Virtue

Meaning

Virtue in this passage is valued above temporal money and gold and is associated with wisdom, heavenly knowledge, lasting reputation, and humility. This ethical use must be distinguished from the powers or effective virtues attributed elsewhere to materials. The author says that such virtues flow from the philosophy of the Stone and explains publication as a way to propagate the art and encourage a corresponding life. The word therefore joins knowledge to conduct; it is not merely another term for a substance's potency.