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Who is wise, and understands this, of which Alphidius says, that men and children pass
her by daily in the streets and public places, and she is trodden into the mire by beasts of
burden and by cattle? And Senior says: Naught is more base in appearance than she, and
naught is more precious in nature than she, and God also has not appointed her to be
bought for a price. She it is that Solomon chose to have instead of light, and above all
beauty and health; he compared not like unto her the virtue of any precious stone, for all
gold in her sight shall be esteemed as but a little sand, and silver shall be counted as clay;
and this not without cause, for to gain her is better than the merchandise of silver and the
most pure gold. And her fruit is more precious than all the riches of this world, and all the
things that are desired are not to be compared with her. Length of days and health are in
her right hand, and in her left hand Glory and infinite riches. Her ways are beautiful
operations and praiseworthy, not unsightly nor ill favoured, and her paths are measured
and not hasty, but are bound up with perseverance and day-long toil. She is a Tree of Life
to them that lay hold on her, and an unfailing light. Blessed shall they be who retain her,
for the Science of God shall never perish, as Alphidius bears witness, for he says: He who
hath found this Science, it shall be his rightful food for ever. And Hermes and other
Philosophers say, that if a man who has this Science should live for a thousand years, and
every day must feed seven thousand men, yet should he never lack. This Senior does
confirm, saying: That such a one is as rich as he that has a stone from which Fire is
struck, who can give Fire to whomsoever he will and as much as he will and when he will
without any loss to himself. The same is the intent of Aristotle in his second book Of the
Soul, when he say: To the size and the growth of all things in nature a limit is appointed,
but Fire by the addition of combustible matter waxes without end. Blessed is the man that
shall find this Science and into whom this prudence [of Saturn] flows; in all your ways
think on her and she shall direct your steps. As Senior says: But the wise man and the
discerning and ingenious in judgment understand her, when his spirits have been
enlightened by the Liber Aggregationis [attributed to Albertus Magnus]. For then every
spirit bursts into flood and follows its desire; blessed is he who meditates upon my words.
And Solomon: My son, put her about your neck and write in the tables of your heart and
you shall find (what you seek). Say to Wisdom: "You are my sister", and call Prudence
your friend: for to meditate upon her is a most natural and subtle Understanding, which
brings her to perfection. And they that constantly watch for her shall quickly be secure.
For she is clear to them that have Understanding, and (she) shall never fade away nor fail;
she seems easy to them that have knowledge of her, for she goes about seeking such as
are worthy of her and shows herself cheerfully to them in the ways and meets them with
all providence; for her beginning is the most true nature, whereof comes no deceit.
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II
of what wisdom consists If therefore your delight now be in thrones and the sceptres of
kings, that you may reign for ever, love the light of the Science all of you and enquire,
you who are signed with the learning of nature, for the wise man (will) seek out for you
the wisdom of all the ancients and will be occupied in the prophets and will enter (withal)
into the subtleties of parables and will search out the hidden meaning of proverbs and
will be conversant in the secrets of parables. What the Science is and how she comes into
being I will lay bare, and will not hide from you. For she is gift and sacrament of God
and a Divine matter, which deeply and in diverse manners was veiled in images by the
wise. Wherefore I bring the knowledge of her to light and will not pass over (the truth),
neither will I have to do with consuming envy; for from the beginning of my birth have I
sought her out and knew not that she was the mother of all Sciences that went before me.
And she bestowed on me innumerable riches, which I have learned without guile and will
communicate without envy, and without hiding her worth. For she is an infinite treasure
to all men, which a man having found, hides it and for joy thereof says: Rejoice, O
Jerusalem and gather together all ye that love me; rejoice with gladness, for the Lord
[God] hath been merciful unto his poor. Senior likewise says: For there is a stone, which
he that has knowledge lays upon his eyes, but he that does not, casts it upon the dunghill,
and it is a medicine which puts poverty to flight, and after God, man has no better thing.
