wythout delusyon For though yt in Water ly a hundred yeres and more Yet shold thou fynd it sound as ever it was afore But and thou kepe hyt somtyme wete sometyme dry As thow many se in Tymber by usuall experyment By prosses of tyme that Oke shall utterly Putrefy And soe in lykewyse accordyng to our entent Sometyme our Tre must wyth the Son be brent And then wyth Water sone after we must hyt kele That by thys menes thou shalt to rottyng bryng hyt wele For nowe in wete and nowe agayne in dry Now in grete hot and now agayne in cold To be shall cause yt sone for to putrefy And so shalt thow bryng to rottyng thy Gold Entrete thy Bodys therfore as I have thee told And in thy Putrefying wyth hete be not so swyft Lest in the Askys thou seke after thy thryft Therfore thy Water out of the Erth thow draw And make the soule therwyth for to assend Then downe agayne into the Erth hyt throw That they oft tymes so assend and dessend From vyolent hete and sodayne cold defend Thy Glasse and make thy fyre so temperat That by the sydys thy Water be never vytryfycate And be thou wyse in chesing of thy Water Medyll with no Salt Sulphure nor mene Minerall For whatsoever any Water to the do clatter Our Sulphure and Mercury be only in Mettall Which Oylys and Waters som men call Fowlys and Byrds wyth other namys many one Because that folys shold never know our Stone For of thys World our Stone ys callyd the sement Whych mevyd by craft as Nature doth requyre In hys encrese shall be full opulent And multeply hys kynd of thyne owne desyre Therfore yf God vouchsafe thee to enspyre To know the trewth and fancies to eschew Lyke unto the shal be in ryches but few But many be mevyd to worke after ther fantasy In many subjects in whych be Tynctors gay Both Whyte and Red devydyd manually To syght but in the Fyre they fle away Such brekyth Potts and Glassys day by day Enpoysonyng themfelfs and losyng of theyr syghts Wyth Odors and smoks and wakeyng up by nyghts Their Clothes be bawdy and woryn threde-bare Men may them smell for Multyplyers where they go To fyle theyr fyngers wyth Corrosyves they do not spare Theyr Eyes be bleryd theyr Chekys both lene bloe And thus for had I wyst they suffer losse an d wo Such when they have lost that was in theyr purse Then do they chyd and Phylosophers sore accurse For all the whyle that they have Phylosophers ben Yet cowde they never know our Stone Som sought in Soote Dung Uryne som in Wyne Som in Sterr slyme for thyng yt ys but one In Blood Eggs Som tyll theyr thryst was gone Devydyng Elements and brekyng many a pott Multyplying the sherds but yet they hyt yt not To se theyr Howsys it ys a noble sport What Fornaces what Glassys there be of divers shape What Salts what Powders what Oyles and waters for t How eloquently de materia prima they clape And yet to fynde the trewth they have no hap Of our Mercury they medle and of our Sulphur vyve Wherein they dote and more and more unthryve They take of the Red Man and hys whyte Wyfe That ys a speciall thyng and of Elixers two Of the Quintessence and of the Elixers of lyfe Of Hony Celydony and of Secundyns also These they devyde into Elements wyth other mo No Multeplyers but Phylosophers callyd wyll they be Whych naturall Phylosophye dyd never rede nor see Thys felyshyp knowyth our Stone ryght wele They thynke them rycher then ys the Kyng They wyll hym helpe he shall not fayle Fraunce for to wyn a wonders thyng The holy Crosse home wyll they bryng And yf the King were prysoner I take Anon hys Raunsome would they make A mervell yt ys that Westminster Church To whych these Phylosophers do haunte Syth they so much ryches can woorche As they make boste of and avaunte Drynkyng dayly the wyne a due taunte Ys not made up perfytly at on s For truly hyt lackyth yet many Stonys Folys doe folow them at the tayle Promotyd to ryches wenyng to be But wyll ye here what worshyp and avayle They wyn in London that nobyll cyte Wyth Sylver Macys as ye may se Sarjaunts awayting on them every owre So be they men of great honour Sarjaunts sekyth them fro Strete to Strete Marchaunts and Goldsmyths leyeth after them watch That well ys he that wyth them do mete For the great advantage that they doe cache They hunt about as doth a Rache Wenyng to wyn so grete tresure That ever in ryches they shall endure Som wold cache theyr goods agayne And some more good would aventure Som for to have wold be full fayne Of Ten pound one I you ensuer Som whych hath lent wythout mesure Theyr goods and be with powerte bestad To cache a Nobyll wold be full glad But when the Sarjaunts do them arest Ther Paukeners be stuffed wyth Parrys balls Or wyth Sygnetts of Seynt Martynes at the lest But as for Mony yt ys pyssyd on the walls Then be they led as well for them befalls To Newgate or Ludgate as I you tell Because they shall in safegard dwell Where ys my Mony becom seyth one And where ys myne seyth he and he But wyll ye here how suttell they be anon In answeryng that they excused may be Saying Of our Elyxers robbyd we be Ells myght we have payd you all your Gold Yf yt had been more by ten folde And then theyer Creditors they begyn to flatter Promysyng to worke for them agayne The Elyxers two in short space after Dotyng the Merchaunts that they be fayne To let them go but ever in vayne They worke so long tyll at the last They be agayne in Pryson cast Yf any then aske them why they be not ryche They sey they make fyne Gold of Tynn But he they sey may surely swym in dyche Whych ys upholden by the chyn We have no stock therefore may we nought wyn Whych yf we had we wold some worche I now to fynysh up Westmynster Churche And some of them be so Devowte They wyll not dwell out of that place For there they may wythowten dowte Do what them lyft to their Solace The Archedeacon ys so full of grace Yf that they please hym wyth the Crosse He forsyth lyttyll of other menys losse And when they there syt at the wyne These Monkys they sey have many a pound Wolde God seyth one that som were myne Hay hoe careaway lat the cup go rounde Drynk on seyth another the mene ys founde I am a Master of that Arte I warrant us we shall have parte Such causyth the Monkys then evyll to don To wast ther Wagys thorow theyr dotage Som bryngeth a Mazer and som a Spone There Phylosophers gevyth them such corage Behotyng them wynnyng wythout damage A pound for a peny at the lest agayne And so fayre promys
likenes of a body in fusion having hys fashion But at the first in their Bed they may indure no greate heate Soe as they may well labour in their Bed for sweate Att the first if there be in their Chamber overmuch red Colour Hastily going thereto will cause greate Dolour For in their first Nest they schould be both water running And because of heate they schould be ever drying And so therein hecome a subtill dry Substance The which warke schall thee greately avaunce Therefor their Nest must be made of a strong kinde Of the most hardest and cleerest Body that they not out winde For if it so be that their Chamber or Nest begin to breake Anon out thereof they will begin to Creake And then ys all thy warke and thy greate labour lost Then thou maist begin againe upon a new cost And so thow mayst not be negligent and hasty but of the bed be sure Without it be hard stuff and cleere it will not indure And if thow wil at the first hand give suddaine heate It will unto thy Warke be nothing meete And if thow let him have any suddaine greate Cold All thys schall breke thy warke then art thow to bold Let their Nest be somewhat large with a broade roufe And therein they schall abide if it be strong and close above And in proportion put thereto nothing more nor lesse But as ys sayd before if thow doe yt ys the worse Also from the beds head there must rise a highe Spoute And another almost downe to the bottome that the Spirit go not out For thou must save the flyers that swim into the upper place For they may hereafter ingender a body as well as the other in space Also be sure that thow put in their Bed no other thing Then thereof thow schalt have no greate winnyng If thow do thys it schall be to thee for the best To keepe them close from flying and warme in their Nest First with soft fyre her Nest must be warmed With a litle bigger Fyre with overmuch they schalbe harmed Under thy Chamber flowre measure thy Fyre with tyme Then commeth the reward Gold and Silver fine After the quantity space and tyme must be had For to deale togeder they be in their dealing glad And how long space and tyme I cannot well say That they in their Chamber and Nest wil be in sport and play Behold the uppermost of their Nest what there commeth out The sweting of their Bodys labouring round aboute And when they have played and sweate and laboured so sore They wil be still and neither labour nor sweate any more Then let them coole easily and draw their breath And then there schalbe some above and some beneath There thou schalt see a Stone as it were grey pouther Which schalbe to the a ryght greate wonder Then take them out of their Chamber and Bed anon And lay them upon a Marble stone and breake them thereon And looke what thow hast in of Colour and Ponderosity Put to him as much of Flos florum greatest in dignity That ys the same Spirit that thow hadst before And so medle them togeder and leare them the same lore Altogeder in another Bed and in their Chamber they must be For a marvelous warke thereof thow schalt understand and see And thus so oft thow must Multiplie thy Warke To ascend and descend into the Aire as doth the Larke For when the Larke ys weary above in hys stound Anon he falleth right downe to the ground Behold well their Body and to their head lay thine Eare And harken thow well what warke they make there If they begin to sing any manner of voyce Give them more heate till thow heare no noyce And thus give them more heate in their Chamber and Bed also Till thou hearest no manner of noyse rumbling to nor fro And thus continue in their Bed in their sporting playes After the quantity thereof continue so many dayes When their play and wrestling ys all well done In their voyce singing and crying and sweating up and downe Give their Chamber bigger heate till their Nest be red And so bring them downe low and have no feare nor dread For thus with heate they schalbe brought full low That they schall in their Bed ne cry nor crow But as a Body lye still downe in their Bed In their owne liknes as they were bodyes dead Of Grey and White ys all hys cheife Colour For then he ys past all hys greate Dolour I sweare by Almighty God that all hath wrought Thow hast found out that many other Men hath sought Then take thow hym out of hys Cchamber and Bed And thow schalt then finde a fixt Body as he were dead Keepe thow hym close and secretly within thy place And thanke Almighty God of hys grace Now my Son before thys after thys Science I have right well sought And thus to thee I have the White Elixer parfetly wrought And if thow wilt of the Red Elixer parfetly understand Thow must take such another warke in hand My Son whan thow hast wrought more upon more Dubling each time as I said before Make thow what thow wilt of Red substance As I did the White warke in manner of Governance Then thow must take the Red Stone that ys all ponder And lay on a Mable Stone and breake him a sunder And to medle him with the white Spirit and Water cleere And so put him in hys Bed and Chamber in the Fire And so in hys Chamb. in hys Bed he must all thys while be Till thow hast turn'd and broght him to another manner of glee Thys Red Elixer if thow wilt open worke heare Thys manner of Schoole thow must right well leare Thow must hang him in his Chamber with red Colour Till he be fixed and brought from hys great Dolour Then of thys worthy warke be not thow agast For in the warke all the worst ys past And so in hys fiery Nest and Chamber let him be sure For the longer he be in the better schalbe hys tincture Soe that he runn not like blood overcoming hys fusion Then hast thow parfectly thys worke in conclusion Thus he must continue in thys greate heate of Firing Till he be full fixed that he be not running nor flying Then he will give tincture without Number running like wax Unto hys like of fusion he will both joyne and mix And yf thy Warke be thus well guided and so forth led Then hast thow in thy Warke right well and wittily sped For if thow do otherwise then I have thee tould In the adventure of thy warke thow maist be to bold For if thow warke by good measure and parfect tyme Thow schalt have very good Gold and Silver fine Than schalt thow be richer in thy self than any King Wythowt he labour the Science and have the same thing Now my deare Son I schall teach thee how to cast a Projection Therein lyeth all the greate prafetnes with the
me For I have done If Reason take no place What can be said but that there doubts will be Doe what one can where folly wins the race Let it suffice this is the perfect Base Which is the Stone that must dissolved be How that is done I will declare to thee This is the Stone that Ripley bidds you take For untill thus it be it is no Stone Be rul'd by me my councell not forsake And he commands Let Crudities alone If thou have grace to keep thee free from moan Then stick to this let Phansey not o'resway thee Let Reason rule for Phansey will betray thee Take thou this Stone this Wife this Child this All. Which will be Gummous crumbling silken soft Upon a Glasse or Porphire beat it small And as you grinde with Mercury feede it oft But not so much that Mercury swim aloft But equall parts nipt up their seed to save Then each in other are buried within their grave When thus and there you have it as is said Worke in all points as Nature wrought at first For Blacknes had thow needest not be afraid It wil be White then art thou past the worst Except th ou breake thy Glasse and beaccurst But if through Blacknes thou to Whitenes march Then will it be both White and soft as Starch This very place is cal'd by many names As Imbibition Feeding Sublimation Clyming high Mountaines also Childrens Games And rightly it is termed Exaltation When all is nothing else but Circulation Of the foure Elements whatsoere fooles clatter Which is done by heate upon Forme and Matter Earth is the lowest Element of All Which Black is exalted into Water Then no more Earth but Water wee it call Although it seeme a black Earthy matter And in black dust all about will scatter Yet when soe high as to Water it hath clym'd Then is it truly said to be Sublym'd When this black Masse againe is become White Both in and out like snow and shining faire Then this Child this Wife this Heaven so bright This Water Earth sublimed into Aire When there it is it further will prepare It selfe into the Element of Fire Then give God thankes for granting thy desire This Black this White doe we call Seperation Which is not manuall but Elementall It is no crude Mercuriall Sublimation But Natures true worke consubstantiall The White is called Conjunction naturall Secret and perfect Conjunction not grosse Which bringeth profitt all other losse When thrice yee have turned this Wheele about Feeding and working it as I have said Then will it flow like Wax without doubt Giving a Tincture that will not vade Abiding all tryalls that can be made If wisely Project you can and keepe free Both profitt and creditt to you it wil be Your Medicine fixed and perfectly flowing White you must thinke will Whitenes increase So Red begets Red as Seede in the sowing Begetteth his like or as kinde doth in Beasse And fire must be the true maker of peace For white or red Ferment your Medicine augmenteth And perfectly tinckteth and soone it relenteth That is to say your Medicine ended If White melt downe Silver and thereon Project it If Red melt downe Sol for so it is intended Like unto like in no wise reject it And out of the purest looke you elect it Medicen one parte upon Ferment ten That One on one Thousand of Jupiter then Your Jupiter standing red hot on the fyre So soone as your Medicine upon him is cast Presently standeth so hard as a Wyre For then he is fixed and melteth by blast And of all your working thisis the last Then let it by Test or strong water be tryde The best Gold or Silver no better shall bide Mercury erude in a Crucible heated Presently hardeneth lik Silver anealed And in the high Throwne of Luna is seated Silver or Gold as