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Keynes MS. 14, King's College Library, Cambridge University

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7
Artephius.
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p.1

Artephius his secret Book.

Antimony is of ye parts of Saturn & hath in every respect

ye nature thereof: so this< or >& the Saturnine Antimony agrees wth ye
Sun, having in it self Argent vive wherein no metal is drown
ed but gold; that is to say, gold only is only is truly drowned in Antimonial
Saturnine Argent vive only, & without that Argent vive no metal
can be whitened. It whiteneth therefore Leton, that is Gold
& it reduceth a perfect body into it's first matter; that is
into sulphur & argent vive of a white colour, & shining
more then a looking glass. It dissolves I say the perfect body wch is
of his nature; for this water is friendly & pleasant to ye
metals & unites it self to them whitning ye sunn because it conteins a white argent
vive. And from hence thou mayst draw a great secret,
to wit, yt ye water of Saturnine Antimony ought to be
mercurial & white to ye end yt it may whiten ye gold,
not burning it, but dissolving & afterwards congealing it
to ye form of white cream. Therefore saith ye Philoso-
pher that this body water maketh ye body to be volatile,
because after it hath been dissolved in this water & cooled
again it mounts aloft upon ye surface of ye water. Take
saith he, gold crude foliated laminated or calcined with ☿
& put it into or Vinegre Antimonial Saturnine Mercurial
& drawn from< or >of Sal Ammoniack (as is said< or >tis called) in a broad
glass-vessel four fingers high or more, & leave it there
in a temperate heat; & in short time thou wilt see
lifted up as it were a liquor of oyle swimming aloft
in manner of a thin skin. That gather with a spoon, or
with a feather dipping it in & so doing many times a day,
untill there do nothing more arise: afterwards make ye
water vapour away by the fire, that is to say, ye superfluous
humour of ye Vinegre, & there will remain unto thee a
quintessence of Gold in form of a white oyle incombustible
wherein ye Ps have placed their great< or >greatest secrets. And this
oyle

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oyle is exceeding sweet & is of great power to mitigate ye
pain & grief of wounds.

All ye secret then of this vinegre secret Antimonial is yt we know how

to draw & extract & draw out of ye body of ye Magnesia, Argent vive not
burning, & this is Antimony & Mercurial Sublimate, that is, we must
draw a water living, incombustible, & then congeale it wth ye per-
fect body of ye sun wch is dissolved therein into a nature & substance
white, congealed as if it were creame, wch maketh it all to become
white. Nevertheles first of all this Sun in his putrefaction &
resolution in this water in ye beginning will loos his light, be
darkened & become black, & afterward will lift himself upon ye
water & there will swim upon it by little & little a white
colour in a white substance. And this is called to whiten ye
red Laton, to sublime it philosophically & to reduce it to his
first matter, yt is to say into white ) incombustible & into ar-
gent vive fixed: & so ye terminated moisture, yt is to say
Gold or body by ye reincrudation of liquefaction in this or dissolving
water, is turned & reduced into ) & Argent vive fixed: & incom
bustible And so ye perfect body of ye Sun taketh life in this water
is revived inspired increased & multiplied in his kind, as all other
things are; for in this water it cometh to pass yt ye body com
pounded of <illeg.> two bodies of ye Sun & of ye Moon, puffeth up
swelleth putrefieth as grain of corn, becometh great wth young
is lifted up & encreaseth, taking ye substance & nature living
& vegetable.

Also or water or or afforesaid Vinegre, is ye vinegre of

ye mountains, yt is of ye Sun & Moon & therefore it is mixed
wth ye Sun & moon & cleaveth to them perpetually: to wit ye body
taketh from this water the tincture of whiteness & with it ye
water shineth wth inestimable brightness. He therefore that knows
how to turn ye body into white silver medicinal, he may after
ward by this white gold easily turn all imperfect metals into
very good & fine silver. And this white gold is by ye Ps
called their white Moon, ye white argent vive fixed, ye gold
of Alchimy, & ye white smoake. Therefore wthout that or
Antimonial vinegre, ye white gold of Alchemy cannot be
made. And because in or Vinegre there is a double substance
of argent vive, one of Antimony & another of Mercury sub
limed; it doth therefore give a double weight & substance of
argent

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argent vive fixed, & also augments therein (in ye gold) the natural
colour weight substance & tincture thereof.

