Philalethes-Water.doc

8/14/2019 Philalethes-Water.doc

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PHILALETHES

OUR Magistery consists of three parts: the first deals with the essential and s !stantialco"position of o r Stone# the second descri!es their "anner of co"!ination# the third the "odeof che"ical proced re$ O r s !stances are %red ore&% or "at red S lph r& and water& ndigestedMerc ry& or %white ore$% To these a 'essel is added& a f rnace& and a triple fire$ In disc ssing their"anner of co"!ination& we ha'e to consider their weight and the regi"en$ The weight is twofold&and so is the regi"en: !etween the" they prod ce the following processes()alcination&*issol tion& Separation& )on+ nction& P trefaction& *istillation& )oag lation& S !li"ation& ,i-ation&and E-altation$ The first two prod ce the !lac.& 'isco s powder& !y "eans of the % nnat ral fire&%a te"perate& inco"! rent& and altering ignition$ There is then a f rther change into a "ineralwater$ The three operations /hich follow are the res lt of the first and third fires& na"ely& nat raland contra0nat ral& and %circ late% the s !stance& ntil the gross is separated fro" the s !tle& andthe whole is e'enly te"pered& the separated ele"ents !eing then reco"!ined& i"pregnated& andp trefied$

The fi'e last operations are the res lt of nat ral fire which increases and gets stronger fro" dayto day& p rifying the p trefied s !stance of its dross& !y contin al ascensions and descents$ Thisprocess is therefore called distillation& 'olatili1ation& a!l tion& i"!i!ition& h "ectation of the earth&and is contin ed ntil the dryness grad ally thic.ens the s !stances& and& finally& nder theinfl ence of coction or contin ed s !li"ation& ind ces

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fi-ation& the ter"inal point of which is e-altation& an e-altation which is not local& fro" the !otto"to the s rface& ! t 4 alitati'e& fro" 'ileness to the highest e-cellence$

These operations are so"eti"es called regi"ens# ! t there$ are only two .inds of fire& the nat raland the non0nat ral& the latter !eing e"ployed to call o t the acti'ity of the for"er$ P trefactionprecedes regeneration& and is ca sed !y the strife of the two fires$ That part of the wor. which iss !se4 ent to p trefaction and con+ nction& when the S lph r and the water ha'e !eco"e one&and also recei'e congelation& is effected !y the nat ral fire alone$

The s !stances are o r !ody 5co""only styled Le"nian earth6 and o r water 5o r tr e rainwater6$ O r water is the life of all things& and if yo can !y " ch toil o!tain it& yo will ha'e !othsil'er and gold$ It is the water of Saltpetre& and o twardly rese"!les Merc ry& while inwardly at itsheart there ! rns p rest infernal fire$ *o not !e decei'ed with co""on 4 ic.sil'er& ! t gather thatMerc ry which the ret rning S n& in the "onth of March& diff ses e'erywhere& till the "onth ofOcto!er& when it is ripe$

7now that o r Merc ry is !efore the eyes of all "en& tho gh it is .nown to few$ /hen it isprepared& its splendo r is "ost ad"ira!le# ! t the sight is 'o chsafed to none& sa'e the sons of.nowledge$ *o not despise it& therefore& when yo see it in sordid g ise# for if yo do& yo willne'er acco"plish o r Magistery(and if yo can change its co ntenance& the transfor"ation will!e glorio s$ ,or o r water is a "ost p re 'irgin& and is lo'ed of "any& ! t "eets all her wooers info l gar"ents& in order that she "ay !e a!le to disting ish the worthy fro" the nworthy$ O r

!ea tif l "aiden a!o nds in inward hidden graces# nli.e the i""odest wo"an who "eets herlo'ers in splendid gar"ents$ To those who do not despise her fo l e-terior& she then appears in allher !ea ty& and !rings the" an infinite dower of riches and health$ O r 8 een is p re a!o'e"eas re& and her splendo r li.e that of a celestial !eing(and so indeed she is called !y theSages& who also style her their 4 intessence$ Her !rilliancy is s ch as !affles i"agination& and& ifyo wo ld ha'e any idea of it& yo " st see it with yo r own eyes$ O r water is serene&crystalline& p re& and !ea tif l(