Medicine hath sealed And thus our greate Secret I have reveled Which divers have seene and my selfe have wrought And dearely I prize it yet give it for nought E. K. FINIS SIR ED KELLEY CONCERNING the Philosophers Stone written to his especiall good Freind G. S. Gent. THe heavenly Cope hath in him Natures fower Two hidden but the rest to sight appeare Wherein the Spermes of all the Bodies lower Most secrett are yâ—tt spring forth once a yeare And as the Earth with Water Authors are So of his parte is Drines end of care No Flood soe greate as that which floweth still Nothing more fixt than Earth digested thrise No Winde so fresh as when it serveth will No Profitt more then keepe in and be wise No better happ then drie up Aire to dust For then thou maist leave of and sleepe thy lust Yett will I warne thee least thou chaunce to faile Sublyme thine Earth with stinkeing Water erst Then in a place where Phaebus onley tayle Is seene att midday see thou mingle best For nothing shineth that doth want his light Nor doubleth beames unlosse it first be bright Lett no man leade unlesse he know the way That wise men teach or Adrop leadeth in Whereof the first is large and easiest pray The other hard and meane but to begin For surely these and no one more is found Wherein Appollo will his harp-strings sound Example learne of GOD that plaste the Skyes Reflecting vertues from and t'every poynt In which the mover wherein all things lyes Doth hold the vertues all of every Joynt And therefore Essence fift may well be said Conteining all and yett himselfe a Maid Remember also how the Gods began And by Discent who was to each the Syre Then learne their Lives and Kingdomes if you can Their Manners eke with all their whole Attire Which if thou doe and know to what effect The learned Sopheis will thee not reject If this my Doctrine bend not with thy brayne Then say I nothing though I said too much Of truth t is good will moved me not gaine To write these lynes yett write I not to such As catch at Crabs when better fruits appeare And want to chuse at fittest time of yeare Thou maist my Freind say what is this for lore I answere such as auncient Phyficke taught And though thou read a thousand Bookes before Yett in respect of this they teach thee Naught Thou mayst likewise be blind and call me Foole Yett shall these Rules for ever praise their Schoole TESTAMENTUM JOHANNIS d ee PHILOSOPHI SUMMI ad Johannem Gwynn transmissum 1568. THis Letter third and last I minde to make At your request for very vertues sake Your written panges and methods set aside From that I byd looke that you never slide Cut that in Three which Nature hath made One Then strengthen hyt even by it self alone Wherewith then Cutte the poudred Sonne in twayne By length of tyme and heale the woonde againe The self same Sunne twys yet more ye must wounde Still with new Knives of the same kinde and grounde Our Monas trewe thus use by natures Law
never had sight to peinte How shoulde a borne blinde Man be sure To write or make good Portrature To build Poules steeple might be greate doubt For such proude Clerks to bring aboute Such might well happ to breake their crowne Ere they coude wisely take it downe Wherefore all such are full farr behinde To fetch out the secreatest pointe of kinde Therefore all Men take theire fortune and chaunce Remit such Clerks to their Ignorance NOw ye that will this Science pursue Learne ye to know fals Men from trew All trew searchers of this Science of Alkimy Mustbe full learned in their first Philosophie Else all their laboure shall them let and greive As he that fetcheth Water in a Sive The trew men search and seeke all alone In hope to finde our delectable stone And for that thei would that no Man shulde have losse They prove and seeke all at their owne Coste Soe their owne Purses they will not spare They make their Coffers thereby full bare With greate Patience thei doe proceede Trusting only in God to be their speede THe fals man walketh from Towne to Towne For the most parte in a threed-bare-Gowne Ever searching with diligent awaite To winn his praye with some fals deceit Of swearing and leasing such will not cease To say how they can Silver plate increase And ever they rayle with perjury Saying how they can Multiplie Gold and Silver and in such wise With promise thei please the Covetise And Causeth his minde to be on him sett Then Falsehood and Covetise be well mett But afterwards within a little while The Multiplier doth him beguile With his faire promise and with his fals othes The Covetise is brought to threed-bare clothes But if he can hastily be well aware Of the Multiplier and of his Chaffare Of whose deceipts much I can reporte But I dare not least I give comforte To such as be disposed to Treachery For so much hurte mought come thereby Wherefore advise you and be wise Of them which proffer such servise If they had Cunning have ye no doubt They woll be loath to shew it out When such men promise to Multiplie They compasse to doe some Villony Some trew mans goods to beare awaye Of such fellowes what shulde I saye All such false men where ever thei goe They shulde be punished thei be not so Upon Nature thei falsely lye For Mettalls doe not Multiplie Of this Sentence all men be sure Evermore Arte must serve Nature Nothing multiplieth as Auctors sayes But by one of theis two wayes One by rotting called Putrefaction That other as Beasts by Propagation Propagation in Mettalls maie not be But in our Stone much like thing ye may see Putrefaction must destroy and deface But it be don in its proper place Mettalls of kinde grow lowe under ground For above erth rust in them is found Soe above erth appeareth corruption Of mettalls and in long tyme destruction Whereof noe Cause is found in this Case But that above Erth thei be not in their place Contrarie places to nature causeth strife As Fishes out of water losen their Lyfe And Man with Beasts and Birds live in ayer But Stone and Mineralls under Erth repaier Physicians and Appoticaries faut appetite and will To seech water flowers on a dry hill For God hath ordeyned of his wisdome and grace All things to grow in their naturall place Against this doctrine some Men replie And say that Mettalls doe Multiplie For of Silver Lead Tinn and al so Brasse Some veyne is more and some is lasse Or which diversitie Nature shulde cease If Mettalls did not multiplie and increase Wherefore they say that reason sheweth nowe How that under Erth they multiplie and growe Why not then above Erth in vessells close and faire Such as shulde preserve them from Fire Water and Aier Hereto we say this reason is but rude For this is noe perfect similitude For cause efficient of Mettalls finde ye shall Only to be the vertue Minerall Which in everie Erth is not found But in certaine places of eligible ground Into which places the Heavenly Spheare Sendeth his beames directly everie yeare And as the matters there disposed be Such Mettalls thereof formed shall you see Few grownds be apt to such generation How shoulde then above ground be Multiplication Also all men perceyven that be wise How Water conjealed with Cold is yse And before tyme it harded was Some lay in more places and some in lasse As water in fosses of the Carte-wheele Were veynes smale whan they began to keele But water in ditches made veynes more For plenty of water that was therein froare Hereupon to say it were noe good advice That therefore of yse should multiply more yse Soe though there be of Mettalls veynes more and lasse It proveth not that they increase more then it was Alsoe ye may trust without any doubt If Multiplying should be brought about All th'engredience must draw to simplcity And breake Composition as yearly ye may see For Multiplying of Hearbes how Nature hath provided That all things joyned in the seede be divided Else stalke and leaves which vertually therein be May not come forth actually that eye mought them see But Mettall holdeth his holle Composicion When corrasive waters have made dissolucion Therefore syth yse is nerrer to simplicity Then is Mettall and maie not increased be Trewly ye maie trust as I said before How of one ounce of Silver maie Silver be noe more Also nothing multiplyed shall ye finde But it be of Vegetative or of Sensitive kinde Where Mettalls be only Elamentative Having noe seede nether feeling of life Wherefore concluding all Multipliers must cease For Mettalls once Mettalls shall noe more increase Nathlesse one Mettall transmuted we finde Unto a Mettall of another kinde For propinquity of matter that in them was As it is knowne betwixt Iron and Brasse But to make trew Silver or Gold is noe ingin Except only the Philosophers medicine Wherefore such leasings as Multipliers use Clerks reprove and utterly refuse Such art of Multiplying is to be reproved But holy Alkimy of right is to beloved Which treateth of a precious Medicine Such as trewly maketh Gold and Silver fine Whereof example for Testimonie Is in a Citty of Catilony Which Raymond Lully Knight men suppose Made in seaven Images the trewth to disclose Three were good Silver in shape like Ladies bright Everie each of Foure were Gold and did a Knight In borders of their Clothing Letters like appeare Signifying in Sentence as it sheweth here 1. Of old Horshoes said one I was yre Now I am good Silver as good as ye desire 2. I was said another Iron fet from the Mine But now I am Gould pure perfect and fine 3. Whilome was I Copper of an old red pann Now am I good Silver said the third woman 4. The fourth saide I was Copper growne in the filthy place Now am I perfect Gould made by Gods grace 5. The fift said I was
Stone ye shall finde For it abideth fire as stones doe by kinde But it is no Stone in touching ne in sight But a subtill Earth browne roddy and not bright And when it is separate and brought to his appearage Then we name it our grounde Litharge First it is browne roddy and after some deale white And then it is called our chosen Markasite One ounce thereof is better then sifty pounde It is not to be sould in all Christian grounde But he that would have it he shal be faine To doe it make or take himselfe the paine But one greate grace in that labour is saine Make it once well and never more againe Olde fathers called it thinge of vile price For it is nought worth by way of Marchandise Noe man that findeth it woll beare it awaie Noe more then thei would an Ounce of Claye Men will not beleeve that it is of high price No man knoweth it therefore but he be wise Here have I disclosed a greate secret wonder Which never was writ by them which been erth under A Nother Stone Tonsile you must have withall Or else you fawte your cheefe Mâ—â—â—riall Which is a Stone gloriouse faier and bright In handling a Stone and a Stone in sight A Stone glittering with perspecuitie Being of wonderfull Dâ—aphanitie The price of an Ounce Conveniently Is twenty shillings or well neere thereby Her name is Magnetia few people her knowe She is fownde in high places as well as in lowe Plato knew her property and called her by her name And Chaucer reherseth how Titanos is the same In the Channons Yeomans Taile saying what is thus But quid ignotum per magis ignotius That is to say what may this be But unknowne by more unknowne named is she Nethles Tonsile now I will trewlie teach What is Magnetia to say in our speache Magos is Greeke Mirabile in Latine it ys Aes is Money yâ—os Science A is God ywisse That is to say it is such a thinge Wherein of Money is wonderous divine Cunninge Now here you may know what is Magnetia Res aeris in qua latet scientia divinaque mira Thes two Stones Tonsile ye must take For your materialls Elixir if ye make Albeit the first tyme materialls be no more Yet many things helpeth as I saide before This secrete was never before this daye So trewly discovered take it for your praye I pray God that this turne not me to Charge For I dread sore my penn goeth too large For though much people perceive not this Sentence Yet subtill Clerks have too much Evidence For many Clerks be so cleere of witt If thei had this ground thei were sure of it Wher our Lord hath ordained that no man it finde But only he that is of verteous minde Wherefore olde Fathers Covered for great reason The Matters of our Stone disclosed at this season Other Materials ye shall none take But only theis two oure white stone to make Except Sal Armoniack with Sulphur of kinde Such as out of Mettals ye can finde Theis two woll abide to fulfill your desire The remnant will void when thei come to fire Sulpher woll brenn and chaunge Collours fast But our Litharge abideth first and last Ye may not with mettals or Quicksilver beginn To make Elixir if you intend to winn Yet if you destroy the whole Composition Some of their Compounds will help in Conclusion And that is nothing Els of that one or that other But only Magnetia and Litharge her Brother Ro Vaughan sculp CHAP. IV. OF the grosse Warke now I will not spare Though it be secrete largely to declare To teach you the trewth is myne intente As far forth as I dare for Gods Commaundement I will informe and guide you in the way In such wise as you may finde your praye If you consider how the partes of Werkes Be out of Order set by the old Clerks As I saide before the Masters of this Arte Every each of them disclosed but a parte Wherefore though ye perceived them as ye woulde Yet ye cannot order and joyne them as ye shulde Arnold sheweth in his writinge How our finall secret is to know the thinge Whereupon our worke shulde take her grounde And how pure Natures simple may be found In this Boke begining multipharie He saith in our grounded Matter two kindes be But how to find them he kept that in store Ye have their Names the last Chapter before Freer Bacon disclosed more of that pointe When he said Departe ye every joynte In Elementa propinqua take good heede thereto But unwise Doctours never worken soe But headly they proceed as men well nigh madd To the Matters divisible moe Matters they adde Soe when thei weene to bringe forth a Flower They doe nothinge but multiply Errour There cesed Bacon and so doe other such For very dread least they shulde shew too much Avicen in Porta wrote if ye remember How ye shulde proceede perfection to ingender Trewly teaching as the pure trewth was Comedas ut bibas et bibas ut Comedas Eate as it drinketh and drinke as it doth eate And in the meane season take it a perfect sweate Rasis set the Dietary and spake some deale farr Non tamen comedat res festinanter Let not your Matters eate over hastilie But wisely consume their foode leasurelie Hereof the Prophet made wondrous mention Yf ye applie it to this intention Visitasti terram inebriasti eam Multiplicasti locupletare eam Terram fructiferam in salsuginem Et terram sine aqua in exitus aquarum If it I have plenty of Meate and of Drinke Men must wake when they desier to winke For it is laboure of watch and paines greate Also the Foode is full costly meate Therefore all Poore men beware said Arnold For this Arte longeth to greate men of the worlde Trust to his words ye Poore men all For I am witnes that soe ye finde shall Esto longanimis suavis said he For hasty men th' end shall never see The lengthe of clensing of Matters infected Deceyveth much People for that is unsuspected Wherefore Poore men put ye not in preaâ—e Such wonders to seech but in season cease Excesse for one halfe quarter of an howre May destroy all therefore cheefe succoure Is Primum pro quo vultimum pro quo non To know of the simperinge of our Stone Till it may noe more simper doe not cease And yet longe Continuance may not cause increase Remember that Water will buble and boyle But Butter must simper and also Oyle And soe with long leasure it will waste And not with bubling made in haste For doubt of perrills many moe then one And for supergression of our stone Amongst grosse Workes the fowlest of all Is to clarifie our meanes Minerall Extremities may not be well wrought Without many Meanes wisely sought And everie Meane must be made pure If this worke shulde be made sure For foule and cleane by naturall lawe Hath
