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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 · Canon 97

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The 138 Canons · Canon 97

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Latin

Aquam etiam suam ignem vocant philosophi, quia summè calida & igneo spiritu imbuta est, propterea ab illis aqua ignis dicitur, quia corpora perfectorum metallorum cremat & comburit plus quam ignis communis, illa enim perfectè dissoluit, cum tamen igni nostro resistant, nec ab eo solui se patiantur, eâ de causâ aqua ardens etiam nuncupatur: ignis autem ille tincturæ in ventre aquæ occultatur, & per duplicem, solutionis corporis nempe, & multiplicationis effectum se manifestat.

English

The philosophers also call their water fire because it is intensely hot and imbued with a fiery spirit. They therefore call it water of fire, because it burns and consumes the bodies of perfect metals more than common fire does: it dissolves them completely, although they resist our fire and do not allow themselves to be dissolved by it. For this reason it is also called burning water. That fire of the tincture is hidden in the belly of the water and manifests itself through a double effect: the dissolution of the body and multiplication.

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.