Theatrum chemicum Britannicum· Containing severall poeticall pieces of our famous English philosophers, who have written the hermetique mysteries in their owne ancient language. / Faithfully collected into one volume, with annotations thereon, by Elias Ashmole, Esq. Qui est Mercuriophilus Anglicus. The first part.

THE FIRST CHAPTER.

IN the name of the holy Trinitie, I will write of this Worke breiflie; Leaving matters of circumstance, And promise the truth to advance: I will not write Figuratively, But declare the Matter plainely, And how things must be made to accord, By Natures true worke and the helpe of our Lord: The World is but one inclosed with heavens round, Though divers matters and formes be therein found: The Earth this worlds Center borne up by the Aire, In kinde hath noe more but being baire, And neerest to not being, Philosophers have told, In kinde of Complexion is full dry and cold; And now for my Figure of rotundity, I will shew how Elements accord and disagree: And though the Elements be so contrary, Yett by heavens Influence they are brought to unite, And when once togeather a body they binde, Nought may them loosen without wrecke to the kinde. First Fire in Nature is hott and dry, Aire differs from Fire in moisture only: Earth only for coldnesse from Fire disagrees, This Concord and discord every man sees: Aire hot and moist of complexion and kinde, Water differs from Aire but in heate we finde:

Soe that in moysture we finde them both one; Naturall heate in Water we finde none; Water cold and moiste of Complexion is, Earth differs from Water in drynes I wis: Earth agrees with Fire in drynes noe doubte, Thus one in another the Wheele turnes about. From this round Circle proceeds a quadrant, Each line unto another an equall distant: And as the round Figure concludes all in One, Soe the Quadrant of foure things makes distinction. From this Quadrant a Fire must proceed, Which is Animall, Vegitable and Minerall we reede: And with the Fire I will begin; Pray God I be not too bold therein. The whole Composition of this world is fram'd, Of the Three things which before I have nam'd: Now to make things of Excellencie, We must take things neerest Nobilitie; And as this greate Masse conteines things Three, Soe Blood, Flesh and Bone in the least World we see; Yett lesse World and greate World is all but One; Thus still we keepe an Unyon: Whatsoever itt is that is alive, Without Blood they may not thrive. Sperme is Generacion of each thing, Of what kinde soever itt bene; Blood is Sperme be itt White or Redd, For without Blood each thing is dead: Blood conteineth the three things I have told, And in his Tincture hath Nature of Gold: Without Gold noe Mettle may shine bright, Without Blood noe Body hath bene fitt of light: Thus doth the greate and lesse World still, Hold the Union according to Gods will:

Now of all things Blood Noblest is, For nothing in the World may itt misse, Blood hath true proporcion of the Elements foure, And of the three species I spoke of before: The Blood must be the principall matter of each thing, Which hath any manner of increasing: Mercury in Mettalls is the Blood certeine, Sperme in Animalls getts the like againe; Vegetable moysture from heaven so good, Yett all these three are but Blood: Then Blood in procreation is neerest of kinde, This Secrett good Brother keepe close in thy mynde: And uppon that Condition, Which Blood thou shalt take I will make repeticion; The true Blood of Mettalls is hard to have, And long tyme of getting itt doth crave: Blood of Vegetables hath moysture greate store, And therefore to have itt requireth much labour: The true Blood to finde without labour and cost, Thou knowst where to have it ere thy witts be lost. Seeke out the noblest as I said before, For now of the Matter I dare say noe more. This Secrett was never reveal'd till this tyme, By any Mans writings that ere I could finde, But I which by practice have found itt true, Knew how things caused things to renew: God grant noe Alchymists meete with my Booke, For they would have Elixir by hooke or by crooke; And he would spend what his Freinds wan, And be as neere at the last as when he began, And would promise to give men Gold greate store, But beware thou of Expence, as I said before.

CHAP. II. Of the manner of the Worke.

