Text.Anthony.1618-01.a2r/Translation

Greetings to the reader.

We present to you, kind reader, two treatises by Francis Anthony, a most honorable man, deeply versed in Hermetic Philosophy, first published in London, now reprinted in Germany. For where else could the honor of a repeated edition of Adam's Wisdom and Hermeticism be more fittingly celebrated; which, having been almost expelled from other countries, migrated to our homeland in this last century with a purer form of religion. Thus, Joseph Duchesne, a man always to be mentioned with praise, was summoned from France (from where he was almost expelled due to public hatred and the vile condemnation of the Medical College of Paris, after publishing his Treatise on the Universal Medicine of Gold) and was honored with the greatest distinctions by Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel; and now, by a similar fate, Francis Anthony, who was treated in the worst and most undeserving manner by the malicious doctors of London, is warmly embraced and supported in every possible way. Regarding his Potable Gold, as with all other matters, opinions differ; many even attack it with lies and slander. Such is the inevitable fate of the best things, since it is impossible to be good and please everyone. Thus, today, you see most people, at the mere mention of the Universal Medicine, sneering, becoming enraged, going mad: just as if ruin and destruction were to be feared for all apothecaries from the Hermetics. True philosophers never recommended potable gold or any other Panacea with the intention that it should be understood as making the use of other medicines superfluous. Indeed, everyone eats the sun and the planets daily (let the Dogmatists forgive one speaking with the Hermetics) and yet, they do not for that reason abstain from other foods and drinks: just as the metallic sun or potable gold is not only recommended or used for the sick. The ethereal sun is the prince and monarch of the planets, just as gold is among metals: the planets are certain vessels of the sun, each according to the variety of matter obtaining a different force; not idle, not superfluous, just as other medicines are not useless, even if potable gold is accorded its own place and honor. Just as Dogmatists, when they declare the heart, that microcosmic gold, the source of life and of the radical balm and salvation, do not thereby condemn the natural power of the Liver, or the rational faculty of the Brain: so neither do the Hermetics, whether concerning metals or vegetable substances, when they extol the mineral sun. Nor has any sincere Hermetic ever found it so easy to risk their reputation as to declare that all diseases, which afflict us miserably due to the eternal condition of mortality, could be driven away by gold, or any other remedy, with certain faith and unquestionable success. Yet this is what the opponents of the Hermetic School often boast and accuse it of. Can the secretaries of the Word and Nature be so absurd as to believe, with the most arrogant promise, that mortals should believe, without distinction of matrices, fields, or materials, that seeds are received, grow, and prosper? They know how differently seed scattered on sand responds, compared to rich soil or even rocks. They have observed a woman barren in her first marriage, bearing desired fruits of union in a later one, after changing the soil, the womb, the material. They see everywhere how the Word of God, the unique panacea for souls, is now choked by thorns, now perishes on rocks, now is snatched away by birds, elsewhere it thrives. They have learned through experiments that regenerated gold, the physical tincture, the Philosopher's Stone (the unique and most excellent symbol of Christ Jesus, the divine and theosophical stone) changes metals, woods, leaves, cloths not uniformly. Therefore, the Hermetics, who know that forms or seeds cannot be introduced into completely unsuitable matter, have not been ashamed to promise things contrary to the laws of Nature, thinking there could be any Medicine by which diseases are eradicated without exception. And yet they believe that, by a singular decree of Divine Providence, many are afflicted with diseases against which no medicines will bring relief. This matter is shrouded in the profound mysteries of Divine Majesty, and cannot be discerned by any diagnostics or overturned by any pharmacy. Nor are the Hermetics ashamed to admit the limitations of their medicines, especially after (according to Jean Fernel) a disease induced by the Devil, which could not be dispelled by the most learned Parisian Dogmatists with any medicinal power. For there is no counsel against the Most High, who can remove the power from medicines, just as He did with the fire in the furnace of the three youths; and just as what our servants, the agents of our affairs, do against our will, accomplishes nothing and binds not. What? Do the Hermetics not know, just as vices of the soul, strengthened by habit, bring about a necessity of sinning and become harsher with every attempt at cultivation, discipline, and virtue, so too do diseases of the body first become habitual, then even natural; while in the meantime, we see living and breathing men, no different than trees eaten away to their core and decayed, yet still able to sprout leaves and appear vibrant? Once things have reached this state, even the most noble Panacea will avail little; and yet, this does not cause it to lose its name's prerogative: certainly no more than a rational animal ceases to be defined as such because fools are everywhere; nor is the word of God stripped of its power to regenerate, change, and enlighten, because there are found to be infinite reprobates and accursed. Therefore, when true Hermetics hold such modest views of their medicines, surely it is a neglect of a Christian man's duty to completely misconstrue their sentiments, blaming innocent parties and chastising philosophy spoken soberly. For if there are those who boast loudly, glory-seekers, charlatans, and dilettantes who babble and lie about God and Nature; they are not of our circle, nor should their private dishonesty harm the integrity of the philosophy itself. True Hermetics attribute the title of Universal Medicine to those substances that encompass the powers of lower bodies: even if they do not restore all sick individuals to the state of health they fell from. Indeed, just as remedies for the head, spleen, heart, stomach, wounds, and flesh do not lose their name even if they do not meet their promise for Titius or Seius, so too does potable gold, truly and philosophically prepared, not cease to be what it is named, even if at times it fails to achieve its effect due to the condition of the patients. It is the mark of a good archer to hit the target often, because he cannot always do so. Let the opponents then waste their time arguing against the universal power of potent gold, because it does not equally restore all sick to health. But the only question that matters, and upon which all minor criticisms of the detractors are lighter than a gnat, is whether gold indeed possesses a universal power to restore, a balsam for health and disease, endowed by Nature and divinity; and then, whether the potable gold that some craftsman recommends is truly and philosophically prepared. When these two points are supported and fortified by reason and experience, the matter is secure, we have won: the Medicament retains its authority, and any Craftsman his good name and esteem. And as for the powers of gold in medicine, it is tedious to amass what even the Dogmatists have noted, some of which has been brought forth by Francis Anthony for the present matter. Since all agree with one voice that gold possesses a preeminent power above all created things to strengthen the Heart and balm, and it is agreed that the vital sap of the entire tree is easily preserved if the root is well; it cannot be doubted, the potency of gold when applied for medicinal purposes. As rightfully in the most ancient Adamic and Hermetic Philosophy, which contemplates the consensus, similarity, and harmony of all created things, Christ, Gold, the Sun, and the Heart are compared with each other: so that one who has knowledge of one may somewhat perceive the natures, powers, and efficacy of each. These are subjects of a different and more abundant discussion: and will be debated by us, God willing, in more extensive treatises in the Harmonic Work of the Word and Nature, as well as of the small and great world. If there are those who cannot yet grasp the astonishing powers of that metallic Sun, I advise them to consider the divine gifts of the vegetable gold or Sun (I mean wine), and then (if we may compare great things with small) pronounce on the metallic Sun. Indeed, true Philosophers know of its admirable sympathy and magnetic affection with gold, and recognize in it such great and astonishing powers that rightly the author and source of Nature, Christ Jesus, commanded it to be the symbol of His own blood, when He recommended the sacred mysteries of the Last Supper to His disciples before His death. Therefore, since the universal power of gold in curing the diseases of the human body is beyond dispute, it remains to examine the skill and integrity of the Craftsman and Philosopher, whose two-fold treatise we publish.

