Revelation of the True Chemical Wisdom

Friederich Gualdus
Published in 1720

Translated by Leone Muller

Produced by

RAMS (Restoration of Alchemical Manuscripts Society ! 1"#"

Foreword by Hans W. Nintzel Friederich Gualdi, Gualdo or Gualdus was a resident of Venice in the 1680s or thereabouts. At that time, outer aspects not giving an indications of prosperit , he assisted a nobleman to open some mines and support the operations until the became profitable. !he nobleman suggested Gualdus to marr his daughter. "owever, the came from different levels of societ . !his difference posed an insurmountable obstacle. Gualdus presented the #epublic with sufficient funds $thought to be in gold% to ac&uire a title of sufficient importance to allow the marriage to ta'e place. !he couple lived in a fine villa and Gualdus had on displa , man fine paintings that belonged to him. A visitor e(amining one of the paintings, a portrait of Gualdus, noted it was painted b the renowned artist, !itian. Gualdus admitted that !itian did indeed paint this. !he problem was, !itian died in 1)*6+ Gualdus shortl disappeared, leaving Venice the ne(t morning. ,n -ompass der .eisen $1*8/%, he is referred to as being alive and over 600 ears old+ -enturies earlier, in Venice, he seemed a man of middle age, but indicated he was much older and the portrait clearl represented him as he loo'ed more than a centur earlier. -ontained therein, are letters between Gualdus and 0aron von #eusenstein. !he latter refers to Gualdus as an Adept and 1r 2igismund 0acstrom held von #eusenstein in ver high regard. .e have here, also, Gualdus3 recipe for longevit . A sub4ect, it seems, he 'new &uite a lot about+

Introduction .hen the Almight -reator created man immortal, he planted at the same time the !ree of 5ife in the center of the earthl paradise, as we read in the First 0oo' of 6oses, so that its fruit should be an antidote and 7niversal 6edicine for man and serve in all cases of adverse happenings. 0ut as Adam has deprived us of this benefit b his sin, the onl thing left to man is the desire to live long, which is also considered the noblest among all transitor goods. 8ust as the 5ord God "imself wanting to prompt the children all the more to obedience to their parents, has attached the promise of a long life to the Fourth -ommandment $in the Fourth 0oo' of 6oses%9 2o that ou ma live long and prosper on earth. :ven so, we must not thin' of achieving immortalit through the 7niversal 6edicine as we could have done through the fruits of the !ree of 5ife. !hus there are among all men onl two, :noch and :lias, who did not die but, as the 2cripture relates, were transported into ;aradise, although some believe, es, the Apostles themselves, that the identical privilege of not tasting death had been promised to 2t 8ohn, -hrist3s favorite disciple, in the words found in his Gospel, where the 2aviour replies to ;eter9 ,f , wish that he $2t 8ohn% should sta here till , return, of what concern is that to ou< !o sa it briefl 9 !here is no one wear of life, but ever one is eager to see how he can add to his ears. !his is a gift which we can hope to obtain through the 7niversal medicine, whose power e(tends over the three natural realms9 animal, vegetable, and mineral. Galen has given us a fine e(ample of maintaining one3s life a long time, b doing it himself for 1=0 ears without ever suffering an indisposition, as he reports in his boo' on the art of living a long life. 0ecause the desire to live long and health is naturall common to all, man a man will undoubtedl remember and as' me what , thin' of that man of whom the 1utch newspaper wrote and assured us that he "ad passed through Venice and had there stated un&uestionabl the he had reall reached =00 ears of age. >ow one could rightl as' me if this was due to the 7niversal 6edicine which 'eeps the "umidum #adicale $radical moisture% and the natural warmth in perfect balance, counteracts the debilities of old age, and fre&uentl re4uvenates man. !o this , will give m answer in ;art ?. ,n ;art ,, , will show that individuals at all times e(isted who had been living for a few centuries. ,n the second , will spea' about things that are both within and without us human beings and ma contribute toward e(tending our lifespan. ,n the third part , will give some useful and curious observations concerning the 7niversal 6edicine and its preparation. Although we are born to die and !ertullian sa s that God did not ma'e man mortal after the Fall through anger but through great compassion, the "ol 2cripture nevertheless shows us that in general man reached *00 ears before the Fall. Adam lived for @?0 ears, 2eth for @1/, -ain for @10, and thus the lifespan was decreased b and b , till God fi(ed it at 1/0 ordinar ears after the Fall. >evertheless, Arpha(ad, who was born /00 ears after the Flood, lived for ?00 ears and his son 2alem for =?0. "eber, a son of 2alem3s from whom the "ebrews have their name, lived for =6) ears. 0ut here one might thin' that these ears were not li'e our ears and were not solar bu t lunar ears of /@ to ?0 da s, or that ever season constituted a ear, as was the case with the -haldeans and Arcadians, according to the report of 5actantius. Ar at most the might not have been more than the time when the sun passes from one tropic to another, so

that, calculated against our ears, theirs were onl half as long. "owever, the could not have been lunar ears, as otherwise the conse&uence would be that man persons of our present time were living longer than our forefathers, when 100 of our ears would ma'e 1/00 lunar ears. At least, those ears consisted of 1/ months, because 6oses sa s in 0oo' *9/, spea'ing of the Flood, that >oah was 600 ears old when the Flood occurred on the 1*th da of the second 6oonB and in -hapter 89=, he sa s that the Ar' rested on a mountain in Armenia on the /*th da of the *th monthB and that the pea's of the high mountains began to appear in the water on the first da of the 6th month. ,n addition he sa s in the 1?th verse that >oh opened the Ar' on the first da of the first month in his 600th ear. From this it is evident that 6oses counted the ears in 1/ months, and even if there were a difference in the calculation of the months according to our ear and months, it would not amount to more than 1/ da s. #elating to secular histor , "omer informs us that ;rince >estor, son of >eli, was nearl ?00 ears old when he came to the aid of the Gree's against the !ro4ans. Anacreon assures us that Arganthemius, 'ing of the !artessos was 1)0 earsB -inirus, 'ing of - prus, lived to 100 earsB and Aeginius, to /00 ears. ;etrus 6affeus, in his ,ndian histor , testified that in 0engal an ordinar an was found, who had neither science nor erudition, who was ?)) ears old, and as proof thereof he related ever thing from memor that had happened in his lifetime, and which was &uite in accord with the chronicles. !he great 2eneca, a 2paniard b birth, reached == ears of age and would without doubt have become much older if his cruel and un4ust disciple >ero had not cut the thread of his life. 7nder the :mperor !ra4an, 2imon -leophe, 0ishop of 8erusalem, was crucified at the age of 1/0 ears oldB 2t Anthon , 0ishop of :g pt was 1)0B and -ronius, his collaborator, 1)). :mperor -laudius, after sufficientl e(amining the age of the 0olognese !itus Fullonius, finall found that he had been 1)0 ears old. !he "un Cing Attila died in the 1/=th ear of his life. ;etrus de >atalibus asserts that 2t 2everinus, 0ishop of !ongres, reached ?*) ears of age and was ordained 0ishop in his 1@*th ear. >icolaus de -omitatibus certifies that among the 0racmanniers there had been one of ?00 ears. ,t is also eas for >ature to give to one man alone so man ears as she might otherwise gives to man together, 4ust as she bestows on a giant so much strength and matter as would at other times be re&uired for the formation of man human bodies. 2uch a one was a man of the lineage of !urgan, not far from 5a'e -onstance, who fought against the 2a(ons under -harlemagne. "e impaled eight of them on his pi'e, carried them over his shoulder and wal'ed through the #hine with them to his comrades, sa ing9 5oo' here the German frogs that , have caughtB , cannot understand their croa'ing. Guido 0onatus assures us that in 1//? he 'new someone b the name of #ichard, who was alread =00 ears old and could undeniabl prove that he had seen service under -harlemagne. ,n addition, there is also much tal' about a certain 8ean du !emps who served in the war under -harlemagne and died under 5ouis V,, in the ear 11=6. From this we ma conclude that he must have lived close to ?60 ears, as -harlemagne had alread been crowned :mperor in the ear 800. A certain :nglishman was 1)/ ears old, And 4ust as , do not report an thing without good reason, , also sa here that the learned 6onsieur "ubin, #o al French !reasurer, had given me that man3s portrait, which he had received from 6. 8ac&ues du ;erron, nephew of the -ardinal of the same name, 0ishop of Angouleme and subse&uentl :uvreu(, where he died as -hief Almoner of the daughter of the Cing of :ngland, "enr ,V.

!hat :nglishman was rather tall and heav , and his name was !homas ;arc', of .inningthon, parish of Alverburg, -ount of 2hropshire. "e was born in 1=?? and had alread 1)/ ears when he was put before Cing -harles , in :ngland on @ Actober 16?). "e had seen nine Cings on the :nglish throne9 :dward ,V, #ichard ,,,, "enr V,,, "enr V,,,, :liDabeth, 8ames V,, and -harles ,, father of the present ruling Cing. !he good man praised God among other things also for the fact that he had alwa s steadfastl adhered to the #oman -atholic religion, although he had seen three changes in religion during his lifetime, under "enr V,,,, Eueen 6ar !udor, and then again under :liDabeth. "e readil confessed that he had been put on trial in his 100th ear because he had got a oung girl with child. !his was also the reason wh , after the customs of the countr , he had to stand in front of the church door, covered with a white cloth and holding a wa( candle in his hand, thus obviousl doing penance. 2i(teen ears before his death he lost his sight. "e died in 5ondon on /= >ovember 16?), within half an hour, without having been sich before or noticing the approaching death. After his death, his bod was opened and all his inner parts were found to be health , e(cept his lung which was full of hardened blood. !he ph sicians attributed this to a change of air, as he had been brought to his place of death from a localit where the air had been much purer and milder than in 5ondon. At the same time, the -ountess of Arundel presented to the Eueen of :ngland a midwife who was 1/? ears old and still performed her duties in her home town two ears before. Alaus 6agnus relates in his historical accounts that an :nglish 0ishop b name of 1avid reached 1*0 ears. 0uchanan asserts that 5aurence "utland was still preaching in his 1=0th ear, even in the severest of winters. ,t is therefore evident from the ecclesiastical and temporal histor that at all times the life of some persons lasted for a hundred ears and that it has not alwa s been so precisel limited to 60 and 80 ears as it is said in the ;salms of 1avid. 2olomon also sa s that God did not ma'e death, which signified nothing but a mere name without essence and onl the absence of life. !he said wise Cing also sa s that old age is a crown of honor and that gre hair is worth esteeming, because those who have it are generall useful and necessar to the communit on account of their long e(perience. >ow we will also show which things that are outside of us and how man of them, such as the place of residence, purit of the air and water, etc., contribute to the preservation of health and the prolongation of life. ,t is rightl said that the dead are the best teachers because the teach us in their wor's without flatter and selfFinterest, as the following epitaph informs us in regard to longevit 9 -ontinence and Frugalit ;rolong Aur 5ifespan, !he great ; thagorean Appolonius of ! ana retained his outh for over 100 ears b his continence and frugalit , which also caused the ancient anchorites to e(tend their lifespan and health so far. 1ue precisel to continence and frugalit , the great philosopher 1emocritus also en4o ed the best health for 10@ ears. And it is worth remembering what 1iogenes 5aertius thin's of his death9 "is sister having indicated that she could not attend the festivities of the goddess -eres if he died before them, he complied and sustained himself during his last three da s of life with the smell of warm bread. !he true celibate and chaste state is indeed an e(cellent means for living long and health . 0ut Arta(er(es, Cing of ;ersia, who begot 11) children, ended his life onl after 100 ears, due solel to the conspiration of fift of his children. !he #oman :mperor ;roclus once boasted that a hundred ;olish girls had given birth to 100 of his children within two wee's.

