have at the beginninge Therefore I finde that it is neede The trewth to tell when ye shulde speede For when I am past and out of minde This my Witnes shall rest behinde For which cause I doe not spare Of this Arte the trewth to declare As much as I dare that I be not shent For breaking of Gods Commandement This wise endeth all our White Werke Shewed sufficiently for an able Clerke AFter all this upon a day I heard my noble Master say How that manie men patient and wise Found our White Stone with Exercise After that thei were trewlie tought With great labour that Stone they Caught But few said he or scarcely one In fifteene Kingdomes had our Red Stone And with that word he cast his Eye Looking on me full steadilye Of his words he saw me woe I said alas what shall I doe For above all Erthly thinge I most desire and love Cunninge And for the Red Stone is preservative Most precious thinge to length my Life The Red Stone said I is lever to me Then all were Gould that I would soe to be He said I was to younge of Age Of Body lusty and likely to outrage Scantly of the age of twenty eight yeares He said Philosophers had noe such Compeers This woefull answer then he made to me Till ye be elder he said it maie not be Alas good Master remember said I Howbeit my Body be light and lustie Prove and assay and you shall finde Age sufficient within my Minde He held his words full still that tyde And so long tyme he did abide After this sudainely in wonderous wise He tempted me after the Philosophers guise Which to reherse it were too longe And to shew how I should doe wronge For that must be kept secreate For them which shall with this Science meete Yet at the last with leasure and with space I wan his love by help of Gods Grace So that I had with Grace the trewe doctrine Of Confection of the Red medicine Whom to seeke it availeth right nought Till the White medicine be fully wrought Alsoe both Medicines in their beginninge Have one manner of Vessell and Workinge As well for the White as also for the Red Till all quick things be made dead Then Vessells and forme of operation Shall chaunge in Matter Figure and Graduation But my herte quaketh my hand is tremblinge When I write of this most selcouth thinge Hermes brought forth a true sentence and blounte When he said Ignis AZot tibi sufficiunt The Expositor of Hermes and Aristotle joynte In that joynte worke shewd a straunge pointe He said Albertus Magnus the Black Freere Nether Freer Bacon his compeere Had not of our Red stone consideration Him to increase in multiplication The Expositor knew it sufficiently And my Master tought me trewly Albeit that I never made assaye Of the Red worke before this Daye The cause appeareth in this Boke before When I was robbed then I would no more Nethlesse I have put me
so farr in preass That secreate Trewth to shew I cannot cease Rehersing such as were greately too bold So great secreats to shew as thei tolde Thei said that within the Center of incompleate White Was hid our Red Stone of most delight Which maie with strength and kinde of Fier Be made to appeare right as we desier Pandulphus in Turba saide mente secura Et ejus umbra in vera tinctura Maria confirmed it in fide oculata Quod in ipsa albedine est rubedo occultata The Boke Laudabile Sanctum made by Hermes Of the Red Worke speaketh in this wise Candida tunc rubeo jacet uxor nupta marito That is to saie if ye take heede thereto Then is the faire White Woman Married to the Ruddy Man Understandinge thereof if ye would gett When our White Stone shall suffer heate And rest in Fier as red as Blood Then is the Marriage perfect and good And ye maie trewly know that tyme How the seminall seed Masculine Hath wrought and won the Victory Upon the menstrualls worthily And well converted them to his kinde As by experience ye shall finde Passing the Substance of Embrion For then compleate is made our Stone Whom wise Men said that ye shulde feede With his owne Venome when it is neede Then ride or goe where ye delight For all your Costs he woll you quite Thus endeth the subtill Warke with all her store I need not I maie not I woll shew no more Vaughan sculp s CHAP. VI. TOwards the Matters of Concordance Consider there be no variance Betweene such things as shulde accorde For of variance maie grow discord VVhereby your VVarkes maie be lost VVith all your labour and all your cost He that wol take our VVarke in hande Five Concords he must understande The first Concord is neede to marke VVhether his Minde accorde with the Warke VVhich shal be Lord to paie for all Els all your labour destroy ye shall The second Concord is needfull to kenn Between this Crafte and her Workemen The Third shall serve well your intents VVhen