The lives of alchemystical philosophers

388 Pages·2012·27.8 MB·English

by  Francis Barrett, Lives

LIVES
WITK A
CIUTICAJ;. CATALOGUE OF BOOKS
OCCULT CHEMISTRY,
A SELECTION
OP THE .
MOST CELEBRATED TREATISES
0. t'M TAeory anti Practice
LONDON:
b;r,Macdoeald 111d llolo, Clotb Fair,
f'OK LA.CJQNGTON, ALLEN, & CO. FINSBURY SQUARE. .
1816.
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Tmu.L CAtN, the first artificet in brass and tron. .w as,
doubt, skilled in the preparatory work of finding_the mines, ram.
fng the ore, and it. ' The reduction of copPer ore ttl
metal, by several calcinations, and its admixtUre With-c;alamine.
to !Bake brass, is Dc;>t the least difttcult among metal\urgie .
rations. Tubal Cam Is therefOre reputed the first mventor 4
rchemistry, relating to mariufach,n•es. . . .
· 'The univel'$al 'chemistry, by which the seience of alchemy ope111
'the knowledge of all 1\ature, being founded on ·first principln.
·forms analogy with whatever knowledge is fo'QD.doo on the mme
.first principles. In this. 1iew, Moses, d$:ribing . the creatioq.
is an universal chemist, and reveals at the same· t.it!le, the creatioll
·of the philosophers' 'fu this process ; . u The earth wu
..• , without ·f urm, and void; ', Darkness wali · on . the·. face ·o f tJ..
" · ; 8, The spirit of · God ·moved on· the face- of the-W41t81'1';
6' +,God said, Let-there be light, and ·there was light; s, ::H.
·" divided the)ight from the darkness.;- 6, · tie the upPc'
" from the lower waters, by a firmament1 117, He separated US.
6 ' water from the earth; s, The earth He made
" · the stars, sun, and moon; 10, The waters brought forth ani·
" mal life ; 11, The earth brought forth life; . a.
: '' made his own image, having oominion all}' · ·
' ·The same alchemic knowlt!dr is ascribed to Sairlt John
· ·Divine, and may be said of al . the inspired writers, 1Vh«t WIN
intimately acquainted' with the wisdom of ·Saint John ·de-
scribes the redemption, or the new creation of the ·& llen so.J.
on the same first principles, until the consummation of the work.
in which the Divine tincture transmutes the base metal of tbe
60ul into a perfection that will pus fire of eternity.
The seven churches, or states of regeneration, analogize with
the seven days of the creation, and the seven regimeo.a of the
stone,. the last of which is .gold, tried in the fire.
The revelation of the Divine CheJDistry, by which the fire
of the last day will make a new heaven and a new earth, on
same first principles, is, by analogy, equally descriptive of the
and the prt>cess into which the fallen univel'lle has passed.
is passing, and which at last will assimilate With the philo-
sophic transmutation, that of the earth and ele111e11U, u cieKribed
by Saint John.
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INTRODUCTION.
Saint Peter speaks of the first creation, of the earth standing
tJUt qf tlze water, and in tlze water, which earth being overjluwed, .
perished, but is now reserved unto .fire. And St. John describes
the new earth .q f_ clzrystal, .·cities of transparent
gold, stones of .d mlcedb'dy, ·emerald, sardonyx,
sardius, chcysolite, beryi, tJopaz, chry&Oprasus, ·jacinth, amethtst;
gates of pearls, and water of life or health. ·
All the wise nature the heathen, have, in
their writings, left traits ot the same .first principles. This pro-
duces reference,· in the writings of the adepts, to the
... Qf, .t\fgona\lta, by
he broa.ght fi·om Egypt,
r: UElmw&. . . whose name .sipi!ies a spiritital
in .I.!J the founder of
l1Jl4 .· f • · • • • . ·;
Alchemy is called 'Hermetic philosophy, from Hermes, the
books, an,d a tablet of alchemy, ·which are the
apd esteemi!d writings OU this sub. dec.t llOW
found i,n the Hebiew an.d Arabic in tlt:e
pr '*1 tbe era 40!}, [t:ont, date i& lit.!-
.of the live& ,and of .· , . ·
of prevents .lligher
.autdti :4Pl:t,: in the books of the Egyp-
of gold apd- peri chumeias argu-
eldu,tai: 700,000 rollB at Ale;xandria;
spq,oW>:o: .at Constantinople, in the.eigh.th cen-
sUJlj$_ ,U,le Mahometans the wofk.
