On the Philosophers' Stone

original: "De lapide Philosophico"

...know / that in all things / which God has created / the true Art ArtRefers to Alchemy—the sacred "Art" of transforming and perfecting nature. is within; therefore the ancients say the Art is in all things / and it is true / which you should understand in this way: every determined thing has its perfect medicine original: "perfectam Medicinam"; here meaning the highest, most purified essence of a thing that can heal or perfect its own kind. within itself / but it is unprepared / and if you can prepare it / then you need not buy / nor have / any foreign medicines original: "medicamina" / this is all to be understood thus / no sickness in the world may come upon a human / but that he has the perfect medicine within him / through which he may recover entirely / if only he can prepare it well / He may take it from himself / and prepare it / without any diminution or harm to his body.

The same is also to be understood of all animals and birds / and all plants / everything that God has created / is so / but the ignorant cannot understand what the ancients have said / and they imagine they can make a medicine for metals out of all things / therefore they take eggs / blood / urine / and the like / and imagine they can thereby bring imperfect bodies imperfect bodiesoriginal: "imperfecta corpora"; in alchemy, base metals like lead or iron were considered "imperfect" or "diseased" compared to the "perfection" of gold. into perfection / and when they have worked in this way / they are just as close as they were at the start and persist in their folly.

But my child should know / that a human generates a human / a horse a horse / a bird a bird / each its own kind / otherwise it would be against nature and all reason / that from any such seed original: "sperma" / blood / or eggs / one should be able to make metal / where there...