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
Corrosive and bitter substance Well fixed and hard of fusion rude in governance Mercury ys a Body if he be with a Substance moved Mixing one kinde with his kinde so schall he be loved One Spirit received wyth another the which of them be maine Is cause of ingeneration of every body Mettalyne Luna ys a pure white Body of clene Mercury Sulphur white ingendered And sche is a litle hard of fusion almost well fixed And sche is next cleanest in Tincture of whitenes Of Ponderosity light of Iupiter bearing his whitenes And soe after the Colour of that Erth ys Sulphuri and receptuall Some men do say ys engendered every Mettall But my Son the perfect worke of thys alteration I schall informe the true way of another fashion Now have I declared the working of the Bodies Mynerall Whereof they be ingendered after other mens sayings over all And as in place of the Erth one Body was fully wrought Soe must the artificiall Medicine be or else it ys nought Now will I declare the worthines of Mercury in speciall How sche ys the notablest Spirit that ys mynerall Most marvelous in working and in degree Sche ys called the Matter principallest of the three Also sche ys very subtile in many things artificiall Sche will both give and take Tincture most speciall To hym or of hym that sche loveth most best In speciall when sche ys warmed in her Nest My Son Mercury ys called the mightiest Flos florum And most royall and richest of all Singulorum Sche ys very Patron and Princes most royall And sche ys very Mother of every Mettall Sche ys Vegitable Animalle and Minerall Sche ys Foure in kinde and One in generall Sche ys Erth Aire Water and Fyre Among all other sche hath no Peere Sche kylleth and slayeth and also doth calcine Sche dyeth and also doth sche live againe Sche giveth lyfe and also ingression For joyntly sche ys three in one Sche ys a very frendly mixar The progeneration of a greate Elixar Sche ys both Body Soule and Spirite In Colour very red black and white Many be the wooers that hang on her tayle But sche will not with them I'deale They would her wedd against her will With foemen that liken her full ill Sche will deale with no manner of wight But with her Husband as it ys greate right With him sche will beare much fruite For he ys by nature of her selfe same sute My Son of hem Fooles have much dispight And therin such Fooles loose their light For sometymes he ys darke and sometymes bright For he ys lyke no other wight For if they have their kynde ingendering Their naturall foode and good keeping They schall increase frute by dene Very red and white King and Queene My Son in thys Scyence I doe deny All things that be discording truly All manner of Salts I doe defie And all manner of Sulphurs in waters of Corrosie Also Alloome Vitriall Auripigmentum and Haire Gold Silver Alkaly and Sandiver Honey Wax and Oyles or Calx else Gumms Galls and also Egg shells Also I defie Antimony Berrall and Christall Rosin Pitch also Amber Jett and Corrall Hearbs Dated Stones Marble or Tinglas If there come any of all these it ys the worse Also Berrills Gotts Hornes and Alome plome Good with them will none be done All things that discordeth from Mettall It ys contrary to thys worke in generall My Son many fooles to me have sought But they and I accord right nought I leave them there as I them finde And as Fooles I make them blinde For whych Mercury they have errd full sore And then when they had they could doe no more Therefor in Phylosophers sche bear'th the floower For sche ys King Prince and Emperour Yet my deare Son be thow not a knowne To Learned nor to Lewde to High nor to Low That thys worke standeth by Mercury and in her fire Her owne speciall Love both life and deare For he ys her Son sche ys hys Fright In whome sche worketh all her myght He ys her Son sche ys hys Mother Sche loveth him peramore and no other In Sol and Lune in her meeting ys all love For of Mercury only ys all her behove And with them sche worketh all her might But they may never increase on fright Therefor it ys possible to cast a Projection pure Upon a Million to make a perfect Body of tincture Wyth Medicine of Spirits well joyned and fixed It schall not be perceived where it ys well mixed And therefor if there com Silver or Gold in at thy Gate The which men use in Aoyne or in common Plate I sweare by God that all thys world hath wrought All thy labour and warke schall turne to nought For with what Mettall soever that Mercury be joyned Because of her Coldnes and Moistnes sche ys acloyd Put them never so close togeder sche will fume anon And when they come into the fire sche wil sone be gone Therefore Mercury hath a Lover that passeth them A thousandfold who so will him ken And he ys her Lover and her Leman sweete And so hys Councell sche will keepe Both in hys Chamber and also in hys Bedd Also alive and when they byne dead Seeke yee forth fooles as ye have sought For