to be of light liquefaction As Wax is and Butter and Gummes all A little heate maketh them to melt and fall Water clenseth with ablution blive And things mortifyed causeth to revive Of multiplying of Fier is no greater wonder Than is of multiplying of Erth set under For Erth beareth Herbes daily new and newe Without number therefore it is trewe That Erth is wonderfull as well as Fier Though one sparke maie soone fill a Sheere If all a Sheere were filled with Flaxe One sparke than would wonderfully waxe Fier and Erth be multipliers alone And thei be causers of multiplying our Stone Of this Erth showeth Albert our great Brother In his Mineralls which Lytharge is better than other For the white Elixir he doth it there rehearse And the booke of Meeter showeth it in a verse NOw to Conjunction let us resorte And some wise Councell thereof reporte Conjoyne your Elements Grammatically With all their Concords conveniently Whiche Concords to healpe a Clerke Be cheefe Instruments of all this werke For nothinge maie be more contrary nowe Than to be fixt and unperfectly flowe All the Grammarians of England and of Fraunce Cannot teach you this Concordance This Ordinall telleth where ye maie it see In Phisick in the Boke de Arbore Joyne them also in Rhetoricall guise With Natures Ornate in purified wise Sithens our Tincture must be most pure and faire Be sure of pure Erth Water Fier and Ayre In Logicall wise be it early or late Joyne trewe kindes not sophisticate Ignorance hereof hath made many Clerks Lewdly to leese their labour and their werkes Joyne them together also Arithmetically By suttill Numbers proportionally Whereof a litle mention made there was When Boetius said tu numeris elementa ligas Joyne your Elements Musically For two causes one is for Melody Which there accords will make to your mind The trewe effect when that ye shall finde And also for like as Diapason With Diapente and with Diatesseran With ypate ypaton and Lecanos muse With other accords which in Musick be With their proporcions causen Harmony Much like proportions be in Alkimy As for the great Numbers Actuall But for the secreate Numbers Intellectuall Ye must seeche them as I said before Out of Raymond and out of Bacons lore Bacon sheweth it darkly in his three letters all And Raymonde better in his Arte Generall Many men weene which doth them reade That theie doe understonde them when theie doe not indeede With Astrologie joyne Elements also To fortune their Workings as theie goe Such simple kindes unformed and unwrought Must craftily be guided till the end be sought All which season theie have more obedience Above formed Natures to Sterrs influence And Science Perspective giveth great evidence To all the Ministers of this Science And so done other Sciences manie moe And specially the Science de Pleno Vacuo But the chiefe Mistris among Sciences all For helpe of this Arte is Magick Naturall WHen the foure Elements wisely joyned be And every-each of them set in his degree Then of divers degrees and of divers digestion Colours will arise towards perfection For then worketh inward heate naturall Which in our substance is but Intellectuall To sight unknowne hand maie it not feele His working is knowne to few Men and seild And when this heate naturall moved be shall By our outward heate artificiall Then Nature excited to labour will not cease Many diversities of degrees to increase Which is one cause by reason you maâ—e see Whie in our warke so manie Colours be Therfore it causeth in this Arte great doubt Ignorance of heate within and without To know how theis two heates shulde accord And which of them in working shulde be Lord. DIgestion in this warke hath great likenesse To digestion in things of Quicknes And before other as I witnesse can It is most like to digestion of Man Therefore said Morien our Stone in generation Is most like thing to Mans Creation In whom saith Raymond the fowre degrees all Of the fowre Complexions together finde ye shall And that actually which ye cannot finde Amongst Creatures in none other kinde Wherefore amonge Creatures theis two alone Be called Microcosmus Man and our Stone Now of Digestion the aliment and foode Perfectly to know is needfull and full good It is humor sollid constant with siccitie Mightily medled after some degree In opposite passives mixed duly Ingendered by inward and outward heat trewly Soe nothing else is our Digestion But of humour substantiall a create perfection I pray ye Laymen have me excused Though such Tearmes with you be not used I must use them for all Auctors affirmes How every Science hath his proper Tearmes Digestion sometimes advanced maie be By outward cold as yearly ye maie see How in Winter men eaten more meate Than in Summer when expansed is their heate For colde maketh heate inward then to flye And ligge nigh together then stronger is he Which by his strength his power is more To make Digestion than he mought before But our cheefe Digesture for our intent Is virtuall heate of the matter digerent Nethles heate of the digestible thinge Helpeth digestion and her working Feaverly heate maketh no digestion Baines maie helpe and cause also destruction Wine digested hath more heate naturall Than hath new Muste whose heate is accidentall Coagulation is noe forme substantiall But onlie passion of things materiall MOre ye must know when Colours appeare Who is principall Agent in that matter Cleere For sometimes it is Heate and sometimes Cold it is And sometime Moysture and somewhile Drines The principall Agent to know at every season Requireth great search made by suttill reason Which is not perceived but of Masters fewe For thei mark not how Colours arise by rewe The principall Agent of the qualities fowre Hath power royall as Lord of most honour The remnant of qualities to Converte to his kinde Of which conversion Anaxagoras maketh minde In his Boke of Conversions Naturall Whereof Raymond sheweth causes speciall It is no Jape neither light to lerne Your principall Agent all seasons to discerne Which I teach you to knowne by signes fowre By Colour Odour Sapor and Liquore ANd first by Colour to serve your intente To know thereby your principall Agent Looke in your Vessell which Colour sheweth most He that causeth him is principall of the host As for that season whose pride ye maie swage By this our Doctrine if ye see him rage Which ye maie doe when ye well understonde The cause of all Colours which ye have in honde Which I woll teach you now shortly withall Bycause here and there seeke them ye ne shall Whitnes is caused of manie matters cleere In another thing termined and soe it is heere Blacknes is when parts of a body darke With thicknes oppresseth the cleernes of the Warke Or els it is of a Combust terrestrietie But of such Combustion greate hardnes shall be And by Commixion of Darke Cleere and Cleane Shall be
ingendered all the Colours meane Every cleere thinge perspicuate and fayre Standeth by the matters of Water and Aire Whome a pure Erth doth apprehend Such as shall not their cleerenes offend And if in such cleerenes and perspicuitie Ye can noe speciall Colour see Thereupon to Judge you maie be bold The cause of such things was exceeding Colde As Christall Berill and other things moe Diversitie betweene them lerne ere ye goe Christall hat Water declyning toward Ayer Wherefore it is cleere perspicuous and faire But where it declineth towards Water more It is darke as Berill or Ice hard frore But when matters draweth toward siccitie Darknes with hardnes ingendred shall be As it appeareth in the Adamant Stone And in other things manie one Twinckling and glittering as in Magnetia is Light is cause thereof within matter of Cleerenes Which is superduced upon waterly vapour Beforetyme incenced with Heate be ye sure Now after cleerenes and Colours in extremitie Of meane Colours a litle shew will I. Ruby colour is of a thinn fume succended In a cleere Body which alsoe is amended When in that Body reyneth plenty of light For more or les thereof maketh more or les bright As the Amatist followeth the Ruby in dignity In less Cleerenes and more Obscuritie And a Calcedonie in Slymy substance Followeth the Berill in degrees of variance Greene as a Smaragde is of Water cleere With Erthy substance Combust mixt full neere And the cleerer substance that the Erth be The cleerer greeness thereof ye shall see Tawney is of Cleerenes terminate Infused with thick Fumosity congregate Of Water and alsoe of Erth succended Whereby the cleerenes of Aier is suspended Wann or leady Colour ingendred is Of Waterie and Erthy parts without amisse And where such parts be cold and thick Ever Wann Colour theron shall stick As it appeareth in old layen Lead And in Men that be wellneere dead This Wann Colour called Lividitie In Envious Men useth much to be Naturall heate and blood done resorte To the Hert them to comfort And leaveth Cold and Dry the Face For heate and blood is parted fro that place Likewise when Fevers be in extremitie The Nailes of Hands of this Colour wil be The Saphire Colour that Orient Blewe Like in Colour to the heavenlie hue Is much fairer than Wann Colour to sight For therein is more of Aier Water and Light Than is in Wann Colour and that by manifold Wherefore such Colour is more deerer solde All other Blewes the sadder that they be Thei have lesse of Aier and more of Terrestriety Silver to Azure soone broght will be The cause thereof is perspicuitie Which is in Silver caused of Ayer Wherefore it turneth to hevenly Colour faire And Quicksilver plenty within him is Causeth in Silver all this brightnes Subtiler Erth pure Water with cleerenes of Air Causeth such brightnes to Quicksilver to repaire Citrine Colour Yellowe as ye see in Gould Is Colour most liking for some men to behould Caused of mighty and strong digestion For humor in him have strong decoction Such Colour with Heate ingendred be shall As it in Honey Urine Lye and Gall The shining of Gould is caused as I tell Of pure and subtile Water termined full well Perspicuously condensed for Water pure and fine The more it is Condensed the better it woll shine For of a Mirrour the cause none other is But moisture termined as all Clerks gesse Soe that it be polible withall For Aier Figures receive never shall For Aier maie not be terminate in his kinde So cause of shining in Water ye shall finde With White and Red well medled pure and fine Woll be ingendred faire Colour Citrine Soe divers Comixtions of Elements Maketh divers Colours for divers intents With divers Digestions and divers degrees All Colours be made which your Eyen sees Of Elements ye must the proper Colour lerne Whereby of Colours ye maie better discerne Phisitians saie of good Herbs and soote Some be colde outward and hot within the roote Example hereof if ye list to gett Behold the working of the gentle Violet Common Philosophie the cause doth disclose Whie colde is within and red without the Rose Anaxagoras said in his Coversions naturall Inward and Outward be contrary in things all Which is trewe except such things as be Of little composition and nigh simplicitie As is Scammonye and Lawrell the Laxative Which be not nourishing to vegetative Remember how in every mixt thinge Evermore one Element defireth to be Kinge Which proude appetite of Elements and vicious Moveth men to be Ambitious Wherefore our Lord that best dispose cann Hath made Ordeynance for sinfull Man All proude appetites to equalitie to bringe When Requiem aeternam the Church shall singe Than shall everie ambitious thought Plainely appeare how that it was nought Lords and Beggars and all shall be In the Charnell brought to equalitie Your Principall Agent so rebate shall ye When he usurpeth above equality Therefore Aristotle said Compound ye our Stone Equall that in him repugnance be none Neither division as ye proceede Take heede thereto for it is greate neede And when it falleth that ye shall see All Colours at once that named maie be Than suffer Nature with her operation At her owne leasure to make Generation Soe that amonge so manie Colours all Nature maie shew one principall Such as shall draw towards your intent According to your desired Element This wise by Colours yee maie provide How in your workes yee shall yee guide Manie moe things of Colours I maie write But this is sufficient my promise to acquite As farr forth as Colours maie serve your intent By them to know your principall agent But manie Clerks wonder why you may see Soe manie Colours as in our Stone woll be Before that perfect White and Cleere And unchaungeable woll appeare Considering the fewnes of the ingredients I woll that answer to please their intents And teach them the trewth of that greate doubte By kinde of Magnesia such Colours passe out Whose nature is of such Convertibilitie To everie proportion and to everie degree As Christall to his Subject is founde For of everie thing that is upon the grounde Which that ye woll Christall set under Such Colour hath Christall therefore cease to wonder Wherefore Hermes said not untruly ne Envious Ad perpetranda miracula rei unius God hath so ordeyned saith Hermes the Kinge To fulfill the miracles of one thinge Common Philosophers thereof cannot finde The vertues of our Stone exceeding far their minde SMelling maie helpe forth your intente To know your reigning Elemente And be with Colour a Testimony To know your principall Agent thereby And ye which would by smelling lerne Of your principall Agent trewly to discerne As White and Black be Colours in extremitie Soe of Odors soote and stinking be But like as Fishes know not by sight Noe meane Colours because their Eyne bright Have none Eyelidds for their sight closinge Soe meane Odors shall not by
White For like it you to trust that trewlie I have found The perfect waye of most secrete Alchimy Which I wyll never trâ—wly for Mâ—rke ne for Pounde Make common but to you and that conditionally That to your selfe ye shall keepe it full secretly And onely it use as may be to Gods pleasure Els in tyme comming of God I should abye For my discovering of his secrete treasure Therefore advise you well wyth good delyberation For of this Secrete shall know none other Creature But onely you as I make faithfull Protestation For all the tyme that I here in lyfe endure Whereto I wyll your Lordship me to ensure To my desyre in thys by othe to agree Least I should to me the wrath of God procure For my revealing his greate gift and previtie And yet moreover I wyll your Hyghnes to pardon me For openly wyth pen I wyll it never wryte But when that ye list by practice ye shall seâ— By Mouth also this prâ—tious secret most of delyght How may be made Elixirs Red and Whyte Playne unto your Hyghnes it shall declared be And if it please you with easy expence and respyte To help I wyll them make by helpe of the Trinitie But notwythstanding for perill that might befall Though I dare not here plainly the knot unbinde Yet in my writeing I wyll not be so Mysticall But that ye may by studie the knowleige finde How that eche thing multiplicable is in hys kinde And that likenes of bodies Metalline be transmutable I wyll deelare that if ye feele me in your minde Ye shall prove my wryting true and noe fayned fable And if God graunt you by me to wynne thys treasure Serve him devoutly with more Laud and thanking Praying his Godhead in lyfe ye may so endure His gifts of grace and fortune to use to his pleasing Most specially intending over all thing To your power and connyng his precepts tenne So to keep that into no daunger your selfe ye bring But that ye may in glorie see him hereafter Amen As the Philosopher in the boke of Meteors doth wryte That the lykenesse of bodyes Metalline be not transmutable But after he added theis words of more delyte Without they be reduced to theyr beginning materiable Wherefore such bodies which in nature be liquable Minerall and Mettaline may be Mercurizate Conceave ye may that this Scyence is not opinable But very true by Raymond and others determynate In the said Boke the Philosopher speaketh also Therein if it please your Highnes for to reade Of divers Sulphurs but especially of two And of two Mercuryes Joyned to them indede Whereby he doth true understanders leade To the knowledge of the principles which be true Both Red most pure and White as have I spede Which be neverthelesse founden but of right few And these two things be best he addeth anone For them that worketh the Alchimy to take Our Gold and our Silver therewith to make alone Wherefore I say who will our Pearle and Ruby make The said principles looke that he not forsake For at the beginning if his principles be trewe And that he can