THE WORKS OF

THOMAS VAUGHAN
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THE WORKS OF
THOMAS VAUGHAN
EUGENIUS PHILALETHES
EDITED, ANNOTATED AND INTRODUCED
BY
ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE
Zcaii Gad2:2 wiz ng ss th at X write ma: th is to amaz e
man; but I write th at wh ich i k newto be certainly
true."- - AULA Lucz s.
bq aoh g v
m Q
Q0
PREPARED FORTHE LIBRARY COMMITTEEOF THE
TI- IEOSOPHICAL sscmrvm ENGLAND AND wanz s
AN!) ISSUED Baa THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING
HOUSE, 1 UPPER WOBURN PLACE, LONDON, w.c.1
InT1 - inYEAR orTHE LoanMCMX IX
FOREWORD
Tnrs is th erst volumeof a series of Transactions to be
issuedby th e Library Committee of - th e Th eosoph ical
Society of Eng landandWales. Th ech oiceh as f allenupon
Th omas Vaug h anf ortwo reasons: inth erst place, because
of h is uniq uepositioninth ech ainof th eHermetic tradi-
tionduring th eseventeenth century; and, secondly, because
it h as beenpossible to secure th e services of MrA. E.
Waite, wh o is recog nisedby all students of th e h idden
truth as one Wh o is particularly tted, not only by
temperament andpredilection, but also by special training
andripe sch olarsh ip, f orth e task of editing one of th e
prof oundest andmost dif licult of all visionaries wh o h ave
seenth enewEast beyondth estars.
Th emantleof Robert Fluddmay be saidto h avef allen
uponth e sh oulders of Vaug h an, wh o inh is time and
g enerationcontinuedth eapostolateof th e Secret Tradi-
tion, as th is is representedby th esecret andmorespiritual
sideof alch emical ph ilosoph y. Th etwo writers drewf rom
th e same sources : f rom th e sch ool of th e Kabalah inall
its. extensions andreections, f rom th e Hermetic Neo-
Platonists, andf romth oseLatin- writing sch olars of Europe
wh o, subseq uent to th e Renaissance, representedandnot
inf req uently typiedth estrug g le f orliberationf rom th e
yok e andaridity of sch olastic meth ods. Fluddwas a
ph ysician, andwh ennot dealing with cosmical ph ilosoph y
h e paidattentionto th eHermetic f oundationuponwh ich
th etrueart of medicineis built. Vaug h an, onth eoth er
h and, was anexponent of alch emy ; andth oug h rst and
f oremost a mystical ph ilosoph eranda visionary, was none
v
Te W01 % : Q/ i Tomas Vaug / z an
th e less a practical alch emist uponth e material sideit
was, inf act, f rom inh aling th e f umes of mercury during
a ch emical experiment th at h e met h is death .
Both FluddandVaug h anwereinuencedby th emove-
ment k nownas Rosicrucian, wh ich came into prominence
inth eearly partof th eseventeenth century. But Vaug h an
was anunattach edinterpreter, wh ile th ere is g roundf or
believing th at Fluddmay h ave beenconnectedmore or
less directly with th e so- calledFratres R. C." At any
rate, h e was a personal f riendof Mich ael Maier, wh o
cannot bedissociatedf rom th emovement.
Th ere is a living interest inVaug h anonth e personal
side; h e belong s to th e h istory of Eng lish literature,
more especially as a prose writer, th oug h also by th e
occasional f elicity of h is metrical exercises. Above all
andth is concerns th e present venture more closely th an
any lig h terconsideration, h eh as a positionof h is ownas
aninterpreterof th e Secret Tradition. His work s, wh ich
are valuedpossessions to th osewith suf cient k nowledg e
to appreciateth eiroccult sig nicance, are h ere madeavail-
ablef orth erst timeina collectededition.
THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE.
vi
BIOGRAPHICAL PREFACE
THE Vaug h anf amily is of oldrepute inh istory- inth at
of Eng landas well as Wales. It is saidth at anearly
representative, SirDavidVaug h an, f ell at th e Battle of
Ag incourt. Th e branch with wh ich I am concernedh ad
Tretower Castleby th e Usk - inBreck nock sh irc as
its ancestral seat. Th is is nowinruins andwas perh aps
f alling into decay at th e endof th e sixteenth century,
f orit was lef t by th e masterof th e place about th at
periodinf avourof a residenceat Newton, nearSeeth rog ,
inth e parish of Llansaintf f raid, some ve miles away in
th e same sh ire. Th is is Newton- St- Bridg et, also on
th e bank s of th e Usk . Inth e next g enerationHenry
orTh omas Vaug h an was of TretowerandLlansaint-
f f raid. At th e latterplace, andinwh at h as beencalled
th e f armh ouse at Newton}th erewere bornto h im- - of
a wif e about wh om th ere is no record- - - th e twinboys
Th omas andHenry Vaug h an. Th etraditional oraccepted
date, as I must term it, is betweenI621 andI622, but
th e traditionmay be reg ardedas sound, since it rests on
th e auth ority of Wood, wh o- - almost unq uestionably-
h adf orh is inf ormant th e young erof th e two broth ers.
1 Th e Rev. A. B. Grosart, wh o rst editedth e complete writing s of
Henry Vaug h aninth e FULLER WORTHIES LIBRARY, f ourbeautif ul
volumes- exceeding ly valuable f orth elives of both broth ers- says th at
th e f ath erwas Henry andth at h e was a mag istrate in1 620. Th e
Reg isterof Oxf ordUniversity describes h im as Th omas of L1 ansan-
f raide, co. Brecon, plea."
2 See Th eoph ilus Jones: H1 s'1 "oRvorTHE COUNTYorBRECKNOCK,
vol. ii, part 2, p. 54 0. He speak s of a f armh ouse at Newton, once
occupiedby two broth ers of th e name of Vaug h an, of very eccentric
ch aracter.
3ATHENZEOX ONIENSES, editedby Ph ilip Bliss, vol. iii, p. 722.
4 1 bz 'd., sunmwmmeOlorIscanus. H
V1 1
T/ 2e Work s cf T/ z omas Vaug an
Th ere are, h owever, no reg isters of birth s f orth at period
inth e district, norf oralmost a century later. Wesh all
ndf urth eronth at importanceattach es to th ebirth - date
of Th omas Vaug h an, andit is necessary th eref oreto note
at th is point th at th ere is a minimum element of un-
certainty h ereon.
Th omas andHenry Vaug h anbecame f amous respec-
tively inth e annals of two departments of literature, th e
rst as a mystic andalch emist wh ose little book s h ave
long beensoug h t eag erly andpriz edh ig h ly by students,
th e secondas a beautif ul, th oug h very uneq ual, relig ious
poet. With vocations suiciently distinct, th ey yet be-
long edto oneanoth erinth espirit as well as inth eblood,
f oraf terh is ownmannerTh omas was also a poet, orat
least a mak erof pleasant verse, wh ile Henry was drawn
into occult path s as a translator? andindeedoth erwise,
as a recordof h is repentance testies.3Betweenand
above both th ere stands th e saintly g ure of Georg e
Herbert, th eircontemporary andk insmanby marriag e,
albeit inremotedeg ree. Th epath s of th esecret sciences
were beyondh is k enentirely, andth is is onedistinction
inth e triad. But th ere is anoth erof more living im-
portance. Herbert was anartist inverse, beautif ul
exceeding lyinwork mansh ip, andif h e didnot attain
th e h eig h ts wh ich were reach edinrare moments by
1 Th ereis extant a letterf rom Henry Vaug h anto Joh nAubrey, dated
June 1 5, I673. It is saidth at h eandh is broth erwere borninI621 , but
as a secondlettermentions th at Th omas Vaug h andiedinI666 inh is
f orty- seventh year, th ere is a mistak eonone sideorth e oth er, andth e
birth - dateis still opento q uestion.
2 SeeAppendix IX of th epresent volume, p. 4 89.
3SeeT/ is Iz nporturz rrteFor:- mar, writtento DrPowell of Llanh ef f . Th e
poet commits h is body to earth , h is g rowing f aculties . . . to th eh umid
mog nmh ip ch unning arts tlp If - "Iercury, h is g lf ondaiif ectiq ns" to Venus, h is
pf }e 1 t erewas aug t inme to t e ro at o Sol h is rash ness
andpresumptionto Mars, th elittleh eh as h adtil"arih rice't0i]t1 pitBI;
Andmy f alse Mag ic, wh ich I didbelieve,
Andmystic lies, to SaturnI do g ive."
Grosart: WORKSof Henry Vaug h an, vol. i, p.xxiv. Anoth erk insman
was th eanuq uary, Joh nAubrey.
V1 1 1
B2'0g rap/ 1 ical Prexce
Henry Vaug h an, h e k newstill less of h is descents. l
mentionth ese matters to indicate th e k indof race and
royalty to wh ich th etriadbelong s inliterature. Herbert
is still th e k nownpoet wh osepopularity is witnessedby
innumerable editions. Henry Vaug h an, desig natedth e
Silurist}is k nownindeed- - but a ter anoth er manner
andone much more restricted. His work s h ave been
collectedtwice andth e selections are f ew. As reg ards
Th omas Vaug h an, with a sing le exceptioninrespect of
th e tract entitledEuvnnarss, h e h as beeneditedin
moderntimes by myself only, andth e volume to wh ich
th epresentwords are prexedrepresents th eonly attempt
to produceh is writing s incollectedf orm.
Inth e vicinity of NewtonandTretoweris th e little
townof Llang attock , still with inth e voices of th e Usk ,
andth ereat th eperioddwelt th e Rev. Miatth ewHerbert,
a k insmanperh aps also, to wh om Th omas? andHenry
wroteLatinandEng lish verses, andto wh om th ef ormer
may h ave dedicatedAULA LUCIS, 3addressing h im as
Seleucus Abantiades- - 01 " such at least is my suspicion.
Th e records onwh ich I dependtell me th at th e boys
were placedinh is ch arg eat th eag e of elevenyears f or
sch ooling , andso protedth ereinth at inI638 th ey
proceeded- - apparently tog eth er- - - to Jesus Colleg e, Ox-
f ord, wh ere Th omas indue course took one Deg ree
inArts.Th is is statedby Woodandseems nal on
Th omas Vaug h anis as much entitledto be termedSilurist as h is
broth er. Ina sense, it was a f amily desig nation, belong ing to th at branch
wh ich h adits h ome inSouth - East Wales, wh ere dwelt once th e war-
lik eSilures.
2 SeeAPPENDIX I1 , p. 4 75.
3Th e tract entitledTHE MAN- MOUSE inreply to Henry More was
also dedicatedto Matth ewHerbert by h is pupil andservant, Eug enius
Ph ilaleth es.
4 Inadditionto th e research es of Grosart th ere are th ose of E. K.
Ch ambers inh is WORKS of Henry Vaug h an, 2 vols., MUSES LIBRARY,
I906. It must not besaidth at th ediscoveries madeby eith ereditorare
considerableinrespect of Th omas Vaug h an, th ematerials being wanting .
5 Th eUniversity Reg istersays th at Th os. Vaug h an. . . matriculated
f romJesus Colleg eon1 4 Dec., 1 638, ag ed1 6."
A Arnstm: Oxomsnsas.
ix
T/ z e Work s q f T/ z omas Vaug h an
th e subject, but it h as beensaidth at h e becamea Fellow
of h is Colleg e oralternatively a Masterof Arts.His
ag e at th etimeof matriculationis also describedvariously
as eig h teen, seventeenandsixteen. Th e last is onth e
auth ority of th e University Reg isters andf rom th is it
wouldf ollowth at h e was borninI622. Th e date of
h is baccalaureat is February I8, 1 64 .0, andth ereaf terI
ndno particulars concerning h im until h e was ordained
by DrMainwaring , Bish op of St Davids, andwas pre-
sentedto th e living of Llansaintf f raidby h is k insman
SirGeorg eVaug h anof FollerstoneinWiltsh ire. Ag ain
th edate is uncertain, th at of I64 0, wh ich is usually g iven,
seeming too early.3Inany case h e became inth is
mannerth e rectorof h is native parish andwas at least
innominal possessiontill 1 64 .9, wh enh e was ejected
by a Parliamentary Commission, underanAct f orth e
Propag ationof th e Gospel. Th e more immediate
reasonwas unq uestionably th at, incommonwith h is
broth er, h ewas anardent Royalist. Heh adalso f oug h t
f orth e King , notwith standing th ef act of h is ministry-
wh ere orunderwh at circumstances we are neverlik ely
to k now. But th e Wh ite King perish edinth e Royal
Cause onJanuary 30, I64 9, andWoodsays th at th e
loyal but dispossessedsubject soug h t th ereposeof Oxf ord
to pursue h is studies. He alternatedbetweenth ere
1 Was made Fellowof th e saidHouseare th e words of Wood,
ref erring to Jesus Colleg e, but it is a mistak e according to Grosart,
wh o g ives no reason. Th e f act of th is Fellowsh ip is af rmedby
Foster, ALUMNI Oxomsnsns, f ollowing Walk er s Surrsnmcs or
THE Ccnncv.
2 Grosart says th at h e passedM.A., but mentions no auth ority.
Th ere is, h owever, anexpressionof opinioninth e letterf rom Henry
Vaug h anto Joh nAubrey, already q uoted: (I th ink ) h e couldbe no
less th anMasterof Arts.
3See Grosart, 0, 29. 52., vol. ii, p. 3oI.
4 Th eoph ilus Jones says: Hewas oustedby th e propag ators of th e
g ospel inWales, f ordrunk enness, swearing , incontinency andcarrying
arms f orth e King .L0c. cit. Th e last ch arg e impliedth e oth ers
presumably.
5 Th eunsettledness of th etimeh indering h im a q uiet possessionof
th e placerneaning h is cureof souls h elef t it, andretiredto Oxon,
X
Bz '0g rap/ z z 'ca/ Pref ace
andLondon, andth e sug g estedrepose notwith standing
- - was busy about many th ing s. Ch ief among th ese
were th e publicationof h is rst ve tracts, intwo small
duodecimo volumes, inI650, andh is marriag e to a lady
namedRebecca- - patronymic unk nown- onSeptember
28, I651 . Inth is year also h e issuedth ree f urth er
tracts andone oth erinI652. Aninterceptedletter
includedamong th eTHURLOE Papsnsiindicates h is pres-
ence at Newtoninth e early part of I653. It is not
possible unf ortunately to identif y th e Pinnerof Wak e-
eld, 2wh ere h is Note- Book tells us th at h e livedwith
h is wif einth osedeardays wh enth eg ates opened
andina sedate repose prosecutedh is medicinal g enius (ina manner
valuedto h im), andat leng th - became eminent inth e ch emical part
th ereof , at Oxonandaf terwards at London.Wood, lac. cit.
1 AN INTERCEPTED LETTERof M. Vaug h anto MrCh arles Roberts.-
CousinRoberts: By th e inclosedf rom CaptainJenk inJoh nHewett to
Mrs Lewes of Lanvig an, youmay seeth at h e th reatens th e country with
h is troop. MrMorg anof Th erwanddivers oth ers of th e best of th e
country were at th is cock - g h t, wh ich was k ept no oth erwise th anac-
cording to th e custom of all oth ersch ools. We conceivedth at th ere
was no troop inourcountry, norunderh is command; but it appears
by th is h is ownletterth at h eh ath th em still listedandk eeps th em up
privately. Forth oug h h e came not to th e cock - g h t, according - to h is
menaces, yet h e h adth at morning at h is h ouse above th irty h orse, with
saddles andpistols, wh ich didmuch troubleandterrif y th ecountry people.
I pray learnif h is h ig h ness h ath lately g rantedh im a commission.
Oth erwise I k nowno reasonbut th eseactions sh ouldbe tak ennotice of .
Ourjustices of th e peace still slig h t th e LordProtector s auth ority and
h ave nowissuedf orth th eirwarrants f orth e contribution, some inth e
name of th e k eepers of th e liberty by auth ority of parliament, oth ers
with out any name at all; anddivers g entlemenh ave beenservedwith
th em but ref usedto execute th em. I wonderat th ese proceeding s and
more at th ose th at suf f erth em. I ll assure you, th e people- by reason
of th is public andpersevering contemptwill not believe th at th ere is
a LordProtectoranddo laug h at such relations. I couldwish th at th ose
wh om it concerns wouldlook to it, lest th eirtoo much clemency prove
h urtf ul to th em. I pray let meh earf rom youwith th erst conveniency,
andh owth ebusiness g oes betwixt meandMrs Garnes. Farewell.
Yourf riendandaf f ectionatek insman,
Tao. VAUGHAN
Newton, Ash - Wednesday, 1 653.
Formy respectedk insman,
MRCHARLES Ronsars,
at h is ch amberinGrayis- Inn, Th is.
2 SeeAPPENDIX I.
X I
T/ h e Wares Q/ i T/ wmarVaag / z arz
andh e believedh imself to h ave entereddeeply into th e
realm of natural secrets}Th e next traceable event is
th e publicationof Eurnnrvrns, h is last text, in1 655.2
Th ere f ollows anoth erperiodof silence, but onApril
1 7, I658, we learnby h is owntestimonyi th at Rebecca
Vaug h andied, andwas buriedat Mappersall inBedf ord-
sh ire? It was th e g reat g rief of h is lif e, as th e private
memorials sh ew, andh e was presumably h encef orth alone,
f orth ere is no reasonto th ink th at a sonwas bornto th e
marriag e, as inf erredby onewriter.
Th omas Vaug h anwas nowabout th irty- six years of
ag e andh adnot reach edth eref ore th e prime of lif e;
but h e disappears f rom th e eldof auth orsh ip, andall
th at we cang leanconcerning h im is containedby a f ew
lines inth e biog raph ical notice of Wood. Heis saidto
h ave beenunderth e protectionandpatronag e of Sir
Robert Murray, Secretary of State f orScotlandinth e
days of th e Commonwealth , but also a persona g ram
underth e Restorationinth ose of Ch arles II. Wh en
th e plag ue of I665 drove th e Court f rom Londonto
Oxf ordTh omas Vaug h anwent th ith erwith h is patron,
anda little latertook up h is residencewith th e Rector
of Albury, th e Rev. Sam. Kemf at wh ose h ouse, on
February 2.7of th at year, h ewas k illedby anexplosion
inth e course of ch emical experiments. He is saidto
h avebeenburiedonMarch I inth e ch urch of Albury
1 SeeAPPENDIX I.
2 See, h owever, APPENDIX IX , 5.2 . ATTRIBUTE1 ) I/ VORKS, accord-
ing to wh ich Eug enius Ph ilaleth es publish eda translationof Nollius
inI657.
3APPENDIX I, p. 4 4 6. _
4 MrE. K. Ch ambers obtainedth e f ollowing extract f rom th eReg ister
02i.j- "latliwjg jz lers.- i1 1 1 :- 1 658. Buried: Rebeck a, th eWif e of MrVah anne, th e
2 t o prl.
A DICTIONARYorNATIONAL BIOGRAPHY, at/ . Th omas Vaug h an.
B Wood: AT}- { ENEE Oxontsnsss.
1 ' DICTIONARY orNATIONAL BIOGRAPHY, .&.* t. '. Samuel Kern. I- Ie
was onth e Parliamentary side inth e days of th e Civil War, andwas
notorious f org h ting , preach ing andplundering ; but h e became a con-
vmcedloyalist at th e Restoration. It is dif f icult to understandVaug h an s
connectionwith th is dissolutech aracter. '
xii
Bz '0g rap/ z z 'ca/ Pref ace
villag e by th e care andch arg e of th e saidSirRobert
Murray. Th is is onth e auth ority of Woodandis
supportedby Henry Vaug h aninh is Eleg iac Eclog ue,
to be q uotedlater. Th e care andch arg e" must h ave
meant someth ing more th anburial f ees, andth ere is a
traditionth at a monument was erected. If so, all trace
of it h as vanish ed, andth e reg isters of Albury contain
no recordof Vaug h an s interment.alt seems to f ollow
th at We k nowas much andas little about th e passing
of Th omas Vaug h anas mig h t beexpectedf rom h is literary
importanceandrepute at th at period. His littlebook s
couldh ave appealedto a f ewonly, th oug h it may be
g rantedth at occult ph ilosoph y was ea minorf ash ionof
th e time. He was satirisedby Samuel Butler inh is
Cnanacrsa oranHsnmsrrc Pnrrosornsn, and- - - as
some "say- - - also inHUDIBRAS itself . Among h is con-
temporaries th eref ore h e was not at least unk nown.
I proceednowto th e considerationof a somewh at
involvedq uesti- on. Th omas Vaug h anpublish edAULA
Lucrs, oneof th e latertexts, underh is terminal initials,
1 ATHENJE OX ONIENSES. But th e letterof _Henry Vaug h anto Joh n
Aubrey says only th at h is broth erdieduponanemployment f orHis
Majesty.
3Heg aveall h is book s - andMSS. to SirRobert Murray.
3Th e DICTIONARY orNATIONAL BIOGRAPHY is wrong insupposing
th at th e will of Th omas Vaug h anis inSomerset House- - ref erence 53
M1 00- - th oug h th ere is one of a personbearing th at - name. Hewas,
h owever, of Cropredy inOxf ordsh ire, anda sonWilliam, to wh om h e
beq ueath edmost of h is property, was th e f ath erof f ourch ildrenat th e
date of mak ing th e willnamely, February 1 7th , 1 662- 4 53- - - wh ereas any
issue of Th omas Vaug h anof NewtonandRebecca h is wif ewouldh ave
beenonly about tenyears oldat th at period.
Th esatireremainedinMS. f orsometh ing lik ea century. Itis certain
th at Butlerintendedto depict Vaug h anandwas acq uaintedwith someof
h is writing s. Th eHermetic Ph ilosoph er- inq uestionadoredCornelius
Ag rippa, mag niedth eBreth renof th e Rosy Cross, was at warwith th e
sch oolmen, recommendedSendivog ius andth e ENCHIRIDION of jean
d Espag net- - to all of wh ich Vaug h ananswers. See TI- IE GENUINE
REMAINSof 'MrSamuel Butler. . . From th eorig inal MSS. . . . by R.
Th yer, vol. ii, p. 225 at .reg ., I759. Th e sug g estionth at Ralph o th e
sq uireof Hudibras was also intendedf orVaug h ancanh avebeenmade
by no one acq uaintedwith th ework s of "Eug enius Ph ilaleth es. Th ereis
no vestig eof simiiitude.
X 1 1 1
Te / Varies of Th omas Vaug / ran
S. N. Oth erwiseh ewrotealways as Eug enius Ph ilaleth es,
andout of th is f act th ere arises a very curious q uestion
of identity, involving a conf usionof distinct orapparently
distinct personalities, onwh ich I h ope to cast such lig h t
th at it may perh aps be reg ardedas determined. Inth e
yearI667- - being two years af terVaug h an, according to
h is h istory, h addepartedth is lif e- - th ere appearedat
Amsterdam a work entitledINTROITUS APER'rUs AD
OCCLUSUM REGIS PALATIUM, edente Joanne Lang io, th e
accreditedauth orbeing Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es, described
as anonymus p/ z ilosapus, andby h imself as natut/ Yng lus,
/ z abitatiane cosmopaiira. It sprang at once into f ameas a
treatiseof undeniableHermetic auth ority andexceptional
clearness onth eGreat Work of Alch emy. So f ar, h ow-
ever, it wouldappear only th at anEng lish writerh ad
ch osenLatinas h is medium, th e continent as place of
publication, anda pseudonym recalling th at of Eug enius,
inall wh ich th ere is noth ing wh ich calls f ornotice. But
anexaminationof th e work andth ecircumstances under
wh ich it was issuedarrest attention. Inth e rst place,
it came into th e editor s h ands, not long priorto its
publication, f rom a most excellent k nowing manof
th esematters, " not oth erwise described, wh ile as reg ards
th eauth orh imself Lang ius says : I k nowno moreth an
h ewh o is most ig norant, not evenwh eth erh ewas still
living . Inth e secondplace, h e didnot inh is opinion
possess a true manuscript copy, " so th at h is edition
appearedsubject to all f aults?
Forth e next sig nicant f act we must pass, h owever,
1 It was reprintedinMusz aum HERMETICUM Rq f oranaium at Ampli-
comm in1 677; in1 683at Venice; at Jena in1 699; inI706 at Frank -
f urt ; andin1 754 a French translationappearedinBIBLIOTHEQUE dear
Piz z 'Z0.r0_; 9}z .e.rAle/ z z 'r2z z 'g 'ue.r, vol. iv, tog eth erwith EX PLICATION do ca Traf t!
dz P/ z z 'Zalet/ z eparlm'mme, th eauth enticity of wh ich is doubtf ul.
2 Th epref aceof Lang ius is of considerableinterest andbibliog raph ical
conseq uence. He points out acutely th at THE OPEN ENTRANCEis not
only reminiscent of Sendivog ius andh is NEW LIGHT OF ALCHEMY in
respect of perspicuity andcandourbut also inth ematterof style. Th ere
is no doubt th at Sendivog ius- orAlexanderSetonbeh indh imwas th e
model of Eirenaeus ; both also adoptedth edescriptivetitleof Cosmopolite.
X IV
B 0g rep/ z ical Pref ace
f rom th e editor s pref ace to th at of th e writer, wh o
opens with th e f ollowing testimony : I, being anadept
anonymous, a loverof learning anda ph ilosoph er, h ave
undertak ento writeth is littletreatiseconcerning medicinal,
ch emical andph ysical secrets, inth e yearof redemption
I64 5 andinth e twenty- th irdyearof my ag e." Th e
motives by wh ich h e was actuatedwere th at h e
mig h t leadth eSons of th e Art out of th e labyrinth of
errors andth e deceits of soph isters; (2) th at h e mig h t
berecog nisedby Adepts at larg e as th eirpeerandth eir
broth er. Th esereasons set aside, it remains th at Eirenaeus
Ph ilaleth es, according to h is ownstatement, accomplish ed
th e Great Work at th e ag e of twenty- two, andoth erwise
th at h is memorial concerning it didnot see th e lig h t f or
twenty- two years. It is of courseaninteresting coinci-
denceandnoth ing f ollows th eref rom; but as th e result
of a simplecalculationwe sh all ndth at h ewas bornin
I622, orinth e same yearas Th omas Vaug h an, if we
accept th e Oxf ordUniversity record, th at th e latter
matriculatedat th eag eof sixteenin1 638.1 I amobviously
not preparedto deny th at h ere is anoth ercoincidence,
h oweverremark able as such ; but I must conf ess th at
imag inationis disposed, onth e oth erh and, to speculate
wh eth erVaug h anreally diedinI665, wh eth erh edidnot
ch ang eh is local h abitation, adopting anoth erpseudonym,
as h e h addone once previously. A certainromantic
1 Th erecordis inag reement with th ebirth - dateg ivenby Wood.
2 Henry Vaug h anwas satisedonly too well onth ef act of h is broth er s
death , f orh emak es h im th esubject of aneleg iac eclog ueunderth etitleof
DAPHNIS, recording ourlong sorrows andh is lasting rest.Th ef ollow-
ing lines h aveth eunmistak ablenoteof identity :-
Let Daph nis still beth erecordedname
Andsolemnh onourof ourf easts andf ame.
Forth oug h th eIsis andth eprouderTh ames
Cansh owh is relics lodg edh ardby th eirstreams,
Andmust f oreverto th eh onour dname
Of nobleMurray ch iey oweth at f ame,
Yet h ereh is stars rst sawh im-
a ref erenceto Usk andits vicinity.
X V
Th e Wares of Th omas Vaug h an
colouring is reectedonsuch a notionby th e f act th at
noth ing was issuedunderth estyleof Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es
till Eug enius h adbeensettledinh is g rave at Albury,
according to rumour.
Ournext task is to ascertainwh eth erth e subseq uent
literary h istory of th etwo alch emists th rows any lig h t on
th esubject, andit h appens th at so early as th eyearI705
a Germantranslationof THE OPEN Enraancs was
publish edat Hamburg underth e name of Th omas de
Vag an}Since th at date th e conf usionof th e two
alch emists became almost a matterof h abit until- - af ter
being misledmyself by bibliog raph ies th encurrent- - - I
endeavouredto clearup th e q uestioninI888.3But
it continues incertainq uarters evento th is day. It
f ollows th at th e birth coincidence is illustratedby early
identication, wh ich may well h ave arisenth roug h
similarity of pseudonyms, but certainly not owing to
th e coincidence itself , with wh ich no one wouldh ave
beenacq uaintedonth e continent. It was perpetuated
inEng landsubseq uently by transmissionf rom writer
to W1 1 tC1 '.
1 MrE. K. Ch ambers states th at th e Jena Latineditionof THE OPEN
ENTRANCE, publish edinI699, h as a pref ace by G. W. Wedelius, wh o
says of th eauth or, ExArz g iia lame): twig s lz abctar0r'z 'ana'm at T/ mmas
do Veg anapprllatus, a still earlierascription, but h e was not able to
verif y it. Th ere is, h owever, a copy inth e British Museum at th e
present timeandI h avebeenableto determine th e point. Th e opinion
expressedby Wedelius at th e endof th e seventeenth century rests on
th eauth ority of G. Hornius, aneditorof Geber. Th eABYSSUSALCHEMIEE
describes Vaug h anonth etitle- pag eas anEng lish adept, th etranslators
sh ort pref acecontaining no particulars concerning h im. Th ech aracter-
istic pseudonym of Th omas Vaug h andoes not appearanywh ere, north at
of Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es.
2 Th ey aredisting uish edcaref ully, h owever, by Anth ony a Wood.
3LIvEs orALCHEMYSTICAL PHILOSOPHERS, pp. 1 87- z oo.
4 Th eDICTIONARY orNATIONAL BIOGRAPHY, .r.'z / . Georg e Stark ey,
af rms th at Eirenseus Ph ilaleth es usedth e pseudonym of Eug enius in
onecaseat least.It is unf ortunateth at th e case is not mentioned, but
I mak eno doubt th at th ereis anerroronth epoint of f act. Th eref erence
maybeto A BRIEF NATURAL HISTORY by Eug enius Ph ilaleth es, I669,
onwh ich seeArrnnrnx IX , pp. 4 89, 4 9o. Th ere are two th ing s certain
about th is tract, th erst being th at it is not by Th omas Vaug h an, andth e
secondth at it is not by Eiren:- eus. _
X VI
B1 '0g rap/ z ical Pref ace
Passing nowto th e q uestionwh eth erth e identication
is justif iedorcanbe reg ardedas tolerable, we are con-
f rontedby th e f act th at, with th e exceptionof some
metrical exercises belong ing to h is earlierdays, Vaug h an
didnot write inLatin. Th at h e couldh ave done so
th ere is no q uestionif it became expedient ordesirable
f orany purpose inview, but th e appearance of THE
OPEN ENTRANCE inth at lang uag e cannot be saidonth e
surf ace to h elp anaf iirmative answer. Th ewh olestory
of th etract is, h owever, curious. I h ave mentionedth at
Lang ius was insearch of a bettertext th anth at wh ich
h e was inducedto publish by h is belief inits sig nal
importance. Two years af terth e Amsterdam edition,
orinI669andwith a pref ace datedAug ust 9, I668-
th ere appearedinLondon- - andinEng lish - - anedition
of THE OPEN Enraaucs, editedby WilliarnCooper,
wh o styledh imself a true LoverorArt andNature."
By th eh ypoth esis it is not a translationof th e Lang ius
text, but is describedas th e true manuscript copy
wh ich Joh nLang ius inh is pref ace doth so much th irst
af ter.It is af f irmedto h ave beeninth e editor's
possessionf ormany years bef ore th e publicationin
Latin." Moreover, th e readeris directedto ndcon-
siderable enlarg ements andexplanations, wh ereinth e
Latintranslationis decient.I h ave ch eck edth ese
variations, andsome at least of th em seem important to
th e text. It is dif f icult to speak with certainty, and
I am putting th e point tentatively, but onth e wh ole I
am disposedto inf erth at William Cooperreally h adan
1 Leng let duFresnoy renders Cooper- s title into Latinas f ollows:
INTROITUS APERTUS, at rrrarz z rsrripto ; f > e2ji c!:'orz ' inZz rz g rram Arz _g Zz '-
camwz versus at z 'r:z pre.tsa.r, th us mak ing h im a translator. But th e
Eng lish title inf ull is: SECRETS REVEALED, orAnOpenEntrance to
th e Sh ut Palace of th e King . Containing th e Greatest Treasure in
Ch emistry, neveryet so plainly discovered. Composedby a most
f amous Eng lish man, styling h imself Anonyrrras, orEyraeneus Ph ilaleth a
Cosmopolita, wh o, by InspirationandReading , attainedto th e Ph ilo-
soph er s Stone at h is Ag e of Twenty- th ree Years, Anna Domz 'm' I64 5.
Publish edf orth eBenet of all Eng lish menby W. C. Esq .
xvii I6
T/ re Work s cf T/ z omas Vaug h an
Eng lish versioninh is possession, h oweverh e came by
it. It is part of th e Eirenaeus mystery. Cooperdoes
not pretendth at it was th e auth or s autog raph manu-
script, but reg ards it as transcribedprobably th eref rom
andvery little corrupted.Inth is case THE OPEN
ENTRANCEwouldh ave beenwrittenorig inally inEng lish .
But ag ainst th is I h aveto set th e f act th at inh is pref ace
to RIPLEY REVIVED Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es species th at
h e wroteit inLatin. Hespeak s of various tracts, g iving
titles inmost cases, including one inEng lish , very
plainbut not perf ected. Unf ortunately it slippedout
of my h and: I sh all be sorry if it comes abroadinto th e
world." Heg oes onto enumerate BRsvIs IVIANUDUCTIO
andFoNs CnvMIc.E VERITa'rIs, wh ich h e h as resolvedto
suppress. Heth enadds : Two oth erLatintreatises, th e
oneentitledAns l\/ la'rALI.oRuM MaTAMoRPnosEs, th eoth er,
Inraorrus Arsarus anOccwsum REGIS Patarrum, I
lately wrote.1 Th is look s obviously nal onth eq uestion,
but it does not f ollowth at Cooperproduceda f raudulent
version, translatedf rom th e Latin. Th e manuscripts of
Eirenmus seem to h ave beenscatteredinmany places, and
th eINTROITUS h adbeenwrittentwenty- two years bef oreit
appearedinGermany. AnEng lish translationis th eref ore
f arf rom improbable, and, inadditionto Cooper, th erewas
onepossessedby Horniusalso inMS. f orm. Noth ing ,
h owever, accounts f orvariations f rom th e Latin, more
especially wh enth ey seem important. Th ese f acts and
considerations are of no conseq uence to any issue respect-
ing th e identity of Eireneeus andEug enius, but th ey are
of moment onth ebibliog raph ical side.
Th e q uestionof distinctionor identity is inmy
opinioncapable of determinationby ref erence to th e
memorials th emselves, inrespect of th eirsubject- matter
andmode of treatment, andby ref erence to th e personal
side I h ave put clearly andimpartially all th at canbe
1 Hespeak s also of two lost poems inEng lish , of anENCI- IYRIDION
andDIURNAL.
xviii
B 0g rap/ 2{ cal Pref ace
saidf orth e identicationof th e two writers, andit will
be seenth at it comes to noth ing beyondth e similarity
of ag e. Ag ainst th is trap to catch th e unwary, we h ave
to set th e f ollowing f acts. (I) At no periodof h is lif e,
andmuch less at th ebeg inning of h is literary activity, h e
being th eninh is twenty- eig h th year, didTh omas
Vaug h anclaim to h ave accomplish edth e ph ysical
Jag nuaz Opus. He testies, onth e contrary, th at h e
reach edno term inth ework onmetals, and- - evenf rom
h is ownstandpoint- - h e was not acq uaintedwith wh at
is calledth e First Matterwh enh e publish edh is rst
two texts. He was th eref ore ex / z ypol/ z esi ina very
dif f erent positionf rom Eircnmus Ph ilaleth es, wh o claimed
inh is twenty- th irdyearth at h e couldextract g oldand
silverout of it.1 Th eth ing s wh ich we h ave seen-
h e says oth erwise- - wh ich we h avetaug h t andwroug h t,
wh ich we possess andk now- - - th ese do we declare.
(2) Vaug h an, onth e oth erh and, as we sh all ndat
suf cient leng th inth e INTRODUCTION wh ich f ollows th is
Pnrracs, was a cosmical ph ilosoph er, ch erish ing all k inds
of doctrines andth eories onth e creationof th e world,
onth e primitive state of man, onh is Fall andRedemp-
tion- as seeninth e lig h t of Kabalistic andoth eroccult
th eosoph ies, about wh ich Eirenaeus k newnoth ing appar-
ently. (3) Th epersonalities of th etwo menwerealmost
as th e poles asunder, th e Welsh mystic being anardent
loverof Nature, a manof sentiment andimag ination, a
typical poet of h is period, belong ing to a particularsch ool,
wh ereas h is co- h eirinHermetic traditionwas positive,
practical, disturbedorconsoledvery littleby th e beauty
of external th ing s, andbut littleof th e h umanist order.
(4 .) Th e identity of Eirenmus h as nevertranspiredf and
1 Hesays th at th ewh olesecret consists inMercury, wh ich is soph ic
andnot vulg ar. It is a ch aos relatedto all metals as a moth er, " and
"out of it I k nowh owto extract all th ing s, evenSol andLuna, with out
th etransmuting Elixir.THEOPEN ENTRANCE, c. 1 , 2.
2 I6z 'd., c. I3.
3Inoneof th eBritish Museum copies of THEMARROW OF ALCHEMY,
X IX
Tae Wore: cf T/ z omas Vaag aaa
th ere are only traditional rumours concerning h is lif e,
with one important exception. I th ink personally th at
h e must h ave visitedGeorg e Stark ey inAmerica prior
to 1 654 .1 He h as beenidentiedoth erwise with th at
strang erina plainrustic dress, wh o seemedlik e a
native of th e North of Holland, andwh o calledon
Joh nFrederick Helvetius at Th e Hag ue onDec. 27,
publish edin1 654 - ref erence I033, g . 35, .s* .r/ . Eirenaeus Ph iloponos Ph ila-
leth es- th ereis a note inanoldh andwriting wh ich says th at th e name
of Eirenaeus was Ch ilde. I h ave f ailedto carry th is intimationf urth er.
Mrs Atwood s SUooEsTIvE INQUIRYaf f irms onp. 51 of th enewedition
th at th e auth orof THE OPEN ENTRANCE was AlexanderSeton, but
contradicts it with ch aracteristic conf usiononp. 61 .
1 Georg e Stark ey was borninth e Bermudas, g raduatedat Harvey
Colleg einI64 6, practisedas a doctorinAmerica, andcameto Eng land
at anuncertaindate priorto I654 , wh enh e publish edTHE MARROW
OF ALCHEMY as th e work of Eirenaeus Ph iloponos Ph ilaleth es. Inh is
rst pref ace th ereto h e recounts h is acq uaintance with a disciple of th e
true Eirenaeus, andenumerates most of th elatter s writing s th irteenyears
bef oreth erst of th em appearedinGermany. Heclaims th at th ey were
lent to h im by th e Masters pupil. He claims also th at- - inresponse to
h is solicitationth e latterwrote BREVIS Ii- IANUDUCTIO adCanz g rrrrz
.S'a; f > k z 'camz , a tract entitledELENCHUS Errorz mz 2'22 Arte Ck er.1 z 2'c.< i Dean'-
arz niam, andinneTHEMARROWOF ALCHEMY. By means of all th ese
manuscripts, Stark ey says th at h e attainedth eMystery of th eMercury
andby it th eFirst Iwh iteness.Heexpressedalso a h opeth at h esh ould
h ave experience of th e Redina sh ort time, but h is teach erh adnot so
f arinstructedh im, f orth eperiodof h is ownpledg e- g ivento Eirenz eus
Ph ilaleth es- - was unexpired. InPart I of THE MARROWorALCHEMY
th e supposedEirenmus Ph iloponos- - being th e supposititious pupil-
narrates h is ownadventures andf ailures inth e q uest of th e Great Work
anddescribes th eadept to wh om h eowedeveryth ing . Th is artist bears all
th emark s andsig ns of Eirenreus Ph ilaleth es, is saidto beanEng lish man
of ancient andh onourablef amily, h is years scarce th irty- th ree, anda
citiz enof th eworld, at present onh is travels. Af tercaref ul consideration,
I am ledto conclude: (I) Th at th e supposedpupil of Eirenaeus is a
g ment of Stark ey s imag ination; (2) Th at owing to some proh ibition
imposedby th eadept anonymous, " wh o desiredto remainunk nown, or
f orreasons properto Stark ey, h econcealedinth is mannerh is acq uaint-
ance with th e g reat alch emist; (3) Th at eith erTHE MARROW was h is
ownwork orh einsertedth ereinth at sectionwh ich contains th estory of
Ph iloponos, wh ich is actually h is ownstory. Th ere is noth ing inth e
poem to mak e th e introductionof a biog raph ical narrative inth eleast
lik ely orneedf ul : onth econtrary it involves a break incontinuity. Th e
poem seems scarcely worth y of a g reat Hermetic reputation, but onth e
wh ole th e secondalternative appears more probable. Ineith ercase,
Stark ey s story of th e pupil was ig noredby Williani Cooperwh enh e
editedRIPLEYREvIvED. Itremains to addth at Stark ey diedof th eplag ue
X IX
Bz '0g mrpital Pm; / f ace
I666, to discuss th e claims of alch emy andto exh ibit
th e Stone of th e Ph ilosoph ers. It is to be notedalso
th at inI668- - wh enh is tract onTHE Paaraxarrouor
Sopnrc Mancuxvwas publish edat Amsterdam by Daniel
El'z .evir- h e is describedas anAmericanph ilosoph er.
lt is obvious onth ef aith of th ese statements - wh eth er
all orone- th at th e lif e of Eirenaaus Ph ilaleth es was
a complete contrast to th at of Th omas Vaug h an, th e
measure of wh ose wandering s was circumscribedby
Wales, LondonandOxf ord.(5) But th e real and
crucial point is a q uestionof th e literary sense. On
inI665, orinth e same yearth at Th omas Vaug h andiedf rom inh aling
th e f umes of Mercury. Th eprecious MSS. of Ph ilaleth es wh ich h e h ad
seenandstudiedbeg anto bepublish edtwo years af terinGermany, with
th e exceptionof RIPLEY REVIVED, wh ich appearedinLondoninI678.
Intwo cases th ey were producedby editors abroad, wh ile William
Cooperwas answerable f orth e Eng lish work , presumably anoth ertext
wh ich h adcome into h is possession. Noth ing seems to h ave been
issuedunder th e supervisionof th e auth orh imself , andMrE. K.
Ch ambers says th at h e cannot be sh ewnto h ave outlivedTh omas
Vaug h an.Th e remark is g ratuitous, f orth ereis noth ing to prove th at
h e existedaf terI654 , wh enStark ey rst madek nownth at such a person
h adbeenabroadinth eworldandh adach ievedg reat th ing s inalch emy.
It f ollows f rom th epref aceto R1 PLEvth at Ph ilaleth es obtainedh is initia-
tionf rom book s andnot f rom a Master, as Stark ey states. It f ollows also
th at by I64 5 h eh adwrittenvetracts, if not more- h is inf ormationbeing
wordedvag uely- - anextraordinary output f ora youth of twenty- two, not
to speak of th estudies andattainments presupposedth ereby.
1 See VITULUS AUREUS, I667. Th e narrative with wh ich I am con-
cernedis containedinth eth irdch apter, andth eag e of th evisitoris said
to h ave beenabout f orty- th reeorf orty- f our, being approximately th at of
Eirenaeus inth at year. Heexh ibitedanivory box, inwh ich th erewere
th ree larg e pieces of a substanceresembling g lass orpale sulph ur, and
inf ormedme th at h erewas enoug h of th e tincture f orth eproductionof
twenty tons of g old.Heowedh is ownk nowledg eto a Masterwh o h ad
stayeda f ewdays inh is h ouseandh adtaug h t h im th is Divine Art- - -
wh ich seems contrary to th estory of Eirenaeus. Helvetius conf esses th at
wh enh e h eldth e substance inh is h andh e scrapedof f some particles
with h is nail, but th ey ch ang edleadinto g lass insteadof into g old. He
mentionedth e f act wh enh esawh is visitorona lateroccasion, andwas
toldth at h e sh ouldh ave protectedth e spoil with yellowwax bef ore
administering it to th e metal. Th e adept endedby g iving Helvetius
anoth ermorsel with instructions, by f ollowing wh ich h e succeededsubse-
q uently intransmuting six drach ms of leadinto th enest g oldeverseen
by a certaing oldsmith to wh om it was of f eredf orexamination.
9 Grosart sug g ests th at h e may h avevisitedEdinburg h , presumably on
account of h is connectionwith Murray, but it is purespeculation.
X X I
T/ z e War/ 5; cf Tomas Vaug / z arz
th e evidence of th at f aculty, it is certainth at th e book s
writtenunderth e name of Eug enius are not by th e
h andwh ich wrote THE OPEN ENTRANCE andproduced
RIPLEY REv1 vED. It is a q uestionwh ich lies wh olly
outside th e issues of debate andis f orth ose wh o can
see- - meaning f orth ose wh o possess th e sense. It will
be nal f orth em, if th ey are at th e pains to compare
th e texts, evenas it is nal f orme. I conclude th at
Th omas Vaug h anwas not Eirenwus Ph ilaleth es, wh o-
soever th e latter may h ave been, andth at th ey h ave
beenmerg edone into anoth ersolely over a conf usion
of pseudonyms.
Th e name of Vaug h anwas f org ottenspeedily in
Eng land, andonth e Continent it survivedmainly by
i- ts identicationwith Ph ilaleth es th eCosmopolite. Th e
reputationof THE OPEN ENTRANCE mag niedits auth or
andencompassedh im with a h alo of romance. Th omas
Vaug h anth e Silurist denies specically h is connection
with any RosicrucianBroth erh ood; but Th omas de
Vag an, / ideprus / Yng lus andsupposedauth orof Asvssus
Atcntmrae ExPLoaaTus, h adattainedth e Elixirof Lif e
andwas th e concealedImperator of th e Invisible
Fraternity. VVh enLeo Taxil inmoderndays created
Diana Vaug h an, as th e h eroine- in- ch ief of Lucif erian
Palladism, h e f urnish edh er with anancestor inth e
personof Th omas Vaug h an, auth or of THE OPEN
ENTRANCE andCh ief of th e Rosy Cross? It may be
1 ANTnRoPosoPHta THEOMAGICA andMaura Anaratca, with its
continuation, CCELUM TERREE, were translatedinto GermaninI7o4 .
EUPHRATESappearedinth e DEUTSCHES THEATRUM CHEMICUM, vol. i,
Niirnberg , I728. At Berlin, inI782, all th esetracts, tog eth erwith ANIMA
Maolca AnscoNn1 Ta, LUMEN onLUMINE: andAULa LUCIS, as also
th e META}- IORPHOSIS or METALS, CELESTIAL RUBY andFoNT or
CHEMICAL TRUTH, appearedunderth ename of Eug enius Ph ilaleth es in
HERMF. 1 lSCI- IES A B C, Iierlin, 1 788 89.
3It will be suicient to ref ermy readers to a volume calledDEVIL-
WORSHIP IN FRANCE, wh ich I h adoccasionto publish inI896, f orth e
exposure of th e Taxil conspiracy ag ainst Masonry. See th e ch apter
entitledDirma (" z 'vez '[ed. Leo Taxi! put back th ebirth - date of Th omas
Vaug h anto I61 2andrepresentedh im as receivedinto th e Rosicrucian
X X 1 1
B2'0g rap/ z { cal Prq f ace
addedth at inth eosoph ical circles Th omas Vaug h anis
nowreg ardedas a Master, but th at is a denomination
wh ich each of us must be permittedto understandaf ter
h is ownmanner. I th ink onmy part th at h e h adseen
th e endof adeptsh ip, but th ere is no recordandno
sug g estionth at h e attainedit.
Th oug h Eug enius Ph ilaleth es comes bef ore us above
all th ing s as anoccult andmystical writer, we sh all mak e
a mistak e if we disreg ardh is literary side, not f orwh at
it mark s inach ievement but f orth at wh ich it connotes
inambition. I set apart h is Latinexercises, th oug h - - as
Holof ernes mig h t h ave said- - th ey arg uef acility, andth ey
h ave beenpraised, moreover, f orth eireleg ance. Th ey
indicatea bent at best. But if h e h adnot beencarried
overby z eal into th e path s of th e Secret TraditionI
believeth at h is memory mig h t well h averemainedamong
us as a writerof Eng lish verse, f orh e wouldh ave g one
f urth erinth at eld. His metrical f rag ments are proof s
of considerable f aculty. He wouldh ave f ollowedth e
leadof h is broth er, wh eth erornot h e mig h t h avereach ed
a h ig h erg radeth anth at wh ich is representedby Henry
Vaug h an s occasional but q ualiedexcellence. P
It remains to say th at inpreparing th evarious texts f or
Fraternity by Robert FluddinI636. InI64 4 h e presidedovera
Rosicrucianassembly, at wh ich Elias Ash mole was present. He wrote
THE OPEN ENTRANCE in1 64 5. InI654 h e became GrandMaster
of th e R.C. Order, wh ich worsh ippedLucif eras th e g oodg od, andin
I678 h e was translatedto th e paradise of Lucif er. It is not worth wh ile
dwelling onth ese inventions at th epresent day, but Leo Taxil h adnot
actedth elast scenes of h is memorablecomedy wh enMrE. K. Ch ambers
publish edh is editionof Henry Vaug h an, andh eg aveconsiderablespace
to th esubject inh is secondvolume.
1 It may be convenient f orbibliog raph ical purposes to mentionh ere
th at in1 888 I editedANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA, ANIMA Maotca
ABSCONDITA, MAGIA AUAMICA, andCCELUM TERREE underth e g eneral
titleof TI- IEMAGICAL X - VRITINGS of Th omas Vaug h an. My discovery of
Vaug h an s precious Note- Book is announcedth erein. InI91 0 I edited
LUMEN DE LUMINE with anintroductionto wh ich ref erence is made
elsewh ere. EUPHRATES appearedinth e series entitledCOLLECTANEA
g lERMETICA, I893, being editedwith notes by Miss Florence Farr, z '.a.,
. S. D. D.
xxiii
T/ z e W01 "s of T/ z omarVaug / z arz
th epresent editionI h ave met with sing ulardiiculties
overth eGreek andLatincitations. I do not ref ermerely
to th ecorrupt state of th e f ormer, but, rstly, to th e ex-
treme dif culty of ch eck ing inboth cases, owing to th e
vag ue nature of th e ref erenceswwh enindeedth ere are
ref erences at all ; and, secondly, to th eextraordinary dis-
covery, wh ena certainproportionof th e extracts h ave
beenat last identied, th at Th omas Vaug h anwas too
of tenq uoting f rom memory, g iving th e g eneral senseof
a passag e but apart f rom literal accuracy.
A. E. WAITE.
xxiv
INTRODUCTION
T1 - toz vtas Vauonanis th e most interesting g ure in
Hermetic literatureof th eseventeenth century inEng land,
th oug h it must be admittedth at h e is one of a triad
betweenwh om it is dif cult to ch oose, speak ing with in
th at restrictedmeasure. Inth e g enerationwh ich pre-
cededimmediately th ere was th e illuminatedmaster,
f ull of h ig h intimations af terh is ownmanner, wh o wrote
A NEWLIGHT orALQHEMY. He belong s to th e list in
so f aras I am rig h t inbelieving th at h is truename was
AlexanderSeton, th oug h h is work appearedunderth at
of Mich ael Sendivog ius, a pupil orf ollowerwh o issued
itinth is case- - as h is own. Th e q uestionis obscure
andth e last wordremains to be saidth ereonunless
ultimately it may be lef t overf orwant of materials by
wh ich to reach a settlement. Inth e sameg enerationas
Vaug h anandalmost h is pseudonymous namesak e, th ere
is Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es- - th at inspiredadept anonymous
andloverof learning with wh om I h ave dealt inth e
pref ace. Th ereis no convictionto compareinalch emical
literature with th at wh ich moves th roug h th e written
memorials of th ese two peers andco- h eirs wh om I h ave
classedwith th e Welsh mystic. It certies everywh ere
th at th ey h adreach ed- - inth eirownview- th e term of
search andh adcompletedth e g reat adventure. With in
th eirproperlimits of symbolism, both are more clear,
morepositive, more constructive th anTh omas Vaug h an,
th oug h all at th eirbest wereonrewith a strang ez eal of
missionandwereassuredly broth ers inGod. Inparticular
1 It is to be understoodth at th e NEWLIGHTwas writteninth eLatin
tong ue.
X X V
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
as reg ards th e th irdof th is Hermetic triad, th ere is no
g rowth of th e mindf rom small beg inning s unto g reater
ends inth e sh ining records of Eirenaeus. Th at BREVIS
MANUDUCTIO wh ich is presumably h is rst work repre-
sents th e same h eig h t of certitude as T1 - 1 E OPEN EN-
TRANCE orRIPLEY REv1 vEo, wh ich may be rank ed- - I
suppose- - among h is last. But ANTHRoPosoPH1 A THEO
MAo1 cA andits companiontract are products of a
prentice h andincomparisonwith LUMEN DE LUMINE
or EuPnRA'rEs. Th ere is anoth er distinctionbetween
th em wh ich is worth noting : th e predominant tempera-
mental ch aracteristics of Vaug h anth roug h all h is book s
are th ose of sentiment andemotion, andwe k nowto
wh at leng th s h e was carriedby th ese dispositions inh is
duels with Henry More. His personal element is th ere-
f orealways inth e ascendant, andth oug h it is attractive
andevenwinning - - th e calamities of h is q uarrels not-
with standing andnotwith standing all th eirBilling sg ate-
it contrasts strang ely with th e intellectual repose of
Eirenteus andSeton, wh ich is so lik e a reposeinscience.
Finally th ereis a th irddistinction, andit is th at by wh ich
I am broug h t to my properpoint of departure. So f ar
as it is possible to speak with certainty inth eabsence of
anestablish edcanonof criticism, th e NEW LIGHT and
THE OPEN ENTRANCEarealch emical work s of th eirperiod
inth emorestrict understanding of th e term, by wh ich I
meanth at th e transmutationof imetals is th eirsole or
mainconcern; andth e claims of th eirauth ors to th e
mastery attainedandplacedonrecordare to be tak enin
th is sense, andinth is- - I th ink - - only. Th ey weremen
of relig ious mindby th e indubitable testimony of th eir
writing s, andbecause it f ollows f rom all Hermetic litera-
ture th at anundevout alch emist wouldbe still moremad
th anevenanirnpious astronomer. But th ey are not men
wh o come bef ore us carrying g reat lig h ts orindeedany
lig h ts at all onth e supreme subject of relig ion. Th e
analog y of th ing s above andbelowinstitutedf orth em
xxvl
[mr0dactz 'oa
a bondof unionbetweenth e mysteries of Hermetic
practiceandth e practice of th ose oth ermysteries wh ich
belong to th eKing dom of Heaven; but inth erecog ni-
tionof th is correspondence th ey reach edth e term of
th eirproposal inspiritual th ing s, so f aras th eirbook s
wereconcerned. Th ey weredealing with anoth ersubject.
It was oth erwise with Th omas Vaug h an, albeit h e h ad
work edinmetals anddidof tenrecurth ereto.
As onewh o comes out of WildWales andsets towards
London, Vaug h anenteredinto literary lif ewith anabiding
implicit inh is h eartth at th e g reat adventure is God,
attainedandk nowninth e entire being , all deeps and
h eig h ts th ereof . He may h ave f ollowedmany f alse
processes inoutwardandinwardlif e; h e may h ave
misreadsome symbols wh ich were commonmodes of
expressioninth e sch ool to wh ich h e belong ed; h emay
h ave devisedf antastic points of meeting betweenpath s
of th oug h t andcxperiment wh ich do not belong to
one anoth er; but h e never ch ang edconsciously th e
g roundof h is intent. He beg aninth e narrowname
of Ch emia 1 andf oundnoth ing to h is purpose, f ollowing in
th eircourse wh o will h earof noth ing but metals." He
enlarg edh is eldof considerationand- believing th at h e
stooduponth e th resh oldof g reat secrets- - h e set open
a g lass of dream uponth ecosmic processes. It is certain
ag ainth at h e came to noth ing th erein, th oug h h e h ad
look edto surprise creative art at work inth e laboratory
of th euniverseandto direct experiments th ereby f orh is
ownends inresearch . But h e k newalways th at Damian:
mmpars 5! sadroram- - alik e inArt andNature, aboveall
inth ing s of th e h umansoul. Heunderstoodordivined
th at manis th e g reat subject, to wh ich th e universe
appeals, th at Godappeals th erein, andth at th e rermz 'na.s' aa
g uem of ournature is attainedinso f aras th at wh ich is
with out us is received- - orsh all I say acq uiredP- by th at
wh ich is with in. Forh im as f orth e g reat th eosoph ists
1 ANIMA MAo1 cA Assconnrra, p. 95.
X X V1 1
Th e Warh s of Th omas Vaug h an
of all ag es andnations th erewas a Godimmanent inth e
external world, as th erewas a Godimmanent with inth e
individual soul; but th e vital conseq uence of th is truth
inboth its aspects was inproportionto th at lawof recep-
tionwh ich operates by th e mode of realisation. Manis
th ecriterionth eref oreandh e th e centre about wh ich , in
h is respect, th e worlds revolve: all th ing s become man
to th eextent th at th ey are q uick enedwith inh im by th e
work of consciousness. Doz ninas nonpars es: sea raaan
wh enth eLordof all is k nownandso reig ns as Lordof
all with inus. Hereof is th edistinctionbetweenTh omas
Vaug h anandth ose wh om I h ave calledh is co- h eirs in
th econcernof th eHermetic Mystery.
As reg ards th e realm of possible attainment wh ich
canopenbef ore th e soul of man, h e tells us (I) th at
maninh is orig inal is a branch plantedinGod, and
th at h e enjoyedas such a continual inux f rom th e
stock to th e scion; (2) th at h e was removedand
g raf teduponanoth ertree, f rom wh ich it f ollows (3) th at
h e must be plantedback orreg raf tedinoth erwords,
must returnwh ence h e came. Wh enVaug h anleaves
th is q uality of symbolism it is to af rm (4 .) th at Love
is th e medium wh ich unites th e Loverto th e Beloved,
th is being at once th e h ypoth esis at larg eof all mystical
th eolog y andth e veridical experience of all wh o h ave
enteredth epath of unionandf ollowedth eq uest th erein.
Inrespect of th e unionandits nature (5) we must be
unitedto Godby anessential contact, andth enwesh all
k nowall th ing s by clearvisioninth e Divine Lig h t.3
Th e g roundof th is unionis called(6) a spiritual,
metaph ysical g rain, a seedorg lance of lig h t, simpleand
with out any mixture, descending f rom th e rst Fath er
of Lig h ts* andresident inth e soul of man. Inth is
sense Vaug h anlays down(7) th at th e soul is divine
1 ANTnRoPosoPn1 A TnEoMAcucA, p. to.
ii ]h z 'a'., p. I4 . 31 h z 'd., p. 4 9.
* ANIMA MAo1 cA Ansconnrra, p. 81 .
X X V1 1 1
[ntr'0a acrz '0n
andsupernatural, h aving a spirit with init wh ich God
breath edinto manandby wh ich manis unitedag ain
to God.* (8) Moreconcisely, th espirit of manis itself
th e Spirit of th e Living God.But so long as th e
soul is inth e body it is (8) lik ea candlesh ut up ina
dark lantern." Th ere is, h owever, a certainArtand
I conceiveth at inth e meaning of ourmystic it is literally
anArt of Love- - - by wh ich (9) a particularspirit may be
unitedto th euniversal4 and(Io) manmay betak eninto
th eDeity, as into th etruef ountainandcentreof lif e."6
But wek nowso little of th is Art th at we are said(II)
to be bornwith a veil overth e f ace, andth eg reatest
mystery, both indivinity andph ilosoph y, is h owto
remove it."7(I2) We do not realise th at th ere is an
America with out andanAmerica wh ich extends with in.
But (I3) th e k ey to th e wh ole mystery is th e nearness
of Godto th e h eart of man; andit is inth e ope_ning
of th is Gate to Divine Knowledg e th at, inth e viewof
Vaug h anandth e Kabalists, (t4 .) th esoul nds th etrue
Sabbath , th e Rest of Godinto wh ich th e creature sh all
enter."1
I h ave drawnth ese citations tog eth erf orth e purpose
of indicating th at Th omas Vaug h anh adconceivedat
least a f airly complete th eory of th at unionbetween
Godandth esoul wh ich is th e endof mystical lif e; and
th e q uestionwh ich arises out of th em is wh eth erth eir
note of certitude belong s to th e order of intellectual
convictionorwh eth erit is rootedinexperience. It is
valuableinth erst case as indicating th at h e h ada true
lig h t of mindonth e one th ing needf ul andth e Great
Work of th e trueandonly adeptsh ip, namely, th eattain-
ment of th e saints. It is vital, h owever, inth e second,
1 ANTnRoPosoPH1 A THEoMAo1 cA, p. 33. 2 f atal, p. 4 2.
31 Zn'd., p. 52. 4 ANIMA Maolca ABscoNo1 TA, p. 77.
5 MAGIA AnAM1 cA, p. 1 4 5. 6 laid.
'* ANTHRoPosoPn1 A TnEoMAo1 cA, p. 4 o. 31 h z 'a ., p. 6.
9 ANIMA MAGICA ABscoNn1 TA, p. 1 3; Maota ADAMICA, p. 1 35.
1 LUMENDE LUMINE, p. 3o2. ,
xxix "
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaag h an
because h e is th ena witness speak ing f rom with in. He
is not inth e Court of th eTemplebut rath erinth eHoly
of Holies. Ananswercomes f rom h imself , wh enh e
says very earnestly: Reader, be not deceivedinme.
I am not a manof any such f aculties, neith erdo I
expect th is blessing "h e h as beenspeak ing of Spiritual
Reg enerationinsuch a g reat measure inth is lif e.1
Heg oes onto describeh imself inth ewords of Cornelius
Ag rippa, as a ng er- post pointing f orwardandindicating
th e rig h t, inf allible way" to th ose undertak ing th e
journey. Beyondth is testimony wh ich h e g ives of
h is ownwill andaccordit is obvious th at we cannot g o
andmust be content with wh at we h ave th erein. Wh ile
it is borneout reasonably by h is writing s, wh ich are f or
th emost part ref lectedf rom k nownauth orities, th e f act
is with out prejudice to g reat occasional lig h ts, wh ich
break f orth th ere andh ere inh is pag es andare th e
brig h ter since th ey come unawares, at times amidst
cosmical speculations at once aridanddreary, orinth e
extractionof some h iddenbut not vital sense inth eletter
of GENEs1 s. Th ereis anexample inth at place wh ere h e
speak s of ascending to th e Supernatural Still Voice
andth e soul s invisibleelements? Th ereis th eillumina-
tionof th at memorable dictum wh ich reminds all men
of desireth at we are employedina perpetual con-
templationof th eabsent beauty. Th ereis th e allusion
to th at state wh enth e veils are tak enaway, wh enwe
k nowth e HiddenIntellig enceii andbeh oldth e In-
expressible Face.5 I conceive it to be th elast work in
th e worldof imag es, onth e th resh oldof th at nal mode
wh enth e seerandth e seenare one. Th eth ing s th at are
sh adowedf orth by Vaug h anonth is side of h is subject
areg reaterth anany th at h e f ormulates f ully andclearly
indebate onth e soul of man, f orth ere h is appeal is to
1 ANIMA MAo1 cA ABSCONDITA, p. 1 I3. 9 laid.
31 ere., p. 1 1 2. 4 LUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 298.
5 1 ez 'a ., p. 299.
X X X
Introah actz ion
auth ority, wh ereas h e look s h ere into h is owng lass of
vision. Th e th ing s of th e spirit of wh ich h e treats
briey are deeper th anth ose at th eirbest wh ich deal
with cosmic mysteries. Onth e occasional subject h e
was inspired, th oug h th e g if t inth is respect was some-
times f ull andf ree, at oth ers th inanduncertain. But
because it was occasional only, we h ave to realise, af ter
every allowance, th at th ere are lef t only inourh ands a
f ewlines of intimationsuspendedinspace, as it were,
not any wovensk einby th e f ollowing of wh ich we can
reach overth e path of q uest to th e endth ereof . He
does not h elp us th eref ore onh is ownpart towards th at
wh ich h e calls inh is symbolism th e Septenary andth e
true Sabbath , th eRest of Godinto wh ich th e creature
sh all enter, 1 so th at we canascendinth e mindwith
h im f rom th is present distressedCh urch , wh ich is in
captivity with h erch ildren, to th e f ree Jerusalem f rom
above, wh ich is th emoth erof us all."2
Th e explanationis th at Th omas Vaug h anappears to
h ave h adanoth erconcerninth e h ypoth etical worldof
mystical possibility, as reg ards th esubject Man. Th is is
th ebody of adeptsh ip ; andit seems to be th eveil of h is
sanctuary, th ereal but concealedth esis, as a collationof
th eref erences will sh ow. (1 ) Th eg loriedf aceof Moses
descending f rom Sinai f oresh adows ourf utureestate in
th ereg eneration, or- - inoth erwords- th eg loriedbody
of sanctity? (2) It wouldbe af terth is mannerth at th e
h ardandstubbornints of h is symbol becomech ryso
lith s andjasperinth enew, eternal.f oundation.4 " (3) But
if , as I believe, h e reg ardedth e body of adeptsh ip as a
state th at couldbe attainedinth is lif e, h e wouldh ave
h eldth at it is impliedinth e Rosicruciancounsel wh ich
h e q uotes: Be ye transmutedf rom deadstones into
living ph ilosoph ical stones.5 (4 ) So also th ere is th at
1 LUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 3oz . 2 xear.
3ANTnRoPosoP1 - 1 1 A TnEoMAo1 cA, p. 26.
"1 LUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 3oz .
5 ANIMA MAo1 cA AEscoNo1 TA, p. I00.
xxxi
Th e Worh s of Th onz arVaag h an
sig nicant allusioninth e same extract to a ph ilosoph ical
conversionof body into spirit andof spirit into body, 1
(5) f rom corruptioninto a perf ect mode, wh ereinth e
body wouldbe preservedcontinually? (6) Th eMedicine
is, h owever, inHeavenitself 3andnot to be f ound
elsewh ere, yet not meaning , th ereby th at it is remote in
place ortime, but rath er inth at centre wh ich - - being
with inus- - is a centre th at canbe f oundeverywh ere.
(7) It is th e perf ect Medicine, andth e time of
its perf ectionis wh enth e lig h t strik es f rom th ecentre
with inus to th e circumf erence, andth eDivineSpirit
understoodalso as with in- - h ath so swallowedup
th e body th at it is a g loriedbody, splendidas th e sun
andmoon.5 (8) Th eth esis is th at maninh is normal
mode is inwh at Vaug h ancalls th emeancreationand
h as two alternatives bef ore h im- - eith erto k nowcorrup-
tion, as commonly all mendo, orenterinto a spiritual,
g loriedcondition, lik e Enoch andElijah , wh o were
translated? (9) It is such a perf ectionof th e body as
th e soul is saidto be expecting , iandth at wh ich mediates
inth e attainment, wh ich alone f orties andalone can
bring to a beauteous specical f abric, is th eSpirit of th e
Living God.3(Io) Lastly, inh is adaptedalch emical ter-
minolog y- wh ich h as neverq uiteth ering of th ecanonical
alch emical adepts- - Vaug h ang ives inone place a k indof
note onth e process orprocedure inth ework . It is of
course inscrutable. Th e ch aos, wh ich is a f req uent
alch emical term f orth e First Matter, is ina stateof cor-
ruptionowing to th e Fall of Man; being th e basis of all
th ing s, it is th at of man s ph ysical body; andit h as to
be puriedinh im. Th e adepts went to work th ereon,
openedit, puriedit, broug h t it to th e immortal ex-
tremeandmade of it a spiritual, h eavenly body.
Such says Vaug h an- - was th eir ph ysic, andit would
1 ANIMA MAe1 cA ABSCONDITA, p. toz . 2 Ieai., p. to- 4 .
3rare. 4 1 oz 'd., p. I09. 5 1 t5z 'a'., p. Ilo.
6 CCELUM TERR. E':, p. 21 7. T Jae, p. 231 .
3Jae, p. 23o. __ 9 Ioz 'a ., p. 21 7.
X X X 1 1
Intr0ducz z '0 2
seem th eref oreth at h eis speak ing ph ysically. But h eadds
immediately : Inth is perf ormanceth ey sawth e imag eof
th at f ace wh ich Zoroastercalls th epre- essential counten-
anceof th eTriad. 1 Out of wh at orderof ph ysical pro-
cedure such a result is broug h t about must remainan
openq uestion, andth e h ypoth esis cannot be translated
th eref oreinto intellig ibleterms. Wecanrememberonly
two intimations wh ich occurinanoth erplace, amidst an
almost inextricable conf usionbetweencosmical specula-
tions concerning th eSoul of th eworldandth ose of th e
Soul inman. Th erst ref ers to a certainArt by wh ich
a particularspirit may be unitedto th e universal, and
Nature by conseq uence may be strang ely exaltedand
multiplied, 2 recalling th esupposedmultiplicationof th e
Stone inAlch emy, wh ich is literally th e powerof its
tinctureoverbase metals f orth eirconversioninto th ose
th at are perf ect by th e Hermetic h ypoth esis- namely,
g oldandsilver. Th esecondseems primarily anallusion
to th esoul inmanandits imprisonment incertainveh icles,
th roug h wh ich streams th elig h t wh ich is inh erunder
a visible f orm. Inth is state, says Vaug h an, it is rst
madesubject to th eartist."3By analog y, h owever, such
a soul is resident inall substances andcanbeeducedf rom
all. Th e way of eduction, as usual, is not indicated, so
th e process is ag ainunintellig ible, th oug h a f ewreaders
may beremindedof Mrs Atwood's reveries onmag netic
orsuper- mag netic operations inspiritual alch emy. We
are dealing , h owever, with a particularandrecurring
allusion, andits value is anoth erq uestion.
It is k nownth at th e doctrine concerning th e radiant
1 CCELUM TERRJE, p. 21 7.
2 ANIMA MAGICA ABSCONDITA, p. 77. 3Z6- z 'd., p. So.
* CompareLUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 302, wh ereth ediscourseof Vaug h an
passes with out any break f rom a considerationwh ich seems to beph ysical
into th emysteries of rebirth andresurrection. 1 - le q uotes th eHermetic
axiom th at each th ing bears with init th e seedof its ownreg eneration,
wh ich is obviously true of man, f orth e matterof th ework is with inus.
'I:h _e work uponth is matteris said, h owever, to be perf ormedby anin-
visibleartist, being th eSpirit of God. Th e salvationsecuredth ereby is
synonymous with transmutation.
X X X 1 1 1
T/ z e Work s of T/ z omas Vaug h an
body orrobe of g lory is very oldinmystical literature
andis entitledto ourrespect as such . ForZoh aric and
Ch ristianth eosoph ists it is th ebody of th is lif etransf ormed
at th eepoch of th eg eneral resurrection; f orNeo- Platon-
ism it is a spiritual body. Th e alch emists claimed, h ow-
ever, th at th erewas a Medicineof menandmetals, wh ich
was identical at th eroot f orboth , andby wh ich - - accord-
ing to Vaug h an- ~ th e particulars inth evarious k ing doms
of Naturecouldbe broug h t to perf ectionaf terth eirown
k ind. lt was th e tincture orag ent of transmutationin
menandanimals, veg etable andmineral substances}
Th ere is no q uestionth at h e ref lects h eresome intima-
tions of th eliteratureat larg e. But most alch emists were
content with th e th esis th at h umanbodies couldbe k ept
inh ealth by th e medicine; th ey were not broug h t into
animperish able conditionandth ey were not g loried.
Vaug h an, h owever, drewh is notions more especially
f rom th e translations of Enoch andElias ; f rom th earch -
natural conditionwh ich must be postulatedconcerning a
body th at couldbe tak enup to h eavenina ch ariot of
re; f rom th e body of Ch rist inits resurrectionstate
andits ascent into th e h ig h est h eaven; f rom th ebodies
of th e redeemed, unto wh om inth eirtranscorporeal
state was reservedth e g lory of Paradiseandall th econ-
seq uence of th eBlessedVisionof God, seenex / 2y, z > or/ z esi,
f orth eolog y, with eyes wh ich areaf terall th e transg ured
eyes of esh . But all th is was h is f orecastso to speak
- - inth e h eig h ts, andit is broug h t downinto lower
rang es at certainpoints inh is texts onwh ich I h ave h ad
occasionto annotate. Th ey are entirely f antastic, andas
such are h is ownandno oth eris. Inth e present place
it is suicient to say th at (I) h e identies th ePh ilosoph ical
Medicinewith th emystical earth 2- - - Term spiritualis, Term
Adama andTerm = uz 'oer:tium- - of wh ich manwas made;
(2) wh ich earth is oth erwise to be understoodas th e
1 ANIMA MaolcnABSCONDITA, p. 95.
9 ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA, pp. 3:, 33.
X X X IV
Irz rroducriorz
spirit of th is worldandth eTreeof Knowledg e, a f lesh ly
andsensualsub_iect, 1 being th at wh ich inmoreconven-
tional terminolog y broug h t death into th e worldand
all ourwoe.Didoccasionarise, it wouldbe dif cult
to nda middleway betweensuch terms of contradiction;
but we are instructedsuf f iciently onth eirvaluewh enwe
h earlateronth at ineating th e f ruit of th e Tree man
became g uilty of th eworld's curseandcorruption, " was
made a f elonanda murdererinh is ownopinion.
All h is occasional lig h ts notwith standing , th e truth is th at
Vaug h anwas too of tena loose andconf usedth ink er,
h aving a tendency to f org et h is owncontext a f ewpag es
back wardorf orwardinth e g iventext. Once more,
h owever, th ef act is not exactly of ourconcern, f orl h ave
beenonly establish ing h is point of viewovera particular
andapparently f avouredissue. Th e h istorical commen-
tary th ereonarid- - mumris muz rmdis- - 01 1 all such th eses
th roug h out alch emical literature is th at inspiteof th eir
claimsprespectiiig anuniversal medicine, we h ave no
evidencebef oreus th at th e tech nical adepts attainedeith er
th ebody of adeptsh ip orany validprocess f orth e pro-
long ationof lif e. Paracelsus wrote much onth is subject
anddiedinh is prime sadly. Vaug h anwas a ph ysical
suf f erer, as h is note- book sh ews, 3andmoreover h e
desiredto be dissolvedth at h e mig h t dwell with h is wif e
inGod. Th einf erenceis th at th eoldmasters of ph ysical
alch emy- - andth osewh o werelik eth em inth elong ch ain
of Hermetic tradition- f olloweda Quixotic q uest. Th e
records are ag ainst th e claim, inth e sense th at th ey are
(I) utterly h ostile, or(2) th ere is no evidencewh atever,
seeing th at we do not k nowh owmost of th eadepts eith er
livedordied. But out of th is state of unk nowing th ere
arises no arg ument f orlong lif e.
Th eh istorical positionis th esameinrespect of material
1 ]bz 'd., pp 4 3, 4 4 . 2 lvf aolnADAMICA, p. 1 4 3.
3See APPENDIX I, $ .1 1 . Mra2z 0rz 're Srz rrum, No. 2, p. 4 4 5; No. I2,
p.4 51 _; No, 1 3, p. 4 52.
1 c5z d., l\o. 1 , p. 4 4 5; No. 3, p. 4 4 6; No. 1 1 , p. 4 51 .
X X X V
Te Wors q f Tomas Vaz rg / z an
wealth obtainedby any process of transmutation. Th e
most arresting rst- h andtestimony to th e f act of such an
operationonmetals is th at of Eirenwus Ph ilaleth es ; 1
but th is witness is not inevidence, f oraf terth e lapse
of nearly th ree h undredyears we h ave f ailedto learn
certainly wh o h e was, andh erein- above all subjects-
ananonymous claimant is out of court. Ag ainth e
strong est testimony to th e f act of transmutationinth e
laboratory of a responsible andk nownpersonis th at of
Helvetiusf but th e manby wh ose powderit was per-
f ormedwas anunk nownandanonymous visitor, alth oug h
- remembering Paracelsusa- - Helvetius desig natedh im
Elias th eArtist. Wh ile, moreover, th epersonal sincerity
of th e Swiss ch emist is inmy opinioninexpug nable, we
h ave no means of k nowing at th is day wh eth erornot
h e was inerroras to th e substance producedinh is
crucible by th e additionof some mysterious powderto
moltenlead. Onth e oth erh and, we do k nowcertainly
th at th e operationas describedis impossible, andth at
alth oug h g oldinth e f uture may be producedby science
it will not be af terth is manner. Such being th e state
of th e case onits experimental side, we h ave no record
of anyonebeing enrich edby th eart of alch emy, Nich olas
Flamel excepted, andh is story- much as it calls f or
reconsideration- - - is eith erlarg ely orentirely myth ical.
I pass nowto a sh ort considerationof th at subject by
1 Seeth eaccount of h is visit to a g oldsmith s sh op, carrying six h undred
pounds worth of alch emical silverf orsale.AN OPEN ENTRANCE TO
THECLOSED PALACEorTHEKING, cap. xiii.
2 SeeVITULUS AUREUS- already q uotedinwh ich - according to th e
sub- tit1 eth ere is discussedth emost rare miracleof Nature, being th e
transmutationina moment of timeof a mass of leadinto g oldby th e
inf usionof a small particleof ourStone.Perh aps I sh ouldbrack et h ere-
with th etestimony of VanI- Ielmont inARBOR VITZEandelsewh ere.
3See DE TINCTURA PHILOSOPHORUM, rap. iv, inwh ich Paracelsus
speak s of th econcealment of th ing s belong ing to th e Art evento th e
coming of Elias th eArtist, at wh ich timeth eresh all be noth ing so occult
th at it sh all not be revealed.Vtf h enh is visitorcame to Helvetius,
carrying wh at seemedto be th e Stoneof th ePh ilosoph ers, h econcluded
th at Elias h adcome.
xxxvi
lrz troalucan
wh ich Vaug h anis eng rossedth roug h out. A h ypoth esis
concerning th e First Matterlls h is tracts, approach ed
undera variety of aspects but involving a continual re-
petition, af terth e mannerof h is period. Incommon
with oth eralch emists, h e understoodby th e term an
universal substance out of wh ich all th ing s were made,
andth erewas h eldto be Scriptural auth ority f orth eth esis
as well as th e desig nation. Th eg ivenname was Water,
being th at Wateroverwh ich th e Spirit of Godmovedat
th e beg inning . Metals were producedout of th is sub-
stance, with th e rest of th ing s, andit didnot appearto
th ealch emists anunwarrantable suppositionth at if th ey
couldisolateit andoperate directly th ereonit mig h t be
possibleto mak eg oldandsilver. Th eparticularf orm of
th e reverie appears to h ave beenth at th e pure state or
modeof th eFirst Matter, wh ich incombinationwith h ypo-
th etically impure states composedth e base metal lead,
couldbe raisedto anoth ermode by adding moreof th e
Virg inMatter, as a result of wh ich th e impurities would
be expelledortransmutedandth e leadwouldbecome
g old. By a similarh ypoth esis th e First Mattercould
be administeredto man, being th e basis of h is ph ysical
nature, andit wouldact uponh im as a ph ysical elixiror
universal medicine. I am presenting orinterpreting th e
viewina very roug h mannerf orth e sak e of simplicity :
it is by no means so simple inVaug h anorth ose wh o
precededh im. Furth ermore, th e alch emists believed
th emselves to h ave identiedth is First Matter- - - wh ich
according to th e h ypoth esis was obviously to be f ound
everywh ere- andh adsubmittedit successf ully to th eir
operations along th e lines indicated. Let us g lance at
th is sideof th e claim as presentedby Th omas Vaug h an.
(I) He does not come bef oreus as one h aving a super-
cial ormerely speculativek nowledg eof th eFirst Matter;
h e h as beeninstructedinall th e secret circumstances
th ereof , wh ich f ewuponearth understand. (2) He
1 CCELUM T1 - snare, p. 21 5.
X X X VI!
T/ z e Work s of T/ z omas Vaug h an
leads us to inf erth at h e h as seenit, h andledit, and
learnedits central, invisible essence by experimental
oculardemonstration.1 (3) Ag ain, h e says th at h e speak s
out of h is ownexperience andreg isters inth is connec-
tiona mistak ewh ich h e made inth e practice? (4 .) He
bears witness to th e truth th eref ore andis no deceiver.3
(5) Moreover, h e h as not only seen, h andledandwork ed
uponth e First Matterbut h as also tastedit- - as one
wh o partak es of a medicine. (6) But, h is f amiliarity not-
with standing - - andwh enh ebelievedit to beunderh is eyes
- h ef oundit impossibleto describe, onaccount appar-
ently of its laxative, unstable, incomposedsubstance.5
Th ef act didnot prevent h im f rom g iving many descrip-
tions, f orwh ich h e wouldh ave claimedaccuracy, and
some examples of wh ich may be citedinth e next place.
I will set aside th osewh ich occurinh is two earliest tracts,
f orinth ese h e was f eeling h is way andallows us to inf er
subseq uently th at h e h adreach edno certainpoint.
(1 ) Manis th eabsolutelordof th e First Matter, and
all h is f ortunes proceedth eref rom, wh ence it f ollows th at
h e wh o secures both it andth e use th ereof canmak e
h is f ortunes constant, 6 th e meaning being th at g old
andsilver, pearls anddiamonds 7are modes of th eFirst
Matter. (2) It is at once th e m: :'z / z em of manandth e
basis of th e Ph ilosoph ers Stones (3) It is calledin-
dif f erently waterandearth by Moses, but is neith erin
th eircommoncomplexions, being a slimy, spermatic,
viscous mass, impreg natedwith all powers, celestial and
terrestrial.9 (4 ) It renews itself ina th ousandways,
andis nevera perpetual tenant to th e same f orm.1
(5) It is th e immediate cath olic ch aracter of God
Himself inHis unity andtrinity, 1 1 wh ich may mean
categ orically th at it is one as reg ards nature but mani-
1 CCELUM TERR./ E, p. 1 93. 2 f Zv.= :'d., p. 221 .
3LTTMEN DE LUMINE, p. 272. 4 EUPHRATES, p. 397.
l LUMLJN IJE LUMINE, p. 277. '3Manta ADAMICA, p. 1 27.
"' 1 z 'Z1 d., p. 1 28. 31 'bz 'd., p. 1 63. 9 ].6z 'd., pp. 1 63. 1 64 .
1 1 bz 'd., p. 1 81 . 1 1 CcstunTiz aaaz z , p. 1 93.
X X X V1 1 1
Introa/ action
f ests inth ree aspects. (6) Inth e outwardsh ape or
g ure it resembles a stone, andyet it is not a stone; 1
but th is descriptionis q ualiedinseveral places subse-
q uently andcontradictedexpressly inoth ers, it being
obvious th at a slimy mass canonly be calleda stone in
mendacious symbolism. (7) At th e beg inning it was
condensedinto waterout of a certaincloudanddark ness,
being th eniail q ua adnos of Dionysius andDivineDark -
nessz f inoth er words, it came f orth f rom God, but
wh eth erby creationoroth erwisewearelef t to speculate.
(8) It is th e SecondNaturef rom GodHimself andth e
Ch ildof th e BlessedTrinity? Th is SecondNature is
not th eref ore th e SecondPerson. (9) It is th e moth er
of all. (Io) It is delicateandtender, lik eanimal sperm,
is almost a living th ing , andindeedNature doth
produce some animals out of it.5 (II) It is invisible,
meaning presumably inits normal state, since Vaug h an
af rms th at h e h as seenit. (I2) It is- apparently- -
broug h t into manif estationas a certainlimosity extracted
f rom th eearth , air, reandwater, f orevery oneof th em
contributes f rom its very centre a th in, slimy substance;
andof th eirseveral slimes Nature mak es th e sperm by
aninef f able unionandmixture.
It f ollows f rom th e last citationth at th eFirst Matter
andSecondNature f rom th e BlessedTrinity is not a
simple substance, th oug h immanent inall th ing s and
ex / z ypotk esieduciblef rom all, but a composite- - th eparts
of wh ich must be drawnout of th eirseveral receptacles.
Th is is th e rst andonly occasiononwh ich Vaug h an
speak s inprint of its extraction, so th at it canbe made
subject to th e operations of anartist; andit is in
express contradictionto all h is th eoretical views, th edif f i-
culty not being removedby allowing th at such earth is
not earth literally, such reno commonre, andso of th e
1 CCELUM TERRz E, p. I96. 9 1 6z 'd., p. 21 3. 5 ]z 'd., p. 21 4 .
1 6:1 1 ., p. 21 5. 5 1 6z 'd., p. 221 .
Lumz nma: Lummm, p. 24 7. " AULA LUCIS, p. 321 .
xxxix
T/ z e Work : 0/ T/ z omas Vaag / z aa
remaining h ypoth etical elements of oldph ysics. Else-
wh ere it is f rom th e First Matterth at th e supposed
elements came f orth , andso also th e th reeph ilosoph ical
principles, denominatedSalt, Sulph urandMercury, are
modes th ereof . It is a strang e commentary onth at
primal substance of being s andof th ing s wh ich Th omas
Vaug h anbelievedh imself to h ave seenandh andled.
Th e anach ronism andinsuf f iciency are obvious. We
may rest assuredth at h e h adcome uponsometh ing in
h is untutoredch emical experiments andwas eg reg iously
mistak enabout it. Onh is ownadmission, h e was un-
acq uaintedwith th e First Matterwh enh e rst wrote
th ereon, andh e didnot k nowit subseq uently wh en
h e th oug h t th at h e did. Th e science ancient and
innite, f orwh ich C/ z emia was anunworth y name, re-
mainedinth e h eig h t of h is reverie andnevercame
downto earth . It was not to be expectedth at it sh ould.
Th is being th e case, we neednot dwell seriously upon
some oth eranomalous situations createdby collating h is
statements, as- - f or example- - th at th is SecondNature
f rom Godandth is Virg inWateris also, f orinscrutable
reasons, eith eractually th e esh ly andsensual f ruit
of th e Tree of Knowledg e, orinclose alliance th ereto;
f orth is is th esubject of th ePh ilosoph ical Medicine"2
and- - if I readVaug h an s th esis rig h tly- it is also th e
Matterof th e Stone inalch emy andh ence th e First
Matter of all th ing s. Th e root of th e f antasy rests
larg ely onarbitrary inreading s of Scripture, onderiva-
tions f rom Kabalistic andTrismeg istic writing s, andon
commentaries of mediaeval occult ph ilosoph ers. As to
th at wh ich h e met with inth e course of h is ch emical
operations- - andwh ich h eelevatedinto th e positionof
th e First Matterof all th ing s- - we must be content to
leave its identity anopenq uestion. It is true th at h is
unnish edandunprintedAQUA VITAE was intendedby
_1 Auta LUCIS, p. 337.
- * ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA, p. 32.
xl
Irz rroalactz ion
its sub- title to dissectth e Radical Humidity of
Nature, both mech anically andmag ically, 1 by th e
conduct of Fire andFerment." I h ave g iveninth e
Appendixonth is text a supposedprocess f orextracting th e
viscous andspermatic h umidity f rom two substances
wh ich are desig natedas Mag nesia andCh alybs. It is,
h owever, pro opera srcando, wh ile th e presumable primary
extractionis made f rom f oursubstances, according to
AULA Luc1 s.2 Forwh atever my speculationmay be
worth - - andunderth e circumstances it canbe little, and
much less th antentative- I tendto th ink th at th e Oil
of Halcali- mentionedinMrnz oria IV of th e personal
notes g iveninth e same Appendixmay h ave been
Vaug h an s Sacramental Name f orh is First Matter.3He
says (I) th at h e f oundit by accident; (2) th at h e f org ot
h ow; (3) th at h e made a h undredvainattempts to
recoverit; (4 ) th at it came back to h is mindduring
h is wif e s last illness; (5) th at h e extractedit by th e
f ormer practice th e day af terh er death ; and(6) th at
inth is mannerth ere was conf erreduponh im by God
th eg reatest joy I caneverh ave inth is worldaf ter
1 Vaug h anuses th roug h out th e term Mag ic andits connections to
sig nif y th e art andscience wh ich lay beh indth e Secret Tradition
according to h is h ypoth esis, andnot inth e vulg arsensewh ich attach es
th ereto inth ese moderndays- - not inth e sense of th e Grimoires and
debasedKabalism. Ina word, h is Mag ic is th e oldwisdom of adept-
sh ip andalways connotes sanctity.
2 Th e processes wh ich it is possible to f ollowinAQUA VITEare of
no conseq uence to th e direct purpose of alch emy andas mig h t be
expected- - - th e rest are unintellig ible. Th ere is a note entitledD.- 2
QaatararMensZrz r2'.r.S'alz '?z 0.rz '.rat M'2'aea'a1 z 'bas, inwh ich th e rst recipe
reads : }* 'Iz 't ex Aaatra deaiaato sz irat s.cz 's, estg aeEiz lrz irSalas Uaz arersaiz lr
et Arcaaam: Arcaaaram. Elsewh ere is a process f orextracting Men-
rf raam Unz r/ ersale, andth is reads: Ag aam altz 'ma- iv: de B. co/ lraaa super
Soltawz , ex sf :/ z rrra Solar, at at pro rerta. Th e instructionrespecting
Ulraaz Unz vaersalr is af terth e same dark f ash ion: Recz je Saf araa:- "a
weg atah - 'Ze at Latin, ta ! erM'aatz 'raZz '.r. I)z 'stz 'ZZe 2'1 2 cz '2z rrz 'Zm:s, rt sejwara
ag aam ta also. Oleam rectz :/ f ra perre, at artra/ z eadores at g a2'ate.rs.mtz 'as
eraramat2'6a.s'et_0rz 'Z5a.r9:- .'rz '6ascaag ae.
3Th e Oil of Halcali enters into th e compositionof oth ersubstances
describedinth e manuscript. A considerable part of h is experiments
were made inconjunctionwith h is wif e, andh ername is connectedwith
th em, ag . Aq ua Reaerca.
xli
T/ z e Worrof Taomas Vaag / z aa
h er death . I do not believe th at h e wouldh ave
spok enof any oth ersupposedsubject inth ese terms of
z eal. Th is is as f aras we canexpect to carry th e
q uestion, wh ich is one of curiosity only, f orit cannot
inreality sig nif y wh at substance Vaug h anmay h ave
mistak enf orth e First Matter.
Th eMrmaria Sacra are not only of g reat interest as
autobiog raph ical notes but th ey are of importance as
illustrating th e f act th at h e was anambitious student at
work inth e dark unaided, owing noth ing to ordinary
instructors andnoth ing to a sch ool of initiation. It is
necessary to establish th elatterpoint, becauseweh aveseen
th at h eh as beenrepresentedas th eh eadof th eRosicrucian
Society inh is day andg eneration. As to th is h e says
expressly inh is Pref ace to th e FAMA ET CONFESSIO (I)
th at h e h as no relationto th eFraternity, neith erdo I
much desire th eir acq uaintance; 2 (2) if h e h adany
f amiliarity with th eirpersons andk newth eirh abitation,
h e wouldexercise discretioninh is words concerning
eith er; 3(3) ina detach edway h e conf esses th at h e is
of th eirf aith andis h ence concernedinth eirdef ence as
much as inh is own. Hereis a settlement of th eq uestion
ina distinct neg ative onth e point at issue. Th ere is,
h owever, anoth erpoint, f orit h as to be recog nisedth at
inAura Lucts Vaug h anclaims to h ave actedby auth ority
f rom Unk nownSuperiors. Th ey wouldnot be of th e
RosicrucianOrder, but th is was not of necessity th e
only sch ool of initiationcurrent at th e periodinEurope,
oreveninEng land. Having inf ormedh is best and
noblest f riendinth e dedicationth at h e is presenting
th e f ruits of h is owninclinations, andh aving toldh is
readers inth e pref ace th at h e is contributing a rejected
stone. to a ph ilosoph ical f abric, h e proposes inth e text
itself to discourse of lig h t, wh ich h e does onh is
1 See APPENDIX I, p. 4 4 6.
9 Tm- 1 FRATERNITY orTHE RosvCaoss, p. 34 7.
1 z aa, p. 34 8. = 1 1 az 'a ., p. 37:4 . 5 AULA LUCIS, p. 31 5.
xlu
Iatrodz rcaaa
personal auth ority, inanaccustomedmannerth roug h out.
But at th eendof all h e mak es two curious statements :
(I) th at h is communicationh as beenmade owing to a
commandf rom superiors, and(2) th at th e same
auth orities recalledth eircommission.Wh at k indof
superiors wouldh ave beenlik ely to act inth is manner
andh owth at wh ich was writtenby th eirlicence could
beissuedindef ianceof its with drawal I do not pretend
to say ; but I reg ardth eclaim itself as part of a reg ret-
table buf f oonery wh ich ch aracterises th e presentationof
th ework . It is publish edby S. N., being th e terminal
letters of th enames Th omas Vaug h an, th eattemptedveil
of identity serving no oth erpurpose th anto present
Eug enius Ph ilaleth esh is altereg o- - as a personof so
much considerationth at h e deserves to be citedtwice:
(I) I speak th is because I pity th e distractions of our
modernalch emists, th oug h Ph ilaleth es laug h s inh is sleeve
and, lik ea young colt, k ick s at th at name"; 3(2) But
h admy young f riendEug enius Ph ilaleth es beenpresent
h e h adlaug h edwith out mercy. Vaug h an s sense of
th etness preventedh im g oing f urth er, but it was much
too f arf orh is native sincerity andreal earnestness of
mind. It is th is unsatisf actory text, andth is only, wh ich
mak es th epretence undernotice, but also recalls it- - th e
latter, as I believe, f orconscience sak e ; andit seems to
mepart of th esorry comedy.
Th econcealment practisedth roug h out th etexts, ridicu-
lous as itof tenis, h as anoth ermotive, inmy view. Vaug h an
believedh imself to h ave discoveredth eGreat Secret, not
only of th e First Matterbut of th eVessel of Hermes?
Hecalls th eseattainments th ef ruit of h is ownexperience,
andinth elatest of all h is publications af rms th at h e h as
wrung th emystery out of th e earth andh adno one
to instruct h im. But h e rememberedth e judg ment
th reatenedby RaymundLully andth at th e real Secret
1 Aq ua LUCIS, p. 335. 1 1 6z 'a ., p. 336. 31 6z 'a .., p. 326.
'1 z aa, pp. 327, 328. 6 [6:'d., p. 337. A EUPHRATES, p. 386.
xliii
T/ z e W0205.1 " of T/ z omas Vaag / z aa
of th eArt h adneverbeenpublish ed. He h eldh imself
boundth eref oreinh onour, as if h e h adbeencovenanted
ina h ig h Gradeof Adeptsh ip. Hemig h t h ave saidwith
Eliph as Levi: Albeit I h ave receivedinitiationf rom
Godandmy toil alone, I h oldth at I am pledg edmore
deeply by my convictions th anby anoath . Knowledg e
is a responsibility wh ich compels, andI will not render
myself inany wise unworth y of th at Princely Crownof
th eRosy Cross." Hedidnot th eref ore nameopenly th e
certainsubstancewh ich h e understoodas th eFirst Matter,
th at Vessel lik eunto a littlesimplesh ell, " 1 orth eGlass
of h is mystery. Wh enh e compares th e radiant body of
adeptsh ip to th esh ining f ace of Moses descending f rom
Horeb, 2h ef eels th at h e h as touch edth eveil " andmust
drawback . Wh enh e proposes to discoverth e means
h owandby wh ich th is Art work s uponth esubject, h e
remembers th at h ereinare Keys of th e wh ole Mystery
andh e must th eref orescatterth em inseveral parts of
th e discourse, by wh ich process th ey are lost.3Above
all, h e must not speak one syllableconcerning th e
Kabalistic Mars Oscaf i. Th e reasonperh aps inh is mind
is th at wh ich is g ivenrespecting th e Secret of th eFire,
wh ich initself is not g reat but th e conseq uences of it
are so.5
Weh ave nowreach eda point beyondwh ich it seems
unnecessary to proceedf urth erinth e examinationof
Vaug h an s texts, as th ey appear to a student onth e
surf ace; but a q uestionarises as to wh eth erit is possible
to look at h is matterof debate f rom anoth erstandpoint.
Th ose wh o h ave ch eck edmy citations by ref erence to
th etracts th emselves will see th at h is spiritual intimations
are sometimes conf usedq uitecuriously- - as I h avesaid- -
with h is cosmical reveries. Analleg edprocess of separa-
tionperf ormeduponnatural bodies bring s us to th e
1 CCELUM Tannin, p. 21 9.
1 Anrnaorosorma Tnaomaotca, p. 26.
= Ccswm Texan, p. 1 92. 1 Manta ADAMICA, p. 1 70.
1 CCELUM TERRIE p. 223.
xliv
lmr0a acz z '0n
Secret Lig h t of God, unveils th eHiddenIntellig ence
andmanif ests th e InexpressibleFace.1 He pretends
to pass f rom th e principles of ourch aos, orFirst
Matter, to th e alleg eduse th ereof , but beg ins immedi-
ately to speak of reg eneration, th e mystery of th eWord
made f lesh andth eRest of Godinto wh ich th e creature
sh ouldenter.3So also wh enh e treats of th e Medicine
h e says th at it is Heavenitself andth at it is th eDivine
Spirit wh ich renders th e body g loried. Th ese are not
ph ysical operations. So alsoas we h ave just seen- h is
concealment is practisednot only inrespect of ph ysics,
andth at wh ich ex / z ypot/ z esi is coveredby th e g eneral
concernof alch emy, but also onsuch a purely mystical
subject as th e state of g urative death andth eKabalistic
Kiss of Sh ek inah - th at ad/ aesio Spirirus cum spiriruwh ich
adumbrates Divine Union. If Vaug h anh adk nownit
inany of its earth ly deg rees, h e mig h t h ave saidmore
f rank ly th at no real intimationconcerning it couldbe
conveyedinwords. Wek nowalso th at Vaug h an s ascent
to th eSupernatural Still Voice5 andto th einvisible- -
meaning th e Divine- elements of th e soul constitutes
by h is express denitionth e Ch ristianPh ilosoph er's
Stone. Is it possible th at a Key lik e th is will open
h is wh ole storeh ouse, eventh at place inth e h iddenness
of man's ownintention, wh ere th e soul is wash edby
re, till a ch ang e is ef f ectedinth e wh ole substance of
h ermotive? Is th ere any reasonf orth ink ing th at th e
ph ysical symbolism veils a spiritual considerationinth e
sense th at th e SEPHER Ha Zouaa explains th e account
of creationinGENESIS as th e story of electioninIsrael?
Th e direct answercanonly becouch edinth e neg ative,
but I do th ink th at th e Spiritual andCh ristianKey
opens a k indof entrance into th e mental attitude of
Vaug h an, wh o says also th at th e g oldandsilverof
1 LUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 299. 1 1 Za'd., p. 301 .
1 1 e.{ d., p. 302. 1 ANIMA MAGICA Assconnrra, p. 1 1 0.
1 1 1 Jad., p. 1 1 2. 6 1 61 3., p. I1 2.
xlv
T/ z e Wares cf T/ z omas Vaag aaa
th e ph ilosoph ers are a soul andspirit."1 His Medicine
is th at actually wh ich h e claims f orit inone place, a
Spiritual Substance; 2 h is Stone - - as I h ave said
elsewh ere- is th e touch stone wh ich transmutes every-
th ing .But we sh all see if wef ollowh is text caref ully
th at wh at is true, according to h is th esis, of th e inward
worldis true also by analog y of th at wh ich is with out
andoperates ph ysically inevery department of Nature.
It f ollows th at th eFerment, TinctureorMedicinewh ich
is th e Lif e of lif e inman- - th e seedof reg eneration, th e
g rowth of g race f rom God, bring ing to th e endinHim
- - - is sacramentally inmost intimate analog y, andf or
Vaug h anina state of identity, with th e Transmuting
Ferment of Metals, so th at, notwith standing th enarrow
name of C/ z emiaandth e derisionof Lapis C/ z eaz icasf
th ere was a literal art of alch emy anda g oldmade by
art wh ich wouldpass th e test royal with out any
diminution.5
Andth is seems to answerth ewh oleq uestionat issue,
my propositionconcerning wh ich is th atVaug h an s specula-
tions onth e natural worldandits ph enomena were not
a talk about one reg ionof th ing s as a veil of anoth er,
but of two onth e same basis andinth e same terms of
symbolism, as th e spirit movedh im concerning th em.
It movedh im much more f req uently onth e ph ysical
side, andyet th is was really subordinate, f orh e was
rooteddeeply onth e spiritual side andh e look edat
Nature sub specie eez erairaris. Hereally k newth at species
inth e intellectual sense andI th ink also with th e open
h eart of th e poet, wh ich is always ink insh ip with and
does joinat times inth e ig h t of th e soul to God.
I h oldno brief f orany th esis th at h is g lass of vision
was undimmedinDivine th ing s; it wouldbe scarcely
1 LUMEN ns: LUMINE, p. 303. 1 ave.
1 1 Seeth e Introductionto my editionof LUMEN DELUMINE, publish ed
in1 91 0, p. xix.
1 LUMENonLUMINE, p. 303. _ 1 1 1 ae., p. 304 .
xlvi
Introduction
possible amidst so many trivialities of sentiments. On
th e ph ysical side I h ave made my views clearreg arding
h is claims, andth ey are sh ewnf orth much more plainly
by th e evidence of h is texts th emselves. But I h ave
indicatedh ere wh at seems to me a reasonableandintel-
lig iblecanonof criticism onboth sides concerning th em,
andto extendit f urth erwouldcoverf ora secondtime
th e eldoccupiedby my Introductionto LUMEN or
LUMINE, wh enI editedth is tract separately in1 91 0.1
Th ere are a f ewpoints only wh ich call to be drawn
tog eth er bef ore I reach my conclusion. (1 ) Wh en
Vaug h ansays th at th ere is a twof oldf ermentation,
spiritual andbodily, h e is to be understoodprimarily
inth e sense of wh at h e airms elsewh ere about lig h t.
(2) Fermentationmultiplies th e tinctures, 3but th at wh ich
alone canbe multipliedis th at wh ich h e terms lig h t, and
th is is th e perf ect medicine of all bodies, exalting and
perf ecting each af ter its ownk ind. (3) Th e bodily
tincturewas by th e h ypoth esis much easierof attainment
th anth at wh ich h ecalls elsewh ereth eperf ect l\/ Iedicine.1
(4 ) Finally, wh enVaug h andescribes th e First Matteras
if it wereanarbiterof f ortune, h e seems to be speak ing
- onth espiritual sideof th at seraph ic estateof soul
wh ich h as beenmentionedalready? inconnectionwith
th e Ch ristianPh ilosoph ers Stone, but of th is tak en
tog eth er with th e material recompense of th e Stone
1 Publish edby Mrjoh nM. Watk ins, 21 Cecil Court, Ch aring Cross
Road. See, among oth erplaces, p. xxxvi, inwh ich it is pointedout
th at Vaug h anis not discoursing of spiritual mysteries undera veil of
ph ysics. He didoccasionally borrowth e lang uag eof alch emy to speak
of th e soul s transmutation, andh e spok e of th ing s ph ysical interms
wh ich couldbe appliedto processes work ing with inth e soul. Th e
results are baf f ling ; but h adh e wish edto justif y h imself , th e Hermetic
doctrineof correspondencewas ready to h is h and. It does not actually
justif y, because th e more intimately th ing s are connectedby a lawof
analog y th e more clearly th ey must be disting uish edinorderedpro-
cesses of th oug h t.
2 LUMEN DE LUMINE, p. 303. 1 1 / eat, p. 303.
1 ANIMA Maolca ABSCONIJITA, p. 95. 5 z eta, p. 1 09.
A MAG- IA ADAMICA, p. 1 27.
1 ANIMA M.- toica ABSCONDITA, p. 1 1 5.
xlvii
T/ z e [Vores of T/ z onz as Vang / z an
appliedto metals. Th e analog y is of no moment,
th oug h it obtains of course h ypoth etically.
Weare nowina positionto see af terwh at mannerand
to wh at extent Th omas Vaug h anis to beincludedamong
spiritual alch emists. Th e preparationof th is edition,
wh ich is to all intents andpurposes th at of h is complete
work s, h as meant a very close study of every sentence
anda particularreconsiderationof my earlier nding s
concerning h im. I do not th ink th at my positionh as
alteredinany important sense. I reg ardedh im th enas
onef orwh om th etruesubject of ph ilosoph y is th e man
with in, andas acq uaintedinone oranoth ersensewith
th emystery of a g raceabove all g race madek nownin
th eh eart.3But I may h ave th oug h t inth erst instance
th at h e owedmore to direct mystical experience th an
seems probable nowinth e g eneral lig h t of h is record.
Still, f rom time to time h e must h ave stooduponth e
sacredth resh old; andif readers with th e rig h t dedica-
tions, andwith th e h elp of such clues as I h ave g iven,
will th readth eirway th roug h h is cryptic labyrinth , I
believeth at th ey will ndh im th at wh ich h e desiredto
be- a ng er- post indicating th etruepath to th ose under-
tak ing th ejourney.
A. E. WAITE.
1 LUMEN DE LUMINE, pp. 303, 304 .
1 Seemy Introductionto LUMEN DELUMINE, p. xxxix, 1 91 0.
31 oia'., p. xl.
xlviii
CONTENTS
Foxswoao svTHE LIBRARY Co1 v1 MI'r'rEE .
B1 ooRAPHIcAL PREFAcE
INTRoDucT1 oN: LIGHTS AND SnnnowsorMvsTIcAL
DOCTRINE IN THE Woaxs orTnoMAs VAUGHAN
ANTHROPOSOPHIA TnsoMAoIcA: A Dtscouass orTHE
NATUREorMAN AND 1 - 1 1 s STATE AFTER DEATH
Orig inal Dedicationto th e Breth renof th e Rosy
Cross . . . . . . . .
Th eAuth orto th e Reader . . . . .
Text of th e Work , being a Study of Maninth e
Lig h t of DivineWisdom . . . .
AnAdvertisement to th e Reader .
ANIMA MAoIcA ABscoNDITA:. A DISCOURSE or THE
UNIVERSAL SPIRIT 0F NATURE . . .
Orig inal Address to th e Reader . . . .
Text of th e VVork , being Ref lections onth eWisdoin
of th e Secret Spirit . . . . .
MAoIA AoAM1 cA: Tns- A1 ~ rr1 Qu1 TvorMAoIc . .
Orig inal Dedicationto MrTh omas Hensh aw. .
Orig inal Address to th e Reader . . . .
Text of th e Work , being a Considerationonth e
Secret Traditionof Primeval Mag ic . .
' xlix of
PAGE
V
vii
xxv
I
3
5
1 o
61
(> 3
65
72
I1 9
I21
1 24
I32
Th e Worh s of Th onz as Vaug h an
CCELUM TERRJEZT1 - 1 1 ; MAo1 c1 A1 : s HsnvsntvC1 - IAos,
UNFOLDING A Doc'ra1 ns coxcsantxo THE Tea-
REsTR1 A1 . Hsnvsn. . . .1 . .
. AnEpilog ueto Co.:1 .U1 \- 1 TERRA: . .
l_..UMEN ns LUMINEZA NewiVIAoIcAI. LIGHT . .
Orig inal Dedicationto th e Most Famous University
of Oxf ord. . . - . . .
Orig inal Address to th e Reader . . . .
Text of th eWork , being a Tract concerning Lig h t
f rom th e Fount of Lig h t . . . .
Au1 .A Luclsz THE House orLIGHT. _ .
Orig inal Dedicationto Seleucus Abantiades . .
Orig inal Address to th e Reader . . . .
Text of th e V5/ ork concerning th e Gateof Lig h t .
A Postscript to th e Reader . . . . .
THE I1 RA'rsR1 ~ uTvorTHE RosvCxoss .
A Pref ace to th e Reader . . . . .
Text of th e Work , being anIntroductionto th e
Fame andConf essionof th e Fraternity of R.C.
A Sh ort Advertisement to th e Reader . . .
ELIPHRATESI THE VVATERs orTHE EAs'r. .
Orig inal Address to th e Reader . . . .
Th e Text of th e Work , being a Discourse onth e
Secret Fountain. . . . . .
A Sh ort Appendix lay way of Admonitiori to th e
Reader . . . . . . .
l
Piltt E
1 89
234
1 37
239
24 0
24 3
309
31 1
31 3
31 5
336
339
34 - 1
34 3
377
383
385
388
4 37
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX .
Inoax
Contents
APPENDICES
Aq ua Vitae nonVitis: A Note- Book of Th omas
Vaug h an . . . . . . I .
Th alia Rediviva: Th e LatinPoems of Th omas
Vaug h an . . . . . . .
Th omas Vaug h anandHenry More, th e Platonist .
Eng lish Metrical Remains . . . . .
Address to Th omas Bodlev. .
__.
Comrnendatory Verses .4 . . .
Th eLatinLetterf rom th eBroth ers of R.C. i .
Aph orisrni Mag ici Eug eniani . . .
Bibliog raph y . . . .
Ii
PAGE
4 - 4 - 3
4 53
4 68
4 74
4 79
4 - 79
4 93
4 .86
4 .88
4 - 94
ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA
OR A DISCOURSE OF THE NATURE OF MAN
AND HIS STATE AFTER DEATH
To THE MosT ILLUSTRIOU5 AND TRULY
REGENERATED BRET!- IREN R. C.
ELDERS orELECTION
AND PEACEABLE APosTLEs orTHE CHURCH IN THIS
STORM- DRIVEN AGE,
~ SALUTATION FIROM THE CENTRE orPsacs
SEEING th at th e f reedom of th e Hig h Altaris g ranted
to th e Hig h Priest alone, not with out sacrileg e may th is
overdaring oiering seem to be th rust uponyou. Even
devotionh ath its limits. Th osewh o approach unbidden
may bech arg edwith presumptionrath erth anloyalty, and
such as th ose were satirisedinth at oldg ig arz romac/ z z 'a of
th e poets wh ich soug h t to tak e h eavenby storm. Nor
are f atuous andbef og g edspark ling s wanting inourown
day wh o deem th at th ey are stars andare th oug h t eq ual
to th esun. May such arrog anceandclimax of ambition
be f arf rom Eug enius. It weresurely to pilePelionupon
Ossa. Most nobleBreth ren, I standinth eCourt of th e
Temple, noris my of liering placedonth e altarbut laid
inmodesty at th e th resh old. Sh ouldmy tribute be
demanded, I wish to oier yousuch g if ts as ag es and
g enerations to comemay lik ento th eArpinescrolls. Do
not deem th at I despair. Peradventureindays remote
th eresh all riseup th osewh o will priz e th is my torch let
evenas Tuscansuns. AndindeedI am anassociate of
Cicero, since ourof ce aspires to th e same everlasting
renown. I h ave roamedlik e th e bees- - - - not th ose of
Quintilianina poisonedeldtasting celestial f lowers,
wh ich drawth eirsweetness f rom th eh ills of spices. If
h ereth erebeaug h t of h oney, I set bef oreyouth is h oney-
V 3
Te Wort: q f T/ z omar Vz z z ag / z an
comb andbeeh ive. But roses are commonly soiledon
th e breasts of many : perch ance also th is h andf ul is
stained, f orit is of my g ath ering . Be it g rantedth at
th e errors are of Eug enius: th e rest is of truth . Yet
wh at prots th is witness to th etruth f oryouuprig h t ones,
wh o beh oldinopenday th eth reef oldrecordof th eSpirit,
th e Waterandth eBloodP No voiceof h elp is th is, but
needless rath er. Wiseis h ewh o k eeps silenceinth esig h t
of h eaven. Receiveth eref ore, most illustrious Breth ren,
th is my mite, not as th at wh ich I wouldbring youbut as
all th at I h ave, My g oodwill is inmy willing service.
My poverty prays f urth er: reg ardnot th e g if t itself but
th eobedienceof
YourSuppliant,
Euosmus PHILALETHES.
Oxroao, 1 64 8.
4 -
THE AUTHOR TO THE RE/ f DER
I LOOK. onth is lif eas th e prog ress of anessence royal:
th esoul but q uits h ercourt to see th ecountry. Heaven
h ath init a scene of earth , andh adsh e beencontented
with ideas sh e h adnot travelledbeyondth emap. But
excellent patterns commendth eirmimes : Nature th at
was so f airinth etypecouldnot be a slut inth eanag lyph .
Th is mak es h errambleh ith er, to examine th e medal by
th e f lask ; but wh iles sh e scans th eirsymmetry sh ef orms
it. Th us h erdescent speak s h erorig inal. Godinlove
with His ownbeauty f rames a g lass, to viewit by reec-
tion. But th e f railty of th e matterexcluding eternity,
th e composure was subject to dissolution. Ig norance
g aveth is releaseth e nameof death , but properly it is th e
soul s birth anda ch arterth at mak es f orh erliberty. Sh e
h ath several ways to break up h ouse, but h erbest is
with out a disease. Th is is h ermystical walk , anexit
only to return. Wh ensh e tak es airat th is door, it is
with out prejudiceto h ertenement.
' At th ebeg inning of h is literary lif e Th omas Vaug h anwas inuenced
deeply by th ework s of Cornelius Ag rippa andespecially by THE THREE
BOOKS OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY. I- Ie drewmuch f rom th is source, as
my annotations aredesig nedto sh ew; but th ematterof Ag rippa suf f ers
a certaintransmutationinth ealembic of h is ownmind. Th eallusionin
th e text above is to th e well- k nownmystical state of g urative death
wh ich is th e th resh oldof union. My introductory study deals with th is
subject. Th e psych ic substitutes are many. with inandwith out th ose
states wh ich belong to path olog y. Th ere are also intellectual modes
wh ich are very important af terth eirownmanner. Cornelius Ag rippa
mentions, onth eauth ority of Cicero, a sovereig ng radeof contemplative
perf ection" wh ereinth esoul k nows all th ing s inth e lig h t of ideas.DE
OCCULTA PHILOSOPI- IIA, L21 5. iii, c. 50. Hespeak s also inth e lang uag e
of Plato andth esuccessors of asceiiding to th eintellectual lif eandso
attaining _th e f irst unity."- - Ibr'd., iii, 55. It will be seenth at th is is
realisationinmind; but th etrueattainment is inlove.
5
Th e Work s of Th omas Vaug h an
Th e mag icians tell me th at th e soul passes out of one
mode andenters anoth er}Some h ave examinedth is
andstate it anexpense of inuences, as if th e soul
exercisedh erroyalty at th e eyeorh adsome blindjuris-
dictionat th e pores. But th is is to measure mag ical
positions by th eslig h t, supercial strictures of th ecommon
ph ilosoph y. lt is anag e of intellectual slaveries : if th ey
meet anyth ing extraordinary, th ey prune it commonly
with distinctions ordaub it with f alse g losses, till it look s
lik e th e traditions of Aristotle. His f ollowers are so
condeiit of h is principles th ey seek not to understand
wh at oth ers speak but to mak e oth ers speak wh at th ey
understand. It is inNatureas it is inrelig ion: we are
still h ammering of oldelements but seek not th eAmerica
th at lies beyondth em. Th e apostle tells us of leaving
th e rst principles of th e Doctrine of Ch rist andg oing
onto perf ection, not laying ag ainth e f oundationof re-
pentance f rom deadwork s; andof f aith towards God;
of th e doctrine of Baptism andlaying onof h ands; of
resurrectionandth e eternal judg ment. Th enh e speak s
of illumination, of tasting of th e h eavenly g if t, of being
partak ers of th eHoly Gh ost, of tasting " of th eg oodword
of Godandth e powers of th eworldto come? Now, if
I sh ouldq uestionany sect- f orth ere is no communion
inCh ristendom- wh ith erth ese laterintimations drive,
th ey canbut returnme to th erst rudiments orproduce
some empty pretenceof spirit. Ournatural ph ilosoph ers
are much of a cast with th ose th at step into th e pre-
rog ative of proph ets andantedate events incong ura-
tions andmotions. Th is is a conseq uence of as much
reasonas if I sawth e Swede exercising andwouldnd
h is desig ns inh is postures. Friar Baconwalk edin
Oxf ordbetweentwo steeples, but h e th at wouldh ave
1 Amwra z .+:m'ars e.iz t':'.s' g rea':'tn:rat air - adz 'ng redz 'tar. One of th e
CONCLUSIONES KABALISTICEEof Pious iiith e larg ercodex, publish edby
Arch ang elus de Burg o Nuovo inAPOLOGIA pro Dig / i?:z :z 'ons Docir'z 'rz a'
Cah ala , I564 . s
2 See HEBREWS, vi, i- 5.
6
./ 4 mh r0p0s0ph z 'a Th eomag z ta
discoveredh is th oug h ts by h is steps h adbeenmore h is
f ool th anh is f ellow.
Th e Peri atetics wh enth e dene th e soul orsome
. . .P . . . Y > .
inf eriorprinciple, describe it only by outwardcircum-
stances, wh ich every ch ildcando ; but th ey statenoth ing
essentially. Th us th ey dwell altog eth er inth e f ace ;
th eirendeavours aremeretitillations ; andth eiracq uaint-
ance with Nature is not at th e h eart. Notwith standing ,
I ack nowledg e th e sch oolmening enious: th ey conceive
th eirprinciples irreg ularandprescribe rules f ormeth od,
th oug h th ey want matter. Th eirph ilosoph y is lik e a
ch urch th at is all discipline andno doctrine; f orbate
meth eirproleg omena, th eirf orm of arg uing , th eirrecit-
ing of dif Ferent opinions, with several oth erdig ressions,
andth e substance of th eseTostati2 will scarce amount to
a Mercury. Besides th eirAristotleis a poet intext ; h is
rinci les are but f ancies andth e standmore onour
P P. . 1 7. . .
concessions th anh is bottom. Henceit is th at h is f ollowers
- - notwith standing th e assistance of so many ag es- - can
f etch noth ing out of h im but notions ; andth ese indeed
th ey use, as h e saith Lycoph ron3didh is epith ets, not as
spices but as f ood. Th eir compositions are a mere
tympany of terms. It is betterth ana g h t inQuixote
to observe wh at duels anddig ladiations th ey h ave about
h im. Onewill mak e h im speak sense, anoth ernonsense
anda th irdboth . Aq uinas palps h im g entlyf Scotus
1 Th oug h h e speak s of Rog erBacon, Vaug h an s marg inal ref erence
is to SYLVA SYLVARUM, being th e natural h istory of Francis, Lord
Verulam, wh o h as some remark s onexercise of th e body at th e close
of Cerz tmjwI/ Iof th ework inq uestion.
2 Th ewordtoriarz rs sig nies toastedinlowLatin.
3Lycoph ronwas a Greek poet anddramatist underPtolemy Ph ila-
delph us, andwas notedf orexcessiveobscurity.
" Nonatcondz 'i:ie2z Zz 's, sea mcz h as. SeeAristotle s RHETORIC. .
5 It is not to besupposedth at St Th omas Aq uinas was inunconditional
ag reement with Aristotle orany oth erof th eeth nic ph ilosoph ers, but
Aristotle was no less as anintellectual master, not only f orth e g reat
Ang el of th e Sch ools but f orall th e sch oolmen. Wlienth e time came
f ora revolt ag ainst sch olastic ph ilosoph y it was th eyok eof th e Stag yrite
wh ich many th ink ers desiredto cast of f . Wh enVaug h ansays th at th e
Peripatetics statenoth ing essentially onth e sou] andspiritual principles
7
Th e V/ orh s of Th omas Vaug h an
mak es h im wince, andh e is taug h t lik eanape to sh ew
several trick s. If we look onh is adversaries, th e least
among th em h ath f oiledh im; but Telesiusz k nock ed
h im onth e h eadandCampanella h ath q uitediscomposed
h im? But as th at boldh aunterof th e circus h adh is
sk ull so steeledwith use, it sh iveredall th e tiles were
th rownat it, so th is Aristotle th rives by scuf f les andth e
worldcries- h im up wh entruth cries h im down.
Th ePeripatetics look onGodas th ey do oncarpenters,
wh o buildwith stone andtimber, with out any inf usion
of lif e. But th eworld- wh ich is God s building is f ull
of spirit, q uick andliving . Th is spirit is th e cause of
multiplication, of several perpetual productions of minerals,
veg etables andcreatures eng enderedby putref action- all
wh ich are manif est, inf alliblearg uments of lif e. Besides,
th etextureof th euniverseclearly discovers its animation.
Th e earth wh ich is th e visible, natural basis of it- -
represents th eg ross, carnal parts. Th eelement of water
answers to th e blood, f orinit th e pulse of th e Great
Worldbeats : th is most mencall th eux andreux, but
th ey k nownot th e truecause of it. Th e airis th eout-
wardref resh ing spirit, wh ere th is vast creature breath es
- th oug h invisibly, yet not altog eth erinsensibly. Th e
interstellarsk ies are h is vital, eth ereal waters andth e
stars h is animal, sensual re. Th ouwilt tell meperh aps :
h eis voicing th esentiment of all wh o precededh im inth erevolt, of all
wh o h adg ot to k nowPlato andth e Platonic successors. Ina particular
way h ewas f ollowing th e leadof occult ph ilosoph ers, andh is immediate
predecessorinEng landwas Robert Fludd.
1 But if th e ref erenceis to Scotus Erig ena we sh ouldrememberth at
h e is praisedby th eCath olic exponent of Mysticism, J. Gorres, becauseh e
marriedth edialectic of Plato to th elog ic of Aristotle. See CHRISTLICHE
Mvsrix, i, 24 3.
2 BernardinusTe1 esius wroteDERERUM NATURA, I565, anda volume
of ph ilosoph ical tracts. Hediedin1 588. His work s wereplacedonth e
Index because h e opposedth e doctrines of Aristotle- such at least is
th e story.
3Campanella was a Dominicanmonk , auth orof CIVITAS SOLIS, th e
story of anideal commonwealth . He def endedTelesius andwas long
years inprison.
4 CompareAg rippa, wh o maintains th at as th ecelestial bodies h ave a
8
A71 21 / 2roposo]!> h z 'a Th eornag ica
Th is is newph ilosoph y, andth at of Aristotle is old. It
is indeed, but inth e same sense as relig ionis at Rome.
It is not th e primitive truth of th e creation, not th e
ancient, real th eosoph y of th e Hebrews andEg yptians,
but a certainpreternatural upstart, a vomit of Aristotle,
wh ich h is f ollowers- - with so much dilig encelick up and
swallow. I present th ee not h ere with any clamorous
oppositionof th eirpatronbut a positive express of
principles as I ndth em inNature. I may say of th em
as Mosessaidof th eFIAT: Th eseare th eg enerations
of th eh eavens andof th eearth , inth eday th at th eLord
Godmadeth eearth andth e h eavens.1 Th ey areth ing s
beyondreasoning 2- sensible, practical truth s, not mere
vag aries andrambles of th ebrain. I wouldnot h aveth ee
look onmy endeavours as a desig nof captivity. I intend
not th econq uest but th eexerciseof th y reason, not th at
th oush ouldst swearalleg ianceto my dictates but compare
my conclusions with Nature andexamine th eircorre-
spondence. Bepleasedto considerth at obstinacy enslaves
th esoul andclips th ewing s wh ich Godg aveh erf orig h t
anddiscovery. If th ouwilt not q uit th y Aristotle, let
not any prejudice h inderth y f urth ersearch . Great is
th eirnumberwh o perh aps h adattainedto perf ection, h ad
th ey not already th oug h t th emselves perf ect. Th is is my
advice- but h owwelcometo th ee I k nownot. If th ou
wilt k ick anding , I sh all say with th e Cardinal : My
ass also k ick s up h is h eels." 3It is anag e wh ereintruth
is neara miscarriag e, andit is enoug h f orme th at I h ave
appearedth us f arf orit ina day of necessity.
EUGENIUS PHILALETHES.
manif est operationuponinf eriorth ing s it must be h eldth at th ey are
animated. All ph ilosoph y af f irms th eref ore th at th eworldh as a soul,
wh ich soul is intellig ent."- DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA, Lib. ii, c. 55.
1 GENESIS, ii, 4 .
2 Extra :'nz .- dlectmn.
3Eta- am asinus meus rooaloitraz .
9
ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA
WHEN I f oundout th is truth , th at maninh is orig inal
was a branch plantedinGodandth at th ere was a con-
tinual inux f rom th e stock to th e scion, I was much
troubledat h is corruptions andwonderedh is f ruits were
not correspondent to h is root. But wh enI was toldh eh ad
tastedof anoth ertree my admirationwas q uick ly oi, it
being my ch ief careto reduce h im to h is rst simplicity
andseparate h is mixtures of g oodandevil. But h is Fall
h adso bruisedh im inh is best part th at h is soul h adno
k nowledg e lef t to study h im 1 1 cure. His punish ment
presently f ollowedh is trespass : all th ing s were h idden
andoblivion, th e moth er of ig norance, enteredin.1
Th is Leth eremainednot inh is body but, passing tog eth er
with h is nature, made h is posterity h erch annel. Imper-
f ection s aneasy inh eritance, but virtue seldom nds any
h eirs. Manh adat th erst- andso h aveall souls bef ore
th eir entrance into th e body- anexplicit meth odical
k nowledg e; " but th ey are no sooner vestedbut th at
liberty is lost andnoth ing remains but a vast, conf used
notionof th ecreature. Th us h adI only lef t a capacity
with out poweranda will to do th at wh ich was f arenoug h
above me. Inth is perplexity I studiedseveral arts and
rambledover all th ose inventions wh ich th e f olly of
Velata sun! onz nia, z 'ntrawz 'f oz sesons- unearerz :. nos'antz 'o'.CorneIius
Ag rippa : Dr. VANITATESCIENTIARUM.
9 Because, according to Vaug h aif s intellectual master, th e soul inth e
mindof Platonism is (a) a divine lig h t, (o) proceeding f rom Godim-
mediately, and(if ) rational f rom th ebeg inning . Th eexplicit meth odical
k nowledg e" of th etext abovecorresponds to Ag rippa s rational number.
- DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA, Lu. iii, c. 37.
IO
/ 4 nrh roposo, oh z 'a Yh eonz ag ica
mancalledsciences. But th ese endeavours suiting not
to my purpose, I q uittedth is book business andth oug h t
it a bettercourse to study Nature th anopinion. Here-
uponI consideredwith myself th at manwas not th e
primitive, immediatework of God, but th eworldout of
wh ich h e was made. Andto reg ulate my studies in
point of meth od, I judg edit convenient to examine h is
principles rst andnot h im. But th e worlding eneral
being too larg ef orinq uisition, I resolvedto tak e part f or
th ewh oleandto g ivea g uess at th ef rameby proportion.
To perf ect th is my essay I took to task th e f ruits of one
spring .- HereI observeda g reat many veg etables, f resh
andbeauteous inth eirtime; but wh enI look edback on
th eirorig inal th ey were no such th ing s as veg etables.
Th is observationI appliedto th e worldandg ainedby
it th is inf erence- - th at th eworldinth e beg inning was no
such th ing as it is, but someoth erseedormatterout of
wh ich th at f abric wh ich I nowbeh olddidarise. But
resting not h ereI drove my conclusionf urth er. I con-
ceivedth oseseeds wh ereof veg etables didspring must be
someth ing else at rst th anseeds, as h aving some pre-
existent matterwh ereof th ey were made, but wh at th at
mattersh ouldbe I couldnot g uess. Here was I f orced
to leave of f speculationandcome up to experience.
Wh iles I soug h t th e. worldI went beyondit, andI was
nowinq uest of a substancewh ich with out art- - - I could
not see. Nature wraps th is most strang ely inh ervery
bosom, neith erdoth sh e expose it to anyth ing but h er
ownvital, celestial breath . But inrespect th at God
Almig h ty is th e only proper, immediate Ag ent wh ich
actuates th is Matter- as well inth e work of g eneration
as f ormerly inHis creation- - - it will not beamiss to speak
1 Th is is th e notionof Ag rippa, wh o q uotes th e auth ority of certain
divines, not oth erwisementioned, according to wh om Godis Creatorin
ch ief of th ewh oleworldbut not immediately of th ebodyof man- - meaning
th erst man- inth ecompositionof wh ich Hework edmediately th roug h
|Il'l 6 l.Ctl+.' of ces of h eavenly spirits.DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPI- I1 .s, Lu . i,
c. 1 .
II
Th e / Vorh s of Th omas Vaug h an
someth ing of Him, th at wemay k nowth e Cause by His
creatures andth ecreatures by th eirCause.
My God, my lif e, Wh oseessence man
Is no way f it to k noworscan,
But sh ouldapproach Th y court a g uest
Inth oug h ts morelowth anh is req uest :
Wh eiiI considerh owI stray,
Meth ink s, tis prideinmeto pray.
Howdare I speak to Heaven, norf ear
Inall my sins to court Th y ear?
But as I look onmoles th at lurk
Inblindeiitreiich meiits andth erework
Th eirowndark prisons to repair,
I- leaving th eearth to tak einair- -
So viewmy f etter dsoul, th at must
Strug g lewith th is h erloadof dust;
Meet h eraddress andaddone ray
To th is mew dparcel of Th y day.
Sh e would- th oug h h ere imprison d- - see,
Th roug h all h erdirt, Th y th roneandTh ee.
Lord, g uide h erout of th is sadnig h t
Andsay once more: Let th ere be lig h t.
It is God's ownpositivetruth . Inth ebeg inning
th at is, inth at deadsilence, inth at h orribleandempty
dark ness wh enas yet noth ing was f ash ionedth en- - saith
th eLord didI considerth eseth ing s, andth ey all were
made th roug h Me alone, andth roug h none oth er: by
Mealso th ey sh all be ended, andby noneoth er.1 Th at
meditationf oreruns every solemnwork is a th ing so well
k nownto manth at h e needs no f urth erdemonstrationof
it th anh is ownpractice. Th at th ereis also inGodsome-
th ing analog ical to it, f rom wh ence manderivedth is
customary notionof h is, as it is most ag reeableto reason,
so with al is it very suitableto Providence. Th eg ods "
- saith Iamblich us- didconceive th e wh ole work
1 ll ESDRAS, vi, I, 6. It will h e notedth roug h out h is work s th at
Vaug h anq uotes texts lik eESDRAS andth eVVISDOM of pseudo- Solomon
as if th ey werecanonical.
I2
/ ?lnth roposoph z 'a Th eomag ica
with inth emselves bef oreit was broug h t f orth by th em." l
Andth e Spiritz h ere to Esdras: Th endidI consider
th eseth ing s.Heconsideredth em rst andmade th em
af terwards. GodinHis eternal idea f oresawth at wh ereof
as yet th erewas no material copy. Th e g oodness and
beauty of th e one movedHim to create th e oth er, and
truly th eimag eof th is prototype, being embosomedinth e
second, made Him so much inlove with His creature
th at wh ensinh addef acedit, Herestoredit by th e suf f er-
ing of th at patternby wh ich at rst it was made.
Dionysius th e Areopag ite, wh o livedinth e primitive
times, andreceivedth e Mysteries of Divinity immedi-
ately f rom th eApostles, styles Godth eFath ersometimes
th e arcanum of Divinity, "" sometimes th at h idden,
supersubstantial Being ; 5 andelsewh ere h e compares
Him to a root wh ose owers are th e SecondandTh ird
Persons. Th is is true, f orGodth e Fath eris th ebasis
orsupernatural f oundationof His creatures; Godth e
Sonis th e pattern, inWh ose express imag e th ey were
made; andGodth eHoly Gh ost is th eCreatorSpirit, or
th e Ag ent Wh o f ramedth e creatureina just symmetry
to h is Type. Th is considerationorTypeGodh ath since
usedinth e perf ormance of inf eriorwork s. Th us inth e
institutionof His temple He commands Moses to th e
1 Disooncz )f > z 'unt inso totmnopus, anteg uarn; oar!urz 'u:z t.- - IAMBLICHUS.
2 It was inf act th eang el Uriel discoursing with Esdras, but speak ing on
th is occasioninth epersonof th eAlmig h ty. SeeII ESDRAS, iv, i; v, i5, 3i.
3Th e h istorical positionof th ework s put f orwardunderth e nameof
Dionysius sh ouldh ave beenk nownto Vaug h an, at least by th e arg u-
ments of Scalig er. Vaug h an, h owever, was not a critical sch olarandmig h t
bech aracterisedmoreto th epurposeina reversesense. Th etendency of
most recent opinionis perh aps to nda middle way betweenextreme
dates, but th e sug g estionth at Dionysiantexts belong to primitive times
is nowf oundonly among someapolog ists belong ing to th eLatinCh urch .
Itis abandonedinCardinal Mercief s MANUAL OF MODERN SCI- IOLASTIC
PHILOSOPHY.
* Arcimum D23/ z 'nz 'taz s.
5 Oocultum illudsz sy- ersu!istants'aZe. See inparticularDE DIVINIS
NOMINIBUS, cop. i.
6 IB1 D., cap. ii, 7. Quasig ermina, oresixe ac lmnina su; ersu 'r-
stantf alz iz .
I Soz 'rr'tus O1 5- if ex: cf . Vans, CreatorS, oz 'rs'tus.
is
Th e iVor/ as of Th omas Vaug h an
mount, wh ere th e Divine Spirit sh ews h im th e idea of
th ef uturef abric. Andlet th em mak e Mea sanctuary ;
th at I may dwell among th em. According to all th atl
sh ewth ee, af terth e patternof th e tabernacle, andth e
patternof all th e instruments th ereof , evenso sh all ye
mak e it.1 Th us th e Divine Minddoth instruct us
by setting f orth ideas as by a k indof self - extensioii
beyondItself , 2andsometimes more particularly in
dreams. To Nebuch adnez z arHepresents a tree strong
andh ig h , reach ing to th e h eavens andth e sig h t th ereof
to th e ends of all th e earth ."3To Ph araoh h e sh ews
sevenears of corn. To Joseph He appears insh eaves
andth enresembles th e sun, moonandstars. To con-
clude, He may express Himself by wh at He will, f orin
Him are innumerable, eternal prototypes, andHeis th e
truef ountainandtreasure of f orms.
But th at we may come at last to th e scope proposed:.
Godth e Fath eris th e Metaph ysical, Supercelestial Sun;
th e SecondPersonis th eLig h t ; andth eTh irdis Fiery
Love, ora Divine Heat proceeding f rom both . Now,
with out th epresenceof th is Heat th ereis no receptionof
th e Lig h t andby conseq uence no inux f rom th e Fath er
of Lig h ts. Forth is Love is th e medium wh ich unites
th e Loverto th at wh ich is beloved, andprobably tis th e
PIatonic's Ch ief Daimon, Wh o doth uniteus with th e
Pref ects of Spirits.5 Icouldspeak much more of th e
oices of th is Loving Spirit, but th ese are g rand
1 EX ODUS, xxv, 8, 9.
2 Pormg endo z 'i:ii'eas g uadam e.rt'ens:'onesuiextra so.
3DANIEL, iv, ii.
4 Amos"ig nez ss. Th e Holy Spirit is reg ardedinorth odox th eolog y as
th ebondof lovebetweenth eFath erandth e Son. So also inth einward
h umantrinity th edesirepart is th ebondbetweenmindandwill. Finally,
inth e g reat attainment love is th ech ainof unionbetweenth esoul and
th eCh rist- Spirit.
5 Damonmag nus g ui cosg ; 'ung z 't nos s; 5z 's:'z uum praf ectz rrz s. Inth is
conceptionof loveas th e bondof unionbetweenth e worlds with inand
with out Th omas Vaug h ansuf f ers comparisonf ora moment with th ose
early Eng lish mystics Rich ardRolle of I- Iarnpole andDame Julianof
Norwich .
1 4
Af nth roposoph ia '1 h eomag ica
mysteries of GodandNature1 andreq uirenotourdiscus-
sionso much as ourreverence. Herealso I mig h t speak
of th at Supernatural Generationwh ereof Trismeg istus:
Th eMonadbeg etteth th eMonadanddoth reect upon
itself its ownf ervour.2 But I leaveth is to th eAlmig h ty
Godas His ownessential, central mystery. It is my only
intentioninth is placeto h andleexterioractions, orth epro-
cess of th eTrinity f rom th e centre to th ecircumf erence;
andth at I may th e betterdo it youare to understand
th at Godbef oreHis work of creation- was wrappedup
andcontractedinHimself . Inth is state th e Eg yptians
style Him th e Solitary Monad andth e Kabalists Dark
Aleph ; but wh enth e decreedinstant of creationcame,
th enappearedBrig h t Aleph , 5 andth erst emanationwas
th at of th e Holy Gh ost into th e bosom of th e matter.
Th us we readth at dark ness was uponth e f ace of th e
deep andth eSpirit of Godmoveduponth ef aceof th e
waters.6 Hereyouareto observeth at, notwith standing
th is process of th eTh irdPerson, yet was th ereno lig h t,
but dark ness onth e f ace of th e deep, illuminationpro-
perly being th e of ce of th e Second. Wh eref ore God
also, wh enth e matterwas preparedby Love f orLig h t,
g ives out His Fiat Lux, wh ich was no creationas most
th iiik - but anemanationof th e Word, inWh om was
lif e, andth at lif eis th e lig h t of men. Th is is th at lig h t
wh ereof St Joh nspeak s, th at it sh ineth indark ness;
andth edark ness compreh endedit not.7But lest I seem
1 Mag naif a Der at Natz sra.
2 Monas g z g nz 't rllonaden, at inso suum reects? ardoresn.
3ilf onas soZz 'tar:'a. 4 AZeph tenoarosum.
5 Af eph laoz 'a um. Th e letterAf ep/ is is, so to speak , th e rst path by
wh ich th e Divine passedinto manif estation. It connects with Kosh er,
th eSupremeCrown, as th is connects with Af nSoph , th ef ath omless abyss
of Godh eadinth euninanif est state. Hereis th esense inwh ich Godis
calledDark Aleph priorto creation. Brig h t Alq oh is th erst path wh ich I
h avementioned, andit unites Kat/ z erwith C/ z oh mah , orSupernal Wisdom,
inth eSeph irotic sch eme. But Aiejih is also th eDoctrine, dark as to its
h iddenmeaning s andbrig h t as to its opensense. But th e dark andth e
lig h t areboth a mystery of love, andth ey arebetterdescribedas lig h t in
its concealinent andrevelation.
5 GENESIS, i, 2. T ST JOHN, i, 5.
Is
Th e Wm; of T/ z omas Vaz ag / 55:1 2
to be sing ularinth is point I will g iveyoumoreevidence.
Pymanderinf orming Trismeg istus inth eWork of creation
tells h im th e self - same th ing . I am th at Lig h t, th e
Mind, th y God, more ancient th anth e Watery nature
wh ich sh onef orth out of th e sh adow. AndGeorg ius
Venetus inh is book De Harmonia Mandi: Wh atso-
everliveth doth subsist by virtue of its inwardh eat.
Th ence th at substance of h eat, indif Ferently distributed
th roug h th eworld, is h eldto containWith initself a vital
streng th . Yea, ZoroasterWitnesseth th at all th ing s were
madeout of rewh enh esaith : all th ing s wereproduced
f rom a sing lere, f rom th at re, namely, wh ich God, th e
dwellerinth eery essence- as Plato h ath itdidordain
to appearinth e substance of h eavenandearth , at th at
timecreatedrudeandf ormless, th at it mig h t assumelif e
andf orm. I- Iereuponth eFabricatordidstraig h tway g ive
f orth th eSi: Lax, f orwh ich a mendacious rendering h ath
substitutedFiat Lax. Forth e Lig h t is inno wisemade
but is communicatedandadmittedto th ing s h eretof ore
obscure, th at th ey may be brig h tenedandg loriedin
th eirf orms?
But to proceed: No sooner h adth e Divine Lig h t
piercedth ebosom of th ematterbut th e idea orpattern
of th ewh ole material worldappearedinth ose primitive
1 Lmmm z 'ZZz m Eg o sum, ilf z rz s, D.- ms mus amz 'g uz 'o: g mam nature
/ mnz z k ia, g um erumbm q f uZ.rz 't.Mercurii Trismeg isti PIMANDRAS,
cepuz i. I do not k nowwh at Latinrendering was usedby Vaug h anin
th is instance. It dif f ers f rom th at printedwith th eGreek text inDz 'm'mz s
Pymarz derf f ermetz ls Mercurz 'z ' Tr:'sme_g z .s!z ', cum c0mr; z em'arz 'z 's R. P. F.
HANNIBALIS RossELI, th eCalabrianMinoriteFriara mineof orth odox
th eosoph y insix tomes, f olio.
2 Ommrq uad'z 'z 'w't, rapter:'m'Z.esz wz mf orem oz 'w'z .. [mic coii- z :g z 'z a:r
. :.eZ0r'z '.rnamram vim. lz aare inse '.vz 'z aZem, in_mz m.~ z o pa.m'm dg f usaan:
Ema omnia eralg aef orteease testaterZoroaster, dam af t: Onmia sub
z lg m one g emz a mm, sig n: g z z ra f ilo, g z aem Dem Ig uana .essmt:'.- as
if atator(rat Plato af t) z 'ne.- areja:ssz 'z 'materz k a aria at lerrrejarm create ,
rz m z ' at z '?g 0rmz ': at '1 / iasz m prrastaret at f ormam. Him" z 'Z2'z '.s prod:a:z z '.r
.rz 'at:'m .m6z n!.elz 't Opz f ex, Sit Lz ar- - pro q ua meadow: tr.edz a:tz 'o k aet Ff at
Liar. Nonerz z 'mf acta est Last, sadream adiz uc obscure: .- rrommumk ateat
z ':z 5"'z e, an insm'.rf o:rm:'.ralert? e! spf ez z dentrs erem. . .- Th ere is no
traceof Georg ius Venetus inany dicg onary of biog raph ical ref erence.
I
1 4 % :/ z roposop/ z ia T/ z eomag ica
waters, lik eanimag eina g lass. By th is patternit was
th at th e Holy Gh ost f ramedandmodelledth e universal
structure. Th is mystery orappearance of th e idea is
excellently manif estedinth e mag ical analysis of bodies.
Forh eth at k nows h owto imitateth e proto- ch emistry of
th eSpirit, by separationof th eprinciples wh ereinth elif e
is imprisoned, may see th e impress of it experimentally
inth e outwardnatural vestments.1 - But lest yoush ould
th ink th is my inventionandno practical truth I will g ive
youanoth erman s testimony. I ask "- saith one- - -
wh at g reat ph ilosoph ers wouldsay if th ey sawth eplant
bornas ina moment inth e g lass vial, with its colours as
inlif e, if th ey sawit ag aindie, ag ainreborn, andth is
daily, wh ensoeverth ey pleaseP But th epowerto deceive
h umansenses is included, I believe, inth e mag ical art
of demons." Th ey are th e words of DrMarci inh is
Deyiwsio f deorz mz Operorriciumf i But youare to be
admonish edth ereis a twof oldideaDivine andnatural.
Th enatural is a ery, invisible, createdspirit andproperly
a mere enclosureorvestment of th e trueOne? Hence
th e Platonists calledit th e nimbus of descending
Divinity." Zoroaster andsome oth er ph ilosoph ers
th ink it is th eSoul of th e World; but- by th eirleave- - ~
th ey are mistak en. Th ere is a wide dif f erence betwixt
Soul andSpirit? But th e idea I speak of h ere is th e
true, primitive, exemplarone anda pure inuence of
1 Vaug h an s q uotedillustrationlook s wideof h is propermeaning , and
th ere wouldseem to be sing ularconf usioninh is mode of expression.
Ex / z y, oot/ z eri, th e soul ascends to unionwith its prototype inDivine
attainment by a liberationf rom imprisoning principles.
2 Quidoaraso d'z 'coram' / 2:tarz tiP/ z z 'Zo.to, o/ if :1 plorz tam g uest nz omento
r:a.rcz ' in: z / itreo were tdderem, cum .m:'s ad'z 'z '1 oz mz colorious, at rz rrsrmz
:'morz 're, at rorz asd, z oom oz rotz 'es, at ouendo Zuorrot .1 Credo Dormonum
Arte at f l/ [ag :'oo z nolusz mz arorent z 'Zluo ere .rem:'ou.r/ z mirams.- I h ave
soug h t to identif y th is writerunderall reasonable variations of th ename
as g iven, but with out success.
3Th ewordis usedinth emetaph ysical senseof f orm.
4 Nf mous Numz '2z z 's de.rcendontz 's.
5 As between"P'uX i)= A1 Z1 '?J'1 t2 andHvt; re= 5', o rz 'f as. Compare Am':rmr
andAnia- tar, as usedby someof th emystics.
1 7 2
T/ z e Work s of 1 720mm" Vaug mz
th e Almig h ty. Th is idea, bef ore th ecoag ulationof th e
seminal principles to a g ross outwardf abricwh ich is
th e endof g eneration- - 'impresseth inth e vital, eth ereal
principles a model orpatternaf terwh ich th e body is
to. be f ramed, andth is is th e rst inwardproductionor
draf t of th ecreature. Th is is it wh ich th eDivine Spirit
intimates to us inth at Scripture wh ere Hesaith th at
Godcreatedevery plant of th e eldbef ore it was in
th e earth , andevery h erb of th e eldbef ore it g rew.
But, notwith standing th is presence of th e idea inth e
Matter, yet th e creationwas not perf ormedby th e
projectionof someth ing f rom th e essence of th e idea, 2
f orit is Godth at compreh ends His creature andnot
th e creature God.
Th us f arh ave I h andledth is primitive supernatural
part of th e creation. I must conf ess it is but sh ort in
respect of th at wh ich may bespok en; but I am condent
it is more th anf ormerly h ath beendiscovered, some
auth ors h aving not search edso deeply into th ecentreof
Nature andoth ers not willing to publish such spiritual
mysteries? I am nowcome to th e g ross work or
mech anics of th eSpirit, namely, th e separationof several
substances f rom th esame mass. But inth e rst place I
sh all examineth at limbus orh uddleof matterwh ereinall
th ing s were so strang ely contained. lt is th eopinionof
some men, andth ose learned, th at th is slug g ish , empty
rudiment of th e creaturewas no createdth ing . Imust
conf ess th e point is obscure as th e th ing itself andto
stateit with sobriety- - - except a manwereilluminatedwith
th esamelig h t th at th is ch aos was at rstis altog eth er
impossible. Forh owcanwejudg e of a naturedif f erent
f rom ourown, wh ose species also was so remote f rom
anyth ing nowexistent th at it is impossible f orf ancy to
appreh end, much more f orreasonto deneit? lf it be
GENESIS, ii, 5. 2 E.rtmmz 'ttomio aZz 'ouz 'o'do osso:et:'ri iderr.
3It must be saidth at th ere is noth ing especially newinVaug h arf s
disq uisition, wh ich is a combinationof Kabalistic andPlatonic th eosoph y.
1 8
1 4 % :/ z roporop/ z z k z T/ z eoma, g z 'ca
created, I conceive it th e ef f ect of th e Divine Imag ina-
tion, acting beyonditself incontemplationof th at wh ich
was to come andproducing th is passive dark ness f ora
subject to work uponinth ecircumf erence. Trismeg istus,
h aving rst expressedh is visionof lig h t, describes th e
matterinits primitivestate th us : Andina sh ort time
af ter- h esaith - th e dark ness was th rust downwards,
partly conf usedanddejected, andtortuously circumscribed,
so th at I appearedto beh oldit transf ormedinto a certain
h umidsubstance andmore ag itatedth anwords could
express, vomiting f orth smok e as f rom reandemitting
aninexpressibleandlug ubrious sound." 1 Certainly th ese
f H b7'c h e speak s of , orf ulig inous spawnof Nature, were
th e rst createdMatter, f orth at waterwe readof in
Genesis was a product orsecondary substance? Here
also h e seems to ag reef urth erwith th eMosaical tradition.
Forth is smok ewh ich ascendedaf terth etransmutation
canbe noth ing else but th at dark ness wh ich was uponth e
f aceof th edeep.
But, to express th e particularmode orway of th e
creation, youare to understandth at inth e Matterth ere
was a h orrible, conf usedq ualm orstupef ying spirit of
moisture, coldanddark ness. Inth e opposite principle
of lig h t th erewas h eat andth e ef f ect of itsiccity. For
th ese two are no elemental q ualities, as th eGalenists and
my Peripatetics suppose. But th ey are- - if I may say so
- th e h ands of th eDivine Spirit, by wh ich Hedidwork
uponth e Matter, applying every ag ent to h is proper
patients. Th esetwo are activeandmasculine; th oseof
moisture andcoldare passive andf eminine. Now, as
soonas th e Holy Gh ost andth eWordf orit was not
I Erpaz rlo. post terz eorrrdoorsarm z reoantrrr, portz lwtrr, oz 'dondra or
trr'sz 'o.rrjoctta, tortuosetermirz etrr: at z 'ma, g r:z arermo 'vz 'dz 's.re commutator
teg reoras 2'22/ z mrz z iiam q rrarz dam mz tz rrem, ultra oz rtm: dz 'oz 'poles! ag 2' 'a 'am,
at stale! no .- { g nof urrz z rrnaoomrro, orsomrm alz 'oz r.mz adore r'2z omr:z .rz 'ooz '!om
at Zug uorom.~ DIv1 NUS Pvmanonn, rep. i.
2 Th is arg ument illustrates th ef olly of seek ing to reconcileindependent
cosmical speculations.
I9
T/ z e Work s of T/ z omas Vang / z mz
th eonenorth e oth erbut both , th e Formative Mind
conjoinedwith th e, W'ord, "1 as Trismeg istus h ath it: I
omit th at speech , Let us mak e man, " wh ich ef f ectually
proves th eirunioninth ework - - - h adappliedth emselves
to th e Matter, th erewas extractedf rom th e bosom of it
a th in, spiritual, celestial substance, wh ich , receiving a
tincture of h eat andlig h t, proceeding f rom th e Divine
Treasuries, became a pure, sincere, innoxious re. Of
th is th e bodies of ang els consist, as also th e empyreal
h eaven, wh ere intellectual essences h ave th eirresidence.
Th is was th e primeval marriag eof GodandNature, 2
th erst andbest of compositions. Th is extract- being
th us settledaboveandseparatedf rom th e mass- - retained
init a vast portionof lig h t andmadeth erst day with out
a sun. But th e splendourof th e Wordexpelling th e
dark ness downwards it becamemoresettledandcompact
towards th e centre andmade a h orrible, th ick nig h t.
Th us God- - as th e Hebrewh ath it- - was betweenth e
lig h t andth e dark ness, f orth e Spirit remainedstill on
th ef aceof th einf eriorportion, to extract more f rom it.
Inth e secondseparationwas educedth e nimble
atmosph ere3- - - as Trismeg istus calls it- a spirit not so
renedas th ef ormerbut vital andinth e next deg reeto
it. Th is was extractedinsuch abundance th at it lled
all th e spacef rom th emass to th eempyreal h eaven, under
wh ich it was condensedto a water, but of a dif f erent
constitutionf rom th eelemental ; andth is is th ebody of
th e interstellarsk y. But my Peripatetics, f ollowing th e
principles of Aristotle andPtolemy, h ave imag inedso
1 Marts o, or'/ ex mm om): Veroo.- DIvINUS PYMANDER, cop. i. Compare
cop. xv: Voroum aosolartz mz f rrrmz drmz oprx, cap. xii: Voroum mantra
z wz eg o; andnally rap. iv: Unz a/ orsmrz mz mdz mz r:or:stru.< r:'z ' Opg f ox
nor: mrmz 'ou.rsodVrz oo. According to th e ZOHAR, Sh ek inah was th e
arch itect of worlds, acting invirtue of th e Wordwh ich Godutteredin
creation, wh ich Wordwas unitedto th eSpirit. It is dif cult, h owever, to
separate Sh ek inah f rom th e Wordof Kabalism. Th e X - Vordis called
also th eSoninC/ z ok mo/ z andSh ek inalith eDaug h terinBrion/ 2. Seemy
SECRET DocrnmnIN ISRAEL, pp. 1 92, 64 , 21 7, 30o.
'3Prz wrz rm i- l{ a!r.:'arz om'um 1 ). z 'at Nrz mrcr. 3Aoreg z '!z '.i.
p 20
/ 5- Yrz troporop/ z io '1 7z e0mag 2'ca
many wh eels th ere, with th eirnal diminutive epicycles,
th at th ey h aveturnedth at reg ularf abric to a rumbling ,
conf usedlabyrinth .
Th e inf eriorportionof th is secondextract f rom th e
moonto th e earth remainedair still, partly to divide
th e inf eriorandsuperiorwaters, but ch iey f orth ere-
spirationandnourish ment of th e creatures. Th is is
th at wh ich is properly calledth e rmament, as it is plain
out of Esdras : Uponth esecondday th oumadest th e
spirit of th e rmament, 1 f orit is th e bondof all
Nature, f andinth e outwardg eometrical composure it
answers to th e middle substance, f or it is spread
th roug h all th ing s, h inders vacuity andk eeps all th e
parts of Nature ina rm, invincible union. Th is is
th e sieve of Nature, "4 as one wittily calls it, a th ing
appointedf ormost secret andmysterious of f ices; but
we sh all speak f urth erof it wh enwe come to h andle
th e elements particularly. Noth ing nowremainedbut
th e two inf eriorprinciples- as we commonly call th em
earth andwater. Th e earth was animpure, sul-
ph ureous subsidence or cope: mortar/ rm of th e creation.
Th e wateralso was ph leg matic, crude androro, not so
vital as th e f ormerextractions. But th e DivineSpirit,
to mak e His work perf ect, moving also uponth ese,
impartedto th em lif e andh eat, andmade th em t f or
f uture productions. Th e earth was so overcast and
mantledwith th e waterth at no part th ereof was to be
seen. But th at it mig h t be th e more immediately ex-
posedto th e celestial inf luences wh ich are th e cause of
veg etationth e Spirit orders a retreat of th e waters, and
break s up f orth em His decreedplanandsets th em
bars anddoors.5
Th elig h t as yet was not conned, but- retaining its
vast f lux andprimitive liberty- eq ually possessedth e
1 ll ESDRAS, vi, 4 1 . 2 Lz lg ammtmrz !otz 'm'Nrrtrrrcr.
3Notz rra media. C'rz 'orm:z Nof z rrtz r.
"~ " JOB, xxxviii, Io.
