Philosophical Mercury
The philosophical Mercury, or Our Mercury (philosophy here denoting the alchemy ) is a hypothetical substance that the alchemists of distinguished metallic mercury (Hg called vulgar or common).
Summary |
Definitions
In most cases, the term refers to the ingredient's initial philosopher's stone , that is to say substances which are very different and unrelated to metallic mercury, or even metals, such as dew , the humus , the urine ... etc. School mercurialism
In the seventeenth century , alchemy is dominated by the school mercurialism
Definitions
To Jean Pierre Fabre , "What is the nature of Mercury of the Philosophers who has in him everything that is necessary to obtain the Philosopher's Stone -
It is not the vulgar and common Mercury is usually sold in shops, which flows like water and does not wet the hand, since its drought prevented from joining it touches. This retains moisture and drought in its way, preventing it wet. Our Mercury, that of all philosophers, is different and distinct, it is even opposed. He does not wet the hand, although it is salt and it takes its origin from a saline source, being a mixture of water and earth loosened. This Mercury is, however, a different quality from that of the vulgar, because ours is hot and humid. He is vulgar is cold and damp and wet so it does not " .
For Buffon (1707-1788): "We will not discuss the alleged pretended philosophers mercury they say is heavier, less volatile, more adherent to metals as mercury usual, and which serves as a base fluid or solid; this philosophical Mercury is a being of conscience, a being whose existence is founded on the idea quite plausible that the fund of all metals is a common subject, a land that Becher was called Earth mercury, and other alchemists regarded as the base metal, gold it appears to me that removing the excess of these ideas, and examining them without prejudice, based as they are also those of some other currently adpotes in chemistry. These beings are of opinion that the principles are also made on the observation of several common qualities, we would wish to explain by the same agent endowed with a general property: all metals like gold have several comments obviously common qualities, he n is not unreasonable to seek what may be a passive or active substance also found in all metals, the general basis of their common properties and can even give a name to this place to be able to speak and spread on its assumed properties, that is all we have to afford the rest is an excess, a source of errors, most of which is to look at these things as really existans opinions, while is only by abstraction of the common qualities of these substances. "
Miscellaneous
It is the seed of fertilizing all metals - imperfect seed when it leaves the earth , the effect of an uncertain sulphurous heat. Following his degree of sulfidation, it will generate the various metals present in earth's bosom. So there is a unique material with metals following a natural action more or less strong, depending on the degree of cooking, this unique material takes different forms. However, all metals into Mercury solving, this Mercury is the raw material of all metals.
The Sun (the gold ) and Moon (the money ) are not foreign to him, because they are reduced from the beginning of the implementation , in their raw material, that is to say, Mercury; So it is that they derive their origin.
The role of Mercury in alchemy is that it is part of life and matter, he unites the material and the spiritual. Operative in alchemy, the Mercury is used to remove sulfur from mixed.
The relationship between sulfur, salt and mercury are:
- the sulfur principle involves the active, hot, hard: the masculine;
- the salt is what allows a body to unite the sulfur and mercury, and ensure the cohesion of the result;
- Mercury principle corresponds to what is passive, cold, malleable, volatile: the feminine.
Indeed, the salt prevents the putrefaction of meat by preventing the Mercury and Sulphur to separate and thus begins the decomposition.
As part of his work, Isaac Newton had established a relatively limited objective: to achieve the synthesis of philosophic Mercury, that is to say a body in the composition of metals and, of course, different mercury vulgar References
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