The Golden Calf, Which the World Adores, and Desires by John Frederick Helvetius
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John Frederick Helvetius >> The Golden Calf, Which the World Adores, and Desires
Artist.
I do confess, that a certain Man
of good Condition, to me wholly
unknown, by demonstrating taught
me; First, the possibility of transmutation;
secondly the way of
preparing also. And this is that
Infallible Art, touching which
you have no reason to doubt. But
whereas, you request that I should
give you one small part of my Treasure;
that is no wise lawful for me
to do, although, you would give
as a Recompense, so many Ducats,
as this whole Room, from
the bottom to the top, would contein;
and that not by reason of
the estimation of the Matter, because
it is of small Price, but for
another weighty Reason, in respect
of which, if it were possible,
that Fire could be consumed by
Fire, I would at this time, rather
cast this whole Mass into the devouring
Flames, before your Eyes.
Wherefore, in the meanwhile, I admonish
you, not to be so eager in
coveting this so great Science. For
you have this day seen more in my
possession, than many Kings, and
Princes could ever behold,
although they eagerly desired to see
the same. Besides, I think of comming
to you again, after 3 Weeks,
then I will shew to you certain excellent
Arts, and Manuductions in
the Chymical Science. Also, if
it shall then be lawful for me, to
shew you the way of Transmutation,
I will truely satisfie your Curiosity
therein. In the mean while,
I bid you farewel, withal, admonishing,
that you take heed to your
self, and meddle not with such a
great, and profound Labour, least:
you miserably loose both your
Fame, and substance in the Ashes
like some other covetous inquisitors,
of the same most noble Art.
Physician.
Now, what shall I do, my Master?
If it happen, that, by reason
of your Philosophick Oath, confirmed
by that small draught of
Silver, dissolved in Rain-water,
it shall not be lawful for you to
give me that requested exceeding
small part of the Tincture so wonderful.
You cannot be ignorant,
that I (according to your suspicion)
am in mind anxious, and
earnestlie desirous of tasting of this
so noble Science. Yea, I do verilie
think, if Adam himself, the first
Patriark of the World (who was
once driven out of Paradice, for
eating the Apple of either Wisedom)
were yet living in this our
Age, he would not forbear again
the Taste of this Golden Apple, from
the Garden of Atlantis.
Your Mastership said: Manie
Princes could not see this which I
have seen. I, indeed have seen the
Matter, of which you give so rare a
Testimony; but in the mean while I
have not beheld the transmutative
Effect; only I give credit to your
Words. And, since you have told
me, that you will go hence, and
after three Weeks return to me again,
to teach me some excellent
Chymical Arts, as also the way
of projection, if it shall then be
lawful for you. In the fruition of
this good hope, I at this time rest
satisfied; in the mean time, giving
you hearty thanks, for your exceeding
great Friendship shewed to me
alreadie, and, for your singular
Care, and faithful admonition,
that I should not in Chymical Labours,
consume both my Goods
and Reputation. I assuredly have
never yet made tryal of so great,
and high things, nor ever will I
attempt the me, unless your self
will first gratis, and from the
pure benevolence of Friendship,
demonstrate to me, the way and
manner of preparing. Yet I shall
admire the Verity of Art, and
please my self with the Remembrance
of the Friendship you have
shewed me; because you, who
have revealed this to me, are an
Adept Philosopher.
But if any King, or Prince, or
any Great Man, or Men, should
know, that you are the Possessor
of this Art, and therefore (which
God forbid) should lay hold of
you, and attempt by Tortures to
bring you to a discovery, would
you reveal this Art to them?
Artist.
I have not shewed the Stone of
Philosophers to any man, except
to one aged man, and to your
self; to both of you, I have revealed
that I am the Possessor;
but, henceforth, no man must
ever see or hear such a thing.
And although any King, or Prince,
should (which God I hope will
not permit) cast, me into Prison,
I would not, after the manner of
Circumforanean Physicians [or
Mountebanks] or Vagabond Impostors
or of poor Alchimists,
directly, or indirectly, discover
the Art to them, but would rather
suffer my self to be most cruelly
wracked, tortured, or tormented
with burning Fire, untill
my life expire.