Z1
T/ re Warts cf T/ z omas Vang / um
wh ole creature. Onth ef ourth dayit was collectedto a
sunandtaug h t to k nowh is f ountain. Th e dark ness,
wh ence proceedth e corruptions andconseq uently th e
death of th e creature, was imprisonedinth ecentre, but
break s out still wh enth e day g ives it leave, andlik ea
baf f ledg iant th rusts h is h eadout of doors inth e absence
of h is adversary. Th us Natureis a Lady wh ose f ace is
beauteous but not with out a black - bag . Howsoever,
wh enit sh all please Godmore perf ectly to rene His
creatures th is tincture sh all be expelledq uite beyond
th em, andth enit will be anoutwarddark ness- f rom
wh ich , GoodLord, deliverus.
Th us h ave I g ivenyoua cursorypandsh ort express of
th e creationing eneral. I sh all nowdescendto a more
particular examinationof Nature andespecially h er
inf erior, elemental parts, th roug h wh ich manpasseth
daily andf rom wh ich h e cannot be separated. I was
about to desist inth is place, to prevent all f utureaccla-
mations; f orwh ena Peripatetic nds h ere but th ree-
nay, but two g enuine- I- elements, earth andwater- f or
th e airis someth ing more- - will h e not cry out I h ave
committedsacrileg eag ainst Natureandstoleth eref rom
h eraltarP Th is is noise indeed, but till th ey tak e coach
ina cloudanddiscoverth at idol th ey pref ernext to th e
moon, I am resolvedto continue inmy h eresy. I am not
only of opinionbut I am sure th ere is no such principle
inNature. Th erewh ich sh e useth is th eph ysical and
incorporeal h oriz on, th e bondof eith erworldandth e
sig il of th e Holy Spirit.2 It is no ch imera, commen-
titious q uirck , lik eth at of th e sch oolmen. I sh all th ere-
f ore req uest my f riends th e Peripatetics to returnth eir
f ourth element to Aristotle, th at h e may present it to
1 Presumably at th at periodwh ich is calledinZoh aric Kabalism th e
Day of Messiah , th eDay of Eternal Peaceandth eSabbath of Creation.
A Horiz oncorporoomm at incorporeorarm, nexus m'rz 'urg ue rmrndz 'at
rz jg f llum S; z 'rz 'Z.er Sonata . Vaug h anvery of tenomits to mentionth e
writersf rom wh om h eq uotes, andit is obviously impossibleth eref ore to
identif y h is sources insuch cases.
22
1 4 m/ iroporop/ z ia Toomag icrz
Alexanderth e Great as th e rst part of a newworld, f or
th ere is no such th ing inth eold.
To proceedth en: th e earth as youwere toldbef ore
~ - being th esubsidenceorremains of th at primitivemass
wh ich Godf ormedout of dark ness, must needs be a
f eculent, impure body; f orth e extractions wh ich th e
DivineSpirit madewere pure, oleous, eth ereal substances,
but th e crude, ph leg matic, indig estedh umours settled
lik elees towards th ecentre. Th eearth is spong y, porous
andmag netical, of compositionloose, th e betterto tak e
inth e several inuences of h eat, rains anddews f orth e
nurture andconservationof h erproducts. Inh er is
th e principal residence of th at matrix wh ich attracts and
receives th e sperm f rom th emasculine part of th eworld.
Sh e is Nature s Etna : h ereVulcandoth exercise h imself ,
not th at limping poetical onewh ich h altedaf terh is f all,
but a pure, celestial, plastic re. We h ave astronomy
h ere underourf eet; th e stars are resident with us and
abundanceof jewels andpomtouros. Sh e is th e nurseand
receptacle of all th ing s, f orth e superiornatures eng ulf
th emselves into h er; wh at sh e receives th is ag e sh e dis-
covers to th e next andlik ea f aith f ul treasurerconceals no
part of h eraccount. Herproper, cong enial q uality is cold.
I am nowto speak of th e water. Th is is th e rst
element we readof inScripture, th e most ancient of
principles andth e moth erof all th ing s among st visibles.1
With out th e mediationof th is th e earth canreceive no
blessing at all, f ormoistureis th epropercauseof mixture
andf usion. Th ewaterh ath several complexions, accord-
ing to th e several parts of th e creature. Here below,
andinth ecircumf erenceof all th ing s, it is volatile, crude
andmoo. Forth is very cause Naturemak es it no part of
h erprovisionbut sh e recties it rst, exh aling it up with
h erh eat andth encondensing it to rains anddews, in
1 Meaning th e rst principlewh ich Vaug h anis preparedto recog nise
as such ; but th etext of GENESIScerties th ecreationof h eavenandearth
bef ore wateris mentioned. Th e earth postulatedobviously andpre-
supposedth e waterwh ich coveredit.
as
Th e Wore: of T/ z omar Voug / lam
wh ich state sh emak es useof it f ornourish ment. Some-
wh ere it is interior, vital andcelestial, exposedto th e
Breath of th e First Ag ent andstirredwith spiritual,
eternal winds. Inth is conditionit is Nature s wanton
f .rminesotocissimo, as one calls it. Th is is th at Psych e
of Apuleius, andth ere of Natureis h erCupid. He
th at h ath seenth em both inth e same bedwill conf ess
th at love rules all. But to speak someth ing of our
commonelemental water: it is not altog eth er con-
temptible. Th ere are h iddentreasures init, but so
ench antedwe cannot seeth em- - - f orall th e ch est is so
transparent. Th econg ealedspirit of invisible wateris
betterth anall th e earth , saith th e noble andlearned
Sendivog ius? I do not advise th e readerto tak e th is
ph leg m to task , as if h e couldextract a Venus f rom th e
sea, but I wish h im to study water, th at h e may k now
th ere. p
I h ave nowh andledth e two elements andmore I
cannot nd. I k nowth e Peripatetics pretendto_f our
andwith th e h elp of th eirmaster's q uintessence- to a
f th principle. I sh all at leisurediminish th eirstock , but
th eth ing to be nowspok enof is air. Th is is no element
but a certainmiraculous h ermaph rodite, th e cement of
two worlds anda medley of extremes. It is Nature s
commonplace, h er index, wh ere youmay ndall th at
ever sh e didor intends to do. Th is is th e world's
paneg yric ; th eexcursions of both g lobes meet h ere ; and
I may call it th e rendez vous. Inth is are innumerable
mag ical f orms of menandbeasts, sh andf owl, trees,
h erbs andall creeping th ing s? Th is is th e sea of
1 Th e omrs; orooeao r'is onth ose wh o af rm orsug g est, lik e Vaug h an,
th at th e Leg endof CupidandPsych e h as a cosmic meaning . Pernety
interpretedPsych eas sig nif ying Mercurial WaterandCupidas ig neous
xedearth ; but th eseth ing s arereveries.
2 .'; z 'rz 'tus oome z 'm1 z 'sz 'oz 'lz '.rrorr__g eZetus_rz elf orest ouom termmar:/ erso.
Th eactual q uotationI h ave not f oundinNOVUM LUMEN CHEMICUM;
but th eEpilog uespeak s of th at waterwh ich does notwet th e h ands and
is moreprecious th ananyth ing inth eworld.
3It is plainth at th eelements of Th omas Vaug h anarenot th e putative
24
1 4 22:/ z roporop/ z uz T/ z eomag im
invisibleth ing s ; 1 f orall th econceptions inth e bosom
of th eh ig h erNature ? wrap th emselves inth is tif f any
bef ore th ey embark inth e sh ell. It retains th e species
of all th ing s wh atsoeverandis th e immediate receptacle
of spirits af terdissolution, wh ence th ey pass to a superior
limbus? Ish ouldamaz e th e readerif I didrelate th e
several of f ices of th is body, but it is th emag ician s back
doorandnonebut f riends come inat it. I sh all speak
noth ing more, only th is I wouldh aveyouk now: th eair
is th ebody of lif eof oursensitive spirit, ""' ouranimal
oil, th e f uel of th e vital, sensual re, with out wh ich we
cannot subsist a minute.
Iam nowcome to th e f ourth andlast substance, th e
h ig h est inscale Nature. Th ere is no f th principleno
q uintessence as Aristotle dreamed- - but GodAlmig h ty.
Th is f ourth essence is a moist, silent re. Th is re
passeth th roug h all th ing s inth eworldandit is Nature s
ch ariot. Inth is sh e rides ; wh ensh e moves th is moves ;
andwh ensh e stands th is stands, lik e th e wh eels in
Ez ek iel, wh ose motiondependedonth at of th e spirit.
Th is is th e mask andscreenof th e Almig h ty: wh ere-
soeverHeis, th is trainof re attends Him. Th us He
appears to Moses inth e bush , but it was inre. Th e
proph et sees Him break out at th eNorth , but lik ea re
catch ing itself ? At Horeb Heis attendedwith a mig h ty
elements of oldph ysics, andth is appears very plainly inoth ertexts. His
airas a receptacle of f orms recalls th e Astral Lig h t of Paracelsus and
lilliph as Levi, wh ich answers to th ememory of Nature.
1 Morereruuz z 'u'vz 'sz 'oz 'Zz 'um.
2 In.tz 'uu.tu, oer:'orr'.rNuturre.
3Th e expressionis not alch emical. Th e limbus of Nature is th at
primeval matterwh ich h adnot as yet beenseparatedinto th e f our
elements. Pernety: DICTIONNAIRE Mv'rno- HERMETIQUE. But
Rulandus, wh o claims to f ollowParacelsus, calls limbus th e universal
world, understoodas composedof f ourelements.- LEX ICON ALCHEMIJE.
LateronVaug h anspeak s of a limbus of spirits, a sph ereof purereunder
th eTh roneof God.
* Corpus * vz 'z respz 'rz 'z u.rnosz rz '.teusz 't:"uz '.AGRIPPa.
5 EZEKIEL, i, 4 , according to a marg inal reading of th e Auth orised
Version. Th eVulg ateg ives z lg uf s z 'u'ooZueus, f ollowedby th eAuth orised
Versioninth etext proper, wh ich is reinf olding g ives itself .
as
Tue Wares of T/ z omas Vaug / um.
strong wind; but af terth is comes th e re, andwith it a
still small voice. Esdras also denes Him a GodWh ose
serviceis conversant inwindandre. Th is re is th e
vestment of th e Divine Majesty, His back - parts wh ich
Hesh ewedto Moses ; but His nak ed, royal essencenone
cansee andlive. Th e g lory of His presence would
swallowup th e natural manandmak e h im altog eth er
spiritual. Th us Moses h is f aceaf ter conf erence with
Him- - sh ines, andf rom th is small tincturewe may g uess
at ourf uture estate inth e reg eneration. But I h ave
touch edth eveil andmust returnto th e outercourt of
th e Sanctuary? s
I h ave nowinsome measure perf ormedth at wh ich at
rst I pr0misedanexpositionof th eworldandth e parts
th ereof . But inrespect of my af f ectionto truth andth e
dominionI wish h er, I sh all be somewh at moreparticular
inth e examinationof Nature andproceedto a f urth er
discovery of h errich es. I adviseth ereaderto bedilig ent
andcurious inth is subseq uent part of th ediscourse, th at
h aving once attainedto th e f undamentals of science h e
may th e betterunderstandh ersuperstructures. Know
th enth at every element is th reef old, th is triplicity being
th e express imag e of th eirAuth oranda seal He h ath
laiduponHis creature. Th ere is noth ing onearth - -
th oug h neverso simple, so vile andabject inth e sig h t
of man- - - but it bears witness of God, evento th at abstruse
mystery, His Unity andTrinity. Every compound
wh atsoeveris th reeinone andoneinth ree. Th e basest
reptile even, inh is outwardsymmetry, testies of h is
Auth or, h is several proportions answering to th eir
eternal, superiorPrototype. Now, manh ath th e use
of all th ese creatures, Godh aving f urnish edh im with
a living library wh ereinto employ h imself . But h e,
1 As if Vaug h ank newth at th e true Sonof th e Suninth e dream of
spiritual alch emy is maninth earch - natural, transg uredstate, manif ested
onMount Tabor, a mystery of th e Holy of Holies, incomparisonwith
wh ich h is occult ph ysics andcosmolog ical visions belong to th e outer
court andth eprecincts. j
~ 26
ntroporop/ z z 'a Teomag ica
neg lecting th e work s of h is Creator, prosecutes th e
inventions of th ecreature, laps up th evomit of Aristotle
andoth erilliterateeth nics- - - menas concerning th e f aith
reprobateandinth e lawof Nature altog eth erunsk ilf ul,
scribbling , blasph emous ath eists; wh ose souls "- - as
Ag rippa h ath - itaretornanddistractedby h earing and
beh oldth einf ernal g ods. 1 i Heis much troubledat th ose
Mysteries of th eTrinity andth e Incarnation; onedenies,
anoth erg rants th em ; but if th ey didonce see th e lig h t
of Nature th ey mig h t ndth ose Mysteries by reason
wh ich are nowabove th eirf aith .
Wh enI speak of a natural triplicity, I speak not of
k itch en- stuf Fth ose th ree pot- principles, water, oil and
earth . Butl speak of celestial, h iddennaturesg k nown
only to absolute mag icians, wh ose eyes are inth ecentre,
not inth ecircumf erence; andinth is senseevery element
is th reef old. Forexample, th ere is a th reef oldearth :
rst, th ere is elementary earth , th enth ere is celestial
earth , andlastly th ereis spiritual earth .3Th einuences
of th e spiritual earth , by mediationof th e celestial, are
unitedto th e terrestrial andare th e true cause of lif e
andveg etation. Th ese th ree are th e f undamentals of
Art andNature. Th erst is a visible, tang iblesubstance;
pure, xedandincorruptible; of q uality coldbut- - - by
applicationof a superiorag ent- - dry ; andby conseq uence
a t receptacleof moisture. Th is is th eCreated_/ f lap/ 2,
th etrue Adamic Earth 5- - - th e basis of every building in
h eavenandearth . It answers to Godth e Fath er, being
1 Quorum am"mas distrak z at torg 'ue:r:'.aa:dz 'mz t, 'z xz 'dmtg z n- : z 'rf eras.
2 Th eanalog y inournatural h umanity wouldbeth emind, emotions and
will, of wh ich also th ereis a celestial stateattainedinth ework of sanctity.
3Th at is, Terra eZemem'arz '.r, Terra crrZesz z 's andTerm S; z 'rz '!z raZz '.r,
th elast being 'Terra '2/ z 'mvz tz 'z mz .
4 Aleph cranium is presumably Alep/ z parwrmz , wh ich is rllz z ik m/ z = - th e
King dom ormanif est worldinits stateof perf ection, priorto th ecoming
of th eSerpent. Aleg / z g vart/ urnis inanalog y, among th ing s seen, with
A{ e; 5/ z mag num inth eh iddenness, wh ich is Kat/ z e:r= th eCrown.
" Terra Adamo, th esoph ic, spiritual earth , of wh ich th e rst manwas
made- - according to th e Zoh ar. Th ereonalso th e Temple was built in
Zion. It is red, veinedearth , af terth emannerof a pomeg ranate.
i t 27
Te Work s q f Th omas Vang / 201 2
th e natural f oundationof th ecreature, as Heis th esuper-
natural. With out th is- noth ing canbe perf ectedinmag ic.
Th esecondprincipleis th einf alliblemag net, th e Mystery
of Union. By th is all th ing s may be attracted, wh eth er
ph ysical ormetaph ysicalbeth edistance neverso g reat.
Th is is Jacob's Ladder: with out th is th ere is no ascent
ordescent, eith erinuential orpersonal}Th e absence
of th is I conceiveto be th at g ulf betweenAbrah am and
Dives. Th is answers to Godth e Son, f orit is th at wh ich
mediates betweenextremes, andmak es inf eriors and
superiors communicate. But th ere is not one inten
th ousandk nows eith erth e substance orth e use of th is
nature. Th eth irdprincipleis properly no principle: it
is not f rom wh ich " but by wh ich all th ing s are.
Th is cando all inall, andth e f aculties th ereof are not
to be expressed. It answers to th e Holy Gh ost, f or
among st naturals it is th e only ag ent andarticer.
Now, h e th at k nows th ese th ree perf ectly, with th eir
several g radations orannexedlink s, wh ich dif ernot in
substance but complexion; h e th at canreduce th eir
impurities to one sincere consistence andth eirmulti-
plicities to a spiritual, essential simplicity; h e is an
absolute, complete mag icianandinf ull possibility to all
strang e, miraculous perf ormances. Inth e secondplace,
youare to learnth at every element is twof old. Th is
duplicity orconf usionis th at Binarius wh ereof Ag rippa
I1 2ScalisNumer0rum, as also both h imself andTrith emius
inth eirEpistles. Oth erauth ors wh o dealt inth is science
1 Th eascent of th eTreeof Lif einKabalism andth edescent of g race
th ereby. It is saidth at Israelascendedinth oug h t to C/ z olma/ z = VVisdom.
2 Nonex q ua, sedperq uadomnz le.
3According to Ag rippa, th enumbertwo is a g ureof ch arity, mutual
loveandmarriag e. It is incorrespondence with th e DivineName Ya/ z
= \, 'wh ich represents th eunionof Jeh ovah andEloh im, orGodandHis
Sh el- z inah . But it is also a numberof conf usion, discordanduncleanness,
andof th eadmixtureof g oodandevil.
* Seenoteonp. 68 reg arding th ecorrespondenceof Cornelius Ag rippa.
Certainletters wh ich passedbetweenAg rippa andTrith ernius onth e
subject of DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA areprexedto th at work , but th ey
arerespectively dedicationandpaneg yric.
28
/ 4 m/ z roposap/ z ia T/ z eomag z ca
were prag matical scribblers andunderstoodnot th is Secret
of th e Sh ades. Th is is it inwh ich th e creature prevari-
cates andf alls f rom h is rst h armonical unity. Youmust
th eref ore subtract th e duadz andth enth e mag ician s
triadmay be reducedby th etetradinto th e very simple
monad, andby conseq uenceinto a metaph ysical union
with th e SupremeMonad.3
Th esunandmoonaretwo mag ical principles- - - th eone
active, th e oth erpassive; th is masculine, th at f eminine.
As th ey move, so move th e wh eels of corruptionand
g eneration. Th ey mutually dissolve andcompound; but
properly th e moonis th einstrument of th e transmuta-
tionof inf eriormatter. Th ese two luminaries are
multipliedandf ructif y inevery oneparticularg eneration.
Th ereis not a compoundinall Nature but h ath init a
littlesunanda littlemoon. Th elittlesunis sonof th e
Celestial Sun; th elittlemoonis daug h terof th e Celestial
Moon. Wh at of ces soever th e two g reat luminaries
perf orm f or th e conservationof th e g reat worldin
g eneral, th ese two little luminaries perf orm th e lik e f or
th e conservationof th eir small cask ormicrocosm in
particular. Th ey are miniatures of th eg reateranimal "5
- - - - h eavenandearth ina lesserch aracter. Godlik e a
wiseArch itect- - sits inth ecentreof all, repairs th e ruins
of His building , composeth all disorders andcontinues
His creatureinh is rst primitiveh armony. Th einvisible,
central moonis th at well- - wateredandmany f ountained
moist principle7at wh ose top sit Jove andJuno ina
th rone of g old. _]uno is anincombustible, eternal oil
andth eref ore a t receptacle of re. Th is re is h er
1
3
4
Serretum Tenrbrarum. 2 Sulvtra/ z ereBz 'nnn'z mz .
Inmez 'a; / z y.rz 'mm awnSupremdZlf onadez mz imrm.
Org amrm trarz .rmmaz z 'om's z 'nf e:riorz 's nz ate:z 'a* .
5 Fz 'Zz 'm~ Sof f s ccrZe.rz 'z 'r; Fz 'Zz ".~ :z Lama ccrlr.rz 'z '.r.
B Mz 'mult:rMa]'on's Am'maZz '.r.
7f air: illa act":/ arr: rt mz rlf f ontana. Th e translationis speculative in
respect of th e wordIela.
_ if InCh ristianmystical symbolism th e soul is a moonsh ining inth e
lig h t of th at Sunwh ich is th eCh rist- Spirit. -
29
T62 Work s of T/ z omar Vang / z an
Jove, th elittlesunwe spok eof f ormerly. Th eseareth e
true principles of th e Stone; th ese are th e ph ilosoph er s
SunandMoon- not g oldandsilver, as some mounte-
bank s andcaroonados wouldh ave it. But inrespect I
h ave proceededth us f ar, I will g ive youa receipt of th e
Medicine. l}, Tenparts of celestial slime. Separateth e
male f rom th e f emale, andth eneach f rom its earth ,
naturally, h owever, andwith out violence. Conjoinaf ter
separationindue, h armonic, vital proportion. Th esoul,
descending straig h tway f rom th e pyroplastic sph ere, sh all
restoreits deadanddesertedbody by a wonderf ul embrace.
Th e conjoinedsubstances sh all be warmedby a natural
re ina perf ect marriag e of spirit andbody. Proceed
according to th e Vulcano- Mag ical Artice till th ey are
exaltedinto th e Fif th Metaph ysical Rota. Th is is th at
Medicineabout wh ich so many h avescribbledbut so f ew
h avek nown.
It is a strang e th ing to considerth at th ere are in
Natureincorruptible, immortal principles. Ourordinary
k itch enrewh ich insome measure is anenemy to all
compositions- - notwith standing doth not so much destroy
as purif y someparts. Th is is clearout of th eash es of
veg etables ; f oralth oug h th eirweak er, exteriorelements
expire by violence of th e reyet th eirearth cannot be
destroyedbut vitried? Th ef usionandtransparency of
1 I must conf ess to a f eeling th at th is recipe is a jest ora k indof parody
onth eridiculous processes g ivenby pretenders inalch emy. It is g iven
inLatinas f ollows : Rt. Limica Zrsz z '.rparts: alarm. Separatorz oz arcalas
a f romimi, utoroarporro a torsra sari, p/ z _y.rz 'cr tamea at citra onz mmz
'2/ z 'oZ:mz 'am:. Srg arata ; oroportr'oaeaarz a, iz amz ox - z z 'ca oz * 2/ z 'ta!z ' conjarrg r.
S'taz 2'mg are arz ima doscerz rierz s a .1 1 25/ z rerai ; iyro; f > Za.rz 'z 'crf rrz ortamnJuan: oz
reiz k tam corpus amg lrxz z ; vz z 'rz _'/ Zoo rerraaraet. C'o2z jam'z 'af ovoaalarz jg ne
aaturalf inprrf octarrz matrr'oz om'ma .s; oz 'n'las at ooryorz ir. Procedas
arz z _cr'o rmZoarrz 'oomag 'z 'oo oaoz rsq z ro oralterz tz rrinoaz 'm am rotam meta-
p/ z y.rz 'cam. Ha: est { Ila de our? ansorz 'oz 'ZZarz :nz ', tam pag er rz o- 2'/ cram,
Mrdz 'cz rz a.
2 According to th eLEX iCONALCHEMUEof Rulandus, th eprocess called
vitricationis th eburning of limeandcinders into transparent g lass.
But according to th e DICTIONNAIRE Mvruo- HERMETIQUE of Antoine
Pernety, it is th at coctionof th eAlch emical Stonewh ich bring s it to th ered
state. Forth erest, it wouldappearth at ash es areash es anddust is dust.
30
1 4 21 ; / z r'0p0.r0pz 'a T/ z eomag ica
th is substance is occasionedby th e radical moisture or
seminal waterof th e compound. Th is waterresists th e
f ury of th ereandcannot possibly bevanq uish ed. Th e
rose lieth h iddenth roug h th e winterinth is water"-
saith th e learnedSeverinus}Th ese two principles are
neverseparated, f orNatureproceeds not so f arinh er
dissolutions. Wh endeath h ath done h erworst th ereis
anunionbetweenth ese two andout of th em sh all God
raise us at th e last day andrestore us to a spiritual
constitution. Besides th ere remains inth em th at
primitive, universal tincture of th e re. Th is is still
busy af ter death , bring s Nature ag aininto play, pro-
duceth worms andoth erinf eriorg enerations. I do not
conceiveth eresh all be a resurrectionof every species, but
rath erth eirterrestrial parts, tog eth erwith th e element of
water- - f or th ere sh all be no more sea2sh all be
unitedinonemixturewith th e eaf th andxedto a pure,
diaph anous substance. Th is is St ]oh n s crystal g old,
a f undamental of th e NewJerusalem, so callednot in
respect of colour but constitution? Th eir spirits, I
suppose, sh all be reducedto th eirrst limbus- a sph ere
of pure eth ereal re, lik e rich eternal tapestry spread
underth eTh roneof God.
Th us, Reader, h ave I made a plenary but sh ort in-
q uisitioninto th e mysteries of Nature. It is more th an
h ith erto h ath beendiscoveredandth eref oreI expect th e
more opposition. I k nowmy rewardis calumny; but
h e th at h ath already condemnedth e vanity of opinionis
not lik e to respect th at of censure. I sh all nowput th e
creatures to th eirjust use andf rom th is sh allowcon-
templationascendto mineandth eirAuth or.
l Inat: aq uarosa latex in/ z z 'ome.- Marcus Aurelius Severinus wrote
CONTROVERSIA onVERJE CmcuuMansuna, 1 64 7, andA1 - 1 'r1 PEn1 -
PATET1 CA/ z oo era adwrrsz rs Arz stotoleos- - DIATRIBA, 1 659, besides
medical work s.
2 REVELATIONS, xxi, 1 .
A Th e text says: Pure g old, as it were transparent g lass.- 1 b:'d.,
xxl, 21 .
31
T/ z e Work s of Tomas Vaug h an
LordGod, th is was a stone
As h ardas any one
Th y laws inNaturef ramed.
Tis nowa spring ing well
Andmany drops cantell,
Sinceit by Art was f ramed.
My God, my h eart is so ;
Tis all of f lint andno
Extract of tears will yield.
Dissolveit with Th y re,
Th at someth ing may aspire
Andg rowup inmy eld.
Baretears I ll not entreat,
But let Th y Spirit s seat
Uponth ose waters be;
Th enI- - newf orrn dwith lig h t-
Sh all movewith out all nig h t
Oreccentricity. p
It is req uisite nowif we f ollowth at meth odwh ich
GodHimself is Auth orof - - to examine th e natureand
compositionof man, h aving already describedth ose
elements orprinciples wh ereof h ewas made andconsists.
Man- - - if we look onh is material parts- was tak enout
of th e g reat world, as womanwas tak enout of man. I
sh all th eref ore- to avoidrepetition- - - ref erth ereaderto
th e f ormerpart of th is discourse, wh ere- - if th ing s be
rig h tly understood- - - h ecannot be ig norant inh is material
f rame andcomposure. We readinGenesis th at God
madeh im out of th eearth . Th is is a g reat mystery, f or
it was not th ecommonpot- clay but anoth erandth at of a
f arbetternature}Heth at k nows th is k nows th esubject
of th ePh ilosoph ical Medicine, andby conseq uencewh at
1 Seeth eZoh aric ref erencerespecting _Terra Adama ina previous note.
2 Th is is a clearissueat its value. Th ematerial elements of wh ich man s
body is f ormedareth oseby wh ich th at body canbepreserved. Weare
acq uaintedwith th ose elements andwe k nowalso th at th ey cannot be
32
z f ntroporop/ z z 'a T/ z eomag ica
destroys orpreserves th e temperament of man. Inth is
areprinciples h omog eneal with h is lif e, such as canrestore
h is decays andreduceh is disorders to a h armony. Th ey
th at areig norant inth is point arenot competent judg es
of lif eanddeath , but q uack s andpiss- pot doctors. Th e
learnedArias Montarius calls th is Matterth e uniq ue
particleof th emultiplex earth .1 If th esewords be well
examinedyoumay possibly ndit out ; andso much f or
h is body. His soul is anessence not to bef oundinth e
textureof th eg reat worldandth eref oremerely divineand
supernatural? Montanus calls it Windof th eDivine
Spirit andBreath of Divine Lif e.He seems also to
mak eth ecreationof mana littleincarnation, as if Godin
th is work h admultipliedHimself . Adam- saith h e- -
receivedh is soul by anadmirable andsing ularinspira-
tionandf ructicationof God, if it be lawf ul so to call
it." St Luk ealso tells us th e same th ing , f orh e mak es
Adam th e sonof God, not inrespect of th e exterioract
of creationbut by way of descent. Andth is St Paul
conrms inth ewords of Aratusf orweare also His
g eneration." Th e soul of manconsists ch ief ly of two
portions, R:/ ta / 2andNap/ z os/ 2- inf eriorandsuperior. Th e
superioris masculineandeternal, th einf eriorf eminineand
combinedto f orm th at k indof Ph ilosoph ical Medicineto wh ich Vaug h an
alludes. It f ollows th at h ewas writing speculatively andk newneith er
th eSupposedMedicinenorth eph ysical constitutionof man.
1 Multr; olz 'rz 's Terror, oarz 'z 'cz r!a .rz ag aZarz '.r. Benito Arias Montanus,
1 527- 98, was a Spanish antiq uary andorientalist. Inadditionto a work
onIewish antiq uities, h e wrote I- IUMANJE SALUTIS MONUMENTA, 1 571 ,
andI- IISTORIA NATURE, wh ich does not seem to h aveappearedtill 1 601 ,
orth reeyears af terh is death .
2 Vaug h an s view, as appears elsewh ere, is th at manbecamea living
soulby a g if t of God, being th ebreath ing of th e DivineSpirit. Th esoul
of manis th eDivineSpirit inf lesh , andultimately th is Spirit returns to
GodWh o g aveit."
3Dz "mm'.S', oz 'rz 'm. aura, oz Vz 'z a? Dz 'wz 'na* / z aZz 'ta.r.
4 Eradmz ranala .rz rz _g uZarz 'g ue Der z 'rz .r; f z 'ratz 'one, at at oz : Zoomst? f ar,
f rucz 'g 'raz z 'orz e.
5 Th esonof Seth , wh ich was th esonof Adam, wh ich .was th esonof
God.- - STLUKE, _iii, 38. .
6 ACTS, xvii, 23. Th e Auth orisedVersiong ives of f spring inplace
of g eneration.
33 3
T7z e Work s of Taomas Vang / z arz
mortal}Inth ese two consists ourspiritual g eneration.
As, h owever, inth erest of living th ing s andalso inman
h imself , th econjunctionof maleandf emaletends towards
a f ruit andpropag ationbecoming th e nature _of each , so
inmanh imself th at interiorandsecret associationof male
andf emale, to wit th ecopulationof maleandf emale soul,
is appointedf orth e productionof tting f ruit of Divine
Lif e._ Andunto th is does th at secret blessing and
promisedf ecundity, th at declaredf aculty andwarning
ref er: Bef ruitf ul andmulti l andre lenish th eearth
_ i P. Y. , , P
andsubdueit : andh ave dominion. 2 t
Out of th is andsome f ormerpassag es th e understand-
ing readermay learnth at marriag e is a comment onlif e,
a mere h ierog lyph ic oroutwardrepresentationof our
inwardvital COlTlpOSllIi0l1 .3Forlif e is noth ing else but
anunionof male andf emale principles, andh e th at
perf ectly k nows th is secret k nows th e mysteries of
marriag e- - both spiritual andnatural- andh owh e oug h t
to use a wif e. Matrimony is no ordinary trivial business,
but ina moderate sense sacramental. It is a visiblesig n
of ourinvisible unionto Ch rist, wh ich St Paul calls a
g reat mystery ; andif th eth ing sig niedbe so reverend
th esig nature is no ex reoz pore, contemptibleag ent. But
of th is elsewh ere. Wh enGodh adth us nish edHis last
andmost excellent creatureHeappointedh is residencein
Eden, made h im His viceroy andg ave h im a f ull juris-
1 Th e ch ief Kabalistic divisionis, h owever, triadic: Nrj/ z rs/ z = Lif e,
iraa / z = Spirit andMind= f \7r.ninrma/ z , wh ich is Soul of God.
2 U2! aatem 2'1 2 r7a* t'e:- 'z '.ra:r.:'.vz arrt:'t5z :, arg ue ez z 'a:vz f r: iso / z omirz e, marz is"
aof aa- az 'aa> ooig 'z rnctz 'of rz :otampro/ )a_g az z 'o:/ z eiz z g arrspeotaoat naz m- 'a'.rz 'ng a-
f orum dz lg aanz : z 'ta in/ toraz iar { so { Ila ma; = 'z '.r at: f aivz z 'na- z 'nterz "or
aroanaoz re.rocz oz a.r, / too est am'rm'atoz ro amwz rroo; oaZatz 'o aa f raction'2/ z 'z o>
d_z 'z a'na' z aonerrm prodz rcendrrriz ooraparaoatrrr. Atom? / mo { Zia aroarz a
ierz odz 'r.'tz 'o at f arcz malitas comf rssa, / mo illa deolarata f acz rltas at mom'tz 'o
ractai: C're.rcz 'z 'e oz maZz z }5lz 'ca:oz z 'az ', or2'e'; , rZez o f orrara, of .rar; 'z 'r:z 'z e if ilam, oz
domz 'namz 'm'.- Arias Montanus.
3Becauseth at wh ich iswith out is inanalog y with th at wh ich is with in,
andth ecrownof all th at is with inis th eunionof th esoul andth eCh rist-
Spirit.
4 But as to th is unionSt Paul said: I speak concerning Ch rist and
th eCh urch .- EPHESIaNS, v, 32.
34 -
/ 4 72I/ z T01 0 osopf a T/ z ear/ z ag ica
dictionoverall His work s 1 - - th at as th ewh ole mancon-
sistedof body andspirit so th e inf eriorearth ly creatures
mig h t be subject to th eone andth e superiorintellectual
essences mig h t ministerto th e oth er. But th is royalty
continuednot long ; f orpresently uponh is pref erment
th erewas a f actioninth e h eavenly court, andth eang els
scorning to attendth is piece of clay contrivedh owto
supplant h im? Th e rst inth is plot was Lucif er:
Montanus tells me h is name was Hilel. Hecasts about
to nullif y th at wh ich Godh adenacted- - th at so at once
h e mig h t overreach Him andHis creature. T- h is policy
h eimparts to someoth ers of th eh ierarch y andstreng th ens
h imself with conspirators. But th ereis no counsel ag ainst
God. Th emisch ief is no soonerh atch edbut h eandh is
conf ederates are expelledf rom lig h t to dark ness. And
th us rebellionis as th esinof witch craf t : a witch is a rebel
inph ysics anda rebel is a witch inpolitics. Th eoneacts
ag ainst Nature, th e oth erag ainst Order- th e rule of it.
But both areinleag uewith th e devil, as th e rst f ath er
of discordandsorcery.
Satanbeing th us ejected- as th econditionof reprobates
is- became moreh ardenedinh is resolutions, andto bring
h is maliceabout arrives by permissionat Eden. Hereh e
mak es womanh is instrument to tempt manandoverth row
h im by th e same means th at Godmade f oranh elp to
h im. Adam h aving th us transg ressedth e commandment
was exposedto th elash , andinh im h is posterity. But
h erelies th ek not : h owcanwe possibly learnh is disease
if we k nownot th e immediate eicient of it P If I
q uestionourdivines wh at th e f orbiddenf ruit was I may
belong enoug h with out ananswer. Search all th esch ool-
1 With th is reverie may be comparedth at of th e ZOHAR, wh ich says
th at Adam was (I) crownedwith celestial crowns, (2) g ivendominionover
th esix directions of space, (3) beh eldth esuprememysteries, and(4 ) k new
th eg lory of God.
2 Th eZoh arg ives account of at least two discussions inth e court of
h eavenonth eproposal to create man, one betweenGodandHis ang els
of a certainclass andanoth erof Sh ek inah with th eang els Az a andAz ael.
35
Th e W01 % ; of T/ 20 / z as Vaug h an
men- f rom Ramus 1 to PeterHispan2- - - andth ey h aveno
log ic inth epoint. Wliat sh all we do inth is case? To
speak anyth ing contrary to th esting of Aristotle- th oug h
perh aps we h it th e mark - - - is to expose ourselves to th e
commonh ue. But inrespect I pref era privatetruth to
a public error I will proceed. Andnow, Reader, prick
up th ineears ; 3come onwith out prejudice, andI will tell
th ee th at wh ich neverh ith erto h ath beendiscovered.
Th at wh ich I nowwritemust needs appearvery strang e
andincredible to th e commonman, wh ose k nowledg e
stick s inth e bark of alleg ories andmystical speech es,
neverappreh ending th at wh ich is sig niedby th em unto
us. Th is, I say, must needs soundstrang ewith such as
understandth e Scriptures inth e literal, plainsense, con-
sidering not th escope andintentionof th eDivineSpirit,
by Wh om th ey were rst pennedanddelivered. How-
soever, Orig en- - - being anus as mz dtis andinth ejudg ment
of many wise menth emost learnedof th e f ath ers- I- durst
nevertrust h imself inth is point, but always inth ose
Scriptures wh ere h is reasoncouldnot satisf y concluded
a mystery. Certainly if it be once g rantedas some
stick not to af rmth at th eTree of Knowledg e was a
veg etableandEdena g ardenit may bevery well inf erred
th at th e Tree of Lif e- - - being describedaf terth e same
manner, as th e sch oolmenexpress it- - - was a veg etable
also. But h owderog atory th is is to th e powerof God,
to th e merits andpassionof Jesus Ch rist, Wh ose g if t
eternal lif eis, let any indif f ef ent Ch ristianjudg e. Here
th enwe h ave a certainentrance into Paradise, wh erewe
1 Petrus Ramus- - r'.e., Pierre de la Rame1 5I5- I572, represented
th e reactionag ainst sch olastic ph ilosoph y. He wrote ARISTOTELICJE
ANIMADVERSIONES, 1 54 3, INSTITUTIONES Diaracricns, 1 54 8, andoth er
treatises. InI561 h e embracedProtestantism. Th ere is a tract by
Miltononlog ic, basedonth emeth odof Ramus.
2 I ndno recordconcerning th is writer. 3Arng eauras.
4 Th is .is measurably trueto- day andstill moreinth e mid- seventeenth
century; but yet th ereis noth ing remotef rom th eosoph ical learning now,
th enorpreviously.
5 / at rodent g enera. '
36
/ 9'72!/ z rojroropaia Taeomag ica
may search out th is Treeof Knowledg e andh aply learn
wh at it is. Forseeing it must be g rantedth at by th e
Tree of Lif e is g uredth e Divine Spiritf orit is th e
Spirit th at q uick eneth andsh all one day translate us f rom
corruptionto incorruption- it will be no indiscreet inf er-
ence onth e contrary th at by th e Tree of Knowledg e is
sig niedsome sensual naturerepug nant to th e spiritual,
wh ereinourworldly, sinf ul af f ections- - - as lust, ang erand
th e rest- h ave th eirseat andpredominate.
I will nowdig ress a wh ile, but not much f rom th e
purpose, wh ereby it may appearunto th ereaderth at th e
letteris no suf f icient expositorof Scriptureandth at th ere
is a g reat deal of dif f erencebetweenth esoundandth esense
of th e text. Dionysius th e Areopag ite inh is Epistle to
Titus g ives h im th is caveat: To k nowth is is notwith -
standing th e crownof th e work - th at th ereis a twof old
traditionof th eolog ians, th e one secret andmystical,
th eoth erevident andbetterk nown.1 Andinh is book
of T/ z e Ercf esiastirai Hioran:/ z y, writtento Timoth eus, h e
af f irms th at inth e primitive, apostolical timeswh erein
h e also livedth e Mysteries of Divinity were delivered
partly inwrittenandpartly inunwrittencanons.
Someth ing s h e conf esseth werewritteninth e th eolog ical
book s, andsuch areth ecommondoctrinals of th e Ch urch
now, inwh ich notwith standing as St Petersaith th ere
are many th ing s h ardto be understood.3Some th ing s
ag ainwere communicatedf rom mindto mindbetween
th e lines of th e writtenword, but somewh ich exceeded
carnal understanding weretransmittedwith out writing .4
Andcertainly th is oral traditionwas th e cause th at in
1 E! / z oo g rarterea og oro" j5; '* a2r'z rm rs! cog aoroorr, dnjZz 'r:'.e:vz arse Meo-
log omrrz traa'z 'Zz 'o.aen'z , rrrcaaasvz af teram ac nz _ys2. z 'cam, a/ Zarrrra wero
nz arz rf osz f am of 2z otz 'z z 'oi* 'e; w.- - EPISTOLA ix, Tito Episcopo. I do not k now
wh at Latintranslationwas usedby Vaug h an, but it was not th at of
Joannes Scotus. .
2_Par!z '_m .s'cr"z }f 1 z z lr, , oernm aoa sortz jrtrlr.= :'rz .r!r'f rrtz 'oai'oz rs. '
3II SrPETER, iii, 1 6.
* 1 Ea" amw- so inaaz lwam m'.ez iz 'o q .= :rz 'a e.vz z wtoroz rrrerz f o wrrlvo rf o2joor'aZz ',
sea onion oarrrz lrj5om'z z r.raroea orat re:- vsirm sz oz rZz '!.orr'.rf rarz srsa stint.
3'7 I
Th e Worh s if Th omas Vaug h an
th e subseq uent ag es of th e Ch urch all th e Mysteries of
Divinity were lost. Nay, th is very day th ereis not one
among st all oursch ool doctors orlateextemporaries th at
k nows wh at is representedunto us by th e outward
element of waterinbaptism. True indeedth ey tell us
it betok ens th ewash ing away of sin, wh ich weg rant th em,
but th is is not th e f ull sig nicationf orwh ich it was
ordained. It h ath beenth ecommonerrorof all times
to mistak e sig num f orsig natum, th esh ell f orth e k ernel.
Yet to prevent th is it was th at Dionysius wroteh is book
of Th e Cef estiaf Hierarch y andespecially h is Th eolog ia
Sig niQicarioa, 1 of wh ich th ereis such f req uent mentionmade
inh is work s. Verily ourSaviourHimself , Wh o is blessed
f orevermore, didsometimes speak inparables. andcom-
mandedf urth erth at pearls sh ouldnot be cast f orth unto
swine, f orit is not g ivento all mento k nowth e
Mysteries of th eKing dom of Heaven.Supposing th en
as it is most true- - th at among st oth ermystical speech es
containedinScripture th is of th e Gardenof Edenand
th e Tree init is one, I sh all proceedto th e expositionof
it insome measure, concealing th e particulars not-
with standing . I
Maninth e beg inning I meanth esubstantial, inward
man- - both inandaf terh is creation, f orsome sh ort time,
was a pure intellectual essence, f ree f rom all esh ly,
sensual af f ections. Inth is state th e anima orsensitive
natureg didnot prevail overth espiritual, as it doth now
inus. Forth e superiormental part of manwas united
to Godby anessential contact andth e DivineLig h t-
1 Th at is, th eTREATISEonMYSTICAL THEOLOGY.
2 ST MATTHEW, vii, 6; are., xiii, 1 1 .
3Meaning th e Kabalistic iVep/ z esh , as notedpreviously.
4 Th e doctrine concerning th e soul injewish th eosoph y is" somewh at
conf usedby th is statement. \- Veh aveseenth at Rua h is really th emind
part andth at Nes/ z amah is th e divine soul, but inth is lif e it is not
normally inrealisationof its ownroyalty. Th eprog ress of Nesh amah in
Divine Knowledg e is ch aracterisedby various names, as if th ere were
h ig h erparts of th esoul. But th ere is also Tsrrre, th e prototype of th e
individual soul inth e Mindof God, anunionwith wh ich is th eliig liest
mystical stateinJewish th eosoph y.
.38
az rh roposoph ia Th eomag z ba
being receivedinandconveyedto th e inf eriorportions
of th esouldid.mortif y all carnal desires, insomuch th at
inAdam th esensitivef aculties were scarceat all employed,
th espiritual prevailing overth em inh im, as th ey do over
th espiritual nowinus. Hencewe readinScriptureth at
during th e state of innocence h e didnot k nowth at h e
was nak ed; but no soonereats h e of th eTreeof Know-
ledg ebut h e sawh is nak edness andwas ash amedof it- -
wh eref orealso h e h ides h imself among st th e trees of th e
Garden, andwh enGodcalls to h im h e replies : I h eard
th y voiceinth e Garden, andI was af raid, because I was
nak ed; andI h idmyself ." But God, k nowing h is f ormer
state, answers h im with a q uestion: Wh o toldth eeth at
th ouwast nak edF Hast th oueatenof th eTree, wh ereof
I commandedth eeth at th oush ouldestnot eat P1 Here
we see a twof oldstateof man: h is rst andbest inth e
spiritual, substantial unionof h is intellectual parts to
Godz andth e morticationof h is eth ereal, sensitive
nature, wh ereinth e f lesh ly, sinf ul af f ections h adth eir
residence; h is secondorh is f allinth e eating of th e
f orbiddenf ruit, wh ich didcast asleep h is intellectual
f aculties but didstirup andexalt th esensual. For
saith th e serpent- - Goddoth k nowth at inth e day ye
eat th ereof , th enyoureyes sh all be opened, andye sh all
be as g ods, k nowing g oodandevil. Andwh enth e
womansawth at th eTreewas g oodf orf ood, andth at it
was pleasant to th e e es, anda tree to be desiredto mak e
one wise, sh e took of , th e f ruit th ereof , anddideat, and
g avealso unto h erh usbandwith h er; andh e dideat.
Andth e eyes of th em both were opened, andth ey k new
1 GENESIS, iii, Io, ii.
2 Th is contrast is exceeding ly usef ul inth e sense th at is not intended
by Vaug h anorth e th eosoph y f rom wh ich h ederives. No such unionis
toleratedby th etext of th emyth inGenesis, andth is is th erst andmost
obvious answerto all th ereveries, wh eth erth oseof sch olastic th eolog y, of
Kabalisrn, of Jacob Bitih me, Saint- MartinorMartines do Pasq ually. Th e
myth proving unacceptable inits literal sense, alleg ories weredevisedto
redeem it, but th emyth was sacricedinth ese.
39
T/ 2e Wares of T/ z omas Vaug / um
th at th ey were nak ed..1 Th us we see th e sensual
f aculties revivedinourrst parents andbroug h t f rom
potentiality into activity L- as th e sch oolmenspeak - by
virtue of th is f orbiddenf ruit. Neith erdidth is eating
suppress th eintellectual powers 3inAdam only but inall
h is g enerations af terh im ; f orth e inuenceof th is f ruit
passed, tog eth erwith h is nature, into h is posterity. We
areall bornlik e Moses with a veil overth e f ace. sTh is
is it wh ich h inders th eprospect of th at intellectual sh ining
lig h t wh ich Godh ath placedinus; andto tell youa
truth th at concerns all mank ind- - th e g reatest mystery,
both indivinity andph ilosoph y, is h owto removeit.
It will not be amiss to speak someth ing inth is placeof
th e nature andconstitutionof man, to mak e th at more
plainwh ich already h ath beenspok en. As th e g reat
worldconsists of th reepartsth e elemental, th e celestial
andth e spiritual- aboveall wh ich GodHimself is seated
inth at innite, inaccessiblelig h t wh ich streams f rom His
ownnature, evenso manh ath inh im h is earth ly, elemental
parts, tog eth erwith th e celestial andang elical natures, in
th e centre of all wh ich moves andsh ines th e Divine
Spirit. Th e normal, celestial, eth ereal part of manis
th at wh ereby We do move, see, f eel, taste andsmell, and
h ave a commerce with all material objects wh atsoever.
It is th e same inus as inbeasts, andit is derivedf rom
h eaven- - wh ere it is predominant- to all th e inf erior
earth ly creatures. Inplainterms it is part of th e Soul
of th eWorld, 5 commonly calledth e Medial Soul because
1 GENESIS, iii, 5- 7. 2 D.epoz mz z 'a 2'1 2 actum.
3Th ewitness of th etext is of course inth e opposite direction, f orit is
saidth at th eireyes were opened, meaning th e intellectual eyesby th e
f act of k nowledg eacq uired. '
4 Th is is oneof Vaug h axf s very preg nant occasional dicta, andit is not
less truenoris it th e less sig nicant sh ouldth e root of th eh indrancebe
oth erth anh epresumed.
5 It is a little dif f icult to f ollowth e psych olog y of Vaug h anbecauseof
h is loose meth odof expression. His viewup to a certainpoint is really
th at of th eTh omists, recog nising (1 ) a material part of man, th eearth of
h is body ; (2) a soul part, wh ich is th esourceof h ig h ersensations andis
4 .0
1 4 72i/ z raposopz ia Th eo/ mz g 2'c< :z
th einf luences of th eDivineNatureareconveyedth roug h
it to th e more material parts of th e creature, with wh ich
of th emselves th ey h ave no proportion. By means of
th is Medial Soul, orth e eth ereal nature, manis made
subject to th einf luenceof stars andis partly disposedof
by th ecelestial h armony. Forth is middlespirit- middle,
I mean, betweenboth extremes andnot th at wh ich
actually unites th e wh ole tog eth er- - as well th at wh ich
is inth eoutwardh eavenas th at wh ich is inman, is of a
f ruitf ul, insinuating nature andcarriedwith a strong
desire to multiply itself , so th at th e celestial f orm stirs up
andexcites th eelemental. Forth is spirit is inman, in
beasts, inveg etables, inminerals; andineveryth ing it
is th e mediate cause of compositionandmultiplication.
Neith ersh ouldany wonderth at I airm th is spirit to be
inminerals becauseth eoperations of it are not discerned
th ere. Forsh all we conclude th eref ore th at th ere is no
inwardag ent th at actuates andspecies th ose passive,
indenite principles wh ereof th ey are compounded?
Tell me not nowof blindPeripatetical f orms and
q ualities. Af orm is th at wh ich Aristotlecouldnot dene
substantially, norany of h is f ollowers af terh im, and
th eref ore th ey are not competent judg es of it. But- I
beseech you- - - arenot th ef aculties of th is spirit suppressed
inmanalso, as it appeareth inth oseth at are blindP But
notwith standing th e eye only is destroyedandnot th e
visible power, f orth at remains, as it is plaininth eir
dreams. Now, th is visionis perf ormedby a ref lection
analog ous to th e soul inanimals; (3) a spirit part, wh ich Vaug h ancalls
ang elical andwh ich , according to th eTh omists, belong s to th ef amz 'lz 'a
ang elomm. But Vaug h anis not lik ely to h avek nownSt Th omas Aq uinas
at rst h andandinreality h e derivedf rom Ag rippa, wh o probably did.
Ag rippa says th at th e elementsare inmanaccording to th eirtrue pro-
perties. Inh im also th ere is, as it were, aneth ereal body, th ech ariot
of th esoul, corresponding analog ically to th eh eaven. lnh im, moreover,
th ere are th eveg etative lif e of plants, th e senses of animals, a celestial
spirit, ang elical reasonanddivine understanding , tog eth erwith th e true
conjunctionof all th ese towards one andth e same endanddivine
possession."DE OCCULTA PI- IILOSOPI- IIA, L56. iii, raj. 36. Vaug h an
continues to f ollowAg rippa closely th roug h out th is part of h is th esis.
4 .1
Te U/ ores of T/ z omar Vang / z arz
of th e visual radii inth eirinward, propercell. For
Nature employs h erg if ts only wh ere sh e nds a con-
venience andt dispositionof org ans, wh ich being not
inminerals we may not expect so clearanexpressionof
th e natural powers inth em. Notwith standing , inth e
owers of several veg etableswh ich insome sort re-
present th e eyesth ere is a more subtle, acute percep-
tionof h eat andcold, andoth ercelestial inuences, th an
inany oth erpart. Th is is manif est inth oseh erbs wh ich
openat th e rising andsh ut towards th e sunset, wh ich
motionis causedby th e spirit being sensible of th e
approach anddeparture of th e sun. For indeedth e
owers areas it wereth e spring of th e spirit, wh ere
it break s f orth andstreams, as it appears by th e odours
th at are morecelestial andcomf ortableth ere. Ag ain, th is
is more evident inth e plant- animals- - as th e veg etable
lamb, Arborterm, andseveral oth ers. But th is will not
sink with any but such as h ave seenth is spirit separated
f rom h is elementswh ere I leaveit f orth is time.
Next to th is sensual nature of manis th e ang elical or
rational spirit. Th is spirit adh eres sometimes to th e
Mans, orsuperiorportionof th e soul, andth enit is lled
with th eDivineLig h t. But morecommonly it descends
into th e eth ereal, inf eriorportionwh ich St Paul calls th e
natural man, wh ereit is alteredby th ecelestial inuences
anddiversely distractedwith th eirreg ularaf f ections and
passions of th e sensual nature.
Lastly, above th e rational spirit is th e Mans orh idden
intellig encef commonly calledth e illuminatedintellect, 3
andof Moses th e breath of lives. Th is is th at spirit
wh ich GodHimself breath edinto manandby wh ich man
is unitedag ainto God. Now, as th eDivineLig h t, ow-
ing into th e Mans, didassimilate andconvert th einf erior
portions of th e soul to God, soonth e contraryth e
1 Homeam'maZ.i's. See I CORINTI- IIANS, ii, I4 .
2 ImeZlz ; g enz .'z 'a asc0rra'z 't':r. 3[rz tallect- as z 'Zl:; rrtra!us.
* S, b:'rar.* nZ.= :m 2/ z 'f rz rr:m. Th eVulg ateg ives ._r; :1 'rac2 Iurn'2/ 1 7:2.
4 .2
1 4 21 !/ z roporopz iz z T/ z eomag ica
Treeof Knowledg edidobscure anddark enth e superior
portions but awak edandstirredup th e animal, sinf ul
nature. Th esum of all is th is : man, as long as h e con-
tinuedinh is unionto God, k newth eg oodonly 1 - - th at
is, th e th ing s th at were of God. But as soonas h e
stretch edf orth h is h andanddideat of th e f orbidden
f ruit- - - th at is, th e middle soul orspirit of th e g reater
world- presently uponh is disobedienceandtransg ression
of th ecommandment, h is unionto th eDivineNaturewas
dissolved; andh is spirit being unitedto th espirit of th e
worldh e k newth eevil only, th at is, th eth ing s th at were
of th e world. Trueit is h e k newth eg oodandth eevil,
but th eevil ina f arg reatermeasure th anth eg ood.
Some spark s of g race were lef t, andth oug h th e per-
f ectionof innocence was lost uponh is Fall f rom th e
Divine Lig h t, yet conscience remainedstill with h im-
partly to direct, partly to punish . Th us yousee th at
th is medial soul ormiddlespirit is g uredby th e Tree
of Knowledg e; but h e th at k nows wh y th e Tree of Lif e
is saidto beinth emidst of th eGardenandto g rowout
of th e g roundwill more f ully understandth at wh ich we
h ave spok en. We see, moreover, th at th e f aculties
ascribedto th eTree of Knowledg e are to bef oundonly
inmiddle nature. First, it is saidto be a tree to be
desiredto mak e one wise; but it was esh ly, sensual
wisdom, th e wisdom of th is worldandnot of God.
Secondly, it is saidto be g oodf orf oodandpleasant to
th e eyes. So is th e middlenaturealso, f orit is th eonly
medicine to repairth e decays of th e natural manand
to continue ourbodies inth eirprimitive streng th and
1 I1 lICg I'1 t}'.E
1 Th etext of th emyth os says k nowing g oodandevil, f rom wh ich it
f ollows th at priorto th ecatastroph eof th emyth os mank newneith er.
2 Th is statement sh ouldbe comparedwith one wh ich h as beenth e
subject of a previous note. It was th ensaid(a) th at Godf ormedman
of anearth wh ich was f arbetterth anordinary clay, and(6) th at such
earth is th esubject of th e Ph ilosoph ical Medicine, wh ich preserves man.
it is nowsaidith at th eonly repairing andth eref ore preserving Medicine
is a certainmiddlenature, wh ich is th espirit of th is worldandth e f or-
4 3
Te Wares of T/ z omas Vcz z rg / z cm
Lastly, th at I may speak someth ing f ormyself : th is
is no newunh eard- of f ancy, as th e understanding reader
may g ath erout of Trismeg istus. Nay, I am verily of
opinionth at th eEg yptians receivedth is k nowledg ef rom
th e Hebrews, wh o liveda long time among st th em- - - as
it appears out of Scripture- - andth at th ey deliveredit
overto th e Grecians. Th is is plainout of lamblich us,
inh is book De ]l[_y5rerii5, wh ere h e h ath th esewords :1
Th e manof understanding , unveiledbef ore h imself ,
was of oldunitedto th econtemplationof th eg ods ; but
it came about af terwards th at anoth ersoul enteredinto
possession, intermixedwith th ef orm of man, andf orth is
cause h e is saddledwith th eyok e of necessity andf ate."
Andwh at else, I beseech you, is sig niedunto us inth at
poetical f ableof Prometh eus, th at h esh ouldsteal a certain
re f rom h eaven, f orwh ich trespass Godpunish edth e
worldwith a g reat many diseases andmortality P
But somebody may reply: seeing th at Godmade all
th ing s very g ood- as it appears inHis reviewof th e
creatures onth e sixth dayh owcouldit beasininAdam
to eat th at wh ich initself was g oodP Verily th e sinwas
not g roundedinth e nature of th at wh ich h e dideat, 2
but it was th e inf erence of th e commandment, inasmuch
as h e was f orbiddento eat it. Andth is is th at wh ich
St Paul tells us- th at h e h adnot k nownsin, h adit not
beenf orth e Law? Andag ain, inanoth erplace : Th e
streng th of sinis th e Law. But presently uponth e
disobedience of th e rst manandh is transg ressionof
biddenf ruit. If words meananyth ing , th ese.two are one andth e same
Medicine; but if so Godmade manof th e f orbiddenf ruit, of a subject
describedoth erwise as esh ly andsensual. It is no wonderth at th e
Ph ilosoph ical Medicine is af f irmedalso to destroy th e temperament
of man.See pp. 32, 33of th e present work .
1 C0rz z 'ein; 9Zabz '!r's rif t re z 'rz z eZZecz .v.r / z rmz o emf g uondanz Deorz rm con-
te:vz pZaz z 'orz z ' c0:ejz rz rtas.r: a'ez 'mz e '2/ rm alreram z 'rz g ressr s est anz wz arir,
cz 'r'. 'a / z umarz ain_f 0? ?) ? .r; ecz 'rm t'0; * z z e; w; 1 f > era!.:21 :2, anyare proptesrea 2'22 z '; 9.r0
:eece_r.rz 'tatz 's, f atz 'g m= .''2/ z 'rz cu'Zo est ails, - ; = "atz z r.- DE MYSTERII5.
2 It was so g rounded, h owever, andth at obviously, if it was a tree of
- esh ly wisdom" andnot of God. '
3Romans, vii, 7. 4 I Contnrnrans, xv, 56.
4 - 4 -
A71 2!/ z roposop/ z z 'a Teamag ica
th e commandment, th e creature was made subject to
vanity. Forth e curse f ollowedandth e impure seeds
were joinedwith th e pure, andth ey reig nto th is h our
inourbodies; andnot inus alone but inevery oth er
natural th ing . Hence it is we readinScripture th at
th eh eavens th emselves arenot cleaninHis sig h t.
Andto th is alludes th eapostleinth at speech of h is to
th e Colossians, th at it pleasedth e Fath er . . . to
reconcile all th ing s to h imself by Ch rist, wh eth erth ey
beth ing s inearth , orth ing s inh eaven."2 Andh ereyou
are to observe th at Cornelius Ag rippa mistook th e act
of g enerationf ororig inal sin, wh ich indeedwas th e
ef f ect of it : andth is is th eonly point inwh ich h e h ath
miscarried.3
I h ave nowdone: only a wordmore concerning th e
situationof Paradise, andth e rath er because of th e
diversity of opinions concerning th at solace andth e
absurdity of th em. St Paul, inh is SecondEpistle to
th e Corinth ians, discovers it inth esewords :4 I k new
a maninCh rist about f ourteenyears ag owh eth erin
th e body, I cannot tell; orwh eth erout of th e body, I
cannot tell: Godk noweth - - such anone caug h t up to
th e Th irdHeaven. AndI k newsuch a man- - wh eth er
inth e body, orout of th e body, I cannot tell: God
k noweth h owth at h e was caug h t up into Paradise.
Here yousee th at Paradise andth e Th irdHeavenare
convertible terms, so th at th e one discovers th e oth er.
Much more couldI h ave saidconcerning th e Tree of
Knowledg e, being initself a larg e andvery mystical
subject; but f ormy part I rest contentedwith my own
1 Jon, xv, i5. - 1 COLOSSIANS, i, 2o.
3It h as to be saidnotwith standing th at Ag rippa- - lik e oth ers bef ore
h im andaf ter- - of f ereda clearexplanationwh ich we cantak e orleave,
but with Vaug h anommtz exez rat inmysz e:rz "um, andwe g et f rom h im no
real denitionof orig inal sin.
4 Th ere are, h owever, two Paradises according to th e Kabalistic tradi-
tionwh ich Vaug h an- f ollows at a distance. Th ey arerespectively inBz ivz a/ i
andMelk utk , orinth eWorldof th eSupernals andth eWorldof Action.
5 II CORINTHIANS, xii, 4 .
- +5
T/ z e W0r* s of T/ z amas Vang / um
particularappreh ensionanddesire not to enlarg e it any
f urth er. Neith erh adI committedth is much to paper
but out of my love to th e truth , andth at Iwouldnot
h ave th ese th oug h ts altog eth erto perish .
Yousee now- if yoube not menof a most dense
h ead1 - - h owmanf ell, andby conseq uence youmay
g uess by wh at means h e is to rise. He must be united
to th eDivineLig h t, f rom wh enceby disobedience h e was
separated. A ash ortinctureof th is must come orh e
canno more discernth ing s spiritually th anh e candis-
ting uish colours naturally with out th e lig h t of th e sun.
Th is lig h t descends andis unitedto h im by th e same
means as h is soul was at rst. I speak not h ere of th e
symbolical, exteriordescent f rom th eprototypical planets
to th ecreatedsph eres 3andth ence into th enig h t of th e
body ; but I speak of th at most secret andsilent lapse
of th espirit th roug h th e deg rees of natural f orms ; 5
andth is is a mystery not easily appreh ended. It is a
Kabalistic maxim th at no spiritual being descending
h ere belowcanoperate with out a g arment. Consider
well of it with yourselves", andtak eh eedyouwandernot
inth ecircumf erence. Th esoul of man, wh iles sh e is in
th e body, is lik ea candle sh ut up ina dark lanth orn, or
a reth at is almost stiedf orwant of air. Spirits- - say
th ePlatonics- wh enth ey areinth eirowncountry "7are
lik e th e inh abitants of g reenelds wh o live perpetually
1 Dm'z '.r.rz 'mrrcar:/ :'cz '.r/ z owz i'm's.
2 As Vaug h anbeg ins h is expositionof th e Trees inth e Gardenof
Edenwith a promise to conceal th e particulars h e does anyth ing but
explain- evenf rom h is ownstandpoint- - h owmanf ell. Of th e conse-
q uence_sas h e understoodth em- - h e recites - someth ing , andit may be
summedup as a separationf rom th eDivineLig h t.
3A ref erence presumably to th e sou1 s pre- existence, about wh ich it is
curious to noteth at Vaug h ansays littleoth erwiseinany of h is writing s.
4 Innocteiiz c0r; o ':'s- q uotedf rom.No. 8 of th e CONCLUSIONES
KABALISTICJE, drawnby Picus deMiranclula f rom Zoh aric book s.
* 7 Perf armarum nativmZz ':. :m serz ' 'iw.
6 Nulla res .rp:'rz 'tuaZ:'s derceridenrz '2z f erz 'mraperatur.rz 'mr z 'm:iz r:i.nent0.
CONCLUSIONES KABALISTICE, No. 35.
T Inand; f mr:'r2.- Proclusi DEANIMA.
4 .6
Alan/ z 2'0}; or0p/ z f a T/ z eomag z cz z
among st owers, ina spicy, odorous air; but h ere below,
inth e circle of g ent- :ration, " th ey mournbecause of
dark ness andsolitude, lik e people lock edup ina pest-
h ouse. Here do th ey f ear, desire andg rieve, " &c.*
Th is is it mak es th esoul subject to so many passions, to
such a Proteus of h umours. Nowsh e ourish es, now
sh e with ersnowa smile, nowa tear; andwh ensh e
h ath playedout h erstock , th encomes a repetitionof th e
same f ancies, till at last sh e cries out with Seneca I: How
long - th is self - same roundP3Th is is occasionedby h er
vast andinnitecapacity, wh ich is satisedwith noth ing
but God, f rom Wh om at rst sh e descended. It is
miraculous to considerh owsh e strug g les with h erch ains
wh enmanis inextremity, h owsh ef alsies with f ortune,
wh at pomp, wh at pleasure, wh at a paradise doth sh e
propose to h erself . Sh e spans k ing doms ina th oug h t
andenjoys all th at inwardly wh ich sh e misseth outwardly.
Inh erare patterns andnotions of all th ing s inth eworld.
If sh ebut f ancies h erself inth emidst of th esea, presently
sh e is th ere andh ears th e rush ing of th e billows. Sh e
mak es aninvisiblevoyag ef rom one placeto anoth erand
presents to h erself th ing s absent as if th ey were present.
Th edeadliveto h er: th ere is no g rave canh ide th em
f rom h erth oug h ts. Nowsh e is h ere indirt andmire,
andina triceaboveth emoon.
Faroverstorms sh e soars, h ears rush ing clouds
Beneath h erf eet, andth e blindth underspurns.
But th is is noth ing . If sh e wereonce out of th ebody
sh ecouldact all th at sh eimag ined. Ina moment, saith
Ag rippa wh atsoever sh e desires, th at sh all f ollow.
Inth is state sh e canact uponth emoods of th e macro-
1 f iesp/ z rrrtig tviemz 'z 'om's.
2 Himiwetiwmz , cz rpz 'z z ::!q :re, dolenf , Sac.
3Quorrsq z rrradar: .5
4 C'el.rz '0:re.rr rg z '!pZz o'z 'z "s, tz z riZz 'rq urrrrerz f es
.Su6 pm'z '6z . :s m'm6os, ercarve z 0m'!ma miner.
"5 1 'nmomeiito q uz 'cg m'dr:apz 'z arseg z reretuir.
4 7
T/ z e Work s of T/ z omas Vaug arz
cosm, 1 mak eg eneral commotions inth etwo sph eres of
airandwater, andalterth ecomplexions of times. Neith er
is th is a f able but th e unanimous nding of th eArabians,
with th etwo princes Avicebron2 andAvicenna? Sh eh ath
th enanabsolute powerinmiraculous andmore th an
natural transmutations. Sh e caninaninstant transf er
h erownvessel f rom one place to anoth er. Sh e can- - - by
anunionwith universal f orce4 - inf useandcommunicate
h erth oug h ts to th eabsent, beth edistanceneverso g reat.
Neith eris th ere anyth ing underth e sunbut sh e may
k nowit, and- - remaining only inone place- - - sh e can
acq uaint h erself with th eactions of all places wh atsoever.
I omit to speak of h ermag net, wh erewith sh e canattract
all th ing s- - as well spiritual as natural. Finally, th ereis
no work inth ewh olecourseof Nature, h oweverarduous,
h owever excellent, h owever supernatural it may be,
th at th e h umansoul, wh enit h as attainedth e source of
its divinity- wh ich th e Mag i term th e soul standing
andnot f alling - cannot accomplish by its ownpowerand
apart f rom any external h elp.5 But wh o is h eamidst
so many th ousandph ilosoph isers- - th at k nows h ernature
substantially andth eg enuine, specical useth ereof P Th is
is Abrah am s g reat secret, wonderf ul exceeding ly, and
deeply h idden, sealedwith six seals, andout of th ese
proceedre, waterandair, wh ich are dividedinto males
1 M'oa/ are/ z z mz nres Majors : Am'maZz 's.
2 Avicebronis IbnGebirol, circa I021 - 1 o7o, a Spanish jew, wh o is
important inth e h istory of ph ilosoph y. See Isaac Myer: THE PHILO-
SOPHICAL WRITINGS of SolomonBenYeh udah IbnGebirol, dcc.
Ph iladelph ia, I338.
3Avicenna, orIbnSina, 980- 1 037, wrote a g reat encyclopmdic work
onph ilosoph y andscience. His repute andinuence were considerable
th roug h out th emiddleag es. _
'1 Perz mz '0:vem cum w'rt'm'e z rnz 'tversaZz '. Anoldclaim of mag ical
art, but its warrants- - with inmeasuresare inpsych ic experiences of
to- day.
5 A- 'ss[Z.ir.vz og bz rs est intutti Naz vmce saris tam ardz mm, tam exceilrris,
{ am derz z h z se.2- m":rac'z rZ0sirm, g randcmf ma / z z vmarz a (z 'z 'm'rrz 'z '.< i:z :'s sureorz g z h z essz
corz secz rra, g z raivz '2.- totemMag z 'arnivz am stealer): ea mm caderz tessz , pro; - z 'z 's
vz 'rz '6ars, asg z ireamiss arf erno aria; / iz 'rz z 'cz Zemm q ueerq f cere.- DEOCCULTA
PI- IILOSQPHIA, Lia. iii, cap. 4 4 .
4 .8
1 4 ntr0p0s0j> z 'a T/ z eomag ica
andf emales.1 We sh ouldth eref ore pray continually
th at Godwouldopenoureyes, wh ereby we mig h t see to
employ th at talent wh ich He h ath bestoweduponus but
lies buriednowinth eg roundanddoth not f ructif y at all.
Heit is to Wh om we must be unitedby anessential
contact, andth enwe sh all k nowall th ing s sh ewn
f orth openly by clearvisioninth eDivineLig h t.3Th is
inux f rom Him is th e true, proper ef cient of our
reg eneration, th at sperma of St Joh n, th e seedof God
wh ich remains inus. If th is be once obtainedwe need
not serveunderAristotleorGalen, nortroubleourselves
with f oolish urrums anderg os, f orHis unctionwill instruct
us inall th ing s.
But indeedth e doctrine of th e sch oolmen, wh ich in
a manner mak es GodandNature contraries, h ath so
weak enedourcondence towards Heaventh at we look
uponall receptions f rom th ence as impossibilities. But
if th ing s were well weig h edandth is cloudof tradition
removedwe sh ouldq uick ly ndth at Godis moreready
to g iveth anwe are to receive. ForHe made man- - as
it were- f or His playf ellow, th at h e mig h t survey and
examine His work s. Th e inf eriorcreatures He made
not f orth emselves but His owng lory, wh ich g lory He
couldnot receive f rom anyth ing so perf ectly as f rom
man, wh o- - - h aving inh im th espirit of discretion- ~ mig h t
judg e of th e beauty of th e creature andconseq uently
praiseth e Creator. Wh eref ore also Godg ave h im th e
useof all His work s; andinParadise h owf amiliaris
He, orrath erh owdoth He play with Adam. Out of
th e g r0und"saith th e Scripture th e LordGod
f ormedevery beast of th e eld, andevery f owl of th e
1 Secretz mz mag mmz , mame mz 'raZ> :'/ e ea accuZ!z 'mz 'mum, sex < :m::z rIz '.r
sz 'g z 'ZZatz z m, ea ex ez lresremz z ig m.".r, Aq ua at Aer, g um dz "'m' imz tz z r1 '2: mares
etf rPmz '?z .es - - SEPHER YETZIRAI- I. .
2 Contacts: e.rse:rz z 'z 'aZ2'.
3RerxeZaz f acz '.e, perclamm inDz 'm'rz 0 Lamb:- z ew'sz '0m.'m.
4 Th eref erenceis presumably to I ST]oHN, iii, 9 : Wh osoeveris born
of Goddoth not commit sin; f orHis seedremaineth inh im.
4 - 9 4 -
T/ 26 Work s Of T/ z amas Vaug / z arz
air; andbroug h t th em unto Adam to see wh at h e would
call th em: andwh atsoever Adam calledevery living
creature, th at was th e name th ereof ." 1 Th ese were th e
book s wh ich Godordainedf orAdam andf orus h is
posterity, not th e q uintessence of Aristotle nor th e
temperament of Galenth e Antich rist. But th is is
tormenting th e h ornets.2 Nowwill th e Peripatetics
brandmewith th eircommprincipia andth esch ool divines
with a madam? Somme. I k nowI sh all be h atedof most
f ormy pains andperh aps scof f edat lik e Pyth ag oras in
Lucian: Wh o buyeth Eug enius ? VVh o seek eth to be
more th ana man, orto k nowth e h armony of th eworld
andbe bornag ain?"3But because, according to th eir
ownmaster, a covenant is h onourable andth at an
af f irmativeof th is naturecannot f all to th e g roundwith
a Ch ristian, I will cometo my oath . I do th eref orepro-
test bef ore my g lorious God, I h ave not writtenth is out
of malice but out of z eal andaf f ectionto th e truth of
my Creator. Let th em tak e h eedth enlestwh iles th ey
contemnmysteries- - - th ey violate th e majesty of Godin
His creatures andtrample th e bloodof th e covenant
underf oot. But sh all I not becounteda conjurer, seeing
I f ollowth e principles of Cornelius Ag rippa, th at g rand
Arch imag us, as th e antich ristianJesuits call h im? He
indeedis my auth or, andnext to GodI owe all th at I
h ave unto h im. He was, Reader, by extractionnoble;
by relig iona protestant 5- - - - as it appears out of h is own
writing s- - besides th e late but malicious testimony of
1 GENESIS, ii, 1 9.
2 _[rrz 'z arecra6oms.Plautusz '.e. to meddlewith ang ry people.
3Qz af s ewe! E.a; g ren:'z a:n? Qmis super/ z omz wem ass: wait? Qua: scire
rrnz ee.- 'rsz '/ mm/ z 0m'.:z m at rat/ z '1 r1 :scer.- 2dermo?
Opens - n, u.:n irr&'res |Eo"r.- .v.
5 As af terth ez eal of research andth esatisf actionof learning displayed
ina memorable pag eant, Cornelius Ag rippa becameconvincedth at th e
sciences of h is periodwerevain, including h is own, so was h edisillusionised
inmatters of of cial relig ion. But h edidnot becomea protestant. His
positionis comparable to th at of Paracelsus, wh o wish edLuth erandth e
ch aos of ref ormers well, believing doubtless th at someth ing wouldevolve
th eref rom, but h edidnot jointh eref ormers.
SO
1 4 72!/ LFOPamp/ 2f a Teomag ica
Promondus, a learnedpapist ; 1 f orh is course of lif e a
manf amous inh is person, both f oractions of warand
peace ; a f avouriteto th eg reatest princes of h is timeand
th ejust wonderof all learnedmen. Lastly, h e was one
th at carriedh imself above th e miseries h e was bornto
andmadef ortunek nowmanmig h t be h ermaster. Th is
is answerenoug h to a f ewsoph isters and- - indeanceof
all calumnies- - th us I saluteh is memory.
Great, g lorious penman, wh om I sh ouldnot name
Lest I mig h t seem to measure th ee by f ame,
Nature s apostleandh erch oice h ig h priest,
Hermystical andbrig h t evang elist:
Howam I rapt wh enI contemplate th ee
Andwindmyself above all th at I see.
Th espirits of th y lines inf usea re- - _.
Lik eth eworld s soulwh ich mak es meth us aspire
I am embodiedby th y book s andth ee
Andinth y papers ndmy ecstacy 5
Or, if I please but to descenda strain,
Th y elements do screenmy soul ag ain.
I canundress myself by th y brig h t g lass
Andth enresume th eenclosure as I was.
NowI am earth , andnowa star, andth en
A spirit- - - nowa starandearth ag ain,
Orif I will but ransack all th at be
Inth eleast moment I eng ross all th ree.
I spanth eh eavenandearth andth ing s above,
And- wh ich is more- joinnatures with th eirlove.
Hecrowns my soul with f ireandth ere doth sh ine,
But lik eth erainbowina cloudof mine.
Yet th ere s a lawby wh ich I discompose
Th eash es andth ereitself disclose;
But inh is emeraldstill h edoth appear1
Th ey are but g rave- cloth es wh ich h e scatters h ere.
Wh o sees th is rewith out h is mask , h is eye
Must needs be swallow dby th elig h t anddie.
As reg ards th e malicious testimony of Promondus, th erecordwh ich
contains it seems to h ave passedout of k nowledg e, andh e h imself 1 s
unk nown.
5 I
T/ z e Wares q f T/ z omas Vang / z az rz
Th ese are th e mysteries f orwh ich I wept-
Glorious Ag rippa- wh enth y lang uag e slept,
Wh ere th y dark texture made me wanderf ar,
Wh iles th roug h th at path less nig h t I tracedth estar;
But I h ave f oundth ose mysteries f orwh ich
Th y book was moreth anth rice- piledo erwith pitch .
Nowa newEast beyondth e stars I see
Wh ere break s th e day of th y divinity.
Heavenstates a commerce h ere with man, h adh e
But g ratef ul h ands to tak e andeyes to see.
Hence, youf ondsch oolmen, th at h ig h truth deride,
Andwith no arg uments but noise andpride
Youth at damnall but wh at yourselves invent
Andyet f indnoth ing by experiment :
Yourf ate is writtenby anunseenh and,
But h is Th ree Book s with th e Th reeWo1 'lds sh all stand.
Th us f ar, Reader, I h ave h andledth ecompositionand
royalty of man. I sh all nowspeak someth ing of h is
dissolutionandclose up my discourseas h e doth h is
lif e- ~ - with death . Death is"a recessionof lif e into th e
h iddennessii1 - - not th e annih ilationof any one particle
but a retreat of h iddennatures to th e same state th ey
wereinbef oreth ey were manif ested. Th is is occasioned
by th e disproportionandineq uality of th e matter; f or
wh enth e h armony is brok enby th e excess of any one
principle, th e vital twist- - with out a timely reductionof
th e rst unity- - disbands andunravels. Inth is recess
th e several ing redients of manreturnto th ose several
elements f rom wh ence th ey came at rst inth eiraccess
to a compound. Forto th ink th at Godcreates anyth ing
ex ni/ z ilo inth ework of g enerationis apuremetaph ysical
wh imsey. Th us th e earth ly parts- as we see by experi-
ence- returnto th e earth , th e celestial to a superior
h eavenly limbus andth e spirit to Godth at g ave it.
Neith ersh ouldany wonderth at I af rm th e Spirit of
th e living Godto be inman, wh enGodHimself doth
1 Recrssz z s 't 'z 'z te 2'22 .~ :z .rco2z dz '!rr.vz .
52
A71 2:/ z roposop/ z ia T/ z e0ma, g z 'ca
ack nowledg eit f orHis own. My spirit - - saith He
sh all not always be sh eath ed"- f or so th e Hebrew
sig nies- inman, f orth at h e also is f lesh : yet h is days
sh all be anh undredandtwenty years.1 Besides, th e
breath ing of it into Adam proves it proceededf rom God
andth eref oreth e Spirit of God.
Th us Ch rist breath edonHis apostles andth ey received
th e Holy Gh ost. InEz ek iel th e Spirit comes f rom th e
f ourwinds andbreath es uponth e slain, th at th ey mig h t
live. Now, th is Spirit was th e Spirit of Lif e, th e same
with th at Breath of Lif e wh ich was breath edinto th e
rst man, andh e became a living soul. But with out
doubt th e Breath orSpirit of Lif e is th e Spirit of God.
Neith eris th is Spirit inmanalone but inall th e g reat
world, th oug h af teranoth ermanner. ForGodbreath es
continually andpasseth th roug h all th ing s lik e anair
th at ref resh eth - - - wh eref orealso Heis calledof Pyth ag oras
th e q uick ening of all."2 Hence it is th at Godin
Scripture h ath several names, according to th ose several
of ces He perf orms inth e preservationof His creature.
Moreover"- saith th eAreopag ite- - th ey bearwitness
to His presence inourminds, as also inoursouls and
eveninourbodies, th at He is inh eavenandonearth ,
andsimultaneously inHis very self : th ey declare Him
to bewith inth eworld, to be aroundandalso above it,
overandabove h eaven, th e superioressence, sun, star,
re, water, wind, dew, cloud, th e very stone androck :
to be inall th ing s wh ich areandHimself to be noth ing
wh ich th ey are.3Andmost certainit is becauseof His
1 Th e Auth orisedVersionsays : My spirit sh all not always strive
with man.- - - GENESIS, vi. 3. But th e Vulg ate g ives: Dz lr- r'tg ue Dem.-
Nanperrrz anebz iS; .6z 'rz 'tz .t meats inromz h z einretemz mz ; My spirit sh all
not always abideinman, wh ich justies Vaug h an s alternative.
2 l'1 ixwo':.s 'rt'I+.vEiatav, am'mnz z 'o amt":/ ers0ra:m.
3Qminez z 'am inmem_z 'Zms z lesanz irz esse dicz mt, arg ue in.; mz 'mz 's, er2'2:
corjrerz lius, ez inceelo esse, alg aeinterm, ac sewz al insez juo ; eundem 2'2:
mz mda esse, cz ireo mz mdz mz , sug ra marndum, supra ceelz mz , sz e; 9erz '0rem
e.r.rem'z 'om, solem, stellom, ig nem, ag z eom, spz 'rz 'tm:z , rorem, rz ebulmrz , z '; { > sz mz
Zapz 'dem, petmm, omriz '.eesseg ratesum, et ref ine ! eorz mz q mesemi.
53
Te Wares of T/ z omrz s Vang / z arz
secretpassag e andpenetrationth roug h all th at oth er
simile inDionysius was g ivenHim: Let th at also be
addedwh ich may seem vilest andmost absurdof all,
th at th e Lordh ath calledHimself a worm of th e earth ,
as h andeddownto us by th ose versedindivine
th ing s.1
Now, th is g urative k indof speech , with its variety
of appellations, is not only properto Holy Writ but th e
Eg yptians also- ~ as Plutarch tells me- calledIsis, orth e
most secret part of Nature, myrionymous ; andcertainly
th at th e same th ing sh ouldh avea th ousandnames is no
news to such as h ave studiedth e Ph ilosoph er s Stone.
But to returnth ith erwh encewe h ave dig ressed: I told
youth eseveral principles of maninh is dissolutionpart-
as sometimes f riends do- - several ways : earth to earth - - -
as ourLiturg y h ath it- - - andh eavento h eaven, according
to th at of Lucretius :
Th epart wh ich came f rom earth to earth returns,
But wh at descendedf rom eth ereal sh ores
Hig h h eaven s resplendent temples welcomeback ?
But more expressly th e divine Verg il, speak ing of
h is bees:
Inducedby such examples, some h ave taug h t
Th at bees h ave portions of eth ereal th oug h t- - .
Enduedwith particles of h eavenly res ,
ForGodth ewh olecreatedmass inspires.
Th roug h h eavenandearth andocean s depth s Heth rows
His inf luenceroundandk indles as Heg oes.
Hencef lock s andh erds andmenandbeasts andf owls
With breath are q uick en d, andattract th eirsouls ;
1 Adtiam etiam at q uadammirm m'Z:'sr:'mz mz arse at mag s}abmrdum
'w'de2'ur, z jrisum 3562' wermz lrspeeiem rm / z :'6ere ab z 'z 's g m inrebz rs i:'< vz 'm's
multum diug are'verratz '.r2mt arsetrriditz rm.- DECCELESTI HIERARCHIA,
mp. ii. Th eref erenceis to PSALM xxii, v. 6.
2 C'edz 't item retro deJarret g z z odf m? amf e
Intermm, at q uadmz 's.mm est erre!/ serf s oars,
Idrur.rum- er; - 21 : f ulg erz tz letemplerereptant.
54 -
1 4 1 2:/ z roposop/ z ia T/ z eomog z ica
Hence tak e th ef orms His prescience didordain,
Andinto Him at leng th resolveag ain.
No room is lef t f ordeath : th ey mount th e sk y
Andto th eirowncong enial planets f ly}
Th is vanish orascent of th e inward, eth ereal principles
doth not presently f ollowth eirseparation; f orth at part
of manwh ich Paracelsus calls th esidereal man'2 and
more appositely th ebrute part of man, 3but Ag rippa
th espectre"" andVerg il
Eth ereal sense andwarmth of simple breath 5-
th is part- - I say- - wh ich inth e astral manh overs
sometimes about th e dormitories of th e dead, andth at
becauseof th e mag netism orsympath y wh ich is between
h im andth e radical, vital moisture. Inth is spectre
is th e seat of th e imag ination, andit retains af terdeath
animpress of th ose passions andaf f ections to wh ich it
was subject inth e body. Th is mak es h im h aunt th ose
places wh ereth ewh ole manh ath beenmost conversant,
andimitate th e actions andg estures of lif e. Th is
mag netism is excellently conrmedby th at memorable
accident at Paris wh ich DrFluddproves to be trueby
th e testimonies of g reat andlearnedmen. Ag rippa also,
speak ing of th eapparitions of th edead, h ath th esewords :
But th at wh ich I h ave seenmyself with my owneyes
andh ave touch edwith my ownh ands I will not mention
inth is place, lest it bemy lot to be accusedof f alseh oodby
1 He's g z ddom sz }; r2z :'s arg ue/ Eerie eiremplo seem'z '
Easeopz 'oar.rporter: Dz "oz 'rz ee _Mem"z 's erf z ousf os
1 5'!/ tereos dz lrere. Doom nomg ueireperosvmes
Terrasg z vetroetusg z eemorals, eoiusoz g ueprof rmdz mz .
1 ; / z 'rz cpecam es, ormemf o, 1 !/ z 'ros, g enres omnef erorz rm,
Quemg ueriotterz uis rz oseenteoz orcessereroitos.
.5'cz 'Z:'eez / iz rc rea dz 'def ertieorresoluterq f erri
Ommo .' oermorn esseZocarm, sadwe'vewolore
Syz f eris inrz remerz am arg ueolto soccederecoelo.
_ 1 h ave usedDryden s translationf orth e text, th e Latinonly being
g iveninth eorig inal.
2 Homo riderez es. 3Erratum / z omz 'm's. * Idolmw.
5 . Etiz erez - m semum arg ueourof sz 'mpZr'e:'s ig nem.
55
Te Work s of Tomos Vang / z orz
th eig norant, by reasonof th emarvellous strang eness of th e
occurrences.1 But th is scene2 exceeds not th ecircuit of
one year, f orwh enth e body beg ins f ully to corrupt th e
spirit returns to h is orig inal element. Th eseapparitions
h avemade a g reat noise inth e world, not with out some
benet to th epope ; but I sh all reserve all f ormy g reat
work , wh ere I sh all moref ully h andle th esemysteries.
I am nowto speak of manas h e is subject to a super-
natural judg ment; and- to be sh ort- my judg ment is
th is : I conceiveth ereare- - besides th e empyreal h eaven
- - two inf eriormansions orreceptacles of spirits. Th e
one is th at wh ich ourSaviourcalls th eouterdark ness,
andth is is it wh ence th ere is no redemption+Wh ence
souls may nevercome f orth , as th e divinePlato h ath
it. Th eoth er, I suppose, is somewh at answerableto th e
Elysianelds, somedelicate, pleasant reg ion, th e suburbs
of h eavenas it wereth ose sevenmig h ty mountains
wh ereuponth ere g rowroses andlilies, orth e outg oing s
of Paradise inEsdras.5 Such was th at placewh ere th e
oracletoldAmelius th esoul of Plotinus was :
Wh eref riendsh ip is, wh ere Cupidg entle- eyed,
Repletewith purest joy, enrich dby God
With seinpiternal andambrosial streams ::
Wh enceare th e bonds of love, th e pleasant breath ,
Th etranq uil airof g reat ]ove s g oldenrace.6
1 Sea ez z joseeg o, g atem.ez '.s' ocz z lz lrt/ z 'a z 'ez monz '6us"terz :g z 'k oc Zoeo ref erre
oolo, nemeob aeratorslupendooz o:d:oz z 'rotz 'one.oz de oz erz docio all z 'm:rea z Zz '.r
org mf comz 'ng ot.
So. :er:e inth e orig inal orth og raph y. Th e wordseems inapplicable.
Vaug h anmay h ave writtenth e Latin_.S'ecet/ o= a sig n, inth e sense of
omen.
3Tb trrrdr- or, vb ef crepov.
4 oars tiurrore g iaet : madeomimeerz mz g uom eg redz h mmr.
'5 II ESDRAS, ii, I9. Th epassag eref erredto is part of th ewordof th e
Lordto Esdras andh as noth ing to do with Paradise, anallusionto th e
outg oing s of wh ich occurs, h owever, cop. iv, 7, inanoth erconnection.
B U62omz 'cz 'z 'z 'o est, not Copz 'do * 2/ z ltumollz lr,
Pureeg ienus leez z 'z z 'ee et sem; oz 'z ernr's - rz wrlr
Ambrose): irrz lg otus a Deo ; nudesumomomsm
Retz ieoculo, dolcz 's s, oz 'rt'tus at trorz g uz 'lZarrteth er
Aureag enera: mag ma jot/ z 's.
56
1 4 72:/ z roposop/ z z 'a T/ z eomez g ica
Stellatus supposeth th ere is a successive, g radual ascent
of th e soul, according to th e process of expiation, andh e
mak es h erinter- residence inth e moon. But let it be
wh ereit will, my opinionis th at th is middlemost mansion
is appointedf orsuch souls wh osewh ole manh ath not
perf ectly repentedinth is world. But notwith standing
th ey are of such as sh all be saved, 2 andare reservedin
th is placeto a f urth errepentance inth e spirit f orth ose
of f ences th ey committedinth e f lesh . I do not h ere
maintainth at ig nis f orum of purg atory, or any such
painted, imag inary toph et ; but th at wh ich I speak of - -
if lam not much mistak en- I h ave a strong Scripture
f or. It is th at of St Peter, wh ere h e speak s of Ch rist
being put to death inth e f lesh , but q uick enedby th e
Spirit: by wh ich also h e went andpreach edunto th e
spirits inprison; wh ich sometime were disobedient,
wh enonce th e long suf f ering of Godwaitedinth e days
of Noah , wh ile th e ark was a preparing , wh ereinf ew,
th at is, eig h t souls weresavedby water.3Th esespirits
wereth esouls of th ose wh o perish edinth e Floodand
were reservedinth is place till Ch rist sh ouldcomeand
preach repentanceunto th em. t
I k nowScalig erth ink s to evade th is constructionwith
h is g uitune, th at th ey wereth enalive- namely, bef oreth e
Flood- wh enth ey were preach edunto. But I sh all
overth rowth is sing le nonsense with th ree solidreasons,
drawnout of th ebody of th e text. First, it is not said
th at th eSpirit itself precisely preach edunto th em, but He
Wh o went th ith erby th e Spirit, namely, Ch rist inth e
1 Marcellus Paling enius Stellatus wrote ZODIACUS I/ 'ITni., a Latinh exa-
meterpoem intwelvebook s corresponding to th e Twelve Sig ns. Book
ix, wh ich answers to Sag ittarius, recounts a visit to th e Moon, wh ich is
reg ardedas th eplaceof judg ment f ordepartedsouls.
2 Derah / arz dorreriz memero. 3I ST PETER, iii, I8- - 20.
4 Th ereweretwo Scalig ers, f ath erandson, respectively 1 4 84 - 1 558 and
1 54 0- 1 609. Th ey were both suf f iciently voluminous. Julius Ctesar- - - th e
f ath er- - wrote commentaries onth e z oolog ical andbotanical work s of
AristotleandTh eoph rastus. Th e son]oseph us ]ustuswas a f amous
ph ilolog ist of h is period.
57
T/ z e Work s Q/ T/ z omos Vang / z an
h ypostatical unionof His soul andGodh eadwh ich
unionwas not bef oreth e Floodwh enth ese deaddidlive.
Secondly, it is writtenth at He preach edunto spirits, not
to men, to th ose wh ich were inprison, not to th ose
wh ich wereinlif e, 1 wh ich is q uitecontrary to Scalig er.
Andth is expositionth e apostleconrms inanoth erplace
to th em th at are dead"2th edeadwerepreach edto,
not th e living . Th irdly, th e apostle says th ese spirits
were but sometime disobedient andwith al tells us wh en
- namely, inth edays of Noah . Wh ence I g ath erth ey
were not disobedient at th is timeof preach ing ; andth is
is plainout of th esubseq uent ch apter. Forth is cause
- saith th e apostle'was th e g ospel preach edalso to
th em th at are dead, th at th ey mig h t be judg edaccording
to meninth e f lesh , but live according to Godinth e
spirit.3Now, th isjudg ment inth e f lesh was g rounded
onth eirdisobedience inth edays of Noah , f orwh ich also
th ey were drowned; but salvationaccording to Godin
th espirit proceededf rom th eirrepentance at th epreach -
ing of Ch rist, wh ich was af terdeath . I do not impose
th is onth ereaderas if I sat inth e inf alliblech air, but l
am condent th etext of itself will speak no oth ersense.
As f orth e doctrine, it is no way h urtf ul, but- inmy
opinionas it detracts not f rom th e mercy of Godso it
adds much to th ecomf ort of man.
I sh all nowspeak a wordmoreconcerning myself and
anoth erconcerning th e commonph ilosoph y, andth enI
h ave done. It will be q uestionedperh aps wh at I am,
andespecially wh at my relig ionis. Tak e th is sh ort
answer. I am neith erpapist nor sectary but a true,
resolute protestant inth e best sense of th e Ch urch of
Eng land. Forph ilosoph y as it nowstands it is altog eth er
imperf ect andwith al f alsea mere apoth ecary s drug , a
mixtureof inconsistent, contrary principles wh ich no way
ag ree with th e h armony andmeth odof Nature. Ina
1 1 773 I/ 'U '.r- - 'ro'is do > v?ton; 'i arvstiuuow, I ST PETER, iii, I9.
2 f blii, iv, 6. 3]t5; f d., iv, 6.
58
1 4 % :/ z roposoph o T/ lz eomag z rez
word, th e wh ole encyclopasdia- - as th ey call it- baiting
th e demonstrative, math ematical part- is built onmere
imag ination, with out th e least lig h t of experience. I
wish th eref ore all th e true sons of my f amous Oxf ord
Moth erto look beyondAristotleandnot to conneth eir
intellect to th e narrowandcloudy h oriz onof h is text;
f orh e is as sh ort of Nature as th e g rammarians are of
steg anog raph y. I expect not th eirth ank s f orth is my
adviceordiscovery ; but verily th etimewill come wh en
th istruth sh all bemoreperf ectly manif ested, andespecially
th at g reat andg lorious mystery wh ereof th ere is little
spok eninth is book : th ealoneKing Messias, th eWord
madeesh of th e Fath er, h ath revealedth is secret, to be
more openly manif estedina certainf ulness of time.1
It is Cornelius Ag rippa s ownprediction, andI am con-
dent it sh all ndpatrons enoug h wh ennoth ing remains
h ereof mebut memory.
My sweetest Jesus, twas Th y voice: If I
Belif tedup I ll drawall to th esk y.
Yet I am h ere. Pm stif ledinth is clay,
Sh ut up f rom Th eeandth e f resh East of day.
I k nowTh y h and s not sh ort; but Pm unt- -
A f oul, uncleanth ing - - to tak e h oldof it.
I am all dirt, norcanI h opeto please
Unless inmercy Th oulov st a disease.
Diseases may be cured; but wh o ll reprieve
Him th at is dead? Tell me, my God, I live.
Tis true, I live; but I so sleep with al
I cannot move, scarce h earwh enTh oudost call.
Sin s lullabies ch arm me wh enI wouldcome;
But drawmeaf terTh eeandI will run.
Th ouk now st I m sick : let me not f eastedbe,
But k eep a diet, andprescribedby Th ee.
Sh ouldI carve f ormyself l wouldexceed
To surf eits soonandby self - murderbleed.
i Solos Rexrile.- mos, Verona: Potris corof ocz arm, arcormm / z oc rwelotxit,
alz g uo tampons ; $ Zem'!udr'neo, oer2'z 'us morz z f esiof unrs.
59
Th e Work s of T/ z omez r Vaug aaz
I ask f orstones a1 1 dscorpions, but still cross d- -
Andall f orlove- - sh ouldist Th oug rant, I werelost.
DearLord, deny mestill, andneversig n
My will but wh enth at will ag rees with Th ine.
Andwh enth is conf li- ct s pass dandI appear
To answerwh at a patient I was h ere,
HowI didweep wh enTh oudidst woo, repine
At Th y best sweets andina ch ildish wh ine
Ref use Th y prof f er dlove, yet cry andcall
Forrattles of my own, to play with al-
Look onTh y cross andlet Th y bloodcomein.
Wh etiminesh all blush as g uilty of my sin,
Th ensh all I live, being rescuedinmy f all,
A text of mercy to Th y creatures all, _
Wh o h aving seenth e worst of sins inme
Must needs conf ess th e best of loves inTh ee.
I h avenowdone, Reader, but h owmuch to my own
prejudice I cannot tell. I am condent th is sh all not
pass with out noise; but I may do well enoug h if th ou
g rantest mebut onereq uest. I wouldnot h aveth eelook
h ere f orth e paint andtrim of rh etoric, andth e rath er
becauseEng lish is a lang uag e th eauth orwas not bornto.
Besides th is piecewas composedinh asteandinmy days of
mourning onth e sadoccurrence of a broth er s death .
Andwh o k noweth h owto write amidst a wailing of
tears andink ?1
To conclude: if I h aveerredinanyth ing andyet I
f ollowedth e rules of creation- - I expose it not to th e
mercy of manbut of God, Wh o as He is most able so
also is Hemost willing to f org ive us inth e day of our
accounts.
Finis
' E! g z z z lr"a'z 'dz 't'z 't .rcrz 't5ereinZz rcf z i [(1 6/ 2?j/ ?.?2rU"f ?? erof rrrrnetz f z ?
6o
AN ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER
lF th e olditch of scribbling - - a disease very properto
Galenistssurpriseany of th eirtribe, I sh all expect f rom
th em th ese f ollowing perf ormances : rst, a plain, positive
expositionof all th epassag es inth is book , with out any
injury to th e sense of th eirauth or; f orif th ey interpret
th em oth erwiseth anth ey oug h t, th ey but create errors of
th eirownandth enoverth rowth em. Secondly, to prove
th eirf amiliarity andk nowledg einth is art, let th em g ive
th ereadera punctual discovery of all th e secrets th ereof .
If th is be more th anth ey cando, it is arg ument enoug h
th ey k nownot wh at th ey oppose; andif th ey do not
k now, h owcanth ey judg e, orif th ey judg e, wh ere is
th eirevidence to condemnP Th irdly, let th em not
mang leanddiscomposemy book with a scatterof observa-
tions but proceedmeth odically to th ecensureof each part,
expounding wh at is obscure anddiscovering th e very
practice, th at th ereadermay ndmy positions to bef alse,
not only inth eirth eory but, if h e will essay it, by h is own
particularexperience.
I h ave two admonitions more to th e ing enuous and
well- disposedreader: rst, th at h ewouldnot slig h t my
endeavours because of my years, wh ich are but f ew. It
is th e custom of most mento measure k nowledg e by
th e beard; but look th ourath eronth e soul, anessence
of th at naturewh ich req uireth not th ecourses of timef or
its perf ection. Secondly, th at h e wouldnot conclude
anyth ing rash ly concerning th e subject of th is Art, f orit
is a principlenot easily appreh ended. It is neith erearth
1 QZIIEL n:d_z !> erf ectz '0nem max): currz 'cz :Za z em; 0rz '.rmm des:'d:mt.Proclus.
6 I
T/ z e W02"rof T/ lama: Vang / ran
norwater, airnorre. It is not g old, silver, Saturn,
antimony orvitriol, norany k indof mineral wh atsoever.
It is not blood, north eseedof any individualas some
unnatural, obscene auth ors h ave imag ined. Ina word,
it is no mineral, no veg etable, no animal, but a system
as it were- - of all th ree. Inplainterms, it is th e seed
of th eg reateranimal, th e seedof h eavenandearth , our
most secret, miraculous h ermaph rodite. If youk now
th is- - - andwith it th eHydro- pyro- mag ical Art- youmay,
with some security, attempt th ework : if not, practiceis
th eWay to poverty. Essay noth ing with out science, but
conne yourselves to th ose bounds wh ich Nature h ath
prescribedyou. E
1 .S'parma moj0n'.raninz alz lr
62
ANIMA MAGICA ABSCONDITA
OR A DISCOURSE OF THE UNIVERSAL SPIRI'1
OF NATURE
TO THE RE./ { DER
NowGoddef end: wh at will become of me? I h ave
neith erconsultedth estars north eirurinals, th eAlmanack s.
A ne f ellowto neg lect th e proph ets wh o are readin
Eng landevery day. Th ey sh all pardonme f or th is
oversig h t. Th ere is a mystery inth eirprof essionth ey
h avenot so much as h eardof - - th estar- spang ledCh ristian
h eaven2- - a newh eavenf anciedonth eoldearth . Here
th e twelve apostles h avesurprisedth ez odiac andall th e
saints are rang edonth eirNorth andSouth sides. It
were a pretty vanity to preach wh enSt Paul is ascendant,
andwouldnot a papist smile to h ave h is pope elected
under St Peter? Reader, if I studiedth ese th ing s I
wouldth ink myself worse employedth anth e Roman
Ch aucerwas inh is Troilus.3I come out as if th ere
were no h ours inth e day, norplanets inth e h ours:
neith er do I care f oranyth ing but th at interlude of
Perendeng a inMich ael Cervantes: Let th e oldman,
my master, live, andCh rist be with us all.Th ouwilt
wonder nowwh ere th is drives, f orI h ave neith er a
Conde de Lemos nora Cardinal to pray f or. I pray f or
th e dead, th at is, I wish h im a f airremembrance wh ose
labours h ave deservedit. It h appenedinexposing my
f ormerdiscourse to censure- a custom h ath strang led
many truth s inth ecradle- - th at a learnedmansug g ested
to me somebadopinionh e h adof my auth or, Henricus
1 Haptiptiipta. 2 Cesium sleliaf uz C/ z rz '.rz z 'am:m.
3Th e point appears to be th at according to th e ruling of a certain
oracle th e lif e of Troilus g uaranteedTroy ag ainst f all. But th e sonof
Priam was slainby Ach illes andth e city perish ed. Th e comparisonof
Ferg il with Ch auceris not f ortunate.
65 5
T71 5 Work s of T71 02/ ms Vz mg / z cm
Cornelius Ag rippa. I ever understoodit was not one
but many inwh ose sentiment th at miracle suf f ered. It
is th e f ortune of deep writers to miscarry because or
obscurity. Th us th e spots inth e moonwith some men
are earth , but tis more probable th ey are water. Th ere
is no day so clearbut th ereare lees towards th eh oriz on:
so inf eriorwits, wh enth ey reect onh ig h erintellects,
leave a mist inth eirbeams. Hadh e livedinig norance,
as most do, h e mig h t h ave passedh ence lik e th e last
year s clouds, with out any more remembrance. But as
I believe th e truth a mainbranch of th at endto wh ich
I was born, so I h oldit my duty to vindicate h im f rom
wh om I h ave receivedit. Th e worldth enbeing not
able to conf ute th is man's principles by reasonwent
about to do it by scandal; andth e rst arg ument th ey
f astenedonwas th at of th e Jewag ainst h is Saviour:
Th ouart a Samaritanandh ast a devil.1 Th ech ief in
th is persecutionis Cig og nesf andaf terh im Delrio in
h is f abulous Disg z z isirion But Paulus Jovius stirred
inth e vomit, wh o among st oth ermen s lives h ath put
my auth or to death . It is done indeedemph atically
betwixt h im andh is poet, wh om h e h ired- it seems- - to
stitch verse to h is prose andso patch edup th e leg end.
Wh o wouldbelievesaith h e- anamaz ing capacity
to h ave beenconcealedinth e sedate countenance of
Henry Cornelius Ag rippa?Inh is subseq uent dis-
1 STJoan, viii, 4 8.
2 z '.e. Stroz z iCig og na, wh ose 1 \- "IAGIIE OMNIFARIEE, W! potz rarz m:'?/ ersre
mz z wmz THEATRUM, appearedinItalianandwas translatedinto Latin
in1 606.
3DISQUISITIONUM IVIAGICARUM LIBRI Sax . . . Aucf ure M ; z rtz 'na
DeZrz '0 S0cz 'etatz '.rf em Presytem, &c. I k nowonly th e secondedition
inq uarto, Leyden, 1 604 . Th eref erences to Ag rippa inth is vast treatise
aref ewandf arbetween.
4 Th emultitudinous writing s of Paolo Giovio, Bish op of Nocera, were
collectedandpublish edat liasle between1 578 and1 596 inve f olio
volumes. Th ey treatedof many matters, but demonolog y was not among
th em. I do not pretendto say inwh ich portionof th e vast memorial
th eremay occursomeref erenceto Ag rippa.
5 Quz lrinHenr:'cz 'Ce- rrz eZz ':'Ag rz ppmsedatewaltz :g orterz tesz mz z 'rz g er:z 'z m
Zaz z rz 'sse rrez iz 'a'erz 'z ?
66
P
Af rz irz z a Mag z 'c z Alscondz ra
course h e states h is q uestionandreturns my auth or's
best parts as a libel onh is memory. But th at wh ich
troubles h im most of all is th at Ag rippa sh ouldproveh is
doctrine out of th e Scriptures. Th enh e inculcates th e
solemncmme of h is dog - devil, wh ose collar- - - emblem-
atically wroug h t with nails- made th e ruf f to h is
f amiliar. Fora closeto th estory h e k ills h im at Lyons,
wh erebeing near h is departureh e unravelledh is
mag ic inth is desperate dismission: Beg one, abandoned
Beast, wh o h ast lost meeveryth ing .1 Th is is th e most
g ross lie andth e least probable inevery circumstance
th at ever was related. Devils use not to q uit th eir
conjurers inth e day of death ; neith erwill th ey at such
times be exterminated. Th is is th e h ourwh ereinth ey
attendth eirprey andf rom seeming servants becomecruel
masters. Besides, is it not most g ross th at any sh ould
dog th is devil f rom Ag rippa's lodg ing to Araris, wh ere- -
saith th is prelate- - h eplung edh imself P Certainly spirits
pass away invisibly andwith th at dispatch no mortal man
cantrace th em. Believe th is, andbelieve all th e f ables
of purg atory.
Now, Reader, th ouh ast h eardth eworst ; lenda just
earandth oush alt h earth e best. Joh annes Wierus, a
prof essedadversary to ceremonial mag ic andsome time
secretary to Cornelius Ag rippa, inh is Dwnz onomonia 2 speak s
th us. He wonders th at some learnedGermans and
Italians were not ash amedto traduceh is masterinth eir
public writing s. Th at h e h ada dog wh ose call was
Monsieurh e conf esseth , andth is spaniel during h is service
h e usedto lead, wh enAg rippa walk edabroad, by a h air-
ch ain? Andcertainly- - - saith h e th e dog was a
natural maleanimal, * to wh ich Ag rippa coupleda bitch
1 A65, erd:'z a 6 '.rz z 'a, q rrimetotz rm; rrdz '.r!z '.r; z '.
2 A French translationappearedinI579 underth e title: HISTOIRES,
DISPUTES ET DISCOURS des [!lmz 'omrat f .m; '> osz 'rrr'es des 1 )z 'aZ.es, &c. See
Lz wreii, c. 5, f orth ejusticationof Ag rippa.
3InZara ex; 5z 'l:'.rcorz rz wnaf o.
Atrewm cam : amt rz atz rralz irmascuf us.
67
T/ Le Words q f T/ mmas Vaug / z arz
of th e same colour, calledModeriz aisef / e. It is conf essed
h e was f ondof th is dog , andh aving divorcedh is rst
wif e wouldsuf f er h im- - f or a sarcasm- - - to sleep with
h im under th e sh eets. Inh is study too th is dog
wouldcouch onth e table by h is master, wh ence th is
g reat ph ilosoph er, absolutely surroundedby h is extra-
ordinary manuscript treasures"1 - - saith Wierus- would
not sometimes stirout f ora wh oleweek tog eth er. S0
studious was h e f orth e g oodof posterity, wh o h ave
but coldly rewardedh im f orh is pains. I h ave observed
also inh is Epistles th at wh enh e was resident at
Malines h is domestics usedto g ive h im anaccount in
th eirletters h owh is dog s f ared- - so f ondwas h e of
th osecreatures.
But to come to th e rest of th eleg end1 Paulus Jovius
tells youh ediedat Lyons ina sq ualidandg loomy inn; 3
but Wieruswh o h admorereasonto be inq uisitiveaf ter
h is master s death - - tells me h e diedat Granople, andth at
inth e Lord, not desperately- - as h is enemies would
h aveit. Herenowwas a jovial stride, f rom Gmrianopolis
to Lug dz mum :5 sure th is Paul was a scant g eog raph er.
But, Reader, it is not my intentionto conceal anyth ing in
th is matter: k nowth eref ore th at Ag rippa h adanoth er
dog , h is Ff / iof i, andth is last diedinmore respect th an
most of h is master's adversaries. Formy auth or- by
some secret means- h aving strang ely q ualiedh im, divers
learnedmenwrit epitaph s uponh im, wh ereof some h ave
beenpublish edandare yet extant. Out of th is f able of
th eCerberus Baptista Possevinus pumpedth ese verses :
1 Inter.$ rq = eZZe6z 'z 'Ze; ; z c/ z arlaceam eeriez vz sz jg nem deZz 'z 'e.rcerz .r.
2 Th e most accessible source of ref erence f orth e Eng lish readeris
Henry Morley: CORNELIUS AGRIPPA, 2 vols. 1 856, a sympath etic and
excellent study. Th ereareinall sevenbook s of Ag rippa s correspondence.
Th ey appearedinh is collectedwork s soonaf terh is death . A selection
was translatedinto French in: HENRI CORNELLISAG- RIPPA ; Sa V2: cf res
(Ear:/ res. Ptrrjoseph Orsier, I91 I.
3f g noz at tmeoroso indz '1 ver.r0rr'0. 4 InZ)0mz 'rz o.
5 Grat:'arz o; f > olz 's is GrenobleandLz rg dz mrrm is Lyons, unless Lz rg durrz mr
Bola:/ or"mnis intended, 1 1 . Leyderg
8
Ainima Mag z 'ca z iscorz dz az
O ye wh o, living , mark th is g raveanddeem
Wh at lies th ereindeserves th e Wordof peace,
Know, h ereentomb d, abysmal Styx s King ,
Onearth protectedby a g uardf rom h ell
But inperditionnowh is warder s prey.
His powers 'controll d, h e mig h t h ave soar das f ar
Onh ig h as nowinto th e deep h e sink s.1
Th us h ave th ey all- to- bedevilledh im ; but wh y may not
truth runinverseas well as scandal P
So g reat Ag rippa f ortwo worlds suf ced
Andpowers diverse displayedinbrok enf rame.
Earth conq uers earth andh eavenh as link s with h eaven.
Aliveh e wrote, conf rontedby th ewise.
Naturedraws Nature, andsupernal lif e
Acclaims h is soul as k indredto th eh eig h ts.
Hetaug h t inlif eandteach es yet indeath ,
Andwh ilst ascending h ig h amidst th e stars
Some mag ic potencestill h is h ands dispense.
Now, Reader, if th ouwouldst bef urth ersatisedinh is
distaste of Black Mag ic, I wish th ee to readh is most
Ch ristianinvectiveag ainst th eGermanconj urerentertained
inth e French court. Nay, so z ealous andniceof con-
sciencewas h e th at being solicitedby somedivines f ora
comment onTrismeg istus h e returnedth em a very tart
answer, ref erring all truek nowledg eto th e Scripture. In
a word, h e didnot only h ateirnpious but vainarts, f orh e
1 I/ Yarns g nawcar2z z 's Tanz atawrz , as f ortemeretar
Os g tactdam, .r{ yg z 'z '}i e:rf az 't { rtelacas.
Qaareettam rastodam aatwrz , dam 1 22'?/ eret, Ora,
Cm mam: tntenetw's g brada daret comz 'tem.
Art/ z tc, 51 'z ':ag erz z 'm.a modewart sr:z '.r.ret, adauras
Tantz mz asset, q uanta : Tartara arlg ra satat.
3 .S'z '.:: Ag nlpa z ':z , g em, dapZrrz 'g mng ae.rajE.< .'z 't aria,
Fractag raea'z 'wersasf a6rz '.ca momtrat apes.
Terran: terra rajtt, ratog aeaZm'a caetz mz
P0.m'det. Hot wz 'z .'a.rscrz yrerat antesap/ res.
Nataram Natz rra trak it; sz 'mz 'temg aesrtg ema
Han: aatmam ag n0.rr.'z 't 'm'ta sz rperna rz ranz .
.5trwz 'r/ em, marnsg rredoret, dz mz g z realtarinartra
Tendz 't, / z atwt mag z k as jlarrra '2/ at z lz sa marz mr.
69
T/ z e Wares of T/ z omar Vaug / z en
lost th ef avourof th e Queen- Moth erbecause h e would
not be employedby h erinastrolog y- - a science inwh ose
true, natural part h e was sk illedto a miracle ; but h e
k newit was bootless to look f orf atal events inth eplanets,
f orsuch are not writteninNature but inth e Superior
Tables of Predestination. Having th us th ensuf f iciently
provedh is integ rity, I will ina f ewwords discoverth e
g rounds of h is persecution. Hewas a manref ormedin
h is relig ion; andh adI th e leisure to cite h is work s I
couldq uick ly prove h e was not of th e RomanCh urch .
Forinh is book onT/ z e Vanity of I/ z e Sciences h e allows not
of monk s andf riars but calls th em sects, of wh ich th e
Ch urch was f reeat its best " ; 2andcertainly th at notable
jest of h is onth e cowl nettles th e papists to th is day?
Hedisclaims also th eirimag es, th eirinvocationof saints,
th eirpurg atory andpardons, andwouldh ave th e laity
communicate inboth k inds.* " He corrects th e pope
h imself suf ciently andis utterly ag ainst th e Inq uisition
Of f ice. Wh at also h is opinionwas of Luth eris not h ard
to g uess out of h is Epistles, f orina letterto Melanch th on
h e h ath th ese words: Salute f orme th at invincible
h eretic MartinLuth er, wh oas Paul saith inth eActs- - ~
doth serve His Godaccording to th at sect wh ich th ey
term h eretical." 5 Lastly, h ewas altog eth erf orth ewritten
word, pref erring it to h umanconstitutions, wh ich is con-
trary to th epapist, wh o will not allowit to be th e judg e
of controversies. Th is is th emanandth us q ualiedat
h ome, h owsoeverth eworldh ath renderedh im abroad.
Nowf orh is more mysterious principles: th ouh ast
th eirmaininth is discourse, wh ich if th oucanst appre-
1 See noteonp. 5o.
2 Qm'6a.rearrrit Ecrte.rz 'a em):juit0, 1 btz 'ma.
3Th eref erenceis presumably to c. 62of THE VANITY" orAars AND
SCIENCES. It is a g raph ic pictureandvery severecriticism of monastic
orders. I do not k nowwh y it is termeda jest inth etext above.
* .51 4 6 artrag ue.s; '> eez 'e.
5 Satrz taez s perme z 'm- 'z 'etrm- riltz mz Zta"ret:'ez .mz 1 1 / Irz rtz wz rrxz Latlz erum,
g m (at af t Prratz z s inAetz eas) eerz / z 't Dee sire seez mdz mrrertam g naw
z / errant Haresz 'rz . Th eref erenceis to ACTS, xxiv, 1 4 .
70
Airz z ma Mag z 'ca 1 4 dream/ eta
h endl k nowth ouwilt style h im inparticular- - as
Trismeg istus doth maning eneral- a manif ested
g od; 1 oras Panmtius didh is Plato, th emost divine,
mosth oly, most wisemanandth eHomerof ph ilosoph ers.2
But th is sluttish strug g lets not h is memory andth ing s
f all f rom me nowas strictures, not compositions. I sh all
say noth ing more but leave th ee to th y studies, wh iles
I translateth at epitaph of Platina to h is Tomas 6.
Wh oe erth ouart, if piously inclined,
Seek not th e deadAg rippa to molest,
Norwh at with h im lies narrowly ensh rined
Andonly ask s to be aloneinrest.3
Euoamus PHILALETHES.
1 E- Jebvtipariav.
'3f f emrwervz dz "z 1 z 'rz z rm, :arz et:'ssz 'mum, .rapz 'erz tz 's.rr'mmrz et Hemerurz z
26/ I* z 'Ze.re, r/ Eerz rm.
3 Qz :z '.rg m's es, st; t> z 'rr.r, Ag rrjeparrz
Etsates are z rexes: ang uste
_/ aeem, ez salt welz mt erse.
'71
ANIMA MAGICA ABSCONDITA
To buildcastles inth eairis a commonproverb with all
menbut a commonpracticewith th e Peripatetics only.
I h ave of tentimes admiredth at th e very endandresult
of th eirph ilosoph y didnot clearly discover its f alsity.
It is a mere h elp to discourse. Moodandg ure are
th eirtwo pillars, th eirlimits. Th eirh eptarch y ends in
a syllog ism andth ebest prof essoramong st th em is but
a scoldwell disciplined. Th eirsevenyears study are
sevenyears of f amine; th ey leave th e soul not satised
andare more of a dream th anth at of Ph araoh ? For
verily if th e stag e andreig nof dreams be nowh ere be-
yondf ancy, th enth ef ancies of th ese menbeing nowh ere
beyondth eirauth ors may rest onth esamepillow. Th is
sect th enmay be styleda f ellowsh ip of dreams.3
Th eir conceptions are not g roundedonany reason
existent inNature, but th ey wouldg roundNature on
reasons f ramedandprincipledby th eirownconceptions.
Th eir ph ilosoph y is built ong eneral, empty maxims,
th ing s of th at stretch andlatitude th ey may be applied
to anyth ing but conduce to th e discovery of noth ing .
Th ese are th e rst lineaments of th eirmonster, andin
ref erence to th em th ey h ave many subordinate errors
wh ich pretenda symmetry with th eirf undamentals but
intruth h ave none at all. Th ese latterq uillets are so
mincedwith divisions anddistinctions th at th eirvery
patrons aredubious h owto stateth em. I couldcompare
th eirph ysiolog y to a ch ase inarras, wh ereth ereis much
1 N03rrttra. 2 GENESIS, C621 9. xli. 3Apos verpciiv.
'72
A' z z 'mez Mag z 'ca / if tucom/ ire
of similitude but noth ing of truth . Tis th e ch ildof
f ancy, a romance insyllog isms, a texture of th eirown
brain, lik e th at cobweb campag na wh ich Lucian s spiders
plantedbetwixt th e MoonandVenus. Natureing eneral
- - - say th ey- is a principle of motionandrest." A
f orm is th eoutwardexpressionof aninwardessence"2
- a denitionth ey k nownot wh at to mak e of andth e
soul is actuality, orth eactiveprincipleof th eorg anic
body. Th ese two last descriptions- f orth ey are no
substantial denitions- - are such riddles th at I verily
believe Aristotle made use of th ose words R6709 and
v~ rek 'xe:a= f orm andactuality, because h e wouldnot
discoverh is ig noranceinth ese points. Forwh y sh ould
a f orm be calledR6709, orinwh at oth erauth orcanwe
ndth is vv- eltxetai But because Nature ing eneral,
th at is, inh eractiveandpassiveportions- - namely, matter
andf orm- - tog eth erwith th e soul of man, are th e main
f undamentals wh ereonto builda ph ilosoph y, andth at
th is Aristotle is so saintedby h is clients th at th e divines
of Colleintell us h ewas precursorof Ch rist inth ing s
natural as Joh nBaptist was inth ing s of g race, "5 I sh all
f urth erexamine th ese h is denitions andack nowledg e
th ebenet wh enI ndit.
Inth erst placeth en, it may be th oug h t I am beh olden
to th is manf ortelling meth at Natureis a principle. So
I may tell th ereaderth at th e mag ician s passive spirit is
a principle; but if I tell h im not wh at k indof substance
it is I will allowh im tenyears of study, andif th e sun
went back every day tendeg rees inh is dial h esh all not
- with out a supernatural assistance- - - k nowwh at orwh ere
it is. But youwill reply: h e tells me f urth erit is a
principlecauseth bodies to moveandrest. I th ank h im
f orh is noth ing . I desirenot to k nowwh at th is principle
doth - - - f orth at is obvious to every eyebut I would
1 Prz 'rz ez ; > :'z t:a meta: et g m'etz ':; . 3A6705" - r- I- is oi- af ar.
3 EvreI~ .e; (e:a. 4 Actz rreorjz erts e1 ; g aaz '.c'z .
'5 PrrecurserC/ l:rt.rtz 'inrz atr:r'aZz 'ez rs, at _/ 0/ iramrtrb a, t> tz 'sta f r: _g r'atm't:'s.
73
Te Warts of Th omas Vaug h an
k noww, h at it is ; andth eref oreh e may pock et h is deni-
tion. Ag ain, youwill object : h e tells me not only th at
Natureis a principlebut th at Natureis f orm1 andby
conseq uenceForm is Nature.2 Th is is idemperidem :
h e retains meina circle of notions but resolves noth ing
at all essentially. Besides f orm- inth eg enuinescopeof
th e lang uag e- sig nies th e outwardsymmetry orsh ape
of a compound? But th ePeripatetics- - wh o impose on
tong ues as th ey do onNature- renderit oth erwise in
th eirbook s andmistak e th e ef f ect f orth ecause. I sh all
th eref oretak eit inth eirsenseandbecontent f oronceto
subscribeto th eircomments. Form th eninth eirconcep-
tionis th esamewith diivtip.:s - n- ltao- 1 - rid; orf ormativepower,
wh ich Aristotledenes as th eoutwardexpressionof an
inwardessence." I must conf ess I do not understand
h im andth eref ore I sh all tak e h im upontrust, as h is
disciples expoundh im. It is Mi - yossaith Mag irus-
inasmuch as it doth perf ect, adornandf ash ionth e
natural th ing , so th at one may th ereby be disting uish ed
f rom anoth er.5 Th is is anexpress of th e of ce and
ef f ect of f orms but noth ing at all to th eirsubstance or
essence.
Nowlet us see wh at h e saith to th esoul of man. Th e
soul- saith h eis actuality, th at is, inplainterms, th e
sum total, - " orbarbarously but truly nih aeia, th oug h h is
ownf ollowers f alsely renderit activeprincipleof org anic
body.7But th is denitionis commonto beasts and
plants, andth eref oreh e h ath stumbledonanoth er: Th e
soul is th at principle by wh ich we live, f eel, move and
1 Natara estf orma. 9 Ferma est Natara.
3According to St Th omas Aq uinas, th e h eadandcrownof sch olastic
ph ilosoph y, th at wh ich is sig niedby th e term f orm is th e perf ectionof
each th ing individually, its peculiardetermining principle. Perf ermam
sz f nz eatur, 1 f > erf eetz 'e z m:'usez { ; 'z rsg rreWet.- DEENTEET ESSENTIA, cap. 7.
4 M'sf ef tttdtH1 1 .
5 Estem'm Ad- yes, g uem'asa at> setra't, e.t; 1 f > elz 't et z 'rz f ervaat rem natz rratem,
at; t> eream z ma adattera dz 'stz 'rz g 2 atz er.
* 5 C0n.rz mz matz 'e.
I Aetz rs eer, 1 5erz 's erg am'ez '.
74
./ il' z z ' 2z z z Mag ica / Iesc0ndz 'z a
understand.1 Now, both th ese descriptions concern
only th e operations andf aculties wh ich th e soul exerciseth
inth e body but discovernot h ernatureororig inal at all.
It was ing enuously done of Galen, wh o conf essedh is
ig noranceconcerning th e substance of th e soul ; but th is
f ellow- - wh o h adnot so much h onestyis voicedPrince
of Ph ilosoph ers andth epositions of moreg lorious auth ors
are examinedby h is dictates, as it were by a touch stone.
Nay, th e Scriptureitself is of tentimes wrestedandf orced
by h is disciples to vote a pf ecet to h is conclusions. It is
a miserable task to dwell onth is eth nic, to g ath erh is
strawandstubble most of ourdays andaf terall to be
no betteracq uaintedwith ourselves but th at th e soul is
th e course of lif e, sense, motionandunderstanding . I
pity ourcustomary f ollies th at we bindourselves over
to a prenticesh ip of expense andstudy, only to compass
a f ewsupercial truth s wh ich every ploug h mank nows
with out book . Verily, Nature is so much a tutorth at
nonecanbe ig norant inth eseth ing s ; f orwh o is so stupid
as not to k nowth edif f erence betweenlif e anddeath , th e
absenceandpresence of h is soul P Yet th esevery deni-
tions- - th oug h look eduponas rare, prof ound, ph ilo-
soph ical determinations - instruct us innoth ing more.
Away th enwith th is Peripatetical Ph ilosoph y, th is vain
babbling , as St Paul justly styles it, 2f orsure enoug h h e
h adsome experienceof it at Ath ens inh is disputeabout
th eresurrection. Let us no morelook onth is 0/ / :2pedrida
but onth at spirit wh ich resides inth e elements, f orth is
produceth real ef f ects by th e subseq uent rotations of
corruptionandg eneration; but th espirit of error- - wh ich
is Aristotle s- produceth noug h t but a multiplicity of
notions. Observe th enth at th is Stag yrite andNature
areat a g reat distance: th e one ends inwork s, th eoth er
inwords. His f ollowers rene th e oldnotions but not
th eoldcreatures. Andverily th e mystery of th eirpro-
Amima est ; rz 'aez 1 ez 'a; 1 z g ae'2/ z "z / traz z rs, mewmurrt z 'nteltz 'g z 'mus.
2 I TIMOTHY, vi, 2o, andII z 'Z :'d., ii, I6.
75
Tee Wares of T/ z omez s Vang / z ez rz
f essionconsists only inth eirterms. If th eirspeculations
wereexposedto th eworldina plaindress, th eirsense is
so empty andsh allowth ere is not any wouldack nowledg e
th em f orph ilosoph ers. Insome discourses, I conf ess,
th ey h aveNaturebef ore th em, but th ey g o not th erig h t
way to appreh endh er. Th ey are still inch ase but never
overtak eth eirg ame; f orwh o is h eamong st th em wh ose
k nowledg eis so entireandreg ularth at h e canjustif y h is
positions by practice? Ag ain, insome th ing s th ey are
q uitebesideth ecush ion; th ey scoldandsq uabbleabout
wh imsies andproblems of th eirownwh ich are no more
inNatureth anLucian s Lach anopters orHyppog ypians.
Now, th e reasonof th eirerrors is because th ey are
experiencedinnoth ing but outwardaccidents orq ualities,
andall th e perf ormanceth ey cando inph ilosoph y is to
pronouncea body h ot orcold, moist ordry. But if th ey
mindth e essential temperament th ey are g rossly mis-
tak eninstating th ese q ualications, f orit is not th e
touch orsig h t th at candiscernintrinsical, truecomplexions.
A body th at is outwardly coldto th esense may be h otter
inth e inwardness, wh ere th e g enuine temperament lies,
th anth e sunh imself is manif estly? But th ey k nownot
th e providenceof Nature, h owsh e interposeth a dif f erent
resisting q uality inth ecircumf erence of everyth ing , lest
th e q ualities of ambient bodies sh ouldconspire intoo
g reat a measurewith th ecentreandso procurea dissolu-
tionof th ecompound. Th us sh einterposeth h erpassive,
ref resh ing spirit betweenth e central reandth eSulph ur.
Ag ainsh e placeth th eSulph urbetweenth eliq uorof th e
celestial Luna andh er outwardMercury- a rare and
admirabletexture, inf allibly proving th at nonebut God-
only wise- Wh o f oresawth e conveniences anddiscon-
veniences of His creatures, couldrang e th em inth at
saving orderandconnection.3But to g o f urth erwith
\
1 - Inoceatte. _2 Inmamf f este.
3Vaug h anis beg inning to speak of certainprinciples, ex / z y, eet)iesz '
universal inNature, andmore especially concerning two, denominated
76
Af r:Ema Mez g em / 1 estone/ ita
th ese Peripatetics: th eirph ilosoph y is a k indof ph ysi-
og nomy. Th ey willjudg e of inwardprinciplesf orms,
as th ey call th em- wh ich are sh ut up inth e closet of
th e matter, andall th is inperusing th e outside orcrust
of Nature. 'Twere a f oolish presumptionif a lapidary
sh ouldundertak e to stateth evalueorlustre of a jewel
th at is lock edup bef ore h e opens th e cabinet. I advise
th em th eref ore to use th eirh ands, not th eirf ancies, and
to ch ang e th eirabstractions into extractions; f orverily
as long as th ey lick th e sh ell inth is f ash ionandpierce
not experimentally into th e centre of th ing s th ey cando
no oth erwise th anth ey h ave done. Th ey cannot k now
th ing s substantially but only describe th em by th eir
outwardef f ects andmotions, wh ich are subject and
obvious to every commoneye. Let th em consider
th eref ore th at th ere is inNature a certainspirit wh ich
applies h imself to th ematterandactuates inevery g enera-
tion. Th at th ere is also a passive intrinsical principle
wh ere h e is moreimmediately resident th aninth e rest,
andby mediationof wh ich h e communicates with th e
more g ross, material parts. Forth ere is inNature a
certainch ainorsubordinate propinq uity of complexions
betweenvisibles andinvisibles; andth is is it by wh ich
th esuperior, spiritual essences descendandconverseh ere
belowwith th e matter. But h ave a care lest youmis-
conceive me. I speak not inth is place of th e Divine
Spirit, but I speak of a certainArt by wh ich a particular
spirit may be unitedto th e universal, andNature by
conseq uence may be strang ely exaltedandmultiplied.
Nowth en, youth at h aveyoureyes inyourh earts and
not yourh earts inyoureyes, attendto th at wh ich is
spok en, andth at I may exh ort youto mag ic inth e
mag iciarf s ph rase: Hearwith th e understanding of
th eh eart.1
Sulph urandMercury, by wh ich also th ey werek nownto alch emists, wh o
addedSalt as a th ird, andreg ardedth eseth ree as th e f undamentals of
th eirwh olemystery. Salt is a subject of considerationinEUPHRATES.
1 Jateltecta e0m'z 's az rdtte.
77
T/ z e It/ ores of T/ z omas Vet; / eg / z arz
lt is obvious to all th ose wh om Nature h ath enrich ed
with sense andconvenient org ans to exercise it th at
every body inth e worldis subject to a certainspecies
of motion. Animals h ave th eirprog ressiveoutwardand
th eir vital inwardmotions. Th e h eavens are carried
with th at species wh ich th ePeripatetics call lation1 - - wh ere,
by th e way, I must tell youit proceeds f rom anintrinsical
principle, f orintellig ences are f abulous. Th e airmoves
variously, th e sea h ath h is f lux andreux. Veg etables
h ave th eirg rowth andaug mentation, wh ich necessarily
inf er a concoction; andnally, th e earth - - with h er
minerals andall oth ertreasures- is subject to alteration,
th at is, to g enerationandcorruption. Now, th e matter
of itself being merely passive andf urnish edwith no
motivef aculty at all, we must of necessity conclude th ere
is some oth erinwardprinciplewh ich acts andreg ulates it
inevery several species of motion. But verily it is not
enoug h to call th is principlea f orm andso bury up th e
rich es of Natureinth is narrowandmost absurdf ormality.
We sh ouldrath erabstainf rom scribbling orstudy to
publish th at wh ich may mak e someth ing f orth e auth or s
credit- - but much more f orth e benet of th e readers.
To be plainth en, th is principleis th e Soul of th e World, 2
orth e Universal Spirit of Nature. Th is Soul is retained
inth ematterby certainoth erproportionatenatures and
missing a vent doth org anise th e mass.3Sh e labours
wh at sh e canto resume h erf ormerliberty, f rames f or
h erself a h abitationh ere inth e centre, puts h erprison
into some g oodorderandbranch eth into th e several
members, th at sh e may h avemoreroom to act andemploy
h erf aculties. But youare to observe th at inevery f rame
1 Latte inclassical Latinsig nies mak ing org iving , as inCicero,
teg ma latte, th e mak ing of laws. Inlate Latinit meant bearing or
carrying , th e root being th e past participle of f ere, I bear. It will be
seenth at Vaug h anexplains th ewordas ref erring inits Aristotelianuse
to a principle of motionaccording to cosmic law. Th eGreek eq uivalent
. q b , _
1 5 spa
2 Anima mumllf . 3Of g amiaaremotem.
1 4 721 - 771 ex Mag Zea 1 4 dse0 rz ditz z
th ereare th ree leading principles. Th erst is th is Soul,
wh ereof we h ave spok ensometh ing already. Th esecond
is th at wh ich we h avecalledth eSpirit of th eWorld, and
th is Spirit is th emedium wh ereby th e Soul is dif f used
th roug h andmoves its body.Th e th irdis a certain
oleous, eth ereal water. Th is is th e Menstruum and
Matrix of th eworld, f orinit all th ing s are f ramedand
preserved. Th e Soul is a compoundof a most subtle
eth erandmost simple lig h t.Hence th at admirable
Platonical poet styledit re of pure eth er."
Neith ersh ouldyouwonderth at I say it is a compound,
f orth ere is no perf ect specical nature th at is simple and
voidof compositionbut only th at of GodAlmig h ty?
Trust not th ento Aristotle, wh o tells youth at th e
elements are simple bodies, f orth e contrary h ath been
manif estedby absolute, inf allibleexperience. Th epassive
spirit is a th in, aerial substance, th e only immediatevest-
ment wh ereinth e Soul wraps h erself wh ensh e descends
andapplies to g eneration. Th eradical, vital liq uoris a
pure celestial nature, answering inproportionandcom-
plexionto th esuperior, interstellarwaters. Now, as soon
as th epassive spirit attracts th eSoul, wh ich is donewh en
th erst link inth ech ainmoves- - - of wh ich wesh all speak
inits due placeth enth e eth ereal waterina moment
attracts th e passive spirit, f or th is is th e rst visible
receptacle, wh ereinth e superiornatures areconcentrated.
Th eSoul being th us connedandimprisonedby lawf ul
.S; t> z '2"z 'tz es war.- nude.
9' .Medz 'z mz perg reedaatma 2'2; / rmrtz 'taret met/ et smmz carpets.
3Ea" aara temez 'ssz 'ma et taresz ':.Iz ptz 'rz 'ssz ma.
" Am'az 'sz '::z ; 5> tz 't"z 's z lg nem.- - Verg il.
5 Th is notioncontradicts th edoctrineof th e h umanspirit inCh ristian
th eolog y, according to wh ich th esoul is a spirit, being as such non- com-
positeandindivisible. It is incontradictionalso with mysticism, wh ich
conceives unionwith Godas th eendof th esonl s being , andno unionis
possible with being s th at are f undamentally dissimilar. Finally, it is in
contradictionwith Vaug h an, according to wh om th espirit of manis th e
Spirit of God. It is f airto addth at sch olastic th eolog y h as its own
dif culties, postulating a certainduality inall createdspirits, considered
as a compoundof actuality andpotentiality.
79
Th e Work s of T/ 20/ was Vang / z aaz
mag ic inth is liq uidcrystal, th e lig h t wh ich is inh er
streams th roug h th e water, andth enit .is lig h t made
openly visibleto th eeye, "1 inwh ich stateit is rst made
subject to th eartist.
Here nowlies th e mystery of th e mag ician's dcnarius,
h is most secret andmiraculous pyramid, 2wh oserst unity
orcone is always inth e h oriz onof eternity, 3but h is
basis orq uadrateis h erebelowinth eh oriz onof time.4
Th eo_ul consists of th ree portions of lig h t andone of
th ematter; th epassivespirit h ath two parts of th ematter
andtwo of th e lig h t, wh eref ore it is calledth emiddle
nature" andth e sph ere of eq uality.Th e celestial
waterh ath but oneportionof lig h t to th reeof th ematter.
Now, th e ch ainof descent wh ich concerns th e spiritual
parts is g roundedona similitude, orsymbol of natures,
according to th at principle of Ostanes : Nature is
ch armedby Nature."* 3 Forth erebeing th reeportions of
lig h t inth eSoul andtwo inth epassive spirit, th einf erior
attracts th esuperior. Th enth ere being but one portion
inth ecelestial nature andtwo inth e middle spirit, th is
solitary sh ining unity attracts th eoth erinarius, to f ortif y
andaug ment itself , as lig h t joins with lig h t oramewith
f lame, andth enth ey h ang ina vital, mag netical series.
Ag ain, th e ch ainof ascent wh ich concerns th e matteris
perf ormedth us. Th ecelestial naturedif f ers not insub-
stancef rom th eaerial spirit but only indeg reeandcom-
plexion; andth e aerial spirit dif f ers f rom th e / f um, or
material part of th e Soul, inconstitutiononly andnot in
nature ; so th at th ese th ree, being but onesubstantially,
1 Lax riz arz f ist 2'/ z 'sz '6z Zz 's adoculum.
2 Th econeEI +base= 2- I- 4 basal ang les = 6- l4 sides of th epyramid= 1 o.
3In/ i:arz 'z 0.meraZern:'taz z s. 4 In/ 2orz 'z ame tenz g orslr.
5 Natz rra media at 5, 1 5/ mrra rag ual:'tatz 's.
* 31 '5 ni< m- 1 - - ii ; 51 'i.- .:re: Tpf f l. Th ere is :1 f rag ment of Ostanes onT/ h r
.S'ar:rad_andDz "vz 'rz e Art, addressedto Petasius, inth e collection of
Byz antine alch emists. It does not containth e aph orism q uotedby
Vaug h an. It will be f ound, h owever, inth e letterof pseudo- Synesius
to Dioscorus onth e Book of Democritus. Analog ous expressions recur
continually inth eGreek alch emical texts.
80
rz ima / llag ica 1 4 scoiz dz z
may admit of a perf ect, h ypostatical unionandbe carried
by a certainintellectual lig h t into th e h oriz onof th e
supercelestial world1 andso swallowedup of immortality.
But, meth ink s, Naturecomplains of a prostitution, th at
I g o about to diminish h ermajesty, h aving almost brok en
h erseal andexposedh ernak edto th e world. I must
conf ess I h aveg onevery f arandnowI must recal myself ;
f orth ere is a necessity of reserving as well as publish ing
someth ing s. Andyet I will speak of g reatermatters.
Th eSoul th oug h insome senseactive yet is sh e not so
essentially but a mere instrumental ag ent; f orsh e is
g uidedinh eroperations by a spiritual, metaph ysical g rain,
a seedorg lance of lig h t, simpleandwith out any mixture,
descending f rom th erst Fath erof Lig h ts. Forth oug h
His f ull- eyedlovesh ines onnoth ing but man, yet every-
th ing inth e worldis insome measure directedf orh is
preservationby a spice ortouch of th e First Intellect.
Th is is partly conrmedby th e h abitationandresidence
of God; f orHeis seatedaboveall His creatures, to h atch
as it were- andch erish th em with living , eternal
inuences wh ich daily andh ourly proceedf rom Him.
Henceh e is calledof th e Kabalists Ker/ z er, andit answers
to Parmenides h is Fiery Crown, 3wh ich h e places above
all th evisible sph eres. Th is f lux of immaterial powers
Ch rist I- Iimself inWh om th e f ulness of th e Godh ead
resided- conrmedandack nowledg edinth e f lesh ; f or
wh enth e diseasedtouch edHis g arment He q uestioned
wh o it was, adding th is reason: I perceive- saidHe
- th at virtueis g oneout of me.
But laying aside such proof s, th oug h th e Scripture
abounds inth em, let us considerth eexercise andpractice
of Nature h ere below, andwe sh all ndh erg ame such
sh e cannot play it with out th is tutor. Inth e rst place
1 Ir: }z 0rz '2omeimmdisuper- su; f > remz '.
2 Keth er, orth eCrown, is th erst andh ig h est .5'e; .% z ':ra orNumeration
inth eTreeof Lif einKabalism. ; ; _; ', i,
3Corona z lg rz ea. ST LUKE, * rx- , 4 6. 6
8 1
T/ z e Wm; of Th omas Vaz rtg / z an
th enI wouldf aink nowwh o taug h t th espiderh is math e-
matics? Howcomes h e to lodg e inth e centre of h is
web, th at h emay sally uponall occasions to any part of
th ecircumf erence? Howcomes h e to premeditateand
f orecast F Forif h edidnot rst k nowandimag ineth at
th ere are f lies wh ereuponh e must f eedh e wouldnot
watch f orth em, norspinout h is nets inth at exq uisite
f orm andtexture. Verily we must needs conf ess th at
HeWh o ordainedf lies f orh is sustenance g ave h im also
some small lig h t to k nowandexecute His ordinance.
Tell meif youcan- - wh o taug h t th e h are to counter-
march wh ensh e doubles h er trace inth e pursuit, to
conf oundth e scent andpuz z le h erpersecutors? Wh o
counsels h erto stride f rom th e doubleto h erf orm, th at
h ersteps may be at a g reaterdistanceandby conseq uence
th e more dif f icult to ndout? Certainly th is is a well-
orderedpolicy, enoug h to prove th at Godis not absent
f rom His creatures but th at wisdom reach eth f rom one
endto anoth ermig h tily andth at His incorruptible
Spirit is inall th ing s."2 But to speak someth ing more
immediately appositeto ourpurpose: let us considerth e
several products th at are inNature with th eiradmirable
f eatures andsymmetry. VVe k nowvery well th ere is
but one Matterout of wh ich th ere are f ormedso many
dif f erent sh apes andconstitutions. Now, if th e ag ent
wh ich determinates andg ures th e Matterwere not a
discerning spirit it were impossible f orh im to produce
anyth ing at all. Forlet me suppose Hyliardf with h is
pencil andtable ready to portray a rose, if h e doth not
inwardly appreh endth e very sh ape andproportionof
th at wh ich h eintends to limnh e may as well do it with -
Out h is eyes as with out h is intellectuals. Let us now
apply th is to th eSpirit wh ich work eth inNature. Th is
1 Wisnom orSotomon, viii, 1 . '- = ' 1 Z d., xii, 1 .
3A miniature painter andcraf tsman, 1 537- 1 61 9. He was f amous
inth e days of QueenEliz abeth andwas th e eng raverof h ersecond
Great Seal.
82
/ if rz ima Mag icz z / 4 6sc0ndz 'z z
moves inth ecentreof all th ing s, h ath th e Matterbef ore
Him as th epotterh ath h is clay orth elimnerh is colours.
Andrst of all He exerciseth His ch emistry inseveral
transmutations, producing sinews, veins, blood, esh and
bones, wh ich work also includes His arith metic, f orHe
mak es th e joints andall integ ral parts, nayas Ch rist
tells us- th every h airs of ourh eads ina certaindeter-
minate number, wh ich may conduce to th e beauty and
motionof th e f rame. Ag ain, inth e outwardlineaments
orsymmetry of th e compoundHe proves h imself a most
reg ular math ematician, proportioning parts to parts, all
wh ich operations canproceedf rom noth ing but a Divine,
Intellectual Spirit. Forif He h adnot several ideas or
conceptions correspondent to His several intentions He
couldnot disting uish th e one f rom th e oth er. Andif
Hewere not sensible, if Hedidnot f oresee th ework He
doth intend, th enth eendcouldbe no impulsivecause-
as th ePeripatetics wouldh ave it.
Th e considerationof th ese several oices wh ich th is
Spirit perf orms ing enerationmade Aristotle h imself
g rant th at inth e seeds of all th ing s th erewerepotencies
lik eunto artices.1 We sh ouldth eref oreexaminewh o
weaves th eowers of veg etables, wh o colours th em with -
out a pencil, wh o bolts th ebranch es upwards andth reads
~ - as it wereth eir roots downwards. For all th ese
actions include a certainartice wh ich cannot be done
with out judg ment anddiscretion. Now, our Saviour
tells us: My Fath er work eth h ith erto , 2 andin
anoth erplace He tells us Godcloth es th e lilies of th e
eld; 3andag ainnot one sparrowf alls with out your
Fath er.- Verily, th is is th e truth andth e testimony
of truth , notwith standing Aristotle andh is Problems.
Neith ersh ouldyouth ink th e Divine Spirit disparag ed
inbeing president to every g enerationbecause some
1 Vz 'rz - z .- :z es .rz 'mz '/ as cz rtz _'f i6z 'z 's. 2 ST JOHN, v, 1 7.
3ST MATT., vi, 28, 29 : ST LUKE, xii, 27, 28.
* STMATT., x, 29.
83
Th e Worh r0f Th omas Vaug h arz
products seem poorandcontemptible. For verily as
long as th ey conduce to th e g lory of th eirAuth orth ey
are noble enoug h ; andif youreect uponEg ypt you
will ndth e basest of His creatures to extort a cath olic
conf essionf rom th e wiz ards: th e ng er of Godis
h ere.1
Th at I may come th ento th e point: th ese invisible,
central artists are lig h ts seededby th eFirst Lig h t inth at
primitiveemanationorSit Lax, wh ich somef alsely render
Fiat Lz x.2 ForNature is th eVoiceof God, 3not a mere
soundorcommandbut a substantial, active breath , pro-
ceeding f rom th e Creator andpenetrating all th ing s.
GodHimself is a spermatic f orm, "* andth is is th eonly
sense wh ereina f orm may be denedas th e outward
expressionof aninwardessence.I k nowth is will
seem h arsh to some men, wh ose ig norant z eal h ath made
th em adversaries to God, f orth ey rob Him of His g lory
andg ive it to His creaturenay, sometimes to f ancies
andinventions of th eirown. Iwish such ph ilosoph ers
to considerwh eth erinth e beg inning th erewas any lif e
orwisdom beyondth eCreator, andif so to tell us wh ere.
Verily- to use th eir ownterm- - - th ey cannever nd
th is Uh i. Forth ey are g racious concessions ortalents
wh ich Godof His f ree will h ath lent us; andif He
sh ouldresume th em we sh ouldpresently returnto our
rst noth ing . Let th em tak e h eedth eref orewh iles th ey
attributeg enerationto q ualities- - lest th etrueAuth orof
it sh ouldcome ag ainst th em with th at ch arg ewh ich He
broug h t sometime ag ainst th eAssyrians. Sh all th eax
boast itself ag ainst h im th at h eweth th erewith P Orsh all
th esawmag nif y itself ag ainst h im th at sh ak eth it? As
if th erodsh ouldsh ak eitself ag ainst th em th at lif t it up,
1 Dz 'g z 'ms Dex est / z z 'r.- - EX ODUS, viii, I9. Vaug h anis q uoting f rom
th e Vulg ate.
'3See arz ie, p. I6, inth e q uotationf rom Georg ius Venetus. Th e
Vulg ateg ives Frat Lear.
3< i> wv'h - revBeoii. " A6709 tr1 repp.a'rI :ti> s.
5 Seeante, p. 73.
84
nirh a Mag z 'ca 1 4 h sc0h (/ z 'z a
oras if th e staf f sh ouldlif t up itself , as if it were no
wood.1 Let th em rath ercash ierth eirAristotleandth e
errors wh erewith h e h ath inf atuatedso many g enerations.
Let th em approach with condence to th eAlmig h ty God
Wh o made th e world, f ornonecang ivea betteraccount
of th ework th anth eArch itect. Let th em not despairto
attainHis f amiliarity, f orHe is a Godth at desires to be
k nownandwill reveal Himself , both f orth emanif esta-
tionof His owng lory andth e benet of His creatures.
Th ereis no reasonth enwh y we sh oulddeclineth is g reat
andg lorious Sch oolmaster, Wh ose very invitationspeak s
more th ananordinary encourag ement. Th us saith th e
Lord, th eHoly One of Israel, andh is Mak er: Ask me
of th ing s to come concerning my sons, andconcerning
th ework of my h ands commandye me. I h ave made
th eearth , andcreatedmanuponit: I, evenmy h ands,
h avestretch edout th e h eavens, andall th eirh osts h ave
I commanded.2 But it will beq uestionedperh aps: h ow
sh all we approach to th e Lordandby wh at means may
wendHimout P Truly not with words but with work s,
not instudying ig norant, h eath enish auth ors but inper-
using andtrying His creatures. Forinth em lies His
secret path , wh ich th oug h it be sh ut up with th orns and
briars, with outwardworldly corruptions, yet if we would
tak e th e pains to remove th is lug g ag e we mig h t enter
th e Terrestrial Paradise, th at EncompassedGardens of
Solomon, wh ere Goddescends to walk anddrink of th e
SealedFountain. But verily th ere is such a g eneral
prejudice, such a customary oppositionof all principles
wh ich cross Aristotleth at Truth canno soonerstep abroad
but somesoph isteroroth ering s dirt inh erf ace.
It is strang e th at noneof th ese sch oolmenconsiderh ow
th eseveral distinctions anddivisions translatedf rom log ic
to divinity h ave set all Ch ristendom onre, h owth ey
h ave violatedth e peace of many ourish ing k ing doms
1 ISAIAH, x, 1 5. 2 Iiif ai, xlv, 1 1 , 1 2..
3Hortmr0m'lz r.tm* .~ SONG OF SOLOMON, iv, 1 2, f ollowing th eVulg ate.
85
Th e Worh s sf Th omas Vaag h aa
andoccasionedmore sects inrelig ionth anth ere are
opinions inph ilosoph y. Most seasonable th enand
Ch ristianis th at petitionof St Aug ustine: Deliverus,
O Lord, f rom log ic. Andh ere I must desire th e
readernot to mistak e me. I do not condemnth e use
but th e abuseof reason, th e many subtleties andf etch es
of it, wh ich manh ath so appliedth at truth anderrorare
eq ually disputable. I am one th at stands up f ora true
natural k nowledg e, g roundedas Nature isonCh rist
Jesus, Wh o is th e true f oundationof all th ing svisible
andinvisible. I sh all th eref ore inth is discourse touch
nearly uponth ose mysteries wh ich some f ewh ave de-
liveredoverto posterity indiicult, obscure terms, th at
if possible th emajesty of truth andth ebenet th ey sh all
receive f rom it may settle menina newway andbring
th em at last f rom vain, empty f ancies to a real, sensible
f ruitionof Nature.
Youmay rememberh ow, inmy f ormerdiscourse of
th e nature of man, I mentioneda certainsimplicity of
elements according to th eirseveral complexions inth e
several reg ions of th e world. I sh all nowspeak of
anoth ertriplicity- much more obscure andmystical-
with out wh ich youcannever attainto th e f ormer, f or
th ese th ree principles are th e k ey of all mag ic, with out
wh oseperf ect k nowledg e youcannevertruly understand
th eleast idioms inNature. Th e rst principleis one in
oneandone f rom one? It is a pure, wh ite virg inand
next to th at wh ich is most pureandsimple. Th is is th e
First CreatedUnity. By th is all th ing s weremade- - not
actually but mediatelyandwith out th is noth ing canbe
made, eith erarticial ornatural. Th is is Brideof God
andof th e Stars."3By mediationof th is th ere is a
1 A log f ra lieera rz es, Domz k ie. Assurcdly th e sch olastics must h ave
mademouth sat th espeech .
2 Th eanalog ue is Sh ek inah inth e g reat th eosoph y of th e ZOHAR, as
th edenominationUxer- 21 ! Spensa indicates. Th eanalog ue inalch emy
is Salt.
3UxerDes at stellarz mz .
86
Alaima Mag z 'ca / 1 h sc0adz 'z a
descent f rom oneinto f ourandanascent f rom above by
f ourto th e invisible, supernatural Monad. Wh o k nows
not th is canneverattainto th e Art, f orh e k nows not
wh at h e is to look f or.
Th e SecondPrinciple dif f ers not f rom th e rst in
substance anddig nity but incomplexionandorder.
Th is secondwas th e rst andis so still essentially; but
by adh esionto th e matterit contractedanimpurity and
so f ell f rom its rst unity, wh eref oreth e mag icians style
it BinariusdSeparate th eref ore th e circumf erence f rom
th e centreby th ediametrical line, 2 andth erewill appear
unto th ee th e ph ilosoph er s Ternarias, wh ich is th eTh ird
Principle. Th is th irdis properly no principle but a
product of Art. It is a various nature, compoundedin
one sense anddecompoundedinanoth er, consisting of
inf eriorandsuperiorpowers. Th is is th e mag ician s re,
th is is Mercury of th e ph ilosoph ers, th at most f amous
Microcosm andAdam? Th is is th elabyrinth andwild
of mag ic, wh erea worldof students h avelost th emselves
a th ing so conf usedly andobscurely h andledby such
as k newit th at it is altog eth erimpossible to ndit in
th eirrecords. Th ere is no late writerunderstands th e
f ull latitude anduniversality of th is principle, north e
g enuine metaph ysical useth ereof . It moves h ere below
insh ades andtif f anies, above inwh iteeth ereal vesturcs ;
neith eris th ere anyth ing inNature exposedto such a
public prostitutionas th is is, f orit passeth th roug h all
h ands andth ere is not any creature but h ath th e use
th ereof .
Th is Temarias, being reducedby th e Quaternary,
1 Th is is Soph ieSulph ur.
2 PerZf sz eam diametralem. I must conf ess th at th is symbolism con-
f ounds th e reason. A vertical line drawnth roug h a- circle does not in
k nowng eometry separateth ecircumf erencef rom th ecentre.
3Zllerrarz ias Ph z 'Z0s0; 5h oram, celeaerrimas Elle 1 1 - { z 'cre.cosmas at Aaam.
Th e name Adam inalch emy sometimes sig nies Sulph ur, sometimes
Mercury andsometimes th e Mag istery inits perf ect redstate. Micro-
cosm is a g eneral term g ivento th e Mag istery at any stag e. It does
not seem to h avesig niedSoph ieMercury.
87
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
ascends to th e mag ical decad, wh ich is th e exceeding
sing le Monad, 1 inwh ich state wh atsoeverth ing s it may
will th ose also it cando, 2 f orit is unitedth en, f ace to
f ace, 3to th e First, Eternal, Spiritual Unity. But of
th ese th ree h earth eoracleof mag ic, th eg reat andsolemn
Ag rippa. Th ere are th en- - as we h ave saidf our
elements, with out a perf ect k nowledg eof wh ich noth ing
canbe broug h t to its ef f ect inmag ic. But each of th em
is th reef old, th at so th e numberf ourmay mak e up th e
numbertwelve and, by passing th e numberseveninto
th e numberten, th ere may be prog ress to th e Supreme
Unity, wh enceall virtueows, andonwh ich all wonder-
Mouas um'z z 'ssz 'ma. 2 Quoeeuug ueuuit, poiest.
3Peras}- ectum.
