Prolegomena.

B 2

After Hermes had once obtained the knowledge of this Stone, he gave up the use of all other stones, and delighted only in it: Moses, and Solomon, (together with Hermes, were the only three who) excelled in the knowledge of it, and who performed wonders with it.

That there is a gift of prophecy original: "Prophesie" hidden in the Red Stone The "Red Stone" refers to the final, most potent stage of the Philosopher's Stone, capable of transmuting metals into gold and providing spiritual enlightenment., Racis original: "Racis," referring to Rhazes (Abū Bakr al-Rāzī), a famous 9th-century Persian alchemist and physician. will tell you; for by it (he says) philosophers have foretold things to come: And Petrus Bonus A 14th-century alchemist from Ferrara, Italy, author of the "Precious Pearl." asserts that they did prophesy, not only generally but specifically; having a foreknowledge of the Resurrection, the Incarnation of Christ, the Day of Judgment, and that the world should be consumed with fire: and this knowledge came from nothing other than the insight gained from their operations The alchemist's physical experiments in the laboratory were believed to reveal divine truths about the nature of the universe..

In brief, by the true and various use of the philosophers' prima materia original: "Prima materia," meaning the "First Matter"—the fundamental, chaotic substance from which all things are created and which is required to start the alchemical "Great Work." (for there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit) the perfection of the liberal sciences The seven branches of classical learning: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. is made known, and the whole wisdom of nature may be grasped: And (notwithstanding what has been said, I must further add) there are yet hidden greater things than these, for we have seen but few of his works.

However, there are but a few stocks ashmole uses the metaphor of a tree trunk (stock) onto which a new branch (the science) is grafted. that are fitted to inoculate In an agricultural sense, to graft a bud or shoot onto a plant; here, it means to implant knowledge into a student. the grafts of this science upon: These are mysteries incommunicable Secrets that cannot be shared with those who are unworthy or unprepared. to anyone but the Adepti Adepts; those who have successfully achieved the creation of the Philosopher's Stone., and those who have been devoted even from their cradles to serve and wait at this altar: And how rarely such have been heard of may appear by Norton Thomas Norton, author of the "Ordinal of Alchemy" (1477).:

And they perhaps were (with Saint Paul) caught up into paradise, and as he heard unspeakable words, so they performed unworkable works original: "unoperable Workes," meaning miracles or actions beyond the normal laws of nature.; such as it is not lawful to speak of.

Of such as these, therefore, I will glory; yet of myself I will not glory, except in my infirmities This is a paraphrasing of 2 Corinthians 12:5.. And truly, whether such people were in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knows; doubtless they were not far from the kingdom of God.

But I fear I have waded too far; and therefore, now to give some particular account, both regarding the publication of this work, as well as its arrangement, and the nature of the obsolete language original: "Obse-lete Language" in which it is written: I shall in the first place acquaint the reader that the kind acceptance my former endeavors referring to Ashmole's earlier work, "Fasciculus Chemicus" (1450). received at the hands of candid artists Sincere practitioners or "sons of the art" of alchemy. in publishing some chemical collections very earnestly invited me to find out a second piece...