_Salon_, _Mansol_, _Tarascon_, _Desex_, the arche, Where to this day standeth the _Pyramis_, Shall come to deliver the Prince of _Denmark_, A shameful ransom shall be paid in the Temple of _Artemis_. ANNOT. _Salon_, _Mansol_, _Tarascon_, _Desex_, are Towns in _Provence_ and _Languedo_. By the _Arch_, here is meant the Triumphal Arch of _Caius Marius_, which he erected after the defeat of the _Cimbres_ and _Teutons_, and remaineth to this day in that Province, within two or three Leagues off the Town of _Orenge_. _Artemis_ is an Epethete of _Diana_, so called ’πο τοῦ ἀερὰ τεμνειν, _a secando aerem_. XXVIII. French. Lors que _Venus_ du Sol sera couvert, Soubs la splendeur sera la forme occulte, _Mercure_ au feu les aura descouvert, Par bruit Bellique sera mis a l’Insulte. English. When _Venus_ shall be covered by the Sun, Under the splendor of it shall be an occult form, _Mercury_ in the fire shall discover them, And by a Warlike rumor shall be provoked. ANNOT. If this Book cometh ever into the hands of _Hermes_’s Disciples, I shall desire they would consider diligently this Stanza, and the three following; for they are all concerning the _Elixir_ of the Philosophers, or the making of the Philosophers stone. To begin with this: _When ~Venus~ shall be covered by the Sun._ This is the Astral point, so much sought after by the Philosophers, for the beginning of their work, without the knowledge of which they cannot begin their work, or come to any good. _Under the splendor of it shall be an occult form_, that is, under that conjunction lyeth a great mystery. _~Mercury~ in the fire shall discover them_, _viz._ Mercury of the Philosophers, made by Cœlestial fire. _And by a Warlike rumor shall be provoked_; that is, the Planet of _Mercury_ shall be provoked to mix his variable and changable disposition with theirs, by his Aspects, Oppositions, Conjunctions, &c. It is not possible to speak more plainly. XXIX. French. Le Sol caché, eclipsé par _Mercure_, Ne sera mis que pour le Ciel second, De _Vulcan_ _Hermes_ sera faite Pasture, Sol sera veu pur, rutilant & blond. English. The Sun shall be hid and eclipsed by _Mercury_, And shall not be set but for the second Heaven, _Hermes_ shall be made a prey to _Vulcan_, And after that the Sun shall be seen pure, shining and yellow. ANNOT. Here I must lead the Reader with _Ariadnes_ Thread, that he may extrecate himself out of this Labyrinth. _The Sun shall be hid and Eclipsed by ~Mercury~_; that is, Gold shall be Eclipsed and dissolved by the Philosophers Mercury, which is the Key and foundation of all the work. _And shall not be set but for the second Heaven_; that is, shall not be used till you come to the second part of the work, which is that of the Furnace.