Sol 5.6

  1. Praise be to God Most High, who favored us

    with knowledge; the blessed end is for whoever gives thanks.

  2. He inspired us with knowledge of an instrument of ours,

    kept secret, hidden, never brought to light:

  3. a known device, made of pure substance,

    whose interior can be seen from without.

  4. At its head is an opening, while its crown is the—

    inverted one, dripping into its interior.

  5. A glass-smooth pavilion with a chamber

    whose hidden passage cannot be seen.

  6. She is mother to the king of earth; within her womb

    her embryo is the White and the Red.

  7. She gives them drink, tenderly caring for them,

    of the Virgin’s milk—all that can be contained.

  8. She carries them in her womb for months,

    numbered—then other months follow.

  9. Her crown is nothing other than her breast:

    the smaller suckles it, and then the greater.

  10. Within her belly she buries their dead

    for a time; then from her depths she raises them.

  11. Slender-waisted, with her haunches

    and her neck both broader than her waist.

  12. She stands amid the sea, and beneath her

    a brooding fire is forever kept ablaze.

  13. This is the adepts’ instrument; I have revealed it,

    laid bare, though it is the thing kept concealed.

  14. I exposed their secrets in a single stroke

    and divulged the mystery to whoever can discern.

  15. I own the sin; and from Him who created me

    I beg its remission and seek forgiveness.

  16. So persevere in study and never weary;

    exercise your minds and never grow impatient.

  17. Reason carefully about your matter, and you will grasp

    the hidden mystery of God—and gain clear sight.

Sol 5.6