The Rosicrucian Secrets

«By Mercury I understand not Quicksilver, but Saturn philosophical, which devours the Moon and keeps her always in his belly.»

«The Water is not extracted by the hands of men, but it is made by nature a Spermatick, Viscous Composition of water, earth, air and fire.»

«Sulphur is double in every metal save only in Gold, that is to say external, burning and internal, not burning»

«Red Sol is his father and White Luna his mother» — «the metallic man is fixed and the metallic woman unfixed».

«All things are made and compounded of three essences, viz., of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt.» — «But know this that the Stone is made of one, two, three, four and five.»

«All visible and palpable things are made out of the Spirit of Mercury»

El fuego secreto: «Solas radios invisibilis ignis nostri sufficere.» — «Stone is generated by fire, men neither see, neither do they believe there is any other fire but the common fire»

«Visitabis Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem Voram Medicinam.» — el acróstico VITRIOLUM (con «Voram» por Veram, OCR).

«This Crown73 is set with seven Angels, seven Planets, twelve Signs, seven Rulers, twelve Ideas and sixteen Figures» — [«73» es la llamada de nota] — el marco rosacruz declarado por la obra.

«Non est planta hic inferiora cui non est stella firmamento superius, et ferit eam stella, et dicit ei: Cresce.» — no hay planta abajo sin su estrella arriba que le diga «crece».

«The Rosie Crucian Pantarva is made of Gold alone and only by Nature.»

«Hermes saith the Elixir is nothing else but Mercury, Sol and Luna.» — «this water is called the Water of Hell and is the only miracle of miracles of the world».

«the first sign of putrefaction, which is called the head of the Crow»

«Saturn, the highest of the Celestial Planets, hath the meanest authority in our Magistery» — «No transmutation of any metal can arise from Saturn by reason of its great cold».

«Antimony is the Lord in medicinals.»

«This supernatural Magic is altogether infamous and unlawful.» — el propio texto condena la magia de la campana de electrum.

«He teacheth how to make the Elixir out of Electrum; I contrarily, the Electrum out of Elixir.» — la voz del autor contra Paracelso.

Testimonio en primera persona: «I made projection with it, putting one grain of it to one and a quarter ounce of Mercury, transmuting the same into very good Lune.»

«This Medicine is a very spiritual and piercing one, which cureth any distempers of this world in all creatures whatsoever.» — «Three or four grains … in some good treacle … cureth the French pox».

«Five or six drops of this tincture being taken in Wine doth dispel sad and melancholy thoughts.»

Piedras y metales: Diamond↔Mercury, Ruby↔Iron, Emerald↔Copper, Granite↔Lead — bloque compacto.

La atribución a Dee nace de su nombre en los márgenes del manuscrito.

La introducción identifica el texto como adaptación del Elharvareuna de John Heydon, con una tercera parte traducción adaptada de la Themis Aurea de Michael Maier, y un léxico alquímico como sección propia.

«This manuscript was copied from a version which was published through the Popular Press and was no longer available at the time of our putting together this draft. The original is a one-off copy in the London museum.» — la nota de los transcriptores de 1997, firmada Frater C.H.A., declara el origen del texto que edita: no el manuscrito Harleiano sino una copia de una edición impresa ya inhallable.

«This copy is our first draft and is not complete in that we have as yet only copied that part of the manuscript which we deem most necessary to preserve for our own purposes and for the future, which is roughly half of the book.» — los editores modernos advierten que su texto está incompleto y seleccionado por criterio propio: es la mitad que juzgaron necesario preservar.

«Of those portions which we have not included here some is totally useless, a larger part is published elsewhere and the rest is considered but an interesting curiosity with little or no practical value. Nevertheless we do intend completing the transcription of the entire document at some future date. These bits include some notes on the Rosicrucian Order, the Lexicon and the actual footnotes.» — y declaran qué dejaron fuera: precisamente las notas sobre la Orden Rosacruz, el léxico y las notas al pie, tres de las piezas que la discusión sobre la atribución usa como prueba.

«The original manuscript is loosely attributed to John Dee, it seems for the only reason that his name appears in the margins of the original, yet the contents of some of this work have been attributed in the past to another individual» — los propios editores ocultistas consignan la atribución a Dee como laxa y con un solo fundamento, el nombre en los márgenes, y admiten que parte del contenido se atribuyó antes a otra persona.

«It matters little for the work speaks for itself in its practical value.» — el criterio con que la edición despacha la cuestión de autoría no es histórico sino operativo: importa poco quién lo escribió porque la obra vale por su utilidad práctica. Marca de una edición hecha desde la tradición, no de un estudio.

«Edited and Arranged by Sr. K.Q.M.» — la portadilla acredita la edición a un segundo nombre de orden, Sr. K.Q.M., junto al de Frater C.H.A. que firma la nota: el aparato del volumen es anónimo por convención iniciática.

«This group was run on fairly informal lines by G.R.S. Mead, one time secretary to Mme Blavatsky, and author of many works on Gnosticism.» — Ithell Colquhoun sitúa a Garstin en el medio ocultista londinense de entreguerras, en la Quest Society de G. R. S. Mead, antiguo secretario de Blavatsky.

«Edward was dogged by ill-luck all his life, both in business and in affairs of the heart.» — el retrato que la edición antepone a la obra es el de un adepto arruinado, no el de un erudito.

«So Edward must have been initiated into this Lodge by the early 1920s.» — Colquhoun data la iniciación de Garstin en la logia A.O. de la Golden Dawn a principios de los años veinte: quien firma la introducción de este volumen es un iniciado, no un historiador externo.

«Such traditions must have been important to him, since he used his family motto, Animo et Fide, as his magical name.» — el nombre mágico de Garstin, Animo et Fide, sale del lema familiar.

«He found Edward dead from an overdose of some drug.» — Colquhoun cierra la semblanza con la muerte de Garstin por sobredosis, fechada por ella el 26 de junio de 1955.

«Mrs. Boyd was shocked at this news and insisted that consequent on the suicide, Tony should destroy Edward's Order Papers, implements and any items directly connected with his G.D. work, all of which he had kept together in a trunk.» — y consigna la destrucción de los papeles de Orden de Garstin, a instancias de Mrs. Boyd, tras el suicidio.

«His life story reminds one of a warning passage from Eliphas Levi, which recounts the frequent lot of the occult explorer, and finishes.» — la moral que la editora extrae de esa vida es la advertencia de Eliphas Levi sobre la suerte del explorador de lo oculto.

«The work is in three parts, of which the first is purely alchemical and medical; the second is a short alchemical lexicon; and the third deals with the Laws of the Order. A fresh numbering of the sheets 'according to Dr Dee' commences with each part.» — la introducción describe la estructura tripartita del manuscrito Harleiano 6485: parte alquímico-medicinal, léxico breve y Leyes de la Orden, cada una con foliación propia atribuida a Dee.

«As far as I am aware, no doubt as to the authenticity of this manuscript obtained until 1893, when Mr. A.E. Waite suggested that it was a forgery on the following grounds.» — Garstin data en 1893 el nacimiento de la duda: hasta la impugnación de A. E. Waite nadie discutió la autenticidad del manuscrito.

«That a critical examination of the first part shows it to be little else but an adaptation of John Heydon's Elharvareuna, or Rosicrucian Medicines of Metals, first published in 1665.» — primer cargo de Waite según lo resume Garstin: la primera parte sería poco más que una adaptación del Elharvareuna de John Heydon, de 1665.

«That at the end of the first part is included a letter said to be from Dr John Frederick Helvetius to Dr John Dee, giving an account of a transmutation by Elias Artista, which historical transmutation took place at the end of 1666, more than half a century after the death of Dee.» — segundo cargo: el volumen incluye una carta de Helvetius a Dee sobre una transmutación de finales de 1666, más de medio siglo posterior a la muerte de Dee.

«That the lexicon, which purports to explain certain hard words which occur in the writings of Dr Dee, consists almost entirely of words not found in the extant works of that author.» — tercer cargo, el más agudo: el léxico dice explicar palabras difíciles de los escritos de Dee y consta casi enteramente de palabras que no aparecen en sus obras conservadas.

«That the third part is an adapted translation of Michael Maier's Themis Aurea, which appeared in l618.» — cuarto cargo: la tercera parte sería traducción adaptada de la Themis Aurea de Michael Maier.

«One other objection has been raised,5 namely that the Rosicrucians only came into existence about the time of Dee's death.» — la objeción cronológica de fondo, que Garstin enuncia para desactivarla: los rosacruces solo habrían aparecido hacia la época de la muerte de Dee.

«This argument is, however, almost entirely negligible beside those brought forward by Mr. Waite, which must be considered in some detail.» — y su modo de descartarla es de grado, no documental: la juzga casi enteramente desdeñable al lado de los cargos de Waite.

«The MS does not in any way claim to be an autograph, but merely a copy, and the copyist has indicated the date of the commencement of his labours. March 12th 1713, by inscribing it in the floriated title at the head of the manuscript.» — la aclaración con que Garstin reencuadra todo el litigio: el manuscrito nunca se presentó como autógrafo de Dee, sino como copia fechada en 1713.

«anyone who cares to compare the Rosie Crucian Secrets with Heydon's Elharvareuna will find that as far as the end of the second paragraph of what is stated to be 'the thirty-eighth sheet, Dr Dee,’6 the one is certainly an adaptation of the other, though without further evidence it is impossible to say who is guilty of the plagiarism.» — concede el primer cargo pero le invierte el sentido: admite la adaptación y sostiene que, sin más evidencia, no puede decirse cuál de los dos textos plagia al otro.

«Our MS, however,7 extends to some ninety-four sheets of Dr Dee, so that Elharvareuna can account only for a little over one third of it.» — y lo acota por aritmética: el Elharvareuna cubriría poco más de un tercio del manuscrito.

«Mr. Waite's three remaining arguments seem to me to be far more to the point. Indeed so cogent are they that in the absence of any other theory to explain what must at once be admitted to be correct, I should be compelled to agree that he has proved his case.» — el reconocimiento explícito que hace la fuerza del texto: Garstin admite que, a falta de otra teoría, los tres cargos restantes de Waite le obligarían a darle la razón.

«he might, indeed, have further pointed out with regard to Maier's Themis Aurea that Part m of our MS is almost a verbatim transcript of the first and only English translation of this work, which appeared in 1656.» — y añade contra sí mismo un cargo que Waite no formuló: la parte III es casi transcripción literal de la única traducción inglesa de la Themis Aurea, la de 1656.

«this statement has never been proved, despite the large number of books that have been published dealing with the origin and history of the Fraternity, nor is it probable that the problem will be taken much further.» — Garstin contesta la objeción cronológica por vía negativa: nadie ha probado cuándo nació la Fraternidad, y él no espera que se pruebe.

«Mr. Waite has, perhaps, been more painstaking than any other contemporary scholar, but his findings can only be regarded by the impartial reader as inconclusive, as is the case with so much historical research.» — y trata a Waite con deferencia mientras le niega la conclusión: lo llama el más concienzudo de los eruditos contemporáneos y califica sus hallazgos de inconcluyentes.

«We are left, therefore, with no precise knowledge as to the date of the foundation of the Order in Germany,11 and hence no grounds for stating that Dee could not, as tradition relates. have been a member.» — la forma exacta del argumento, que es de silencio y no de evidencia: sin fecha cierta de fundación no hay motivo para negar que Dee, como quiere la tradición, perteneciera a la Orden.

«He is one Peter Smart, who describes himself as M.A. of London, and he would seem to have been occupied in copying various MSS during the years 1699 to 1714, but mostly from 1712 to 1714.» — identificación del copista: Peter Smart, que se declara M.A. de Londres y copió manuscritos entre 1699 y 1714.

«a very material point has been overlooked, namely that it is the purpose of a forgery to deceive; for it seems obvious that at the time in question, namely in 1713, there could have been little hope of achieving such a result.» — el eje de la defensa de Garstin: una falsificación existe para engañar, y en 1713 había poca esperanza de lograrlo con estos materiales.

«Elharvareuna was published in 1665, the letter of Helvetius, published in 1667, deals with events which occurred in' 1666,26 fifty-eight years after Dee's death, and an English translation of Maier's Themis Aurea had appeared in 1656.» — los tres materiales tardíos, alineados como argumento a favor y no en contra: publicados en 1656, 1665 y 1667, cincuenta y ocho años después de la muerte de Dee.

«I suggest that no forger would have been so clumsy as to weld together these various, comparatively recent and presumably still familiar elements with any hope of passing them off as the work of Dee.» — de ahí la inferencia, formulada como sugerencia: ningún falsario habría sido tan torpe como para soldar materiales recientes y familiares y esperar hacerlos pasar por obra de Dee.

«Possibly Mr. Waite had these facts in mind when he said as long ago as 189327 that 'it is, in fact, a very curious forgery, rendered the more difficult to account for by its want of assignable motive.» — y Garstin apoya su defensa en la propia perplejidad de Waite, que llamó al texto una falsificación muy curiosa por su falta de motivo asignable.

«As far as I can ascertain, these are the only known works attributed to Dr. Rudd, and by innuendo it is suggested that he is merely Smart's alter ego.» — el cargo colateral que Garstin quiere levantar: que el Dr. Rudd de los manuscritos Harleianos no sería más que un alter ego de Smart.

«in an age admittedly lax as to literary honesty Heydon stands out as facile princeps among the plagiarists15» — su juicio sobre Heydon, que le sirve para explicar los préstamos sin recurrir a la falsificación: en una época laxa en honestidad literaria, Heydon destaca como el primero entre los plagiarios.

«no one who has studied the literature with any care would dream of suggesting that the main elements in these MSS of Dr Rudd were original or that they were written with any intention of being published.» — y su lectura del corpus de Rudd: compilaciones privadas de un estudioso, nunca escritas para publicarse.

«It is unlikely that he was the mysterious Dr. Rudd himself; although the name is uncommon and in those days the mathematician, the astrologer and the student of occult mysteries were much akin; but he may have been a relation.» — sobre Thomas Rudd, el matemático que en 1651 reeditó a Euclides con prefacio de Dee, se abstiene: improbable que sea el Dr. Rudd, quizá pariente.

«Rosie Crucian Secrets, and stating: 'This Manuscript of Dr Dee was given me by Dr John Gadbury in Anno 1686.» — la nota de procedencia en que se apoya toda la cadena: Smart declara haber recibido el manuscrito de Dee de manos del astrólogo John Gadbury en 1686.

«This introduces a new character to the scene in the person of the well-known astrologer and astronomer,28 who was born in 1627 and died in 1704.» — Gadbury queda datado en 1627–1704, lo que sitúa la entrega ochenta años después de la muerte de Dee y descarta que fuera Dee quien la hiciera.

«Among his friends was John Heydon - for whom, on more than one occasion, he wrote laudatory verses to be prefaced to his books29 - and he was evidently a student of alchemy and the Rosicrucian literature» — el eslabón que hace verosímil la cadena para Garstin: Gadbury era amigo de John Heydon y estudioso de la alquimia y la literatura rosacruz.

«I have no evidence to show how the alleged Dee MS may have come into his possession, though I have, I maintain, a reasonable explanation, but in the absence of anything to the contrary, there seems to be no reason why Smart's statement should not be accepted.» — la honestidad del argumento y su límite en la misma frase: Garstin no tiene evidencia de cómo llegó el manuscrito a Gadbury, y aun así propone aceptar la declaración de Smart a falta de algo en contra.

«I do not suppose that it will be disputed that Dr. Dee is in every way the type of individual that one would expect to have belonged to some such body.» — la forma en que se introduce la pertenencia de Dee a una fraternidad secreta: no como dato sino como verosimilitud de carácter, y admitiendo acto seguido que no puede haber certeza.

«there is at least evidence that the circulation of MSS by him to various individuals under conditions of secrecy is credible seeing that we have it in his own hand that he gave to Mr Richard Cavendish 'a copy of Paracelsus, twelve lettres, written in French with my own hand, and he promised me before my wife never to disclose to any that he hath it.» — el único apoyo documental que aduce es indirecto: la nota del propio Dee sobre haber entregado a Richard Cavendish una copia de Paracelso bajo promesa de secreto.

«That he was associated with students abroad is beyond dispute, and it is noticeable that at Bremen he was visited by Heinrich Khunrath of Hamburg, all of whose books were published after this conference with Dee.» — y el dato de Khunrath de Hamburgo visitando a Dee en Bremen, con la observación de que todos sus libros se publicaron después de esa entrevista.

«This suggestion cannot, of course, be stretched too far, and is, in any event, purely a speculative hypothesis - as are those of all serious writers on this subject - but a likely, list of names occurs to one in this connection, such as Dee, Christopher Heydon, Khunrath, Maier, Fludd, Dr Rudd and Thomas Rudd, Ashmole, Vaughan,52 Gadbury and John Heydon.» — la lista que conecta a Dee con el círculo rosacruz va precedida por la propia advertencia de Garstin de que es hipótesis puramente especulativa. Quitarle esa cláusula convierte una conjetura de 1935 en dato.

«although proof; in the historical sense, is lacking, I would suggest that more than one of these individuals was in all probability a member of the Rosicrucian Fraternity.» — el grado exacto con que sostiene la pertenencia: falta prueba en sentido histórico, y aun así propone que más de uno de esos nombres fue con toda probabilidad miembro de la Fraternidad.

«For example Robert Fludd and Maier give every indication of writing from within. Then there is Ashmole himself; about whom there is a very strong tradition and some grounds for accepting it. 53 Lastly there is Vaughan, whose acquaintance with the Brethren seems to have been more intimate than he was willing to admit.» — reparte el grado de certeza nombre por nombre: Fludd y Maier escriben desde dentro, sobre Ashmole hay tradición fuerte, y Vaughan trató a los Hermanos más de lo que admitía.

«Within such a group it is quite natural to suppose that many, if not all, of the MSS were by the members; hence The Rosie Crucian Secrets may well have been by Dee himself; though I do not insist upon this.» — el punto en que la tesis toca a Dee como autor, y con reserva expresa: los manuscritos serían de los miembros, de modo que la obra pudo ser de Dee, aunque Garstin no insiste en ello.