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IV
of the name and title of this book Now the title of this book is baptized Aurora
Consurgens - The Rising Dawn - and that for four reasons: Firstly, it is called Dawn as
one should say the Golden Hour, for so has this Science an hour with a golden end for
them that rightly perform the Work. Secondly, the dawn is midway between night and
day, shining with twofold hues, namely, red and yellow; so likewise does this Science
beget the colours yellow and red, which are midway between white and black. Thirdly,
because at dawn they that labour under all the infirmities of the night are relieved and
have rest; and so at the dawn of this Science all evil odours and vapours that infect the
mind of the laborant fade away and weaken, as the Psalm says: In the evening weeping
shall have place, and in the morning gladness. Fourthly and lastly, the dawn is called the
end of the night and the beginning of the day, or the mother of the Sun, and so our dawn
at its greatest redness is the end of all darkness and the putting to flight of night, of that
long-drawn-out winter wherein he who walks, if he does not take heed, shall stumble. For
of this indeed it is written: And night to night shows knowledge, day to day utters speech,
and night shall be light as the day in its pleasures.
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of the provocation of the foolish Does not Wisdom cry aloud in the public places and
Prudence put forth her voice in the books of the wise, saying: O ye men to you I call, and
my voice is to the sons of Understanding? Understand you foolish ones, and mark the
parable and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their mysterious sayings; for the
wise have used diverse manners of speech in making comparison with everything that is
upon the Earth, and beneath the sphere of the Moon they have multiplied parables in this
Science. For the wise man who hears [the wise] will grow wiser and understand, and
Understanding this Wisdom he will lay hold upon her. This is Wisdom, namely the
Queen of the South, who is said to have come from the east, like unto the MORNING
RISING. Desire then to hear, to Understand, yea and to see the Wisdom of Solomon; for
there was given into her hand Power, Honour/Glory, Strength, and Dominion, bearing
upon her head the Crown of the kingdom shining with the rays of twelve stars, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband, and having on her garments written in golden letters
in Greek, in barbarian (Arabic) script, and in Latin: Reigning I will reign, and my
kingdom shall have no end for all them that find me and subtly and ingeniously and
constantly seek me out.
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VII
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VIII
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IX
In the first place, he warms the Earth (as is to be seen in lime), which by coldness is dead
and dry. Wherefore the prophet says: My heart grew hot within me and in my operations
a Fire flamed out. And in the Book of the Quintessence [Liber de consideratione quintae
essentiae - Sloane MS. 73, fol. 10. British Museum]: Fire, penetrating and stabilizing by
its warmth, consumes all Earthly parts which are wholly material and not formal; for as
long as Fire has matter, it ceases not to act, seeking to imprint its form on the passive
substance. And Calet the Less: Make warm the cold of the one by the heat of the other.
And Senior: Set the male upon the female, that is, the warm upon the cold.
In the second place, he extinguishes the intense imprinted Fire by ignition, of which the
Prophet says: A Fire was kindled in their congregation, and a flame burned the wicked
upon the Earth; he extinguishes this Fire by its own temperament, whence it is added:
You are coolness in the heat. And Calet the Less: Extinguish the Fire of the one by the
coolness of the other. And Avicenna: Of all things in which there is burning, the first
thing that is released from it is a fiery virtue, which is more mild and more worthy than
the virtues of the other elements.
In the third place he makes it soft, that is, he liquefies the hardness of the Earth and
dissolves its condensed and exceedingly compact parts, of which it is written: The rain of
the Holy Spirit melts. And the Prophet says: He shall send out his word and shall melt it,
his wind shall blow and the Waters shall run. And in the Book of the Quintessence it is
written: Woman dissolves man and the man fixes the woman, that is, the Spirit dissolves
the Body (and softens it) and the Body hardens the Spirit.
In the fourth place he enlightens, when he takes away all darkness from the Body, of
which the hymn sings: Purge the horrible darknesses of our mind, enkindle a light in our
senses, and the Prophet says: He conducted them all the night with a light of Fire, and
night shall be as light as the day. And Senior: And he makes all that is black, white, and
all that is white, red, for Water whitens and Fire enlightens. For He shines through the
tincturing Soul like a ruby in colour, which (colour) it has acquired by virtue of the Fire,
wherefore Fire is called the Dyer. And in the Book of the Quintessence: You see a
wondrous light in the darkness. And in the Turba Philosophorum it is written: If the
clouds have whitened the surface, without a doubt their inner parts shall be whitened
also. And Morienus says: Already we have taken away the black and have made the
white, with the salt natron [sodium carbonate - used in preservation of organic tissues],
that is with the Spirit.
