The Signature of All Things — trans. John Ellistone (1651)

1. This now is thus to be considered; We are to know, that the Essence of this World, together with Man, consists in two Properties, viz. in Fire and Light, that is, in Love and Anger: Now the Fire is twofold, and the Light is also twofold, viz. a cold Fire from the Impression, and an hot Fire from the Power of Mercury in Sulphur; and so likewise there is a cold Light from the cold Fire, and a warming Light from the hot Fire; the cold Light is false, and the hot Light is good; not that it is false in its Property, only in the Impression, in the cold Sulphur; in the Sharpness of the Wrath it turns to a false Desire, viz. to a false Love, which is contrary to the Meekness; for its Desire is Saturn and Mars.

2. It puts forth its Sun (understand its Lustre of Life) in Mars, and the warming Light (which also receives its fiery Sharpness in the Impression in Sulphur from Mars) brings its Desire again into the Liberty, viz. through the Dying in the Fire, through the Anguish: It wholly and freely gives itself forth in the Dying of the Fire, and forsakes the Property of the Wrath.

3. And so it becomes a general Joy, and not its own only, even like the Sun that gives forth its shining Lustre Universally: The Sunshine is neither hot nor cold; only Mercury in the Spirit of the great World makes in Mars and Saturn's Property a Heat therein; for the Sun enkindles their Desire, upon which they grow so very hungry, eager, desirous, and operative, that even a Fire is found to be in the Light, which Heat is not of the Light's own Property, but of the Soul of the great World, which does so sharpen the pleasant Light in its Splendor, that it is unsufferable to the Eye.

4. And we are highly to consider and know, that if another Fire-Desire, which is not like to the outward Life in Mercury, would rule in the austere Wrath of the outward Nature, that then it would be an Enmity contrary to the austere, cold, bitter, and fiery Dominion and Life, and that they would exalt [or exasperate] their Wrath, eagerly desiring to be rid of it: Even as it so came to pass when the divine Love-Desire did manifest itself with its great Meekness to the false, cold, proud, and austere Fire-Desire of the Saturnalians, Martialists, and especially of the false Mercurialites: It was a great Opposition and Enmity to them, that Love should rule in the Death of Poison, and dwell therein, this they could not, nor would not endure; for Heaven was come into Hell, and would overcome the Hell with Love, and take away its Might; as it is to be seen in the Person of Christ; he Loved them, and did them all Manner of Good, and healed their Plagues [or Diseases], but in that he was not arisen from their wrathful Might, and that he said he was descended from above, and was God's Son; this was unsavoury to the cold, hot Fire's Might, that he should rule with Love over them.

5. Even thus it goes in the philosophic Work; when the wrathful Forms of the Earthliness, viz. the outward Saturn, Mars, and Mercury, see the heavenly Champion with the Virgin's Property among them, and perceive that he has far another Desire than they, then they are angry in themselves; for the Love-Desire, when it casts a Glimpse on the Fire-Flagrat, awakes their Fire-Flagrat, and then the Wrath proceeds forth from the anxiety into Love; from whence arises a Death's Flagrat in the Love; but seeing there can be no Death therein, the Love condescends in the Fire-Flagrat, and gives forth [or diffuses] itself into their Desire, and leaves its Essence; so that in their Desire they reach after its Property in the Death's Flagrat; this is a Poison to Death, and a Pestilence to Hell; and in this Property Death was deprived of its Power in the Humanity; for Christ, when he shed his heavenly Blood in the Flagrat of Death, and left it in Death, the Wrath of God was driven to retain the heavenly Love-Essence in itself: Even there the Fire-Desire in the enkindled Humanity was changed into a Love-Desire, and out of the Anguish of Death proceeded a Joy and Strength of divine Power.

6. But I will hereby give the Well-wisher fundamentally to understand how it went with Christ, and how in like Manner it goes with his philosophic Work; both have wholly one Process. Christ overcame the Wrath of Death in the human Property, and changed the Anger of the Father into Love in the human Property; the Philosopher likewise has even such a Will, he wills to turn the wrathful Earth to Heaven, and change the poisonful Mercury into Love; therefore observe us here right; we will not write here parabolically, but wholly clear as the Sunshine.