The lives of the adepts in alchemystical philosophy

Saint Peter speaks of the first creation. He describes the earth standing out of and in the water. This earth was flooded and perished, but it is now reserved for fire. Saint John describes the new earth as having the light of crystal. It contains cities of transparent gold and stones of jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst. It features gates of pearls and the water of life or health.

All the wise observers of nature among the ancients left traces of these same first principles in their writings. Because of this, alchemical authors often refer to the ancient mythology preserved by the Greeks and Romans. The poem of the Argonauts by Orpheus is based on a Hermetic allegory a symbolic story containing hidden alchemical secrets. He brought this from Egypt, where Hermes Trismegistus Thrice-Greatest Hermes, the legendary founder of alchemy was celebrated. His name signifies a spiritual trinity in Mercury the messenger god or the alchemical element of spirit and fluidity. He was known as the founder of religion and the sciences.

Alchemy is called Hermetic philosophy after Hermes. He was the author of seven books and a tablet of alchemy. These are the most ancient and respected writings on the subject today. They were found in the Hebrew and Arabic languages in the year 400. From that date, we have literary evidence of the lives and writings of adepts individuals who have mastered the secrets of alchemy.

The destruction of ancient manuscripts prevents us from researching further back in time. In the year 296, Dioclesian burned the Egyptian books regarding the chemistry of silver and gold original: "περι χυμείας αργύρου και χρυσου". Julius Caesar burned 700,000 scrolls at Alexandria. Leo Isaurus burned 300,000 at Constantinople in the eighth century. Around that time, the followers of Mohammed began destroying literature in its primary sources.

See Diodorus at the beginning. Tertullian, chapter 2, On the Soul, and chapter 15, Against Valentinus. Clement of Alexandria, 6th book. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 7, verse 22. Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel, book 10, chapter 2. Psellus to Xiphilinus. Laertius on Democritus. Pliny, Natural History, chapter 30, verse 1.

Synesius was the most famous of the early alchemical masters. He lived in Cyrenia, a major city in Pentapolis, Libya. His family tree goes back to the ancient kings of Sparta and is kept in the public records of that city. He was born there around the year 365. His interest in philosophy led him to study the most advanced sciences. He was skilled in public speaking, poetry, geometry, and astronomy. He also knew the secret philosophies of Plato and Pythagoras. Cyrenia had produced famous philosophers like Carneades and Aristippus, but it had become a place for rich men rather than scholars. Synesius believed he had to go to Alexandria to finish his education.

Synesius arrived in Alexandria with a great love for truth. He perfected this through virtuous living. In his own country, he had heard that a famous woman named Hypatia taught Plato’s philosophy publicly in Alexandria. He was delighted to find she was even wiser than he expected. He attended her lectures and learned the mysteries of philosophy from her. He respected her so much that he called her his teacher, parent, and benefactor. Even after he became a bishop, he sent all his writings to her for her opinion before publishing them.

In Alexandria, he became friends with learned Egyptians. One was Dioscores, the high priest of Serapis. At that time, Synesius was still a pagan. It was there that he was trained in the Hermetic science. He studied the treatise of Democritus on the physical secret. This book is very difficult to understand. Synesius wrote notes on it for the high priest. However, these notes still contain cabalistic darkness intentional obscurity or coded language. Master alchemists are bound by a solemn oath to keep their secrets hidden from the public. This secrecy also applied to the mysteries of Platonic philosophy.

There are letters from Synesius about alchemy addressed to other philosophers. He does not speak clearly in them. He feared they might be read by the profane those who are uninitiated or lack spiritual understanding. He even scolded his friend Herculeus for speaking too plainly about the philosophical secrets Synesius had shared with him.