in all other things finde yee right nought Now my deare Son to thee I will indight The truth in word and deede I will write How that a precious Stone shal be made Thee to rejoyce and make thee full glad As I said in the 32. Chapter unto my Conclusion How I schould informe the truth after another fashion And to performe thys Scyence both in word and deede In making of our Medicine God must us speede The which ys called the greate Elixer And ys verily made with a stronge mixar The which is a Stone very Minerall And thow maist him wellgett ever all My Son thow schalt take to Mercury no other thing But Erth that 's heavy and hard and stiff standing The which in himselfe ys derke bright dry and cold To joyne them togeder thow maist be full bold One of them to 10 parts of that Water running most heaviest And they schalbe both one and to thy warke most mightiest Then hast thow Man and Woman togeder brought The which ys done by greate love in a thought The which two be both Spirits one Body most heaviest When they be in your Chamber and bed joyned in the Element lightest The which ys more bigger and bigger hott and dry And therein they will both kiss togeder neither weepe nor cry For when Erth and Water ys well mixed By the vertue of the lightest Element well hardned and fixed For before that time they be Water running both And then schall turne to fix body be they never so loath For in theyr bed they schall make a perpetuall Conjunction After the feeding of the light Element and of their proportion Soe schould they be decoct having the parfeit fixascion In the
you see hym seperate From hys vile Erth vituperate Wych wil be black and light withall Much like the substance of a fusball Your magnet in the midst wil be Of Collour faire and white trust me Then whan you see all thys thing Your fire one degree increasing Untill yow well may se thereby Your matter to grow very dry Then yt ys fit wythout delay The excrements be tane away Prepaire a Bed most bryght and shine For to lodge this young Chylde in And therein let hym alone lye Till he be throughly dry Than ys tyme as I doe thinke After such drouth to give him drinke But thereof the truth to shew Is a greate secret well I know For Philosophers of tyme old The secret of Imbibition never out tould To create Magnesia they made no care In their Bookes largely to declare But how to order it after hys creacion They left poore men without consolacion Soe many men thought they had had perfeccion But they found nothing in their Projeccion Therefore they mard what they had made before And of Alchimy they would have no more Thus do olde Fathers hide it from a Clearke Because in it consisteth the whole subtill warke Wych if ye list of me to know I shall not faile the truth to shew Whan your pure matter in the glasse is fitt Before that you your vessell shitt A portion of your Lyons sweate Must be given it for to eate And they must be grounded so well together That each fro other will flee noe whither Then must you seale up your Glasse And in hys Furnace where he was You must set them there to dry Which being done then truly You must prepare like a good Phisitian For another Imbibition But evermore looke that you dry Up all hys drinke that none lye by For if yow make hym drinke too free The longer will your workeing be And yf you let hym be too dry Than for thirst your Child may dye Wherefore the meane to hold is best Twixt overmoyst and too much rost Six tymes thy Imbibitions make The seaventh that Saboath's rest betake Eight dayes twixt ilke day of the six To dry up moist and make it fix Then at the nynth tyme thy Glasse up seale And let him stand six weekes each deale With his heate temperd so right That Blacknes past he may grow white And so the seaventh weeke rest him still Till thow Ferment after thy will Which if thow wilt Ferment for Whyte Thereby thow gainst noe greate profitt For I assure thee thow needest not dred To proceede with fire till all be Redd Than must thow proceede as did Philosophers old To prepaire thy Ferment of peure Gold Which how to doe though secret that it be Yet will I truly teach it thee In the next Chapter as erst I did say That soe the truth finde yow may Therefore of Charity and for our Lords sake Let noe man from my writings take One word nor add thereto For certainely if that he doe He shall shew malice fro the which I am free Meaning truth and not subtilty Which I refer to the Judgement Of those which ken the Philosophers intent Now listen me with all your might How to prepare your Ferment right O noble Worke of workes that God has wrought Whereby each thing of things are forth aye broght And fitted to their generacion By a noble fermentacion Which Ferment must be of such a thing As was the workes begyning And if thow doe progresse aright Whan thow hast brought the worke to whight And than to stay is thy intent Doe after my Comandement Worke Luna by her selfe alone With the blood of the