Physician
Good Friend, are there not
Authors, which, touching the
verity of this Art, write more
plainly, then all the number of
them, which, concerning it, utter
words so obscure, as perhaps
they themselves did not understand,
unless they adhibited the.
Commentaries, and Annotations
of evident Paraphrasists. I suppose you
have in times past read
them, and therefore are best
able to inform me, who were
Adept.
Artist.
Master Doctor, I indeed read
not, nor have I read many Books,
yet among those I have read, I
find no Authors more curious,
than Sandivogius, especially in
that Book, which is Entituled
Cosmopolita, in Dutch, Borger Der
Werelt. Also Brother Basilius in
in his twelve Keys. As to Sandivogius,
this Author you may peruse,
untill I return, as I said: for
in his obscure words the truth is
latent, even as our Tincture of
Philosophers is both included, and
retruded, in External Minerals,
and Metallick Bodies.
Physician
Sir, I give you thanks, for this
so great friendship. I shall do according
to your advice, and as to
what you say, touching the Objects
of the Tincture, I easily assent
to, and grant; for I believe
that the wonderful, and efficacious
Essences of Metals, are hid
under the external Rinds and
Shells of Bodies, although I find
very few so well exercised, and
experienced in the Fire, who
know how to uncase the Kernel,
according to the Rule of Art.
Every External, and Robust Substance,
of any Animal, Vegetable,
or Mineral, is the Body,
like unto that Terrestrial Province,
into which (as Isaac Holland
hath prescribed) excellent
Essences spiritually enter. Wherefore,
it is needful, that the Sons
of Art should know, how by
some Saline suitable Ferment,
grateful to the Metallick Nature,
they may subdue, dissolve, separate
and concentrate, not only
the Magnetick Metallick virtue
of Tinging, but also, how they
may multiply the same in its own
Philosophick Homogeneal Golden,
or Silvery-manner. For we
see, that the bodies of all Creatures,
are not only easily destroyed,
but thenceforth also the Internals
cease to live, and hasten to
the dark Shadowings, in which
they were, before they, by the
Creation of God the Creator, were
brought to Light. But what Man
will discover to us this Art in the
Metallick Kingdom?
Artist
You say well, and have rightly
judged of the Natural Destruction
of things, and if it shall be pleasing
to the most merciful God, to
deal graciously with you as He
hath done with me; He, according
to your good hope, will direct
some one of the Adept to demonstrate,
to you the way of destroying
Metals, and of collecting the
Internal Souls of them. But, in
the mean while, do you invoke
the most Wise God, to whose
Vigilant Eyes I commend you,
which are always open upon
his Sons, regenerated to him
by Christ. Again Farewel, and
rest assured, I will be your Friend.
I must at this time go hence,
but I hope to see you again in
good health, ere it be long.
Thus my new Friend took
his Leave, and went away; it leaving
me, his Friend, most sad
for the space of three Weeks,
which being expired, according
to his Word, he returned, and
gave me the Tincture, as you may
learn by the above-recited History.
After this, that Philosophick
Man of God went from me, and
I never more saw him, from
that time, unto to this very day,
nor could I hear of him by any
of the Carriers, or Posts, or by
any of my Intimate Acquaintance.