,n such a wa , at the time of 2t 8erome, a #oman man could have had a legion of legitimate children with a #oman lad , according toe an account of this -hurch Father who lived at the time of ;ope 1amasu. ,n #ome there lived a man who had alread become a widower twent times. "e had married a widow who, in turn, had alread /0 husbands. .hen she died, he attended the corpse with a laurel wreath on his head and a palm branch in his hand, under the great cheers of other men, which the uttered because he had survived his otherwise incomparable wife. 6oderation and ph sical e(ercise also ma'e us health and strong. !his is wh the #omans were e(tremel amaDed at the strength and giant siDe of our Gauls, who did not drin' wine and for a long time 'new nothing about it, until the 2wiss "elicon first brought the vine and its 4uice to Gaul. 5i'ewise, the 'ind of food we eat contributes a great deal to a long life. ;eople in the ;rovince of 5imoges mostl eat nothing but chestnuts and live for a ver long time, because the get from them nourishment that is little sub4ect to corruption and thus does not easil dissipate. A good constitution and the right temperature of the radical moisture and the natural warmth are necessar for a long life. !he superfluous moisture tones the warmth downB and fre&uent warmth in turn tones down the moisture. !hat is wh a long life can be e(pected of a sanguine constitution, as the blood is then warm and moist. !he aggressive and ever active fire of the choleric constitution cannot last long in a dr person. !he great moisture of the phlegmatic cannot sufficientl coo' the natural warmthB and the melancholic is all too dr and cold. 0ut it ma well be that when the choleric and the phlegmatic constitutions are combined, and one tempers the other3s faults, the ma'e for a long life. !his also happens with the sanguine and melancholic, when the warmth and moisture of the blood is tempered b the dr ness of the melancholic and can li'ewise give a long life. ,n addition, a health place of residence contributes not a little to a long life. .hen :mperor Vespasian and his son !itus had a census made of all of ,tal , four men were found in a town of Vella4acum, region of ;iacenDa, who were each /10 ears old, and still si( other men each 110 ears. At the same time, there lived in Arimini a woman b name of !ertulla who was 1?* ears old. 5i'ewise another in Faventia in her 1?/nd ear. ;lin relates from the ,sigon that in ,ndia the -irneses generall live to 1=0 ears. ;omponius 6ela reports that the residents of a town situated at the foot of 6ount Atlas live twice as long as other inhabitants of the globe. And Arisicrates asserts that there are ,ndians in the tropics who are as tall as five elbows and live to 1?0 without debilitating old age. -tesias li'ewise avers that those who lived in ;andoria in the valle s generall reached /00 ears, and the had this odd characteristic that the had white and gre hair in their outh but blac' hair in old age. "elanicus writes that in the region of :tolia the inhabitants usuall became /00 ears old. Among them, ;ictoreus reached ?00 ears, according to a report b 1amasus. ,f :phorus is to be believed, the Arcadian Cing lived for ?00 ears. And Ale(ander -ornelius sa s that in ,ll ria a certain 1andon e(tended his life to )00 ears. 0ut in his ;eriplus Genophon goes even further, sa ing that the 6aritime Cing lived for 600 ears and his son for 800. Alaus 6agnus writes in the =th boo' of his "istories that the people of the coldest midnight countries usuall live to 160 ears of ageB and in his 1/th boo' he sa s that the inhabitants of ,celand reach more than 100 ears. ,n his Historia Naturali, >ierembergius asserts that the people living in the 8ucantic

mountains became &uite old. And in the region of Versin in 0raDil, as is testified to b Antonius ;ipafelta, people ver often reach 1=0 ears. According to a report b 5udovic 0artama the age of 100 ears is &uite common in blessed Arabia. ,n the Auvergne it often happens that fathers see the children of their grandchildren, and , have read somewhere that in our Alps a single man was the head and progenitor of a whole village which had more than a hundred households, all stemmed from him. Finall , in the ear 1660 traveled from !ernant towards Arange, together with the 6ar&uis of 2t Andre 6ontbrun, -aptain General of the #o al Arm , because of some affairs concerning the -ount de 1ona, and , went to an inn at Allieres, a few hours from 5 ons. ,t so happened that our host and hostess, both health and full of vigor, had each in fact lived for 10= ears. ,n the previous discourse , have sufficientl shown b e(amples from the ecclesiastical and temporal histor that there have at all times of the world been persons who lived for several hundred ears. From this is it ver eas to conclude that it is not impossible for us to live 4ust a s long as the did, and that the stor of Friedericus Gualdus, who was =00 ears old, is no fiction. About this, , will now also bring here a literal e(tract from the 1utch newspaper of April ?, 168*. :(tract from a 5etter from Venice of 6arch *, 16889 H!hree months ago, a man b the name of Frederico Gualdo left here, who is =00 ears old. "e carried with him his portrait which had been made b !itian, alread dead for 1?0 ears+ From this we ma conclude that this man has had the true 7niversal 6edicine, whereb he was able to 'eep himself health for such a long time. !his is no fiction, however, but there are here man credible witnesses who spo'e with this man himself, and who left here for no other reason that that it was said of him that he possessed the true secret of the 7niversal 6edicine. !he lovers of great curiosities will investigate this matter and inform us of the result, so that we can thereb also be useful to the public.H For m part , sa that this Friederico Gualdo could reach such a great age wither without an medicine and solel through a wellFregulated life and moderate ph sical e(ercise, and perspiration, or also through the 7niversal 6edicine. Among all sa ings, this 5atin one is one of the truest9 Plures gula occidit quam gladius. #eveling and immoderate eating and drin'ing strangle more people than the sword. !herefore , first begin with prescribing a rule of life for those who wish to live long and sta health . 0ut , also want them to have a health bod , and in the health bod there should dwell a health or rational soul and spirit. !he have to be of cheerful disposition and not sub4ect to e(cessive emotions. >ow follows what a person with the above characteristics has to observe. First, he must guard against eating variousl oddl coo'ed hard dishes and imbibing various drin's. !hen he must well chew his food with his teeth, as that is the first digestive preparation which is effected b the moisture from the saliva of the glands of the 4aw. .hen man is at table, he must eat the food and fruit alternatel , so that moist and dr , fat and lean, sour after sweet, and cold things after warm ones, and vice versa are mi(ed together. For in this wa the e(cess of the &ualit of one 'ind of food is alwa s corrected b its contrar . .hen a man has had a good drin' or eaten fruit, he should eat dr bread afterwards. !o counteract the too much wine he has ta'en, he can eat something acid or drin' some lemon 4uice, which immediatel gets rid of belching. !he latter generall occurs after a meal, either due to all too much eating or even to great emptiness. 2hould he still be

overheated from the wine, he can use cooling things but never additional heating ones, which could easil cause a high temperature. !he strongl distilled spirits serve onl to strengthen the stomach and promote digestion when one has eaten a bit too muchB but if one gets hot from too much drin'ing, the are ver harmful and dangerous. Aside from that, those distilled spirits are an e(cellent e(ternal and topical remed . "owever, it should also be noted that after the use o this 'ind of beverage had been introduced into America, those peoples did and are doing &uite a bit toward the shortening of their long life, 4ust li'e ourselves. As far as e(ercising the bod is concerned, a man must never do violence to himself, unless necessit re&uires it, et alwa s according to the ma(i9 Ad ruborem, non as sudorem. 7ntil ou get warm, but not so much that ou sweat, so that onl the natural warmth is roused and the pores are opened, enabling >ature to cleanse herself through perspiration. .hen a man has become &uite hot and is tormented b thirst, he must not go to an cold place. "e must sta put without ma'ing an movements, must bare his stomach or throw off his wig, but have a drin'. "e should drin' wine rather than water, which could cause pleuralgia due to its coldness. 0ut if he happens to be , the fields where he cannot have an wine, and he can no longer bear his thirst, he must drin' b drops and not swallow in big gulps. .hen getting out of bed, one must not immediatel stand at or under the window, or go out into the cold air, because ever &uic' change is dangerous9 8u(ta "ippocrates9 Omnis repentina mutatio est periculosa. .hen in a cold winter the nose, hands and feet are li'e froDen, one must be ver careful not to put them &uic'l near the fire or stove, or dip them into warm water, because the members cannot without danger tolerate a change from one e(tremit of &ualit to another. ,t would be better to go into a heated room or a stable and thus get graduall warm b good movements, while simultaneousl calling the escaped natural warmth bac' b means of the e(ternal tempered one. 1uring m travels , used to moisten m soc's of common linen in brand ever morning and too' care to 'eep m boots wide enough to allow the blood in m feet to circulate freel right into m toes, which , alwa s fre&uentl moved. Aside from this, it is also customar to rub completel numb member with snow or iceFcold water and to move them well. !hus the will graduall recover without an danger. .hen the time of the new fruit arrives, ou must first eat but little of it, to allow the stomach to get used to t b and b and ou do not have to worr that the inta'e of too much new fruit will cause fermentation of the gastric 4uice, resulting in man 'inds of fevers. "owever, , do not wish to den that there are some 'inds of fruit which can be eaten without hesitation, as the do not produce much 4uice that hinders nutrition, and pass through easil . 5i'ewise, it is often said that a dangerous illness generall follows a &uic' change in the manner of living, to which travelers are especiall sub4ect. .hoever does not share the views of ; thagoras regarding drin'ing, should resort to wine for a health and long life. Among different 'inds of water the best is that which is light and totall without smell or taste. ,t is :mperor >ero whom we have to than' for this discover . 1rin'ing water that has been purified b distillation and then made fresh again with ice immediatel 'ills an nests of worms produced in the stomach. And with such water the

