TO ALL TRUE LOVERS OF THE HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY

Having in our Precedent Aphorisms clearly delivered such infallible Rules and Instructions, as are necessary for producing our Grand Elixir, or Circulatum majus, the only real Secret of the true Adepts, commanding in all the Kingdoms of Nature, which will, we question not, be no less pleasing to all other lovers of Sciences, than to our Disciples; and being farther inclined fully to inform them, how to preserve themselves and others in perfect Health by obviating any Distemper, that may otherwise overcome them, before they can attain to the Accomplishment of their Desires: We have thought it convenient to impart likewise to them our three several ways of making our Vegetable Elixir, or Circulatum minus, which may be prepared, and brought to its utmost Perfection in the space of a Philosophical Month by any skilful Artist, who shall comprehend and follow our certain Directions, laid down in these our subsequent Aphorisms, where the whole Work is so evidently demonstrated, that none, who is ever so little versed in Chymistry, can be liable to mistake. Nor do we any way doubt, but all those, who shall with a sincere and upright Intention peruse these our plainly-written Aphorisms, will find themselves obliged to bless Almighty God for his infinite Mercy in having inspired us to open their Eyes, that they may see, what is requisite for their present Health, and future Happiness, both which we heartily wish to every one, who, as becomes a true Philosopher, unfeignedly loves God and his Neighbor.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL ELIXIR OF VEGETABLES, WITH THE THREE CERTAIN WAYS OF PREPARING IT

I. Our Circulatum minus is only a specificated Elixir, belonging to the Vegetable Kingdom, by which without any Fire, or further Preparation of the Vegetables, we can in a Moment extract their true Essence, containing their Virtue, Quality, and Property: which is a great Chymical Curiosity, performing Wonders in the Practice of Physick, and in demonstrating some Works of Nature.

II. We call it Circulatum, because, tho ever so often used in any Extraction, or Chymical Experiment what-ever, it loses nothing of its Quality, or Property: which is a Prerogative, pertaining to the Universal Elixir, called also the Circulatum majus, because it commands in all the three Kingdoms of Nature; whilst this, being restrained to one only Kingdom, is for that reason called Minus.

III. Out of Diana's undetermined Tears, when Appollo has appeared, after the Separation of the three Elements, Determination, Digestion and glorious Resurrection, we can, without the Addition of any other created thing, prepare this our determined Elixir: Which is the first, noblest, and secretest way of the Philosophers.

IV. The Determination of our Diana's Tears consists only in their perfect and indissoluble Union with the fixt Vegetable Earth, philosophically prepared, purified, and spiritualized: for the love of which they are forced to leave their first universal undetermined Property, and be clothed with a determined particular one, which is required to this our Circulatum Minus.

V. Our second way of preparing this our Vegetable Elixir is by a right Manipulation of a Plant of the noblest Degree, standing by itself, or supported by others: after the Preparation of which, and its Putrefaction, Reduction into an Oil, Separation of the three Principles, with their Purification, Union, and Spiritualization, the whole is to be turned into a spiritual ever-living Fountain, renewing every Plant, that shall be plunged into it.

VI. The third and common way is only a Conjunction of a fixt Vegetable Salt with its own volatil sulphureous Spirit, both to be found ready prepared by any vulgar Chymist, and since in their Preparation the purest Sulphur, containing the Soul, has suffered some Detriment by their not being philosophically manipulated, they cannot be inseparably joined without a sulphureous Medium, by which the Soul being strengthened, the Body and Spirit are also through it made capable of a perfect Union.

VII. The proper Medium, requisite for the indissoluble Union of these two Subjects, is only a sulphureous and bituminous Matter, issuing out of a plant, living or dead, which is to be found in several parts of the World, and is known to all manner of sea fishermen (the Copavian we find to be the best, and after that the Italian), by which, after it has been separated from its feculent parts through our Universal Menstruum, all the Pores and Atoms of the fixt Vegetable Salt, which is extremely fortified by it, being dilated, it is made capable of receiving its own Spirit, and uniting itself with it.

VIII. To fortify the Sulphur, and open the Pores of the Salt, no other Method is to be used, but to imbibe the same with the bituminous Matter in a moderate digestive Heat, as if one would hatch Chickens, and as the Salt grows dry, the Imbibitions are to be repeated, until you find it so fully saturated that it refuses to imbibe any more of the Matter.

