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God has ordained it so that the Universal spirit by means of Humidity should work all things, because Humidity mixes easily with everything, by means of which the spirit can soften, penetrate, generate. This universal fire fills that immense space in the Universe between the heavenly bodies. It causes therein a gentle Reaction, and a general, gentle, most subtil Fermentation takes place universally, and by this Reaction the Universal Acid is everywhere generated, which we can deem nothing else than a most subtil incorporeal Nitre Spiritus Mundi, outwardly cold and inwardly fire.
Thus this Spiritual incorporeal Nitre or Universal Acid; we deem the second invisible change of the Universal fire, generated out of chaotic invisible Humidity: Thus we say, not without good reason, that the Solar Rays of Light, are nothing else but a most subtil spiritual Spiritual Mundi, which gradually becomes more and more nitreous, as it approaches the Earth, but Sea Salt in the Ocean; animating the atmosphere with fire or Life, and thereby giving elasticity to the air, and Life and preservation to the water.
From this, every man of common understanding may learn what Nature is, and its origin. We see that between the Firmament and our Earth, continual Vapours, Clouds, and Fogs, which ascend like a transpiration of the Earth, and are sublimed upwards by the Central heat of the Earth. This Chaotic water and Vapours, contain, and are the First Matter of all Things, and although this appears very simple before our Eyes, yet it is two-fold, as it contains fire and Humidity, the Invisible in the Visible, the fire or spirit is the Agent, and the water the Patient.
Whosoever wishes to arrive at the Fountain of Secret Wisdom, let him mind this well; and let him go with this Central Point of Truth to the circumference, and for ever imprint in his memory: Whosoever comprehends this well will find no difficulty in analysing Natural things as he may easily volatilize fixt, and fix the volatile: The distinction is external and regards only the modification of the Matter, which is more or less digested or fixt. Therefore the Philosophers say that their Matter is in all Things, yet they have selected such Subjects wherein the Universal spirit is more abundantly contained and more concentrated, and easer to be obtained; otherwise that spirit is All in All.
We have demonstrated that the primordial Vapour, or that fire and water, are after God, the First Matter of all Things. This two-fold Vapour by inspissation is become water and this water by the action of the invisible spirit therein diffused, has begun to ferment and then to generate Matter. At first, this water was perfectly subtil and pure, but by means of the action of the inward spirit, it becomes turbid, smelled badly and thus generated Earth.
It was divided into various parts. At first it was 1 and 2, now it is 1, 2, and 3, likewise 4 and 5.
When the water has attained to its term of putrefaction, we may separate one subtil after another; the most subtil will certainly ascend before the less subtil, and so one principle after another until the least volatile comes last. God had ordained that the different modifications of the Universal spirit, in the four Elements, should continually generate and produce a Universal General Sperm, for that reason God has given to each individual thing its Agent and Patient, in order to cause a Reaction; This we see by the evaporation of numberless Subjects, who send forth whatever Humidity then have more than is necessary.
This evaporation when from above is called Influence, but when from things here below it is called Effluvium. God has given each Individual its particular Sperm. Water and earth are the Mother, the Female or Passive principle. These four are nevertheless only two, fire and water; They are forced to engender continually a regenerated Chaotic water or primordial Chaos out of their Center, for the generation, preservation, destruction and regeneration of all Things, and this will continue until it pleases God to Calcine and regenerate the whole Earth.
These four so-called Elements, which must fabricate the Universal Sperm or regenerate the Chaos, when one Extream is considered towards the other, seem quite contrary, and indeed as contraries they cannot effect any good; yet when they meet orderly, they are fully capable to execute that what God has ordained them for. It is a natural and philosophical axiom "Non transire posse abuno Extremo ad alterum absque medio," that is: It is impossible to proceed from one Extream to another Extream without a Medium.
This axiom every Artist ought to mind, thousands err because they do not observe this Truth. Fire cannot become water without air, and earth cannot become air without water.
If you would unite fire, as being extreamly volatile and subtil, with the earth, which is corporeal and fixt, you will never be able to do it; because the most Volatile will forsake the fixt and return to its Chaos. This is so in all Natural Things, that the most Volatile principle, cannot unite with the most fixt without its proper medium. An Artist ought to observe this constantly that he may not lose his time, his matter, and expenses.
