of the generations of naturall things.

the generation of naturall things is twofold.t

he generation of all natural things is twofold: naturall, and without art; and artificiall, viz. by alchymie. although in generall it may bee said that all things are naturally generated of the earth by means of putrefaction. for all things proceed from putrefaction. putrefaction is the chiefe degree, and first step to generation. now putrefaction is[pg 2] occasioned by a moist heat. the cause of putrefaction is a moist heat.for a continuall moist heat causeth putrefaction, and changeth all naturall things from their first form, and essence, as also their vertues, and efficacy, into another thing. the power and nature of putrefaction.for as putrefaction in the stomach changeth, and reduceth all meats into dung; so also putrefaction out of the stomach in a glasse, changeth all things from one form into another, from one essence into another, from one colour into another, from one smell into another, from one vertue into another, from one power into another, from one property into another, and generally from one quality into another. for it is evident, and proved by daily experience, that many good things, which are wholsome, and medicinable, become after putrefaction naught, unwholsome, and meer poison. so on the contrary, there are many bad, unwholsome, poisonous, and hurtfull things, which after their putrefaction become good, lose all their unwholsomnesse, and become wonderfull medicinable: because putrefaction produceth great matters, as of this wee have a most famous example in the holy gospel, where christ saith: unlesse a grain of wheat bee cast into the earth, and be putrefied, it cannot bring forth fruit in a hundred fold. hence also we must know, that many things are multiplyed in putrefaction so as to bring forth excellent fruit. what putrefaction is.for putrefaction is the change, and death of all things, and destruction of the first essence of all naturall things; whence there ariseth a regeneration, and new generation a thousand times better, &c.

putrefaction is the first degree to generation.

seeing therefore putrefaction is the first degree, and step to generation; it is very necessary that wee[pg 3] know putrefaction well. now there are many kinds of putrefactions, and one produceth its generation in another manner, then doth another. one also sooner then another. putrefaction is manifold.wee said also that moisture, and heat were the first degree, and step to putrefaction, which produceth all things, as a hen doth her egs. wherefore through, and in putrefaction, all mucilaginous flegme, and matter is made living, whatsoever it prove to be at last.

an artificiall hatching of chickens.

an example of this you have in egs, in which there is a mucilaginous humour, which by any kind of moderate continuall heat is putrefied, and turned into a living chicke, not only by the heat of the hen, but any such kind of heat. for in such a degree of fire egs may be brought to maturity in a glasse, and ashes, and become living birds: yea any man may ripen an egge in his arm-hole, and hatch a chicke, as well as the hen.

the raising of a dead bird to life.

and here wee must take notice of something that is greater, and more then this: viz. if that living chicke be in a vessell of glasse like a gourd, and sealed up, burnt to powder, or ashes in the third degree of fire, and afterward so closed in, be putrefied with the exactest putrefaction of horse-dung, into a mucilaginous flegm, then that flegm may be brought to maturity, and become a renewed, and new made chicke: to wit, if that flegm bee againe inclosed in its former shell, or receptacle. this is to revive the dead by regeneration, and clarification, which indeed is a great, and profound miracle of nature. according to this processe may all birds bee killed, and made alive againe, and made new: and this is the highest, and greatest miracle, and mystery of god,[pg 4] which hee ever discovered to mortall man.

the artificiall generation of man.

wee must also know that after this manner men may bee generated without naturall father, or mother, i.e. not of a woman in a naturall way: but by the art, and industry of a skilfull alchymist may a man bee borne, and grow, as afterwards shall bee shewed.

the generation of men by brutes.

it is possible also that men may be born of beasts, according to naturall causes, but yet this cannot bee done without much impiety, and heresie; to wit, if a man should couple with a beast, and that beast should, as a woman doth, receive the sperm of the man, with desire and lust into her matrix, and conceive: then the sperm doth of necessity putrefie, and by the continual heat of the body, a man, and not a beast is thence produced. as the seed is, so is the fruit.for alwaies as the seed is that is sown, so also is the fruit that is brought forth; and unlesse it should be so, it would be contrary to the light of nature, and to philosophy. wherefore as is the seed, such is the hearb that springs from thence. so of the seed of an onyon is brought forth an onyon, not a rose, nor a nut, not a lettuce. so of corne, corn is brought forth, of barley, barley; of oats, oats: and so it is with all other fruits, which have seed, and are sown, &c.

