INTERVIEW
WITH EUDOXE
and PYROPHILE
ON
THE ANCIENT WAR
OF THE PYROPHILE KNIGHTS

O happy moment, which makes me meet you in this place! For a long time I have wished with the greatest eagerness in the world to be able to talk to you about the progress I have made in Philosophy, through the reading of the authors, whom you advised me to read, to instruct myself. of the foundation of this divine science, which bears par excellence the name of Philosophy.

EUDOXUS.

I am no less happy to see you again, and I will be very happy to learn what advantage you have derived from your application to the study of our sacred science.

PYROPHILE.

I am indebted to you for everything I know, and for what I still hope to penetrate into the philosophical mysteries; if you would continue to lend me the help of your lights. It is you who inspired me with the courage, which was necessary for me, to undertake a study whose difficulties appear impenetrable from the start, and capable of putting off at all times, the most ardent minds in search of truth. the most hidden: but thanks to your good advice, I find myself only more animated, to continue my enterprise.

EUDOXUS.

I am delighted that I was not mistaken in my judgment of the character of your mind; you have the right caliber to acquire knowledge which is beyond the reach of ordinary geniuses, and not to weaken against so many difficulties, and which make the sanctuary of our Philosophy almost inaccessible: I extremely praise the strength with which I know that you have combatted the ordinary discourses of certain Spirits, who believe that it is for their honor to treat as a reverie everything they do not know; because they do not want, it is said, that others can discover truths, of which they have no intelligence.

PYROPHILE.

I never thought I had to pay much attention to the reasoning of people who want to decide things they don't know: but I admit to you, that if something were capable of turning me away from a science, for which I have always had a strong natural inclination, it would have been a kind of shame, which ignorance attached to the search for this Philosophy; it is indeed unfortunate to be obliged to hide the application given to it; unless I want to pass in the minds of most of the world as a man who only concerns himself with vain Chimeras: but as the truth, wherever it is found, has for me sovereign charms; nothing could dissuade me from this study. I have read the writings of a large number of Philosophers, as considerable for their knowledge as for their probity; and as I have never been able to put into my mind, that so many great people were so many public impostors; I wanted to examine their principles with great application, and I was convinced of the truths they put forward; although I don't understand them all yet.

EUDOXUS.

I am very grateful to you for the justice you have rendered to the masters of our art: but please tell me, which Philosophers have you particularly read, and who are those who have satisfied you the most? I just recommended a few to you.

PYROPHILE.

To answer your request, I would have a large catalog to make for you; It has been several years since I stopped reading various Philosophers. I went looking for science in its source. I have read the Emerald Tablet, the seven chapters of Hermes, and their commentaries. I read Geber, the Peat, the Rosary, the Theater, the Library, and the Cabinet Chimiques, and particularly Artefius, Arnaud de Villeneufve, Raymond Lulle, Trevisan, Flamel, Zacchaire, and several other ancients, and moderns, that I do not name; among others Basil Valentinus, the Cosmopolite, and Philalethes.
I assure you that I have racked my brain terribly trying to find the essential point in which they must all agree, although they use expressions so different that they very often even seem opposed. Some speak of matter in abstract terms, others in compound terms: some only express certain qualities of this matter; others attach themselves to completely different properties: some consider it in a purely natural state, others speak of it in the state of some of the perfections that it receives from art; all this throws us into such a labyrinth of difficulties that it is not surprising that most of those who read the Philosophers almost all form different conclusions.
I was not content to read once the main authors, which you recommended to me; I reread them as many times as I thought I would draw new light from them, whether touching on the real matter; or concerning its various preparations, on which all the success of the work depends. I have made extracts from all the best books. I meditated on it night and day; until I thought I knew the matter, and its different preparations, which are properly only one and the same continued operation. But I confess to you that after such painful work, I took a singular pleasure in reading the ancient quarrel of the Philosophers' Stone with Gold and Mercury; the clarity, simplicity, and solidity of this writing charmed me; and as it is a constant truth, that whoever understands a true Philosopher perfectly, surely hears them all, allow me, please, to ask you a few questions about this one, and have the kindness to answer me, with the same sincerity, with which you have always worn out towards me. I am assured that after this, I will be as educated as I need to be, to put my hand to the work, and to arrive happily at the possession of the greatest of all temporal goods, God may reward those who work in his love, and in his fear.

EUDOXUS.

I am ready to satisfy your requests, and I will be very happy if you touch the essential point, in my resolution to hide nothing from you, of what can be used for the instruction, which you believe you need : but I believe that it is appropriate that I first make some remarks to you, which will contribute greatly to clarifying some important places in the writing that you are speaking to me about.
Notice therefore that the term Peter is taken in several different senses, and particularly in relation to the three different states of the work; which makes Geber say, that there are three Stones, which are the three medicines, responding to the three degrees of perfection of the work: so that the Stone of the first order, is the matter of the Philosophers, perfectly purified, and reduced to pure Mercury substance; the Stone of the second order is the same matter cooked, digested, and fixed in incombustible sulfur; the Stone of the third order is this same fermented matter, multiplied and pushed to the final perfection of fixed, permanent and tinting tincture: and these three Stones are the three medicines of the three kinds.
Noticed further that there is a great difference between the Philosophers' stone and the philosopher's stone. The first is the subject of Philosophy considered in the state of its first preparation, in which it is truly Peter, since it is solid, hard, heavy, brittle, friable; she is a body (says Philalethe), since she flows in the fire, like a metal; However, she is a spirit because she is completely volatile; it is the compound, and the stone which contains the humidity, which runs in the fire (says Arnaud de Villeneufve in his letter to the King of Naples). It is in this state that it is an average substance between metal and mercury, as Abbot Sinesius says; Finally, it is in this same state that Geber considers it when he says in two places in his Summa, take our stone; that is to say (he said) the material of our stone, just as if he said, take the Philosophers' Stone, which is the material of the Philosopher's Stone.
The Philosopher's Stone is therefore the same Stone of the Philosophers; when through the secret Magisterium, she reached the perfection of medicine of the third order, transmuting all imperfect metals into pure Sun, or Moon, according to the nature of the ferment, which was added to it. These distinctions will be of great use to you in developing the confused meaning of the Philosophical scriptures, and in clarifying several places of the author, about which you have questions for me.

PYROPHILE.

I already recognize the usefulness of these remarks, and I find in them the explanation of some of my doubts: but before moving on, please tell me, if the Author of the writing, of which I am speaking to you , deserves the approval that several Sçavans have given him,

EUDOXUS.

You should not doubt that this writing came from the hand of a true Adept, and that it therefore deserves the esteem and approval of Philosophers. The main design of this author is to disabuse an almost infinite number of artists, who, deceived by the literal meaning of the scriptures, obstinately attach themselves to wanting to make the Magisterium, through the conjunction of Gold with Mercury variously prepared; and to convince them absolutely, he maintains with the oldest, and most recommendable Philosophers, (1) that the work is made of only one thing, of one and the same species.

PYROPHILE.

This is precisely the first of the places which caused me some scruples: because it seems to me that we can doubt with reason, that we must seek perfection in one and the same substance, and that without adding anything to it, we can do anything with it. Philosophers say, on the contrary, that not only must we remove the superfluities of matter; but still it is necessary to add what it lacks.

EUDOXUS.

It is very easy to free you from this doubt by this comparison; just as the juices extracted from several herbs, purified of their pomace, and incorporated together, only make a preparation of one and the same species; thus the Philosophers rightly call their prepared matter one and the same thing; although we are not unaware that it is a natural compound of several substances of the same root, and of the same species, which make a complete and homogeneous whole; in this sense the Philosophers are all in agreement; although some say that their matter is composed of two things, and others of three, some write that it is four, and even five, and others finally that it is one thing. They are all equally right,

PYROPHILE.

I have nothing to say in response to what you just told me. I understand the meaning very well: but I still have a doubt, because I know several people, who are versed in reading the best Philosophers, and who nevertheless follow a method quite contrary to the first foundation, which our Author poses. ; know that Philosophical matter does not need anything other than to be dissolved and coagulated. Because these people begin their operations with coagulation; they must therefore work on a liquid material, instead of a stone; Please tell me if this path is the path of truth.

EUDOXUS.

Your remark is very judicious. The majority of true Philosophers share the same feeling as this one. The matter only needs to be dissolved, and then coagulated; mixing, conjunction, fixation, coagulation, and other similar operations, occur almost by themselves: but the solution is the great secret of the art. This is this essential point, which the Philosophers do not reveal. All the operations of the first work, or of the first medicine, are, strictly speaking, only a continual solution; so that calcination, extraction, sublimation, and distillation are only a true solution of matter. Geber only made the necessity of sublimation understood because it not only purifies matter from its gross parts, and adustibles; but also because it disposes it to the solution, from which results Mercurial humidity, which is the key to the work.

PYROPHILE.

Here I am extremely fortified against these so-called Philosophers, who have a sentiment contrary to this Author; and I don't know how they can imagine that their opinion squares quite rightly with the best authors.

EUDOXUS.

This alone is enough to make them see their error; it is explained by a very apt comparison of ice, which melts at the slightest heat; to let us know, (3) that the main operation is to obtain the solution of a hard, dry material, approaching the nature of stone, which however by the action of natural fire must dissolve into dry water , as easily as ice melts at the slightest heat.