Quatuorf tag ue q ua a z Lrz 'mus sum eZemema, siue q uorum uoz 'z 'z ':'si
peaf f erta uullum in.Ma_g z 'a producerepossusuus eeetusu. Sum ausem
sirz g ula u- u> z s.ue, us sirQuateruanf us couu- Zeal Duodeuarf uuz , et pest
Septeuauuz inDeuarf um , orog rea :'eus adSupremam Uuitatem, uude
omuis 'z 'z ':rius et mr'raoz 'Zz 's og eratio depeudet, f un g rog ressus. Prime
slg z 'turoraliue eiemeuta pura sum, Qua uec eorug f iouuuf ur, nee mutautur,
use; atz 'um'urcommz lraioueuz , sea? z 'uoorrre; 5tz oz 'Zz 'a sum, et uoua g uious
sea perq ua omuium uaturalium rerummriutes g rodurz mturinejertum.
I/ Yrtutes illoz rum a uullo e.r, rZz 'carz ', oossuut, g uia inommf a possumomm'a.
HueQusig uoratadnulf am mz 'ra6z 'lz 'um ejectuuruo, oera!z 'ouemperZz 'ug ere
purest. Seeuuidf ordz 'm's eZemeuta rom, oosz 'ta sum, ruuZtz }5Z:'r:'a ez 'z 'arz 'u,
ea z 'm; 5ur"a, reducr'h z 'Z a tamer: perairf em adpuram sz 'm, - olz 'ez '!az em, g uz ius
f uue aa' suam sz 'm; f > lz 'cz 'taz 'em reverses uirf z ss est superomuia comple-
meulum, daus omuium ojoeraoueuz oeeulf arum ez operatf ouem rz aiuru.
Hadsusz tf undameutum tof ius mag ireuaturaZf s. Terz 'z 'z 'ora':'m's eiemeuf a,
h a :; rz 'mo etperse uousumelemeuta seda ecom; osz 'ta waria, uz uZZz }o!z 'cz 'a,
ei z 'm'ersez 'u'm'eem ; 9e:rmz u'aoz 'lz 'a. { psa sumz 'rsf aZlr'h :'Ze medium, ideog ue
uocauturmea'z 'a uatura, si"ue am'm.a mea z 'a natures. Paurz 'ssz 'mz ' sum
g uiiorumprof uuda myslesrz la: z 'sz telZz 'g uuZ. Inz }. = sz 's peroerios uusueros,
g radus, ei ordz ues est eousummaf io omuis ejectus ing uaeumyue re
uaturah - ', coslasli ez suje:rcoeZesz z '. Mz 'rauda sum et , oZeua mysteries g uru
o, oerarz 'possum inmag z 'a, tam uai'uraZz ' g uam a uz 'ua. Perz lasa euim
omm'um rerum Z::g atz 'oues, etiam solulioues, at trausuz utatf oues, ez
f uturorum cog uz o et_ > ra d'z 'otz 'o, etiam maZorum dresuouum exz 'ermz 'ua!z 'o
ei oouorum s; !iz 'm'z 'uum . om.z 'lz 'atz 'o ah z 'ZZz 's deseeuaiit. Sine h is z ; g z 'Zur
!rz }oZz 'cz 'ous eiemeutis, eoruudemg ueco_g uz 'z z 'oue, uemo eoudat seinoccultis
ma_g z 'i:e ea uaturee srz 'em'z 'z 's g uieouam posse o; e:rarz '. Quiruug ue autem
h rec inr'ZZa, img ura ing ura, muZtz }olz '. z i:z insz '?iz j.iZz 'z :z 'a reducers uot/ erz '.:',
eoruudemg ue uaturauz , - uurtuf em, g liotestatem iuuumero, g raaious u
ordiue, siue a z 'msz 'oue suostauturdisreruere srz 'uerz 't, is f acile oh tz 'ue6z 't'
omuf um uaturalium rerum ez coeZestz 'um seeretorum srz 'eut:'am ez opera-
tiouempesj eetam.DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPH1 . - "i, La. i, c. 4 .
8 8
A7uz ma Mag ica h scoudz ita
f ul operationdepends. Inth e rst orderare th e pure
elements, wh ich are neith ercompoundednor ch ang ed,
wh ich suf f er no mixture but are incorruptible. Th e
virtues of all natural th ing s are broug h t into activity
th roug h andnot by th ese. No one is able to declare
th eirvirtues, f orinall th ing s th ey cando all th ing s. He
wh o is ig norant concerning th em canneverbring to pass
th eoperationof marvellous ef f ects. Of th e secondorder
are elements th at are composite, manif old, various and
with al impure, th oug h reducible by art to a pure sim-
plicity, wh ose virtuewh enth ey are so reduced- doth
above all th ing s perf ect all occult andoth eroperations
of Nature. Th ese are th e f oundationof all natural
mag ic. As reg ards th eth irdorderof elements, orig inally
andof th emselves th ey are not elements inreality, being
twice compoundedandch ang eable one with th e oth er.
Th ese are th e inf allible medium, wh ence th ey are called
th e middle nature, orsoul of th e middle nature. Very
f eware th ey wh o understandth e deep mysteries th ereof .
By means of certainnumbers, deg rees andorders, h erein
lies th econsummationof every ef f ect inall th ing s natural,
celestial andsupercelestial. Th ey are f ull of wonders
andmysteries wh ich canbe perf ormedalik e innatural
anddivinemag ic. Th enceproceedth ebinding s, loosing s
andtransmutations of all th ing s, th e k nowledg e and
f oretelling of th ing s to come, with th e exorcism of evil
andth econciliationof g oodspirits. With out th eseth ree
k inds of elements andth ek nowledg eth ereof , let no man
deem h imself competent to work inth e secret sciences
of mag ic andof Nature. But wh oeversh all k nowh ow
to reduce th ose wh ich are of one k indinto th ose of
anoth er, th e impure into pure, compoundedinto simple,
andsh all understanddistinctly th eirnature, virtue and
powerinnumber, g rades andorderwith out dividing
th e substanceth e same sh all attaineasily to th e k now-
ledg e andperf ect f ullment of all natural th ing s andof
all celestial secrets.
89
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
Th is is h e with th eblack spaniel, orrath er, th is is h e
wh o evenf rom h is earliest ag e dideverappearas an
inq uiring andintrepidinvestig ator into th e abounding
operations of th ing s mysterious andof miraculous
ef f ects. Nowf oryour f urth erinstructionh earalso
th e dark disciple of th e more dark Libanius Gallus.
Th e First Principlef doth consist inanunity, and
1 Quiao iueuute cetate sempercirca mz 'raoz 'Zz 'um eectuum, et pteuas
m_ysterz 'o rum operatioues, curiosus imrepia usg ueesrtitit esrplorator.
2 Primumpriucz pium iuuuo cousistit, uoua g uo sect perg uodomuis
.oz z 'raua'o:rum uaturaZz 'um '2/ irtus proa ucitu:rinjf ii- CZ' t??2. Per g uoa
rti:rz 'mus, q uia purum ao uuo procedeus uoucompomitur, ueg ue mutatur.
Adipsum a teruario et g uateruaz nio t art rllouademprog ressus, utcom-
pieatura euar'ius. Peripsum_em'm est uumeirireg res rus oa uu- um, simul
riesceusus inq ua. - uoret asceusus iurlf ouadeuz . ]uz possz 'Ziile est compleri
deuarium, uisiperz psum. Mouas intz riade Zceta comxertitur. Omues
/ ioc pniuci- ipz 'um postpriucz pium ./ lf ouaoiis ig uoroutes uitinteruairio pro-
f iciuut, uec adsacrum ouateruarium pertiug z mt. { Vase etsisapieutum
Lioros omues / z aoeout, syrterz am cursus, coirtutes, potestates, opcratioues et
proprietates perjf cctecog uoscaut, z psorumg ueimag ines, auuulos et sz g itla,
et secretissima g uoeg ueartpteuumf iutellz g aut, uutlumtamer: mirauabrum
couseouipossem insuis operatiomous ig ectum, siue h ujus priucipiia
pm'2z cz pz 'o cog uitz 'osz c, i'upriucz 'pium. Uuoieomues g uotiyuot1 / .i'rtz 'inmag ia
rtaturatioperautes out uih il cousecutisum, out aa 'uaua, f r'iuoZa et super-
stitiosa, post Zoug as et i'uutiles opes'atz 'oues desperatioueprolapsisum.
Priucz pium were secuudum orctiue, uoudig uz 'tate, ountem o primo
separatum, g uoa uuum aristeus f acit teruarium, est g uoa operatur
mz 'rauda peroz iaarium. / rt uuo est euim uuum, et uouest uuum, cst
siug pZe.ret ing uateruio compomtur, g uo purijicato perz g ueuz insoia
aq ua pura eg 'rea'itu:ret z psum, adsuam simplicitatem reuersum, comple-
meutum opei'amimoustraoit occuttoirum. f f ic ceutrum est totius mag ice
uaturatis, cujus ciz rcumf ercutia sioi um'ta circutum nprceseutat, im-
meusus onto iniuuitum. Wrtus ej- us superomuia purz jicato, ct
simplest" miuoromuious, q uaterm'o superg raducoumosita. Quateruairius
autem Pyth ag oricus uumerus teruario .iu_pf - uitus, si ordiuem g radumg z ie
ooseruat, purijicatus, pz urusg ueinuuo, ados'ua: ".ium interuarz 'o mz irauda
et occutta Nature? operaripotest. Hi'c est orz atemoxius incuf us meusuni
teruarius oz "uo:r.io coujuuctus inuuo cuucta f ocit, g uos mirooititerf acit.
Teruarius adz mitatem reductus per aspectum omuia iuse comiuet, et
g uiseuuttpotest. Pm'ucipz 'uuz ter'tz 'umperse uouestpriucipium, sea inter
ipsum et oz 'uar.iusuest ms omuis scieutz ie et artis m_ystz 'ca , ac z 'uf at'Zioz 'Ze
mea'ii cerz trum. Inalio g uam inz pso f acitius uouerratur, g uouiam
paucissimi'oir/ uut iuteri- z 's g uiprof umia ejus z 'utetlig raut. Vairium est
compositum, et perseptesz arium iuteruarium octies muttipticotum cou-
surg eus et mane.- as srum. Inz pso est cousummatio Numeinig roduum ct
o.ra im's. Perh oc omues ph ilosoph i, occultorum uatz ma z / eriiug z u'sz 'tores
mira.iles ejectus corz secuti sum ; perz ps- um adsimptesreZememum
z 'utemoinio reductum suoito um iurmitotum currrmz iraculosee ct
90
/ if uima Mag 2'ca 1 4 h scoua z 'ta
th roug h rath er th anf rom th is is all powerof natural
wonders carriedinto ef f ect. live h ave saidth roug h
wh ich because th e pure eras, wh ich proceedeth out of
unity, is not compounded, neith erh ath it any vicissitude.
Th ereuiito, f rom th e triadandth e tetradis a prog ression
unto th e Monad, f or th e completionof th e denary,
because th ereby is a reg ressionof numberinto unity, as
also a descent unto th etetradandanascensionunto th e
Monad. Hereby only canth e duadbe completed.
With joy andtriumph is th e Monadconvertedinto th e
triad. Th ose wh o are ig norant of th is principle, wh ich
is af terth e Principle of th e Monad, cannot attainunto
th e triadnor approach th e sacredtetrad. Hadth ey
masteredall th e book s of th e wise, wereth ey conversant
with th ecourses of th e stars, didth ey clearly understand
th eirvirtues, powers, operations andproperties, th eir
types, ring s, sig ils andth eirmost secret th ing s wh atsoever,
no work ing of wonders couldpossibly f ollowth eiropera-
tions with out a k nowledg eof th is Principle, wh ich cometh
out of a principleandreturneth into a principle. Hence
allwith out exception- wh om I h ave f oundexperiment-
ing innatural mag ic h ave eith er attainednoth ing or,
af terlong andbarrenoperations, h ave beenreducedin
desperationto vain, trivial andsuperstitious pursuits.
Now, th e secondprinciple, wh ich is separatedf rom th e
rst inorderbut not indig nity, wh ich alone existing
uaturaliteromuium eg rr'tudz 'uum; opusg ueinmag ia uaturolietpra ter-
uaturalioperautis couseouiturepiiectum pera isposz 'tiouem ouateruarii.
Prcedictiof uturorumperipsum"oericatur, occultorumg ueiusz 'uuatio, uou
aliuudeg uamperipsum a uatura percipitur. Hoc uuico medio secretum
stat- urre operituratc/ z emistis, siue g uo uec z uteilectus artis acg uiritur,
uec operatiouis ectus iuoem'tur. Erraut, creriemi/ ti , errant omues, oui
siue istis trious priucz piis g uicg uam operariinoccultis uaturte scieutiis
seposse couduut.- - Trith emius is f arf amedinth e records of occult
h istory. Here it is suf f icient to say th at h e was bornabout I4 62and
diedinI51 6. Ag rippa andParacelsus wereboth inf luencedby h im, at
least inth eirearly lif e. Libanius Gallus is, h owever, a dark starinall
respects. I h ave no particulars concerning h im. Th ere was a later
Georg ius Libanus, 1 4 90- I550, wh o was aneditorof Greek texts andan
advocateof Greek studies.
91
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h au
doth produce th e triad, is th at wh ich work s wonders by
th eduad. Forinth eone is th eoneandth ereis not th e
one; it is simple, yet inth e tetradit is compounded,
wh ich being puriedby re cometh f orth pure water,
andbeing reducedto its simplicity sh all reveal unto th e
work erof secret mysteries th ef ullment of h is labours.
Here lieth th e centre of all natural mag ic, th e circum-
f erence of wh ich th ereunto uniteddoth display a circle,
a vast orderinth einnite. Its virtue is puriedabove
all th ing s andless simpleth anall th ing s, being composed
onth eg rade of th e tetrad. But th e Pyth ag oric tetrad,
supportedby th etriad, th epure andpuriedinone, can
- - - if orderandg radebeobserved- - perf orm marvellous and
secret th ing s of Nature, to th e measure of th e duadin
th e triad. Th is is th etetradinth e measurewh ereof th e
triad, joinedto th e duad, mak eth all th ing s one, af tera
marvellous f ash ion. Th etriadreducedto unity contains
all th ing s f ace to f acewith init, andit doeth th at wh ich it
will. Th e th irdprinciple is of itself no principle, but
betweenth is andth eduadis th e endof all science and
mystic art, andth einf alliblecentreof th emedial principle.
It is not less easy to blunderinth e one th anth e oth er,
f orf ewth ere are onearth wh o understandth edepth s
th ereof . It is of iiiconstant nature, rising by aneig h t-
f oldmultiplicationth roug h th e septenary into th e triad
andth enremaining xed. Hereinis th e consummation
of th escales andorderof number. By th is h ath every
ph ilosoph erandtrue scrutatorof natural secrets attained
unto admirableresults; by th is, reducedinth etriadunto
a simpleelement, th ey rapidly perf ormedmiraculous cures
of diseases andof all manners of sick ness naturally ; and
ach ievement innatural andsupernatural mag ic f ollowed
th e procedure of work ing th roug h th e directionof th e
tetrad. By th is th e predictionof f uture events was
veried, andno oth erwise is th e penetrationof h idden
th ing s to be learnedf rom Nature. By th is onemedium
is th e secret of Naturelaidbareunto alch emists ; with out
92
/ f uima Mag ica 1 4 h scour/ ita
it no understanding of th e Art canbe attained, north e
term of experiment discovered. Believe me, th ey all err
wh o, devoidof th ese th ree principles, dream it possible
to accomplish anyth ing inth esecret sciences of Nature."
Th us f ar Trith emius, wh ere- f orth y betterunder-
standing - I must inf orm th ee th ereis a twof oldBiuarius
- oneof lig h t andoneof conf usion. But peruseAg rippa
seriously DE Scams NUMERORUM, andth oumayest
appreh endall, f orourAbbot borrowedth is lang uag ef rom
h im, th eperusal of wh osebook h eh adbef oreh epublish ed
anyth ing inth is natureof h is own.2 Nowf orth y f urth er
instructiong o along with me, not to Ath ens orStag yra
but to th at secretary andpenmanof GodAlmig h ty wh o
stoodina clef t of th erock wh enHemadeall His g ood-
ness to pass bef ore h im.3I am certainth e worldwill
wonder I sh ouldmak e use of Scripture to establish
ph ysiolog y ; but I wouldh ave th em k nowth at all secrets
- ph ysical andspiritual, all th ecloseconnections andth at
mysterious k iss of GodandNature- - are clearly and
punctually discoveredth ere. Consider th at mercif ul
mystery of th e Incarnation, wh ereinth e f ulness of th e
Godh eadwas incorporatedandth e Divine Lig h t united
to th e Matterina f arg reatermeasure th anat th e rst
creation. Considerit- - - I say- andth oush alt ndth at
no ph ilosoph y h ath perf ectly unitedGodto His creature
but th e Ch ristian, wh eref orealso it is th eonly trueph ilo-
soph y andth eonly true relig ion; f orwith out th is union
th ere canbe neith era natural temporal nora spiritual
eternal lif e. AndMoses tells us th at inth e beg inning
Godcreatedth e h eavenandth e earth th at is, th eVirg in
Mercury andth e Virg inSulph ur. Nowlet me advise
1 See ante: th e reasonis th at it is th e numberof divisionas well as
of ch arity, of divorce as well as marriag e, of evil as well as g ood, and
inparticularof matter.- - DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA, Lio. ii, cop. 5.
2 It is moreprobableth at Trith emius drewf rom th e same sources as
Cornelius Ag rippa. It may be addedth at th e f ormerwas anorig inal
th ink er, wh ereas th e latterinh is THREE BOOKS appears ch ief ly as a
com 'ler pi .
3Exonus, xxxiii, to- 23. A
93
Te Wares cf Th omas Vaz z g / z arz
younot to trouble yourselves with th is Mercury unless
youh ave a true f riendto instruct youoranexpress
illuminationf rom th erst Auth orof it, f orit is a th ing
attainedby a wonderf ul Art. Observe th enwh at I
sh all nowtell you.
Th ere is inevery starandinth is elemental worlda
certainprinciple wh ich is th e Bride of th e Sun.
Th ese two inth eircoitiondo emit semenf wh ich seedis
carriedinth e womb of Nature. But th e ejectionof it
is perf ormedinvisibly andina sacredsilence, f orth is is
th e conjug al mystery of h eavenandearth , th eiract of
g eneration, a th ing done inprivate betweenparticular
males andf emales; but h owmuch moreth ink you
betweenth etwo universal natures P Knowth eref oreth at
it is impossiblef oryouto extract orreceiveany seedf rom
th esunwith out th is f eminineprinciple, wh ich is th eWif e
of th eSun. Nowth en, my small soph isters of th e Stone,
youth at consume yourtime andsubstance inmak ing
waters andoils with a dirty capurnz orruum ; youth at
deal ing oldandq uick silver, being inf atuatedwith th e
leg ends of somelateandf ormermountebank s : consider
th elast endof such men. Didth ey obtainanyth ing by
it but diseases andpoverty? Didth ey not inth eirold
ag e- - g reybeards of anevil time5f all to clipping and
counterf eiting of coin? Andf ora periodto th eir
memory didth ey not die indespair, wh ich is th e ch ildof
ig norance? Knowth enf orcertainth at th e mag ician s
sunandmoonaretwo universal peers, maleandf emale,
a k ing andq ueenreg ents, always young andneverold.
Th esetwo are adeq uate to th e wh ole worldandco- ex-
tendedth roug h th e universe. Th e one is not with out
th eoth er, Godh aving unitedth em inHis work of creation
1 Artemz 'mt5z 'Zz '. 2 Uxors.m'. .
3Emz 'z / 0'6 semen.
4 Capra! f ortuum is th etech nical term inAlch emy f orth e f aeces lef t
inth e cucurbiteorretort af terdistillationorsublimation: A. ]. Pernety,
DICTIONNAIREMYTHO- HERMETIQUE, p. 289, s.v. TareMort.- e.
5 f m:ez 'eraf z 'd:'erm:z malorum.
94 -
/ .1 7/ z z ' mz Mag z 'ca / iiscoaz a/ z 'ta
ina solemn, sacramental union. It will th enbe a h ard
anddif cult enterpriseto rob th e h usbandof h is wif e, to
part th oseasunderwh om GodHimself h ath put tog eth er,
f orth ey sleep both inth e same bedandh eth at discovers
th e one must needs see th e oth er. Th e love betwixt
th ese two is so g reat th at if youuse th is virg ink indly
sh ewill f etch back h erCupidaf terh e h ath ascendedf rom
h erinwing s of re.
Qbserve, moreover, th at material principles canbe
multipliedbut materially, th at is, by additionof parts, as
yousee inth e aug mentationof bodies, wh ich is per-
f ormedby a continual assumptionof nutriment into th e
stomach . But it is not th e body th at transmutes th e
nutriment into f lesh andbloodbut th at spirit wh ich is
th e lif e andlig h t of th e body. Material principles are
passive andcanneith eralternorpurif y, but well may
th ey be alteredandpuried. Neith ercanth ey com-
municate th emselves to anoth ersubstance beyondth eir
ownextension, wh ich is nite anddeterminate. Trust
not th ose impostors th enwh o tell youof a Ting eing
Sulph urandI k nownot wh at f ables, wh o pinalso th at
newandnarrownameof C/ z emia ona scienceboth ancient
andinnite. It is th elig h t only th at canbe truly multi-
plied, f orth is ascends to anddescends f rom th e rst
f ountainof multiplicationandg eneration. Th is lig h t
appliedto any body wh atsoeverexalts andperf ects it af ter
its ownk ind:2 if to animals, it exalts animals , 3if to
veg etables, veg etables ; if to minerals, it renes minerals
andtranslates th em f rom th eworst to th e best condition.
Wh ere note by th e way th at every body h ath passive
Th e wh ole of th is parag raph is most important f orth e spiritual
analog ies wh ich Vaug h anrecog nisedas h iddeninh is cosmic reveries.
It 1 5 unf ortunateth atas inh is lif eandwork so inh is laterwriting s- ~ - h e
f org ot so f req uently th at th e science both ancient andinnite" into
wh ich h elook s h erecouldnot bea scienceof ph ysics.
2 Insueg enera.
3Th e propositionis th at th ere is aninward, essential truth , h ere
denominatedlig h t, andth at it transmutes everyth ing , af terits properk ind,
f rom th eworst to th ebest stale, onwh ich seemy Introduction.
95
T/ 22 [Var/ (:.r cf Tamas Vang / z an
principles initself f orth is lig h t to work uponandth ere-
f oreneeds not borrowany f rom g oldorsilver. Consider
th enwh at it is yousearch f or, youth at h unt af terth e
Ph ilosoph er s Stone, f orit is h is to transmute wh o
creates. Youseek f orth at wh ich is most h ig h but you
look onth at wh ich is most low. Two th ing s th ere are
wh ich every g oodCh ristianmay andoug h t to look af ter
- - - th etrueandth enecessary. Truth is th earcanum, th e
mystery andessence of all th ing s; f orevery secret is
truth andevery substantial truth is a secret- I speak
not h ere of outward, h istorical truth swh ich are but
relatives to actions- - but I speak of aninward, essential
truth , wh ich is lig h t: f orlig h t is th e truth , andit dis-
covers f alseh ood, wh ich is dark ness. By th is truth all
th at wh ich is necessary may be compassed, but never
with out it.
I pref erredwisdom saidth e wise k ing bef ore
sceptres andth rones, andesteemedrich es noth ing in
comparisonof h er? Neith ercomparedI unto h erany
precious stone, because all g oldinrespect of h eris as a
littlesand, andsilversh all be countedas clay bef oreh er.
I lovedh erabove h ealth andbeauty, andch ose to h ave
h erinsteadof lig h t : f orth e lig h t th at cometh f rom h er
neverg oeth out. All g oodth ing s tog eth ercame to me
with h er, andinnumerable rich es inh erh ands. Andl
rejoicedinth em all, becausewisdom g oeth bef oreth em :
andI k newnot th at sh e was th e moth erof th em. If
rich es be a possessionto be desiredinth is lif e; wh at is
rich erth anwisdom th at work eth all th ing s ?3Forsh e
is privy to th e mysteries of th e k nowledg eof God, and
a loverof His work s. Godh ath g rantedme to speak
as I would, andto conceive as is meet f orth eth ing s th at
areg ivenme: becauseit is Heth at leadeth unto wisdom,
anddirecteth th ewise.5 ForinHis h andare both we
" Ejivsdem est Z? rUZ.S?)Z H! ? e!__ray'us est errors.
2 WISDOM OF SOLOMON, v1 1 , 1 0- 1 2. 31 621 1 ., v1 1 1 , 5.
!bz 'a'., viii, 4 . * 5 1 6:71 ., vii, I5, andso f orwardto v. 3o.
.4 nz 'ma Mag z ica tircoz z dz ra
andour words; all wisdom also, andk nowledg e of
work mansh ip. Forh eh ath g ivenmecertaink nowledg e
of th e th ing s th at are, namely, to k nowh owth e world
was made, andth eoperationof th eelements : th ebeg in-
ning , ending andmidst of th etimes: th e alterations of
th eturning of th e sun, andth e ch ang eof seasons: th e
circuit of years, andth epositions of stars : th enatures of
living creatures, andth ef uries of wildbeasts : th eviolence
of winds, andth e reasoning s of man: th e diversities of
plants, andth e virtues of roots: andall such th ing s as
are eith ersecret ormanif est, th em I k now. Forwisdom,
wh ich is th ework erof all th ing s, taug h t me: f orinh er
is anunderstanding spirit, h oly, one only, 1 manif old,
subtle, lively, clear, undeled, plain, not subject to h urt,
loving th e th ing th at is g ood, q uick , wh ich cannot be
letted, ready to do g ood, k indto man, steadf ast, sure,
f ree f rom care, h aving all power, overseeing all th ing s,
andg oing th roug h all understanding , pure, andmost
subtle spirits. Forwisdom is more moving th anany
motion: sh e passeth andg oeth th roug h all th ing s by
reasonof h erpureness. Forsh e is th e breath of th e
powerof God, anda pure inuence owing f rom th e
g lory of th e Almig h ty: th eref ore canno deledth ing
all into h er. Forsh e is th ebrig h tness of th eeverlasting
lig h t, th eunspottedmirrorof th e powerof God, andth e
imag eof His g oodness. Andbeing but one, sh e cando
all th ing s : andremaining inh erself , sh emak eth all th ing s
new: andinall ag es entering into h oly souls, sh emak eth
th em f riends of God, andproph ets. ForGodloveth none
but h im th at dwelleth with wisdom. Forsh e is more
beautif ul th anth e sun, andabove all th e orderof th e
stars : being comparedwith th elig h t, sh e is f oundbef ore
it. Foraf terth is cometh nig h t : but vice sh all not pre-
vail ag ainst wisdom.
1 Th e Vulg ate says : Artg "/ ex derail me .rapz '.m!z 'a, andth is is th e
q niovpybs orTexviirs. Th eoneonly"orz mz 'curof th eVulg ateis literally
th eonly beg otten. Th is Artif f ex inth eZoh aris calledSh ek inah , wh o is
97 7
T/ z e Wares of T/ z omas Vaug nan
Th us Solomon; andag aina "g reaterth anSolomon:
Seek ye rst th e k ing dom of GodandHis rig h teous-
ness; andall th ese th ing s sh all be addedunto you.1
For, of a truth , temporal blessing s are but ush ers to th e
spiritual, or- - to speak moreplainly- wh enonce we beg in
to loveth eSpirit th enHesends us th eseth ing s as tok ens
andpledg es of His love; f orpromotioncomes neith er
f rom th eEast norf rom th eWest, 2 but f rom Godth at
g iveth it.
Th estateof truebeing - - saith one3- - is th at f rom
with GodinKer/ z erbut is broug h t f orth into some orunderstanding .
But because of th e superincessionof th e th ree Divine Hypostases in
Kabalism sh eis f req uently identiedwith C/ z oianz unorWisdom.
1 ST MATT., vi, 33. 2 Ps., lxxv, 6.
3Verunz est esse, o g uo ni/ 22'! aoesse, euf q uenz '/ 51 '! udesse, rnu/ f og uenz z 'nu.s
ooessepof est. rVeeessurz 'un: idoanne, q uo enrere nonpossumus. Verf tus
ituouesuns nu: 'oz 'rtus est orz 'nex; 5ug naoz 'Ze eusf runz , , - oouoz 'ssz 'nu'.s z 'n/ z of = ren-
nununz z k is, of :'nnunz er* s oosessusnz 'nr'm:'cz 's, jiuulo minus yuan: tof i
nz undo nun: z 'nw'suns, sedz 'nsuperuoz 'leg z lg nus z 'z '.s our; 5o.ssz 'a ent z illud.
Hueinurce werus ea z 'na'uoz '!u!us g / z z 'loso, o/ z orum Zag z is es f nesuurus con-
z z 'ne!ur, g mnonerosus o f z 'nez 's, neeperf ossus of urious nz onet inowf ernunz ,
r.'orters's dsssoluf z s ormz ious, mulf is inruinarn; 6osz 'tus, alias rm saluf enz .
1 ./ rec est res 1 '/ ulg o 'z n'Zz 'ssz 'nru, sref uplurirnunz eaesrosu, nontusnenooTf oz 'Zz 's,
of o2naoz '!z 's er; o:recz 'osa p/ % z 'Zosopk z 's, supra g enunus ea oururnoonf eon.
Omniunz onz olrz lr, onanz lousf ersne z 'n:'mz 'oo, uoioue re, oerr'oz 'Zs's ea upouz .'z 's-
sz 'rns's- - ouusz 'nuZz 'z 's- 2'n'z .- enuz , per'oz 'eos ocelumons oz nnf ous : Venif eno. nae,
onz nes our ouorrz 'z z 's, etEg o 'oo.rduruns inaxe:- onesernitoun. Ho": est res f ilo
tontunz o '2/ eras prordz k nf o , ; M:z 'Zoso_z 5/ 22's, ouo" r/ z 'ncz 't onz nia, nee ao ullo re
2n'ncz 'tur, corg us ez cor, ornnedurum: er solidunz penetruns, oronz nemo!/ e
ronsoluians, e! no osnniduro resz 'steno'uns conrnuz ns. Noois o1 nnroz :.s se
f oes? oowf onz , ef non'oz 'denz us earn, woef jf erons erolruwore dicens .' Eg o
sun: '2/ in'oerz 'ton's; / ronsf teperme, ouiornonesf olius no 'o z 'o2ntrunsus, -
ez nolumus eons oudire. Odorez nsun- z n'{ otz 's esnz 'tz z 't, sea non, oerez '; 5z '1 nus
eum. Do; oz 'ous sese noois !z 'oeruZz 'lerinsuu'o'z 'lulens oerf z 'nd'z 'es, et non
deg ustansus eanz . Blunrienos udsulutez nf ro/ E21 , ez ejus traez 'uz 'resz 's{ enz 'es,
sentire nolunsus. Quonionf u.cz z ' sunaus sicur Zo, oz 'des, oculos / z uoentes e!
non'2/ idenles, uures / uz oenf es ez nonoz saf ientes, nares nonof f aef entes
/ h z oentes, oreZz 'n, g uuoue nz uns'z z 'nondeg ustantes, neoueZoouentes, nz unz ous
erpea- 'z 'ous nilopernntes, neeonz oulanles. Onnlseruanz 'uZeg enus / z onz inusrn
ouodZu, oz 'd:'ous nones!, orof 's{ orntz 'us, into long : z 'nf erz 'us eo q uoof / z oo, non
illsraf ionerndalurisun!o, oemtz 'onumsuorunz . Tronsnsutenu'nz '(inouir)
2ronsnz uz 'e; 'nz 'nz 'deZopz 'dz 'ous rnorluis inf u, z f n'des 'z n"oos ; 6ns'Zoso; . > / z z 'cos. Eg o
sum were A- 1 ed'z 'ez 'nu, eorrif g ens ex trunsrnutuns 1 1 : ouodnonest unz pZz 'u.s in
idq uot!f ur? unf e eor'ru; . > tz 'one1 n, orinnz elius, no in ouodnonest inid
ouodesse deoet. Eeeepro f orz 'ou.s eonsez 'enf z 'oe uestrte suz nnoetes ordies
g uisons, er nonape:rz '.ez 's nz :'f z z ', Tonz enexecto :nz 'z z 's, nee o uooz s imto
reeedo, sadg otiens z 'njurs'os sustf neo oestrus, eujiens per; f > uf z 'enz 'z 'o.1 nad
98
Hn{ ma Mag z ica Alscon4 / z ta
wh ich noth ing is absent ; to wh ich noth ing is addedand
noth ing still less canh arm. All needf ul is th at with
wh ich no one candispense. Truth is th eref ore th e
h ig h est excellence andanimpreg nable f ortress, h aving
f ewf riends andbeset by innumerable enemies, th oug h
invisibleinth ese days to almost th ewh oleworld, but an
invinciblesecurity to th osewh o possess it. Inth is citadel
is containedth at trueandindubitableStoneandTreasure
of Ph ilosoph ers, wh ich uneatenby moth s andunpierced
by th ieves remaineth to eternity- - - th oug h all th ing s else
dissolve- set up f orth e ruinof many andth esalvation
of some. Th is is th ematterwh ich f orth ecrowdis vile,
exceeding ly contemptible andodious, yet not h atef ul but
loveableandprecious to th ewise, beyondg ems andtried
old. Aloveritself of all to all well ni h anenem to be
g _ J >
f oundeverywh ere, yet discoveredscarcely by any, th oug h
it cries th roug h th estreets to all : Cometo me, all yewh o
seek , andI will leadyouinth e true path . Th is is th at
only th ing proclaimedby th etrueph ilosoph ers, th at wh ich
overcometh all andis itself overcomeby noth ing , search ing
h eart andbody, penetrating wh atsoeveris stony andstif f ,
eanz e.r/ Tao rtanz to nos durere. Venttettermn, atg uesaynius tterurnwentte,
out sa; z 'entz 'anz g urerz 'ts's et enz tte g ratis, nonaura net arg ento, minus
2'aoorz 'J:.us ; orojrz 'z 's ouod1 .- anojerturuttro. Sonora e 'o:r, sua* uz 's et g rata
, 6- nz 'Zoso, o/ z rz ntz 'z rnz aurz 'ous. Of ons o!t'oz 'ttaru:; z z 'ne; r/ u:sustz 'oz 'Zs's neettatenz
et _, r'ustz 'ts'anz sr'tz 'entz 'ous. O deso Zato run: r'snj5erf eets'ont sotattum. Quin
uttra g ua"rz 'tz 's, nsortates an.rz 'z '.5 Curtnnz 'tz 's antsnos westros curts
e.t'ag z 'tatz 's, .Mz 'serz '? Qua" uestra nos e.rco"aat a'enz entta, g uano .9 C- mnin
* vooz 's none.r* uol's'sss't onz ne ouoa. extra nos, nonajudnos g ua rz 't'z 's.
Prog rtusnnor. sotet esse wz uf g t 'uz 'tz 'usn, utjrojrta eontenz nens, attena g un
sunt senaoerappetat. Projrtusnh epro noots a]5]rog 5> rz 'atz ' sununnus,
nan: ernoots z losts nz '/ is? / iaoesnus oont, sea st outa / z aoereoont ; oossun:us
ao eo g en sotus est oonus f ertnrus accaoturnz . Econtra, ouodf z aoeanus
snalt noots tjbsz ' nos a; { > ]5roj5rz 'a'oz 'nz u.s, ex alteno nealo perz 'nooea' entz 'asn.
Proprtusnerg o nt/ 22'! / z osntnt est ea" suo raverg uaanmalunz g uodjossz aet.
Quadex Boneoonunz / z aoet nonea" sez f so, sedeontrtouteprojrz h nn/ z aoet
erBone, runs recz '; z 't tanz en. Lz utet tnnoots (lz '.= :et obscure) Vtta Lua:
/ ion- n'nuan, tang - nan: inteneorts, our? nonernoots est sea aneo eujus est.
{ f r}: z 'Zs'anz , oZanta'z / it tnnoots, ut tnq f us 1 I.urnz 'ne, out lucenz z 'n/ z aottat
z naeressz 'oz '!enz , t/ tderesnus Lumen; et / z oo eateras g ins , z 5ra oellerensus
creaturas. Hts stsnites / z arratio nef aett, ouods.n'ntz 'ZZanz sut Lunn'nz 's
dedertt noots. f ist 2:g z 'tu.r'o'erz 'tas nontnnode's o- ua* rena'a, sea inz 'nsa, g z 'ne
Des, q ua tnnoots est.
99
T/ z e Warts cf T/ z omas Vaug an
consolidating th at wh ich is weak andestablish ing resistance
inth eh ard. Itconf ronts us all, th oug h weseeit not, crying
andproclaiming with uplif tedvoice: I am th eway of truth ;
see th at youwalk th erein, f orth ereis no oth erpath unto
lif e: yet wewill not h eark enunto h er. Sh eg iveth f orth
anodourof sweetness, andyet we perceiveit not. Daily
andf reely at h erf easts sh eof f ers to us h erself insweetness,
but wewill not tasteandsee. Sof tly sh edraws us towards
salvationandstill wereject h eryok e. Forwearebecome
evenas stones, h aving eyes andnot seeing , ears andh ear-
ing not, nostrils ref using to smell, a tong ueth at will not
speak , a mouth wh ich does not taste, f eet wh ich ref useto
walk andh ands th at work at noth ing . O miserable race
of men, wh ich are not superiorto stones, yea, so much
th e more inf eriorbecause to th eone andnot th eoth er
is g ivenk nowledg e of th eiracts. Beye transmuted
sh e cries- - beyetransmutedf rom deadstones into living
ph ilosoph ical stones. I am th etrueMedicine, rectif ying
andtransmuting th at wh ich is no long erinto th at wh ich
it was bef ore corruptionentered, andinto someth ing
betterby f ar, andth at wh ich is no long erinto th at wh ich
it oug h t to be. Lo, I am at th edoorof yourconscience,
k nock ing nig h t andday, andyewill not openunto me.
Yet Iwait mildly; I do not depart inang er; I suf f er
youraf f ronts patiently, h oping th ereby to leadyouwh ere
I seek to bring . Comeag ain, andcomeag ainof ten, ye
wh o seek wisdom : buy with out money andwith out
price, not with g oldor silver, noryet by yourown
labours, th at wh ich is of f eredf reely. O sonorous voice,
O voice sweet andg racious to ears of sag es. O f ount
of inexh austible rich es to th ose th irsting af tertruth and
justice. Oconsolationto th osewh o are desolate. Wh at
seek ye f urth er, ye anxious mortals P Wh y torment
yoursminds with innumerable anxieties, ye miserable
ones? Prith ee, wh at madness blinds you, wh enwith in
andnot with out youis all th at youseek outsideinsteadof
with inyouP Such is th epeculiarviceof th evulg ar, th at
loo
/ f ninz a Mag z ta / f oscone/ z ta
despising th eirown, th ey desire everwh at is f oreig n,
noryet altog eth erunreasonably, f orof ourselves we h ave
noth ing th at is g ood, orif indeedwe possess any, it is
receivedf rom Him Wh o alone is eternal g ood. Onth e
contrary, ourdisobedience h ath appropriatedth at wh ich
is evil with inus f rom anevil principlewith out, andbe-
yondth is evil th us possessedwith inh im manh as noth ing
of h is own; f orwh atsoeveris g oodinh is naturebelong s
to th e Lordof g oodness. At th e same time th at is
countedto h im as h is ownwh ich h e receives f rom th e
GoodPrinciple. Albeit dimly, th at Lif e wh ich is th e
lig h t of mensh ineth inth e dark ness with inus, a Lif e
wh ich is not of us but of Him Wh o h ath it f rom ever-
lasting . He h ath plantedit inus, th at inHis Lig h t,
Wh o dwelleth inLig h t inaccessible, we may beh oldth e
Lig h t. Hereinwe surpass th e rest of His creatures;
th us are we f ash ionedinHis lik eness, Wh o h ath g iven
us a beam of His owninh erent Lig h t. Truth must not
th eref orebe soug h t inournatural self , but inth elik eness
of Godwith inus."
Th is is h e to wh om th e Broth ers of R. C. g ave th e
title of Sapiens andf rom wh ose writing s th ey borrowed
most of th eirinstructions to a certainGermanpostu-
lant.1 But, th at youmay th e better understandh ow
to come by th is Stone, h earwh at h e speak s inanoth er
place. I
1 AdcandtdatusnouendasnGernz anta".
2 Nonprtus z 'nez ; oz 't oera eog nttz 'o yuan: g f verenntunz et Zaoz ttuns, sun:
'z n'to." turntnterttus oolatacosn, oaratz 'one, seleg at antnsa cunt antnz o f ung i,
af electattone mayo rt traeta f z ujus, ouasneorjrorts. E1 ' at rog nz 'tz 'one
Mens orttur, et corporz s no Zuntarta sq oaratto sunn't e.roro'z 'z .mz , cunz
anuna res; 5z 'cz 'ens ea" una eo:# = orz 'sf a'ttz 'tatenz et interttunz , earaltera parts
yora:- 'stanz z 'anz et f reZz 'cz 'tatesnanz 'nn' _z f > er, oetuanz , mantsto (l)toz 'no sic
rsg osz ente Flatu) eonnectt eujbz t, attero , oenz 'tus ne_g "Zeeto, ut not soturn
appetat ouoa a Deo conolususnesse 'oz 'a et tnsalut.- nnet , g Zorz 'an.= :. Coayf ius
inasnoorusnjun: unttorusnz mtonenz cosz riesaendere co, g z 'tz sr. Has est
admtraots ttta , o/ .n'Zoso, o/ z orsmz transnsutatto co: 7orz 's tnsjtrttunz at
ujus inco:- joz ss, ole q ua dz irtunz noots rettnouitura sajtenttous .' Fae
xunz volatile, et 'ootatz 'tef ar? jiruns, ut / z aoeas nz a_g z 'sterz ':s2nnostruna.
Intelltg e: f arde; f > ertz 'narz 'corpora tractaoz te, g uodan.- inn , ora'stantz 'a run:
antnui eonoentente consta.ntz 'ssz ':.1 z z :inat corg us adonz nta susttnendunz
IOI
T7z e Wares of T7z 0; nas Vaug h an
True k nowledg e beg ins wh enaf tera comparisonof
th eimperish ablewith th eperish able, of lif eandannih ila-
tion, th esoul- - yielding to th e superiorattractionof th at
wh ich is eternal- - doth elect to be made one with th e
h ig h ersoul. Th e mindemerg es f rom th at k nowledg e
andas a beg inning ch ooses voluntary separationof th e
body, beh olding with th e soul, onth e one h and, th e
f oulness andcorruptionof th e body and, onth e oth er,
th e everlasting splendourandf elicity of th e h ig h ersoul.
Being movedth ereto by th e Divine inbreath ing , and
neg lecting th ing s of esh , it yearns to be connectedwith
th is soul, andth at alone desires wh ich it nds compre-
h endedby Godinsalvationandg lory. But th e body
itself is broug h t to h armonise with th e unionof both .
Th is is th at wonderf ul ph ilosoph ical transmutationof
body into spirit andof spirit into body about wh ich an
instructionh as come downto us f rom th e wise of old:
Fix th at wh ich is volatile andvolatilise th at wh ich is
xed; andth oush alt attainourMastery. Th at is to
say : Mak eth e stif f - neck edbody tractableandth evirtue
of th e h ig h ersoul, operating with th e soul h erself , sh all
communicateinvariableconstancy to th ematerial part, so
th at it will abideall tests. Goldis triedby re, andby
th is process all th at is not g oldis cast out. O pre- eminent
g oldof th eph ilosoph ers, with wh ich th e Sons of th eWise
areenrich ed, not with th at wh ich is coined. Comeh ith er,
yewh o seek af terso many ways th e Treasure of Ph ilo-
e..ranz ina. Prooaturenianauruniilg ne, g uo reprooaturonz neg uoriauruni
nonest. O , orrestanti'ssisnunz , onz 'Zosopk orunz aurusn, g uo a itantur
sa; 5z 'entz 'a'_/ ilii, noniiio ouodcuditur. Az ieste, oui T/ z esaurunz P/ 'z iZo-
sopnorurntans 'z / ario eonatuoua. ritis, reg rooatz rsna I/ oois Lag iidesn
eog nosaite, ; orius ousis if lesit anteg uanz ourrratz sr. 1 'l/ Iiruniest sug eroz nne
nn'racuZu:oz , g uoa ouis, oianz ag f jetat Il _T??0i'tt?JZsioi. Fatuunz oertewz aetur
idao noniinious oureri, cujus 'ueri:- atenz nonnorunt i'm/ estz :g antes, ouia
ni/ ii! ineo spez ' relinouz 'tur. Suadeo ouious'ois erg o , oes"osrz 'res2tz 'oiss, ut
cog noseant , orius ejius q uadouawunt, "oerani eristentianz , anteouanz
ourrerant: sireos Zaoos'z 'ousf rustro'rinoneontz 'ng et. Sayoiens ouarrz t ouoa
anz at, nee arnarepotest ouodnoncog noseit: alioouinz 'nsz joz 'ens esset.
Ea" co, g niz ione z lg iturnatus est anior, onz nismz 'oesitas, oncesota '2/ { g et in
onmious '2/ eris p/ its / oso, - o/ z is.
IO2
/ 3'ninz a Mag ica ./ Yioscoz z c/ z 'ta
soph ers. Beh oldth at Stonewh ich youh averejected, and
learnrst wh at it is bef ore youg o to seek it. It is more
astonish ing th anany miracle th at a mansh oulddesire
af terth at wh ich h e does not k now. It is f olly to g o in
q uest of th at, th e truth of wh ich investig ators do not
k now: such a search is h opeless. I counsel th eref oreall
andsundry scrutators th at th ey sh ouldascertaininth e
rst place wh eth erth at wh ich th ey look f orexists bef ore
th ey start onth eirtravels: th ey will not be f rustrated
th eninth eirattempts. Th e wise manseek s wh at h e
loves andloves only th at wh ich h e k nows : oth erwiseh e
wouldbe a f ool. Out of k nowledg e th eref ore cometh
love, th e Truth of .all, wh ich alone is esteemedby all
just ph ilosoph ers.
Th us h e; andag ain:1 Ye only toil invain, all
exposers of h iddensecrets inNature, wh en- - tak ing
anoth erpath th anth isye endeavour to discoverby
1 Frustra taooratis onz nes aoditorunz Nature" seeretorum inah g atores,
rusnaliarning ressi '2/ ianz , terrenorusnrsirtutes perterrena deteg ere
eonaniini. Diseiteig iturCaalurnperC'a?Zusn, nonperterranz , sea / lz ujus
perz 'tiius', 'uirtutes eog noseere. Nenz o eninz ascenditinCalumg uodo ua.'ritis,
nisig uido Canto (ouodnonouteritis) a'eseena'it, prius illusninet aunt. In-
corruptioileni ouaaritis niediairianz , ouee corpora neriunz a sorruptione
transmutet inoerum ternperaz nentusn, sea enan- i tesnperata a :'utissinz e
conseroet. Talenz aiioiouasninCarlo repertre nonpof eritis unouanz .
Caelunz 'oirtutesua, perz 'noz 'sioz 'Zes radios interro" centruni undioue con-
rurrentes, osnnia penetrat etesnenta, et etenz entata g eneral, f ooetg ue.
Nesno insez pso, sea insui si'nu'Z'i, ouoa etianr ex ipso sit, g enerare
potest. Fretus etianz pro sniseuus utriusoueparentis inse Naturasnita
retinet, ut ineo parens uterg uepotentia et actusit reperz oitis. Quis
norreoit anz plius nisiZapis in_, g renerationep/ z iiosopaira ? Disreerteipso
ouicg uia est inratio et interm cog noscere, ut sapiens as inomnibus.
lg noras r- 'a= Zu:net etenz enta pa ius unumf uisse, Diwino g uooueao in'w'sem
artif oio separata, ut et te et osnnia g enerasepossent. Si not nosti,
relig uunz et te f ug ere nonpotest, aut ing enio ear.- as onrni. Rursus in
omnig enerationetalis separatio est neeessaria, oualenz tie te supra diri
endam, anteg uanz adnerrepailosop/ z z 'a'studia oelusnappiiees. Exaiiis
nung uanz unusnf aaies ouoz ioz saris, nisiprius erteipso at unmnouod
audz '.stz '. Nani talis est noluntas Dei, ut piipiunz eonseouanturopus
ouodourerunt, et perf ects jer/ z riant aliudout re; int intenti. Maia
'2/ oluntatis / z onz inious ni/ z il prceterouoa se:nz 'na'orrz 'nt daturnz etere: isno
ouodnrag is est, persape oonurneorunz semeninioliuuz proptereorusn
nuz iitianiconoertitur. Farz lg iturut talis euadas, oualetuunz esse '2'/ is,
ouodouresies is opus.
1 o3
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
material means th e powers of material th ing s. Learn
th eref oreto k nowHeavenby Heaven, not by earth , but
th epowers of th at wh ich is material discernby th at wh ich
is h eavenly. No one canascendto th at Heavenwh ich is
soug h t by youunless HeWh o camedownf rom a Heaven
wh ich youseek not sh all rst enlig h ten. Ye seek an
incorruptible Medicine wh ich sh all not only transmute
th e body f rom corruptioninto a perf ect mode but so
preserve it continually; yet except inHeavenitself ,
neveranywh erewill youdiscoverit. Th ecelestial virtue,
by invisible rays meeting at th e centre of th e earth ,
penetrates all elements, andg enerates andmaintains
elementatedth ing s. No one canbe broug h t to birth
th ereinsave inth e lik eness of th at wh ich also is drawn
th eref rom. Th e combinedf oetus of both parents is so
preservedinNature th at both parents may be recog nis-
able th erein, inpotentiality andinact. Wh at sh all cleave
moreclosely th anth e Stoneinph ilosoph ical g enerationP
Learnf rom with inth yself to k nowwh atsoeveris in
Heavenandonearth , th at th oumayst become wise in
all th ing s. Th ouseest not th at Heavenandth e elements
were once but onesubstanceandwereseparatedonef rom
anoth erby Divinesk ill f orth eg enerationof th yself and
all th at is. Didst th ouk nowth is, th e rest couldnot
escape, unless indeedth ouart devoidof all capacity.
Ag ain, inevery g enerationsuch a separationis necessary
as I h avesaidmust be made by th ee bef ore starting out
inth e study of trueph ilosoph y. Th ouwilt nevermak e
out of oth ers th at one th ing wh ich th ouneedest unless
rst th oush alt mak e out of th yself th at one of wh ich
th ouh ast h eard. Forsuch is th e will of God, th at th e
pious sh ouldperf orm th e pious work wh ich th ey desire
andth eperf ect f ull anoth eronwh ich th ey arebent. To
menof badwill th ere sh all be no h arvest oth erth anth ey
h ave sown; f urth ermore, onaccount of th eirmalice, th eir
g oodseedsh all be ch ang edvery of teninto cock le. Per-
f orm th enth ework wh ich th ouseek est insuch a manner
I04 .
/ :1 ma/ z a Mag z 'ca A'Zv.rc0m/ z 'ra
th at, so f aras may be inth y power, th oumayst escape
a lik emisf ortune.
Th is is nowth etrue mystery of reg enerationorth e
spiritual death }Th is is andeverwas th e only scope
andupsh ot of mag ic. But- - - f oryourf urth erinstruction
- - ruminateth is h is oth ermystical speech .
S0 do th eref ore, my soul andmy body : riseup now
andf ollowyour h ig h ersoul. Let us g o up into th at
h ig h mountainbef ore us, f rom th e pinnacle of wh ich I
will sh ewyouth at place wh ere two ways meet, of wh ich
Pyth ag oras spok e incloudanddark ness. Oureyes are
opened; nowsh ines th e Sunof Holiness andjustice,
g uidedby wh ich we cannot turnaside f rom th e way of
truth . Let th ineeyes look rst uponth e rig h t path , lest
th ey beh oldvanity bef orewisdom is perceived. Seeyou
1 Neith erinth eph ysical norspiritual orderare birth anddeath inter-
ch ang eable terms. Reg enerationis one th ing at th e beg inning of th e
lif emystical andth e death calledmystical orspiritual is anoth er, lying
f araway inth eexperience.
2 A, - ; 'z 'z e darnz :g z z z .~ rr, arz ima mea, carpusg z z e mama. Sarg z 'te nuns,
arz imum seg ma:wz 'nz ' vestruns. Ascendamus inmarrtem h em: exceisz mz
nah : appa.rz 't:.mz , (X e caj'z - rs cacmnz ':a.e z / atlf s asf endam z 'te ' / :0: r5z "z 1 z 'z mz , de
g unpermz aem - at sz 'm' Zuz xz irz e Zacutz z s est Pyth ag oras. Naivz is a; f > erz 'z '
mmam:Zz '; tumpralz rcet .S"aZ; 9z 'eta!z s etjusz 'z 'tz 'a, g undaremm jassz mz m
a * z z 'a verz 'z 'atz '.rdq ectere. Volt/ :'teg in- '1 ' :am ocz rias a ddertram, are 'z 1 z 'a'eam.'
'2/ a2z z 'tate22- .1 anteg z ram .i* apz 'e:rt'z 'a:; z ; berce; f > erz 'rz t. Vz '(2' z 'z '.me relz rcem z 'ZZ- ad
ea z 'nexpug naz 'le rastrurrz .9 Inea se corz tz nez p/ z z 'lasapk z 'cz r.ramar, (X e
tajz rsf onteuant aq ua * z rz "a/ 1 2' q uas q z z i desg z rstarit sense! mm sz '2'z 't * z 'am'-
tatem ampiz las. At}so Zara tam amavaa sz ramf g z re rerta pra_g redz 'e:z dum
est adama* rz z '0rez 2z , inq ua Sag ?/ z z 'a maram tra/ :z 'z ', (X e cz g z z s e!:'a.wf ame
scaz urz 'um' aq ua j> rz 'mz '.r Zang e f aZz 'cz 'ares, g z z as g ar g z rstamf nt z '1 z z 'mz 'cz ',
pacem ens z 'm're az ecessa est. Earmrz g ar z z e* z * em'mz t so , 2ler* z 'g - as salami
aZtz 'm tenders, sadmm amaz es ataf z raz z arsaaz runtz rr. Est Incas z rltra
a z 'c2a.s', g uem aa z 're '2/ z '.r Zz icet marlrrlz as, m'.rz ' perDz 'm'rz z m: Nz mz ez z ad
.= :'mnz artaZitatz 's , .g "rarf z mz a.r.iz r??.= jtz ' sum. AZanf eg uaxa z ' z !rorZ:z cam.'z r
uz andz mz cag z mtarexz nrre, caducra 1 : = .> :'z a* .ip.aZz 'a retenta. Nanest so cmz rz
pert/ e1 2er2'; at g randa; ; z ]5Zz 'm" marten: tz ivz erarz t, M20 ; b0 'z 'z s eam z 'na z 'e.r
anz plecf antz rr.taa1 'z 'z r.r, g z z am inmz mda q z z z b z mg z ram sz :a'2 'ejz m z 'catz mz est
ti: avz plexz rdrg nz z iir. Ultra / z a- rt iria Zaca g rz z z h mg ae_g 52* a_g rr* rz z 'z :rz t:z ra
/ z amz az arxz 0.+:.'z :Zz 's ettarz esrz rrz t. Quad52' srcmz rf urz z at f e2'z z 'n'.wZacas 'az 'd.~ :re
Zz rez arcez z damm" aZ!z 'm'. Ensz z g nz 'f :rystaZZz ':z am jririz tz rz z arcem
aliaixz arg erz f eam o'z 'de!z '.r, z z ltra g z amz ea _!ertz 'am arf aiz tarz tz rz aiz z . Qz z arta
'2/ era nor: . adz 't $ 21 61 smsum, dance z rltra t.ertz 'am drrreaz tz rrz z .rz 't. 1 1 21 : est
az z rem perpetz ra f a?Zz 'cz 'taf z 's locus, .s"0Zz 'cz 't::dz 'm': e.r; b::'rat 0; - "mu? rz plz tz rs
g t- z z z dz o per. nm'.
1 05
T7z e Worrq f T7z 0ma.r Vaug / z an
not th at sh ining andimpreg nable tower? Th ereinis
Ph ilosoph ical Love, a f ountainf rom wh ich owliving
waters, andh e wh o drink s th ereof sh all th irst no more
af tervanity. From th at most pleasant anddelectable
place g oes a plainpath to one more delig h tf ul still,
wh ereinWisdom draws th eyok e. Out of h erf ountain
owwaters f ar more blessedth anth e rst, f orif our
enemies drink th ereof it is necessary to mak e peacewith
th em. Most of th osewh o attainh ere direct th eircourse
still f urth er, but not all attainth eend. lt is such a place
wh ich mortals may scarcely reach unless th ey are raised
by th e Divine VVill to th e state of immortality; and
th en, oreverth ey enter, th ey must put of f th eworld, th e
h indering vesture of f allenlif e. Inth ose wh o attain
h ereto th ere is no long erany f ear of death ; onth e
contrary th ey welcome it daily with more willing ness,
judg ing th at wh atsoeveris ag reeable inth e natural order
is worth y of th eiracceptance. Wh osoever advances
beyondth eseth reereg ions passes f rom th e sig h t of men.
If so be th at it be g rantedus to see th e secondandth e
th ird, let us seek to g o f urth er. Beh old, beyondth erst
andcrystallinearch , a secondarch of silver, beyondwh ich
th ereis a th irdof adamant. But th e f ourth comes not
with inourvisiontill th e th irdlies beh indus. Th is is
th eg oldenrealm of abiding h appiness, voidof care, lled
with perpetual joy."
Th is is th epitch andplace to wh ich if any manascends
h e enters into ch ariots of re andis translatedf rom th e
earth , soul andbody. Such was Enoch , such was Elijah ,
such was Esdras- - - to wh om th is Medicinewas ministered
by Uriel th e ang el. Such was St Paul, wh o was carried
up to th e th irdh eaven; such was Zoroaster, wh o was
1 Notwith standing h is lang uag eandh is ref erenceto Enoch andElijah ,
Vaug h anis not perh aps expecting to be tak enliterally inh is statement.
Oth erwiseh ewouldscarcely h avecitedth eexperienceof St Paul. Heis
probably ref erring to th e psych ic body, th e g arment of discarnatesouls.
If nct, h is enumerationstulties h imself . See h is laterref erenceto th e
natural body inanarch natural state.
too _
Alnima Mag z 'ca Albscorz r/ { ta
transg ured; andsuch was th at anonymous mentioned
by Ag rippa. Inlik emannersaith h e a wiseman
testiedconcerning h imself th at onall sides spark ling
ames issuedf rom h is body, accompaniedevenby
noise.1 Th is, I suppose, was R. C., th e f ounderof a
most Ch ristianandf amous Society, wh osebody alsoby
virtueof th at l\/ Iedicineh etook inh is lif eis preserved
entireto th is day, with th e epitomes of two worlds about
it. Such Elijah s also areth emembers of th is Fraternity,
wh o- as th eirownwriting s testif ywalk inth e super-
natural lig h t. To joinourassembly - - say th ey- I it
is needf ul th at th oush ouldst beh oldth is lig h t, f orwith -
out th is it is impossible to see, save only wh enwe
ourselves do will it.2 I k nowsome illiterate sch ool
divines will no soonerreadth is but th ey will cry out
with th eJews : Away with such a f ellowf rom th e earth .
Truly th ey are th e mento wh om nowI also g ive
counsel th at th ey readnot ourwriting s, norseek to
understandorrememberth em ; f orth ey areh armf ul and
as poisonto such , andf orth em th eg ateof h ell is inth is
book . It utters stones f orwords: let th em tak e h eed
lest it strik es th eirh eads.3Let th em not mindit, buy it
not, touch it not. Hence, h ence, yeProf ane." 4
Go onstill andproceedinyourowncorrupt f ancies,
th at th e occasionof justice may be uph eld.5 Follow
youroldbeg g arly elements, th erudiments of th is world,
wh ich h ith erto h ave donedespite to th e Spirit of Grace,
wh ich h aveg rievedth at Holy andLoving Spirit of God,
|-
1 Idz jaereraz ez dese; f > r'adz 'dz 'z .ra; - { ens araf dam, z 'z a 24 :.sez 'ntz 'ZZam'e.r a mm-
/ z z 'mr bade, ez z 'am cam sane g 9rarz 'Zz 'rerz t.DE OCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA,
Lib. iii, cap. 4 3.
2 U! rz aaz sez em ez mf em com:; em'a.t rz eeesreest k ane{ arena eerna.r, .rz 'rz e em'm
/ :a"e lacez 'nz ; f 0rsz '6z 'Ze est naez ririere, m'.rz 'g z mrrz do aalumus.
3Queens et eg o nameearz sz ef a, are nosf ra senlrta Zeg ant, neez ez f ellz lg arz t,
nee memz 'nerz 'm.' ream no.1 - z 'a rmz t, verz enam sum , ac/ z eraz z trlr0.rtz 'z mz est
iniz ae Zz iella, Za; . z 'des Zog uitz z r, cat/ eam rte eerearmnz 'ZZz 's e.1 :* cm:'a!.DE
Occutrra PHILOSOPI- IIA. Aa Leetorem.
4 Proerel lame, prone! z 'z e, Pro}?/ Iram'.
5 Vt .rer'z / ez 2erju.rz z '!:'relatter.
1 07
Toe Work s of Th omas Vang / rem
wh ereby youare sealedto th e day of redemption. But
considerwh iles youareyet inth e f lesh , wh iles it is to- day
with you, th at Godwill use th osemen, wh om yourevile,
f orHis truth , as witnesses ag ainst youina day wh en
yoush all h ave noth ing to speak f or your ig norance,
unless youpleadyourobstinacy. Of a truth GodHim-
self discoveredth is th ing to th e rst man, to conrm h is
h opes of th ose th ree supernatural mysteries- - th e Incar-
nation, Reg enerationandResurrection. Forlamblich us
- - citing th eEg yptianrecords with it is to be believed
onth e auth ority of secret teach ing " 1 - - h ath th ese very
words, th at a certainmatterh ath beenh andeddown
by th eg ods insacredpag eants andwas k nownth eref ore
to th ose same wh o transmittedit.2 Andourf ormer
Ch ristianauth orina certainplace speak s th us: It is
beyondq uestionth at Godrevealedby His Holy Spirit
a certainMedicineto th e patriarch s wh ereby th ey repaired
th ecorruptionof f lesh , andto th oseaboveall with wh om
Hespok eandenteredinto th ecovenant.3Let me tell
youth enth at th e periodandperf ectionof mag ic is no
way ph ysical, f orth is Art
Attains th e th roneof Joveandth ing s divineessays.
Ina word, it ascends by th e lig h t of Nature to th e
lig h t of Grace, 5 andth elast endof it is truly th eolog ical.
Rememberth eref ore th at Elijah deposedh is mantleand
passedth roug h th e waters of Jordanbef ore h e met with
th ech ariots of Israel. But, as Ag rippa saith , th estore-
h ouseof truth is closed." 6 Th eScriptureis obscure and
mystical, eveninh istorical passag es. VVh o wouldbelieve
I Cr'ede z a awz es! arcarz z s ser'; 2z orz z 'o1 rs.
2 T'r'adz 'z rwz r:'.rsemaf eaoz g rz raz z darz z a Dealtperdram syeof aoula, eeo
erg o z 'ZZz '.rz ']6.rz 's { raa e z tz 'oars oog xratrz esz .
3])z r&z 'z z :oz nor: est q uire ])ez r.r, am'z 'q z rz 's j> az rr'oa.r, nz edz 'oz '2z aoz aZz 'oz :rmz
#'e't* eZr1 r= e2"z 'z , pea .T; 6z 'rz 'Zrmz .am f z z orSz rz rrn, g en? Zz z erentz eroar"; - 'z z '.s oorrz ejf n
tf orz eoz , es]otz 'r.rz 'mm2z :'z '.rrum g z ez 't5z e.rZooaef z rs es! etf reriz z s z 'nz "I/ 21 .
4 Az !z ' z _g z 'f rormz f or/ 'z 's of oarZes:z 'a f eaz f ar.
5 Perlmnerz rVa!m'a inlumenG?ru- z 'af * .
G Cf aurz mz est 7/ e1 'z 'z a!z 's ar2xrarz 'z mz .
I 1 o8
nima Mag z 'ca / 4 Zvscondz 'm
th at inth eh istory of Ag arandSarah th emystery of both
Testaments was couch edbut th at St Paul h imself h ath told
us so? Forit is writtensaith h e- th at Abrah am
h adtwo sons, th e one by a bondmaid, th e oth erby a
f reewoman. But h e wh o was of th e bondwomanwas
bornaf terth e f lesh ; but h e of th e f reewomanwas by
promise. Wh ich th ing s are analleg ory: f orth ese are
th etwo covenants ; th eonef rom th e Mount Sinai, wh ich
g endereth to bondag e, wh ich is Ag ar. Forth is Ag aris
Mount Sinai, wh ich is inArabia, andanswereth to
Jerusalem wh ich nowis, andis inbondag e with h er
ch ildren. But Jerusalem wh ich is above is f ree, wh ich
is th e moth erof us all.
I couldinstance inmany more such places, as th at of
th eRoyal Proph et, th at th e dewof Hermondescends to
Mount Sion, wh ich is altog eth erimpossibleinth eliteral
sense, f orevery g eog raph erk nows th ereis a vast distance
betweenth ese two.2 But to returnto my f ormerdis-
course: some ph ilosoph ers wh o by th e special mercy of
Godattainedto th e Ternarius couldnever notwith -
standing obtainth e perf ect Medicine, neith erdidth ey
understandit.3I nevermet inall my reading s but with
six auth ors wh o f ully appreh endedth is mystery : th erst
anArabian, a most prof oundbut exceeding ly obscure
writer, andf rom h im l conceiveArteph ius borrowedall
h is k nowledg e; th e seconda most ancient Ch ristian
1 GALATIANS, iv, 22- 26.
2 Vaug h anis f ollowing th eliteral versionof th e VULGATE: Sioart roe
Hermon, ouz _a'esoer:dz 't inmomf em .5'z 'on.- PS., cxxxii, 3. Th eAuth orised
Versionitaliciz es a saving clause: As th e dewof Hermon, am! as Z/ re
(Zero th at descendeduponth e mountains of Zion.- PS., cxxxii, 3. Th e
q uestionis not worth debating .
3See my Introduction. Th e attainment ref erredto may meanin
th e intellectual order, as disting uish edf rom active realisationinth e
wh ole man.
" Th eArabianof course cannot be identiedby th is description, and
th e concealment is unworth y of a writerwh o is pretending to instruct
oth ers. We may set aside th e g enuine Arabianalch emists, wh o would
not h ave beenk nownto Vaug h an, f orth ey h adnot beentranslatedor
printed; wemay set aside th eLatinGeberandAvicenna; but th eref er-
IO9 i
T/ z e P701 / is g t T/ z ooms Vaz eg / lam
anonymous, th eg reatest th at everwas inpoint of practice,
f orh e ascendedto th at g lorious metaph ysical h eig h t
wh ere th e Arch etype sh adows th e intellectual sph eres ; 1
th eoth erf ouraref amously k nowninCh ristendom. To
instruct th ee th en: th is mystery is perf ectedwh enth e
lig h t, ina suddencoruscation, strik es f rom th e centreto
th ecircumf erenceandth eDivineSpirit h ath so swallowed
up th e body th at it is a g loriedbody, splendidas th e
sunandmoon.Inth is rotationit doth pass- - andno
sooner- - f rom th e natural to a supernatural state, f orit is
no moref edwith visibles but with invisibles, andth eeye
of th e Creator is perpetually uponit. Af terth is th e
material parts are nevermore to be seen, andth is is
th at stainless andof t- celebratedInvisibility of th e Mag i.
Verily th is is th eway th at th e proph ets andapostles went;
th is is th e true, primitive Divinity, not th at clamorous
soph istry of th eisch ools. I k nowth eworldwill be ready
to boy meout of countenancef orth is, becausemy years are
f ewandg reen. I want th eirtwo crutch es, th epretended
modernsanctity andth at solemnity of th e beardwh ich
mak es up a doctor. But, Reader, let me adviseth ee: if
by wh at is h erewrittenth ouattainest to any k nowledg e
inth is pointwh ich I h oldimpossiblewith out a divine
assistancelet me advise th ee, I say, not to attempt any-
th ing rash ly; f orAg rippa tells me: Wh osoeverdoth
approach unpuriedcalls downjudg ment onh imself and
is g ivenoverto th edevouring of th eevil spirit "' Th ere
is inth e mag ical records a memorablestory of a Jewwh o
encemay bepossibly to Morien, wh o was borninRome but went inh is
youth to Alexandria andis alleg edto h ave lef t th ree tracts inArabic.
Two at least of th esewouldh avebeenk nowninLatinby Vaug h an.
1 Th e list of anonymous work s onAlch emyapart f rom MSS.- - lls
nearly twelvepag es inth ebibliog raph y of Leng let duFresnoy.
2 C, 'o2"; z f > z r.rg lorz jioatam tang uaoz SoZoz Lz ma sple:rz dz 'a a:m.
3Af g ue/ z ero est 2'1 la z oz 'z 'es deoantaf rz ez sine soeiera Matg oram 2'22?/ z 'sz '~
t52'Zz 'l'a.r.
tQz ez 'oz .mo:ee z 'm; ou2z oaz us aocesserz ? .m; f - erz 'rz a z z ez 't 521 52 jz edz 'oz ':'mz , er
f rat z 'f a:rao! deworandum .r, oz 'rz 'f res rz eg z eam.- DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA,
Lib. iii, rap. 6.
IIO
1 4 1 2ima Mag z 'ca 1 4 65601 26/ z 'ta
h aving by permissionrif ledsome spiritual treasures was
translatedinto th e solitudesl andis k ept th ere f oran
exampleto oth ers. I will g iveth ee th e best counsel th at
canbe g iven, andth at out of a poet :
Demanda h ealth y mindinh ealth f ul f rame. 2
Th oumust prepareth yself till th ouart conf ormable to
Him Wh om th ouwouldst entertain, andth at inevery re-
spect? Th ouh ast th reeth at are to receiveandth ereare
th ree according ly th at g ive. Fit th y roof to th y God
inwh at th oucanst, andinwh at th oucanst not Hewill
h elp th ee. Wh enth ouh ast th us set th y h ouse inorder,
do not th ink th y Guest will come with out invitation.
Th oumust tireHim out with pious importunities,
Perpetual k nock ing s at His door,
Tears sullying His transparent rooms,
Sig h s uponsig h s : weep moreandmore- -
He comes.
Th is is th e way th oumust walk in, wh ich if th oudost
th oush alt perceivea suddenillustration, andth eresh all
th enabide inth eerewith lig h t, windwith re, power
with wind, k nowledg ewith power, andwith k nowledg ean
integ rity of sobermind.5 Th is is th ech ainth at q ualies
a mag ician. Forsaith Ag rippa: To mak e search into
th ing s f uture andth ing s at h and, orinto oth erh idden
th ing s, andth osewh ich are f oresh ewnto mendivinely,
andinto true sig nications, as also to perf orm work s ex-
ceeding th e commoncourse of th epowers of Nature, is
not possibleapart f rom a prof oundandperf ect doctrine,
anuncorruptedlif eandf aith , andis not to be perf ormed
1 Inso!r'tz edz 'nes.
2 Orandz mz est, 2:2 rs! momrarz a incor / orerano.
3Ommiwodo sz 'oz z 'lz 'tudz 'ne.
i I ST JOHN, v, 7, 8. But see Ag rippa: DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA,
Lib. iii, cap. 36.
5 Eritoueinre mo: lrmz inez g "m'.r, cam z lg ne* oemz :s, cum '2/ ento potestas,
camepoiestate.roz 'emz 'a, cam: .rcz 'emz 'a somemeats}z 'uteg rz 'ta.r.
III
T/ z e Work s of Th omas Vang / z an
by lig h t- mindedoruninstructedmen.1 Andinanoth er
place: No mancang ive th at wh ich h e h imself h ath
not. But no manh ath save h ewh o h aving suspended
th e elementary f orces, h aving overcome Nature, h aving
compelledh eaven, h aving reach edth eang els, h ath ascended
to th e Arch etype itself , as coadjutorwh ereof h e can
accomplish all th ing s. 2 Th is is th eplacewh ereif th ou
canst but once ascendandth endescend,
Th enof t th earch etypal worldattain
Andof t recurth ereto and, f ace to f ace,
Unh inder dg az e uponth e Fath er's g race3- - -
th en, I say, th ouh ast g ot th at spirit wh ich with -
out of f ence to God, apart f rom any crime andwith out
injury to relig ion, candiscernandperf orm wh atsoever
portentous astrolog ers, monstrous mag ians, invidious
alch emystical torturers of Nature andvenomous necro-
mancersmoreevil th andemons- dareto promise.
Such is th e power h e sh all receive wh o f rom th e
clamorous tumults of th is worldascends to th e Super-
natural Still Voice; f rom th is base earth andmud
wh ereto h is body is allied- - to th e spiritual, invisible
elements of h is soul. Hesh all receive th e lif eof th e
1 Erjiorare do f atarz s et z 'moz z 'a.entz 'oas, a!r'z '.w; e oeeaZtz '.r, et once
/ l:omz 'nr'6a.r dz 'w':az 'z z r.rporf endmz lz rr, '2'/ erz 'dz 'oa.r sem'emz 'a.r, atone o_; erarz '
opera 'oz 'rz z rz 'a.wooomz z meoz rz atara oom'aetadz 'ae; a e:roea emz 'a, nor: m'si
g f vroeada ez perf ecta doez :- iz 'rz a', z 'ateg err:':aaoae - 2/ z 'tre ao _/ idea eel, non
/ z ominam Zem'ssz 'moram, aeiadoetoram.
2 Non, ooterz 'z z 'ZZa dare our nose aaoet. Haoe! aatem nemo, mire our
, 2.- am oor'z z 'oz 'f z '.s* eZememz 's, w'oz 'a natarri, .ta; $ eratz '.r ooelz lr, re; oerz z 's an; _reZz '.r,
adz sum Are/ z ez j/ par): arg ue !ram* oeadz 'z ', ea/ '::s Zane eooperatorq oere
pores! ommia.
3 Tz eno ireadmz mdam are/ z etyg woz rayoeatoneredire,
Cuaotarz rrag uePaf rem reram speotarean- ea.
4 Qaf oaz 'ooaz 'd; orz emo.rz ' maz / z ematz lri, oaz 'oom'd, oroa z :g :'osz ' mag i,
oaiooaz a z 'm'/ z 'deme.rrz ataraperseoz etores ale/ z _ymz '.rz 'a, g z a'eoa:'a damonz eas
a ez erz 'o res maZef Zez 'aeoro oz aaiesjoromz ereaadem. Ipeeno oz ! a z '.roeraereat
eoere, z 'a oaesz 'r:eomaiorz 'oz z 'rz e, .r.z 'rz e Derojensa, sz rz e reZz :g 1 'onz '.s" z 'ajz erz 'a.
5 Compare Cornelius Ag rippa: Th eref ore all complexities, division
andmanif olddiscoursebeing set aside, ascending to intellectual lif e and
simplesig h t, let us look uponth eintellig ibleessencewith individual and
direct precepts, so attaining th at h ig h est natureof th e soul, wh ereinwe
I1 2
1 4 72Zma Mrag ica 1 4 orcon4 /{ ta
g ods ; h e sh all beh oldth eh eroes inth e assembly of th e
g ods andsh all h imself be beh eldby th em. Th is,
Reader, is th e Ch ristianPh ilosoph ers Stonea Stone
so of teninculcatedinScripture. Th is is th eRock inth e
wildernessinth e wilderness because ing reat obscurity
andf ewth ereareth at k nowth erig h t way unto it. Th is
is th e Stoneof Fire inEz ek iel; th is is th e Stone with
SevenEyes uponit inZach ary; andth is is th e Wh ite
Stone with th e NewName inth e Revelation. But in
th eGospel, wh ereCh rist Himself speak s- Wh o was born
to discovermysteries andcommunicateHeavento earth
- it is more clearly described. Th is is th e Salt wh ich
yououg h t to h ave inyourselves; th is th e Waterand
Spirit wh ereof youmust be bornag ain; andth is is th at
Seedwh ich f alls to th e g roundandmultiplies to an
h undredf old. But, Reader, be not deceivedinme. I
am not a manof any such f aculties, neith erdo I expect
th is blessing insuch a g reat measure inth is lif e. Godis
no debtorof mine. I canaf f irm no moreof myself but
wh at my auth ordidf ormerly : Holdme, I bidth ee, as
a ng er- post wh ich , everpointing f orward, sh ews th eway
to oth ers undertak ing th ejourney.2 Beh old, I will deal
f airly with th ee : sh ewme but oneg oodCh ristianwh o is
capableof andt to receivesuch a secret, andI will sh ew
h im th e rig h t, inf allible way to come by it. Yet th is I
must tell th ee: it wouldsink th eeto th eg roundto h ear
th is mystery related, f orit cannot ascendto th e h eart of
th enatural manh ownearGodis to h im andh owHeis
to bef ound.
areone . . ., eventh at rst unity inwh ich we are also madeone.- DE
OCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA, La. iii, c. 55. Vaug h anreects Ag rippa, andth e
Germanoccult ph ilosoph erdrewf rom th ef ount of Platonism.
1 [lieDez mz 'Z1 2'z ara ao6r}* z 'et, d'io'z 'Jg ue 'vz '(Zebz 'z ' g ermaf os / z eroas, et rinse
t/ z 'deoz '{ z :rz 'ZZz '.r.
2 Aerz loeme, '2/ olo, oelaz z adz 're; az oarseneperg ra f orioarmanem aZ:'z '.r
g raoditerz 'ag redz 'endaoz sit ostez z dat. Th ecounsel sig nies th at h e wh o
k nows certainly andh eh olds with th e mind s eye wh at mannerof trans-
g urationtak es place onMount Taborh as not f orsuch reasonbeen
h imself transg ured.
I1 3 8
T/ re Wares of TdomarVaag / z an
But of th is enoug h . I will nowspeak of a natural
celestial medicine, andth is latter is commonamong st
some wise men; but f eware th ey wh o attainto th e
f ormer. Th e commonch emist work s with th ecommon
re andwith out any medium, wh eref ore h e g enerates
noth ing ; f orh e work s not as Goddoth - - to preservation
- - but to destruction. Henceit is th at h e ends always in
th eash es. Do th ouuse it cam plz ieg mate medii: 1 so sh all
th y materials rest ina th irdelement, wh ere th e violence
of th is tyrant cannot reach , but h is animo. Th ere is also
a betterway; f orif th oucanst temperh im with th e
Spirit of Heaven, th ouh ast alteredh im f rom a corrupt-
ing to a g enerating re. Sublime th e middle- nature- re
by trig onandcirclef till th oucomest to a breach of
inf eriors andsuperiors. Lastly, separatef rom th emag ical
compoundedearth th at principle wh ich is calledmedial
earth a becauseit is middlemost betweenth e Unary and
Binary; f oras it attains not to th esimplicity of th erst,
so it is f reef rom th e impurities of th e second. Th is is
th etrueCrystallineRock 5 - - a brig h t virg inearth , with out
spot ordark ness. Th is is Mag ianEarth inluminous
eth er, "6 f orit carries inits belly windandre. Having
g ot th is f undamental of a little newworld, unite th e
h eavenina triple proportionto th e earth ; th enapply a
g enerative h eat to both ; andth ey will attract f rom above
th estar- reof Nature. So sh alt th oupossess th eg lory
of th eworldandall dark ness sh all f ly away f rom th ee.
Now, becauseth e Lawof Natureis inf allibleandcon-
rmedto th e creature by God s royal assent, th ink not
th eref ore th ereis any necessity uponGod, but wh at He
h ath enacteding eneral Hecanrepeal inany particular.
1 Compare th e middle nature orso- calledviscous h umidity, of wh ich
manwas made, according to Vaug h an, andby wh ich h e canbe also
renewed.
2 PerTrz g onam ez Cz 'roa/ um. 3Terra mea'z 'a.
4 Unarz aset 5 z '?z arz 'as. 5 Petra C/ z rj/ st'a!Zz 'na.
Terra arz ag a 2'22 oez / z ere elarz cata.
7S 0 / aerateg f oriam toas memo? : erg o f ag iez a re om; az '.roosearz ':a.v.
1 1 4
1 4 m'ma Mag iro Alscorz c/ z 'ta
Rememberwh o translatedth edewf rom th e earth to th e
f leece andf rom th e eece to th e earth }Godbestows
not His blessing s wh ere th ey are to turnto curses. He
cursedth e earth once f orAdam s sak e: tak e h eedHe
doth not curse it ag aininth y work f orth y sak e. It is
invainto look f ora blessing f rom Naturewith out th e
Godof Nature; f or- - as th e Scripture saith with out
controversy th e lesser is blessedof th e g reater. He
must be a g oodstewardth at sh all overlook th e treasuries
of God. Have th eref ore a ch aritable, seraph ic soul:
ch aritableat h omeinbeing not destructive to th yself , as
most menare; ch aritable abroadina dif f usive g oodness
to th e poor, as many are not. Th ere is inevery true
Ch ristiana spice, I cannot say a g rain, of f aith , f orth en
wecouldwork miracles. But k nowth outh at as Godis
th e Fath erso ch arity is th e nurse of f aith . Forth ere
spring s f rom ch aritablework s a h opeof Heaven, andwh o
is h e th at will not g ladly believewh at h eh opes to receiveP
Onth e contrary, th ere spring s no h ope at all f rom th e
work s of dark ness andby conseq uence no f aith but th at
f aith of devilsto believeandtremble. Settle not th en
inth e lees andpuddle of th eworld; h ave th y h eart in
Heavenandth y h ands onearth . Ascendinpiety and
descendinch arity, f orth is is th e natureof lig h t andth e
way of th e ch ildrenof it. Above all th ing s avoidth e
g uilt of innocent - blood, f orit utterly separates f rom God
inth is lif eandreq uires a timely andserious repentance
if th ouwouldst ndHim inth enext.
Nowf orth y study : inth ewintertimeth y ch amberis
th e best residence. Here th oumayst use f umig ations
andspicy lamps- - not f orsuperstitionbut because such
recreateth eanimal spirits andth ebrain. Inth esummer
translateth yself to th e elds, wh ereall areg reenwith th e
breath of Godandf resh with th e powers of h eaven.
1 JUDGES, vi, 37, 38.
2 Th e ref erence is presumably to IlEBRF.ws, vi, I6: Formenverily
swearby th eg reater."
Iii;
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
Learnto ref erall naturals to th eirspirituals by th eway
of secret analog y ; f orth is is th e way th e mag icians
went andf oundout miracles. Many th ere are wh o
bestownot th eirth oug h ts onGodtill th e worldf ails
th em. He may say to such g uests: Wh enit canbe
f orcedonno one else it is broug h t to me. Do th ou
th ink onHim rst andHe will speak to th y th oug h ts
at last. Sometimes th oumayst walk ing roves, wh ich
being f ull of majesty will much advanceth esoul ; some-
times by clear, activerivers, f orby such say th emystic
poets- - Apollo contemplated.
All th ing s wh ich Ph oebus inh is musing spak e
Th ebless dEurotas h eard.3
So h aveI spent onth ebank s of Ysca many a serious h our.
Tia day, my crystal Usk : nowth e sadnig h t
Resig ns h erplace as tenant to th elig h t.
See th eamaz edmists beg into y
Andth evictorious sunh ath g ot th esk y.
Howsh all I recompenseth y streams, th at k eep
Meandmy soul awak edwh enoth ers sleep?
I watch my stars, I moveonwith th esk ies
Andweary all th e planets with mineeyes.
Sh all I seek th y f org ottenbirth andsee
Wh at days are spent since th y nativity ?
Didst serve with ancient Kish on? Canst th outell
So many years as h oly Hiddek el?
Th ouart not paidinth is : I ll levy more
Such h armless contributions f rom th y store
Anddress my soul by th ee as th oudost pass,
As I woulddo my body by my g lass.
Wh at a clear, running crystal h ere I nd:
Sure I will strive to g ainas cleara mind,
Andh ave my spirits- - f reedf rom dross- madelig h t,
Th at no base puddle may allay th eirig h t.
HowI admireth y h umble bank s: noug bt s h ere
' PerMam seoreterioris aaZo_g Z'a.
2 Qaum ere:- seamooz radr'potest z z araa me.
3 Omrz ia oars P/ iaeoo oz rosidaisz me/ z z '/ aaf e, beams
Area's? Earof as.
1 I 6
I/ f mima Mag ica ./ 4 h scona z 'ta
But th esame simplevestureall th eyear.
I ll learnsimplicity of th eeandwh en
I walk th estreets I will not storm at men,
Norlook as if l h ada mindto cry :
It is my valiant cloth of g oldandI.
Let menot live, but I m amaz edto see
Wh at a cleartypeth ouart of piety.
Wh y sh ouldth y oods enrich th ose sh ores, th at sin
Ag ainst th y liberty andk eep th eein?
Th y waters nurseth at rudelandwh ich enslaves
Andcaptivates th y f reeandspacious waves.
Most blessedtutors, I will learnof th ose
To sh ewmy ch arity unto my f oes,
Andstrive to do some g oodunto th epoor,
As th y streams do unto th e barrensh ore.
All th is f rom th ee, my Ysca P Yes, andmore;
I am f ormany virtues onth y score.
Trust meth y waters yet: wh y- - wilt not so?
Let me but drink ag ainandI will g o.
I see th y courseanticipates my plea :
I ll h aste to God, as th oudost to th e sea;
Andwh enmy eyes inwaters drownth eirbeams,
Th epious imitations of th y streams,
May every h oly, h appy, h earty tear
Help meto runto Heaven, as th oudost th ere.
Th is is th eway I wouldh ave th ee walk inif th oudost
intendto bea solidCh ristianph ilosoph er. Th oumust
- - as Ag rippa saith live to Godandth e ang els,
reject all th ing s wh ich are contrary to Heaven:2oth er-
wise th oucanst h ave no communionwith superiors.
Lastly, be sing le, not solitary.3Avoidth e multitude
- as well of passions as persons. Nowf orauth ors: I
wish th ee to trust no moderns but Mich ael Sendivog ius
andth at auth orof Ph ysira Restiruro, especially h is rst
aph oristical part. Th e rest wh om I h ave seensug g est
1 ViroereDram ez aag elos. 2 Qua ca:- 'Zo a':'ssz 'mz 'Zz 'o: semi.
3Uaas esto, nonsak es.
Jeand Espag net: ENCHYRIDION Ph ysf ea Resi'z ':mee, cam Aroaao
P/ z z 'loso, oh r'a* Herr:z eZz 'oa.
c 1 1 7
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaag h an
inventions of th eir own, such as may pass with th e
wh imsies of Descartes or Bovillus h is Math ematical
Roses. To conclude, I wouldh ave th ee k nowth at
every day is a yearcontracted, 1 th at every yearis a day
extended. Anticipate th e yearinth e day andlose not
a day inth eyear. Mak euseof indeterminateag ents till
th oucanst nda determinate one. Th e many may wish
well but one only loves. Circumf erences spreadbut
centres contract: so superiors dissolve andinf eriors
coag ulate. Standnot long inth e sunnorlong inth e
sh ade. Wh ere extremes meet, th ere look f orcom-
plexions. Learnf rom th y errors to be inf allible, f rom
th y misf ortunes to be constant. Th ere is noth ing
strong erth anperseverance, f orit ends inmiracles. I
couldtell th ee more, but th at were to puz z le th ee.
Learnth is rst, andth oumayst teach melast.
Th us, Reader, h ave I publish edth at k nowledg ewh ich
Godg ave me to th e f ruit of a g oodconscience.3I
h ave not bush elledmy lig h t norburiedmy talent inth e
g round. I will nowwith drawandleave th e stag e to th e
next actor- - somePeripatetic perh aps, wh osesic proh o sh all
serve mef ora comedy. I h aveseenscolds laug h edat but
neveradmired: so h eth at multiplies discourses mak es a
serious causeridiculous. Th eonly antidoteto a sh rewis
silence; andth ebestwayto convincef ools is to neg lect th em.
Bless dsouls, wh ose care it was th is rst to k now
Andth us th e mansions of th elig h t attain:
I- lowcredibleto h oldth at minds lik eth ese
Transcendboth h umanlittleness andvice. 4
If Th ou, O Jeh ovah , my God, wilt enlig h tenme, my
dark ness sh all be madelig h t.
1 Ammo oomf raotas. 2 Dies erf erz sz z s.
3Adf raof am h omeoosisoz 'em'z 'a.
4 Falioes am'ma= , oaz h as h ao oog nosoerej)rz ':o- ram,
[nonedomos saperas soaaderetiara f ail:
Credz 'h z 'Zeest illos pariterwz 'f z 'z 'soae, jooz 'sg .ae
Alit:- as h z mz am's e.rerm'sseoajaZ.
5 Sr" Ta, _/ eh owa, Dears moses, z 'ZZamz 'nar. erz 's me, Jar_/ Eesz t Zesz eh ra mere.
I1 8
MAGIA ADAMICA
onTHE ANTIQUITY orMAGIC
To THE MosrEX CELLENTLY Accoiiivtisiiso,
MY BEST orFRIENDS,
MR THOMAS Hsnsnawl
SIR: It was th e Qmere of Solomon, andit arg uedth e
supremacy of h is wisdom: T/ Vh at was best f ormanto
do all th edays of h is vanity underth e sunP 2 If l wish
myself so wise as to k nowth is g reat af f airof lif e it is
becauseyouare t to manag e it. I will not advise you
to pleasures, to buildh ouses andplant vineyards, to
enlarg eyourprivatepossessions orto multiply yourg old
andsilver. Th ese are olderrors, lik e vitriol to th e
Stone3- - so many f alse receipts wh ich Solomonh ath tried
bef oreyou, and, beh old, all was vanity andvexationof
spirit." I h avesometimes seenactions as various as th ey
were g reat, andmy ownsullenf ate h ath f orcedme to
several courses of lif e; but I ndnot one h ith erto wh ich
ends not insurf eits orsatiety. Let us f ancy a manas
f ortunate as th is worldcanmak eh im : wh at doth h e do
1 Th omas Hensh aw, 1 61 3- 1 ; - 'oo, was enteredat University Colleg e,
Oxf ord, inI634 . Wh enth eCivil E- Varstartedh e joinedKing Ch arlesl
at York , was made prisonerlateronbut permittedto g o abroad. He
becamea privy councillorto Ch arles II, andone of th erst Fellows of
th e Royal Society in1 663. He translateda HISTORY OF THE GREAT
AND Rsnownno MonaacnvorCHINA f rom th e Italianof F. Alvarez
Sanieda, andit was publish edinI655.
2 ECCLESIASTES, ii, 3. But th eAuth orisedVersionreads : Wh at was
th at g oodf orth esons of men, wh ich th ey sh oulddo underth eh eavenall
th e days of th eirlif e1 Andth eVULGATEis insubstantial concurrence.
3Pernety explains th at alch emical symbolism concerning vitriol was
understoodliterally andth at innumerable errors arose inconseq uence.
Th esymbolism calls GreenVitriol th e crude Matterof th eStone; Wh ite
Vitriol is th e Mag istery inits wh ite stag e; andRedVitriol is perf ect
Soph ieSulph urinth eredstate.
* EccLEs., ii, ii.
I21
T/ z e Work s of Yorrz ez s Vang / z em
but movef rom bedto boardandprovidef orth ecircum-
stances of th osetwo scenes P To- day h e eats anddrink s,
th ensleeps, th at h e may do th elik eto- morrow. Ag reat
h appiness, to liveby cloying repetitions andsuch as h ave
more of necessity th anof a f ree pleasure. Th is is idem
peridem, andwh at is h eldf orabsurdity inreasoncannot
by th e same reasonbe th e true perf ectionof lif e. I
deny not but temporal blessing s conduce to a temporal
lif e, andby conseq uence are pleasing to th e body; but
if we considerth e soul sh e is all th is wh ile uponth e
wing lik eth at dovesent out of th eark , seek ing a place
to rest. Sh e is busiedina restless inq uisition, and
th oug h h er th oug h tsf orWant of true k nowledg e-
dif f ernot f rom desires, yet th ey suiciently prove sh e
h ath not f oundh ersatisf action. Sh ewme th enbut a
practice wh ereinmy soul sh all rest With out any f urth er
disq uisition, f orth is is it wh ich Solomoncalls vexationof
spirit, andyoush ewme Wh at is best f ormanto do
underth esun.Surely, Sir, th is is not th ePh ilosoph er s
Stone, neith erwill I undertak e to deneit ; but g iveme
leave to speak to youinth e lang uag e of Zoroaster:
Seek th outh e ch annel of th e soul." 2 I h ave a better
condenceinyouropinionof me th anto tell youI love
you; andf ormy present boldness youmust th ank your-
self : youtaug h t meth is f amiliarity. I h eretroubleyou
with a sh ort discourse, th e brok ag e andweak remem-
brance of my f ormerandmore entire studies. It is no
labouredpieceandindeedno t present ; but I beg your
acceptance as of a caveat, th at youmay seewh at unprot-
ableaf f ections youh ave purch ased. I proposeit not f or
yourinstruction. Nature h ath already admittedyouto
h ersch ool andI wouldmak e youmy judg e, not my
pupil. If th eref oreamong yourserious andmore dear
1 Th e reasonbeing th at th e soul is a mystic citiz enof th e eternal
k ing dom. _ _ _
2 Que- eretua:z z 'm.ce caz z aiem. But th enearest to th ls maxim f oundin
th evarious collections is preservedby Psellus andreads: Explore th e
riverof th esoul.
I 22
/ llag z k z A :/ amicez
retirements youcanallowth is trie but some f ew
minutes, andth ink th em not lost, youwill perf ect my
ambition. Youwill place me, Sir, at my f ull h eig h t, and
th oug h it were lik e th at of Statius- - - - among st Gods and
stars- - I sh all q uick ly ndth e earth ag ain, andwith th e
least opportunity present myself ,
Sir,
Yourmost h umbleServant
I
Euoamus Pnrtatarnas.
1 23
TO THE RE/ { DER
WELLf areth eDedec/ z edrorz : 1 I h aveexaminedth enativity
of th is book by a cast of constellatedbones, andDeux- Ace
tells meth is parable. Truth saidth e witty Ale- man~
was commandedinto exile, andth e Lady Liewas seated
onh erth rone. To perf orm th e tenourof th is sentence,
Truth went f rom among menbut sh e went all alone,
poorandnak ed. Sh e h adnot travelledvery f arWh en,
standing ona h ig h mountain, sh e perceiveda g reat train
to pass by. Inth e midst of it was a ch ariot attended
with k ing s, princes andg overnors, andinth at a stately
Donna wh o- lik e some Queen- Reg ent- - ~ commandedth e
rest of th ecompany. PoorTruth , sh e stoodstill wh iles
th is pompous sq uadronpassedby ; but wh enth ech ariot
cameoverag ainst h erth eLady Lie, wh o was th ereseated,
took notice of h erand, causing h er pag eants to stay,
commandedh erto come nearer. Here sh e was scorn-
f ully examined- - wh ence sh e came, wh ith ersh ewouldg o
andwh at about? To th ese q uestions sh e answered- - as
th ecustom of Truth is- very simply andplainly ; wh ere-
uponth eLady Lie commands h erto wait uponh er, and
th at inth e rearandtail of all h ertroop, f orth at was
th ek nownplaceof Truth .
Th ank s th en, not to th estars but to th econg urations
of th e dice: th ey h ave acq uaintedme with my f uture
f ortunes andwh at pref erment my book is lik ely to attain
to. lam f ormy part contented, th oug h th e considera-
tionof th is dirty rearbe very nauseous andableto spoil
1 ].e., Dodecalz edrorr. According to Ag rippa, th e numbertwelve is
divine andth ing s celestial are measuredth ereby.- - DE OCCULTA
PHILOSOPHIA, L275. ii, cap. I3. Th eterm belong s also to Divination.
1 24
Mag ia 1 4 r/ am{ ca
a strong erstomach th anmine. It h as beensaidof old:
Truth is anh erb th at g rows not h ere below; 1 and
canI expect th at th ese f ewseeds wh ich I scatterth us in
th e storm andtempest sh ouldth rive to th eirf ull ears
andh arvest? But, Reader, let it not trouble th ee to
see th eTruth cometh us beh ind: it may be th at th ere is
moreof a ch ase init th anof attendance, andh ercon-
ditionis not altog eth erso badas h erstation. If th ou
art oneof th osewh o drawup to th e ch ariot, pause h ere
a littleinth e rear, andbef ore th oudost address th yself
to Aristotle andh is Lady Lie, th ink not th y courtsh ip
lost if th oudost k iss th e lips of poorTruth . It is not
my intentionto jest with th ee inwh at I sh all write,
wh eref ore readth ouwith a g oodf aith wh at I will tell
th eewith a g oodconscience.
God, wh enHe rst made man, plantedinh im a spirit
of th at capacity th at h e mig h t k nowall, adding th ereto
a most f ervent desire to k now, lest th at capacity sh ould
be useless. Th is truth is evident inth e posterity of
man; f orlittlech ildren, bef ore everth ey canspeak , will
stareuponanyth ing th at is strang e to th em. Th ey will
cry andarerestless till th ey g et it into th eirh ands, th at
th ey may f eel it andlook uponitth at is to say, th at
th ey may k nowwh at it is, insome deg reeandaccording
to th e measure of th eircapacity. Now, some ig norant
nursewill th ink th ey do all th is out of a desire to play
with wh at th ey see, but th ey th emselves tell us th e
contrary; f orwh enth ey are past inf ants andbeg into
mak e use of lang uag e, if any newth ing appears, th ey
will not desireto play with it but th ey will ask youwh at
it is. Forth ey desire to k now, andth is is plainout of
th eiractions ; f orif youput any rattle into th eirh ands,
th ey will viewit andstudy it f orsome sh ort time, and
wh enth ey cank nowno moreth enth ey will play with it.
It is well k nownth at if youh olda candle nearto a little
ch ildh e will- - if youprevent h im not- put h is ng er
1 N01 2estpf arata t 'erz '!'alz 's sz rperz 'rrr'< :wz .
1 25
Tae Wares of T/ z omarVang / z an
into th e ame, f orh e desires to k nowwh at it is th at
sh ines so brig h t. But th ere is someth ing more th anall
th is, f or eventh ese inf ants desire to improve th eir
k nowledg e. Th us, wh enth ey look uponanyth ing , if
th esig h t inf orms th em not suicieiitly, th ey will- - - if th ey
can- ~ g et it into th eirh ands th at th ey may f eel it. But
if th e touch also doth not satisf y, th ey will put it into
th eirmouth s to tasteit, as if th ey wouldexamineth ing s
by moresenses th anone. Nowth is desire to k nowis
bornwith th em, andit is th e best andmost mysterious
part of th eirnature.
It is to be observedth at wh enmencome to th eirf ull
ag e andareserious inth eirdispositions th ey are ash amed
to err, because it is th epropriety of th eirnatureto k now.
Th us we see th at a ph ilosoph erbeing tak enat a f ault in
h is discoursewill blush , as if h e h adcommittedsometh ing
unworth y of h imself ; andtruly th every senseof th is dis-
g race prevails so f arwith some th ey h adrath erpersist in
th eirerroranddef endit ag ainst th etruth th anack now-
ledg e th eir inrmities- - - inwh ich respect I mak e no
q uestionbut many Peripatetics are perversely ig norant.
It may be th at th ey will scarcely h earwh at I speak , orif
th ey h earth ey will not understand. HowsoeverI advise
th em not wilf ully to prevent andh inderth at g lorious end
andperf ectionf orwh ich th e very Auth orandFath erof
Nature createdth em. It is a terrible th ing to pref er
Aristotle to Eloh im andcondemnth e truth of Godto
justif y th e opinions of man. Now, f ormy part, I dare
not be so irrelig ious as to th ink Godso vain, andim-
provident inHis work s, th at He sh ouldplant inmana
desireto k nowandyet deny h im k nowledg eitself . Th is
inplainterms wereto g ive me eyes andaf terwards sh ut
me up indark ness, lest I sh ouldsee with th oseeyes.
Th is earnest long ing andbusy inq uisitionwh ereinmen
tire th emselves to attainth e truth made a certainmaster
of truth speak inth is f ash ion}It is clearth eref ore-
1 Erg o lz 'q m'da ag jaret z 'rz at? mrmdf .5f ? 1 '$ 'f ! ? rf , g amerceHz z 'mm', alt?
I26
Mag ia 1 4 da22 { ca
saith h e- - th at inth is f abric of th e world, wh ich we
beh old, th ere is some truth th at rules, wh ich truth so
of tenstirs up, puz z les andh elps ourreason, so of ten
solicits h erwh ensh e is restless, so of tenwh ensh e is
watch f ul, andth is by strang e meansnot casual and
adventitious, but by g enuine provocations andpleasures
of Natureall wh ich motions being not to no purpose it
f alls out at last th at insomeg oodtimewe attainto th e
truek nowledg eof th oseth ing s th at are. But becauseI
wouldnot h aveyoubuildyourph ilosoph y oncorals and
wh istles, wh ich are th eobjects of littlech ildren, of wh om
we h ave spok enf ormerly, I will speak somewh at of th ose
elements inwh ose contemplationa manoug h t to employ
h imself , andth is discourse may serve as a pref ace to our
wh ole ph ilosoph y. l\/ lanaccording to Trismeg istus
h ath but two elements inh is power, namely, earth and
water; 1 to wh ich doctrine I addth is, andI h aveit f rom
a g reater th anHermes: Th at Godh ath made man
absolute lordof th e First Matter; andf rom th e First
Matter, andth edispensationth ereof , all th ef ortunes of
manboth g oodandbaddo proceed. According to
th erule andmeasure of th is substanceall th eworldare
rich orpoor, andh eth at k nows it truly, andwith al th e
trueuse th ereof , h e canmak e h is f ortunes constant ; but
h e th at k nows it notth oug h h is estate be never so
g reatstands ona slippery f oundation? Look about
th ee th enandconsiderh owth ouart compassedwith
innite treasures andmiracles; but th ouart so blind
q z eam z rz 'a:erp/ rare o'erz 'taz 'em; g ate totz 'e.r; r'af z 'orz em rz ostram eosoz uz orxet,
ag af , z 'm; f 'lz 'eaz ', e.r; !> z 'z 'caz , ' toz ies z 'noaz 'ez am, t.oz z 'es z ':a.ro nmem mz 'rz 's modis
soZlz 'cz 'z az , mmf orf uz s, are! aZz 'ama'e ada'erz r' z 'z '.r, red.rm:'.$ ea pro; f o'z 'z 'rez
or:'_g z 'rz arz 'z '.r naf ara = * z z .na> m_, - g ore omnra mm nonmrz f rastra z rtz 'g z re
cont:'n_g z t, at 'oerz 'iaz em eorz mz g raz e rum, aZz ' ; r.uo tarz dem opportano
tempore, amg lexemur.
1 Having reg ardto th e numberof attributedtexts, it wouldbe anin
tolerable task to verif y th is irresponsible ref erence. I h ave not f ound
th e statement inth e DIVINE PYMANDER, norinth e passag es q uoted
by Stobaeus.
2 Seemy Introductionto th is edition.
I27
T/ z e Wm; ay T/ z omas Vaag arz
th oudost not see th em. Nay, th ouart so madth ou
dost th ink th ereis no use to be madeof th em, f orth ou
dost believeth at k nowledg e is a mere peripatetical ch at
andth at th ef ruits of it are not work s but words. If th is
were true, I wouldnever advise th ee to spendone
minute of th y lif e uponlearning . Iwouldrst beone
of th ose sh ouldruinall libraries anduniversities inth e
world, wh ich Godf orbidany g oodCh ristiansh ould
desire.
Look up th ento h eaven, andwh enth ouseest th e
celestial res move inth eirswif t andg lorious circles,
th ink also th ere are h ere belowsome coldnatures wh ich
th ey overlook andabout wh ich th ey move incessantly,
to h eat andconcoct th em. Consider ag ainth at th e
middle spirit- - I meanth e air- - is interposedas a re-
f rig eratory, to temperandq ualif y th at h eat wh ich oth er-
wise mig h t be too violent. If th oudost descendlower
andx th y th oug h ts wh ere th y f eet are, th at th y wing s
may be- lik e th ose of Mercury- at th y h eels, th ouwilt
ndth eearth surroundedwith th ewater, andth at water,
h eatedandstirredby th e sunandh is stars, abstracts f rom
th e earth th e pure, subtle, saltish parts, by wh ich means
th ewateris th ick enedandcoag ulated- as with a rennet.
Out of th ese two Nature g enerates all th ing s. Gold
andsilver, pearls anddiamonds are noth ing else but
waterandsalt of th e earth concocted}
Beh old, I h ave ina f ewwords discoveredunto th ee
th e wh ole system of Nature andh erroyal h ig h way of
g eneration. It is th y duty nowto improve th e truth ,
andinmy book th oumaystif th ouart wise- - ndth y
advantag es. Th e f ourelements are th e objects and
implicitly th esubjects of man; but th e earth is invisible.
I k nowth ecommonmanwill stare at th is andjudg eme
not very soberwh enI airm th e earth - wh ich of all
1 Th is is th eph ysical th esis of Th omas Vaug h aninrespect of Alch emy,
at wh atevervalue it stands. He does not seem to h ave ch ang edI1 1 5
g roundsubseq uently.
I 28
E-
Mag ia z f dam{ ca
substances is most g ross andpalpable- - to be invisible.
But onmy soul it is so andwh ich is more- - th eeye
of manneversawth eearth , norcanit be seenwith out
Art. To mak eth is element visible is th eg reatest secret
inMag ic, f orit is a miraculous natureandof all oth ers
th emost h oly, according to th at computationof Trisme
g istus: th e h eaven, th e eth er, th e airandth e most
sacredearth . As f orth is f eculent, g ross body upon
wh ich wewalk , it is a compost andno earth ; but it h ath
earth init, andeventh at earth is not ourmag ical earth .
Ina word, all th eelements arevisible but one, andwh en
th ouh ast_attaincdto so much perf ectionas to k nowwh y
Godh ath placedth e earth inaasrondiro th ouh ast an
excellent g urewh ereby to k nowGodHimself andh ow
He is visible, h owinvisible. Hermes af rmeth th at in
th e beg inning th e earth was .a q uag mire or q uivering
k indof jelly, it being noth ing else but watercong ealed
by th eincubationandh eat of th eDivineSpirit. Wh en
as yet th e earth was a q uivering , sh ak ing substance, th e
Sunaf terwards sh ining uponit didcompact it ormak e
it solid.Th e sameauth orintroduceth Godspeak ing
to th eearth , andimpreg nating h erwith all sorts of seeds,
inth esewords : Wh enGodsaith h e- - h adlledHis
powerf ul h ands with th ose th ing s wh ich are inNature,
th ensh utting th em close ag ain, He said: Receive f rom
me, O h oly earth , th at art ordainedto be moth erof all,
lest th oush ouldst want anyth ing . Wh enpresently open-
ing such h ands as it becomes a Godto h ave, Hepoured
downall th at was necessary to th econstitutionof th ing s.3
1 Creiurn, re!/ rear, reret .raaraz f :'.rsr'ma terra. Ref erring presumably to
th ose elements wh ich were producedat th e beg inning of th ing s by th e
will of God, according to th e PYMANDER, rap. I. Forth etext says, with
Vaug h an, th at commonearth is deg enerateandimpure.- Ioz 'd., cap. 9.
iCmnadk uc term tremula asset, Zuemtesole, covz parta est.
3Cumg ue manor ag ree tralf dus z 'm, aZe:.ret ream g raz e inNatam2, -
amof enteg ue eram, at pug norwaiide rom'tr* r'ng ms .' Sz mz e, z 'rz or.:z 't, O
racra tar- ra, _g uceg e2z :'trz 'Eromrz iarm es rtura, are Mia reeg ena "z / Mean:, -
et marmr, g ualeroporf et Dram / z abere, expandenr, demz 'sz 't omrz ia ad
remm com- tz 'tatz 'om:m meerraria.
I29 9
T/ z e Work s q f T/ 'z 0ma.r Vang / z an
Now, th e meaning of it is th is: th e Holy Spirit,
moving uponth e ch aos- - - wh ich actionsome divines
compare to th e incubationof a h en, uponh ereg g s, did
tog eth erwith h is h eat communicate oth ermanif oldin-
uences to th e matter. Foras we k nowth e sundoth
not only dispense h eat but some oth ersecret inux, so
didGodalso inth e creation, andf rom Him th esunand
all th e stars receivedwh at th ey h ave, f orGodHimself
is a supernatural sunorre, according to th at oracle of
Zoroaster: Th at Arch itect Wh o built up th e cosmos
by His unaidedpowerwas Himself anoth erorb of re.1
He didth eref ore h atch th e matterandbring out th e
secret essences, as a ch ick is broug h t out of th e sh ell,
wh ence th at oth erpositionof th e same Zoroaster: By
one sing le re is g eneratedall th at is.2 Neith erdid
Heonly g enerateth em but Healso preserves th em now,
with perpetual eiux of h eat andspirit. Hence Heis
styledinth eOracles Fath erof menandg ods, animating
abundantly th ere, th elig h t, th eeth erandth eworlds.3
Th is is advertisement enoug h . Andnow, Reader, I
must tell th eeI h ave met with some lateattempts onmy
two f ormerdiscourses ; but truth is proof , andI am so
f arf rom being overcometh at I am nowh ere understood.
Wh enI rst eyedth elibel andits address to Ph ilaleth es,
Ijudg edth eauth orserious andth at h is desig nwas not
to abuseme but to inf orm h imself . Th is conceit q uick ly
vanish ed, f or- perusing h is f orepart- h is ears sh ot out
of h is sk inandpresentedh im a perf ect ass, His
observations are onecontinuedass s sk inandth eoyster-
wh ores readth e same ph ilosoph y every day. Tis a
1 Faeior, g mperreoperarrsf aoref eez 'f rz z rrrrdz arz r,
Qz nredam 2:, rm'.rmoles era! altera.
- 2 Oz vmz ia rub z mo alg ae g emz a erre. Compareth e oracle inPorph yry
concerning anincorruptibleamewh ich is th eorig inof all th ing s.
3' Pater/ z oz rrimmrarre, derimg me,
Aj'aZz 'm arrz wz arz s rjg nerez , lz rrerrz , retk era, matador.
4 Th eref erence is to Henry More, wh o- - underth e nameof Alaz ono-
mastix Ph ilaleth eswrote OBSERVATIONS z .- g oonAmk ropo.r0p/ z z 'a Th eo-
ma_g 'z 'ra am1 'Am'ma Ma, .g rz 'ea Aa.rz .ondz 'z a. SeeAppendix III.
1 30
Mag ia ./ Ya/ amz ra
scurril, senseless piece, and- as h e well styles h imself - - -
a ch ip of a block - h ead. His q ualities indeedare tran-
scendent abroadbut th ey are peers at h ome. His malice
is eq ual to h is ig norance. I laug h edto see th e f ool s
diseasea f lux of g alewh ich madeh im still at th ech ops
wh iles anoth erh eldth e press f orh im, lik e Porph yry s
basinto Aristotle's well. Th ere is someth ing inh im
prodig ious. His excrements runth ewrong way, f orh is
mouth stools, andh e is so f arf rom manth at h e is th e
ag g ravationto a beast. Th ese are h is parts, andf orh is
personI turnh im overto th edog - wh ippers, th at h e may
be well lash edandbearth e errata of h is f ront imprinted
inh is rear. I cannot yet nda tterpunish ment, f or
since h is h eadcouldlearnnoth ing but nonsense- by
seq uel of parts- - - h is tail sh ouldbe taug h t some sense.
Th is is all at th is time; andf ormy present discourse
I wish it th e commonf ortuneof truth andh onesty- - to
deservewell andh earill. As f orapplause, I sh not so
much inth e airas to catch it. It is a k indof popularity
wh ich mak es me scornit, f orI def y th e noise of th e
rout, because th ey observenot th e truth but th e success
of it. I do th eref ore commit th is piece to th e world
with out any protectionbut its ownworth andth eestimate
of th at soul th at understands it. Forth erest, as I cannot
f orce so I will not beg th eirapprobation. I wouldnot
be g reat by imposts norrich by brief s. Th ey may be
wh at th ey will, andI sh all bewh at I am.
Euosnws Pnttauz rnss.
1 31
MAGIA ADAMICA
THAT I sh ouldprof ess mag ic inth is discourseandjustif y
th eprof essors of itwith al is impiety with many but relig ion
with me. It is a conscience th at I h ave learnedf rom
auth ors g reaterth anmyself andscriptures g reaterth an
both . Mag ic is noth ing but th ewisdom of th eCreator
revealedandplantedinth e creature. It is a name- as
Ag rippa saith - not distastef ul to th e very Gospel
itself .1 Mag icians wereth e rst attendants ourSaviour
met- with al inth is world, andth e only ph ilosoph ers wh o
ack nowledg edHim inth e esh bef ore th at He Himself
discoveredit. I ndGodconversant with th em, as He
was f ormerly with th e patriarch s. He directs th em in
th eirtravels with a star, as He didth e Israelites with a
pillarof re. He inf orms th em of f uture dang ers in
th eirdreams, th at h aving rst - seenHis Sonth ey mig h t
inth e next place see His salvation. Th is mak es me
believe th ey were Sons of th e proph ets "2as well as
Sons of Art "3- - menth at wereacq uaintedwith th every
same mysteries by wh ich th eproph ets actedbef oreth em.
To reconcile th is science andth e Masters of it to th e
worldis anattempt more plausible th anpossible, th e
prejudicebeing so g reat th at neith erreasonnorauth ority
canbalance it. If I were to persuade a Jewto my
principles I woulddo it with two words- man}?! llDN=
th e Ha:/ z amim orWise Menh ave spok enit.Give
h im but th e auth ority of h is f ath ers andpresently h e
1 Compare th e dedications andoth erpreliminaries prexedto DE
OCCULTA PI- IILOSOPHIA. I do not ndth eactual q uotationof Vaug h an:
1 , 1 551 cwang eZz 'o mm z 'ng r'atarm.
2 F:'Z:'ipro; / z eiar'urn. _ 3F:'Zz 'z 'Artz lr.
1 32
Mag ia 1 4 damica
submits to th e seal. Verily, ourprimitive Galileansl
meanth ose Ch ristians wh ose lamps burnt nearth e cross
andf uneral- - weremost compendious inth eirinitiations.
A proselyte inth ose days was conrmedwith a simple
Believe, andno more. Nay, th e solemnity of th is
sh ort inductionwas such th at julianmadeit th etopic of
h is apostasynYouh avei- - - saidh e noth ing more
th anyourCredoto establish yourrelig ion? Such was
th e simplicity of th ose rst times, wh ilst as yet th e
bloodof Ch rist ranf resh , 3wh iles His wounds were
as yet inth eireyes andHis bloodwarm at th eirh earts.
But alas th ose h oly drops are f roz en; oursalvationis
translatedf rom th e cross to th e rack anddismembered
inth e inq uisition- h ouse of Aristotle. Be not ang ry, O
Peripatetic, f orwh at else sh all I call th y sch ools, wh ere
by several sects andf actions Scripture is so seriously
murderedpro ercon. A spleenrst bredandaf terwards
promotedby disputes, wh ose damnable divisions and
distinctions h ave mincedone truth into a th ousand
h eretical wh imsies. But th e breach is not considered;
divinity still is but ch af f , if it be not sif tedby th eeng ine,
if it acts not by th e demonstrative h obby- h orse. Th us
z eal, poisonedwith log ic, breath es out contentious calen-
tures, andf aith , q uitting h erwing s andperspective, leans
onth e reedof a syllog ism. Certainly I cannot yet con-
ceive h owreasonmay judg e th ose principles wh ose
certainty wh olly depends onGod"4 and, by conseq uence,
is undemonstrablewith out th eSpirit of God. But if I
sh ouldg rant th at, wh ich I will everdeny : Verily, a true
f aith consists not inreasonbut inlove, f orI receivemy
principles, andbelieve th em being received, only out of
my af f ectionto Him th at reveals th em.
Th us ourSaviourwouldh aveth eJews to believeHim
1 Tito'1 'l.= 1 'ie'rs. 2 'Ou3'vtil- trip rriorsudtv
3Dam ealeoa! cruorC/ z rz '.rz z '.
Quorum '2/ erz 'ta.rpmdet a rolrl re:/ e!am"z 'rout/ z orz 'rate.
5 Solo erg o rev/ elantmz amour.
I33
T/ z e Wares if T/ z omarVaag aarz
rst f orHis ownsak eandwh enth at f ailedf orHis work 's
sak e. But somedivines believeonly f orAristotle's sak e.
If log ic renders th etenet probableth enit is creed; if not
tis Alcoran. Neverth eless, Aristotle h imself - - wh o was
rst pedlarto th is ware, andmay f orsoph istry tak e place
of Ig natius inh is ownconclave- h ath lef t us th is con-
cession: th at reasonis subject to error, as well as
opinion."1 AndPh iloponus expounding th ese words
of h is :- - - Wesay not only science but th eprinciplealso
of science to be someth ing wh ereby we understandth e
terms "2- h ath th is excellent andCh ristianobservation:3
Tak ing indeed- - saith h e- - ~ th e mindto be th e
principle orrst cause of k nowledg e, not ourownbut
th at of Godwh ich is above us ; but tak ing th eterms to
be intellectual andDivinef orms. Th us, according to
Aristotleif youtrust th e comment- th e Divine Mind
is th eFirst Causeof k nowledg e. Forif th is Mindonce
unf olds Himself andsh eds His lig h t uponus we sh all
appreh endth eintellectual f orms ortypes of all th ing s th at
are with inHim. Th ese f orms h e very properly calls
5 povr= Terms, because th ey terminate orendall th ing s,
f orby th em th ecreatureis denedandh ath h is individua-
tion, or- - - to speak with Scotus- - h is self ness, 5 by wh ich
h e is th is andnot th at. Th is nowis th e demonstration
we sh ouldlook af ter- namely, th e expansionoropening
of th e DivineMind- - not a syllog ism th at runs perh aps
onall f ours. If once we beadmittedto th is Communion
of Lig h t wesh all beable, with th eapostle, to g ivea reason
f orourf aith , but neverwith out it. Nowyouare to
understandth at Godunf olds not Himself unless th e
h eavenof manbe rst unf olded.6 Cast of f th e veil
1 "E1 r1 ; (e1 'aP Th tf xeos of ovtif a ital ?to'ytr.= ', ubs- _
3Nonsolz m .rrz 'erz tz 'am redat, orz 'noz '; f > :'urrr- roz 'entr'.a errealioaoa a'z 'cz 'r; z m
ouo termriaos cog rz o.rcz 'm:z e.r.
3Th e ref erence is apparently to Joh annes Ph iloponus, a ph ilosoph er
andg rammarianof th eseventh century. _
* Meaning presumably modes of Divine Manif estationto h uman
minds; i
, 5 Hrecrez '!z 'e(.rz 'r:). 6 _/ Vz '.rz ' mag ao ocrlo ; 9rz 'as patey ac2o.
T34
Mag ia Hr/ am{ ca
th at is bef ore yourf aces, andyoush all be no more
blind. Godis not Godaf ar of f but Godat h and.
Beh oldsaith I- Ie~ I standat th edoorandk nock ."2
Openyourselves th en, f orit is written; If any man
opens, I will come inandsup with h im.3Th is is th e
inwardmystical, not th eoutward, typical supper; andth is
is th espiritual baptism with re, not th at elemental one
with water.
Truly I am much comf ortedwh enI consider two
th ing s ; rst, wh at mag ic didaf f ordth erst prof essors of
Ch ristianity, wh ose k nowledg e anddevotionbroug h t
th em f rom th e East to Jerusalem; secondly, th at th is
Art sh ouldsuf f eras relig iondoth , andf orth every same
reason. Th e mainmotives wh ich h ave occasionedth e
present rents anddivisions of th e Ch urch are th e cere-
monies andtypes usedinit. For- with out controversy
- - th e apostles institutedandlef t beh indth em certain
elements orsig ns- as Water, Oil, Salt andLig h tsby
wh ich th ey g uredunto us some g reat andreverent
mysteries. But ourref ormers, mistak ing th ese th ing s f or
superstitions, turnedth em all out of doors. But verily it
was ill done; f orif th esh adowof St Peterh ealedsh all
not th ese sh adows of Ch rist do much moreP Th epapist,
onth e contrary, k nowing not th e sig nicationof th ese
types, didplacea certaininh erent h oliness inth em and
so f ell into a very dang erous idolatory. I omit many
th ing s wh ich h e inventedof h is own, as imag es, h oly
lambs andrelics, adding th ese deadbones to th e
primitive andbeauteous body of th e Ch urch . Nowto
drawup th e parallel: th emag icians, th ey also instituted
certainsig ns as th e k ey to th eirArt, andth ese were th e
same with th e f ormer, namely, Water, Oil, Salt and
Lig h t, by wh ich th ey tacitly discoveredunto us th eir
th ree pri- nciples andth e lig h t of Nature- wh ich lls and
actuates all th ing s. Th e commonman, perusing th eir
1 Amooeteerg o weiamm r'r:teZZeriar'1 / e.rz rr'.- AGRIPPa.
2 REVEIATIONS, Ill, 2o. 3rear.
I35
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
book s but not th eirsense, took candles, commonwater,
oil andsalt, andbeg anto consecrate andexorcise th em,
to mak e up h is damnableanddevilish mag ic.
Th emag icians h ada maxim among th emselves th at
no wordis eicacious inmag ic unless it be rst animated
with th eWordof God.1 Henceinth eirbook s th erewas
f req uent mentionmadeof Verh um andSerena, wh ich th e
commonmaninterpreting to h is ownf ancy inventedh is
ch arms andVoeah ula, by wh ich h epromisedto do wonders.
Th emag icians inth eirwriting s didtalk much of triang les
andcircles, by wh ich th ey intimatedunto us th eirmore
secret triplicity, with th e rotationof Nature f rom th e
beg inning of h erweek to h erSah aot/ z . By th is circlealso
orrotationth ey airmedth at spirits mig h t be bound,
meaning th at th e soul mig h t be unitedto th e body.
Presently uponth is th ecommonmanf anciedh is triang les
andch aracters, with many strang ecobwebs org ures and
a circleto conjurein; but k nowing not wh at spirit th at
was wh ich th emag icians didbindh elabouredandstudied
to bindth e devil? Nowif th ouwili q uestionme wh o
th ese mag icians were, 3I must tell th ee th ey were k ing s,
th ey were priests, th ey were proph ets, menth at were
acq uaintedwith th e substantial, spiritual mysteries of
relig ionanddiddeal ordispense th eoutward, typical part
of it to th e people. Here th enwe may see h owmag ic
cameto beout of req uest: f orth e lawyers andcommon
divines wh o k newnot th ese secrets, perusing th e cere-
monial, superstitious trash of some scribblers wh o pre-
tendedto mag ic, prescribedag ainst th e art itself as im-
Quadnulla no.2" operaturinnrag z a nz 'sz '; I> r'z '::s Def '2/ ooef orrnetur.
2 Th esearenotablestatements, andth erearereasons f orbelieving th at
anexperimental scienceof a f ardiierent orderlies beh indth e f ormulae
andprocedureof ceremonial mag ic. But th eq uestionis very dif cult to
pursue, as th ereis no canonof criticism.
3Vaug h anis dreaming of Persia andth ef urth erEast, but th epractical
mag ic with wh ich h ewas acq uaintedcameout of Jewry. Nowth etradi-
tional tlieosoph y of Israel didnot deal inth esymbolism of triang les and
circles, but inth eh iddenmeaning of th eHoly Word. Onth eoth erh and,
debasedKabalism did, andwas th eprog enitorof Almadels andGrimoires.
1 36
Mag ia Aidanz z ica
pious andantich ristian, so th at it was a capital sinto
prof ess it andth epunish ment no less th andeath . Inth e
interim th ose f ewwh o were masters of th e science-
observing th e rst monitories of itburiedall ina deep
silence. But God, h aving suf f eredHis truth to be
obscuredf ora g reat time, didat last stirup someresolute
andactivespirits wh oputting th epento paperexpelled
th is cloudandinsomemeasurediscoveredth elig h t. Th e
leaders of th is bravebody wereCornelius Ag rippa, Libanius
Gallus, th e ph ilosoph erJoh annes Trith emius, Georg ius
Venetus, Joh annes Reuch lin- - calledinth eGreek Capnion
- - with severaloth ers inth eirseveral days}Andaf ter
all th ese, as anush erto th etrain, Eug enius Ph ilaleth es.
Seeing th enI h ave publicly undertak ena province
wh ich I mig h t h aveg overnedprivately with much more
content andadvantag e, I th ink it not enoug h to h ave
discoveredith e abuses andmisf ortunes th is science h ath
suf f eredunless I endeavourwith al to demonstrate th e
antiq uity of it. Forcertainly it is with arts as with men:
th eirag e andcontinuance are g oodarg uments of th eir
streng th andinteg rity. Most apposite th enwas th at
ch eck of th e Eg yptianto Solon: YouGrecians
saidh e- - - are everch ildish , h aving no ancient opinion,
no discipline of any long standing .But as I conf ess
myself no antiq uary, so I wish some Seldenwouldstand
inth is breach andmak eit up with th osef rag ments wh ich
are so neardust th at time may put th em inh is g lass.
I k nowf ormy ownpart it is anenterprise I cannot
suf f iciently perf orm; but since my h andis already in
th e bag I will drawout th ose f ewpebbles I h ave; and
th us I ing th em at th e mark .
1 Th ese writers h ave beennamedalready, eith erinth etexts ornotes,
with th eexceptionof Reuch lin, auth orof DE ARTE KABALISTICA. His
Germanname is Capnion. See Basnag e: HISTOIRE DES JUIFS, anda
noteonh is positionas a Kabalist inmy DOCTRINE AND LITERATURE
orTHE KABALAH.
2 0 Solon, Solon, nos Graver rernperpueri eats}, nuliam anouam
lz aoenteropr'n:onenr, nullam a'z '.ro:}f rZz 'nam { ampereoanam.
1 37
T/ re Wares of T/ z omas Vaz rg / 2:272
Th is art orrath erth is mystery is to be considered
several ways, andth at because of its several subjects.
Th eprimitive, orig inal existenceof it is inGodHimself ;
f orit is noth ing else but th e practice oroperationof th e
Divine Spirit Work ing inth e matter, uniting principles
into compounds andresolving th ose compounds into
th eirpriiiciples. Inth is sense we seek not th eantiq uity
of it, f orit is eternal, being a notionof th e Divine
Wisdom andexistent bef ore all time orth e creationof
it. Secondly, weare to considerit ina derivativesense,
as it was impartedandcommunicatedto man, andth is
properly was no birth orbeg inning but a discovery or
revelationof th e art. From th is time of its revelation
we are to measure th eantiq uity of it, wh ere it sh all be
ourtask to demonstrate uponwh at motives Goddid
reveal it, as also to Wh om andwh en.
Th e eye discovers not beyondth at stag ewh ereinit is
conversant, but th e ear_receives th e sounda g reat way
of f . To g ive anexperiencedtestimony of actions more
ancient th anourselves is a th ing impossiblef orus, unless
We couldlook into th at g lass wh ere all occurrences may
be seen- past, present andto come? I must th eref ore
buildmy discourse onth e traditions of th ose mento
wh om th e word- - both writtenandmystical- - - - was en-
trusted; andth ese were th e Jews ing eneral, but more
particularly th eirKabalists. It is not my intentionto
rest onth ese Rabbins as f undamentals, but willjustif y
th eirassertions out of Scripture andentertainmy reader
with proof s both Divine andh uman. Finally, I will
ass out of Judea into E t andGreece, wh ere a ain
I) sh all meet with th ese iiijiisteries andprove th at g th is
science didstream- - - as th e ch emists say th eir Salt-
I am surprisedth at th is statement h as neverbeenq uotedas anearly
enunciationinEng landof th e nowf amiliarh ypoth esis concerning th e
so- calledAstral Lig h t, oruniversal g lass of vision. Th e h ypoth esis is
not my concern, k nowing as a mystic th at th e way of reality is a way
out of th esph ereof imag es, but it sh ouldbeimportant as a recordof th e
past f orth osewh o areinth eoccult sch ools.
1 38
Mag z 'a 1 4 damice
Fountaindoth - out of _]ewryl andwateredth e wh ole
earth .
It is th econstant opinionof th e Hebrews th at bef ore
th e Fall of Adam th ere was a more plentif ul andlarg e
communionbetweenh eavenandearth , Godandth e
elements, th anth ereis nowinourdays}But uponth e
transg ressionof th erst man, Malitutb 2- say th eKabalists
- - was cut o f rom th e [Km/ 2, 3so th at a breach was made
betweenboth worlds andth eirch annel of inf luence dis-
continued. NowIlla!/ rut/ z is th e invisible Arch etypal
Mooii, by wh ich ourvisiblecelestial moonis g overned
andimpreg nated. Andtruly it may be th at uponth is
retreat of th e Divine Lig h t f rom inf eriors th ose spots
anddark ness wh ich we nowsee succeededinth e body
of th is planet, 5 andnot inh er2llOI1 'bllt about th e sun
also, as it h ath beendiscoveredby th etelescope. Th us
say th ey- God, to punish th e sinof Adam, with drew
Himself f rom th ecreatures, so th at th ey were not f easted
with th e same measure of inf luences as f ormerly. For
th e Arch etypal Moon, wh ich is placedinth e DDlIJTI=
Has/ z amainz to receive andconvey downth e inux of
th e six superior, invisible planets, " was- - as th e Jews
af Firm- eith er separatedf rom th e f irm orh erbreasts
wereso sealedup th at sh ecouldnot dispenseh ermilk to
inf eriors inth at h appy andprimitive abundance. But
1 Th is of courseis invirtueof th ef act th at Adam inh is primeval state
k newth eg lory of God, as notedalready.
2 Th at is, th eWorldof Action.
3Meaning 'f 'jt{ ~ = Tree. KnorrvonRosenroth says th at th eSupple-
ments of th e ZOHAR term Bz rz a/ z , orSupernal Understanding , th eRoot
of th e Tree, th at is, root of th e direct lig h t, iwalk z z t/ z being th e root of
ref lectedlig h t. Th e th esis is th eref ore th at Malitutk was cut of f f rom
Bf rz aii; th eSh ek inah abovewas inseparationf rom th eSh ek inah below.
* Th ere is auth ority f orth is attributioninth e Kabalistic work called
THEGARDENorPOMEGRANATES.
5' So also inth e perf ect state, according to th e ZOHAR, th e moon
neith erwaxes norwanes but reects perf ectly inits f ulness th e sunof
Tz j/ z erez / .> :. -
G Th eArch etypal Moonis Sh ek inah .
7Th eZOHARk nows noth ing of invisibleplanets.
1 39
Th e Wares cf T/ z omas Vang / z an
because I wouldnot dwell long onth is point let us h ear
th eKabalist h imself state it ina clearandappositeph rase.
Inth e beg inning of th e creationof th eworldGoddid
descendandcoh abitate with th ing s h ere below. And
wh enth e Divine h abitationwas h erebelow, th e h eavens
andth e earth were f oundto be united, andth e vital
spring s andch annels were inth eirperf ection, anddid
f lowf rom th e superiorto th e inf eriorworld; andGod
was f oundto ll all th ing s, both above andbeneath .
Adam th e rst mancame andsinned, wh ereuponth e
descents f rom abovewere restrainedandth eirch annels
were brok en; andth e watercourse was no more; and
th e Divine Coh abitationceased, andth e society was
divided.
Th us f ormy Rabbi. Nowbecause I h ave promised
Scripture to my Kabalism, I will submit th e traditionto
Moses, andtruly th at Rabbi also is of my side, f orth is I
readinGenesis. Andunto Adam h e said, Because
th ou. . . h ast eatenof th e tree, of wh ich I commanded
th ee, saying , Th oush alt not eat of it: cursedis th e
g roundf orth y sak e: insorrowsh alt th oueat of it all
th e days of th y lif e; Th orns also andth istles sh all it
bring f orth to th ee; andth oush alt eat th e h erb of th e
eld; Inth e sweat of th y f ace sh alt th oueat bread, till
th oureturnunto th e g round; f orout of it wast th ou
tak en: f or dust th ouart, andunto dust sh alt th ou
return."2 Th is is th ecurse, andAdam was so sensibleof
it th at h eacq uaintedh is posterity with it. ForLamech ,
proph esying of h is sonNoah , h ath th esewords: Th is
same sh all comf ort us concerning ourwork andtoil of
ourh ands, becauseof th e g roundwh ich th e Lordh ath
1 Im'!:'0 tr.rat:'0m's mundi a'z "z / z 'mz c0k a6:'tat:'0 era! desrendens in- in-
_f erz '0m, at rum asset dz :/ z 'mz co/ Eai5:'rat:'0 1 ':- z f er:'us repertz 'smz t trash at term
z mz 't'i, at erant f orz tes at canals: act:'ivz ' inpa:f f ra'z '0m', at trak ebantz rra
.iv per:'0re adz 'rz f erz 'us, ea :'mv.en:'e&az 'urDears cornplens supemeat bz f eme.
Vem? Adam prrir- z us at pecaawit, at dz 'rm':'smz t descensus, at 'o2g f mcz 'z '
sum canales, at desk ?ag rrrrdrz rtrz s, at r:e:sa'z / it dz ?/ z 'na co/ Eat5z 'tatz '0, at d:'m':a
est racist.- :z .r.
2 GENESIS, iii, i7- 1 9.
I4 0
Mag :'dAldamica
cursed." Andth is indeedwas accomplish edinsome
sense af terth e Flood, as th e same Scripture tells us.
Andth eLordsaidinh is h eart, I will not ag aincurse
th e g roundany moref orman s sak e.2 Here nowwe
areto considertwo th ing s- rst th ecurseitself andnext
th e latitudeof it. To manif est th e natureof th e curse
andwh at it was youmust k nowth at Godessentially is
lig h t andevil is dark ness. Th eevil properly is a corrup-
tionth at immediately tak es place uponth e removal of
th at wh ich is g ood. Th us Godh aving removedHis
candlestick "andlig h t f rom th e elements, presently th e
dark ness andcoldof th e matterprevailed, so th at th e
earth was nearerh errst def ormity andby conseq uence
less f ruitf ul andvital. Heavenandh ell, th at is, lig h t
anddark ness, are th e two extremes wh ich consummate
g oodandevil. But th ereare some meanblessing s wh ich
are but inardine, ordisposing to h eaven, wh ich is th eir
last perf ection; andsuch wereth ese blessing s wh ich God
recalleduponth e trang ressionof th e f irst man. Ag ain
th ereare some evils wh ich arebut deg rees conducing to
th eirlast extremity, orh ell; andsuch was th is curseor
evil wh ich succeededth etransg ression. Th us ourSaviour
underth esenotions of blessedorcursedcompreh ends th e
inh abitants of lig h t anddark ness: Come, ye blessed"
andDepart f rom me, ye cursed. Ina wordth en,
th e cursewas noth ing else but anact repeatedora re-
straint of th ose blessing s wh ich Godof His mere g ood-
ness h adf ormerly communicatedto His creatures. And
th us I conceive th ere is a very f airandf ull h armony
betweenMoses andth e Kabalists. But to omit th eir
depositions, th oug h g reat andh ig h , weare not to seek in
1 GENESIS, v, 29. 2 1 if u'd., viii, 21 .
3ST MATT., xxv, 34 , 4 1 .
Inth e h ands of Zoh aric andoth erdoctors of th eosoph ical Jewry th e
Pentateuch went into a melting pot andth erewas broug h t out f rom it th e
Secret Doctrine inIsrael. Furth ermore th e liq uescent matter h ad
additions f rom many sources. Vaug h an s remark is interesting because
it illustrates th eextent of h is critical sch olarsh ip.
1 4 1
T/ z e Wares of Th omas Vrz ug / z mz
th is point f orth e testimony of anang el. Forth e tutor
of Esdras, among st h is oth ermysterious instructions,
h ath also th is doctrine: Wh eii Adam transg ressedmy
statutes th enwas decreedth at nowis done. Th enwere
th e entrances of th is worldmade narrow, f ull of sorrow
andtravail : th ey are but f ewandevil, f ull of perils, and
very painf ul. Forth e entrances of th e elderworldwere
wideandsure, andbroug h t immortal f ruit.1
Th us much f orth e curse itself : nowf orth e latitude
of it. It is trueth at it was intendedch iey f or'man, wh o
was th e only cause of it, but extendedto th e elements,
inorderto h im andf orh is sak e. Forif Godh ad
excludedh im f rom Edenandcontinuedth eearth inh er
primitive g lories He h adbut turnedh im out of one
paradiseinto anoth er; wh eref ore h e ts th e dung eonto
th e slaveandsends a corruptible maninto a corruptible
world. But intruth it was not mannorth eearth alone
th at suf f eredinth is curse but all oth ercreatures also.
Forsaith Godto th eserpent: Th ouart cursedabove
all cattle, andabove every beast of th e eld, so th at
cattleandbeasts also were cursedinsome measure, but
th is serpent above th em all. To th is also ag rees th e
apostleinh is Epistleto th e Romans, wh ere h eh ath th ese
words: Forth e creature was made subject to vanity,
not willing ly, but by reasonof Him wh o h ath subjected
th e same inh ope. Because th e creature itself also sh all
be deliveredf rom th e bondag e of corruptioninto th e
g lorious liberty of th ech ildrenof God.3Hereby th e
creature h e understands not manbut th einf eriorspecies,
wh ich h edisting uish eth f rom th ech ildrenof God, th oug h
h e allows th em both th esame liberty. But th is is more
plainout of th esubseq uent texts, wh ereh e mak es a clear
dilf erence betweenmanandth e wh ole creation. For
1 IIESDRAS, vii. II- 1 3. 2 GENESIS, iii, 1 4 .
3ROMANS, viii, 2o, 21 .
* Th is is Vaug h an s mannerof understanding verse I9 of St Pau1 s
text: Forth e earnest expectationof th e creature waiteth f orth e
manif estationof th e sons of God.
S 1 4 .2
/ llaz g z icz Aldam{ ca
we k nowsaith h e- - - th at th ewh olecreationg roaneth
andtravaileth inpaintog eth eruntil now. Andnot only
th ey, but ourselves also, wh ich h ave th erst- f ruits of th e
Spirit, evenweourselves g roanwith inourselves, waiting
f orth e adoption, to wit, th e redemptionof ourbody.1
Herewe see th erst f ruits of th eSpirit ref erredto man;
andwh y not some second, subordinatef ruits of it to th e
creatures ing eneral PForas th ey were cursedinth e
Fall of man, f orman s sak e, so it seems inh is restitution
th ey sh all be also blessedf or h is sak e. But of th is
enoug h .
Let us nowsum up andconsiderth e several incon-
veniences ourf irst parent was subject to, f orth ey will
be of some use with us h ereaf ter. First of all h e was
ejectedf rom th e presence of Godandexposedto th e
malice andtemptations of th e devil. He was altered
f rom g oodto bad; f rom incorruptible to corruptible.
Inth e day "- - saith th e Scripture- th at th oueatest
th ereof th oush alt surely die.3Hewas excludedf rom
a g lorious Paradise andconnedto a base world, wh ose
sick ly, inf ectedelements, conspiring with h is ownnature,
didassist andh astenth at death wh ich already beg anto
reig ninh is body. Heavendidmournoverh im, th e
earth andall h erg enerations about h im. He look ed
uponh imself as a f elonanda murderer, being g uilty of
th at curse andcorruptionwh ich succeededinth eworld
because of h is Fall, as we h ave suf f iciently provedout
of th e Mosaical andKabalistical traditions. He was
ig norant andth eref ore h opeless of lif e eternal, andf or
1 Romans, viii, 22, 23.
2 Th osewh o sug g est th at St Paul is mak ing a distinctionbetweenth e
rst- f ruits of th eSpirit, understoodas th eelect, andth eworldof manat
larg eas betweenth e creatureandth e ch ildrenof God- may be
ref erredto viii, 37, of th e same text: Norh eig h t, nordepth , norany
oth er_creature.Th ewordcreature is usedina cosmic sense andth e
promisedrestitutionis cath olic.
3GENESIS, ii, 1 7.
" According to Reuch lin, with wh ose writing s Vaug h anwas evidently
acq uainted, Adam diedspiritually ineating th ef orbiddenf ruit, so th at th e
1 4 - 3
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
th is temporal, present lif e h e was not acq uaintedwith
th e provisions of it. Th e elements of h usbandry were
not as yet k nown; th erewas neith erh ouse norploug h ,
norany of th ose manual arts wh ich mak e up a worldly
providence. He was exposedto .th e violence of rains
andwinds, f rosts andsnows, andina worddeprivedof
all comf orts- spiritual andnatural. Wh at sh ouldI say
moreP Hewas a merestrang erinth is world, couldnot
disting uish medicines f rom poisons, neith erwas h esk illed
inth eordinary preparations of meat anddrink . Heh ad
no victuals ready to h is h ands but th e crude, unseasoned
h erbag e of th e earth , so th at h e must eith erstarve or
f eedas Nebuch adnez z ardid, with th e beasts of th e eld.
Heh eardindeedsometimes of a Tree of Lif einEden,
but th e veg etables of th is worldf oraug h t h e k new-
mig h t be so many Trees of Death . I concludeth eref ore
th at h eh adsome instructorto initiate h im inth e ways
of lif e andto sh ewh im th e intricate andnarrowpath
of th at wilderness. Forwith out q uestionh is outward
miseries andh is inwarddespairwere motives wh ereupon
Goddidreveal a certainart unto h im, by wh ich h e mig h t
relieve h is present necessities andembrace a rm h ope
of a f uture andg lorious restitution. ForGodh aving
ordaineda second, eternal Adam didby somemysterious
experience manif est th e possibility of His coming to th e
rst, wh o being nowf ull of despairandoverch arg edwith
th e g uilt of h is ownsinwas a very t patient f orso
DivineandMercif ul a Ph ysician. But omitting ourown
reasons- - wh ich we mig h t produce to th is purpose- - - let
us repairto th e Kabalists, wh o indeedare very h ig h in
th epoint : andth us th ey deliverth emselves.
God- say th ey- - - h aving made f ast th e doors of His
Paradise andturnedout Adam, sometimeth e dearest of
Divine Sentence was f ullledth ere andth enuponh im. He was not
merely made subject to dissolution. Marta iworz 'eJ> a::.ur, says Reuch lin.
He q uotes also a Kabalistic teach ing , th at th e just inth eirdeath are
called. living , but th ewick edaredead, evenduring th eirlif e.- - - DE ARTE
CABALISTICA, Lid . i.
I 4 4 -
Mag z 'a / f damice
His creatures, did- notwith standing th e present punish -
ment- retainHis f ormer af f ectiontowards h im still.
ForGodis saidto love His creatures, not th at th ere is
anyth ing lovely inth em with out th eirCreatorbut in
th at He desires th eir perf ection. Th at is to say, He
wouldh ave th em conf ormable to Himself andt to
receive His imag e or similitude, wh ich is a spiritual
impress of His beauty. Now, to restore th is similitude
inAdam was impossibleunless Godsh ouldreassumeth at
to Himself wh ich was nowf allenf rom Him. So tran- _-
scendent andalmost incrediblea mercy h adGodtreasured
up inHis secret will, being resolvedto unite th e nature
of manto His ownandso vindicateh im f rom death by
tak ing h im into th e Deity, wh ich is th e true f ountain
andcentre of lif e. Th is will- say th e Kabalistswas
rst revealedto th eang els, andth at by GodHimself , in
th esewords : Beh oldanAdam lik eoneof us, k nowing
g oodandevil." 2 Th is speech th ey call a most secret
conf erencewh ich Godh adwith th e blessedang els inth e
Inner Ch ambers of Heaven."3Now, th at th e same
Scripturesh ouldspeak one th ing inth eletterandanoth er
inth e mystery is not strang eto me, h owdif h cult soever
it may seem to anoth er. Forverily th is text may not
concernth erst Adam, wh o k nowing evil by committing
it couldnot be lik e Godinrespect of th at k nowledg e,
wh ich made h im sinf ul andaltog eth er unlik e Him.
ForGod- - if I may so express itk nows th e evil only
speculatively, inasmuch as noth ing canescape His
1 It must be said- th at Kabalism does not containth e doctrine of
absorptioninGodsug g estedh ere. Th ereis no tak ing of maninto th e
Deity. Th ere is unionwith th e Supernals th roug h Sh ek inah inDivine
Understanding , but th e'unmanif est Godis inth e transcendence; and
th ip is Godnot only unk nownbutunk nowable, as th eZOHAR tells us.
QENESIS, iv, 21 , wh ich reads inth eAuth orisedVersion: Beh oldth e
manis becomeas one of us ; andth eVulg ate: EcceAdam q uasianus
ax rz ez sf actus est.
f t_')ra '2'0rre:r:z 0ccuZt'z 'ss:'mam rt Creator: mundz cum beatz is ang els? 1 }: 51 6:2
Dxf vz nz tatis Perz etmh m h aitam.
_ Weh ave to remember, according to th e SEPHER YETZIRAH- - wh ich
is perh aps th e earliest purely Kabalistic textth at th e Ten.S.e; - h z 'r0z / z - -
1 4 5 IO
Th e Worh rof Th omas Vaag h arz
k nowledg e, andth eref ore is not g uilty of evil: f oras
Trith emius h ath well observed- - - th e k nowledg e of evil
is not evil, but th epracticeof it."1 t It remains th enth at
th is speech concernedth e SecondAdam, Ch rist Jesus,
Wh o k newth e evil but didnot commit it andth eref ore
was lik e one of us, " th at is, lik e one of th e Trinity,
k nowing g oodandevil andyet no way g uilty of th e
evil. 'Th is primitive andcompendious g ospel was no
soonerimpartedto th eang els but th ey became ministers
of it, th e Law- - - as St Paul saith - - - being ordainedin
th eirh ands till Ch rist sh ouldtak e it into His own;
andth eiradministrationto mantook beg inning with
th is oracle.
Th us- - say th eKabalists- - - Raz iel th eang el was presently
dispatch edto communicate th e intellig ence to Adam and
to acq uaint h im with th e mysteries of both worlds,
eternal andtemporal? Foras h e couldnot obtainth e
blessing s of th e eternal worldunless by a true f aith h e
appreh endedth eTh reeEternal Principles of it, so neith er
couldh e f ully enjoy th e benets of th is temporal world
unless h e truly understoodth e th ree visible substances
wh ereof it consists. For th ere are Th ree above and
th ree beneath , Th ree- - as St Joh nsaith - inHeavenand
th ree onearth . Th einf eriorbearwitness of th eSuperior
andareth eironly properreceptacles. Th ey aresig natures
andcreatedbook s wh erewe may readth e Mysteries of
wh ich areworlds of being - wereemanatedf rom Godinth eh iddenness
andwere anabyss of evil as well as of g oodness. So also Godf ormed
manof a spirit of g oodanda spirit of evil, according to th eZOHAR. Th e
g oodwh ich issues f rom evil is reg ardeda littlecrudely as th ejustication
of its orig in. Th e Kabalistic doctors were not troubledby th e problem
of th at orig inandwerewilling to accept th econseq uences of th eirbelief
inGodas th e Creatorof all. See my SECRET DOCTRINE IN ISRAEL,
pp. 37, 80, 86 and96.
1 .S'rz 'em'z 'a malinonest maf am, sea? mus,
GALATIANS, iii, 1 9, wh ich says th at th eLawwas ordainedby ang els
inth eh andof a mediator.
3Th ere is auth ority f orth is inth e ZOHAR, according to wh ich th e
ang el Raz iel was commissionedto entrust Adam with a secret book
wh ereinwas expoundedth eh oly mystery of wisdom.
1 4 6
Mag z ia Ala/ amz ba
th e Supernatural Trinity}But to proceedinourf ormer
discourse: th e Kabalists do not only attribute a g uardian
to Adam but to every oneof th epatriarch s, allowing th em
th eirpresidents andtutors, both to assist andinstruct
th em inth eirwearisome andworldly pereg rinations- a
doctrine; inmy opinionnot morerelig ious th annecessary,
h owprodig ious soever it may seem _to some f antastic,
insipidth eolog icians.2 Forcertainly it is impossible f or
us to ndout mysteries of ourselves: we must eith er
h ave th eSpirit of Godorth einstructionof His ministers,
wh eth erth ey be menorang els. Andth us we see out
of th e traditions anddoctrines of th e Jews h owth eir
Kabalah andourmag ic camerst into th e world. I sh all
nowexamineth e Scriptures andconsult with th em, wh ere
if I am not much mistak en- I sh all ndsome conse-
q uences wh ich must needs dependonth ese principles:
andth us I apply myself to th etask .
Th erst h arvest I readof was th at of Cainandth erst
ock s th oseof Abel. Ash eph erds lif einth oseearly days
was no dif cult prof ession, it being anemployment of more
care th anart. But h owth eearth was ploug h edup bef ore
th e soundof Tubal s h ammers is a piece of h usbandry
unk nownto th ese days. However, it was a labourper-
f ormed, andnotwith out retribution. Cainh ath h is sh eaves
as well as Abel h is lambs: both of th em receiveandboth
ack nowledg eth ebenet. I ndestablish edinth esetwo a
certainpriesth ood: th ey attendboth to th ealtar; andth e
rst bloodwas sh edby sacrice, th esecondby murder.
Now, so dull am I andso sh ort of 2syllog ismsth ose
strang e pumps andh ydrag og ues wh ich lave th e truth
ex puree, lik ewater- - - th at all my reasoncannot mak eth ese
1 Th e th ree th at bearwitness onearth , according to I ST JOHN, v, 8,
are th e spirit, andth e water, andth e blood, andth at inwh ich th ey
ag reeis th eunity of ourh umanpersonality.
2 Th e auth ority is Abrah am BenDior, th at is, Abrah am BenDavid
Ha Levi, wh o diedA.D. 1 1 26. Heassig nedg uardianang els to proph ets
as well as patriarclis- th at of Moses being Metatron, th e Great Ang el of
th ePresence. '
I4 7
Th e Work s q f Th oma; Vaug / z arz
menlevites with out revelation. ForI desireto k nowh ow
cameth ey rst to sacriceandby wh om wereth ey initiated?
If youwill say by Adam th eq uestionis def erredbut not
satised. ForI wouldk nowf urth er: inwh at sch ool was
Adam instructed? Now, th at it was impossible f orh im
to invent th ese sh adows andsacraments of h imself I will
undertak e to demonstrate, andth at by invincible reason
wh ich no adversary sh all dareto contradict.
It is most certainth at th eh opeandexpectationof man
inmatters of sacrices consist inth e th ing sig niedand
not inth e sig nitself . Forth e material, corruptible
sh adowis not th eobject of f aith but th espiritual, eternal
prototypewh ich answers to it andmak es th e deadsig n
ef f ectual. Th e sacrices of th e OldTestament andth e
elements of th eNewcanbe no way acceptable with God
but inasmuch as th ey h avea relationto Ch rist Jesus, Wh o
is th eg reat, perf ect sacriceoH'eredup oncef orall. It is
plainth enth at sacrices wererst instituteduponsuper-
natural g rounds, f orinNature th ere is no reasonto be
f oundwh y Godsh ouldbe pleasedwith th edeath of His
creatures. Nay, th every contrary is writteninth at Book ,
f ordeath both natural andviolent- - - proceeds not f rom
th epleasure but f rom th e displeasureof th e Creator. I
k nowth elearnedAlk ind1 builds th eef ciency of sacrices
ona sympath y of parts with th e g reat world; f orth ere
is inevery animal a portionof th e star- re, wh ich re-
uponth e dissolutionof th ecompound- is unitedto th e
g eneral re f rom wh ence it rst came andproduceth a
sense or motioninth e limbus to wh ich it is united.
Th is indeedis true, but th at motioncauseth no joy th ere
andby conseq uence no rewardto th e sacrice; 2f orI
1 1 .:., Alch indius, Alk endi orAlk indi, anArabianph ilosoph erand
ph ysicianwh o is ascribedto anUncertainperiodbetweenth eeig h th and
twelf th centuries. Heis accreditedwith two h undredtreatises andth ree
h avebeentranslatedinto Latin: (I) ASTRORUM INDICES, &c., I507; (2)
D1 1 : RERUM GRAD- IBUSF, 1 531 ; and(3) DEMEDICINARUM COMPOSITARUM
GRADIBUS, 1 603.
2 Th is reverieseems personal to Th omas Vaug h anandis unintellig ible.
I4 .8
Mag ia 1 % / arnz ica
sh all mak eit to appearelsewh ere th at th e Astral Moth er
doth mournandnot rejoiceat th edeath of h erch ildren.
Nowif welook back onth esetwo rst sacrices, wesh all
ndAbel andh is oblationaccepted, wh ich couldnot be,
h adh e not of f eredit up as a symbol org ure of h is
Saviour. To drive h ome my arg ument th en, I say th at
th is k nowledg eof th e type inwh om all of f ering s were
acceptablecouldnot be obtainedby any h umanindustry
but by solerevelation. Forth e Passionof Ch rist Jesus
was anordinance wrappedup inth e secret will of God,
andh eth at wouldk nowit must of necessity be of His
council. Hence it is calledinScripture th e Hidden
Mystery, f orth e truth andcertainty of it was not to be
receivedf rom any but only f rom Him Wh o h adboth th e
will andth epowerto ordainit. But if youwill tell me
lik eth e auth orof th e Predicable:- th at mensacriced
at rst by th einstinct of Nature~ andwith out any respect
to th e type- I sh all indeedth ank youf ormy mirth
wh ensoeveryoug ive me so just a reasonto laug h .
It remains th ena most rm, inf allible f oundationth at
Adam was rst instructedconcerning th ePassion, andin
orderto th at h ewas taug h t f urth erto sacriceandof f er
up th e bloodof beasts as types andprodromes of th e
bloodof Ch rist _]esusth e altars of th e Lawbeing but
steps to th ecross of th e Gospel. Now, if it be objected
th at several nations h ave sacricedwh o didnot k now
Godat all, much less th e Sonof God, Wh o is th eproto-
typeandperf ectionof all oblations: to th is I answerth at
th ecustom of sacricing was communicatedto h eath ens
by traditionf rom th e rst man, wh o h aving instructed
h is ownch ildrenth ey also deliveredit to th eirposterity,
so th at th is viz ardof relig ionremained, th oug h th e sub-
stanceandtruedoctrineof it was lost. Andth us inmy
opinionit suf ciently appears th at th e rst mandid
sacrice not by Nature- as Porph yrius, th at enemy of
1 Th ere seems no recurrence to th is subject inth e laterwriting s of
Vaug h an.