greene Lyon As earst thow didst in the begining And of three didst make one thing Orderly yeilding forth right Till thy Magnet schew full whyte Soe must thow warke all thy Ferment Both White and Red else were yt shent Red by yt selfe and soe the White With the Lyons Blood must be deight And if thow wilt follow my lore Set in thy Ferment the same houre Of Sol for Redd of Luna for White Each by himselfe let worke tight Soe shall thy Ferment be ready edress To feede the King with a good mess Of meates that fitt for his digestion And well agreeing to his Complexion If he be of Collour White Feed hym than with Luna bright If his flesh be perfect Red Than with the Sun he must be fedd Your Ferment one fourth parte must be Into your Magnet made evenly And joyne hem warme and not cold For raw to ripe you may be bold Have disagreement soe have heate and cold Therefore put hem warme into thy Glasse Then seale it up even as it was And Circle all till yt be wonne By passing degrees every each one Both black and whyte and also redd Than of the Fire heere have noe dread For he will never dreade the fyre But ever abide thy desire And heere a secret to thee I must shew How to Multeplie that thow must know Or else it wil be over micle paine For thee to begin thy worke againe I say to thee that in noe fashion It 's so well Multeplied as with continuall Firmentation And sure far it wil be exalted at the last And in Projeccion ren full fast There for in fyre keepe Firment alway That thy Medicine augment mayst aye For yf the maid doe not her leaven save Then of her Neighbours sche must needs goe crave Or sche must stay till sche can make more Remember the Proverbe that store is no sore Thus have I tought thee a lesson full of truth If thow be wicked therefore my heart is reuth Remember God hys blessing he can take Whan he hath given it if abuse any you make For surely if thow be a Clerke Thow wilt finde trewth in thys werke But if so be that thow be lay And understond not what I say Keepe Councell then and leve thy Toy For it befitts no Lymmer loy To medle with such grete secresie As ys thys hygh Phylosophye My Councell take for â—how schalt finde it true Leave of seeking thys Lyon to pursue For hym to hunt that ys a prety wyle Yet by hys Craft he doth most Folke beguile And hem devour and leave hem full of care Wherefore I bidd thee to beware And Councell give thee as my frend And so my Hunting here I end Praying God that made us we may not myss To dwell with hym in hys Hevenly blyss THE BREVIARY OF NATURALL PHILOSOPHY Compiled by the unlettered Scholar THOMAS CHARNOCK Student in the most worthy Scyence of Astronomy and Philosophy The first of Ianuary Anno. Dom. 1557. Anno. Dom. 1557. The first day of the new yeare This Treatise was begun as after may appeare The Booke Speaketh COme hither my Children of this Discipline Which in naturall Philosophy have spent so long time To ease your painfull Study I am well willed And by the grace of God it shall be fulfilled If he in me my Author will
as Waters be made Some with Brenning as Colophonie And some with Water as Women make Lye Some be otherwise brought about And by naturall working fet out As Urin Sweat Milk and also Blood And Renniet which for Cheese is good By as manie manners and moe by one We seek Liquors for our Stone Every of the forenamed woll cleave To that thei touch and some deale leave But Quicksilver albeit it is fleeting Yet he woll never cleave to any thinge But to a Mettall of one kinde or other For there he findeth Sister or Brother Medling with suttill Erth doth him let To cleave to things such as he meet All the said Liquors which rehearsed be Conteyne fower Elements as well as he As Milke conteyneth Whey Butter and Cheese So done trewly every-each of all these Which fower maie be departed a twinn And after conjoynd to make ye winn But much more craftily they be heere sought Then Cheese and Butter and Whey be wrought And drawe neerer to simplicitie Then Cheese Butter or Whey maie be Of all Liquors which be in our Stone None is called simple but Water alone Of every Liquor which to our Stone shall goe Ye must know complexion and degree allso And than with Liquor ye maie abate The principall Agent from his Estate If he permanent and abiding be In any point of superfluitye As if the reigning qualitie be Driness Ye maie amend it with humour of Moistnes Now more now lesse as ye see need And so in all qualities proceede And in such wise order at your will The principall Agent your purpose to fulfill With knowledge of diversity contrarietie and accord Ye maie chuse which quality shall be Lord. Your Liquors be ordained to add and subtray To make equalitie by wisdome of assay But trust not that any thing maie be Hot and Moist both in one Degree For all that trust two qualities to be soe Shall be deceived where ever thei goe Common Schooles so teaching be not true Leave that Opinion and lerne this of new All Old men in that