Preface.

nor understand the workings of nature correctly. For it is one thing to have a putrefaction original: "Putrefaction." In alchemy, this is the stage of "blackness" or rot where a substance is broken down so it can be reborn in a purified state. that arises from the mercurial, sulfuric, and saline parts The Tria Prima (Three Principles): Mercury (spirit), Sulfur (soul), and Salt (body), believed to be the components of all matter. which work upon one another within themselves, causing a sulfuric and saline muddiness—a muddiness that is not dreg-like and combustible, nor fleeting or perishable, but rather one that transforms itself into a true essence original: "Essentiam." The refined, pure spiritual core of a substance..

On the other hand, it is quite different with that putrefaction which arises and descends from the impurities resulting from the Curse The "Curse" refers to the theological belief that the physical world was corrupted following the Fall of Man., which cause a muddy, stinking, and loathsome water. In this water, the pure beings—the three principles—do indeed work within themselves: but they are destroyed by the dregs original: "feces." In early chemistry/alchemy, this refers to the solid, impure waste or sediment left after a process, not necessarily biological waste. and impure parts, such that they cannot be transformed into an essence, but rather work only to free themselves and peel away from the clinging Curse. Thus, there is a powerful distinction between those things that promote putrefaction, and with it not in the least