The Lover of Natural Truths sees here, from whence each Concrete derives its power, viz. If you dissolve volatile salt of urine, or sal ammoniac with nitre in water, both are dissolved without violence or alteration, but if this humidity or water is evaporated and coagulated over the fire to dryness, so that they only commence to melt, they inflame and fulminate immediately. That there is nitre and salt in all waters and earths. This further agitated and concentrated produces Heat and fire. In this water soak any seeds, until then swell, then dry them in the Sun, and sow them in the ground. The difference consists in their external appearance, by Fermentation fire becomes air, and air becomes water, and water is become earth; But when fire is fixed by Art or by Nature it becomes earth, and when the earth is volatilised by water it becomes air and fire.
Therefore if you want to unite Heaven or fire with the earth, or convert fire into earth, unite it first with its nearest volatile medium and they will unite immediately, when that is done, give them the water, as a medium between air and earth, and they will also unite; then add the earth, and thus you may unite fire with earth and fix it therein; and so vice versa turn the earth into water with water, then convert it into air, and the air into fire by means of air. The Heaven or fire is extreamly subtil, the air is also subtil, but one degree more corporeal than the fire; water is again a degree more corporeal than the air, and the earth is a degree more corporeal than the water.
Thus we must proceed as Nature does, and we may then obtain a Quintessentificated Operation, if we do not mind this, we can do little or nothing. Nature has its different degrees of subtilty, and mixes the most subtil fire with the less subtil, and that with the least subtil. When they are united, they influence into the most subtil water, then into the less subtil, and into the grossest.
Then it mixes gradually with the most subtil earth, with the less and least subtil, until it becomes Rocks and Stones.
In a chemical Anatomy we see how the most subtil comes over first, and how Nature regulates her Operations, and does not confound one principle with another, but lets go the most Volatile and most subtil first, and then the next less Volatile, and so on etc. Take an earth out of a Field or Meadow or what Earth you please, pour Water upon it so as to dilate your Earth well, then let it stand a few days and you will find that the coarse heavy earth settles at the bottom of the Vessel, you must stir it 3 or 4 times a day.
The water will in the meantime dissolve the most subtil earth which is its salt, this does unite with the water, as being a Virgin earth. As soon as this salt, or Virgin earth is extracted out of the common earth, the water cannot dissolve it any further.
Now you must distil this water containing the salt, into a spiritual water, and you must cohobate so often until all the salt has come over with the water. This water now has the power to dissolve again the next subtil earth, which can like the first salt be distilled over as a spiritual water. With this Water you may proceed in dissolving more of the remaining earth, until by distillations and cohobations, you have dissolved the whole quantity and volatilised it into a spiritual water; This is a tedious Operation but of great moment: In the same manner Nature operates by dissolving and coagulating, until the Universal Sperm of all Things is generated, which is universal seed.
The Artist must observe that Nature proceeds gradually and regularly. The four so-called Elements have been separated out of the Chaos, but they proceed all from one. The form is but one, and the Matter is but one. The form is fire, and the Matter is water. The difference consists in their external appearance, by Fermentation fire becomes air, and air becomes water, and water is become earth; But when fire is fixed by Art or by Nature it becomes earth, and when the earth is volatilised by water it becomes air and fire. Because one Element can be converted into the other, if this was not true they would differ centrally, but they do not.
The Chaos which produced these Elements was in the beginning fire and water only, these two have been divided into four by a further volatilisation and Inspissation: By volatilisation, extenuation or rarefaction, Humidity becomes air animated by fire, but by condensation in Inspissation of that Primordial Humidity the Earth has been formed with the fire turned downwards, toward the Center of the Earth. The Hieroglyphic characters of the Elements explain their nature exactly. There is not a Subject under the Heavens, whether liquid or dry which does not contain this Universal fire, and Primordial Humidity.
The first is called Innate Heat, the last is called Radical Humidity. The Universal fire becomes Humidity externally, but remained fire internally; being internally extreamly spiritual and volatile, it was of course extreamly active and moveable, and by that primitive mobility, excited warmth and fermentation and by that fermentation the Universal vinegar was, and is continually generated, and when this meets with a proper Body, whether in water or in the earth the Universal Sperm becomes visible and Corporeal, but whilst it is only a Vapour in the atmosphere, it is then the Universal Astral and incorporeal Sperm.
