Natural Philosophy of Three Ancient Philosophers: Artephius, Flamel, and Synesius

...dissolved, be assured that your knowledge, method, and operations are true and philosophical, and that you are proceeding correctly in the Art The "Art" refers to the Great Work of alchemy (the Ars Magna).. Thus nature is perfected by its own like nature; that is to say, gold and silver are improved within our water, just as our water is improved by these bodies. This water is also called the means and the medium of the soul, without which we cannot work in this Art. It is the vegetable, animal, and mineral fire; it preserves the fixed spirit of the Sun and the Moon In alchemy, the Sun and Moon are traditional names for gold and silver, respectively., while acting as the destroyer of bodies and their conqueror. It is the victor because it destroys and dissolves the body and changes the metallic forms, ensuring that the bodies are no longer bodies but only fixed spirits, converting these forms into a moist, soft, and fluid substance. This substance possesses the "entry"—the power to penetrate other imperfect bodies—and to mix with them indivisibly, while simultaneously tinting Tincture (Teinture): In alchemy, the power of a substance to change the color and internal nature of another material, specifically turning base metals into gold or silver. and perfecting them. These bodies could not do this before, because they were dry and hard, and this hardness possesses no power of tincture or perfection. Therefore, we very appropriately convert these two bodies into a fluid substance,