The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony

WHEREAS I, Basil Valentine, belong to the religious order of S. Benedict, and such a life requires a higher spirit of holiness than that which satisfies the multitude in this profane age, I consider it my duty to declare at the outset that it is necessary for the disciple of the Spagyric Art to know how he should lay stable foundations, so that his structure may not be at the mercy of the winds, or be shaken into ruins by every stormy gust. In dealing thus thoroughly with my subject, I am thinking not only of the present age, but of future generations, when we shall be in our graves, and when of our contemporaries, neither king nor peasant will be surviving. This object I pursue not only for the honour and glory of the Divine Majesty, but also in order that men may render to God implicit obedience in all things.

I have found that in this Meditation there are five principal heads, which must be diligently considered, as much by all who are in possession of the wisdom of philosophy as by all who aspire after that wisdom which is attained in our art. The first is the invocation of God; the second, the contemplation of Nature; the third, true preparation; the fourth, the way of using; the fifth, the use and profit. He who does not carefully attend to these points will never be included among real Alchemists, or be numbered among the perfect professors of the Spagyric science. Therefore we will treat of them in their proper order as lucidly and succinctly as we can, in order that the careful and studious operator may be enabled to perform our Magistery in the right way.