Sal Lumen and Spiritus Mundi Philosophici

3 On Separating Fire From Earth and the Subtle From the Thick, and the Skill by Which This Must Be Done

De la separation du feu d’avec la terre; du subtil d’avec l’espais, & par quelle industrie elle se doit faire.

Chapter Outline

Nature separates the pure from the impure, rather than merely dividing connected parts of an individual body.

The distinction between substance and accompanying dregs governs the author’s account of nourishment, medicines and corruption.

Mortification and renewal are compared with Christian regeneration while retaining the difference between the heavenly and earthly human being.

The first matter carries impurities from its beginning and requires successive purification and fixation.

Fire and water perform different kinds of separation, which the author relates to Hermes and the poets’ figures.