Latin Alchemy Daily Create: Tabula Smaragdina (2)

Here's another quote from the Tabula Smaragdina, which has a great Wikipedia article containing the Latin text plus two English translations... including Isaac Newton's translation!

In this passge, the Tabula discusses the res una, the "one thing," and where that res una comes from:

Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna.

Isaac Newton: The Sun is its father, the moon its mother.
Theatrum Chemicum: The father of it is the sun, the mother the moon.

(Wikimedia: Nuremberg Chronicles)

I added this to the Latin Alchemy Flickr album too. :-)

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TABULA SMARAGDINA

(Latin text via Wikipedia from Chrysogonus Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541):

Verum, sine mendacio, certum et verissimum:
Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius.
Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione.
Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna, portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo, nutrix eius terra est.
Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.
Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram.
Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio.
Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.
Sic habebis Gloriam totius mundi.
Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas.
Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit.
Sic mundus creatus est.
Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi.
Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.

Latin Alchemy Daily Create: Tabula Smaragdina (1)

I am so grateful to Alan and Mia for prompting me to take up a new Latin project (something I honestly thought I was never going to do again), but this Latin alchemy thing has totally captivated me... and eventually it is going to turn into a Latin Alchemy Reader for Latin students and teachers (let's say before I turn 60 years old ha ha). As part of the #NetNarr adventure, instead of using the daily creates from the class (which are indeed very cool!), I'm going to try to do a Latin daily create so that I can start building up a body of stuff I can (re)use later. A big part of what I will need to be making are Latin vocabulary graphics, like animated gifs with Latin words that are going to be important for reading about alchemy, along with quote posters with memorable quotes, and so on.

One of those obvious quote sources will be the Tabula Smaragdina, which has a great Wikipedia article containing the Latin text plus two English translations... including Isaac Newton's translation, which is fun to see. So, I'll start my Latin Alchemy Daily Creates by doing some quote posters from the Tabula. Here is the first one:

Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius.

Isaac Newton: That which is below is like that which is above.
Theatrum Chemicum: Whatever is below is similar to that which is above.

(Wikimedia: PublicDomain.com)

Whoo-hoo: I started a Latin Alchemy Flickr album too. :-)

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TABULA SMARAGDINA

(Latin text via Wikipedia from Chrysogonus Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541):

Verum, sine mendacio, certum et verissimum:
Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius.
Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione.
Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna, portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo, nutrix eius terra est.
Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.
Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram.
Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio.
Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.
Sic habebis Gloriam totius mundi.
Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas.
Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit.
Sic mundus creatus est.
Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi.
Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.

Library. Camerarius. Symbola et Emblemata

Title: Symbolorum et Emblematum Centuriae Quatuor = 400 Symbols and Emblems
Author: Joachim Camerarius (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1668
Online Source: Hathi Trust

These are not alchemy books, but they are emblem books from the natural world, and as such you will see a lot of overlap in the symbolic and emblematic language. Camerarius published four books of emblems — plants, animals, birds, and reptiles — 100 emblems in each book, with each emblem accompanied by a Latin distich along with an essay in Latin. Later, these four books were then collected into a single volume, Symbolorum et Emblematum Centuriae Quatuor, which is what I have listed above. To find the single volumes, with much higher quality page scans, visit the University of Munich Digital Library: plants — animals — birds — reptiles.

Here is an example where Camerarius (reptiles 83) includes a symbol beloved of the alchemists also: the ouroboros:

Rebus in humanis adeo in se cuncta recurrunt,

   Finis ut unius sit caput alterius.

In human affairs, (in humanis rebus) all things (cuncta) revolve into one another (recurrunt in se) such that (adeo us) the tail-end of one thing (finis unius) is the head-start of another (sit caput alterius).

I made a poster for this one as part of my Latin distich project:

Library. Books by Arthur Edward Waite.

Since I mentioned A. E. Waite in the Twitter chat last night, I thought I would include a list of his books for the Library entry today. His books are in the public domain and they give a great perspective on the re-discovery of alchemy in the 19th and early 20th century by people interested in the mystical, spiritual, and psychological dimensions of alchemy. Some other time I'll check to see if there are other works of his online that I did not find at the incredible Hathi Trust!

