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== European medieval period == === ''On the Secrets of Nature'' === [[File:Text of Tablet by de Santalla.jpg|thumb|214x214px|Text of the ''Emerald Tablet'' in its Latin translation by [[Hugo of Santalla]] (man. Paris, ''Latin 13951'').]] The ''Book of the Secret of Creation'' was translated into Latin''{{Efn|Titled {{Langx|la|Liber de secretis naturae|lit=Book of the Secrets of Nature}}; An edition of the text was published by Françoise Hudry.<ref>{{harvnb|Hudry|1997–1999}}.</ref>}}'' in {{circa|1145–1151}} by [[Hugo of Santalla]].{{Efn|A Latin edition of this text can be found in {{harvnb|Hudry|1997–1999}}. Hudry's version of the Tablet is reproduced in {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp=690-691}}.</ref> An English translation of this text may be found in {{harvnb|Litwa|2018}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Litwa|2018|p=316}}.</ref>}} This text does not appear to have been widely circulated.<ref>{{harvsp|Weisser|1980|pp=54–55}}.</ref> Its translation of the ''Tablet'' reads as follows: {{center|<blockquote><poem> Superiora de inferioribus, inferiora de superioribus, prodigiorum operatio ex uno, quemadmodum omnia ex uno eodemque ducunt originem, una eademque consilii administratione. Cuius pater Sol, mater vero Luna, eam ventus in corpore suo extollit: Terra fit dulcior. Vos ergo, prestigiorum filii, prodigiorum opifices, discretione perfecti, si terra fiat, eam ex igne subtili, qui omnem grossitudinem et quod hebes est antecellit, spatiosibus, et prudenter et sapientie industria, educite. A terra ad celum conscendet, a celo ad terram dilabetur, superiorum et inferiorum vim continens atque potentiam. Unde omnis ex eodem illuminatur obscuritas, cuius videlicet potentia quicquid subtile est transcendit et rem grossam, totum, ingreditur. Que quidem operatio secundum maioris mundi compositionem habet subsistere. Quod videlicet Hermes philosophus triplicem sapientiam vel triplicem scientiam appellat.<ref>{{harvnb|Hudry|1997–1999|p=152}}.</ref>{{Efn|Hudry's edition is reproduced in {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp=690–691}}. An English translation may be found in {{harvnb|Litwa|2018}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Litwa|2018|p=316}}.</ref>}} </poem></blockquote>}} === ''Secret of Secrets'' === [[File:Tabula_ex_Secretum_Secretorum.png|thumb|Latin text of the ''Tablet'' in the ''[[Secretum Secretorum|Secret of Secrets]]'' from {{Circa|1290–1320}} (man. Oxford, ''Christ Church 99'').|209x209px|left]] The ''Tablet'' was also translated into Latin as part of the thirteenth-century translation of the [[Secretum Secretorum|''Secret of Secrets'']] ({{Langx|la|Secretum Secretorum}}) by [[Philip of Tripoli]]. This entire treatise has been called "the most popular book of the Latin Middle Ages".<ref>{{harvnb|Thorndike|1959|pages=|p=25, note 20}}.</ref>{{Efn|A Latin edition of the text can be found in {{harvnb|Steele|1920}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|1920|pp=115-117}}.</ref> Steele's edition is reproduced in {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp= 692-693}}.</ref>}} Its translation of the ''Tablet'' differs significantly from both Hugo of Santalla's version and the ''vulgate'' translation. In [[Roger Bacon]]'s 1255 edition it reads: {{center|<blockquote><poem> Veritas ita se habet et non est dubium, quod inferiora superioribus et superiora inferioribus respondent. Operator miraculorum unus solus est Deus, a quo descendit omnis operacio mirabilis. Sic omnes res generantur ab una sola substancia, una sua sola disposicione. Quarum pater est Sol, quarum mater est Luna. Que portavit ipsam naturam per auram in utero, terra impregnata est ab ea. Hinc dicitur Sol causatorum pater, thesaurus miraculorum, largitor virtutum. Ex igne facta est terra. Separa terrenum ab igneo, quia subtile dignius est grosso, et rarum spisso. Hoc fit sapienter et discrete. Ascendit enim de terra in celum, et ruit de celo in terram. Et inde interficit superiorem et inferiorem virtutem. Sic ergo dominatur inferioribus et superioribus et tu dominaberis sursum et deorsum, tecum enim est lux luminum, et propter hoc fugient a te omnes tenebre. Virtus superior vincit omnia. Omne enim rarum agit in omne densum. Et secundum disposicionem majoris mundi currit hec operacio, et propter hoc vocatur Hermogenes triplex in philosophia.