IX. In the Course of Imbibitions the whole Mass is at least nine or ten times a day to be stirred with a Spatula, or some other Instrument of dry Wood, by which reiterated Motion, the bituminous Matter receives a better ingress into the Body, and perfects its Operation the sooner.

X. Great care is to be taken, that in the performance of the Imbibitions, no kind of Soil or Dust fall into your Matter, for the prevention of which your Vessel may be kept covered with a Paper, prickt full of holes, or any other suitable Covering, and that nothing come near it, which has its own internal Sulphur: for the Pores of the Salt being very much dilated and opened, it may easily determine itself to any other Subject, and so spoil your Undertaking.

XI. If in three, or four Weeks time at farthest, your fixt Vegetable Salt does not manifest its full Saturation, it will certainly be in vain for you to go on any further with it: for you may assure yourself, that you either err in the Notion of the Salt or of the real sulphureous Medium, or in the Management of the Imbibitions.

XII. When your Imbibitions are fully performed, your Salt will then be in a convenient readiness to receive its own Spirit, by which it is made volatil, spiritual, transparent, and wonderfully penetrating, entring on a sudden into the Pores and Particles of every Vegetable, and separating in a moment their true Essence or Elements.

XIII. Although the Salt is fully prepared for the Reception of its own Spirit, yet unless you well observe the right Proportion of them (which is, that the volatil always predominate over the fixt) you will never be able to make any perfect Union between these two Subjects, contrary in Quality, though not in Nature.

XIV. Before you begin your Distillations and Cohobations, after the Addition of the Vegetable Spirit to its own Salt, a Putrefaction of eight to ten days is to precede, during which time, the sulphureous Spirit, strengthened by the bituminous Matter, and finding its Salt fit for Conjunction with it, has the power to enter into its Pores, to facilitate its Volatilization, and Union.

XV. If after six or seven Distillations and Cohobations of the distilled upon the Remainder, you do not find your Spirit to be extremely sharp, and the Remainder in the bottom altogether insipid, it will be an evident Sign, that you fail in the true knowledge of the Vegetable Spirit, which, being exceeding volatil, has in its Nature power to volatilize its own Body, and unite itself inseperably with it, finding it capable of its Reception.

XVI. It is to be observed, that in the Progress of your Distillations the sulphureous Medium does not in the least ascend: for as it is a real Medium, concurring to unite the Body with the Spirit, before the Spiritualization of the Body, and without the Concurrence of which no perfect Union of these two Subjects is to be expected; so on the contrary in the Progress of the Work its Concurrence would be highly disadvantageous to them both, and totally subvert your Operation.

XVII. The ascending of the sulphureous Medium, when the Spirit begins to carry over its own Body, to unite itself inseparably with it, evidently and certainly signifies, that you do not regulate your Fire, as you should, and that, instead of giving a gentle vaporous Heat to facilitate the Union, you give a violent one to destroy it.

XVIII. When your Salt is brought to its perfect Spiritualization, and real Union with its own Volatile Spirit, then you will have in your power your Circulatum Minus, or Vegetable Elixir, and Menstruum, with which you will be able to perform wonders in the Vegetable Kingdom, separating in a moment not only their Principles or Elements, but also at one and the same Operation the Pure from the Impure.

XIX. If into this your Vegetable Elixir you put any green Vegetable, shred in pieces, it will in less than half a quarter of an hour without any external Heat putrify, and precipitate itself into the bottom quite dead, (which is nothing but the cursed Excremental Earth) and on the top will swim a yellow Oil, containing the Salt and Sulphur, and the Elixir will be of the Color of the Plant, comprehending its Vegetable Spirit; which if it does not, 'tis a sign, that your Operations have not been Philosophical.

XX. Only one drop of this yellowish Oil, given in Distempers according to the Virtue and Quality, attributed to the Plant, every Morning and Evening in a Glass of Wine, or any other convenient Vehicle, will infallibly and insensibly cure those Distempers, and corroborate the vital Spirits, if constantly taken to purify the Blood in sickly and infectuous Times.

XXI. If you put Coral into this Menstruum, you will see an admirable Experiment: for although its Pores are compacter, than in any other Vegetable; yet it will on a sudden transmit its internal Spirit into the Menstruum, and sending its Soul and Body, like a blood-red Oil to the Top, will at last fall to the Bottom like a greyish Excrement.

