PREFACE.

but useless ones, and we always found that something was missing. Finally, I came to understand that it was a waste of time and effort to work according to the sound of words original: "le son des mots". This refers to the common error of interpreting alchemical allegories and metaphors literally rather than seeking the physical or philosophical reality they represent., that reason alone must lead us, and only the possibilities of Nature can set right those who go astray. Indeed, what is the use of laboring over so many different works, while simple nature offers us a single subject In alchemical literature, the "subject" (sujet) refers to the base raw material or "prime matter" required to begin the Great Work. upon which we must work; and what good are so many furnaces, so many kinds of fires, and so many vessels, while this same nature uses only a single vessel, a single fire, and a single furnace: if one only had to work according to the sense