PYROPHILE.

I would be extremely obliged to you if you would tell me what (4) natural fire is. I understand very well that this agent is the main key to art. Several philosophers have expressed its nature through very obscure parables: but I confess to you, that I have not yet been able to understand this mystery.

EUDOXUS.

Indeed it is the great mystery of art, since all the other mysteries of this sublime Philosophy depend on the intelligence of that person. How satisfied I would be, if I were permitted to explain this secret to you unequivocally; but I cannot do what no Philosopher has believed to be in his power. All you could reasonably expect from me is to tell you that the natural fire, of which this Philosopher speaks, is a potential fire, which does not burn the hands; but which shows its effectiveness as long as it is excited by the external fire. It is therefore a truly secret fire, which this Author calls Lunatic Vulcan in the title of his spirit. Artephius gave a more extensive description of it than any other philosopher. Pontanus copied it, and showed that he had erred two hundred times; because he did not know this fire, before he had heard and understood Artephius: this mysterious fire is natural, because it is of the same nature as Philosophical matter; the artist nevertheless prepares both.

PYROPHILE.

What you have just told me increases my curiosity more than it satisfies it. Do not condemn the instant prayers that I make to you, wanting to clarify me further on a point, so important, that unless one has knowledge of it, it is in vain that one pretends to work; we find ourselves stopped at first after the first step, which we have taken in the practice of the work.

EUDOXUS.

The wise were no less reserved about their fire than about their matter; so that it is not in my power to add anything to what I have just told you. I therefore refer you to Artephius, and to Pontanus. Just consider carefully that this natural fire is nevertheless an artful invention of the artist; that it is suitable for calcining, dissolving, and sublimating the Philosophers' Stone; and that there is only this one kind of fire in the world capable of producing such an effect. Consider that this fire is of the nature of lime and that it is in no way foreign to the subject of Philosophy. Finally consider by what means Geber teaches to make the sublimations required for this art: for myself I cannot do more than to make the same wish for you,

PYROPHILE.

I would have liked you to have spoken to me more intelligibly: but since there are certain limits that Philosophers cannot pass; I am content with what you have just pointed out to me; I will reread Artephius with more application than I have yet done; and I will remember very well that you told me that the secret fire of the wise is a fire, which the artist prepares according to art, or at least, which he can have prepared by those who have a perfect knowledge of chemistry; that this fire is not currently hot; but that it is an igneous spirit introduced into a subject of the same nature as the stone, and that being mediocrely excited by the external fire, calcines it, dissolves it, sublimes it, and resolves it into dry water, as the Cosmopolite says.

EUDOXUS.

You understand very well what I have just told you; I judge by the comment you add. Just know that from this first solution, calcination, or sublimation, which are here the same thing, it results in the separation of the terrestrial and adustible parts of the Stone; on everything if you follow the advice of Geber concerning the regime of fire, in the way he teaches it, when he deals with the sublimation of Bodies, and Mercury. You must hold it as a constant truth that there is only this one way in the world to extract from the stone its creamy humidity, which inseparably contains the sulfur and the Mercury of the Sages.

PYROPHILE.

Here I am completely satisfied on the main point of the first work; give me the grace to tell me if the comparison that our Author makes of (5) wheat with the Philosophers' Stone, with regard to their necessary preparation, to make bread with the one, and universal medicine with the other, seems a very fair comparison to you.

EUDOXUS.

It is as accurate as we can make it, if we consider the stone in the state in which the artist begins to place it, to be able to be legitimately called the subject, and the Philosophical compound: because just as we let us not feed ourselves with corn, as nature produces it; but that we are obliged to reduce it to flour, to separate the bran, to knead it with water, to form bread, which must be baked in an oven, to be a suitable food; likewise, we take the stone; we crush it; we separate from it by the secret fire, what is earthly in it, we sublimate it; we dissolve it with the water of the Sea of ​​the Sages; we cook this simple confection, to make it a sovereign medicine.

PYROPHILE.

Allow me to tell you that there appears to me to be some difference in this comparison. The author says that we must take this mineral alone to make this great medicine, and yet with wheat alone we cannot make bread; you have to add water, and even leaven.

EUDOXUS.

You already have the answer to this objection, in that this Philosopher, like all the others, does not absolutely forbid adding anything; but to add nothing that is foreign or contrary. The water that is added to the flour, as well as the leaven, is nothing foreign or contrary to the flour; the grain from which it is made was nourished with water in the earth; and hence it is of an analogous nature with flour: just as the water of the Philosophers' Sea is of the same nature as our stone; especially since everything that is included under the mineral and metallic genus was formed and nourished by this same water in the bowels of the earth, where it penetrates with the influences of the stars. You see obviously because I have just said, that the Philosophers do not contradict,

PYROPHILE.

I do not believe that there is anyone who should not be convinced by reasons as solid as those you have just given. But tell me, please, if I am wrong, in the conclusion that I draw from this place of our author, where he says that (6) those who know in what way metals and minerals should be treated , will be able to arrive straight at the goal they set for themselves. If this is so, it is obvious that we must only look for the material, and the subject of art, in the family of metals and minerals, and that all those who work on other subjects are in the path of error.

EUDOXUS.

I answer you that your conclusion is very well drawn; this Philosopher is not the only one who speaks of this sort; In this he agrees with the majority of ancients and moderns. Geber, who knew the Magisterium perfectly, and who did not use any allegory, only deals with metals and minerals in his entirety; bodies and minds, and how to prepare them well, to do the work, but as Philosophical matter is part body, and part spirit; that in one sense it is terrestrial, and that in the other it is entirely celestial; and that certain authors consider it in one sense, and others treat it in another, this has given rise to the error of a large number of artists, who under the name of Universalists, reject all matter which has received a determination from nature; because they do not know how to destroy particular matter, to separate its grain and germ, which is the pure universal substance, which particular matter contains within its bosom, and to which the wise and enlightened artist knows how to render absolutely all the universality which is necessary for it, by the natural conjunction which it makes of this germ with the universalissime matter: from which it took its origin. Do not be frightened by these singular expressions; our art is Cabalistic. You will easily understand these questions before you have reached the end of the questions you intended to ask me about the author you are examining. to separate the grain and the germ, which is the pure universal substance, which the particular matter contains within its bosom, and to which the wise and enlightened artist knows how to render absolutely all the universality which is necessary for it, by the conjunction natural that it makes of this germ with the universalissime matter: from which it took its origin. Do not be frightened by these singular expressions; our art is Cabalistic. You will easily understand these questions before you have reached the end of the questions you intended to ask me about the author you are examining. to separate the grain and the germ, which is the pure universal substance, which the particular matter contains within its bosom, and to which the wise and enlightened artist knows how to render absolutely all the universality which is necessary for it, by the conjunction natural that it makes of this germ with the universalissime matter: from which it took its origin. Do not be frightened by these singular expressions; our art is Cabalistic. You will easily understand these questions before you have reached the end of the questions you intended to ask me about the author you are examining. by the natural conjunction that it makes of this germ with the most universal matter: from which it took its origin. Do not be frightened by these singular expressions; our art is Cabalistic. You will easily understand these questions before you have reached the end of the questions you intended to ask me about the author you are examining. by the natural conjunction that it makes of this germ with the most universal matter: from which it took its origin. Do not be frightened by these singular expressions; our art is Cabalistic. You will easily understand these questions before you have reached the end of the questions you intended to ask me about the author you are examining.

PYROPHILE.

If you did not give me this hope, I protest to you that these mysterious obscurities would be capable of putting me off, and of making me despair of a good success: but I have complete confidence in what you tell me, and I understand very well. although the metals of the vulgar are not the metals of the Philosophers: since I see obviously, that to be such, they must be destroyed, and that they cease to be metals; and that the Sage only needs this viscous humidity, which is their raw material, from which Philosophers make their living metals, by an artifice, which is as secret as it is founded on the principles of nature; Isn't that your thought?

EUDOXUS.

If you know the laws of the practice of the work as well as you seem to me to understand the theory; You don't need my clarifications.

PYROPHILE.

I beg your pardon. I am far from being as advanced as you imagine; what you believed to be an effect of a perfect knowledge of art, is only an ease of expression, which only comes from reading the Authors, with which my memory is full. On the contrary, I am ready to despair of ever possessing such high knowledge, when I see that this Philosopher wants, like several others, that he who aspires to this science, (7) knows externally the properties of all things, and that it penetrates into the depths of nature’s operations. Tell me, please, who is the man who can boast of having achieved knowledge of such a vast extent?

EUDOXUS.

