Pernety - A Treatise On The Great Art.pdf - cyjack.com

The Great Art page 73companions of Cadmus, who killed it by piercing it with his lance against a hollow oak. 52 Remark thisOak.”But to arrive at this putrefaction we must have an agent, or Solvent, analogous to the body which isto be dissolved. The latter is the soluble body, called masculine germ; the other is the dissolvingspirit, called feminine germ. When they are united in the vase, Philosophers give them the nameREBIS; this is why Merlin has said:Res rebis est bina, conjucta sed tamen una..Philalethes, (Vera confect. lapid. Philosoph. p.13 and following), expresses himself thus on thesubject of this Solvent: “This feminine germ is one of the chief principles of our Magisterium;therefore, it is necessary to meditate deeply upon it, as upon a matter, without which one cannotsucceed, since although mercury, it is not indeed a natural argent-vive, but a certain mercury fit for anew generation; and which besides its purity, demands a long and wonderful preparation, whichleaves to it, in its integrity, its homogeneous mineral quality. For if one takes from this dissolvingspirit its fluidity and mercuriality, it becomes useless for the Philosophic Work, because it has lostthereby its dissolving nature; and if it were changed into powder, in any manner whatever; if it is notof the nature of the soluble body, it is lost, it has no longer any relation or proportion with it, andmust be rejected from our Work. Those think madly and wrongly who alter the Quicksilver before itis united with the metallic species. For this Quicksilver before it is united with the metallic species.For this Quicksilver which is not common mercury, is the Matter of all the metals, and we may saytheir Water, because of its homogeneity with them. It becomes invested with their nature in itsmixture with them, and takes all their qualities, because it resembles celestial Mercury, whichbecomes similar to the qualities of the Planets with which it is in conjunction.”No water can dissolve radically and naturally the metallic species unless it is of their nature, andcan be congealed with them. It must pass into the metals as a food which is incorporated with them,and forms with them only one substance. Therefore he who will take from quicksilver its humidity bymeans of salts, vitriols, or other corrosive substances, acts as a madman. Those are not the lessdeceived, who imagine to extract from natural mercury a limpid and transparent water, with whichthey can make wonderful things. Even if they would succeed in making such a water, it would beworth nothing in the Work.Definitions and Properties of this MercuryMercury is a thing which dissolves the metals by a natural dissolution, and which leads their spiritsfrom potentiality to actuality.Mercury is that thing which renders the material of the metals lucid, clear and without shadow, thatis to say, which cleanses them from their impurities, and draws from the interior of the perfect metalstheir nature and germ which is hidden there.Dissolving Mercury is a dry vapour, not at all viscous, having much acidity, very subtle, veryvolatile to fire, having a great property of penetrating and of dissolving the metals. In preparing it,and in making this dissolution, besides the length of the work, one runs a very great danger, saysPhilalethes. Consequently he advises one to take care of his eyes, his ears and his nose.52 Furnace of the Wise. It is spoken, in the Fable, of the hollow Oak against which Cadmus ran through the Dragon whichhad devoured his companions. The lance which Cadmus used is Fire, the Serpent signifies Mercury. The hollow Oak beingthe Secret Furnace of the Sages, one understands why the Ancients consecrated it to Rhæa, wife of Saturn.Pernety, Dict.Mytho-Herm.