Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
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English Page · Branch 168 of 204
On Sulphur · Passage 14
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1616 · sequence pages 71–72
Latin
Alchimista: Domine, dic adhuc mihi, si hoc est verum Sulphur Philosophorum.
Vox: Hoc quidem est Sulphur, sed si Philosophorum est, tuum est scire. Satis ego tibi de Sulphure dixi.
Alchimista: Domine si etiam eius carceres inveniam, an eum liberare potero?
Vox: Si scies, optime poteris; facilius est enim illud liberare quam invenire.
Alchimista: Domine rogo dic adhuc mihi, si illud invenero, faciamne ex illo lapidem Philosophorum?
Vox: O amice non est meum divinare, tu ipse videto: attamen si matrem eius noveris, illam secutus fueris, sulphure soluto lapis in promptu erit.
Alchimista: Domine in quo subiecto est hoc sulphur?
Vox: Scito pro certo quod hoc sulphur est magnae virtutis: minera eius sunt omnes res mundi, est enim in metallis, herbis, arboribus, animalibus, lapidibus, mineris.
English
Alchemist: Sir, tell me further whether this is the true philosophers' sulphur.
Voice: It is indeed sulphur. Whether it is the philosophers' is for you to know. I have told you enough about sulphur.
Alchemist: Sir, if I find its prisons, can I free it?
Voice: If you know how, you certainly can. It is easier to free it than to find it.
Alchemist: Sir, please tell me this too: if I find it, shall I make the philosophers' stone from it?
Voice: Friend, foretelling is not my business. See to it yourself. Yet if you know its mother and follow her, once sulphur is dissolved the stone will be at hand.
Alchemist: Sir, in what subject is this sulphur?
Voice: Know for certain that this sulphur has great power. Its ore is everything in the world, for it is in metals, plants, trees, animals, stones and ores.
Socrates
Reading A New Light of Alchemy · On Sulphur · On Sulphur · Passage 14
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
The complete supplied Latin–English edition of the Twelve Treatises, Epilogue, Enigma, Parable, Dialogue of Mercury and Treatise of Sulphur, with original preliminaries, John French’s historical English address and its separately labelled modernisation, 101 annotations and the complete study apparatus.
Historical Text and Translation
The Twelve Treatises and their concluding texts follow the selected 1606 Herzog August Bibliothek witness. The Dialogue uses the 1607 Cologne printing; the author’s preface and Alsted epigram use Frankfurt 1611. Sulphur uses the 1616 Munich and Rome witnesses. John French’s 1650 address is separately identified as historical English reception.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The historical Latin texts and John French’s 1650 English address are in the public domain. The new translation, modernisation and editorial apparatus were prepared with AI assistance for Diotimos Editions in 2026 and are published with the site owner’s authorization.