,Ill its p:rhacipol source&. .. . ' . . .
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sl$,rrdg.ti'JM Tl'fllef/.fi-ue. . Cle.Jrle:ns. '!/ . b_ocik. · .Act•
e'lf:tke.i.4ppstlq, ,cW; and, wa:. ,2 2. pre,par. ErJilfJ.
ad in
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. THE ¥J?st of tl;le lJ.dC}>ts wa.s Syncsius. · ..
JiVed ·in·· Cyrenla, one of the prmcip:H cities of Pcnthpolis, in
l.ybia, to the 'west ·of Lower EO'f'pt, and Ms gen<-ttlogy,' wllicli
¥,cen,& t\'1 kings etrSparta, 'is caretully kept
pbbli.c. 6f. thf!:t city. was born there, 'abolJt the yeat'
he· had %r j:Alifosaphy, engaged . hitn in the'cnl-
sc,ience_s • . · He iJW_
po geometry,.. 1md. astronomy; . and wtth the·
:t!_mst osopfiy .of Plato and; Pyt11agoras:. Hut as Cyre-
thouahit had and who were
! ,a!it;Iqluty,. was less a cttf than
. _or ttdi men,, _1Vttere not cultlvatcda
Jf: _him.self, ·he should to .' .
Synemus. caJ;ned mto_ a lol'_e truth, whtch lui
tn:ade pe_rfect by the practice of virtue. . hts own cotintry, hOI
bd heard, ·with a.stonishm:ent, th'dt .an fen1ale, named
8?JPatfat. th.e of publk!dy at
to, find m tillS philosophic L'ldy a still greater
he expected, ,he atteiided at ,Jrer nnil 1carhing front
ner of philosophy; he conceived grent an l'Ste<'rri
f:ir thts nobie lady, that he often called her hu; teacher, p:wcht,
Ahd,, henef.'lctor ; · cYcn aftet he <vas raised to the. episcopal dig-
l• lit.1y-, all the work·s he inte. i1ded to pu.b l-ish, he submitted ' to het'
JUugmcnt. . . · · . . · , · ·
· It \ms · in tllis great city he forn1ed art ncquainbince with the
learned Egyptians, particularly with Dioscorcs, high priest or
8erapis. _S yncsius wa5 still a pagai;t..:....it was there he was formed
In tlie liermetic science, and knew 'the treatise of ori.
physical secret. As this trcastis<ds vety obscure, Synesitill ·
some annotations upon it, which he dedicated to this
W.ea{ priest; but tl1ey are tiot \\·ithout th'at _cabalistic
_which is imposed on !hose who_ the ·secret, by a solemn
t>11-th; and is even extended to the·. mysteries of the platonic phi-
. ... · .. · · '· _·
-, are. ietter!. of Synesius," on the of alchemy, ad-
pressed to philosophers.' but he does, not express himself.
_clearly, .lest they should f.'lll the hands of or
vulgar. He 'fas so scrupulous, as to reprehcn<l ·scvcrely lus friend.
:Jierculcw', than of those
wh1cli lie b6ld to .
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' ·
of the Adepts .
•
Not content witl1 the liO'hts he had acquited in tl1e city of
Alexandria, Synesius to see Athens, and know personally
if the Academy, Lyceum, and the · Gallery of Stoics, still
equalled the reputation that Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno, had
procured for them ; but he was much disappointed. This cele•
brated city no_ longer preserved any thing but the names of the
-illustrious assemblies thfit once dignified it. There were artizans
and merchants to be found, · but none·o f the learned, of the
'vise. . ,
_ At his return f'iom this Synesius settled in his native
where letters, the him.