It is true that this Philosopher places no limits on the knowledge of the one who claims to understand such a marvelous art: for the Sage must perfectly know nature in general, and the operations that it exercises, both in the center of the earth, in the generation of minerals, and metals; than on the earth, in the production of plants and animals. He must also know the universal matter, and the particular and immediate matter, on which nature operates for the generation of all beings; he must finally know the relationship and sympathy, as well as the natural antipathy and aversion, which is found between all things in the world. Such was the science of the Great Hermes, and of the first Philosophers, who like him arrived at the knowledge of this sublime Philosophy, by the penetration of their minds, and by the force of their reasoning: but since this science was written, and the general knowledge, of which I have just given an idea, is found in good books; reading, and meditation, common sense and a sufficient practice of Chemistry, can give almost all the necessary enlightenment to acquire the knowledge of this supreme Philosophy; if you add to it the righteousness of the heart, and of the intention, which attract the blessing of Heaven on the operations of the Sage, without which it is impossible to succeed. common sense and a sufficient practice of Chemistry can provide almost all the necessary insight to acquire the knowledge of this supreme Philosophy; if you add to it the righteousness of the heart, and of the intention, which attract the blessing of Heaven on the operations of the Sage, without which it is impossible to succeed. common sense and a sufficient practice of Chemistry can provide almost all the necessary insight to acquire the knowledge of this supreme Philosophy; if you add to it the righteousness of the heart, and of the intention, which attract the blessing of Heaven on the operations of the Sage, without which it is impossible to succeed.

PYROPHILE.

You give me a very noticeable joy. I read a lot; I meditated even more; I practiced Chemistry; I verified the statement of Artephius, who assures that he does not know the composition of metals, who does not know how they must be destroyed, and without this destruction, it is impossible to extract metallic humidity, which is the true key to art; so that I can assure myself of having acquired the greater part of the qualities which, according to you, are required in one who aspires to this great knowledge; I also have a very particular advantage, it is the kindness that you have, to be willing to share your insights with me by clarifying my doubts; So allow me to continue, and ask you,

EUDOXUS.

These expressions should not seem strange to you. The same Philosophers call their Stone dragon, and serpent, which infects all things with its venom. Its substance in fact, and its vapor are a poison, which the Philosopher must know how to change into Theriac, by preparation, and by cooking. Stone is also the enemy of metals, since it destroys and devours them. The Cosmopolitan says that there is a metal, and a steel, which is like the water of metals, which has the power to consume metals, that there is only the radical humidity of the sun and of the moon, who can resist him. Be careful, however, not to confuse the Philosophers' Stone here with the Philosopher's Stone; because if the first like a true dragon, destroyed, and devours imperfect metals; the second, like a sovereign medicine, transmutes them into perfect metals; and makes the perfect more than perfect, and fit to perfect the imperfect.

PYROPHILE.

What you tell me not only confirms me in the knowledge that I have acquired through reading, through meditation, and through practice; but also gives me new lights, in the light of which I feel dispelling the darkness, under which the most important Philosophical truths have seemed veiled to me until now. Also I conclude by the words of our Author that the greatest Physicians must be mistaken in believing (9) that universal medicine is in vulgar gold. Please do me the grace to tell me what you think about it.

EUDOXUS.

There is no doubt that Gold has great virtues for preserving health and curing the most dangerous diseases. Copper, tin, lead, and iron are usefully used by Physicians every day; just like money; because their solution, or decomposition, which manifests their properties, is easier than that of gold; this is why the preparations that ordinary artists make have more to do with the principles and practice of our art; the more they reveal the marvelous virtues of gold; but I tell you in truth, that without the knowledge of our magisterium, which alone teaches the essential destruction of gold, it is impossible to make it the universal medicine; but the Sage can do it much more easily with the gold of the Philosophers, than with common gold: you also see that this Author makes gold respond with stone, that he must much sooner be angry with God for not giving her the advantages with which he was willing to endow her alone.

PYROPHILE.

To this first insult that Gold does to the Stone, it adds a second, (10) calling it fugitive and deceptive, which deceives all those who place some hope in it. Teach me, I pray you, how we must maintain the innocence of the Stone, and justify it from a slander of this nature.

EUDOXUS.

Remember the remarks that I have already made to you, concerning the three different states of the Stone; and you will know as I do, that it must be in its beginning completely volatile, and consequently fugitive, to be deputized of all kinds of terrestrialities, and reduced from imperfection to the perfection that the magisterium gives it in its other states; this is why the insult that gold claims to do to it turns to its praise; especially since if it were not volatile and fugitive in its beginning, it would be impossible to give it at the end the perfection and fixity which are necessary for it; so that if it deceives anyone, it only deceives the ignorant: but is always faithful to the children of science.

PYROPHILE.

What you tell me is a constant truth: I had learned from Geber that there were only spirits, that is to say, volatile substances, capable of penetrating bodies, of uniting with them, to change them, to dye them, and to perfect them; when these spirits have been stripped of their gross parts, and of their adustible humidity. Here I am fully satisfied on this point: but as I see that the Stone has extreme contempt for Gold, and that it prides itself (11) in containing in its bosom an infinitely more precious gold; give me the grace to tell me how many kinds of gold the Philosophers recognize.

EUDOXUS.

To leave you nothing to be desired concerning the theory and practice of our Philosophy, I want to teach you that according to the Philosophers,
The first is an astral gold, whose center is in the Sun, which by its rays communicates it at the same time as its light, to all the stars, which are inferior to it. It is an igneous substance, and a continual emanation of solar corpuscles, which through the movement of the sun and the stars, being in a perpetual ebb and flow, fill the entire universe; everything is penetrated into the expanse of the heavens on the earth, and in its bowels, we continually breathe this astral gold, these solar particles penetrate our bodies and are constantly exhaled.
The second is an elementary gold, that is to say that it is the purest, and the most fixed portion of the Elements, and of all the substances, which are composed of it; so that all sublunary beings of the three genera contain in their center a precious elementary grain.
The third is the beautiful metal, whose brilliance and unalterable perfection give it a price, which makes it regarded by all men as the sovereign remedy for all ills and all the necessities of life, and as the sole foundation of the independence of greatness and human power; this is why it is no less the object of the covetousness of the greatest Princes than that of the wishes of all the peoples of the earth.
You will no longer find any difficulty after this in concluding that metallic gold is not that of the Philosophers, and that it is not without foundation, that in the quarrel in question here, the Stone reproaches it , that he is not such, that he thinks he is: but that it is she, who hides in her bosom the true Gold of the Sages, that is to say the first two kinds of gold, from which I come to speak: for you must know that the Stone being the purest portion of the metallic Elements, after the separation, and the purification, which the Sage has made of it, it follows that it is properly the gold of the second species ; but when this perfectly calcined gold, and exalted to the clarity and whiteness of snow, has acquired through the magisterium a natural simpathy with the astral gold,

PYROPHILE.

How many clouds you dissipated in my mind and how many philosophical mysteries you developed for me all at once, by the admirable things you have just said to me! I will never be able to thank you as much as I owe. I confess to you that I am no longer surprised after that, that the Stone claims preference above gold, and that it despises its brilliance and its imaginary merit; since the least part of what it gives to Philosophers is worth more than all the gold in the world. Please be kind enough to continue towards me, as you have begun; and do me the grace to tell me how the Stone can do itself the honor (12) of being a fluid, and non-permanent, matter; since all Philosophers want it to be more fixed, than gold itself?

EUDOXUS.

You see that your Author assures, that the fluidity of the Stone turns to the advantage of the Artist; but he adds that at the same time, the Artist must know how to extract this fluidity, that is to say this humidity, which is the cause of his fluidity, and which is the only thing of which the Philosopher has need, as I already told you; so that being fluid, volatile, and non-permanent, are qualities as necessary for the Stone in its first state, as are fixity, and permanence, when it is in the state of its last perfection ; it is therefore with reason that she glories all the more justly, as this fluidity does not prevent her from being endowed with a more fixed soul than gold: but I say once again, that the great secret consists of knowing how to draw moisture from the Stone. I warned you that this is truly the most important key to the art. Also it is on this point that the great Hermes exclaims, blessed be the aqueous form which dissolves the elements. Happy then is the Artist who knows not only the Stone; but who also knows how to convert it into water. Which cannot be done by any other means, than by our secret fire, which calcines, dissolves, and sublimates the Stone. Happy then is the Artist who knows not only the Stone; but who also knows how to convert it into water. Which cannot be done by any other means, than by our secret fire, which calcines, dissolves, and sublimates the Stone. Happy then is the Artist who knows not only the Stone; but who also knows how to convert it into water. Which cannot be done by any other means, than by our secret fire, which calcines, dissolves, and sublimates the Stone.

PYROPHILE.

Where does it come from (13) that among a hundred artists, there is barely one who works with stone, and that instead of all being attached to this one and only material, the only one capable of producing such great wonders, they apply on the contrary almost all to subjects, which have none of the essential qualities, which the Philosophers attribute to their Stone?

EUDOXUS.

This comes first of all from the ignorance of Artists, who do not have as much knowledge, as they should have, of nature, nor of what it is capable of operating, in each thing: and in secondly, it comes from a lack of mental penetration, which means that they allow themselves to be easily deceived by the equivocal expressions, which Philosophers use to hide from the ignorant both matter and its true preparations. These two great defects are the cause that these artists take the change, and attach themselves to subjects in which they see some of the external qualities of true Philosophical matter, without reflecting on the essential characteristics, which manifest it to the Sages.

PYROPHILE.

I obviously recognize the error of those who imagine that common Gold and Mercury are the true material of Philosophers; and I am very convinced of it, seeing how weak the foundation on which gold rests is, to claim this advantage above the Stone, alleging in its favor these words of Hermes, (14) the sun is its father and the moon is his mother.