1 4 - 9
Toe Work s of Tomas Vang / z mz
our relig ion, wouldh ave it- but some by revelation,
oth ers by custom andtradition. But- - nowI th ink upon
it- I h aveScriptureto conrm meconcerning th is primitive
revelation, f orSolomonnumbering th ose several blessing s
wh ich th eDivineWisdom impartedto th eancient f ath ers,
among st th e rest, species h erindulg ence to Adam :1
Sh e preservedsaith h e- - th e rst f ormedf ath erof
th eworld, th at was createdalone, andbroug h t h im out of
h is Fall.Herel ndAdam insome measure restored,
andh owcouldth at be but by discovering unto h im th e
Great Restorative Ch rist Jesus, th e SecondAdam in
Wh om h e was to believe? Forwith out f aith h ecould
not h avebeenbroug h t out of h is Fall, andwith out Ch rist
revealedandpreach edunto h im h e couldh ave no f aith ,
f orh ek newnot wh at to believe. It remains th enth at
h e was instructed, f oras inth ese last days weare taug h t
by th e Sonrof GodandHis apostles, so inth ose rst
times th ey were taug h t by th e Spirit of GodandHis
ministering ang els. Th esewereth eirtutors, f orof th em
th ey h eardth eWord; andverily we are toldth at f aith
comes by h earing .
It is now- - - - as I th ink suf ciently provedth at Adam
h adh is metaph ysics f rom above. Ournext serviceand
perh aps somewh at dif cult- - - is to g ive some probableif
not demonstrativereasons th at th ey came not alone but
h adth eirph ysics also to attendth em. I k nowth e
Scriptures are not positive inth is point, andh ence th e
sects will lug th eirconseq uence of reprobation. Truly,
f ormy part, I desire not th eirruinz but th eirpatience.
I h ave- - th oug h ag ainst th e precept 3- f or many years
attendedth eir ph ilosoph y; andif th ey spenda f ew
h ours onmy spermalog y it may cost th em some part of
1 VVISDOM OF SOLOMON, x, I, h ere treatedby Vaug h anas if it were
canonical. It will benotedth at h e h as no doubt respectlng th e auth or-
sh ip. _
2 Th eorig inal reads Hum, wh ich seems nonsensical.
3Th e ref erence is to COLOSSIANS, ii, 8: Beware lest any manspoil
youth roug h ph ilosoph y andvaindeceit, af terth etraditionof men.
1 5o
/ llag ia Ale/ amz 'ca
th eirjusticebut noneof th eirf avours. But th at wemay
cometo th e th ininh and: I h oldit very necessary to
distinuish arts, ForI h ave not yet seenany auth orwh o
h ath ully consideredth eirdif f erence. Th e Art I speak
of is truly ph ysical insubject, meth odandef f ect. But
as f orarts publicly prof essedandto th e disadvantag eof
truth allowed, not one of th em is so q ualied, f orth ey
are mere k nack s andbaubles of th eh andorbrain, h aving
no rm f undamentals inNature. Th ese, inmy opinion,
Solomonnumbers among st h is vanities, wh enh e speak s
ina certainplace th at Godh ath made manuprig h t;
but th ey h ave soug h t out many inventions.Of th ese
inventions we h ave a sh ort catalog ue inGenesis, wh ere
Moses separates th e cornf rom th e ch af f , th e work s of
Godf rom th e wh imsies of man. Th us we readth at
Jabal was th ef ath erof such as dwell intents, h is broth er
Jubal th e f ath erof all such as h andle th eh arp andorg an,
andTubal Cainaninstructorof every articerinbrass
andiron.3Wh at misch ief s h ave succeededth is brass and
ironCyclops I neednot tell you. If youk nownot th e
f ates of f ormertimes youmay study yourown; youlive
inanag e th at caninstruct you. Verily it is worth our
observationth at th esearts andth eirtools proceedednot
f rom th e posterity of Seth , inwh ich line ourSaviour
stands, f or- - as we sh all mak e it appear h ereaf ter
q uestionless th ey h ada better k nowledg e; but th ey
proceededf rom th e seedof Cain, wh o inactionwas a
murdererandinth e circumstanceof it a f ratricide.
To be sh ort th ere is no vanity [lik e] 5 to th evanity of
sciences, I meanth ose inventions andth eirprof essors
1 Vaug h ang ives a marg inal ref erenceto ACTS, xvii, I8.
2 ECCLESIASTES, vii, 29.
3GENESIS, iv, 2o~ 22.
" But th ewords every articercoverth emetal- work of peaceas well
as war, andone of th e Victorianpoets, Ch arles Mack ay, tells us very
pleasantly h owTubal Cainf ash ion dth erst ploug h - sh are.
5 I h ave insertedth is word, wh ich seems necessary to th emeaning of
th esentence.
I 51
T/ z e Wore; of T/ z omas Vang / z an
wh ich producenoth ing trueandnatural but ef f ects eith er
f alse orinth eirends corrupt andviolent. But it is no
conq uest to treadonruins: Cornelius Ag rippa h ath
already laidth ese rodomonradas inth e dirt andth at so
h andsomely th ey wereneversinceof a g eneral reputation.
Givemeanart th enth at is a perf ect, entire map of th e
creation, th at canleadme directly to th e k nowledg e of
th e true God, by wh ich I candiscoverth ose universal,
invisibleessences wh ich are subordinateto HimanArt
th at is no way subject to evil andby wh ich I canattain
to all th e secrets andmysteries inNature. Th is is th e
Art wh ereinth e ph ysics of Adam andth epatriarch s con-
sisted, andth at th is Art was revealedto h im I will
undertak e to demonstrate by Scriptures andth epractice
of h is posterity.
Th is truth , I am certain, will seem dif cultif not
incredible- - to most men, th e providence of Godbeing
prejudicedinth is point, f orth ey will not allowHim to
instruct us innatural th ing s but only insupernaturals,
such as may concernoursouls andth eirsalvation. As
f orourbodies, Hemust not prescribef orth eirnecessities
by teach ing us th e true ph ysic anddiscovering th elaws
of His creation; f orth oug h He made Nature yet He
may not tutorus innatural sciences. By no means:
Aristotle andh is syllog ism cando it much better.
Certainly th is opinionis noth ing dif f erent f rom th at of
th e epicureth at Godtak es th e air, I k nownot in
wh at walk s andq uarters of His h eaven, but th ink s not
of us mortals wh o are h ereunderHis f eet.2 Question-
less, a most eminent impiety, to mak eGodas Tertullian
saidof old- - anidle, unprotable nobody inth is world,
h aving noth ing to do with ouraf f airs, as th ey are natural
1 Ag rippa s book onth e vanity of th e sciences includes all arts and
modes andmeth ods of k nowledg einth eeldof its criticism. It may be
comparedwith th elamentationof Robert Fluddoverth eirdeg eneration
f rom orig inal perf ectioninh is APOLOGIA COMPENDIARIA ordef enceof
th eRosicrucianSociety.
2 Deum adctrlicardz rz rs obambulare, at rmlif if ung imortalirmz crmz f .
I 5'2
/ llag ia 1 4 4 / amica
andh uman." 1 Sure th ese menareaf raidlest His mercy
sh oulddiminish His majesty : th ey suf f erHim to trade
only with ourimmortal parts, not with corruptiblebodies
th at h ave most needof His assistance. Th ey are base
subjects wh ich He h ath turnedoverto Galenandth e
apoth ecaries.
Not so, my f riend: Heh ath createdph ysic andbring s
it out of th eearth ; but th eGalenist k nows it not. He
it is th at pities ouraf f lictions ; Heis th e g oodSamaritan
th at doth not pass by us inourmiseries, but pours oil
andwineinto ourwounds. Th is I k nowvery well, and
I will prove it out of His ownmouth . Didnot He
instruct Noah to buildanark , to pitch it with inand
with out, andth is to savelif eina timewh enHeHimself
was resolvedto destroy it- ina timewh enth eworldwas
acq uaintedwith no mech anics but a little h usbandryand
a f ewk nack s of Tubal Cainandh is breth ren? But even
th oseinventions also proceededf rom th at lig h t wh ich He
plantedinman, 2 anessence perpetually busy andwh ose
ambitionit is to perf orm wonders. Yet h ea seldom
produceth anyth ing of h is ownbut wh at is f antastic and
monstrous. DidHenot put His Spirit inBez aleel, th e
sonof UriandinAh oliab, th esonof Ah isamach ?" Did
Henot teach th em to devise cunning work s, to work in
g old, insilver, inbrass, incutting of stones, insetting
of th em, incarving of timberandinall mannerof
work mansh ip P But to comenearerto ourpurpose: did
Henot inf orm Moses inth e compositionof th eoil and
th eperf ume? DidHenot teach h im th e symptoms of
th eleprosy andth ecureth ereof ? DidHenot prescribe
a plasterof g s f orHez ek iah and- - to useyourownterm
1 0_tz '0.rr m at :'ne.rarcz 'tu#z m'mz 'nem 2'1 : ream / mmam's.- - APOLOGIA
Anvaasus Genres, mp. 24 .
_"' Th e arg ument h as a sideof dang er, f orth ere is no principlewh ich
will excludeth einventions clue to th ez nrg em'mnof Galen.
_ 3Th epronouns of Vaug h anare not inf req uently conf usedandconf us
ing . Th epresent oneref ers to mang enerally, but th oseof th eprevious
andsucceeding sentenceto God.
" EX ODUS, xxxi, 2, 3, andxxxv, 34 .
I 53
T/ z e Work s of Tomai" Vaug h an
anoph th almic f orTobit ? Didnot Jesus Ch rist Him-
self , inth edays of His esh , work most of His miracles
onourbodies, th oug h His g reat cure was th at of our
souls? Is He not th e same th ento- day as yesterday?
Nay, was He not th e same f rom th e beg inning ? Did
Hecaref orourbodies th enanddoth He neg lect th em
now? Or, being seatedonth erig h t h andof th eMajesty
onh ig h , is Heless g oodbecause more g lorious? God
f orbid~ to th ink so were a sininsuperlatives. Let us
th entak e Him f orourPresident, f orHe is not- - - saith
St Paul- - such anone wh ich cannot be touch edwith
th ef eeling of ouriiirmities" ; but He is indeedone
th at look s to ourpresent estate as well as to ourf uture
andis as sensibleof ourinrmity as Heis caref ul of our
immortality. Wh eii Hewas onearth with th e dust of
th at earth He madeth eblindto see, 2andof merewater
Hemadewine. Th esewere th evisibleelements of His
ph ysic, orrath er- - so th e notiondoth not of f endyou-
of His mag ic. But sh all I sh ewyouHis library andin
th at His th reef oldph ilosoph y? Observe th enrst and
censure af terwards. Have salt inyourselves; and
ag ain: Ye are th e salt of th e earth ; andina th ird
place- : Salt is g ood.Th is is His mineral doctrine:3
will youk nowHis veg etable? It is intwo little book s
a mustard- seedanda lily. Lastly He h ath His
animal mag ic, andtruly th at is a scroll sealedup: I
k nownot wh o may openit.5 Heneedednot th at any
sh ouldtestif y of man: f orHek newwh at was inman." 6
Andwh at of all th is blasph emy? says some splenetic
soph ister. Beh old, I will instruct th ee. First of all, h ave
salt inth yself , f orit will seasonth y soul th at is inf ected
1 Hsaanws, iv, 1 5. 2 STJoan, rap. ixpa.m'm.
3Riz 'd., iii, 2- - I I.
4 ST MARK, ix, 5o; ST MA'I"I., v, 1 3; SrLUKE, xiv, 34 .
5 It sh ouldnot be dif cult inviewof th e preceding intimations con-
cerning th edoctrine of Ch rist inrespect of minerals andveg etables. It
is all spiritually understood, inrespect of th eth reek ing doms.
'3ST JOHN, ii, 25.
1 54
Mag z 'a 1 4 damz 'cz z
andpreserveth y brains th at areputreedwith th e dirt of
Aristotle. Inth e secondplace, learnwh at th esalt of th e
earth is to wh ich th edisciples are compared- andth at by
a reg ular, solidspeculation. Th irdly, come up to ex-
perience, andby a ph ysical, leg itimate practice k nowin
wh at sense salt is most g ood.Fourth ly, examine th e
lilies by re andth e waterof re, th at th oumayst see
th eir miraculous, invisible treasures andwh ereinth at
speech of truth is veried- th at Solomoninall h is g lory
was not arrayedlik e one of th ese. If th ouwilt
attempt a h ig h ermag ic th oumayst, being rst seasoned;
but inth is place it is not my desig nto leadth ee to it.
Animal andveg etablemysteries th oucanst neverperf ectly
obtainwith out th e k nowledg eof th e rst mineral secret,
namely, th esalt of th eearth - - - wh ich is salt andno salt2 - -
andth e preparationth ereof . Th is discourse, I conf ess,
is somewh at remote f rom th at I rst intended, namely,
th at ph ilosoph y was revealedto Adam as well as divinity ;
but some pates are block s inth eirownways and- - - as
I toldyouf ormerly- will not believeth at Goddispenseth
with any natural secrets. Th is made me produce th ese
f ewinstances out of Scriptureas preparatives to th e pro-
positionitself and- if h e be anyth ing ing enious- to th e
reader. His compliance to my principles I expect not;
nay, I am so f arf rom it h e may suspendh is ch arity.
Let h im be as rig idas justice canmak e h im, f orI wish
not to prevail inanyth ing but th etruth ; andinth ename
of truth th us I beg in.
Youh ave beentoldf ormerly th at CainandAbel were
instructedinmatters of sacriceby th eirf ath erAdam ;
1 ST MAT'I., vi, 28, 29 ; ST LUKE, xii, 27.
2 Lik e oth erh ypoth etical prime principles of alch emy, th eSalt of th e
Ph ilosoph ers is calledby many contradictory names- as f orexample,
First Matter, Stone of th e Ph ilosoph ers, FoliatedEarth . It is conf used
also with Sulph urandMercury, as if th e th ree principles were one and
th e same th ing , wh ich indeedis one of th e th eses. Gebersays th at it
h as no appearanceof salt till it is causedto assumeth is inth e operation
perf ormeduponit. Forth e rest, it cannot beextractedf rom any k nown
salts andyet is th eroot of all.
I55 i
Te Warts of T/ wmas Vaug / z arz
but Cainh aving murderedh is broth erAbel h is priest-
h ooddescendedto Seth , andth is is conrmedby th ose
f aculties wh ich attendedh is posterity : f orEnoch , Lamech
andNoah were all of th em proph ets. It troubles you
perh aps th at I attribute a priesth oodto Abel, but I
h ave- besides h is ownpracticeCh rist s testimony f orit,
Wh o accounts th ebloodof Abel among st th at of th eper-
secutedproph ets andwisemen. Now, to concludeth at
th ese menh adno k nowledg e inph ilosoph y because th e
Scripture doth not mentionany use th ey made of it is
anarg ument th at denies someth ing andproves noth ing .
To sh ewth e vanity of th is inf erence, I will g ive you
anexampleout of Moses h imself . Wek nowvery well
th ere are no proph ecies of Abrah am extant, neith erdo
we readanywh ere th at everh edidproph esy; but not-
with standing h e was a proph et. ForGodreproving
Abimelech King of Gerar, wh o h adtak enSarah f rom
h imi'f supposing sh e h adbeenh is sister- h ath th ese
words: Nowth eref ore restore th e manh is wif e; f or
h e is a proph et, andh e sh all pray f orth ee, andth oush alt
live. Hencewemay learnth at th e Holy Gh ost doth
not always mentionth e secret perf ections of th esoul in
th epublic ch aracterof th e person. Truly I sh ouldnot
be so impudent as to expect yourassent to th is doctrine
if th e Scriptures were silent inevery text, if I didnot
ndth eresomeinf alliblesteps of mag ic, such as may lead
me with out a lanternto th e Arch ives of th e Art itself .
I k nowth etroop andtumult of oth eraf f airs areboth th e
many andth emaininth e h istory of Moses. But inth e
wh ole current I meet with some acts wh ich may not be
numberedamong st th ef ortunes of th epatriarch s but are
perf ormances extraordinary andspeak th eircauses not
common.
1 SrLuxn, xi, 5o, 51 ; SrMATT., xxiii, 35.
2 Vaug h anf org ets th at th e burdenof proof is onh im andnot onth e
side of denial. He mig h t h ave done much worse th anacq uire some
counsels of reasonf rom Aristotleh imself -
GENESIS, xx, 7. * ]6:d., xx, 7.
I 56
2
Mag z 'a / f damz dz
l h ave ever admiredth at discipline of Eliez er th e
stewardof Abrah am wh o wh enh e prayedat th ewell in
Mesopotamia couldmak eh is camels also k neel. I must
not believe th erewas any h ocus inth is orth at th e spirit
of Bank sz may be th e spirit of prayer. Jacob mak es a
covenant with Labanth at all th e spottedandbrown
cattle inh is f lock s sh ouldbe assig nedto h im f orh is
wag es. Th e barg ainis no soonermade but h e nds an
art to multiply h is owncolours andsends h is f ath er- in- law
almost a woolg ath ering . AndJacob took h im rods of
g reenpoplar, andof th e h az el andch esnut- tree; and
pilledwh ite strak es inth em, andmade th ewh ite appear
wh ich was inth e rods. Andh e set th erods wh ich h e
h adpilledbef oreth eock s inth eg utters inth ewatering -
troug h s wh enth ef lock s cameto drink , th at th ey sh ould
conceivewh enth ey cameto drink . Andth ef lock s con-
ceivedbef ore th e rods, andbroug h t f orth cattle ring -
strak ed, speck ledandspotted.As f orth at wh ich th e
Scripture tells us elsewh ere, namely, th at Jacob saw
ina dream, and, beh oldth e rams wh ich leapeduponth e
cattle were ring strak ed, speck ledandg risled:"' th is
doth no way impairourassertionorprove th is g enera-
tionmiraculous andsupernatural. For no man, I
believe, is so madas to th ink th ose appearances orrams
of th e dream didleap andsupply th e natural males of
th e f lock - Godusing th is apparitiononly to sig nif y th e
truth of th at art Jacob actedby andto tell h im th at h is
h opes were ef f ected. But I sh all not insist long onany
particular, andth eref oreI will pass f rom th is dream to
anoth er. Joseph being seventeenyears oldanag e of
some discretionpropounds a visionto h is f ath er, not
loosely andto no purpose, as wetell oneanoth erof our
dreams, but expecting - - I believeaninterpretation, as
1 GENESIS, xxiv, II.
2 Th ere was a f amous sh owmanof th is name, but th e ref erence is
perh aps to some obscure proph et, andth erewas a cloudof th ese andof
astrolog ers at Vaug h an s period.
3GENESIS, xxx, 37- 4 o. * !z 'a'., xxxi, io, I2.
I 57
T/ re Wors of Th omas Vaug dirm
k nowing th at h is f ath er h adth e sk ill to expoundit.
Th ewise patriarch , being not ig norant of th e secrets of
th e two luminaries, attributes males to th e sunand
f emales to th e moon, th enallows a th irdsig nicationto
th eminorstars, andlastly answers h is sonwith a q uestion:
Wh at is th is dream th at th ouh ast dreamed? Sh all I
andth y moth erandth y breth renindeedcome to bow
downourselves to th ee to th eearth ?1
Now, I th ink no manwill deny but th e interpretation
of dreams belong s to mag ic andh ath beeneversoug h t
af teras a piece of secret learning . Trueit is wh enth e
interpreterreceives h is k nowledg eimmediately f rom God,
as Daniel did, th enit f alls not with inth e limits of a
natural science; but I speak of a ph ysical exposition, as
th is was, wh ich depends oncertainabstruse similitudes ;
f orh e th at k nows th e analog y of parts to parts inth is
g reat body wh ich wecall th eworldmay k nowwh at every
sig nsig nies andby conseq uence may provea g oodin-
terpreterof dreams. As f orJacob s rst practice, wh ich
we h ave f ormerly mentioned, namely, th e propag ationof
h is speck ledock s, it is anef f ect so purely mag ical th at
ourmost obstinate adversaries dare not q uestionit. I
couldcite oneplace morewh ich ref ers to th is patriarch
andpoints at th e f undamentals of mag ic; but being
annexedto th is discourse it woulddiscovertoo much ?
I sh all th eref ore leaveit to th e search of th ose wh o are
considerable procients, if not masters inth e art. Th e
sum of all is th is : manof h imself couldnot attainto true
k nowledg e; it was Godinmere mercy didinstruct h im.
To conrm th is, I sh all desireth e readerto considerh is
ownexperience. We h ave inth ese days many mag ical
book s extant, wh ereinth e Art is discovered- - - both truly
andplainly. We h ave also aninnitenumberof men
1 GENESIS, xxxiii, io.
2 Th e ref erence mig h t seem obviously to th e wrestling of Jacob with
anang el at Peniel ; but lateroninth etext it is saidth at ]acob s Ladder
is th eg reatest mystery inth eKabalah .
I58
Mz z g inA :/ az nz 'ca
wh o study th ose book s, but af terth e endeavours of a
long lif e not one intenth ousandunderstands th em.
Now, if wewith all th ese advantag escannot attainto
th e secrets of Nature, sh all we th ink th ose rst f ath ers
did, wh o h adnone of ourlibraries to assist th em, nor
any learnedmanuponearth to instruct th em? Could
th ey do th at with out means wh ich we cannot do with
means, andth ose too very considerable? Th e Peripa-
tetics perh aps will tell me th eirsyllog ism is th e eng ine
th at canperf orm all th is. Let th em th eninbariwaro or
baroca demonstrate th e First Matterof th e Ph ilosoph er's
Stone. But th ey will tell me th ere is no such th ing .
Beh old, I tell th em ag ain- andassure th em too onmy
salvation- - th ere is ; but intruth th eirlog ic will never
ndit out.
It is clear th enth at Godat rst instructedAdam;
f rom h im h is ch ildrenreceivedit ; andby th eirtradition
it descendedto th e patriarch s, every f ath erbeq ueath ing
th ese secrets to h is ch ildas h is best andmost lasting
leg acy.I h ave nowattendedJacob, th e Israel of God,
both inh is pilg rimag e at Padan- aram andinh is typical
inh eritance, th eearnest of th eLandof Canaan. But two
removals perf ect not th ewandering s of a patriarch . God
calls h im f rom th eh abitationof h is f ath ers to th e prison
of h is posterity andprovides h im a place of f reedom in
th e h ouse of bondag e. I must f ollowh im wh ere h is
f ortune leads, f rom Isaac s Hebronto th e Gosh enof
Ph araoh , th enback ag ainto th e cave anddust of
Mach pelah . As f orh is sons andth eirtrain, wh o attended
h is motionth ith er, I ndnotany particularremembrance
of th em, only Moses tells me of a g eneral exit: Joseph
diedandall h is breth ren, andall th at g eneration.I
_ 1 Any arg ument, h owbadsoever, is g oodenoug h to cast at a syllog ism,
but th eansweris th at Aristotelians as such laidno claim to th ediscovery
of secrets of Natureby th emeth odof log ic.
2 Somewh at crudely expressedh ere, th is is th eth eory of transmission
as reg ards th eSecret TraditioninIsrael.
3Exonos, i, 6.
I59
Th e Worrq f T/ z omas Vaug arz
must nowth en- to proveth e continuanceandsuccession
of th is Artaddress myself to th e court, wh ereI sh all
ndth e sonof Levi newly translatedf rom h is ark and
bulrush es. Yet th ereis someth ing may besaidof Joseph ,
andverily it. proves h owcommonmag ic was inth ose
days andth e ef f ects of it no news to th e sons of Jacob;
f orh aving conveyedh is cup into th esack of Benjamin- -
andby th at policy detainedh is breth ren- h eask s th em :
Wh at deedis th is th at ye h ave done? Wot ye not
th at such a manas I am cancertainly divine?"1
Inth is speech h e mak es h is breth renno strang ers to
th e perf ormances of Art but rath ermak es th eirf amili-
arity th erewith anarg ument ag ainst th em: Wot ye
not ?But th e f ollowing words are very ef f ectual and
tell us _wh at q ualiedpersons th e ancient Mag i were.
Th ey were indeedas h e speak s of h imself - such as
Joseph was, princes andrulers of th e people, not beg g arly
g ipsies andmountebank s, as ourdoctors are now. It
was th eambitionof th e g reat inth osedays to be g ood,
andas th ese secrets proceededf rom God, so were th ey
also entertainedby th e g ods- - I mean, by k ing s. For
saith th e Scripture: I h ave saidye are g ods2a
namecommunicatedto th em becauseth ey h adth e power
to do wonders, f orinth is mag ical sense th e true God
speak s to Moses: See, I h ave made th ee a g odto
Ph araoh : andAaronth y broth ersh all be th y proph et.3
Andverily th is truek nowledg eandth is titleth at belong s
to it didth at f alse serpent pretendto ourrst parents :
Ye sh all be as g ods, k nowing g oodandevil."' But
'tis not th is subtledrag onbut th at g oodcruciedserpent
th at cang ive us both th is k nowledg e andth is title: f or
all th ing s were made by Him; andwith out Him was
not anyth ing made th at was made."6 If Hemadeth em
th enHecanteach us also h owth ey were made.
I must nowref ermyself to Moses, wh o at h is rst
, 1 GENESIS, xliv, i5. 2 PSALMlxxxii, 6. 3Exoous, vii, i.
* GENESIS, iii, 5. 5 Homo.ills Serpens. 6 ST JOHN, 1 , 3.
1 60
Mag m 1 4 damica
acq uaintancewith Godsawmany transmutations- - onein
h is ownesh , anoth erof th erodinh is h and, with a th ird
promisedandaf terwards perf ormeduponwater. It is
writtenof h im th at h ewas sk illedinall th e learning of
th eEg yptians ; but f ormy partl do much q uestionwh at
k indof learning th at was, th e Scriptureassuring meand
th at by th e penof Mosesth eirwonders were ef f ected
by l'1 Cl"l3.DlIlT1 Cl1 tS.1 Th is is certain: th eirlearning was
ancient, f orI ndmag icians inEg ypt f ourh undredand
th irty years andupwards bef ore Jamnes andJambres.
Th is is conrmedby Ph araoh 's dream, wh ich h is own
sorcerers andwiz ards couldnot interpret, but Joseph
alone expoundedit.2 Verily it cannot be deniedbut
some branch es of th is art, th oug h extremely corrupted,
were dispersedamong all nations by traditionf rom th e
rst man, andth is appears by moretestimonies th anone.
Forinth elandof Canaan, bef oreeverIsrael possessedit,
Debirwh ich Ath niel th esonof Kenaz conq ueredwas
anuniversity, at least h adinit a f amous library, wh ere-
f ore th eJews calledit Kiria:/ z - Sepf z arimf I mig h t speak
inth is placeof th e universality of relig ion, f orneveryet
was th ere a people but h adsome conf usednotionof a
Deity, th oug h accompaniedwith lamentable ceremonies
andsuperstitions. Besides, th e relig ions of all nations
h ave always pretendedto powers extraordinary, evento
th eperf ormanceof miracles andth eh ealing of all diseases,
andth is by somesecret means, not k nownto th ecommon
man. Andverily if we examine all relig ions, wh eth er
f alse ortrue, we sh all not ndone but it pretends to
someth ing th at is mystical. Certainly if menbe not re-
solvedag ainst reason, th ey must g rant th ese obliq uities
inmatters of f aith proceededf rom th ecorruptionof some
principles received- - as we see th at h eretics are but so
1 EX ODUS, vii, II, 1 2. 2 GENESIS, ix, 4 i.
3See Josnua, xv, 1 5- i7, andcompareJUDGES, i, 1 1 - i3. As reg ards
th e f amous library, th ere may be a Talmudic traditionwith wh ich I am
unacq uainted, orit may be a speculationof Vaug h an, f oundedonth e
nameKz :yat1 z - .S'e, z f z er= city of letters, orof th ebook .
I61 II
Th e Worh i tyTh o; / mi Vaag h h rz
many f alse interpreters. But notwith standing inth ose
very errors th ere remainedsome mark s andimitations of
th erst truth . Hence it comes to pass th at all parties
ag ree inth e actionbut not inth e object. Forexample,
Israel didsacriceandth e h eath endidsacrice, but th e
one to God, th e oth erto h is idol. Neith erwere th ey
only conf ormableinsomerites andsolemiiities of divinity,
but th e h eath ens also h adsome h ints lef t of th e secret
learning andph ilosoph y of th e patriarch s, as we may see
inth eirf alse mag ic, wh ich consistedf orth e most part in
astrolog ical observations, imag es, ch arms andch aracters.
But it is my desig nto k eep inth e road, not to f ollow
th ese deviations andmisf ortunes of th e Art, wh ich not-
with standing want not th e weig h t of arg umeiitth e
existence o th ing s being as well provedby th eirmis-
carriag eas by th eirsuccess. To proceedth en, I say th at
during th e pilg rimag e of th e patriarch s th is k nowledg e
was deliveredby traditionf rom th e f ath erto h is ch ild;
andindeedit couldbe no oth erwise, f orwh at was Israel
inth ose days but a private f amily? Notwith standing ,
wh enGodappointedth em th eirpossession, andth at th is
private h ouse was multipliedto a nation, th enth ese
secrets remainedwith th e elders of th e tribes, as th ey
didf ormerly with th ef ath erof th ef amily. Th eseelders
no doubt wereth e Mosaical septuag int wh o made up th e
Sanh edrim, Godh aving selectedsome f rom th e rest to
be th e stewards anddispensers of His mysteries. Now,
th at Moses was acq uaintedwith all th e abstruse opera-
tions andprinciples of Natureis a truth , I suppose, wh ich
no manwill resist. Th at th e Senh edrim also participated
of th e same instructionandk nowledg ewith h im is plain
out of Scripture, wh erewe readth at Godtook of th e
spirit th at was inMoses andg aveit unto th e seventy
elders.1
But lest any mansh oulddeny th at wh ich we tak e
f org ranted- namely, th e ph ilosoph y of Moses- I sh all
1 NUMBERS, xi, 25.
I 62
M62g m AidamZea
demonstrate out of h is ownbook s, both by reasonas
also by h is practice, th at h e was a natural mag ician. First
of all th en, it is most absurdandth eref ore improbable
th at h e sh ouldwrite of th e creationwh o was no way
sk illedinth e secrets of GodandNature, both wh ich
must of necessity be k nownbef orewesh ouldundertak e
to write of th e creation. But Moses didwrite of it:
erg o. NowI desire to k nowwh at h e h ath written-
truth ora lie. If truth , h owdareyoudeny h is k now-
ledg e? If a lie- - wh ich Godf orbid- - wh y will yoube-
lieve h im? Youwill tell me perh aps h e h ath done it
only ing eneral terms ; andI cantell youth at Aristotle
h ath done no oth erwise. But th ink youing oodearnest
th at h e k newno more th anwh at h e didwrite? Th ere
is noth ing youcansay inth is point but we candisprove
it, f orinGenesis h e h ath discoveredmany particulars,
andespecially th ose secrets wh ich h ave most relationto
th is Art. Forinstance, h e h ath discoveredth e minem
of man, orth at substanceout of wh ich manandall h is
f ellow- creatures were made? Th is is th eFirst Matterof
th ePh ilosoph er s Stone. Moses calls it sometimes water,
sometimes earth ; f orina certainplace I readth us:
AndGodsaid, Let th ewaters bring f orth abundantly
th emoving creatureth at h ath lif e, andf owl th at may y
aboveth e earth inth eopenrmament of h eaven. But
elsewh ere we readoth erwise: But out of th e g round
th eLordGodf ormedevery beast of th eeld, andevery
f owl of th e air. Inth is latertext h etells us th at God
made every f owl of th eairout of th e g round, but inth e
f ormerit is writtenHe made th em out of th e water.
1 It is much ado about noth ing , f orif Moses was en: h yp02.h e.tz 'inspired
as Vaug h ancertainly lield- h is ph ilosoph y orlearning is m'h z 'Zadrent.
3Th etext of GENESIS is stultiedby th is statement andall th at f ollows
it. lt is saidth at th ewaters broug h t f orth moving creatures andf owls ;
th at th eearth broug h t f orth living creatures th ereunto belong ing ; but th at
th e Eloh im mademaninth eirownimag e andlik eness. Ag ain, it is not
worth debating , but th e point is th at Vaug h anh adno real q ualications
as aninterpreterof Scripture.
3GENESIS, i, 2o. * GENESIS, ii, 1 9.
1 63
Th e Warh s cf Th omas Vaug h arz
Certainly Aristotle andh is org ancannever reconcile
th ese two places, but a little sk ill inmag ic will mak e
th em k iss andbe f riends with out a ph iltre. Th is sub-
stance th enis both earth andwater, yet neith erof th em
inth eircommoncomplexions. But it is a th ick water
anda subtleearth . Inplainterms it is a slimy, spermatic,
viscous mass, impreg natedwith all powers, celestial and
terrestrial. Th e ph ilosoph ers call it waterandno water,
earth andno earth . Andwh y may not Moses speak as
th ey do? Orwh y may not th ey write as Moses did?
Th is is th e true Damascene earth , 1 out of wh ich God
mademan? Youth enth at wouldbech emists, seem not
to be wiserth anGodbut use th at subject inyourArt
wh ich GodHimself mak es useof inNature. Heis th e
best work manandk nows wh at matteris most t f orHis
work . He th at will imitate Him inth eef f ect must rst
imitate Him inth e subject. Talk not th enof int-
stones andantimony: th ey are th e poet s pin- dust and
eg g - sh ells. Seek th is earth andth is water.
But th is is not all th at Moses h ath writtento th is
purpose: I couldcite many more mag ical andmystical
places ; but inso doing I sh ouldbe too openwh eref ore
l must f orbear. I sh all nowspeak of h is practice, and
truly th is is it wh ich no distinction, norany oth erlog ical
q uibble canwaive. Noth ing but experience canrepel
th is arg ument; andth us it runs. AndMoses took
th ecalf wh ich th ey h admade, andburnt it inth ere, and
g roundit to powder, andstrawedit uponth ewater, and
madeth ech ildrenof Israel drink of it.3Certainly h ere
was a strang e k indof spice andanart as strang e as th e
spice. Th is calf was pure g old, th e Israelites h aving
I do not rememberany earth , literal orsymbolical, wh ich is desig nated
underth is nameinth etexts of alch emy.
2 Th e Biblical allocations are dust according to Genesis, Davidand
Solomon, orclay according to Isaiah . As Vaug h anappeals to th e
Scriptures, it seems f airto say th at th ey of f erno warrant f orh is h ypoth esis
of a viscous slime; but th eth esis is not of courseworth pursuing .
3EX ODUS, xxxii, 20.
1 64 .
Mag z ia 1 4 "/ am2'02
contributedth eirearring s to th e f abric. Nowwouldl
g ladly k nowby wh at means so solidandh eavy a body as
g oldmay be broug h t to such a lig h t powderth at it may
be sprink ledonth e f ace of th e water andaf terwards
drunk up. l am sure h ere was aurum pareh ilef and
Moses couldneverh ave broug h t th e calf to th is pass
h adh enot ploug h edwith ourh eif er. Butof th is enoug h :
if any manth ink h e didit by commonre let h im also
do th elik e, andwh enh e h ath perf ormedh e may sell h is
powderto th eapoth ecaries.
If I sh ouldinsist inth is place onth e Mosaical Cere-
monial Law, with its several reverendsh adows andth eir
sig nications, I mig h t lose myself ina wilderness of
mysteries, both Divine andnatural. Forverily th at
wh ole system is but onevast screen, ora certainmig h ty
umbrag e drawnovertwo worlds, visible andinvisible.
But th ese are th ing s of a h ig h erspeculationth anth e
scope of ourpresent discourse will admit of . I only
inf orm th e readerth at th e Lawh ath both a sh ell anda
k ernel: it is th e letterspeak s but th e spirit interprets.
To th is ag rees Greg ory Naz ienz en, wh o mak es a two-
f oldLaw, - rt:- 5 ypcimid- roe and- i- 06 vrvsiipiii~ ro; - one literal,
anoth erspiritual. Andelsewh ere h e mentions 1 - 6 (pai-
vdiievovTOU vdptov, ircit '1 - dxpvwvdnevov, th e h iddenand
th e manif est part of th e Law, th e manif est part- - saith
h ebeing appointedTof s rroh h oirircii KC T'd) , lL { VOU0' - ~ f OI'
many menandsuch wh ose th oug h ts were xedh ere
belowbut th e h idden"ref ; o7\t"yoi5' icoii Tdtiivni t, f > povoo'i-
f orf ewonly wh ose minds aspiredupwards to h eavenly
th ing s? Nowth at th e Law, being g iven, mig h t benet
th e people inboth parts, spiritual andliteral, th eref ore
didth e Lawg iverinstitute th e Srmh edrim, a council of
seventy elders, uponwh om h e h adpouredh is spirit, th at
1 Th e Potable Goldof alch emy, about wh ich Rulandus saidin1 61 2
th at th osewh o prepareit at th is day do so rath erto th edestructionth an
th esalvationof meI1 .- LEX ICON ALCHEMIEE, s.v. Aumm Petaee.
2 Greg ory Naz ienz en: DESTATU EPISCOP.
I65
Th e Worh rof Th omas Vaug h an
th ey mig h t discern- - as Esdras did- th e deep th ing s of
th e nig h t1 - inplainterms, th e h iddenth ing s of h is Law.
From th ese elders th e Kabalah - I believe- - h adits
orig inal, f orth ey impartedth eirk nowledg e by wordof
mouth to th eirsuccessors, andh ence it came to pass
th at th e science itself was styledKabalah th at is, a
reception? Th is continuedso long as Israel h eld
tog eth er, but wh enth eirf rame beg anto discompose and
th e dilapidations of th at h ouse proveddesperate, th en
Esdras, a proph et incomparable- - notwith standing th e
brandof Apocryph a- writ th at lawintables of box
wh ich GodHimself h adsometime writtenintables of
stone? As f or th e more secret andmysterious part
th ereof , it was writtenat th esame timeinseventy secret
book s, according to th e numberof elders inwh ose h earts
it h adbeensometimewritten.
Andth is was th every rst timeth e spirit marriedth e
letter; f orth ese sacraments were not trustedf ormerly
to corruptiblevolumes but to th e Eternal Tables of th e
Soul. But it may be th ere is a blindg enerationwh o
will believenoth ing but wh at th ey see at h andandth ere-
f ore will deny th at Esdras composedany such book s.
To th ese owls- - th oug h anuneq ual match I sh all
opposeth eh onourof Picus, wh o h imself af f irms th at in
h is time h e met with th e Secret Book s of Esdras and
1 Th eref erenceis possibly to II ESDRAS, xiii, I easeq .
2 1 62'.- :if .., raj). xiv, 24 .
3Th etraditional story is th at th e inwardmysteries of th e Lawwere
communicatedonorabout Mount Sinai to a secret council by Moses.
Forth e warrant, such as it is, we must ref erto EX ODUS, xviii, 25, 26,
onth e institutionof h eads overth epeople, but th is was f orth ejudg -
ment of every small matter.Th eh ardcauses werestill broug h t to
Moses, andit was h eonly wh o actedas anintermediary with God. Th e
council of seventy elders was ordainedlaterby Divine command, some
part of th e spirit of Moses being promisedth ereto.- NUMBERS, xi, 1 6.
It was obviously executiveandmost certainly not doctrinal orexpository.
i Esdras is instructedto declare some th ing s andto h ide oth ers,
xiv, I ; to publish some th ing s andsh ewsome secretly to th ewise, xiv,
ao; andh e producedwith h is scribes two h undredandf ourbook s, xiv,
4 4 ; but of th eseseventy werereservedf orth ewise- - xiv, 4 6presumably,
th ecouncil of elders.
1 66
/ llz z g z lcz Aidam2'60
boug h t th em with a g reat price. Norwas th is all, f or
Eug enius, Bish op of Rome, orderedth eirtranslation;
but h e dying th e translators also f ell asleep? It is true
indeedsometh ing may be objectedto me inth is place
concerning th eKabalah anart wh ich I inno way approve
of , neith erdo I condemnit, as ouradversaries condemn
mag ic, bef ore I understandit. ForI h ave spent some
years inth esearch andcontemplationth ereof . But wh y
th ensh ouldI propose th at f ora truth to oth ers wh ich I
account f oranerrormyself ? To th is I answerth at I
condemnnot th e true Kabalah but th e inventions of
some dispersedwandering rabbis, wh ose brains h admore
of distractionth anth eirf ortunes. Of th is th irteenth
tribe I understandth e satirist wh enh e promiseth so
larg ely :
Vi/ 'liat dreams soe erth ouwilt th eJews do sell.3
Th ese, I say, h ave produceda certainupstart, bastard
Kabalah , wh ich consists altog eth erincertainalph abetical
k nack s, ends always inth eletterwh ereit beg ins, andth e
varieties of it are g rownvoluminous. As f orth e more
ancient andph ysical traditions of th e Kabalah , I embrace
th em f orso many sacredtruth s ; but verily th osetruth s
were unk nownto most of th ose rabbiiis wh om I h ave
seen, evento Rambam h imself - - I meanRabbi Moses
Eg yptius, wh om th e Jews h ave so mag niedwith th eir
f amous h yperbole: From Moses unto Moses th ere
h ath not arisenonelik e unto Moses.
But to deal ing enuously with my readers, I say th e
1 Wh at h eboug h t actually was th ecodices of th e .5'; ; 6h erHa Zeh ar.
THESECRET DOCTRINEIN ISRAEL, p. I.
2 It was Pope Julius ll wh om Picus is supposedto h ave interested
inth estrang etexts wh ich h eacq uired.
3 Qz raiz mrz rrz g ner.ieZe.t_/ 2 di:ez '.remm'a iverz drmz .
* Th e casual readerwill g aina suf f icient insig h t reg arding th ese
varieties by g lancing at L.- i Scii~ :; NcE C.\B.il.ISTlQUE of Lenain, wh ich
appearedorig inally at Amiens in1 823andwas reprintedat Paris in
ioog .
5 A f lies: ad. l1 '0s.m newrz mre.- 1 '2? r.i'rm.51 .!eras
1 67
T/ z e Wore: of Tomas Vaug / z an
Kabalah I admit of consists of two parts- - th e name and
th ing }Th e f ormerpart is merely typical inref erence
to th elatter, serving only as th e sh adowto th esubstance.
I will g ive yousome instances. Th e literal Kabalah
wh ich is but a veil cast overth e secrets of th eph ysical- ~
h ath Th ree Principles, commonly styledTres Metres, or
th eTh ree Moth ers? Inth e masculine complexionth e
Jews call th em wo:~ 2= Eme.t, inth e f eminine own= Asam,
andth ey are :4 / I/ ep/ z , to Mam, tt? S/ z irz . NowI will sh ew
youh owth e ph ysical Kabalah expounds th e literal.
Saith th eg reat Abrah am, oras someth ink RabbiAl- riba :
Th e th ree Moth ers, Emes, orA/ ep/ 2, Mam andS/ z in, are
Air, WaterandFire: a still Water"mark th ata
h issing Fire, andAirth e middle spirit.4 Ag ainsaith
th e same Rabbi: Th e Th ree Moth ers, Ewes, inth is
worldareAir, WaterandFire. Th eh eavens weremade
of th e Fire, th e earth was made of th e Water- mark
well th is Kabalism andth e Airproceededf rom a
middleispirit."5 Now, wh enth e Kabalist speak s of th e
g enerationof th eTh ree Moth ers h e bring s intenSecret
Principles wh ich - I th ink - - - tenmenh ave not understood
since th e San/ z earim, such nonsense do I ndinmost
auth ors wh enth ey undertak eto discourseof th em. Th e
First Principleis a Spirit wh ich sits inh is primitive in-
compreh ensible retreat, lik e waterinits subterraneous
ch annel bef ore it spring s. Th e SecondPrinciple is th e
1 By th enameis meant apparently th e external f orm andsystem,
but th e g reat text of allwh ich is th e ZOHAR- l1 aS h appily no system
wh atever.
2 Inth is andwh at f ollows Vaug h anderives f rom SEPHER YETZIRAH,
already cited, traditionally th e work of th e patriarch Abrah am andby
laterspeculationascribedto RabbiAk iba, as statedabove.
3Th e SEPHER YETZIRAH divides th e Hebrewletters into Th ree
Moth ers, allocatedas Vaug h antells us; sevendoubles, ref erredto th e
sevenplanets; andtwelve simple letters, answering to th e sig ns of th e
Zodiac. But th ereare various subsidiary attributions. Th e Latinf orm
of th etext q uotedabovereads : Emu, f a est, Aer, Aq ua at [_g .ez 's, ' Aq ua
g meta, Ig mlr.rz 'l':'Zam at Aers_z 2'rz 'tus medians.
* Tres lldatras- - Em.esz 'nmz mdo : Aer, Aq ua at ]g * nz '.s'. Ch air ex [g ate
creatisrmt, Terra ex Aq ua; Aerrg ressus est ex spz 'r:'tu, g mstat medias.
5 Inretrocessuwef antana.
1 68
Mag z h z 4 (/ amica
Voiceof th at rst Spirit. Th is break s f orth lik ea well-
spring wh ere th e waterows out of th e earth andis
discoveredto th eeye. Th ey call it Spirit f rom Spirit."1
Th eTh irdPrincipleis a Spirit wh ich proceeds both f rom
th erst Spirit andf rom h is voice? Th eFourth Principle
is a certainWaterwh ich proceeds f rom th eTh irdSpirit,
andout of th at Waterg oeth f orth AirandFire. But
Godf orbidth at I sh ouldspeak any more of th em
publicly :4 it is enoug h th at we k nowth e orig inal of th e
creatureandto Wh om weoug h t to ascribe it.
Th e Kabalist wh enh e wouldtell us wh at Goddid
with th eTh reeMoth ers useth no oth erph raseth anth is :
Heweig h ed- saith h e- - - f ep/ z with all andall with
/ f lap/ 2, andso He didwith th e oth erMoth ers.5 Th is
is very plain, if youconsiderth evarious mixtures of th e
elements andth eir secret proportions. Andso much
f orth e ph ysical part of th e Kabalah : I will nowsh ew
youth e metaph ysical. It is strang e to considerwh at
unity of spirit anddoctrine th ere is among st all th e
Ch ildrenof Wisdom. Th is proves inf allibly th at th ere
is anuniversal Sch oolmaster, Wh o is present with all
esh andWh ose principles are ever unif orm- - namely,
th e Spirit of God. Th e Kabalists ag ree with all th e
worldof mag icians th at maninspiritual mysteries is
both ag ent andpatient. Th is is plain; f or]acob s
Ladderis th e g reatest mystery inth e Kabalah ." Here
we ndtwo extremes: Jacob is one at th e f oot of th e
Ladder andGodis th e oth erWh o stands above it,
1 S; f vz 'rz 'tiz s ea: .S}6z 'rz 'z u. 2 S; f > z 'rz '!'::.rex spz 'rz 'tz 'J1 Itr.
3 . .
Aq ua dz : spz rz tu. i . '
4 Th is is ridiculous occultism. Vaug h anh as g ivennoth ing but wh at
is f oundinth e SEPHERYETZIRAH, andth emost ordinary readerh aving
any translationinh is h andcanndmoref orh imself .
5 Penderarxit Aleph mm omnius at ommle cum Aleg ?/ z , ez .92: dc
sz 'rz g uZz 's.
B Inth esenseaboveall th at th esoul- - as bride- is f eminine inrespect
of th eCh rist- Spirit- as Spouse. But th is is th e Kabalah Ch ristianised.
T Because it sig nies th ebondof union, invirtuewh ereof th at wh ich
is above is lik e unto th at wh ich is belowandth at wh ich is belowis lik e
unto th at wh ich is above, as th eHermetic text af rrns.
I6Q
T/ z e / V01 % : of T/ z omarVaug em
sh edding some secret inux of spirit uponJacob, wh o
inth is place typies maning eneral. Th e rounds or
steps inth eLaddersig nif y th emiddle natures by wh ich
Jacob is unitedto God, inf eriors unitedto superiors.
As f orth e ang els of wh om it is saidth at th ey ascended
anddescendedby th eLadder, th eirmotionproves th ey
were not of th e superiorh ierarch y but someoth ersecret
essences, f orth ey ascendedrst anddescendedaf terwards ;
but if th ey h adbeenf rom aboveth ey h addescendedrst
- - - wh ich is contrary to th e text}Andh ere, Reader, I
wouldh ave th ee study. Nowto returnto Jacob, it is
writtenof h im th at h e was asleep, but th is is a mystical
speech , f orit sig nies death namely, th at death wh ich
th e Kabalist calls Mars Oscuf i, orth e Death of th e Kiss,
of wh ich I must not speak one syllable.To be
sh ort, th ey ag ree with us overth e Secret of Th eolog yf
th at no wordis ef f icacious inmag ic unless it be rst
q uick enedby th e Wordof God. Th is appears out of
th eirS/ z em/ z amp/ z ams/ 2, f orth ey h oldnot th e names of
ang els ef f ectual unless someNameof God- - - as H" - - = YAH
or'7i~ i= EL- - - be unitedto th em. Th en- - - say th ey - in
th e powerandvirtue of th ose Names th ey may work .
Anexample h ereof we h ave inall extractednames, as
Va/ z u- In/ z , E/ em- [(21 1 , Jedi- E/ , Sim- .EZ. Now, th is practice
inth e letterwas a most subtleadumbrationof th e con-
junctionof th e Substantial VVorcl orSpirit with th eWater.
See th at youunderstandme rig h tly, f orI meanwith th e
elements : andso much f orth e truth .
To conclude, I wouldh ave th e reader observe th at
I Th eh umanaspirations went up andth eDivineInf lux camedown.
2 Th e state of mystical death andth e Kiss of Sh ek inah . Rosenroth ,
translating th e GARDEN OF POMEGRANATES, g ives Osmla amem rmz z
iz d i:rrrz 'o Spz 'r'i'tir.rcams .i z '2v'f z r.~ KABB.aLA DENUDATA. Paint I, Ag paraf m
2'1 2 Lz rz mz S0/ ma", p. 6oo.
3Inarcanetiwalog nr.
4 Th e Divine Name of seventy- two letters, according to th e Kabalah .
See Petrus Galatinus: DE ARCANIS CAIHOI.IC. E VERITATIS, 1 1 ; . ii,
c. 1 7, andAth anasius Kirch er: (F.D1 PUs / EGYPTIACUS, Tom. ii, C/ tins :
iv, Caiaf a Heb1 "rz 0a* z rriz , c. 6.
1 7o
Maz 'a / 4 r/ az mica
th e f alse, g rammatical Kabalah consists only inrotations
of th e alph abet anda metath esis of letters inth e text,
by wh ich means th e Scripture h ath suf f eredmany rack s
andexcoriations. As f orth e true Kabalah it useth th e
letteronly f orartice, wh ereby to obscure andh ide h er
ph ysical secrets- - as th e Eg yptians h eretof ore diduse
th eir h ierog lyph ics. Inth is sense th e primitive pro-
f essors of th is art h ada literal Kabalah , as it appears
by th at wonderf ul andmost ancient inscriptioninth e
rock inMount Horeb. It contains a proph ecy of th e
Virg inMoth erandh erSonCh rist Jesus, eng ravenin
h ierog lyph ics, f ramedby combinationof th e Hebrew
letters, but by wh om Godonly k nows: it may be by
Moses orElijah . Th is is most certain: it is to be seen
th ere th is day, andwe h ave f orit th e testimonies of
Th omas Obecinus, a most learnedFranciscan, andPetrus
a Valle, a g entleman, wh o travelled- - both of th em - - into
th oseparts}
Now, th at th e learning of th e Jews- I meanth eir
I(abalah was ch emical andendedintrue ph ysical per-
f ormances cannot be betterprovedth anby th e BOOK or
ABRAHAM THE Jaw, wh ereinh e laiddownth esecrets of
th is Art inindif f erent plainterms andg ures, andth at
f orth e benet of h is unh appy countrymen, wh en- by
th e wrath of Godth ey were scatteredover all th e
world. Th is book was accidentally f oundby Nich olas
1 THE TRAVELS of Pietro della Valle into East IndiaandArabia
were writtenorig inally inItalian. AnEng lish translationappearedin
I66'anda French versionininstalments betweenI662andI665.
2 Th is is perh aps th e most extraordinary arg ument pref erredevenby
a mak erof dreams lik e Vaug h an. If it be assumedf ora moment th at
th erewas evera literal Book of Abrah am th e Jewandth at it is correctly
describedby th ewriterwh o calls h imself Nich olas Flamel, it f ollows th at
analch emical treatise was beq ueath edby anIsraelitef orth econsolation
of h is peopleif it so h appenedth at th ey couldunderstandit. But th is
treatise- - as describedinth ememorial concerning it- h as noth ing to do
with th e Kabalah of Jewry, andinwh at mannerit proves th e latter
ph ysical passes understanding . Th e one k nowntext wh ich adapts
Kabalistic symbolism- - as e.g . th eTreeof th e.5'ef > / z z 'rot/ 1 - - to th e purposes
of alch emy is calledAESH IVIEZAREPH andis k nownby th etranslationof
certainf rag ments andth eirinclusioninth eApparaiirs of Rosenroth . As
1 71
T/ z e / Vorrof T/ 20; / z as Vang / z mz
Flamel, a French man, andwith th e h elp of it h e
attainedat last to th at miraculous medicine wh ich men
call th ePh ilosoph er's Stone. But let us h earth eMonsieur
h imself describeit. Th eref ell into my h ands saith
h ef orth esum of two f lorins a g ildedbook , very old
andlarg e. It was not of papernorparch ment, as oth er
book s be, but it was made of delicaterinds- - as it seemed
to me- - - of tenderyoung trees. Th e coverof it was of
brass, well bound, all eng ravenwith letters orstrang e
g ures; andf ormy part I th ink th ey mig h t well be
Greek ch aracters, orsome such ancient, lang uag e. Sure
I am I couldnot readth em, andI k nowwell th ey were
not notes norletters of th eLatin, norof th e Gaul, f orof
th em I understooda little. As f orth at wh ich was with in
it, th e bark - leaves were eng ravenandwith admirable
dilig ence writtenwith a point of ironinf airandneat
Latinletters, coloured. It containedth rice sevenleaves,
f orso were th e leaves countedat th e top, andalways
every seventh leaf was with out any writing ; but instead
th ereof inth erst seventh leaf th erewas painteda Virg in
andserpents swallowing h erup; inth e secondseventh
a cross, wh ere a serpent was crucied; andinth e last
seventh th ere were painteddeserts orwildernesses, in
th emidst wh ereof ranmany f airf ountains, f rom wh ence
th ere issuedf orth a numberof senpents, wh ich ranup
anddown, h ereandth ere. Uponth e rst of th eleaves
was writtening reat capital letters of g old: Abrah am th e
Jew, Prince, Priest, Levite, Astrolog erandPh ilosoph er
to th e nationof th eJews, by th ewrath of Goddispersed
among th e Gauls, sendeth Health .
Af terth is it was lledwith g reat execrations and
curses- with th is wordMaranar/ inwh ich was of ten
reg ards Nich olas Flamel andh is Book of Abrah am th e Jew, th ewh ole
subject calls f ora newconsiderationat th e h ands of criticism. Th e
h istorical basis of th eleg endbeg anto beq uestionedinth emiddleof th e
eig h teenth century. Th e leg enditself - - oth erwise th e autobiog raph ical
romance- was rst printedinI561 . About earliercopies inmanuscript
I cannotspeak .
I'72
Mag z ia 1 4 / amica
repeatedth ere- ag ainst every personth at sh ouldcast h is
eyes uponit, if h e werenot sacrif icerorscribe. Heth at
soldmeth is book k newnot wh at it was worth , no more
th anI wh enI boug h t it. I believeit h adbeenstolenor
tak enby violencef rom th e miserableJews, orf oundh id
insome part of th e ancient place of th eir h abitation.
With inth e book , inth e secondleaf , h e comf ortedh is
nation, counselling th em to f ly vices andabove all
idolatry, attending with sweet patience th ecoming of th e
Messiah , Wh o sh ouldvanq uish all th e people of th e
earth andsh ouldreig nwith His peopleing lory eternally.
With out doubt th is h adbeensome wise andunderstand-
ing man. Inth eth irdleaf andinall th e oth erwriting s
th at f ollowedto h elp h is captive nationto pay th eir
tributes to th e RomanEmperors, andto do oth erth ing s
wh ich I will not speak of - h e taug h t th em incommon
words th e transmutationof metals. He paintedth e
vessels by th esides andh e inf ormedth em of th ecolours
andof all th e rest, except th e rst ag ent, of wh ich h e
spak e not a word, but onlyas h e said- - inth e f ourth
andf th leaves h e h adg uredit with very g reat cunning
andwork mansh ip. Forth oug h it was well andintelli-
g ibly g uredandpainted, yet no mancouldeverh avebeen
ableto understandit with out being well sk illedinth eir
Kabalah - wh ich g oeth by traditionandwith out h aving
well studiedth eir book s. Th e f ourth andf th leaf
th eref orewas with out any writing , all f ull of f airg ures
enlig h tened, f orth e work was very exq uisite. First h e
painteda young manwith wing s at h is ank les, h aving
inh is h anda caduceanrod, writh enabout with two
serpents, wh erewith h e struck upona h elmet wh ich
coveredh is h ead. Heseemedto my small judg ment to
be Mercury, th e pag ang od. Ag ainst h im th ere came
running andf lying with openwing s a g reat oldman,
wh o uponh is h eadh adanh our- g lass f astenedandinh is
h ands a h ook orscyth e, lik e death , with th e wh ich in
terribleandf urious manner- h e wouldh ave cut of f th e
I73
T/ z e Work s of T602/ ms Vz mg aiz
f eet of Mercury. Onth e oth erside of th e f ourth leaf
h e painteda f air f lower onth e top of a very h ig h
mountain, wh ich was sore sh ak enwith th e North wind.
It h adth eroot blue, th eowers wh iteandred, th eleaves
sh ining lik eneg old. Androundabout it th edrag ons
andg rif ns of th eNorth madeth eirnests.
Onth e f th leaf th ere was a f airrose- tree owered
inth e midst of a sweet g arden, climbing up ag ainst a
h ollowoak , at th ef oot wh ereof boileda f ountainof most
wh itewater, wh ich ranh eadlong downinto th e depth s.
Notwith standing it passedrst among th e h ands of in-
nitepeoplewh o dig g edinth eearth , seek ing f orit ; but
- - becauseth ey wereblind- - noneof th em k newit, except
h ere andth ere one wh ich consideredth e weig h t. On
th e last side of th e f th leaf was painteda King with a
g reat f alch ion, wh o causedto be k illedinh is presenceby
some soldiers a g reat multitude of little inf ants, wh ose
moth ers wept at th e f eet of th emerciless soldiers. Th e
bloodof th ese inf ants was af terwards g ath eredup by
oth ersoldiers andput ina g reat vessel, wh ereto th e Sun
andMooncameto bath eth emselves. Andth us yousee
th at wh ich was inth e rst veleaves. I will not repre-
sent unto youth at wh ich was writtening oodandin-
tellig ible Latininall th e oth erwrittenleaves, f orGod
wouldpunish me, because I sh ouldcommit a g reater
wick edness th anh e wh o- as it is saidwish edth at all
th e menof th eworldh adbut one h eadth at h e mig h t
cut it of f at one blow.
Th us f arNich olas Flamel.1
I couldnowpass f rom Moses to Ch rist, f rom th e Old
Testament to th e New- - not th at I wouldinterpret th ese
but req uest th e sense of th e illuminated. I desire to
k nowwh at my Saviourmeans by th e Key of Knowledg e
1 Th etext aboverepresents less th anh alf th epersonal memorial, wh ich
g oes onto recount th eq uest andatlventures of Flaniel inh is endeavour
to understandth e book , h is nal attainment of th e g reat secret, h is
mannerof lif esubseq uently andth ework s of ch arity wh ich h e perf ormed
by th eprojectionof th eRedStone.
1 74 -
/ llag z k z 1 4 :/ cz / 22z tta
wh ich th e lawyers- - as He tells me andth em too- - h ad
tak enaway}Questionless it cannot sig nif y th e Law
itself , f orth at was not tak enaway, being readinth e
Synag og ue every Sabbath . But to let g o th is: I am
certain, andI couldprove it all along f rom His birth
to His passion, th at th e doctrineof Ch rist Jesus is not
only ag reeableto th e laws of Nature but is veriedand
establish edth ereby. Wh enI speak of th elaws of Nature,
I mindnot h erexcessive, irreg ularappetites andinclina-
tions, to wh ich sh e h ath beensubject since h ercorruption
- - f orevenGalenlook edonth ose obliq uities as diseases,
but studiedNature h erself as th eircure. We k nowby
experienceth at too much of anyth ing weak ens anddestroys
ournature; but if we livetemperately andaccording to
lawwe are well, because ourcourseof lif e accords with
Nature. Hence diet is a primeruleinph ysic, f arbetter
indeedth anth eph armacopmia ; f orth osesluttish receipts
do but oppress th e stomach , being no t f uel f ora
celestial re. Believe it th en, th ese excessive, bestial
appetites proceededf rom ourFall, f orNature of h erself
is no lavish , insatiable g lut but a most nice, delicate
essence. Th is appears by th ose ts andpang s sh e is
subject to wh ensoeversh e is overch arg ed. Incommon,
customary excesses th ere is not any but k nows th is truth
by experience. Indeedinspiritual sins th e body is not
immediately troubledbut th e conscience is terried, and
surely th e body cannot be very well wh enth e soul itself
is sick . We see th enth at corruptionandsindo not so
much ag reewith us as th ey do disturb us, f orinwh at
sense canourenemies be ourf riends orth oseth ing s th at
destroy Nature be ag reeable to Nature? Howth en
sh all we judg e of th e Gospel? Sh all we say th at th e
preservationof manis contrary to manandth at th e
doctrine of lif eag rees not with lif eitself ? Godf orbid.
Th e laws of th eresurrectionare f oundeduponth oseof
th e creationandth ose of reg enerationuponth ose of
1 STLUKE, xi, 52.
1 75
T/ z e Warts cf T/ z omarVang / z an
g eneration; f orinall th eseGodwork s uponone andth e
samematterby oneandth e same Spirit. Nowth at it is
so- I meanth at th ere is a h armony betweenNature and
th e GospelI will prove out of th e Sinic Monument of
Kim Cim, priest of Judea. Inth e yearof redemption
1 625 th ere was dig g edup ina villag e of Ch ina called
Sanxuena sq uare stone, being neartenmeasures of an
h and- breadth long andve broad. Inth e uppermost
part of th is stone was g ureda cross andunderneath it
aninscriptioninSinic ch aracters, being th e title to th e
monument, wh ich I ndth us renderedinth eLatin:
LAPIS IN LAUDEM ET MEMORIAM ETERNAM
LEGIS LUCIS ET VERITATIS PORTATJE
DE JUDEA ET IN CHINA
PROMULGATE
ERECTU3.
Th at is: A stone erectedto th e praise andeternal
remembrance of th e Lawof Lig h t andTruth , broug h t
out of Judea andpublish edinCh ina.Af ter th is
f ollowedth e body of th e monument, being a relation
h owth e Gospel of Ch rist Jesus was broug h t by one Olo
Puenout of Judea andaf terwards- - - by th e assistance
of God- - plantedinCh ina. Th is h appenedinth eyear
of ourLord636. Kim Cim, th eauth orof th is h istory,
inth e very beg inning of it, speak s mysteriously of th e
creation. Th enh e mentions th ree h undredandsixty
ve sorts of sectaries wh o succeededone anoth er, all
of th em striving wh o sh ouldg et most proselytes. Some
of th eir vag ue opinions h e recites, wh ich indeedare
very suitable with th e rudiments andvag aries of th e
h eath enh ilosoph ers. Lastly, h e describes th e pro-
f essors of ) Ch ristianity, with th eirh abits of lif e andth e
1 Th e analog y h ere institutedis true only if reg enerationis a work
perf ormeduponth e body of man; but if th e Spirit of Godis work ing
uponth e spirit of manth e comparisondoes not h old, andth e subject,
moreover, is not th e sameas th osewaters of creationonwh ich th e Spirit
movedat th e beg inning . Th is is oneof th ose cases inwh ich Vaug h an s
of t- q uotedwarrants inGenesis riseup ag ainst h im.
I76
Mag z a 1 4 a/ amica
excellency of th eirlaw. It is a h ardmattersaith
h e- to nda t namef orth eirLaw, seeing th e ef f ect
of it is to illuminateandll all with k nowledg e. It was
necessary th eref ore to call it Kim tiaoth at is, th e
Great Lawof Lig h t.To be sh ort O/ 0 Puenwas
admittedto th e Court by Tar Cum VanHuamri, King of
Ch ina. Here h is doctrine was th oroug h ly search ed,
examinedandsif tedby th e King h imself , wh o- - h aving
f oundit to be trueandsolid- causedit to be proclaimed
th roug h out h is dominions. Now, uponwh at th is doctrine
was f ounded, andwh at estimate th e King h adboth of
it andit s prof essor, wemay easily g ath erf rom th ewords
of h is proclamation. First th en, wh ereh e mentions O/ 0
Puenh e calls h im a manof g reat virtue orpower.3
It seems h e didsometh ing more th anprate andpreach ,
couldconrm h is doctrine- as th e apostles didth eirs-
not with words only but with work s. Secondly, th e
proclamation- speak ing of h is doctrineruns th us:
Th e drif t of wh ose teach ing s we h ave examinedf rom
th every f undamentals : wendh is doctrinevery excellent,
with out any worldly noise andprincipally g roundedon
th e creationof th e world." Andag aininth e same
place: His doctrine is but of f ewwords, not f ull of
noise andnotions, neith erdoth h e buildh is truth on
supercial probabilities.5
Th us we see th e IncarnationandBirth of Ch rist
Jesus- - wh ich to th ecommonph ilosoph erare f ables and
impossibilities but inth e book of Nature plain, evident
See ATHANASIUS KIRCHER: Mouuiunnri SINICI, q uadAma-
Domini 1 625 z errz 's inz jisdC/ aim? emtum, &c., I672. Vaug h andrewh is
inf ormationf rom earlierparticulars, wh ich I h avenot identied.
A Dig irf ls est i- 22' names: cong raunz re, i9erz 're, cam ejas ejiartas sit
z 'llumz 'nan' at omma cla:rr'z az .- : perf f arsdere; and: nscessariam - f at? cam
ajpeliare.- Kimk san- / soc est, Leg em sf aram ez mag nam.
3Mag net 2/ z 'rtatz 's / z amz ivem.
C'a]'us z 'mer:t'z sm demandsnos a mdamentz s s.ramz ':rtarz iss, z 'n'wnz 'mas
dartrmam ajas advz odam esrccllenrem at sz 'm'sz repz 't:. exterz k nz , f imdatam
prz 'nrz }alz 'ter2'2: creaz z 'rmemz mdz l
5 Doctrirz a ig jas mm est mrslf orum verdosnz , net. sz iperc: temss swam
/ imdat 'verz 'taz 'em.
1 77 I2
T/ z e W0r"s of T/ z omas Vang / z arz
truth s- - were provedanddemonstratedby th e primitive
apostles andteach ers out of th e creationof th e world.
But insteadof such teach ers we h aveinth ese ourdays
two epidemical g oblins- - a sch oolmananda saint f or-
sooth ? Th eone swells with a syllog istical pride, th e
oth erwears a broadf ace of revelation. Th erst cannot
tell mewh y g rass is g reen, th esecondwith all h is devo-
tionk nows not A B C, yet pretends h e to th at innite
spirit wh ich k nows all inall. Andtruly of th em both
th is last is th eworst. Surely th e devil h ath beenvery
busy to put out th e candle, f orh adall writtentruth s
beenextant th is f alselearning andh ypocrisy couldnever
h ave prevailed. Kim Cim mentions sevenandtwenty
book s wh ich Ch rist Jesus lef t onearth to f urth erth e
conversionof th e world. It may be we h ave not one
of th em, f orth oug h th e book s of th e NewTestament
are just so many, yet being all written- - at least some of
th ema long time af terCh rist th ey may not well pass
f orth ose Scriptures wh ich th is auth orattributes to our
Saviour, evenat th etimeof His Ascension. Wh at sh ould
I speak of th ose many book s citedinth eOldTestament
but nowh ereto bef ound, wh ich if th ey were nowextant
no doubt but th ey wouldprove so many reverend,
invincible patrons of mag ic? But ink andpaperwill
perish , f orth e h andof manh ath made noth ing eternal.
Th e truth only is incorruptible, andwh ere th e letter
f ails sh e sh if ts th at body andlives inth espirit.
I h ave, not with out some labour, nowtracedth is
science f rom th e very Fall of manto th e day of h is
redemption, a long andsolitary pilg rimag e, th e path s
being unf req uentedbecause of th e briars andscruples
of antiq uity, andinsome places overg rownwith th e
poppy of oblivion. I will not deny but inth e sh ades
1 It wouldbe interesting - = to_k nowwh at saint was inth e mindof our
auth or, but th ere is_noth ing inth e context wh ich will justif y oreven
tolerate any speculation. It is not th eAng el of th e Sch ools, f orh e also
was a sch oolman.
I 1 78
Mag ia 1 4 da1 / nra
andivy of th is wilderness th ere are some birds of nig h t,
owls andbats, of a dif f erent f eath erf rom ourph enix:
I meansome conjurers wh ose dark , indirect af f ectionto
th e name of mag ic made th em invent traditions more
prodig ious th anth eirpractices. Th ese I h ave purposely
avoided, lest th ey sh ouldwormwoodmy stream andI
seduce th ereaderth roug h all th ese g roves andsolitudes
to th e Waters of Marah .1 Th enext stag e I must move
to is th at wh ence I came out at rst with th e Israelites,
namely, Eg ypt. Here- - if book s f ail me- th e stones
will cry out. Mag ic h aving beenso enth ronedinth is
placeit seems sh e wouldbe buriedh ere also. So many
monuments didsh e h ide inth is earth wh ich h ave been
since dig g edup andserve nowto prove th at sh e was
sometime above g round. To beg inth en, I will rst
speak of th e Eg yptianth eolog y, th at youmay see h ow
f arth ey h ave advanced, h aving no leaderbut th elig h t
of Nature. Trismeg istus is so orth odox andplainin
th e Mystery of th e Trinity th e Scripture itself exceeds
h im not ; 2 but h e being a particular auth or, andone
perh aps th at k newmoreth anh is ordering eneral, I sh all
at th is time dispensewith h is auth ority. Th eircath olic
doctrine, andwh ereinI ndth em all to ag ree is th is.
Emep/ z t, 3wh ereby th ey express th eirSupreme Godand
verily th ey mindth e true One- - - - sig nies properly an
Intellig enceorSpirit converting all th ing s into Himself
andHimself into all th ing s. Th is is very soundDivinity
andph ilosoph y, if it be rig h tly understood. Nowsay
th ey- - Emep/ it producedaneg g out of h is mouth , wh ich
traditionKirch erexpounds imperf ectly, andwith al errone-
1 Th eref erenceis to a spurious laterKabalism wh ich allocatedoccult
powers to operations perf ormedwith Divine Names andso produceda
particularf orm of talismanic andceremonial mag ic, out of wh ich came a
th ousandinf amous andf oolish processes.
A Th eimplicationis th at THE Divmi: Pvsmxnaa andoth erwriting s
ascribedto Hermes are documents of ancient Eg ypt, orare at least a
f aith f ul mirrorof oldEg yptianth eolog y. A viewlik eth is was possiblein
th emid- seventeenth century.
3SeeFaber s PAGAN IDOLATRY, Bk . vi, c. 2.
I79
T/ z e Work s Of T/ z omas Vamg / um
ously. Inth e productionof th is eg g was manif ested
anoth erDeity, wh ich th ey call Pr/ z a, andout of some
oth ernatures andsubstances enclosedinth e eg g th is
Pr/ z a f ormedall th ing s. But to deal a littlemoreopenly,
we will describe unto youth eir h ierog lyph ic, wh erein
th ey h ave very h andsomely but obscurely discovered
most of th eirmysteries. First of all th en, th ey drawa
circle, inth e circle a serpent- not f oldedbut diameter-
wiseandat leng th . Herh eadresembles th at of a h awk ,
th etail is tiedina small k not, anda littlebelowth eh ead
h erwing s are volant. Th e circle points at Emep/ 22, or
Godth eFath er, being innite- - - with out beg inning , with -
out end. Moreover, it compreh ends orcontains initself
th e secondDeity Pt/ z a andth eeg g orch aos out of wh ich
all th ing s weremade?
Th eh awk inth eEg yptiansymbols sig nies lig h t and
spirit ; 3h is h eadannexedh ere to th e serpent represents
P:/ z a, orth e SecondPerson, wh o is th e First Lig h tas
we h avetoldyouinour/ I22:/ z roposop/ z ia. He is saidto
f orm all th ing s out of th e eg g , because inHim- as it
were, ina g lass- arecertaintypes orimag es, namely, th e
distinct conceptions of th e Paternal Deity, according to
wh ich - - by co- operationof th e Spirit, namely, th e Holy
1 Th erst volumeof Kirch er s (IEDIPUS EGYPTIACUS appearedin1 652,
th oug h its dedicationto th eEmperorFerdinandIII is datedI655 andth e
Imperial Licence 1 64 9. Th elast volumeis datedI654 . It is a vast in-
f olio, th ree volumes inf our. Th is being th e bibliog raph ical position, it
may be imprudent to say th at Vaug h ancouldnot h ave consultedit in
I650; but my presumption- at its valueis th at h e ref ers inth etext to
someoth erwork of th eJesuit, wh o producedf olios innumerable. I h ave
not consultedth em to verif y. No doubt Vaug h anis rig h t insaying th at
Kirch eris wrong , but h eh adno means of k nowing . Of necessity at th at
periodth ey wereall inth ewrong about Eg ypt.
'3Th erearescraps only inKirch eronth e symbolism of th eEg yptian
eg g , but such as th ey aremost of th em will be f oundinh is th irdvolume
of th etext q uotedpreviously. Heis q uitelearnedonth eso- calledovmm
Zoromtrez z m, but seems decient, evenf orh is period, onth ing s th at con-
cernth esubject with wh ich h e prof esses to deal. He is of course not
worth q uoting , except as a contemporary of Vaug h anandone wh o h as
ing arnerednotions belong ing to th eperiod.
ii Lif eandlig h t, according to Kirch er.
' 1 80
Mag ia ./ 4 6/ 63771 ica
Gh ostth ecreatures are f ormed. Th e inf eriorpart of
th is g ure sig nies th e matterorch aos, wh ich th ey call
th e eg g of Emep/ 2:. Th at youmay betterk nowit we
will teach yousometh ing not common. Th e body of
th eserpent tells youit is a ery substance, f ora serpent
is f ull of h eat andre, wh ich made th eEg yptians esteem
h im divine. Th is appears by h is q uick motion, with out
f eet orns, much lik eth at of th epulse, f orh is impetuous
h ot spirit sh oots h im onlik e a sq uib. Th ere is also
anoth eranalog y, f orth e serpent renews h is youth - - so
strong is h is natural h eat- andcasts of f h is oldsk in.
Truly th eMatteris a very serpent, f orsh e renews h erself
a th ousandways andis nevera perpetual tenant to th e
samef orm. Th ewing s tell youth is subject orch aos is
volatile, andinth e outwardcomplexionairy andwatery.
But to teach youth e most secret resemblance of th is
h ierog lyph ic, th e ch aos is a certaincreeping substance,
f orit moves lik e a serpent sine pedius, andtruly Moses
calls it not water but serpitura 6'Z9'Z{ . - - th creeping of
water, ora waterth at creeps}Lastly, th e k not onth e
tail tells youth is matteris of a most strong composition
andth at th eelements aref ast boundinit, all wh ich th e
ph ilosoph ers k nowto betrueby experience.
As f orth eaf nities of inf eriors with superiors andth eir
private, active lovewh ich consists incertainmixtures
of h eavenwith th e matter- - th eir opinionstands th us.
Inth e vital re of all th ing s h ere belowth e sun- - say
th eyis k ing . Inth eirsecret waterth e moonis q ueen.
Inth eirpureairth e ve lesserplanets ruleandinth eir
central, h ypostatical earth th e xedstars.For th ese
inf eriors- - according to th eirdoctrineare provinces or
th rones of th ose superiors wh ere th ey sit reg ent and
1 I do not k nowh owVaug h ancomes by th is intimation, wh ich is
certainly not inth eHebrewtext of Genesis, nordo th e words serpz 't::ra
ag ateoccurinth eVulg ateversion.
2 Th e auth ority f orall th is is wanting , except th at according to f oolish
oldoccult ph ysics th emoonwas coldandmoist intemperament, wh ileth e
solarch aracteristics wereg reat h eat anddryness.
I81
Th e W01 35:" q f T/ z omas Vcz ug / z arz
paramount. To speak plainly, h eavenitself was orig inally
extractedf rom inf eriors, yet not so entirely but some
portionof th e h eavenly natures remainedh erebelowand
are th e very same inessence andsubstance with th e
separatedstars andsk ies. Heavenh ere belowdif f ers
not f rom th at above but inh ercapacity andth at above
dif f ers not f rom th is belowbut inh erliberty. Th e
one is imprisonedinth ematter, th eoth eris f reedf rom
th e g rossness andimpurities of it; but th ey are both
of one andth e same nature, so th at th ey easily unite;
andh enceit is th at th esuperiordescends to th e inf erior,
to visit andcomf ort h erinth is sick ly, inf ectious h abita-
tion. I couldspeak much morebut I am inh aste, and
th oug h Iwere at leisureyoucannot inreasonexpect I
sh ouldtell youall. I will th eref oredeclineth eseg eneral
principles to tell yousometh ing th at mak es f orth e
Eg yptianpractice andproves th em ph ilosoph ers adepted.
Th e rst monument I readof to th is purpose is th at of
Synesius- a very learned, intellig ent man. Hef oundin
th eTempleof Memph is vrsr- poop , 8n8?mv9, book s of stone,
andinth oseh ardleaves th esedif licult instructions :
Hi nio'ts rijv nio'tv- rip- met
H5 I H I A
idaviots 71 2V q bvptvvtxg . A
H q tvo- ts Tnvq buotvrtpoxrct.
Th at is: One nature delig h ts inanoth er; one nature
overcomes anoth er; one nature over~ rules anoth er."
Th ese sh ort lessons, but of no small conseq uence, are
f ath eredonth e g reat Ostanes. Th e secondmonument
is th at admirable andmost mag ical one mentionedby
Barach ias Abenesi, th e Arabian. Th is also was a stone
erectednearMemph is, andonit th is prof oundscripture:
1 Compare th e xedandliberatedMercury of alch emical symbolism,
of wh ich th ereis a strang espiritual understanding insomeof th esch ools.
So also Vaug h an s remark inth etext h as its propermystical aspect and
as such is concernedwith th esoul inbondag eandth esoul inf reedom.
2 I h ave f oundno particulars concerning th is auth or. Th e inscription
recalls th at of th eso- calledTableof Hermes.
I82
Mag z a A :/ amica
OYPANOS ANQ, OYPANOQKATQ,
AETPA AND, AETPA KATQ,
HAN To ANQ, [IAN TOYTO KATQ,
TAYTA AABE, KAI EYTYX E.
Th at is :
Heavenabove, h eavenbeneath ,
Stars above, stars beneath ,
All th at is above is also beneath :
Understandth is, andbe h appy.
Underth is were g uredcertainapposite h ierog lyph ics,
and- - - f or a close to all- th is dedicatory subscription:1
EYNGPONOIS TOIE ENAIPYIITQGEOIEISIAS
APX IEPEYZANEHKE = Isias th e Hig h Priest
erectedth is to th eresident g ods inEg ypt.
Andnowth oug h I f ormerly suspendedth e auth ority
of Trismeg istus I mig h t, lik e th e Italian, produce h is
weapons sf admro; but I love no velitations, andtruth
is so brave it needs no f eath er. Th at wh ich is above"
saidHermes- is evenas th at wh ich is below, and
th at wh ich is belowis evenas th at wh ich is above.
Th is is h is mystery, and'tis g reat. Th e benet wh ich
attends th e purpose is no less: All th e pomp and
splendour of th e worldsh all be th ine.3To th is
lang uag e th e dialect of Isias doth so ech o, th ese two
lik e Euph orbus andPyth ag orasmig h t pass f or one:
Heavenabove"- - saidh e- - h eavenbelow; stars above,
stars below: wh atsoeveris above, th at is also below.
Andth enf ollows a rewardf orth eintellig ent : Under-
standth 1 s andth ouart f ortunate. Th ouh ast made
th yself very h appy.
Th is is enoug h to proveth at mag ic sometimeourish ed
inEg ypt, andno doubt but th ey receivedth e truth of
1 Vaug h anadds inbrack ets: I ndit only inth e Coptic ch aracter
but ourf ounts wanting th at letter, I must g iveit youinGreek .
2 Quadest superz ws est 52'./ :m idq uades! z 'nf erz ':z s, er q uades! :'rg "e.r:'rrs
est sz k rrt iderredes! superz 'us.
3liabeirz s g lorz tz m 1 'otz 'u.rmz mdi.
Crrium mrsum, crrlz rvrz drorsz mz ; astrrz sz mtz rm, asimdr0r.s'z r:2z ; amaz e
q uadsursrrnz , rmmeiddrorsrmz : / z rrc rapeat ; "rr'Zz 'cz 'z 'arr.
I83
T/ z e Warts (yrT/ z omas Vaug h an
it f rom th e Hebrews, wh o livedamong st th em to th e
term of f ourh undredandth irty years. Th is is plain,
f or th eir ownnative learning was mere sorcery and
witch craf t, andth is appears by th e testimony of Moses,
wh o tells us th eirmag icians producedth eirmiracles by
ench antments. Andwh y, I beseech you, sh ouldth is
instructionseem impossibleP ForJoseph being married
to Asenath , daug h terof Potiph erah Priest of On, some
of th e Eg yptianpriests- - - andth ose lik ely of h is own
alliance- mig h t, f orth at very relation, receive a better
doctrine f rom h im. But th is is not all I couldsay of
th is nationandth eirsecret learning , if I were disposed
to be th eirMercury. Th ereis not any, I believe, wh o
pretendto antiq uity orph ilosoph y but h ave seenth at
f amous monument wh ich Paul III bestowedonh is
Cardinal Petrus Bembus andwas ever since calledth e
BembineTable. No doubt but th eHierog lyph ics th erein
contained- - were th ey all reducedinto letters- - would
mak e a volume as ample as mysterious}But tis not
my desig nto comment onMemph is : th at wereto mak e
brick andlook out th e strawwith al, Eg ypt h aving no
completetablebut th eworld, overwh ich h ermonuments
are scattered. Th is place th enwas th e pitch erto th e
f ountain, f orth ey receivedth eirmysteries immediately
f rom th e Hebrews; but th eirdoctrine, lik e th eirNilus,
swelling above its private ch annel, didat last overrun
th e universe. Iamblich us th e divine, inth at excellent
discourse of h is De Mysteriis, tells us th at Pyth ag oras
andPlato h adall th eirlearning out of th e pillars or
h ierog lyph ical monuments of Trismeg istus.3But th e
ancient Orph eus, inh is poem De Verbs Sacr0- wh ere h e
speak s of God- - h ath th esewords : None- saith h e- -
1 Meanwh ile th ere is at least th e admirable work of Laurentius
Pig norius: MENSA ISIACA, wh ich appearedat Amsterdam in1 670, and
inadditionto its expositionof th e SUIJJGCI h as most beautif ul f olding
plates reproducing th eentiretablet.
'Th is is possibly anerratum andmay bereadleave.
3Excolmn.- m'.rM:rcun'z '.
I 84 .
Mag ia 1 4 dam{ ca
h ath everseenGodbut a certainmandescendedf rom
th e Ch aldeanrace." 1 Nowth is was Moses, of wh om it
is writtenth at h e spak e with Godf ace to f ace, as one
manspeak s with anoth er. Af terth is h eg ives us a sh ort
ch aracterordescriptionof th e Deity, not inth e recess
andabstract but inref erence to th e incubationof His
Spirit uponNature. Lastly, h e acq uaints us with th e
orig inal of h is doctrine- f rom wh enceit rst came- - and
verily h e derives it f rom th ewell- h ead. Th e priests "
- - saith h eorproph ets of th e ancient f ath ers taug h t
us all th ese th ing s, wh ich Goddeliveredto th em h ere-
tof ore intwo tables.2 Th ank s be to th at GodWh o
madea h eath enspeak so plainly. I neednot tell youto
wh om th esetables were delivered. Cavallero d Epistola
caninf orm you. I citedth is place th at it mig h t appear
th oug h th e ph ilosoph y of Greece came g enerally out of
Eg ypt yet some Grecians h ave beendisciplinedby th e
Jews, andth is is provedby no contemptibletestimonies.
Aristobulus, wh o livedinth edays of th eMaccabees and
was h imself a Jew, writes to Ptolemy Ph ilometor, King
of Eg ypt, andaf rms th at th ePentateuch orve book s
of Moses were translatedinto Greek bef ore th e timeof
Alexanderth e Great andth at th ey came to th e h ands of
Pyth ag oras andPlato? IndeedNumenius th e Pyth a-
g oreancalls Plato Moses speak ing inth eGreek dialect,
by wh ich h e mindednot a similitudeof style but a con-
f ormity of principles. Th ereis a story of Clearch us th e
Peripatetic inh is book 5 DeSamara, h owtrueI k nownot
1 Nameillum, mist C/ z aldreo derong uz lneg uz lddnm
Pro- g rnz 'tu.r, '2/ z 'dz 't.
2 Prisrromm nos h as dacmrunt ammo '2/ ates,
Qure6z 'm'.rz ac$ uZz 's Dears alf m tradz d:'t z '!lz '.s".
3Aristobulus was a Jewish ph ilosoph er, circa 1 5o B.C. Th e Ptolemy
mentionedby Vaug h andiedB.C. 1 4 5.
* .Mo.vm Attz 'ca Zz ivg unlayuemf em. Numenius was of Apamea inSyria
andwas a writerof repute. Heis mentionedby Orig en.
5 Th eorig inal reads rst, wh ich is obviously a misprint.
'He is calleda disciple of Aristotle, but th esoleremaining f rag ment
of h is work is f oundinJoseph us contra Apion, Lib. i.
I85
T/ z e / Vorvs of Tomas Vaug arz
but th e substanceof it is th is. He bring s inh is master
Aristotle, relating h owh e met with a very reverendand
learned]ew, with wh om h e h admuch discourse about
th ing s natural andDivine; but h isspecial conf essionis
th at h ewas much rectiedby h im inh is opinionof th e
Deity. Th is perh aps mig h t be, but certainly it was af ter
h e writ th e Org mz onandh is oth erlame discourses th at
moveby th e log ical crutch . Now, if youwill ask me:
Wh at Greek didever prof ess any mag ical principles?
To th is I answerth at if youbateAristotleandh is ush ers,
wh o are bornlik e th e pismires ex purredine, out of th eir
master s corruptions, Greece yieldednot a ph ilosoph er
wh o was not insomepositions mag ical. If any manwill
ch alleng emy demonstrationh ereinI do nowpromiseh im
my perf ormance. To g iveyousomeparticularinstances,
Hippocrates was altog eth er ch emical, andth is I could
prove out of h is ownmouth , but at th is time h is work s
are not by me. Democritus, wh o livedinth e sameag e
With h im, Writ h iS tpuovr- rdKai , u.vo'"rt.- rdth at iS PHYSICAL
AND Mvsrrcal. Tnmos, inplainEng lish , Natural Secrets?
To th is mystical piece Synesius addedth e lig h t of h is
comments anddedicatedth em to Dioscorus, Priest of
Serapis.3Of th is Democritus Seneca reports inh is
Episries th at h ek newa secret coctionof pebbles by wh ich
h e turnedth em into emeralds. Th eoph rastus, a most
ancient Greek auth or, inh is book DeLapidiiwus, mentions
anoth ermineral work of h is own, wh ereinh eh adwritten
someth ing of metals.Trueindeedth at discourseof h is
is lost, but notwith standing h is opinionis onrecord,
namely, th at h e ref erredth e orig inal of metals to water.
Th is is conrmedby h is ownwords, as I ndth em cited
1 Hippocrates diedB.C. 361 , orinth e sameyearas Democritus. Th e
desig nationof h is writing s as ch emical is not worth debating .
2 See- = I> T2IKA KAI MTETIKA inth eByz antineCollection.
3laid. Th e ref erence is to a letterby pseudo~ Synesius onth e work
of pseudo- Democritus.
Heis saidalso to h avemadeivory malleable.
5 Heh as beenaccreditedwith two h undredtreatises, of wh ich twenty
arenowextant.
I 86
Zllcz g ia / 70/ z z micz z
by Picus inh is book De Aura : It is by th e conversion
of waterth at silverandg oldare produced. "1 But th at
th e art of transmutationwas inreq uest inh is days and
no late inventionorimposture, as some th ink , appears
by th e attempts andpracticeof th at ag e, out of th e same
Th eoph rastus. Forh ementions one Callias, anAth enian,
wh o endeavouring to mak e g oldbroug h t h is materials
into cinnabar.
It were anendless labourf orme to recite all th e
particulars th at Greece canaf f ordinorderto my present
desig n. I will th eref ore close up all inth is sh ort
summary. Th ere is no wisdom inNature but wh at
proceededf rom God, f orHe made Nature. He rst
f oundoutiandaf terwards ordainedth e very ways and
meth odh owto corrupt andh owto g enerate. Th is His
ownwisdom andk nowledg e He communicatedinsome
measureto th erst man. From h im h is ch ildrenreceived
it, andth ey taug h t it th eirposterity; but th eJews h aving
th espiritual birth rig h t th is mystery was th eirinh eritance
andth ey possessedit entirely, being th e anointednation
uponwh om Godh adpouredf orth His spirit. By tradi-
tionof th eJews th eEg yptians cameto beinstructed; f rom
th eEg yptians th esesecrets descendedto th eGrecians ; and
f rom th e Greciansas weall k nowth eRomans received
th eirlearning and, among st oth er commonarts, th is
mag ical, mysterious one. Th is is conrmedby some
proper, g enuine ef f ects andmonuments th ereof , namely,
th at exible malleable g lass producedinth e days of
Tiberius andth e miraculous OlybianLamp. But th ese
times wh ereinI am nowandth ose th roug h wh ich I h ave
passedarelik esome tempestuous day: th ey h ave more
_ 1 TT6E1 'I'0$ ', uiw_'nii uerak art- dg evo, ire- reirep tip- yi- 'parital xpuabs. Th eg uotation
is g ivenby Picus inL21 6. iii, c. 4 of h is treatise. It will be f oun, among
oth erplaces, inMang etus : BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICA CURIOSA, vol. ii,
p. 2566.
_ typical example of Vaug h an s crude andch ildish way of expres-
sionincertaincases. Macaulay s proverbial sch oolboy couldscarcely
do worse indescribing th e intellectual work ing s of a supposedall-
k nowing God.
I87
Te Warts cf T/ z omarVang / iarz
clouds th anlig h t. I will th eref ore enterCh ristendom,
andh ere I sh all ndth e Art inh er inf ancy. True
indeedth ecradleis but insomeprivateh ands, f ewk now
wh ere, andmany believe th ere is no such th ing . Th e
sch oolmenare h ig h inpoint of noise andcondemnall
but wh at th emselves prof ess. It is Aristotle s / iimodena :
th ey expose h is errors to th e sale, andth is continues f or
a long time. But everyth ing - - - as th e Spaniardsaith -
h ath its q urmdo. Many years are passedover, andnow
th ech ildbeg ins to lisp andpeep abroadinth ef ustianof
ArnoldandLully. I neednot tell youh owh e h ath
th rivedsince. Do but look uponh is train; f orat th is
day wh o pretends not to mag ic, andth at so mag isterially,
as if th ereg alos of th eArt were inh is powers P I k now
not any rq f rag ram except some sick ly Galenists wh ose
pale, tallowf aces speak morediseaseth anph ysic. Th ese
indeedcomplainth eirlives are too sh ort, ph ilosoph y too
tedious, andso ll th eirmouth s with ArrKong o, wire
Zirevis. Th is is true- - saith th e Spanish Picarof orth ey
cure eith erlate ornever, wh ich mak es th eirart long ;
but th ey k ill q uick ly, wh ich mak es lif e sh ort : andso th e
riddleis expounded.
1 88
CCELUM TERRZ- E
onTHE MAGICIAN S HEAVENLY CHAOS
CCELUM TERRA3
I nave now, Reader, perf ormedmy promise and-
according to my posse- provedth e antiq uity of mag ic.
I am not so much a f ool as to expect a g eneral subscrip-
tionto my endeavours. Every man s pinceris not th e
samewith mine; but th e die is cast."1 I h ave done
th is much , andh e th at will overth rowit must k now, in
th erst place, it is h is task to do more. Th ere is one
point I canjustly bindanadversary to- - th at h e sh all
not oppose manto God, h eath enromances to Divine
Scriptures. He th at wouldf oil me must use such
weapons as I do, f orI h ave not f edmy readers with
straw, neith erwill I be conf utedwith stubble. Inth e
next place, it is my desig nto speak someth ing of th e
Art itself , andth is I sh all do inrational terms, a f orm
dif f erent f rom th e ancients; f or I will not stuf f my
discourse lik ea wilderness with lions anddrag ons. To
commonph ilosoph ers th at f ault is very properwh ich
Quintilianobservedinsome orators: Th e summits
of th eirstructures are inevidence; th e f oundations are
h idden.2 Th e spires of th eirBabel are inth e clouds,
its f undamentals nowh ere. Th ey talk indeedof ne
th ing s but tell us not uponwh at g rounds. To avoid
th esef lig h ts, I sh all inth is my ollci- - f orI care not much
wh at I sh all call itobserve th is composition. First, I
sh all speak of th at oneonly th ing wh ich is th e subject of
th is Art andth e moth erof all th ing s. Secondly, I will
discourseof th at most admirable andmore th annatural
Medicine wh ich is g eneratedout of th is one th ing .
1 jam: est ailea. * 3Oprrir2.iz jasf 1 g z 'a .$ , t2' 'tZ?lf ! ?, Zaterrtmdarnerittr.
I 91
Tne Words of Tnonz as Vaug h an
LastIyth oug h with some disorder- I will discoverth e
means h owandby wh ich th is Art work s uponth e
subject; but th ese being th e k eys wh ich leadto th e
very estrado of Nature, wh ere sh e sits inf ull solemnity
andreceives th e visits of th e ph ilosoph ers, I must
scatterth em inseveral parts of th e discourse. Th is is
all, andh ereth oumust not considerh owlong orsh ort
I sh all be but h owf ull th e discovery ; andtruly it sh all
be such andso much th at th oucanst not inmodesty
expect more.
Nowth en, youth at wouldbe wh at th e ancient
ph ysicians were, th e h ealth - g iving h ands of th eg ods, 1
not q uack s andsalvos of th e pipk in; youth at would
perf orm wh at youpublicly prof ess andmak e your
calling s h onest andconscionable: attendto th e truth
with out spleen. Rememberth at prejudice is no relig ion
andby conseq uence h ath no reward. If th is Art were
damnable youmig h t saf ely study it notwith standing , f or
youh avea precept to prove all th ing s but to h old
f ast th at wh ich is g ood.It is yourduty not to be
wanting to yourselves ; andf ormy partth at I may be
wanting to noneth us I beg in.
Saidth e Kabalist: Th e building of th e Sanctuary
wh ich is h ere belowis f ramedaccording to th at of th e
Sanctuary wh ich is above. Herewe h ave two worlds,
visible andinvisible, andtwo universal Natures, visible
andinvisible, out of wh ich both th oseworlds proceeded.
Th e passive universal Naturewas made inth e imag e of
th e active universal one, andth e conf ormity of both
worlds orSanctuaries consists inth eorig inal conf ormity
of th eirprinciples. Th ereare many Platonicsandth is
last century h ath af f ordedth em some apish disciples-
wh o discourse very boldly of th esimilitudes of inf eriors
andsuperiors; but if we th oroug h ly search th eirtrash
1 .1 / { anus Deormnraf ntares. if I TI- IESSALONIANS, v. 21 .
3Donna: Sand- aarz 'z 'q ua? est / sic z 'nf eri.f i.t dz '.:ponz 'tarsecundanz .D0?72H?. '?
Sanctirari'z 'q ua: est sa; 5erz 'f )s.
I 9 '1
Ctr/ nanTerms
it is a pack of small conspiraciesnamely, of th e h elio-
tropeandth esun, ironandth elodestone, th ewoundand
th eweapon}It is excellent sport to h earh owth ey crow,
being roostedonth esepitif ul particulars, as if th ey k new
th e universal mag net wh ich binds th is g reat f rame and
moves all th e members of it to a mutual compassion.
Th is is anh umourmuch lik eth at of DonQuixote, wh o
k newDulcinea but neversawh er. Th ose students th en,
wh o wouldbe betterinstructedmust rst k nowth ere
is anuniversal ag ent, Wh o wh enHe was disposedto
createh adno oth erpatternorexemplarwh ereby to f rame
andmouldHis creatures but Himself . But h aving in-
nite inwardideas or conceptions inHimself , as He
conceivedso He created: th at is to say, Hecreatedan
outwardf orm answerable to th e inwardconceptionor
g ureof His mind. Inth e secondplace, th ey oug h t to
k nowth ere is anuniversal patient, andth is passive
Naturewas createdby th eUniversal Ag ent. Th is g eneral
patient is th e immediate cath olic ch aracterof GodHim-
self inHis unity andtrinity. Inplainterms it is th at
substance wh ich we commonly call th e First Matter.
But verily it is to no purpose to k nowth is notion[or] 2
Matter unless we k nowth e th ing itself to wh ich th e
notionrelates. We must see it, h andle it andby ex-
perimental oculardemonstrationk nowth e very central
invisible essences andproperties of it.3But of th ese
1 A not unwarrantedcriticism of oldextravag anceswh ich cameout of
th edoctrineof correspondences. I do not k nowwh eth erVaug h analludes
to th eowercalledh eliotropeorto th estone. Th ef ormeris misnamed,
sinceit does not turn, f ollowing th esun. As to th elatter, onestory says
th at it becomes th ecolourof blood, if exposedto th esolarrays af terbeing
th rowninto water. Th e curious f olly of th eweapon- salve was much in
evidenceduring th eseventeenth century inEng land. Rulandus illustrates
th e af nity betweenironandth e lodestone by saying th at th e veins
wh ich produceonevery of tenproduceth eoth er.
9 A conjectural emendationof th etext, wh ich does nof mak e senseas
it stands inth eorig inal.
3Th e impliedclaim of th is statement is illustratedelsewh ere, wh en
Vaug h anaf rnis th at h eh as h imself seenth eFirst Matter. His ref erence
to th eimmediatecath olic ch aracterof God- as exh ibitedby th is sub-
I93 I3
T/ z e W01 % : rf T/ z omas Vang / z an
th ing s h earth e most excellent Capnion, wh o inf orms h is
Jewandh is Epicure of two cath olic natures- - material
andspiritual. One nature- - saith h e- is such it
may be seenwith th e eyes andf elt with th e h ands, and
it is subject to alterationalmost inevery moment. You
must pardon- as Apuleius saith - - th is strang eexpression,
because itmak es f orth e obscurity of th e th ing . Th is
very nature- - since sh e may not continue one andth e
same- is notwith standing appreh endedof th emindunder
h ersuch q ualicationmore rig h tly as sh e is th anas sh e
is not, namely, as th e th ing itself is intruth - - th at is to
say, ch ang eable. Th e oth ernature orprincipleof sub-
stances is incorruptible, immutable, constant, oneandth e
same f orever, andalways existent.1
Th us h e. Now, th is ch ang eable nature wh ereof h e
speak s is th e rst, visible, tang ible substance th at ever
Godmade: it is wh ite inappearance andParacelsus
g ives youth e reasonwh y: All th ing ssaith h e- - -
Wh enth ey rst proceedf rom Godare wh ite, but He
colours th em af terwards according to His pleasure.2 An
exampleWeh aveinth is very matter, wh ich th eph ilosoph ers
call sometimes th eirRedMag nesia, sometimes th eirWh ite,
by wh ich descriptions th ey h avedeceivedmany men.3For
inth erst preparationth ech aos is blood- red, becauseth e
Central Sulph uris stirredup anddiscoveredby th ePh ilo-
soph ical Fire. Inth e secondit is exceeding wh ite and
transparent lik e th e h eavens. It is intruth somewh at
stanceorexpressedth erein~ - is a littleobscure inits wording , but it means
noth ing moreth anth ecloseof h is sentencesh owsname1 y, th at th eFirst
Matteris oneas reg ards its essencebut th reeinits manif estation.
1 Aemm g eese 'z / z 'a erz ' ecz elit ez az z 'z '; eg z ' mama pe.t.sz 'z , 6- rope adevme
memeniz em altemeem. Deter? e; z z 'm venz k z , at af t 1 1 / f adaurerz sz lt, n0s'z 'z atz '
vererz em, rerz em 06.tea ; rz 'taz z 'em z ' z .re: * .ez 'emz '. Heeewecum endem ez z ma
g ersz lttere neg teen1 , 222'/ iz z 'le?; z z '.= z m a Zak 'z vz 'rz - z eie am'mz ' / z es; z '!z '0 sz rsez 'j5z 'tz er,
pro moderectius Q34 50 est g z z am g z ee non: est, q ua/ z 's ins= e; rz 'ta e res est,
f a. est, :ez uz abz 'Zz 's. Altemm az etem .mesz amz 'arum .eaz m'am z 'ne0:r.mjtam,
z 'mmmaez 'Zem, cerz stmz terz z , earz dmz g ueac .i" ??Z]5 ?" e.rz 'sz erz z em.
2 Ommk z inmama Dez aiea sum, is ea z 'ez g z 'z ' m waf t.
3See th e TESTAMENTUM MAo1 s'rRI RAYMUNDI LULLII, Part I, De
TZ:e02'z 'ca, cap. 30, concerning th e powerof ourMag nesia.
I94 .
Cre/ um Terree
lik ecommonq uick silver, but of a celestial, transcendent
brig h tness, f orth ereis noth ing uponearth lik eit. Th is
nesubstanceis th ech ildof th e elements andit is a most
puresweet virg in, f ornoth ing as yet h ath beeng enerated
out of h er. But if at any timesh e breeds it is by th e re
of Nature, f orth at is h erh usband. Sh e is no animal,
no veg etable, no mineral, neith eris sh e extractedout of
animals, veg etables orminerals, but sh e is pre- existent to
th em all, f orsh e is th emoth erof th em. Yet oneth ing
I must say: sh e is not much sh ort of lif e, f orsh e is
almost animal. Hercompositionis miraculous and
dif - Ferent f rom all oth ercompounds wh atsoever. Goldis
not so compact but every soph ister concludes it is no
simple; but sh e is so much one th at no manbelieves sh e
is more. Sh e yields to noth ing but love, f orh erendis
g enerationandth at was neveryet perf ormedby violence.
Heth at k nows h owto wantonandtoy with h er, th esame
sh all receive all h ertreasures. First, sh e sh eds at h er
nipples a th ick h eavy water, but wh ite as any snow: th e
ph ilosoph ers call it Virg in s Milk .1 Secondly, sh eg ives
h im bloodf rom h ervery h eart: it is a q uick , h eavenly
re; someimproperly call it th eirsulph ur. Th irdly and
lastly, sh e presents h im with a secret crystal, of more
worth andlustre th anth ewh ite rock andall h errosials.
Th is is sh e, andth ese are h erf avours: catch h er, if
youcan.
To th is ch aracteranddiscovery of my ownI sh all add
some moredescriptions, as I ndh erlimnedanddressed
by h eroth erlovers. Some f ew- but such as k newh er
very we1 lh ave writtenth at sh e is not only one and
th reebut with al f ourandve; andth is truth is essential.
Th e titles th ey h avebestowedonh erare divers. Th ey
call h erth eirCath olic Mag nesiaandth e Sperm of th e
1 Lac I/ E':jg z '; rz z '.t, oth erwise Virg inal Milk andsometimes milk simply,
symbolises th e Mercurial Waterof Alch emists. According to Denis
Zach aire, it is Soph ic _Mercury coag ulatedby a certainxedbody.
2 Th e term Mag nesia is f req uently usedto desig nateth e First Matter
of th e Ph ilosoph ers Stone; oth erwise, it is th at substance during th e
1 95
T/ z e Work s q f Y7mma.t Vang / z mz
Worldout of wh ich all natural th ing s are g enerated.
Her birth say th ey- - is sing ular andnot with out a
miracle, h ercomplexionh eavenly anddif f erent f rom h er
parents. Herbody also insome sense is incorruptible
andth e commonelements cannot destroy it, neith erwill
sh e mix with th em essentially. Inth e outwardsh ape
org ure sh e resembles a stone andyet is no stone, f or
th ey call h erth eirWh ite Gum andWaterof th e Sea, 2
Waterof Lif e, 3Most PureandBlessedWater; 4 andyet
th ey mindnot waterof th eclouds orrainwater, norwater
of th ewell, nordew, but a certainth ick , permanent, saltish
water, th at is dry andwets not th e h ands, 5 a viscous, slimy
waterg eneratedout of th e f atness of th e earth . Th ey call
h eralso th eirtwof oldMercury andAz oth , " beg ottenby th e
inuences of two g lobes, celestial andterrestrial. More-
over, th ey af rm h erto be of th at natureth at no recan
destroy h er, wh ich of all oth erdescriptions is most true, f or
sh e is reh erself , h aving inh era portionof th euniversal
reof Natureanda secret celestial spirit, wh ich spirit is
animatedandq uick enedby GodHimself , wh eref orealso
th ey call h erth eirMost BlessedStone. Lastly, th ey say
sh eis a middlenature betweenth ick andth in, neith eralto-
g eth erearth y noraltog eth erery but a meanaerial sub-
stance- to bef oundeverywh ereandevery timeof th eyear.
process of putref action. It may also typif y preparedMercury, wh ich
IS f undamentally th e same th ing . W'h ite Mag nesia is Wh ite Soph ie
Sulph urorGold, andRedMag nesia is RedSulph urorGold, th e Sun
of Alch emy.
1 Th ealternatives inth is casearesimilarto th oseof Mag nesia. Mercury
inputref actionis Gum; \Vh iteGum is Sulph urinth ewh ite state; Red
Gum is Soph ic Sulph urinth eredstate.
2 Describedoth erwise as Ph ilosoph ical Mercury, extractedf rom th e
RedSea of th eWise.
3Calledalso Quintessenceof Ph ilosoph ers.
* z '.e., Mercurial Quintessence. Ag ree eerz edz 'r:z a is usedby pseudo-
Albertus Mag nus. Seepp. 205- 207onPermanent VVater.
5 Anoth ernameis Ph ilosoph ical \< Vater.
6 I believe th at Basil Valentinewas th erst to mak euse of th is word,
wh ich is composedof th e rst andnal letters of th e Latin, Greek and
Hebrewalph abets. It was adoptedinparticularby Planiscampus and
Paracelsus to denote th e Universal Medicine, presumably inth at state
wh enit was administeredto man, rath erth anto metals.
I96
C02/ um Terrace
Th is is enoug h . But th at I may speak someth ing
myself inplainterms, I say sh e is a very salt, but
extreme sof t andsomewh at th inandf luid, not so h ard,
not so th ick as commonextractedsalts, f orsh e is none
of th em, norany k indof salt wh atsoeverth at mancan
mak e. Sh e is a sperm th at Nature h erself draws out
of th e elements with out th eh elp of art. Manmay nd
it wh ere Natureleaves it; it is not of h is of f ice to mak e
th e sperm, nor to extract it. It is already made and
wants noth ing but a matrix andh eat convenient f or
g eneration. Nowsh ouldyouconsiderwith yourselves
wh ere Nature leaves th e seed, andyet many are so dull
th ey k nownot h owto work wh enth ey are toldwh at
th ey must do. Wesee inanimal g enerations th e sperm
parts not f rom both th e parents, f orit remains with th e
f emale, wh ereit is perf ected. Inth eg reat world, th oug h
all th e elements contribute to th e composure of th e
sperm yet th e sperm parts not f rom all th e elements
but remains with th e earth orwith th e water, th oug h
moreimmediately with th eone th anwith th eoth er. Let
not yourth oug h ts f eednowonth eph leg matic, indig ested
vomits of Aristotle: look onth e g reen, youth f ul and
f lowery bosom of th e earth . Consider wh at a vast
universal receptacle th is element is. Th e stars and
planets overlook h erand- - - th oug h th ey may not descend
h ith erth emselves- - th ey sh eddownth eirg oldenlock s,
lik e so many bracelets andtok ens of love. Th e sunis
perpetually busy, bring s h islreroundabout h er, as if h e
wouldsublimesometh ing f rom h erbosom androb h erof
some secret, enclosedjewel. Is th ereanyth ing lost since
th e creation? Wouldst th ouk nowh is very bedandh is
pillowP It is earth . Howmany cities, dost th outh ink ,
h ave perish edwith th e sword? Howmany by earth -
1 One of th e spiritual correspondences of h is subject may h ave been
inth emindof Vaug h an, th at Wordof Godwh ich is comparedto a seed
by ST LUKE, viii, 5, II, andis sowninth e earth of ourh umanity- th at
is to say, inth e h eart. Of eternal g eneration, it is neith ermade nor
extractedandneeds only th ematrix, wh ich is carriedwith inby us all.
1 97
Th e W01 * / ts of Tomas Vang / z an
q uak es? Andh owmany by th e delug e? Th oudost
perh aps desire to k nowwh ere th ey are at th is present:
believe it, th ey h ave one commonsepulch re. Wh at was
once th eirmoth eris nowth eirtomb. All th ing s return
to th at placef rom wh ence th ey came, andth at very place
is earth . If th ouh ast but leisure, runoverth ealph abet
of Nature; examineevery letter- I mean, every particular
creature- inh erbook . Wh at becomes of h erg rass, h er
corn, h erh erbs, h erowers? Trueit is, both manand
beast do use th em, but th is only by th e way, f orth ey
rest not till th ey come to earth ag ain. Inth is element
th ey h adth eirrst andinth is will th ey h ave th eirlast
station. Th ink - if oth ervanities will g ive th ee leave
onall th ose g enerations th at went bef ore th ee and
anticipate all th ose th at sh all come af terth ee. Wh ere
are th ose beauties th e times past h ave producedand
wh at will become of th ose th at sh all appear inf uture
ag es? Th ey will all to th e same dust; th ey h ave one
commonh ouse; andth ereis no f amily so numerous as
th at of th e g rave. Do but look onth e daily sports of
Nature, h erclouds andmists, th e scene andpag eantry
of th e air. Eventh ese momentary th ing s retreat to th e
closet of th e earth . If th e sunmak es h erdry sh e can
drink as f ast; wh at g ets up inclouds comes downin
water; th e earth swallows up all andlik e th at ph ilo-
soph ical drag oneats h er owntail. Th e wise poets
sawth is andinth eirmystical lang uag e calledth e earth
Saturn, telling us with al sh e didf eedonh erownch ildren.
Verily, th ere is more truth inth eirstately verseth anin
Aristotle s dull prose, f orh e was a blindbeast andmalice
made h im so.
But to proceeda little f urth erwith you, I wish you
to concoct wh at youread, to dwell a little uponearth ,
not to f ly up presently andadmire th e meteors of your
1 Th e f amiliarsymbol recurs also inalch emy. Th e Drag ondevour_ing
its tail is th e Matterof th eStonewh enit circulates inth e ph ilosoph ical
vesseL
I98
Cw/ z mz Terrace
ownbrains. Th e earth , youk now, inth e winter- time
is a dull, dark , deadth ing - - a contemptible, f roz en,
ph leg matic lump. But towards th e spring andf omenta-
tions of th esunwh at rarepearls are th ere inth is dung -
h ill, wh at g lorious colours andtinctures doth sh e
discover. A pure, eternal g reenoverspreads h er, and
th is attendedwith innumerable oth erbeauties- - roses red
andwh ite, g oldenlilies, az ure violets, th e bleeding
h yacinth s, with th eirseveral celestial odours andspices.
If youwill be advisedby me, learnf rom wh ence th e
earth h ath th ese invisible treasures, th is annual f lora,
wh ich appears not with out th e compliments of th e sun.
Beh old, I will tell youas plainly as I may. Th ere are
inth eworldtwo extremes- - matterandspirit. One of
th ese, I canassureyou, is earth . Th e inf luences of th e
spirit animateandq uick enth ematterandinth e material
extremeth e seedof th espirit is to be f ound. Inmiddle
natures- as re, airandwater- - th is seedstays not, f or
th ey are but dispenseros ormedia wh ich convey it f rom
oneextremeto th eoth er, f rom th espirit to th ematter-
th at is, th eearth . But stay, my f riend; th is intellig ence
h ath somewh at stirredyouandnowyoucome onso
f uriously, as if youwouldrie th e cabinet. Give me
leave to put youback . I mindnot th is common,
f eculent, impure earth : th at f alls not with inmy dis-
course but as it mak es f oryourmanuduction. Th at
wh ich I speak of is a mystery : it is are/ um term? andterm
rreli, not th is dirt anddust but a most secret, celestial,
invisible earth . i
RaymundLully inh is COMPENDIUM orALCHEMY calls
th eprinciples of art mag ic certainf ug itive spirits con-
densedinth eair, inth esh ape of divers monsters, beasts
andmen, wh ich move lik e clouds h ith erandth ith er.
1 Much as th ebody of manis describedinanoth ersymbolism as th e
Terrestrial Paradise, andit is saidth at a curse f ell th ereonbecause of
th ek eeper.
2 Spz 'r2'tu.rf ug z 'tz "z 4 es z 'rz aere condense/ es, inf orms merz srresz mz dryer-
rerum ex anz malz ium, an- am iz emz wz mr, g mwadmz z sieut nuees, modebrie,
1 99
T/ z e Wares of T/ z omas Vaz ag ez rz
As f orth esense of ourSpaniard, I ref erit to h is readers :
let th em mak eth e most of it.
Th is is true: as th eairandall th e volatile substances
init are restless, evenso is it with th e First Matter.
Th eeye of manneversawh ertwice underone andth e
same sh ape; but as clouds drivenby th e windare f orced
to th is andth at g urebut cannot possibly retainone
constant f orm- - so is sh epersecutedby th ereof Nature.
Forth is reandth is waterare lik e two lovers : th ey no
soonermeet but presently th ey play andtoy, andth is
g amewill not overtill some newbaby is g enerated. I
h ave of tentimes admiredth eirsubtle perpetual motion,
f orat all times andinall places th ese two are busy,
wh ich occasionedth at notablesentenceof Trismeg istus
th at actionwas th elif eof God. But most excellent and
mag isterial is th at oracle of Marcus Antoninus, wh o in
h is discourse to h imself speak s indeedth ing s worth y of
h imself . Th e nature- - saith h e- of th e universe
delig h ts not inanyth ing so much as to alterall th ing s
andth ento mak e th e lik e ag ain."2 Th is is h ertick -
tack : sh e plays one g ame, to beg inanoth er. Th e
Matteris placedbef ore h erlik e a piece of wax, andsh e
sh apes it to all f orms andg ures. Nowsh e mak es a
bird, nowa beast, nowa ower, th ena f rog , andsh e is
pleasedwith h erownmag ical perf ormances as menare
with th eirownf ancies. Hence sh e is calledof Orph eus
th emoth erth at mak es many th ing s andordains strang e
sh apes org ures.3Neith erdoth sh e as some sinf ul
parents do, wh o- - h aving th eirpleasurecarenot f orth eir
ch ild. Sh e loves th em still af tersh e h ath made th em,
- .
made silk )- :I.- COI\* IPENDIUIwI Aatris Atcnvmus ET NATURALIS PHILO-
SOPHIZE, r. 1 .
1 Th e ref erence is possibly to DIVINE PYMANDER, e. xi, I7, wh ich
af rrns (I) th at as manis only invirtueof th elif e inman, so is Godonly
inth at Hebring s g oodto pass; and(2) th at th eg oodis lif e andmotion
inGod, causing - all th ing s to moveandlive.
2 Ou3- Ev3v- rm: t}\o? Ital Ttiir3}'twI/ Hia'1 s dis Ttivra peraah ik elv, rcrurruteivvein
d, t- '.0lt't.
3Hoh uptpxevos , u.'l]'r1 5|, o and AA?tuTp1 o, u.op o5ierror.
ZOO
Cw/ um Terree
h ath aneye overth em all andprovides evenf orh er
sparrows. Tis strang e to considerth at sh e work s as
well privately as publicly, not only ing ardens wh ere
ladies may smell h erperf umes but inremote solitudes
anddeserts. Th etruth is sh e seek s not to pleaseoth ers
so much as h erself , wh eref ore many of h erwork s- - and
th oseth ech oicest- nevercometo lig h t.
Wesee littlech ildren, wh o are newly comef rom under
h erh and, will be dabbling indirt andwater, andoth er
idlesports af f ectedby nonebut th emselves. Th e reason
is th ey arenot as yet captivated, wh ich mak es th em seek
th eirownpleasures. But wh enth ey come to ag e th en
loveorprot mak es th em sq uare th eiractions according
to oth ermen s desires. Some cock ney claps h is revenue
onh is back , but h is g allantry is spoiledif h is mistress
doth not observe it. Anoth erg h ts, but h is victory is
lost if it be not printed: it is th e worldmust h earof
h is valour. Now, Nature is a f ree spirit th at seek s no
applause; sh e observes none more th anh erself but is
pleasedwith h erownmag ic, as ph ilosoph ers are with
th eirsecret ph ilosoph y. Henceit is th at wendh erbusy,
not only inth e pots of th e balconies but inwildernesses
andruinous places, wh ereno eyes observeh erbut th estars
andplanets. Ina word, wh eresoeverth e re of Nature
nds th e Virg inMercury th ere h ath h e f oundh is love,
andth erewill th ey both f all to th eirh usbandry, a pleasure
not subject to surf eits, f orit still presents newvarieties.
It is reportedof Mark Antony, a f amous but un-
f ortunate Roman, h owh e sent h is ag ent overth eworld
to copy all th e h andsome f aces, th at among st so many
excellent f eatures h e mig h t select f orh imself th e most
pleasing piece. Truly Natureis much of th is strain, f or
sh e h ath innite beauteous patterns inh erself , andall
th ese sh e wouldg ladly see beyondh erself , wh ich sh e
1 Th is, is not a very h appy illustrationf orVaug h an s purpose, f orth e
h ypoth etical point is th at th e patterns are with inNature, wh ereas
Antonius Marcus sent overth eworldto ndth em.
201 -
Tee Wares q f Th omas Vang / z rm
cannot do with out th e Matter- - - f orth at is h er g lass.
Th is mak es h erg enerate perpetually andimprint h er
conceptions inth e Matter, communicating lif e to it and
g uring it according to h erimag ination. By th is practice
sh e placeth h erf ancy oridea beyondh erself , oras th e
Peripatetics say beyondth eDivine Mind, namely, inth e
Matter. But th e ideas being innumerable andwith al
dif f erent, th e pleasures of th e ag ent are maintainedby
th eirvariety or- to speak more properly- - by h is own
f ruitf ulness, f oramong st all th ebeauties th eworldaf f ords
th ereare not two th at are altog eth erth esame.
Much mig h t be spok eninth is place concerning
beauty, wh at it is, f rom wh ence it came andh owit may
be def aced, not only inth e outwardg ure but inth e
inwardidea andlost f oreverinboth worlds. But th ese
pretty sh uttles I am no way acq uaintedwith : I h ave no
mistress but Nature, wh eref oreI sh all leaveth e neladies
to nelads andspeak of my simple
1 ELIA LJELIA
It was scarce day wh enall alone
I sawI- Iyanth eandh erth rone.
Inf resh g reendamask sh e was dressd
Andoera sapph ireg lobedidrest.
Th is slippery sph erewh enI didsee,
Fortune, I th oug h t it h adbeenth ee.
But wh enI sawsh e didpresent
A majesty more permanent
I th oug h t my cares not lost if I
Sh ouldnish my discovery.
- Sleepy sh e look dto my rst sig h t?
As if sh e h adwatch dall th enig h t,
Andunderneath h erh andwas spread,
Th ewh itesupporterof h erh ead.
But at my second, studiedview
I couldperceivea silent dew
1 Extra z 'nieZleez 'rrm. _
2 Compareth edescriptionof Th alia inLUMEN DE LUMINE.
202
Cw/ um Terree
Steal downh erch eek s, lest it sh ouldstain
Th osech eek s wh ereonly smiles sh ouldreig n.
Th etears streamddownf orh asteandall
Inch ains of liq uidpearl didf all.
Fairsorrows- - - andmore dearth anjoys
Vi/ h ich are but empty airs andnoise-
Yourdrops present a rich erpriz e,
Forth ey are someth ing lik eh ereyes.
Pretty wh itef ool, wh y h ast th oubeen
Sulliedwith tears andnot with sin?
Tis trueth y tears, lik epolish dsk ies,
Areth ebrig h t rosials of th y eyes ;
But such strang e f ates do th em attend
As if th y woes wouldneverend.
From drops to sig h s th ey turnandth en
Th osesig h s returnto drops ag ain,
But wh iles th e silvertorrent seek s
Th ose owers th at watch it inth y ch eek s
Th ewh iteandredHyanth ewears
Turnto rose- waterall h ertears.
Haveyoubeh elda f lame th at spring s
From incensewh ensweet curledring s
Of smok eattendh erlast weak res
Andsh e all inperf umes expires?
So didI- Iyanth e. Here- - saidsh e
Let not th is vial part f rom th ee.
It h olds my h eart, th oug h now tis spill d
Andinto waters all distill d.
Tis constant still. Trust not f alse smiles :
Wh o smiles andweeps not, sh e beg uiles.
Nay, trust not tears : f alse are th e f ew5
Th osetears are many th at are true.
Trust meandtak e th e betterch oice:
Wh o h ath my tears canwant no joys.
lk nowsome soph isters of th e h eptarch y 1 - I mean
th ose wh ose learning is all noise, inwh ich sense even
1 A satirical allusionto th e Seven\Vise Menof Goth am, as compared
with th eSevenWiseMasters.
203
T/ z e Wares ryf T7z 0m z s Vaug h an
pyannets andparaq uitoes are ph ilosoph icalwill conclude
th is all bait andpoetry; th at we are pleasing , not posi-
tive, andch eat eventh e reader s discretion. To prevent
such impotent calumnies andto spenda little more of
oursecret lig h t uponth e well- disposedstudent, I sh all
inth is placeproduce th e testimonies of someable ph ilo-
soph ers concerning th eFirst Matteritself , as it is naturally
f oundbef ore any alterationby art. Andh ere verily th e
readerjmay discoverth e mark . It is most easily done, if
h e will but eyeth ef lig h ts of my verseorf ollowth emore
g ravepace of th eirprose. Th erst I sh all citeis Arnoldus
de Villa Nova, anabsolute perf ect masterof th e Art.
Hedescribes th ePh ilosoph ical Ch aos inth eseplainterms.
It is- saith h e- a stone andno stone, spirit, soul
andbody ; wh ich if th oudissolvest, it will be dissolved;
andif th oudost coag ulate it, it will be coag ulated; and
if th oudost mak e it y, it will f ly: f orit is volatile or
ying andclearas a tear. Af terwards it is made citrine,
th ensaltish ; but with out sh oots orcrystals, andno man
may touch it with h is tong ue. Beh old, I h ave described
it truly to th ee, but I h ave not namedit. NowI will
name it; andI say th at if th ousayest it is waterth ou
dost say th etruth ; andif th ousayest it is not waterth ou
dost lie. Be not th eref ore deceivedwith manif oldde-
scriptions andoperations, f oritis but oneth ing , to wh ich
noth ing extraneous may be added.2
Th us Arnoldus, andh e borrowedth is f rom th e Turive.
1 Th epaneg yric is of g eneral recog nition, but th e nameof Raymund
Lully sh ouldbebrack etedwith Arnoldas th eg reat adepts of th eirperiod.
Sendivog ius andEirenaeus Ph ilaleth eare th eg reat masters of th eseven-
teenth century.
2 l: Iji'Z.S' est et mm Ze, ez 's, spz tz ts, aiz f ma et corpus, enem st dz 'sseZ- vts,
e?z 'sseZ'vz 'tz rr, ' et sz rea, . , rarZes, reng z rlatarr; et sz ' ixeleref arts, 1 / elrz t. Est
erz tm '2'/ eZrz tz 'Zz 's, alerts rel [ 1 6/ ltj}/ f tldi eez tlz i. Postea e6z 'tz rrcz 'trt':rz z ts, salsz es,
, z 5z 'Zz 's earens ; enem nemesz e.- :3Zz lvg uritrz ng erepetest. Herez jtisz mz jars: sud
desvtertstrar/ 2'desertl'ef 2'0rz e, neat tamer: ?z emz 'rz a'z 1 z . . . . diodestolez jesatrn
z z emtnare, et titre g reedsf dz '.'i:'erz 's ez tm ag itate esse, wermne?f cz 's ; et sf
dz I:reH's ez mz rz g lz ram nonesse, me z tz ':r2's. A- e z lg z 't ai:r deez }z 'arz 's ptz retests
deserz jt> tz 'emears et 0; f > eretz 'em'Zws ; z mz tm em'm g a'z 'dest, em m'/ z z ! aZz 'em'
z 'ri'rtr r._- SPI+:CULU1 ii ALCIIIMUE, s.v. Otters: Z)z 's, eesz 'tz '0 Specials.
204 .
Ca- 2/ am Terra
Let us nowh earh is disciple RaymundLully, wh o speak -
ing very enviously andobscurelyof sevenmetallic principles
describes th e th ird- wh ereinf ourof th e sevenare in-
eluded- - inth esewords. Saith h e : Th eth irdprinciple
is a clear, compoundedwater, andit is th e next substance
incomplexionto q uick silver. It is f oundrunning and
owing uponth e earth . Th is q uick silveris g enerated
inevery compoundout of th esubstance of th e air, and
th eref oreth emoistureof it is extremeh eavy.2 To th ese
I will addAlbertus I\/ Iag nus, 3wh osesuf f rag einth is k indof
learning is lik eth estylanx to g old; f orh eh adth oroug h ly
search edit andk newvery well wh at part of it would
abideth e test. InplainEng lish saith h e : Th eMercury
of th e wise menis a watery element, coldandmoist.
Th is is th eirPermanent VVater, th e spirit of th e body,
th e unctuous vapour, th e blessedwater, th e virtuous
water, th e water of th e wise men, th e ph ilosoph er s
vineg ar, th e mineral water, th e dewof h eavenly g race,
th e virg in s milk , th e bodily Mercury; andwith oth er
numberless names is it namedinth e book s of th e ph ilo-
soph ers ; wh ich names truly- - th oug h th ey aredivers not-
with standing - always sig nif y one andth e same th ing ,
namely, th e Mercury of th e wise men. Out of th is
Mercury aloneall th evirtueof th eArt is extractedand-
according to its nature- - th eTincture, both redandwh ite.
1 Th etitleof envious was g ivento th osewh o dark enedth e counsels of
alch emy by excessiveobscurity. Th eterm is usedf req uently inth edebate
of th e TURBA PHILOSOPHORUM, inwh ich th e interlocutors do not spare
one anoth er. Inwh at sense any of th em canlay claim to clearness is
perh aps anoth erq uestion, but th e ch arg e of envy obtainedwh enadept
couldnot understandadept.
2 Terttam est ag aa clara eearpesz 'ta, et tlta est res arg eato we've m.a, g 1 's
, ere; 5t'ng aa, g ate eaideriz rej> erz 'tarsupra Z'. ? ?" Z.?.F3carrerz s et z z eas. Et
{ studarg erz tam mtraia ineiam' eerpere elementate a matenia aeris est
preprz 'eg eaeratam, et r'a'eez jestas aa.vz z 'a'z 'z as est '2/ af dejvenderesa.
3It sh ouldbe mentionedth at th eLIBELLUS DE ALCHYMIA andsimilar
tracts attributedto Albertus Mag nus arenot h is work , noris th ere any
truth inth e story th at h e transmittedth e g reat secret to St Th omas
Aq uinas.
Mersarz 'as .Sa, ez 'entam est elemeatrmz d ]% 6Z I?3_f ? ; "2dZttH et / z a- ivadaet,
aq ua peraz anens, s; 9z ':Fz 'Z2ts 6ar; e0rz 's, '2/ a, / af ter anctaosas, aq ua tienedz h ta,
205
T/ z e Work s q f T/ z omas Vaug h an
To th is ag rees Rach aidibi th e Persian. Th e sperm
orFirst Matter- saith h e- of th e stone is outwardly
coldandmoist but inwardly h ot anddry.All wh ich
is conrmedby Rh odian, 3anoth erinstructor, it seems,
of KanidKing of Persia. His words are th ese: Th e
sperm is wh ite andliq uid, af terwards red. Th is sperm
is th eFlying Stone, andit is aerial andvolatile, coldand
moist, h ot anddry. To th ese subscribes th e auth or
of th at excellent tract entitledTHE BoonOF THE THREE
WORDS._ Th is- saith h e- - is th e Book of Th ree
Words, meaning th ereby Th reePrinciples ; th e Book of
th e Precious Stone, wh ich is a body aerial andvolatile,
coldandmoist, Watery andadustive; andinit is h eat
anddroug h t, coldness andmoisture, onevirtueinwardly,
th eoth eroutwardly.5
Belus th e ph ilosoph er, inth at f amous andmost classic
Syuoa of Arisleusf inverts th eorderto conceal th epractice;
but if rig h tly understoodh e speak s to th esame purpose.
aq ua 1 - tartuasa, ag ua sapieuz f u:- .u, areturz u, az 'Zas0p/ z orz mz , aq ua uz z 'uera!z '.r,
ms caf iesz f is g ratia- ", lac '2/ z 'r, , _g f z 'uz 's, u2ercurz '2z .r.* ; '0r; 5= 0raZz 's, :2 alz 'z 's z '?z m'2f z 's,
uo2uz 'uz ' u.r in; iz z 'Z0.ro; / z oruuz Zz rz 's uouz z uaf ur, q ua g z rz aeuz uomz ua,
g uam'z Jz '$ uaraa sum, seuz jbertauz euz mam at rand.- :- we rem sz jg uacaut,
uz laof esoluuz Mercurz 'u; z .'a; z 'euz uuz . Ex{ 1 30 solo eZz 'rz 'tur0:- 'mz z '.s* '2/ z 'rz u.r
arias aZrZz euz z 'a1 at sunuz odo urtura aia 5; ruea.
1 Rach aidibus : DEMATERIALAPIDISis containedinARTISAURIFERAE.
g uauz C/ z emz 'a:= uvacant '2/ aluuz z aa duo, Tom. i, Traci. xix.
2 Sg eruz a Za; _6z 'dz '.restf rz :.g * z 'a'u2; a at / z um:z 'a'um inrxz aag f esf o, ez inacculta
raZ.= :'a'uuz usiccum.
3Rach aidibus was also th e King s teach er. Th emore usual f orm of
th eKing s name is KalidorCalid. He became anadept h imself and
wrote th e BoonOF THE THREEWoans wh ich Vaug h anq uotes imme-
diately. Th e words are Air, Water, Fireinwh ich th e wh ole Art
consists."
4 Speruz a es! aleuuz ez Zz 'g uz 'a'uu- 2, park a rubeuuz . Spar. - z a z studest
laj, '> z '$ f u.g z 'z z "vus, at est aereum at '2/ 0Zaz z 'Ze', ea est f r.{ g z 'a uuz at / z uuz z auuz , ez
calz 'a uuz at .rz 'c- mus.
5 Hz 'c errLIE- ER TRIUM VERBORUM, Lz lerLa; 5z 'a'z 's Prer:z 'asz ', g uiest
corpus aereuuz at 'uolatz '!e, f rz :.g 'z 'z iuuz at / 2u.vz z 'dz mz , ag uosu; - uat adustz wursz ,
at in:20 est ra!z 'a'z 'z 'ar rt .rz 'cz 7z 'tas, _f rz ; g z 'dz 'ta.vez / z uuu'a'z 'z 'as, aZz 'a w'rtu.rin
orrz alto, alia inz az aug f esto. It will be seenth at Vaug h anis ina certain
conf usionoverth eq uestionof alleg edauth orsh ip.
* 5 Th e ref erence is to TURBA PHILOSOPHORUM, wh ich beg ins with a
salutationaddressedonth e part of Arisleus to th osewh o sh all f ollowin
th epath .
206
Car/ um Terra
Among st all g reat ph ilosoph ers saith h e- - ~ it is
mag isterial th at our Stone is no stone: but among st
ig norants it is ridiculous andincredible. Forwh o will
believeth at watercanbe madea stoneanda stonewater,
noth ing being more dif f erent th anth ese two ? Andyet
invery truth it is so. Forth is very Permanent Water
is th eStone ; but wh iles it is waterit is no stone.1 But
inth is sense th eancient Hermes abounds andalmost dis
covers too much . Know"- saith h e- youth at are
ch ildrenof th ewise : th eseparationof th eancient ph ilo-
soph ers was perf ormeduponWater, wh ich separation
divides th e waterinto f ouroth ersubstances."2 Th ere
is extant a very learnedauth orwh o h ath writtensome-
th ing to th is purpose, andth at more openly th anany
wh om we h ave f ormerly cited. As th e world- saith
h e- - - was g eneratedout of th at Wateruponwh ich th e
Spirit of Goddidmove, all th ing s proceeding th ence, both
celestial andterrestrial, so th is ch aos is g eneratedout of a
certainWaterth at is not common, not out of dewnorair
condensedinth e caverns of th eearth , orarticially inth e
receiver; not out of waterdrawnout of th esea, f ountains,
pits orrivers; but out of a certaintorturedwaterth at
h ath suif eredsome alteration. Obvious it is to all but
k nownto very f ew. Th is waterh ath all init th at is neces-
sary to th e perf ectionof th e work , with out any extrin-
sical addition. I couldproduce a th ousandauth ors
more, but th at were tedious. I sh all conclude with one
1 Exceisuuz eraf z q c apz rd; 5f 5:z 'lq rq ; 5/ earuz ag uq rZapuieuz uq uease Za; ! z 'deru,
apudz 'a z 'q z a.r* 2/ f ieerz 'urredz 'q z 'Ze. Quz lreuiuz credet lapz 'dem aq uauz ataq uaxu
Zapz 'deuz erz , rum m'/ 22'! sit a'z 'uer.rz 'uns ? Attarueurwera eta art. La; .6z '.r
emu: era / tam z q sa peruz aueus aq ua, at duuz aq ua es! Za; f > r'.r uq uest.
2 Scz 'z o u, Fz 'Ziz ' .S'apz 'eutum, q uq a prz '.u:q :r'z uup/ u'Zosq p/ io:ru:uaq ua est
dz "uz '.u'q , q ua dz 'uz 'dat z jbraruinalia q uatuq r.
35z 'cutz ' uz uudurq rz g z ueu- 2 aauaq ua, cur S; bz 'rz 'z 'z s Dq u.u'uz ' iucuq aq az ,
req us tam rrrlestz q us q uauz terresuriq z rs 0uuz z 'q us z 'ua'e ; 9rq deuurz 'q .u's, ita
z u au.~ aa: euz erg rt ex aq uaarm 'vuZ_g arz ', ueq uearmore ra'Ze.rtz 'aut ex aere
rq udematq ancar/ eruz 's terra, "q r! f a rrc.= q z 'euz 'e z f sq , arm eraq yssq uz az nf s,
f q uuius, puz 'ez '.r, uuu'uz 'q usue / xaustq , saderaq ua q uadam perpersa,
q muz '6u.rq bwf a, prz urz 'ssz 'rrz z '.r rq g rz z ui. Qua inre aq et q z uecuuq ue ad
to Zius operas rq rz g plerz z euturrz sumuecessa:rz 'a, q ruuiauz q to e.rtrz 'u.rec0.
207_
T/ z e Wares of T7z 0ma.r Vaug / um
of th e Rosy Broth ers, wh ose testimony is eq uivalent to
th e best of th esebut h is instructionf armore excellent.
His discourseof th eFirst Matteris somewh at larg e, and
to avoidprolixity I sh all f orbearth eLatin, but I will g ive
th ee h is sense inpunctual, plainEng lish .
I am a oddess - - - - saith h e, speak ing inth epersonof
Nature- - - Forbeauty andextractionf amous, bornout of
ourownpropersea wh ich compasseth th ewh oleearth and
is everrestless. Out of my breasts I pourf orth milk and
blood: boil th ese two till th ey are turnedinto silverand
g old. O most excellent subject, out of wh ich all th ing s
inth is worldareg enerated, th oug h at th e rst sig h t th ou
art poison, adornedwith th e name of th eFlying Eag le}
Th ouart th e First Matter, th e seedof Divine Benedic-
tion, inwh ose body th ere is h eat andrain, wh ich not-
with standing are h iddenf rom th ewick ed, because of th y
h abit andvirg investures wh ich are scatteredoverall th e
World. Th y parents are th e sunandmoon; inth ee
th ereis waterandwine, g oldalso andsilveruponearth ,
th at mortal manmay rejoice. Af terth is mannerGod
sends us His blessing andwisdom with rainandth e
beams of th esun, to th eeternal g lory of His Name. But
consider, O man, wh at th ing s Godbestows uponth ee by
th is means. Torture th e Eag le till sh e weeps andth e
Lionbeweak enedandbleedto death . Th ebloodof th is
Lion, incorporatedwith th e tears of th e Eag le, is th e
treasureof th eearth . Th esecreatures useto devourand
k ill oneanoth erf but notwith standing th eirloveis mutual,
andth ey put onth eproperty andnatureof a Salamander,
wh ich if it remains inth e re with out any detriment it
cures all th e diseasesrof men, beasts andmetals. Af ter
th at th e ancient ph ilosoph ers h adperf ectly understood
1 Th e Flying Eag le is usually explainedinth e lexicons to be Ph ilo~
soph ical Mercury, wh ich itself is sometimes a nameof th eFirst Matter,
or- - as weh aveseen- - of oneof th eprinciples evolvedth eref rom.
2- Th erearevarious lions inalch emy, q ualiedas g reen, red, ying and
so f orth ; but th eg eneric nameis sometimes appliedto th emalesubstance
wh ich enters into th ecompositionof th eMag istery.
P 2o8
Cw/ um Terms
th is subject th ey dilig ently soug h t inth is mystery f orth e
centreof th emiddlemost tree inth eTerrestrial Paradise,
entering inby velitig ious g ates. Th erst g atewas th e
k nowledg e of th e True Matter, andh ere arose th erst
andth at a most bitterconf lict. Th esecondwas th e pre-
parationby wh ich th is Matterwas to be prepared, th at
th eymig h t obtainth e embers of th eEag leandth eblood
of th eLion. At th is g ate th ereis a most sh arp g h t, f or
it produceth waterandbloodanda spiritual, brig h t body.
Th eth irdg ateis th erewh ich conduceth to th ematurity
of th e Medicine. Th ef ourth g ateis th at of multiplica-
tionandaug mentation, inwh ich proportions andweig h t
are necessary. Th e f th andlast g ate is projection.
But most g lorious, f ull rich andh ig h is h e wh o attains
to th ef ourth g ate, f orh eh ath g ot anuniversal Medicine
f orall diseases. Th is is th at g reat ch aracterof th e Book
of Nature out of wh ich h erwh ole alph abet doth arise.
Th e f th g ate serves only f ormetals. Th is mystery,
existing f rom th ef oundationof th eworldandth e creation
of Adam, is of all oth ers th e most ancient, a k nowledg e
wh ich GodAlmig h ty- by His Wordbreath edinto
Nature, a miraculous power, th e blessedre of lif e, th e
transparent carbuncleandredg oldof th ewise men, and
th e Divine Benedictionof th is lif e. But th is mystery,
because of th e malice andwick edness of men, is g iven
only to f ew, notwith standing it lives andmoves every
day inth e sig h t of th e wh ole world, as it appears by th e
f ollowing parable.
I am a poisonous drag on, present everywh ere andto
beh adf ornoth ing . My waterandmy redissolve and
compound. Out of my body th oush alt drawth e Green
andth eRedLion; but if th oudost not exactly k nowme
th ouwilt- - - with my re- - destroy th y vesenses. Amost
pernicious, q uick poisoncomes out of my nostrils wh ich
h ath beenth e destructionof many. Separate th eref ore
th eth ick f rom th eth inarticially, unless th oudost delig h t
inextreme poverty. I g iveth eef aculties both male and
1 09 I4
T/ z e Work s of Tomas Vaug / um
f emale andth e powers both of h eavenandearth . Th e
mysteries of my art are to beperf ormedmag nanimously
andwith g reat courag e, if th ouwouldst h ave me over-
cometh eviolenceof th ere, inwh ich attempt many h ave
lost both th eirlabourandth eirsubstance. I am th eeg g
of Nature k nownonly to th ewise, such as are pious and
modest, wh o mak eof mea littleworld. OrdainedI was
by th eAlmig h ty Godf ormen, but- - th oug h many desire
me- I am g ivenonly to f ew, th at th ey may relieve th e
poorwith my treasures andnot set th eirminds ong old
th at perish eth . I am calledof th eph ilosoph ers Mercury:
my h usbandis g oldph ilosoph ical. I am th eolddrag on
th at is present everywh ereonth ef aceof th eearth . I am
f ath erandmoth er, youth f ul andancient, weak andyet
most strong , lif eanddeath , visibleandinvisible, h ardand
sof t, descending to th eearth andascending to th eh eavens,
most h ig h andmost low, lig h t andh eavy. Inme th e
orderof Natureis of tentimes inverted- - incolour, num-
ber, weig h t andmeasure. I h ave inme th e lig h t of
Nature; I am dark andbrig h t ; I spring f rom th e earth
andI come out of h eaven; I am well k nownandyet a
mere noth ing ; all colours sh ineinme andall metals by
th e beams of th esun. I am th e Carbuncleof th e Sun,
a most noble, clariedearth , by wh ich th oumayst turn
copper, iron, tinandleadinto most pureg old."
Now, g entlemen, youmay see wh ich way th e ph ilo-
soph ers move: th ey commendth eirSecret WaterandI
admireth e tears of Hyanth e. Th ereis someth ing inth e
f ancy besides poetry, f ormy mistress is very ph ilosoph ical
andinh erlovea pure platonic. But nowI th ink upon
1 As disting uish ed, th at is to say, f rom auruuz rrz q rtuuz z z , th edeadg old
of commerce. Th e latteris especially th at metal wh ich h as suf f eredth e
process of melting ; but it h as to beunderstoodth at no productof th emines
rank s as th at of Hermetic ph ilosoph y. Ph ilosoph ical g oldea" y; - q !k esz '
was eith erth ework of art inth e g rade of adeptsh ip orwas th at mystery
of attainment wh ich lay beh indth e veils of symbolism inspiritual
alch emy.
2 I am not acq uaintedwith any earlieruseof th is g urativeexpression,
andI cannot identif y th eauth orof th elong extract.
QIO
Cm/ um Terra
it, h owmany rivals sh all I procure by th is discourse?
Every readerwill f all to andsomeneth ing may break h er
h eart with nonsense. Th is loveindeedwere mereluck ;
but f ormy part I dare trust h er, andlest any mansh ould
mistak e h erf orsome th ing s f ormerly namedI will tell
youtruly wh at sh e is. Sh e is not any k nownwaterwh at-
soeverbut a secret spermatic moisture, or rath erth e
Venus th at yields th at moisture. Th eref oredo not you
imag ine th at sh e is any crude, ph leg matic, th inwater,
f or sh e is a f at, th ick , h eavy, slimy h umidity. But
lest yoush ouldth ink I am g rownjealous andwould
not trust youwith my mistress, Arnoldus de Villa Nova
sh all speak f orme : h earh im. I tell th ee f urth er- ~
saith h e- - th at wecouldnot possibly nd, neith ercould
th e ph ilosoph ers ndbef oreus, anyth ing th at wouldper-
sist inth e re but only th e unctuous h umidity. A
watery h umidity, we see, will easily vapouraway andth e
earth remains beh ind, andth eparts are th eref oreseparated
because th eircompositionis not natural. But if wecon-
siderth ose h umidities wh ich are h ardly separatedf rom
th ose parts wh ich are natural to th em, wendnot any
such but th eunctuous, viscous h umidities.
It will beexpectedperh aps by some int andantimony
doctorswh o mak e th eirph ilosoph ical contritionwith a
h ammerth at I sh oulddiscoverth is th ing outrig h t and
not suf f erth is strang ebird- limeto h oldth eirprideby th e
plumes. To th ese I say it is Waterof Silver, wh ich some
h avecalledWaterof th e Moon; but tis Mercury of th e
Sun, andpartly of Saturn, f orit is extractedf rom th ese
th ree metals andwith out th em it canneverbe made?
I Th eorig inal reads or. .
2 / lu.t; $ Zz 'u.rf 2'1 5z ' direq uaduulla uz q da z 'mv uz '; n~ : ; 5q z uz '.= .au.s', are .rz 'uu'2'z 'z .er
. u'u 'uz 'repaZuerurz z ; / z z 'Zq .t0jZ :z ', aiiq uauz reuz jersauertz af rrrz insig ne, m'5z '
sq lauz z ructuq rauz k .u; vz z 'rZz 'f a f em. Aq uram iumu'a'z 'z az em o':'rz e'uz urtief acz 'Zz '
euapq rare, arida rez aauef , at z 'a eq .s'e; z a?'auz m', q uia uaurum uaf uraler.
52'auf euz ear/ . u.raz 'dz 'f af e: cq asf dereuz us, q ua i.; '[/ Ferrite? rrjaraz r/ z araq / '25:
q ua suu! uaturaies, uq uz 'aueuz 'uz u.t aliq uar- .= z z '.rz ' uucf uq sas ez 'z )z 'scq .ta.r.
3It seems obvious th at Vaug h anis bef ooling h is int andantimony
doctors, f orh eposes h ereas af rming th at th ematterof th emastery is
ZII
T/ z e Work s q f T/ z amarVaug aarz
Nowth ey may unriddleandtell mewh at it is, f orit is
truth - if th ey canunderstandit.
To th eing enuous andmodest readerI h ave someth ing
else to reply, andI believeit will suf f iciently excuse me.
RaymundLully- - a manwh o h adbeeninth e centre of
Natureandwith out all q uestionunderstooda g reat part
of th e DivineWill- g ives me a most terriblech arg e not
to prostitute th ese principles. Saith h e: I swearto
th ee uponmy soul th at th ouart damnedif th oush ouldst
reveal th ese th ing s. Forevery g oodth ing proceeds f rom
Godandto Him only is due. Wh eref ore th oush alt
reserveandk eep th at secret wh ich Godonly sh ouldreveal,
andth oush alt af f irm th oudost justly k eep back th ose
th ing s wh ose revelationbelong s to His h onour. Forif
th oush ouldst reveal th at ina f ewwords wh ich Godh ath
beenf orming a long time, th oush ouldst be condemned
inth e g reat day of judg ment as a traitorto th e majesty
of God, neith ersh ouldth y treasonbef org iventh ee. For
th erevelationof such th ing s belong s to Godandnot to
man."1 So saidth ewise Raymund.
Now, f ormy part I h avealways h onouredth emag icians,
th eirph ilosoph y being both rational andmajestic, dwelling
not uponnotions but ef f ects, andth ose such as conrm
both th e wisdom andth e powerof th e Creator. Wh en
I was a mere errant inth eirbook s andunderstoodth em
not, l didbelieve th em. Time rewardedmy f aith and
paidmy credulity with k nowledg e. Inth e interim I
suf f eredmany bittercalumnies, andth is by some envious
adversaries wh o h adnoth ing of a sch olarbut th eirg owns
to beextractedtrom metals, wh ich is opposedto h is entireth esis. Heis
th eref oreg iving a wrong nameof th eliteral k indto th esubstances wh ich
h eh as just describedg uratively, using f amiliarterms of alch emy.
1 juro z z '6z ' supra auz wz auz uz eara q u- 0a rsea rewef es, dauruaf urer. Nam
a Denq ueuepruned?! aouuuz el ersols deq ez ur. Quaresea waz lreasecreiuuz
teaetiz lrf llua q uq a ua eZ1 ef z r_ret/ eiaudum, ez a5irura z '.rq uauz jh errecz auz ; 5r0-
prz 'ez 'a!e; .= z .ru6z ra/ ult, q ua ejus / sq uaredeq euarr. Quia 52'rea'elare.rq remf q ue
- uerq z s if iudq uadloug z uq uq z e.v.pq : 'ef oruz araz , indie :wag uz '_/ ua z 'rz 'z ' rau-
aeirz uareris, iaaq uauz q ua perpetratore.1 ."z '.rz f eu.r rq rura M'ny'e.s!az euz De:
lanrauz , aec z z 'q z ' reraieref urcasus Zresre uz ajesf af ir. Yaf uruz euiuz re'uelaz z 'q
adDez ua ex uq a aa alf erum special.- 'I'n1 ~ ; OR1 CA, rap. 6.
21 2
Cm/ um Terra
anda little lang uag e f orvent to th eirnonsense. But
th ese couldnot remove me; with a Spartanpatience l
concoctedmy injuries andf oundat last th at Nature was
mag ical, not peripatetical. I h ave no reasonth ento dis-
trust th em inspiritual th ing s, wh om I h ave f oundso
orth odox andf aith f ul eveninnatural mysteries}I do
believeRaymund, andinorderto th at f aith I providef or
my salvation. I will not discover, th at I may not be
condemned. But if th is will not satisf y th eewh oever
th ouartlet me wh isperth ee a wordinth e ear, and
af terwards do th ouproclaim it onth e h ousetop. Dost
th ouk nowf romwh om andh owth at sperm orseedwh ich
menf orwant of a betternamecall th eFirst Matterpro-
ceeded? Acertainilluminateeandinh is days a member
of th at Society wh ich somepaintedbuz z ards use to laug h
atwrites th us : God- saith h e- - incomparably g ood
andg reat, out of noth ing createdsometh ing ; but th at
someth ing was made oneth ing , inwh ich all th ing s were
contained, creatures both celestial andterrestrial. 2 Th is
rst someth ing was a certaink indof cloudordark ness,
wh ich was condensedinto water, andth is wateris th at
one th ing inwh ich all th ing s were contained. But my
q uestionis : Wh at was th at noth ing out of wh ich th erst
cloudy ch aos orsometh ing was made? Canst th outell
me? It may be th oudost th ink it is a mere noth ing .
It is indeedrz i/ 1 5! q ua aa nos- noth ing th at we perf ectly
k now. It is noth ing as Dionysius saith : it is noth ing
1 Th e mannerof expressing th is sentiment may leadto a misappre-
h ensionconcerning its scope andpurport. Th e exh ortationof Lully
does not containspiritual mysteries orinany wisesug g est th em, unless
everlasting punish ment is one of th em. Onth e oth erh and, I do not
f eel th at Vaug h anis intimating th at th e tracts of Lully containmore
th anmerely natural mysteries; but if not h e is talk ing ina careless or
exag g eratedway.
2 Deus O; f > z z 'mus f l/ [ax'z 'uz u.rea m'/ z ilq aiiq uid.- :rea1 .vz 'z '__.- if ludalz 'q uz 'a were
eaz uuuuz aliq uq al, f a q uo auz uz 'a- creature? calesteret z erre.rz re.r.- - -
Vaug h an s marg inal note reads: See Jacob Boh meninh is most ex-
cellent andprof oundDISCOURSE orTHE THREE PRINCIPLES.It may
benotedth at th eTeutonic ph ilosoph erdidnot k nowLatin, andI q uestion
wh eth erh e was evertranslatedinto th at lang uag e.
21 3v
Th e Wares of Tomas Vaug arz
th at was createdorof th ose th ing s th at are andnoth ing
of th at wh ich th oudost call noth ing th at is, of th ose
th ing s th at are not, inth y empty, destructivesense.
But, by yourleave, it is th eTrueTh ing , of Wh om we
canairm noth ing . lt is th at Transcendent Essence
Wh ose th eolog y is neg ative andwas k nownto th e
primitiveCh urch but is lost inth ese ourdays? Th is is
th at noth ing of Cornelius Ag rippa, andinth is noth ing
wh enh e was tiredwith h umanth ing s- I meanh uman
sciences- h e didat last rest. To k nownoth ing is th e
h appiest lif e.True indeed, f orto k nowth is noth ing
is lif e eternal. Learnth ento understandth at mag ical
axiom, th e visiblewas f ormedf rom th einvisible, f or
all visibles came out of th e invisible God, f orHeis th e
Well~ spring wh enceall th ing s ow, andth e creationwas
a certainstupendous birth ordelivery. Th is ne Virg in
Waterorch aos was th e SecondNature f rom GodHim-
self and- if 1 may say soth ech ildof th eBlessedTrinity?
Wh at doctorth enis h e Wh ose h ands are t to touch th at
subject uponwh ich GodHimself , wh enHeWork s, lays
His ownSpirit P Forverily so weread: Th eSpirit of
Godmoveduponth ef aceof th ewater.6 Andcanit be
expectedth enth at I sh ouldprostituteth is mystery to all
h ands wh atsoever, th at I sh ouldproclaim it andcry it as
1 Nz 'k z 'Zeorrmz g race524 92; , es. 222'/ z z 'Zeorz mz g racemm sz mz .DE MYSTICA
THEOLOGIA, capers 5. But it is instituting a f alse analog y to compare
much less to identif y th eNz 'k z 'ZDz 'r 'z 'rz m; rof Dionysius with th ecreation
out of noth ing mentionedby Boh me.
2 Vaug h anis h ereinth esing ularpositionof conf using h is First Matter
with th eabyss of Deity. His marg inal ref erenceis to T/ teolog z k rNag nf iva
- - - z .a, th e tract onMystical Th eolog y by pseudo- Dionysius.
3 Vz '/ 522'! .sf r:z ':re err 'z / z 'Z'rz f 'Zz 'cz 's.rr. rm. It is possible th at Ag rippa h ad
Dionysiansymbolism inh is mind, f orh e was a manof widereading ; but
h ewas not a mystic andit remains anopenq uestion. At th esametime,
Vaug h anwas, onth ewh ole, justif iedinso understanding h is auth or.
4 Exz 'm:/ z 'sz '5iz 'Zef rz crz rm est w'.rz 'r5z 'lr.
5* _Vaug h an s f orm of expressionis ag ainof th e most conf using k ind,
mak ing h is th eolog y seem almost h opeless onth e surf ace. He does not
appearto disputeth ef act of creationex 222'/ .2270, but th e SecondNature
f rom Godh as a clearemanation- implicit, wh ich oth erwise seems con-
trary to h is intention.