Therefore or dissolving water carries a great tincture & great

fusion because yt when it feels ye common fire, if there be in it
ye perfect body of ye Sun or of ye Moon, it suddenly maketh it to
be melted & to be turned into his substance, white as it is, & adds
colour weight & tincture to ye body. It hath also power to dissolve all things
that may be melted, & it is a ponderous body viscous pretious & honou
rable, resolving all crude bodies into their first matter, that is into
earth & a viscous pouder, that is to say into Sulphur vive & argent
vive. If therefore thou put into this water any metal filed or
attenuated, & leavest it for a time in a gentle heat, it will be
all dissolved & changed into a viscous water, or a white oyle, as is
said. And so it mollifies ye body & prepares it to fusion & lique
faction. Nay it makes all things fusible, that is, as well as stones &as metals, &
afterwards gives them spirit & life. Therefore it dissolves all things
with a wonderful solution turning ye perfect body into a fusible
medicine, melting, penetrating, & more fixed, encreasing ye weight &
colour.

Work therefore with it & thou shalt obtain from it that wch thou
desirest; for it is ye spirit & ye soule of ye Sun & Moon, it is
the oyle & ye dissolving water, ye fountain, the Balneum Mariæ,
the fire against Nature, ye moist fire, ye secret hidden & in-
visible fire & ye most sharp vinegre of wch a certain P said
I besought ye Lord & he shewed me a certain cleane water wch I
knew to be ye pure vinegre altering piercing & digesting. The vi-
negre I say penetrative, & ye instrument moving ye gold or ye
silver to putrefy resolve & to be reduced into his first matter; & it
is ye only agent in ye whole world for this art, yt can resolve &
reincrudate, or make raw again, ye metallick bodies wth ye conserva
tion of their species. It is therefore ye only fit & natural mean
by wch we ought to resolve ye perfect bodies of ye Sun & Moon
by an admirable & solemn dissolution under ye conservation of
their species & without any destruction, unless it be to receive a new more
noble & better form or generation, that is to say to be changed into ye perfect stone
of ye Ps, wch is their wonderfull & hidden secret.

Now this water is a certain middle substance cleare as pure silver

wch ought to receive ye tinctures of ye Sun & Moon to ye end that it may be
congealed

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congealed & converted into white living earth: for this water hath
need of ye perfect bodies yt wth them after dissolution it may be con-
gealed, fixed & coagulated into white earth; & their solution is
also their congelation, for they have one & ye same operation,
for ye one is not dissolved but that ye other is congealed. Neither
is there any other water wch can dissolve ye bodies but that wch
abideth with them in matter & form. Nay it cannot be perma
nent except it be of ye nature of ye other body that they may
be made one together. Therefore when thou seest ye water coa-
gulate it self wth ye bodies yt be dissolved therein, rest assured yt
thy science Method & operations are true & Pal, that thou
proceedest aright in ye art.

Nature then is amended in its like nature, that is Gold & Silver
are amended in or water, as or water also wth ye bodies; wch water is called
ye mean of ye soul, wthout wch we can do nothing in this art: & it is
the vegetable Animal & mineral fire, preserving ye fixed spirits
of ye Sun & Moon; ye destroyer & ye conquerer of bodies becaus
it destroys dissolves & changeth bodies & metallick forms & makes them
to be no bodies but a fixed Spirit, & turneth them into a moist soft
& fluid substance wch hath ingression & power to enter into other
imperfect bodies & to be mixed wth them by ye smallest parts &
to colour them & make them perfect; wch they could not do when
they were metallic bodies dry & hard, wch have no entrance nor
power to colour & make perfect imperfect bodies. And therefore
to good purpose do we turn ye bodies into a fluid substance, because
every tincture will colour a thousand times more when it is in a
soft & liquid substance then when it is in a dry one, as appears by
Saffron: & consequently ye transmutation of imperfect bodies is impo-
sible to be done by perfect bodies while they are dry, except they be
first brought back into their first matter, soft & fluid. ffrom hence
we conclude yt we must make ye moisture return & so reveal yt
wch is hidden; wch is called ye reincrudation, or ye making raw
again of ye bodies, that is the boyling & ye softning them untill they
be deprived of their hard & dry corporality or bodilyness; because yt wch
is dry doth not enter nor colour any thing more then it self. Therefore
the dry earthly body doth not tein except it be teined, becaus, as is above-
said, that wch is thick & earthy entreth not nor coloureth; & becaus it
entreth not therefore it alters not. Wherefore Gold coloureth not untill
the hidden spirit be drawn from ye belly thereof by or white water, &
that it may be made altogether a spirituall & white fume, ye white
spirit

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spirit & the wonderfull soul.