Author: Arthur Edward Waite (Wikipedia)
Titles with links to Hathi Trust online editions:

1. Hathi. A lyric of the fairy land, and other poems. 1879.
2. Hathi. Israfel; letters, visions and poems. 1886.
3. Hathi. The mysteries of magic: a digest of the writings of Eliphas Lévi. 1886.
4. Hathi. The real history of the Rosicrucians founded on their own manifestoes, and on facts and documents collected from the writings of initiated brethren. 1887.
5. Hathi. A soul's comedy. 1887.
6. Hathi. Elfin music: an anthology of English fairy poetry. 1888.
7. Hathi. Lives of alchemystical philosophers based on materials collected in 1815 and supplemented by recent researches. 1888.
8. Hathi. The book of black magic and of facts; including the rites and mysteries of Goëtic theury, sorcery, and infernal necromancy. 1890.
9. Hathi. The Hermetic museum, restored and enlarged: most faithfully instructing all disciples of the sopho-spagyric art how that greatest and truest medicine of the philosopher's stone. 1893.
10. Hathi. The triumphal chariot of antimony. By Basilius Valentinus. With the commentary of Theodore Kerckringius. 1893.
11. Hathi. A new light of mysticism : Azoth; or, The star in the east. 1893.
12. Hathi. The hermetic and alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombast, of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great. 1894.
13. Hathi. The new pearl of great price : a treatise concerning the treasure and most precious stone of the philosophers, or, the method and procedure of this divine art. 1894.
14. Hathi. Lucasta, parables and poems. 1894.
15. Hathi. Alchemy the turba philosophorum; or, Assembly of the sages, called also the book of truth in the art and the third Pythagorical synod; / an ancient alchemical treatise. 1896.
16. Hathi. Devil-worship in France; or, The question of Lucifer; a record of things seen and heard in the secret societies. 1896.
17. Hathi. The doctrine and literature of the kabalah. 1902.
18. Hathi. A book of mystery and vision. 1902.
19. Hathi. Studies in mysticism and certain aspects of the secret tradition. 1906.
20. Hathi. Strange houses of sleep. 1906.
21. Hathi. Steps to the crown. 1907.
22. Hathi. The hidden church of the Holy Graal, its legends and symbolism considered in their affinity with certain mysteries of initiation and other traces of a secret tradition. 1909.
23. Hathi. The secret tradition in Freemasonry and an analysis of the inter-relation between the craft and the high grades. 1911.
24. Hathi. The secret tradition in Goëtia, The book of ceremonial magic including the rites and mysteries of Goëtic theurgy, sorcery and infernal necromancy. 1911.
25. Hathi. The history of magic, including a clear and precise exposition of its procedure, its rites and its mysteries, by Éliphas Lévi. 1913.
26. Hathi. The collected poems of Arthur Edward Waite. 1914.
27. Hathi. The works of Thomas Vaughan :Eugeniys Philalethes. 1919.
28. Hathi. A new encyclopædia of freemasonry (ars magna latomorum) and of cognate instituted mysteries; their rites, literature and history. 1921.
29. Hathi. The book of the Holy Graal. 1921.
30. Hathi. Raymund Lully, illuminated doctor, alchemist and Christian mystic. 1922.
31. Hathi. Saint-Martin, the French mystic, and the story of modern Martinism. 1922.
32. Hathi. Lamps of western mysticism; essays on the life of the soul in God. 1923.
33. Hathi. The life of Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, the unknown philosopher, and the substance of his transcendental doctrine. 1901.

And yes, this is the Waite of the Rider-Waite tarot deck. :-)

The Sun.

