The Sum of Perfection

...wrapped in a mist of [superstition] and overturned. We have decided to come to the aid of your vain labors and expenses by healing the wounds of this art, by applying eye-salve original: "collyrium"; a medicinal lotion for the eyes, used here metaphorically for clearing one's spiritual or intellectual vision. to bleary eyes, by eliminating the dyscrasia An ancient medical term referring to an imbalance of the four bodily humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile), believed to cause disease., and by restoring more beautiful things to the lopped-off limbs (just as was done for Pelops) In Greek myth, Pelops was cut into pieces and served as a feast for the gods, but was later restored to life with an ivory shoulder., so that at last—like the ram boiled by Medea The sorceress Medea demonstrated her power to restore youth by cutting up an old ram and boiling it with magic herbs, from which it emerged as a young lamb.—it may be seen to take shape, grow young, be brought to life, shine, and be returned entirely to itself. This is done by drawing forth Machaon The son of Asclepius and a legendary healer in the Trojan War; here, he represents the healing power of true knowledge. from the Vatican library as if from the Trojan Horse.

He who, sweating over this cure, watches most attentively, and who rescues the one mourned original: "conclamatum"; a reference to the Roman custom of calling the name of the deceased three times to ensure they were truly dead. from the gates of Proserpina The Queen of the Underworld; this signifies bringing the "dead" art of alchemy back to life. and restores him to life, light, and brightness, and to you: flatter this charming man, and admire him as he discourses so learnedly and profoundly. His words promise and bestow secret doctrine, his sentences pearls, and his precepts the obrizum A technical term for pure, refined gold. of these matters.

However, you—most of whom are searchers into the riches of nature—shall judge how much you owe to our diligence. To you, as you walked through Cimmerian darkness A proverbial expression for absolute darkness, referring to a mythical people said to live in perpetual mist and gloom., we have provided the lamp of Cleanthes A Stoic philosopher who worked as a water-carrier by night so he could study philosophy by day; his "lamp" represents tireless study in the face of hardship., and those who were cast down into the cave of Trophonius An oracle located in a subterranean cave; visitors were said to emerge so terrified that they lost the ability to laugh. we have led out and brought into the light. If ever the hard-won knowledge of such a rare, hidden, and celestial treasure reaches you, you will be the judge.

In the meantime, read often: drink this in and sweat over it, and by your persistence keep the gods entreated, so that this most secret truth—covered by such great lies and obscurities, called by every name in the world, held by few through books, yet always dearly loved; perceived by even fewer through a teacher, yet nonetheless never abandoned; and infused original: "infusa", completed by the catchword "fusa". into the very few through revelation...