On RustΠερὶ ἰοῦ
Zosimus of Panopolis On Rust PDF
On Rust is a fragmentary alchemical treatise by Zosimus of Panopolis, a Greco-Egyptian author active in the late third or early fourth century CE. Written in Koine Greek, the text is a practical guide focused on laboratory techniques for treating metals, specifically addressing a substance termed ios. This term denotes a corrosive product, variously interpreted as rust, verdigris, or a similar metallic tarnish. The surviving portion presents technical instructions that are frequently interwoven with symbolic and allegorical language, a hallmark of Zosimus's work which views physical processes as reflections of spiritual transformation. The treatise is preserved as a single incomplete passage within larger Byzantine compendia of alchemical recipes dating from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. It was evidently composed for a community of practicing alchemists, blending hands-on chemical knowledge with the philosophical and mystical concerns characteristic of late antique Greco-Egyptian alchemy. Along with his other works, this practical treatise by Zosimus later served as a foundational text for the development of alchemical theory and practice in both the Byzantine and Islamic intellectual traditions.
| 1 | ΠΕΡΙ ΙΟΥ Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἰώδης δύναμις συμπληρωτική ἐστιν τῆς ὅλης ὑποκειμένης οὐσίας ἀτόμου, καὶ μέρος αὐτῆς, καὶ ἄνευ ταύτης ἀτελὴς ἡ ὅλη οὐσία καθέστηκεν. Τὰ γὰρ μέρη τῶν οὐσιῶν οὐσίαι εἰσὶν, ὥς φησιν Πορφύριο ς, ἡ γὰρ οὐσία προβάλλεται δύναμιν, καὶ ἡ δύναμις ἐνέρ γειαν, καὶ ἡ ἐνέργεια τὰ ἐνεργήματα. Αἱ τοίνυν δυνάμεις αἱ οὐσιώδεις ἑκουσίως προέρχονται, καὶ ἀχώριστοί εἰσι τῶν οὐσιῶν. |