<strong>The</strong> <strong>Great</strong> <strong>Art</strong> page 74<strong>The</strong> confection of this Mercury, adds the same author, is the greatest secret of Nature, one canscarcely understand it except by the revelation of God, or of a friend; for one will never succeed bythe guidance of books alone.Dissolving Mercury is not the Mercury of the Philosophers before its preparation, but onlyafterwards, and it is the beginning of the medicine of the third order. 53Those who instead of this Mercury employ for the Philosophic Work natural mercury, orsublimated, calcined or precipitated mercury are greatly deceived.Dissolving Mercury is an element of the earth in which it is necessary to sow the grain of gold. Itcorrupts the Sun, putrefies it, resolves it into Mercury, and renders it volatile and like to itself. It ischanged into Sun and Moon, and be<strong>com</strong>es as the mercuries of the metals. It draws out the souls of thebodies, takes them away and concocts them. For this reason the ancient Sages said that the godMercury attracted the soul of living bodies and led them to the kingdom of Pluto. This is why Homeroften calls Mercury, (A’ργειο⌠νζης), Arquicida.<strong>The</strong> Dissolving Mercury must not be dry, for if it is, all the Philosophers assure us that it will not besuitable for dissolution. It is necessary then to take a feminine germ, in form similar to that of themetals. <strong>Art</strong>s renders it the Menstrum of the metals; and by the operations of the first medicine, orfrom its imperfect preparation, it passes through all the qualities of the metals even to those of thesun. <strong>The</strong> sulphur of the imperfect metals coagulates it, and it takes the qualities of the metal whoseSulphur has coagulated it. If the Dissolving Mercury is not animated, in vain will one employ it forthe Work, universal or particular.<strong>The</strong> Dissolving Mercury is the unique Vase of the Philosopher in which all the Magisterium isac<strong>com</strong>plished. Philosophers have given to it different names, of which the following are most used:Vinegar of Philosophers, Field, Aludel, Water, Water of <strong>Art</strong>, Ardent Water, Divine Water, FountainWater, Purifying Water, Permanent Water, First Water, Simple Water, Bath, Heaven, Prison,Superior Eye-lid, Sieve, Smoke, Humidity, Fire, <strong>Art</strong>ificial Fire, Corroding Fire, Unnatural Fire,Humid Fire, Jordan, Liquor, Crude Vegetable Liquor, Moon, Matter, Lunar Matter, First Power,Mother, Crude Mercury, Preparing Mercury, First Minister, Fugitive Servant, Nymphs, Bacchantes,Muses, Woman, Sea, Crude Spirit, Concocted Spirit, Sepulchre, Sperm of Mercury, Stygian Water,Oestrich stomach, Vase, Philosopher’s Vase, Inspector of concealed Things, Crude Quicksilver takensimply from its mine.But one must not forget that this Mercury is not that which is sold in apothecary shops.When the conjunction of Mercury with the soluble body is made, the Philosophers speak of the twoas of one thing; and then they say the sages find in Mercury all that is necessary for them. <strong>The</strong>reforeone must not permit one’s self to be deceived by the diversity of names; and to warn against error ofthis kind some of the principal names are here given:Thickened Water, Our Water, Second Water, Arcanum, Argent-vive, Goodness, Goodness which hasseveral names, Chaos Hyle, Our Compost, Our Confection, Confused Body, Mixed Body, Copper, Æsof the Philosophers (Sophic Brass), Latten, Manure, Aqueous Smoke, Burning Humidity, StrangeFire, Unnatural Fire, Stone, Mineral Stone, Unique Stone, Unique Matter, Confused Matter of the53 MEDICINE OF THE THIRD ORDER. It is the preparation of the Stone which Philosophers named Multiplication . . . . Thismedicine carries the Stone to its perfection and multiplies it both in quantity and in quality . . . . It is also named Medicineof the superior order.<strong>Pernety</strong> Dict. Mytho-Herm.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Great</strong> <strong>Art</strong> page 75Metals, Menstruum, Second Menstruum, Mine, Our Mine, Mine of the Metals, Mercury, ThickenedMercury, Piece of Money, Egg, Philosopher’s Egg, Root, Unique Root, Stone known in the Chaptersof Books.Finally it is with this mixture, or Mercury, that most authors begin their books and treats on theWORK.
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