I know that men of great renown have opined that Gold can never be reduced to a potable form (so that it can no longer be reformed into metal by any artifice of craftsmanship), no matter how much men strive. Julius Scaliger was of this opinion, which we readily forgive such a great man, and no more wonder at his falling into such a belief than we do at it sometimes raining stones in Rome. The condition of mortality is such that all are subject to err, to slip, to stumble; whoever disdains or is ashamed of this, indeed, seeks too proudly the company of Divine Majesty. Just as we forgive Augustine when he denies the existence of Antipodes, so we do not dwell on or rudely mock Scaliger's judgment, however great and subtle in other respects, but crude and blind in this part of Philosophy. It is vain and idle to fight with arguments where sense and experience are witnesses of the highest authority.

Just as, after the discovery of new realms of the macrocosm and the certain experiments of navigators, we withdraw faith from the cloistered doctors of the previous age, who denied that the Torrid Zone could be inhabited and that the world was anything but tripartite; so, taught by sense and experience in Hermetic Philosophy, we neglect vain and any sort of argumentative quibbles. We consider the rash judgment of some, who are convinced that Gold can only be destroyed and dissolved by corrosives, as too easy a target for those who laboriously strive to refute the mistakes of others, revealing plainly that they do not possess a solid or true understanding of natural bodies. Indeed, in true and most ancient Philosophy, it is an eternal and unchangeable axiom that no body exists which does not have its own liquor by which it is dissolved, just as ice melts in warm water: hence, since even the Dogmatists admit that Gold is immune to corrosion, we categorically deny that its proper solvent or menstruum is of a different nature. Furthermore, we openly declare that the Philosophical waters, by which the metallic Sun is dissolved, can be drunk without any harm, just like spring water. It is therefore foolish for them to exhaust their eloquence in attacking potable gold, dreaming and writing of nothing but corrosives. Among these was recently in Hamburg a certain Empiric, formerly a merchant, who, speaking too ineptly and out of his depth about potable gold, deserved to be punished by laughter alone from me: his own ignorance sufficiently chastised him. He asserted that it could not be otherwise than that the menstruum, which causes Gold to waste away and dissolve, would likewise liquefy the insides of a human. Indeed, it is fitting that those who have not been illuminated by the light of Nature, yet dare to dispute its greatest secrets, speak so foolishly and barbarically. They are unaware that lightning can crush and soften hard materials, sparing the soft; that it can melt swords and money, leaving purses and sheaths untouched. Listening to the absurd judgment of the unlearned man, it reminded me of those who argue against the use of salts in medicine because they kill worms, ignorant that they must also abstain from greens dressed with oil, which is lethal to all insects. But we have no business with those who are clearly insane; whom we do not wonder to still find blundering in the bright light of Nature, long since restored by true Hermetics, any more than we wonder that, even after the restoration of heavenly Doctrine, there are still countless people who prefer to embrace anything else.