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tho gh it can ass "e its tr e for" only thro gh the aid of o r Art$ In that for" it is o r sea& o rhidden fo ntain& fro" which gold deri'es its !irth !y nat ral descent# yet it is also stronger thangeld& and o'erco"es it& wherefore gold is nited to it& and is washed in it& and the two togethergrow p into a strong hero& who" neither Pope nor E"peror can ! y for a price$ Hence yosho ld& a!o'e all things& see. this water& !y "eans of which 5with the solitary addition of a cleanand perfect !ody6 the Stone "ay !e prepared$

t it re4 ires profo nd st dy to !eco"e ac4 ainted with all the secrets of o r sea& and with itse!! and flow$ It too. "e ;< "onths& after I had disco'ered the spring of o r water& to find the"ethod of "a.ing it well forth& !eca se I did not .now the "eaning of the fiery f rnace of theSages$ /hen I disco'ered it& indeed& the sight which I !eheld richly rewarded "e for all "y pains$I was then s ddenly& as !y a flash of inspiration& ena!led to nderstand all the secret words andenig"as of the Sages$ O r water is the fire which ca ses !oth death& and& thro gh death& a "oreglorio s life$ /hoe'er disco'ers it has reached the a t "n of his Magistery& as =at re will then5when the p re !ody has !een p t into it6 perfor" all the other processes& and carry thes !stance onward to perfection thro gh all the different regi"ens$ This water& tho gh one& is notsi"ple& ! t co"po nded of two things: the 'essel and the fire of the Sages& and the !ond whichholds the two together$ So when we spea. of o r 'essel& and o r fire& we "ean !y !othe-pressions& o r water# nor is o r f rnace anything di'erse or distinct fro" o r water$ There isthen one 'essel& one f rnace& one fire& and all these "a.e p one water$ The fire digests& the'essel whitens and penetrates& the f rnace is the !ond which co"prises and encloses all& and allthese three are o r Merc ry$ There are "any .inds of fire 5and of water6 in o r Magistery& ! t allthese only represent different aspects of o r Merc ry$

There is only one thing in the whole world fro" which o r Merc ry can !e o!tained$ It is li.e goldin essence& ! t different in s !stance& and if yo change its ele"ents yo will ha'e what yosee.$ >oin hea'en to earth in the fire of lo'e& and yo will see in the "iddle of the fir"a"ent the!ird of Her"es$ *o not

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confo nd the nat res& ! t separate and re0co"!ine the"& and yo will reign in hono r all yo rlife$

In the So th0west there is a high "o ntain 5'ery near the S n6& one of se'en& and the second inheight$ This "o ntain is of a 'ery hot te"perat re 5!eca se it is not far fro" the S n6& and in this"o ntain is enclosed a 'apo r or spirit& whose ser'ices are indispensa!le for o r wor.$ t itdoes not ascend& nless it is 4 ic.ened& nor is it 4 ic.ened nless yo dig .needeep on thes ""it of the "o ntain$ If yo do this& a s !tle e-halation 5or spirit6 ascends& and is congealed !ythe air into drops of !ea tif lly li"pid water(which is o r water& o r fire& o r 'essel& and o rf rnace# not co""on Merc ry& ! t the hot and "oist li4 id of "ost p re Salt& which we callMerc ry& !eca se in co"parison with the S n& it is i""at re and cold$ If the Al"ighty had notcreated this Merc ry& the trans" tation of "etals wo ld !e i"possi!le& !eca se gold does nottinge nless it !e first tinged itself$ O r Merc ry is the !elo'ed spo se of gold& and changes its!ody into a p rely spirit al s !stance# gold lo'es it so& that for 'ery lo'e he dies& and is re'i'ed !yhis spo se& and she is i"pregnated !y hi"& and concei'es& and !ears a "ost !ea tif l royal son$

The whole .nowledge of o r Art consists in the disco'ery of this o r sea# any Alche"ist who isignorant of it& is si"ply wasting his "oney$ O r sea is deri'ed fro" the "o ntain of which I toldyo a!o'e$ The e-halation or white s"o.e which ascends there& will acco"plish o r wholeMagistery$ There is another secret which yo sho ld .now if yo wish to see yo r hope f lfilled&'i1$& how yo are to dig a hole in the "o ntain& as its s rface is i"penetra!le to ordinary tools& itsdryness !eing s ch that it has !eco"e harder than a flint$ t in the places of Sat rn a s"all her!is fo nd& called Sat rnia& whose twigs appear dry& ! t in whose roots there is a! ndance of + ice$This her! yo sho ld caref lly ta.e p with the roots& and carry with yo to the foot of the"o ntain& and& with the help of fire& ! ry it !eneath the "o ntain# its 'irt e will at once penetratethe whole "o ntain& and soften its earth$ Then yo "ay ascend to the s ""it& easily dig a hole


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.nee deep& and po r in so " ch dry and 'isco s water& that it penetrates to where the her! lies! ried& and "a.es it ascend as a f "e& which carries pward

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with it the spirit of the "o ntain$ This spirit is the strength of fire "ingling with water& and dwellingin it$ The spirit of Sat rnia is the whitening f "e& the 'apo r of the "o ntain is fire& and all thesethings are fire$ Th s yo o!tain Sat rnia& the royal plant and "ineral her!& which together with fatflesh "a.es s ch a so p as to eclipse the richest !an4 ets in the world$

