The Turba Philosophorum (complete) — trans. A. E. Waite (1896)

the days of the night in which will be the perfection of the most great arcanum, I will treat in its proper place in what follows. And know most assuredly that if a little gold be placed in the composition, there will result a patent and white tincture. Wherefore also a sublime gold and a patent gold is found in the treasuries of the former philosophers. Wherefore those things are unequal which they introduce into their composition. Inasmuch as the elements are commingled and are turned into lead of copper, coming out of their own former natures, they are turned into a new nature. Then they are called one nature and one genus. These things being accomplished, it is placed in a glass vessel, unless in a certain way the composition drinks the water and is altered in its colours. In every grade it is beheld, when it is coloured by a venerable redness. Although concerning this elixir we read in the sayings of the philosophers : Take gold, occurring frequently, it is

204 The Turba Philosophorum.

only needful to do so once. Wishing, therefore, to know the certitude of the adversary, consider what Democritus* saith, how he begins speaking from bottom to top, then reversing matters he proceeds from top to bottom. For, he said : Take iron, lead, and albart for copper, which reversing, he again says : And our copper for coins, lead for gold, gold for gold of coral, and gold of coral for gold of crocus. Again, in the second place, when he begins from the top to the bottom, he saith : Take gold, coin, copper, lead, and iron ; he shews, therefore, by his sayings that only semi-gold is taken. And without doubt gold is not changed into rust without lead and copper, t It will be well in this place to enumerate the terms, mostly of oriental origin, occurring in the Turba for which no explanation can at present be found. They are : Absumech, Ebmich, Corsufle, Mucra, Murtal, Geldum,

* Democritus at the beginning of the assembly is effectually silenced, and now seems to be quoted as an enemy at the conclusion of a symposium in which he was foibidden to participate.

Halsut, Albar, and the curious use of the Latin wor4

Carmen.

The Turba Philosophorum. 205

and unless it be imbued with vinegar known by the wise, until, being cooked, it is turned into redness. This, therefore, is the redness which all the Philosophers signified, because, however they said : Take gold and it becomes gold of coral ; Take gold of coral and it becomes purple gold — all these things are only names of those colours, for it behoves them that vinegar be placed in it, because these colours come from it. But by these things which the Philosophers have mentioned under various names, they have signified stronger bodies and forces. It is taken, therefore, once, that it may become rubigo and then vinegar is imposed on it. For when the said colours appear, it is necessary that each be decocted in forty days, so that it may be desiccated, the water being consumed ; finally being imbued and placed in the vessel, it is cooked until its utility appear. Its first grade becomes as a citrine mucra, the second as red, the

2o6 The Turba Philosophorum.

third as the dry pounded crocus of the vulgar. So is it imposed upon coin.