In the fifth place, he separates the pure from the impure when he removes all accidents
from the Soul, which are vapours, that is, evil odours, as it is written: Fire separates
those things that are unlike and brings together those things that are like. Wherefore the
Prophet says: You have tried me by Fire, and iniquity shall not be found in me. And
again: We have passed through Fire and Water, and You have brought us forth into rest
and refreshment. And Hermes [Tabula Smaragdina]: You shall separate the dense from
the subtle, the Earth from the Fire. Alphidius: Earth is liquefied and turned into Water,
Water is liquefied and turned into Air; Air is liquefied and turned into Fire, Fire is
liquefied and turned into glorified Earth. On this Rasis says: A certain purification of
things precedes the work of perfect preparation, which by some is called administration
or cleansing, by others rectification, and by some washing or separation. For the Spirit
himself, who is sevenfold in his operation, separates the purer parts from the impure, that
the impure parts being cast away, the work may be fulfilled with the pure. And this fifth
virtue Hermes refers to in his Secret, when he says: You shall separate the Earth from the
Fire, the subtle from the gross, gently (etc.).
In the sixth place he exalts the lowly, when he brings to the surface the Soul which
heretofore had been hidden deep within the bowels of the Earth, of which the Prophet
says: He brings out them that were bound in his strength. Again: You have delivered my
Soul out of the lower hell. And Isaias: The Spirit of the Lord lifted me up. And the
Philosophers: Whomsoever shall make the hidden manifest knows the whole work, and he
who knows our cambar (i.e., Fire) he is (our) Philosopher. Morienus: He who shall raise
up his Soul, shall see its colours. And Alphidius: If this vapour shall not ascend, you
shall have nothing from it, because through it and with it and in it all the work is done.
In the seventh and last place he inspires, when by his breathing he makes the Earthly
Body Spiritual, of which it is sung: You by Your breathing make men to be Spiritual.
Solomon says: The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. And the Prophet says
[Psalm 32:6]: And all the power of them [the just] by the Spirit of his mouth. And Rasis,
in the Light of Lights: Heavy things cannot be made to ascend save by alliance with light
things (nor can light things be brought down to the depths save by combination with the
heavy). And the Turba [Philosophorum]: Make bodies incorporeal and the fixed volatile;
but all these things are brought about and fulfilled by our Spirit, for He alone it is who
can make clean that which is conceived of unclean seed. Does not Scripture say: Wash
yourselves in it and be clean. And to Naaman (the Syrian) was it not said: Go and wash
seven times in the Jordan and you shall be clean. For there is one baptism for the
remission of sins, as the Creed and the Prophet bear witness. He that has ears to hear, let
him hear what the Spirit of the Doctrine says to the Sons of the Discipline concerning the
virtues of the sevenfold Spirit, whereby all the scripture is fulfilled, which the
Philosophers set forth in these words: Distill seven times and you have set it apart from
the corrupting humidity.
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The second is humility, whereof it is written: Because he has regarded the humility of his
handmaid, behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. And the Prophet
says: The Lord sets up them that are cast down. And Aristotle to Alexander said: With
this stone it is not good to fight. Alphidius says: If he shall be humble, his Wisdom shall
be perfected.
The third is holiness, of which the Prophet says: With the holy you shall be holy. And
again: Holiness and magnificence are in his sanctuary. And Alphidius says: Know that
you cannot have this Science unless you shall purify your mind before God, that is, wipe
away all corruption from your heart. And the Turba: I have put pleasures aside and
prayed to God, that he would show me the pure Water, which I know to be pure vinegar.
The fourth is chastity, of which it is written: You are that one whom when I love you I
am pure, and when I touch you I am chaste; whose mother is a virgin and whose father
has not cohabitated with her, for he is fed upon virgin's milk, etc. Wherefore Avicenna
says in his Mineralia: Certain learned ones use a Water, which is called virgin's milk.
The fifth is virtue, of which it is said: Virtue adorns the Soul. And Hermes says: And it
receives the virtue of the upper and lower planets and by virtue penetrates every solid
thing. And in the Book of the Quintessence it is said: For I could not wonder enough at
the great virtue of the thing, which is bestowed upon and infused into it from Heaven.
The sixth is victory, whereof Hermes says: And it shall be victorious over every solid
thing and precious stone. And John in the Apocalypse: To him that overcomes I will give
the subtle hidden manna and a new name which the mouth of the Lord has named. And in
the Book of the Quintessence: But when the Stone of victory shall have been wrought, I
shall teach you how to make with the Stone of the first matter emeralds, jaspers, and true
chrysolites, which in colour, substance, and virtue excel and surpass the natural, etc.
