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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

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Latin

Verùm tincturam à corpore suo separabilem esse concedatur, non tamen citra corporis & tincturae corruptionem separari posse fatendum est; cum per ignem fusionis Naturae destructorem, aut per aquas fortes rodentes magis quàm solventes Auro, vim artistae illi inferant; corpus itaque tincturâ & aureo suo vellere spoliatum penitus vilescere, & tanquam pondus inutile in damnum artifici suo verti, corruptamque tincturam minùs operari necesse est.

English

But suppose it is granted that the tincture can be separated from its body: one must still admit that it cannot be separated without corrupting both body and tincture. Practitioners do violence to gold through the fire of fusion, a destroyer of nature, or through strong waters that corrode gold rather than dissolve it. The body, stripped of its tincture and golden fleece, must therefore become utterly worthless and turn into a useless weight and a loss to its practitioner, while the corrupted tincture must act less effectively.

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.