Quotation from Alchemy by E. J. Holmyard

After the wonderful chat this evening (thank you, Alan and Mia!), I wanted to share a quote from Alchemy by E. J. Holmyard, which is an excellent book for people interested in the history of alchemy (I read the Kindle, which was $9.99, and there are even cheaper used copies for sale). Holmyard is mostly interested in alchemy as a precursor of modern science, but he is very sympathetic to its spiritual and cultural dimensions also. Anyway, I thought this passage was very useful re: alchemy's distance from magic, and I really enjoyed reading the whole book:

The worker should in short look upon the mere transmutation of base metals into gold as a secondary object, subsidiary to the transmutation of the soul. This emphasis is repeated by countless alchemical authors, and it is perhaps significant that, as Sherwood Taylor was the first to point out, alchemy was remarkably free from the taint of black magic, invocations of demons, necromancy, and other evil practices contemporaneous with it for practically the whole period during which it flourished. Exceptions to the rule can be found, but the moral tone of mystical alchemy is very high, in Greek, Muslim, and Christian writings alike. The alchemists could find examples of transmutation in the Bible, such as the conversion of water into wine, and biblical imagery is frequently to be met with in symbolic alchemical works; but that and similar practices are used in both directions. That is to say, on the one hand the fact that apparently miraculous changes have scriptural or other authoritative support is taken to confirm the possibility of material transmutation, while on the other hand the operations of practical alchemy are interpreted as having a theological or mystical application. Classical and other mythology served alchemical purposes, often suffering considerable sea-changes, and the whole language of symbolic alchemy presents as colourful an imagery as would be difficult to match elsewhere.

Library. Splendor Solis: Alchemical Treatises of Solomon Trismosin

Title: Splendor Solis: Alchemical Treatises of Solomon Trismosin
Author: "J. K." (see Wikipedia for more on Splendor Solis)
Edition: 1920
Online Source: Hathi Trust
Online Source: British Museum (for an illuminated ms. in color)

We are very fortunate that there is a convenient English edition of Splendor Solis that you can read online, while being able to see a beautiful German manuscript version with colored paintings. Here is what Wikipedia says about the book:

The author of the manuscript was considered to be a legendary Salomon Trismosin, allegedly the teacher of Paracelsus. The work itself consists of a sequence of 22 elaborate images, set in ornamental borders and niches. The symbolic process shows the classical alchemical death and rebirth of the king, and incorporates a series of seven flasks, each associated with one of the planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, the white and the red tincture. 

Below I have made an animated gif using the images from the British Museum online manuscript.

You can read J.K.'s description of the 22 images, and you can also ponder his contention that they mirror the cards of the Major Arcana of a Tarot deck, which also number 22.

Latin Reader (12): Arbor inest hortis Sophiae

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OH MY GOSH: look what Sandy Brown Jensen has done with this! It's a beautiful story to go with the beautifully re-colored image: The Greenhouse: An Alchemical Fable. A must-read! :-)

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I already did Emblem VIII (about the egg), so today I can move on to Emblem IX from Michael Maier's Atalanta fugiens: Arbor inest hortis Sophiae. It features a famous mythological motif — golden apples — and the alchemical quest to extend human life (a very modern obsession also).

Arborem cum sene conclude in rorida domo et comedens de fructu eius fiet iuvenis.

Enclose a tree (arborem conclude) with an old man (cum sene) in a dewy house (in rorida domo) and by eating from its fruit (comedens de fructu eius), he will become young (fiet iuvenis).

For a hand-colored version, see Adam McLean's website: Emblem IX.

(image source)

And here's the poem:

Arbor inest hortis Sophiae dans aurea mala,
Haec tibi cum nostro sit capienda sene;
Inque domo vitrea claudantur, roreque plena,
Et sine per multos haec duo juncta dies:
Tum fructu (mirum!) satiabitur arboris ille
Ut fiat juvenis qui fuit ante senex.

In the gardens of Wisdom (hortis Sophiae) there is a tree (arbor inest) bearing golden apples (dans aurea mala); you should take this tree (haec tibi sit capienda) together with our old man (cum nostro sene) and let them be enclosed (claudantur) in a house made of glass (inque domo vitrea) and full of dew (roreque plena). Allow these two to be together there (sine haec duo juncta) for many days (per multos dies); then — amazing! — (tum mirum!) that man will be fed (satiabitur ille) by the fruit of the tree (fructu arboris) so that he who was previously old (qui fuit ante senex) will become young (fiat iuvenis).