Wherefore we ought by or water to attenuate alter & soften ye prfect

bodies that they may afterward be mixed wth ye other imperfect bodies. And therefore
if we had no other profit by yt Antimonial water then this, yt it makes ye bodies subtil,
soft, & fluid according to his own nature yet it were sufficient for us: for it brings
back ye bodies to their first original of ) & ☿ that of these we may afterward
in a short time, in less then one hower of ye day do yt above ground
wch nature wrought under ground in ye bowels of ye earth in a thousand
years wch is as it were miraculous. And therefore or final secret is by
or water to make ye bodies volatile spiritual & a teining water wch
hath ingression into other bodies: for it makes ye bodies to be a very spirit
because it doth incerate (yt is bring to ye temper & consistence of wax)
ye hard & dry bodies, & prepares them to fusion, that is turns them to a
permanent or abiding water. It makes then of ye bodies a most
pretious blessed oyle, wch is ye true tincture & ye white permanent
water, of nature hot & moist, temperate subtile & fusible as wax,
wch pierceth, reacheth to ye bottom, coloureth & maketh perfect. There
fore or water doth incontinently dissolve gold & silver, & maketh of ym
an incombustible oyle, wch may then be mixed wth other imperfect bodies.
ffor or water turns ye bodies into ye nature of a fusible salt, wch is
by ye Ps called Sal Abroe< or >Albrot, wch is ye best & noblest of all
salts, being in ye regimen thereof fixed & not flying the fire, &
it is indeed an oyle of a nature hot, subtile, penetrating, reaching to
ye depth & entring, called ye complete Elixir, & it is ye hidden
secret of ye wise Alchimists. He therefore yt knoweth this salt
of ye sun & moon, & ye generation or preparation thereof, &
afterwards how to mix it, & make it friendly to ye other bodies
imperfect bodies; he in truth knoweth one of ye greatest secrets of
Nature, & one way of perfection.

These bodies thus dissolved by or water are called argent vive,

wch is not wthout sulphur, nor sulphur wthout ye nature of ye Lumi-
naries, because ye Luminaries (ye Sun & Moon) are ye principal
means in the form by wch nature passeth in ye perfecting & accomplishing the
generation thereof. And this Quicksilver is called ye Salt honoured
& animated & pregnant, & fire seing it is nothing but fire, nor fire
but ), nor ) but quicksilver drawn from ye Sun & moon by or
water & reduced to a stone of great price; that is to say, it is ye
matter of ye luminaries altered from baseness into nobleness. Note that
this white ) is ye father of metals & their mother together. It is or Mer
cu<ry>

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cury, & ye minera of Gold, & ye soul, & ye ferment, & ye mineral
vertue, & ye living body, & ye perfect medicine, or ) & or ☿, yt is
) of ) & Quicksilver of quicksilver & Mercury of Mercury. The
property therefore of or water is yt it melteth gold & silver & aug-
ments in them their native colour; for it turns ye bodies from
corporality into spirituality, & this water it is wch sends into ye body
a white fume, wch is ye white soule subtile hot & of much fieri-
ness. This water is also called ye bloody stone & it is ye vertue of
ye spirituall blood wthout wch nothing is done, & ye subject of all
liquable things & of liquefaction, wch agrees very well & cleaveth
to ye Sun & Moon, but more to ye Sun yn to ye moon. Note
this well. It is also called ye mean of conjoyning ye tinctures of
ye sun & Moon wth imperfect Metals: for it turns ye bodies into a
true tincture to tein ye other imperfect metals, & it is ye water
wch whiteneth, as it is white, wch quickeneth as it is a soule, &
therefore (as ye P saith) soon entreth into its body. For it is a
living water wch cometh to moisten its earth yt it may budd & bring
forth fruit in his time, as all things springing from ye earth are en-
gendred by <illeg.> dew or moisture. The earth therefore buddeth
not without watering & moisture. It is ye water of May dew
yt cleanseth ye bodies, yt pierceth ym like rain water, whiteneth
them & maketh one new body of two bodies. This water of life
being rightly ordered with his body, whiteneth it & turneth it
into his white colour: for ye water is a white fume, & therefore ye
body is whitened by it. Whiten ye body then & burn thy books.
And between these two, that is between ye body & ye water, there
is friendship desire & lust as between ye male & female, because
of ye nearness of their like natures. ffor or second living water
is called Azot washing ye Leton, that is ye body compounded
of ye Sun & Moon by or first water. This second water is also
called ye soule of or dissolved bodies, of wch bodies we have al-
ready tied ye souls together to ye end that they may serve ye wise
Ps. O how perfect & magnificent is this water, for without
it ye work could never be brought to pass! It is also called ye
vessel of nature, ye belly, ye womb, ye receptacle of the tinc-
ture, ye earth & the nurse. It is ye fountain in wch ye king
& Queen wash themselves & ye mother wch must be put & sealed
in ye belly of her infant, yt is, ye Sun wch proceeded from her, &
wch shee brought forth: & therefore they love one another as a
Mother

