The most hidden secrets
The Most Hidden Secrets of Ancient Philosophy is an alchemical-philosophical work framed by a personal narrative and followed by a series of treatises on the principles of the Great Work. The author begins by explaining that he originally wrote the treatises for private satisfaction, fearing that publication might make him seem like a charlatan or deluded seeker of the Philosopher's Stone. This hesitation changes after he encounters a mysterious stranger reputed to possess profound chemical knowledge and perhaps the Stone itself.
The narrative describes the stranger demonstrating astonishing operations: the transmutation of Mercury into Gold and Silver through tiny quantities of red or white powder; the purification and coagulation of Mercury; the preparation of "philosophical" Mercury, Gold, and Silver; and curious metallic vegetations resembling trees, wheat, eggs, ores, and mixed Gold-Silver growths. The author insists that he witnessed many of these events himself, while distinguishing them from further marvels reported only on the stranger's word. He also repeatedly warns against fraudulent "puffers" and impostors who impoverish the credulous with false recipes.
The treatises then systematise the theory behind these wonders. Treatise I argues that metals, like plants and animals, contain seminal essences or seeds. Gold and Silver are said to derive from Quicksilver coagulated by Sulphur, and their hidden seed can become vegetative and multiplicative when freed from gross matter. Treatise II extends this doctrine to vegetable, animal, and mineral essences, defining alchemy as the separation of pure essence from impure body through putrefaction, digestion, distillation, and purification. Treatise III presents the Philosopher's Stone as both Universal Medicine and transmuting agent, especially when derived from the quintessence of Gold.
Treatises IV and V insist that the true materials of the Great Work are Gold or Silver and Quicksilver, not plants, animals, salts, or exotic substances. "Philosophical" Gold and Mercury are not different substances but common materials purified and prepared by art. Later treatises explain the obscure language of alchemists: fire may mean internal heat, solvent, or external furnace; vessels may be glass containers or Mercury itself; and the Stone receives countless symbolic names according to its colour, state, and function.
Overall, the text defends alchemy as a hidden natural science based on metallic seeds, purification, imitation of Nature, and disciplined interpretation of symbolic tradition.
Customer Reviews
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