learned ;erreault, a member of the #o al Academ , cured a nun as if b a miracle. ,nsomuch as sleep is a necessar part of life and a model of death, it should be sweet and calm. Iou must not onl slumber but also rela( our thoughts, as Apollonius of ! ana said to ;hraotes, Cing in ,ndia. !hat, however, is impossible for those who drin' a lot of wine, as its3 rising vapors alwa s move and change the species of the imagination. !hat is wh those sleepers are completel tired on awa'ening. ,nstead, those who drin' much water $, spea' from personal e(perience% sleep much better and sweeter, and their thoughts are so calm that the also comprehend all things in their true nature and form during sleep. !heir sleep is neither light nor heav , nor disturbed b bad dreams. !herefore Apollonius sa s in -hapter / of his life b ;hilostratus that the idolatrous priests of the Amphiaraus ordered those who came to their temple in Athens tormented b dreams, to abstain from wine for three da s, whereb their dreams became much purer and clearer toward morning, so that the imagined having received them through divine inspiration and demanded an interpretation of them. ,rrespective of this, it is certain that if a man ta'es a glass of wine before resting and puts his head down, the wine ma well move the species of his imagination b its vapors, while his mind is ever diverted from strong concentration on one thing, and in that wa sleep is induced. !his is well proven b the e(ample of the famous 6inister of 2tate !ellier, -hancellor of France. ,n 1660, when he was overheated from the spiced 5enten fare and e(hausted from much business, he used this means to get some sleep during his fre&uent travels to and from Avignon on business. !he ph sicians, in their Ars 5onga, their 5ong Art FFF which often ma'es for a short life FFF stress three points in particular, which the call 1iagnostic, ;rognostic, and -ure. 0 means of the first the tr to recogniDe the origin, cause and seat of the illness. !hrough the ;rognostic and -ure the often prescribe remedies which produce a totall contrar effect to their intention. "owever, we cannot do otherwise, we must use ph sicians and their remedies, as the 2cripture sa s9 "onor the medical doctor because he helps ou in need. 0ut here we must use the shorter wa of retaining our life for a long time, against the 5ong Art of "ippocrates, for whoever controls the beginning has won ever thing, as the poet sa s9 Principiis obsta, sero Medicina paratur, Dum mala per longes invaluere moras. #egarding the 1iagnostic, we have to pa careful attention to an thing new or unusual we feel, but it in the midst of our rest, or when we are about to rest, or when we are going about our business. ,n addition, we must also carefull observe if an change occurs in the evening after wor' or when getting up in the morning. ,n the latter case there is more cause for worr as there is generall more strength and health after sleep and rest, through which our ph sical forces are renewed. ,n do doing, we must note is there is heaviness and tiredness of the members and if the appetite has been completel lost. .hen now we feel wea' and e(hausted after ordinar wor', , sa that the numbness and heaviness of the members is due to all too much gastric 4uice, which is found in the viscera of all members and cannot be eliminated better than through perspiration and sweat. ,t can be produced b assisting the inner natural warmth with the e(ternal, and it is certain that,

done in time, it prevents man an illness. !he art of sweating, however, consists in l ing on our bac', well tuc'ed in between two white linen sheets and two eiderdowns, fill covered up, with onl our face showing uncovered outside. Iou must not come out of this warmth until ou have profusel perspired. After sweating, ou must not get out of bed immediatel but onl half an hour afterwards. ,f ou continue doing this for several consecutive da s, our appetite and strength will return graduall , causing ou to feel fine, fit and light in all members. For through this sweating the viscera are cleansed of all superfluousness, without pain or detriment to >ature. !his cannot be done b an medicine unless it be the 7niversal medicine, which we will soon teach. !herefore, for our health we can underta'e this sweating three times a ear, in the spring, fall and winter. .hen there is a lac' of appetite in the spring or fall, we must eat little when sitting at table and do more vigorous ph sical e(ercise. 0ut if the appetite has been completel lost, so that the mere sight of food causes aversion, we must not eat an thing for /= hours, ta'e a long wal', and help the natural warmth in this wa . .e must eat onl small amounts of food that contains much gastric 4uice or which is ver nutritious, as an e(cess of gastric 4uice generall causes fevers and in children, the falling sic'ness, epileps . Anl those are cured who get rid of the e(cess of this gastric 4uice with fre&uent vomiting. Fever causes strong fermentation coupled with an increase of the blood in both oung and old, even if the are accustomed to leading a dietetic and regulated life. For as soon as the eat a bit too much, their head becomes heav , which is often a sign and forerunner of a stro'e. !he reason is that the fast and strong increase of the gastric 4uice causes the blood to be fre&uentl and forcefull pushed to the brain where it tears the small and subtle veins, thereafter spreads within the brain and presses the nerves together. !his hinders the circulation of the vital spirits where, as Ferrelius sa s, the natural warmth dwells. ,nterference with their circulation can cause death if help does not come in due time through the opening of a vein or through sweating. -onse&uentl , through the former the cause ir removed but through the latter the cerebral veins are softened, to enable them to graduall e(pand and stretch again without danger of tearing. As soon as we notice an indisposition, we must not lose an time and immediatel use the remedies, thus preventing a long illness which might otherwise ensue. At the same time, we must thin' of the air we breath and the food we eat, and according to their &ualit and in consideration of our natural warmth decide which air and which food are most suitable to us, and in what wa we can best help the natural warmth and drive the cause of the illness out of the inmost parts of our bod . For the sa'e of this cause, calm and warm air is to be chosen, that does not carr an repulsive smell. ;laces that are all too much sub4ect to the winds are often not health , although all too warm places and those where the air is full of bad vapors re&uire the wind to cleanse and refresh them, As is usuall said about the cit of Avignon9 .hen in Avignon is not constantl wind , 6orbona $illness% reigns there with its servants. , have shown in m treatise entitle LHomme Artificiel ou le Prop ete P !sique $" e Artificial Man or t e Natural Prop et%, how ver necessar it is for our health to understand the condition of the wind and the air, as in the view of Vitru i, in -hapter 6 of his first boo' on architecture, the noon winds can cause incurable diseases, such as coughs,

tuberculosis, diseases of the nerves and members, must as the residents of the town of 6eteline, on the island of the same name, are best refreshed b the midnight winds. ,n those who are wounded it is eas to observe that the pain of the wounds flares up and the become more sensitive with strong winds, because the e(ternal air causes the inner wounds between the s'in and the flesh to be felt and hurt, due to its penetrating circulation. .hen the illness is of long duration, the patient must be carried from his room into another. !hen the windows of the previous room must be opened, fresh water must be spra ed about, after which the patient can be brought there. For the same reason careful >ature also fre&uentl gives the patient the desire to change the air and location, which he should not be denied. As the patient graduall recovers, he generall has a desire for eating something acid, which is then ver health for him, provided it is done sparingl and carefull , because >ature arouses an appetite for that which is right for her. !his is so true that ver often patients find their recover through a moderate use of that which the medical doctor forbade so earnestl . !o sa it briefl , diet and sweating are a part of the 7niversal 6edicine, for >ature should in ever thing be our teacher from whom we must learn the right and true means for living health and long. 0ecause in childhood there is much heat, it throws off, b means of the smallpo( and the soFcalled red needleFrash, whatever corrupted gastric 4uice and other impure matter there is in the bod . .hen then that natural warmth has been decreased, we must stimulate it again, so that it ma accomplish its effect 4ust as it does in older persons. 1ancing, ball games, hunting, militar , and other e(ercises arouse the natural warmth to do it share and drive out ever thing superfluous from the bod through perspiration. !hat is also the reason wh farmers 'eep their health and live long is because the are continuall wor'ing. As the do not ma'e an debaucheries As the do not ma'e an debaucheries, the do not 'now an thing of podagraB which causes 2eneca to sa in -hapter 1, of his H!ppolitus9 Anl in rich "ouses does podagra li'e to dwell. For podagra in general avoids women and poor people and instead ma'es itself at home in palaces and rich houses where man good morsels are en4o ed. !herefore it has alwa s been true that no hard wor'ing individual has ever had occasion to complain li'e "erod, who sa s9 .hen , should eat, have no hands. .hen , should wal', , have no feet, but when , am supposed to have pain, , have hands and feet. 8ust as ever &uic' change is dangerous, lean persons who are putting on fat have serious grounds for preventing podagra through sweating. -onsumption, colic, and drops are cured with sweating. .hoever contracts the plague, and >ature has alread pushed out some plague glands, can infallibl be freed from it through sweating. , can sa precisel the same of lepros , for if the natural warmth is sufficientl helped, it will completel throw out all superfluous and impure matters. !herefore those who have smallpo( or the redFneedle rash are rightl 'ept warm, and the natural warmth is aided with a confection of h acinth, al'ermes, or theriac $treacle%. Gout