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Mother & a Son & are easily joyned together because they came
from one & the same root & are of the same substance & na-
ture. And because this water is the water of the vegetable life
therefore it giveth life & maketh ye dead body to vegetate
encreas & spring forth & rise from death to life by solution & sub
limation; & in doing so ye body is turned into a spirit & ye spirit into
a body & then is made amity peace concord & union between ye con-
traries, that is between ye body & ye spirit wch reciprocally change their
natures wch they receive & communicate to one another by ye least ts,
so yt ye hot is mixed wth ye cold, ye dry wth ye moist & ye hard
wth ye soft: & thus is there a mixture made of contrary natures,
that is of cold wth hot & of moist with dry, an admirable connex-
ion & conjunction of enemies. Then or dissolution of bodies wch is made
in this first water is no other thing then a killing of ye moist wth
ye dry because ye moist is coagulated wth ye dry, for ye moisture
is contained terminated & coagulated into a body or into earth only
by driness. Let therefore the hard & dry bodies be put in or first
water in a vessel well shut, where they may abide untill they be
dissolved & ascend on high; & then they may be called a new body,
ye white gold of Alchimy, ye white stone, ye white sulphur not
burning, & ye stone of Paradice, yt is ye stone wch converts im-
perfect metalls into fine white silver. Having this we have also ye
body soul & spirit all together, of ye wch spirit & soule it is said
yt they cannot be drawn from ye perfect bodies but by ye conjunction
of or dissolving water, because it is certain that ye thing fixed cnot
be lifted up but by ye conjunction of ye thing volatile. The spirit
then by ye mediation of ye soul is drawn from ye bodies, & ye body is
made no body, because at ye same instant ye spirit wth ye soul
of ye bodies mounteth on high into ye upper part, wch is ye perfection
of ye stone & is called sublimation. This sublimation (saith ffloren-
tius Catalanus) is done by things sharp spiritual & volatile, wch are
of a Sulphureous & viscous nature, wch dissolve ye bodies & make
them to be lifted up into ye air in the spirit. And in this sublima
tion a certain part & portion of or first water ascendeth with ye
bodies, joyning it self to them, ascending & subliming into a middle
substance, wch holdeth of ye nature of ye two, yt is of ye bodies &
of ye water; & therefore it is called the corporal & spiritual com-
pound, Corsufle, Cambar, Ethelia, Zandarach, the good Duenech, but
properly it is only called ye water permanent because it flieth not in
the fire, always adhering to ye commixed bodies yt is to ye Sun & Moon,
&

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& communicating unto them a living tincture incombustible & most
firm more noble & pretious then ye former wch these bodies had, be
cause from hence forward this tincture can run as oyle upon the bodies
perforating & piercing wth a wonderfull fixion, because this tincture is
the spirit & ye spirit is ye soule & ye soule is ye body, because in
this operation ye spirit body is made a spirit of a most subtile nature
& likewise ye spirit is incorporated & is made of ye nature of
a body wth bodies, & so or stone contains a body a soul & a spirit.
O nature how thou changest ye body into a spirit wch thou couldst
not do if ye spirit were not incorporated with ye bodies & ye
bodies wth ye spirits made volatile or flying & afterward perma
nent or abiding. Therefore they have passed into one another
& are turned one into ye other by wisdom. O wisdom how thou
makest gold to be volatile & fugitive although by nature it be
most fixed. It behoveth therefore to dissolve & melt these bodies
by or water & to make them a permanent water, a golden water
sublimed, leaving in ye bottom ye gross, earthly & superfluous
dry. And in this sublimation ye fire ought to be soft & gentle.
ffor if in this sublimation ye bodies be not purified in a lent
or slow fire, & ye grosser earthly parts (note well) separated
from ye uncleanness of ye dead, thou shalt be hindred from
ever making thy work perfect. ffor thou needest only this subtile
& light nature of ye dissolved bodies wch or water will easily
give thee if thou proceed wth a slow fire, for it will separate
ye heterogeneal from ye homogeneal.

