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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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Latin Page · Branch 170 of 244

The 138 Canons · Latin

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Latin

Vasis vitrei formam in fundo seu cucurbita rotundam, vel etiam oualem, collum vnius saltem palmi aut vltra prominens, satis amplum, ore stricto, ad modum ampullæ factum, sine sectione & continuum eliges, vndique spissum, quò igni longo, quandoque acuto resistat: cucurbita cæca vel vas cæcum dicitur, quia oculus ei occæcatur sigillo Hermetico, ne quid extranei subintret, aut spiritus se subducat.

English

Choose a glass vessel round or oval in its base or cucurbit, with a neck projecting at least a palm’s length or more, sufficiently wide but narrow at the mouth, made like a flask, seamless and continuous, and thick throughout so that it may withstand prolonged and sometimes sharp fire. It is called a blind cucurbit or blind vessel, because its eye is blinded by the Hermetic seal, lest anything foreign enter or the spirit withdraw.

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.