He <;ltd not wear the hab1t of a phdosop'her, accordmg to the
anciept usaO'e_, which was still ptesejved; and he refused
to read, or Y.ave liis works read pubhcly: his birth, and his
mo4esty maoe him superior to these advantages, which were flat·
t<_ering to, the vai1ity of common J?hilosophers. Content with a
trancjuil life, he .r elnained free and disengage4 from any occu. .
patiqns or cares of the world. He solely endeavoured to pre-
serve his mind in a, perfect ·calm, far frorh every thing that could-
trouble· his repose. It was riot sloth or ·that withheld
him frqm business, for when it became· nece.ssary, he voluntarily
(1 voted himself .to the service of the whoJe city; m the midst of
solitude presei·ving the desire of being useful to his neighbours
and his country; and in the embarrassments of public affairs,
he did Iose his taste for the study of
The beneficent character of zeal for the public servi,ce, that
Syncsius alwaxs preserved, was the cause, that the city of Cyre-
renia, and forir others, deputed him, in 397, to proceed to
.st.antinople, to i:epresent to the Emperor Arcadius the
state of hi's country, and to obtain assistance. He remained
three -years endeavouring to succeed in his mission, which at
feno-tli. he effected by making large presents. ,
, earthquake, in 400,- whieh--. desolated Constantinople,
obliged him to return to his country; illi:_re he £$ave an account
of his ncgociation ;' and aoout_ _ this time, it is believed he was
paptized. He went again to ·Alexandria, \vhere he married,
.towards the ·year 403, and it was the patriarch Theophilus, who
t1te ceremony. .
, lf the cares of a family relaxed his attention to study, it did
11ot diminish the b1:illiancy of his virtues; on the contrary, his
·)'eputation was so great, that the citizens of Ptolemaid, wanting
a bishop, in 410, \vith one accoi·d they fixed upon Synesius to
_till the vac:mt chair, by which he had jurisdiction, as metropo·
· litan, over the whole province, notwithstanding he was mar·
J"ied. ln v:1in his· election was opposQd; it was necessary to
conccl1e to the wishes of the people and clergy, who were se·
condcd in their desires by Theophilus, Bishop of
J.'rom this time he was obliged to quit his retreat, and enter
into t-hC' multiplicity of tares attending eccletiiastical 'duties.
'
Until aow, Synesiua bad been DlQre a philosopher than a
and wu s.o little with the superior light of
the Christian dispenaation, that in comparing St. Anthony and
&. AimoDt to Zoroaster and .1\lercury Trismegistea, be thought
)1.e bad done the former great honour. But after the episcopn.}
be joined all the dignity, and the active, vigilant
life of a bishop, to the modesty of sJmple believer; and al··
he bad not been educat.ecl in the church,
lmew how to preserve the faith, against heretics, and puHty of
.-.et'l against the fidse Chriitians; ancl all .this with gentleness.
He .even. appijed him»elf .to the conversion of the pagan philoso-
;,bers, a work ·more difficult than the transmptatipn of
be· in bringing over his fiil!P4 to the
Christian faith.
He died between the year 416 and 4Sl, as ba -successor,
;Evops.u s, JUUDed in the l.ist of the council .4 t. Ephesu..
Three of the letters of Synesius are addressed to his friend
• HeliodorQs, · Bishop of Tricca, in Thesaaly, who born at
Emesus, in Phcenicia ; and who wrote the celebrated romance of
and' Cariclea, and a in verse, on Alchemy,
which is printed by the learned Albert page 789, of .
the 6th vol. of hia Ore$ Bibliotheca. · ·
' See Synesius'1 leUen, 86, and Eccksia&•
· lkal Memoirs, .
RHASIS.
RHABIS, named also Mahommed Ben Zakara, a celebrated
physician arid chemist, was. of the city of Rei, upon tJ!e froiJ. ..
.t iers of Cor!UIAJl. · '
Although he Wall thirty years of age when he began to stud7
medicine, he SOQQ surpassed all .t hose of his time, and was pre.
fetred as the most skilfQl physician to charge of the famou•
hospital of llagdad. He in much with Aimansor,
lord of Corasan. He was a skilful philos.opher, a very .excel.,
lent chemist, and had written twelve books upon chemistry; but
few have even supposing all thEl&C to. be hia
which are attnbnted to hlDl. It appears that be the first
:who introduced chenustry into medicine. His woFks sened
form m.Jler Arabian physicians, and even .A,vicenna, whom we
as their chie£ It is said that he at least two
hundred and .twenty treatises upon medicine; yet was poor, and,
lost hia sight ; two facts that have been alleged, .with. injua-
hiS skill in alchemy, or
. died at an advanced age, in the year 932.
