Philosophical Dialogue between the Flying Mercury and a Common Smelter

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[that you] are a fleeting bird original: flüchtiger Vogel; a metaphor for mercury's volatility and its association with the winged messenger god., (for they are almost all alchemists,) and when they think they have bound you completely, and are now masters over you, you fly away again in an unexpected manner and leave an empty dwelling behind; I certainly would not want to have much to do with you.

Mercurius. Listen, my dear Smelter, how clumsily these people deal with me; it is no wonder that I escape them and fly away: for through their manifold sublimation Sublimation: the process of turning a solid substance into vapor through heat. In alchemy, this was often used for purification, but Mercury complains it only makes him more "volatile" or likely to evaporate. they only provide me with more new feathers, instead of cutting them off as they should. For this is surely certain: that I am of a very strange kind and properties, and require for my right preparation also rare people who thoroughly understand my nature and know how to handle everything in the right place in their works, so that they may reach the goal of their desire through me. But the way the blind world now plays its game with me, it is not possible to accomplish anything good thereby, nor to attain anything perfect; instead, I always fly away from them again.

Schmeltzer. Do not tell me that; our Smeltery Manager Hütten-Verwalter: the administrative head of a metallurgical works. is certainly such a man who has gone through the chemical school original: Chymische Schule; in this era, "chemistry" and "alchemy" were often used interchangeably. through and through, as is also our Mining Physician Berg-Physicus: a state-appointed doctor and technical official who oversaw the health and regulations of a mining district.; they all do it as it ought to be done, yet it still never helps; it all lies solely with you.

Mercurius. I serve everyone quite willingly, and am inclined to serve everyone—indeed, I am created for the purpose of serving everyone—but one must begin with me in the right way. Nature has chosen wings for me; those very wings one must seek to cut off,