Curious Chemical Library

of Treatises & Chapters

Chap. VIII. On the fraudulent Masteries of the Frantic. Original: "Phreniticæ." Likely referring to those driven to madness or "phrenzy" by the pursuit of false alchemy. 374
Chap. IX On the Mystery of the Philosopher’s Stone. p. 377
THE CURIOUS CHEMICAL LIBRARY.

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus. The Tabula Smaragdina, a foundational text of Hermeticism containing the famous maxim "As above, so below." Titled The Words of the Secrets of Hermes Trismegistus, illustrated with the commentaries of Wilhelm Christoph Kriegsmann and Gerard Dorn. Vol. I. p. 380
Chap. I. The Tablet of Hermes is defended against certain opponents. 381
Chap. II. It is argued that the Phoenician language, not Greek, is the original tongue of the Tablet. 384
Chap. III. The inscriptions of the Tablet and two engraved sections are explained. ibid.
Chap. IV. Light is shed upon the following four engraved sections. 385.
Chap. V. An inquiry into the meaning of the Seventh and Eighth engraved sections. ibid.
Chap. VI. A discussion on the ninth, tenth, and eleventh engraved sections. 386
Chap. VII. The meaning of the remaining two engraved sections is set forth. 387
Chap. VIII. The Argument of the Tablet is established. 381
Chap. IX. An apology for chemical studies against the Censors. 388
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus with the expositions of Dorn. 389
The Argument for the Tablet. ibid.
A clearer exposition of the words of Hermes. 390
On the Practice of the Spagyric Work for preparing the Medicine of long life. term: Spagyric (the art of separating and recombining plant or mineral constituents to create potent medicines). 396

The Golden Treatise of Hermes Trismegistus concerning the Secret of the Physical Stone, divided into seven Chapters, with the Scholia of an Anonymous author. Vol. I. 400.

The Assembly of the Philosophers Original: "Turba Philosophorum." One of the earliest and most influential Latin alchemical texts, framed as a debate between ancient Greek sages. excerpted from an ancient Manuscript Codex, of which no edition has been seen until now. Vol. I. 445
A single Discourse by an Anonymous author on the Assembly of the Philosophers. 465
An Allegory of the Sages upon the Book of the Assembly of the Philosophers. 467
Another copy of the Assembly of the Philosophers. 480
Allegories upon the book of the Assembly. 494
An Enigma from the vision of Arisleus the Philosopher & the Allegories of the Sages. 495
Exercises on the Assembly of the Philosophers. 497
Exer. I. Definition of the stone & from what beginnings it consists. ibid.
Exer. II. On natural Heat. ibid.
Exer. III. On the first matter of metals, & how they are generated from seminal procreation. ibid.
Exer. IV. On the first Element of the Stone, which is Earth. 498
Exer. V. On the release of water, or the bedewing upon the Earth. 499
Exer. VI. On the conversion of natures & their mixing. ibid.
Exer. VII. On the Marriage of the Sun and the Moon. The alchemical union of Gold and Silver. ibid.
Exer. VIII. That the foundation of the Art is a single thing and the stone is one. ibid.
Exer. IX. On the solution & division of the Elements. 500
Exer. X. On the Solution of bodies into Water. On Gum & the division of Water. ibid.
Exer. XI. Again on Water, & the division of Water into two parts. 501
Exer. XII. On the division of Water & the opening of the vessel. ib.
Exer. XIII. On the drying of Water, coagulation, & calcination, and the governance of fire. ibid.

Exer. XIV. On the Soul, Spirit, & body. 502
Exer. XV. On the conjunction of bodies & their coupling. ibid.

The book of Artephius which is called the Key of Greater Wisdom. Artephius was a legendary figure, often claimed to have lived over a thousand years through the use of alchemical elixirs. Vol. I. 503

The Book on the Composition of Alchemy which Morienus the Roman produced for Calid, King of the Egyptians: which Robert of Chester translated from Arabic into Latin. Morienus was a 7th-century hermit; this text represents the historic 12th-century transmission of alchemy from the Islamic world to the Latin West. Vol. I. 509

The Sum of the Perfection of the Mastery in its own nature, by Geber, King of the Arabs, the most perceptive philosopher; Geber is the Latinized name of Jabir ibn Hayyan, the father of Islamic chemistry. edited from a most corrected copy from the Vatican Library; with true and genuine drawings of vessels and furnaces; finally, the Book of Investigation of the Mastery and the Testament of the same Geber, likewise with a most refined addition of several Commentaries. Vol. I. 519
Book I. Chap. I. On the impediments of the craftsman in the work. 520
Chap. II. On impediments on the part of the body. ibid.
Chap. III. On impediments on the part of the soul. ibid.
Chap. IV. On impediments from accidental chance. ibid.
Chap. V. On those things which must be considered by the craftsman. ibid.
Chap. VI. On the persuasions of the sophists. 521
Chap. VII. On the natural principles upon which nature funds her actions. 522
Chap. VIII. On the solutions to the persuasions of the sophists. ibid.
Chap. IX. On the reasons of those who deny the art from given facts. 524
Chap. X. On those who suppose the art to be in spirits. ib.
Chap. XI. On those who suppose the art to be in bodies, stones, salts, alums, boraxes, or living things. 525
Chap. XII. On the natural Principles of Mercury, sulfur & arsenic. 526
Chap. XIII. On Sulfur. ibid.
Chap. XIV. On Arsenic. 527
Chap. XV. On Mercury. ibid.
Chap. XVI. On metallic Bodies, which are the effects of the principles of nature. 528
Chap. XVII. On the Sun Gold ibid.
Chap. XVIII. On the Moon Silver. ibid.
Chap. XIX. On Saturn Lead. ibid.
Chap. XX. On Jupiter Tin. ibid.
Chap. XXI. On Venus Copper. 529
Chap. XXII. On Mars Iron. ibid.
Book II. Chap. I. On Sublimation, and for what purpose it was invented. 530
Chap. II. On the diversity of sublimation & how it ought to be done ordinarily. ibid.
Chap. III. On the Dregs & the Furnace. ibid.
Chap. IV. On the thickness of the furnace. 532
Chap. V. On the proportion of the wood. ibid.
Chap. VI. On the form of the aludel. term: Aludel (a pear-shaped earthenware bottle used in sublimation, often stacked in series). ibid.
Chap. VII. On the Sublimation of Mercury. ibid.
Chap. VIII. On the Sublimation of Marcasite. 533
Chap. IX. On the Sublimation of Magnesia & Tutia. term: Tutia (zinc oxide or "philosopher's wool"). 534
Chap. X. On the Sublimation of diminished bodies. Vol. I. ibid.
Chap. XI. On Descent. term: Descension (a process where melted substances flow downward through a filter into a receiver). 534
Chap. XII. On triple distillation, namely by the alembic, the descensory, & the filter. 535