Under the name of Artephius (or Artefius) lies the identity of an obscure medieval scholar and initiate to whom numerous alchemical texts are attributed. Although the roots of the texts are unclear and the identity of their author obscure, at least some of them are of Arabic origin.
Among the numerous alchemical treatises attributed to Artephius are Ars Sintrillia, Clavis Sapientiae or Clavis Maioris Sapientiae and the Liber Secretus (The Secret Book), which we propose to our readers today. It is undoubtedly one of the most interesting alchemical texts that have come down to us from the mists of an archaic past of wisdom and knowledge of the elements of nature and their transmutation.