Nevertheless, he left with me
(as a Spurre) the acute Memory
of, him, reposted in my
minde, as also the Opinion of
Paracelsus affirming, that by Metals,
of Metals, and with Metals,
cleansed, Spiritual, and first depurated
from their feculency, are
made Metals, and the Living
Gold and Silver of Philosophers,
as well for Humane, as for Metallick
Bodies. Wherefore if
that Guest, my Friend of but
little acquaintance, had exactly
shewed to me, the way of preparing
preparing this Celestial Spiritual Salt,
by which, and with which,
from Corporeal, and Earthly Substances,
I might, as it were, in the
Matrix of them, collect the Spiritual
Rayes of Sol or Luna:
assuredly, He from his own Light,
would have enkindled in me so
great a Light, as I should have
seen, and understood how I ought
in other Corporeal Metals, by
Sympathy to transmute the Eternal
Soul of them so, as by the
help thereof they had clarified,
or transformed their own like body,
either into Gold, or into
Silver, according to the disposition
of the Red seed, into a Red
Body, or according to the Nature
of the White Seed, into a White
Body. For Elias the Artist affirmed
to me, that the Chalybs
Of Sandivogius is that true Mercurial
Metallick Humidity, by
the help of which, without any
Corrosive, the Artist might, in an
open Fire, and Crucible, separate
the fixed Rayes of Sol
or Luna from their own Body, and
thenceforth make them Volatile
and Mercurial, for the Dry Philosophick
Tincture, as he demonstrated
to me; and communicated
somewhat relating to the
transmutation of Metals. Indeed all
men well skilled in the Chymical
Science, have a necessity of assenting
to me in this, viz. that Pyrotechny
is the Mother, and Nurse
of various noble Sciences and Arts.
For they can easily judge from
the Colours of the Chaos of Metals
in the Fire, what Metallic
body is therein. Even so dayly
in the bowels of the Earth are
procreated Metals, and Perspicuous
Stones, from a proper noble
vaporous Seed, from a Spiritual
tinging Sulphureous Seed,
in their diverse Saline Matrixes.
For the common Sulphur, whether
of an impure, or pure Metal
whilst conjoyned with its own
body, mixt with Salt Peter only in
the burning heat of Fire is easily
changed into a most hard
and most fixed Earth, but this
Earth is thenceforth by the Aire
easily changed into a most limpid
Water: and this Water afterward,
by a more strong Fire,
according to the Nature of the
Metallick pure or impure Sulphur
mixt is converted into Glass,
admirably Well tinged with various
Colours. Almost in the very
same manner, from the White of
an Egge is generated a Chick by
natural heat. So also from the
Seminal bond of Life of any one
Metal, is made a new, and more
noble Metal, by an heat of Fire
convenient to the Saline Nature;
although very few Chimists rightly
and perfectly know, how the
Internal, and alwayes moving
Magnetick virtues, are distinguished
according to the Harmony,
or Disconsonancy of them.
Whence we see, this Metal hath
a Sympathy or Antipathy with
another, so very singular, as is
found in the Magnet with Iron, in
Mercury with Gold, in Silver with
Copper, a very remarkable Sympathy,
but on the contrary, there
is a notable Antipathy in Lead
against Tin, in Iron against Gold,
in Antimony against Silver, in
Lead against Mercury. Infinite
other like Sympathetic, and Antipathetick
Annotations occurr in
the Animal & Vegetable Kingdom;
as you may read and find in various
Authors, who have written of
such Curiosities, from the accurate,
and absolute Knowledge of
which, the true Philosophers,
and Masters of Nature had their
beginning, and Esteem.
Thus have I described, what I
my self have seen and done; and
have caused the same to be printed
for you, Candid Readers, out of
mere Liberality, gratis communicating
it, according to that of Seneca:
I desire in this to know
somewhat, that I may teach others.
Si cum hac Exceptione detur Sapientia,
ut illlam inclusam tencam, abjiciam,
&c. But if any man doubt
of the real truth of this matter, let
him only with a lively faith believe
in his Crucified Jesus, that
in Him, he (by the strict way of
Regeneration) may become a
New Creature; in the same let
him fix the whole Anchor, of his
Faith, and likewise shew his [Greek: philanthropia],
or Love of Mankind, unto
all his Neighbours, and especially
exercise the works of Mercy, and
Brotherly Love towards the needy
Members of the Christian Religion,
that at length, when the whole
Course of his Life is justly, and
holily finished, in that Fatal and
Mortal hour, he may hence,
through the Watery Ocean of this
Tempestuous and Rocky World,
arrive in safety at the most blessed
Port of Eternal Rest, and sing the
New Song with the Triumphing
Philosophers of the Heavenly
Jerusalem, of which he hopes to
take, who is,
Your most faithful and
assured Friend
John Frederick Helvetius,
Doctor and Practitioner of Medicine at the Hague.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note: Repeated word "perused" deleted.