Marengus — Secrets of Chemical Pallas Revealed, ca. 1700

Those things that lead to the Theory of the Philosophers' Stone are explained.

I say first. In any body, the center and place of its seed, or spermats sperm or seed, is found; for the whole grain or the whole body is not turned into seed, but only a certain necessary and multiplying spark within the body, which is guarded from excessive heat and cold by its own body, which protects it against opposing forces: this point and center is found in metals vivified by art, from which their tinctura tincture, or anima soul, is extracted; and it is the mercurial part of those metals, which our Philosophers call the tincture, soul, or oil of the sun or moon.

I say second. Since we must act toward the Lapidem Philosophers' Stone as nature operates regarding the generation of metals: and since nature in its mines uses no other matter than Mercurio Mercury and Sulphure Sulfur, so we also must compose the Lapidem Stone from mercury and metallic sulfur. Therefore, nothing foreign to nature enters our work: for nature perfects nature, and nature rejoices in nature.

I say third. Two types of Mercurij Mercuries are found, namely the mercury of the medium substance, which is from cold and moisture, and is volatile by its nature: and the mercury of the Sun gold, which is hot and dry, and is fixed by its nature, yet made volatile by art, and is called Sulphur Sulfur or mercurius Sulphurey sulphurous mercury. When these two mercuries are joined, the cold and moist mercury dominates in the beginning, but afterwards, from the continuous action of persevering heat upon the mercury, that fixed mercury, or that fixed sulfur which is mixed with the volatile mercury, dominates, overcomes the coldness and moisture of the volatile mercury, and as the matter is altered through various degrees and always more perfectly by continued decoction, diverse colors appear, of which the chief ones are nigredo blackness, albedo whiteness, flauedo yellowness, and rubedo redness.

I say fourth. Every like generates its like: any tree produces fruit of its own species: from brute animals only beasts are generated; without a man, a man is not generated: thus, metal is made and multiplied through metal. The ingenuity of art does not introduce something new into the natural root, but nature does everything, though with art assisting: since all things that are generated are multiplied through seeds, and we cannot create metals or their primitive seeds out of nothing; therefore, just as nature uses the seed of a tree so that another tree may be generated; likewise, we must take the seed of gold so that gold may be multiplied. Let us take the seed of gold already produced by nature, let us draw it out from the gold itself by vivifying it and by extracting the mercurial part from that vivified substance.

I say fifth. Just as for the generation of a child the mixture of two seeds is required, namely masculine and feminine, which differ in qualities, because the feminine is relatively cold and moist compared to the masculine, while the masculine is hot and dry: so in the formation of the Lapidis Stone the masculine and feminine seeds are joined: the masculine sperm is golden Mercury; the feminine is Mercury of the medium substance. Nature therefore supplies everything, and through its intrinsic power, which lies hidden in the seeds, effects all things, and art exists only as the servant of nature, and assists it.

I say sixth. Our medicine therefore is made from two things of one essence, because it is made from two mercurial substances, that is, from the mercury of the sun and from the mercury of the medium substance, which two mercuries, while they are mixed, are called one mercury, and thus the stone is said to be composed from one and from two: and this mercury composed from two is already a mercury having in itself, and in its depth, its own sulfur.

I say seventh. Our gold is not the gold of the common people, but it is gold...