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1. Of the microcosm.
The human body is twofold after death.
The first separation of which we speak must begin with the human being, since the human is the microcosm, the lesser world, for whose sake the macrocosm, the greater world, was established: namely, so that the human might be its separator. Separation of the microcosm begins only at death. In human death two bodies are separated from each other, the heavenly and the earthly, that is, the sacramental and the elemental. One flies aloft like an eagle; the other falls down to earth like lead.
What the elemental body is; what the sacramental body is.
The origin of the cabalistic art.
The elemental body rots and is consumed. It becomes a putrid corpse which, once buried in the earth, does not emerge or appear again. The sacramental body, however, that is, the sidereal and heavenly body, does not rot, is not buried and occupies no place. This body appears to people and is seen even after death. From it come ghosts, visions and supernatural apparitions. On this the ancient Magi built the cabalistic art, discussed more fully in the books of Cabalia.
After this separation has occurred, human death also separates three substances from one another: body, soul and spirit. Each tends towards its own place, towards the repository from which it originally came: the body to earth, the first matter of the elements; the soul to the first matter of the sacraments; and the spirit, finally, to the first matter of the airy chaos.
2. Of the macrocosm.
The three parts of the world.
What has just been said about separation of the microcosm must also be understood of the greater world, which the great ocean divided into three parts, so that the whole globe is set apart into Europe, Asia and Africa. This separation is a kind of prefiguration of the three principles, showing that they can be separated from every earthly and elemental thing. These three principles are mercury, sulphur and salt, from which the world was established and composed.
3. Of metals.
Next one must also understand the separation of metals from their mountains, that is, the separation of metals and minerals. When separation is performed on these, many matters emerge from one, as you see minerals yield metal, slag, glass, sand, pyrite, marcasite, garnet, cobalt, talc, cackimia, zinetum, bismuth, antimony, litharge, sulphur, vitriol, verdigris, chrysocolla, blue mineral or lazulum, orpiment, arsenic realgar, cinnabar, iron clay, spar, gypsum, tripoli, red earth used by craftsmen, and many similar things. Subsequently each of these also yields waters, oils, resins, calx or ash, mercury, sulphur and salt, and so forth.