itself, even if one no longer spea's about it, is cured b fre&uent sweating. 5i'ewise the stro'e, provided one starts earl with bloodletting. 8ust the same must be done for the trembling and sha'ing of the cerebral veins have ruptured. !he blood has run out of them and it presses on the beginning of the nerves, thus granting the vital spirits their influence onl intermittentl . !he onl remed is a good diet and sweating, as the serious blood that has run out thereb consumes itself. , have seen how some members suffering from a painful discharge were cured b putting them for a few hours in the hottest summer sun. !he best food for a sic' person is good meat that can easil be digested. ,n fact, when it is cut into small pieces and the soft bones are minced &uite finel together with the marrow, then pounded in a marble mortar, ou must add to it something that has been found advisable, that 'eeps the patient3s bod open and is pleasant to his taste, sour, sweet, or the li'e, according to his appetite, then coo' it over a moderate fire. After that, ever thing is strained through a cloth and ou will have, as it ma be called, the &uintessence of what a patient is allowed to eat, also his beverage, according to whether he wanted it thic' or li&uid. , am referring to those who wish to 'eep the volatile salt of the meat in the broth to the boo' 1e la 6achine de 6onsieur ;api pour Amolin les As. !here the will find m report, which , added in order to achieve the thing more easil . ,t has been printed in ;aris b 6ichaler. >ow , will also spea' of the eas and sure wa of preparing the 7niversal 6edicine. As we learn from the preacher 2olomon that all recover comes from God and that "e causes the medicine to grow out of the earth $Altissimus creavit de terra 6edicina%, it is not necessar to as' here from whom this medicine has come down to us. 5ittle do we care whether it has derived from the "ebrew -abala or from the famous 1r Apollonius, or from his son Aesclepius, or from "ermes !rismegistus, from #a mond 5ull , Arnbold de Villanova, from 0acon, from the -osmopolitan, or from a 0rother of the #osicrucians. 2uffice it to sa that its composition is eas and of small cost, and that its effect is certain and assured, so that we could believe that it has the power to re4uvenate. !his would appear to be irrational, if we had no certain an absolutel true evidence of re4uvenation both in the "ol 2cripture and in secular histor . !he #o al ;rophet, in ;salm 1F/9 ), attests to the certaint of the matter in two sentences. First, that the eagle becomes oung again, and secondl , that 4ust as the eagle3s our outh can be renewed and brought bac'9 #enovabitur ut aquila $uventus tue. All -hurch Fathers believe that the eagle becomes oung again, but the are not of the same opinion concerning the wa in which it is done. ,n his interpretation of this ;salm, 2t Augustine sa s that when the eagle becomes old, the upper part of its bea' becomes so croo'ed that it can eat with no food with it, or ver little. !herefore it would croo'ed that it can eat no food with it, or ver little. !herefore it would lose its strength and become wea' due to dieting all too long. 0ut if it were to whet off its said croo'ed bea' on a stone and shed it, it could again eat sufficientl , getting new strength as if it had been completel re4uvenated. !he ;rophet ,saiah spea's of this re4uvenation of the eagle in -hapter =09?1, and "iob in -hapter ?@9/). mention of it is also made b Aldrovandus in his Arnithologia, 0oo' ,, and Gesnetus in his )th 0oo' on 0irds. 5i'ewise, it is also 'nown that sna'es slough off their old s'ins, which are sometimes found in the bushes. , will here not spea' much of the big grasshoppers and their

sloughing. , m self have encountered it in 1auphine when , traveled there to have a loo' at the most beautiful and highest bridge in the world. ,t has onl one arch and reaches from one mountain to another, from where the wind appears at certain hours from an unfathomable hole in the roc', blowing along the river as far as Arange. !hus we also read in ;hilostratus, 0oo' ?, -hap. 1 of his life of Apollonius of ! ana that there e(ist on the highest cliffs of 6ount -aucasus, which no man can climb, a special 'ind of mon'e which gather the pepper for the inhabitants. !he meat of these mon'e s is an absolutel good remed for old and sic' lions, for if the devour one of these animals, the recover and become oung again. ,f then birds and animals can become oung again, we can reasonabl infer that it can also be possible for man. .hen we are born, our constitution is &uite warm and moist, while in old age it is cold and dr . ,t is therefore onl necessar to replace the radical moisture and the all too great dr ness of old people with the moist constitution of outh. >ow , must reall show that individuals have indeed lived who became oung again. 6edea, well s'illed in medicine, re4uvenated the old 8ason. !hat is wh Avid said in 0oo' * of his Metamorp oses, that 6edea had 8ason chopped and boiled, which is to be understood as referring to baths prepared b her with minerals and other ingredients. And this is not contrar to truth, because ;etrus 6art r Augerius, a ma from 6ilan, asserts in his 1ecadibus that there is a well on the island of 0oni&ue which causes old people drin'ing it to become oung and strong again, although their hair sta s gre and the wrin'les in their faces do not disappear. !here is supposed to be a similar well in 5uca am according to a report b ;etrus -hieDa $-hapter 1=, ;art /, Historie de Peru%. .e can also loo' up what "erodotus writes in 0oo' = about the power and virtue of such waters, which have therefore been called fountains of outh. ,n the first discourse of his Horti %loridi, !or&uemada reports that in ,tal , in the ear 1)?1, an old man of 100 ears who, as the sa , alread had one foot in the grave, was once re4uvenated in ever respect and lived another )0 ears thereafter. "e sa s the name of another old man, which the town councilor of the place himself attested to. Valescus !arentasius writes that he saw in 6onvedro, also called 2agonDa, in the 2panish 'ingdom of Valencia, an abbess who crea'ed with old age, had no tooth in her mouth, and was wal'ing around deepl bent. !hen, he writes, her teeth were growing again, her hair was becoming blac', the wrin'les in her face disappeared, and she got a beautiful smooth forehead li'e a girl of 1). Ies, in a word, she had become oung again. !wo more recent and credible historians, Ferdinand -astana in his 8th and ;etrus 6affeus in his 11th 0oo', testif that a noble red ,ndian had re4uvenated himself three times within ?=0 ears, the time he had been living. !his report is sufficientl authentic, as 6endoDa assures us in his &iridario, =th 0oo', 1*th ;roblem, that various 8esuits had 'nown and spo'en with this three times re4uvenated ,ndian, and also confirmed it in their letters. >ow we will spea' of the 7niversal 6edicine and its composition, after first declaring that it does not consist in an al'ali or acid, which are two principles onl recentl tal'ed about. ,f we are to believe !a'enius and after him his new "ippocraticF-h mical sect, it is possible to become a great medical doctor all at once and without much stud ing and pondering, ac&uiring ver fast a great reputation. For nothing is re&uired e(cept a man have a good 'nowledge of acids, al'alis, and opiates. .hen the patient is hot as if he were l ing in fire, he must be given an al'ali to stop the fire. An the contrar , an acid must be given to someone down with frost and cold in order t arouse the natural warmth. Apium,

however, is to be given to the patient to provide him with sleep and rest when, for instance, the pain is great. ,n fact, man attain to glor and a great name through the &uic' help and relief the are giving the patients. !his , have seen that one of them cured a catarrh with a great 7niversal 2weat, b grinding in a marble mortar a certain 'ind of turnip, called tenderette in ;aris, and appl ing the stuff on the soles of the patient3s feet. "owever, the 7niversal medicine cannot consist of an al'ali, or opiate. !he onl do awa with the patient3s s mptoms but cannot remove the cause of the illness which is due to a humore peccante in the inmost of the members and must necessaril and above all be eliminated. .hen the humores peccantes or malignancies, or other poisonous substances are volatile and subtle, the are to be driven out through the pores of the bod b perspiration. 0ut when the are mostl moist, through sweating. .hen the are moist but not subtle, the are eliminated through the urineB when the are less moist and on the contrar more material, the elimination can be done through purging or vomiting. !he patient must not be wea'ened through purging, however, but his nature is to be strengthened. >ow , "ave -ome !o 2pea' About !he #e&uired Eualities Af !he 7niversal 6edicine9 A 7niversal #emed must have a 'inship and li'eness to our natural heat and radical moisture, partl to maintain them but partl also to replace them. !hus our e(hausted forces are increased in such a wa that >ature will without urging and of herself drive out of the inmost of the bod all the things that are bad and contrar to her, be the acid or al'ali, or coagulated, which causes stitches in the side $pleuralgia%, catarrhs, podagra, etc. ,t generall happens that a man gets much overheated b strenuous e(ercise, resulting in cold through breathing air that is too cold and drin'ing li&uid that is too cold. Afterwards, in cooling, the nitrous parts intermi( with the fermenting blood in the lungs, and when there occurs a slight concentration of the blood, some of it is e(pelled at the end of the arteries. >ow and then the matter e(pelled attached itself to some part of bod and causes pain in the nerves, due to the sharpness it had ac&uired. !his continues till the natural warmth of the bod dissipated or e(pels the sharp part. ,f this cold inhalation ta'es place at the time of the digestion, it can also cause an e(travasatum through the lung, which mi(es with the ch le and is conducted to a spot where it is not onl so eas to dissipate it and is the cause of arthritic matter. Accordingl , the 7niversal 6edicine has to evacuate ever thing alien to >ature, ever thing in the inmost of the members, through perspiration, sweating, or urinating, but seldom through defecating, and still more rarel through vomiting. Ardinar medicines have no such effect. !he attac' with overheating and with poisonous sameness do violence to the sic' matter of >ature, forcing her to get rid of her enemies, almost against her powers. Furthermore, the 7niversal 6edicine must be composed in such a wa that it can be administered at all times, to ever constitution and ever age, to both children and old people, without its more or less strong dose being harmful. ,t is supposed to cure the most desperate illness after ta'ing it a few times. ,t is also supposed to be a general remed for all e(ternal damages. !here now follows the preparation of this 7niversal 6edicine. Composition of the Universal Medicine !a'e some purified AirF2alt, put it into an iron vessel and let it graduall melt. .hen it is melted, pour on it some finel ground lindenwood charcoal which will immediatel burn

