Two Dialogues on Alchemy

42 ¶ It is necessary that a metallic medicine be found, which can transmute imperfect metals into true gold and silver. original: "medicina metallica" — This refers to the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir, which was believed to cure the "diseases" or imperfections of base metals like lead or tin.

43 ¶ Metals can be most perfectly transmuted, one into another.

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44 ¶ Art often overcomes the operation of nature.

45 ¶ The entire mastery of this art consists in one single stone.

46 ¶ In the generation of metals and the Elixir, sulfur is like the father's seed, while quicksilver is like the female menstrual blood. Alchemists used reproductive metaphors to explain chemistry. Sulfur was viewed as the active, masculine agent that "coagulates" the passive, feminine quicksilver (mercury) to create a metal.

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47 ¶ The Philosopher's Stone has within itself every natural preparation, and all that is required for perfection.

48 ¶ The Elixir, drinkable gold, the fifth essence, and the seed are made from the same material. aurum potabile: Literally "drinkable gold." A legendary medicine believed to grant longevity. quinta essentia: The "fifth essence" or quintessence, a substance purer than the four physical elements.

49 ¶ The opinion of some who wanted the Elixir to be made from common gold.

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50 ¶ The Elixir cannot be made from common gold, because its sulfur has already reached the ultimate and permanent tincture, and its tincture does not exceed what was necessary for itself. Therefore, gold is called complete and determined, nor can it (as was most necessary) be properly reduced to the first matter. tincture: The power of a substance to impart color and quality to another. first matter: The primal, chaotic state of matter before it takes a specific form. Common gold is too "finished" to be used as a raw ingredient unless it is first broken down into this state.

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51 ¶ The radical moisture in other metals is just as virtuous, incorruptible, and incombustible as that of gold. radical moisture: The fundamental life-giving fluid thought to be hidden within all matter.

52 ¶ In the Philosopher's Stone, gold and silver exist in potential and virtue.

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53 ¶ By "perfect bodies," Geber understands the types of prepared sulfur.
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54 ¶ The gold of the Philosophers and drinkable gold are the most subtle radical sulfur, which is called the soul. original: "Aurum Philosophorum" — This is not the gold found in coins or jewelry, but a spiritualized or purified substance extracted during the alchemical work.

55 ¶ The white smoke, carrying the red smoke in its belly, is the true fifth essence. These "smokes" or vapors represent the two major stages of the alchemical process: the white (albedo) and the red (rubedo).

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56 ¶ The fifth essence actually possesses no elemental quality.

57 ¶ The Water of Life of the Philosophers descends from the Philosopher's Stone. aqua vitae: Literally "water of life," usually referring to a powerful solvent or distilled spirit used in the process.

58 ¶ Sulfur, by means of fire, sweetens bitter water.

59 ¶ Our heaven ought to be adorned with our Sun and stars. Alchemical symbolism often used astronomical terms. The Sun usually represents gold or sulfur, and stars represent the "sparkles" or crystalline structures appearing in the matter.

60 ¶ Our fifth essence is called by various names through...