GILL??™S NOTES ON THE CHEMISTRY OF THE TEXT 27
GLOSSARY 29
* * * * *
THE BOOK OF QUINTE ESSENCE
OR THE FIFTH BEING;
THAT IS TO SAY,
MAN??™S HEAVEN.
[[Sloane MS. 73, fol. 10. Brit. Mus.]]
BOOK I.
[[Fol. 10.]]
[By the grace of God I translate you this Treatise revealed to
Hermes by an angel after Noah??™s flood, that the knowledge of
this book may be preserved to the end of the world.]
With ??e my??t, wisdom, & grace of ??e holy trynite, I write
to ??ou a tretice in englisch breuely drawe out of ??e
book of quintis e{ss}encijs in latyn, ??{a}t hermys ??e p{ro}phete and
kyng of Egipt, aft{er} the flood of Noe, fadir of philosophris, 4
hadde by reuelaciou{n} of an aungil of god to him sende, ??{a}t
??e wijsdom and ??e science of ??is book schulde not p{er}ische,
but be kept and p{re}serued vnto ??e eende of ??e world, of alle
holy men from al wickid peple and tyrauntis, for greet p{er}ilis 8
??at my??te falle ??erof. For wi??i{n}ne ??is breue tretis, wi?? ??e
g{ra}ce of god, I wole more determine of practif[*] ??an of theorik.
[[* practise, MS. Harl.]]
[God??™s greatest secret for man??™s need is how to restore old
feeble men to the strength of their youth, except in case of
thunder-blast, and too much fasting, and the term set for all
men.
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