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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 22

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The 138 Canons · Canon 22

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Latin

Sol masculus est, activum quippe & informans semen emittit; luna est foemina, quae matrix & vas Naturae dicitur, quia utero suo masculi semen excipit, ac menstruo suo fovet: Haec tamen activâ virtute non omninò caret; prior enim amore furens masculum scandit, donec ab eo extremas veneris delicias & foecundum semen extorserit; nec ab amplexu desistit, quousque praegnans facta lentam fugam experiatur.

English

The sun is male, for it emits an active seed that gives form. The moon is female and is called nature's womb and vessel, because she receives the male's seed in her uterus and nurtures it with her menstrual fluid. Yet she is not entirely without active power: raging with love, she first mounts the male until she has drawn from him love's utmost pleasures and fruitful seed. Nor does she leave the embrace until, having become pregnant, she attempts a slow flight.

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.