Philosophical Dialogue between the Flying Mercury and a Common Smelter

A decorative woodcut headpiece featuring symmetrical scrolling foliage and floral motifs. Two large C-shaped scrolls on either side are adorned with hanging tassels, joined in the center by a vertical floral element and a base of leaves.

Good fortune to you! original: "Glück auf!", the traditional German greeting used by miners and metallurgists since the 16th century, wishing for the "opening" of the ore veins and a safe return from the mine. My dear smelter, good fortune to you! I see that you are occupied with many tasks here in your smelting hut; I pray you, do not take it ill if I, with my unexpected visit, should be a hindrance to you now.

Smelter. What kind of unexpected and unhoped-for visit is this? And who are you, coming upon me so suddenly in my hut? Are you a man, or a spirit, or do you come from the realm of the dead? Or what else should I make of you?

Mercury. I am neither man nor spirit, nor do I come from the realm of the dead; rather, I am that man of whom you perhaps have heard much—he who is everywhere persecuted and driven away, martyred and tormented. In the alchemical tradition, Mercury (representing both the metal quicksilver and a philosophical principle) is often described as a "fugitive" who must be "caught" or "fixed," and who undergoes "torture" through the heat and acids of chemical processes. I am alive, yet banished from the land of the living; I have therefore now turned to you, so that I might seek my refuge here and rest a little.

Smelter. My dear man, whoever you may be, I tell you only this: that you here