HEPHAESTION'S LETTER TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT,

CONTAINING THE CONVERSATION OF HERACLITUS, DEMOCRITUS AND HEPHAESTION
ON NATURE AND ITS EFFECTS

Translated from the original Greek, which is in the library of the Great Lord

Anonymous

Eighteenth century


I cannot delay any longer in telling you what has just happened to me at Ephesus, where I was working on the important business for which you sent me to negotiate, and which I have not yet been able to finish because of the great difficulties which have arisen there.

As they gave me a few hours apart, I thought I could not put them to better use than to go and see the philosopher Heraclitus, suspecting that I would find something extraordinary in him, since everyone made such a big deal of him: my visit surprised him very much, because he does not like to communicate, and after a few compliments on both sides, I gave him some desire to satisfy my curiosity, on the study of nature, which is his only pleasure.

But being accompanied by a number of your officers, before whom he would not open up, he begged me to send them back until sunset, which being done, we entered into several disputes on which we could not agree, because of my obstinacy, and my lack of knowledge, so that to convince me more easily, he proposed to me to go to a more suitable place, asking me if I was firm enough to stand the tests of his conviction.

I did not hesitate for a moment to abandon myself to whatever he wanted, and could not help laughing, seeing him throw a few glasses of water into the air while crying, and trace several circles in it, pronouncing words in which I heard nothing.

Then he kissed me telling me that he was going to take me away in spirit to a place, which was known only to the wise, and I saw myself suddenly transported to a region that I can hardly describe to you, having never seen such a dwelling.

We first passed over a sea so stormy that few humans can find the way through it, and we came to the top of a mountain high above the middle air region.

I saw the four seasons that reign here below, they made an admirable appearance there, on one side I saw spring embellished with trees and flowers, on the other summer charmed me by the beauty of its harvests, autumn reigned there by the abundance of its fruits, and winter with its icy frosts and snows, covered another part of the mountain, the birds seemed to congratulate us there by the pleasantness of their song.

While I was contemplating these marvels, we were raised still higher in a place supported by four columns of a transparent and particular marble, each column was half of two different colors, one was black and white, the other blue and green, and the third yellow and red, the fourth was violet and purple.

They all joined by their height in a fifth participant of all the colors of the others, from which issued an immense influx of water, which it distributed to its four sides, and united them in a sea which surrounded the place where we were.

We sat down in the middle of these sorts of terraces, so Heraclitus said to me, shedding tears, it is here where I intend to make you agree with the truths of which I spoke to you a while ago, and I am going to bring you there an irreproachable third party, whom you cannot refuse, it is Democritus so renowned in past centuries.

At the same time he conjured the demons of the air to engage the manna of Democritus to appear, instantly the mountain quaked, the air resounded with lightning and thunder and then the sound ceasing Democritus appeared, asking us why we were disturbing his rest.

Heraclitus said to him, I spoke to Hephaestion about your old lessons, you must confirm them to him.

The latter began to cry, and Democritus spoke up laughing. You spoke a while ago of the power of nature, he told us, about the formation, growth, destruction and renewal of its most perfect finery, your feelings were divided, he who did not agree with the unity of a principle moved away from the truth, then that a single eternal, infinite, supreme, independent, all-powerful being, incomprehensible motor of all things, always forms in himself his own idea, which is that of all perfection, and reflective takes pleasure in continue it. There is then formed from the model to the principle a return of love, which is a pure spirit of fire, which although third in number is nevertheless only one and the same principle, which, wishing to marry outside, draws from its power the productions which it wishes to make,

It is from this wise and powerful nature that derives the first matter, which divides into two, and then into three, then into four and from there into a thousand and a thousand different combinations, both material and spiritual.

Laugh, laugh, he tells us, at all men, and Heraclitus began to weep at their ignorance.

Then Democritus tells us, the first being after nature is a true quintessence, the image of its principle of fecundity, since it slips into all beings and becomes their first principle, it is in nature that they all resolve, and it is nature that by the movement that it imparts to them, writes in them and foments heat there, which is the second principle of their life, as on the contrary when some obstruction interrupts this movement, the cold and the humidity seize hold of them. from all parts of the subject.

Thus the first compound is destroyed and disturbed, because this quintessence, no longer able to circulate, seeks a new passage to move in an opposite way: and to achieve this it disassembles and separates all the parts of the first subject, to unite with them in other beings which it animates completely anew, and thus to infinity, this quintessence never ceases to move nor to communicate itself following the example of nature which formed it, and she of her first mover, and he of the example. of himself, who never ceasing to know himself, does not cease and will never cease to love himself.