EUDOXUS.

This foundation is frivolous; I have just shown you what the philosophers mean when they attribute the principles of the Stone to the Sun and the Moon. The Sun and the stars are in fact the first cause; they influence the Stone's spirit and soul, which give it life, and which make it all effective. This is why they are the Father and the Mother.

PYROPHILE.

All Philosophers say, like others, (15) that the Physical Tincture is composed of a red, incombustible sulfur, and a clear and well purified Mercury: this authority is stronger than the previous one, for must we conclude that Gold and Mercury are the material of Stone?

EUDOXUS.

You must not have forgotten that all Philosophers unanimously declare that gold and common metals are not their metals; that theirs are alive, and that the others are dead; you must not have forgotten either that I showed you by the authority of the Philosophers, based on the principles of nature, that the metallic humidity of the prepared and purified stone, contains inseparably in its bosom sulfur and Mercury of the Philosophers; that it is therefore this single thing of one and the same species, to which nothing must be added; and that the only Mercury of the Sages has its own sulfur, by means of which it coagulates and fixes itself; you must therefore consider it an indubitable truth that the artificial mixture of sulfur and Mercury, whatever they may be,

PYROPHILE.

But (16) this great natural friendship which is between Gold and Mercury, and the union which is made so easily, are these not proofs, that these two substances must be converted by a suitable digestion, into a perfect tincture?

EUDOXUS.

Nothing is more absurd than this: because when all the Mercury, which we mix with gold, is converted into gold; which is impossible; or that all the gold would be converted into Mercury, or into an average substance; there would never be more solar tincture in this confection than there was in gold, which would have been mixed with Mercury; and consequently it would have no contingency virtue, nor any multiplicative power. Besides the fact that we must hold as constant, that a perfect union of gold and Mercury will never occur; and that bringing this fugitive companion closer will abandon the gold as soon as he feels pressed by the action of the fire.

PYROPHILE.

I do not doubt in any way what you have just told me; this is the feeling consistent with the experience of the most solid Philosophers, who openly declare themselves against vulgar Gold and Mercury: but at the same time a scruple comes to me, on the fact that it is true that Philosophers do not never say the truth less than when they explain it openly, could they not, touching on the obvious exclusion of gold, mislead those who take their words literally? or should we take it for granted, as this Author says, (17) that Philosophers only manifest their Art when they use similes, figures and parables?

EUDOXUS.

There is a lot of difference between declaring positively that this or that material is not the true subject of art, as they do regarding gold and Mercury; and to make known, under figures and allegories, the most important secrets, to the children of science, who have the advantage of clearly seeing the Philosophical truths, through the enigmatic veils, with which the Sages know how to cover them. In the first case, the Philosophers speak the unequivocal truth negatively; but when they speak affirmatively and clearly on this subject, we can conclude that those who attach themselves to the literal meaning of their words will undoubtedly be deceived. Philosophers have no surer means of hiding their knowledge from those who are unworthy of it, and of manifesting it to the Sages, than to explain it only by allegories in the essential points of their art; this is what makes Artephius say that this art is entirely Cabalistic, for the understanding of which we need a kind of revelation; the greatest insight of mind, without the help of a faithful friend, who possesses these great lights, is not sufficient to disentangle the true from the false: also it is almost impossible, that with the With the only help of books and work, we can achieve knowledge of the subject, and even less the understanding of a practice however singular, simple, natural, and easy as it may be. that this art is entirely Cabalistic, for the understanding of which we need a kind of revelation; the greatest insight of mind, without the help of a faithful friend, who possesses these great lights, is not sufficient to disentangle the true from the false: also it is almost impossible, that with the With the only help of books and work, we can achieve knowledge of the subject, and even less the understanding of a practice however singular, simple, natural, and easy as it may be. that this art is entirely Cabalistic, for the understanding of which we need a kind of revelation; the greatest insight of mind, without the help of a faithful friend, who possesses these great lights, is not sufficient to disentangle the true from the false: also it is almost impossible, that with the With the only help of books and work, we can achieve knowledge of the subject, and even less the understanding of a practice however singular, simple, natural, and easy as it may be.

PYROPHILE.

I recognize from my own experience how necessary the help of a true friend, such as you are. Failing which it seems to me that Artists, who have wit, good sense, and probity, have no better means than to often confer together, both on the insights they draw from reading good books, only on the discoveries they make through their work; so that from the diversity, and from the shock, so to speak, of their different feelings, new sparks of clarity are born, thanks to which they can carry their discoveries to the final term of this secret science. I have no doubt that you approve of my opinion: but as I know that several Artists treat the feeling of the Authors as a vision, and as a paradox,

EUDOXUS.

You are already convinced of the sincerity and good faith of your Author; You should all the less doubt it on this point, as it agrees with the true Philosophers; and I would not know how to better prove to you the truth of what he says here than by using the same reason that he gives, after the scholar Raimond Lulle. For it is constant that nature stops at its productions, when it has brought them to the state and perfection which suits them; for example, when from very clear and very pure mineral water, tinted with some portion of metallic sulfur, nature produces a precious stone, it remains there; as it does when in the bowels of the earth, it formed Gold, with Mercurial water, mother of all metals, impregnated with pure solar sulfur; so that as it is not possible to make a diamond, or a ruby, more precious than it is in its kind; in the same way it is not in the power of the Artist, I say even more, it is not in the power even of nature, to push Gold to a greater perfection than that which she has given it: the only Philosopher is capable of taking nature from an indeterminate imperfection to more-than-perfection. It is therefore necessary for our Magisterium to produce something more than perfect, and to achieve this the Sage must begin with an imperfect thing, which being on the path to perfection, is in the natural disposition to be carried, up to to greater perfection, with the aid of an entirely divine art, which can go beyond the limited term of nature; and if our art could not make a subject more than perfect, we could not make perfect what is imperfect, and all our Philosophy would be pure vanity.

PYROPHILE.

There is no one who should not accept the solidity of your reasoning: but would one not say that this Author clearly contradicts himself here, when he makes the stone say that common Mercury (somewhat well purged as it may be) is not the Mercury of the Sages; for no other reason than (19) because it is imperfect; since according to him, if he were perfect, we should not look for perfection in him.

EUDOXUS.

Take careful note of this, and understand well, that if the Mercury of the Sages was raised by art from an imperfect state, to a perfect state, this perfection is not of the order of that, to which the nature stops in the production of things, according to the perfection of their species, such as that of vulgar Mercury; but on the contrary the perfection that art gives to the Mercury of the Sages is only an average state, a disposition, and a power, which makes it capable of being carried by the continuation of the work, until the end. the state of plus-perfection, which gives him the ability, through the accomplishment of the Magisterium, to then perfect the imperfect.

PYROPHILE.

These reasons, abstract as they are, are nevertheless perceptible and make an impression on the mind: for my part, I confess to you that I am entirely convinced of them; Please be kind enough not to be put off by the continuation of my requests. Our Author assures us that the error into which Artists fall, by taking common gold and Mercury, for the true material of stone, deceived in this by the literal sense of the Philosophers, is the great stumbling block of 'a thousand people; for me I don't know how with reading, and common sense, we can attach ourselves to an opinion, which is visibly condemned by the best Philosophers?

EUDOXUS.

Yet this is how it is. Philosophers may well recommend that we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by Mercury, nor even by common gold; Most artists nevertheless adhere to it obstinately, and often after having worked uselessly over the course of several years on foreign materials, finally recognize the mistake they have made; However, they come to common gold and Mercury, in which they find no better benefit. It is true that there are Philosophers, who appear very sincere, nevertheless throw Artists into this error; maintaining very seriously, that those who do not know the gold of the Philosophers, will nevertheless be able to find it in the common gold, cooked with the Mercury of the Philosophers. Philalethe feels this way; he assures that Trevisan, Zachaire and Flamel followed this path; he adds, however, that it is not the true path of the Sages; although it leads to the same end. But these assurances, sincere as they appear, do not fail to deceive the Artists; who want to follow the same Philalethes in the purification and animation, which he teaches, of the common Mercury, to make it the Mercury of the Philosophers, (which is a very gross error under which he has hidden the secret of the Mercury of the Sages), undertake on his word a very difficult and absolutely impossible work; also after a long work full of annoyances and dangers, they only have a Mercury a little more impure than it was before, instead of a Mercury animated by the celestial quintessence: a deplorable error, who lost, and ruined,

PYROPHILE.

It is a great advantage to be able to become wise at the expense of others: I will try to take advantage of this error, by following the good Philosophers, and by conducting myself according to the light that you have given me the grace to give me. One of the things which contributes most to the blindness of Artists, who attach themselves to Gold, and to Mercury, is the common saying of Philosophers, namely that their stone is composed of male and female, that Gold takes the place of male, according to them, and Mercury of female; I know well (as my Author says) (12) that it is not the same with metals as with things that have life; However, I will be greatly obliged to you, if you would be kind enough to explain to me what this difference consists of.

EUDOXUS.

