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Original fileFrontispiece to the Mutus Liber
Mutus Liber cover
About This Work
This black-and-white print features a central vertical ladder standing on a rocky outcrop. Two winged, draped figures, presumably angels, are positioned on the ladder; the top figure points upward, while the lower figure blows a trumpet toward the right. The entire scene is encircled by a botanical wreath composed of leafy branches, roses, and round fruits, forming an oval frame. The background depicts a nocturnal landscape with a crescent moon and scattered stars.
The 'Mutus Liber' (Silent Book) is one of the most famous wordless alchemical texts, consisting entirely of 15 plates designed to transmit the secrets of the Great Work through visual allegory rather than linguistic explanation.
Inscriptions(Latin)
MUTUS LIBER MUTUS LIBER, in quo tamen tota Philosophia hermetica, figuris hieroglyphicis depingitur, ter optimo maximo Deo misericordi consecratus, solisque filiis artis dedicatus. Authore cuius nomen est Altus.
Translation
The Silent Book, in which, however, the whole Hermetic Philosophy is depicted in hieroglyphic figures, consecrated to God, thrice greatest, best and merciful, and dedicated only to the children of the art. By an author whose name is Altus.
Connected Texts
Mutus Liber (1677)
This is the frontispiece/title page to the seminal 17th-century alchemical emblem book.