&1 Fracii1 Hi#. .if Metlki.M. ·
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e?gage. · fhis was Farabi, or 4-lfarahi,, 9n_e. . Q(:fP9.$tl!",tlle;lf
.Of who penetrate. .:Ml
did not confine (:o the re;verY, Of
ritomed f1w
. ,e p o ..... .-dlJile,. L . .. .. . . ·· t
· · 'adventqre · trw. of
lus and .. 'R-8 .$
pilg_r iniage to ·M_ ecca, passing .t hrough. SY.ria, $W:tall
was wit!J :him
lPon the _ . . . . . . ; : . _ • ·
· ; Fas:abi_e ntered sa..l oot) l,I'Dere_ $11(} d1d
not sit down till the d.e$ir.eci he, . be at
.which the. .. bYJJ< .n,tlu;r
sat the erid of -?e SuJ.tlf¥15. sopha. The
. pnzed at hui boldness, of hls and
"him, in a not to, pJt wt
· The heard him, and in. the same
.'·'· .t. 4e wh.<>.- 1st !DijecJ w. -
The prmce wa,s less astonished at the rep!,_ .thea b)l Wr
manner, and the energy of action; wishing to know
of him; he began a conference among his in
which Fara6i disputed with.JIP. and vivacity, that
he reduced all the doctors to silence. Then the Sultan ordered
.to ·l l$SCf.Ibl,y';
plulosopher aCCOJI1Pamed them on a lute,. With sa mueq
that he attracted the: eyes, and admiration o£ the
aembly. But. as they. found _he was a at of
sultoo, he drew a( pocket a piece of his own
Wqn; itwa5 a he sung it,. and accoropanied it
with so much force and spm4 and the company tex>k suf:h
Bllte ia it, that they aH. rejokcd' to an of la!lghte•· The
philosopher, t}len, to shew the extent of Ptlents," £hanged t•
imothef · and accompanied it so tenderly.! 4S8Cmbl7
itrere- t9ttch00 by . it, and wept •. · 'ro · he.
measure, and put all the to sleep.
It was in- vnin the sultari, who was struck with of
wislltd 1\im hiS: . Filr:flbi. sctt..
but 11> was to mJsc:rably. He wa& by r.obbers. llf.
the woods of nnd in ·l'pite of his courage, _w as:lcilled,. m
·the-yeatr 954-. .But- his works iipon all the wbil:h. are
great number, in the li-brary of Lcydlm, as well as o11 ,the
hermetic make him· be :regarded as one oi tlic ·greateat
that ever yet
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Lives of the .4depts. .,
MORIEN.
' . .
MonrEN was a Roman, but we are assured that his works we:e
written in the Arabic language, and that he lived under
thetr dominion, in which, very likely, he If the story
which is related of him be true, as it has every appearance of it;
we see the Arabians did not t:'lil to cultivate the practi<'e of al·
chemy in Egypt, of which they were masters. 1
The history of Morien is simple, it is natural, but never-
theless very interesting. This philosopher was in Rome, his na-
tive place, where he studied under the eyes of a father and mo-
ther who tenderly cherished him. He led a peaceful life, formed
in all the duties of Christianity. He heard of Adfar, a famous
.Arabian philosopher of Alexandria_; he even saw some . of his
writings; and he was immediately seized with a desire to understand
tlleir meaning. The first impressions of youth carried him away,.
and he abandoned his paternal bouse, and set out for Alexan-
dria. He arrived · there, and sought with so much industry,.
that he at last . found the house of the philosopher. He made
known to him his name, his country, and his religion; and both
·appeared content and satisfied with each other; Adfar, at hav·
.ing found a young man .whose docility might be depended upon,.
and Morien, at seeing himself under the discipline of a master,.
who promised to unveil to him the source of aiJ treasures. The
of the disciple engaged master to conceal nothing
·from him. · .
