Curious Physics

silver / mercury or liquid metal / and according to its nature / living-gold, living-silver, living-copper, and living-lead; the universal metallic tincture or the Philosopher’s Stone original: Stein der Weisen, the metallic master-piece; Tin and iron are wonderful things / iron in the kingdom of gold / and tin in the kingdom of silver / and it has been impossible for me to this day to give birth to the mentioned metals from our world-slime original: Welt-Schleime. This refers to the materia prima, the raw, chaotic primordial substance from which all things are made. alone, without additions, as I do with the others. In one or another circumstance regarding the preparation of our metallic master-piece, my report differs from that of others / and I entirely reject the little fable of the blackest Raven’s Head original: Raben-Kopf. In alchemy, this represents the nigredo or "blackening" stage, symbolizing the death and decomposition of the matter.. It has happened with these matters just as it does with lies / until finally, after the passing of so many centuries, the black-gray and black-green colors seen during the dissolution of our matter have been transformed by writers [since one always lied after the other] into the blackest, shimmering darkness. Sic fama crevit eundo Latin: "Thus the rumor grew by spreading." A classical reference to how stories become exaggerated over time..

Furthermore, throughout this and other writings, I employ a simple and humble style / so that people living now and those yet to come shall not interpret my meaning otherwise than it is presented with clear words without ornamentation. If you find a single thing, a single de-

description frequently repeated / then consider that it happened for your own benefit and for further explanation / and not out of vain babble.

Nevertheless, so much remains in the deep foundation that God’s abundant grace / and a particularly well-ordered intellect are necessary for sufficient knowledge / because the teaching of Light, Spirit, and Salt, etc. could not be presented as clearly and briefly as common and simple souls might wish. Light is indivisible for humans / and must be understood in its radiance according to its measure. One can indeed divide the Spirit / but cannot reassemble it in its original manner / nor can it be weighed / and it is understood in its parts through number. The Salt, in which Light and Spirit dwell / is judged only by weight / it allows itself to be divided and joined together again by us / provided the artist handles it in a proper and fitting tool / or in a proper womb original: Gebähr-Mutter. In an alchemical context, this refers to the flask, furnace, or vessel where the transformation takes place.. GOD dwells in the light / the Light in the Spirit / the Spirit in the Salt / the Salt in the air / the air in the water / (wherein the universal vitriol original: Vitriolum. A term for sulfate minerals, often described as the "secret salt" or the soul of the matter. dwells) / the water in the earth / and the earth is a mother of birth or, as it were, a workshop to all the others / upon which and within which they work. The Light is a master to the Spirit / the Spirit a light to the Salt