The Fire-Stone of Basil, or the Golden Apple

Gold is the truest heliotrope, and [the heliotrope] of all of nature's things, which is generated at least toward the eastern and southern sun, rejoices in heat, and is sufficiently matured by the sun's heat, is not corrupted by fire, and does not fear foreign heat.

Natural gold is the son of the sun, and in its bowels, as a son, it hides the innate solar heat from the nature of the Father; the offspring recalls the Father in its mouth and countenance, and imitates his manners and virtues in substance and essence.

Gold does not only lie hidden as the nucleus in its shell, closing in [the remedy for] all defects and superfluities in the microcosm; this is fitting for one, and especially for that viscera of our body, the heart, and from occult property or open temper, which is found in it to be the highest and balanced.

And without doubt, it is to be held for certain that man, who is the small world, can become sympathetically partaker of the general great world-spirit through the one gold, [gaining] all help and assistance that he lacks outside of nature. But this is to be hoped for eternally and solely from the aurum vivo, regenerato, ac plusquam perfecto living, regenerated, and more-than-perfect gold. But first of all, the due matter must be rightly recognized, then treated according to nature, and the humidum radicale metallicum metallic radical moisture must be extracted, and with the addition of common gold, brought into the more-than-perfection, and subsequently into an astral, penetrating medicine; which is then titled by the philosophers as medicina universalis universal medicine, and because it has an effective virtue above the medicines of other physicians to heal every infirmity, both in hot and cold sicknesses, for the reason that it is of an occult and subtle nature. It preserves health, strengthens firmness and virtue, and expels every sickness, turns poison away from the heart, moistens the arteries, dissolves what is contained in the lung, and consolidates the ulcerated; it purifies the blood, cleanses what is contained in the spirituals, preserves them clean; indeed, such a medicine is above other medicines and the riches of the world, and is an incomparable treasure. Thus far the sentiment of Hermes.

A printer's ornament is at the bottom right corner.