Lumen de Lumine

It is a further-compounded substance, extremely heavy and moist, yet it does not wet the hand. It shines after nightfall like a star and will light any dark room. It is full of little eyes sparkling like pearls or aglets. It is the whole Demogorgon, but now actually animated through the manifestation of its own inward light. Its father is a certain inviolable mass, whose parts are so firmly united that you can neither pound them to dust nor separate them by violent fire. This is the philosophers’ stone, of which one writer says: “It is surrounded on every side by darkness, clouds and gloom. It dwells in the earth’s innermost bowels. When born, it is clothed in a certain green mantle, sprinkled with a certain moisture, and is not begotten by anything, but is eternal and the parent of all things.” It is surrounded, he says, by darkness, clouds and blackness. It dwells in the earth’s innermost bowels; but when born, it is clothed in a certain green mantle and sprinkled with a certain moisture. It is not properly generated by any natural thing, but is eternal and the father of all things. This description is very true and apt, yet enigmatic. In any case, do not forget the green mantle. This is the substance Gieberim Eben-Haen—or Geber, as the rabble writes his name—calls “the stone known in the chapters.” This is a very subtle expression, but, examined properly, it is the key to his whole book and to the old philosophers’ writings in general.