Die geheime Naturlehre der hermetischen Wissenschaft

I. Main Section. I. Subsection. On the

the nature and properties of salt. But when it arrives at the Digestion alchemical refinement of the living sulfur, it adopts the name, nature, and power of sulfur. As long as it remains in the mercurial state and temperament, however, it is called simply Mercury. Therefore, it receives from the philosophers the name Protheus Proteus, the sea god who changes shape, who transforms into many forms, and Hermaphrodit Hermaphrodite, who partakes of both male and female nature (such is also our Mercury). The properties of this Mercury of the Sages are: 1. That it is the last principle or the proximate matter from which all things arise and multiply, both in the original birth at creation and in natural birth. This occurs through the action of both the original seeds and the particular seeds through the path of Fermentation, according to the diversity of nature, that is, according to the different disposition and intention of the seeds. 2. That this Mercury provides nourishment and growth to the conceived or born things. Therefore, it is called the womb of all things. It also receives different names according to the different active and passive functions it manages. Above all, however, it is called the Universalgeist universal spirit.