31. Thus I propose nature to you, to be considered of, which if you consider it well, cannot bespoken against: for it appeareth in all things, and it hath its birth just so. And nature standeth thus in four forms.
32. First, in a sour and strong attracting, which is called harshness [sourness, tartness, astringency], and maketh in itself sharp coldness.
33. And then, secondly, the attracting is its sting [spur], which rageth in the sourness, and breaketh the hardness, and maketh the wheel of the innumerable essences, wherein the wonders are generated.
34. But the flash of the liberty of the eternal will, which sharpeneth itself in the sourness, and turneth to consuming fire, breaketh its wheel, wherein as a flash it penetrateth through in a moment, and terrifieth its mother, the sourness, which loseth her hard propriety, and is changed into a sharp nature like Salt; and in this sharpness, the sting also loseth its own right and becometh bitter: for it hath in it two forms, viz. the raging, and also the flash of the fire, which are like brimstone, and it is the might of the kindling of the fire, for the source [or property] of the fire standeth therein.
35. Understand us rightly thus: the flash of fire out of the sharpness maketh the third form in nature: for it maketh in the sourness, and out of the Eager (the bitter sting in the tart anguish) a brimstone- spirit, wherein the flash standeth, and is the soul (or the eternal life) of the four forms. For the anguish maketh in itself again a desire to fly out from the anguish, and yet there is nothing that can fly away, but so it is in the centre, and is called the centre no more.
36. The fourth form is the changing of the hard sourness, viz. the crack of the flash, the dark hardness perceiving that it is feeble, and [as it were]
dead and overcome; and it is then turned into* SAL, and yet retaineth the propriety of the sour attracting.
37. Thus the four forms of nature are no more called the centre, though indeed they have the centre in them, and in their original, but [are called] Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal. For the brimstone-spirit is the soul of the four forms: for it hath the fire in it, and the anguish in it maketh another will, so that the four forms have an eternal will in them, which is their own: for that will is to fly aloft out of the four forms, above nature, and to kindle nature in the fire, and so to be in a horrible might, as may be [discerned and] considered in the devils, who live in such a will as this, as we shall shew afterward.
38. Thus understand us rightly what the wiseof old have understood by the three words,
Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal: though they all could not apprehend the high light, yet they understood it well enough in the light of this world, viz. in the third Principle; all which hath one and the same understanding and meaning; only they understood not the three Principles; or else they had known God; and so they remained in the light of this world as heathen with their understanding. For they had found the soul of the four forms in the light of the virtue of the sun [only], and the second Principle was no further revealed to them.
39. There the soul standeth in the eternal band, and there, in the cross of nature, out of the original eternal will, is the eternal Word generated, which is the maker and creator in nature, and this hath been hidden to them, even to this very day: but the time discovereth it, where it
To be seen, standeth as a banner [to be seen] : of which
[shall be spoken] in its place.
40. And deep considerate reason hath it very clearly in our description what Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal are: for SUL is the soul, and is a brimstonespirit, which hath the flash of fire with all forms in it: but if the power and light of the sun operate therein (seeing the soul standeth in flesh and blood) the sun with its friendly beams maketh out of the sour salt-spirit, an oil, and kindleth the fire: and so the brimstone-spirit burneth, and is a light in the essences: and out of the anxious will
31. Thus I propose nature to you, to be considered of, which if you consider it well, cannot bespoken against: for it appears in all things, and it has its birth just so. And nature stands thus in four forms.
32. First, in a sour and strong attracting, which is called harshness [sourness, tartness, astringency], and makes in itself sharp coldness.
33. And then, secondly, the attracting is its sting [spur], which rags in the sourness, and breaks the hardness, and makes the wheel of the innumerable essences, wherein the wonders are generated.
34. But the flash of the liberty of the eternal will, which sharpens itself in the sourness, and turns to consuming fire, breaks its wheel, wherein as a flash it penetrats through in a moment, and terrifies its mother, the sourness, which loses her hard propriety, and is changed into a sharp nature like Salt; and in this sharpness, the sting also loses its own right and becomes bitter: for it has in it two forms, viz. the raging, and also the flash of the fire, which are like brimstone, and it is the might of the kindling of the fire, for the source [or property] of the fire stands therein.
35. Understand us rightly thus: the flash of fire out of the sharpness makes the third form in nature: for it makes in the sourness, and out of the Eager (the bitter sting in the tart anguish) a brimstone- spirit, wherein the flash stands, and is the soul (or the eternal life) of the four forms. For the anguish makes in itself again a desire to fly out from the anguish, and yet there is nothing that can fly away, but so it is in the centre, and is called the centre no more.
36. The fourth form is the changing of the hard sourness, viz. the crack of the flash, the dark hardness perceiving that it is feeble, and [as it were]
dead and overcome; and it is then turned into* SAL, and yet retains the propriety of the sour attracting.
37. Thus the four forms of nature are no more called the centre, though indeed they have the centre in them, and in their original, but [are called] Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal. For the brimstone-spirit is the soul of the four forms: for it has the fire in it, and the anguish in it makes another will, so that the four forms have an eternal will in them, which is their own: for that will is to fly aloft out of the four forms, above nature, and to kindle nature in the fire, and so to be in a horrible might, as may be [discerned and] considered in the devils, who live in such a will as this, as we shall show afterward.
38. Thus understand us rightly what the wiseof old have understood by the three words,
Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal: though they all could not apprehend the high light, yet they understood it well enough in the light of this world, viz. in the third Principle; all which has one and the same understanding and meaning; only they understood not the three Principles; or else they had known God; and so they remained in the light of this world as heathen with their understanding. For they had found the soul of the four forms in the light of the virtue of the sun [only], and the second Principle was no further revealed to them.
39. There the soul stands in the eternal band, and there, in the cross of nature, out of the original eternal will, is the eternal Word generated, which is the maker and creator in nature, and this has been hidden to them, even to this very day: but the time discovers it, where it
To be seen, stands as a banner [to be seen] : of which
[shall be spoken] in its place.
40. And deep considerate reason has it very clearly in our description what Sulphur, Mercurius, and Sal are: for SUL is the soul, and is a brimstonespirit, which has the flash of fire with all forms in it: but if the power and light of the sun operate therein (seeing the soul stands in flesh and blood) the sun with its friendly beams makes out of the sour salt-spirit, an oil, and kindls the fire: and so the brimstone-spirit burns, and is a light in the essences: and out of the anxious will
No commentary for this page.
There is commentary on page 1.