The immense treasures of Adfar, his lights and acquirements
in the most secret philosophy, did not hinder his death. After
·Morien had paid the last duties to his deceased master, he quitted .
.Alexandria, not to return to Rome, but to go to Jerusalem.
HoweYer, he only rested there for the time it took him to pur-
·c hase a retreat near the city, where he could tranquilly finish a
,Christian life. He settled in this hermitage, with a pupil whom.
he no doubt intended to form for science.
In his retreat, the philosopher heard of the Soldan of.
named Kalid, a wise and curious prince, lieutenant of theCa-
lipb. Th,e book of Adfar had fallen into his ·hands, and he
made a close search, in all places in his territory, for some per-
liOn who was of sufficient skill to explain it. And, as it happens
at this day, many presented themselves, less to work to I;Uly pur•
pose, than to profit by the great property the prince gave to
those who promised him success. . ,
Morien, who heard with·pain, how much Knlid was deceived ·
quitted his . .r etreat, and went to Egypt, as .much endeavour
the conversiOn of the Soldan, as to commumcate the knowledge
of Adfar's book. Upon the promises of Morien, the Soldan
m.. ode him chuse a house, and Morien remained in it, till he
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Lives of the Jltlept.J .
. • finished his process. The work being brought t:<t its per-
fection, the philosopher wrote upon the vase in which he put
the elixir: " He who has all, .has no want of otbers ;" and
immediately quitted the city, and journeyed safe home to his
·henni(age. · · · ·
At this news, Kalid weJlt to the house in which Morien had
arid fol.md the vase containing the tincture ; but what;
,was his chagrin, on reading the inscription, to fuld that the
llerinit ·was not to be found.
Then, from being penetrated with regret at the loss of this
true artist, he was filled with indignation at the alchemists
-who bad promised him all things, but executed nothing; so that
-lie made a_n edict f?r the. capitli.l puni.<\hment of
Then calliDg. Gahp, h1s favou'ttte slave,. " Gabp," says the
'J?l'ince, have we.'to do?" said his
servant, "•t IS good to hope, God make us know the conduct
we-mtght to 'pursue.''
. . Kalid remained ·tome yeQ's in anxieties, till, being in
-chase, ·as 'iisual, accompanied by his ·&ithful slave, Galip found
A. devout hermit, at prayers, in a solitude: " ·Who are you?''
S:Lid Oalip to him: whence came ye, where do.ye
go ?" I am of JeruSalem, the place of my birth," replied
the good hermit ; " and I 'have remained a long time in the
.mountains near to that City, with a nntn. There I ·h a\te heard
,that Kalid was·i n pain to kllow how he finish the Mystery
.of Hermes. I know this man is very ·skl1ful in 'that science, and
·I have qUitted my country to inform the prince of it." · · ·
· " Oh ! my brother, what do you say ?" exclaimed Galip ;
-.• It is enough, say rlo more, for I do not wish you should die,
'8i: the impostors have, wh-> presented themselves to my master/'
l fear nothing," said this good man; " If you· can me
to. the prince, I will go before him with confidence." Galip
him ; nnd the hermit _i nformed Kalid, that he knew
.weU he was . in pain to aceomplish the hermetic work; that he
c:anie to him to tell how he might attain it. That he knew, in the
solitudes of Jerusalem, a sage hermit, who had received ;thi$ su-
from: God. " He than .onee·confessed
It to ·me," says he, "that he had thts·preclolis gtft, and I ha'Ve
had the p.roof of it, by the quantity of gold ·and silver which he
bro!lght each ye11r to Jerusalem.
could .not avoid representing to him the danger to which
Jte exposed himself, by making false promises, which. had· caused
the death of many adventurers, .w ho, to deceive prmces; boast
of knowing that, of which they are totally ignorant. But ·· aa
the good· hermit always spoke with the same confidence, without
appl'ehensions of his menaces, Kalid was enkindled with
!Wd upo.n .the description of Morien's he belie\Ted
1t WM. him1 which was c:ontitmed when he· heard his· name. ·
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