Alum, vitriol, and borax

Meaning

These are named materials in arguments against misdirected practice, not ingredients endorsed by their presence in the book. In Nature's opening rebuke, boiling alum belongs to the foolish practitioner's noisy, smoky activity. In the Via, vitriol appears among materials whose complicated use is contrasted with Nature's simple work in the earth. The Via's next unit adds personal testimony: its speaker says that work with alum, vitriol and borax, among many other substances and operations, failed him. The English supplies the recognisable names 'alum', 'vitriol' and 'borax', but the historical passage does not determine a modern grade, composition or preparation. Their lexical role is cumulative evidence of wasted effort, with different speakers making the criticism.