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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition

Attributed to Abraham the Jew

The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I

Book of Hieroglyphic Figures

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The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume IThe Wilderness Rivers and Fixation · Manuscript 42v · Scan 112

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The Wilderness Rivers and Fixation · Manuscript 42v · Scan 112

French

Ms. 42v

d’Erymanthe est appelé mercure du nom de la fleur de Vénus ; il est prêt à dévorer l’Adonis de Vénus, c’est-à-dire la terre ou le soufre du soleil, comme nous avons dit souvent. Il faut penser de même du taureau, car comme le taureau elle rend la terre infertile parce qu’elle est séparée de sa propre humidité et du suc mercuriel, et qu’elle est calcinée et ravagée et que cette eau la corrode, la détruit et la ruine, comme on peut voir par les serpents de cet emblème, pour un jour la rendre utile et fertile en son temps, lorsque ces monstres vaincus et renversés remporteront une victoire glorieuse. Ce n’est ni une idée ni un songe, quoique plusieurs se l’imaginent, que Piton soit tombé dans l’île de Chryse lorsque le Soleil était couché avec Vénus, ou lorsque Pallas sortit du cerveau de Jupiter. On a appelé Chryse l’île de Rhode à cause de la quantité de roses qu’elle produit, ou Ophioglossa à cause de la multitude de serpents qui l’infestent, ou Colossicola par rapport au colosse du Soleil qui y fut construit autrefois. Afin de découvrir ce qui est représenté en cet emblème, que veut-on dire, je vous prie,

Ms. 42v

The Manly Hall Manuscript Collection, Volume I: The Wilderness Rivers and Fixation

Ms. 42v

of Erymanthus is called mercury from the name of Venus’s flower; it is ready to devour Venus’s Adonis, that is, the earth or sulfur of the Sun, as we have often said. We must think the same of the bull. For, like the bull, it makes the earth infertile: the earth is separated from its own moisture and mercurial sap, calcined and ravaged, and this water corrodes, destroys, and ruins it, as may be seen through the serpents of this emblem. Yet the aim is one day to make it useful and fruitful in its season, when these monsters, conquered and overthrown, will win a glorious victory. It is neither a mere idea nor a dream, although many imagine it so, that Python fell upon the island of Chryse while the Sun lay with Venus, or when Pallas issued from Jupiter’s brain. Chryse has been the name given to the island of Rhodes because of the many roses it produces; or Ophioglossa, because of the multitude of serpents infesting it; or Colossicola, in reference to the colossus of the Sun formerly constructed there. To discover what is represented in this emblem, tell me, what is meant

Ms. 42v

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.