were oversecne To set in one degree anie qualities twaine Else thei said so that Schollers shulde not finde The secret mixtures of Elementall kind Therefore who cannot his graduations Maie not be perfect in our operations For in true Number God made every thing Without true Number no Man trulie maie sing Who faileth of his Number faileth of his Song Who faileth with us must doe Nature wrong COnsider also the nature of the meane When it is in the Third degree made cleane The purer that your meanes be The more perfection thereof ye shall see The meanes reteyne a great part Of the vertues of this Arte For the Principle maie not give influence To the Finall end neither the refluence Unto his Principall without succour and aid Of meanes conteyning the extremities aforesaid For like as by meanes of a treble Spirit The Soule of Man is to his Body knit Of which three Spirits one is called Vitall The second is called the Spirit Naturall The third Spirit is Spirit Animall And where they dwell now lerne ye shall The Spirit Vitall in the Hert doth dwell The Spirit Naturall as old Auctors tell To dwell in the Liver is thereof faine But Spirit Animall dwelleth in the Braine And as long as these Spirits three Continue in Man in there prosperitie So long the Soule without all strife Woll dwell with the Body in prosperous life But when theis Spirits in Man maie not abide The Soule forthwith departeth at that tide For the suttill Soule pure and immortall With the grosse Body maie never dwell withall He is so heavie and She so light and cleane Were not the suttilnesse of this Spirit meane Therefore in our worke as Auctors teach us There must be Corpus Anima Spiritus Also in our worke ye shall so finde That our meanes must accord in every kinde Of both extremities with wisdome sought Els all our worke shall turne cleere to nought For prudent Nature maie not by workinge Make Complement of appetite of a thing And so passe betweene extremities But if she first passe by all degrees Of everie meane this is truth unfained Wherefore Nature manie meanes ordained NOw after all this to lerne ye had need Of seven Circulations of Elements for your speede According to number of the Planets seaven Which no man knoweth but he have grace from heaven Old Philosophers men of great engine Said how of Circulations there shulde be Nine It is the â—urer to doe by their advice Nethles Seaven maie your worke suffice By inventions late found of new Of later Philosophers whos workes be trewe But for Circulations of Elements Some Clerks ween to have their intents When they fro Fier ordaine to descend To Aire thei ween not to offend If thei to Water doe then proceed And thens to Erth when thei see need And in such wise by order fall From the highest to the lowest of all Upon these words they tooke their ground That Aer est cibus ignis found But trust me that such Circulation Is but only a rectification Better serving for separation And for correction than for transmutation But the truth is that appetite of the Fier Hath to worke in Erth his cheefe desire As upon his cheefe foode materiall For Fier with Erth hath most concord of all Because that siccitie is the lyme of heate But Ayre of her kind is most wet Yet Fire without Ayre worketh not For Faces of Elements be knit with a knot Of Gods hand that they maie not depart By noe engine ne craft of Mans art As in Plomps ye have example faire Where heavie Water ariseth after Ayre Whereof noe cause reasonable ye shall finde But Connexion of faces of Elementall kinde But our Circulation is from Fier on high Which endeth with Water his most contrary Another Circulation beginneth with Ayre Ending with his Contrary cleane Erth and faier Fro Fier to Erth fro thence to Water cleane Fro thence to Ayre then fro thence by a meane Passing to Erth then eftsoones to Fier To such Circulations the Red worke hath desire Other Circulations be better for the White That be rehearsed for her appetite Every Circulation hath her proper season As her lightnesse accordeth with reason For as one Planet is more ponderous Then is another and slower in his course So some Circulations which Clerks seeks Must for her time have full thirtie Weeks Other Circulations shall oft time have lesse As one Planet is lighter then another was But the time of one with another will amount To twenty six Weekes proved by accompt After all grosse workes made before hand And after all Circumstances had I understande Ignorance hereof deceiveth manie a Man Causing them to cease where Wisemen began Common People which for this Science have sought Ween how in forty dayes it mought be wrought They know not how Nature and things of Arte Have a proper time assigned for their part As
