Weakness of the recipient

Meaning

The lack lies in the receiving metals, not in the already perfected Stone or tincture. The passage expressly says “not because of any defect in the stone,” then repeats that the Stone has been fully prepared and made more than perfect. Further provision makes coarse recipients capable of receiving a subtle power they cannot otherwise grasp. This is not a repair of an imperfect agent. The distinction prepares the following theological application, where human weakness limits reception of Christ’s completed saving work. The English “incapacity and weakness” preserves both inability and frailty; the historical blödigkeit should not be narrowed to modern intellectual stupidity. The negative phrase prevents the communicated benefit from being mistaken for an improvement to the already perfect giver.