Our compound therefore receiveth mundification or cleans<ing>

by or moist fire; that is to say dissolving & subliming that wch
is pure & white, & casting aside ye fæces like a voluntary vo-
mit (saith Azinaban.) For in such a dissolution & natural sub
limation there is made a loosing or an untying of ye Elements, a
cleansing & a separation of the pure from the impure, so yt
ye pure & white ascendeth upwards, & ye impure & earthly
fixed remians in ye bottom of ye water or ye vessel wch must
be taken away & removed becaus it is of no value, taking only ye
middle white substance flowing & melting & leaving ye feculent
earth wch remained below in ye bottom, wch came principally from
ye water & is ye dross, & ye damned earth, wch is nothing worth, nor
can ever do any good as doth ye pure clear white & clean matter
wch we ought only to take. And against this Capharæan rock ye ship
and

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and knowledge of ye scholars & students in Philosophy is often

(as it happened also unto me sometimes) most improvidently dashed
& beaten, because ye Philosophers do very often affirm ye contrary,
namely that nothing must be removed or taken away but ye moisture
that is ye blackness, wch notwithstanding they say & write only to deceive
ye unwise gross & ignorant wch of themselves without a master un-
wearied reading or prayer unto God Almighty would like conquerors
carry away this golden fleece.  Note therefore yt this separation division
& sublimation is wthout doubt ye key of ye whole work. After ye
putrefaction then & dissolution of these bodies or bodies do lift them
selves up to ye surface of ye dissolving water in ye colour of white
ness & this whiteness is life: for in this whiteness ye antimonial &
mercurial soule is by ye appointment of nature infused wth the
spirits of ye sun & moon wch separateth ye subtile from ye thick
& ye pure from ye impure, lifting up by little & little ye subtile
part of ye body from ye dreggs untill all ye pure be separated &
lifted up. And in this is or philosophical & natural sublimation
fulfilled. And in this whiteness is ye soul infused into ye body
that is ye mineral vertue wch is more subtile then fire, being
indeed ye true quintessence & life wch desireth to be born &
to put off ye gross earthly fæces wch it hath taken from ye
menstruous & corrupt place of his original. And in this is or pall
sublimation not in ye naughty common ☿ wch hath no qualities
like unto them wherewith or ☿ drawn from his vitriolate
caverns is adorned. But let us return to or sublimation.

It is therefore most certain in this art that this soule drawn

from ye bodies cannot be lifted up but by putting to of a volatile
thing wch is of his own kind, by the wch ye bodies are made vola
tile & spiritual, lifting up subtiliating & subliming themselves
against their own proper nature wch is corporeal heavy & pon
derous. And by this means they are made no bodies, but incor
poreal & a quintessence of ye nature of ye nature of ye spirit
wch is called Hermes his bird & mercury drawn from ye red
servant: & so ye earthy parts remain below, or rather ye
grosser parts of ye bodies, wch cannot by any wit or device of
man be perfectly dissolved. And this white fume this white gold
that is this quintessence is also called ye compound Magnesia, wch
as a man conteins, or as a man is compounded of body soul &
spirit. For ye body is ye fixed earth of ye sun, wch is more yn
most