Genasrs, i, 2.
21 4
Cce/ um Terne
th ey cry oysters P Verily th ese considerations, with some
oth erwh ich I will not f orall th eworldput to paper, h ave
made me almost displease my dearest f riends, to wh om
notwith standing I owea bettersatisf action. Hadit been
my f ortunebarely to k nowth is Matter, as most mendo,
Ih adperh aps beenless caref ul of it; but I h ave been
instructedinall th e secret circumstances th ereof , wh ich
f ewuponearth understand. I speak not f orany ostenta-
tion, but I speak a truth wh ich my conscience k nows very
well. Let me th en, Reader, req uest th y patience, f orI
sh all leave th is discovery to God, Wh o- if it be His
blessedwill~ cancall unto th eeandsay : Here it is, and
th us I work it.
I h adnot spok enall th is inmy owndef ence h adI not
beenassaultedas it wereinth is very point andtoldto
my f ace I was boundto discoverall th at I k new, f orth is
ag elook s f ordreams andrevelations as th etrainto th eir
invisiblerig h teousness. I h avenowsuf f iciently discoursed
of th e Matter, andif it be not th y f ortune to ndit by
Wh at is h ere writtenyet th oucanst not be deceivedby
wh at I h ave said, f orI h ave purposely avoidedall th ose
terms wh ich mig h t mak e th ee mistak eany commonsalts,
stones orminerals f orit. I advise th ee with al to beware
of all veg etables andanimals : avoidth em andevery part
of th em wh atsoever. I speak th is becausesomeig norant,
sluttish broilers are of opinionth at man s bloodis th e
truesubject. But, alas, is man s bloodinth e bowels of
th eearth , th at metals sh ouldbeg eneratedout of it P Or
was th eworldandall th at is th ereinmade out of man s
bloodas of th eirrst matter? Surely no such th ing .
Th e First Matterwas existent bef oremanandall oth er
creatures wh atsoever, f orsh e is th e moth erof th em all.
Th ey were madeof th eFirst Matter, andnot th e First
Matterof th em. Tak e h eedth en: let not any man
deceiveth ee. It is totally impossible to reduce any par-
ticularto th e First Matterorto a sperm with out our
Mercury, andbeing so reducedit is not universal but th e
2I 5
Te Work s of Th omas Vaug arz
particularsperm of its ownspecies andwork s not any
ef f ects but wh at areag reeableto th enatureof th at species :
f orGodh ath sealedit with a particularidea. Let th em
alone th enwh o practise uponman s bloodinth eir
ch emical stoves andath anors, oras Sendivog ius h ath it
inf ormcuiis mirrz 4 5iZz 'Zws.2 Th ey will deplore th eirerror
at last andsit with out sack cloth inth e ash es of th eir
compositions.
But I h ave done. I will nowspeak someth ing of
g enerationandth e ways of it, th at th e process of th e
ph ilosoph ers uponth is mattermay be th e betterunder-
stood. Youmust k nowth at Nature h ath two extremes
andbetweenth em a middle substance, 3wh ich elsewh ere
we h ave calledth e middle nature. Example enoug h we
h ave inth e creation. Th e rst extremewas th at cloud
ordark ness wh ereof we h ave spok enf ormerly. Some
call it th eremotematterandth einvisiblech aos, but very
improperly, f orit was not invisible. Th is is th e Jewish
unSap/ 2outwardly, andit is th e same with th at Orph ic
nig h t :
O Nig h t, th oublack nurseof th eg oldenstars?
Out of th is dark ness all th ing s th at are inth is world
came, as out of th eirf ountainormatrix. Hence th at
positionof all f amous poets andph ilosoph ers- th at all
th ing s were broug h t f orth out of nig h t. Th e middle
substance is th eVVaterinto wh ich th at nig h t ordark ness
was condensed, andth ecreatures f ramedout of th ewater
made up th e oth erextreme. But th e mag icians, wh en
1 Compare th is with Vaug h an s pretendedinstructionto int and
antimony doctorsonp. 21 1 . Th e wh ole of th e present passag e is
important f orh is g eneral h ypoth esis.
2 Th eNOVUM LUMEN CHEMICUM andoth ertracts of th is writerg ive
many illustrations of th e errors andf ollies of uninstructedalch emists.
See especially th esatirical DIALOGUS r l4 e:rrm'r'z ', Alck emz sf reat A- irz f z rrte.
3Amarg inal noteref ers to ANIMA MAC- ICA ABSCONDI'Ia.
* Th is is eq uivalent to th e previous comparisonbetweenth e Divine
Noth ing of Dionysius andth eFirst Matter.
5 QN1 55 peh atva X ptinumvf iuerpwv'rpo i= .
5 Omnf a ex necte; f * r0dz 'z '.~ r.re.
21 6
Cm/ um Terms
th ey speak strictly, will not allowof th is oth erextreme,
because Nature does not stay h ere: wh eref ore th eir
ph ilosoph y runs th us. Mansay th ey- - inh is natural
state is inth e meancreation, f rom wh ich h e must recede
to oneof two extremes- - eith erto corruption, as commonly
all mendo, f orth ey die andmoulder away inth eir
g raves; orelse to a spiritual, g loriedcondition, lik e
Enoch andElijah , wh o weretranslated. Andth is- th ey
sayis a trueextreme, f oraf terit th ere is no alteration.
Now, th e mag icians, reasoning with th emselves wh y th e
meancreationsh ouldbe subject to corruption, concluded
th e cause andorig inal of th is disease to be inth e ch aos
itself , f oreventh at was corruptedandcurseduponth e
Fall of man. But examining th ing s f urth erth ey f ound
th at Nature inh er g enerations didonly concoct th e
ch aos with a g entle h eat. Sh e didnot separate th e
parts andpurif y each of th em by itself ; but th epurities
andimpurities of th e sperm remainedtog eth erinall h er
productions, andth is domestic enemy prevailing at last
occasionedth e death of th e compound. Hence th ey
wisely g ath eredth at to ministerveg etables, animals or
minerals f orph ysic was a mere madness, f oreventh ese
also h adth eirownimpurities anddiseases, andreq uired
some medicine to cleanse th em. Uponth is advise th ey
resolved- Godwith out all q uestionbeing th eirg uide
to practise onth e ch aos itself . Th ey openedit, puried
it, unitedwh at th ey h adf ormerly separatedandf edit
with a twof oldre, th ick andth in, till th ey broug h t it
to th eimmortal extremeandmadeit a spiritual, h eavenly
body. Th is was th eirph ysic, th is was th eirmag ic. In
th is perf ormance th ey sawth e imag e of th at f ace wh ich
Zoroastercalls th epre- existent countenanceof th eTriad.
1 Th e arch natural body is not, h owever, th e body of th is lif e f orth e
true alch emists, andeveninth elowerrank s th eelixirwas not supposed
to renderth elatterimmortal.
2 I g ive th is f reely: 71 1 / z 'aa'z 's '2/ z rlf us ante e.r.re:z tz 'am e.rz '.rz .erz t.em is an
expressionina cloudof unk nowing . If it means th e state of Godh ead
recog nisedby t/ z eelog ia nrg atz iva, th is h as no f orm orcountenance.
21 7
T/ z e Wore: of TomarVaug / z arz
Th ey perf ectly k newth e Secrmdea wh ich contains all
th ing s inh ernaturally, as Godcontains all th ing s inHim-
self spiritually. Th ey sawth at th elif e of all th ing s h ere
belowwas a th ick re, orreimprisonedandincorporated
ina certainincombustible, aerial moisture. Th ey f ound,
moreover, th at th is moisturewas orig inally derivedf rom
h eaven, andinth is sense h eavenis styledinth e Oracles :
Fire, derivationof reandf oodof re.
Ina word, th ey sawwith th eireyes th at Nature was
male andf emale, as th e Kabalists express it: a certain
re of a most deep redcolour, work ing ona most wh ite,
h eavy, salacious water, "' wh ich wateralso is reinwardly,
but outwardly very cold. By th is practice it was mani-
f estedunto th em th at GodHimself was Fire, according
to th at of Eximidius inTurin- :2: Th e beg inning of all
th ing s saith h e- is a certainnature, andth at eternal
andinnite, ch erish ing andh eating all th ing s." Th e
truth is, lif e- - wh ich is noth ing else but lig h tproceeded
orig inally f rom Godanddidapply to th e ch aos, wh ich
is eleg antly calledby Zoroasterth ef ountainof f ountains
andof all f ountains, th e matrix containing all th ing s.
We see by experience th at all individuals live not only
by th eirh eat, but th ey are preservedby th e outward
universal h eat wh ich is th elif eof th eg reat world. Even
so truly th eg reat worlditself lives not altog eth erby th at
h eat wh ich Godh ath enclosedinth e parts th ereof , but
it is preservedby th e circumf used, inf luent h eat of th e
Deity. Forabove th e h eavens Godis manif estedlik e
aninnite burning worldof lig h t andre, so th at He
1 Th ere are th e 5ecrmrz 'z 'z ' orsubsidiary g ods of Trith emius, wh o were
g reat planetary ang els, ruling th eearth andits k ing doms during succes-
sive periods of time; but th e name Sermz derz , orsecondary g oddess,
appliedto th e SecondPrinciple, is apparently aninventionof Vaug h an.
2 [g rz z 's, z :_g nz '.r(ierz waf inea z lg z ez lrperz as.
3lg ):- 2'5 radarsrq g f verdorsrmz z :g rz z '.rcrz :rz dr'dz '.
4 Oxvmz wrz rem ; z 'rz z 'f z 'rmz arseNatz rrerrz g mnndam, eanz g ueperetuam,
mrz z 'z rwz , 0.= rmz 'nf or/ emf em, cog rrenf ez r- rq rre.
5 Fonrf orz f z arrrz ez f 0m'z 'rmz carncf orz mz , m'a!rr'x romf mmcz rrrcf e.
Th is paradox is unworth y of Vaug h an: neith erh eavennorearth can
bedescribedas belowth at wh ich is innite.
21 8
Cue/ um Terrw
overlook s all th at He h ath made andth e wh ole f abric
stands inHis h eat andlig h t, as a manstands h ere on
earth inth e sunsh ine. I say th enth at th e Godof
Nature employs Himself ina perpetual coction, andth is
not only to g eneratebut to preserveth atwh ich h ath been
g enerated; f orHis spirit andh eat coag ulateth at wh ich is
th in, raref y th at wh ich is too g ross, q uick enth e deadparts
andch erish th e cold. Th ere is indeedoneoperationof
h eat wh ose meth odis vital andf armore mysterious th an
th e rest : th ey th at h ave use f orit must study it.
I h ave f ormy part spok enall th at I intendto speak ,
andth oug h my book may prove f ruitless to many, be-
cause not understood, yet somef ewmay be of th at spirit
as to compreh endit. Spacious ameof spacious mind"
saidth e g reat Ch aldean. But because I will not leave
th eewith out some satisf action, I advise th ee to tak e th e
Moonof th e rmament, wh ich is a middle nature, and
place h erso th at every part of h ermay beintwo elements
at one andth e same time. Th ese elements also must
eq ually attendth e body, not one f urth erof f , not one
nearerth anth e oth er. Inth e reg ulating of th ese two
th ere is a twof oldg eometry to be observed- - natural and
articial. But I may speak no more.
Th e true f urnace is a little simple sh ell; th oumayst
easily carry it inone of th y h ands? Th e g lass is one
andno more; but some ph ilosoph ers h ave usedtwo,
andso mayst th ou. As f orth ework itself , it is no way
troublesome; a lady may readth e Arcadia andat th e
same time attendth is ph ilosoph y with out disturbing h er
f ancy. Formy part, I th ink womenaretterf orit th an
Aivg lnmrmz '.t anz pla armrz e.
2 Compare th e disq uisitions of Rulandus s.v. Az iz i:m0r, _Farrz ax and
Furmrs. Comparealso d Espag net: ENCHIRIDIONPnvsicaz Rasrtruraz .
Compare nally DE FORNACIBUS CONSTRUENDIS, ascribedto th e Latin
Geber. Th enset ag ainst all th e witness of Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es in
FONS CI- IEMIC./ E PHILOSOPHIC./ E, according to wh ich th ere is one vessel,
one f urnace, one re, andall th eseareoneth ing , wh ich is ourWater.
Do th ese g ures of speech anddoes th at of Th omas Vaug h ansug g est
a ph ysical operation?
21 9
Th e Words of Tomas Vang / z en
men, f orinsuch th ing s th ey are more neat andpatient,
being usedto a small ch emistry of sack - possets andoth er
nical sug ar- sops. Concerning th eef f ects of th is Medicine
I sh all not speak anyth ing at th is time. Heth at desires
to k nowth em let h im readth eRevelationof Paracelsus,
a discourse altog eth er incomparable andinvery truth
miraculous. Andh ere with out any partiality I sh all
g ive myjudg ment of h onest Hoh enh eim. I ndinth e
rest of h is work s, andespecially wh ere h e f alls onth e
Stone, a g reat many f alse processes; but h is doctrine of
it ing eneral is very sound. Th e truth is h e h adsome
pride to th ejustice of h is spleen, andinmany places h e
h ath erredof purpose, not caring wh at bones h e th rew
bef ore th e sch oolmen, f orh e was a pilot of Guadalcanar
andsailedsometimes inh is rio dc Znrecrietien.
But I h adalmost f org ot to tell th eeth at wh ich is all in
all, andit is th e g reatest dif culty inall th eart- - namely,
th e re. It is a close, airy, circular, brig h t re: th e
ph ilosoph ers call it th eirsunandth e g lass must standin
th esh ade. It mak es not th e Matterto vapour- - - no, not
so much as to sweat. It dig ests only with a still, piercing ,
vital h eat. It is continual andth eref ore at last alters
th ech aos andcorrupts it. Th e proportionandreg imen
of it is very scrupulous, but th e best rule to k nowit by
is th at of th e Synod: Let not th e birdf ly bef ore th e
f owler.2 Mak eitsit wh ileyoug ivere, andth enyouare
sureof yourprey. Fora closeI must tell th eeth eph iloso-
ph ers call th is reth eirbath , but it is a bath of Nature,
not anarticial one; f orit is not any k indof water
i I do not k nowwh at text of orref erredto Paracelsus is q uotedunder
th is title. Noth ing corresponding th ereto is f oundinth e Geneva f olios,
claiming to containth e g enuine work s, nordoes th e bibliog raph y of
Leng let duFresnoy th rowany lig h t onth esubject.
2 Faeif enef asirz nus (sic) '2/ 0Ze.a' rmf ez ivseez rez ef em. 3Belnem- ; ; _
Bnlnez rm Nrrf urae. It will be notedth at th e two Ph ilaleth es are
saying th esameth ing .
5 Th is is presumably eq uivalent to saying th at Ph ilosoph ical Water,
Aq ua rz ostrrrrof Eirenmus, is not any ordinary waterth at is seenand
h eldandused.
220
Cae/ um Terrie
but a certainsubtle, temperate moisture wh ich com-
passeth th eg lass andf eeds th eirsunorre. Ina word,
with out th is bath noth ing inth e worldis g enerated.
Now, th at th oumayst th e betterunderstandwh at deg ree
of reis req uisite f orth ework , considerth e g eneration
of man, orany oth ercreature wh atsoever. It is not
k itch enrenorf everth at work s uponth e sperm inth e
womb, but a most temperate, moist, natural h eat wh ich
proceeds f rom th e very lif e of th e moth er. It is just
so h ere. OurMatteris a most delicate substance and
tender, lik e th e animal sperm, f orit is almost a living
th ing . Nay, invery truth , it h ath some small portionof
lif e, f orNature doth produce some animals out of it.
Forth is very reasonth e least violence destroys it and
prevents all g eneration; f orif it be overh eatedbut f or
somef ewminutes th ewh ite andredsulph urs will never
essentially unite andcoag ulate. Onth e contrary, if it
tak es coldbut f orh alf anh ourth e work being once
well beg un- - - it will neversort to any g oodpurpose. I
speak out of my ownexperience, f orI h ave- as th ey
ph raseit- g ivenmyself a box onth e ear, andth at twice
orth rice, out of a certaincondent neg lig ence, expecting
th at wh ich I k newwell enoug h couldneverbe.
Naturemoves not by th e th eory of menbut by th eir
practice, andsurely wit andreasoncanperf orm no miracles
unless th e h ands supply th em. Be sure th ento k now
th is re inth e rst place, andaccording ly be sure to
mak e use of it. But f orth y better security I will
describe it to th ee once more. It is a dry, vapourous,
h umidre; it g oes roundabout th e g lass andis both
eq ual andcontinual. It is restless, andsome h ave called
it th ewh iteph ilosoph ical coal. It is initself natural, but
th epreparationof it is articial. It is a h eat of th edead,
1 As if it mig h t bring f orth tadpoles; but h owdoes th is statement
about somesmall portionof lif ecomparewith th at counterdescription
q uotedf rom pseudo- Zoroaster: th ematrix containing all th ing s i Or
with th e description- also q uoted- - of Btih me: Ing iro 0mm'.erreaZurte
ctelesf es ex. Zerrestres?
221
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaug h an
wh eref ore some call it th eirunnatural, necrornantic re.
It is no part of th e matter, neith eris it tak enout of
it; but it is anexternal re andserves only to stirup
andstreng th enth e inwardoppressedre of th e ch aos.
But let us h ear Nature h erself , f orth us sh e speak s in
th e serious romance of Meh ung . Af terputref action
succeeds g enerationandth at because of th e inward,
incombustible Sulph urth at h eats orth ick ens th e cold-
ness andcrudities of th e Quick silver, wh ich suf f ers so
much th ereby th at at last it is unitedto th e Sulph urand
made one body th erewith . All th is- namely, re, air
andwater- - ~ is containedinone vessel. Inth eirearth ly
vessel- - - th at is, inth eirg ross body orcomposition- - I
tak e th em, andth enI leave th em inone alembic, wh ere
I concoct, dissolveandsublime th em with out th eh elp of
h ammer, tong s orle; with out coals, smok e, reorbath ;
orth e alemh ics of th e soph isters. For I h ave my
h eavenly re, wh ich excites orstirs up th e elemental
one, according as th ematterdesires a becoming ag reeable
f orm."2
Now, Natureeverywh ere is one andth e same, wh ere-
f oresh e reads th esamelessonto Madath an, wh o th ink ing
inh is ig norance to mak e th e Stonewith out dissolution
receives f rom h erth is ch eck . Dost th outh ink "says
]eande Meung continuedandcompletedth e Romanceq f th eHose,
beg unby Guillaume de Loris. Th e entire poem was reg ardedas
alch emical andits meaning as such h as beenunf olded; but th oseportions
wh ich carry th e Hermetic seal are inth e work of th e laterpoet. Th at
wh ich attractedch ief attentionis certain Remonstrancesaddressedto
analch emist by Natureanda Reply onh is ownpart. THE MIRROR
OF ALCHEMY is also attributedto jeande Meung . It was rst printed
in1 61 3.
2 Pose, emref artz 'e:ver; z .tz 'z z jsrz _g enerez z 'e, ridg z reperz '::z ermmz r'm:e; vrez 4 :rz '-
arz m calerem ddarg emz ' was/ 2'f rz g z 'dz 'f nte:iz ealef eeierz dem, erredlantern:
eyrririeirz ; 'at2'z 'z rr, z rz f ender): arm: .r2 Z; 5/ were sue z mz 'rz z .z ./ r. Omrz e iliud
rme in"ease eerrz plexuixz ere, z lg nz lt, aerez eerrrz wr'de!z 'ref , g erm interrerz e
324 50 were arr; z > z 'e, eademg rre rme irz rile- .wh r'r0 relz ieg z eez ertum rog ue,
d.is.r0z r/ 0 er.rrre!z 1 vz z '0, ah sg z re mrrilee, f enriye, we! iimrz , sz ive earh enitius,
wajeere, ig rz e, amt .M.drire- alee ez .r0j)h z 'sz r:z rmvr aZemh z 'ci.t. C'r:s:'ie.rz 'em
rz amg z re?h ! I '?f z f rrerrz h dh eo, ears elemerz f aleez . jrerrf rrz areria z 'drmeam de-
centemeuef ermem / z eeeredesz 'derez , e.rrz 'f az .DE1 x- IONSTRATIO NATURIE.
222
Cue/ um Terrre
sh e- - to eat oysters, sh ells andall? Oug h t th ey not
rst to beopenedandpreparedby th e most ancient cook
of th e planets? With th ese ag rees th e excellent
Flamel, wh o speak ing of th e solarandlunarMercury-
andth e plantationof th e one inth e oth er- h ath th ese
words : Tak eth em th eref ore- - saith h e andch erish
th em overa re inth y alembic. But it must not be a
reof coals, norof any wood, but a brig h t sh ining re,
lik e th e Sunitself , wh ose h eat must neverbe excessive
but always of one andth e same deg ree."2 Th is is
enoug h andtoo much , f orth e secret initself is not
g reat but th e conseq uences of it are so- wh ich made th e
ph ilosoph ers h ide it. Th us, Reader, th ouh ast th e out-
wardag ent most f ully andf aith f ully described. It is in
truth a very simple mystery and- - if I sh ouldtell it
openly- - ridiculous. Howsoever, by th is andnot with -
out it didth emag icians unlock th e ch aos ; andcertainly
it is no news th at anironk ey sh ouldopena treasury
of g old.
Inth is universal subject th ey f oundth e natures of all
particulars, andth is is sig niedto us by th at maxim:
Let h im wh o is not f amiliarwith Proteus h averecourse
to Pan.3Th is Panis th eirch aos orMercury, wh ich
expounds Proteusnamely, th e particular creatures,
commonly calledindividuals. ForPantransf orms h im-
self into a Proteus, th at is, into all varieties of species,
into animals, veg etables andminerals. Forout of th e
Universal NatureorFirst Matterall th ese are madeand
Panh ath th eirproperties inh imself . Hence it is th at
Mercury is calledth eInterpreterorExpositorof inf eriors
andsuperiors, underwh ich notionth e ancient Orph eus
A1 2 2'2: mm: eech ieas, Z/ e! remrre.- rram: z _e.tz i.r det/ erare rz z 'teri.r? An
mm, erz '1 v.ra 'z 1 er z r.rz z .r.rz 'me plarz eaz rrmz roe- are man- :rerz 'erprd; eararz 'f lies
e, eerret?AURaUirSECULUM REDIVIVUM.
2 Srmz arrtrrriz f rz g reeatnectar.z 'nf erdz 'uerrea.r.rz 'a'- are rz rg ra { g nawirealemeiiee
_/ '0:/ erz mf z rr. NewauteurZ:g '?23.5 earreemz rz 'z .+:.reel e Zz g rz e eenf erms, redclams
; eeZZ_:- .ve'z 'dusg ue rig h t : .rz 'z , 220:2 secret are re! rinse, ez ii rz z rrz erreez piers _7'z rsz 'e
eaf z dm" erdensez re, sedemu: temg ereeyrz sdem eeiorz s esre deeef ;
3Qm Preteen: mm rz or/ z 'z rz deat Perm.
223
Th e Wor"h s of Th omas Vaug h an
invok es h im: Hearme, O Mercury, th oumesseng er
of Joveandsonof Maia, th e Expositorof all th ing s."
Now, f orth e birth of th is Mercury andth e place of it
I ndbut f ewph ilosoph ers th at mentionit. Zoroaster
points at it, andth at very obscurely, wh ere h e speak s of
h is Iyng es orth e Ideas inth ese words: Th eirmulti-
tudes leap upward, ascending to th ose sh ining worlds,
wh ereinareth eth reeh eig h ts, andbeneath th eseth erelies
th ech ief pasture? Th is prorum ormeadowof th e Ideas,
a placewell k nownto th e ph ilosoph ers- Flamel calls it
th eirg ardenandth emountainof th e sevenmetals ; see
h is Summoryf wh ere h e describes it most learnedly, f orh e
was instructedby a Jew- - is a certainsecret but universal
reg ion. One calls it th e Reg ionof Lig h t, but to th e
Kabalist it is Nig h t of th e Body, a term extremely
apposite andsig nicant. It is inf ewwords th e rendez -
vous of all spirits, f orinth is place th e ideas- - - wh enth ey
descendf rom th e brig h t worldto th e dark one- are
incorporated. For th y better intellig ence th oumust
k nowth at spirits wh iles th ey move inh eaven, wh ich is
th e re- world, contract no impurities at all, according to
th at of Stellatus: All- - saith h e- th at is above th e
moonis eternal andg ood, andth ere is no corruptionof
h eavenly th ing s.6 Onth econtrary, wh enspirits descend
to th eelemental matrix andreside inh erk ing dom th ey
are blurredwith th e orig inal leprosy of th e matter, f or
h ere th e curse raves andrules; but inh eavenit is not
predominant. To put anendto th is point, let us h ear
Kttirpcoii 'Ep, u.ef ct, Aibs dyyeh ie, Mtz ieos vibe, 'Epptewn1 - is wdvrwv.
2 rlaf rrirreyuidem / aresoorndz mz Zz rridos mz mdos,
1 'n.r.ilerz f es : q arrz rrmz surrz rz ritates sierraf ree.
Suijeotz rrrrest .ij).rz '.r]rz 'nr'z ; ooZepratmrz .
3i.e., Sorz z maire Ph iiosoph z loz re de N.iooZa.rFlamei, apps!!! are/ rev:- rem
leromande Flrmz el. It appearedat Paris inI561 .
4 Reg z 'o Z2roi.r.
5 Noa* ror, oorz '.r- - mentionedinoneof th eCONCLUSIONES KABALISTICEE
of Picus de Mirandula.
6 Oemeorrodest supra Zmz oivz oeternz mz g z reeormivz eue
Easescrim, nee z rz '.rteo:Zz 'em'dr:.:rle.rtz 'o Jang iz .- _
Zomacus VITEE, Lz oerix.
224
Cm/ um Terms
th e admirable Ag rippa state it. Th is is h e between
wh ose lips th e truth didbreath e andk newno oth er
oracle. Th e h eavenly powers or spiritual essences,
wh iles th ey are inth emselves, orbef ore th ey areunited
to th e Matterandare sh owereddownf rom th e Fath er
of Lig h ts th roug h th eh oly intellig ences andth eh eavens,
until th ey cometo th emoon- - th eirinuenceis g ood, as
inth erst deg ree. But wh enit is receivedina corrupt
subject th einuencealso is corrupted.1
Th us h e. Now, th e astronomers pretendto a strang e
f amiliarity with th e stars; th e natural ph ilosoph ers talk
as much ; andtruly anig norant manmig h t well th ink
th ey h adbeeninh eavenandconversed- lik e Lucian s
Menippus2- with Jove h imself . But ing oodearnest
th ese menare no more eag les th anSanch o ; th eirf ancies
arelik eh is ig h ts inth e blank et andevery way as sh ort
of th e sk ies. Ask th em but wh ere th e inuences are
receivedandh ow; bidth em by f airexperience prove
th ey are present inth e elements, andyouh ave undone
th em. If youwill trust th e f ourcorners of a g ure or
th e th ree leg s of a syllog ism youmay: th is is all th eir
evidence. Well f are th e mag icians, th en, wh ose Art can
demonstrateth ese th ing s andput th e very inuences in
ourh ands. Let it beth y study to k nowth eirReg ionof
Lig h t andto enterinto th e treasures th ereof , f orth en
th ouma st converse with spirits andunderstandth e
nature of yinvisible th ing s. Th enwill appearunto th ee
th e universal subject andth e two mineral sperms- -
wh ite andred, of wh ich I must speak somewh at bef ore
I mak eanend.
Inth e PYTHAGORICAL SYNOD wh ich consistedof th ree
1 Casle.s!z 'r m "'2/ f res, duminseexz '.tz z z rz z , at a DalareZ21 1 :- 'z z 'm.mz g iversarz cf as
inteZlz ; g enz 'z 'as at caries z 'nz mmur, q z z ousg z z ead[imamper :/ enz 'renz ': serum
z 'nuentz ' z orm est, tang uaz m in; 5rz 'mo g rads:; a ez 'rm e autmz g z z amio 2'2:
sz z ljerto 1 / z 'lz '0rz 'suscz }6z 'tz rr, z }5sa ef iam'z 1 z '!escz 't.DEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA.
2_MCI'1 ippl1 S was a Ph oeniciancynic andth e auth orof certainlost
satires of a very severe ch aracter. He appears inth e dialog ues of
Lucian.
225 1 5
T/ z e / Vars q f T7z 0mez s Vez ug / z em
score andtenph ilosoph ers, all Masters of th e Art, it is
th us written: Th eth ick ness orsperm of th eref alls into
th eair. Th e th ick ness orspermatic part of th e air, and
init th esperm of th ere, f alls into th ewater. Th eth ick -
ness orspermatic substanceof th ewater, andinit th etwo
sperms of reandair, f all into th e earth , andth ere th ey
rest andare conjoined. Th eref ore th e earth itself is
th ick erth anth eoth erelements, as it openly appears and
to th e eye is manif est."1 Remembernowwh at I h ave
toldth ee f ormerly concerning th e earth , wh at a g eneral
h ospital it is, h owit receives all th ing s, not only beasts
andveg etables but proudandg lorious man. Wh en
death h ath ruinedh im, h is coarserparts stay h ere and
k nowno oth erh ome. Th is earth to earth is just th e
doctrineof th e Mag i. Metals- say th ey- andall th ing s
may be reducedinto th at wh ereof th ey were made. Th ey
speak th e very truth : it is God s ownprincipleandHe
rst taug h t it Adam. Dust th ouart andunto dust
sh alt th oureturn.2 But lest any mansh ouldbedeceived
by us, I th ink it just to inf orm youth erearetwo reduc-
tions. Oneis violent anddestructive, reducing bodies to
th eirextremes ; andproperly it is death , orth e calcina-
tionof th e commonch emist. Th e oth er is vital and
g enerative, resolving bodies into th eirsperm ormiddle
substance, out of wh ich Naturemade th em; f orNature
mak es not bodies immediately of th e elements but of a
sperm wh ich sh e draws out of th e elements. I sh all ex-
plainmyself to youby anexample. Aneg g is th esperm
ormiddle substanceout of wh ich a ch ick is eng endered,
andth e moistureof it is viscous andslimy, a waterand
no water, f orsuch a sperm oug h t to be. SupposeDoctor
1 f g ms sg z k sz mz 2'1 2 arm cadz ?, - aerz l" rxem 5, 1 5- z '.r.rz a2z , ez g z ror! ex alg ae
sparse corz g reg atur, 2'2: ag uez m z 'm'z 'a'z 'z , - ag rees g z eog me s; z '.r.rz mz , et q uadex
z lg rrz f s ea aerz lr.r; !> z 'ss0 coadurz atz er2'22 X errri g z . :z 'esez 'r. [era z k iorz errz triz mz
spz 's:z 't- ado inf erret g uz 'escz 'z ', z '2z z ee ea corg juneta sz mt. linenerg o term
omnz ez es c.rsz er2's elemerz tz e.spz '.m'arest, rm" palam apparel at w'dereest.-
TURBA PHILOSOPHORUM, Dz 'e!rmz Seez mdz mz . Th is text is calledalso
THETHIRDPYTHAGORICAL SYNOD.
2 GENESIS, iii, I9.
226
Cm/ um Terrm
Coal- l meansomebroilerh ada mindto g eneratesome-
th ing out of th is eg g : q uestionless, h e wouldrst distil
it, andth at with a re able to roast th eh enth at laidit.
Th enwouldh e calcineth ecapermarruum andnally pro-
duceh is noth ing }
Hereyouare to observe th at bodies are noth ing else
but sperm coag ulated, andh e th at destroys th e body
by conseq uence destroys th e sperm. Now, to reduce
bodies into elements of earth andwater- as we h ave
instancedinth e eg g is to reduce th em into extremes
beyondth eirsperm, f orelements are not th e sperm but
th esperm is a compoundmade of th e elements andcon-
taining initself all th at is req uisite to th e f rame of th e
body. Wh eref ore bewell advisedbef oreyoudistil and
q uarterany particularbodies, f orh aving once separated
th eirelements youmay neverg enerate unless youcan
mak e a sperm of th oseelements. But th at is impossible
f ormanto do: it is th e powerof GodandNature.
Labourth en, youth at wouldbe accountedwise, to nd
out ourMercury: so sh all youreduce th ing s to th eir
meanspermatical ch aos. But avoidth e broiling destruc-
tion. Th is doctrine will spare youth e vaintask of
distillation, if youwill but remember th is truth - - th at
sperms are not made by separationbut by composition
of elements; andto bring a body into sperm is not to
distil it but to reduce th e wh ole into one th ick water,
k eeping all th eparts th ereof inth eirrst natural union.
But th at I may returnat last to my f ormercitationof
th e Synod. All th ose inuences of th e elements being
unitedinonemass mak eoursperm orourearth - - - - wh ich
is earth andno earth . Tak e it, if th oudost k nowit,
anddivide th e essences th ereof , not by violence but by
natural putref action, such as may occasiona g enuine
dissolutionof th e compound. Here th oush alt nda
i Wh ileth ereis no q uestionth at Vaug h anof f ers anaccuratepictureof
ig norant alch emical procedure, th is andth enext parag raph area curious
undesig nedcommentary onth estateof h is ownk nowledg eonth eph ysical
q uestions about wh ich h ediscoursedso of ten.
227
T/ z e Wares of T/ z omas Vaug h an
miraculous Wh ite Water, aninuence of th e moon,
wh ich is th e moth erof our ch aos. It rules intwo
elements- earth andwater. Af ter th is appears th e
sperm orinux of th e sun, wh ich is th e f ath erof it.
It is a q uick celestial re, incorporatedina th in, oleous,
aerial moisture. It is incombustible, f orit is re itself
andf eeds uponre; andth e long erit stays inth e re
th e more g lorious it g rows. Th ese are th e two mineral
sperms- masculine andf eminine. If th oudost place
th em both onth eir crystalline basis, th ouh ast th e
ph ilosoph er s ying Fire- Drak e}wh ich at th e rst sig h t
of th e sunbreath es such a poisonth at noth ing canstand
bef oreh im. I k nownot wh at to tell th ee moreunless-
inth e vog ue of some auth ors- - I sh ouldg ive th ee a
ph leg matic descriptionof th e wh ole process, andth at I
candespatch intwo words. It is noth ing else but a
continual coction, th e volatile essences ascending and
descending , till at last th ey are xedaccording to th at
excellentprosopoprria of th e Stone:
I am not dead, alth oug h my spirit s g one,
Forit returns, andis both of f andon:
NowI h avelif eenoug h , nowI h ave none.
I suf f er dmore th anonecouldjustly do ; ,
Th reesouls I h adandall my own, but two
Areed: th eth irdh adalmost lef t metoo.2
Wh at I h avewritten, I h avewritten.3Andnowg ive
me leave to look about me. Is th ere no powder- plot
1 Th e denominational varieties of alch emical re approach f ty, and
oneof th em I5 termed&l tIC1 El.I re, but 1 t does not answerto p_yrs6alz . s=
rework s becauseit 1 s h eldto sig nif y Mercury dissolvent.
2 Neweg o s0m z 'meo #2201 1 - :'0r, de- mespz 'rz 'tz es e; rs'z ,
IV- am : "edz 'z rz ssz due, g rz easaz r/ 2's et scaperecedat,
E1 mz 7z z 'muss mag sz a est amsz z rz r, mms maf ia f racz eltas.
Plus eg o sz z st'z 'msz 'g leam corpus dewf t amum_;
Tres arz imas f z az ez , g r- was amaz es intars / z aeasz z ,
Diseesseredues, sea tertz a prz vz eseeuirz est.
3Quadserz psz , ssrz psi.
A 228
Gee/ um Terra:
orpractice? Wh at is become of Aristotle andGalen?
Wh ere are th e scribe andph arisce, th e disputers of th is
world? If th ey suf f erall th is andbelieve it too, I sh all
th ink th e g eneral conversionis come about, andI may
sin:
Th eVirg in s sig nreturns, comes Saturn s reig n}
But come wh at will come, I h ave once more spok en
f orth e truth andsh all f orconclusionspeak th is much
ag ain. I h ave elsewh ere calledth is subject a celestial
slime"2andth emiddlenature. Th eph ilosoph ers call it
th e venerable nature; but among st all th e pretenders I
h ave not yet f oundone th at couldtell me wh y. Hear
meth en, th at wh ensoeverth oudost attempt th is work it
may be with reverence- not lik e some proud, ig norant
doctor, but with less condence andmore care. Th is
ch aos h ath init th ef ourelementsf wh ich of th emselves
are contrary natures; but th e wisdom of Godh ath so
placedth em th at th eirvery orderreconciles th em. For
example, airandearth are adversaries; f orone is h ot
andmoist, th e oth ercoldanddry. Nowto reconcile
th ese two Godplacedth e waterbetweenth em, wh ich is
a middle nature, orof a meancomplexionbetweenboth
extremes. Forsh e is coldandmoist ; andas sh e is cold
sh e partak es of th e nature of th e earth , wh ich is cold
anddry ; but as sh e is moist sh e partak es of th e nature.
of th e air, wh ich is h ot; andmoist. Hence it is th at air
andearth , wh ich are contraries inth emselves, ag reeand
embrace oneanoth erinth ewater, as ina middle nature
wh ich is proportionateto th em both andtempers th eirex-
tremities. But verily th is saf vo mak es not up th ebreach ,
f orth oug h th ewaterreconciles two elements lik ea f riendly
th ird, yet sh eh erself g h ts with a f ourth - - - - namely, with
th ere. Forth ereis h otanddry but th ewateris cold
1 _/ 62?); reds? elf Vz 'r_g 0, redez mt - S' z 2'm'?z s'rz reg ime.
2 Limies eaz less.
_ 3Th is is th eg eneral testimonyoneprimeval substanceandf ourwh ich
issueth eref rom ; but th eq uest is af terth eunity.
229
T/ 2e Wares q f T/ z omas Vaag / z aa
andmoist, wh ich are clearcontraries. To prevent th e
distempers of th esetwo Godplacedth eairbetweenth em,
wh ich is a substance h ot andmoist; andas it is h ot it
ag rees with th e re, wh ich is h ot anddry; but as it is
moist it ag rees with th ewater, wh ich is coldandmoist ;
so th at by mediationof th e airth e oth ertwo extremes,
namely, re andwater, are made f riends andreconciled.
Th us yousee- - as I toldyouat rst- - th at contrary ele-
ments are unitedby th at orderandtexture wh ereinth e
WiseGodh ath placedth em.
Youmust nowg ive me leave to tell youth at th is
ag reement orf riendsh ip is but partial- a very weak love,
coldandsk ittish . Forwh ereas th ese principles ag ree in
one q uality th ey dif f erintwo, as yourselves may easily
compute. Much needth eref ore h ave th ey of a more
strong andable mediatorto conrm andpreserve th eir
weak unity; f oruponit depends th e very eternity and
incorruptionof th e creature. Th is blessedcement and
balsam is th e Spirit of th e Living God, Wh ich some
ig norant scribblers h avecalleda q uintessence. Forth is
very Spirit is inth ech aos, andto speak plainly th e re is
His th rone, f orinth ereHeis seated, as weh avesuf ci-
ently toldyouelsewh ere? Th is was th ereasonwh y th e
Mag icalledth e First Matterth eirVenerable Natureand
th eirBlessedStone. Anding oodearnest, wh at th ink
you? Is it not so? Th is BlessedSpirit f orties and
perf ects th at weak dispositionwh ich th eelements already
h ave to unionandpeace- f orGodwork s with Nature,
not ag ainst h erandbring s th em at last to a beauteous
specical f abric. s
Nowif youwill ask me wh ere is th e soul or - as th e
sch oolmenabuse h er- - th e f orm all th is wh ile? Wh at
doth sh e do ? To th is I answerth at sh e is, as all instru-
1 Th eq uest of alch emy is th eref orea q uest of God, andinwh at sense
is it pursuedby Vaug h aninph ysics? Onewouldsay inth elast resource
th at it canbeinth eph ysics of man s ownbody andnowh ere else inth e
universe.
1 Amarg inal noteref ers to ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA.
230
Cm/ am Terra
mentals oug h t to be, subject andobedient to th e will of
God, expecting th eperf ectionof h erbody. Forit is God
th at unites h erto th e body andth e body to h er. Soul
andbody are th ework of God- th e one as well as th e
oth er. Th esoul is not th earticerof h erh ouse, f orth at
wh ich canmak ea body canalso repairitandh inderdeath ;
but th e soul cannot do th is : it is th e powerandwisdom
of God. Ina word, to say th at th esoul f ormedth ebody
because sh e is inth e body is to say th at th e jewel made
th e cabinet becauseth e jewel is inth e cabinet; orth at
th e sunmade th eworldbecause th e sunis inth e world
andch erish eth every part th ereof . Learnth eref oreto dis-
ting uish betweenag ents andth eirinstruments, f orif you
attributeth at to th e creaturewh ich belong s to th eCreator
youbring ? yourselves indang erof h ell- re. ForGodis
a jealous Godandwill not g iveHis g lory to anoth er. I
advise my doctors th eref ore, both divines andph ysicians,
not to be too rash inth eircensures, norso mag isterial in
th eirdiscourseas I h avek nownsome prof essors of ph ysic
to be- - - wh o wouldcorrect andundervalueth erest of th eir
breth renwh enintruth th ey th emselves weremost sh ame-
f ully ig norant. lt is not tenortwelve years experience
indrug s andsops canacq uaint a manwith th e mysteries
of God s creation. Tak e th is andmak e a world
Tak eI k nownot wh at andmak ea pill orclyster"- are
dif f erent receipts}Wesh ouldth eref oreconsult with our
judg ments bef oreweventureourtong ues andneverspeak
but wh enwe are surewe understand.
I k newa g entlemanwh o meeting with a ph ilosoph er
adept, andreceiving so much courtesy as to beadmitted
to discourse, attendedh is rst instructions passing well.
But wh enth is mag icianq uittedmy f riend s k nownroad
andbeg anto touch anddrive roundth e g reat wh eel of
Nature, presently my g entlemantak es up th e cudg els,
_1 CompareRecipeaZz 'i7az 'a ig riatz eiis, g isamwm welz eerf s. It is saidto be
g iveninsomealch emical text, but if not th erearemany instructions wh ich
areeq ually intellig ibleandpractical.
231
T/ z e Work s cf T/ z omas Vaag aaa
and, urg ing all th eauth orities wh ich inh is vainjudg ment
made f orh im, oppressedth is noble ph ilosoph erwith a
most clamourous, insipidribaldry. A g oodly sig h t it
was andworth y ourimitationto see with wh at anad-
mirablepatience th eoth erreceivedh im. But th is errant
concludedat last th at leadorq uick silvermust be th e
subject andth at Naturework eduponone orboth . To
th is th e Q/ { :1 / eprus replied: Sir, it may be so at th is
time, but if h ereaf terI ndNature inth ose oldele-
ments wh ere I h ave sometimes seenh ervery busy, I
sh all at ournext meeting conf ute youropinion.Th is
was all h e saidandit was someth ing more th anh e did.
Th eirnext meeting was ref erredto th e Greek Kalends,
f orh e couldneverbe seenaf terwards, notwith standing
a th ousandsolicitations.
Such talk ative, babbling people as th is g entlemanwas,
wh o runto every doctorf orh is opinionandf ollowlik e
a spaniel every birdth ey spring , are not t to receive
th ese secrets. Th ey must be serious, silent men, f aith f ul
to th eArtandmost f aith f ul to th eirteach ers. Wesh ould
always rememberth at doctrine of Zeno: Nature-
saidh e- - g ave us one tong ue but two ears, th at we
mig h t h earmuch andspeak little.Let not any man
th eref ore be ready to vomit f orth h is ownsh ame and
ig norance. Let h im rst examine h is k nowledg e and
especially h is practice, lest uponth e experienceof a f ew
violent k nack s h e presume to judg eNature inh ervery
sobrieties.
To mak eanend: if th oudost k nowth eFirst Matter,
k nowalso f orcertainth ouh ast discoveredth e Sanctuary
of Nature. Th ere is noth ing betweenth ee andh er
treasures but th e door. Th at indeedmust be opened.
Nowif th y desire leads th eeonto th e practice, consider
well with th yself wh at mannerof manth ouart andwh at
it is th at th ouwouldest do: f orit is no small matter.
Th ouh ast resolvedwith th yself to be a co- operatorwith
th eSpirit of th eLiving Godandto ministerto Him in
232
Ca / um Terra:
His work of g eneration. Have a care th eref ore th at
th oudost not h inderHis work ; f orif th y h eat exceeds
th enatural proportionth ouh ast stirredth ewrath of th e
moist natures andth ey will standup ag ainst th ecentral
re, andth ecentral re ag ainst th em ; andth erewill be
a terrible divisioninth e ch aos. But th e sweet Spirit
of Peace, th etrue eternal q uintessence, will depart f rom
th eelements, leaving both th em andth ee to conf usion.
Neith erwill h e apply Himself to th at Matteras long as
it is inth y violent, destroying h ands. Tak eh eedth ere-
f ore lest th outurnpartnerwith th e devil, f orit is th e
devil's desig nf rom th e beg inning of th e worldto set
Natureat variancewith h erself , th at h emay totally corrupt
anddestroy h er. Do not th ouf urth erh is desig ns.2
I mak e no q uestionbut many menwill laug h at th is;
but onmy soul I speak noth ing but wh at I h avek nown
by very g oodexperience: th ereorebelieveme. Formy
ownpart, it was evermy desire to bury th ese th ing s in
silence, orto paint th em out insh adows. But I h ave
spok enth us clearly andopenly out of th eaf f ectionI bear
to some wh o h ave deservedmuch more at my h ands.
Trueit is I intendedsometimes to expose a g reaterwork
to th eworldwh ich l promisedinmy A'm* / iroposop/ z ia ; but
I h avebeensinceacq uaintedwith th at worldandI f ound
it base andunworth y : wh eref oreI sh all k eep inmy rst
h appy solitudes, f ornoise is noth ing to me. I seek not
any man's applause. If it be th ewill of my Godto call
me f orth andth at it may mak e f orth e h onourof His
Name, inth at respect I may write ag ain; f orI f earnot
th ejudg ment of man. But inth e interim, h ere sh all be
anend.
FINIS
1 Noteth eapparent mixtureof distinct concerns.
2 Ne2'2: aiz g eas f atum.
233
AN EPILOGUE
AND now, my Book , let it not stop th y ig h t
Th at th y just auth oris not lordork nig h t.
I candenemyself andh aveth eart
Still to present one f ace andstill oneh eart.
But f ornineyears someg reat ones cannot see
Wh at th ey h avebeen, nork nowth ey wh at to be.
Wh at th oug h I h ave no rattles to my name,
Dost h olda simpleh onesty no f ame?
Orart th ousuch a strang erto th etimes
Th oucanst not k nowmy f ortunes f rom my crimes?
Go f orth andf earnot : somewill g ladly be
Th y learnedf riends wh om I didneversee.
Norsh ouldst th ouf earth y welcome; th y small price
Cannot undo em, th oug h th ey pay excise.
Th y bulk s not g reat ; it will not much distress
Th eirempty pock ets but th eirstudies less.
Th art no g alleon, as book s of burth enbe,
Wh ich cannot ridebut ina library.
Th art a ne th ing andlittle: it may ch ance
Ladies will buy th eef ora newromance.
O h owI ll envy th ee wh enth ouart spread
Inth ebrig h t sunsh ineof th eireyes andread
With breath of amber, lips of rose th at lend
Perf umes unto th y leaves sh all neverspend.
Wh enf rom th eirwh iteh ands th ey sh all let th eef all
Into th eirbosoms- wh ich I may not call
Aug h t of misf ortuneth oudost drop to rest
Ina morepleasing place andart more blest.
Th ereinsome silk en, sof t f oldth oush alt lie,
7- 34
Car/ am Terra
Hidlik eth eirloveorth y ownmystery.
Norsh ouldst th oug rieveth y lang uag e is not ne,
Forit is not my bestth oug h it be th ine.
I couldh avevoicedth eef orth insuch a dress
Th espring h adbeena slut to th y express
Such as mig h t leth erude unpolish dag e
Andx th ereader s soul to every pag e.
But I h ave useda coarse andh omely strain,
Because it suits with truth wh ich sh ouldbe plain
Last, my dearBook , if any look s onth ee
As onth reesuns orsomeg reat prodig y,
Andswearto a f ull point I do deride
All oth ersects to publish my ownpride,
Tell such th ey lie, andsinceth ey lovenot th ee
Bidth em g o learnsomeh ig h - sh oeh eresy.
Natureis not so simplebut sh e can
Procurea solidreverencef rom man,
Noris my penso lig h tly plumedth at I
Sh ouldserveambitionwith h ermajesty.
Tis truth mak es me comef orth , andh aving writ
Th is h ersh ort scene I wouldnot stieit ;
ForI h avecalledit ch ild, andI h adrath er
See t tornby th em th anstrang ledby th ef ath er.
SouDso GLORIA
/ imerz
235
LUMEN DE LUMINE
onA NEW MAGICAL LIGHT
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORYI
To MY DEAR MOTHER,
THE M051 " FAMOUS UNIVERSITY OF OX FORD
l nave observed, most dearMoth er, andth at inmost
of th y Sons, a complexionof f ame anding ratitude.
Learning indeedth ey h ave, but th ey f org et th e breasts
th at g aveit. Th y g oodwork s meet not with oneSamari-
tan; but many h ast th oucuredof th eleprosy of ig norance.
Th is is th e spot th at soils ourperf ections: we h ave all
drunk of th y f ountain, but we sacrice not th e waterto
th e well. For my ownpart, I canpresent th ee with
noth ing th at is voluminous ; but h ere is a mustard- seed
wh ich may g rowto be th e g reatest among st h erbs. Th e
draug h t itself h ath noth ing of Nature but wh at is under
th eveil. I wish indeedth oumayest see h erwith out a
bridal scarf ; but h erf ace- - lik e th at of th e / 9 nmmtz 'aIa
expects th e pencil of anang el. I cannot say th is com-
posuredeserves th y patronag e: but g ivemeleaveto mak e
it my opportunity, th at l may returnth eack nowledg ment
wh ere I receivedth e benet. I intendnot my address
f orth eBank s of Isis ; th ouh ast no portionth ere, unless
th y stones req uire my inscription. It is th y dispersed
body I h ave k nown, andth at only I remember. Tak e
it th en, wh eresoeverth ouart, inth y sadremoves and
visitations. It is neith erSadducee norPh arisee but th e
text of anIsraeliteand
Th y Leg itimateCh ild
EUGENIUS PI- IILALETHES.
1 650.
239
TO THE READER
I nave h adsome contest with myself inth e disposal
of th is piece, th e subject being cross to th eg enius of th e
times, wh ich is both corrupt andsplenetic. It was my
desire to k eep it with indoors, but th e relationit bears
to my f ormerdiscourses h ath f orcedit to th epress. It
is th e last of myth oug h ts and- - th eirrst reex being
not complete- I h ave addedth is to perf ect th eirimag e
andsymmetry. I must conf ess I h ave no reasonf orit
but wh at my adversaries supply mewith al. I wouldad-
vance th e truth because th ey wouldsuppress it. Indeed
I h ave beenscurvily rewarded; but th e success of th is
art g rows f rom its opposition; andth isI believe- -
ourlate libellers h aveobserved, f orth ey q uit th e science
to q uash th eprof essors.
It is not enoug h to abuseandmisinterpret ourwriting s :
with studiedcalumnies do th ey disparag e ourpersons,
wh om th ey neversawandperh aps neverwill see. Th ey
f orce us to a bitterness beyondourowndispositions and
provok emento sin- - - as if th ey diddriveth esamedesig n
with th edevil.
Formy ownpart, I will no more h az ardmy soul by
such uncivil disputes. I k nowI must g ive anaccount
of every idle word? Th is th eme h ath reducedmy
passions to a diet. I h ave resolvedf orth e f uture to
suf f er, f orth is I am sureof : Godwill condemnno man
f orh is patience.
1 A f urth erref erence to Henry More, wh ose attack seems always to
h averank ledinth emindof Vaug h an. -
2 ST MATT., xii, 36.
24 0
Lumenaf e Lamina
Th e worldindeedmay th ink th e truth overth rown
because sh e is attendedwith h er peace; f orinth e
judg ment of most menwh ere th ere is no noise th ere
is no victory. Th is I sh all look uponas no disadvantag e.
Th e estimate of such censors will but lig h tenth escales ;
andI dare suppose th em very weak brains wh o conceive
th etruth sink s becauseit outweig h s th em.
As f or tempestuous outcries, wh enth ey want th eir
motives th ey discoveranirrelig ious spirit- oneth at h ath
more of th e h urricane th anof Ch rist Jesus. Godwas
not inth ewindth at rent th e rock to pieces, norinth e
earth q uak e andre at Horeb. He was inaura renni-
inth estill, small voice.
My advice is th at no mansh ouldresent th e common
spleen. Wh o writes th e truth of Godh ath th e same
patronwith th e truth itself ; andwh enth e worldsh all
submit to th e g eneral tribunal h e will ndh is Advocate
wh ere th ey sh all ndth eirjudg e. Th ere is a mutual
testimony betweenGodandHis servants : if th eBaptist
didbearwitness of Ch rist, Ch rist also didas much f or
th eBaptist. Hewas a burning anda sh ining lig h t?
Th is, Reader, I th oug h t t to pref ace, th at if any dis-
course of mine be producedh ereaf terth oumay st not
expect my vindication. I h ave ref erredmy q uarrel to
th e Godof Nature: it is involvedinth e concernments
of His truth . I am satisedwith th e peace andrest of
a g oodconscience: I h avewrittennoth ing but wh at God
h ath veriedbef ore my eyes inparticularandis able to
justif y bef ore th eWorlding eneral. I h ave k nownHis
secret lig h t: His candle is my sch oolmaster. I testif y
th ose th ing s wh ich I h ave seenunderHis very beams,
inth ebrig h t circumf erenceof His g lory.
Wh enI rst put my th oug h ts to paper- - Godcanbear
me witnessit was not f or any private ends. I was
drawnandf orcedto it by a strong admirationof th e
mystery andmajesty of Nature. It was my desig nto
1 I KINGS, xix, I2. 2 ST JOHN, v, 35.
24 x 1 6
T/ z e Warns if T/ z onz as Vang / z an
g lorif y th etruth andinsomemeasure to serve th eag e
h adth ey beencapable of it. But th e barbarous insults
I h ave met with al, andwith out any deserts of mine, h ave
f orcedmy ch arity to k eep at h ome. Truly, h adI not
beenrobbedof my peace, I h adimpartedsome th ing s
wh ich - - I am condent- - th is g enerationwill not receive
f rom anoth erpen. But th etimes inth is respect f all not
evenwith Providence, f orth eyears of discovery are not
yet come. Th is truth - lik e th e dove inth e delug e
must h overinwinds andtempests, overlook th e surg es
andbillows, andndno place f orth e sole of h erf oot.
But th e wise Godprovides f orh er: onall th esewaves
andwaters sh e h ath a littlebark to returnto. Meth ink s
I see h erinth ewindowall wet andweath er- beaten.
To conclude: th is discourse is my last andth e only
k ey to my rst. Wh at I h ave writtenf ormerly is lik e
th eArabian s HaZz 'caZz '.2 It is Dinnns sig nara, a h ousesh ut
up: but h ere I g ive youth e k ey to th e lock . If you
enter, seal up wh at yousee inyourh earts. Trust it not
to yourtong ue, f orth at s a ying scroll. Th us I deliver
my lig h t to yourh ands; but wh at returns youwill g ive
me I k nownot. If youaref orpeace, peace be with you;
if f orwar, I h ave beenso too. But let not h im th at
g irds onh is armourboast lik eh im th at puts it of f ? Do
well andf arewell.
EUGENIUS PHILALETHES.
I651 .
1 Th e ref erence is to ANTHROPOSOPI- IIA THEOMAGICA. Vaug h an
continuedto write, andit is perh aps because of th is statement th at h is
next discourse appears underth e letters S. N., andseek s to veil its
auth orsh ip by th eaidof f riendly ref erences to Eug enius Ph ilaleth es.
2 Seenoteonp. 267.
3I KINGS, xx, II.
24 2
LUMEN DE LUMINE
I.THE UNDERWORLD
Nowh adth e nig h t spent h erblack stag e, andall
Herbeauteous, twink ling ames g rewsick andpale.
Herscene of sh ades andsilence ed, andclay
Dressldth e young East inroses, wh ere each ray-
Falling onsables- made th e sunandnig h t
Kiss ina ch eck erof mix dclouds andlig h t.
I th ink it weremoreplainandto somecapacities more
pleasing if I express myself inth is popular, lowdialect.
It was about th edawning ordaybreak wh en, tiredwith a
tedious solitudeandth ose pensive th oug h ts wh ich attend
it, af termuch loss andmorelabour, I suddenly f ell asleep.
Here th enth e day was no soonerbornbut strang led.
l was reducedto a nig h t of a more deep tincture th an
th at wh ich I h adf ormerly spent. My f ancy placedme
ina reg ionof inexpressible obscurity, andas I th oug h t
- more th annatural, but with out any terrors. I was in
a rm, eventemper and, th oug h with out encourag e-
rnents, not only resolute but well pleased. I moved
every way f ordiscoveries but was still entertainedWith
dark ness andsilence; andI th oug h t myself translated
to th e landof desolation. Being th us troubledto no
purpose, andweariedwith long endeavours, I resolvedto
rest myself , andseeing I couldndnoth ing I expected
if anyth ing couldndme. t
I h adnot long continuedinth is h umourbut I could
h earth ewh ispers of a sof t windth at travelledtowards
me; andsuddenly it was inth e leaves of th e trees, so
24 3
T/ z e Work s q f T/ z omar Vaug / z arz
th at I concludedmyself to be insomewoodorwilderness.
With th is g entlebreath came a most h eavenly, odourous
air, much lik eth at of sweet briars, but not so rank and
f ull. Th is perf umebeing blownover, th ere succeededa
pleasant h umming of bees among st f lowers ; andth is did
somewh at discompose me, f orI judg edit not suitable
with th e complexionof th e place, wh ich was dark and
lik emidnig h t. Nowwas I somewh at troubledwith th ese
unexpectedoccurrences wh ena newappearance diverted
my appreh ensions. Not f arof f onmy rig h t h andI could
discovera wh ite, weak lig h t- - not so clearas th at of a
candle, but misty andmuch resembling anatmosph ere.
Towards th e centre it was of a purple colour, lik e th e
Elysiansunsh ine, but inth e dilatationof th ecircumf er-
ence milk y; andif we considerth e joint tinctureof th e
parts, it was a paintedVesper, a g ureof th at splendour
wh ich th eoldRomans calledSol Mortu0rum.1 Wh iles I
was tak enup with th is strang e scene th ere appearedin
th emiddlepurple colours a suddencommotion, andout
of th eirvery centredidsprout a certainowery lig h t, as
it wereth e ameof a taper. Very brig h t it was, spark -
ing andtwink ling lik e th e day- star. Th ebeams of th is
newplanetissuing f orth insmall sk eins andrivulets
look edlik eth reads of silver, wh ich , being s reectedag ainst
th e trees, discovereda curious g reenumbrag e; andI
f oundmyself ina g rove of bays. Th e texture of th e
branch es was so even- - - th e leaves so th ick andinth at
conspiring orderit was not a woodbut a building ?
I conceivedit indeedto beth eTempleof Nature, wh ere
sh e h adjoineddiscipline to h erdoctrine. Underth is
sh ade andscreendidlodg e a numberof nig h ting ales,
1 Ina marg inal noteVaug h ansays th at Boxh ornf alsely interprets th is
notion. Alch emical symbolismit may be added- pictures a reg ionof
strang eexperiencewh ereth esunsh ines at midnig h t, andsuch aninward
realm is k nownto mystics, but it lies f aralong th epath of attainment.
2 Inth is descriptionandinmuch of th e account th at f ollows Vaug h an
is g iving analmost f reereinto th e spirit of imag ination, wh ich mak es it
necessary to disting uish th e alleg ory beh indh is visionf rO1 nth e poetic
imag es underwh ich it passes into expression.
I 24 4
Lumenc/ e Lamina
wh ich I discoveredby th eir wh itish breasts. Th ese,
peeping th roug h th eir leaf y cabinets, rejoicedat th is
strang e lig h t, and- h aving rst plumedth emselves-
stirredth e still airwith th eirmusic. Th is I th oug h t
was very pretty, f orth e silenceof th enig h t, suiting with
th e solitude of th e place, made me judg e it h eavenly.
Th eg round, both nearandf arof f , presenteda pleasing
k indof ch eck er, f orth is newstarmeeting with some
drops of dewmade a multitude of brig h t ref ractions,
as if th e earth h adbeenpavedwith diamonds. Th ese
rare andvarious accidents k ept my soul busied, but
to interrupt my th oug h ts, as if it h adbeenunlawf ul to
examinewh at I h adseen, anoth er, more admirableobject
interposed.
I couldsee betweenmeandth e lig h t a most exq uisite,
divine beauty- h erf rame neith erlong norsh ort but a
mean, decent stature. Attiredsh e was inth inloosesilk
but so g reenth at I neversawth elik e, f orth ecolourwas
not earth ly. Insome places it was f anciedwith wh ite
andsilverribbons, wh ich look edlik edlilies ina eld
of g rass. Herh eadwas overcast with a th in, oating
tif f any, wh ich sh e h eldup with one of h erh ands and
look edas it weref rom underit. Hereyes were q uick ,
f resh andcelestial but h adsometh ing of a start, as if sh e
h adbeenpuz z ledwith a suddenoccurrence. From h er
black veil didh erlock s break out, lik e sunbeams f rom
a mist. Th ey randish evelledto h erbreasts andth en
returnedto h erch eek s incurls andring s of g old. Her
h airbeh indh er was rolledto a curious g lobe, with a
small sh ort spire, oweredwith purple andsk y- coloured
k nots. Herring s were pure, entire emeralds- - f orsh e
valuedno metalandh erpendants of burning carbuncles.
To be sh ort, h erwh ole h abit was youth f ul andowery:
it smelt lik eth e East andwas th oroug h ly airedwith rich
Arabiandiapasons. Th is andno oth erwas h erappear-
ance at th at time; but wh iles I admiredh erperf ections
andpreparedto mak e my addresses sh e prevents mewith
1 4 - 5
T/ z e Warts of Tomas Vamg / z am
a voluntary approach . Here indeedI expectedsome
discourse f rom h er; but sh e, look ing very seriously and
silently inmy f ace, tak es me by th e h andandsof tly
wh ispers I sh ouldf ollowh er. Th is, I conf ess, sounded
strang e; but I th oug h t it not amiss to obey so sweet
a command, andespecially one th at promisedvery much
but was able inmy opinionto perf orm more.
Th e lig h t wh ich I h adf ormerly admiredprovednow
at last to be h erattendant, f orit movedlik e anush er
bef ore h er. Th is serviceaddedmuch to h erg lory, andit
was my only careto observeh er, wh o th oug h sh ewandered
not yet verily sh e f ollowedno k nownpath . Herwalk
was g reen, being f urredwith a ne, small g rass wh ich
f elt lik eplush , f orit was very sof t, andpearledall th e
way with daisies andprimrose. Wh enwe came out of
ourarbours andcourt of bays I couldperceivea strang e
clearness inth e air, not lik e th at of day, neith ercanI
af lirm it was nig h t. Th e stars indeedperch edoverus
andstoodg limmering , as it were, onth e tops of h ig h
h ills ; f orwe were ina most deep bottom andth eearth
overlook edus, so th at I conceivedwe were near th e
centre. Weh adnot walk edvery f arwh enI discovered
certainth ick , wh itecloudsf orsuch th ey seemedto me-
wh ich lledall th at part of th e valley th at was bef ore us.
Th is indeedwas anerrorof mine; but it continuednot
long , f orcoming nearerI f oundth em to be rm, solid
rock s but sh ining andspark ling lik e diamonds. Th is
rareandg oodly sig h t didnot a little encourag e me, and
g reat desire I h adto h earmy mistress speak - f orso I
judg edh ernowth at if possible I mig h t receive some
inf ormation. Howto bring th is about I didnot well
k now, f or sh e seemedaverse f rom discourse. But
h aving resolvedwith myself to disturb h er, I ask edh er
if sh e wouldf avourme with h ername. To th is sh e
repliedvery f amiliarly, as if sh e h adk nownme long
bef ore.
Eug enius- - saidsh e- I h ave many names, but
24 .6
Lumende Lunz ine
my best anddearest is Th alia, f orI am always g reen
andsh all neverwith er. Th oudost h ere beh oldth e
Mountains of th e Moon, 2 andI will sh ewth ee th e
orig inal of Nilus ; 3f orsh e spring s f rom th ese invisible
rock s. Look up andperuse th e very tops of th ese
pillars andclif f s of salt, f orth ey are th e true, ph ilo-
soph ical, lunarmountains. Did st th oueversee such a
miraculous, incredibleth ing ?
Th is speech mademe q uick ly look up to th oseg litter-
ing turrets of salt, wh ere I couldsee a stupendous
cataract orwaterf all. Th e stream was more larg e th an
any riverinh erf ull ch annel; but notwith standing th e
h eig h t andviolence of its f all it descendedwith out any
noise. Th e waters were dash edandth eircurrent dis-
tractedby th ose saltish rock s; but f or all th is th ey
came downwith a deadsilence- lik e th e still, sof t air.
Someof th is liq uor- f orit ranby me- I took up, to see
wh at strang ewoollensubstanceit was th at didth us steal
downlik esnow. Wh enI h adit inmy h ands it was no
commonwaterbut a certaink indof oil of a watery com-
plexion. A viscous, f at, mineral nature it was, brig h t
lik e pearls andtransparent lik e crystal. Wh enI h ad
viewedandsearch edit well, it appearedsomewh at
spermatic, andinvery truth it was obsceneto th e sig h t
but much moreto th e touch . HereuponTh alia toldme
it was th e First Matterandth e very natural, truesperm
of th eg reat world. It is - saidsh e- invisibleand
1 Th alia is th eGreek Eidaeie, oneof th eninemuses, andcomes f rom a
wordwh ich sig nies to bearowers, orbeinbloom.
2 Th is imag eis particularto Th omas Vaug h an, as anallusionto some-
th ing remoteandg enerally inaccessible. It is not f oundinth ealch emists,
so f aras I canremember.
3Th esameobservationapplies; th e source of th e Nilewas unk nown
i1 :1 Vaug h an s days andso was th e First Matter, savea:r/ 2, 1 750!/ z rsz 'to
a epts.
* It is usef ul to compareth is extendeddescriptionof th e First Matter,
seeninpretendedvision, with th oseearlierdenitions wh ich tell us th at
th e supposedsubstance obscene to th e sig h t but much more to th e
touch - is th eSecondNaturef romGodand th eCh ildof th eBlessed
Trinity.Th eFirst Matterof Vaug h anis a matterof h is reverie.
24 7
1
T/ z e W0r's q f T/ z ornas Vaug h an
th eref oref eware th ey th at ndit; but many believe it
is not to bef ound. Th ey believe indeedth at th eworld
is a deadg ure, lik e a body wh ich h ath beensometime
madeandf ash ionedby th at spirit wh ich dwelt init, but
retains th at very sh ape andf ash ionf orsome sh ort time
af terth at th espirit h ath f orsak enit. Th ey sh ouldrath er
considerth at every f rame, wh enth e soul h ath lef t it,
doth decompose andcanno long er retainits f ormer
g ure; f orth e ag ent th at h eldandk ept th e parts
tog eth eris g one. Most excellent th enis th at speech
wh ich I h eardsome time f rom one of my ownpupils.
Th is world - - - saith h e- of such divers andcontrary
parts, wouldnot h ave reach edunity of f orm h adth ere
not beenOnewh o didjointog eth ersuch contrary th ing s.
But, being broug h t tog eth er, th e very diversity of th e
natures joined, g h ting one with anoth er, h addiscom-
posedandseparatedth em, unless th ere h adbeenOneto
h oldandk eep th ose parts tog eth erwh ich Heat rst did
join. Verily th eorderof Nature couldnot proceedwith
such certainty, neith ercouldsh e move so reg ularly in
several places, times, ef f ects andq ualities, unless th ere
were SomeOneWh o disposedandorderedth esevarieties
of motions. Th is, wh atsoeverit is, by wh ich th e world
is preservedandg overned, I call by th at usual name
God. 1
Th oumust th eref ore, Eug enius - - saidsh e- under-
standth at all compositions are made by anActive, In-
tellig ent Lif e; f orwh at was done inth e composure of
th eg reat worlding eneral, th esame is perf ormedinth e
g enerationof every creature, andits sperm inparticular.
I supposeth oudost k nowth at watercannot becontained
1 Mundus / 1 2': ea: tam a z 'z rersz 's cantr'ar'z 'z 'sg rueg artz ius inunamf armam
2nz 'nz 'm cen'z 'enz 'ss.ez , nz 'sz ' unus asset, q uitam dz '- versa conjung eret. Con-
juncf a were naf urarum z f sa a'z "z 'ersz 'f as ain:/ 21 66222 a z 'srI0:rs dz 'ss0cz 'a; re! atg ur
dz 't/ eiieret, nz 'sz ' anus asset, q ua q uadne.ruz 'z rentf nerrz . Nontam '2/ are
rertus natures ordo prerederer, net" tam dz 's; osz 't0s nz atus Zoris, teng t$ 0n'6us,
ejicien:z 'd, g ruaZz 'z 'atz 'bus .e.rp!z 'caret, nz 'sz ' unus asset, g m / z as mutationum
'uarz 'era!es manens z jusedz sponeret. Herg uz 'cg uz 'des! g unrana z 'z 'a manent
arg ueg ubernanturusitatncnnrtis werabuiunz Drum mnnino.
24 .8
Lumenr/ e Lunz ine
but insomevessel. Th e natural vessel wh ich Godh ath
appointedf orit is th e earth . Inearth watermay be
th ick enedandbroug h t to a g ure; but of itself , and
with out earth , it h ath anindeniteux andis subject to
no certaing urewh atsoever. Airalso is a eeting and
indeterminatesubstance, but wateris h is vessel ; f orwater
being g uredby means of earth th e airalso is th ick ened
andg uredinth e water. To ascendh ig h er, th e air
coag ulates th e liq uidre, andre incorporatedinvolves
andconnes th e th inlig h t. Th ese are th e means by
wh ich Godunites andcompounds th e elements into a
sperm, f orth eearth alters th e complexionof th e water,
andmak es it viscous andslimy. Such a watermust th ey
seek wh o wouldproduce any mag ical, extraordinary
ef f ects ; f orth is spermatic watercoag ulates with th e least
h eat, so th at Natureconcocts andh ardens it into metals.
Th ouseest th e wh ites of eg g s will th ick enas soonas
th ey f eel th e re; f orth eirmoistureis temperedwith a
pure, subtleearth , andth is subtle, animatedearth is th at
wh ich binds th eirwater. Tak ewaterth en, my Eug enius,
f rom th el\/ Iountains of th e Moon, wh ich is waterandno
water. Boil it inth ereof Nature to a twof oldearth ,
wh iteandred; th enf eedth ose earth s with airof reand
re of air; andth ouh ast th e two mag ical luminaries.
But becauseth ouh ast beena servant of minef ora long
time, andth at th y patience h ath manif estedth e truth of
th y love, I will bring th ee to my sch ool, andth erewill I
sh ewth eewh at th eworldis not capableof .
Th is was no soonerspok enbut sh e passedby th ose
diamond- lik e, rock y salts andbroug h t me to a rock of
adamant, g uredto a just, entirecube. It was th e basis
1 Th e remark able tract of Alipilicalls it dry waterf rom th e ph ilo-
soph ers clouds. Th enames as usual aremany andth e ref erence is in
most cases to Ph ilosoph ical Mercury, as to th at substancewh ich is ch iey
desiredby th ewise.Th omas of Bonona says th at out of th is waterall
th ing s g rowandall th ing s h aveth eirnourish ment.
2 I do not rememberMountains of th eMooninalch emical symbolism.
Generically, mountains aremetals.
3CompareGeber: Burnit inwaterandwash it inre.
24 9
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaug h an
to a ery pyramid, a trig onof pure pyrope, wh ose im-
prisonedf lames didstretch andstrive f orh eaven. To
th ef our- sq uare of th ef rontlet of th is rock was annexed
a littleportal andinth at h ung a tablet. It was a painted
h edg eh og , so rolledandwrapt up inh is bag h e could
not easily be discomposed. Overth is stooda dog snarl-
ing andh ardby h im th is instruction: Sof tly, orh eprick s}
Inwewent, andh aving enteredth e rock s, th einterior
parts wereof a h eavenly, smarag dinecolour. Somewh ere
th ey sh inedlik eleaves of pureg old, andth enappeareda
th irdinexpressible, purple tincture. We h adnot g one
very f arbut we came to anancient, majestic altar. On
th eof Fertory, 2orvery top of it, was g uredth etrunk of
anoldrottentree, pluck edup by th eroots. Out of th is
crept a snak e- - of colourwh iteandg reenslowof motion
lik ea snail andvery weak , h aving but newly f elt th e sun
th at overlook edh er. Towards th e f oot orbasis of th is
altarwas aninscriptioninoldEg yptianh ierog lyph ics
wh ich Th alia expounded, andth is is it:
T0 THE BLESSED cons
IN THE UNDERWORLD3
N. L.
1 '. :1 . v.
From th is place we movedstraig h t f orwardtill we came
to a caveof earth . It was very obscureandwith al dank ish ,
g iving a h eavy odourlik e th at of g raves. Here we
stayednot long , but passing th is ch urch yardwe cameat
last to th e Sanctuary, wh ereTh alia turning to me made
th is h ersh ort andlast speech .
Eug enius, th is is th e place wh ich many h avedesired
to see, but sawit not. Th e preparatives to th eiradmis-
sionh erewerewanting . Th ey didnot lovemebut mine.
Th ey covetedindeedth e rich es of Nature, but Nature
1 Sua'uz '!e:ram ; f > ung z 'z . '
2 O?.'rt0rz 'unz was th eplaceonwh ich sacrices wereof f ered, th etop of
th ealtar.
3Dir: beatz 's. InCasio suh f erraneo.
I 250
Lumenale Lumine
h erself th ey didboth neg lect andcorrupt. Someadvan-
tag es th ey h adinpoint of assault, h adth ey but studied
th eiropportunities. I was exposedto th eirh ands but
th ey k newme not. I was subject insome measure to
th eirviolence, but Heth at mademewouldnot suf f erme
to beried. Ina word, th eruinof th ese menwas built
onth eirdisposition. Inth eiraddresses to me th ey re-
sembledth ose pitif ul th ing s wh ich some call courtiers.
Th ese h ave th eirantics andraunts, as if th ey h adbeen
trainedamong st apes. Th ey scrapeas one h ath well
expresseditproportions math ematical, mak estrang eleg s
andf aces, andinth at ph raseof th e same poet
Vary th eirmouth s as twere by mag ic spell
To g ures oval, sq uare andtriang le.
So th eseimpudentsoph isters assaultedmewith vaing lorious
h umours. Wh enI look edinto th eirh earts th ere was
no room f orme. Th ey weref ull of proudth oug h ts and
dreamedof a certainriotous h appiness wh ich must be
maintainedby my expenses andtreasures. Inth einterim
th ey didnot considerth at I was plainandsimple, oneth at
didnot lovenoise but a private, sweet content. I h ave,
Eug enius, f oundth eemuch of my ownh umour. I h ave
with al f oundth y expectations patient. Th oucanst easily
believewh ereth ouh ast reasonto th y f aith . Th ouh ast
all th is wh ile servedwith out wag es: nowis th e time
come to rewardth ee. My love I f reely g ive th ee, and
with it th ese tok ensmy k ey andseal. Th eone sh uts,
th e oth eropens: be sure to use both with discretion.
As f orth e mysteries of th is my sch ool, th ouh ast th e
liberty to peruse th em all; th ere is not anyth ing h ere
but I will g ladly reveal it to th ee. I h ave one precept
th at I sh all commendto th ee, andth is is it : youmust be
1 Compare ]eande Meung s address of Nature to th e stolidph ilo-
soph asterinth e DEMONSTRATION orNATURE; also Sendivog ius: A
Dratoous BETWEEN Maacuav, THE ALCHEMIST AND NATURE; and
th e f urth erdebateinth e tract CONCERNING SULPHUR, ascribedto
Sendivog ius. Th a1 1 a s discourseis moreorless modelledonth ese.
251
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
silent. Yoush all not inyourwriting s exceedmy allow-
ances. Rememberth at I am yourlove, andyouwill not
mak emea prostitute. But becauseI wish youserviceable
to th ose of yourowndisposition, I h ere g ive youan
emblematical typeof my Sanctuary}with a f ull privileg e
to publish it. Th is is all, andI am nowg oing to th at
invisiblereg ionwh ereis th eabodeof th eimmortals? Let
not th at proverb tak e placewith you: Out of sig h t, out
of mind. Remembermeandbe h appy."
Th ese were h er instructions, wh ich were no sooner
deliveredbut sh e broug h t me to a clear, larg elig h t ; and
h ere I sawth ose th ing s wh ich I must not speak of .
Having th us discoveredall th e parts of th at g lorious
labyrinth , sh e didleadme out ag ainwith h erclue of
sunbeams- h erlig h t th at went sh ining bef oreus. Wh en
wewere past th erock s of Nilus sh e sh ewedme a secret
staircase, by wh ich we ascendedf rom th at deep and
owery valeto th ef ace of th is ourcommonearth . Here
Th alia stoppedina mute ceremony, f orI was to be lef t
all alone. Sh e look eduponme insilent smiles, mixed
with a pretty k indof sadness, f orwe were unwilling to
part. But h erh ourof translationwas come, andtak ing
- - as I th oug h t- - ourlast leave, sh e passedbef ore my
eyes unto th eeternalf into th eeth erof Nature.
Nowverily was I much troubledandsomewh at dis-
ordered; but composing myself as well as I couldI
came to a cop of myrtles, wh ere resting myself ona
owery bank I beg anto considerth ose th ing s wh ich I
h adseen. Th is solitudeandmelanch oly study continued
not long , f orit met with a very g ratef ul interruption. I
couldsee Th alia- - as it wereat th e endof a landscape,
somewh at f ar of f ; but ina moment sh e was inth e
myrtles, wh ere, seating h erself h ardby me, I received
f rom h erth is discourse.
I wouldnot, Eug enius, h ave th ee ig norant of th e
1 Seeth eFrontispieceinscribedSo/ wZra_1 l4 ag :'ra< ' Typus.
2 ilv davdvwv5509 1 - o~ rI; v.- - - ILIAD I Book vlil. 3Hph s .I{ if IPiI.
I 252
Lumendo Lumz ne
unity andconcentrationof sciences. Inth e past and
morek nowing years of th eworld, wh enmag ic was better
andmore g enerally understood, th e prof essors of th is
art dividedit into th ree partselemental, celestial and
spiritual. Th e elemental part containedall th e secrets
of ph ysic, th ecelestial th oseof astrolog y andth espiritual
th oseof Divinity. Every oneof th ese by itself was but
a branch orlimb, but being unitedall th reeth ey wereth e
pandects of th escience. Nowinth ese th y days th ereis
no mancansh ewth ee any real ph ysic orastrolog y;
neith erh ave th ey any more th ana tong ue andbook
Divinity. Th e reasonof it is th is: inprocess of time
th ese th ree scienceswh ich work no wonders with out a
mutual, essential union- were by misinterpretationdis-
memberedandset apart, so th at every oneof th em was
h eldto be a f aculty by itself . NowGodh adunitedth ese
th reeinone natural subject, 2but manh e separatedth em
andplacedth em inno subject, but inh is ownbrain,
wh ere th ey remainedinwords andf ancy, not insub-
stantial elements andverity. Inth is state th e sciences
weredeadandinef f ectual ; th ey yieldednoth ing but noise,
f orth ey wereseparated- as if th oush ouldst dismembera
manandth enexpect some onepart of h im sh ouldperf orm
th oseactions wh ich th ewh oledidwh enh ewas alive.
Th oudost k nowby very natural experienceth at out
of one specical root th ere g rowseveral dif f erent sub-
stances, as leaves, owers, f ruit andseed. So out of one
universal rootnamely, th e ch aos- g rowall specical
natures andth eirindividuals. Nowth ere is no true
science or k nowledg e but wh at is g roundedupon
sensible, particular substances, or uponth e sensible,
1 Compare RaymundLully s dream of anuniversal science, out of
wh ich came th e ARS MAGNA SCIENDI; but it was little more th anan
elaborateart of debate.
9 Th e expressionis curious, h aving reg ardto th e distinctionwh ich
f ollows- - - namely, th at it is not th ebrainof man. Th eq uestionis wh eth er
Vaug h analludes to th e simple mindabove th e log ical understanding .
But h eaf rms almost immediately th at th e First Matterorch aos is th e
centreof all sciences.
253
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
universal substance, out of wh ich all particulars aremade.
As f oruniversals inth eabstract, th ereareno such th ing s ;
th ey are empty, imag inary wh imsies, f orabstractions are
but so many f antastic suppositions. Consider now,
Eug enius, th at all individuals, evenmanh imself , h ath
noth ing inh im materially but wh at h e receivedf rom th e
material, universal Nature. Consider ag ainth at th e
same individuals are reducible to th eir rst ph ysical
universal matter, andby conseq uence th is universal
matterh ath initself th e secrets andmysteries of all
particulars; f orwh atsoeverincludes th e subject itself
includes th e science of th at subject. Inth eFirst Matter
th e Divine Wisdom is collectedina g eneral ch aotical
centre, 1 but inth e particulars made of th eFirst Matter
it is dispersedandspreadout, as it were, to a circum-
f erence. It remains th enth at th e ch aos is th ecentreof
all sciencesf to wh ich th ey may andoug h t to bereduced,
f orit is th e sensible, natural Myslerium Mag num and
underGodth e secondary Temple of Wisdom.3Search
th eref oreandexamine th eparts of th is ch aos by th erules
andinstructions receivedwh enI was with th ee inth e
mineral reg ion. Dwell not altog eth eronth e practice,
f orth at is not th e way to improve it. Be sure to add
reasonto th y experienceandto employ th y mindas well
as th y h ands. Labourto k nowall causes andth eir
ef f ects : do not only study th ereceipt, lik e th at broiling ,
f rying company, wh o call th emselves ch emists but are
indeedno ph ilosoph ers.
Th is is all wh ich I th ink t to addto my f ormerpre-
1 I supposeth at th is may betak enas anallusionto th eimmanenceof
th eCh rist- Spirit inth euniversef rom th every beg inning of manif estation,
andas th eninth ech aos- according to Vaug h an s terminolog y- so af ter-
wards inall th eorders andclasses includedby th ecosmos.
2 Exh ypo!/ z esz 'andoth erwise, it couldbe so only inrespect of Divine
Immanence.
3Concerning th erst Templewedo not h ear: it is perh aps th at palace
orsanctuary at th ecentreg uredas th e Divine h abitationbef ore th ere
was any evolutionof being s andof th ing sa placewh ich is no place, th e
Sanctuary wh ich is He.
1 54
Lumenale Lumine
scriptions; but th at wh ich made me returnwas some-
th ing else, andnowth oush alt receive it. Th ouh ast
h eardsometimes, I suppose, of th e beryllistic part of
mag ic :1 h ave a care to appreh endme, andI will sh ew
th eeth ef oundation. Th oumust k nowth estars canim-
press no newinux inperf ect, complete bodies; th ey
only dispose andinsome measure stirup th at inuence
wh ich h ath beenf ormerly impressed. It is most certain,
Eug enius, th at no astrobolism2 tak es placewith out some
previous corruptionandalterationinth e patient, f or
Nature work s not but inloose, moist, discomposed
elements. Th is distemperproceeds not f rom th e stars
but f rom th e contrariety of th e elements among st th em-
selves. Wh ensoeverth ey f all out andwork th eirowndis-
solution, th enth e celestial re puts into reconcile th em
ag ainandg enerates some newf orm, seeing th e oldone
couldconsist no long er. Observe th enth at th eg enuine
time of impressions is wh enth eprinciples are spermatic
andcallow; but being once coag ulatedto a perf ect body
th etime of stellicationis past. Nowth e ancient Mag i
inth eirbook s speak of strang eastrolog ical lamps, imag es,
ring s andplates, wh ich being usedat certainh ours would
produce incredible, extraordinary ef f ects.Th e common
astrolog erh e tak es a stone, orsome pieceof metal, g ures
it with ridiculous ch aracters andth enexposeth it to th e
planets, not inanalitemusi1 but as h e dreams h imself - - h e
1 Th eberyl is describedby Aubrey inh is MISCELLANIESas a k indof
crystal th at h ath a weak tinctureof red.It was usedf orseering purposes,
andth e Ritual of invok ing spirits th ereinis f oundamong th e lesserpro-
cesses of ceremonial mag ic.
2 Astroboif snz us is aneq uivalent inlateLatinf orth eclassical s a eratr'o,
meaning primarily th e with ering orblasting of trees th roug h windor
droug h t ; but it stoodalso f ora seiz ureof h umanbeing s, k nownoth erwise
as planet- struck , a benumbedcondition, oneof temporary paralysis.
3Th e sug g estionis th at th e ring s andth e imag es werenot imag es or
ring s, just as inalch emy th e wateris no water, th e stone is not- a stone,
andso f orth . It is scarcely th e inf erence wh ich wouldbecarriedaway
f rom a study of Ag :- ippa s THREE Booxs orOCCULT PHILOSOPHY.
Ceremonial Mag ic is very oldandit h as always madeuseof instruments.
1 I h ave not f oundth is wordinArabianorSyriac alch emy: it is no
doubt a corruptionof onewh ich h as beench ang edout of all k nowledg e.
255
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
k nows not h ow. Wh enth is is done, all is to no purpose;
but th oug h th ey f ail inth eirpractice yet th ey believe
th ey understandth e book s of th e Mag i well enoug h .
Now, Eug enius, th at th oumayst k nowwh at to do, I
will teach th ee by example. Tak e a ripe g rainof corn
th at is h ardanddry; expose it to th esunbeams ina g lass,
orany oth ervessel, andit will be a dry g rainf orever.
But if th oudost bury it inth e earth , th at th e nitrous,
saltish moistureof th at element may dissolveit, th enth e
sunwill work uponit andmak eit spring andsprout to a
newbody. It is just th us with th e commonastrolog er:
h eexposeth to th e planets a perf ect, compactedbody and
by th is means th ink s to perf orm th e mag iciatf s Gamau- 'a, 1
andmarry th e inf eriorandsuperiorworlds. It must be
a body reducedinto sperm, th at th e h eavenly, f eminine
moisture, wh ich receives andretains th e impress of th e
astral ag ent, may beat liberty andimmediately exposed
to th e masculine re of Nature. Th is is th e g roundof
th e Beryl ; but youmust rememberth at noth ing canbe
stelliedwith out th e joint mag netism of th ree h eavens.
Wh at th ey are I h ave toldyouelsewh ere, andI will not
troubleyouwith repetitions.
Wh ensh e h adth us saidsh e took out of h erbosom
two miraculous medalsnot metalline but such as I h ad
neverseen, neith erdidI conceive th erewere inNature
such pure andg lorious substances. Inmy judg ment
th ey were two mag ical Astrolasms, but sh e calledth em
sapph irics of th e sunandmoon. Th ese miracles sh e
commendedto my perusal, excusing h erself as being
sleepy: oth erwise sh e h adexpoundedth em f orme. I
look ed, admiredandweariedmyself inth eircontempla-
1 Gaf f arel devotes considerablespaceto th is subject inh is UNHEARDOF
CURIOSITIES, th eEng lish rendering of wh ich by EdmundCh ilmeadwas
publish edinth esameyearas ANTHROPOSOPHIATHEOMAGICA. Gamairos
orCh amaf euwere orig inally natural g uredag ates oroth erstones, th e
remark able sh apes of wh ich , orth e pictures appearing th ereon, were
supposedto h ave sing ularvirtues. Th ewordwas extendedaf terwards
to includesimilarcuriosities of plant andanimal lif e.
I 256
Lumendo Lumine
tion. Th eircomplexionwas so h eavenly, th eircontriv-
ance so mysterious I didnot well k nowwh at to mak e
of th em. I turnedaside to see if sh e was still asleep
but sh e was g one, andth is didnot a little trouble me.
I expectedh erreturntill th e day was q uite spent, but
sh e didnot appear. At last, xing my eyes onth at place
wh ere sh e sometimes rested, I discoveredcertainpieces
of g oldwh ich sh e h adlef t beh indh er, andh ardby a
paperf oldedlik e a letter. Th ese I took up andnow-
th e nig h t approach ing - - - th e evening star tinnedinth e
West, wh entak ing my last survey of h erf lowery pillow
I partedf rom it inth is verse.
Pretty g reenbank , f arewell, andmayst th ouwear
Sunbeams androse andlilies all th e year.
Sh e slept onth ee but needednot to sh ed
Herg old; twas pay enoug h to be h erbed.
Th y owers are f avourites ; f orth is lovedday
Th ey were my rivals andwith h erdidplay.
Th ey f oundth eirh eavenat h andandinh ereyes
Enjoy da copy of th eirabsent sk ies.
Th eirweak erpaint didwith trueg lories trade
And- ming ledwith h erch eek s- - oneposy made.
Anddidnot h ersof t sk inconne th eirpride
Andwith a screenof silk both owers divide,
Th ey h adsuck dlif ef rom th ence andf rom h erh eat
Borrowida soul to mak e th emselves complete.
O h appy pillow, th oug h th ouart laideven
With dust, sh e made th ee up almost a h eaven.
I- Ierbreath rainedspices, andeach amberring
Of h erbrig h t lock s strew dbracelets o erth y spring .
Th at earth s not poordidsuch a treasure h old
But th riceenrich dwith amber, spice andg old.
Th is is th at emblematical, mag ical type wh ich Th alia
deliveredto me inth e invisible Guiana. Th e rst and
superiorpart of it represents th eMountains of th e Moon.
1 Wh eth ervisible orinvisible, Guiana is of no special repute ork now-
ledg e inalch emy, andonly some personal predilectioncouldh ave led
Vaug h anto introduceit h ereina g urativesense. See FRONTISPIECE.
257 1 '7
Th e Worh s if Th omas Vaug h an
Th e ph ilosoph ers commonly call th em th e Mountains
of India, onwh ose tops g rows th eirsecret andf amous
Lunaria.1 It is anh erb easy to be f oundbut th at men
are blind; f orit discovers itself andsh ines af ternig h t
lik e pearl. Th e earth of th ese Mountains is very red,
andsof t beyondall expression. It is f ull of crystalline
rock s, wh ich th e ph ilosoph ers call th eirg lass andth eir
stone. Birds andsh - say th ey- bring it to th em.
Of th ese Mountains speak s Halith eArabian, a most ex-
cellent, judicious auth or. Go, my son, to th eMountains
of India andto th eirq uarries orcaverns, andtak eth ence
ourprecious stones, wh ich dissolveormelt inwaterwh en
th ey are ming ledth erewith .Much indeedmig h t be
spok enconcerning th ese mountains, if it were lawf ul
to publish th eirmysteries: but one th ing I sh all not
f orbearto tell you. Th ey are very dang erous places
af ternig h t, f orth ey are h auntedwith res andoth er
strang e apparitions, occasioned- - as I am toldby th e
Mag iby certainspirits wh ich dabble lasciviously with
th e sperm of th e worldandimprint th eirimag inations
init, producing many times f antastic andmonstrous
g enerations. Th e access andpilg rimag e to th is place,
with th e dif f iculties wh ich attendth em, aref aith f ully and
mag isterially describedby th e Broth ers of R. C. Th eir
lang uag e indeedis very simple, andwith most men
perh aps contemptible. But to speak nely was no part
of th eirdesig n; th eirlearning lies not inth eph rase but
inth e sense; andth at it is wh ich I propose to th econ-
siderationof th e reader.
1 Th e Moon- plant belong s especially to h erbalism, but it passedinto
th e symbolism of alch emy rath erearly inth e Latinperiod. A tract
attributedto Maria, th e imputedsisterof Moses, says th at Soph ie
Mercury is two wh ite plants f oundamong little h ills, andth ere are two
k inds of Lunaria. Moreover, th e Moonis a name g ivento Mercury.
But somealch emists use Lunaria to sig nif y th eSulph urof Nature.
1 Hali is mentionedonce by Paracelsus, but h e andh is tract h ave
escapedth evig ilanceof Leng let duFresnoy.
3Vadr, lz '2', adMonies India of adoatrernas suas, at aooz joe ea" sis
/ apz 'a es / z onoralos our? Iig uoz mt inag rua, g uando oomm:'srenz uroi.
o 258
Lu/ / z enale Lum 726
ll.- A LETTER FROM THE BROTHERS or R. C. cou-
CERNING "rm: INVISIBLE, Maorcat. Mouur.- nuAND
THE TREASURE THEREIN conrarnaol
Every mannaturally desires a superiority, to h ave
treasures of g oldandsilver, andto seem g reat inth e
eyes of th eworld. Godindeedcreatedall th ing s f orth e
use of man, th at h e mig h t rule overth em andack now-
ledg eth ereinth e sing ularg oodness andomnipotenceof
God, g ive Him th ank s f orHis benets, h onourHim
andpraise Him. But th ere is no manlook s af terth ese
th ing s oth erwise th anby spending h is days idly. Th ey
wouldenjoy th em With out any previous labour and
dang er; neith erdo th ey look th em out of th at placewh ere
Godh ath treasuredth em up, Wh o expects also th at man
sh ouldseek f orth em th ere, andto th ose th at seek will
He g iveth em. But th ere is not any th at labours f ora
possessioninth at place, andth eref oreth eserich es arenot
f ound. Forth eway to th is place- - andth eplaceitself -
h ath beenunk nownf ora long time, andit is h iddenf rom
th eg reatest part of th eworld. But notwith standing it be
dif cult andlaborious to ndout th is Way andplace, yet
th e placesh ouldbe soug h t af ter. But it is not th ewill
of Godto conceal anyth ing f rom th oseth at are His ; and
th eref oreinth is last ag e- - bef ore th enal judg ment comes
- - all th ese th ing s sh all be manif estedto th ose th at are
worth y. As HeHimself - - th oug h obscurely, lest itsh ould
be manif estedto th eunworth y- - - h ath spok enina certain
place: Th ere is noth ing coveredth at sh all not be re-
Th is communicationmay becontrastedwith th eLatinletterpublish ed
inSUMMUM BONUM, a treatiseunderth enameof Ioach im Fritz , attach ed
to Robert Fludd s SoPH1 . Ecunt Moat}; CERTAMENandg enerally reg arded
as h is work . A translationof th e letterappears inmy REAL HISTORY
OF THE ROSICRUCIANS. It is much inf eriorto th e document printed
above, but both areof interest as claiming to beof cial messag es of th e
Broth erh ood. Very little early Rosicrucianliterature is available in
Eng land- eith erinpublic orprivate libraries- ~ and1 am unable to say
wh eth erVaug h antlrewf rom a publish edwork ornot.
259
Th e Worrof T/ z omarVang / ran
vealedandh iddenth at sh all not be k nown.1 Weth ere-
f ore, being movedby th e Spirit of God, do declare th e
will of Godto th e world, wh ich we h ave also already
perf ormedandpublish edinseveral lang uag es.But most
meneith errevileorcontemnth at ourMANIFESTO, orelse
waiving th eSpirit of God- - th ey expect th e proposals
th ereof f rom us, supposing wewill straig h tway teach th em
h owto mak e g oldby art, orf urnish th em with ample
treasures, wh ereby th ey may live pompously inth e f ace
of th e world, swag g er andmak e wars, turnusurers,
g luttons anddrunk ards, live unch astely anddele th eir
wh ole lif ewith several oth ersins- all wh ich th ing s are
contrary to th e blessedwill of God. Th ese mensh ould
h ave learnt f rom th ose tenVirg ins- - wh ereof ve th at
were f oolish demandedoil f orth eirlamps f rom th oseve
th at werewise3- - h owth at th ecase is much oth erwise. It
is expedient th at every mansh ouldlabourf orth is treasure
by th e assistance of Godandh is ownparticularsearch
andindustry. But th eperverseintentions of th esef ellows
we understandout of th eirownwriting s, by th esing ular
g race andrevelationof God. We do stop ourears and
wrap ourselves, as it were, inclouds to avoidth ebellow-
ing s andh owling s of th ose menwh o invaincry out f or
g old. Andh ence indeedit comes to pass th at th ey brand
us with innite calumnies andslanders, wh ich notwith -
standing we do not resent; but GodinHis g oodtime
will judg eth em f orit. But af terth at we h adwell k nown
- - - th oug h unk nownto you- andperceivedby yourwrit-
ing h owdilig ent youare to peruse th e Holy Scripture
andseek th etruek nowledg eof God; weh ave also above
1 Th eref erence g ivenis to ST MATT., x, 26, wh ich Vaug h anq uotes at
f ull leng th inh is translation, but th e Latinletterexpresses it only in
summary f orm: N2/ z 2'Zest aJ> scondz 'z 'um q uadnonreveletur. Compare
Paracelsus : Nz '/ 22'! est opertus q uadmm r.e'z 1 eZa6z 't::randA- z '/ 22'! 2'.- I: / z omz h e
abstmsz m- z sit q uadmm raoalarz rr.- ExPI.1 cA'r1 o TOTIUS Asrnonomtz a,
s.v. Proa{ 0 in.Scz 'em'z '.< z m Sz g rrz atam.
9 A ref erence to th e Fara.- 1 . FRATERNITATIS R. C., wh ich appeared
almost simultaneously inGerman, Dutch andLatin.
5 ST MATT., xxi, 1 - 1 2.
260
Lumende Lamina
many th ousands th oug h t youworth y of someanswer; and
wesig nif y th is much to youby th ewill of Godandth e
admonitionof th eHoly Gh ost. ~
Th ereis a mountainsituatedinth emidst of th eearth
orcentre of th eworldwh ich is both small andg reat. It
is sof t, also above measure h ardandstony. It is f arof f
andnearat h and, but by th e providenceof Godinvisible.i
Init are h iddenmost ample treasures, wh ich th eworldis
not able to value. Th is mountainby envy of th edevil,
wh o always opposeth th e g lory of Godandth e h appiness
of man- - is compassedabout with very cruel beasts and
oth erravening birds- - wh ich mak e th e way th ith erboth
dif cult anddang erous. Andth eref oreh ith erto- - because
th e time is not yet come- - th eway th ith ercouldnot be
soug h t af ternorf oundout. But nowat last th eway is
to be f oundby th ose th at areworth y- - but notwith stand-
ing by every man's self - labourandendeavours.
To th is Mountainyoush all g o ina certainnig h t-
wh enit comes- most long andmost dark , andsee th at
youprepare yourselves by prayer. Insist uponth eway
th at leads to th eMountain, but ask not of any manwh ere
th e way lies. Only f ollowyourGuide, wh o will of f er
h imself to youandwill meet youinth e way. But you
sh all not k nowh im. Th is Guidewill bring youto th e
Mountainat midnig h t, wh enall th ing s are silent and
dark . It is necessary th at youarm yourselves with a
resolute, h eroic courag e, lest youf earth ose th ing s th at
1 It is saidinth e oth ercommunication: Ourf ellowsh ip is with th e
Fath erandwith Jesus; andwe write unto youth at youmay rejoice
becauseGodis lig h t andinHim th ereis no dark ness at all.
5' As pseudo- Dionysius sug g ests th at we canapproximate towards a
notionof th e DivineNatureby th eway of neg ationrath erth anof af f irma-
tion, but ends by testif ying th at Godis noth ing of th at wh ich is and
noth ing of th at wh ich is not, so th e alch emists usedth eterms of contra-
dictionto describe th eirsymbolical Stone andoth erHermetic secrets.
Th edelineationaboveis eq uivalent to stating th at th emountainis not a
mountain. Inth is case it seems to indicate some mystery of spiritual
attainment. Inth esecret sch ools we h earof a mountainof initiation.
3As th e sanctuary of ourinwardnature is encompassedandmade
dif cult of attainment by th epowers of evil with inus.
261
T/ z e W0r* s of Th ovz as Vang / z arz
will h appenandso f all back . Youneedno swordnor
any oth erbodily weapons : only call uponGodsincerely
andh eartily. Wh enyouh ave discoveredth e Mountain
th e rst miracle th at will appearis th is : Amost veh ement
andvery g reat windth at will sh ak e th e Mountainand
sh atterth e rock s to pieces. Yoush all be encountered
also by lions anddrag ons andoth erterrible beasts; but
f earnot any of th ese th ing s. Be resoluteandtak e h eed
th at youreturnnot, f oryourGuide1 - wh o broug h t you
th ith er- - - will not suf f erany evil to bef al you. As f or
th e treasure, it is not yet discovered; but it is very near.
Af terth is windwill come anearth q uak e th at will over-
th rowth ose th ing s wh ich th e windh ath lef t andmak e
all f lat. But be sure th at youf all not of f . Th e earth -
q uak e being past, th ere sh all f ollowa re th at will con-
sume th e earth ly rubbish anddiscover th e treasure.
But as yet youcannot see it. Af terall th ese th ing s and
nearth e daybreak th ere sh all be a g reat calm; andyou
sh all see th e Day- Stararise andth e dawning will appear
andyoush all perceive a g reat treasure. Th e ch ief est
th ing init andth e most perf ect is a certainexalted
Tincture, with wh ich th e worldif it servedGodand
were worth y of such g if ts - - mig h t be ting edandturned
into most pureg old.
Th is Tincturebeing usedas yourGuidesh all teach you
will mak e youyoung wh enyouare old, andyoush all
perceiveno diseaseinany part of yourbodies. By means
of th is Tincturealso yoush all ndpearls of th at excellency
wh ich cannot be imag ined. But do not youarrog ate
anyth ing to yourselves because of yourpresent power;
but be contentedwith th at wh ich yourGuide sh all com-
municate to you. Praise Godperpetually f orth is His
g if t, andh avea special care th at youuse it not f orworldly
1 CompareTHEBOOK. orL.= 't}~ lBSIRI2~ IG, containing g ures andemblems
Us Lrrpz 'drPiosopiz orrmz . Th e Guide leads a g urative Sonof th e
King to a very h ig h mountain, th at h e may understandall wisdom and
beh oldth e h eavenly th rone. Th e Guide andSonare saidto sig nif y
Spirit andSoul. _
262
Lumende Lmnine
pride; but employ it insuch work s wh ich arecontrary to
th eworld. Useit rig h tly andenjoy it so as if youh adit
not. Livea temperatelif eandbewareof all sin: oth er-
wiseyourGuidewill f orsak eyouandyoush all bedeprived
of th is h appiness. Fork nowth is of a truth : wh osoever
abuseth th is Tinctureandlives not exemplarly, purely and
devoutly bef ore men, h e sh all lose th is benet andscarce
any h opewill th erebelef t everto recoverit af terwards.
Th us h ave th ey describedunto us th e Mount of God,
th emystical, ph ilosoph ical Horeb- - - wh ich is noth ing else
but th e h ig h est andpurest part of th e earth ? Forth e
superior, secret portionof th is element is h oly g round,
andAristotle tells h is Peripatetics th at wh eresoeveris
th at wh ich is h ig h erth ere also is th at wh ich is more
divined It is th e seed- plot of th e Eternal Nature, th e
immediate vessel andrecipient of h eaven, wh ere all
minerals andveg etables h ave th eirroots andby wh ich
th e animal monarch y is maintained. Th is ph ilosoph ical
black Saturnmorties andcoag ulates th e invisible Mer-
cury of th e stars; andonth e contrary- - - th e Mercury
k ills anddissolves th e Saturn; andout of th ecorruption
of both th e central andcircumf erential suns g enerate a
newbody. Hence th e ph ilosoph ers describing th eir
Stone tell us th at it is a black , vile andf etidStone, and
it is calledth e orig inof th eworldandit spring s up lik e
g erminating th ing s. As f orth eEPISTLEof th eFraternity
1 One of th e most f req uent temptations of th ose wh o h ave g one a
certaindistance along th e path of th e Spirit.
2 It is plainby preceding texts th at earth is not earth , according to th e
th esis of Vaug h an. Th ere is th e virg inearth of th e ph ilosoph ers, a
metaph ysical basis of bodies, th eirk ernel orcentre, a simple principle
of all composites. Th ere is also a g urativeearth wh ich is th e mz 'mm- :2
of th at matterout of wh ich Soph ie Mercury is extracted. Finally, th e
h ypoth etical xedMercury is sometimes calledearth . As to th e
RosicrucianMount of God, it is earth inth e sense th at th e mystical
Horeb is earth of th eworldto comeandth eLandof th eLiving .
3Locus g atee.rce!.rz 'or, so dz 'wz 'm'0r.
" Lap- z 's mlg er, ':.1 z 'lz 's atf cetens, at dz 'rz 'z m" orz lg o mrmdf , at oritursicm
g ermz '?:amf z 'rr.
263
T/ z e 5V0:/ "er ayf T/ z omas Vaug / z an
l h ave f orsatisf actionof th e ordinary readerput it into
Eng lish . I k nowsomedoctors will th ink it no advantag e,
but th enth ey conf ess th eirig norance. I canassureth em
th e subject is nowh ere so clearly discovered; andf or
th e rst abstruse preparationth ere is no private auth or
h ath mentionedit, but h erewe h aveit entirely andwith al
most f aith f ully described. I conf ess indeedth eirinstruc-
tionwears a mask , but very plainandpervious.
Th is much we h ave f rom th ese f amous andmost
Ch ristianph ilosoph ers, menq uestionless th at h ave
suf f eredmuch by th eirowndiscreet silenceandsolitude.
Every soph istercontemns th em because th ey appearnot
to th e worldandconcludes th ere is no such Society
because h e is not a memberof it. Th ere is scarce a
readerso just as to consider uponwh at g rounds th ey
conceal th emselves andcomenot to th estag e wh enevery
f ool cries: Enter. No manlook s af ter th em but f or
worldly ends, andtruly if th e Art itself didnot promise
g oldI am condent it wouldndbut f ewf ollowers.
Howmany are th ere inth e worldth at study Natureto
k nowGod? Certainly th ey study a receipt f orth eir
purses, not f orth eirsouls, norinany g oodsense f or
th eirbodies. It is t th enth ey sh ouldbe lef t to th eir
ig norance, as to th eircure. It may be th e nullity of
th eirexpectations will ref orm th em ; but as long as th ey
continueinth is h umourneith erGodnorg oodmenwill
assist th em.
Th einf eriorpart of th is type presents a dark circle, 1
ch arg edwith many strang e ch imaeras andAristotle s
Tmg ef ep/ z 0sth at metaph ysical beast of th e sch oolmen?
It sig nies th e innumerous conceitedwh imsies andairy,
roving imag inations of man. Forbef ore we attainto
1 Here f ollows Vaug h an s f urth erdescriptive interpretationof th e
Scf z of re .rl4 'rz g z 'r.'re Typz rs.
9 Tpri- yaiq bos, z '.e., Hz 'rc0- cerwz rs, th e Trag elnpiz us of Pliny, a myth ical
combinationof g oat andstag . Wh at f ollows inth e text of Vaug h anis
anexcellent account of th euniversal medium- - orastral lig h t- of all th e
mental f ollies.
I 264
Lumenc/ e Lurnine
th e truth we are subject to a th ousandf ancies, ctions
andappreh ensions, wh ich we f alsely suppose andmany
times publicly proposef orth etruth itself . Th is f antastic
reg ionis th etrue, orig inal seminary of all sects andth eir
dissensions. Hence came th e despairing sceptic, th e
loose epicure, th e h ypocritical stoic andth e ath eous
peripatetic; h ence also th eirseveral dig ladiations about
Nature- - - wh eth erth e First Matterbe re, air, earth or
water, ora f ry of imag inary atoms, all wh ich are f alse
andf abulous suppositions. If we look onrelig ionand
th e diversities th ereof , wh ence proceededth e present
h eresies andsch isms but f rom th e dif f erent erroneous
appreh ensions of menP Indeedwh iles we f ollowourown
f ancies andbuildonbottomless, unsettledimag inations
we must needs wanderandg rope inth e dark , lik e th ose
th at are blindf olded. Onth e contrary, if welay th eline
to ourth oug h ts andexamine th em by experience, we are
inth eway to be inf allible, f orwe tak e h oldof th at rule
wh ich Godh ath proposedf orourdirection. Invain
h ath He made Nature if we dwell onourownconcep-
tions andmak e no use of h er principles. It were a
h appy necessity if ourth oug h ts couldnot vary f rom h er
ways. I But certainly f orus to th ink th at we cannd
truth by mere contemplationwith out experience is as
g reat a madness as if a mansh ouldsh ut h is eyes f rom
th e sunandth enbelieve h e cantravel directly f rom
Londonto GrandCairo by f ancying h imself inth erig h t
way, with out th eassistance of th e lig h t. It is true th at
no manenters th e Mag ical Sch ool but h e wanders rst
inth is reg ionof ch imaeras, f orth e inq uiries wh ich we
mak ebef oreweattainto experimental truth s are most of
1 Th is is not less true indeep th ing s of th e spiritual orderth anin
th ose wh ich are external andph ysical. It is f orth is reasonth at th e
commoncounsels of contemplation, but especially th ose importedand
modernprocesses wh ich h ave become f amiliaramong us, are f oundto
andcanleadnowh ere. Th ere is, h owever, th e contemplationof St
Th omas Aq uinas, wh ich h esays- - is love, th at continual contemplation
of anabsent beauty, mentionedby Saint- Martin, until th e day comes
wh enits living presenceabides with inus.
265
T/ ie Work : (yrT/ z onz ur Vuug / uz n
th em erroneous. Howsoever, we sh ouldbe so rational
andpatient inourdisq uisitions as not imperiously to
obtrude andf orce th em uponth e worldbef ore we are
able to verif y th em.
I everapprovedth at reg ularandsolidspeech of Basil
Valentine :1 Be advised, th eref ore, my wrang ler, and
seek with th ine owneyes, eventh y very h and, th at rst
f oundationwh ich Nature h olds h iddenwith inh er: so
only sh alt th oube able to reasonwith judg ment wisely
andbuilduponth e impreg nable rock . Apart f rom th is
th oumust remaina vacant andf antastic trier, wh ose
arg ument inth eabsenceof experience sh all be rootedin
sandalone. Onth e oth er h and, th e manwh o would
teach meanyth ing by rh etorical g ures andtrif les sh ould
k nowth at h e caninno wise satisf y me with empty
words, f orit is indispensableth at proof drawnf romth ef act
of experience be also at h and.Andinanoth erplace:
I valuenot th e trierwh o speak s oth erwiseth anf rom
h is proper experience, f or h is discourse h as th e same
f oundationas th e judg ment of a blindmanabout
colours.2 Questionless, all th is was th e breath of a true
ph ilosoph erone th at studiednot th e names but th e
natures of th ing s. I oppose it as battery to th e sch ool-
men: if th ey will needs musterth eirsyllog isms, I expect
also th ey sh ouldconrm th eirnoiseby th eirexperience.
With inth is f antastic circle stands a Lamp, andit
typies th eLig h t of Nature. Th is is th e Secret Candle
of God, wh ich He h ath tinnedinth e elements: it
burns andis not seen, f orit sh ines ina dark place.
1 Discez :g z 'tz ur, Dz '.r; 5uz 'rrta; * ' ?n.:', ef z 'ru].uz 're ; tf > r.t'n:mnf und- anz enturnz jz '> sz 's
oculrirat menu, q uad{ Va/ urnserum: n u5* .rc0nriz 'f um. Sir. demum
prz rdenterer cunt jz dr'cz '0 de reus rlz lnrerere, ez sug ra z '?z e.r; f * u, g nu6'z '!en1
g ef rurrz r.:r'd.i'jZcurej0Zerz 's. Sine/ :06 trident '2/ anus et 1 - 25/ irz nZustz 'cus nug ator
nuz nerz lr, cujus sermones avsg ue uiliii e; t'; ie2* z 'e?z iz 'r"i supra urenunz soluz n
/ 'z rna z z z ' sunz . Qua? uuf enz ser2n0cz 'nuz z '0?z z ' > us .ruz '.r ea nug is me ulz 'g uz 'd
decerer/ uh , is wewerz lrZaniuuz nudz lrnonprrscru, sea e.r; en'enf rtrf uc!unz
riocunz enf unz .rz '. wuZsit1 - rrrrsto oporf rf , nine Que nonteneor'2/ .er6z '.r Lacuna
dare, denz g uez 'z '.rrz a / z z '6e2* e.
2 Nug atorern/ urudmanorg uinonpee" ea, z erz 'enz z 'unz , z r0; f n'z 'unz log turlur.
r- "Vent .e_; 'us sersnones _, neri'nde_f undaz z 'aunt mt rrr'c.z 'jz .u1 'z 'cz 'rmz decof orf eus.
I 266
Lunz enr/ e Lu/ nine
Every natural body is a k indof black lantern; it carries
th is Candle with init, but th e lig h t appears not: it is
eclipsedwith th e g rossness of th e matter. Th e ef f ects
of th is Lig h t are apparent inall th ing s; but th e lig h t
itself is denied, orelse not f ollowed. Th e g reat world
h ath th e sunf orh is lif e andcandle; according to th e
absenceandpresenceof th is reall th ing s inth e world
ourish orwith er. We k nowby experienceandth is
inourownbodies- - th at as long as lif e lasts th ere is a
continual coction, a certainseeth ing orboiling with inus.
Th is mak es us sweat andexpire inperpetual deuxions
at th e pores ; andif welay ourh ands to oursk inwe can
f eel ourownh eat, wh ich must needs proceedf rom an
enclosedreorlig h t. All veg etables g rowandaug ment
th emselves ; th ey put f orth th eirf ruits andf lowers, wh ich
couldnot be if some h eat didnot stirup andalterth e
matter. We see, moreover, th at inveg etables th is lig h t
is sometimes discoveredto th eeye, as it appears inrotten
wood, wh ere th e star- re sh ines af ternig h t. As f or
minerals, th eirrst matteris coag ulatedby th is ery spirit
andalteredf rom one complexionto anoth er, to wh ich
may beaddedth is truth f ormanif estation: if th emineral
principles be articially dissolvedth at th eir re and
spirit may be at liberty- - - evenmetals th emselves may
be madeveg etable. Th is re orlig h t is nowh ereto be
f oundinsuch abundance andpurity as inth at subject
wh ich th e Arabians call Hr:/ z 'uz Zz ', f rom Hali- = Su nmum
andCu/ op = Banana ; but th eLatinauth ors corruptly write
it Su! / llituli. Th is substance is th e cath olic receptacle
of spirits. It is blessedandimpreg natedwith lig h t f rom
aboveandwas th eref orestyledby th emag icians a Sealed
House, f ull of lig h t anddivinity.2
1 Very curious is th eintellectual f antasy wh ich describes th eph osph or-
escenceof decaying veg etable matteras th e Secret Candle of Godand
laments th at its lig h t is not f ollowed. I th ink th at th eLig h t of Naturein
th emiddleplaceof .5.- 5/ :05.- se.- l[u, g z 'cra" Typus h adanoth erandh ig h ermeaning .
2 It is obvious th at th is is not true of 5'rrZuZ1 .uz lz ', but it is not to be
th oug h t th at inusing th is name th e altih emists meant wh at ordinary
267
Th e H/ orh s of Th omas Vaug h an
But to proceedinth eexpositionof ourtype: not f ar
f rom th is Lamp youmay observe th e Ang el orGenius
of th e place. Inone h andh e bears a sword, to k eep of f
th e contentious andunworth y; inth e oth era clue of
th read, to leadinth eh umbleandh armless. Underth e
altarlies th e g reendrag on, orth e mag iciaif s Mercury,
involving initself a treasure of g oldandpearl. Th is
is neith erdream norf ancy, but a k nown, demonstrable,
practical truth . Th e treasure is th ere to be f ound, in-
nitely rich andreal. Indeedwe must conf ess it is
ench antedandth at by th e very art andmag ic of th e
Almig h ty God. It canneith erbe seennorf elt, but th e
cabinet th at h olds it is every day underourf eet. Onth is
treasuresits a littlech ild, with th is inscription: Except to
oneof th ese little ones. It tells us h owth ey sh ouldbe
q ualiedwh o desire to be admittedto th is place. Th ey
must beinnocent andvery h umble- - not impudent, proud
ranters norcovetous, unch aritable misers. Th ey must be
af f able, not contentious ; th ey must loveth etruth and- - to
speak ina h omely ph rase- th ey must also, lik ech ildrenand
f ools, speak th e truth . Ina word, th ey must be as our
SaviourHimself h ath said- - - lik eoneof th eselittleones.
Th is is th e sum of th at mag ical emblem wh ich Th alia
communicatedto me inth e mineral reg ion. More I
cannot say of it, f orI was not trustedwith moreinrela-
tionto a public andpopularuse. I will nowproceedto a
discovery of someoth ermysteries wh ich I receivedf rom
h er- andth ose such as are not commonly soug h t af ter.
Th ebasis of th em all is th evisible, tang ibleq uintessencef
ch emistry sig nies th ereby, andth ey were not concealing th eirreal
subject morecompletely th anTh omas Vaug h anorh is auth orities under
th e denominationof Halicali. Th eHermetic lexicons g iveth ef ollowing
meaning s, s.v. Suialk ali : (1 ) Th e Mag istery of th e Wise, understood
as th e basis of all bodies; (2) Oil of Ph ilosoph ers; (3) Salt of \Visdom.
Pernety warns h is readers ag ainst preparations of commonsodium and
Basil Valentineag ainst th oseof plants, wh ich is a deadsalt.
1 Vaug h anis h ereusing a term of th e alch emists wh ich h e h as con-
demnedpreviously: see p. 25. Moreover, h is rst createdunity
cannot be a q uintessence inany rational use of words.
268
Lumenr/ e Lunz ine
or th e rst createdunity, out of wh ich th e ph ysical
tetractys didspring . I sh all speak of th em not ina
cast, articial discourse andmeth od, but inth eirown
natural, h armonical order, andrst of all of th e First
Matter.
III.- Tn1 ~ : FIRST l\/ IATTER
Wh enl seriously considerth e system orf abric of th is
worldI ndit to be a certainseries, a link orch ainwh ich
is extendedf rom unconditionedto unconditionedf f rom
th at wh ich is beneath all appreh ensionto th at wh ich is
above all appreh ension. Th at wh ich is beneath all
deg rees of sense is a certainh orrible, inexpressibledark -
ness. Th e mag icians call it active dark ness, andth e
ef f ect of it inNature is cold, etc. Fordark ness is th e
visag e of cold- - th ecomplexion, body andmatrix of cold
as lig h t is th e f ace, principle andf ountainof h eat.
Th at wh ich is aboveall deg ree of intellig ence is a certain
innite, inaccessible re or lig h t. Dionysius calls it
Divine Dark ness, because it is invisible andincompre-
h ensible. Th e Jewstyles it / { yin5- - - but ina relative
sense or, as th esch oolmenexpress it, inrespect of us.6
Inplainterms, it is unveiledDeity apart f rom all vesture.7
Th emiddlesubstance orch ainbetweenth esetwo is th at
wh ich we commonly call Nature. Th is is th e Sm/ uof
th eg reat Ch aldeewh ich doth reach f rom th esubternatural
dark ness to th e supernatural re. Th esemiddlenatures
cameout of a certainwater, wh ich was th e sperm orFirst
1 Th eph ysical tetrartys sig nies th e f ourelements, andth ese meant
many th ing s f orVaug h anandh is precursors.
2 A nong rade: adnong mdum. My rendering must standat its value.
It may becalledalch emical, a translationwh ich is not a translation.
3Tenebmeartz "z ue.
f Calig o Dz 'rn'na- about wh ich compareante, p. 21 4 , s.v. N?/ z z '1 Dz 'w'nunr.
Seeante, p. 21 6. Vaug h ang ives th e Hebrew, of wh ich h is printers
made nonsense andh e soug h t to rectif y inth e list of errata, but th ey
madebadworse. Th ewordis 1 93.
* 1 Qua adnos. T Daria: nude, sinef ndumento.
3A Tartaro adpn'm- uniig ncnr.
269
Te Wares q f Tomas Vaug / mix
Matterof th eg reat World. Andnowwe will beg into
describeit : Let h im receive wh o can.
It is inplainterms dissolvedandowing Water, 2 or
rath erit is someth ing melted, 3th at is a solutionof earth ,
a certainplasticity of earth , anexceeding ly sof t, moist,
f usible, owing earth anearth of wax th at is capable
of all f orms andimpressions. It is Sonof th e Earth ,
mixedwith VVater, 5 and- - to speak as th e natureof th e
th ing req uires- - - mixedearth andmarriag eof earth . Th e
learnedalch emist denes it as divineandliving silver, an
unionof spirit inmatter? It is a divine, animatedmass,
of complexionsomewh at lik esilver, th eunionof masculine
andf emininespirits, th e q uintessence of f our, th eternary
of two andth etetract of one.3Th eseareh is g enerations,
ph ysical andmetaph ysical. Th e th ing itself is a world
With out f orm, neith ermere powernorperf ect action, but
a weak virg insubstance, a certainsof t, prolic Venus,
th e very love andseed, th e mixture andmoisture of
h eavenandearth . Th is moisture is th e moth erof all
th ing s inth e World; andth e masculine, sulph ureous
re of th e earth is th eirf ath er. Nowth e _lews- wh o
With out controversy were th e wisest of nations- - - wh en
th ey discourse of th e g enerationof metals tell us it is
perf ormedinth is manner. Th e Mercury or mineral
liq uorsay th ey- - - is altog eth ercoldandpassive, andit
lies incertainearth y, subterraneous caverns. But wh en
1 Ci:z ; z 'af g ?2'rz ' capers of esf . 2 X 5- rlwmuPm iiwp.
3Hxurly. 4 Fail: X u, ua1 - d- ns, Kill vb X ciuwirrai rns yf is.
5 T ?? 2 Fz 'Zz 'z r.rag ar? 91 221 1 72- ' .$ . T5pu:, tuivos 'y1 1 'yem = "rn- s.
Isw, u.E'- y'l)s, are: yiis "yti, LI.C- S. -
7(Elsie? tip- yiipiouam- iabv, ilvwais rt - iv1 rm= up.a'r ivevo'< 'I1 , mz .
* - * Compare wh at is saidina certainsh ort appendix to th e TWELVE
KEYS of Basil Valentine: Th e Stone is composedof one, two, th ree,
f ourandve, being (5) th e q uintessence of its propersubstance, (4 ) th e
f ourelements, (3) th eth reeprinciples of all th ing s, (2) th edual mercurial
substance, and(1 ) th at rst essenceproducedf rom th eprimal Fiat.
9 According to AESH MEZAREPH, wh ich is th eonly purely Jewish and
Kabalistic tract onalch emy with wh ich I am acq uainted, Mercury is th e
f oundationof all Natureandth eart of metals. A particularMercury is,
h owever, req uiredf orth e work , andit is calleda Fountainof Living
Water.Th ere is noth ing inth e extant f rag ments of th is tract wh ich
27o
Luiz z en0/ 2 Lamina
th e sunascends inth e East h is beams andh eat, f alling
onth is h emisph ere, stirup andf ortif y th e inwardh eat
of th e earth . Th us we see inwinterweath erth at th e
outwardh eat of th e sunexcites th e inward, natural
warmth of ourbodies andch erish eth th e bloodwh enit
is almost coldandf roz en. Nowth en, th e central h eat
of th eearth , being stirredandsecondedby th e circum-
f erential h eat of th e sun, work s uponth e Mercury and
sublimes it ina th invapour to th e top of its cell or
cavern. But towards nig h t, wh enth e sunsets inth e
West, th e h eat of th e earth - - - because of th e absence of
th at g reat luminary- - - g rows weak andth e coldprevails,
so th at th evapours of th e Mercury, wh ich were f ormerly
sublimed, are nowcondensedanddistil indrops to th e
bottom of th eircavern. But th e nig h t being spent, th e
sunag aincomes about to th e East andsublimes th e
moistureas f ormerly. Th is sublimationandcondensation
continue so long till th e Mercury tak es up th e subtle,
sulph ureous parts of th e earth andis incorporatedth ere-
with , so th at th is sulph urcoag ulates th e Mercury and
xes h im at last, th at h ewill not sublime but lies still in
a ponderous lump andis concoctedto a perf ect metal.
Tak e notice th enth at ourMercury cannot be co-
ag ulatedwith out oursulph ur, f orth eDrag ondieth not
apart f rom h is f ellow. It is waterth at dissolves and
putrees earth , andearth th at th ick ens andputrees
water. Youmust th eref ore tak e two principles to pro-
ducea th irdag ent, according to th at dark receipt of Hali
th eArabian. Tak e"saith h e- th eCorascenedog and
th ebitch of Armenia. Put th em both tog eth erandth ey
will bring th ee a sk y- colouredwh elp." Th is sk y-
colouredwh elp is th at sovereig n, admiredandf amous
corresponds to th e statement inth e text, so th at Vaug h andrewf rom
anoth ersourcewh ich I am not ableto identif y.
1 Draco mm morrmrsinema rnrrz pare.
2 Accz lnecomm nz rz srrrf rrm Corarcemmz rt (airf low: A; r'merz z 'cz ': canjung e,
etparirrrt z ':'&:'mz wiumcolor- z '.rstair. Th eArmeniandog sometimes stands
f orSulph ur, orth emaleseedof th e Stone. - ~ Pernety.
271
Te Wm; cf Th omas Vang / z am
Mercury k nownby th e name of th e ph ilosoph er's
Mercury. Now, f ormy part, I advise th ee to tak e two
living Mercuries; plant th em ina puried, mineral Saturn;
wash th em andf eedth em with waterof salt veg etable;
andth oush alt see th at speech of th e Adeptus veried:
Th e moth ersh all bring f orth a budding ower, wh ich
sh ewill nurtureat h erownmilk y breast and, being h elped
by th e f ath er, will turnh erself into f oodf orit utterly.1
But th e process orreceipt is no part of my desig n, wh ere~
f ore I will returnto th e First Matter; andI say it is no
k indof waterwh atsoever. Reader, if it be th y desire to
attainto th e truth , rely uponmy words, f orI speak
th e truth , andI am no deceiver. Th e moth erorFirst
Matterof metals is a certainwatery substance, neith er
very water nor very earth , but a th irdth ing com-
poundedof both andretaining th ecomplexionof neith er.
To th is ag rees th e learnedValentine inh is apposite and
g enuinedescriptionof oursperm. Th eFirst Matter"-
saith h e is a waterish substance f ounddry, orof such
a complexionth at wets not th e h andandnoth ing lik e
to any oth ermatterwh atsoever; Anoth erexcellent
andwell- experiencedph ilosoph erdenes it th us. It is
~ saith h e anearth y wateranda watery earth , ming led
with earth inth e belly of th e earth ; andth e spirit and
inf luences of h eavencommix th emselves th erewith ."3
Indeedit cannot be deniedbut someauth ors h avenamed
th is substance by th e names of all ordinary waters, not to
deceive th e simple but to h ide it f rom th e ranting , ill-
disposedcrew. Onth e contrary, some h ave expressly
andf aith f ully inf ormedus it is no commonwater, and
especially th e reverendTurluz . Th e ig norant - saith
Ag admon- wh enth ey h earus name water, th ink it is
1 ilf atereremg ermz inalem, g raz e : weresire'm'.rce.t0 rrutrf et, at setotem
erinc:'bum 2/ ertet, f etrentepatre.
9 Maten'a ; rz 'mrz est ag uem sm5.rtam:'a, ricea rejletnat rmllimaterxise
cemparaz 'Zz '.r.
3Est terrena aq ua et ag twsa term, interm wmtre term cemmz 'xi'n,
cum q uad": eemmrlrcet .rpz 'r:'turat e:z 'Ze.rt:'.reuxur.
2'72
Lz mz erz de Lamina
waterof th eclouds ; but if th ey understoodourbook s th ey
sh ouldk nowit to be a permanent orxedwaterwh ich ,
with out its companion~ - to wh ich it h ath beenunited
- - cannot be permanent. Th e noble andk nowing
Sendivog ius tells us th every same th ing : Ourwateris
a h eavenly water, wh ich wets not th e h and, not th at of
th ecommonmanbut almost, oras it were, pluvial."2
We must th eref ore considerth e several analog ies and
similitudes of th ing s, orwe sh all neverbeable to under-
standth eph ilosoph ers.
Th is Waterth enwets not th e h and, wh ich is notion
enoug h to persuade us it canbe no commonwater. It
is a metalline, bitter, saltish liq uor. It h ath a truemineral
complexion. It h ath "saith RaymundLullyth e
lik eness of th e sunandmoon, andinsuch waterit h ath
appearedto us, not inspring orrainwater.But in
anoth erplace h e describes it more f ully. It is a dry
water, not waterof th eclouds orph leg matic water, but a
ch oleric water, more h ot th anre. It is, moreover,
g reenish to th e sig h t, andth e same Lully tells youso.
It look s- saith h e- - lik ea g reenliz ard.5 But th e
most prevalent colourinit is a certaininexpressibleaz ure,
lik eth ebody of h eavenina clearday. It look s intruth
lik eth ebelly of a snak e, especially nearth e neck , wh ere
th escales h avea deep blue tincture; andth is is wh y th e
ph ilosoph ers calledit th eirserpent andth eirdrag on. Th e
predominant element init is a certainery, subtleearth ,
andf rom th is prevalent part th e best ph ilosoph ers h ave
denominatedth ewh ole compound. Paracelsus names it
1 Ig aarf cam az z dium namenaq ua? patamaq uam az rq z lresse, q r/ ma sf
[z eros rz astres z 'meZZz g rerent, scz irent ease aq aampermanemenz , q ua- * absq ae
sz re ear2z ; 5= arz 'cam q ua f aeta estittf permarz emreasemmp0.r.rz '.f .
2 Aq ua no.- ; z 'ra eraaq aa etele.- n'z '.~ r, mm maa ef acz 'e2z s mama", mm w l_g z ', red
f ereplat1 z 'aZz '.r.
3Habet s_; f > ecz 'em salz lt ea Kama"- , et in{ airaq ari rz eq z lra; 5; 9a:rm'z , nor: in
aq z rcif a:- * :z z '.raaZ; f > Z2rta'a?.
4 Aq aa sf cca, no- a aq ua nz rais az rz ; q k Ze_g wz atr'ea, sea aq ua c/ z alerz lta, ijq rte
6rrZz 'dz '0 2* .
5 Haq et ealermz Zrrcerta '0; - s'rz 'dz 's.
273 I8
Te Wont: of T/ z omas Vang / z arz
openly but inone place, andh e calls it viscum term, th e
slimeorviscous part of th e earth . RaymundLully de-
scribeth th e crisis orconstitutionof it inth ese words:
Th esubstanceof ourStonesaith h e- ~ is altog eth er
f at orviscous andimpreg natedwith re?- - inwh ich
respect h ecalls it elsewh erenot waterbut earth ." Tak e
ourearth "- saith h ewh ich is impreg natedorwith ch ild
by th esun; f orit is ourprecious Stonewh ich is f oundin
desolateh ouses, andth ere is sh ut up init a g reat secret
anda treasureench anted."3Andag ain, ina certainplace,
h e delivers h imself th us: My son- - - saith h e- th e
First Matteris a subtle, sulph ureous earth , andth is noble
earth is calledth e mercurial subjectf Knowth enf or
certainth at th is slimy, moist sperm orearth must be dis-
solvedinto water, andth is is th eWaterof th ePh ilosoph ers
- - not any commonwaterwh atsoever. Th is is th e g rand
secret of th eArt, andLully discovers it with a g reat deal
of h onesty andch arity. Ourl\/ lercury- saith h e- - is
not commonMercury orq uick silver. But ourMercury
is a waterwh ich cannot be f oundonearth , f orit is not
madeormanif estedby th eordinary courseof Nature, but
by th e art andmanual operations of man."5 Seek not
th enf orth at inNature wh ich is anef f ect beyondh er
ordinary process. Youmust h elp h er, th at sh e may ex-
ceedh ercommoncourse, orall is to no purpose. Ina
1 See DE NATURALIBUS AQUIS, La. iii: De I/ 'r'.rca.rz 's Aq az lr; but
th ere is noth ing to th e purpose of alch emy andnoth ing corresponding
to Vaug h arf s th esis. '
2 Saq starrf z a la; f > z 'z :1 'z '.r1 2a.rt'rz 'es! f ala pz 'ag az '.s, ez z lg rz ez '?; tpreg r2af a.
3Cajf aas f ew/ "arr: aartram 2'1 :- g areg aatanz a role, q aia laps : est / z erz aratar,
repertas f a / z o- .r; z 'z z 'z '.rrie.re:rtz 'r, ez es! raw- "a.rz 'acZasam. * 2:/ elaz az ag aam seeretam
ez tk esaaras iacaaf atas.
* Prima maz erz 'a, Fz 'lr'z ', erz terra sz ratz '[z '.r5:1 2:1 5/ z rrrea, ea / z aec rz a 5z '!z '.t f erra
dz 'etm.= - .: est .ra]'ec'z am rrz ercaale.
5 Arg eatarrr'z a'wam aasirrmz mm est rI?:." ?Zf ?)Zwz iz ram rraf g are: time
arg erz tarrz rxf trrmz aastram est aq aa alz erz 'a.r z tz az f ara , q ua ; reperz 'rz ' nan
pater! supra terram, cam inaez z 'a:aem wem're nan; 5~ as.rr'z peraatarara,
aq sq ae ae'az ar2'0 z 'rz g em'z ' er / ieamaaaz ram rrz aaaam a, 1 5'er'af z 'a?2z '6a.r. Th is
is animportant statement ; but af terwh at mannerdoes th at wh ich is not
f oundonearth andis not broug h t into activity by Naturebecomesubject
to th eh ands of manandto h is sk ill?
974
Ln/ nanc/ a Lamina
word, youmust mak e th is waterbef ore youcanndit.
Inth einterim youmust permit th e ph ilosoph ers to call
th eirsubject orch aos a water, f orth ereis no propername
f orit- - unless wecall it a sperm, wh ich is a watery sub-
stancebut certainly no water. Let it suf f iceth at youare
not ch eated, f orth ey tell youwh at it is andwh at it is not,
wh ich is all th at mancando. If I ask youby wh at name
youcall th e sperm of a ch ick youwill tell me it is th e
wh iteof aneg g , andtruly so is th e sh ell as well as th e
sperm th at is with init. But if youcall it earth orwater,
youk nowwell enoug h it is neith er; andyet youcannot
nda th irdname. Judg eth enas youwouldbejudg ed,
f orth is is th e very case of th e ph ilosoph ers. Certainly
youmust bevery unreasonableif youexpect th at lang uag e
f rom menwh ich Godh ath not g iventh em}
Nowth at wemay conrm th is ourth eory anddiscourse
of th esperm not only by experience but by reason, it is
necessary th at weconsiderth e q ualities andtemperament
of th e sperm. It is th ena slimy, slippery, dif f usive
moisture. But if weconsiderany perf ect products, th ey
arerm, compacted, g uratedbodies ; andh enceit f ollows
th ey must be made of someth ing th at is not rm, not
compacted, not g urated, but a weak , q uivering , altering
substance. Questionless th us it must be, unless wemak e
th e sperm to be of th e same complexionwith th ebody ;
andth enit must f ollowth at g enerationis no alteration.
Ag ain, it is evident to all th eworldth at noth ing is so
passive as moisture. Th e least h eat turns water to a
vapourandth e least coldturns th at vapourto water.
Nowlet us considerwh at deg reeof h eat it is th at acts in
all g enerations, f orby th e ag ent we may g uess at th e
1 Th earg ument is of course stultif ying . Vaug h ancouldnot describe
aneg g accurately becauseh ewas not acq uaintedwith its real constituents.
Th eincapacity was th roug h want of k nowledg e, sinceacq uired, not because
th eq uestionwas inef f able. Andso inmetaph ysical subjects lang uag eis
always g ivento th e clearth ink erbut f ails with h im wh o is conf used.
Th at wh ich cannot becommunicatedis th eliving natureof anexperience
to th ose wh o h avenot sh aredit.
275
T/ z a Work : q f Tnonz arVang nan
natureof th e patient. We k nowth e sunis so remote
f rom us th at th e h eat of it ~ - as daily experience tells us- -
is very f aint andremiss. I desire th ento k nowwh at
subject is th ere inall Natureth at canbealteredwith such
a weak h eat but moisture? Certainly none at all; f or
all h ardbodies- - as salts, stones andmetalspreserveand
retainth eircomplexions inth e most violent, excessive
res. Howth encanwe expect th ey sh ouldbealteredby
a g entleandalmost insensiblewarmth P It is plainth en
- - andth at by inf allibleinf erencef rom th eproportionand
powerof th e ag ent- - - th at moisture must needs be th e
patient. Forth at deg ree of h eat wh ich Nature mak es
use of inh erg enerations is so remiss andweak it is im-
possible f orit to alteranyth ing but wh at is moist and
waterish . Th is truth appears inth eanimal f amily, wh ere
we k nowwell enoug h th e sperms are moist. Indeedin
veg etables th e seeds are dry, but th enNature g enerates
noth ing out of th em till th ey are rst maceratedor
moistenedwith water. Andh ere, my Peripatetic, th ou
art q uite g one andwith th ee th y pure potency, th at
f anatic ch aos of th esonof Nich omach us.
But I must advise my ch emists to beware of any
commonmoisture, f orth at will neverbealteredoth erwise
th anto a vapour. See th eref ore th at th y moisture be
well temperedwith earth ; oth erwise th ouh ast noth ing
to dissolve andnoth ing to coag ulate. Rememberth e
practiceandmag ic of Almig h ty GodinHis creation, as
it is manif estedto th ee by Moses. Inth e beg inning
- saith h e- - Godcreatedh eavenandearth .1 ' But th e
orig inal- if it be truly andrationally rendered- - speak s
th us: Inth e beg inning Godming ledor tempered
tog eth erth eth inandth eth ick .3Forh eavenandearth
1 Para _750!enz z 'a.
2 in, ar:'nrz }5z '0 araaratDearCLPZHIJJatZ' f ? d.?H. Vaug h anuses th eVulg ate.
3Th esupposedemendationis f oolish , supposing th at it wereadmissible
- - as it is certainly not. Th e words h eavenandearth - a'!anrat / erra
of th emselves denote tenuity andspissitude, so th at we are carriedno
f urth erby reading : In; . :rz 'ncz ; 1 5z 'a De- as nz r'ram'1 'rar- sunez densunz .
s 276
Lumenda Lamina
inth is text- - as we h avetoldyouinourAuma Maoica
- ~ sig nif y th e Virg inMercury andth e Virg inSulph ur.
Th is I will prove out of th e text itself , andth at by th e
vulg ar, receivedtranslation, wh ich runs th us: Inth e
beg inning Godcreatedth e h eavenandth e earth . And
th eearth was with out f orm andvoid; anddark ness was
uponth ef aceof th eabyss. Andth eSpirit of Godmoved
uponth e f ace of th e waters.Inth e rst part of th is
text Moses mentions two createdprinciples- not a perf ect
world, as we sh all prove h ereaf ter- andth is h e doth in
th ese g eneral terms, h eavenandearth . Inth e latterpart
of it h e describes each of th ese principles inmore par-
ticularterms, andh e beg ins with th e earth . Andth e
earth '~ saith h e- P- was with out f orm andvoid.Hence
I inf erth at th e earth h e speak s of was a mere rudiment
orprincipleof th is earth wh ich I nowsee ; f orth is present
earth is neith ervoidnorwith out f orm. I concludeth en
th at th e Mosaical earth was th eVirg inSulph ur, wh ich is
anearth with out f orm, f orit h ath no determinatedg ure.
It is a laxative, unstable, incomposedsubstance, of a porous,
empty crasis, lik espong eorsoot. Ina word, I h aveseenit,
but it is impossibleto describeit. Af terth is h eproceeds
to th e descriptionof h is h eavenorsecondprinciple in
th ese subseq uent words: Anddark ness was uponth e
f ace of th e abyss. Andth e Spirit of Godmovedupon
th ef aceof th ewaters." Hereh ecalls th at anabyss and
waters wh ich h e f ormerly calledh eaven.It was indeed
th e h eavenly moistureorwaterof th ech aos, out of wh ich
1 It is desirableto noteth at Vaug h antesties to h aving seensometh ing
- - probab1 y inone of h is ch emical experiments- wh ich h e believedwas
th e Mosaical Earth , orone of th e th ree principles. Th e f act th at h e
cannot describeit proves th at h e was ig norant of its constitutionandh ad
th eref oreno warrant f orth eclaim wh ich h epref ers concerning it. I h old
to h is perf ect sincerity, but h e was mistak en- - doubtless lik emany oth ers
bef oreh im.
2 Noth ing of th ek indf ollows f rom th erst words of GENESIS, accord-
ing to wh ich orig inal creationconsistedof (I) h eaven, (2) earth , (3) water.
Vaug h an s identicationof h eavenandwaterarises inth e f act th at th e
rst sentence of Genesis species th e creationof two th ing s, wh ile th e
secondsentenceintroduces a th ird.
277
T/ z a Warns cf Th omas Vang / z an
th e separatedh eavenorh abitationof th e stars was af ter-
wards made. Th is is clearout of th eorig inal, f oron:- T1 =
Han/ z airnandD"cJtDTT = Has/ z anz ainz are th e same words,
lik e/ f q na andIii/ rf q ua, andth ey sig nif y one andth esame
substance, namely, water. Th etext th enbeing rendered
according to th eprimitivenatural truth andth eundoubted
senseof th eauth orspeak s th us : Inth ebeg inning "- or,
according to th e Jerusalem Targ um, inttiz lnionz - God
madeth ewaterandth eearth . Andth e earth was With -
out f orm andvoid; andth erewas dark ness uponth ef ace
of th e deep. Andth e Spirit of Godmoveduponth e
f ace of th ewaters.Here yoush ouldobserveth at God
createdtwo principles, earth andwater, andof th ese two
He compoundeda th ird, namely, th e sperm orch aos}
Uponth ewater- - ormoist part of th is sperm- th eSpirit
of Goddidmove; and- saith th e Scripture th erewas
dark ness uponth e f ace of th e deep.Th is is a very
g reat secret; neith eris it lawf ul to publish it expressly
andas th enatureof th eth ing req uires ; but inth emag ical
work it is to be seen, andI h ave beenaneye- - witness of
it myself .
To conclude: rememberth at oursubject is no common
water, but a th ick , slimy, f at earth . Th is earth must be
dissolvedinto waterandth at watermust be coag ulated
ag aininto earth . Th is is doneby a certainnatural ag ent
wh ich th eph ilosoph ers call th eirSecret Fire. Forif you
work with commonreit will dry yoursperm andbring
it to anunprotablereddust, of th ecolourof wildpoppy.
Th eirFire th enis th e Key of th eArt, f orit is a natural
ag ent but acts not naturally with out th e sun. I must
conf ess it is a k notty mystery ; but wesh all mak eit plain,
1 Th is does not f ollowf rom th e text. Th e ch aos was a state of th e
earth orig inally, not a th ing made separately. It is saidsimply th at th e
earth was with out f orm andvoid.
9' Vaug h ansawth e primeval wateras well as th e primeval earth .
Fortunately h edoes not addth at h esawth ech aos as someth ing separate
f rom th ese. As to th e th irdprinciple, being th at wh ich is calledSalt
g uratively, h e does not claim a similarexperience.
278
Lumende Lumme
if yoube not very dim anddull. It req uires indeeda
q uick , clearappreh ension; andth eref ore, Readers : Snuf f
yourcandles.
IV.- - Tue PHILOSOPHICAL FIRE
Fire- notwith standing th e diversities of it inth is sub-
lunary k itch enof th e elements- - - is but one th ing f rom
one root. Th e ef f ects of it arevarious, according to th e
distance andnature of th e subject wh ereinit resides, f or
th at mak es it vital orviolent. It sleeps inmost th ing s-
as inints, wh ere it is silent andinvisible. It is a k ind
of perdue, lies close lik e a spiderinth e cabinet of h is
web, to surprise all th at comes with inh is lines. He
neverappears with out h is prey inh is f oot. Wh ere h e
nds aug h t th at s combustibleth ereh ediscovers h imself ;
f orif We speak properly, h e is not g eneratedbut mani-
f ested. Some menareof opinionth at h e breeds noth ing
but devours all th ing s andis th eref ore calledas it were,
inbreeding re.1 Th is is a g rammatical wh im, f orth ere
is noth ing inth e worldg eneratedwith out re. Wh at
a ne ph ilosoph erth enwas Aristotle, wh o tells us th is
ag ent breeds noth ing but h is p1 f yau5raa certainy wh ich
h ef oundinh is candlebut couldneverbeseenaf terwards.
Indeedtoo much h eat burns anddestroys; andif we
descendto oth ernatures, too much waterdrowns, too
much earth buries andch ok es th e seed, th at it cannot
come up. Andverily at th is rate th ere is noth ing in
th eworldth at g enerates. Wh at anowl was h e th enth at
couldnot disting uish , with all h is log ic, betweenexcess
andmeasure, betweenviolent andvital deg rees of h eat,
but concludedth e re didbreednoth ing becauseit con-
sumedsometh ing . But let th e mule pass, f orso Plato
calledh im, andlet us prosecute ourSecret Fire. Th is
1 ]g 2z z 's yuanz 'ng z :g m* nsz 'ng z :g nens being usedinth eopposite senseto
mm:
51 .5 -
2 npati- :r - q z means any y wh ich burns its wing s inlamp orcandleand
so perish es.
Z79
T/ z e W02's of Th omas Va:/ rg arz
Fire is at th e root andabout th e root- - I mean, about
th e centre- of all th ing s, both visible andinvisible. It
is inwater, earth andair; it is inminerals, h erbs and
beasts; it is inmen, stars andang els. But orig inally
it is inGodHimself , f orHe is th e Fountainof h eat
andre, andf rom Him it is derivedto th e rest of th e
creatures ina certainstream or sunsh ine. Nowth e
mag icians af f ordus but two notions wh ereby we may
k nowth eirre. It is- as th ey describe it- - - moist and
invisible. Hence h ave th ey calledit th e h orse s belly
andh orse- dung 1 - - - a moist h eat but no re th at is visible.
Nowlet us compare th ecommonVulcanwith th is ph ilo-
soph ical Vesta, th at wemay seewh ereinth ey aredif f erent.
First of all, th e ph ilosoph er s Fire is moist, andtruly so
is th at of th e k itch entoo. We see th at ames contract
andextendth emselves; nowth ey are sh ort, nowth ey
are long , wh ich cannot be with out moisture to maintain
th e f lux andcontinuity of th eirparts. I k nowAristotle
mak es th e re to be simply dry, perh aps because th e
ef f ects of it are so. He didnot indeedconsiderth at
inall complexions th ere are oth erq ualities besides th e
predominant one. Sure th enth is dry stuf f is th at ele-
ment of h is wh ereinh e f oundh is pyrausra. But if our
natural re were simply dry th e f lames of it couldnot
f lowanddif f useth emselves as th ey do : th ey wouldrath er
f all to dust orturn, lik eth eirf uel, to ash es.
But th at I may returnto my f ormerdiscourse: I say
th e commonre is excessively h ot, but moist ina f ar
inf eriordeg ree, andth eref ore destructive- f orit preys
onth e moisture of oth erth ing s. Onth e contrary, th e
warmth andmoisture of th e mag ical ag ent are eq ual;
th e one temperates andsatises th eoth er. It is a h umid,
1 Vemf ereg m'andFz wz z z s ec; z :'m s aref amiliarsymbols of th emoderated
h eat wh ich developedth e potencies with inth e alch emical substances.
Th ese were th e way of lif e andits nourish ment, wh ile th e work of a
violent re was th e way of death . Th ere are analog ies inth e spiritual
world, notwith standing consuming ardours andery soliloq uies of th e
soul with God.
280
Lumende Lu/ / 1 ine
tepidreor- as wecommonly express ourselves- blood-
warm. Th is is th eir rst andg reatest dif f erence in
relationto ourdesiredef f ect : we will nowconsiderth eir
second. Th e k itch enre- - as we all k now- - - is visible
but th e ph ilosoph er's re is invisible, andth eref ore no
k itch enre. Th is Almadirl expressly tells us inth ese
words : Ourwork "- - saith h e canbe perf ormedby
noth ing but by th e invisible beams of ourre.And
ag ain: Ourre is a corrosive rewh ich bring s a cloud
about ourg lass orvessel, inwh ich cloudth e beams of
ourre are h idden."2 To be sh ort: th e ph ilosoph ers
call th is ag ent th eirbath , because it is moist as bath s
are ; but invery truth it is no k indof bath - - neith erof
th e sea norof dew, 3but a most subtle re andpurely
natural ; but th eexcitationof it is articial. Th is excita-
tionorprepara.tion~ as I h ave toldth ee inmy Ch :/ um
Terne- - is a very trivial, slig h t, ridiculous th ing . Never-
th eless all th e secrets of corruptionandg enerationare
th ereincontained. Lastly, I th ink itjust to inf orm th ee
th at many auth ors h ave f alsely describedth is re and
th at of purpose, to seduce th eirreaders. Formy own
part I h ave neith eraddednordiminish ed. Th ouh ast
h ere th e true, entire secret, inwh ich all th e easterns
ag ree- Ald, Almadir, Belen, Gieberim, Hali, Sal-
manaz ar andZadich , with th e th ree f amous Jews,
Abrah am, Arteph ius andKalid. If th oudost not by th is
1 Vaug h anh adaccess to someexceeding ly raretexts. As ina previous
case, I am unable to report anyth ing concerning Almadir. He is not in
th e Byz antine, Arabic orSyriac collections; h e is not includedamong
th eWiseMasters of th e Turba ormentionedinth edevelopments th ere-
f rom, noris th erea wordconcerning h im induFresnoys Bibliog raph y.
2 [g az es rz orf ercorrosz iwz rs est z lg z n- z 's, g z nirz .- sprtz rz osz rz rm cars rrz z besvz obdurif ,
anq ua nude?'(rdz 'z '/ ang ina.{ 2z z '$ orrtz rf tz isz mf .
3Th e Balrz ez rm Marx's andBalmrrmz Roms are prescribedf req uently
inth etexts, th ef ormermoreespecially.
4 I am unable to identif y AldorBelen, but th e lattermust be dis-
ting uish edf rom Albert Belin, to wh om is attributeda French Hermetic
romance entitledAVANTURES DU PHILOSOPHE INCONNU, publish edin
I64 6. Gieberim is of course Geber; Salmanaz arorSalmanar, anArab,
wrote f ourtreatises; Zadich orZadith was th e auth or of AURELIA
OCCULT.- 1 .. With th eoth ers we h avemadeacq uaintancepreviously.
281
T/ z e Worerq f T/ 1 02/ ear Vang / z arz
time appreh endit th ouart past my care, f orI may tell
th eeno moreof it : I may only teach th eeh owto useit.
Tak eourtwo Serpents, wh ich are to be f oundevery-
wh ereonth e f ace of th e earth , Th ey area living male
anda living f emale. Tie th em both ina love- k not and
sh ut th em up inth e ArabianC62?'/ 263.2 Th is is th y rst
labour, but th y next is more dif f icult. Th oumust
encamp ag ainst th em with th ere of Nature, andbesure
th oudost bring th y line roundabout. Circle th em in
andstop all avenues, th at th ey ndno relief . Continue
th is sieg e patiently; andth ey will turnto anug ly,
sh abby, venomous, black toad, wh ich will betransf ormed
to a h orrible devouring Drag oncreeping andweltering
inth e bottom of h ercave, with out wing s. Touch h er
not by any means, not so much as with th y h ands, f or
th ere is not uponearth such a violent, transcendent
poison. As th ouh ast beg unso proceed, andth is Drag on
will turnto a Swan, but more wh ite th anth e h overing
virg insnowwh enit is not yet sulliedwith th e earth .
Hencef orth I will allowth ee to f ortif y th y re till th e
Ph oenix appears. It is a redbirdof a most deep colour,
with a sh ining , ery h ue. Feedth is birdwith th e re
of h is f ath erandth e eth erof h is moth er; f orth e rst
is meat, th e secondis drink , andwith out th is last h e
attains not to h is f ull g lory. Be sure to understandth is
secret, f orref eeds not well unless it berst f ed. It is
of itself dry andch oleric ; but a propermoisturetempers
it, g ives it a h eavenly complexionandbring s it to th e
desiredexaltation. Feedth y birdth enas I h ave told
th ee, andh e will move inh is nest andrise lik e a
star of th e rmament. Do th is andth ouh ast placed
Nature with inth e h oriz onof eternity.Th ouh ast
perf ormedth at commandof th e Kabalist: Uniteth e
endto th ebeg inning , lik ea f lameto a coal ; f orGod"-
1 Compareth etwinSerpents onth eCaduceus.
2 I do not ndth is wordinth elexicons orinth eArabianalch emists.
3Ink oriaomf erz 'te.vnz tatz 's.
s 282
Lumenr/ e Lumme
saith h e- is superlatively oneandHeh ath no secoiid."
Considerth enwh at youseek : youseek anindissoluble,
miraculous, transmuting , uniting union; but such a tie
. . . , ,
cannot be with out th e First Unity. To create -
saith oneandtransmute essentially andnaturally, or
with out any violence, is th e only properof f ice of th e
rst Power, th e rst Wisdom andth e rst Love.
With out th is love th e elements will neverbe married;
th ey will neverinwardly andessentially unite, wh ich is
th eendandperf ectionof mag ic. Study th ento under-
standth is, andwh enth ouh ast perf ormedI will allow
th ee th at test of th e Meitk ubef iiiz z Th ouh ast under-
stoodinwisdom, andth ouh ast beenwise inunderstand-
ing ; th ouh ast establish edth is subject uponth e pure
elements th ereof , andth ouh astpositedth e Creatoron
His th rone.."3
Fora close to th is section, I say it is impossible to
g enerate inth e patient with out a vital, g enerating ag ent.
Th is ag ent is th e ph ilosoph ical re, a certainmoist,
h eavenly, invisible h eat. But let us h ear Raymund
Lully describe it : Wh enwe say th e Stone is
g eneratedby re, menneith er see, neith er do th ey
believe th ere is any oth erre but th e commonre, nor
1 Fif e?Z !?Z .51 : , z :i'z 'rrcz , z '0, seemjiiriimirz rz i p; = z . rz n'" eenyiz rez rteaiz , g irf / z
Doi:z z '2m.s" .rz rperZtz z z 'rie am- are ez nonf erret seez eiz dz mi.