Laugh, laugh like me at the low knowledge of men and their vanity, Heraclitus shed tears in abundance.

I admired the thoughts of this great philosopher when, resuming the discourse, he told us that this same quintessence was divided into two, into massive and light, the first congealing little by little, its weight precipitating it downwards, and the other always stealing its lightness raising it upwards, that these two parts are nevertheless never but one and the same thing, and retain so much the desire to unite, that for this purpose their own fire always digests by its circulation the heaviest places of its light part. that then their detaching weight precipitates downwards, as also their own and same central fire always digests by its circulation the lightest parts of its massive part, and that then their lightness detaching them, raises them towards the upper part, and of the union which is made of these two parts precipitated and elevated,a third is formed, which is a suitable medium for these two extremes, since it is the re-establishment of itself, and who knows how to know it and lead it as far as it can go, will be the possessor of this quintessence which will make it triumph over the world and its glory, and begins to burst out laughing.

I wanted to interrupt the tears of Heraclitus, and for that I beg him to explain to me the effect of this great principle, let us cry, let us cry, he said, for the loss of such a great genius, and the weakness of men today.

I was taken aback by the force of the reasonings, and the conformity of the opinions of these two great men, when Democritus speaking, told us that the third production of nature was the division of this first quintessence into three parts, namely into aqueous liquid, or oily liquid or dry oily, and the third into dry and fluid part of one and the other of these two principles, all the beings which are in the world are each composed of these three principles: and if there is some veil over there in the eyes which covers this last principle, it is only a vain dust and useless for any other work than glass, and whose different mixture gives you the difficulty of knowing it and separating it.

Thus if, knowing the principles, we endeavored to reunite them according to their conformity, we would possess this first quintessence which is the first principle of all things, their central fire, which would bring them to the last perfection that man can wish for, laugh my children, he tells us, at the little genius of men.

It was then that convinced of the truths of this great man, I saw the moment that I was going to laugh, when Heraclitus getting up in anger threatened me that I was not crying the time I had wasted, this reflection made me earnestly return to myself, and seeing that they were both right in their senses, I no longer blame their way of laughing and crying.

Then Democritus deduced to us how the fourth division of nature was divided into fire, air, water and earth. The first is the subtle fire of this quintessence, he tells us, the second is the subtle water, the third is the thick water, and the fourth is its massive fire. the different effects it can produce by the different mixtures of the four parts of this quintessence which is the first principle of all things.

So whoever knows how to mix water with water, fire with fire, then convert fire into water, and water into fire, that one will know how to remake the quintessence, restore nature and will be the master of all the productions of the universe.

Here is the Circle of which he will have squared, here is the trinity of which he will have known the unity of principle. Here is the male and the female issued from the same mass, the union of which makes this infinite multiplication. Here is this unity of the principles, that who knows it knows nothing, here is the center and the circumference, which are the hieroglyph of the learned, and the end of their enumeration and of their knowledge, there is one, there are two, there are three, there are four, it is consequently ten, it is still better ten, because it is five and five, being a fifth essence which wants to be combined in itself. So from then on she is ten, and could not be anything more, since she only wants to be mixed up with her measure, laugh, rightly laugh now at all the rest of men, they can no longer teach you anything new, and apart from my scholars, not one of them will ever know as much as you; laugh at the false imaginations of men, and Heraclitus began to cry more than ever.

I then found myself filled with all these great ideas, which I could not yet fully understand, and earnestly entreated Heraclitus to join his prayers to mine, that Democritus might obtain a greater explanation of the speech he had just made to us, but then Democritus told Heraclitus to please me, and that in places which escaped his memory he would tell us what he had formerly taught of it, and began to laugh.

Heraclitus after shedding a few tears said that this place where we were would provide us with material that could perhaps satisfy me by explaining what it represented.

You see, he said to me, this stormy sea which surrounds this island, it must give you to know what is the darkness in which the people of today live, not having the spirit to raise their eyes on high, to see the celestial virtues which flow from it incessantly, and their abundance is our sea, which ripens in the bowels of the earth, retains this celestial fire in it by which all nature is maintained and is in action.