This is the influence we receive from Heaven by means of the Air. The Heavens give their influence, so does the Air, Water and Earth, and with united efforts they fabricate continually the Universal Sperm of the World. Heaven, after the separation of the Chaos, is the first principle, and became visible in Light: It is the most subtil and the highest, as well as the most universal, when it generated Humidity it became a most subtil Vapour, pure and extreamly Volatile, for that reason occupies the highest Station, or the remotest from the atmospheres of the heavenly Bodies.
This most subtil principle is full of Life and the most active for which reason we call Heaven the first Agent, the Male Sperm the Soul, a subtle air, a subtil water, a volatile earth. Heaven and air have their influence not upwards, but downwards, towards water and earth, but earth and water ascends upwards to meet them.
They mix thus in the state of vapours in order to fabricate the Chaotic regenerated, and impregnated water or the Universal, Semi-material Sperma Mundi. As soon as the air is impregnated and animated with Heaven, it communicates immediately with water and earth to impregnate them also. This communication is done in a moment, as the Elements are gradually prepared to meet and mix with each other, by a continual circulation. There is no doubt but our atmosphere is continually loaded with Vapours, exhalations and clouds for the sake of communication of the Elements; as soon as these Vapours become condensed into Rain, Dew, Snow or Hail and fall down that same moment the volatilisations and exhalations of water and earth take place and are ready to succeed and meet those, which come down; so that there can never be no want of generation of such Vapours, which when sufficiently dilated or extended constitute our common air, which is more or less pure according as it is more or less animated by Heaven or fire.
The Heavens receive the ascending Vapours, which as they recede from the atmosphere become more and more subtil and spiritual until they are actually returned to their first Universal state of Ether or Spiritus Mundi. The atmospheric air also receives continually the volatilised water and succeeding Vapours, until it is satiated and overloaded, when the superflous Humidity is forced down again in Dew, Rain, Hail, Snow.
Thus fire and air come down into the Waters and impregnate them; the Waters dispose their thickest part and give it to the Earth; the Earth thereby becomes overloaded or saturated, which superfluity of earth and water is again volatised and sublimed upwards by the fire, inverted fire or Central Heat, into Vapours, which ascension and descension God has implanted into the Universal fire, as the Great and only Agent of nature, or rather Nature herself which causes this perpetual circulation by its attracting and repulsing power, as we have demonstrated in the Second Chapter.
The Lover of Natural Knowledge may clearly learn here how the Effluvium of one Element becomes the food and nourishment of the others, until converted therein; the same takes place with us and our food, as, for instance, we eat Bread and drink Wine, we discharge the superfluities of our food, which are used for manure on the land; seed is sown therein and out of such superfluities grows again our food.
A Tree looses its leaves during Winter, the leaves fall to the Root, where they putrify and become humidity which penetrates to the Root and feeds the Tree again. Thus you will see a continual transmutation of Matter, that is a conditional change or modification, whilst the inward central fire of Nature remains always the same, as it was in the beginning. All things were water at first, and return to water. Apply this throughout our Book, which is no small step towards out Art.
Air is the second principle after the separation of the Chaos, and is the Vehicle or Instrument of the first i. The Heavens or fire is the Anima and Life whilst the air or extenuated, rarefied Humidity is the spirit and Receptacle of the Soul and Principle of Life, and consequently animated fire ought to be named Spiritus Vitalis Macrocosmi, or the Vital Spirit of the Earth which we inhabit.
Air is a most subtil humid vapour or rarefied water wherein fire dwells abundantly.
This is more corporeal than the Ether beyond the Atmosphere, which Ether is totally unfit for Inspiration, as being too subtil to fill the air vesicles in the lungs of animals: Air being the genuine Medium between fire and water, as it partakes of both, is therefore capable to receive the most subtil celestial fiery influences as well as the sublimed vapours from below, and by a continual motion or circulation, more and more vapours are converted into air, and more and more of such air becomes animated by fire, and as soon as it is saturated, the superflous humidity is condensed again and comes down in the character of animated water, such is Rain, Dew, Hail, and Snow.