It is a constant truth that the copulation of the male and the female is ordained by nature, for the generation of animals; but this union of the male and the female for the production of the elixir, as well as for that of the metals, is purely allegorical, and is also only necessary for the production of plants, the seed of which alone contains all that which is required for the germination, growth, and multiplication of Plants. You will therefore notice that Philosophical matter, or the Mercury of the Philosophers, is a true seed, which although homogeneous in its substance, does not fail to be a dual nature; that is to say that it also participates in the nature of sulfur, and that of metallic Mercury, intimately and inseparably united, one of which takes the place of the male, and the other female: this is why the Philosophers call her Hermaphrodite, that is to say that she is gifted with both sexes; so that without the need for the mixture of any other thing, it alone is sufficient to produce the Philosophical child, whose family can be multiplied to infinity; just as a grain of corn could, with time and cultivation, produce a large enough quantity, to sow a vast field. whose family can be multiplied to infinity; just as a grain of corn could, with time and cultivation, produce a large enough quantity, to sow a vast field. whose family can be multiplied to infinity; just as a grain of corn could, with time and cultivation, produce a large enough quantity, to sow a vast field.

PYROPHILE.

If these marvels are as real, as they are very similar, we must admit that the science, which gives knowledge of them, and which teaches their practice, is almost supernatural, and divine: but not to deviate from my Author, please tell me, if the stone is not very bold to assert loudly, and without alleging very relevant reasons, that without it it is impossible to make any gold, nor any silver, which are true . Gold disputes this quality with him, based on reasons which have a lot of resemblance; and he puts before his eyes his great defects, such as being a filthy, impure, and venomous substance; and that he, on the contrary, is a pure substance, and without defects; in such a way that it seems to me, that this high claim of the stone, opposed by reasons,

EUDOXUS.

What I have said above is more than sufficient to establish the preeminence of stone, above gold, and of all created things: if you pay attention to it, you will recognize that the force of truth is so powerful, that gold, by wanting to decry the stone, by the defects that it has in its birth, establishes without thinking about it its superiority, by the most solid of reasons, that the stone itself can allege in its favor. There it is.
Gold admits and recognizes that the stone bases its right of pre-eminence on the fact that it is a universal thing. Is more needed to condemn gold and force it to yield to stone? You are not unaware of the extent to which universal matter is above particular matter. You have just seen that the stone is the purest portion of the metallic Elements, and that consequently it is the raw material of the mineral and metallic genre, and that when this same material has been animated, and fertilized by the natural union , which is made with purely universal matter, it becomes the vegetable stone, the only one capable of producing all the great effects, which the Philosophers attribute to the three medicines of the three genres. There is no need for stronger reasons, to stand up once and for all, vulgar gold and Mercury, from their imaginary pretensions; gold and Mercury, and all other particular substances, in which nature ends its operations, whether they are perfect, or whether they are absolutely imperfect, are entirely useless, or contrary to our art.

PYROPHILE.

I am completely convinced of it; but I know several people, who treat the stone as ridiculous, for wanting to dispute seniority with gold. This Author-cy supports this same paradox, and takes back the gold on what he loses respect for the stone, giving a denial to the one who is older than him. However, as stone has its origins in metals, it seems difficult to me to understand the basis of its antiquity.

EUDOXUS.

It is not very difficult to satisfy you on this: I am even surprised that you have formed this doubt; stone is the first material of metals; and therefore it is before gold, and before all metals; and if it takes its origin from them, or if it is born from their destruction, this does not mean that it is a production subsequent to the metals; but on the contrary it is anterior to them, since it is the matter from which all metals were formed. The secret of the art consists of knowing how to extract metals from this first material, or this metallic germ, which must vegetate through the fertility of the water of the Philosophical sea.

PYROPHILE.

Here I am convinced of this truth, and I find that gold is not excusable for lacking respect for its eldest, who has in his party the oldest, and the greatest Philosophers. Hermes, Plato, Aristotle, are in his interests. No one is unaware that they are irrefutable judges in this dispute. Allow me only to ask you a question on each of the passages of these Philosophers, which the stone has cited here, to prove by their authority, that it is the only and true material of the Sages.
The passage from the Emerald Tablet of the great Hermes proves the excellence of the stone, in that it shows that the stone is endowed with two natures, namely that of the superior Beings, and that of the inferior beings. ; and that these two natures, all similar, have one and the same origin; so that we must conclude, that being perfectly united in the stone, they compose a third being of ineffable virtue: but I do not know if you will be of my opinion, concerning the translation of this passage and the commentary of Hortulanus . We read after these words: as is below, so is above; and as above, so below. We read (I say) to experience miracles in just one thing. For me, I find that the Latin original has a completely different meaning: because the quibus, who made the connection of the last words with the previous ones, means that by these things (that is to say by the union of these two natures) we perform the miracles of a single thing. The for which the translator and the commentator have used, destroys the meaning and the reason of a passage, which is in itself very correct and very intelligible. Please tell me if my remark is well founded.

EUDOXUS.

Not only is your remark very correct; but still it is very important. I confess to you that I have never thought about it; In this you make the proverb lie, seeing that the disciple rises above the master. But as I had read the Emerald Tablet more often in Latin than in French, the lack of translation and commentary had not caused me any obscurity, as it can do to those who only read 'in François this summary of the sublime Philosophy of Hermes. Indeed, the higher nature and the lower nature are not similar in working miracles; but it is because they are similar that through them we can perform the miracles of a single thing. So you see that I completely agree with you.



I appreciate my remark: I doubted that it could merit your approval; and I assure myself after this, that the children of science will also be somewhat grateful to me for having drawn from you on this subject a clarification, which will undoubtedly satisfy the disciples of the great Hermes. There is no doubt that the scholar Aristotle knew great art perfectly. What he wrote is a certain proof: also in this dispute, the stone knows how to claim the authority of this great Philosopher, through a passage which contains his most singular and most surprising qualities. Please be kind enough to tell me how you understood these: (26) She marries herself; she gets pregnant herself; it is born of itself.

EUDOXUS.

The stone marries itself; in that in its first generation, it is nature alone aided by art which makes the perfect union of the two substances, which give it being, from which results at the same time the essential deputation of metallic sulfur and Mercury . Union and marriage so natural that the artist who lends his hand to it, by providing the required arrangements, cannot demonstrate it by the rules of art; since he could not even fully understand the mystery of this union.
The stone engrosses itself; while art, continuing to help nature by entirely natural means, puts the stone in the position that suits it, to impregnate itself with the astral seed, which makes it fertile and multiplier of its species .
The stone is born of itself: because after having married itself, and impregnated itself, art doing nothing other than helping nature, by the continuation of a heat necessary for generation, it takes a new birth of itself, just as the Phoenix is ​​reborn from its ashes; she becomes the son of the sun, the universal medicine of all that has life, and the true living gold of the Philosophers, who through the continuation of the help of art, and of the ministry of the Artist, acquires in a short time the Royal diadem, and sovereign power over all his brothers.

PYROPHILE.

I understand very well that on these same principles, it is not difficult to understand all the other qualities that Aristotle attributes to the stone, such as killing itself; to come back to life on its own; to resolve itself in its own blood; to coagulate with it again, and to finally acquire all the properties of the Philosopher's Stone. I don't even find any more difficulties after that, in the passage from Plato. However, I beg you to tell me what this elder means, with all those who followed him, namely: (27) that the stone has a body, a soul, and a spirit, and that all things are of her, by her, and in her.

EUDOXUS.

Plato would have had to, in the natural order, have gone before Aristotle, who was his disciple, and from whom it is likely that he had learned the secret Philosophy, of which he wanted Alexander the Great to believe him perfectly instructed; if we judge from some places of the writings of this Philosopher, but this order is not very important, and if you carefully examine the passage from Plato, and that from Aristotle, you will not find them very different in meaning: to satisfy nevertheless At the request you made of me, I will only tell you that the stone has a body, since it is, as I told you above, an entirely metallic substance, which gives it weight; that it has a soul, which is the purest substance of the Elements, in which its fixity and its permanence consist; that she has a mind, which creates the union of the soul with the body: it comes particularly from the influence of the stars, and it is the vehicle of tinctures. Nor will you have much difficulty in understanding that all things are of her, through her, and in her; since you have already seen that stone is not only the first material of all beings contained under the mineral and metallic genus; but also that it is united to universal matter, from which all things took birth; and this is the foundation of the last attributes which Plato gives to the Stone. and in her; since you have already seen that stone is not only the first material of all beings contained under the mineral and metallic genus; but also that it is united to universal matter, from which all things took birth; and this is the foundation of the last attributes which Plato gives to the Stone. and in her; since you have already seen that stone is not only the first material of all beings contained under the mineral and metallic genus; but also that it is united to universal matter, from which all things took birth; and this is the foundation of the last attributes which Plato gives to the Stone.

PYROPHILE.

As I see that the stone not only attributes universal properties to itself, but also claims (28) that the success that some Artists have had in certain particular processes came solely from it; I admit to you that I have some difficulty understanding how this could have happened?

EUDOXUS.

This Philosopher, however, explains it quite clearly. He says that some artists who have known the Stone imperfectly, and who have only known part of the work, having nevertheless worked with the stone, and found the means of separating its spirit, which contains its tincture, have managed to communicate some parts of it to imperfect metals, which have an affinity with the stone, but that for not having had full knowledge of its virtues, nor of the way of working with it, their work has not helped them. not of much use; besides that the number of these Artists is certainly very small.

