The Little Golden Olympic Treasury in Three Parts

also so that such chemical works original: Chymische Opera and writings are not suppressed, but may come to light for the benefit of everyone, [Your Imperial Majesty] grants and demonstrates all kinds of most gracious promotion through special Imperial privileges. Therefore, I have divided this little work original Latin: opusculum by three highly enlightened, dear, highly experienced, and excellent men and philosophers—which I have titled THE LITTLE TRIPLE GOLDEN TREASURY original: THESAURINELLAM AUREAM TRIPARTITAM—into three distinct small treatises. I have done so because they share the same tone and content, and deal with the chemical miracle of the Physician's Stone original Latin: lapidis physici. Having been left behind by them in writing, I have gathered them together into a small handbook, so to speak, and wished to publish them in this form for the benefit of the Sons of Learning original Latin: Filiis doctrinae; a traditional term for students or initiates of alchemy.

The first small treatise is by our highly esteemed monarch and philosopher, Philippus Theophrastus Paracelsus. (He flourished from before 1530 until 1541 with his philosophy and wonder-medicine, and in that same year, on September 24th, he blessedly fell asleep in Christ.) He calls this work the Magical Secret original: Secretum Magicum, in which he treats of three blessed stones, as well as the true first matter First Matter: Materia Prima, the primal, unrefined substance that alchemists believed was the foundation of all physical reality of all God's creatures, and the first matter of metals, from which the true Universal The "Universal" refers to a panacea or medicine capable of curing all diseases and perfecting all metals and the Philosopher's Stone abbreviated in original as L. Phil., for Lapis Philosophorum are to be prepared. The second is by the well-born Count and Lord Bernhard... referring to Bernhardus Trevisanus, a celebrated 15th-century Italian alchemist