«The alternative explanation is that a manuscript book belonging to Dee in as much as it was in his handwriting, but to the group in so far as it was not his personal possession, came into the hands of Gadbury, who added certain other relevant matter which interested him, namely the letter of Helvetius, the alchemical lexicon and the copy of Maier's Themis Aurea, but without being careful to name his sources, there being no particular reason why he should do so. When, therefore, this book came into the possession of Peter Smart, the latter, in making his own copy, failed to obser\~, or at least to comment upon, the fact that the work was a compilation and not a homogeneous whole and annotated his pages with the Dee folios.» — la explicación alternativa que él mismo prefiere, y que salva a la vez la letra de Dee y el carácter compuesto del conjunto: un cuaderno de mano de Dee al que Gadbury añadió la carta de Helvetius, el léxico y la Themis Aurea sin nombrar fuentes.

«To sum up my contentions, I submit that in the first place there is really no evidence worth considering for the suggestion that The Rosie Crucian Secrets is a late forgery by Peter Smart, who, in my opinion, figures simply as a copyist; that there is a mass of evidence in favour of the supposition that as early as Dee's time there was in existence a secret fraternity, probably with membership both in this country and abroad, to which he belonged, among whom circulated certain private MSS; that this society may even have been, and probably was, a branch of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood; that there is a very obvious and probable line of descent by which the MS we are considering could have come into the hands of Peter Smart; and finally that the attribution by him of the whole MS to Dee is a simple and understandable error.» — el resumen de sus tesis, con sus verbos de propuesta intactos, y su conclusión sobre la atribución: adjudicar el manuscrito entero a Dee es un error simple y comprensible de Smart.

«E. J. Langford Garstin London January 16th 1935» — la firma y la fecha de la introducción: E. J. Langford Garstin, Londres, 16 de enero de 1935. Todo el alegato sobre Dee y los rosacruces es suyo y de esa fecha, no de la edición de 1997 ni de un estudio académico.

«Paracelsus likewise affirmeth metallic spirits are dead and lie still so that they cannot work» — la premisa de toda la obra alquímica del tratado, puesta en boca de Paracelso: los espíritus metálicos están muertos y quietos, incapaces de obrar.

«Gold and Silver, therefore, simple and absolute in their bodily and metallic form, are dead, but by art they are revived and made Gold and Silver of the Philosophers.» — de ahí la definición operativa del oro filosófico: el oro y la plata corrientes están muertos, y es el arte el que los revive y los convierte en oro y plata de los filósofos.

«And they are revived and brought to yield their seed by reducing them into their first matter, which is called prima materia metallorum79, for it is impossible for the species or forms of metals to be transmuted but by reducing them into their first matter.» — el mecanismo único que el tratado admite para la transmutación: reducir los metales a su prima materia metallorum, porque las formas no se transmutan de otro modo.

«Now the first matter of metals is Argent vive, i.e., Quicksilver80, as all philosophers verify.» — y la identificación de esa primera materia con el argent vive o mercurio, presentada como consenso de todos los filósofos.

«Therefore metals of necessity must be reduced into Mercury and not into cloud water as the philosophers affirm» — con su precisión polémica: la reducción es a mercurio y no a agua, contra la lectura que el tratado atribuye a otros.

«Albertus Magnus saith the first matter of metals is Argent vive, which is a viscous, incombustible moisture commixed in a strong and wonderful mixture with a subtile earthliness in the mineral caves of the earth, which continually moveth and floweth because successively one part hath rule over another.» — el tratado adjudica a Alberto Magno la descripción física del argent vive: humedad viscosa incombustible mezclada con una terrosidad sutil en las cavernas minerales de la tierra.

«Geber saith, we could never yet find anything permanent in the fire but this viscous matter or moisture which is the self same note84 of all metals, and all the other moistures85 do easily fly from the fire by evaporation and separation of one» — y a Geber la prueba por el fuego: solo esa materia viscosa permanece, mientras las demás humedades huyen por evaporación.

«And in this Argent vive, the mother of all metals, is only the whole perfection, for it hath in its composition sulphury parts dry, the which tinge and colour87 [the] whiteness in act and redness in power, and therefore this is the true Sulphur which perfecteth, formeth, coagulateth, coloureth and fixeth by his action.» — toda la perfección reside en el argent vive, madre de los metales, porque lleva dentro las partes sulfúreas que tiñen, coagulan y fijan.

«But this incombustible, hidden and unknown Sulphur which is in power in Argent vive, cannot bring itself forth into act but by due decoction» — con el límite que hace falta el arte: ese azufre oculto está en potencia y solo la decocción debida lo pone en acto.

«the one masculine and agent, which they call Sulphur, the other feminine and patient, which they name Mercury;» — el par de principios tal como el tratado lo nombra: azufre masculino y agente, mercurio femenino y paciente.

«For first in the first degree of natural operation and digestion, the heat of the internal Sulphur working and somewhat prevailing in the humidity of his Mercury, beginneth somewhat to fix and coagulate the mercurial humour and giveth it the form of Lead.» — la escala de los metales como grados de una misma cocción: en el primer grado el azufre interno coagula el humor mercurial y le da forma de plomo.

«Then doth the heat dominate more and maketh Copper and then Iron, and further proceeding in their digestion, the internal Sulphur yet more subduing the moist[ure] and cold of his Mercury by a temperate heat, and attaining by his concoction purity and perfection of whiteness, it more firmly fixeth his body and giveth it the form and fixation and tincture of Silver.» — y el calor creciente produce sucesivamente cobre, hierro y plata: los metales no son especies distintas sino etapas de digestión.

«And then by nature is accomplished the most perfect, simple and pure substantial form of Gold, which Gold in the perfection of his metalline nature is pure fire, digested by the said Sulphur existing in Mercury, whereby his Mercury, that is to say his whole substance, is converted into the nature of his pure Sulphur and made permanent and triumphant in the force and violence of the fire.» — el término de la serie es el oro, definido como fuego puro cuya sustancia entera quedó convertida por el azufre que habitaba en su mercurio.

«And you must also know that nature doth not always [proceed by means] of these degrees in passing through the dispositions and paths97 of the metals, or any one of them, but doth oftentimes engender perfect Sol as the aforesaid beginning by a most temperate and due decoction in the» — con la salvedad de que la naturaleza no siempre recorre esos grados: a veces engendra el Sol directamente por decocción templada.

«And this operation of nature are we to imitate and follow as near as possible in our art, according to the earnest precepts and prescriptions of all the philosophers in this behalf.» — el programa que gobierna la parte práctica: el arte imita la operación de la naturaleza tan de cerca como puede, y eso lo prescriben todos los filósofos.

«but first I will resolve, wherefore do the philosophers call Mercury or Quicksilver the First Matter of Metals, when there is another matter or sperm, as we have declared, which must be joined with it before metals can be engendered.» — la objeción que el propio tratado se plantea: si hacen falta dos espermas, por qué llamar al mercurio la primera materia de los metales.

«The philosophers do truly call Mercury the First Matter of Metals, being so indeed, for the Sulphur which is the masculine sperm, is of her, and she is the root of him and his coagulation, as Hermes said.» — y su respuesta, apoyada en Hermes: el mercurio es la primera materia porque el azufre sale de ella y ella es su raíz y su coagulación.

«If, therefore, any man would like to know the form of Gold, he must of necessity know the matter of Gold, the which is Argent vive.» — la regla que ordena el conocimiento del oro: conocer su forma exige conocer su materia, que es el argent vive.

«But because the first work of nature was to make the two sperms of nature, which art cannot do, therefore the second work of nature, which is the conjunction of the two sperms in one, must of necessity be the first work of art, and the creation or making of the two sperms must be the only referred to nature, who hath provided and prepared to art the matter that art is to work upon.» — el reparto exacto entre naturaleza y arte: crear las dos espermas es obra de la naturaleza y el arte no puede hacerlo, de modo que la primera obra del arte es la segunda de la naturaleza, la conjunción.

«And again, nature hath created a matter unto art, unto which art neither addeth anything nor taketh anything away, but removeth such things as are superfluous; likewise nature hath provided for us one Stone and one matter and one medicine, unto the which we, by our art, add no foreign thing, nor in any point diminish it, but in removing that which is superfluous in the preparation100, and this is done in the purification which is effected by solution.» — con el corolario que la obra repite: al arte no le toca añadir nada ajeno ni quitar nada, solo remover lo superfluo.

«The masculine they call agent, the Sulphur or rennet, the body or ferment, the poison or flower of Gold, the tincture or inward fire and the form.» — la nomenclatura variable de la esperma masculina, listada por el propio tratado: agente, azufre, cuajo, cuerpo, fermento, veneno, flor del oro, tintura, fuego interno, forma.

«The feminine sperm they call the patient, Mercury, the Spirit volatile, Argent vive, menstruum, water, azoth and the matter and by many other names they name them both.» — y la de la femenina: paciente, mercurio, espíritu volátil, argent vive, menstruo, agua, azoth.

«the third cause is that thou shouldest thereby gather and understand that the two sperms, being of two several natures and qualities, can by no means be fetched from one body, as divers have misconstrued, no more than both the sperms of man and woman are in man alone.» — el motivo por el que la obra insiste en el par, con su símil humano: las dos espermas no pueden sacarse de un solo cuerpo, como tampoco están las dos del hombre y la mujer solo en el hombre.

«But they are to be had of two substances of one root, as Trevisan, Arnoldus and the rest of the philosophers affirm.» — con la matización que evita el dualismo: dos sustancias, pero de una sola raíz, según Trevisano y Arnaldo.

«But I will give thee this secret note, that the two sperms must be had out of two several bodies, yea two bodies in one only root, which is the same Hermaphrodite of the philosophers, which they often write of102, or their Adam103, as in due place shall be disclosed;» — y la clave que la obra guarda para más adelante: dos cuerpos en una sola raíz, que es el Hermafrodita de los filósofos, o su Adán.

«You need not to doubt that among the metals Sol and Luna are both agents and masculine sperms104, for they both give form and tincture severally, the one to the white work, the other to the red work, according to the sayings of the philosophers.» — entre los metales, Sol y Luna son los dos agentes masculinos, cada uno dador de forma para su obra: uno para la roja, otro para la blanca.

«For Arnoldus in his Rosary saith Gold is more precious than all other metals and is the tincture of redness tincting and transforming every body, but Silver is the tincture of whiteness, tincting all other bodies with a perfect whiteness;» — el tratado adjudica al Rosario de Arnaldo el reparto de las tinturas: el oro tiñe de rojo, la plata de blanco.

«Likewise the noble Trevisanus saith, Our medicine is made of two things, being of one essence, to wit of the union mercurially of fixed and not fixed, spiritual and corporeal, cold and moist, hot and dry, and of no other thing can [it] be made.» — y a Trevisano la fórmula de la unidad en la diferencia: la medicina se hace de dos cosas de una sola esencia, fijo y no fijo, corporal y espiritual, y de ninguna otra cosa.

«the secret of all secrets is to know that Mercury is the matter and menstruum, and the matter of perfect bodies is the form.» — el secreto de los secretos, dicho sin rodeos: el mercurio es la materia y el menstruo, y la materia de los cuerpos perfectos es la forma.

«Thus I have proved that the two perfect metals are the two masculine bodies, from which» — cerrado el punto de los agentes, el tratado pasa al lado femenino: los dos metales perfectos son los cuerpos masculinos.

«Mercury of Luna doth hold the nature of the male or masculine, but two males cannot engender no more than two females.» — el argumento por el que rechaza que la plata fija sirva de hembra: el mercurio de Luna es de naturaleza masculina, y dos machos no engendran igual que no engendran dos hembras.

«These words of Hermes, though they be so full of truth and have no deceit in them, yet a great number have been deceived thereby.» — y advierte que el engaño no viene de la falsedad de Hermes sino de su lectura: sus palabras no tienen dolo y aun así han engañado a muchos.

«Now I will demonstrate which are the feminine bodies, and out of which the feminine sperms of our matter is to be fetched.» — el tratado anuncia la parte que le importa: de qué cuerpos se saca la esperma femenina.

«If, therefore, I prove our matter 3 to be unfixed, it is a great argument and probability that our 3 is the same woman.» — el grado del argumento, dicho por la obra misma: probar que la materia es no fija da un fuerte indicio y probabilidad, no certeza, de que es la mujer buscada. El signo que la edición transcribe como 3 es un glifo alquímico que el escaneo no conserva.

«and Paracelsus nameth her plainly, the water dissolving her brethren.» — y adjudica a Paracelso el nombre de esa hembra: el agua que disuelve a sus hermanos.

«Raymund Lullius saith in his Epistle to the King, Our water, you know, is extracted from a certain stinking menstruum» — el tratado adjudica a Raimundo Lulio, en su epístola al rey, que el agua del arte se extrae de un menstruo hediondo.

«Arnoldus saith, the nature of the dissolved body and the dissolving water is all one, but only that the nature of the body» — y a Arnaldo la identidad de naturaleza entre el cuerpo disuelto y el agua que lo disuelve.

«Consider yet another note or mark whereby she is known, as the ancient and modern philosophers do affirm that their Gold must be sown in his own proper earth, as also in the Turb[a], let our Gold be sown in his own proper earth.» — la regla que ordena toda la operación, atribuida por igual a antiguos y modernos y a la Turba: el oro ha de sembrarse en su propia tierra.

«Arnoldus in his New Light saith, with my own hands, my eyes being witnesses I have made the Elixir that converted Saturn into Sol, which matter truly I have now named, and it is the philosophers Magnesia, out of which they found114 quicksilver of quicksilver and Sulphur of Sulphur.» — testimonio en primera persona que el tratado toma de Arnaldo: haber hecho con sus manos el elixir que convirtió Saturno en Sol, a partir de la Magnesia de los filósofos.

«It is written by good philosophers and found true infallibly by daily experience, that the figure 3 is never found simple or pure by himself in the mine, but is ever mixed with Gold or Silver, whose grains or seeds in him are plainly to be seen to the eyes;» — el dato mineralógico en que apoya la doctrina: esa materia nunca se halla pura en la mina, sino siempre mezclada con oro o plata cuyos granos se ven a simple vista.

«The fixed grain is the apple and Mercury is the tree; therefore the fruit is not to be separated from the tree, because it cannot elsewhere receive nourishment then from his Mercury.» — el símil que rige la práctica: el grano fijo es la manzana y el mercurio el árbol, y el fruto no se separa del árbol porque solo allí se nutre.

«It is as great a folly to put Gold or Silver into Mercury as to fasten an apple again to the tree from whence it was taken.» — de donde sale la condena de la vía corriente: echar oro o plata en mercurio es tan necio como volver a pegar la manzana al árbol.

«Go up, therefore, into the Mountain that thou mayest see the vegetable, Saturnian, royal and mineral herb116, for let the juice be taken pure , the feces being cast away, for thereof thou mayest effect the greatest part of thy work.» — la instrucción cifrada con que cierra: subir al Monte a ver la hierba vegetal, saturnina, real y mineral, y tomar su jugo puro.

«Whatsoever staineth into a white colour hath the nature of life and the power and property of light, which causally118 effecteth life; and contrariwise, whatsoever staineth into blackness or maketh black hath the nature common with death and the property of darkness and the strong power of death.» — la doctrina de los colores como signos de vida y muerte, que el tratado adjudica a Paracelso bajo enigma: lo que tiñe de blanco tiene naturaleza de vida y propiedad de luz; lo que ennegrece, naturaleza de muerte y propiedad de tiniebla.

«The coagulation and fixation of such manner of corruption is the earth with her coldness.» — y su contraparte física: la coagulación y fijación de esa corrupción la hace la tierra con su frialdad.

«The house is always dead, but the inhabitant of the same liveth, and if thou canst find forth the example thereof thou hast prevailed.» — el enigma que la obra pone como prueba de comprensión: la casa está siempre muerta y el habitante vivo, y quien halle el ejemplo de eso ha vencido.

«By these words it appeareth that as the tincture of whiteness is the cause of life, which is the spirit of generation, so the blackness, which is the spirit of corruption, is death; and these two tinctures are in our blessed herb.» — su lectura de ese enigma: la tintura de blancura es el espíritu de generación y la negrura el de corrupción, y las dos tinturas están en la hierba bendita.

«The same dead house within the artificial digestion is the death and mortification and putrefaction of the matter, and our Silver and Gold, which is naturally included in the same, is the tincture in his first artificial operation according to the philosophers, who say there is no Gold, but first was Silver before it was Gold.» — la casa muerta identificada con la fase del proceso: muerte, mortificación y putrefacción de la materia, con el corolario de que no hay oro que no haya sido plata antes.

«Arnoldus noteth in his Rosary. This we see, that in the calculation of our figure 3, that first [it] is converted into black powder, next into white, then into a more yellow or red, which words very well discover his enigma written of this matter.» — la sucesión de colores, adjudicada al Rosario de Arnaldo: primero polvo negro, luego blanco, luego más amarillo o rojo.

«The thing that hath both a red head, white foot and black eyes is the materia.» — el mismo dato en forma de emblema: la cosa de cabeza roja, pie blanco y ojos negros es la materia.

«Likewise it appeareth by the enigma of Hermes119, The falcon is always on top of the mountain crying I am the white of the black and the red of the citron.» — y el enigma de Hermes con el halcón sobre el monte, que grita ser lo blanco de lo negro y lo rojo del cetrino.

«In our mineral herb is the number of 3 thus. First therein is our figure 3. Secondly there is our Sulphur, i.e., our Gold or Silver which is naturally mixed with him. Thirdly there is the root of these two, that is to say Mercury or Quicksilver, whereof they were engendered, and whereunto they must be reduced, in respect of which trinity in unity it representeth the Figure of the Deity.» — la trinidad que la obra lee dentro de su materia mineral, y su alcance teológico declarado: esa trinidad en unidad representa la Figura de la Deidad.

