ON THE TRUE FIRST

MATTER OF

Metals.

The first matter of Metals is twofold, yet one without the other does not create a metal: The first and principal matter is the Moisture of the air original: "Humidum aëris." Early scientists believed that air contained a subtle, life-giving moisture that served as the basis for all physical growth. mixed with heat; this the Philosophers named Mercury, which is governed by the rays of the sun and moon in the philosophical sea original: "mari philosophico." A symbolic term for the primordial, fluid state of matter before it is "fixed" into a solid form.. The second is the dry heat of the earth, which they called sulfur.

But because all true Philosophers have hidden this [sulfur] most of all, we shall explain it a little more clearly—especially the weight original: "pondus." In alchemical literature, "weight" usually refers to the specific proportions or ratios of the substances used in a recipe., for if this is ignored, everything is destroyed. It is because of this that many produce "abortions" A common alchemical term for a failed experiment or a substance that has failed to mature into its "perfect" state (like gold). from a good starting material. For there are those who take the whole body as the matter, or the seed original: "semine, vel spermate." The author uses biological terms to describe the concentrated essence of a metal., or the sperm; others take only a fragment; and all of these stray from the right path. For example: if someone were to take a man’s foot and a woman’s hand and wished to create a human being from this mixture, it would not be possible.