PREFACE

armed men are imagined to be born, who fall by mutual wounds, that is, they are finally fixed and buried in that earth. And unless the vessel were glass, or made of flint, without pores, the craftsman would be endangered by breathing the scent. Therefore Jason in Ovid is imagined to have turned the danger away from himself and toward his enemies by means of the flint. So far the philosophers' stone original: "lapis philosophorum." The legendary substance capable of transmuting metals and prolonging life. is perfected. It remains to lull the sleepless dragon to sleep, that is, to convert quicksilver original: "Argentum vivum," also known as mercury. into gold or silver by its efficacy. When this succeeds, the victorious Jason carries off the Golden Fleece, meaning the craftsman has attained this most precious art.

But before this happens, they sacrifice to Hecate A goddess of magic and the underworld. in the works of Orpheus, in which sacrifice a great mystery lies hidden. Furthermore, because the same philosophers' stone is said to heal human bodies and keep them healthy and sound until the end of life, Medea is imagined to restore Jason's father to youth. The gardens of the Hesperides and the story of Cadmus also suggest this art. Cadmus, having sought immense wealth from it, founded Egyptian Thebes. Let no one wonder why this art flourished most especially in Egypt.

These are great testimonies to this art, but there are far greater ones which the Jews bring from the Holy Scriptures according to the property of the Hebrew language. For they say this is also a part of their Kabbalah original: "Cabala." A tradition of Jewish mysticism and scriptural interpretation.. They say the Prince of Tyre in the book of Ezekiel practiced it. Therefore the prophet reproached him because, through confidence in that art, he seemed to himself to be God. For the prophet (as they say) relates that the gold and silver he had in his treasures were not dug from the earth, not exacted from subjects, nor snatched from enemies, but he had made them for himself, relying on this art. Therefore he is said there to be wiser than Daniel and to have surveyed all the secrets of nature.

Likewise they assert about their fathers that the prophet Hosea reproached them for the abuse of this art, when he said to them in the person of God: "I multiplied silver for them, and they made gold for their idol" original: "Multiplicaui eis Argentum, & ipſi fecerunt idolo ſuo Aurum.". And so that you may believe this more, they say David in the twelfth Psalm (according to their own reckoning) provides a certain taste of this art's testimony when he says: "The words of God are pure words, silver burned in an aludel original: "aludele." A pear-shaped chemical vessel used for sublimation. into earth, or dust, poured back seven times." For so they interpret the passage word for word (whether rightly or wrongly, let those skilled in that language decide)...