by crafte them so bake Trewly at the end his Worke shall him not rewe But one greate secret ryght nedefull it is to knowe That though the Philosophers speake plurally All is but one Thing ye may me trowe In kinde which is our Base principally Whereof doth spring both Whyte and Red naturally And yet the Whyte must come fyrst of the Red Which thyng is not wrought manually But naturally Craft helping oute of our Leade For all the parts of our most precious Stone As I can preve be Coessentiall and concrete Moreover there is no true principle but one Full longe it was er I therwith could mete Who can reduce it and knoweth his Heate And only kinde with kinde can redresse Till filth originall be clensed from his Seat Likely he is to finde our secrets both more and lesse Onlie therefore worke Kynde with his owne Kynde And all your Elements Ioyne that they not strive This poynte also for any thing beare in mynde That passive natures ye tourne into active Of Water Fire and Winde of Erthe make blive And of the Quadrangle make ye a Figure round Then have ye honie of our bene hive One ounce well worth a thousand pound The principall secrete of secretes all Is true Proportion which may not be behinde Wherein I councell yow be not superficiall The true conclusion if ever ye thinke to fynde Turne Erth to Water and Water into Wynde Therof make Fire and beware of the Floode Of Noe wherein many one be blinde That by this Science thei get but little good I councell you to eate and drinke temperatly And be well ware that Iposarcha come not in place Nesh not your Wombe by drinking ymmoderatly Lest ye quench your naturall Heate in lyttle space The colour wyll tell appearing in your Face Drinke no more therefore then ye may eate Walke up and downe after an easie pace Chafe not your Body too sore for to sweate With easy Fire after meving when ye sweate Warme your Body and make it dry againe By Rivers and Fountaines walke after meate At morrowe tymely visit the high Mountaine That Phisicke so byddeth I reade certeyne So hygh the Mountaine nevertheles ye not ascende But that ye may downeward the way have plaine And with your Mantell from cold ye yow defende Such labour is holsome your sweat if ye wyll drie With a napkin and after it take no cold For grosse humors be purged by Sweat kindly Use Diacameron then confect with perfect Gold Hermodactilus for watrie humors good I hold Use Hipericon Perforate with mylke of Tithimall And Sperma Cete ana with redd Wyne when ye wax old And Gotes Mylke soddeÌ„ with Gold nourisheth moisture radical But a good Phisytian who so intendeth to be Our lower Astronomy him nedeth well to knowe And after that to lerne well Urine in a glasse to see And if it nede to be chafed the Fyre to blowe Then wyttily it by divers wayes to throwe And after the cause to make a Medicine blive Truly telling the ynfirmities all on a rowe Who thus can doo by his Physicke is like to thrive We have an Heauen yncorruptible of the Quintessence Ornate with Elements Signes Planetts and Starrs bright Which moisteth our Erthe by Suttile influence And owt thereof a Secrete Sulphure hid from sight It fetteth by vertue of his attractive might Like as the Bee fetcheth Hony out of the Flowre Which thing can doo none other Erthly wight Therefore to God only be glory and honour And like as Yse to Water doth relente Whereof congealed it was by violence of greate Cold Whence Phebus it smiteth with his Heate influent Right so to Water mynerall reduced is our Gold As writeth playnly Albert Raymond and Arnold With heate and moisture by craft occasionate With congelation of the Spyrite Lo now have I told Howe our materialls togeather
say Oyle and the vegetable Menstruall Ether so by labour exuberate And made by Crafte a Stone Celestyall Of Nature so fyrye that we yt call Our Baselysk otherwyse our Cokatryse Our great Elixir most of pryse Whych as the syght of a Basylysk hys object Kylyth so sleyth it crude Mercury When thereon itt ys project In twynke of an Eye most sodenly That Mercury teynyth permanently All bodyes to Son and Moone perfyt Thus gyde thy base both Red and Whyte Aurum potabile thus ys made Of Gold not comyn calcynat But of our Tyncture whych wyll not vade Out of our Base drawen wyth the Menstrue circulate But naturall Calcynatyon must Algate Be made ere thy Gold dyssolved be That Pryncypall fyrst I wyll tell thee But into Chapters thys Treatis I shall devyde In number Twelve with dew Recapytulatyon Superfluous rehearsalls I ley asyde Intendyng only to geve trew Informatyon Both of the Theoryke and Practycall operatyon That by my wrytyng who so wyll guyded be Of hys intente perfytly speed shall he The Fyrst Chapter shal be of naturall Calcination The Second of Dyssolution secret and Phylosophycall The Thyrd of our Elementall Separation The Fourth of Conjunction matrymonyall The Fyfthe of Putrefaction then followe shall Of Congelatyon albyfycative shall be the Syxt Then of Cybatyon the Seaventh shall follow next The secret of our Sublymation the eyght shall shew The nynth shall be of Fermentation The Tenth of our Exaltation I trow The Eleventh of our mervelose Multyplycatyon The Twelfth of Projectyon then Recapytulatyon And so thys Treatyse shall take an end By the help of God as I entend OF CALCINATION The first Gate CAlcinacion is the purgacyon of our Stone Restauryng also of hys naturall heate Of radycall moysture it lesyth none Inducyng Solucion into our Stone most mete After Philosophy I you behyte Do not after the comyn gyse Wyth Sulphure and Salts preparat in dyvers wyse Nether with Corrosyves nor with Fire alone Nor with Vyneger nor Water ardent Nether with the vapour of Lede our Stone Is Calcyned to our intente All they to Calcyne whych so be bent Fro thys hard Scyence withdraw they re hond Till they our Calcyning better understonde For by such Calcynyng they re bodyes be shent Whych mynysheth the moysture of our Stone Therefore when bodyes to powder be brent Dry as askys of Tre or Bone Of such Calx then wyll we none For moysture we multiply radycall In Calcynyng mynyshyng none at all And for a sure ground of our trew Calcynacyon Woorch wyttyly kynde only wyth kynde For kynd to kynde hath appetyble inclynacyon Who knoweth not thys yn knowledge is but blynd He may forth wander as Myst doth wyth the Wynd Woting never wyth perfytnes whereto lyght Because he cannot conseve our words aryght Joyne kynd to kynd therefore as reason ys For every Burgeon answereth to his owne Seed Man begetteth Man a Beast a Beast lykewyse Ferther of thys to trete it is no need But understond thys poynt yf thou wylt spede Every thyng ys fyrst Calcyned in hys owne kynd Thys well consevyng frute thereyn shalt thou fynde And we make Calxes unctious both Whyte and Red Of three degrees or our Base be perfyt Fluxyble as Wex ells stond they lyttle in sted By ryght long processe as Phylosophers wryte A yere we take or more for our respyte For in lesse space our Calxe wyll not be made Able to tayne with colour whych wyll not vade As for the Proporcyon thou must beware For therein many one ys beguylyd Therefore thy warke that thow not marre Lat the Body be sotelly fylyd With Mercury as much then so subtylyd One of the Sonn two of the Moone Tyll altogether lyke pap be done Then make the Mercury foure to the Sonne Two to the Mone as hyt should be And thus thy worke must be begon In fygure of the Trynyte Three of the Body and of the Spryt three And for the unytye of the substance spirituall One more than of the substance corporall By Raymonds Reportory thys ys trew Proporcyon there who lyst to looke The same my Doctour to me did shew But three of the Spryt Bacon tooke To one of the Body for thys I wooke Many a nyght or I hyt wyst And both be trew take whych you lyst If the Water be equall in Proporcyon To the Erthe whych hete in dew mesure Of hym shall spryng a new burgyon Both Whyte and Red in pure tyncture Whych in the Fyre shall ever endure Kyll than the quyck the ded revyve Make Trynyte Unyte wythout any stryve Thys ys the best and the surest Proporcyon For here ys lest of the part spyrytuall The better therefore shall be Solucyon Then yf thou dyd it wyth Water small Thyne Erth over glutyn whych losyth all Take heede therefore to potters loome And make you never to nesh thy wome That loome behold how yt tempered ys The meane also how thou hyt Calcenate And ever in mynd loke thou bare thys That never thyne Erth wyth Water be suffocate Dry up thy moysture wyth heate most temperate Helpe Dyssolucyon wyth moysture of the Mone And Congellacyou wyth the Son then hast thou done Foure Natures shall into the fyfth so turne Whych ys a Nature most perfect and temperate But hard hyt ys with thy bare foote to spurne Agaynst a brodyke of Iyron or Stele new acuate Soe many one doth whych bene infatuate When they such hygh thyngs don take in hond Whych they in noe wyse understonde In Eggs in Vitryoll or in Blod What ryches wene they there to fynde Yf they Phylosophy understode They wold not in worchyng be so blynd Gold to seke or Sylver out of kynd For lyke as Fyre of brennyng the pryncyple ys So ys the pryncyple of gildyng Gold I wys Yf thou intend therefore to make Gold and Sylver by craft of our Philosophy Therto nother Eggs nor Blood thou take But Gold and Sylver whych naturally Calcyned wysely and not manually And new generacyon wyll forth bryng Incresyng theyr kynde as doth ech thyng And yf yt true were that perfyt myght be In thyngs which be not mettallyne In which be Colours plesaunt to see As in Blood Eggs Here Uryn and Wyne Or in meane Mettalls dyggyd out of the Myne Yet must theyr Elements be putrefyed and separate And wyth Elements of perfyt Bodys be dysponsate But fyrst of these Elements make thou Rotacyon And into Water thy Erth turne fyrst of all Then of thy Water make Ayre by Levygacyon And Ayre make Fyre then MASTER I wyll thee call Of all our secretts greate and small The Wheele of Elements thou canst turne about Trewly consevyng our Wrytyngs wythowt dowte Thys done go backward turnyng thy Wheele againe And into thy Water then turne thy Fyre anon And Ayre into Erth ells laboryst thow but in vayne For soe to temperment ys brought our Stone And Natures contraryose fower be made one After they have three times ben Cyrculat And alsoe thy Bace
perfytly consummate Thus under the moysture of the Moone And under the temperate hete of the Sonne Thy Elements shal be incynerate sone And then thow hast the Maistery wone Thanke God thy worke was then begon For there thow hast one token trew Whych fyrst in blacknes to thee wyll shew The hede of the Crow that tokyn call we And sum men call hyt the Crows byll Sum call hyt the Ashes of Hermes Tre And thus they name hyt after theyer wyll Our Tode of the Erth whych etyth hys fyll Sum name hyt by whych it ys mortyfycat The spyryt of the Erth wyth venome intoxycate But hyt hath Names I say to the infynyte For after each thyng that Blacke ys to syght Namyd hyt ys tyll the tyme that hyt wex Whyte For after blacknesse when yt wexeth bryght Then hath hyt names of more delyght After Whyte thyngs the Red after the same Rule of Red thyngs doth take hys name At the fyrst Gate now art thou in Of the Phylosophers Castle where they dwell Proceede wysely that thou may wyne In at mo Gates of that Castell Whych Castle ys round as any Bell And Gates hath Eleven yet mo One ys conquered now to the Second go The end of the first Gate OF SOLUTION The second Gate OF Solucion now wyll I speke a word or two Whych sheweth owt that err was hyd from syght And makyth intenuate thyngs that were thyk also By the vertue of our fyrst Menstrue clere and bryght In whych our Bodyes eclypsyd ben to syght And of ther hard and dry Compactyon subtylyat Into ther owne fyrst nature kyndly retrogradate One in Gender they be and in Nomber not so Whose Father the Son the Moone truly ys Mother The mean ys Mercury these two and no mo Be our Magnesia our Adrop and none other Thyngs there be but only Syster and Brother That ys to wene Agent and Pacyent Sulphure and Mercury coessentyall to our entent Betwyxt these two in qualyte cotraryose Ingendred ys a Mene most mervyllosely Whych ys our Mercury and Menstrue unctuose Our secrett Sulphur worchyng invysybly More fersely than Fyre brennyng the body Into Water dyssolvyng the Body mynerall Which Nyght fro darknes in the North parte we call But yet I trow thou understandyst not utterly The very secrett of Phylosopers Dyssolucion Therefore conceve me I councell thee wyttyly For I wyll tell thee trewly wythout delusyon Our Solucyon ys cause of our Congelacyon For the Dyssolucyon on the one syde corporall Causyth Congelacyon on the other syde Spyrytuall And we Dyssolve into Water whych weytyth no hond For when the Erth ys integrally yncynerat Then ys the Water congelyd thys understond For the Elements be so concatenat That when the body fro hys fyrst forme ys alterate A new forme ys inducyd immediately For nothyng being wythout all forme ys utterly And here a secret to thee I wyll dysclose Whych ys the ground of our secrets all And yf thou hyt not know thou shalt but lose Thy labour and costs both great and small Take hede therefore in Errour that thou not fall The more thyne Erth and the lesse thy Water be The rather and better Solucyon shall thou see Behold how Yse to Water doth relent And so hyt must for Water hyt was before Ryght soe agayne to Water our Erth is bent And Water thereby congelyd for evermore For after all Phylosophers whych ever was bore Every Mettall was on s Water mynerall Therefore wyth Water they turne to Water all In whych Water of kynde occasyonate Of qualytes bene repugnaunce and dyversyte Thyngs into thyngs must therfore be rotate Untyll dyversyte be brought to parfyt unyte For Scrypture recordyth when the Erth shall be Trowbelyd and into the depe Sea shall be cast Mountaynes our Bodyes lykewyse at the last Our Bodyes be lekenyd convenyently To Mountaynes whych after hygh Planets we name Into the depenes therfore of Mercury Turne them and kepe the out of blame Then shall ye se a Nobyll game How all shall become powder soft as sylke So doth our Runnett by kynde curd our Mylke Then hath our Bodys ther fyrst forme loste And other be enducyd ymedyately Then hast thow well beset thy cost Wheras some other uncunning must goe by Not knowyng the secretts of our Phylosophy Yet one poynt I more must tell thee Every Body how hyt hath dymencyons three Altytude Latytude and Profundyte By whych algates turne we must our Whele Knowyng thy entraunce in the West shall be Thy passage forth into the North yf thou do well And there thy Lyghts lose they re Lyght eche-dele For there thou must abyde by Ninety Nyght In darknes of Purgatory wythowten Lyght Then take thy course up to the Este anon By Colours passyng varyable in manyfold wyse And then be Wynter and Vere nygh over-gon To the Est therfore thyne assendyng devyse For there the Son wyth Day-lyght doth upryse In Somer and there dysporte the wyth delyght For there thy Warke shall becom parfyt Whyte Forth fro the Est ynto the South assend And sett thou up therein thy Chayre of Fyre For there ys Harvest that ys to say an end Of all thys Warke after thyne owne desyre Ther shynyth the Son up in hys owne sphyre And after the Eclyps ys in rednes wyth glory As Kyng to rayne uppon all Mettalls and Mercury And in one Glasse must be done all thys thyng Lyke to an Egg in shape and closyd well Then must you know the mesure of fyryng The whych unknowen thy Warke ys lost ech dele Lett never thy Glasse be hotter then thow may feele And suffer styll in thy bare hand to holde For dread of losyng as Philosophers have the tolde Yett to my Doctryne furthermore intend Beware thy Glasse thou never opyn ne meve Fro thy begynnyng tyll thou have made an end If thou do contrary thy Warke may never cheve Thus in thys Chapter whych ys so breve I have the taught thy trew Solucion Now to the Thyrd Gate goe for thys ys won OF SEPARATION The third Gate SEparacyon doth ech parte from other devyde The subtill fro the groce fro the thyck the thyn But Separacyon manuall look thou put asyde For that pertaynyth to folys whych lyttyll good don wyn But in our Separacyon nature doth not blyn Makyng dyvysyon of qualytes Elementall Into the fyfth degree tyll they be turned all Erth ys turnyd into Water black and bloe And Water after into Ayre under very whyte Ayre ys turned into Fyre Elements there be no mo Of thys ys made by crafte our Stone of grete delyte But of thys Separacyon much more must we wryte And Separacyon ys callyd by Phylosophers dyffynycyon Of the sayd Elements tetraptatyve dyspersyon And of thys Separacyon I fynde a lyke fygure Thus spoken by the Prophet yn the Psalmody God brought out of a Stone a flud of Water pure And out of the hardyst Stone Oyle abundantly Ryght so of our precyose Stone yf thou be wytty Oyle incombusteble