and be consumed. !hat is wh one has to let it burn graduall till the salt is almost fi(ed after the detonation, and it gets a somewhat bluishFgreen color. !his happens when the charcoal no longer puffs up as it did before. !here after, pour the melted salt into a marble mortar while it still &uite warm. .hen it has cooled, it is as white as alabaster and brittle as glass. >ow pound it small and sprin'le the powder on a glass slab or table but cover it to prevent an dust from falling on it. "and it in the air, at a place where neither the sun nor the rain nor the white frost can touch it. ;ut a glass vessel underneath it, into which the oil that will drip fro it can fall, because the humidit in the air resolves this al'ali within 1= da s. Iou will find that the oil is twice as heav as the salt previousl was, provided this process is underta'en at the right time, that is, when the weather is neither too cold nor too warm but moderatel humid. !hen the salt attracts the air invisibl , 4ust as we draw the breath into us. ,f this oil is well rectified according to the art, it is an e(cellent and powerful menstruum for e(tracting the essence from various mi(tures. >ow ta'e = or ) parts of this rectified oil and one part of the best antimon . ,t can be recogniDed b a certain redness which it has from the gold, to whose ore it is close. ;ound the antimon on a marble to a ver fine powder, put it into a cucurbit and pour our rectified oil on it, in such a wa that twoFthirds of the glass sta empt . Euic'l close the glass so that no air gets into it, let it digest in gentle heat or at an oil hangingFlamp, until the oil floating on the antimon gets a golden or rub color. !hen pour the oil gentl off, filter it through paper, put it into a phial, and pour on it an e&ual weight of the rectified spirit of wine. At least two thirds of the glass must be empt . 2topper it tightl , let it digest in small heat for several da s, till the spirit of wine has attracted all the tincture of the oil. !hus the oil will sta &uite clear and white at the bottom, but above will float the spirit of wine with the golden tincture of the impregnated antimon . 2eparate from it the menstruum, b decanting, which can alwa s serve for several processes and operations in order to e(tract the essence of antimon as often as desired. ;ut our tinctured spirit of wine into a glass alembic, abstract and distill it graduall , till onl about oneFfifth that contains the tincture of antimon is left at the bottom. Ar distill all the spirits of wine, so that nothing sta s at the bottom e(cept the essence or tincture of antimon . !hus ou will have the 7niversal 6edicine either as a powder or a li&uid, with which ou can cure all illnesses or preserve ourself from them. .hen it is used as a li&uid, ) or 6 drops of it are ta'en with wine or bouillon, or in an other li&uid suitable for the illness. .hen it is used as a powder, ?, =, or ) grains more or less are ta'en. For even if the dose is a little stronger or wea'er, it is not harmful li'e the medicines which all have poisonous &ualities. !he sic' become health after ta'ing it / or ? times. 0ut is the illness does not ield, the dose must each time be increased, and this has to be done three times a wee'. !his medicine cures all, even the oldest and most severe illnesses, such as the =Fda fever, drops , and the falling sic'ness $epileps %. Ies, it not onl cures all internal but also the e(ternal illnesses, such as wounds, ulcers, and cancer, when it is spread over them li'e a balm. ,t serves no less for deafness and e e troubles. Finall , this medicine drives all headaches awa and helps digestion. ,t is a true Aurum

;otabile $potable gold%. ,t generall wor's &uite invisibl through the perspirationB more fre&uentl through vomiting. -onse&uentl , its effect is &uite natural and without force so that the patient does not become wea', e(hausted, or debilitated, as usuall happens with other medicines. ,t can therefore be used at an age, at an time, and irrespective of the constitution. 7se it and ma'e it 'nown, but especiall let the poor benefit from it, and praise God Almight .ho has created the medicine.

he !evelation of the rue Chymical Wisdom ". ". Chymiphilo !hat is the Accurate and 2incere 1isclosure of the 6ateria that has to be !a'en if Ane ,ntends to 6a'e the !rue ;hilosophers3 2tone, 5apis ;hilosophorum, the 7niversal !incture. From man !heophrastic manuscripts, preciousl never printed, shown in the plainest and clearest words, so that it could not be clearer, Also for the sa'e of those who are not et much e(perienced in the -h mical 6anipulations, provided with special instruction and the shortest possible directives for the necessar preparations. :ver thing openl published for the pleasure of the 5overs of -h mical .isdom. 0 8.8. -h miphilo, Anno 1*/0 !hose who 'now the Art of ma'ing gold 'eep it as secret as possible, though the reveal it sometimes in a strange wa , as is shown b the following stor . A special boo'let has been published, dealing with the infallible 'nowledge of Friedericus Gualdus to ma'e gold. !he gist and an e(tract of that boo'let are here presented. !he author writes as follows9 , was still a oung bo , when , met "err Friederich Gualdus for the first time. "owever, m oung age did not allow me to recogniDe his enlightened intelligence as well as his profound erudition. >either do , 'now if he had then alread been a long or a short time in our town, but , onl remember his face and whole being represented a man of about =0 ears. "e 'ept that figure all the time, without change, till the ear 1680, at what time , was obliged to leave for >aples on account of m business. At first, he behaved li'e an traveler and was either completel alone or had a small bo in his service. "e was living in two average rooms which were not full furnished and hardl comfortable enough for a good student to live in. >evertheless, he made friends, , do not 'now how, with some noble gentlemen of this 2tate, who, although the owned various mines, could not continuing e(ploiting them due to the losses the had suffered. "e began to help with such a considerable advance of mone that the soon disposed of 60,000 ducats. ,n the meantime, he fell in love with a oung girl of this noble house, although she was still a child. "er mother, who was ver grateful to him because of the benefits the had received, through which her mine and at the same time her famil were again on the road to prosperit , also felt that she could not prove her gratitude better than if she became related b blood to such a great benefactor. Although the child was not et fit for matrimon , she nevertheless set a later date for the marriage, thus getting enough time to draw up the marriage contract in proper documents, and she promised a dowr of 16,000 ducats. !o show his consent, Gualdus in turn agreed to return the same amount $if the marriage did not ta'e place%. "e also meant to bestow on his fiancJe still much greater riches than he had alread granted her parents. 8ust as it is onl too true that noble gentlemen often change their minds, so the said

aristocrats, after attaining a higher status, to which the benefits of Gualdus had especiall helped them, considered themselves far too good to ma'e friends with an un'nown man, and immediatel tried to undo the deal. 2uch an unfair procedure hurt Gualdus ver much. "e withdrew from their friendship and demanded that the mone he had laid out should be returned to him. As man difficulties were put in his wa , he tried to ma'e legal steps to recover his propert . "owever, to cut off ever further anno ance and &uarrel, he consented to relin&uish half of his claim in a settlement giving him instead a beautiful and honest testimon . 2o that those noblemen should learn that the had lost a great deal with his friendship, he too' ver uncommon steps to be raised into the Venetian nobilit . .ith this in mind, he proposed to the most high #epublic to underta'e a great, useful, and profitable wor' at his e(pense, if he were in return raised into nobilit , which man ac&uired at that time b pa ing the sum of 100,000 ducats. 0ut there e(isted &uite irremovable obstacle to this proposal, insofar as it was not in accord with the sovereignt of the #epublic to give a reward to an one before he had earned it. !herefore Gualdus decided to pa those 100,000 ducats, but in the name of a depositor and on condition that the be restituted to him after he had carried out his abovementioned proposal. Atherwise the mone would be left to the #epublic. ,n the meantime, however, he was raised into the Venetian nobilit under the prete(t of some merits, and declared a ;atrician, and not li'e the others who had paid a great amount of mone . 0ut the -ouncil, which 'ept ver strictl to its wise rules, did not wish to introduce an innovation with that admission and again cancelled the treat it had made with Gualdus, although his name had never appeared in it, and in such cases onl the words Han un'nown person proposesH are used, and the man is onl named when the proposals are accepted and the conditions fulfilled. ,t was nevertheless learned subse&uentl that Gualdus had proposed such a wor' and had also accomplished it. After he had dedicated his mind to wisdom and withdrawn his thought from vanit and love, he sought his peace wholl and solel in the true wisdom, and abandoned himself totall to it. Anl after this, his deep 'nowledge and high intelligence were recogniDed in the societies of learned men where he was present several times. For when the were discussing philosophical matters, he alwa s 'new how to dissolve the s llogism effortlessl and to put the disputing parties to shame. .hen the spo'e of political and world affairs, there was no one with a better 'nowledge of the most secret government intrigues, or better ac&uainted with the cabinets and secret council chambers of high potentates. .as theolog at sta'e or common law, he proved that he thoroughl 'new the most hidden canons and most famous verdicts. Aside from all this, he was no less an accomplished astronomer and also uncommonl e(perienced mathematician. ,n short, no science could be discussed that he did not thoroughl understand. Ies, the stories of the oldest times were as fresh in his memor as if the had onl happened toda . !hus he also spo'e various languages perfectl , that is, Gree', "ebrew, 5atin, French, ,talian, and others aside from German which was $he said% his mother tongue. 2uch e(traordinar &ualities could not sta hidden but come to the attention of man learned men and persons of ran' in ,tal . Among them, some had alread heard a great deal about him when the arrived in Venice. Aside from tr ing to see rare things, their

special purpose was to see 6r Gualdus and to do their utmost to obtain his friendship, which the subse&uentl 'ept up with letters. Ies, some onl went to Venice so as to continuall associate with him and have the honor of being called his scholars. !his all the more after the rumor was circulated that he possessed the "ermetic !reasure, owing to the fact that his portrait had been seen b man painting e(perts who asserted that it had been done b !itian3s famous hand. Alread a long time ago he had mar'edl decorated his residence with fine paintings, putting the most recent in the best rooms. 0ehind the door, however, he had hung the said portrait. Ane da some people, among whom there was an e(perienced painter, came into his house to loo' at his pictures. .hen the painter saw this painting behind the door, which had 4ust been closed accidentall , he was amaDed and called out loud, H!his is the hand of !itian+H. Gualdus laughed and said that if it were true, he would be over /00 ears old, while he was onl 86. !his happened in the ear 16**. !he painter, however, would not stop but continued asserting that it was the hand of !itian, although Gualdus pretended to be 86 ears old and although he onl loo'ed li'e a man of =0 and was also able to do all those things which a man can do in the prime of life. !his rumor was the cause wh people became firml convinced that Gualdus possessed the great secret. ,ndeed, at this time 6r 6argues 2antinelli applied for the first time for his intimate friendship, see'ing it in all possible wa s, and finall he obtained it. ;etrus Andreas Andrein , a Florentine nobleman, did no less. ,n >aples he was famous both for his wealth and for chiefl collecting old medals, coins and other curiosities. !herefore, when shortl thereafter 6r 6ar&uese had a small boo' printed at his cost under the title of Androgenes Hermeticus, etc., it was said that it contained Gualdus3 teachings, since few boo's had been written so well and emphaticall about this science as 4ust the said small wor'. "owever, 6r 6arguese must in this not be denied his share of fame, as his incomparable sonnets printed in the same boo'let are no mean ornament and can easil ma'e us believe that Androgenes itself was his learned offspring. Aside from those, there were various other ver learned clerg men who resorted to this Aracle with their &uestions. 0ecause , 'new one of them, who was both of noble e(traction and belonged to a famous Arder, and his letters and ensuing answers passed through m hands , do not consider it wrong to add these here, especiall as , am sure that this will please all learned and intellectuall curious persons.