Here is an enig"atic description of o r water& which sho ld in co rse of ti"e and st dy& !eco"eplain to the diligent en4 irer$ There is the 7ing 5gold6& and the water which is the 7ing s ath# o rwater is the 'essel& inas" ch as o r 7ing is enclosed in it& and the f rnace& inas" ch as o r fireis enclosed in it& and o r fire& inas" ch as the 'irt e or spirit of the "o ntain dwells in it& and thewo"an& inas" ch as it recei'es the 'apo r of the plant Sat rnia# and as the dear friend of theS n penetrates& whitens& and softens it& and ca ses it to e"it its sper"$ Then the fiery 'irt ewhich is in the water& !egins to act on o r !ody& wasting and "ortifying it& ntil at length the innateheat of the S n is ro sed into acti'ity$ O r Stone is called a little world& !eca se it contains withinitself the acti'e and the passi'e& the "otor and the thing "o'ed& the fi-ed and the 'olatile& the"at re and the cr de(which& !eing ho"ogeneo s& help and perfect each other$ /e ha'ealready shewn that o r o!+ect in adding "at red S lph r to cr de Merc ry 5the sa"e thing indifferent stages of de'elop"ent6& is to shorten and accelerate the nat ral process$ Bold is a hotand dry !ody# sil'er a frigid and h "id one& Merc ry the "eans of con'eying tinct res$ The !odyof the S n is "ost highly digested& that of the Moon i"perfect and i""at re& while Merc ry is the!ond !y which these two contraries are nited$ >oin the Moon to Merc ry !y "eans of properheat& so that the two !eco"e one Merc ry which retains its inward fire# then the Merc ry will !efreed fro" all dross and s perfl ities& and it will !eco"e transparent li.e the tears we shed&tho gh not e-actly perspic o s$ If yo then nite this p rified Merc ry to gold& in which is theMoon and fire& the hot and dry will lo'e the cold and h "id& and they will nite on the !ed of thefire of friendship# the "an will dissol'e o'er the wo"an& and the wo"an !e coag lated o'er the"an& till the spirit and the !ody !eco"e one !y co""i-tion$ )ontin e the sa"e operation 5let thehea'en descend to the earth6 till the

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spirit p ts on the !ody& and !oth are fi-ed together$ Then o r Stone will ha'e o!tained its royal'irt e$ ,or Merc ry is the water of all "etals& and they are digested in it$ /hen 'egeta!les are!oiled in ordinary water& which is nat rally frigid and h "id& it parta.es of their 4 alities& and is yetsepara!le fro" the"# so the p re Merc ry& which is in all "etals and "inerals& is perfectlysepara!le fro" the dross and foreign "atter which has !eco"e "i-ed p with the"# yet thedifferent "inerals and "etals 4 alify the Merc ry in the sa"e way as the water is 4 alified !y the'egeta!les coo.ed in it$ There are these two differences !etween the Merc ry and the water& thatthe water is not coag lated and fi-ed with the 'egeta!les as o r water is with the "etals# andthat& while the colo r of co""on water is changed !y anything !oiled in it& Merc ry retains itsown colo r and fl -i!ility& tho gh its essence is 4 alified$ Therefore the Merc ry is effect al in thedissol tion of the "etal& and the "etal in the coag lation of the Merc ry# and as& in the

dissol tion& the for" and colo r of the "etal is latent in the for" and colo r of the Merc ry& so& incoag lation& the for" and colo r of the Merc ry is hidden in the for" and colo r of the "etal#neither do the 4 alities of the "etal in dissol tion pre'ent the fl -i!ility of the Merc ry& nor the4 alities of Merc ry in coag lation the fi-ity of the "etal$ *o yo not here o!ser'e a wonderf lhar"ony !etween Merc ry and the "etalsC ,or their lo'e is li.e that of "other and son& sisterand !rother& "ale and fe"ale$ Hence they are calc lated " t ally to perfect each other& the wateri"parting to the !ody a spirit al and 'olatile nat re& while the !ody gi'es to the water a corporeals !stance$ The reason that the colo r of Merc ry is not changed in coction !y the dissol'ed !ody&is this: the earth and water in the Merc ry are ho"ogeneo s& and so well te"pered that neithercan !e separated fro" the other& and they are so well "i-ed that the whole s !stance e-hi!its


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5together with great fl -i!ility6 so great a consistency as entirely to conceal the colo rs(and onlyif a part of the Merc ry is destroyed or "arred !y so"e deleterio s che"ical corrosi'e& are thecolo rs seen$ The relations of Merc ry in respect of earth and water are these: in respect of waterit is fl -i!le and li4 id& in respect of earth it "oistens nothing ! t what is of the sa"e essence

