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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition

Attributed to Jean d’Espagnet

The Secret Work of the Hermetic Philosophy

A Fresh English Translation from the Complete 1623 Latin Arcanum

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The Secret Work of the Hermetic PhilosophyThe 138 Canons · English

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The 138 Canons · English

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Latin

Elixiri perfecto quinque insunt propriæ & necessariæ qualitates, vt sit fusile, permanens, penetrans, tingens, & multiplicans: tincturam & fixationem à fermento; penetrationem à sulfure; fusionem ab Argento viuo, quod medium est coniungendi tincturas, fermenti nempe & sulfuris; multiplicatiuam autem virtutem à spiritu quintæ essentiæ infusam mutuatur.

English

Five proper and necessary qualities belong to the perfected elixir: it must be fusible, enduring, penetrating, tinging and multiplying. It derives its tincture and fixation from the ferment, penetration from sulphur, and fusibility from quicksilver, which is the medium for uniting the tinctures of ferment and sulphur. Its multiplying power, however, it borrows as an infusion from the spirit of the quintessence.

About This Reading Edition

The complete anonymous 1623 Arcanum, conventionally attributed to Jean d’Espagnet, with Latin and a fresh English translation, 138 canons, original marginalia and errata, 88 modern annotations, separately identified historical reception documents, and the complete supplied Diotimos study apparatus.

Historical Text and Translation

Anonymous, Arcanum hermeticæ philosophiæ opus. Paris: Nicolas Buon, 1623. Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon copy, digitised by Google Books, uJNr_M9LDGgC. Conventionally attributed to Jean d’Espagnet; the original title page is anonymous.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

Historical texts are public-domain works. The supplied 2026 fresh English translation, Latin reading transcription and Diotimos editorial material are published with the site owner’s authorization. The historical Signifer is credited to the Getty Research Institute copy and Internet Archive.