Conclusion To leade an imparfect Body to hys greate parfectnesse In joyning that like to hys like thow standest in no distres For when thow hast joyned the milke to the Bodyes dry Than hast thow the White and Red Elixer truly The which ys a Marvilous and very precious Stone For therein lieth in thys Science all the worke upon In thys Science these Stones be in themselves so precious That in their working and nature they be marvelous To schew thee the greate vertue furthermore I will declare That if thow canst with thys manner of working well fare First thow must take of that Body which ys next Sol in perfection And of his colour toward in ponderosity proportion Being soluble as it were cleere blood running In the hot Element yt ys alwayes lightest and fleeting Then take parte of the Red Elixer that ys the precious Stone And cast him upon that body that ys blood running anon And whan thow hast thus parfectly thys warke wrought It schalbe turned into parfect Sol with litle labour or nought On the same wise do for Luna that is in the Colour so white In joyning with that body that is schining and somewhat light In the same proportion cast him the very white Stone And then ys all thy greatest warke both made and done Than hast thow both the Red warke and the White Therefor blessed be that tyme both day and night For thys warke that standeth by greate vertue and love Thow must thanke Almighty God in heaven above Sonn in the 21. Chapter there write I a full true Rime That ys to say unto thys warke thow have no greate disdaine Till thow have proved my words in deede and thought I know it well thys Science schalbe set at nought My Son to these last precepts looke thow take good hede For better ' t ys to have then to wish for in time of neede For who so ys bold in time to a Freind to breake He that ys thy Freind may be thy Fo and hys emnity wreake And therefor my Son I schall give thee a greate charge In uttering of speech be thow not to large To tell every man what thow hast in Silver or Gold For to have it from thee many men wil be right bold Also use not to revill or ryott that schould exceede To thy bodily health the better schalt thow speede Use temperate dyet and temperate travell For when Physitian thee fayleth thys schall thee availe And leave all blind warkes that thow hast seene or heard of Conclusions Or proved by Sublimations Preperations Distillations or Dissolutions Of such manner of things greate Bokes do greatly specifie And all those contrary sayings in this Craft I do plainly deny Also my Son remember how thow art mortall Abiding but a while in thys World which ys terrestriall Thow wottest not how long nor hence how soone That death schall thee visitt and unto thee Come And remember thee well at thy departing Whome thow lovedst and trustedst best old and young Make him thine Heire and most of thy Councell And give him thy Cunning or thy Boke every deale But beware of flattering and glosing People Of Boasters and Crackers for they will thee beguâ—le Of thy precious Cunning behinde or beforne And when they have their intent they will give thee a scorne Therefor make no Man of thy Councell rude nor rustie But him that thow knowest both true and trustie In ryding and going sleeping and waking Both in word and deede and in hys disposing Also in thy owne Chamber looke thow be secret That thy dores and windowes be close shet For some wyll come and looke in every Corner And anon they will aske what thow makest there And therefore a good excuse must soone be had Or else thow schalt verily wine for to run madd Say thow labourest sore both sleeping and waking To the perfect way of strange Colours making As yt be sure Bice Vermillion Aurum Musicum others moe Or else with some people thow schalt never have a doe Also thereof thow must have many samples to schew Or else they that harmes thinke will say so Also furthermore I give thee right good warning Beware of thy warking and also of thy uttering For the examination of the People better or worse Ere thow have for thy warke thy mony in thy purse Therefor take heede my Son unto these Chapters sixscore And all manner of things said what schould be don before For in Astronomy thow must have right good feeling Or else in thys Boke thow schalt have simple believing For thow must know well of seaven principle Characters To what Bodyes in heaven moving that they be likned in those figures And to understand their properties and their Conditions In Colours qualities softnes hardnes in their proper fashions Now Son to thee that understandest parfection Sciences Whether it be Speculative or Pracktick to my sentences In thys Science and labour I thinke it greate ruthe Therefore I write to thee very truth And to thee that understandest no parfection nor practike In no conclusion proved that schould be to hys warke like By Almighty God that all thys world hath wrought I have said and performed to thee right nought Therefore my Son before that thow thys Boke begin Understand wisely in thys what ys written therein For if thow canst not finde by thys Boke neither Sol nor Moynâ— Then go forth and seeke thow further as other fooles have done Explicit Liber dictus