Page 187 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

72 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Marsilio Ficino on the Philosopher’s Stone

Treats of what the philosophers stone is, and dis- and penetrating rays on this elementary world: So the
courses first of its first part. stone of the philosophers being by a physical opera-
And because the philosophers had so obscurely set tion made out of gold, the son, as I may say, of the
forth this science in strange involvings of words and sun, disperses itself into other metals, and will forever
shadows of figures, the stone of the philosophers was equalize them to himself in virtue, color, and weight.
doubted by a very many men. Which it is of what And because all metals, we deservedly take gold
things made? But if you will mind diligently, we before others. For since we would make gold and sil-
divide the stone into two parts.The first part we say ver, it is necessary to take the same. Man is generated
is terrestrial Sol, wherein both the ancient philoso- out of man, a tree from a tree, and herb produces an
phers and the more modern do plainly agree with me herb, and a lion a lion; since each thing according to
in their testimonies in the Turba. Without terrestrial the temper of its nature, which they call the comple-
Sol the physical work is not perfected. Since they all tion, generates and produces its like.Yet the philoso-
assert that there is no true tincture without their Æs phers more truly do not make gold or silver, but
brass because in that there is the most pure sulphur Nature cleansed by the skill of the operator.
of the wise, in which sage Nature contains her seed. Source: Ficinus, M. (1702). Liber de Arte Chemica. Theatrum Chemicum, Vol 2 (J. von
And as the sun diffuses and darts down most lively Budjoss,Transcr.). Geneva.

Goethe, John Dryden, Victor Hugo, and William Butler proactive intervention that can bring all that has not
Yeats. Alchemical processes and symbolism have proved reached maturation to full flower. Thus, the alchemist is
to be of enduring interest to scholars, artists, and literati one who understands the processes of nature at an inti-
down to the present era. In the twentieth century, they mate level and has the capacity to use this knowledge to
provided the brilliant psychologist Carl Jung with a tem- promote cosmic, environmental, social, and individual
plate for understanding the processes associated with the metamorphosis.
maturation of the human psyche, and they continue to The stock-in-trade of alchemy consisted of observation,
inform the work of many contemporary Jungian psycho- the gathering of empirical data, experimentation, and
analysts. The alchemical quest for the so-called philoso- contemplation of the unseen verities that lay behind the
pher’s stone (the substance that would change metal into phenomena that could be apprehended with the five
gold, emblematic of that which is primal and in a state of human senses.Whether couched in terms adapted from
eternal stasis) and elixir vitae (the potion that bestows Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Islamic, Indian,Taoist, or Chris-
boundless health and everlasting life) remains an inspi- tian lore, the overarching goal of alchemy appears to have
ration to modern religious seekers, some of whom see in been relatively uniform: that is, to uncover the forces gov-
them guideposts for the human quest for communion erning unity, diversity, stasis, and flux in the world. Hav-
with nature and the supernatural. ing mastered them, the alchemist would possess knowl-
Alchemy can be described as a cosmological, philo- edge of the primal element from which all matter was
sophical, and metaphysical system that views the created created and the ability to distinguish between the muta-
world and everything in it as both vibrant and evolving. ble and the immutable, the finite and the infinite.
For the alchemist, the developmental processes that gov- In time, the art would develop two distinct trajectories.
ern life are not easily discernible without the aid of spe- The first was limited to the study of natural processes
cial insight; it is the aim of alchemy to uncover and chart (chemistry).The second—consisting of alchemy and the
these hidden dynamics. By so doing, the alchemist would allied hermetic disciplines—would be concerned prima-
gain the knowledge that makes effective stewardship of rily with the esoteric and spiritual dimensions of these
the world possible.This includes not simply the ability to processes. In the alchemical lore of theWest, the practice
be a passive guardian, but the skills needed to engage in is often characterized as a quest for the substance that has