the force of womens imagination.

in like manner also it is possible, and not contrary to nature, that an irrationall bruit should bee produced by a woman, and a man. neither are wee to judge of, or censure the woman, as the man, (as in the former case) shee therefore is not to bee accounted impious, or hereticall, as if shee acted contrary to nature, but it is to be imputed to her imagination. for her imagination is alwaies the cause of it. and[pg 5] the imagination of a breeding woman is so powerful, that in conceiving the seed into her body, shee may change her infant divers wayes: because her inward starres are so strongly bent upon the infant, that they beget an impression, and influence upon it. wherefore the infant in the mothers wombe in its forming is put into the hand, and will of its mother, as clay in the hand of the potter, who thence frames, and makes what his will, and pleasure is: so the woman that is breeding, forms the fruit in her body, according to her imagination, and her starres. therefore it often falls out, that of the seed of a man, cattle, and other horrid monsters are begot, according as the imagination of the mother is strongly directed upon the embryo, &c.

now as you have heard, that by putrefaction many, and various things are generated, and made alive, so also you must know, that of many hearbs, by putrefaction divers living creatures are bred, which they that are skilled in these things know.

all animals that are bred meerly of putrefaction are poisonous.

here also wee must know, that all such animalls, which are bred, and made of putrefaction, containe some poison, and are poisonous, yet one far more strong then another, and one after another manner then another: as you see in serpents, vipers, toads, frogs, scorpions, basiliskes, spiders, wood-bees, pismires, and many sorts of wormes, as cankers, maggots, locusts, &c. all which are bred in, and through putrefaction. also amongst animalls there are bred divers monsters; and there are monsters also which are not bred of putrefaction of themselves, but are made by art in a glasse, as hath been said; because they oftentimes appear in a very wonderfull[pg 6] shape, and form, fearful to behold, as oftentimes with many feet, many tailes, many colours, oftentimes many heads, worms with the tailes of fishes, or feathers, and other unusuall forms, that the like have not been seen.

what monsters are.

wherefore not only all animalls, which have not proper parents, and are not borne of things like to themselves are monsters, but also those which are bred of other things.

the secret poison of the basilisk.

so you see it is concerning a basiliske, which also is a monster, and indeed a monster above all monsters, and then which none is to bee more dreaded, because hee can kill any man with his meer looks, and sight: and because his poison is above all poisons, to which nothing in the world is to bee compared. hee carries his poison in a most secret manner in his eyes, and it is a conceived poison, not much unlike a menstruous woman, who also carrieth a secret poison in her eyes, so that only by her looks a looking-glasse is fouled, and tainted. so also if shee looke upon a wound, or an ulcer, shee infects that in the like manner, and hinders the cure thereof: so also with her breath, as well as sight, shee infects divers things, corrupts, and weakens them; and so also with her touch. for you see if shee medle with wine in time of her menstrues, that it is suddainly changed and made thick; the vineger also that she medles withall, becomes dead, and uselesse: so also hot-waters lose their strength: in like manner civet, amber gryse, musk, and such like perfumes, lose their odour by such a womans carrying, or handling of them. so also gold, and coralls lose their colour, also many gemmes, and looking-glasses are[pg 7] soiled therewith, &c. but to return to what i proposed concerning the basiliske, by what reason, and in what manner hee carries poison in his looks, and eyes; you must know that hee hath that property, and poison from menstruous women, as is aforesaid. for the basiliske is bred of, and proceeds from the greatest impurity of a woman, viz. her menstrues, and from the blood of the sperm, if it bee put into a gourd glasse, and putrefied in horse-dung, in which putrefaction a basiliske is brought forth. but who is so couragious, and bold to make, take him out, and kill him again, unlesse hee cover, and fortifie himselfe well first with glasses: i should perswade none to doe it, nay, i would advise them to take heed of it.