<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|1920|pp=115-117}}.</ref> </poem></blockquote>}} === ''Vulgate'' === [[File:Emerald Tablet British Library Arundel MS 164 fol 155r cropped.jpg|thumb|Fifteenth-century Latin text of the vulgate ''Emerald Tablet'' (man. British Library, ''Arundel 164'', folio 155r).<ref>{{harvnb|Pearsall|Mooney|2021}}.</ref>]] A third Latin version can be found in an alchemical treatise likely from the twelfth century.{{Efn|Although there are no extant manuscripts before the thirteenth or fourteenth century.}} This latter, most circulated version is called the ''vulgate'', as it was widespread and formed the subsequent basis for all later editions and translations into European vernacular languages.{{Efn|Or in [[Latin]]: {{lang|la|vulgata}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=|pp=XIX, 41}}; {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|p=683}}; {{harvnb|Caiazzo|2004|pp=700–703}}; {{harvnb|Colinet|1995}}.</ref> It is found in an anonymous compilation of commentaries on the ''Emerald Tablet,'' translated from a lost Arabic text–variously called the ''Book of Hermes on Alchemy'',{{Efn|{{langx|la|Liber Hermetis de alchimia}}.}} the ''Book of Dabessus'',{{Efn|{{langx|la|Liber dabessi}}.}} or the ''Book of the [[Rebis]]''.{{Efn|{{langx|la|Liber rebis}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|p=683}}.</ref> Its translator has been tentatively identified as [[Plato Tiburtinus|Plato of Tivoli]], who was active in {{circa|1134–1145}}.{{Efn|Plato of Tivoli collaborated with [[Abraham bar Ḥiyya]]. One reason given for this speculative identification by {{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927}} is the presence of Hebraised names in the text.<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=489/45}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=45/489}}.</ref> However, this is merely conjecture, and although it can be deduced from other indices that the text dates to the first half of the twelfth century, its translator remains unknown.{{Efn|For further information about this text see {{harvnb|Colinet|1995}} and {{harvnb|Caiazzo|2004|pp=700–703}}.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|p=683}}.</ref> Its translation of the ''Tablet'' reads:{{Efn|Extant manuscripts are listed in {{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=46/490}}.</ref> Their edition of the ''Tablet'' itself is reproduced in {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp=691–692}}.</ref> A transcription of the ''Tablet'' from the manuscript ''Arundel 164'' is given by {{harvnb|Selwood|2023}}—who erroneously believes {{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927}}'s edition to be a mere transcript of a singular manuscript; his attribution of the text's origin to the ''Secret of Secrets'' is likewise incorrect.}} <blockquote>{{Verse translation|Verum sine mendacio, certum, certissimum. Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius. Ad preparanda miracula rei unius. Sicut res omnes ab una fuerunt meditatione unius, et sic sunt nate res omnes ab hac re una aptatione. Pater ejus sol, mater ejus luna. Portavit illuc ventus in ventre suo. Nutrix ejus terra est. Pater omnis Telesmi tocius mundi hic est. Vis ejus integra est. Si versa fuerit in terram separabit terram ab igne, subtile a spisso. Suaviter cum magno ingenio ascendit a terra in celum. Iterum descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorem atque inferiorem. Sicque habebis gloriam claritatis mundi. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas. Hic est tocius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque rem solidam penetrabit. Sicut hic mundus creatus est. Hinc erunt aptationes mirabiles quarum mos hic est. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes, tres tocius mundi partes habens sapientie. Et completum est quod diximus de opere solis ex libro Galieni Alfachimi.