Splendor solis; alchemical treatises of Solomon Trismosin
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| Splendor solis; alchemical treatises of Solomon Trismosin |
including 22 allegorical pictures reproduced from the original paintings in the unique manuscript on vellum, dated 1582, in the British museum
From introduction:
When in the period of the Renaissance, men's minds were waking from the long sleep of mediaeval darkness, Solomon Trismosin, one of the less known Adepts of Alchemy, went forth in search of that secret knowledge, the possession of which leads to the Alchemical Adeptship.
His romantic Wanderings in Quest of the Philosopher's Stone, he has himself described, and if he declares to have reached that Eldorado of Hermetic Knowledge wherein is found the prized Philosopher's Stone, although we may feel inclined to doubt his word, we are, nevertheless not in a position to entirely dispute his statement. For since the discovery of radioactive substances chemical theory has vastly changed.
The very Elementality of the chemical Elements is questioned, and the alchemical idea, that Metals can be decomposed into three ultimate principles: Salt, Mercury, and Sulphur, may not be so absurd after all. Let us, therefore, examine the actual documents remaining of the Alchemists, especially those of reputed Adepts, that they may be studied by the Light of the most recent research of Chemical and Physical Science, and the riddle of the Hermetic Sphinx may yet be solved. In the book before us — provided with those wonderful allegorical pictures, executed by an unknown artist, Trismosin in veiled language and by means of artistic Symbols reveals his mind about that mysterious and disputed subject — the Red Tincture — the Philosopher's Stone.
Here then is a rare, and at one time, highly prized,, Alchemical Classic, written by an adept, rescued from the oblivion of over three centuries, — why not give the book a fair trial? It evidently has a two-fold meaning, and like the Book in Revelations, is written within and without. As a Guide to Physical and Spiritual Adeptship, Splendor Solis stands both for Gold Splendour and Soul Splendour and intends to convey the Secret of Physical Alchemy by the text, and of Spiritual Alchemy by the Allegorical pictures.
For this reason, as Photography cannot reproduce the beautiful colourings of the Manuscript's original paintings, a minute description of the 22 pictures, fully aware of their Mystic meaning, has been inserted in the middle of the text of Splendor Solis, that the allegorical importance of the figures may not be overlooked. Their Mystic Meaning seems to be identical to that of the 22 keys of the Tarot, and they observe the same order. For the Spiritual Interpretation of these Mystic Pictures, the above-mentioned minute Descriptions will be found to be very suggestive. For as observed, Splendor Solis has both a Physical-Alchemical and a Spiritual-Mystic meaning.
The Alchemical theory describes in veiled terms a Gold Process, possibly the very process of which Kiesewetter observes, in his History of The Occult Sciences, that it stretches through the History of Alchemy like a Sea-serpent. It may, for all that be the true Process, that has been transmitted by tradition, and the Sea-serpent may be a living aquatic monster, that has survived the Deluge and other Cataclysms in some deep-sea cave. It is with the Philosopher's Stone as with the Sea-serpent, some say they have seen it, while the whole mass of mankind has not; but the evidence of the few who have seen outweighs the opinion of the many who have not.
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