The commentary rejects the idea of literally regaining youth, while offering various allegorical interpretations, plus some funny observations, like this one:

Marsilio Ficino (Marsilius Ficinus) in his book about preserving the lives of scholars (in libro de studiosorum vita conservanda) writes that to attain long life (scribit ad aetatem longam attingendam) it is useful (utile esse) to suck the milk daily (ut quis lac exugat quotidie) from the breasts (ex uberibus) of a woman who is young and beautiful (cuiusdam feminae pulchae et iuvenis), while instead others praise (cuius vice alii laudant) eating the flesh of vipers (viperinam carnem comestam). But honestly (sed sane) these remedies are more taxing (haec media sunt rigidiora) than old age itself (ipsa senectute).

And now for your listening pleasure — a choral performance or just the musical fugue:

And the following is a list of the emblems I have completed so far:

Emblem I: Portavit eum ventus in ventre suo
Emblem II: Nutrius ejus terra est
Emblem III: Vade ad mulierem
Emblem IV: Conjunge fratrem cum sorore
Emblem V: Appone mulieri super mammas bufonem
Emblem VI: Seminate aurum vestrum
Emblem VII: Pullus a nido volans
Emblem VIII: Accipe ovum

Emblem IX: Arbor inest hortis Sophiae
Emblem XXXVI: Lapis projectus

Library. The Ripley Scrolls

Title: The “Ingendred” Stone: The Ripley Scrolls and the Generative Science of Alchemy
Author: Aaron Kitch
Edition: Huntington Library Quarterly, Volume 78, number 1, 2015.
Online Source: Kitch at Bowdoin

When trying to figure out what was happening with the zodiac woman in the Aurora Consurgens yesterday, I came across this wonderful article online that I think might be of interest to people in #NetNarr for the gender/generation theme and for the beautiful art. Here is the abstract:

Acquired at auction in 1958 from the library of C. W. Dyson Perrins, the Huntington Library’s Ripley scroll (HM 30313) is one of the most ornate and esoteric illuminated manuscripts of early modern England. Much remains unknown about the iconology and historical context of the Ripley scrolls, of which approximately twenty remain worldwide. The self-consciously archaic scroll at the Huntington draws on a range of contemporary sources, including emblem books, heraldic imagery, and illuminated alchemical manuscripts from the fifteenth century, such as the Rosarium philosophorum and the Aurora consurgens. Aaron Kitch situates the Ripley scrolls in the context of English alchemy in the sixteenth century, especially the tradition of emblematic alchemy and John Dee’s efforts to establish George Ripley as England’s chief alchemical authority. He analyzes the pattern of imagery on the scrolls in relation to the ancient and early modern philosophy of generation, which focused on questions about sexual reproduction and the emergence of new matter in nature.

keywords: George Ripley; John Dee; Paracelsus; illuminated manuscripts; early modern alchemy; generation; Aurora consurgens

There is also some basic background at Wikipedia.

Here is one of the images: Three naked figures support a fountain, which itself contains naked figures, as philosophers stand on pinnacles around the fountain; a green dragon and a frog below.

Details:

Library. Aurora Consurgens.

Title: Aurora Consurgens (Wikipedia)
Edition: 15th-century ms.
Online Source: e-codices

I feel so lucky to have discovered this book online! Here's how I found it: Sandy Brown Jensen shared a lovely morning song at the Twitter for #NetNarr, and that inspired me to see what I could find by Googling Aurora (the goddess of dawn) and alchemy. And look what Google led me to: Aurora Consurgens: "The Aurora consurgens is an alchemical treatise of the 15th century famous for the rich illuminations that accompany it."

There is a helpful description of the images here, but you might see things differently. For example, in the case of the woman below, I'm pretty sure that has to be menstruation, not childbirth, as the description suggests. The zodiac calendar would seem to connect with the monthly period, right?

Even better, the Zurich version of the manuscript is online! Here are some of my favorite images; you can browse the manuscript for yourself and see which ones you like best:

(page)

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Week 1: Alchemical Library going strong

So, knowing the start of the semester would be a whirlwind, I made a plan for this blog last week: Some Alchemical Goals... and I stuck to the plan! Whoo-hoo!