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with it$ These hints will ena!le yo to detect any errors in yo r treat"ent of Merc ry$ So"eo!str ct or di'ide its ho"ogeneity !y nd ly drying p its water# others corr pt the earth andrender it diaphano s !y disproportionate "i-ing$ Merc ry is the sper" of the "etals# it contains initself the S lph r !y which alone it is digested 5thro gh which =at re wo ld in co rse of ti"eha'e "at red it into gold6# nor wo ld it !e possi!le to con'ert Merc ry into gold witho t it$ This"at re S lph r& then& is radically "i-ed with the Merc ry& and rapidly digests it& while itself isp trefied !y the Merc ry& and is re'i'ed again& not as co""on& ! t as spirit al& penetrati'e& andtinging gold& which has power to p rify i"perfect "etals of all their dross& and to change the" intoits own nat re$ Th s yo see that none of the Merc ry sho ld !e destroyed& or 'iolently dealtwith# all yo ha'e to do is to add to it a "at re !ody spr ng fro" the sa"e root& and "i- the twoin their s"allest parts& !y "eans of o r c nning con+ nction 5which is perfor"ed& not !y a"an al& ! t !y a p rely nat ral process& of which the Artist does not e'en nderstand the ca se6$/e " st disting ish& howe'er& !etween o r trans" tati'e con+ nction& and a sort of con+ nctionpractised !y sophists which is "erely a f sing together of the two s !stances& and lea'es eache-actly what it was !efore$ In o r operation the spirit of gold inf ses itself into the spirit ofMerc ry& and their nion !eco"es as insepara!le as that of water "i-ed with water$ Thecon+ nction can ta.e place only !y "eans of the Moon or an i"perfect !ody and fire# and thisMoon is the sap of the water of life& which is hidden in Merc ry& and is stirred p !y fire# it is aspirit which enters the !ody& and co"pels it to retain its so l$ /e spea. not of co""on Merc ry5which lac.s the spirit and fire6& ! t of o r Merc rial water(tho gh co""on Merc ry "ay !e"ade li.e it !y the addition of that which it lac.s$ O r con+ nction is the grand secret of o r Art# forearth is not insepara!ly nited to water& ! t the nion of water with water is indissol !le# henceo r con+ nction can ta.e place only after dissol tion& which dissol tion ta.es place thro gh theMoon and fire that are in the Merc ry$ ,or the Moon penetrates and whitens& and the fire "ortifiesand frets& while water co"!ines !oth these properties& according to the philosophical dict ":%The fire which I shew yo & is water&%

p$ 23 piter ascends the throne# then there rises pward a "ist ofda11ling whiteness& whence there is distilled pon the earth a p re& sweet& and fragrant dew& thatsoftens it and stirs p great winds at its centre# these winds !ear o r Stone pward& where it isendowed with hea'enly 'irt e& and thence descending once "ore to its n rse& the earth& isclothed pon with a corporeal nat re& and th s recei'es the strength !oth of things a!o'e and ofthings !elow$ This li'ing gold is %that which is& ! t does not appear till it pleases the Artist& and inthe .nowledge of which is the secret of all perfection$% Merc ry is o r field& in which the S n risesand sets# let the two !e insepara!ly nited on the !ed of lo'e& till fro" this 5regenerate6 Merc rythere co"es forth a 4 ic.ening 'irt e& which is a!le to raise the dead$ Then there will appear theroyal child& whose father is the S n& whose "other is the Moon$ $ $ esides these things& weneed& of co rse& a f rnace of clay& a 'essel of glass& and a triple fire# ! t we do not call thesethree o r 'essel& o r fire& or o r f rnace& !eca se ordinary sophists e"ploy these things as wellas the Sages# when we spea. of o r 'essel& o r f rnace& and o r fire& the ter"s are to !einterpreted in accordance with the e-planation which we ga'e a!o'e$ Of this fire a Sage "ightwell say: % ehold& the fire& which I will shew yo & is water%# and again& %The 'essel of the Sages istheir water$% Another Sage says& that all o r operations ta.e place in o r h "id fire& in o r secretf rnace& and o r hidden 'essel& and there!y clearly shews that there " st !e a fire& 'essel& andf rnace& other than those which ignorant Alche"ists possess in greater perfection and a! ndancethan we$ O r appliances are part of o r s !stance& and are descri!ed !y Sendi'ogi s& forinstance& as the %'essel of =at re&% and the %fire of =at re$% This practice is followed !y ,la"ell s&

Artephi s& L lli s& and all other Sages# and I tell yo that these three appliances are& after all&only one# for the nat re of o r s !stance is one$ O r fire is that which dissol'es and heats !odies"ore effect ally than ordinary fire# hence it is called ardent wine and a "ost strong fire& and the

Sages !id s ! rn o r ore with o r "ost strong fire(words which are falsely interpreted of anordinary coal fire$ Of this fire >ohn Meh ng s writes: %=o artificial fire can inf se so high a degreeof heat as that which co"es fro" hea'en$%

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