2 C? ?{ I?" ? earner iz rg iee z 'm:rr'iiserz es f ? t3?ZSJ.?ZZ6lZ?'i3' masq ue 'z e'eZemz 'e, mz mm
est proprdieiiz dz riz f nz rnz Pe* z 'mce P0/ emz ]:e, Prensa" .S'e; > z 'eez rz 're, Prz 'm: :'
Amaz es.
31 'ez z 'elZe.i."rlsv- z ' 2'2: .rez ji'eeiz 'z 'am ea m, 2f iz e2'.rz z ' 2'2: z ':2f i* Zlz :g erz z z 'a _; sz iz tz z '.rz z ' rem
i"n; er, diurz 'tntes semi, ea Creerz er* em 2'22 T/ .Z?'0?Z0 Sz eo r0Zlemsz z '.
4 Qivismdo dz 'c.i'.vz z .i g reedlanai; perz jg riem g "e2z e:'etz e, nor: 'z iz 'dem nZz ':e; i.:
if rz eirz , ricer: alimiz f g rz erri eredimf , m'.iz ' z 'g ; iz e:vz c0.im:i.z mei.iz , ' exec rz Z2'- z ed
.S'z ei't/ tier, nee airedeirg eirtmiiz riz inz mz , ne'er sz '/ riz ef g ere. Idea marz em
/ z ece; z z ' pee 6 0?"Z 9f Z ween: e.i"z z 'merz '0; z es, 1 '1 ; / ereiz res g reedcoarse sirriz z es sense
r 'ecep z '0nz '$ ez g reeddedz ':22.u.s z 'lZz 's z 'rz telZz :g 'er'e rem mz ampro irrliii. Serf mm
es! werwiz siz lair? eormrz j5aCe, sz icz z t j2'06irZ2i':; z z r.rpt ? irt g erm p/ z z 'f 0.i0j5/ 1 2'
p0.i'.ue:'z mt f er.s* r:r{ z z z '.r. .S'0Ze2; - i err- we ri, - z g ef f ez mz rs ; )Z !) , ea it/ z 'c< ir* z 'z .mz warm
TJO ' I??ZZJ- F caf e.- rem eiatz mz f eiez . News z 'lZmZg reeda_"z 'f color.r0!z .r2'1 2 mz 'r:er* z '.i"
.wez rz ZZO; "'z mz jf iermif f e names, ijbse ref eremf z iirrz lr'.rnz uf z 2'1 : z mn/ tern: supra
Kerr- imz . Nos wereez :; z .a:Ztz ' ale? 1 / eeroriiaremit Fe'Zr'a:m .S'0Zz '.i, ram: g f iii/ z ' 2z 0
per.re!z '.rz '1 z uemz 'ai; z f uz 'Zg eneriz lz rs perrmf rrreiiz , sz iveer{ ; 'a:toe'z 'z mz .m"e:2z z ' e,
reel artz b".
283
T/ z e W0i'd5 q f T/ iomas Vang / z an
any oth erSulph urandMercury but th ecommonSulph ur
andMercury. Th us are th ey deceivedby th eirown
opinions, saying th at we are th e cause of th eirerror,
h aving made th em to mistak e one th ing f oranoth er.
Butby th eirleave- it is not so, as we sh all proveby
th e doctrineof th eph ilosoph ers. Forwe call th e suna
reandth e natural h eat we call h is substituteordeputy.
Forth at wh ich th eh eat of th e sunperf orms ina th ousand
years inth e mines, th e h eat of Nature perf orms it
above th e earth inone h our. But we andmany oth er
ph ilosoph ers h avecalledth is h eat th e Ch ildof th eSun,
f orat rst it was g eneratednaturally by th e inf luence of
th e sunwith out th e h elp of ourArt ork nowledg e.
Th us Lully : but oneth ing I must tell th ee andbe sure,
Reader, th oudost rememberit. Th is very natural h eat
must be appliedinth ejust deg ree andnot too much
f ortied; f orth e sunitself doth not g enerate butburn
andscorch wh ere it is too h ot. If th oush alt work
with too strong a re- - saith th e same Lully- - th e
propriety of ourspirit, wh ich is indif f erent as yet to lif e
ordeath , will separate itself f rom th e body, andth e soul
will depart to th e reg ionof h erownsph ere.1 Tak e
th eref orealong with th eeth is sh ort but wh olesomeadvice
of th e same auth or: My son- - saith h e- let th e
h eavenly powerorag ent be such inth e place of g enera-
tionormutationth at it may alterth e spermatic h umidity
f rom its earth ly complexionto a most ne, transparent
f orm orspecies."2
See h ere nowth e solutionof th e slimy, f at earth to a
transparent, g lorious Mercury. Th is Mercury, Gentle-
men, is th e water wh ich we look af ter- - but not any
commonwaterwh atsoever. Th ereis noth ing nowbeh ind
1 Sicum Z: ; ')! z z irz g rz o 0j> e.rrz z .'ai.r rrv'z '.s* ; 5e'o, z m'- ietiz s ares/ e'i' .r, z iz 'i'.i'z .iir.i* , q ua
f itter 'm'z m2z ef .w0; r.i".e."- vif lared- z 'c.{ ; riz z , si'j* '> ii'- mi- i5r'z Seer f ir- Flf if f l 2ier.ea'ez inireg f orz eiz r
sy/ Berra sear.
2 Faerieserg o, F275, q uot! Ii?! Z060 (r, rr'2rer.= rz f z '0rz z 's are! 60; - 'z w.i'.i* z '0; iz z '.i sf z tnf z li
< 0z e.iz z z 'rz r'a'Ze.i* z z '.s iyrrrrj2oJ.i'; - :'2- 2_e'.+:z rz .sj'0rwz n:e'.e k z ez iz z idrmz 6.1 : iz rz f iz ra z eev'e.s'z 'r* z ',
inf oremanez .z 5erz 'em triz mperez z tem etrz .rsz '.irmm.
284
Lumen(/ e Lumine
but th at wh ich th e ph ilosoph ers call th e Secret of th e
Art, a th ing th at was neverpublish edandwith out wh ich
youwill neverperf orm, th oug h youk nowboth re and
matter? Aninstance h ereof we h ave inFlamel, wh o
k newth e Matterwell enoug h andh adboth re and
f urnacepaintedto h im by Abrah am th e Jew; but not-
with standing h e erredf orth ree years because h e k new
not th e th irdsecret. Henry Madath an, a most noble
ph ilosoph er, practiseduponth e subject f orve years
tog eth erbut k newnot th e rig h t meth odandth eref ore
f oundnoth ing . At lastsaith h e- af terth esixth year
I was entrustedwith th e Key of Powerby secret revela-
tionf rom th e Almig h ty God. Th is Key of Poweror
th irdsecret was neverput to paper by any ph ilosoph er
wh atsoever. Paracelsus indeedh ath touch eduponit,
but so obscurely it is no moreto th e purpose th anif h e
h adsaidnoth ing .
AndnowI suppose I h ave done enoug h f orth e dis-
covery andreg imenof th eFire. If youth ink it too little,
it is much more th anany one auth orh ath perf ormed.
Search it th en, f orh e th at nds th is Firewill attainto
th e true temperament; h e will mak e a noble, deserving
ph ilosoph eraiid- to speak inth e ph raseof ourSpaniard
- h e sh all be worth y to tak ea seat at th e tableof th e
twelvepeers.5 I
V.THE RIVER orPEARL
It is a decomposedsubstance, extremeh eavy andmoist
but wets not th eh and. It sh ines af ternig h t lik e a star
I Serrerim: Art:'.r.
2 A statement of th is k indis commoninalch emical book s, th oug h it is
not always put so plainly. Insuch case th e q uestionarises as to th e
use of any such book s as h avebeenwrittenby Vaug h anandoth ers.
3According to th econf essionof Flamel.
4 Post se.- rf miz rtmz rmi eiawz li ; z 502e?1 f z 'n" jber.:rr'carz iw: re'z 'eZriz 'z '0rz e22z (:6
evz ez z lz iatente Deeivz r/ 1 2' eenif redz im en.
5 Dz lg mz s ere!; z 50:m' edmensairz dz eodecz wz pnrz 'z .r2vz .
- * 5 Th e treatise of Bonus under th e titles MARUARITA NOVELLA,
MARGARITA PRETIOSA Novatta andINTRODUCTIO IN ARTEM
I 285
T/ z e Work s of T/ iomas Vang / z en
andwill enlig h tenany dark room. It is f ull of small
eyes, spark ling lik e pearls or aig lets. It is th e wh ole
Demog org onbut nowactually animatedby manif estation
of h is owninwardlig h t. Th e f ath erof it is a certain
inviolable mass, f orth e parts of it are so rmly united
youcanneith erpoundth em into dust norseparateth em
by violenceof re. Th is is th eStoneof th ePh ilosoph ers.
It is compassedabout- - saith one- - with dark ness,
clouds andblack ness. It dwells inth e inmost bowels
of th eearth . But wh enh e is bornh e is cloth edwith a
certaing reenmantle andsprink ledoverwith a certain
moisture. He is not properly g eneratedby any natural
th ing , but h e is eternal andth e f ath erof all th ing s.
Th is descriptionis very trueandappositebut enig matical :
h owsoever, f org et not th e g reenmantle. Th is is th at
substance wh ich Gieberim- Eben- Haen- - - or, " as th e
rabble writes h im, Geber- calls th e Stone k nownin
h ig h places 2- - a very subtle expression, but if well
examinedit is th e k ey to h is wh ole book andto th e
writing s of th eoldph ilosoph ers ing eneral. But let us
returnto ourRiverof Pearl, and- f orourf urth erinf or-
mation- let us h ear it describedby a most excellent
edeptus, andth at inth every act of owing f orth , 3bef ore
th e f ull moonappears. Here we h ave portrayedunto
us th e wh ole ph ilosoph ical laboratory, f urnace, re and
matter, with th e mysterious g erminations th ereof . But
because th e terms aredif f icult andnot to be understood
by any but such as h ave seenth e th ing itself I will f or
th e reader s benet- - I cannot say, satisf action- - put th em
into Eng lish .
DIVINAM ALCHIMIEE is of conseq uence inHermetic literature, but th e
pearl as analch emical symbol occurs rarely. It was attributedto th e
vernal dewas disting uish edf rom th at of autumn, th e varieties being
reg ardedas f emaleandmalerespectively.
1 Qavi:1 6 0:irz r2z '; a; rz erz ircrmz dcz tz rs est i'eiz r.i5v'z li", r2eJ'2eZr's, cttZ.{ . , = 'z 'rie. He6z ' af
inmet:- z ir'.i f errre 'z 'z ri."erz '5irr.r, g ar2r5ir' ez rz f z rs q / iz eriz westrif ierg iz redaeiz 'm'rz 'dz '
paZlz '0, / 'z z rmr'dz '/ rite Qrz adrz iw.:z .r, - z e?'sir.i" ea H6- I! rug natz rrab ale?- no, sea
ref erents eapareiz s 0ivmz 'a': vz .1 "' ?"I ??2.
2 La; 9r'.i* ine'apz 'f r Zz '.t Items. iE dI- 31 ; rri$ .
286
Lumentie Lemme
Th is is th e work 1 - - saith h e- - wh ich I h ave some-
times seenwith a sing ularanda most dearf riend, wh o
sh ewedto me certainlarg e f urnaces andth osecrowned
with cornues of g lass. Th e vessels were several, h aving
- besides th eirtripodsth eirsediments orcask ets, and
with inth em was a Holy Oblation, orpresent dedicatedto
th e Ternary. But wh y sh ouldI any long erconceal so
divine a th ing ? With inth is f abric was a certainmass
moving circularly, ordrivenroundabout, andrepresent-
ing th e very g ure of th e g reat world. Forh ere th e
earth was to be seenstanding of itself inth e midst of all,
compassedabout with most clearwaters, rising up to
several h illock s andcrag g y rock s, andbearing many
sorts of f ruit- as if it h adbeenwateredwith sh owers
f rom th emoist air. It seemedalso to be very f ruitf ul
f orwine, oil andmilk , with all k inds of precious stones
andmetals. Th e waters th emselves- - - lik e th ose of th e
sea- - were f ull of a certaintransparent salt, nowwh ite,
nowred, th enyellowandpurpled, and- - - as it were- -
ch amlettedwith various colours, wh ich didswell up to
th ef ace of th e waters. All th ese th ing s wereactuatedor
1 Hoeopus es! g reed1 21 2'/ HrtZz 'g rermrz 'e eeeez elz ii" permitm.!z 'eu.i e; t'eeFz edz '.s'z es
me_g mz .s g raz jpef emz eeer, etg z z e r/ z 't:re eerdem '2/ em'.- 2'0 redz 'mz 'z 'e: esieez demr.
Vase enem .rz 'rz g z rZe, 2'22 .i'm'.r .ree?z 'Zz 'em / 2eee.a!z z 'e .i'edz 'meme etg are z 'mem'a'.i'
d'z '.i; eem'dicetz mz , saerz emg - are mmz rrs. Qz . :z 'dwererem mm Dz 'w2':eei; z celem
dz 'e:tz 'ar.s'? Emz i- 'nz n.i rz ircimz ecf e meies g z z redam, :em:edz 'pare se f erem
z '2vmg z '.= '2em z ; e.tz s.rz 'ez z '. Q- uz g pe earf erre'm'deeetierinmedieemmirmz ren-
.iz '.i2erz .i, eg msg ue e:'re2 i- vz _if n.nz Zz 'r; ip2'a'z 'ssz 'e2z z 's, 2'2 : "ee:m'e.reef ies, .mZee2* e.mmg ue
rupee essmrg eeaz , f mectrem f eererz s ma'Ztz _; Zz 'cem, Zimg rmm / in:- .vz e?z z z 's eemis
z 'mem'eus z irmf z ea. Vz 'm'enf em wz 'deem3'2z rer eZ'ez ' ez Ze!i:'iz '_t ef g z ee, z re2z 'e.terz em
em:- z eg ee:- anZepz idz mz ermez - eZ2'em.mz erse e; pm'mef emr. Tam eg - me timer
z '7z .iZart:e'g a:em'.r, reZeg reedaiez pellucz de, ez ieez 'er2'e; ra'z mz , z ':* z ier'a e.'m g ueg nremreee
etf ul- eeeareere, miz Ztz 'rg e e, em* f er'ee* z e_:z rz 'eg e#teceZem'ea:.rz 2z Zi'z m, z 'rig r.eereper-
cf em rjesem eestieeeaez t. g az ermf em / z rec emerz iz sate sea z '22if pereepte
g z rz idem, arg uetee/ Eereemerieeem- ear. Idwereurz urreprm ceeterrlt z 'r:c; redi'ez 'Zem
mempz 'eeet 2'2: er!mz 'mz 'z 'e:rem. Rem liverms- '1 : mz dm z mf eexm, mm dz ieerre,
Zamg rz e1 '72 sue_g e. vee"e z '?z z e, r; 'r'e sz '2i; i_, riz Zn, primee!z 'e:- vz z 'meer:i'ZZz 'g z em:iarz z 'e2z 'euZe
predacere. Quef aef eg 5e: ZeZ'z ':ez reez z rtz 'ere, ?"edz i:reez z ' Zitrz ciem eitg z ee eeeZe$ -
cerem 1 '?/ 2 mmm emme, cerz deez reererieeeraeet. Hi: eg aiidem eeserieetrz
sz 'lz '.rz 'ZZe:.m .ralz '.\.t; eeez 'errz ?rz '/ iiiareej/ irelif / ree e_g e?ie2'tz ?rter2z , ef g reearg erz tuiez
if llz ea '2/ 2":/ mm car? M'e:i'cum'z 'rz emenrtez g jrrree dz '.i'ei}$ Zz 'ez tepm'.r.ez '.remf / re? z 'ear.i'
z 'ndz '!em est, z '!Zem z g reei ref erees: Lz eif z iarieeiLz memem, edeerra scemdem
ag ate, rz eirtaig iz eiref z reem arg uez 'mem z 'aig f z rtz 'nei:dz ; ereedz 'tmiif ernZterf e.
287
Te Work s of T/ z omas Vaug / z an
stirredwith th eirownappropriatere, but invery truth
imperceptible andeth ereal. But one th ing above th e
rest f orcedme to anincredible admiration- - namely, th at
so many th ing s, such diverse andinth eirk indsuch
perf ect particulars sh ouldproceedf rom one only th ing ,
andth at With very small assistance, wh ich being f urth ered
andstreng th enedby deg rees, th eArtist f aith f ully af rmed
to me th at all th osediversities wouldsettleat last to one
body. Herc I observedth at f usil k indof salt to be
noth ing dif f erent f rom a pumice- stone, andth at q uick -
silver wh ich th e ancient auth ors of th is Art called
Mercury to be th e same with Lully's Lz mz z rz 'a, 1 wh ose
waterg ets up ag ainst th e re of Nature andsh ines by
nig h t, but by day h ath a g lutinous, Viscous f aculty.
Th is is th e sense of ourlearneddeprus, andf orh is
analog y of th ePh ilosoph ic Salt anda pumice- stoneit can-
not be well conceivedwith out th e lig h t of experience.
It is th ena porous, h ollow, f roth - lik e, spong ious salt.
Th econsistency of it is pumice- lik e, andneith erh ardnor
opaceous. g It 1 S a th in, slippery, oily substance, inappear-
ance lik emouth - g lue but much more clear. Sometimes
it look s lik erosials andrubies. Sometimes it is violet
blue, sometimes wh iteas lilies andag ainmoreg reenth an
g rass, but with a smarag dine transparency; andsome-
times it look s lik eburnish edg oldandsilver. Th eRiver
of Pearl h ath h ername f rom it, f orth ereit stands lik e
th e sperm of f rog s incommonwater. Sometimes it will
move, andswim to th ef aceof h is bath inth inleaves lik e
waf ers, but with a th ousandmiraculous colours. Th is is
enoug h andtoo much , f orI h oldit not my duty to insist
uponsecrets wh ich are so f arf rom th e reader's inq uiry
th at I dare say th ey arebeyondh is expectation.
1 Lwz rz arz lz is th eplant nioonwort, th esap of wh ich is saidto h avebeen
usedinlovepotions, but Sz z crz z .- r L2:narz '.crwas also a name of Soph ic
Mercury, as we seeby th e text above. Th e Moonis anoth ersymbolical
term f orth esame substance. but Eirenaeus Ph ilaleth es calledit th e h erb
of Saturn.
288
Lumenc/ e Lz z mz rz e
Vl.THE ET!- IER, onTHE AIR orPARADISE1
Hith erto I h ave discoursedof th e First Matterand
th eFireof Nature- - - - - terms indeedcommonly k nownbut
th eth ing s sig niedare seldom understood. l sh all now
descendto more abstruse, particularprinciples, th ing s of
th at secrecy andsubtlety th ey are not so much as th oug h t
of , much less inq uiredaf ter. Th e commonch emist
dreams of g oldandtransmutations, most noble and
h eavenly ef f ects, but th e means wh ereby h e woulden-
compass th em are Worm- eaten, dusty, musty papers.
His study andh is noddle are stuf f edwith oldreceipts;
h e cantell us a h undredstories of brimstone andq uick ~
silver, with many miraculous leg ends of arsenic and
antimony, ml g amma, ml prunes, ml pemez andoth er
stupendous alk alies, as h eloves to call th em. With such
strang e notions andch arms does h e amaz e andsilence
h is auditors, as bats are k illedwith th underat th e ear.
Indeedif th is noise will carry it, let h im alone: h e can
want no artillery. But if youbring h im to th e eld
andf orceh im to h is polemics, if youdemandh is reason
andreject h is recipe, youh ave laidh im as at as a
f lounder. A rational, meth odical dispute will undo h im,
f orh e studies not th e wh ole body of ph ilosoph y. A
receipt h ewouldndinanoldbox oranoldbook , as
if th e k nowledg e of GodandNature were a th ing of
ch ance, not of reason. Th is idle h umourh ath not only
surprisedth e common, illiterate broiler, wh ere intruth
1 Apoetic g ureonth e part of Vaug h anh imself . \Vh enairis used
symbolically by alch emists it is supposedto sig nif y watercoag ulatedby
re. Onth eoth erh and, th ealch emical matterina stateof putref action- ~
understoodas a stag eof th ework is calledBreath orWind, th oug h th e
latternameis assig nedby RaymundLully to th e Sulph urcontainedin
Mercury. So also Wh ite Windis calledMercury, RedWindis Red
Orpiment andWindf rom th eEast is a nameof th eStoneitself .
2 According to th elexicons Salg em; - meis Hung arianSalt- calledoth er-
wise SMNomims ; Saiprz rnta seems to be unk nownamong th em; and
Sal prim does not sig nif y more th anits name implies, being ordinary
saltpetre.
289 1 9
T/ z e Warns if T/ z omas Vang / mu
th ereis some necessity f orit, but eveng reat doctors and
ph ysicians. Bateme th eimposth ume of th eirtitles and
th eirlearning is not considerable. Hence it comes to
pass th at so many menareundone inth e prosecutionof
th is Art. Th ey are so weddedto oldscribbling s th ey
will not submit th em to th eirjudg ment but presently
bring th em to th e re. Certainly th ey believe such
ridiculous impossibilities th at evenbrute beasts- if th ey
couldspeak wouldreprove th em. Sometimes th ey
mistak e th eir ownexcrement f or th at Matterout of
wh ich h eavenandearth weremade. Henceth ey drudg e
andlabourinurine andsuch lth y, dirty stuf f wh ich is
not t to be named. But wh enall comes to all and
th eircustardf ails th em, th ey q uit th eirlth iness but not
th eir error. Th ey th ink of someth ing th at s more
tractable anddream perh aps th at Godmade th e world
of eg g - sh ells or f lint- stones. Truly th ese opinions
proceednot only f rom simple people but f rom doctors
f orsooth andph ilosoph ers. It is th eref ore my desig nto
discoversome excellences of th is art andmak eit appear
to th e student th at wh at is g lorious is with al diicult.
Th is, I suppose, may remove th at blind, slug g ish
credulity wh ich prevents all ing enious disq uisitions and
causes menperh aps to exercise th at reasonwh ich God
h ath g iventh em f ordiscoveries. I sh all not dwell long
onany one particular: I am drawing of f th e stag e inall
h asteandreturning to my rst solitudes. My discourse
sh all be very sh ort andlik e th e ech o s last syllables-
imperf ect. I intendit only f orh int andsug g estionto
th ereader: it is no f ull lig h t but a g lance, andh emust
improveit to h is bettersatisf action.
Wearenowto speak of th e eth erof th e littleworld,
wh ich is th every sameinnature andsubstance with th e
outwardeth erof th e g reat world. Th at youmay th e
betterunderstandwh at it is we will examine th e notion
bef ore we state th e th ing . Aristotle inh is book De
1 Perh aps understoodas th espirit with inman.
29o
Lumendz ? Lumirz e
Manda derives th is wordf rom everinmovement, "1
because th e h eavens are inperpetual motion. Th is is a
g eneral irreg ularwh imsy, f orth e stars alsoas well as
th e eth er- move perpetually. Th e sea is subject to a
continual f lux andreux andth e bloodof all animals to
a restless unweariedpulse. Th e more ancient ph iloso-
ph ers- - - Wh ose book s th is enemy burntderivedit f rom
iwdw= ardeo = I burn, but especially Anaxag oras, wh o was
betteracq uaintedwith h eaventh anAristotle, as it appears
by h is miraculous predictionandth e opinionh e h adof
th at place, namely, th at it was h is country andth at h e
was to returnth ith eraf ter death .Indeedth is last
etymolog y comes nearth e nature of th e th ing , f orit is
a h ealing , ch erish ing spirit; but inits g enuine com-
plexionit burns riot. I cannot th enapprove of th is
latterderivation, no more th anof th e f ormer. I rath er
believe th at eth er is a compoundof tiel= always, and
9pw= I become h ot, th is substance being calledaeth er
f rom its ef f ect andof ce, as th at wh ich is everg rowing
h ot. Supposing th is to beth e true interpretation, let us
nowsee wh eth erit relates more strictly andproperly to
th is principleth anto any oth ernaturewh atsoever. Th e
eth eris a moist, th in, liq uidsubstance, andth e reg ionof
it is aboveth e stars, inth e circumf erence of th e Divine
Lig h t? Th is is th e true andf amous empyrean, wh ich
receives th einuent h eat of God, andconveys it to th e
visibleh eavenandall th einf eriorcreatures. It is a pure
essence, a th ing not taintedwith any material contag ion-
inwh ich senseit is styledof Pyth ag oras th ef reeeth er,
because- saith Reuch lin- - it is f reedf rom th eprison
of th ematter, andbeing preservedinits liberty it is warm
1 A semyf irrcurrmdo.
2 Th ereis a curious inconseq uenceinth is reasoning , as if anetymolog y
canbejustiedby anopiniononth elocality of disembodiedsouls.
3Vaug h anopens th is sectionby saying th at h eintends to h andle deep
th ing s, apparently th e q uestionof anidentity betweenth eeth erinth e
cosmos andth at of nz z 'ma2.um mnrdz rm ; but h ef org ets th elatterentirely.
'E, uirvpa.ioi '. 5 k tetiepos aitliq p.
291
Th e Worh s 0/ I Th omas Vaug h an
with th e re of Godandby aninsensible motionh eats
all th e inf eriornatures." 1 Ina word- - because of its
purity- - it is placednext to th at Divine Firewh ich th e
Jews call LumenVesrimeurif th e Lig h t of th e Vestment,
andit is th e very rst receptacle of th e inf luences and
derivations of th esupernatural world- wh ich suf f iciently
conrms ouretymolog y.
Inth ebeg inning it was g eneratedby ref lectionof th e
First Unity uponth ecelestial cube, f orth ebrig h t emana-
tions of Goddidf lowlik ea stream into th epassivef ountf
andinth is analog y th eSamianstyles Him th eFountainof
perpetual Nature. Yoush all understandth at th eeth er
is not one but manif old, andth e reasons of it we sh all
g iveyouh ereaf ter. By th is I mindnot a variety of sub-
stances but a ch ainof complexions. Th ere are oth er
moistures, andth osetoo eth ereal. Th ey aref emales also
of th emasculineDivineFire, andth eseare th ef ountains
of th eCh aldee, wh ich th eoraclestyles f ountainh eig h ts, 5
th einvisibleupperspring s of Nature. Of all substances
th at cometo ourh ands, th eeth eris th erst th at bring s
us news of anoth erworldandtells us weliveina corrupt
place. Sendivog ius calls it th eurineof Saturn, andwith
th is didh e waterh is lunarandsolarplants. Out of
my sea "- - saidth eJew- - - do th eclouds riseup wh ich bear
th e blessedwaters, andth ese irrig ateth e lands andbring
f orth h erbs andowers. Ina word, th is moistureis ani-
matedwith a veg etable, blessed, divine re, wh ich made
one describe th e mystery th us: Out of Nature is it
made, andout of th eDivine inlik emanner: it is truly
Divine, because- conjoinedwith Divinity- - it produces
1 Quouiam a matarz a jeterrtia seg reg af us at prarsert/ atus inZz iertaf e
ralescz ? Def ardereac z 'useu.rr'bz 'Z:'matuz 'uf erz 'era caZef acz 't.
2 According to th e ZOHAR, th is is also th e Robe of Glory inwh ich
Nesh arz z ah , th eh ig h ersoul, will becloth edinits h ig h est state.
3Iii; - yr). i Feunmz perpetrateNaturm.
* 5 Sumruz '!atesf euz au:s.
6 Eamart urea arz 'umurrz eaulae, aura f erz mt aaz uz s Zieuedz 'rtas, uz ysre
z 'rrz :g a_.- at f errets etedz mrmt h eras eZ'ares.
292
Lumenale Lumme
Divine substances. To conclude: th e eth eris to be
f oundinth e lowerspring orf OU.I1 t 1 lI1 , 2I1 lIT1 Iy, inth at
substance wh ich th e Arabians call th e owerof wh ite
salt."3It is indeedbornof salt, f orsalt is th eroot of
it, andit is f oundwith al incertainsaltish places.4 Th e
best discovery of it is th is : th e ph ilosoph ers call it th eir
Mineral Tree, f orit g rows as all veg etables do, andh ath
leaves andf ruits inth every h ourof its nativity. Th is is
enoug h ; andnowI pass to anoth erprinciple.
A VIl.TuE HEAVENLY LUNA5
Th is Luna is th e Moonof th e Mine, a very strang e,
stupef ying substance. It is not simplebut mixed. Th e
eth eranda subtle wh ite earth are its components, and
th is mak es it g rosserth anth e aeth eritself . It appears in
th ef orm of anexceeding wh ite oil but is invery truth
a certainveg etant, f lowing , smooth , sof t salt, &c.
VIII.- - THE STARSOUL
Th is is th e trueStarof th eSun, th eAnimal Spiritual
Sun. It is compoundedof th e eth eranda bloody, ery,
spiritedearth . It appears ina g ummy consistency but
with a erce, h ot, g lowing complexion. It is substantially
a certainpurple, animated, divineSalt, &c.
I Ex Natureerex Dz 'm'ua f acf um est. Dz 'w'mmz em'm est, q uf a cum
Dz 'of z 'uz 'tateeontjuuef um Dr's/ z 'ua.rSuastam- 'z 'asf ar2'z .
2 arti-
3Ff orsalz lraf ar. Rulandus says th at Florsalz lris th eGreek Alasauth os.
* Inlocals sa!.r0s:'.s'.
5 Ina g eneral sense Luna inalch emical symbolism is arg ez rf z uu, z '.e.,
silver, but it stands also f orph ilosoph ical orsoph ic Mercury, as weh ave
seenalready. Pernety disting uish es th eHermetic Moonas (u) Mercurial
Vvaterand(6) th e same substance unitedwith its Sulph urandarrivedat
th ewh ite g radeaf terpassing th roug h th at of black ness orputref action.
Th eHeavenly Luna of Vaug h anseems to represent h is understanding of
soph ic Mercury.
'5 Asf rrmz salz lr.
293
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h au
IX .- - - THE PRESTER orZOROASTER1
It is a miracle to considerh owth e earth , wh ich is a
body of inexpressibleweig h t andh eaviness, canbe sup-
portedinth e air, a eeting , yielding substance, and
th roug h wh ich evenf roth andf eath ers will sink and
mak eth eirway. I h opeth ereis no manso madas to
th ink it is poisedth ere by some g eometrical k nack , f or
th at were articial; but th e work of Godis vital and
natural. Certainly if th e animationof th e worldbe
deniedth ere must needs f ollowa precipitationof th is
element by its owncorpulency andg ravity. Wesee th at
ourownbodies are supportedby th at essence by wh ich
th ey are actuatedandanimated; but wh enth at essence
leaves th em th ey f all to th eg round, till th espirit returns
at th e resurrection. I conclude th enth at th eearth h ath
inh eras re- soul th at bears h erup, as th e spirit of man
bears up. To th is ag rees RaymundLully inth eseventy-
sixth ch apterof h is Th eoria. Th ewh oleearth "saith
h e- - - is f ull of intellig ence, inclinedto th e disciplineor
operationof Nature, wh ich intellig enceis movedby th e
SuperiorNature, so th at th e inf eriorintellig ence is lik e
to th e Superior.Th is spirit or intellig ence is th e
Prester, 3a notionof th e admirable Zoroaster, as I nd
h im renderedby julianth e Ch aldean. It comes f rom
7I', 07l6t:J= 'U?"t?, I burn, andsig nies lig h tning , ora certain
burning Turbo, orwh irlwind. But inth e sense of our
Ch aldee it is th ere- spirit of lif e. It is aninuenceof
th eAlmig h ty God, andit comes f rom th e Landof th e
1 TIp1 ']tI"I"'l}P is th at wh ich burns andinarnes. It was th e name of a
poisonous serpent, wh osesting causedth irst andf ever. It sig niedalso
a ery wh irlwindanda pillarof re. Th e Oracles speak of a f orinless
re, anabyss of ameandits brilliance, of anintellectual re, to wh ich
all th ing s aresubservient andf rom wh ich all th ing s h aveissued.
2 ToteZerra jf eua es! z 'uteZlz :g em'z 'a, ado_/ eraouem Naturrez 'ucZz 'naia,
Qua z 'm'eZ!z ; g eutz 'a mowetura Naf z rra S2.e, oem'ore, :'z a g uoa A- - Ez tz z ra r'uf :!Zer-
2z 't a z 'uf em'orassz 'mz 'laturNatz rra? . z . :, o. r2'orz '. -
3Presteris th eLatinf orm.
* See HEDERICI LEX ICON, s.v. wpvf irp.
9 1 94
Lumeur/ e Lumme
Living Ones, namely th e SecondPerson, wh om th e
Kabalists style th e Supernatural East. Foras th enatural
lig h t of th e sunis rst manif estedto us inth e East, so
th eSupernatural Lig h t was rst manif estedinth e Second
Person, f orHeis Priucaioiuuz / f f reratiouisf th eBeg inning of
th eVlf ays of God, orth eFirst Manif estationof His Fath er s
Lig h t inth e Supernatural Generation. From th is Land
of th e Living comes all lif e orspirit, 3according to th at
positionof th eMek h uh af im : Every g oodsoul is a newsoul
coming f rom th eEast * "- - th at is, f rom noun= C/ z oitmah ,
orth eSecondSeph ira, wh ich is th e Sonof God.
Nowf orth e betterunderstanding of th is descent of
th esoul wemust ref erourselves to anoth erplacerof th e
Kabalists, andth is is it : Th e souls - - say th ey-
descendf rom th eTh irdLig h t to th ef ourth day, th ence
to th ef th , wh ence th ey pass out andenterth e nig h t of
th ebody.5 To understandth is maxim youmust k now
th ere are th ree Supreme Lig h ts orSeph irorh , wh ich th e
Kabalist calls one th rone, wh ereinsits th eHoly, Holy,
Holy LordGodof Hosts.Th is Th irdLig h t f rom
wh ence th esouls descendis TI3"'J= Biuah , th e last of th e
Th ree Seph iroth , andit sig nies th e Holy Gh ost. Now
th at youmay k nowinwh at sense th is descent proceeds
f rom th at BlessedSpirit I will somewh at enlarg emy dis-
Terra 'vz 'o'emz 'uuz . Th ereis th eEarth of Lif einKabalism, andth is
is nowBiuah andag ain/ f alh z ef h .
2 Th eref erenceis presumably to Ch oh ma/ z , th e secondSej / 'z z 'ra, wh ich
is sometimes incorrectly ref erredby Ch ristianKabalists to th e Second
Personof th eDivineTrinity. Th e DivineSonof Kabalism is extended
f rom Daath . -
3Term Vz "trem'z 'um.
4 Ommlramf ma oona est am'ma uooa - z / em'eus ab Orz 'em'e.- - No. 4 1 inth e
CONCLUSIONES KABALISTICEEof Picus.
5 Auz wuea teiro Zumueadauartamo!z 'em, muadaz . :z 'mam desceudum:
rudeexeuutes cor; 5orz 's uoctem suoz utraut.- CONCLUSIONES KABALISTICJE,
No. 8.
* 3Sederuua, inq u.- :2 sedet Sauctus, Sanders, Sauetus Douz f mes Deus
Saoaoth .
7Biuah is th eplaceof Sh ek inah inth etranscendence. Seemy SECRET
DOCTRINEIN ISRAEL, pp. 21 6 erseo., f orth eSeph irotic allocationof th e
Holy Spirit according to th eZoh ar.
295
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
course, f orth e Kabalists are very obscure onth e point.
To breath e"- say th e ]ews- is th e property of th e
Holy Gh ost. Nowwe readth at Godbreath edinto
Adam th e breath of lif e, andh e became a living soul?
Here youmust understandth at th eTh irdPersonis th e
last of th eTh ree, not th at th ereis any ineq uality inth em
but it is so inth eorderof operation, f orHeapplies rst
to th e creatureandth eref orework s last. Th e meaning
of it is th is. Th eHoly Gh ost couldnot breath e a soul
into Adam but Hemust eith erreceive it orh ave it of
Himself . Nowth e truth is He receives it, andwh at
Hereceives th at He breath es into Nature? Hence th is
Most Holy Spirit is styledby th e Kabalists th e River
owing f orth f rom Paradise, " because He breath es as a
riverstreams. Heis also calledMoth erof sons, because
by th is breath ing He is, as it were, deliveredof th ose
souls wh ich h ave beenconceivedideally inth e Second
Person. Nowth at th e Holy Gh ost receives all th ins
f rom th eSecondPersonis conrmedby Ch rist Himself :
Wh enHe, th eSpirit of Truth , is come, Hewill g uide
youinto all truth : f orHe sh all not speak of Himself ;
but wh atsoeverHesh all h ear, th at sh all Hespeak : and
Hewill sh ewyouth ing s to come. Hesh all g lorif y me :
f orHesh all receiveof mine, andsh all sh ewit unto you.
All th ing s th at th e Fath erh ath are mine: th eref ore said
I, th at He sh all tak e of mine." Here we plainly see
th at th ere is a certainsubseq uent orderormeth odinth e
operations inth eBlessedTrinity, f orCh rist tells us th at
Hereceives f rom His Fath erandth eHoly Gh ost receives
i Spf rareS; 5z 'r.i'tus Sanctz 'proprz 'unz est. 2 GENESIS, ii, 7.
3Hereceives andg ives eternally andinnitely because of th e super-
incessionbetweenth e Divine Persons, according to th e h ig h doctrineof
transcendental th eolog y.
* Fina/ th is eg rez ens a Paraalf so.
5 f llaterlaorum. I do not k nowwh enceth is title is drawn, but it is
probably f rom a Kabalistic text andref ers to Sh ek inah .
A Noneof th eth eosoph ical systems f rom wh ich Vaug h anderives was
g uilty of th is irrational mixtureof sex of f ices indealing with sex symbolism.
7STJoan, xvi, 1 3.
296
Lumena/ e Lumme
f rom Him, Ag ain, th at all th ing s are conceivedideally
or- as we commonly express it- - createdby th e Second
Personis conrmedby th ewordof God. Th eworld
was made by Him"- saith th e Scripture- - andth e
worldk newHim not. Hecame unto His own, andHis
ownreceivedHim not."1 Th is may suice f orsuch as
loveth etruth ; andas f orth at wh ich th e Kabalist speak s
of th e f ourth andf th days it suits not with my present
desig n, andth eref ore Imust waive it. It is clearth en
th at th e Landof th eLiving , orth e Eternal Fire- Earth ,
buds andsprouts, h ath h erery spiritual owers, wh ich
we call souls, as th is natural earth h ath h ernatural veg e-
tables. Inth is mysterious sense is th e Presterdenedin
th eOracles as th eowerof th inre.2
But th at we may comeat last to th e th ing intended, I
th ink it not amiss to instruct youby th is manuduction.
Youk nowth at no articercanbuildbut th e earth must
be th e f oundationto h is building , f or with out th is
g roundwork h is brick andmortarcannot stand. Inth e
creation, wh enGoddidbuild, th ere was no such place
to buildupon. I ask th en: wh ere didHe rest His
matteranduponwh at P Certainly Hebuilt andf ounded
Nature uponHis ownsupernatural centre. He is in
h erandth roug h h er, andwith His Eternal Spirit doth
Hesupport h eavenandearth - as ourbodies aresupported
with ourspirits? Th is is conrmedby th at oracle of
th eapostle: Hebears up all th ing s with th e wordof
His power.4 From th is poweris Hejustly styledth e
innitely powerf ul andth e all- powerf ul power- mak ing
power.5 I say th enth at FireandSpirit are th epillars
of Nature, th e props onwh ich h erwh ole f abric rests and
with out wh ich it couldnot standoneminute. Th is Fire
orPresteris th eTh roneof th eQuintessential Lig h t, f rom
1 STJOHN, I, IO, II. 2 As- ii"re - irupbs dudes.
_= ' Th edoctrineof Divine Immanence is h ere enunciatedinits f ulness
with inth elimits of a sentence.
4 Omnia portat neroo 't 'z ':rtutz Ts sure.
5 'Aweipo5v::, u.es Kill ararrovdpos iu 'a, uo1 roibs' Bvdpis.
297
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
wh ence He dilates Himself to g eneration, as we see in
th eef f usionof th e sunbeams inth e g reat world. Inth is
dilatationof th elig h t consists th ejoy orpleasure of th e
passive spirit andinits contractionh is melanch oly or
sorrow. We see inth e g reat body of Nature th at in
turbulent weath er, wh enth e sunis sh ut up andclouded,
th eairis th ick anddull andourownspirits- - by secret
compassionwith th e spirit of th eair- - aredull too. On
th e contrary, inclear, strong sunsh ine th e airis q uick
andth in, andth e spirit of all animals are of th e same
rareed, activetemper. It is plainth enth at ourjoys and
sorrows proceedf rom th e dilatationandcontractionof
our inwardq uintessential lig h t. Th is is apparent in
despairing lovers, wh o are subject to a certain, violent,
extraordinary panting of th eh eart, a timourous, trembling
pulsewh ich proceeds f rom th e appreh ensionandf earof
th espirit inrelationto h is miscarriag e. Notwith standing
h e desires to be dilated, as it appears by h is pulse or
sally, wh ereinh e doth disch arg eh imself ; but h is despair
ch eck s h im ag ainandbring s h im to a suddenretreat or
contraction. Henceit comes to pass th at we are subject
to sig h s, wh ich are occasionedby th e suddenpause of
th espirit ; f orwh enh e stops th e breath stops, but wh en
h e looseth h imself to anoutwardmotionwe delivertwo
orth reebreath s, th at h ave beenf ormerly omitted, inone
long expiration: andth is we call a sig h . Th is passion
h ath carriedmany brave mento very sadextremities. It
is orig inally occasionedby th e spirit of th e mistress or
af f ectedparty; f orh erspirit f erments orleavens th e
spirit of th e lover, so th at it desires anunionas f aras
Naturewill permit. Th is mak es us resent evensmiles
andf rowns, lik ef ortunes andmisf ortunes. Ourth oug h ts
are never at h ome, according to th at well- g rounded
observation: Th esoul dwells not wh ere sh e lives but
wh ere sh eloves.1 Weare employedina perpetual con-
templationof th eabsent beauty ; ourvery joys andwoes
1 Anima est not amat, nonuh t anf maf .
298
Lumendo Lumine
are inh erpower; sh e canset us to wh at h umoursh e
will, as Canipianwas alteredby th e music of h is mistress.
Wh ento h erlute Corinna sing s
I- lervoice enlives th eleadenstring s ;
But wh enof sorrows sh e doth speak
Evenwith sig h s th e string s do break :
Andas h er- lutedoth liveordie,
Ledby h erpassions, so do I.
Th is andmany more miraculous sympath ies proceed
f rom th eattractive natureof th e Prester. It is a spirit
th at cando wonders ; andnowlet us see if th erebe any
possibility to come at h im. Suppose th enwe sh ould
dilapidate ordis- compose some articial building , stone
by stone, th ere is no q uestionbut we sh ouldcome at
last to th e earth wh ereuponit is f ounded. It is just so
inmag ic: if we openany natural body andseparate all
th enatural parts one f rom anoth erwe sh all comeat last
to th e Prester, wh ich is th e Candle andSecret Lig h t of
God}Wesh all k nowth e HiddenIntellig ence andsee
th at Inexpressible Face wh ich g ives th e outwardg ure
to th ebody. Th is is th esyllog ism we sh ouldlook af ter,
f orh e th at h as once passedth e Aq uasterenters th e re-
worldandsees wh at is both invisible andincredible to
th e commonman. He sh all k nowth e secret love of
h eavenandearth andth e sense of th at deep Kabalism:
Th ereis not anh erb h ere belowbut h e h ath a starin
h eavenabove; andth e starstrik es h im with h erbeam
andsays to h im : Grow.Hesh all k nowh owth ere-
spirit h ath h is root inth e spiritual re- earth andreceives
f rom it a secret inux uponwh ich h e f eeds, as h erbs f eed
onth at juiceandliq uorwh ich th ey receive at th eirroots
f rom th is commonearth .
Th is is it wh ich ourSaviourtells us : Manlives not
1 Not, h owever, by any manual operation, f orth ereinit escapes. Th e
deep search ing is af teranoth ermanner, as ]acob Boh mek new.
2 Nonestplanta / its z 'nn'z 'us ournonest stella inz rmamento .ru; 5erz 'us,
etj.?svv't eam steila, et a'z 'er't er : Cresoe.
299
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
by breadalone, but by every wordth at comes out of th e
mouth of God.1 He meant not, by ink andpaper, or
th e deadletter: it is a mystery, andSt Paul h ath partly
expoundedit. He tells th e Ath enians th at Godmade
manto th e endth at h esh ouldseek th e Lord, if h aply
th ey mig h t f eel af terHim, andndHim.Hereis a
strang e expression, youwill say, th at a mansh ouldf eel
af terGodorseek Him with h is h ands. But h eg oes on
andtells youwh ereh e sh all ndHim. Heis not f ar"
- saith h e~ f rom every oneof us : f orinHim welive,
andmove, andh aveourbeing .3Forth ebetterunder-
standing of th is place I wish youto readParacelsus h is
PHILOSOPHIA no Arnsuisusss, a g lorious, incomparable
discourse: but youwill sh ortly ndit inEng lish .
Ag ain, h e th at enters th e centre sh all k nowwh y all
inux of re descends- ag ainst th e nature of reand
comes f rom h eavendownwards. He sh all k nowalso
wh y th e same re, h aving f ounda body, ascends ag ain
towards h eavenandg rows upwards.
To conclude: I say th e g rand, supreme mystery of
mag ic is to multiply th e Presterandplace h im inth e
moist, serene eth er, wh ich Godh ath purposely createdto
q ualif y th e re. ForI wouldh ave th ee k nowth at th is
spirit may be so ch af ed- - andth at inth emost temperate
bodies- as to undo th ee upona sudden. Th is th ou
mayst g uess th yself by th e th undering g old, as th e
ch emist calls it. Place h im th enas Godh ath placedth e
stars, inth econdensedeth erof h is ch aos, f orth ereh e
will sh ine- - - not burn; h e will be vital andcalm- - not
f urious andch oleric. Th is secret, I conf ess, transcends
th e commonprocess, andI dare tell th ee no moreof it.
It must remainth enas a lig h t ina dark place; but h ow
it may be discovereddo th ouconsider.
1 ST MATT., iv, 4 . 2 ACTS, xvii, 27. 3f h z 'd., xvii, 23.
* 1 A newtranslationwas includedinmy editionof th e HERMETIC AND
ALCHEMICAL WRITINGS orPARACELSUS.
5 X pvuonepauvbs, idest, Aurmnf ulrninans.
3oo
Lument/ e Lu/ nine
X .THE GREEN SALT
It is a tinctureof th esapph iric mine1 and- - to deneit
substantiallyit is th eairof ourlittleinvisiblere- world.
It produceth two nobleef f ects- - youth andh ope. Wh ere-
soeverit appears, it is aninf allible sig nof lif e- ~ as you
see inth e spring time, wh enall th ing s are g reen. Th e
sig h t of it is ch eerf ul andref resh ing beyondall imag ina-
tion. It comes out of th eh eavenly earth , f orth e sapph ire
doth spermatiseandinjects h ertinctures into th e eth er,
wh ere th ey are carriedandmanif estedto th e eye. Th is
sapph ire is eq ual of h erself to th ewh ole compound, f or
sh e is th reef old, orh ath inh erth reeseveral essences. I
h ave seenth em all- - not inairy, imag inary suppositions
but really, with my bodily eyes. Andh ere we h ave
Apollodorus h is math ematical problem resolved, namely,
th at Pyth ag oras sh ouldsacrice a h undredoxenwh en
h e f oundout th at th e subtendent of a rig h t ang led
triang le was eq uivalent to th ose parts wh ich contained
it, " &c.
X I.- Tna DIAPASM, ox l\/ IAGICAL PERFUME
It is compoundedof th esapph iric earth andth e eth er.
If it be broug h t to its f ull exaltation, it will sh inelik eth e
day- starinh is rst easterng lories. It h ath a f ascinating ,
attractive f aculty, f orif youexpose it to th e openairit
will drawto it birds andbeasts, &c.
X II.- - Tue REGENERATION, AscsnrAND
GLORIFICATION2
l h ave nowsuiciently andf ully discoveredth e
principles of ourch aos. Inth e next place I will sh ew
1 Th is g urativeexpressionseems peculiarto Vaug h an. Th ealch emical
Sapph ire sig nies Mercurial Water, into wh ich also it was supposedth at
th eprecious stonecouldbeitself reduced.
1 " Th is sectionof f ers peculiardif culties. Nowit seems to speak of a
ph ysical work depending onth e maintenance of anexternal re, but
301
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
youh owyouare to use th em. Youmust unite th em
to a newlif e, andth ey will be reg eneratedby waterand
th eSpirit. Th esetwo are inall th ing s. Th ey are placed
th ere by GodHimself , according to th at speech of
Trismeg istus: Each th ing wh atsoeverbears with init
th e seedof its ownreg eneration. Proceedth en
patiently, but not manually. Th ework is perf ormedby
aninvisible artist, f orth ere is a secret incubationof th e
Spirit of GoduponNature. Youmust only see th at th e
outwardh eat f ails not, but with th e subject itself you
h ave no moreto do th anth e moth erh ath with th e ch ild
th at is inh erwomb. Th etwo f ormerprinciples perf orm
all ; th eSpirit mak es use of th ewaterto purg e andwash
h is body; andh e will bring it at last to a celestial,
immortal constitution. Do not youth ink th is impos-
sible. Rememberth at inth e incarnationof Ch rist Jesus
th e Quaternarius orf ourelements, as mencall th em, were
unitedto th eirEternal Unity andTernarius. Th ree and
f ourmak e seven; th is Septenary is th etrueSabbath , th e
Rest of Godinto wh ich th ecreature sh all enter. Th is is
th e best andg reatest manuductionth at I cang ive you.
Ina word, salvationitself is noth ing else but transmuta-
tion. Beh old- - saith th e apostle- - I sh ewyoua
mystery; we sh all not all sleep, but we sh all all be
ch ang ed, ina moment, inth e twink ling of aneye, at th e
last trump.2 Godof His g reat mercy prepareus f orit,
th at f rom h ard, stubbornints of th is worldwe may
provech rysolith s andjaspers inth e new, eternal f ounda-
tions; th at we may ascendf rom th is present distressed
Ch urch , wh ich is incaptivity with h er ch ildren, to th e
f reeJerusalem f rom above, wh ich is th emoth erof us all.
pursuedwith out oth erinterf erenceonth e part of th e artist, so th at- as
Vaug h ansug g ests elsewh ere- th ealch emist wouldnot necessarily neg lect
h is business by reading th ef amous ARCADIA. Andnowit is concerned
with th emysteries of eternal salvation.
1 Unz trug vuodaz tenuniresesemensure; = 'q g enerrrf z 'onz 's.
2 I CORINTHIANS, xv, 51 , 52.
302
Lumenc/ e Lumine
X III.THE DESCENT AND Msrsivivsvciiosis
Th ereis inth eworlda scribbling , ill- disposedg enera-
tion: th ey write only to g ainanopinionof k nowledg e,
andth is by amaz ing th eirreaders with wh imsies and
f ancies of th eirown. Th ese commonly call th emselves
ch emists andabuse th e Great Mystery of Nature with
th e name andnonsense of Lapis Ch emicus}I ndnot
one of th em but h ath mistak enth is descent f orth eascent
orf ermentation. I th ink it necessary th eref oreto inf orm
th e readerth ere is a twof oldf ermeiitationa spiritual
anda bodily one? Th e spiritual f ermentationis per-
f ormedby multiplying th e tinctures, wh ich is not done
with commong oldandsilver, f orth ey are not tinctures
but g ross, compactedbodies. Th e g oldandsilverof
th e ph ilosoph ers are a soul andspirit; th ey are living
f erments andprinciples of bodies ; but th e two common
rnetals- wh eth eryoutak eth em inth eirg ross composition
oraf tera ph ilosoph ical preparationareno way pertinent
to ourpurpose. Th e bodily f ermentationis th at wh ich
I properly call th edescent ; andnowwewill speak of it.
Wh enth ouh ast madeth e Stone orMag ical Medicine,
it is a liq uid, ery, spiritual substance- - - sh ining lik e th e
sun. Inth is complexion, if youwouldproject, youcould
h ardly ndth ejust proportion, th evirtueof th eMedicine
is so intensiveandpowerf ul. Th eph ilosoph ers th eref ore
took one part of th eirStone anddidcast it uponten
parts of puremolteng old? Th is sing le small g raindid
bring all th e g oldto a bloody powder; and, onth e
contrary, th e g ross body of th e g olddidabate th e
spiritual streng th of th e projectedg rain. Th is descent
orincorporationsomewise auth ors h ave calleda bodily
1 Seeante, ANIMA MAGICA Anscoxnira, p. 9 5.
2 Onth is statement seemy Introduction. Vaug h andoes not necessarily
meanth at th ereis a spiritual alch emy belong ing to th e inwardnatureof
mananda ph ysical alch emy orwork onmetals of th emine. Th eSpiritual
Fermentationproducedth eStoneitself .
3Presumably metallic g old, as appears f rom th estatement wh ich f ollows
almost immediately.
393
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
f ermentation; but th eph ilosoph ers didnot usecommon
g oldto mak eth eirStone, as some scribblers h avewritten.
Th ey usedit only to q ualif y th e intensive powerof it
wh enit is made, th at th ey mig h t th e more easily nd
wh at q uantity of base metal th ey sh ouldproject upon.1
By th is means th ey reducedth eirMedicine to a dust,
andth is dust is th e ArabianElixir. Th is Elixirth e
ph ilosoph ers couldcarry about th em, but th e Medicine
itself not so, f orit is such a subtle, moist re th ere is
noth ing but g lass th at will h oldit. Nowf orth eir
Metempsych osis : it h ath indeedoccasionedmany errors
concerning th e soul, but Pyth ag oras appliedit only to
th esecret perf ormances of mag ic? It sig nies th eirlast
transmutation, wh ich is donewith th e ElixirorQualied
Medicine. Tak e th eref oreonepart of it; cast it ona
millenary proportionof q uick silver, andit will beall pure
g old, th at sh all pass th etest royal with out any diminution.
Now, Reader, I h ave done, andf ora f arewell I will
g ive th ee a most noble, secret, sacredtruth . Th ech aos
itself , inth every rst analysis, is th reef old; th esapph ire
of th e ch aos is lik ewise th reef old. Here th ouh ast six
parts, wh ich is th e Pyth ag orical Senarius, orNumberof
th e Spouse.3Inth esesix th einux of th eMetaph ysical
Unity is solemonarch andmak es up th eseventh number
orSah aorh , inwh ich at last- by th e assistanceof God-
th ebody sh all rest. Ag ain, every oneof th ese six parts
is twof old, andth ese duplicities are contrarieties. Here
th enth ouh ast twelve- - six ag ainst six ina desperate
divisionandth e unity of peace among st th em. Th ese
1 Th is is very plainsense f oronce, indeedto anunusual deg ree. Th e
Medicine itself was not derivedf rom metals but was appliedth ereto.
Yet wh enalch emical ph ilosoph ers spok emost clearly wearewarnedth at
th ey dark enedcounsel only th emoreef f ectually.
2 Th emeaning is th at it is not a transmig rationof th espirit of man.
3.Nume; rus C'on; 'ug 2'z '. But th e numberof th e Eternal Spouse W'h o is
th eCh rist- Spirit is eig h t.
1 It is very dif f icult to th ink th at Vaug h anis speak ing h ere of any
ph ysical process, orof any body except th e body of man- psych ic or
corporeal- - uponwh ich th espirit operates f rom with in.
304
Lumerz 4 / e Lamina
duplicities consist of contrary natures : one part is g ood,
one bad; onecorrupt, oneincorrupt ; andinth eterms
of Zoroaster- - - one rational, one irrational. Th ese bad,
corrupt, irrational seeds areth e tares andseq uels of th e
curse. Now, Reader, I h ave unriddledf or th ee th e
g rand, mysterious problem of th e Kabalist. Inth e
sevenparts saith h e- - th ere are two triplicities, and
inth e middle th erestands one th ing . Twelvestandin
battle array: th ree f riends, th ree f oes; th ree warriors
mak e alive; th ree inlik e mannerslay. AndGodth e
Faith f ul King ruleth over all f rom th e Hall of His
sanctity. One uponth ree, andth ree uponseven, and
sevenupontwelve, andall standing inclose array, one
with anoth er."1
Th is andno oth eris th e truth of th at sciencewh ich I
h ave prosecuteda long timewith f req uent andserious
endeavours. It is my rm, decreedresolutionto write
no moreof it ; andif any will abusewh at is written, let
h im. Hecannot so injuremebut I am already satised:
I h aveto my rewarda lig h t th at will not leaveme. Of
h is f ellowtravellerth esuncannot f ail to be mindf ul.
I will nowclose up all with th e doxolog y of a most
excellent renownedPh ilocryph us.
To Godalone be Praise andPowerl
Ameninth e nameof Mercury, th at Water
wh ich runs with out f eet and
operates metallically
wh eresoeverit is f ound.3
' Septez i- z parish es irz sz mz duo f er:- * z rz rz 'a, erinmedia stat mz z rm. Dz aodecz iw
.iZrz ; ; !Z inbelle: { res :z mz 'cz ', tres z 'm'.ez z 'cz ': { res w'rz ' * vz 'rz :f icrz 222, { res etz k z m
eccz 'dz mz ': eaDears Rex Fz delz s, ex saro sa2z cZz 'z af z 's ez trz '0 @ ez z ': 'z rz t- uremnz lws.
Vrz us sz epertres, ertres supersejrteez , et sejtem superdz mdecem; erseem
onmes sz z 'pe::.z ', alias cz mz aZz 'o.
2 Nes:z 't sol com- z 'z 'z 's non71 262220? essesue.
3SoleDeeZeus etj> ote?z tz 'tz . Amen2':- '2 Me 'c2rw'0, g miperlibz cs { f eet carem
z ieca:rrz 't ez q mz , et mez r.z lZz 'ce z mz axerstz literoperatarr.
305 2o
EUGENIUS PHILHLETHES:
HIS MAGICJL X PHORISMS
THIS IS THE FIRST TRUTH AND THIS ALSO THE LAST
-
I
Th ePoint camef orth bef oreall th ing s : it was neith er
atomic nor math ematical, being a dif f usedpoint. Th e
Monadmanif estedexplicitly but a myriadwere implied.
Th ere was lig h t andth ere was dark ness, beg inning and
th e endth ereof , th eall andnaug h t, being andnon- being .
II
Th e Monadproducedth e Duadby self - motion, and
th evisag es of th e SecondLig h t manif estedth roug h th e
Triad.
III
A simple, uncreatedre sprang f orth andbeneath th e
waters assumedth eg arment of manif old, createdre.
IV
It look edback onth e primeval f ountainandtak ing
th is as a patternset its seal uponth elowerintriadic f orm.
V
Unity createdth e one andth e Trinity dividedinto
th ree. It is th us th at th ere arises th e Tetrad, as th e
bondandlink of reduction.
r t 306
Lumenc/ e Lumirz e
VI
Among th ing s visible th e waterrst sh one f orth , th e
f eminine aspect of brooding re andf ruitf ul moth erof
g urable th ing s.
VII
Sh e was porous inwardly andvariously cloth edwith
sk ins : inh erwomb wereinterf oldedh eavens andinch oate
St31 'S..
VIII
Th eArticcr, wh o parts asunder, brok eup th ewomb
of th ewaters into spacious reg ions ; but wh enth ef cetus
appearedth emoth ervanish ed.
IX
Th is notwith standing , th e moth erbroug h t f orth re-
splendent sons, wh o overranth e Landof Ch ai.
X
Th ese inth eirturng eneratedth emoth eranew: inth e
woodof wonderh erf ountainsing s.
X I
Th is is th e Stewardof wisdom : let h im be clerk wh o
can.
X II
Heis Fath erof all createdth ing s andf orth f rom th e
createdSon, by a living analysis of th at Son, is th eFath er
broug h t f orth anew. Hereinis th e h ig h est mystery of
th eg enerating circle: Sonof th e Sonis He Wh o rst
was Fath erof th eSon.
3?
AULA LUCIS
OR THE HOUSE orLIGHT
To MY BssrAND NOBLEST FRIEND
SELEUCUS Asnurmoss
3
WHAT youare I neednot tell you: wh at I am you
k nowalready. Ouracq uaintance beg anwith my ch ild-
h ood, andnowyousee wh at youh ave purch ased. I can
partly ref ermy inclinations to yourself , andth ose only
wh ich I derivef rom th econtem lativeorder; f orth erest
are beside yourinuence. I h ire present youwith th e
f ruits of th em, th at youmay see my lig h t h ath waterto
play with al. Henceit is th at I move inth e sph ere of
g enerationandf all sh ort of th at test of Heraclitus : Dry
lig h t is best soul.1 I neednot expoundth is to you, f or
youare inth ecentrp andsee it. Howf soever, youmay
excuse me if I reerconce tions to ancies. I could
neveraf f ect anyth ing th at wss barren, f orsterility and
loveare inconsistent. Givemea k nowledg eth at s f ertile
inperf ormances, f orth eories with out th eiref f ects are but
noth ing s inth e dress of th ing s. Howtrue th is is you
cantell me; andif I but recite wh at is yourownyou
must not th eref oreundervalueit, it being insome sense
a sacrice; f ormenh ave noth ing to g ive but wh at th ey
receive. Suf f erme th enat th e resent to standour
censer andexh ale th at incense uijh ich yourownh iinds
h ave put in. I darenot say h ere is revelation, norcanI
boast with th e prodig ious artist youreadof th at I h ave
livedth ree years inth erealm of lig h t.2 It is enoug h
th at I h ave lig h t, as th e King of Persia h adh is Bride
of th e Sun; 3andtruly, I th ink it h appiness to h ave seen
th at candlelodg edwh ich ourf ath ers judg edto bewander-
1 Lz mz ensz 'cca optz wz a arz z iwa. 2 Inreg z one!ucz 's.
3Sponsa Soiz s.
31 I
Te Work s of T/ z omas Vang / z rm
ing lig h t, seek ing h abitation. But I g rowabsurd: I
speak as if I wouldinstruct you; andnowmeth ink s
youask me : Wh o readeth th is P2 It is I, Sir, th at read
th etactics h ere to Hannibal andteach h im to break rock s
with oinacre. Iam indeedsomewh at pedantic inth is, but
th eliberty youarestill pleasedto allowme h ath carried
mebeyondmy cue. It is a trespass youk nowth at s very
ordinary with meandsome juniorcolleag ues. Norcan
I omit th oseverses wh ich youh avebeensometimes pleased
to apply to th is f orwardness of mine.
Such was th e steedinGrecianpoets f amed,
ProudCyllarus, by SpartanPollux tamed;
Such coursers boreto g h t th e g odof Th race
Andsuch , Ach illes, was th y warlik erace.3
It is my opinion, Sir, th at truth cannot be urg edwith
too much spirit, so th at I h ave not sinnedh ereas to th e
th ing itself , f orth edang er s only inyourperson. I am
af raidmy boldness h ath beensuch I may be th oug h t to
f all sh ort of th at reverencewh ich I owe you. Th is is it
indeedwh ich I darecall a sin, andI am, so f arf rom it
th at it is my private wonderh owI came to th ink it.
Suf f erme th ento be impertinent f oronce andg ive me
leaveto repent of anh umourwh ich I am condent you
place not among st my f aults but among st yourown
indulg ences.
Yourh umbleservant,
e S. N.
FROM HEL1 oPoL1 s.
I651 .
1 Lz arermvz s, g uaerens )imc5z 'f rz rz rl2rm.
2 Quis leg it / z rec P
3 Tells avg / rlee* z 'damz 'z . z :s Pellz z cis / z rrl= e2:z 's
C)/ llnrz rs, ez g z rorz mrGmz ii2::e:2z z 'rz rejoef ez .
Mez rf z 's eg rml bljz rg es ea 2mz g :m" ew.:* "r2rs / 1 clz z 'llz 's.
I h aveg ivenI)ryden s rendering inth etext.
31 2
TO THE PRESENT READERS
IT will be q uestionedperh aps by th e envious to wh at
purpose th ese sh eets are prostituted, andespecially th at
drug wrappedinth em- - - th e Ph ilosoph er's Stone. To
th ese it is answeredby Solomon: Th ere is a time to
cast away stones. Andtruly- I must conf ess- - I cast
away th is Stone, f orI misplace it. I contribute th at to
th e f abric wh ich th e builders inall ag es h ave ref used.
But lest I seem to act sine prop0sz 't0, I must tell youI
do it not f orth is g eneration, f orth ey are as f arf rom re
as th eauth oris f rom smok e. Understandmeif youcan,
f orl h avetoldyouanh onest truth . I write book s, as
th eoldRomanplantedtrees, f orth e g lory of Godand
th ebenet of posterity? It is my desig nto mak e over
my reputationto a betterag e, f orinth is I wouldnot en-
joy it, becauseI k nownot any f rom wh om I wouldreceive
it. Andh ere yousee h owambitious I am g rown; but
if youjudg eth e h umouramiss tell me not of it, lest I
sh ouldlaug h at you. I look indeeda step f urth erth an
yourlives, andif youth ink I may diebef oreyouI would
h aveyouk nowit is th e way to g o beyondyou.
To be sh ort : if youattempt th is discourse, youdo it
with out my advice, f orit is not ttedto yourf ortunes.
Th ereis a wh itemag ic th is book is ench antedwith al : it
is anadventuref orKnig h ts of th e Sun, andth eerrants of
th is timemay not nish it.3I speak th is to th euniversity
1 ECCLESIASTES, iii, 5. 2 Posterls el dz 'z 's z 'r:z ?; z 0rf alz 'l* us.
3 satirical ref erence to th e extraordinary leng th andprolixity of a
certainromanceof ch ivalry calledLECI- IEVALIER DU SOLEIL: oneof th e
editions is ineig h t stout volumes : andprobably many errants inth is k ind
of literaturef ailedto nish it.
3I3
T/ z e lV0rs of Taz uas Vaug h an
Quixotes, andto th ose only wh o are ill- disposedas well
as indisciplined. Th ereis among st th em a g enerationof
wasps, th ing s th at will g h t th oug h neverprovok ed.
Th ese buck le onth eirlog ic as proof , but it f ares with
th em as with th ef amous Don: th ey mistak ea basinf or
a h elmet. Formine ownpart l am no ref ormer; I can
well enoug h tolerate th eirpositions, f orth ey do not
trouble mine. Wh at I writeis no rulef orth em ; it is a
leg acy def erredto posterity ; f orth ef uturetimes, wearied
with th e vanities of th e present, will perh aps seek af ter
th e truth andg ladly entertainit. Th us yousee wh at
readers I h avepredestinedf ormyself ; but if any present
Mastix f astens onth is discourse I wish h im not to
traduce it, lest I sh ouldwh ip h im f orit. Th is is my
advice, wh ich if it be well observed, tis possible I may
communicate moreof th is nature. I may standup lik e
a Ph arus ina dark nig h t andh oldout th at lamp wh ich
Ph ilaleth es 2 h ath overcast with th at envious ph raseof th e
Rabbins : Of ttimes th e silenceof wisdom.3
1 Yet anoth erjibeat Henry Moreandh is criticism, as if two rejoinders
at f ull leng th inth ef orm of book s h adnot testiedadeq uately.
2 A ref erence to Vaug h anh imself underh is pseudonym of Eug enius
Ph ilaleth es.
3Srepesa; z 'euz z 'a. sz 'lemz 'u:* u.
31 4
AULA LUCIS
I HAVE resolvedwith myself to discourseof Lig h tand
to deliverit overto th e h ands of posterity, a practice
certainly very ancient andrst usedby th ose wh o were
rst wise. It was usedth enf orch arity, not f orpomp,
th edesig ns of th ose auth ors h aving noth ing inth em of
g lory but much of benet. It was not th eirintentionto
brag th at th ey th emselves didsee but to leadth osewh o
insome sense wereblindanddidnot see. To ef f ect th is
th ey proceedednot as some modernbarbarians do- by
clamourous, malicious disputes. A calm instructionwas
proposedand, th at being once rejected, was neveraf ter-
wards urg ed, so dif f erent andremote a path f rom th e
sch oolroom didth ey walk in; andverily th ey mig h t well
do it, f orth eirprinciples being once resistedth ey could
not inf lict a g reaterpunish ment onth eiradversaries th an
to conceal th em. Hadth eirdoctrine beensuch as th e
universities prof ess nowth eirsilence indeedh adbeena
virtue; but th eirpositions were not mere noise and
notion. Th ey weremost deep experimental secrets, and
th oseof innite use andbenet. Such a traditionth en
as th eirs was may wearth at style of th e nobleVerulam
andis most justly calleda Traditionof th e Lamp? But
I observeth at inth eirdelivery of mysteries th ey h ave, as
inall th ing s else, imitatedNature, wh o dispenseth not
1 Inalch emical symbolism th e term Luarwas appliedto th e powder
of projection, as th elig h t of imperf ect metals ; to ph ilosoph ical Mercury,
wh enth e dark ness of its impurities h as beenseparatedf rom th ewh ite-
ness of its essence; andto redsoph ic Sulph ur, wh ich is accreditedwith
a solarnature.
2 Tradio Lampadis.
3I 5
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
h erlig h t with out h ersh adows. Th ey h ave provideda
veil f orth eirart, not so much f orobscurity as ornament:
andyet I cannot deny th at some of th em h ave rath er
buriedth e truth th andressedit. Formy ownpart, I
sh all observe a meanway, neith ertoo obscure nortoo
open, but such as may serve posterity andaddsome
splendourto th e science itself .
Andnow, wh osoeverth ouart th at intimes to come
sh all casttth ine eyes onth is book , if th ouart corrupted
with th e commonph ilosoph y, do not presently rag eand
tak eup th e penindeance of wh at is h erewritten. It
may be th ouh ast studiedth y th ree q uestions pro vrma
anda q uick disputant th ouart. But h ast th ouconcocted
th ewh olebody of ph ilosoph y P Hast th oumadeNature
th eonly business of th y lif eP Andh ast th ouarrivedat
last to aninf allibleexperimental k nowledg eP If noneof
th eseth ing s, uponwh at f oundationdost th oubuildP It
is mereq uack ing to oppose th e deadandsuch perh aps as
th y betters durst not attempt intimeof lif e. But as one
said: th at advantag e breeds baseness. So some may
insult because th eiradversary is out of th eway, andtell
me with th at f riendly stoic: Dost th ounot h earth is,
Amph iarus, youwh o areh iddenunderth eearth ?"1
If any such tares spring above g round, wh enI am
underit, I h ave already look eduponth em as anidle,
contemptiblebundle. I h ave preparedth em a convenient
destiny andby my present scornannih ilatedth eirf uture
malice. It is a betterandmoreserious g enerationI would
be serviceableunto, a g enerationth at seek s Natureinth e
simplicity th ereof andf ollows h er not only with th e
tong uebut with th eh and. If th ouart such th enas th is
ch aracterspeak s, let me adviseth eenot to despair. Give
meleavealso to airm unto th ee, andth at onmy soul,
th at th e conseq uences andtreasures of th is art are such
andso g reat th at th y best andh ig h est wish es aref arsh ort
1 Audlsneh as An2ph r'araz 'sub terrarnadileP- - Th e sonof CEclus was
anaug erwh o was swallowedby anearth q uak e.
31 6
z ilula Lucls
of th em. Readth enwith dilig ence wh at I sh all write,
andto th y dilig ence addpatience, to th y patience h ope ;
f orI tell th ee neith erf ables norf ollies.
Forth eeoldstores of f ame andpowerI steal,
Andh oly spring s audaciously unseal.1
I tell th eea truth as ancient as th ef undamentals of th e
world; andnow, lest my pref ace sh ouldexceedinrelation
to th e discourse itself , wh ich must be but sh ort, I will
q uit th is out- work , th at I may bring th ee with indoors ;
andh ere will I sh ewth ee th e th rone of lig h t andth e
crystallinecourt th ereof .
Lig h t orig inally h adno oth erbirth th anmanif estation,
f orit was not made but discovered. It is properly th e
lif eof every th ing , andit is th at wh ich acts inall par-
ticulars; but th ecommunionth ereof with th eFirst Matter
was celebratedby a g eneral contract bef oreany particulars
were made? Th e matterof itself was a passive th in
substance but apt to retainlig h t, as smok e is to retain
ame. Af terimpreg nationit was condensedto a crystal-
linemoisture, unctuous andery, of nature h ermaph ro-
ditical, andth is ina double sense, inrelationto a double
centre- celestial andterrestrial. From th e terrestrial
centre proceededth e earth ly Venus, wh ich is ery and
masculine, andth eearth ly Mercury, wh ich is watery and
f eminine; andth esetwo areoneag ainst th eoth er. From
th ecelestial centre proceededtwo living imag es, namely,
a wh ite anda redlig h t; andth ewh ite lig h t settledin
th ewaterbut th e redwent into th e earth . Henceyou
may g ath ersomeinf alliblesig ns, wh ereby youmay direct
yourselves inth e k nowledg e of th e Matterandinth e
operationitself , wh enth e Matteris k nown. Forif you
1 T565 res antiq ue: laua z 's et arz f 'z 's
Ag g redior, sanrtos ausus rerluderef ontes.
* Th emixtureof notions is conf using but is not unusual inth is orderof
speculation, orindeedinsomeh ig h erorders. Discovery postulates some
intellig ent subject to wh ich it is made andsuch subject belong s to th e
worldof particulars, if th ere is any log ic interms.
31 7
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
h ave th etruesperm andk nowwith al h owto prepareit-
wh ich cannot be with out oursecret re- - yoush all nd
th at th ematterno soonerf eels th e ph ilosoph ical h eat but
th ewh itelig h t will lif t h imself above th ewater, andth ere
will h e swim inh is g lorious blue vestment lik e th e
h eavens.
But th at I may speak someth ing more concerning th e
ch aos itself , I must tell youit is not rain- waternordew,
but it is a subtle mineral moisture, a waterso extremely
th inandspiritual, with such a transcendent, incredible
brig h tness, th ere is not inall Nature any liq uorlik e it
but itself . Inplainterms, it is th e middlesubstance of
th ewisemen s Mercury, a waterth at is coag ulableand
may be h ardenedby a properh eat into stones andmetals.
Henceit was th at th e ph ilosoph ers calledit th eirStone,
orif it be lawf ul f orme to reveal th at wh ich th e devil
out of envy wouldnot discoverto Illardus, I say th ey
calledit a Stone, to th e endth at no manmig h t k now
wh at it was th ey calledso. Forth ere is noth ing inth e
worldso remotef rom th e complexionof a stone, f orit
is waterandno stone. Nowwh at waterit is I h avetold
youalready, andf oryourbetterinstructionI sh all tell
youmore: it is a watermade by Nature, not extracted
by th e h ands of man. Noris it mere water but a
spermatic, viscous compositionof water, earth , airand
re. All th ese f ournatures unite inone crystalline,
coag ulable mass, inth e f orm orappearance of water;
andth eref oreI toldyouit was a watermade by Nature.
But if youask me h owNature may be saidto mak eany
such water, I sh all instruct youby anexample th at s
obvious. Earth andwaterare th e only materials wh ere-
uponNature work s, f orth ese two, being passive, are
compassedabout with th eactivesuperiorbodies, namely,
with th eair, h eaven, sunandstars. Th us do th ey stand
1 Wh ich according to th e DICTIONNAIRE MYTHO- HERMEITIQUE is
manif estedby th e process of purication. _ _
3Th is appears a contradictioninterms of th e immediately previous
statementth at th esaidwatermay beh ardenedinto stones ormetals.
31 8
u/ a Lucls
inth every re, at least underth e beams andejaculations
th ereof , so th at th e earth is subject to a continual torre-
f actionandth ewaterto a continual coction. Hence it
comes to pass th at weareperpetually overcast with clouds,
andth is by a ph ysical extractionorsublimationof water,
wh ich Nature h erself distils andrains downuponth e
earth . Nowth is water, th oug h of a dif f erent complexion
f rom th eph ilosoph er s mineral water, yet h ath it many
circumstances th at well deserveourobservation. I sh all
not insist long uponany: I will only g ive youone or
two instances andth enreturnto my subject. First of
all th en, youareto considerth at Naturedistils not beyond
th e body, as th e ch emist doth inth e recipient. Sh e
draws th ewaterup f rom th e earth , andto th esameearth
doth sh ereturnit; andh ence it is th at sh eg enerates by
circularandreasonableimbibitions. Secondly, youmust
observeth at sh eprepares h ermoisturebef oresh eimbibes
th ebody th erewith , andth at by a most admirableprepara-
tion. Hermeth odinth is point is very obvious and
opento all th e world, so th at if menwere not blindI
neednot much to speak of it. Herwater- wesee- sh e
rarees into clouds, andby th is means doth sh e rack and
tenter- stretch th e body, so th at all th e parts th ereof are
exposedto a search ing , spiritual purg atory of windand
re. Forh erwindpasseth q uite th roug h th eclouds and
cleanseth th em; andwh enth ey are well cleansedth en
comes Nature inwith h erre andxeth it inenrejure
sapph iricof
But th is is not all. Th ere are oth ercircumstances,
wh ich Nature useth above g round, inorder to h er
veg etables. AndnowI wouldspeak of h er subter-
raneous preparations, inorderto h erminerals : but th at
it is not lawf ul f orme, as it was f orth e poet- - To
See CENTRUM CONCENTRATUM NATUREE, underth e name of
Alipili, andth e g urative lang uag e concerning a dry waterf rom th e
ph ilosoph ers clouds.
2 Reproducedas printedby Vaug h an. I k nowneith erth e source nor
meaning of th is q uotation.
3I9
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
discoverth ing s h iddenindeep earth andre. How-
ever, I sh all not f ail to tell th ee a considerable truth ,
wh osoeverth ouart th at studiest th is dif cult science.
Th e preparationof ouranimal andmineral sperm- - I
speak of th e true preparation- - is a secret uponwh ich
Godh ath laidHis seal, andth oumayst not ndit in
book s, f orit was neverentirely written. Th y best course
is to considerth e way of Nature, f orth ere it may be
f ound, but not with out reiterated, deep andsearch ing
meditations. If th is attempt f ails th ee, th oumust pray
f orit, not th at I h oldit aneasy ora commonth ing to
attainto revelations, f orwe h ave none inEng land; but
Godmay discoverit to th ee by some ordinary andmere
natural means. Ina word, if th oucanst not attainto it
inth is lif e, yet sh alt th ouk nowit inth y ownbody, wh en
th ouart past k nowing of it inth is subject? But because
I will not depriveth ee of th ose h elps wh ich I may law-
f ully communicate, I tell th ee th at ourpreparationis a
purg ation. Yet do not we purg eby common, ridiculous
sublimations orth e more f oolish ltrations, but by a
secret, tang ible, natural re; andh eth at k nows th is re,
andh owto wash with it, k nows th e k ey of ourArt, even
ourh iddenSaturn, andth e stupendous, inf ernal lavatory
of Nature. Much morecouldI say concerning th is re
andth e proprieties th ereof , it being one of th e h ig h est
mysteries of th e creation, a subject q uestionless wh erein
I mig h t be voluminous, andall th e way mysterious, f or
it relates to th e g reatest ef f ects of mag ic, being th e rst
maleof th e Mercury andalmost h is moth er? Consider
th enth eg enerationof ourMercury andh owh e is made,
f orh erelies th e g roundof all oursecrets. It is plain
1 Pandereres alta lerra et calrg ineniersas. _
2 Presumably inth e arch - natural body, since- errh y]9oz h esz '- th is lif e
h as beenexch ang edf oranoth er. Th e passag eis obscuredby th edoubt-
f ul sig nicanceof th elast clause.
3So f aras I am aware, th is k indof sorry conf usioninsex symbolism,
of wh ich we h ave h adanexample previously inanoth erconnection, is
peculiarto Vaug h an. Th e alch emists th emselves do not conf use male
with f emaleandref erth eof ces ortitles of onesex to anoth er.
r 320
Hula Lucis
th at outwardly we see noth ing but wh at is g ross- f or
example, earth , water, metals, stones and, among st th e
bettercreatures, manh imself . All th ese th ing s h ave a
lumpish , inef f ectual outside, but inwardly th ey are f ull of
a subtle, vital limosity, impreg natedwith re; andth is
Naturemak es use of ing enerations, wh eref ore we call it
th esperm. Forinstancesak e, wek nowth ebody of man
is not h is sperm, but th e sperm is a subtle extraction
tak enout of h is body. Evenso inth e g reat world, th e
body orf abric itself is not th e seed. It is not earth , air,
reorwater; f orth ese f our- - if th ey were put tog eth er
- wouldbe still f ourbodies of dif f erent f orms andcom-
plexions. Th e seedth en, orrst matter, is a certain
limosity extractedf rom th esef our, f orevery one of th em
contributes f rom its very centre a th in, slimy substance;
andof th eirseveral slimes Nature mak es th e sperm by
aninef f ableunionandmixture. Th is mixture andcom-
positionof slimy principles is th at mass wh ich wecall th e
rst matter. It is th eminera of man, wh ereof Godmade
h im: ina double imag e didHe mak e h im inth eday
th at h e became a living soul. Hence a f amous artist,
speak ing of th e creationof Adam andalluding to th e
rst matter, delivers h imself inth ese terms : From th e
limosity of th eelements didGodcreate Adam, namely,
f rom th elimosity of earth , water, airandre; andHe
aveunto h im lif ef rom th e Sunof th e Holy Spirit, and
Prom lig h t, clarity andth e lig h t of th e world. Have
a care th enth at youmistak e not any speciedbody f or
th e sperm: beware of q uick silver, antimony andall th e
metals; andh ave noth ing to do with aug h t th at is
extractedf rom metals. Beware of salts, vitriols and
every minormineral. Beware of animals andveg etables,
andof everyth ing th at is particular, ortak es place in
th e classis of any k nownspecies. Th e rst matteris
1 C'rearn't Deus Adam a'e lz 'nz osz 'z az 'e elenz enf orunz , scz 'li'cet de lz 'nsosz 'taz e
terree, aq ure, aeris ez z g nif s, ea '2/ z 'r1 Q'ica'tn'z eu- ina sole Sancrf .S', 1 5> z 'rr'z us, et de
lureeaclarz 'z 'az eea lunz f nenz unr.
321 21
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
a miraculous substance, one of wh ich youmay airm
contraries with out inconvenience. It is very weak and
yet most strong ; it is excessively sof t andyet th ere is
noth ing so h ard; it is oneandall, spirit andbody, xed
andvolatile, male andf emale, visible andinvisible. It
is re andburns not; it is waterandwets not; it is
earth th at runs andairth at stands still. Ina word, it
is Mercury, th elaug h terof f ools andth ewonderof th e
wise, norh ath Godmade anyth ing th at is lik eh im. He
is borninth e world, but was extant bef ore th eworld;
andh enceth at excellent riddlewh ich h e h ath somewh ere
proposedof h imself : I dwell"- saith h e- - inth e
mountains andinth e plains, a f ath erbef oreI was a son.
I g eneratedmy moth er, andmy moth er, carrying me in
h erwomb, g eneratedme, h aving no use f ora nurse."1
Th is is th at substancewh ich at present is th e ch ildof
th esunandmoon; but orig inally both h is parents came
out of h is belly. He is placedbetweentwo res, and
th eref oreis everrestless. He g rows out of th e earth as
all veg etables do, andinth e dark est nig h t th at is receives
a lig h t f rom th estars, andretains it. He is attractiveat
th e rst because of h is h orrible emptiness, andwh at h e
draws downis a prisonerf orever. He h ath inh im a
th ick re, by wh ich h ecaptivates th eth in; andh e is both
artist andmatterto h imself . Inh is rst appearance h e
is neith erearth norwater, neith ersolidnoruid, but a
substance with out all f orm but wh at is universal. He
is visible but of no certaincolour, f orch ameleon- lik e h e
put onall colours, andth ere is noth ing inth e world
h ath th e same g ure_with h im. Wh enh e 1 S purg ed
f rom h is accidents, h e1 S a watercolouredwith re, deep
to th esig h t and- - as it were- - swollen; andh e h ath some-
th ing inh im th at resembles a commotion. Ina vapourous
h eat h e opens h is belly anddiscovers anaz ure h eaven
1 Habz 'to innz onz f lbus ez f in; lanz 'z z 'e, paleranteg uanz lius .' g enus
matrenz nseanz , ez maternz ea- - si- o'epaz er2, ulz Znae, ananal; icesua g enerarz s
me, nonopus h aliens nuz f rue.
322
Alula Luois
ting edwith a milk y lig h t. VVith inth is h eavenh e h ides
a little sun, a most powerf ul redre, spark ling lik e a
carbuncle, wh ich is th e redg oldof th ewisemen. Th ese
are th e treasures of oursealedf ountain, andth oug h many
desire th em yet none enters h ere but h e th at k nows th e
k ey, andwith al h owto use it. Inth ebottom of th is well
lies anolddrag on, stretch edalong andf ast asleep. Awak e
h erif youcan, andmak e h erdrink ; f orby th is means
sh e will recoverh eryouth andbe serviceableto youf or
ever. Ina word, separate th e eag le f rom th e g reen
lion; th enclip h is wing s, andyouh ave perf ormeda
miracle? But th ese, you'll say, are blindterms, andno
mank nows wh at to mak e of th em. True indeed, but
th ey aresuch as arereceivedf rom th eph ilosoph ers. How-
soever, th at I may deal plainly with you, th e eag le is th e
water, f orit is volatileandf lies up inclouds, as aneag le
doth ; but l speak not of any commonwaterwh atsoever.
Th eg reenlionis th e body, ormag ical earth , with wh ich
youmust clip th ewing s of th eeag le; th at is to say, you
must x h er, so th at sh e may f ly no more. By th is we
understandth eopening andsh utting of th e ch aos, and
I Rulandus says th at th eDrag ondevours th eMercury anddies : ag ain
it drink s th e Mercury andis made alive.- LEX ICON ALCHEMU- E, s.'o'.
Draco. But h is explanatory account is complicatedto anextraordinary
deg ree, f orth eDrag onis itself Mercury, besides being Salt, Sulph urand
earth f rom th ebody of th eSun.
2 Usually th eEag leis th evolatileandth eLionis th exedstate. Th e
combat betweenth em is th at operationby wh ich th e xedbecomes
volatile.
3Calledoth erwise Mercury, understoodas ina stateof sublimation, or
af terth at process h as beenperf ormed.
4 Th eGreenLionis understoodinseveral senses. See]. Vi- leidenf eld:
DE SECRETIS ADEPTORUM, a sort of h armony betweenth e ch ief
alch emical processes. According to th is auth or, th e GreenLionsig nies
(I) th ematerial sun; (2) ph ilosoph ical Mercury, consideredas a substance
wh ich is commonto every species, is f oundeverywh ere andinall; (3)
th e matterof th ework , wh enbroug h t into a stateof dissolution; (4 ) th e
sameinth at conditionwh enit is calledLeadof th esag es ; (5) th e f etid
menstruum of Georg e Ripley, GeberandRaymondLully, oth erwise th e
Bloodof th e GreenLion; (6) commonvitriol ; (7) commonMercury
sublimedwith salt andvitriol, it being understoodth at th is is not th etrue
soph ic matter.
323
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
th at cannot bedonewith out ourproperk ey- - I meanour
secret re, wh ereinconsists th ewh olemystery of th epre-
paration. Ourreth enis a natural re; it is vapourous,
subtle andpiercing ; it is th at wh ich work s all inall, if
welook onph ysical dig estions ; noris th ere anyth ing in
th eworldth at answers to th e stomach andperf orms th e
ef f ects th ereof but th is one th ing . It is a substance of
propriety solarandth eref ore sulph ureous. It is pre-
pared, as th e ph ilosoph ers tell us, f rom th e olddrag on,
andinplainterms it is th ef umeof Mercury- not crude
but cocted. Th is f ume utterly destroys th e rst f orm of
g old, introducing a secondandmore noble one. By
Mercury I understandnot q uick silverbut Saturnph ilo-
soph ical, wh ich devours th e Moonandk eeps h eralways
inh is belly. By g oldI meanourspermatic, g reeng old-
not th e adoredlump, wh ich is deadandinef f ectual. It
werewell certainly f orth e students of th is noble Art if
th ey resolvedonsome g eneral positions bef ore th ey
attemptedth ebook s of th eph ilosoph ers.
Forexample, let th em tak ealong with th em th esef ew
truth s, * andth ey will serve th em f orso many rules wh ere-
by th ey may censure andexamine th eirauth ors. First,
th at th erst matterof th e Stoneis th e very same with
th erst matterof all th ing s ; secondly, th at inth is matter
all th eessential principles oring redients of th eElixirare
already sh ut up by Nature, andth at wemust not presume
to addanyth ing to th is matterbut wh at we h avef ormerly
drawnout of it; f orth e Stone excludes all extractions
but wh at distil immediately f rom its owncrystalline,
universal minera ; th irdly andlastly, th at th eph ilosoph ers
h aveth eirpeculiarsecret metals, q uitedif f erent f rom th e
metals of th evulg ar, f orwh ereth ey name Mercury th ey
mindnot q uick silver, wh ereSaturnnot lead, wh ereVenus
andMars not copperandiron, andwh ereSol orLuna not
g oldorsilver. Th is Stoneverily is not madeof common
g oldandsilver, but it is made, as one delivers it, of g old
1 Aliana'g uo elraeone.
s 324 -
1 4 u/ a Lucis
andsilverth at are reputedbase, th at stink andwith al
smell sweetly ; of g reen, living g oldandsilverto be
f oundeverywh erebut k nownof very f ew."1 Away th en
with th osemountebank s wh o tell youof antimony, salts,
vitriols, marcasites, orany mineral wh atsoever. Away
also with such auth ors as prescribeorpractiseuponany
of th ese bodies. Youmay be sure th ey weremerech eats
anddidwrite only to g ainanopinionof k nowledg e.
Th ereareindeedsomeunch aritablebut k nowing Ch ristians
wh o stick not to leadth e blindout of h is way. Th ese
are f ull of elaborate, studieddeceits, andone of th em
wh o pretends to th eSpirit of Godh ath at th esamemouth
venteda slippery spirit, namely, th at th eStonecannot be
openedth roug h all th eg roundsas h ecalls th em- - - under
sevenyears? Truly I am of opinionth at h e neverk new
th e Stoneinth is natural world; but h owwell acq uainted
h e was with th etinctures inth espiritual worldI will not
determine. I must conf ess many brave andsublime
truth s h avef allenf rom h is pen; but wh enh e descends
f rom h is inspirations andstoops to a ph ysical practice, h e
is q uitebesideth ebutt.
I h ave everadmiredth eroyal Geber, wh oserelig ion-
if youq uestionI canproduceit inth ese f ewwords :3
Th e sublime, blessedandg lorious Godof natures."
Th is is th etitleandth estyleh ealways bestows uponGod,
andit is enoug h to prove h im no ath eist. He, I say,
h ath so f reely andintruth so plainly discussedth is secret
th at h adh e not mixedh is many impertinences with it h e
h addirectly prostitutedth emysteries. Wh at I speak is
apparent to all k nowing artists, andh ence it is th at most
masters h aveso h onouredth is Arabianth at inth eirbook s
' Exauro ez arg ento 1 / z 'lz 'ous, f retentf ous sisnul et suat/ eoleniz 'ous, twir-
entz h us, anlnz atls, uof g ruereperils, sea aalnsodunz g uanrpauoz ls cog nlz z 's.
9 Th etimes of th ework aremany andmany g ures arenamedas th e
cost th ereof . Th eref erenceof Vaug h anis to Iacob Btih me. Kh unrath
xedth ecost at th irty th alers, not including th e personal expenses of th e
operatorduring th etimeof th eprocess.
3Suolz 'inz 's naf urarunz Deus oened'z 'ctus ez g loriosus.
325
Th e Worh s of Th onz as Vaug h an
h e is commonly calledMag isrerMag isrrorum. We are
indeedmore beh oldento th is prince- - - wh o didnot k now
Ch ristth anto many prof essedCh ristians, f orth ey h ave
not only concealedth e truth but th ey h ave publish ed
f alsities andmere inconsistencies th erewith . Th ey h ave
studiously andof mere purposedeceivedth eworld, with -
out any respect of th eircredit orconscience. It is a
g reat q uestionwh o was most envious, th e devil inh is
Recipe to ourOxf orddoctororArnoldus inh is Accipef
to th eKing of Arrag on. I k nowwell enoug h wh at th at
g entlemanale Villa Nona prescribes, andI k nowwith al
h is instructions are so dif f icult th at Count Trevor? wh en
h e was adept suo mode, couldnot understandth em. For
h e h ath writtenmost eg reg ious nonsense, andth is by
endeavouring to conf ute g reatermysteries th anh e did
appreh end. Now, if any manth ink s me too boldf or
censuring so g reat anartist as Arnoldus was, I am not so
empty but I canreasonf ormyself . I ch arg e h im not
with want of k nowledg e but want of ch aritya point
wh ereineventh epossessors of th ePh ilosoph er s Stoneare
commonly poor. I speak th is because I pity th edistrac-
tions of ourmodernalch emists, th oug h Ph ilaleth es laug h s
inh is sleeveand, lik ea young colt, k ick s at th at name.
Formy ownpart I advise no manto attempt th is Art
with out a master, f orth oug h youk nowth e Matteryet
areyouf arsh ort of th e Medicine. Th is is a truth you
1 A marg inal note of Vaug h ansays th at th is receipt was extant in
Bodley s arch ives.
2 Th eref erence is to PER- FECTUM. MAGISTERIUM ez Gaudz imz 2l[ag z 'sz rz '
Arnoldf (le Villa Nova, oth erwise FLOS FLORUM, wh ich claims to h ave
beentransmittedby h im aa? z 'ni:'lytun2 Reg en: Areg onunz . Th e direction
inq uestionbeg ins Aeoz pe(Sap? 2' lli. 2' er. at ea" eo lz ienaf ura nz una'a. It is
a long andelaborateprocess.
3Th at is, BernardTrevisan, auth orof DECHIMICO MIR!iCULO andof
several oth ertracts, supposing th at th ey areproperly ascribed.
l A very commonrecommendationonth e part of alch emists, but th e
long lif e- story of Comte de la March e Trevisanis aninstructive com-
mentary th ereon, andit pretends th at h e reach edh is term wh enh e let
aloneth esearch af termasters but h adrecourseto a comparativestudy of
th eliteratureandto meditation.
326
/ ilula Lucls
may becondent of , andif youwill not believe my text,
tak eit uponRaymundLully s experience. Hek newth e
Matter, it being th e rst th ing h is mastertaug h t h im.
Th enh e practiseduponit, inh is ownph rase, af termany
andmultif arious modes, but all to no purpose. Heh ad
th e Cabinet but not th e Key. At last h e f oundh imself
to bewh at many doctors are, - - a condent q uack , a
broiler andnoth ing more- - as it appears by h is sub-
seq uent conf ession. Th e Masters assure us inth eir
g oodness th at th e Great Work is one of solutionand
cong elation, th esame being perf ormedby th ecirculatory
way; but th roug h ig norance h ereuponmany wh o were
soundinsch olarsh ip h ave beendeceivedreg arding th e
mastery. Inth eirexcess of condence th ey assumed
th emselves to be procients inth e f orm andmode of
circulation, andit is not ourintent to conceal th at we
ourselves wereof th osewh o werestrick eninth is respect.
With such presumptionandtemerity wetook ourunder-
standing of th is science f org ranted, yet weg raspedit in
no wise, till we came to be taug h t of th e spirit by th e
mediationof MasterArnolddeVilla Nova, wh o ef f ectu-
ally impartedit unto us out of h is g reat bounty.
Th us h e ; andnowI sh all adviseth ech emist to set a
watch at h is lips because of someinvisibleg entlementh at
overh ear. I myself h ave k nownsome mento a- irm th ey
h adseenanddone such th ing s wh ich GodandNature
cannot do, according to th e present laws of creation.
But h admy young f riendEug enius Ph ilaleth es been
present h e h adlaug h edwith out mercy. Tak e h eedth en
1 M'ulZ:f arz 'ernulsouensoalf s.
"5 Eleg anterrlz lrerunz p/ ii'losoph z 'g uodopus nz ag nunz nones!nz 'sr'solutio
ea. cong elatz 'o, sea z 's2a an! pertn'anz cf rculorunz , q uorum z g nos'antz 'a
plures niag naf es inleratura aleeep f uerun! inniag z 's!es lo, credentes
nof aoz 'lz ':ereuivnconalennf a selnz f ellrg eref orsnanz ez nz orlum .cz 'roulani:i z ', ea
g z sz liz z s nos _f uz 'sse ununi let/ z alz 'f erwulneraf unz relare nonz 'nrenrlz 'inus.
Cainsola eniinpresuinpnf oneer z enz erz 'laz esrz 'erz tz 'ae/ iuf us naturanrrnnter
nos z 'nf ellz :g erecrerlelianz us, sednullo nz oz lo z 'nz elle.rz 'n.ius, (loner: tenz pus aa3 f uz 'z '
inone spz 'ri'i'us nos rlo.cuz 't, nonr'nru2edr'az e seal nz ea'r'aieper1 ll< .z _g z 's!rusiz
./ Irnoldun: rle Villa I/ V0 ; - 'a, g m" larg z iuz le sua z nz nz ensa reaf enf erinnos
z 'nspz 'rat' 'z Z. __
32'7 .
T/ z e Work : q f Th omas Vang / z an
wh at yousay, lest youmak esport f orth ewise, f orth ey
aresometh ing lik eth eimmortals :
Laug h terunq uench ablc: arose among th e blessedg ods.1
Many menth ere are wh o th ink it ordinary to be
instructedinth ese secrets, but inth is th ey arecondently
mistak en. He must be a k nown, true f riend, a f riend
of years, not of days; not a complimental th ing , wh ose
actionis all h ypocrite; not a severe dissembler, wh o
g ives th eef airwords but- - if once triedh is h eart is so
f arf rom h is promises th at, lik ea y ina box, it is scarce
a part of h is body. RaymundLully h ath ina certain
place deliveredh imself h andsomely inrelationto th e
practice, andth is f orh is f riend s sak e. But h owrig id
th enwas h e inscrz ptis. His disciple- if h e couldunder-
standh im- was to be accountable to h im inth e use of
th e mystery; andth eref ore h e tells h im plainly th at h e
didit by way of loanonly, look ing f orrestitutionat
th e judg ment day.We must not expect th ento be
instructedbecause we areacq uainted, andverily acq uaint-
ance with such persons is a th ing not common. In
ordinary f avours it is supposedth at mensh oulddeserve
th em bef oreth ey receiveth em ; but inth is th ing - wh ich
is a benet incomparable- - it f alls out oth erwise. We
look f orpresent discoveries ; we believeth eph ilosoph ers
will teach us andinplainterms tell us all th eirArt ; but
we k nownot wh eref ore th ey sh ouldbe so k indunto us.
Such impudent h opes h aveno more reasoninth em th an
if I sh ouldspenda compliment ona rich g entlemanand
th enexpect h e sh ouldmak e me h is h eirinlieuof my
ph rase, andso pass h is estate uponme. Th is is very
absurd, but noth ing more common; th oug h I k now
th ereis anoth ersort of well- wish ers, but th ey are most
miserable, f orth ey cast about to f ool th ose menwh om
th ey k nowto be wiserth anth emselves. But inth is
1 ; Airow- ros 6 tip vwpro - yiixws paxcipessl Geof cru- '.OD. viii, 325.
9 Muruo tantum, at sulwrem'rz :t:'aneco- ramjz xdiceg emrali.
r 328
u/ a Lucis
point th e ph ilosoph ers needno instructions; th ey canact
many parts, andh e th at plots to over- reach th em tak es a
course to break bef oreh e sets up. It remains th enth at
webestowourattempts onth eirbook s, andh erewe must
considerth etwo universal natures, lig h t andmatter.
Matter- as I h ave f ormerly intimated- - - is th e h ouse
of lig h t. Hereh e dwells andbuilds f orh imself , and, to
speak truth , h e tak es up h is lodg ing insig h t of all th e
world. Wh enh e rst enters it, it is a g lorious, tran
sparent room, a crystal castle, andh e lives lik ea f amiliar
indiamonds. He h ath th enth e liberty to look out at
th ewindows; h is love is all inh is sig h t: I meanth at
liq uidVenus wh ich lures h im in; but th is continues not
very long ? Heis busy- as all lovers are- - labours f or
a more close union, insinuates andconveys h imself into
th every substanceof h is love, so th at h is h eat andaction
stirup h ermoist essences, by wh ose means h ebecomes
anabsolute prisoner, Forat last th e earth g rows over
h ims out of th e water, so th at h e is q uite sh ut up in
dark ness ; andth is is th e secret of th e eternal God,
wh ich He h ath beenpleasedto reveal to some of His
servants, th oug h mortal manwas neverworth y of it. I
wish it werelawf ul f ormeto enlarg emyself inth is point
f orrelig ion s sak e, but it is not saf e norconvenient th at
all ears sh ouldh eareventh e mysteries of relig ion. Th is
leprous earth - f orsuch it is, if it be not purg ed- is th e
toadth at eats up th e eag le, orspirit, of wh ich th ere is
f req uent mentioninth e ph ilosoph er's book s. Inth is
1 I am remindedof th eSoul th at rises with us, ourlif e s Star, wh ich
h adelsewh ereits setting , andcometh f rom af ar.
2 Sh ades of th eprison- h ousebeg into close.
3 At leng th th eManperceives it dieaway,
Andf adeinto th elig h t of commonday.
* It is not aloneth at ina crust of bread" wemay ndth ematterand
spirit of all th estars andall th eh eavens, but th at it is possible also to
realise with insuch matter, andbeh indth at spirit, th e secz rtz mz aviar-
, rz 'ma6z 'Ze wh ich is very Godof very God, wh ile th at wh ich is th e g rand
secret of th e crust, af teranoth ermannerandina widermeasure, is th e
h iddentreasure, th e pearl beyondprice of ourmanh ood, awaiting th e
discovery of each .
329
T/ z e Work s q f T/ z omarVaz q g / z an
earth also h avemany of th ewisemenseatedth at tincture
wh ich we commonly call dark ness. Truly th ey may as
well bestowit onth ewaterorth e air, f orit appears not
inany one element but eith erinall f ourorelse intwo,
andth is last was th at wh ich deceivedth em. Now; th e
waterh ath no black ness at all but a majestic, larg eclarity.
Th e earth lik ewise, inh er ownnature, is a g lorious
crystallisedbody, brig h t as th e h eavens. Th e airalso
excels both th ese incomplexion, f orh e h ath inh im a
most strang e, inexpressible wh iteness andserenity. As
f orth ereit is outwardly redandsh ining - - ~ lik ea jacinth
- - but inwardly inth espirit wh iteas milk .
Now, if we put all th ese substances tog eth er, th oug h
purg edandcelied, yet wh enth ey stirandwork f or
g enerationth e black colouroverspreads th em all- ~ and
such a black - so deep andh orrid- th at no common
dark ness canbe comparedunto it. I desire to k now
th enwh ence th is tincture ariseth , f orth e root of every
oth ercolouris k nown. It is to be observedth at inth e
separationof th eelements th is black ness appears not any-
wh erebut inth at element wh ich is underth e re; and
th is only wh iles youare drawing out th e re- - f orth e re
being separatedth ebody is wh ite. It is plainth enth at
dark ness belong s to th ere, f orintruth reis th emanal
of it; andth is is one of th e g reatest mysteries, both in
Divinity andph ilosoph y}But th ose th at wouldrig h tly
understandit sh ouldrst learnth e dif f erence between
reandlig h t.
Trismeg istus, inh is visionof th e creation, didrst see
a pleasing , g ladsomelig h t, but interminated. Af terwards
appeareda h orriblesaddark ness, andth is moveddown-
wards, descending f rom th eeye of th e lig h t, as if a cloud
sh ouldcome f rom th e sun. Th is dark ness- saith h e
was condensedinto a certainwater, but not with out a
mournf ul, inexpressible voice orsound, as th e vapours
1 Because of th e Divine Dark ness wh ich is beh indall manif ested
DivineLig h t.
33
1 4 u/ a Lz acis
of th e elements are resolvedby th under. Af terth is-
saith th at g reat ph ilosoph er- th e Holy Wordcame out
of th elig h t anddidg et uponth e water, andout of th e
waterHe made all th ing s. Let it be yourstudy th en
- wh o wouldk nowall th ing s- - to seek out th is secret
water, wh ich h ath initself all th ing s. Th is is th e
ph ysical andf amous Pyth ag oreancube, wh ich surpriseth
all f orms, andretains th em prisoners. If anywise- ~
saidmy Capnion- - a f orm implantedinth is g round
remainth ereon; if it enters th ereinanddoth abide in
such solidreceptacle, being laidup th ereinas ina material
f oundation; it is not receivedat random norindif f erently
but permanently andspecially, becoming inseparable and
incommunicable, as someth ing addedto th e soil, made
subject to timeandto place, anddeprived- - so to speak - -
of its liberty inth ebondag eof matter.1
Th econseq uences of th is prison, wh ich sometimes are
sad, andth e steps th at leadunto it, are most eleg antly
expressedinth e oracles. A steep descent extends
beneath th e earth , leading sevenways by stag es, beneath
wh ich is th eth roneof a h orriblenecessity.
Ina word, all th ing s inth e world- ~ as well events as
substances- f lowout of th is well. Hence come our
f ortunes andourmisf ortunes, ourrich es andourpoverty,
andth is according to th e scales of th e Supreme Ag ent,
inh is dispensations of lig h t anddark ness. Wesee th ere
is a certainf aceof lig h t inall th ose th ing s wh ich are very
dearorvery precious to us. Forexample, inbeauty,
g old, silver, pearls, andineveryth ing th at is pleasant or
1 Huz 'c f z mda 32'g z raf ornz ndenz crsa z 'nm'z atm'/ ms}: .roZz 'a 0 recr'; f > f ar2 Z0 :2
:er'z 'z ' z 'Zla; .= :a, cf 2'1 2 / iz rz rz r. sedmz matte? z 'az 'e:; z re; asz 't z , nonting e ma : mm-
.vz .wz z z errecz 'j5z '2'- mr, rm sz 'n:&z 'Zz 'z er at sz '22g uZarz 're'r, t z 'nd2'r 'z 'dz aa at z '2z :'0m-
.= n:mz 'ca 5z 'Zz 's, tarz g z mrrz rz .r.crz ']1 z z 'cz 'a g laba", K01 21 75021 at Inca suZ1 ]'.er.:'ta, at Q- .mz .r:
de !z '6r:rz nte 2'}: s v"z 'z 'tz rz tv; z maf rrz ra p; r0sc2* z ; f > !rz .- Ret1 ch lin: DE: ARTE
CABALISTICA, Lib. ii.
2 Prr.?rz ; z z 'tz ':r; ; z intcrra ruairsz ,
St; 5ter:z w'0.rf raf z evz s perg mdur, rub g un
H0r?v'5'z 'Zz 's 22.ev:rsrz 'z az z 's tf z ronus est.
331
T/ z e Work s cf T/ z omarVang / z an
carries with it any opinionof h appiness- - inall such
th ing s I say th ereis inh erent a certainsecret, concomitant
lustre, andwh iles th ey last th epossessors also are subject
to a clearness andserenity of mind. Onth e contrary,
inall adversity th ereis a certaincorroding , h eavy sadness,
f orth espirit g rieves because h e is eclipsedandovercast
with dark ness. We k nowwell enoug h th at poverty is
but obscurity, andcertainly inall disasters th ereis a k ind
of cloud, orsometh ing th at answers to it. Inpeopleth at
arevery unf ortunate th is dark ness h ath a ch aracter, and
especially inth ef oreh eadth erelieth a notablejudg ment ;
but th erearef ewwh o canreadinsuch book s. Of th is
Verg il- - wh o was a g reat poet but a g reaterph ilosoph er- -
was not ig norant, f ordescribing Marcellus inth eElysian
elds h e mak es h is sadcountenance anarg ument of h is
sh ort lif e.
Eneas h ere beh eld, of f orm divine,
A g odlik eyouth ing littering armoursh ine,
With g reat Marcellus k eeping eq ual pace :
But g loomy were h is eyes, dejectedwas h is f ace.
He saw, andwondering ask dh is airy g uide
Wh at andof wh encewas h e wh o press dth eh ero s side;
His son, oroneof h is illustrious name;
Howlik eth e f ormerandalmost th esame.
Observe th e crowdth at compass h im around:
All g az eandall admire, andraisea sh outing sound.
But h overing mists aroundh is brows are spread
Andnig h t with sable sh ades involves h is h ead.1
But th ese are th ing s th at oug h t not to be publicly
discussed, andth eref ore I sh all omit th em. He th at
desires to be h appy let h im look af terlig h t, f orit is th e
1 Arg ue/ 22': Em- 2a.r- z irrz a namg z rearet * z 'r!nf v:z z
E_g r.eg z unz f nwrz ajart/ arrears ez f u{ g ea2z 2'6ura:rmz '.r,
Sedf rorvs [midjr.2!:? 7?Zex dq jrcf o Zz mz z 'mz '2/ ar!z 2z - -
Qz nir, af er, z 'ZZe at- z irunz g m; 32': c0; vz z 'z af m'e- mz z am'?
Fz 'Zz 'a:s, rz mz ealig ns: mag na dz star, - beaz eg nrum
Qacisz .ra, 'rz 'z z r.t cz 'r. a comz rm 3' Qz rrz ntuarz z ' z $ z . :z ?' in@ 1 550 3'
.Sedmuatra capart z rz '.rz z ' carcz mz rxof az umdra.
Th etranslationis th at of Dryden.
33?
/ 4 2 / a Luci:
cause of h appiness, both temporal andeternal. Inth e
h ouse th ereof it may be f ound, andth e h ouse is not f ar
of f norh ardto nd, f orth e lig h t walk s inbef ore us and
is th eg uideto h is Ownh abitation. It is th e lig h t th at
f orms th eg oldandth eruby, th e adamant andth esilver,
andh eis th eartist th at sh apes all th ing s. He th at h ath
h im h ath th e mint of Nature anda treasure altog eth er
inexh austible. He is blest with th e elect substance of
h eavenandearth , andinth e opinionof th e TURBA
deserves to be calledblessedandis raisedabove th e
circle of th e earth . Norindeedwith out reason, f or
Nature h erself dictates unto us andtells us th at our
h appiness consists inlig h t. Henceit is th at wenaturally
loveth elig h t andrejoice init, as a th ing ag reeable and
benecial unto us. Onth e contrary, we f earth e dark -
ness andare surprisedinit with a certainh orroranda
timourous expectationof some h urt th at may bef all us.
It is lig h t th enth at wemust look af ter, but of itself it is
so th inandspiritual we cannot lay h ands uponit and
mak e it ourpossession. We cannot conne it to any
one place, th at it may no more rise andset with th e sun.
We cannot sh ut it up ina cabinet, th at we may use it
wh enwe please, andinth e dark nig h t see a g lorious
illustration. We must look th enf orth e mansionof
lig h t- th at oily, eth ereal substance th at retains it- f or
by th is means wemay circumscribe andconne it. We
may impart andcommunicateit to wh at bodies we please,
g iveth ebasest th ing s a most precious lustre anda com-
plexionas lasting as th e sun. Th is is th at mystery
wh ich th eph ilosoph ers h ave deliveredh ereunto inmost
envious andobscureterms ; andth oug h I do not arrog ate
to myself a g reaterk nowledg eth ansomeof th em h ad, yet
I do af rm- - andth at k nowing lyth at th is secret was
nevercommunicatedto th eworldina discourse so plain
andpositiveas th is is. It is true th is script is sh ort, and
th e body of mag ic h ath no proportionto th esef ewlines.
1 Feiz lrdz 'cz 'ivz cretz rrat sz rperc rcm'0.r.vm#z dz 'alet1 a!ur.
333
T/ z e Work s of T/ z omos Vaug an
To write of it at larg e anddiscoverits th ree scenes
elemental, celestial andspiritual- was sometimes th e
desig nof one th at was able to perf orm. But h e- - and
it was everth e f ortune of truth to be so servedwas
not only opposedbut abusedby a barbarous, malicious
ig norant.I sh ouldth ink th at g entlemandidset up
f or Barth olomewFair- - h e h ath such contrivances in
h is SecondL- as/ z . Th e tutordedicates to h is pupil, and
th e same pupil versies incommendationof h is tutor?
Here was a claw; th ere was neverany so reciprocal:
surely Rosinante andDapple mig h t learnof th ese two.
But th is is stuf f to stop ournoses at : let us leave it f or
Cambridg e, wh enceit rst came.
Th ecoag ulationof ourwaterandth esolutionof our
earth are th e two g reatest andmost dif f icult operations
of th e Art, f orth ese two are contrary k eys: th e water
opens andth eearth sh uts. Be sure th ento addnoth ing
to th e subject but wh at is of its ownnature, f orwh en
it is preparedit is all- suicient. He coag ulates h imself
anddissolves h imself , andpasseth all th e colours- and
th is by virtue of its owninwardsulph urorre, wh ich
wants noth ing but excitation, or, to speak plainly, a
simple, natural coction. Everybody k nows h owto boil
waterinre; but if th ey k newh owto boil reinwater
th eirph ysic wouldreach beyondth e k itch en. Study
th enanddespairnot; but study no curiosities. It is a
plain, straig h t path th at Nature walk s in; andI call
Godto witness th at I write not th is to amaz e men; but
I writeth at wh ich I k nowto becertainly true.
1 Th at is to say, Eug enius Ph ilaleth es- by th etestimony of S. N., being
Th omas Vaug h an- - was q ualiedto expoundth eth reepalmary divisions
of occult ph ilosoph y; andit will be rememberedth at h e promiseda
g reat work to comeinANTI- IROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA.
2 Th einf erenceis th at More s Oosea 1 :/ rtz 'z 'o2z s madeEug enius Ph ilaleth es
unwilling to produceh is g reat work .
3THE SECOND LASH of Henry More is dedicatedto h is pupil Mr
joh nFinch , andis f ollowedby certainverses of a h ig h ly commendatory
k indonth e part of joannes Ph ilornastix, wh o is h ere identiedwith
Finch by Eug enius.
334
u/ a Luci;
Th is is all I th ink t to communicate at th is time,
neith erh adth is f allenf rom mebut th at it was a command
imposedby my superiors, &c.1 Th ey th at desire experi-
mental k nowledg emay study it as a sure g uide; but h e
th at rests at h is lips andputs not h is ph ilosoph y into
h is h ands needs not th ese instructions. Wit ; Common-
weof r/ 2 or a Book of / ilpot/ z cg ms may serve h is turn. I
prescribe not h ere f orany but such as look af terth ese
principles ; andth ey must g ivemeleaveto inf orm th em,
if th ey be not perf ect masters of th eart. I am one th at
g ives andtak es, andth is to avoidcontentions. I can
suf f erth e sch oolmanto f ollowh is ownplacets, so h e
doth not h inderme to f ollowmine. Ina word, I can
tolerate men's errors andpity th em. I canpropound
th e truth , andif it be not f ollowed, it is satisf actionto
me th at wh at I didwas well done.
1 I h avediscussedth eimplications of th is statement inth eintroductory
essay. Th ereadermay compareth epostscript wh ich h eref ollows, accord-
ing to wh ich th e license impliedby th e commandwas subseq uently
with drawn.
335
A POSTSCRIPT TO THE READER
THIS small discoursewas no soonernish edth oug h by
command- - - but th e same auth orities recalledth eircom-
mission; andnowbeing somewh at transf ormedI must- - -
as some mysteriously h ave done~ live a tree. Yet th e
wisek nowth at g roves h aveth eirdurdalsf andI remember
I h ave readof animag ewh ose Hieidios placedth esub-
stance inth e sh adow. To be plain, I am silenced, and
th oug h it be inmy powerto speak , yet I h avelaws as to
th is subject wh ich I must not transg ress. I h ave ch osen
th eref ore to oppose my present f reedom to my f uture
necessity, andto speak someth ing at th is time wh ich I
must neverpublicly speak h ereaf ter. Th ereis no def ect
inaug h t th at I h avewritten, if I but tell youoneth ing
wh ich th e ph ilosoph ers h ave omitted. It is th at wh ich
someauth ors h avecalledth eVessel of Nature3andth e
GreenVessel of Saturn; andMiriam calls it th eVessel
of Hermes? Amenstruous substanceit is ; and- - - - to speak
th every truth - - - - - it is th e matrix of Nature, wh ereinyou
must place th e universal sperm as soonas it appears
beyondits body. Th eh eat of th is matrix is sulph ureous,
andit is th at wh ich coag ulates th e sperm ; but common
re- th oug h it be most exactly reg ulatedwill neverdo
it ; andinth is opinionseeth at youbenot deceived. Th is
matrix is th elif eof th esperm, f orit preserves andq uick ens
it; but beyondth e matrix it tak es coldanddies, and
noth ing ef f ectual canbe g eneratedth ereof . Ina word,
1 I g iveth is expressionas it appears inth eorig inal. It is anobscurity,
not a misprint. Th ewritermust submit to live lik e a spirit sh ut up in
tr a ee.
9 Durdtz les arewood- nymph s, so calledby Paracelsus.
3VarNaf rrrrz t. " I/ as a'z 'rz 'd.e Saiurrz r. 5 Varf lerz z telz lr.
336
u/ a Luci:
with out th is matrix youwill nevercoag ulate th ematter
norbring it to a mineral complexion. Andh ereinalso
th ereis a certainmeasure to be observed, with out wh ich
youwill miscarry inth e practice. Of th is natural vessel
speak s Miriam inth ef ollowing words : Th ek ey of th e
science is inall bodies, but owing to th esh ortness of lif e
andth e leng th of th ework th e Stoics concealedth is one
only th ing . Th ey discoveredting eing elements, leaving
instructions th ereon, andth ese also th eph ilosoph ers con-
tinueto teach , saveonly concerning th eVessel of Hermes,
because th e same is Divine, a th ing h iddenf rom th e
Gentiles b th e wisdom of God; andth ose wh o are
ig norant of it k nownot th e reg imenof truth , f orwant
of th e Hermetic Vessel.
Inth eproportionandreg imenof th is th ing wh ich th ey
call th eirvessel, andsometimes th eirre, consists all th e
secret. Andverily th e perf ormances th ereof are so ad-
mirableandso speedy th ey are almost incredible. Had
I k nownth is at rst it h adnot beenwith meas it h ath
been; but every event h ath its time, andso h adI. Th is
oneth ing - - to lay asideoth erreasonsdoth not only per-
suadebut convincemeth at th is Art was orig inally revealed
to man. Forth is I am sure of - - th at manof h imself
couldnot possibly th ink of it; f orit is invisible. It is
removedf rom th eeye, andth is out of a certainreverence;
andif by ch ance it comes into sig h t it with draws ag ain
naturally. Forit is th esecret of Nature, eventh at wh ich
th e ph ilosoph ers call th e rst copulation.2 Th is is
enoug h to a wise artist; at least it is all I intendto
publish . Andnow, Reader, f arewell.
1 Inomiiz tirrs cosrporz lius est .m'emz 'a, sadStair! proptercomm 'z / its:
ores/ z 'trz tem at o; f > orz 's proZz '; rz 'taz em / z oo mz z 'r:um ocrultatvorunt. Iliiwere
z iwvenorunt elanz eiita tz ':eg entz 'a, at ant doruerurm ea, at omnar, t'> 1 z z 'Zoso; / z i
docem iiltz , prceter'2/ as Hermetz 's, g ut}: iliudest Ditviwz miz at saj> z 'oritz 'a
Dominig entious occultatum; at illiom illudig norant i:escz 'unz 're'_g z 'men
'tven'tatis; 9roptertrust: .Hermeti.rz :g noramz 'am.Miriam was th e sisterof
Moses, andth eoldtract attributedtraditionally to h eris of auth ority in
alch emical literature.
1 Primus roiz t'uoz 'tus.
337 22
THE FRATERNITY OF THE ROSY CROSS
AND
A SHORT DECLARATION OF
3 THEIR PHYSICAL WORK
A PREFACE TO THE READER
IT is th e observationof such as sk ill dreams th at to travel
inoursleep a long way andall alone is a sig nof death .
Th is, it seems, th e poet k new, f orwh enth e Queenof
Carth ag ewas to dief orlove h e ts h erwith th is melan-
ch oly vision:
From all apart sh e treads th e weary way.
Nowth e use I mak eof it is th is : I wouldbe so wise as
to prog nosticate. I do th eref orepromisemy present work
not only lif ebut acceptance ; f orinth is my dream- and
I k nowyouwill call it so- - I travel not with out company.
Th erewere some g entlemenbesides myself wh o af f ected
th is Fameandth oug h t it no disparag ement to th eirown.
But it was th eirpleasure it sh ouldreceive lig h t at my
h ands ; andth is made th em def erth eirowncopies, wh ich
oth erwiseh adpassedth epress. I h ave, Reader, but little
more to say, unless I tell th ee of my justice, andnow
th oush alt see h owdistributive it is. Th etranslationof
th eFomo belong s to anunk nownh and, but th eabilities
of th etranslatorIq uestionnot. Heh ath indeedmistak en
Damascus f orDamcarf inArabia, andth is Iwouldnot
1 Inth e orig inal th is address is supposedto be onth e part of th e
publish er, but it is th ework of Th omas Vaug h anandappears overh is
initials.
2 Lorig am z '2"z coi 2z 'z rz z a oz 'd.e2 m'
. IreMam.
3Th eFameFrtz reriz z 'z 'az i.rstates inth e Germanorig inal th at Ch ristian
Rosy Cross visitedDamascus onth e way to Jerusalem, but insteadof
proceeding to th e Holy City h e went to a mysterious country ortown
calledDamcarandwas taug h t secret wisdom th erein. Th e Eng lish
translationof th edocument pref acedby Vaug h ang ives both places under
th enameof Damascus.
34 - 1
Th e Work s of T/ z omas Vaug an
alterf or I am no pedant, to correct anoth er man s
labours. Th ecopy was communicatedto me by a g entle-
manmore learnedth anmyself , andI sh ouldnameh im
h ere but th at h e expects not eith erth y th ank s ormine.
As f orth e pref ace, it is my ownandI wish th eeth ef ull
benet of it, wh ich certainly th oucanst not miss if th ou
comest to it with cleareyes anda purg edspirit. Con-
siderth at prejudice obstructs th yjudg ment; f orif th y
af f ections are eng ag ed- - th oug h to anig mlt f z ruus- th ou
dost th ink it a g uide because th oudost f ollowit. It is
not opinionmak es th ing s f alse ortrue, f ormenh ave
denieda g reat part of th eworldwh ich nowth ey inh abit ;
andAmerica- as well as th e Ph ilosoph er s Stone- was
sometimes inth e predicament of impossibilities. Th ere
is noth ing moreabsurdth anto be of th esame mindwith
th eg enerality of men, f orth ey h aveentertainedmany g ross
errors wh ich time andexperience h ave conf uted. It is
indeedourslug g ish ness andincredulity th at h inderall
discoveries, f ormencontributenoth ing towards th em but
th eircontempt or- - wh ich is worse- - - th eirmalice. I h ave
k nownall th is myself andth eref ore I tell it th ee; but
wh at use th ouwilt mak e of it I k nownot. To mak e
th ee wh at mansh ouldbe is not inmy power, but it is
much inth y own, if th ouk nowest th y duty to th yself .
Th ink of it andf arewell. E. P.
34 2
THE FRATERNITY OF THE ROSY
CROSS
IF it wereth ebusiness of my lif eorlearning to procure
myself th at noisewh ich mencall Fame I am not to seek
wh at mig h t conduce to it. It is anag e af f ords many
advantag es, andI mig h t h ave th e ch oice of several
f oundations wh ereonto buildmyself . I cansee with al
th at timeandemployment h ave made some persons men
wh om th eirrst adventures didnot ndsuch . Th is
suddeng rowth mig h t g ive my imperf ections also th e
condenceof such anoth erstart; but as I live not by
commonexamples so I drive not a commondesig n. I
h ave tak ena coursedif f erent f rom th at of th eworld, f or
- Readers- - I wouldh ave youk nowth at, wh ereas you
plot to set yourselves up, I do h ere contrive to bring
myself down. I amt ina h umourto af lirm th e existence
of th at admirablech imwra, th e Fraternity of R. C. And
now, Gentlemen, I th ank you: I h ave airandroom
enoug h . Meth ink s yousneak andsteal f rom me, as if
th eplag ue andth is RedCross were inseparable. Tak e
my Lordh avemercy " along with you, f orI pity your
sick ly brains, andcertainly as to yourpresent state th e
inscriptionis not unseasonable. But inlieuof th is some
1 It may be well to mentionh ereth at th eRosicrucians wererst h eard
pf inGermany about, th e yearI61 5 ; but th oug h documents were issued
lI'1 th eirname, mak ing g reat claims concerning th em, III was anopen
q uestionf rom th ebeg inning as to wh o andwh at th ey were, andwh eth er
th ey h adany corporate existenceexcept onpaper. From th e yearI61 6
andonwardth eRosicruciancausewas def endedat leng th andf req uently
by Robert FluddinEng land; but h is work s were inLatin, andby th e
year1 652th ere was very little g eneral k nowledg e of th e subject inth is
country.
34 3 I
Tue Wares of Touuz : Vaug h an
of youmay advise meto anassertionof th eCapreols of
del Ph aebo ora reviewof th e library of th at discreet
g entlemanof th e Manch a; f orinyouropinionth ose
Knig h ts andth eseBroth ers are eq ually invisible. Th is
is h ardmeasure, but I sh all not insist to disprove you.
If th erebeany among st th e living of th e same book ish
f aith with myself , th ey areth e persons I wouldspeak to,
andyet inth is I sh all act modestly: I invite th em not,
unless th ey beat leisure.
Wh enI considerth e unjust censure andindeedth e
contemptwh ich Mag ic- - eveninall ag esh ath underg one,
I can, inmy opinion, ndno oth erreasons f orit but
wh at th eprof essors th emselves are g uilty of by miscon-
struction, andth is inref erence to a double obscurity of
lif eandlang uag e. As f orth eirnice or, to speak a better
truth , th eirconscientious retirements, wh ereby th ey did
separateth emselves f rom dissolute andbrutish spirits, it
is th at wh ich none cansoberly discommend. Nay, it is
a very purg ing arg ument andmay serve to wipeof f th ose
contracted, envious scandals wh ich time andmanh ave
injuriously f astenedonth eirmemory. Forif we reason
discreetly, we may not saf ely trust th e traditions and
judg ments of th e world, concerning such persons wh o
seq uesteredth emselves f rom th eworldandwere no way
addictedto th eaf f airs oracq uaintance th ereof . It is true
th ey werelosers by th is alienation, f orboth th eirlif eand
th eirprinciples were cross to th ose of th eiradversaries.
Th ey livedinth e sh ade, inth e calm of conscience and
solitude; but th eirenemies movedinth e sunsh ine, in
th eeyeof worldly transactions, wh ere th ey k ept up th eir
ownrepute with a clamourous def amationof th ese
innocent andcontentedh ermits. Th e secondobstacle
to th eirf ame was partly th e simplicity of th eir style,
1 Th e Rosicrucians couldnot be f oundby most of th ose wh o soug h t
th em, th oug h th erewas a loudh ue andcry af terth em f ora_f ewyears
af terth eirmanif estoes were issued, andth ey came to be calledth e
Invisibles because th ey seemedto be permanently inh iding . It was
simply a catch descript1 onandby no means a titleof credit.
34 - 4 -
T/ re Fr'uter'uii_'y cf I/ z e Rory Cross
wh ich is Scripture- lik e andcommonly beg ins lik e
Solomon s text with milii. But th at wh ich spoiledall,
andmade th em contemptible evento some deg ree of
misery, was a corrupt delivery of th enotions andoocuoulo
of th eart; f ormag iclik e th e sun- moving f rom th e
East, carriedalong with it th e oriental terms wh ich our
westernph ilosoph ers, wh o sk illednot th e Arabic or
Ch aldee, &c., didmost unh appily andcorruptly tran-
scribe; andverily at th is day th ey are so strang ely abused
it is moreth ana task to g uess at th eirorig inal. But th is
is not all, f orsomewere so sing ularas to invent certain
barbarous terms of th eirown; andth ese conceited
riddles- - tog eth erwith th eirrnag isterial way of writing
f orth ey didnot so f arcondescendas to reasonth eir
positionsmade th e worldconclude th em a f abulous
g eneration. Indeedth is was a strang e course of th eirs
andmuch dif f erent f rom th at of Trismeg istus, inwh ose
g enuine work s th ere is not one barbarous syllable, nor
any point assertedwith out most preg nant anddemon-
strative reasons. Certainly Herrnes, as to h is course of
lif e, was public andprincely, inh is doctrine clearand
rational, andh ence it was th at not only h is owntimes
but evenall subseq uent g enerations were most constant
tributaries to h is h onour. Onth e contrary- - - if wemay
conjectureby ef f ectsth ere succeededh im inh is sch ool
certainmelanch oly, envious spirits wh ose obscure, in-
scrutable writing s renderedth eirauth ors contemptible,
but madeway f orth at newnoiseof Aristotlewh ich men
call ph ilosoph y. I may say th enof th eselatermag icians
wh at Solinus sometimes saidof th ose contentious suc-
cessors of Alexanderth eGreat+th at th ey were bornto
reap th eh arvest of Romang lory, not to inh erit so g reat
a name.
It is eq ually true th at some sk ulk ing ph ilosoph ers,
wh iles th ey enviously suppressedth e truth , didoccasion-
ally promote a lie, f orth ey g ave way to th e enemy s
1 Adseg ef em Roman.- 2g lories, nonad7z rrredz 'Z'ort'em z am'iuomz 'm's.
34 5
T/ z e Words ty T/ z ouuz rVuug / z uu
g rowth , till at last tares possessedth eeldandth enwas
th e true g raincast into th e re. Norindeedcouldit
be oth erwise, f or th is bush el being placedover th e
lig h t, th edark ness of it invitedig noranceabroad. And
nowsteps out Aristotle with h is pack , th e triumph s of
wh ose petulant sch ool h adbut two weak supporters-
obscurity andenvy. Both th ese proceededf rom th e
malig nancy of some eminent auth ors, wh om Godh ad
blessedwith discoveries extraordinary. Th ese, to secure
th emselves andth eart, judg edit th eirbest courseto blot
out th e past, th at such as were unworth y mig h t never
be able to f ollowth em. It cannot be deniedth at th is
mystery andcloudof th e letter carriedwith it both
discretionandnecessity ; 1 but wh at spoiledall was th e
excess of th e contrivers, f orth ey passedall decency-
both inth e measure andth e mannerof it. Icouldbe
numerous inexamples andproof s of th is k indbut th at
I h oldit superf luous to pause at a point wh ich is
ack nowledg edonall h ands.
To be sh ort th en: th eumbrag eandmist of th eirtext
req uiredsome comment andclearness; but f ewbeing
ableto expound, th eworldrang enerally to th eoth erside
andth esch oolmenh ave g ot th e day, not by weig h t but
by number. Th is considered, it cannot be th oug h t un-
reasonableandcertainly not unseasonableif a Society, con-
scious of th etruth andsk illedinth e abstruseprinciples
of Nature, sh all endeavourto rectif y th e world? For
h ith erto we h ave beenabusedwith Greek f ables anda
pretendedk nowledg e of causes, but with out th eirmuch
desiredef f ects. We plainly see th at if th e least disease
invades us th esch oolmenh ave not onenotionth at is so
1 Perh aps Vaug h anis ref erring to th e texts of alch emy as dealing with
a subject wh ich f orsomereasonh adto bedescribeddark ly. Th eposition
of th eliteratureis very curious inth is respect. From th eTURBA PHILO-
SOPHORUM downwardth ere was always railing at th e envious wh o
dark enedcounsel by obscurity ; th erewas always a pretenceof speak ing
plainly ; but th eendwas always th esame- - a newf orm of h iding ..-
1 Aref ormationof th eworldwas ex h ypo!/ z esz 'th eproposal put f orward
by th eRosicruciandocuments. .
34 6
T/ z e Fruteruif y if Me Rog ! Cross
much a ch arm as to cure us; andwh y th ensh ouldwe
embracea ph ilosoph y of mere words, wh enit is evident
enoug h th at we cannot live but by work s? Let us not,
f orsh ame, be so stupidany more, f or'tis a barbarous
ig norance to maintainth at f or truth wh ich our own
daily experience canassure us to be f alse. But some-
body will reply th at th e antiq uity of th is peripatism
may claim some reverence; andwe must complementally
invite it abroad, not ch urlish ly turnit out of doors.
Th is inmy opinionwere to dance bef ore Dag on, as
Daviddidbef ore th e Ark , to pay th at respect to a lie
wh ich is due only to th e truth : andth is is answer
suf f icient.
As f orth at Fraternity wh ose h istory andconf essionI
h ave h ereadventuredto publish , I h avef ormy ownpart
no relationto th em, neith erdo I much desireth eiracq uaint-
ance.1 I k nowth ey are masters of g reat mysteries, and
I k nowwith al th at Nature is so larg e th ey may as well
receiveas g ive. I was neveryet so lavish anadmirerof
th em as to pref erth em to all th eworld; f orit is possible
andperh aps true th at a privatemanmay h ave th at inh is
possessionwh ereof th ey areig norant. It is not th eir
title andth e noise it h ath occasionedth at mak es me
commendth em. Th e ack nowledg ment I g ive th em
was rst procuredby th eirbook s, f orth ere I f oundth em
true ph ilosoph ers andth eref ore not ch imaeras- - - as most
th ink - but men. Th eirprinciples are everyway corre-
spondent to th eancient andprimitivewisdom : nay, th ey
are consonant to ourvery relig ionandconrm every
point th ereof .I q uestionnot but most of th eirpro-
1 Notwith standing th is opendisavowal certainoccult writersusually
connectedwith pseudo- Rosicruciansocieties- - h aveclaimedVaug h anas
a memberof th eBroth erh oodandevenas h aving lledth e ch ief of ce
of Imperatorth erein. Th emendacity h as beenrepeatedf rom mouth to
mouth continually.
3Robert Fluddis mentionedonce only by name inth e writing s of
Th omas Vaug h an, but th ere is much incommonbetweenth em, andI
th ink th at th is Kentish ph ilosoph erexercisedno inconsiderableinuence
onth elaterth eosoph ist.
34 - 7
Tue Wort: cf T/ z omurVuug uu
posals may seem irreg ularto commoncapacities; but
wh ere th e prerog ative andpowerof Nature is k nown
th ere will th ey q uick ly f all even, f orth ey want not th eir
orderandsobriety. It will be expectedperh aps th at I
sh ouldspeak someth ing as to th eirpersons andh abita-
tions, but inth is my coldacq uaintance will excuse me;
orh adI any f amiliarity with th em I sh ouldnot doubt to
useit with more discretion. As f orth eirexistenceif I
may speak lik e a sch oolman- th ere is g reat reasonwe
sh ouldbelieve it, neith erdo I see h owwe candeny it,
unless weg rant th at Nature is studiedandbook s also
writtenandpublish edby some oth ercreatures th an
men.1 It is trueindeedth at th eirk nowledg eat rst was
not purch asedby th eirowninq uisitions, f orth ey received
it f rom th e Arabians, among st wh om it remainedas th e
monument andleg acy of th ech ildrenof th eEast. Nor
is th is at all improbable, f orth e easterncountries h ave
beenalways f amous f ormag ical andsecret societies.
Nowam I to seek h owf aryouwill believemeinth is
becauseI am a Ch ristian; andyet I doubt not youwill
believe a h eath en, because Aristotle was one.Tak e
th enamong st youa more acceptable eth nicI mean
Ph ilostratus, f orth us h e delivers h imself inth e Lif e of
Apollonius. Hebring s inh is Tyaneus discoursing with
Prince Ph raotes and, among st oth erq uestions proposed
to th e Prince, Apollonius ask s h im wh ere h e h adlearnt
h is ph ilosoph y andth e Greek tong ue; f oramong st th e
Indianssaidth is Greek th ere are no ph ilosoph ers.
To th is simple Quure th e Prince replies smiling with a
notable sarcasm: Ourf oref ath ers saidh e- - did
ask all th osewh o came h ith erinsh ips if th ey were not
pirates ; f orth ey conceivedall th eworldbut th emselves
1 Anentertaining illustrationof Vaug h arrls senseof evidential values.
* 1 Anoth erillustrationth at no arg ument was too badandf oolish to be
usedag ainst Aristotle by Vaug h an. He f org ets h ere th at h is g reat
auth ority, th eso- calledHermes Trismeg istus, was not less h eath enth an
th eGreek , onth eh ypoth esis of h is traditional antiq uity. As a matterof
f act, th ewriting s areof coursepost- Ch ristian.
3- +8
T/ z e Fruteruiz y cf z / z e Ron Cross
addictedto th at vice, th oug h a g reat one. But you
Grecians ask not th ose strang ers wh o come to youif
th ey be ph ilosoph ers.1 To th is h e adds a very dissolute
opinionof th e same Grecians, namely, th at ph ilosoph y,
wh ich of all donatives is th edivinest, 2sh ouldbeesteemed
among st th em as a th ing indif f erent andproportionate to
all capacities. Andth is, I am sure- - saith Ph raotes to
Apollonius- is a k indof piracy toleratedamong st you,
wh ich being appliedh ere to ph ilosoph y I sh ouldmak e
boldto renderit sacrileg e.3But th e Prince proceeds
andsch ools h is novice, f orsuch was Apollonius, wh o was
neveracq uaintedwith any one mystery of Nature. I
understand- - - saith h e- th at among st youGrecians
th ere are many intruders th at unjustly apply th emselves
to ph ilosoph y, as being no way conf ormableto it. Th ese
usurp a prof essionwh ich is not th eirown, as if th ey
sh ouldrst rob menof th eircloth es andth enwearth em,
th oug h never so disproportionate. Andth us do you
proudly straddleinborrowedornaments. Andcertainly
as pirates, wh o k nowth emselves liable to innumerable
tortures, do leada sottish anda loose k indof lif e, even
so among st youth esepirates andplunderers of ph ilosoph y
arewh olly g ivento lusts andcompotations. Andth is, I
suppose, is anevil th at proceeds f rom th e blindness and
improvidenceof yourlaws. Forsh ouldany man- stealer
bef oundamong st you, orsh ouldany adulterateyourcoin
th ese were of f ences capital andpunish edwith death .
But f orsuch as counterf eit andcorrupt ph ilosoph y, your
lawcorrects th em not, neith erh ave youany mag istrate
ordainedto th at purpose.*
Th us wesee inwh at respect th e Greek soph istry was
with th e Indians, andth at clamourous liberty th ey h adto
distract one anoth er, someof th em being epicures, some
cynics, some stoics, some ag ainperipatetics andsome of
I S84 3PHILOSTRATUS, B00k ii, cap. 29. Oipairareh atol, 85 ,
2 Getdvarov. __
i1 1 62.0]. Kai5'rt , ui5vandii, u.Tvraiivh vre? P\1 1 d'TH3EH- 1 ' dtrrlw, ota.
'1 rue, c. 3o.
34 9
T/ z e Wore: of T/ z omus Vuug / z uu
th em pretendedplatonics. It is not to be doubtedbut
th e scuf f ling andsq uabbling of th ese sectaries didat last
produce th e sceptic, wh o nding noug h t inth e sch ools
but oppositionandbitterness resolvedf ora newcourse
andsecuredh is peace with h is ig norance. Ph raotes
h aving th us returnedth at calumny wh ich Apollonius
bestowedonth e Indians to th e bosom of th is conceited
Greek g ives h im nowanaccount of h is ownColleg e-
I meanth eBrah rnins- - with th eexcellent andwh olesome
severity of th eir discipline. Andh ere I cannot but
observe th e insolence of Tyaneus, wh o being a mere
strang erinth eIndies notwith standing runs into a positive
absurdity, andbef oreh eh as conversedwith th einh abitants
concludes th em no ph ilosoph ers. Th ese badmanners of
h is I could- andperh aps not unjustly- - - derive f rom th e
customary arrog ance of h is countrymen, wh ose k indness
to th eirownissue disting uish ednot th eGreek s andth e
sag es. But th e rest of th eworldth ey discriminatedwith
a certainsh eep- mark of th eirownandbrandedth em with
th ename of barbarians. Howmuch anaspersionth is is
wesh all q uick ly understandif weattendth eprinceinh is
discourse: f orth us h e instructs Apollonius:
Among st us India- ns - - - saith h e- th ere are but f ew
admittedto ph ilosoph y, andth is is th e mannerof th eir
election. At th eag e of eig h teenyears th e personto be
electedcomes to th e RiverHyph :- 1 sis1 andth ere meets
with th osewise menf orwh osesak eevenyou, Apollonius,
are come into th ese parts. Th ere h e doth publicly
prof ess a very ardent desireandaf f ectionto ph ilosoph y,
f orsuch as are oth erwise disposedare lef t to th eirown
liberty, to f ollowwh at prof essionth ey please. Th is done,
th e next considerationis wh eth erh e be descendedf rom
h onest parents orno; andh ere th ey look back evento
th ree g enerations, th at by th e dispositionandq uality of
th e ancestors th ey may g uess at th ose of th e ch ild. If
1 Oth erwise, Hypasis orHypanis, a supposedboundary of Alexander s
world- conq uests.
350 i
T/ z e Frarerrz z ry rf t/ z e Rog Cross
th ey ndth em to h ave beenmenof a k nowninteg rity,
th enth ey proceedto h is admission: but rst th ey try h im
andprove h im with several temptations- - f orexample,
wh eth erh e be naturally modest orrath eracts a counter-
f eit bash f ulness f ora time, being oth erwiseimpudent and
lascivious ; wh eth erh e be sottish andg luttonous orno ;
wh eth erh e be of aninsolent, boldspirit, andmay prove
ref ractory anddisobedient to h is tutors. Nowth oseth at
are appointedto examine h im h ave th e sk ill to readh is
q ualities inh is countenance, f orth e eyes discovermost
of men s manners, andinth ebrows andch eek s th ereare
many excellent ndz 'cz 'a wh ereby wisemen, andsuch as are
sk illedinth emysteries of Nature, may discoverourminds
anddispositions, as imag es are discoveredina g lass.1
Andcertainly since ph ilosoph y among st th e Indians is
h adinvery g reat h onour, it is necessary th at th osewh o
wouldk nowth esecrets of it sh ouldbetemptedandproved
by all possibletrials bef ore everth ey be admitted. Th is
was th enth e disciplineof th eBrah mins andindeedof all
th e Mag iinth eelectionandproof of th eirpupils.
But all th is was news to Apollonius, andth eref ore h e
ask s Ph raotes if th ese wise men, mentionedinh is dis-
course, were of th esame orderas th osewh o didsome-
timemeet Alexanderth eGreat andh adsome conf erence
with h im concerning h eaven; 2 f orit seems th ey were
astrolog ers. To th is th ePrinceanswers th at th eseplanet-
mong ers were th e Oxydraca2, 3wh o were a people dis-
posedto th ewars. Andf ork nowledg e- saith h e
th ey mak ea g reat prof essionof it, but indeedth ey k now
noth ing th at is excellent. But h e proceeds :5 Th ose
wise menwh o are truly such dwell betweenth e River
Hyph asis andGang es, into wh ich placeAlexandernever
came, not th at h edurst not attempt it ; but as I th ink "
saith th ePrince- - th e reverence due to th eirmysteries
1 laid. It sh ouldbeunderstoodth at Vaug h an s rendering is by way of
p3.I'3ph I'&S . 2 1 51 1 1 ., C. 33. Hep! Tut? upavo. 3'O upcf xcu.
" Eocpiav- re , u.e'rc ; (e:pf o'a8o: c:o'lv, oirivxpnarbvef drrs.
5 OE 6% &.'re; (v:3s uroq bel, 86 .
35 I
T/ z e Work s sf T/ z omas Vaug an
k ept h im o"." To th is h e adds th at Alexanderk new
th e RiverHyph asis was passable andth at h e mig h t with
ease beleag uerth e city, wh ereinth ese Mag i diddwell.
But th eirtowerssaith h e- - h adh e broug h t with
h im a th ousandsuch soldiers as Ach illes was, andth ree
th ousandsuch as Ajax, h e couldneverh ave tak enit.
To th is h eg ives h is reason, namely, th at th e Mag ididnot
mak e any sallies to beat of f th eirenemies, but k eeping
q uietly with inth eir g ates th ey destroyedth em with
th underandlig h tning . Here was a story mig h t h ave
startledApollonius, wh o k newnot th e powerof g un-
powder; but inth ese ourdays th ere is noth ing more
f amiliarandcredible.
But, notwith standing , th e improvements of th is f atal
inventionare not k nownevento th e present g enerations,
f orth e pyrog raph y of Cornelius Ag rippa andth e powder
of FriarBaconwere neveryet broug h t to th eeld. And
nowlet us h earth e Friarh imself , wh o, discoursing of
several wonderf ul experiments, tell us, among st th e rest,
of a secret compositionwh ich , being f ormedinto pills or
littleballs andth encast up into th eair, wouldbreak out
into th unders andlig h tning s moreviolent andh orribleth an
th oseof Nature. Overandaboveth ese"- - - - saith h e
are oth ermarvels of Nature, f orreports lik e th under
andlig h tning canbecausedinth e air, more h orribleby
f arth anare th ose wh ich occurnormally. Fora small
q uantity of preparedmatter- - - say, about th e siz eof one's
th umb- - - - canproducea terric soundandg enerate vivid
lig h tning . Th is canbe done af terseveral manners, by
any of wh ich a city oranarmy may be destroyed. Th ese
are strang e ef f ects, g ivenk nowledg eof th eirproperuse,
th eirmaterial andporportion.3
1 Ph ilostratus says noth ing of th e k ind. His words are: Not f rom
any f ears of th e conseq uence, but f rom th e omens being , as I suppose,
unpropitious.'A2t.\'oipnt rdEsprit dweapnrsvat rrrI> .
Alma Tv"ye rtipoav.
3Prester- z / em / treesun! alz isz stnpenda Nature, rz am ramwelz z t, tom'z rz 2'.r
at c0ru.rcrz t:'rme.rporruntrminacre, branmajors k orroreg z rrz rnillrz g rate
351
T/ z e Fraz ternz lf y cf te Rory Cray:
Th us h e : but let us returnto Apollonius, f ornowh e
trots lik e a novice to th e RiverHyph asis andcarries
with h im a commendatory letterto th eBrah mins, h aving
req uestedth e Prince to tell th em h e was a g oodboy.
Hereth eseadmirable easternmag icians present h im with
such rarities as invery truth h e was not capable of .
First of all th ey sh ewh im- as Ph ilostratus describes it
a certainaz ure orsk y- colouredwater, andth is tincture
was extremely predominant init, but with much lig h t
andbrig h tness. Th is strang e liq uor, th e sunstrik ing
onit at noon, attractedth e beams orsplendourto itself
anddidsink downwards, as if coag ulatedwith th eh eat,
but reectedto th eeyes of th ebeh olders a most beautif ul
rainbow. Here we h ave a perf ect descriptionof th e
ph il0soph er s Mercury, but th ere is someth ing more
beh ind. Apollonius conf esseth h owth e Brah mins told
h im af terwards th at th is waterwas a certainsecret water2
andth at th ere was h idunderit orwith init a blood- red
earth ? Ina word, th ey toldh im th at nonemig h t drink
ortasteof th at liq uor, neith erwas it drawnat all f orany
ordinary uses. Af terth is most mysterious waterth ey
sh ewh im also a certainmysterious re, andh eref ormy
part I do not intendto comment. From th is re h e is
broug h t to certaintubs, orsome such vessels, wh ereof
one is calledth evessel of rainandth eoth erth evessel of
winds- - - all wh ich are most deep andexcellent alleg ories.
But th ese rarities imply no more th anth e rudiments of
mag ic. Let us nowcome to th e Medicineitself andth e
admirableef f ects th ereof .
Th e Brah mins - - saith Apollonius- - anointedth eir
rm!perNrrtrrrmz z . News median: mnrterarz rrdrrg trz trz , .rrr'Zz 'rez adg z m:m - .= :'-
tater): z m'z .r ; $ 0lZz 't'z '.r sommz z r.r't k 0rrz 't5z '[em ea ::0rz r.rr.rz tz '0 z em 0.rZerz dz 'Z'
we/ z ez vz ez z f em_; ef / inc t mz rlf z lrrrz 0a72'.r_, g z r'6z . s cz 'wz 'z as rrz rt e; re?'rr'tz .r der-
lrz rrz tur. M'i"r- rrsz mz / z en: rsg uts scare! artsadjlemrm 2'22 a'et5z '!z E g z r.~ ; mz z '!rz z e
ez maz erz 'rz .
1 ] 6z 'a ., c. 4 1 . Th eintroductory letterof Ph raotes describes Apollonius
as a manf amedf orwisdom.
2 f l? ' Z'., BOOl{ iii, C_. I4 . A- :rdpp1 1 'rov5% Tb iiwp.
3'9! envapaxf vn. 4 [did-
353 23
T/ z e Work s cf T/ z omas Vang / z an
h eads with a g ummy medicine, andth is made th eir
bodies to steam at th epores andsweat inth at abundance
as if "- - saith h e- th ey h adpurg edth emselves with
re." Th is is enoug h to prove th em ph ilosoph ers.
Andnowlet us see wh at k indof h abitationth ey h ad
andh owmuch a parallel it is to th at place ordwelling
of R. C. wh ich h is f ollowers call Locus Sancz i Spiritu
Th ewise men"saith Apollonius- dwelt ona little
h ill ormount, andonth eh ill th ererestedalways a cloud,
inwh ich th e Indians h ousedth emselves - - f or so th e
wordsig nies- - andh ere didth ey renderth emselves
visible orinvisible at th eirownwill anddiscretion.3
Th is secret of invisibility was not k nownto th e Dutch
boornorto h is plag iary, th e auth orof Th e Manna ; but
th e Fraternity of R. C. canmove inth is wh ite mist.
Wh osoeverwouldcommunicate with us must be able
to see inth is lig h t, orus h e will neversee- - unless by
ourownwill.
But Tyaneus tells us someth ing more, namely, th at
th e Brah mins th emselves didnot k nowwh eth erth is h ill
was compassedabout with walk s orh adany g ates th at did
leadto it orno ; f orth e mist obstructedall discoveries.
Considerwh at youread, f orth us somebody writes con-
cerning th e h abitationof R. C. I beh eldona day th e
Olympiantowers sh ining by a certainstream andf amous
city, wh ich we h ave consecratedby th e Name of th e
Holy Spirit. I speak of Heliconor double- peak ed
Parnassus- wh ereinth esteedPeg asus openeda f ountain
1 H)teIr1 'ptii3e: Q'> ttp, U- tf mp, a preparationof amber. Ibz k i, c. 1 7.
9 Th eHouseof th eHoly Spirit was th eplaceof assembly at wh ich th e
Broth erh oodof th eRosy Cross werecovenantedto meet oncea year, or
write th e cause of absence.See Frmz a Fm/ errz z 'z az z 's. It is not clear
wh eth erit was inf act th e tting andneat h abitationwh ich C. R. C.
built f orh imself af terh is travels, andwh ereinh eruminatedh is voyag e
andph ilosoph y.It was th at presumably wh ich containedth e vault of
C. R. C., according to h is story.
3!e'd., c. 1 3.
4 Vt rz ariz lrcwz z nz rtem c0rz e'erz z '.:z r rz ecerse est / irrz m Kareem rerrz as, sine
erz z wz rst: lurerrr. 0ssz '6z 'Zeest sees mf dere, 2z z '.rz ' g z rarz do r/ nlz z mus.
354
T/ z e Fratermig l of t/ z e R0.) Cross
of perennial water, owing unto th is day. Th ereinDiana
bath cs ; th erewith are associatedVenus as a waiting - maid
andSaturnas a patient client. Th ese are words wh ich
will say too much to th ose wh o understand, but to th e
inexpcrt littleornoth ing ."1
But to clear th e prospect a little more let us h ear
Apollonius ina certainspeech of h is to th e Eg yptians,
describing th is Elysium of th e B1 ah mins.2 I h ave
seen- - - saith h e- - th e Brah mins of Indiag dwelling on
th e earth andnot onth e earth . Th ey were g uarded
with out walls and, possessing noth ing , th ey enjoyedall
th ing s." Th is is plainenoug h , andonth is h ill h ave
I also a desire to live, if it were f orno oth erreason
but wh at th e soph ist sometimes appliedto th e moun-
tains: Th ese rst th e sunsalutes andlast f orsak es.
VVh o sh all not love th e place andth e long days
th erein?"4
But of th is place I will not speak any more, lest th e
readersh ouldbe so madas to entertaina suspicionth at
I am of th eOrder. I sh all nowth eref oreproceedto th e
th eory of th e Brah mins, andth is only so f aras th eir
h istory sh all g ive me leave. I ndJarch as th enseated
inh is th rone andabout h im th e rest of h is societ
. . . 7*
wh ere h aving rst placedApollonius 1 nth eseat royal of
Ph raotesf Jarch as welcomes h im with th is unconned
liberty. Propound"saidh e~ - wh at q uestions th ou
wilt, f orth ouart come to menth at k nowall th ing s.
HereTyaneus puts inandvery wisely ask s th em wh at
1 I/ iz 'dz ' alf g raaada O4 1 / rs- '; z 'crz s demos, an:- '2procz ria atdaf a at cz iz arrz te
meta, g aas S. Spz h f tas z vacrz riz ':rz rrg z 'nar; :ar. HeZz 'rarz era de Q- anloaaar,
ambiceps Parnassus, 2'2: q ua eg aarPrg rrsasf arz f em .aper2 z 'z 'peremz z 's aq ua:
rz d/ mt. .rz z 'lZrz mem, 2'2: g aa Dz 'an'a re Zrz taz f , car Venus at peah sseg aa at
Satarrz arat rraierz rabala caajaag aaf ar. f meZlz :g eatz ' m'nz z 'a:a, z '2z e.rperz 0
r:z z 'rz z 'mam / tar.err ! alictz rm.
9 PHIL., Bk . iii, c. 1 5.
. .3'ETJvcpnalr'Ive'5oi.rs Bpaxndvas eixoiiwras anTs yiis, xoif m: err aivrs.
4 Hos ; .5rz 'mrmz sol salatat, aZtz 'az 0.rg rz re derez . Qa- as locum rz aa amet,
riz iarion.= :'0re.t / z aeaf em.