«What else is our mineral herb121 but one root of two substances, wherein is both our man or woman, that is to say our Gold is our» — el Hermafrodita o Adán de los filósofos, desglosado: una sola raíz de dos sustancias, con los elementos agentes fuego y aire del lado masculino y los pacientes agua y tierra del femenino.

«Thus you see that Sol and Luna are the masculine sperms in our matter or figure 3, which is also the natural woman, water and earth of them both, where by nature they are planted and spring.» — el balance de la sección: Sol y Luna son las espermas masculinas en la materia, que es a la vez la mujer, el agua y la tierra donde ambas se plantan y brotan.

«That is to say the matter of our red work is our figure 3 joined with Sol and the matter of our white work is our figure 3 joined with Luna123, which matters are first to be had for more surety and security of art even in nature itself called fex plumbi or Quehaeli Hispanica.» — y el reparto de las dos obras: la roja se hace con Sol, la blanca con Luna, sobre una materia que la naturaleza misma llama fex plumbi.

«The root of the operation of art in the matter shall hereafter be at large declared.» — con el aplazamiento que la obra usa como recurso: la raíz de la operación del arte queda declarada más adelante.

«If the Moon be strong when she comes to the quartile or opposition of the place she was in at the decumbiture, viz. in her house of exaltation, the sick recovers if she be aspected to no planet.» — la regla pronóstica que abre la parte astrológico-médica: Luna fuerte en el cuartil u oposición del lugar del decúbito, y sin aspecto de planeta, indica recuperación.

«Judge the like of the Sun in chronical diseases, but judge the contrary if either of them be in detriment or fall.» — con su transposición al Sol para las dolencias crónicas, y su inversión si cualquiera de los dos está en detrimento o caída.

«Upon a critical day, if the Moon be well aspected with good planets, it goes well with the sick; if by ill planets it goes ill.» — el criterio de los días críticos: lo que decide no es el día sino el aspecto de la Luna en él.

«Therefore if she be swift in motion she comes to her own quartile in six days, if slow, not in seven; therefore must you judge according to the motion of the Moon, and not according to the number of days.» — y la corrección que la obra impone al cómputo: se juzga por el movimiento de la Luna, no por el número de días.

«If Mars cause the disease, Venus helps more than Jupiter, that is a medicine of Venus cures.» — la terapéutica por antipatía planetaria: si Marte causa la enfermedad, cura la medicina de Venus.

«If Saturn, then Jupiter more than Venus, i.e., prepared Jupiter cures.» — y si la causa es Saturno, el Júpiter preparado, es decir el estaño trabajado por el arte.

«What diseases every planet signifies and the disease that are under the twelve signs, with the parts of the body every planet rules, the cure of those diseases by Rosie Crucian physic, by the seven metalic preparations, shall in his proper place be handled at large.» — el programa que la obra se fija: repartir enfermedades y partes del cuerpo entre planetas y signos, y curarlas por las siete preparaciones metálicas de la física rosacruz.

«Seriously consider the system or fabric of this world125; it is a certain series a non gradu ad non gradum, from that which is beneath all apprehension to that which is above all apprehension.» — la cosmología en que apoya todo lo anterior: una serie continua de grado en grado, de lo que está bajo toda aprehensión a lo que está sobre toda aprehensión.

«That which is beneath all degrees of sense is a certain horrible, inexpressible darkness. The magicians call it tenebrae activae126, and the effect of it in nature is cold etc.» — el extremo inferior de esa escala, nombrado con el término de los magos: tenebrae activae, cuyo efecto natural es el frío.

«That which is above all degree of intelligence is a certain infinite, inaccessible fire or light. Dionysius calls it Caligo Divina128, because it is invisible and incomprehensible.» — el extremo superior, nombrado con Dionisio: Caligo Divina, invisible e incomprensible.

«The Jew styles it Ein129, that is nihil or nothing, but in a relative sense or, as the schoolmen express it, quoad nos130. In plain terms it is Deitas nuda, sine indumento131.» — y el mismo extremo nombrado desde la cábala: Ein, nada, pero en sentido relativo, quoad nos; en llano, la Deidad desnuda.

«The middle substance or chain between these two is that which we commonly call nature. This is the Scala of the great Chaldee which doth reach132 from the subternatural133 darkness to the supernatural fire.» — el lugar de la naturaleza en ese esquema: cadena media entre los dos extremos, la Escala del gran Caldeo que va de la tiniebla subnatural al fuego sobrenatural.

«These middle natures came out of a certain water, which was the sperm or First Matter of the great world.» — y el origen común de esas naturalezas medias: cierta agua que fue el esperma o primera materia del gran mundo.

«It is a divine animated mass, of complexion somewhat like Silver, the union of masculine and feminine spirits.» — la definición de esa masa, que el tratado toma del alquimista docto: masa divina animada, de complexión semejante a la plata, unión de espíritus masculinos y femeninos.

«The thing in itself is a world without form, neither mere power nor perfect action, but a weak virgin substance, a certain soft, prolific Venus, the very love and seed, the mixture and moisture of heaven and earth.» — y su carácter intermedio entre potencia y acto: mundo sin forma, sustancia virgen y débil, Venus blanda y prolífica, mezcla y humedad de cielo y tierra.

«Now the Rosie Crucians141, who without controversy were the wisest of people, when they discourse of the generation of metals tell us it is performed in this manner.» — el punto en que la obra adjudica su doctrina de la generación de los metales a los rosacruces, a los que llama sin discusión los más sabios de los pueblos.

«But if we consider any perfect products, they are firm, compacted, figurated bodies; and hence it follows they must be made of something that is not firm, not compacted, not figurated, but a weak, quivering, altering substance.» — el argumento de la generación: los productos perfectos son firmes y figurados, luego han de hacerse de algo débil, trémulo y mudable.

«It is plain then, and that by infallible inference from the proportion and power of the agent, that moisture must needs be the patient.» — de donde la humedad queda establecida como el paciente de la operación, por inferencia sobre la proporción entre agente y paciente.

«But I must advise my chemists to beware of any common moisture, for that will never be altered otherwise than to a vapour.» — con el aviso que cierra la puerta a la lectura literal: cuidado con la humedad común, que nunca pasa de vapor.

«But the original, if it be truly and rationally rendered, speaks thus: In principio Deus miscuit rarum et densum.» — la lectura alquímica del Génesis: el original bien vertido diría que en el principio Dios mezcló lo raro y lo denso.

«For heaven and earth in this text signify the Virgin Mercury and the Virgin Sulphur.» — y su clave: cielo y tierra del texto significan el Mercurio Virgen y el Azufre Virgen.

«Hence I infer that the earth he speaks of was a mere rudiment or principle of this earth which I now see152; for this present earth is neither void nor without form.» — el modo de inferir, que es exegético: la tierra sin forma ni vacío del texto no puede ser la tierra presente, que ni es vacía ni informe.

«I conclude then that the Mosaical earth was the Virgin Sulphur, which is an earth without form, for it hath no determined figure.» — por lo que concluye que la tierra mosaica era el Azufre Virgen, tierra sin forma porque no tiene figura determinada.

«Here you should observe that God created two principles, earth and water, and of these two He compounded a third, namely the sperm or chaos.» — y el tercer principio compuesto de los otros dos: el esperma o caos.

«This is a very great secret; neither is it lawful to publish it expressly and as the nature of the thing requires, but in the magical work it is to be seen, and I have been an eye-witness of it myself.» — la obra reserva el secreto y a la vez avala su verdad con testimonio propio: no es lícito publicarlo, pero él fue testigo ocular.

«To conclude: remember that our subject is no common water, but a thick, slimy, fat earth.» — el sujeto del arte, dicho en llano contra la lectura acuosa: no agua común sino tierra espesa, limosa y grasa.

«This is done by a certain natural agent which the philosophers call their Secret Fire.» — y el agente que hace ese ciclo de disolución y coagulación: el Fuego Secreto de los filósofos.

«Fire, notwithstanding the diversities of it in this sub-lunary kitchen of the elements, is but one thing from one root.» — la unidad del fuego bajo sus diferencias sublunares: una sola cosa desde una sola raíz.

«What an owl was he then that could not distinguish, with all his logic, between excess and measure, between violent and vital degrees of heat, but concluded the fire did breed nothing because it consumed something.» — la refriega con Aristóteles, que la obra sostiene con insulto incluido: no distinguir entre exceso y medida lleva a concluir que el fuego no engendra nada porque consume algo.

«This Fire is at the root and about the root - I mean about the centre - of all things, both visible and invisible.» — la ubicación de ese fuego: en la raíz y en torno al centro de todas las cosas, visibles e invisibles.

«But originally it is in God Himself; for He is the Fountain of heat and fire, and from Him it is derived to the rest of the creatures in a certain stream or sunshine.» — con su origen teológico: está originalmente en Dios, fuente del calor y del fuego, y de Él se deriva a las criaturas.

«The kitchen fire, as we all know, is visible, but the philosopher's fire is invisible, and therefore no kitchen fire.» — el criterio que separa los dos fuegos: el de la cocina es visible y el del filósofo invisible.

«Almadir expressly tells us in these words: Solas radios invisibilis ignis nostri sufficere.» — y la sentencia que el tratado adjudica a Almadir: bastan los rayos de nuestro fuego invisible.

«Feed this bird with the fire of his father and the ether of his mother165; for the first is meat and the second is drink, and without this last he attains not to his full glory.» — la receta en clave del ave roja: alimentarla con el fuego de su padre y el éter de su madre, comida y bebida, sin lo cual no alcanza su gloria.

«Thou hast performed the command of the Kabalist: Fige finem in principio, sicut, flammam prunae conjunctam, quia Dominus superlative unus et non tenet secundum.» — el mandato que la obra atribuye al cabalista: fijar el fin en el principio, como la llama unida a la brasa, porque el Señor es superlativamente uno.

«Consider then what you seek; you seek an indissoluble, miraculous, transmuting, uniting union; but such a tie cannot be without the First Unity.» — la tesis del capítulo: la unión transmutante que se busca no puede darse sin la Primera Unidad.

«When we say the Stone is generated by fire, men neither see, neither do they believe there is any other fire but the common fire, nor any other Sulphur and Mercury but the common Sulphur and Mercury.» — el diagnóstico del error ajeno: cuando se dice que la Piedra se engendra por fuego, no se ve ni se cree que haya otro fuego, ni otro azufre y mercurio, que los comunes.

«Thus they are deceived by their own opinions, saying that we are the cause of their error, having made them to mistake one thing for another.» — y la disputa sobre la culpa de ese error, que la obra registra como reproche recibido: los engañados dicen que los filósofos los hicieron confundir una cosa con otra.

«My son, saith he, let the heavenly power or agent be such in a place of generation or mutation that it may alter the spermatick humidity from its earthly complexion to a moist fire, transparent form or species.» — la definición de la potencia celeste requerida, en traducción del propio tratado: alterar la humedad espermática de su complexión terrestre a fuego húmedo y forma transparente.

«There is nothing now behind but that which the philosophers call Secretum Artis169, a thing that was never published and without which you will never perform, though you know both fire and matter.» — el Secretum Artis como lo que nunca se publicó, y sin lo cual no se logra nada aunque se conozcan el fuego y la materia.

«An instance hereof we have in Flamel, who knew the Matter well enough and had both fire and furnace painted to him by Abraham the Jew; but notwithstanding he erred for three years because he knew not the secret.» — el caso de Flamel como prueba de eso: conocía la materia y tenía fuego y horno pintados por Abraham el Judío, y erró tres años por ignorar el secreto.

«Henry Madathan, a most noble philosopher, practised upon the subject for five years together but knew not the right method and therefore found nothing.» — y el de Henry Madathan, cinco años de práctica sin método y sin hallazgo.

«At last, saith he, Post sextum annum clavis potentiae per arcanam revelationem ab omnipotente Deo mihi concredita est; after the sixth year I was entrusted with the Key of Power by secret revelation from the Almighty God.» — con el desenlace que traslada el saber del método a la gracia: tras el sexto año le fue confiada la Llave del Poder por revelación secreta de Dios.

«Paracelsus indeed hath touched upon it, but so obscurely it is no more to the purpose than if he had said nothing.» — el juicio sobre Paracelso en este punto, que es de reproche: lo tocó tan oscuramente que da igual que no hubiera dicho nada.

«And now I have done enough for discovery and regimen of the fire, and more than any one author hath performed.» — y la reivindicación de la propia obra: haber hecho por el descubrimiento y régimen del fuego más que ningún autor.

«The Rosie Crucians describe unto us the Mount of God and his Mystical, philosophical Geomancy, which is nothing else but the highest and purest part of the earth; for from Tetragrammaton He shines upon the Orders and they carry His power to the planets, so you see the superior, secret portion of this element is holy ground; it is the seed plot of the eternal nature.» — la Geomancia mística de los rosacruces, que la obra glosa como la parte más alta y pura de la tierra, por donde Tetragrammaton alumbra a las Órdenes.

«The seventh apparition is the immediate vessel and recipient of heaven, whence all minerals have their life and by which the animal monarchy is maintained.» — y la séptima aparición como vaso inmediato del cielo, de donde los minerales toman vida y con lo que se sostiene la monarquía animal.

«He that can make the medicine of Argent Vive or Mercury alone is the greatest searcher out of Art and Nature because there is all that in Mercury which wise men seek.» — la vía única que el tratado propone: quien sepa hacer la medicina solo con mercurio es el mayor indagador del arte, porque en el mercurio está todo lo que los sabios buscan.

«For Quicksilver is the Mother and Sperm of all metals and their nearest matter, and it is not only a spirit but a body; it is also a middle nature and also a Sulphur; it is a lingering Mercury; it dieth and riseth again and is fixed with its own proper elements; wherefore it is first necessary that it be purged from its impurities.» — y la razón, que es su condición ambigua: el azogue es madre y esperma de todos los metales, espíritu y cuerpo a la vez, naturaleza media y azufre.

«Take this water thus made and digest it in a Circulatory, well closed, the space of nine days, then put it in a body with a head and receiver well luted and in ashes or [in] Balneo distil the water of a white colour, or milky white, which is called Lac Virginis, dissolving all metals, and so you have separated the Spirit of the Stone, which is also called the lingering Spirit and the white tincture of the white Stone of Mercury.» — el régimen de la piedra blanca del mercurio: digestión de nueve días en circulatorio y destilación en baño.

«After 40 days it will be black and it is then called the Head of the Crow; then it will be of a green colour, after that the Peacock's Tail and many false colours, for between this and white it will appear red; but at last you shall see it white and then increase your fire and it will stick to the sides of the glass like fishes eyes181, then you have each in the nature of Sulphur.» — la secuencia canónica de colores, aquí datada: a los cuarenta días negro, la Cabeza del Cuervo, luego verde, luego la Cola del Pavo Real y muchos colores falsos.

«This liquor of the Sulphur is the Soul, which is joined with the Spirit and body, which quickeneth the whole Stone.» — el licor del azufre identificado con el alma, que se une a espíritu y cuerpo y vivifica la Piedra entera.

«The other conjunction before was only the union of the Spirit and the body, but this is a threefold copulation, viz., the uniting of the Soul, Spirit and Body182.» — con la distinción entre las dos conjunciones: la primera unía espíritu y cuerpo, esta es cópula triple de alma, espíritu y cuerpo.

«And let it be so often dissolved and dried till it will dry no more but remain an incombustible oil, and is then Elixir of the third order.» — la escala de órdenes del elixir: disuelto y secado hasta quedar aceite incombustible, es elixir del tercer orden.

«But I do boldly and constantly affirm that there is no true Silver or Potable Silver nor Quintessence unless it be first Elixir, and that is done in a quarter of an hour by projection of the Elixir upon Silver or pure Gold, molten, according as the Elixir was red or white.» — la afirmación más categórica de la sección, y el tratado la marca como tal: no hay plata potable ni quintaesencia verdaderas si antes no son elixir.

«Upon which Morienus saith: For the Ferment prepareth the imperfect body and converteth it to its own nature and there is no Ferment but Sol and Luna, that is Gold» — con el comentario que atribuye a Morieno: el fermento prepara el cuerpo imperfecto y lo convierte a su naturaleza, y no hay más fermento que Sol y Luna.

«But this is made more evident by Raymund in his Apertory, where he saith there is no Ferment except Sol and Luna, for the Ferment of the Medicine to white is Silver and to the red Gold, as the philosophers do demonstrate, because without Ferment there doth proceed neither Gold nor Silver nor anything else that is of its kind or nature, therefore join the Ferment with its Sulphur that it may beget its like, because the Ferment draweth the Sulphur to its own colour and nature also, and weight and sound185, because every like begetteth its like.» — y el mismo punto en Raimundo, apoyado en el axioma de que lo semejante engendra lo semejante.

«And so also Arnoldus saith in his Rosary, there is no body more noble and pure than Sol or his shadow, that is to say Silver, without which no tingeing Mercury is generated.» — la dependencia que la obra pone como condición del proceso, adjudicada a Arnaldo: sin el Sol o su sombra, que es la plata, no se engendra mercurio tiñente.

«He that endeavoureth to give colour without this Gold or Silver goeth blindly to work, like an ass to a harp, for Gold giveth a golden and Silver an argentive colour;» — con el símil de burla que la acompaña: dar color sin oro ni plata es ir a ciegas, como asno al arpa.

«Therefore this water is called the Water of Hell and is the only miracle of miracles of the world, because it containeth such a fiery nature in itself and propriety of burning of all bodies into liquor,» — el nombre extremo que la obra da a su disolvente: Agua del Infierno y único milagro de los milagros del mundo, por su naturaleza ígnea.

«This liquor of Silver is potable, but not the Quintessence.» — y la distinción que impide confundir grados: el licor de plata es potable, pero no es la quintaesencia.

«Now this liquor of Luna dissolved is the Quintessence, which then is the liquor of the white luminary and the soul191 (as Eximandrus saith) quickening the whole Medicine, without which it is dead and will never give form nor colour.» — el licor del luminar blanco como alma que vivifica la medicina entera, sin la cual queda muerta, según lo adjudica a Eximandro.

