The Hermetic And Alchemical Figures of Claudius De Dominico Celentano Vallis Novih

The upper line reads: "Two things and double, but finally one is dissolved into the first and they make sperm." The four capitals. I A A T , are the initial letters of the names of the elements: Ignis , Aer , Aqua , and Terra . The writing under them reads: "Our fire is water; if you can give fire to fire, fire and Mercury will suffice." Along the arm appear the words: "The Art of the Stone is," and on the ribbon: "Swift, brief, bright, and rare." The two lines under the ribbon read: "Every hand is a key, because it was called the herb celandine"; under the Sun: "I am the gift of God " The verse reads: "So that you remain contented in all matters, I must listen attentively. My body [is] naked, clean, and shining, and I run like oil ready to drop, resplendent like bright gold, and then succumb to the plague in its bright and cheerful little chamber [retort]." Leaf 22 . The verse in the upper left is as follows: "This group is composed of three stones: lunar, solar, and mercurial. In the lunar is white sulphur; in the solar, red sulphur, in the mercurial, both; i.e. white and red, and this is the strength of all instruction." In the bottle at the left are the words: "Dissolving, calcination, sublimation complete the instruction"; and at the base: "Wash, congeal, and coagulate. " Under the central tower is written: "Metallic salts, however, are hidden by one letter"; around the bottom of the red circle: "Dryness, coldness, humidity, heat, and dryness." On the points below are the names of the four elements. The initial, I A A T appear four times with the same meaning as that already given. The three powers of the Philosopher's Stone are symbolized by the heads of the cherubs in the circle in the upper left corner. Leaf 23 . The writing at the upper left is, in substance, the Lord's Prayer, with the addition of the words Jesus and Mary at the end. The inverted words in the banner read: "Ye can do nothing without me, for God has so promised, saying 'So be it.'" The text under the angel reads: "By this plague he will be damned who knows he is dead, all cold in a black body. And let this be thy first comfort: then he will burn unto calcination. When I have reduced him within this door, know for certain that I shall be blessed if I shall know how to cultivate the garden." The main part of the leaf is devoted to an elaborate symbolic drawing of alchemical equipment, under which are the words: "The furnace of distillation, congealing, rectification, perfection, fixation: quintessence of the Philosophers." By "quintessence" should be understood the "fifth essence" of the most wise. Leaf 24 . The words at the top read: "I, the bird [ the adept ], speak into thine ears from the Sun, Moon and Azoth. The work is perfected with little labor." The panel to the left describes the nature of primordial matter and the drink of the Philosophers. The text to the right reads: "This is my beloved Son whom I saw and loved. If he be resurrected, He will remain at home, and in that house the spirit will be the soul and the body; for Mercury may be called the son of the Sun and the Moon." Under the child's figure is added: "If he were not dead, I should not have been his mother.