Nicholas Flammel, his exposition of the hieroglyphicall figures which he caused to bee painted vpon an arch in St. Innocents Church-yard, in Paris. Together with the secret booke of Artephius, and the epistle of Iohn Pontanus: concerning both the theoricke and the practicke of the philosophers stone. Faithfully, and (as the maiesty of the thing requireth) religiously done into English out of the French and Latine copies. By Eirenæus Orandus, qui est, vera veris enodans

THE PREFACE to the READER, in the French and Latine Copies.

AMongst all the other Philoso∣phers (louing Reader) only our Artephius is not enuious, as himself af∣firmeth of himselfe in many places, and therefore he lay∣eth downe the whole Art in most open words in this Treatise, interpreting as farre as he may, the doubt∣full speeches and Sophismes

of others; Neuerthelesse least he should giue vnto the wicked, ignorant, and euill men, occasion and meanes to doe hurt, hee hath a little vailed the truth in the Principalls of the Science vnder an Arteficiall Me∣thode, sometimes affirming, sometimes denying, and ma∣king as though hee often re∣peated one and the same thing, whereas in those re∣petitions hee alwayes chan∣geth some words, seeming often to say the contrary of what hee had said before, willing to leaue vnto the iudgement of the Reader, the way of Trueth, Vertue, and true Working, which if any man finde, let him giue immortall thankes to God alone; but if hee see

that hee walketh not in the right way, let him reade o∣uer this Author againe and againe, vntill hee vnder∣stand his meaning. So did the learned Iohn Pontanus, which saith in his Epistle Printed in Theatrum Chi∣micum: They erre (saith hee, speaking of them that labour in this Arte) they haue erred, and they will alwayes erre, because the Philosophers in their books haue neuer set downe the proper Agent, except onely one, which is called Arte∣phius, but hee speakes for himselfe; and if I had not read Artephius, and vnder∣stood whereof hee spake, I had neuer come to the Complement of the worke: Therefore reade this Booke,

and reade it againe, vntill thou vnderstand his speech, and so obtaine thy desired end. It shall bee needlesse to speake any more concerning our Authour; It sufficeth that by the grace of God, and the vse of this wonder∣full Quintessence, hee liued a thousand yeeres, as wit∣nesseth Roger Bacon, in his Booke of the wonderfull workes of nature, and also the most learned Theo∣phrastus Baracelsus, in his Booke of long life: Which terme of a thousand yeeres, none of the other Philoso∣phers, no nor the Father of them, Hermes himselfe, was able to attaine vnto. Looke therefore, whether peraduenture this man haue not vnderstood the vertues

of our Stone, and the man∣ner how to vse it, better than the rest. Howsoeuer it bee, vse thou it and our labours, to the glory of God, and the profit of this Kingdome.

Farewell.