«And this way the Elixir may be made in eighty days, and excels all other accurtations; neither is there» — la promesa de tiempo, que la obra sostiene como superior a los atajos conocidos: el elixir en ochenta días.

«The Sublimation is to be done otherwise than in the former work, for that which is called Sublimation here is not done with Vitriol and Saltpeter, but is only the distillation of the Mercury in an earthen body with a limbeck, and that without any additament.» — una precisión técnica que corrige lo dicho antes: aquí la sublimación no se hace con vitriolo ni salitre, sino por destilación sin aditivo.

«Put it again into the body and sublime it as before, and reiterate this work seven or nine times until you have a sufficient quantity of this powder, a pound or more and this is the Calcination.» — la reiteración como método: sublimar siete o nueve veces hasta juntar polvo bastante, y eso es la calcinación.

«The Putrefaction or Purgation of Gold is done as the Goldsmiths use to do by melting it with Antimony, that the Gold may remain in the bottom pure and clear from the metals, which they call Regulus.» — la purgación del oro tomada del oficio de los orfebres: fundirlo con antimonio hasta que quede limpio en el fondo, lo que llaman Regulus.

«Take of this red powder as much as you will dissolve and put thereupon at least his double weight of Lac Virginis and set in Balneo till you see your Lac Virginis stained a yellow or red colour; then filter it from its feces and keep it by itself in a glass well stopped and dry the matter that remaineth in ashes and pour thereon new Lac Virginis and do as before, till you have drawn out all the tincture and your Mercury is dissolved.» — el papel del Lac Virginis como disolvente teñidor, medido por el color que toma.

«If you resolve this red Sulphur in Spirit of Wine or distilled Vinegar into an oil, it is then the liquor of the red luminary and Aurum Potabile curing all infirmities if the Spirit of Wine or Vinegar be distilled from it;» — el licor del luminar rojo y el Aurum Potabile, presentados como cura de toda enfermedad.

«and if it be powdered, and resolved with Spirit of Wine in an oil, as was said before of Silver, then it is the Quintessence of Gold and the Great Elixir of Life, and the Spiritual Ferment for the transmutation of metals and for the health of man's body.» — y la quintaesencia del oro, a la vez Gran Elixir de Vida y fermento espiritual para la transmutación: la obra no separa la vía médica de la metalúrgica.

«Although Raymund, writing to the King, was pleased to say that every accurtation diminisheth the perfection, because Medicines which are made by accurtation have less effect of transmutation - which I also assent to with him for a great truth, if the work be begun from the first fountain - yet because this work has its beginnings from those things, which before were brought to a perfect degree of perfection, therefore in this there is no diminution of the perfection199.» — el desacuerdo se consigna sin armonizar: Raimundo sostiene ante el rey que todo atajo mengua la perfección, y el tratado disiente.

«Therefore it ought to be declared unto thee that if they be both well prepared (and that thou begin with them) thou wilt do a wonderful work without any great labour sooner than if thou should begin with one thing alone.» — su propia regla contra la vía de una sola materia: bien preparados los dos, la obra sale antes y con menos trabajo que empezando con una sola cosa.

«Now I will lay down instructions concerning: 1. The Body. 2. The Spirit. 3. The Lion. 4. The Eagle.» — el índice de la sección, con sus cuatro rúbricas en clave: el Cuerpo, el Espíritu, el León y el Águila.

«And thus the physical, alchemical Tincture is performed in a short time, for curing all manner of infirmities and human diseases (which is also the Great Elixir for metals so courtly concealed by the ancients) which Hermes Trismegistus the Aegyptian, Osces the Graecian, Haly an Arabian and Albertus Magnus a German, with many others have sought and prosecuted, everyone after his own method, and one in one subject another in another, so much desired by the philosophers only for prolongation of life.» — la doble función de la tintura, cura de toda dolencia y Gran Elixir de los metales, que la obra dice tan cortésmente ocultada por los filósofos.

«never before that I know of collected or writ in one work, and I had not done this except that otherwise the composition of this blessed Medicine had been soon forgot.» — la justificación con que el autor rompe el secreto: nadie lo había reunido en una sola obra y la composición se habría olvidado pronto.

«But this our noble Red Lion taketh its original from the metallic body of Copper.» — la identificación del León Rojo con el cobre.

«Therefore they say it is to be made of bodies and not of Spirits, as of Vitriol, Sulphur as well and the like.» — la regla de materia que rige la práctica: hacerlo de cuerpos y no de espíritus, como el vitriolo y el azufre.

«Paracelsus speaks not one word of the preparation of this Vitriol, by whose silence many have erred; therefore I determined to leave him here a little and to prosecute and follow the order of the Table, wherefore I begin with the calcination of the metal.» — la objeción a Paracelso por omisión, y el motivo por el que el tratado se aparta de él: su silencio sobre la preparación del vitriolo hizo errar a muchos.

«And note that this calcination of Copper is made that it may be turned into Vitriol, and not the calcination of Vitriol made of Copper.» — con la precisión que deshace la confusión: se calcina el cobre para volverlo vitriolo, no el vitriolo hecho de cobre.

«Paracelsus saith the inward parts of the earth are to be visited; not only the earth, which is Vitriol, but the inward parts of the earth.» — y la lectura del precepto paracelsiano de visitar las entrañas de la tierra, que la obra entiende al pie de la letra y no solo como cifra del vitriolo.

«Which Vitriol I do not dissolve in rain water like the Paracelsians, but rather with Lac Virginis as before is taught, or in Raymund's Calcination Water;» — el tratado se aparta expresamente de los paracelsianos en la disolución del vitriolo, y prefiere el Lac Virginis o el agua de calcinación de Raimundo.

«But now I may join with Paracelsus in the manner of putrefaction, I return to him and say with him, commanding to digest in a warm heat in a glass well closed the space of some months, and so long till divers colours appear and be at length red, which showeth the termination of its putrefaction.» — y con la misma franqueza vuelve a coincidir con Paracelso en la manera de la putrefacción: el desacuerdo es punto por punto, no de escuela.

«for if it be not well dissolved and rarefied it will not putrefy.» — la condición sin la cual no hay proceso: si no queda bien disuelto y rarificado, no putrefacta.

«The Medicine being thus made, I now come to the fermentation, without which it is not possible to give a form to it; neither will I adhere to the opinion of one man alone contrary to all philosophers, that is to say Paracelsus, repugnant to the rest of the philosophers, because they all of them of necessity have decreed to give form to the Medicine by ferment and union, that is to say of an imperfect body, and by how much the ferment is more spiritual the Medicine will be of so much more penetration and transmutation.» — el paso a la fermentación como lo que da forma a la medicina, con la negativa a seguir a un solo autor contra todos los filósofos.

«These things being promised, I do not think it fit that you should proceed to projection upon Mercury instead of fermentation as Paracelsus teacheth, or that the Pantarva should be fermented his way with Gold, either corporeal or spiritual, which Gold will be the foundation of the first projection.» — y la objeción concreta a Paracelso: no proceder a proyección sobre mercurio en lugar de fermentación, como él enseña.

«And thus the inward parts of the earth are visited and by reflection the hidden Medicine is found, the true Medicine out of the Green Lion of the philosophers, and not of fools, and out of corporeal and metallic Vitriol, not terrestrial and mineral Copperas.» — el cierre de la operación con el emblema que la nombra: el León Verde de los filósofos, y no el de los necios ni la caparrosa mineral.

«Take one part of your prepared tincture and dissolve it in three parts of our Mercury; then put it in a glass and seal it up and set it in ashes till it be dry and come to a powder; then open the glass and imbibe it again and dry it again; and the oftener you do thus, so much shall you gain more tincture.» — el procedimiento de aumento por solución y coagulación reiteradas, medido en ganancia de tintura.

«Whence Rasis214 saith the goodness of the multiplication consisteth in the reiteration and fixation of the Medicine, and by how much more this order is repeated, it worketh so much more and is augmented; for» — la regla de multiplicación que adjudica a Rasis: la bondad está en reiterar y fijar, y cuanto más se repite el orden, más obra.

«For Morienus the philosopher saith: Know for certain that the oftener our Pantarva is dissolved and congealed, the Spirit and Soul is joined more to the body and is retained by it, and in every time the tincture is multiplied.» — y la de Morieno: cuantas más veces se disuelve y congela la Pantarva, más se une el alma y el espíritu al cuerpo.

«The Medicine is another way multiplied by fermentation; and the ferment to the white is pure Silver and the ferment to the red is pure Gold.» — la segunda vía de multiplicación, por fermentación, con plata pura para lo blanco y oro puro para lo rojo.

«(But here again Clangor Buccinae hath erred, for it should be writ thus: One part of the second Medicine will have as much virtue as ten parts of the first Medicine had.)» — el tratado corrige por escrito a otra obra alquímica, el Clangor Buccinae, en la proporción de la segunda medicina.

«whence Avicen writeth: It is hard to project upon a million and to predicate it incontinently.» — con la reserva que atribuye a Avicena sobre las proyecciones extremas: es difícil proyectar sobre un millón y afirmarlo de inmediato.

«This is here allegorically taken for the last action almost of the work, which is called the Medicine or Pantarva, which Medicine is to be projected upon the ferment, that is to say upon the oil of Sol or Luna, which are the ferments or foundations of the art in spiritual augmentation (as before was said) upon molten Gold or Silver.» — la proyección definida como la acción casi última de la obra: la Medicina o Pantarva se proyecta sobre el fermento, oro o plata fundidos.

«That is to say upon other metals which have most affinity with Quicksilver and [are] easy of fusion, as Saturn and Jupiter, that is to say Lead and Tin, which by this concord and love are easily by the penetration and aimiableness of the Medicine converted into Medicine.» — el criterio de afinidad que ordena la práctica: se proyecta sobre los metales más cercanos al azogue y de fácil fusión, plomo y estaño.

«Yet it is to be noted that all Elixirs may and ought to be projected upon Quicksilver, because Quicksilver is the mother and sperm of all metals;» — y la razón por la que todo elixir puede y debe proyectarse sobre azogue: es madre y esperma de todos los metales.

«First the Medicine is to be projected upon Gold or Silver molten, then upon Quicksilver purged, so long till it turns it into Medicine, and lastly upon metals most near, that they may be converted into pure Gold or Silver according to the properties and quality of the Medicine.» — el orden de las tres proyecciones: primero sobre oro o plata fundidos, luego sobre azogue purgado, por último sobre los metales próximos.

«The first whereof is that the first Medicine, that is to say the Pantarva, be projected upon the ferment always, three parts of the Medicine upon one of the ferment, and one part of this upon ten or one hundred of pure molten Gold, and one part of this Medicine thus made upon 100 parts of an imperfect body, that is to say of Mercury for Medicine.» — la primera de las dos reglas que resume la sección, con sus proporciones.

«The latter is that you must always consider the fortitude and debility of your Medicine, for it is to be projected so often upon Quicksilver as it bringeth it into a brittle Medicine, and when it falleth, then project one part thereof upon Lead or Tin for making transmutation according to the order and form of the Elixir.» — y la segunda, que subordina la receta al juicio: hay que atender siempre a la fuerza o debilidad de la medicina.

«It is therefore necessary after we have made an end of projection to set down another method of the Elixir of Life in the next place, and after speak of its virtue and power as we find [it] among all the ancient and modern philosophers.» — el anuncio del giro que da la obra tras la proyección: pasar al Elixir de Vida y a su virtud.

«You know that no artificer can build, but the earth must be the foundation to his building; for without this groundwork his brick and mortar cannot stand.» — el símil con que introduce la doctrina de la tierra como fundamento: sin ese suelo no se sostienen ladrillo ni mortero.

«Our thoughts are never at home according to that well grounded observation, Animus est ubi amat, non ubi animat, the Soul dwells not where she lives but where she loves.» — la máxima que la obra intercala en la exposición física: el alma no habita donde vive, sino donde ama.

«There is not an herb here below, but he hath a star in heaven above, and the star strikes him with her beams and says to him: Grow.» — la formulación del vínculo astral que gobierna toda la obra: no hay hierba abajo que no tenga su estrella arriba, y la estrella la hiere con sus rayos y le dice que crezca.

«This is it which our Saviour tells us, Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God231.» — con su fundamento evangélico, que el tratado pone en pie de igualdad con el astral: no solo de pan vive el hombre.

«The work is performed by an invisible artist, for there is a secret incubation of the Spirit of God upon Nature.» — el agente último de la obra, nombrado en términos teológicos: un artífice invisible, incubación secreta del Espíritu de Dios sobre la Naturaleza.

«Remember that in the incarnation of Christ Jesus the quaternarius, or four elements as men call them, were united to their Eternal Unity and Ternarius242.» — el paralelo que la obra traza con la encarnación: los cuatro elementos unidos a su Unidad y Ternario eternos.

«In a word, salvation itself is nothing else but transmutation243.» — y su formulación más extrema, que iguala los dos planos: la salvación no es otra cosa que transmutación.

«we shall not all die, but we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last Trumpet244.» — apoyada en la promesa paulina del cambio en un abrir y cerrar de ojos al son de la última trompeta.

«Hermes, speaking of fermentation, bids us to take the Sun and his shadow245.» — el precepto de fermentación que adjudica a Hermes: tomar el Sol y su sombra.

«And the Moon followeth the Sun as a shadow doth the body, and is not illuminated except by the light of the Sun.» — con la identificación de esa sombra: la Luna, que sigue al Sol y no se alumbra sino por su luz.

«According to the opinion of this philosopher, I purpose to begin with Gold alone and the Medicine, which is a new and sole nature and ancient and sound Quintessence.» — y la adhesión declarada a esa vía: empezar por el oro solo, con una quintaesencia que la obra llama a la vez nueva y antigua.

«It makes an old man young, as our Rosie Crucian Aurum Potabile will do; it preserveth health, strengtheneth nature and expelleth all sickness of the body.» — la promesa del Aurum Potabile rosacruz: rejuvenecer al viejo, preservar la salud y expulsar toda enfermedad del cuerpo.

«In this (that is to say in this Aurum Potabile) is completed the precious gift of God, which is the Arcanum of all sciences in the world and the incomparable treasure (for as Plato saith) he that hath the gift of God hath the dominion of the world (that is to say of the Microcosm) because he attaineth to the end of riches and hath broke the bonds of Nature, not only for that he hath power to convert all imperfect metals into pure medicine and250 preserve both man and animal in perfect health.» — el rango que le adjudica: don precioso de Dios, arcano de todas las ciencias del mundo y tesoro incomparable.

«The philosophers also say if it be given to any in water or wine first warmed, it cureth them of the Phrensy, Dropsy and Leprosy and all kinds of fevers are cured by the Tincture» — el catálogo de curaciones, puesto en boca de los filósofos: frenesí, hidropesía, lepra y toda clase de fiebres.

«it transmuteth all imperfect metals in colour, substance, lasting, weight, ductibility, melting, hardness and softness.» — y el mismo remedio, sin cambio de registro, transmuta los metales imperfectos en color, sustancia, peso y dureza: medicina y metalurgia son una sola potencia.

«it maketh glass malleable by mixture (that is to say, of the powder of the white corporeal Elixir)» — la aplicación del elixir corpóreo blanco al vidrio, para volverlo maleable.

«To perfect the Great Work which all philosophers have concealed, observe my direction which by experience I have found true.» — el aval con que el tratado presenta su método, y que es de experiencia propia frente al ocultamiento de los filósofos.

«Now to reconcile these two God placed the water between them, which is a middle nature, or of a mean complexion between both extremes.» — la doctrina de la naturaleza media: Dios puso el agua entre aire y tierra, contrarios, como complexión intermedia que los reconcilia.

«But verily this salvo makes not up the breach; for though the water reconcileth the two elements. like a friendly third, yet she herself fights with a fourth, namely with the fire.» — con la objeción que la propia obra levanta contra su esquema: el agua reconcilia dos elementos y pelea con un cuarto, el fuego.

«To prevent distemper of the two, God placed the air between them, which is a substance hot and moist; and as it is hot it agrees with the fire, which is hot and dry; but as it is moist it agrees with the water which is cold and moist, so that by mediation of the air the other two extremes, namely fire and water, are made friends and reconciled.» — y la solución, que multiplica el mismo recurso: el aire entre fuego y agua, caliente como el uno y húmedo como el otro.

«Now I tell you that this agreement of friendship is but partial, a very weak love, cold and skittish; for whereas those principles agree in one quality, they differ in two as you may easily compute.» — el límite que la obra pone a su propio esquema: esa concordia es parcial y muy débil, porque los principios coinciden en una cualidad y difieren en dos.

«This blessed cement and balsam is the Spirit of the Living God, which some ignorant scribblers have called Quintessence, for this very Spirit is in the Chaos, and, to speak plainly, the fire is259 His Throne260, for in the fire is He seated.» — el cemento que suple esa debilidad, identificado sin rodeos con el Espíritu del Dios Viviente, y con reproche a quienes lo llamaron quintaesencia.

«If thou dost know the First Matter, know also for certain thou hast discovered the Sanctuary of Nature.» — la promesa que corona la parte teórica: conocer la primera materia es haber hallado el Santuario de la Naturaleza.

«There is nothing between thee and her treasures but the door; that indeed must be opened.» — con la reserva que la sostiene: entre el adepto y esos tesoros no hay más que la puerta, y esa hay que abrirla.

«This viscous humidity263 is Water of Silver, which some have called Water of the Moon; but it is Mercury of the Sun and partly of Saturn, for it is extracted from these three metals and without them it can never be made264.» — la corrección de un nombre recibido: lo que algunos llamaron Agua de la Luna es en realidad Mercurio del Sol y en parte de Saturno.

«Therefore I do not only here set down what I have gathered from them most briefly and truly, but also those things which I have found and proved by my own experience, which I have annexed to them that the work may be absolute and complete.» — el reparto que la obra declara entre lo compilado y lo propio: recoge de los filósofos y añade lo hallado y probado por experiencia propia.

«Having thus described the work, I now come to the explanation and say that the calcination of the body is two-fold, for the calcination thereof in the shorter work for extracting the Heart of Saturn is done on any wise by Aqua Fortis.» — la calcinación del cuerpo declarada doble según la vía, corta o larga, con su restricción sobre el uso del agua fuerte.

