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Anonymous

Candida Phoenix Philosophica

The White Philosophical Phoenix

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Candida Phoenix PhilosophicaPart II — Chapter 13: The Controversy Over Light

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English Page · Branch 338 of 411

Part II — Chapter 13: The Controversy Over Light

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German & Latin

216

Siquidem, quoad secundum non dicam esse, qui tria Substantiarum genera statuunt, quin sufficiat, quod supra ad nauseam usque sit probatum, Lucem esse substantiam, corporique nulli inhærere. V. R. ideo argumentum contra ipsam vertitur: Nam quia Lux videtur, & nihil incorporeum in hac fragilitate oculis nostris & visui est perceptibile, neque tertium datur, Lucem esse corpoream sequitur, quod ipsum quoque statuere non erubesco; quippe quod DEUS nihil λόγῳ προφορικῷ particulari Verbo & Decreto &c. creaverit, quod totum incorporeum sit, quare Lucem corpus esse, vel habere pellucidissimum & subtilissimum ajo.

216

Candida Phoenix Philosophica: Part II — Chapter 13: The Controversy Over Light

216

As to the second point, I need not mention those who posit three kinds of substance. It is enough that I have proved almost to weariness that light is a substance and inheres in no body. Your argument therefore turns against you. Since light is seen, since nothing incorporeal is perceptible to our eyes and sight in this mortal condition, and since there is no third possibility, light must be corporeal. I am not ashamed to maintain this. God has created nothing through a spoken word, a particular word and decree, that is wholly incorporeal. I therefore say that light is, or possesses, a supremely transparent and subtle body.

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About This Reading Edition

An anonymous Hermetic treatise of 1680, presented in its original German and Latin with a new English translation, 279 explanatory notes, the historical phoenix frontispiece, an introduction, reading guide, outline, glossary, bibliography, and original registers.

Historical Text and Translation

Anonymous, Candida Phoenix philosophica. Frankfurt am Main: Christian Hermsdorff, 1680. The chosen witness is the Wellcome Library copy digitized as b32993456; German and Latin, with French, Greek, and Hebrew passages retained.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The 1680 source is identified as public domain by the Wellcome/Internet Archive record. The supplied 2026 transcription, English translation, introduction, notes, reading guide, outline, glossary, bibliography, and editorial arrangement are published with the site owner’s authorization. The frontispiece is retained from the supplied edition and credited to its historical witness.