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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition

Anonymous (traditionally attributed to Anton Joseph Kirchweger)

The Golden Chain of Homer

A New Translation from the German Edition of 1723

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The Golden Chain of HomerII.PREFACE · The Corruption and Anatomy of Things

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German & Latin Page · Branch 276 of 504

II.PREFACE · The Corruption and Anatomy of Things

German & Latin

1723 pp 214

Findet er aber einen Schaden, oder daß er auf einmal seinen scopum nicht erhält, so excusire er mich, weil ich nicht personaliter mit ihme manipuliren kan; jedoch verzage er nicht, denn keine Frucht wird vor der Zeit reiff, und kein Kind kan einen Mann agiren: Also ein anfangender Chymist kan noch keinen vollkommenen Philosophum practiren. Derowegen heist es: errando discimus, & perfecti per tempus efficimur.

1723 pp 214

The Golden Chain of Homer: II.PREFACE · The Corruption and Anatomy of Things

1723 pp 214

But if they suffer harm, or fail to attain their aim at once, let them excuse me, since I cannot be there in person to carry out the work with them. Yet let them not lose heart: no fruit ripens before its time, and no child can play the part of a grown man. In the same way, a beginning chymist cannot yet practise as an accomplished philosopher. Hence the saying: we learn by making mistakes, and through time we are brought to perfection.

1723 pp 214

About This Reading Edition

The two-book alchemical work of 1723 in German with a new English translation, 399 notes, eight historical diagrams, chapter outlines, keyword essays, a glossary, bibliography, subject index, and 400 discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

Historical Text and Translation

Anonymous, Aurea Catena Homeri. Frankfurt and Leipzig: Johann Georg Böhme, 1723. Traditionally attributed to Anton Joseph Kirchweger; the attribution remains uncertain. Historical diagrams from the Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung copy digitized by e-rara.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The supplied edition identifies the 1723 German source and historical diagrams as public-domain material. Its new English translation and editorial apparatus are published with the site owner’s authorization. The complete original files are retained unchanged.