«When your matter is well dried, dissolve it again in distilled Vinegar and distil the Vinegar twice or thrice from it and in the bottom you shall have a lucid, clear and white, shining Salt, which is called the Heart of Saturn.» — la sal blanca y luciente que la obra llama Corazón de Saturno, obtenida por disolución en vinagre destilado y destilaciones repetidas.

«Geber saith there groweth a Saturnian Herb on the top of a hill or mountain, whose blood, if it be extracted, cureth all infirmities266.» — la hierba saturnina de la cima del monte, adjudicada a Geber, cuya sangre extraída cura toda enfermedad.

«Ripley writ a whole book called his Practical Compendium, of the practice of the Vegetable Medicine, teaching the manner and form of operation; but because he neither set down the solution plainly nor perfectly, he hath been the cause of much error and hath not only deceived me, but all those that followed him, until after a long time I found a way to dissolve Saturn, so that it could never after by distillation be turned into Lead again, which is the choicest and greatest secret of the Vegetable Medicine.» — la objeción a Ripley por omisión: escribió un libro entero sobre la medicina vegetal sin consignar la solución, que es el mayor secreto.

«The Radix of our Matter is a clear and white body, which putrefieth not but congealeth267 Mercury or Quicksilver with its odour, makes its water like the running water of the two Zabieth (or Zubech) and fix[eth] it upon the fixed Heart of Saturn.» — la Raíz de la Materia descrita por sus efectos: cuerpo claro y blanco que no se pudre y congela el azogue con su olor.

«Which words do most aptly agree with the properties of Lead, for if anyone be shot or wounded with a bullet and the bullet remain in the body, it will never putrefy.» — y la prueba empírica con que la obra ancla esa descripción en el plomo: la bala que queda en el cuerpo no se pudre.

«And also if Quicksilver be hanged in a pot over the fume of molten Lead, so as the fumes of the Lead touch the Quicksilver, it will congeal it.» — con una segunda: el azogue expuesto al humo del plomo fundido se congela.

«Now I come to the practice of the other greater work, that the verity of the Medicine may be found, of which many have made mention in their books, as Raimundus, who called it the Vegetable, Mineral and Animal Medicine.» — el nombre triple que la obra adjudica a Raimundo para la medicina mayor: vegetal, mineral y animal.

«wherefore I have both forsaken Isaacus and Ripley in making the earth, instead of which I have given the fixed Heart of Saturn.» — el punto en que el autor se aparta a la vez de Isaac y de Ripley, y lo declara: en lugar de su tierra pone el Corazón fijo de Saturno.

«And thus is Saturn calcined into red Lead or Minium.» — el término de la calcinación de Saturno: minio.

«for we now come to the point and period of Ripley's error; for if you put four pounds of this Sericon to distil in a limbeck, and from thence would draw a Menstruum as Ripley teacheth, perhaps you would have scarce one ounce of this oil, and some part of a black earth will remain in the bottom and most of the Gum melted again into Lead, by which you may know that the Sericon is not well dissolved, nor as yet sufficiently prepared that a Chaos may be made thereof fit for distillation because it is not yet well dissolved.» — y la localización exacta del error que le imputa a Ripley, en el paso del Sericón al menstruo.

«Note, therefore, that the Vegetable Mercury is the Spirit of Wine (instead of which we may sometimes use distilled Vinegar) and that the Fire against Nature is a corrosive water made of Vitriol and Saltpeter.» — la clave de dos términos cifrados: el Mercurio Vegetal es el espíritu de vino y el Fuego contra Natura un agua corrosiva de vitriolo y salitre.

«Take two pound of this Chathodical substance and prepare it for distillation in naked fire or sand, and lift up the clear red oil, wherein both the Spirit and Soul secretly lie hid, which Isaacus calleth the Water of Paradise, which, when you have [it], you may rejoice, for you have gone through all the gross work and come to the philosophic work.» — el aceite rojo en que espíritu y alma yacen ocultos, obtenido por destilación a fuego desnudo.

«Ripley divided the scope of this work into four operations, whereof the first is the dissolution of the body;» — el tratado consigna la división en cuatro operaciones que adjudica a Ripley, empezando por la disolución del cuerpo.

«Ripley made his accurtation with Quicksilver precipitated with Gold and imbibition with corrosive water, which I like not, because the Elixir so made will be the greatest poison, as himself confesseth that it were better for a man to eat the eyes of a Basilisk than taste that Elixir.» — y rechaza su atajo por peligroso: el elixir así hecho sería el mayor veneno, como el propio Ripley admite.

«Read all the philosophers and you shall never find a word of this process, nor none of the ancients will teach how to make the Mercury of Saturn.» — la reivindicación de novedad con que se abre la sección: ningún filósofo ni antiguo enseña cómo hacer el Mercurio de Saturno.

«Sir Christopher Heydon saith in a manuscript of his; Levi enim arte norunt Alchemistae Mercurium currentem conficere ex plumbo.» — el único aval que aduce, y es de manuscrito inédito: Sir Christopher Heydon sobre el arte de hacer mercurio corriente a partir del plomo. Christopher Heydon no es John Heydon, el autor del Elharvareuna que la introducción discute.

«Therefore understand that the intention of this work is to fix the Spirit, which may sooner be done with the Spirit of a fixed body, which before was homogeneal with the body, and which of its own nature desireth to join again with its body.» — el fin declarado de la operación: fijar el espíritu, y hacerlo con el espíritu de un cuerpo fijo que ya le era homogéneo.

«Therefore Nature requireth that she may be helped by art in this work, to which the artist consenting, he administereth thereto the pure and desired metal, which it delighteth to adhere unto, which metal is Gold, which is thus prepared that it be sooner parted by the Quicksilver and stick thereunto.» — el reparto entre arte y naturaleza en esta obra concreta: la naturaleza pide ser ayudada y el artífice le administra el metal puro al que ella gusta adherirse.

«Then it is to be augmented and projected as is before declared, and thus the work of Saturn is accurtated, of which George Ripley saith: Adrop is the father of the Medicine, Sericon his brother, Lympha his sister, the earth its mother.» — la genealogía en clave que adjudica a George Ripley: Adrop es el padre de la Medicina y el Sericón su hermano.

«But if you desire to know all the secret of Saturn or Lead, I will set you down one process out of Paracelsus: When you have well prepared the Heart of Saturn, saith he, take two or three ounces of that Heart and grind it small with double [the] weight of Saltpeter and put it in a subliming glass with a head well luted to sublime, increasing the fire by little and little as long as anything will ascend or sublime.» — el proceso de Saturno que la obra transcribe de Paracelso, declarándolo como tal.

«Jupiter followeth Saturn's steps, for he is the offspring of Saturn and naturally born from him.» — el orden de los metales leído como genealogía planetaria: Júpiter sigue los pasos de Saturno porque nace de él.

«The influence of Jupiter and his Angel upon Hismael, Advachiel, Aquisitio, Letitia and Tin, by art and nature fitted for man's use.» — la cadena que la obra tiende de planeta a metal pasando por ángeles y figuras geománticas: Júpiter, Hismael, Advachiel, Acquisitio, Laetitia y el estaño.

«Mars being most earthly of all the planets or bodies, it is not to be doubted but that it may easily be reduced into a body with little labour and therefore most easily converted into Salt, which is done by Calcination; therefore I will first show his conversion into Salt.» — la razón por la que el hierro se trabaja como se trabaja: Marte es el más terrestre de los planetas y por eso el más fácil de convertir en sal.

«which oil is the most permanent tincture for colouring Sulphur for the red work or for exaltation of all Elixirs in colour, for it makes it tinge and colour higher.» — y el uso del aceite de Marte como la tintura más permanente para la obra roja.

«And note that the Elixir of Iron excelleth all other Elixirs, for it rubifieth more and tingeth higher and is better for man's body, for it prevaileth against the spleen, constringeth the belly and cureth wounds; it knitteth broken bones together and stoppeth the superfluous flux of the courses etc.» — el elixir de hierro puesto por encima de los demás, con su lista de indicaciones médicas.

«You must understand that we attribute no other beginning to this accur[t]ation except that where before we took the Blood of the Red Lion and the Glue of the Eagle when they were both destroyed, we now join them sound and not hurt together, that they, living, may mortify and dissolve themselves, which I have fitly called Corporeal Matrimony or the Union, for in this wedlock they die together that they may be vivified in the Celestial Antimony.» — el nuevo atajo declarado en sus diferencias con el anterior: donde antes iban la Sangre del León Rojo y la Cola del Águila, ahora el Antimonio Celestial.

«It is not to be wondered if this [work] differ from the other, for this pertaineth to the handling of Spirits, the other way to teacheth the manner of making the Elixir of bodies.» — con la razón de esa diferencia, que la obra da como estructural: esta vía trata espíritus y la otra enseñaba el elixir de los cuerpos.

«When they are thus joined or married, set them to impregnate and revivify in Balneo till it pass through all colours and at last be converted into red, which then is Medicine.» — el matrimonio de los principios y su gestación en baño hasta pasar por todos los colores y volverse rojo.

«Although it pleaseth Hermes Trismegistus, the first writer of this art, both to say and protest that he had never revealed, taught nor prophesied anything of this art to any, except fearing the Day of Judgement or the damnation of his Soul for shunning the danger thereof,» — la tradición de secreto que la obra invoca y a la vez rompe, adjudicando a Hermes Trismegisto la condición de primer escritor del arte.

«but reading more and trying more, I at last found the manner and true way of dissolving all bodies, separating and conjoining them, finding the composition of their secret of secrets, that is to say Lac Virginis or Acetum acerrimum, and Raymund's Calcining Water, wherewith I dissolved all bodies at pleasure and perfected the gross work.» — el testimonio de método propio, que combina lectura y prueba: así dice haber hallado la manera de disolver todos los cuerpos.

«Therefore I have added their secrets to my own experiments and inventions, which are plainly and truly writ.» — y la declaración de composición del libro: secretos ajenos más experimentos e invenciones propias, escritos llana y verdaderamente.

«First and principally that bodies should be made incorporeal, that is to say discorporated or discompounded, which then is called Hyle or Chaos.» — el primer requisito de todo el arte: descorporizar los cuerpos, lo que entonces se llama Hyle o Caos.

«The first is the Composition of Pearls, far greater and fairer than natural ones, which cannot be perfectly done without the help of the Elixir.» — el primero de los secretos anexos, la composición de perlas mayores que las naturales.

«The third is the manner of making artificial Carbuncles in imitation of natural ones, which few or none have spoken of.» — y el tercero, los carbunclos artificiales, que la obra reclama como materia de la que pocos o ninguno hablaron.

«Carbuncles have their birth and origin in the pits and golden mines of the earth,» — la teoría en que apoya esa fabricación: los carbunclos nacen en los pozos y minas auríferas.

«whence the philosopher intendeth and endeavoureth as he can to imitate nature by art and to make and compound artificial Carbuncles above the earth with the same materials which nature formeth them of under the earth;» — con el principio que la justifica: el filósofo imita por arte, sobre la tierra, lo que la naturaleza forma debajo, y con los mismos materiales.

«That which giveth the form is the Spirit and Soul of Sol or Gold, joined together in the Red Elixir and is the agent and, as it were, the man.» — el reparto de papeles en esa fabricación: el espíritu y alma del Sol, unidos en el Elixir Rojo, son el agente y como el varón.

«That which receiveth the form is the hardest salt of the earth contained in glass, and is the power of heaven impregnating the earth;» — y la sal durísima contenida en el vidrio es lo que recibe la forma, la potencia del cielo preñando la tierra.

«Having thus demonstrated the theory we now lay the foundation[s] of the practice, which are two, whereof the first is the preparation of the Elixir, the other of glass.» — el paso de la teoría a la práctica del carbunclo, con sus dos fundamentos: preparar el elixir y preparar el vidrio.

«This Carbuncle stone or metal hath the property of a Carbuncle in shining and glistring above all natural Carbuncles; and if you touch a Toad or Spider, they presently die, because it taketh virtue from the Elixir against all poisons.» — las propiedades que le adjudica: brilla más que los carbunclos naturales y mata al sapo o la araña que toca, por la virtud que hereda del elixir.

«And if the sick carry this Carbuncle about with him, so that it doth touch the region of his heart, it taketh away the cardiac passion and diminisheth the strength of the disease.» — y su uso como amuleto médico: llevado sobre la región del corazón, quita la pasión cardíaca.

«Having finished these two secrets we now come to the Electrum, but whether it is to be reckoned amongst stones or amongst bodies it may be doubted because in the West Indies it is found writ in Spanish Decads of the virtue thereof, for it is affirmed to be the greatest antidote against all poison and far more noble than Gold;» — el electrum introducido como problema de clasificación, no como receta: si es piedra o cuerpo se puede dudar.

«but if it be a metal it must necessarily be the chief and supreme of all metals, for other metals have their origin from Sulphur and Mercury, but this metal consisteth of seven metals and is the best of all those which grow by the Ideas of the earth.» — el argumento por el que, siendo metal, tendría que ser el supremo: los demás nacen de azufre y mercurio, y este consta de siete metales.

«Object 1. That there are only six metallic bodies, amongst which this is not to be found287, therefore it is a rather Spirit than a body.» — la obra expone las objeciones contra su propia tesis y las numera: solo hay seis cuerpos metálicos y el electrum no está entre ellos.

«Object 2. The minere of every body or metal is converted into metal by fusion, but the minere of Electrum in melting always remaineth, therefore it is no metal.» — segunda objeción, de fusión: la minera del electrum permanece al fundirse, luego no es metal.

«but the Electrum flieth not from the fire; therefore it is no Spirit as Quicksilver and the rest and also mean minerals.» — y su respuesta por el fuego: el electrum no huye del fuego, luego tampoco es espíritu como el azogue.

«I say that I think it rather is of a stony and metallic nature joined together, by which mixture it differs from a stone and also from a metal; but because it consisteth of Mercury, earthly Salt and Sulphur mixed, therefore it gets unto it a mixed nature of them, so that it is half stone, half metal288.» — la resolución que propone, y la marca como parecer propio: naturaleza pétrea y metálica juntas, media piedra y medio metal.

«Wherefore it is to be judged that it consisteth of three natures mixed together; that is to say mineral, metallic and stony, and is the best of all those which grow in the Ideas of the earth, for it exceeds mean minerals in fixation and constancy, because they pass away in fume by long melting and vanish to nothing, or else they melt easily in moisture as Salts etc.» — con su clasificación en tres naturalezas mezcladas, mineral, metálica y pétrea.

«Therefore, whatsoever others please to think of this natural Electrum, this seemeth most probable to me, that it is not simply a metal, but of a nature exceeding metal; for whereas stones, mean minerals and metals are generated of Salt, Sulphur and Mercury, this Electrum takes his original from stones, minerals and metals.» — y el grado con que sostiene todo el punto, dicho por la obra misma: le parece lo más probable, dejando a otros pensar lo que gusten.

«But however it be, it is taken two manner of ways among the later Magicians [and] Rosie Crucians, and that is to say, that which is made naturally and [that which is made] artificially.» — la distinción que atribuye a los magos y rosacruces posteriores: electrum natural y electrum artificial.

«Whence Paracelsus, a worthy Master in Magic, seeing fully the nature and the utility of Alchemy, commanding to make the Elixir thereof, when as its natural body cannot anywhere be had, in his Book of the Vexations of Philosophers294 and the sixth of his Magical Archidoxes295, teacheth to compound an Artificial Electrum that the Elixir must be made thereof, as appears more at large in the said books, which I like not at all.» — el desacuerdo con Paracelso, a quien llama digno maestro en magia y a quien acto seguido rechaza en este punto.

«It is also the choicest of Medicine for man's body; for although three or four of all the diseases of the Microcosm were united together, yet they may be cured with this one Medicine.» — la promesa médica del electrum: aunque se juntaran tres o cuatro de todas las enfermedades del microcosmos, una sola medicina las curaría.

«But if you desire to make corporeal Electrum, when your Medicine beginneth to fail to convert metals any more into Medicine, then in like manner project your Medicine upon your melted metals or bodies and they will be converted into corporeal Electrum, metallic and malleable.» — el uso terminal de una medicina agotada: cuando deja de convertir metales, se proyecta sobre metal fundido para hacer electrum corpóreo.

«Paracelsus writeth that Virgil Hispanus299 and Trithemius made a diabolical bell of this Artificial Electrum, upon which, when they would invocate Spirits (which they called by a more decent name of Intelligences) they writ the character of what Spirit they desired and at the third ring of the bell the Spirits obeyed their desires so long as they desired to talk with them; and when they would talk no more, they hid the character, and by the reverse ringing of the bell the Spirits departed.» — la obra adjudica a Paracelso la noticia de la campana diabólica de electrum de Virgilio Hispano y Tritemio, usada para invocar espíritus.

«This supernatural Magic is altogether infamous and unlawful300.» — y la condena inmediata de esa práctica: magia sobrenatural del todo infame e ilícita. La obra alquímica traza aquí su propio límite frente a la magia de espíritus.

«There is a subterranean mineral Salt called Vitriol, which for dyeing of cloths and many other uses we cannot want.» — el vitriolo presentado a la vez como materia del arte y como insumo del tinte y otros oficios.

«Separate this Spirit of Vitriol as it ought, then that affords again unto you three principles, out of which only, without any addition, since the beginning of the world the Philosophers' Stone hath been made.» — la afirmación fuerte de la sección: del espíritu de vitriolo bien separado salen los tres principios de los que, sin añadir nada, se ha hecho la Piedra desde el principio del mundo.

«These three being duly joined in their perfection generate no less than the Philosophers' great Stone, for that white Spirit is merely Philosophers' Mercury and the red oil is the Soul303 and the Salt is the true Magnetic Body.» — con el reparto de los tres: el espíritu blanco es el Mercurio de los Filósofos y el aceite rojo el Alma.

