The Turba Philosophorum (complete) — trans. A. E. Waite (1896)

water, and likewise earth. Understand, all ye that are wise, how everything which God hath created out of one essence dies not until the Day of Judgment. The definition of death is the disjunction of the composite, but there is no disjunction of that which is simple, for it is one. Death consists in the separation of the soul from the body, because anything formed out of two, three, or four components must disintegrate, and this is death. Under, stand, further, that no complex substance which lacks fire eats, drinks, or sleeps, because in all things which have a spirit fire is that which eats.* terms him virgin earth, igneous earth, carnal earth, and sanguineous earth, making reference to the libraries oi Ptolemy, There are similar references in Zosimus, by whom he is identified with death. But the carnal Adam of Zosimus signifies material humanity in general, and therein is contained the spiritual man, whose name no one knoweth except Nicotheos, and that mysterious personage, the alchemist himself acknowledges to be undiscoverable. The substitute for his true name signifies light and fire.

* The nature of the angels, and the question whether they eat and sleep, does not seem to have been discussed either by Greek, Syriac, or Arabian alchemists. Zosimus narrates that the art oi alchemy was revealed to mortals by

The Turba Philosophorum. 23

The Turba answereth : — How is it, Master, that the angels, being created of fire, do not eat, seeing thou assertest that fire is that which eats ! And he : Hence ye doubt, each having his opinion, and ye are become opponents, but if ye truly knew the elements, ye would not deny these things. I agree with all whose judgment it is that simple fire eats not, but thick fire. The angels, therefore, are not created out of thick fire, but out of the thinnest of very thin fire ; being created, then, of that which is most simple and exceedingly thin, they neither eat, drink, nor sleep. And the Turba : — Master, our faculties are able to perceive, for by God's assistance we have the fallen angels; it is to them that the tradition of the art must be referred as to a primary source ; and it was they also who wrote the primeval books of alchemy. It will be remembered that magic was also one of the mysteries unfolded by the same intelligences. Inthe discourse of Isis to Horus, the Mother of the Gods appears as a prophetess who obtained initiation into the mysteries of alchemy from the great angel Amnael, who desired to possess her.

2^ The Turba Philosophorum.

exhausted thy sayings, but our faculties of hearing and of sight are unable to carry such great things. May God reward thee for the sake of thy disci}-les, since it is with the object of instructing future generations that thou hast summoned us together from our countries, the recompense of which thou wilt not fail to receive from the Judge to come ! Arisleus saith : — Seeing that thou hast gathered us together for the advantage of posterity, 1 think that no explanations will be more useful than definitions of those four elements which thou hast taught us to attain. And he : — None of you are, I suppose, ignorant that all the Wise have propounded definitions in God. The Turba answereth : — Should your disciples pass over anything, it becomes you, O Master, to avoid omissions for the sake of future generations. And he: — If it please you, I will begin the disposition here, since envious men in their books have separated that, or otherwise I will put

The Turba Pliilosophorum. 25

it at the end of the book.* Whereat the Turba saith : — Place it where you think it will be clearest for future generations. And he: — I will place it where it will not be recognised by the foolish,t nor ignored by the Sons of the Doctrine, for it is the key, the perfection and the end.