Guido de Montanor’s use of latin verbs is superbly scholarly. In fact, tingo-tinxi reveals to be something much more sophisticated than a too-easy dying.
But we will learn other notions, for example, how to perform the copper hot red lamina test. Guido de Montanor is not a hermetic author to be uncaringly read. His Scala Transmutationibus, or stairs of transmutations, cannot be summarized except for some repetitions.
In the last post, I introduced this treatise, taken from Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa Mangeti 1703, on tome the second page from 134 to 147. Montanor’s fire regimens were conceived as a Praefatio, or introduction until the beginning of the stairs steps description. But what is within is fairly interesting, if not for the latin words Montanor chose.
I have already said that hermetic latin treatises should be read without translation since latin is undoubtedly a poor language compared to ancient Greek. Still, the neo-latin languages built upon are even more coarse: in Italian, for example, as far as the verbs meaning a dyeing action are concerned, we only have “tingere”. Which derives from the latin tingo, whose primary signification was not “ to tinge”. One major trouble with translating from latin is that we moderns are no longer used to searching for all the different meanings of the same word. Think of an alchemist’s main goal to hide entire ideas; what is more suitable than uncertain and ambiguous language? If ancient Greek, thanks to its complexity, explains Alchemy, the latin language, provides perfect camouflage to our sacred art. A thorough translation from latin can disclose a world of hermetic hints. But perhaps, in this case, I should say alchemical hints since the hermetic dye can contemplate chemical and alchemical subtilities.
The primary and first meaning of tingo-tinxi is to wet, soak, immerse, plunge, and saturate. Then, as a secondary one, we can tinge and make purple: garments were soaked to be dyed, as we can still see nowadays in some Moroccan outdoor bathings. Tingere ora lacrimis, Ovidius. To wet the face with tears; Aequore Tingi, Vergilius. To plunge into the sea; Verba Sensu Tincta, Quintilianus. Words immersed in the good sense. These are some common examples one can find in a latin dictionary.
The entire process of garment dyeing (top picture, by © F.Mannelli) is extremely alchemical. If you return to my posts Kamala Jnana, from Black to White, you can see a whole sequence of what an alchemical tinging process may be: a washing. Also, Don Pernety & Laton, affords the same concept, with a washing involved. In the post on Kamala Jnana, we were before the addition of Mercurius/Secret Fire/Virgin’s Milk, thus performing steering from black to white, indeed an actual “tinging” process. In Pernety’s, there’s a pointing at “up and down” movement to get this washing made. If you remember, in the last paragraph of that post, I tried to suggest the ancient work of washerwomen at torrents sides, that’s to say, a garment flapping, in so doing intending a distillation. This term is often an allegory to hide or evoke an alchemical and a chemical washing. We know that the amount of Secret Fire an alchemist has achieved at the end of preparatory works or Labors of Hercules can substitute further chemical operations in the subsequent Main Work (See an Opus Magnum scheme).
In Alchemy, we are very often before dying concepts. I used the plural since the rule of three causes the same hermetic concept to be employed for different situations. So let’s continue with Guido de Montanor’s reading to delve deep into “tingens” or tinging things since he employs the verb at least three times in a few lines.
Scala Transmutationibus introduction, better known as “ the regimens of Fire”, does not come after a precise operational chronological order, that being the hermetic praxis, of course, and Montanor too often unrelates phasis.
Page 137: Quando ergo volueris tentare (1) medicinam, pondus unius grani tritici super lamina candentem cupri ponas, & si intrans cum pauco calore lamina se diffuderit per totum intus & extra, est perfecte tingens, & in igne secum perseverans est lapis, tunc est perfectus. My translation: “So when you want to test this medicine, place the weight equivalent of one-grain wheat on a copper hot red lamina, and if giving to it a light heat, it diffuses all over indoors and further, it is perfectly tinging”. No wonder our Perfect Sulphur salt/Salt Fixum is so volatile when heated since it is chemically the product of reiterated volatilizations. And alchemically, we know that final substances retain all the volatility and dissolving features of first Mercurius, but just fixed. This test is performed to be aware of the “cooking” degree; in the very sense, we know it is no use going any further. Allow me to say that being an ancient chemistry requirement, Montanor calls it Medicina or medicine.
