Editing Emerald Tablet (section)

=== ''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>