Excerpt-Parts of AlchemyἈπόσπασμα περὶ τῶν μερῶν τῆς ἀλχημείας
Zosimus of Panopolis Excerpt Parts of Alchemy PDF
The Excerpt-Parts of Alchemy is a short technical treatise attributed to Zosimus of Panopolis, an author active around 300 CE. Written in Koine Greek, the work is structured as two distinct passages and functions as a selection concerning the divisions or components of the alchemical art. Its content is instructional, blending practical laboratory advice with philosophical speculation as it discusses the various parts, stages, and processes involved in alchemical operations. The work was composed during a period when Greco-Egyptian alchemy was systematizing earlier craft traditions within philosophical and often mystical frameworks. Zosimus's corpus is interpreted by modern scholars as being intended for a community of students or adepts engaged in both the physical and spiritual dimensions of the art, aiming to provide a theoretical foundation alongside practical instructions for the transformation of substances. The treatise survives as part of the larger corpus of Greek alchemical writings preserved in Byzantine manuscripts. Its transmission relies on its inclusion in major anthologies such as the 10th- or 11th-century Marcianus graecus 299, which were compilations designed for practitioners. As a component of Zosimus's influential body of work, this excerpt contributed to the technical and theoretical literature that shaped the study of alchemy for centuries.
| 2 219 [5] | Καὶ ὅτι τοὺς χρησίμους λόγους αὐτοὺς δεῖ ζητεῖν· καὶ τί δεῖ φάναι τὴν τῶν λόγων, ἢ ὅτι τέχνη, ἢ ὅτι πρότερόν ἐστιν ἢ τὸ τί δέ ἐστιν, ἢ ὁποῖον τί δεῖ, 〈καὶ〉 ἵνα τί δεῖ· καὶ περὶ νοημάτων ἀνεπιγράφησαν ἃ ἦν καθέκαστα καὶ ἄτομοι πάντες, ὃν καὶ ἄπυρα, καθὼς ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἀπειρίαν ἄτομον. Ὥσπερ δὲ δʹ ὄντων τῶν μουσικῶν γενικωτάτων στοχῶν, αʹ, βʹ, γʹ, δʹ, γίνονται παρ’ αὐτοῖς τῷ εἴδει διάφοροι στοχοὶ κδʹ, κέντροι καὶ ἶσοι καὶ πλάγιοι καθαροί τε καὶ ἄηχοι· καὶ ἀδύνατον ἄλλως ὑφανθῆναι τὰς κατὰ μέρος ἀπείρους μελῳδίας τῶν ὕμνων, ἢ θεραπειῶν ἢ ἀποκαλύψεων, ἢ ἄλλου σκέλους τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐπιστήμης, καὶ οἷον ῥεύσεως, ἢ φθορᾶς, ἢ ἄλλων μουσικῶν παθῶν ἐλευθέρας· τοῦτο κἀνταῦθα ἔστιν εὑρεῖν τὸν δυνατὸν ἐπὶ τῆς μιᾶς καὶ ἀληθοῦς κυριωτάτης ὕλης τῆς ὀρνιθογονίας. Καὶ ὥσπερ τετραμερῆ τὴν ἀρίστην φιλοσοφίαν, ἤτοι τὴν ὕλην ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως δεδειγμένην εὑρίσκομεν τὴν γενικήν τε καὶ εἰδικὴν, καὶ τάξεων τὰς διαφορὰς, οὕτω καὶ τὴν καλὴν φιλοσοφίαν ζητοῦντες, τετραμερῆ ταύτην εὑρήκαμεν, τὸ πρῶτον ἔχουσαν μέλανσιν, δεύτερον λεύκωσιν, καὶ τὸ τρίτον ξάνθωσιν, καὶ τέταρτον ἴωσιν. Πάλιν δὲ, ὡς ἕκαστος τῶν εἰρημένων στοχῶν ἐξ ὧν γενικῶν ἔχει πλησίον ἑαυτοῦ πάντως ἡμιστόχιον ἢ μεσόκεντρον, δι’ οὗ κατὰ τάξιν προσβαίνει ἢ ἀποβαίνει, οὕτω κἀνταῦθα, μεταξὺ μελανώσεως καὶ λευκώσεώς ἐστιν ἡ ταριχεία, καὶ τῶν εἰδῶν ἡ πλύσις· μεταξὺ δὲ λευκώσεως καὶ ξανθώσεώς ἐστιν ἡ χοοποίησις· τούτων ξανθώσεώς τε καὶ ἰώσεώς ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ συνθέματος διχασμός. |
| 2 220 [15] | Τῆς δὲ ἰώσεως πέρας ἡ διὰ τοῦ ὀργάνου τοῦ μασθωτοῦ οἰκονομία, καὶ ἡ ἕνωσις τῶν μερῶν· καὶ ἀδύνατον ἄλλως, οἷον τὴν καθ’ εἱρμὸν ἐπιστήμης. Εἰ γὰρ καί τινες ξάνθωσιν ἄνευ λευκώσεως ἐπετήδευσαν, ὧν ἐστιν ὁ Πηβίχιο ς , ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἄνευ ταριχείας, ἢ πλύσεως τῶν εἰδῶν, ἅτινά ἐστι μέρη τῆς τελείας λευκώσεως. Ὅτι τὸ παρὸν βιβλίον ὀνομάζεται βίβλος μεταλλικὴ 〈καὶ〉 χυμευτικὴ περὶ χρυσοποιίας, ἀργυροποιίας, ὑδραργύρου πήξεως, ἔχων αἰθάλας, βαφὰς φούρμουσαι ἀπὸ βροτισίων, ὡσαύτως καὶ λίθων πρασίνων, καὶ λυχνιτῶν, καὶ ἑτέρων πάντων χρωμάτων, καὶ μαργάρων, καὶ δερμάτων ἐρυθροδανώσεις βασιλικῶν. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα γίνονται ὑπὸ ὑδάτων θαλασσίων, ὠῶν, διὰ τέχνης μεταλλικῆς. |