On the Hyleal, or Prime-Material Universal or General Natural Chaos

)( 4

...you slanderer Calumniant: A false accuser or someone who spreads malicious lies to damage a reputation.! Can you prove—from the books of Holy Scripture, from the Great Book of Nature, or even from the rational monuments original Latin: Monumentis; here referring to the enduring written records and established works of authentic philosophers original Latin: Philosophorum—that I have written anything unnaturally or unphilosophically concerning the Subject of the Philosopher’s Stone original Latin: Lapidis Philosophorum Subjecto; the "subject" is the base matter required to begin the Great Work. and its requirements? Come forward, if you are capable of anything in this regard! Pipe up; let us hear it!

He is very young in Alchemy.

VIII. This is (God be praised) the twenty-third year that I have been occupied with Alchemy original Latin: Alchymia, both theoretically and practically original Latin: & theoreticè & practicè. During this time, I have read a great many alchemical books, both manuscript and printed, both bad and good.

Reading provides information; practice provides experience.

I have dealt with many a strange "roast bird" original German: Bratvogel; a colorful idiom likely referring to eccentric people, dubious characters, or perhaps failed chemical results that looked like charred meat.; I have transcribed and labored upon many wonderful recipes and processes original Latin: Recepta und Processe. I have burned many a fine wagon-load of coal, partly by my own hand in the chemical laboratory original Latin: Laboratorio, and partly by having others burn them under my supervision. If I wished to know anything upright and true in this matter, I had to thrust my own hands into the clay and the coals, building furnaces and then tearing them down again to modify them. I have also used many large and small distillation glasses...