On the Secrets of the Adepts

Therefore, moved by a sense of that mortality with which the human race is afflicted, I shall consecrate my studies concerning medical matters medical matters: (Latin: rem medicam) In this context, the term encompasses both the healing of the body and the "universal medicine" of the alchemists, intended to perfect both metals and human health. to Him.

I shall restrain deceivers; I shall put to shame those who claim more for themselves than is just; but I shall guide by the hand original: manuducam; literally "to lead by the hand," implying a direct, step-by-step initiation or a written manual that serves as a personal guide. the true Disciples of this Art Art: (Latin: Artis) The "Sacred Art" or Alchemy, specifically the labor to produce the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life., so that they may not hereafter be subjected to so many mockeries, insults, and the sarcasms of satirists—lest they suffer the subsequent shipwreck of both mind and body and eventually find verified in themselves the lamentable prediction of Geber original: Gebri. This refers to Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 721–815), a Persian polymath and the most influential figure in medieval alchemy. The quote is from his famous work Summa perfectionis magisterii or Investigatio perfectionis., who says: “Most miserable and unhappy is he to whom God, after the completion of his work, denies the sight of the truth; for he concludes and ends the span of his life in error, who, being placed in perpetual labor and besieged by every misfortune and unhappiness, loses all consolation and joy of this world, and consumes his life in sorrow without any benefit.” Book 2 of the Investigation, chapter 38.

Thus, with that same fidelity, I shall vindicate this best of Arts from the injuries of defamers, who, deceived by an ignorance of its principles, accuse it of being fraudulent, impossible, and so ridiculous that they deter its practitioners, leading them to treat as worthless original: naucifaciendum; a Latin idiom meaning "to value at a nutshell," or to consider something of no importance. all its demonstrations and the excellent testimonies published everywhere. And finally, so that the Honor and Glory