The New Olympic and Blessed Rosary

...from a true and perfect root it proceeds. Take this King, who wears the beautifully adorned golden crown, because of his high and rich understanding and brave spirit. Strip him of all his clothing, whatever colors they may be, so that he is entirely naked and pure of all the colors of his manifold clothing. Place him in a gently warmed water, by which his age and nature may rejoice, and see to it that you do not make the bath too hot, so that you do not burn his delicate, pure body, nor his veins, flesh, and bone. With that same water, rub all his veins gently. Through such softening and the pleasure of the bath, he will fall asleep. During this sleep of the King, keep the water at a long, mild warmth, so that he remains constantly at one degree of heat. As you keep the bath at a comfortable warmth, the King falls into a deep sleep because of the sweet warmth, so that he cannot wake up, whereby he finally becomes so weak that he also sweetly dies a gentle and mild death. Let this corpse lie in the warm bath at an equal warmth for as long as it takes for you to traverse the circle of the month; then go half as far again, provided the bath covers the dead King everywhere. Thus all his powers and bones dissolve, and the King begins to putrefy, so that his flesh, veins, and bones begin to become entirely black. Yet his internal heart and internal blood are still beautiful, red, fresh, and healthy. Thus you have the beginning of the work and the death of the King, which you should understand as: our root is converted into water. The work is carried forward through the comfortable warmth of the material fire.

I will now reveal to you further about the four elements, which are still in wild mixture with the putrefied body. Keep your water steady at an equal warmth, and let the King putrefy well through the material fire, maintained and nourished in equal and mild warmth. Thus the four elements of the dead body awaken, which is his innermost warmth and the natural acting power. When they thus awaken, they are divided through the elevation of distillation, each to its place.

I will reveal to you the garden of paradise, so that you may understand the work the better; and I will tell you first what the tree is in the midst of the garden.

Second, what the earth is, in which the tree is planted.

Third, what the poisonous and cunning serpent is, which gave the earth the advice that she should break the apple.