Suddenly a column sprang open by itself in the middle. At first glance there seemed to be nothing inside. Ostanes son told us that there were books of his father inside.
“But when we looked we found nothing but this formula of great value: One nature delights in another nature, one nature conquers another nature, one nature dominates another nature. Great was our admiration for the way he had concentrated the whole knowledge in a few words .”
From that day on Pseudo Democritus aka Bolos of Mende, the supposed discoverer, used this statement as a refrain in most of his Physika & Mystika. In his work we can find one of the few hermetic allusions to sympathy, while alchemists had rather talking of marriages and syngeneia. Pseudo-Democritus seems to have been a contemporary of Democritus of Abderas, the greek philosopher and physicist. And Ostanes, according to Pliny, has been said to be the chief of Magi accompanying Xerxes in his invasion of Greece. But we know Pliny was not less fanciful and more accurate than Erodotus was. As a truth of fact both pseudo-Democritus aka Bolos and Ostanes are authors of uncertain origin and existence. You will find elsewhere more deep historical references, but be aware that clearly stated documents are currently non existent.
The most important issue here is not bibliography, but the very sentence. Indeed whoever wrote it was an author of huge alchemical relevance. Comparable to Tabula Smaragdina’s. Also Sinesius ascribed the afore mentioned statement to Ostanes and quoted: “ this Ostanes was the first to give the formula “ One Nature etc.” Diogenes Laertius endorses to the status reached by Ostanes phrase and tries writing about. Nevertheless he does not seem to have fully understand the stoical aphorism: “ Nature is an imponderable Fire Technikon” That’s to say a fire operating as a craft activity. Matter and Tool .
“Nature” is a very ancient allegory for Secret Fire. As well as “Soul and Spirit ” in renaissance period, and “Light” from eighteenth century on. So we can now translate the sentence in a more explicit language: ” One Secret Fire delights in another Secret Fire, one Secret Fire conquers another Secret Fire, one Secret Fire dominates another Secret Fire.” Secret Fire is our Materia Prima, or Metals Seed, or Primitive Mercurius, or Mercurius, or Mercurius Philosophorum, or Sulphur, or Salt, or Philosophers Stone, or simply Secret Fire. Our Fire and Waters. Matter and Tool. Alpha and Omega. In all its densities our Secret Fire attracts itself, wakens itself, dis- solves itself expands itself, condense itself. Or, in an even more explicit wording: “ One Mercurius delights in another more coagulated Mercurius, one coagulated Mercurius conquers another even more coagulated Mercurius, one fixed Mercurius dominates another volatile Mercurius”. Mercurius or Universal Solvent dissolves bodies to extract a Mercurius more coagulated, which we called Soul. Be aware that consanguinity is involved with the Syngeneia concept of marriage.
Then two Mercurii are becoming Rebis or Mercurius Philosophorum, because of the more coagulated Mercurius, or Sulphur, or Soul tendency to dominate less coagulate Mercurius or Sol- vent. I suggest you to remain always in a laboratory domain and try not to run away with poetry, at least too much. ( see an Opus Magnum scheme) Diogenes Laertius was right when warns to look for qualities and not for materials. Indeed all the actions here involved are produced by Solve et Coagula movements inside the chemical material. In Alchemy we basi- cally and roughtly have two works: alchemist’s in Labors of Hercules ( to achieve Solvent/Mercurius), and secondly the work by Secret Fire/Mer- curius Philosophorum passing metamorphosis and colors from black to red through white, during the Main Work. Solve et coagula operations in labors of hercules are operated by alchemist ( dissolving and sublimating or making earth), while the same operations in main work are to be operated by Secret Fire itself while Alchemist will be a by stander. In this sense Secret Fire/Nature dissolves, attracts and dominates itself. But if you substitute the wording Secret Fire with Soul and Spirit, you will be able to understand the double nature of Secret Fire. Which is not just double, but quadruple. At least.
