The Emerald Tablet in Arabic, Latin, and English

Abstract

The Emerald Tablet is generally considered to be the most important single document in the history of alchemy. In modern times, the mystic G.I. Gurdjieff (?1866-1949) made reference to it throughout his career. Yet it is known only in the Latin translation of an Arabic version which may itself be a translation of a Syriac original. There are substantial differences between the Arabic and the Latin. Lacking from every available English-language presentation of the Tablet is the full context which the Arabic provides. The purpose of this article is to present the first full translation of the Arabic into English, known to me; and to briefly compare it with Latin-based versions.