monsters doe not live long.

but that i may proceed in treating of monsters, know that monsters amongst brutes, which are brought forth of other things, and not of their like, seldome live long, especially if they shall live neer, or amongst other brutes, because of an imbred disposition, and gods disposing, all monsters are odious unto brutes that are genuinely brought forth, and so also monsters of men, which are generated by man, seldome live long. and by how much the more wonderfull, and remarkable they are, so much the sooner they dye, so that none exceed the third day amongst men, unlesse they bee presently carryed into some secret place, and kept apart from all men. moreover you must know that god abhors these kind of monsters, and that they are displeasing to him, and that none of them can be saved, seeing they bear not the image of god:monsters come from the devill.whence wee can conjecture nothing else, but that they are so formed[pg 8] by the devil, and are made for the devills service, rather then gods, because no good work was ever done by any monster, but rather all manner of evill, wickednesse, and devillish deceits. for as an executioner marketh his sons in cutting off their ears, putting out their eyes, burning their cheeks, fingers, hands, and cutting off their heads: so doth the devil mark his sons through the imagination of their mothers, which in their conceiving they drew from evill desires, lusts, and cogitations.

monsters are to be shunned.

also all men are to be shunned, which abound with, or want any member, or have a double member. for that is a presage of the devills, and a most certaine signe of some occult wickednesse, and deceit, which follows upon it. wherefore they seldome dye without the executioner, or at least from some marke made by him.

the artificiall generation of men.

but wee must by no means forget the generation of artificiall men. for there is some truth in this thing, although it hath been a long time concealed, and there have been no small doubts, and questions, raised by some of the ancient philosophers, whether it were possible for nature, or art to beget a man out of the body of a woman, and naturall matrix? to this i answer, that it is no way repugnant to the art of alchymie, and nature; yea it is very possible: but to effect it, we must proceed thus.

let the sperm of a man by it selfe be putrefied in a gourd glasse, sealed up, with the highest degree of putrefaction in horse dung, for the space of forty days, or so long untill it begin to bee alive, move, and stir, which may easily be seen. after this time it will bee something like a man, yet transparent, and with[pg 9]out a body. now after this, if it bee every day warily, and prudently nourished and fed with the arcanum of mans blood, and bee for the space of forty weeks kept in a constant, equall heat of horse-dung, it will become a true, and living infant, having all the members of an infant, which is born of a woman, but it will bee far lesse. this wee call homunculus, or artificiall. and this is afterwards to be brought up with as great care, and diligence as any other infant, untill it come to riper years of understanding. now this is one of the greatest secrets, that god ever made known to mortall, sinfull man. for this is a miracle, and one of the great wonders of god, and secret above all secrets, and deservedly it ought to bee kept amongst the secrets until the last times, when nothing shall be hid, but all things be made manifest.

fairies, nymphs, gyants, &c. are made of artificiall men.

and although hitherto it hath not been known to men, yet it hath been known to fairies of the woods, nymphs, and gyants many ages since, because they come from them. for of such artificiall men, when they come to mans age, are made pygmies, gyants, and other great and monstrous men, who are instruments of great matters, who obtaine great victories against their enemies, and know all secrets, and mysteries: because by art they receive their lives, by art they receive their bodies, flesh, bones, and blood: by art they are borne; wherefore art is now incorporated with, and imbred in them, and they need not learn of any, but others are constrained to learn of them, for by art they have their originall and present existency, as a rose, or flower in a garden, and they are called the children of fairies, and nymphs, by reason that in power, and vertue they[pg 10] are like not to men, but spirits, &c.

of 3 principles mercury the spirit, sulphur is the soul, salt the body.