PYROPHILE.

It is natural to conclude from what you have just told me, that there are people who have the stone in their hands, without knowing all its virtues, or, if they know them, they do not know how to must work with it, to succeed in the great work, and that this ignorance is the cause that their work has no success. Please tell me if this is so.

EUDOXUS.

No doubt several Artists have the Stone in their possession; some despise it as a vile thing; others admire her, because of the somewhat supernatural characteristics that she brings when she is born, without however knowing all of her worth. Finally, there are some who are aware that it is the true subject of Philosophy; but the operations that the children of art must carry out on this noble subject are entirely unknown to them, because books do not teach them, and because all Philosophers hide this admirable art which converts the stone into the Mercury of the Philosophers, and who learns to make this Mercury the Philosopher's Stone. This first practice is the secret work, concerning which the Sages only express themselves through Allegories, and through impenetrable enigmas, or they don't talk about it at all. This is, as I said, the great stumbling block against which almost all Artists stumble.

PYROPHILE.

Happy are those who possess this great knowledge! For my part, I cannot flatter myself that I have arrived at this point: I am at a loss to know how I can thank you enough, for having given me all the clarifications that I could reasonably wish for from you, on the most essential parts of this Philosophy, as well as on all the others, concerning which you were kind enough to answer my questions; I urge you not to tire, I still have a few to tell you which seem to me to be of very great consequence. This Philosopher assures that the error of those who worked with the Stone, and who did not succeed, came (29) from the fact that they did not know the origin from which the dyes come, If the source of this Philosophical fountain is so secret, and so difficult to discover; It is certain that there are many deceived people: for they all generally believe that metals and minerals, and particularly gold, contain in their center this tincture capable of transmuting imperfect metals.

EUDOXUS.

This source of life-giving water is before everyone's eyes, says the Cosmopolitan, and few people know about it. Gold, silver, metals, and minerals do not contain a multiplicative tincture to infinity; there are only the living metals of the Philosophers, who have obtained from art, and from nature, this multiplicative faculty: but also there are only those who are perfectly enlightened in the Philosophical mysteries, who know the true origin of the dyes. You are not among those who do not know where Philosophers draw their treasures, without fear of drying up their source. I told you clearly, and without ambiguity, that the Sky, and the Stars, but particularly the Sun and the Moon are the principle of this fountain of living water, the only one capable of carrying out all the wonders that you have learned. This is what makes the Cosmopolitan say in his enigma, that in the delicious Isle, of which he describes, there was no water; that all that which we endeavored to bring there, by machines and artifices, was either useless or poisoned, except that which few people knew how to extract from the rays of the Sun or the Moon. The means of bringing down this water from Heaven is certainly marvelous; it is in the stone, which contains the central water, which is truly one and the same thing with the celestial water, but the secret consists in knowing how to convert the stone into an Aiman, which attracts, embraces, and unites this astral quintessence, to make together only one essence, perfect, and more than perfect,

PYROPHILE.

How much obligation I have to you for being willing to reveal to me such great mysteries, to the knowledge of which I could never hope to arrive, without the help of your enlightenment! But since you find it good for me to continue, please allow me to tell you that until now I have not seen a Philosopher who had declared as precisely as this one does, that it was necessary to give a wife to the stone, making it speak in this way: (30) if these Artists had carried their research further and had examined which woman is specific to me; that they had sought her and united me to her; that's when I could have dyed a thousand times more.

EUDOXUS.

It is a great deal, however, that you already know for yourself that this passage is connected with the one that I have just explained to you; that is to say that you judge well that the woman who is proper to the stone and who must be united to it, is this fountain of living water, whose entirely celestial source, which has particularly its center in the Sun, and in the Moon produces this clear and precious stream of the Sages, which flows into the Sea of ​​Philosophers, which surrounds everyone; it is not without foundation that this divine fountain is called by this Author the woman of the stone; some have represented her in the form of a celestial Nymph; some others give it the name of the chaste Diana, whose purity and virginity is not sullied by the spiritual bond which unites her to the stone; in a word,

PYROPHILE.

I feel with indescribable satisfaction all the effect of the lights, of which you tell me; and since we are on this point, allow me, I beg you, to ask you a question, which although it is outside the text of this Author, is nevertheless essential to this subject. I beg you to tell me if the magical marriage of Heaven and Earth can be done at any time; or if there are seasons in the year which are more suitable than others to celebrate these Philosophical Nopces.

EUDOXUS.

I have come too far to refuse you such a necessary and reasonable clarification. Several Philosophers have marked the season of the year, which is most suitable for this operation. Some have not made any misteries of it; the others, more reserved, only explained this point through parables. The first named the month of March, and spring. Zachary and some other Philosophers say that they began their work at Easter, and that they happily finished it during the year. The others are content to represent the garden of Hesperides enamelled with flowers, and particularly violets and hyacinths, which are the first productions of Spring. The Cosmopolitan more ingenious than the others, to indicate that the season most suitable for Philosophical work,

PYROPHILE.

I am delighted with these interpretations. Those who are more enlightened than I am in these mysteries will perhaps not pay as much attention to the outcome of these enigmas as I do, the meaning of which, however, has been, until now, impenetrable to many of those, who also believe they understand the Philosophers very well. I am convinced that we must count for a lot, such an enlightenment, capable of making us see clearly in other, more important obscurities; in fact few people imagined that the violets and hyacinths of Spain and the horned beasts of the garden of Hesperides; the belly and house of the ram of the Cosmopolite, and of Philalethe; the Isle of the Goddess Venus, the two shepherds, and the rest that you have just explained to me, meant the spring season. I'm not the only one, who must give you a thousand thanks for being willing to develop these mysteries; I am assured that in the course of time there will be a large number of children of science who will bless your memory, for having opened their eyes to a point, which is more essential to this great art, that they would not have imagined it.

EUDOXUS.

You are right in that we cannot be sure of understanding the Philosophers, unless we have a complete understanding of the smallest things they wrote. The knowledge of the season proper to work at the beginning of the work, is of no small consequence; here is the fundamental reason. As the Sage undertakes to do by our art a thing, which is above the ordinary forces of nature, like to soften a stone, and to make a metallic germ vegetate; he finds himself indispensably obliged to enter through deep meditation into the most secret interior of nature, and to avail himself of the simple but effective means that it provides him; now you should not ignore that nature from the beginning of Spring, to renew itself, and put all the seeds, which are within the earth, in the movement which is proper to vegetation, impregnates all the air which surrounds the earth, with a mobile, and fermentative spirit, which takes its origin from the father of nature; it is properly a subtle title, which makes the earth fertile and of which it is the soul, and which the Cosmopolitan calls the petre-salt of the Philosophers. It is therefore in this second season that the Wise Artist, to make his metallic seed germinate, cultivates it, breaks it, moistens it, waters it with this prolific dew, and gives it to drink as much as the weight of the nature requires it; in this way the Philosophical germ concentrating this spirit in its bosom, is animated and vivified by it, and acquires the properties, which are essential to it, to become the vegetable, and multiplicative stone.

PYROPHILE.

It is impossible that anyone could be more than I am; you give me lights that the Philosophers have hidden under an impenetrable veil, and you tell me important things, that I would gladly push my questions further, to take advantage of the kindness you have shown in not disguising anything from me; but in order not to abuse it, I return to the place of my Author, where the stone supports gold and Mercury, that it is impossible for a true union to take place between their two substances, because , (she said to them) (31) that you are not one body; but two bodies together, and therefore you are contrary, to consider the laws of nature. I know well that the penetration of substances, not being possible according to the laws of nature, their perfect union is not possible either, and that in this sense, two bodies are contrary to each other: however, as almost all Philosophers assert that Mercury is the first matter of metals, and that according to Geber it is not a body, but a spirit which penetrates bodies, and particularly that of gold, for which he has a visible sympathy; Is it not really similar that these two substances, this body and this mind, can unite perfectly, to make only one and the same thing of the same nature? for whom he has visible sympathy; Is it not really similar that these two substances, this body and this mind, can unite perfectly, to make only one and the same thing of the same nature? for whom he has visible sympathy; Is it not really similar that these two substances, this body and this mind, can unite perfectly, to make only one and the same thing of the same nature?

EUDOXUS.

Noticed that there are two errors in your reasoning; the first, in that you believed that common Mercury is the first, and simple matter, from which metals are formed in mines; that is not so. Mercury, is a metal, which to have less sulfur and less terrestrial impurities than other metals, remains liquid, and flowing, unites with metals, but particularly with gold, as being the purest of all; and unites less easily with other metals in proportion as they are more or less impure in their natural composition. You must therefore know that there is a first material of metals, of which Mercury itself is formed, it is a viscous water, and Mercurielle, which is the water of our stone.
I would take too long if I wanted to deduce here everything there is to say on this subject. I come to the second error in your reasoning, which consists in what you imagine, that the common Mercury is a metallic spirit, which according to Geber can penetrate internally, and dye metals, unite and remain with them, after it will have been artificially fixed. But you must consider that Mercury is only called spirit by Geber because it flies away from fire, because of the mobility of its homogeneous substance: however this property does not prevent it from being a metallic body. , which for this reason can never unite so perfectly with another metal that it does not always separate from it, when it feels pressed by the action of fire.