I really don't know how much time I will have for the daily creates etc. in this #NetNarr adventure, but I am very glad and grateful that it is helping me to fix this ENORMOUS gap in my education. I'm still working on the Atalanta Fugiens emblems one by one (I did the old man and the golden apples yesterday!), and I managed to post some new book here each week in the Library.

Now I just wish I had more time for ALL of it. Working on Atalanta Fugiens is a blast, and now I see how much fun it would also be to transcribe and translate the emblems in these two books by Daniel Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg (not just because his name is so cool, ha ha): there are the emblems for all the alchemists, historical and legendary in the Hortulus Hermeticus (Hermetic Garden) and also the emblems about alchemy in the amazing Viridarium Chymicum (Chemical Pleasure-Garden).

But time is what it is. And there's just not enough of it. But I am going to stick with my plan of at least one emblem a week from Atalanta, plus browsing for great books to read and enjoy later. And I am very glad to share these with the #NetNarr crowd as my contribution to whatever storytelling alchemy will take place in the weeks to come! :-)

And just to add something new, here are two more emblems from the Hortulus, and these emblems also show up in other alchemical collections; I need to find a better scan! Anyway, here are Cleopatra and Medera:

Cleopatra Aegypti Regina

Divinum est de Sapientia Domini, gentibus occultatum.

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt. It is a divine thing from the Wisdom of the Lord, hidden from the peoples (or: the gentiles). But see the passage below: if you change the "de" to "et" then it would read: It is a divine thing, and by the Wisdom of the Lord it is hidden from the peoples.

Medera Foemina Alchymistica

Qui nescit regimen veritatis, ignorat Vas Hermetis.

Medera the Woman Alchemist. He who does not know the rule of truth is ignorant of the Hermetic Vessel.

You can read about Queen Cleopatra the Alchemist at Wikipedia. Medera is another one of the legendary female alchemists, but even more shadowy and mysterious than Cleopatra; she is sometimes associated with Miriam the Alchemist or Mary the Jewess (also: Maria Prophetissima); you can read about Mary/Miriam at Wikipedia. There is a separate emblem in this book about Mary, though; I'll do that one next time.

There is perhaps a clue to the language used here in a passage from Thomas Vaughn in his Aula Lucis where he is writing about Miriam the Alchemist (whom he calls the sister of Moses); he attributes these words to her:

The key of the science is in all bodies, but owing to the shortness of life and the length of the work the Stoics concealed this one only thing. They discovered tingeing elements, leaving instructions thereon, and these also did the philosophers continue to teach, save only concerning the Vessel of Hermes, because the same is Divine, a thing hidden from the Gentiles by the wisdom of God; and those who are ignorant of it know now the regimen of truth, for want of the Hermetic Vessel.

He also gives the Latin which you can see is very close to the language of these two emblems: vas Hermetis... est Divinum et sapientia Domini gentibus occultatum; et illi qui illud ignorant nesciunt regimen veritatis propter vasis hermetis ignorantiam.

Library. Stoltzius. Hortulus hermeticus

Title: Hortulus hermeticus = The Hermetic Garden
Hortulus hermeticus flosculis philosophorum cupro incisis conformatus, & breuissimis versiculis explicatus
Author: Daniel Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1627
Online Source: Hathi Trust

I would like to find a cleaner scan of this if I can, but I have not had any luck. The little emblems for the philosophers are so fascinating! I'll just do the first two here; this is a book I could really enjoy working on from start to finish. There are 160 of these little emblems:

Hermes Trismegistos, Aegiptius.

Quod est superius est sicut id quod est inferius.

That which is above is as that which is below.

(You will find these words in the Tabula Smaragdina.)

Adfar Alexandrinus, Praceptor Morieni.

Sol coniugii nostri est pater, mater vero Luna Alba.

The father of our union is the Sun; the mother indeed is the White Moon.

(You can read about Morien in The Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers by Francis Barrett.)

Library. Stoltzius. Viridarium chymicum (2)

And here is the second round of emblems from the Viridarium chymicum in animated form (details here):

Library. Stoltzius. Viridarium chymicum

Title: Viridarium chymicum = A Chemical Pleasure-Garden
Author: Daniel Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1624
Online Source: e-Rara (Jung Foundation: Alchemy, Magic and Kabbalah)

This is another fantastic emblem book; I have done just the first 50 emblems here; I will post the other 50 tomorrow. Unfortunately, this books is hard to find, but I just now learned how to access the page views at eRara, where there are higher-res images than in the PDF! Yes!!!