|True it is, without falsehood, certain and most true. That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above, to accomplish the miracles of one thing. And as all things were by contemplation of one, so all things arose from this one thing by a single act of adaptation. The father thereof is the Sun, the mother the Moon. The wind carried it in its womb, the earth is the nurse thereof. It is the father of all works of wonder throughout the whole world. The power thereof is perfect. If it be cast on to earth, it will separate the element of earth from that of fire, the subtle from the gross. With great sagacity it doth ascend gently from earth to heaven. Again it doth descend to earth, and uniteth in itself the force from things superior and things inferior. Thus thou wilt possess the glory of the brightness of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly far from thee. This thing is the strong fortitude of all strength, for it overcometh every subtle thing and doth penetrate every solid substance. Thus was this world created. Hence will there be marvellous adaptations achieved, of which the manner is this. For this reason I am called Hermes Trismegistus, because I hold three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. That which I had to say about the operation of Sol is completed.|attr1={{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=48/492}}.|attr2={{harvnb|Steele|Singer|1927|p=42/486}}.}}</blockquote> The translator of this version did not understand the {{Langx|ar|طلسم|ṭilasm|enigma; talisman}} and therefore merely transcribed it into Latin as ''telesmus'' or ''telesmum''. This accidental neologism was variously interpreted by commentators, thereby becoming one of the most distinctive, yet ambiguous, terms of alchemy. The word is of Greek origin, from {{Langx|grc|τελεσμός|telesmos}}.{{Efn|Itself from {{Langx|grc|τελέω|teleō|to perform; accomplish; consecrate; initiate}}.}} The obscurity of this word's meaning brought forth many interpretations.<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2005|p=|pp=140-141}}.</ref> In the ''Book of Hermes on Alchemy'' the cryptic ''telesmus'' line was left out entirely. The vulgate's final line referring to the ''operation of Sol'' is commonly interpreted as a reference to the alchemical [[Magnum opus (alchemy)|''Great Work'']].<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|2016|pp=22–23}}.</ref> The ''Emerald Tablet'' was seen as a summary of alchemical principles, wherein the secrets of the [[philosopher's stone]] were thought to have been described. This belief led to its consequent popularity and the wide array of European translations of and commentaries on the text, beginning in the [[High Middle Ages]] and persisting to the present.<ref>{{harvnb|Linden|2003|p=27}}.</ref> === Commentaries === [[Herman of Carinthia]] was one of a few European twelfth-century scholars to cite the ''Emerald Tablet''. He did so in his 1143 treatise ''On Essences,''{{Efn|{{langx|la|De essentiis}}.}} where he also recalled the frame story of the tablet's discovery under a statue of Hermes in a cave, from the ''Book of the Secret of Creation.'' Carinthia was a friend of [[Robert of Chester]], who in 1144 translated the ''[[Liber de compositione alchemiae|Book on the Composition of Alchemy]]'', which is generally considered to be the first Latin translation of an Arabic treatise on alchemy.<ref>{{harvnb|Calvet|2022|p=140}}.</ref> An anonymous twelfth-century commentator tried to explain the aforementioned neologism ''telesmus'' in the phrase {{Langx|la|Pater omnis telesmi|translit=|lit=Father of all telesms}} by claiming it is synonymous with {{Langx|la|Pater omnis secreti|lit=Father of everything secret}}. The translator followed this claim with the assertion that a kind of divination, which is "superior to all others" among the Arabs is called {{Langx|la|Thelesmus}}.{{Efn|"Th"-initial spellings represent a corruption.}} In subsequent commentaries on the ''Emerald Tablet'' only the meaning of ''secret'' was retained.<ref>{{harvsp|Mandosio|2005|pages=140–141}}.</ref> ''On Minerals''{{Efn|{{langx|la|De mineralibus}}.}} written around 1250 by [[Albertus Magnus]] comments on the vulgate{{Efn|Which he mistakenly identifies as from the {{langx|la|secretum secrelissimorum}} ie the ''Secret of Secrets''.}} ''Tablet''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mandosio|2004b|pp=686-687}}.</ref> [[Roger Bacon]] translated and annotated the [[Secretum Secretorum|''Secret of Secrets'']] around 1275–1280''.'' He thought it an authentic work of Aristotle and it greatly influenced his thought.