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most fine ponderously lifted up by the force of or divine water. The
soul is ye tincture of ye Sun & of the Moon proceeding from ye con
junction or from ye communication of these two. But ye spirit is ye
mineral vertue of ye two bodies & of ye water wch carries ye soule or
ye white tincture upon ye bodies, & out of ye bodies, as ye tincture of
Diers is carrried by water upon ye cloth. And that ☿ial spirit is
ye bond or tyall tyall of ye soul of ye sun; & ye body of ye
Sun is ye body of fixion, containing wth ye Moon ye spirit &
soule. The spirit therefore pierceth, ye body fixeth, ye soul cou-
pleth coloureth & whiteneth. Of these three united together is or
stone made, that is of ye Sun Moon & Mercury. Then wth or gold
en water gilded (or golden) water is extracted a nature surpassing
all nature, & therefore except ye bodies be by this or water dissol-
ved imbibed grownd softened & sparingly & diligently governed until
they leave their grosness & thickness, & be turned into a thin & im
palpable spirit or labour will always be in vain. ffor unless ye
bodies be changed into no bodies, that is into ye Ps mercury,
the rule of art is not yet found, & ye reason is because it
is impossible to draw out of ye bodies that most thin or subtile
soul wch hath in it all tincture, if ye bodies be not first dissolved
in or water. Dissolve therefore ye bodies in ye golden water & boyle
them untill by ye water all ye tincture come out into a
white colour or a white oyle & when thou shalt see this
whiteness upon ye water then know ye bodies are dissolved or
melted, & continue ye decoction untill they have bring forth
ye cloud wch they have conceived dark black & white. Put
therefore ye perfect bodies in or water in a vessel Hermetically seal
ed upon a soft fire & boile them continually untill they be perfectly
resolved into a most pretious oyle. Boyle them (saith Adfar) wth a gentle
fire as it were for ye hatching of chickens untill ye bodies be dissolved
& their tincture most nearly conjoyned (mark well) be wholly drawn out.
ffor it is not drawn out all at once but it cometh forth by little &
little every day & every houre untill after a long time this dissolution
be complete & yt wch is dissolved do always arise uppermost upon ye water.
And in this dissolution let ye fire be soft & continuall untill ye bodies
be loosed into a viscous impalpable water, & yt ye whole tincture come
forth first in ye colour of blackness, wch is a sign of true solution. Then
continue ye decoction untill it become a white permanent water: for go-
verning it in its bath it will afterwards be clear, & in ye end become
like

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like common argent vive climing thorow ye air upon ye first water.
And therefore when thou seest ye bodies dissolved into a viscous water
then know that they are turned into a vapor & that thou hast ye
soules separated from ye dead bodies & by sublimation brought into
ye order & estate of ye spirits, wherupon both of them wth a part of or
water, are made spirits flying & climing into ye air, & that there ye body
compounded of ye male & female of ye Sun & moon & of that most
subtile nature clensed by sublimation taketh life, is inspired by his
moisture, yt is by his water as a man by ye air & therefore from
henceforth it will multiply & encreas in his kind like all other things.
And therefore in such an elevation & pal sublimation they are
all joyned one wth another & ye new body inspired by ye air liveth
vegetably, wch is a wonder. Wherefore unles ye bodies be subtilized &
made thin by fire & water untill they arise like spirits, & be made
like water & fume or like mercury, there is nothing done in
this art. But when they ascend they are born in ye air & changed
in ye air, & are made life wth life in such sort that they can
never be separated, as water mixt wth water. And therefore it
is wisely said yt ye stone is born in ye air because it is altoge-
ther spirituall: ffor ye Vulture flying wthout wings, cryeth upon
ye top of ye mountain, saying, I am ye white of ye black & ye red
of ye white, & ye citrine Son of ye red, I tell truth & ly not.

It sufficeth thee therefore to put ye bodies in ye vessel & in the

water once for all & to shut ye vessel diligently untill a true separation bee
made, (wch by ye envious is called conjunction, sublimation, assation, ex-
traction, putrefaction, ligation, desponsation, subtiliation, generation, &c.)
& yt ye whole mastery be done. Do therefore as in ye genera-
tion of a man & every vegetable, put ye seed once into ye womb,
& shut it well. By this means thou seest that thou needest not ma-
ny things & that or work requires no great charges because there
is but one stone one medicine one vessel one Regimen, & one suc-
cessive disposition to ye white & to ye red. And although we say
in many places, take this, & take that, yet we understand that it be-
hooveth to take but one thing & put it once in ye vessel & to shut ye
vessel untill ye work be perfected. ffor these things are so set down
by ye envious Ps to deceive ye unwary, as is afforesaid. ffor is
not this art cabalistical & full of secrets? And doest thou, fool,
beleive that we openly teach ye secrets of secrets? And doest
thou take or words according to ye literal sound? Know assured-
ly (I am no whit envious as others are) he that takes ye words of
ye other Ps according to ye ordinary signification & sound of them, he
doth