Library. Maier. Scrutinium Chymicum (= Atalanta Fugiens)

Title: Scrutinium Chymicum = A Chemical Investigation
Secretioris naturae secretorum scrutinium chymicum : per oculis et intellectui accuratè accommodata, figuris cupro appositissimè incisa, ingeniosissima emblemata, hisque confines, & ad rem egregiè facientes sententias, doctissimaque item epigrammata, illustratum
Author: Michael Maier (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1687
Online Source: Hathi Trust

This is a later edition of the Atalanta Fugiens (notably without the music!), and it is the nicest printed and scanned edition that I have found online. I have been working through the emblems one by one, and now that I found this lovely edition, I decided to make an animated gif of the pages with all 50 emblems:

Library. Horapollo. Hieroglyphs

Title: Hieroglyphika Ori Apollinis = Horapollo's Hieroglyphs
Hōrou Apollōnos neilōou Hieroglyphika. Ori Apollinis niliaci, De sacris notis & sculpturis libri duo
Author: Horapollo (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1551, with engravings reproduced from French edition of 1543
Online Source: Hathi Trust

There are many editions of the hieroglyphs of Horapollo, and I thought this was a very nicely illustrated edition. It has both Greek and Latin texts. Here are just a few of the engravings: gorgeous!

Library. Dee. Monas hieroglyphica

Title: Monas hieroglyphica = The Hieroglyphic Monad
Author: John Dee (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1564 (?)
Online Source: Hathi Trust

The book has its own article at Wikipedia. Here is an excerpt from that article:

The Hieroglyphic embodies Dee's vision of the unity of the Cosmos and is a composite of various esoteric and astrological symbols. Dee wrote a commentary on it which serves as a primer of its mysteries. However, the obscurity of the commentary is such that it is believed that Dee used it as a sort of textbook for a more detailed explanation of the Hieroglyph which he would give in person. In the absence of any remaining detail of this explanation we may never know the full significance of the Glyph.

The edition at Hathi Trust is a good scan, very readable. Here is the title page, which does indeed show the glyph:

There are some charts in the book, and I have selected some to include here:

Roos: browsing for books

So the time over winter break ran away with me, and there is so much in the Roos book that I have not looked at, so what I am going to do today, before the semester's wildness really takes hold tomorrow, is to look through as much of Roos today as I can, noting likely books that I can try to seek out online later and add to the Alchemical Library. :-)

