On Bodies Being the Nourishment of DyesΠερὶ τοῦ τροφὴν εἶναι τὰ δ’ σώματα τῶν βαφῶν·
Zosimus of Panopolis On Bodies Being the Nourishment of Dyes PDF
On Bodies Being the Nourishment of Dyes is a brief alchemical treatise composed in Greek by Zosimus of Panopolis, likely around 300 CE. The work examines the fundamental alchemical principle that metals, conceived as living entities, undergo transformation through the application of specialized dyes or tinctures, which act as their nourishment. This process of coloration was understood as analogous to the transmutation of base metals into noble ones, such as gold. The text survives not as an independent document but as two excerpts incorporated into the larger corpus of Zosimus's writings preserved in later Byzantine manuscripts.
As a central figure in Graeco-Egyptian alchemy, Zosimus blended practical craft knowledge with philosophical and mystical speculation. This treatise exemplifies that synthesis, employing the technical art of dyeing as a metaphor for both material and spiritual perfection. The work appears intended for an initiated community of practitioners who viewed the manipulation of matter as a sacred art. Its preservation is owed to its inclusion in major Byzantine compilations of alchemical knowledge, though the precise phrasing may have been subject to alteration through centuries of copying. Through these channels, the core analogy of dyeing presented by Zosimus exerted a significant influence on subsequent alchemical thought in Byzantine, Islamic, and medieval Latin traditions.
| [20] | ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΤΡΟΦΗΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΤΑ Δʹ ΣΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΦΩΝ· ΕΙΣΙΝ ΔΕ Τὸν χαλκὸν ἡ Μαρία φάσκει βάπτεσθαι πρῶτον, καὶ οὕτω βάπτειν. Ὁ χαλκὸς αὐτῶν τὰ δʹ σώματα. Αἱ οὖν βαφαὶ αὗται· εἴδη δὲ τοῦ καταλόγου στερεὰ καὶ ὑγρά, βοτάναι· στερεὰ μὲν ἀπὸ νεφέλης ἕως χρυσοκόλλης, ὑγρὰ δὲ πάντα τοῦ καταλόγου· τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς, ὕδωρ θεῖον. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἡμεῖς ἀπὸ στερεῶν καὶ ὑγρῶν τρεφόμεθα καὶ βαπτόμεθα ποιότητι μόνον, οὕτω καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς αὐτῶν· καὶ καθάπερ ἀπὸ στερεῶν μόνων οὐ τρεφόμεθα ἢ ὑγρῶν, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ χαλκός. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὸ στερεὸν μόνον δεξάμενοι φλεγόμεθα καὶ ἐκκαιόμεθα, καὶ φαρμακευόμεθα, καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς αὐτῶν. Πάλιν ἐὰν ἀπὸ τοῦ μόνου δεξώμεθα ποτοῦ, μεθύομεν καὶ καρηβαροῦμεν, καὶ περὶ τὰς παρείας βαπτόμεθα, καὶ ἐμοῦμεν. Καὶ ὁ χαλκός· χρωσθεὶς γὰρ καθάπερ ὁ χρυσὸς ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ θείου, καρηβαρεῖ καὶ ἐμεῖ, καὶ εὐθέως φεύγει. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἡμεῖς δεξάμενοι συμμέτρως ἀμφοῖν τὴν τῶν στερεῶν καὶ ὑγρῶν τροφὴν, τρεφόμεθα κατὰ λόγον, καὶ αἱ παρεῖαι βάπτονται κατὰ λόγον, καὶ ἡ θρεπτικὴ ἡ δύναμις διανέμει ἐν τῷ στομάχῳ τὴν τροφὴν διὰ τῆς καθεκτικῆς δυνάμεως, οὕτως καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς λαβὼν τὰ στερεὰ ἀντὶ τροφῆς τοῦ ὕδατος θείου μετὰ κόμμεως, ἀντὶ οἴνου τρέφεται καὶ χρωΐζεται διὰ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ καθεκτικῆς δυνάμεως. |
| 2 171 [10] | Καὶ ὧδε δὲ τῷ ῥηθέντι εἶπε· «τὰ θειώδη ὑπὸ τῶν θειωδῶν κατέχεται·» τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς· «Ἡ φύσις τὴν φύσιν τέρπει, καὶ νικᾷ, καὶ κρατεῖ.» Καθάπερ, φησὶν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῶν δʹ στοιχείων, οὕτω καὶ ὁ χαλκός· καὶ ὥσπερ οὗτος ἐξ ὑγρῶν καὶ στερεῶν καὶ πνεύματος σύγκειται· οὕτω καὶ ὁ χαλκός· πνεῦμα δὲ τὴν νεφέλην ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἐν τοῖς χρησμοῖς λέγει· ... καὶ πνεῦμα μελάντερον, ὑγρὸν, ἄχραντον. Περὶ τῆς νεφέλης καλῶς ἐρρέθη παρὰ τῆς Μαρία ς· «Ὁ χαλκὸς οὐ βάπτει, ἀλλὰ βάπτεται, καὶ ὅταν βαφῇ, τότε βάπτει· καὶ τρεφόμενος τρέφει, καὶ τελειωθεὶς τελεοῖ.» Ἔρρωσο. |