Pater Sapientiae Vaughan sculp IN the name of the holy Triniti Now send us grase so hit be Fyrst God made both Angel and Heaven Na alleso the World wyth Planets seaven Man and Woman wyth gret sensewalite Sum of estate and other in hyr degree Both Best and Worme for in the grown crepe Everyech in hys kynd to receve hys mete Egles and Fowles in the Eyre donfle And swemynge of Fycheys also in the See Wyth vygital moystter and of the red Grap And alleso of the whyâ—e hos can hym take Alle meneral thyng that growyth in grownd Sum to encrese and sum to make an end Alle thes bryngeth now to owre howse The mightti Ston that ys so precius Thys ryche 〈◊〉 that stoâ—n of pryce The whych 〈◊〉 send owt of Paradyce Thus made the gret God of heven Whych alle ben rewled under Planets seaven God send us parte of thys secrete And of that heven that ys sweet AMEN IYfe thow wilt thys warke begyn Than schrevy the clene of alle thy Seyne Contryte in hert wyth alle thy thowght And ever thenke on hym that the der bowght Satisfaction thow make wyth alle thy myght Than thre fayre flowers thow hast in syght Yet nedeth the mor to thy conclesyon Take thow good hede nowe to thys lessen Thow must have Grase Nature and Resen Spekelatif and Coning wyth good Condition Yet thow must have more now herto Experience wyth Pracktik Prudent also Patient that thow be and
Apprehensions The latter of which might as well say Jacobs practising to make his Lambs of a Py'd Colour was performed by the assistance or ministry of the Devill and as well condemne the use of Phisick because the Devill has taught Witches divers harmfull and uncharitable uses of Herbs Mineralls Excrements c. And as in some dull ages and among some Grosse Spirits it has proved dangerous to be Learned Witnesse our Renowned Roger Bachon whom Together with Artepheus Arnold de villa nova who were Philosophers of known reputation credit Wierus reckons among the Deplorati ingenii homines all whose Workes fairely written and well bound were by Religious pretending Sciolists dam'd as Devilish with long Nailes through them fastned to desks in the Franciscan Library at Oxford and there with Dust and Moths consumed Even so our other famous Country-man Profound Ripley was also abused who after his death is said to have been branded with the name of a Necromancer Pope Silvester the second pas'd for a Magician in the worst sence because he understood Geometry and about 150. yeares agoe so blind an age was it that to know Greeke and Necromancy were one and the same thing in opinion of the Illiterate However let the Ignorant scoffe and attribute that to Deceipt and Illusion which is the proper worke of Nature produced by exquisite knowledge I am confident the ingenously learned will approve and admire it But to teare off that ugly vizard which Envy has placed before the Face of so Divine a Beauty and to make way for the meaning of our Author I thinke it necessary in the first place that I touch upon the Word that gives a name to the Prosessors And that is Magus primitively a Persian word which onely signifies or imports a Contemplator of Heavenly and Divine Sciences a studious Observer an expounder of Divine things a name saith Marcellus Ficinus gratious in the Gospell not signifying a Witch or a Conjurer but a wise man and a Priest And in truth a true Magician acknowledges God to be the true Cause and Giver of life and vertue to Nature and all Naturall things of the Causes of which things as also of Divine is the whole scope and effect of all their Writings and Discourses In the Next place that I give the Definition of Magick because as Myrandula sayes it is an Art which few understand and many reprehend and therefore of necessity to be clearly evinced Receive it from a learned hand you le finde it worth your observance Magick is the Connexion of naturall Agents and Patients answerable each to other wrought by a wise Man to the bringing forth of such effects as are wonderfull to those that know not their causes Thus Hee Paracelsus called it a most secret and hidden Scyence of supernaturall things in the Earth that whatsoever is impossible to be found out by mans Reason may by this Art And shortly after to cleere it from imputations adds that t is in it selfe most pure and not defiled with Cerimonies nor Conjurations as Necromancy is Agreeable to both but more copiously delivered is that of Corn Agrippa who affirmes Magick to containe the profoundest Contemplation of most secret things together with the nature power quality substance and vertues thereof as also the knowledge of whole nature That instructs us concerning the difference and agreement of things amongst themselves whence it produceth its wonderfull effects by uniting the vertues of things through the application of them one to the other and to their inferiour sutable Subjects joyning and knitting them together throughly by the powers and vertues of superiour Bodies This briefly is an