Alchemy, ancient and modern . e works attributed to Hermes, andthe presence in the writings of the alchemists ofmuch that is clearly mystical. And finally, it is inagreement with such statements as we have quotedabove from The Sophie Hydrolith and elsewhere,and the general religious tone of the alchemisticwritings. § 12. In accordance with our primary object as stated in the preface, we shall confine our attention mainly to the physical aspect of Alchemy; <<B^dJ,-S-xU» but in order to understand its theories,and Spirit/ # . it appears to us to be essential to realisethe fact that Alchemy
Alchemy, ancient and modern . e works attributed to Hermes, andthe presence in the writings of the alchemists ofmuch that is clearly mystical. And finally, it is inagreement with such statements as we have quotedabove from The Sophie Hydrolith and elsewhere,and the general religious tone of the alchemisticwritings. § 12. In accordance with our primary object as stated in the preface, we shall confine our attention mainly to the physical aspect of Alchemy; <<B^dJ,-S-xU» but in order to understand its theories,and Spirit/ # . it appears to us to be essential to realisethe fact that Alchemy was an attempted applicationof the principles of Mysticism to the things of thephysical world. The supposed analogy betweenman and the metals sheds light on what otherwisewould be very difficult to understand. It helps tomake plain why the alchemists attributed moralqualities to the metals—some are called imperfect,base ; others are said to be perfect, especially does it help to explain the alchemistic PLATE SYMBOLICAL ILLUSTRATION Representing theTrinity of Body, Soul and Spirit. § 13] THE MEANING OF ALCHEMY 15 notions regarding the nature of the metals. Thealchemists believed that the metals were constructedafter the manner of man, into whose constitutionthree factors were regarded as entering : body, soul,and spirit. As regards man, mystical philosophersgenerally use these terms as follows: body is theoutward manifestation and form; soul is the in-ward individual spirit x3; and spirit is the universalSoul in all men. And likewise, according to thealchemists, in the metals, there is the body or out-ward form and properties, metalline soul or spirit,^and finally, the all-pervading essence of all writes the author of the exceedingly curioustr^ct entitled The Book of Lambspring: fee warnedand understand truly that two fishes are swimming inour sea, illustrating his remark by the symbolicalpicture reproduced in plate 2, and adding in elu-cidation the
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