PYROPHILE.

I understand very well that my reasoning was erroneous, and to tell you the truth, I could never imagine that common Mercury was the first material of metals, although several serious Philosophers posit this truth, for a of the foundations of art. And I am convinced that we cannot find in mines the true raw material of metals, separated from metallic bodies, it is only a vapor, a viscous water, an invisible spirit, and I believe in a word that the seed is only found in the fruit. I don't know if I'm speaking correctly; but I believe that this is the true meaning of the clarifications that you wanted to give me.

EUDOXUS.

We could not have understood better that you made these truths known to few people. There is satisfaction in speaking openly with you about the Philosophical mysteries. See what requests you still have to make of me.

PYROPHILE.

I do not know if the stone does not contradict itself, when it boasts of having (32) an imparting body with a constant soul, and a penetrating tincture? these two great perfections seem incompatible to me in an imperfect body.

EUDOXUS.

It would seem here that you have already forgotten a fundamental truth, of which you have been fully convinced previously; remember then that if the body of stone were not imperfect, however, with an imperfection in which nature has not completed its operation, we could not seek there, and even less find perfection. Having said this, it will be very easy for you to judge that the constancy of the soul and the perfection of the tincture are not currently, nor in a condition to manifest themselves in the stone, as long as it remains in its imperfect being; but when, through the continuation of the work, the substance of the stone has passed from imperfection to perfection, and from perfection to more-than-perfection, the constancy of its soul and the effectiveness of the tincture of his mind, find themselves reduced from power to action; so that the soul, the spirit, and the body of the stone equally exalted, compose a whole of an incomprehensible nature and virtue.

PYROPHILE.

Since my requests give you reason to say such strange things, do not find it bad, I beg you, let me continue. I have always convinced myself that the Philosophers' Stone is a real substance which falls under the senses, however I see that this Author asserts the opposite, saying (33) our stone is invisible. I assure you that whatever good opinion I have of this Philosopher, he will allow me not to share his feelings on this point.

EUDOXUS.

However, I hope that you will understand soon. This Philosopher is not the only one who uses this language: most of them speak in the same way that he does; and to tell you the truth, our Stone is truly invisible, both with regard to its material and with regard to its form. With regard to its material; because even though our stone, or our Mercury, (there is no difference) really exists, it is nevertheless true that it does not appear to our eyes, unless the artist lends his hand to nature, to help it bring this Philosophical production into the world; this is what makes the Cosmopolitan say that the subject of our Philosophy has a real existence; but that it is not seen, except when it pleases the artist to make it appear.
The stone is no less invisible with regard to its shape; I call here its form, the principle of its admirable faculties, especially since this principle, this energy of the stone, and this spirit in which resides the effectiveness of its tincture, is a pure impalpable astral essence, which cannot be manifest only by the surprising effects it produces. Philosophers often speak of their stone considered in this sense. Hermes understands it like this, when he says that the wind carries it in its belly; and the Cosmopolitan does not move away from this Father of Philosophy, when he assures that our subject is before the eyes of everyone; that no one can live without him; and that all creatures use it; but few people see it. Well,

PYROPHILE.

I would have to have neither wit nor reason not to agree with a truth, which you make me touch, while at the same time developing in me the most hidden and mysterious meaning of all. Philosophical writings. I find myself so enlightened by everything you tell me, that it seems to me that the most abstract Authors will no longer have any obscurity for me; I will however be very obliged to you, if you would tell me your feeling, concerning the proposition that this Author puts forward, (34) that it is not possible to obtain the possession of Philosophical Mercury otherwise than by means of two bodies , one of which cannot receive perfection without the other. This passage seems so positive to me, and so precise,

EUDOXUS.

There is certainly no more fundamental one, since this Philosopher marks you in this place, how the stone on which all our Philosophy is founded is formed; in fact our Mercury, or our stone takes birth from two bodies: note however that it is not the mixture of two bodies which produces our Mercury, or our stone: because you have just seen that the bodies are contrary, and that a perfect union cannot be made: but our stone is born on the contrary from the destruction of two bodies, which act on each other like the male and the female, or like the body and the spirit, in a way as natural as it is incomprehensible to the artist, who lends the necessary assistance, cease entirely to be what they were before,
Note also that these two bodies which destroy each other, and merge into each other, for the production of a third substance, and of which one takes the place of male, and the other of female, in this new generation, are two agents, who strip themselves of their grossest substance in this action, change their nature to give birth to a son of a nobler and more illustrious origin than the father and mother, who give him birth. to be; also when he is born he brings visible marks which obviously show that Heaven presided over his birth.
Note further that our stone is reborn several times, but that in each of its new births, it always draws its origin from two things. You have just seen how she begins to be born from two bodies: you have seen that she marries a Celestial Nymph, after she has been stripped of her earthly form, to make only one and the same thing with her; We also know that after the stone has appeared again in an earthly form, it must still be married to a wife of its same blood, so that it is always two things which produce one, of one and the same species; and as it is a constant truth that in all the different states of the stone, the two things which unite to give it new birth, come from one and the same thing; it is also on this foundation of nature that the Cosmopolitan supports an incontestable truth in our Philosophy, namely, that from one there are two and from two, one, at which all natural and Philosophical operations end. , without being able to go any further.

PYROPHILE.

You have made these sublime truths so intelligible to me, so palpable, abstract as they are, that I conceive them almost as clearly as if they were mathematical demonstrations. Allow me, please, to ask you for a few more clarifications, so that I no longer have any doubt regarding the interpretation of this Author. I understood very well that the stone born from two substances of the same species, is a homogeneous whole, and a third being endowed with two natures, which alone make it sufficient in itself for the generation of the son of the Sun: but I have some difficulty in understanding how this Philosopher understands that (35) the only thing of which universal medicine is made is water, and the spirit of the body?

EUDOXUS.

You would find the meaning of this passage self-evident, if you remember, that the first and most important operation of the practice of the first work, is to reduce the body, which is our stone, to water, and that this point is the most secret of our mysteries. I have shown you that this water must be vivified, and fertilized by an astral seed, and by a celestial spirit, in which resides all the effectiveness of the Physical tincture: so that if you reflect on it, you will confess that there is no more evident truth in our Philosophy than that which your Author advances here, namely that the only thing which the wise man needs, to do all things, is none other than water and spirit from the body. Water is the body and soul of our subject; the astral seed is its spirit; this is why Philosophers assure that their matter has a body, a soul and a spirit.

PYROPHILE.

I admit that I blinded myself, and that if I had thought about it carefully, I would not have formed any doubt about this place: but here is another, which is however not a subject of doubt ; but which does not for that reason make me wish that you would please express your feelings on these words: namely, that the only thing which is the subject of art, and which has no equal in world, (36) is nevertheless vile and can be had at little cost.

EUDOXUS.

This thing, so precious by the excellent gifts with which Heaven has provided it, is truly vile, with regard to the substances from which it draws its origin. Their price is not above the capabilities of the poor. Ten sols are more than enough to acquire stone material. The instruments, however, and the means which are necessary to pursue the operations of the art, require some sort of expense; which makes Geber say that the work is not for the poor. The material is therefore base, considering the foundation of art, since it costs very little; it is no less vile, if we consider externally what gives it perfection, since in this respect, it costs nothing at all; especially since everyone has it in their power, said the Cosmopolitan; so that whether you distinguish these things, or whether you confuse them (as the Philosophers do to deceive the fools, and the ignorant) it is a constant truth, that the stone is a vile thing in one sense: but that it is very precious in another, and that it is only fools who despise it, by a just judgment of God.

PYROPHILE.

Here I am soon as educated as I could wish for; only give me the grace to tell me how we can know what is the true path of the Philosophers; then that they describe several different ones, and which often appear opposed. Their books are filled with an infinity of various operations; knowing conjunctions, calcinations, mixtions, separations, sublimations, distillations, coagulations, fixations, dessications, of which they make entire chapters on each; which puts Artists in such an embarrassment that it is almost impossible for them to escape happily. This philosopher insinuates, it seems, that as there is only one thing in this great art, there is also only one way; and for all reason he says, (37) that the solution of the body is only in its own blood.

EUDOXUS.