by Drynes and by Hete Dygestyd ys to Whyte and Red complete But here thou must another secret knowe How the Phylosophers Chyld in the Ayre ys borne Besy thee not to fast at the Cole to blowe And take that nether for mock nor skorne But trust me truly else thy work ys all forlorne Wythout thyne Erth wyth Water revyvyd be Our trew Congelyng shalt thou never see A sowle betwyxt Hevyn and Erth beyng Arysyng fro the Erth as Ayre wyth Water pure And causyng lyfe in every lyvely thyng Incessably runnyng uppon our foresayd Nature Enforsyng to better them wyth all hys cure Whych Ayre ys the Fyre of our Phylosophy Namyd now Oyle now Water mystyly And thus mene Ayre whych Oyle or Water we call Our Fyre our Oyntment our Spryte and our Stone In whych one thyng we grownd our wysdomes all Goyth nether out nor yn alone Nether the Fyer but the Water anone Fyrst yt outeledyth and after bryngyth yt yn As Water with Water whych wyll not lyghtly twyn And so may Water only our Water meve Whych mevyng causyth both Deth and Lyfe And Water doth kyndly to Water cleve Wythout repugnance or any stryfe Whych Water to Folys ys nothyng ryfe Beyng of the kynd wythowten dowte Of the Spryte callyd Water and leder owte And Water ys the secret and lyfe of every thyng That ys of substance in thys world y found For of the Water eche thyng hath begynnyng As showyth in Woman when she shall be unbound By water whych passyth afore if all be sound Callyd Albyen fyrst from them rennyng Wyth grevose throwys afore ther chyldyng And truly that ys the cause pryncypall Why Phylosophers chargyd us to be pacyent Tyll tyme the Water were dryed to powder all Wyth nurryshyng hete contynuall but not vyolent For qualytes be contrarious of every element Tyll after Black in Whyte be made a unyon And then forever congelyd wythout dyvysyon And furthermore the preparacion of thys conversyon Fro thyng to thyng fro one state to another Ys done only by kyndly and descrete operacion Of Nature as ys of Sperme wythin the Mother For Sperme and Hete as Syster be and Brother Whych be converted wythin themself as Nature can By accion and passyon and at the last to parfyt Man For as the bodely part by Nature whych ys consumate Into Man ys such as the begynner was Whych though yt thus fro thyng to thyng was alterat Not owt of kynd to menge with other kynds dyd yt pas And so our Mater spermatycall wythin one Glas Wythin hyt selfe must turne fro thyng to thyng By hete most temperate only hyt noryshyng Another example naturall I may thee tell How the substance of an Egg by nature ys wrought Into a Chyk not pasyng out of the shell A playner example cowd I not have thought And there conversions be made tyll forth be brought Fro state to state the lyke by lyke yn kynd Wyth nurryshyng hete only bere thys yn mynd Another example here may you also rede Of Vegetable thyngs takyng consyderacyon How every Plant growyth of hys owne sede Thorow Here and Moysture by naturall operacyon And therefore Mineralls be nurryshyd by mynystracyon Of Moysture radycall whych theyr begynnyng was Not passiyng theyer kynd wythin one Glas. There we them turne fro thyng to thyng agayne Into ther Moder the Water when they go Whych pryncyple unknowen thou labourest in vayne Then ys all Sperme and thyngs ther be no mo But kynd wyth kynd in number two Male and Female Agent and Pacyent Wythin the matryce of the Erth most oryent And these be turnyd by Hete fro thyng to thyng Wythin one Glas and so fro state to state Tyll tyme that Nature do them bryng Into one substance of the Water regenerate And so the Sperme wythin hys kynde ys alterate Abyll in lykenes hys kynde for to Multeplye As doth in kynde all other thyngs naturally In the tyme of thys seyde processe naturall Whyle that the Sperme consevyd ys growyng The substance ys nurryshed wyth hys owne Menstruall Whych Water only out of the Erth dyd bryng Whose colour ys Greene in the fyrst showing And for that tyme the Son hydyth hys lyght Taking hys course thorow owte the North by nyght The seyd Menstrue ys I say to the in councell The blod of our Grene Lyon and not of Vytrioll Dame Venus can the trewth of thys the tell At thy begynnyng to councell and yf thou her call Thys secret ys hyd by Phylosophers grete and small Whych blode drawen owte of the seyd Lyon For lac of Hete had not perfyt Dygestyon But thys blode our secret Menstruall Wherewyth our Sperme ys nurryshed temperatly When it ys turnyd into the fecys Corporall And becom Whyte perfytly and very Dry Congelyd and Fyxyd into hys owne body Then brustyn blod to syght yt may well seme Of thys warke namyd the mylke whyte Dyademe Understonde now that our fyery Water thus acuate Is called our Menstruall water wherein Our Erth ys losyd and naturally Calcenat By Congelacyon that they may never twyne Yet to Congele more water thou may not blyn Into thre parts of the acuate water seyd afore Wyth the 4th part of the Erth congelyd no more Unto that substance therefore so congelat The fowerth part put of water Crystallyn And make them then together to be Dysponsat By Congelacyon into a myner metallyne Whych lyke a sworde new slypyd then wyll shyne After the Blacknes whych fyrst wyll showe The fowerth parte geve yt them of water new Mo Inbybycyons many must we have yett Geve yt the second and after the thyrd also The seyd proportyon kepe well in thy wyt Then to another the fowerth tyme loke thou go The fyfth tyme and the syxth passe not there fro But put two parts at eche tyme of them three And at the seventh tyme fyve parts let there bee When thou hast made thus seven tymes Inbybycion Ageyne then must thow turne thy Whele And Putrefy all that Matter wythowte addycyon Fyrst Blacknesse abydyng yf thow wylt do well Then into Whytenes congele yt up eche dele And by Rednes into the Sowth assend Then hast thou brought thy Base unto an end Thus ys thy Water then devydyd in partyes two Wyth the fyrst party the Bodys be Putryfycat And to thyne Inbybycions the second part must go Wyth whych the Matter ys afterwards Denygrat And sone uppon by esy Decoccyon Albyfycate Then yt ys namyd by Phylosophers our Sterry Stone Bryng that to Rednes then ys the syxth Gate woon OF CIBATION The seventh Gate NOw of Cibacion I turne my pen to wryte Syth yt must here the seventh place occupye But in few words yt wylbe expedyte Take tent therto and understond me wyttyly Cibacion ys callyd a fedyng of our Matter dry Wyth Mylke and Mete whych moderatly they do Tyll yt be brought the thyrd order unto But geve yt not so much that thou hyt glut Beware of the Dropsy and also of Noyes Flood
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
adverting that she had tould How might a Man by nature thus he said Be borne againe namely when he ys old Then said hys Mother by reason manifold But if the Gospell thus doth meane In Water and Spirit be renovate hott and cold That he shall never plainely come into Heaven The King was tristy and heavy of cheere Upon his Knees meekely kneeled downe Prayed his Father in full low manner To translate the Challice of hys passion But for he thought the redempcion Of his brethren might not be fulfilled Without his death nor their Salvation For them to suffer he was right willed And for to accomplish hys purpose in sentence By cleere example who so looketh right Heavy things from their Circumferance Must up assend and after be made light And things light ready to the flight Must descend to the Center downe By interchaunging of natures might As they be moved by meane of Revolucion Soe as Iupiter in a Cloud of Gold Chaunged himselfe by transformacion And descended from hys hevenly hold Like a Golden dewe unto Danae downe And she conceived as made is mencion By influence of hys power divine Right so shall Phoebus right soveraigne of renowne To be conceived of his Golden raine decline And to comfort hys Brethren that were full dull The Sun hath chosen without warr or strife The bright Moone when she was at the full To be his Mother first and after hys wedded wife In tyme of Ver the season vegetative In Aries when Titan doth appeare Inspired by grace with the Spirit of lyfe This marriage hallowed at midday Spheare And at this feast were the Godes all Saturne from blacknes was turned to white And Iupiter let his mantle fall Full pale and meager of greate delight Clothed in lylies that every maner wight Of Heaven and Erth and Gods of the Sea Rejoyced in Heart and were full glad and light To be present at this great Solemnity Mars forgot there hys sturdy black hardines Cast off his Habergeon fret with old rust Venus forsooke her minerall rednes Tooke Gold for greene and she againe also for lust Because she had in Phoebus such a trust That he should this feast hold of most noblenes Of brotherly pitty needs as he must Give her a mantle of Orientall brightnes After this Wedding here afore devised Of faire Phoebus and fresh Lucine Philosophers have prudently practised A Closset round by their wise Doctrine Cleere as Christall of Glasse a litle shrine With heavenly deawe stuffed that dungeon Kept night and day with glorious maidens nyne To keepe the Queene in her Concepcion Religiously they kept their Sylence Till that from heaven their a royall light And there with all in open audience Was heard a voyce almost at mid night Among the Virgins most amiable of sight That said unto them to save that was forlorne I must againe through my imperiall myght Be of my Mother new conceived and borne I must passe by water and by Fire The brunt abide and there from not decline To save my brethren I have so greate desire With new light their darknes to yllumine But sore I dread that venomous Serpentine Which ever advanceth with his violence My tender youth to hurt and to invenome But in your keeping doe you your diligence The King thus entred in his bed royall The Queene conceived under a Sun bright Under her feete a mount like Christall Which had devoured her husband anon right Dead of desire and in the Maidens sight Lost all the Collour of his fresh face Thus was he dead the Maidens feeble of mighr Dispaired flept in the same place The Serpent bold shed out his poyson The Queene and Maidens for feare tooke them to flight Seaven tymes assending up and downe With in a vault now darke now cleere of light Their generation was so strong of might Tfter death now passeth Purgatory Ao Resurreccion as any Sun bright Things that were lost to bring to his glory The Queene tooke her full possession The Soule reviving of the dead King But of old hatred the toxicate poyson Was by the Serpent cast in to their hindring The Prince was buried but of his rising The Btethren were glad the truth was seene When they were washed by his naturall clensing And their old Leprie by Miracle was made cleane The full Moone halfe shaddowed the Sun To putt away the burning of his light Black shaddowed first the skyes were so dunn The Ravens bill began who looketh right Blacker then Jett or Bugle to sight But lâ—tle and litle by ordinary apparance The temperate fire with his cherishing might Turned all to white but with noe violence Tyme to the Queene approched of Childing The Child of Nature was ready to fly Passage was there none to hys out going He spread hys wings and found no liberty Of nyne Virgins he devoured three The other six most excellent and faire Fearefull for dread in their greatest beauty Spread their feathers and flew forth in the Aire The Child coloured first Black and after White Having noe heate in very existence But by cherishing of the Sun bright Of forraine fire there was noe violence Save that men say which have experience He dranke such plenty of the Water of the well That his six sisters made noe resistance But would have devowred Dasten can you tell Sometymes black sometymes was he redd Now like ashes now Citrine of Colour Now of Safforne hew now sanguine was his head Now white as a lylie he shewed him in his bower The Moone gave nourishment to him in his labour And with all their force did their buisnes To cloath hym fresher then any flowre With a mantle of everlasting whitnes PEARCE THE BLACK MONKE upon the Elixir TAke Erth of Erth Erths Moder And Watur of Erth yt ys no oder And Fier of Erth that beryth the pryse But of that Erth louke thow be wyse The trew Elixer yf thow wylt make Erth owte of Erth looke that thow take Pewer sutel faire and good And than take the Water of the Wood Cleere as Chrystall schynyng bryght And do hem togeder anon ryght Thre dayes than let hem lye And than depart hem pryvyly and slye Than schale be browght Watur schynyng And in that Watur ys a soule reynynge Invisible and hyd and unseene A marvelous matter yt ys to weene Than departe hem by dystillynge And you schalle see an Erth apperinge Hevie as metale schalle yt be In the wych is hyd grete prevety Destil that Erth in grene hewe Three dayes during well and trew And do hem in a body of glass In the wych never no warke was In a Furnas he must be sett And on hys hede a good lymbeck And draw fro hym a Watur clere The wych Watur hath no peere And aftur macke your Fyer stronger And there on thy Glasse continew longer So schal yow se come a Fyer Red as blode and of grete yre And aftur that an Erth leue there schale The wych is cleped
the Moder of alle Then into Purgatory sche must be doe And have the paynes that longs thereto Tyl sche be bryghter than the Sune For than thow hast the Maystrey wone And that schalbe wythin howres three The wych forsooth ys grete ferly Than do her in a clene Glass Wyth some of the Watur that hers was And in a Furnas do her againe Tyl sche have drunke her Watur certaine And aftur that Watur give her Blood That was her owne pewre and good And whan sche hath dranke alle her Fyer Sche wyll wex strong and of grete yre Than take yow mete and mylcke thereto And fede the Chylde as you schowlde do Tyl he be growne to hys full age Than schal he be of strong courage And tourne alle Bodies that leyfull be To hys owne powre and dignitye And this ys the makyng of owre Stone The trewth here ys towlde yow evereech one For all that taketh any other wey Mouch they looseth and mouch they may For trewly there ys no other way of righte But Body of Body and Lyghte of Lyghte Man of Man begottyn ys And Beste of Beste to hys lykenes Alle the fooles in the worlde seeken A thynge that they may never meeten They wolde have Metalle owte of hem That never was fownde by worldly men Ne never was fownde by Goddis myghte That they schould beare any such fryghte All Saltes and Sulphures far and nere I interdite hem alle in fere Alle Corosive waters Blood and Hayre Pyss Hornes Wormes and Saudiver Alume Atriment alle I suspende Rasalger and Arsnick I defende Calx vive and Calx mort hys Brother I suspende them both one and other For of alle things I wyll no moe But fowre Elements in Generall I say soe Sun and Moone Erth and Water And here ys alle that men of clatter Our Gold and Sylver ben no common plate But a sperme owte of a Bodi I take In the wych ys alle Sol Lune Lyfe and Lyghte Water and Erth Fyre and Fryght And alle commyth of one Image But the Water of the Wood makyth the marryage Therefore there ys none other waye But to take thee to thy Beades and praye For Covetous Men yt fyndyth never Though they seek yt once and ever Set not your Hearts in thys thyng But only to God and good lyvynge And he that wyll come thereby Must be meeke and full of mercy Both in spyrit and in Countenannce Full of Chereti and good Governaunce And evermore full of almes deede Symple and pewerly hys lyf to leade Wyth Prayers Pennaunces and Piety And ever to God a lover be And alle the ryches that he ys sped To do God worschyppe wyth Almes deede In Arsenyck sublymed there ys a way streight Wyth Mercury calcyned nyne tymes hys weight And grownde together with the Water of myght That bereth ingression lyfe and lyght And anon as they togyther byne Alle runnyth to Water bryght and shene Upon thys Fyre they grow