#etter of $.C. von !. to Mr Fredericus %ualdus in &enice 2ir, ,t is the custom of high minds that the are not displeased b the desire of those who are an(ious to learn something and therefore wish to become their servants and students. !his is also the reason wh , am not ashamed to appear before ou with these bad lines, although , am not &uite so constituted that , would be worth to ac&uire something of our immense erudition. !he fame of our special virtues has come to m attention through someone who traveled through Venice last ear. , &uestioned him most carefull about ever word one hears about ou and concluded that ou must possess the true science, although the said man did not understand the least of it. !herefore , cannot but inform ou of that which 1ivine Grace has been pleased to grant me after * ears of effort and wor'. , have been wandering through the world for * ears, tr ing to find the 1amascene Field, to obtain from it the Virgin :arth, which is the sole material of our magister or masterpiece, 4ust as 1iogenes showed with his light where it is to be found. #egarding this, 6ichael 2endivogius has opened m understanding, 6orienus has confirmed me in m opinion, and 6oses "ermes has given me the e(planation of ever thing. !han' God that "e hears who call in "im incessantl and learn how happ the man is who is assisted b "is Grace. !herefore , do not omit to give ou thereb a comprehensive account, so that, if perhaps a trace of the true science were to appear in me, ou might help promote that heavenl favor in one who b >ature does not appreciate an thing more than the 2ecret of the .ise. !hus, our living gold is well 'nown to me. , 'now the water b which the gold is dissolved as well as the s mpath that develops between both, because both descend from one Father. And , have also well noticed that the 2un is the father, the 6oon the mother, and the .ind $Air% the carrier. 0ut, as God does not give ever thing to one alone, although , have read almost all philosophers some difficulties to be cleared still appear among themselves about it, that , do not understand this part correctl . !herefore , come, not as the Eueen of 2heba to 2olomon but as an ignoramus to the Aracle, and , demand a clear answer, understandable to m stupid mind, not a veiled or obscure one, with the assurance that if Good should bestow "is Grace upon me, , would immediatel e(press m due than's at our feet and sub4ect m will to ou in ever thing. As , have now learned, the whole difficult of our Art consists in the preparation of our water. , have seen the 2un and the 6oon in the first philosophical sublimation of our water and have drawn it off * times from the moon. , would li'e to 'now whether our 6ercur , after being purified * times, is then perfect and capable of penetrating through the pores and airholes of the :gg, and of dissolving the 2un. Ar is another manipulation still re&uired to turn it into powder, such as the relocation< 6 doubts are caused b the fact that it is not snowFwhite and there is still some of its smell about it. As it is not fi(ed when it ceases to smo'e, how then can it ma'e things fi(ed< !herefore , pra ou for God3s sa'e to tell me if the thus * times purified 6ercur is perfect. ,f it is not, what else is re&uired< !he other difficult that , encounter lies in the feces of our sea, from which in m opinion , have e(tracted the saltpeter which, however, is so sharp that the nose cannot withstand its smell, , do not 'now therefore, for what , should use it, seeing that the 6ercur is purified. Aur cinnabar does not re&uire an ferment, as >ature has alread made it perfect, though it becomes much purer when purified through the Art. Af what use then is salt< , believe

that it must serve to ferment the water. .ould ou therefore please inform me if all the water is to be fermented, or onl that part where the sna'e penetrates. Also, what weights and measures are to be used to do it< For meanwhile , am thin'ing that one part of salt and ten parts of 6ercur must be ta'en, although , am in this case not aware of the proportion of the weight. Aside from this, , would also li'e to 'now how much of the 6ercur must be prepared, so that the imprisoned child does not lac' mil'. , have come across another difficult on account of the form and shape of the vessel. 0ut , am spea'ing of the last fi(ation, when , believe that the form must be li'e a chic'en3s egg, full filled and sun' in so much that the sna'e3s head does not rise above it. 0ut while the philosophers sa that it must have a long nec', , would li'e to hear about this from our mouth and be informed whether part of the sna'e must show out of the menstruum and the nec' sta inside. For this causes me some thin'ing, as , am afraid that the air of the nec' would hinder the generation or birth. As , usuall ta'e into account all contingencies, , would also li'e to 'now if it is better to ta'e the gold and silver direct from the mountain, to enable the s mpath to manifest itself all the more strongl , or to ta'e the gold onl from the mountain, and the 6oon from the hill. Furthermore, it is stated for certain in the boo's that the ;hoeni(, when it 4ust comes out of its nest, must be captured thus pure and that not the least little thing must be added to it or ta'en from it. 0ut if there should be a mista'e in this, do deem me worth of being reminded of it, and if ou feel that God is pouring "is grace over me, 'indl help me and also repl to m aboveFindicated doubting &uestions without naming the authors. 0ut neither despise m stupidit which causes me to write this with so little purit , but which is nevertheless a gift of God who is well aware that neither profit nor another worldl intention but a mere desire to 'now something and subse&uentl to appl all the 'nowledge to the honor of the Giver thereof, has impelled me to this stud . 1o therefore with me as God will inspire ou, as , am assured that "e who has inspired me to write to ou has also given ou the 'indness to satisf me. Finall , , remain with m whole heart, etc., 2ir, Iour most humble and obliged servant, 1.-. von #. ;lease inform me also how the vessel can be cared for so as to last for @ months. >aples, /8 8ul 16*8.

!eply of Mr Friederich %ualdus to the 'recedin( #etter 2ir, Iour letter has been handed to me, and although ou are not 'nown to me, , have sufficientl recogniDed our great intelligence from our lines. 6eanwhile , much regret that , am not &ualified, much less able, to answer our serious &uestions. ,n this , am the more e(cused as , am well ac&uainted with the ,talian language. 0ut to satisf ou nevertheless somewhat according to m little understanding , first sa that ou are spea'ing all too obscurel in our letter, li'e the true philosophers, and ou therefore mi( ever thing up so covertl that one does not 'now how to repl . !here is a good deal to be said for the fact that on the 1amascene Field that Virgin :arth is found which is the material of our magister and wor' of art. And , will add that the said Virgin :arth has never seen either the sun or the moon, although it contains the 2un and the 6oon. "owever, ou do not sa how this 1amascene Field, let alone this Virgin :arth, as the material of our wor' of art, is constituted. And how and in what manner it can be obtained. Furthermore, ou write9 !hus, our living gold is well 'nown to me, b what it is dissolved, as well as the s mpath that develops between both, because both descend from one father. All this ma ver well be so, but ou do not report of what 'ind this living gold is and this water that dissolves it, s , cannot give ou a considered opinion on it. ,n the same wa ou are also confused about , do not 'now what difficulties, which is due to the fact that ou do not wor' with the right material. ,n addition, ou mention that the whole secret consists in the preparation of our water, and that the 2un and the 6oon are contained in it, which is all pure truth. #egarding the difficult which ou encounter with the sevenfold sublimation of our water, that is, whether or not it is then perfect, , repl as follows9 !he philosophers want us to distill the water * times, but the sa septies, aut pluries $seven times of more%. And 2endivogius indicates when it is perfect, namel , when it leaves white feces at the bottom, so that is the unmista'able sign of its perfection. Iou find the second difficult in the feces of our sea, from which ou have e(tracted the salt. From this , feel that ou are so much mista'en in the material as in our manner of wor'ing, thus creating man difficulties. !herefore, if ou had wor'ed with the right materia is at hand, the right vessel follows afterwards of its own. 0ut as far as our other &uestions are concerned, namel , whether it is better to ta'e the gold and silver from the mountain or solel the sun from the mountain and the 6oon from the hill, , do not 'now what peculiar tal' this is. , believe that ou are confused in ever thing, and , cannot understand whether our words are puDDles, figurative speech, or fiction. !herefore , do not 'now how to repl to them. ;ardon me if , spea' fran'l and without h pocris . ,n the meantime, if , can help ou with something else, , am read to do so upon a hint from ou. , remain, etc., 2ir, our most devoted friend, Friederich Gualdus. Venice, 1 2eptember 16*8.

)econd #etter of $.C. von ! to Mr %ualdus 2ir, , than' ou ver much that ou found me worth and replied to m ignorance, which is reall an effect of our generosit and not of m merits. And , consider our letter no less than an answer given b the Aracle, although ou have not replied an thing essential to m &uestions concerning the .or', and , can see from our polite lines that ou have not clearl indicated how the substance of the materia ma be well 'nown to me. 0ut after obtaining the 'nowledge of that materia from the 5ord of !ruth, , onl wished to get some information on how it has to be treated and approached, which someone who does not as' for an thing else can easil obtain. !herefore, in order to obtain it, , said that , had found the Virgin :arth in the 1amascene Field. Although ou are sa ing e(actl the same ou then add that , had not named it. And although , am not allowed to name it $especiall in a letter% because it has never been named b an philosopher, it is still sufficient that , said that , had found it with the help of the lamp of 1iogenes. 0ut if ou nevertheless demand that , name it, , sa that its real name is9 Aur water, our gold. ,t is that water which the philosopher rectifies seven times and the menstruum of our gold, that is, of that gold which is the Virgin :arth of the 1amascene. As it has been formed b >ature, it is also put into the rectified water without an deduction or addition, to dissolve, sublimate, and calcine. !his is the whole magister or wor' of art, to fathom which God3s 6erc bestowed "is Grace on me after great e(pense and damage, for m incessant pra er and efforts. Aur material has various names, 4ust as the place from which it it is names in m previous letter, after reporting that the water and the gold are alwa s of the same 'ind. As , had spo'en in a veiled manner, , wanted especiall to 'now if , had to ta'e both the gold and the water from a mountain, or the water onl from a mountain. !hat difficult or doubt arose from the fact that 6orienus writes9 !hat which contains all things in itself does not need an other aid, which is contrar to the opinion of other philosophers who ta'e the water from the small mountain. 2ir, , have sufficientl disclosed m thoughts, 8ust then as our magister can be compared to human generation, and et, children are not alwa s born, although , too' refuge with ou, as the Aracle, so that , might be instructed b ou in the manipulations and would conse&uentl not be mista'en if , wished to ta'e up the .or'. 2eeing that , cannot find an thing in the boo's that would satisf me. ,n particular, however, , would li'e to 'now what , am to do with the feces. .hile all pretend that the water must not be rectified more than seven times and the feces were left at the bottom. .hat then am ,to do with them< ,f , pour fresh water on them and distill them till the become white, , go against the rules of the most e(perienced philosophers and nevertheless doubt that the become white thereb . Ies, , also worr that the water might lose its power. 0ut supposing that the become white, what am , to do with them, because the are highl esteemed b "ermes< Am , perhaps to put them bac' into the water, now &uite white, while it ripens the warm gold< According to the sa ing of 0rother 0asil. As , am at it, must its earth be fertiliDed or not< , pra ou to come to the aid of m ignorance and to show me clearl , and not in riddles, where , ma go wrong, and also give me our instruction in the greatest difficult but especiall concerning the vessel of the last fi(ation, as , do not 'now into what the gold

