Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
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English Page · Branch 95 of 204
Dialogue of Mercury, the Alchemist and Nature · Passage 12
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1607, Google scan PA22, PA23 · image locators
Latin
Alch.: Non intelligo quid hoc est, neque de igne quidquam. Merc.: Si quis ignem cordis mei novit, vidit ignem, calorem debitum, cibum meum esse, et quo diutius ignem spiritus cordis mei comedit pinguior erit, cuius mors postea vita omnium rerum est quaecunque in hoc regno sunt ubi ego sum. Alch.: Esne tu magnus? Merc.: Habes me in exemplum: ex mille guttulis unus ero, ex uno multa millia guttarum do, et sicut corpus meum est in oculis tuis. Si mecum ludere scis potes me dividere in tantum in quantum vis, iterum unus ero: quid igitur spiritus, cor meum, intrinsece, qui semper ex minutissima parte multa millia profert? Alch.: Et quomodo igitur tecum facere oportet ut ita sis? Merc.: Ignis sum intus, ignis est mihi cibus, vita vero ignis aer est, sine aere ignis extinguitur: ignis praevalet aeri, propterea non quiesco, nec me crudus potest constringere aer. Adde aerem aeri, ut sint ambo unum et teneant pondus, cum igne calido coniunge, temporibus da ad custodiendum. Alch.: Quid postea erit? Merc.: Subtrahetur superfluum, residuum combures igne, in aquam pones, coques postea, coctum aegrotis in medicinam dabis. Alch.: Nihil mihi dicis ad meas quaestiones. Video ego quod tu me tantum parabolis vis ludere. Uxor, affer stercus porcinum, ego istum Mercurium novis modis tractabo, donec mihi dicat quomodo Lapis Philosophicus sit faciendus ex illo.
English
Alchemist: I do not understand what that means, nor anything about fire.
Mercury: Anyone who knows the fire of my heart has seen that fire—the proper degree of heat—is my food. The longer the spirit of my heart eats fire, the fatter it grows; its death afterwards is the life of all things in this kingdom where I am.
Alchemist: Are you great?
Mercury: You have me as an example. Out of a thousand droplets I become one; out of one I yield many thousands of drops, just as you see my body before your eyes. If you know how to play with me, you can divide me as much as you wish, and I shall become one again. What, then, of the spirit within—my heart—which always brings forth many thousands from the smallest portion?
Alchemist: How should you be treated to become like that?
Mercury: Within I am fire, and fire is my food. Air is the life of fire: without air, fire goes out. Fire prevails over air; that is why I do not rest, nor can raw air restrain me. Add air to air, so that both become one and maintain the weight. Unite it with warm fire and entrust it to the seasons for keeping.
Alchemist: What will happen afterwards?
Mercury: What is superfluous will be removed. You will burn the residue with fire, put it in water, then cook it; when cooked, you will give it to the sick as medicine.
Alchemist: You tell me nothing in answer to my questions. I see that you only want to play tricks on me with parables. Wife, bring pig dung. I shall treat this Mercury in new ways until he tells me how the philosophers’ stone is to be made from him.
Socrates
Reading A New Light of Alchemy · Dialogue of Mercury, the Alchemist and Nature · Dialogue of Mercury, the Alchemist and Nature · Passage 12
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
The complete supplied Latin–English edition of the Twelve Treatises, Epilogue, Enigma, Parable, Dialogue of Mercury and Treatise of Sulphur, with original preliminaries, John French’s historical English address and its separately labelled modernisation, 101 annotations and the complete study apparatus.
Historical Text and Translation
The Twelve Treatises and their concluding texts follow the selected 1606 Herzog August Bibliothek witness. The Dialogue uses the 1607 Cologne printing; the author’s preface and Alsted epigram use Frankfurt 1611. Sulphur uses the 1616 Munich and Rome witnesses. John French’s 1650 address is separately identified as historical English reception.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
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The historical Latin texts and John French’s 1650 English address are in the public domain. The new translation, modernisation and editorial apparatus were prepared with AI assistance for Diotimos Editions in 2026 and are published with the site owner’s authorization.