{{Efn|Particularly his belief in astrology and natural magic.}} He cited it constantly, from his earliest writings to his last''.''<ref>{{harvnb|Bacon|1920|p=XIII}}.</ref> The most widespread commentary accompanying the text of the ''Emerald Tablet'' is that of [[Ortolanus|Hortulanus]]. He was an alchemist, who was likely active in the first half of the fourteenth century, about whom very little is known except for what he states about himself in the introduction of the text.{{Efn|"I, called Hortulanus, named from the ''horti maritimi'' [incomprehensible term, later variants change it to ''named from the garden or from the seaside field''], wrapped in Jacobin skin, unworthy to be called a disciple of philosophy. Moved by the love of my dear one. The most certain declaration of the speech of the father of philosophers, Hermes, I intend to speak. Which speech, although it may be hidden, nevertheless the exercise of the true work, in the fatigue of my fingers, has most truly declared the whole exposition. For the concealment of the philosophers in speeches profits nothing, where the doctrine of the Holy Spirit operates."<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|pp=181-182}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=|pp=197, 202-204}}.</ref> Hortulanus, like Albertus Magnus before him, saw the tablet as a cryptic recipe that described laboratory processes using "[[Code word (communication)|deck names]]". This was the dominant view held by Europeans until the fifteenth century.<ref>{{harvnb|Debus|2004|p=415}}.</ref> In his commentary, Hortulanus, again like Albertus Magnus, interpreted the sun and moon to represent alchemical gold and silver.{{Efn|{{harvnb|Ruska|1926}} points out that this passage and interpretation bear great resemblance to a much earlier Hermetic work transmitted in Greek by [[Zosimos of Panopolis]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=23}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|pp=193, 209}}.</ref> Hortulanus translated "telesma" as "secret" or "treasure".{{Efn|"It is written afterward: ''Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic'' — that is to say, in the work of the Stone is found the final path. And note that the Philosopher calls the operation “father of all telesma,” that is to say, of every secret or of all the treasure of the entire world — that is, of every stone discovered in this world. It is here. As if he were saying: behold, I show it to you."<ref>{{harvnb|Ruska|1926|p=183}}.</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Mandosio|2005|p=140}}.</ref>{{Multiple image | image1 = Aurora consurgens zurich 007 f-3r-7 building.jpg | caption1 = ''Discovery of the Emerald Tablet in a Pyramid'' shown in the ''[[Aurora consurgens|Rising Dawn]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Obrist|2003|pp=153-154}}.</ref> | total_width = 300 | caption2 = ''A serpentine Mercury beheads the Sun and Moon; golden and silver blossoms sit in a glass vessel over a flame.'' From the same manuscript (Zurich, ''Rheinau 172'').<ref>{{harvnb|Obrist|2003|p=152}}.</ref> | image2 = Ms. Rh. 172 - Aurora consurgens folio 28r.png | align = left }} From around 1420, the [[Aurora consurgens|''Rising Dawn'']]{{Efn|{{langx|la|Aurora consurgens}}.}} introduced one of the earliest European cycles of alchemical imagery, combining complex metaphors with the motif of glass vessels. Its illustrations depict symbolic operations such as [[Nigredo|putrefaction]], [[Sublimation (phase transition)#Historical usage|sublimation]], and the union of opposites through figures like Mercury, the sun and moon, dragons, and eagles. These images reflect philosophical principles including “two are one” and “nature vanquishes nature”. Drawing on late antique traditions preserved in [[Ibn Umayl]]'s ''Book of the Silvery Water and the Starry Earth'', the manuscript visualises the myth of the rediscovery of Hermetic knowledge, portraying hieroglyphic signs as divinely instituted symbols immune to verbal distortion. The ''Rising Dawn'' thus helped establish the Renaissance notion of alchemical imagery as a medium for transmitting original wisdom through visual, rather than textual, means.<ref>{{harvnb|Obrist|2003|p=|pp=151-155}}.</ref>
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