Alchemical and Biblical Correspondences

The following correspondences follow comparisons made by the main treatise. The right-hand terms describe its theological exposition; they do not establish a common physical mechanism or turn its material claims into demonstrated facts. Read the linked passages for the qualifications surrounding each likeness.

Fourteen comparisons in the main treatise

Alchemical term or action: Knowledge of the first matter Theological application: Knowledge of God and oneself Scope and qualification: The author makes prior knowledge necessary in both works; recognising a material subject and knowing the Creator remain different acts. Primary passages: Part II: recognition; Part IV: God and self

Alchemical term or action: One matter, encountered under more than one form Theological application: One divine Word witnessed in two Testaments Scope and qualification: The comparison concerns unity and access. It does not identify Scripture with a physical first matter. Primary passages: Part II: the one matter; Part IV: the Word

Alchemical term or action: The neglected and rejected matter Theological application: Christ as the rejected cornerstone Scope and qualification: Disregard by the multitude supplies a likeness of reception; the text does not make rejection itself a proof of truth. Primary passages: Part II: contempt for the matter; Part IV: Christ rejected

Alchemical term or action: The stone’s many exalted names Theological application: The divine and healing titles of Christ Scope and qualification: Part IV expressly applies these titles more truly and in the highest degree to God and his Son, preserving an ascending comparison. Primary passages: Names of the stone; The higher application; Christ as physician

Alchemical term or action: Conjunction with the chosen metallic body Theological application: The Incarnation and Christ’s two natures Scope and qualification: The author compares conjunction and birth while maintaining the claim that Christ is true God and true human being. This is theological likeness, not a chemical explanation of the Incarnation. Primary passages: The selected gold; The conjunction; The two natures

Alchemical term or action: Cooking and putrefaction; the raven’s head Theological application: Christ’s humiliation and passion Scope and qualification: Blackening and loss of visible power furnish figures for suffering. The comparison depends on a narrative sequence, not a rule that all darkness is redemptive. Primary passages: Putrefaction; The passion; The raven’s head

Alchemical term or action: Descending moisture refreshes the exhausted body Theological application: Christ strengthened amid suffering Scope and qualification: The text draws an analogy of preservation through apparent abandonment. The material drops and the divine strengthening are not treated as identical agents. Primary passages: Returning moisture; Strengthening and revival

Alchemical term or action: Reunion and enduring fixation of body, soul and spirit Theological application: Resurrection and glorification Scope and qualification: Permanent union supplies the shared pattern. The theological account concerns the risen Christ’s lordship as well as the overcoming of death. Primary passages: The fixed body; Resurrection and union

Alchemical term or action: The tincture perfects imperfect metallic bodies Theological application: Christ’s blood cleanses fallen human beings Scope and qualification: The author identifies the heavenly tincture with Christ’s blood. This historical claim should not be turned into a recommendation for a material medicine. Primary passages: Metallic benefit; The saving tincture

Alchemical term or action: Fermentation and multiplication extend the tincture’s effects Theological application: Christ united with his members Scope and qualification: The comparison moves from the completed stone to its communicated benefit, then from Christ’s perfection to the regeneration of others. Primary passages: Fermentation; The turn to the members; Incorporation

Alchemical term or action: A withheld portion is added on seven occasions Theological application: Gradual instruction in the articles of faith Scope and qualification: The likeness is pedagogical: gradual addition avoids overwhelming the recipient. Twelve, three and seven belong to the author’s particular division of the Creed. Primary passages: Seven additions; Instruction in the faith

Alchemical term or action: An inward philosophical fire assisted by outward fire Theological application: The inward Word and Spirit sustained by godly practice Scope and qualification: The author distinguishes the internal source of action from the outward assistance in each case. He does not erase the need to hear and consider Scripture. Primary passages: The two fires; The inward fire of grace

Alchemical term or action: Solution, blackening and repeated ascent and descent Theological application: Spiritual dying and consolation during earthly life Scope and qualification: Part IV expressly distinguishes this dying from bodily death. It also allows a lifetime of suffering, preventing a simple equation with a laboratory timetable. Primary passages: The body in the vessel; The old Adam; Spiritual dying

Alchemical term or action: Correction of a damaged compound before fixation Theological application: Absolution and the Supper restore the repentant sinner Scope and qualification: The remedies are compared through dissolution, nourishment and restoration. The theological passage retains repentance, the Church’s ministry and a warning concerning unworthy reception. Primary passages: Correction of defects; Spiritual restoration

These are the author’s comparisons. Their presence does not establish a shared mechanism or erase the distinctions made in the linked passages.