Inscrutable Chemico-Philosophical Harmonies

And the Alchemical Art ###

[sul]-phur in its gross total, but subtle sulfur, pure and active, perfectly tinctures original: "tingit"; in alchemy, to "tincture" is to infuse a substance with a new quality or color, effectively transforming its nature. because it is pure. Therefore it possesses a pure tincture. Thus it is clear that sulfur is the agent original: "actor"; the active, masculine principle that directs the formation of the metal. of metals, and quicksilver original: "argentum vivum"; literally "living silver," the liquid metal mercury. is the matter from which the forms of metals are produced. Meanwhile, the external agent remains with the matter that does not yet possess perfect metal. Therefore, sulfurousness is found in all imperfect metals; but if the coarse sulfurousness is separated—which results in a perfected metal—then no unclean sulfur is found in gold, because it alone is perfected.

Now it is clearly shown from what things nature procreates metals: it is from sulfur and quicksilver. It comes from sulfur as if from the seed and agent, which is finally separated, like a craftsman who leaves once his work is finished; and from quicksilver as if from the matter, which remains and provides the physical body.

Consequently, Alchemists Alchymistæ; practitioners of the art of transmutation and metallic medicine say—and especially Geber original: "Geber," referring to the Latinized works attributed to the 8th-century scholar Jabir ibn Hayyan, the most influential authority in medieval alchemy. in his Summa in the chapter on the creation of metals—that nature works metals from sulfur and quicksilver. Likewise, Ferrarius Likely Efferarius of Taranto, a 13th-century alchemical author known for his clear, systematic style. says in the Inquiry into Alchemy, chapter 25, that from the beginning of the generation of metals, nature takes water that is viscous and mixed with white, sulfurous, and very subtle earth. By digesting, hardening, and binding the moisture of the water with dryness and uniting them, a substance comes into being which is called "flesh." And this is the proper and immediate matter of metals, from which all metals subsequently have their origin, substance, and essence: