Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
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English Page · Branch 45 of 204
Treatise VIII · Passage 2
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1606 pp. 119–120
Latin
Sed ut facilius intelligatur hoc, adhuc adiungere volui, quod elementa certanter inter se proiiciunt in centrum terrae, quasi in renes semen suum: centrum vero per motum emittit illud in matricem, matrices vero sunt innumerabiles, quot loca tot matrices, una purior altera, et sic in infinitum fere. Scias ergo, quod pura matrix, purum dabit foetum in suo simili: exempli gratia, in animalibus sunt matrices hominum, vaccarum, equorum, canum, etc. Sic in minerali et vegetabili sunt metalla, lapides, salia: nam salia in hisce duobus regnis sunt consideranda, et loca eorum, secundum magis vel minus.
English
To make this more readily understood, I wished to add that the elements contend with one another as they cast their seed into the earth’s centre, as though into kidneys. Through motion the centre emits it into a womb. Wombs are innumerable: as many places, so many wombs, one purer than another, and so on almost without limit. Know, therefore, that a pure womb will yield pure offspring in its own like. For example, among animals there are the wombs of humans, cows, horses, dogs, and so forth. Likewise, in the mineral and vegetable kingdoms there are metals, stones, and salts. Salts and their places must be considered in these two kingdoms, according to their greater or lesser degree.
Socrates
Reading A New Light of Alchemy · Treatise VIII · Treatise VIII · Passage 2
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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.
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This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
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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.