here it is necessary that wee speak something of the generation of metalls; but because we have wrote sufficiently of that in our book of the generation of metals, wee shall very briefly treat of it here, only briefly adding what was omitted in that book. know that all the seven metalls are brought forth after this manner, out of a threefold matter, viz. mercury, sulphur, & salt, yet in distinct, and peculiar colours. for this reason hermes did not speak amisse, when he said, that of three substances are all the seven metalls produced, and compounded, as also the tinctures, and philosophers stone. those 3 substances he calls the spirit, soul, and body: but hee did not shew how this is to bee understood, or what hee did mean by this, although haply hee might know the three principles, but did not make mention of them. wherefore we do not say, that he was here in an error, but only was silent now, that those 3 distinct substances may be rightly understood, viz. spirit, soul, and body, we must know, that they signifie nothing else but the three principles, i.e. mercury, sulphur, salt, of which all the seven metalls are generated. for mercury is the spirit, sulphur the soule, and salt the body, but a metall is the soul betwixt the spirit, and the body (as hermes saith) which soule indeed is sulphur; and unites these two contraries, the body, and spirit, and changeth them into one essence, &c.

whether metalls can be made artificially by fire.

now this is not to bee understood so as that of every mercury, every sulphur, or of every salt, the seven metalls may be generated, or the tincture, or the philosophers stone by the art of alchymie, or industry, with the help of fire; but all the seven[pg 11] metalls must be generated in the mountains by the archeius of the earth. for the alchymist shall sooner transmute metalls, then generate, or make them.

living ? is the mother of metalls.

yet neverthelesse living mercury is the mother of all the seven metalls, and deservedly it may be called the mother of the metalls. for it is an open metall, and as it contains all colours, which it manifests in the fire, so also occultly it contains all metalls in it selfe, but without fire it cannot shew them, &c.

the regeneration of metalls into tinctures.

but generation, and renovation of metalls is made thus: as a man may return into the womb of his mother, i.e. into the earth, out of which hee was first made a man, and shall again bee raised at the last day: so also all metalls may returne into living ? againe, and become ?, and by fire bee regenerated, and purified, if for the space of forty weeks, they bee kept in a continuall heat, as an infant is in his mothers wombe. so that now there are brought forth not common metalls, but tinging metalls. for if silver bee regenerated (after the manner as wee have spoken) it will afterward tinge all other metalls into silver, so will gold into gold, and the like is to bee understood of all the other metalls.

the soul is that medium wherewith the soule is united to the body.

now forasmuch as hermes said, that the soule alone is that medium which joines the spirit to the body, it was not without cause hee said so. for seeing sulphur is that soule, and doth like fire ripen, and digest all things; it can also bind the soule with the body, incorporating, and uniting them together, so that from thence may bee produced[pg 12] a most excellent body. now the common combustible sulphur is not to bee taken for the soule of metalls, for the soule is another manner of thing then a combustible, and corruptible body.

what the soule of metalls is.

wherefore it can bee destroyed by no fire, seeing indeed it is all fire it selfe: and indeed it is nothing else but the quintessence of sulphur, which is extracted out of reverberated sulphur by the spirit of wine, being of a red colour, and as transparent as a rubie: and which indeed is a great, and excellent arcanum, for the transmuting of white metalls, and to coagulate living ? into fixt, and true gold. esteeme this as an enriching treasure, and thou maist bee well contented with this, onely secret in the transmutation of metalls.

where is the generation of metalls and mineralls.

concerning the generation of mineralls, and halfe metalls nothing else need bee known then what was at first said concerning metalls, viz. that they are in like manner produced of the three principles, viz. mercury, sulphur, and salt, although not as metalls of perfect, but of the more imperfect, and baser mercury, sulphur, and salt, and yet with their distinct colours.

whence the generation of gemmes.

the generation of gemmes is from the subtilty of the earth, of transparent and crystalline mercury, sulphur, and salt, even according to their distinct colours.

also of common stones.

but the generation of common stones is of the subtilty of water, of mucilaginous mercury, sulphur, and salt. for of the mucilaginousnesse of water are produced all stones, as also sand, and gra[pg 13]vell are thence coagulated into stones, as wee often see.

an artificiall generation of stones.

for any stone put in the water, doth suddenly contract a mucilaginousnesse to itself. now if that mucilaginous matter bee taken from this stone, and coagulated in a glasse, it becomes such a stone, as was in that water, but it would require a long time before it would be coagulated of it selfe.