«worldly wit cannot conceive of it that the Spirit of Vitriol and the remaining oil should be of so great distinction in their virtue.» — la reserva epistémica con que lo sostiene: el ingenio mundano no concibe que espíritu y aceite difieran tanto en virtud.

«Touching their properties, the Spirit being well dissolved and brought into its three principles, Gold and Silver only can be made of it, and out of its oil only Copper, which will be apparent in a proof made.» — el reparto de productos: del espíritu, oro y plata; del aceite, cobre.

«But in the exchange thereof a bright, glittering whiteness appearing, then the case is altered and the dissolved, fluid, waterish Salt turns into a Magnet;» — el momento en que la sal acuosa se vuelve imán, marcado por la blancura brillante.

«Note that from all metals, especially from Mars and Venus, which are very hard and almost fixed metals, of each part can be made Vitriol.» — la generalización de la vía: de todo metal, y sobre todo de Marte y Venus, puede hacerse vitriolo.

«This Spirit being driven over, then there is again a reduction of a mineral into its spiritual essence, and each Spirit in its reduction keepeth a metalline property; but this Spirit is not the prima materia.» — con la corrección que impide confundir grados: ese espíritu conserva propiedad metálica, pero no es la prima materia.

«After the philosophers' Sulphur is made, which [in] loco masculi is to make the King or man, now you must have the female or wife, which is the Mercury of the Philosophers or the materia prima lapidis, which must be made artificially;» — el par que estructura el resto: hecho el azufre, que hace al Rey, hay que hacer artificialmente a la mujer, el mercurio de los filósofos.

«This is called the philosophers' Azoth, which purgeth Laton307 that308 is not yet washed.» — el nombre de esa sal rectificada: el Azoth de los filósofos, que purga el Latón aún sin lavar.

«And this is now prima materia and is coagulated in the entrails of the earth, first into Mercury, then into Lead, then into Tin and Copper, then into Iron, etc.» — y su identificación con la prima materia que se coagula en las entrañas de la tierra en mercurio, plomo, estaño, cobre y hierro.

«This is a stone and no stone311, of which is made a volatile fire in [the] form of a water, which drowneth and dissolveth its fixed father and its volatile mother.» — la fórmula paradójica que nombra la Piedra: piedra y no piedra, de la que se hace un fuego volátil en forma de agua que ahoga a su padre fijo y a su madre volátil.

«Mettaline Salt is an imperfect body which turneth to philosophic Mercury, that is a permanent or blessed water, and is the philosophers' Magnet, which loveth its philosophic Mars, sucketh unto him and abideth with him.» — la Sal metálica como imán de los filósofos, que ama a su Marte filosófico.

«Thus our Sol hath a Magnet also, which Magnet is the first root and matter of our Stone.» — y el imán del Sol como raíz primera y materia de la Piedra.

«If you conceive of and understand my saying and what Hermes saith, three things are required for the work; first a volatile or mercurial water, aqua coelestis, then Leo viridis, which is the philosophic Lune, thirdly oes Hermetis, Sol or Ferment.» — los tres requisitos que la obra pone junto a Hermes: agua mercurial o aqua coelestis, el Leo viridis y el oes Hermetis, Sol o fermento.

«Lastly note philosophers had two ways, a wet one, which I made use of, and a dry» — las dos vías de los filósofos, húmeda y seca, con la declaración de cuál usó el autor.

«Herein you must proceed philosophically; you must purge well the philosophers' Mercury and make Mercury with Mercury, adding the philosophic Salt, Ferment or Sulphur of philosophers and then you have [firstly] the philosophers' magnet, that is the philosophers' Mercury, secondly the metalline Salt or philosophic Salt, thirdly oes Hermetis or philosophic Sulphur.» — el orden filosófico de la operación: purgar el mercurio, hacer mercurio con mercurio y añadir la sal o azufre filosófico.

«I found my Chaos in the bottom of a dark redness, very ponderous, which I poured into a viol, sealed it hermeticê, set it on a three-foot into a wooden globe into a vaprous bath made of water, where I left it so long till all was dissolved.» — el relato en primera persona del proceso, con su Caos hallado al fondo del vaso, sellado herméticamente y puesto en baño de vapor.

«After some weeks it separated into two parts, into a bright, transparent water and into an earth, which settled to the bottom of the glass in [the form of] a thick, black corrosive like pitch.» — y la separación observada al cabo de semanas en agua transparente y tierra negra corrosiva.

«After that I purged my white Spirit per distillationem very exactly; it was as pure as the tear that falls from the eye.» — con el detalle sensorial que la obra usa como criterio de pureza: el espíritu blanco quedó como la lágrima que cae del ojo.

«But it was not yet fix[ed as I discovered upon] making trial of it, [so I] set it in again [and] increased my fire one degree higher; then the matter began to ascend and descend, moved on high, stayed in the middle of the glass, not touching the bottom of it.» — el testimonio de un ensayo fallido y su corrección, subiendo un grado el fuego.

«at the thirty days, a variety of colours which I am not able to express.» — y la confesión de que los colores del día treinta le resultan inexpresables.

«but had no tingeing quality as yet, saving [that] Mercury vive and Saturn it transmuted into Lune, which Lune at the separating yielded three grains of Gold.» — el resultado que declara, medido y modesto: sin virtud tiñente todavía, salvo que transmutó mercurio y Saturno en Luna, de la que salieron tres granos de oro.

«This water is a hellish, dissolving, strong one, which dissolveth instantly prepared Gold Calx and laminated Gold into a thick solution.» — el agua infernal que disuelve al instante la calx de oro y el oro laminado.

«This is that water which dissolves not only Gold but bringeth it to a volatility, carrying it over the helmet, whose anima may afterwards be drawn from its torn body.» — con su virtud propia, que es volatilizar: no solo disuelve el oro sino que lo lleva por el alambique para sacarle el alma.

«there will shoot transparent crystals; these are the Vitriol of Gold.» — los cristales transparentes que la obra llama Vitriolo de Oro.

«Note that without information you cannot attain unto the Spirit of Salt; if it be not sweet it hath no attractive power; to the attaining hereof observe these following manuals:» — la condición que la obra pone al lector, y que es de transmisión y no de texto: sin información no se alcanza el espíritu de sal.

«Thus the Spirit of Wine and Salt is prepared, loses318 its corrosity and is fit for extracting.» — el fin de esa preparación: quitarle al espíritu su corrosividad para dejarlo apto para extraer.

«Those tinged Spirits put together, abstract them gently in Balneo [and] there will be left a red subtile powder in the bottom, which is the true tincture animated, or Sulphur of Gold.» — el polvo rojo sutil que queda al abstraer los espíritus teñidos, la tintura animada o Azufre de Oro.

«Be thankful to God for it as long as you shall live.» — el registro devocional en que la obra encaja la operación: dar gracias a Dios mientras se viva.

«Digest these for a month's time, drive it through a glass retort into cold water, then you have quick Mercury of Sol; many strive to get it but in vain.» — el mercurio vivo del Sol, con la advertencia de que muchos lo persiguen en vano.

«Take good Aqua Regis made with Sal Armoniack one pound, id est dissolve four ounces Sal Armoniack in Aqua Fortis, then you have a strong Aqua Regis.» — la receta del agua regia por disolución de sal amoníaco en agua fuerte.

«Do not speak much of it to the vulgar.» — el mandato de secreto dirigido al lector: no hablar de esto ante el vulgo.

«If you receive any benefit by my plain and open information, keep these mysteries secret to thy dying day.» — con su contrapartida: quien saque provecho de esta información llana queda obligado a guardar el misterio hasta morir.

«If not, do not blame me; I could not make it plainer.» — y el descargo del autor, que traslada al lector la responsabilidad del fracaso.

«If you are minded to make the Philosophers' Stone out of solar Vitriol, as some fantastic men endeavour in that way, then be first acquainted and ask counsel of thy purse and prepare ten or twelve pounds of this Vitriol, then you may perform the work very well, and the Hungarian Vitriol and others digged out of the mines will permit thee to do it.» — la advertencia económica contra la vía del vitriolo solar: primero hay que consultar con la propia bolsa.

«I formerly told you that the Spirit of Salt can destroy Lune, so that a potable Lune can be made of it, of which potable Lune shall hereafter be set forth as to the preparation and the use thereof in medicine.» — la vía de la Luna potable a partir del espíritu de sal que destruye la plata.

«Look to it that the Sulphur and Salt lose nothing, but keep their quantity as they were driven out of the Silver.» — con la exigencia de balance que ordena la práctica: azufre y sal han de conservar la cantidad con que salieron de la plata.

«If you understood how their primum mobile329 is to be known, then is it needless in this manner and to that purpose to destroy metals; but you may prepare everything from or of the first essence and bring them to their full perfection.» — la salvedad que relativiza todo el procedimiento: conocido el primum mobile de los metales, no haría falta destruirlos así.

«The common Azoth is not the matter of our Stone, but our Azoth or materia prima is extracted with the common Azoth and with the wine, which is the outpressed juice of unripe grapes, and with other waters also must be prepared.» — la distinción entre el azoth común y el propio: el común no es la materia de la Piedra, sino el medio con que se extrae la materia prima.

«Saturn is not to be slighted by reason of its external despicable form; if he be wrought in a due process after the philosophers' way, he is able to requite all the labourer's pains bestowed upon him, for the great virtues of it in Medicine for man's health and for meliorating of metals331.» — la defensa del plomo contra su apariencia: no ha de desdeñarse por su forma externa despreciable.

«If you have enough of that, then you have matter enough to reduce the same and to make of it the Philosophers' Stone, in case you should make a doubt to perform this great mystery by any other Vitriol.» — con la consecuencia práctica: basta esa materia para hacer la Piedra, sin recurrir a otro vitriolo.

«Now take all these crystals together; they in their appearance are like unto clarified sugar or Saltpeter; beat them in a mortar of glass or Iron, or grind them on a marble unto unpalpableness, reverberate it in a gentle heat to a bloodlike redness. Provided333 they do not turn to blackness.» — el criterio visual con que se juzga el cristal saturnino, comparado con azúcar clarificado o salitre.

«But especially note that it may be done with great profit if you drive forth the red oil of Vitriol and dissolve Mars in it and crystallise the solution as you were told when I treated of Mars.» — la remisión interna con que la obra encadena los procesos de Venus y Marte.

«Look to the government of the fire; be not too high with it, else you put the Spirit of Mercury as a volatile Spirit to betake himself to his wings, forcing him to the breaking of the glass.» — el gobierno del fuego como punto crítico: demasiado alto, y el espíritu de mercurio toma sus alas y rompe el vaso.

«But if these be well united, then no such fear look for, for one nature embraceth and holdeth up the other.» — con la condición que lo evita: bien unidas las naturalezas, una abraza y sostiene a la otra.

«Note that Mercury must not be precipitated unless with pure oil of Vitriol or oil of Venus, with the addition of the Spirit of Salt Nitre. Albeit such Mercury cannot be brought to its highest fixation by way of precipitating but its fixed coagulation is found in Saturn.» — la precipitación del mercurio restringida a aceite de vitriolo o de Venus con espíritu de nitro.

«If you carry it on a white precipitate, then you get only Silver, which holds but little Gold.» — el resultado que se obtiene según el precipitado: con el blanco, plata con poco oro.

«Then you have bound Mercury with a true knot and brought him into a fix[ed] coagulation, which brought its form and substance into a melioration with an abundance of riches.» — la imagen del nudo verdadero: mercurio atado en coagulación fija, con su forma y sustancia mejoradas.

«If you carry it on Lune, then put more of the powder on it than you do upon Jupiter and Saturn, as half an ounce of the powder tingeth five ounces of Lune into Sol.» — la proporción declarada de la proyección: media onza de polvo tiñe cinco onzas de Luna en Sol.

«Fool not thy Soul with imparting this mystery unto others that are unworthy of it.» — el mandato de reserva, formulado como cuidado del alma propia y no solo del secreto.

«if done successfully you may acknowledge Jupiter's bounty that gave leave to transmute this precipitate into Gold, which will be apparent» — el logro se atribuye a la liberalidad del planeta: transmutar el precipitado en oro es merced de Júpiter.

«force no more upon Jupiter, it is all he is able to do; being of a peaceable disposition he told all what he could do.» — con la prosopopeya que la obra usa para fijar un límite técnico: no forzar más a Júpiter, que por su disposición pacífica ya dijo cuanto podía.

«Take two ounces of anima of Mars, one ounce of anima of Saturn, one ounce of anima of Jupiter, dissolve these in six ounces of Mercurial Spirit [and] let all be dissolved; then drive it over, leaving nothing behind [and] it will be a golden water like a transparent dissolution of Sol;» — la composición que junta las almas de Marte, Saturno y Júpiter en espíritu mercurial.

«this green colour [then] turneth into a yellow oil; in this colour is hid the rubedo;» — el verde que pasa a aceite amarillo, donde queda oculta la rubedo.

«one pound of it containeth two ounces of good Gold, as deep as ever Nature produced any.» — el rendimiento que declara: dos onzas de oro por libra, tan profundo como el que produce la naturaleza.

«Mercury is able to do no more, neither particulariter nor universaliter, because he is far off from philosophers' Mercury, although many are deceived in their fancies to the contrary.» — el límite que pone al mercurio vulgar, contra quienes se engañan: dista mucho del mercurio de los filósofos.

«I have mentioned and demonstrated that all things are made and compounded of three essences, viz., of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt.» — la doctrina de los tres principios, enunciada como conclusión de lo anterior: todas las cosas se hacen y componen de mercurio, azufre y sal.

«Many well-minded artists may be doubtful, by all these sayings, to attain the foundation and discovery thereof.» — con el reconocimiento de la dificultad: muchos artífices bien dispuestos quedan en duda ante estos dichos.

«First know that no common Argent Vive is made of the best metal by the Spagyric Art344, [but one that is] pure, subtile, clear, splendent as a fountain, transparent as crystal, without any impurity.» — la exclusión del azogue vulgar: el del arte espagírico ha de ser puro, claro y transparente como cristal.

«And know that your Gold must be first dissolved in a certain water after its purification and must be reduced into a subtile Calx as hereafter shall be declared at large.» — el tratamiento previo del oro: disuelto tras purificarlo y reducido a calx sutil.

«So have you two substances in one and [it] is called the Mercury of the Philosophers and yet it is but one substance, that is, the first Ferment.» — el primer fermento definido por su paradoja: dos sustancias en una y aun así una sola.

«Your Sulphur you must seek in the like metal, then you must know how to extract it out of the body of the metal by purification and destruction of its form and reverberation without any corrosive.» — la regla que rige la busca del azufre: en el mismo metal, extraído destruyendo su forma y sin corrosivo.

«then you have nourished and dissolved the true Lion346 with the blood of the Green Lion347; for the fixed blood of the Red Lion is made out of the volatile blood of the Green Lion, therefore are they of one nature.» — el León Rojo alimentado con la sangre del León Verde, con la razón de que la sangre fija sale de la volátil.

«then have you the Second Ferment, nourishing the fixed Sulphur with the volatile as all philosophers agree with me herein.» — el segundo fermento, con el aval de consenso que el autor se adjudica.

«This afterwards is driven over with Spirit of Wine, red as blood, and is called Aurum Potabile, whereof there is no reduction to a body.» — el Aurum Potabile como término irreversible: pasado con espíritu de vino, rojo como sangre, ya no vuelve a cuerpo.

«Salt maketh fixed and volatile according as in its degree it is ordered and prepared.» — la función doble de la sal, que fija o volatiliza según su grado y su preparación.

«If a man drink Wine and out of his urine a clear Salt be made, that is volatile and maketh other fixed things volatile and carrieth them348 over the helmet with it, but it fixeth them348 not, and although the man drink nothing but Wine, out of whose urine the Salt was made, yet it hath another property than the Salt of tartar or of the feces of Wine.» — el ejemplo fisiológico con que ilustra la volatilidad de la sal: la sal clara sacada de la orina de quien bebe vino.

«If the Spirit of common Salt be united with Spirit of Wine and both be three times distilled over together, then it waxeth sweet and loseth its acrimony.» — el modo de endulzar el espíritu de sal, por tres destilaciones con espíritu de vino.

«The Spirit lieth in Mercury; seek the tincture in Sulphur354 and the coagulation in Salt355; then have you three matters, which may again produce some perfect thing, that is the Spirit of356 Gold fermented with its own proper oil.» — el reparto de los tres principios en su busca: el espíritu en el mercurio, la tintura en el azufre, la coagulación en la sal.

«Seek your matter in a metalline substance, make thereof Mercury, which ferment with Mercury; then a Sulphur, which ferment with its proper Sulphur, and with Salt reduce it into order357; distil them together [and] conjoin them all according to their due proportion, then will it become one thing, which before came from one; coagulate and fix it by a continual heat, then multiply and ferment it three times.» — el resumen operativo del método, en una sola frase y con sus tres fermentaciones.

«but being fermented and united with its like ferment, the prepared tincture obtaineth an ingress in operating upon other bodies.» — el ingreso como efecto de la fermentación: solo unida a su fermento la tintura obra sobre otros cuerpos.

«but [it] is not to be used crude, but must first be prepared into its essence.» — la advertencia sobre el antimonio crudo, que ha de reducirse antes a su esencia.

«It is very difficult to find out all the mysteries that are hid therein.» — con el reconocimiento de que sus misterios son difíciles de hallar.

«Its virtue is miraculous; its power is great; its colour, hidden therein, is various; its crude body is poisonous; yet its essence is an antidote against poison [and] is like unto Quicksilver, which ignorant physicians can neither comprehend nor find, but the knowing physician believeth it to be true, having made many experiments with it.» — la paradoja que gobierna el antimonio: cuerpo crudo venenoso y esencia antídoto contra el veneno, avalada con experimentos propios.

«for philosophers' Lead is made out of it and is affected unto Gold by reason of its Sulphur; for it purgeth Gold, leaving no impurity in it.» — el plomo de los filósofos hecho de antimonio, que purga el oro sin dejarle impureza.

«In brief Antimony is the Lord in medicinals.» — la sentencia que resume la sección: el antimonio es el señor en lo medicinal.

