# The Emerald Tablet

## Latin text (Numberg, 1541)

1. Verum sine mendacio, certum, et verissimum.

2. Quod est inferius, est sicut quod est superius. Et quod est sup
erius, est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei un
ius.

3. Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes
res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione.

4. Pater eius est Sol, mater eius est Luna. Portavit illud ventus
in ventre suo. Nutrix eius terra est.

5. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.

6. Vis eius integra est, si versa fuerit in terram.

7. Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter cum magno
ingenio.

8. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et r
ecipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.

9. Sic habebis gloriam totius mundi. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscur
itas.

10. Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omn
em rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit.

11. Sic mundus creatus est.

12. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus hic est.

13. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes phi
losophiae totius mundi.

14. Completum est, quod dixi de operatione Solis.


## A translation by Isaac Newton

1. Tis true without lying, certain and most true.

2. That which is below is like that which is above and that which
is above is like that which is below to do the miracle of one only
thing.

3. And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation
of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adap
tation.

4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carri
ed it in its belly, the earth is its nurse.

5. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.

6. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.

7. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gros
s sweetly with great industry.

8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends t
o the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior
.

9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world and t
hereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

10. Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle t
hing and penetrates every solid thing.

11. So was the world created.

12. From this are and do come admirable adaptations where of the m
eans is here in this.

13. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of
the philosophy of the whole world.

14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accompli
shed and ended.


## My comments

From what I understand, the text is about how to create. Creating
is very important in Hermeticism. God created everything. God is t
he only criteria of what is good. Hence creating must be good, bec
ause that is literally what god did.

The world consists of three parts. Physical, mental, spiritual. (2
) is the famous quote, "As above, so below. As below, so above". I
t means the three parts correspond to make a whole. And macrocosm
corresponds to microcosm.

Hermeticism has the logos. To explain the logos, Hermeticism accep
ts the principle of sufficient reason: Everything must have its ca
use. If one accepts it, three possibilities come out.

1. Everything is a result from the only cause. (Logos)

2. An infinite regress of causes and effects exists. (Infinite reg
ression)

3. Everything is a cause and a result of every other thing. (Depen
dent origination)

Hermeticism accepts the logos as an image in god's mind. Hence the
world is in the mind of god. This explains (3).

Everything has its gender. The masculine principle and the feminin
e principle. They are similar to form and matter. The masculine is
form. It is abstract. The feminine is matter. It is concrete. The
sun and the fire are masculine. The moon and the earth are feminin
e. A creation occurs when they meet. It occurs on all things. A ge
nder can be either physical, mental, or spiritual. This explains (
4)-(6).

Everything is a mixture of the masculine principle and the feminin
e principle. To create, you must divide them first. Then you shoul
d purify them. By mixing purer genders, you can have more creative
force. This explains (7)-(12). This has alchemical meanings too. T
he philosopher's stone is the mixture of the purest genders. It is
 the physical manifestation of the purest form.
P.S. I realized that it could also mean dialectical processes.

In (13), the three parts are alchemy, astrology, theurgy.