On Occult Philosophy or the Secret Miraculous Birth of the Seven Planets and Metals

flesh is of no use, etc. And further, It is the spirit that gives life. From this it follows that the spirit is the life, and not the corpus body, since the corpus body is only the form and dwelling in which the life can reside.

I say further that there are three things that have a perfect birth, that is: soul, spirit, and body. The soul is spiritual; the spirit is spiritual before and in itself; and the corpus body must also become spiritual if a spiritual, righteous life is to follow. That which is a coarse body beyond this, and reveals itself as divided, is the form in which these three spirits can show themselves to be alive, as the table of philosophia philosophy will testify at the end. And this is true, and entirely true, that no spirit can rule or reign in another, because it lies enclosed and imprisoned in its assigned body. But as soon as it is unbound from the burden, it receives power and authority to serve further, and to perform that which has been laid upon and commanded to its office, which no true philosophus philosopher will dispute.

Now I will also predict further, because the spirit must bring everything about, for the creation of all things occurred solely from the spirit of God the Lord, heaven and earth, visible and invisible, for without his spirit nothing happened, which he breathed out from his divine mouth; thus were also subsequently created all