Alchemical Treaty of 1645
Having penetrated, I, Philatetus, Anonymous Philosopher, the arcana of medicine, chemistry and physics, I decided to write this little treatise, in the year 1645 of the Redemption of the world and the thirty-third of my age, in order to redeem what I owe to the Children of Art and to reach out to those who are led astray through the labyrinths of error. Thus it will appear to the Adepts that I am their peer and brother; as for those who have been seduced by the vain speeches of the sophists, they will see and receive the light, thanks to which they will return to the safest route. It is indeed an omen that numerous among them will be enlightened by my works.
These are not fables, but real experiences that I have seen, made and known: the Adept will easily infer this by reading these pages. Therefore, writing them for the good of my neighbor, it is enough for me to declare that no one has ever spoken of this art as clearly as I have; indeed, my pen often hesitated to write it all down, desirous that it was to hide the truth under a jealous mask; but God constrained me, and I could not resist him, the only one who knows hearts, and to whom glory is referred in the cycle of time. Whence I believe that many, in this last age of the world, will be happy to possess this secret; for I wrote frankly, not preventing the sincerely curious novice from grasping any doubt without a fully satisfactory answer.
And I already know that many, like me, hold this secret; I persuade myself that there are many more yet, with whom I shall enter very closely, as it were, into intimate, everyday communication. May the holy Will of God do what it pleases, I recognize myself unworthy to work such wonders: however, I adore in them the holy Will of God, to whom all creatures must be submitted, for it is only in their function that he created them and keeps them created.
From the necessity of the wise men's mercury to the work of the elixir
Whoever wishes to possess this Fleece of gold must know that our aurific dust, which we call our stone, is Gold, simply raised to the highest degree of purity and subtle fixity to which it can be brought, both by its nature and by the art of skillful operator. This gold, thus essential, is not that of the common people: we call it our gold; he is the supreme degree of perfection of nature and art. In this regard I could quote all the philosophers, but I do not need witnesses, as I am myself an Adept, and I write more clearly than any other before. Whoever will believe me, whoever can, will disapprove of me; let me be reproached, even if you wish; it will only come to a profound ignorance. Too subtle spirits, I say, dream of chimeras, but the assiduous researcher will find the truth by following the simple path of nature.
Gold is then the only, exclusive and true principle from which gold can be produced. However, our gold that is necessary for our work is of two natures. One brought to maturity, fixed, is the red Brass, whose heart, or core, is a pure fire. That is why your body defends itself in the fire, which is where it receives its purification, without giving in to its violence or suffering. This gold, in our work, plays the role of the male. It unites it with our cruder white gold (our second gold, less baked than the previous one), taking the place of female seed, with which it is conjugated and where it deposits its sperm; and they are united to each other by an indissoluble bond, from which our Hermaphrodite is made, who has the potency of both sexes. Thus, the bodily gold is killed before it is united with its bride, with which the coagulating sulfur which, in gold, is extroverted,becomes introverted. So the height is hidden, and the depth is made manifest. Also the fixed becomes volatile for a time, in order to possess it in sequences, in a more noble state due to its inheritance, thanks to which it will obtain a very powerful fixity.
It is seen that the whole secret consists in Mercury, from what the philosopher says: "In Mercury is found everything that the Sages seek". And Geber declares of him: “Praised be the Most High, who created our Mercury and bestowed upon it the all-dominating nature. Certainly, effectively, if it did not exist, the Alchemists could glorify themselves at will, but the Alchemical Work would be in vain”. It is evident that this Mercury is not vulgar, but that of the Sages, since all ordinary Mercury is male, that is, bodily, specific, dead, while ours is spiritual, feminine, alive and life-giving.
Pay attention, therefore, to everything that says about Mercury, because, according to the Philosopher, "Our Mercury is the Salt of the Sages, and whoever worked without it would resemble the archer who wanted, without a rope, to shoot an arrow" . It cannot, however, be found anywhere on earth. The Son is neither conformed by us nor created by us, but extracted from those things that enclose him, with the cooperation of nature, admirably, and thanks to subtle art.
Of the principles that compose the mercury of the sages
The aim of those who apply this art is to purge Mercury in different ways: some sublimate it by the addition of salts, and cleanse it of various impurities, others quicken it only by itself, and claim to have, by repeating these operations, made the Mercury of Philosophers; but they are mistaken, because they do not work for nature, which is only perfected in its nature. Let them know then that our water, made up of numerous elements, is, however, a unique thing made of diverse substances coagulated from a single essence. Here is what is required for the preparation of our water (in our water, indeed, is our fiery dragon): first, the Fire which is found in all things, secondarily the liquor of vegetable Saturnia; tertiarily, the bond of Mercury.
Fire is that of a mineral sulfur. However, it is not exactly mineral and, even less, metallic; but without participating in these two substances, there is the middle between the mineral and the metal. Chaos or spirit: indeed, our fiery Dragon, who triumphs over everything, can be penetrated by the odor of vegetable Saturnia, and his blood coagulates with the juice of Saturnia in a single admirable body; however, it is not body, since it is totally volatile, nor spirit, because to fire, it resembles molten metal. It is then, truly, a Chaos, which takes the place of Mother of all metals; for from here I know how to extract all things, even the Sun and the Moon, without the aid of the transmuting Elixir, which can be attested by the one who has seen it, as much as I can. This Chaos is called our Arsenic, our Air, our Moon, our Imam, our Steel, but always under different aspects,because our matter passes through different states, before our prostitute's menstruum is extracted from the Royal Diadem.
Learn, then, who are the companions of Cadmus and which serpent devoured them, and which is the hollow oak where Cadmus nailed the serpent. Know the doves of Diana, victorious over the lion, taming him, this green Lion, I say, who is truly the Babylonian Dragon, destroying everything by his poison. Finally, know what Mercury's caduceus is, with which she works wonders, and which are these Nymphs that he instructed with her incantations. Apprehend all this, if you want to reach the object of your desires.
By: Irenaeus Philaleto