The four columns signify only the four elements, and the colors which appear in them are the true marks of the most perfect work of nature. Their union composes the fifth column, which represents to us the end of the work, of which the first four operations must be so necessarily united, and so well ordered together, that without this the fifth could not be formed, so that it is the perfect union of these first four principles which forms the fifth, which gives the final maturity and perfection to all the beings to which it is communicated.

It is from this source of abundance that these four rivers derive which water everyone and their necessary union makes the philosophical sea that you see around you. First principle of this great work, and of the matter of all things. It is from her that the matrix earth of all physical bodies is formed, she conceives them, nourishes them, increases in her bosom. And through the universal spirit which, like a fine white flower, she embodied there, to which we can give the transparency of crystal, she gives birth to the vegetable, animal and mineral, beginning and end of all the bodies of which it is the life, and the invisible balm slipping into them is metamorphosed there, and increases, each according to its kind.

This is the mercury of the philosophers, which nature has prepared for them. He is the ambassador of the Gods, their prophet, the Chameleon and the painter of nature, who multiplies the species of dying germs, and that by his heat united with the humidity of his principle, and if more or less he abounds in them, he prolongs or shortens their duration. Nevertheless their destruction does not pass to him, since their virtues unite there in the separation of their parts. It is easy to make you understand it in the nature of bright gold, which is a body where the celestial virtues abound more than in any other, and this is known by the equality and purity of its composition, which made the philosophers say that this material in its principle was the only one to be used for their masterpiece, which we would only know by this perfect, when it would be brought and converted into true fusible and unalterable fixed salt, which is done by drawing the soul by the spirit, and mondifying it by a long and natural fire after its corruption; this aforesaid conversion arrived, rejoining it when it will have become celestial little by little in his mind, and it will multiply itself ad infinitum, redissolving it and annealing it by the same route. Thus we always preserve this precious sulphur, which, thrown on the mercury, pierces and penetrates it as if it had been struck by a thunderbolt. redissolving and annealing it by the same route. Thus we always preserve this precious sulphur, which, thrown on the mercury, pierces and penetrates it as if it had been struck by a thunderbolt. redissolving and annealing it by the same route. Thus we always preserve this precious sulphur, which, thrown on the mercury, pierces and penetrates it as if it had been struck by a thunderbolt.

I dare not Hephaestion tell you more, if Democritus sees fit to show you and name all things by their names, that will exempt you from the deep study you will need to do to know him.

Democritus spoke, and deeming me worthy of such secrecy, told me that the matter was very base, and generally diffused everywhere, that it was esteemed precious only among the wise, that it was work without expense, and to convince me of it still the better, he actually showed me the sun and the moon which plunged into the sea which surrounded us, and gave it such agitation that it came of many different colors, sometimes thickening, sometimes red. taking its fluidity, and then it dried up and became Red Sea, crystalline and transparent.

I was so transported with joy to see myself so filled with enlightenment and knowledge, that I wanted to kiss Democritus, and mark my gratitude to him, but I kiss nothing and think of falling forward, Democritus having disappeared at the moment, and there remained only a thick vapor, which having dissipated, let me see diamonds of all colors, pearls of an excessive whiteness and size, a malleable cup of glass, a prodigious number of gold and silver ingots, a bottle of talcum oil, and a box of the powder by which it was all made, and which towers above all matter still extends over all sorts of minds.

This was not my only astonishment, for then the mountain began to resound with an infinite number of instruments, which produced a music so charming that all the birds came to mingle their warbling, and all the animals came running to it from all sides. This lasted the space of half an hour, and only ceased with a thunder which came out of the midst of a great light, saying to us:

O mortal who is only dust, try to acquire the name of sage, by the contempt of the goods of the world, there is after death another way of life, as you see, to which nothing of what you esteem there is suitable. And our bodies after their purifications will be reunited with our souls, to live again forever, and will never be separated from them.

Ceaselessly entertain your genius with these lofty thoughts and marvels, always keep your eyes high towards this eternal principle. It is from this supreme being that all virtue and knowledge derive. He regulates everything, and the day will come when, interrupting the course of all things, the heavens will set the earth ablaze, and will purify it as well as our bodies.

Instantly everything sank under my feet with a dreadful noise, Heraclitus disappeared, and I found myself at home in an astonishment from which I remained to return for a long time: and what is even more surprising is that all that I received during our conversation is still presently in my power.

I take the liberty of sending it to you, hoping that you will accept the gift, I tried in vain to reach Heraclitus.

I am going to work to overcome the difficulties that are made for me on the matter that you know of in order to return to you without delay.

END.