NOW after the Matter the Manner compute, How to bring this our Worke aboute: First take the Matter crude as itt is, Which will cost you little or nought I wis: Searce it soe cleane as it may be, Untill from filth itt is all free, Which wilbee done in houres three or foure, Then will it be cleare from his ill humour: Then take the Faces which you shall finde, In the same which the Matter left behind: Purge him also with the noblest Element, Untill that he to Earth be brent: Then have you a Stone of wonderfull might, With small Cost a secret right. Take ye this Stone and use Millers Craft, Till it be fine powder and made very soft: Then give him the moisture which from him ye tooke, Then use him as ye shall finde in this booke. But give him noe other Drinke but of his owne kinde, For elce you doe not after my mynde. Let him drinke noe more then will suffice, Beware of Floods I you advise: Then search him twice againe as you did before, And still put uppon his owne liquor: Thus their first Order to passe is brought, And your foulest Worke fully wrought.

CHAP. III. Of the second Order.

NOW the second Manner I will shew plaine, How you shall worke it with little paine: When your three searsings be done after my lore, Then breake the Stone as you did before: Then must you have one Veschell, Which must be made like an Eggshell, Into the which Vessell the Matter you must putt, Then see that itt be well closed upp: The Vessells divided in parts three, Whereof two still voyde must bee: This Vessell must be set in a kinde heate, That the Matter may kindly sweate; The Spiritts must not be opprest with Fire, For then thou shalt never have thy desire; Neither must thy Vessell have cold, For then itt will spoile as Philosophers have told; But keepe itt in a temperate heate alwayes, For the space of fortie dayes: Then Blackesse will appeare to sight, That Blacknesse thou must bring to be White. ake out t he Glasse at the forty dayes end, And se that from cold thou doe itt defend; And set itt in a Furnace with dry fire, Till itt be White after thy desire, Which wilbe done in Weekes three, And dryed from his moysture utterly:

Then with the first Water thou first didst imbibe Againe thou maist feede it att this tyde, But give itt noe more, nor you doe thinke May suffice at once for itt to drinke, This done putrefy as you did before, Even in the very selfe same maner, And in the said tyme which it stoode before, Itt will becom of blacke Colour, And in the same Order if it congeale White, Then is your Worke both perfect and right; Now you must goe lerne the Bakers occupacion, How he Leavens Bread by Fermentacion; And truly to Ferment take noe plate of Gold, But parte of that the plates doe hold. You know that if Sol shew not a faire Tincture, Itt will be had but in little honour, Then Tincture of Gold is a most noble thing, With a grace to noble men of our workeing, For that true proverbe doth well accord, Base things befitt not a noble Lord. Now have I told you what Ferment is, To teach you to Ferment I will not misse; This Chapter is now brought to an end, And now the third Order to shew I intend.

CHAP. IV. Of the third Order of this Worke.

RECIPE Sol that is pure and good, And see that from him you take his pure blood, Your Stone you must divide in parts three, And the fourth of the Ferment must be.

If you will have for Red, and White too, To Red after this Order you must doe, And the White after the same, Must be ferment with Lune by name, And the matter equally divyde One for the Red, the other for the White. Another like Vessell for the White you must looke, As before is taught you in this Booke. When your Ferments to your matters be put, Then your Vessell close you must shut; And sett it to Putrifye as you did before, The full tyme as I said of yore: And use itt in every degree, As in the next Chapter before you may see. But looke that you knowe your two Ferments assunder, Or elce of your folly itt were great wonder: And when from his Blacknesse you have brought itt White, Then have you Elixir of wonderfull might: Your Red to his perfection is not fully brought, But your White is perfectly wrought. Your Red with most strong heate must be fedd In a close Furnace untill itt be Redd: When itt is Redd and will melt like waxe, Then of all that should be nothing laxe. Now have you a Stone of wonderfull might, Which will take Mercury before his flight, And command him to stay, and cause him to bring All Mettalls unto him, and call him their Kinge, And make such obedyence without Digression, That of him they shall all take Impression; Now have you a Stone of wonderfull power, Which conteineth the three Species and the Elements foure: Fire in Colour, Water by Effusion, Earth to sight without delusion,