togethyr Tyll they be fast and flee no whythyr But than feede hem fowrth wyth thy hond Wyth mylke and meate tyle they be stronge And thow schalt have there a good Stone Whereof an Ounc on fowrty wyll gone Upon Venus or on Mercury Thys Medicyn wyll make thee merry All yow that have sowght mani a day Leave worke take yowre Beades and pray For the longer that yow seeken The longer yt ys or yow meeten And he that now fayne would be sped Lysten to my Daughter Megg For schhe scall tell yow trewth and ryghte Hearken now wyth all your myght I am Mercury the myghty Flower I am most worthy of Honour I am sours of Sol Luna and Mars I am genderer of Iovis many be my snares I am setler of Saturne and sours of Venus I am Empresse Pryncesse and Regall of Queenes I am Mother of Myrrour and maker of lyght I am head and hyghest and fayrest in syght I am both Sun and Moone I am sche that alle thynges must doone I have a Daughter hight Saturne that ys my darlyng The wych ys Mother of all werkyng For in my Daughter there byne hydd Fowre thyngs Commonly I kydd A Golden seede and a spearme rych And a Silver seede none hym lich And a Mercury seede full bryght And a Sulphur seede that ys ryght Of my Daughter wythowten dred Byn made Elyxirs whyte and redd Therefor of her draw a Water cler The Scyence yf thow lyst to leare Thys Water reduceth every thynge To tendernes and to fyxing It burgeneth growyth and gyveth fryght and lyght Ingression lyfe and lastyng in syght Alle ryghteous werkes sooth to say It helpeth and bryngyth in a good way Thys ys the Water that ys most worthy Aqua perfectissima flos mundi For alle werkes thys Water makyth whyte Reducyng and schyning as Sylver bryght And of the Oyle greate marvell there ys For all thyngs yt bryngyth to rednes As Cytrine gold he ys full high None ye so redd nor none ys so worthy And in the Erth grete marvele ys hyd That ys first so black and than so red And alle ys done in howres three Thys may be cleped Gods Prevetie Than the Erth shall torne red as blood Citrine Gold naturall cleere and good And than the red Oyle to hem schall goe Red Ferment and red Mercury alsoe And grow togeder weekes seaven Blessed be Almyghty God of Heven One Ounce of thys Medycine worthy Cast upon two hundred ownces of Mercury Schall make Gold most royall And ever enduring to holde tryall Fyre and Hammer Tuch and Test And all essayes most and least And yt ys Medycen above common Gold To mans body as God yt would For Gold that cometh from the Oare Is nourished with fowle Sulphur And Engendered upon Mercury he ys And nouryshed by Erth and Sulphur I wys And our Gold ys made of thre pewre soules In the wych ys noe Corrupcyon foule But purged pewre as clene as Chrystall Body and Spyryt and Sowle wyth all And so they grow into a stone In the wych Corrupcyon there ys none And than cast hym upon Mercury And he schalbe Gold most worthy Now have you heard the makyng of our Stone The begynyng and endyng ys all one THE WORKE OF RICH CARPENTER OF Titan Magnasia take the cler light The rede Gumme that ys so bryght Of Philosofris the Sulfer vife I called Gold wythouten stryfe Of hem drawe owte a Tincture And make a matrymony pure Betweene the husband and the wyfe I spoused wyth the Water of lyfe And so that none dyvysion Be there in the conjunccion Of the Moone and of the Sonne After the marriage ys begonne And that Mercury the planete In loef make hem so to mete That eyder wyth oder be joyned even As a Stone engendered sente down fro heven Of hem make water clere rennynge As any Chrystall bryght schynynge Drawen out of bodyes fyxed By Nature prively mixed Within a vessal depured clene Of Philosofris bright and schene
Well Tyl all his Leprousie will no longer dwell In his owne Nature he altereth cleane Into a pure substance ye wat what I meane I shew you here a short Conclusion c. WHy art thou so Poore and I so Rich Aboundance of Tresure in me thow maist In all the World I am nothing so liche As Man that is so proginitous to my kynde The Rych man on the Poore hath no pity In me therefore have thow affiance It is oft tymes seene in Towne and Cittie He is evyll at ease that hath no Craft nor Scyence The Ryche men of the Poore now have greate dispight That they should wyth thyr cunyng any good thing wyn And to give to the Poore almes they have no delight Lytle is the Charity that is them within And Ensample of Dives as the Scripture can tell Poore Lazerus at his Gate for default dyed Had he given him Almes he had not gon to hell Now for to repent him truly it is too late Man thou hast no goods but God doth them send Departe with thy Brother as God doth thee Comand Thy lyfe that wyll the better amend Death will with thee make a suddaine hand Thy worldly goods thow schalt forsaken Give every Beast againe his due And than schall thy body be full naked Death on the will nothing rue Why so far and I so neare Hast thou no grace Man me to meete So oftyn as I to the do appeare And yet of me thou takest no keepe In common Mercury thou doest me seeke In Alkali and in Alembroke In common Sulphur and Arsenick eke Which makes many a man to dote Common Mercury is not good It bringeth many a man to care It makes his Haire grow through his hood And his Purse both thin and bare Mercury and I are of allye But she with me may not compare In nature she is both cold and dry Therefore I councell thee to beware Many a man she makes full bare Because she lacks humidity On her to spend they would spare She brings many a man to poverty I am she which wise men seeke Mercury which is most of might Hot and moyst light and weake Of the Elements I am full right Water Earth Aire and Fire Quality and Quantity you can never have your desire Without Concoction perfectly Great riches in us be Who hath grace us for to know By vertue of her humidity In the Fire our Stone doth grow Thou needy man where is thy minde I councell thee this lesson leare Our Mercury is but of one thing In our Vessell thin and cleere Common Mercury in him is none Neither Gold nor Silver in him none is Of Mettalls we make not our Stone By proportion more or lesse All manner of Mettalls we deny Untill the time our Stone be wrought All other Receipts we defie That of the Potecaryes be bought With all Spices save onely Mercury Gould with him stands us in steed Our Medicine for to Multiplie After our Phisicks Stone be Red. A true Lesson I have thee tought Pray for me and forget it nought Many Bookes mayst thou see That is not writ so openly And as I am true Christian man A truer Booke findest thou none And thou wilt of this Scyence leare In riches thou shalt have no peare He that made this Booke hath it well preved The better therefore he may be beleived Therefoee I pray you for charity To keepe this Booke very secretly If any man this Science of you will crave Know he be Sapient that the Coppy shall have I made it not for every man Neither for them that litle good can But for me and for my Brother Such as have Reason and no other Keepe this Lesson well in minde Beware thou worke not against Kinde And in thy Worke make no greate hast That thou labour not in wast Worke in light and not in darke And ask Councell of a Clerke Else may you both lightly fayle Without you have both good Counsayle TAke our Rose with the red Flower Which thou maist know by his Colour And him knock into Plates small A like thin beate over all And with a Corosive good and fine Forthwith drawe the same tyne Of things that be new and good And diverse in Nature and one in Moode And put together with strong grinding In Horse wombe ever abiding In a Vessell good and strong Thou so it rule and thinke it not longe For within a Moneth or litle moe And with his might the Body slo Thy Corrosive will thy Rose so frett Till he be thin as Milke in Meate But how the Corrosive made shal be I will it shew plainely to thee As I said to thee before Elss knowest thou litle of this lore Take Maidens Urine younge of age Ashes Salt and Lyme Of him together make a mariage Then the Corrosive is both good and fine For without this Corrosive shortly said Well compound together in One All your Worke is but voyd As Philosophers write every ech one For Doctors both to lay and Clearke Written that our first Warke Is to bring our Body all and some And him to reduce in Mercurium Then is our Worke well begun If the first love be thus wone Now say Philosophers much more Our second Worke if thou wilt know Labour with paine and travell therefore And God is ready thee it to shew To bring our Water into Air Of Philosophers the second verse Spare not to worke and be not afraid For so it will be without lese But yet be wise in the Warke For hasty men never lack woe And aske the Councll of a Clarke For sober thrift is best thereto And so Continue night and day I thee charge and sleepe thee not For in six Weekes truly in fay All into Earth it wil be brought So the Fyre continued be Every Decoction to even measure And after that fyre his quality Thou must all the Worke rule For when it is in Earth full black Then is it our black Stone He is so strong he may not lack Tyll all thy Worke be y done The third degree as I thee say Of our Stone now black as pitch Thou must him wash with waters gay And make him white for so did Ich And when thou hast washt him cleane Then is his blacknes gone Then is he bright and shine As Carbuncle or Beril stone But ere he come to that degree It wil be labour but thinke not long For many a Colour change will he Browne Red Russet ever amonge After that to many other mo Greene Blew Pale and Whyte But all these let them goe They are not to thy profit And when thou hast thus wrought By six weekes and a day Then is the Earth truly sought A white powder collor'd in fay But then spare the fyre And bate him even to measure And within a month and litle mo The Whyte Stone hath nigh sure done Which will shine and melt as wax He must needes Masteries do The Spirit and Soule make him
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
shall shew Collours there many a one And tourne as White as wil be the bone With the Water that he was in Wash him cleane from his sin And let him drinke a litle and a lite And that shall make him faire and white The which Whitnes is ever abiding Lo here is the very full finishing Of the White Stone and the Red Loe here is the true deed THE MISTERY OF ALCHYMISTS Composed by Sir Geo Ripley Chanon of Bridlington WHen ☉ in ♈ and Phoebus shines bright The Elements reviving the new Year springing The Son by his vertue gives Nature Light And moysture refresheth all things growing In the season of the Yeare when the Sun waxeth warme Freshly and fragrante the Flowers doe grow Of Natures subtill working we cannot discerne Nor yet by our Reason we can it not know In foure Elements is comprehended things Three Animalls Vegetabills Mineralls must be Of this is our Principle that we make our Stone Quality and Quantity is unknowne to many one Son Quality Father would I faine know Of what nature it is and what it hath in his kinde Father As Colours divers which on the ground do grow Keepe well this secret Son and marke it in thy minde Son Without Proportion Father how should I it know This working now is far from my minde Father Nature and kinde Son together do grow Quality by waight Son shalt thow never finde Son To seperate Elements Father I must needes know Either in Proportion which be more or less Father Out of our Principle foure Elements thou shalt draw Thou shalt neede nothing else that needefull is Our Principle in quality is so perfectly mixed By vertue of the Son and his quality So equaly Joyned so throughly fixed As nothing so well mixed may be Son This Principle Father is but one thing Good Father tel me where it doth grow Father In every place Son you shall him well finde By Tast and by Colour thou shalt him well know Fowles in the Ayer with it doe fly And Fishes doe swim there with in the Sea With Reason of Angels you may it diserne Both Man and Woman to governe With our fixed Body Son we must thus begin Of him make Mercury and Water cleare Man and Woman is them within Married together by vertue of our Fire The Woman in her working is full wild Be well aware she goe not out Till she have conceived and borne a Chylde Then all his Kin on him shall lout In their workes they be unstable The Elements they be so raw And in their Colour so variable As some tyme like the head of a Crow When he is black ye may well like Putrefaction must go beforne After Blacke he wil be White Then thanke ye God the Chyld is borne This Child is both King and Emperour Through his region both far and neere All the World doth him honour By the vertue he hath taken of the Fire His first Vesture is White and pure As any Christall shining cleere Of White tincture then be you sure By verture taken of our Fire His first Vesture that is so White Betokeneth his Virginity A similitude even thereto like And according to the Trinity Our Medicen is made of things Three Against which the Philosophers cannot say nay The Father the Son in one degree Corpus Spiritus Anima When Nature is with Nature thou mayst fruite finde By proportion more or lesse In practise hereof many men be blinde Because they understand not what Nature is His second Vesture as Gold is Red In his Vessell bright shining A Diadem set on his head Richer then any earthly thing His third Vesture is Purple pure Like Sun-beames he shineth bright and clere Of Red tincture then be you sure By the vertue he hath taken of our Fire My beloved Son I commande thee As thou wilt have my love and blessing That thou to God kneele on thy knee Unto him give laude and thankeing For theis guifts of grace geven unto thee To have trew knowledge of this worthy Scyence That many men seeke by land and sea And cannot finde it for any expence I shall shew thee my Son here a hid Secret Because thou art vertuous in thy living Of me else shouldst thou never it weet And for thou art wise in thy Councell keeping And therefore I charge thee on my blessing Not to shew it to any man living For it is the first Principle of our blessed Stone Through which our noble worke is releeved Note well that I shew now to thee my Son If Sulphur be absent our worke is deprived Our Sulphur my Son is Water and Fire Constraining the Body till it be dead Of hem thou hast never thy desire Till he be bloe as any Lead After all this he doth revive That in his Vessell before was dead I can no better in my reason contrive Then to figure him to the greate God head For as there dyed no more then One Howbeit that there be persons Three The Father the Son by might is one The holy Ghost make our full Trinity A similitude like unto our Stone In him ben things three which be concluded all in one Our Sulphur is likened to the holy Ghost For he is quick called the Spirit of Slyfe In his working of might he is most He raiseth our Body from death to lyfe Many my Son with him do rise The holy Gospell therein is expert The number my reason cannot contrive Multum quantum fructum adfert I liken our Sulphur to the Adamant Stone That Steele drawes to him naturally So doth our Sulphur the woman When she from her husband would flye Son I muse greatly Father and mervaile in minde Whereof this Stone is ingendered And also of what manner of kinde For I have traveled many a Country In vallies low and on hills high And spurred therefore of foes and freind Yet could I never that Sulphur see Nor in any place wat I where him to finde Father Son he is made of the Elements That God hath given both soule and lyfe From Mettall he may never be absent For he rules both man and wife Son Father I pray you for charity Where shall I this Sulphur finde For perfectly I know him not by quality Nor yet to fore know him by kinde Father In our Water Son keepe this in minde For there he will appeare as white as snow Son Gramarcy Father to me ye be full kinde For through your teaching full well I it know Now Father I pray you for charity The while it is in your minde To ken the red Sulphur that you will teach me And then I trust your Doctrine to finde Father White and Red Son be both one in kinde Now hast thou all thy desire Keepe well this secret and close it in thy minde His tincture and growing is by vertue of our Fire For in our Fire our Stone will grow And there his riches he doth encrease And so doth no Stone that I do
