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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

Latin

Creauit Deus Adamum ex terræ limo, cui insitæ erant omnium elementorum virtutes, Terræ præsertim & aquæ quæ sensibilem & corpoream molem magis constituunt: Huic massæ inspirauit Deus spiraculum vitæ, & Sole Spiritus sancti eam viuificauit: Masculo Euam dedit in coniugem, benedicensque illis multiplicandi præceptum & facultatem dedit. Creationi Adæ non absimilis est lapidis philosophorum generatio, ex corpore enim terrestri & ponderoso per aquam dissoluto primò fit limus, qui Terræ Adamicæ nomen insigne meruit, cui omnes elementorum qualitates & virtutes insunt. Cœlestis tandem anima per spiritum quintæ essentiæ & Solarem influxum ei infunditur, & per benedictionem ac rorem Cœli datur ei virtus multiplicandi in infinitum mediante copulâ vtriusque sexus.

English

God created Adam from the mud of the earth, in which the powers of all the elements were implanted, especially those of Earth and water, which chiefly constitute tangible, bodily mass. Into this mass God breathed the breath of life and quickened it with the Sun of the Holy Spirit. He gave Eve as a wife to the male, and, blessing them, gave them the command and the capacity to multiply. The generation of the philosophers’ stone is not unlike the creation of Adam. From an earthly, heavy body dissolved by water, mud is first made, which has earned the distinguished name of Adamic Earth; all the qualities and powers of the elements are within it. At last a heavenly soul is poured into it through the spirit of the quintessence and the Solar influx; and through the blessing and dew of Heaven it receives the power of multiplying without limit through the union of the two sexes.

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.