«although some philosophers, to conceal the art, write the contrary358.» — la clave de lectura que la obra da para los desacuerdos entre autores: algunos escriben lo contrario para ocultar el arte.

«Though a cancer were never so bad and the wolf366 never so biting, yet they, with all their fellows, be they fistulas or old ulcers, must fly and be gone.» — la promesa terapéutica extrema del preparado antimonial, sobre cáncer, fístulas y úlceras viejas.

«This antimonial Mercury hath sought of many but few have gotten it, which is the reason why his praise is not divulged, much less is his operative quantity369 known.» — el mercurio antimonial declarado buscado por muchos y logrado por pocos, con su cantidad operativa aún desconocida.

«There is a quintessence of Antimony, which is the highest Medicine, the noblest and subtilest found in it and [it] is the fourth part of an Universal Medicine. Let the preparation of it be still a mystery.» — la quintaesencia de antimonio como cuarta parte de una Medicina Universal, con su preparación dejada expresamente en misterio.

«Copper is a mineral whose Salt is set forth in the highest manner, whose370 great and good qualities are of the transcendency that reason is not able to comprehend or to conceive of them.» — y el paso al cobre, cuyas cualidades la obra declara por encima de lo que la razón alcanza.

«if it be fermented with Venus it performeth its office very well, for it affords such a Medicine which at the melting tingeth pure Iron into pure Copper.» — la medicina fermentada con Venus, que al fundir tiñe hierro puro en cobre puro.

«Colchotar affords an ingress thereunto, setting a new foundation that quality and virtue are not in the Colchotar, but the Spirit, together with the Salt, are the matters which dwell therein.» — la corrección sobre el colcótar: la virtud no está en él sino en el espíritu y la sal que habitan dentro.

«There is not found in its nature either cold or moist quality, but [it] is of a hot and dry, substantial quality and [this] is the reason why, by its superabounding calidity, it heateth other things, digesteth them and at last it bringeth them to a full maturity, the fire being continued for a certain time.» — su complexión declarada caliente y seca, sin cualidad fría ni húmeda.

«If the same Sulphur be set at liberty again by the Eagle377 with Spirit of Wine, there can be made a Medicine of it, as I told you before, though there be a nearer way to make combustible Sulphur out of Vitriol, as of its precipitation upon a precedent dissolution by the Salt or Liquor of Tartar, as also by a common lixivium made of Beech-ashes;» — la liberación del azufre por el Águila con espíritu de vino, y la vía más corta por lejía de ceniza de haya.

«This mystery I would have concealed.» — la frase con que la obra marca lo que preferiría callar, y que al escribirla convierte el secreto en gesto.

«But though Lime is contemptible, yet there lieth great matters therein and [it] requireth an understanding master to take out of it what lieth buried in it.» — la defensa de la cal contra su apariencia despreciable, con la exigencia de un maestro que sepa sacarle lo enterrado.

«The usual common Sulphur is not so perfectly exalted in its degree and brought into maturity as [when] it is found in Antimony and Vitriol.» — la jerarquía de los azufres: el común no está tan exaltado ni maduro como el que se halla en antimonio y vitriolo.

«When Antimony and Mars are made my companions [saith Arsenick], and [I] am exalted by then to the top of Olympus, then I afford a Ruby» — el arsénico habla en primera persona, recurso que la obra usa para exponer las condiciones de un reactivo.

«My greatest enemy is common Sulphur and yet is [he] my best friend also, for being purged by him and clarified in the fire, then am I able to allay all heats of the body within and without and am one of the best Medicaments to expel and keep off the poisonous plague.» — con la ambivalencia puesta en su boca: el azufre común es su mayor enemigo y a la vez su mejor amigo, porque purgado por él alivia los ardores del cuerpo.

«Before I am destroyed I am a mere ice, but when I am anatomised, then am I an hellish fire.» — y la fórmula que cierra esa prosopopeya: antes de ser destruido, mero hielo; anatomizado, fuego infernal.

«He that supposeth to transmute metals with this Salt, which is so volatile, surely he doth not hit the nail on the head, for it hath no such power; but to destroy the metals and make them fit for transmutation, in that respect it hath sufficient power, for no metal can be transmuted unless it be first prepared thereunto.» — la negativa que corrige una expectativa común: esa sal volátil no transmuta, solo destruye el metal si antes no se prepara.

«It is a good remedy either outwardly or inwardly in Medicine; its Salt being made spiritual and sweet it dissolveth and reaketh the stone in the bladder and dissolveth the coagulated Tartar of the gout settled into the joints or anywhere else besides.» — la sal vuelta espiritual y dulce como remedio interno y externo, disolvente de la piedra de la vejiga.

«In Physic it deserveth its praise also, for it taketh the pure from [the] impure and is a separator and taketh from the mineral Medicaments their sharpness and corrosiveness, fixeth that which is volatile and is a great defender against poison.» — su función separadora en medicina: quita lo puro de lo impuro y le arranca a los medicamentos minerales su corrosividad.

«But this is not the philosophers' Vinegar. Our Vinegar or Acetum is another liquor, namely a matter itself388 for the Stone of [the] Philosophers is made out of the Azot of [the] Philosophers, which must be prepared with ordinary distilled Azot, with Spirit of Wine and with other waters besides and must be reduced unto a certain order.» — la corrección que separa el vinagre común del filosófico: el de los filósofos es otro licor, la materia misma de la Piedra.

«If distilled, pure Vinegar be poured upon destroyed Saturn and is kept warm in Mary's Bath, it looseth its acidity altogether [and] is as sweet as sugar; then abstract two or three parts of that Vinegar, set it in a cellar» — el vinagre que pierde toda acidez sobre Saturno destruido y queda dulce como azúcar.

«The true Vegetable Stone is found in Wine, which is the noblest of all vegetables.» — la Piedra Vegetal localizada en el vino, al que la obra llama el más noble de los vegetales.

«There is a strange property in the Spirit of Wine, for without it there cannot be extracted any true tincture of Sol, nor can there be made without it any true Aurum Potabile;» — la propiedad exclusiva del espíritu de vino: sin él no se extrae tintura del Sol ni se hace Aurum Potabile verdadero.

«three which are the noblest creatures in the world; these three have a wonderful affection one to another392.» — la tríada de las criaturas más nobles del mundo, unidas por afecto mutuo: es una doctrina de simpatías, no una receta.

«Gold loveth Man and Wine, because it lets go its noble part if Spirit of Wine be put to it, being made potable,» — con su desarrollo: el oro ama al hombre y al vino porque ante el espíritu de vino suelta su parte noble.

«The highest and chiefest Aurum potabile which the Lord god hath laid into Nature is the excocted, prepared and fixed substance of our Stone before it is fermented.» — el Aurum Potabile supremo identificado con la sustancia fija de la Piedra antes de fermentarla, y adjudicado a lo que Dios puso en la naturaleza.

«Afterwards all the colours of the rainbow join and make appearance, which do but last a little while396.» — los colores del arcoíris como señal pasajera en la disolución del alma del Sol.

«then you have the true Aurum potabile, which can never be reduced into a body.» — el criterio irreversible que distingue al verdadero: no puede reducirse nunca a cuerpo.

«There is made another Aurum potabile and [one that is] artificially prepared, which, though it cannot be said or set down in writing to be the full and true potable Gold, yet is it [counted] more than half an Aurum potabile because it is transcending effectual in many diseases in which Nature might have stood in great doubts.» — y la honestidad de la distinción: hay otro oro potable artificial que la obra se abstiene de llamar pleno y verdadero.

«All must enter into a Medicine as I formerly said, which [Medicines] have their special efficacy.» — la regla que ordena todo el recetario: cada preparación entra en una medicina con su eficacia propia.

«The second way to prepare this half Aurum potabile, which though it be but half an Aurum potabile, yet in virtue and efficacy, is far preferred before the other» — la comparación entre las dos vías del medio Aurum Potabile, con preferencia declarada por la segunda.

«This I close and proceed further with a short but true process how the Silver, which is the next to Gold concerning perfection, is made potable also.» — el paso a la plata, situada por la obra como la siguiente en perfección tras el oro.

«First you must note that the philosophers' Tartar is not the vulgar Tartar, wherewith the lock is opened, but it is a Salt which cometh from root399 and is the only mystical Key for all metals and is prepared thus:» — la distinción entre el tártaro vulgar y el filosófico, que es una sal venida de raíz.

«Note. As precious stones have many rare virtues and qualities, so there are many despicable and ignoble stones, which have great virtues, [as] for example the Limestone, Calx vive, which in men's judgements is held of no great value and lieth contemptibly in obscurity; however there is a might virtue and efficacy in it which appeareth if application be made of it to the most heaviest diseases, seeing that its triumphant and transcendent efficacy is almost unknown for the gener» — la tesis que rescata lo despreciable: hay piedras innobles con grandes virtudes, casi desconocidas.

«Note [that] if the Spirit of Calx be not prepared first by the Spirit of Wine and drawn off and on as I told, then he does not so, but falleth among the phlegm where he is quenched [and] loseth also all his efficacy.» — la dependencia entre preparaciones, que la obra marca como causa de fracaso: sin pasar antes por el espíritu de vino, el de cal cae entre la flema y pierde su eficacia.

«This Spirit of Calx at the beginning looks bluish [but] being gently rectified [it] looks white, transparent and clear, leaving few feces behind.» — el criterio visual de rectificación del espíritu de cal, de azulado a blanco transparente.

«He that is mad and distracted should take it likewise in Wine for the space of eight days and he will have reason to give God thanks for it.» — la indicación para el enajenado, con su marco devocional: ocho días en vino y motivo para dar gracias a Dios.

«Moreover if it be taken in wine it doth resolve any hardness settled in the nerves and if it be constantly used for some time, even the gout itself is consumed and cured thereby.» — y la promesa sobre la gota, condicionada al uso constante durante un tiempo.

«It hath been found very excellent in swimmings and giddiness in the head; it comforteth the brain and preserveth the memory.» — la indicación para vahídos y vértigos, con su efecto sobre cerebro y memoria.

«you will find an Oleum Veneris, green [and] transparent like an Emerald.» — el Oleum Veneris descrito por su color, verde y transparente como esmeralda.

«you have a powder, half an ounce whereof will transmute a whole pound of Iron, being in flux, into very good Copper.» — el rendimiento declarado de ese polvo: media onza transmuta una libra de hierro en cobre.

«The sweet Essence of Vitriol, whereby many wonderful cures may be wrought, is only prepared out of its Sulphur, which burneth like other Brimstone.» — la esencia dulce de vitriolo sacada solo de su azufre, que arde como el azufre común.

«This Essence of Sulphur, four grains of it being taken in Balm water, drieth up the bad humours of the blood, strengtheneth and incites men and women to copulation, cleanseth the womb, hindreth the rising of the mother and breedeth good sense for the procreation of children.» — la indicación de la esencia de azufre, con su efecto sobre los humores y la generación.

«The same quantity being taken in parsley water and continued for a fortnight, doth consume all phlegmatic humours of the whole body cures the dropsy radically, drives out the putrefied blood [and] openeth imposthumes, yea you will find it do wonderful cures if you will be industrious and careful in the preparation thereof; but you must never whilst you live forget God your Creator» — la misma dosis en agua de perejil contra la hidropesía, y la advertencia devocional con que la obra corta el elogio.

«Take pure mineral Antimony, which is brought from Hungary, grind it very small and wash it very clean, that the earth may be separated from it.» — la procedencia declarada de la materia: antimonio mineral traído de Hungría.

«Repeat this till all is gone into Scoriae, which you must carefully keep; they will burn upon the tongue like fire» — la prueba organoléptica que la obra propone, arriesgada y literal: las escorias arden en la lengua como fuego.

«Sublime your Regulus in sand by itself without any addition, sweep the sublimate with a feather again into the glass and sublime it again. Repeat this so long till nothing do rise, but [the matter] remain red and fixed in the bottom.» — la sublimación reiterada del régulo hasta que nada suba y quede rojo y fijo en el fondo.

«Thus have you joined the Sulphur with the Salt of Antimony and brought it over like an Aqua Vitae, which keep very carefully.» — la unión del azufre con la sal de antimonio, traída como aqua vitae.

«The Use Three or four grains of this Medicine being taken in some good treacle for some days cureth the French pox; there [be] no sore so old and festered but is cured infallibly by it.» — el uso declarado de la medicina antimonial, con una promesa sin reserva sobre la sífilis y las llagas viejas.

«I have cured with it likewise many spreading, old, running ulcers, as fistulas, cancers, the wolf415 and the like.» — con testimonio en primera persona sobre úlceras, fístulas y cánceres.

«It relieveth against whatsoever may occasion any putrefaction in a man's body if the use of it be continued for some time.» — y su indicación general contra la putrefacción del cuerpo, condicionada al uso continuado.

«The Name of the Lord be praised therefore.» — la fórmula devocional con que la obra cierra sus recetas: el registro litúrgico es parte del texto, no adorno del editor.

«Take one pound and a half of Hungarian Vitriol, one pound of common Salt and four ounces of Salt-peter; grind this together and put [with?] one pound of Quicksilver into the bottom of a glass body; place it in sand so that the sand do not come above the matter in the glass; put a head thereupon and give it a convenient fire and the sublimate will stick to the sides of the glass, which is to be used in your work.» — la composición del sublimado: vitriolo húngaro, sal común, salitre y azogue.

«Six drops of this tincture given in a spoonful of Wine to those that are bereaved of their senses restoreth them again.» — la indicación psíquica de la tintura: seis gotas en vino devuelven el sentido a quien lo perdió.

«This tincture comforteth likewise the brain and strengthens the memory, dispelleth sadness and melancholy, makes light-hearted, breedeth good blood and strengtheneth the heart.» — con su lista de efectos sobre cerebro, memoria, tristeza y sangre.

«It is such a noble Medicine for which we are bound indeed to bless Almighty God.» — y la atribución del mérito, que no es del artífice: medicina por la que se está obligado a bendecir a Dios.

«Dissolve in this Vinegar as many Pearls as it will dissolve, for this Vinegar worketh very well upon them, dissolveth the substance but not the shells.» — la selectividad del vinagre preparado, que disuelve la sustancia de las perlas y no las conchas.

«[It] dispelleth rheums in the head and the noise in the ears, openeth the passage to hearing and is, moreover, a most precious treasure in many distempers.» — el efecto declarado sobre reumas de la cabeza y ruido de oídos.

«Our Stone is made out of its own proper Essence; for its transmuteth other metals into real and true Gold» — el principio de autarquía que gobierna toda la Gran Obra: la Piedra se hace de su propia esencia.

«And though nothing of another nature must be used in the preparation of our Stone, which might obstruct its majestic excellency, yet the preparation» — con la salvedad inmediata que la matiza: nada de otra naturaleza puede entrar en la preparación, y aun así la preparación exige lo que sigue.

«But observe that, as you will hear afterwards, all corrosives must be washed away from it and separated» — la condición de limpieza que la obra exige: todo corrosivo ha de lavarse y separarse.

«First you are to know that the Tartar of the philosophers, whereby the lock is unopened, is not like unto common Tartar as many do think;» — la corrección de un error extendido: el tártaro de los filósofos no es el tártaro común, como muchos piensan.

«it is another Salt and springeth from one root and is the only Key to open and to dissolve metals» — y su definición: otra sal, brotada de una sola raíz, única llave para abrir y disolver los metales.

«This is now the right Spirit of Wine, wherewith you may open that which the lover of Art desireth to know, for it is become penetrant by preparation.» — el espíritu de vino declarado penetrante por preparación, no por naturaleza: la virtud la pone el arte.

«Put it, very close luted, in a gentle heat and it will extract the Sulphur of Gold within twenty-four hours of a high red colour like blood.» — la extracción del azufre de oro en veinticuatro horas, con su color rojo de sangre como señal.

«Having done so [so often] that it doth not yield any tincture more, pour off the extraction very clear into a little glass body.» — el criterio de agotamiento: repetir hasta que no dé más tintura.

«This Medicine cureth likewise radically the stone of the bladder and kidneys, both in men and women.» — la indicación médica de la piedra de vejiga y riñones, sin distinción de sexo.

«This Medicine, being first fermented with other pure Gold, doth likewise tinge many thousand parts of all other metals into very good Gold as I showed in a former process, whereby such Gold likewise becometh such a penetrant Medicine that one part doth tinge and transmute a thousand parts of other metals, and much more beyond belief, into perfect Gold.» — la promesa de la medicina fermentada, que la propia obra califica de creencia difícil: tiñe muchos miles de partes de otros metales.

«This spirit of Mercury cureth almost all distempers and doth extract the essence out of minerals and metals.» — el espíritu de mercurio como medicina y como extractor de esencias a la vez.

«This is an universal Medicine for sick and diseased bodies of men, likewise it is excellent to exalt metals to the highest degrees.» — la Medicina Universal definida por su doble alcance: cuerpos enfermos y exaltación de los metales.

«The Sulphur of Gold doth graduate Silver into Gold, yet no greater quantity of it than there hath been of Gold.» — el límite cuantitativo que la obra pone a esa graduación, y que descarta la multiplicación indefinida.

«This is the Arcanum wherewith the body of Gold is reduced into a running Mercury.» — el arcano que reduce el cuerpo del oro a mercurio corriente.

«Observe that the tincture which is the root of all metals is a supernatural, flying, fiery Spirit.» — la definición de la tintura raíz de los metales: espíritu sobrenatural, volátil e ígneo.

«And this Spirit is found in all metals, and more abundant in other metals than Gold;» — con el dato contraintuitivo que la obra sostiene: ese espíritu abunda más en los otros metales que en el oro.

«But because the bodies of other metals are unfixed, the tincture likewise cannot stay with these unfixed bodies, but must go out of them, and [it] being [the case that] the tincture of Gold doth in no other metal abound more than in Iron and Copper, as husband and wife, their bodies are destroyed and the tingeing Spirit from thence [is] expelled, which breedeth much blood in the opened, prepared Gold, and by its feeding doth make it volatile.» — y su explicación: los cuerpos de los otros metales no están fijos, y la tintura no puede quedarse en ellos.