must be put, if it has to have a long nec' or be shaped li'e an eggB li'ewise, is it to be completel full or empt in the nec'B also, if all the material has to be immersed or oneF third allowed to KprotrudeB and then if if the vessel can last for @ months. , pra ou, remember what 2olomon said in his 0oo' of .isdom, which he imparted without begrudging, and be assured that this time ou will gratif a man who is not altogether unworth of such a favor. , am therefore e(pecting complete instructions from our 'indness, how , have to operate, as also the removal of m other doubts. 7nder God3s favorable protection commendation. , remain with all respect, 2ir, Iour obedient servant and student. 1.-. von #. >aples, 8 Actober 16*8

!eply of Mr Friederich %ualdus to the *bove #etter 2ir, , am in receipt of our letter and have understood from it, no less than from our first communication, that ou do not possess the right material, but have a vain and erroneous opinion of it, so that ever thing ou underta'e with it will be a useful and fruitless effort, ;ardon me if , spea' freel , , cannot be h pocritical but am telling the truth. ,f ou were well ac&uainted with the right 'nowledge of the real philosoph , in which both the material and the operation are 'ept strictl secret, it would not be so difficult for ou. !rue, it is not without reason that the philosophers are 'eeping ever thing ver secret, both the material and also the operation. 0ut one depends entirel on the other, so that, if the material is 'nown, it is also eas to 'now the operation can also easil be familiar with the material. !here e(ists in the world onl one material for which all operations taught b the right philosophers are suitable. !herefore the have not onl 'ept the materia secret but necessaril also the operation. 0ut, as mentioned, one depends on the other, which is the reason wh it cannot be clearl said in words, far less described in letters. !his divine and sacred science is ac&uired in onl two wa s, although through divine revelation or through the instruction of a faithful friend. For to attain it b stud ing boo's is almost an impossibilit . !herefore also, whoever wants to achieve it with man operations and various tests, will never reach his goal. For this science is 4ust li'e other sciences and can &uite certainl be learned without tests and manipulations, b understanding it with the mind. !his is so true that it cannot be otherwise but must necessaril be so. !hus one also 'nows before underta'ing the operation what 'ind of a thing it must be, and it is also possible to recogniDe b certain signs if one operates well or badl . Ies, one does not commit an error or mista'e, but ever thing will completel agree with the rules of the best authors, so that, whoever receives in this the divine revelation and masters this science, cannot go wrong. As , do not see from our letter that ou 'now the true materia, , cannot e(plain more about it or spea' about the operation. , onl sa that the material is so wonderful and that whoever possesses it simultaneousl has in his possession the vessel, the furnace, the fire, the menstruum, the gold, the silver, the ;hilosophical 6ercur , and ever thing that belongs to the ;hilosophical .or'. From this it follows that our &uestions rest on vain sophistic &uestions, and , will answer them in all libert . For toda , nothing more e(cept that , remain at all times, 2ir, Iour most devoted servant, Friederich Gualdus. Venice, / >ovember 16*8

*nother #etter of $.C. von !. to Mr %ualdus 2ir, Ah+ !hat , might travel to Venice and discuss with ou+ , would show ou that m 'nowledge is not vain or imagined but true and based on the right philosoph . , would e(plain what great things the mineral 'ingdom contains, and also, palpabl demonstrate how the radical moisture of the metals is constituted. , would discuss about the great and little world, and relate all the special features found at the creation of Adam, nor omit the least bit of the &ualit of the 1amascene Field. , would indicate what is the ;hilosophical mercur , what are gold and silver. Ies, , would not leave untouched an of the most famous philosophical riddles but e(amine each most meticulousl and show how clearl the scholars have spo'en of it. 0ut as , do not have the privilege of doing so, , must necessaril be &uiet, especiall also as , do not dare to deal with great things in letters. , am onl telling m self that where the ra of 'nowledge has once begun to shine, it can impossibl be obscured b the clouds of contradiction. Af this we have an all too cleat e(ample in !revisan, who, having once recogniDed truth could never be turned awa from it b others who tried to confuse him out of env . , 'now for sure that ou would indeed understand that , am not wrong if ou possessed such a great treasure. 1o not believe that this is mere speculation, but it is the true realiDation e( visceribus cause $from m guts%. :ven if , have so far not attained perfection, it is not due to an error but solel to the fact that , have not et underta'en the .or', although two ears have alread passed since , was illumined b God. -onse&uentl , , do not 'now b what secret power , have been held, causing me to be satisfied onl with science, not bothering much about the rest, and onl preparing our water with the greatest pleasure and content. !herefore , have nothing to complain about and rather hope that God, &ui dat esse et perficere, after letting me come to the cognition of truth through "is 6erc , will also grant me "is help in achieving the perfection of it. !he reason wh , en4o ed the ac&uaintance of such a great man as , esteemed ou to be, was that , had 'ept bac' and deliberated upon the random &uestions , had presented to ou but subse&uentl was bold enough to trouble ou with them in m letters, 'nowing well that it pleased the most famous philosophers to find capable individuals as their students to impart to them that 'nowledge which is of no use to an one in the other world. For in 4ust that wa 6orienus and others had been accepted and instructed b their teachers, "owever, it would have been stupid of me to tr and obtain the 'nowledge of the true material, which had never been m intention. ,nstead, , tried to get an e(planation about the vessel, the last fi(ation, and the feces of our sun. 1o indeed not tell me that whoever 'nows one, must also 'now the other, as such a great difference between generation and science has occurred that man who have wor'ed ver much with the true materia, spoil and destro it because the are treating it wrongl . Although , have learned from the generation of metals how to imitate >ature in the sublimation of our water, , still re&uire a et better light if , am to reach perfection. , well 'now that our living gold is not alwa s dissolved in its water, the reason being that the water is perhaps not alwa s good. !herefore , onl beg ou to inform me how the vessel must be formed $, am spea'ing here of the last fi(ation%, whether, that is, it should have a long nec' or be in the shape of a chic'en egg. >onetheless, , thin it should have a long nec', although , do not li'e this because, if it were formed li'e a chic'en egg, not the least bit of air would touch our gold which would be

closed li'e a hen3s egg. Also, li'e the latter, it contains the 6ercur , 2ulphur, and ever thing re&uired for our magister or .or' of Art, and performs of its own all the operations described b the philosophers in so man wa s. ,n its operation, we need do nothing e(cept 'eep the heated water in its natural heat and pour some more on it when the child, or the 1ragon within, begins to feed on it. ,n so doing, the same proportion must alwa s be used. !herefore, ou can probabl ver well give a truthful answer to these &uestions without revealing our water, in which resides the whole difficult B li'ewise, how the purified feces are again united with the water, which is &uite different from the 'nowledge of the materia, so much so that one can ver well be 'nown without the other. And because , rel on our courtes to receive at least one single recipe, , have not given credence to one or another babbler. , hope, therefore, not to oppose truth. And even if the 2upreme in "is 4ust 4udgment should not deign to favor me with the accomplishment of the .or' and in so doing use m services, , shall nevertheless die &uite cheerfull after cogniDing and seeing the truth, li'e the philosophers who are onl badl screamed at b unwise fools for heaving spo'en the truth. Forgive m boldness of inconveniencing ou with m ignorance, 0ut , 'now for sure that ou have understood what , have written to ou, so that ou do consider me &uite such a great fool. >o more for toda , e(cept that , remain, aside from commending ou to God3s protection, etc. 2ir, Iour most devoted servant, -.1. von #., etc. >aples, ? 1ecember 1*8* From the aforesaid , now believe that ever bod will understand that there was something uncommon and e(traordinar about Gualdus. "ere was a man who had lived li'e a poor student upon his arrival in VeniceB who had never carried on an trade, thereb ac&uiring great richesB who had possessed neither goods nor revenues, and et had loaned 60,000 ducats to some families, in addition to being able to advance 100,000 ducats for being raised into the Venetian aristocrac . "e had sought the latter in &uite a special wa , as otherwise he would have had to register his arrival and age. Af the latter, however, his portrait, said most assuredl to have been made b !itian, is an undeniable testimon . After additionall spending man thousand ducats for the accomplishment of the wor' he had proposed, he finall also decorated his residence magnificentl , while at the same timer performing other generous deeds. .e are therefore not un4ustified in believing that he must have possessed an ine(haustible treasure. As he 'new simultaneousl to 'eep himself in continual perfect health and at an invariabl manl age, we must necessaril conclude that this treasure was that great medicine which e(tends its power over all three realms, the animal, vegetable, and mineral. 0ut the aboveFmentioned cleric did not possess this treasure, as his life ended a few months after his aboveF&uoted letter, in which he shows such great intelligence and boasts as if he had obtained the right and true materia. "owever, if such had indeed been the case, he himself would still be here to spea' in protection of life, and would have brought to perfection that great magister or .or' of Art for which he had so Dealousl striven. ,n contradistinction, our Gualdus $or better, our hero% must without doubt be such a one. "e gave the clearest signs of it when he finall departed from this town on // 6a 168/, perhaps for no other reason than that he had heard that his virtue had been revealed and made 'nown ever where. 0efore leaving, he had given full powers to his servant and instructed him in what he had to do wit his assets. !hat same da , une(pectedl , he had some underwear and clothes pac'ed into a small bo(, as if he intended to go for a trip to

his countr estate near !reviso, sa ing that he would be bac' in a few da s. !he servant to whom he had commended the whole house with the most precious furniture, had to sta behind, however, and he thus went awa all alone, without compan , or rather, he disappeared when he was @0 ears old, as he had said of himself, or perhaps several hundred ears. !he servants waited man da s for the return of their master, but the did not see more of him, let alone receive letters, Finall the assumed that his 4ourne had not been made to his countr estate, as the also learned that he had not even arrived there. !herefore the disposed of part of his personal propert according to the order he had left them, but the 'ept the rest for themselves. ,n so doing, the provided so well for their povert that the were relieved of service ever after. !his then, is the whole report that can be communicated to the world about such an unusual event. >evertheless, , wish to add here a few other letters which this great man wrote and of which , transmitted the original. 0 them we can recogniDe even better how certainl ad undoubtedl he was in command of the "ermetic Art. !o others, however, who might have the good fortune of surviving him, , will leave the honor of describing his course of life more precisel , etc.

