Two Dialogues on Alchemy

...perilous and empty slanders and insults. For I knew that you were preferred over all others who have attempted this most subtle part of secret philosophy, among both the ancients and the moderns, by all students of true philosophy. Therefore, seized by a great desire
5 to see you and to discuss these matters in person, I directed my journey from Italy here to Persia. I did this especially so that I might obtain from you the favor of not refusing to receive me into the fellowship and number of your disciples. For the love and pursuit of learning has so prevailed within me that neither the length of the journey nor the many dangers to be
10 undergone seemed able to deter me. Instead, I thought they should be bravely disregarded.

GEBER. You ask for honorable things, and your desire is a very certain sign of a noble soul. Therefore, I will not be burdened to receive you into the number of my disciples and friends.
15 However, you would do a thing not at all unwelcome to me if you would point out the reasons of those who strive to diminish my reputation with vain slanders.

DEMO. A serious battle of words often arose between us and the wicked detractors of your fame and name. They accused and criticized you bitterly,
20 proclaiming that they were deluded, deceived, and tripped up by your writings. They base this opinion on what you wrote in the introduction to your book, The Sum of Perfection: original: "Summae perfectionis." This is the "Summa perfectionis magisterii," one of the most influential alchemical texts of the Middle Ages, attributed to Geber.

By God, whoever works according to this book shall rejoice to have found the true end of this art. original: "Per Deum, qui secundum hunc librum operatus fuerit, verum finem huius artis se adinvenisse laetabitur."

Trusting in these words, they were especially
25 led to spare neither labor, expense, nor time. They performed everything, as they say, according to the instructions of your book, yet they never achieved anything except the most serious loss of their property and the waste of time and effort. And what they bear more heavily is that they have suffered the loss of their name and
30 reputation. They are a laughingstock to everyone, pointed at with a finger, as the proverb goes. They can neither safely nor peacefully live or dare to associate among other men. For this reason, they curse, speak evil, revile, and never stop spreading insulting taunts. They shout that you are a
35 forger, an impostor, and a cunning, deceitful man, whose only concern was always to make as many people as possible insane by means of reason. original: "ratione insanos." This is a paradoxical phrase suggesting that following Geber's logical instructions leads to madness when the experiments fail.