account of that Learning whose Operations and Effects being full of Misteries was by the Ancients esteemed as the highest and sacred Phylosophie the fountaine of all good doctrine Animadverto saith Pliny summum Literarum claritatem gloriaâ—que ex hac scientiâ antiquitus penes semper petitam What hath been hitherto said will not I presume offend the Eares of the most Pious for here is no Incantations no Words no Circles no Charmes no other fragments of invented Fopperies nor needs there any Nature with whom true Magicians only deale can worke without them she findes Matter and they Art to helpe and assist Her and here 's All. To instance the Generation of Froggs Lyce Wormes Insects c. The worke of a Philosopher is therein onely to strengthen the Seeds of Nature for she alone Workes and so to quicken them that they hasten the worke of Generation and by such meanes Tho. Aquinas supposes Pharo's Magitians produced Froggs insomuch as it seems to the Ignorant not to be the Worke of Nature that usually operates more leasurely rather the Power of the Devill But they who are learned in those Arts marvell not at such working but Glorifie the Creator To whose Honour alone these Operations must chiefly tend for he is best praised in his workes and we knowing him in and by these visible things may through such knowledge understand his more Secret and Invisible things and thereby be better inabled to Glorifie him then men otherwise can Now I deny that any measure of understanding in naturall Magick how large soever or the utmost and â—arthest search we can possibly make into that pure and primitive knowledge of Nature to be a prying inâ—o those Hidden Secrets which God would have concealed and ranked among the number and nature of those things he has prohibited us to search into as I know there are that will tell you it is and they such as weare the Coatâ— and would be loath to want the reputation of Schollars And this is fully manifested from Adam who before his Fall was so absolute a Philosopher that he fully understood the true and pure knowledge of Nature which is no other then what we call Naturall Magick in the highest degree of Perfection insomuch that by the light thereof upon the present view of the Creatures he perfectly knew their Naures and was as able to bestow names sutable to their Qualities and Properties For This was a larger and cleerer Ray of the Light of Nature then all the industry of man since the Fall was able to hope for or attaine unto and to attest the allowance bestowed upon him by God himselfe Nor was it this Naturall knowledg that introduced his Fall or can be any Offence or Sin in us were it possible to arrive at his Perfection No certainly Adams transgression for which he fell was of a higher Nature even that proud inquiry into the knowledge of good and evill with no lesse intent then to make a totall defection from God and depend wholly upon himselfe and his free will Besides t is worthy Observation that God in constituting Moses to be a Governor over his owne people seemed as willing to make choyce of such a one for that high Office as was learned in all the Sciences then in request with the Egyptians among whom Magick was the
to Trebona the Rancour Dissimulation was more evident to him and it seemes grew up to a greater height then he could beare And thereupon he thought wisely to avoid the further Danger by leaving Germany which occasioned him to deliver to Sir Edward Kelley the Powder the Bookes the Glasse with some other things and thereupon received his Discharge in writing under his Hand and Seale While these Discontents continued severall Letters past between Queene Elizabeth and Doctor Dee whereby perhaps he might promise to returne At length it so fell out that he left Trebona and took his Iourney for England The ninth of Aprill he came to Breame and had not stayed there three dayes but the Landtgrave of Hesse sent Letters of Civill Complements to him and within three dayes after Doctor d ee presented him with his Twelve Hungarian Horses that he bought at Prague for his Journey Here that famous Hermetique Philosopher Doctor Henric Kunrath of Hamburgh came to visit him The 16. of Nov. he went thence to Stade where he met with Mr. Edward Dyer going Embassador for Denmarke who the yeare before had beene at Trebona and carried back Letters from the Doctor to Queene Elizabeth He was a great Corespondent of Doctor Dees and as earnest a Searcher after the Stone The 23. of Novemb. following he arrived at Graves end having beene out of England 6. yeares 2. Moneths and 2. Dayes and the 9th of Decemb. presented himselfe to the Queene at Richmond where he was favoured with a kinde Reception Being setled againe at Mortclack the Queene used to call at his House to visit him and shewed herself very Curteous to him upon all Occasions Against Christmas 1590. she sent him Two hundred Angels where with to keep his Christmas and a hundred Makes against