By this you see that atmospheric air is the first Medium to unite fire with water and earth, and without it the Heavens could never communicate with water and earth. Thus air becomes vapour and water, and the thicker the water gets, the better it mixes with the Earth, as on the contrary the Earth by Subtilisation by means of water is again converted into air, Nature operating these perpetual changes and conversions from one extream to the other: The Earth itself is a condensed or fixed Heaven, and Heaven is a volatilised earth, air is a rarefied water, and water is condensed air.
We have here to note that one Element differs from the other only in this, that the One is volatile, the Other fixed, the one is fluid or dissolved, the Other is condensed or coagulated, and yet every one is and remains centrally and inwardly what they all were at first, i. Out of which Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals receive part of the vivifying principle and nourishment: Water and earth belong together, as fire and air do, nay, all four stand in need of each other; the earth wants water, and fire cannot do without air; air without or deprived of fire becomes a putrid humidity, and water without animated air becomes mud and earth.
Water is the third principle, but the first passive Element, the Female Sperm and Menstrum of the Macrocosm, which does the Office of conveying food and nourishment to all Sublunary Creatures, and is, with the Earth, the Mother of all Things.
Water is condensed air and a fluid earth. Water is a Medium between air and earth. As soon as fire is become air, and air been converted into water, Dew, Rain, or Snow, they fall down on the inferior grosser waters and earth and mix therewith, begin to ferment by means of the primogenial implanted spirit or fire, and one Element operates into the other, until they have produced their Fruit from convenient Matrixes. Thus the Artist must follow Nature, if he wants to unite and fix his principles together; Let him look for a Medium of Union, which is easily found; and if one Medium is not enough, let him employ two, and if two prove inadequate, let him take three, but homogenials and not heterogenials, as minerals agree with minerals, vegetables with vegetables etc.
Minerals agree also with Vegetables, and Vegetables with Animals, as the Vegetables stand between Animals and Minerals. The difference between them all is but external, not central, as they proceed originally all from one and the same Universal spirit. Minerals are fixt Vegetables, Vegetables are Volatile Minerals, and one kingdom is transmutable into the other, in regard to its internal qualities.
Men and Beasts make use of Vegetables for food, and by their inward nature, they change those Vegetables into flesh and Blood; now when man and beasts die, they are buried underground, and Vegetables are again produced, which receive by means of their fibres and roots mineral Vapours, which are thus converted again into Vegetables.
This is the true Pythagorean Metempsychosis. Vegetables again, when they putrefy, assume a nitreous saline nature which is dissolved by rain and carried downwards through the pores, into the earth, or into the Sea.
Earth is the fourth and last principle of the Chaos. It is the second passive Element, the Matrix, and Mother of all sublinary Creatures; earth is a coagulated fixt Heaven a coagulated fixt water, and condensed air. Heaven by its extream subtility, is of all Elements the most moveable and omnipresent; its own motion, on account of its subtility is imperceptible, although visible in Light; This Universal fire is never idle, but perpetually active, pervading all things, although its action is generally imperceptible. This is the original cause of all Motion in Nature it moves the most subtil Air on the outward superficies of the atmospheres of the opaque celestial Bodies.
This outward subtil air set in Motion, moves the next towards the region of Clouds and Vapours, yet as the atmospheres grow gradually thicker, i. That the air is moved by the Ether or fire, is observable on account of the constant motion of the atmosphere; that Air set in Motion moves the Waters is well known to those who navigate the Seas and Rivers. That Water moves the Earth appears by the Sand, Mud and Stones which the Waters move continually from one place to the other.
Here the Water carries off, and in other places accumulates Sand and whole Shores: All Life proceeds from a Motion of the Universal fire, as a total privation of action and warmth extinguishes Life. From this let the Student collect that there exists a perceptible and imperceptible warmth. This we tell you because in all the Elements exist Innate Heat, which is sometimes observable at other times not, this is not always dependent on the collected Rays of Light, nor on the Central Heat of the Earth.