befall Mankinde in health preserve they shall Reneweth Youth and keepeth it sound As trew by proofe the same is found And here I will teach you plaine How for to make their Mixtures pure In order faire without disdaine I will tell you no Dreame be sure Beleeve me while my life may dure Looke what with mouth to you I say My deedes shall prove it true alway Yett shall some Figure my Meeter hide Least the Arte with wings should fly awâ—y And soe as vile abroad to slide Whose sence or Truth cannot decay And without fraude I will display The matter plaine on every side And true likewise what soe betide Although ere this you have heard say That such as practice doth this Arte Their thrift in Ashes seeke alway And learne at length with heavy heart Not more but lesse to make their part Yet be not you dismayed therefore Ne feare nor shrinke for it the more But trust the words which I you tell For truly I doe flatly say I have both seene and known it well And wittnesse will the same alway This the Marrow called is I say A truer Text full well I wote In all this World finde shall you not Then as this writing of our Wine Whereof I bring you here a taste Whose heavenly Water pure and fine Doth all things worke withouten waste To your desire the bodyes fast It doth dissolve make light and open With other things not yett of spoken Against Nature yet is it not But naturall as may men trow Which being cleansed from his spott There Phoebus splendor shall forth shewe And cause it fragrantly to grow For how more fragrant it shal be Soe much of Valor more is hee For Phoebus nature doth surpasse And bodyes pure and eke the sky It doth beshine both Corne and Grasse The Sonn reneweth from on hye And causeth things to fructifie Doth mix and fix and natureth Drives plagues away and nourisheth Abandoneth draweth and clenseth the Aire Maketh dews sweete floods and humors dry Maketh softe hard sweete and fayre And purifieth Natures perfectly By his working incessantly It maketh all things to grow I say And chaseth Vgly things away In Laurell Tree it is full greene In Gold it lodgeth glistringly It decketh Stones with brightnes sheene The shinening bodyes are made thereby But if you will more certeinly Of Phoebus vertue have knowledging Then Saturns Chyld must yssue bring O Pastor meeke draw Water cleere From buds of Vynes out of a Glasse As red as blood as Gold it were Which will you give a Gummy Masse As pretious as ever was Thus without fraude made open is by wyse The Arte which you shall not dispise It multiplyeth and maketh also Gold Potable know this for trewe By it are things increased soe That health thereby you may renewe To learne those Secreats dayly sue Which formally prolong well may Your Life in joy from day to day For although many hate this Arte Yet it is precious over all Try and discerne within your hearte By all the Lessons misticall A Gift it is Coelestiall Which here is taught to you him by That prov'd it hath Assuredly This have I written for your sake Not in vaine stile but order plaine This little Booke of him you take Which frankly doth bestowe his paine To God committinge you againe And all that doth wish well to thee In any place wheresoever they bee If you unbroken long would keepe In perfect health your Vessel still Then for your Cannon looke you seeke Remembring him that hath good will By your assistance to fulfill And in such sort your Worke display As sound may to your lawd alway A SHORT WORKE That beareth the Name of the aforesaid Author Sir G. RIPLEY TAke Heavy Soft Cold and Drye Clense him and to Calx grind him subtily Dissolve him in Water of the Wood If thou can do any good Thereof take a Tincture And Earthy Calx good and pure Of this maist thou have with thy travaile Both Mercury Water and Oyle Out of the Ayre with Flames great Fire into the Earth doth Creepe In this Worke if thou wilt winn Take heed wherewith thou dost begin And in what manner thou dost work For loosing thy way in the darke And where with what and how thy matter shal end I tell and Councell thee as my Frend Make Water of Earth and Earth of Water Then art thou well onward in the matter For thou shalt find hid in the myre Both Earth Water Ayre and Fire I tell thee my Brother I will not flatter Of our Earth is made our Water The which is cleere white as Snow And makes our Earth Calcine and growe Blacknesse first to thee doth shew As by thy practise thou shalt know Dissolve and Calcine oft and oft With Congelation till the Body to whitnes be brought Make the Body fluxible and flowing With the Earth perfect and teyning Then after Ferment is once done Whither thou wilt with Sunne or Moone Dissolve him with the Water of life Ycalled Mercury withouten strife Put the Soule with the Body and Spirite Together in one that they may meete In his Dammes belly till he wax great With giving Drinke of his owne sweate For the Milke of a Cow to a Child my brother Is not so sweete as the Milke of his Mother This Child that is so marveilously wrought Unto his Heritage must be brought His livelyhood is so worthy a thing Of abilitye to spend with a King He that beareth all this in minde And understandeth these Parables all With Seperation he may finde Poore and Rich great and small With our Sulphur we make our Antimony White and Red And thereof we make our Mercury quick dead This is a Mettall that I speake of one of the seaven If thou be a Clerk read what I meane There is no Plannet of six neither great nor small But if he be put to them he will Calcine them all Unto red blood he must be brought Else of him thou gettest right nought Reach him then with the Wood Water Man and Woman Clothed under one hatter In and of them is conceived a Child Lovely of beauty meeke and mild Out of the Earth with dropps strong Nourish the Child in his Mothers wombe Till he be come to full age And then make thou a Mariage Betweene the Daughter and the Sonne And then thou hast the Mastery wonn The beginning of this Worke if thou wilt crave In holly Writ thou shalt it have Both in Masse Booke and in Psalter Yea wrighten before the Preest at the Alter And what is Antimony that thou shalt worke I have written to thee if thou be a Clerke Looke about before if thou canst finde Plainely written which maketh men blind Our Werke is bringing againe our Mercury And that Philosophers call Solucion And if thou loose not the uncleane body Thou werkest without discretion The Inbibition of Water is not the loosing But bringing the Body into water againe turning That is to say into
Vessell have cold For then itt will spoile as Philosophers have told But keepe itt in a temperate heate alwayes For the space of fortie dayes Then Blackesse will appeare to sight That Blacknesse thou must bring to be White ake out t he Glasse at the forty dayes end And se that from cold thou doe itt defend And set itt in a Furnace with dry fire Till itt be White after thy desire Which wil be done in Weekes three And dryed from his moysture utterly Then with the first Water thou first didst imbibe Againe thou maist feede it att this tyde But give itt noe more nor you doe thinke May suffice at once for itt to drinke This done putrefy as you did before Even in the very selfe same maner And in the said tyme which it stoode before Itt will becom of blacke Colour And in the same Order if it congeale White Then is your Worke both perfect and right Now you must goe lerne the Bakers occupacion How he Leavens Bread by Fermentacion And truly to Ferment take noe plate of Gold But parte of that the plates doe hold You know that if Sol shew not a faire Tincture Itt will be had but in little honour Then Tincture of Gold is a most noble thing With a grace to noble men of our workeing For that true proverbe doth well accord Base things befitt not a noble Lord. Now have I told you what Ferment is To teach you to Ferment I will not misse This Chapter is now brought to an end And now the third Order to shew I intend CHAP. IV. Of the third Order of this Worke. RECIPE Sol that is pure and good And see that from him you take his pure blood Your Stone you must divide in parts three And the fourth of the Ferment must be If you will have for Red and White too To Red after this Order you must doe And the White after the same Must be ferment with Lune by name And the matter equally divyde One for the Red the other for the White Another like Vessell for the White you must looke As before is taught you in this Booke When your Ferments to your matters be put Then your Vessell close you must shut And sett it to Putrifye as you did before The full tyme as I said of yore And use itt in every degree As in the next Chapter before you may see But looke that you knowe your two Ferments assunder Or elce of your folly itt were great wonder And when from his Blacknesse you have brought itt White Then have you Elixir of wonderfull might Your Red to his perfection is not fully brought But your White is perfectly wrought Your Red with most strong heate must be fedd In a close Furnace untill itt be Redd When itt is Redd and will melt like waxe Then of all that should be nothing laxe Now have you a Stone of wonderfull might Which will take Mercury before his flight And command him to stay and cause him to bring All Mettalls unto him and call him their Kinge And make such obedyence without Digression That of him they shall all take Impression Now have you a Stone of wonderfull power Which conteineth the three Species and the Elements foure Fire in Colour Water by Effusion Earth to sight without delusion Aire is in Water all men doe knowe And thus the foure Elements accordeth nowe As for the three Species I will shewe How in your Stone you may them knowe Tincture for Blood perteineth to the Animall Moysture the Vegetable part possesse shall All Earth is Minerall without any doubt Thus keepe we in one Circle and never goe out Now have I my Figure perfectly wrought Yett of the Center I have said right nought A Center is a pricke of whatsoever itt be Without any manner of divisibilitie And made as Nature doth well provide So as no Accident may itt divide Only by hand but in the Quantitie But by noe Element seperate the Qualitie If in greate Fire you sett it downe A true Salamander itt wil be found If in the Water thou throwe I wis It will live there as doth a Fish If in the Aire you cast it up hye There will it live and never dye If in the Earth thou bury itt fast Then will it remaine there and ever last Thus can no Element divide without doubt The Center which our Wheele turnes about Now how to Multiply your Medicine I trow Would doe you much good for to knowe For unlesse you know howe to Multiply Your Medicine will be spent quickly Then would itt put thy minde to much paine To thinke that thou must make itt againe Therefore the next Chapter shall teach thee right To Multiply this Stone of wonderfull might CHAP. V. How to Multiply NOW in this Chapter I meane to shewe How to Multiply that thou may knowe If Iron to the Load-stone be not put certeinly Itt will decreace wonderfully The Species of all things both more and lesse each one Are mainteyned by reason of Multiplication Then if they be not Multiplyed they decay But Multiplication makes them be all away All things after Conception receive naturall Food To mainteine their kind as Nature seeth good Soe likewise our Stone must needs Multiply Or elce the Species of that Stone will dye And Multiplication must needs be of such thing As the thing multiplied takes best likeing Fire which burneth perpetually If Matter want Fire will dye But for to feed our Stone rightly The way I will shewe presently Take your Glasse and Medicine withall And in a warme Fire sett itt you shall And when itt begins to liquefy Put common Mercury to itt by and by And itt wil be devoured anon By vertue of heate that is in our Stone And as much as you putt in quantitie Soe much doth your Medicine augment truly Yett you must have reason not for to cloye With overmuch cooling kind heate thereby And as of a Dragme you will make a Pounde You may well do itt if you keep round And when it is Multiplied sufficiently Then from the Fire set it by A man in this Land once I knewe That marred that he made and so may yowe Except ye doe as I have taught And then neede you to feare nought Another I knewe which wanted good direccion And at once spent all at one projection These knew not howe itt should be multiplyed Which things I have taught you at this tyde But see that the Mercury wherewith ye Multiply Be made soe cleane as itt may be Now to make him extend his perfection It is needfull to know how to make projeccion Whereof in the next Chapter I will treate For of Multiplicacion I will noe more speake CHAP. VI. Of Projection NOw lacke we but onely this Lesson to take Perfectly projection for to make Take one parte of the Medicine and of ☿ ♄ or Tinn But see that you make them exceeding cleane And when your Mettall doth Liquefy Then cast in your
lyfe is Fyre Wheare hast thowe goe too Scolle to learne all this For that thou sayest is right true I wisse And I suppose it in thie thought That with iiii Spirits it must be wrought Nay your Spirits are too wilde quoth Marlin againe Therefore I will not medle with them certaine I will have a Spirit made by kinde naturally That will abide with every body kindly Such a Spirit could I macke quod Marlin And yet men would hold yt but in veyne And yet of all workes it is the best Lest of Cost and most surest For if it should faile then were we done all And therefore for the most parfitest worke we it call It is so rich when it is wrought Though all the world were turned to nought As mennye rich bodyes agayn make would he As ever were or ever should be Take Earth of Earth Earths Brother c. I have seene an old Coppy of the said work of Pearce the Black Monk to the end of which these following Verses were joyned NOW of this Matter derke and nothing clere An Exposicion I doe mack here Wherein I charge you secre to be That frend ne foe doe yt se Erth hyd within the bodies center is most fine Water of Wood Essell of Wine For by the moyster of the Grape This centrall Earth who can it take It and Sercion do our Maistry make For it shall become Mercuriall And after that Essentiall But now beware that you not faile For then you loose your greate travaile Whan you have drawne owte of the Gum All the Mercury that wyll come Understand that Lycowres three In that Mercury conteyned be The first is the Watur of lyfe Ardent By Bath departed that is most lent It burneth as Aquavite by live And is called our Mercury attractive Wherewith is made Earth Christalline Out of all Collours Metallyne I speke no more thereof as yet For in this worke we neede not it Then runneth a Water after thilke Litle in quantity white as mylke Whych ys sperme or nature of our Stone That is earnestly sought of many one For of Man Beste and every thynge Sperme is there begynyng Therefore we our Mercury do it call Whych ys found here and there and over all For wythout yt ys nothyng lyvyng Wherefore yt ys in every thyng As well in thyngs most preciouse As in thyngs most vyle and odious Of yt they have there first nature Thys moyster to you as now is clere Thys ys the Mercury that we call Vigetable Minerall and Animall Our Quicksilver and our lac Virginis Our Water permanent forsooth yt ys Wyth thys Water Mercuriall We wasch the fylth Originall Of our Erth tyll yt be whyte Lyke a Gumm that floweth lyte By dry fyre after that schale cume Oyle wherewyth we make red Gumm Wych ys our Tincture and our Sulfur vive The soule of Saturne the Golde of life Our Tincture and our airy Gould Wych before was never so plainely tould God graunt that I do no displeasure To hym in fulfillyng your desire Now Elements be divided every one Wyth thys Oyle make red your Stone Owre Gumms two then have schall ye Wythout the wych no Elixir may be They go the Body and the Spirits betwixt Wythowte the wych our Ston cannot be fixt And makyth of hym in a lytle space Two Elixirs by Gods Grace Whereby are trewly alterate All Metalline Bodies into a better state Wyth Sol and Luna equall to be To helpe us in our necessitie Now thanked be God most gracious Wych hath this Secret lent to us Hys grace therewyth to us he leave To our Soules helth us for to meve This following Fragment in some copies I have found placed at the end of the aforegoing Exposition of Pearce the Black Monke In others immediately