Art and operations

Nature must be mixed with natures

naturam naturis miscendam

Mercury attributes this rule to the philosophers and says they command nothing outside nature.

From the book

A New Light of Alchemy

Michael Sendivogius · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →
English renderings
nature must be mixed with natures

Meaning

Phrase.

Mercury attributes this rule to the philosophers and says they command nothing outside nature. The alchemist claims compliance, but his literal dung treatment contradicts the relation he recites. The phrase does not mean that every naturally occurring ingredient is suitable for every other. Its use requires knowing which relations belong to the subject, precisely the knowledge the dialogue makes problematic.

Places to read

  1. Dialogue of Mercury, the Alchemist and Nature · Passage 9Latinnaturam naturis miscendam.