Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Name: Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Author: Attributed to Paracelsus

A fresh translation from the early Latin text with annotations and study apparatus

Explore the Lexicon

Nine Books on the Nature of ThingsBook 8 · Separation · Passage 4

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

English Page · Branch 378 of 642

Book 8 · Separation · Passage 4

Book Mode

Source reference

Latin witness: 1605 p. 237

Latin

Exemplo vobis est Electrum, quod per se Metallum non est, sed tamen omnia Metalla in uno metallo & corpore recondit. Id si Alchimica industria Anatometur & separetur: omnia septem metalla, eaque pura & impermixta ex illo prodeunt, nempe Aurum, Argentum, Cuprum, Stannum, Plumbum, Ferrum, Argentum vivum, &c.

English

Electrum offers you an example. It is not a metal in its own right, yet it conceals all metals in a single metal and body. If it is anatomised and separated by alchemical skill, all seven metals emerge from it, pure and unmixed: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron and quicksilver, and so forth.

About This Reading Edition

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.

About Diotimos Editions

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.