Aire is in Water all men doe knowe, And thus the foure Elements accordeth nowe: As for the three Species I will shewe, How in your Stone you may them knowe: Tincture for Blood perteineth to the Animall, Moysture the Vegetable part possesse shall; All Earth is Minerall without any doubt, Thus keepe we in one Circle and never goe out. Now have I my Figure perfectly wrought, Yett of the Center I have said right nought. A Center is a pricke of whatsoever itt be, Without any manner of divisibilitie; And made as Nature doth well provide, So as no Accident may itt divide: Only by hand but in the Quantitie, But by noe Element seperate the Qualitie; If in greate Fire you sett it downe, A true Salamander itt wilbe found; If in the Water thou throwe I wis, It will live there as doth a Fish; If in the Aire you cast it up hye, There will it live, and never dye: If in the Earth thou bury itt fast, Then will it remaine there, and ever last. Thus can no Element divide without doubt, The Center which our Wheele turnes about: Now how to Multiply your Medicine I trow, Would doe you much good for to knowe; For unlesse you know howe to Multiply, Your Medicine will be spent quickly: Then would itt put thy minde to much paine, To thinke that thou must make itt againe: Therefore the next Chapter shall teach thee right, To Multiply this Stone of wonderfull might.

CHAP. V. How to Multiply.

NOW in this Chapter I meane to shewe, How to Multiply that thou may knowe: If Iron to the Load-stone be not put certeinly, Itt will decreace wonderfully; The Species of all things both more and lesse each one, Are mainteyned by reason of Multiplication; Then if they be not Multiplyed they decay, But Multiplication makes them be all away. All things after Conception receive naturall Food, To mainteine their kind as Nature seeth good: Soe likewise our Stone must needs Multiply, Or elce the Species of that Stone will dye: And Multiplication must needs be of such thing, As the thing multiplied takes best likeing. Fire which burneth perpetually, If Matter want Fire will dye; But for to feed our Stone rightly, The way I will shewe presently. Take your Glasse and Medicine withall, And in a warme Fire sett itt you shall; And when itt begins to liquefy, Put common Mercury to itt by and by; And itt wilbe devoured anon By vertue of heate that is in our Stone, And as much as you putt in quantitie, Soe much doth your Medicine augment truly: Yett you must have reason not for to cloye, With overmuch cooling, kind heate thereby:

And as of a Dragme you will make a Pounde, You may well do itt, if you keep round; And when it is Multiplied sufficiently, Then from the Fire set it by. A man in this Land once I knewe, That marred that he made, and so may yowe; Except ye doe as I have taught, And then neede you to feare nought. Another I knewe which wanted good direccion, And at once spent all at one projection. These knew not howe itt should be multiplyed, Which things I have taught you at this tyde; But see that the Mercury wherewith ye Multiply, Be made soe cleane as itt may be.

Now to make him extend his perfection, It is needfull to know how to make projeccion: Whereof in the next Chapter I will treate, For of Multiplicacion I will noe more speake.

CHAP. VI. Of Projection.

NOw lacke we but onely this Lesson to take, Perfectly projection for to make: Take one parte of the Medicine, and of ☿ ♄ or Tinn, But see that you make them exceeding cleane; And when your Mettall doth Liquefy, Then cast in your parte of Medicine quickly. Then will it be brought to such a passe, That all will be as brittle a glasse; Take the brittle substance as it is, And upon an (100.) to take doe not misse. That 100. uppon 1000. soe still increase you may,

And project noe more when your Tincture doth decay. This projection is sure without any doubt, Thus is our Wheele turned round about. In what Vessell to project I need not to tell, For a Maister of his Arte knoweth it very well; To project on Mettalls nowe you knowe, And to project on mans body nowe will I shewe. First the Body must be purged well, And by swetting and bathing be made suttell. And when you are cleane according to your minde, Take a dragme of your Medicine with the Quintessence of Wine; Such a suddeine alteration itt will showe, As you need not to feare Corruption noe moe: Nowe of his Vertues I need not to declare, They are fully shewne by others elce-where. Now to the holy Trinitie I thee commend, Thankeing him my Worke is at an end: Chargeing thee this Secret from bad men to keepe, Though with greate Importance of thee they itt seeke; And beware itt goe not from thy hand, Except to a perfect honest man. By Bookes the true Worke I could never finde, Therefore left I this Booke behinde, That to whose share soever itt might fall, By itt they might know our Secretts all. God grant noe Multiplyer meete with my Booke, Nor noe sinister Clerkes thereon to looke; Then will they pay their debts surely, And build Churches, and Steeples very hye; Keepe itt from these folkes I thee pray, As thou wilt answere before God att last day: For whatsoever hath bin said to our worke doth accord, Therefore give honour, prayse, and thankes to our Lord; Holy and Reverend be his Name, Which to me vile Synner hath revealed the same.