#etter of F. %ualdus to Mr N. N. 2ir, Iou understand e(tremel well how water is to be reduced to or made into earth, of which one is dissolved and the other hardened into a shin marble, while out of the latter the foliated :arth is sublimated. 0ut the said reduction is done forward and above its own earth and with its own water, which has been drawn from it, however not with the lunar cal( and the 6ercur , which never combine together in such a wa that the cannot again be separated from each other. 0 bod Fcal( we mean our bodies, which are alive, while the bodies of the mob are dead. !he no longer eat and drin'B the t rant of the world has 'illed them9 Aut of man grows man, and out of gold, goldB et not out of dead but out of living gold. Aur destro ed earth, forsa'en b all spirits, is silver, and is our living gold is again united with its spirits, the shining earth will grow from it. Iou have made the luteballs $limeballs, glueballs% ver well, and , hope that the will turn white. :ver thing is also &uite airtight with the other earthenware vessels which become paleF ellow, because the pale will alwa s cause the ellow to diminish, and the will alwa s tend more toward whiteness. ,t is eas to give the 2tone but e(ceedingl difficult to ma'e it. ,t has to be obtained with pains and toil. !hen it will be considered as that which it is. , remain with all m heart, 2ir, Iour ver devoted most willing friend, Friederich Gualdus Venice,11 2eptember 16**

*nother #etter of F. %ualdus to Mr N. N. 2ir, From our letter , see that things also go well with the boiled 6ercur , which is so and not otherwise, nor can it be. , will tell ou the reason wh . 6ercur cannot be hardened or turned into earth e(cept b a certain degree of the fire especiall re&uired for it, which is called the fire of 6ercur . 0ut what 'ind of a thing is this fire< ,t is not, and cannot be, a mild fire, for even if 6ercur were to stand for a thousand ears in a mild fire, for even if 6ercur were to stand for a thousand ears in a mild fire, it would not harden. >either is it, nor can it be, a strong fire, for if one were to put 6ercur turned into earth into a strong fire, it would become wet and li&uid, as it had been before. 2ince, them, it cannot be hardened b either a strong or a mild fire, its fire must necessaril be of a degree set between mild and strong. 0ecause the whole Art consists in the right regulation of the fire, with this fire, which must have a carefull regulated strength, 6ercur is hardened and turned into earth, accomplishing ever thing we desire. !he reason wh it must be turned into earth is that when it is wet or li&uid, it is then so firm and dense that the flame cannot wor' in its form but the latter instead protects and covers it. 0ut when it has become earth, it is open and the fire controls it, penetrating through all its pores, altering its form, rendering it heterogeneous and separable, while it had previousl been &uite dense, covered, closed, homogeneous with the essential substance of 6ercur , and of the same nature, also impossible to be separated from it. !he reason, however, wh it was at first boiling and now no longer boils is that during such boiling part of its wateriness, which is the cause of its boiling, has been removed and consumed. ,f all the water moisture were removed and consumed, it would no longer boil and get a beautiful aDureFblue color. And with this all the doubts that ou have presented in our registered letter are dissolved and e(plained. !he rules are right, provided the degree of the fire is thereb observedB but if a mista'e in the degree of fire occurs, ever thing is spoiled and done wrongl . ;ut up with m wea'ness. , cannot do much, but the little , 'now , am read to impart to others, especiall to ou and our friends. For the rest, , alwa s desire to learn more, so that , might serve ou great merit as ou deserve. Iour affectionate and devoted friend, Friederich Gualdus. Venice, / 1ecember 16*=.

)till *nother #etter of Friederich %ualdus to a 'riest His %ood Friend 6 Friend, Iour letter of the /)th inst. has been handed to me together with a bas'et of e(cellent cherries. Iou are alwa s doing me one honor and favor after another, and , cannot but confess the truth, namel , that , have got in ou another father, indeed more that a father after so man and long ears, as m real father is dead. God be praised and "eaven than'ed for such a great 'indness. Iour desire to 'now the proportion of the water and the earth in their reduction can easil be satisfied, provided ou first let totall go of all the utterances of the philosophers, because in this case the do not spea' unanimousl . For one wants to ta'e 10 parts of water. !he second spea's of nine, another again of seven parts. And ;ontanus demands three parts. And thus there are still man others who have et other opinions. >ow we let go of all of them and consider what we have to do and what is necessar , in addition to the possibilities of nature. , sa , therefore, that to e(tract the fi(ed and dr core of the 6ercur after ta'ing such great pains and completing the "erculean labor, it is necessar to 'eep the .or' dr at all times. !herefore little water, es, ver little water is re&uired, especiall at the beginning, so that the earth, which is the dr part, can alwa s 'eep control over the water. .ith little no mista'e can be made. All the philosophers rather assert and sa 9 ,f ou wish to turn earth into water, ta'e three parts of water and one part of earthB but if ou wish to turn water into earth, ta'e three parts of earth and one part of water, etc. !his is the right rule. .hen now we turn water into earth, that is, reduce the water over the earth, and wish to ma'e a dr mass, &uite froDen and hard li'e a shining marble, we must give it ver little water in one go and 'eep the mass dr , so that the dr ness alwa s has the upper hand. And in this wa it can probabl be done, although it will be a little difficult in the beginning and re&uire some effort. 0ut when the earth begins to give its water again, it will alread be easier. -are must be ta'en, though, to remove that superfluous wetness, or urinal moisture ever 8 or 1) da s, as that raw part does not unite with the earth, because the earth onl attracts the most coo'ed and tough part that it finds in the water and instead repels the raw part, so that it appears to be &uite froDen. Furthermore, to answer the &uestion whether the have to be 'neaded together or whether the water has to be poured at the bottom of the vessel and the earth put over it, , sa that it is all the same. !he difference onl consists in the fire, for if the water is poured below and the earth added above, a stronger fire is re&uired, that is, such a strong one that the water can sublimate and enter the earthB but not so strong that the water inundated the earth completel li'e the sea. 0ecause, if a firm union and true marriage li'e -hibric KCibri'L and 0e a K0e4aL is to occur, the must not be separated but 4oined, so that the can stand together in a continual union that can never be separated. 0ut if one wishes to 'nead them together and then puts them neat the fire, the latter must be fairl mild and small, because the moisture sublimates much more easil , while the earth sta s open due to the rubbing $'neading%. Although it is true that the unite much more firml with less and longer heat. 0e it now one or the other manner, the degree of the fire must be carefull watched, so that the woman does not separate from the man some raw and water part that

disappears in a little smo'e $or steam%. And this is what , can report in this matter. For, to tell the truth, the greatest part of the "erculean labor consists in finding the ashFcolored earth, that is, in 'nowing how to separate the fi(ed part of our materia, which is &uite volatile, and in this most of the alchemists blunder b wrongl considering the fi(ed bod as something else. ,t is not so eas to go wrong in the rest, which is much surer to wor', and there are not so man mista'es that can occur, 4ust as ou will e(perience and recogniDe that 2endivogius wrote the truth when he said9 6 center is highl fi(ed. .hoever has fi(ed that part will also fi( its spirit, which has issued from it. .ith which , alwa s remain, Iour most affectionatel devoted friend, Friederich Gualdus. Venice, // 6a 16*8.

Conclusion of the ranslator of the +,-. /dition All the conclusions that can be drawn from the preceding report, however, are not so strong and certain that the could induce me to believe that our mortal life could be longer or shorter than the goal that has been set for it in the unchangeable degrees of ;rovidence. !rue, , will admit that this is so ver famous 2tone can be found. >or will , gainsa that those whom God had honored with his Grace reall possess it, and that among those our Gualdus has to be especiall rec'oned. >evertheless, it is far from being able to abolish 1estin or ward off those dangers against which neither medicines nor other help can do an thing. For an une(pected fall that does not allow a man ot get upB the floods of the sea and the rivers which e(haust us &uic'l B buildings sha'en and collapsing through earth&ua'es or other accidents, causing houses and residents to turn to ashes, all are such causes houses and residents to turn to ashes, all are such causes which 1eath has reserved for itself. , am sure that if death were a live bod , he would laugh at our musings. Aside from this, , can also reall believe that a good diet, as also the medicines that serve the preservation of the radical moisture and the natural heat, no less the medicine referred to b "err Amptman, ma well 'eep us health in our life but not, as stated, prolong it. Accordingl , those are onl def ing death who can maintain their life more than others without some regulation or medicine. Af this Gualdus the newspapers subse&uentl wrote a great deal, namel , that after leaving Venice, he was supposed to have sta ed in Florence, !urin, and ;aris, and finall at the "ague. Ies, after the papers reported last ear that a man who had been considered an Adept at the "ague and for that reason moved awa , had found his death in the 2cheldt through the unfortunate overturning of his boat, was considered to be over =00 ears old although he loo'ed li'e a =0F ear old, man now believe that it must have been this Friederich Gualdus, who was at last called from this world b God through such a death.