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Anonymous

Candida Phoenix Philosophica

The White Philosophical Phoenix

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Candida Phoenix PhilosophicaPart I — Theorem VII

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English Page · Branch 47 of 411

Part I — Theorem VII

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German & Latin

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Zu deme habe ich diesen sonsten gemeinen und wohl bekannten / auch in Philosophia vulgari sehr üblichen Terminum (causa efficiens) eigentlich darumb gebrauchen wollen / damit meine Meynung dardurch desto mehr verstanden werden mögte. Gestalten durch solchen Spiritum das Corpus auffgeschlossen / welcher auch wiederumb der Copulator ist / vermittelst dessen die Seele dem Leib wieder beygefügt wird / worvon auff dießmahl genug. Im übrigen aber ist dies Orts gleichfalls inter concretum & abstractum zu distinguiren. Abstractivè enim loquendo, kan dieser Spiritus sonderlich alhier und in Regno minerali, die causa efficiens, ut iterum ita dicam, genennet werden &c. Concretè autem, und wann man die übrige Principia und Elementa mit darunter verstehet / so ist er die materia universalis. Inmassen auch ausser deme kein Element ohne das ander ist / und ab nachfolgendem discurs mit mehrerm zu vernehmen seyn wird.

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Candida Phoenix Philosophica: Part I — Theorem VII

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Moreover, I wished to use this common and familiar term, “efficient cause,” so customary in ordinary philosophy, precisely so that my meaning might be better understood. Through this spirit the body is opened; it is also the uniting agent through which the soul is joined to the body again. Enough of that for now. We must also distinguish here between the concrete and the abstract. Speaking abstractly, this spirit may—especially here, in the mineral kingdom—be called the efficient cause, to use the term again. But speaking concretely, when the other principles and elements are included with it, it is universal matter. Besides, no element exists without another, as the ensuing discussion will explain more fully.

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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.