Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
A fresh translation from the early Latin text with annotations and study apparatus
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English Page · Branch 285 of 642
Book 6 · Resuscitation · Passage 7
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1605 p. 227
Latin
Resuscitatio autem vel restauratio Mercurii coagulati fit per Retortarum distillationes: nam solus Mercurius vivus ascendit in aquam frigidam & relinquitur cinis ♄, ♀, vel sulphuris. Resuscitatio autem & restauratio Mercurii sublimati fit in aqua ferventi: attamen oportet eum prius minutissime teri, ita aqua fervens ab ipso resolvet spiritum salis & vitrioli, quem in sublimatione secum attulit, & Mercurius concurrit rursum vivus in fundo aquae. Si iam talis Mercurius denuo cum novo sale & vitriolo sublimetur, & in aqua ferventi resuscitetur, & hoc septies vel novies fiat, melius purgari & renovari nequit. Et hoc pro magno Secreto retine in Alchymia & Medicina, & de eo gaude summopere. Nam hoc modo aufertur a Mercurio omnis impuritas & nigredo ac venenositas. Resuscitatio & restauratio Mercurii calcinati sine sublimatione fieri non potest: nam nisi post calcinationem sublimetur, nunquam revivificabitur, quare eum sublimabis, & postea ut alium sublimatum, reduces.
English
Coagulated Mercury is resuscitated or restored through distillations in retorts: living Mercury alone rises into cold water, leaving ash of Lead, Copper or sulphur. Sublimed Mercury is resuscitated and restored in boiling water, but must first be ground extremely fine. The boiling water dissolves from it the spirit of salt and vitriol which it carried up in sublimation, and Mercury gathers again, alive, at the bottom of the water. If this Mercury is again sublimed with fresh salt and vitriol and resuscitated in boiling water, repeated seven or nine times, it cannot be better purified and renewed. Keep this as a great secret in alchemy and medicine and rejoice in it greatly: by this means all impurity, blackness and poisonousness are taken from Mercury. Calcined Mercury cannot be resuscitated and restored without sublimation. Unless sublimed after calcination, it will never be brought to life again; therefore sublime it and afterward reduce it like any other sublimate.
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The complete supplied Latin–English edition of the historical title, dedication and all nine books, with 363 separately labelled historical marginal notes, 117 modern annotations and the complete Diotimos study apparatus. The transmitted composite work is traditionally attributed to Paracelsus; individual authorship remains qualified.
Historical Text and Translation
The normalized Latin follows the complete 1605 Frankfurt Palthenian witness, volume six, printed pages 198–271, in SUB Göttingen PPN578052199, historical scans 182–255. Earlier textual tradition is German; the individual translator of the 1605 Latin text is not identified. The dedication’s 1537 date is transmitted text, not an established date for the composite work.
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This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The historical Latin text is in the public domain. The fresh English translation and editorial material were prepared with AI assistance for Diotimos Editions in 2026 and are published with the site owner’s authorization.