Agrippa of Nettesheim, De occulta philosophia 1510
De alchimia, 1526
Peter Apian, Astronomicum Caesareum 1540
J. C. Barchusen, Elementa chemicae 1718
J. J. Becker, Physica subterranea 1703
W. Blake, Book of Urizen 1794 etc. etc.
Jacob Bohme. Hieroglyphica Sacra 1764 (appendix to 4 vol. W. Law)
Jacob Bohme. Theosophical Works 1682
Sebastian Brant, Hexastichon 1509
.A. Cellarius, harmonia Macrocosmica 1660
Conrad Celtis, Amores, illustrated by Durer 1502
Daniel Cramer, Emblemata Sacra 1617
A. Eleazar, Donum Dei 1735
.Figurarum Aegypticorum Secretarum, 18th c.
R. Fludd, Philosophia sacra 1626
R. Fludd, Medicina Catholica 1629
R. Fludd, Summum Bonum 1629
R. Fludd, Utriusque Cosmi
R. Fludd, Philosophia Moysaica1638
R. Fludd, Integrum Morborum Mysterium 1631
D. A. Freher, Works of J. Behmen, Law edition 1764
D. A. Freher, Paradoxa Emblemata 18th c. ms.
G. Gichtel, Theosophia practica, 1898
de Hooghe, Hieroglyphica, 1744
Hermann Hugo, Pia Desideria 1659
.Heinrich Jamsthaler, Viatorum spagyricum 1625
Athanasius Kircher, Iter extaticum 1671
A. Kircher, Ars magna lucis 1671
A. Kircher, Musurgia universalis 1650
A. Kircher, Oedipus Aegyptiacus 1652
A. Kircher, Mundus Subterraneus 1678
A. Kircher, Obeliscus aegyptiacus 1666
A. Kircher, Ars magna sciendi 1669
A. Kircher, Arithmologia 1665
A. Kircher, Turris Babel 1679
A. Kircher, Arca Noe 1675
Johann Kunckel, Ars vitraria experimentalis 1744
.Janus Lacinius, Pretiosa Margarita 1546
.Lambsprinck, De lapide philosophico 1625
Leadbeater and Besant (!), Occult Chemistry 1908
Ramon Lull, De nova logica 1512
Ramon Lull, Ars brevis 1578
.Johannes Macarius, Abraxas 1657
M. Maier, Viatorium 1618
S. Michelspacher, Cabala 1616
Mutus liber
J. D. Mylius, Anatomia auri 1628
J. D. Mylius, Philosophia reformata 1622
Thomas Norton, Tractatus chymicus 1616
.Cornelius Petraeus, Sylva philosophorum 17th c.
.Philotheus, Symbola Christiana 1677
Gregor Reisch, Pretiosa Margarita 1503
.Rosarium philosophorum, 16th c.
.C. Knorr von Rosenroth, Kabbala denudata 1684
Gregorius Anglus Sallwigt (von Welling). Opus mago-cabalisticum, 1719.
Theophilius Schweighart, Speculum sophicum Rhodostauroticum 1604
E. Sibley, A Key to Magic and the Occult Sciences c. 1800
Speculum veritatis, 17th c.
C. Stengelius, Ova Paschalia Sacro Emblemata, 1672
.D. Stolcius von Stolcenberg, Viridarium chymicum 1624
.A. Sucquet, Via vitae aeternae 1625
Theatrum Chemicum 1661
Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum 1652
E. Thurneysser Quinta Essentia 1574
.S. Trismosin, Splendor Solis, 16th c.
.S. Trismosin, Aureum vellus 1708
.J.C. von Vaanderbeeg, Manductio Hermetico-Philosophia 1739
.Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Lumen de Lumine 1693
.Georg von Welling, Opus mago-cabalisticum 1760

Latin Reader (11): Pullus a nido volans

Today, it's Emblem VII from Michael Maier's Atalanta fugiens: Pullus a nido volans. Last time, we had an agricultural allegory, and now Maier turns to the world of nature for an allegory. The theme is the combination of contrary elements.

Pullus a nido volans, qui iterum cadit in nidum.

The chick flying from the nest, who again falls back into the nest.

For a hand-colored version, see Adam McLean's website: Emblem VII.

(image source)

(image source)

And here's the poem:

Rupe cava nidum Jovis ALES struxerat, in quo
Delituit, pullos enutriitque suos:
Horum unus levibus voluit se tollere pennis,
At fuit implumi fratre retentus ave.
Inde volans redit in nidum, quem liquerat, illis
Junge caput caudae, tum nec inanis eris.


Jupiter's bird (= eagle, Jovis ales) had built its nest (nidum struxerat) in a hollow rock (rupe cava); the eagle hid in the nest (in quo delituit) and nourished her chicks (pullos enutriitque suos). One of the chicks (horum unus) wanted to rise up (voluit se tollere) on his slight wings (levibus pennis), but he was held back (at fuit retentus) by his featherless brother bird (implumi fratre ave). The chick thus flies back (inde volans redit) into the nest which it had left (in nidum quem liquerat): join them head to tail (illis junge caput caudae) and then you will not be wasting your time (tum nec inanis eris).

Maier intends this as a lesson in the combination of contrary elements. The essay talks about the alchemical elements, and then turns again to the bird allegories from nature:

Hoc declaratur per duas Aquilas, pennatam et implumem, ex quibus illa volare conata ab hac retinetur. In Falconis et Ardeae pugna exemplum huius rei evidens est: ille enim celeri volatu et alis pernicibus superior in aere factus hanc unguibus prehendit et lacerat, cuius pondere in terram uterque decidit.