We can now avail ourselves of the ubiquitous Fulcanelli and his The Mysteries of Cathedrals, 1926: In its subtle state is a universal Spirit, and we call our Mercury, but when it descends and penetrates the world, it thickens and coagulates to become the soul, and we call our Sulphur. Lower it freezes in a body, and we call our Salt. As well as in The Dwellings of Philosophers, 1929. Talking about the etymology of the word Spider in latin languages ( an allegory for Soul) Ful- canelli notices that the verb means to take, seize, drag, draw. That’s to say what takes, attracts, captures. So our magnet, the power locked in the body called by the wises our magnesia. Because of its attracting, hence given magnetic properties. It seems quite clear that only a duality can give rise to a contest, a fight, an attraction, a love ( Amor), a domination. But bear in mind that the matters are always the same single matter. Who says that the alchemical coagulation par excellence is that of metallic gold dissolved in our Universal Dissolvent, nastily forgets to point that this metallic gold is previously to be reduced in Mercurius. In this way becoming a Sulphur. Thus our Secret Fire/Light/Nature/Mercurius is sometimes woman, passive and dissolving, sometimes male, active, raising and coagulating. The very moving material can be considered an athanor in itself.
Think of a very old person at the moment of his/her death who might being kept all ages qualities. Not just inner qualities, but also physical. In Alchemy as you proceed you can add and may conserve, not to lose anything. In Philosophers Stone we have all densities kept inside. Where chemistry ends, alchemy begins. Is just a question of going over boundaries, of opening break Materia Tertia or raw Matter. And Secret Fire comes to light. Secret Fire attracts itself, wakens itself, dissolves itself, expands itself, condenses itself. When white Mercurius is coming out of blackness, it/she/he is a powerful magnet for the Secret Fire already out there, the one descending from Stars and Suns. In that very moment white Mercurius can be fecundated or brought de Potentia ad Acto. When working in Alchemy it is recommended not to look for materials, but for Mirrors.
To coagulate means giving a shape, a form, to something. A Soul, or more coagulated Mercurius, or Sulphur can give shape to his Solvent. Like a piece of metallic gold gives shape to metallic mercury, in an amalgam. But this is not enough, since in order to amalgamate, two alike substances must mirroring each other. For one nature delights in another nature, one nature conquers another nature, one nature dominates another nature. Diogenes Laertius was right when warns to look for qualities and not for materials. Indeed all the actions here involved are produced by Solve et Coagula movements inside the chemical material. In Alchemy we basically and roughtly have two works: alchemist’s in Labors of Hercules ( to achieve Solvent/Mercurius), and secondly the work by Secret Fire/Mercurius Philosophorum passing metamorphosis and colors from black to red through white, during the Main Work.
Thus our Secret Fire/Light/Nature/Mercurius is sometimes woman, passive and dissolving, sometimes male, active, raising and coagulating. The very moving material can be considered an athanor in itself. Think of a very old person at the moment of his/her death who might being kept all ages quali- ties. Not just inner qualities, but also physical. In Alchemy as you proceed you can add and may conserve, not to lose anything. In Philosophers Stone we have all densities kept inside. Where chemistry ends, alchemy begins. Is just a question of going over boundaries, of opening break Materia Tertia or raw Matter. And Secret Fire comes to light. Secret Fire attracts itself, wakens itself, dissolves itself, expands itself, condenses itself. When white Mercurius is coming out of blackness, it/she/he is a powerful magnet for the Secret Fire already out there, the one descending from Stars and Suns. In that very moment white Mercurius can be fecundated or brought de Potentia ad Acto. When working in Alchemy it is recommended not to look for materials, but for Mirrors. For one nature delights in another nature, one nature conquers another nature, one nature dominates another nature.
As for pseudo-Democritus, his happiness was short lived. He soon realized that knowledge of marriages and syngeneia was not much without signatures.
See also Atalanta Fugiens & the Golden Apples , Atalanta Fugiens & Mercurius Duplicatus , Codex Mercianus Ouroboros , Kamala Jnana, Introduction to a Live Secret ;