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doth already, having lost Ariadne's thred, wander in the midst of
the labyrinth & hath as good as appointed his money to perdition.
But I Artephius, after I had learned all ye art & perfect sci-
ence in the books of the truth speaking Hermes, was sometimes
envious as all ye rest, but when I had by ye space of a
thousand years or thereabouts (which are now passed over me
since my nativity by ye only grace of God Almighty, & ye use
of this wonderful Quintessence) when, I say, for so long time
I had seen no man that could work ye mastery of Hermes,
by reason of ye obscurity of ye Ps words; moved with pitty
& with ye goodness becoming an honest man, I have determi
ned in these last times of my life to write all things truly &
sincerely, that thou maist want or desire nothing to ye per-
fecting of ye s stone excepting a certain thing wch it
is not lawful for any person to say or to write because it
is always revealed by God or by a Master. And yet in this
book he that is not stiffnecked shall wth a little experience easi-
ly learn it. I have therefore in this book written ye naked
truth although clothed wth a few colours yt every good & wise
man may from this al tree happily gather ye admirable
apples of ye Hesperides. Wherefore praised be ye most high God
wch hath put this benignity into or soul, & with a wonderful
long old age, hath given us a true dilection of heart, where-
withal it seemeth unto me yt I do truly love cherish & im-
brace all men.

But let us return unto ye art. Surely or work is quickly

dispatched, for that wch ye heat of ye sun doth in a hundred years
in ye Mines of ye earth for ye generation of a Metal, (as I
have often seen) or secret fire, that is, or fiery sulphureous water
wch is called Balneum Mariæ worketh in short time. And this
work is no great labour <illeg.> to him that knows it, neither is ye
matter so dear (considering a smal quantity sufficeth) that it ought
to cause any man to pluck back his hand because it is so short
& easy that it may well be called ye work of weomen & ye play
of children. Work then cheerefully (my Son,) pray to God, read books
continually, for one book openeth another. Think of it profoundly.
ffly all things that vanish in ye fire: for thou hast not thine intent
in these combustible things but only in ye decoction of thy water drawn
from

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from thy lights Luminaries. ffor by this water is colour & weight
given infinitely, & this water is a white fume wch as a soul floweth
in ye perfect bodies, taking wholly from them their blacknes &
uncleanness, & consolidating ye two bodies into one & multiplying
their water. And there is no other thing that can take away
their true colour from the perfect bodies, that is from the sun
& moon, but Azoth, that is or water wch coloureth & maketh
white ye red body according to ye regiments thereof.

But let us speak of ffires. Our fire therefore is mi-

neral equal continual, it vapours not unless it be too much stirred
up, it partakes of ); it is taken otherwhere then from the smaller;
it pulleth down all things; it dissolveth, congealeth, & calcineth; it
is artificial to find; it is a short way, [or an expence] without cost,
at least without any great cost; it is moist vaporous, digestive,
altering, piercing, subtile, aery, not violent, not burning, compassing
or environing, conteining but one; & it is ye fountain of living
water wch goeth about & conteineth ye place where ye king &
Queen bath themselves. In all ye work this moist fire is suffici-
ent for thee, at ye beginning middle & end; for in it consisteth
ye whole art. This is ye fire natural against nature unnatu-
rall, & without burning; & finally this fire is hot dry moist
& cold. Think upon this & work aright, taking nothing that is of
a strange nature. And if thou dost not well understand these
fires, hearken further to what I shall give thee, never yet
written in any book, from out of ye abstruse & hidden <illeg.> cavilla
tion< or >mysteries of the Ancients, concerning fires.

We have properly three fires wthout wch ye art cannot be

done, & he that works without them takes a great deale of care
in vain. The first is ye fire of ye Lamp wch is continual, moist,
vaporous aery & artificial to find. ffor ye Lamp ought to be
ch
proportioned to ye place in w it is shut up. closure [or enclosure] & herein we must use
great judgment, wch cometh not to ye knowledge of a workman
of a stiff neck. ffor if ye fire of the Lamp be not geometri
cally & duly proportioned & fitted to ye furnace, either for
lack of heat thou wilt not see ye expected signes in their times
& so thou wilt loos thy hope by too long expectation or els wth
too much heat thou wilt burn the flowers of thy gold & so
sadly bewail thy lost labour. The second fire is ye fire of
ashes in wch ye vessel Hermetically sealed is shut up: or rather
it is that most gentle heat wch proceeding from the temperate vapor
of

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of the Lamp, goeth equally round about the vessel. This fire is
not violent if it be not too much stirred up. It is digesting, altering.