Warke accordeth with Instruments The fourth Concord must welbe sought VVith the Place where it shall be wrought For trewlie it is no little grace To find a perfect working Place The Fift is of Concord and of Love Betweene your VVarkes and the Spheare above Of theis five Concords reherse we shall Beginning with the first of all FOr the first ye shall well finde That full few Lords be stable of Minde Thei be hasty the VVarke is longe Thei woulde have you doe Nature wronge Some now be onward as hasty as fier Halfe a yeare after have noe desire And some in a Weeke it is noe Nay Woll chaunge their mindes and some in a day And for one Moneth have full beleife And the next Moneth thei woll the Arte repreeve It were much better for such to cease Than for this Arte to put them in preasse Let such like Butterflies wander and passe And lerne this lesson both more and lasse Following the Sentence of this holie letter Attingens à fine usque ad finem fortiter Disponens omnia suaviter That is proceede mightily to the End From the Beginning maugre the feinde All things disposing in the meane space With great suavity that commeth of grace All short-witted Men and mutable Such must needs be variable And some doe every Man beleive Such credence doth their Cofers greive To everie new Tale to them tolde They give Credence and leave the olde But some Lords be stable of wit Such be apt to finish it Everie such Lord or Master of this Werke Be he Layman or be he Clerke Be he rich man Knight Abbot or Lorde He hath with this Arte greate Concorde THe seconde Concorde with this Arte is When ye can finde apt Ministers Noe Minister is apt to this intent But he be sober wise and diligent Trewe and watchfull and also timerous Close of Tongue of Body not vitious Clenly of hands in Tuching curious Not disobedient neither presumptuous Such Servants maie your workes of Charge Minister and save from all outrage But trust not that two such Servants or three Maie sufficient for your worke be If your Matter be of quantity reasonable Then Eight such Servants be convenable But upon litle quantity finde ye shall Foure men able to performe all That one halfe of them must werke While the other Sleepeth or goeth to Kerke For of this Arte ye shall not have your praye But it be ministred as well by Night as Daye Continually except the holy Sonday alone From Evensong begin till Evensong be done And while thei worke thei must needes eschewe All Ribaudry els thei shall finde this trewe That such mishap shall them befall Thei shall destroy part of their Works or all Therefore all the Ministers must be Men Or else thei must be all Weomen Set them not occupied one with another Though some to you be Sister or Brother Yet thei must have some good disporte Their greate labours to recomforte Then nothinge shall better avaunce Your worke than shall this Concordance THe Third Concord is to manie full derke To ordeyne Instruments according to the Werke As everie Chapter hath divers intents Soe hath it divers Instruments Both in Matter and also in Shape In Concord that nothing may mis-happ As workes of Dâ—vision and Seperation Have small Vessells for their Operation But Vessells broade for Humectation And some deale broad for Circulation But longe Vessells for Precipitation Both short and long serve Sublimation Narrowe Vessells and foure inches high Serve Correction most properly Of Vessells some be made of Leade And some of Clay both quick and deade Dead Clay is called such a thinge As hath suffered greate roastinge Such medled in powder with good raw Claye Will Fier abide and not goe away But manie Claies woll leape in Fier Such for Vessells doe not desire Other Vessells be made of Stone For Fier sufficient but few or none Amonge Workemen as yet is founde In any Country of English grounde Which of Water nothing drinke shall And yet abide drie Fier withall Such Stones large for our intente Were a precious Instrument All other Vessells be made of Glasse That spirituall matters should not out-passe Of Ashes of Ferne in this Lond everi-each one Be made but els-where be of Stone Of our Glasses the better kinde The morning stuffe ye shall it finde Which was Ashes the night before Standing in Heate all night and more The harder stuffe is called Freton Of clipping of other Glasses it come Tincture with anealing of Glasiers Will not perse him as thei reherse By this Doctrine chuse or refuse Take which you woll unto your use But for figures of Vessells kinde Everie Man followeth his owne minde The best fashion is ye maie be sure She that best concordeth with Vessell of Nature And figure that best Concordeth with quantity And with all Circumstances to matter best is she And this sheweth well Albertus