Every Subject under the Sun, although invisibly small contains Life or fire, and of course the four Elements. Now if every Subject contains Heaven or fire, so every Subject has a Motion, whether visible and perceptible or not, yet there is a Motion in it. For instance, a plant, root, or herb, ore or mineral tore from the Spot where it grew, seems to be dead, because it is hindered from growing to a further perfection; But as Heaven is within which is never at rest, it still continues to show its powers and virtues, when that plant or ore is rendered medicinal.
The Golden Chain of Homer. Aurea Catena Homeri By Hamilton; Wheeler The Aurea Catena Homeri, written in German by Dr. Anton Josef Kirchweger, was. The Aurea Catena Homeri, written in German by Dr. Anton Josef Kirchweger, was first printed in , though it was distributed in a handwritten format prior to.
The Lover of Natural Truths sees here, from whence each Concrete derives its power, viz. Therefore you will look in vain for a Subject big, or even so small which is deprived of Life, that is of Heaven air, water and earth. It stands to reason that the Children resemble Father and Mother, now as all Things did proceed from the Primeval Chaos, they must partake of the same properties.
This property was fire and Humidity, but fire is the mover. Thus fire or the spirit is diffused through the whole system of Nature, so that the meanest drop of water, or the smallest atom of Sand or Earth is filled with that Universal spirit. Observe here that the whole difference of Things consists only in volatility or fixity; that is: God has ordained it wisely, that Heaven must become corporeal and be converted into all the Elements, as vice versa, the inferior Elements are by subtilisation converted into air and fire or Heaven, in order to be reimpregnated and renewed by the Celestial Influences, for the sake of generation, preservation, destruction, and regeneration of all Things.
We have explained to you how Vapours are converted into air and air into fire, we will now examine the nature of these Vapours. We have told you that there exists in the Earth an Innate Heat, which we believe to be the strongest in the Center of the Earth, by reason of its swift motion.
This Celestial Heat causes a continual transpiration and sublimation of Vapours; such Vapours are Dews and Fogs; these Vapours are two-fold and four-fold. Two-fold because they consist of water and earth, fourfold as they contain the four Elements, which four Elements cannot do without each others assistance; that I call these Vapours water and earth is, because they contain those two Elements volatilised and subtilised, and if they ascend they are still further subtilised and converted into air and fire or Heaven.
Such Vapours have been water will be easily admitted, but that they also contain a subtilised earth, may perhaps be doubted; but note, that I have said before, that one Element is the conductor of the other, and that one Element dissolves and subtilises the other. Fire dissolves and subtilises air, air dissolves and subtilises water, water dissolves and subtilises and mollifies the earth, vice versa, the earth condenses the water, water condenses air, air condenses or corporifies Heaven or fire, by which means air becomes animated, as we have explained before, and becomes this Spiritus Mundi.
Thus one Element is the others Magnet, solvent, volatilising, condensing, coagulating and fixing principles. You are to note here that Nature has its degrees of Volatility and Fixity; as for instance, that part of fire which is nearest to the atmosphere is not so highly pure or subtil, as that which is a thousand leagues remote from it: In the same manner, the highest atmospheric air is purer, colder and more subtil as well as dryer than that air near us, which we breathe.
The superfluities of the water is also lighter, more aerial and more subtil than the thick slimy ground waters, which settle on pebbles. The Earth has also its degrees of subtility and fixity: We have therein earth juices, sulphurs, bituminous substances, such as the pitcoal, clays, loams, minerals, ores and metals, rocks, stones, and flints, and the precious gems of a wonderful fixity. The most volatile earth is mollified and dissolved by water, further volatilised into air and fire.
Vice versa the lowest fire sooner mixes and corporifies itself with the air, than the remote, whilst the lowest atmospheric air sooner mixes with, and becomes water, than the pure and highest air, the Inferior slimy ground waters become earth sooner than the superficial lighter waters. The Volatile soluble Earth, in particular its Virgin earth, i.
The volatile water is sooner converted into the lower air than the grownd waters can possibly be. If you understand us right, we shew you here the first beginning of Nature, and the true First Matter. As the four Elements proceed from the primordial Vapours, they are forced to generate continually such a Vapour, of the very selfsame principles and substances, which Vapour is converted by Nature into a Chaotic water, and falls down in Showers of Rain.
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