5 1 621 5; , C. I7.
6 ]5Z'd., C. I3. 'Epe'.i'ra 3"rt Betiiust trap Eiwpas yap iixets rrcivrri. eitiras.
355
T/ re Warts of T/ z omarVaag an
principles th e worldwas compoundedof . To th is th e
Brah mins reply : It was compoundedof th eelements.
Is it made th en- - - saith Ap0llonius of th e f our
elements?" No"saidth e g reat _]arch asbut of
ve.Hereth e Grecianis puz z led, f orbesides earth "
- - saith h e- andwater, airandre I k nownot any-
th ing . Wh at th enis th is f th substancePIt is "
saith jarch as- - th eeth er, wh ich is th eelement of spirits,
f orth ose creatures wh ich drawinth e airaremortal, but
th osewh ich drawinth eeth erareimmortal."
Andh ereI cannot but observe th e g ross ig norance of
Apollonius, wh o being a prof essedPyth ag oreanh adnever
h eardof th e eth er, th at f amous Pyth ag oreanprinciple.
But let us come to h is secondq uestion, wh ich of all
oth ers doth most betray h is weak ness andinsuf ciency.
Hereq uests Jarch as to inf orm h im wh ich of th eelements
was rst made. To th is absurdity th e learnedBrah min
answers lik e h imself . Th ey were made"- saidh e
all at once" ; andh e g ives th is reasonf orit : because
no living creature is g eneratedby piecemeals."3Th is
was a wh olesome anda rational tenet, f orth e ch aos was
rst made, andinth at all th e elements at one andth e
sameinstant ; f orth e worldwas manif estedandbroug h t
out of th e ch aos lik ea ch ick out of aneg g . To th is
Apollonius replies lik e a pure soph ister: Andmust I
th ink th en- - - - saith h e- - th at th e worldis a living
creaturePSaith Jarch as: Yes, verily, if youreason
rig h tly; f orit g iveth lif e to all th ing s."5 Sh all we
th en"saith Tyaneus- call it a male or a f emale
creaturePBoth - saith th e wise Brah min f or
th e world, being a compoundof both f aculties, supplies
th eof h ceof f ath erandmoth erinth eg enerationof th ose
th ing s th at h avelif e.6
1 As a matterof f act, th e rst q uestionof Apollonius was concerning
self - k nowledg e, th esecondconcerning th esoul, andth e th irdrespecting
pre- existenceandtransmig ration.
2 L0r.'.cz 'z '., c. 34 . 3Ilnid. 4 Th is is a commentary of Eug enius.
'5 1 52.61 7. G f df d. Air- ros yap aura}, 85 ,
. 356
Th e Fraterrz z iy g rth e Rory Cress
Weare nowcometo Apollonius h is last ph ilosoph ical
q uery, andsorry I am th at h e h adnot th e wit to pro-
poundeith ermore orbetterq uestions; but we must
tak e th em as th ey are. He ask s Jarch as wh eth erth e
earth orth e sea didexceedinq uantity. To th is th e
Indianreplies th at if h e only consideredth e Mediter-
raneanorsome oth erparticularch annel, th eearth with -
out q uestiondidexceed. But if youask "1 - saidh e- - -
concerning h umidity ormoistureing eneral, th enverily
th eearth is much lesserth anth ewater, f orit is th ewater
th at bears up th e earth .Th is indeedis soundreason
andconf ormable both to Scripture andNature; f orth e
very Spirit th at animates andsupports th e universeh ath
h is h abitationinth ewater.
AndnowI supposeit is apparent to th eunderstanding
readers- f oroth ers I wouldnot h aveth at th eBrah mins
were not a f abulous, superstitious society but menof a
severe doctrine, wh ose principles were answerable to th e
very rig ourof Nature anddidnot wantonbeyondh er
laws. I couldwish Apollonius h adbeenmore able to
deal with th em ; but so sh ort was h eof ph ilosoph y th at
h e k newnot wh at to ask th em, andth at ample liberty
wh ich th ey g ave h im was all of it to no purpose. Th is
is clear to such as k nowanyth ing out of h is f ormer
q ueries, wh ich we h ave already mentioned. But if we
look onth erest of h is problems th ey are most of th em
but so many h istorical f ables wh ich h e broug h t with h im
out of Greece : andnowh e beg ins to sh ak eh is budg et.
Th e rst th ing th at comes out is th e Martich oraf a
monsterwh ich Mandevillecouldnevermeet with al ; and
th enh e q uestions Jarch as concerning a certainwaterof
th e colour of g old; 3andth is indeedmig h t sig nif y
someth ing but th at h e understoodit literally of common,
ordinary well- spring s; andth eref ore Jarch as tells h im
1 PI- IIL., L21 5. iii, C. 37. Hpbs araavTh ef ypavorrf av.
9 Map1 'lxdp0t we! Mavf lxdpas, a monster mentionedby Aristotle inh is
h istory of beasts.IJa'd., c. 4 5.
3Ih id.
357
Th e Worh r0f Th omas Vaug h an
th at h e neverh eardof h is Martich ora, neith erwas it ever
k nownth at any f ountains of g oldenwaters didspring in
India. But th is is not all. Inth e rearof th is strang e
beast march th e Pig mies, 1 th eSciapodes andth e Macra-
ceph a/ i, to wh ich mig h t be addedall th e animals in
Lucian s h istory. Butas we commonly say- - th ere is
no smok e with out some re: so among st th ese f oreig n
f ables came insome Indianalleg ories, andprobably th e
Brah mins th emselves h adg iventh em out, at once to
declare andobscure th eirk nowledg e. Th ese alleg ories
are but two, andJarch as insists much uponth em, besides
a solemnack nowledg ment.
Th ere is no reason"- - - saidh e- but we sh ould
believe th ereare such th ing s.2 Th e rst of th esetwo
mysteries is th e Pantarva, wh ich Ficinus corruptly tran-
scribes Pantaura ; 3andof th is Apollonius desiredto k now
th etruth - namely, if th ere was such a stone at all and
wh eth er it was enrich edwith so strang e a mag netism
as to attract to itself all oth erprecious stones. Th is
q uestionth e Brah minsatises experimentally, f or h e
h adth is g oodly stoneabout h im andf avouredApollonius
with th e sig h t th ereof . But f orourbetterinf ormation
let us h earJarch as h imself describe it, f orh e doth it so
f ully th at a very ordinary capacity may g o along with
h im. Th is stone- saith h e- - is g eneratedincertain
earth y caverns, somef ouryards deep, andh ath init such
abundance of spirit th at inth e placeof its conceptionth e
earth swells up andat last break s with th e very tumour.
But to look at th is stone belong s not to every body,
f or it vanish eth away unless it be extractedwith all
possiblecaution. Only we th at are Brah mins, by certain
practices of ourown, canndout th e Pantarva.
Th ese are th e words of Jarch as, wh ere yoush all
observe th at h e h ath conf oundedth e rst andsecond
g enerationof th e Stone, it being th e custom of th e
I PHIL, Lid. iii, C. 4 5. 2 1 5:1 1 ., BI- C. III, C. 4 6. 01 5 xph eirrrta- niv.
3)'.e., Pantarba. i rm, c. 4 6. '
358
Th e Fraterrz iz y of th e Rary Cross
ph ilosoph ers neverto express th eirmysteries distinctly.
Th e secondbirth th enh e h ath f ully andclearly
discovered, f or wh enth e ph ilosoph ers rst earth is
moistenedwith its ownmilk it swells, being impreg nated
with f req uent imbibitions, till at last it break s andwith
a sof t h eat sublimes. Andth enascends th e h eavenly
Sulph ur, being f reedf rom h is h ell; f orit leaves beh ind
th e Binarius orrecremental earth , 1 andis no more a
prisonerto th at dross. Th is rst, h eavenly Sulph uris
commonly calledstellatedrock andearth of pearls ; 2 but
RaymundLully calls it earth of earth , 3andina certain
place h e describes it th us. Th is is th at Tincture
saith h e- - wh ich strips of f its vileearth andcloth es itself
with a noblerk ind. But elsewh ere prescribing some
caveats f orth e roridwork , h e expressly mentions th e
rst andsecondSulph urs, commonly calledSulph ur
f rom Sulph urs."5 Hesaith th at th is is understoodof
th at earth wh ich is not separatedf rom th evessel, orearth
of earth . Th is is enoug h to prove th e af f inity of th e
Pantarva andth ePh ilosoph ers Stone.
Let us nowreturnto Jarch as, f orh e proceeds inh is
instructions, andApollonius h ears h im to no purpose.
Th e Pantarva- - saith h e- - af ter nig h t discovers a
reas brig h t as day, f orit is ery andsh ining ; but if
youlook onit inth e daytimeit daz z les th e eye with
certaing leams or coruscations.7VVh ence th is lig h t
came andwh at it was th e Brah minwas not ig norant of .
Th at lig h t "3- saidh e- wh ich sh ines init is a spirit
of admirablepower, f orit attracts to itself all th ing s th at
1 Tea/ ra daraarz ta. Th is is th ecaper! mortaam, explainedina previous
note, calledalso th ef seces lef t by substanceaf terits purication.
3Petra stellata ez terra n:arg arz 'tz 'arz m. .
3Terra terrre.
L Ha : est tz iuctz ara area- 1 ' a ra'Zz ' ierrri se .r; f r0Zz 'at et aZz 'rE mealtime mi- 'h z '/ z
reindaz ? re.
5 Saeh ara desa h z rz 'h as.
6 Hoez 'meZZz ; g 'z 'tara'eterrrig in? area es! separaf rra tease, deterra { erran-
T Lac, cz 'z ., c. 4 6. '
Tb Bi Evttirr- ii < ; b- is wwepcoi arrvapp- roeIaxliios.
359
B
Th e h f / orh rof Th amarVaug h an
are nearit.Andh ere h e tells Tyaneus th at if precious
stones werecast into th esea orinto someriver, andth is
too conf usedly, as being f arscatteredanddispersedone
f rom anoth er, yet th is mag ical stone- being let down
af terth em- - wouldbring th em ag aintog eth er; f orth ey
wouldall move towards th e Pantarva andclusterunder
it, lik ea swarm of bees. Th is is all h e tells h im; but
inconclusionh e produceth h is Pantarva. Inplain
terms h e sh ewedh im th e Ph ilosoph ers Stone andth e
miraculous ef f ects th ereof }Th e secondsecret wh ich
Apollonius stumbledon, f orh e k newit not as a secret,
was th eg oldof th e Gryph onsf andth is also Jarch as doth
ack nowledg e, but I sh all f orbearto speak of it, f orI h old
it not altog eth erconvenient.
It is timenowto dismiss Apollonius andh is Brah mins,
andth is I will do ; but I sh all rst prevent anobjection,
th oug h a sorry one, f orig norance mak es use of all tools.
It will be saidperh aps I h ave beentoo boldwith
Apollonius, wh o- inth eopinionof many men, andsuch
as wouldbe th oug h t learnedwas a very g reat ph ilo-
soph er. I To th is I answerth at I q uestionnot any man s
learning : let th em th ink of th emselves as th ey please,
andif th ey can, let th em be answerableto th eirth oug h ts.
But as f orApollonius, I say, th e noise of h is miracles,
lik e th ose of X avier, may ll some credulous ears, and
th is sudden larum may procure h im entertainment ; but
h adth ese admirers perusedh is h istory th ey h adnot
betrayedso much weak ness as to allowh im any sober
1 Lac. z :z 't., c. 4 6. Th ePantarva is broug h t f orwardinth erst instance
as a mag netic stone, but th is q uality is neverascribedto th e stone of
alch emy, th oug h according to Sendivog iussoph ic Mercury h as an
attractivepowerrespecting solarandlunarrays. Th e Pantarva is also
saidto h avea vanish ing tendency, wh ich ag aindoes not ch aracteriseth e
Lapz '.ry5h z 'Zasa; 5h 0ram. Vaug h anis inf act misledby a very sh adowy
analog y. Th ereis no needto say th at th e Ph ilosoph ers Stone andits
particularoperations arenot mentionedby Ph ilostratus.
2 ].e., g rif ns. Th ey weresupposedto dig up certainstones with th eir
beak s, break th em inpieces andexh ibit th e g oldcontainedth erein.-
1 h :'d., c. 4 8.
36o a
Th e Fraterairy of th e Rory Cross
ch aracter. It is truePh ilostratus attributes many strang e
perf ormances to h im, as th at h e sh ouldraise th e dead,
f reeh imself f rom prisonandsh ak e of f h is ch ains with as
much divinity as St Peterh imself ; 1 nay, th at pleading
with Domitianina f ull senate h e sh ouldsuddenly vanish
away andbe translatedina moment f rom Rome to
Puteoli.2 Truly th ese areg reat ef f ects; but if we con-
sideronly wh at Ph ilostratus h imself will conf ess we sh all
q uick ly ndth at all th ese th ing s are but inventions.
Forinth e beg inning of h is romance, wh ere h e would
g iveh is readers anaccount of h is inventions, andf rom
wh at h ands h e receivedth em, h e tells us th at Damis, wh o
was Apollonius h is f ellow- traveller, didwriteh is lif e and
all th e occurrences th ereof ; 3but th osecommentaries of
Damissaith h e- were neverpublish edby Damis h im-
self , only a f riendof h is, a somebody, a certainf amiliar
of Damis didcommunicate th em to Julia th e Queen.
Andh ere Ph ilostratus tells me th at th is Queencom-
mandedh im to transcribe th esecommentaries. It seems
th enth at th ey were orig inally writteninth e Greek
andPh ilostratus is a mere transcriber, andno auth or.
Th is I cannot believe, f orDamis was anAssyrianand+
as h e h imself conf esseth a very ig norant person, and
altog eth erilliterate. But meeting with Apollonius and
conversing with th e Greek s, h e also was almost made a
Grecian, but not altog eth er- not so learneda Grecianas
to write h istories, andina stylelik e th at of Ph ilostratus.
But th is is not all. Ourauth ortells us of one Moer-
ag enes, wh o h adf ormerly writtenth e lif e of Apollonius
inf ourbook s ; but th is f ellow- - saith h e- - was ig norant
of th e perf ormances ormiracles of Tyaneus. Andwh at
1 Th eref erenceis to ACTS, xii, 7. 2 PHIL., Book viii, (3.1 0.
3]ez 'd., Book i, c. 3. Also c. I9. -
Hpoaf pccuvrts, &C- 5 IeuAia- T Baarh ir.
Th e orig inal reads transcribler, wh ich is presumably a typo-
g raph ical error, th oug h it may h ave beenso writtenby Vaug h anin
h is satire.
7[b; 'd, , iii, Q, 4 3, "'E?~ ..?n1 u'I - re 1 . - n1 p.f ew"'EJU\'nvr aro yevdnsvus.
361
Th e / Vorh rof Th omas Vaug h an
f ollows th is ig noranceF We must not th eref orebelieve
Moerag enes}Andwh y not, I beseech you? Because
f orsooth h e livednearif not inth e days of Apollonius
but never h eardof th ose monstrous f ables wh ich
Ph ilostratus af terwards invented? Wemust th enbelieve
Ph ilostratus h imself , f orh e is not th ef amiliarf riendbut
th ef amiliarspirit3of Apollonius. It was h eindeedth at
wroug h t all th esewonders, f orApollonius h imself never
wroug h t any.
Nowf orth e learning of th is Tyaneussinceit is th e
pleasure of some mento th ink h im learned- - I must
conf ess f ormy part I cannot ndit. Th e ph ilosoph y
th at h e pretendedto was th at of Pyth ag oras, f orth us h e
rants it to Vardanes th eBabylonian. I am a master
saith h e of th e wisdom of Pyth ag oras th e Samian.
He taug h t me th e true f orm of worsh ipping th e g ods
andwh o of th em are visible, wh o invisible, andh owl
may come to speak with th em.Howtrue th is is we
may easily k now, if welook back onh is education. His
tutorinth e Pyth ag oreanprinciples was one Euxenus, a
notable sot, anda manig norant, as Ph ilostratus tells us.5
Hewas - - saith ourauth or- - anepicureinh is course
of lif e; andf orh is learning , h e couldonly repeat some
sentences of Pyth ag oras but didnot understandth em;
andth eref ore h e compares h im to certainmimic birds,
wh o are taug h t th eirf arewell 6 andth eirPropitious
Zeus, but k nownot wh at th e words sig nif y. Now,
wh at instructions h e was lik e to receive f rom th is man
let any indif f erent readerjudg e. But weh avesometh ing
moreto say ; f orif Apollonius wh enh e was at Babylon
couldconverse with th e g ods, wh y didh e af terwards
1 PHIL., L56. i, c. 3.
2 Ph ilostratus says th at h eh appenedto meet with th ef ourbook s of one
Merag enes, but th ey were not of g reat valuebecause of th e write:- s
ig norance.
3Hpooamv1 '1 5".
4 f 6: ."d., C. 32. Eoq bf a Bi tiyael Hueypev, Zapieutiu- '5p6s. SIC.
'3 l62'd., c. 7.
E5 1 rpii'r're. 7Zeb: Mews.
362
Th e Fraterrz iry of th e Rory Cross
desire to be taug h t of men? Forwh enh e comes to
India h e req uests th e Brah mins to teach h im th e art of
divination. Certainly h adh e beenf amiliarwith ang els
andspirits h e h adnot troubledth em with such a
q uestion. Th ese indeedare th e slips of Ph ilostratus,
wh o h adth eart of lying but wantedth e art of memory.
Inanoth erplace h e tells us th at Apollonius understood
all th e lang uag es th at mendidspeak and- - wh ich is
more miraculous- eventh eirsecret cog itations. Th is is
much indeed, but sh ortly af terwards h e f org ets th ese
strang e perf ections ; f orwh enh e bring s h im to Ph raotes
- - th at serious easternPrinceth ere doth h e use an
interpreter; f orTyaneus- wh o f ormerly understoodall
lang uag es- couldnot understandth e lang uag e of th e
Prince, 2 andso f ar was h e f rom k nowing h is secret
th oug h ts th at h edidnot k now" inh owmany lang uag es h e
couldexpress th ose th oug h ts. Forwh enth ePrincewas
pleasedto express h imself inth e Greek tong ueTyaneus
was q uite dejectedanddidmuch wonderh owh e came
to be a masterof th at dialect.
Nowif any manwill say th at th e Brah mins didimpart
th eirmysteries to h im, it is apparent enoug h th ey did
not. Th is is it wh ich evenDamis tells us, f orApollonius
- saith h ereq uestednoth ing of th e Brah mins but
certaindivinatory trick s, by wh ich h e mig h t f oretell
th ing s to come. Andh ere jarch as tak es occasionto
discourse with h im about revelations, f orh e speak s not
of any prog nosticating k nack s wh ich th is Greek didlook
af ter. He tells h im th enth at h e judg edh im a most
h appy manwh o couldobtainany f orek nowledg e at th e
h ands of Godandpreach th at to th e ig norant wh ich
h e didalready f oresee. As f orrules to divine by h e
prescribes not any, f orit was too g ross anerrorf orsuch
1 Hcf aas eie > wmiis evpah rwv. See Book i, c. I9, among oth erplaces.
2 1 6z 'a'., ii, c. 26. ,
3jarch as promises Apollonius th ef ull possessionof all h is k nowledg e.
- 1 61 3, , iii. I6. Seealso c. 4 1 .
]6z 'd., c. 4 2.
363
Th e Worh rof Th omas Vaug h au
a ph ilosoph eras h imself . He only tells h im th at h e
sh ouldleada pure lif e andk eep h imself spotless f rom
th eesh . One passag e indeedth ere is wh ich I cannot
omit. Jarch as inf orms Apollonius th at of all g if ts im-
partedto manby revelationth e ch ief est- , - saidh e
- is th e g if t of h ealing , or Medicine. But th is
h eavenly andmost benecial truth Apollonius was not
sensibleof , f orh ewas so g reat a strang erto th esecrets
of Natureth at h e didnot k nowwh at to ask f or. For
my ownpart, if I durst th ink h im a ph ilosoph er, I sh ould
seat h im with th e Stoics; f orh e was a g reat masterof
moral severities, andth is is all th e ch aracterI cang ive
h im. As f orPh ilostratus, if wewere not evenwith h im
I sh ouldth ink h e h admuch abusedus; f orwh enh e
pennedh is h istory h e allowedus no discretionto come
af ter h im. I couldbe sorry f or some absurdities h e
h ath f astenedonJarch as, didnot th e principles of th at
g lorious Brah minref ute th em. Wh at th ey are I sh all
not tell you, 2f orI am connedto a pref ace andcannot
proportionmy discourse to th edeserts of my subject.
Andh eresomecritic may drop h is disciplineandbid
me f ace about, f orI am wide of my text- - - th e Society
of R. C. I h ave indeedexceededinmy serviceto th e
Brah mins; but inall th at th ere was no impertinency.
I didit to sh ewth e conf ormity of th e oldandnew
prof essors ; andth is is so f arf rom dig ressionI canth ink
it neara demonstration. Forwh enwe h ave evidence
th at mag icians h ave beenit is proof also th at th ey may
be, since it cannot be deniedth at precedents exclude
impossibility. I h oldit th enworth our observation
th at eventh ose Mag i wh o came to Ch rist Himself
came f rom th eEast. But as we cannot proveth ey were
I PHIL, C. 4 4 . Me- i"yto'Tol- I dis Ti: T5723iarptk iis dtiilpov.
5 Th is is one of Vaug h an s trick s inth e lesserarts of mystery. Th e
subject- matterof th e discourses betweenIarch as andApollonius h ave
beenf airly set f orth , andwecanestimateth eirmeasures with out ref erring
to Ph ilostratus. Th ey enabledApollonius to writef ourbook s onastrolog y
andoneonsacrices- - th at is, according to th eromance.
364
Th e Fraternity of th e Rosy Cross
Brah mins so neith ercanwe prove th ey were not. Now
if any manwill be so cross as to contendf orth eneg ative
h e sh all h ave my th ank s f orth e advantag e h e allows
me ; f orth enit must f ollowth at th e East af f ordedmore
mag ical societies th anone. But th is point I neednot
insist on, f orth e learnedwill not deny but wisdom and
lig h t wererst manif estedinth e same parts, namely, in
th e East, wh ere th e rst manplanted. Andh ence did
th e worldreceive not only th eir relig ionbut th eir
ph ilosoph y, f orcustom h ath disting uish edth ose two.
From th is f ountainalso- - - th is living oriental one- = did
th e Broth ers of R. C. drawth eir wh olesome waters;
f orth eirf ounderreceivedh is principles at Damcarin
Arabia, as th eirFame will instruct youat larg e. It was
not amiss th enif I spent my h ourinth at brig h t reg ion
andpaida weak g ratitudeto th oseprimitivebenef actors ;
f or tis a lawwith me th at h e wh o draws th e water
sh ouldadornth ewell.1
But th at I may come at last to th esubject intended, I
sh all conf ess, f ormy part, I h ave no acq uaintance with
th is Fraternity as to th eirpersons; but th eirdoctrine I
am not so much a strang erto. Andh ere, f orth ereader's
satisf action, I sh all speak someth ing of it, not th at I would
discoverorpoint at any particulars, f orth at's a k indness
- - as th ey th emselves prof esswh ich th ey h ave not f or
any mantill th ey rst eat a bush el of salt with h im.3
Th ey tell us th enth at th e re andSpirit of Goddid
work uponth e earth andth e water; andout of th em
didth e Spirit extract a pure, clearsubstance, wh ich th ey
call th eterrestrial h eaven. Inth is h eaventh e Spirit-
say th eyseatedHimself , impressing His imag eth erein.
Andout of th is h eavenly, clariedextract, impreg nated
with th e inux andimag eof th e Spirit, was f ormedth at
most noblecreaturewh om we call man. Th is rst matter
1 Quaag uauz h aurz 't, 6uteuuz corouaz . _
2 Th esecondaf rmationof Vaug h anonth is subject, so th at th ere may
beno doubt th ereon.
* 1 .z Vz 'sz ' a6su; v2; 6to satz lruz odio.
365
Te W01 'rq f T/ 202/ ms Vaug / z mz
of man, as th ey describeit, was a liq uid, transparent salt,
a certainbrig h t earth , puriedby a supernatural ag ent
andtemperedwith a strang e, unctuous h umidity, en-
lig h tenedwith all th e tinctures of th e sunandstars.
lt was andis th e minera of all creatures ; andth is Society
doth ack nowledg e it to be th eirvery basis andth erst
g ateth at leads to all th eirsecrets. Th is earth orwater-
call it wh ich youwill, f orit is both - - - naturally produceth
th eirag ent ; butit comes not to th eirh ands with out art.
By th eirag ent l understandth eirre, commonly called
Maleof Water, Vulcan, Invisible Sun, Sonof th e Sun,
LowerStar, HiddenSmith , Immanent- ~ with a th ousand
oth ernames. It is, mm all metaph ors, a divine re
andnutriment of all, 2 andth at I may speak truth , even
inth e ph rase of Aristotle, it is a very divine principle
andconf ormedto th estarry elements.Th is is th at re
wh ich Zoroastercalls th eery soul of th e Kosmos and
a living re.'* Inplainterms, it is th e tinctureof th e
matrix, a ery, radiant soul, th at calls up anoth ersoul
lik eitself ; f orit mak es th eanima of th e Mercury wh ich
is almost drownedina coldandph leg matic Leth e.
Andh ere, Reader, let it be th y endeavourto under-
standth e ph ilosoph ers, f orth ey tell us th at Godat rst
createdth ech aos andaf terwards dividedit into th ree
portions. Of th e rst He made th e spiritual world,
of th e secondth e visible h eavens andth eirlig h ts, but
th e th irdandworst part was appointedf orth is sub-
lunary building . Out of th is coarse andremaining
portionHeextractedth eelemental q uintessenceorFirst
Matterof all earth ly th ing s, andof th is th ef ourelements
- f orth ere is such a boldarith metic- - - weremade. Now,
1 f as Ag ata, 1 / z rlaanz rr, Sol z ':z r- * z 's* z 'af Zz 's, Fz 'Zz 'm Solz lr, Aslrmrz z 'r; g / 'erz 'm',
F. :z Zver orculf us, f rz trz k z secz rs. Th esymbolical names appliedto Hermetic
Fire areby no means so many as th oseof th eFirst Matter, wh ich ll ten
columns inth eDz 'ctz '~ :m- n- az 're Myf o- Hr:::f z 'g z re.
* 3Tb Beiovrriip, ital wavrcirpaq bos.
3Gctdnpovaroz xeiov, Ital tivdh oyovTap 'r:3vEtrrpwvtrratxeiw.
E, turupau6'i1 vrot? ttcitmoutf / ux'i1 v, xalg p w1 ] t'ipov.
36
T/ z e Frateriz z if y of 2/ z e Rory Cross
Reader, g uess- - if th oudost k nowth eMatter~ s- f orit may
be th ouart oneof th osewh o conceiveth emselves to be
somebody. Itell th ee th is th eory is RaymundLully's,
andif th oucanst mak e noth ing of it I can, with out a
g ure, tell th ee h owwise th ouart. Th ere are inth e
worldas many sorts of salts as th ere are species, andth e
salts dif f eras th e species do, namely, essentially; f or
th especic f orms lieinth e salt. Nowlearnof meth at
th ereis no true ph ysic but wh at is insalt; f orsalt was
neverk nownto putref y ; nay, it h inders putref actionand
corruptioninall th ing s, andwh at h inders corruption
h inders all diseases. Now, it is evident to all th eworld
th at salt h inders corruptionanda solutionof th e parts,
andth is not only inliving th ing s but evenindead
bodies; f orif th ey be seasonedwith salt th ey are pre-
servedandcorruptioncomes not at th em. It is to be
observedth at Verg il inth e cureof ]; Eneas bring s inh is
moth erVenus with a panacea, oranUniversal Medicine:
Th is Venus bring s, inclouds involved, andbrews
Th extractedliq uorwith ambrosiandews.
Andodorous panacee.1
Th is wordis much abusedby certainalch emists- - as
th ey call th emselves ; but Servius uponth e place tells us
it is anadmirably devisedname, 2 andh e observesout
of Lucretius- - th at th epanacea was salt. It is trueth at
if wecouldputref y salt it woulddiscoverall th emysteries
of Nature, f orit h ath all th e tinctures init. But to
destroy th is substance is a h ardtask , f orh e th at would
do it must do someth ing more th andeath cando- - - f or
evenh erprerog ative comes not so f ar. Howsoever, it
cannot be deniedbut some wise menh ave attainedto
th eputref actionof salts ; but th is k ey th ey receivedf rom
1 Occz alz f e :r; z adz 'mm, .tpa2; g 2'2!g 2z a stz lz rares
Amz irosica sz rccas at adorz f errmz ptz z z tz carz rrz .
Th e translationis Dryclen s, andit is to be notedth at th e h erb broug h t
by Venus was _ h ealing dittany."
2 Norz z erz marecaz rg aosz tz rriz .
t 367
Te lV0rs of T/ z omas Vaz rg / z an
God, andit is th e g reat secret of th eirArt. Wh at I
admiremost init is th is- th at wh enit is k illedit dies
not but recovers to a betterlif e, wh ich is a very strang e
privileg e. Onth e contrary, if some animal dies, if an
h erb with ers, orif some metal be calcinedandth e parts
th ereof truly separated, we canneverrestoreth em ag ain.
But th is mystical substance, th is root of th eworld, if you
bring h is parts tog eth eraf terth ey are separated, th ey will
not be q uiet but runf rom one complexionto anoth er,
f rom th is colourto th atas f rom g reento red, f rom red
to black , f rom black to a millionof colours. Andth ese
miraculous alterations will not cease till h e h ath work ed
out h is ownresurrectionandh ath clearly broug h t h imself
to a supernatural temperature. I say th enth at salt is th e
true g rain, th e seednot only of th is worldbut of th e
next ; andit is th emystery th at Godh ath made. It is
a living water, wh ereinth ere dwells a Divine Fire, and
th is Fire binds th e parts th ereof to h imself , coag ulates
th em andstops th eirf lux. Andsalt is th ewaterth at
wets not th e h and. Th is re is th e lif e, andth eref ore
it h inders death . Nay, it is such a preservative ag ainst
it th at th e very g ross body of salt prevents corruption
wh eresoeverit comes. But if any manf ully k nowth e
powerof th is re, let h im wisely andef f ectually dislodg e
h im. Let h im destroy h is h abitation, andth enh e sh all
see wh at course th is artist will tak e to repairh is own
h ouse. Do not th ink nowth at I speak of commonsalts,
th oug h I conf ess th ey are g reat medicines- if rig h tly
prepared.
I toldth ee f ormerly th ere were several sorts of salts ;
1 According to PeterJoh nFabre, soph ic Salt is th ek ey of th eArt and
is scarcely mentionedby oldwriters onalch emy becauseof th eiranxiety
to conceal it. Th esecret virtues of Sulph urandMercury aremanif ested
th ereby. Noth ing canbe ef f ectedinits absence, so f aras th e Great
Work is concerned. It contains th e sunandmoon, all stars andall
th e h eavens. Fabre dwells also onth e importance of its solutionand
putref action. See Mang etus: .Z5 z '6Zz '0z / z eta C/ z twz z 'm Cz rriosa, Taurus i,
pp. 296, 297. Th ere is no title to th e tract, wh ich claims to beprinted
f rom a MS.
368
T/ z e Fraz ernz 'z _y 0f t/ z e Rory Cross
andh ere I wouldh aveth eestudy, lest th y labours sh ould
endwith th at complaint of th e ch emist inSendivog ius,
wh o bewailedth elost Stoneandh is f olly innot ask ing
Saturnwh at mannerof Salt was th is, seeing th at th ere
aremany varieties of th is substance.1
I sh all adviseth eeth ento considerth eseveral divisions
of th e ch aos wh ich I h ave f ormerly mentionedout of
RaymundLully; f orth e Matteras it is th ere described
is not subject to many complexions, andth eref ore th y
mistak es cannot be many. Andnowlet us touch at th e
treasures of oursaltish liq uorandourliq uidsalt. Saith
one: Let us seek af terth at g rade of spirit orwater
wh ich is, so to speak , more sensible andmuch more
f amiliarto us; with z ealous investig ationlet us f ollow
th e f ootsteps of th e aerial nature, inth e h iddenness
wh ereof are treasuredth e g reat wonders, namely, ang els
of all deg rees, essential f orms of inf eriorth ing s, th e
radical h umidity of all th at lives, th e nutriment of th ick
re, admirable portents of meteors, h urricanes f rom th e
f ourq uarters andinnumerableoth ermysteries.2
Andnowperh aps th oudost beg into bless th yself , f or
is it possible- say st th outh at any bodily substance
sh ouldinclose such mysteries as th ese? Inth is, my
f riend, th ouh ast th y liberty. Trouble not th yself about
it, f orth y f aith will addnoth ing to it andth y incredulity
cannot tak eanyth ing f rom it. Th is only th oush alt do :
bepleasedto g ives way to my sauciness, f orI must tell
th ee- - I do not k nowth at th ing wh ich I may call im-
possible. I am sure th ere are inNature powers of all
1 La, 1 9z 'd. - ma a?:z z '.r.mm dapiorabal er 2m:r'z 'a= z e rondolabaz , g randSaiurraum
mm z 'nf e?v'0g a'verz 't, g uaf e Sal / 20 f uerit rum tot r/ arm: g enera s.< z lz 'z mz
re_; arz 'tmz m'.
2 Vamamz rr, g meso, adHlmn: spz 'rz 'tus, sear ag ate g rtz damz , g m? 71 0621 ?
.ramiZ?z 'lz '0? rnag z sg ua f amz 'Zz 'arz '.t est, naturz eg ue aaram '2/ e.rf z lr, Yz 't'z dz 'lz ; rf an:z '
nQuz '.rz 'z z '0:z a_scruf swz ur, incujm occulf o 2nz 'rtz Z?z 'l2'a a'alz 'z a.5turz z : 'm'daZz 'c:z ,
an_r, r.elr' a:~ :mz 'um g enera - z , f ormterararrnz '?g f arz 'or:mz assarz tz ctr, k z mz 'dum
rcz dz 'r.'aZa cujusg ua M":/ .erz tz '.r, z lg mis" 3* ; 9z '$ .tz ' ?z uf rz 'mentz mz , ad:r2az 'rcz :z 'Z s :vz .et.e0-
romm < z p; 5~ nrr'tz 'nrz es, ventomrnraj'z sg * rre a; - * .ig z z lz ' t' 'z '0Zanz 'a' z 'rmpz z '0nas, at
z 'r{ nz 'z a rtlia: rrz ystarz lz .
369 1 4
T71 5 Worrq f T/ z omias Vaug / z an
sorts andanswerable to all desires ; andeventh osevery
powers are subject to us. Beh old, I will declare unto
th ee th eirg enerationandth eirsecret descents evento
th is earth . It is most certainth at Godwork s by th e
ideas of His ownmind, andth e ideas dispenseth eirseals
andcommunicate th em daily to th e matter. Nowth e
/ f iz ima Mandih ath inth exedstars h erparticularf orms
orseminal conceptions, answerable to th e ideas of th e
Divine Mind; andh ere doth sh e rst receive th ose
spiritual powers andinf luences wh ich orig inally proceed
f rom God. From th is place th ey are conveyedto th e
planets, especially to th e sunandmoon; andth ese two
g reat lig h ts impart th em to th e air, andf rom th eairth ey
pass downto th e belly ormatrix of th e earth inprolic
spiritedwinds andwaters. Seeing th enth at th evisible
h eavens receive th ebrig h tness of th e spiritual worldand
th is earth th e brig h tness of th e visible h eavens, wh y
may not we ndsometh ing onearth wh ich tak es inth is
brig h tness andcompreh ends initself th e powers of th e
two superiorworlds? Nowif th ere be such a subject
to be f ound, I suppose it will not be deniedbut th e
powers of th e ang elical andcelestial worlds are very
strang e powers, andwh at th at is wh ich th ey cannot do
is h ardto determine. Th e subject th enis th e salt I
h ave spok enof f ormerly. It is th ebody of th euniversal
spirit- - - iiioxnptuKai aidepaidep otiyua "rot? rr7\c1 a"rnrtivh cityov. It
is th esperm of Nature wh ich sh e prepares f orh erown
lig h t- - - as if we sh ouldprepare oil f or a lamp. A
strang e substance it is but very common, andof some
ph ilosoph ers most properly calledg reenandadmirable
salt."1 Andh ereit will not beamiss to speak someth ing
of th e Kabalist s GreenLine, 2 a mystery not rig h tly
appreh endedevenby some of th e Mek k uaf im ; 3but
certainly th e modernRabbins k nowit not at all. It
1 Selina sirens at mz ':raZrz 'Zz '.r.
9 Seeth eCom'lu.rz '0?z es Ka6a2'z '.r!z 'cta of Picus, inth e seventh of wh ich
h eavenis saidto beth at g reenlinewh ich encircles all th ing s."
3Th eKeepers of th eSecret TraditioninIsrael. .
3 376
T/ z e Frarernz ry cf r/ z e Rory Crow
is th e last Mida/ 21 orpropriety of th e Sap/ z irat/ 2, f orit
receives andincludes all th einf luences of th e Seph irotical
order. It compasseth th e h eavens andinth em th eearth ,
lik ea g reenrainboworone vast sph ere of viridity, and
f rom th is viridity th e Divine Inf luences are sh owered
down, lik erainth roug h th e eth er, into th e g lobes of th e
xedstars. Forwh at th eairis to th eg lobeof th eearth
such is th eeth erto th eg lobes of th e stars ; andh erelies
a secret of th e Mek k ubalim; f orth ey tell us th ere is a
double Venus ina twof oldair.3But of th is enoug h .
I will nowspeak of th eph ilosoph ers secret andblessed
viridity, wh ich is to be seenandf elt h ere below. It is
th e Proteus of th e oldpoets; f orif th e spirit of th is
g reeng oldbeat liberty- - - - wh ich will not be till th e body
is bound- - - th enwill h e discoverall th e essences of th e
universal centre.
Th eremany sh apes sh all mock andmouth s of beasts,
A h orridswineemerg e, th e tig erblack ,
Mail ddrag on, tawny- h eadedlioness.
Midst f lames sh all acridsoundbreak f orth , inch ains
Heperish es orf alls insh allowwells :
All is transf orm dinmiracles of th ing s,
Appalling re, wildbeast andmelting f lood.
But th is is poetry. Let us nowh earth e same scene
describedby a most excellent andwith al a severeprof essor
of ph ilosoph y. But af terth espirit h as f ailedsays h e
- - th roug h th eperish ablecourses amidst wh ich it is dis-
persed, it is presently purg edf rom all impurity, and
1 A virtueandinuence.
2 Th is is not trueKabalism, by wh ich I meanth eZoh aric tradition, but
probably th epersonal reverieof a rabbinical Jew.
3[22a?z z jI> Zz 'cz ' aere.
* Tum warz 'tez 'Zlude; { z i3perz 'e.rarg ueomf emrz nw.-
' Ff ez em'm 3* uz 'z 0f ur.r/ z 0rrz 'd:. .rtz f rtz g z eef z ; g rz 's,
Sg nramomsg mredmco etrit/ ciz :erwz 'ce leremz .
Aav! acre :jif n:2.= z mz 'Lrsoz z z k vmz d.:.z bz '!, af g - aref inr z 'nclr's
E.rcz 'dez , am at ag z aarf emz es df lapsus n.6z '6z 't.
Oz z mz la tranjormttz Qrese inriz iracula reruns,
Ig rz emg ue)i0rrz '6z 'ler2z g uejf eram, rwz auz z g z z elz '; mem em.
371
T/ z e Wares cf T/ z omorVaug h an
ch ang es into innumerablef orms, h ere into h erb andth ere
into stone, orperch ance into some extraordinary animal ;
but nowandth eninto a clod, a pearl, someg em ormetal ;
andsweetly g littering with blush ing ames, it passes con-
tinually th roug h a myriadch ang es of colours, andlives
always anoperatorandmag us of prodig ies, neverweary-
ing with th etoil th ereof but everyoung instreng th and
energ y.1 3
Th us h e; andnow, Reader, I must tell th ee th at all
th esemiracles g rowout of a certainearth , a sof t redclay
wh ich is to be f oundeverywh ere. It may be th at th ou
art much troubledat th ese appearances wh ich I h ave
mentioned; but wh at wilt th ousay to Iamblich us, wh o
tells us seriously th at th is earth will attract ang els- - - I
mean, g oodspirits? Forso didh e. But let us h ear
th is auditorof Anebo, f orth us h e writes f rom Eg ypt
to Porph yrius. Th e rst andmost ancient of sub-
stances 1 " 2h e says- sh ines f orth also inth e last, and
1 U65 were.rj1 z 'rz 'Z'z s e.'rr.'e.s'.r.= :'t 2f rtz g z 'lz 'on's, peroz eos sg rrrsz rs erot, m:eo:z z 'om',
eslg nreob o.omz 'rorsairz coil:/ r'z z 'epurg tz f z as, 2'1 2 2'22, / f 2z z 'f tz s seseotf ol1 2'! f ormer_, '
modo 2'1 2 / z eroomr, modo 2'22 lnyif deirz , out 2'22 z 'n'soZz 'tum g uoddooz mz z ':iz ol__, '
z 'rz tera'z m sir: org aor, out am- :z 'o2z em, out g ez iz mtwz , not oretoZZ.'- :mz , - dz eiceg ae
ruoenf z ous jail: _/ 2'ir1 m; 2z z '.r e.oz 2'rtms, z oz rrz uf tos .s* f o:tz 'm rtoiorz rm m_yrz '.o:des
trosz it, 'z xz 't/ z 'z g z e porterz torurrz sempertcyjiieof orormeg a- rs, z '.rz 'o rz eoreag uoarz
f of z lwez os lq oore, redtrz g roreor'o'z 'rz 'oz e3 z 'rm z 'es oeiolescerz s.
2 Oemium yrz loz o ez o:z z z 'g rrz '.rsz 'mo em; - ininrelz z 'r:z z '.r g uooare .rarormz 'Zom,
z 'mmo:z erz 'rz !z 'o:g z e prz 'rz cz ; 6z 'o .oz of erz 'olz 'oar.t oralmmf . Nerrz o z lf og ue mz 'rez arr
sf g ame): oz oteriorwz ease a z 'cz 'oz z .- rs parrom, otg are dz '* z .e':oorrz . Nor); z jstz
g z rog me morterz rz , oar- am: no Opz jice, Pr:/ reg ue orrz az z h - rm f orm .rz 'Z, :- we? z if o
; 5e2jer* z z 'onem sacs oz rorz dom ocg arz '.rz 'r.e't, ojf ooz rm z ieos rascz }z 'endos.
Qarz 'r2ef z 'om g amm 1 22'/ 23'! jroiz ioez suj'> erz 'orrz lam:- er: sz rarm or! z '?z jerz 'oro:
drjurz dere, rz eg aez , g z 'turmorerz 'ooz yberm- z ' z z mz erperf eoz f oresz z , 1 erz 'orz . #z .
QuojropterQurlil/ U??26MlZQf 4 !6 ; vz oterz 'o jberf ecf z mz ea jararsoz est, arg ue
detf orme, adrieormxz sz .rce; oZz 'o:z eoz ora est z ' z ejz z rm. Marat g raz e; - oz
o_; 9ortz z erz 'rez z 'or.oz Zerrerz o rmllo mode r'z ':z re co:- oz oz z mz 'on'z '.s' e; tjoertz 'rrf ore,
apsa g aog ne f erret o'z 'w':z o; oz q z ramiaoz ]5orz z 'o; z em sz esceg z l, tedcojiiedos
z ieos .rI4 j'icz 'erz Ze:o2. Nonerg o f ores! orrmem moterz 't"z ; oz a- eZe.s'to.rz ', sea solam
g atedz 'z '.rf aerz '! olaerz o. Pro; orz 'o.oz 2'/ e; ro oo z 'Za'os derez eZz :g ere, arz g oote g ate
oorz semf re g ossz lf . Neoue emf rrz tz lf f erf errems lor; 'z '.r, ea / 2o:Im"?rz 'oz s / 22}?
ooz 'z om. z 'ous, ; f > o.s'se.s.rz 'o, porf aorz e af lo era z 'wz '1 z z '.r corz rz wg ere jlotesz , :oz '.rz '
f aleg z dddom; orz 'a'sjoc2_!u':; :f z z erz f f undomernf z mz . Arctmz 's z lf og are.rermom'-
ourrredendz mz est, z esto2z tz '.6a:s o: dealt peroeoto opeetttrz z lo, f rt- z ctotooz f 2z z 'sse
MI:z z erz 'om Qarondom. f ie :erg o z 'ZZz 's ; , osz 's trodeorz oas cog rz oto est. ToZz '.r
erg o MoZerz 'o deos e'.1 rc.= :'/ oz , re! .re demomf rosz t, C"- * 4 .
372
T/ z e Fraterrz z iz f y of Me Rory Cross
immaterial principles are present inth ose wh ich are
material. No one sh ouldmarvel th eref oreth at weairm
such matterto be pure andevendivine. Forwh enit
was made by th e ArticerandFath erof all, it rig h tly
assumedto itself a certainperf ection, suitable to be
acceptedby th eg ods. Moreover, th ereis noth ing wh ich
h inders h ig h erth ing s f rom dispensing th eirlig h t to th ose
wh ich are below, andth ey do not suf f ermatterto be
destituteof virtues f rom above. Forth is reason, inso
f aras matteris perf ect andpure it is not unworth y th e
receptionof th eg ods. Andseeing th at it is inno wise
meet f orth eearth ly to be bereavedof divinecommunion,
so also th eearth receives a certaindivineportion, suf cient
to entertainth eg ods. It is not lawf ul th eref oreto detest
matteraltog eth erbut th at aspect of it only wh ich is alien
to th eg ods. It is rig h t to select wh at is suitableto th em,
as someth ing wh ich canbe consentedunto. But no
possessionorportionof divineth ing s canbef all terrestrial
places andmendwelling th ereinunless such f oundation
belaidinth e rst place. It is to be believedonth ef aith
of secret teach ing s bearing witness to th e g ods inth e
blessedpag eants th at th e mystery concerning a certain
matterh as beenh andeddownandth at th esameis k nown
th eref ore to th ose wh o transmittedit. Such matter
moves th e g ods to manif est th emselves, " &c.
Th eseare th e words of Iamblich us inth at prof ound
discourse of h is, wh ere h e g ives Porph yrius anaccount
of th e Eg yptian, Ch aldeanandAssyrianMysteries. I
k nowth eph ilosoph ical earth discovers not th ose f orms I
h ave spok enof inth e common, ordinary process, wh ich
if any mank nows I sh all not th eref orecall h im a ph ilo-
soph er. Th ereare several ways to use th is mystery, both
rst andlast, andsomeof th em may be communicated,
but some not. To conclude, I say th at th is clariedearth
is th estag eof all f orms, f orh ereth ey aremanif estedlik e
imag es ina g lass ; andwh enth etimeof th eirmanif esta-
tionis nish edth ey retreat into th at centreout of wh ich
373
T/ z e Wares of T/ z omas Vang / z an
at rst th ey came. Hencecameall veg etables, all minerals
andall th eanimals inth e world- evenmanh imself , with
all h is tumult andprincipality. Th is sof t clay is th e
moth erof th em all ; andwh at th edivineVerg il sometime
saidof Italy may be very properly appliedto th is our
saturnineandsovereig nearth .
Ourq uarries, deep inearth , were f amedof old
Forveins of silverandf ororeof g old.
Th inh abitants th emselves th eircountry g race;
Hencerose th e MarsianandSabellianrace,
Strong - limb dandstout, andto th e wars inclined,
Andh ardLig urians- - a laborious k ind.
AndVolscians arm dwith iron- h eadeddarts.
Besides- - anof f spriiig of undauntedh earts-
Th eDecii, Marii, g reat Camillus, came
From h ence, andg reaterScipios doublename.
Andmig h ty Caesar, wh ose victorious arms
To f arth est Asia carry ercealarms,
Avert unwarlik e Indians f rom h is Rome,
Triumph abroad, secureourpeace at h ome.
Hail sweet Saturniansoil, of f ruitf ul g rain
Great parent I 1
Th us, Reader, h ave I endeavouredto produce some
reasons f orth osestrang e ef f ects wh ereof th is Society h ath
madea public prof ession. I didit not as a k indness to
th em, f or I penno plots, neith er do I desire th eir
f amiliarity. I am indeedof th e same f aith with th em,
andl h aveth us pref acedbecause I h adth e impudence
to th ink it concernedme as much as th em. Andverily
it is trueth at wh eresoeverI meet my ownpositions th ere
I h ave aninterest, andI am as much boundto th e
1 Ho : eodem o:r_g 'em'z 'ritlos aerz 'so2 e mez aZZo
OsX emiz '! * oenz 's alg aeouropiurioz o jZz .rz 'z .
Ho ; g erms acrer z 'r2?oz , Morsos, pz eoenz g z re Sooeliom,
Assuetmz z g uemoleLz lg arrenz Volseosouer/ erz rtos
E:rtz rZz 'z ': / tree Deef os, Zliarios :- vz og rz osoz ee Comz wos.
Solve, mog rz o parensf rug urrz , .S'rz tz :rm'n: f elh rs,
Mag oo 'oz _'rm:z .- - - Georg ics, ii.
Th etranslationwh ich I h aveg iveninth etext is th at of Dryden.
31 4
Th e Froterrz iry of t/ z e Rosy Cross
def enceof th at auth oras I am to my own. Nowf orth e
g roundh erelaid: it is th eArt of Water, th eph ilosoph er s
HumidKey andth is Society's porerg on. I dare not
speak anyth ing of th eirmetaph ysical mystery, but I can
tell th ee it is not th esame with th ePh ilosoph ers Stone,
eith erinf orm ormatter; andlet th is satisf y th ee. I
k nowsome dispositions are so cross to th ese principles
l mig h t writeag ainto excusewh at I h avewritten; but
th is I am resolvednot to do. If th ouart a malicious
readeranddost th ink it too much because it suits not
with th y ownjing les, l must tell th ee th ouart noneof
my peers; f orI h ave k nownsome sciences wh ich th ou
h ast neverh eardof , north y f ath ers bef oreth ee.
But to mak eanend: I wouldh ave every mandescend
into h imself andrationally consider th ose g enerations
wh ich are obvious to oureyes. Wesee th ereis a power
g rantedto manoverth ose th ing s wh ose orig inal h e doth
k now. Examples andinstances we h ave incornand
oth erveg etables, wh oseseedbeing k nownto th eh usband-
manh ecanby th eseedmultiply h is cornandprovidef or
h imself as h e th ink s t. It is just so inminerals : th ere
is a seedout of wh ich Naturemak es th em, a First Matter;
andth is th e mag icians caref ully soug h t af ter, f orth ey
reasonedwith th emselves th at as Natureby th eveg etable
seeddidmultiply veg etables so mig h t th ey also by th e
mineral seedmultiply minerals. Wh enth ey f oundout
th e seedth ey practiseduponit inseveral ways. Th ey
didsh ut it up ing lasses, k eeping it ina most eq ual,
temperate h eat f ormany month s tog eth er: but all was
to no purpose. Th endidth ey f ancy anoth ercourse, f or
th ey buriedit inth e earth andlef t it th ere f ora long
time: but with out any success. At last th ey considered,
Godwith out all q uestionbeing th eirg uide, th at Nature
h adf orevery seeda vessel of h erownandth at all h er
1 Arecurring expressionincertainalch emical texts.
2 Th eRosicrucianmanif estoes impliedth at th etransmutationof metals
was one of th eirsecrets, but assuredly th e least of all. Th e symbol
became more andmore spiritualisedinlaterdocuments.
375
T/ z e Wares if Tomas Vaz ag arz
vessels werebut several sorts of earth . Forexample, th e
veg etableseedh adth ecommonearth f orh is vessel, f or
th ereinNature didsowit. Th e animal sperm h adth e
f lesh f orh is, andf lesh is but a sof t, animatedearth - as
it appears inth e dissolutionof th e body. Th ey saw
plainly th enth at both th ese vessels were not appointed
f orth e mineral sperm. Th ey were too coldf orit, and
commonrewas too h ot, orif it werewell reg ulatedyet
couldit not alterth e sperm, f orit h adnot th e q ualities
of a matrix. Th endidth ey try several newh eats. Th ey
exposedth eirlMatterto th esun; th ey buriedit indung -
h ills andbeds of q uick lime; th ey placedth eirg lasses
inth emoonbeams ; th ey inventednewbath s ; th ey made
use of sand, ash es andling s of iron; th ey burnt oils and
f anciedall sorts of lamps : but all th is was error, andit
endedina troublesome noth ing . Nowall th ese f alsities
sh all a manmeet with inth eirbook s ; f orwh enth ey h ad
f oundout th e mineral vessel, andespecially th e second
earth , wh ereinth ey sowedth eirMercury andSulph ur,
th endidth ey so conf oundth e earth th at it is almost
impossibleto g et th epreparationout of th eirh ands.
Th is I th oug h t t to touch upon, th at th osedif culties
wh ich g reat andaspiring wits must strivewith al may be
th e moreapparent ; andsurely I th ink I h avepretty well
clearedth eway. Th us, Reader, h ave I g iventh ee my
best advice; andnowit remains th oush ouldst rail at me
f orit. It may be th ouh ast a f ree spirit, but if th is
liberality concerns not th y credit, k eep th y spleento
th yself , f orI wouldnot h ave th ee spendwh at th oucanst
well spare.
SOLI DEO GLORIA
376
A SHORTADI/ ERTISEZIJENT TO THE READER
THIS advertisement, Reader, invites th ee not to my
lodg ing , f orI wouldg ive th ee no such directions, my
nature being more melanch oly th ansociable. I would
only tell th ee h owch aritable I am, f orh aving purposely
omittedsome necessaries inmy f ormerdiscourse I h ave
uponsecondth oug h ts resolvedag ainst th at silence.
Th ere is abroada boldig norance, f orph ilosoph y h ath
h ercondants, but ina sensedif f erent f rom th e Madams.
Th is g enerationI h ave sometimes met with al andlest
th ey sh ouldride andrepent, I th oug h t it not amiss to
sh ewth em th e precipices. Th e secondph ilosoph ical
work is commonly calledth eg ross work , but tis one of
th eg reatest subtleties inall th eArt. Cornelius Ag rippa
k newth erst preparationandh ath clearly discoveredit ;
but th e dif f iculty of th e secondmade h im almost an
enemy to h is ownprof ession? By th e secondwork I
understandnot coag ulationbut th esolutionof th ePh ilo-
soph ical Salt, a secret wh ich Ag rippa didnot rig h tly
k now, as it appears by h is practiceat Malines, norwould
Natalius teach h im, f orall h is f req uent andserious en-
treaties. Th is was it th at made h is necessities so vig orous
andh is purse so weak th at I canseldom ndh im ina
f ull f ortune. But inth is h e is not alone. Raymund
Lully- - - th e best Ch ristianartist th at everwas- received
not th is mystery f rom Arnoldus, f orinh is rst practices
1 Th is is printedinth e orig inal editionat th e endof th e FAME and
CoNFEss1 oN. '
9 Th e g eneral opinionof Ag rippa onth e alch emists andalch emy of
h is periodis f oundina ch apter of THE VANITY OF ARTS AND
SCIENCES. Herejects th ech aos of articial symbolismbut claims to h ave
receivedth eSecret of th eStone.
j 377
Toe / / Vors of Tomos Voug / z on
h e f ollowedth e tedious commonprocess, wh ich af terall
is scarce protable.1 Hereh e met with a drudg ery almost
invincible; andif weaddth e task to th etimeit is enoug h
to mak ea manold. Nortonwas so strang eanig noramus
inth is point, th at if th e solutionandpurg ationwereper-
f ormedinth ree years h e th oug h t it a h appy work ?
Georg e Ripley labouredf ornewinventions to putref y
th is RedSalt, wh ich h e enviously calls h is g old; 3andh is
k nack is to expose it to alternate ts of coldandh eat.
But inth is h e is sing ular, andFaberis so wise h e will
not understandh im. Andnowth at I h ave mentioned
Faber, I must needs say th at Tubal Cainh imself is sh ort
of th erig h t substance; f orth e process h e describes h ath
not anyth ing of Nature init. Let us returnth ento
RaymundLully, f or h e was so g reat a master th at
h e perf ormedth e solutioninside nine days ; andth is
secret h e h adf rom GodHimself : f orth is is h is Cou-
FESSI0N.5 Wh enseek ing to extract th at benig nspirit
1 Th e alch emist wh o passedunderth e name of RaymundLully
adoptedone wh ich didnot belong to h im, f orth ere is no reasonto
supposeth at it was borneactually by two persons at two dif f erent periods.
I- Iewh o was th e auth orof ARS MAGNA andth e trueLully k newnoth ing
of alch emy. Th eHermetic mastercame laterandmuch yet remains to
bedoneinth ecriticismof h is writing s, including th epersonal memoranda
wh ich th ey contain.
2 Th omas Nortonwrote th eORDINAL OF ALCHEMYinEng lish verse,
andit was rst printedby Elias Ash mole inTHEATRUM CHEMICUM
BRITANNICUM.
3See RIPLEY REVIVED, by Eirenreus Ph ilaleth es.
* 1 Zorro oowem dies.
1 " Nos do , orz 'mo ilieirz .{ g reo!z 'oeo ybooeis cog rz iio, oeoz jg nom s, oz 'rz 'z 'om ex-
tro/ z ere oeof oz z tes, og ooarz z jg rz z lr * z o'ooeme; oz , e2 non'z o'etum, Zz ioez sensious
oorjaoris molioties j)o{ ; f > oto'oz os, ez ooolf s pro; 5> rz 'z 's w2'o'z Eoz os. E.t1 roeZz 'om's
z ooz eo z josios rz oz f z om soon/ z oom':oos oz eoeooz g oest?z 'e:o!s'oro.vz z '?2a o_g oz Z'oo'e
toel orle. [deoooe_sem!z 'eooo- ms nos ore?/ z oo olz ooo ros!z 'ez 'z oz e exsowotos,
g oio oollo modeeooz oomg oreoeoderewoloz ioz os, domeoZz 'ooz 's .5joz 'rz '!os pro-
p/ z ez if ee, sjbiroos o Poz f re Lo; - vz z 'mem, desoeodz if , Zooooom: soos oolloteoos
desereos, ooto se, oosZ_oZomz 'oos de)ioz 'eos , ' ourinsomoz 'z 's tootooz oZorz 'toz em.
oz em'z 's oostreeoez eias z '2z jislsz 't, oz ilf om z 'oz os ez . e.r2ro, remof o omm'og 'uro,
_g 'roz z 's rec/ eloredz lg rz otus esl, z 'osoz '2'ooz 'Zz ooroiloienos recieodo, deoz oosf roos
orodeom z 'm, oZeodo.oz dz lyoooereoz os oorprz s oa ooom?' rIiZ ?"GZ ?i Zdecooz f f ooero
seerez o.oz , g oo , oem'Zos orolioe retro roof o coo: , oz mg eof z ' loooeo, Zoto ejz z s
ootoro inmoron: trig reolioeoz to'sz 'oz 'Ii'terdissoZ'oerez "or.
373
Tie Fratermif y cf th e Rog Cram"
wh ich prevails overth e reandis not itself conq uered, we
h ave experiencedwith ourph ysical senses andseenwith
ourpropereyes concerning th at prime black ness k nown
to f ew. But ourk nowledg eof th e extractionth ereof we
didinno wisederiveby th eway of th e sciences, noryet
by art; andth eref ore we th oug h t ourselves as it were
h oodwink edby a k indof clownish ness, being unableany-
wiseto compreh endth emystery, until a spirit of proph ecy
camedownf rom th eFath erof Lig h ts, as if no wisedesert-
ing His ownorleaving postulants to th eirowndevices.
Th is spirit inf usedduring sleep such clearness into th e
eyes of mind, th at it deig nedinits pure bounty to mak e
k nownth esecret with inandwith out, apart f romall g ures
of speech , ref resh ing us by its illimitable g oodness and
demonstrating th at to perf orm th e work we must pre-
pare th e body by a secret, natural decoction, inwh ich
wh olly retrog ressive process, as if by a sh arp lance, all
its nature sh all be visibly dissolvedinto pureblack ness.
Herelies th e k not, andwh o is h e th at will untie it?
For"- saith th esameLully- - - it was neverput to paper,
andh eg ives th is reasonf orit1 * - - because it is th eof ce
of Godonly to reveal th is th ing , andmanseek s to tak e
away f rom th eDivine Glory wh enh e publish es, by word
of mouth orinwriting , wh at appertains to Godalone.
Th eref ore th oucanst not attainto th is operationuntil
th ouh ast rst beenapprovedspiritually f orth e f avours
of Divinity. Forth is secret is of no h umanrevelation
but f orth at of th e Benig nSpirit, Wh ich breath es wh ere
it wills. |
It seems th enth e g reatest dif culty is not inth e
coag ulationorproductionof th e Ph ilosoph ical Salt but
inth eputref actionof it, wh enit is produced. Indeed
1 Qz . .= :'a .S'oZz 'z s Der est ea revelrz re, at / z omo Dz 'm'me Maj'esf atz sub-
straiz ere 1 z z 'tz 'tur, ram: 501 2' Dee ; .'> erz z 'rz en!z 'a vrrlg ai spz 'rz '!z pr0lrz tz '01 z z 's
/ z mrz ame, out lz 'z erar2.mz saris. Prapterm 0p:retz 'orz rm Hiram / z abert mm
; 50t'erz 's, g unusg ue .\pz 'r* z 'z r. .:z lz 't.= 2rg riz rs f uerz k D51 / z 'm'1 af z 's mer:':.= :.r compro-
batus. Qmlcz h as serretmz z a 2z emz 'ne m0rta ':'rweicmdrrm est, prtrrerg z ram
ab Alma Spirif z z , g z . :z ' m5z 'malt, spirat.
379
Tee Work s q f T/ z amas Vaug an
th is ag rees best with th e sense of th e ph ilosoph ers, f or
one of th ose strict observersl tells us th at h e wh o
k noweth salt andth esolutionth ereof k noweth th e h idden
secret of th e ancient ph ilosoph ers? Alas th en, wh at
sh all we do? Wh ence comes ournext intellig ence? I
am af raidh ere is a sadtruth f orsomebody. Sh all we
runnowto Lucas Rh odag irusf orh ave we any dusty
manuscripts th at caninstruct us? Well, Reader, th ou
seest h owf ree I am g rown; andnowI coulddiscover
someth ing else, but h ere is enoug h at once. I could
indeedtell th ee of th erst andsecondsublimation, of a
doublenativity- visib1 e andinvisiblewith out wh ich th e
matteris not alterable as to ourpurpose. I couldtell
th eealso of Sulph urs simple andcompounded, of th ree
urg ent; * vi= ve andas many Salts; andall th is wouldbe
newnews- - as th e book menph rase it- evento th ebest
learnedinEng land. But I h ave done, andI h ope th is
discourse h ath not demolish edany man s castles ; f orwh y
sh ouldth ey despairwh enl contributeto th eirbuilding ?
lam a h earty Disperz sero, andif th ey h ave g ot anyth ing
by me, much g oodmay it do th em. g
It is my only f earth ey will - mistak e wh enth ey read,
f orwere I to livelong - - - wh ich I am condent I sh all not
I wouldmak eno oth erwish but th at my years mig h t
be as many as th eirerrors. I speak not th is out of any
contempt, f orI undervalue no man. It is my experience
inth is k indof learning wh ich I evermade my business
- th at g ives meth e boldness to suspect a possibility of
th esame f ailing s inoth ers wh ich I h avef oundinmyself .
To conclude: I wouldh ave my readerk nowth at th e
ph ilosoph ers nding th is lif e subjectedto necessity and
th at necessity was inconsistent with th e nature of th e
1 Praecisians.
1 Qua sriz selem, at ; 'u.r.roZmz '0m':uz , 562'! secretz rm occulf urz z arz g uorum
1 5/ z z 'Z0s0; f f z 0rum."
5 HewrotePISCES ZODIACI, sz 'r/ e de S0lutz '0a'e P/ z z 'Zos0, 25}z z 'm, I566, and
JENIGMA VERSIBUS, wh ich I k nowonly by th e THEATRUM Cnarncum,
vol. v. i
380
Th e Pratermty of th e Rory Cross
soul, th ey didth eref ore look uponmanas a creature
orig inally ordainedf orsomebetterstateth anth epresent,
f orth is was not ag reeablewith h is spirit. Th is th oug h t
made th em seek th e g roundof h is creation, th at if
possible th ey mig h t tak e h oldof liberty andtranscend
th e dispensations of th at circle wh ich th ey mysteriously
calledFate. Nowwh at th is really sig nies not one in
tenth ousandk nows ; andyet weareall ph ilosoph ers.
But to cometo my purpose: I say th etrueph ilosoph ers
didndinevery compounda doublecomplexion- - circunn
f ercntial andcentral. Th ecircumf erential was corrupt in
all th ing s, but insome th ing s altog eth ervenomous ; th e
central not so, f orinth e centre of everyth ing th erewas
a perf ect unity, a miraculous indissolubleconcordof re
andwater. Th ese two complexions are th e manf f rstum
andth e accz z f tum of th e Arabians; andth ey resist one
anoth er, f orth ey arecontraries. Inth ecentreitself th ey
f oundno discordat all, f orth e dif f erenceof spirits con-
sistednot inq ualities but indeg rees of essence and
transcendency. As f orth ewaterit was of k inwith th e
re, f orit was not commonbut eth ereal. Inall centres
th is rewas not th esame, f orinsomeit was only a solar
spirit, andsuch a centrewas calledWaterof th e Sun,
Celestial W'ater, Waterof Gold, Waterof Silver.2 In
some ag ainth e spirit was more th ansolar, f orit was
supercelestial andmetaph ysical. Th is spirit purg edth e
very rational soul andawak enedh erroot th at was asleep.
Andth eref oresuch a centrewas calledWaterting edwith
Fire, Clarif ying Water, a Candle uplig h ting andillumi-
nating th e House. Of both th ese waters h ave I dis-
coursedinth ose small tractates I h ave publish ed; and
alth oug h I h ave h adsomedirt cast at me f ormy pains,
1 As th e f amiliarexpressiong oes, th is is true onall th eplanes, and
aboveeveryth ing inth espiritual order, dueallowancebeing madef orth e
real meaning of th esymbolism concerning f ireandwater.
2 Aq ua .s0Zz '.r, aq ua ca?Ze.rz z '.r, aq ua rmrf ea arjg e2z tz '.
Aq ua z lg rz e tz 'nrz a, ag - are sermrmr, carz dales eccmdem at damz mz
z 'lZumz 'rra; - '25.
381
T/ z e Worrof Tomas Vaug arz
yet th is is so ordinary I mindit not ; f orwh iles we live
h ere werideina h ig h way. I cannot th ink h im wisewh o
resents h is injuries, f orh e sets a rateuponth ing s th at are
worth less andmak es use of h is spleenwh ere h is scorn
becomes h im. Th is is th e entertainment I provide f or
my adversaries ; andif th ey th ink it too coarselet th em
judg ewh ereth ey understand, andth ey may f arebetter.
382
EUPHRATES
onTHE WATERS orTHE EAST
TO THE READER
I nave, Reader- - - and, I suppose, it is not unk nownto
th ee- with inth ese f ewyears, inseveral little treatises,
deliveredmy judg ment of ph ilosoph y. I say, of ph ilo-
soph y, f oralch emyinth e commonacceptation, and
as it is a torture of metals- I didneverbelieve: much
less didI study it. Onth is point, my book s- - - being
perused- - - will g ive th ee evidence; f orth ere I ref erth ee
to a subject th at is universal, th at is th e f oundationof
all Nature, th at is th ematterwh ereof all th ing s are made,
andwh erewith being made are nourish ed. Th is, I pre-
sume, canbe no metal ; andth eref oreas I everdisclaimed
alch emy inth e vulg arsense, so I th oug h t t to let th e
alch emists k nowit, lest- - inth eperusal of my writing s-
th ey sh ouldx a constructionto some passag es wh ich
cannot suit with th e judg ment of th eirauth or. Hence
th oumayst see wh at my conceptions were, wh enI beg an
to write; andnowI must tell th ee, th ey are still th e
same, norh ath my long experience weak enedth em at
all, but invincibly conrmedth em. Butto acq uaint
th ee h owing enuous I am- l f reely conf ess th at inmy
practiceI waivedmy ownprinciples, f orh aving miscarried
inmy rst attempts, I laidasideth e true subject andwas
contentedto f ollowth eirnoise wh o will h earof noth ing
but metals. Wh at a drudg e I h ave beeninth is f etid
andf eculent sch ool f orth ree years tog eth erI will not
h eretell th ee? It was well th at I q uittedit at last and
1 Th e testimony is curious, h aving reg ardto th e note- book of experi-
ments, of wh ich a f ull account is g iveninAppendix I of th e present
volume, andinviewof th estory of Vaug h an s death . Hewas, moreover,
a student andinterpreterof alch emical literature, as th ere is no needto
say, but h is th esis presumably isth eirsymbolism notwith standing -
th at th eg reat alch emists didnot work inmetals.
2 It f ollows th at h is experiments were undertak enona h az ard, apart
f rom real f aith org uidance.
385 9'5
Th e Wares q f Th omas Vang / z en
walk edag aininto th at clearlig h t wh ich I h adf oolish ly
f orsak en. I everconceivedth at inmetals th ere were
g reat secrets, providedth ey be rst reducedby a proper
dissolvent. But to seek th at dissolvent, orth e matter
wh ereof it is made, inmetals is not only errorbut
madness}I h ave f orth e truth s sak e andto justif y
my innocent andf ormerdiscourses addedto th em th is
little piece, wh ich perh aps is such andh ath init so
much - as th eworldh ath not yet seenpublish ed. It is
not indeedth e tenth part of wh at I h adrst desig ned,
but some soberconsiderations made me f orbear, as my
suddenandabrupt close will inf orm th ee. Howsoever,
wh at I nowreserve as to ph ilosoph ical mysteries may
be impartedh ereaf terinourMeteorolog y; andf orth e
Th eolog ical wesh all drawth em up f orourownprivate
useinourPk ilosop/ z ia G76Z!.f e .2
I h ave little more to say; but if it may addanyth ing
to th y content, I canassure th ee h ere is noth ing af rmed
but wh at is th ef ruit of my ownexperience.3I cantruly
say of my own, f orwith much labourI h ave wrung it
out of th eearth , norh adI any to instruct me. I would
not h ave th eebuildmountains onth e f oundationI h ave
h erelaid- not especially th oseof g old. But if th oudost
buildph ysic uponit, 5 th enI h avesh ewedth ee th e rock
1 Th is does not appearto be th e real issue inalch emy. I do not nd
th at any of th e seek ersandmuch less th e masterss- - soug h t th eirdis-
solvent inmetals. Th e q uestionby th e h ypoth esis of th e subject- - is
wh eth ermetals everwent into th e crucibles of th osewh o k newth ework ,
wh eth er, inth eph ysical process, th ey didnot rath eroperateonsubstances
out of wh ich art producedinth e laboratories of true artists th e perf ect
metals wh ich Natureg eneratedinmines.
1 Th e tract onmeteorolog y andth e work ong race didnot appear,
th oug h Vaug h anwas certainly alive f orsometenyears af terth epublica-
tionof Ez rpk rates. Th esecondof th esepromisedbook s sh ouldh avebeen
important f orth e positionof Vaug h anas a mystic. I h ave always f elt
th at- - couldh ef oronce h ave g ot away f rom cosmical reveriesh ewould
h avebornetruewitness onth esoul andits attainments.
3Seeante, onwalk ing inth eclearlig h t.
4 Th is statement is of note ina previous connection. He f oundno
individual instructorandenteredno sch ool of initiation.
* 5 As if h eh imself h adbuilt oth erwise.
386
Euparates
andth e basis of th at f amous art, wh ich is so much pro-
f essedandso little understood. Here sh alt th ound
th etruesubject of it demonstrated, and- if th ouart not
very dull- suf ciently discovered. Here GodHimself
andth eWordof Godleads th ee to it. Here th e Lig h t
sh ews th ee lig h t; andh ere h ast th outh at testimony of
Iamblich us andth e Eg yptianRecords cleared, namely,
th at Godsometimes deliveredto th eancient priests and
proph ets a certainmatterinblessedvisions, andcom-
municatedit f orth e use of man.
I sh all concludewith th is admonition: If th ouwouldst
k nowNature tak e h eedof antimony andth e common
metals? Seek only th at very rst mixture of elements
wh ich Nature mak es inth e Great World. Seek it, I
say, wh ilst it is f resh andnew, and- - h aving f oundit
conceal it. As f orth e use of it, seek not th at altog eth er
inbook s, but rath erbeg it at th e h ands of God; f orit
is properly His g if t andnevermanattainedto it with out
a clearandsensible assistance f rom above. Neg lect not
my adviceinth is, th oug h it may seem ridiculous to th ose
th at areover- wiseandh aveth emercies of Godinderision.
Many menlive inth is worldwith out God. Th ey h ave
no visits f rom Him andth eref ore laug h at th ose th at
seek Himbut much more at th ose th at h ave f ound
Him. St Paul g loriedinHis revelations, but h e th at
will do so nowsh all be numberedamong st ranters and
anabaptists. But let not th ese th ing s divert th ee:r if
th ouservest God, th ouservest a g oodMaster, andHe
will not k eep back th y wag es. Farewell inCh rist Jesus.
EUGENIUS PHILALETHES.
1 PerJreata sectacz eia.
2 Meaning th at we must beware of th ese. Notwith standing Basil
Valentine andh is TRIUMPHAL CnantororANTIMONY, th e way of
attainment is inanuniversal, not ina particularsubject. But th evirtues
of antimony h adbecome of g reat repute inalch emy because of th is
celebratedtreatise, th oug h it was concernedwith ph armacy rath er
th anmetallurg y.
387
EUPHRATES
ITis writteninth ose living oracles wh ich we h ave re-
ceivedandbelieve th at th ere is anang el of th ewaters ; 1
andth is seems to be spok enina g eneral sense, as if th e
ang el th ere mentionedh adbeenpresident of all th at
element. Elsewh erewe ndanang el limitedto a more
particularch arg e, as th at wh ich descendedat a certain
seasonandstirredth ewaters inth e pool of Beth saidaf i
Noris it indeedanyth ing strang e th at ang els sh ouldvisit
andmove th at element onwh ich th e Spirit of Goddid
moveat th ebeg inning ? I cite not th ese places as if th ey
werepertinent f ormy purposeormadealtog eth erf orit,
th oug h I k nowth ey mak enoth ing ag ainst it. But I cite
th em as g enerals, to sh ewth at Godis conversant with
matter, th oug h He be not tiedto it, andth is is all my
desig n. Notwith standing , I k nowth at Prince Avicen
h ath numberedSt Joh nth e Evang elist among st th e
ch emists ; * andcertainly if some passag es inth e Revela-
tions were urg ed- - andth at no f urth erth anth eirown
1 REVELATIONS, xvi, 5.
3ST]OI- IN, v, 4 . Vaug h anbelong edto anag e andf amily of f aith to
wh ich it h adnot occurredth at Holy Scripture mig h t be of oth erth an
plenary andliteral inspiration. He approach edth e NewTestament in
th e samemannerth at th ecanonof th e OldTestament was approach ed
by Rabbinical Jews. .
3By Vaug h an s h ypoth esis, ournatural wateris not th at element upon
wh ich th eSpirit of Godmovedat th e beg inning . It f ollows th at h ewas
eith era careless th ink erorbelievedth at log ical consistency matteredlittle
indealing with a h iddensubject.
4 Th erearesomenine supposititious treatises attributedto Avicenna.
I h avef oundno ref erenceto St ]oh ninth eTRACTATULUS, wh ich is one
of th emost important, nor" inth e DECLARATIO I.- APIDIS PI- 1 YSICI, n01 ' in
DECONGELATIONE ET CONGLUTINATIONE LAPIDUM. Th ereis, I pre-
sume, no needto say th at if th ePersianph ilosoph erh adbeenth eauth orof
any such work s, it wouldberidiculous to look th ereinf orsuch anallusion.
i 388
Ez rprates
sense wouldcarry th em- - it wouldbe somewh at dif f icult
to repel h is opinion. Surelyl am one th at th ink s very
h onourably of Nature, andif I avoidsuch disputes as
th ese it is because I wouldnot of f endweak consciences.
Forth ere are a people wh o th oug h th ey dare not th ink
th emajesty of Godwas diminish edinth at Hemade th e
world, yet th ey dare th ink th e majesty of His Wordis
much viliedif it be appliedto wh at He h ath made- - -
anopiniontruly th at carries init a most dang erous
blasph emy, namely, th at God s WordandGod s work
sh ouldbe such dif f erent th ing s th at th eone must needs
disg race th eoth er.
I must conf ess I am much to seek wh at Scripturesh all
beappliedto, andwh om it was writtenf or, if not f orus
andf orourinstruction. Forif th ey th at are wh oleas
ourSaviourtesties- - - h ave no needof a ph ysician, th en
didGodcause Scriptureto bewrittenneith erf orHim-
self norf orHis ang els; but it was writtenf orth ose
creatures wh o h aving lost th eirrst estate were since
f alleninto corruption. Nowth enif Scripturewas written
f orus, it concerns us much to k nowwh at use we sh all
mak eof it; andth is we may g ath erf rom th e dif f erent
conditions of manbef oreandaf terh is Fall. Bef ore h is
Fall manwas a g lorious creature, h aving receivedf rom
Godimmortality andperf ect k nowledg e; 2 but inand
af terh is Fall h e exch ang edimmortality f ordeath and
k nowledg e f orig norance. Nowas to ourredemption
f rom th is Fall, we may not- - - inrespect of death expect
it inth is world, Godh aving decreedth at all mensh ould
oncedie. But f orourig norance- - - - we may andoug h t to
put it of f inth is lif e, f orasmuch as with out th ek nowledg e
of Godno mancanbe saved; f orit is both th e cause
andth e earnest of ourf uture immortality? It remains
1 STMARK, ii, 1 7.
2 Compare Paracelsus, Btih me, Saint- MartinandevenLatinth eolog y,
th elast as at a f ardistance.
3Manh aving comeinto th is worldth at h e mig h t k nowGod, orinto
separatebeing f rom Him th at h emig h t k nowGodconsciously.
389
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
th enth at ourig norance must be put of f inpart even
inth is lif e, bef ore we canput of f ourmortality; and
certainly to th is endwas Scripturewritten- - namely, th at
by it we mig h t attainto th ek nowledg eof Godandreturn
to Him f rom Wh om weweref allen?
Andh ere let no manbeang ry with meif I ask h ow
Scriptureteach eth us to k nowGod: doth it only tell us
th ere is a Godandleave th e rest to ourdiscretion?
Doth it- - - th at I may speak my mind- teach us to k now
Godby His work s? orwith out His work s ? If by His
work s, th enby natural th ing s, f orth ey are His work s,
andnoneoth er. If with out His work s I desireto k now
Wh at mannerof teach ing th at is, f orI cannot yet ndit.
If th ey say it is by inspiration, I say too th at Godcan
teach us so, but Scripturecannot, f orcertainly Scripture
neverinspiredany man? th oug h it cameitself by inspira-
tion. But if it berepliedth at inScripture we h ave th e
testimony of meninspired, I say th is answeris beside my
q uestion, f orI speak not h ereof th ebareauth ority ortesti-
mony of Scripture, but I speak of th at doctrine6 by wh ich
it proves wh at it testies, f orwith such doctrine th e
Scriptureabounds. SureI am th at Moses proves Godby
His creation, andGodproves Himself to Moses by trans-
mutationof h is prodinto a serpent, andof th e serpent
into a rod. Andto th eEg yptians Heg ives moreterrible
demonstrations of His powerandsovereig nty inNature,
by turning th eirrivers into bloodandth e dust of th eir
landinto lice; by a murrainof beasts, by blains and
1 Th emeaning is th at h e wh o ceases f rom ig norance of Godceases
f rom th einwardsleep org urativedeath of th esoul.
2 Th econstructionis "obscure. It is not intendedto say th at wecannot
diebef orewe put away ig norance, but th at we oug h t to h ave donewith
th is latterbef orewe cansaf ely dispensewith th at earth ly envelopewh ich
h as beenassumedf oroureducation.
3But ch iey by th at work of Godwh ich is man.
4 Speak ing inth einwardbeing of th esoul, orso awak ening it th at th e
soul testies to usonits ownpartof God-
Onth econtrary, th at wh ich is inspireddoes assuredly inspire th ose
wh o respondto inspiration.
5 But th is is a work of awak ening andinspiration.
39
Euph rarer
boils andth e death of th eirrst- born; by th e several
plag ues of f rog s, locusts, h ail, re, th underanddark ness
all wh ich were but g reat natural work s by wh ich He
provedHis Godh ead, as Himself h ath said. Andth e
Eg yptians sh all k nowth at I am th e Lordwh enI stretch
f orth my h anduponEg ypt.1 Wh enHereveals Him-
self to Cyrus Hedoth it not by a simpleaf f irmationth at
He is God, but He proves Himself to be such by th e
worldth at Heh ath made. I am th eLord, saith He,
andth ere is none else, th ere is no Godbesideme: I
g irdedth ee, th oug h th ouh ast not k nownme. . . . I f orm
th e lig h t, andcreate dark ness : I mak e peace, andcreate
evil: I th e Lorddo all th ese th ing s. . . . I h ave made
th e earth andcreatedmanuponit: I, evenmy h ands,
h ave stretch edout th e h eavens, andall th eirh ost h ave
I commandedf ?
Let any manreadth ose majestic andph ilosoph ical
expostulations betweenGodandJob ; 3orina word, let
h im readoverboth Testaments andh e sh all nd- - if h e
reads attentively- th at Scripture, all th eway, mak es use
of Nature andh ath indeeddiscoveredsuch natural
mysteries as are not to be f oundinany of th e ph iloso-
ph ers. Andth is sh all appearinth e f ollowing discourse.
Formy ownpart, I f ear not to say th at Nature is so
much th ebusiness of Scripture th at- to me- - th e Spirit
of Godinth ose sacredoracles seems not only to mind
th e restitutionof maninparticularbut eventh e re-
demptionof Natureing eneral. We must not th eref ore
conneth is restitutionto ourownspecies unless we can
connecorruptionto it with al, wh ich doubtless we can-
not do? Forit is evident th at corruptionh ath not
only seiz eduponmanbut onth e worldalso f orman s
1 Exonus, vii, 5. _ 2 if saian, xlv. 5, 7, I?-
5 Th eref erences g ivenareto IOB, xxxviii, xxxix, xl_andxli. ' _
* Th eth ing s wh ich arewith out do testif y to th eth ing s th at arewith in,
andth eworldis remadeinman, f orandwith man. _ _
Compare LE NOUVEL HOMME of L. C. de Saint- Martinandth e
TRAITEonLA RsiiirisoawriouDES Brass by Mariines dePasq ually.
391
Th e h f / orh rof Th omas Vaug h an
sak e. If it be trueth enth at manh ath a Saviour, it is
also as true th at th e wh ole creationh ath th e same, God
h aving reconciledall th ing s to Himself inJesus Ch rist.
Andif it be trueth at welook f orth e redemptionof our
bodies anda newman, it is eq ually trueth at we look f or
a newh eavenanda newearth , wh ereindwelleth rig h teous-
ness. Forit is not manalone th at is to be renewedat
th e g eneral restoration, but eventh e worldas well as
man- - as it is written: Beh oldI mak eall th ing s new."2
I speak not th is to disparag e manorto match any oth er
creature with h im; f orI k nowh e is principal inth e
restoration, as h e was inth e Fall, th e corruptionth at
succeededinth e elements being but a ch ainth at th is
prisonerdrag s af terh im. But I speak th is to sh ewth at
Godminds th erestitutionof Nature ing eneral andnot
of manalpne, wh o- - th oug h h e be th e noblest part- yet
certainly 1 S but a small part of Nature.
Is Scripture th enmisapplied, much less vilied, wh en
it is appliedto th eobject of salvation, namely, to Nature,
f orth at is it wh ich Godwouldsaveandredeem f rom th e
present depravations to wh ich it is subject? Verily,
wh enI readScripture, I canndnoth ing init but wh at
concerns Natureandnatural th ing s. Forwh ere it men-
tions reg eneration, illuminationandg race, orany oth er
spiritual g if t, it doth it not precisely but inorderto
Nature; 3f orwh at sig nies all th is but a newinf luence
of spirit, descending f rom Godto assist Nature andto
f reeus f rom th osecorruptions wh erewith of a long time
we h ave beenoppressed? I suppose it will not be
deniedth at Godis moremetaph ysical th anany scripture
canbe, andyet inth e work of salvationit were g reat
impiety to separateGodandNature, f orth enGodwould
h avenoth ing to save, norindeedto work upon. How
1 Th eallusionis to GENESIS, iii, 1 7. 2 REVELATIONS, xxi, 5.
3I print th is as it appears inth eorig inal edition, but with out being able
to f ollowth e th oug h t wh ich th e writeris meaning to convey. Th oug h
of tendecient inpowerandcareof expression, Vaug h an s exact meaning
is very seldom a point at issue, as inth is place. '
392
Euph rates
much more absurdis it inth e ministry of Nature to
separate Scripture andNature, f orto wh om- - I beseech
you- doth Scripturespeak ? Nay, to wh om is salvation
ministeredif Nature be tak enaway? I doubt not but
manstands inNature, not above it ; andlet th e Sch ool-
menresolve h im into wh at parts th ey please, all th ose
parts will be f oundnatural, since Godalone is truly
metaph ysical? I wouldg ladly learnof ouradversaries
h owth ey came rst to k nowth at Nature is corrupted,
f orif Scripture taug h t th em th is ph ysical truth , wh y
may it not teach th em more? But th at Scripturetaug h t
th em is altog eth erundeniable. Let us f ancy a ph ysician
of such abilities as to state th e true temperament of h is
patient andwh ereinh is disease h ath disorderedit. Doth
h e not th is to g oodpurpose? Questionless, h e doth ;
andto no less purposeis it inmy opinionf orth eSpirit of
GodWh osepatient Natureisto g ive us inScripture
a ch aracterof Nature, wh ich certainly He h ath done in
all points, wh eth erwelook to th epast, present orf uture
complexionof th eworld.
Formy ownpart, I h ave th is assurance of ph ilosoph y,
th at all th emysteries of Natureconsist inth e k nowledg e
of th at corruptionwh ich is mentionedinScripture and
wh ich succeededth e Fall; namely, to k nowwh at it is
andwh ere it resides principally, as also to k nowwh at
substanceth at is wh ich resists it most andretards it- - - as
being most f ree f rom itf orinth ese two consist th e
advantag es of lif e anddeath ? To be sh ort, experience
andreasong roundedth ereuponh ave taug h t me th at
ph ilosoph y anddivinity arebut oneandth esame science.
But manh ath dealt with k nowledg e as h e doth with
1 Th epoint is th at th elesserworldis sph eredinth eg reaterworld.
2 It wouldappearth at Vaug h anis speak ing h ereof ph ysical corruption
andth e dissolutionto wh ich it leads, inwh ich case h is h ypoth etical
substance wh ich resists andretards corruptionis some dreamed- of
ph ysical elixir. But h e wh o says truly th at ph ilosoph y anddivinity are
onemak es f req uent transits f rom ph ysicai to spiritual th ing s, andwe are
of tenby no means certainas to wh ereh e ceases to speak of th e one and
beg ins considerationof th eoth er.
393
Th e Worh rof Th omas Vaug h an
rivers andwells, wh ich being drawninto several pipes
are made to runseveral ways, andby th is accident come
at last to h aveseveral names. Wesee th at GodinHis
work h ath unitedspirit andmatter, visibles andinvisibles;
andout of th eunionof spiritual andnatural substances
riseth a perf ect compound, wh ose very nature andbeing
consists inth at union. Howth enis it possible to
demonstrate th e nature of th at compoundby a divided
th eory of spirit by itself andmatterby itself ? Forif
th e natureof a compoundconsists inth e compositionof
spirit andmatter, th enmust not we seek th at nature in
th eirseparationbut inth eirmixture andtemperature,
andinth eirmutual mixedactions andpassions. Besides,
wh o h ath everseena spirit with out matterormatter
with out spirit, th at h e sh ouldbe able to g ive us a true
th eory of both principles inth eirsimplicity? Certainly
no manliving . It is just so indivinity, f orif by evasion
weconnedivinity to Godinth e abstract, wh o- say I- -
h ath everk nownHim so ? Orwh o h ath receivedsuch
a th eolog y f rom Him andh ath not all th is wh iledelivered
it unto us? Verily, if we considerGodinth e abstract,
andas He is inHimself , we cansay noth ing of Him
positively, but wemay someth ing neg atively, as Dionysius
h ath done? Th at is to say, we may af h rm wh at He is
not, but wecannot af f irm wh at Heis. But if by divinity
weunderstandth edoctrineof salvation, as it is laiddown
inScripture, th enverily it is a mixeddoctrine, involving
both GodandNature. Andh ere I doubt not to af rm
th at th e mystery of salvationcanneverbe f ully under-
stoodwith out ph iloso h y2- not inits just latitude-
as it is anapplicationof Godto Nature anda conversion
1 Proceeding step by step, f rom lesserto g reaterneg ation, andnally
daring to deny all th at is af rmedof God, Hebeing noth ing of all th at is
- of th at wh ich is positivenoth ing andnoth ing of th at wh ich is manif est.
TREA'IISE ox MYSTICAL THEOLOGY, c. ii.
9 Th e wordph ilosoph y must be understoodh ere inth e sense of
Vaug h aif s previous statement- th at it is one andth esame sciencewith
divinity. See p. 393.
394
Euph rates
of Natureto God, inwh ich two motions andth eirmeans
all spiritual andnatural k nowledg eis compreh ended.
To speak th enof Godwith out Nature is more th an
we cando, f orwe h ave not k nownHim so; andto
speak of Nature with out Godis more th anwe may do,
f orwe sh ouldrob Godof His g lory andattribute th ose
ef f ects to Naturewh ich belong properly to Godandto
th e Spirit of God, Wh ich work s inNature. We sh all
th eref ore use a meanf orm of speech betweenth ese ex-
tremes, andth is f orm th e Scriptures h ave taug h t us, f or
th e proph ets andapostles h ave usedno oth er. Let not
any manth eref orebeof f endedif inth is discourse wesh all
use Scripture to prove ph ilosoph y andph ilosoph y to
provedivinity, f orof a truth ourk nowledg eis such th at
ourdivinity is not with out Nature, norourph ilosoph y
with out God. Notwith standing , I dare not th ink but
most menwill repine at th is course, th oug h I cannot
th ink wh eref ore th ey sh ould, f orwh enIjoinScripture
andph ilosoph y I do but joinGodandNature, anunion
certainly approvedof by God, th oug h it be condemned
of men? But th is perverse ig norance- h owboldsoever
it be- - I sh all not q uarrel with , f orbesides Scripture I
h ave oth erg rounds th at h ave broug h t mevery f airly and
soberly to th is discourse.
I h ave sojournednowf orsome years inth is g reat
f abric wh ich th ef ortunatecall th e world, andcertainly I
h ave spent my timelik e a traveller- not to purch ase it
but to observe it. Th ere is scarce anyth ing init but
h ath g ivenme anoccasionof some th oug h ts; but th at
wh ich took me up much andsoonwas th e continual
actionof re uponwater? Th is speculationI k now
1 Vilesh ouldrememberth at Vaug h anh adpassedth roug h th eCommon-
wealth g ross purg ation, its h ot g ospels andpuritanism apart f rom purity.
Mattr'mam'uuz Def et Natura? was animpossibleth esis th en, th oug h even
inh ig h places of th eprotectorateth erewerea f ewch osensouls lik eRouse
wh o k newsometh ing of th e g reaterespousals andanunionof Godand
Natureinth eh umansoul.
2 Not perh aps with out someintimations concerning th ework of Divine
Fireuponth ewaterof natural emotions.
395
Th e Worh rof Th omarVaug h au
not h ow- - surprisedmy rst youth , long bef oreI sawth e
university ; andcertainly Nature, wh osepupil I was, h ad
eventh enawak enedmany notions inme wh ich I met
with af terwards inth e Platonic ph ilosoph y? Iwill not
f orbearto writeh owI h adth enf ancieda certainpractice
onwater, out of wh ich - - eveninth ose ch ildish daysI
expectedwonders, but certainly neith erg oldnorsilver,
f orI didnot so much as th ink of th em, norof any such
covetous artice. Th is considerationof myself wh enI
was a ch ildh ath mademe sinceexaminech ildren, namely,
wh at th oug h ts th ey h adof th oseelements we see about
us; andI f oundth us much of th em- th at Nature in
h ersimplicity is much more wise th ansome menare,
with th eiracq uiredparts andsoph istries. Of a truth
I th oug h t myself boundto proveall th ing s, th at I mig h t
attainto my lawf ul desires. But lest youth ink I h ave
only conversedwith ch ildren, I sh all conf ess I h ave con-
versedwith ch ildrenandf ools too- th at is, as I interpret
it, with ch ildrenandmen, f orth ese last are not inall
th ing s as wiseas th e rst. A ch ild, I suppose, inpuris
uaturaiih us, bef ore educationalters andf erments h im, is
a subject h ath not beenmuch considered, f ormenrespect
h imnot till h e is company f orth em, andth enindeedth ey
spoil h im. Notwith standing , I sh ouldth ink , by wh atl
h averead, th at th e natural dispositionof ch ildren, bef ore
it is corruptedwith customs andmanners, is oneof th ose
th ing s about wh ich th e ancient ph ilosoph ers h avebusied
th emselves, evento some curiosity. I sh all not h ere
express wh at I h ave f oundby my ownexperience, f or
th is is a point of f oresig h t anda g roundby wh ich wise
menh ave attainedto a certaink nowledg e of morals, as
well as naturals.
1 Andyet we seem missing continually, th oug h of tenas if onth everg e
of nding , th ose real andliving intimations wh ich wouldh aveof f ereda
truememorial concerning th at actionof re uponwaterwh ich is not of
external elements but of th e soul s elemental lif e. I speak of th at
mystical marriag e wh ich if we are to use th e terms of symbolism- - is
madebetweeng reat waters of understanding andth e reof supernal
wisdom.
396
Euph rates
But to returnf rom th is dig ressionto th e principles
rst proposed, namely, re andwater, I sh all borrow
my entrance into th is discourse f rom my f amous
countryman, Rice of Ch ester, wh o speak ing of th is
art delivers h imself th us. Th is Art, saith h e, be-
long eth to occult ph ilosoph y andto th at part of th e
ph ilosoph y wh ich treats of meteors. Th e saidArt
discourses not only of th e elements but also of th ing s
producedby th ese. Search h erein, because it is a g reat
secretf il
Th esewords- if th emysteries th ey involve andrelate
to were distinctly laiddown- - wouldmak e anendless
discourse, f orth ey containall th at Nature doth andall
th at Art cando. But th at wemay, insomeorderandas
f aras consciencewill permit? express wh at th ey sig nif y :
Wedo rst say th at Godis th eprincipal andsoleAuth or
of all th ing s, Wh o by His WordandSpirit h ath f ormed
andmanif estedth ose th ing s wh ich at present wecannot
see. As f orth e matterwh ereof He f ormedth em, it
being a substance pre- existent not only to us but to th e
worlditself , most menmay th ink th e k nowledg e of it
impossible, f orh owsh all we k nowa th ing th at was so
long bef oreus andwh ich is not nowextant with us, nor
ever was- - inth eiropinionsince th e creation?3To
th is objection, wh ich at rst sig h t may seem invincible,
we sh all returnananswersh all break it; f orwe will
sh ewh owandby wh at means we came to k nowth is
matterandnot only to k nowit but af terlong labours to
1 Ars / uee a eph z 'Zeseph z "a eeeutta est, et est de { Ila parte; 5> h z 'Zoeo, eh z '.ce
g uise tueteora trattat. Leg uiturmuh ere are ueuselutude eierz atz h ue
et a e, i5irerei'0iz e etetueuteruitrredetiauz elerueutatoruur. .S'ez 'a.i" h oe, g uta
mag num seeretuut e.i"t; I h ave endeavouredto trace th is auth orunder
all possiblef orms andvariants of h is name, but with out success.
2 As it was inth ebeg inning with Vaug h anso also it remains to th eend
of h is literary lif e. I h avediscussedth is consciencewh ich permits and
h inders inth eintroductory part. _ _ _ _
3Onth eh ypoth esis th at th eorig inal of all th ing s is oneth ing - aneth er,
anessence, a primal, irreduciblematter- - it seems obvious th at it must be
everywh ereextantth roug h all th emans, f orit is th euniversal root and
f oundation.
397
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h au
see it, h andleit andtasteit? It is evident enoug h th at
every individualsuppose manh imself - is made by a
seed, andth is seed- wh enth ebody is perf ected- appears
no more, f orit is alteredandtransf ormedto a body.
However, th at self - same body doth af terwards yielda
seed, wh ich is th every same inNaturewith th at orig inal
rst seedwh ereof th e body was made. I presume th en
th at h e th at wouldk nowth e g enerationof manneeds
not look back so f aras Adam to k nowth erst seed; f or
if Naturestill af f ords th e lik e, wh at needs th at f ruitless
retrog radation? It is evenso with th eworld, f orit was
orig inally madeof a seed, of a seminal, viscous h umidity
or water. But th at seedas we h ave saidinour
Aph orisms 2- disappearedinth e creation, f orth e Spirit
of Godth at moveduponit transf ormedit andmadeth e
worldof it. Howsoever, th at very worlddoth nowyield
andbring f orth out of its ownbody a secondary seed,
wh ich is th every sameinessence andsubstance with th at
primitive g eneral seedwh ereof th e worldwas made.
Andif any mansh all ask wh at use Naturemak es of th is
g eneral seed, andwh eref ore sh e yields it, I answerth at
it is not to mak eanoth erworldof it but to maintainth at
worldwith it wh ich is madealready ? ForGodAlmig h ty
h ath so decreedth at His creatures are nourish edwith th e
very same matterwh ereof th ey were f ormed; andin
th is is veriedth at maxim wh ich oth erwise wouldbe
most f alse: By th e self - same th ing s of wh ich wecon-
sist arewealso nourish ed.3Weseek not much wh ence
ourownnutriment comes, north at of beasts, f orboth
3Th eaf rmationis madeh ere, but th epromisedrevelationdoes not of
coursef ollow. Tak ing Vaug h anat h is ownwords, th eoneth ing needf ul
was a plainstatement of th at procedurewh ateverit was- invirtue of
wh ich h ebelievedh imself able to touch , taste andsee wh at h e believed
to beth eFirst Matter.
3Th e ref erence is not apparently to th e MAGICAL APHORISMS of
Eug enius wh ich f ollowth etext of LUMEN DELUMINE, andno oth ers are
extant, unless it be th e tenaph orisrns mentionedinth e title of THE
CHYMIS'I"S KEY TO SHUTAND T0 OPEN, f orwh ich seeAppendix IX to
th epresent work . But th esewereth ework of Nollius.
3Ex'i'z 'saZem uutrtiuturex g uibus eeustamus.
398
Exp/ z rates
provisions are obvious. But wh at is th at wh ich f eeds
g rass, h erbs, cornandall sorts of trees, with th eirf ruits P
Wh at is it th at restores andsupplies th eearth wh enth ese
copious andinnumerous products h ave f orth e g reatest
part of th eyearlivedsuck ing onh erbreasts andalmost
exh austedh er? I am af raidth ey will speak as th ey
th ink andairm it is water, but wh at sk ilf ul assertors
th ey are sh all appearh ereaf ter.
Certainly eventh at wh ich we eat ourselves, andbeasts
also, proceeds all of it f rom th e samef ountain; but bef ore
it comes to us it is altered, f oranimals f eedonparticulars
but veg etables abstract th is sperm immediately inits
h eavenly, universal f orm. Notwith standing I wouldnot
h aveth is so understoodas if th is seeddidserveonly to
nourish , f ormany th ing s are made of it, andespecially
th at subterraneous f amily of minerals andmetals. For
th is th ing is not wateroth erwise th anto th e sig h t but
a coag ulable f at h umidity, ora mixture of re, airand
pureearth , overcast indeedwith water, andth eref ore not
seenof any nork nownbut to f ew. Inveg etables it
of tentimes appears, f orth ey f eednot- - as some th ink - l
onwaterbut onth is seminal viscosityl th at is h idinth e
water. Th is indeedth ey attract at th e roots andf rom
th ence it ascends to th e branch es, but sometimes it
h appens by th e way to break out at th e bark , wh ere
meeting with th e coldairit subsists andcong eals to a
g um? Th is cong elationis not suddenbut req uires some
small time, f orif youndit wh ile it is f resh it is an
exceeding ly subtle moisture but g lutinous, f orit will
spininto string s as small as any h air; andh adit passed
up to th e branch es it h adbeenf ormedintime- to a
plum orch erry. Th is h appens to it by coldandabove
g round, but inth ebowels of th e earth it is cong ealedby
1 It wouldappearth eref ore th at th e lif e andnourish ment of plants
dependuponth eirpowerof drawing into th em th e First Matter, every-
wh eredescribedby Vaug h anas a seminal viscosity.
2 Th e saidg um is th eref ore th e First Matter, wh eth erq ualiedornot
by th eparticularch annel of veg etationth roug h wh ich it h as passed.
399
Te Work s of T/ z omas Vang / ran
a sulph ureous h eat into metals, andif th e place of its
cong elationbe pure th eninto a brig h t metal, f orth is
sperm is impreg natedwith lig h t andis f ull of th e Star-
Fire, 2 f rom wh ence all metals h ave th eirlustre. Th e
same mig h t be saidof pearls andprecious stones, th is
starry seedbeing th emoth erof th em all. Forwh ereit
is mineralisedby itself andwith out any f eculent mixture,
th enit sh eds andsh oots its res, 3andh ath so much of
h eaventh at if we didnot k nowth econspiracy wesh ould
wonderh owit couldlove th e earth . Let us nowina
f ewwords resume wh at we h ave said, andth e rath er
becausewewouldexplainourmeth od, f orwe intendto
f ollowRaymundLully, wh o inth e th irdch apterof h is
Testament h ath laiddowna certaing ure wh ich f ully
answers to th ose words we h ave f ormerly citedout of
Rh msus Cestrensis.5
We h ave already mentionedtwo principles, Godand
Nature, orGodandth e createdworld; f orth at th ird
principleorch aos th at was pre- existent to th e worldwe
sh all speak of no more. But inlieuof it we sh all h ave
recourseto th esecondary sperm orch aos th at nowis and
comes out of th evisibleworld. Forwe will g roundour
discourse uponnoth ing but wh at is visible, andinth e
f ront of it weplaceth eDivineMajesty, Wh o is th e sole,
central Eternal PrincipleandArch itect of all.
Th is g ureis RaymundLully s, andinth e centre of
it yousee th erst HyleorMatter, wh ereof th eworldwas
made. Inth is Hyle- saith Raymund- - - all th eelements
andall natural principles- as well means as extremes- - were
Th e g um, th e ch erry, th e g old- th eseth ree are of one substance:
h ereof is th eph ysics of Vaug h an.
2 Or, as it is calledby modernoccult writers, th eAstral Lig h t.
3Vomz 't .z :g m'cuZ0s mos.
"* TESTAMENTUM ./ f ay; - - .= z mz a'z ' Lar!Zz 'z ', dz aobus Zz irrlt Ursa?/ ersam Arrears
Ck ymicam complecteaz s. Pars i, cap. 4 . Th e diag ram as producedby
Vaug h anis alteredslig h tly f rom th eorig inal.
5 Seenoteonp. 397.
* 3 Th at is to say, (I) th eprimal ch aos, (2) th ematterof th ePh ilosoph ical
Stone, (3) th ebasic matterof Mercury, (4 ) th eFirst Matter.
4 .00
Exp/ 2rare:
ming ledpotentially ina conf usedf orm of water" ; 1
andth is primitive spermatic oceanlledall th at space
wh ich we nowattribute to th e air, f or- - saith h e- it
extendedevento th e lunarcircle."2 Out of th is central
Hyle- - with wh ich we h ave nowdonedidriseall th ose
principles andbodies wh ich youndwritteninth ecir-
cumf erenceof th eg ure: andh erebeg ins ourph ilosoph y.
, \a, _~ jl.c1 t1 Cf lt1 1 - 1 ), ,
, 1 ;

i Q
\= >
1 |
- .||t -
_. ..- _.-
= 3
e% % ; mf i_ < , :
lnth e rst place overth e Hyle yousee th eelements,
orth e visible createdworld, wh ose parts are commonly
calledelements, namely, earth , water, airandh eaven- ~
f or th ere is no oth erre but th at ig nis z ruus wh ich
Aristotle k indledunderth emoon? From th e elements
onth erig h t h and, by raref actionandresolutionof th eir
substance, yousee derivedanoth erprinciple, namely, th e
vapours of th e elements orth eclouds, inwh ich vapours
th e inf eriorandsuperior natures meet andare th ere
married, andout of th eirmixture results th at secondary
sperm orch aos ph ilosoph ical, wh ich we look f or. Next
to th e clouds orvapours of th e elements youwill nd
inth eg urea th irdprinciple, namely, a clearwaterwh ich
proceeds immediately f rom th e clouds. Andth at"-
1 Inf ormerconf useaq ua.
2 Attz ieg eat arg ueadrz iwrulum Zmz arem.
3Apparently anoth erderisiveallusionto Aristot1 e s notions concerning
a q uintessence, Vaug h anig noring th ef act th at alch emical literatureis f ull
of th is symbolism.
T4 01 26
T/ z e Work s ty T/ z omas Vaug h an
saith Lully- - is th e substance rath er lik eunto q uick ~
silverwh ich is truly f oundrunning andowing uponth e
earth .Th ef ourth principle, wh ich Natureimmediately
g enerates by cong elationout of th esubstance orviscosity
of th e aq ueous universal Mercury, is th e g lassy .4 202/ 2, 2
wh ich is a certainery, sulph ureous, masculine minera.
Andth is is g oldph ilosoph ical~ - th e sulph ur, th e earth
andth e male, as th e viscous wateris th e Mercury and
th ef emale. Th e rest of th eprinciples wh ich are rang ed
inth eg urearearticial principles, andcannot be k nown
ormanif estedwith out Art, excepting th eseventh andlast
principle, wh ich is eith erg oldorsilver. Forth ese are
perf ect metals andf erments th at specif y th e medicine
wh ich of itself is universal- - andreduceit to a particular
dispositionandef f ect.
Th us f arweth oug h t t to deal plainly with you, and
f orth e practical part of th is g urewe sh all waiveit, f or
weh adrath erspeak noth ing th anto speak th at wecannot
be understood. I dare say th ere are some writers wh o
rejoiceinth eirownriddles andtak ea special pleasure to
multiply th ose dif f iculties wh ich are numerous enoug h
already. Formy part I sh all not put youto a trial of
wit. Youmay tak eth e rest f rom th eirauth orandth us
expose youto no oth erh az ardbut wh at I h ave been
f ormerly exposedto myself .
Wesh all nowag ainreturnto ourth eory, andto mak e
ourentrance we say th at re beg ins every motionand
motionbeg ins g eneration. Forif th e elements orparts
of th is material worlddidall of th em standwith inth eir
1 El if la estresarg enf o we've > v2a_g z 's ; f > r0, ; 5z 'ng z 4 :a, g rate g z ez em reytenratr
srz pra terrain, rz z rrens eaz reez s.
2 Az otiz is th eMercury of metallic bodies. Th eterm is usednot only
by RaymundLully but by th eLatinGeber, Mary of Eg ypt, Basil Valentine
andParacelsus. InDEOCCULTA PHILOSOPHIA, aw. Derl4 a, g z 'creAeusu,
it is saidto h avepowerag ainst sorceries. Aaoc wouldseem to beone of
its synonyms, andinAURORA Paracelsus says : LetreandArnesuf ce
th ee.... Vitriedorg lassy A201 / z is mentionedby Rulandus. It is th e
universal medicine, of cath olic andcentral virtue. Aprecipitateof ordinary
Mercury usedto be calledby th is name insome oldch emical book s,
but true Az oz / z h adnoth ing to do with commonMercury.
4 02
Eup/ 2rates
properbounds, such a cessationwouldproduce noth ing .
To prevent th is th e Almig h ty Godplacedinth e h eart
of th eworld, namely, inth eearth as Hedidinth e h eart
of every oth ercreature- - a re- lif e, wh ich Paracelsus calls
th e Arch aeusz andSendivog ius th e Central Sun? Th is
re- lest it sh ouldconsume its ownbody, th eearth - - h e
h ath overcast with a th ick , oily, saltish water, wh ich we
call th e sea. Forsea- water- - - as we h ave tried- not
to speak of its salt, is f ull of a sulph ureous, volatile
f atness, wh ich doth not q uench re, lik e th e common
water, but f eeds it. Th e lik e providencewe see inth e
bodies of animals, wh ose h eat orlif e is temperedwith
a sulph ureous, saltish moisture- namely, with blood- -
andth e bloodwith th e breath , as th e sea is with wind
andair. Overth is Arch seus orcentral re Godh ath
placedHis h eaven, th e sunandstars, as He h ath placed
th e h eadandth eeyes overth eh eart. Forbetweenman
andth eworldth ereis no small accord, andh e th at k nows
not th e onecannot k nowth e oth er.5 We may observe
also th at th e windpasseth betweenth e inf eriorand
superiorres, th at is, betweenth e central andcelestial
sun; andinmanth e breath h ath all its liberty and
motionbetweenth e h eart andth eeyes- - th at is, between
th e reandth elig h t th at is inus. VVe see, moreover,
inmanandth e worlda most evencorrespondence of
ef f ects ; f oras th eblood, evenso th esea h ath a constant
1 In.m_z 's f ew- .ez '2z z 's.
2 Th eprincipleof motioninNature, th euniversal andparticularag ent,
wh ich disposes to g enerationandreproduction. Sendivog ius calls Arch teus
th e servant of Nature, wh ich distils andsublimes th eelements.NovUM
LUMEN Cl- IEMICUM, Tract. iiandiv.
3[bz 'd., inth eEpilog ueorConclusionto th eTwelveTreatises.
Sendivog ius claims to h ave concealednoth ing but oursea- water,
oth erwiseSoph ic Mercury, f orth is secret canbe revealedonly by God.
rare.
5 So also Alipilisays th at if wecannot ndwith inus th e Great Secret
of th e Stone wesh all neverndit with out.
6 Th is is only a dream- analog y. Vaug h anonph ysics is lik eany oth er
student at h is period, andh eis not altog eth erto bejudg edth ereby. He
was indeedmoref ancif ul th anmany ; but h eh adsaving lig h ts of anoth er
andh ig h erk ind.
4 - O3
T/ z e Wm; q f T/ z omas Vamg an
pulseorag itation, both spirits stirring andwork ing alik e
inth eirbodies.
Noroug h t we to neg lect anoth erconsiderationth at
th elig h t of th eworldis inth esuperiorparts of it, namely,
th e sunandstars. But th e orig inal re f rom wh ence
th esespark s f ly upwards appears not, but lives imprisoned
inth e earth . Evenso certainly all th ebrig h tness of man
is inh is f ace, f orth ere h e sh eds h is lig h t at th e eyes;
but th erst sourceof it, namely, th at rewh ich is at th e
h eart, is no more seenth anth at wh ich is inth e earth .
Only th is we may say th at both th eseimprisonedres are
manif estedto reasonby th esame ef f ects, namely, by th e
pulseth at th eonecauseth inth ebloodandth eoth erinth e
sea, to wh ich may be addedth at transpirationorevapora-
tionof h umours wh ich both th ese spirits produce, alik e
inth eirseveral bodies. Andth at wemay f urth erprove
th at th eseterms of Arch eus andS0! Cenrmlis 1 arenotvain
words let us but considerwh at a strong h eat is req uired
to th is sublimationof vapours andexh alations; f orit is
not simplewaterth at is drivenupwards but abundanceof
salt andoil, tog eth erwith th ewater. If any manth ink s
th e suncando th is I must tell h im h e k nows not th e
operations of th e sun, nor f or wh at use it serves in
Nature. Th e sunserves only to dry up th esuperf luous
h umidity wh ich th enig h t leaves beh indh eronth eoutside
of th ing s ; f orth is mak es all veg etables coldandaccid,
h inders th eirdig estiona1 1 dmaturity. But th e sun, with
a clearh eat, tak ing o: th at extraneous moisturef orwards
th eirconcoctionandh elps to ripenth at wh ich is raw.
Th is must be done with a most g entle h eat, not with
such as sh all mak e th eearth to smok eandextract clouds
f rom it, f orth is wouldnot bring th ing s to a maturity but
rath erburnandcalcineth em. Wek nowth at if westand
1 Th eCentral Sunof Vaug h anis inth eearth , andis to bedisting uish ed
th eref ore f rom th at metaph ysical Sunwh ich is g uredinsome th eo-
soph ical systems as inth e centreof th e cosmos andis inmost of th ese
reveries reg ardedas GodHimself . Vaug h anf ollows Sendivog ius. See
NOVUM LUMEN CHEMICUM, Tmrz . xi.
4 94 -
Eup/ 2rates
long inth e sunwesh all g rowf aint, andcommonrewill
not burninth elig h t of it, f orth esun- wh ich is th etrue
element of reattracts it, so th at by deg rees it g oes of f
andf orsak es its f uel. But if youconvey th e reout of
th esunth enit will more strong ly apply to th ef uel and
uniteitself to it andburnit.
It is just so with th e earth , f orwh iles th e h eat of th e
sunis present, th e h eat of th e earth is more busy with
th e sunth anwith its ownbody. Foras Sendivog ius
h ath well written: Rays are joinedwith rays onth e
surf ace of th e earth . Inth e f ace of th e earth th e
beams of both luminaries meet, andth ereis such a con-
spiracy betweenre andre th at th e central~ break ing
f orth to meet th ecelestial- suf f ers a k indof ecstasy and
doth not much mindits ownbody. Give me leave to
speak th us, f orth ere is such anaf f inity betweenth ese
two th at th ey h adrath erjoinwith oneanoth erth anwith
any th irdnature. But th at is it wh ich cannot be but in
part, andby way of inuence, Godh aving connedth e
one to th e centre andth e oth erto th e circumf erence.
I coulddemonstrate th is sympath y by a most noble
mag netism, wh ich I h aveseento my admiration, between
th e sunandsweet oil, orrath erth e re andsoul of
nitre.2 Andh ere I sh all tell youth at th e earth is f ull
of nitre.3Nay, I must af f irm th at pureearth is noth ing
else but nitre, wh ose belly is f ull of wind, airandre,
andwh ich dif f ers no more f rom h eaventh anth e root of
a treeth at lodg eth inth edirt doth f rom th ebranch es of
it th at g rowinth e sunsh ine. Th is attractionof re by
reis th etruecausewh y th eh eat of th eearth is so weak
1 insuperez 'eterraeradiim- ciz 'z 's jung u; eta:r.
9 A ref erenceto ph ilosoph ical nitre, but th ereis very littleabout it in
th eliterature. [g az e rz z 'z rum roris r'?z wem'2- arrwas one of th e word- g roups
f ormedout of th eI.N.R.I. f ormula. , Sendivog ius says th at it is th edis-
solvent of g oldandis inf act soph ic Mercury- - one of th e th ousand
names.
3Th at is, inth esenseof Sendivog ius. _ Underth emorecommonname
of saltpetre it h as scarcely_beensyiribolisedalch emically. Sendivog ius
seems to identif y it with ph ilosoph ical Mag nesia.
4 - O5
T/ we Wares cf T/ z omas Vaag / ran
insummerandso strong inwinter. Forinth ewinter-
wh enth esunis absentth ecentral re k eeps altog eth er
with inth e earth and, being irritatedby anh ostile in-
vasionof cold, h eats th e waters much morevig orously,
so th at exh alations andclouds are f armore copious in
th e winterth anth ey are inth e summer, wh ich could
not be if th e sunwere th ecause of th em. Addto th is
th at anoutward, dry h eat- - as th at of th e sunis- f alling
immediately onth e earth , must needs burnth e earth
bef ore it canmak e it smok e; but aninwardre, th at
is ming ledwith th emoisture of th e earth , cannot burn,
beit neverso intense, f orit is q ualiedwith th e water
andtemperedto a moist h eat. Andwith out doubt such
at remay very naturally resolve some parts of th eearth
andcause th em to exh ale- - - as ourowninwardh eat being
moistenedwith th e bloodmak es us sweat with out any
violence.
To reduce all th is to a corollary, we say th at inth e
winterGodseals th e f ace of th e earth with f rost and
cold, as a manwouldseal a g lass, andth is to k eep inth e
cong elative spermatic h umidity, wh ich oth erwise mig h t
ascendwith th e more crude vapours th at break out
copiously at th at time and, lling th e sph ere of th e air,
tak e in- - lik e so many spong es- - th e celestial, vital
inuences. Forwe must k nowth at Nature beg ins to
impreg nate th e earth about th e endof autumnand
continues it all th e winter, th e ery subtle inux of th e
h eavens being th encondensedby th e coldandmoisture
of th emoon- - - wh o is reg ent all th e winterandelevated
above th e sun. Th is youmay see insnow, wh ich f alls
inh ardf rost, wh ich being tak enup wh iles it is f resh ,
anddig estedina blindg lass inash es f ortwenty- f our
h ours, if th enyouopenth e g lass wh ilst th e solutionis
warm, yoush all perceive inth e breath of th e waterall
th eodours inth e world, andcertainly f armore pleasant
th anth ey are inth e owers at May. Look into th e
bottom of th e g lass andyouwill ndth ere a f at, g rey
4 06
Eap/ z rater
slime- - not unlik e to castile- soap. Separate th eph leg m
f rom it by a sof t distillationinth e bath andput th e
residue ina bolth ead, 2well stopped, ina dry h eat of
ash es. Keep it th ere warm f oranh ouror two and
suddenly th e g lass will y to pieces, f orth e wind- th e
lif eorspirit- is not well settledinth ebody. Hereyou
may see th erst attempts of Nature; but if youk now
h owto work uponwateryoush all ndg reaterth ing s
th anI h avetoldyou.
Th e Mag nesiaa th en- - as Sendivog ius h ath written- -
is g eneratedinth e winter, andnot with out reason, f or
th enth eh eat of th e earth is strong est andbest able to
dig est th enutriment th at comes downf rom h eavenand
concoct it to a viscous sperm. But inth e spring and
summerseasons, wh enth e sunh ath ch asedo'th ef rost
andth e central andcelestial luminaries h aveby th eir
mutual mixture andconux of beams- - - relaxatedand
dilatedth e pores of th e earth , th enth ereis a way made
f orth e sperm to ascendmore f reely, wh ich subliming
upwards is attractedandinterceptedby th e veg etable
k ing dom, wh oseimmediatealiment it is.
To returnth ento th ose rst words of Rh aesus
Castrensis: we say th is sperm is made of th e vapours
orclouds, andth e vapours are made by elevationand
depressionof th e elements, andnot only of th eelements
but- - as h e saith - - of elementata also, th at is, of bodies
compoundedof th e elements. Andth is bears a double
sense, f orwe must k nowth at th e earth is ch arg edwith
many particular natures- as minerals of all sorts and
1 Inbalneo. 2 1 .e., a receiver.
3See NOVUM LUMEN CHEMICUM, Tract. iv. A certainunctuous
vapour, consisting of Sulph urandMercury, is saidto be liberatedinth e
spring - timeandattracts th eMercury of th e air, g iving lif e to all th ing s.
It is saidinth eepilog ueth at th einmost h eart of ourMag nesia corre-
sponds to th erespectivecentres of th esunandearth .Th eSalt of th e
sag es is h iddenin"th ewomb of Mag nesia.
* Th is wordis practically untranslatable- - th ing s f ormedof th eelements
is crude andawk ward; ch ildrenof th e elements sug g ests elementary
spirits of oldf olk - loreandmag ic.
4 07
T/ ie Work s q f Taomas Vaag aaez
cadaverous relics ; f orourbodies also lodg einth eearth
wh enth e spirit of lif eh ath lef t th em. All th ese, as well
as th e earth itself , suf f era raref actionandresolutionof
substance ; f orinto th esevapours, saith RaymundLully,
are resolvedall bodies producedf rom th e elements,
th at th ey may enterinto a newg eneration.1
Th is puts meinmindof anopinionI h ave readsome-
times inth e Kabalists, namely, th at th is bulk orbody we
h aveattainedto by attractionandtransmutationof iiutri-
ment riseth not inth e resurrection. But out of th at
seminal particlewh ich orig inally attracting th enutriment
didovercast itself th erewith , th ere sh all spring anoth er
newbody, andth is seminal particle- - say th ey- lurk eth
somewh ereinth ebones, not inth at part wh ich moulders
into dust? Of a truth we see th at bones are very
permanent andlasting ; andth is Joseph was not ig norant
of wh en, dying inEg ypt, h e g ave th at ch arg e to h is
breth ren: Yesh all carry up my bones f rom h ence.3
We k nowth e Israelites were bondmeninEg ypt near
f ourh undredyears af ter]oseph s death ; yet all th at
time h is bones were not consumed, but were carried
away to th e landof Canaan, as it is written: And
Moses took th e bones of Joseph with h im : f or h e
h adstraitly swornth e ch ildrenof Israel, saying , God
will surely visit you; andye sh all carry up my bones
h ence with you.
Certainly, if we judg e rig h tly, we must conf ess th at
th is seminal particleis ouronly f undamental matter, th e
rest being anaccretionth at comes f rom th e extraneous
substanceof meat anddrink . Wh at loss is it th enif we
lay by th is corrupt secretionoraccess of matter, f orcan-
not Heth at made us at rst of th e seminal particlemak e
us of it ag ainP From th is opinionSt Paul, inmy judg -
_ Omaf a corpora eiemerz tata resalwantaradz 'az rarz a'am not/ am g enera-
iwf iiiis my SECRET DOCTRINE IN ISRAELf orZoh aric reveries concern-
ing th eresurrectionof th ebody. _
3GENESIS, 1 , 25. ExoDUs, xiii, 1 9.
4 08
Euph rates
ment, abh ors not inth at speech of h is to th eCorinth ians,
wh ere h e wouldsh ewth em th e mannerof th e resurrec-
tionandwith wh at bodies th edeadrise. Th ouf ool "- -
saith h e- - th at wh ich th ousowest is not q uick ened, except
it die: andth at wh ich th ousowest, th ousowest not th at
body th at sh all be, but bareg rain, it may ch anceof wh eat,
orof some oth erg rain: but Godg iveth it a body as it
h ath pleasedHim, andto every seeda body th at is proper
f orit."1 Forso sig nieth th e orig inal. Andh ere, you
th at are ang ry readers, let me be excused; f orI deliver
not th is as my ownsentiment but as th e traditionof th e
Jews, wh o weresometimes a very learnedpeopleandk new
moreof th eMysteries of GodandNatureth anany oth er
nationwh atsoever?
But to beg inag ainwh erewe lef t, youmust k nowth at
wh enth ecentral suna sublimes th evapours th osevapours
partak e not only of th e natureof earth andwaterbut of
divers oth erparticularminerals, wh ereof th e earth and
waterare f ull. To mak eth is moreclear, th e vapours
properly so calledrise f rom th e sea andf rom all f resh
waters. Th ese partak eof th e substanceandq ualities of
such minerals as are inth ewater, some of th em being
bituminous, somesaltish , somemercurial, andall of th em
moist andh leg matic. Onth econtrary, th oseexh alations
th at comef rom th eearth are dry, f orth eearth is moreh ot
andmineral th anth ewater. Th ese ery, earth y f umes,
meeting with th ecoldvapours of th e water, of tentimes
produce most terrible tempests, some of th ese being
nitrous, some arsenical, some sulph ureous andall h ot;
andsome- - by reasonof th eir copious sulph ur- - in-
f lammable. Both th eseI meanth e earth ly exh alations
andth e watery vapour- - meet inth at vast circulatory of
1 I CORINTHIANS, xv, 36- 38. Th e Auth orisedVersiong ives: To
every seedh is ownbody, but Vaug h antranslates th e Vulg ate: E!
um'ruz 'g ueseuz f uumpro; orz 'uuz corpus.
A It does not f ollowth at Vaug h anaccepts th eJewish reverieas literal
truth , th oug h h eleans inth at direction.
3Meaning th edark sun, f abledas inth ecentreof th eearth .
4 09
T/ z e Worrq f T/ z amas Vaug arz
th e air, wh ere th eircontrary complexions of h eat and
coldare ming ledtog eth er lik e ag ent andpatient, or
Sulph urandMercury. Andth e particularnatures and
vapours wh ich th ey acq uiredf rom th e minerals are re-
solvedby th e windandtotally reducedinto g eneral
principles. lt is strang eto considerwh at a powerf ully re-
solving f aculty th ereis inwindorair, f orwindis no oth er
th ing th anairstirred, andth at by re, as we see inman
th at th emotionof th e breath is causedby h eat, as well
as th at of th eblood, both proceeding f rom th e same h ot
principle of lif e. So certainly th e lif e of th e world
causeth windora commotioninth e airas Well as a ux
inth e sea, f orboth th ese are seas andh ave th eirf luxes,
as we sh all proveelsewh eremoref ully. Airth en- as we
h ave said- resolves all th ing s andespecially wind, f orit
resolves all salts into water, andif th is solutionbedistilled
we sh all ndsome part of th e salt reducedinto f resh
water. As f orth e residue, if it be exposedto th ewind
it will resolve ag ain, andyoumay distil it th e second
time. Ina word, if yourepeat th is process, youwill
bring th e wh ole body of th e salt into a volatile f resh
water, noth ing dif f erent f rom th ecommon, eith erinsig h t
ortaste. Andh ere youmust not th ink yoursalt is lost,
f orif youk nowh owto cong eal yourwateryouwill nd
it ag ain, but so alteredf rom wh at it was th at youwill
wonderto see it.
Th is practice, if well understood, suf ciently declares
th e natureof air; but h e th at k nows wh ereto ndcon-
g ealedair, andcandissolveit by h eat to a viscous Water,
h e h ath attainedto someth ing th at is excellent. Much
more I couldsay of th is wonderf ul andspiritual element,
wh ose penetrating , resolving f aculty I h ave sometimes
contemplatedinth is f ollowing andsimple experiment.
, 1 It is dif cult f orcommonly instructedpeople to believe th at a writer
wh o is so utterly at sea overph ysical th ing s couldbeinstructedinth ing s
spiritual ; but th esamereasoning wouldcondemninth esamemannernot
only Plato andPlotinus but Eck eh art andRuysbroeck ; nordo I k now
wh at sag es orsaints of oldmig h t beh eldto escape.
y 4 .1 0
Exp/ z rates
Commonq uick silverh ath a miraculous unionof parts
andof all compounds is th e strong est, excepting g old;
f orif youdistil it by retort a h undreditimes it will be
q uick silver stillnotwith standing all th ose reiterated
raref actions of h is body. But if youtak e a th ousand
weig h t of it andvapourit away but once inth eopenair,
it will nevercome to q uick silverag ain; f orth e f umes
will be lif tedup to th e wind, wh ere th ey will suf f era
total dissolution, andwill come downmere rain- water.
Th is is th e very reasonwh y also th e vapours of th e
elements are lif tedup to th e middle reg ionof th eair,
f orth ere th ewindis most coldandh ath most liberty;
andinno oth erplace canth eirresolution- wh ich Nature
intends- be perf ected. Th is, if understood, is a most
noblesecret of Nature, norwas Job ig norant of it, wh en
- - complaining of th e decays of h is ownbody- - h e
deliveredh imself th us: Th oulif test me up to th e
wind; th oucausest me to ride uponit, anddissolvest
my substance.2
We h ave h ith erto sh ewedyouh owre rarees all
th ing s, andh owwindandairresolve th em yet f urth er
th anre, as we h ave exempliedinq uick silver. And
th is is it we h ave deliveredelsewh ere inmore envious
terms, namely, th at circumf erences dilate andcentres
contract ; th at superiors dissolveandinf eriors coag ulate;
th at wesh ouldmak e use of anindeterminate ag ent till
wecannda determinate one? Fortrue it is th at th e
mercurial dissolving f aculty is inth e air andinairy
th ing s, andth e sulph ureous, cong ealing virtue is inth e
1 Wemust rememberth at Vaug h anby h is ownaccount was th e least
instructedof all ch emists, proceeding with out a g uide and- as we learn
f rom h is autog raph note- book by'no means invariably ina positionto
reproduceh is ownexperiments.
2 ]OB, xxx, 22. Compare th e Vulg ate reading : Ele'z 1 < :z s!z ' ma, at g ua.tz '
sz rperr/ erz tmrz parz z ms alz 'sz 'stz 'ma rxaZz 'a?e.
3ANIMA MAG- ICA Anscountra. If Vaug h an s cryptic symbolism
decodes th roug h out into th is k indof stud , f ewof us wouldh ave cause
to be g ratef ul were. th ey presentedwith a master- k ey. It is worth no
man s wh ileto opena closedpalaceof th is k ind.
4 .II
T/ z e Words q f T/ z pmarVaug an
earth - - th at is to say, insome mineral natures and
substances wh ich Godh ath h idinth e earth . Tak e
th eref ore water of air, wh ich is a g reat dissolvent,
andf erment it with earth ; and, onth e contrary, earth
with water. Or to speak more obscurely: f erment
Mercury with Sulph ur andSulph ur with Mercury.
Andk nowth at th is cong ealing f aculty is much adjuvated
by h eat, especially insuch places wh ereth esperm cannot
exh aleandwh ereth eh eat is temperate. But if th eplace
be openandth e h eat excessive, th enit dissipates. It
remains nowth at we speak someth ing of th etwo passive
material elements, namely, of earth andwater, f orth ese
are th e bodies th at suf f erby re andwh ose parts are
perpetually reg eneratedby a circular raref actionand
condensation.
It is th eadvice of th e Broth ers of R.* .C.'. th at th ose
wh o wouldbe procients inth is Art sh ouldstudy th e
elements andth eiroperationbef ore th ey seek af terth e
tinctures of metals. It is to bewish edindeedth at men
woulddo so, f orth enwe sh ouldnot h ave so many
broilers andso f ewph ilosoph ers. But h ere it may be
q uestionedwh o is h e th at studies th e elements f orany
such endas to observe andimitate th eiroperations?
Forinth e universities we study th em only to attaina
f alsebook - th eory, wh ereof no usecanbe madebut q uack -
ing , disputing andmak ing a noise. Verily th e doctrine
of th e sch oolmenh ath alloyedandpervertedeventh at
desire of k nowledg e wh ich Godplantedinman. For
th etraditions wereceiveth ere, coming f rom oursuperiors,
carry with th em th eawe of th e tutor, andth is breeds in
1 Th eph ilosoph ical tinctureof th ing s is neith eranapplicationof colour
to a surf acenora colourpermeation. It is aninwardch ang e of nature
wh ich manif ests with out. Th e nearest_ana1 og y is th at of g race abiding
inth eh eart andsoul.
2 One of th e derisive terms appliedby alch emists to g ropers and
soph ists. But by th e h ypoth esis of th e literature- - orat least by th eir
ownacceptedtestimony- - - af tera long corrrrtf o f atunrunz , some of th em
attainedth eirterm, as f orexample BernardTrevisan, wh o h adf ollowed
th ewildest processes.
4 1 2
Eup/ 2rates
us anopinionof th eircertainty, so th at anuniversity man
cannot inall h is lif e- timeattainto so much reasonand
condence as to look beyondh is lesson. I h ave of ten
wonderedth at any sober spirits canth ink Aristotle s
ph ilosoph y perf ect wh enit consists inmerewords with -
out any f urth eref f ects; f orof a truth th e f alsity and
insuf ciency of a merenotional k nowledg e is so apparent
th at no wise manwill assert it. Th is is best k nownto
th e ph ysicians, wh o wh enth ey h ave beeninitiatedinto
th is wh irlig ig aref orcedat last to leaveit andto assume
newprinciples, if th ey will be such as th eirprof ession
req uires th ey sh ouldbe. Aristotlewill very g ravely tell
us: Wh ere th e ph ilosoph er ends, th ere beg ins th e
ph ysician. But I admire wh at assistance pa ph ysician
canreceive f rom th is ph ilosoph erwh ose science tells us
th at science does not pertainto a part, 2f orwith out
particulars a ph ysiciancando noth ing . But ing ood
earnest, didnot Aristotle s science- - if h e h adany- - arise
f rom particulars, ordidit descendimmediately f rom
universals? If f rom universals h owcame h e to be
acq uaintedwith th em? Didh e k nowth e g enus bef ore
h e k newth especies, orth especies bef oreth e individuals P
I th ink not. He k newth e individual rst andh aving
observedh is nature andpropriety h e appliedth at to th e
wh ole species ; or- - - to speak senseto all individuals of
th at k ind; andth is applicationmade th at k nowledg e
eneral wh ich at rst was particular, as being deduced
f rom a particularobject. Th is is trueandAristotlewill
tell us so, th oug h h e g ave h imself th elie, f orelsewh ere
h e af rms: Th ere is noth ing inth e understanding
wh ich was not at rst insense3wh ich if it be true
th enscience does not pertainto a part is f alse.
But I h ave donewith h im at present, andf ormy own
part I h ave learnedlong ag o, not of Aristotle but of
T U62de.rz 'm'z 1 1 > / z z 'Z0s0p/ iz rs, 2'62 2':- ritz y- 2'2 medz irus.
2 Srz '.mz z 'a mm esz , ; :artz 'rm'arz z 2:z .
3{ Vi/ 'z z 'Zarseinz 'meZZerm q z ma rz orz f uz z prays ansmru.
4 1 3
T/ z e Work : q f T/ z omas Vang / ian
Rog erBacon, th at g enerals are of small value, nortting
to be f ollowed, save by reasonof particulars}Andth is
is evident inall practices andprof essions th at conduce
anyth ing to th ebenet of man. ForNatureh erself h ath
imprintedth e universal notions andconceptions inevery
soul, wh eth erlearnedorunlearned, so th at we neednot
study universals. Andth is ourf riarh adobserved, f or
saith h e : Ing eneral conceptions of th e soul th ecrowd
concurs with th e wise, but inparticulars andspecialities
it disag rees anderrs."2 Andf orth is very reasonh e
condemns Aristotle andGalen, because th ey concerned
th emselves with g enerals anduniversals, andcontinued
to oldag e, consuming lif e incommonandworth less
th ing s, not discerning th e path s to th ose g reat secrets.3
Let not us do as th oseh eath ens did, th oug h inth is very
point th e g reatest part of th e worldf ollows th em. Let
us rath erf ollowwh ere Nature leads, f orsh e h aving im-
pressedth ese universals inourminds h ath not done it
invainbut to th e endwe sh ouldapply th em to outward,
sensible particulars andso attaina true experimental
k nowledg e, wh ich inth is lif e is ouronly crownand
perf ection?
If a mansh ouldrest inth e bare th eory of h usbandry
andonly readVerg il s Georg ics, neverputting h is h and
to th e ploug h , I suppose th is th eory couldnot h elp h im
to h is daily bread. Andif we rest inth e notions and
names of th ing s, nevertouch ing th e th ing s th emselves,
1 Qua commmz z ia pa; - 262' sure! '2'.- :tZ0:* 'z '.r, net.", z 5rr:; > rz 'e seq mmda m'sz 'prof f er
g artz rz rlarz iz .
5" Inc0?2z r; z z r2z z ' 5u.r :mz '22z z ' 60n6e; !r'0rz z 't5z s strz ig z rs corz cordtz z t rum sap?-
entz z trs _; injartz '6uZarz 'Zw.rwereatp?"0, r* z iz '._reswrtz t at dz scordat.
3Qua}: 2'1 1 coiiz svz mz z z rs at z rz z 't/ erstalz liz rs re occag trsterurz t, at ; .> em ucz 'z '
rum adserz ectut.- ms, mam: corz runz rrz tes z 'rz ; f ~ .- :._7'0; rz 'bus at r/ z rlg atz s, mac wrists
adk t.- := c secrete nz ag rrtrprrceperz mt.
4 Wemust rememberth at ]oh nLock ewas already inth eworld.
5 Because th e g reat realisations are also a matterof experimental
k nowledg e. It may appearat rst sig h t th at Vaug h anis speak ing of
external k nowledg eonly, but h ek newth ecorrespondencebetweenth ing s
with inandwith out, betweenth eph ysical andspiritual worlds.
B Th is is th e test wh ich weseek inrespect of th e previous statement.
4 - 1 4
Euprarer
we are lik ely to produce no ef f ects, norto cure any
diseases, with out wh ich perf ormances ph ilosoph y is use-
less andnot to be numberedamong st ournecessaries.
But h owf alse th is is Godk nows, andmanalso may
k nowit if h e considers but th ose two obstructions of
lif e- - sick ness andpoverty. But th ey are not only
ef f ects th at are wanting to Aristotle's ph ilosoph y, but
evenh is th eory is f orth e most part f alse; andwh ere
it is true it is so slig h t andsupercial th at it doth not
f urth erus at all. Heis none of ourauxiliaries, believe
it, but th e very remom to all natural discoveries, andh e
h ath f ormany ag es not only obstructedbut exting uish ed
th e truth . Much mig h t be saidof th is f ellowandh is
ig norance, wh ich is not more g ross th anperverse. I
omit to speak of h is ath eism andth e eminency of h is
malice, wh ich was not only destructive to th e f ame of
th eoldph ilosoph erswh osebook s th is scribblerburnt
but evento th e h appiness andprog ress of posterity,
wh om h e robbedof th ose more ancient, more excellent
andinvaluablemonuments.
I h ave dig ressedth us f arto correct th is scabby sh eep,
wh o h ath spoileda numerous f lock ; andth e rath erbe-
cause of a late creeping attempt of some of h is f riends,
wh o ack nowledg e h im th eirdictatorandth e f ath erof
th eirh umanwisdom ; andsuch indeedh e is. But wh en
th ey tell us- +wh o write ag ainst h im- th at we do but
restore oldh eresies, wh enindeedwe oppose anath eist,
andone th at deniedth e creationof th e worldandth e
dearimmortality of oursouls, th ey must g ive us leave
to be a little ang ry with th em, since we must lay th e
h eretic at th eirdoors : f orth ey areth ementh at maintain
Notions andnames areimag es of th e mind, symbols andsacraments of
inwardrealities. As long as we rest inth ese we sh all inno wise h eal
th e miseries of th e soul, norindeedth eoutwardsick ness, orth e poverty
with inandwith out.
1 Th ework s of Aristotleat larg eareth ebest answerto th ech arg es in
ch ief of Vaug h an, perh aps especially to th at of ath eism, as to wh ich , in
additionto th eirevidence, weh aveth etestimony of h is dying words.
4 1 5
T/ z e [Var/ ts of Tomas Vaug cm
h im. Inth e meantime, if th ey areinearnest andth ink
us g uilty of any h eresy let th em publicly sh ewwh erein,
andwe sh all not f ail to g ive th em anaccount of our
sense andth eir misinterpretations. For our part, we
h adnot troubledth em at th is time, h adnot one of th em
dark ly andtimorously sig nied th at we teach a new
ph ilosoph y andnewdivinity. To wh om I sh all return
no answerbut th is : th at bef ore h e undertak es to judg e
wh at ph ilosoph y ordivinity is newh e sh ouldrst en-
deavourto understandth e old. But th is is a step out
of my way andth at I may returnto th ematterinh and,
I sh all nowresumemy discourseof earth andwater; and
th ose sure are sensible substances, not universals and
ch imaeras, such as th eperipatetics f ancy. wh enth ey couple
Natureandnoth ing . i
By earth I understandnot th is impure, f eculent body
onwh ich we treadbut a more simple pure element,
namely, th e natural central salt- nitre.3Th is salt is xed
orpermanent inth ere, andit is th esulph urof Nature,
by wh ich sh e retains andcong eals h erMercury. Wh en
th ese two meet, I meanth e pure earth andth e water,
th enth eearth th ick ens th ewater, and- - onth econtrary- -
th e water subtiliates th e earth ; andf rom th ese two
th ere riseth a th irdth ing - not so th ick as earth norso
th inas water- - but of a mean, viscous complexion- - - and
th is is calledMercury, wh ich is noth ing else but a com-
positionof waterandsalt. Forwe must k nowth at
th ese two are th e prime materials of Nature, with out
wh ich sh e canmak e no sperm orseed. Noris th at all,
f orwh enth e seedis made it will neverg rowto a body,
norcanit be resolvedanddisposedto a f urth erg enera-
tionunless th esetwo arepresent andalso co- operatewith
it. , Th is we may see all th eyearlong , by a f req uent and
daily experience. Forwh enit rains th is h eavenly water
1 A marg inal noteg ives th einitials T. P.
2 Hptf s - rt - rrpti'repov. 3Seeante, p. 4 05.
* H0: f alsmnest says anoldMS. noteinmy copy of Euph rates.
4 .1 6 .
Eup/ 2rates
meets with th enitre th at is inth e earth anddissolves it ;
andth e nitre with h is acrimony sh arpens th e water, so
th at th is nitrous waterdissolves all th e seeds th at are in
th eg round. Andth us solutionis th ek ey of g eneration,
not only inourArt but inNaturealso, wh ich is th eArt
of God. We neednot speak much more of th e earth ,
f orth ese f ewwords, if rig h tly understood, are suf cient
andcarry inth em a deepersense th ananordinary reader
will perceive. I k nowth ere is anoth ersolar, oriental
earth , wh ich is all g oldenandsulph ureous, andyet is not
g oldbut a base, contemptible th ing th at costs noth ing ,
f orit may be h adf orth e tak ing up}Th is is th e earth
of Eth iopia, th at h ath all colours init.2 Th is is th at
Androdamas of Democritusf th e g reenDuenech and
sulph ur th at never touch edth e re, wh ich - if it be
resolved- - th enit is our g lassy Az oth f or vitriol of
Venus ph ilosoph ical.
Th is is enoug h as to th e nature of th e earth ; and
nowwe will speak of th e water. Th is element is th e
def erent orwe/ z irulum of all inf luences wh atsoever. For
wh at ef f lux soeverit be th at proceeds f rom th eterrestrial
centreth e sameascends andis carriedup inh erto th e
air. Andonth e contrary all th at comes f rom h eaven
descends inh erto th eearth , f orinh erbelly th einf erior
andsuperiornatures meet andming le; norcanth ey be
manif estedwith out a sing ularartice. Hence it is th at
wh atsoeveris pureinth eearth , all th at sh e receives f rom
th e water. Andh ere I meansuch pure substances as
arecalledby th e ph ilosoph ers decompasim. Forth eeag le
1 I k nownot onwh at auth ority, but Pernety states th at SolarEarth is
th eMatterof th eWork xedat th eredstag e. It is calledoth erwiseSun
of th eSag es, orMineof Gold.
2 Compare th e earth of Zion, wh ereinis all sanctity reectedf rom th e
Zionth at is above. Being with out money andwith out price, it may be
saidto cost noth ing ; andbeing th at wh ich is desiredby th ewise only,
it may becalledcontemptibleinth esig h t of th eworld.
3A stone wh ich , as its name sig nies, was supposedto overcome
poison.
4 Anameof antimony. 5 Seearz te, p. 4 02.
4 1 7 27
Th e Work s of T/ z omm Vaug / 26222
leaves h ereg g ; th at is to say, th e waterl leaves h er
limosity inth e earth ; andth is limosity is concocted
into nitreandto oth erinnumerous minerals. Weh ave
f ormerly toldyouof two suns orres, th ecelestial and
th e central. Nowboth th ese dispense th eireluxions,
orinuences, andth ey meet inth e vapourof th ewater.
Forth e Vulcanorearth ly sunmak es th e waterascend
to th e reg ionof th e air, andh ere th e wateris spread
underth e superiorres; f orsh e is exposedto th e eye
of th e sunandto th e pointedejaculations of all th e
xedstars andplanetsandth is ina nak ed, rareed,
openedbody. Th e airof a truth is th at temple wh ere
inf eriors are marriedto superiors; f orto th is placeth e
h eavenly lig h t descends andis unitedto th e aereal,
oleous h umidity, wh ich is h idinth e belly of th ewater.
Th is lig h t being h otterth anth e watermak es h erturg id
andvital andincreaseth h erseminal, viscous moisture,
so th at sh e is ready to depose h er sperm orlimosity,
were sh e but unitedto h er proper male. But th is
cannot be unless sh e returns to h er owncountry
I meanto th e earth f orh ere th e col/ astrz mz f ormale
resides. To th is purpose sh e descends h ith er ag ain,
andimmediately th e male lays h olduponh er, andh is
ery, sulph ureous substance unites to h erlimosity. And
h ere observeth at th is Sulph uris th ef ath erinall metallic
g enerations; f or h e g ives th e masculine, ery soul,
andth e waterg ives th e body, namely, th e limosity or
h eavenly, aq ueous nitre, wh ereof th e bodyby coag ula-
tion- - is made. We must k now, moreover, th at inth is
Sulph urth ereis animpure, extraneous h eat, wh ich g naws
andcorrodes th is watery Venus, endeavouring to turn
h erto animpure sulph ur, such as h is ownbody is. But
th is cannot be becauseof th e h eavenly seedorlig h t h id
inth e aq ueous nitre, wh ich will permit no such th ing .
1 Among th ef ourliving creatures of Ez ek iel s vision, th ef trez 'e.rtz g adf re
is always ref erredto water. _ _ _
2 I do not ndth is wordinParacelsus orH1 any of th elexicons.
4 1 8
Earp/ z rates
Foras soonas th e sulph ureous, terrestrial h eat beg ins
to work , so soonit awak es andstirs up th e h eavenly
lig h t, wh ich being nowf ortiedwith th e masculine
tincture, orpure re of th e Sulph urbeg ins to work
onits ownbody, namely, onth e aq ueous nitre, and
separates f rom it th e f eculent, extraneous parts of th e
Sulph ur, andso remains by itself - a brig h t, celestial,
metallinebody.
Observeth enth at th e tincture orsoul of th eSulph ur
cannot be reg eneratedinits ownimpure body; but it
must f orsak e th at dark andearth lycarcase, andput on
a new, puriedbody bef ore it canbe unitedto th elig h t
of h eaven. Th is newbody spring s out of th e water,
f or th e water broug h t it downf rom h eaven. And
certainly by WaterandSpirit wemust beall reg enerated,
wh ich madesomelearneddivines af f irm th at th eelement
of waterwas not cursedbut only th at of th eearth . Nor
canI h ereomit th edoctrineof St Joh n, wh o mak es th e
wateroneof th ose th ree witnesses wh ich attest Godh ere
onearth . Andmuch to th is purpose is th at speech of
St Paul, h owth at Godintimes past suf f eredall nations
to walk inth eirownways. Neverth eless "- saith h e- -
He lef t not Himself with out witness, " inasmuch as
Heg ave th em rainf rom h eaven.Th ebenedictions
orblessing s th at descendf rom Godare not a f orm of
words, lik e th e benedictions of men. Th ey are all
spirit andessence, andth eirdef erents arenatural, visible
substances. Andth ese are th e blessing s wh ich th e
patriarch wish edto h is son: Godg ive th ee of th edew
of h eavenf rom above andth e f atness of th e earth
f rom beneath . Hewas not ig norant of th ose blessing s
wh ich th eGodof Nature h adenclosedinth ose natural
th ing s ; andth eref oreh e saith inth e sameplace: Th e
smell of my sonis as th e smell of a eldwh ich th eLord
h ath blessed." AndSt Paul inh is Epistleto I/ z e Helvrews
1 I STJ01 - IN, v. 8. 2 ACTS, xiv, 1 6, I7.
3GENESIS, xxvii, 28. * 1 6z 'd., v, 27.
4 - 1 9
T/ z e Wares of T/ z amas Vang / z en
tells us th at th e earth wh ich drink eth inth erainth at
cometh of t uponit . . . receiveth blessing f rom God:
but th at wh ich beareth th orns andbriars is rejected, and
is nig h unto cursing ; wh oseendis to beburned."1
But to explainwh at th is blessing is : werememberwe
h ave writtenelsewh ere th at wateris of a double com-
plexion, circumf erential andcentral? Inth ecircumf er-
ence sh e is crude, volatile andph leg matic; but inth e
centre sh e is betterconcocted, viscous, aerial andery.
Th is central part is sof t andsaltish , outwardly wh iteand
lunarbut inwardly redandsolar; norcanit be well
extractedwith out a lunarorsolarmag net, wh ose proper
aliment it is, andwith wh ich it h ath a wonderf ul sym-
path y. Hence th at obscure saying of th e ph ilosoph ers,
wh o wh enth ey describe unto us th eirMercury g ive it
th is ch aracteras most natural- th at it adh eres to th ebodies,
ormetals? Andas Pyth ag oras saith inth e Tz m5veit
f ollows andattains its companionwith out re. And
th eref ore it is writteninth e same book th at g reat is
th eaf f inity betweenl\/ Iag nesia andiron.5 VVeseeindeed
by a vulg arexperience th at if any ordinary stonestands
long but incommonwater, th ere stick s to it a certain
limosity, wh ich th ewaterdeposeth . But notwith standing
all th is, andall th ey say, we must needs af rm th at even
th eirMercury adh eres not to th e vulg armetals ; andin
th is wordMercury, as inall oth erterms, th ey are not a
littleambig uous andsubtle. Th ere is indeeda mystery
of th eirs inwater, anda k notty one, with wh ich many
learnedmenh ave beeng ravelled. Andnowsince we
h ave mentionedit, wecare not much if wespeak soberly
of it. Th ereis noth ing so f req uent andindeednoth ing
so considerableinth eirbook s as re andwater, but th e
reciprocal andconf useduse of both terms puz z les much ,
Lee. ez 'z ., verses 7, 8.
it ANTHROPOSOPI- IIA T1 - 1 Eoi.mc.1 c.i.
3Quadrrdk reref cererr'6iz rs.
4 .S'mmz aesg mealg aeeem'eg m'tur.reez 'emz .
5 , - lf rrg vz rres!pr0; z 'az g uz 'trz .r2'- m!er.uz rz ; , Q'rz t'.tz 'tr; ; z .- :z f .i.vv'm; z .
4 20
Exp/ 2rates
as wh enth ey tell us th at th eirwateris th eirre. Of
th is th ey h ave writtenso strang ely th at I h avesometimes
beenang ry with th em; but among st th em all I f ound
oneh ada g oodwill to satisf y me? Th is auth orconf essed
h e miscarriedtwo h undredseveral times, notwith standing
h is k nowledg e of th e true matter; andth is because h e
didnot k nowth e re orag ent by wh ich th e matteris
altered. Th ese misf ortunes of h is ownmovedh im, it
seems, to a commiserationof posterity ; but I must needs
af rm h e h ath tak enh is liberty andexpressedh is own
mindaf ter h is ownway. Ourre"- - saith h e- is
mineral, eq ual, continual ; it vapours not, unless th eh eat
be too g reat; it participates of sulph ur; it dissolves,
calcines andcong eals all; it is articial to ndandnot
ch arg eable; andit is tak enelsewh ere th anf rom th e
matter.To all th is h e adds th at at last wh ereof h e
wouldh ave us tak emost notice. Th is re"- saith h e
- is not alteredortransmutedwith th ematter." He
th oug h t certainly h e h adspok enenoug h , andtruly so
h e h ath , but it is to such as k nowit already?
For my ownpart, I h ave f ounda certainmineral,
stink ing water, wh ich partak es of th e nature of Sulph ur
andwh ose preparationis articial; wh ich is not of th e
essential parts of th ematterbut accidental andextraneous ;
wh ich vapours not unless it be overh eated; wh ich dis-
solves, calcines andcong eals all, but is not cong ealed;
f orit is expelledat last by th e re of Nature andg oes
of f inwindy f umes. Th is menstruous, sulph ureous re
1 Aq ua Crelestz lris calledre, f orexample, andwas a synonym of ph ilo-
soph ical Mercury, wh ich is always symbolisedas water. VanHelmont
says th at ordinary ch emists burnandcalcinewith rebut th esag es with
water. BernardTrvisanspeak s of a vapourising re wh ich does not
consumeth ematter. As th e g urativewaterdoes not wet th eh ands, so
th eg urativeredoes not burnth em. A202 / '2itself is a moist re.
2 Th eallusionis to Pontanus andh is EPISTOLA DE Lari]:- E PHILO-
SOPHICO, inOg eraez .- rs g z z '.usn a:; z Clg / mz 'ez 's. His misg uidance extended
overa periodof th reeyears, but nally h ef oundth esecret inth e CLAVIS
MAJORof Arteph ius.
3A similarremark applies to th etract of Arteph ius.
A 4 21
Th e Worh s tf Th omarVaug h an
ag ainst Nature1 h ath taug h t me h ownatural ourwork is;
f orit doth th at h erewh ich commonwaterdoth inth eg reat
world. Inth is respect it is calledof some ph ilosoph ers
ph leg mef Res, Aq ua nuh ium- not certainly th at it is such ,
andth eref ore let us not deceive ourselves with miscon-
structions. He th at wouldk nowth e reasonof th ese
terms, let h im tak eaccount f rom a most k nowing ph ilo-
soph er. It is calledwaterof th e clouds"- - saith h e
becauseit is distilledlik eth edewof May, andis water
of most subtleparts. But th e same wateris also a most
acidvineg ar, wh ich renders th ebody unmixedspirit. And
as vineg aris of divers q ualities, as- - f orexample- - it pene-
trates into th e depth s andastring es, so doth th is water
dissolve andcoag ulate, yet is not itself cong ealed- not
being a rm substance.3Th us much as to th eterms,
andnowlet us returnto th eth ing itself .
I saidth is re ef f ects th at inth e g lass wh ich common
waterdoth inth e g reat world; f oras th is ph leg matic
element coag ulates not, noris it at all diminish ed, notwith -
standing th at innitenumberof individuals wh ich Nature
still produceth , evenso it is inourwork . Forourwater
also alters not, th oug h th ematterbealteredinh erbelly,
andourvery principles g eneratedth ere- - namely, Sulph ur
andMercury ph ilosoph ical. Norsh ouldany manwonder
th at I af f irm commonwaterto beincoag ulable by h eat at
least, f orinth is I speak not unadvisedly. I k nowth ere
are inwatersome natures coag ulable; but th ey are not
parts of th e water, but of oth erelements. Norwill I
deny th at some ph leg mnay, a very g reat q uantity and
sometimes allmay be retainedby mixture with oth er
1 RaymundLully andGeorg eRipley enumeratea natural, unnatural or
non- natural andcontra- natural re.
