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177
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry
·
M. M. Pattison Muir
23
"Now,"
we
may
suppose
the
argument
to
proceed,
"now,
the
passage
from
the
imperfect
to
the
more
perfect
is
not
easy.
It
is
harder
to
practise
virtue
than
to
acquiesce
in
vice;
virtue
comes
not
naturally
to
man;
that
he
may
gain
the
higher
life,
he
must
be
helped
by
grace.
Therefore,
the
task
of
exalting
the
purer
metals
into
the
perfect
gold,
of
developing
the
lower
order
into
the
higher,
is
not
easy.
If
Nature
does
this,
she
does
it
slowly
and
painfully;
if
the
exaltation
of
the
common
metals
to
a
higher
plane
is
to
be
effected
rapidly,
it
can
be
done
only
by
the
help
of
man."
So
far
as
I
can
judge
from
their
writings,
the
argument
of
the
alchemists
may
be
rendered
by
some
such
form
as
the
foregoing.
A
careful
examination
of
the
alchemical
argument
shows
that
it
rests
on
a
(supposed)
intimate
knowledge
of
nature's
plan
of
working,
and
the
certainty
that
simplicity
is
the
essential
mark
of
that
plan.
That
the
alchemists
were
satisfied
of
the
great
simplicity
of
nature,
and
their
own
knowledge
of
the
ways
of
nature's
work,
is
apparent
from
their
writings.
The
author
of
The
New
Chemical
Light
(17th
century)
says:
"Simplicity
is
the
seal
of
truth....
Nature
is
wonderfully
simple,
and
the
characteristic
mark
of
a
childlike
simplicity
is
stamped
upon
all
that
is
true
and
noble
in
Nature."
In
another
place
the
same
author
says:
"Nature
is
one,
true,
simple,
self-contained,
created
of
God,
and
informed
with
a
certain
universal
spirit."
The
same
author,
Michael
Sendivogius,
remarks:
"It
may
be
asked
how
I
come
to
have
this
knowledge
about
heavenly
things
which
are
far
removed
beyond
human
ken.
My
answer
is
that
the
sages
have
been
taught
by
God
that
this
natural
world
is
only
an
image
and
material
copy
of
a
heavenly
and
spiritual
pattern;
that
the
very
existence
of
this
world
is
based
upon
the
reality
of
its
heavenly
archetype....
Thus
the
sage
sees
heaven
reflected
in
Nature
as
in
a
mirror,
and
he
pursues
this
Art,
not
for
the
sake
of
gold
or
silver,
but
for
the
love
of
the
knowledge
which
it
reveals."
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