Thephilosopher's stone[a] is a mythicalchemical substance capable of turningbase metals such aslead andmercury into gold or silver;[b] it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder" as well as "red lion" for gold and "white lion" for silver.[1][2] Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to make anelixir of life which made possiblerejuvenation andimmortality.[3][4]
For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal inalchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest,divine illumination, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as theMagnum Opus ("Great Work").[5]
The earliest known written mention of the philosopher's stone is in theCheirokmeta byZosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 AD).[6]: 66 Alchemical writers assign a longer history.Elias Ashmole and the anonymous author ofGloria Mundi (1620) claim that its history goes back toAdam, who acquired the knowledge of the stone directly from God. This knowledge was said to have been passed down through biblical patriarchs, giving them their longevity. The legend of the stone was also compared to the biblical history of theTemple of Solomon and the rejected cornerstone described inPsalm 118.[7]: 19
The theoretical roots outlining the stone's creation can be traced to Greek philosophy. Alchemists later used theclassical elements, the concept ofanima mundi, and Creation stories presented in texts likePlato'sTimaeus as analogies for their process.[8]: 29 According toPlato, the four elements are derived from a common source orprima materia (first matter), associated withchaos.Prima materia is also the name alchemists assign to the starting ingredient for the creation of the philosopher's stone. The importance of this philosophical first matter persisted throughout the history of alchemy. In the seventeenth century,Thomas Vaughan writes, "the first matter of the stone is the very same with the first matter of all things."[9]: 211
In theByzantine Empire and theArab empires, early medieval alchemists built upon the work of Zosimos. Byzantine andIslamic alchemists were fascinated by the concept of metal transmutation and attempted to carry out the process.[10] The eighth-centuryMuslim alchemistJabir ibn Hayyan (Latinized asGeber) analysed each classical element in terms of the four basic qualities. Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. He theorized that every metal was a combination of these four principles, two of them interior and two exterior. From this premise, it was reasoned that the transmutation of one metal into another could be effected by the rearrangement of its basic qualities. This change would be mediated by a substance, which came to be calledxerion in Greek andal-iksir in Arabic (from which the wordelixir is derived). It was often considered to exist as a dry red powder (also known asal-kibrit al-ahmar, red sulfur) made from a legendary stone—the philosopher's stone.[11][12] The elixir powder came to be regarded as a crucial component of transmutation by later Arab alchemists.[10]
In the 11th century, there was a debate among Islamicchemists on whether the transmutation of substances was possible. A leading opponent was the Persian polymathAvicenna (Ibn Sina), who discredited the theory of the transmutation of substances, stating, "Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change."[13]: 196–197
According to legend, the 13th-century scientist and philosopher,Albertus Magnus, is said to have discovered the philosopher's stone. Magnus does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by "transmutation".[14]: 28–30
The Squared Circle: a 17th centuryalchemical symbol illustrating the interplay of the fourelements of matter that symbolize the philosopher's stone.
The 16th-centurySwiss alchemistParacelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) believed in the existence ofalkahest, which he thought to be an undiscovered element from which all other elements (earth, fire, water, air) were simply derivative forms. Paracelsus believed that this element was, in fact, the philosopher's stone.
The English philosopher SirThomas Browne in his spiritual testamentReligio Medici (1643) identified the religious aspect of the quest for the philosopher's Stone when declaring:
The smattering I have of the Philosophers stone, (which is something more than the perfect exaltation of gold) hath taught me a great deale of Divinity.
A mystical text published in the 17th century called theMutus Liber appears to be a symbolic instruction manual for concocting a philosopher's stone.[16][17][18] Called the "wordless book", it was a collection of 15 illustrations.