Regarding Francis Anthony's Gold, to express our opinion, it indeed is necessary and truly essential. First and foremost, as for its powers, they have been sufficiently proven by infinite experiments of illustrious and very famous men, so numerous and admirable that Anthony's potable gold can justly and rightfully claim the name of Universal Medicine. If there are those who did not fully recover after using this metallic sun, they should remember that neither does the astral sun, with its spring arrival, manage to bring back to life what was completely killed off by the cold of past winter: and that there is no medicine that can be applied with certain success and assistance to every individual. Those who do not immediately recover from taking this Medicine should not take it hard; rather, they should continue its use, considering that the astral gold or ethereal sun does not immediately, but only in summer and autumn, produce grains, fruits, and grapes. Indeed, healers and Apostles do not cure with the same speed.

Although the experiments faithfully published by the author himself could have been enough to bring shame to his adversaries and to silence the slanderous libel of some pseudo-Hermetics and pseudo-Dogmatists, it is still of public interest to know what Kings and Princes think of Anthony. The most serene King of Britain, whose authority and esteem alone could impose eternal silence on detractors, upon being presented with a very inept book against Anthony, published by the Apuleius and Lucians of London, made this memorable statement: "What indeed is in this book that is relevant to the matter and against Anthony? Or why should I punish Anthony, because God has blessed him?" With these words, no better rebuke could have been given to the author of the most unworthy and mendacious pamphlet: whom we will make known, in his own time and place, to have learned neither Medicine nor Grammar, as much as he himself would like to seem to have outstripped everyone in both, or at least to have made the competition uncertain.

Moreover, the consort of the most illustrious Prince and Lord, Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, a most wise and learned hero, still lives, who buys a not insignificant portion of prepared Gold at each Frankfurt Fair through an English Knight, a man famous for various embassies, from Anthony himself: certainly not to repeat such considerable expenses if either Guineus had written the truth, or she herself had found she was deceived. If a tree is known by its fruits, as our Savior teaches, who can doubt that Anthony's gold is prepared without fault or bad faith? This, even the London adversaries will not be able to deny, after the truth or the skill of the Gold dissolved by Anthony was explored and proven in a public Examination at the Royal Court, before the College of Dogmatists, in the previous months. It is best to hear from Anthony himself, whose letter recently sent to us, we will present in full.

Greetings.

Your letters, my dear Melchior, delivered to me two days ago, were most welcome. Through them, I understand that you have safely and quite timely reached your desired destination. You seem very concerned about my affairs, as it clearly appears; I shall not be negligent in yours. You will find everything prepared to your satisfaction. You remember, unless I am mistaken, what transpired here at the royal court regarding the dissolution of gold by our King's command before your departure. Everything had been brought to a conclusion while you were still with me there; nothing remained but the examination of the dregs. They caused many delays, and avoided the final examination, upon realizing what had preceded in the Mastery; nor did any amount of undissolved gold appear in the dregs: hence, they could not contradict the manifest truth. Yet, eventually, reluctant and compelled by our insistence, they brought with them two workers, called in our language Goldtfiners, whose skill lies in the purification and separation of gold and silver from other metallic bodies, with strong waters or by assay. Undertaking the examination of the dregs, they blew them over a cupel with lead, as is customary, and in the end, they found only nine grains of gold, which they presented to our King; The portion of gold prepared for dissolution was one ounce, two drachms, two scruples, and eight grains; now let the calculation of the remainder be made. This you can declare for certain. As for the rest, I send to share with you in person: for in a few days, I will always be in expectation of your return. My wife and my whole family send their greetings and wish you well and happiness. Farewell, beloved man, and continue to love me: I will love you in return. Given on the 1st of July 1618.

Yours, or not at all,

Francis Anthony.

Thus, before the most serene King in the chamber of the most illustrious Duke, in the presence of the College of Dogmatists, Hermetic Philosophy triumphed; Truth triumphed: to which, as we said at the beginning, this honor of a repeated edition, and especially in Germany, was due. Although we owed this duty also to the hospitality and private merits of the Author, with which he freely favored us at his home in the preceding months. May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant that all who are endowed with the talent and worthiness to explore the sacred mysteries of Nature, read these and other treatises for the glory of God, the benefit of their neighbor, and the private gain of soul, body, and fortune. For either everything deceives me, or all true Philosophers will eventually find it easy to discover both Virgil's golden bough and Homer's Nepenthes. However, I would not have novices take this about Anthony's gold; for it has not yet been elevated to such perfection, nor to such a sublime grade and sphere. Enjoy this for now, dear Reader, and repay the Author and me with your prayers to God in worthy gratitude. Hamburg, on the last day of July 1618.