The seventh is faith, of which we read: Faith saves a man, and he who has it not, cannot
be saved. Faith is to understand what you do not see. And in the Turba: It is invisible like
unto the Soul in man's Body. And in the same it is said: Two things are seen, namely
Water and Earth, but two are not seen, namely Air and Fire. And Paul says: Whosoever
believes therein shall not be confounded, but to them that believe not, the stone is a
stumbling block and a rock of scandal. And the Gospel says: He that believes not is
already judged.
The eighth is hope, whereof it is said: Firm hope makes the work glad, hope always
promises a good end. And Morienus says: Hope and hope, and so shall you attain. And
the Prophet says: Hope in him all you congregation, in him have our fathers hoped and
they were delivered.
The ninth is charity, of which the Apostle says: Charity bears all things, Charity deals
not perversely. And the Evangelist says: I love them that love me. He is a friend that
loves at all times. And Alphonsus says: This is a true friend: one who does not desert you
even when all the world fails you. And Gregory says: The proof of love is the display of
the work. And Job says: All that a man has he will he give for his Soul, that is, for this
Stone. For he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who does not partake
of the desolation shall not be partake of the consolation.
The tenth is goodness, of which it is said: Know you not that The Good leads you to
repentance? Good is the judge to render to every man according to his works. For The
Good returns good for evil, much for little, but the merely good natured returns good for
good, little for little.
The eleventh is patience, of which it is said: If you would conquer, learn to suffer
patiently. And the Apostle says: Through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we
have hope. And Morienus says: He who has not patience, let him hold back his hand from
the work. And Calet the Less: Three things are necessary, namely patience, deliberation,
and skill with instruments. And the Apostle says: Be patient, for the coming of the Lord is
at hand, etc.
The twelfth in temperance, of which it is written: it nourishes and cherishes all things
and keeps them healthy. For as long as the Elements are in temperance, the Soul delights
in the Body, but when they are in discord, the Soul abhors to dwell in it. For temperance
is a mixture of the elements one with another, such that the warm is tempered with the
cold, the dry with the humid; and the Philosophers have been most careful to insist that
the one may not exceed the other, saying: Beware lest the secret escape, beware lest the
vinegar be changed into smoke, beware lest you put to flight the King and His Consort
with too much Fire, beware of all that is beyond the mean; but place it on the Fire of
Corruption [the Fire that burns off the scoriae], that is temperance, until they are joined
of their own accord.
The thirteenth is Spiritual Discipline or Understanding, of which the Apostle says: The
letter kills, but the Spirit quickens. Be renewed in the Spirit of your mind and put on the
new man, that is, a subtle Understanding. If you understand in the Spirit, you shall also
know the Spirit. Let every one of you prove his own work, whether it be perfect or
defective. For many do not understand the sayings of the Wise; these have perished
because of their foolishness, for they lacked Spiritual Understanding [Discernment] and
found nothing but toil.
The fourteenth stone is obedience, of which it is written: Obey your superiors, as Christ
was made obedient to the Father even unto death. So obey the precepts and sayings of
the wise, then all things promised by them will obey you and come to fruition, God
willing. He that has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit of the Doctrine says to the
sons of the Discipline concerning the House which Wisdom founded on fourteen
cornerstones, which the four and twenty elders open with the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven, and of which Senior in the prologue of his book declared: He placed the Eagle
on the roof and the images of the various properties on the sides. And Alphidius in his
book speaks of the treasure house which he teaches can be opened by four keys, which
are the four elements.
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XII
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Footnotes:
A wealthy misnaggid, attracted by Chassidus, became a student of the Maggid, and soon
lost his riches. "Why did I become poor after I began following you?" he asked the
Maggid.
"Our Sages have said, 'Whoever seeks wisdom should go south; whoever seeks wealth
should head north.' It's impossible to be in two places at once," the Maggid replied.
"So nothing can be done?" the man continued.
"There is one way," said the Maggid. "One who diminishes himself and becomes naught,
takes up no space and can thus go both north and south." back
Also the Aesch Mezareph, first chapter, third paragraph relates:
"And remember that which is said in Baba Bathra [fol. 25, col. 2.] he that will become
wise, let him live in the South; and he that will grow rich, let him turn himself toward the
north, etc. Although in the same place Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi says: let him live always in
the south, for while he becomes wise, at the same time he becomes rich. Length of Days
is in her right hand, and in her left, Riches and Honor [Proverbs 3:16], so you will not
desire other riches.