Two Dialogues on Alchemy

115 ¶ Iron: the ancients called it man because it has a soul, a body, and a spirit. In alchemy, metals were often personified. To have a soul, body, and spirit meant a substance possessed the three essential principles: sulfur, salt, and mercury.

116 ¶ Iron is generated in the earth specifically through the power of the North Star. Alchemists believed celestial bodies influenced the growth of metals within the earth. The North Star was specifically linked to the magnetic properties of iron.

5 117 ¶ That stone, which is sold for a cheap price, is iron, if you compare it to other metals.

118 ¶ Iron is called "vegetable." The term "vegetable" in this context does not mean a plant. It refers to a substance's ability to grow, evolve, or "fructify" the work.

119 ¶ The Elixir is made from the cheapest stone.

10 120 ¶ The cheapest stone of the Philosophers is vegetable, animal, and mineral. This refers to the "Universal Stone" which was said to contain the essences of all three kingdoms of nature.

121 ¶ Separation of the elements.

122 ¶ The dross of iron, which is thrown away by blacksmiths, is the cheapest stone of the Philosophers. original: "Ferri spuma." This refers to slag or scale, the waste material produced when iron is forged. Alchemists often claimed their secret ingredient was something common people discarded as trash.

123 ¶ The radical moisture of metals is not consumed by fire. radical moisture: The essential, life-preserving fluid within a substance that allows it to survive extreme heat without being destroyed.

15 124 ¶ It is proved from the writings of Geber that spirits must be sublimated from the lime of iron. lime: Also called calx. The powdery substance left after a metal has been roasted or "calcined" at high heat.

125 ¶ The lime of iron, converted by the intensity of fire into the nature of glass—of a color almost green, or dark sky blue, or dark sapphire—is the most virtuous stone of the Philosophers. The "virtue" of a stone refers to its medicinal or transformative power. Here, the author describes the formation of "vitriol of iron" or iron silicate.

20 126 ¶ This glass is the radical moisture of iron. It is proved by various opinions of the Philosophers that the stone of the Philosophers is not consumed by fire.

127 ¶ Iron is cleansed of much earthiness when it is reduced into the nature of glass.

25 128 ¶ The ancient Philosophers used to convert glass back into a metallic nature.

129 ¶ Glass is the greater cheap stone, discovered and famous, and so on.

Latin: "The End."