«First you are to know that all the metals and minerals of the earth have one only matter and one only mother, by which they in general altogether have received their conception and perfect bodily birth.» — la tesis de la materia única: todos los metales y minerales tienen una sola materia y una sola madre.

«And this matter, which cometh from the centre, doth divide itself in the beginning into three parts to produce some corporeal thing and a certain form of every metal.» — con su división en tres partes para producir la forma de cada metal.

«This Soul is compared to water and is indeed a right true water, yet doth it not wet like other water, but it is an heavenly water, found dry in a metallic, liquid substance, and a soul-like water, which loveth all Spirits and» — el alma comparada al agua, y a la vez distinguida de ella: agua celeste que no moja, hallada seca en sustancia metálica.

«Therefore it is certain that the water is a mother of all metals, which, being heated by a warm, aerial fire429, as is the Spirit of Sulphur, bringeth life into the terrestrial body through its ripening, wherein the Salt is apparently found, which doth preserve from putrefaction, that nothing may be consumed by corruption.» — el agua declarada madre de todos los metales, que calentada por el fuego aéreo trae vida a lo terrestre.

«Let this not seem strange to you, because the Most High hath thus permitted it and Nature hath wrought it.» — el aval con que la obra pide crédito para lo que sigue, y que es doble, divino y natural: lo permitió el Altísimo y lo obró la Naturaleza.

«If so be the Spirit of Mercury is directed and formed from above upon animals, then there is produced an animal being441, but if it seizeth upon vegetables, a vegetable work is brought forth.» — la doctrina del espíritu único que se especifica según dónde cae: sobre animales produce ser animal, sobre vegetales obra vegetal.

«Nevertheless everyone is differently wrought, the animals by another form by themselves, the vegetables after a manner proper to themselves and the minerals likewise on another fashion, every one after a singular way.» — con la salvedad que impide leerlo como uniformidad: cada reino se obra de manera propia.

«Thus was granted to the earth an influence to generate by the Luminaries of Heaven and likewise an internal heat to warm and to ripen that which was too cold for the earth by reason of its aquosity.» — el reparto de causas entre cielo y tierra: la influencia generativa viene de los luminares y el calor interno madura lo que era demasiado frío.

«And thus to every creature a peculiar Genius [is granted] according to its kind, that so there is raised a subtile, sulphureous steam by the starry heaven, not a common, but another, clarified, cleaned and pure steam, separated from others, which doth unite itself with the mercurial substance,» — y el Genio propio concedido a cada criatura según su especie, que se une a la sustancia mercurial.

«This Spirit of Mercury cureth the dropsy, consumption, gout, stone, French pox and all other lasting sores.» — la lista de dolencias que el espíritu de mercurio cura, sin reserva declarada.

«Venus is clothed with a heavenly Sulphur, which doth far exceed the Splendour of the Sun, because there is found much more Sulphur in her than in Gold.» — la afirmación que altera la jerarquía habitual: Venus está vestida de un azufre celeste que excede al esplendor del Sol, por tener más azufre que el oro.

«This Sulphur may be very well called and christened the Sulphur of the Wise, because in it is found all wisdom444, if you except the Mercurial Spirit, which is to be preferred445, and with which it, together with the Salt446 of Mars447 must be united through a spiritual copulation448 and [these] three may be brought to a correspondency and be exalted into one operation449.» — el azufre de los sabios así bautizado por la obra, con la excepción declarada del espíritu mercurial, que le antepone.

«The tincture doth consist only in the Spirit of Copper and chiefly of its consort451 and is a mere steam, stinking and of a very ill scent in the beginning.» — la tintura situada en el espíritu del cobre, con su descripción desagradable y sin embellecerla.

«Now I will discover a mystery to you, that Gold, Venus and Mars have in them one and the same Sulphur, one tincture and the same matter of their tincture, which matter of the tincture is a Spirit, a Mist and a Fume, which hath penetrated and doth penetrate all bodies.» — el misterio que la obra dice descubrir: oro, Venus y Marte tienen un mismo azufre y una misma tintura.

«Lastly take notice that the root of the philosophical Sulphur, which is an heavenly Spirit, together with the root of the spiritual, supernatural Mercury and the principle of the supernatural Salt, is in one and is found in one matter, out of which the Stone, which hath been found before me, is made, and not in many things although the Mercury be drawn by itself by all the philosophers and the Sulphur by itself, besides the Salt apart452, that so [it may appear that] Mercury is found in one and the Sulphur in one and the Salt in one.» — el cierre doctrinal que reúne las tres raíces, azufre celeste, mercurio sobrenatural y sal, en una.

«But the universal, as the greatest treasure of terrestrial knowledge and wisdom and of all the three principles, is one only thing and is found in one only thing and is drawn out of it, which can reduce all metals into one only thing and is the true Spirit of Mercury and the Soul of Sulphur, joined together with the spiritual Salt, enclosed under one heaven and dwelling in one body; and [it] is the Dragon and the Eagle; it is» — y la distinción entre lo particular y lo universal: este último es una sola cosa y se halla en una sola cosa.

«Now because the Brimstone doth exceed in quantity the Salt and Mercury, there ariseth from thence a great tingeing redness, which great redness hath so possessed the metal that the Mercury could not perfect its fixedness, that a more fixed body might have been produced out of it.» — la generación del cobre explicada por exceso de azufre, que produce un rojo tan intenso que impide al mercurio fijar el cuerpo.

«You are further to know that the form of Venus' body is of the same condition that a tree is which hath and doth yield abundance of Gum, as in the pine and fir-tree, with other sorts of trees, which Gum is the Sulphur of the tree, which drives out sometimes this Gum at the sides of it by reason of its too great abundance and because it cannot harbour it all.» — el símil botánico con que la obra razona sobre los metales: el cuerpo de Venus es como el árbol que rezuma goma, pino o abeto.

«Such a tree now, that is tinged with so much fatness by Nature and the ripening of the elements, burneth and taketh fire immediately; neither is it heavy and [it] is never so durable as oak and the like hard wood, which is solid and compact and hath not his pores so open453 as that sort of light wood, that the Brimstone might abundantly reign in it.» — con su consecuencia: un árbol tan graso arde en el acto, y esa es la imagen de la inestabilidad metálica.

«The same is to understood of metals, but especially of Gold, which, by reason of its much fixed and well ripened Quicksilver, hath a most solid, compact, close, fixed and invincible body, to which neither fire nor water, neither air nor any putrefaction of the earth can do any hurt because its pores are closed up and the corrupting power of the elements cannot injure it.» — y el caso contrario, el oro, cuyo azogue fijo y bien madurado lo hace impermeable a los elementos.

«To conclude, the Spirit of Copper is a hot Spirit, penetrant and searching, consuming all the bad humours and phlegm both in men and metals and may justly be accounted the Crown of physick.» — el espíritu de cobre coronado como cumbre de la medicina, por consumir humores malos en hombres y en metales por igual.

«It is undeniable and confessed of all that there are divers men and divers opinions, although men in the beginning are made out of one first matter and generated and born out of one seed, yet there is a manifold difference of their opinions because the operation of the Stars hath occasioned this and not without a cause.» — la analogía que abre la parte final: los hombres salen de una misma materia primera y aun así difieren en opiniones.

«For the influence of the Great World worketh the other (namely the difference of opinions) after itself in the Little World, because all the opinions, nature and thoughts, together with the whole complexion of man, do derive their original from the influence of the Stars of Heaven and do show themselves according to the Planets and Stars, where nothing can withstand nor obstruct such an influence because the generation of their perfection is already performed and brought to a period or finished.» — con su causa astral: la influencia del Mundo Mayor obra en el Menor la diferencia de opiniones.

«Thus you are likewise to understand of metals that according as the infusion and imagination happeneth from above, so happeneth the form likewise; although metals are altogether called metals and are indeed metals, yet as you have understood by divers opinions of men, which are altogether men out of one matter, there may be manifold and divers metals, of which one hath got an hot and dry, another a cold and moist, another a mixed complexion and nature.» — y el traslado del mismo principio a los metales: la forma sigue a la infusión e imaginación que viene de arriba.

«Therefore because the metal of Mars hath before others been ordered by a gross Salt in the greatest quantity in its degree, its body is the hardest, most inflexible, strongest and coarsest which Nature hath thus appropriated to it.» — el hierro explicado por su sal gruesa, que le da el cuerpo más duro e inflexible.

«If the conjunction of Mars and Venus doth rightly happen in a certain constellation455, they have success, victory and conquest both in love and sorrow, in fight and peace and will continue of one mind though the whole world should bear a spleen and enmity against them.» — la conjunción de Marte y Venus bajo cierta constelación como condición de éxito: la astrología no es adorno del proceso sino parte de él.

«Observe one thing more, that the Loadstone and the true Iron are almost of one and the same nature, even as it is according to a divine, spiritual and elemental sense betwixt the body, its Soul and the Chaos out of which the Soul and Spirit are gone; the body is framed last of all out of this composition.» — la afinidad que declara entre la piedra imán y el hierro verdadero, leída en sentido divino, espiritual y elemental.

«If you are desirous to get this golden Loadstone, your prayers must be rightly made to God in true knowledge, contrition, sorrow and true humility for to know and learn the three different worlds, which are subject to human reason456; as there is the super-celestial world457, wherein the immortal Soul458 keepeth its seat and residence beside its first original459 and is by God's creation the first moving sensibility, or the first moving sensible Soul460 which of a supernatural being hath wrought to a natural life.» — y la condición que pone para obtener el imán áureo, que no es técnica: oración, contrición y humildad verdadera.

«Out of the first Super-celestial World is derived the fountain of life and of the Soul; from the second Celestial World doth spring the Light of the Spirit465 and from the third, the Elemental World, cometh the invincible, heavenly yet sensible fire, by which it digested and ripened that which is comprehensible.» — la escala de tres mundos que ordena la doctrina: del supercelestial la fuente de la vida, del celestial la luz del espíritu, del elemental lo comprensible.

«It is remarkable, as it is proved and demonstrated by experience, that that great light of heaven hath a great love for and beareth an affection and inclination to the little fire, which» — la analogía magnética que abre la sección, presentada como probada por experiencia: la gran luz del cielo ama e inclina hacia el pequeño fuego terrestre.

«The cause is this, for through the obstacle of the moist air the love is hindered that the attractive power, growing sad, cannot exercise its perfect love and operation as it ought to do, for the contrary element, the aquosity, causeth this obstruction.» — la explicación del estorbo: el aire húmedo impide que la potencia atractiva ejerza su amor.

«This is now the greatest wisdom of this world. In this loadstone is and lieth buried the dissolution and opening of all the minerals and metals, their government as also their matter of the first generation and their power as touching health moreover the coagulation and fixation of metals, together with the operation to cure all diseases.» — la piedra imán declarada la mayor sabiduría de este mundo, con la disolución de todos los minerales enterrada en ella.

«It is supernatural and natural together and is born out of the Spirit of Mercury, heavenly; out of the Spirit of Sulphur, spiritual; but out of the Spirit of Salt corporeal.» — y su definición triple: sobrenatural y natural a la vez, celeste por el mercurio, espiritual por el azufre, corporal por la sal.

«Thus can the Soul of Gold reduced into water, the Spiritual Essence of Pearls and the Sulphur of Corals, united in one, do such things which to Nature seem otherwise incredible; but because experience confirmeth this truth it is deservedly a cordial in this mortal life to be preferred justly before all other cordials by reason of its wonderful effects.» — la unión de alma de oro, esencia de perlas y azufre de corales, que la obra dice capaz de lo que a la naturaleza le parecería increíble.

«In a Diamond is found a fixed and coagulated Mercury, therefore this stone is harder and more fixed than other stones and is not to be broken as they are.» — el diamante explicado por su mercurio fijo y coagulado, de donde le viene la dureza.

«therefore is Silver more phlegmatic than fiery, although it hath been reduced by fire out of its waterish substance unto a coagulation.» — la plata declarada más flemática que ígnea, pese a su coagulación por fuego.

«And though Silver doth carry with it a fixed Mercury or fixed Quicksilver, which is born in it, nevertheless it wanted the hot fixed Sulphur, which might have exactly dried up and consumed the phlegm, which is the cause it hath not obtained a compact body478, except it be done afterwards by Art of the lesser World.» — y la carencia que le imputa: tiene mercurio fijo pero le faltó el azufre caliente y fijo.

«Thus when Gold hath lost its Soul, it yieldeth then a white body and a fixed white body of Gold, which is called Luna fixa by the searching students and novices in this Art.» — el oro sin alma, que da un cuerpo blanco fijo llamado Luna fixa por los estudiantes del arte.

«Saturn, to generate his metal, which is Lead, is placed in the Upper Heaven, above all the Stars.» — la paradoja de Saturno, situado en el Cielo Superior sobre todas las estrellas para engendrar el plomo.

«But in the lower parts of the earth he doth keep the lowest degree482.» — y su reverso en el mundo inferior, donde guarda el grado más bajo.

«For there are the three grossest qualities of the three principles in Saturn and by reason that its Salt is altogether fluid in comparison to other metals and planets, therefore is likewise its body more fluid, inconstant, unfixed and more volatile than any metallic body.» — la explicación de esa bajeza por las tres cualidades más groseras de los tres principios reunidas en Saturno.

«you are to know that as common water, through natural cold, by the alteration of the Upper Heaven, is congealed so that it becometh a coagulated ice, so likewise it is demonstrated that Lead is coagulated and made corporeal reason of the great cold which is found in its Salt before any other Salt.» — el símil que explica la coagulación del plomo: como el agua se congela en hielo por el frío del Cielo Superior.

«The coagulated ice is resolved through warmth and so is the coagulated Lead made fluid by fire.» — con su reverso: el hielo se resuelve por calor y el plomo coagulado se vuelve fluido por fuego.

«It hath most Mercury in it yet inconstant and volatile; but less of Sulphur and, therefore, according to the small quantity of the same, its cold body cannot be heated; and least of all Salt, but fluid; otherwise the Iron would be more liquid and malleable than Saturn if the Salt alone could impart both the malleableness and fluidity, because Iron doth carry with it more Salt than any other metal.» — la composición del plomo: mucho mercurio inconstante y volátil, poco azufre, y de ahí que su cuerpo frío no se caliente.

«All the philosophers, indeed, besides myself, have writ that the Salt causeth the coagulation and the body of every metal; and this is true; but I shall show by an example how this is to be understood.» — el punto en que el autor se separa expresamente de todos los filósofos, y a la vez les concede: la sal causa la coagulación, y eso es cierto, pero él lo entiende de otro modo.

«Although all Salts of metals are grown out of one root and one seed, yet there is a difference of their three principles to be observed.» — con la matización que sostiene esa diferencia: todas las sales metálicas nacen de una raíz y una simiente, y aun así sus tres principios difieren.

«Otherwise the Spirit of Lead is naturally cold and dry, therefore I do advise both men and women not to make too much use of it, for it over cooleth human nature, that their seed cannot perfect or perform its natural operation, nor is it good for the spleen and bladder.» — la contraindicación médica del espíritu de plomo, que la obra desaconseja a hombres y mujeres por enfriar demasiado la naturaleza.

«For Saturn is a governor and such a melancholy one whereby a man is upheld and strengthened in his melancholy.» — la doctrina de la melancolía saturnina, con el planeta como gobernador que sostiene al hombre en ella.

«Therefore if its Spirit be used, one melancholy Spirit doth attract the other, whereby a man's body is freed and released from its infused melancholy.» — y la terapéutica por semejanza que de ahí se sigue: un espíritu melancólico atrae al otro y libera al cuerpo de la melancolía infundida.

«everyone is to know that no transmutation of any metal can arise from Saturn by reason of its great cold, except the coagulation of Mercury, [which can be achieved] because the cold Sulphur of Lead can quench and take away the hot, running Spirit of Quicksilver if the process be rightly performed;» — el límite que la obra pone a Saturno: de él no puede surgir transmutación alguna por su gran frío, salvo la coagulación del mercurio.

«therefore it is rightly observable that the method be so kept that the theory may agree with the practice and concur in a certain measure and concord.» — la exigencia metodológica que la obra deja como norma: que la teoría concuerde con la práctica en cierta medida.

«Wherefore you must not altogether reject Saturn, nor vilify and disparage it, for its nature and virtues are but known to a few.» — y su defensa final del plomo: no rechazarlo ni menospreciarlo, porque su naturaleza y virtudes son de pocos conocidas.

«For the Stone of the Philosophers hath the first beginning of its heavenly, resplendent tincture only from this metal and by the infusion of this Planet is the Key of Fixedness delivered to it through putrefaction, because that out of the yellow there cannot come any red thing except there be first made at the beginning of the black a white one.» — el papel decisivo que le adjudica pese a todo: la Piedra toma de este metal el comienzo de su tintura celeste, y del negro ha de hacerse primero un blanco.

Waite lo desarma: «it is, in fact, a very curious forgery, rendered the more difficult to account for by its want of assignable motive.»

El argumento interno contra la atribución: el léxico explica palabras difíciles atribuidas a los escritos de Dee, pero ausentes en sus obras auténticas.

La procedencia del copista: «This Manuscript of Dr Dee was given me by Dr John Gadbury in Anno 1686.» — nota de Peter Smart (copista activo 1699–1714), no de Dee, que en 1686 llevaba décadas muerto.

El aparato imputa plagio en cadena: el Elharvareuna inserta pasajes de Vaughan bajo su nombre, y se presenta como obra de John Heydon en forma dialogada entre Eugenius Theodidactus y Eugenius Philalethes.

Datación del material rosacruz del volumen: la Chymical Wedding «attributed to Christian Rosenkreutz under the date 1459», hoy asignada a Andreae (impresa 1616); la Themis Aurea, traducción inglesa de 1656; el diagrama Rosa-Cruz de la Naometria de Simon Studion, anterior a 1604.

El foreword de la edición moderna es de Ithell Colquhoun, publicado en The Hermetic Journal n.º 6, invierno de 1979.