It is not without great reason that you make such a request of me: it concerns the essential point of the work; and I would like with all my heart to be able to answer it as clearly as I did to several of your other questions. I protest to you that I have told you the truth everywhere; I want to do the same again; but you know that the mysteries of our sacred science can only be taught in mysterious terms: I will nevertheless tell you unequivocally that the general intention of our art is to purify exactly and to objectify a material of itself filthy and crude. This is a very important truth, which deserves your reflection.
Note that to achieve this end, several operations are required, which all tend only to the same goal, are basically considered by Philosophers only as one and the same operation, variously continued. Observed that the fire first separates the heterogeneous parts, and joins the homogeneous parts of our stone: that the secret fire then produces the same effect; but more effectively by introducing into matter an igneous spirit, which internally opens the secret door, which subtilizes, and which sublimates the pure parts, separating them from the terrestrial and adustible parts. The solution which is then made by the addition of the astral quintessence, which animates the stone, makes it a third purification, and the distillation completes it entirely, thus purifying, and stealing the stone by several different degrees, to which the Philosophers are accustomed to giving the names of so many different operations and conversion of the elements; we raise it to perfection, which is the next disposition, to lead it to more-than-perfection, by a regime proportionate to the final intention of art, that is to say until perfect fixation .You therefore see that, strictly speaking, there is only one way, just as there is only one intention in the first work, and that Philosophers only describe several, because they consider the different degrees of depurations, as so many different operations and paths, with the aim (as your Author very well points out) of hiding this great art. to which Philosophers are accustomed to giving the names of so many different operations and conversions of the elements; we raise it to perfection, which is the next disposition, to lead it to more-than-perfection, by a regime proportionate to the final intention of art, that is to say until perfect fixation .You therefore see that, strictly speaking, there is only one way, just as there is only one intention in the first work, and that Philosophers only describe several, because they consider the different degrees of depurations, as so many different operations and paths, with the aim (as your Author very well points out) of hiding this great art. to which Philosophers are accustomed to giving the names of so many different operations and conversions of the elements; we raise it to perfection, which is the next disposition, to lead it to more-than-perfection, by a regime proportionate to the final intention of art, that is to say until perfect fixation .You therefore see that, strictly speaking, there is only one way, just as there is only one intention in the first work, and that Philosophers only describe several, because they consider the different degrees of depurations, as so many different operations and paths, with the aim (as your Author very well points out) of hiding this great art.
As for the words, by which your Author concludes, know, that the solution of the body is only in its own blood; I must point out to you that in our art, it is done in three different times, three essential solutions, in which the body only dissolves in its own blood, this is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the 'artwork; notice carefully cecy. I have already shown you that in the principal operations of art, it is always two things which produce one, that of these two things one takes the place of male, and the other of female; one is the body, the other is the mind: you must apply it here. Know that in the three solutions I am talking to you about, the male and the female, the body and the mind, are nothing other than the body and the blood, and that these two things are of the same nature and of the same species; so that the solution of the body in its own blood is the solution of the male by the female, and that of the body by its spirit. Here is the order of these three important solutions.
In vain you tried to fire the true solution of the male in the first operation, it would never succeed for you, without the conjunction of the female; it is in their reciprocal embraces that they merge, and change each other, to produce a homogeneous whole, different from the two. In vain you would have opened and sublimated the body of the stone, it would be entirely useless to you, if you did not make it marry the woman that nature intended for it; she is this spirit, from which the body took its first origin; also it dissolves there, as ice does in the heat of the fire, as your Author has very well remarked. Finally you would try in vain to make the perfect solution of the same body, if you did not repeat on him the effusion of his own blood, which is his natural menstruum, his wife,

PYROPHILE.

After everything you have just revealed to me, I have nothing more to ask you regarding the interpretation of this Author. I understand very well all the other advantages that he attributes to the stone, above gold and Mercury. I also understand how the excess of spite of these two champions led them to join their forces, to defeat the stone by arms, having not been able to overcome it by reason: but how did you understand that (38) the stone dissipated, and swallowed them both up, so that no vestiges remained?

EUDOXUS.

Did you not know that the great Hermes said that the stone is the strong force of all force? For it will overcome everything subtle, and penetrate everything solid. This is what your Philosopher says here in other words, to teach you that the power of the stone is so great that nothing is capable of resisting it. In fact, it overcomes all imperfect metals, transmuting them into perfect metals, in such a way that no vestiges remain of what they were before.

PYROPHILE.

I understand these reasons very well; but notwithstanding this, I still have a doubt concerning perfect metals; gold, for example, is a constant and perfect metal, which stone cannot swallow up.

EUDOXUS.

Your doubt is unfounded: for just as the stone, strictly speaking, does not swallow up imperfect metals, but changes their nature so much that nothing remains, it makes known what 'they were before; thus the stone cannot swallow gold nor transmute it into a more perfect metal, it transmutes it into medicine a thousand times more perfect than gold, since it can then transmute a thousand times as much imperfect metal according to the degree of perfection that the stone received the Magistere.

PYROPHILE.

I recognize the little basis there was for my doubt; but to tell you the truth, there is so much subtlety in the smallest words of the Philosophers, that you should not find it strange, that I have often stopped on things, which must have seemed to me sufficiently intelligible in themselves. I have only two more requests to make to you, concerning the two pieces of advice that my Author gives to the children of science, concerning the manner of proceeding, and the end that they must propose in the search for universal medicine. He advises them, first of all, to sharpen the edge of their minds; to read the writings of the Sages with caution; to work accurately; to act without haste in such a precious work: because, he says, (39) that he has his time ordained by nature; just as the fruits that are on the trees, and the bunches of grapes that the vine bears. I understand very well the usefulness of this advice but I ask you to explain to me how this limitation of time should be understood.

EUDOXUS.

Your Author explains it to you sufficiently by comparing the fruits that nature produces in due time; this comparison is fair: the stone is a field that the Sage cultivates, in which art and nature have placed the seed, which must produce its fruit. And as the four seasons of the year are necessary for the perfect production of fruits, the stone likewise has its determined seasons. Its winter, during which the cold and the humidity dominate in this prepared and sown land; its spring, to which the Philosophical seed being heated, gives marks of vegetation and growth; its summer during which its fruit dies, and becomes suitable for multiplication; its autumn, in which this perfectly ripe fruit consoles the Sage, who has the happiness of picking it.
To leave you nothing to desire on this subject, I must point out three things to you here. The first, that the Sage must imitate nature in the practice of the work; and as this learned worker cannot produce anything perfect if its movement is violated, so the artist must let the principles of his material act internally, by administering to it externally a heat proportionate to his requirements. The second, that the knowledge of the four seasons of the work must be the rule, which the Sage must follow in the different regimes of fire, proportioning it to each, according to which nature demonstrates, which needs less heat to make the trees flower, and form the fruits, than to make them perfectly ripe. The third, that although the work has its four seasons, like nature, it does not follow that the seasons of art and nature must precisely respond to each other, the summer of the work being able to arrive without inconvenience in the autumn of nature , and its autumn, in the winter. It is enough that the fire regime is proportionate to the season of the work; It is in this alone that the great secret of the Regime consists, for which I cannot give you a more certain rule.

PYROPHILE.

By this reasoning, and this similarity, you make me see clearly on a point, which the Philosophers have made one of their greatest mysteries, because the intelligence of the regimes cannot be drawn from their writings; but I see with extreme satisfaction, that by imitating nature, and beginning the order of the seasons of the work with winter, it should not be difficult for the wise to judge how by the various degrees of heat, which respond to these seasons, it can help nature, and lead to perfect maturity the fruits of this Philosophical plant.
My Author secondly advises the Children of science to have righteousness in their hearts, and to propose an honest end in this work, declaring to them positively, that if they are not in these good dispositions, they must not not wait on their work for the blessing of Heaven, on which all good success depends. He assures that (40) God only communicates such a great gift to those who want to make good use of it, and that he deprives those who intend to use it to commit evil. It seems that this is only a way of speaking which is ordinary to Philosophers; Please tell me what thoughts we should make on this last point.

EUDOXUS.

You are enlightened enough in our Philosophy, to understand, that the possession of universal medicine, and of the great Elixir, is of all the goods of this world, the most real, the most estimable, and the greatest, of which man can enjoy. Indeed, the immense riches, the sovereign dignities, and all the greatness of the Earth, are not to be compared to this precious treasure, which is the only temporal good capable of filling the heart of man. He gives to him who possesses it a long life, free from all kinds of infirmities, and places in his power more gold and silver than all the most powerful Monarchs have together. This treasure also has this particular advantage, above all the other goods of life, that he who enjoys it finds himself perfectly satisfied,
You are also fully convinced that God governs the world; that his divine Providence makes order reign there, which his infinite wisdom has established there, since the beginning of the centuries; and that this same Providence is not this blind fatality of the ancients, nor this supposed sequence, or this necessary order of things, which must make them follow without any distinction; but on the contrary you are very convinced that the wisdom of God presides over all the events that happen in the world.
On the double foundation that these two reflections establish, you cannot doubt that God, who sovereignly disposes of all the goods of the Earth, never allows those who apply themselves to the search for this precious treasure, with the intention to make a bad use of it, can through their work achieve its possession: in fact what evils would not be capable of causing in the world a perverse spirit, which would have no other aim than to satisfy its ambition, and to satisfy his lusts, if he had in his power, and in his hands, this assured means of carrying out his most criminal enterprises; this is why the Philosophers, who know perfectly well the evils and disorders which could occur in civil society, if the knowledge of this great secret were revealed to the impious, treat it only with fear, and only speak of it in enigmas; so that it is only understood by those whose study and work God wants to bless.

PYROPHILE.

There will be no one of good sense and God-fearing who does not enter into these sentiments, and who must not be entirely persuaded, that to succeed in such a great and important enterprise, one must incessantly implore the Divine goodness. , to enlighten our minds, and to give his blessing to our work. All that remains for me is to return you very humble thanks, for the fact that you were kind enough to treat me as a Child of science, to speak to me sincerely, and to instruct me in such great mysteries, so clearly, and also intelligibly, that it is permitted to do so, and that I can wish it. I promise you that my gratitude will last as long as my life.

END.