Christmas 1592. she liâ—ewise sent him word by Mr. Thomas Candish to doe what he would in Alchymie and Philosophy and none should controule or molest him and not unlike by the Queenes example divers Personages of Honour at Court frequented his Company and sent him many Guists from time to time Amongst others Sir Thomas Jones most nobly offered him his Castle of Emlin in Wales to dwell in free with all Accomadations His Favour was faire at Court the Queene her selfe bad him finde out something for her to bestow yet all the preferment he gain'd was the Grant of the Chancellorship of St. Pauls and the 27 of May 1595. his Patent past the great Seale for the Wardenship of Manchester whither He his Wife Children and Family came the 14. of Feb. 1596. and the 20. day following was Installed and in this Wardenship wherein he had the unhappinesse to be often vext with the Turbulent Fellowes of that Colledge dyed deserving the Commendations of all Learned and Ingenious Schollert and to be remembred for his remarkable Abilities After Doctor Dee came into England as is before remembred Correspondency was still maintained betweene him and Sir Edward Kelley in Letters sent by Mr. Francis Garland and others and some expectancy of Sir Edwards comming over Mr. Thomas Kelley his Broher putting the Doctor in hopes thereof likewise but at length Sir Edward was clapt up close Prisoner by the Emperour for he had so unwarily and openly managed the Secret that it had given the Emperour occasion to carry a strict Eye over all his Actions out of a desire to be sharer with him in his good fortune yet it seemes the Emperour set him at Liberty and Doctor Dee had notice of it the 5. of Decemb after And though he began to grow into the Emperours favour in hopes to be entertained into his Service for so he certified Doctor Dee by Letters in August 1595. Neverthelesse he was clapt up againe into Prison and attempting to make his Escape out of a high Window by the teering of his Sheetes which were tyed together to let him downe he being a weighty Man fell and broke his Legg and thereof dyed The Ascendent then coming by Direction to the place of the Moone with Latitude she being Lady of the 8th house in the Radix and posited in Aquarius And this is one report of his Death others there are but Doctor Dee mencions none at all of the manner thereof onely this Novemb. 25. Newes that Sir E. K. was staine Pag. 365. A Dialogue betwixt the Father and the Sonne THis Dialogue is there placed among the Anonymi in regard I then knew not the Author but afterwards I met with the intire Worke and found it to be that of Ripley's which is called the Mistery of Alchymists and that this Fragment was but drawne out of it only drest up with another Tytle which if the Reader compare he shall readily finde For the want of Snese in some parts thereof as also in other Elder Pieces I hope the Dimnes of the Taper will be excused where there was no cleerer light to be found For though like the Sun they may seeme to have some Spots yet the candid Peruser must confesse they are not without their pecullar Glories The truth is some Passages through them were so obscure and dark and the Paths I followed so rugged and uneven that I could neither stay in them without manifest disparagement or goe out of them without some Danger and from my discoveries fraught thence I am well assured I might have more contented the Reader could I have satisfied my Self better However I durst not adventure to Rectifie what I found amisse but thought it better to leave it to the Iudgement of each that takes the paines to study them then obtrude my owne sense lest what I judge an Emendation others may sensure as a Grosse fault and withall ever remembring the strict Charge the generality of Philosophers have continually given to succession not to meddle or alter any of their Workes I even in what I feare are manifest Imperfections dare not but most inviolably observe them and amongst them all this Credible and Trusty Philosopher is not unworthy of our taking notice of who thus requires the same Therefore in Charite and for the Lords sake Let no man from my writing take One word or add thereto For certainely if that he do He shall shew malice fro which I am free Meaning Truth and not subtily Pag. 368. lin 5. And also with grete diligence THis Piece is the Worke of Sir John Gower and Collected out of his Booke De Confessione Amantis He is placed in the Register of our Hermetique Philosophers and one that adopted into the Inheritance of this Mistery our famous English Poet Geoffry Chaucer In this litle Fragment it appeares he fully understood the Secret for he gives your a faithfull account of the Properties of the Minerall Vegitable and Animall Stones and affirmes the Art to be true This Craft is wrought by wey of kinde So that there is no faâ—lace in And againe The Scyence of himselfe is trew Upon the forme as it is founded He was an eminent Poes and