The Emerald Table of Hermes
True, without error, certain and most true: that which is above is as
that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above, to perform the
miracles of the One Thing.
And as all things were from One, by the meditation of One, so from this One Thing come
all things by adaptation.
Its father is the Sun, its mother is the Moon, the wind carried
it in its belly, the nurse thereof is the Earth. It is the father of all perfection and the consummation of the whole world.
Its power
is integral if it be turned to Earth.Thou shalt separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the coarse, gently and
with much ingenuity.
It ascends from Earth to heaven and descends again to Earth, and
receives the power of the superiors and the inferiors. Thus thou hast the glory of the whole world; therefore let all obscurity flee before
thee.
This is the strong fortitude of all fortitude, overcoming every subtle and
penetrating every solid thing. Thus the world was created. Hence are all wonderful
adaptations, of which this is the manner.
Therefore am I called Hermes the Thrice Great, having the three parts of the philosophy
of the whole world. That is finished which I have to say concerning the operation of the
Sun.