Of Natural and Supernatural Things: Alchemy and Truth - Paperback

by John Gahan F. I. E. (Editor), Basilius Valentinus (Author)

Because I have at this present undertaken to write of the of the first Tincture, the Root of Metals and Minerals, and to inform you of the Spiritual Essence, how the Metals and Minerals are at first spiritually conceived and born corporally; it will be necessary first of all to utter, and to acquaint you by a speech, that all things consist of two parts, that is, Natural and Supernatural; what is visible, tangible, and hath form or shape, that is natural; but what is intactible, without form, and spiritual, that is supernatural, and must be apprehended and conceived by Faith; such is the Creation, and especially the Eternity of God without end, immensible and incomprehensible; for Nature cannot conceive nor apprehend it by its humane reason: This is supernatural, what Reason cannot apprehend, but must be conceived by Faith, this is a Divine matter, and belongs to Theology, which judgeth Souls. Moreover, there appertains to supernatural things, the Angels of the Lord, having clarified Bodies, doing that by the permission of their Creator, which is impossible for any other Creature to do, their Works being concealed from the Eyes of the World, and so likewise are the Works of the Infernal Spirits and Devils unknown, which they do by the permission of the most High God. But above all the great Works of God are found and acknowledged to be supernatural, not to be scann'd and comprehended by Humane Imaginations; such is in especial the great Grace and Mercy of God which he bestows upon Mankind out of his great Love, which indeed no man can apprehend or know, and other great and wonderful works which he hath manifested divers manner of wayes by Christ our Saviour and Redeemer, for the confirmation of his Omnipotence and Glory: As when he raised Lazarus from the dead, Jairus his Daughter, the Ruler of the Synagogue, and the Widows Son of Naim. He made the Dumb to speak, the Deaf to hear, and the Blind to see, all which are supernatural, and Magnalia Dei; so also was his Conception, Resurrection, Descension, and Ascension into Heaven, too deep and mysterious for Nature; all which is only to be obtained by Faith.

Author Biography

Records of the life of Basilius Valentinus, the Benedictine monk who for his achievements in the chemical sphere has been given the title of Father of Modern Chemistry, are a mass of conflicting evidence. Many and varied are the accounts of his life, and historians seem quite unable to agree as to his exact identity, or even as to the century in which he lived. It is generally believed, however, that 1394 was the year of his birth, and that he did actually join the Benedictine Brotherhood, eventually becoming Canon of the Priory of St. Peter at Erfurt, near Strasburg. Basil Valentine was undoubtedly a great chemist, and the originator of many chemical preparations of the first importance. Amongst these are the preparation of spirit of salt, or hydrochloric acid from marine salt and oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) the extraction of copper from its pyrites (sulphur) by transforming it firstly into copper sulphate, and then plunging a bar of iron in the watery dissolution of this product: the method of producing sulpho-ether by the distillation of a mixture of spirit of wine and oil of vitriol: the method of obtaining brandy by the distillation of wine and beer, rectifying the distillation on carbonate of potassium. In his writings he has placed on record many valuable facts, and whether Basil Valentine is the correct name of the author or an assumed one matters little, since it detracts nothing from the value of his works, or the calibre of his practical experiments. From his writings one gathers that he was indeed a monk, and also the possessor of a mind and understanding superior to that of the average thinker of his day. The ultimate intent and aim of his studies was undoubtedly to prove that perfect health in the human body is attainable, and that the perfection of all metallic substance is also possible. He believed that the physician should regard his calling in the nature of a sacred trust, and was appalled by the ignorance of the medical faculty of the day whose members pursued their appointed way in smug complacency, showing little concern for the fate of their patients once they had prescribed their pet panacea.