before With Hic and with Hac c. and bearing this Tytle A CONCLUSION TAke Wynde and Water white and greene And thereof draw a lac Virgine Where some it call a water cleere The which water hath no Peere And then make your Fier stronger When the white fume doth appeare Chaunge your Receiver and continue longer And then shall you see come a Fire Red as blood and full of Yre Quod dicitur menstruum faetens sol philosophorum In quo fit nostra dissolutio congelatio Sublimatio attractio etiam fixatio Et Sulphuris nostri five foliati creatio WIth hic and with haec thus may ye do As Husband and Wife toogeather them wed Put them in a chamber both two And shet fast the dore when they be a bed The woman is both wanton and wilde With her husband she cannot rest Till she have conceived a Child Of all his kin he shall be best He is a Childe of the Elements Both by Father and by Mother None so worthy in presence Not perfect Sol his owne Brother Sol and Luna owe unto him obedience And all that him needes they to him bring Saturne doth to him obesance Howbeit he is next of his kinne There is neither Emperour or Kinge But of his presence they would be glad If he from them were one yeare wanting In their hearts they would be full sad In riches he exceedeth all other The Elements in him are so even Luna is his Sister and Sol is his Brother His Father dwelleth among the planets seaven Nulla virtus mineralibus where shall we him seeke Sit tibi principium principale Councell we must it keepe Reperitur ubique localis by way in every streete An other Conclusion FIrst Calcine and after Putrefie Dissolve distill sublime discend and fix With Aquavitae oftymes wash and dry And make a marriage of Body Soul the Spirit betwixt Which thus together naturally if ye cannot mix Then shall the Body utterly dye in the flix Bleeding and changing Collours as ye shall see In bus and nubi he shall uprise and descend First up to the Moone and after up to the Sun Onely shipped within a litle glasen Tunne When he commeth thether then is all the Maistry wonne About which Journey great goods ye shall not spend And ye shall be Glad that ever it was begun Patiently if ye list to your worke to attend Who so shall our Pearle and our Ruby make Our Principle let him not forsake For at the beginning if his Principle be trew And that he can by craft so him bake Trewly at the end his Worke shall him not rew The whole Scyence THere is a bodi of a Bodi And a Soule and a Spryte Wyth two Bodyes must be knete There ben two Erthys at I the telle And two Waters wyth hem do dwelle The ton ys Whyte the tother is Red To quick the Bodies that ben ded And oon Fyre in Nature y hydd And oon Ayre with hem that doth the dede And all hyt commeth out of onn kynde Marke thys well Man and beare yt yn mynde TAke Mercury from Mercury which is his wyfe For Mercury wife to Mercury maketh greate stryfe But
taken in other parts of that worthy worke The effects whereof hath rendred Banbury amongst others much beholding to him for an eminent Flout For where Cambden fames it for Cheese onely he addes Cakes and Zeale Neither of which are to be found in the Originall though doubtlesse both in the Towne and for better purpose then to be boasted of But to leave this Digression returne to Ripley Pitts tells us He was a Man of a Quick more then can be expressed curious Wit and that Totam serè suā aetatē in perscrutandis rerii Naturaliū occultis abstrusis Causis effectibus consumpfit He wasted almost his whole Life in searching out the occult and abstruse Causes and Effects of Naturall things And that he might more copiously and plentifully study Philosophy and accomplish what he conceived his mind he boldly travailed through France Germany and Italy where he grew into familiarity with severall of the most Learned men Leland saith truly that he laid the foundation of his Studies in Italy for there indeed he had the blessing first to see Projection In Romanis partibus nuptiis Mercurii Accidit post studium semel quod interfui 'T is further testified that He alwayes either Writ or Learnt or Taught something He was perfectly learned in all the liberall Arts and well red in all manner of Philosophy a most famous Mathematitian a Rhetoritian and Poet per eam aetatem non vulgaris effectus Combachius styles him Author procul dubio dignus qui ab Amatoribus Chemiae sedulo evolvatur cum in sermone apertus sit rotundus planus nec ullis spink aliorum more obsitus A worthy Author without exception who is diligently studyed by the lovers of Chimestry forasmuch as he is open well compact and plaine of delivery and not wrapt in any Thornes after the custome of others Habet insuper saith the same Author cum Lulii scriptis magnam affinitatem ut unus alterum explicet c. Besides he hath great Affinity with the Writings of Lully insomuch that the one explaineth the other Amongst other parts abroad he visited the Isle of Rhodes and resided there for some time with the Knights of the Order of Saint Iohn of Ierusalem An Acquaintance of mine hath in his custody certaine private Observations of an English Gentleman of good quality and credit who in his Travells abroade Observes amongst other things that in the Isle of Malta he saw a Record which declares that this Sir George Ripley gave yearely to those Knights of Rhodes 100000l towards maintaining the war then on foot against the Turks But at length that he might bid his farewell to the World and wholly consecrate himselfe to God and betake him to his private Studies upon his returne into England he obtained an Indulgence of Pope Innocent the eighth that for the future he might be Exempt from Claustrall Observance and alwaies discharged and freed from the burthen of the Ceremonies and Observancy of his Order but in regard the Chanons admit no such things he became a Carmelite in the Monastery of Saint Butolph which saith Leland is a famous Mart Towne nigh the Banks of the River Lindus This River I take to be the River Witham in Lincolnshire anciently called Lindis which passing from Lincoln runs towards the maine Sea by Boston more truly called Butolphs Towne for it carried that name from Butolph a most holy and devote Saxon And if you observe Cambdens Map of Lincolnshire you shall see St. Butolph stands neere to Boston So that in all likelyhood this was the place of Ripley's Retirement where he continued an Anchorite untill his Death and was there Buried Anno 1490. The probability whereof may be further confirm'd from his Mcdulla where it appeares he had then a great desire to return into England and to that end therein became a Suter to the Archbishop of Yorke that by his meanes he might obtaine an abiding place in some Religious house within his Dioces Which Archbishop presently after dying he could not performe but not unlike Ripley having still an earnest longing thereto because it was his native Countrey might without doubt otherwise effect And whereas Bale saith he obteined Pope Innocents Indulgence upon his returne into England and thereupon became a Carmelite An. 1488. It is manifest from the aforesaid Medulla that at the writeing thereof which was in 1476. at least 12. yeares before the time Bale makes him to enter into that Order he had this Dispensation for so he tells the Archbishop And if so then it must be either Sixtns the fourth or Paul the second his Predecessor that must grant it unto him He wrote divers Bookes worthy of perusing but amongst those which Bale Registers I shall onely cull out these viz. 1. Compendium Alchimiae seu Castellum Duodecim Portarum 2. Concordantias Guidonis Raymundi 3. Secreta Philosophorum 4. Alcumistarum Misteria 5. Artem brevem vel Clangorem 6. Practicam Ceremonialem 7. Dictata Aegri 8. De Magia Naturali 9. De lapide Philosophico latine Tractatum rythimicum All which Pitts recites and to them adds the following workes 10. Medullam Philosophiae 11. Pupillam Alchimiae 12. Terram Terrarum 13. Experimenta Philosophica 14. De rerum temperaturis What followes Ludov Combachius has lately printed and added to some of the aforementioned Peeces 15. De Mercurio lapide Philosophorū 16. Philorcium Alchimistarum 17. Clavis Aurae Portae 18. Viaticum seu Varia Practica 19. Accurtationes practicae Raymundinae 20. Cantalena And lastly take into the Number the small Peeces published in this Theatrum viz. His 21. Epistle to Edw the fourth pag. 109. 22. Vision pag. 374. 23. Verses belonging to his Scrowle Pag. 375. 24. Preface to his Medulla 389. 25. A short worke supposed to be his Pag. 393. Pag. 177. lin ult A Quintessence this Water we call In Man which helpeth Disseases all PHysick is a divine Science even Gods Theologie for the Almighty wrote his Scripture in that language before he made Adam to reade it The Ten Fathers before the Flood and those that followed together with Moses and Salomon were the great Physitians in former Ages who bequeathed their heavenly knowledges of naturall helpes to those they judged as well worthy in honesty and industry as capable thereof and from their piercing Beames all Nations enlightned their Tapers Abraham brought it out of Chaldea and bestowed much thereof upon Egypt and thence a refulgent Beame glanced into Greece The Coäcks and Aesculapian Family c. God greatly incouraged to serve that Age. Democritus and Hypocrates supported Ruinous Mankinde with their Phisicall administrations and Schollers successively supplyed their places for at least 400. yeares untill Galen undertooke by his strong Abilities and incessant Paines to vivifie the then dying Genius of Phisick which hath since most nobly beene Augmented by the stupendious paines of Arabians and Europeans And in the Progresse this Science has made into severall parts
be departed a twinn Into foure Elements if ye would to winn Which thing to doe if ye ne can Goe and lerne it of Hortolan Which made his Boke of that Doctrine How ye shulde part the Elements of Wine Moreover ye must for your succour Know th' effects of the quallities fower Called Heate Colde Moisture and Drines Of which fower all things Compounded is And sith in this Arte your cheefe desire Is to have Colour which shulde abide fier Ye must know before you can that see How everie Colour ingendred shall be For every Colour whiche maie be thought Shall heere appeare before that White be wrought Yet more ye would have to this summe Swiftly to melt as Wex or Gumme Els mought it not enter and perce The Center of Mettalls as Auctors reherse Soe ye would have it both fix and flowe With Colour plenty if ye wist howe Such three Contraries joyntly to meete In one accord is a greate Secret Nethles he that is cleere of Minde In this Chapter maie it well finde And first to give you a short Doctrine Of the aforesaid qualities prime Heate and Cold be qualities Active Moisture and Drines be qualityes Passive For they suffren the Actives evermore As Stones to be Lyme and Water to be Froare Hereupon to Judge ye maie be bold Nothing is full wrought but by Heate and Cold Nethles the Passives have some Activity As in Handicrafts men ye maie daily see In Bakinge and Brewinge and other Crafts all Moisture is opperative and soe Drines be shall Aristotle in his Phisicks and other manie moe Said ab actionibus procedit speculatio They said that Practise is roote and beginning Of Speculation and of all Cunning For the properties of every thinge Be perceaved by their working As by Colours of Urins we may be bold To give sentence of Heate and Colde By thes aforesaid foure qualities prime We seeche Colours with length of tyme Of White Colour we be not full sure To seeche it but in a substance pure Greate Doctrine thereof lerne now ye maie When ye know how Colours growe all day COlour is the utmost thinge of a Body cleere Cleere fubstance well termined is his matter heere If Heate hath maistery in matter that is drye White Colour is ever thereof certainely As it appeareth in sight of brent Bones And in making of all Lyme Stones Where Cold worketh in matter moist cleere Yet of such working Whitnes woll appeare As it sheweth in Ice and Frosts hore The cause is set out in Philosophie before I write not here of common Philosophie But by example to teach Alkimy That one maie be perceived by that other As is the Child perceived by the Mother If Heate in moyst matter and grosse withall Warke thereof Black Colour ingender shall Example hereof if ye of me desire Behold when you see greene Wood set on a fire When Cold worketh in matter thick and drye Black Colour shall be this is the cause whie Such matter is compacted and more thick With Cold constreyning enimy to all quick Thicknes made Darknes with privation of Light Soe Collour is private then Black it is to Sight Therefore evermore remember this How cleere matter is matter of Whitenes The cause efficient maie be manyfold For somewhile it is Heate and sometime Cold But Whire and Black as all men maie see Be Colours contrary in most extremitie Wherefore your warke with Black must beginn If the end shulde be with Whitenes to winn The midle Colour as Philosophers write Is Red Colour betweene Black and White Nethlesse trust me certainly Red is last in work of Alkimy Alsoe they say in their Doctrine How theis two Colours Rufe and Citrine Be meane Colours betweene White and Red And how that Greene and Colour wan as Lead Betweene Red and Black be Colours meane And freshest Colour is of matter most Cleane Physitians in Urines have Colours Nynteene Betweene White and Black as thei weene Whereof Colour underwhite Subalbidus is one Like in Colour to Onychyne stone Of such like Colour Magnetia found is But Magnetia glittereth with Cleerenes In our suttill warke of Alkimy Shall be all Colours that hath beene seen with Eye An hundreth Colours more in corteyne Then ever hath been seene in Urine Where in so many Colours mought not be But if our Stone conteyned every degree Of all Compositions found in warke of kinde And of all Compositions imaginable by minde Of as manie Colours as shall therein be saine So manie graduations your wisdome must attaine And if you knowe not such graduations all Lerne them of Raymond in his Atre Generall Gilbert Kymer wrote after his devise Of 17. Proportions but thei maie not suffice In this Science which he coude never finde And yet in Phisick he had a nobil minde Wher the royalty of the nature of Man Advaunceth ofte Medicines of the Phisitian And so honoreth oft times his Crafte When that the Medicines peradventure mought be lafte But it is not so in Phisick of Mines For that Arte exceedeth all other engines And resteth only in the wisdome of Man As by experience wise men witnes can ANd soe of Alkimy the trew foundation Is in Composition by wise graduation Of Heate and Cold of Moist and of Drye Knowing other Qualities ingendered thereby As hard and soft heavy and light Rough and smoothe by ponders right With Number and Measure wisely sought In which three resteth all that God wrought For God made all things and set it sure In Number Ponder and in Measure Which numbers if you doe chaunge and breake Upon Nature you must doe wreake Wherefore Anaxagoras said Take good heede That to Conjunction ye not proceede Till ye know the Ponders full compleate Of all Components which shulde therein meete Bacon said that old Men did nothing hide But only Proportion wherein was noe guide For none old Auctor King Prince ne Lord Writing of this Science with others did accorde In the Proportions which if ye would reach Raymond with Bacon and Albert done it teach With old Anaxagoras of them fowre ye shall Have perfect knowledge but not of one have all And if you would joyne fowre Qualities to intent Then must ye Conjoyne every Element As Water and Erthe after your desire Well compounded with Ayer and Fier Knowing the worthiest in his activitie The second the third every-each in his degree The fourth and the vilest maie not be refused For it is profitable and best to be used And best maie extend his Multiplication In whome is the virtue of our Generation And that is the Erthly Lytharge of our Stone Without him Generation shall be none Neyther of our Tincture fixation For nothing is fixt but Erthe alone All other Elements moveable be Fier Ayer and Water as ye daily see But Fier is cause of extendibility And causeth matters permiscible to be And cleere brightnes in Colours faire Is caused of kinde evermore of Ayer And Ayer also with his Coaction Maketh things