Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Herod and the Reduction of the Elements · Manuscript 38r · Scan 101
French
Ms. 38rreprésenté par ces infortunées femmes qui sont par terre à demi mortes ; ces enfants arrachés de leurs seins et de leurs mamelles sont les sept parties du soufre, car il est formé de la pure substance du vitriol, et on appelle son sang l’esprit métallique des corps parfaits ; car de même qu’un enfant est nourri de sang dans le corps de sa mère et de lait lorsqu’il est né, de même notre soufre dans le corps de sa mère est nourri d’esprit de vitriol rouge et, lorsqu’il a vu le jour, doit être nourri et élevé par de fréquentes imbibitions, jusqu’à ce que, arrivé à l’âge des adultes, il soit fortifié d’une nourriture plus solide, c’est-à-dire d’un corps métallique par la fermentation.
Est-il surprenant de voir ces malheureuses mères étendues par terre à demi mortes et sans mouvement puisqu’elles sont privées de leur propre sang et de celui de leurs enfants dans lequel est leur esprit, leur âme et leur vie ? On peut rapporter à cet emblème ce qu’on a dit de la mort d’Adonis et d’Osiris, qui ne sont pas tués par ces soldats, mais de la dent d’un sanglier et de la griffe de Typhon, qui signifient la même chose que les esprits subtils de
The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I: Herod and the Reduction of the Elements
Ms. 38rrepresented by these unfortunate women lying half dead upon the ground. These children, torn from their bosoms and breasts, are the seven parts of sulfur, for it is formed from the pure substance of vitriol; and its blood is the name given to the metallic spirit of perfect bodies. Just as a child is nourished by blood within its mother’s body and by milk after birth, so our sulfur is nourished within its mother’s body by the spirit of red vitriol. Once it has seen the light of day, it must be fed and reared through frequent imbibitions until, having reached adulthood, it is strengthened by more solid nourishment: that is, a metallic body through fermentation.
Is it surprising to see these unhappy mothers lying half dead and motionless upon the ground, since they are deprived of their own blood and that of their children, in which reside their spirit, soul, and life? To this emblem we may refer what has been said of the deaths of Adonis and Osiris. They are killed not by these soldiers, but by a boar’s tusk and Typhon’s claw, which signify the same thing as the subtle spirits of
Socrates
Reading The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I · Herod and the Reduction of the Elements · Manuscript 38r · Scan 101
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
The first manuscript in the Manly Palmer Hall collection at the Getty Research Institute: the Book of Hieroglyphic Figures, presented in French and English with 463 explanatory notes, 13 manuscript plates, 25 source details, an introduction, chapter outline, glossary, bibliography, and register of readings.
Historical Text and Translation
Book of Hieroglyphic Figures (Livre des figures hiéroglyphiques), attributed in the witness to Abraham the Jew. Getty Research Institute, Manly Palmer Hall collection of alchemical manuscripts, accession 950053, Box 1, Hogart manuscript 3; French witness catalogued circa 1800. Manly Palmer Hall is the collector, not the author.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The circa 1800 source manuscript is public domain. The supplied 2026 French reading transcription, English translation, introduction, notes, outline, glossary, register, and editorial arrangement are published with the site owner’s authorization. Source photographs are credited to the Getty Research Institute and Internet Archive in the supplied edition.
- Manuscript collection and Box 1 identificationGetty Research Institute: Hall collection finding aid
- Underlying manuscript photographsInternet Archive: Hall collection, Box 1
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