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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 · Latin

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The 138 Canons · Latin

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Latin

Totus operis philosophici processus nihil aliud est, quàm solutio & congelatio; Solutio corporis & congelatio spiritus, vtriusque tamen vna est operatio: Fixum autem & volatile in spiritu perfectè miscentur & vniuntur, quod fieri non potest, nisi prius corpus fixum solutum fuerit & volatile factum. Per Reductionem corpus volatile figitur in corpus permanens, & natura volatilis demum migrat in fixam, quemadmodum fixa prius in volatilem transierat: Quandiu autem errant confusæ in spiritu naturæ, spiritus ille mixtus mediam sustinet naturam inter corpus & spiritum, fixum & volatile.

English

The entire course of the philosophical work is nothing other than dissolution and congealing: the dissolution of the body and the congealing of the spirit. Yet the operation of both is one. The fixed and the volatile are perfectly mingled and united in spirit; this cannot happen unless the fixed body has first been dissolved and made volatile. Through Reduction the volatile body is fixed into an enduring body, and the volatile nature at last passes into the fixed, just as the fixed had earlier passed into the volatile. But for as long as the natures wander, mingled in spirit, that mixed spirit maintains an intermediate nature between body and spirit, fixed and volatile.

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.