either as lead on the Earth, or as Saturn on the heaven. Saturn, the Melancholia, is
an origin from which it is possible to re-shape new enlighten substance. Each such
act of enlightenment must follow the same order and procedure: to start with the
return to void, to the beginning—REGRESSUS AD UTERUM. Crucifixion,
decease, and Resurrection!
It seems that protochemistry already in its appearance has developed two tendencies, exoteric, operative, i.e. experimental-philosophical on the one side, and
esoteric, speculative that was apparent in Zosim’s thinking on the other side. This
second tendency has almost entirely dominated in the medieval European alchemy.
Not only today, but also during all the history, science and philosophy were
endangered from pseudo-science. In such a way, protochemists which found their
interest in philosophical gold, and which were known as aurifactors, have get their
public concurrence in aurifictors, the manipulators which have produced a fake
gold for a black market. As the nature of contemporary pseudo-science is eclectic,
i.e. it combines anything with anything, for instance quantum mechanics with
feminism and pets, just to be well sold on the market, so the Alexandrian aurifactors
have referred to the philosophy of protochemistry to sell fake gold. These sorts of
“gold” were in principle alloys with some minor percentage of gold. We have to
know that at the time there were not methods by which it would be possible to
recognize unequivocally the real gold from the fake gold. Since ancient Roman
administration did not accept the production of gold without their supervision, they
have decided pragmatically to prohibit both, aurifictors as well as aurifactors. They
did not recognize the difference between them and, consequently, protochemistry
became out of the law. However, expulsion of protochemists from the Roman
Empire had also other reasons. After the emperor Constantinus, the official religion
in Rome became Christianity, which has in this way been transformed from its
basic idea of the Profeta-Illuminator to the pragmatic hierarchically organized
ideology. In 4th century bishop Theophilius finally have burned away the
Alexandrian library, and Hellenism became out of the law. In the year 529 the
emperor Iustinianus has finally abolished Platonian Academy in Athens.
Basic metaphysical system developed within the protochemical circle was logically incoherent: the changes and transformations of substances have been
explained as a combination of two kinds of transmutations. Protochemists have
accepted the Empedoclean division of the world on four principles-elements, as
well as the Aristotelian idea about their transmutation based on the combinations of
properties such as wet-dry and warm-cool, while the transmutation of metals they
explain as a transfer of free features. However, which was the relationship between
features and properties? Vapour, the pneuma, which has been observed experimentally in apparatus for distillation or in kerotakis could tentatively be categorized
as feature. But, in accordance with Aristotle, the same vapour is nothing else than a
combination of properties dry-could. Does it mean that all the features are dry and
could? Does it follow that feature consists from two properties?
From this contradiction it follows that logics is not decisive in protochemical
theory. Contradictions about which the old chemists were conscious were overcomed by a quite different independent approach—the use of analogy that can be
36
3 Synthesis of Philosophy and Technology
an origin from which it is possible to re-shape new enlighten substance. Each such
act of enlightenment must follow the same order and procedure: to start with the
return to void, to the beginning—REGRESSUS AD UTERUM. Crucifixion,
decease, and Resurrection!
It seems that protochemistry already in its appearance has developed two tendencies, exoteric, operative, i.e. experimental-philosophical on the one side, and
esoteric, speculative that was apparent in Zosim’s thinking on the other side. This
second tendency has almost entirely dominated in the medieval European alchemy.
Not only today, but also during all the history, science and philosophy were
endangered from pseudo-science. In such a way, protochemists which found their
interest in philosophical gold, and which were known as aurifactors, have get their
public concurrence in aurifictors, the manipulators which have produced a fake
gold for a black market. As the nature of contemporary pseudo-science is eclectic,
i.e. it combines anything with anything, for instance quantum mechanics with
feminism and pets, just to be well sold on the market, so the Alexandrian aurifactors
have referred to the philosophy of protochemistry to sell fake gold. These sorts of
“gold” were in principle alloys with some minor percentage of gold. We have to
know that at the time there were not methods by which it would be possible to
recognize unequivocally the real gold from the fake gold. Since ancient Roman
administration did not accept the production of gold without their supervision, they
have decided pragmatically to prohibit both, aurifictors as well as aurifactors. They
did not recognize the difference between them and, consequently, protochemistry
became out of the law. However, expulsion of protochemists from the Roman
Empire had also other reasons. After the emperor Constantinus, the official religion
in Rome became Christianity, which has in this way been transformed from its
basic idea of the Profeta-Illuminator to the pragmatic hierarchically organized
ideology. In 4th century bishop Theophilius finally have burned away the
Alexandrian library, and Hellenism became out of the law. In the year 529 the
emperor Iustinianus has finally abolished Platonian Academy in Athens.
Basic metaphysical system developed within the protochemical circle was logically incoherent: the changes and transformations of substances have been
explained as a combination of two kinds of transmutations. Protochemists have
accepted the Empedoclean division of the world on four principles-elements, as
well as the Aristotelian idea about their transmutation based on the combinations of
properties such as wet-dry and warm-cool, while the transmutation of metals they
explain as a transfer of free features. However, which was the relationship between
features and properties? Vapour, the pneuma, which has been observed experimentally in apparatus for distillation or in kerotakis could tentatively be categorized
as feature. But, in accordance with Aristotle, the same vapour is nothing else than a
combination of properties dry-could. Does it mean that all the features are dry and
could? Does it follow that feature consists from two properties?
From this contradiction it follows that logics is not decisive in protochemical
theory. Contradictions about which the old chemists were conscious were overcomed by a quite different independent approach—the use of analogy that can be
36
3 Synthesis of Philosophy and Technology