XXII. If Myrrh, Aloe, and Saffron, of each an equal Quantity, are put into this Menstruum, the truest Elixir Proprietatis (as Paracelsus terms it) which is a most excellent Cordial, and almost of as great Efficacy and Virtue, as the Universal Elixir itself, and curing all curable Distempers, will presently swim on the Top, and its Caput Mortuum will separate itself into the Bottom.

XXIII. This Vegetable Menstruum dissolves not only all sorts of Gums, or any other kind of Substance in the Vegetable Kingdom, but also all sorts of Oils and Balsams, coming out of Trees, separating their true Essence, by which you may perform wonderful things both upon living Bodies, and dead ones, the last of which it preserves forever without opening or any further Preparation of them.

XXIV. Though this Menstruum is only specificated upon Vegetables, it will nevertheless in a moment draw the Tincture out of Metals and Minerals; but it will not separate all their Principles, not being the appropriate Menstruum for such Operations; and though such Sulphurs are highly balsamic for the Lungs and Spleen, yet since our Elixir Proprietatis far exceeds those praeter natural Preparations, we only give this as a curious Chymical Experiment.

XXV. Since this Vegetable Menstruum is Eternal, you must observe, that you lose nothing of its Quantity or Quality in separating of it from the Oil, and Spirit of the Vegetable, which is done by a gentle Destillation in Balneo vaporoso, the Vessel being very well luted and dryed before. The Menstruum, coming over with the Flegm of the Vegetable, from which it is by a Destillation in Balneo to be separated for farther uses, leaves the Oil at the Bottom, united with its own Spirit, which will easily go over in any common Heat, not leaving any thing behind it: which is a Mark of its Spiritualization, Purification, and Regeneration, that it has receiv'd from the Menstruum.

XXVI. Out of this Oil or Essence of your Vegetable so prepared, or by any other Philosophical way, (as we have mentioned in our second Manner of making this our Elixir) if you know how to putrify it naturally without any Fire, and to separate all our Principles out of it, purifying and uniting them inseparably together, being all made spiritual and transparent, you will then have out of this second Regeneration the greatest Arcanum in the World, as upon Vegetables, so also upon Minerals and Metals, except Gold and Silver.

XXVII. If this regenerated Essence be determined with our first Matter, it will then be in a Capacity radically to dissolve all sorts of Metals or Minerals, and principally Gold, which is imperceptibly dissolved in it, like Ice in common Water, and can never be separated common Gold again, neither by Destillation, nor Digestion: out of which, after a Philosophical Digestion, Separation of the three Principles, with their Purification, Union, Digestion, and third Regeneration, you may prepare the great Medicin of Medicins, of equal Virtue and Quality with the Grand Elixir upon human Bodies, and with our Medicine simplex, upon Metals or Minerals.

XXVIII. The determinating this regenerated Menstruum with our first Matter is to be performed by its Amalgamation with it, in which the Vegetable Menstruum, drawing out of it all its Qualities and Properties, and uniting them with its own, is made capable of the same Virtue and Property, as our Mercury simplex, in dissolving and volatilizing every created thing, that shall come near it.

XXIX. Some are of Opinion, that both the Elixirs may be produced out of several determined things, as Human Excrements, May-dew, (which they call also their Menstruum from above, or Water from the Clouds) &c. as also that the Grand Elixir may be prepared out of this, or any other Vegetable regenerated Menstruum; but since we know, that such Menstruums, which they call their Philosophical Mercury, although they may dissolve and volatilize Metals, yet cannot meliorate any of them, this Dissolution and Volatilization being neither natural nor Philosophical, we therefore with good Reason judge all those Opinions to be only false Suppositions and ill-grounded and imaginary Notions.

XXX. We with our Divine Master Hermes, absolutely affirm, that, Almighty God having, after he had created all things, commanded every one of them to procreate out of its own kind, our Elixirs are not to be produced by any of those sophistical ways, as we have fully made appear in these and our precedent Aphorisms, in which we have given ample Instructions for the preparing the Universal Elixir out of our undetermined Matter, and the specificated one out of the Root of Vegetables.

XXXI. Out of the true Affection and Charity, we have for all Lovers of Arts, we advise every one, who shall desire to prepare either of these our Elixirs, only to follow our Infallible Rules, being the Compendium of the whole Practice and Theory according to all true Philosophers, and not to mind any other: for some having delivered things by Hearsay, others from Reading, and very few from their own Practice, they may easily be imposed upon and deluded by any Pseudochymist or pretended Adept.

EXPERTO CREDE.