“Et sic pater quod sunt tria, quae complent nostrum elixir quod fecimus: primum conjungit, duo componunt medicinam. Itaque sunt uno corpore tria juncta. Sed hoc notandum, quod si iterum medicina solvatur, & per omnia regatur ut prius… Translation: and so its father is three of them, which complete the elixir we made: the first conjuncting, the others constituting the medicine. In this way, they are three bodies joined in a single one. But one can notice that if this medicine is being solved, liquified, or open (2) repeatedly, and through all as before…”
Montanor’s description of Mercurius Duplicatus and the third salt used to marry the first two (3) is clear and gets to the point. But here, our main topic is tinging processes, so pay attention to reiterated operations.
“… postea non erit finis suae tincturae, & constringit poros Lunae efficiens illam ponderoram, & in caeteris corporibus faciet exire spumam & foetorem, et ea perfectissime tingit, & tande mutabit in aurum vel argentum. Translation:.. then that will not be the ultimate goal of its Tincture and will close the Moon passages which are on their way to be made, and from the remaining bodies it lets out froth and fetor, and then will perfectly tinge, and finally change in gold as well as in silver”.
A tincture is a substance that produces a washing, thus a color change. We are in Main Work, where Secret Fire should perform bathings. The concept of “closing Moon’s Passage is a rather complicated topic to be introduced here, which will be the aim of a coming post. Just appreciate how our Perfect Sulphur or final substance packed with Secret Fire, deeply soaked or tinged into a chemical metal, can produce a transmutation. That’s another meaning for dye. In fact, in the same way as Secret Fire in the form of Mercurius wash and change colors from black to white, our Perfect Sulphur washes and transmutes a metal in gold or silver. The processes involved are the same. Secret Fire is washing or tinging.
In the following paragraph Guido de Montanor, to keep on the safe side or in virtue of his religious faith, informs us that Spiritus Metalli, or the spirit of metals achieved in an alchemical way, reaches the highest spiritual degree but has nothing to do with angels or mental spirits. Strangely enough, this issue was not so significant at Montanor’s time ( between Roger Bacon and Ripley) since in Europe, Christian culture was so impregnable to allow Alchemy as a God’s gift without any further theological or philosophical implication, of course, behind closed walls. As we know, problems came later, in the Renaissance age, with the attribution of this gift to evil. But getting back at the alchemical side, I will safely conclude by resuming Montanor’s thought in a latin sentence of mine (though not so safe): Aurum nostrum spiritualis est quia omnia corpora dissolvit. Our Gold is spiritual since it dissolves all bodies. We are not wasting our time here since Spiritus Metalli, and tinging properties have much more in common than expected.
We know our spiritual gold has little to do with metallic molecular gold and any other molecular substance. Since once coming out of our alchemical extreme volatilizations, very hardy, a molecular substance can still be defined as a molecular substance. Guido de Montanor describes Spiritual Gold attributes and qualities: “et ideo illud omnia corpora separat, dividit, depurat, tingit et in aurum optimum transmutat, quia sic est corpus fixum, spirituale factum. et secundum divertium digestionis modum. Nam primo fuit argentum antequam fuit aurum: ideo aurum est maxime digestum”. Translation: and thus it separates, destroys (4), frees from impurity (5), soaks to dye every body and in excellent gold transmutes, for in this way we have corpus fixum or a fixed body, made spiritual according to the method of several digestions. Since what before was silver, then was gold: that’s to say, gold at the utmost digestion.
The last paragraph’s tinging properties are slightly different from those aforementioned. Here we are dealing with Spiritual Gold or Mercurius Philosophorum or Philosophers Gold out of preparatory works (6), which is temporally antecedent to Perfect Sulphur. But not so different at all. We immerse/tinge our perfect sulfur deep inside a metal to transmute. When we dissolve a metal, we immerse/tinge Mercurius Philosophorum inside. When passing colors or washing from black to white, we immerse/tinge Mercurius Philosophorum inside.
The stunning operation is called “ De Potentia ad Acto” or from power to act. Secret Fire/Mercurius is getting down on awakening operations in the abovementioned operations. Alchemy is all about that. Consequently, a transmutation is theoretically not so different from Mercurius extraction and color passages since they are all tinging/immersing/washing/awakening operations.
- This is a syntax error since the right verb cannot but be tempto, meaning to try. For English-speaking persons, it is easy to understand that here to try has a put-to-test value. While for neo-Latins, this may constitute a surprise;
- Solvo-solvi in latin not only means to dissolve but also to liquefy and to free;
- See also Cabala Mineralis & the three Salts Enigma;
- divido-divisi, in latin, means to destroy rather than to divide Montanor here uses it after to separate;
- depuro is a medieval neologism. In Italian, French, and English depurare, depurer, and to depurate means to free from impurity. Which was a strange concept for a Roman person. Romans have expurgo or to purge, and defaeco or to filter;