2 Anoth ername of Mercury, oralternatively of th e Stone inits wh ite
stag e.
3Ag unaz z rh f um 2/ eerrtz rr 92:21 :: d2'.rt'z 'lla!nes! stein! res Mnz 'z ', tem:z '.rsz '-
marz mz per:- "z 'z 'u.v.z . E523- g z eeg ue eadem ag ree: ncelz mz nxcerniuz unz , g az ed
corpses f eet! ?} ? Z/ EH2 spz 'rz 'f z mz . U2 emivz neef z mz dz 'wersarrr; vt g ualz artrtwaz
est, rz errrjeeart 2'1 2 g ref rmdz rrnpenetref ea ez sf r- r'2z g rr.', re}: h ree erg - z enseZwz 'Z at
eeag uierz , newaz z f em reez g z rl.:z 1 z 2', g z ria 22022es! tie.mZj'ecz '0 preprie.
4 .22
Ez rph rater
natures andseem to be coag ulatedinto stones, andth ose
sometimes transparent. But coag ulationinth is sense-
namely, by mixture of parts, as inmeal andwater- I
mindnot; but by coag ulationI understanda transmuta-
tionof th esubstanceof merewaterinto earth orair; and
th is insimplewatercannot be. I k nowth ereis a water
th at of itself , with out all extraneous additions, will coag u-
late ina sof t h eat to a f usible salt, more precious th an
g old; but th is is not any waterth at th e eye sees, but
anoth erinvisibleh umidity ; wh ich is indeedeverywh ere,
but is not seen- saith Sendivog ius- - until th e artist
ch ooses to manif est it. Th is mig h t satisf y as to th is
point ; but I will addsometh ing more, lest I speak with -
out reason, especially to th ose wh o are not willing to
allowoth ers a betterjudg ment th anth ey h ave th em-
selves.
Th ecommerce th at is maintainedbetweenh eavenand
earth by th eascent andvolatility of watermay suf ciently
inf orm us of wh at dang erous conseq uenceth ecoag ulation
of th is element wouldbe. It is improbableth enth at th e
wiseGodof Naturesh ouldmak eth at h umidity coag ulable
wh ose use andof ce req uires it sh ouldbe oth erwise.
Forif inth eessence of water- as it is simple water- -
th erewere anastring ent, cong ealing f aculty, it wouldby
deg rees attainto a total xation; andth enth erewould
be no f urth erg eneration, eith erof sperm or bodies.
Reasonf orit is th is : if th ewaterwere xedth erewould
be no vapournorcloud, andth erebeing no vapourth ere
couldbe no sperm, f orth eelements cannot meet to mak e
th esperm but ina vapour. Forexample, th e earth can-
not ascendunless th ewaterbe rst rareed, f orinth e
belly of th e wateris th e earth carriedup; andif th e
earth ascends not, h aving put of f h erg ross body, and
being subtiliatedandpurg edwith th e water, th enwill
not th e airincorporatewith it; f orth e moisture of th e
waterintroduceth th e airinto th e rareedanddissolved
1 Sed mm t/ f rletrrz rdearerar'!r'jEt'z 'plarem.
4 1 3
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaug h an
earth . Andh ere ag ainas th ewaterreconciledth e airto
th eearth so doth th e airreconcile th ewaterto th e re,
as if it wouldreq uiteonecourtesy with anoth er. Forth e
air- with its unctuosity andf atness- - introduceth th e re
into th e water, th e ref ollowing th e airandstick ing to
it, as to its f uel andaliment. It remains nowth at we
observe th at th e vapourof th e waterwas th e Zacus or
matrix wh ereinth e oth erth ree elements didmeet, and
with out wh ich th ey h adnevercome tog eth er. Forth is
vapourwas th e def erent th at carriedup th epure virg in
earth to be marriedto th e sunandmoon; 1 andnow
ag ainsh ebring s h erdowninh erbelly, impreg natedwith
th e milk of th e oneandth e bloodof th eoth er, namely,
with air? andrewh ich principles are predominant in
th osetwo superiorluminaries.
But some wiseone may arg ue andtell me th at th is
vapour, being th us impreg nated, may nowbe coag ulated
andxed, by h elp of th ose h ot principles of airandre.
To th is I answerth at th eviscous, seminal part may, but
th e ph leg m never; andI will sh ewas much by an
example. Wh enth is vapouris f ully impreg nated, it
stays no long erinth at reg ionbut returns presently to
th e earth f rom wh ich it ascended. But h owdoth it
returnP Certainly not ina violent, stormy - precipitation,
lik e rain, but- - as I h ave writtenelsewh ere3- - it steals
downinvisibly andsilently. Forif it be a vapour, such
as I speak of , wh ereinis f ash ionedanastral semenof
a certainweig h t, "* th enit is neith erh eardof norseen
1 Th e marriag eof th e SunandMooninalch emy is th at of th e xed
andth e volatile, oroth erwise of Sulph urandMercury. Th e union
betweentriplicities is not mentionedunderth is f orm of symbolism, f or
th e ph ilosoph ers respectedth eirownanalog ies. Vi/ e h ave seenth at
Vaug h anis inrecurring conf usiononth is subject.
2 Th e moonis usually ref erredto th e oldelement of water, but oneof
th e secret sch ools is inconcurrence with Vaug h anonth is point, f or
important reasons connectedwith th e sch ool of symbolism to wh ich it
belong s.
1 See LUMEN onLUMINE.
1 Ing meest z 'mag "inatam semenastralecertz '; a0ndeH's.
4 24 -
Eaph rates
till a long time af ter. But to proceedinwh at I h ave
promisedto prove, I sh all instanceincommondew; f or
dewh ath init somesmall dose of th e star- re. Wesee
th eref ore th at th is h umidity comes downsilently, f orits
enclosedre k eeps it rareedinth ef orm of airandwill
not suf f erit to condense to waterat th at h eig h t, as th e
vapourof raindoth . But wh enit is descendednear
th e earth it ming les with oth ercrude vapours and-
borrowing f rom th em a g reat q uantity of ph leg m- - settles
at last into drops.
But bef ore we g o any f urth erlet us h ere consider
th osewords of th esonof Sirach . Look "- saith h e-
onall th ework s of th e Most Hig h , andth ere are two
andtwo, one ag ainst th e oth er.1 Inth is h e ag rees
with th at littlef rag ment wh ich g oes underth e name of
Moses, wh ere Godteach eth h im th us: Th oudost
k nowth at I h ave createda compeeranda contrary to
each creature.2 I will not peremptorily af f irm th at
Moses is th e auth orof th is piece, orth at Godtaug h t
h im inth osevery words ; but I af f irm th at th osewords
express th etruth of Godandpoint at someg reat mysteries
of His wisdom. Norwill I h ere omit a considerable
circumstance, namely th at th is piece h ath init some
Hebrewwords, andth is proves th e auth orwas a _Iew
if not Moses. But to pass by th e auth orandcome to
h is sense : I say th at Godcreatedwaterto oppose it to
th eearth ; andth is appears by th eirdif f erent complexions
andq ualities. Forth e earth is g ross andsolid, th ewater
subtleandf luid; andth eearth h ath inh erth ecoag ulat-
ing , astring ent power, as th ewaterh ath partly init th e
sof tening , dissolving f aculty. Th e earth th ensh uts up
h erself andinh erself th e re, so th at th ere canbe no
1 l h ave not beenable to identif y th is q uotationorth e auth orf rom
h ' ' d wom 1 1 21 5 rawn.
2 Scias q uadam'eaz 'g 'uecreatures et sass- nearez seatrarz arm cream .- - See
th eByz antineCollection. Th eapocryph al literatureconcerning Moses was
larg e, including anAscensionorAssumption, anApocalypseanda book of
Discourses, f orwh ich seeth eConax PSEUDEPIGRAPHIA of Fabricius.
4 25
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
g enerationorveg etationunless th e earth be opened, th at
th e re may be at liberty to work . Th is wemay see in
a g rainof corn, wh ereth e astring ent, earth y f aculty h ath
boundup all th e oth erelements andterminatedth em to
a dry, compactedbody. Now, th is body, as long as it
is dry- - oras ourSavioursaith , as long as it abideth
alone1 - - - th at is to say, as long as it is with out water,
so long it canbear no f ruit. But if it f alls into th e
g roundanddies, th at is to say, if it be dissolvedth ere
by th eh umidity of h eaven- f ordeath is but dissolution
- th enit will bring f orth much f ruit, as ourSaviour
testieth .
It is th ewaterth enth at dissolves, andlif e f olloweth
th e dissolution; f orno sooneris th e body openedbut
th espirit stirs init, perceiving inth e dissolvent ordewy
wateranoth erspirit, to wh ich h e desires to be united.
Th is spirit is th eair, enclosedinth edeworwater, wh ich
airis calledinth eph ilosoph er s book s th ewaterof our
sea, waterof lif ewh ich does not wet th e h ands.2 But
wh o will believe th at th ere is a dry waterh idinth e
moist? Certainly f ew, andth is Sendivog ius tells us of
some soph isters of h is acq uaintance: Th ey will not
believe water to be inoursea, andyet th ey will be
accountedph ilosoph ers.I h ave myself k nownmany
such ph ilosoph ers, andof wh om I cansay th every same.
But to returnto ourbusiness ; it is calledwaterof lif e,
because th is airinvolves initself a re, wh ich is lif e
universal, not yet specied, andth eref ore it ag rees with
all particularlives andis amicableto all k indof creatures.
Nowth e particularspeciedre orlif e of th e g rain,
wh ich is th e veg etable mag net, attracts to h imself th e
universal reorlif ewh ich is h idinth ewater, andwith
th ereh e attracts th eair, wh ich is th evestment orbody
1 Vaug h anis intending to q uote ST JOHN, xii, 24 : Except- a cornof
wh eat f all into th eg roundanddie, it abideth alone.
9 Aq ua maris :rz as1 ':rz ' ag aa '2/ z 'z a.'.- = ' maaus ma maa e_* f aez 'e2:s.
3N02: ererletiai - it aq z ram esseinmar: ssasf ra, et { amen, 2?/ z z laseph z wider:
weZebanf .
4 26
Euph rates
of th e re, calledby th ePlatonics Ch ariot of th eSoul "1
andsometimes nimbus of descending re.2 Here
th enis th e g rounduponwh ich th e wh ole mystery of
natural aug mentationandmultiplicationis built, f orth e
body of th eg rainof cornis aug mentedwith th ealiment
of air, not simplebut decompounded, wh ich airis carried
inth ewaterandis a k indof volatile, sweet salt. But
th e reorlif eof th eg rainis f ortiedwith th e universal
re, andth is re is involvedinth e air, as th e airis in
th ewater. Andh erewemay observeth at it is not water
only th at conduceth to th e g enerationorreg enerationof
th ing s but waterandre- - th at is, waterandspirit, or
waterth at h ath lif e init. Andth is, if rig h tly under-
stood, is a g reat manuductionto Divinity?
To conclude, th esum of all wewouldsay is th is : th e
roots andseeds of all veg etables are placedinth eearth ,
inth e midst of th is dewy f ountain, as a lamp is placed
inth e midst of oil; andth e re orlif e of th e seed
attracts to itself th e / f h ijyssach orLessa- I mean, th e
juiceorg um of th ewateras th e re of a lamp attracts
th e oil th at is roundabout it. Nowwh enall th e air
is drawnout of th e water, th enattractionceaseth and
concoctionortransmutationbeg ins. But if th e crude
water, wh ich was th e veh iru/ um of th e air, stays with th e
seeds th enit h inders concoction, andth eref ore th e sun
andth e Arch eusjointly expel h er, so th at sh e tak es
wing andreturns to th e reg ionof th e air, wh ere ag ain
sh e lls h erbelly with th at starry milk andth endescends
as bef ore. Th is is th e reasonwh y th ere is inNature
such a vicissitude of sh owers andsunsh ines; f orth e
sh owers bring downth e aerial nutriment, andwh enth e
plants h ave attractedit th enth e sunsh ines call up th e
crude water, wh ich oth erwise wouldh inder dig estion
1 Cmvvrs asz z wz rr. 2 1 Vz 'meus if s- 22's a'esce:u2?em'z 's.
3Presumably because of th e strict analog y wh ich obtains, by th e
h ypoth esis, betweenmaterial andspiritual th ing s, th e worlds with in
andwith out.
4 Seeante, pp. 4 03, 4 04 .
4 7- 7
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaug h an
andcong elation. Th is th enis th e trade th at common
waterdrives ; but if sh e couldbe coag ulatedth is trade
wouldcease, andall lif e wouldcease with it. I h ave
f ormany years look eduponh eras ona birdth at f lies
to h ernest andf rom it ag ain, f eeding h eryoung ones
andf etch ing f oodf orth em. Noris th is a newf ancy
of mine, f or some learnedmenconsideredas much
bef ore; inwh ich respect th at milk y moisture wh ich is
f oundinh ercrystal breasts is calledby some of th em
th e milk of birds ; 1 andth ey h ave lef t it writtenth at
birds do bring th eirstoneunto th em.
To mak e anend, observe th at th ere is a g reat dif f er-
ence betweenth is commonwaterandourch emical water
orre, mentionedf ormerly out of Pontanus ; 2 f orour
waterh elps coag ulationandth is h inders it. Forif th e
ph leg m orcrude spirit stays with th e air, th e airwill
never cong eal; andth eref ore saidSendivog ius: All
water is cong ealedby h eat, if it be with out spirit."3
Andth us I h ave demonstratedmy position, namely,
th at commonwateris not cong ealable.
Noth ing nowremains, noris th ere anyth ing h inders,
but th at we may saf ely andinf allibly conclude th at
simple, crude water f eeds noth ing ; but th e g um or
cong ealable part of it f eeds all th ing s. Forth is is th e
astral balsam * 1 andth e elemental radical h umidity wh ich
being compoundedof inf eriors andsuperiors is a restora-
tive both of spirits andbodies. Th is is th at g eneral,
vital aliment wh ich GodHimself provides f orall His
creatures, andwh ich is yearly producedandmanif ested
1 Lac '2/ 0Zaz 'z 'Zz 'um.
2 See ante, p. 4 :21 . It will be observedth at inth is place Vaug h an
discloses th eidentity of a writerwh ich h eh adconcealedpreviously.
3Ommis aq ua caug eiatz rrcalz tia sf est seinespz 'm'f z r.
* 1 Balsam, according to Paracelsus, is th at essential q uality orprinciple
wh ich preserves th ing s f rom decay andputref action. Th eastmmz is th e
virtueorpotency wh ich abides ineach andall: it is usually described
underth e symbolism of re. Th e terms are th eref ore alliedclosely in
sig nicance. To speak of astral balsam involves th eref ore a tautolog y
andI do not rememberseeing th e combinationinParacelsus orelse-
wh ere.
4 28
Exp/ z rates
inth e elements by th e invisible operationof His Spirit,
th at work s inall. Th is h ath init th e wh ole anatomy
of h eavenandearth , wh ose belly is f ull of lig h t andlif e,
andwh enit enters into th ese lowerparts of th e world
it overcasts th em with a certainviridity, mak es th em
break f orth into owers andpresents us with someth ing
th at is very lik e to th e Paradise we h ave lost. Ina
word, th is is no h umanconf ectionbut a th ing prepared
by th eDivine Spirit, noris it made f orveg etables only
but f ormanalso, wh om Goddidsometimes f eedwith
it.1 Th is th e Scripturetells us, wh ose auth ority is above
AristotleandGalen. Forth us I readinEX ODUS : And
it came to pass, th at at eventh e q uails came up, and
coveredth e camp: andinth e morning th e dewlay
roundabout th e h ost. Andwh enth e dewth at lay was
g one up, beh old, uponth e f ace of th e wilderness th ere
lay a small roundth ing , as small as th e h oarf rost on
th e g round. Andwh enth e ch ildrenof Israel sawit,
th ey saidone to anoth er, It is manna: f orth ey wist not
wh at it was. AndMoses saidunto th em, Th is is th e
breadwh ich th e Lordh ath g ivenyouto eat. Every
ch ildk nows th at dewsettles into rounddrops; and
h ere Moses tells us th at wh enth e ph leg matic h umidity
was g oneup th e cong elative partth at stayedbeh ind- - F
was a round, small th ing , f orit retainedstill th e g ure
of th edrop inwh ose belly it was h id. Th is cong elative
part is oleous andf usible, andwith th is also th e Scripture
accords, telling us th at wh enth e sunwaxedh ot, it
melted.It is with al of a most f acile, q uick alteration,
andth eref oreeasily transmutable orconvertible into any
f orm; andf orth is reasonMoses ch arg edth e people to
1 It is anamaz ing reverie. Th e postulatedvital aliment, wh ich
contains th ewh oleanatomy of h eavenandearth andis f ull of lig h t
andlif e, wh ich also is preparedby th e Divine Spirit, is a substance
speciedby Scriptureunderth enameof manna, a memorable f eature of
wh ich is th at it wouldnot k eep f ortwenty- f ourh ours but bredworms
andstank ." _
2 EX ODUS, xv1 , 1 3- 1 5. 3!6z 'd., 21 .
4 - 7- 9
T/ z e Wares q f T/ lama: Vaug h an
leave noneof it till th e morning . But someof th em "
- saith th e text- - lef t of it until th e morning , andit
bredworms, andstank "1 - wh ence we may g ath erth at
it is insome deg reeanimal.
Wesee th enth at th e Spirit of Godis still busy with
water, andto th is h ourmoves not only uponit but init;
nor do I doubt th at th is is th e g roundof th at deep
q uestionwh ich - among st many oth ers- Godproposed
to Job : Hath th e raina f ath er? orwh o h ath beg otten
th e drops of dew?2 It is worth ourobservationth at
th ech ildrenof Israel, wh enth ey sawth is th ing - - th oug h
th ey k newit not- saidone to anoth er: It is manna.
Forwh at arg ues th is but th at manna- - - as th e wordim-
ports- - was some secret g if t of God, wh ich th ey k new
not but h adf ormerly h eardof by traditionf rom th eir
f ath ers; andperh aps by such a descriptionas Hermes
g ives it inth e Zamdi, namely, th at it ascends f rom th e
earth to h eavenanddescends ag ainf rom h eavento
th eearth .Andth is mig h t mak e th em call it manna,
because it descendedwith th e dew. I q uestionnot but
Moses k newit well, th oug h th e commonpeoplewist not
wh at it was. Forth eg oldencalf couldnot be burnt to
powderwith commonf ire but with th e re of th e altar,
wh ich was not th at of th e k itch en. Th is is plainout of
th e Maccabees, wh ere it is writtenth at th is rewas h id
ina pit andth at f ormany years it was th ere k ept sure
during th e captivity. But wh o is so madas to h ide
commonreina pit andto expect h e sh all ndit th ere
many years af ter. ls it not th e best course to q uench
it andrath erdrownit ina well th anbury it ina pit?
Wedoubt not f orourpart but th is rewas f ardif f erent
f rom th e common, andth is th e text also tells us, f or
wh enit was broug h t out of th e pit it was not rebut a
1 EX ODUS, v, 2o. 2 Lot". cz 'z ., xxxviii, 28.
3Anexcerpt f rom th e so- calledSmarag dine Tablet orTABLE OF
HERMES, beg inning : Quadsz en'z z s est .rz 'ca:t g ame z 'nf erz 'u.r. It is of
universal auth ority inalch emy, but it is anexceeding ly lateproduction.
'- II MACCABEES, 1 , 1 9.
4 - 3
Eup/ z rates
th ick water. Th e truth is th at th is mystery belong ed
to th e Jewish Ch urch , th e priests andproph ets h aving
receivedit f rom th e patriarch s- I mean, f rom Abrah am,
Isaac andJacob, andth ey f rom Noah , andall of th em
f rom Adam, as we h ave provedelsewh ere.Th ese in-
deedwereth e menth at plantedth eworldandinstructed
posterity; andth ese andnone oth er must be th ose
ancient andrst ph ilosoph ers wh om Zadith calls woos
muna isome of wh oseterms arecitedby h im.3
Wesh all now- - - bef orewe mak e anend- - - repeat all we
h ave said, andth at ina f ewwords, such as sh all be
ag reeable to Nature andto th e parts of th e world, as
th ey h ave beenmanif estedto us by experience. We
h ave certainly f oundth at th ere is noth ing above but
th every same is also h ere beneath , but ina moreg ross,
material complexion; f orGodh ath ordainedth at th e
g ross andcorpulent sperm of inf eriors sh ouldaf f orda
body to th eanimating andsubtleinux of th eirsuperiors.
NowGodh ath decreedno unionof sperms but of such
as proceedf rom bodies th at are of th e same natureand
k ind; f orHis ownwordbears Him witness th at He
h ates conf usionora mixture of seeds th at are dif f erent,
orof a diverse k ind. Not unadvisedly th endidth e
priests oras Proclus tells usth e f ounders of th e
ancient priesth oodaf rm th at h eavenis onearth but
af terth emannerof earth ly th ing s, andearth is inh eaven
but af terth emannerof th ing s celestial : "5 f oroth erwise
th ey couldnot be of a k ind. We say th eref ore th at in
th is universeth ereare f ourluminaries, wh ereof two are
celestial andtwo are central. Th e celestial are th e sun
andmoon, andth ey are k nownto all th e world. Th e
1 II Maccassss, i, z o. 2 See MAGIA ADAMICA.
3Zadith is k nownoth erwiseas Seniorandh as beenq uotedunderth is
name. Th etracts passing underit areDECHEMIA, AURELIA OCCULTA
andCONCLUSIOAnon!- naiaz .
4 SeeLEVITICUS, xix, 1 9.
5 Cerium ass: intern? sadmode z erre.rtrz ', :1 terram em: 2'1 2 male red
madectelesz z '.
4 3I
Th e Wore: of T/ z omas Vaug h an
central indeedare not k nownandth eref ore not believed,
f orth e one is overcast with earth andth e oth erwith
water. Inth e centre th enof th e earth th ere is h ida
re wh ich is of nature solarbut more g ross th anth at
wh ich is inth e sun.1 Andinth e belly of th e water
th ere is carrieda viscous, g ross air, of a menstruous,
lunarnature, but not so brig h t andsubtleas th at wh ich
is inth emoon. To be sh ort, th e central suncasts into
th e belly of th e watera masculine, h ot salt; andth e
water, receiving it, adds to it h er seminal, f eminine
limosity, andcarries it uponh erwing s into th e reg ion
of th eair. Th us we see h owth e material part of th e
seedis made; andnowto th is body of it th e h eaven
g ives lif e, th emoong iving it spirit andth e sung iving
it soul. Andth us are th e f ourluminaries broug h t to-
g eth er, th esuperiorcontributing th at to th e seedwh ich
is subtleandvital, andth einf eriorth at wh ich is corpulent
andmaterial. Th is seedis carriedinvisibly inth ebelly
of th ewindandit is manif estedinwaterI say, inwater
as clearas crystal~ andout of waterit must be drawn,
f orth ere is not underh eavenany oth erbody wh ere it
may bef ound.
I h ave soug h t it myself inth e commonmetals, in
q uick silver, inantimony andinreg ulus of antimony, also
inreg ulus of Mars, Venus andSaturn, andof all th e
bodies. But I lost my labour, f orI soug h t it wh ere it
was not. All th ese errors didI runinto af terI h ad
k nownth e true matter; f orh aving miscarriedinmy
rst attempts uponit I lef t it as a th ing untractable, and
th is terg iversationof mine broug h t me into many in-
conveniences. I conceivedindeedth at a vitriol madeof
th ose f ourimperf ect b0diesantimony, iron, leadand
copper- mig h t be th at g lassy Az oth z of Lully wh ose
spirit orwaterh e h ath so mag niedinh is TESTAMENT.
1 CompareSendivog ius: NovUM LUMEN CHEMICUM, Tmrrz . xi.: In
th e centre of th e earth th ere dwells a central sun, th e h eat wh ereof
permeates th e wh ole earth evento its surf ace, &c.
2 Seermre, pp. 4 02, 4 1 7.
4 - 32
Euph rates
Th is indeedclink s nely andmay so swell a young h ead
as to mak e h im turnpoet and, lik e th e Delph ic devil,
tell a lieinh eroics. No less obstructive to mewas th at
speech of Parmenides inth e= TURBAZTak ecopperor
lead, letting th esestandf orth e g rease orblack ness, and
tinf orth eliq uef action. Wh at canth is sig nif y at rst
sig h t but antimony? Andwh at canth is tinth at comes
f rom it by liq uef actionbe but reg ulus P2 Th is made
melaboura long timeonth is f eculent, unprotablebody,
supposing of a truth th at reg ulus of antimony was wh ite
leadortinph ilosoph ical. But th at we be not deceived,
all th ese parables relate to anoth ermineral andnot to
commonantimony, wh ich th e Turh a condemns inth ese
words: Note- - - saith Cambar orobserve th at th e
envious calledth e Stone antimony.But wh at th e
envious calledit th at certainly it is not. AndBasil
Valentine, inh is Carrus Triumph alis, wh ich h e h ath
writteninth e praise of antimony, tells us th at it h as
not beeng rantedby Godth at Mercury ph ilosoph ical,
th e rst substance, uick silver andth e rst waterof
perf ect metalsout o(f wh ich is composedth eg reat Stone
of ancient ph ilosoph erssh all be f oundinantimony or
extractedth eref rom. Forth is rst substanceis discovered
inanoth ermineral wh ich h as a more potent metallic
actionth anantimony." Andth e same Basil, a little
af terwards, speak ing of SteZ/ a Martis, delivers h imself
th us: Many h ave esteemedth is star to be th e true
matterof th e Stone of th e ph ilosoph ers andbelieved
th emselves to h ave conceivedrig h tly, because Nature
1 / 5; : amplanz am pro pz 'ag aedz 'ne tveZmg redz 'ae, at sf aammz pro
Zz 'g z .ay"ar'z z '0'/ re samite.
2 Onth e subject of antimony andits reg ulus, see Basil Valentine:
Cuanus TRIUMPHALIS, &c.
31 Vez 'aaa am est q uadz 'mvz 'dz 'Zag rierxz antz 'm0m'am az mcaparant.
* Nee: tarz tamz 'ZZz 'a Deeeomressma eraatf r: we! exarn'z 'm0rz z 'ez 'm2e2z z 'a!ar
Merear{ as ; 9h z 'Z0.r0paz '_eas, , z f > rz 'nz a; vz em, arg eatz mz '1 / z 'o'a> werag aa jrf sez a
mef aif owam perf ecterara, ex q ua t nz ag nas Za; = z 's antz h taoraaz ; h z '!0s0-
35> / z erz errz . Sea h er; 'rr' .= z aaz ens 2'22 alz la 2az 'aeralz ' rm/ em'z a:r, ing ate
metalif ea operaz z 'o altiorest q aam rataiene sz z 't5z 'z '.
4 33 28
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
h ath f ormedit of h erownaccord. But th is I deny, f or
such persons h avelef t th eroyal roadf orimpassablerock s
wh ere wildg oats andbirds of prey mak e th eirabode.
It is not to be accountedunto th is starth at it is th e
matterof th e most noble Stone, albeit a most excellent
medicine is concealedth erein.1
It remains th en, Reader, th at we lay asideall common
metals, as g old, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, antimony
andq uick silver; f orif we seek th esperm inany of th ese
wesh all neverndit, because we seek it inth emetals
of th eh erd, wh ereinit is not "- - - as Sendivog ius h ath told
us? Wemust th eref oreseek anoth erbody, wh ich is not
common, noris it made, by mixture oroth erwise, of any
metal th at is common, but is a certainblack Sulph ur
madeby Natureandwh ich nevertouch edth ere. Th is
is th at body wh ereof Albertus Mag nus h ath th us written:
Acertainmetallic body exists inth e nature of th ing s ;
it dissolves anddecomposes easily : a f ortunateph ysician
sh alt th ouprove, if th ouk nowest its preparation.3And
af terh im h is discipleTh omas Aq uinas- speak ing of th e
same mz '1 z era- - cites th ese notable words out of anoth er
ph ilosoph er: Th ereis a certainspecies of metal wh ich
th e crowdh as neverdiscovered." * Th is is th e metal
wemust seek f or, andit is h ardto nd, becausewemust
not dig to come at it. Forif we k nowwh ere it is we
needno more but stoop andtak e it up g ratis. Yet it
is neith erGlauber s antimony norcommonlead, noris
it a f lint stone, north e marl of PeterFaber, wh o- - af ter
h e h adweariedh imself anddeceivedh is readers with
1 Pterf g aepataram/ z ane strttam esse materz 'am werassz Zapz 'a'z 's ph ilo-
soph oram, oog z 'ta:rz tes set/ eratr'terh oes's1 z ag z 'narr', g ata aatara steltam h am
sporz te sat: f ormat/ tt. Eg o were aeg o. 1 1 2' * z 'z 'rz ', reg z ti '.= .'/ f a metro, per
at/ { as rapes, ater'oz 'oes h aaitaat, et ps'reriatrz 'oes at/ es rz z ag tasz t, ttertaste-
tam:t. Nor? ta debetarh atestellar, at saatereta sit Zapz 'a'z 's ?2oez 'lz 'ssz ':oz z ', { f eet
2'22 eo Zatet s; z erZr'tz 'rz a optz wea.
2 Insaeta!Zz 's '2/ aZg z ', f a g arters store est.
3Data?"2'2: rerz mz rz atarricorpus metallitmsz g 'aoa dam, f acz '!z 's soZatz 'om's,
f atz 'Zz 's, 7aepatre/ 'aotz 'om's_.' sf p; raparatz 'orz em ejas rz ostz 'f eZz '.rmea z 'oas eris.
4 Est q atedam species metalif q aasa g ens aarz g aara z 'nt 'e.az 't.
4 - 34
Ez tph rates
discourses of antimony andsublimate with salts of
commonmetals~ s0ug h t th eSulph urat last inth is clod
ormarg e, as h e calls it.1 But to pass by th ese f ooleries
andcometo a conclusion: I say th at th is black Sulph ur
is th e male, wh ich being f oundwe are inth e next place
to seek th ef emale. Andh ereobserveth at GodAlmig h ty
h ath inparticularbodies made no dif f erenceof sexes, but
only inth e animal k ing dom; f or inveg etables and
minerals th ereis no such th ing . We see th at ing rains
of corn- - suppose, of wh eat- th ere is no divisioninto
males andf emales, f orth etruth is th ey areall males, and
Godh ath allowedth em no f emalebut th euniversal one,
namely, water, wh ose viscous, g eneral seedjoining with
th e particular seedandspirit th at is inth e g rainis
th erewith f ermentedandcong ealedinto th e same nature
with th eg rainitself andso propag ates andmultiplies th e
corn. Evenso it is inmetals, f orevery oneof th em is
masculine, sulph ureous andch oleric. Norh ath God
ordainedth at any of th em sh ouldpropag ateandmultiply
th eoth er, eith ernaturally orarticially, th oug h we deny
not but th ey may be multipliedby h elp of th at seed
wh ereinGodh ath placedth e blessing of multiplication.
Inmetals th enth ere is no distinctionor dif f erence of
sexes, so th at out of th em it is impossible to extract
masculine andf eminine sperms, f orsuch cannot be
extractedbut f rom bodies th at are male andf emale,
wh ich metals are not. Forif th ey were, th ey would
propag atewith out art, Godh aving so ordainedit. It is
plainth enth at metalsbeing not male andf emale-
breedwith inth emselves no seed, andby conseq uence
cannot g iveth at wh ich th ey h avenot? Forth etruth is,
1 According to Fabre, ph ilosoph ical Sulph uris th e ig neous part of
ph ilosoph ical Mercury, andit is f ound- tog eth erwith soph ic Sa1 tina
certaing urative butteror f atness, wh ich is presumably th e marg a
ref erredto by Vaug h an.
2 Th is is at issuewith Sendivog ius, wh o says th at commonMercury
contains metallic seed, " andso also do th e oth ermetals.- NOVUM
LumenCnsnrcum, Tract. vi.
4 35
Th e Work s of Th omas Vaug h an
th eseedwh ereof th ey spring is th at g eneral seedof th e
elements, namely, a certainh umidity wh ich appears- - as
Sendivog ius tells us- - inth e f orm of a f at water. Th is
wateris th eirseed, th eirmoth erandth eirf emale; f orof
th is th ey were orig inally made, andif inth is th ey be
ag aindissolved, th enth ech ildwill attract th e moth er
to it andconvert h ertotally to h is ownnature; andon
th e contrary, th e spirit of th e moth erwill multiply th e
spirit of th ech ildandexalt it to a perf ectionmoreth an
ordinary.
Th is is th e way, andbesides it th ere is none; f or
th ere is no water under h eaven- - f rom wh at bodies
soeverit be extracted- - - th at h ath init th e multiplying
virtuebut th is onewater, wh ich Godh ath blessed. And
h ere th oug h I seem to speak indif f erently of metals, yet
do not I mindth e common, f orth eirspirits h ave been
mortiedby th e re. Tak e th eref ore our Sulph ur
wh ich nevertouch edth e re andwh ose lif e is wh olly
inh im. Jointh is living male to a living f emale, f or
inth isas I h ave elsewh ere intimated2- - lies all th e
mystery, namely, inth e unionof a particular spirit
to th e universal, by wh ich means Nature is strang ely
exaltedandmultiplied. Labourth eref ore to uniteth ese
two substantially andth oroug h ly; andth oucanst not
miss it if th ouk nowest th e applications. Forsuf f erme
to tell th ee a secret- - th at th e applicationof actives to
passives- - I meanth e manner of it- is th e g reatest
dif culty inall th e art.
Farewell, Reader, andenjoy th ese my labours, wh ich
I f reely communicate to th ee, not- - I ll assure th ee- - - out
of any desig n; f orI seek not my owng lory but th at of
God, andth y benet.
1 Inf ornsa aq ua pz 'ug 'uz 's.
9 Th eref erenceis to ANIMA MAGICA Ansconnrra.
4 36
A SHORT APPENDIX BY WAY OF ADMON1 -
TION TO THE RE/ f DER
1 '1 " was not my intentionto addanyth ing unto wh at
h as beenalready written; but wh enI reect onth ose
vexations I h ave enduredmyself inth e pursuit of th is
science, I beg into th ink I h ave not saidenoug h . To
be a little more plainth en: Know, Reader, th at wh oso-
everseek s th e Ph ilosoph er s Mercury inmetals, of wh at
k indsoeverth ey be, is already out of th eway ; 1 f orth at
Ph ilosoph ic Mercury so much talk edof is a water, and
inmetals waterth ere is none; f orth e Sulph urh ath not
only cong ealedit th erebut h ath with al driedit up. Th is
is evident incommonq uick silverandantimony, wh ich
of all metalline bodies are th e most crude; andyet- - as
crudeas th ey are- th eirwateris exsiccatedby th eirre.
Forif wef orce th em into a f ume th at f ume settles not
to a liq uidspirit but into dry owers. Th is made th e
ph ilosoph ers seek a more crude minera, wh ose f ume
was moist andwouldsettle into water, as being not yet
masteredby th e Sulph ur. Such th ere was nonebut th e
Moth erof Mercury, orth eFirst Matter, wh ereof Nature
mak es th e commonmercury, andth is also th ey called
q uick silveranda viscous waterf orsuch it is. Inth is
minera th emercurial vapourwas not so dry but it would
settleinto water, andwith th is waterth ey dissolvedth e
metalline bodies; f orth e moist f ume of th is minera
reducedth e metalline dry f umes, so th at both turned
into one water; andth is th ey calledMercury ph ilo-
1 Th is is th e universal testimony of all instructedalch emists, andit
seems strang eth at inth esecondh alf of th e seventeenth century it sh ould
h avebeenth oug h t necessary to reaf f irm th ef act.
4 37
Th e [Vents of Th omas Vaug h an
soph ical andduplicatedMercury. Onth is point I need
not say more; andif th ey be not wilf ully blind, h ere is
lig h t enoug h f or ourmetalmong ers, andespecially f or
th ose condent roasters of antimony wh oover th e
smok eof th at drug - dream of mysteries, as if th ey were
transportedinto a certaincapnomancy. Formy part I
deny not but antimony may be reducedto a mercurial
water, th oug h I k nownot to wh at purpose, f orneith er
ourMercury norourTincture riseth f rom it, if Basil
Valentinemay bebelieved. Trueit is, th e ph ilosoph ers
use it, but as a mere instrument th at g oes of f ag ain, and
so th ey use evenk itch enre; but it is not th eirmatter
or subject, andmuch less is commong old, as some
ig norants wouldh aveit.
Th ere is indeedanoth er antimony, wh ich is our
Sulph urg andth e subject of th e wh ole Art; but th is
is so h ardto nd- andwh enit is f oundso h ardto
prepare- - th at it h ath almost cast meinto despair. How-
ever, if th oudost seriously considerwh at I h avewritten,
andwh at h ath f allenf rom me insome places with as
much purpose as caution, th enverily neith erth eth ing
itself north e preparationof it canbe h idf rom th ee.
To mak e anend, k nowth at th e ph ilosoph ers h ave two
Mercuries orwaters, th e First andSecond. Th eirrst
is th espirit of ourantimony; andh ere understandme
rig h tly. Th eirsecondis th at of Mercury andVenus
ph ilosoph ical; andth is of itself is allsuicient. But
to sh ortentimeth eph ilosoph ers f erment it with common
g old? I h ave nowspok enmore th andiscretioncanwell
1 Th e testimony of Basil Valentineis th at th e true tinctureof anti-
mony, wh ich is th emedicineof menandmetals, is preparedonly f rom
th e ore of antimony andnot f rom th e commercial product. It is not,
h owever, th at universal tincturewh ich is understoodas th e Ph ilosoph er s
Stone. See th e appendix to Cuaaus TRIUMPHALIS onth e Fixed
Tincture of Antimony- - oth erwise, th e FireStone.
2 According to Basil Valentine, antimony contains Mercury, Sulph ur
andSalt, reg ardedas th eth reeg reat principles of h ealth .
3Vaug h ansh ouldh ave rememberedth at commong oldis dead-
according to th eph ilosoph ersandcannot beth eref orea f erment.
4 38
Euph rates
allowof ; but th e sense of th ose dif culties I h ave met
with al h ath carriedme th us f ar. Howsoever, be th ou
cautious inth y construction, lest th e name of antimony
deceive th ee; f orso th oumayst runinto a f ruitless
expense of time andsubstance. Th is is all I h ave to
say, andnowWh at use to mak eof it is inth y power. If
th oucanst believe, it is well; if not, f orbearf rom th is
Art altog eth er, orth ouwilt live to punish th y own
incredulity.
4 - 39
APPENDICES
I
AQUA vireo, NoN VITIS: A NOTE- BOOK
OF THOMAS VAUGHAN
THIS precious manuscript is preservedinth e British Museum
andis numberedI74 1 inth e Sloane collection. It is a small
q uarto, writtenbef oreandbeh ind, with a numberof blank leaves
inth emiddle part. Th ef ull titleis as f ollows :
AQUA VITJE, NoN VITIS; Orth e Radical Humiditieof Nature,
mech anically andmag ically dissectedby th econduct of Fire
andFerment, as well inth e particularBodies of Metalls
andMinerals as inits seminal, universal FormeandCh aos.
By Th omas Vaug h an, Gent. Of th is th ere are 35 leaves,
containing ch emical andoth errecipes, h eaded: Ans Torn:
at iniventa est inauto; Conjug ii mere dulriissimee.' aria rum
ivariis Nz 'trz '__et Salium Preeparationitius. Immediately af ter
th e g eneral title- - th at is to say, onth e next leaf is th is
inscription: Ex Lioris Th : andReb: Vaug h an, I651 ,
Sept. 23. Quos Deus ronjunsrtt, q uis separatnit ? Andth en:
Sitioit animo mea adDrum Etoh im, adDrum El wivum.
Quandeuam wentam et Z)if S1 iZ If J0_f 'I 1 !iE??1 ' Def - / Elioh im I T. R. V.
1 653.
Th ereare processes f orVeg etableMercury, mineral Mercuriy,
notes onth e arcana of nitre, a CABALA METALLORUM, sineLapis
do Reh ts, a collectionof particularsecrets appertaining adrem
medii- om. Th erearealso q uotations f romTunsa PI- IILOSOPHORUM
andanoccasional invocationorprayer, breath ing f ervent piety. A
LIBER Aacnuoauivif ollows, andconf usedwith th ese leaves th ere
are th ose private Memoranda Concerning Vaug h an s wif e and
h imself wh ich are th eimportant parts of th edocument. Th ey
are sometimes onth eobverse andsometimes onth ereverse side.
4 - 4 - 3
P
T/ iz e Work s of T/ z omar Vang / z am
Inth e h inderpart of th e book , but writtenth e reverse way,
th ere are Furth er miscellaneous recipes, including one called
AQUA REBECCA, with th e explanation: Quam sic - um, q uaniam
ban: ex sacra scrf ptura ostmdebat mini" rmjux mm .ch arz 'ssz 'ma.
Ostendeivat (ing uam), net z mg uam af iterz in* venz 'ssem.. It is saidto
be a noblearcanum, alik e inmedicine andalch emy. Such titles
as Ans TornandAncmm QUJEDAM PARTICULARIA recur
f req uently, but introducing diierent experiments. Th erearealso
a VIA BREVIS ET LEVIS, V1 1 3Vanna ET VERJE adPrimam
/ f g uam Metaliicam. Th is h inderside of th e document is also
interleavedwith personal memoranda andparticulars concerning
h is wif e. It contains 69 leaves, Writtenf orth e most part on
both sides of th epaper.
Of th e processes I will g ive one specimen, because it deals
with a subject wh ich is of tenmentionedinth etext of Vaug h an s
publish edwriting s: Seg uz iturEX TRACTIO HUMIDITATIS Vrscosm,
ET SPERMATICJE, pm Opera Sz crmda. Mag nesiam at Ch a]_)/ [rem
Cammisre. Adda pamm Suh urirag uis (sir), rive Resins: arg entiwa,
para partem g uairtam. Tum." extrah eat at. LAUS DEo, Amen,
T.. R. V. I662, Aug ust th e 8th . It is of course impossible to
say wh eth erth is represents anexperiment actually perf ormedor
oneth at it was intendedto put inpractice at a f uturetime. A
similarremark applies to all th erecipes. Th euses, if any, of th e
resultant are not indicated, andit may be Wonderedvag uely
wh at couldbe expectedto f ollowf rom th ecombinationof Steel,
Mag nesia andSulph ureous Water, calledoth erwiseArg entif erous
Resin. It is lik ely, h owever, th at th ese are arbitrary names, to
be understoodalch emically andnot inany literal sense: as to th e
th ing s wh ich th ey sig nied, th ose- - if th ere be any- - wh o wish
to pursue th e subject cantak e th eirch oiceamong th emultitude
of explanations wh ich dark encounsel inth e Hermetic lexicons.
Th ey are not lik ely to ndth at th ey h ave drawnappreciably
nearerto anunderstanding of th eFirst Universal Matter, accord-
ing to th e recog nisedph ilosoph ers or according to Th omas
Vaug h an.
With th e personal memoranda we enterinto a diierent eld,
andI proposeto present th em inextemo, as I h ave doneonone
previous occasion. Th ey arevaluable f orth e undesig nedinsig h t
wh ich th ey of f erinto th e ch aracterof Eug enius Ph ilaleth es on
its h uman, domestic side. Th e irascible alch emistwas
4 - 4 - 4 -
Appeadz m
assuredly a loving h usband, andI am certainth at th e bond
betweenTh omas andRebecca Vaug h anwent deep onth espiritual
side, wh ile it seems to h ave beenweldedclosely onth e side of
earth ly union. Th ememoranda h ereinaf terf ollow.
MEMORIZE SACRUM
I
Th is h appenedona Sunday nig h t, towards th e daybreak , and
indeedI th ink it was morning lig h t. Onth e 1 3th of June I
dreamedth at one appearedto me andpurg edh erself f rom th e
scandalous contents of certainletters wh ich were put into my
h ands by a certainf alse f riend. Th ensh e toldme th at h er
f ath erh adinf ormedh erth at sh e sh oulddie ag ainabout a q uarter
of a yearf rom th at timesh e appearedto me; wh ich is just th e
I4 .th of Septembernext, andonth e 28th of th e same month
we were married. It may be my mercif ul Godh as g ivenme
th is noticeof th e timeof my dissolutionby one th at is so dear
to me, wh ose personrepresenting mine sig niedmy death , not
h ers, f orsh e candie no more. Great is th e love andg oodness
of my Godandmost h appy sh all I be inth is interpretationif I
may meet h erag ainso soonandbeg inth e h eavenly andeternal
lif e with h er, inth e very same month wh ereinwe beg anth e
earth ly: wh ich I beseech my g oodGodto g rant us f orh is dear
SonandourSaviour's sak e, Ch rist Jesus. AmenI
(Writtenonth e I4 .th of June, th e day af terI dreamedit.
658)
II
N.B.- - N.B.- - N.B. 1 658
OnFriday th e 1 8th of July, I myself sick enedat Wapping ,
andth at nig h t I dreamedI was pursuedby a stone h orse, as
my dearwif edreamedbef ore sh e sick ened, andI was g rievously
troubledall nig h t with a suf f ocationat th e h eart, wh ich continued
all next day most violently, andstill it remains, but with some little
remission. Onth e Saturday f ollowing , being th e 1 7th of July, I
couldnot, f orsome secret instinct of spirit, stay any long erat
Wapping , but cameth at very nig h t to Sir]oh nUnderh ill ; and
4 4 5
T/ z e Words of TomarVaug / z am
th eSunday f ollowing af terth at nig h t I understoodth at MrHig h -
g ate was dead, as my h eart g ave meat Wappirig a f ewdays bef ore.
Th ewill of my Godbe done: Amena1 1 dAmen! Th at nig h t
I came to SirJoh n, I dreamedI h adlent 2.0 pounds to my cousin
J. Wak ebross, andth at h is moth erh adstolenth e money andI
was lik e to lose it. But my cousinadvisedme to g iveout I h ad
receivedit andh e wouldsecureit f orme. I pray Godmy dear
wif e s th ing s do not miscarry l
III
My most dearwif e sick enedonFriday inth e evening , being
th e 1 6th of April, anddiedth eSaturday f ollowing inth eevening ,
being th e I 7th . Andwas buriedonth e26th of th esamemonth ,
being a Monday inth eaf ternoon, at Mappersall inBedf ordsh ire,
I658. Wewere marriedinth e yearI651 , by a ministerwh ose
name I h ave f org otten, onth e 28th of September. Godof h is
inniteandsure mercies inCh rist ]esus, bring us tog eth erag ain
inHeaven, wh ith ersh e is g one bef ore me, andwith h ermy h eart
andmy f aith not to be brok en; andth is th ouk nowest, oh my
God! Amen!
A IV
Onth esame day my dearwif e sick ened, being a Friday, and
at th e sametimeof th e day, namely inth e evening , my g racious
Goddidput into my h eart th e secret of extracting th e oil of
I- Ialcali, wh ich I h adonce accidentally f oundat th e Pinnerof
VVak eeldinth e days of my most dearwif e. But it was ag ain
tak enf rom me by a most wonderf ul judg ement of God, f orI
couldneverrememberh owl didit, but made a h undredattempts
invain. Andnowmy g lorious God(Wh osename be praisedf or
ever) h as broug h t it ag aininto my mind, andonth esame day my
dearwif e sick ened; andonth e Saturday f ollowing , wh ich was
th eday sh e diedon, I extractedit by th ef ormerpractice: so th at
onth e same day, wh ich provedth e most sorrowf ul to me, wh at-
evercanbe, Godwas pleasedto conf eruponme th e g reatest joy
I caneverh aveinth is worldaf terh erdeath . Th eLordg iveth
andth e Lordtak eth away: blessedbe th e name of th eLord.
Amen! T. R. V.
4 4 6
Appendices
V
To th eendwe mig h t livewell andexerciseourch arity, wh ich
was wanting inneith erof us, to ourpower, I employedmyself all
h erlif etime inth eacq uisitionof some natural secrets, to wh ich
I h adbeendisposedf rom my youth up; andwh at I nowwrite,
andk nowof th em practically, I attainedto inh erdays, not bef ore
invery truth , noraf ter, but during th etimewe livedtog eth erat
th e Pinnerof \/ Vak ef ield; andth oug h I broug h t th em not to per-
f ectioninth ose deardays, yet wereth e g ates openedto meth en
andwh at I h ave donesince is but th e ef f ect of th ose principles.
I f oundth em not by my ownwit orlabour, but by God's blessing
andth e encourag ement I receivedf rom a most loving , obedient
wif e, wh om I beseech Godto rewardinHeavenf orall th e h appi-
ness andcontent sh e af f ordedme. I sh all lay th em downh erein
th eirorder, protesting earnestly andwith a g oodconscience, th at
th ey are th every truth ; andh ere I leave th em f orh is use and
benet to wh om Godinh is providence sh all direct th em. On
th e 28th Aug ust, being Saturday morning af terdaylig h t, God
Almig h ty was pleasedto reveal to meaf tera wonderf ul manner,
th e most blessedestate of my dearwif e, partly by h erself and
partly by His ownHoly Spirit, inanexpress disclosure, wh ich
openedto meth emeaning of th ose mysterious words of S. Paul:
Forwe k now, if ourearth ly h ouse of th is tabernacle, etc.
Bless th eLord, O my soull andall th at is with inme, bless h is
h oly name! T. R. V.
Quos Deus conjunxit, q uis separabit?
VI
1 658
Th edream I wroteonth ef oreg oing pag eis not to beneg lected,
f ormy dearwif e, a f ewnig h ts bef ore, appearedto me inmy
sleep andf oretoldme th e death of my dearf ath er; andsinceit is
really cometo pass, f orh eis deadandg one to my mercif ul God,
as I h ave beeninf ormedby letters come to my h andf rornth e
country. Itconcerns meth eref ore to preparemyself andto mak e
a rig h t use of th is warning wh ich I receivedf rom my mercif ul
andmost loving God, V/ h o usednot to deal such mercies to all
men; andWh o was pleasedto impart it to me by my dearwif e,
4 4 7
Te Work s of Th omas Vaug arz
to assure me sh e was a saint inHis h oly Heavens, being th us em-
ployedf oranAng el anda messeng erof th e Godof my salvation.
To Him, be all praise andg lory ascribedinJesus Ch rist f orever!
Amen! T. R. V.
VII
1 658
Th emonth andth e day I h ave f org otten, but h aving prayed
earnestly f orremissionof sins I went to bedanddreamedth at I
lay f ull of sores inmy f eet andcloth edincertainrag s, underth e
sh elterof th e g reat oak , wh ich g rows bef oreth e courtyardof my
f ath er s h ouse, andit rainedroundabout me. My f eet th at were
sore with boils andcorrupt mattertroubledme extremely, so th at
being not able to standup I was laidall along . I dreamedth at
my f ath erandmy broth erW., wh o were both dead, came unto
me andmy f ath ersuck edth e corruptionout of my f eet so th at
I was presently well, andstoodup with g reat joy andlook ing on
my f eet th ey appearedvery wh ite andcleanandth e sores were
q uite g one! Blessedbe my g oodGod! Amen!
VIII
N.B.- N.B. N.B.
Wh enmy dearwif e andI livedat th e Pinnerof Wak eeld
I rememberI melteddowneq ual parts of Talc andth e Eag le
with Brimstone, repeating th e f usiontwice. Andaf terth at,
g oing to drawSpirit of Salt with Oil of Glass, I ch anced(as I
th ink ) to ming le some Bay- Salt, or th at of Colla Maris, with
th e f ormercompositionandI h adanoil with wh ich I did
miracles. But assaying to mak e more of it I nevercouldef f ect
it, h aving f org ottenth e composition; but nowI am condent
th e Eag le was init, f orI everrememberth e mannerof th erst
f ume th at came out, andcouldneversee th e lik e ag ain, but
wh enI work edonth e Eag le, th oug h I neveraf terwards work ed
onh erpreparedas at th at time. I k nowalso by experience th at
Talc andBaysalt tog eth erwill yieldsix times more spirit, th an
eith erof both will yieldby itself . Andth at passag e of Rh asis
conrms me, wh enh e mentions Aq ua Salis trium g enerum ; but
above all th at one wordof Lullie, namely, Petra Salis, and
4 4 8
/ iippendices
especially th at enumerationof materials wh ich h e mak es inh is
Ars Intellectiva, Nitrum, Sal, Sulph ur, Vapor, th anwh ich
noth ing couldh ave beensaidmore expressly. Andyet I doubt
I sh all be much troubled, bef ore I ndwh at I h ave lost, so little
dif f erence th ereis betweenForg etf ulness andIg norance.
T. R. V. 1 658.
Quos Deus conj uiixit, q uis separabit?
IX
Le at Mrs Hz 'g lz g ete s
1 . Oneat trunk of my dearwif e s, with h er maidenname
upon1 t.
2. Anoth ercabinet trunk of my dearwif e s inwh ich is h er
small rock andBible, andh ermaidenBibleI h aveby me.
3. Oneg reat woodenbox of my dearwif e s inwh ich is all
h erbest apparel, andinth at is h erg reat Bible with h erpractice
of piety andh eroth erbook s of Devotion.
4 .. Anoth erwoodenbox with pillows init anda sweet bask et
of my dearwif e s.
5. One larg e trunk of my dearwif e s with my name upon
it, inwh ich are th e silverspoons. Andinth e drawers aretwo
small boxes, one with a lock of my dearwif e s h air, made up
with h erownh ands ; andanoth erwith several small lock s init.
6. Onepairof g rate irons with brass k nobs andasing le pair
with brass k nobs, a re sh ovel, tong s andbellows; my dear
wif e s littlech air, a roundtable, joint stool andclose stool, with
a g reat g lass f ull of eye- water, made at th e Pinnerof Wak eeld,
by my dearwif e andmy sisterVaug h an, wh o are both now
with God.
X
1 659. Apr- Z8th . Die 2
Inth e evening I was surprisedwith a suddenh eaviness of
spirit, but with out any manif est cause wh atsoever; but I th ank
Goda g reat tenderness of h eart came along with it, so th at I
prayedmost earnestly with abundance of tears, andsorrowf or
sin. I f ervently solicitedmy g racious Godf orpardonto myself
andmy most dearwif e; andbesoug h t Him to bring us tog eth er
4 4 9 29
T/ re Wares ayf Th omas Vcz ug / lam
ag aininHis Heavenly King dom, andth at Hewouldsh ewme His
mercy andanswermy prayers by such means andinsuch a way
as mig h t q uick enmy spirit, th at I mig h t serve Him ch eerf ully
andwith joy praise His name.
Iwent th at nig h t to bedaf terearnest prayers andtears and
towards th e daybreak , orjust uponit, I h adth is f ollowing dream :
I th oug h t th atl was ag ainnewly marriedto my dearwif e and
broug h t h eralong with me to sh ewh erto someof my f riends,
wh ich I didinth ese words. Here is a wif e, wh ich I h ave not
ch osenof myself , but my f ath erdidch oose h er f or me, 1 and
ask edmeif I wouldnot marry h er, f orsh e was a beautif ul wif e.
He h adno soonersh ewedh erto me, but I was extremely in
love with h erandI marriedh erpresently. Wh enI h adth us
said, I th oug h t, wewereboth lef t alone, andcalling h erto me,
I took h erinto my arms andsh e presently embracedme and
k issedme; norh adI inall th is visionany sinf ul desire, but such
a loveto h eras I h adto h ervery soul inmy prayers, to wh ich
th is dream was ananswer. HereuponI awak edpresently with
exceeding g reat inwardjoy. Blessedbe my Godl Amen!
e X I
/ f prif t/ z eg t/ 2. Df eh . 1 659
I went to bedaf terprayers andh earty tears andh adth is dream
towards daybreak . I dreamedI was insomeobscure, larg eh ouse,
wh ere th ere was a tumultuous, rag ing people, among st wh om I
k newnot any but my broth erH. My dearwif e was th erewith
me, but h aving conceivedsome discomf ort at th eirdisorder, I
q uittedth e place, andwent out, leaving my dearwif e beh indme.
As I went out I consideredwith myself , andcalledto mindsome
small, at least seeming , unk indnesses I h adusedtowards my dear
wif einh erlif etime, andth e remembranceof th em being odious
to meI wonderedwith myself th at I sh ouldleaveh erbeh indme
andneg lect h ercompany, h aving nowth eopportunity to converse
with h eraf terdeath . Th ese were my th oug h ts, wh ereuponI
turnedin, andtak ing h eralong with me, th ere f ollowedus a
certainperson, with wh om I h adinf ormertimes revelledaway
many years indrink ing . I h adinmy h anda very long cane,
1 Th is was not true of ourtemporal marriag e, norof ournatural
parents, andth eref oreit sig nies someg reatermercy.
4 5
Af pperz c/ ices
andat last we came to a ch urch yard, andit was th e brig h test
daylig h t th at everI beh eld: wh enwewere about th e middleof
th ech urch yard, I struck uponth e g roundwith my cane at th e
f ull leng th andit g avea most sh rill, reverberating ech o. I turned
back to look uponmy wif e, andsh e appearedto meing reensilk
downto th eg round, andmuch taller, andslendererth ansh e was
inh erlif etime, but inh erf ace th ere was so much g lory, and
beauty, th at no Ang el inHeavencanh ave more. Sh e toldme
th e noiseof th ecane h adf rig h tedh era little, but saying so sh e
smileduponme andlook edmost divinely. Uponth is I look ed
up to Heaven, andh aving q uite f org ot my rst appreh ension,
wh ich was true, namely th at sh e appearedth us to meaf terh er
death , I was much troubledinmindlest I sh oulddie bef oreh er,
andth is I f earedupona spiritual account, lest af termy death
sh e mig h t be temptedto do amiss, andto liveoth erwiseth ansh e
didat present. Wh ileI was th us troubled, th ecaneth at was in
my h andsuddenly brok e, andwh enit was brok en, it appeared
no morelik ea cane, but was a brittle, weak reed. Th is didput
meinmindof h erdeath ag ain, andso didput meout of my f ear,
andth edoubts I conceived, if I diedbef oreh er. Wh enth ereed
was brok en, sh e came closeto me, andI g ave h erth elong erh alf
of th e reed, andth e f urth est endandth esh ortest I k ept f ormy-
self ; but look ing onth e brok enendof it, andnding it rag g ed,
andsometh ing roug h , sh e g ave me a k nif e to polish it, wh ich I
did. Th enwe passedboth out of th e ch urch yard, andturning
to th eg entlemanth at f ollowedme I ask edh im if h ewouldg o
along with us, but h e utterly ref used; andth e truth is, h estill
f ollows th e worldtoo much . Th enI turnedto my dearwif eto
g o along with h er, andh aving so done I awak ed.
By th is dream, andth e sh ortest part of th e reedlef t inmy
h and, I g uess I sh all not live so long af terh er, as I h ave lived
with h er. Praisedbe my Godl Amenl
X II
April th e 1 6:/ 2, at nig h t. 1 659
I dreamedth at a f lameof a wh itish coloursh ouldbreak out at
th e toes of my lef t f oot, andth is was toldmeinmy dream by a
strang e personandof a dark countenance. It is to benoted, th at
th is was th e very nig h t onwh ich my dearwif e died, I658; it
4 51
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
being a Saturday nig h t andbut onesh ort of th e number, ortrue
account. It may be th e disease th at sh all occasionmy death , was
sh ewedme onth e nig h t wh ereinsh e died, f ortrue it is, th at in
my lef t f oot th ere is nowa dang erous h umourf allendown, and
lodg edundermy very h eel, anduponth e lif ting of my leg up-
ward, it pains me strang ely. It f ell rst into my k nee, and
wh at it may come to I k nownot, unless it will endina g out;
but it rst of all troubledme inth e sinews, andcauseda con-
tractionof th em, andth enI h ada dull painandstill h aveinth e
uppermost joint of th eth ig h . T. R. V.
J X III
Many years ag o, at Padding ton, bef ore my distemperinth e
liverseiz edme, th ereappearedto me twice inth e same nig h t in
two several dreams, a young , strang e person, not unlik e to h im
wh o appearedina strang e mannerto me at EdmondHall in
Oxf ord. His countenance was dark , andI believe it is th e evil
g enius, but inth is last dream, I sawh im not so clearly, my lif e,
I bless Godf orit, being much amended. Th eevil h e so g ladly
sig nies to me, f rig h tens me not, f orI am ready f or death ,
andwith all my h eart sh all I welcome it, f orI desire to be dis-
solvedandto be with Ch rist, wh ich is f arbetterf orme, th anto
live, andsininth is sinf ul body. T. R. V. I659.
Godis. T. R. V. AmenandAmen!
4 - 52
ll
THALIA REDIVIVA: THE LATIN POEMS
OF THOMAS VAUGHAN t
I
THE Dsorcarron
Ornatissimo Viro Domino Math ao Herbert,
Institutorisuo imprimis suspiciendo.
Accipeprimitias, dilecte Herberte, tuosq ue
Quales f ormasti, docte Math me, modos.
Temea dissimili seq uiturconamine Musa,
Pallet ut advivas picta tabella rosas.
Sic q um mella sacri cong essit alumnus Hymetti
Servant libati suavia prima th ymi.
II
Arron
Quae viridi, Math ae, f uit tibimessis inh erba,
Hoc te compensat f aenore cocta Ceres.
Nonpotes innostrif urtivis litibus mvi
Dicere, te seg etem nondecimasse meam.
III
Var- vrumnus
Heus ! Vertumneadsum, tumuloq ueincumbo rapinam
Commeditans : tuq uos incepit dextra tumultus
Fug isti, partamq uetenes inf unere pacem.
Nonliceat dormire; eg o te, cineremq ue superbum
Excutiam somno. Nonh ic eq uites peditesq ue
4 53
Th e Worh s q f Th omas Vaug h an
Circumstant ; nulla est lateri Rh omph aa, Satelles
Nullus : nulla h umeris jactatis laena lacertis
Fluctuat, et nostrum deridet murice pannum.
Prasterit illa atas, q ua tetimuisse necesse
Et tutum f uit; h audumbras, manesq ue reclusos
Horremus. Nih il est, si clausis naribus adsto,
Quodmetuam, morbos, h ircum, excrementaq uevermes
Sollicito ; lectusq uetuus de stercoreversus.
Curnoneloq ueris i neq ue palma morebere, ne
Tendemanus : h ic sunt tibivectig alia, census,
c crus P
Poculaq uearg entumq ueauratusq ueannulus instar
Hannibalis. Sejanus eq uus tibiducitur, aut si
Nonplaceant, prmsto est meretrix ; h anc accipesaltem
Inf oveam, Vertumne. Neq ueh anc? q uidF tunc ch entem
Deseris? ut video, nulla est captura sepulch ri.
Tollecaput, raucaq ueiterum cum voce ph alang es
Increpita k g satis est latrareaudacterinh ostem.
O q ualis f acies ! recitanda litania nunc est
Si possem ; lupus est, taceoq ue. Irata Minerva
Nontenuit tales, objecta Gorg one, vultus.
Sunt oculipatres, q ui Lyncea, q ui Galilaum
Cum speculo vicere; et proph ylactica Galli
Strumaq ueviderunt: q uibus ipso Hispanus inovo
Emicuit dolus ; h ic Scoti tentoria vidit
Prima, novasq ue f aces insidere Cassiopeae.
Nunc nih il h ic prmtercmcosq ue cavosq ue meatus,
Pejoresq ueisto spurcoq ue f oramine perq uod
Claudius, impleto jam ventre, cacare solebat.
Depasta est f acies, mag nz eq ue proboscidis uncus
Depastus, totoq ueexesus f ornicenasus.
Formosum f acieret Tong illum et Rh inoceroten.
O patularng ing ivam l ubinunc tua ph armaca, m
Quae radant, scabrosq uealbent rubig inedentes?
Haudeq uidem inf elix tales pandebat h iatus
Hetiuba, cum misso vultumeliore, pudendis
Faucibus oblatret Graecis, rictuq uecanino.
Tunc h umilis tritusq uecinis decreta piorum
Excindipetis, et divinilumina verbi
Noctepremi, umbrisq ueac sole f unalla praef ers?
4 - 54 -
alas
1 4 ppen(/ ices
Et superesse putasi Cujus jam brach ia f racta
Curaq ue, multiplicis dispersa cadavera f ati
Prsesentant ; tua q uanta dedit documenta ruina,
Qua: speciem immensaecladis, mortesq uecoactas
Multorum, tumulo Vertumniostendit inuno P
Parcinis est, aeq uale lutum, similesq ue f avilla
Qua constas, milesq uetriobulus ; aut Ag ormus,
Quo f cetat Quintana, parem ccelestia sortem
Nontribuere. Horum miseras stipendia vitas
Venales f aciunt, animasq ue ut villica porcos
Expendunt pretio. Tunonbibis innymph aeo
Cum g reg e; purpureus tecum commilitat, aut dux ;
Parmosos spernis ; q uotiesq ueadjurg ia currus
Conveniunt, crassa cum majestateprecantem
Absq ueoculis rides, et q ui pede claudicat uno.
Nonnepudet duplicasse scelus, miserosq ue secunda
Mortepremi, nec velleistis solatia servis,
Quos tua lig nipedes f ecit f ug a, monoculosq ueE
Nunc scio q uo tendit tua parsimonia ; promus
Solvendus, meretrixq ue, et q um nasuta lupanar
Olf ecit, rug osa Venus. Respublica tuta est
His instrumentis. Si vivida vina supersint
Qtio pug nabis, h abes ; h ic tota noctetibiMars
Inling ua est, spirasq ueintertua pocula f umos,
Quales Amsanctus vomit, aut Vesuvius ardens.
Grandestratag ema! Et q uo Ch inensedomabis
Imperium, Budamq ueatq uealtos Ottomannos.
Procede, expug na mundum ; tibiserviet orbis
Terrarum, reg niq ueextremo inmarg inepones,
Arcturumq ue Crucemq ueet sidera Medica"- z a.
Sclopeturnloq uereet f lammas ; tormenta g lobosq ue
Ferratos ; verbisq uetuis, tanq uam catapulta,
Disjicevicinas aures : h oc tramitevictrix
Palma redit, q uwrenda tibiest h is moribus. Hoc tu
Hannibalem f ecisse putas, cum f unera Cannis
Roma ag eret, luscoq ueacies demessa Gradivo est?
Supremos expende dies, sitq ueexitus h uj us
Fabellm anteoculos. Quidnunc. inconditus iste
Mos tibiprof ecit P vel q uidsonus, et celeris vox
Juramenta rotans, et lassa opprobria ling ua i
4 55
Th e Worh s of Th anz arVaug h an
Quis temiratur? vel q uis tua f ulg ura pluris
Esseputat, q uarnsunt crepitus tibiposteriores?
His tamenalta malis laturum insidera nomen
Sperasti te posse tuum nostrosq uenepotes
Visurus aliq uodSydus, brutumveh ominemve,
Assurg ens, Ang loq ueardentes Herculecmlos.
Appia clausa via est, tumuit q ua Julius olim
Instellas, q ua q uiexpiravit podice, repsit.
Tunc istos, Vertumne, internumeraberis h eros P
Numinibus si scurra placet, si sancta libido
Intrutina Jovis est, et Bacch analia sacra:
Justius inccelum q uis scandeti apertioribit:
Porta, et suprema sedeas, Vertumne, cath edra.
Quicunq uees, q ui scorta, dolos, h omicidia, f urta
Exerces, caecaeq uc armamentaria mentis.
I- Iic studeas ; vocat e tumulo majorCicerone.
Incinere h oc scriptum est, extatq ueinmanibus illis
Quoddiscas: Brevis est, et transit vita, nih ilq ue _
Prof eci h is telis l Dic, q uis necromantica sumit
Haec prsecepta sibi, creditq uesag aciorurnaeP
Nonunum invenio, - cui consiliarius est mors.
Tuleg esq ue f orumq ueet barbara Causidicorum
Labra moves, majora alio tua praedia f undo
Ut pateant ; addisq uetuis malejug era pauca
Pauperis. Haec mag na et praeterludibria f ati
Fixa putas ; cum tutantum examinevero
f Etatem laceras concessam, atq ueardua nug is
Seria posth abeas ; q uoties improvida tecum
Dig eris h mc intraq uecoq uis. Mea vota secundet
Si nonq uae praesens lux est, tamenaltera, saltem
Tertia ; nec cernis repentem insaecula mortem
Incautus, credisq ue dies, ut savia, posse
Terapere, et stabilem f urto producerevitarn.
Temporis (h eul) nulla est, annorum nulla rapina,
Quisq ue suos numeros h abet. Alta murmura f amm
Nos ag itant, properiq ue nimis vestig ia f ati
Nemo audit, struit h ic turrita palatica, montes.
Marmoreos ; tetroq uealludit reg ia busto.
Quippe sepulch ra etiam sunt ipsa cubilia, q ua: tot
4 56
ppendices
Exanimes videre, et tristia f unera; nec stat
Improba posteritas, possitq ueinliminescribi
Hic vixit. Si vis 3.I1 iI1 1 B compendia nostrm
Ista petas, q ua sola des mercatur, et alto
Intendas caelo, terramq ue moramq ue relinq ues.
Divitim verse illm sunt, et vera supellex
Qua divina domos et praedia ponit inastris.
IV.
CYNTHIA
Transierat jam pura dies, et f ortiorig nis
Coelorum, temerasq ue f erens inlumine f lammas
Ph oebus, venturae f ecit prmludia nocti
Cynth ia cum molles aestus et nutra sensit
Astra, levemq ueleves errare peraera ventos
Eg ressa est, h ortosq uesuos oretaq uesacra
Intravit, mediisq ue silens inf loribus ibat.
Dumq ueomnem explorat circaseprovida partem,
Excurrunt oculorum ig nes, et puriororis
Aura tremit, roscisq ueh alat diapasma labellis.
Luxuriant auro crines, dimissaq uevestis
Ludentem inseq uiturspecioso syrmatenymph am.
Hicg ratas umbrarum h iemes et f rig ora q umrit ;
xiEstivas h ic sola rosas carpebat, et albis
Intexit rubeas, positoq uee verticepeplo
Ipsa g enis docuit similes f ratrarecolores.
Carpit te Narcissepuer, vosq ue O sua sig na
(Nam cecidit, lnulloq uejacet curante), Lig ustra l
Lilia connectit violis, sacrosq ueamaranth os
Fasciculo immiscet ; nodoq uemaritat inuno
Dispersas f lorum veneres, speculoq ueremoto
Et f ormam f aciemq ue suis ag novit inh erbis.
Haec illa. At veg etam Florae sobolemq ue micantem
Dum leg it, extincta est, obitusq ueinf loribus est f los l
Nunc, O nunc sylvm pereant, animmq uevirentes
Hortorum plantaeq ue! Et f ascia casta valeto l
Ecce I ruunt Veneres, multoq ue Cupidinecing unt
Spem vitae studiumq ue mew; spoliaturamoenus
4 57
Th e Worh s of Th omas Vaug h an
Hortulus, et rapto stant mcesta rosaria f lore.
O si nonultra tentassent, si mea tantum
Cynth ia mansisset similis sibil perda mores
Fata reg unt, f rustraq ueomnes meliora docemur.
Aureus assurg it, multoq uenitoreCupido
Ag g rediturnyrnph am, spiratq ue, superbiorig nes.
Nectaredistillant alas, et - divina volatu
Ambrosia exiliens coelestes seminat auras.
Utq uestetit, vidi celerem libraresag ittam
Pennatamq ue suis plumis ; stat missilexum,
Accenditq uenovas nonduro inpectore f lammas.
Illa ardet, clademq uesuam ccelestibus ambit
Blanditiis, ipsoq uesinuf ovet inscia mortem.
O toties miserandal deam h anc impure Cupido
Faedasti, simul ora tuam superantia matrem.
Ast eg o prospiciens sensi discederevultus
Purpureos, niveosq ue moricum virg ineHores.
Nulla rubent tepidis imrnixta roseta pruinis,
Nec tremulm ludunt intersua lilia f lammae.
Marcet tanta venus, tristiq ueinverticesylva
Aurea dispersis pendet neg lecta capillis.
Nil manet Elysiinullusq ue h yacinth us, ut olim,
Vernat inh is labiis ; tota est inf unereTempe.
Nonneg o (sit tua justa licet sententia) coelos
Crudeles ; lapsm stellz e revocanturinaltum
Ex oculis, totoq ueexcedunt sydera vultu.
Ing emuit, f levitq uesuum mea Cynth ia f atum
Tristior, et nulla f oelix albedine mansit.
V
IN CutoanINTUENTEM
Af xus f ormosa Ch loedum ludit occellis,
Et tacito invultus labiturig ne meos.
Obvia luminibus mea f orma occurit apertis,
Hospitat inq ueoculis transanimata suis.
Hic et aq uas penetratq ue, ig nes vitreasq ue pupillas
Plena vel wrumnis ping it imag o meis.
Flevit sacra Ch loe, f ormosaq uelumina plorat
Inspeculum tantis f acta f uisse malis.
4 58
/ if ppendz res
VI
InEPHEMERIDES KEPLERI
Eccel mori properat dum prodig us annus, et h oras
Vrg et sydereis insua f ata rotis,
Das, Keplere, novam temeris Ech ineida ccelis
Et stupet adremoram mach ina tota tuam.
Nunc duraturo radias, Aurora, rubore;
Et prtesens h ic est, prmteritusq uedies.
0
I
VII
Vrraum HORARIUM ax SEPULTI IVIATHEMATICI
PULVERE
Sic inclusa tum respondet mimula dextra:
Et coeli assuetas audet arena vices.
Af f ectarejuvat superos post f unera cursus,
Surg itq ue ex atomis certiorh ora tuis.
Si numerat, partitq ue diem tam nescia tech na,
Quidf acit adsolem doctiorumbra suum.
VIII
AnVmum Exnvnum D. Tnorvnuvr Postturvr
Canrnsvsnsam S. S. TneotoonnDOCTOREM
Est nivewamicus mentis et calens mih i,
Ruriq uesemperdeg it urbanus comes ;
Nec scire possum, q uas meus vices ag it.
Noninremotis trutina et pace curiis
Exercet illeleg e q uodcautum est, scelus ;
Foriq uetritis litibus, jung it novas.
Nonh ospes intus rebus h audsuis vacat,
Nec ambit arte, q uicq uidest dispardeo.
At ore f undit ille noninops suo
Rosas, salesq ue mentis et mares Jocos :
Interq uedoctos h umilis et summus simul
Quos h ic solutus perdo, componit dies.
4 59
Th e Worh s of Th onz arVaug h an
IX
AnFONTEM, EX ouo BIBERE Sotrra EST
STELLA
O mess Stella: speculum! liberq ue
Suaviurn, castos ubi ping it ig nes
Umbra subridens, et amantis Ech o
Muta puellae !
Quam nimis g rato q uerelus susurro
Inf ug am serpis, viridesq ue toph i
Pectinas cinnos, vitreoq uef undis
Ore f luentem i
Hac Venus spurna poterit creari
Succubte prasstans vetulaeq ue diva ;
Qua: novo f ormae, deiq uesolvet
Ftederelitem.
Pulch riorvultus, meliorq uescsena
FonteNarcissi f acieq ue f luctus
Hos f acit lautos rnag is, atq uenulla
Cmdecruentos.
Hic levis albis volitare pennis
Adsolent ludi, veneresq ue castm ;
Ista cultori dedit unda mortem
Hc mih ivitam.
X
InSTELLAM LACHRYMANTEM
Nonmiror, mea Stella, tuo tua lumina f ietu
Suf f usa, et mixtas ig nibus ig nis aq uas.
Ex oculis ducendus erat f ons. Altera nulla est
Dig na satis f aciem q use lavet unda tuam.
4 60.
1 4 ppent/ ices
X I
IN EANDEM AcRA FEBRE DORMIENTEM
Hic jaceo: rnixta mortis et vita Venus;
Amare Parcam docuit vel somnus meus.
Ludit corallis morbus, et multa innive
Combusta mors est, dum meas g enas petit
Mirata prz edam, transit invitam tepens :
Et q uam necasset, stravit inlectem sibi
Dormitq uecapta. Quos superf usos vides
Florum popellos 1 lilia et deam rosam
Amatorsparsit: exprimi nullis suam
Ut par, g uris illesic deam docet.
Vix est creatus inrosis tropus mih i.
X II
E]usDEM EPITAPHrum
Adesto multa superum nepenth e madens
Ver: annus inf ans, primula et f lorens Hebe.
Tuusq uetecum Zeph yrus accedat, tui
Serenus oris h alitus, promus rosw:
Florum solennis f ascinus, carmenpotens
Ipsis sepulch ris mortuum g ermenvocans.
Adstes et Eurimitius volans ala,
Auraq uedeg ens divite, ct th ureinsacro
Fumata, pennis incubet tuis Eos.
Est urna parva Stellulam meam tenens,
Quz e vos inarctum postulat typum deae.
Florum h uc adesto, q uicq uidh ic mundus parit
Sui ch aractersparsus, ac inops icon.
Cog nata venis viola, sang uini est rosa.
Natura ubiq ueping it inluctus meos,
Et toph us omnis parturit Stella: notas.
Sit epitaph ium parh yacinth us tibi,
Quiore pandens, q uas teg it tellus g enas,
Aiacis instarQ2" rneum semperf erat,
Tut- eq ue cladis annue monens epos.
Visurus ora q ualia, et q uales manus,
4 .61 A
Th e Worh rof Th omas Vaug h an
Amplectaralbas, purpura et tinctas rosas ;
Tibiq uef lores servient, spinae mih iI
Si Iiliis adsto, dicam, h ic vivit meae,
Et si sepulch ris, h ic perit Stellae color.
X III
GUSTAVUS Aooteuus REX Suscras INTRAT
GERMANIAM
Sisteaq uilas Caesar: q uas solem, ig nesq ue potentes
Sustinet, h is oculis caeca revertet avis.
Exploraremoriest: h audtanto inluminetentes
Deg enerem et nullo nominepullitiem.
Fulminibus servireaq uilae est; nonreg ia f iammis
Imperat ; est superis perma ministra f ocis.
Gustavus f ulg etra reg it Mavortis, et illeest
Invenient vel q uem f lamrnae, aq uilaeq ue Jovem.
X IV
Tr1 .L1 u1 v1 Conoaaorsns Auouarum RIDENT
Adstitit, inbellum Sueco veniente, volantm
Turba, et Lipsiacum f usa teg ebat ag rum.
Cum miles sub utroq ue ruens ductore catervam
Dissipat et turmis territa surg it avis.
Primo te, Tilli, comitesq uesupervolat, et mox
Gustavum : at rapta ex h oste salute, petit.
Nonerat aug urium h oe: aliudvictoria pennis
Et dig num vel te g essit, Adolph e, suis.
X V
lVIoR1 ENs VVALLENSTENIUM Funnrr
Adsis ct extrema major, Gustave, ruina,
Quam pertot vita sparsa troph ma tuae,
I- Iic cong esta jacent tantirniracula belli,
4 .62
1 4 ppendicex
Contrah it inq uc unum se tua f axna diem.
Cedite, Romanil vobis vlcissc, tnumph us ;
Gustavo plus est q uam superare, mori.
X VI
TESTATUR SE GERMANORUM LIBERTATEM
SANGUINE suo SIGILLARE
Scripserat h anc, h ostisq ue prius sua dextra cruore5,
Jam sig nata suo sang uine ch arta valet.
Libcrtas q uam lata tibi, Germania mag ma, est!
Cujus vel mundo tessera majorerat.
X VII
CAROLUS Plumus, ANGLORUM REX
- In
En, endeorum mag mas, ct tractinuminis
Sub sole th ronus ; ig nium coeli silex
Ferroq uetritus insuas Hammas abiens!
Dcprcssa palma, q ua veram palmam tulit,
Crevitq uc inipsos oneri noncedcns dcos.
Ch risti, suoq uc sang uine h ic unctus f uit,
Crucisq uenemo majus exemplum dedit.
Rex illereg ni, rex idem vixit sui,
Lcg cmq uc, q uam nec subditi f errent, tulit.
Jus semperillisurnma ct reg alis comes.
Fidesq uc sancta dirig cns dextram suam,
Quam sic coercet, prasidem ag novit manum.
Furor, rapina, caades ct dolus malus
Unius omnes reg ium invadunt caput.
Caditq uc- - - nosticcelurn!- tam sanctus parens- - -
Ab h is percmptus, vel q uibus vitam claret.
Secunda ab ipso victims. h aec Ch risto f uit.
Discs, Lectorz Nonsemper bona invenit q ui
bonum q uz erit.
4 63
T/ z e Work s cf Toz as Vaz ag / z an
X VIII
Amrcrssmo Suo, ET IN OMNI PI- IILOSOPHIA
OCULATISSIMO
T. P.1
IN ELEMENTA SunOPTICA
Cum nimis amotos cum syrmateccelos,
Hortosq uepensiles colo ;
Stat g emata astris nox nig ra : ut maura lapillis
Intluta divitis sali.
Ipsecoloratae volvo miracula scmnz e,
Memdiq uelabiles Ph aros;
Sic Fati rirnarnuropes, cursumq ue procacem,
Quinostros atterit dies.
Demens ambitio l curtiq uesuperbia sensus l
Frz enaresyderum ch oros l
Dirig eme, q ui tanta potes: ccelestia nolunt
Terreno dirig icluce.
Felix, q uipropriis errorem absterg et ocellis,
Et cmlos instruit suos.
Astra h abeo cog natemih i, lucemq ue vag antem,
Quam docta corrig at manus.
Quippef acem crasso Natura incorpore clausit,
Sumq ue consulit domi.
Sol et luna oculi mih isunt : soliq ue renides
Poelle, ph osph orus novus.
Claude tuas Aurora Fores : mih i praevius alter,
Neeradiis Lucif ertuis.
Hic notis oculis, claroq uepropinq uiorig ne,
Amata nasciturVenus.
X IX
EPITAPHIUM GULIELMI LAUD EPISCOPI Cnnrunnransrs
0 da tellus l' coeli depositum cape, l
Neq ueillum toph o premas, sedamplectere.
Hic jacet, Lector- - serva tulach rymas malis-
1 I.e., Th omas Powell, onwh ose intimate relations with Henry and
Th omas Vaug h anMrA. B. Grosart h as th rownaninteresting lig h t in
h is collectededitionof th everse- work of both poets.
4 64
1 4 p].'> e z a :'ce.r
Ecclesiae ph arus, idemq uenauf rag ium sibi -
Repumicatororbis et cceli pug il:
Frig entis arm titio, h aucl ig nis novus,
Sedang elorum amma Manoae capax.
Desiste; smclf lm, majus nonpotes nef as.
Lassata crux est, martyrum appendix f uit.
Quotidiana nonest talis manus.
Liberius nemo sang uinem patrim daret
Si res vocassent ; nec condentius dedit
Cum nonvocabant, nempe curavit mori,
Anteitq ueistam, q uam stabiliret dem.
Sic illecoelum rapuit, et vitae tomos
Obliteratos maculis adversae mantis
Proprio rescripsit sang uine, innocuus simul
Et condemnatus; sic citat testes Deus l
Of estus illecinis l et f oelix miser,
Qui probro h onores mutat, et mundisatur
Injuriis emit coelos, ac stellas tenet l
Fecistl probeI deiseneximalum
Mors est: ereptus vitae pug illus tibi
Cum diis acq uirit annos, omisit diem.
Palles sceleste? nonh abet sanum sibi
Cruorem, q uisq uis sic alienum sitit.
Sednoninterram uxit, ne bibit lutum
Fluentem : sitiens sang uinem pulvis suum
Pulvere f ormatus - h omo est.
I
Nonperiit erg o. Laudis tam justae th renos
Nec morituras naenias h ostes sui
Quih abent aures, audient.
Abijam, Lector, et bene discas mori.
X X
Mnunrrrus PONTISFRACTI CASTRUM INGREDITUR
Arx alta ! et Caroli spes una atq ue ultirna nostri
Qua tria conveniunt h ospita reg na simul.
HIS extrema des ponet vestig ia muris,
Clarioreq uetuis mcenibus astra petet.
4 65 30
T/ z e Work s of Tamas Vang / z arz
Nonsuperesse licet :. cupio f unclamina mortis
Ponere, et h oc nostram condere teste necem.
PresideMauritio tua moenia dig na tueri,
Neenisi Mauritio prmside dig na capi.
X X I
Paoposrra AB Hosrs Pacrrous, Sotus Exctuorrua
Hanc mea mors, mea vita diem celebrate: paresq ue
Et similes h abeant utraq ue f ata vices.
Vita, meam mortem celebra : tu, mors mea, vitarn.
Sitq ue; audere mori, pactio Mauritii.
Vivereme trepidant h ostes: f aciamus et ipsos
Quam petiere, meam vel trepidam necern.
X X II
Dsorro CA; sTRo, ET PACTIONE Eiccwsus PER
Memos HOSTES ERUMPIT
Sol, orbis spectatorades, curruq uerepresso
Mirandum e superis aspice Mauritium l
Solus in. h ostiles audet procedereturmas,
Hac illioblata est conditionesalus.
Milleref ert, et milleruit varia arteperh ostes :
Et varios q uasi se dividit usq uelocos.
Stravit totam aciem dux atq ueexercitus ipse:
Illa dies, q uodvix postera credat h abet.
Victricem obtinuit, rnorteindig nante, salutem :
Credibileest tantum f ata timere manum.
X X III
ALIUD
Arcta est, q uam tribuis f ortuna redemptio 5, vel mors,
Veireq uiem h ostilis pervia turma dabit.
Aut manus h aec nobis tutela, aut mulla 5 cadamq ue
Hostesemel major: me, Caraloq ueminor.
4 .66
1 4 ppendices
Parilliexemplurnest; reg em assimulare docemur,
Fataq ueinauditis exuperare modis.
Insilio l levis est vobis, nullusq uetriumph us ;
Nonpoteram vinci, nec dabo posse mori.
X X IV
ALIUD
Venit summa dies, et q ua pepig isse, perire est.
Majorsum, q uam cui sic superesse licet.
Percutimus pulch rum posito cum f unere f cedus,
Sitq ue h mc pro vita pactio, velle mori.
Plebeius vig orh oc, q uivisq ueg reg ari- us h anddat :
Hoc solius h abent pectora Mauritii.
DesideranturAlcippus et Jacinth a (Poema h eroicum absolu-
tissimurn), cum multis aliis Oxonii ab Auth ore relictis.- - Note
by Henry Vaug h an.
4 57
III
THOMAS VAUGHAN AND HENRY MORE
InANTI- IROPOSOPHIA TnaomnorcnVaug h anis saidto h ave
spok endisparag ing ly of lVIore s PSYCHODIA PLATONICA. No
ref erence is of f eredto clear up th e point at issue, andI must
conf ess th at I do not k nowwh ereth e supposedallusionis f ound.
Inany case, neith erth e Cambridg e Platonist norh is book is
citedby name. Th e f act- - - if it be such - - - may account f orth e
debate wh ich f ollowed. Independently of th is I canbelieveth at
a ripesch olarandth ink erlik eHenry Moremig h t h avebeenmoved
to a h umoursome bitterness by th eattitudeof Vaug h anwh enh e
claims inANTHROPOSOPHIA "I"'1 - raorvmolca to h ave search edmore
deeply into th e centreof Natureth ansome oth erwriters on
spiritual mysteries.Af terall, th etext depends f rom auth orities
wh o were, as th ey noware, perf ectly well k nownandwidely.
His temperwouldh ave beentriedalso by th e occasional manu-
f acture of f antastic concealments, causing anatmosph ere of
articial mystery, f orVaug h anwill q uotef rom one of h is sources
up to a certainpoint andth ensug g est th at it wouldbe g oing too
f arif h e merely extendedq uotation. But wh ateverth eactuating
cause, th ere f ollowedspeedily onVaug h an s rst tracts- included
with inth e covers of a sing lesmall volume- - a criticism entitled1
Oasaavrvrrons uponANTI- IROPOSOPI- IIA THEOMAGICA and
ANIMA MAGICA ABSCONDITA. By Alaz onomastix Ph ilaleth es
. . . Printedat Parrh esia, but are to be soldby O. Pullenat th e
RoseinSt Paul s Ch urch yard. I650.A q uotationonth etitle-
pag e sh ewedth espirit of th etract : Th ey reel to andf ro, and
stag g erlik ea drunk enman, andare at th eirwit s end.- PS. I
h ave no brief inmy h ands andwish to do evenjustice. It was a
coarse periodinpolemics, f oreig nto all th e courtesies andeven
th e decency of criticism. Th eOBSERVATIONS arelarg ely of th e
natureof lampoon, andabuse does duty f orarg ument. But wh en
4 .68
ppendices
allowance h as beenmade f orth e time, it remains to addth at-
worse still- - inso f aras critical points are debated, Henry More
is not morewanting ing oodtaste th anh e is indialectical sk ill.
He is dull, f eeble andinef f ective. Th e truth is th at h e k new
noth ing of oicial occultism andwas not q ualiedto tak e h is
auth or seriously inh and, except perh aps f rom anAristotelian
standpoint, andeventh enh e was a Platonist. As reg ards
Aristotle andh is descriptionof Nature, Eug enius Ph ilaleth es is
ch alleng edontwo occasions to state wh eth erh e h as discovered
th e nak edsubstanceoressence of anyth ing .Th is it is, h ow-
ever, orth e f ailure to do th is, wh ich constitutes th e ch arg e in
ch ief of Eug enius ag ainst th e Peripatetics. It is maintained
f urth erby More th at th ese ph ilosoph ers do not, as Eug enius
states, reg ardGodas h aving made th e worldlik e a carpenter
because th ey g ive aninwardmotionto all natural bodies.
Forth erest: (I) Heridicules h is auth or s notions as to th e pre-
existenceof souls andconcerning th e parts of th e soul as derived
f rom Kabalism; h ut (2) h e says noth ing th at is worth reading
onh is ownpart. He is very h ard- - th oug h lame- - on
Vaug h an s rath erunconvincing comparison- of th eworldto an
animal, onh is cosmic dark ness, onh is views concerning th e
elements, andonh is sug g estionth at th ere couldbe anevening
anda morning inth eworldat a periodwh enit is airmedby
Vaug h anth at th e lig h t was eq ually dispensed.(4 .) He seek s
to k nowth e nature of th at lig h t wh ich alone- - according to
Vaug h an- - - canbe multipliedtruly; andth is seems pertinent, as
inANIMA Maorca ABSCONDITA th e Peripatetics are th ank edin
scornf orth eirof f ering noth ing wh enth ey explainth e operation
of th ing s but do not say wh at th ey are. (5) Wh enth e soul is
lik enedto lig h t orair, More discovers materialism, andth ereis
someg roundf orth e criticism; but th e use of th ese terms was
doubtless by way of analog y. (6) Th e metrical eulog y of
Ag rippa leads to ridiculous q uestionswh eth er Eug enius can
explainth e f lux andref lux of th e sea, th e operations of th e
lodestone, andso f orth . (7) As anexampleof Moreina mood
of comedy, h e discerns a nuninth at First Principle wh ich
is calleda pure virg in.(8) Inth e worst taste of all is an
unk indly ref erence to th e death of a broth er mentionedin
ANTI- 1 RoPosoPH1 A THEOMAGICA; but I neednot writeit h ere.
(9) Finally, th e Advertisement at th e endof th is tract, enumerat-
- +69
Th e Wort: of T/ z omas Vang / um
ing th e q ualications of anyone wh o proceeds to criticise, h as
th e benet of prolong edcensure andperh aps deserves it.
Vaug h anrepliedpromptly inTI- IE MANMOUSE, publish ed
inth e same volumeas Maura Anarvrrca, andof course presses
Scripture into h is service. Af terth e mannerof menIh ave
f oug h t with beasts is mak ing a g oodbeg inning onth e title-
pag e- - much betterth anMore h imself . Andth e tract q uotes
inits opening : Wh o is th is th at dark eneth counsel by words
with out k no'wledg e.PVaug h an, moreover, h adth e wh ole
f reedom of Alsatia inrespect of f oul lang uag e, a q ualication
wh ich appears to all th e lees anddepth s inh is laterrejoinder.
More didwh at lay with inh is measures, but h e seems to h ave
livedonth e outsk irts andto h ave beenlearning th e lang uag e
slowly. Secondinth is, h e is secondalso insk ill, andVaug h an
scores points ag ainst h im, th oug h h e tends to arrest indoing so
th e sense of some of h is ownstatements wh ich h ave been
attack edby h is critic. I must not be h eldto sug g est th at th ere
is anyth ing of real moment oneith erside of all th eribaldcon-
tentions; but Vaug h anis th e more supple antag onist inan
exceeding ly sorry bout. (I) He reminds More- as reg ards pre-
existence- - th at, according to Plato, th e k nowledg ewh ich souls
attainto inth e body is but a remembranceof wh at th ey f ormerly
k new, bef oreth ey were embodied.(2) Hedef ends h is twof old
divisionof th e soul according to Kabalism- namely, Run / 2 and
Neplm/ 2, insisting th at th ey are male andf emale; but Vaug h an
andMore seem alik e to h ave f org ottenth at th e th eosoph y of
Israel is by no means content with postulating th ese elements:
th ey are extendedinall to six. (3) He accuses h is adversary
of mistak ing analog ies f orpositions, andth is obtains ag ainst
h im, but h e does not do much onh is ownpart to redeem h is
awk wardcomparisonbetweenth eworldandananimal. (4 .) As
reg ards th e dif f usedlig h t andth eq uestionof anevening and
morning during th is conditionof th ing s, h e says th at th enig h ts
anddays of th e creative week were terrible mysterious radia-
tions of Goduponth e ch aos anddark evaporations of th e ch aos
towards God- - - wh ich may be lef t to standat its value. (5) As
to th e numberof elements th e debate evaporates inmouth ing s,
to th e credit of neith erside. (6) Th ere is perh aps no needto
say~ th at Vaug h anpasses overth e q uestionwh eth erh e h as dis-
coveredth e real nature of essences, of th at lig h t wh ich is
4 - 70
1 4 ppendice:
multiplied, nordoes h e of f erto explainth e tides andth eattrac-
tive powerof lodestone. Onth is andonoth erconsiderations
th e debate issues inwords, wh ich are th ose of declamationand
abuse.
Henry More re- enteredth e lists with THE SECOND LASH
OF ALAZQNOMASTIX . Containing a SolidandSerious Reply
to a very Uncivil Answer to certainOBSERVATIONS upon
ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA andANIMA Mnolca Asscon-
DITA. Printedby th ePrinters to th eUniversity of Cambridg e.
It was issuedwith out date, but canbe assig nedcertainly to an
early part of I651 . It bore th e f ollowing q uotations onth e
titles: Paoveaa; Heth at reproves a scorner g ets to h imself
a blot.ECCLESIASTIC: Be not proudinth edevice of th ine
ownmind, lest th y soul rendth ee as a bull.Th e tract may
be summarisedth us. ~
Th e Cambridg e Platonist (I) Complains of Eug enius Ph ila-
leth es f or h is unch ristianbitterness andinh umanrailing s,
justif ying h is ownscurrility anddenying any baseabuse;
(2) Af f irms th at h e is still benig nly af f ectedtowards E. P.,
andsig ns h imself a caref ul andvig ilant broth er; (3) Calls
h im a badch ip of th e DrFluddblock , wh o cannot dis-
ting uish abstracts f rom concretes; (4 , ) Has discoveredh is
identity andterms h im derisively Tom Vaug h anof Jesus
Colleg e, Oxf ord; (5) Describes ANTI- IROPOSOPHIA as a con-
ceitedinterpretationof Holy Writ, andclaims f orh imself th at
h e k eeps to th e nak edtruth of - Ch ristianity; (6) Af f irms
th at h e was movedto intervene by th e rash andunworth y
abuse of Descartes, wh o is mentionedonce only- - - andth en
q uite casually- - by E. P. ; (7) Expends pag es h ereon, andterms
h imself Iacaf a are/ i interra; (3) Maintains th at reminiscence
does not prove pre- existence, andcondemns E. P. s g ross
opinionof th e soul; (9) Arg ues th at substance cannot be
k nownoth erwise th anby its operations orrelations to th is and
th at, wh ich is obviously true but mak es voidseveral of h is own
previous ch alleng es- - as, e.g ., reg arding th e essence of any-
th ing ; (Io) Recurs to th at rare piece of z oog raph ywh ich
draws out th e worldinth e sh ape of ananimal, declaring th at
E. P. wouldmatch ch alk andch eese tog eth er or marry an
apple andanoyster; (I I) Proposes to proveinth e same f ash ion
th at a pair of bellows is ananimal; (I2) Rails at th e
4 - 71
T/ z e Work s - nji T/ z omas Vaug an
RosicrucianBroth erh ood, wh o wereaddressedby E. P. wh en
th ey were Godk nows wh ere, wh ile th ey will answer h im
Godk nows wh en; (I3). Explains th e Lamp of Godas th e
lig h t of reason; (1 4 ) Conf esses th at h e h as not readMAGIA
ADAMICA, wh ich appearedinth e same volume as THE
MAN- Mouse.
Vaug h anwas not slowto come f orward, andh ada mindin
THE SECOND WASH to answera f ool according to h is f olly,
but at th esametimeto justif y th e truth rath erth anh imself ,
as onewh o is conscious bef oreh andth at so f arh e h as beenmore
just th anbitter.Wh eth erh is rectitudeemerg es betweenth e
ash pits of h is lang uag eI must leave to th ose wh o f eel q ualied
f orpronouncing judg ment. Forth erest: (I) Morecannot dis-
ting uish betweenth e operations andth e essence of th e soul.
(2.) As reg ards pre- existence, bef ore th e immersioninmatter,
th e soul was a k nowing , intellig ent spirit, no evidence being
of f eredinf avourof th e postulatedantecedence. (3) Th e- .arg u-
ment is th at intellig enceis essential to th e soul, andh enceit must
needs be intellig ent bef ore andaf terincorporation; but th is is
not th eq uestionat issue until pre- existence itself is determined.
(4 , ) Respecting th e First Matterof all th ing s, Vaug h anh as
seenit andf elt it tenth ousandtimes; it is th at sperm
wh ich Godinth e beg inning of His ways createdof noth ing ,
andout of wh ich He made h eavenandearth ; it is not th ere-
f ore- as Moreproposes- a th ing preparedby Art so th at it
is t to receive any f orm wh atever.(5) Vaug h ancandis-
ting uish well enoug h betweenabstract andconcrete, but th e
pretence of More s accusationbring s f orwardsometh ing wh ich
is a Bull both inabstracts andinconcrete, andth is is th e Bull of
Basan.(6) It is More alone wh o g ives a brutish account of
th esoul of man, f orh esays th at th esoul wh ich is sensitive must
needs" be rational also andanimadversive, th e answerto wh ich
is th at a man s h ands h ave sense andyet th ey h aveno anim-
adversion.(7) Th osewh o wouldk nowth e natureof substance
must search th e centre of Nature, th e capacity f orwh ich is
beyondth edesert of More, nordoes Vaug h anclaim th e privileg e.
(8) It is not true, h owever, th at all substances canbe k nownonly
by th eiroperations, because th ereare passive substances andth ese
h ave no operations ; so th eref oreh owareth ey k nownP (9) Th e
sense of - th esoul is not th e vestment of th e soul, wh ich h erself
4 71
Alpjoem/ z 'ce.r
is th e veh icle of mind, orth e superior intellectual portion.
(9) Th esoul, according to More, is a spiritual substancewith out
corporeal dimensions, but h ath animmaterial amplitude, df latable
andcontractibley; it is th eref ore long with out leng th , and
th oug h it h ath no leng th it may be .sh ortened.(Io) Finally,
Moreis recommendedto k eep with inh is sph ere andnot to censure
th ose th ing s wh ich h e does not understand.
Th eCambridg e Platonist f oundreposeinsilence, but Vaug h an
continuedto ch erish a bitterremembrance wh ich passedinto
sporadic expressioninh is laterwork s. Th e tr- acts producedby
th e sq uabble are inef f ably repellent, andwh ere th ey touch upon
such q uestions as th e presenceof waterinth e moonandwh eth er
th e stars sh ine by lig h t ref lectedf rom th e sunit becomes dif f i-
cult to th ink th at eith erwriterh adany notions of th e universe
overwh ich it wouldbe worth wh ile to waste th e th oug h t of
a moment.
4 73
IV
ENGLISH METRICAL REMAINS
I
Tue _DEDICATION orTue CnvM1 s'r's KEY"
Th eg reedy ch eat with impureh ands may not
Attempt th is Art, noris it everg ot
By th e unlearn dandrude: th evicious mind,
To lust andsof tness g iven, it strik es stark blind.
But th e sag e, pious mind, wh o still adores
Andloves h is Mak er, andHis loveimplores ;
Wh o everjoys to search th esecret cause
Andseries of His work s, th eirloveandlaws:
Let h im drawnearandjoining will with streng th
Study th is Art inall h erdepth andleng th ;
Th eng rave experience sh all h is consort be,
Sk ill dinlarg e Nature s inmost mystery.
Th ek nots anddoubts h is busy course andcares
Will of t disturb, till timeth etruth declares,
But noblepatienceth roug h all trials past- -
Bring s th eg ladendandlong h opedf orat last.
II
OnTHE DEATH orMR WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT
So are we nowbeyondth e spleenof f ate,
Ourmiseries h ave made us f ortunate:
1 Prexedto Cartwrig h s COMEDIES, 1 651 . Hewas proctorof Oxf ord
University.
4 - 74 -
1 4 ppe72a z 'ce.r
Th eg rave was ph ysic h ere; death speak s us f ree-
Hermalice nowis spent as well as we.
Nay, nowourruindoth so much displease
Th at to strik emoreis to h era disease.
None- candeserve h erenvy ; h ercontempt
Exceeds h erf ormerang er: sh e h ath spent
No arrows but on- precious lives, andwe
Arebut th eleaving s of h ertyranny-
Such - wh om wh ensh e h ath tak enf rom th e prease-
Cannot req uiteth eexpenseof a disease.
Hef ell, a noblerruin; weth at live
Oweoursh ort lives but_toa base reprieve.
He, wh enas yet indeath h e was not lost,
Madef atesuspect h erjurisdictioncross d,
Causelearning k newno destiny : twas h e
Wh osestudies border doneternity.
Ourspeculations weretoo poorto h ave
With th ee th eeq ual g lory of a g rave,
Andsh area f airmortality th at we
Mig h t be th oug h t wise because we f ell with th ee.
Death h adth eeh ence, lest th y larg ef ancy mig h t
Intimetak ewing , andwith a saving f lig h t
Rove th ee beyondth e worldinto a state
Too h ig h , andso outrunth ereach of f ate.
Th ouwert so rich ly g ood, so g reat th at we
Th eCh urch inth eeev nat oneviewmig h t see ;
Saints th at so long possessedth eq uiet earth
Andslept out centuries wereat th y birth
Reg enerate: th ey livedag aininth ee,
Anddidoutdo th eirf ormerpiety.
Andas th eirsouls contractedinth ineown
Didth us f orestall th eresurrection,
So inth y death th ey met a secondf ate: I
Natureinth ee didrecapitulate.
So f raug h t wert th ouwith learning th at wecan
Styleth eealmost a breath ing Vatican,
A library not f ramedof stones andwood
But animateandcementedwith blood.
All arts so suf f er dinth y f all th at we
May call th y g raveanuniversity
4 75
Te Warts of Tomas Vaug / z am
Andlook oursch ools out th ere, as if th at now
Eternal Bodley diddescendbelow
To g ratif y th y dust. Oth at we mig h t
Instal th eelecturerag ainandrig h t
Th at injuredmetaph ysics, lik eto be
Eclipsedof th eirownobscurity,
Robb dof th y lig h t: andyet th ey are content
To mournth e ruinof th eirarmament.
Wh enh e didreadh owdidwe f lock to h ear:
Sure some prof essors becamepupils th ere.
He wouldreneabstractions : it was h e
Th at g ave th etext all its auth ority,
As if th e Stag yriteresig nedh is pen
Andtook h is censure, not h is comment th en.
Andth oug h with some th escienceg oes f orpelf ,
His lectures madeit to transcenditself .
He usedth e creatures as a scaleto storm
Th espiritual world, andth oug h twas torn
Andbrok enwith uncertainties, yet h e-
By reason, as by f aith - - a Deity
Couldappreh endandreach . Th us h aving traced
Th esesecondary th ing s, h is soul made h aste
To viewth e Cause andth enbeg anto plod,
Noth ing being lef t to puz z leh im but God,
Wh osemysteries h e reach d, as f aras h e
Of h is g reat self h admadediscovery.
Heplunder dnot th eh eavens, norbroug h t h e down
Secrets f rom th encewh ich were bef ore unk nown;
Yet some th ereare believeth eirwits so ripe
Th at th ey candrawa map of th eArch type,
Andwith strang e optics tutor dth ey canview
Th eemanations of th emystic Jew.
Inth is h is pious ig norance was best
Anddidexcel h is k nowledg eof th erest.
But h e is g one andProvidencetook h im
To addto h eavenanoth erch erubim.
Th is to ourtears may ministerrelief :
Tis th is pref erment th at does causeourg rief .
4 75
ppendz k e:
III
UPON "rue Fottowmo Poems
I writenot h ere as if th y last instore
Of learnedf riends ; tis k nownth at th ouh ast more
VVh o- - wereth ey toldof th is- wouldnda way
To raisea g uardof poets with out pay,
Andbring as many h ands to th y edition
As th City sh ouldunto th eirMay r s petition.
But th ouwouldst noneof th is, lest it sh ouldbe
Th y musterrath erth anourcourtesy.
Th ouwouldst not beg as k nig h ts do andappear
Poet by voiceandsuf f rag eof th esh ire:
Th at wereenoug h to mak e my Museadvance
Among st th e crutch es ; nay, it mig h t enh ance
Ourch arity, andwesh ouldth ink it t
Th eStatesh ouldbuildanh ospital f orwit.
But h ere needs no relief : th y rich erverse
Creates all poets th at canbut reh earse,
Andth ey- - - - lik etenanits better dby th eirland- -
Sh ouldpay th eerent f orwh at th ey understand.
Th ouart not of th at lamentablenation
Wh o mak e a blessedalms of approbation,
Wh osef ardel- notes arebrief s ineveryth ing '
But th at th ey are not licensedby th ek ing .
With out such scape- req uests th oudost come f orth
Arm d- - th oug h I speak it- with th y properworth
Andneedest not th is noiseof f riends, f orwe
Writeout of love, not th y necessity.
Andth oug h th is sullenag e possessedbe
With some strang e desamourto poetry,
Yet I suspect- - th y f ancy so delig h ts-
Th ePuritans will turnth y proselytes,
Andth at th y f lame- - wh enonce abroadit sh ines-
Will bring th eeas many f riends as th ouh ast lines.
1 Prexedto Henry Vaug h an s OLOR ISCANUS, 1 651 .
4 77
I
V
IN SUMMUM VIRUM THOMAM BODLEIUM,
EQUITEM AURATUM, BIBLIOTHECEEOX ONI-
ENSIS STRUCTOREM MAGNIFICUM1
Sancta Anima, et tam sancta simul salveto f avilla,
Sitq ue semel cineris f as meminuissetui.
Instructorcteliet stellarum pleniorordo,
Quisporadas pertenonnis astra f ore.
QuippeLares libris vel ritevag antibus addis
Et coelurn, q uo sint sydera xa, cluis.
Nos vitam ut patres larg imurf atibus, at tu
Quo vitam h anc posssint viveresolus h abes.
Hospitium ag noscunt Artes ; h ic q uwlibet intrat
Post obstetrices, nec pereg rina, manus.
Scsena tog a, doctiq uecapax paneg yris orbis
Et mare, vel potius pleniorunda mari.
Concursus Geniorum et meta extrema Lycasi,
Quo nullum nisisit sanctius, iret opus.
Syllabus Heroum, rnentisq ueomniscia proles,
Est h sec et sensuth eca animata suo.
Bodleiilaus ampla, et f usiorurna sepulti,
Qua vitam invenit mors sua, morsq uenecem.
Hinc se f racta f ug m dedit, absumptisq uesag ittis
Implevit vacuas sola ph aretra manus.
Pax tibivox nulla est: satag is dum condereMusam
Fecisti, q uodnonnoverit illa loq ui.
Pium est ag noscere per
Quos prof ecisti.
1 Prexedto LUMEN DE LUMINE.
4 78
VI
COMMENDATORY VERSES
PREFIX ED OR APPENDED TO THE WRITINGS OF
THOMAS VAUGHAN
I
To Hrs EVER I- Ionounao FRIEND, THE
LEARNED Aurnoa
(Appendedto ANIMA IVIAGICA Aascounrrn)
Sir:
Yourbook nownish d, let a sh allowerpen
Addth ese f ewdrops to yourvast ocean-
Not by my sh adowing praise t eclipseth eg lory
Of yourh ig h worth . Th is book must tell th at story
To truth - believing souls, wh ose eag le eyes
Canpenetrateth eseh iddenmysteries. l
But you- - - th rice- h onour dSir- - my g rovelling mind
Haveraisedto h ig h erpitch , to tell h owk ind,
Howrare a f riend; h owdear, h owch oicea treasure
My f ates h ave bless dme with , above th e measure
Of vulg arth oug h t : h owth is divinerray
Of yourbrig h t soul wouldll with clearest day
Th edark en dworld, didnot earth - sh adowing mist-
With th ick est clouds- - h eaven s inuenceresist.
But wh o f rom envy s sordidmire
Is wash d, is cladinpureattire
Of innocence, a lig h t sh all see-
Unth rall df rom error s soph istry- -
Will k indleth at mag netic re
Wh ich sh all concentrewilddesire,
4 79
T/ z e Wards of Th omas Vaug / z an
Andx th eroving th oug h ts inone
InveterateTRI- UNION.
He ll th endisdainth eslimy earth ,
A h ousetoo meanf ornoble birth :
His h eaven- raisedsoul will th enaspire
To beara part inth ang el s ch oir.
DearSir, f are well. Let seek ers th irsty f lames,
Ref resh dby th eseyoursoul- reviving streams,
Ech oyourpraise, with th ank f ul eulog ies
Yourever- living name immortalise.
Sir,
Yourownbeyondexpresses,
' ' H. B.
II
OnTI- IE AuTnoR s VINDICATION AnnREPLY T0 THE
Scunvv, SCRIBBLING Scotomo, ALA'2:oNoMAs'r1 x
(Prexedto Maom ADAMICA)
Twas well h e didassault th ee, orth y f oe
Couldnot h ave h it to th y advantag e so.
Wh at h e styles ig noranceis depth insense:
Heth ink s th ereis no sk ill but commonsense.
HadBaconlivedinth is unk nowing ag e
Andseenexperiencelaug h dat onth estag e,
Wh at Tempests wouldh ave riseninh is blood
To side anart wh ich Natureh ath made g ood.
I O I I l I
Great, rare Eug enius, do not th oudelay
Th y course because th is dirt lies inth y way.
Stainth y wh itesk inf oronce, andbe th ounot
Surprisedlik eermines by th e daubing plot.
Mount to th y f ull meridian; let th y star
Createa rubric to th y calendar;
Andwe will of f eranth ems to th y sh rine
So long as date cang ivea nameto time.
P. B., A.M. Oxoniens.
4 80 7
1 4 ppendices
N.B - - - I h aveomittedth eabusivecouplets ref erring especially
to Henry More, andsh all tak e th e same course inth e excerpts
wh ich f ollow. Th ey are disg racef ul, lik e th e controversy itself ,
anddestituteof th eleast interest at th is day.
III
IBID
(Prexedto Tna Sscono Wasn)
But th ou, admiredEug enius, wh oseg reat arts
Sh ineaboveenvy andth ecommonarts ;
Th ouk into ang els andsuperiorlig h ts,
A spark of th ef irst re; wh ose eag le f lig h ts
Tradenot with earth andg rossness, but do pass
To th e pure h eavens andmak eth y Godth y g lass,
InWh om th ouseest all f orms andso dost g ive
Th eserare discoveries, h owth ing s moveandlive:
Proceedto mak e th y g reat desig ncomplete
Andlet not th is loath edMooreourh opes def eat.
Sh ak eof f th eeclipse, th is dark , intruding veil
Wh ich wouldf orcenig h t uponus andentail
Th esameg ross ig norance- - inwh osesh ades h e
Hath lost h imself - onourposterity.
Down, all youstaleimpostures, castles rear d
Inth airandg uardedby th y reverendbeard,
Brat of Nich omach us. I will no more
Bowto th y h oary h andf ul noradore.
Th y tyrant text ; but by th is dawning lig h t,
Wh ich streams uponmeth roug h th y th ree- pilednig h t,
Pass to th e East of truth , till I may see
Man s rst f airstate, wh ensag e simplicity,
Th edoveandserpent, innocent andwise,
Dwelt inh is breast andh einParadise.
Th eref rom th eTreeof Knowledg eh is best boug h s
I ll pluck a g arlandf orEug enius brows,
Wh ich to succeeding times f ame sh all beq ueath e,
With th is most just applause- Great Vaug h an s wreath .
H.M. Oxon.
4 81 31
T/ z e Work s cf T/ z omas Vang / ran
IV
IBID
(Prexedto THE Sscono Wasn)
Hail, g reat Eug enius, look wh at f orceyouh ad
To windandturnyouradversary mad.
Faith , I ll petitionf orh im : will yoube
But mercif ul andcureh is leth arg y i
I l II
Th eworlddoth see
Eug enius learning andth y f oolery.
Th eweig h ts youput uponh im do at best
Speak h im but palm ; h e cannot be oppress d,
Forag ainst virtueth ereis no success:
Youmak e h im more wh enyouwouldmak e h im less.
4 .39.
P. B., A.M. Oxonicnsis
VII
THE LATIN LETTER OF THE FRATRES
ROSEZE CRUCIS
TranslatedinLumends Luniinr
Unusq uisq ue natura desyderat esse Dux, h abere aureos et
arg enteos th esauros, et mag nus videri coram mundo. Deus
autem h az c omnia creavit, ut h omo iis utatur, eorumq ue sit
dominus, et ag noscat inillis sing ularem us bonitatem ct omni-
potentiam, Ipsi g ratias ag at, Eum h onoret et laudet. Nemo
autem vult h aec omnia nisi otiosis diebus, et nullo labore ct
periculo prz eeunte conq uirere, neq ue ex loco co conseq ui, inq uo
Deus illa posu_erit; etiamq ue vult ut q umrantur, et q umrentibus
dabit. Nemo vero vult sedem sibi inillo loco q uz erere, et
propterea etiam noninveniuntur. Siq uidem a long o tempore
via et locus adh aec incog nitus est, et maximwparti absconditus.
Etiamsi vero locum et viam dif iicile et laboriosum sit invenire,
locus tamenest investig andus. Cum vero Deum coram suis nih il
absconditum velit, ideo inh oc ultimo saeculo anteq uam Judicium
extremum veniat, dig nis h mc omnia sunt revelanda: uti(obscure
tamensatis ne manif esta ant indig nis) inq uodam loco inq uit:
Nih il est absconditum q uodnonl V lCtl.1 I .1 Nos ig iturA Spiritu
_Dei_acti, h anc , Dei voluntatem mundo lannunciamus, uti etiam
indiversis ling uis it nobls f actum et publicatum est. Istam vero
publicationem aut majorpars calumniatur, aut.contemn1 tur, , aut
sine Deo promissa ejus penes nos q umrit, existimans nos illos
statim_doct_uros, q uo modo AururnCh imicum_sit prmparandum,
aut 1 lllS af lerre mag nos th esauros, q uibus possint coram mundo
pompose vivete, superbire, bella g eriere, lucra exercere, h elluari,
potare, incontinentervivere, et inaliis peccatis vitam commacu-
lare; q uz e tamenomnia contraria sunt voliintatiIpsius Dei. Hi
1 STMs'r'r., ii, 26.
4 33
T/ z e Wares of T/ wmas Vaug an
exempla capere debebant a decem virg inibus illis (q uarum q uinq ue
stolidtes prudentibus oleum petebant) esse multumaliam rationem,
dum nimirum opus sit, ut q uilibet proprio laboreet - studio inDeo
idconseq uatur. Nos tamenillorum sociorum animos ex sing ulari
teci g ratia ct revelatione, etiam ex ipsorum scriptis ag noscimus,
aures nostras obturamus, et q uasi nutibus nos obducimus, ne
ipsorum boatus et ejulatus audiamus, q ui invanum aurum
clamant. Atq ue h inc t etiam q uodmultum calumniarum et
convitiorum contra nos ef f undunt, q um noncuramus, sedDeus
suo temporejudicabit.
Postq uam vero nos vestrum duorum dilig entiam et sedulitatem,
q uam invera cog nitione Dei et lectione sacrorum bibliorum
impenditis, jampridem (q uamvis vobis inscientibus) benescivimus,
etiam ex vestro ag novimus scripto, Nos etiam vos prae multis aliis
millibus responso aliq uo dig nari voluimus, et vobis h oc sig nicare
ex permissuDeiet Spiritus Sanctiadmonitione.
Est Mons situs inmedio terrw, vel centro orbis, q ui est parvus
et mag nus, est mollis, etiam supra modum durus et saxosus, est
unicuiq uepropinq uus et long inq uus, sedex consilio Deiinvisibilis.
Ineo sunt maximi th esauri absconditi, q uos mundus numerare
nonpotest. Qui Mons, ex invidia diaboli (q ui omni tempore
Dei g loriam et f mlicitaternh ominis impedit) multum trucibus
animalibus et aliis avibus rapacibus circumdatus est, q uie viam
h ominireddunt dif cilem et periculosam, et propterea h uc usq ue
etiam (q uia tempus nondum est) ea via nec dum ab omnibus
q umri potuit, aut inveniri. Nunc vero a dig nis (interim proprio
cujusq uelabore) via invenienda est. Adh unc Montemitenocte
q uadam (cum ea sit) long issima et obscurissim, et prteparate
vosmetipsos perdeles precationes. Insistite inviam ubi Mons
sit inveniendus. Qumriteautemex nemineubivia sit invenienda,
sedseq uimini delitervestrum Ductorem, q ui se vobis sistet et
initinere vos of iendet: vos vero illum nonag noscetis. Hic
media .nocte, cum omnia tranq uilla et obscura sunt, vos ad
Montem adducet, sednecesse est ut vos prmmuniatis ariimo
mag no et h eroico, ne ref ormidetis ea, q uae vobis occurrent et
recedatis. Nullo g ladio corporali indig etis, nec aliis armis, sed
Deum solummodo invocate syncere, et ex animo. Postq uam
vidistis Montem, primum miraculum q uodprocedet h oc est.
Veh ementissimus et maximus ventus, q ui Montem commovebit
et rupes discutiet. Tunc vobis se of f erent leones et dracones,
+84
ppendices
er alia terribilia animalia, sednih il h ac ref ormidate. Estote
stabiles, et cavate ne recedatis; nam vesterConductor, q ui vos
conduxit, nonpermittet ut aliq uidrnali vobis at. Verum
th esaurum nondum est detectus, sedvalde propinq uus. Hunc
ventum seq uiturterrae motus, q ui absolvet ea q ua ventus reliq uit,
et mq uabit ea. Cavcte tamenne recedatis. Post terrm motum
seq ueturig nis maximus, q uiomnem terrestrem materiam consumer,
et th esaurum deteg et: vos vero eum videre neq uitis. - Verum
post h :- sec omnia, et f erme circa tempus matutinum erit tran-
q uillitas mag na et amica, et videbitis Stellam Matutinam ascendere
et Auroram assug ere; et mag num th esaurum animadvertetis.
Penes q uem praecipuum et exactissimum est summa q uadam
tinctura, q ua mundus (si Deo placeret ct taiitis donis dig nus
esset) possit ting iet insummum aurum converti. S
Hac tinctura utentes "uti vos docuerit vesterConductor, vos
q uamvis senes, reddet juvenes, et innullo membro animadvertetis
ullum morbum. Penes h anc tincturaminvenietis etiam marg aritas,
q uas ne q uidem licet excog itare. Vos vero nih il capietis pro
autoritatevestra, sedsitis contenti cum eo q uodvobis Conductor
communicabit. Deo semperg ratias ag ite pro h oc, et summam
curam intendite, ne coram mundo superbiatis, seddono h oc recte
utirnini, et inea impendite q use mundo sunt contraria, et ita
possidere q uasi nonh aberetis. Ducite viam temperat_am, et
cavete ab omni g enere peccati, aliog ui h ic vesterConductora
vobis se divertet, et privabimini h ac f mlicitate. Scitote enim
h oc deliter. Qui tinctura h ac abutituret nonvivit exemplari-
ter, pure ct syncerecoram h ominibus, benecium h oc amittet, et
parum spei restabit q uo iterum idreciperepossit, E3 c. "
- +85
VIII
APHORISMI MAGICI EUGENIANI
(VeritaiPrimeest / nec : h aeretiam ultimo)
I
Anteomnia punctum extitit- - non1 '8 drouovaut math ematicuin,
seddif f usivurn. Monas erat explicite, implicite myrias. Lux
erat, erat et nox, principium et nis prineipii, omnia et nih il,
est et non.
II
Commovit se Monas induade, et pertriadem eg ressm sunt
f acies luminis secundi.
_ III
Exivit ig nis simplex, increatus, et sub aq uis induit se teg umento
ig nis multiplicis creati.
IV
Respexit adf ontem superiorem et inf eriorem, deducto typo,
triplicivulta sig illavit.
V
Creavit unum Unitas, ct intria distinxit Trinitas. Est et
q uaternarius, nexus et medium reductionis.
VI
Ex visibilibus primum ef f ulsit aq ua, f oemina incubantis ig nis
et g urabilium g ravida mater. _
1 Th ese Aph orisms were adoptedapparently by Th omas Vaug h anand
arenot h is ownexcog itation. I remembermeeting with th eminanearlier
printedbook by anoth erauth or, wh om I am unableto identif y now.
4 86
Af pperz dice:
VII
Porosa erat interius et corticibus varia; cujus venter h abuit
ccelos convulutos et astra indiscreta.
VIII
SeparatorArtif ex divisit h anc inamplas reg iones, et- apparcnte
f oetu- - disparuit mater.
I ix
Peperit tamenmaterlios lucidos, inf luentes interrainCh ai.
X
Hi g enerant matrem innovissimis, cujus f ons cantat inluco
miraculoso.
X I
Sapientim Condus est h ic: esto q ui potes Promus.
X II
Pater est totius creati, et ex lio creato per vivam lii
analysinPater g enerator. Habes summum g enerantis circuli
mysterium. Filiilius est, q ui liiPaterf uit.
4 37
IX
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WRITINGS OF
THOMAS VAUGHAN
Reproducing th e Titf o- pag eof oar/ 2- wort ororig inally printed
I
ANTHROPOSOPHIA THEOMAGICA ; Ora Discourseof th e Nature
of Man- andh is State af ter Death ; g roundedonh is
Creator's Proto- Ch emistry andveriedby a Practical
Examinationof Principles inth e Great World. By
Eudaivius PI- IILALETI- IES. Many sh all runto andf ro
andk nowledg esh all beincreased.- - - DANIEL, xii, 4 .. Audi
Ig nf s Vocom.- - ZOROASTER inOrac. London: Printedby
T. W. f orH. Blundenat th e Castle inCornh ill. I650.
pp. xvi|70.
II
ANIMA MAGICA Asscouorra; Ora Discourse of th e Uni-
versal Spirit of Nature, with h is strang e, abstruse, miraculous
Ascent andDescent. By EUGENIUS PI- IILALETHES. Est
autem aaioz rsam rpoca/ am anam, adq uodastam amor, mam
ijf ormat ido/ am.- - Stapul. inDION. Dda Dig on: Heb
Dh f l, Heb Dh im. London: Printedby T. W. f orH. B.
1 650. pp. xiv+57.
III
MAoIA ADAMICA ; Orth eAntiq uity of Mag ic andth e Descent
th ereof f rom Adam downwardproved: Wh ereunto is added
a perf ect andf ull Discovery of th e TrueCCELUM TERRJE,
orth e Mag ician s Heavenly Ch aos andFirst Matterof all
Th ing s. By EUGENIUS PHILALETI- IES. Eyd: di1 - f ; 6'oi.i7\o-
I 4 .88
ppendices
par: xarapatieivTz iyvg btiaz vKai 'r'a1 i":'r7'rreo'6lat.- l1 iPIcT. in
Enrh irid. London: Printedby T. W. f orH. Blundenat
th e CastleinCornh ill. I650. pp. xxxiv- |~ 1 4 .0.
Th ere is no separate title f orCCELUM TERRJE, wh ich
beg ins with a f resh parag raph at line 4 . of p. 78, andth e
distinctionbetweenth etwo texts is sh ewnth ereaf terby th e
h eadlines.
IV
Ins MAN- MOUSE TA1 - { EN IN A TRAP, andtorturedto death
f or Gnawing th e Marg ins of EUGENIUS PHILALETI- IE3.
E1 merum canrrurUtrysm. . . . Af terth e mannerof men
I h ave f oug h t with beasts at Eph esus.- - - CoR., xv, 32. I
k nowmy rewardis calumny.- - ANTHROP. THEO.- MAG.)
p. 27. PrintedinLondonandsoldat th e CastleinCorn-
h ill. I650. pp. iv- |- I1 6.
Th is tract was issuedinth e same volumewith MAGIA
ADAMICA andits dedicatory epistleto MrMath ewHarbert
f ollowedth e dedicationof th at work to MrTh omas
Hensh aw. Th e errata of MAGIA ADAMICA precededth e
errata of THE MAN- MOUSE, immediately af terth etitle- leaf
of th elatter.
V
LUMEN DE LUMINE: Ora NewMag ical Lig h t, discoveredand
communicatedto th eY/ Vorld. By EUGENIUS PI- IILALETHES.
AndGodsaid, Let th ere be lig h t.GENEsIs, i, 3.
Andth e lig h t sh ineth inth e dark _ness.ST J01 - 1 N, i, 5.
Nelaq uaris Deo asq ue f amine.- PYTHAG. London. Printed
f orH. Blundel at th e Castle inCornh ill. 1 651 . pp. xvi
+1 01 .
VI T
THE SECOND WASH: Orth eMoorescouredonce more, being
a Ch aritable Cure f orth e Distractions of Alaz onomastix.
By Euoamus PHILALETHES. Laripedz m mrtus deridmt
/ ETHIOPEM Aldus. London: Printedby T. W. and
are (sir) to be soldat th e Castle inCornh ill. 1 651 .
pp. xiv+88.
Th is tract was issuedwith LUMEN DE LUMINE andat
th eendappearth e errata of both texts.
4 99
T/ 2e Work s of T/ z emas Vaug mz
vn
AULA LUCIS, orTh e Houseof Lig h t. A Discoursewrittenin
th e yearI651 . By S. N., a ModernSpeculator. Hic locus
est, q uem (si werbis audacia deter) / mudtimeam mag ni dixim
palatia cwli. London. Printedf orWilliam Leak eandare
to be soldat h is Sh op, at th e Sig nof th e CrowninFleet
Street, betweenth etwo TempleGates. I652. pp. x- |- 50.
Th eletters S. N. are th e nals of Th omas Vaug h an, and
th ere is no q uestionth at th ework is h is. It was included
by Henry Vaug h aninth e list of h is broth er s writing s sent
to Anth ony a I/ Voodf orinclusionin/ f f f lec Oxanienses.
Moreover, th e style andch aracteristic notions testif y un-
mistak ably concerning it.
VIII
THE FAME AND CONFESSION OF THE FRATERNITY orR. C.,
commonly, of th e Rosie Cross. With a Pref ace annexed
th ereto, anda Sh ort Declarationof th eirPh ysical Work .
By Euoenws PHILALETHES. mi rydp K5960; @ i q , mi- re
waded , , tu_- rs avrtaeiva- &. w.]ar h - apudPHILOs'rR = v1 "-
Veritas inpr_.:yimd0. London. Printedby M. f orGiles
Calvert, at th e Black SpreadEag le at th e West endof
Paul s. I652. pp. lxix+64 ..
Th etranslationof th e FAME AND CONFESSION belong s
to anunk nownh and, as statedinth e Address entitled
Th ePublish erto th e Reader.Vaug h ancontributed(a)
th e Address inq uestion5 (6) th e Epistleto th eWise and
Understanding Reader; (c) A Sh ort Advertisement to
th e Reader, being th e coloph onto th e wh ole work ; and
(d) th elong discourseentitledTh ePref ace.
IX
EUPHRATES, onTHE Warsas or"rue Easr; Being a sh ort
Discourseof th at Secret Fountainwh oseWaterf lows f rom
Fireandcarries init th e beams of th e SunandMoon. By
Euoemus PI- IILALETHES. Er dixirDeus, cujus Namm
sanctiretur.' Fecimus ex / { q ua omnem rem.- - SADITH ex Lib.
Sacra. I London. Printedf or Humph rey Moseley at th e
4 - 9
1 4 ppez z dices
Princes Arms inSt Paul s Ch urch yard. 1 655. pp. xiv
+1 24 .
_ X
THALIA REDIVIVA; th e Pass- Times andRecreations of a
Country- - Muse inCh oice Poems onSeveral Occasions.
With some LearnedRemains of th e Eminent EUGENIUS
PHILALETHES. Nevermade publick till now. 1 678.
Th eMotto onth e rst titleis f rom Verg il: Ne: eriair
sylva: h abitara T/ z alia ; onth e secondf rom Horatius:
Quipraeg ravarartz s Inf ra re pasita. Th e dedicationto th e
Marq uis of Worcester is Sig nedW. andth e sh ort
Address to th e Readeris sig nedI. W. Th e f irst be-
long s to both work s, as it mentions th ese twinpoets, but
th e pref ace speak s only of th e Auth or.Th ere is a
separate title to th e remains of E. P. as f ollows: EUGENII
PI- IILALETI- IIS ViriImig nissimi at Paetarum sui saaruli merits
priacipis Vessrusanus sxr CYNTHIA, s c. I678. Th ese
Remains of Th omas Vaug h anoccupy sixteenpag es and
containnoth ing inEng lish .
ATTRIBUTED WORKS
I
THE CHvM1 s"r s KEY TO SHUT AND TO OPEN, orth e True
Doctrine of Corruptioni andGeneration, inTenBrief
Aph orisms, illustratedwith most f aith f ul Commentaries out
of th e pure Lig h t of Nature. Publish edby EUGENIUS
PHILALETI- IES. Printedby E. B. f orL. Lloyd, at th e
CastleinCornh ill. I657.
I am indebtedto th e Rev. A. B. Grosart s editionof th e
WORKSof Henry Vaug h an, FullerWorth ies Library, 4 . vols.,
1 868, f e, f orth ef ull title. Itis rst mentionedby Anth ony
a WoodinATHENIE Oxomansns, and- is saidto bea transla-
tionmade by Th omas Vaug h an. As such , it h as no title
to beincludedinaneditionof h is writing s. It is exceed-
ing ly rare, andI h ave beenunableto consult a copy, eith er
inth e British Museum orelsewh ere inourpublic libraries.
Th ef ollowing points sh ouldbe noted: (I) MrGrosart g ives
th e date of publicationas I657, but according to Woodit
4 - 91
Te Work s q f T/ z omas Vaug / um
appearedinI655, orth e same yearas EUPI- IRATEs. (2)
MrGrosart seems almost indubitably to h ave reproduced
th e title f rom a copy inh is possessionorf rom one wh ich
passedth roug h h is h ands; but Wooddescribes it as THE
CI~ IYM1 s"r s KEY T0 OPEN AND SHUT, th us reversing th e
wording . (3) According to Grosart s title it mig h t be an
orig inal work , unless th econtrary is impliedinth estatement
publish edby Eug enius Ph ilaleth es.(4 ) Th eDICTIONARY
orNATIONAL BIOGRAPHY says th at th eauth or: was Nollius,
andas I h ave no doubt th at th is is correct, I appendth e
f ollowing bibliog raph ical particulars. (5) Inadditionto oth er
work s, Heinrich Nolle was th e auth or of (a) SYSTEMA
Mederinm HermrrirreGenera/ e, 1 61 3; (5) METHODUS Mata-
plz ysici Systrmatis . . . Canonibus i/ / astrata, I61 35 (r)
NATURE: SANCTUARIUM . . . inandarim / ibrz }rracrata,
tma ram daa / f ppendices, i.e., Pansap/ z ias Fandamentam at De
LapidePh ilarapf z aram QaataarTrarratus, I61 5 ; (d) TI- IEORIA
Ph z 'lmp/ z ire Hermetz 'c.e= , I61 7; (e) DE Mernono Medandi
Harmetira, I61 8; VIA Sapimtz i.- :e - Trz iz ma, I620. (6) A
portionof one of th esework s was translatedunderth etitle
of HERMETICAL Pnvsrcrt, orth e Rig h t Way to Preserve
andRestore Health , I655, by Henry Vaug h anth e Silurist,
Th e two broth ers must h ave beenmuch impressedby
Nollius, as both were concernedwith cloth ing h im inan
Eng lish vesture.
II
A BRIEF NATURAL HISTORY, intermixedwith a variety of Ph ilo-
soph ical Discourses andObservations uponth e Burning s of
Mount Etna. With Ref utations of such Vulg arErrors as
ourmodernAuth ors h ave omitted. By EUGENIUS PHILA-
LET}- IES. London: Printedf orSamuel Smelt, next doorto
th e Castle nearMoor- Gate. 1 669.
Woodsays : By th e lang uag eof it, it seems not to be
writtenby our Eug enius Ph ilaleth es but anoth er; and
besides, wh enOlorI'scanus- - - i.e., Henry Vaug h an- sent
mea catalog ueof h is broth er s work s, th etitleof th at book
was not put among th em.I h ave examinedth etext care-
f ully andaccept Wood s conclusion. It dif f ers inmanner
andstyle f rom Vaug h an s writing s andis q uite tolerant
4 92
/ 4 1 9pent/ ices
respecting Aristotle. Th ere are allusions to many auth ors
wh o are not ref erredto inth ek nownwriting s of Vaug h an,
andabove all th ere is no occultism, explicit orimplied.
Th e"orig inal Eug enius Ph ilaleth es was of course deadin
I669, according to h is story, andth ere was noth ing to pre-
vent a newauth oradopting th e pseudonym, as was done
af terwards by Robert Samberandtwo orth ree unimportant
writers.
III'
Hask ett andLaing catalog uea work called_ THE RETORT. By
th eAuth or.London: I 761 . Th ey ascribeit to Th omas
Vaug h an, g iving no reasonandno f urth erparticulars. I
h ave f ailedto nda copy, andinth eabsenceof all evidence,
eith erinth e titleoroth erwise, th eattributionto Vaug h an
of a work publish edmore th ana century af terh is death
must be set aside- - provisionally at least.
4 - 93
INDEX
Abel, I4 7. Arnoldus de Villa Nova, I88, 2o4 ,
Abirnelech , I 56.
21 1 .326.327.377-
Abrah am, 4 8, 1 57. A s b' f 6 ' f
Abrah am th eJew, I72at sag .
Adam. 4 9. 59. 87. 1 1 5.1 39.1 4 1 1 . I4 5.
I4 8: I50: I55: 1 591 2261 321 -
Adamic Earth , 27.
Ag ent, Universal, I93; FirstAg ent,
24 .
Ag rippa, Cornelius, Io, II, 25, 27,
Sc- F53: 55: 59: 66! 67: 68: 69! 70:
71 , 88, 9o, 93, I07, IIO, III, I1 7,
1 32. I35. 1 37. 1 53. 21 4 .225.1 552.
3_77-
Ah isamach , I53.
I't- - L1 _]BC't0, 1 , 0 Fire, 62;
its Secret, 77; Principle of , 87;
understanding of , 93; Mercury
of , 94 ; Placeof Attainment, I08;
HiddenEarth of , I29; Key of ,
I35, 32o; Revealedto Adam,
I52; Masters of , I58 ; its Trans-
mission, I6o; Misf ortunes of ,
I62; Votaries of , 2'32; Great
Secret of , 285, 368 ; Subtleties of ,
377; its Articial Principles, 4 02;
Art of Solution, .4 1 7; Warning ,
4 39-
Ah oliab, I53. ' Arteph ius, Io9.
AinSoph , 269. Asenath , I84 .
Albertus Mag nus, 205, 4 34 . Astrolasms, 256.
Alch emy, 385. Aug ustine, St, 86.
Aleph , Dark , I 5 ; Brig h t, I 5 ; Aurelius, Marcus, z oo.
Created, - 27; Great andLittle, Avicebron, 4 8.
27. Avicenna, 4 8.
Alipili, 31 9. Az oth , I96, 4 02, 4 1 7.
Alk ind, I4 8.
Almadir, 281 . Bacon, Francis, 31 5.
Amelius, 56. Bacon, Rog er, 6, 7, 4 1 4 .
Anaxag oras, 291 . Barach ias Abenesi, I82.
Apollonius, 34 8 at seq . Basil Valentine, 266, 4 33.
Apuleius, 24 . BembineTable, I84 .
Aq uaster, 299. Benjamin, 1 6o.
Aq uinas, St Th omas, 7. BernardTrevisan, 326.
ArabianElixir, 3o4 . Bez aleel, I53.
Arch etypal Moon, I39. Bjnah , 295.
Arch etype, II2. BiI1 3.I'1 I.1 S, 28, 8o, 87, 93, 359.
Arias Montanus, 33. 35. Bovillus, II8.
Arig tobulus, 1 Bf id Of GOII, 86.
Aristotle, 6, 7, 8, 9, 2o, 25, 36, 4 1 , I Brideof th eSun, 94 , 31 1 .
4 9. 59. 59. 73. 74 . 75. 79. 83. 85.
1 35, 1 26, I30, 1 31 , I33, I34 , I63, CainandAbel, 1 4 7, 1 55, I56.
1 64 , 1 36, I88, 1 97, 229, 263, 264 , I Campanella, 8.
276. 279. 299. 34 5. 34 6. 34 8. 396. Candle9f God. 299-
4 9I.4 1 3.4 I4 .4 I5.4 1 9- I C= 1 99tM9rwum.94 .1 = 7-
4 94
Index
Ch aos- - r'.:., Primeval Limbus, 1 8;
Ph ilosoph ical, 204 , 227; as Virg in
Water, 21 4 ; Practice on, 21 7;
Eth erof , 300; Creationof , 366;
Secondary Sperm, 4 00.
Ch ariot of th e_Soul, 4 27.
Ch emia, 95.
Ch ok mah , 295.
Ch rist, unionwith , 34 ; Gif t of , 36;
th eReconciler, 4 5 ; Death of , 57;
Descent into Hell, 58; Healing
powerof , 81 ; th e True Founda-
tion, 86; Bloodof , 1 33, I4 9; th e
Great Restorative, 1 50 ; His
miracles, I54 ; th eSecondPerson,
296; Incarnationof , 302; Re-
conciliationin, 392. Aisa 56, 83,
1 1 3.1 36. I35. 1 4 6. I56.I74 .1 77.
24 1 .
Ch ristendom, no communionin, 6.
Ch urch , 1 35, 21 4 .
Cig og nes, 66.
Clearch us, I85.
Cyrus, 391 .
DamasceneEarth , I64 .
Damascus andDamcar, 34 1 .
Damis, 361 at sag .
Daniel, 1 58.
Death , 52.
Delrio, 66.
Democritus, I86, 4 1 7.
Denarius, 80.
Descartes, 1 1 8.
D Espag net, Jean, 1 1 7.
Diana, 355.
Dionysius th e Areopag ite, 1 3, 37,
_38.53.54 .394 -
Dioscorus, 1 86
Dissolvent of Metals, 386.
Duad, 306.
Duenech , 4 1 7.
Enoch , I06.
Esdras, I2, 1 3, 21 , 26, 56, 1 06, 1 4 2,
1 66. '
Eug enius, Pope, 1 67.
Euph orbus, I83.
Euxenus, 362.
Ez ek iel, I1 3.
Fabre, Pierre]ean, 378.
Fall of Man, Io, I78, 369, 393.
Ficinus, 358.
Fire, 1 6, 301 , 30o, 4 21 .
Flamel, Nich olas, 1 72at 4 29., 285.
Fludd, Robert, 55.
Form, 74 .
GalenandGalenists, 1 9, 4 9, 5o, 61 ,
74 . 1 53. 229. 4 1 4 . 4 39-
Geber, 286, 325.
Georg ius Venetus, 1 6, I37.
Godmanplantedin, 1 0; Man
- not th e immediate work of , II;
Meditationof , I3; Essential
Mystery of , I5; GodandFirst
Matter, 25 ; ' th e Preserver, 29,
1 1 4 , 1 53, 4 28_; Th rone of , 31 , 4 0,
81 ; Manun1 tedto, 38, 4 3; God
andNatl- 1 1 - 6: 4 9> 84 : 93: 3921 395 i
not absent f rom His creatures,
82; Visible andinvisible, 1 29;
a Supernatural Sun, 1 30; Un-
f olding of , 1 34 ; Is th elig h t, 1 4 1 ;
as Creator, 1 93, 259; Contains
all inHimself , 21 8; Art of , 268,
4 1 7; Ernanations f rom, 292;
Seal of , 320; Heavenof , 4 03;
Godth e Fath er, 1 4 , 26, 27, 28.
See also s.v. Ch rist, Holy Gh ost,
andHoly Trinity.
Halith eArabian, 258.
Halicali, 24 2, 267.
Hannibal, 31 2.
Eag le, Flying , 208, 209, 323. , Helicon, 354 .
Eden, 38, 39, 4 5, 4 9. I Hensh aw, Th omas, 1 21 .
Eg g of Nature, 21 0. See also 1 79, , Hez ek iah , 1 53.
1 80. ~ HiddenIntellig ence, 299.
Eliez er, 1 57. , Hispan, Peter, 36.
Elijah , 1 06. Holy Gh ost andSpirit of - God, 6,
Elixir, 3.- > 4 . 1 3. I5. 1 8.21 . 21 . as 28. 36. 53.
Eloh im, I26. I08: 1 1 ! I301 I33: 1 69: 378: 295:
Emeph t, I80, 1 81 .
4 -
1 96.371 .365.4 36-
Te W072. cf T/ z omas Vaug / z arz
Holy Oblation, 287.
Horeb, Mount, 1 71 , 24 1 , 263,
Horiz onof TimeandEternity, 80
HumidKey, 375.
Hyle, 4 01 .
Hyliard, 82. _
Hyph asis, River, 350, 351 , 353.
lamblich us, 1 1 , 1 08, 372, 373.
llan, 1 39.
Imag ination, Divine, 1 9.
Invisibility. 1 1 0.
Isis, 54 .
Jabal andJubal, 1 51 .
]acob, 1 57, 1 58, I59, 1 60, 1 69, 1 70
Jacob s Ladder, 28, 1 69.
Iarch as, 355 at sap.
JeandeMeung , 222, 251 .
oh nBa tist, St 73
JP . -
Joh n: St: I5: 4 9: I4 61 3881 4 1 9-
jloseph , 1 57, 1 59, 1 60, 4 08.
ove 29.
Jovitis, Paulus, 66.
Iulianth eApostate, I33.
}ulianth eCh aldean, 294 .
uno, 29.
Kabalism andKabalists, 6, I38
1 4 . 1 4 1 . I4 3. 1 4 5. I4 7. I56. I57:
1 68, 1 69, 1 71 , 1 92, 224 , 282, 295,
365.376, 4 68. _
Kalid, CalidorKanid, 206.
Kiriath - Seph arim, 1 61 .
Laban, 1 57.
Lapis Ch emicus, 303.
Lation, 78.
Libanius Gallus, 90.
Lig h t, multiplicationof , 95; Birth
andDiscovery of , 31 7; Divine
Lig h t, 1 6.
Lion, Green, 209, 323.
Lion, Red, 209.
Lucas Rh odag irus, 380.
Lucian, 50, 73, 76.
Lucif er, 35.
Lucretius, 367.
Luk e, St, 33.
Lully, Raymund, 1 88, 1 99, 205, 21 2,
377. 398. 359. 367. 369. 377. 378.
379.4 66.4 62.4 68-
Luna, 324 .
Lunaria, 258, 288.
Luth er, 70.
Lycoph ron, 7.
Mag i, 4 8, 1 1 0, 1 29, 1 60, 226, 255,
256.
Mag ic, perf ectionin, 28 ; Labyrinth
andWildof , 87; Fundamentals
of , 88; Denitionof , 1 32; El-
cacious Wordin, 1 36, 1 70; Hig h er
Masiq . I55; Steps 6f .I56; Inter-
pretation_of Dreams, 1 58 ; Ef f ects
Qf . I_6O i InEg ypt: I791 I83ii An
eq uity 6f . I91 ; Art 6f . 1 99. 725;
Mag ic of Nature, 201 ; Ph ysics
andMag ic, 21 7; Th ree parts of ,
253; _ Sch ool of , 265; Divine
Mag ic, 268 ; Endof , 283; Secret
Perf ormances of , 304 ; Censure
9f ._34 4 -
Mag irus, 74 .
Mag nesia, 4 07, 4 20 ; RedMag nesia,
1 94 ; Cath olic Mag nesia, 1 95.
Malk uth , I39.
Marcus, Dr, '1 7.
Mark Antony, 201 .
MHrri1 4 s6.34 . 94 . 95-
Matrix, 79.
Matter, First, 1 1 , 1 9, 20, 82, 83, 93,
1 27, 1 59, 1 63, 1 81 , 1 93, 200, 202,
204 , 208, 209, 21 5, 221 , 230, 232,
233. 74 7. 769 4 7' 4 4 2- . 296. 31 7.
32; , 365.366.s69.s75.4 37-
Medicine, Ph ilosoph ical, 30, 32, 1 06,
1 o9, 1 1 4 , 2o9, 22o, 364 .
Memph is, Templeof , 1 82.
Menstruum, 79.
M91 667. 76. 87. 93. 94 . I28. I96.
2o1 , 205, 21 1 , 21 5, 223, 227, 263,
270, 271 , 277, 284 , 31 7, 31 8, 320,
372. 324 . 353. 376. 4 61 . 4 1 6. 4 1 1 .
4 1 2.4 I6.4 26.4 s7.4 38-
Mind, Divine, 202.
Miriam, .336, 337.
Monad, 1 5, 29, 87, 88, 306.
Moon, 73; Celestial Moon, 29, 76 ;
Moonof th eWise, 293; Mountains
of th eMoon, 24 9, 257. Sea Luna.
21 3, 253, 2'73, 274 , 283, 284 , 294 , More, Henry, 1 30, 1 31 , 24 0, 31 4 , 334 .
96
4 -
[724 / ex
1 * - Iesee. 9. 1 3. 25. 26. 4 2. 93. 1 51 . Peter.- 81 . 1 4 7.38.57.65. 1 35. .61
I56, 1 59, I60, I61 , I62, 1 63, 1 64 , l et_ru's a Valle, 1 71 .
1 65, [85, 276, 390, 4 08, 4 25, 4 29. Ph ilostratus, 34 8 rt sea.
Moth ers, Th ree, 1 68, I69. Ph oenix, 282.
Mysterium Mag num, 254 . Ph raotes, 34 8 .1 / - ..* .* .7.
Mystical Death , 5, Planets, llrototypi- cal, 4 6.
Natalius, 377.
Plato, 1 85; Platonic Ph ilosoph y
396.
Nature, h erEtna, 23; h erWanton, Plotinus, 58.
24 ; Examinationof , 26; Lig h t Plutarcli, 54 .
of , 27, 1 35 ; Mysteries of , 31 , 1 52, Pontanus, 4 28.
1 59. 1 62. 337. 367.- 4 1 1 ; Active I Perph iirv. 1 31 - 1 .1 1 9.372.373-
andPassive Portions, 73; Ac- Possevinus, C. B., 68.
cording to Aristotle, 74 ; Provid- I Potiph erah , 1 84 .
ence of , '76; Ch ainof , 77, 269; I Pre- existence, 5, 1 0.
GodandNature, 93, 395 ; Womb Principles, 87.
of , 94 ; Star- Fireof , 1 1 4 ; System Proclus, 61 , 4 31 .
of , 1 28; Laws of , 1 75 ; Alph abet Promondus, 51 .
of , 1 98; A Free Spirit, 201 ; Proteus, 371 .
Generations of , 21 7; Universal Prototype, 26.
Nature, 223, 254 ; Wh eel of , 231 ; Pth a, 1 80.
Order of , 24 8; Way of , 320; Ptolemy, 20.
Nature andSperm, 321 ; Re- Ptolemy Ph ilometer, 1 85.
demptionof , 391 , 392; Corrup- - Pyth ag oras, 50, 53, 1 05, 1 83, 291
tionof , 393. Sea also 22, 35, 4 8, - 301 , 304 , 362, 4 20.
4 9. 72. 75.78.79.81 2. 81 . 86. 87.
89, 1 1 1 , 1 26, 1 29, 1 4 8, 1 4 9, 1 51 , Quaternary, 87.
I63, 1 64 . 1 95, 1 97, 1 98, 220, 221 , ' Quintessence, 24 , 230.
222, 226, 232, 255, 265, 276, 31 5, j Quintilian, 3, 1 91 .
. 398. 31 6. 31 9. 34 7. 352. 375. 376
4 02, 4 06, 4 07, 4 1 4 , 4 22. Rach aidibith e Persian, 206.
NewJerusalem, 31 . Rambam, 1 67.
Noah , 58. Ramus, 36.
Norton, Th omas, 378. Raz iel, 1 4 6.
Numenius th e Pyth ag orean, 1 85. I Reg eneration, 1 08.
Relig ion, 1 61 .
Obecinus, Th omas, I71 . I Resurrection, 1 08.
Orig en, 36. Reuch lin, ]., 1 37, 1 94 , 291 .
Orph eus, 200, 223. j Rh odian, 206. *
Ostanes, 80, 1 82. Riceof Ch ester, 397, 4 00, 4 07.
Rosicrucians andth eirPh ilosoph y,
Paling enius, 57, 224 . , 7 98, 1 07, 208 at sag a, 259 tr. sag .
P21 1 . 223- I 354 .364 .365.4 1 2-
Paracelsus, 1 94 , 220, 273, 300.
Paradise, 85, 1 4 3, 209, 4 29. Salt, 1 1 3, 1 54 , 267, 368, 369, 377
P21 94 291 - 1 5. 354 - 379. 386. 4 1 6. 4 32-
Paul, St, 6, 34 , 4 4 , 4 5, 65, 75, 1 06, Sanh edrirn, 1 62, 1 68.
1 09, I4 2, 300, 387, 4 1 9. Saturn, 62, 21 1 , 263, 320, 324 , 336
Pentaura, 23.
355-
Peripatetics, 6, 8, 1 9, 20, 22, 24 , 72, Scalig er, 57.
74 . 75. 77. 83. 1 1 8. 1 26.1 33. 1 59. 8691 1 1 2- .7. 8-
263, 276. Senarius, 304 ..
4 - 97 31
T/ z e Warx q f T/ 20/ rm; Vaug / z arz
Sendivog ius, Mich ael, 24 , 28, 1 1 7,
251 .273.4 @ 3= 4 Q5.4 7.4 23-
Septenary, 302.
Servius, 367.
Severinus, 31 .
Sinai, ML, I09.
Sinic Monument, 1 76- I78.
Sion, ML, 1 09.
S01 M0rt00rum, 24 4 ; S01 Centralis,
4 03. 4 94 -
501 01 3300, 85, 98, 1 2:, 1 22, 1 50, 1 55,
31 3.
S001 , anEssence R0; - 'al; 5, 6 ; h er
Descent, 5; Primeval State, I0;
Parts 01 ', 33, 34 , 4 04 4 3; M00- ds
0f , 4 7, 4 8; Homeof , 298; Mag net
Uf a 4 8- : 8
S001 0f th e\/ Vorld, 78, 79, 370.
Sperm, 1 96, 22:, 226, 275, 321 , 370,
4 35- _
Stella Martls, 4 33.
St0ne of th e Ph ilosoph ers, 54 , 94 ,
96, I1 3, 1 22, 1 59, 1 63, 1 72, 207,
332. 263. 386. 323. 31 3.34 1 .4 358.
36 . 375. 4 34 - 6
Sulph ur. 76. 93. 95 I95. 37: . 284 .
358, 376, 380, 4 02, 4 1 0, 4 1 2, 4 1 6,
4 I8.4 I9.4 4 1 .4 35.4 36.4 38- _
Sun, Supercelestial, I4 ; Celestlal,
29.
Synesius, :82, r86.
Telesius, 8.
Temarius, 87, I09, 302.
Th alia, 24 7, 250, 25?.
Th eoph rastus, I87.
Th 0mas Aq uinas, St, 4 34 .
Th rone0f God, 31 . '
Tincture, RedandW'h ite, 205, 4 38.
Tobit, I 54 .
Tradition0f th eLamp, 3:5.
Tree0f Kz mwledg e, 36, 37, 39, 4 3,
1 4 4 .
Tree_0f Lif e. 36, 37, 4 3, 1 4 4 .
'Ir1 n1 t}; , I- I01 ), I3, I4 , I5, 26, 27, I4 6,
3 4 7.I39.3@ 6.34 5.4 3@ -
'lr:smeg 1 st:c: Vf rttlng s, r6, .I9, 20,
4 4 . 69. I4 7. 1 39. 1 79. I33. aw.
207, 330.
Trtth emuys, 90 - 93, 1 37.
Tubal Cam, I4 7, 1 51 , I53, 378.
Turba Ph z losoph orum, 206, 207, 21 8,
220, 225, 226, 227, 272, 278, 333,
4 2. 4 33-
Union, Mystery of , 28; Unity, 86,
88.
Uriel, I06.
Vardanes, 362.
Venus. 73. 31 7. 36?. 371 . 4 1 8. 4 38.
Vtsil. 54 . 55. 332. 367. 374 . 4 1 4 -
Vessel of Hermes, 336, 337.
Virg iz f s Milk , 1 95.
Water, Art 0f , 375; Ph ilosoph ical
Water, 273, 274 , 278; Permanent
Water, 205, 207; Secret Tater,
21 0; Water0f Silver, 2I 1 ; Water
of th eM001 3, 2! I ; Virg inVliater,
21 4 ; Wh ite Water, 228; Water
0f th e Sun, 381 .
Wf ierus, 67, 68.
wtsdom, 96- 97.
Mtch eraf t, 35.
'W0rdandWordof God, 1 9, 20, :36,
223.387.389.397-
Zach ary, :1 3.
Zadh , 4 31 .
Z0- reaster, 1 6, I7, 1 06, 1 22, 1 30, 21 7,
2I3.224 .1 94 .3@ 5.366~
PR "iTii3IN i.= RlJ|.'I BHKTAKH BY HEILL AND C?- , L'ITJ., EDINBURGH
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