Treatise on the Philosopher's Stone

Isaac Hollandus

...is nothing / therefore seek to extract nothing from imperfect things The author refers back to the "eggs, blood, and urine" mentioned on the previous page as substances that cannot produce true gold. to transmute metals into gold original: "☉" (Sol) and silver original: "☽" (Luna) / for that is against reason and nature / and is impossible. It is a wonder that anyone could fall into such fantasies; if they understood the power of nature / they would never fail so greatly.

Know that all oils oilsIn alchemy, an "oil" (Oleum) is a concentrated, liquid essence of a metal, thought to hold its medicinal and transformative power. of the metals are elixirs / and likewise all salts / also it is obvious / that all imperfect metals original: "imperfecta metalla"; referring to base metals like lead or tin. have their own medicine within them / how much better then will be / the oil of gold or oil of silver original: "Olium solis vel luna"; Sol (Sun) is gold, Luna (Moon) is silver. / which are both perfect.

Dear sons original: "Filij"; a traditional alchemical address to students or "sons of the Art." / you should know / that from all metals one can make a perfect medicine original: "perfectam medicinam" / which can transmute all imperfect metals / into gold and silver without separation of the elements separation of the elementsA complex process of breaking a substance down into its constituent parts (Fire, Air, Water, Earth); the author claims a more direct path is possible. / also without distilling / sublimating / dissolving / or fixing / through all these it dissolves and purifies itself / it coagulates / distills / sublimates / fixes / and incerates inceratesoriginal: "incerirt"; the process of softening a hard substance until it has the consistency of wax (cera). itself / and also makes itself fusible. Furthermore, one may also extract oils from all metals without separation of the elements / in various ways / also salt is extracted from all metals / without separation of the elements / and this pertains to the Great Work Great Workoriginal: "grosse Werck"; the Magnum Opus, or the completed creation of the Philosophers' Stone..

Furthermore / gold and silver also become a medicine without separation of the elements / labor / danger / or accident / also one can make a perfect medicine / out of the two stones / which God has given us for free / without special...