In Mahayana Buddhism,Chintamani is held by thebodhisattvas,Avalokiteshvara andKsitigarbha. It is also seen carried upon the back of theLung ta (wind horse) which is depicted onTibetanprayer flags. By reciting theDharani of Chintamani, Buddhist tradition maintains that one attains the Wisdom of Buddhas, is able to understand the truth of the Buddhas, and turns afflictions intoBodhi. It is said to allow one to see the Holy Retinue ofAmitabha and his assembly upon one's deathbed. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition the Chintamani is sometimes depicted as a luminous pearl and is in the possession of several different forms of the Buddha.[20]: 170
Within Hinduism, it is connected with the godsVishnu andGanesha. In Hindu tradition it is often depicted as a fabulous jewel in the possession of theNāga king or as on the forehead of theMakara.[citation needed] TheYoga Vasistha, originally written in the tenth century AD, contains a story about the philosopher's stone.[21]: 346–353
A great Hindu sage wrote about the spiritual accomplishment ofGnosis using the metaphor of the philosopher's stone. SantJnaneshwar (1275–1296) wrote a commentary with 17 references to the philosopher's stone that explicitly transmutes base metal into gold.[citation needed] The seventh-centurySiddharThirumoolar in his classicTirumandhiram explains man's path to immortal divinity. In verse 2709 he declares that the name of God,Shiva is an alchemical vehicle that turns the body into immortal gold.[citation needed]
Another depiction of the philosopher's stone is theShyāmantaka Mani (श्यामन्तक मणि).[citation needed] According to Hindu mythology, the Shyāmantaka Mani is a ruby, capable of preventing all natural calamities such as droughts, floods, etc. around its owner, as well as producing eight bhāras (≈1700 pounds or 700 kilograms) of gold, every day.[citation needed]
The most commonly mentioned properties are the ability to transmute base metals into gold or silver, and the ability toheal all forms of illness and prolong the life of any person who consumes a small part of the philosopher's stone diluted in wine.[22] Other mentioned properties include: creation of perpetually burning lamps,[22] transmutation of common crystals into precious stones and diamonds,[22] reviving of dead plants,[22] creation of flexible or malleable glass,[23] and the creation of a clone orhomunculus.[24]
Numerous synonyms were used to make oblique reference to the stone, such as "white stone" (calculus albus, identified with thecalculus candidus of Revelation 2:17 which was taken as a symbol of the glory of heaven[25]),vitriol (as expressed in thebackronymVisita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem), alsolapis noster,lapis occultus,in water at the box, and numerous oblique, mystical or mythological references such asAdam, Aer, Animal, Alkahest, Antidotus,Antimonium, Aqua benedicta, Aqua volans per aeram,Arcanum, Atramentum, Autumnus, Basilicus, Brutorum cor, Bufo, Capillus, Capistrum auri, Carbones,Cerberus,Chaos, Cinis cineris,Crocus, Dominus philosophorum, Divine quintessence, Draco elixir, Filius ignis, Fimus, Folium, Frater, Granum, Granum frumenti, Haematites, Hepar, Herba, Herbalis,Kimia, Lac, Melancholia, Ovum philosophorum, Panacea salutifera,Pandora,Phoenix, Philosophic mercury, Pyrites, Radices arboris solares, Regina, Rex regum, Sal metallorum, Salvator terrenus, Talcum, Thesaurus, Ventus hermetis.[26] Many of the medieval allegories of Christ were adopted for thelapis, and the Christ and the Stone were indeed taken as identical in a mystical sense. The name of "Stone" orlapis itself is informed by early Christian allegory, such asPriscillian (4th century), who stated,
Unicornis est Deus, nobis petra Christus, nobis lapis angularis Jesus, nobis hominum homo Christus (One-horned is God, Christ the rock to us, Jesus the cornerstone to us, Christ the man of men to us.)[27]
In some texts, it is simply called "stone", or our stone, or in the case ofThomas Norton's Ordinal, "oure delycious stone".[28] The stone was frequently praised and referred to in such terms.
The Latin expressionlapis philosophorum as well as the Arabicḥajar al-falāsifa from which the Latin derives both employ the plural form of the word forphilosopher. Thus, a literal translation would bephilosophers' stone, rather thanphilosopher's stone.[29]
Descriptions of the philosopher's stone are numerous and various.[30] According to alchemical texts, the stone of the philosophers came in two varieties, prepared by an almost identical method: white (for the purpose of making silver), and red (for the purpose of making gold), the white stone being a less matured version of the red stone.[31] Some ancient and medieval alchemical texts leave clues to the physical appearance of the stone of the philosophers, specifically the red stone. It is often said to be orange (saffron coloured) or red when ground to powder. Or in a solid form, an intermediate between red and purple, transparent and glass-like.[32] The weight is spoken of as being heavier than gold,[33] and it is soluble in any liquid, and incombustible in fire.[34]
Alchemical authors sometimes suggest that the stone's descriptors are metaphorical.[35] The appearance is expressed geometrically inAtalanta Fugiens Emblem XXI:
Make of a man and woman a circle; then a quadrangle; out of this a triangle; make again a circle, and you will have the Stone of the Wise. Thus is made the stone, which thou canst not discover, unless you, through diligence, learn to understand this geometrical teaching.
He further describes in greater detail the metaphysical nature of the meaning of the emblem as a divine union of feminine and masculine principles:[36]
In like manner the Philosophers would have the quadrangle reduced into a triangle, that is, into body, Spirit, and Soul, which three do appear in three previous colors before redness, for example, the body or earth in the blackness of Saturn, the Spirit in a lunar whiteness, as water, the Soul or air in a solar citrinity: then will the triangle be perfect, but this likewise must be changed into a circle, that is, into an invariable redness: By which operation the woman is converted into the man, and made one with him, and the senary the first number of the perfect completed by one, two, having returned again to an [sic] unit, in which is eternal rest and peace.
Rupescissa uses the imagery of the Christian passion, saying that it ascends "from the sepulcher of the Most Excellent King, shining and glorious, resuscitated from the dead and wearing a red diadem...".[37]
The various names and attributes assigned to the philosopher's stone have led to long-standing speculation on its composition and source.Exoteric candidates have been found in metals, plants, rocks, chemical compounds, and bodily products such as hair, urine, and eggs.Justus von Liebig states that 'it was indispensable that every substance accessible... should be observed and examined'.[38] Alchemists once thought a key component in the creation of the stone was a mythicalelement named carmot.[39][40]
Esoterichermetic alchemists may reject work on exoteric substances, instead directing their search for the philosopher's stone inward.[41] Though esoteric and exoteric approaches are sometimes mixed, it is clear that some authors "are not concerned with material substances but are employing the language of exoteric alchemy for the sole purpose of expressing theological, philosophical, or mystical beliefs and aspirations".[42] New interpretations continue to be developed aroundspagyric, chemical, and esoteric schools of thought.
The transmutation mediated by the stone has also been interpreted as a psychological process.Idries Shah devotes a chapter of his book,The Sufis, to provide a detailed analysis of the symbolic significance of alchemical work with the philosopher's stone. His analysis is based in part on a linguistic interpretation through Arabic equivalents of one of the terms for the stone (Azoth) as well as for sulfur, salt, and mercury.[43]
The philosopher's stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work. Often expressed as a series of color changes or chemical processes, the instructions for creating the philosopher's stone are varied. When expressed in colours, the work may pass through phases ofnigredo (black),albedo (white),citrinitas (yellow), andrubedo (red). When expressed as a series of chemical processes it often includes seven or twelve stages concluding inmultiplication andprojection.
^The alchemical terms arechrysopoeia from Ancient Greekχρυσοποιία (khrusopoiía) meaning 'gold-making', andargyropoeia (ἀργυροποιία, arguropoiía) for 'silver-making'.
^Ede, Andrew; Cormack, Lesley.A History of Science in Society: from philosophy to utility. University of Toronto Press.
^Patai, Raphael (14 July 2014).The Jewish Alchemists : A History and Source Book. Princeton University Press.ISBN978-1-4008-6366-2.OCLC1165547198.
^Linden, Stanton J. (2010).The alchemy reader : from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-79234-9.OCLC694515596.
^Mark, Haeffner (2015).Dictionary of Alchemy From Maria Prophetessa to Isaac Newton. Aeon Books Limited.ISBN978-1-904658-12-2.OCLC957227151.
^abStrohmaier, Gotthard (2003). "Umara ibn Hamza, Constantine V, and the invention of the elixir".Hellas im Islam: Interdisziplinare Studien zur Ikonographie, Wissenschaft und Religionsgeschichte. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 147–150.ISBN9783447046374.
^Ragai, Jehane (1992). "The Philosopher's Stone: Alchemy and Chemistry".Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics.12:58–77.doi:10.2307/521636.JSTOR521636.
^Paracelsus, Theophrastus.Of the Nature of Things. 16th century
^Salomon, Glass (1743).Philologia sacra : qua totius Vet. et Novi Testamenti Scripturae tum stylus et litteratura, tum sensus et genuinae interpretationis ratio et doctrina libris V expenditur ac traditur. J. Fred. Gleditschius.OCLC717819681.
^Schneider, W. (1962).Lexikon alchemistisch-pharmazeutischer Symbole. Weinheim.
^Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. t. XVIII. p. 24. as cited inJung, C. G.Roots of Consciousness.
^Line 744 in Thomas Norton's The Ordinal of Alchemy by John Rediry. The Early English Text Society no. 272.
^As used, for example, byPrincipe 2013 (passim, see the pages referenced in the index, p. 278).
^Leah DeVun.Prophecy, alchemy, and the end of time: John of Rupescissa in the late Middle Ages. Columbia University Press, 2009. p.118
^John Read.From Alchemy to Chemistry London: G. Bell. 1957. p. 29.
^Burt, A.L. 1885.The National Standard Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Literature, the Sciences and the Arts, for Popular Use p. 150.Available online.Archived 27 November 2019 at theWayback Machine
^Tracy, Ann B. (2015).Gothic Novel 1790–1830 : Plot Summaries and Index to Motifs. The University Press of Kentucky.ISBN978-0-8131-6479-3.OCLC1042089949.