This is made clear (hoc declaratur) by the two Eagles (per duas Aquilas), one with feathers and one without (pennatam et implumem); when the feathered one of the two (ex quibus illa) tries to fly (volare conata) it is held back by the other (ab hac retinetur). In the fight between the falcon and the heron (in Falconis et Ardeae pugna) an example of this matter (exemplum huius rei) is evident (evidens est): for the falcon (ille enim) by his swift flight (celeri volatu) and agile wings (et alis pernicibus) rises higher in the air (superior in aere factus) and seizes the heron in its talons (hanc unguibus prehendit) and mangles her (et lacerat), but because of her weight (cuius pondere) they both fall to the ground (in terram uterque decidit). 

And now for your listening pleasure — a choral performance or just the musical fugue:

And the following is a list of the emblems I have completed so far:

Emblem I: Portavit eum ventus in ventre suo
Emblem II: Nutrius ejus terra est
Emblem III: Vade ad mulierem
Emblem IV: Conjunge fratrem cum sorore
Emblem V: Appone mulieri super mammas bufonem
Emblem VI: Seminate aurum vestrum

Emblem VII: Pullus a nido volans
Emblem VIII: Accipe ovum
Emblem XXXVI: Lapis projectus

Library. Maer. Arcana arcanissima

Title: Arcana arcanissima = The Most Secret Secrets
Arcana arcanissima, hoc est, Hieroglyphica aegyptio-graeca : vulgo necdum cognita, ad demonstrandam falsorum apud antiquos deorum, dearum, heroum, animantium, & institutorum pro sacris receptorum, originem, ex vno Aegyptiorum artificio, quod aureũ animi et corporis medicamentum peregit, deductam, vnde tot poëtarum allegoriae, scriptorum narrationes fabulosae et per totam encyclopaediam errores sparsi clarissima veritatis luce manifestantur, suaeq[ue] tribui singula restituuntur, sex libris exposita / authore Michaele Maiero
Author: Michael Maier (Wikipedia)
Edition: 1614
Online Source: Hathi Trust

Since I have been enjoying Michael Maier's Atalanta fugiens so much, I thought I would explore some of his other books. The contents of this book look very intriguing (with an index at the back to make it useful for research), but it is not illustrated. It has a lovely frontispiece, but that is the only illustration in the book (despite the title). All the rest is text (Latin).

p. 1. Liber Primus. De Hieroglyphicis Aegyptiorum.
p. 56. Liber Secundus. De Hieroglyphicis Graecorum, ac Primo de Allegoriis Auro Magis Conspicuis.
p. 95. Liber Tertius. De Aurea Deorum Dearumque Genealogia, ex qua tamquam arbore Philosophica innumeri rami Heroum Hieroglyphicorum propantantur.
p. 164. Liber Quartus. De Graeciae Festis ac Sacris, nec non certaminibus et Ludis pro memoria artificii Philosophici institutis et solemniter celebratis.
p. 209. Liber Quintus. De Herculis Laboribus.
p. 245. Liber Sextus. De Troiana Expeditione.
p. 287. Index Rerum.

Library. Khunrath. Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae

Title: Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae = The Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom

Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae, solius verae, christiano-kabalisticum, divino-magicum, nec non physico-chymicum, tertriunum, catholicon / instructore Henrico Khunrath

Author: Heinrich Khunrath (Wikipedia)

Edition: 1609

Online Source: eRara Alchemy, Magic and Kabbalah 

Here is what Wikipedia says about the book:

His most famous work on alchemy is the Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae (Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom), a work on the mystical aspects of that art, which contains the oft-seen engraving entitled "The First Stage of the Great Work", better-known as the "Alchemist's Laboratory". The book was first published at Hamburg in 1595, with four circular elaborate, hand-colored, engraved plates heightened with gold and silver which Khunrath designed and were engraved by Paullus van der Doort. The book was then made more widely available in an expanded edition with the addition of other plates published posthumously in Hanau in 1609. Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae is an alchemical classic, combining both Christianity and magic. In it, Khunrath showed himself to be an adept of spiritual alchemy and illustrated the many-staged and intricate path to spiritual perfection.

And here are all the illustrations: